Month: August 2009

Hillary Clinton And Women’s Rights

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has long been an advocate of women’s rights, from her days as a college student, law student, top notch lawyer, wife of the Arkansas governor, First Lady of the nation, and US Senator. She is not about to stop now, in her position leading American diplomacy around the world.

She went to eastern Congo to condemn mass rape and has made it clear she will speak up actively for the equality of rights, and fair treatment of women all over the world.

While the conditions of women in the United States have dramatically improved over recent decades, women in third world countries still face horrific treatment from husbands and family members, and an inequitable justice system.

While Hillary Clinton speaking out may not bring about everything she and we would desire, she has enunciated the view that exposure of wrongs, and advocacy of rapid change, will force a lot of reform in many nations. She is taking the high moral stand, and we should all applaud her for her courage and outspokenness.

It adds another dimension to the need for morality in American foreign policy, and we can only hope for its progress in many foreign lands!

Howard Dean, Public Option Health Care Advocacy, And President Barack Obama

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Former Governor Howard Dean of Vermont, at one point leading for the 2004 Presidential nomination until his sudden collapse in the race, and more recently Democratic National Chairman, responsible to a great extent for promoting a “50 state strategy”, which led to the Democratic gains in 2006 and 2008, has become a major advocate and critic on the health care reform issue.

A supporter of the public option, Dean has become one of the leaders of the so called “liberal” wing of the Democrats, calling upon President Obama to back the public option affirmatively, rather than tentatively, as Obama has done in the past ten days.

Some see Dean’s activism as resentment because he was passed by for the position of Health and Human Services Secretary, which he was certainly qualified for as a Medical Doctor. Had he been in that role, rather than former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, who while an effective Governor is seen by many as a too moderate choice for her cabinet post, it is possible that the whole course of the health care debate might have been different.

It is time for Barack Obama to clarify his position on health care, and to utilize the campaign techniques he successfully used to win the Presidency, to turn the tide on this most crucial issue of his administration. The key amount of time for this transformation is the next two months.

If Obama fails in gaining most of what the administration seeks on health care, then he may be judged a failure in his first term. That cannot be allowed to happen. A fighting President, similar to Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson is now the requirement demanded of Barack Obama!

Governor David Paterson And Andrew Cuomo’s Future

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It is highly unfortunate that David Paterson, the Governor of New York by succession after the sudden resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer due to a sex scandal, has tried to make his low popularity rating connected to the fact that he is African American.

This is a sign of his desperation as polls have indicated that he has an extremely low rating for his performance and his plans to run for reelection in 2010.

His attempt to appoint a Lieutenant Governor, Richard Ravitch, to be in line of succession, went against the NY State Constitution, and after just 43 days, a state court has ruled that the appointment was illegal under state law. It only adds to the sense of futility that this Governor can do anything correct or successful.

Every indication is that Paterson could not defeat a Republican opponent for Governor, were he to run for a full term. The hint is that former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani would be likely to run if Paterson is the nominee, and that Guiliani would defeat him easily. Even if former Congressman Rick Lazio (who lost the Senate race to Hillary Clinton in 2000) were his opponent, the indications are that Lazio would easily defeat Paterson.

Under the circumstances, the best result would be Paterson’s decision to decline to run for a full term, and there are hints that he is considering doing just that.

If Paterson does not voluntarily back down, it seems highly likely that he will lose the nomination for Governor to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the former Governor Mario Cuomo. The Attorney General has established an outstanding record in his office, pursuing corporate corruption on Wall Street and showing evidence of his commitment to basic reform in many areas of public policy.

Cuomo has a background of having been Housing and Urban Development Secretary under President Clinton. Every poll makes it clear that he would win a landslide victory in a Democratic primary against Paterson, and would easily defeat either Guiliani or Lazio for the Governorship.

With him on the ticket, along with Senator Charles Schumer, it would also guarantee a victory for appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who was a controversial appointee by Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. Despite a lot of opposition to her appointment, and the likelihood earlier of one or more members of the NY Congressional delegation challenging her in a primary, her switch from being a more conservative Democrat for her upstate district to adoption of more liberal positions on many issues has led to her being lucky enough to avoid a primary. But if Paterson was on the ticket as Governor, he would probably bring her down with him, so Cuomo guarantees a straight Democratic ticket at the top of the ballot, and the likelihood of legislative gains by the Democrats, who desperately need to gain a clear majority in the State Senate, which was subjected earlier this summer to total gridlock and deadlock for a month, presenting an image of total chaos and anarchy, and making NY state government appear to be one of the most dysfunctional in the country, no easy feat! LOL

To top it off, it can be expected that IF Andrew Cuomo is elected Governor of New York, we could easily put him on the long range list for possible nomination for President in 2016. By that date, he would be 59 years of age with a record of serving a President, and being Attorney General and Governor of the third largest state.

It is about time that New York recovered from what has been a disaster under Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, and that Andrew Cuomo be nominated and elected Governor, and restores the image and reputation that his father had as Governor from his election in 1982 to his retirement in 1994.

Tom Ridge, Homeland Security, And Politics In The 2004 Presidential Election

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Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who was our first Homeland Security Secretary under President Bush, has revealed that politics played a role in raising the threat level in the 2004 Presidential campaign of President Bush.

Ridge saw no need to raise the threat level shortly before the 2004 Presidential campaign, but was challenged by Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, and John Ashcroft, Attorney General at the time.  There was a heated discussion, and it convinced Ridge to leave the government after the election.  The threat level was not raised then, but it had been a few days after John Kerry’s nomination for President.

There were many observers at the time who believed the threat level issue was used for political gain, and now it has been proved.

This is another example of the corruption and political manipulation utilized by the Bush administration on a regular basis, despite many denials. It is all fits the image of the Bush presidency as one of deception and lies on a massive scale.

Senator Jim DeMint And Health Care

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Republican Senator Jim DeMint, rapidly becoming regarded as the most right wing member of the Senate, has stated that health care is not a right that all Americans have, but rather a privilege.

This comes from a man who is pro life, but apparently believes it only goes as far as making sure every fetus is born, but leaving health care after it to chance, rather than an organized plan to help the millions of children and their parents who lack health care or have inadequate health care.

Senator DeMint is to be condemned for this heartless viewpoint about the right to health care, which is clearly a RIGHT, not a privilege!

Declining Democratic Support In Polls: Predictable But Not Alarming

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While it is disturbing to see support for Democrats declining in many new polls, it should not be surprising at all.

The Obama Administration is not afraid of controversy, and has been confronted with a multitude of problems and challenges unmatched since the Great Depression and FDR.

Therefore, it was predictable that the so called “honeymoon” would end, but I think it is not something to worry about.

A lot of the loss is among independents, but it is due to a multitude of propaganda attacks by opponents, and disillusionment brought about by the fact that we are dealing with such complex issues that we could not expect anything else to be occurring.

I would argue that it is likely in any case that the Democrats will lose some seats in the US House in 2010, something that is historically a reality in midterm elections. But it is also likely that the Democrats will gain a couple of seats in the Senate, based on the circumstances that now exist with the GOP losing a number of veteran senators who have decided to retire.

Signs are emerging that many town hall meetings are now becoming civil, including in Florida, and the President and his supporters are on a “full court press” in reaction to the corporate and conservative and talk radio vitriol, and I would not be willing to bet against success with some compromise when Congress comes back in mid September.

Remember that Barack Obama was underestimated in the 2008 campaign, and realize that to underestimate him in the battle for health care reform would be unwise!

Importance Of Trying For Bi Partisan Health Care Bill

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While there are a large number of liberals in the Democratic party who advocate promoting health care legislation without any GOP support, I think it is important to try and gain SOME Republican backing.

The urgency of this is shown by comparing Obama’s struggle with that of FDR on Social Security and LBJ on Medicare.

A study of both legislative battles shows that both presidents gained substantial Republican backing in the House and Senate on the two key legislative accomplishments of the last century regarding social and economic reform.

Of course, it is necessary to point out that the GOP support for FDR and Social Security came from “progressive” Republicans, including those I wrote about in my published book on the New Deal.

Also, the Republican support for Medicare under LBJ came from “liberal” and “moderate” members of the party in the North who saw the virtues of the legislation.

The problem now is that there are hardly any “moderate” Republicans in the party in 2009, with the exception of the two women Maine senators, plus possibly a handful of others, but no indication of any in the US House.

So we are confronted with an intractable problem, and it may be necessary for Obama to charge ahead WITHOUT GOP support, to bring about a necessary move toward health care reform.

If that happens, it will not be the fault of Obama, but intractable Republicans who are putting party ahead of country!

Ignorance Of Geography: A Crisis For America!

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In the debate over whether Barack Obama was born in the United States in 1961, the controversy is not just over those who still believe that the President was born in Kenya or Indonesia, but also among those who say “Yes, he was born in Hawaii”, but think Hawaii is a foreign nation!

It turns out that six percent in a poll think Hawaii is not part of the United States, and four percent are not sure IF Hawaii is part of the country.

This reminds me of those in the population who think that if you mail a letter or package to New Mexico, you need foreign postage! LOL

It shows a real ignorance of geography in this country, as many people could not even pick out the United States on the map, and have no clue as to where Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or Pakistan are, despite their crucial significance at this point in international affairs.

This is a sad commentary on American education, but also on our super nationalism mentality, which makes many feel that we do NOT need to know anything about the world around us since we are the superior nation, so therefore why should we care about any other country? This is a major problem for the future of this nation and the world as well!

Barney Frank And Jerrold Nadler: Two Congressmen Telling It As It Is!

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Congressmen Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jerrold Nadler of New York are to be applauded for their reaction to the disruptive, mob like mentality of many attenders of Town Halls across the country.

Frank confronted a stupid woman who said health care plans of the Obama Administration made the President a “Hitler”, and that she was shocked that Frank would back Obama. How ridiculous, to say this to a gay Jewish man! So Frank let her have it, not acting like a gentleman, asking what planet she spent most of her time on! LOL

Nadler said that the loud mouthed, disruptive demonstrators at many town halls were facist like in their tactics, and to that, I say AMEN! Instead of having a serious discussion of health care, the purpose of many of these characters is to simply prevent any discussion, and destroy the purpose of the meetings. Widespread ignorance and prejudice has also been demonstrated, and Nadler rightfully condemned this mockery of public discourse.

I must say that I think Senator Arlen Specter, while trying to be gracious, should have been much stronger in his reaction to the insults visited upon him at several rallies in Pennsylvania in the past two weeks. The news channels showed it as it happened, and it was indeed a sad moment that we saw such disrespect for a public official, who no matter what you think of specific votes or statements by him over 30 years, deserved more respect and appreciation than he experienced.

It is important to have town halls and discussions, but only if there is order and respect by all sides. Sadly, that is lacking, and it will be a relief when Congress comes back into session after a very tumultuous August recess!

Two Corporate Women And California Politics

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California, a strong Democratic state, has the interesting scenario of two GOP women, both corporate leaders, running for Governor and Senator in 2010.

Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, is running for Governor, and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, is challenging Barbara Boxer for her Senate seat.

Former Governor and present Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom are the leading Democratic candidates for Governor.

It is very hard to imagine either GOP woman winning statewide office, particularly Fiorina, who had a controversial tenure at Hewlett Packard and became a center of criticism as an adviser to John McCain in the 2008 presidential race because of some of her utterances.

But even with the crisis atmosphere in California government, it seems doubtful that the state would hand over governing to Meg Whitman over Jerry Brown in particular, who despite his long and controversial career, remains very popular as a populist type leader in the Golden State.

Certainly, a lot of money and effort will be utilized to try to accomplish what seems to be impossible–two GOP women in top positions in California. Were either or both to accomplish their goals, they would have to be added to the list of possible Republican presidential nominees in 2012 or 2016. But don’t hold your breath! 🙂