Month: January 2010

Essential For Ted Kennedy Senate Seat To Remain Democratic!

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There is alarm in Democratic circles in Massachusetts as it seems clear that Martha Coakley, the Attorney General and candidate for Ted Kennedy’s seat, is facing a tough race against Republican Scott Brown, who has made clear that he will vote against health care reform, an act which could effectively end the chances of the legislation that Ted Kennedy fought for over so many years!

To top it off, there is an independent “Tea Party” candidate named Joe Kennedy! Of course, the founder of the Kennedy dynasty was Joseph P. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy’s oldest son was Joe Kennedy, Jr, a Congressman for a dozen years in the 1980s and 1990s! But this Kennedy is not part of that family and has a desire to confuse voters and elect Scott Brown.

It is hoped the voters of Massachusetts on January 19 will honor the memory of Ted Kennedy and elect Martha Coakley as his successor!

Comparing Harry Reid To Trent Lott Totally Ridiculous!

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Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid is under fire for a comment he made during the 2008 campaign about Barack Obama: that he could win because he was a “light skinned black” who did not use “the Negro dialect” unless he chose to do so. What a stupid, insensitive, disgraceful comment!

However, Reid apologized to President Obama, and the President immediately accepted the apology, as he is not a person who holds grudges, as for example when he encouraged a committee chairmanship for Senator Joe Lieberman last year despite his support of Obama’s election opponent, Senator John McCain. Obama is a man of dignity and class, and does not act petty and vindictive, as so many politicians and other public figures have the propensity to do!

But the Republicans are calling on Reid to resign his leadership, as they compare him to their own Senate Majority Leader in 2002, Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, who resigned after touting the career of retiring South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, by saying that if only we had elected Thurmond President on a third party line in 1948, then we would not have had all the troubles Lott said we have had in recent times.

The difference is so great that to compare Reid’s comment to Lott’s comment is ridiculous to the extreme! Thurmond was indeed a long time segregationist and racial supremacist, who ran as a “Dixiecrat” on the States Rights Party line in 1948, and utilized racist language as he did for most of his career, until a decade after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he finally started to de-emphasize the issue and even hire African Americans to his Senate staff. Even with that gesture, Thurmond was one of the most despicable racists in the Senate’s history!

In addition to that, Trent Lott himself was an obvious racist, as he often spoke before white supremacy groups, although he claimed he did not know of that fact. He was extremely insensitive on race matters all through his time in the Senate, and his championing of Thurmond in the manner he did in 2002 was extremely outrageous, and even President George W. Bush was critical of the tone and manner of Lott’s statements, so he appropriately resigned.

So when the GOP brings up Lott and compares him to Reid, it is really an issue of hypocrisy, not of righteousness. But then again, the Republican party has been on the wrong side of civil rights for a long time, and are certainly NOT the party of Abraham Lincoln, Charles Sumner, and Thaddeus Stevens in the era of the Civil War. In today’s world, the Republicans ARE the “Confederates” who support states rights and secession, as for instance, Governor Rick Perry of Texas!

So Harry Reid is no Trent Lott, clearly and absolutely!

Michael Steele: A Major Disaster For The GOP! Sign Of The Possible Implosion Coming!

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Republican National Chairman Michael Steele is becoming a major handicap for his party, and it seems unlikely that he will last much longer in his position.

Coming out publicly with doubts that the GOP can win a large victory in 2010, including the possibility of a takeover of Congress, has really angered the party base, and the feeling is that Steele is simply trying to sell his new book and advance himself at the expense of his party.

The Republican party, being still so bitterly divided as to how far right it should go, seems ready to implode. This is good news for Democrats, who despite their many problems, still have a strong possibility of keeping their expected losses in Congress this coming fall at a minimum.

The point is that the Democrats and Barack Obama are taking action and have prevented the Great Recession from becoming the Great Depression. They have also begun to take action to modify the failures of the previous administration in our homeland security which allowed the possibility of the Christmas Day Bombing attempt.

The Democrats have been the party of action, while the Republicans have been the party of no action, partisanship, division, and attacking the concept of government itself by flirting with the Freedom Works/ Tea Party anarchists! The American people will come to realize this as the year wears on to the midterm elections!

Senator Jim DeMint And The Transportation Security Administration

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South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, a leading critic of the nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration because of his backing of the collective bargaining rights he believed the TSA employees should have, can be accused of undermining the job of the TSA to protect the American people.

Why does Senator DeMint believe that TSA workers should not have the right to decent conditions of work? Does he not realize that, if you have satisfied employees who have basic rights that other government workers have, you will obtain better performance and higher standards of commitment than if you have low paid, poorly treated workers?

It comes down again to the reality that Senator DeMint, looking ahead to running for President in 2012, is more concerned over being the typical anti labor Republican from the South than in doing what is right for the agency and its workers!

Rudy Guiliani, Mary Matalin, Dana Perino, FOX News: Liars, Propagandists, Demagogues! :(

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In the wake of the Christmas Day Bombing attempt in Detroit, and when President Obama said it is time for citizenship, not partisanship, in the fight against terrorism, along comes former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani, former Bush and Cheney aide Mary Matalin, and former Bush press secretary Dana Perino, promoting lies and propaganda and acting like demagogues, and FOX News aiding and abetting it.

All of them are saying there were no domestic terror attacks under Bush, while now there has been one under Obama!

I suppose they are imagining that September 11 never occurred, and that the Shoe Bomber Richard Reid in December 2001, did not happen.

How can they promote such myths except if they believe the American people are either gullible or stupid? Particularly, Mayor Guiliani, who has exploited 9/11 for all it is worth, suddenly has a “lapse of memory”!

But I also wonder how the Democratic strategist James Carville can remain married to such a liar as his wife, Mary Matalin. And as far as Dana Perino is concerned, she continues to come across as the absolutely worst press secretary ever, displaying her stupidity and ignorance while in that position and not improving her reputation out of office!

And of course, Fox News, and particularly Sean Hannity, just sits by as the lies and myths are stated, and has nothing to say! What ever happened to honest, decent journalism, Sean, heh? 🙁

Barack Obama And National Security: A Man Who Accepts Responsibility And Accountability!

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President Obama was a class act yesterday afternoon as he issued a report on the failure of security agencies to prevent the attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day.

Rather than blame specific people, he simply said that there was a failure to connect dots, and that action was being taken to help prevent that from happening again.

He also said what Harry Truman had said in the White House: that “the buck stops here” in the Oval Office. He said he took full responsibility and accountability for what had happened, and that was so refreshing! John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan had also said that in different crises, but George W. Bush had avoided and even often denied responsibility and accountability many times during the various blunders and disasters of his administration.

Obama also said we are involved in full scale war against Al Qaeda, again enunciating what he has said many times, but the question is whether we will finally see the GOP shut up about this issue.

Specifically, Dick Cheney, his daughter Liz Cheney, and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra have exploited this issue for political gain. Will this statement by Obama finally get them to do what Obama suggested?: that we should all be promoting citizenship, rather than partisanship, in the fight against terrorists? Don’t bet on that! 🙁

Obama also said he would never allow any violation of our civil liberties while fighting Al Qaeda, as those basic liberties are too important to be broken in wartime, as often has happened in the past.

This is very inspiring, and shows just how outstanding a President Barack Obama is, a true model of what a President should be all about. We should all applaud him and unite around our Commander in Chief as he fights the war against those who wish to disrupt and destroy our society with their religious madness!

Too Much Hysteria Over Democratic Senate Fortunes In 2010 Elections

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The fact that Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan are retiring in 2010 has become to many observers the beginning of a Senate debacle for the Democrats in 2010. That is totally preposterous when one looks at the facts.

Dodd was facing a tough reelection and decided to leave, but state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is expected to sail to an easy victory, taking away a major GOP hope for another seat in the Senate.

Byron Dorgan might have had trouble in North Dakota, although that seems doubtful, but while Republican Governor John Hoeven may have an edge now, if talk show host Ed Schultz of MSNBC decides to run, it is very possible he could win that seat.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has a major challenge in Nevada, but it is far from clear which of several Republicans could defeat him, and the question will arise whether his home state will want to give up the seniority, prestige, and leadership role that Reid has gained.

Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln also faces a difficult race, but Arkansas has been the only Southern state to elect Democrats consistently to the Senate in recent years, so it is far from certain that she will lose her seat.

Some think Senator Barbara Boxer of California may have some difficulties, but that state has tended Democratic for a long time, and again, whether California will want to give up the seniority and leadership role that Boxer has, seems doubtful.

Illinois, Colorado, Delaware and New York all have appointed senators, but the odds will still favor Democrats in all but possibly Colorado. Also, Senator Arlen Specter, having switched parties, will have to fight for his seat, but after 30 years, don’t bet against this feisty, outspoken senator!

Meanwhile, six Republican senators are retiring: Judd Gregg in New Hampshire, Jim Bunning in Kentucky, George LeMieux in Florida (who replaced Mel Martinez as an appointment), Kit Bond in Missouri, Sam Brownback in Kansas, and George Voinovich in Ohio.

The possibility exists that all those states could elect Democrats, except possibly Kentucky and Kansas. Florida certainly could elect Kendrick Meek over either Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio, due to the internal fighting in the GOP in that state’s upcoming primary battle in August.

So the Democrats could lose their 60 vote filibuster proof Senate (although Joe Lieberman as an independent is very unreliable, anyway), but is still likely to have a total in the mid to high 50s, including Lieberman and Bernie Sanders. Don’t start to think of the Republicans coming anywhere near control of the Senate!

Nancy Pelosi Rejection Of C Span Request For Transparency A Bad Move

Ronald 2 Comments

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has made a major mistake by rejecting the request of C Span for transparency on the health care bill.

She claims that there has been total transparency on the legislation, but in actual fact, much of the bill, as passed in different forms in the House and Senate, is unknown, and by leaving doubt and refusing any GOP involvement in formal conference committee hearings in public, she feeds the “conspiracy” theory that the Freedom Works/ Tea Party has been promoting.

It is not my belief that anything untoward is happening, but the impression is left that there is something evil going on. Even if the GOP were to cause delays and obstruction, the worst that could happen is delay, and that would be better than to leave the image that the Democrats are trying to “pull the wool” over the eyes of the American people.

That kind of impression could cause the greater loss of seats in November. Let the GOP look bad, and it helps the Democrats. But let the Democrats look bad, and it helps the Republicans.

President Obama needs to push Congress to promote the transparency promised during the 2008 campaign. There is no need to rush this legislation, as long as it is accomplished this year. Don’t feed the Republican propaganda, Democrats! Do you hear? 🙁

Talk Show Host Ed Schultz For North Dakota Senator? Doubtful!

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With the announced retirement of North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan at the end of this year, the question that arises is what Democrat will run for that seat, with Earl Pomeroy, the House member, deciding to run again for his seat, with its 18 years of seniority.

So the rumor is spreading that talk show host Ed Schultz, a true fighter for the middle class, might leave his radio show and his nightly hour on MSNBC to run for the Senate.

Schultz tonight said he is far from a decision, and that he is not sure this is the right move for him, after years of building up his career in the media, which he would have to give up if he announced for the Senate.

It seems likely he will not leave his position, but he would be a great asset in a campaign and in the Senate, were he to decide to go for it. In any case, he does a great job on his talk show, so whether he runs or not for the Senate, the country benefits from his talents speaking for the progressive cause! 🙂

Important Initiative On Science And Math Education By The Obama Administration

Ronald 1 Comment

President Obama is to be applauded for promoting a joint public-private initiative on math and science education, which provides for $250 million to improve American students’ knowledge and interest in both areas, where the US ranks in the 20s worldwide, way behind many other nations.

The need for more math and science teachers is urgent, and the nation cannot advance if we do not have more young people go into both fields, both as teachers and as professionals.

Medicine, energy, and security are among the areas in which the country desperately needs more motivation and commitment if the nation is to face the challenges of the 21st century.