Michigan

The Choice Of Charlotte, North Carolina As Host Of The 2012 Democratic National Convention

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The announcement this week that the Democratic National Convention of 2012 will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, may have surprised some observers, including this blogger, who really thought that St. Louis, Missouri would be chosen from among others including Columbus, Ohio, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

After having been correct on the choice of Tampa, Florida by the Republican Party for its 2012 convention, the author was somewhat disappointed that his prediction failed to come to fruition!

It is clear that President Barack Obama made the final choice, and it shows that he intends to make a fight to keep the Southern states that he won in 2008–North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, none of which will be easy to accomplish.

In the mind of the author, keeping the Midwest–Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota–will be more urgent, as the “heartland” of the nation seems the even more significant battleground!

While Obama did not win Missouri in 2008, John McCain only won by a few thousand votes, and that was only the second time since 1900 (the other time being 1956) that the loser of Missouri won the White House. So it is crucial that Missouri be won by Obama if he is to win a second term, the reasoning that made the author think he would choose St. Louis.

However, Charlotte is part of the emerging modern South, and North Carolina, along with Virginia and Florida, will also be crucial in the 2012 election campaign.

Hopefully, the President’s decision to choose the South over the Midwest for the national convention will play out in a resulting win for him in 2012!

Gun Rights Gone Mad: Are There Any Limits? :(

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Just three weeks after the tragic shootings in Tucson, Arizona, the gun rights movement is in full swing, reacting to the tragedy by trying to promote gun rights EVERYWHERE without limit! 🙁

Even former Vice President Dick Cheney has expressed the need for some gun control, after never believing in it in the past, and President Obama has stated he will address the issue, after totally ignoring it in his State of the Union address earlier this week.

But meanwhile, many state legislatures are going off the deep end to prevent any restrictions and promote gun rights in every possible location! 🙁

In Florida, a legislator is suggesting that medical doctors should be punished with felony charges just simply by asking a patient about their ownership or use of guns! The punishment for a doctor would be prison time or up to $5 million in fines–absolutely insane! 🙁

In Michigan, a legislator wants someone, anyone, to be able to carry weapons on their person EVERYWHERE–including day care centers, stadiums, schools, churches, bars and hospitals! This is advocated despite the fact of gun incidents reported in hospitals, bars, churches and schools already around the country, but now even where large crowds and young children are found is being promoted–absolutely loony! 🙁

In Minnesota, a bill is being pushed which would no longer allow police to conduct background checks on people who apply for gun permits–again, absolutely nutty! 🙁

Wyoming is considering legislation which would allow it to join three other states–Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont–which do not require a state permit for a concealed weapon–extremely scary! 🙁

Finally, Nebraska has a bill pending to allow school employees to carry guns for protection, and Indiana has legislation being considered to allow employees of any company in the state to carry guns in their cars in the parking lots of the places of employment “in order to defend their lives”–both proposed laws which indicate an element of paranoia in the sponsors! 🙁

Anyone who thinks that such legislation as above will stem gun violence, and cut down the number of deaths and injuries, is living in a dream world of illusion and fantasy! 🙁

The Ultimate Battleground For The 2012 Presidential Election: The Midwest!

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As a result of the Midterm Elections of 2010, it is becoming clear that the 2012 Presidential Election will be ultimately decided in the Midwest, an area of the country suffering more heavily from the Great Recession, and also an area that is losing a significant number of seats in the House of Representatives reapportionment that will take place, as a result of the Census of 2010!

Even though the Midwest is losing electoral votes because of a smaller relative population as compared to the growing Sun Belt, it still contains states that are among the top ten states in population plus others that are in the next ten states in population!

It is also an area that can presently be described as “purple”, rather than “blue” or “red”, but has moved in the direction of the Republican party in the midterm elections due to the economic hard times and the tendency to blame the party in the White House for the poor economic conditions!

With all of the key Midwestern states electing Republican governors except for Illinois, and many state legislatures and House seats going over to the GOP, it poses a massive problem for the Democrats and President Barack Obama as they look at the electoral scene for 2012!

However, two of those states historically are particularly crucial in a Presidential election–Ohio and Missouri!

Ohio has been the decisive state for the Republican Party, as every Republican President since the first one, Abraham Lincoln, to the last one, George W. Bush, has won Ohio! At the same time, it means that if Ohio goes to the Democrats, as say Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008, the chances of Gerald Ford and John McCain were therefore dashed!

Missouri, if anything, has been the true bellwether state, as every single time since 1900, except 1956 and 2008, the winner of Missouri has become President! And even Dwight D. Eisenhower came close to defeating Adlai Stevenson in Missouri in 1956, and Barack Obama came extremely close to defeating John McCain in Missouri in 2008!

Since the Atlantic Coast of the nation–New England and the Middle Atlantic–is seen as solidly Democratic except maybe for New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, and the Pacific Coast also seen as solidly Democratic, while most of the South, maybe all of it including Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, are seen as solidly Republican next time, and much of the Mountain West and Great Plains also solidly “red”, it will be the Midwest which will decide the electoral winner again next time!

So the Democrats and Barack Obama will have to make inordinate efforts to appeal for support in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and cannot afford to lose much of this area if the party and Obama are to win in 2012!

That is one of the reasons why the Democratic Party is planning its national convention in the Midwest in 2012, with St. Louis, Cleveland, and Minneapolis as the key competitors for that honor!

So despite declining population percentages, the heartland of the nation again will be the central focus in the upcoming national elections in 2012!

The Power And Influence Of Carl And Sander Levin Of Michigan

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Two brothers from Michigan have become extremely influential in Congress, despite their lack of charisma or self promotion.

I am referring to Senator Carl Levin and his older brother, Congressman Sander Levin.

Carl Levin is a hard working, committed Senator who chairs the Armed Services Committee. He also received extra notice two days ago when he led the questioning of Goldman Sachs executives as the head of a subcommittee investigating the role of that financial company in the collapse of the American economy in 2008. Having served since 1979 in the Senate, he is now in his sixth term, the longest of any Michigan Senator, and plays a very influential role in a quiet way.

Sander Levin has served a House district in the Detroit area since 1983, and with the departure, at least temporarily of Charles Rangel as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Levin has become its interim chairman. Being Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee means Sander Levin is for now, at least, the most significant single committee chairman in Congress, as all money bills MUST first make it through that committee, and the chairman can be a barrier, if he wishes to be, of any financial legislation. But again, Sander Levin, like his brother Carl, has an excellent reputation as he seeks his 15th term in Congress this fall.

So without many realizing it, the Levin brothers are an integral part of the accomplishments and achievements of the Democratic party in Congress!

Right Wing Christian Militia: The True Danger To America!

Ronald 1 Comment

The arrest of nine people in Michigan, part of a right wing Christian Militia, that were planning to kill police officers and begin a war against the government and all who work for it, in the name of fighting the Anti Christ, is a warning sign of the true danger that this nation faces.

We have the Tea Party people, many of whom border on anarchism and racism, advocating action against what they call “Socialism”, which they seem to think is a real danger to our country, when we are nowhere near moving to the extreme left.

We are in real danger, however, from the extreme right, which seems to think their ideas are the same as “patriotism”, but actually advocate using Christianity as a weapon against a nation that has been based on separation of church and state.

It is these religious fanatics, a small percentage of the country, that represent the ultimate threat to our diversity, pluralism, and freedoms. It is good to see that the government is actively involved in infiltration of these fanatical groups which are to be resisted at all costs to preserve the nation we love!

The Levins, Sander And Carl, And Congressional Power And Influence

Ronald Leave a comment

The leave of absence of Congressman Charles Rangel as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee opens the door to Congressman Sander Levin of Michigan to become its new Chairman, after 28 years in the House.

At the same time, his younger brother, Carl Levin, has been Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee since 2007, and has been representing Michigan in the Senate for 32 years.

So the brothers Levin are in charge of committees dealing with all spending bills and military matters respectively, and that makes them brothers of tremendous power and influence on a level never seen in Congress in its history.

Both have excellent reputations and have served Michigan with distinction, with Carl Levin being the longest serving senator in the history of the state.

The country will be well served with both Levins committed to decent, honest leadership!