Undoubtedly, the GOP spinmeisters will try to paint yesterday’s 57%-43% victory by Saxby Chambliss over Jim Martin in Georgia as some kind of positive harbinger for national Republicans. As usual, they’re wrong. A few points:

1. This was a special election with very low turnout. Even on November 4, with turnout through the roof, Barack Obama lost to John McCain in Georgia and Jim Martin trailed Saxby Chambliss 49.8%-46.8%.

2. Georgia is a solidly “red” state, one of the Republican Party’s last solid redoubts (basically, the GOP has been reduced to a party of the “Deep South,” the Great Plains, and parts of the Rocky Mountains). If triple-amputee war hero Max Cleland couldn’t defeat Saxby Chambliss in a general election, why on earth would Jim Martin have been able to do so, in a low-turnout special election no less?

3. If Chambliss had squeaked past 50% on election day, which he didn’t manage to do in large part because of the 3.4% siphoned off by Libertarian Allen Buckley, there would have been no runoff and this would have been no “news” at all.  The fact is, Chambliss should have won on November 4; he didn’t because of Buckley and also because of huge turnout for Barack Obama.

4. Finally, Public Policy Polling has an excellent analysis as usual. Essentially, young people and African Americans didn’t turn out yesterday, which was a death blow given that “[t]he Georgia electorate is easily the most racially polarized of any state we polled regularly during the 2008 election cycle.”  PPP concludes:

…what were the implications of yesterday’s results? I think the only implication is that you can’t expect to get a failed Lieutenant Governor candidate elected to the US Senate in a conservative state, and certainly not without a drawing card at the top of the ballot to ensure high turnout from strong Democratic demographic groups. Beyond that I don’t think it means much of anything.

Exactly.

Continue reading " A Few Thoughts About Saxby Chambliss’ Victory "

Only 6% of Daily Kos users (out of 17,217 who took the poll) say that Obama’s national security team - Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, Jim Jones, Janet Napolitano, Susan Rice - is a “sellout” (whatever that means).  To the contrary, the vast majority (88%) of “Kossacks” are either “on board,” “cautiously optimistic,” or believe that Obama is “crazy like a fox.”  Personally, I’m very happy with Obama’s national security selections, as these are extremely talented, smart, competent professionals who know what they’re doing. Nice job by Barack Obama in selecting his national security team so far!

Continue reading " Progressives Positive About Obama’s National Security Team "

This afternoon, I attended the Center for American Progress’ program, “Green Recovery.”  Speakers included CAP Senior Fellow Joseph Romm, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, and NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman. To read CAP’s “Strategy for Green Recovery,” please click here. For my notes on the event this afternoon, please see after the “flip.” Thanks.  
Joseph Romm kicked it off, quoting Barack Obama that U.S. energy policy has oscillated from “shock to trance,” and asserting that now is the time to break our oil addiction once and for all. According to Romm, the United States is the “Saudi Arabia of wasted energy.”  Also according to Romm, it’s not just our addiction to oil that’s a problem but also our addiction to coal. If we don’t get off of carbon emitting fuels, the planet will warm by 10 degrees, the oceans will become acidic dead zones, and other dire consequences will ensue.  The bottom line is that we need to replace our entire energy system and restore America’s leadership in “green tech.”

Governor Ed Rendell said that we’re in an “ongoing battle” to get America to concentrate on renewable and alternative energy.  According to Rendell, we are facing four major challenges - the need to boost our economy, improve the environment, better withstand natural disasters, and enhance our foreign policy/national security - all of which can be addressed by going green.

In Rendell’s opinion, this is an issue of will, we need a Manhattan Project and we need to make up for valuable lost time from the Bush administration. The short-term economic recovery plan should include a green energy/green jobs component, but this is a long-term program.  We can’t let the financial crisis deter us.  In fact, a lot of what we need to do - such as renewable energy and fuel portfolio standards - won’t require federal money. Others, such as federal investment in energy research and infrastructure, will require money (but will be worth it).  We definitely need to make renewable energy tax credits permanent.  We also need to invest in research on carbon capture and sequestration, as we are the “Saudi Arabia of coal” and this is a potential path to energy independence.

On infrastructure, Rendell believes we should invest in a way that helps us become greener (e.g., high-speed heavy-load freight trains). We need mass transit, light rail, inter-city rail, city-to-city high-speed rail (we’re the only developed country without one, and it’s a disgrace). It all starts with leadership, the federal government can do this, but we’ve got to do it in a big way and not get “sticker shock.”

Tom Friedman says that we’ve lost our groove as a country, that we need to get it back, and that energy is the way to do it.  This country is exploding with innovation from the ground up, but Washington hasn’t been helpful. It’s time for an energy technology (ET) revolution on a planet that is increasingly “hot” (global warming), “flat” (more people entering the middle class and consuming like Americans) and “crowded” (population has exploded since Friedman was born).

Today, we’ve gone from 2 1/2 “Americums” (the equivalent of 300 million Americans consuming like Americans) to 9 “Americums.”  This has fueled the “raging fire” of five global problems: 1) booming energy and natural resource demand; 2) the rise of petrodictatorships in Russia, Iran, etc.; 3) climate change; 4) energy poverty; and 5) tremendous loss of biodiversity, mass extinction.

How to look at this list?  Either we’re “toast” or it’s a list of “incredible opportunities masquerading as insoluable problems.”  The thing is, the five global problems all have the same solution: abundant, cheap, clean, reliable electrons.  The country that builds this next, great global industry will be the most prosperous and secure.  That country HAS TO BE the United States.

Friedman concluded by asserting that we need to redefine “green” from being wimpy, tree hugging, etc. to being geostrategic, patriotic, capitalistic, a source of national power, the pathway to renew America, the “new red, white and blue.”  We need to build a coalition that can lick this problem in the time frame needed.

Carol Browner asked Rendell and Friedman how we can engage Congress on this issue, given that “time is of the essence.”

Rendell responded that when he speaks to people about energy, the biggest applause line is “not having to buy oil from the Arabs.” Rendell says we should “ride that baby.”  The #2 applause line is jobs, but we need to spell out clearly for people where “green jobs” will come from.  The key is presidential leadership, which is why this was an election “we couldn’t afford to lose.”  Whatever we do, “it has to be big” and “bold.”

Friedman responded to Browner’s question by emphasizing the urgency of the situation, pointing out that mother nature is “all about chemistry, biology and physics,” that it doesn’t take a break, and that “it always bats last.” The power of the bully pulpit is key. Unfortunately, Carol Browner’s successors at EPA have been in the witness protection program.

The floor was then opened to audience questions. Here are a few highlights:

*Browner was asked about challenges for the next EPA head.  She pointed out that the EPA is filled with excellent public servants, and that they’ll get the job done once the EPA reasserts its historical focus.

*Rendell said he will NOT be the next Energy Secretary, in part because he’s got a conservative Republican as his lieutenant governor.

*Rendell said we need a National Energy Council because the issue cuts across so many agencies.

*Browner said there is tremendous interest on the Hill in putting a significant green component in the economic stimulus package.

*Rendell said that tomorrow, the National Governors Association will meet with President-elect Obama and “offer our help” on the energy issue.  Governors can be “enormously helpful” in selling this to the American people.

*Freidman said that we need a price signal (e.g., a carbon tax, gasoline at $3 or $4 per gallon). Without it, our chances of getting a green revolution going are “de minimus.”  

*Friedman said he’s had it with all the Earth Day concerts and other gimmicks. Instead of Facebook, we need to be in peoples’ faces in the cloakrooms where the rules are written. That’s more important that 1,000 Earth Day concerts.

*Rendell said that Obama should use his enormous list of supporters to “get in the cloakroom.”

Continue reading " It’s Time for the “Green Recovery” "

This just seems appropriate for a cold, rainy day here in Virginia on the last day of November (and just 1 month to go until this blog shuts down for good).

Continue reading " Cold November Rain "

Continue reading " Barack Obama: Thanks for a “new and brighter day…yet to come” "

Two cool milestones just as we’re about to close up shop!

Continue reading " RK Reaches 3 Million Visits, 7.5 Million Page Views "

Overall, RK has had around 125,000 comments (I say “around” because I’m not sure we’ve captured all of the ones from our “Blogger” and “WordPress” days). Of those, I was responsible for 11% (13,251 comments), or about 9 comments per day.  Other prolific commenters over RK’s history include “PM,” Teddy, DanG, phriendlyjaime, Catzmaw, Josh, Eric, Aznew, JPTERP, teacherken, tx2vadem, Kathy Gerber, KathyinBlacksburg, relawson, and Rebecca.  Combined, these 16 people accounted for 31% of all RK comments.  Also striking, the top 49 commenters accounted for about half of all RK comments, while the remaining 5,696 registered users accounted for the other half of comments. Obviously, the vast majority of people who read RK are “lurkers,” people who read the blog but don’t comment. That’s pretty much standard throughout the blogosphere, by the way, although I’m not entirely sure why given the interactive nature of this medium, combined with the ability to remain anonymous (for the most part).  Any thoughts on that from commenters and “lurkers” alike? :)

Continue reading " More RK Diary Stats: Commenters "

As we prepare to shut down RK at the end of December, we’re going to be looking at some key statistics and other historical information about this blog. Thanks to Eric for digging into the database and providing me with these stats.

Today, we start with diaries and diarists. Overall, RK has had 17,292 diaries published since its inception.  Of these, 6,104 (35%) were written by yours truly (aka, “moi”). :) Rob and Josh wrote 927 and 904, respectively, or about 5% of the total each.  After that, we’re down to 2% of diaries or lower. All told, the top five RK writers (”Green Miles” and Teacherken rank #4 and #5) accounted for half of all RK diaries over the existence of this blog.  The top 10 diarists (Chris Guy, PM, James Martin, Eric and KathyinBlacksburg constitute #6-#10) account for 56% of all RK diaries.  And the top 29 diarists (Dan and Teddy are #11 and #12) make up 69% of the total. The remaining 31% of diaries were contributed by the 5,745 registered users of this blog.  Thanks to everyone who contributed and helped make RK so successful!

Continue reading " RK Diary Stats "

Congratulations to Joe Abbey - who did great work for Chap Petersen and Mark Warner - on being named Creigh Deeds’ campaign manager.  An excellent choice by Creigh, no doubt about it.

Dear Friends:

A very special thank you to everyone who signed up online yesterday to join our army of volunteers! If you haven’t already done so, please click here right now to be a part of our petition drive.

For the first time in more than two decades Virginia Democrats have a contested nomination for Governor. It’s exciting for our Party and I’m proud to join the two other candidates in an open and honest discussion about how we keep Virginia moving forward and build on the historic victories of Barack Obama, Mark Warner, Jim Webb and Tim Kaine.

In June we’ll have a statewide primary that’s open to every registered voter in the Commonwealth. I’ve put together the best team in Virginia politics to identify likely voters, spread my vision for creating opportunity in every corner of the state, and get out the vote on Election Day. As our campaign moves forward, they will be a key part of implementing my statewide strategy to compete in every city and county in Virginia.

Joe Abbey will serve as campaign manager, running the day-to-day activities of my headquarters and field offices. He comes to me from Mark Warner’s campaign for U.S. Senate where, as deputy campaign manager, he led Mark to victory in every congressional district in the state. Joe has managed campaigns in Virginia–for Chap Petersen and Toddy Puller–and across the country.

Dave Petts and his partner Jill Normington are crunching the numbers for me. Jill just finished leading Congressman-elect Glen Nye’s campaign to victory in Hampton Roads and Dave did the work for Governors-elect Jack Markell in Deleware and Jay Nixon in Missouri. They have extensive experience in Virginia, working with Barack Obama, Governor Doug Wilder and the late Senator Emily Couric. Dave has done my polling for almost my entire career in public service.

The man behind the message and the media will be my old friend David Dixon. David and his partner Rich Davis were recently named rising stars in the very competitive world of Democratic media consultants. Dixon/Davis Media Group were part of Barack Obama’s media team where they were strategists in Virginia this year. DDMG has also racked up impressive victories with Governors Martin O’Malley in Maryland and Kathleen Sebelius in Kansas and just recently elected State Senator Kay Hagan to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina.

Kevin Mack, a longtime veteran of Virginia politics and governing, will be serving as a strategist and his firm will handle my literature and mail program. His firm also did Obama’s campaign in Virginia this year, worked with my friend Congressman-elect Tom Perriello and elected Bev Perdue the next Governor of North Carolina. Kevin and his team have been a part of every statewide Democratic victory in recent years.

But, you know what? This campaign isn’t about them and it isn’t about me. It’s about you, your family, and the real challenges we’re going to face together in the coming years.

How do we lead Virginia through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression? How can we make Virginia the center for alternative and renewable energy–along with green jobs and investments–while preparing our workforce for the jobs of the 21st century? How do we build a statewide system of transportation that allows our Commonwealth and our economy to grow?

That will be my focus as your next Governor and I’m proud to have such a talented team working with me during our campaign. With your help, we’ll answers those questions and keep Virginia the best place in the nation to call home.

Best wishes from me and my family to yours for a safe and wonderful holiday.

Very Truly Yours,

Signature

Senator Deeds

Continue reading " Creigh Deeds Hires Joe Abbey as Campaign Manager "

“We cannot have a thriving Wall Street without a thriving Main Street…in this country we rise and fall as one nation, as one people.”

Secretary of Treasury: Timothy Geithner

Director, National Economic Council: Lawrence Summers

Chair, Council of Economic Advisers: Christina Romer

Director, Domestic Policy Council: Melody Barnes

These are excellent, well-qualified choices to deal with an “economic crisis of historic proportions” left to the Obama administration by Bush, Cheney et al.

Continue reading " Barack Obama Unveils His Economic Team "

This is definitely worth watching.  Please see the rest of the interview, including a discussion of “clean coal” (Gore calls it an “illusion”) and global warming (”the evidence is unequivocal”), after the “flip.”

Continue reading " Al Gore Interview: Energy, Environment, “Live Earth India,” Obama and More "

Yesterday, I hinted at changes here with a short post entitled, “All Good Things…”  I also promised “More details to follow.”  Well, here they are. :)

When Eric and I started a little blog called “Raising Kaine” (actually, we initially toyed with other names such as “Citizen Kaine”) on January 1, 2005, neither one of us saw it as something that would become an ongoing thing beyond a year or two, max. Heck, we didn’t even know if anyone would ever read it. Certainly, we never intended to go beyond four years, when - in our wildest dreams in those dark days of December 2004, following John Kerry’s loss to George W. Bush and the prospect of four more years of disaster - we hoped that Democrats would take back the White House and that Virginia would turn “blue.”  

Well, four years later, Democrats HAVE taken back the White House and Virginia HAS turned “blue,” giving its electoral votes to a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1964. Democrats also have taken back the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Oh, and let’s not forget the Virginia House of Representatives delegation or the Virginia State Senate or major gains in the Virginia House of Delegates (we’re so close; let’s finish the job in 2009 and also elect Democrats as governor, Lieutenant Governor -  go Jon Bowerbank, and Attorney General).

We are under no illusions that RK played any more than a very, VERY small role in all of this. Personally, I’m too influenced by Hegel not to give broader, “historical” (economic, political, sociological) forces 99% of the “credit” for the changes we’ve seen. These broader forces include Virginia’s changing demographics, the unpopularity of the Bush/Cheney/DeLay right-wing (corrupt, etc.) Republican Party, the desire of Americans for a change, the sorry state of the economy, the war in Iraq, and the development of technologies (the internet, YouTube, social networking, etc.) that increasingly enabled progressives to work together both online and offline (the “netroots” and “grassroots”) in more effective ways at achieving their goals. All of these have helped discredit conservatism and have boosted the movement for a better, more prosperous, more equitable, more just, more fair, more PROGRESSIVE America.  
Our decision to wrap up RK after four years was not a precipitous one at all. In fact, since Jim Webb’s victory over George Allen, we have seriously considered shutting down this blog on several occasions. For whatever reason, maybe masochism (more charitably, we could say “dedication” and “commitment” - ha), we decided to continue through the 2007 General Assembly cycle and also the 2008 federal year. Overall, it was a lot of fun, although extremely time consuming (I haven’t taken a real vacation in several years now…) and certainly not financially lucrative (so much for there being a “business model” for state-level bloggers - at least not for many years to come, I think). Also, as in any line of work, there are good people (lots of them) in blogging and politics, and there are…well, other people. :)  But for myself, I’d rather focus on all the positive experiences and great people I’ve met the past 4 years.

At some level, it would be nice if this could continue forever, but I’ve got other things I want to accomplish and, frankly, this is making that more, not less, difficult to accomplish. The bottom line is this: today, Eric and I believe we are at the most natural of “natural breaking points” and - in keeping with the theme of the past year - that it’s time for a change.  

Personally, my #1 goal is to get back to what i was doing prior to March 2006; working on international energy, energy-related environmental, and energy security issues for the federal government. Currently, I’m in the middle of a job hunt, and we’ll see how that works out, but I definitely want to devote all my attention to that and stop being distracted by the daily demands of blogging. I also, frankly, don’t want to get sucked into the 2009 Virginia election season, because if I do get sucked in, something tells me I’ll never get sucked back out again. :) And, also frankly, I simply don’t want to start another 4-year political cycle (the expression, “been there, done that” springs to mind), especially now that I am eager to get back in the federal government, soon to be under new - and infinitely better - management!

In short, Eric and I - along with the RK “executive board” - have decided to call it a day, close up shop, or whatever cliche you prefer. :)  As I mentioned earlier, we have talked about this off and on for a while, finally making a definite decision this past week, after the extent of Democratic and progressive victories on November 4 had a chance to sink in.  Therefore, as of December 31, 2008, we will shut down RK, drink a few celebratory beers, and move on with our careers, lives, forms of political involvement, etc. With fond memories, for the most part.

Of course, we all realize that RK has built a strong following over the past 4 years (I just checked the Sitemeter statistics, and we’re within 11,000 visits of 3 million visits - wow!). For that reason, it doesn’t feel quite right to allow all things to simply slip into the proverbial good night (although that is ultimately the way with life, isn’t it?). Fortunately, given the talent of many within this group, it is a near certainty that at least some of the “front pagers” - and possibly some non-”front-pagers” as well - will start up their own Democratic and/or Progressive community blogs here in Virginia. Already, I hear strong rumors that Josh Chernila is going to do just that (I’ll let him address that if and when he’d like to do so…).

Since there seems to be some curiosity on this score, let me just clarify that I left the federal government (a GS-15 job as team leader on international energy issues for the US Energy Information Administration) in March 2006 to devote myself 100% to helping elect Jim Webb and other Democrats on a volunteer basis. Essentially, I took the proverbial leap and hoped that a “net” would appear. Fortunately, my wife and I were in the financial position for me to do that, and she was extremely supportive (as she’s always been). Without my wife, there’s no way that any of this would have happened.  But no, I never had any particular desire to become a political consultant (the only ones I’ve ever consulted for are people I believed in - Jim Webb, Judy Feder, Jon Bowerbank, Tim Johnson), I just was a citizen who wanted to make a difference, who was extremely concerned about the future of my country and my planet, and who decided to “think globally, act locally” by starting this Virginia politics blog and getting involved more broadly in the state I’ve called home for over 20 years.

Also, just to clarify (as I’ve done previously, including in my book Netroots Rising), after I left my federal job in March 2006, I did not have a job lined up (or any particular expectation of one). In fact, my first paid political job - with the Webb for Senate campaign - did not start until July 2006, and I didn’t know that would happen when I left EIA in March 2006. The reason I joined the Webb campaign (as netroots coordinator) - as did Josh at the same time as volunteer coordinator - was because I believed (and I think I speak for Josh as well) that we could accomplish more from inside the campaign then from outside.  In the end, Josh coordinated Webb’s 10,000-strong “ragtag army” of volunteers, and I worked on the netroots front with messaging, fundraising, and keeping that “ragtag army” informed and engaged. It was a great experience, and definitely the sweetest moment of my involvement in politics, when the networks declared around midnight that Jim Webb had taken a slim lead over George Allen and would likely be Virginia’s next U.S. Senator (to watch that moment, click here and watch my good friend Eric Byler’s video).

Needless to say, I never did any of this for the money. To the contrary, not that it really matters (one of my favorite sayings regarding money is that “you can’t take it with you”) I’ve made a lot (70% or so?) less money by going this route than by taking the “safe” route and simply staying in the federal government. But that financial “hit” has been more than compensated by the fun I’ve had, by the fascinating work I’ve had the opportunity to do, by the people I’ve met, and by the friends I’ve made the past few years. Also, at the time I left EIA, I felt like I needed a change after 17 years there (with one 8-month break in 1997 to backpack around the world with my wife). A significant factor in my thinking at the time was my frustration at working under the Bush Administration and Republican Congress, which I felt was interfering with my ability to do the kind of work I had been hired to do, at least at the level I wanted.

Now, with the government about to be taken over by new and FAR better management (yes!!!), my #1 objective is to get back there to work on international energy, energy-related environmental, and energy security issues. I’m even more motivated by the fact that my areas of expertise - energy, environment, Middle East, international economics - now happen to be at the top of the agenda for our nation to deal with.

In the end, despite some negative aspects (let’s just say, “losing sucks”), getting involved with blogging and politics has been a great experience. I feel like we - the citizen activists also know as the “grassroots” or the “netroots” - have accomplished a lot together the past few years. Thanks to everyone - particularly my fellow “front pagers” and RK “executive board” members - for all their amazing efforts, particularly on the Webb for Senate campaign but of course this year as well (not just Obama either, but also people like Tom Perriello, a class act if I’ve ever met one). In particular, I want to recognize two amazing people.

First, Josh Chernila did incredible work in 2005 to help elect Tim Kaine, then followed that up by co-founding (with Lee Diamond and myself) the Draft James Webb movement. Josh also served as Jim Webb’s volunteer coordinator, doing an amazing job there as well. Without Josh’s efforts, it’s quite possible that George Allen would have been re-elected, run for President, and…well, let’s not think about that! :)

Second, my good friend and RK co-founder Eric Grim (definitely an unsung hero in all of this) has created and maintained an attractive, functional, and admired site from a technical point of view. Eric has also written excellent diaries on the RK “front page,” taken many wonderful photographs and videos, and been a full partner in pretty much everything we’ve done here since 2005. Thanks to Eric for everything!  

I could go on and on, but you get the idea… :)

With that, I wish everyone the best of luck in 2009 and beyond in building a better, more inclusive, more prosperous. more progressive Virginia. I will certainly continue to follow the politics of this great Commonwealth after December 31, 2008. I may even write about Virginia occasionally if the spirit moves me (and if appropriate given whatever my employment situation turns out to be). Speaking of which, if anyone has any job leads, please contact me at lowell@raisingkaine.com.  Thanks again, best wishes to all, “with malice towards none.”

Continue reading " …Must Come to An End "

A hint about the future of this blog. More details to follow…

Continue reading " All Good Things… "

There were many great speeches, many good ones, and yes, some seriously bad ones during the 2007-2008 presidential campaign cycle.  Focusing on the positive, here are three of my favorites. How about you?

I saw this speech in person at the DNC winter meetings, and it gave me chills.  Still does, in fact. This was John Edwards at his best, which makes his personal, moral failings all the more painful to contemplate.

Ironically, one of Hillary Clinton’s best speeches - possibly her best - was her concession speech. In the span of a few minutes, all my anger at her melted away and I went back to admiring this strong, smart, passionate, dedicated woman as the great American that she is.

There are so many great Barack Obama speeches, but I particularly like this one, delivered to the congregation of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the day before the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Wow.

Continue reading " Best Speeches of the 2008 Presidential Cycle "

As many of you know, I’ve had my “issues” with Gerry Connolly and one or two of his people. However, today I’ve got to give ol’ Gerry mad props. Why? Check this out.

Rep.-elect Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who whipped the new members for Waxman, said 18 of the 26 members of his freshman class had committed to the Californian before the vote. “It would be fair to conclude a large majority of the freshman class was responsive to Waxman,” Connolly said afterward.

That’s right, Gerry Connolly not only voted for environmental hero Henry Waxman over fossil fool John Dingell, he actually “whipped” newly elected Democrats for Waxman. That certainly deserves praise, given how important energy/enviro issues are, and given how bad Dingell has been over the years on those issues. As Connolly himself said earlier today:

Whether it’s fair or not, there was a perception that Mr. Dingell was obstructing getting things done in two critical areas, the environment and energy. That and the fact that he has protected the automotive industry…. The problem is, it’s now melting down, and I think there’s a reassessment going on about whether those particular policies were the right ones.

I couldn’t have said it any better myself.  Thank you, Gerry Connolly!

h/t to Ben Tribbett for alerting me to this

Continue reading " Thank You, Gerry Connolly! "

Continue reading " Byron Dorgan: Joe Lieberman’s Actions Were Not Acceptable "

Despite losing badly in 2006 and 2008, many Republicans continue to console themselves that America remains a “center-right nation,” whatever that means. The only problem, as Tod Lindberg of the conservative Hoover Institute points out in today’s Washington Post (“The Center-Right Nation Exits Stage Left”)? According to Lindberg, the “center-right nation” myth simply “isn’t true.”

In the same paper, George Will writes, “‘Socialism’? It’s Already Here.”  According to Will, Republicans have been busy “partially nationalizing the banking system, putting Detroit on the dole and looking around to see if some bit of what is smilingly called ‘the private sector’ has been inadvertently left off the ever-expanding list of entities eligible for a bailout from the $1 trillion or so that is to be “spread around.”

Even President Bush throws in the towel, commenting that he’s a “free market person…until you’re told that if you don’t take decisive measures then it’s conceivable that our country could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression.”

Meanwhile, whether or not people call themselves “conservative,” here are their views on actual issues. You can judge for yourself whether or not these are “center right” or “center left” positions, but to me it’s pretty obvious (I’ve put the “center-right” positions in red).

Abortion

Pro-choice: 53%

Pro-life: 44%

Death Penalty vs. Life in Prison Without Parole (for murder)

Death penalty: 47%

Life in prison without parole: 44%

Global Warming

Extremely, very or somewhat important issue: 78%

Not too important: 13%

U.S. should take action even if other countries do less than we do: 68% yes, 13% “not take action at all”

Guns

“Would you like to see gun laws in this country made more strict, less strict, or remain as they are?”: 49% “more strict,” 11% “less strict,” 38% “remain as are”

Gun registration: 79% support, 20% oppose

Waiting period for gun purchases: 86% support, 14% oppose

Health care

Should government guarantee health insurance for all? 64% yes, 27% no

Give health insurance to all uninsured children?  84% favor, 11% oppose

U.S. health care system needs fundamental changes (54%); to be “completely rebuilt” (36%)

Immigration

“Should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased?” 39% “present level,” 18% “increased,” 39% “decreased”

“On the whole, do you think immigration is a good thing or a bad thing for this country today?” 64% “good thing,” 30% “bad thing”

Gay Marriage, Civil Unions

“Should gay and lesbian couples be allowed to marry, giving them full legal rights of married couples, or not?” 47% “should,” 47% “should not”

“Do you think same-sex couples should be allowed legally to marry, should be allowed legally to form civil unions but not marry, or should not be allowed to obtain legal recognition of their relationships?”  32% “legally marry,” 33% “form civil unions,” 29% “no legal recognition”

“Do you think homosexuals who DO publicly disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military or not?” 75% “Should be allowed,” 22% “should not be”

Social Security

Invest in stock market or bonds? 62% oppose, 36% favor

School vouchers for private or religious schools

55% oppose, 40% support

Trade

“Does NAFTA need to be renegotiated?” 56% “yes,” 16% “no”

Free trade good for economy? 36% “no,” 34% “yes,”

Free trade takes jobs away from Americans? 54% “yes,” 23% “no”

In sum, America is pro-choice on abortion, is skeptical of “free trade,” believes gay unions should have legal recognition and that gays should be able to serve openly in the military, believes in universal health care, favors waiting periods and registration for gun purchases, opposes investing Social Security in the stock market, believes we need to take action on global warming, and opposes vouchers for private or religious schools.  Does that sound “center-right” to you?

UPDATE: I see that our friend Jeff Frederick is at it again, this time claiming that “Conservative Principles Still Prevail in Virginia.”  Of course, Frederick provides no evidence that this is the case, simply asserts it and then expects people to take it on faith. Well, here in the reality-based universe most of us live in, that doesn’t cut it. Where’s your evidence, Mr. Frederick, that in Virginia - which voted for Barack Obama and Mark Warner and which now has given Democrats a 6-5 edge in the House delegation (compared to 8-3 in favor of Republicans prior to November 4) - “conservative principles still prevail?” [cue sound of crickets chirping...chirp, chirp, chirp]

Continue reading " “The Center-Right Nation Exits Stage Left” "

var config = new Array();
config["videoId"] = 2075172001; //the default video loaded into the player
config["videoRef"] = null; //the default video loaded into the player by ref id specified in console config["lineupId"] = null; //the default lineup loaded into the player
config["playerTag"] = null; //player tag used for identifying this page in brightcove reporting
config["autoStart"] = false; //tells the player to start playing video on load config["preloadBackColor"] = “#FFFFFF”; //background color while loading the player config["wmode"] = “transparent”; //Share popup windows should overlay player

config["width"] = 486;
config["height"] = 412;

/* do not edit these config items */
config["playerId"] = 1443726225;

         
createExperience(config, 8);

Courtesy of Huffington Post, this event took place Friday night and benefited the Spina Bifida Association.

Continue reading " Rahm Emanuel and Stephen Colbert Roast Each Other "

…but only draws more attention to why he should be defeated in 2009.

Dave Albo keeps editing his Wikipedia entry in total violation of Wikipedia’s standards, leading to ongoing edit wars between him (who keeps inserting advocacy language using text reproduced verbatim from his website) and neutral editors (who are trying to take out the self-promotion). The result is the worst Wikipedia entry for any member of the General Assembly. I’ve proposed wiping it out and starting again, this time adhering to a neutral point of view.

Go Greg Werkheiser!

Continue reading " Dave Albo Tries to Rewrite History… "

Continue reading " Barack Obama Releases First of Weekly YouTube Addresses "