pageviews
Still riding the wave of publicity he received after reporting a surprising $5 million dollar haul in the 3rd quarter, Ron Paul is now the beneficiary of a daylong fundraising blitz which the NYT reports netted $4.07 million.
This figure is astonishing for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that Ron Paul had almost nothing to do with this particular drive. The idea of staging a fundraising drive on Guy Fawkes Day (which commemorates the day when its namesake tried to blow up Parliament) actually arose independently from ThisNovember5th.com, and the campaign spread virally.
Thanks to this grassroots triumph, Paul has now raised $7.2 million in just 5 weeks, putting the campaign’s $12 million goal within reach. It also raises the possibility that he could conceivably lead the entire Republican field for the 4th quarter, assuming Romney doesn’t inflate his numbers with another $6 million of his own money (he will). Given the importance the media places on fundraising, how long could the GOP fundraising leader remain in 6th place in the polls?
Paul’s grassroots power may actually spell trouble for the GOP, however. He has not promised to endorse the eventual GOP nominee, and his fundraising power and internet support may encourage him to continue his campaign as a third party candidate, particularly if Giuliani is nominated. Is it worthwhile to note that Paul already made one 3rd party run for the White House as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988.
This historic haul also suggests that the race for the Republican nomination is still wide-open, with six viable candidates if one counts Paul, as the national media will increasingly do. This dynamism is driven both by discontent within the Republican ranks and unresolved conflict between the merits of ideological purity and electability. While in other election years pro-choice or anti-war views would be a deal breaker for any potential GOP nominee, the sense that a tradition conservative can’t win following the Bush fiasco has created an opening for a Giuliani or Ron Paul.
While I still maintain that Ron Paul is too far outside the mainstream to ultimate have a significant electoral impact, his grassroots support and fundraising power are shaking up the campaign and ensuring that the Republican race will continue to be more exciting and unpredictable than its Democratic counterpart.
Even though the filing deadline for the New Hampshire presidential primary was last Friday, candidates still do not know when the actual primary will take place.
New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner said that he will wait to set a primary date until Michigan chooses the date of their primary. Michigan has until November 14 to set their date. State law in New Hampshire dictates that the state primary must occur at least seven days before any other “similar contest”, generally interpreted to mean any other primary. Michigan is expected to choose January 15 as their primary date, which would allow New Hampshire to set its primary for January 8.
However, Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan has threatened to try and set his state’s primary date even earlier, which could force New Hampshire’s primary into December 2007. Some experts believe that New Hampshire would look ridiculous holding a 2008 presidential primary in 2007, which could significantly damage the state’s political standing in the future. This is exactly what Levin wants, as he believes New Hampshire has a disproportionate influence on the political process.
On the other hand, some political figures in New Hampshire are embracing the idea of a December 2007 primary. Jim Splaine, a Democratic state legislator in New Hampshire, is urging Gardner to set the state’s primary for December 11. We could be voting for president sooner than we think…
After last year’s contentious midterm elections and with the presidential race for 2008 really beginning to ramp up, it seems as if the political atmosphere of this country has grown increasingly partisan. The nature of American politics has become so polarized that we often do not vote for candidates anymore, we vote for party. In fact, I am reminded of something my Catholic high school history teacher told our class one day when speaking about his role as a Republican: “If the presidential election came down to Jesus Christ, Democrat, against Genghis Kahn, Republican, I would contemplate for a moment, and then vote foe Genghis Khan. Though clearly hyperbolic, as I know the man to be religious, this statement reveals something about our country that I will not categorize as necessarily good or bad, but is an undeniable reality. Therefore, as Democrats, we have been trained to despise Republicans as the enemy, to characterize them as evil, and work as hard as we can to keep them from attaining positions of power. However, if we can place down our blinders for a moment, there are instances, though few and often far between, where we can see that Republicans, as well as Democrats, labor for the cause of progressivism in their own right.
In early 2005, my parents, and many members of my small community in Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania, organized an effort, known as The Shawnee Preservation Society, to slow the reckless and environmentally unfriendly over-development of our area and try to create pressure for local politicians to abide by the laws that were created to ensure responsible development. Very quickly, my father, Vincent Della Fera and another Smithfield resident, Brian Barrett ran for the two supervisor positions open in Smithfield. (Within Pennsylvania townships, there are three supervisors who assume both executive and legislative responsibilities within the local government. During this particular year, due to one seat being up for election at its scheduled time and another being put up for special election due the resignation of the previous supervisor, two of the three seats were up for election.)
Mr. Barrett and my father, both Republicans, went on to run on a campaign that emphasized responsible development and environmental conservation. They hoped to remove from power the corrupt businessmen who were not only cutting corners on development laws and building oftentimes sub-standard housing, but also themselves in the elected positions to decide whether or not their own developments were lawful. After a difficult campaign, which included the local Republican leadership rescinding my father’s position as candidate and nominating a pro-development candidate of their own, Mr. Barrett and my father, now as a third party candidate and registered independent, both won their elections and took their places on the Smithfield Board of Supervisors. And, during their time as supervisors, they have enacted laws which protects local wetlands and waterways, strictly enforced already-standing laws regarding property development, strove to enact new laws which will create even more responsible development in the future.
Now, almost exactly two years later, the third seat on the board is up for re-election and the local conservationists and progressives are supporting a Democratic candidate, Christine Griffin, for the third seat. And, although winning the seat may prove more difficult for her than Mr. Barrett and my father, if elected the Smithfield board of supervisors will consist of three first-term supervisors, one Republican, one Democrat, and one Independent, all working towards goals which progressives can value. Smithfield Township, I hope, can then serve as an example that Republicans, Democrats, and others can work together on some if not many issues, in the goal of allowing government and politics to be a place where people can get past their differences and strive to make a notable difference in our society.
It's official. Stephen Colbert will not be running for president.
Yesterday on the Colbert Report, Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler for the state of South Carolina announced that the election commission had voted 13-3 to prevent Colbert's name from appearing on the ballot. Apparently, they thought Colbert was making a mockery of the South Carolina Democratic Primary.
Personally, I think Stephen Colbert was doing what every politically-aware Comedian should do--getting people excited and interested in our upcoming elections. While Stephen Colbert's presidency was short-lived, it wasn't altogether a failure. Maybe, more than another flag pin, our country needs a good laugh.
Type rest of the post here and it will be hidden with a "read more..." link
For more information about the end of Colbert's presidential campaign... http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=3812312
The confirmation battle over U.S. Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey reached a new level of intensity yesterday, when President Bush delivered a speech yesterday accusing the Senate Judiciary Committee of "holding up his nomination." The point of contention, of course, is the use of waterboarding, a form of torture meant to create the illusion of drowning, and Mukasey's continued refusal to clearly comment on the (il)legality of the practice.
This controversy, however important, should not overshadow some of the larger issues at play. If the American people are looking for an Attorney General who will stand up for civil liberties, they won't find one in Mr. Mukasey, whose past record suggests that he is of the same ideological brand as the Bush administration.
In the month following the September 11 attacks, Osama Awadallah, then a college student, was detained as a possible witness in the continuing investigation regarding those attacks. The judge to whom he was brought was none other than Mukasey, who, in addition to dismissing Awadallah's claim that he had beaten while detained, ruled that he should be held indefinitely, never mind he had not been charged with any crime.
During his confirmation hearing, Mukasey has made clear his belief in the power of the executive branch to act outside of legislative bounds. When the committee asked him if the president is allowed to violate a law passed by Congress, his reply was, "That would have to depend on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country."
Can Mukasey really be charged with overseeing law enforcement in this country when he himself approves of such expansive presidential power? Whether or not the Senate Judiciary Committee advances his nomination to a full Senate vote, one thing is obvious: the investigation into his record and opinions is not a light matter. It should be conducted in a thorough and critical manner, regardless of the White House's contrary desires.
Powershift 2007, a four-day national youth conference, will convene at University of Maryland tomorrow. The conference is sponsored by the Energy Action Coalition and is expected to attract 6,000 students from all over the country (including many Georgetown students). Powershift aims to increase energy and environmental awareness among students, and encourage political participation as well. Its goals are to “to make the U.S. Presidential candidates and Congress take global warming seriously, to empower a truly diverse network of young leaders, and to achieve broad geographic diversity”.
Powershift 2007 is the largest national youth summit of its kind, and will feature keynote speakers such Nancy Pelosi and Carol Browner of the Environmental Protection Agency. After two days of workshops and panels, the conference will travel to D.C. to lobby Congress and to rally on the steps of Capitol Hill.
“Power Shift will take the climate movement to new levels. At this conference, leaders of our generation will share ideas, learn new skills, make new connections, establish a national voice for our generation, and send a united message to our national leaders: we are moving beyond the same old special interests, empty promises, and inadequate results to embrace a new paradigm that leverages our strengths and achieves what is possible for our future. Something incredible is happening.”
The Iraqi army in training:
Oh Dear.
See John Cole
I like the guy second from the right.
In honor of this most glorious of holidays, here's a gallery that reminds us that even politicians love putting on costumes:
November 4, 2008. If you’re anything like me, chances are you’re waiting for this day with bated breath. But what about November 6, 2007—an election that is taking place not next year but next week? Back in my hometown, the local Democrats have spent close to a million dollars to regain control of the school board and reinforce their majority in the township board of commissioners. But this is an off-off year election, and voter turn out is predicted to be 20% at best.
When asked, I say I’m from Philadelphia. That’s because few outside of the area know anything at all about Lower Merion, the township adjacent to a city nearly 50 times its size. Politically, that puts me in Pennsylvania’s 6th U.S. congressional district, the 17th state senatorial district, and the 149th state representative district. These districts refer to our representation on a national and state level. Next week’s election, however, is an exercise in local politics. LM’s school board may be relatively insignificant when compared to the office of the President of the United States, but its outcome will have a huge effect on one of the ‘08 race’s hottest issues: education. The local public schools are outdated, inaccessible, and in various stages of disrepair. They are also far too small. Our choices? Raise property taxes to rebuild schools, or “make do” with the resources we already have. No surprises here: a democratic majority on the school board would vote to build two state-of-the-art educational facilities for the township. This would cater to the growing demands of students’ families, such as class size, handicapped accessibility, and technology. Should we fail to grab the majority of seats on the board, Lower Merion will favor the demands of large and valuable property owners, leaving the school system to quite literally gather dust until the next off-off year, meanwhile cramming more and more students into undersized classrooms.
What’s going on locally in Lower Merion has no real implications for anyone living outside of the township. So why is this important? For one thing, no Democratic presidential candidate will get those two new schools built, no matter how many educational reforms he or she signs into law. Local politics are so often obscured by national elections, whose issues seem infinitely more impending and important than the concerns of the sixty thousand residents of my town. But local elections have the biggest impact on the communities they represent, and some of the best national changes start at home.
Sure, I’m hanging on to every word of every presidential hopeful. I’ve got November 8th, 2008 circled in red on my calendar. But in the meantime, I’m sending in my absentee ballot, so that the United States has two fewer schools to worry about.
A really cool article forecasting a new progressive era. Simon Rosenberg and Peter Leyden argue that the disaster that is the Bush Presidency combined with changing demographics could result in a huge Democratic majority and shift in the political discourse toward progressive values and issues. Their major source is a poll that came out about six months back which focused on our generation. The numbers are convincing but the whole "permanent Democratic majority" thing is exactly what conservatives were saying after 2004. Karl Rove's goal was a similar permanent Republican majority. There was a book by the always unbearable Hugh Hewitt and this Weekly Standard article.
Of course its not that this sort of prognostication have never been accurate. And I'll take the optimism.
