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you keep saying hilldog, and it reminds me of this local morning radio show here - where one guy is "hillman" and someone else on the show calls him hilldog all the time. i have the displeasure of listening to them when O&A are on commercial.
Anyway - troo, snoochie - i owe you guys beers that's hard to do now, so i sent some karma. anyway, i had no idea i even registered with snoochie! plus, i dont think snooch is angry in a "smash fist into wall" kind of way, but he sounds angrier than most people on inforoo. not a hard task, to be sure.
hell, half the time i figure people arent even reading my posts in the first place so it's nice to even be noticed
and i saw an interview with ron paul tonight... hmm.... i have to say, not what i was expecting. i might have to re-evaluate my thinking on things, as i seem to be more of a globalist than i thought. in fact, much, much more than i thought.
chris dodd is where it's at, but he's not running for prez, only gonna try to make a VP bid from what i was told by a politico friend in washington.
he is fighting hard for our privacy rights
I LOVE Dodd. He, along with Kennedy and the others listed below, threatened a real filibuster to stop the Dems from giving Bush his retroactive immunity to FISA violators. The court cases against these companies is the only means we have of ever knowing what Bush has really been up to with warrantless wiretapping.
Thanks guys. There really are some people who still believe in the Constitution.
Feel free to call and thank these guys
Chris Dodd: (202) 224-2823 Barbara Boxer: (202) 224-3553 Sherrod Brown: (202) 224-2315 Russ Feingold: (202) 224-5323 Ted Kennedy: (202) 224-4543 Bill Nelson: (202) 224-5274 Ron Wyden: (202) 224-5244
BTW, ever notice how Feingold is always on the right side of everything.
Last Edit: Dec 18, 2007 20:06:32 GMT -5 by troo - Back to Top
First off, karma to bamadancer for being another poli sci major
Second, I want to comment on some other remarks I've seen.
"There isn't a candidate out there who will be able to avoid the machine once they make it to the White House." - sassbox Amen to that. I took American Presidency this semester. At the end of the final discussion section, the TA drew one of those 01.20.2009 bumper stickers he says he's seen around his neighborhood on the board. He threw out the question of how much change that date can possibly entail, and the class collectively seemed to say "not a whole lot." Nobody was willing to step up and propose an incoming presidency would initiate massive change.
"talk about making the fundamuslims pissed off... a WOMAN leading their enemies... wow." - areyoukind en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto Say what?
"Im voting for Barak Obama . . . . in 2016 when he should have run!!!" -Mikearoo I agree. I like Obama, and think he'd be good someday. At this point, I simply feel he doesn't have requisite experience for the job he seeks. I take my politics plenty serious, but there's no way in hell I could vote for a Bears fan.
"I can't pick who I vote for because of their dietary choices though, unless theyre like... a cannibal" - wooz I will have to admit, being in the back of a Kucinich 2004 rally near a guy in a carrot costume being pushy about veganism is extremely annoying. I didn't hold his dietary choices against him; I voted for him in the last primary. I met Dennis and shook his hand. I've had corn served out of things taller than that man. An added bonus of that rally was Tom Morello's presence.
"constitutionally I believe [Bill Clinton] CAN run again, I don't think he would." - wooz Wrong. 22nd Amendment. "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." Also, Clinton has stated that he would have run for a third term in 2000, were it constitutional.
troo - IOU karma for spreading Feingold's contact info. That man is one of my heroes. The first vote I ever cast was for him in 98. He would be my preferred candidate in this race, if only he had wanted it... I interviewed for a spring semester internship with his Senate office last week. It seemed to go well. I got walked around the office and introduced to everyone afterwards, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I'm not sure, since it was the first résumé and/or interviewing I've done. I won't know for sure until January.
Phew. I wasn't expecting as big a thread as this wound up. I've been caught up in my penultimate final of the semester the last 2-3 days. Now that out of the way, I can formulate a rant for my own presidential preferences...
Post by spookymonster on Dec 19, 2007 15:00:06 GMT -5
kdogg said:
"talk about making the fundamuslims pissed off... a WOMAN leading their enemies... wow." - areyoukind en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto Say what?
Actually, 4 of the 5 most populous Muslim-majority countries have had women as leaders (Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey). However, with the exception of Turkey's Tansu Çiller, all were daughters or widows of previous male leaders, which may have had something to do with it (i.e., showing loyalty to the family).
I support Bill Richardson. After eight years of gross incompetence, we need some with extreme competence to make up for lost time. I think Richardson has the best résumé out of any candidate overall.
Governor of New Mexico Elected 2002. Re-elected in 2006 with 70% of the vote - including 40% of the GOP vote. Passed 5 balanced budgets and still passed two tax cuts. Raised teacher salaries and accountability (but favors repeal of No Child Left Behind). Provided health insurance for every child under age 5. Signed medical corn into law. Attracted the space travel industry and other tech firms to the state. New Mexico has climbed up rankings in health care, education and economic growth. New Mexico is the only state in the union which voluntarily observes the Kyoto Protocol, and is a leader in use of renewable energies. Sadly, he signed a bill prohibiting cockfighting, so you'll have to go to Louisiana for that. He has the Guinness Book world record for most hands shaken, from an appearance at the state fair during his gubernatorial run. He shook over thirteen thousand hands in eight hours, beating previous record-holder Teddy Roosevelt by about five thousand.
Diplomacy U.S. Ambassador to UN, Clinton administration Negotiated hostage releases from North Korea and African rebel leaders. Negotiated POW releases with Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro directly. Somehow persuaded Jesse Helms to support paying our UN dues. On the side, aided negotiations to free his kidnapped sister in Mexico. When he announced his candidacy, he asked a reporter is they preferred the question answered in English or Spanish - and answered in French. As a francolangue, that scored big points with me and was what got my attention in the first place.
Energy Secretary during Clinton administration Experience with controling gas prices. Got reparations for nuclear workers irraditated on the job. The Wen Ho Lee/Los Alamos nuclear espionage scandal happened on his watch. This the biggest blemish on his record. This happened just months into his tenure, and from what I know about bureaucracy change does not come quickly.
Congressman for 7 terms Was at one point the Congressman with the most committees to his name. Held more town meetings than Al Gore. Served on Veterans Affairs, Interior and Energy committees. Chair of Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He alone introduced 7% of the legislation in the 1993-94 Congress, out of 435 members. Served as a party whip. Accomodated both pro and con factions of the Democrats during the NAFTA debate - Newt Gingrich ran the GOP effort. Another thing I think is really awesome about his time in Congress: He tried to get the Roswell records released. He represented the area and got denied access to them. When I daydream about what I'd do as President, one of the first things on my list is to turn to my Secret Service guys and say "Let's go check out Area 51."
Between the end of the Clinton administration and election as governor, he taught at Harvard's Kennedy School of Law and served as a constultant.
He's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. Spare me the Gore talk - it's not gonna happen. (Not with the Democrats, at least. Though I think it would be awesome if Gore made a late entry as a Green Party candidate.) Speaking of Gore: Bill Richardson was rumored to be on his VP shortlist in 2000. John Kerry discussed the possibility of it with him in 2004, but he preferred to remain governor at the time. His name has been thrown around as a potential VP nominee, should Hillary win the nomination. *cringe*
He's got experience in the executive branch, which is where the presidency lies. He's proposed/negotiated budgets, passed constitutional amendments, and dealt with a legislature before. The only other Democrat that can claim anything close is Kucinich, and that was mayor of Cleveland. I've always told myself my top two ideal conditions for a candidate were executive experience and diplomatic skills. He's been in a legislature and knows the process. He knows how to mobilize support and get legislation passed. He's got experience dealing with Washington, but has not been part of the problem there the past seven years. He has foreign policy experience. After the W debacle, we need someone with diplomatic credentials to restore our standing in the world. He's got experience with issues of growing importance. He's dealt with immigration as governor of a border state. He's improved education, health care and energy as governor. He's dealt with energy issues at the federal level, and knows his way around bureaucracy. He's fiscally responsible, when the current administration turned the highest surplus ever into the highest deficit ever.
I think he is the candidate with the most breadth and depth of experience of them all, and I can get behind his New Progressivist approach.
His sign is in my window. His sticker is on my coat. I read his book. I'm on his e-mail and text update lists (they've actually been sporadic - I got the first one this morning, completely forgetting having signed up for it weeks ago.) I've contributed to his campaign. (I also donated $15 to Obama, but that was a condition of fundraiser speech tix - three people passed out! wtf?) I wrote a ten-page paper this semester for my American Presidency class, predicting how he would act as president. I volunteered for him for a day in Iowa two weekends ago, knocking on doors, handing out literature and making phone calls on his behalf. Over my winter break, I'll be returning to Iowa and going to New Hampshire leading up to their caucuses and primaries.
Why? Not only because I think he's the best candidate, but because I think he can win this. He has been in a tier of his own for most of the campaign. He's done better than the bottom of the pack, hovering around the low double digits, but not quite as well as the frontrunners. He's been polling better than Kerry was at similar points in the 2004 campaign. I suspect he would have Bill Clinton's endorsement, were it not for a certain other candidate. There's still a lot of undecided voters out there, and a good number of Dems polled who've indicated their preference might change. I think there's a good chance of a Richardson surprise coming out of Iowa and/or New Hampshire.
I also enjoyed his campaign ad. I found it refreshing from campaign ads as usual, and I always dig self-deprecating humor. You can view it here:
I think I've adequately explained my reasons for supporting Bill Richardson, but I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone might have as best I can.
"talk about making the fundamuslims pissed off... a WOMAN leading their enemies... wow." - areyoukind en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto Say what?
Actually, 4 of the 5 most populous Muslim-majority countries have had women as leaders (Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey). However, with the exception of Turkey's Tansu Çiller, all were daughters or widows of previous male leaders, which may have had something to do with it (i.e., showing loyalty to the family).
Yeah, I knew she wasn't the only one but that was the only name I could think of off the top of my head. I'm running on four hours of sleep after a final this morning. Widow, daughter, or otherwise - democratically elected in an open election is democratically elected in an open election.
That's what Iowa, New Hampshire and the other early voting states are for. Without them, they might as well just offer the nomination to the highest bidder.
My American Presidency prof mentioned a study that came out a couple weeks ago, concluding that one Iowa caucus-goer was worth twenty voters in any of the states Super Tuesday and beyond.
On Richardson and momentum, from what I can tell you about my Iowa experience:
Iowa caucuses are often surprising because of the whole realignment phase between rounds. This brings caucusgoers' second choices into play if their first ones aren't viable. Caucus participants have an opportunity to persuade supporters of non-viable candidates to ally with a different candidate. I've seen some of the numbers as of about two weeks ago, and the he's running about even with Edwards. Richardson is running about two points behind Edwards, and has tailed him by about $2mil in each of the last fundraising quarters. He's actually got a lot of second choices, which can be important in final caucus results. For example, in 2004 Kucinich threw his support behind Edwards in Iowa precincts he wasn't viable in, and Edwards placed second to Kerry.
There's still a significant amount of undecideds still in play. A lot of people delay making these kinds of decisions. 8-10% of voters make their decision the week up to an election; if undecideds haven't chosen a frontrunner by this point, they'll be more likely to discover another candidate as the caucus nears.
A candidate like Richardson doesn't need to completely win Iowa. All a lesser-known candidate has to do is make the top three to get that momentum. In 1992, Bill Clinton was 3rd in Iowa and 2nd in New Hampshire. You just need to be in the top three finishers in one or both of these states to have a fighting chance. Look at how Clinton campaigned as "The Comeback Kid" for an example.
That's what I'm talking about when I say "Richardson surprise." I think he can do it.
Post by spookymonster on Dec 19, 2007 17:09:42 GMT -5
kdogg said:
The Wen Ho Lee/Los Alamos nuclear espionage scandal happened on his watch. This the biggest blemish on his record. This happened just months into his tenure, and from what I know about bureaucracy change does not come quickly.
Oh, I wouldn't worry much about that... if there's anything that Dubba taught us, it's that anything that happens in your first 6 years on the job is the last guy's fault...
Oh, I wouldn't worry much about that... if there's anything that Dubba taught us, it's that anything that happens in your first 6 years on the job is the last guy's fault...
Post by spookymonster on Dec 19, 2007 17:29:08 GMT -5
Pretty solid summary, kdogg. Extremely persuasive. I'm ashamed to admit I'd never even given Richardson a second look, based solely on the lack of media attention ....and the fact that the only Dem I wouldn't vote for at this point is Hillary.
Oh, and the "blame the last guy" thing goes beyond six years.
Huckabee got into that whole scandal where he, as Arkansas gov, called for a rapist's parole and the guy ended up murdering someone else. Apparently it's Clinton's fault because he appointed the parole board Huckabee persuaded to release the guy.