The Plight of John Mccain

Senator John Mccain is considered a maverick by most people within the Republican Party.However,the term maverick can very tricky for anyone within the Republican Party.The Republican Party has evolved or devolved into the party of extremes.The Party of Lincoln,Roosevelt,and Reagan has adopted a very tough stance on issues ranging from rights of the unborn,immigration,and national security.John Mccain is a Republican but he often splits from his party on many issues that could hurt his chances of maintaing the base of his own party.

In presidential politics,candidates start off catering to the base of their respective parties. However,Senator Mccain is taking a very unique approach towards trying to win the presidency:he ran as a moderate during the primaries and now hes moving back to sure up the base.It is very fascinating to see this kind of campaign.A candidate that wins the nomination of their party can usually count on the base because the candidate has just won the primaries.Mccain started in the middle and is moving right to eventually come back to the center (makes alot of sense when you think about it).It will be very interesting to see how this strategy works in the general election.

Mccain was the sponsor of alot of bills that the Republican base is still very upset about.Mccain-Feingold (campaign finance reform),Mccain-Kennedy (immigration reform),he believes in global warming (the base of the party is still not convinced),and John Mccain was apart of that gang of 14 that actually tried to compromise (the GOP hates bi-partisanship...especially when they control every branch of government).Senator Mccain will be walking a very thin tight rope during the fall campaign.When he campaigns to ardent conservatives he can not mention his own immigration bill.When he campaigns in Oregon about the effects of global warming he better make sure its not a taped rally.Winning swing states is always important but if the base sits this one out than the swing states dont count for much.The long Democratic Primaries allowed democrats to register new voters while the Republican Primaries had much lower voter turnout.Senator Mccain will need his base if he is to overcome his low fundraising numbers,the president's 28% approval rating,and the 81% of the country that thinks the country is heading in the wrong direction.

History in the Making

Tonight,a freshman Senator named Barack Obama of Illinois will claim the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America.It is a tad bittersweet in every sense of the word.Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton had the resume,the Washington experience,and former President Clinton's economy from the 1990s.But somehow Barack Obama tapped into a message of "change."Before the primaries started a friend and I joked about how Obama should just quit before the primaries even started.He was down by double digits in almost every poll before the process even started.Then the Iowa Cauces happened and the aura of inevitability that surrounded Senator Clinton was now gone. 

Im not going to criticize Senator Clinton.She has run a great campaign (she has gotten the most votes of any candidate that will finish second in a presidential primary).She has galvanized women,older voters,and ethnic voters like no other candidate before her.She deserves the admiration of every true democrat.She has spoken passionately about healthcare,foreign policy,and comprehensive immigration reform.Senator Clinton's supporters must be supportive of Senator Obama if he is to win the general election.Some things were said during the campaign that could prove fatal to Obama's candidacy.Senator Obama will have alot of work to do when the primaries have ended.Senator Clinton was a great candidate and a very engaging campaigner...Barack Obama proved to be better.

Maybe,it was something in the air or maybe the country was experiencing "Clinton fatigue."Maybe Barack Obama is destined to be President.Obama tapped into something that maybe we will never understand.When he clinches the nomination he will be the first African American to represent one of the two biggest political parties in history (President Harding apparently had some black ascentry but thats still an unsubstantiated rumor).As an African American there is a special sense of pride that exist regardless of rather or not I agree with Senator Obama.This is a huge evolution in American politics.50 yrs ago,Senator Strum Thurmond was running as a Dixiecrat.The party's platform was segregation today,tomorrow,and the day after that.African Americans were being bombed and marching on Washington during the 1960s.The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 but blacks were still being discriminated against.The assassinations of Martin Luther King,Malcolm X,and Robert Kennedy would only serve to hurt race relations.All these events have served to set up this moment.Barack Obama is the manifestation of all these events.Rather they be bad or good these events have given us this pro-racial candidate that has captured the idealism that Kennedy and King both talked about.So every person regardless of gender,political id,or race should stand up and applaud tonight.America has made significant progress in regards to race relations...Look no further than the 2008 Democratic Nominee for President...Senator Barack Obama.  

Meet Harold Ickes

On this past Saturday the DNC Rules and By-Laws Committee met to finally come to some resolution about the Florida and Michigan delegation and political theatre would soon follow.There would be many political stars that would grace the meeting with their presence.Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, Florida Rep.Henry Wexler, former Michigan Rep.David Bonior,DNC Chair Howard Dean, and perhaps the biggest star of the entire committee meeting:Harold Ickes.Harold Ickes sits on the DNC Rules and By-Laws Committee and is a Senior Clinton Adviser (seems like a conflict of  interest but hey this is the Democratic Party).Harold Ickes is a very interesting person for both his intellect and his knowledge of politics.However, he displayed none of that intellect this weekend.He seemed like a frustrated 2 year old.Cursing and pouting almost every time he spoke with a noticeable distain for anyone that raised objections to his side of the argument.

The Clinton Campaign's argument is a good argument on his merits.People voted in Florida and Michigan so there votes should count.In Florida, the Republican Legislature is blamed for moving up the primary date against the Democratic National Committee rules.So to punish democrats in Florida could cause very harmful damage to the chances of whomever the Democratic nominee is (as I am writing this Sen.Obama just picked another superdelegate and is 40 delegates away from clinching).In Michigan, the situation is totally different.It was a Democratic legislature and Democratic governor that ignored party rules and moved up the primary date.But once again the voters should not be penalized for the mistakes of state party leaders.

Stripping away the delegates was perhaps not the most rational decision by the DNC.They should have penalized the Michigan and Florida delegations by making each delegate a half vote like the Republicans did in Florida.This idea takes me back to the star of our show:Harold Ickes.Mr.Ickes voted to have the delegates stripped away last year.Apparently, democracy is more important when you are losing a presidential campaign.Sen.Clinton is quoted as saying that the Michigan Primary would not count for anything.This notion that the Clinton Campaign have become the champions of of democracy is highly disingenuous.The compromises that were reached this weekend were flawed for many reasons.But when you have flawed leaders at the DNC that are partisan to one candidate or another...what do you expect? 

 

The Barr Effect

On last Sunday the Libertarian Party held their convention in Denver and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr captured the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States.Former Congressman Barr is from Georgia and is conservative in every sense of the word (he lead the effort to have former President Clinton impeached).He eventually would start to vocally criticize President Bush for the conduction of the war and for the controversial Patriot Act (he voted for it before he voted against it).He lost his congressional seat in 2003 and after his congressional district was gerrymandered(1) to death.He joined the Libertarian Party in 2006. He left the Republican Party due to out of control spending,and the conduct of the war.He grew further disenchanted with the GOP(2) after revelations of the CIA Wiretaps were made public.

Former Congressman Barr is rumored to be on the ballot in perhaps 48 states.He is not expected to actually win (we have a two party system and both Senators McCain and Obama appear very strong).He [Barr] could be very pivotal in his home state of Georgia.The Obama campaign has made claims that Senator Obama can change the electoral map if he is the Democratic nominee.Some people buy it and others think its wishful thinking.Some have suggested that the Obama campaign can perhaps be more competitive in the South.In the Democratic Primaries Senator Obama has won Alabama,Georgia,Mississippi,North Carolina and South Carolina.There is no metric to indicate that Senator Obama can actually win these states in a general election.However,any political observer can make the case that Senator Obama could give Senator McCain and the GOP real worries about the South.The South has a very high concentration of African Americans.The Obama campaign has been very aggressive in their Get Out the Vote Campaign.Registering new voters has become a hallmark of the Obama campaign.Obama's base of support thus far has been African Americans,young voters,people that have 4 year degrees, and those that make over $50,000 a year.

If the Obama campaign can increase voter turnout in young people and register more African Americans than he could have a legitimate shot at the South.Especially in the State of Georgia, the home state of former Congressman Bob Barr.The Libertarian Party syphons off votes from the GOP (the Libertarian Party is a poor mans Green Party). Congressman Barr could be what Ralph Nader is to the Democrats.The GOP is demoralized right now and voter turnout in the Republican Primaries have been much lower than the Democratic Primaries.The Barr Effect could prove very crucial in a close general election.

(1)Gerrymandered-Gerrymandering is a form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for electoral advantage.

(2)GOP-The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. It is often referred to as the Grand Old Party or the GOP.