Month: October 2010

The Year Of The “Wingnuts”, The “Loonies”, The “Crazies”! :(

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This midterm election year has been the most amazing of times, with so many “wingnuts”, “loonies”, and “crazies” running for public office, or candidates for re-election, and the thought that any of them might be elected or re-elected is a sign of how desperate, confused, and frustrated the people of America are!

The term “wingnut” was coined by journalist John Avlon, who has written articles and a notable book on the subject. Avlon promotes a moderate, centrist view of politics, and he is excellent at portraying the horrible politicians, many without any real qualifications, who might become our leaders, or are already our leaders!

If they do win, the American people will soon realize the errors of their ways, but it will be too late, and particularly with the Senate, we will be stuck with these characters for at least six years! 🙁

So who are the “wingnuts”, the “loonies”, the “crazies”?

Senate races–Newcomers

Rand Paul, Kentucky
Sharron Angle, Nevada
Mike Lee, Utah
Ken Buck, Colorado
Joe Miller, Alaska
Christine O’Donnell, Delaware
Linda McMahon, Connecticut
Carly Fiorina, California
Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania
John Raese, West Virginia
Ron Johnson, Wisconsin
Alvin Greene, South Carolina

Senators In Office

Jim DeMint, South Carolina
David Vitter, Louisiana
Richard Shelby, Alabama
Tom Coburn, Oklahoma

House Races

Michele Bachmann, Minnesota–in office
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina–in office
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee–in office
Ben Quayle, Arizona–newcomer
Allen West, Florida–newcomer

Governor Races–Newcomers

Rick Scott, Florida
Carl Paladino, New York
Tom Tancredo, Colorado
Tom Emmer, Minnesota
Dan Maes, Colorado

This list is partially from Avlon’s articles and book, and partly based on other reports of what these candidates or office holders have advocated or promoted, ideas which would set back American progress, or else have encouraged character assassination of President Obama with “birther” statements or claims he is “Muslim”, a “terrorist”, a “Kenyan”, and other reckless rhetoric that promotes violence, confrontation, and threatening behavior! 🙁

The author will comment on the likelihood of how many of these will be elected before Election Day next Tuesday!

Glenn Beck: Clear And Present Danger! He Must Be Repudiated For His Rhetoric!

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Glenn Beck, the Fox News Channel talk show host, has become ever more extreme in his rhetoric, promoting conspiracy theories, talking about revolution coming, and stirring loony “true believers” to plan assassination of “enemies”, and promoting hate of “progressives”, who are made out to be unAmerican and dangerous to the nation’s security and safety! 🙁

Beck invites lunatics such as Congresswomen Michele Bachmann and Senator Jim DeMint to speak on his program, and they are also inciting dangerous reactions by unstable people, creating the possibility of violence and assassination of “enemies” that these people see in anyone who opposes their crazy, narrow minded ideas about the future of the nation! 🙁

The organization Media Matters has called on Sarah Palin to repudiate Glenn Beck’s rhetoric and tactics, but it seems unlikely that any such action is in the offing!

Fox News Channel should recognize the dangerous nature of Glenn Beck and remove him from the air, but the problem is that Fox is itself involved in creating a confrontational attitude in its quest to promote the agenda of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch!

What is needed is for advertisers to withdraw from the Glenn Beck show and from Fox News Channel altogether, as the only way to make this irresponsible excuse of a news channel to change its behavior and report the news in a responsible manner! 🙁

Tea Party Republican “Thugs”: Supporters Of Rand Paul And Joe Miller! :(

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A disturbing trend is developing around Tea Party candidates, who have supporters and employees who are roughing up people who show up in opposition to their candidates, or are news journalists who want to ask questions of the candidate! 🙁

This has happened in the past week in the Rand Paul and Joe Miller campaigns!

A Rand Paul aide attacked, roughed up, and stepped on a woman holding a sign critical of Paul at the site of the debate in Kentucky yesterday between Paul and his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway. Paul has refused so far to come out and apologize in person, although he has issued statements of regret. Instead, he should be firing the aide for what he did! 🙁

A news reporter in Alaska was mishandled and handcuffed by private security guards employed by Joe Miller, and no apology or explanation has been offered! 🙁

Both Rand Paul and Joe Miller have been intolerant toward anyone who opposes their candidacies, and that attitude has spread to their supporters and employees, leading to these examples of reprehensible behavior!

Additionally, other candidates, such as Sharron Angle, Ken Buck, and Christine O’Donnell have evaded reporters and refused to answer questions, and some have rejected debates because of anger at criticism in the press.

This kind of arrogance, resentment, and abusive actions cannot be tolerated, and it demonstrates that the Tea Party Movement has elements in its candidates that make them unacceptable to hold high office in the Senate, so hopefully these characters will be defeated next week.

The dignity of the Senate is at stake, and it is obvious these Tea Party activists will be, if elected, “loose cannons”, who Republican leaders will come to regret, as they will not be willing to conform to the rules of the Senate, and have the potential to be a nightmare to the GOP! 🙁

The Decline Of Higher Education! Abandonment Of Majors in Classics, French, Italian, Russian, Theatre By SUNY Albany! :(

Ronald 2 Comments

The State University at Albany has decided to eliminate majors in Classics, French, Italian, Russian, and Theatre, and that is sad evidence of the decline of higher education! 🙁

While these areas of knowledge will continue to be available as majors in hundreds of universities, it is a troubling development that a major state university in New York State has decided to abandon these fields of knowledge!

French was always considered the “diplomatic” language of choice, and Russian was regarded as an essential language due to the competition between the old Soviet Union and the United States.

Classics and Theatre are part of a liberal arts education as well, and Italian is a romance language that is significant to many studying that nation’s impact on history and culture.

It is understandable that cost cutting measures are essential in higher education, and that many fields of knowledge in the liberal arts seem areas difficult to create employment in the future.

But the thought is: Does this mean that at some point in the future, it will be felt that history, art, literature, philosophy and other areas of the liberal arts thought to be “impractical” will be seen as “unnecessary” to offer as majors for those who seek to specialize?

If whole areas of knowledge, including those chosen by SUNY Albany to eliminate as majors, are seen as “impractical”, then we are going down the road of ignorance and narrow mindedness, so this action by SUNY Albany is one to regret and mourn! 🙁

This Is NOT The Time For Gay Voters To Stay Home Because Of Anger At Obama!

Ronald 1 Comment

Apparently, many gay voters are considering staying home and not casting a ballot in the Midterm Elections of 2010.

This is a big mistake, as despite disappointment at Obama for the slow pace of change on the issue of gay rights, staying home will only help the Republican party to gain more power, and they are not the party that is interested in promoting change on the issue of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military or gay marriage and other issues of importance to the gay community.

The fact that Obama’s Justice Department has challenged the district court decision on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is simply a strategic issue, as Obama has made it clear he wants that policy changed.

The problem is that Congress passed that law during the Clinton Administration, and it must be repealed by Congress to accomplish the goal of no more discrimination in the military.

If the GOP gains control in either house, the whole issue could be dropped, while Obama hopes to solve the issue during the lame duck session of Congress in November and December.

The pace of change is slow, but voting Democratic is the best way to bring about change. Failure to vote could doom the whole issue for a long time!

Conventional Wisdom On Incumbents Being In Trouble May Be Wrong!

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It has been said that this is the year that incumbents will lose seats in Congress on a large scale, but at least in the primaries, it turns out that only SEVEN incumbents have lost, which means more than 98 percent of all incumbents have won renomination!

Of course, Election Day in November could see a massive wave of incumbents losing to their challengers, but at least so far, that is NOT the trend!

Three Senators–Robert Bennett of Utah, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,–have lost renomination, but Murkowski is running a write in campaign and is seen as running evenly with the person who defeated her in the primary–Joe Miller–, and has a good chance of being only the second person to win a Senate seat by write in votes, after Strom Thurmond of South Carolina in 1954!

Four Congressmen have lost–Parker Griffith of Alabama, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan! This is about average in any congressional election year, occurring every even year. And this round, the losers are three Democrats and four Republicans!

So standard thoughts may just be such, and not be the action of the electorate in November! Again, we shall see, very soon!

Newsweek Poll Shows Turnaround On Support Of Obama And Democrats!

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With nine days to go to the midterm elections of 2010, suddenly a Newsweek poll shows a revival of support for Barack Obama and newly emerging enthusiasm for the Democrats! 🙂

Obama’s public opinion ratings have surged to 54 percent from the low 40s, and the generic congressional ballot shows a lead of 48 to 42 for Democrats over Republicans!

Among those who have voted early, the Democrats lead the GOP 52-42, and is evidence that Democrats may have finally reacted to the message of President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and former President Bill Clinton–that this is not an election to sit out, and allow those who brought us the Great Recession to regain control of the national government!

There are increasing signs of women, Latinos, African Americans, and young people–all of whom made a difference in 2008–starting to commit themselves to vote this year, and those are good signs for the Democrats in a very difficult economic climate!

While anything is possible next week, it may be that Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame Yankee catcher, may be correct when he uttered: “It ain’t over till it’s over!”

Will Bill Clinton Be The Savior Of The Democratic Party?

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Former President Bill Clinton, riding on a popular public opinion wave of more than 60 percent, has become the number one weapon of the Democratic Party as it tries to hold on to its majority in both houses of Congress in next week’s midterm elections!

Clinton is doing more campaigning around the country than anyone, and showing up in places in the South and Midwest where Barack Obama would be unlikely to have much impact, were he to campaign there for members and candidates in both houses of Congress.

Clinton brings a sense of good will, and a message: 21 months is not enough time to resolve issues, so give us a full four years to deal with the economic crisis before judging us and deciding to put back in power the people who brought you into the Great Recession!

This is a message that may resonate with voters, and already, there are indications that the so called “enthusiasm gap” may be narrowing, and that Democrats and independents may very well do much better than was expected a few weeks ago!

So if it all works out, we will have to salute former President Bill Clinton as the “savior” of the Democratic Party! 🙂

Virginia Reasserts Confederate History Myths On Eve Of 150th Anniversary Of Beginning Of The Civil War! :(

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Next April will mark the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, and unfortunately, the Commonwealth of Virginia is actively working to promote a myth about that war: that slavery was not a major cause of the war, and that thousands of African American slaves fought for the Confederacy to promote and protect “homes and livelihood”! 🙁

First, Governor Robert McDonnell introduced Confederate History Month last April without mentioning the role of slavery in the Civil War.

Now it has been discovered that a 4th grade textbook in Virginia public schools includes a statement that says black Confederate soldiers in the thousands fought for the South in the Civil War, including two battalions under the leadership of General Stonewall Jackson!

These statements are totally false, and were based on an internet search which utilized assertions by a group called the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which has spread that rumor which has no basis in fact!

The Virginia Education Department did a poor job of vetting this textbook, and the fact that in the year 2010 we are having distorted history being promoted by the Governor and by the Education Department of the state of Virginia is indeed, very troubling, and should be condemned!

It is alarming that the South is continuing to promote a view long repudiated, and that what Southern Democrats used to do, uphold racism and discrimination, is now being promoted by Southern Republicans–a far cry from the honorable Republican party of Abraham Lincoln which upheld racial equality, freed the slaves, and promoted black citizenship and voting rights at the birth of the GOP!

More Republican Hypocrisy: Attack Stimulus But Work To Gain Stimulus Funds! :(

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Republicans voted against the Economic Stimulus legislation in February 2009, and are using it as an issue against the Democrats and President Obama in the midterm elections, but yet they have worked to gain stimulus funds for their districts and states! 🙁

What total hypocrisy this is!

Among those who have done so are:

Senator John McCain of Arizona
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota
Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana

So, in other words, campaign against stimulus funds and “earmarks”, but put your hand out and ask for funds to do exactly what you are working against! 🙁

How can anyone believe anything the GOP campaigns about? Can anyone honestly expect that a Republican Congress will NOT promote “earmarks” and stimulus spending if they feel it is to their benefit?

So the Republicans are saying: “Listen to what I say, not what I do!” Hypocrisy to the extreme, which should NOT be rewarded at the polls nine days from now! 🙁