C Span

C Span Founder Brian Lamb Steps Down As Chief Executive Officer: His Great Accomplishments!

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Anyone who is interested in American history, politics, and government cannot imagine living without C Span, the cable company founded in 1978 by Brian Lamb, who was its Chief Executive Officer from its inception, until the end of this month, when he will step down and become executive chairman of an indispensable cable channel.

It is hard to remember what it was like before C Span, which began as a channel to cover the US House of Representatives live, but developed further into a second channel which covered the US Senate live, and then a third channel which covered American History in all its manifestations, live and taped.

All kinds of special programs and events have been covered 24 hours a day on all three C Span channels, and have enriched knowledge of history, politics and government, making those who watch or look at C Span online much more educated and insightful about how our country works, and also examining the outside world of foreign affairs as well.

Brian Lamb has been a giant in cable development, and will be long appreciated as having made a great contribution to improving our understanding of the political world around us.

There is no more important and precious set of channels on cable than the three C Span stations, and it has come about at a very low cost, and in a manner non partisan, and objective and open minded!

All the best to the future of C Span under its new leaders, Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain!

George McGovern’s New Book: Promoting Liberal Values Forty Years After His Presidential Candidacy!

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Former Senator and 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern is coming to the Miami Book Fair International to promote his book, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DEMOCRAT.

Now 89 years old, already the second longest surviving major party presidential nominee who lost the election, only surpassed by former Republican nominee and Governor Alf Landon in the 1936 Presidential election (who survived 51 years after his defeat), McGovern wishes to emphasize the importance of government in our lives at a time when many Republicans refer to government as a great evil in our lives!

Proud to call himself a liberal, he is critical of those who promote fear, and mourns the loss of bipartisanship in Washington DC, which used to see much cooperation across the aisle in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. He is supportive of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and critical of the Tea Party Movement.

On December 2, as part of the CONTENDERS series on Friday nights from 8-10 pm Eastern time, the life and career of George McGovern will be examined on C Span. Everyone should tune in and admire and appreciate the greatness of this man who lost, but added dignity and principle to the political process that is American democracy!

Herman Cain, Ross Perot And Wendell Willkie: Businessmen As Presidential Candidates

Ronald 1 Comment

Herman Cain has become the newest “flavor of the month”, or some would say the “flavor of the week”, in the Republican Party battle to find a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama.

Right now, he is running high in the polls, similar to Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry in the past few months, but he has many shortcomings.

1. He has NO experience in government and politics, and that makes him unable to understand that government is NOT a business, and cannot successfully be run as a business.

2. He is very ignorant on most issues other than his 9-9-9 tax plan, which economists say would not be a solution to the economic crisis, and would never pass Congress.

3. Cain has no concern about poverty and the struggles of the middle class, and his plans would include the destruction of Social Security and Medicare as we know it, and that does not go across well with a wide swath of voters in polls.

4. He may be popular among those who want a blunt personality, but that is not the way to make progress in diplomacy, and he lacks tact and basic knowledge in international affairs.

5. He would represent a backward trend in the African American community, a person who succeeded and does not care about those he left behind, in many ways an executive branch Clarence Thomas (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court).

Some would say that Herman Cain is this generation’s Ross Perot, the billionaire who ran for President twice in 1992 and 1996 as a third party candidate, and by so running, helped to put Bill Clinton in office and keep him there. But Perot actually, with all of his idiosyncratic nature, actually really addressed one issue that still affects us–the deficit and the national debt. Cain has no such vision or intelligence on the level of Ross Perot.

Others would wish to compare Cain to Republican Presidential nominee Wendell Willkie in the 1940 Presidential Election against Franklin D. Roosevelt, who ran a good race against the New Deal, but still lost by a substantial margin, but in the process, gained respect for his backing of FDR on foreign policy. Willkie’s background as a utilities executive harmed him, but his oratory wowed delegates at the Republican National Convention in 1940, who went berserk and nominated him.

The point is that Cain is no Ross Perot and is no Wendell Willkie!

Interestingly, C Span has a series on Friday nights this fall, mentioned in an earlier post, regarding losing Presidential candidates, and both Perot and Willkie will be portrayed in coming weeks. Willkie will be covered on Friday, October 21; and Perot on Friday, December 9.

This nation has never elected a businessman to the White House, and except for Willkie and Perot (third party), has never nominated one, either. We are NOT going to see Cain match those two in being a choice of the voters in the national election!

New Series On C-Span On Presidential Contenders (Losers) Who Made A Difference Historically, Starting Friday at 8 PM!

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An important new series on C-Span begins this Friday night, September 9, at 8 PM, and continues for a total of 14 Fridays through December 9!

This is worthwhile for anyone who reads this blog to note, and to watch, as it adds a great deal to our history. The whole concept of this series excites me, and hopefully, all others who love American History and Politics!

The series will consist of 90 minute episodes, centered at important historic sites of 14 men who ran for President and lost, all part of this series.

The 14 Presidential losers being covered in the series include:

Henry Clay
James G. Blaine
William Jennings Bryan
Eugene Debs
Charles Evans Hughes
Al Smith
Wendell Willkie
Thomas E. Dewey
Adlai Stevenson
Barry Goldwater
Hubert Humphrey
George Wallace
George McGovern
Ross Perot

As a side commentary, this series could be substantially longer than 14 episodes, as 12 other Presidential losers that could be seen as significant would include:

Stephen Douglas
Samuel Tilden
Robert La Follette, Sr.
Strom Thurmond
Henry A Wallace
John Anderson
Walter Mondale
Michael Dukakis
Bob Dole
Al Gore
John Kerry
John McCain

I highly recommend all who read this blog to tune in to this wonderful series, and in the process, gain new insights into American History!

Nancy Pelosi Rejection Of C Span Request For Transparency A Bad Move

Ronald 2 Comments

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has made a major mistake by rejecting the request of C Span for transparency on the health care bill.

She claims that there has been total transparency on the legislation, but in actual fact, much of the bill, as passed in different forms in the House and Senate, is unknown, and by leaving doubt and refusing any GOP involvement in formal conference committee hearings in public, she feeds the “conspiracy” theory that the Freedom Works/ Tea Party has been promoting.

It is not my belief that anything untoward is happening, but the impression is left that there is something evil going on. Even if the GOP were to cause delays and obstruction, the worst that could happen is delay, and that would be better than to leave the image that the Democrats are trying to “pull the wool” over the eyes of the American people.

That kind of impression could cause the greater loss of seats in November. Let the GOP look bad, and it helps the Democrats. But let the Democrats look bad, and it helps the Republicans.

President Obama needs to push Congress to promote the transparency promised during the 2008 campaign. There is no need to rush this legislation, as long as it is accomplished this year. Don’t feed the Republican propaganda, Democrats! Do you hear? 🙁

C-Span’s Brian Lamb And Transparency Of Health Care Conference Committee Meetings

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It is absolutely correct and proper that C Span President Brian Lamb’s request for total transparency of all Senate-House Health Care Conference Committee meetings be met, by making them all available for C Span coverage.

The only way to demonstrate to the American people that there is no “conspiracy” of the Democrats to do anything illegal or unethical on health care is for such openness!

There will be no excuse for the Democratic leadership IF they refuse to follow through on this reasonable request. It will strengthen the case for change, as education and complete explanation of any reform bill is essential for its success!