Fit To Print’s empire seems to be expanding. Observe our Nov 4 comments on Katherine Harris: “The two people most responsible for Bush’s election and reelection are going down in flames.”
Now take a look at frighteningly similar remarks from mydd’s Chris Bowers, a full 48 hours later: “Neslon (D) 58.4%–34.4% Harris (R). At least one high profile member of the evil empire is destined to go down in flames this year.” Here’s the link.
Coincidence? You tell me. You. Tell. Me.
Also, tonight on The Jim Lehrer News Hour, they were talking about how a Democratic House and the President would have a better shot at creating good immigration legislation than a Republican House. Because it is one of the few issues on which Bush is more of a moderate. It appears the whole world is starting to read Fit To Print. And they’re better off for it.
November 6th, 2006
When asked, most talking heads said that John Kerry’s botched joke might hurt his presidential chances, but will not change anything this Tuesday. Regarding Saddam’s sentencing, they say it is a bright spot amongst otherwise depressing Iraqi headlines, but it will not be a factor on Tuesday. 0 for 2. Kerry’s comments have been a rallying cry for conservatives for several news cycles and if any pundit thinks it is entirely unrelated to the tightening in the polls, he should be sacked. If any pundit thinks that positive news from Iraq won’t help GW rubber stampers, he should be sacked again.
Republicans have once again sold the public on “Hey, we’ve screwed up, but do you think our country is safe with Kerry and friends? Grit your teeth and vote Republican.” Kerry’s joke and handling of it were dumb, but even more shameful were Democrats who distanced themselves from him as quickly as possible. Is there a single Democrat who thinks Kerry is stupid enough to publicly insult our troops one week before an election? A decorated veteran has just been left for dead on the battlefield by spineless Democratic Senators. By the way, Kerry is the only high-profile Senator to follow through on his promise to actively campaign for Ned Lamont. Everyone else saw Ned’s sinking poll numbers and decided to make nice with Joe. So it looks like the only person who would have been willing to stand by Kerry suffers the unfortunate inconvenience of being Kerry himself.
The Democrats may have squandered the chance of a generation. Playing it safe and running out the clock don’t work when the political tide changes by the hour. Eventually you have to stand for something. I’m worried I’m going to be one sad little kid on November 7.
November 6th, 2006
First, a disclaimer. There is a big gap between the things I know, and the things I can explain. This gap is widened by the limitations of this medium, especially it’s reliance on brevity. Also, I have a tendency to try and get at all aspects of an issue, instead of focusing in on a few points and driving them home.
There are three main benefits to a Democratic takeover. A better ability to shape the debate in Congress and in the press for the two years leading up to the presidential election, an important repudiation of corrupt political practices and campaign strategies and lastly, the power to stop the conservative movement and enact bills to help the salt of the earth. The first two benefits are the most naunced and hard to define to the non-believer, so I’ll focus on the third.
Immigration initiatives can be passed that give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, border security can be strengthened without ridiculous notions of building expensive and useless walls, and no efforts will be made to further criminalize border jumping, which turns desperate people into unecessary villains. This is one of the few areas where the President has shown actual thoughtfulness (although perphaps in part as an appeal to moderate voters), he is much more sympathetic on this issue than Republican leadership in Congress, for instance. So a sensible bill, passed by both Houses, might actually garner his John Hancock.
Democrats are trying to propose a bill that would let the Medicare program negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for much lower prices on prescription drugs. Lots of seniors out there stand to gain from this.
More campaign finance legislation is needed, as well as better oversight and more transparency for government and lobbyist interaction. Dems already have passed a law requiring the government to manage a public web site detailing all budget expenditures, and could go further in this area.
Pelosi and co. have also stated they want to repeal recent tax breaks for big oil, and pursue alternative energy sources.
Dems also want to raise the minimum wage, which, when adjusted for inflation, is the lowest it’s been in 50 years.
Democratic majorities in state bodies can help provide better voting equipment and more oversight of the election process, taking steps against vote suppression and disenfranchisement when needed.
If both Houses change parties I will be writing more about the specifics of some of these issues.
November 6th, 2006