Where’s the Outrage?

Isn’t it February? February is a time for snow and snow storms. Blizzards in the northeast and sub-zero temperatures around the Great Lakes are normal for this time of year but instead, we got Spring-like tornadoes that torn through Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia. 50 people have died. Hundreds injured.

The saddest part of all of this is that we get to the see FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) at work, again. I’m not sure I can stomach, Michael Chertoff lying to us again about how they have everything under control.

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From NYT:

President Bush said Wednesday that he had called the governors of the states affected by the storms and pledged assistance from the federal government. “Loss of life, loss of property — prayers can help and so can the government,” Mr. Bush said in brief remarks before a ceremony at the Department of Agriculture in Washington. “I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them.”

Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, said that a regional emergency center in Thomasville, Ga., had been activated and that officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were already active in Tennessee and others were on the way to the region. “We are going to keep watch on this,” Mr. Chertoff said. (more…)

Tags: Bush Administration, FEMA by ecthompson
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Hillary Clinton loans her campaign $5 million. How is that not a sign that she is in trouble? Again, this is why only the super rich can run for office. You have Romney who can’t raise a dime (overstatement). Now, we have Hillary Clinton. I’m sorry I have a problem with this, do you?

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From NYT:

At her news conference this afternoon, Senator Clinton acknowledged the loan, saying: “I loaned the campaign $5 million from my money. That’s where I got the money. I did it because I believe very strongly in this campaign, and we had a great month fund-raising in January, broke all our records, but my opponent was able to raise more money and we intended to be competitive – and we were – and I think the results last night proved the wisdom of my investment.” (more…)

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
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The more that you examine something the uglier it can get. Like this election process. Democracy in action, right? Well, sort of. 80% of the delegates to the Democratic Convention are elected by the people. 20% are not. They are super delegates. With this race being so close the Super Delegates may matter.

Josh Marshall from TPM media has an excellent video on what is a super Delegate. I don’t know about you but I’m not sure that I’m liking the fact that someone who was elected to public office 10 or 15 years ago can be a Super Delegate. That doesn’t seem like democracy to me.

 

 What is a Super Delegate? [3:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
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There have been three black United States Senators elected in post-reconstruction America.

Just three.

Here is who they are and here are some reasons as to why there have been so few.

Ed Brooke was a Republican elected from Massachusetts  in 1966 and 1972.  He was defeated in 1978 by Paul Tsongas who went on to a notable career himself. Mr. Brooke was part of the moderate to liberal wing of the Republican party that does not so much exist anymore. The decline of moderate Republicanism is a big reason why Democrats are so strong in New England and New York state today.

Here is a Time Magazine article from 1971 pondering if President Richard Nixon would consider replacing Vice President Spiro Agnew on the ticket with Senator Brooke.

Carol Moseley Braun is the only black woman to have served in the Senate. She represented Illinois. Ms. Moseley Braun defeated an incumbent Democrat Senator in a primary in 1992 and went on to win the General Election.

[Read more →]

Tags: Other Political Thoughts by Texas Liberal
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Super Tuesday didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know.  I knew that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were very close.  They are in a tight race.  Super Tuesday did nothing to change my mind.  This race is not going to be a sprint but a marathon.
On the Republican side, I knew that the more that people saw Mitt Romney the less they liked him.  John McCain, on the other hand, is a likable guy.  Mike Huckabee is also very likable.  So, Huckabee picked up some southern states - no surprise.  He is from Arkansas and appeals to Southern Christians.   John McCain increased his lead.  Mike Huckabee picked up enough delegates to continue to matter.  Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has to decide whether spending millions of dollars to come in a distant second or third is worth it.  As my mother said, “No sense throwing good money after bad.”

Talk show host Ed Schultz does a nice job summarizing the results on CNN.

 

 Ed Schultz on CNN - Super Tuesday [6:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
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