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Sarah Palin trades "Lame Duck" for "Dead Fish"
"A real surprise, its unconventional, but you know when I first heard it I thought its a little crazy to give up the Governorship for a year and a half. It would have made sense to serve that out and then run for president in 2012...but maybe she's crazy like a fox." - Bill Kristol Fox News Political Contributor
"Not finishing out her first term as governor there is no way that she has a political future on the national stage. Its simply a really dumb decision not to finish out her first term." - David Shuster MSMBC Political Contributor
In what I can only describe as an awkward press conference today, Sarah Palin resigned her Alaskan Governorship citing, "Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose,". The idea of a "lame duck" office holder is that because they are not eligible to run again they loose touch with voters and pursue their own agenda. If Sarah Palin really opposes this, there is no reason for her to not rise above the "politics as usual" and continue to serve the people of Alaska. This reasoning strikes me as ingenuous. Many States have term limits on state wide offices including a one consecutive term for Virginia. Does this make every Virginia Governor a lame duck? She kept referring to "the last four years" but she only took office December 4, 2006. Meaning she has served for 2 1/2 years as Governor and feels as though she has done all she can do in that capacity. Its not certain who she takes the Alaskan people for but I'm sure when they watch the national news they will realize her larger ambitions for a 2012 presidential run. Either way its clear her national spectacle has taken a toll on her image at home. Polls in June of 2007 had her approval at 93%, by May 2009 her positive rating had sunk to 54% and disapproval had skyrocketed to 41%. Not to be misunderstood, an incumbent with over 50% approval is in good shape for reelection and word among Alaska's political insiders was she had no formidable opponent if she did choose to run again. Asked in a Monday interview with Sean Hannity if her recent travels to New York and Washington signal an intent to either seek reelection or run for president in 2012, Palin simply responded, "Heck no."
I expected something more along the lines of a national calling as she said "apathy" was a growing problem in America. I have a feeling the "inexperience" line will not be the mantra of Republicans if they choose her to challenge Barack Obama in 2012. He will be an incumbent president and she will be a former Governor with less than one full term under her belt.
There is no doubt this line will come back to haunt her. Political analyst Larry Sabato, said Palin's announcement left many wondering what her plans were. "It's absolutely bizarre, and I think it eliminates her from serious consideration for the presidency in 2012," he said. I agree with this sentiment as there will always be questions of why she left her post early. She did also mention almost half a million dollars in legal fees to fight allegations of ethics violations. As odd as all this seems I issue a warning to Democrats who chose not to take her seriously. Her seemingly weird way of putting things like as a fisherman she knows "only dead fish go with the flow" make journalist tilt their head in wonderment but speaks directly to a very core group of voters in the Republican primary. This off the cuff charisma is her best and worst quality depending on the audience, but one thing is for sure, everyone was listening.
The Comic Tragedy of Michael Jackson
Although this was a sad sad story the endless exploitation is still overwhelming. The events of this week put an end to a story that was an entire generation in the making...<< MORE >>
Is 2012 the end of days for GOP?
Watching the Republican Party post election has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. It seems John McCain is more out of touch than ever (someone should tell him the election is over) and being on the short list of Republican candidates for 2012 has become the equivalent of political death row. It seems as though the Republican party is determined to self-destruct and ruin any chance for a shot at the White House in 2012. This is not all good news for the Democrats, seriously. What will the Democrats do without a true opposition party? I mean this with all sincerity. Without a strong minority party and control of all chambers of government there will be no room for finger pointing, no alternative ideas and worst of all, infiltration of ambitious individuals running on your platform without commitment to its ideals. This last fact is already a problem in both Democratic and Republic strongholds. Lately however, the R's have gone to fishing out Rinos (Republicans in name only) and even moderates. So much for a "big tent".
I like this clip from Hardball when Chris Matthews refers to Rick Perry's "moment of madness" and later says "Rick Perry talking secession, not exactly a move if you want to lead the union, to say you want to leave it. Not a good starter."
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Texas Changes for the Bluer
"Texas is a very unique place and uh, were a pretty independent lot to boot.", Governor Perry pointed out in his now infamous secession rant. It seems every where you look whether its polls, articles, blogs or other empirical data, Texans are challenging their "Red state" label. The website 538, which was made famous for its spot on prediction of the 2008 election, has put Texas in its tossup category for a vacated US Senate seat currently held by prospective Gubernatorial candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison. This has further exposed weaknesses in the usual lockstep nature of the Republican Party as it continues to unravel without clear national leadership. This fact is brought home by the failure of Texas' own Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee John Cornyn to keep his colleague in Washington, despite great efforts from the party to prevent a filibuster-proof majority.
Here are a few other findings of the Texas Lyceum that should raise a red flag for the Texas GOP:
- 58% say they are worse off than a year ago
- Generally this is always bad news for incumbents and in Texas statewide politics means Republicans.
- This does not bode well as national polls also show people trust Democrats more on economic issues.
- At the top of the list of economic concerns is "Unemployment and Jobs". Remember that 555 million in unemployment the governor rejected? We are now last of all 50 states in access to unemployment.
- 60%+ support MORE spending on Energy technology (74%), Education reform (64%), and making Heath care more accessible (79%)
- These questions were prefaced with "even if it means more deficit spending".
- Texans also support the President's initiative with regards to Cap and Trade that he calls a big "win" for Texas.
- 57% support extended legal rights for gays
- 32% support civil unions
- 25% same-sex marriage
GOP still has a winner with Voter ID (see previous post)
- 71% support Voter ID
- 54% strongly support
- has large majority support in all ethnic groups including Hispanics (59%)
The incredible demographic shift is not helping either. According to the US Census Bureau 41% of Texans live in 4 counties as Texas' population becomes increasingly urban. Obama won in 4 of Texas' 5 largest counties in 2008 as this shift continues. The other main factor is ethnicity. Texas is now a majority minority state. In the 2008 election Obama won 67% of the Hispanic vote. According to a Pew Hispanic Center report 57% of Hispanics identify themselves as Democrats while only 23% say Republican. This creates a nightmare scenario for Republicans. Although Hispanics are the largest minority group and growing in Texas, they only represented about 20% of the vote. If Democrats find away to increase the turnout of this sleeping giant it could cripple the GOP in the Lone Star State. Further more, 40% of the Hispanic population is still under the voting age. As Democrats consider their ambitions for 2010 and beyond, its enough to make them say, "Si Se Puede!".
Voter ID(iots)
Want a perfect example of why Democrats get clobbered year after year in Texas? It's called Voter ID. Political insiders know this issue well and it comes with a lot of baggage. To the average voter the question of whether or not we should "ID" voters is quite simple and the answer is overwhelmingly "yes!". By 71% to be accurate according to a new Texas Lyceum poll. Of course as with many things in the world of politics, the issue itself is not that clear cut. Democrats are not opposed to identifying voters, yet taking the "no voter ID" position clearly shows how Republicans continue to dominate the framing of critical social and emotional issues. If Democrats continue to take the bait they will continue to lose and that IS clear cut.
This session Democrats allowed an entire library of bills to be killed because they wanted to show how opposed to voter ID they were. Being a statesman will only get you so far if your fighting the right fight but loosing the PR war. Yes we were right about the war and yes we were right about redistricting but do voters really accept "I told you so" as a policy? No, they don't and they will continue to vote against their economic and social interest as long as can vote for something instead of against. Rep. Anchia had the answer by offering an amendment to the Voter ID bill that would have allowed for same day registration and voting during early voting. This is exactly how Democrats should approach these issues. We must rebrand and reframe them. In the end if we are forced to vote against a "bad" bill that is a world different from opposing the issue all together. We can not afford to be "against" voter ID, especially when we (along with 71% of Texans) are not.
This is where Democrats have their best opportunity to turn their fortunes around in Texas. Polls show Texans are becoming increasingly sympathetic to the Dems platform but are still not being properly engaged. Unfortunately, "independent" voters often get hung up on one issue they hold dear to their hearts and the Republicans craftily exploit these handful of issues so effectively they continue to win over demographics that should never be in their column. Because I mentioned that Democrats have to actually offer solutions instead of opposition I'll take my own advise. Here are a couple easy ones:
Voter ID: Yes. By which we mean...
- More secure and accountable elections by requiring a paper trail.
- Ending voter role purging just prior to elections
- Enacting same day registration during early voting
Abortion: No. By which we mean...(are we really going to allow R's to claim we are PRO-abortion or ANTI-life?)
- SAFE, RARE, LEGAL
- The only proven way to drastically reduce the number of abortions in Texas is with age appropriate sex education that is opposed by "pro-life" Republicans
- Democrats ARE pro-life unlike Texas Republicans who choose to execute prisoners at the highest rate in the country
- Republicans stop caring about babies the day they are born otherwise CHIPs would be fully funded
The bottom line is Democrats across the country better start being more aggressive and proactive in order to neutralize these wedge issues. If we have the right position we must find a way to communicate that to our diverse constituency on their terms. We will see how effective we are as the rhetoric heats up on the health care issue.
Transitional + TX US Senate race
Now that the 81st (regular) session is over and I have settled back in Beaumont, I will focus on national issues as well as the 2010 campaign season. It seems now more than ever, particularly with the advent and increasing popular of social media campaigning has become a year round activity.
The ensuing Democratic primary battle for US Senate between John Sharp and Bill White is set to be the most contentious and high profile. These two are fighting for a position not officially due until 2012. The early opportunity comes only if Kay Bailey ...<< MORE >>
Special Session Heads up!
Today the Texas Govna announced a Special Session. It was long suspected that he would as the 81st session began to wind down with lots of unfinished business. With TWIA legislation passed and Perry's plan to use his executive powers to redirect the responsibilities of TX DOT and TDI to other agencies, most members and staff thought they had managed to avoid any need for a special session.
What we don't know are two very important things. What items will be on the Governor's call and when he plans to call the session ...<< MORE >>
Budget Passes House
Today the house passed SB1
the General Appropriations Bill.
It represents the 2010-2011
biennial budget for the state of Texas. It is constitutionally required to be
balanced and is the only bill required to be passed each session. The bill was voted on an up or down
bases and passed 142-2. ...<< MORE >>
the General Appropriations Bill.
It represents the 2010-2011
biennial budget for the state of Texas. It is constitutionally required to be
balanced and is the only bill required to be passed each session. The bill was voted on an up or down
bases and passed 142-2. ...<< MORE >>
The Deuell on Needle exchange and the Damage done...
The only medical doctor in the Texas Senate tried to resurrect his needle exchange bill SB 188. Rep. Deuell urged his Republican colleagues to stop siding with the "black helicopter" crowd. ...<< MORE >>
Don't Tread on Berman
Rep. Leo Berman the Texas Legislature's champion of "immigration reform" spoke at the IRCOT rally. You can listen here:
Download | Duration: 00:03:50
"I want to stay like we are, and move back to where we were 231 years ago. God bless you all."
Ouch! You bet those weren't brown people cheering. But, here are a few pictures of the folks who were:
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