Tuesday’s political round-up

May 23, 2006

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Florida’s Senate race isn’t looking very competitive, but the state’s gubernatorial contest is still in play. According to a new Rasmussen poll, state Attorney General [tag]Charlie Crist[/tag] (R) leads Rep. [tag]Jim Davis[/tag] (D), 44% to 39%, and state Sen. [tag]Rod Smith[/tag] (D), 45% to 34%. Crist’s primary opponent, [tag]Tom Gallagher[/tag], the state’s chief financial officer, does not fare as well, trailing Davis, 43% to 38%.

* In New York, Republican gubernatorial hopeful [tag]John Faso[/tag] will announce today that Rockland County Executive [tag]Scott Vanderhoef[/tag] will join his ticket as Faso’s running mate. Vanderhoef, who is pro-choice and considered a moderate, brings some ideological balance to Faso’s ticket. The New York Daily News reported that he was Faso’s third choice, after state Banking Superintendent Diane Taylor and Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray turned him down.

* The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, already optimistic about the party’s chances in November, reported excellent April fundraising reports in filings to the FEC over the weekend. As Roll Call noted, “For the first time in recent memory, the cash disparity between House Democrats and Republicans is almost nonexistent six months out from the November elections.” Both the [tag]DCCC[/tag] and the [tag]NRCC[/tag] showed a balance of about $22.8 million, though technically, the Republicans enjoyed a $15,561 edge.

* It’s Primary Day in Idaho and Arkansas today. There aren’t too many high-profile races to watch, though there’s a tough Dem primary for lieutenant governor in Arkansas and Republicans have a six-way contest to determine who will likely replace Rep. [tag]Butch Otter[/tag] (R) in Congress next year, now that Otter is giving up his seat to run for governor.

* And in 2008 news, Sen. [tag]Chris Dodd[/tag] (D-Conn.), who’s been talking about a presidential campaign for years, announced yesterday that he has “decided to do all the things that are necessary to prepare to seek the presidency in 2008.” Dodd starts off a long shot, with limited funds, low name ID, and the burden of being a New Englander when the party no longer wants a nominee from the northeast.

GREAT LEADERS OF FUTURE WON’T BE FROM AMERICA — Weak, Mediocre Men Lead the USA”
And our mediocre dissolute leaders will act like all bankrupt aristocrats. They’ll start selling state assets for private gain.

“A friend of mine once told a college class that nobody ever woke up in 476 A.D. (the date historians define as the fall of the Roman Empire) and said, “Gosh, I’m in the Dark Ages.” His point is plain enough. Transitions happen gradually, and the people who live through them never realize what is happening.
So it is with Americans. We are living in the ruins of a once-great republic. Now an empire utterly devoid of moral authority, the United States has nothing left but its military power and its capacity to consume on credit.”
Nor do I agree the people living “through them never realize what is happening.” Oswald Spengler realized what was happening. Adolf Hitler could see “what is happening” in 1919. Plenty of others in all western countries have recognized what is happening all through the 20th Century. It’s the people who don’t realize what is happening who both mock the foresighted and resist changes necessary to stop or alter “what is happening”. They serve as a ready pool of useful idiots for evil minded folks who not only realize what is happening but profit from it, assist it, and speed it along.

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