Monday’s political round-up

April 23, 2007

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:

* Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) died yesterday of cancer at age 68. The congresswoman, recently re-elected to her seventh term, had asked for a four- to six-week leave of absence from the House last week to deal with her illness. Under state law, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has 14 days to set a date for a special election to fill the seat.

* A report from UK’s Telegraph raised eyebrows over the weekend when the British paper reported that “friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.” It quoted a former Gore campaign aide as saying, “He hasn’t asked them to do this, but nor has he told them not to.” Shortly thereafter, Gore spokesperson Kalee Kreider denied the report. Former Gore adviser Michael Feldman added, “Pure fantasy.”

* Hoping to prove there is substance to back up his style, Barack Obama is “unleashing the fine print” on his campaign’s policy agenda. USA Today reports, “Now his campaign is 10 weeks old. Enough with the niceties, the generalities, the story of his life. On Friday, the Illinois senator unveiled a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Today, he gives a speech on foreign policy. Next up, education and health care.”

* Despite statewide polls showing him with a very good chance, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) announced late of Friday that he will not run for the Senate in 2008. “This was not an easy decision,” DeFazio continued. “You don’t get a poll that shows you’re ahead of an incumbent senator and generous offers of support from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and just blow it off. It was a long and serious deliberation on my part.” Attention is now likely to turn to Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who was waiting for DeFazio to make a decision.

* The WaPo had an interesting item over the weekend about House Dems following up on their 2006 successes by, once again, “greatly expand[ing] the playing field of competitive races” in November 2008.

* And in NYC, rumors continue to circulate about Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (R) interest in a presidential campaign. The New York Daily News reports that he’s “met in recent months with the chairman of the state Independence Party to discuss a national ballot access strategy for the 2008 presidential race, party sources confirmed.”

“The WaPo had an interesting item over the weekend about House Dems following up on their 2006 successes by, once again, “greatly expand[ing] the playing field of competitive races that November.””

Yes–it’s time to move beyond the red state-blue state dichotomy, which is not useful or helpful for the Democratic Party’s long-term viability.

  • I can see why Gore would want to stay out of the race, because the day he steps in, the issue of global warming becomes “political”. I’m sure he wants to avoid that day, or at least put it off as long as possible.

    So far he hasn’t ruled out running, and that to me says he’s waiting to see if a Dem frontrunner emerges and how seriously that person takes the climate crisis issue. It should be THE main issue, not just AN issue.

    I hope he steps in, makes a deal with any of the top three contenders (giving them the VP slot) and essentially ends the primary process so all the Dems can line up together and take a running stab at drowning The Party of Thieves in Grover’s bathtub.

  • The draft DeFazio move was purely grassroot, a bandwagon leapt upon by the Kos and DD gangs, leaving in turn a bad taste in some progessives’ mouths. What’s good for Penciltucky isn’t necessarily good for Oregon. I don’t know, maybe it’s the fresh air, the kool-aid free water, but out here we engage in what has been apparently lost to the rest of the “country” – thinking. We’re not all that interested in a “national agenda”, in particular one that results in a net loss for our grandchildren, and quite frankly find it a bit humorous, in a wry sort of way, that these bozos would come out here and try to bully us around.

  • From what I’ve seen, Gore still hasn’t polled terribly well with the general public.

  • “Hoping to prove there is substance to back up his style, Barack Obama is ‘unleashing the fine print’ on his campaign’s policy agenda.”

    Barack Obama doesn’t need to back up his “style” with “substance”; he needs to back it up with some fucking balls, like any Democrat who wants to get into the White House for more than a few hours at a time when a Republican occupant *invites* them. I don’t mean that Obama’s deficient in that regard compared to Edwards, Clinton, Richardson, or anyone; simply that “substance” is a waste of fucking time when you can’t do anything with it, as Democrats *should* have learned between 2000 and 2006.

    The Onion had it right last time: John Kerry should have run on a platform of one thing: Not Being George W. Bush.

    Anything short of revulsion and ridicule against Republican bullshit is playing too nicely.

    Bringing substance to a gunfight will not help win it.

  • Chris, @6

    That’s as maybe. Announcing his positions on *issues*, does put paid to rumours that he doesn’t have any. And,anyway,Ithink that’s mostly for the Dem consuption, so that we cen make our minds better on whom to vote for in primaries. Time enough to pull out the anti-Boob arsenal once he’s the official candidate.

    Me, I’d still rather see Gore as Prex and Obama as the VP; 8 yrs of that would definitely put paid to the “not experienced enough” meme *and* give us better chances for a 16yr spot at the steering wheel of the country. And, it may not be PC to say so but I think 8 yrs with Obama as a VP would also let a lot of people get used to the idea of a black President.

  • “* The WaPo had an interesting item over the weekend about House Dems following up on their 2006 successes by, once again, “greatly expand[ing] the playing field of competitive races” in November 2008.”

    Dass right Republicanss. Say heyllo to our little friend, Howard. Say hayllo to the Republicanss, Howard.

  • libra, I think several seasons of the TV show “24” got Americans used to the idea of a black president. It was certainly enough to get them used to the idea of legalizing torture and erasing habeas corpus from federal law, and that’s not much less important.

    I’m burned out on issue talk, and maybe that’s just me. Talking about policy when you don’t control enough of the government to push it through, and haven’t proven you can bluff/beat sufficient improvements out of your opponents, strikes me as academic almost to the point of uselessness. Yes, I know we have to have a way to distinguish among our candidates, but the best policies in the world won’t go anywhere without the brains and balls to protect them in negotiations with *both* parties in Congress.

    So far, with Hillary’s indifference to the anti-war left and middle, Edwards’ inability to fight fire with fire on the PR front, and Obama’s soaring bipartisan-focused rhetoric and conciliatory instincts, I don’t see anyone who would be helped by improving their policy. I see three people who’d be improved by, you know, confronting Bush and his crazy conservative allies/enablers.

    You can steal position papers and policies. It’s a little harder to get braver without, well, *being* braver. That’s why I’m more concerned about balls than policy.

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