Bye Bye Dingell

The longest-serving member of the House of Representatives just got served...eviction papers from his chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee. There has been speculation ever since the election that Dingell would be given the old heave-ho, but nothing has happened until today. It is now being reported that Rep. Waxman from California is taking the chairmanship starting in January.

There are a lot of people in Michigan that are going to be furious about this. I don't think I count myself as one of them. I mean, sure he's been there forever and he deserves respect, but at the same time if new leadership is needed, new leadership is needed.

And in that paragraph, I just ousted myself from ever being an insider in Michigan politics. That's how powerful the Dingells (particularly Debbie Dingell) are.

I can't help but wonder what this does for the auto companies chances at getting some help in D.C.

You talk about grace and intelligence

...you'd better be talking about Michelle Obama.

I'm just entranced by her right now. She's a BRILLIANT public speaker...maybe even better than her husband. She's elegant and graceful and powerful and precise.

Tonight my Democratic cup runneth over.

Jesus, she just mentioned mental health care. I think I'm in love.

God Bless You, Ted

I'm glad I tuned in when I did. I heard Sen. Kennedy would be making an appearance. Boy, did he make an appearance.

Seeing a man going through treatment for brain cancer say that he'll be back at work in January and that there is hope to be had and hope has saved us before. Well...that just brings a tear to this cynical girl's eye.

I'm not going to paraphrase the whole speech. I'll just let you read it. It's well worth it. Check out the last few lines, which are historical in that he used them in his own campaign in 1980.

---

My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, it is so wonderful to be here.

And nothing -- nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight.

I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States.

As I look ahead, I am strengthened by family and friendship. So many of you have been with me in the happiest days and the hardest days. Together we have known success and seen setbacks, victory and defeat.

But we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world. And I pledge to you -- I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate when we begin the great test.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

For me this is a season of hope -- new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many, and not just for the few -- new hope.

And this is the cause of my life -- new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- north, south, east, west, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

We can meet these challenges with Barack Obama. Yes, we can, and finally, yes, we will.

Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group and straight against gay.

And Barack Obama will be a commander-in-chief who understands that young Americans in uniform must never be committed to a mistake, but always for a mission worthy of their bravery.

We are told that Barack Obama believes too much in an America of high principle and bold endeavor, but when John Kennedy called of going to the moon, he didn't say it's too far to get there. We shouldn't even try.

Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon.

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again.

There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our Party, but renewal for our nation.

And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on

One Nation (Two Worlds)

Welcome to the Democratic National Convention week. I hope you're ready for all that is about to come your way. News, information, blather, slander, gossip, lies, hope and more. It's pretty much the best week of the summer. (And of course for me personally, it's the busiest.)

The Party's theme for this convention: One Nation.

Hmmm.. I think I just stumbled. One nation is a great idea, but let's not forget that there are stark differences between people here. The One Nation theme seems good in that "I have a dream..." sort of way, but falls into the same trap of forgetting the real nitty-gritty that needs to get done. I'm all for having dreams and hopes and themes, but let's make sure there's substance.

When Did Rules Get so Sexy?

Tomorrow is an important day for a lot of ardent Hillary-supporters (I'll decline coming up with a tacky nickname for them like they've done for Obama supporters which is really demeaning). Tomorrow is the day the Democractic National Convention Rules committee meets. On the agenda is the Florida/Michigan situation.

Some Hillary supporters from around the country are planning on holding a protest outside the meeting. It's the most attention a rules committee has received in the history of rules committees. Robert's Rules of Order doesn't consider a situation like this.

So it got me thinking: what is it that they hope to achieve? Do they really think there's a shot in hell?

Apparently they do. And so many of them are wrapped up in feeling salty about the sexism that has faced Hillary's campaign that they've neglected anything else--including the fact that Hillary herself supported stripping Michigan and Florida of its delegates when she was the frontrunner. Now that she's the self-proclaimed underdog (and more accurately the bad penny that just won't go away) she's favoring the seating of those delegations. I can only ask those Hillary supporters planning to march--if Obama or Edwards or any other Democractic candidate were in this position, would you be marching on the Rules committee? And if the answer is anything but a vehement "of course not!" then you're lying to yourselves.

The fact is that it doesn't matter if Saturday's meeting ends with them deciding to seat Michigan and Florida in favor of Hillary. It's almost a moot point. The fact is that for months now, Hillary's campaign staffers and insiders have known that she has no chance. This has been an exercise in futility the purpose of which I'm still searching for.

There are two realities that need to be faced in this situation:
1. Hillary's support for the seating of these two states' delegates rings hollow seeing as she strongly supported their initial disenfranchisement and agreed not to campaign in those states, only leaving her name on the ballots for reasons unknown (symbolic maybe, financial also probably).
2. Hillary's "victories" in Michigan and in Florida are flawed...they aren't true victories. When you tell people that if you cast a Democractic primary vote it won't count, there are many Democrats (present company included) who would rather bite the bullet and vote Republican to screw with them. So even though Hillary won those states, they weren't true wins because many of the potential voters were effectively disenfranchised (and disillusioned) from the start.

What's fair? I support some sort of compromise. What's probably the ultimate mark of fairness is holding everything as it is and not allowing those delegations to be seated. I mean, those were the rules and it wasn't a miscalculation or ambiguity that led to this situation--it was a calculated decision, knowing the consequences full-well, in order to gain greater ground in the 2012 primaries. BUT, I realize that there is a desire to seat these delegates one way or another. So I think a 50/50 split amongst the remaining candidates is the only fair thing to do--it makes it even without disenfranchising two entire states (important ones at that) from the process. (For the record, I'd support the slightly skewed compromise as well, though I don't think it's as fair.)

But why are these Hillary people so rabidly anti-compromise? I have yet to hear a good argument to support her desire to have all of the Michigan and Florida delegates seated in her behalf. Fairness certainly isn't one since she knew the rules and supported them until she happened to be on the wrong side of them. So what is the real support for this argument? That the popular vote should count? Not only is this an argument that falls into the category of "how convenient" but it only is true if you give Clinton complete victories in Florida and Michigan and take away Obama's caucus victories...something which makes absolutely no sense.

Please, enlighten me. Because right now, I just see rules that should be applied when the rule breakers knew the consequences. Can I admit that I'd probably be pissed if the candidates' roles were reversed? Sure. But at this point, it's time to move on and heal the party and work towards beating McCain. Those people who don't care about that goal and only care about getting some light shone on the sexism in this campaign, though a laudable goal, are really only shortchanging themselves in the end.

Sadly, some of them are still too salty to get it.

Right Now (It's OUR Tomorrow)

I've been holding this thing inside for awhile--my comments, my thoughts and my fears about this never ending primary we seem to be entangled in for life. I've basically done a 180 in the past couple of months. At first I thought this would open up a good dialog for the country...you know, the first serious African American contender and the first serious female contender for president. What historical times we are living in! And how long overdue!

But as February faded to March and March to April, my moods seemed to change. I, of all people, was becoming disenchanted with the whole thing. Sure, I have always and continue to support Barack Obama as I believe he's the right candidate for the job for many reasons, not the least of which is his ability to inspire and lead a movement (and if America needs anything it's a good movement). I never disliked Hillary Clinton on a political level--in fact, I often supported her. But for certain reasons which are personal to me I picked a side and called it a day months ago.

But now that we're really in the thick of it and the Republicans have a clear advantage in terms of raising money, raising support and making a good run at the big prize in November, I'm left to ponder--What the hell are we arguing for?

The longer we drag out this primary, the more bad it will do. And herein comes the 180--the time for an enlightening dialog is over. Sweet nothings whispered over afternoon coffee or an evening brew won't change the fact that the McCain train is running down the tracks while us Democrats are constantly stumbling over ourselves. The longer we fight amongst each other, the less fight we'll have in November.

It infuriates me that choosing one candidate over another is seen as picking sides in an unwinnable war between who has overcome the most--Blacks or women. Women of color especially feel tugged at both sides. White women are urged to side with one of our own (there are a plethora of posts to that effect here). Men are deemed anti-feminist if they favor Obama. It's just pure madness--and it's the kind of madness that Karl Rove likes to watch with an after dinner aperitif and a shit-eating grin.

It's the kind of madness that needs to stop.

The feminists bashing Obama for the sake of showing support to a woman candidate has got to stop.

The ridiculous dissection of Clinton and her every move to somehow show that a woman can't hack it (or that she as a woman can't hack it) has to stop.

Simply put--the in-fighting has to stop. For too many weeks now we've been battling over something that isn't going to be achieved this year or next. One way or the other we're going to have the first candidate of color or the first women candidate--there is no compromise. This is not a situation where we can all be pseudo-social workers and have a win-win for all concerned. This is a situation where we need to grow a pair (ovaries or testicles--it doesn't matter) and come to a conclusion about who we think can honestly lead this country not only in this mythical and hypothetical "After the election" world we dream of, but in November--the first hurdle we must jump.

I'm sorry, but it is time to come to the conclusion that if you can't be with the one you love, you've got to love the one you're with or you're going to end up hating what you're forced to accept.

So imagine my surprise last night when CJV decides to tell me (and I don't know how serious he was) that if Obama wins the nomination, he might vote for McCain. I would have passed out had I not decided to hit him upside the head.

And then it hit me...this is what's happening to America now. Regardless of whether CJV was being serious or being a facetious prick, the truth of the matter is that this is what is happening in the heart of America right now. Scary? Yes. True? You bet.

The time has come to pick a leader. And I'm sorry to the Clinton-supporters out there, but there is a slim chance in hell that she'll pick up this nomination. It's about the simple math of it all at this point. So maybe, instead of picking at each other for stupid, insignificant and ridiculous comments, histories and anecdotes, we can all just agree that the time has come to heal the party and move forward as a group to change this country into something we wish to see...and more importantly, something we wish to be.

It's this easy: We need to put aside the debates about privilege and sacrifice and put on our big girl and big boy pants and really go out and confront the REAL issues--the issues that have allowed people like McCain to rise to power in the first place. Therein lies the real task, and if we don't start working on it now, we're going to fail miserably in the fall.

Or we could just keep fighting and end up with a never-ending war, continued erosion of the Rule of Law, disenfranchisement of millions of people, a continued race-baiting battle over immigration laws, the decline of protections for women and people of color in the judicial realm, a miserably imbalanced economy and the disintegration of the middle and working class.

The choice is ours. The time is now. Cue the music...

Benedict Lieberman?

Sen. Joe Lieberman, now an "independent" said today that he's not ruling out supporting a Republican for the White House bid in 2008. Yes, the same Joe Lieberman who was once the Democratic Party's candidate for Vice President. That one.

He said, today,

"I'm going to chose whichever candidate that I think will do the best job for our country, regardless of the party affiliation of that candidate," the Connecticut senator told reporters in the state capital Hartford.

The above is basically a cop-out. I'm all for people investigating the options and the candidates, but honestly, Joe...you're just doing this for attention. In fact, you really only do things for that sole purpose. Otherwise, if you were true to values, you wouldn't flop like a fat kid in a pool on a warm summer day.

Further, he said

"I'm not going to get involved until after both parties have their presumptive nominees and, frankly, to see if there is a strong independent candidate," he said.

Oooooh. An independent candidate. Like him maybe?

Going on...

"There's a lot on the line both in terms of the terrorist threat that we face but also all the things here at home that seem broken: our health-care system, our education system, the environmental problems we have," he said.

Oh...right. Those pesky environmental, economic, educational and health-related problems. That sounds like a list of problems best solved, historically by the Republican party. Oh wait. That's the opposite of the truth.

I'm so sick of this guy who basically didn't get his way with the Democratic Party and was not supported in his own presidential bid (as a Democrat) or his fourth bid for the senate (as a Democrat) because of his ardent and ill-advised support of GWB and the Iraq war. Now he basically thumbed his nose at the party that supported him all of these years and is elected as an independent...fine. But when he spouts off like this it makes me so angry...cut the games, Joe. You aren't cool anymore.

Ironically enough I got that picture above from a conservative website. It's still funny though.

I'm sorry, but "independent" is usually another way to cop-out.