Okay friends and neighbors, yesterday, at the Williamson County Democratic Convention, I was elected as my precinct's delegate to the Texas State Democratic Convention in June. I am still a bit in shock, but I am thrilled with the prospect of finding a voice and a way to represent both the Democrats of my historically heavily Republican area and indirectly--my students.
So how the hell did I get there???
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that in addition to teaching, I direct the ballet folklorico program at the high school where I work and that my kids, my dancers, are very close to my heart. Some come from families who have been in this country for generations. Some are first generation Americans. Some are immigrants themselves. Of those, some are here legally and some are illegal, undocumented or whatever the media is calling them these days. To me they are all my kids. Whether their parents went to college or never set foot in a high school they dance together. They work together to fund the program. They compete together. They not only in school, but they represent their school in performances and competitions in the community and beyond. I love them. And when they graduate, having completed everything asked of them by the school system and No Child Left Behind, prepared to further their educations, earned scholarship money and prayed for the college acceptance letters, some of them will be in complete and utter limbo, denied many types of financial aid that they truly need and deserve. They have been here for years. They have learned English. They have been educated in our school system. Their parents have kept our businesses running, our homes roofed, and our offices clean. They have paid a lot of taxes--sales, property--even social security. Their home, their friends, their education and their World is here. They don't have anything to "go back" to. And they believe in Barack Obama.
Forget the black-white divide. Forget the Latinos are all for Hillary. As a teacher, I can't "do politics" at school. If someone asks me who I support or why, I tell them, but I don't talk much politics in my building and with my kids we have business at hand on which to focus, but they knew I was going to my county convention. They knew, because yesterday they had a performance with UT's Folklorico and some other important groups at the MACC (Mexican American Cultural Center) in Austin. Obviously, I couldn't be in two places at once, so I had to tell them when we booked the gig, well if you want to do this, I can't go. So my "capitana" stepped up to take care of the logistics and a parent said she'd be there as an "adult presence" and my kids said, "Don't worry about us, Miss. Go to the Convention".
The night before the convention, I took my competition team to a workshop at UT (University of Texas). It went until 8:30 pm. Then most of us went for a cheap quick meal, and as we laughed and ate tacos and fries, one of the girls asked me exactly what I was going to be doing the next day and who I was supporting. So I told them. And each of them started talking about Barack--about who they knew who voted for him, about how one of the girls' boyfriends, who is not legal himself and so doesn't know if he will ever be able to vote in a U.S. election has a picture of Barack on the inside of the visor of his truck where the mirror should be. By the time I got all of them home and got home myself it was after 11 pm, but I was so fired up for the convention!
The Convention
Okay, now I live in Williamson County, Texas, ya'll. This has been a RED county for quite a long time--definitely for the 9-plus years that I have lived here. I mean, for many positions Republicans ran unopposed, so primary voting has been a pretty quick affair around here. But times, they are a changin'. When my neighbor, an alternate who was upgraded to delegate status, and I pulled up to Stony Point High School, the line of people waiting to register and be credentialed was stringing around the building. The parking lots were full and people were pulling up onto the grass and wedging their cars in any place they could.
We spent a good portion of our first 2 hours in lines. At one point, we were pulled out of the line and seated to hear a speech by the guest speaker, Jim Mattox, a heavy weight in the Texas Democrat Party. Then we were back in line.
There were all kinds of problems stemming from mistakes made at the precinct level by volunteers who had never dealt with caucusing before--because no one had ever shown up. Four of our Obama delegates from my precinct, 239, were not on a list, for example. Each case had to go before the credentials committee--one by one-- to be resolved. Eventually they were. Sometime in the mid-afternoon we were able to ratify our delegates, establish Quorum and get things underway, but not until we elected officers to the convention.
The next hurtle to jump over was that very few people, myself included, really had a grasp of the convention process and almost as few had ever heard of Robert's Rules of Order, so there was a lot of "You must address the chair" and "You are out of order, sir" for the next couple of hours. Some people started to get tired and then there was the handful of "I've got to find something to complain abouters" who had to be heard. But...
it was good. No, it was great, because here, in Williamson County, Texas, was an entire high school gymnasium filled--floor and both sides of bleachers--with Democrats. It was as though we had emerged from a dark night into a light-filled day and had seen for the first time that we were not alone. All the problems, which were resolved, all the confusion, all the delays stemmed from an unimaginable increase in Democratic involvement in the political process in our county. All these people were learning together. All these people now know what the convention is. They know how to make a motion and how to call the question. AND on top of all that, for the first time since I have been here, Texas was getting a real voice in deciding the Presidential nominee of our Democratic Party.
After a hot election for a permanent chair and a slightly cooler one for secretary of the convention, we got to the business of caucusing. Our precinct, 239 was grouped with 394 (no one showed up) and 395, which sent one Obama delegate. A number of us had applied for at-large spots at the State Convention and four of us declared our intention to run for the delegate space from our precincts. We decided each would speak. I was asked to go first and I spoke about my general political experience and then I spoke about my dancers and my desire to be their voice. Another delegate spoke of her attraction to Obama as harkening back to the affection she had held for Robert Kennedy. Another addressed his work as an architect and his concern about the zoning and growth issues facing our portion of Williamson County and finally, the brave Clinton delegate, who had chaired our precinct convention for the Hillary side back on March 4th, spoke of growing up in South Texas and learning to vote Democratic with her mom and of the Clinton's involvement in the economic development of that area of the state. After the vote, it actually came down to a coin toss between myself and the other female Obama delegate. She called it. I won. I will go to the State Convention as delegate and she will go as an alternate.
Back inside the gym, we learned that there was no Democratic Club in Southern Williamson County. We are in a unique situation--part of Austin, but not part of Travis County. In the Round Rock Independent School District, but not in Round Rock--unable to vote in either election, without access to a free library and unsure who can respond to our 911 calls. Several of us, including in a show of Party loyalty, the Clinton delegate and the architect who had just competed with me in the quest for the state delegate spot, decided we needed to get a club off the ground. We collected about 30 names and contact information from delegates in ours and surrounding precincts and have already contacted the County Party for help in our endeavor. Because the convention needs to be a start, and our local Dems need to win right along with the Democratic Presidential Nominee.
The happy insanity dragged on until after mid-night. Just before dinner time, it was announced that those not interested in the resolutions, could go and many did, including most of the our precinct's delegation. I hung in with the architect, who had acted as our precinct chair for the day, and another Obama delegate, who was hoping to be advanced in an at large spot. Not long after, however, questions began to arise as to whether or not quorum would need to be re-established to ratify all (or maybe some would say what little) we had managed to accomplish during the day. Out came the list we had compiled earlier and two of us went to work calling people back--Obama supporter or Clinton, we didn't care. We just called. We talked to a lot of voice mails, got in touch with a few and two or three came back. For naught. When the convention reconvened at 9:45, it had been determined, after checking with the State Party and consulting legal counsel, that once quorum had been established, it could not be broken. Since others had been calling their precinct delegates though, and got some of them back, we probably had quorum, had we counted.
On and on it went--committee reports, votes on challenge rulings, motions for the sake of motions and some thoughtful ones, too. Democracy at its inefficient, messy best.
Just past midnight, we dragged our weary selves out of the gym and into the night--no longer alone. We are Democrats in Williamson County, Texas. The GOP needs to watch out!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A little navel-gazing
Sometimes when I sit down to write my blog, I have a definite plan, a point of view, a specific topic to lay out there for the World. Other times, like today, especially like today, when I haven't had the time or the strength or the whatever to focus and put out something concrete and coherent for more than a month, I sit down at the computer and think to myself, you better just write something or you'll never get the groove back. So here I am --goovin'.
Since last I wrote, I took my competition team to, what else?, competition--the first of two long weekends away with kids and choreographer. I also voted for Obama, caucused for him and finally got myself elected a delegate to the Williamson County Democratic Convention to be held on March 29th. I have contemplated going to some other Democratic events before that, but haven't. I'm tired. I've been on Spring Break for a week now. I have exercised every day and as my body begins to feel again, I have been able to think again--not the frantic, manic, survival think that is my life when I am at school, but the flowers on the trees are beautiful and I'd like a new eyeshadow and which clothes will I give to Goodwill this spring and is my body tired, should I sleep kind of think. Oh, there you are--you still exist kind of think.
Some people find it possible to save the World and still take care of themselves. I start out like that, but then I get lost. In some ways it pays off for me. My folklorico kids gave me my first ever surprise party for my birthday--I turned 36th on March 5th. So at least, I am appreciated. It felt good to be appreciated, but part of me wanted to get out of there. Part of me wanted to disappear. Part of me wanted to just take a nap.
Even as I write this, I am beginning to feel guilty and anxious. There is so much work to be done to make the folklorico what it could be. To make the ESOL program what it should be. To get Obama elected. To save the environment. Do I really think I am going to work out every day? I want to.
Part of the problem is that despite all the rhetoric, nobody wants to really pay for public schools and even when a fair amount is paid it gets eaten up by administration and studies and what you really need is a well-educated, motivated adult for every few kids to give them both the relationship and the push they need to succeed--and it just isn't going to happen. So we have "Community Seminar"--glorified, over-programed advisories to try to meet the needs of every kid, while piling more work on the already over-worked teacher. The teachers and administrators who come up with this stuff are all well-meaning and dedicated, but rarely are they the coaches and sponsors of time-consuming programs, because we have practices and rehearsals during the meeting times. But we are the ones who do what they want done every day--already. Now they give us another group of kids to do it for. I might get pushed over the edge. I try to filter out all the "be more dedicated, gung-ho" stuff, but they make us attend all these "trainings"--no wonder I just want to go to sleep. I just feel more and more that I can't do the job the way I should. I can't run my program, prepare great lessons, mentor 18 kids, who aren't even in my regular classes, be a good wife, cook delicious dinners, work-out, be politically active, recycle, reuse and reduce, meditate, attend mass (don't tell the Pope, because I haven't been since Christmas), appreciate nature, drive dancers home after rehearsal, invest wisely, get my roots done (7:30 am Saturday hair appointment???!!!-yes), maintain friendships, grade chapter tests, prep kids for standardized tests, do laundry and iron, make the bed (sometimes), publish thoughtful blogs, read good literature and stay abreast of the news, while in a good mood and maintaining my once youthful figure (must work out. must work out.) No pressure.
Meanwhile, I hope and pray that Obama can clinch this thing. I am glad that Venezuela and Ecuador didn't go to war with Colombia and that Chavez looks to be running out of steam. I am thankful that while my investment portfolio is losing money--at least I am doing better than Bear Stearns.
Since last I wrote, I took my competition team to, what else?, competition--the first of two long weekends away with kids and choreographer. I also voted for Obama, caucused for him and finally got myself elected a delegate to the Williamson County Democratic Convention to be held on March 29th. I have contemplated going to some other Democratic events before that, but haven't. I'm tired. I've been on Spring Break for a week now. I have exercised every day and as my body begins to feel again, I have been able to think again--not the frantic, manic, survival think that is my life when I am at school, but the flowers on the trees are beautiful and I'd like a new eyeshadow and which clothes will I give to Goodwill this spring and is my body tired, should I sleep kind of think. Oh, there you are--you still exist kind of think.
Some people find it possible to save the World and still take care of themselves. I start out like that, but then I get lost. In some ways it pays off for me. My folklorico kids gave me my first ever surprise party for my birthday--I turned 36th on March 5th. So at least, I am appreciated. It felt good to be appreciated, but part of me wanted to get out of there. Part of me wanted to disappear. Part of me wanted to just take a nap.
Even as I write this, I am beginning to feel guilty and anxious. There is so much work to be done to make the folklorico what it could be. To make the ESOL program what it should be. To get Obama elected. To save the environment. Do I really think I am going to work out every day? I want to.
Part of the problem is that despite all the rhetoric, nobody wants to really pay for public schools and even when a fair amount is paid it gets eaten up by administration and studies and what you really need is a well-educated, motivated adult for every few kids to give them both the relationship and the push they need to succeed--and it just isn't going to happen. So we have "Community Seminar"--glorified, over-programed advisories to try to meet the needs of every kid, while piling more work on the already over-worked teacher. The teachers and administrators who come up with this stuff are all well-meaning and dedicated, but rarely are they the coaches and sponsors of time-consuming programs, because we have practices and rehearsals during the meeting times. But we are the ones who do what they want done every day--already. Now they give us another group of kids to do it for. I might get pushed over the edge. I try to filter out all the "be more dedicated, gung-ho" stuff, but they make us attend all these "trainings"--no wonder I just want to go to sleep. I just feel more and more that I can't do the job the way I should. I can't run my program, prepare great lessons, mentor 18 kids, who aren't even in my regular classes, be a good wife, cook delicious dinners, work-out, be politically active, recycle, reuse and reduce, meditate, attend mass (don't tell the Pope, because I haven't been since Christmas), appreciate nature, drive dancers home after rehearsal, invest wisely, get my roots done (7:30 am Saturday hair appointment???!!!-yes), maintain friendships, grade chapter tests, prep kids for standardized tests, do laundry and iron, make the bed (sometimes), publish thoughtful blogs, read good literature and stay abreast of the news, while in a good mood and maintaining my once youthful figure (must work out. must work out.) No pressure.
Meanwhile, I hope and pray that Obama can clinch this thing. I am glad that Venezuela and Ecuador didn't go to war with Colombia and that Chavez looks to be running out of steam. I am thankful that while my investment portfolio is losing money--at least I am doing better than Bear Stearns.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Case for Obama
Clinton or Obama? What are they--like 95% the same when it comes to policy relations? I am a Democrat. I am going to vote for the Democratic nominee, because we need to take back the White House and we need to get affordable health care for every American and we need to form a country that cares--really cares--as in puts our money where our mouths are kind of care--about every American.
Well, folks. Obama is the one who can do it. He is more electable, because all these Republicans who say they'll stay away if McCain is the nominee, will suddenly get religion (no pun intended) and get their butts to the polls rather than let a Clinton--either Clinton back into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
But it is more than that. Not only can he get elected, but he can govern. Yeah, I know Clinton knows the ins and outs of everything, but we don't have a huge majority in the Senate and nothing can get done there without real bi-partisanship. That's just the way it goes. It will not be seen as politically viable for republican senators to join in and support Clinton proposals. It just won't be. They have to go back and face their republican electorates and their republican electorates hate the Clintons. Even if they stay home and Clinton wins the race, the chance of her--and therefore the American people--winning meaningful health care reform or anything else will be slim to none.
Meanwhile, there are actual Republicans and once upon a time conservatives who are actually coming around to Obama. Don't take my word for it. Here is post from the Huffington Post written by Frank Schaeffer, a conservative author, whose father was one of the founders of the Religious Right movement.
Why I'm Pro-life and Pro-Obama
Come on, people. Get on the Obama train! Let's ride it into the future.
Well, folks. Obama is the one who can do it. He is more electable, because all these Republicans who say they'll stay away if McCain is the nominee, will suddenly get religion (no pun intended) and get their butts to the polls rather than let a Clinton--either Clinton back into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
But it is more than that. Not only can he get elected, but he can govern. Yeah, I know Clinton knows the ins and outs of everything, but we don't have a huge majority in the Senate and nothing can get done there without real bi-partisanship. That's just the way it goes. It will not be seen as politically viable for republican senators to join in and support Clinton proposals. It just won't be. They have to go back and face their republican electorates and their republican electorates hate the Clintons. Even if they stay home and Clinton wins the race, the chance of her--and therefore the American people--winning meaningful health care reform or anything else will be slim to none.
Meanwhile, there are actual Republicans and once upon a time conservatives who are actually coming around to Obama. Don't take my word for it. Here is post from the Huffington Post written by Frank Schaeffer, a conservative author, whose father was one of the founders of the Religious Right movement.
Why I'm Pro-life and Pro-Obama
Posted February 7, 2008 | 10:46 PM (EST)
I am an Obama supporter. I am also pro-life. In fact, without my family's involvement the pro-life movement it would not exist as we know it. Evangelicals weren't politicized until after my late father and evangelical leader Francis Schaeffer, Dr. Koop (Reagan's soon-to-be Surgeon General) and I stirred them up over the issue of abortion in the mid-1970s. Our Whatever Happened to the Human Race? book, movie series and seminars brought the evangelicals into the pro-life movement.
(Dad's political influence persists. Last week one of my father's followers -- Mike Huckabee -- was interviewed by Katie Couric, along with all the other presidential candidates. Couric asked the candidates if they were to be sent to a desert island and could only take one book besides the Bible, what would that that book be? Huckabee answered that he'd take my father's book Whatever Happened To The Human Race?)
Fast forward...
In 2000, we elected a president who claimed he believed God created the earth and who, as president, put car manufacturers and oil company's interests ahead of caring for that creation. We elected a pro-life Republican Congress that did nothing to actually care for pregnant women and babies. And they took their sincere evangelical followers for granted, and played them for suckers.
The so-called evangelical leadership -- Dobson, Robertson et al. also played the pro-life community for suckers. While thousands of men and women in the crisis pregnancy movement gave of themselves to help women and babies, their evangelical "leaders" did little more than cash in on fundraising opportunities and represent themselves as power-brokers to the craven politicians willing to kowtow to them.
Fast forward...
Today when I listen to Obama speak (and to his remarkable wife, Michelle) what I hear is a world view that actually nurtures life. Obama is trying to lead this country to a place where the intrinsic worth of each individual is celebrated. A leader who believes in hope, the future, trying to save our planet and providing a just and good life for everyone is someone who is actually pro-life.
Conversely the "pro-life" ethic of George W. Bush manifested itself in a series of squandered opportunities to call us to our better natures. After 9/11, Bush told most Americans to go shopping while saddling the few who volunteered for military service with endless tours of duty (something I know a little about since my son was a Marine and deployed several times). The Bush doctrine of life was expressed by starting an unnecessary war in
The society that Obama is calling us to sacrifice for is a place wherein life would be valued not just talked about. As he said in his speech delivered on February 6 in New Orleans, "Too often, we lose our sense of common destiny; that understanding that we are all tied together; that when a woman has less than nothing in this country, that makes us all poorer." Obama was talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but his words also apply to our overall view of ourselves.
Regardless of the official position of the Supreme Court on abortion, a country in which all Americans are offered some sort of dignity and hopeful future would be a place conducive to the kind of optimism each of us must hold in our hearts if we are to welcome children into this world. But if our highest aspiration is to be a consumer with no thought or care for our neighbor, we will remain a culture in which abortion is not only inevitable but logical.
What we need in
Obama's rivals for the nomination -- the
For someone who says she has spent "the last 35 years of my life as an advocate for children" and/or "fighting for healthcare" that's a lot of money to have collected through doing good works. Presidential Mother Teresa wannabes shouldn't be doing deals with uranium mining outfits in
Similarly the Republicans have also been hypocrites while talking big, for instance about their pro-life ethic. But what have they achieved? First, through their puritanical war on sex education they've hindered our country from actually preventing unwanted pregnancy. Second, through the Republican Party's marriage to the greediest and most polluting earth-destroying corporations they've created a climate (both moral and physical) that has scorched the earth for-profit, with no regard to future generations whatsoever. The Republicans are to the pro-life movement what the
The real solution to abortion is to change the heart of
Frank Schaeffer is a writer and author of "CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back"
Come on, people. Get on the Obama train! Let's ride it into the future.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Hope lives!!! Bill, get the *%#@! out of the way!
God bless South Carolina! Barack Obama's big win there was so incredibly gratifying. The Clintons' antics leading up to the vote were so divisive and cynical. It was so disheartening for me as a Democrat--so destructive to the party. But, Barack took it by such an enormous margin--more than Clinton and Edwards combined, that it was a clear signal that the Democrats are not having it this time around. We want to believe. And now Caroline Kennedy has come out and endorsed him as being the first candidate to inspire so much hope for the future of this country, especially in the younger generations, since her own father! Hope lives!
It seems that the Clinton campaign strategy was to wheel Bill out and let him play the heavy, sow the seeds of negativity and distrust, while letting Hillary rise above the fray. Why, she has looked positively giddy through this last week--smiling more broadly the uglier things got around her. They tried to make Barack into the "black" candidate instead of a candidate who was black. It was as though he wanted to scare whites and discourage the new voters coming into this thing full of optimism to stay home. Looking forward to Super Tuesday and big states like California, there were cynical under currents to exploit black-hispanic tensions, too. (My hope is he will emphasize his father's immigrant history to quell any fears there that may have unfairly been raised.) Hillary pulled out the "slumlord" charge at the debate. And Barack got mad--rightfully so. It won't stick to Barack, because no one thinks he has the kind of character to enter into something so unethical, much less criminal --in contrast to the Clintons. Anyone who has been in politics in any level for any length of time is going to rub shoulders with unsavory people who are out for themselves. But no one is buying that Obama is "pro-slumlord". The only thing that the Clintons managed to do was to strengthen his backbone for the general. For that, and that only--I say thanks. For the sake of the Democratic Party, I hope Hillary can keep Bill on a shorter leash. One Clinton is enough.
Back in 1991, when Bill Clinton was way down in the democratic polls, I read a full-page table in the Washington Post that outlined the positions of all the Democratic hopefuls. I remember thinking. I agree most with this guy Bill Clinton, but who the hell is he? Governor of Arkansas? Eventually, in 1992, I voted for him in both the primary and by absentee ballot from Sao Paulo, Brazil in the general election. I have a picture of myself in a Clinton-Gore t-shirt on the balcony of my apartment, with the enormity of South America's largest city spread out behind me. I was so proud.
Fast forward through White Water, Trave lgate, File gate.... File gate was the one that did me in. If the Republicans put up someone not too horrible, I would hold my nose and vote their way. Dole. Not the most conservative ever. Old as dirt--likely to last in that office for only one term, I thought. I held my nose and pulled the lever for a Republican. I almost vomited, but I did it. I know there were people in the Gingrich gang who were digging like crazy. I didn't know what was what, but something smelled real bad in the White House. As a Democrat, I thought...something is going to blow up if there is a second term. Give Dole four years and then let's work like hell to capture the flag again.
Did I think "blow up" meant a blow job. Uh--no. I didn't see that coming. I mean--was this a bad political satire? When Bill Clinton wagged his finger in my face after the Super Bowl and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", I believed him. And I was ready to defend him. I was pissed. I couldn't believe I had voted for a Republican.
When the truth came out, though, I wanted him to resign. Some of my Democratic friends could not believe it. Some of my Republican friends could not believe it. But my reasoning was this-- 1. It was a horrible distraction for this country. 2. What kind of judgment or self control did this guy have? He knew the Republicans were looking for anything on him, so how could he have been so reckless? 3. Gore was perfectly capable of finishing out the term and would be in better place to be elected under the shadow of his own leadership then from under the shadow of Monica's blue dress.
Then the idiot Republicans over-reached and went through the whole impeachment exercise and I had to say they were back to being the more destructive force in Washington. No one would take the higher road. No one.
I was not defending Clinton. He had been a selfish, egotistical, dishonest shit bag. His marital fidelity (or lack there of) was between he and his wife, but when he wagged his finger at me and the rest of American and asked us to believe in him-- he crossed a line with me that he can never recross. The only thing that brought me back to a cautious, tepid support was that the Republicans became even more repugnant than Clinton. It was a race to the bottom and in my mind the Republicans won--or lost--however you see it. And they've pretty much stayed down and dirty ever since.
Enter stage left the hopeful, charismatic new comer--Barack Obama. If you are worried if he's got any substance to back up the glow, read The Audacity of Hope. The man has got a mind and a heart to lead this nation. Plus he is humble enough to ask for quality help and open-minded enough to surround himself with differing opinions. He is the real deal. So, Bill, get the *%#@! out of the way.
It seems that the Clinton campaign strategy was to wheel Bill out and let him play the heavy, sow the seeds of negativity and distrust, while letting Hillary rise above the fray. Why, she has looked positively giddy through this last week--smiling more broadly the uglier things got around her. They tried to make Barack into the "black" candidate instead of a candidate who was black. It was as though he wanted to scare whites and discourage the new voters coming into this thing full of optimism to stay home. Looking forward to Super Tuesday and big states like California, there were cynical under currents to exploit black-hispanic tensions, too. (My hope is he will emphasize his father's immigrant history to quell any fears there that may have unfairly been raised.) Hillary pulled out the "slumlord" charge at the debate. And Barack got mad--rightfully so. It won't stick to Barack, because no one thinks he has the kind of character to enter into something so unethical, much less criminal --in contrast to the Clintons. Anyone who has been in politics in any level for any length of time is going to rub shoulders with unsavory people who are out for themselves. But no one is buying that Obama is "pro-slumlord". The only thing that the Clintons managed to do was to strengthen his backbone for the general. For that, and that only--I say thanks. For the sake of the Democratic Party, I hope Hillary can keep Bill on a shorter leash. One Clinton is enough.
Back in 1991, when Bill Clinton was way down in the democratic polls, I read a full-page table in the Washington Post that outlined the positions of all the Democratic hopefuls. I remember thinking. I agree most with this guy Bill Clinton, but who the hell is he? Governor of Arkansas? Eventually, in 1992, I voted for him in both the primary and by absentee ballot from Sao Paulo, Brazil in the general election. I have a picture of myself in a Clinton-Gore t-shirt on the balcony of my apartment, with the enormity of South America's largest city spread out behind me. I was so proud.
Fast forward through White Water, Trave lgate, File gate.... File gate was the one that did me in. If the Republicans put up someone not too horrible, I would hold my nose and vote their way. Dole. Not the most conservative ever. Old as dirt--likely to last in that office for only one term, I thought. I held my nose and pulled the lever for a Republican. I almost vomited, but I did it. I know there were people in the Gingrich gang who were digging like crazy. I didn't know what was what, but something smelled real bad in the White House. As a Democrat, I thought...something is going to blow up if there is a second term. Give Dole four years and then let's work like hell to capture the flag again.
Did I think "blow up" meant a blow job. Uh--no. I didn't see that coming. I mean--was this a bad political satire? When Bill Clinton wagged his finger in my face after the Super Bowl and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", I believed him. And I was ready to defend him. I was pissed. I couldn't believe I had voted for a Republican.
When the truth came out, though, I wanted him to resign. Some of my Democratic friends could not believe it. Some of my Republican friends could not believe it. But my reasoning was this-- 1. It was a horrible distraction for this country. 2. What kind of judgment or self control did this guy have? He knew the Republicans were looking for anything on him, so how could he have been so reckless? 3. Gore was perfectly capable of finishing out the term and would be in better place to be elected under the shadow of his own leadership then from under the shadow of Monica's blue dress.
Then the idiot Republicans over-reached and went through the whole impeachment exercise and I had to say they were back to being the more destructive force in Washington. No one would take the higher road. No one.
I was not defending Clinton. He had been a selfish, egotistical, dishonest shit bag. His marital fidelity (or lack there of) was between he and his wife, but when he wagged his finger at me and the rest of American and asked us to believe in him-- he crossed a line with me that he can never recross. The only thing that brought me back to a cautious, tepid support was that the Republicans became even more repugnant than Clinton. It was a race to the bottom and in my mind the Republicans won--or lost--however you see it. And they've pretty much stayed down and dirty ever since.
Enter stage left the hopeful, charismatic new comer--Barack Obama. If you are worried if he's got any substance to back up the glow, read The Audacity of Hope. The man has got a mind and a heart to lead this nation. Plus he is humble enough to ask for quality help and open-minded enough to surround himself with differing opinions. He is the real deal. So, Bill, get the *%#@! out of the way.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Hot Damn! We got ourselves a race! But it's gettin' ugly.
Well, I for one am extremely happy that we have a real race for both the Democratic and the Republican nominations this year. There may be hope for our democracy, after all. As the horses left the gate there were a lot more Democratic spectators actually getting themselves to the track and placing their bets, but there was still a high turn out on the Republican side, as well. Now that the "horses" have rounded the first turn, and a few horses have fallen back, but none has taken a commanding lead, voters are started to press the rails for a closer look. It is getting interesting--and in some cases ugly.
Bill Clinton, for instance, is out of control as far as I am concerned. I admire what he was able to do for our country. But the guy has to get out of the way. His temper is not helping the Democratic Party. His rants about Obama not getting enough negative press, his accusations of voter suppression in Nevada, his branding of Obama's Iraq policy as a "fairytale" is all getting to be a bit much. Who of any substance is going to want to be Hillary's vice president? It is as though Bill sees this election as a referendum on his legacy instead of a decision on the best course for our future as a nation. As much as a I fault the Republican organization for their near constant assault on the Clinton White House, and as much as I think the impeachment of our President over a lie about his sex life was inexcusable, I also fault Clinton himself for allowing it to come to that. I will never forget the betrayal I felt for believing President Clinton when he came on TV after the Super Bowl and wagged his finger at me and millions of Americans and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." Bill Clinton needs to get out of the way and Hillary needs to push him.
Meanwhile, I have been reading Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, and I am finding it to be much more substantive than I expected it to be. I am pleased. The moment in the debate last week, in which each of the three Democratic candidates was asked to share their biggest weakness was extremely enlightening. Obama was the only one of the three who really stated a weakness. He said he was disorganized with paperwork and that his desk was a mess. Rather than really address any weakness she might have, Clinton jumped on Obama and made the point that the President of the United States has to be able to organize and lead a large government. She came back to this point many times, but let's be real folks. The President of the United States will have a secretary to look after his filing system. Of course, the next President will have to be organized in his thinking and have to oversee a huge bureaucracy, but he also needs to have big, uniting ideas to put this country back on the right course. By the end of the night, I was ready to nominate Hillary as Obama's Chief of Staff.
Today, on the eve of Martin Luther King Day, Obama gave an incredible speech in Atlanta. The speech spoke of a need for unity in both speech and in deed. It was extremely powerful and hopeful.
Click here to see this amazing speech. Recently, however, some of Barack Obama's supporters have taken to accusing the Clinton's of being racist or of down-playing the importance of Martin Luther King, himself. Self-serving the Cintons might be, but racists, I don't think so. This is going to be a real race and Democrats can not be in the business of alienating either Obama's or Clinton's supporters, because they may really need them in the fall.
On the Republican side each contests seems to bring a new line-up at the finish line. Of course, Romney has won more than the others, but for the amount of money he's throw around... Not getting much of a bang for the buck. It's wide open. Even Giuliani hasn't been counted out and he hasn't come close to winning anything, but with his eggs in Florida's basket, and Super Tuesday just beyond, who knows? Huckabee has made quite a showing far less resources than the Romney machine--mostly by being genuine and mentioning Jesus and actually meaning it.
The biggest surprise of all is McCain's resurgence in the polls. He needed the win in South Carolina and he got it. He was counted out months ago and now is coming back. I really think that he is the one that Democrats should fear most. He speaks truth to power and he draws independent voters. Watch out. I myself was a fan of McCain before he started budding up to the same evangelical extremists he had originally denounced as damaging to the party a few years back. But recently he has done some things that really make me think that he may be back to his old self again--seen the error of his ways. He went to South Carolina and announced that he regretted not having spoken out against their flag, which incorporates the cross of the Confederacy, which many see as a divisive symbol -- a constant reminder of a time when blacks were enslaved and later segregated from much of this nation's civic life. I believe Democrats should view him as the most dangerous of the Republicans in their quest to recapture the White House.
In the meantime, Mayor Bloomberg of New York has been down here in Texas and out in California--making the political rounds. I doubt he will step into the race as an independent if McCain wins the Republican nomination, but look for him to seriously consider a run if Huckabee or Guiliani get the nod--especially if they end up being pitted against Clinton. Obama is more widely seen as appealing to independents. Mrs. Clinton is not. How many will be willing to change horses mid-stream? This race is going to get very interesting.
Who will endorse who? Who will be asked to join the tickets in the number two spot? Many things could affect the course of this contest. Currently, the economy is surging as a major issue for the electorate, but there are so many powder kegs around the World that one match could easily set any number of international conflicts ablaze. At least on the Republican side, we can expect to see a couple more jockeys thrown from their mounts and if Edwards comes up lame, and it looks like he might, where will his supporters put their money? He either makes it around the turn in South Carolina or his race is all but over.
The mud is flying and so is the money. There is no safe bet. And the odds keep changing. Could we actually go all the way to the conventions??? That's the political equivalent to a photo finish. And then we'll be off again.
You know, I am disappointed that Biden is not still in the chase. I hold open the hope that Obama will choose him as a vice presidential running mate. I think the two would complement each other nicely on several levels, but whatever happens one thing is sure, the electorate has become more involved than it has been in quite some time. I am pleasantly surprised that pundits were wrong about the front-loading of the election cycle. Many said that it would mean that the eventual nominees would be known even sooner than usual. Almost all agreed that money and establishment organizations would rule the day. But that has not been the case.
Huckabee won Iowa with little cash. Obama has won contests and been competitive in others despite Hillary Clinton's establishment machine. In Nevada, though Obama came in second in the popular vote at the caucuses, he managed to collect one more delegate than Clinton, and she had the former President and the son of the Democratic Majority Leader fighting for her hard in that state. Will we make it all the way to the convention without a nominee in either party? Maybe not, but maybe so. And who'd of thunk it? And when the winners get ready for the photo-op in the winner's circle, will Bloomberg be there to steal the trophy. I don't know race fans, but hold on to those tickets. No pay outs until it's official.
Bill Clinton, for instance, is out of control as far as I am concerned. I admire what he was able to do for our country. But the guy has to get out of the way. His temper is not helping the Democratic Party. His rants about Obama not getting enough negative press, his accusations of voter suppression in Nevada, his branding of Obama's Iraq policy as a "fairytale" is all getting to be a bit much. Who of any substance is going to want to be Hillary's vice president? It is as though Bill sees this election as a referendum on his legacy instead of a decision on the best course for our future as a nation. As much as a I fault the Republican organization for their near constant assault on the Clinton White House, and as much as I think the impeachment of our President over a lie about his sex life was inexcusable, I also fault Clinton himself for allowing it to come to that. I will never forget the betrayal I felt for believing President Clinton when he came on TV after the Super Bowl and wagged his finger at me and millions of Americans and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." Bill Clinton needs to get out of the way and Hillary needs to push him.
Meanwhile, I have been reading Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, and I am finding it to be much more substantive than I expected it to be. I am pleased. The moment in the debate last week, in which each of the three Democratic candidates was asked to share their biggest weakness was extremely enlightening. Obama was the only one of the three who really stated a weakness. He said he was disorganized with paperwork and that his desk was a mess. Rather than really address any weakness she might have, Clinton jumped on Obama and made the point that the President of the United States has to be able to organize and lead a large government. She came back to this point many times, but let's be real folks. The President of the United States will have a secretary to look after his filing system. Of course, the next President will have to be organized in his thinking and have to oversee a huge bureaucracy, but he also needs to have big, uniting ideas to put this country back on the right course. By the end of the night, I was ready to nominate Hillary as Obama's Chief of Staff.
Today, on the eve of Martin Luther King Day, Obama gave an incredible speech in Atlanta. The speech spoke of a need for unity in both speech and in deed. It was extremely powerful and hopeful.
Click here to see this amazing speech. Recently, however, some of Barack Obama's supporters have taken to accusing the Clinton's of being racist or of down-playing the importance of Martin Luther King, himself. Self-serving the Cintons might be, but racists, I don't think so. This is going to be a real race and Democrats can not be in the business of alienating either Obama's or Clinton's supporters, because they may really need them in the fall.
On the Republican side each contests seems to bring a new line-up at the finish line. Of course, Romney has won more than the others, but for the amount of money he's throw around... Not getting much of a bang for the buck. It's wide open. Even Giuliani hasn't been counted out and he hasn't come close to winning anything, but with his eggs in Florida's basket, and Super Tuesday just beyond, who knows? Huckabee has made quite a showing far less resources than the Romney machine--mostly by being genuine and mentioning Jesus and actually meaning it.
The biggest surprise of all is McCain's resurgence in the polls. He needed the win in South Carolina and he got it. He was counted out months ago and now is coming back. I really think that he is the one that Democrats should fear most. He speaks truth to power and he draws independent voters. Watch out. I myself was a fan of McCain before he started budding up to the same evangelical extremists he had originally denounced as damaging to the party a few years back. But recently he has done some things that really make me think that he may be back to his old self again--seen the error of his ways. He went to South Carolina and announced that he regretted not having spoken out against their flag, which incorporates the cross of the Confederacy, which many see as a divisive symbol -- a constant reminder of a time when blacks were enslaved and later segregated from much of this nation's civic life. I believe Democrats should view him as the most dangerous of the Republicans in their quest to recapture the White House.
In the meantime, Mayor Bloomberg of New York has been down here in Texas and out in California--making the political rounds. I doubt he will step into the race as an independent if McCain wins the Republican nomination, but look for him to seriously consider a run if Huckabee or Guiliani get the nod--especially if they end up being pitted against Clinton. Obama is more widely seen as appealing to independents. Mrs. Clinton is not. How many will be willing to change horses mid-stream? This race is going to get very interesting.
Who will endorse who? Who will be asked to join the tickets in the number two spot? Many things could affect the course of this contest. Currently, the economy is surging as a major issue for the electorate, but there are so many powder kegs around the World that one match could easily set any number of international conflicts ablaze. At least on the Republican side, we can expect to see a couple more jockeys thrown from their mounts and if Edwards comes up lame, and it looks like he might, where will his supporters put their money? He either makes it around the turn in South Carolina or his race is all but over.
The mud is flying and so is the money. There is no safe bet. And the odds keep changing. Could we actually go all the way to the conventions??? That's the political equivalent to a photo finish. And then we'll be off again.
You know, I am disappointed that Biden is not still in the chase. I hold open the hope that Obama will choose him as a vice presidential running mate. I think the two would complement each other nicely on several levels, but whatever happens one thing is sure, the electorate has become more involved than it has been in quite some time. I am pleasantly surprised that pundits were wrong about the front-loading of the election cycle. Many said that it would mean that the eventual nominees would be known even sooner than usual. Almost all agreed that money and establishment organizations would rule the day. But that has not been the case.
Huckabee won Iowa with little cash. Obama has won contests and been competitive in others despite Hillary Clinton's establishment machine. In Nevada, though Obama came in second in the popular vote at the caucuses, he managed to collect one more delegate than Clinton, and she had the former President and the son of the Democratic Majority Leader fighting for her hard in that state. Will we make it all the way to the convention without a nominee in either party? Maybe not, but maybe so. And who'd of thunk it? And when the winners get ready for the photo-op in the winner's circle, will Bloomberg be there to steal the trophy. I don't know race fans, but hold on to those tickets. No pay outs until it's official.
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