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Posts Tagged ‘Hillary Clinton’

America Could End!

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on March 22, 2017| Leave a Comment »

American-decline-statue-of-liberty

America could end.  Really?  This great republic might go the way of Ancient Rome if we are not careful.  We know that the nation stands on a shaky foundation( stolen land, stolen Africans) but it’s still the best country in history.

We should remember the line from President Lincoln’s first inaugural address regarding the “better angels of our nature.”  I could go back to Paul who wrote in his first letter to the church at Corinth ”Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.”

Oh, there are crazy divisions in America today: Republicans vs. Democrats, Voters vs. Non Voters, the Haves vs. the Have Nots, the two coasts vs. the everywhere else, Black vs. White, Brown vs. Whomever, Christians vs. Those Who Are Wrong (ok, the last one was just fun.)

In the Democrat Party, we have a division of Real Liberals/Progressives vs. Black Rural Clean Cut Southerners.  First of all, this writer thinks of the Dem Party as the party of inclusion while the GOP is the party of exclusion/marginalization.  My Republican friends generally feel they know what is best for everyone—with limited input from everyone else.  I grew up in the Dem Party that included New England and West coasts liberals, Blacks, working class union members, and White Dixiecrats.  Those Dixiecrats were still mad that Republican Lincoln reluctantly freed the slaves.

Hillary Clinton lost the election because the Dems didn’t court Black southerners or working class rural Whites.  Remember, Blacks are the back bone of the Dem Party from Virginia to Texas.  But, the D.N.C. spent most of their time trying to get undocumented Latinos citizenship so they could vote in bloc for the blue.

The DNC is about the business of convincing the heartland to agree with liberal policies rather than listening to our brand of moderation; that moderation is the only hope of getting back the working class White vote.  To Trump’s credit, he was all ears for blue collar voters who are struggling because Trump’s corporate buddies shipped their jobs overseas.

Dilemma: The southern Black rural agenda isn’t important to either major political party.  The national Dems are siding with Socialist Bernie Sanders.  While dude is a cool guy, give me, give me, give me isn’t the answer for Black America.

I will give you what you need and it won’t’ cost a penny in federal spending.  You need to carry yourself in a way that doesn’t depend on who is in the White House or governor’s mansion.  This self-reliant  mentality is rooted in Black nationalism from Marcus Garvey to Malcom X to surprisingly Justice Clarence Thomas.

In the 2018 elections, the Dem will be D.O.A. if they don’t come up with something fresh for my community.  We need to build a network of trendsetters who ensure that the message is clear and plain and that we know the importance of voting.  Of course, this bloggers thinks it starts with ideas and concepts outlined in https://bestinterestsinitiative.wordpress.com/long-term-bii/ .

It took a series of missteps and errors for the Dems to drop the White House with a quality candidate like Hillary Clinton.  If the Dems Team doesn’t appreciate the rural moderates and centrists, we might need to explore swaying elections in the Republican primaries because their candidate selection process seems to be based on arrogance and superiority.  When there is no action in the Dem primaries, I vote in the GOP primaries to assist their more reasonable candidates.  Remember, the Black voting power in the South could sway most elections.

Yes, America could end if we aren’t careful and the fall will started when too many Americans feeling the nation isn’t fair for them.

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Trojan Horse: Vote No on Opportunity School District Constitutional Amendment

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on June 30, 2016| 3 Comments »

trojan-horse-in-troy-city

The November election in Georgia is important because the Governor is trying to slip an education Trojan horse into every school system.   The Opportunity School District constitutional amendment sounds harmless or helpful: “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?”

Intervene.  Intervene how?  The Governor’s Office, not the state department of education, would take over certain schools with the option to declare them charter schools and privatize these schools.  “Oh, you went to a school so bad that the state took it over…what a stigma…do you know what stigma means?”

First, my concerns aren’t about Democrats and Republicans.  When Governor Deal was a congressman from the northern section of Georgia, he did a fine job representing the people of that region.  However, Georgia is a big and diverse state with different regions.  Muhammed Ali once said that the problem with Atlanta is that it is surrounded by Georgia.  Come on, champ, some of us prefer the rest of Georgia.

My point is that the conservative region above Atlanta doesn’t understand that schools fail for various reasons and only bloggers will admit that the primary reasons might be home life—little Johnny can’t focus at school if home is rough.  Of course, we all want kids to be ready to learn, focused and prepared to concentrate like we were…and we were because we grew up focusing from the front pew of church.

Wait a second, my conservative friends have been fighting against federal or state control of local governmental matters for 40 years.  Generally, they would hate a state officer telling them what to do with their local schools.

History

Some ultra conservatives have been trying to resegregate schools since Brown vs. the Board of Education.  Paying property taxes to fund a school full of kids whose parents don’t pay property taxes burns them up.  The situation is exacerbated by the notion that “those kids” at times are the discipline problems that make the public schools unacceptable.  So, Mr. Property Owner must go deeper into his pockets to pay for private school.  For the record, everyone should cheer for the academic success of every child because you want to have an intelligent labor force to attract well-paying industries.  If you don’t pay for school, you will pay in time in prison cost…Georgia State University or Georgia State Penitentiary.

Ultimate Real Deal

The Opportunity School District is a Trojan horse that would open the door to privatizing public schools and taking control of schools from local leaders and citizens.  I bet you will find some corporations that run schools at the center of this idea.  Remember, they tried the same thing with privatizing prisons—built the prisons and they got rich off mass incarceration.  Orange is the New Black is based on facts.

This deal is even cuter. This plan goes down like this: Rather than cherry-picking the best students and putting them into charter schools or magnet schools, you open the door to cherry-picking the worst schools or students, turn them over to private companies and the remaining students will be better off.

Yes, something must be done about under-preforming schools and the effort will require an honest analysis of all factors…including students, parents and environment.  But, the governor’s office taking over schools is not the answer.

Hillary Clinton Smiling

You know that Democrat voters in Georgia are experiencing an enthusiasm problem.  They aren’t necessarily hyped about voting for president because the national media keeps saying that Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida are the only swing states this side of the Mississippi River.  Clinton will win those states and with the help of Republicans running from Donald Trump, Georgia and North Carolina are on the toss-up list.

Clinton should be smiling because this crazy Opportunity School Board mess would light a fire under unlikely registered voters.  If presented to the people correctly, OSB could be a game changer.  Wait, it gets better.  Real money is flowing around the state to stop this ill-conceived amendment.  Traditionally, Dems raise money in Atlanta to spend in say Florida but this year, Hillary and maybe the U.S. Senate candidate Jim Barksdale might win by riding the coattails of the anti-Opportunity  School Board movement.

Bloggers are ready to stop OSB with rallies, cookouts, tailgates, receptions and radio spots.  Georgia Dems can be elitists at times—elbowing each other for glory.  We don’t have time for that crap this time because the stakes are too high…what’s in the balance is the future of our kids.  We won’t let them recreate a second class school system based on race, region, or income. I think they want rural school systems to have a city kids school and county kids school but that is really county kids getting new schools and town kids keeping the old, current schools.

Plan

The plan to stop OSB centers on early voting and educating voters about voting the total ballot.  President Obama recently said at Howard University’s graduation that he would have had a different congress if voters who voted for him would have voted for congress and other ballot items. We must get the word out and it needs to come from trusted members of the community…like me.  They need to put that money on the street…old school style, Maze and Motown playing at rallies, family reunion style.  Oh, I would put a Trojan horse with OSB on him on 3,000 t-shirts in one month.

Citizens should consider their use of time in support of the communities’ youth.  So, you can sit in a high school football game for three hours to support the players, cheerleaders and band but you won’t take 10 minutes to early vote for good candidates and against junk like OSB.  You use your smartphone to play Angry Birds but won’t get angry about conservative politicians trying to quietly take over our schools; we are talking about the same conservatives who constantly called for the end of the state and federal departments of education.  As projectlogicaga.com’s Best Interest Initiative states, everyone has an agenda.

My agenda is to use social media to mobilize and energize every voter this year.

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Stop Tripping on the 1994 Crime Bill

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , on April 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Clinton Crime

A million years ago, I was a congressional staffer and the 1994 Crime Bill was my baby. Since I wasn’t a high-profile staffer like the cats on House of Cards, I generally did the less sexy issues involving national parks, crops and naming post offices. But I was knee deep in that crime bill drama.

That legislation was driven by years of high crime rates and drug addiction.  In 1986, Maryland basketball star Len Bias died shortly after signing with the Boston Celtics and House Speaker Tipp O’Neill demanded that legislation addressing crack be ready after the August recess.  I was in college then but word is that a staffer from legislative counsel sat at his dining room table and just made stuff up—no hearings, no research.  That is the reason we had that crazy difference in sentencing for crack crimes and powder cocaine crimes.

Anyway, our Crime Bill was well researched and well fought over.  While Black Lives Matter is tripping on Bill Clinton, they need to see how many members of the Congressional Black Caucus crafted and voted for the Crime Bill.  And for the record, I appreciate the spirit of activism of the Black Lives Matter movement but I generally don’t care for people jumping up inside anyone’s event…there is a time and place.

The 1994 Crime Bill was a balance of prisons, prevention and policing.  I want to say that the community policing provisions could be used by local police today.  At times, I feel that the local police seem like overseers in my community—the average citizen isn’t the enemy and the average citizen hates crime more than anyone.  Some police have been hardened by the constant battle with the worst 10% of the community but that is no reason to treat the community a certain way.

With community policing, the officers develop personal relationships with folks on their beats.  They get out of the cars and pull off those mirrored Cool Hand Luke sunglasses to connect with citizens…Mrs. Jones didn’t turn on her porch light at dark, check on her.  I will always have a glass of Crystal Light Peach Mango Tea for any officer literally walking a beat.

Officers, deep inside, don’t want to see youth in jail but they must do their jobs and as Beretta said, “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.”  It’s the community’s job to offer options and opportunities to young people so they don’t go down that wrong path.

Finally, I can’t remember if the assault weapons ban was in the final Crime Law but I told my boss that people should have a certain amount of fire power to defend their families and to hunt.  However, military style weapons for home defense in  subdivisions is too much; good news is you got the bad guy…bad news is you blasted Mrs. Jones’ porch light across the street.

On the other hand, Worth County, Georgia, is half the size of Rhode Island and if the bad guys are at your rural house on one end of the county, your family could be cold by the time the deputies arrive.  In that case, you need to let that clip sing.  Biggie Smalls said, “Call the coroner..there’s gonna be a lot of slow singing and flower bringing if my burglar alarm starts ringing.”

So, Hillary Clinton isn’t responsible for everything President Bill Clinton and the Dems did back in the day.

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Hillary Clinton, Judge Willie Lockette and Black Lives Matter: Solutions

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on August 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

150818162003-hillary-clinton-black-lives-matter-meeting-large-169

Secretary Hillary Clinton recommended that Black Lives Matter activists get a more formal plan that involves solutions—good for her; good for them.  One of the biggest question marks about Clinton’s path into the Oval Office is can she get most of the Obama voters back to the polls in November of 2016. If she does, she would be president because she will (in my opinion) receive a surprising percentage of suburban women who voted for McCain and Romney.

Some say bloggers have delusions of grandeur.  Does Obamacare cover the treatment of this condition?  Well, I want to make a few points that will hopefully (unlikely) reach important ears through the six degrees of separation.

Black Lives Matter: While I can appreciate civil disobedience to a certain degree, this bum-rushing the stage stuff would be dangerous in the gun-loving South.  Also, they shouldn’t try that at a Minister Farrakhan speech because there would be more punches than at the last Ronda Rousey fight.

Because Black southerners are more moderate, Black Lives Matter might be surprised that many Blacks here think that equal outrage should be focused on Black on Black violence.

Judge Willie Lockette: Yes, he is grandfather of the football player from the Super Bowl but Lockette’s wisdom in Albany, Georgia, could save more people nationally than the number of fans in that stadium.  I took Administrative Law class from him in grad school so I know his logic is like Thurgood Marshall meets Andy Griffin.   While speaking to a fraternity’s youth group, Lockette broke down his recommendations for encounters with the police.

http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/jun/10/albany-state-university-holds-justice-while-black/

Lockette, who had a meeting with Simmons and some youth earlier this week to discuss the topic, talked about how young blacks should survive an encounter with police officers.

 “We came up with a list of four Do’s and four Don’ts,” Lockette said. Things not to do include don’t react, don’t reach, don’t run and don’t resist. Running is a major no-no, Lockett said.

 

Lockette’s list of things to do:

 

“Do respect the police even if you think they are wrong; do use restraint; do record everything. You have a cell phone, use it; and do report any problems you might have.

“And always remember, you could be right, but you could also be dead right.”

Candidate Clinton: Winning elections involves three things: getting people to vote for you, getting people to vote against the other person/people and who stays home.  Candidates have big egos and want people to vote for them because they are wonderful.  But, consider the people who won office because people were voting against the other person (it’s like rebound kisses.)  For example, Sonny Perdue became governor of Georgia because people were voting against then Governor Roy Barnes’ changes to the state flag and some changes to the educational system.  Hell, some voters couldn’t pick Perdue out of a line up but he rode that wave.

The “stay home” factor is a two-edged sword for Clinton.  The bad edge involves infrequent voters who voted for Obama because he was such a wonderful person (like Bill Clinton and some think Ronald Reagan) but who would blow off the next election.

The good edge for Clinton will be the fact many conservative voters are so particular about their issues and candidates than the might blow off the GOP nominee because that candidate knocked out their guy/gal or isn’t hardcore enough on a few issues.  From the grave, Reagan is saying take the most electable conservative and from Atlanta reasonable Republican Charlie Harper of Peach Pundit is telling his fellow conservatives that Donald Trump will make Hillary Clinton president for sure.

Solutions: While Black Lives Matters is grabbing mics like Run/DMC, the southern effort to help our communities starts with listening to Judge Lockette’s wisdom about being right and dead.

Secondly, since Clinton called for solutions and an organized plan, someone from her camp (and every political camp) should spend an hour reading Project Logic Ga’s Best Interests Initiative.  BII isn’t actually about what elected leaders can do for the people, it’s about the people functioning smarter after acknowledging that we must do for self first and that there isn’t always a governmental solution to every personal and community problem.  Yeah, I must have some serious delusions of grandeur jumping off because I think those nine blog posts could/should heal the divide in this country.

To Democrats, BII is a starting point to secure moderates and maybe restart the conservative section of the Blue Team.  To Republicans, BII is how you’ll should approach others with conservatism but don’t.

https://projectlogicga.com/best-interests-initiative/

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Voter Suppression Weasels: On Both Sides

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Weasels are hard at work planning to win the November elections with voter apathy and non-voter confusion.  As we say in my neighborhood, “you didn’t have that to do.”  Nixon would have won anyway back in the day if he left well enough alone but dark forces on his side got some bright ideas and he didn’t stop them.

Romney is a good guy according to one of my best friends who worked with him in Salt Lake City but he should say more against the sinister strategies of diabolical nerds. We remember that John McCain took the microphone from that lady at his rally who said Obama was an Arab—she did even get the part of the  world right as she was being wrong.  The same John McCain recently stood up against conservative witch-hunters who are sullying the names of Huma Abedin (Hillary Clinton’s right hand) and other federal public servants because their family members might have known someone who knew someone decades ago.  Romney is silent on this Muslim related matter but my friend who worked with him has always been quickly to point out positive aspects Romney’s faith. 

If the witch-hunters logic is correct, I must confess that I broke bread at many a congressional receptions in the 90s with Senator Strom Thurmond and others who were segregationists in the 60s.  Clearly, these fine southerner gentlemen were once associated with Klansmen and Citizen Council members. 

Oh, I have finally discovered why I can get employment in the federal bureaucracy.  It’s because I talked about neckties with the senior senator from South Carolina back in the day and said hello once or twice a week to Rep G.V. Sonny Montgomery of Mississippi in the cafeteria at breakfast.  Montgomery, as in the Montgomery G.I. Bill, was avoiding the member’s dining room because it was fully of members and he was friendlier to lowly staffers that most of the Congressional Black Caucus was.    

I am not writing about voter suppression because one must be registered to be a voter and these weasel-like efforts are based on people not registering because the process takes a little enough and time.  Someone recently changed the driver’s license process in Georgia to require four or five forms of identification—weasels at work with voting in mind.  To combat a weasel or other pest, we must think like them.  These weasels are the same people who privately joke that if you want to hide something from “certain people” you put it in a book.  I am sure they are thinking that a more involved registration process will turn away millions (I can see those naughty nerds smirking and rubbing their hands together.)

The weasels know that the same young people who will stand in line to get in the club will not spend half that time to register and vote.  Look here, rich folks will be fine if Obama or Romney wins but regular people feel presidential and congressional decisions harder.  When I voted Friday in the primary election, a young poll worker looked over my shoulder the whole time.  I wanted to tell the brother that I was voting years before he was born  but he was well-intended.  My mind turned to the hip hop group Third Base and the line from their classic “Pop Goes the Weasel” that goes “I have got a strong mind.. it dosen’t have to be   spoon-fed…I can read, it doesn’t have to be read.”  These rap purists who dreamed about beating up M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice, who they saw as sellouts for commercializing rap.

Well, we shouldn’t beat-up the weasels who are playing games with the important right to vote because they can only do what weak people allow them to do.  The margin of victory for McCain over Obama in 2008 in many states could have been erased easily by young people.  So, the real weasels included those who acknowledge Obama’s effort yet won’t get their facebook friends to vote. 

Finally, registering to vote isn’t about Romney and Obama; voting is a long-term powerful action.  If the GOP will be running the South for the rest of our live, we should (at times) select a one of their candidates who is the better or best among their field.  As we can see from the witch hunters, we could do worse than Georgia’s two GOP senators and my new congressman (Austin Scott.)  I can’t help but believe that these three guys privately are telling the nutty elements on their team to cut it out and dial it down.

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Stay: Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , on December 2, 2011| 1 Comment »

Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman should stay in the presidential race for the long haul.  If you think about it, Cain’s alleged actions were no worst that those of Bill Clinton, JFK, RFK, or FRD.  We would have had another Civil War before the two finalists for presidents were both Black so stop tripping about Cain can’t win.  He wins if he pushes the nation toward a flatter, simpler tax code.

Like Sarah Palin, Cain electrifies crowds and heaven knows Romney and Gingrich don’t have that ability…one of them will need Cain.

Jon Huntsman has no business leaving the race until a cross-section of the nation gets a good look at him.  He is the conservative Obama and a type Republican most people have never seen.  It is no secret that I want him to be on the ticket with Newt because Gingrich would need a VP who is grounded and cool.  Huntsman could get more southerner primary non-GOP votes than GOP votes and that is saying something. 

Obama is a great guy but we must think about what happens if the economy doesn’t improve in the next six months.  We must have a Plan B and I for one don’t want the GOP voters making the decision on who that would be alone.    Luckily, I live in a state where Dems can vote in the GOP primary and Georgia will be prominent in the presidential process with Newt and Cain on the stage.

Let me rant about marriage for a second:  Mrs. Gloria Cain, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Mrs. Maria Shiver Schwarzenegger and the late Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards are quality ladies whose husbands got involved with jumpoffs.  We shouldn’t forget that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels left the presidential contest because his marriage was damaged by his wife leaving for another man then coming back.  Powerful men sometimes like certain “private actions” that quality women don’t or shouldn’t do—let’s not go into graphic details.  Also, some people involved in long marriage sometimes miss “strange.”  After standing before God and family to take vows, these people are dead-a— wrong but in happens.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.  As a bachelor, I don’t enjoy the upside of being marriage (nightly kisses) and conversely married dudes shouldn’t enjoy the variety of being single. If I could have married Holly Robinson (before she was Peete,) I would have been happy for life but some guys won’t do right for aynthing. 

Honesty is the key; tell the truth.  If you want different folks every so often (Tiger Woods) stay single or make that clear from jumpstreet.  Many grand matrons delegate minor family duties to “the help” without blinking and evidential sleeping with old dudes has been included on the list of hired out chores.

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Rush Limbaugh’s 2008 “Support Hillary” Plan Could Help Obama 2012

Posted in politics, tagged , , , , , , , on November 18, 2011| 4 Comments »

Did Rush Limbaugh create the operational plan in 2008 for Obama/Biden primary success in 2012?  At the first public event for the unlikelyalliesproject.com, someone pointed out that Limbaugh created and pushed a national strategy which called for Republican crossover voting. 

The plan was for conservatives to vote for Hillary Clinton in open primary states and therefore prolong the Clinton/Obama battle.  Actually, the battle seasoned Obama and prepared him for McCain so thanks Rush Limbaugh and thanks for providing historic validity to this blogger’s idea that Democrats should do something similar in 2012.  Of course, Democrats aren’t crafty enough to do something diabolic but a positive twist on the Limbaugh technique would be Dems voting for less-bitter GOP candidates like Jon Huntsman or southern homeboys Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. 

James Carville and Paul Begala from the Bill Clinton campaign should be on this like white on rice. Carville recently said that Dems aren’t trying to hurt the Herman Cain campaign because Obama would eat Cain up in a general election debate.  As we say in rural Georgia, “don’t talk about it…be about… let’s get the show on the road.”  Obama vs. Cain.  Obama vs. Huntsman.  Obama vs. Paul.  Yes we can.  Obama vs. Huntsman would be creepy because they are basically the same person but on different sides of the political fence.   All GOP presidential campaigns except Romney should welcome Dems extending the primary season while they wait for their candidates to catch fire.

This blog and the unlikelyalliesproject.com aren’t about supporting any candidate or side.  We are about creating a forum for discussions involving ALL sides.  But, I tell you that Tom Joyner, Michael Baisden and Doug Banks could have fun with a new version of Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos.  

Check out the news article below on the 2008 Limbaugh effort to support Hillary and then information straight from his webpage. 

 http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/republicans-vote-hillary/2008/02/28/id/323031

Limbaugh Urges Republicans to Vote for Hillary

Thursday, February 28, 2008 09:25 AM

By: Jim Meyers

It may be sound unbelievable, but conservative Rush Limbaugh is urging Republicans to cross party lines this Tuesday in primaries in Ohio and Texas and vote for Hillary Clinton.

During his No. 1 rated radio show and on his Web site, http://www.rushlimbaugh.com, the former Clinton archenemy has told listeners to “pimp themselves” for just one day vote by voting for Hillary to keep the Democratic Party “at war with itself.”

Citing a story in a Texas newspaper headlined “Many Republicans to Vote for Obama,” Limbaugh told listeners this week: “I understand I’ve got a big challenge here to try to get Republicans to change their minds on this and vote for Hillary to keep her in the race, to keep that party at war with itself . . .

“It’s clear that Republicans in Texas have been listening to this program where we have advised Republicans to pimp themselves for a day and go vote in the Democrat primary . . . I just think, at this stage, the longer Hillary can stay in this, the better for us.”

Limbaugh said he wants to see Hillary and Barack Obama continue battling, noting that the battle will end if Hillary is vanquished and Obama can focus completely on presumptive GOP nominee John McCain.

“I know I’m fighting an uphill battle . . . vote for Hillary to keep this campaign going, this ‘uncivil war,’” Rush said.

“Remember what this is, this is about us winning. You have to understand, it’s not about Hillary winning; It’s about us winning. It’s about our party winning. It’s about those people losing. They’ve got some problems in the Democratic Party. It’s not all sweetness and light over there . . .

“If Hillary loses this thing, all of that’s going to come to a screeching halt. We want all the disruption in that party as possible. It’s about us winning.”

 http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2008/03/12/rush_the_vote_operation_chaos

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Blue Dog Democrats and Balancing Act

Posted in African Americans, Georgia, politics, tagged , , , , on August 17, 2009| 2 Comments »

I am confused on some level about the fairness or lack there of involving southern congressional politics.  First, the biggest indicators of public sentiment are elections and when members get 68% or better of the vote, that is saying something about what the people in that district want.  A very vocal minority in an area should not be misconstrued as a better indicator that the election.  Of course, some would say that the winner beat a weak opponent but the fact that more suitable opposition did not set up again tells you something.

When the conservatives took over the White House and Congress in the 1990s, the Democrats responded by accepting the public sentiment and accepting a subset of their party that was near the center.  Georgia always had Democrat congressmen who were conservative called Dixiecrats.  So Democrats learned to understand that Blue Dogs worked with the Bush White House because a sizable part of their constituency wanted that cooperation and dialog.   The fruits of that labor include agreements on veteran, defense and agriculture issues. 

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, why are some from the Right attacking the same Blue Dogs who were respectful to President Bush and his policies that even other Republicans now question?  I can understand  “getting at” the city liberals but why disrespectful fuss at those who have been kind to your cause in the past.  After the “interesting” Gore v. Bush election, most southern Democrats accepted the results without the ugliness we see now.

Another thing: please put a members actions in it’s proper perspective.  I personally appreciate members on both sides of the aisle who listen to both sides of the issues.  If a member is from a district with a balance mix of political views, his votes should be equally mixed.  I would not expect Rep. Kingston, Rep. Linder or Rep. Westmoreland to make many liberal votes nor would I expect Rep. Lewis or Rep. Johnson to make conservative votes.  For the Blue Dogs in the Georgia delegation, the situation is complicated because they have both rural and urban areas; Democrat and Republican; and conservatives, liberals and moderates. 

If you have a hypothetical government program and half of your congressional district wants to fund it at $100 million and the other half wants it funded at $300 million, do you compromise at $200 million?  Those type decisions trouble House Blue Dogs and their staffers daily.  If you think about it, southern senators often have similar concerns because they represent the whole diverse state.  While Georgia has conservative senators, liberal-to-moderate metro Atlanta has more people than the whole state of Alabama.  It’s a balancing act. 

What about the Blue Dogs who appeased the Right during the Bush years but are reluctant to lift a finger to help the Obama White House.  What would you do as a member of congress if you realized that part of your support base was flat wrong?  Would this situation be similar to the southern members of congress who courageously voted for the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s when the possible backlash was apparent?

They should think about Texas Rep. J.J. Pickle and the other six southerners who voted for the Civil Rights Act because it was the right thing to do.  For all the glamour of the Kennedy brothers, where were they when people could not drink from a public water fountain, ride a bus or order a slice of pie at the lunch counter in Woolworth’s?  They were trying to avoid alienating the whole South.  LBJ was the arm twister who got it done after the unfortunate loss of JFK.  JFK, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and President Obama are maybe too nice to deal with the far-right and/or rogue Democrats.  I am beginning to think that Michele Obama and Hillary Clinton have that certain LBJ toughness to get things done—talk about some women who don’t play.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/19/AR2005061900885.html

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President Obama a One Termer by choice and Art Shell

Posted in politics, tagged , , , on August 14, 2009| 3 Comments »

Coach Art Shell

Coach Art Shell

Jim Galloway of the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa said that President Obama is prepared to be a one-term president to pass health care reform and his energy plan.  Wait a second…that sounds familiar.  I have been saying the same thing on this blog for a year.  Because I am from a rural area, I have a country ability to read people that they don’t teach in MBA programs. 

The president has the same look in his eye that Art Shell had when he because the first Black N.F.L. head coach.  Shell got the Raiders when that great team was down and Obama became president of this great nation during a rough period.  In press conferences, the media would ask Shell play-calling questions other head coaches received infrequently and he would say, “coach’s decision….coach’s decision” and we knew what he really wanted to say: “I have never seen a head coach scrutinized like this.”  My friend Butch was famous for telling mall customer service people “waterboy..waterboy, bring me the bucket..if you didn’t want the job..you shouldn’t have took it.”  Of course, I am not calling the American president or Coach Shell a “boy;” I am just saying they both look like “I don’t need this aggravation when I am clearly better than many of my predecessors and I am doing the job I was hired to do.”

On June 5, 2008, Senators Obama and Clinton had a private meeting at the home of Senator Feinstein and I told every political junkie I know that my gut told me that a deal was made.  The deal would be that Obama would push the reforms he felt necessary to help America and if the nation was not pleased with his service, he would not run again..clearing the way for Clinton in 2012.  We should remember that Senator McCain also considered running as a reform-minded one-termer.  If I was president and the nation seemed unhappy with my performance, I wouldn’t give a long face speech like LBJ.  I would just tell them “you can have this…I’ m out…peace.” 

Of course, this topic is moot because the “change” initiatives will hopefully work.  

http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/08/14/says-iowa-rep-obama-willing-to-sacrifice-second-term-for-health-care-reform/

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