Blog For Arizona

Ramblings

Today, I don't have a theme- just some thoughts.

Dean recieved an endorsement which will prove even more important that Gore's in the NH race: the NH NEA. The powerful teacher's Association sets a precedent for other states' Associations to follow with endorsements for Dean.

______________________________________________

The Bush Administration lives in fear of Dean. You can tell by the tone of their attacks. They are not attacking him on policy so much as they are attacking his electability.

"'The best thing Bush has going for him is that Dean is a weak Michael Dukakis,' a key Bush official told the Daily News. 'Dukakis won 10 states. Unless things turn very bad for Bush, I don't see Dean winning more than five.'"

Now, I see this sort of statement as an attempt to frighten Dems away from nominating Dean. If the Bush Administration was convinced they would beat Dean mercilessly, why wouldn't they encourage his nomination?

Were I Rove, and I really wanted to face Dean, I would be saying that I was afraid of his candidacy and had great respect for his ability to compete in the General Election to encourage his nomination. The fact that they ridicule his candidacy and say how easy they think he will be to beat only establishes that they are shitting their pants over the prospect of facing him in November.

Of course, the idea that Dean will only carry 5 states is ludicrous. Dean will carry every state Gore carried and likely several more. The anecdotal evidence and polling figures show independents and Republicans pulling away from Bush in large numbers is overwhelming. Indpendents dislike Bush as much or more than Democrats, and many Moderate and classically Conservative Republicans are disgusted by what Bush has done while in office. Between the likely higher turnout among Dems, the disproportionate swing to the the Democrats among Independents, and cross-over votes from fed-up Republicans, the likely outcome of a Dean candidacy is to pickup a few additional battleground states which Bush won narrowly in 2000 and shoring up support in those Gore won narrowly. Add to this the fallout from the steel tarriff debacle in steel producing states and one or two more major states fall into the Democratic column.

What I am seeing is an increasingly desperate GOP which realizes privately they are in terrible trouble. They need to stop Dean from capturing the nomination every bit as badly as the other Democratic candidates. In fact, I would not be at all surprised if the Republicans were supporting the campaigns of some of the other Dems unbeknownced to them.

_______________________________________________

The Supreme Court's ruling on McCain-Feingold may well leave the GOP scambling for means to distribute the funds it needs to compete. Dems have a distinct advantage in 527 charitable organizations. This could tend to level the playing field somewhat. Expect the GOP to be scrambling to organize 527s for lobbying purposes in great numbers over the coming year.

_______________________________________________

The war in Afghanistan is heating back up with Operation Avalanche. 2,000 soldiers are being deployed into lawless areas of the country in order to try to reassert control over Taliban held areas. The wave of Taliban attacks against aid workers, U.S. soldiers and Afghan government officials has belied American claims that it is winning the war to stabilize the country. Two years after the fall of the Taliban, some 11,700 soldiers - mainly Americas - remain in Afghanistan on combat missions against the Taliban and their allies, remnants of al-Qaida, and followers of renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

But Saturday's airstrike - which targeted local Taliban militants but killed children playing in a village in Ghazni province - highlighted the risk that a heavy U.S. military hand may only alienate Afghan civilians. So far, bombing raids on suspected resistance targets have resulted in the deaths of 15 innocent children. The U.S. response? The children are being used as human shields. Too bad, but not our problem.

______________________________________________

President Bush's brother Neil has entered into a consulting contract with a Chinee chipmaker for 400K per year. This, at a time that the president has promised to crack down on Chinese trade abuses. Now, I can't say what actual expertise Neil has in making computer chips, but it simply looks like an attempt to buy influence with the Bush family - big surprise, eh? I suppose the lesson that Bush family can teach us is that the more often, and the more blatant your corruption, the less likely people are to notice it or make a big deal of it; it's only to be expected.

_______________________________________________

The GOP refused to exentend unemployment benefits, again. This will mean a cold and cruel Christmas for thousands of families.

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said extending the benefits was unjustified when unemployment is going down in the country. ``It's a question of whether we continue to be in an extraordinary unemployment environment, and we are not,'' Blunt said.

What?!? What the hell does aggregate unemployment have to do with the suffering and ruin of families affected by long-term employment? Nothing. That excuse is nothing more than a thinly veiled "fuck you" to every out-of-work person in the country.

In fact, unemployment did decline from 6.1% to 5.9%. Of course, that doesn't account for those who have been looking too long and given up, dropping out of the labor market, thus no longer being counted in the statistic. This is clear evidence of the irresponsible, coldhearted philosophy of the GOP. The GOP is perfectly willing to spend 373 Billion on their omnibus spending package to line the pockets of their contributors, but refuse a few million to prevent the suffering of families thrown out of work by thier disastrous policies. These misplaced priorities demonstrate how far from basic human decency and concern for the American people the GOP has moved.

This Congressional GOP deserves to lined up against the wall and fired - with no unemployment benefits and no prospects for a new job.

______________________________________________

The Bush Adminstration recently announced that Iraqi reconstruction contracts would only be awarded to countries who originally supported the war. Specifically, that leaves out Germany, France, China and Russia, all of whom are incensed by the move. Of course, in its wisdom, the Administration is also currently engaged, though the good offices of GOP fixer James Baker, in negotiating forgiveness or refinancing of funds owed by Iraq to these very same nations. Think that the Europeans won't mind being denied the benefits, while being asked to make the sacrifices? Don't count on it. They are already studying the legality of this rule under international trade law and will surely take us to task if they possibly can.

posted by Michael Bryan @ 12/10/2003 03:08:00 PM