Welcome to the Corporate States of America?

Sorry for the long absence from writing; I’ve had too much work so far this semester, and as always, I care about the quality of these posts.  I do not just randomly throw whatever up here; I take time to research these posts.  As a result, yes, I am starting to write this on a Saturday night; this issue is too important to not write about.  Remember the Citizens United ruling?  We’re now seeing its full effects, and they are disturbing.  Several weeks ago, Target was called out for donating to a Minnesota candidate’s campaign based on his economic platform; this same candidate, it turns out, is against gay marriage.  Though the grassroots campaign against Target was successful, it turns out we were barely scratching the surface with the issue of corporate funding of campaigns.

Much larger than Target’s six-figure donation to MN Forward is the $10 million that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent this past week trying to elect Republicans in recent weeks.  Now, the idea of the Chamber funding political attack ads is nothing new, and is even, albeit tacitly, accepted in American politics.  I don’t think special interest groups on either side of the political spectrum should be involved in politics, but that’s another post for another day.  What is really getting at me is the question of whether the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending foreign money on campaign ads, which is a violation of Federal law.

What You Should Know About Missouri’s Proposition C (And Others Like It)

Well here we go: as Congress goes to its month-long August recess, we have a full slate of primaries and other developments in the midterm election races to keep us engaged in politics.  This Tuesday, the August primaries began in earnest with three states choosing their general election matches.  Now, I could just give you another long and detailed roundup of the results as I have for, well, just about every other primary this year, but Missouri gives us the first challenge to the health care law at the ballot box, so I thought I’d look at that instead.  Not to mention the fact that I go to college in Missouri, meaning I care about the results of this contest a bit more than just political curiosity.  Of course, because I know just how much you guys love to find out who won what, here’s what happened in Missouri, in a nutshell.

Brief Thoughts: Just Who the Hell is Alvin Greene?

Oh, South Carolina, just when we thought you’d given us all the political scandals you could muster, you just keep them coming.  One of the more interesting developments out of the primaries last Tuesday was the shocking win of Alvin Greene over heavily favored former state lawmaker Vic Rawl.  Okay, so upsets happen all the time; what’s so special about this one, you ask?  Where do I start?  According to the article, Alvin Greene is unemployed, making me wonder how he found the more than $10,000 required by the state to be on the ballot in the first place.  In addition, from what anyone can tell, Greene did not campaign anywhere, and yet managed to garner more than 100,000 votes to secure the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.  Ladies and gentlemen, here we go again.

Of course, scandals of this caliber are nothing new in South Carolina.  This last year has been particularly good for scandal aficionados; as you may remember, a little more than a year ago disgraced Governor Mark Sanford gave us the wonderful little euphemism “hiking the Appalachian Trail” for sneaking off to visit one’s mistress.  Remember Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress?  He’s from South Carolina too.  This year, more allegations of infidelity surfaced in the run up to the GOP gubernatorial primary.  Nikki Haley ultimately won her primary, but the dust-up in which a blogger accused Haley of having an affair with him.  Much has been said about that scandal, and since this is meant to be one of my shorter posts I won’t go into all of the…er saucy details of it.

After Mr. Greene won the primary and burst into the national spotlight, he hasn’t yet inspired confidence in the electorate or national Democrats, who seem to be quickly and rather publicly distancing themselves from his campaign.  In fact, Representative Clyburn, also of South Carolina and the House Majority Whip, has called for an investigation into the election, and who can blame him?  Now, he’s not the only one calling for an investigation; according to a new report from the Huffington Post, groups are quickly lining up calling for one.  Early on Monday, government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, echoed the calls for an investigation, with South Carolina State Democratic Chair joining in as well.  It would be all fine if the only reason Greene was being investigated was for not filing his paperwork, but there’s more.

A day or so after the primary, the article goes on to explain, the Associated Press found that Greene had been charged with showing porn to a college student, and his military discharge was “involuntary” according to the New York Times article.  Indeed, the charges alone should be grounds for him to step aside.  Not only do they raise even more questions about him, do we really want someone like that in Congress?  While many senior Democrats are wondering if he’s a Republican plant in the race, it seems that Senator DeMint is headed to an easy re-election this year.  Perhaps that’s the point: DeMint was worried, so they got Greene into the race. With every part of him not quite fitting the profile of a typical candidate for higher office, eyebrows should be raised.  It is possible that Greene is legitimate, but honestly, what are the odds?  Then again, this is South Carolina…

Related articles by Zemanta

• Who Cares Now – Perhaps, Alvin Greene (gadabout-blogalot.com)
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• Don Lemon Asks Alvin Greene If He Has “Any Mental Impairments” (alan.com)
• Mystery Senate Candidate Alvin Greene Does Countdown (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Alvin Greene Update: Vic Rawl looking for Election Day irregularities (charlestoncitypaper.com)

And They’re Off! General Election 2010 Gets Underway

Well, this week another big set of primary elections was settled.  Other than a few remaining primaries and run-off elections, the field for the 2010 midterm elections is now set.  Sorry this post took so long to come out; there are so many different narratives that emerged on Tuesday, both new and ones we’ve seen earlier this year, that it is tough to generalize the results.  The midterm elections and the results of these primaries are a topic I write about fairly often.  While health care reform, financial regulation, global warming legislation, and the other major initiatives Congress takes up affect all of us, the midterm elections have the potential to have far-reaching implications.

Certainly, they will determine whether we get the same level of partisan deadlock as we’ve had- or worse -in the next Congress, thus determining how difficult the fights on climate change legislation, further confirmations, and other measures Congress may take on will be.  But that’s just Congress; in November, several Governorships and state legislatures are up for grabs.   The primaries last night underscore the often-unpredictable nature of public opinion, and political campaigns in general.  Overall, there was one narrative that seemed to run stronger than the rest.

The Rise of the Challengers

Yesterday, in case you didn’t notice, was being called Super Tuesday by political pundits, most of the mainstream media, and just about all the campaigns involved in the various primaries being held around the country.  Technically, it wasn’t the “Super Tuesday”, as that refers to the day, normally in February, when a large portion of the states holding primaries in the Presidential race do so.  However, the name does certainly fit yesterday’s contests, as we saw the greatest number of primaries held on a single date thus far in the 2010 midterm election cycle.

Now, that’s a long and complicated statement, but basically it meant that there were no fewer than four or five closely contested elections that were happening simultaneously as I was flying halfway across the country.  Thankfully for my sanity and the ability of everyone to get about and vote who wanted to, polls don’t close until the early evening, with firm results not being discussed in the media until later that night.  In general, the theme of this week’s primaries was a general dissatisfaction with incumbents and a certain grassroots phenomenon we have all noticed in some way.

By far, the most interesting races to watch were the primaries in Pennsylvania, headlined by the battle between Senator Arlen Specter and Senate hopeful Rep. Joe Sestak.  According to the Huffington Post, Senator Specter’s career has come to a screeching halt, after he lost his primary.  Just about everyone is blaming it on the whole controversy over him switching parties last year, and they do have a valid point.  However, I chalk this one up to the general anti-incumbent feeling among voters this campaign season.  While the switch, and Representative Sestak’s advertisements highlighting it likely did have an effect on Pennsylvania voters, I get the feeling that the voters do not particularly care which party their longtime Senator happens to belong to; having been in the Senate for five terms, Senator Specter had the record of service to his state and the country that he could stand behind.  However, Rep. Sestak, who will now face Republican nominee Pat Toomey in November, appeared able to use Specter’s record against him by essentially arguing that thirty years was enough time and that a breath of fresh air is needed.  Whether that breath of fresh air means a “real” Democrat as Rep. Sestak portrayed himself in contrast to Sen. Specter or a new Republican in the Senate remains to be seen.

The Ten Commandments of Ronald Reagan

Well, the Republican Party is at it again.  It is natural for a soundly defeated opponent in any realm, on the battlefield, in politics, in business, etc. to re-evaluate itself and try to redefine itself in order to move past its defeat, but the new resolution being circulated by Republican Party leaders is pretty much pure madness.  Do they want to become marginalized?

In short, the new proposal, circulated by several senior members of the national Republican leadership, seeks to move the party far to the Right on the political spectrum.  While many of the pieces of the proposal sound like classic Republican values, such as support for gun-ownership rights, smaller government, et cetera, many of the proposals are already controversial.  For instance, the resolution supports the Defense of Marriage Act and opposes any sort of amnesty for illegal immigrants.  Never mind the fact that the Latino community is growing in size and political influence every year, it seems as if the Republicans do not want any of the vote from them.  In addition, the support for the Defense of Marriage Act is sure to cost them some points with the ever-important moderates.  In this era of the growth of swing voters who do not identify with either major party enough to vote for them on principle, these are the exact people the Republicans need to win over.

In fact, we could say that modern elections come down to whichever party wins over the most moderates; President Obama did in 2008, and it is expected that whoever wins in 2010 or 2012 will as well.  These voters do not agree with either party, but if passed, this Republican proposal, eerily reminiscent of the Ten Commandments in the way it invokes the name of President Reagan, and of course by the number of pieces in it, no Republican candidate will be a viable option to these moderate voters, who are often turned off by extreme views.  This proposal would essentially force any national Republican candidates to be on the far-right, a la Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and others, since the proposal mentions, among other things, the withdrawal of national party support for any candidate that does not agree with at least 8 out of the 10 provisions.  Somehow, I do not think this is what Reagan meant when he said ” the Republican Party should be devoted to conservative principles but also be open to diverse views,” as quoted in the article linked above.

Reflections on Yesterday’s Elections

Last night, after many of you went to sleep, the elections in New York’s 23rd Congressional District and in Maine were decided. As you have probably heard by now, Bill Owens became the first Democrat in a century to be elected from that district after the Conservative Party’s candidate conceded. In addition, the pending law that would have legalized gay marriage in Maine was rejected by voters in a 53 – 47 margin.

As predicted, in these races and the marquee gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, both sides moved to spin the results in their favor almost immediately. I think both sides should slow down; the Democrats have not won anything more than another House seat, and neither is the GOP going to completely reverse the Congressional numbers next year.

In both Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Republicans won the elections. In addition, New Jersey’s current governor is popularly unpopular; his approval ratings rival those of Congress on certain issues. The Democratic candidate in Virginia had such a weak campaign that even President Obama was not vocally supporting him. In addition, all the elections yesterday were decided on local issues; the Republican Party cannot and should not try to scale these up to the national level, unless mid-term Congressional elections in Florida hinge on whether the New Jersey Turnpike is privatized.

If there is one overarching, general conclusion to be drawn from the elections yesterday, it is that moderates are king. As I stated earlier, the moderate Republicans won, while Conservative candidate Hoffman lost. If the GOP tries to do a similar trick they pulled with the endorsed Republican candidate, who was forced out of the race last weekend, this situation will be repeated around the country. It was not certain before, but after last night it is clear: the life of the GOP as we know it depends on whether they can muzzle the screaming right-wing conservatives. Chairman Michael Steele is the head of the Republican Party, Bill O’Reilley is not.

UPDATED: Election Watch

Well, today is voting day in America.  Being an off-year, there are few races going on, though there are some notable ones in Virginia, New Jersey, and, lately, a Congressional district in upstate New York.  If there is anything potentially significant about the elections this year, it is the fact that both parties will be using them as a predictor of success or failure in next year’s mid-term elections.  However, the picture is not so simple.  Races for Governor typically hinge on local issues instead of national ones, and elections for the House of Representatives are local by nature.  However, the New York 23rd District race is a special case, making this a relatively important election.

What makes New York’s race important is how strange it has been in the last few days.  During the past few days, we have seen the national debate within the Republican Party about whether to be more conservative or more inclusive play out in this rural district.  Indeed, the nation has descended on this district; the mere fact that it is important to be in this post attests to this, though big-name Republicans such as Sarah Palin, Party Chairman Steele, and other prominent figures have weighed in.  What makes it interesting is the fact that the Republican Party forced the “official” Republican candidate to drop out of the race last weekend in favor of a more conservative third party candidate, aptly running from the Conservative Party.  If Mr. Douglas Hoffman wins this election, it should be a definitive sign of where the GOP is heading.  A minor note: a Republican has won this district every time for over 100 years; technically, this will be the first time that does not happen.

As far as traditional electoral drama goes, the action is in New Jersey.  The race is one of those classic “too close to call” ones, though the polls closed about an hour ago.  The election is less a referendum on President Obama than one on the performance of Gov. Jon Corzine, who is running for re-election.  As of earlier today, the race is effectively a dead heat, with both candidates hovering around 40% of the vote.  The election will therefore hinge on the draw of third-party candidate Christopher Daggett.  Nationally, the only way New Jersey’s election should matter is if Republicans capture victories in all three major races tonight, though of course, substitute Conservative Party for GOP in NY-23.

Speaking of Republican victories, here are the results, updated as they come in:

• Virginia goes to the GOP candidate, Robert F. McDonnell.  no surprises here, as President Obama and the Democrats largely gave up on his challenger, R. Creigh Deeds.  In addition, McDonnell’s campaign seemed keep its distance from the conservatives of the party, appealing to more moderate voters.  If Mr. Hoffman loses in NY, we can pretty much take this as evidence that the GOP needs to shift to be more moderate to have a hope of retaking the majority.
• UPDATE: 9:15 PM Central Time.  The Associated Press is reporting that New Jersey is going to the Republicans.  Still uncorroborated by other sources, but if it checks out, could be a bad sign for the Democrats.  At the very least, if Mr. Christie wins, we won’t hear the end of it from the Right for the next year.  Also noteworthy, it became a trending topic on Twitter recent enough that I missed it when I went to write this update.  Looking like possible confirmation.
• UPDATE 9:25 PM: New York Times and CNN just called New Jersey.  Corzine’s out, Christie’s in in New Jersey.  Still waiting on results from NY-23.  Also, Boston and New York City mayors appear to be getting re-elected.
• UPDATE 10:06 PM: More Mayoral election results coming in.  Detroit’s mayor, former basketball star Dave Bing, was elected to a full term.  He had been serving out the term of scandal-ousted Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick since May, and apparently he is likable enough.  In addition, Miami elected a new mayor, Tomas Regalado.  Of interest in this election was his margin.  According to the New York Times, with 113 of 128 precincts reporting, he is ahead 72 to 28.  Also of interest, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is still ahead in the polls, but it is much closer than anyone thought they would be.  Still not officially called yet, but projected to be in his favor.
• UPDATE 10:22 PM: Finally some news out of New York’s 23rd Congressional District.  Again from the New York Times post cited above, it appears that, with 70% of the results, the Democrat is ahead by around 3 points.  Remember, this is the district that has gone to the Republican for over 100 years.  The fact that a Democrat is ahead in the polls is remarkable, but the Republican candidate, who pulled out of the race on Saturday, is polling around 5% of the vote.  If these numbers hold, it will be pretty safe to call it a rebuke against the extreme conservatism promoted by Sarah Palin, Michael Steele, and others in the national GOP establishment.  Personally, I hope that this is the case.  For the sake of maintaining the balance of power between the parties, the Republicans need to come to grips with reality and stop overreacting.
• UPDATE 10:35 PM: This is getting largely missed by mainstream media, but Maine and Washington State are also voting tonight.  Both states are voting on proposals relating to gay marriage.  Again, the national networks do not seem to be picking this up, but based on tweets under the ‘Maine’ trending topic, Washington State passed a proposition supporting domestic partnerships in that state.  Unfortunately, and often in the same metaphorical breath on Twitter, a proposition overturning a similar measure passed by that state’s legislature is too close to call.  Another one to watch, to be sure.
• UPDATE 11:00 PM: This is probably my last update for the night, given that I am a college student and need to do some work in addition to watching election results.  NY-23 is still too close to call, as is the proposition in Maine.  If something breaks relatively soon, I’ll update it, otherwise, I’ll cover it in a broader post on what both major parties are taking away from this election.
• UPDATE 11:34 PM: Just when I get down to work, they settle the election in NY-23 is settled in what can only be a disaster for the GOP.  Douglas Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate whom the far Right had placed so much money and faith in, conceded the election to the Democrat, Bill Owens.  Earlier, I (along with just about everyone else watching this election) remarked that this district has gone to a Republican for over 100 years.  Now, for the first time since the mid-19th century, a Democrat is representing the 23rd District of New York.  This news, coupled with the victory of Mr. McDonnell in Virginia, is a blow to those in the GOP who advocated the “focus on the fundamentals” – a return to strict conservatism.  Surely, the point that moderates carried the day while conservatives lost is not going to be lost on the Republican National Committee.  If they have any desire to return to power in Washington, D.C., they will muzzle the angry conservatives on the Right and promote moderate Republicans in next year’s mid-term elections and beyond.  That is the Republicans’ winning formula.
• UPDATE 12:04 AM: Let’s try this once again.  Seriously, the last post for the night.  Unfortunately, this is depressing news to me.  Reports are coming in that Maine voters have overturned the measure passed by the legislature giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry by a margin of 53 to 47, with 86% reporting.  No matter what your views on this particular issue are, I think we should all find it appalling that there was very little if any mainstream media coverage of this throughout the night.  Heck, the mayoral races in random cities got more national coverage than this important issue.  An interesting footnote to this: while the anti-gay-marriage proposition appears to be passing with the slimmest of margins, Maine voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.  How many jokes about this do you think we will see about this on tomorrow’s late night comedy shows?