Tag: 2008 elections

David Yepsen, of the Des Moines Register, is the most respected political analyst in Iowa. Tucked into his analysis of the new Register poll, which shows Barack Obama breaking out to a legitimate lead, is a little nugget that succinctly explains why Iowa should not matter.

A lot of Democratic caucus-goers aren’t all that Democratic. Some 40 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers say they are independents, and another 5 percent say they are Republicans. (Technically, they’ll all have to re-register as Democrats to participate, but that can be done at the caucus site.) Put another way, 54 percent of the Democratic caucus-goers say they’re Democrats. In 2004, it was 80 percent.

In other words, the caucus that could launch or break campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination will be largely determined by people who do not represent the Democratic Party. This should be a stop-the-presses headline, and it should be the number one point emphasized by all who truly care about the Democratic Party. Iowa is officially a farce!

Live from the studios of MCAM, Ch 23 in Manchester NH, you’re invited to bring in the New Year with Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich at the Resolution for Peace!

The New York Times published an editorial today entitled Looking at America that says very clearly what is at stake with the next election and how far we have to go to get back to the America we once knew:

There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.

–snip

The country and much of the world was rightly and profoundly frightened by the single-minded hatred and ingenuity displayed by this new enemy. But there is no excuse for how President Bush and his advisers panicked – how they forgot that it is their responsibility to protect American lives and American ideals, that there really is no safety for Americans or their country when those ideals are sacrificed.

The editorial is the question many people in Europe are asking as they consider whether the “American Century” is over because of the mistakes of George W. Bush and company.  Whether they will have to look to the EU as the new world leader or whether Putin has positioned Russia to take that role, as concerning as that idea may be.

Whether those in America realise the precarious nature of their world position and their own position at home is yet to be seen and will require much reflection by the American people themselves.  But, as the NYT editorial says so well and considering all that’s at stake, it may have become a prerequisite to good citizenship.  

More below the jump…

Early on, I chastised Maryscott for speaking to “who was electable” and her premature outright dismissal of all but the top three candidates.  I thought it fair to see where the coming months would lead. Time has proven her right.

Whether or not the Murdoch-Media-Monolithic-Magnate has been successful in the preordaining our candidates by sheer barrage and unfair coverage; the time for Primaries is at hand.

I want to talk about the Objective of a Primary, and why I think Docudharmans should join me in supporting John Edwards.

Washington – To understand the importance Dennis Kucinich places on spirituality, scan his generally spare Capitol Hill office: a white cloth from the Dalai Lama, a bust of Gandhi, and a picture representing “conscious light” – a gift from Brahma Kumaris nuns.

There’s a Tibetan dragon washbowl and, on his desk, two heavy crucifixes once worn by Catholic nuns who taught him and who, he says, “saved my life.”

By Amanda Paulson via csmonitor.com

MANCHESTER, N.H., Dec. 28 PRNewswire-USNewswire — The assassination of Pakistani opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto not only underscores the dangerous and heightening political volatility throughout the entire Middle East, it should also send a message to U.S. voters about the importance of electing leaders whose foreign policy records and pronouncements reflect sound judgment in mitigating hostilities, not contributing to them.

From PR Newswire

Yes, Virginia, there is a Kucinich candidacy.  In fact, the Democratic Party of Virgina has held an online poll of the six candidates who have qualified to be on the state’s ballot.