Tagged: obama

23Sep

The Irony of the Teabagger

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments

I’ve really been getting a kick out of the people who are on the street protesting a wild array of issues. Most of the protesting is done under guise of “spending,” but it really seems that uneducated white people are angry, but they are not quite sure what to protest. Some mention healthcare reform, but yet they have no idea what plans are being discussed in congress.

The “bailout” seems to be a common complaint among the protesters, which seems really strange to me considering the bailout has worked to perfection. These people have no idea how bad it could have been.


Perhaps my biggest issue with the teabaggers, is the overwhelming irony that many of them benefit from government employment and/or programs. Some of the most ardent neoconservatives I know have government jobs, benefit from government programs, or are on some form of government assistance.

Its going to be very interesting to see how this affects the political landscape in the short and long term. None of the whackjobs out on the street voted for Obama, but they do vote. The handful of moderate republicans have to be worried. Conservative democrats will definitely have problems too. It will be very interesting to see how this fear affects voting for issues like healthcare or immigration reform.

Obama might have trouble getting help from moderates, who would be rightly afraid of reprisals come election day. From a national standpoint, a more conservative shift in the Republican party will only benefit the Democrats in the long term.

27Oct

The Obama Financing Revolution

Posted in election2008, Politics | Leave a comment


The election is a week away, and Barack Obama is leading nationally. While the polls indicate a strong lead, I think the election will be a lot closer than the polls indicate. John McCain still has a slim chance of pulling this out.

The McCain campaign has been mismanaged from the start, but one item that comes up over and over again in this election is money. Barack Obama has a huge money advantage over John McCain. Pundits think that the Obama campaign will have a dramatic change on how political campaigns are run in the future.

Obama’s focus of small internet based donations is not a new tactic, the Dean campaign revolutionized Internet campaigning in 2004, and Obama’s people built upon that success in 2008. The Republicans foolishly continued to focus on max donations from wealthy people.

John McCain likes to bring up Obama’s refusal to accept federal funds, and I disagreed with Obama’s reversal, but the Obama financing revolution has nothing to do with his refusal of federal money. The real story is Obama’s ability to pull in first time donors.

Before this election, almost nobody I knew donated to political campaigns. The amount of people I know who have donated to Obama’s campaign is staggering. Obama’s message has really resonated with people, and the American people realize the importance of this election. The tough primary fight with Senator Clinton aided Obama’s general election effort by getting exposure in every state.

Obama’s ability to raise funds is a testament to his message. The American people have spoken in mass with their wallets. Its not the “elites” who are empowering the Obama campaign, its middle class folks giving small donations.

06Oct

“Maverick” Economics

Posted in Meta | 2 Comments

Barack Obama’s lead is growing nationwide, so what can McCain do? The economy is spinning out of control, but its obvious that McCain has no compelling ideas, so his only lifeline is mudslinging. John McCain wants people to fear Obama, by playing the “character assassination by association” game.

Its a reckless attempt to stop the bleeding by McCain, just like picking Palin for the VP slot. Its very reckless, when you consider that John McCain was at the center one of the biggest financial crises in the history of our nation. Not only a financial disaster, but a severe lapse in ethics by senator McCain.

Its obvious, that McCain has yet to learn from his past mistakes.

25Sep

Suspend the campaign?

Posted in election2008, Politics | Leave a comment

With 40 days left till election day, the last thing we need to do is cancel debates and suspend campaigning. John McCain is simply grandstanding to try and avoid a further slide in the polls. Some sort of stimulus or bailout is definitely needed, but we need to uphold the constitution.

Today, John McCain mentioned that the country needed to get together like we did after 9-11. Remember what legislation was rushed together after 9-11? It was called the Patriot act, and it was the single worse piece of legislation passed in my lifetime.

The last thing we need to do is pass a rubber stamp bill, that give the treasury secretary unprecedented powers with little oversight. The idea that we need to pass a huge stimulus bill by the weekend is not only flawed, its reckless. The government should pass a short term bill, and work on a comprehensive package that is well thought out.

Finally, why does McCain need to suspend his campaign? Isn’t that what his vice president pick is for? If McCain can’t let Palin run the campaign for 2 days, why would anyone consider her to be fit for the oval office?