So this is your basic type Iraq War addiction fix. Now the Republicans are running scared. They really are at a loss here. They have to keep it going but they know it's not going to be helping them in the fall. But too they sure as hell can't be voting with the progressives. It's bad enough having to stick their head in the sand without having to eat it as well.
So they voted "Present". That caused the measure to be defeated. The progressive "Blues" went from 140 last year to 147 this year. Of note is Boswell of Iowa. He abandoned his Blue Dog buddies probably because he's got a race on his hands from real progressive (or at least a lot more) Ed Fallon.
After the jump two more interesting votes from Thursday.
BILL TITLE: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Senate Amendment With Amendment No
H R 2642 YEA-AND-NAY 15-May-2008 3:30 PM
From a comment from Carl Davidson on Obama that deserves a post of it's own.
I thought Barack just deep down a Chicago Pol who learned his craft and the feet of Emil Jones, but you may be right here carl.. I just need to google some of these words to be sure.
I'm a pragmatist not only in philosophy, but also politics. Of those remaining, Obama is the best option, so I signed on to 'Progressives for Obama' and our web project
We don't claim Obama is a leftist or even a consistent progressive. He's really a high-road industrial policy capitalist and 'soft power' multipolar globalist, while Hillary is a garden variety corporate liberal capitalist and globalist and McCain is an unreconstructed neoliberal capitalist and US hegemonist.
Truth be told, Obama is the best candidate for productive capital (as opposed to speculative) and does the least harm to the working class. That how he can unite the left, progressives and moderates vs the right in a new majority coalition.
I'll get back to you Carl but how about an ongoing you vs me blog debate through the election?
Larry McKeon, the 1st openly gay member of Illinois legislature, died Tuesday, May 13th, in Springfield.
From his Tribune Obit:
Mr. McKeon was elected to the House in 1996 by voters in what was then the North Side's 34th District, which encompassed parts of neighborhoods including Ravenswood, Uptown, Andersonville and West Rogers Park. At the time, the seat was open and the city's gay community sought one of its own in the legislature.
"It was not only symbolism but it was a catalyst to move legislation from the inside," said Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who in 2003 became Chicago's first openly gay alderman. "We need to have somebody at the table."
Mr. McKeon, an ex-police officer with strong ties to Daley, "was someone who could win and whose profile broke stereotypes," said Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois
we've been thinking about how we should cover this democratic convention for a number of months now. look for a number of regular updates about the democratic convention, illinois' delegation to the convention, the development of the democratic platform and perhaps even some coverage of the frivolity involved in any political convention over the next few months.
congratulations to everyone involved. you made it happen!
Poblano is all the rage right now in the progressive blogosphere. By combining and rating polls and pollsters and then applying census data and fancy math Poblano is running rings around the primary prediction game.
Of note here in Illinois is our own Progress Illinois. Both outfits run a tight professional shop. So when Progress Illinois goes to Poblano to pose some questions it behooves us all to pay attention. Here's what Progress Illinois did:
Recently, Progress Illinois and the SEIU Illinois Council (which sponsors us) asked Poblano to examine how incremental increases in turnout among certain demographic groups would affect the outcome of an Obama-McCain contest. What he found underscores the importance of voter mobilization this year.
After the jump is the portion of Poblano's effort that describes what coud happen in Illinois and Indiana. The upshot is that Indiana could be won by Obama. It will be a matter of creating and turning out new black, Hispanic and young voters. Some very interesting stuff.
It really shouldn't be that hard a thing to do. That is to step back and realize that there isn't a huge difference between Hillary and Barack. Certainly when it comes to policy and political capability. Sure maybe there are externalities that might make one or the other more electable, but really they are both solid Democrats even if maybe a bit too wedded to power interests. But hey, lets face it there is no way a "real" progressive is going to get elected at this time.
But the thing now is to get the Republicans out of power. And that means being partisanly loyal. Even if Barack thinks he can steer a bi-partisan course, we know that is not a very sophisticated approach given the current crop of in-power Republicans.
Hello Ted. Knock knock knock (on his head). Are you there? It's not helpful to be dissing other Democrats, especially ones with whom we are trying to make nice, so they continue to feel good about all Democrats, even their ostensible opponents in the primary.
I have a lot of respect for Ted Kennedy, but I don't know how the hell he comes off saying that. The gratuitous attack on her is uncalled for and wrong. He is a better senator than that comment reveals.
Kirk and Biggert vote against mothers! Finally Roskam and Shimkus do the right thing. Sure it was a procedural vote where they first voted for it then against it but still ...
H RES 1113 RECORDED VOTE 7-May-2008 2:27 PM
QUESTION: Table Motion to Reconsider
BILL TITLE: Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States
"At this point, Barack is the presumptive nominee," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel during the New Yorker's magazine conference. "Hillary can't win but something could happen that could effect that Barack could lose the nomination."
Bowers over at OpenLeft has started an Obama Vice President polling for the netroots. I have challenged Bowers to a little bet. Namely that the poll I am posting here will closely mirror his. What makes the challenge interesting is that we will do it with one hundreth the number of voters. So folks have at both polls. Ours on the front page and his is here.
Here's where I make the bet. What makes this interesting is that he is using fancy-smancy Instant Runoff Polling while we use simple approval voting polling. He's running Soapblox like we are so he could do it too. In the past we have closely mirrored his thousands of voters results with tens of voters here. Except perhaps Obama did better here in Illinois. I tell you these approval voting polls are very powerful.
Last fall, I wrote in a rather bothered tone that Chicago failed to even apply for federal congestion relief funds. Well, it looks like New York's plan fell through. And I don't really know how it happened but we just ended up with the potential of $153 million in federal money.
First off, let me advise anyone ever going to NW Indiana that if Mapquest tells you to get off at Exit 74B, ignore it unless you want to head toward Iowa/Wisconsin. If you have a 4 am departure and coffee hasn't kicked in you could, hypothetically speaking, get confused.
Fortunately the bonus of working Lake County is that you might think you will be 1/2 hour late, but due to the screwy split time zones of Indiana, a town like Dyer is on Chicago time, so even with a detour -- not saying I took one but just hypothetically -- you can still make your 5:45 phone-in.
My destination and station for today, Faith Reformed Church, is a small megachurch surrounded by a subdivision of spanking new homes on the western edge of Indiana, with Cook County visible just beyond a golf course sand trap. Obviously in dire need (heh heh) of a legal observer. By "small" I mean that the parking lot looks to hold about 700 cars, and the first Obama passer stationed here, who attends, says they have 4 services each Sunday morning, all 4 are packed to the gills, and so they are going to tear down the church (which is all of about 3 years old) and build a bigger one (a McCathedral?). The secret? He says their pastors are all "educated" and "we have lots of music."
Today marks the 47th and 48th primaries or caucuses for the Democratic presidential nomination. More than 90 percent of the delegates will have been chosen by tonight. By now, we all ought to know the drill.
The day begins with the Clinton campaign “leaking” something to the Drudge Report to set expectations for the day. That then gets repeated on political blogs and cable news, where Clinton surrogate Terry McAuliffe elaborates. Today’s “expectation”: That the Clinton campaign expects a “15 point” defeat in North Carolina. Clinton’s yapping puppies in the news media repeat the manufactured expectation all day long, in which the bar is supposedly now that if Clinton comes within 15 points in that state that she has somehow “won” with a 14 point (or 6 point) defeat.
Around 4 p.m. rumors of exit polls begin circulating on the Internet. Around 5:30 p.m. AP and other news organizations leak minor data from the exit polls that explains almost nothing of value. Sometime after 6 p.m. Drudge posts raw numbers from exit polls that - if past is prologue - show Obama doing an average of seven percentage points better than he actually does.
Obama supporters then get prematurely jubilant and after polls close (tonight at 7 p.m. ET in Indiana and 7:30 p.m. ET in North Carolina) the real results start to come in and reveal Clinton then doing “better than expected” (at least better than the new expectations promoted during the day).
The media talking heads then ask aloud why Obama can’t “close the deal” (in Clinton’s own words) and what is numerically a defeat for Clinton (because the results, even in her recent wins, bring her objectively farther from the nomination in the context of the smaller number of delegates then available) gets spun as a Clinton victory.
Clinton takes to the stage, claims “unexpected” victory, gives out her web site address and pleads for elder women on fixed incomes to send more money to the $109 millionaire. The following day they claim that $10 million rolled in, only to be disproved more than a month later when the actual FEC filing is due. Obama’s FEC filing simultaneously reveals that he raised much, much more, from more small donors, and the Clinton campaign plays the victim card over being outspent.
who said illinois' democrats can't get along? you couldn't tell from today's democratic party of illinois' delegate selection. things went swimmingly, as it were. speaker madigan ran a tight ship and not a single angry word was said.
who'da thunk it?
this was, after all, springfield, the site of ongoing hand-to-hand political combat between the speaker (and chair of the democratic party of illinois) and the governor and the selection of delegates in one of the tightest presidential (primary) races in history. since every delegate counts, it wasn't a stretch to expect hand-to-hand combat here, as well. i was especially interested to see how the standing committee members would be divided, given the increasing importance of the credentials and rules committees. yet not a single angry word...
It is a political campaign maxim, particularly for non-incumbents, that campaigns must jealously focus on their own race to win - and that any 'distraction' from their campaign comes at great or even unbearable cost. While examples may exist, how often have you heard of an underdog congressional campaign taking their volunteers to canvass for a neighboring congressional candidate? Perhaps more uncommon, how often have you heard of a congressional candidate taking their volunteers out of state to canvass for a presidential candidate in a party primary? It may be unconventional strategy, but 13th Congressional District Democrat Scott Harper has taken campaign volunteers to support neighboring 14th District Congressman Bill Foster in his historic win, and just last weekend was canvassing for Barack Obama in Lafayette, Indiana with his volunteers.
