9.01.2006

MD-Sen: New Poll Shows Mfume above Cardin

A mix of good news for Mr. Mfume today and yesterday. Mfume did well in the debate against his opponent Ben Cardin last night. If you want to hear the debate head
here.

Mfume looked like he was ready for the big time. Mr. Cardin seemed like he was ready to fall asleep at some points.

Until a transcript comes out, I won't comment too much more on the debate, but expect an entry on Mr. Mfume's amazing comments about New Orleans and Poverty that show why he is the right person for Senate, he has a progressive vision that Mr. Cardin just does not have.

Ok, on the other good news, the most recent poll by SurveyUSA looks good for Mfume, and really does seem to follow the trends of the recent weeks:

Mfume 42%
Cardin 38%
Josh Rales 7%
undecided 13%

Much better than the Gonzales Research poll, which has been questioned by our friends over at Crablaw.

Either way, these two events could really give Mfume a big boost in the polls and help him pull this out in September. Some folks at KOS are saying there may be some Mfume ads coming soon. I hope they come soon enough to capitalize on this good press.

8.31.2006

Tell the Truth Bobby!

Or the Maryland Democratic Party will keep making good ads like this:

MD-Sen: Cardin, Steele pull ahead of Mfume

It appears that
Cardin's ad blitz has given him a considerable edge over Kweisi Mfume with the primary less than two weeks away.

This race is not over though, there is a debate tonight at 7 PM on Maryland Public television. MPT is showing several debates for different races, some at very inopportune times (AG on Saturday at 5 AM?!).

Mr. Mfume will have to make a strong showing tonight and Cardin will most likely have to make some sort of major gaffe to change the dynamic of the race at this point. Cardin is the safer choice, but Mfume still will get my support on the 12th, unless of course he pisses me off tonight. It should be interesting to see the two debate so close to crunch time.

Bust out the popping corn and sugary drinks, BEN CARDIN is going to debate public policy! WOOOOOOOOO!

8.30.2006

Republican Control = Poverty and Lack of Health Insurance

Think Progress has a great post today showing the true consequences of Republican "leadership". Republicans have led millions of American citizens into poverty and medical distress.

Poverty, All Races (Millions)


Number of Uninsured (Millions)



So what of the tax cuts billionaires that were supposed to lift so many out of poverty? What of the reformed medicare and medicaid programs?

Republicans have driven the people of this nation into the ground with their incompentent fiscal and health care policies. I challenge anyone to reach a different conclusion after looking at the numbers.

WAPO: Rumsfeld has gone Crazy

I got a good start to the morning with this article which says, in so many words, that Donald Rumsfeld has lost his mind. Well, duh.

Its no surprise that Sec. Rumsfeld would resort to using divisive lies and smears to defend his military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has nothing else to fall back on. Its also not surprising that Sec. Rumsfeld accuses those who disagree with him of emboldening the enemy:


And that is important in this “long war,” where any moral or intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can weaken the ability of free societies to persevere.

American's are not questioning who is morally right in this conflict. The majority of Americans who disaprove of the handling of the war in Iraq are questioning the strategy of the war, they way the war was rushed into, the intelligence that led us there, and the current strategy on the ground which every day we are reminded is just not working the way that it should be.

As WAPO columnist William M. Arkin notes:



Either Rumsfeld has delivered one of the most important speeches of the modern era, or he's gone crazy.


I think crazy, not just because I think the Secretary is wrong on his intellectual characterization of terrorism, and not because he is wrong about the media and its intentions, and not because he is so pugnacious, or because he has been wrong so many times because.


Rumsfeld is so wrong about America. His use of World War I history and the specter of fascism and appeasement, and his argument about moral weakness or even treason in any who oppose him, is not only polarizing but ineffective in provoking debate and discussion about the proper course this nation must take to "fight" terrorism.


Not only has Sec. Rumsfeld been wrong so repeatedly, but he has repeatedly wronged the American people. Sec. Rumsfeld is the definition of paranoid. He is terrified by those who disagree with him. His worst fear is oversight, be it congressional, public, even internal. Arkin points out:



This is not the first time that Rumsfeld has shown himself to be so out of touch, so contemptuous of America. Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense has displayed a contempt from long before 9/11 for anyone who disagrees with him, particularly in his initial wars against those in the uniformed military.


Moreover, Rumsfeld's declaration of war yesterday follows from his basic view that the Defense Department has to do it all: He has created an intelligence bureaucracy because he is distrustful and contemptuous of the CIA and all others. He has built up a secret army and covert capabilities in special operations forces because he wants to control and to rely only upon his own warriors. He has created a homeland security apparatus that looks over the shoulder of the Department of Homeland Security and is the ultimate arbiter of security. He has created his own FBI in the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), and fought to ensure that the NSA stays under Pentagon control. He has created his own law and his own human rights policy. He has subverted Congress through unexamined supplemental budgets and super-secret programs.


Arkin concludes that Rumsfeld's lack of faith in the American people is what has led him to consolidate so much power to himself. Rumsfeld thinks he has to save America, and Americans, from themselves. Of course, he is the Sec. of Defense, so this could be a good thing, had Sec. Rumsfeld not mishandled every task he has been given in the realm of defense.

So please Sec. Rumsfeld, before youf try to save the American people with another mishandled, trumped up foreign war, think about saving yourself some embarassment and resign. Before you try to convince your critics (a majority of American citizens by the way) that we are wrong to criticize by comparing us to Nazi sympathizers, you should stop trying to convince yourself of your own relevancy to any worthwhile debate on foreign policy solutions. Your failed military policy mirrors your president's failed domestic policy.

Mr. Secretary, it is time to resign.

8.29.2006

A New Element to the Governor's Race Education Debate

The Wapo has a story today annoucing that O'Malley is proposing $200,000 bonus for principals who choose to work at the most troubled schools in the state.

This seems like a good start, and at least it is something solid for O'Malley to stand on. Poorly performing schools most likely need changes from the top down, and if we start hiring better principals, better teachers and resource management will follow.

I personally think that the Mayor should also call for larger bonus' for the heads of high school departments, such as Science and Math. These department heads often play a very large part in the hiring of teachers. A good department head will be able to hire better teachers, keep those teachers focused on their goals, and make sure that their department is meeting state and federal standards.

Contrast this with Ehrlich's method of privatization through charter schools, schools which pay no attention to state or federal education standards, and force public schools to compete for funding, and there are big differences.

Martin O'Malley believes in public schools, Bob Ehrlich believes in privatizing those public schools at the long term expense of children all over Maryland.

MD-Sen new Zogby poll

Clicky.

Cardin 50.3
Steele 41.4

Mfume 47.4
Steele 42.7

Rales 45.7
Steele 42.2

conducted from Aug. 15 to Aug. 21
MoE 4.3 %

Hmm, can we trust the Zogmonster.... I sure hope so, because these numbers look good.

8.28.2006

Bob Ehrlich, working hard for.... Caroline County??

Check this out.

Bob's website has the same exact information for Caroline County, listed for Carroll County. Oh, well, its all the same to Bobby. I guess he thinks it's no big deal to snub one of the reddest counties in Maryland.

Add it to list Bobby:

1. Haircut
2. Convince voters you somehow care about Baltimore City Schools.
3. Convince Carroll County voters that you know their county even exists.

Katrina Blame Game

This really sums it up:

But let's pretend that both Nagin and Blanco performed beautifully throughout the whole thing. Let'e pretend (and this is hard) that Nagin made all the right calls, ordered the mandatory evacuation at the proper time, and marshalled all of New Orelans' meager resources in preparing for disaster. Let's further pretend that Blanco was a model of foresight and was ready to be the grease that helped the enitre disaster machine run smoothly, cooperating fully with both Nagin and Bush. The only thing that stays the same in this scenario is the federal response.

New Orleans is still completely screwed.


Yup.

You want the truth about Iraq?

Why not ask an Iraqi blogger?

Riverbend documents daily life in Baghdad, and as you can see from this recent excerpt, things are going swimmingly:

For me, June marked the first month I don’t dare leave the house without a hijab, or headscarf. I don’t wear a hijab usually, but it’s no longer possible to drive around Baghdad without one. It’s just not a good idea. (Take note that when I say ‘drive’ I actually mean ‘sit in the back seat of the car’- I haven’t driven for the longest time.) Going around bare-headed in a car or in the street also puts the family members with you in danger. You risk hearing something you don’t want to hear and then the father or the brother or cousin or uncle can’t just sit by and let it happen. I haven’t driven for the longest time. If you’re a female, you risk being attacked.


Now hold on just a second. Won't some uninformed conservatives just shrug that off as "the way things are in Muslim countries?" Well, once again, they would be wrong:

I look at my older clothes- the jeans and t-shirts and colorful skirts- and it’s like I’m studying a wardrobe from another country, another lifetime. There was a time, a couple of years ago, when you could more or less wear what you wanted if you weren’t going to a public place. If you were going to a friends or relatives house, you could wear trousers and a shirt, or jeans, something you wouldn’t ordinarily wear. We don’t do that anymore because there’s always that risk of getting stopped in the car and checked by one militia or another.

What have we done? What can we do now? I really don't know, but one thing we can stop doing is ignoring reality. Thankfully, Riverbend is there to hammer that reality home in real time.

MD Voting Advice from Kossacks

Here.

New MD-SEN poll

-New polls are in. The late primary is really keeping this race very competitive.

-Interesting article about the Simmons/Steele connection. More than ever, Democrats in MD need Mfume to win this primary. Mfume needs to show what a Democratic candidate can offer both Black and White voters in this state. That includes, pro-choice voting and a check on the power of the President, something Mr. Steele simply does not offer.

Mr. Steele is running away from the Republican label like its the plague. From now on it is not longer Mr. Steele on this blog, it is Republican Steele.