Death to the DLC

There are at least two points I disagree with in this post. First, Stephen Suh condemns the Democrats for their DLC-advocated move to the center (aka right). Before he makes this point he criticizes them for running away from Bill Clinton. However, last I heard, Bill Clinton was the poster boy of the DLC. The DLC, for those of you that aren't familiar with it, is the Democratic Leadership Council. They frequently advocate for the Democrats to embrace the business wing of the party and move towards the center. Bill Clinton's strategy of triangulation was a move to the center. Don't get me wrong I think Bill Clinton was a great president but he certainly wasn't a liberal. Running away from the labor movement and insisting on welfare reform seems to be exactly the type of thing that the GOP could embrace, and they did, while Clinton was in office. Therefore, Mr. Suh is contradicting himself when he argues that the party should not run away from Bill Clinton and should embrace thier progressive roots. Personally, I don't think you can do both. If you want to be another Bill Clinton, you have to embrace the center and distance yourself from the base.

The other point I disagree with is Suh's suggestion that Barack Obama is running away from the Democratic party:

And Obama has already begun running away from Clinton and away from the Democratic party. This kind of thing, once started, won't stop here. Hillary and Obama are tied, and the gloves are going to come off - even Mr. Nice-and-Civil is going to get rougher as time goes on. This kind of thing also cannot be undone. We can't make this rhetoric, these flyers, go away during the general election. Every time Obama makes this campaign a referendum about Bill Clinton's presidency and/or personal characteristics, he's playing along with the GOP's favorite strategy.

And he will lose in November - to McCain, to Romney, to Huckabee or to a handkerchief with George Bush's morning noseblow on it. Because those Americans who don't live in DC, who aren't addicted to political coverage and who don't attend Georgetown cocktail parties want a choice - a real choice, not one between McCain's crazy brand of Republicanism vs. Obama's more genteel and civil brand of Republicanism-lite.

Stephen should've read this fantastic article by Ezra Klein. Both Obama and Clinton have embraced the progressive cause. They have both utilize rhetoric that has sung the praises of positive government action. Barack Obama is not running away from the Democratic party, and neither is Hillary Clinton. Both candidates are far more liberal than Bill Clinton. Democrats should be excited that their nominee, whether it's Obama or Clinton, will be a standard bearer for the progressive movement.

Ireland is NOT part of the UK!!!

I originally saw this over at TAPPED when Dana Goldstein posted it. After Matt Yglesias posted it as well, I had to jump on the bandwagon. In my sophmore sociology class my professor, whom I held otherwise in high regard, said that Ireland was a part of the UK. This is unacceptable. I'm not going to go into a republican (notice the small "r") rant about the independence of Ireland, other than to say that it is, in fact, independent.

The Reverse Kirkpatrick

Check out this great article by Spencer Ackerman at the American Prospect. Jim Webb would be a near perfect running mate for Barack Obama. While my preferred ticket would be Obama and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, it seems that an Obama-Webb pairing would be much more electable. Webb is an authoritative voice on the war and a good progressive. Even if he's not the VP nom, a speaking slot for him in Denver would be electrifying.

Yeah Wisconsin!

Over at TAPPED, Harold Meyerson has a great look at the weeks and months to come. While I agree that Obama is primed for a great February, I wouldn't be surprised if he exceeds Meyerson's expectations in March, April, and May. After all, if Obama performs as expected in February, he will garner even more of the glowing media coverage he has thus far received. This could result in Obama's candidacy regaining that heir of inevitability it had after Iowa.

I'm excited that WI is finally going to have a meaningful primary. When I cast my vote for Edwards in '04, Kerry had already wrapped-up the nom for all practical purposes. Wisconsin seems to me like it would be pretty fertile territory for Obama. Obama does well among young, college aged voters and WI has a ton of colleges. If the UW campuses can get polling sites on campus that would be a huge lift for Obama. It will be interesting to see if Russ Feingold endorses anyone. As a Wisconsinite, I can assure you that Feingold is a beloved figure in WI and his endorsement would be monumental for either Clinton or Obama.

For more interesting thoughts on the continuing nomination battle check out the brilliant Jonathan Cohn over at the Plank.

No No Smokey

Megan McArdle has a point here. In general, my opinions on so-called "sin" taxes are mixed. I understand the logic behind increasing taxes on cigarettes, however, at the same time are they really that effective? After all, if an individual is addicted to cigarettes, is a few bucks more per pack really going to curb thier nasty habit? I would think not. Consequently, not only has the "sin" tax failed reduce their cigarette intake, they are now spending an increased amount of their income on cigarettes.

This brings to mind intiatives in New York and a number of other cities that have sought to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. While I can't speak with a great deal of clarity on this topic, I would assume that there is a sizable number of people that smoke only in bars. Eventually, I would like to see some data, after these bans have been in place for a decade or so, that depicts the rate of lung cancer and emphysema in communities that have banned smoking in bars and other public places.

What do you think?

Not so Super Tuesday

Well the results are in and the winner is.........well, there is no winner. I can't honestly say that I'm too surprised by this. I was thinking/hoping that Obama would pull out an upset in Cali. No such luck. However, Obama did pick up wins in Missouri and Connecticutt that were considered upsets. I can't help but kinda feel sorry for the Mittster. I know he's a total douche but the guy spent over a million bucks per delegate and he still lost. Despite the new buzz, I don't think Huck is still in this. The GOP nomination is St. McCain's to lose. However, the possibility of Huck as St. McCain's running mate is utterly terrifying.

Needless to say, Super Humongous Totalitarian Tuesday ended up being pretty indecisive. This thing is gonna go on for at least another month. The most interesting things to watch will be:

1. How the media proceeds to spin lasts nights results
2. Is the Mittster really gonna stay in the race?
3. Bill Clinton's behavior from this point on

That's all for now, more updates as the day rolls on!