McCain Announces New VP Short-List
By RP Staff | August 1, 2008
In an unprecedented move, senator John McCain announced this morning that he will be adding a number of prominent celebrities to his VP short list. Citing his new Celebrities Responsibility Initiative as an inspiration, McCain made public the celebrities who he was seriously considering for posts in his cabinet. According to McCain, celebrities have been part and parcel of the republican party for years, and this move only reiterates his credentials as a Reagan Republican. He proceeded to remind everyone in attendance that before he became president, Ronald Reagan was a celebrity.
This short list is a motley blend of some expected figures (e.g. Tom Selleck) and some way out of left-field characters, most notably Tom Cruise and Lil’ Wayne. In explaining Cruise’s presence on the list, McCain responded that Cruise has the same mind over matter philosophy as his now former advisor, Phil Gramm. Of course all reporters waited with baited breath to hear him explain Lil Wayne, and to everyone’s surprise the senator managed to make a convincing argument. In Lil Wayne McCain said that he sees the same sense of loyalty and ambition that marked his own youth. When it was pointed out to the senator that Lil Wayne often refers to drugs and gun violence his lyrics, McCain coldly replied, we all do things a little differently at times and refused to answer any more questions regarding Mr. Carter.
One noticeably absence from this list was longtime celebrity republican Brue Willis. A McCain spokesperson who refused to go on the record said that Willis never made the cut because the senator couldn’t stop saying “yippee ka ya yay mother ….” whenever Willis was referenced. It seems as if senator McCain has a strong affinity for Willis’s John McClaine character from Die Hard.
Topics: Friday Funny | Comments
House Apologies for Slavery: Much Ado About Nothing
By RP Staff | July 31, 2008
On Tuesday, in a measure spurred by congressman Steve Cohen, Congress apologized for Slavery and Jim Crow. This was a gracious gesture on behalf of these legislators, many of whom are African American, but its significance to contemporary realities faced by African Americans is debatable. Even if one forgives this resolution for making no mention of reparations, this apology does not offer any confidence that Congress is ready to enact laws that will stem the tide of mass incarceration in African American communities, ensure equal funding for education, and be more deliberate in supporting public health programs to reduce the proliferation of AIDS and HIV. If Congress wants to save itself from having to make another round of apologies in a hundred years it will at with deliberate speed to address issues facing African Americans rather than simply trying to alleviate this nation of its guilty conscience.
RP Asks: Will Going Negative Hurt McCain?
By RP Staff | July 31, 2008
The New York Times published a scathing editorial criticizing John McCain for letting Karl Rove’s operatives into his campaign, and in so doing adopting a more negative tone in his contest against Barack Obama. In recent weeks McCain has falsely accused Obama of turning his back on soldiers and being an opponent of energy, and absurdly declared that his opponent wants to lose the war in Iraq.
However, given Rove’s track record in delivering victories for Bush, we must ask, will going negative really hurt McCain?
LAURA MECKLER and AMY CHOZICK, WSJ: Roles Are Set So Art the Perils
NYTimes: Low Road Express
Thomas Edsall: John McCain: Mr. Nice Guy or Back Alley Mugger?
Topics: All, Elections, Politics, Republicans | Comments
Ludacris’ Obama Freestyle
By RP Staff | July 30, 2008
I never I thought I’d say this, but Ludacris is no Will.I.Am. What in the world is Luda talking about?
Sharpe James Sentenced to 27 Months
By RP Staff | July 30, 2008
You have to wonder whether James would even be in this position had he not served five-terms as mayor. Over the course of his career as Newark mayor and New Jersey state senator James went from being seen as a leading force of Newark’s renaissance, to being emblematic of what’s wrong with so much of politics. While he was never able to fully stem the violent crime in Newark, and his development projects did not bring as many long term jobs as he envisioned, James is deserving of credit for making Newark a viable market in New York’s orbit, and had not landmark deals to bring the Jets and Giants, as well as the New Jersey Nets eluded his grasp, the Sharpe James story might have had a very different tone right about now. But alas, he served five terms, two too many, and he became embroiled in what else, a development scandal. Hopefully Jame’s replacement Cory Booker will note the misdeeds of his predecessor and be sure to limit his tenure in office.
For more on this story:
Wednesday Wonks: The Drum Major Institute
By RP Staff | July 30, 2008
For this week’s edition of Wednesday Wonks (a title only a mother could love) we profile The Drum Major Institute.
Originally founded in the 1960s by Harry Wachtel, and relaunched in 1999 by Wacthel’s son Michael, Martin Luther King III and former US Ambassador Andrew Young, The Drum Major Institute is a non-partisan think that prides itself on “providing ideas that fuel the progressive movement.” One of the principles permeating through much of their work is the pursuit of “civil justice” which refers to a just and equitable deployment of each individual’s rights. Two of their recent reports currently in circulation is a pro-civil justice platform fo Election ‘08, and Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition.
Another feature currently running on their website is series of conversations with US Mayors. The clip featured on this page is a conversation with Dayton mayor Rhine L. McLin where she discusses the impact of the foreclosure crisis on American cities.
Ohio has been one of the states hardest hit by this mortgage collapse as communities that were just beginning to rebound from ramifications of the loss of manufacturing jobs that sustained middle and working class families, suddenly saw their progress swept from underneath them.
Through this clip we see how DMI is exploring new mediums through which to bring important information to people. Just as their reports are thorough topical inquiries, their online media harnesses the web’s potential to convey the immediacy of issues such as the foreclosure epidemic, legal reform and education policy.
Topics: Wednesday Wonks | Comments
Add Sen. Ted Stevens to the list
By mrSingleton | July 29, 2008
Another one bites the dust. The GOP’s chances of holding onto crucial Senate and House seats dwindled further today with the indictment of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens on corruption charges. This is the same guy responsible for building the so-called bridge to nowhere, now being exposed for being in bed with oil companies. There’s coverage on this everywhere, it’s so bad that even FOX has to tell it like it is: “Sen. Ted Stevens Indicted, Charged With Making False Statements in Corruption Probe“
Topics: Justice, Republicans | Comments
McCain Approves Banning Affirmative Action
By RP Staff | July 29, 2008
Both Racewire and The Daily Voice are tracking this story. Jump here or here for more info.
Tuesday Talking Point: Mark Penn Strikes Again
By RP Staff | July 29, 2008
Last seen marshaling Hillary Clinton’s implosion, Mark Penn has penned an op-ed for Politico outlining how it is seniors, and not “the youth vote,” who are likely to be power brokers in this year’s election. One of the more impressive stats that Penn gives to back up his argument is how Bill Clinton had a greater margin of victory among seniors in 1992 (12 percent) than he did among voters under 36 (10 percent).
Penn’s piece has a most unfortunate title: “Active grannies’ the new soccer moms,” but Penn’s analysis appears to be fairly straight forward. I would argue that he’s hedging his bets a little bit too much on stating the obvious that seniors are a powerful voting block. The real impact that seniors will have in shaping this year’s election is not solely in playing a part in deciding the president, but in deciding what kind of congress he will have to work with once elected. Seniors are the lifeblood of incumbents, and in this year of change, it will be interesting to see whether any of the challengers seeking to ride the wave of change in local elections can convince seniors to give them a shot.
Ok, courtesy of Mark J. Penn, political consultant extraordinaire, Tuesday’s Talking Point is: how large of a role do you think seniors will play in this election? Will they balance out voters under 36 like they did in 1992?
Topics: Elections, Voters | Comments
Kevin Tracy Nominates Bill Frist for McCain’s VP
By RP Staff | July 28, 2008
Kevin Tracy’s treatment of Bill Frist in this post is rather amusing. I agree with Kevin that Frist, or anyone else would be a better VP selection for McCain than Mitt Romney, but am unconvinced whether Frist has the fire that McCain’s campaign needs to put up a good fight in this race. I’m convinced that if McCain is going to dip into the senate to choose a running mate then he should go with South Dakota’s John Thune. That said, Tracy is correct in putting forth Frist as someone with enough of a bi-partisan streak that it might remind some voters of why they used to admire John McCain. He’s wealthy enough to inject his own funds into the campaign, and is a shrewder campaign manager than Romney. Unfortunately, that wealth may also prove a stigma in these uncertain economic times.
Still, do you think Tracy has a point, is Bill Frist a viable republican VP candidate?
Topics: Elections, Republicans | Comments
McCain Continues Faltering
By RP Staff | July 28, 2008
John McCain wants to be President of the United States of America, we at least know that much. He claims to be better prepared, and therefore qualified than his opponent Barack Obama to be president, but yet he does very little to showcase this experience. From the outset McCain has touted his foreign policy experience as one of the main reasons that he should be president, yet he repeatedly has brain-freezes when it comes to Iraq, and he seems surprised to hear that we are also engaged in a conflict in Afghanistan. Maybe if he spend some time on the interweb he might learn a thing or two. But Iran and Iran are not teh only blind spots emerging from McCain’s campaign. There’s been his inability to galvanize a cohesive team and message, his infatuation with the dubious Mitt Romney as a VP candidate, and crying out for attention when he is doing nothing stately to merit more coverage than he has thus far gotten. But don’t let us tell it, here are some reads on the internet(s) dissecting some of McCain’s latest missteps:
Max Bergman: McCain Doesn’t Understand Iraq War History, Says “We Were Greeted as Liberators”
Robert Novak: Can McCain Back in Again?
Washington Post: [McCain] Failing in Civility
Frank Rich: How Obama Became Acting President
Noam Scheiber: Romney Adds Nothing to McCain
Topics: All, RP Roundup | Comments
Nas Steals the Show
By RP Staff | July 25, 2008
On Tuesday Jeff Chang posted an entry announcing rapper Nas’s forthcoming participation in a rally outiside Fox News in which netroots organization ColorofChange was to deliver their petition with 600,000 signatures protesting the stations depiction of African Americans, and racist comments directed toward the Obama family. As is often the case when celebrities become involved in protests, they, and not the issue at hand become become the focal point. In this case, Nas’s participation revived his beef with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, (a battle neatly summarized for the viewing public by Stephen Colbert on Wednesday evening, a clip of which is pasted below). The media coverage homed in on the Nas vs O’Reilly feud while Color0fChange’s petition seemed to fade into the background, or worse yet, seemed to become a trivial afterthought in this battle between two larger than life personalities.
Color of Change has been working on this campaign for months, and they rightly point out Fox’s history of using both direct racist comments against African Americans and people of color, and vile innuendo like when they called Barack and Michelle Obama’s celebratory pound a “terrorist fist jab.” Fox may not be a news organization, but the impact that their racist lingo has had on shaping the political conversation this decade is unquestionable. They have succeeded in poisoning debates in this country’s public forum that practically every conversation about Muslims and Islam is reduced to a debate on terrorism. In the case of Obama’s it is not malicious to wrongly presume that Barack may have at one time been Muslim–it is malicious for well informed tv analysts to pervert that presumption by turning it into an affirmation about potential terrorist affiliations.
This latest campaign by ColorofChange comes on the heels of their work done during the Jena 6 trials last year and other campaigns to bring more support to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and raising awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. ColorofChange’s work is ongoing, therefore whenever they make a decision to affiliate themselves with a celebrity, they clearly know it’s a calculated risk that will on the one hand bring more attention than their claims might have gotten otherwise, but on the other, may also deflect attention from their campaigns intended purpose. We saw a similar occurrence a few years ago when Russell Simmons became involved in the the movement to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Many felt that Simmons may have overstepped his boundaries when he entered into negotiations with NY State officials on the behalf of other organizations.
This incident with Fox News is occurring on a smaller scale than what transpired in New York. However, it does have larger ideological ramifications because it is inevitably a campaign about perception as much as it is action. To that end, one argue that the attention being heaped upon Nas raises the campaign’s awareness tenfold and brings new stake holders into the conversation.
Still, what do you think are the best practices or approaches for using celebrities in political campaigns?
Topics: Bloggers, Justice, Media | Comments
Are You Into Swinging?
By RP Staff | July 25, 2008
E.J. Dionne offers a meditation on young voters. Dionne’s piece is line with much of what has been written about this year’s campaign, and is girded by a recent Rockefeller study on shifting perspectives in American politics. Dionne’s article brings to mind the efforts of Swing Semester, a program intent on harnessing the profound youthful energy manifesting in this year’s election and turning it into a sustainable element of electoral politics.
RP Roundup: McCain’s Hillary Problem
By RP Staff | July 25, 2008
NYMagazine’s John Heilemman has an interesting piece arguing that John McCain is employing the same campaign strategies used by Hillary Clinton in her primary contest against Obama:
Now, it’s fair to point out that strife is nothing new to McCain campaigns, which tend to be less well-oiled machines than spastic-goat rodeos. Yet it’s hard not to see the similarities between the chaos afflicting McCain-land now and what went on in Clinton-world during the primaries. In the former, like the latter, you have an outfit with no clear lines of authority, rife with elephantine egos and feuding factions that have been at each other’s throats for years, none with the slightest compunction about bearing their animosities (albeit anonymously) in the press. And in McCain, like Clinton, you have a candidate who not only tolerates but seems to encourage an atmosphere of anarchy—and who finds it difficult to fire anyone, no matter how incompetent. Jump Here
Of course Clinton comparisons are the least of McCain’s problems these days, peep this little nugget from Joe Klein’s post in Time about McCain’s foreign policy frustrations:
McCain was being undermined in Washington as well, by his old pal George W. Bush, who seemed to take Obama’s side in the debate about whether to talk to Iran. Bush sent a ranking U.S. diplomat to negotiate with the Iranians on nuclear issues — and also let it be known that a U.S. Interests Section could soon be established in Tehran, the first U.S. diplomatic presence on Iranian soil since the 1979 hostage crisis.
Although, as Froma Harrop writes in the Providence Journal it was not long ago that McCain was viewed as an agent for change in American politics:
The McCain of 2000 would not have put the words “Social Security” and “disgrace” within an hour of each other. The disgrace, he said in a recent speech, was “paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. Jump Here
Topics: All, RP Roundup | Comments
Video of Barack Obama’s Speech in Berlin
By RP Staff | July 25, 2008
People of the world – look at Berlin!
Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.
Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.
Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.
People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one. Jump Here
RP Roundup: Is Ed Towns on his way out?
By RP Staff | July 24, 2008
Today’s edition of the RP Roundup takes a look at a local campaign that has been stirring some buzz on the internet(s). New York’s 10th district features a race between incumbent Ed Towns and challenger Kevin Powell. Towns has been in congress for twenty-five years and during that time his ability to shape his district in any significant way appears to be negligible. Comparing Towns, with another New York congressional stalwart like Charles Rangel for example gives some credence to his critic’s claims that Towns’ legacy may be that there is none. However, if you listen to some of Towns’s opponents, what seems to be his greatest offense these days is not backing Barack Obama, which given the lack of support Obama received from the New York delegation, is really not an extraordinary occurrence at all.
Towns’s opponent on the other hand, Kevin Powell, is part of the latest vanguard in American Politics. Like many who have come before him, including the aforementioned Rangel, Powell has decided after years working as a writer, and more recently, community activist to enter into electoral politics. He ran an exploratory campaign in 2006, and is wielding a full-on challenge to Towns in this year’s Democratic primary, which given this district, essentially doubles as the election. If Towns is often criticized for having done nothing, Powell is criticized for maybe doing and saying too much during his tenure as a public personality. Augustine-like confessions are a hallmark of great literature, but they are mere fodder in political campaigns, and Powell has recently had to withstand mud slinging for being forthcoming about being abusive towards women. It remains to be seen whether his opponents are brazen enough to make domestic violence a campaign issue in order to slain Powell, and in so doing, if they can marshal any legislation to make such a tactic at all reprehensible.
Billed as a battle between young and old, new school vs old school, hip hop vs ????, the Towns vs Powell contest in Brooklyn has all the features of what makes local campaigns eminently exciting and simultaneously extremely frustrating. Powell’s celebrity makes it exciting, and will make Towns work harder than he has in the past to retain his seat. On the other hand, the lack of clarity for many voters over the entire primary process in NY makes it hard to understand the stakes, or even know when they’ll have to vote (September 9th in case you’re wondering).
Well you’ve heard enough from us, here is what others are saying:
Daily Kos: “No Sleep Til Brooklyn”
Matt Stoller:Introducing Government Cheese and Kevin Powell, the Primary Challenger to Ed Towns
Topics: Congress, Democrats, Elections | Comments
RP Question of the Week: Has this year’s election changed your media diet?
By RP Staff | July 23, 2008
During the fall campaign season I was living Oakland and without cable, so I turned to NYTimes online, Huffington Post, Time, and Newsweek for most of my news coverage. Upon my return to NY, I was glued to CNN as Super Tuesday and other primaries started popping up. Again without cable, I’m back to online sites and magazines, and even find myself reading things like the Wall Street Journal and The New Republic on a fairly regular basis. All that to say, my media diet has changed immensely during the past year.
On the one hand, I think I’m more “well read” than I was at this time last year, but, it’s also clear that the time that I now spend covering politics was once devoted to Sports and music writing and criticism. Save for the love-letters written about Lil Wayne’s recent album, I’ve trimmed most of the music criticism out of my diet, and have cut back significantly on sports news.
Being a college professor, and one whose work focuses on African American studies, I felt it was incumbent upon me to be as literate as possible in the discussions taking place during this “historical moment.” That said, I have plenty of colleagues who are fairly agnostic about all these happenings, and plenty, who like Shaq and Tim Duncan don’t believe the season starts until the playoffs–which would be autumn in electoral politics. Why I have thrown myself in so much is that this year’s election is likely the best novel of my generation. With so many people contributing a chapter, you’d think that the story would fall flat or have completely unraveled by now, but every day there seems to be something new, some other person adding a chapter that lets us know that this story is far from complete. So I read on looking for the next plot-twist.
Which leads us to this week’s question: Has this year’s election changed your media diet? Are you reading or watching any differently this year? If so, how? RealPolitical minds would like to know..
Wednesday Wonks: Racial Profiling and Genetic Privacy
By RP Staff | July 23, 2008
We are introducing a new feature, a staple as it were, “Wednesday Wonks.” Wednesday Wonks is our attempt to give you a brief precis on what the wonks are talking about that week. It’s our mild attempt at alliteration and earnest attempt at something to help you make it through hump day.
Writing for the Center for American Progress, Michael Boylan has a fascinating piece on “Racial Profiling and Genetic Privacy:”
Racial profiling and genetic privacy are two related issues that together present a singular problem for policymakers: How do we reconcile our desire for excellent police work with maintaining criminal investigation protocols that respect the rights of citizens? Two recent criminal cases, one in Virginia and the other in Louisiana, encapsulate the problem. Jump Here
Complementing Boylan’s piece is Rick Weiss’s video exploring the boom in people taking genetic tests in an attempt at forecasting their health futures. Weiss’s article follows up on “What You Should Know Before You Spit Into That Test Tube,” his article published in the Washing Post earlier this week. Jump here for the video and here for the article
Staple Crop Studios: Candidate Word Count
By RP Staff | July 22, 2008
Using a similar rubric employed for their Hiop-Hop Word Count feature, Staple Crop Studios has developed a Candidate Word Count formula to assess the educational level needed to understand a particular speech given by Obama and McCain respectively. Jump Here for more
RP: Roundup: Madison Avenue Edition
By RP Staff | July 22, 2008
The Nation Times directs us to NPR’s report on advertising efforts targeted at Latino Voters
Adage reports that the democrats are taking no shorts in spending for this year’s races. The Dems have already set aside 50million in ads
Never one to bring a knife to a gunfight, the Wall Street Journal reports John McCain spent a reported 16million on ads in June.
Question: Have you seen a campaign ad in your area?
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