Democrats Shut Out in Major Virginia Races

Kyle Trygstad explains things at Real Clear Politics.  McDonnell’s victory over Deeds is about as surprising as the sun rising in the east.  Deeds may as well have been running for governor in a different state.  I knew almost nothing about him or his policies.  The only Deeds TV commercial that played in my market featured Barack Obama speaking, but saying not one word about Deeds’ goals or policies.  Deeds voice was not heard at all in the commercial.  How much sense does that make?  At least McDonnell explained what he intends to do in office.

I hope McDonnell and the other Republicans do well.  I also hope my Republican friends will take heart from these victories. Realizing McDonnell and the others ran campaigns based on moderate policies, it isn’t necessary for conservatives to enter the Bermuda Triangle to win elections.  In fact, doing so ends up hurting them.  (See New York CD-23.)

U.S. Defense Spending

At Heretical Ideas, Alex Knapp questions the gigantic sums of money the U.S. spends on defense:

The amount of money being poured into national security spending is completely irresponsible and unsustainable. We can’t afford it. As we (hopefully) wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to take a real hard look at our foreign policy–particularly why we feel the need to spend more on defense than the rest of the world does combined. There’s no reason why we can’t adopt a more restrained policy and still keep the United States secure. I mean, let’s put this in perspective. We could cut DOD appropriations in half, today, and we’d be spending more on defense than all of the EU nations combined.

The 2010 Defense Authorization Bill comes in at $680 billion.

Do we need to spend this much money to remain secure?

Lance Armstrong: Time for “Comprehensive” Health Care Reform

Lance Armstrong overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour de France seven consecutive times.  Writing for CNN.com, he advocates for “thoroughly comprehensive [health care] reform.”

Armstrong points out that he lacked health insurance when doctors diagnosed his disease.  Had he been an ordinary citizen, probably he would have died or ended up with crushing debt.  But one of his sponsors used their financial leverage to make their insurance carrier pick up Armstrong and pay for his treatment.  (He doesn’t identify the insurance company.)

Put plainly, the impact of diseases like cancer won’t subside with the recovery of economic markets. The threat they bring grows, minute by minute. Increasing investment now to combat that threat, even in the midst of a recession, will pay substantial dividends in the decades to come by driving down the costs of treatment and public assistance.

We must advocate for effective, high-quality and comprehensive health services. The issues are complex and deserve the most constructive debate leading to progress; not piecemeal changes, but thoroughly comprehensive reform.

To this day, my family and I remain on Oakley’s insurance plan. We are the lucky ones. We can’t allow luck to determine the fate of Americans’ health.

What do you think?

Do you think our current system is fine as it is, and should not be altered?  Do you believe we need reform but without government involvement (the “public option”)?  Do you believe we need a system that closely resembles that in a particular country? (Which one?)

Illustrating Right vs. Left

Click the image and see what you think.  Is this a fair representation of Right and Left in American politics?  If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself agreeing with some element of the Left and the Right.  But that’s probably because, if you’re like me, you reason from the facts and not a blind commitment to empty political doctrines.

Right vs. Left

Fox News vs. Barack Obama

The Obama White House has recently asserted that Fox News is the “communications arm of the Republican Party.”   Fox News and its supporters are appalled by this, pointing out among other things that Fox News offers both opinion and “hard” news in its programming, and that the two should be distinguished.

Media Matters has released this compilation of clips dating back to January illustrating the attitude of Fox News toward Barack Obama.  It appears to me the line between “opinion” and “news” is a bit blurry at Fox.  Watch it and decide for yourself:

What do you think?  Is Obama justified in mounting a counter-offensive?

I’m sure many of my readers support Fox News.  Don’t be afraid to speak up.  Fox News claims to be fair and balanced.  A Fox News advocate could support this assertion by showing the “balance” of all these attacks on Obama.  Can anyone put together a five minute compilation of clips where Fox News personalities compliment Obama and defend some of his policies?

Deeds Trails McDonnell in VA Gubernatorial Race, But By How Much?

At Real Clear Politics, Sean Trende writes about the variation in McDonnell’s lead over Deeds.  The gap ranges from 7 to 19 points.  Deeds consistently polls in the low 40s, but McDonnell’s numbers range from the mid 40s to the upper 50s.

You can read into this whatever you want I suppose, but the most plausible explanation is that soft voters are leaning against Deeds, and the wide variance we see in the various McDonnell leads can be almost entirely attributed to how hard undecideds are pushed.  The fact that polling with small numbers of undecideds generally shows the largest McDonnell leads is not good news for Deeds, or for Virginia Democrats.

The Fall of the House of Edwards

I recalling feeling that John Edwards had experienced the most catastrophic political nose dive in my lifetime.  Now there are hard numbers to back that up.  From Real Clear Politics:

John Edwards has suffered the greatest decline in stature of any public figure since Gallup first asked the question in 1992.

Edwards’ positive rating has plummeted 27 percentage points. Jesse Jackson, Sammy Sosa, Tom Cruise and Lamar Alexander rival Edwards’ decline. But Edwards dive is the largest to date.

Edwards was poised for a brilliant career in the Senate that would probably have led to the White House had he managed it more carefully, and not cheated on his wife.  I liked his policy positions and appreciated his intelligence.  As a fellow North Carolinian, I hoped Edwards would build a career the Tarheel state could be proud of.  But I guess he got greedy or overconfident, or something.  When he announced his candidacy for President in 2003, I thought it was too early in his career.  (Many people speculate Edwards never intended to serve more than one term in the Senate.  I don’t know if he has ever commented on this.)

Huckabee Leads Republican Contenders for the 2012 Nomination

From Real Clear Politics: Huckabee polling at 29%, Romney at 24%, Palin at 18%.

My thought: This is worse than using spring training games to predict the outcome of a pennant race.  Palin’s emergence and continued political existence demonstrates the volatility of the entire process.

At Secular Right, Andrew Stuttaford writes,

We’re a long, long way from 2012, but there’s nothing in this poll that’s bad news for Obama. And that’s bad news.

(Not for Democrats, Andrew.)

Ulm to Democrats: Heed the Lesson of AC/DC

At Public Opinion Strategies, Gene Ulm points out that AC/DC has sold more albums worldwide than any band in history, except the Beatles.  Rather brilliantly, he turns this into an object lesson for congressional Democrats and President Obama.  He cites polling data, the President’s job approval rating, unemployment figures, the consumer confidence index, and the relative image of the two parties.  He makes good points, although the “media Obamalove” crap has long since become an irritating fiction.

AC/DC official web site.

Limbaugh Is Getting What He Deserves

Apparently Rush Limbaugh’s hopes of gaining partial ownership of the St. Louis Rams have exploded, according to SI.com.

Is this fair?

Your answer to that question depends on your reference frame.  Granted, there are several ways to analyze the ethical, legal, and political issues raised by Limbaugh’s attempt to enter the circle of NFL owners.   Reasonable people can disagree.

My conclusion is based on the fact Limbaugh holds 50% of the American public in utter contempt.  He does not merely disagree with the left side of the political spectrum.  He sees no redeeming value in the left whatsoever, and works to create a nation where it no longer exists.  Given his political extremism, I find it find it impossible to feel sorry for him.

Apparently, Limbaugh believes he can a broadcast an intellectually shallow message of political contempt five days a week, and then on Sundays welcome with open arms both Republicans and Democrats into the stadium for a football game, as though he had equal respect for both groups.  Life doesn’t work that way, and the NFL knows it.