Today though, the final results have come out, and Ted Stevens has lost the Alaska senate race. By just a few votes, democrat Mark Begich has won a seat in the senate. This makes Stevens the longest serving senator to lose reelection. Save for an end to corruption and Joe Lieberman admitting he isn’t a democrat, this is the best thing that could possibly happen to the senate this election season.

Goodbye Sentator Stevens. You will not be missed.

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Hello Everyone my name is Ben and I am a youth blogger.

I am 22 years of age and I currently reside in Michigan. I am a recent graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy ascertaining my Bachelor’s in Political Science. I have been working in the field of politics since 2005 when I had the opportunity to be the personal intern for Hansen Clarke when he ran for Mayor of the City of Detroit. From that campaign and through the guidance of Michigan Senator Hansen Clarke I was able to find my passion and what made me love politics so much.
I love the campaigning and the entire election process. With this years historic election I knew early on during the primary season that I wanted to be involved. I had the amazing opportunity to work in Dayton, Ohio at the headquarter office interning for the Obama for America campaign. Once I finished my undergraduate education I spent the summer interning in London, England for the Liberal Democratic Party. I worked at the headquarter office of the national party and had the chance to go out into the British countryside to work on a by-election for an empty seat in Parliament.
When I returned from London I was at a place of uncertainty because I was not sure if going to graduate school quickly was the best decision. I ultimately decided to take time off from schooling to get more real world job experience. Since making that decision I, along with one of my good friends Dave decided to start a youth political blog called The Youth Movement where we along with friends and fellow bloggers bring a voice to young people who are politically active and passionate, but because of the lack of representation in the national media and the more famous and popular blogs we feel that our voice as young people is not being heard. Instead of allow our voice not to be heard we have sought to create a platform of our own to ensure that we have a voice. I am glad to have the opportunity to blog on Think Youth and look forward to the discussions and debates that will transpire here.

Ben

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Is Hillary Rodham Clinton the choice of the GOP for Barack Obama’s Secretary of State? Some might think so. In the days since she has been rumored for the job, party leaders from all stripes have praised the choice. They include former Majority Leader Tom Delay, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and now even the current Minority Whip in the Senate, Jon Kyl, has announced his support today on Fox News Sunday. “I think it would be a good choice, at least superficially. It seems to me she’s got the experience. She’s got the temperament for it. I think she would be well received around the world.” Some Democrats think this is a good sign.

Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan also on Fox News became the latest high profile leader to back the Clinton for Secretary of State movement. He even hinted that her confirmation was all but assured in the Senate by saying she has good partnerships on both sides of the aisle. He went onto say “She’d be an excellent choice, would have instant credibility around the world. We have a lot of relationships to repair and a lot of work to do, so I think she’d be a fine choice.” This isn’t the same for many others hinted for the job. John Kerry is so hated by members of the GOP that holding up his nomination isn’t out of the cards for a party reeling from deep wounds cut by the election of President-elect Barack Obama. It seems that the Obama campaign has also received that. Kerry has been publicly lobbying for the position to be all but ignored by the man he endorsed early. It seems the no drama Obama maybe more willing for an easy confirmation than a partisan battle.

Tha-Kid JK

tha-kid@revkitchen.com

Post from, Think Youth.

Former Representative Tom Delay, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger seem to have joined the growing band of senior Obama advisers to call for Hillary Clinton to become the 67th Secretary of State. Can this be possible? Can the President-elect’s harshest critics in the primary season and loudest campaigner in the general election become his voice to the world? Another question is with this being the third woman secretary and fourth non-traditional pick, can a white man become Secretary of State anymore?

This week it was announced that the Office of the President-elect has brought on many top officials in the Clinton administration which is sure to help sell Hillary Clinton and seal the any deal for her to become America’s next chief diplomat. “She has instant name recognition in a time that international relations is very important to the nation. She knows what she is doing,” a source close to the President-elect said about Hillary Clinton.

If Hillary Clinton or even Bill Richardson become Secretary of State it would mark the fourth consecutive time America’s chief executive has turned away from the traditional white-male to be the face to the world. Is this a sign of the times in the nation? Can a white man become Secretary of State anymore? The fact that President-elect Obama hasn’t even met or said he will meet with Senator John Kerry, who some people praise with getting the support of Ted Kennedy, could be a hint, the next Secretary will either be a woman or minority. “America is close to becoming a majority minority nation,” an adviser to Vice President-elect Joe Biden said, “The Secretary of State is our image to the world. Presidents are very concerned to select someone to represent a new and changing nation.” Albright, Powell, Rice, and now maybe Clinton make the case that what you know might not be enough to get this job anymore.

Tha- Kid JK

tha-kid@revkitchen.com

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton…sounds good huh? Sources inside and out of the office of the President-elect are confirming that Senator Barack Obama has offered Senator Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State. Now the question seems to be will she become the first and most high profile Democrat to turn down the next Commander In Chief? Some doubt it.

Should Senator Hillary Clinton turn down the President-elect, who has already announced his resignation from the same body effective Sunday, she will do so as a junior member on almost every issue. Some suggest she might want to return and help lead the Senate as it prepares to reform healthcare, an issue she has been passionate about since her days as Arkansas’s First Lady and at the Children’s Defense Fund. However, Senator Ted Kennedy, who will return to the senate in January, and chairs the Education, Labor, and Health Committee along with Max Baucus, who chairs the Finance Committee, both have made it clear that won’t happen. The United States Senate is the most ego driven legislative body in America and all sides are staking their claim. Sen. Baucus even went so far as to give a press conference earlier this month outlining his own plan for reform.

Analysts have done studies of major presidential candidates who return to their daily jobs after suffering major defeats. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) who was the Democratic nominee in 2004 was back on the job a week later. However, there is a major adjustment that must take place coming from almost two years on the stump speaking to tens of thousands of fans who are willing to take whatever you say. Going back to the senate isn’t the same. This is why the Secretary of State position is for Mrs. Clinton.

President-elect Obama will be bombarded in the first one-hundred days of his administration with fixing the huge domestic mess that the Bush Administration has left for him. We need a Secretary of State who can step onto the world stage with instant name and fame worldwide. We need a Secretary of State who not only has foreign relations experience but has deep foreign relations contacts. The election of President-elect Obama to be the 44th President has changed our image worldwide over night. To avoid taking advantage of that image and good feeling early will be a misstep for the administration. So while the President-elect and his administration focus on fixing America at home, the Vice President-elect and Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) should focus on fixing America abroad.

We need Senator Clinton at the State Department, and I hope she accepts.

Tha-Kid JK

tha-kid@revkitchen.com

Post from, Think Youth.

via Huffington Post:

President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.

Way back in the days of the Democratic Primary, Barack Obama brought up the idea of Abraham Lincoln’s “Team of Rivals.” Lincoln kept this rule in mind when choosing people to serve on his cabinet who at first challenged him for the Republican nomination in 1860: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Hillary, SOS! Save Our Souls! No actually,  I’m talking about Secretary of State.

On Thursday November 13th it was reported that Barack Obama met with Clinton to discuss her role in his administration. What everyone thinks was discussed was Obama’s offer to Clinton of the Secretary of State position. The Secretary of State’s duties are mainly concerned with foreign affairs and policy. The current Secretary of State is Condoleeza Rice who assumed the title after Colin Powell resigned/got fired shortly after the 2004 election.

On CNN today Democratic strategist Paul Begala talked about how good the Obama campaign has been about tamping down unwarranted rumors. Their message control has not yet reigned this rumor in.

My own personal opinion is that Hillary should either stay in the Senate to focus on domestic issues such as healthcare and then one day become Senate Majority Leader, or hope to be appointed to the Supreme Court as a nice way to end her public service career.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? I’ll believe it when I see it.

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Think Youth welcomes all point of views from all types of Democrats and Progressives. We realize that the Democratic Party is a big tent, but the views expressed in the post ‘California Says No Again: Are Blacks to Blame?’ are strictly the views of the writer.

Thank You

Koko Chassid

Dan Solis

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California voters have for the third time voted to ban the ability of same-sex couples to engage in marriage in our state. On Tuesday I applauded those votes and today I am outraged at the California GLBT movement and many of its supporters. To be upfront not all of them should deserve this rage but the leaders and the media are prompting a backlash from our community the likes they can’t imagine.

In the darkest days of the depression blacks turned out in large numbers and voted to elect and reelect President Franklin Roosevelt. We did so because our people knew on issues of economic and national security he was right for us. We never demanded and in fact never received support in exchange of our votes from the disability community.

In the racial biting days that lead to the election of President John F. Kennedy blacks in the north and those registered in the south gave large numbers of their ballots to the first Catholic ever to hold the high office. We hoped for the support from Catholic leaders and other elders in the church but it never came and we never blamed them for it. Instead our civil rights leaders fought hard and some even died keeping the President’s foot to the fire on civil rights.

Today many hard working members of the GLBT movement worked hard to elect America’s first black President knowing opposition to gay marriage in America. In fact they even knew the candidate they supported opposed gay marriage. However despite that position millions of people in this community turned to Barack Obama and elected him while they also saw their ability to get married blocked by voters in Arizona, California, and Florida. One has to admit and understand their disappointment with the outcome of these decisions, but their race baiting sense of entitlement to others Prop 8 vote (in CA) is a joke.

I backed and advocated for Prop 8 but not excitedly. I was and remain today outraged by the California State Supreme Court that months before said that the city of San Francisco had acted unconstitutionally in awarding marriage certificates, reversed themselves and overturned two voter approved propositions blocking gay marriage.

My faith tells me that God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman. My faith teaches that man shall not lie with man as he lies with woman. These are my deeply held beliefs and that of many African Americans. In even the hardest hit communities our church is the bedrock to what we seek to aspire to do and be. The campaign to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage was aware of this ideal and actively reached out to our people and earned their votes. The No on 8 campaign much like many in the liberal and left of the Democratic Party appeared ready to take our votes for granted. This was the result.

African Americans in this nation are historically more conservative than our leading party. We are more pro-life and anti-gay marriage than the party we elect to represent us. Our communities and our real leaders have spoken out against abortion and what some call the curbing of family values. For many African-Americans we are fighting a war to stabilize our families and communities. We are battling hard to ensure all of our children have a father and a mother. A family unit is seen as the best way for ridding our families of the challenges we face more than any other community. The No on 8 Campaign failed to present answers or alternatives to these concerns to our community. In fact the outreach to the black communities around the state of California can be described as limited and far between.

To my friends on the opposing side in this campaign you lost. This doesn’t make the possibility for a different future but it sends a clear message. Our votes are not to be taken for granted. To win our votes you have to speak to our values.

Tha-Kid JK

tha-kid@revkitchen.com

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For the first time in a long time, progressives have complete control. We can now put into place all the things that we have been talking about year after year after year.  There can be no excuses now, only solutions.  Follow Obama’s path to change above at his new website: www.change.gov

Post from, Think Youth.

Florida and Arizona also voted to ban same sex marriage, and the state of Arkansas voted to stop homosexuals from adopting children.

Update, 11/5/08: The same sex marriages that have already been established in the state of California will most likely still be valid and legal because they took place during a time in which they were legal.

But, a San Francisco Attorney plans to take the case to the state Supreme Court in hopes of overturning the decision as unconsitutional.

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Like Obama said, the campaign took him from “the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California.” All across America young people came out and supported change.

It led him to November on the night of this historic presidential election. Young people supported Barack Obama 68-30% over Senator John McCain. Young people ages 18-29 made up 18% of the electorate this year, slightly higher than 17% in 2004 and 2000. That may not seem like a large increase, but in a year where overall voter turnout reached massive numbers (estimates place overall voter turnout at around 60%) it sure made the difference.

It was the young voters who won tonight. Those that supported one specific candidate, President-elect Barack Obama.

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Post from, Think Youth.

Looking back, I think we can say that the lengthy Democratic primary was part of Obama’s success. His national infrastructure that was created to beat Hillary Clinton has been used to defeat John McCain. His debate performances against Hillary taught him how to face off in a real debate.

CNN reported that Obama won Hillary supporters 84% to John McCain’s 15% tonight. Thank You Hillary.

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Some of the name’s floating around for Barack Obama’s Senate seat are Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of Jesse Jackson, Rahm Emanuel, an already influential leader in the House, Jean Schakowsky also from the House, longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, and former congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth.

Joe Biden’s replacement could be just a temporary one until his son Beau Biden could run for the Senate seat himself in 2010.

As for Senator John McCain, the Democratic Governor in Arizona, Janet Napolitano, has the option to appoint anyone she wants as long as they are a Republican. So, she could not appoint herself.

Another twist in all of this: If current Alaskan Senator and convicted felon Ted Stevens wins his Senate seat and is ousted by the Senate leadership, Governor Sarah Palin could be appointed to Senator Palin. You Betcha!

Update, 11/5/08: Let me make this clear. The only way Governor Palin can be Senator Palin is if she resigns her spot as Governor of Alaska and then the new Governor, who would be Sean Parnell, would then appoint Palin to the Senate spot.

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The volunteering was perhaps the most interesting part, for one both the Republican and Democratic volunteers were all talking and laughing together (I wonder if the McCain people were actually paid). However the election officers let is slide when Republicans campaigned closer than 40 feet to the polls, but when a Democrat got to close it was back to the 40 foot rule.

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