On the Issues: Why Obama Was Right and John McCain Was Wrong on the Surge

In January of 2007 John McCain wrote an editorial about the need for a surge of American troops in Iraq. He wrote, “During my visit to Iraq last month, it was clear that security is the precondition for political progress and economic development.” He went on to say, “Until the government and its coalition allies can protect the population, the Iraqi people will increasingly turn to extr-governmental forces, especially Sunni and Shiite militias, for protection. Only when the government has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force will its authority have meaning, and only when its authority has meaning can political activity have the results we seek.” It has been more than a year since that surge and in a safer more secure Iraq we are still seeing a government not up to the challenge.

At the same time that John McCain was moving closer to President Bush on the war in Iraq Barack Obama was laying out the case why the surge wouldn’t work. In his floor statement he said this, “The fact is that we have tried this road before. In the end, no amount of American forces can solve the political differences that lie at the heart of somebody else’s civil war.”

So who was right and who was wrong? The GAO who conducted a report on the surge in September that hasn’t much changed said that Iraq had “failed to meet all but nine of the security goals Congress had set as part of a list of 18 benchmarks of progress.” Two of these goals had been the elimination of havens for militia forces and the deployment of three Iraqi military brigades that would be there to assist the U.S. in the security plan that was created for Baghdad. Two other benchmarks that had been described as one being economic and the other political the GAO rated as partially met. Speaking of political goals this same report said that only one of the eight goals in that arena had been met, and even today the Iraqi Parliament has missed deadline after deadline to set a date for new national elections that are pass due.

So if the true meaning our purpose of the surge in Iraq was just to secure the nation than John McCain is right. However he is being less than honest when he suggests that to be so. His own comments saying, “During my visit to Iraq last month, it was clear that security is the precondition for political progress and economic development,” prove this to be the case.

Tha-Kid JK

tha-kid@revkitchen.com

For your frustration: More VP news!

Maryland Police Spied on Peace Protesters

When Republican governor Robert Ehrlich governed Maryland, police infiltrated anti war and anti death penalty groups with undercover officers. The police found no illegal activity occurring, but invested over 200 hours of surveillance of various groups reports the Washington Post:

Detailed intelligence reports logged by at least two agents in the police department’s Homeland Security and Intelligence Division reveal close monitoring of the movements as the Iraq war and capital punishment were heatedly debated in 2005 and 2006.

Organizational meetings, public forums, prison vigils, rallies outside the State House in Annapolis and e-mail group lists were infiltrated by police posing as peace activists and death penalty opponents, the records show. The surveillance continued even though the logs contained no reports of illegal activity and consistently indicated that the activists were not planning violent protests.

While attending a meeting as undercover officers isn’t technically illegal, it still does raise some flags. But then we found out that various participants were described as “anarchist and socialist” and one was entered into a criminal database:

A well-known antiwar activist from Baltimore, Max Obuszewski, 63, was singled out by the undercover agents and entered into a “Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area” database. His entry indicates a “Primary Crime” of “Terrorism-anti-government” and a “Secondary Crime” of “Terrorism-Anti-War Protesters,” according to the documents.

These anti-violence groups never did anything violent (I know, shocking) to advance their interests. The police eventually concluded that their might be “tensions” but nothing particularly dangerous about their protests. What’s not clear is if the now Democratic governor, Martin O’Malley has continued these surveillance programs.

Update

Current Democratic governor Martin O’Malley has commented on this matter, as the Post writes in a follow up article:

Governor Martin O’Malley says state police are obligated to investigate threats to public safety, but his administration will not use public resources to monitor the peaceful exercise of free speech.

The governor noted Friday that state police must investigate threats to public safety. But if there is no evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing, all intelligence gathering must stop.

Republican Congressman Turns into Arms Dealer

That headline isn’t a crime in itself, plenty of politicians go to work for large defense contractors, who are basically arms dealers. The problem here is that a former Republican congressman, Curt Weldon (PA) is brokering arms deals with blacklisted countries like Iran and Russia:

Former congressman Curt Weldon is helping broker deals between Russian and Ukranian weapons suppliers and the Iraqi and Libyan governments as part of his new job with a private American defense consulting firm, Wired.com has learned.

Weldon, who is currently being investigated by the FBI over alleged corruption during his time in office, visited Libya in March to discuss a possible military deal, according to a letter describing the trip from Weldon to Defense Solutions CEO Timothy Ringgold. In May, Weldon, together with Ringgold and another company representative, traveled to Moscow to discuss working with Russia’s weapons-export agency on arms sales to the Middle East.

Both trips were part of the company’s effort to tap into the growing — and often legally murky — market for selling weapons from former Eastern Bloc countries to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The reason this is described as legaly murky, is because he is operating as a middle man to supply countries with Soviet weapons they already have, and that were never manufactured in the US. While it may legally okay, it certainly is morally and politically dubious.

But doesn’t it seem like the party (Republicans) that likes to falsely flaunt a strong security record would have ties to selling weapons to former enemies, and other countries that regularly export anti-Americanism and terrorism? This reminds me of the situation last year when another Republican senator was charged with laundering money Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Vulnerable Republicans: The Mitch McConnell Edition!

Nationwide backlash against the Republican Party cost them control of the Congress in 2006. This year, the same backlash could cost them 20-30 seats in the House, and as many as 6 or 7 in the Senate. Among the handful of Republican Senators worried about their jobs is none other than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). From Rasmussen:

United States Senator Mitch McConnell has a seven-point advantage over Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Kentucky voters. It’s McConnell 48%, Lunsford 41%.

[...]

Still, any incumbent who polls below the 50% level of support is considered potentially vulnerable and McConnell remains in that category.

Under Senator McConnell’s leadership, the Republican Party has engaged in almost-unprecedented obstructionism, using parliamentary tactics to consistently block promising pieces of legislation put forth by the Democratic majority. The only factor in play making McConnell a tough challenge is the generally-Conservative nature of his home state. However, while Kentucky may be Conservative, I can’t conceive of the people of Kentucky appreciating counterproductive politics and politicians any more than the people of any other state in the nation. That could make all the difference.

Kucinich reads Bush Articles of Impeachment on the House floor

I flipped on my television at approximately ten-thirty Eastern time on Monday night, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) speaking on C-Span. Kucinich was talking about President Bush and his various crimes against the United States, and I soon became aware that the Representative was introducing Articles of Impeachment against President Bush (also known as House Resolution 1258).

Dennis Kucinich had begun his long trudge through the Articles two hours earlier, and he would continue his reading, to an almost empty House chamber, for nearly another three hours. There were 35 Articles in total, each one detailing a crime that Bush had committed that warranted impeachment. I congratulate Kucinich for having the courage and conviction to undertake this task.

A summary of each offense for each Article, as provided by the index of the Articles of Impeachment, reads as follows: Read more

The Isms are Still Alive

This primary saw so many records broken. We had a woman run the longest and most successful primary campaign ever. We had a man who would be the oldest president if he wins. We had an African American take the nomination. We had a Latino run, and be viewed as a somewhat serious threat, and seen as a serious contender for vice president. Then there was an Italian who had a front runner campaign for many months, and we can’t forget that a Mormon ran too.

The primary season was a wonderful example of the diversity of America and a reminder that who you are doesn’t have to define what you will be. But it also was a reminder that isms (chauvinism, racism, religionism, ageism…) are still a problem in America. From the media, to political campaigns, to individuals, this hatred has reared it’s ugly head. But the times when identity became a part of politics, equal opportunity discrimination resulted.

Probably most notable in terms of media sanctioned sexism was Chris Mathews, who has also made many comments indicating his support for Barack Obama, at one time saying Obama made a “thrill” go up his “leg.” He made offensive comments about Hillary saying “The reason she’s a U.S. Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around. [...] She didn’t win it on the merits.” Then of course there is the frequent use of the word bitch to describe Hillary. We heard McCain chuckling and saying that “How do we beat the bitch?” was an excellent question. And then of course everyone refers to Hillary, as Hillary, highlighting her gender in a way that last names don’t.

Even though there was only one candidate with a groundbreaking religion running in the 2008 primaries, Mitt Romney, three religions still came under fire. There was a county chairman working for John McCain that blasted Romney’s religion according to the Boston Globe, “[He] questioned whether Mormons were Christians, discussed an article alleging that the Mormon Church helps fund Hamas, and likened the Mormons’ treatment of women to the Taliban’s.”

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Politics of Insanity

Over the past couple decades, the American people have seen the incompetence, corruption, and inability to get anything done among the collective group of their elected officials. These elected officials find themselves indebted to lobbyists and corporations who donate to their political campaigns, rather than their constituents, and so they often find it necessary to represent and work for their corporations rather than their constituents. Many Americans these days are probably now wondering, “How do I go about picking a candidate who is competent and able and who is not corrupt, so that I can then vote for them and work for them, so that they can get into office and work for me?”

It is difficult attempting to scrutinize each candidate to try to determine what exactly they are thinking, so I have come up with a better solution to ascertain that the candidate that you elect will work for you, and work hard. For those candidates running for elected office, what the constituents need to do is to all get together, have the candidates in front of them, and then everyone stand back and each throw one dart towards the candidates. I almost can guarantee you that the candidate who receives the most darts will work, and work hard, for his or her constituents. They shan’t want any darts thrown at them again.

But, seriously, friends, there is an incompetence, corruption, and ineffectiveness that seems to be held collectively among our elected officials, with a few exceptions. It also seems to be held, generally, among both of the major political parties. What we, the American people, have essentially been doing these past several decades is swinging back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans, reverting from one to the other when one does not satisfactorily execute its promises. When we tire of one party, the other party shouts, “Here! We can do all of the things that you want, and more! We shall be a ‘change’ from this other useless party!” But this new party does not deliver on its promises either.

We switch back and forth, finding each party unsatisfactory over and over again, and we expect different results each time the Democrats or each time the Republicans promise to bring different results. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is, according to Albert Einstein, the very definition of insanity.
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European Aircraft Manufacturers Love McCain

Or does John McCain love European airplane manufacturers? Media Matters is out with a graphic showing who his campaign managers, advisers, and other employees lobby for. One of the immediate names that jumped out at me was European aircraft maker Airbus, who has been siphoning off airplane contracts from American companies like Boeing.

But that’s not all he will be beholden to. The telecom industry, which surely will advocate against net neutrality, for wrestling cable regulation from local government, and for even higher cell phone, cable, and Internet prices. And if you think McCain is a saint for believing in global warming think again. Shell Oil, Honda, Florida Power & Light, Toyota, and other energy gobbling companies all employ lobbyists that work in his campaign.

There are a few other entities out there that should cause controversy too. For those who care about family values, one of his lobbyists works for the Smokeless Tobacco Council. And lets not forget, another of his advisers is a lobbyist who works for the NRA, the group that wanted to legalize assault weapons used in the Virginia Tech shootings.

The problem with lobbyists is the candidate will be beholden to them, especially if they’re credited with creating the win. For a man that labels himself as the “Straight Talk Express” I would defiantly expect him to show higher moral standards when it comes to lobbyists.

Cross posted at my personal site. 

McCain Accepts Endorsment from Armageddon Wanting Pastor

A pastor who wants a milatary strike on Iran has endorsed McCains bids for presidency. And unlike Obama, McCain said he was “very honored” by the endorsement of the war mongering pastor. The New York Times has more on the endorsement:

Senator John McCain got support on Wednesday from an important corner of evangelical Texas when the pastor of a San Antonio mega-church, Rev. John C. Hagee, endorsed Mr. McCain for president. Mr. Hagee, who argues that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive, biblically prophesized military strike against Iran that will lead to the second coming of Christ, praised Mr. McCain for his pro-Israel views.

The endorsement violates the lines of a non-profit getting involved in politics. Even though he tied in a biblical prophesy in, nowhere in the Bible is John McCains name.

I was willing to dismiss McCain’s bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran song, but he should have forcefully denied this mans war mongering. The last thing we need is a president that deliberately makes prophesies, especially ones like these, come true.

Also, the endorsement of a pastor from a Texas mega-church further dents Mike Huckabee’s creditability.

McCain Denies Affair

The New York Times reported earlier that McCain had a “romantic relationship” with a lobbyist he worked with. As usual he hasn’t admitted to anything yet. But the usually hot tempered man calmly told reporters, conservatives, and Americans that he didn’t have an affair. Here’s the story from the New York Times:

A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

When news organizations reported that Mr. McCain had written letters to government regulators on behalf of the lobbyist’s client, the former campaign associates said, some aides feared for a time that attention would fall on her involvement.

Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.

This news is sure to alienate the conservative wing of the Republican party, maybe even sparking a conservative third party campaign. Even if there was not an actual affair, but a close relationship with a lobbyist paints a bad picture for a man that claims to want to reform Washington.

Corporate Control

It is a well-known and unfortunate fact in the United States that businesses, corporations, and special interests play a much greater role in our politics and government than we would certainly like it to. There has been, for decades, if not centuries, the element to our politics that is the corrupting influence of money. It has become particularly pronounced in recent years, especially in this 2008 Presidential Election, where candidates of both political parties are raising millions and millions of dollars each in campaign cash. In fact, this could be the first billion-dollar presidential campaign in our country’s history. That is, assuredly, not a positive sign.

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Giulani Loses Florida, Clinton Wins

Really, Florida was only important for Republicans. And to some the most important part was Giuliani, and if his eggs in the basket strategy for Florida would work. With 35% of votes in Giuliani comes in a distant third with 15% of the vote. McCain and Romney continue in struggle with few percentage points separating them.

Hilary won the Democratic contest, but only in name, as the DNC stripped Florida of all delegates. And since the Hilary camp has said “This is a race for delegates…It is not a battle for individual states.” But Hilary is trying to pull another trick, lobbying the DNC to reinstate Florida’s delegates.

This comes after potential election fraud in Nevada:

“We currently have reports of over 200 separate incidents of trouble at caucus sites, including doors being closed up to thirty minutes early, registration forms running out so people were turned away, and ID being requested and checked in a non-uniform fashion. This is in addition to the Clinton campaign’s efforts to confuse voters and call into question the at-large caucus sites which clearly had an affect on turnout at these locations. These kinds of Clinton campaign tactics were part of an entire week’s worth of false, divisive, attacks designed to mislead caucus-goers and discredit the caucus itself.”

In a manual for caucus volunteers, instructed Hilary’s people to instruct poll captains to shutdown polling places half an hour early. Her campaign had previously told potential Clinton supporters to come to the poll early.

Update 8:52

44% of precincts are reporting, and McCain appears to be gaining an edge over Romney. If McCain can can continue winning delegates he’ll provide a formidable force in 2008 if Clinton wins. By the way, currently Clinton has nearly a 2 times lead over Obama.

Update 8:55

According to exit polls Hilary won among white and Latino voters, while Obama took in 70% of the black vote, the other 29% voted for Hilary. Interestingly Hilary did best among voters who decided who to vote for today. Maybe thats due to several key endorsements in Florida, and an announcement that Hilary would visit Florida for a victory celebration.

Update 9:00

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC have all said they can’t declare a Repuplican winner. I’m going to guess a McCain win. And if he looses, look for allegations of vote fraud in the next couple of weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised to see slick Mitt pull something like that. On the other hand are candidates scared to cheat in Florida after 2000?

Update 9:04
The New York Times says:

Well, Senator Clinton just stole the spotlight for a moment, promising at a rally in Florida to do whatever she could to seat those uninvited delegates from this state. She called their vote — which would appear overwhelming — a “vote of confidence.”

Update 9:09

Interestingly “pastor” Huckabee and Giulani are within a few percentage points. Huckabee suffered from lack of funds, one Reporter from CNN said he “Had to sit on the toilet seat of Huck’s private jet.” Giulani on the other hand spent $40 million in Florida, so there’s no money excuse for his lackluster performance.

Update 9:14

Al Jazeera is saying, “Giuliani, who staked his campaign on the Florida result, may now quit the race.” Certaintly if his money stats don’t look good for the first quarter he’ll quit, but I think he has the determination to stick it out until Super Tuesday.

Update 9:20

The numbers are holding steady in both races, with the majority of precincts reporting.

Update 9:22

The AP has declared McCain the winner in Florida, probably due to his slowly increasing numbers.

Update 9:24

Apparently some top level advisers in Rudy’s campaign have suggested he might endorse McCain in the coming weeks. Maybe Al Jazeera was right.

Update 9:30

Well even though McCain poses the largest threat to a Democratic win in ‘08, the election was a relief. Why? Because anyone is better than Giuliani. This is it for tonight from me.

Our Next President…The Final Four!

Nominations for each party are still, for the most part, a mystery. But, I believe the final four candidates to be our next president can now easily be narrowed down. Our next president will either be, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, or John McCain.

The current contenders for the nomination, all of them, are:

Democrats: Top Tier: Clinton, Obama 2nd Tier: Edwards Lower Tier: Gravel?

Republicans: Top Tier: Romney, McCain 2nd Tier: Huckabee, Giuliani Lower Tier: Paul

I’ve based all positions by recent polls, amount of support, donations, the number of delegates each candidate already has, and most importantly the probability of a candidates success based my own biased opinion!

So that leaves the top 4 upper tier candidates within the most likely positions to receive their party’s nomination. Clinton, Obama, Romney, McCain.

In the general election:

I see John McCain as Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare. And Mitt Romney as Barack Obama’s. Regardless a Democrat will be elected president, but in those two matchups, I see the Democratic candidate facing their toughest opponent. It’s too early to even begin to hypothesize the Democratic and Republican nominees, and unlike other pundits, I believe we have to let the voters decide first.

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