Bubba And The Ragin’ Cajun Talk Politics And Populism At Truman Day
Posted on May 15, 2008 at 10:12 pmR. Neal sits down with Ragin’ Cajun James Carville shortly before his speech at Knox County’s Truman Day Dinner for an exclusive interview. The pull quote:
When Franklin Roosevelt said the captains of industry and Wall Street barons hate me and I welcome their hate, I mean Obama’s clearly not of that ilk of Democrat. He’s more of a kind of Bill Bradley, Paul Tsongas, Adlai Stevenson kind of Democrat.
SEE ALSO:
Brendan Loy
Braisted
Waiting For That Final Nail
Posted on at 7:25 amWith John Edwards endorsement of Barack Obama, some Democrats are looking to Al Gore to finally step in and end this madness:
“The Al Gore watch starts now,” said Ken Goldstein, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Gore, who is one of the party’s superdelegates, has indicated he won’t give his endorsement until the primary contest is finished. His spokeswoman, Kalee Kreider, said yesterday that Gore had no further comment.
Obama said he has spoken to Gore “periodically” over the past several months about policies and ideas.
“I’m not really pushing for an endorsement,” Obama told reporters on his plane last night as he flew to Chicago. “I’d love to have it, but when you’ve won the Nobel Peace Prize, making an endorsement politically is maybe a step down.”
RELATED: Gone, but not forgotten.
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How Selfless Of Her
Posted on at 6:50 amRick Moran argues that Hillary Clinton continues to run for the Democratic nomination for President not because she seeks the Vice-Presidency or to embolden her case for candidacy in 2012 should Obama lose but because she feels an obligation to the little girls of this country:
For all the talk of “glass ceilings” and “old boys networks” — and there are still significant barriers to professional women who seek power and influence in the political and corporate world — Hillary Clinton’s candidacy has shattered a few of those ceilings as she has elbowed her way into the oldest and most male of all networks: serious consideration for the most powerful office on the planet.
So she bows her neck and keeps charging not so much because she still has a slim chance at the nomination, but because she feels an obligation to the millions of women who are out there now and who will follow in her footsteps. She is still in it for the shining faces of teenage girls who look back at her from the audience and who see beyond the dream of becoming president and can now taste the reality of it. She is in it for the seniors who she cultivates so assiduously and who see in her perhaps a culmination of all their hopes and dreams that never materialized in their lifetime because of the barriers that Hillary has now smashed to pieces, never to be erected again.
This is not a quest for the nomination as much as it is the road to a validation of her place in history. One can hardly fault her for trying to keep faith with the millions who see her as a living icon and a harbinger of things to come. For that reason, she may decide to stay in the race until the last primary has been held so that every woman who believes in her and, more importantly, what she represents, can be heard.
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Edwards To Endorse?
Posted on May 14, 2008 at 1:30 pmMark Halperin is teasing a possible John Edwards endorsement.
UPDATE: CNN has confirmed that former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will endorse Barack Obama at a Michigan campaign event about an hour from now.
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Clinton Nabs Another Tennessee Super
Posted on at 10:20 am“Automatic” delegate to the Democratic National Convention, Vicki Harwell, President of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women,has thrown her lot in with Hillary Clinton:
“Hillary’s decisive victory in West Virginia is the latest evidence that she is the strongest candidate to take on John McCain and win back the White House,” Harwell said. “Hillary has the plans, leadership and experience to deliver real results as President.”
Harwell was an “add-on” delegate selected at a March 8th meeting of the Democratic State Executive Committee.
At the time of her selection, Harwell indicated she was “leaning towards” backing Senator Clinton but was recently quoted in the Tennessean confirming her uncommitted status while betraying a slight openness to Obama.
Harwell had received calls from the Clinton campaign soliciting her support but none from Obama. She expressed a hope that Obama was not making assumptions in his neglecting o reach out:
“I get really irritated with the media when they paint this as a choice between race and gender,” she said. “If he’s discouraged because of that, it’s a shame. A lot of our women are supporting Obama.”
Out of seventeen Democratic superdelegates from Tennessee four now support Obama, six are pledged to Clinton and the rest remain uncommitted.
SEE ALSO: Sean Braisted
This Congressman’s Dead Anyway
Posted on May 11, 2008 at 10:11 pmHerman Wang reports that Rep. Lincoln Davis doesn’t think it is the role of a superdelegate to commit to a candidate before the convention.
Davis has apparently taken his belief quite seriously reportedly rebuffing an invitation for a sit down with Hillary Clinton:
“He says that’s not true,” U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., told The Daily News about Davis’ refusal to meet with Clinton. “But that’s on the front page of The Hill. I told him he might as well go ahead and endorse Barack (Obama), because once Hillary sees that he’s a dead man anyway.”
More at Silence is Golden.
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The Appalachian Sensation
Posted on May 8, 2008 at 2:03 pmHillary Clinton has made her strongest electoral showings in the counties and precincts located in the region of the country known as Appalachia. This does not bode well for Barack Obama in Kentucky and West Virginia:
Appalachia didn’t budge. [Clinton] is going to absolutely blow [Obama] out of the water in West VA and KY. Whether that is enough to get her back in the race is another matter altogether.
If Everybody Else Is Going To Pander, Jim Kyle Wants In
Posted on at 1:54 pmFrom a press release:
Democratic Leader Senator Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, announced today that he supports allowing Tennessee to participate in a suspension of the 18-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain have proposed such a national gas tax holiday as consumers face the crunch of gas prices that have topped $3.50 per gallon. However, Tennessee may not be allowed to take part in the program.
Under current state law, Tennessee’s gas tax must be increased to make up the difference if the federal gas tax is decreased. In 2006, Kyle passed a two-year suspension of this law. That suspension expires on July 1, 2008.
“If 49 states in the country are going to have a gas tax holiday, then I believe that Tennessee should have one, too,” he said. “I’m committed to making sure that we get a break at the gas pumps just like everyone else.”
UPDATE: Rep. Susan Lynn has an amendment to the technical corrections bill all ready to go on this issue.
The Tangled Webb Of Vice-Presidential Politics
Posted on at 7:49 amWith his nomination all but certain, Sharon Cobb has taken to pondering who might be the best Vice-Presidential choice for Illinois Senator:
What about Joe Biden, who has more foreign affairs experience than any of the original people running for President with the exception of Chris Dodd? Would an older, established white man with a plethora of experience help Barack more than Hillary or John? Biden or Dodd might make a good balance, though I’m not sure either would benefit Barack in the states where he needs help. On the other hand, both men have been fully vetted as well.
Bill Richardson, anyone? Aside from his experience in negotiating with North Korea and other troubled spots, he could be most helpful in picking up the Hispanic vote, a group where Obama is relatively weak. Hillary is strong with Hispanics, so she would help there as well.
What do you think? Who do you think should be Barack’s running mate?
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Harold Ford, Jr. Calls For Democratic Unity Ticket
Posted on May 7, 2008 at 8:08 amFormer Congressman and Senate candidate, Harold Ford, Jr., now chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, suggests that being a “numbers guy” makes him a believer in the formidable nature of a joint Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton ticket. GoldnI translates what Ford is really saying:
“I’m aware that this is pretty much over and that Obama is going to win, but I can’t say that because that would piss off my DLC buddies. On the other hand, I can’t come out for Clinton because that would royally piss off the Memphis base that I need to support me if I ever run for office again. So I’ll just keep pushing for this ‘joint ticket’ so I won’t have to publicly decide.”
SEE ALSO:
Hotline (II)
Daily Kos
Big Pimpin’
Connie Manes
State of the Day
Webutante
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Superdelegate Bredesen Leaning Towards Clinton?
Posted on April 28, 2008 at 8:32 amI had always got the feeling that Gov. Bredesen was, at root, an Obama man. Jackson Baker reports differently:
Bredesen is widely believed to be tilting toward Senator Clinton, and he has acknowledged in the past that most of his advisors lean that way.
If he is a Clinton man, he would certainly seem to be a reluctant one, if this 2005 interview is any indication.
Barack, Call Her
Posted on April 27, 2008 at 10:43 pmIlissa Gold calls on Barack Obama to get on the horn with Vicki Harwell, President of the Tennessee Federation for Democratic Women and an uncommitted superdelegate to the Democratic Convention:
Senator Obama, she just hinted, in a big way, that this could be another unexpected superdelegate pickup for you. Because if she is definitely supporting Clinton, she wouldn’t have bothered to drop that hint. So please, PLEASE, call her!
Phil Has The Power
Posted on April 24, 2008 at 11:12 amJohn Rodgers links up to The Nation who accuses our honorable Governor of hypocrisy for complaining out the drawn out divisiveness of the Democratic primary when he could so easily step up and endorse a candidate and help put an end to the madness:
Here’s a thought: if Bredesen is worried about how a nasty, prolonged contest is damaging the Democratic Party and wants to bring it to a conclusion, why doesn’t he, as a prominent superdelegate, endorse a candidate? Superdelegates, after all, have the power to end this race now if they wanted to.
The Audacity Of Waiting His Turn
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 5:24 pmGoldnI didn’t appreciate the advice Barack Obama was given by Harold Ford, Jr. on MSNBC and asks the undercover, Clinton supporting, former Congressman to imagine this Presidential campaign had it been him instead of Obama facing the Clinton machine:
Can you imagine what would happen if Harold were in Obama’s shoes? Can you imagine how Hillary would attack him? “Well, we all know that Harold Ford has no experience. He was only 26 when he was elected to Congress, what did he do before that? Not much. He doesn’t have enough experience. Oh, and he’s unelectable. Don’t ask us why, but he is.” And if the Jeremiah Wright brouhaha is any indicator, Harold would probably be asked to reject and denounce the vast majority of his family members.
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Ford In The Bag For HRC
Posted on at 12:31 pmMatt Pulle asserts that after watching Harold Ford, Jr. on MSNBC last night there can be no doubt about where the “neutral” Ford stand in the Democratic primary contest:
Harold Ford continues to have trouble cloaking his jealousy of Barack Obama, whose progressive, smart candidacy is everything that Ford’s run for Senate was not. Yesterday on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough asked Ford if he would have beaten Corker if he could have outspent him as much as Obama did Hillary Clinton in Pennsyltucky. At first, Ford tried to duck the question graciously, but then Scarborough needed to ask it only one more time for the former Memphis congressman to take the bait: Ford snidely replied if he had more money he could have made up those 25,000 votes, saying that as matter-of-factly as if he were reciting the alphabet.
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Rep. John Tanner Jumps Off The Superdelegate Fence
Posted on at 12:10 pmMark Halperin reports the 8th District Congressman will commit his superdelegate vote to Hillary Clinton. (via SB)
From a presser:
…”I do not remember a time when our nation has faced the financial peril that confronts all Americans,” Congressman Tanner said. “To me, this election is not about politics as usual. I believe nothing less than our financial liberty and economic freedom are at stake.
“In my opinion, the best person to lead this critical effort is Hillary Clinton. Hillary is a smart, pragmatic leader who understands the grave situation our country faces, with a $9 trillion debt, much of which is borrowed from foreign countries. Now, more than ever, our nation needs a leader like Sen. Clinton who can work with others to return to fiscal sanity.”…
…”I am honored to have the support of Congressman John Tanner,” said Hillary Clinton. “As co-founder of the Blue Dog Coalition, John has spent his career in Congress fighting to eliminate our national debt and restore fiscal soundness to our nation’s government. John is known as a common sense, results-oriented leader, and I look forward to having him join me in spreading my message of change and experience across America.”
For more see your main man Ken Whitehouse.
The Game Is The Game
Posted on at 7:14 amBrendan Loy begs to differ with those folks who say that Hillary Clinton would have had this nomination sown up if the Democratic primaries were winner take all delegate contests like the Republicans and the electoral college:
If the Democrats ran a winner-take-all system, both candidates would have had vastly different strategies. Obama would have spent less time, energy and money in caucus states where he knew he could rack up big delegate margins, and focused more on the “big states.” Among other things, it’s entirely possible he would have won Texas (since he would have been paying zero attention to Ohio or Rhode Island under this scenario).
You can’t divorce the results from the process. And anyway, the process is what it is. The Democrats don’t have a winner-take-all system like the Republicans and the Electoral College do. They have a proportional system, because they decided to have a proportional system. You don’t change the rules in the middle of the game — or spin them into some alternate reality. They are what they are. And Obama’s gonna win.
Hillary Clinton Projected As The Winner Of The Pennsylvania Primary
Posted on April 22, 2008 at 7:59 pmABC, Fox, NBC and CBS have called the Keystone state for Senator Hillary Clinton. Of course, now we wait for margin to be revealed so that the pundits can tell us whether the win was really a “win.”
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No Mas Demográficas Ventaja?
Posted on at 12:21 pmBruce Barry surveys the lay of the land on the day of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary and makes some predictions:
The real prediction question, of course, is not just what happens tonight, but what happens tomorrow. How big a win tonight is a win? The problem for Clinton is that after Pennsylvania, there are no more Pennsylvanias, which is to say no more big delegate-rich states where she has the built-in demographic edge. The remaining contests—North Carolina and Indiana in two weeks, and then Kentucky, West Virginia, Oregon, South Dakota, Puerto Rico and let’s not forget Guam—are a mixed bag: Obama figures to take NC, OR, and SD; Clinton grabs WV, KY and PR; leaving IN as a tossup. After today, it’s hard to foresee a plausible significant aggregate effect on the spread of delegates or popular votes. Unless Clinton pulls out of nowhere a whopper of a win tonight in the 15-20 point range, giving superdelegates some seriously irritated bowels, what’s her path to the nomination? It may not be over tonight, but I’m thinking it’s over on May 6.
No built in demographic advantages past Pennsylvania for Hillary? What about Puerto Rico? Remember Nevada?
Smelling What Barack Is Cooking
Posted on April 21, 2008 at 1:41 pmFrom Marc Ambinder:
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain have taped segments that will air on WWE’s Raw tonight on the USA Network. (An offer for Clinton and Obama to settle their differences in the ring was not accepted, presumably because both candidates thought the idea of a double count out ending was hackneyed.) In theory, the WWE audience — young men — would be for Obama if they identify as a Democrat.
The Revolt Of The Elites
Posted on at 7:19 amDavid Sparks wonders in the Boston Globe whether the pragmatism of the superdelegates will lead them to conclude that the potential benefits of nominating Barack Obama are not worth the stretch:
Assume Hillary Clinton will be viewed as a northern state liberal: a combination of John Kerry and Al Gore. The states-won distribution between Gore and Kerry was identical except for New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Iowa. If Clinton starts the race as the Kerry/Gore prototype in the battleground states, she will probably run a very close election with McCain, just like Bush-Gore and Bush-Kerry. The problem for her is that both Gore and Kerry lost. The question is: Which states can she flip and why?
Obama is harder to profile. The enthusiasm for his campaign, his appeal among younger voters, suburban independents, and African-Americans prompts some analysts to suggest that not only can’t he be categorized, but that his presence on the ballot against McCain will throw 40 states into play instead of the traditional handful. However, the split between Whites and African-Americans in choosing between Obama and Clinton has been stark, now fueled by Obama’s recent comments about small town America. The flipside of the Obama potential is the potential backlash against the first African-American nominee…
…In Clinton, the superdelegates have a candidate who fits their recent mold and the last two elections have been very close. This year is a bad year for Republicans. Just a slight shift from the Gore-Kerry level would give her the victory. In Obama they have a new model candidate and the potential for a coalition of voter groups and states which break from the Gore-Kerry model.
Superdelegates are the most practical individuals going to the Democratic Convention. Practical people don’t like to gamble much in their decision-making. The superdelegates have to ask themselves how much they want to roll the dice.
Democratic Differences In Media Mirror May Appear Larger Than They Are
Posted on April 18, 2008 at 11:53 amSay Uncle on the difference between the two Democratic candidates for President:
At this point, the two differ on their views about as much as two guys on death row have differing opinions about the death penalty.
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Post Politics: 8 April 2008 - Afternoon Edition
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 2:44 pmSean Braisted ponders whether some Democratic contributors to Lincoln Davis would be surprised to the learn that the Congressman gave $1,000 to Tennessee Right to life last December.
Our man at the Capitol, Ken Whitehouse, breaks open another one, reporting that a powerful member of the state House will not seek re-election.
The Tennessee Democratic Party blog posts a “homemade” video from a “Tennessee Democrat” chiding Businessman Monty Lankford for running for Congress in a district not his own.
April is Minority Health Month in Tennessee.
No Silence There: As of May 5, newspaperman Michael Silence will no longer have to worry himself with producing copy for the print product of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
The Democratic Leadership Council blog takes on John McCain for not standing tall on one of his signature issues.
Mike Byrd continues his quest to clean up his neighborhood specifically a market owned by the politically connected Kenny Norman.
The State Budget figures are out and you know what that means: Tennessee Republican Party spokesman Bill Hobbs is talking about the Copeland Cap.
Bruce Barry is not fooled by Senate Bill 3910, which he calls a retrograde piece of legislation that bans adoption by any couples who are engaged in “unmarried sexual cohabitation.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that Hillary Clinton thinks she can put Tennessee in play in the general election.
Aunt B. takes issue with how low-income is described in the new AT&T cable compromise legislation.
Barack Obama talks nuclear disarmament on YouTube.
Glen Dean wonders who the real enemy is when it comes to high gas prices – the oil companies or the government.
Matt Pulle wonders whether a Democratic candidate for Senate who drives a red Saab convertible with a vanity plate which makes reference to his service in the Marines might be vulnerable to an attack ad.
A new Rassmussen Reports poll shows Lamar Alexander sitting in the catbird seat for re-election.
Blogger and Montgomery Bell Academy Teacher Alan Coverstone announces that in just a few days he should have $10,000 in cash on hand for his 9th District Metro School Board race.
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