Fall 2006 political season begins

September 7, 2006 on 8:12 am | In Vote for ... | 2 Comments

Campaigning for this fall’s elections appears to have started with a bang. Politicians and pundits have been out in force already with all systems in hyper-drive mode. Bush is out front and center trying to shape the debate and lead the way for battered republicans. I see this as his only hope if he can pull it off. Popular energized leadership is the only thing I can imagine that could pull republicans out of their current dilemma. The president is the republican leader so try as they might republicans cannot separate themselves from the current administration. If he was successful in rallying support, shifting focus and improving his own popularity republicans could hold on to control of both houses. To me this demonstrates the political intelligence of “bush’s brain”. Personally I do not think it will work, but it is the logical and smart thing to do. However they key is in the numbers, with Bush improving his own numbers he cannot positively affect anyone else’s numbers. I think he will have some success shifting the focus. How democrats & republicans react will determine how much real impact is felt and who benefits

Less than 3 months until midterms

August 14, 2006 on 2:12 pm | In Vote for ..., Media Buzz | 2 Comments

I think the Lieberman defeat in Connecticut primary will set the stage for media coverage as well as campaign stradegy. Everyone is always looking for a sign of things to come, and this one had everyone’s attention. How this should be interpreted will surely be the center of discussion among campaign managers and the cable talking heads. My interpretation is that it indicates the anti-war issue is strong enough to motivate people to actually go to the polls and vote. I believe much of Lieberman’s support came from the more loyal democrat who would be typically more likely to vote than the balance of the party. The fact that loyalists lost to the anti-vote tells me the anti-war issue is a strong factor not only in terms of who you vote for but will also push voter turn out numbers upward. Even though a slim margin is enough for victory, Large turnouts speak with a much louder voice and tend to have a lasting influence over lawmaker’s positions. The prospect of a large voter turnout for the midterms is exciting to me. I hope people turnout in record numbers to have their voices heard.

Minimum wage as a standard

August 4, 2006 on 9:10 am | In Junk Drawer, Vote for ... | 4 Comments

I think most would agree that minimum wage should not be so excessively high as to hurt business but enough to allow the workers some level of protection against exploitation. Currently congress seems to use it as a political opportunity rather than a legitimate issue on it’s own merits. My solution would be to use minimum wage as a component of all government employee pay rates. That is let all government pay rates be some multiple of the current minimum wage. So if congress wants a pay increase for itself it would be required to raise minimum wage to affect their pay. Of course setting the multiplier would be an initial source of contention and provisions would need to be made for adjusting the multiplier. But once set the multiplier should have more hurdles to make an adjustment, perhaps a 2/3’s majority or someother measure such as adding to an election ballot. All factors that affect pay for government workers could be keyed from the minimum wage including, promotions, bonuses, annual increases etc.

Midterm elections are the democrats to lose, will they or won’t they?

July 26, 2006 on 9:21 am | In Vote for ... | 1 Comment

Unless the dems continue on their recent history of being their own worst enemy they could really gain some ground. Tipping the scales in their own favor and gaining control of one or both houses are a distinct possibility. That is if they down’t screw it up. But I can’t help but wonder if they will shoot themselves in the foot. Lets’ face it it sometimes seem as if democrats could screw up a wet dream. I am a spolier by nature so I like to cast my throw the bums out vote. Call me a member of the anti-incumbent party. I am a registered independant and have voted for both parties at one time or another. I am an extremely liberal conservative, or is it conservative liberal

Bush could see a boost in poll numbers

June 14, 2006 on 9:40 am | In Vote for ... | 1 Comment

With no indictment for Karl Rove, and successful secret trip to Iraq Bush just might see his numbers bump up a little. It has been quite some time since there has been any good news for the Bush administration. These two positive notes following the killing of Zarqawi might reassure his base. Of course their are still questions surrounding Rove’s conduct but no indictment has to be consider more good news. The secret visit to Iraq implies positive progress without going out a limb and declaring some sort of victory. All things considered I see this as a very good couple of weeks for the president and republicans in general.

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