Election 2004

presidential Prevarication

This entry was posted in bush Election 2004 Iraq US Foreign Policy War on Terrorism on by

Josh Marshall in his article The Post-Modern President, Washington Monthly September 2003, discusses presidential deception and has this to say about the bush administration:

Bush and his administration, however, specialize in a particular form of deception: The confidently expressed, but currently undisprovable assertion.

They may be slipping though. Rice and Rumsfeld have been arguing that our occupation experience in Iraq is similar to post war Germany. Their problem, though, is that the post war Germany experience is verifiable and as this Slate article asks:

So, how did this fanciful version of the American experience in postwar Germany get into the remarks of a Princeton graduate and former trustee of Stanford’s Hoover Institute (Rumsfeld) and the former provost of Stanford and co-author of an acclaimed book on German unification (Rice)? Perhaps the British have some intelligence on the matter that still has not been made public. Of course, as the president himself has noted, there is a lot of revisionist history going around.

I think the pressure getting to be too much for them and we are starting to see major cracks in the administration facade. If this is indeed the case we are likely to see increasingly drastic and dangerous maneuvers on the part of the bushies as they struggle to maintain power.
Via Walter at idols of the marketplace.

Can Dean Live up to his Promises?

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Howard Dean has an ambitious agenda:

I will begin by repealing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and using the revenues that result from the repeal to address the needs of the average American, invest in the nation’s infrastructure and, through tax reform, put money in the hands of those most likely to spend it.

For the moment let’s assume Dean wins. Barring some dramatic changes on the landscape this win will probably not be by a large margin and is unlikely to bring with it democratic majorities in the house. Perhaps Dean thinks that with the bush cabal gone he will get some moderate republicans to join with the democrats in either tossing out the tax cuts or at least dramatically changing their structure. It is just as likely, though, that the republican house majority leader will just say no.

As we move closer to the election I’d like to hear from the democratic candidates some detail on just how they expect to accomplish grand goals if the republicans controll one or both houses of congress.
Via RealClear Politics.

Ashcroft Tour

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Pejman argues that John Conyers’ recent criticism of Ashcroft’s Patriot Act tour is too much:

I understand and respect those who disagree with the USA Patriot Act, but this goes beyond a mere difference of opinion. Conyers is stating that Ashcroft can’t even talk about the measure in speeches across the country. This is just ridiculous, and Conyers’s position is not saved by claiming that Ashcroft is “lobbying.” How can the activity qualify as lobbying when the Patriot Act was passed nearly two years ago?

I do not know if there is legislation that supports Conyers position but if there is I do not like it any more than similar laws (or regulations) that, for example, prohibit recipients of federal funds from providing information on, say condom use, to sexually active clients.
We thrive on a free flow of information and opinions, even information and opinions that we disagree with. Ashcroft should get to talk and he should make a choice to talk to the larger community not just law enforcement folks in closed or semi-closed sessions.
Is Ashcroft lobbying and does Pejman’s argument that the Patriot Act was passed two years ago so it can’t be lobbying hold up? Maybe not. I think that Ashcroft is concerned that congress may move to make changes he does not want. Why else does he, for example, make stops in the home district of the only GOP congressman who voted against it?

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is coming to Boise on Monday to talk up the Patriot Act in the home district of the only GOP congressman who spoke against it.
Ashcroft kicked off a monthlong speaking tour of more than a dozen cities this week to deflect growing opposition to parts of the Patriot Act.

Trying to deflect growing opposition may not be lobbying but it does walk just a little bit like it.
The other thing Ashcroft is undoubtably trying to do is build support for the pending Victory Act. Ashcroft is lobbying just as bush is currently on the campaign trail (is his re-election committee paying for this?). They are doing what public officials have done for ever and should continue to do even if we disagree with them: make their cases to the people.

bush’s Payback, or Influence Peddling Inflation

This entry was posted in bush Democracy Election 2004 US Politics on by

As reported here bush has doubled the cost of support in the last 4 years:

His stop at a $2,000-per-head fund-raiser in the Hunts Point home of Craig McCaw will be his second visit to the billionaire cell-phone magnate’s home. In July 1999, Bush attended a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser there.

So far 600 folks have signed up to hear bush say things like:

I look forward to signing the economic recovery bill soon. The principle of the bill is pretty simple, that we believe the more money people have in their pockets, the more likely it is somebody is going to be able to find work in America. In other words, the more money somebody has, it means somebody is more likely to demand a good or a service, which means somebody will produce a good or a service, which means somebody is likely to find work. , Washington, D.C., May 22, 2003

It seems clear that the type of service bush expects these folks to buy has a lot to do with his campaign and the bush jobs program.

California Polls

This entry was posted in California Democracy Election 2004 Politics scharzeneger on by

The results of today’s Field Poll show Bustamante ahead of Schwarzenegger 25% to 22% and are a lot more interesting when we look at yesterday’s poll. It shows that an increasing number of likely voters will vote to recall: July 51%, August 58%. If DAvis has any hope of staying in office he has to figure out how to get Democrats out to vote and also hope that they aren’t among the 22% who voted for him that say they will vote to recall.
Unless a lot of folks drop out there is a high liklihood that the next govn’r of California will be elected by 25-30% of the voters.
The San Francisco Chronicle has some analysis of the poll results and somecandidate comments here.