Jacki’s whereIstand Blog

Should Lieberman run on the indepent ticket if he loses the primary?  Sure.  The man should do whatever he wants.  Do I want him to?  Absolutely not.  I do not want to see the Democrats’ seat jeopardized and if Joe runs against the Democrats in ‘06, we might very well lose the seat because the votes are split between the parties - Nader style. 

Perhaps more importantly, the WaPo raises an interesting point today.  If Lamont beats Connecticut’s sweetheart, incumbent Joe Lieberman, it’s a message from Democratic voters that warmongering will not be tolerated.  A Lamont victory in the primary is a preview of what is to come in 2008.  This makes Hillary Clinton vulnerable.  She supported the war and rejects a timetable for withdrawal.  Meanwhile, Al Gore spoke out against the war before it even started.  Will we see a shift in political thinking?  Will the antiwar movement finally spark change?

This election in CT may prove to be a huge wakeup call for the Democratic Party.  Unfortunately for Joe, I hope it is.

whereIstand Tags

• If Joe Leiberman loses the Connecticut primary, should he run as an independent?

Senator Clinton unleashed the DLC’s economic plan today.  Finally, a plan.  I suspect it’s no more than its name suggests, but at least it’s a start. 

From the WaPo:

whereIstand Tags

• Who will win the most seats in the ‘06 elections?

Will this peace accord achieve peace in Sudan?  Will the remaining factions sign on and even if they do, will the parties maintain their agreements? 

whereIstand Tags

• [open thread]

Incidents like this one are a great tool to promote accountability in the White House.  Protests and rallies tend not to be all that effective as evidenced for example by the RNC protest and subsequent election. 

When administration officials get heckled at public speaking engagements, as Rumsfeld was yesterday, it force politicians to accept responsibility or explain why they should not be held accountable for their actions. 

I believe infiltrating public speaking engagements and photo ops should occur more often.  It may prove to be more effective in advancing change.

Here is just a piece of what Rumsfeld had to swallow yesterday, courtesy of 27-year CIA veteran, Ray McGovern.  [McGovern gave former President George H.W. Bush intelligence briefings.]  Concerning Rumsfeld’s prewar claims that the Administration had "bulletproof evidence" linking Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda, McGovern asked:

Was that a lie, Mr. Rumsfeld, or was that manufactured somewhere else? Because all of my CIA colleagues disputed that and so did the 9/11 commission. 

Why did you lie to get us into a war that caused these kind of casualties and was not necessary?

 If anyone finds a transcript of the exchange between Rumsfeld and McGovern, let us know in comments.  Might be worth a read.

whereIstand Tags

• Should Donald Rumsfeld resign as Secretary of Defense?

From Reuters:

I am officially announcing that Iran has joined the group of those countries which have nuclear technology. This is the result of the Iranian nation’s resistance … [b]ased on international regulations, we will continue our path until we achieve production of industrial-scale enrichment,

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told officials and ambassadors on Tuesday.

In response Scott McClellan issued the following statement:

If the regime continues to move in the direction that it is currently, then we will be talking about the way forward with the other members of the (U.N.) Security Council and Germany about how to address this going forward.

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• [open thread]

Looks like Conrad Burns has more competition that we thought.  The GOP is nervous about the lobbying scandal surrounding Sen. Burns, so Montana Senator Bob Keenan has announced that he is contemplating running against Burns.  Stay tuned … .

whereIstand Tags

• Who will win the most seats in the ‘06 elections?

I am all for protecting the rights of defendants charged with a crime,  but this is ridiculous.  I know that Delay was expected to win the primary but it just seems incredulous to me.  How on earth do Texans vote for this guy?  Not everyone in his district can benefit financially under his leadership, right?  Where are the middle class voters?  Do Texans really believe that Delay is innocent and this entire investigation is the result of a left-wing conspriracy? 

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• [Open Thread]

The Washington Post ran a piece today on the Democrats’ election non-strategy.  The Post put into print what we all have been aware of for the past five years.  Democrats can’t come up with an effective strategy to get reelected.  They can’t even agree on when to publish their strategy.  Here is my advice on messages that might just strike voters and turn the tide in this country.

Message #1: Personal freedom.  Your life is your own.  You should be the one to exercise control over your body when it comes to your health.  Message #1 includes promoting a woman’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, since ultimately the debate surrounding abortion should lie in whether you should have control over your own body.  Message #1 also encompasses freedom from the government.  Imagine a 2008 where search warrants are once again reviewed by courts and people can marry anyone they want.

Message #2: Personal Values.  Your leaders hold their personal value systems dear and will not violate their internal Code of Ethics - or the external Code for that matter.  Vote for a Democrat in 2008 and put corruption, kickbacks and bribes behind you.  (Sure, this one may be tough to say with a straight face, but try.)

Message # 3: Global Allies.  Repair and Renew relationships with our former allies abroad.  Make new allies with nations hostile to the U.S.  Engage leaders in meaningful negotiations.  Develop understandings of what leaders want and expect of the U.S.

Message # 4:  The environment.  Our glaciers are melting at faster speeds than expected, sea levels are rising and in other parts of the world drying up, and our coasts are sinking.  If we do not act soon, all may be lost.  Renew talks with Europe and Asia.  Develop effective strategies to combat climate change and reduce toxic emissions into the atmosphere.  Reduce domestic reliance on plastic.  Try, simple things like promoting campaigns charging nominal fees for plastic grocery bags.

Message #5:  Withdraw from Iraq.  Work with the new government in Iraq to promote peace in the region.  This may require negotiating with factions underrepresented in the Iraqi government.  Leave the country so that foreign nationals seeking to do harm to the U.S. will leave and Iraq’s citizens can work out the problems exacerbated by the U.S.  Yes, civil war may be inevitable.  Yes, we are to blame, but staying in the region is not going to change that fact.  The longer we stay, the less likely Iraq is to achieve peace.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean pay attention.  This is one American’s priority list for the upcoming elections. 

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• [open thread]

The questions have been flying since the announcement of the DPW takeover of P&O.  Critics of the deal claim it poses security risks to the U.S.  Well, the U.S. ports are already national security disasters so I am on the fence as to whether the Dubai-owned company taking over operations of our major ports will put us at any additional risk.  But I am not the person touting Code Orange, Duct Tape your windows public service announcements every time my ratings fall below, er, 50 percent.  You would expect President Bush to cast a more discerning eye on this deal.  But he isn’t.  Why?

TheBlueState.com posted a transcript from a CNN report this week.  Check it out here:

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a major investor in The Carlyle Group, the private equity investment firm where President Bush’s father once served as senior adviser and is a who’s who of former high-level government officials. Just last year, Dubai International Capital, a government-backed buyout firm, invested in an $8 billion Carlyle fund.

Another family connection, the president’s brother, Neil Bush, has reportedly received funding for his educational software company from the UAE investors. A call to his company was not returned.

Then there is the cabinet connection. Treasury Secretary John Snow was chairman of railroad company CSX/. After he left the company for the White House, CSX sold its international port operations to Dubai Ports World for more than a billion dollars.

In Connecticut today, Snow told reporters he had no knowledge of that CSX sale. "I learned of this transaction probably the same way members of the Senate did, by reading about it in the newspapers."

Another administration connection, President Bush chose a Dubai Ports World executive to head the U.S. Maritime Administration. David Sanborn, the former director of Dubai Ports’ European and Latin American operations, he was tapped just last month to lead the agency that oversees U.S. port operations.

The only possible explanation for Bush’s unfettered support of the deal other than someone close to the Bush Administration benefited substantially, either directly or indirectly, from this deal, is that Bush is trying to defuse the fact that once again he had no clue what was happening in this country.  I do not buy the latter simply because someone in the administration would have raised an eyebrow when the deal was approved by the White House last month. 

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• [open thread]

In response to sharp criticism from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, DPW offered to delay its takeover of U.S. ports, which was set for March 2.  Karl Rove announced that President Bush would accept the delay in order to quell Congressional leaders’ concerns over potential national security risks posed by the deal.  Rove also cited British regulatory steps as a reason for the delay, even though DPW publicly stated the remaining aspects of the acquisition would go forward as planned. 

The administration approved the deal last month - without a national security review.  White House officials claimed the president was unaware of the DPW takeover of P&O until last weekend - after the deal had been approved.

Outside Washington, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that it would sue to block the takeover of its ports by DPW.

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• [open thread]