This it teacher prep week. We get paid for M-Thur, and they fill up our time with meetings and other activities, knowing they can get us to work for free on Friday :-). Today our boys soccer team will have two practices and I will work in my room for a few hours. I have been buried this week, which is why I have not been posting. But I have a few thoughts on my mind, touching a number of perhaps relevant political issues. I don't have time to develop diaries on each, and I have not been able to be online enough to find threads on which they would be appropriate as comments. So consider this an aggregator of miscellaneous thoughts from teacherken.
Allen and macaca - I think the damage that has been done is permanent, albeit not massive with respect to the Senate race. It has legitimized raising questions about Allen's past with respect to racial issues, and that has sliced away some independents or more moderate people, and may also serve to energize minority communities. I note that the Indain-American community seems to tend Republican and that anyone turned from Allen to Webb on this issue is the equivalent of Webb gaining two votes. I do not think even the newest Rasmussen poll fully reflects the damage, nor does it indicate the boost in fundraising this seems to be giving Webb.
Allen, Webb and the military - I also do not think the polling data reflects the support Webb has in the military - both active and former. This is particular to him. He has street cred, from his own service in Vietnam, from a history of speaking on behalf of those who have served or are serving. To put it bluntly, this is support that only Webb could get as a Democrat, which is why he is George Allen's worst nightmare.
Bill Clinton and Jim Webb. This continues a pattern of Webb healing wounds created in conflict with others - we saw it in his apology to Chuck Robb before the primary, we saw it in his working things out with John Kerry, and we now see it with Bill Clinton. That Clinton will do a big donor fundraiser at Chuck Robb's house legitimizes this campaign to other big donors, and may make raising money somewhat easier. I do think, however, that the campaign is missing an opportunity. I would have done a two-fer -- also had a large low-ticket ($50, $25 with a student id) at a place like the Patriot Center - this would be not so much for the net money raised, as for the enthusiasm it would generate -- it would also provide great free video publicity.
Last Virginia Senate comment - Allen was expected to go massively negative just after Labor Day. Many of us now expect that we will see those negative attacks no later than next week, and possibly even as early as tomorrow. Allen has to change the dynamics and the media message, which so far he has been unable to do. I know that the Webb campaign has cut commercials already - Jim has talked publicly about this - and was prepared to respond after labor Day. I'm not sure what the strategy will be if Allen starts earlier. I might almost recommend holding fire for a day or two to see if the press covers the negative attacks as a sign of desperation on Allen's part.
on teaching - I am still confronting the struggle of whether I can teach government honestly, given what this administration is doing to the Constitution. Even things like the decision in Detroit do not encourage me all that mauch - I full expect that the administration will go to get a stay from the Circuit Court, and be able to argue successfully .. of course if they don't get an immediate stay, the longer things go on the more likely it is that the administration is in violation of the Court order -- will they refuse, if charged with potential contempt, to comply with requests from a Federal judge to provide evidence and respond? This court decision has the capability of providing evidence of an impeachable offense more directly than anything else I have seen. As of the issuance of that decision, any continuation of the program, even for a day or so, is an action in contempt of court. This is a point that those with access to media outlets need to be making NOW.
One random thought on environmetal matters - it seems to me that we should all be paying the costs of the environmental damage done by the products and services we purchase and use. Were we to include that as an environmental tax, that stick might encourage more conservation than anything else. And as a moral issue, it is to me quite clear - if we do not pay it now, we pass the cost of that on to future generations. I don't have children, so that cannot be offset by taxing any estate I might pass on to the next generation. Nevertheless, this is an issue of intergenerational equity.
And speaking of intergenerational equity, this is a point that should be being hammered on by Democrats - tell young people under 30 that the profligacy of this administration is something they and their progeny will pay - at some point the bills will come due. Phrase it in terms of the amount of debt this administration gives you each year
- what is each person's share of the Iraq war?
- what is each person's share of the debt created by tax cuts for the rich?
Use the argument of economic warfare - the rich and powerful now are waging economic war on the rest of us, now and in the future.
On the use of intemperant language - the rules of the game have changed. Any language we use in any context becomes fair game in the political arena. That which I say in my role as a political advocate for one issue can be used to attack a candidate I support for whom that issue is irrelevant. Political organizations no longer need great research skills if they can use a search engine. By the way, this is something that many in the news media seem not to understand.
On bias - the most subtle bias is not that AGAINST people different from us, is is the bias FOR those we know and with whom we socialize. Far too many in the media fail to recognize this aspect of their own bias - if they know Joe Lieberman from years in Washington and think him charming or whatever, they are far less likely to challenge his statements or to accept statements from those challenging him. Far too many in the media run in the same circles as those they cover. Far too many political reporters and analysts are married to people in politics. One can be above board in recognizing this - Chuck Todd of Hotline has recused himself from anything on the Virginia Senate because his wife Kristian Denny Todd is the principal press person for Webb. Such recusal is rare, and the access to the press of those who socialize with them often results in a distorted representation, and in a lack of voice for those not in those social circles.
These are random thoughts from a random mind. Shortly I will head off for the first of our two practices. I will monitor any early responses, and will then check back a few hours later for any other responses requiring words from me.
Have a nice day.