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Man Mike, what an outstanding job you have done with the candidates visits. Kudos.
On McCain, that Gang of 14 is a big wall to jump over for me to vote for him. If he was the nominee I would vote for him of course, but he will not be my choice in the primaries.
Curt: McCain made it very clear that he understands that those who don’t share his enthusiasm for the “gang of 14” might want to support another candidate. And while he was very polite about it I got the impression that he was a bit miffed that many of us don’t quite see the issue the same way as he does.
I haven’t changed my mind on the matter much since I wrote this over two years ago:
We did get Alito and Roberts and a number of other fine judges. But that doesn’t make me feel any better about the gang or their deal.
McCain’s friend Senator Graham insisted that the deal was also supposed to smooth the way for other Bush nominations like Bolton to the UN. That didn’t happen did it?
And yes, I did have to agree with McCain when he asked if my “blogging friends” would be glad to have the filibuster for judges as a tool if Hillary were president.
But what I didn’t say is that I doubt any GOP Senator will EVER filibuster a Dem judicial nominee the way Dems do ROUTINELY to GOP nominees.
Gregory Dittman
16 years ago
I see John McCain as the star running back wanting to be the star quaterback. In this case, the Republican party will lose one of its best utility players if he becomes president. The Republicans have very few star Congress members, while the Democrats have at least a half dozen. On close calls, John won’t have anybody in congress to get his message through because the best man for that job would be in the Executive branch.
Ted Kennedy will never be president, but he is practically the godfather of the Democratic Party. The best counter to Kennedy is McCain.
Scott Malensek
16 years ago
Mike, that is SO cool that you’ve been able to see all these candidates! I’ve tried to get phone interviews and failed completely, and haven’t seen or heard of any hitting OH yet.
Scott: If Ohio’s primary was as early as South Carolina’s you’d be surprised how eager the candidates are to talk to you.
I still haven’t cornered Ron Paul and the Ronulans yet! That would be fun. I wonder if they sell tin foil hats at his events?
Scott Malensek
16 years ago
So true. Ohio’s time will come-battleground state that it is. That being said, it’s gonna be hard for Hillary to sell:
socialized medicine in a state where healthcare employs more people than any other industry
her promotion, “lies about intel”, authorization, support, funding, and continuing of the war in Iraq in a state that’s sadly near the top in casualties (or at least was last time I checked, and that’s been some time).
talk about repealing the Bush tax cuts that help the middle class with refunds and/OR talk about raising taxes on our employers giving them more excuses not to give raises or excuses to get rid of yet more jobs in the rust-belt-recession state.
Under everyone’s rader, something interesting happened here last week. Almost every tax levy in the state failed. Democrats running for mayor etc who flooded towns with signs, tv ads co-hosted by the Dem gov himself, and with weekly phone call ads from Dem Congressman….all those efforts failed. The DNC is not as strong in many areas of OH as expected, and taxes are not at all popular here now. It’s gonna be “show us your fiscal responsibility” in this state when they do come….
The thing is that it’s better to let the smaller states get some attention rather than have the big states with their large urban centers pull the entire nominating process leftward.
Ohio, California and New York can wait. Florida kind of jumped the gun this time around and may pay a penalty in delegates.
P.S. I miss campaigning in Ohio. I think I must have gone to Lincoln Day dinners in at least 15 counties while working for various candidates and causes over the years.
Igor R.
16 years ago
I don’t think McCain really learned his lesson on illegal immigration. When I hear “Americans want a secure border first”, to me the code word is “first”. First before WHAT? Amnesty, aka “comprehensive immigration reform”. No to amnesty, no to governor certifications, it’s a sham pure and simple. Gradually increasing employer sanctions = self-deportation. It’s a simple problem to solve, really. If there is a will, there is a clear way. Had McCain figured out what the voters want based on the failure of the comprehensive disaster, he could’ve been a viable candidate for President. I’m sticking with Fred who has an unambiguous immigration plan, without any code words.
Man Mike, what an outstanding job you have done with the candidates visits. Kudos.
On McCain, that Gang of 14 is a big wall to jump over for me to vote for him. If he was the nominee I would vote for him of course, but he will not be my choice in the primaries.
Curt: McCain made it very clear that he understands that those who don’t share his enthusiasm for the “gang of 14” might want to support another candidate. And while he was very polite about it I got the impression that he was a bit miffed that many of us don’t quite see the issue the same way as he does.
I haven’t changed my mind on the matter much since I wrote this over two years ago:
http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2005/05/senate-deal-good-bad-ugly.html
We did get Alito and Roberts and a number of other fine judges. But that doesn’t make me feel any better about the gang or their deal.
McCain’s friend Senator Graham insisted that the deal was also supposed to smooth the way for other Bush nominations like Bolton to the UN. That didn’t happen did it?
And yes, I did have to agree with McCain when he asked if my “blogging friends” would be glad to have the filibuster for judges as a tool if Hillary were president.
But what I didn’t say is that I doubt any GOP Senator will EVER filibuster a Dem judicial nominee the way Dems do ROUTINELY to GOP nominees.
I see John McCain as the star running back wanting to be the star quaterback. In this case, the Republican party will lose one of its best utility players if he becomes president. The Republicans have very few star Congress members, while the Democrats have at least a half dozen. On close calls, John won’t have anybody in congress to get his message through because the best man for that job would be in the Executive branch.
Ted Kennedy will never be president, but he is practically the godfather of the Democratic Party. The best counter to Kennedy is McCain.
Mike, that is SO cool that you’ve been able to see all these candidates! I’ve tried to get phone interviews and failed completely, and haven’t seen or heard of any hitting OH yet.
GREAT JOB!
Scott: If Ohio’s primary was as early as South Carolina’s you’d be surprised how eager the candidates are to talk to you.
I still haven’t cornered Ron Paul and the Ronulans yet! That would be fun. I wonder if they sell tin foil hats at his events?
So true. Ohio’s time will come-battleground state that it is. That being said, it’s gonna be hard for Hillary to sell:
socialized medicine in a state where healthcare employs more people than any other industry
her promotion, “lies about intel”, authorization, support, funding, and continuing of the war in Iraq in a state that’s sadly near the top in casualties (or at least was last time I checked, and that’s been some time).
talk about repealing the Bush tax cuts that help the middle class with refunds and/OR talk about raising taxes on our employers giving them more excuses not to give raises or excuses to get rid of yet more jobs in the rust-belt-recession state.
Under everyone’s rader, something interesting happened here last week. Almost every tax levy in the state failed. Democrats running for mayor etc who flooded towns with signs, tv ads co-hosted by the Dem gov himself, and with weekly phone call ads from Dem Congressman….all those efforts failed. The DNC is not as strong in many areas of OH as expected, and taxes are not at all popular here now. It’s gonna be “show us your fiscal responsibility” in this state when they do come….
…and they will come.
The thing is that it’s better to let the smaller states get some attention rather than have the big states with their large urban centers pull the entire nominating process leftward.
Ohio, California and New York can wait. Florida kind of jumped the gun this time around and may pay a penalty in delegates.
P.S. I miss campaigning in Ohio. I think I must have gone to Lincoln Day dinners in at least 15 counties while working for various candidates and causes over the years.
I don’t think McCain really learned his lesson on illegal immigration. When I hear “Americans want a secure border first”, to me the code word is “first”. First before WHAT? Amnesty, aka “comprehensive immigration reform”. No to amnesty, no to governor certifications, it’s a sham pure and simple. Gradually increasing employer sanctions = self-deportation. It’s a simple problem to solve, really. If there is a will, there is a clear way. Had McCain figured out what the voters want based on the failure of the comprehensive disaster, he could’ve been a viable candidate for President. I’m sticking with Fred who has an unambiguous immigration plan, without any code words.