Political Recap 009

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, delivers his policy on Iraq speech, 09/12/2007 in Clinton Iowa. Obama called for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. combat brigades from Iraq, with the pullout being completed by the end of next year.

As expected, Political Recap 009 is here!. Click here for my previous Political Recap 008. So, what are we going to talk about? About the Primaries? About the Congressional Homo Corruptus ? Well, we have a LOT of issues to talk about on this the latest edition of your Political Recaps. Some of the issues covered here are NOT politically correct, so, proceed with caution!

Let's start by talking about the Congressional Homo Corruptus. One of those listed on the worst of the worst will retire from Congress. Representative Jerry Weller, Republican from Illinois is the third member of the House from the state of Illinois not seeking reelection in 2008 [the others are the former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Representative Ray LaHood]. From an editorial of the Chicago Daily Southtown: Jerry Weller announced Friday he would not seek re-election to represent Illinois' 11th District in Congress. The fact is, Weller stopped representing the 11th District long ago. For too many years, Jerry Weller's lone job has been to represent Jerry Weller. Why is he retiring? This is what he said: I need to give my family the time needed to be a full-time dad and full-time husband. Quitting for the family is always a good excuse for sleazy politicians. The fact is that he is under investigation and could find himself in jail in the not so distant future.

Republican Party candidates saying NO to Black Forum. In my opinion the Republican presidential candidates are making a huge mistake by saying NO to a forum focused on important issues to black voters. The forum was scheduled for Thursday, September 27th [2100-2230 Eastern Time] at Baltimore's Morgan State University, moderated by talk show host Tavis Smiley and aired by PBS. But the Republican candidates are too busy and only ONE of the candidates accepted the invitation, and he is one of my Final Four [Mike Huckabee]. The first Forum, for Democratic Party candidates, was held on June 28, 2007 at Howard University in Washington, DC. The Democratic Party had a good showing at the debate with ALL the candidates showing up. This is becoming ROUTINE for the Republican Party, each time they are invited to a forum by a minority group they are too busy to participate - they were too busy to participate in a Spanish Language debate on the Spanish network of Univision, with only John McCain accepting the invitation [John McCain was born in the US Panama Canal Zone in Panama]. To the Republican Party I say this, IGNORE the minority voters at your own risk.

Republicans campaign. Ronald Reagan is alive and well on the Republican primaries, every candidate is talking about my good ole commander in chief. However, the current Leader of the Republican Party is missing in action. The Republican front runners are not mentioning president G W Bush on their speeches and are not inviting the president to do any campaigning for them. The front runners are keeping the distance, they know that getting president G W Bush involved could be hazardous to their campaign. The war president is not well liked by a large majority of war weary Americans because the man seems to be out of touch with reality.

Hillary Clinton, the woman all Republicans love to hate will win the Democratic Party nomination. That is exactly what president Bush is saying. But he is also saying that she will lose the general election in 2008 to the Republican nominee. It is interesting to see president Bush talking about the Democratic candidates, but what about talking about your own party? Oh, we understand, the Republicans have a mess at hand with no solid candidate [but everyone in the media and in the White House is hoping for a Rudy vs Hillary contest]. Everyone in a leadership position in the Republican party is looking forward to Hillary Clinton becoming the Democratic Party nominee because she will be easy to beat. I learned not to underestimate Bill or Hillary Clinton a long time ago.

Social Security Reform, too little, too late. The incompetent administration is finally talking about Social Security. This is one of the issues on my Presidential Candidates Checklist. They are finally talking about it, but I do not expect to see any action by part of this failed administration. The Treasury Department said in a new report that Social Security is facing a $13.6 trillion shortfall and that delaying reforms is not fair to younger workers. The Treasury Department said that some combination of benefit cuts and tax increases will need to be considered to permanently fix the funding shortfall. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he hoped the new report would help find common ground on the politically divisive issue. Again, this will be one of the issues in the turnover binder for the next administration.

Are you paying $9.11 to see Rudy Giuliani? Well, one of his supporters is throwing a party that aims to raise $9.11 per person for the Republican presidential campaign. The invitations for the party was sent by a so called "$9.11 for Rudy" group. But the campaign was not involved, as per Rudy Giuliani's spoke man the decision to ask individuals for that amount [$9.11] was an unfortunate choice. Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York during the 9-11 terrorist attacks. A large number of Americans are offended because Rudy Giuliani made millions and millions and millions in speeches and in business deals after 9-11. The IAFF [International Association of Fire Fighters] accused Rudy Giuliani of exploiting the September 11 terrorist attacks. The union said that the fund raiser's "$9.11 for Rudy" theme is an abuse of the image and symbols of the 2001 attacks. The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd jumped on the bandwagon by calling the theme "unconscionable, shameless and sickening." The firefighters' union has endorsed Dodd. If Rudy Giuliani is making money using the 9-11 theme, then more power [and money] to him, this is America, the land of opportunity.

As per the latest Rasmussen tracker, Government Ethics and Corruption continues to be on top of the issues in the mind of voters. What are other important issues for a majority of American voters? Here are the top issues in the mind of our voters.

78% Government Ethics and Corruption [Advantage, Democratic Party]
72% The Economy [Advantage, Democratic Party]
71% National Security and the War on Terror [Advantage, Republican Party]
67% Health Care [Advantage, Democratic Party]
63% Social Security [Advantage, Democratic Party]
63% Education [Advantage, Democratic Party]
62% The War in Iraq [Advantage, Democratic Party]
55% Taxes [Advantage, Republican Party]
53% Immigration [Advantage, Republican Party]
42% Abortion [Advantage, Democratic Party]

Personally, I was surprised to see the "A word" [abortion] listed as one of the most important issues in the mind of our voters. Shocked to see that Government Ethics and Corruption as the number one issue. I was under the impression that we have turned the corner on government corruption! Again, take a look at the Congressional Homo Corruptus for the worst of the worst in government corruption.

Republican Party Front Runners. No surprises here, Fred Thompson is the front runner, and then there is Rudy Giuliani a few steps behind. Both candidates carry a lot of baggage. The Republican race remains wide open.

Democratic Party Front Runners. No surprises here, Hillary Clinton continues to lead the pack. This candidate is well rehearsed, and it is going to take a Makaka Moment to stop the Clinton Juggernaut [note, last week she called the vice president by the name of Darth Vader, but this was not a Lapsus Línguae, this was a well rehearsed comment and it worked]. She is receiving a LOT of endorsements, even president G W Bush is now saying that she will be the nominee. Now we have very senior Republican members [G W Bush, Newton Gingrich, and Karl Rove] saying that only a water cooler can stop her from becoming the nominee. However, we have a LONG way to go before the first vote on the 2008 Primaries.

Thanks for reading, and as always, I welcome your comments.