I just voted in the DailyKos presidential straw poll and was pleasantly surprised to find that my guy Wesley Clark is winning. He has 2,396 votes. Number 2 is “No Fricking Clue,” with 1,454 votes, and 3 is Sen. Russ Feingold (?), with 992. Hillary is close behind Feingold with 922.
I voted for Clark, but my odds-on favorite to get the nomination at this point is Bill Richardson.
Go vote here.
Rose Aguilar is a San Francisco-based journalist who decided to leave the safety of the liberal bubble to travel to states that voted overwhelmingly for President Bush in 2004. Her mission is to look beyond what divides us to discover what binds us together as progressives, no matter what state we live in.
Aguilar has been in Texas recently, where she has interviewed Democrats and Republicans about their political views. She posts these interviews to her website, Stories in America. These conversations make for fascinating reading – taken together, they offer a direct feed into a critical piece of the body politic in mid-2005.
There are many encouraging signs, the progressive cause is strong and vibrant behind the Red Curtain. From Republicans, what is most shocking is how they spout the party line without apparently having given what they are saying the slightest bit of analysis.
And then there are dismaying moments, like this from a liberal Texan:
I would rather have a gay person get married to their significant other than to go out and be a pedophile or a stalker. If you love somebody, you love somebody. I don’t have a problem with that.
Yikes! So gay and lesbian folks can only choose between finding a significant other and settling down OR pedophilia and/or stalking?
Nonetheless, I would encourage anyone who is interested in poltiical strategy to visit Stories in America regularly.
Update: Rose Aguilar has a column up today on AlterNet – The Loneliness of a Lonestar Liberal. The article opens with this statement, which sums up the conundrum that faces progressives in Red states like Texas:
It’s not easy being a progressive activist in Texas. Not only are the state’s progressives up against a conservative majority and completely ignored by national politicians, they’re also stuck with the media’s label of “red state voters” who have completely different values from “blue state voters…”
The repetitive use of the term “red state voter” makes it easy for the country at large, including progressives living in Democratic cities, to lose sight of the fact that Texas is a diverse state full of activists.
Borowitz Report line:
…Elsewhere, a new poll shows that less than half of all Americans approve of the way Dick Cheney is handling President Bush’s job.
From Roll Call via Capitol Buzz
From being busy with other legislative business to a belief that the measure was simply not necessary, 13 Senate Republicans offered a variety of explanations for their decision not to co-sponsor a resolution apologizing for the chamber’s past inaction on lynching…
The following quotes come from the 13 Senate Republicans — or their press staff — explaining their reasons for not signing on as co-sponsors of the bill apologizing for not approving legislation outlawing lynching during the civil rights struggle. These statements were provided by the Senators’ offices or culled from the Congressional Record. Some of the offices could not provide explanations by press time Friday.
Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) “I also condemn lynching. … But, rather than begin to catalog and apologize for all those times that some Americans have failed to reach our goals, I prefer to look ahead. I prefer to look to correct current injustices rather than to look to the past.”
Bob Bennett (Utah) “I come from a State that does not have a history of lynchings, but that does not mean I should be absolved from the concern that all Americans should have over the lynchings that have occurred. I note that it was the filibuster that made it possible for the Senate to be the body that blocked this legislation in the past. I would hope that in the future, we would all realize that the filibuster should be used for more beneficial purposes than that.”
Thad Cochran (Miss.) “I don’t feel I should apologize for the passage of or the failure to pass any legislation by the U.S. Senate. But I deplore and regret that lynchings occurred and that those committing them were not punished.”
John Cornyn (Texas) “There are different ways to acknowledge those times when Americans have failed to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves.”
Mike Enzi (Wyo.) “Sen. Enzi believes the lynchings that took place were tragic and that they never should have occurred. The legislation was passed by voice vote. Sen. Enzi agreed to that. He did not object.”
Judd Gregg (N.H.) “The fact that this amendment passed unanimously showed the depth of the support this resolution rightfully received, and Sen. Gregg was pleased to offer his support.”
Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) “You don’t have to co-sponsor everything that you are in favor of. She abhors lynching and thinks it is a horrific part of American history.”*
Jon Kyl (Ariz.) No response.
Trent Lott (Miss.) No response.
Richard Shelby (Ala.) “There are many instances where Sen. Shelby supports legislation and resolutions without being a co-sponsor.”
Gordon Smith (Ore.) “Sen. Smith strongly supports the resolution. He has a long record protecting civil rights.”
John Sununu (N.H.) “Sen. Sununu supported the resolution, and was on the Senate floor Monday evening when the resolution passed unanimously by a voice vote.”
Craig Thomas (Wyo.) “The Senator was working on the energy bill and CAFTA when that came around. … If it passed by unanimous consent, that means everyone supported it. I don’t see the news value.”
Extra bonus hackery points to Bob Bennett for tying the Senate’s lack of support for anti-lynching laws to today’s controversy about the filibuster.
*Hutchinson announced over the weekend that she will seek another term in the Senate, rather than running for governor of Texas.
To hear Trump talk, he’s the only one
Who’s ever stood trial for crimes he’s done.
But instead of courtroom drama,
We get Trump in his pajamas,
That’s how he earned his new nickname: Don Snoreleone.
