From The Off-Color Coloring Book: The Political Circus

I mean, really, if you can’t get a little respect from a coloring book, what’s the rest of the world going to think?

I went to the Delaware Republican Party’s Convention this weekend at the Baycenter in Dewey Beach and it was quite a treat. I think the best way to give you the feeling of the Convention is with pictures and audio, and maybe a story or two…(if you see someone’s name highlighted, click on it and you’ll get their audio)….

Priscilla Rakestraw (left) and Michele Rollins.I had to put this picture on the top of the page, because it’s my favorite picture from the entire event. It’s Priscilla Rakestraw, the State’s Republican National Committeewoman, and Michele Rollins, who I would love to see run for office someday soon. (I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t see Michele Rollins turning the State’s serious pollution problems into a joke by wading out into the bay and staring at her Keds, and she’d kick butt on healthcare.)


From left to right this is Clerk of the Peace George Parish and his wife Bunny, Charlotte Hastings and her husband, 41st District Representative Greg Hastings.

Friday night I sat with a table of fine Sussex Countians, right in between Judson Bennett and Representative Ben Ewing. The picture above was the good looking side of the table. I kind of noticed that there were a lot of people wearing “Tim Smith” stickers where I was sitting. Tim Smith won the vote in Sussex County over Christine O’Donnell 44-35, but it was the Northern part of the State that gave her the endorsement to run for the Senate against Joe Biden. Pretty interesting considering O’Donnell got the majority of her write-in votes in 2006 from Sussex. O’Donnell needed 60% of the vote and she got 60.7%. Smith said he would stick to his promise to not primary O’Donnell.


41st District Representative Greg Hastings and US Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell.

The “Draft Bill Lee” movement was successful, with Judge William Lee receiving over 80% of the vote to win the endorsement from the Delaware State Republican Party to run for Governor over Mike Protack. Judge Lee was in Orlando on vacation with members of his family, and was expected to happily accept the honor.


“Brud” Lee, speaking to the Convention after his father was endorsed by the Party to run for Governor.   

“I’m sure he’ll be as honored as I feel, personally, that his ideals and his name is thought of in such high regard by republicans.” ~ Brud Lee, son of Judge Bill Lee 

 

State Senator Charlie Copeland accepting the Party’s endorsement for Lt. Governor.

Delaware Republican State Chairman, Terry Strine, stepped down as party head after losing his National Committeeman seat the previous night to Laird Stabler by a 40-35 vote. Tom Ross, a New Castle County Republican, will be taking Strine’s place in the top spot.


The new Delaware Republican Party Chairman, Tom Ross

I asked the new Party Chair if he was the fighter the Delaware Republican Party needed right now:   

“I have no problem fighting. Anyone that knows me would be glad to let you know that I’m not afraid to mix it up. But we’re going to run a very aggressive, vigorous campaign because quite frankly, in a nutshell, we’re right on the issues and the other side has broken this state.” ~ New Delaware State GOP Chair, Tom Ross 

 

4th Senatorial District Candidate Michael Fleming

And how could I not mention Michael Fleming, (aka “Michael Flemming”), who’s running for Charlie Copeland’s seat in the 4th Senatorial District? I went to college with Michael, and thankfully, people thought he was older than me. That’s really why I’m mentioning him, and he knows it.

“‘Cause I love Sussex Countians.” ~ Clerk of the Peace George Parish 

That was the quote that made the entire Convention totally worth it. 

“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” Obama, an Illinois senator, said.

“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” he said.

 

In case you missed it, Barack Obama gave his speech about race and religion today. You can read the whole thing HERE. This is a little taste of it:

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.

But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. 

Good speech, as usual. Will it be enough?

Is New York Governor/Super Delegate pledged to Hillary Clinton, Eliott Spitzer, really “Client #9″ who met with a prostitute named “Kristen” that was paid $4,300 for her services?

UPDATE: Check out Lt. Governor David Paterson’s Wiki page. According to Wikipedia, Spitzer resigned today and Paterson is already Governor of New York!

New York Lt. Governor David Paterson’s Wikipedia page.

From Wikipedia:

David A. Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and the current Governor of New York. He became Governor after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer on March 10th, 2008. He is the first African American to hold this position.

You’ve gotta love it!

…and please, help me make money off of carbon credits, amen.

John Coleman thinks The Weather Channel stinks, and he should know, he started it in 1982:

“The Weather Channel had great promise, and that’s all gone now because they’ve made every mistake in the book on what they’ve done and how they’ve done it and it’s very sad,” Coleman said. “It’s now for sale and there’s a new owner of The Weather Channel will be announced – several billion dollars having changed hands in the near future. Let’s hope the new owners can recapture the vision and stop reporting the traffic, telling us what to think and start giving us useful weather information.”

I used to watch The Weather Channel all of the time to check out storm systems in the Atlantic that could turn into tropical storms or hurricanes, but now that coverage has been relegated to the last 10 minutes of the hour and I have to suffer through “When Weather Changed History,” or some kind of global warming indoctrination show before I can see a current weather map.

Unless, of course, a system has the potential to turn into a major storm and then it’s expanded, fear mongering coverage, and finally, if The Weather Channel is lucky, you ‘ll get to see Jim Cantore in a yellow rain coat leaning into the wind with stuff blowing at him.

Coleman goes on to talk about suing Al Gore and (thankfully), he talks about carbon credits:

“[I] have a feeling this is the opening,” Coleman said. “If the lawyers will take the case – sue the people who sell carbon credits. That includes Al Gore.”

Let me be clear here, selling carbon credits is a joke. Think about it, if you’re a huge polluting company, or if you like to skip around to international movie award shows in your private jet, you have an out. You can simply buy carbon credits from a company that operates the way it should anyway and thou shalt be absolved.

I feel really bad about flying around in my private jet all week looking for third world babies to adopt, this cross is burning up energy like mad, and did I really need this crown of thorns? I’ll buy some carbon credits and then I’ll feel better about myself.

If people like Al Gore REALLY cared about the global warming, and if C02 is REALLY destroying the earth, then isn’t the REAL SOLUTION requiring ALL OF THE POLLUTERS to pollute less? Or can’t people like Gore (*cough* Senator Harris McDowell *cough*) figure out how to turn that into a money making scheme?

Senator Joe Biden is safe after his helicopter made an emergency landing in Afghanistan.

A helicopter carrying a Senate delegation including our own Delaware Senator Joe Biden had to make an “unscheduled landing” in Afghanistan earlier today. WGMD News received this statement from Senator Biden’s office:

“The helicopters transporting the Senate delegation in Afghanistan made an unscheduled landing this morning due to a snowstorm. There were no injuries and all members of the traveling party were safely transported to their destination at Bagram Air Base,” said Senator Biden’s spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander.

Senator Biden was traveling with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE).

There is no word yet on whether or not Senator John Kerry (D-MA), will receive a purple heart for the “unscheduled landing.” (Like I could possibly resist that).

Obama wins the First State.  Hillary only wins Sussex County.

McCain wins Delaware, and all three counties.

Nationally, Obama wins more states, Hillary more delegates.  This IS a race!

Big wins for McCain, but what a night for Huckabee, winning 5 states and staying in.  Romney wins 6, but a disappointing night.  He’s still in.

CLINTON: AR, AZ, CA, MA, NY, NJ, OK, TN
OBAMA: AK, AL, CT, CO, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, ND, UT

HUCKABEE: AL, AR, GA, TN, WV
MCCAIN: AZ, CA, CT, DE, IL, MO, NJ, NY, OK
ROMNEY: CO, MA, MN, MT, ND, UT
PLEASE JOIN THE CONVERSATION, WE WOULD LOVE TO READ YOUR COMMENTS!

Here we go.  Predictions only.  Not endorsements, but predictions:

Turnout in Delaware: 11%

Delaware results:

Obama 56% Clinton 40%

McCain 40% Romney 36%  Huckabee 19%

11am Tuesday.

 

We’ll see tonight after 8.

No, this isn’t a line for Hanna Montana tickets, this is the line of people waiting to see Michelle Obama, the wife of Democrat Presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The line outside was long and everyone was anxiously anticipating the words of Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama. I spoke with the first people in line, mostly because I’m always intrigued by the first people in line, and they were fired up:

“Yes we can.” - Ed Money AUDIO

“I’m proud to be here…it is time for a change, we need to get out of the past and into the new.” - Melvin Collier AUDIO

“America is able to put aside all of it’s biases and all and vote for a man of worth and not take color as an excuse” - Anna Hammond Carter AUDIO

Inside, people were energized, and when Michelle Obama came out, the crowd went wild. She spoke with deliberation, and in some cases, a little interesting imagination:

“Barack has more legislative experience than anyone currently in this race.” - Michelle Obama AUDIO

Michelle Obama at Delaware State University.

She also took the time to totally mischaracterize the background of most of the candidates in the Presidential race, namely Mike Gravel, Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, and even Republican frontrunner John McCain, none of whom are lawyers:

“Barack’s a lawyer I’m a lawyer…but everybody in this race is a lawyer. And most of them made their millions before they decided to help the people, but not Barack.” - Michelle Obama AUDIO

Incidentally, that second part about making “their millions before they decided to help the people…” just isn’t really true. (Even Mitt Romney did a 30 month stint as a missionary when he got out of college and most likely wasn’t worth “millions” at that point, and Hillary Clinton, did some “help the people” stuff before she and Bill made their fortune).

And, frankly, I’m not buying into the whole candidate class warfare thingie coming from a Princeton educated lawyer married to a Harvard law school graduate. But Michelle Obama was very inspiring if you weren’t all wrapped up in ridiculous stuff like lapses in accuracy and irony.

You can listen to her entire speech unedited: AUDIO Part One and AUDIO Part Two.