Election Night!

Following a long time custom that is in my genes (my parents were political junkies, too).  I watch the election, live texting to friends as needed.  While I await returns and watch endless coverage, I'm nervous, so I made some lists... kinda in the vein of Kelly's "Favorite 5"...

Check out how my brain works:

5 Heroines Tonight

1.Tammy Duckworth - Illinois US Congress

     Check out her bio sometime.  Amazing woman.  And, she takes deadbeat dad Joe Walsh out. 

2.Tammy Baldwin - Wisconsin US Senate

     Another Tammy!  Openly gay... would be the first openly gay woman in the Senate.  Opposed the   
    Iraq war in 2002, co-sponsored the bills to impeach Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales

3.  Elizabeth Warren - Massachusetts US Senate

     Defender of the consumer.  Wall St. Foe.  "Nuff said.

4.  Claire McCaskill - Missouri returning US Senator

     Conservative Democrat... not enough to the right for most in Missouri.  Running against the
     delightful mess that is Todd Akin.  If Missouri elects Akin, the state should secede.  They are not
     living in the same place and time as the rest of us. 

5.  Heidi Heitcamp - North Dakota US Senator

     Amazing woman, met her in collegem, worthy successor to Byron Dorgan.  A woman elected in
     ND?   Breast cancer survivor, champion of the EPA.





5 of this year's crop of villains (no need to give reasons)

Alan West - US Congress  could lose tonight
Richard Mourdock - US Senate  could lose tonight
Todd Akin   - Jailbird.  Throwback to an earlier century. ... could lose tonight
Paul Ryan - Good friend to Todd Akin.  Be very afraid if he wins tonight.  Dan Quayle looking good
Connie Mack - Florida idiot... too much to say.  Already the race called against him





5 Things if Romney Wins... I'll Get Over IT.  But these are my earliest fears:


1.  EPA Closed down
2.  Planned Parenthood Defunded, Govn't determines if hormonal birth control is legal
3.  Robert Bork selects the successor to SCJudge Ruth Bader Ginsberg
4.  Kids with pre-existing conditions and sons/daughters from 18-26 lose healthcare
5.  Neocons again get their finger on the "war button".  Torture is restored.



Best news commentator on politics for election:        Steve Schmidt.  That's right, Republican
    Steve Schmidt, former campaign manager for John McCain. 

Best single happening:    Michelle Bachmann is never heard from again

Number of iced coffees today, so that I can watch the whole thing:    1 large, 2 medium

Taxes, taxes

"Federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts.These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800. "

According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. The Tax Policy Center, a private research group, estimates that close to 90% of all taxpayers got a tax cut last year and almost 100% of those in the $50,000 income range. For those making between $40,000 and $50,000, the average tax cut was $472; for those making between $50,000 and $75,000, the tax cut averaged $522. No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies."

~Bruce Bartlett

I've been doing tax returns, and I can attest to the above. How is it that Obama's team doesn't know how to get this message out to most Americans? Unlike Bush's cuts, which sent a check to people, Obama got there through withholding and most people are getting a "pump" right now, and hopefully injecting it into the economy.

2 PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT PLANETS

THE PREZ SAYS:





We cannot "govern out of anger".

MINNESOTA'S MOST NOTORIOUS WOMAN SAYS:





“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country."

Michelle Bachmann...She's the queen of the wingnuts.

Well, Sure, I Was A Fan

Of the Obama speech last night. A lot of memorable rhetoric. I'll watch others dissect it. My favorite quote of the night came not from Obama, but from the 8th grade student he featured (Tysheoma Bethea; no accident that she comes from South Carolina, a state with a horse's ass for a governor), on the topic of education:

"WE ARE NOT QUITTERS."

I sure hope she's right.

Person of the Year - 2008

"O"

As redundant as it might be, I have to nominate, for my personal "Person of the Year", the same man who was my "Person of the Year" for 2007.



It will come as no surprise. Time magazine agreed with me, this year, however.



Quoting from the Quid 360 blog, last year at this time, seems to be the smartest thing to do. There is little more that is left to be said, other than Obama seemed to have filled the expectations I had for him and surpassed them all.....




Person of the Year...................Entry for January 02, 2008 and January 16, 2009:

A reviewer of Republican persuasion said of Obama: "I respect and admire him as a thoughtful and eloquent American with a compelling story."


That is why I believe him to be the "person of the year 2007"....he uplifts others, he speaks from his heart, he believes in his vision with passion, he states it eloquently. There is little artifice. There is much to be admired. He is perhaps untested; he may not have the experience in federal government or on the world stage that is thought to be a prerequisite for the highest office in the land.


When all is said and done, Obama may fade away and become yesterday's news. And even if he does, what he accomplished on the national stage in 2007 is more than did any other single contributor. And when his year and this election fade away, Obama's words about what needs to be made right (not what is wrong) in America today, from Audacity, will linger:


"We say we value the legacy we leave the next generation, and then saddle that generation with mountains of debt. We say we believe in equal opportunity but then stand idle while millions of American children languish in poverty. We insist that we value family, but then structure our economy and organize our lives so as to ensure that our families get less and less of our time."


We've been doing these kinds of things for years, for decades...we are our own worst enemies. Electable or not, I cherish Barack Obama for giving us a wake up call in 2007.



And perhaps those 5 or 6 great speeches in 2008, perhaps that victory against the odds and Hilary, perhaps that truly amazing cabinet will all be for naught in the face of the limitless obstacles he (and we) face. But for right now, for 2008, Barack Obama is definitively the Person of the Year.

The Right People for the Right Job

At least, in the Environment.... Obama's Cabinet and agency choices should favor science and fact over corporate interests and cronyism.

Much has been written about Steven Chu, the Energy Secretary proposed by the next President. And he'll have Carol Browner on his team, someone who knows the ins and outs of the EPA.

One of the appointments I'm most excited about is Dr. Jane Lubchenko, who will head up NOAA. Lubchenko is an oceanic climate expert who is a professor at Oregon State University. She's an environmentalist of the highest order and her program at OSU teaches: "outstanding academic environmental scientists to be effective leaders and communicators of scientific information to the public, policy makers, the media and the private sector."

Lubchenko understands the science and yet has the ability to bring people to concensus and to inspire passion about the work we need to do to help save the oceans and the planet. She got her bachelors degree at Colorado College, her Masters in Zoology from the University of Washington, and her PhD in Ecology at Harvard. She studied and worked with Dr. Gordon Orians, a champion of environmental protection from industry and an outspoken expert about Agent Orange. She has experience testifying in front of congressional committees, and may be one of the best academic/scientific administrators active today.

According to Alaska blog "Progressive Alaska", Lubchenko:

"understands that we need to act soon, particularly on ocean acidification, and on stopping the massive amounts of pollutants entering our oceans from rivers, large and small. Many of her talks describe holistic approaches that would throttle the actions of industrial giants producing oil-based fertilizers, and of such crops as those from Monsanto-produced seeds which are made to work hand-in-hand with products like Roundup."

I may not agree with all Obama's choices, nor his stance on certain issues, but I believe that we will have a 180 degree turn in our position on the environment after 4 years, with people such as Dr. Lubchenko working on our behalf.

"The Bush administration has not been respectful of the science. But I think that's not true of Republicans in general. I know it's not. I am very much looking forward to a new administration that does respect scientific information and that considers it very seriously in making environmental policies."

"I know there have been many times in the past where public opinion can shift very very rapidly on an issue," ranging from cigarette smoking to slavery, she said. "I think we are getting closer and closer to a tipping point on climate change and other issues that affect our health, prosperity and well-being globally. And I am hopeful we will get there in time."

~~ Dr. Jane Lubchenko

SUMMING UP "THE DEBATE"

"But if you're looking for a grumpy, sarcastic put-down artist as president, your choice is quite clear."


-- Joan Walsh