112th Congress in Session

It is looking like it will be a crazy two years with the new Congress. The session kicked off with the reading of the Constitution during the session. Both Republicans and Democrats participated but the spectacle of it was something that could only be handcrafted by the GOP. Ironically, the violated the Constitution by letting two members of Congress introduce a motion and they had not been sworn in yet-they were attending a fundraiser. Next step-repealing healthcare reform. Good luck on that one guys.

DADT Repealed

Today the Senate made a historic vote to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Under this policy, gay and lesbian servicemen could risk discharge from the military if they revealed their sexual preference. With this repeal, they can now serve without being discriminated against based on their sexual preference. It will also encourage more highly skilled officers to enlist and provide necessary skills to help the armed forces. This is especially satisfying as this was the change that President Obama promised during the campaign. For those that are complaining, he has delivered in a few ways on that.

John Stewart and Stephen Colbert rally this weekend

This weekend in Washington will be the John Stewart and Stephen Colbert rally-The March To Keep Fear Alive and March to Restore Sanity. It is a somewhat of a response to the Tea Party with a liberal twist. The only comical part of it is that rally attendees will not be making phone calls or doorknocking the final weekend of the campaign. Hopefully it will draw some attention to the current state of politics however I do not think it will sway too many opinions.

Election Day is a few weeks out

We are just a few weeks out from the November 2 midterm election and people need to realize that no matter where you live it is important to get out and campaign and more importantly to get out and vote. Even Jim Moran, the Congressman in Arlington, is having a much closer race than in past election cycles and it has to do mainly with the possibility of low voter turnout-which has somewhat to do with the fact there is no presidential or statewide race for the 1st time since 1998. Democrats should not take any seats for granted or give up, Republicans cannot think that a most likely House or possible Senate takeover is a forgone conclusion either. It will make for a busy and exciting election night!

Westboro Baptist Church

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard the case of the Westboro Baptist Church, the Kansas church that protests outside of military funerals that the death of soldiers is America's punishment for tolerating gays. I cannot predict how the court is going to rule especially since a liberal/conservative opinion dividing line is blurred. However, the Justices were responding to the arguments of Westboro very harshly. The decision should be quite interesting.

Primary Recap

September 14th was the last day of primaries in the nation now onto the general election in November. Among the highlights:

Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party candidate in the Republican primary, upset establishment candidate Mike Castle. The political world, including some Republican partisans, declared that it was a virtual lock that the Democrats would win/keep that seat. Having said that, Democrats, please still run that campaign hard. If this win left everyone shaking their heads, imagine if she did not role over and found a way to win the seat-remember what happened in Massachusetts? Let's not underestimate the Tea Party.

Vincent Gray defeated Adrian Fenty in the DC Mayoral race. I would always watch Mayor Fenty on TV and he never seemed like he could get to the point and dodged questions. There were always questions about the ethics of his office and his administration. I really don't know how much better Gray will be but it looks like he can bring a new type of administration to DC.

There were even some exciting hometown elections in Massachusetts involving people I know as well. First of all congratulations to my classmate Paul Adams for winning the (GOP) nomination for the 17th Essex House of Representatives seat. While I may not agree with his politics, I am thrilled to see a young voice and a classmate shaking up the political landscape. It is time for our generation to pick up the torch and have a real voice for our ideas. Also congratulations goes to my former colleague from my internship days with Marty Meehan Chris Doherty. He waged a great State Senate campaign in Middlesex County Massachusetts. I am sure he will have a bright future.

In addition to the Virginia races I will also be supporting Niki Tsongas who is the congresswoman in my home district. My first campaign was for her husband Paul Tsongas, a former US Senator from Massachusetts who ran for president in 1992. It is important to campaign for as many Democratic seats as possible to hold the majority in the House.

On to November, Democrat or Republican let the excitement begin!

Shirley Sherrod

What a travesty that the Shirley Sherrod case has turned into. She was an black woman and an official at the US Department of Agriculture that was fired for remarks she was seen making about not helping out a white farmer in a position she held 24 years ago. This case could not have been handled worse. First of all, the USDA could not have handled it worse, being let go without an improper investigation and not realizing it was more than two decades ago. Secondly, she said later that after consideration she did wind up helping out the white farmer.

It is ironic that an administration that consists of the first black president has had to deal with more hot button racism issues than other administrations. It shows that despite breaking the glass ceiling on race, we still have a long ways to go.

There should be some very swift action taken and it needs to come directly from the Oval Office in order to send a message to resolve this situation.

British Elections

There is a lot of intrigue over the British elections that took place today. It is one of the most contested that they have had in years. It is slightly different from the American system of government where you are electing a majority party all at once where the prime minister is always the head of the majority party. In Britain, the prime minister serves as both an executive and a legislative leader. Could you really see President Obama debating on the floor of the House or Senate? I am pretty sure he is only allowed in a chamber for the State of the Union. Now I can see where foreigners take such an interest in our elections given the ramifications they have on international relations.

Oil Spill

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is looking to be the largest in United States history. It could have an everlasting effect on the environment in that part of the nation. The gulf is known for a large seafood industry so that will be damaged and halted altogether. Although the human causalities were minimal, the economic and environmental impact of an oil spill like this could have just as far reaching an impact as a human tragedy. This also puts the development of offshore oil drilling on the hot seat. President Obama is calling for a 30 day delay before making any decisions on further expansion as a result. I am sure that the administration will scrutinize more carefully whether this is the answer to energy independence.

Reaction to healthcare passage

While this is an exciting time in United States history and I am especially glad to be living in DC while this is all happening. However I may not be feeling the same way if I was on the other side. The anger by those that are upset about the reforms scare me a lot. One can only wonder whether it is setting the stage for a more volatile movement then the TEA party. Maybe you can actually wait and see how this is going to affect the system before starting to threaten lawmakers and their families with violence and death threats. Do any of them realize that they are actually committing a criminal offense?

Healthcare-law of the land

The House passed the Senate version of the health care reform bill yesterday making comprehensive health care reform the law of the land. This is very exciting and historic given how hard the Democrats have fought for this for years and even harder for the past year. Given that Ted Kennedy fought his entire career for this and watch it finally happen was really special. Most importantly, President Obama campaigned on the platform of hope and change on his way to the White House. While the American people waited, sometimes impatiently, for this we are starting to see the wheels of change in motion with the passing of this historic legislation.

No one know how the politics are going to play out in November or how this will affect the lives of Americans in the next decade but I feel there will be a shift away from the early prognostications. I also believe it will improve the lives of all Americans. Yes we can!!

Scott Brown sworn in

Scott Brown was sworn in as Massachusetts senator today. This was a week earlier than planned but I think it is good for the process. At least there is not any backroom stuff going on and he gets to work right away. It will be interesting to see how when he chooses to side with the Democrats (if at all) and when he sides with the Republicans. If he says that he sits in the "people's seat" as he dubbed it in his campaign he has to listen to the voices of those that elected him. Massachusetts sent a loud message, they did not necessarily want a Democrat or Republican they wanted change and see that Congress gets things done. Otherwise, there will be much more dramatic change in November and possibly in 2012-can you say President Palin and Vice President Scott Brown?

Snowpocalypse II

We got four to eight inches of snow today in the Washington DC/Arlington area. This was not as bad as the Christmas storm but still enough to paralyze the city. It is a good day to get a lot of indoor stuff done and relax. I was watch the golf tournament from San Diego today and remembering when I was visiting there this time last year. I cannot complain as I will be in Florida in a few weeks. The temperatures will remain cold so the snow probably won't melt anytime soon.

The snow did not keep President Obama from getting to the Georgetown-Duke game. It is good to see him get out but it can make for a lot of criticism. He even did play-by-play with the CBS announcers.

Obama in Tampa to promote the TGV/AVE Florida style

After the State of The Union speech, President Obama went to promote funding for high speed rail in Florida and to be at a groundbreaking for this. It is about time that Florida considers building high speed rail. Florida is arguably the world's most popular tourist destination behind Europe (regionally, not as a city). One of the draws of Europe is that all the cities are connected by a broad train system and tourists visit multiple cities on one trip. Why not Florida? How many people go to see Grandma and Grandpa on the coast and then go hang out with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. It would be easier to take the train from their respective city to Orlando/Lake Buena Vista/Kissimee.

Additionally, not all of the local airports have as many flights as the larger ones. For example my grandparents live in Sarasota on the west coast. I can get a flight from Regan National (next to my apartment) to Tampa nonstop but still have to take a shuttle which does not run that frequently to Sarasota. Why not have the option of boarding a high speed train for less money and more comfort and convenience that will take me right to Sarasota? We cannot overlook the environmental cost as well, less rental cars on the road and more fuel efficient trains would have better environmental consequences.

State of The Union

Thoughts on the State of The Union. As always, President Obama is one of the best orators of our generation and he brings his own humorous flair to his speeches at times. He laid out bold initiatives which I hope he can follow through on. If there is not any significant action in the next few months the Democrats can expect a bloodbath in the November midterm elections. Also, he needed to allude a little bit more to recent Republican victories, particularly in Massachusetts, which showed the anger of voters and a need for Washington to deliver on the change that was promised in 2008. As for Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, having a State of The Union response in front of the General Assembly showed he was taking a piece out of Obama's playboo with a "center stage." Let it be a warning the big stage is what McDonnell and the Republicans are after.

Supreme Court ruling

This past week the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case regarding campaign finance reform that will allow corporations and other types of organizations to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns. A few years ago I worked at an organization that did work as a watchdog of political contributions from businesses. It was alarming to see the some of the lack of policy and oversight regarding this type of activity. I feel this will be watered down even more now that the high court ruled there are no limits on this.

Scott Brown wins MA US Senate seat

Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown (R) won the special Senate election to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy defeating Martha Coakley. This is a stunning victory and congratulations to the campaign for their victory. A few takeaways:

-Coakley did not run a campaign acting as she was entitled to this seat. She even took a Caribbean vacation during the campaign. Ted Kennedy would have wanted his successor to campaign hard for the seat. MSNBC said that she thought they took the vote for granted-something you do not do in any election
-The 09 Virginia elections and this race is showing that voters aren't seeing the change that was promised in the 2008 presidential campaign. There better be some legislative action and it better be bipartisan or else the floodgates are about to open for the GOP

Massachusetts Senate Race update

The Senate race in Massachusetts between State Senator Scott Brown and Attorney General Martha Coakley is much more contested than a lot of people thought. The most Democratic state in the nation is getting a dose of a "Virginia" swing state election and it Democrats across the nation are getting concerned about holding onto the late Ted Kennedy's seat. Polling shows Coakley with a nine point lead. However, she is trailing among independents and voter turnout for this is going to be a major concern. The big issue is that Massachusetts Democrats think this is their "God given" right to hold onto this seat and voter turnout could be reflected in that. What is worse is that the campaign has the same thoughts and they are not taking the aggressive road. What was once just a "warmup" for Republican Scott Brown for a governor's race turning into what seemed like an impossible dream for the GOP could now be a possibility. If you are a DC area Democrat, please take some time to make calls this weekend to get people out to vote. This is the only way we are going to keep Uncle Ted's seat and allow the "dream to live on."

Sarah Palin on Fox News

It was announced that Sarah Palin will be a commentator on Fox News Channel. All I have to say is the more that we hear from her the more her brand is lowered. I could not think of a better place to water down her presidential ambitions even more-the more YouTube clips the better!!

Harry Reid puts his foot in mouth

The latest book on the 2008 election came out this week and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave some quotes about Obama that came off as racist and that he won because did not use "Negro speak" as much and he wasn't really that black. He did immediately apologize and Obama said it was a dead issue. There were Republican leaders calling on him to resign.

I think Obama should have denounced the remarks as unacceptable but these weren't made in a public setting as were the 2002 Trent Lott remarks. Since it involved the president he did not want to drag it out since it distracts from real news.