Platte County Democrats Meeting on January 23rd, 2012

Platte County Democrats will meet at the First State Bank Conference Center in Guernsey on Monday, January 23rd, 7 pm. Speakers include Bob Vernon-Kubicheka, Wyoming State Director of Obama for America, and Robin Van Ausdall, Executive Director of the Wyoming Democratic Party. Please attend, and bring a friend!

It's happening... Barack Obama, President-Elect!

It's 8 p.m. MST and at this point, there is no way for John McCain to win this election. Barack Obama is going to be our next President of the United States of America!

One might notice from the celebration venues that perhaps McCain already knew this. Barack's party in Grant Park in Chicago is huge. McCain's party in Arizona is a small affair, with Hank Williams Jr. providing party music to entertain what must be a depressed audience.

The rest of the votes need to be counted, but this race is over. Congratulations Barack Obama and Joe Biden! You both ran a good race and it was a well deserved win. I'm looking forward to the inauguration on January 20, 2009!

photo by dailykos.com

On Election Eve, The Star-Tribune endorses Obama

In this morning's Casper paper, the editorial board of the Star-Tribune endorsed Barack Obama for President. Am I surprised? Somewhat. Am I encouraged by this? Yes. A few highlights:

What America needs most in these troubled times is a president who will move the country in a positive direction. The candidate who is most likely to chart a new course that will lead us to better days is Obama. Moreover, he is the best candidate for Wyoming.

Wyoming's energy-based economy is faring better than the nation's, but there's no guarantee that will last forever. Obama supports the development of clean-coal technology, which could assure a future for our vast coal resources. His focus on energy independence through a major investment in alternative energy research and development could lead to the creation of new industry and jobs in the state, and dovetails nicely with the work being done at the new School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming.

McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, however, shows extremely poor judgment. She has shown repeatedly that she is simply not ready to fill McCain's shoes.

With his emphasis on diplomacy along with a commitment to protecting America, Obama gives us our best hope of regaining the respect of other nations.

His campaign has been an honorable one that has focused on inclusiveness and hope. The three presidential debates showed Obama to be a calm, thoughtful leader with a unique vision of the future. The contrast with his opponent, who seemed angry and erratic, could not have been more stark or more telling.We endorse Barack Obama for president.

Wyoming as a whole will most assuredly give our three electoral college votes to John McCain, but I don't believe he will get to the magic number of 270. I know Barack Obama is the better choice to improve our lives. I am optimistic about tomorrow, as well as the future of this country.

Source:http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/11/03/editorial/editorial/8fb5b809854145d7872574f50026785c.txt

Get out the vote Platte County

By the end of the day, it will be "times up" for donating money to your favorite candidate(s). Most of the political hopefuls and diehards will be hitting the streets this weekend, a last push to find those few extra people that haven't quite decided to whom they will cast their ballot. This is the pre-party to the Superbowl of politics, Election Day. And like a diehard sports fan, I feel the need to trumpet the virtues of my team. We have some great players, and I'd like to see some touchdowns on Tuesday. First, Barack Obama is looking good but he needs every vote he can muster. Statewide, our best chance to bring home gold is with Gary Trauner with a U.S. House Seat. Locally, I'm thinking Terry Jones has a decent shot at getting the win in State House District #3.

Enough sports analogies. My point is, if you have a candidate that you want to support, this is the time to do it. Call your candidates and ask what you can do. Get out the vote!

Colorado looks good in blue

I said it a couple of days ago, and it seems it was only a matter of time. CNN now has Colorado shaded in light blue, leaning toward Senator Obama. I knew our neighbors would come through. I think in the end, "Change" is going to win over "Fear", which is exactly how these two campaigns can be summed up. We have been led by the use of fear for too many years now, ever since 9/11/01. Colorado is ready for change, unfortunately Wyoming is bound tight in Republican chains when it comes to presidential politics. Even so, I hope a few more Wyomingites will look past the boundaries of party lines, and vote for change as well.

Colin Powell is voting for Obama

This should be a real boost for the Obama camp. On Meet the Press this morning, Gen. Powell gave his endorsment of Barack Obama, and more importantly, made some statements that needed to be made. He questioned McCain's judgement on several issues, including his negative campain tactics and his pick of Sarah Palin. "Now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president." he said. Thank you for that, sir.

After the interview on Meet the Press, Gen. Powell told reporters "I think that Senator Obama brings a fresh set of eyes, fresh set of ideas to the table. I think that Senator McCain, as gifted as he is, is essentially going to execute the Republican agenda, the orthodoxy of the Republican agenda with a new face and a maverick approach to it, and he'd be quite good at it, but i think we need more than that. I think we need a generational change. I think Senator Obama has captured the feelings of the young people of America and is reaching out in a more diverse, inclusive way across our society."

Please watch the video. It's a very honest and candid look at the big picture of this campaign, and how the extreme right agenda coming from the Republican party is not right for this country at this time. Thank you, General Colin Powell, for speaking the truth. You, sir, are the one putting Country First!

Obama vs. McCain Round III: Anger Management

Boy, my working for a living is taking time away from this blog! I was able to catch only half the debate last night. I'll get online to see the rest soon, but I have another 24 hours of work in the next two days. My impression from what I saw is that Barack Obama is still the better debater...John McCain looked a little grumpy last night. McCain is going to be desparate and pull out all the stops over the next couple of weeks. If Barack remains cool and collected, which I don't doubt he'll do, I think we're going to see his poll numbers continue to climb.

Take a look at the new debate summary from factcheck.org. Guess what? It appears Joe the Plumber may actually get a tax CUT under Obama's plan. Checking around the web, it appears Joe may not be as "undecided" as he makes himself out to be. I think there may be something fishy about Joe the Plumber...new details are surfacing as we speak, er, blog. I'll keep an eye on it.

Debates and more debates

In this article from the Casper Star Tribune, Terry Jones and Frank Peasley field questions about a statewide smoking ban, penalties for drunk drivers, health care, spending of budget surpluses, business promotion and housing shortages, among other things.

From the Gillette News-Record, this article covers the Trauner, Lummis and Herbert debate from October 5th. They discuss partisan politics, the federal bailout, the Wyoming Range Bill, and retirement benefits for congress. Is it just me or do those three names together look like a law firm? Just saying.

Coming up tomorrow is the forum at the Platte County Fairgrounds. 7-9 p.m., or until the last debater is standing.

Don't forget about Wednesday, the third Presidential debate will be broadcast on a television near you. Bring it on home Barack!

Freudenthal, Obama and the NRA

Don't bother knocking on Governor Freudenthal's door today; he's not home. He is, in fact, on a road trip to Pennsylvania stumping for Barack Obama and clarifying our candidate's position on gun control. Barack got off on the wrong foot with the good people of PA earlier this year with his "clinging to religion and guns" comment. Enter Governor Dave; a gun rights advocate and NRA endorsee. He is making stops around the state promoting the fact that Barack has a good stance on gun ownership. "He's in the right place with it," Freudenthal said of Obama's position on gun ownership. "He understands it as a right. Remember, rights are not unlimited. They come with certain responsibilities." Obama's website outlines his positions for both the urban setting and for sportsmen. The NRA has given their stamp of approval to McCain, but Governor Freudenthal feels they are mistaken in their perception of Obama.

Taking the time to promote Obama was quite a grand thing for Governor Freudenthal to do. Pennsylvania is an important swing state. To see that an NRA endorsed, wild west, gun-toting Governor from Wyoming is A-O.K. with Obama has to be impressive for at least a few Pennsylvanians. When every vote counts, taking the leave-no-stone-unturned approach is prudent.

Source: pittsburghlive.com.

Veteran Report Card - Who supports our troops?

From thinkprogress.org:
During the first presidential debate, Sen. John McCain repeatedly emphasized his love of veterans — and their fondness for him in return. “I’ll take care of them. And they know I’ll take care of them,” he said. McCain frequently exaggerates his level of support for and from veterans groups, claiming to have “received the highest award from literally every veteran’s organization in America” and to have “a perfect voting record” on veterans’ issues.

Today, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America released its congressional scorecard for the 110th Congress, and awarded McCain a grade of “D” for his votes against veterans’ priorities. The grade makes McCain one of only four Senators to fall on IAVA’s “D List” — and marks a repeat performance for him, after receiving a “D” for his 109th congressional voting record as well.

These grades are based on a number of veteran based issues, which are explained in the report. So how did our Democratic candidates and Wyoming elected officials do on this little list? See for yourself:

Barack Obama = B
Joseph Biden = B
John McCain = D
Michael Enzi = D
John Barrasso = INC (not enough time in office for complete analysis)
Barbara Cubin = C

Looks like the Democrats ARE the ones who support our veterans more. View the .pdf file to see all the categories graded and scores for all legislators.

Obama vs McCain II: The Town Hall Debate

Some thoughts on tonight's debate. I need to start by saying John McCain is my friend. He told me I was his friend 16 times tonight.

Oh, and the bill formerly known as the "Bailout Plan" will now be referred to by both parties as the "Rescue Package". Ummm, O.K. then.

What we got tonight was quite a bit of the same material we waded through in round one. I'm glad Obama brought up the fact that we were running a surplus when Clinton left office. I thought that needed to be mentioned. We Democrats CAN have a balanced budget while spending responsibly.

On healthcare, McCain said it's a responsibility, Obama said it's a right. I've expressed my opinion before, our current system doesn't work, and McCain is out of touch if he thinks every person he gives a $5000 rebate to is going to go out and buy health insurance. It just won't happen. Fact is, some people aren't responsible, but that doesn't mean their children should be penalized for it.

What should we sacrifice? I enjoyed Barack's response to McCain's spending freeze. The scalpel versus hatchet was a good analogy. Cut out the programs that don't work. Keep the ones that do.

I'd like to take the time to think through the "Drill, baby drill!" mantra. To take this to it's logical conclusion, it should be "Drill, baby drill. Burn, baby burn. Pollute, baby polute." We have so many options available to us for energy. I thought Obama was brilliant in stating that no one knew how we were going to get to the moon in ten years when JFK declared it, but the nation was determined. We can get off our need for oil if we put our minds to it.

McCain referred to Barack as "That one." I didn't like it. Not one bit.

The real loser of round two was Tom Brokaw. Absolutely no control over the debate. But the format stunk. These two need to be able to respond to each other and butt heads. We never get to see a conversation continue to conclusion. My guess is that Obama would keep his cool, and we would watch the spectacle of McCain really losing his temper. Perhaps round three should be a cage match.