Obama

2014 Georgia Elections Are Worth the Attention

May 16, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue · 1 Comment

There’s been some encouraging news for Georgia Democrats this week. On Monday, Better Georgia released polling data that shows Georgia Democrats being competitive in Georgia’s 2014 open United States Senate race. In addition, Roll Call ran a piece about the groundwork that right wing conservative groups are doing to drop money in those races. On its face, the last piece of news doesn’t seem positive, but we think it is.

Earlier this year when Senator Saxby Chambliss announced he wasn’t going to run for re-election next fall it kicked off frenzy inside and outside of Georgia about the Democrats chances to gain the seat. Nationally, party insiders are salivating at Georgia’s changing demographics and the outcome of the 2012 presidential election in Georgia. Without any money directed to winning Georgia,President Obama received 46% of the vote, which was the best showing by Obama in any non-targeted state.

On Monday, Better Georgia released a poll testing Points of Light CEO Michelle Nunn’s bio against several potential Republican candidates. In almost all cases, Nunn was within the margin of error against all potential competitors and was eight points up against former gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel.

Despite the rosy poll results, it takes a lot of money to run a competitive statewide campaign for major office. Some will say this total is upwards of $10 million for a Senate race. To that end, Roll Call’s piece on Monday untangled a web of super PAC money likely coming to Georgia next year. Republicans Newt Gingrich, the Koch brothers and Las Vegas mogul Sheldon Anderson appear to be setting up shop in Georgia.

The mere notion that Anderson and the Koch brothers are coming to Georgia will scare some people. But Democrats shouldn’t worry too much. Democrats have proven in the last two election cycles that we can match the money and strategies of the best of the third party groups. There will be no more swift boating of democratic candidates without response. If the big GOP super PACs enter Georgia next year, they will likely be met by democratic super PACs.

Next year should be interesting. Georgia Democrats are making a comeback and next year is just the start. Expect new ideas, new candidates, and the best of all competitive races.

Filed Under: Atlanta, georgia, Georgia House Democrats, Georgia Politics, National Politics, Obama, political office, Uncategorized ·

It Can Happen Anywhere

May 3, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue · 5 Comments

paolabaileyblog

The recent allegations of rape and other charges against four Morehouse students have prompted this blog to once again address the issue of violence and sexual assault. We did not mince words when the high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio were convicted and while we know these young men are innocent until proven guilty, it is an opportunity to remind readers of the violence that can happen on a college campus. This post is not about guilt or innocence it is about the growing danger of sexual assault on college campuses that has forced the U.S. Department of Education to implement guidelines when assaults take place. The federal Violence Against Women Act, signed into law in March by President Obama, requires colleges and universities to adopt policies to address and prevent campus sexual violence

And here is why:

§ One in 5 college women are raped during their college years.

§ One in 12 college men admitted to committing acts that met the legal definition of rape.

§ 81% of on-campus and 84% of off-campus sexual assaults are not reported to the police.

§ In a survey of students at 171 institutions of higher education, alcohol was involved in 74% of all sexual assaults.

Every student has the right and no doubt most parents have an expectation that their child will be safe on a college campus as a student. The two-fold issue with rape and assault on college campuses now involves reporting the rape/assault and the action taken by the university or college once it is reported, before a court has determined guilt or innocence.

Some recent incidents at colleges around the country have been horrific, from a Wesleyan University fraternity house that was known as the “rape factory”, a Amherst College student who wrote about her rape in the student newsletter to a poster that was hung in the bathrooms at Miami University in Ohio that was titled “Top Ten Ways to Get Away With Rape”.

Wherever it happens, rape and sexual assault is violence against another person and it is unacceptable. A culture that protects it, denies it or ignores it—is also unacceptable. While there are a number of lessons we have to teach young people everyday, we have to begin the grueling task of teaching respect and dignity for human life.

Filed Under: Atlanta, girls, human rights, Obama, Uncategorized, women ·

Deal Should Lead

April 22, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue · 6 Comments

A lot has been made over the last week about Governor Nathan Deal’s refusal to comment on the proposed integrated prom for Wilcox County High School. Students at the school tried, and successfully, raised money to hold the first integrated prom in school history. The Governor’s spokesperson called Better Georgia’s request for comment on the effort a “silly publicity stunt”. Finally, on Wednesday, after pressure from national media sources, the governor spoke on the issue. This is what he said:

“None of us condone things that would send the wrong message about where we are with regard to race relations. But by the same token, I think that people understand that some of these are just local issues and private issues, and not something that the state government needs to have its finger involved in.”

Translation: I am not a leader.

Of course the governor should encourage others to do what’s right without an exception for local politics. That’s like a parent at home watching their child treat another child badly and responding by saying “that’s a child issue”. Yes we elect politicians to manage government and set public policy, but we also expect them to use their bully pulpit to lead. Governor Deal failed in this instance.

But who is surprised? Certainly not us. This is the same person who called seniors without birth certificates “Ghetto Grandmothers”. This is the same person who boasted about voting against the Voting Rights Act. This is also the same person who when asked if President Obama was born in America said “I have no idea where he was born”.

The Governor’s belief on race relations is something only he knows. In our opinion, each of the examples above says more about his willingness to lead in a diverse state in complex times. Each statement was made when the Governor was either running, or about to run for Governor in 2010. He was clearly trying to deliver a positive message to Republican Party primary voters instead of saying what, hopefully, he believes in his heart.

Now three years later, the same thing is happening with the Wilcox County prom. The Governor is obviously concerned about his primary election next year and getting challenged for being too moderate. It’s hard to believe a high school prom became a political football in the first place, but since it did, Deal should lead.

Filed Under: Diversity, georgia, Georgia Politics, Obama, political office ·

The Nimzo-Indian Defence

February 19, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue ·

Chess nerds will recognize the “Nimzo-Indian Defence” as an effective, if rudimentary, opening when playing as black. For those not fortunate enough to be chess nerds, here’s a brief description of the opening by Tony Kosten. Kosten writes “When Nimzowitsch introduced his defence in the 1920′s, his idea was that Black would fight for control of the centre […] with pieces other than pawns. His concept, the Nimzo-Indian Defence rapidly became one of Black’s most popular defences and established a reputation for offering a wide range of strategically rich possibilities.”

After participating in a nationwide Organizing for Action call with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and Chief Economist and Cabinet member Austan Goolsbee, I am more certain than ever that there were sophisticated political undertones to President Obama’s State of the Union address; suggesting that he is playing political chess, while the republicans wait for him at the checkers board. Particularly relevant seems his decision to single out Georgia and Oklahoma as beacons of hope when it comes to effective, productive, early education.

A big part of the Nimzo-Indian defence is forcing your will upon your opponent by offering choices that seem impossible to pass up. And this is essentially what Obama is doing by focusing on red states and forcing Republican leaders to either stand against the education reforms they themselves had a part in creating (and doing so simply because the President says he likes them) or going along with the President and his desire to see every child enrolled in high quality early education.

The focus of this Organizing for Action call was supposed to be jobs, but time and time again both Goolsbee and Emmanuel returned to the issue of early and available education, making it a point to single out red states for praise. Things like this don’t happen by accident, and my ears perked up when Mayor Emmanuel pivoted a jobs question into a discussion of the interesting early education programs in (you guessed it) Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Emmanuel argued for the necessity of a “race to the top,” reiterated the President’s call for “full-day pre-K,” and expanded on the President’s plan by suggesting the idea of teaching “parent’s how to be parents” as a part of the administration’s overall education initiative.

Emmanuel accused the Republican Congress of governing “from the outside in.” Suggesting that they are not only out of touch, but would do well to govern from the inside…by accepting the President’s plans for early education. Goolsbee echoed many of Emmanuel’s sentiments regarding education while also getting a dig in at the Republicans for our current, ridiculous sequester boondoggle. He also promised that “courageous votes” would be taken–over, of course, Republican objection–on “gun control,” and “immigration.”

Anyone who’s ever lost a game of Chess knows how the Republicans must be feeling in private. For all their posturing and ridiculous filibustering, they don’t really know what they’re doing. Heads in hands they find themselves in the shocked stasis of defeat—a splintered, weak, directionless party wondering helplessly where it all went wrong.

This blog post was written by Blogging While Blue contributer Charles Cullen and was originally featured on ProgressivePopulist.blogspot.com

Filed Under: National Politics, Obama ·

Does Ohio Know Something Georgia Should Know?

February 12, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue ·

Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio used to chair the House of Representatives Budget Committee. He is widely known as a fiscal conservative. As he unveiled his budget last week, Ohio became the fifth Republican state to support President Obama’s plan to expand Medicaid. Kasich made it clear that while he was not a fan of Obamacare, his decision made practical, fiscal sense for Ohio. He can apparently see the advantages of expanding the program and saving Ohio millions of dollars.

Now what does this say about Georgia not accepting the expansion? I’d say it means we are leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table. If Medicaid expansion is good enough for Kasich in Ohio, shouldn’t it be good enough for Deal in Georgia?

On key areas of state policy Georgia lags behind and on Medicaid and job creation efforts are lethargic at best. What is even equally amazing is the deafening silence in this urgent policy debate.

How are we doing? Well, we are failing in these areas: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, financial crisis, georgia, Georgia Politics, jobs, National Politics, Obama, President, Transportation, Uncategorized ·

President Launches Major Gun-Control Efforts

January 24, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue ·

President Barack Obama launched the biggest effort for gun-control that this country has seen in generations. Congress has to approve an assault weapons ban and background checks for all gun buyers to minimize the chance of another Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.

At the White House on January 16^th, surrounded by young school children who wrote the President letters after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, President Obama launched a plan for executive and legislative action against gun violence.

Among the more than 20 actions include charging Congress to pass legislation that bans “military-style assault weapons” and expanding background checks for gun buyers. Some of his proposed actions do not require Congressional passage.

The President took this swift action but reminded everyone that this is not just something he can do, “The only way we can change is if the American people demand it.”

Some of the proposed gun-control actions include: [Read more...]

Filed Under: National Politics, Obama ·

He Made it Plain

January 22, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue ·

President Obama made it plain – America must cherish its history by embracing every American today.

Though the new year officially began three weeks ago it seems it really started Monday with the inauguration of the President, the fanfare, the parades and his challenge to all Americans,”our journey is not complete”.

He recounted some of the challenges we face but also what makes it possible for us to face those challenges head on. “What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

He drew a picture of America that included its rich, poor, struggling, successful, straight, gay, immigrant, women, educated and the undereducated. He bridged the gap from the past to the present with words from the US Constitution that seemed fitting for the challenges of our time. And mostly he acknowledged the hard painful work ahead for people of goodwill and all Americans to sustain our energy, to summon our courage, to dedicate our talents, and to hone our intellect to complete the journey. [Read more...]

Filed Under: National Politics, Obama ·

Franklin Communications Nominated For Political Campaign Awards

January 16, 2013 by bloggingwhileblue ·

Blogging While Blue co-founder Cabral Franklin’s company, Franklin Communications, has been nominated for Reed Awards in two categories. The Reed Awards, presented by Campaign & Elections magazine, honor those that have excelled in the field of politics. Franklin Communications’ nominations are for radio advertisements.

The nominated ads are: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Georgia Politics, National Politics, Obama ·

Lincoln Couldn’t Tweet

December 20, 2012 by bloggingwhileblue ·

The critically acclaimed movie, “Lincoln” dramatically chronicles the difficult and contentious battle between the 16^th president and Congress to work together to pass the 13^th amendment, which abolished slavery.

The parallel between our country then and our country today was not missed on many who have seen the movie. It was a peek into the dark room dealings, reluctant compromising and back scratching that is sometimes necessary for the greater good. The close-up and intimate perspective was intriguing for outsiders. Historians and academics may debate the amount of creative license in the movie, but the facts are undeniable. It was a difficult and dark time in this country’s journey to freedom.

For those of you who haven’t seen the movie—spoiler alert–the 13^th amendment passes. Slavery was an economic issue grounded in a principle that is contrary to the Constitution, back then it was the radical Republicans who lead the fight against it. No one man gets or deserves credit for the ratification yet Lincoln may have paid the highest price.

A New America

November 13, 2012 by bloggingwhileblue ·

The 2012 election has solidly confirmed that America is changing. Not just in its cultural composition of voters but also ideology. The number of Latinos and young people who voted has shaken up both parties.

New York Magazine Photo

The win by President Obama, the number of women elected to the Senate, the openly gay and bisexual candidates who won, statewide referendums on same-sex marriage and passage of recreational marijuana drug use in two states indicates a dramatic shift in the electorate.The growing number of Republicans who are admitting political shock, a week later, continues as Georgia’s Newt Gingrich confessed on NBC’s The Today Show, “We need to stop, take a deep breath and learn.” He added, “The president won an extraordinary victory. And the fact is, we owe him the respect of trying to understand what they did and how they did it. But if you had said to me three weeks ago Mitt Romney would get fewer votes than John McCain and it looks like he’ll be 2 million fewer, I would have been dumbfounded.”

Historians and political scientists are grappling with what all of this means for the political future of America and likely how it can be used to determine future elections. Not just how a political party can win but who can win. This pivotal election is likely to encourage and inspire canidates who are more like the electorate and that kind of shift would be historic.

[Read more...]