My first impressions of Obama’s speech in Egypt were all very positive, but first, Obama’s unique opportunity. The most compelling aspect about Obama is not his ideas, not even his incredible oratory style, but who he is- a black man with the middle name Hussein. Obama’s election reaffirmed the undeniable strength of America, its pluralistic nature and social mobility. America is by no means perfect, but in no European country could a black man with an Arabic middle name have any political career, much less win the presidency. It is these characteristics, and the stark contrast in personality from Bush, that give Obama a shot at solving longstanding Arab conflicts.
Obama has cautiously extended his hand to the Arab world, a broadly accepted policy. Republicans feared that Obama’s apologetic tendencies would surface again, in the worst place they could, the heart of the Middle East. Shockingly, Obama did not throw Bush under the bus, at least not completely. Obama skillfully danced around the Iran issue, never condemning their nuclear ambitions only reiterating a need for a nuclear free world. A world that is as likely as the Washington Nationals winning a World Series, it just won’t happen. Although not addressing Iran’s brass pursuit of nuclear weapons he took a well deserved shot at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying “Holocaust denial as “baseless, ignorant, and hateful”.
So Obama, always the idealist, loses points on the Iran issue. When he slipped up with ambiguous Iran talk, he picked up points when talking about Israel. He and Senator Clinton came down hard on both parties perpetuating the conflict, Arab militants in Gaza, like Hamas, and Israel settlements encouraged by the state. On the topic of Hamas Obama was tough saying, “it is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus”; insisted that “the Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems.” (Note: all those quotes were extracted from Obama’s speech by Rich Lowry in his most recent article, got to give the man his credit).
Now to put two and two together: Obama, because of the color of his skin and his genuine connection/familiarity with Islam has the Arab world’s attention, something no white President, not Bill Clinton nor George Bush has had. Let’s face it, the messenger matters. Both Clinton and Bush towards the end of their terms invested significant time, effort, and money trying to solve the Israel-Palestine debate. The situation in Gaza is worse than ever. Obama might say the same things as Clinton and Bush did, but saying it to a receptive crowd makes all the difference. To further this point, George W Bush constantly said that we are not at war with Islam the religion, for whatever reason this was insincere. When Obama say’s the same thing, it’s turning the page, a new vision. I’m not interested in why this is; only that people are now listening. Republicans should be willing to bite the bullet about Bush’s legacy for now, especially in the name of national security and the Middle East.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A letter from my boss to the Arizona Republican Party Chairman
Dear Chairman Pullen,
I write today to express grave concern regarding plans to politically target lawmakers who are standing strong in defense of Arizona taxpayers. As you know, it has recently been announced that the firm High Ground Inc., a group that advises Governor Jan Brewer, will launch a $225,000 media campaign against legislators who oppose Gov. Brewer’s calls for a multi-billion dollar tax increase in the middle of a recession.
The Governor has made clear that this campaign, which targets fiscally conservative legislators from your own party, has her full-throated support. Several months ago Americans for Tax Reform asked your staff if rumors of a campaign to target Republican legislators were true and if such an effort would be supported by the Arizona State Republican Party. That inquiry, disturbingly, was met with silence by you and your staff.
It is no secret that you have close ties to those behind the aforementioned campaign. This is troubling given your duties as chairman of the state Republican Party and RNC treasurer.
One of the few things economists of all political stripes can agree on is that the last thing you want to do in a recession is raise taxes. Additionally, opposition to higher taxes is a long-held and central tenet of the Republican Party. In fact, your counterparts at the Maine and Washington State Republican Parties have gone so far as to incorporate the Taxpayer Protection Pledge into their party platforms.
According to the Center for Fiscal Accountability, Arizona taxpayers already spend 194 days – more than half the year – working just to pay for the cost of government. Yet Gov. Brewer doesn’t think this is enough.
As we approach an important election year, it is shocking that Gov. Brewer is supporting a campaign that will attack members of her own party because they are standing up for Arizona taxpayers. It would be unconscionable for the state Republican Party to not condemn this effort.
I therefore ask you, as chairman of the state Republican Party, to unequivocally and publicly announce your opposition to and repudiation of this campaign to be waged by Gov. Brewer and High Ground.
Feel free to call on me or ATR’s state affairs manager, Patrick Gleason (pgleason@atr.org) with any questions or concerns.
Onward,
Grover G. Norquist
CC: RNC Chairman Michael Steele, all RNC Committeemen & Women, Arizona Press
Citation:ATR.org
I write today to express grave concern regarding plans to politically target lawmakers who are standing strong in defense of Arizona taxpayers. As you know, it has recently been announced that the firm High Ground Inc., a group that advises Governor Jan Brewer, will launch a $225,000 media campaign against legislators who oppose Gov. Brewer’s calls for a multi-billion dollar tax increase in the middle of a recession.
The Governor has made clear that this campaign, which targets fiscally conservative legislators from your own party, has her full-throated support. Several months ago Americans for Tax Reform asked your staff if rumors of a campaign to target Republican legislators were true and if such an effort would be supported by the Arizona State Republican Party. That inquiry, disturbingly, was met with silence by you and your staff.
It is no secret that you have close ties to those behind the aforementioned campaign. This is troubling given your duties as chairman of the state Republican Party and RNC treasurer.
One of the few things economists of all political stripes can agree on is that the last thing you want to do in a recession is raise taxes. Additionally, opposition to higher taxes is a long-held and central tenet of the Republican Party. In fact, your counterparts at the Maine and Washington State Republican Parties have gone so far as to incorporate the Taxpayer Protection Pledge into their party platforms.
According to the Center for Fiscal Accountability, Arizona taxpayers already spend 194 days – more than half the year – working just to pay for the cost of government. Yet Gov. Brewer doesn’t think this is enough.
As we approach an important election year, it is shocking that Gov. Brewer is supporting a campaign that will attack members of her own party because they are standing up for Arizona taxpayers. It would be unconscionable for the state Republican Party to not condemn this effort.
I therefore ask you, as chairman of the state Republican Party, to unequivocally and publicly announce your opposition to and repudiation of this campaign to be waged by Gov. Brewer and High Ground.
Feel free to call on me or ATR’s state affairs manager, Patrick Gleason (pgleason@atr.org) with any questions or concerns.
Onward,
Grover G. Norquist
CC: RNC Chairman Michael Steele, all RNC Committeemen & Women, Arizona Press
Citation:ATR.org
Monday, June 1, 2009
The lesser of two evils: turning a blind eye
Obama has really put the Republicans in a bad place. There are many questions about Sonia Sotomayor, Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, mainly fair questions, about past rulings and how her “empathicness” will be play out when she is confirmed. The brilliance of Obama’s pick is this: he gets the left judge he wants while alienating Republicans should they decide to dispute his pick. There are real political points to be won by the Republicans, Sotomayor’s past affirmative action ruling (see here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2009-05-31-firefighters_N.htm) which will be overturned this summer, supplemented with a host of quotes like this, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn't lived that life," Republicans could make some valid points (it even feels weird typing that). There are issues with this ruling and her apparent identity politics (identity judgments perhaps?).
Unfortunately for Republicans, they will need to bite their tongue and cheer her across the finish line. Democrats hold 59 seats in the Senate. There is nothing Republicans can do to stop her inevitable confirmation. That fact, coupled with the equally important realization that condemning Sotomayor just looks bad, should be enough to deter Republican criticism. Republican hands are tied, not because their points are illegitimate- but because they cannot afford to alienate Hispanics. Picture this: during Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing, a white Southern Republican yelling, maybe valid points, but yelling about Sotomayors problematic nomination. Is there anything worse in this world? Inevitably this horrific scene would be condensed into an illogical 20 second clip that would run endlessly on cable news. This 20 second clip is now the undeniable evidence that Republicans are truly close minded and that minorities are not welcome in the party. Thus is the brilliance of Obama. He gets his Justice with no fight at all from Republicans (the lesser of two evils in my opinion) or can open his arms and embrace alienated Hispanics. Obama didn’t get to be President at age 47 without knowing how to play the game. Considering how large the Hispanic vote is, and how fast it is growing, it would be counterproductive to question Sotomayor. I wrote in my first post that it would be wise for Obama to avoid unnecessary political battles, explicitly in reference to his Judicial Nomination. Alas, he has not done this. Instead he is waving a piece of meat in front of hungry Republicans, daring them to tear into Sotomayor.
Unfortunately for Republicans, they will need to bite their tongue and cheer her across the finish line. Democrats hold 59 seats in the Senate. There is nothing Republicans can do to stop her inevitable confirmation. That fact, coupled with the equally important realization that condemning Sotomayor just looks bad, should be enough to deter Republican criticism. Republican hands are tied, not because their points are illegitimate- but because they cannot afford to alienate Hispanics. Picture this: during Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing, a white Southern Republican yelling, maybe valid points, but yelling about Sotomayors problematic nomination. Is there anything worse in this world? Inevitably this horrific scene would be condensed into an illogical 20 second clip that would run endlessly on cable news. This 20 second clip is now the undeniable evidence that Republicans are truly close minded and that minorities are not welcome in the party. Thus is the brilliance of Obama. He gets his Justice with no fight at all from Republicans (the lesser of two evils in my opinion) or can open his arms and embrace alienated Hispanics. Obama didn’t get to be President at age 47 without knowing how to play the game. Considering how large the Hispanic vote is, and how fast it is growing, it would be counterproductive to question Sotomayor. I wrote in my first post that it would be wise for Obama to avoid unnecessary political battles, explicitly in reference to his Judicial Nomination. Alas, he has not done this. Instead he is waving a piece of meat in front of hungry Republicans, daring them to tear into Sotomayor.
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