Birch Bayh to Speak at IU

Say what you will about Evan Bayh, but his father Birch surely goes down as one of the great Hoosier politicians of all time. The details:

Former Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, father of current Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, will be speaking in Bloomington Thursday afternoon.

Indiana University says the elder Bayh, an alum of the IU School of Law, will be speaking about the separation of church and state at the IU Law School Moot Court Room Thursday at 3:30.

Bayh is known for being a long-time senator from 1962 to 1980, and helped author the 25th and 26th Amendments which dealt with presidential succession and lowering the voting age to 18 respectively.

Its easy to forget considering all of Bayh's legislative accomplishments, but perhaps his most lasting act while in office was nearly a tragedy. His ability to pull the badly injured Senator Ted Kennedy out of the wreckage of a plane that had crashed while both were aboard, not only proved Bayh was a force to be reckoned with, but because of his actions, provided all Democrats a chance to marvel a liberal lion in the Senate for the last 46 years. If there was ever a politician worth voting for, Birch Bayh takes the cake.

Midday Roundup

I'll be in an out today without a lot of time to blog, so here are a few things to mull over while I'm gone.

• BuyMyShitPile.com: If the government can get away with it, why can't we?

  With our economy in crisis, the US Government is scrambling to rescue our banks by purchasing their "distressed assets", i.e., assets that no one else wants to buy from them. We figured that instead of protesting this plan, we'd give regular Americans the same opportunity to sell their bad assets to the government.

  
  
• The second of three Indiana gubernatorial debates is set for tonight at 8pm in Jasper. The big question heading into this debate is whether Jill Long Thompson can successfully draw distinctions between herself and Mitch without sounding to attack oriented like she did last time. However you look at it though, its clear she needs a strong performance tonight as the election is quickly approaching and for all intensive purposes she still faces an intimidating hill to climb with voters. 
  
  
• If you live in or around Jefforsonville, be sure to check out Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden as he makes his second stop in Indiana tomorrow for an afternoon rally. The IndyStar has the details:

  The Barack Obama campaign announced Monday that Biden will speak at an afternoon rally in Warder Park. Tickets to the public event were being distributed by Obama campaign offices in Jeffersonville and New Albany today.

  Just so everyone's clear of the tally-- after tomorrow's rally, Biden will have been in Indiana twice as much John McCain. Unreal.

The Economy: Dems vs. Repubs

Need proof that Democrats are more competent when it comes to running an economy than Republicans? Let the graphs do the talking:

Democrats have a clear edge on GDP growth: 4.4% vs. 2.6%

And...

With only few exceptions, Republican administrations have presided over increases in unemployment, and Democrats over declines. On average, the jobless rate has risen by 1.0 points under the GOP, and fallen by 1.9 points under Dems

It doesn't get any simpler than that folks.

Quote of the Day

"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5. So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."

--Tina Fey, responding to questions concerning her portrayal of republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on SNL

The Politics of Crisis (w/update)

Let me start off by saying that if you haven't read this over at Daily Kos-- you should. Not only does it brilliantly set the stage for a much larger debate, but it draws from the muck some important political realities all voters should be aware of. As such here's my take:

Giving the treasury secretary $700 billion in unfettered non-reviewable money is brash and irresponsible. Not only is the Bush administration taking advantage of "its a time of crisis we need to do something now" ideology, but they are doing so with clear partisan political intent. I mean this whole ordeal stinks of politics. And I am not referring to the past politics of deregulation, but more to the effect of an administration who has proven incapable of handling anything, and now insists on splitting ways with party faithful to push a lousy bailout through congress– all in the name of economic survival. This thing is going to come back to bite Democrats one way or another, and you can be sure Bush and his cronies will be in the background laughing when it does.

But as luck(?) would have it, its the Democratically controlled Congress that will have the final say on any bailout plan. And to say their leadership and backbone have been MIA thus far is a drastic understatement. As Devilstower reminds us:

This is enemy action. This is a bullet deliberately fired into the economy by men willing to exercise their ideology regardless of the cost to taxpayers. Men who have every expectation that they can plunder the system again and again, while the public picks up the tab. John McCain may not have had his finger directly on the trigger, but he was there. He assisted. These were his personal friends and philosophical comrades. He may not be the high priest, but he has been a loyal acolyte in the cult of deregulation.

It may come as a surprise to the champions of deregulation, but nobody likes regulation. The restrictions that were placed on banks, S&Ls, and other institutions in the 1930s weren't put there because someone thought it would be fun. They were put in place because they addressed problems that had just been clearly and painfully revealed. They were put in place because they were necessary.

It's bad enough if John McCain didn't know that. It's far worse if he did.

Its time for Democrats to stand up and lead. No more bipartisan press releases. No more ambiguous analogies expressing a shared desire to fix the problem. Its time for someone to step and offer up a responsible alternative to the Bush proposal.

Am I wrong or is this not the perfect opportunity for Barack Obama to deliver his knockout blow?

Update 1:12 am: This is the kind of initiative I am talking about. I knew there was a reason I liked Dodd so much during the primaries-- his consistency to lead from the left should be noted by the Obama campaign.

And Barack Obama is an Elitist?

Evan Bayh on the Financial Crisis

I have been rather quiet about the whole financial crisis fiasco, preferring to first educate myself on the subject before making any generalized comments on the matter. While I do intend to give my take on the subject in a post later today, suffice it to say everyone and their mother has an opinion on what needs to be done to prevent complete economic collapse. The latest, Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh and his evaluation:

“There’s a consensus that we have to do what it takes to avoid a catastrophe. This is economic triage; we need to stabilize the patient. Then we can come up with a long-term prognosis and steps that need to be taken for a cure. When you’re trying to keep a patient’s heart beating and they are on the table, you deal with that first. But we must also maintain the sense of urgency to address the long-term changes that need to be made. The way Congress too often works is that there will be tremendous urgency to act in the short run, then all of the different interests who have a stake in not changing their ways will start circling to prevent systemic reform. The taxpayers and homeowners who are paying their mortgages have a right to be outraged if that happens. This crisis shows that what goes around comes around. Times were good, greed triumphed over fear, people leveraged up trying to make all that they could, and now we’re paying for it.”

In typical fashion, Bayh makes it a point to tip-toe around-- making sure to use sweeping bipartisan remarks that while politically neutral, do little to address the issue at hand. I know this is thin ice we are talking about, but is a little backbone from our elected Dems too much to ask for?

TIME Magazine: Can Obama win Indiana?

While the blogosphere has been tossing around the possibility of an Obama win for sometime now, it seems the national media has finally bought into the reality presently encompassing Indiana presidential politics. And not just any national media either, but the establishment of the establishment elite, TIME magazine.

You can read the entire article here, but with two succinct paragraphs, TIME pretty much sums up why Indiana is a key battleground state this year:

The key factor driving the desire for political change here is economic pain — even in traditional Republican bastions like Elkhart County, in the state's Northeast corner, where the closure of several RV plants has pushed the unemployment rate to 9.3%. Even incumbent Republican governor Mitch Daniels is presenting himself as an agent of change.

...But Obama has other factors working in his favor: His campaign has built an extensive grassroots network with 32 field offices in the state. He is familiar to voters in Indiana's Northwest corner, which falls within the Chicago media market. And he is also expected to perform well in Indianapolis, given its large black population. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita expects 65% voter turnout — the highest since 1992 — largely because of more than 230,000 newly registered voters, many of them signed up by the Obama campaign in college towns such as West Lafayette, South Bend and Bloomington. Obama has visited the state five times since July.

All this may or may not just be wishful thinking on the part of restless Bloosiers. No one can truly be sure. However one thing I do know for certain is that I have spent a lot of time phone banking, and for what its worth, a large portion of the people I speak with are still on the ropes. And when it comes down to it, and undecideds openly seek out a candidate who will help them personally, I like Obama's chances at winning these voters over.

Quote of the Day

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."

--John McCain, insisting that healthcare reform should adopt the deregulatory model of the U.S. financial system

NFL Overtime Games are a Crock

To start with, if there's one thing that rivals my enthusiasm for politics, its my love for sports. That being said, the overtime system in the NFL is the biggest piece of shit in present day professional sports. With two o.t. games today alone, this garbage is enough to make you go crazy. I mean seriously, why not line each team up on the 45 yard line and play it out like they do in the college ranks? Give me a break this isn't the back yard where 'first team to score' is a precursor to supper's ready. Any other NFL fans share my frustration?

7 houses+ 13 cars= The People's Candidate?

You got to admire Newsweek's ability to rabble rouse:

When you have seven homes, that's a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates' cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here's the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one.

The McCain campaign can't seem to catch a break. Keep up the good work.

Progressive Book Club: Taking On the System

"We will start with the system because there is no other place to start from except political lunacy."

-Saul Alinsky

Taking On the System, the latest gem by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (kos), is the definitive handbook for modern political activism. Based loosely on Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, TOS explores the depths of successful change as seen through the increasing influence of everyday activists-- individuals who have challenged the accepted ideas of establishment gatekeepers. 

If you are looking for a history of the blogosphere or "how to grow a blog" ideas, I am afraid this book isn't for you. Kos instead takes on the more expansive and more revolutionary efforts of a much larger digital community, where everything from text messaging to facebook is being used to marginalize accepted societal norms--  all for the cause of advancing progressive ideals. 

Plain and simple-- this book should be required reading for any genuine progressive.

Elizabeth Edwards' take:

As the founder of the blogosphere's most lively town square - a place where Americans come to debate ideas, discuss policy, and yes, plot to "crash the gates" - Markos has already permanently altered the landscape of American politics. DailyKos and the progressive blogosphere have inspired a new generation of American patriots, determined to rise up and make their voices heard. In Taking on the System, Markos provides both a call-to-arms, and the rules of engagement, for getting active in our newly networked age. With passionate and accessible prose guaranteed to inspire and empower anyone who has ever struggled to make a difference, this book captures the spirit of our nation's modern-day pamphleteers.