The Next President - the Choice is Yours
Paulie Brading
We need to treat this presidential election with care.
Just for grins, juxtapose Texas and California in presidential elections. Here is the good story.
Two of the last five most recent presidents were from California. Recently the California Secretary of State calculated the number of registered Republicans now stands at 30%. The fastest growing segment of voters in California is "No Party Preference". California holds over one in ten electoral-college votes. President Obama has held major fundraisers in the state but has no plans to campaign in California. It seems Mitt Romney has reached the same conclusion. In 1996 the Republicans lost their majority in the state assembly. Republicans haven't won a Senate election in California since 1988. The influence of the John Birch Society runs deep in the California Republicans, tracing back to a powerful chapter located in Orange County. It is difficult to comprehend how far the Democratic Party has traveled to bring about the enormous change in California politics to the current Democratic majority. In a state where Latinos are expected to out number non-Hispanic whites by 2016 its a state to watch carefully.
Here is the bad story. Democrats in Texas are looking for a place at the table. Texas Republicans are in the political land of plenty. Republican officeholders dominate all three branches of state government. These officeholders spend their time bickering over who is a real conservative and who has the strictest interpretation of the Constitution. Romney is courting Latino voters. A big win for Obama among Latinos would spell doom for the Republican Party. Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994.
Here is a story with consequences. One of the original founder's of the John Birch Society was none other than Fred Koch, the father of the infamous Koch brothers who are megafunding super PACs to elect Mitt Romney president. We can give thanks to the Citizen United Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to be people. The courts decision in 2010 allows companies and unions to spend unlimited amounts to defeat or elect political candidates. If the Koch brothers and others like them prevail, they will have purchased the United States government for their own financial gain.
Yes, things look promising for Democrats in California and promising for Republicans in Texas. This is a critical election for the future of America. Despite the angry Republican rhetoric we have to get in the game and campaign for President Obama. He sorely needs our help. There will be no reprive for President Obama from his Republican critics. Treat this election with care and get into the game.
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10:20 a.m.
Jul 1, '12
....and Oregon is on its way.
1:56 p.m.
Jul 2, '12
We can give thanks to the Citizen United Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to be people.
That's not correct. Citizens United allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on independent expenditures directly from their treasuries.
Corporate personhood traces its roots to Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th Century. Oregon statute has been referring to corporations as "persons" for decades.
3:41 p.m.
Jul 2, '12
Thanks for the clarification.
12:22 p.m.
Jul 3, '12
The longer term demographic shift in Texas is going to turn it blue. And it won't be long. Caucasians are going to be the ever smaller minority. And Latinos and Blacks know, now more than ever, the GOP hates them.
11:32 a.m.
Jul 5, '12
My vote means bupkis in Oregon, for president. The choice isn't mine.
12:28 a.m.
Jul 9, '12
Yes, but if everyone thought like you, we'd lose.
It's the applause effect. In a rowdy football stadium, you can sit on your hands, and the noise will still be deafening. But if everyone acts like you, the silence will take over.
2:12 p.m.
Jul 7, '12
Supporting Obama on this forum is like preaching to the choir- which is OK. What is needed more is ratching up the enthusiasm and fervor for Obama in the swing states which we Oregonians can do by writing to the national media and by contacting people we know in states like Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and Iowa. The second tier would be Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
4:19 p.m.
Jul 13, '12
The choice is not ours. The choice has been determined by the 1%. The Investment Bankers win either way. Obama is only a slightly better tweedledee to tweedledumb.