It’s a great night to be a Democrat

September 4, 2012

by David Safier It's a pretty damn good night to be an American too.

A Tedski classic

September 4, 2012

by David Safier Unlike the windy bloggers here at BfA, Tedski over at Rum, Romanism and Rebellion is often a man of few, well chosen words. This post is a gem, quoted here in full: Hat tip to Talking Points Memo for finding this labor day gem on Eric Cantor’s Twitter feed: Today, we celebrate … Read more

Dr. Richard Carmona airs first Spanish-language ads

September 4, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the Dr. Richard Carmona for U.S. Senate campaign:

The Carmona for Arizona campaign will start running its first Spanish-language ad Tuesday. The thirty-second spot will air statewide and highlights Dr. Richard Carmona's unique story — how education and opportunity let him go from growing up as a poor kid to becoming Surgeon General of the United States.

Carmona dropped out of high school, but found new opportunity in the Army — where he earned his GED while training to become a Special Forces soldier. Carmona got into community college through an open enrollment program for veterans and went to college and medical school on the GI Bill. Carmona is running to make sure every kid today gets that same shot at the American Dream.

The campaign is also launching a companion Spanish-language radio ad, which will air statewide.

Video below the fold.

The lazy media villagers are failing us again

September 4, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There is an old lawyer joke that goes like this: "Question: What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the Potomac River? Answer: A good start."

This captures precisely how I feel about the lazy D.C. media villagers and Beltway bloviators who every four years trot out the tired old trope from their sainted Ronnie Reagan to ask "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" The media villagers would serve their country well by marching themselves into the Potomac River, never to be heard from again.

This is the wrong question for two reasons. First, the question frames every election as a referendum on the past four years, rather than holding the candidates accountable for what they propose to do for the next four years — the very reason why we hold elections. This is why the lazy D.C. media villagers and Beltway bloviators have allowed Willard "Mittens" Romney to get away with not providing any details about his policies that he intends to pursue if elected president — he has a "secret plan" that he will reveal only if and when he is elected — "just trust me."

Secondly, the question adopts the framing of the Republican Party's quasi-religion of narcissism and self-centeredness (Ayn Rand), which rejects the preamble to the Constitution "to provide for the common defense" and to "promote the general welfare." It also rejects the notion of one's obligation to your fellow American citizens, as President Kennedy called upon when he said "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." Randian Republicanism does not think beyond "it's all about me, baby!"

In that same inaugural address, President Kennedy offered a rejoinder to Reagan's tired old trope: "All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin." The Great American Experiment is always a work in progress that always looks forward to the future.