Ah, how is the year to end? We're almost there, right? Kentucky politics have been a great joy to behold...for once. This year we had a near-complete Democratic landslide, with only 2 major state-wide offices falling to Republicans. Steve Beshear, Daniel Mongiardo, Jack Conway, Crit Luallen and a host of others had a very good season, and convinced Kentucky voters that the Democrats were ready to lead.

Now, Kentucky Progressives, Liberals, Democrats, and Centrists will unite to take the last 2 prizes from the corrupt hands of the Republican party: The seats of Mitch McConnell and Ron Lewis.

And let me tell ya...this is gonna be sweet.  

This is my (and many others) 'reflective' part of the year. This is the time when we look back and take stock of how well things did or did not go. Personally, 2007 hasn't been a bad year. My only major personal complaints for the year are as follows: I still don't have an iPhone, and I keep having car trouble. Fix one thing, something else breaks. Back in 1999, I bought a Ford...a very manual Ford.  I was the car's second owner when I bought it, and the dealer actually tried to talk me out of it. It's a manual transmission, and manual everything else. No power locks. No A/C (it was ordered originally without a compressor). But worst of all....no rear defrost. That would have been a deal-breaker had I caught that initially. I was busy worrying about if I could live without A/C. Breaks, tires, minor transmission work, a vacuum leak...regular mnt. just all at once is a bit much, you know?

Also this year, I got a pretty good promotion, booked a cruise to Alaska, and made some new friends. So, you see, my problem with 2007 isn't personal. Or even professional....it's political. It's amazing how the politics of a very few people can impact the lives of the rest of us. One of the first stories that caught my eye today was "Dems fault own party in pitch to leaders", the gist of which stated that most of the Dems running for President have distinct complaints about their own party and the way it's leadership has conducted business since taking power last year.

Bill Richardson: "...calling on the party to win back people's confidence.

"That begins with proving that we're listening to them," he said.

"Look at the last twelve months. Not only are we still in Iraq, we still have the failure called No Child Left Behind. We still have 9 million children with no health insurance. We're still allowing this president to thumb his nose at the Bill of Rights. We're slipping into a recession," Richardson said. "And we can't even reject an attorney general who refuses to condemn torture..." 

What a great message to send: Clean your own house.

I have heard some grumblings that this sort of talk is counter-productive and makes the Dems look like they're less in-control than they are. To some, I am certain that's the case. But to others, especially those who pay close attention to these sorts of things are heartened. What is the point of walking lock-step like the Republicans did when they were driving our military into an unnecessary war, our constitutional rights out the window, and our economy into the ground?

That's the real "problem" with the Democratic party. It's less an ideology then it is a lose tapestry that binds together persons of a "similar"...not always "identical" ideology. This is where the Big Tent philosophy comes into play. This is also the primary difficulty in winning elections. There's no "lock-step" platform.
And we're the better party for it.  

A right-wing-nut group called Citizens United against CNN took exception to a report called 'Broken Government' showcasing the world of dirty politics and attack ad's. This was a program that was honestly balanced and made no one side look any worse than the other. This was about 'Broken Government' not 'Broken Republicans'. CNN doesn't need to do a show on 'Broken Republicans' anyway....just report on how they govern. These wing-nuts must demand only the finest White House propaganda, stamped by Rove himself, and sold illegally to Native Americans by Jack Abramoff.

Here's the response to the resultant lawsuit by CNN's Campbell (Never-Trust-Someone-With-Two-Last-Names) Brown:

"I'm glad that this documentary is generating discussion among those that it portrayed - "the passionate partisans on the left and right" We presented a balanced and entertaining look at how various groups of all political persuasions try to influence the process. I am both thrilled with the documentary and the fact that more than a million people tuned in."

Glad she got that cleaned up.  

NBC's Carrie Dann reports from the Iowa front-lines on the Giuliani/Religious-Right bare-knuckle-brawl:

"It's no secret that Iowa Christian Alliance president Steve Scheffler isn't a Rudy fan. But tonight, within spitting distance of Giuliani’s rival GOP candidate Romney, Scheffler explicitly urged Iowa Christians to oppose Giuliani in the race for the nomination. "If our party nominates this guy," he told a crowd at a Dubuque gathering of the ICA, "we will see a bloodbath at the polls like we've never seen before."

Scheffler went on to slam Giuliani's position on same-sex marriage, life issues and gun rights. "Rudy Giuliani cannot be elected," he said, citing the ex-mayor's differences with social conservatives. "We cannot afford to nominate somebody who's out of touch with the base." 

How nice for the rest of us to see the Republican party in genuine pieces for the first time since the Reagan era, fighting over the "soul" of the party...etc. This can only be healthy for the nation. I have often thought that the country as a whole would benefit if both the Republican and Democratic parties were to split into 4 distinct groups.

Left-Left, Center-Left, Center-Right, Right-Right.

Call them whatever you like. Hell, this might be in the process of happening, right now...for all I know. When the extremes of either party has control for too long, it can only be counter-productive. But I don't think even the most pessimistic of us had any idea how damaging a Bush White House coupled with a Republican House and Senate would be for the nation. 

Black Alabama political groups split presidential endorsements

"Alabama's major black political groups have split their endorsements for president, with the Alabama New South Coalition giving its support to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday.

The Alabama Democratic Conference, the black wing of the state Democratic Party, endorsed New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in October."

Before the endorsement vote, Perry County Commissioner Albert Turner praised Obama's qualifications, but urged the group to support Clinton.

"The question you have to put forth to yourself is that whether or not in this racist country a black man named Obama — when we are shooting at Osama — can win the presidency of the United States?" Turner said.

Turner said Clinton is the Democrat most likely to win in November "because of her husband and because of some other things, mainly because she's white."

On an unrelated note: Did you know that the Arkansas Leader is claiming that Republican Mike Huckabee raised taxes more times as Governor than Democrat Bill Clinton? 

Isn't it amazing how much the attacks have been stepped up on Huckabee since recently catching fire? It seems like he's the Republican's second favorite target these days...after Hillary Clinton, of course.

-Chuck 

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