David Paterson, This Is Your Chance To Do Something Good

As of early this morning it was made official that Caroline no longer wants to participate in the game of Senatorial appointments (probably because she fears she might lose and shame on her for using her Uncle's health as an excuse). That means that Governor Paterson has one less New Yorker to pick from the trough of those wishing to join the Senate. Further, he only has two days by his word, to make his decision. Instead of going the route of Illinois and Colorado, Paterson still has the time to do the honorable thing by choosing a caretaker.

Lord knows that the state of New York politics is sorely lacking in the honor department. By letting the people decide their next Senator in 2010, we would gain a few points, perhaps even besting out Illinois in that regard.

The idea has been floated during this sordid saga and while Paterson has brushed them aside before, no one would fault him in changing his mind right now. Unless he wants to remain a loser, this is the opportune time to make a change and for the better. He doesn't have to go with a controversial celebrity like Bill Clinton, nor does it have to be a political name like Mario Cuomo. We just need someone that will represent New York for two years and in the meantime, let the others battling it out in the press take their fight to the public, the people who should be doing the "appointing" in the first place.

Obama's Oath Of Office, Take Two

Just to make sure, President Barack Obama took the oath again in the White House last night:

Obama Breaks Online Records

Barack Obama has already broken through so many barriers, you could write a book on them. The inauguration two days ago in and of itself would be a chapter. Upwards of two million people showed up, millions more watched on television, polls show that six in ten watched him being sworn in and the enthusiasm was overwhelming. It wasn't rowdy like Andrew Jackson's 1829 ceremony, but much more positive (and definitely a lot less cronyism). Anyways, there was another record broken on Tuesday that wasn't noticed by the live crowd or the TV audience.

From The NY Times:

Internet traffic in the United States hit a record peak at the start of President Obama’s speech as people watched, read about and commented on the inauguration, according to Bill Woodcock, the research director at the Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit organization that analyzes online traffic. The figures surpassed even the high figures on the day President Obama was elected.

“The peak is the highest measured to date, and it appears to be mostly a U.S. phenomenon,” Mr. Woodcock said, adding that it did not appear that global records would be set.[...]

Data from CNN.com captured the uniqueness of the online surge. CNN said it provided more than 21.3 million video streams over a nine-hour span up to midafternoon. That blew past the 5.3 million streams provided during all of Election Day. At its peak, CNN.com fed 1.3 million live streams simultaneously, according to Jennifer Martin, a spokeswoman for the site.

Damn, he even broke his own record from early November, not bad Mr. President!

Now as the article highlights, there was still plenty of problems with the web stream for many viewers. I myself saw a few frozen images during the ceremony but overall it came through pretty well. Considering the amount of traffic and the fact that streams would fail in the last couple years with a fraction of users, things are getting much better for this technology.

Quinn's Corruption: It's In The Legislation

To get things done in any legislature, you have to be able to accommodate, compromise and in the end, try to stay true to your principles above all. It may sound a little idealistic, but it is the exact opposite of what goes on Christine Quinn's City Council. The Speaker not only utilizes slush funds for her wheeling and dealing, but punishes Members that disagree with her. How so you ask? Well, it's in the bills for one.

From The Gothamist:

Is Speaker Christine Quinn guilty of cronyism when it comes to moving legislation through City Council? Since 2002, Quinn has seen 35 of her bills get passed, second only to her closest ally David Weprin (he's had 78 bills passed). Meanwhile, foes Charles Barron and Tony Avella have only seen four bills total passed over the same period of time. That sharp contrast led Councilman Avella to tell the News, "The speaker is very vindictive, and when you oppose the speaker, she doesn't let bills go through." But other members defend the Quinn's methods as rewarding persistence, pointing out legislation most often comes from committee chairs, whom she's appointed. Weprin heads the Finance Committee, which leads to a number of procedural budgetary legislation, and Quinn herself headed the Health Committee before coming Speaker. Former Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. said to the paper, "Every speaker is accused of playing favorites when it comes to bills."

Vallone Sr. and her other supporters can spin all they want for Quinn, but facts are facts. Perhaps Vallone was accused of favoritism because he engaged in the same slush fund activity that Quinn did. So why wouldn't he try and do some damage control here? Now politics isn't the only aspect of whether a bill passes or not, but in NYC, it surely does help to have Quinn's wind in the sails of your legislation.

Caroline Drops Out...Not! Oh Wait, Now Its For Real

Well how about this:



Now Paterson will have a new landscape to work with in the next couple of days, who he'll choose, well, we shall see, he doesn't like making the people's business...the people's business until he says so.

And a quick update...she's still in, oy, what a mess this all is.

And this Thursday morning, I hear she is officially out. What a mess she's created for NY!

Coleman Continues His Senatorial Charade

Ex-Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota is still firmly in denial following his narrow loss to challenger Al Franken. Franken was certified the winner by 225 votes, but that isn't stopping the tainted Mr. Coleman from going repeatedly into court for legal action he swore off immediately following the election. Today he acted as if and went to meet with former colleagues in the Senate's GOP caucus.

From The Huffington Post:

Former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota is on Capitol Hill today meeting with his erstwhile colleagues.

"I'm hopeful I'll be back here," said Coleman as he entered the Senate's LBJ room for a lunch meeting with the Republican conference.[...]

Coleman will be spending the day, he said, doing one-on-one interviews with Washington-based reporters to update them on the situation in Minnesota.

Coleman wouldn't say how much longer the court battle will continue. "We'll see how that plays out," he said. "I hope it's quick."

It could be much quicker if Coleman drops this futile bid and makes a concession to soon-to-be Senator Franken. The permissable absentee ballots were counted and he lost. Whether it is by 225 or 225,000, we do have a winner here, and it is not Norm.

Dems Abandon 50 State Strategy

There are many Democratic leaders in D.C. who are infamously known for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They believe in a strong (meaning themselves) centralized apparatus that directs everything from Washington because they think they know best. Meanwhile, the state and local leaderships are diminished and so is their expertise of the area. This type of strategy has doomed the party for decades, that is, until the emergence of Howard Dean and the fifty-state strategy.

Governor Dean knew that decentralization was the key and reached out to every corner of the country, regardless of how many more Republicans there were. He was all about party building and because of his (and many others) hard work it came true. We now have large majorities in Congress and a Democratic President in the White House. So why is it that D.C. Dems believe they have to replace a plan that is far from broken?

From OpenLeft:

In short, the DNC will be moving away from the long-term, decentralized, fifty-state strategy of Howard Dean's tenure, and toward serving as a short-term, centralized re-election effort for President Obama in 2012. It will continue the move away from paid media ushered in by Howard Dean, maintain or increase the amount of resource expenditures in most states, and the number of states it targets will be a broader effort than the narrow focus we saw in 2001-2004 (but more narrow than 2005-2008). However, it will return to the traditional role of the DNC as a supplement for the sitting President's re-election campaign, rather than as the long-term, localized institution building operation that is was from 2005-2008.
The fifty-state strategy of 2005-2008 is going to be replaced with the "re-elect President Obama" strategy of 2009-2012.

Not too smart DNC.

The re-election of Barack Obama is incredibly important in a few years time, but the over-riding goal should be to elect more Democrats, and to let those of us in different spots of the party tent see who wins primary contests. Staying away from states like Utah and Idaho is just plain stupid when you are working for the future of the party. Why would anyone want to stop increasing the gains we've made in such a short time?

The World Has Been Waiting, Mr. President

With the end of the Bush era officially complete, it is time for not only the country, but the world to look forth with a new vision and way of settling its differences.

Kyl Continues GOP's Petty Grievances After Obama Asks It To End

Barack Obama gave a masterful speech yesterday. True, it may not have been as lofty as some may have hoped, but it laid out a clear message. That message is that we need to come together as a nation and work on the problems that we face. He was reinforcing his pragmatic vision for the country but for those that he chastised with generalities, well, they took offense, such as the petty Senator from Arizona, Jon Kyl.

From ThinkProgress:

“His speech was not high-brow, it was more low-brow and a bit surprising in that regard,” said the Senate Minority Whip. […]

He took exception to Obama’s call for “an end to petty grievances” and a political truce in Washington.

“If the idea is we have to avoid controversy by getting in line behind his proposals, that’s not patriotism,” Kyl said. “If he is asking that everybody agree with him and thereby have a truce, that’s not going to work.”

Either Kyl is being deliberatively obtuse or is just too caught up in the spin that his party continues to let drool out of their collective orifaces. If he had been paying attention to what Obama has been saying for the last two years, Kyl would know that the President wants to put an end to dramatic outbursts such as Kyl's so that we can get down to the business of the country. It isn't only Obama's ideas that will come forth with a truce, but anyone's that will move the nation forward out of these dire times.

Another Problem For Monserrate

As if Senator (ugh) Hiram Monserrate didn't have enough on his legal plate already, his campaign team forgot to send in financial statement to the Board of Elections. Of course this is a small problem in relation to his domestic abuse charges. He can probably get away with pulling a Pedro Espada, though Pedro's case is far worse in this regard. Anyways, here's what happened.

From The Daily Politics:

Perhaps he was distracted by his legal problems, but state Sen, Hiram Monserrate has not yet filed his January periodic financial statement with the State Board of Elections. The statement was due at the board on Jan. 15.

Reached by telephone today, Wayne Mahlke, Monserrate’s deputy chief of staff, said he was unaware that the statement had not been filed and promised that it would be within a week. He could not offer an explanation as to why it was late.

Robert Brehm, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said board officials usually give candidates at least five days before they send warning a letter about statements that have not yet been filed.

So he could see some fines if Mahlke doesn't deliver on his promise, but again, this is the least of his worries. Once his domestic violence case goes to trial, then we'll really get to see some change in Hiram's district, with him being replaced in the Senate and sent to jail for his (alleged) crime.

Best National Anthem Ever

If he were still alive, I would hope he'd have sung this for Barack Obama. Seriously, he makes everything sound sexy...even this:

And Now The Work Begins

Yesterday was a lot of fun, even if I did get the stomach flu sometime in the afternoon. The crowd in D.C. was incredible, the speeches and songs were inspiring (save for parts of Warren's invocation) and the day was filled with joy. From the time Obama went to have coffee with Bush to the last inaugural ball, it was truly a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation. Now that the parties are over, it is time to get to work. Thankfully, President Obama already knows that and is doing a fair amount already.

So far:

He's halted the trials at Guantanamo Bay as to review the entire process and get ready to change it.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has put a halt to all of George Bush's last minute regulation changes.

The United States now helps other countries with birth control efforts again.

And it isn't even ten in the morning here on the East Coast. There is so much to be accomplished in the next four to eight years, but I am confident that we are well on our way to mending the damage done to our country by the Bush Presidency, and hopefully the Bush Sr. and Reagan Administrations as well. As long as we work alongside the President and push for a progressive mandate, the possibilities are endless.