January 20th, 2010
The Democrats lost a Senate seat last night that they have held since 1953, as Scott Brown beat Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election to finish the term that the late Ted Kennedy was elected to in 2006. The big story of this election seems to be the new 59-41 split in the Senate denies the Democrats a “filibuster-proof” supermajortiy. The Democrats in the Senate, however, haven’t been united on hardly anything, so that may not be the long term effect of this election. Does this election mean bad news for the Democrats in November?
It very well may. Special elections generally have low turnout. Indeed, Brown garnered only a few thousand more votes than John McCain did in Massachusetts in 2008, while losing to Obama in a landslide. What this says to me is that the Republicans did a better job of getting out the vote. Fifteen months ago, Americans voted for change, and 1 year into Obama’s presidency, we are still fighting two wars, prisoners are still being held at Guantanamo, and unemployment is still high. If the Democrats can’t unite behind health care reform, they may be in trouble. With Dodd and Dorgan retiring this year, and Harry Reid’s popularity in Nevada waning, the Democrats may lose a seat or two. 41 Democratic seats are not up for grabs this year, so their majority should be safe, but if the healthcare falls through, look for frustrated Democrats to stay home in November, with the Republicans possibly further chipping away at the Democratic Senate majority.
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June 9th, 2009
Surrounded by 10 deputy U.S. Marshalls, former Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Ghailani pled not guilty today after declining to hear the indictment against him. Ghailani is accused of delivering parts to make the bombs that detonated in the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people. In 2004, Ghailani was captured in Pakistan, and in 2006, was sent to Guantanamo. After five years in detention, he had his first day in court today, appearing before U.S. district judge Loretta Preska, where assistant U.S. attorney David Raskin is seeking the death penalty against Ghailani.
According to House Minority Leader John Boehner, today’s hearing is ”the first step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America.” It should be pointed out to Mr. Boehner that we already have quite a few terrorist in this country already. People like Terry Nichols and Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, both of whom will spend the rest of their lives in prison. Are we as a nation less safe because people like this are within our borders, despite the fact that they’re confined to a 7×12 cell for? I don’t think so, and I don’t think the Minority Leader does either. He is just trying to continue the Bush legacy of grabbing power by instilling fear into people.
With Ghailani, and all of the other “illegal enemy combatants”, if they attacked Americans, we can, and we should take action against them. If there is no evidence against them, how can we claim to be a society on the side of justice when we arbitrarily lock up people who were turned in by neighbors for a $50 bounty? By giving a suspected terrorist his day in court, we are one step closer to justice.
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June 2nd, 2009
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that he will not run for a third term next year, creating speculation about a possible Presidential bid in 2012. In a KSTP poll taken May 20, Pawlenty led all potential Democratic challengers. With him out of the picture, the race is wide open. So far, 8 Democrats have announced a run, including former Senator Mark Dayton, former State House Minority Leader Matt Entenza, and State Senator John Marty. There is also speculation that Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will join the race.
So far, all Republicans were deferring to Pawlenty, but look for a crowded field on the right side of the ballot as well. Potentail candidates are House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, U.S. Representative Michelle Bachmann, and former Senator Norm Coleman, who just yesterday appealed last year’s election results to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
This one looks to be an ugly fight on both sides for the primary, and that will continue to the general election. With the heavy favorite out of the race, this may be a good chance for the DFL to pick up a governor’s mansion that they haven’t held since 1991.
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June 2nd, 2009
that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was the first U.S. Governor born in the 1960s.
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May 27th, 2009
Just over a year ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s ban on same sex marriages violated the California Constitution. Opponents of that decision went right to work, and got a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the 2008 general election. When the amendment passed with 52% of the vote, proponents of same sex marriage filed suit, seeking to overturn propostion 8. Yesterday, the court ruled that the amendment was lawfully passed, and that the ban on same sex marriages would stay intact.
The big difference between a year ago and now is this: a year ago, the court decided that the statutory ban violated the constitution. Unfortunately, since then, the constitution has been explicitly changed to deny marriage rights to same sex couples. The voters of California decided that they wanted to remove a right from the constitution that the authority of that document said was in there.
The biggest problem that I had about proposition 8 was the campaign for it. The Mormon and Catholic churches poured tons of money into it. Private citizens within these religions of course have a right to speak for the amendment, but the institutions themselves should not be allowed the same First Amendment rights. We exempt religious organizations from paying taxes as part of the separation of church and state. If they are going to be advocating for this, or any specific candidate or ballot measure, they should pay their taxes like the rest of us.
Since then, Iowa, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont have all legalized same sex marriage. The smart money says New York and New Jersey won’t be too far behind. Same sex marriage opponents may have won the battle, but they’re losing the war. As the next generation of Americans come into power, same sex marriage will not be seen as the taboo that it has been in recent decades. When people see that the sky isn’t falling in Iowa or Massachusetts, we won’t even be having this debate.
Posted in Court Decisions | 50 Comments »
May 27th, 2009
that over 18,000 same sex couples wed in California before it was outlawed by proposition 8.
Posted in Did you know? | 51 Comments »
May 26th, 2009
President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor today for the United States Supreme Court seat that will be vacated when Justice David Souter retires. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic, and the third woman to serve on the nation’s high court.
Sotomayor was first appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by George H.W. Bush. In 1997, Bill Clinton appointed her to the Second Circuit court of appeals. In 1998, the Senate voted 67-29 to confirm her.
In her major opinions on the federal bench, Sotomayor is a moderate. She ruled in favor of the state of New York restricting weapons as not violating the 2nd amendment citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision Presser v. Illinois saying that the 2nd amendment applies only to the federal government, and not states. On the other hand, in Center for Reproductive Law and Policy v. Bush, she ruled that President Bush was acting in accordance with the law when he withheld federal money from foreign clinics that mentioned abortion as an option.
Her moderate and varied stances should make her confirmation relatively easy. In 2005, Senate Democrats suggested her to President Bush as a replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor. Six Republicans who are still in the Senate voted for her confirmation to the 2nd circuit, including then-Chairman of the Judiciary Comittee Orrin Hatch. Obama went with the safe pick on her, and barring any major unforeseen circumstances, she will be sworn in as the next Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
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May 26th, 2009
that if Sotomayor is confirmed, she will be the 9th consecutive Supreme Court Justice who held a seat on a federal appeals court.
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May 21st, 2009
For a lot of us, Memorial Day is the symbolic beginning of the summer season. It’s a long weekend when we get together with friends and families, and start enjoying outdoor activities that we haven’t done for nearly a year. For others, it is a much more solemn day. A day during which we remember members of our armed services who didn’t make it back.
Starting shortly after the Civil War, individual cities would set aside a day of rememberance. Newly freed slaves reburied the fallen Union soldiers in a Charleston SC prison camp into individual graves. On May 30, 1868, they returned to the cemetery and decorated the graves with freshly picked flowers. The date was chosen due to the fact that it was not the anniversary of any battle, but rather a day to honor the soldiers who died in service of their country.
It’s important to remember that although one may disagree with the military policy that our nation is engaged in, the soldiers on the ground in harm’s way do not make that policy. They are generally young kids who are willing to risk everything for the nation that they believe in. So when we’re off with our friends and families over the holiday weekend, take a minute to reflect on the sacrifices that our fallen soldiers have made.
Posted in Historical Perspective | 51 Comments »
May 21st, 2009
that Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day.
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