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- Mr. Obvious: It’s not looking good for McCain
- Chamber backs Bennett — Not hard to figure out why
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- Public campaign funds: Another example of GOP hypocrisy
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Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Send me your Political Collateral.
Jim Johnson | 08:45am July 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
My friends and loyal readers, I am looking to do a few posts on campaign mailers/literature this election season. I have some good historic pieces, and I am sure I will get more… but if you have any, consider sending it to me!
Any party, any race - from President to Dog Catcher. Anywhere, not just Florida although Florida would be helpful.
You can write me at:
Jim Johnson
PO Box 26453
Tampa, FL 33623
Any election would be great. If I use something you send, I will make sure to give you a tip of the hat.
Thank you for your help!!
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Florida Joins Powerball
Jim Johnson | 02:25pm July 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The Miami Herald is reporting:
The Florida Lottery has decided to reverse course and join 29 other states to offer the mega-jackpot Powerball game in an effort to boost sagging state revenues.
The state’s lottery director, Leo DiBenigno, said in a written statement that Florida was offering the new game because it was “being responsive to its customers. Florida Lottery players and retailers have been asking for Powerball for many years.”
The decision to offer Powerball conflicts with the lottery’s position just last year, when DiBenigno said it would hurt the Florida Lottery’s existing sales.
”It cannibalizes our other sales,” he told The Miami Herald last September. Now, his agency said in a press release that Powerball would ”raise millions of additional dollars for education,” but it wouldn’t specify how much.
It’s clearly interesting that Governor Crist has signed a pact with the Seminole and now will add a multi-million lottery to the state’s offering. With the economy hurting, I am sure everyone could find a way to spend lottery winnings.
For what it’s worth, as of post time, the estimated Powerball jackpot is $85 million.
Why I’m Glad I’m not a Republican Candidate This Year
Jim Johnson | 07:13am July 2, 2008 | 1 Comment
Here is the headline from the Tampa Tribune:
$5 Gas Could Be Down The Road
Read that again:
$5 Gas Could Be Down The Road
Yup. It might be a bit “doom and gloom” … and at a newspaper desperately trying to stay in business it could be sensationalism. But if you read the article, you’ll see some wonderful news:
Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ president, Chakib Khelil, predicted oil would rise as high as $170 a barrel by the end of the year.
“If that were to happen, we could see another 75 cents added to the current price of gasoline,” said Gregg Laskoski, a spokesman for AAA South in Tampa.
…
“The broader economic indicators suggest we’re probably on the cusp of a recession,” said Scott Brown, chief economist for Raymond James Financial.
…
“The four or five largest oil producers in the world can’t produce as much as they did while they have every incentive to,” he said. “Russia is the largest oil producer in the world, and their production went down in 2007, and it’s down 10 percent in the first quarter of 2008.”
If oil producers can’t increase production, the only way to lower pump prices is to lower demand for petroleum, [James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group,] said.
…
Meanwhile, the specter of $5-a-gallon gasoline is looming and motorists are bracing for higher prices.
According to a recent poll by Princeton, N.J.-based Opinion Research Corp., 86 percent of respondents believe gas will top $5 a gallon this year.
Republicans in tight races need to brace themselves for mailer after mailer that show their name next to gas pumps with high prices asking what they did during their tenure to prevent this.
I might be a bit of a chicken little here… but the sky is a fallin’ on Republican chances for victory this year. From John McCain on down.
McCain’s More Sensible Energy Proposals
Jim Johnson | 08:40pm June 24, 2008 | 5 Comments
Okay. I was less than impressed with the call for drilling. I’m still unimpressed — and can not figure out why so many people are gung ho for it. (But that’s another post).
McCain has come out new policy proposals that I think are going in the right direction:
* $5,000 tax credit for buying low-emission cars. Cutting the price by $5K will provide incentive to buy the cars, and thus incentive for car manufacturers to make them.
* $300 million prize for full commercial development of a battery capable of powering plug-in hybrids and zero-emission cars. (Honda has announced a full-producton of a hydrogen fuel-cell car already.)
Other measures designed to improve our production of electricity — but not at the individual level. Moreover, clean coal technology and more nuclear plants will do nothing to reduce our demand for oil.
The problem, as our current president has said, is that America is addicted to oil.
So the first measure was to FEED the addiction through more drilling, then toss out a few paltry steps to curb it.
If someone is addicted to drugs, you send them to rehab — where they cut it off cold turkey.
The problem, my friends, is not the supply of oil. It is the demand for it. My next car will be a hybrid at best, one that plugs in would be great… and my concern is not for the environment, but for national security — and my own wallet. Going green would be a welcome bonus.
Skip Campbell to Drop Out
Jim Johnson | 08:05pm June 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
The Buzz and Q are reporting that Skip Campbell will drop out of his Senate race against Republican President-designate Jeff Atwater.
Nothing official yet.
This could have been an interesting race. But I am guessing this one was about money.
Republicans were very upset when Campbell announced. There is an unspoken tradition in the Florida Legislature that incoming leaders of both parties tend to get a pass during the election preceding their term. With Jeff Atwater designated as the Republican candidate for Senate President the next two years, tradition would give him a pass this year. So bucking that tradition was sticking a thumb in the Republican eye.
So, with Campbell falling on the sword, it could make the rest of the Senate campaigns a bit more wide open.
Mr. Obvious: It’s not looking good for McCain
Jim Johnson | 07:47pm June 23, 2008 | 6 Comments
Okay, so I decided to take a look at Real Clear Politics‘ polls in battleground states and post those results to an electoral map on 270toWin.
The result: President Barack Obama — by a heck of a lot. 330 electoral votes to 270 electoral votes.
The only state that is not accurate is Georgia. Most polls still do not include Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, the former Republican Congressman from Georgia. I do not think Barr could win the state, but he will take votes from McCain. Add to that an increase black turnout, and the state will go to Obama.
So here is the map (click to enlarge):
So, what do you think?
Chamber backs Bennett — Not hard to figure out why
Jim Johnson | 04:25pm June 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Jeremy Wallace wrote that the Florida Chamber backs [Senator Mike] Bennett:
Of the nine state legislators who represent parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties, none had a worse voting record with the Florida Chamber of Commerce than state Sen. Mike Bennett.
But even though they gave him a “D” grade for his voting record, the chamber last week inexplicably named Bennett one of just six state senators they considered “Distinguished Advocates for 2008.”
But Bennett said it shouldn’t be such a surprise. Associated Industries of Florida gave Bennett the lowest score of any Republican in the Florida Legislature for his voting, yet earlier this month gave him their champions of business award.
Bennett reasoned that even though the business groups give him awards, he has no obligation to vote for all of their priorities.
First, consider groups like the Florida Chamber present these kinds of awards to cozy up to legislators. No, they are not trying to buy influence or even access. But they are trying to be seen in a favorable light, buying “image” if you will. Groups who support a legislator tend to get a warmer reception than those who oppose a legislator — and that is merely human nature. It would happen to you, too.
Second, Mike was unopposed and will be back in Tallahassee for the next four years. As one of 40 senators, or rather as one of slightly over 20 Republican Senators, Bennett has significant influence. He will be a chair of at least one committee, and serve on several others.
Finally, and this may be the most important reason: Senator Bennett is campaigning for — and may be leading — the internal race for Senate President in 2010-2012. See, Senators who are fairly certain they will be in office during that time campaign among other Senators for leadership positions. It happens in both parties. However, because chances are strong the Republicans will retain majority control of the Florida Senate for the next few cycles, the Republican campaigns for president tend to draw a lot of attention.
So, Jeremy, don’t look backward at Bennett’s record and ask why. Look forward at Bennett’s future, and you have your answer.
George Carlin Died at age of 71
Jim Johnson | 07:33am June 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
One of my favorite comedians and social commentors has passed away:
George Carlin, the frenzied performer whose routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television” led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died.
Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.
I first saw his “Carlin at Carnegie” special on HBO more than 25 years ago - and have seen most of them since. I only had the chance to see him in person once. He was great.
Public campaign funds: Another example of GOP hypocrisy
Jim Johnson | 06:45pm June 22, 2008 | 4 Comments
First, let me say that I fully believe campaigns for political office should never be funded by taxpayers. If a campaign is good enough, it should raise funds on it’s own.
Second, let me say that I also believe there should never be a limit on how much money a candidate should be allowed to raise and spend in support of his or her campaign. Contributions are already limited in dollar amount and source, and those limits are in place to prevent undue influence when governing. To me, campaign spending (not contributions, but actual spending) is a matter of the first amendment.
These statements are related because public campaign finance programs at the federal and state level exist as incentives for candidates to agree to spending limits. In other words, if you drink from the public trough, you agree to limit how much you spend.
That said, I can not understand why Senator John McCain and his proxies are so up in arms about Senator Barack Obama’s decision to forgo using taxpayer dollars to fund his campaign. In fact, McCain should do the same thing.
To those of us in Florida, this is nothing new. Both former Governor Jeb Bush and current Governor Charlie Crist decided against public financing of their campaigns. Republicans didn’t complain about it then.
Ah, but you see, Obama has already raised A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS. McCain has not raised that much. So, the GOP establishment doesn’t really like the public finance part of this discussion, they don’t like the fact that Obama will — WILL — be able to spend vastly more money.
Well too darn bad.
McCain may or may not be an equally good candidate — but one thing is for sure, the GOP surely has more money and the better fundraising operation. But the taps just aren’t flowing as well as they used to… and it doesn’t seem that they have the ability to grow their fundraising base. They focus on the big donors, and forget the little ones way too often.
Obama has 1.4 million contributors who give an average of less than $100. That means for every donor who gives $1000, there are 10 donors giving $10 each. People who donate are more inclined to vote for their candidate, as they feel ownership in the process.
No amount of Sunday talk-show bloviating is going to change these facts. So expect to see a lot more Obama commercials… especially if the McCain team can’t figure out how to campaign in the 21st century.