Blogging Blue

…from Colorado State Representative Doug Bruce after comments he made on the floor of the Colorado State Assembly. The video speaks for itself, so here it is:

I wonder if it takes hard work and a lot of practice to become a bigot like Rep. Bruce, or if it just comes naturally.

EDIT: Just in case YouTube continue to remove videos of the incident, I’ll give a play by play. Rep. Bruce was speaking in opposition to a guest worker bill in the Colorado House, and during his remarks he said the last thing Colorado needs is 5,000 more illiterate peasants.

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I’ve said it more than once and I’ll say it again…our economy is in the crapper.

I’ve talked about how most key economic indicators point to our economy being at the beginning stages of a recession, and while some folks on the right would disagree, I think it’s time we all just be honest about how bad our economy really is, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain seems to agree with me. During a campaign stop today in Kentucky, McCain said the nation is in a recession and “families are hurting.” McCain went on to say, “I believe we are in a recession, I believe the numbers indicate that.” For a man who’s tied himself so closely to president Bush since he tied up the Republican presidential nomination, it’s more than a little risky - at least in my book - to admit there’s problems with the economy, because McCain runs the risk of being blamed - at least in part - for the current state of the economy.

Now while I’m glad John McCain has finally admitted that our economy isn’t as rosy as he and president Bush have tried to make it seem, I still don’t think he’s the right man to get our economy back on track as president, especially given his own admission that he knows little about the economy:

“The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should. I’ve got Greenspan’s book.”

This is man who no sane American should let near our budget or economy as president.

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After Barack Obama’s well-publicized “guns and religion” comments in regards to folks in Pennsylvania, both Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain were quick to attack Obama for being a supposed elitist. What I find interesting is that while McCain and Clinton attack Obama for being an elitist, they aren’t exactly the salt of the earth themselves. Ben Brothers over at Badger Blues sums it up best when discussing John McCain:

One candidate is the a son of a famous father. He divorced his first wife in order to marry a wealthy beer heiress, and then used his second wife’s money to go into politics. He’s running on a platform that offers huge tax cuts for wealthy heiresses, and “adversity builds character” for everyone else.

Ben’s right on the money, but I’d go a step further and add the following:

The other candidate came from a family of means. Following her husband’s presidency, she received a near-record advance of $8 million for her memoirs, and she used her husband’s name recognition and fundraising connections to win a race to become New York’s junior Senator. In the last ten years her household income has exceeded more than 109 million dollars.

The reality here is that despite all their spin that Obama is an elitist, he’s the least wealthy of the three candidates - or at least of the three he has the least access to significant amounts of marital wealth - and his background is perhaps the most modest of the three candidates.

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Happy Birthday to John Muir, who was born 170 years ago today. Born in Scotland, Muir’s family eventually settled near Portage, and he attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Muir helped found the Sierra Club and his influence helped spur the creation of the National Parks System, and during his time on this earth he was a tireless advocate of the preservation of our natural wonders.

Happy Birthday, John Muir.

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Now am I crazy, or is there something inherently wrong with Hillary Clinton calling herself “HillRod” on national TV? I know she’s trying to seem hip and cool for the young wrestling fans who watch Monday Night Raw, but there’s something about calling herself “HillRod” that seems neither hip nor cool.

And on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary - a primary Hillary Clinton desperately needs to win by a convincing margin if she’s going to avoid hearing calls for her to drop out of the race - I find it telling that yet another Clinton Administration official has Barack Obama. This time it’s former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich:

My avoidance of offering a formal endorsement until now has also been affected by the pull of old friendships and my reluctance as a teacher and commentator to be openly partisan. But my conscience won’t let me be silent any longer.

I believe that Barack Obama should be elected President of the United States.

Now sure, Reich’s endorsement might not carry the weight of someone like New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, but it’s significant that another former member of Bill Clinton’s cabinet has chosen Senator Obama over Senator Clinton. After all, these are some of the people who should know Hillary Clinton best, and they should be solidly on her side. The fact that these same folks who know Clinton from behind the scenes of her husband’s administration are endorsing the other guy speaks volumes about what they think of Hillary Clinton as a leader and potential president.

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