Blogging Blue

More bad economic news was delivered today, as the U.S. Labor Department reported the nation lost 524,000 jobs in December. Those job losses pushed the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2%, the highest since early 1993, and for all of 2008, the economy lost a net total of 2.6 million jobs. The 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 is the most jobs lost since since 1945, when nearly 2.8 million jobs were lost.

Given these most recent numbers, it’s safe to say president-elect Barack Obama has a tall order ahead of him if he’s going to work with Congress to get the economy back on track.

President-elect Barack Obama may have called Wednesday’s gathering of the three living ex-presidents, the current president, and the future president an “extraordinary event,” but I call it a full house - Democrats over Republicans.

“Illinois is too important to its 18 million citizens to have a chief executive who is now incapacitated,” said Roland Burris at a December 13 news conference, prior to his nomination to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. What’s curious to me is that despite his statement on December 13 that Rod Blagojevich, the “chief executive” of Illinois, is incapacitated, Roland Burris apparently had no problem accepting Blagojevich’s nomination to fill President-elect Obama’s Senate seat.

As CNN is reporting, Burris has also filed paperwork asking the Illinois Supreme Court to require Illinois Secretary of State Jessie White “to certify Governor Blagojevich’s appointment of Mr. Burris to the office of United States Senator from the state of Illinois and do all other acts required to confirm such appointment.” It’s been what, two days since Burris was announced as Gov. Blagojevich’s nominee for the U.S. Senate seat and already he’s played the race card and initiated legal action? Boy, he really is anxious - or desperate - to become Illinois’ next U.S. Senator.

The more time I’ve had to process Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to fill president-elect Barack Obama’s now vacant U.S. Senate seat, I’ve come to the realization this appointment was specifically engineered to call the bluff of Democrats in the U.S. Senate and force their hand in regards to whether or not they’d seat someone named by Gov. Blagojevich. What’s really disappointing is the concerted effort that was started yesterday by Congressman Bobby Rush to inject race into this appointment. During the press conference announcing Burris’ appointment to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat, Congressman Rush stated any refusal to set Roland Burris by Senate Democrats would be the equivalent of a lynching, and on the Today Show earlier today, Roland Burris himself asked if a refusal to seat him by Senate Democrats is racism. Here’s a little snippet of Roland Burris injecting race into the discussion:

Given the public statements by Congressman Bobby Rush yesterday, as well as Roland Burris’ own statements today, it’s become obvious this entire situation was carefully orchestrated in an attempt to shame the U.S. Senate into seating Gov. Blagojevich’s pick, but it’s an absolutely despicable move, and it’s sad to see Roland Burris sell his soul simply so he can be a United States Senator.

Despite warnings from Senate Democrats that they would not seat anyone appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama, the AP is reporting Gov. Blagojevich is going to go ahead and name former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris as president-elect Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate. Senate leaders have already begun preparing a statement responding to the appointment, and the letter will allegedly express express regret for the appointment. The statement was expected to make it clear that Senate leaders were not necessarily opposed to the former attorney general assuming the seat, but given the circumstances surrounding Gov. Blagojevich, anyone named by Blagojevich would not be seated by the Democratic caucus.

According to the AP, Burris became the first black politician to win statewide office in Illinois when he was elected comptroller in 1978 to the first of three terms. Burris also served one term as the state’s attorney general, but he failed in three attempts at the Democratic nomination for governor, losing to Blagojevich in 2002.

While this is certainly a curious move, given the public statements Democrats in the U.S. Senate have made regarding their unwillingness to seat any replacement named by Gov. Blagojevich, I’ll give Blagojevich credit…he’s ballsy. While I’m not sure why Blagojevich would name a replacement under the circumstances, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s doing it just to thumb his nose at the establishment. Either way, he’s got one hell of an ego.

Apparently Chip Saltsman, a candidate for the Republican National Committee chairmanship, believes calling an African-American - in this case President-elect Barack Obama - a negro is satire:

A candidate for the Republican National Committee chairmanship said Friday the CD he sent committee members for Christmas — which included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” — was clearly intended as a joke.

“I think most people recognize political satire when they see it,” Tennessee Republican Chip Saltsman told CNN. “I think RNC members understand that.”

I’ll be the first to admit I appreciate good political satire, whether directed at Republicans or Democrats, but calling an African-American a negro hardly strikes me as satire; it seems more like pretty blatant racism. As Dan Cody noted, maybe Saltsman felt outdone in the racist department by Katon Dawson, the South Carolina GOP chairman who is also running for Chair of the RNC, who until very recently was a member of a golf club that still doesn’t allow black members.

As amazing as it was to see so many Americans vote to send an African-American to the White House as President, Chip Saltsman has proven we still have a long way to go, and I can only hope individuals like Chip Saltsman and Katon Dawson aren’t given the responsibility of being the voice for the Republican Party in the near future.

EDIT: Current RNC Chair Mike Duncan, who’s hoping to be chosen for another term as chair, issued a statement rebuking Saltsman:

“The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction.”

I’m curious if any other prominent Republicans will follow suit and denounce Saltsman as well.

H/T to Dan Cody, the Reasonable Progressive, and Jason Haas.

• It’s hard to believe it’s December 21st and the 2008 election is still not over. Al Franken now leads incumbent Norm Coleman by 35-50 votes in the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount, but things aren’t over yet. Officials still have to sort and count approximately 1,600 absentee ballots that were mistakenly rejected before the vote is certified, so it could be a bit longer before any winner is formally announced.
• The inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama, which is expected to draw over 2 million people to our nation’s capital, is also expected to have a big price tag. Officials in Washington D.C. have requested an additional $15 million from Congress to help the city cover costs. That would double the $15 million Congress has already allocated to pay for all national events and demonstrations in Washington during 2009, making the Obama an inauguration a truly pricey affair.
• Sherry Johnston, the mother of Levi Johnston, was arrested Thursday in Wasilla, Alaska on six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance. You’ll remember Levi Johnston as the young man having a baby with the daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The undercover investigation that resulted in Sherry Johnston’s arrest “had been going on for a while,” according to Alaska State Police, and it seems a little far-fetched to believe no one in the Johnston family knew anything about what was going on.
• Thanks to the latest snowfall we received, this December has been the second snowiest on record in Milwaukee. With three storms expected to dump 7-15 inches of snow on the Milwaukee area during the coming week, the record of 49.5 inches that fell in December 2000 could be in jeopardy.

• Democrat Al Franken has pulled to within 2 votes of incumbent Norm Coleman in the U.S. Senate recount in Minnesota. I’ve heard a lot of screaming from some conservatives about how Franken and his people are trying to steal the election, but after what happened in the 2000 presidential election in Florida, I’m all for making sure each and every vote is counted.
• The Milwaukee School Board voted 7 to 2 Thursday night to investigate whether board member Charlene Hardin violated the board’s code of ethics in connection with a trip she took to Philadelphia in July. Hardin was among the two board members voting against the investigation, and in a statement, she accused the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of “a high tech lynching” of her. You’ll remember Dan Bice of the Journal Sentinel first broke the story about Hardin’s attendance - or lack thereof - at a conference in Philadelphia, a trip that was paid for by taxpayers.
• I know there’s been somewhat of a furor over president-elect Obama’s decision to have Rick Warren deliver the invocation at Obama’s inaugural ceremony, but I think this is just much ado about nothing. I know Rick Warren has some positions that many liberals don’t agree with - his stance on same-sex marriage being one I can think of off the top of my head - but I see this as a principled decision by a man who’s always held Rick Warren in high regard. President-elect Obama had this to say in defense of his decision:
  

  “And I would note that a couple of years ago, I was invited to Rick Warren’s church to speak, despite his awareness that I held views that were entirely contrary to his when it came to gay and lesbian rights, when it came to issues like abortion. …

  “And that dialogue, I think, is part of what my campaign’s been all about: That we’re not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere … where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans.”

  President-elect Obama had to know his choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration would raise eyebrows and elicit criticism from many on the left, and the fact that he chose Warren knowing the likely repercussions speaks volumes about president-elect Obama’s willingness to stand on principle rather than doing what’s most politically opportune.

Well, apparently president-elect Barack Obama finally made a Cabinet choice that liberals don’t seem to have mixed feelings about, and that choice is Rep. Hilda Solis, who will head the Labor Department in the Obama administration. Labor leaders were effusive in their praise for the choice of Rep. Solis:

“The daughter of two immigrant workers and union members … she will be a secretary of labor working men and women can finally count on to stand up and fight for them,” said Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union.

“For Rep. Solis, serving as secretary of labor will not just be a job, but the culmination of a lifetime of action serving as a voice for people who work,” Stern said.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the nation’s largest organized labor organization was “thrilled” that Solis would be the next labor secretary.

“We’re confident that she will return to the labor department one of its core missions — to defend workers’ basic rights in our nation’s workplaces,” Sweeney said.

Hopefully the choice of Rep. Solis as Labor Secretary will assuage some of the concerns liberals have had about Obama’s Cabinet choices, considering she’s about as liberal as anyone and she’s well-liked by organized labor.

I’m a liberal. I think that’s been made pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain who’s read this blog, but I wanted to put that out there before I get into the meat of this entry. Additionally, it should be equally obvious to anyone who reads this blog that I voted for Barack Obama for president.

Having said that, I just don’t understand what seems to be a growing outcry among liberals that President-elect Obama simply isn’t as liberal as they’d like. There’s a small but vocal group of liberals who seem to have become increasingly nervous and in some cases angry that President-elect Obama hasn’t appointed a Cabinet full of flaming liberals (think Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel). Here’s the “nervous” liberal:

“He has confirmed what our suspicions were by surrounding himself with a centrist to right cabinet. But we do hope that before it’s all over we can get at least one authentic progressive appointment,” said Tim Carpenter, national director of the Progressive Democrats of America.

And here’s the “plaintive” liberal:

OpenLeft blogger Chris Bowers went so far as to issue this plaintive plea: “Isn’t there ever a point when we can get an actual Democratic administration?”

To be honest, I never bought into the notion that president-elect Obama was or is as liberal as he was made out to be, simply because he strikes me as being too smart to be so inflexible in his beliefs. Is Barack Obama a liberal? Yes. Does that mean he has to be as far to the left as possible? No. The trick to effectively governing a nation like the United States is learning that you simply cannot be rigid and inflexible when it comes to your beliefs. Personally, I like the idea of a Cabinet full of people who may not exactly share Obama’s beliefs on every issue, because I believe dissent - and the discussion that should inevitably follow it - are both healthy and productive.

H/T to Kay over at Blue Racine.