Democratic Party
« Previous EntriesRepublican double dare to President Obama - commentary
Written by VASS - political commentary
The Keystone XL pipeline project was, in a manner, a dare. The project was started under President Bush, is focused on fossil fuel, and Republicans love it. When it was placed before Democrats, they balked, insisting on EPA review. It got 2 of them, and was place before President Obama. [...]
Preview of the State of the Union Address - 2012
Written by VASS - political commentary
Once again President Obama will stand before America and define his vision for the nation in the coming year. Once again, grand promises will be made. The question that stands at this moment is if the State of the Union Address will be about the re-election of President Obama, or [...]
Caucuses and Primaries: what are they and why have them
Written by VASS - political commentary
With the results of the Iowa Caucus in place, the official race for the 2012 Presidency has begun in ernest. From this point forward every candidate is in a battle to claim caucuses and primaries, with the resulting political influence and donations that come with these victories. The net winner [...]
Obama supporters ask, ‘What could President Obama have done differently on economy’?
Written by VASS - political commentary
This was essentially the question that Bloomberg View’s Jonathan Alter and the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein asked recently. It’s not a new question, and supporters both famous and common have asked it many times. The core of the question implies that all that could have been done was done. But [...]
Stimulus - “I don’t think that means what you think it means”
Written by VASS - political commentary
We keep hearing the term Stimulus, being used by Democrats so much that we could not help but come to the same conclusion as did Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) in the modern classic film The Princess Bride. Like that character, we know the meaning of the term, but the way [...]
Reviewing our consideration on 2012 Presidential election
Written by VASS - political commentary
On April 6, 2011 we looked at the landscape of the nation and determined what the potential outlook for a re-election of President Obama may be. Since then we have re-evaluated the Republican candidates looking for the nomination and a chance to challenge President Obama in 2012. Thus we believe [...]
What the DCCC attack on Speaker Boehner hides
Written by Michael Vass
Sometimes we just have to wonder if it’s the politicians that are myopic, or that they expect the voters to be senile. We wonder this when we see things like what the DCCC recently has done.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has paid for and built a site targeting House Speaker Boehner, [...]
Sober facts that the Obama Administration wants you to ignore
Written by Michael Vass
Like most Americans, we were relaxing for most of the day enjoying the holiday. After puttering around the yard and recovering from the recent storms that knocked out power lines and caused havoc in the Central New York area (and many other regions across the country) we started to clean out some [...]
Things to consider for 2012 Presidential election
Written by VASS - political commentary
While it is early, have no doubt that there are many issues and factors that are being weighed by all the candidates and President Obama for the 2012 Presidential election. As we enter further into the 2012 election cycle more of these factors will come to bear, and the television [...]
Racial politics in the 2012 Presidential election
Written by VASS - political commentary
In one of the first moves to secure his re-eletion bid, President Obama is going to the National Action Network convention. It’s a move that is deliberate, and indicative of the situation in which the President finds himself.
National Action Network is the national organization headed by the media proclaimed “Black [...]
Checking some facts on potential presidential candidates
Written by VASS - political commentary
From time to time we like to check out how close to truth some of the statements made by various politicians tend to be. While on a more local level we have been able to check out comments (see Rep. Maurice Hinchey during the 2010 mid-term elections), on a national [...]
The national budget - in real numbers
Written by VASS - political commentary
Ask anyone to envision $1 trillion dollars and you will likely get a blank stare. It is quite likely that any such mental image would be akin to a sea of money, with a depth and breath of unknown dimensions. Which is not too far from the truth.
Given such an [...]
Leadership or politics - with homes in the balance
Written by VASS - political commentary
Mortgage forclosures are a problem. The sub-prime fiasco led the nation into a crisis that remains as problematic today as it was during the Presidential election of 2008. The only difference today is that the problem has expanded far from just sup-prime mortgages into all aspects of the housing markets. [...]
2011 State of the Union Address
Video and transcript
Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague – and our friend – [...]
A forecast of the 2011 State of the Union Address
Written by VASS - political commentary
It’s always interesting to listen to the polispeak just before a major political event. The rhetoric always goes out and spins everything for or against whomever is involved with the event, pundits have a field day making predictions. And by the time a month has passed everyone forgets what was [...]
VP Biden echoes Sen. McCain
Written by VASS - political commentary
It’s quite funny the difference that a little time and the support of the major media makes when you are in politics. A great example of this is with VP Biden today.
For those that don’t recall the 2008 Presidential election, we will recap. Then we will note what VP [...]
How many earmarks can you fit in the budget?
Written by VASS - political commentary
It’s a silly question. The answer is thousands. Which just flies in the face of the 2008 campaign promise of President Obama to reign in earmarks. Again.
There have been over 14,000 earmarks in just the Stimulus, Health Care Reform and 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill of 2010. In each case President [...]
It’s not nice to mess with President Obama
Written by VASS - political commentary
President Obama bows to Saudi Arabia, he scolds North Korea as it attacks an important ally. He travels to Asia and gets embarrassed on the world stage while trying to promote his economic polices. He even gets slapped in the face by South Korea, that requires our troops on the [...]
Earl Hutchinson says it’s ok for President Obama to play race card
Written by Michael Vass
In the world of pundits and political commentary, there is no shortage of people on both sides of any issue. When it comes to the issue of race and politics, things tend to get a bit scarce though. It’s the no man’s land of political commentary where often people of color are [...]
How close were the predictions of 2008?
Written by VASS - political commentary
Recently the past came up in a conversation. Specifically the predictions made on November 11, 2008 about the Obama Presidency. That prediction was focused on the fiorst 100 days. But in fairness (and in no small part the fact we have been busy) let’s look at the array of things [...]
Are Democrats DREAMing?
Written by VASS - political commentary
President Obama promised to reform immigration. From the campaign trail through his Administration to date, it has been a priority. Arguably it is more of a focus than jobs and the economy among elected Democrats.
Today, the Senate under Majority Leader Harry Reid sought to push immigration reform through. Except it [...]
The success of the Obama Administration economic policies. What?
Written by ?VASS - political commentary
In February 2009 President Obama rallied the hopes of the country with sweeping promises to reverse the economic landslide the nation was in. This appeal to the desperate needs of the nation ushered in the American Recovery Act (Obama Stimulus), at a pricetag of $787 billion. The Health Care Reform [...]
The Obama Stimulus hits the headlines again
Written by VASS - political commentary
So I was away for a bit thanks to the endless benefits the Obama Stimulus has provided the economy and small businesses. Now that I have returned I see that the Obama Stimulus is once again at the forefront of political conversation. Once again Republicans are pointing out how the [...]
Who voted for/against Health Care Reform Law
Written by VASS - political commentary
In the coming months, years, and decades many of the names of those involved with passing the historical Health Care Reform Law will be forgotten. In the immediacy of the upcoming November mid-term elections many politicians seeking re-election will hope that voters will be unsure where their election officials stood. [...]
Commentary - State of the Union Address
Written by Michael Vass
Leaving the comments of Chris Matthews aside, what can we take from the State of the Union Address by President Obama? What can we surmise will be the impact of the proposals to the average American?
Well there is the focus on the economy. President Obama now realizes that this is the top [...]
