The Spencerian

A Dispatch From Fake America

I live in Gulfport, Florida.  It is a small town on the extreme south-west corner of Pinellas County.  We are part of the much larger Tampa Bay area, which includes St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Dunedin, Palm Harbor, of course Tampa, and much more.  

Every day I drive to work through my neighborhood, which I love, and I see Obama/Biden yard signs, and I see McCain/Palin yard signs.  I see SUVs and I see hybrid cars.  I see Florida friendly landscaped yards and I see crappy lawns.  I see white kids walking to school, I see black kids waiting for the bus, or riding their bikes, or skateboarding, most of them assuredly on their way to Boca Ciega High School, just down the road.

On weekends, I tend to my yard, which doesn't get enough attention and it shows.  Or I spend time walking our dog and meeting our neighbors.  We love going to downtown Gulfport to eat at Peg's.  

To be totally honest with you, I have no idea whether I live in Sarah Palin's "real America" or not.

I really don't care.

My mother told me not all that long ago that I had never persuaded anyone to vote one way or another with my writing in this blog.  Frankly, I was relieved to hear it.  Persuading voters was never my motive.  Talking about politics -- mostly with myself -- was, and remains so.  I enjoy the few comments I get, and I enjoy answering questions when I can.  I always learn something new.

But I like politics and I like writing, so this is really a selfish endeavor when it's all said and done.  

I have had some people ask me what I think about Sarah Palin, or Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaign.  They ask why I haven't written about her selection, or them generally, more. 

Here's why: because they do not represent anything political, and I write about politics on this blog.

Sarah Palin especially no more represents a political figure in this country than Britney Spears or Ernest Hemingway.  If I wanted to write about pop culture, I'd write about Britney.  If I wanted to write about literature, I'd write about Papa Hemingway.  

Sarah Palin has absolutely nothing to do with politics.  

She has everything to do with hatred, anger, division, bitterness, cynicism, and in a perversion of the word "politics," the politics of us and them.  

John McCain's campaign chose Sarah Palin for one reason, and one reason alone.  

Oh, make no mistake -- John McCain did not choose Sarah Palin.  His operatives did.  The Republican Party operators.  Anyone -- McCain included -- who suggests that she was chosen by the Senator from Arizona after he only met her once or twice is playing you for a complete fool.  

Sarah Palin was chosen to appease, and ultimately fire-up the far-right of the Republican Party.  Initially it seemed to have worked, too.  And Governor Palin seemed all too ready to be programmed with her attack-based talking points and sent out into the field.  What McCain and the operatives didn't take into account was the level of anger brewing, the level of vehement maliciousness, the level of abject -- there is no other word for it -- hate in their own party.  

So Sarah Palin is little more than a cheerleading brewmaster, stirring this ill-conceived pot of putresence until it boils over with cries of "Kill him!" and "Terrorist!" and whatever other abominable epithets they spew at these rallies.  Her job, in other words, is not to raise the level of discourse.  Very simply, it is to incite hate.  Which has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. 

Politics is about discussing our differences in ways that bring us together, not drive us apart.  That's what so great about it. 

I'm pretty sure I live in "real America," and I love my country, just like I love my community and my neighborhood.  Like my mother said, I am probably the last person to convince anyone to vote one way or the other.  But for whatever it is worth to you, I proudly cast my vote to renew America's politics and rejuvenate a civil discourse within America.  

I voted for Barack Obama.  Because we all live in real America.         

For Florida, Vote No on Amendment 1, and Yes for Obama

First of all, I'd like to encourage all of my Florida readers (both of you!) to go out and vote tomorrow.  I'll be voting in Pinellas County.

Looks like -- as was the case in the earlier primary and caucus states -- turnout will be quite high. 

On the question of Amendment 1, I will be voting a very firm "no."  I strongly encourage you to do the same.  This notion that reducing government services during a time when the national -- not to mention global -- economy is tanking is a cosmically bad idea.

Of course, whether or not this terrible amendment passes, the ill-conceived notion of politically-driven tax reform will be far from over.  Speaker Rubio will continue with his ridiculous quest for a ham-handed flat 1.35% tax, which would undoubtedly destroy Florida, starting with the school system.  By the way, in Pinellas County, be sure to vote "yes" for the approval of continuation of one-half mill ad valorem tax for school district operating expenses. 

I've never said there shouldn't be tax reform.  The tax code in Florida is clearly inequitable and clearly broken.  That is why Charlie Crist and the other politicians should let the Florida Taxation and Budget Committee do what it is they're supposed to do.

For president, my friends at the Florida Progessive Coalition agreed to support John Edwards.  I am proud of that crew, and applaud their decision.  I wish I could join them in voting for Edwards -- I cannot.   

It's not that I don't believe in what Edwards is saying -- I really do.  I think Edwards would make a fine president, and I'd work to get him elected.  However, I've been involved in politics too long not to think about it strategically, and after a sad performance in a must-win state (Nevada), and a tough loss in his birth state (South Carolina), I must concede that the nomination is beyond the grasp of John Edwards.  That's too bad.  I really am heartbroken over the whole thing. 

Despite the recent nastiness, choosing between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hasn't been easy for me.  I worked for Senator Clinton (when she was First Lady) for a year.  I worked for her husband for the other seven.  The Clintons have given me much more than I could ever give them in return.  I owe them much of my professional life.

And so it pains me to say that although I believe Hillary Clinton would (and ultimately may) make a fine president, I cannot cast my vote for her.  The 90s were, in many ways, a wonderful time.  But they were also a time when the culture wars seemed to escalate, not de-escalate.  They were a time that was good to me professionally -- but they were also good to slobbering hate-mongers like Rush Limbaugh and Roger Ailes at FOX News and Michael Savage and Ann Coulter and many, many others.  Too many.  I respect Senator Clinton a great deal, but her election to the presidency would inevitably re-introduce the politics of hate and fear and division into our country.  Or, rather, simply make the politics of hate and fear and division that we are already living with even worse, if you can possibly imagine that.

I have not been as inspired by Senator Obama as many people have, although I find the more I hear, the more I like.  What I find most attractive in Senator Obama and his candidacy is the opportunity to take a step forward in our collective politics in America.  I believe we are long overdue for that step.

I explained all of this to a Hillary Clinton supporter.  They said to me, "Man, I dunno.  Better to go with the devil you know..."

Well, I'm sick of the devils I know and the devils I don't know.  In fact, how about no more devils?  Is that really asking too much?

Finally, it is my great hope for this wild political season that we have not heard the last from Senator Edwards, that Senator Clinton and the former President will figure out how to extricate themselves from the unseemly box they seem to have placed themselves in, and that Senator Obama will be able to embody the hope he preaches to a great majority of Americans well beyond November of this year. ts 

Go Fitz Go!

We’d like to tell you about a local candidate running for the Florida State House in District 69, and why we strongly support him.

To put it simply, Keith Fitzgerald is not just a different kind of candidate, he’s a stellar candidate.  We know.  We've been there, walking neighborhoods with him, going to events with him, listening to him talk to Floridians.  He's good.  Watching a candidate for office work hard and make all the right moves is fantastically refreshing in this day and age of what we describe (embarrassingly) as glam-rock politics.  There are far too many politicians today who are far too willing to make a name for themselves by doing things that are either fantastically outside the mainstream or just outright unethical.  Keith is working hard on the fundamentals that makes politics at a local level very interesting and even – if you can believe it – enjoyable.

Keith is a lifelong public servant, and from our perspective, that in and of itself is an excellent qualification for public office.  He’s been a teacher all his life – serving as a reading tutor for dyslexic children as a high school and college student, to his current job as college professor.   

He’s got a Ph.D. in political science, which means he knows a whole lot more about politics than we do.  It also means he will bring an expert – but fresh – perspective to the Florida Legislature, something they woefully need.
 
Another qualification (and one of our favorites) is that Keith is a father.  Read his blog (here:link), which has been as much about being a father and a home owner in Florida as it is about politics.

Keith is a remarkably articulate guy -- an intellectual who sounds like you and me -- and he wants to get Florida back in the business of providing a first-class education for our children.  As he says on his website:

There is no policy more basic and important to families than education.  Education opens the door for our children to make the most of themselves economically, especially in a competitive global economy.  Strong public schools also serve as the bulwark of democracy, the place where communities teach the next generation of citizens. 

He’s a believer in building smarter, more sustainable communities.  Look, we live in Florida, people.  Florida.  And the thing about Florida is, it that it is a place of rare natural beauty, but it won’t stay that way for long the way we’re going, and Keith recognizes that:

Florida needs a new growth strategy so we can get the future we want and conserve our natural resources.  Since the end of World War II, the state of Florida has followed wildly a energetic growth strategy, based on attracting people who have made wealth elsewhere to move here and spend it.

That path is no longer sustainable.

And he wants to do this by getting citizens backing charge of politics. We love this part. Keith is what we might call a very accessible candidate. He’s got a first rate website, and a strong presence on the impressive Democracy for America Link site (here:link).

He’s also the first candidate for office we’ve seen in the area with a genuine podcast.  Listen to why he’s running in his own words (here:link). 

There are a lot of reasons to support your local Democratic candidates this time around.  We’re in a rebuilding year, and we need to work locally today so that we’ll have strong candidates to run nationally tomorrow.  We strongly support Keith Fitzgerald for State House in Florida, and urge you to do the same today. ts

Yaaarrrrgghhh: The Spencerian Endorses Howard Dean for DNC Chairman

Dr. Howard Dean, the former Governor of Vermont and presidential candidate is running well ahead of the pack for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.  Yesterday, the Association of State Democratic Chairs endorsed Dr. Dean, as did one of the immediate past leading candidates for that position, Wellington Webb the former mayor of Denver.  Another top contender, former Congressman Martin Frost of Texas, has dropped out and it appears the path towards the Chairmanship is relatively clear for Dr. Dean. 

Now seems as safe a time as any for The Spencerian to endorse Dr. Dean’s candidacy, as he looks to be the likely winner when the votes are cast February 12.

However, for what it might be worth, the editors have considered endorsing Howard Dean for some time.  Here’s why: 

The editors did not support Dean for president in 2004.  (We voted for John Edwards in the primary, appreciating his genuine appeal to the cause of real populism.)  However, there was something about the Dean candidacy that we found genuine, that we liked, something that we could not exactly put our finger on, something that struck us as sincere and important.  Granted, not sincere or important enough to earn our vote, but sincere and important nonetheless.  The thing we could not quite pin down at the time was this, and is our first reason for supporting him for DNC Chair: a fundamental understanding of large-scale organization. 

Dr. Dean, while perhaps a leader not best suited for the presidency, seems to be a natural organizer, as was evidenced by the strength of his grassroots campaign in 2004.  Democrats almost need organization worse than they need a policy visionary.  One wonders if we perhaps get both in Howard Dean. 

The third paragraph of Dr. Dean’s statement announcing his candidacy reflects our second reason for supporting him: a desire to, again, re-introduce the party at a national level.  It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the Democratic Party stopped trying to appeal to most Americans.  But if Democrats are ever going to win national elections again – the overarching purpose of the Democratic National Committee – then not only must the message resonate in New York as well as Nebraska, it must also actually be sold in Nebraska as well.     

Dean notes his own record of success in this area in his announcement statement, referencing his organization Democracy for America:

Together, we helped elect a Democratic governor in Montana, a Democratic mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah and an African American woman to the bench in Alabama. Fifteen of the candidates we endorsed had never run for office before—and won.

The outgoing regime at the DNC was quite good at raising money.  But quality fundraising doesn’t necessarily translate in to winning campaigns.  It translates in to funded campaigns.  Democratic campaigns across the country didn’t get funded in 2002 because they weren’t “targeted” by Terry McAuliffe’s money men.  Tragic consequences resulted for Democrats.  Election 2004 turned in to a classic example of why targeting doesn’t work and may never work.

Dr. Dean has also picked up on an important theme that has lately been lacking in Democrats at all levels: conviction.  In fact, we wrote in these pages earlier about the budding presidential candidacy of Senator Clinton (D-NY).  Her conciliatory words that worked to bridge the gap on an issue as inflammatory as abortion were highly commendable.  The qualification of those words to appease a handful of pro-choice New Yorkers just a couple of days later were not. 

Although we are behind Howard Dean, and will remain behind him during his tenure as DNC Chairman, there are some concerns that we hope he will address.  He must not cow to the sudden community of online activists that his campaign created.  This is a technology-savvy group of people whose hearts and minds are generally in the right place, but their role as community activists must be, well, activated.  As ‘Deaniacs’, they captured the hearts and minds of the mainstream news media, and perhaps even America.  But when it came time to take action – to mobilize voters and even vote themselves, there was a massive failure.  Dean lost primary after primary, and subsequently dropped out of the race.  These Dean supporters must awake to the fact that simply going online and “chatting” with like-minded individuals about the fantastic qualities of Howard Dean is not enough – they must actually get outside and participate in old-school politics.  Door-to-door flyers, mailings, answering phones at a phone bank, canvassing, visibility events: these remain the bread and butter of American campaigns, and as Chairman of the DNC, Dr. Dean must not abandon them.          

We offer a final thought as Dr. Dean prepares to revive the catatonic patient that is the Democratic Party.  For far too long, Democrats have rewarded colossal failure with outlandish promotions, practically inexcusable losses with virtually unspeakable largesse.  Consultants and pollsters have offered a league of failed Democratic candidates terrible advice with terrible consequences for the party and for the candidates, yet they somehow still manage to get work with A-list campaigns, even presidential campaigns.  Bob Shrum was the poster boy for this ridiculous sort of behavior, but there are many, many others.  This foolish practice has gone on for far too long and to the crippling detriment of the party.  Unfortunately, it’s not just at the national level.  State parties suffer the miserable consequences of the same self-involved, money-grubbing leeches as well.  We very sincerely hope that Dr. Dean will clean house with extreme prejudice where necessary. 

We fully support Dr. Dean in his quest for the Chairmanship of the DNC.  ts