Bill Richardson?
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That’s an interesting possible/probable presidential candidate. He’s a governor, so that gives him a leg up. He’s a Clintonista but not a Clinton. The right will try to use this 38 year old baseball draft story against him, but frankly that’s not only ancient news but amazingly trivial. In an era where I think energy security should be a key Democratic iniative (the GOP is to beholden to the oil industry to do anything on the issue), a former energy secretary has good credentials. Of course, the elephant in the room is – how much does Richardson’s Hispanic heritage help or hurt him? My guess is that the GOP will essentially have lost all its gains of the Latino vote, and probably will lose even its small Latino base with Richardson on the ticket. But then, I’m always skeptical about the American voter – will they vote for Richardson (this is the same doubt I have about them voting for a woman with Sen. Clinton and especially a black person with Sen. Obama)?
The closest comparison I see right now will be between Gov. Richardson and Gov. Warner. From what I see of them now, Gov. Richardson has better campaign chops than Warner, though Warner may be able to seem more “statesmanlike” than Richardson. I certainly think for the Democratic party, winning in the moderate west is an easier to achieve task than winning in the conservative south especially when you consider the recent trends and continuing demographic patterns…
Who knows. If he wins re-election handidly he could be a hell of a force.
17 Responses to “Bill Richardson?”
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No one’s talking about him, but I’d also love to see some serious presidential discussion coming from (Pennsylvania Governor) Ed Rendell’s corner.
Hard to say about the Hispanic vote. Probably would be to his benefit, but he’s also been something of a hawk (for a Democrat) on illegal immigration.
I view him as a sensible moderate and he’s a governor (historically a better indicator than Congress), but he’s short on charisma and would probably be very weak on fund raising – as the big money hard left would likely not be very enthusiatic about him. Where does he stand on the war?
Dugger
on the hispanic vote, see Democracy Corps’ latest data: http://democracycorps.com/reports/surveys/Democracy_Corps_May_18-June_4_2006_Survey.pdf
“Big money hard left?”
Ummm, yeah, that’s where the money is, Dugger.
The GOP didn’t hold Bush’s desertion against him.
They did, however, hold John Kerry’s decorated combat service against him.
It’s so confusing.
Repack,
It may be confusing to you because you are rather badly misinformed.
A. Bush didn’t desert. Wasn’t AWOL. Honorably discharged.
B. Kerry’s combat service was not held against him by the GOP, but rather his detestable over-the-top actions after the war (Winter Soldier, VVAW, negotiations with N Vietnam, etc)
MP,
Two words for You: Soros, Hollywood.
Dugger
Yeah, we call those two words “boogeymen”.
I’m under no allusions that a moderate like Gov. Richardson would be characterized – by you and the rest of the right – as the same faaaaaar left liberal that has been used against middle of the road Dems like John Kerry, John Edwards, Howard Dean, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. The way to know the most liberal person on earth, at least according to the right’s fuzzy ass math, is whoever the Democratic nominee is.
“Kerry s combat service was not held against him by the GOP”
Liar. They called him a coward, they said he’d lied to get his purple hearts, and mocked those wounds they couldn’t deny. No one incident has so clearly revealed the hatred the right has for the left as the way the GOP went after Kerry’s war service. There is no better example of the way Rove’s tactics have shredded any claim to decency today’s GOP could possibly make.
TomY.
Don’t you think, you can always tell the weakest intellectually by the frequency and harsheness of their invective? Just about every important candidate has radical groups or individuals opposed to him – who go after him. Look at the nasty campaign against Michelle Malkin and Instapundit right here. Very common. However, the contention was that it was “the GOP” – which I would take to mean, well, the GOP.
Now as matter of fact, I detest what Kerry did after the war and personally consider his conduct ugly, unpatriotic and reprehensible and I am a Republican – but that doesn’t make my position “GOP”. No more than the hateful mocking of Malkin’s name by Democrats suggests the Democratic party i abusing her.
Did this help? Hope so. Try again and maybe even get an adult to help you.
Dugger
We’re not mocking Magalang’s name. It’s the fact she slammed Teresa Heinz Kerry for changing her name, when she did the exact same thing.
Richardson would make a good middle-of-the-road President. Sensible guy, good Governor- won’t get the nomination becasue before the Republicans even got a sliver’s chance of bring-up “the baseball story”, his primary opponents and the press will bring it up early and often.
Plus, I think he will get beat up by his own party too much to have a chance, which is unfortunate. Especially from the far left in the party, (unless he decides to pander to them, but I don’t think that’s his style.)
But he is one Democrat that I wouldn’t feel bad about seeing in the White House playing first chair with a Republican Senate and House intact.
Good thing Malkin and Instawhosits aren’t, you know, like, running for office or anything. I don’t see the connection. but maybe that’s the equivalency talking…
duros,
Then how about a guy named Bush. I will spare you my references to Bush-nazi associations. The point of course was that it happens to important and/or noticeable public figures – in particular, political ones.
Dugger “Filmmaker Spike Lee thinks the federal government might have destroyed a levee to drive black people out of New Orleans while saving the white sections of the city after Hurricane Katrina. But it’s not clear he will push that notion in a documentary he will make for HBO.”
Mitter
“I find it curious tht Bush s service record is so incomplete, don t you?”
Not a bit. The ANG is all about improvisation and accommodating people. Do VIPs kids get special treatment. Yeah. Did Bush. Probably, but I can think of much better treatment than flying the Deuce. Bush served and was honorably discharged. Thats pretty complete. While in he flew the F-102, a relatively dangerous fighter aircraft. Its not up there with Poppa Bush or McGovern or others, but it is quite a bit more service than Bill Clinton did.
And by the way, Bush, when in training, actually served in the active AF. I trained with bunches of FANGS myself and I was active.
And if you don’t think there has been nasty rhetoric hurled at Bush, you live in a strange world.
Dugger
“Me, I’m catching it for this week’s cartoon for daring to suggest that, well–you know.
Of course, there are differences. Hitler, for example, was legally elected. And he had a plan–not one that I like, but a plan–for the period after the war.
I’ll be happy to stop comparing Bush to Hitler when he stops acting like him. ” (Rall)
What hateful invective about Bush are you talking about? I find it curious tht Bush’s service record is so incomplete, don’t you? I can imagine the TANG might have a loose view on service requirements for a unit created to be the no-draft refuge for the politically well connected. In other words, in the context of people fleeing the country or going to jail to avoid the draft or facing the possibility of death in the war, Bush’s service record is a joke. How do you discipline an officer who got his appointment solely based on his family’s connections to the AIr Guard commandant and not on any personal aptitude?
All that aside, the Richardson baseball story brings to mind the early Bush claim that he served in the active Air Force. Minor, of no value, who cares.
Sorry, Dukker, I have to say that using family connections to avoid the draft and getting into the cushy TANG post instead is just morally reprehensible. You may call it service, I call it ducking. I have a little more respect for people who made the difficult decision to run to Canada or risk prison to avoid the draft than for the rich kids who could use their families’ wealth and connections to avoid the draft.
Bush’s service record has a ton of inexplicable holes in it. What has been reconstructed indicates he got special treatment and did frequently skip his duties and requirements until he was grounded. Then no one knows what he did. Honorably discharged as a grounded flier, with no commendations or medals.
midder,
“who made the difficult decision to run to Canada”
Pardon me but I think this is utter BS. Who are you talking about. Deserters? The draft ended in the seventies. You don’t have to volunteer, but if you do honor your commitments. And difficult decision? As opposed to what? Having your life endangered every day? Living in a tent in 110 degree weather. Fighting extrmeist religious fanatics? Difficult?
Yeah, sipping a latte in Toronto reading the ol’ newspaper is pretty damned difficult, alright.
Dugger