It's time to get things done

The trouble with Washington has always been the inability for the two major political parties to compromise. Many political pundits point out that “getting things done” in Washington during an election year is near to impossible. This is good news since this means there is still a slim chance that things will get done. The reason why compromise is hard to achieve is that members of Congress whose seats are at risk are deathly afraid to make the hard decisions on issues that would likely endanger their re-election campaign. My message to Congress is the same the president posited during his State of the Union address. Rather than being complacent, it's time to move forward - it's time to lead.

It's clear from recent public opinion polls that both the president and Congress suffered decreased favorability ratings due to constant partisan gridlock. In turn, this has alienated independent voters and moderates from both political parties and is giving rise to the Tea Party activists’ message of fiscal conservatism and small government. This movement’s message is resonating with middle-of the-road-Americans as it attempts to gain traction by co-opting the general public sentiment of discontent by making it their own. This should be a major concern to the two major political parties since many of these activists declared they are willing to target both Republicans and Democrats this upcoming election. In fact, the group continues to funnel money in key congressional races in Texas, Nevada, and Florida. Perhaps the most significant political victory thus far was in Massachusetts where Tea Party activists claimed that their support propelled now Republican Jr. Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts to the Senate. It is also apparent that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is wary about this group's political power influencing his already tough re-election bid to win back his seat in the state of Nevada.

This is the reason why both Democrats and Republicans must work together between now and November’s election if they are to turn the tide of the growing discontent over gridlock in Washington. They must put aside political agendas and pass salient legislation that will have an immediate impact on improving the economy and provide relief for Main Street. For Democrats this means passing sweeping health care reform and not just a watered down version of it. For Republican incumbents, it means setting aside politics by finding common ground on issues with Democrats that will directly help the American people.

Political jockeying from both parties must end or both will likely suffer the same political demise in November. President Obama understands this point and the prevailing political winds that accompany it. Probably thankful that he’s not up for re-election this year, Obama knows his party will take a hit in November. This is because of the slow pace of the improving economy and congressional Democrats’ inability to push through health care reform in a timely fashion. The question is not whether the Democrats will lose seats – they will – but rather whether the Democrats will retain their majority in the 112th Congress. This explains the president's urgency to bring bipartisanship back to the forefront. Obama’s recent attempts to meet and curry favor with the Republicans served as a pragmatic gesture to move the political process along. On the other hand, the Republicans also have much to lose if they are seen by voters as obstructionists and are unwilling to cooperate with the administration just to win back political power in Congress.

In the end, the American electorate will vote for members who get things done and vote out those who didn’t and remained complacent. It’s time for members of Congress to understand that being complacent also means being complicit and there is a political price to pay when one does nothing. The American people are tired of political wrangling. It's time for Congress to put the people first before the politics. If they don't, they might as well start cleaning out their desks for the next person who will occupy it.

Iowa Caucus sets stage for 2008 Presidential Election

Ready, set, GO! This Thursday will mark the first Election Day of the 2008 Presidential Race. It’s actually pretty late considering that many of the candidates (from both political parties) declared their intentions to run for the White House earlier this year, i.e. Clinton and Obama had exploratory committees set up one year ago.

Yet with all the stump speeches, bus road trips, flights and kissing babies that these candidates have done over the past year, everything boils down to getting voters to show up and vote. Iowa, centered in America’s heartland, becomes the first litmus test to see if the thousands (some millions) of dollars the candidates spent will pay off.

Let’s see where the major frontrunners stand. First the Democrats:

Hillary Clinton. Political pundits and the media like to put her on the top of the polls because she has something that the other candidates in the field don’t have—and no, it’s not because she’s the only woman running for the presidency. She has name recognition and the backing of her popular husband, former President Bill Clinton. But, as we have seen in recent months, being a Clinton doesn’t guarantee an easy victory: David Geffen and other Hollywood moguls—once loyal Clintonites—now back Senator Barack Obama. Few in-house scandals within the Clinton campaign have cast some negativity that has reflected on her. All that being said, Robert Zimmerman, a Clinton campaign donor and member of the DNC said it best, “[t]he notion of front runner is obsolete in American politics.” In other words, there is no such thing as a lead when there haven’t been any votes to count.

Barack Obama. Let’s face it. What Obama has that other candidates in the field don’t have is outright superstar charisma. Sure, political pundits gripe about his lack of substance in policy issues; however his message of change and hope resonates with the electorate. Where does one find a candidate who can attract thousands of supporters during rallies? Barack Obama did it in Los Angeles, Austin and Oakland to name a few cities. He has won support from people inactive from politics and many have compared him to Robert Kennedy. Not bad for a junior senator from Illinois.

John Edwards. It’s easy to like John Edwards. His message of fighting for the little guy and progressive politics resonates with the American people. The tenacity of his wife, Elizabeth, suffering from cancer, and still campaigning for her husband, personifies sacrifice. The only problems for John Edwards are the two frontrunners ahead of him in Obama and Clinton.

X-Factor: While recent polls indicate that these three Democratic frontrunners are at a virtual tie, I predict that the x-factor in the Iowa Caucus will be the ones who actually turn out to caucus.

The bottom line is this: if more women show, the edge will have to go to Clinton. If the Obama campaign is successful in recruiting young people to caucus for him (especially those students who are from out-of state), I would have to give the edge to Obama. If the weather turns nasty, count on the Edwards’ loyal supporters to show up and cast their votes. If that turns out to be the case, Edwards can possibly pull off an upset victory.

Let’s look briefly at the Republicans.

There are essentially three Republican candidates vying for Iowa and one of them isn’t Rudy Giuliani. That’s because Giuliani decided to sit Iowa out and bet on the larger states like New York where he, no doubt, has the advantage. The strategy for Mitt Romney is to do the exact opposite: win the early states like Iowa and New Hampshire and hope to ride the momentum leading to the bigger states. The candidate who decided to cut Romney off is former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. With Huckabee essentially attacking Romney’s religion and character, Huckabee has methodically fought himself back to a dead-heat with Romney in Iowa. Both the Romney and Huckabee campaigns are coming to this final week trading blows and airing negative campaign ads. It’s too early to know how voters will react to these negative ads, but if Iowans react negatively to the negativity, that may swing voters to John McCain’s camp. Just like the Democrats, you may have the dark horse in McCain pulling off the victory in Iowa.

Politics is just like predicting the BCS in college football; rankings don't assure victory, the big game does. So it is with politics, Election Day is what matters most. We’ll find out Thursday.

Obama's a Different Type of Dude

Published in The Sacramento Bee, 19 February 2007

Forget the fact that his first name rhymes with Iraq, or his middle name is Hussein and his last name is one letter off from the name of the most wanted man in the world, but Senator Barack Obama, in my opinion, not only possesses the ability to win the Democratic nomination, but also has a legitimate chance to win the Oval Office in 2008.

Not because he’s black. In fact, race doesn’t have anything to do with it. Rather he understands the times better than other presidential candidates because he empathizes with the American people.

Critics may claim he’s inexperienced, his speeches are absent with substantive policy direction and are rhetorically-driven, but one cannot dismiss his strengths: his charisma that unites rather than divides the American people transcends day-to-day Washington politics; his belief that all Americans can achieve the American dream if they are willing to sacrifice is a message not heard since the days of Robert Kennedy.

What separates Mr. Obama from other contenders is his willingness to listen to the American people thereby successfully rallying them. It is an important lesson that the current administration has failed to understand in over three years.