"Barry-bashing!

"Let's Talk Politics with Adrienne Washington," from Lyndia Grant's "Think on These Things" show on WYCB-1340AM, www.MySpiritDC.com, airing Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 at 6.p.m.


Barry Bashing!


How much Barry Bashing can one American take? I’m not talking about the favorite political pastime in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia) region of badmouthing former DC Mayor Marion Barry. I’m talking about the colorless GOP convention where a battered President Barack “Barry” Obama was called everything but a child of God. Even the political junkie that I am, it was really hard trying to stay tuned to the Obama Hatefest that was the Republican National Convention in Tampa this week. No, no respect for the Office of the President of the United States to be found there capped off by the most bizarre “Make My Day,” spectacle of actor Clint Eastwood pretending that President Obama was using filthy curse words in some weirdo imaginary conversation with him? Not funny.

It comes as no surprise that the Republicans bashed President Obama for his fiscal policies, repeating outlandish lies about the president’s record. Former Gov. Mitt “Robot” Romney was long on criticism and short on his presidential vision to bring back jobs but the worst offender being VP candidate Paul Ryan who said President Obama closed a auto plant in his Wisconsin backyard when, in fact, it was under President George Bush that the plant was shuttered. Folks need to make sure they log on to www.FactCheck.org after these fallacy-laden speeches and view their “Truth-o-Meter.” Get their unbiased information on health care programs, for starters.

However, the worst charge against the Democratic presidential incumbent that President Obama is the main one being “divisive,” and he only issues “recriminations” is about as hypocritical as you can get. What about the colorless GOP convention did you see that was inclusive? Surely not the moment that white GOP delegates were ejected for throwing peanuts at a black CNN camerawoman with one them reportedly heckling, “this is how we feed animals.” Patricia Carroll, 34, the camerawoman said she was “not surprised,” according to Richard Prince’s blog “journalisms.” She also said the racist incident was “spurred by a lack of diversity.”

It’s too bad that Republicans continue to pass up the opportunity to tap into the pool of African Americans whose traditional religious views which actually match more of the GOP’s conservative social views, particularly on the issue of same-sex marriage. DC Council Candidate David Grosso, who participated with a group of Log Cabin Republicans in paying for ads that played during the convention which depicted happy-faced same-sex families, would do well to remember African Americans’ opposition to same-sex marriage when he returns to town to campaign for the November election.

“Where are the African American faces?" Republican commentator Raynard Jackson was compelled to ask. Exactly, in a sea of white faces on and off the stage, especially at the top of the GOP ticket, you could count the number of sightings of African American black delegates, staffers and speakers with one hand. Former RNC Chairman and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele wasn’t even invited to the convention, let alone to speak. How can its party leaders talk about bring back unity to America when its token African American speakers bashed President Obama for what they called “failed” programs and policies which they either obstructed or cut. For example, the GOP’s darling, former Sec. of State Condi Rice said President Obama, who took out Osama bin Laden, was weak on foreign policy, and, of all things education reform. Calling education the civil rights issue of the 21st Century, Ms. Rice seems to have amnesia; it wasn’t Mr. Obama who wanted to cut Pell grants, increase student loan rates, and demonize the teacher’s unions and cut their positions as part of state education budgets.

Same for Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell who touted how he and other Republican governors have better fiscal records than the Obama administration even as he downplayed social issues such as his ill-fated attempts to force women to have vaginal invasive ultrasounds before getting an abortion. Gov. McDonnell’s lackluster podium speech also did not mention the accounting gimmick he played with state employees’ pensions to balance his initial budget.

Hailing from the "Free State," one unwelcome “DMV” convention gate crasher was Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley who helped to man the Democrats “rapid response” center just outside the GOP Tampa convention hall. He angered Maryland Republicans when he criticized Romney as a “corporate buyout specialist,” and provided counter commentary during an appearance on MSMBC.

What exactly did Mitt “Robot” Romney mean when he said, “When the world needs someone to do really big stuff, you an American?” Who, to the man who has a good shot of becoming the leader of “this great nation,” constitutes “an American?” We can only hope it is more colorful and inclusive than the homogeneous peanut-throwing delegates this week sneering in the divisive "Barry"-bashing Tampa GOP convention hall.

CONVENTION-TIME!

“Let’s Talk Politics with Adrienne Washington,” on the Lyndia Grant “Think on These Things” Show on WYCB-1340AM, MySpiritDC.com.

CONVENTION-TIME!

Get ready; for the next two weeks it will be blowhard politics, politics, and more misleading extremist politics as the Republicans meet for their nominating convention in Tampa, Fla., beginning Monday followed by the Democrats flocking to Charlotte, NC for their nominating convention around the Labor Day holiday which is the traditional kickoff for an even nastier and sillier campaign season.

It’s anybody’s guess whether Mother Nature will blow hotter, heavier winds with Hurricane Isaac than the convention podium speakers whipping up all types of predictable misleading political rhetoric, especially about affordable and accessible health care, but don’t expect any big surprises regarding the candidates at the top of the presidential tickets -- Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan for the Republicans and President Obama and VP Joe Biden for the Dems.

These conventions have become a big waste of time and money because today they are so tightly scripted and the candidates so slickly marketed beforehand that even a lie detector would be hard pressed to a truthful fact among the primetime speeches. For example, DMV residents will recognize the anti-teacher diatribe espoused by former DC School Chancellor Michele Rhee who will be a featured education reform speaker at the GOP convention.

DMV residents can also watch the conventions podiums for familiar faces such as Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who led the GOP platform committee, to speak possibly about imposing the abortion consent law as well as turncoat Artur Davis, former Democratic Alabama Representative who moved to Virginia after losing his bid for that Alabama governor and has now gained notoriety for speaking out against the Obama administration. Don’t look for Senate candidate former Gov. George Allen who was not given a speaking role and decided to stay away from the convention to continue campaigning in his tight rematch race against his challenger former Gov. Tim Kaine, who will be speaking at the DNC convention a week later.

Speaking as well as singing in his Celtic rock band, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, seen as a future contender, will also be a featured in Charlotte. Again the District gets shortchanged. Not only has statehood for DC been left off the DNC platform this year, so has DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton been left off the speakers’ roster. DC Mayor Vincent Gray is attempting to rectify both glaring omissions, given DC’s solid support for the president, but he’s running out of time.

After all, the more substantive business is done pre-convention as each selected members formulate their party platform, or public policy on a range of fiscal and social issues. Few surprises here either. Locally, the GOP platform opposes DC statehood at the same time it asks the DC Council to loosen its restrictions on gun laws. The even farther-leaning right Republicans has reportedly adopted 11 of 15 of the grassroots Tea Party’s ultraconservative platform issues, according to press releases. That scary situation, should the Republicans win in November, means even harsher assaults on women and government budgets and those most vulnerable of Americans, children, seniors, and the poor who can least afford Draconian cuts. Doesn’t bode well for the rapidly dwindling middle class either.

No wonder the latest poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal shows a whopping zero, that’s zero percent support for the Republican ticket from black respondents. That dismal figure is less than George Bush (11 %) or John McCain (4%) got in 2004 and 2008 respectively. The president still enjoyed 94 % of black support in the poll.

As for social issues, watch the women. Isn’t odd that women’s issues, particularly contraception and abortion, have stolen center stage, but there is no high-profile woman on the ticket or even in a convention leadership role. But given the attention to such sideshows, including the craziness of so-called “forcible rape,” or “legitimate rape” put forth by Ryan and back peddling Republicans such as Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin respectively, some sane women at one of the conventions – such as the Republican Women for Obama or rising DNC star California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris (who is African/Asian) better emerge to speak sensibly on behalf of half the electorate who are not going to stand for imposing stiffer restrictions on abortions to including outlawing the procedure even as a result of rape and incest.

In fact, the Obama campaign is looking to steal thunder from the Republicans next week by launching a “Republican Women for Obama” video and the Romney-Ryan Wrong for Women Tour this weekend. The tour with stops scheduled for swing state cities, including Richmond, Va., will be led by such Democratic campaign surrogate such as Maryland’s congresswoman Donna Edwards, Georgetown University law student and women’s health advocate Sandra Flake, and White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. They will remind women voters that Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in the early days of his presidency.

Stay tuned for more convention craziness. No matter; big corporate sponsored parties will be had by all either in the host cities or the millions of convention watch soirees nationwide.

And, don’t forget to check your voter registration status.

Show Me the Money $$$$

"Let's Talk Politics" with Adrienne Washington on Lyndia Grant's "Think on These Things" Show on WYCB- 1340 AM, MySpiritDC.com 8/17/12

SHOW ME THE MONEY $$$:

Even on vacation you just can’t get away from the campaigns, especially if you are trying to get a little R&R within a stone’s throw of a swing state in the DMV such as Virginia. The money that the presidential campaigns and their surrogates are spending on campaign ads alone to elect their candidates is absolutely obscene as they are expected to raise an estimated $2 billion collectively before the Nov. 6 election. $2 billion! Can you imagine how many worldwide social problems – or jobs -- even tax cuts – $2 billion could cure? Any even bigger question is what exactly does the money in American politics buy, and for whom?

Although Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has reportedly raised more money than President Obama and the Democrats in the past three months, $101 for Romney to $75 million for Obama, before his pick of VP candidate Paul Ryan, the Center for Responsive Politics’ website, www.Open Secrets.org , shows figures which indicate that President Obama has raised more at $300 million to date with $97 million still in his campaign war chest. But those funds haven’t stopped the Prez ‘s folks from begging for money – particularly from small, individual donors where more than half of his contributions are shown -- to counter the high rotation of political ads that have become the irritating soundtrack of the Summer of 2012. And, those ads don’t come cheaply. My unscientific study indicates that for every three anti-Obama ads funded by Romney-backers, there is only one pro-Obama ad aired in counter response throughout the battleground state of Virginia and its neighboring border states of North Carolina and West Virginia. So don’t be surprised when you receive those Obama 2012 campaign solicitations online and in snail mail seeking your pocket pennies and bigger bucks.

Everyone knows money talks in politics and nowhere was that more evident than in Maryland this week where the General Assembly in a special session narrowly voted to favor the money-wielding gaming industry by putting a voter referendum for Las Vegas style gambling particularly at National Habor in Prince George’s County on the November ballot. Hiding behind the possibility of more jobs, many of Maryland’s leaders like PG County Executive Rushern Baker, changed horses this time around and pushed for the referendum unlike in the past when they followed faith-based voters who are still adamantly against the slots referendum. It’s not just the expanded gaming that’s a moral and social problem for opponents like Gerron Levi, of Stop Slots in Prince George’s, but she stressed on NewsChannel 8 her worries about the nature economic development based on jobs, which are more suited to low skilled high school graduates and mismatched with the need for professional employment needed by the county residents who overwhelmingly possess college degrees. It is unclear just how much money the gaming industry ponied up but there are moves afoot to ban political contributions from gambling companies and if that prohibition will really take hold before November .

Cruising up the Potomac River, campaign contributions for November local council elections are trickling leaving candidates, such as At-Large contender Vincent Orange, with meager resources but no one knows for sure if it’s due August vacations or the chill blowing in to town due to the numerous investigations into campaign finance irregularities in the scandal-plagued nation’s capital city. Nonetheless, despite DC voter’s frustration with the corruption scandals, the grassroots group DC Public Trust was not able to get their Initiative 70, The Prohibition of Corporate Contributions Initiative of 2012, as a referendum on the November ballot.

It’s an old saying in political circles to “follow the dollars.” And we still need real campaign finance reform in this country to get the tainted dollars out of politics at every level. Want evidence? Watch the biopic ‘Casino Jack” about the once-famous Washington lobbyist to get a startling view of how money and influence peddling are the lifeblood of American politics.
And, don't forget to check your voter registration status!