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BLOG ARCHIVE: JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2005
MONDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Nothing new from Lt. Crabtree and the 1/23 Marines
today ... and nothing particularly noteworthy this weekend in
the world of politics ... so "have at it" with this
open thread. FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Yet another report about
the 1/23 Marines in Iraq. Sadly, correspondent Lt. James Crabtree
writes about another loss as their time there is rapidly winding
down. In political news, it is pretty clear that US Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is going to run for President in 2008.
Why else would he be making two trips to PRESIDENT'S
DAY OPEN
THREAD. Lt. James Crabtree of the 1/23 Marines sent another
update from Iraq -- and, fortunately, it was good news again
this week. In political news, a new independent poll in Alabama
shows that Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley (D) would easily
win the Dem gubernatorial nomination next year, and would also
currently defeat either incumbent Governor Bob Riley (R) or
former "Ten Commandments Judge" Roy Moore (R) in a
general election matchup. In Rhode Island, a new poll shows
that moderate US Senator Lincoln Chafee (R) is trailing his
most likely Democratic opponent by a double-digit margin. In
Vermont, US Senator Jim Jeffords (I) looks to be a sure bet
to win re-election next year. On the Dem side, Howard Dean endorsed
Jeffords. On the GOP side, Governor Jim Douglas announced last
week that also likes Jeffords and would not support any GOP
candidate who challenges Jeffords next year. WEDNESDAY
OPEN
THREAD. In Tuesday's non-partisan primary for Wisconsin
Education Commissioner, incumbent Libby Burmaster (D) and State
Senator Gregg Underheim (R) advance to the April run-off. Burmaster
had 61% and Underheim had 29%, with two others far behind. In
Virginia, State Senator Russell Potts (R) has hired consultants
and is apparently gearing up to imminently jump into this year's
gubernatorial race -- as an Independent. In DC, the Washington
Post reported rumors that Senator Joe Lieberman (D) could
be the White House's leading candidate to replace Don Rumsfeld
as Defense Secretary when he likely departs (expected date:
sometime over the next 12 months). MONDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. And, in celebration
of the day, we have a special Valentine's
Day update from our 1/23 Marines in Iraq. In political news,
we've got deja vu all over again (to quote Yogi Berra)
in that it appears a musical instrument playing, Arkansas Governor
-- who even hails from "a place called Hope" -- is
going to run for President in 2008: Mike Huckabee (R) ... Congressman
Mark Kennedy (R-MN) officially jumped into the '06 open seat
contest for US Senate, setting of an open seat scramble for
his House seat ... and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman (D) kicks
off his campaign this week for Ohio Governor. Former Cincinnati
Mayor -turned-TV celebrity Jerry Springer (D) -- who is trying
to become more
serious and political these days -- also looks likely to
enter same race later this year. FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Howard Dean formally becomes DNC Chair this weekend
... Al Franken (D) says he will not run for US Senator in Minnesota
next year, but former US Senator Rod Grams announces he will
run ... fake White House "reporter" Jeff Gannon quits
after being outed as a GOP attack dog in a bizarre gay web scandal
(hmmm, in these days of post-9/11 security measures, how
did he even get Bush White House media credentials under a fake
name and with apparently no real background check?) ...
and, hey, it's been days since I mentioned Senator Russ Feingold
as a Presidential candidate for 2008.
TUESDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Howard Dean is now officially the last man standing
in the race DNC Chair, as Tim Roemer quit the race Monday ...
former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed launched
his bid for Georgia Lieutenant Governor ... former US Senator
Rod Grams (R-MN) announced he is considering making a comeback
bid next year against Senator Mark Dayton (D), the guy who ousted
him ... and a new independent poll shows that US Senator Jon
Corzine (D) is holding a lead of at least 2-to-1 over any of
his GOP rivals in this year's open race of NJ Govenor. WEEKEND
OPEN
THREAD. We've got a new report -- this time, more upbeat
news -- from Lt. James Crabtree and the 1/23 Marines. Im political
news: Donnie Fowler and Simon Rosenberg both quit the DNC Chair
race on Friday, so get used to saying "Democratic National
Chairman Howard Dean" for the next four years ... embattled
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley (D) resigned amid
a massive political corruption probe ... and former HUD Secretary
Tommy Thompson (R) told an audience that he may try to regain
his old job as Wisconsin Governor next year. FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Howard Dean appears to be within a handful of votes
of mathematically locking up the DNC Chair race ... it appears
that Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) is quickly building a campaign
team so that he can attempt to position himself as the centrist
alternative to Hillary Clinton ... and former VP Al Gore is
also apparently putting out feelers about entering the '08 race.
Don't laugh, as the eight-year hiatus worked pretty well for
defeated former VP Dick Nixon in 1968. BTW, did I mention --
yes, yet again -- that my preferred choice for President in
2008 is Senator Russ
Feingold? WEDNESDAY
OPEN
THREAD. With Martin Frost and David Leland also now out of
the DNC Chair race, it looks like its down to Dean vs. Fowler
... and I'd bet on Dean (well, I guess I actually did
bet on Dean, as I gave another contribution to his DFA
group yesterday). There were around 700 comments in less than
24 hours in yesterday's open thread, so here's another to keep
it going.
TUESDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
Lt. James Crabtree of the 1/23 Marines gives us a new
report today with some news ... about news. In other stuff,
Congressman Rob Andrews (D) has decided to stay out of the '05
NJ Gov race. FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
We've got a new report today on the
1/23 Marines -- and, fortunately, we finally have good news
again from Lt. Crabtree. THURSDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
Howard
Dean picked up endorsements this week of the state Dem chairs
in Mississippi, Utah and Oklahoma ... and the entire Florida
delegation of voting DNC members. Potential '08 White House
candidate Russ
Feingold is already speaking in Florida next week. Oh yeah,
and Dubya has got something or other going on in DC today. TUESDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
In the news today ... umm, actually, I didn't watch or
read any news today ... so you guys can just fill it in today
in the blog. MONDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
We've got a new report from the 1/23 here
(sadly, the battalion lost two more men). In political news,
the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate reported
over the weekend that the final tally for voter turnout shows
that 122 million people -- 60.7% -- cast ballots. That's the
highest turnout since 1968. SPIN-OFFS. The Jeffersons was to All In The Family what these guys are to us. Yup, check out these Politics1 alumni sites: NewPolitics1, The Kentucky Democrat, and PoliticsVT. WEEKEND
OPEN
THREAD.
The Hotline did a fairly extensive survey of DNC member
(i.e., the only people who get to vote for Dem National Chair).
The results: Howard Dean holds a solid lead, while former Congressman
Martin Frost is a clear second. All others trail far behind. FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
"The last thing this country needs is two Republican
parties" - Ted Kennedy, speaking about those Dems who want
the party to move more to the right. THURSDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
We've got a new update from the 1/23 Marines in Iraq here
... .Lawton "Bud Chiles (D) announces for Florida Governor
in 2006 ... Howard Dean announced for DNC Chair, but former
DFA Campaign Manager Joe Trippi endorsed Simon Rosenberg for
DNC Chair ... and another P1 alumni site can be found here. TUESDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Well, reading the nice comments in yesterday's blog
made me feel a lot like Tom Sawyer, when he secretly attended
his own funeral when the town mistakenly thought he had been
killed. I was approached today by a pro-Dem PAC that said they
may be interested in hiring someone to keep the site running
and updated for the next year or so. There were also two inquiries
from political consulting firms and one relating to a university
program taking over the day-to-day operations for a while. No
guarantees anything will come of these, but stay tuned. Also:
you can find some of our P1 alumni here
and here. JANUARY 10, 2005 - LAST CALL (or: "It's not you ... it's me.") For a while now, I could tell it was time for me to move on to other projects. I finally made the decision to do so on New Year's Day ... and then decided to wait a week or so to be really certain this was what I wanted to do. I loved my experience in creating and running Politics1. I launched this one-person, public service educational project in late 1997 and it grew rapidly, gaining a loyal and sizable following. It also successfully operated "in the black" for the entire run. I'm rather satisfied with the accomplishments of Politics1 over the past 6+ years. Still, all good things must come to an end.
When what was once "fun" has become dreaded now as hours of "work" each week, it is time for me to move on. (Remember, my publishing of Politics1 comes in addition to holding down a very full-time job as General Counsel & Director of Administration of a government agency.) Likewise, when I feel my writing and humor are losing their edge, then it is also time to move on. Frankly, I'm finding it very hard these days to see humor in the sad state of American politics. Most importantly -- as appalled and disgusted as I currently am with our political system at nearly all levels -- I understand the need for a real vacation away from everything political. That's why I also turned down every campaign consulting opportunity that I've been approached with over the past few months for the 2005-06 cycle. Is this a permanent departure for me from professional politics? Probably not, but I don't know. So, what's next for Politics1? I'll keep the site online and continue to own it, but without posting any new updates for at least one year. The only exception will be the continuing updates on the 1/23 Marines from my friend Lt. James Crabtree in Iraq. I will continue to post these reports here until they return home in March 2005, as I understand how important these are to the 1/23 families. Then, after the 1/23 Marines return home, I don't plan to post any more updates until at least January 2006 at the earliest. That is when I will reassess this decision and see if I want to start it up again. Until then, I'll keep checking my email (so feel free to keep in touch). I'll get to catch up on a huge pile of books (mainly 20th Century French, Eastern European and Soviet history) ... spend more time outside and with friends ... and hopefully get back to having a relatively normal and more quiet life.
So, before I turn the lights off and walk out for the last time, I wanted to thank each of you -- including those who criticized me for my politics or my web design skills -- for helping to create the real sense of community we enjoyed in the blog and on the site. Likewise, I want to thank those of you who regularly sent me information and news tips, who contributed money or purchased ads on the site, and who helped in so many other ways. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the curmudgeonly Howard Dean, who got me reconnected with politics again as a "true believer." I was so jaded and cynical for years towards everything and everyone in politics until I got involved in his campaign (and even spent primary week freezing in New Hampshire as a Deaniac volunteer). The Dean campaign ultimately faltered, but through it I found in myself the ability to believe in "the cause" again. Publishing Politics1 was a wonderful experience. Every day of it. No regrets. But now it is time to close this chapter and move forward. My best wishes to each of you. Warmest
regards and au revoir,
FRIDAY
OPEN
THREAD. I promise new updates this weekend, but this week
at work was too hectic to allow much reflection over the past
few days. THURSDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Hint: Ron's job is really keeping him very busy
right now ... so talk amongst yourselves. REPORT FROM IRAQ: SOME SOMBER NEWS FROM HADITHA DAM. Our special correspondent Lt. James Crabtree of the 1/23 Marines had the war strike painfully close this week.
We
appreciate James sharing what was clearly a very personal topic
for him. If you'd like to send the 1/23d any care packages,
please address the packages to Lt Crabtree, 1/23 H&S
Co, Unit 41900, FPO, AP 96426-1900 ... and James will
ensure that whatever you ship gets distributed to the Marines
in the 1/23. The 1/23 Marines are scheduled to remain in Iraq
until March 2005. If you'd like to read more about our adopted
1/23 Marine battalion in Iraq, please click
here. WEDNESDAY
OPEN
THREAD). Whatever you'd like to discuss today. |
NH
over the next three weeks! Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
(R) this week made a visit to SC, another early contest state.
US Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) also confirmed his interest seeking
the White House next time. "I'm sounding it out,"
said Biden to the San Francisco Chronicle. However,
he also conceded that Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will be
"the overwhelming, prohibitive favorite" to win the
nomination if she runs. Meanwhile, there is also an active draft
group -- 
THURSDAY
OPEN
THREAD. Vulnerable and quirky freshman US Senator Mark Dayton
(D-MN) made a surprise announcement on Wednesday that he would
not seek re-election in 2006 ... a new University of Massachusetts
poll shows Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) trailing likely opponent
Attorney General Tom Reilly (D) by a 45% to 41% vote ... a new
Siena New York Poll shows New York Governor George Pataki (R)
appears headed towards defeat if he seeks a fourth term next
year. The poll showed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) would
defeat him today by a 51% to 35% vote. In related news, a new
Quinnipiac University poll shows US Senator Hillary Clinton
(D) would defeat Pataki in a Senate race by a 2-to-1 margin.
TUESDAY
OPEN
THREAD.
The 1/23 Marines lost four more men this week, but the battalion
was able to ensure a safe election day in their region. Lt.
James Crabtree
offers his reflections in a 
The
reason I know it is the right time do this is because I've had
this gut feeling for several months now. I first ruminated on
the concept months ago in mid-2004 in the blog. The more I've
thought about it, the more it is clear what I want to do.
I
hope you had a good New Year.
Major
Whitnam -- the company commander for the Small Craft Marines
-- posts a website with a better account of what happened
and who was injured. I don’t have the heart to share any more
about it on here. The address is 
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