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Dan Snyder Unifies Redskins Fans in Misery--Rush Limbaugh Could Do Better
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2009 Comment (7)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
"It's about unity...we do not move towards divisive actions," National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
How fitting it was that Goodell made the comment in Washington, a town that knows the concept of unity better than any other. Washington is unified like never before. Not, however, because of promises of unity from President Barack Obama or former President George W. Bush. No, the only person who can successfully unite Washington is Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
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How the World Series Could Affect the New Jersey Governor's Race
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2009 Comment (2)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
With the New Jersey gubernatorial race going down to the wire, anything can happen and anything can affect the outcome.
Even the World Series.
Had teams other than the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies both advanced, the Series would be of no political consequence. But New York and Philadelphia are not merely cities close to New Jersey who happen to host the teams. The cities sandwich the Garden State and are its two largest media markets.
That certainly could affect paid advertisements on television, but the series, which puts the entire state in baseball overload, will make it harder for the candidates to gain earned media from newspapers and local television.
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Virginia Democrat Deeds is Running Out of Time and Money
Tweet Share on Facebook October 27, 2009 Comment (3)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
With President Barack Obama campaigning for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds at Old Dominion University today, talk is swelling that Deeds's campaign is all but over.
A Washington Post poll released late yesterday shows Republican Bob McDonnell with a 55-44 lead over Deeds. Such a lead is, of course, tough to overcome. It's even tougher when polling data demonstrate there's little room to move upward:
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Obama's Democrats Blame Deeds for Poor Campaign in Virginia
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2009 Comment (7)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Just days before President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, the White House is sending signals that Deeds's campaign is over, or as tweeted by CNN's Peter Hamby this morning, "keeping it classy by trashing Deeds anonymously."
At issue is a Washington Post story headlined "Deeds ignored advice, White House says."
Publicly airing complaints that Deeds is a weak candidate, one who didn't embrace key Obama constituencies—especially African-Americans in Richmond and the Norfolk/Newport News area (Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder's refusal to endorse Deeds was surely a blow)—and indeed, has not fully embraced Barack Obama himself, all lays the groundwork that if Deeds loses, despite the best efforts of the Obama team, he has no one to blame but himself.
Anyone who was worked political campaigns can tell you that when your candidate is down in the polls, the Washington chattering class, regardless of party, will start pointing fingers and say, "If only Candidate X was listening to our advice..." Anonymously, of course. This is what's happening to Creigh Deeds now.
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Obama's War on Limbaugh and Fox Will Backfire With Voters
Tweet Share on Facebook October 22, 2009 Comment (79)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The president has learned it's easier to burn bridges than build them.
And despite having been elected in part to unify all Americans and put an end to partisan division, the administration is intent on lighting as many fires as it can. In doing so, Obama is essentially creating a liberal version of Richard Nixon's "Enemies List."
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High Liberal Hopes Threaten to Crash Down on Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook October 19, 2009 Comment (5)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
"Frustrated Liberal Lawmaker Balances Beliefs and Politics," reads the headline of a New York Times story from over the weekend.
The profile of Oregon Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer, penned by Times ' s Congressional ace Carl Hulse, highlights the increasing uneasiness many on the left are experiencing with the Obama administration. It's not quite disillusionment, but it could be getting there.
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Beware the Food Police and Their Soda Tax
Tweet Share on Facebook October 16, 2009 Comment (14)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
In his 2001 book A Cook's Tour, chef/television host Anthony Bourdain describes a war in the United Kingdom:
It's war. A fight for the hearts, minds, and souls of future generations. If the dark forces win? They'll be looking across the Atlantic; don't doubt that for a second. They already have their operatives in place. They'll be looking at your plate, inspecting your refrigerator. They already are. They want to take your meat away.
They even want your cheese.
But the same struggle is already being waged here in the States, too—in our legislatures, our restaurants and our kitchens.
A tax on sodas is "an idea worth exploring," President Barack Obama said earlier this month, the thought being that if you are taxed every time you pop open a Dr. Pepper, you'll buy and consume less Dr. Pepper, especially if you're an elementary student at lunch.
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Attacking Fox News Won't Help the White House With Depressed Liberals
Tweet Share on Facebook October 13, 2009 Comment (39)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The White House has made a dramatic strategy shift: isolate and attack the enemy.
The enemy for the White House, however, is not the Taliban or al-Qaeda. It's the Fox News Channel.
Late last month a posting on the official White House blog criticized Fox for what it called a "disregard for the facts," "an attempt to smear the Administration's efforts to win the Olympics for the United States," "a partisan attack" and referred readers to a separate webpage to follow "more Fox lies."
Such pointed criticism is unusual, especially coming as a written statement from the White House.
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Obama Should Decline the Nobel Peace Prize
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2009 Comment (18)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The news that President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize has many asking, "um, why?"
Was the award for ending or winning the war in Iraq? No.
Was the award for ending or winning the war in Afghanistan? No.
What about following through on his campaign pledge to immediately close Gitmo? Certainly not.
Democrats are quick to say that criticisms from the G.O.P. are dangerous and unpatriotic. Brad Woodhouse, communications director of the Democratic National Committee (and in full disclosure, a friend and all around great guy) incredibly issued a statement charging that "The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists—the Taliban and Hamas this morning—in criticizing the President."
Hyperbole aside, it's nice to see Democrats willing to call Hamas terrorists, though it doesn't explain why Obama is more willing to work with them than Republicans in Washington.
But it's not just Republicans who are questioning the Nobel committee's decision. Lech Walesa, former Polish President, Solidarity leader and recipient of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize said, "So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far."
Even White House officials were amazed, reportedly asking if today is April Fool's Day.
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Corzine’s Weight Attacks on Christie Demonstrate Media, Democrat Hypocrisy
Tweet Share on Facebook October 8, 2009 Comment (5)By Doug Heye, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
"Corzine Points Spotlight at Christie's Weight" reads the headline in today's New York Times, capturing Jon Corzine's line of attack in the New Jersey gubernatorial race: Republican Chris Christie is too heavy to serve as governor.
As the article states, a Corzine commercial attacking Christie shows the candidate emerging from an SUV "in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once." Reinforcing the attack, the ad says Christie "threw his weight around."
"Threw his weight around," get it? As the Times article says, it is "about as subtle as a playground taunt."
