It seems like the political race is heating up, or at least it has in the last 15 minutes.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, who now heads the Democratic National Committee, rightfully said that while the rest of us see the Iraq War as Bush's Vietnam, the White House is touting it as Bush's Korea! And, last night during the Republican presidential debate in Manchester, NH, renegade candidate Cong. Ron Paul (R-Tx) courageously and correctly stated the following sentiment about the Iraq War:
"It was a mistake to go there; it's a mistake to stay."
One has to admire this stand considering that his fellow nominees, like Rudy Guiliani, are accusing the Democrats of being chicken %&*ts even though May was one of the deadliest months ever for American forces in Mesopotamia.
With all this, one wonders if some traditional Republican states, like NC, might go blue.
This is a point that Bob Nichol of Bozeman, Mont., made in a letter to "The Nation" (June 11th issue).
While us moderate progressives, often differ with some points made in "The Nation," a partisan liberal publication, there are some valid points that the weekly magazine makes. And, certainly, like most magazines and newspapers, the readers are frequently as or even more insightful than the editors!
Nichol wrote the following in response to an article in an earlier edition of "The Nation" which labeled Montana as a red state (the version of the letter here is abridged for content):
"Montana has two Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Our governor and four or five statewide elected officials are Democrats. Our state senate is (26 to 24) Democratic. Montana's secretary of state, state house of representatives (50 to 49) and U.S. Home Member are Republicans. Color us purple (deep purple) if you wish. Red, we ain't."
Nichol makes a very valid point here, and similar sentiments could be expressed about both Virginia and North Carolina.
The Tarheel state in fact now has a majority Democrat in the U.S. House thanks to the November election of former Washington Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler (D-NC) who is a conservative, pro-life Democrat. Shuler represents the Asheville region of western Carolina. NC also has a Democratic governor, Mike Easley, and majority in both state houses. However, the two U.S Senators from NC are both Republican.
Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC), who represents the Greensboro area (see earlier entry about Darfur) told a local tv station that he is considering running against Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) when her term ends in 2007.
Virginia also has seen shifts in terms of politics with the election of Sen. James Webb (D-Va) over former Sen. George "Maccawitz" Allen last November. Virginia's Democratic Governor Tim Kaine has also been a strong leader in recent months in the excellent leadership skills he displayed in handling the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy.
But, if any of this makes any difference in November of 2008 remains to be seen. However, aside from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) who would have to overcome a negative image in the South, it seems that many of the leading Democratic presidential candidates have the potential to carry some traditional red states. Rudy, beware!
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