Rep. John Salazar Operates from Right-Wing Frame

An article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel yesterday is a good example of how there is too much emphasis by Democrats on a Republican-framed issue. Here is what Rep. John Salazar (“D”, CO-03) had to say about this year’s election:

“In order to win Colorado, he has to win the 3rd Congressional District,” Salazar said, referring to his own district, which includes most of western and southern Colorado.

He said in order to convince the region’s voters that he deserves to be president, Obama will have to show he supports the Second Amendment and gun rights.

In the wake of last week’s ideologically-based Supreme Court decision to interpret the 2nd amendment for Americans for the first time since it was written, I wrote that too much focus has been placed on the 2nd, and not nearly enough on the remainder of the amendments. According to Republicans, the rest may as well not even exist. Every race in every election year is cast under the shadow produced by Republicans’ obsessive attention on the 2nd amendment. What about the 4th amendment? Bush wants to gut that one. But we don’t hear Colorado Republicans saying in order for McCain to do well, he has to show he supports the Fourth Amendment, do we? It’s a good thing too, because John McCain supports illegal searches of Americans’ effects. Have you heard McCain say he’ll support a filibuster of the FISA bill sent to the Senate by the House? Of course not.

And that’s the reality of the situation: John McCain doesn’t support the Fourth Amendment. Barack Obama does support the Second Amendment. How are the two treated by the corporate media? Well, the first isn’t touched at all. And they completely get the second part incorrect. How very journalistic of them!

Back to Rep. Salazar: operating from the Republican frame of “the 2nd amendment or nothing” does not and will not help Sen. Obama get elected president. Neither will it help him govern effectively if he is elected. Rep. Salazar should have rejected, without qualification, any insinuation that Sen. Obama does not support the 2nd amendment. But here’s the kicker: Rep. Salazar voted to grant retroactive immunity to the telecoms. He’s on the same side of that issue as Republican Sen. John McCain! What else will Rep. Salazar say and do that will eventually hinder a President Obama?

CO-03 needs a better Democrat.

Recent Supreme Court Decisions

With regard to the Exxon Valdez spill – the Court greatly reduced a pre-determined penalty from $2.5 billion to $507.5 million. The spill, remember, happened in 1989. 20 years later, litigation continues. A couple of things here. Last year, Exxon made $2.5 billion in less than 2 days of business. Meanwhile, 32,000 fishermen, Alaska natives, property owners and others (including uncountable wildlife populations) had their lives irrevocably changed the day a drunk captain ran his ship full of crude aground. Further, I don’t think the Court should have heard the case. What’s unconstitutional about awarded damages? Lower courts have the capability and jurisdiction to decide these matters.

I’ll raise a related question: do you think it’s important now how much gas and oil cost? Do you think it’s important how much one corporation profits every year? Thousands of lives were ruined and Exxon took this case all the way to the Supreme Court. How much do you think doing so affected their bottom line? Whatever they pay will be pennies on the dollars they continue to make off our backs every day.

Which brings up another important point: this Court is really solidifying itself as being pro-corporatist. Does it matter now what kind of person gets put into the White House, whether by the Supreme Court or by the electoral college? You’re damn right it does. Had Gore or Kerry won, you can bet the kind of Justices nominated by Bush wouldn’t have been considered. These Justices, and many more on lower courts across the country, get to sit on the bench for their lifetime. They’ll be issuing decisions like these for the next 20-30 years. Welcome to the Corporate State of America.

Denver Post Loves Conservatives & Their Issues

The theme from yesterday’s Sunday Denver Post was pro-Republican, pro-Republican and pro-Republican. From headlines to important yet missed details, readers were treated to another example of why it pays to beat up on the media for 30 years, as long as you’re a Republican.

Article #1: “McCain faces a wild West” by Chuck Plunkett. Inside, Chuck details how Colorado’s Republican elites didn’t back McCain in the caucus. In fact none of them joined McCain for his stop here last week. Chuck writes how James Dobson has said he cannot and will not vote for McCain in the general election. Americans believe the economy is in a recession, foreclosure rates set a record every month, the dollar’s value is collapsing, oil approaches $120 per barrel (and reached it today), gas prices are setting records, families are having trouble paying for food, a super majority now want troops out of Iraq in a small time-frame (one year or less), and voters are registering as Democrats faster than Republicans, turnout in the primaries thus far has averaged 2-1 D to R. Poll after poll has shown, at best, tied support for McCain versus either Democratic contender. More polls are showing a substantial margin in the Democrats’ favor.

Imagine a similar scenario for the Democratic nominee: local party leaders refusing to show up for a town hall meeting/fundraiser. Environmental leaders refusing to vote for the nominee. Do you honestly believe the headline would read, “Nominee faces a wild West”? Hardly. The number one topic would be how unelectable they were and how the Democratic Party was mortally split. But not the Republican nominee and not in the Denver Post, no siree.

Chuck does spend some space regaling readers with the ridiculous Rev. Wright “controversy” and Obama’s “now infamous bitter comments”. Really? McCain faces a wild West because of two issues that aren’t on any voters’ radar screens? Chuck should be spending more time discovering how much a non-story Wright and Obama’s commentary really is. For instance, a CBS/NY Times poll shows support for Obama growing since Obama’s denunciation of Wright two weeks ago. The so-called “flap” exists only in the minds of conservative talkers and beltway bloviators. Thus, the Denver Post makes sure to include the non-issue in the article.