The AP reports that McCain scolds Obama on campaign funds “If Senator Obama goes back on his commitment to the American people, then obviously we’d have to rethink our position,” McCain said. “Our whole agreement was that we would take public financing if he made that commitment as well. And he signed a piece of paper, I’m told, that made that commitment.” To me this is deceptive. It implies that Obama is going back on his word when a decision has not been made....

Gunman Kills 4 on Illinois Campus Is the response of the GOP and the National Rifle Association still that the students should have been armed? Would someone with a death wish be deterred by knowing that many of his victims may be armed? Are we reaching the tipping point where we are more in danger from renegade gunmen than we are from organized criminals? How come other developed countries are more progressive than us on gun control, health care, energy efficiency, environmental protection, social...

Conservative columnist Michael Medved gives a lot of thought about an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket in Dem’s “Dream Ticket” : Why It Won’t Happen In considering the value of Obama on the ticket, Mr. Medved seems to gloss over the importance of his strong attraction to Independents and others who crave a break with entrenched special interests.

The Blog at the American Prospect notices some flip flopping MCCAIN: NO MAVERICK ON CAMPAIGN REFORM, EITHER. The deed is done. John McCain, having been a participant in the presidential public financing system for eight months, has now declined the money for which he qualified, and declared himself free to spend an unlimited amount of private money between now and the convention, much of which will effectively be used to fight the general election. The great reformer has effectively managed to have...

Cal Thomas writes in Redefining Conservatism that the GOP needs to update their message. He writes that even Ronald Reagan wasn’t a conservative by todays standards. He appointed moderate Judges, raised some taxes, and didn’t go to Church. …Contemporary conservatism has mostly been about saying “no” to the liberal agenda. Suppose conservatives instead begin to circumvent liberals by applying better ideas to achieve ends liberals and conservatives claim to seek? …Frum...

Blair-Brown deal The Blair-Brown deal, also known as the Granita Pact, is a shorthand term for a widely-held belief in British politics that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown made a gentlemen’s agreement after the death of Labour leader John Smith in 1994.[1] According to several authors,[2][3] Gordon Brown agreed not to stand in the Labour Party leadership election, effectively giving Blair a clear run, and letting him lead the Labour Party in the 1997 general election. In return, Brown would be...

David Broder writes in A Strategic Choice for Democrats Both Clinton and Obama are now framing their campaigns as a riposte to John McCain. Clinton argues that, given McCain’s authority as a warrior and as a defense expert, her experience and toughness are essential for the Democrats to have a chance. Obama counters with the claim that it is only by providing the sharpest of contrasts — a generational gap linked to a flat-out denial of the strategic centrality of Iraq — that the...

Media Matters, a progressive group that monitors conservative misinformation in the U.S. media just released a statement: Pattern of Sexist/Misogynistic Outbursts on MSNBC Provoked by the recent comment on MSNBC that the Clinton Campaign is “pimping out” Chelsea to call donors, Media Matters has listed other comments they consider inappropriate: NBC’s Holt surprised that primary voters say a “woman candidate” “would make the best commander in chief”? Scarborough...

The Boston Globe Editorial Romney squandered a quality brand simply points out that Gov. Romney had the chops to run, and perhaps even win, as a Centrist, if only he had trusted his experience. The Mitt Romney Massachusetts voters elected governor in 2002 was not the same person who started running for president barely halfway through his term. The Romney we once knew could have made a credible case for the presidency: a smart, data-driven, can-do executive who wouldn’t let ideology get in...

Senator McCain just made his pitch to the Conservative Political Action Conference. It was Pro Life, Pro Gun, Pro War, Pro Tax cuts. To a moderate Independent like me it was frightening. I understand that this is the right wing of his base but his rhetoric was extreme and only Black vs White. Why does he not bother to try to demonstrate that he is willing and able to lead them to a more pragmatic way of thinking? He took a stand to use force to defeat any who threaten the US and freedom and ridiculed...

June Kronholz writes in the Wall Street Journal Democrats’ Nightmare: Back to Smoke-Filled Rooms If Primaries Are a Draw, Elite Superdelegates Could Pick Candidate Here’s a nightmare for the Democrats: The party’s bigwigs, rather than its voters, may end up choosing the presidential nominee. If neither Illinois Sen. Barack Obama nor New York Sen. Hillary Clinton manages to pull decisively ahead in the next few weeks, the nomination could depend on the convention votes of 796 party...

Newt Gingrich reaches out to his readers for Real Change in Earmarks In essence he asks for support for President Bush and GOP leaders in reigning in earmarks. “The country is speaking loudly and clearly. The American people are rejecting the special interests, and the bureaucratic status quo in Washington. The question for you now is: What are you going to do about it?” Well, today at least on one front, the answer is in. President Bush and the Congress, led by House Republican Leader...

Let Obama and Clinton begin the general election campaign against the GOP. See who can attract the most independents. Observe which of the two candidates are most persuasive in creating the largest voter consensus. Elevate the protracted primary into a glorious national dialog about the “American Idea” and how we want to achieve it. Use this time to demonstrate to all citizens what is different about the values and methods of the two parties. Bring up the main controversies, and talk...

I think of myself as a Centrist who is more interested in perfecting participatory government than I am in the specific issues: The process versus the policy. To me the path to optimizing the common good is with elected representatives who are open minded, pragmatic and collaborative; an aim that is the essential purpose of the Constitution. Policy that is for sale to the highest bidder, or dictated by an extreme ideology, just doesn’t seem like a viable long term strategy for the welfare...

In the LA Times Editorial “The new Party of Pork” the duplicity of both the Democrats and the GOP is laid bare. There is a collusion to protect earmarks to gain favor with constituents. So I wonder if the geometry of the situation can be altered so that it is less about eliminating earmarks and more about the reasonable and fair management of earmarks. Instead of arguing to get rid of a perk so fundamental to congressional power, how about a formula to give each member of Congress an...

Exxon Mobil Profit Sets Record Again Gee Whiz, how does the GOP defend giving tax breaks to an industry making eye popping profits on the backs of the US working class? How do US working class citizens reconcile voting for the GOP? How does the GOP defend obstructing and undermining efforts to move the US to renewable energy as quickly as possible? I’m baffled.

I am swamped with donation requests from scores of groups. So I ask, why donate money to an individual cause rather than direct that money to help elect candidates who would steer government policy towards that supported by those same groups? Is $100 better spent sent to a group that promotes environmental protection or to a candidate likely to support that same aim? It seems to me that the greatest bang for the buck is in devoting resources to the people who make the decisions. Isn’t this...

In addition to the fact that relatively moderate Senator McCain won the GOP vote in Florida WITHOUT the help of independents, we have this report about President Carter Leads Moderate Baptist Meeting Weary of Southern Baptists’ dominance in American Protestantism, a new push is starting by other Baptist groups aimed at working on social justice issues, and showing their religious tradition is broader than the conservative SBC. Former President Jimmy Carter is leading the effort.

David Donnelly, Director, Campaign Money Watch is inviting people to sign a petition to the Republican Candidates Once we collect signatures for this petition, we’ll fax the Republican presidential candidates a letter the day before Super Tuesday, February 5th, to urge them to support full public financing of elections. From big campaign contributions to the influence of bundlers and lobbyists, the role of campaign cash in our electoral process has gotten worse. But none of the Republican presidential...

As disappointing as the Bush presidency is, and will be, it is not nearly all of his fault. He was enabled by morally weak GOP congresspeople who valued power, self interest and their party more than the well being of those they were elected to protect. Regardless of who wins for President, it is the Senate that will largely determine the rate of change and progress. Without 60 votes for the Democrats we are likely to see the same stalemate and stonewalling of the last year. That is why I am...

California and Arizona are both preparing to vote on redistricting plans aiming to reduce political distortions. The California version focuses on trying to keep cities and counties contiguous, rather than broken up into obscure gerrymandered shapes. Perhaps these new districts can be made more competitive for candidates by pairing communities with different political inclinations. In order for Gov Schwarzenegger to get support for this from the Democratic leaders he had to agree to allow the term...

Jon Stewart voiced my frustration with the unreasonable and inaccurate exaggeration of what news makers say and mean. It seems to me that most of what is said is sensational and dramatic enough without adding the hyperbole. Can it not be sufficient for media to report the facts without spinning them. This is why I tend to favor PBS and CSPAN, who fall into this trap far less often than the news/entertainment shows.

Got Any Moderate Voices? was a recent discussion on the Centerfield Blog. There are insightful comments about the frustration of moderates who can’t provoke a following for tame, balanced and nuanced opinion….Ain’t it the truth. My opinion is that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. And I suspect that non-partisan/trans-partisan election reform of Public Finance of Campaigns, Redistricting, and Open Primaries, all aimed at attracting more pragmatically...

It seems to me that my grasp of issues and my opinions reflect an average moderate independent voter pondering our complex world and challenging choices. To me it is reasonable that each participant in our society be required to establish their identity in order to access any of the rights and benefits of our culture: voting, banking, social security, air travel, driving, education, crossing borders, medical care, purchasing guns, purchasing hazardous materials, technical training, visa holders…...

Schwarzenegger Campaigns for Election Reform in the LA Times today: He writes primarily about term limits but also Campaign Finance reform and Redistricting. We need redistricting reform to make the political system more competitive and more representative of the citizens of California. We need campaign finance reform to limit the influence of money in politics, and it is time to reform legislative term limits. …Though some progress was made last year on that issue, we have not been able to...