My Blog Posts

• There’s not a dime’s worth of difference
  12/01/2008 06:01:19 PM EST
  The media has been all abuzz with the formal announcement that Obama's former favorite foe has been appointed Secretary of State. But, most of that coverage has been focused on  exaggerated disagreements during the presidential campaign and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, all of which miss the point. On policy, Obama and Hillary are not night and day, but more like 4:30 and 4:45.   “When it comes to foreign policy, Obama and Clinton agree far more than they disagree,” said John Isaacs, executive director of the Council for a Livable World. To paraphrase the late Alabama Governor George Wallace, Isaacs added: “There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Obama and Clinton on foreign policy.” Isaacs based his assessment on a thorough examination of Obama and Clinton’s Senate voting records; national security platforms as laid out in articles and op-eds; and responses to queries in debates, public appearances, and questionnaires. Isaac's analysis compares and contrasts their policy positions on Iraq, Iran, nuclear weapons, missile defense, and other relevant foreign policy issues. Read his full analysis here.
• It's Not Hillary, It's the Policy Stupid!
  12/01/2008 12:36:08 PM EST
  Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, the chairman of our sister organization just published an op-ed co-authored with former congressional Rep. Tom Andrews. With all the media attention that the Hillary as Secretary of State has been receiving, Tom and Gen. Gard take us back to what really matters, the policy. It's Not Hillary, It's the Policy Stupid! by Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard Jr. (USA, Ret.) and Tom Andrews The media obsession over who's in and who's out of consideration for the Obama Cabinet brings the admonition on the famous "War Room" wall of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign to mind: "It's the Economy Stupid!" Those of us eagerly awaiting relief from the debacle called the Bush administration should avoid getting swept up the in DC parlor game of who is getting what position in the new administration and focus instead on the fundamental changes we need the Obama administration to start making. In short, "It's the Policy Stupid!" President Obama will begin his presidency with enormous good will from the American people and great hope from the world at large. It is imperative that he seize this opportunity by quickly moving his campaign pledges into bold and decisive action despite the opposition that surely awaits him.
• Nukes! What are they good for? Absolutely nothing.
  11/24/2008 04:12:07 PM EST
  Arms control advocates finally felt like part of the popular group back in 2007 when 4 of the most respected former foreign policy officials made their “global zero” debut with a Wall Street Journal op-ed. It’s kind of like when the book nerd got invited to the cheerleader table – finally someone was accepting them for all they had to offer. And while the “No Nukes!” chant may still draw an image of protesting hippies for the most conservative of minds, in reality, the idea is making its way to the main stage – and with the approval of big-player Democrats and Republicans alike, including a nod from President-elect Obama. In this recent piece from the Boston Globe, writer Drake Bennet highlights the progress that the “world free of nuclear weapons” movement has made just in the last two years. The highlight (in my eyes) is below, or click here for the full article. “Total nuclear disarmament - "getting to zero" in the arms-control argot - has become a mainstream cause. Voices from the heights of the American foreign policy establishment have begun to argue that, in a world of inevitably unruly globalization, increasing interest in nuclear energy, incomplete alliances, ambitious suicide terrorists, and ever-present human fallibility, it will never be enough to improve controls on the world's nuclear weapons, or to reduce their numbers. We have to commit to eliminating them altogether. These arguments are being made not by popes and mahatmas and Greens but by former secretaries of state and secretaries of defense, by generals and nuclear scientists, Democrats and Republicans. The leaders of the new no-nuke movement are George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Sam Nunn, four of the most respected figures in American foreign policy circles. Over the past two years, they have, in speeches, at arms-control conferences and, most prominently, in two widely circulated op-ed pieces, lent their authority to an idea that is still seen as fairly radical. And there is evidence that these arguments are being taken seriously by the people who are going to be making decisions about nuclear policy in the new administration. On the campaign trail, Barack Obama repeatedly committed himself to a nuclear-free future. One of his key foreign policy advisers, Ivo Daalder, coauthored an article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, a leading foreign policy journal, laying out a plan for how to get there. No one is arguing that this is a goal that will be reached in the next eight years, but there's a sense that for the first time in a long while, real and significant movement in that direction is possible.” Again, full article here.
  
• Update on Franken Race
  11/20/2008 03:37:53 PM EST
  LATEST UPDATE: Coleman's lead shrinks from about 215 votes to 174 votes. Latest on Huffington Post.
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  UPDATE: Huffington Post reports that a recent political study shows that if unrecorded ballots are counted, Al Franken is highly likely to win. ------------------------------- We've been following two still-undecided Senate races closely (we've endorsed the challengers in both races, and our supporters have raised thousands for them): Jim Martin in Georgia (challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss) and Al Franken in Minnesota (challenging Rebublican incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman). Martin's race is headed for a run-off ending December 2, while Franken's race is likely headed to the courts as the state does a full re-count of all ballots. Currently, Norm Coleman is up by a mere 206 votes, and many predict that the recount will prove more ballots cast for Franken. With a race so close and a chance that Franken could indeed prove the winner, the former comedian is headed to Washington, D.C. to prepare for a possible win. According to Minnesota's Start Tribune, Al Franken will meet this week with Senate Democrat leaders to fully brief them on the recount and the process and to discuss the upcoming legislative agenda. "If he should win this election, it would be irresponsible for him not to get ready to take office," said Franken spokeswoman Colleen Murray. "Minnesota deserves a senator who is ready to take office on Day One."
• Drumroll please....
  11/20/2008 11:57:47 AM EST
  Thanks to all of you who entered our 2008 Elections Contest! Out of over 1,000 entries, we have our winners! Congratulations to Tyler Wigg-Stevenson (see photo to the left), our first place winner who scored 24 out of 25 possible points for the contest. (Note: we took out the Minnesota Senate race and Ohio’s 15th district race from consideration, as both have still not been called.) As with a lot of races this year, the results from our contest were close and our top two winners tied for the general questions, but Tyler came out on top after scoring the tiebreakers.