Ray Gottwald's Blog

Carter to Vote for Obama

From the CNN Political Ticker

April 3, 2008 Carter hints at supporting Obama Posted: 01:05 PM ET Carter hinted Wednesday he'd likely support Obama.

(CNN) - Former President Jimmy Carter all but said Wednesday he plans to cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama.

Speaking with a Nigerian paper while in Abuja, Carter noted several reasons why he might be leaning toward the Illinois senator.

"Don't forget that Obama won in my state of Georgia," Carter said. "My town, which is home to 625 people, is for Obama, my children and their spouses are pro-Obama. My grandchildren are also pro-Obama."

"As a superdelegate, I would not disclose who I am rooting for but I leave you to make that guess," Carter added.

The Carter Center confirmed to CNN the newspaper did quote Carter accurately.

Responding to the comments, Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said Thursday, "Both Senator Clinton and President Clinton have a great deal of respect for President Carter and have enjoyed their relationship with him over the years, and obviously he is free to make whatever decision he thinks is appropriate with regard to presidential choice."

Wolfson also acknowledged "people will be interested in the choice that he makes."

Carter's remarks are the latest from the former president that suggest he is backing Obama over rival Hillary Clinton, although he has made no official endorsement. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January, Carter said Obama's campaign has been "extraordinary and titillating for me and my family."

He also said then that Obama "will be almost automatically a healing factor in the animosity now that exists, that relates to our country and its government."

- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

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Send The Money to New Orleans

SEND THE MONEY TO NEW ORLEANS

In the past several weeks, there have been many suggestions within the ranks of the Democratic Party for re-votes in Florida and Michigan. Several prominent and wealthy Democrats have stepped forward to state that they would help pay for new primary elections . The price tag for both states is estimated in the range of $25-30 million. 

I can't believe with all the problems facing our country and how state and local budgets are hard pressed to fund services for our citizens that such an outlandish amount of money would be spent. If the wealthy donors to the DNC can't figure out how to spend their money, send it to New Orleans which is still suffering two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina hit.

 Both Michigan and Florida knew the rules of the game and they proceeded anyway.  What frankly is frustrating to everyone, no matter which candidate your support is that the Democratic National Committee hasn't been able to come up with a compromise solution?

First of all under no circumstances should the two states not be represented at the convention. The DNC should give them both a penalty and seat half their delegates. This has been done in the past by both parties.

The second trickier question is how you divide up the delegates? In Michigan, Clinton's name was the only one on the ballot and she got 50%. That makes it easy give 50% to Clinton and 50% to Obama.

In Florida, Clinton also got 50% and the Obama and Edwards vote was close to 50%. Therefore give Clinton half the delegates, the % Obama got to him and the % that Edwards received goes uncommitted at this point.

The reality is that based on Obama's lead among elected delegates it's next to impossible for Clinton to catch up with him unless she starts winning the rest of the primaries by a 65% margin.   

We need to put this to rest and move toward selecting a nominee.

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Crowded Field for Mary LeClair's Seat

Crowded field for Mary LeClair's seat

County Commissioner's seat up for grabs

With long serving county treasurer and county commissioner, Mary LeClair stepping down at the end of this year; the race to fill her seat is getting very competitive.

In addition to one open seat, current County Commissioner Lance Lambros a Democrat who was elected in 2000 is running for re-election.

Former Speaker of the Assembly of Delegates and aide to State Rep. Demetrius Atsalis, Tom Bernardo is planning another run for County Commissioner, having waged a campaign for the seat in 2006 against Commissioner Bill Doherty.

With all the discussion regarding regionalization, voters need to look at the candidates very thoroughly to analyze who has the best vision and experience for moving our county government forward. Others who have announced their intentions to run or will announce shortly include;  Mary Pat Flynn.  Currently, Pat Flynn serves as a selectman in Falmouth, Co-Chair of the Falmouth Democratic Town Committee and is the former Chair of the Cape Cod Economic Development Council.

Also, throwing her hat into the ring is Sheila Lyons of Wellfleet. Lyons is a first term member of the Assembly of Delegates and Chair of the Wellfleet Democratic Town Committee.

Rumor has it that Barnstable Town Councillor, Greg Milne who ran as an Independent for County Commissioner in 2002 is thinking of running again, this time as a Democrat.

On the Republican side of the aisle, Ric Barros a member of the Republican State Committee and candidate for State Senate in 2006 has announced his intentions to run for LeClair's open seat.

In addition, sources indicate Brad Crowell the former chair of the Cape Cod Commission is also planning a campaign.

Troy Clarkson, the former selectman from Falmouth has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for the county commission.

With all the discussion regarding regionalization, voters need to look at the candidates very thoroughly to analyze who has the best vision and experience for moving our county government forward.

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Right on Target

I have included a recent opinion piece coined by Andrew Sullivan of Atlantic Monthly. Its right on target about this election and the future direction of the Democratic Party and our country.

By Andrew Sullivan-Atlantic Monthly 

"The new meme is that politics has returned to normal and that this election will now be run by Clinton rules. Many are relieved by this. You could sense the palpable discomfort among many in Washington that their world might actually shift a little next year. But if elections are primarily about fear and mud, and who best operates in a street fight, Beltway comfort returns. This we know. This we understand. This we already have the language to describe. And, the feeling goes, the Clintons can win back the White House in this atmosphere. What she is doing to Obama she can try to do to McCain. Maybe Limbaugh will help her out again.

What I think this misses are the cultural and social consequences of beating Obama (or McCain) this way. I don't mean beating Obama because the Clintons' message is more persuasive, or because the Clintons' healthcare plan is better, or because she has a better approach to Iraq. I mean: beating him by a barrage of petty attacks, by impugning his clear ability to be commander-in-chief, by toying with questions about his "Muslim past", by subtle invocation of the race card, by intermittent reliance on gender identity politics, by taking faux offense to keep the news cycle busy ("shame on you, Barack Obama!") and so on. If the Clintons beat Obama this way, I have a simple prediction. It will mean a mass flight from the process. It will alter the political consciousness of an entire generation of young voters - against any positive interaction with the political process for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure that Washington yet understands the risk the Clintons are taking with their own party and the future of American politics.

The reason so many people have re-engaged with politics this year is because many sense their country is in a desperate state and because only one candidate has articulated a vision and a politics big enough to address it without dividing the country down the middle again. For the first time in decades, a candidate has emerged who seems able to address the country's and the world's needs with a message that does not rely on Clintonian parsing or Rovian sleaze. For the first time since the 1960s, we have a potential president able to transcend the victim-mongering identity politics so skillfully used by the Clintons. If this promise is eclipsed because the old political system conspires to strangle it at birth, the reaction from the new influx of voters will be severe. The Clintons will all but guarantee they will lose a hefty amount of it in the fall, as they richly deserve to. Some will gravitate to McCain; others will be so disillusioned they will withdraw from politics for another generation. If the Clintons grind up and kill the most promising young leader since Kennedy, and if they do it not on the strength of their arguments, but by the kind of politics we have seen them deploy, the backlash will be deep and severe and long. As it should be.

He has a million little donors. He has brought many, many Republicans and Independents to the brink of re-thinking their relationship with the Democratic party. And he has won the majority of primaries and caucuses and has a majority of the delegates and popular vote. This has been a staggering achievement - one that has already made campaign history. If the Clintons, after having already enjoyed presidential power for eight long years, destroy this movement in order to preserve their own grip on privilege and influence in Democratic circles, it will be more than old-fashioned politics. It will be a generational moment - as formative as 1968. Killing it will be remembered for a very, very long time. And everyone will remember who did it - and why."

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Winning is Everything

According to the Houston Chronicle, it appears the results in Texas are an even split with Obama and Clinton both picking up 107 delegates. When you add up the totals from all four contests on Tuesday, Clinton picked up 12 delegates. The overall totals now stand at 1567 for Obama and 1462 for Clinton with 2025 needed for the nomination

 One of the interesting comments Clinton made on Tuesday night was that she" has won the big states including Michigan and Florida."  Can someone explain to me how you claim victory in Michigan when your name was the only one on the ballot? Comments like that by Clinton remind me exactly why I am not supporting her. She and her husband will say and do anything to win. Need we mention the 3:00 am red phone ad? A recycled version of an ad Walter Mondale used against Gary Hart in 1984.

 Back than Gary Hart had the lead with elected delegates, but the super delegates gave Mondale the win at the convention based on the experience argument and that he was the stronger candidate. In the end Reagan won in a landslide and Mondale didn't even win Massachusetts.

Clinton claims experience but somehow her campaign and the staff she has put in leadership positions hasn't shown me, to be a sign of particularly good judgment. Their pick and choose strategy of only campaigning in certain states, begs the question; will she be President for all of the United States or only the big states? At least Obama has campaigned in all the states. Maybe that's why he has the most delegates and has the lead in the popular vote.

Also, is there something in the water in Florida? You would think after the 2000 Presidential Election, that they would get it right this time, but no the Democratic Party in Florida decided to violate the rules of the Democratic National Committee and have created another potential public relations disaster.

Now, while I believe in states rights and that all the states should have delegates at the convention, Florida and Michigan knew what the rules were as did Obama and Clinton.  With former Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe in her corner Clinton has no excuse for trying to change the rules to her benefit. But as Vince Lombardi, the long serving coach of the Green Bay Packers said-" winning is everything."

I and many other voters; Democrats, Independents and Republicans are watching how the game is played and if any questionable tactics are used - don't expect automatic support should you win the nomination.

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Time to Regionalize?

Some of you may have been following the CCTimes articles and letters regarding the regionalization of some of  our services in Barnstable County. I submitted the letter below and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas of  town services and functions that would be good prospects for regionalization.

 To the Editor:

 Great article in the paper today regarding regionalization.    I totally agree that more town health department functions could be picked up by the County's Dept. of Health and the Environment. First of all they already have a very effective infrastructure in place and secondly they already provide back-up services to the towns.  

 Also, one of the things that has been discussed on the Assembly are the individual town grants programs for Human Services. Most of the towns on the Cape have all volunteer Human Services Committee's with individual grant applications processes. There really isn't much coordination across town lines on which agency gets funding and are the particular agencies receiving funding from many other sources. I think it would be great if the County's Department of Human Services could generate one common grant proposal and see if resources are being allocated in the most effective manner.  

 Finally, I think its time the County Commissioners, Assembly of Delegates and Cape Cod Selectmen's and Councillor Association organize public hearings in each town to ascertain specific functions that make sense to regionalize and to generate public support for those changes.  

Sincerely,  

Ray Gottwald

Deputy Speaker, Assembly of Delegates 

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Presidents Day Event in Harwich on Monday

With all the excitement this campaign season, folks may want to check-out the Harwich Democratic Town Committee's Tenth Annual Presidents Day Event  this  Monday, February 18th, from Noon-2:00 p.m. at the 400 East Restaurant, East Harwich.

Scheduled to address the annual gathering are.; John Walsh, Chairman of the Massachsetts Democratic Party and a superdelegate I might add . In addition, Jacqueline Fields, Chair of the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission will also speak at the event.

Also planned for the program will be the Harwich Democratic Town Committee"s presentation of the Mabel Canto Democrat of the Year Award to long time Harwich and Cape Democratic Party activist; Robert Johnson.

 In honor of James M. Noonan who passed away recently, the committee will also present the James M. Noonan Community Service Award to Town Clerk Anita Doucette for her years of work for her community.

The event which includes a buffet lunch costs $25.00 For further information/reservations please contact Ray Gottwald at 508-430-1666 or RayGottwald@aol.com

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Revenue Options

At a meeting of the Assembly of Delegates last month , I received a copy of a bill sponsored by the Republican Legislative Caucus that would distribute $450 million in rainy day funds back to the cities and towns. My understanding is that the rationale for this option is that it's money owed to the towns from previous years when the towns did not receive the monies they should have from the state lottery. With the fiscal problems facing the state does it make sense to raid the "rainy day fund' ? Is this sound fiscal policy?  This option is one of many that have been floated to ease the burden on cities and towns across our state.

I would like to see us all have an open and honest discussion about all the potential revenue options. We should be looking at each of them to measure their impacts pro and con. Another option which has been floated by Ed Lewis a selectman from Brewster is to tax rental income on homes and condos that are rented for 90 days or less. The idea behind this proposal is that individuals who rent out their home or condo in the summer should be held to the same standard as hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses, etc.  I think people have questions on how this would be enforced?  It would be easier I suppose to monitor homeowners who utilize realtors to rent out their homes, but would this force more homeowners to simply bypass realtors? Also what resources do we have in the towns with all the budget cuts to enforce the law? I think a far fairer option might be  " more than thirty days ? "  It would have less impact on the regular folks who simply want to rent out their homes for a month in the summer to their relatives.

An additional idea being floated is increasing the local option tax for motel/hotel and meals taxes. Like all the options we need to look at both sides of the issue. Here on the Cape we may face a crisis in our ability to have a sizeable work force to staff the restaurants and motels/ hotels based on the cap on H2B visas workers. We all have noticed that there seems to be less restaurants open off season and those that are opening are faces higher fuel costs, etc. Will increasing costs to restaurant owners that are passed on to consumers benefit their businesses and those that live here all year?      

Finally, we know that Governor Patrick has made a strong case for gambling as a means of increasing revenue to the cities and towns and adding  jobs to the economy.  I find the whole discussion about gambling very interesting.

Let me be clear, the idea of going to a casino doesn't particularly grab me. I  grew up in Upstate NY near Saratoga and have a fondness for horse racing. I also found jai alai quite entertaining the one time I went. My bottom line on this is that I believe in "choice." If someone wants to go to a casino that is their right. I do not feel I have the moral authority to pass judgment on them.  Casinos and the changes they bring to a community are issues that however are worth discussing in the same vein any major institution moving to a community would be discussed.

So what does this all mean? I would like to see all of us have an open and honest discussion about all the potential revenue options. We should be looking at each of them to measure their impacts pro and con. Democrats need to stop being automatic advocates for any and all taxes. All of us are facing higher energy and homeowners insurance costs and any tax increase can have an impact on our ability to stay in our homes.

I believe, we all need to be free thinkers to support the best ideas no matter where they emulate from; the Governor, the Republican minority in the Legislature, local elected officials or you, the citizen.

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Kennedy vs. Eisenhower?

As voters make their final decisions for our presidential primary on Tuesday---I believe the determining factor to explain Obama's and McCains' rise in the polls are two words-"trust" and authenticity".

Obama and Clinton can debate their positions on health care, the Iraq war, the economy, education and the environment and on some of these issues there are some clear distinctions, but the botton line is Obama simply conveys a sense of trust and compassion that our country and the Democratic Party desparately needs.

I told one of my close democratic actvivist friends that I would be happy to support a woman candidate for president like Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, but I believe in term limits as stated in the US Constitution. No one can deny that we will have co-presidents under the Clintons and if their campaign of the last several weeks is any indication of the mixed messages we would receive under their leadership than I think we would be in for a difficult four years.

 I was pretty young when John Kennedy was President , but I can tell you I have never felt so inspired in all my years of political activism as I have by the Obama campaign. When I hear him speak and watch some of the rallies I feel like I seeing history before my eyes.  As an independent minded  Democrat and elected official, I particularly relate to his strong message  that we do need to" bring us all together "and not demonize those from the other side of the aisle or by any other factor that pits one group against another. In fact, I have been criticized at times for having the exact same viewpoint. We need to wake-up to the fact that we live in a country where principles, integrity and values should take precedence over party loyalty.

On the Republican side, I see John McCain in a similar vein to former President Dwight Eisenhower. A likeable war-hero who has appeal across party lines.

The conservative Republicans and talk show hosts like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh can complain all the want about McCain's positions, but the bottom line is he is authentic. Perhaps they should "catch-up " to where the voters are, that Romney simply comes across as slick and not trustworthy.

So maybe we will have a interesting contest in the fall : one candidate who inspires us like John F. Kennedy and one candidate who reminds us of Dwight Eisenhower?

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The Case for Obama from the "State" Newspaper, So. Carolina

Obama most likely Democrat to unify America

• Video | The State's Editorial Board endorses Barack Obama

- The State editorial board's Democratic presidential primary endorsement

THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY in South Carolina this year offers voters an unusual choice. Earlier votes have winnowed out the most experienced candidates, leaving a field with fewer accomplishments and differences on policy, but including two candidates who come with the promise to make history just because of who they are.

Looking at the remaining field: Rep. Dennis Kucinich offers a bold plan on health care, but his platform is an odd fit for us and for many in South Carolina. John Edwards has morphed away from the optimist who won South Carolina in 2004. The candidate who stayed mostly above the fray four years ago is angry now, and pushing hard to turn working-class angst into political opportunity. He also has tried to one-up the other top Democrats with the least prudent plan for withdrawing from Iraq.

On positions from Iraq to health care, the policy differences between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are minute. Much of the debate between them has involved making these molehills look mountainous or clashing over who-shifted-when.

The one most significant difference between them can be found in how they would approach the presidency - and how the nation might respond.

Hillary Clinton has been a policy wonk most of her life, a trait she has carried into the U.S. Senate. As her debate performances have shown, she has intelligence and a deep understanding of many issues. Her efforts in New York focused first on learning her adopted state's issues in detail, and pursuing legislation that would not necessarily grab headlines.

But we also have a good idea what a Clinton presidency would look like. The restoration of the Clintons to the White House would trigger a new wave of all-out political warfare. That is not all Bill and Hillary's fault - but it exists, whomever you blame, and cannot be ignored. Hillary Clinton doesn't pretend that it won't happen; she simply vows to persevere, in the hope that her side can win. Indeed, the Clintons' joint career in public life seems oriented toward securing victory and personal vindication.

Sen. Obama's campaign is an argument for a more unifying style of leadership. In a time of great partisanship, he is careful to talk about winning over independents and even Republicans. He is harsh on the failures of the current administration - and most of that critique well-deserved. But he doesn't use his considerable rhetorical gifts to demonize Republicans. He's not neglecting his core values; he defends his progressive vision with vigorous integrity. But for him, American unity - transcending party - is a core value in itself.

Can such unity be restored, in this poisonous political culture? Not unless that is a nominee's goal from the outset. It will be a difficult challenge for any candidate; but we wait in the hope that someone really will try. There is no other hope for rescuing our republic from the mire.

Sen. Obama would also have the best chance to repair the damage to America's global reputation. A leader with his biography - including his roots in Africa and his years spent growing up overseas - could transform the world's view of America. He would seize that opportunity.

He would close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, which has damaged America's moral standing, and strive to rebuild many diplomatic relationships.

Despite America's bitter partisan divide, all sides should agree on this: In such an environment, little gets done. Congress has been largely useless under both Republican and Democratic leadership. Setting aside the ideological conflict for conflict's sake to get anything worthwhile done has fallen severely out of fashion.

And America certainly has things to get done.

From terrorism and climate change to runaway federal entitlement spending, there are big challenges to be faced. Sen. Obama is the only Democrat who plausibly can say that he wants to work with Americans across the political spectrum to address such subjects - and he has the integrity and the skills of persuasion that make him the best-qualified among the remaining Democratic hopefuls to address these challenges.

He would be a groundbreaking nominee. More to the point, he makes a solid case that he is ready to lead the whole country. We see Sen. Barack Obama as the best choice in Saturday's Democratic primary.

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