Presidential Quotes (12 of 16): James A Garfield

Today, we quote president James A. Garfield (1831-1881), who was president for a mere six months before being assassinated by a very troubled Charles J. Guiteau, who was executed by hanging for his crime though there was evidence of him being insane.

Here is our quote from Garfield, who was a Republican: "A brave man is a who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is the Devil."

SIDEBAR: Today was a major day on Capitol Hill. No, there was no meaningful legislation passed, but three members of the House of Representatives announced they would retire and/or not seek re-election.

The first is Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va), a man the blogger got to know when reporting for a newspaper in Woodstock, Va., which was then in Wolf's 10th district (it is now in Cong. Bob Goodlatte's sixth district). Wolf was one of the main champions of human rights on the Hill, and he even traveled to troubled countries, such as Sudan (and what is now South Sudan), to report on mass atrocities. Today, one of the people who praised Wolf was former Cong. Tom Perriello (D-VA), now a progressive activist, for Wolf's role in recognizing human rights.

Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who was arguably the most conservative Democrat in the House, which is understandable given that his district was very ultra-conservative. Matheson won his much- publicized last election over Mia Love, who is a rare African-American female Republican. Like Matheson, Love is a practicing Mormon, though she converted into the faith.

Late in the day, Cong. Tom Latham (R-Iowa), one of House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) main allies in the House also announced he was stepping down.

http://www.millercenter.org/president/garfield

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.rollcall.com

Remembering Nelson Mandela with a Quote from Him

Nelson Mandela died two days ago in his native South Africa.

Former President Bill Clinton said Mandela would ask to speak to Chelsea when he called the White House to ask her if she had done her homework. Chelsea Clinton went on to graduate from Stanford.

Though former Vice President Dick Cheney made disparaging remarks about this remarkable man, he was lauded by politicians on both sides of the aisle in the United States. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va) and Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) praised his contributions to ending Apartheid while Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) praised Mandela for being a champion of human rights.

Here is a quote from Mandela:

"It always seems impossible until it's done."

SIDEBAR: Alas, it was a rough night for us as spectators as all four of the teams we were rooting for somehow fell in the NCAA tournament: Cal upset North Carolina, LSU came from two sets down to win over Michigan, Radford University posted a great second set but still fell in straight sets to host Minnesota, and in spite of winning the first set against Utah, the Yale Bulldogs lost to the Utes 3-1.

Oh well............

Election Day by the #s (3 of 4)_ How Obama Won in Virginia

The image above is of Natural Bridge, which is located near Lexington, Va. Though his opponent Mitt Romney fared better in the Shenandoah Valley, with the exception of college towns like Harrisonburg, Obama dominated in the Washington, DC-suburbs, and Richmond. Obama also won in the cities of Roanoke, Danville and Norfolk.


Here is a look at the numbers for my home state:

22,179_ Votes that Obama got in the City of Roanoke, my hometown

14,116- Votes for Romney in Roanoke

19,753- Votes for Romney in Lynchburg, Va., home of Liberty University

15,905- Votes for Obama in Lynchburg, a jurisdiction he won in 2008

60.6-Percentage for Obama in Danville

38.6-Percentage for Romney in Danville

52.2- Percentage for Romney in Halifax County (South Boston)

46.6- Percentage for Obama in Halifax County

260,835- Votes Obama got in Fairfax County

173, 286- Votes Romney got in Fairfax County

81.2-Percentage Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va) got in his reelection bid

58. 8-Percentage Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) got in his reelection bid

907- Number of votes Romney got in Rich County, Utah

83- Number of votes Obama got in Rich County, Utah

Health Care: A Tale of Two Congressional Reps

The historic 219-212 Yes Vote for Health Care reform proved actually not to be a Democrati versus Republican matter as much as an inner party struggle where Democratic congressional reps from either red or purple states had to decide if the controversial, yet significant legislation was worth the political risk it entailed.

Thus hardly any Blue State Democratic representatives, with the exception of Cong. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), voted against the bill while several red state Democrats, including Cong. Jeff Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) voted against it.

Thus, the battle came down to swing state Democrats and nowhere was that felt more here than along the Virginia/North Carolina border.

My own congressional rep Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) voted for the bill in spite of death threats he recieved over the summer from far right constituents who wanted to force his vote the other way.

Another Triad rep Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), one of the most partisan Republicans in Congress, publicly said the health care bill was a greater threat to American national security than radical Islamic terrorists.

In the end, there were no surprises in Virginia or North Carolina except that Cong. Rick Boucher (D-Va) who represents the southwest part of the state voted against the bill, perhaps because of impending political pressure from a potential run against Virginia's House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) who has indicated he may run against Boucher. The only congressional rep from Virginia with more seniority than Boucher, elected in 1984, is Cong. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who was elected in 1980.

Like all House Republicans, Wolf- who is considered to be a more moderate member of the Virginia GOP delegation- said he voted against the bill because of the alleged
$1 trillion price tag associated with it.

There were three members of North Carolina's Democratic delegation which voted against the bill. While it may seem more politically safe to make such a move, the three reps who voted against it, Cong. Heath Shuler (D-NC) (a former Washington Redskins quarterback pictured here), Cong. Larry Kissell (D-NC) and Cong. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) faced the scorn of constituents who helped elect them to The Hill.

Ed Morris of Franklin, NC, who was interviewed by NPR, lives in Shuler's district and he has been among the strongest proponents of the bill nationally, criticized the former football star in "The Ashville Citizen-Times" (Asheville, NC, newspaper):

"It may even cost him his job," Morris said. "But if he can save one life, it's a moral responsibility."

Kissell, who represents the area around Kannapolis-the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt's hometwon, was also criticized for his 'no' vote by area Democratic activist Michael Lawson who told "The Washington Post" in a December article that 'we sent Mr. Smith to Washington, only to realize he wasn't Mr.Smith.'

But, Tom Perriello (D-Va, pictured) did the brave political, moral thing and voted for the health care bill. Perriello, who resides in Charlottesville when not in Congress, said he had read letters of support from residents and hopspitals in Martinsville, Danville and Charlottesville.

Though he faces tough competition from a current field of seven Republican challengers, including Feda Morton a biology teacher and conservative activist with no prior political experience from rural Fluvanna County, Perriello told "The Daily Progress" (Charlottesville newspaper) that there was only one clear option:

"At the end of the day, it comes down to the dollars and cents at the kitchen table," Perriello said. "Doing nothing is the surest way to ensure that we're moving in the wrong direction."

Reaction to President Obama's State of the Union

I suppose it's the old reporter in me, but I thought I would post an objective (or objective as possible) entry about President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech, which lasted for an hour and 10 minutes last night.

Since I am no longer a reporter, I have been more partisan in my views. I not only voted for Obama, but I also volunteered for him- even konicking on doors in the hostile neighborhood of Bonsack, Va. (near Roanoke, Va.)But, I initially supported Hillary Clinton on the basis that she was the more experienced candidate. I have also criticized those on the far-right (extremist talk show host Glenn Beck), right (pundit George F. Will) and far-left (Matt Taibbi of "Rolling Stone") who have wrongly criticized Obama on a variety of issues.

As one might expect, there have been a wide disclosure of reactions from the right and the left, and even political entities outside the United States. Some Iranian activists expressed disappointment on Twitter that Obama's speech, which mostly focused on domestic issues aside from terrorism, did not mention assistance to Iranian disidents who desperately want to see a change in government in their country.

Ian Swanson of "The Hill" said that the president called on Republicans and Democrats to overcome the numbing weight of their political differences and come together for the sake of the American people.

At the footnote of the online edition of Swanson's article, there were some reactionary far right-wing comments. Poster David Benfell said: "Obama's going to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws? HA HA HA."

But, more centrist conservatives were also critical of Obama. Bradley Smith of the online version of the right-wing publication "The National Review" said that Obama's critical comments on the recent Supreme Court decision that will allow more corporate influence in campaign contributions was demogogeury at its worst.

On the center-left, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt) told "The Hill" that the Supremes' 5-4 decision on corporate donations was the most partisan decision since the highly controversial Bush v. Gore, which determined the presidency in early 2001.

And, Jacob Heilbrunn of the liberal "Huffington Post" said that the Republican Party's inability to cooperate with Obama on the stimulus package will have damaging long-term consequences.

I guess in the long run, we will just have to wait and see what happens. But, in my view, partisanship aside, I think Obama laid out his agenda in very clear, concise language but given the hyper-partisanship in Washington, DC, these days, the long term question will be: "Is it enough?"


SIDEBAR: Speaking of The Hill, I want to wish my good friend and my favorite Republican congressional representative Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va) a happy birthday. The 10th district Virginia congressman turns 71 on Saturday. Wolf is the senior most member of the Virginia delegation. He was first elected to Congress in 1980. He has been one of the leading voices for global human rights in Congress, and we commend him for his work.

SIDEBAR TWO: Wow! With all the breaking news, I have gotten behind on some other things I was hoping to post including my TOP 25 Films of the Decade List. Hopefully, we'll get to it before February! There is an entry about the death of left-wing intellectual Howard Zinn on my sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time." I used to tell people I was a Democrat because Howard Zinn was better than Glenn Beck. I suppose I will have to find someone else to use for that sentiment now!

Know Your Congressional Reps and Senators (16 of 21)- Frank Wolf

Those of who read this blog regularly know I'm a fairly partisan Democrat. In fact, we just endorsed Demcratic state senator Creigh Deeds for the Virginia gubernatorial race (see earlier entry).

But, I do happen to have many Republican friends and some of them are federal state representatives in Washington, DC, Richmond and Raleigh.

Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va) is one of those friends, and I have tremendous respect and admiration for him.

Wolf, who was born on Jan. 30, 1939, in Philadelphia is the most senior of all Virginia's congressional reps. Wolf was elected in 1980 after narrowly defeating the incumbent Democrat Joe Fisher (1914-1992) who had served three terms in the house.

Wolf is co-chair os the Human Rights Caucus along with Cong. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and he is also prominent in the fields of transportation and gambling.

Since 1989, Wolf has made five trips to The Sudan (according to Wikipedia) and he has advocated relief for the genocide in Darfur.

Wolf also formed the bipartisan Iraq Study Group in 2006 to access the war in Iraq.

But, Wolf is perhaps best known for vocally criticizing China's human rights record. During a visit to Beijing with Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) just prior to the 2008 Olympics, Wolf was not allowed to meet with local human rights lawyers.

He was last challenged by Democratic opponent Judy Feder.

Wolf represents the tenth district of Virginia, which includes mostly DC suburbs as well as the town of Front Royal and the City of Winchester.

Cong. Rick Boucher (D-VA), who was elected to office in 1984, is Virginia's most senior Democratic congressional rep.

I met Wolf while working for a weekly newspaper in Woodstock, Va., which is now in the sixth congressional district represented by Cong. Bob Goodlate (R).