McCain Scores a Direct Hit

Posted on July 6, 2010 by billmanzi

Senator John McCain, locked in a bitter primary fight with former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, has scored a direct hit with a new ad ripping Hayworth apart for his appearance as a paid pitchman for a shady company selling information on how to get U.S. Government grants. Calling Hayworth a “huckster” McCain scores big, turning Hayworth’s own words back on him. Devastating ad if you are a Hayworth fan.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cahill Takes the Plunge

Posted on July 5, 2010 by billmanzi

Treasurer Tim Cahill, plunging in the polls, has decided to try to stanch the bleeding by making a media buy in the dead of summer. Cahill is using the internet ad he unveiled a couple of weeks back for television, and has also gone on radio. His strategy of conserving his funds for the last couple of months lies in tatters. What will the buy cost, and will it reverse the political fortunes of a candidacy that has hit a major bump in the road?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Steele on the Ropes Again

Posted on July 5, 2010 by billmanzi

GOP Chairman Michael Steele is under withering fire from key members of his own party over remarks he made last week questioning our ability to win in Afghanistan and calling that war one of “Obama’s choosing”. The reaction from the neo-con right was swift, with Bill Kristol, and Liz Cheney calling on Steele to resign. John McCain offered some harsh criticism as well. From Politico:

McCain offered the harshest response to Steele’s remarks Sunday, though he too said the chairman’s future is up to others.

“I think those statements are wildly inaccurate and there’s no excuse for them,” McCain told ABC’s “This Week.” He added that “Chairman Steele sent me an email saying they were misconstrued.”

Steele, the Arizona Republican said, “is going to have to assess whether he thinks he can still lead the Republican Party as chairman of the party and come to a decision.”

Steele truly is the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats. But in all this controversy there is something of substance to think about. Is a land war in Afghanistan winnable in the traditional sense?

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39358.html#ixzz0soR6dGYO

Posted in International, National News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The President on Jobs and Solar

Posted on July 5, 2010 by billmanzi

The President spent his weekly address time speaking of the need for job growth and cited two solar companies who are locating manufacturing facilities in the United States. Manufacturing, or the lack thereof, has been a critical factor in our economic descent. The free trade zealots would have us believe that this is all a matter of “retooling our economy” for a new world order, where the economy of the United States, bereft of manufacturing, will adapt in other ways. Workers will be “retrained” for this new world order. This canard has led to the “hollowing out” of America, with companies outsourcing much of our manufacturing, and sapping the very thing that created our economic strength in the first place: MANUFACTURING.

For those who point to the United States as a “high labor cost” manufacturer two things need to be pointed out. The United States and its government have been shockingly passive as unfair trade practices, including direct industry subsidies by foreign governments, have wiped out huge sections of our manufacturing base. (See European subsidy of Airbus). The second thing to consider is the German model, where a “high cost” nation continues to prosper, with a booming export business and a real manufacturing base.

It is well past time for the United States to develop an industrial policy that places the needs of America first. And that means the redevelopment of a manufacturing sector right here in America. Difficult, yes. Impossible, definitely not.

Read the Buchanan column here.

Read the Myerson column here.

Posted in National News | Tagged | Leave a comment

Governors Race Polling

Posted on June 29, 2010 by billmanzi

The Boston Globe released a poll on the Governor’s race a couple of days ago, and it showed a couple of interesting variables. Patrick led the poll, as he has done consistently, by 7 points over Charlie Baker 38-31. The Governor’s numbers in terms of job performance are still shaky, but he has shown marked improvement over the last Globe survey. Baker, behind an introductory ad blitz, has moved his numbers up as well.

Tim Cahill’s numbers, tanking after he absorbed a deluge of negative ads from the Republican Governor’s Association, really bottomed out in this survey, where he came in at 9%. I realize that it is relatively early but his rapid descent is now self feeding, with folks likely not wanting to “waste” their vote on the independent candidacy that appears to be faltering. Of course that is only one man’s speculation but independent candidacies that are underfunded face similar challenges, and usually meet the same fate.

One number that stands out to me is the preference of the “independent” (unenrolled) voter, where Baker leads by a 35 to 30 margin over the Governor, with Cahill coming in with 12%. Still a good sized chunk of undecided voters at 20%, but Baker will be hard pressed to win this race without substantially widening that gap. With the party voters appearing to return “home” Governor Patrick just needs to stay close with independents, and leverage his larger Democratic base to victory in November.

Baker has made the move that he needed to make to stay in this race, and the Globe has characterized it as “a surge”. But the Governor has yet to do any paid media, and has held a consistent lead even in his worst days. Knocking out the Governor is going to be a bit harder than some of the pundits thought a few months back.

Posted in State News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The President on Financial Reform

Posted on June 27, 2010 by billmanzi

The President spent his weekly address dealing with the financial reform package that has just moved forward in Congress. He has spoken forcefully on this matter before, and he is looking for a bill to be on his desk by July 4. I think he will have it.

The Brooking Institute posting praising the Financial Reform Package.

Senator Scott Brown, whose vote allowed this bill to move forward, is now hedging, stating his opposition to the new taxes on financial institutions that are contained in the bill.

Posted in National News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Priscilla Diaz Wins June S.O.A.R. Award

Posted on June 24, 2010 by billmanzi

Priscilla has been selected for this award because she has been an inspiration since she first arrived to Methuen High School as a Junior just 21 months ago. Priscilla left her mother, other family members and friends, and her country in September of 2009 to come to the United States to live with her father. Priscilla’s English skills were limited at that time; she soon discovered that keeping up with the pace and vocabulary of classroom discussions was a challenge, especially her science and social studies classes. But Priscilla was an exceptionally motivated student: she realized early on that when she read ahead in her text books in her free time, she was able to understand the subject matter better, and it helped her to be able to better understand what was being talked about in class.

In the beginning, there were many words that Priscilla did not know; she wrote these down in a notebook and looked them up in the dictionary. If she didn’t understand the dictionary definition, she would ask her teachers to explain the words’ meanings to her. This became a regular practice of Priscilla’s: reading ahead in her text books; recording new words in her notebook; and researching the definitions of these words.

Priscilla Diaz wins June SOAR Award

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Harry Reid On the Ropes in Nevada

Posted on June 24, 2010 by billmanzi

Majority Leader Harry Reid has the Republican opponent he had hoped for in Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle in Nevada, but still trails her by 11 points in the latest Rasmussen survey. Reid is already up on the air, slamming Angle for her views on Social Security and Medicare. Angle has responded thus far only with an Internet ad, while attempting to raise money for the coming battle. Reid has had consistently poor ratings for the past couple of years, with Nevada’s conservative electorate leaning right on health care and immigration issues. Angle has taken some positions (like Social Security) that Reid will attempt to exploit, and appears to me to be a candidate with great similarity to Rand Paul. Reid has gotten what he wanted. Will he be able to avoid the fate of Tom Daschle?

Posted in U.S. Senate Race | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Patrick Lead Narrows

Posted on June 23, 2010 by billmanzi

Rasmussen has released a new survey on the Massachusetts Governors race, with Deval Patrick leading Charlie Baker by seven points, 41-34%. Tim Cahill continues to place third, with 16%, which appears to be where he is stuck in the last few surveys. Baker remains viable in this race, and the Governor, with a 50% disapproval of his job performance, remains vulnerable, despite marked improvement in his standing over the past few months. It is a real race for Governor.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New Cahill (Internet) Ad

Posted on June 22, 2010 by billmanzi

Tim Cahill, still suffering from lagging poll numbers, took to the Internet with a new ad this week. Cahill has switched media consultants again, with Tad Devine leaving the campaign and Democratic media guru David Heller coming on board. The Internet ads are a nice campaign supplement but can hardly be counted on to move poll numbers. But for Tim Cahill, at least through September, that is about all he can afford. Can the Treasurer hold on until then? And with both Charlie Baker and Deval Patrick likely on the air themselves in the same time-frame will Cahill’s message be drowned out?

Posted in State News | Tagged , | Leave a comment