I recently wrote of my opposition to Maryland House Bill 712. I'm here to revise and amend my remarks. Last Friday afternoon February 26, 2010 in Maryland's Joint Committee Hearing Room was a sight to see. A bill that already had an impressive list of sponsors had an even more impressive list of witnesses testifying in favor of HB 712. On the house side, the bill currently has 48 sponsors so it is not an orphan by a long shot. Over one fifth of the bills sponsors are Republican in a heavily Democratic state. Of the ten Republican sponsors, three are minority whips. What really excited the proponents was when bill sponsor Del. Morhaim said in his opening remarks that he was considering revisiting the issue of personal cultivation. That was not the only high point.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Is there a Method to Liz Cheney's Madness?

Many observers have found Liz and Dick Cheney's fervent crusade to ensure that President Obama define terrorists as "enemy combatants," and the fight against terrorism as a "war" on terrorism quite curious. Why would a former vice president break the long established tradition of fading into the woodwork to engage in a silly debate over semantics? Now we also have his daughter, Liz Cheney, attacking standards set down by the United States Constitution guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law. Liz Cheney has now branded attorneys who defended 'alleged terrorists' the "Al Qaeda 7," and she's calling the United States Department of Justice - that's simply carrying out the prescription set down by the United States Constitution - "The Department of Jihad." Could there possibly be a reasonable explanation behind such radical behavior? I think there is.

The Cheneys are engaged in a preemptive strike against the Obama administration in general, and the Justice Department in particular, in order to stir up public opinion against the prospect that the Obama administration will finally decides to prosecute Dick Cheney for war crimes - as the rule of law demands. They're busily laying the groundwork to incite insurrection across this country to counter the application of the rule of law.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE


Mr. President: By Refusing to Look Back, You're Jeopardizing What Lies Before Us

I undoubtedly have neither the information nor wisdom to question the vast majority of your presidential decisions. But it takes neither classified information, nor wisdom, to question your decision to "move forward and not look back" regarding the Bush administration's actions leading this nation into the Iraq War, and the alleged war crimes committed thereafter.

During your inauguration you swore that to the best of your ability you would act to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, your decision to circumvent the rule of law in response to the Bush administration's actions leading up to and during the War in Iraq does everything but that. Your position in this matter is diametrically opposed to one of the fundamental principles of this nation - that no one is above the law.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Would Tavis Smiley's 'Black Agenda' Help the Black Community,
or Bring America to its Knees?

I want to begin this column with an apology. I went completely ballistic in my last column (Urban Comedy: Tavis Smiley - A Crab Determined to Reach Beyond His Grasp). Although I feel that it was with good cause, a cooler head convinced me that even though he may agree with my sentiment, by indulging my need to rant, I did both the readers, and the publications that provide me with a platform to keep the public informed, a gross disservice, and I agree.

I don't work for Fox News, so it's not my job to ram my opinion down the readers' throats. As a responsible columnist my job is to simply present the facts, discuss what those facts represent from my point of view, then allow the readers to make up their own minds. Anything short of that is both condescending and less than informative to the reader. So again, I want to apologize. But while I apologize for admittedly falling short of professionalism in my approach, I don't retract one word of my sentiment in this matter.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE


Urban Comedy: Tavis Smiley, A Crab Determined to Reach Beyond His Grasp

Well, he's at it again, people. In spite of the fact that President Obama has saved the nation from a second Great Depression, responsible for getting a stimulus bill passed that has saved tens of thousands of jobs, is currently struggling to reconcile a jobs bill in congress, and is hard at work trying to get a 'New Deal' for the American people in health-care reform, Tavis Smiley seems to still be stuck on stupid in the groundless, and needlessly divisive criticism that President Obama doesn't have "a Black agenda."

True to form, Tavis has stirred up this nonsense at one of the most crucial times in American history, and this time he's even taken it a step farther by accusing "Black leaders" (the phrase 'Black leader' suggests that Black people don't have sense enough to think for themselves), including Rev. Al Sharpton, Ben Jealous, Charles Ogletree, Valerie Jarrett, Marc Morial, and Dr. Dorothy Height of saying the President doesn’t need a Black agenda. In doing so he grossly distorted the meaning of Sharpton's comment that the president doesn't need to ballyhoo a Black agenda - a position, in my view, that signals tremendous growth on the part of Rev. Sharpton.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Day America Outlawed Democracy

The time is past due for America to start connecting the dots regarding our political establishment. It has become increasingly clear that we've reached a political crisis in this country, but contrary to what we're being led to believe, the major division in this country is no longer between liberals and conservatives, but rather, the American people and those we've elected to represent us.

Due to our political indifference, we've allowed the political establishment in this country to lavish upon themselves so many rewards, prerogatives, and political perks that they can no longer identify with the people they're suppose to represent. They've become a class within themselves. Where they were once considered the trusted employees of the American people, they've now become a part of a new American aristocracy. Thus, they now identify much more closely with the rich and powerful - or those they're supposed to be protecting us from - than they do the constituency they're supposed to represent.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

War Crimes

It's been suggested more than once that the only reason I'm so passionate about having the Bush Administration charged with war crimes is because I'm a liberal, and therefore, harbor some sort of deep-seated hatred for George Bush. But that's not true. The fact is, I neither hate George Bush, nor any other conservative. I'm a progressive, not an ideologue, so I have no ideological motive to see any adversity brought into Bush's life, or anyone elses. My passion stems from the fact that because I am progressive, I have a progressive's lust for justice.

As I've mentioned in previous articles, progressives have but one guiding philosophy, one that entails the primacy of humanity, justice for ALL, and the search for truth - wherever that truth may lead, and regardless to whose ox is gored as a result. It's just happens that in this case, the ox that must be gored is in our own backyard.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE


The Massachusetts Disaster

I find myself quoting my own material quite a bit here lately, not because I'm trying to prove myself a prophet or some sort of self-proclaimed intellectual giant, but just to prove that if one looks at what's actually happening in America instead of simply what one wants to see, or what is politically comfortable, the facts are clear - America is waste deep in a class war, and the poor and middle class are losing badly.

The reason that we're losing so badly is that the corporate interests in this country are keeping us distracted by deluding us into thinking we're still fighting the last war - race. But the fact is, corporations don't give a damn about race. As I've mentioned before, in this new economy of the new world order, where corporate competitors all over the world have people working for pennies a day, corporations can't afford the luxury of being concerned about race. All they care about is making money - and that means doing whatever they have to do to degrade the living standards of an expensive U.S. middle class.   Read More »

Dear Fellow Democrats,

We worked so hard to elect a Democrat majority in 2006, and Barack Obama in 2008. We accomplished this by coalescing our different internal groups: progressives, liberals, independents, and - yes - even Conservadems.

Now that we have some amount of power, I am so saddened to see our party do what it has done in the past: our diverse groups are fragmenting because we expect some "perfect" version of policies to be enacted immediately. We seem unable to act like a TEAM.

How will we ever be able to govern, if we cannot compromise with each other? It will be impossible, and we will lose the power we worked so hard to attain... before we ever have a chance to show the American People that our ideas will make this country better.

Let me give you an example: Like you, I am receiving emails from various liberal and progressive causes - causes I supported during the elections, and during the fight for a public option. These action groups are now calling on me to petition the President to fire his top adviser. They are calling on me to demand my senators and congresspersons vote against the Healthcare Reform bill because it doesn't have a public option. In essence, at the same time conservatives and independents flee our party, my liberal fellows are actively fighting AGAINST the president we worked to hard to elect!

My fellow Democrats, don't you see how wrong this is? Have you ever heard the phrase "Cutting off one's nose to spite their face?"

Please don't misunderstand me. I am as liberal as they get! But I am also a PRAGMATIST. We need to learn a bit of pragmatism in our party. We have a Healthcare Reform bill that will cover over 30 millions uninsured Americans, will end discrimination against pre-existing conditions, and that will reduce the deficit. What, pray tell is wrong with that???

In politics there is a concept called a "Strategic Initiative." It is an idea that Republicans have long used to powerful effect: When you can't get a "perfect" bill, you pass something as close as you can get. A bill that opens the door to more progressive change, and that makes it harder to turn back time. That is what the Senate Health Reform bill is. Its not perfect, and it doesn't include a public option - something I fought very hard for, and something I know in my heart is necessary for effective reform. Heck, I support a Single Payer system, but I understand its too early for us to get that right now.

The House has passed its bill. The Senate has passed theirs. The time for insisting on a Public Option in THIS bill is passed. But, ask yourselves this: Are we more likely to get a public option in the future if we let this bill die? Or, having passed this bill that gets us one step away from a Public Option, will we be in a better position to pass it in the near future?

Fellow Democrats, we MUST seize this moment and pass reform now. We have delayed long enough. Debated long enough. If we work against this bill now, we are only playing into the hands of Republicans who want to kill the bill and start over. This is wrong politically, and will be the death of progress before it even has a chance.

Look, Democracy is messy business. Its not perfect, and it will never be! We cannot afford to hold progress hostage to our own perfect versions of reality! If we do not learn how to compromise with each other to form a Governing Coalition, we shall never achieve our progressive aims and our beloved country will only suffer further under the leadership of a party that CAN work lockstep together - and you know who that is.

Thank you for your time,
D. Tree

The loss of Massachusetts can bring us together, it is only one state and only one vote towards health care reform. I think that if we keep pushing reform, it will convince someone to vote for it. How do we do that when mainstream news media like network news is supporting a movement of the ignorant misinformed rich mass called the Tea Party? We have to re- stratergize in order to get people to stay Democrat and vote Democrat.

The Tea Party/Baggers is advancing is because they are passing and believing the lies and the scare tactics used by the Republican Party and network news, the GOP's subsidiary to not get health care formed. But, it is more than just policy. President Obama is being treated like an intelligent African American student in a mostly white classroom. Every mistake he makes is a grave one and every achievement he gets is not good enough and underrecognized. I feel like if we let this continue, then we have really spiraled as a country in regards to progress in this country. The GOP and the Tea Party wants to lynch President Obama, we cannot let that happen without a fight.

We can lead the way by being pragmatic, realistic, and look at the content of his political character. Yes, he made campaign promises, but to expect that he will do all of them in under a certain time and hold it to his head is not being realistic. In our system of government, it takes a while and the path is taken with compromise and debate, and Obama has been central and supportive of such discussions. Although, I do not think that the way the GOP and the GOP-sponsored Tea Party are really basing their views on President Obama on his policies, but his race. An African American is President of the United States, and they cannot stand for it. And, honestly, denying that this has to do with race is only feeding the monster that is being created. I think that what President Obama should do is acknowledge that they are looking at him through a racist lens, and he needs to crack that lens by acknowledging this reality and repeating the lines of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that it is about character, not color. He's human, and prone to error, but his race is not his error.

People are angry about the state of economy, are afraid of health care reform, and fearing the worse because President Obama is an African- American man in power. I am not afraid of him or his race, and I am not one to scapegoat President Obama simply because of his skin color, in fact, just to reiterate: the messes that Obama is dealing with are messes he did not make, but made by George W. Bush. His economic policies are responsible for the mess we are in, and President Obama should not be penalized for doing the best he can to get us out of it. I do think that there will be economic prosperity with President Obama, but I know it takes time and we have to be patient. People are afraid of health care reform because an African American man in political power is deciding upon such. We live in a racist country, but the only way we can hope to move on is to acknowledge it and focus on the problems at hand that have nothing to do with race.

The problems at hand are that our economic recovery is not going as fast as we thought, and that our ways of appealing health care are not working. So we regroup. People are worried about government spending, the government has a duty to help out its constituents in any way it can. Our economy is struggling, and any spending at all I think would stimulate something. We just have to wait.

Massachusetts has opened up an interesting opportunity for us. We just have to take it. Let's start cracking that racist lens until its broken!

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Conservative Corruption of Progressive Thought

As one who has always tried, with varying success, to be progressive in my thinking, I'd like to make a few personal observations on the contemporary progressive movement. I want to preface my remarks with the assurance that I have long since recognized that I corner the market on neither knowledge, wisdom, nor intellect, but I'd like to share my thoughts nevertheless - not as a condescending edict handed down by a self-appointed pundit, but in the hope that the thoughts of an average man, with common facility, are worthy of public discussion.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Gross Hypocrisy: The Greatest Threat to American Security

As the mainstream media continues to engage in its endless distraction over Senator Harry Reid stating the ridiculously obvious, New York's Black Star News is running an otherwise completely overlooked little story about the firing of Eric Amankwah, a 28-year-old Ghanian, by Delta Airlines for reporting a serious breach of security.   Read More »

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester called yesterday's action by the Senate to delay the Tennessee Voters Confidence Act a partisan move by Republican leadership to deny the state's voters fair and accurate elections.

"Tennessee voters got the shaft today by a shameless group of Republican politicians bent on winning at all costs," Forrester said. "They evidently could care less about trampling on democracy. I hope voters understand they have been had by a group of politicians who cooked up an elaborate scheme to steal elections here in Tennessee.

"Their claim that this was only about saving taxpayer money is a bogus one. We have $35 million already set aside in federal funds to buy this equipment and train workers on it. To knowingly mislead the public about this issue is wrong and a disservice to the state."

State lawmakers overwhelmingly passed in 2008 the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, which requires all county election commissions to make the switch to optical scan machines and paper ballots before the November 2010 elections.

Last year, Secretary of State Tre Hargett spearheaded efforts to delay implementation of the law, claiming he could not find properly certified machines in time for the 2010 elections. The Senate failed to pass the delaying tactic, but Republican state Sens. Ron Ramsey and Bill Ketron vowed to delay the law at the beginning of this year's session, which began on Tuesday (Jan. 12).

"Some of the Republicans in the state Legislature's leadership were emboldened by what happened in 2008 when they gained majorities in both chambers," Forrester said. "So they figured the best way to maintain their majorities was to control who and how the ballots are counted."

The nonpartisan group Common Cause Tennessee even sued the secretary of state, state Election Coordinator Mark Goins and the state Election Commission for failing to implement the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act. A Davidson County judge agreed with TVCA proponents and ruled in November "that the State is obligated to take prompt, effective steps to meet the statutory deadline using compliant voting systems."

"Yesterday's action by the Senate's Republican leadership just goes to show you how some of them think," Forrester said. "If you don't like the rules, change them."

Republicans now control all 95 county election commissions where many local election administrators have been replaced. A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the ousted election administrators, contending Republicans violated their constitutional rights by conspiring to treat their jobs as political patronage. The federal suit coincides with several other pending lawsuits filed in state chancery courts by individual county election administrators who were fired.

"I believe that the Republican leadership in the General Assembly is involved in a conspiracy to steal elections through intimidation, fraud and denying basic constitutional rights," Forrester said. "Mr. Hargett, Mr. Ketron and Mr. Ramsey should be ashamed of what they have done."

###



Contact: Keith Talley
TNDP Communications Director
615-327-9779 (office)
keith@tndp.org

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

GOP: Well, You Can't Say That You weren't Warned

Well, GOP, I hate to tell you I told you so, but it looks like you're attempt at political manipulation have finally come back to bite you - and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch.

Immediately after the election of Michael Steele as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I pointed out in my article, Republicans: "Look Y'all - We Got Us One Too", that The RNC ploy to elect Steele as the first African American chairman in its 153 year history was not only grossly transparent, but was going to backfire in a very big way - and I was so right on target with that prediction that the RNC should hire me as chief consultant against Republican stupidity.   Read More »

Democratic Talk Radio is now in our 9th year. We are facing unique challenges and opportunities in 2010.

We have added 3 co-hosts- Dana Garrett (Delaware), John Morgan (Pennsylvania) and Walt Garvin (Pennsylvania) to our WGPA SUNNY 1100AM Thursday morning show. We expect to soon offer a college radio version of the show and are actively exploring new commercial stations.

We are moving from just a show to a "brand" concept that will hopefully have many new Democratic Talk Radio shows each unique to their market/station. All will work together with various DTR hosts being frequent guests on other DTR shows. We have been doing something similar with other progressive and labor radio shows for years.

Our goal is to either get a version of our show in every community or get another progressive, pro-labor, pro-middle class, pro-democratic show on the air in each community. In our opinion, our kind of shows are allies of similar shows instead of competitors. We are really mission driven instead of profit driven. Breaking even while not taking a paycheck sounds fine to us provided we impact policy discussions and actual policy in a positive way.

We badly need funding to move forward or even stay on the air in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. We need your help in raising these funds.

We welcome and need your ideas as well as new allies in these new markets. Our top fundraisers will be invited to join the new Democratic Talk Radio Advisory Board. This group will steer our expansion efforts, help raise funds, plan activities and play a role in our future programming.

If interested, please contact me at demlabor@aol.com. Our phone number is 443-907-2367. Our mailing address is: Democratic Talk Radio, 698 Old Baltimore Pike, Newark, Delaware 19702.

Even if you are not interested in joining our Advisory Board, we could still use any donations in any amount.

We can run ads or you can sponsor a whole show for just $250. Sponsors can sometimes be guests or play a role in guest selection provided the desired show fits with our larger mission.

In solidarity,

Stephen Crockett

Host, Democratic Talk Radio
Editor, Mid-Atlantic Labor.com

Her just announced deal with Fox News says it all!

Talk about losing ALL claim to "Fair and Balanced."

I certainly do do see them offering Al Gore or Howard Dean the same kind of deal. FOX NEWS looks like a way to finance Republican hacks to spew Republican talking points 24/7 and call that BS news.

Everyone should publicly denounce the deal unless Fox News gets either Howard Dean, Al Gore or someone of their status from the Democratic side a show on the network.

The cast of characters in American politics who could have received our Hero and Villain Awards for 2009 was huge. It was a very busy year in American politics. We have multiple winners in both categories but still were unable to recognize everyone who deserved to win.

One of the villains was an easy and obvious choice. Fox News commentator and author Glenn Beck wins a Democratic Talk Radio Villain of 2009 Award for unashamedly spreading lies, myths and innuendos with no conscience.

The Editor of Buzzflash.com Mark Karlin wins a Democratic Talk Radio Hero of 2009 Award for unselfishly devoting all his time and energies to debunking them. The role the Internet played in counteracting the corporate dominance and bias in the realm of political news in 2009 cannot be overstated.

Paul Krugman wins a Hero Award for his role of speaking truth to power in his multiple roles as economist, New York Times columnist and Book author. Congress and the Obama Administration should be listening to him in dealing with the current economic crisis. Every American citizen should read his recent book The Conscience of a Liberal. It will help you understand the current economic crisis, healthcare reform and much more.

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) wins a Villain Award for politicizing national security and putting every American flying on a commercial airline at risk by placing a hold on the confirmation of the head of the TSA. His rationale for this action is nearly as outrageous as the action. He does not want TSA employees to have the right to unionize and bargain collectively for better pay, benefits and working conditions. DeMint claims that TSA would not be as effective with a unionized workforce. Exactly why having demoralized, underpaid workers doing security screening at airports will make us safer escapes all of us here at Democratic Talk Radio. Union haters abound in Republican Right circles but DeMint has taken his bias to dangerous extremes.

The entire Republican Party power structure and the few corporate Democrats undermining healthcare insurance reform in America collectively win a Democratic Talk Radio Villain of 2009 award for their outrageous public behavior, serving corporate interests instead of the public good and lying to the American public. Single-payer, government provided healthcare should have been seriously considered as a policy option but was not because of these villains. The final bills passed by both houses of Congress are much weaker than they should have been (although the House version does have a better funding mechanism and a weak public option provision). Americans will suffer and die as a result of the actions of these villains by the millions in coming decades! Jobs will be lost because American businesses will still be paying for health insurance while foreign competitors will not.

Former Vermont Governor and DNC Chair Howard Dean wins a Hero Award for publicly speaking the truth during the healthcare insurance debate. Unlike the Republican medical doctors serving in Congress, Dr. Dean understands and lives by the medical ethical slogan “do not harm.” This ethical standard should be applied in both the medical and political fields.

For more information, please contact Democratic Talk Radio at demlabor@aol.com or by phone at 443-907-2367.Our website is http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com .

In these terrible economic times, it is hard to keep the bills paid for most working families. We all are struggling to stay in our homes, keep our old cars on the road and food on the table. Americans are certainly worried with good reason about keeping their jobs and affording healthcare. All of these problems can be traced more or less directly to excessive corporate power in America both economically and politically.

The current healthcare insurance reform debate has highlighted for everyone how much the balance of power has shifted in terms of public debate against the interests of American workers and towards the interests of giant corporations. Corporate media has not given a real voice to labor leaders who represent the millions of American workers most heavily impacted by this issue. Right Wing talk radio has distorted elements of the issue, the process and relevant facts beyond all recognition. Most of the opposition to real change from the American public comes from not hearing the truth. Lack of balance in this debate reveals the one-sided nature of corporate media.

Why was single-payer, universal healthcare deemed “off the table” when it is the norm in nearly every other industrialized nation in the world? It was corporate power! The corporate media deemed it “radical” and working Americans had no effective voice in framing the debate. We will all suffer as a result.

Corporate power killed the Fairness Doctrine in broadcasting. This means that the public airwaves are solely being used even in political terms for private profit. Since corporations have huge spending advantages over their workers’ organizations (labor unions), workers have been effectively shut out of the public debate. It has impacted politics, government policy and American working family living standards for decades.

The relative lack of effective working families-oriented media has resulted in awful government policies that have ruined American manufacturing, killed Americans in unjustified wars and by denying healthcare, gutted pensions, legalized predatory lending, polluted our environment, weakened civil liberties, curtailed voting rights and given the wealthiest of the wealthy near veto rights over government policy. Instead of government acting as a check and balance to international corporations it far too often has become a tool of them. The ruination of the American economy has assisted the excessive concentration of wealth in our nation and weakened American democracy.

We cannot reverse this anti-working family, anti-American democracy course without getting our message to the American people. We must create a media network to help offset one-sided corporate media. Labor radio certainly will play a key role if it survives!

Progressive organizations and individuals inside and outside organized labor must find a way to help struggling labor radio programs survive the current economic crisis. Will they? I do not know the answer.   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Who is Barack Obama?

Hello, Rosemary. I was just sitting here contemplating our earlier discussion. You know how much I respect your opinion, so I'm up in the middle of the night contemplating what you had to say about Obama, and my reaction to his policies. Since you're generally so in touch with the mood of the people, as an after thought, I decided to run this response as this week's column - that gives me an excuse for being so long-winded. You said:

"E, I don't think the President is trying so much to be a kiss-up to the Republican Party as he is trying to show that he cannot help it if the Republicans have decided they would rather be unprofessional and not fit to hold the offices they hold in Congress. Think about it. If he came down to their level, what would his credibility really look like? He's still trying to show that he's the President for everyone, no matter if some want to be ignorant. A lot of times people mistake kindness for weakness. NO, I am not looking at him through rose-colored glasses. I'm being realistic. He has a hard road to navigate, and his choices are bad and worst ."   Read More »

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Healthcare: There was a 3 a.m. Call to the White House, and No One Answered

President Obama is in trouble. How do I know? Because as one of his biggest supporters, even I'm beginning to wonder if I got too caught up in the hype. While I'm still excited over the historic significance of his presidency, the gathering threat that he may be remembered as an ineffectual kiss-up to the Republican Party is beginning to tarnish its luster.

That should come as very bad news to the president, because if a supporter of my unfettered loyalty has begun to wonder about him, that means that tens of millions of others are thinking along the same lines. And based on his atrocious handling of both the Republican Party and the healthcare debate, he only has himself to blame.   Read More »