Max Burns was an assistant field director for former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan, and is the webmaster of The Centrist Donkey. He is currently a Government major at George Mason University.
It appears Indiana's Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels is still blaming the state's Democratic governors for his inability to change, well, anything for the better during his first year. Daniels, it seems, is so desperate to place blame on anyone but himself that he is even attacking Democrats that have not held office for almost three decades:
"I never expected anything else. I don't know why anybody would," said Daniels, who had blasted his predecessor, Democrat Joe Kernan, for not doing enough as governor or lieutenant governor to boost Indiana's economy.
Americans today go to work, learn and live amidst a burgeoning new revolution. This revolution does not find its roots in a party-incited class war or sudden revelation about our system of government, but from the pews and pulpits in every state, county, city and parish. The United States, it seems, is engulfed in an old-fashioned religious revival. If only the messengers would get it right.
Nothing has been more talked about in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and nationwide oil shortages and energy price hikes than how we should treat our largest corporations.
In 1993, Republicans stated, quite boldly, that any spending of the Social Security trust fund would be used for Social Security. Riding on this agenda, Republicans were swept into Congress in 1994 to do as they promised. These social-minded Republicans, precursors to today’s “compassionate conservatives,” sold the American public on their plan to keep Social Security afloat. My, how times have changed.
Who needs an AK-47 when you can kill something just as dead with a sturdy old Winchester? Who needs a cyclic rate of fire of 600 rounds a minute when one shot from a well-aimed hunting rifle will kill something just the same? This was the question I always posed to pro-gun advocates when I was standing up for the now defunct Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. It was a good question, one I've yet to meet a good answer to. Of course, that was before I realized the answer for myself:
As some of you know, Dr. Chuck Pennacchio, the only declared Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Rick Santorum, held a blogger-only conference call yesterday. Dr. Pennacchio was kind enough to take questions from all of the bloggers after introducing himself and giving some information about his background, and the entire discussion was very candid. For a candidate with little name recognition and a hard primary season ahead of him, Dr. Pennacchio seemed, if anything, up to the challenge.
Mitch Daniels was elected Governor of Indiana because he campaigned as a moderate, dropping the normal right-wing rhetoric and focusing on issues that Hoosiers cared about. Deep inside, Daniels must still be at least part moderate. However, it seems a far right legislature has hijacked an inexperienced and inept Daniels Administration and has begun retooling it to fit its own desires. The outcome: politics as usual.
Well, after a week of private work and a few days after the public announcement, it seems DEM Magazine - The Magazine for Democrats is ready to have its first review! The concept cover, with style influenced by magazines such as The Nation and The New Republic, is now up for review on The New Democrat
