I'm Back!!

It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you, without a strong rhyme to step to....

Just a little shout to the Backspin channel on Sirus Satellite radio!!

Wow!! There has been so much that has occurred since the last time we talked.....where shall I begin.

First, I would like to congratulate Senators Obama and McCain on securing their parties nomination for President of the United States. Second, I would like to express to my readers who this is all about....the people. I have the honor through my non-profit (The Penny Institute) to teach classes on political education and civic engagement to teenage mothers in the District of Columbia at another non-profit called Healthy Babies. Through these classes I am able to teach them the tools necessary for them to understand their responsibility in creating the changes they want to see in their communities.

These women have little education and even less understanding of the political process, yet during each session their thirst for more grows stronger and stronger. While we sit and debate over talking points from the right and the left these women ponder how they will feed their kids this week and how not to become the next victim of DC's massive gentrification plan (see Mayor Fenty for more details). After just a few sessions these young women are starting to understand that the system will not listen unless you vote in large numbers and can write some checks.

In contrast, I teach a more advance level of political education to some college students in a joint effort with The Center for Progressive Leadership. These students are in DC for the summer working with different think-tanks and other non-profits. Their ambitions are high, but their understanding of political education isn't much higher than the teenage mothers. They are just formulating their political identity and thankfully they are not jaded yet, but they are getting a heavy dose of partisan politics. Unfortunately, they are suffering from the same hangover (see George Bush on YOUTube) that many other Americans outside the beltway are......"Why can't they get shit done"!

The thing that is fascinating and frustrating to me about these two groups is that this is America's future. These young adults have very little in common except their ignorance of their civic responsibility to this country. But, the thing that gives me hope is that both groups are so thirsty for the knowledge and as I give them the water they need for their own nourishment they grow and blossom right before my very eyes.

I ask you, who do you know that is thirsty? Who can you pour hope into?

Until the next time.....feel free to forward this and go to the Penny Blog and post your comments.

How many pennies does it take to change the world?

Penny Politics on BET

Sunday, June 8th at 11:00 am on BET the founder of Penny PAC and The Penny Institute will be featured on The top 10 Senator Barack Obama moments.

Stay tuned for more Penny Politics!!!

"We had a lotta bad blood."

As the latest primary comes to an end the one good thing that comes to mind is the cleansing of the Democratic party.

It reminds me of a line from "The Godfather."

"We had a lotta bad blood."

When Michael Corleone took over the family business he stepped over his older brother Fredo and began to take the family in a different direction. Fredo felt he was entitled to be the next Godfather. When Michael took over he cleared up the bad blood.

I think the party had a lotta bad blood. Obama is Michael and he has just stepped over Hillary. While the Clintons did their share of good for the Democratic party, they also did their share of harm.

Several Members of Congress have numerous horror stories about the tactics and attitudes of the Clintons. Until Obama, the Clintons were the only game in town. While the party has a lot of mending to do, ultimately this will be helpful for the long term success of the Democratic party. This will secure a large youth vote along with Independents, which will assist in increasing the Democratic majority in the Congress.

The time has come - and some would say long overdue - for the Democratic party to turn the page on the Clinton era. Obama is now the head of the family business.

Rev. Run

Here we are on the eve of the Indiana and North Carolina primary and all I am hearing is Hillary's momentum, Reverend Wright, blue collar voters, flag pins, pandering and a divided party. As you may have noticed these issues have nothing to do with real issues such as health care, the war, education, or the weakened economy. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of speaking with several different groups in the DC Maryland region from high school students in DC, to academics at John Hopkins University, and a group of Ministers from Prince Georges County, Maryland.   The funny thing about all those groups is that they all feel the media is way off base during this campaign season.  This is the biggest example that I can remember of the media being more focused on the solaces and not the pertinent issues during an election.  So since that's what the media wants to discuss I will give you my take on there topics of interest. 
 
Hillary's momentum is one of the big topics on MSNBC right now and if she wins Indiana and North Carolina that would be six contest in a row. (my prediction is Obama win NC and she barely wins Indiana) Wow, six in a row!!!  Now that is MOMENTUM!!!  But let's look at this a little closer.  Her streak began when she won Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, but she did not win the delegate count in Texas and let's not forget that Obama won twelve contests in a row; I count Vermont as the 12th state.  But now her momentum is so overwhelming, or at least that is what Chris Matthews and Mr. Buchanan would want you to believe, that Clinton's argument for the super delegates is better than losing a generation of voters since the super delegates would have to overturn the virtually insurmountable lead Obama gained during his twelve state streak.  Of course they also said the best candidate for President was a "Whaspy type candidate".   You decide..
 
Rev. Wright has been on TV more than Britney Spears lately!  See Fox News (Hannity & Combs). The pastors that I spoke with have some sympathy for him, but there is also a feeling that he needs to show some self restraint in his quest to defend his name. If he doesn't do so I think you will see some black leaders (churches) put some distance between them and Rev Wright, simply because the  supporters of Obama in the black churches are not going to allow him to derail that best chance for this country to have an opportunity to elect an African American to the highest office in the land.  So Rev Run!!!  Rev Run away!!!
 
Blue collar voters haven't gotten this much attention since Reagan.  See CNN.  I happen to think all voters are important, but that's just me.  While blue collar voters are important it is unfair to think that if Obama wins the nomination that he will not win New York, California, or Penn, which President Bush did not win either time.  And for the record it is going to be challenging for any Democrat to win Ohio, Florida, Michigan, or Missouri.   And hopefully Democrats have learned from Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004 that Democrats must expand the map to win.  With Obama I feel Wisconsin is in play, along Virginia, Colorado, and possibly a Southern state like Mississippi.   While blue collar voters are important it is a fact that Hillary CANNOT WIN without the African American vote. 
 
   
This takes me into flag pins and pandering. See Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. I have one question about flag pins......When the hell did flag pins start defining patriotism?  Okay two questions.......When did the Republicans get this monopoly on patriotism?  Ronald Reagan did not wear a flag pin.  John F. Kennedy did not wear a flag pin. So any Dems or Rep that thinks this is a story I ask you all to look at the pillars of your party and ask yourself is this an issue.   The biggest current issue of pandering is this gas tax deal which will never happen in Washington!! Neither Congress nor the President will even consider this initiative this year. 
 
I will close with the divided Democratic Party and the fact is true, the party is in trouble.  Whoever wins the Dem nomination will have to work extremely hard to convince their voters to vote for the other candidate in order to have a chance to win in November.  If they split NC and Indiana Obama will need 38% of the delegates left and Clinton will need 66%.   The party may be split, but even if they are able to bring the party together it is going to be very challenging for either of them to win in November because they are both damaged candidates due to this long primary process. 
 
That's all I have today, but stay tuned next week for more Penny Politics where your two cents counts!
 
By the way check out the web sites <http://www.thepennyinstitute.org/> www.thepennyinstitute.org <http://www.thepennyinstitute.org> and <http://www.pennypac.com/> www.pennypac.com <http://www.pennypac.com> .  Also, stay tuned for information on the Thurgood Marshall Forum on Social Justice on the campus of University of Maryland. 
 

About the Penny Politics Blog

Thank you for your attention, and welcome to the non-partisan Penny Politics Blog. As President Ronald Reagan said, “Government is the people's business and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid.”

Penny Politics is a blog created by me, as the founder and CEO of the non-partisan PennyPAC and The Penny Institute. This blog will feature commentary as I travel the country speaking to the American people on the importance of civic engagement and political involvement. I’ve had more than a decade of experience working in the U.S. Congress and state capitals. As an independent thinker, I hope to offer commentary without the traditional partisan spin.

Stay tuned!