A Not So Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Elections, like sports, can be incredibly entertaining, especially when the outcome is in doubt. Both, however, require the proverbial “level playing field” which is why attempts to gain an unfair advantage or improperly influence the outcome of either are so infuriating. Whether it’s the use of steroids by overpaid athletes or misdeeds by overly-enthusiastic campaign supporters, it’s dishonest and it ain’t right. So when I heard a few conservative voters say that they had held their noses and voted for Hillary Clinton since she would be the easier candidate for the Republicans to defeat in November, I was troubled. Yesterday morning, I heard several callers to the morning talk show on WTMJ-AM say that they had voted for Clinton to undermine the Democratic primary and urged others, including host Charlie Sykes, to do the same. One recommended that Sykes should buy a bar of soap on the way to the polls so that he could take a shower after voting for Clinton since the very idea of doing so was so distasteful. Later, I noticed that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Crocker Stephenson reported on the paper’s election blog that a Republican voter had told him that he had voted for Clinton to improve his party’s chances in the fall. Suddenly I began to suspect some curious right wing conspiracy was afloat to, of all things, benefit Hillary Clinton. An especially ironic development given that she once said such a conspiracy was responsible for the many investigations of her husband’s administration. Surely there weren’t too many voters who were engaging in this nefarious enterprise but if the election turned out to be as close as some suspected then, who knows, maybe these cranky Republicans would ultimately influence the selection of the Democratic candidate for president! We now know that I didn’t need to worry. Yesterday’s Wisconsin primary represented a stunning victory for Barack Obama. He won the state 58% to 41%. Not so shabby. He won by similar margins in Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, all three of the major Democratic strongholds in the state. He won or held his own across demographic categories only ceding older women to Clinton. The last 36 hours of the campaign were not pretty. The Clinton side escalated its charges against Obama by attacking him for plagiarizing part of the speech he delivered to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s dinner on Saturday from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, an Obama friend and supporter. Most acknowledge this incident is largely a tempest in a teapot but it recalls the ill-fated presidential campaign of Sen. Joe Biden in 1988 that collapsed following the disclosure that he had extensively borrowed language from a British politician. Obama’s wife Michelle didn’t do her husband much good when she said in Milwaukee on Monday that “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.” You can imagine the fun the Republicans will have with that. Likely Republican nominee John McCain was quick to have his wife […]

Behind the numbers

I’m so glad this isn’t a daily

Or even a weekly, for that matter, given my bad habit of updating my blog — a BLOG! which is meant to be STEALTHY and TERSE and FULL OF EMBEDDED IMAGES AND VIDEOS! – approximately once every two weeks. (I’d like to get better at that, really! Maybe I should aim for once a week? Every Tuesday? What do you think? Will you help me?) I have felt absolutely paralyzed by the steady shake of startling news pouring over the wires in recent weeks. Just today, Fidel Castro resigned power in Cuba, Pervez Musharraf’s party was defeated in Pakistan (signaling certain political death for Gen. Musharraf in due time, I’m sure), Barack Obama took his ninth straight victory over Hillary Clinton in this magnificent state of Wisconsin, and NATO troops closed the northern borders of Kosovo after Serbs rioted. Kosovo, which of course declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday. Serbia, which of course withdrew its ambassador to the United States … yesterday. I’m so stunned. Less than a week ago — it was Valentine’s Day, after a visit to the swoon-inducing Art Museum (I would like to personally recommend, if I may, Erwin Redl’s stirring Matrix XV as an especially nice place to take someone you might be interested in kissing later) — I found myself with a friend and a stranger at beautiful Cubanitas on Milwaukee Street, drinking mojitos and eating plantain chips and dreaming about what Cuba must be like now and what it will be like when we’re all allowed to go there, speculating that perhaps 2008 would be Castro’s year to hit it and quit, planning, in that sincere-and-fevered way that only tipsy people can plan, a real trip to storied Havana. Then all three of us – me and the friend and the stranger – went dancing at a club across the street. It was only a week before that, a dirty Thursday, that my friends DJs Hulot & Naota and their frequent musical companions DA & The Madpack, who so rarely play shows outside attics (especially now that Naota lives, works & plays in Chicago) got all of their friends together at the delightfully yucky Mad Planet and everyone did shots of bad whiskey and danced to everyone’s good, stomp-y, bouncy, glitch-y music. And it was just Saturday, fresh and not at all chilly, that I accepted a new friend’s invitation to Chicago to see one of the five historic Wilco shows happening this week at the Riviera Theatre, in which the lauded band will be performing every song every recorded for all of their studio albums. I learned upon our return to Milwaukee that when I was swaying, dancing with my friend, mouthing the words to “Dash 7” (from their 1995 debut album A.M.), I was dancing and swaying and mouthing along to the only live Wilco performance of Dash 7 ever. It was just Saturday that I refreshed my love of rock music, and music in general, and did not find […]

The Gloves Come off

They say politics ain’t beanbag (confused? think hackey sack) so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the gloves have come off in the Democratic race for President. Hillary Clinton’s campaign is running ads here in Wisconsin attacking Barack Obama for not agreeing to debate and for falling short of promising universal health care coverage for all Americans. The interesting thing is that she is basically correct on the merits but it doesn’t seem to matter. Obama deftly dismisses her criticisms as old-style politics and calls attention to her past support for NAFTA and bankruptcy reform which were not in the best interests of the poor and middle class. His rhetorical jujitsu is something to behold. He is such a natural politician, combining a remarkable personal history with an outstanding command of policy and a riveting speaking style that people are falling victim to the Obama swoon. At one time, Bill Clinton was the reigning practitioner of this art. As recently as fall, 2006, the former President had the touch. He filled the Milwaukee Theatre at a rally in support of Gov. Jim Doyle’s bid for reelection and he was in fine form. The place rocked as Bill segued from praising Doyle to critiquing President Bush and the crowd loved him (the Clinton swoon was in the air). Interestingly, Barack Obama also addressed a crowd here in support of Doyle’s reelection at Pere Marquette Park and his eloquence and ability to inspire was apparent. Shift back to the present and the bloom seems off the Clinton rose; a development nobody could have predicted mere weeks ago. Obama is the rock star at this point in time and Bill Clinton seems like yesterday’s news. Obama drew 18,000 to the Kohl Center in Madison, and thousands more in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Green Bay and everywhere he goes. President Clinton, the most popular Democrat since John F. Kennedy, has only been drawing much smaller crowds including 2-300 here in Milwaukee on Thursday. Arguably, Bill Clinton has only himself to blame with comments about Obama like the “fairy tale” remark in New Hampshire and the comparison to Jesse Jackson in South Carolina. Here in Wisconsin he’s been more careful. He gave a fine speech Thursday but he comes across as a link to the past and that’s not a formula for success this year. Obama still needs to finish strong and I know better than to count out the Clintons but there’s an undeniable feeling in the air that this Obama thing is the real deal. The ad wars are nicely documented here by the New York Times. If you want to dig further and try to make sense of the differences on health care reform check out http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/theyve_got_you_covered.html. Finally, Doyle’s appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews is worth watching. Wisconsin is the center of the political universe for a few days so enjoy the ride. Obama and Clinton are both scheduled to speak at tonight’s Democratic dinner at the Midwest Airlines Center. The […]

The delegate race- who matters?

The debate debate

It Doesn’t Take a Weatherman

The deluge has begun. In case you haven’t noticed, Wisconsin’s primary is next Tuesday so our state is suddenly drawing attention from the candidates and the national media. On some levels the race for the Democratic nomination is too close to call and nobody expects either candidate to deliver a decisive blow for at least for a month or so until Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania have had their say. Those states, some say, are a firewall for Hillary Clinton and if she finishes strong she can still establish herself as the likely candidate prior to the convention in August. But that’s not how it looks from here in the dairy state on Valentines’ Day. The momentum of the Obama campaign is palpable in Wisconsin and the evidence that he will win here is everywhere. The crowds he is turning out across the state are amazing. The ads he is running are compelling. The money he is raising and the endorsements he is gathering are impressive. The groundswell of support for the first term senator from Illinois is dramatic and authentic. Clinton’s campaign is struggling to reinvent her as the underdog insurgent in this race. I like and respect Hillary but this is yet another sign that she is destined to finish second. Not only are the voters clamoring for change but, perhaps more significantly, they are seeking authenticity. Both candidates are incredibly bright, hardworking and accomplished but Clinton loses to Obama on the intangible of being in sync with the times. On Tuesday, Obama drew 18,000 to the Kohl Center in Madison with hundreds more in the Pavilion next door watching on two giant video screens. I drove from Milwaukee with my daughter and one of her friends and we ended up in the overflow. The two teenagers with me were impressed by Obama’s speech and were excited that we were able to squeeze into the main arena after he was finished so they could catch a glimpse of the politician. What better sign of his impact? He is truly the rock star candidate. Obama continued his march across the state on Wednesday with appearances in Janesville, Waukesha and Racine. I made it to the Waukesha Expo Center to see what effect he’d have on a smaller crowd in a largely Republican community. He delivered with flying colors. The nearly 2000 in the audience were treated to a tour d’ force speech combining detailed policy specifics with inspirational oratory. If people arrived with an open mind, the chances are good that he closed the deal. Former President Bill Clinton addressed a much smaller crowd this morning at Milwaukee’s Italian Community Center. I couldn’t stay away because I was curious to see what he would say and what impact he would have on his audience. Only part of the ballroom was filled, maybe two hundred. Many of those gathered appeared to be devoted supporters of Hillary Clinton and he gave a fine speech highlighting her accomplishments and pointing out her prescriptions […]

McCain gives a thumbs up to torture

VITAL’s 6th Birthday Funhouse!

VITAL’s 6th Birthday Funhouse!

It’s VITAL’s 6th birthday, and we’re celebrating with a coloring party for grownups only, Saturday February 23 at MOCT Bar, 240 E. Pittsburgh Avenue on the border of Milwaukee’s Third and Fifth Wards. Join us from 9 pm to close for no cover, spins from Chicago DJs E6 and Matt Roan and our beloved Diamonds, plus much more! —Goodie bags for the first 100 guests, stuffed with candy, custom VITAL crayons and trinkets from our sponsors. Six lucky bags will contain a golden ticket worth a DVD set from HBO! —$3 Jack Daniels drink specials —A coloring contest with two lucky winners selected at random from all entries to win 6 months worth of Time Warner Cable’s “All The Best” – high speed internet, premium cable and digital phone service! Winner announced at midnight, so come early and color like it’s 1999. —A giant birthday card for you to decorate and sign. We get to keep it at the end of the night. We’ll put it up in the office by the bar. You can come see it at our next Gallery Night event in April. –Plus other surprises we can’t mention just yet… Want to wave to the crowd from above? {encode=”aelliott@vitalsourcemag.com” title=”Email us here”} for your chance to party with the VIPs. You’ll enjoy two free cocktails plus tasty hors d’oeuvre and all-evening access to the upper deck. Be sure to write “VIP” in the subject line of your email.

Soulstice Theatre issues open call for actors

Soulstice Theatre is seeking four actors to complete the cast of Marvin’s Room by Scott McPherson. The show will be produced the last weekend of March and the first weekend of April in our studio. Rehearsals will begin at the end of February. The open roles are Bessie, Ruth, Lee and Charlie. If you have questions, or if you know anyone who would be interested, please contact Director Jake Russo or call 414-737-1357 to set up an appointment for Saturday, February 16th. Learn more about Soulstice Theatre online.

The Choice

Mitt Romney’s decision to drop out of the race appears to lock up the nomination for John McCain though it will be interesting to see how long Mike Huckabee stays in and makes McCain continue defending his conservative credentials. The Republicans, as usual, are playing by the standard rulebook by falling in line behind a nominee early. Conventional wisdom suggests that the earlier a party chooses its candidate, the better its chances are going into the November election. The less messy intraparty eye-gouging, the better and, besides, no sense squandering precious resources fighting your friends. But the subject du jour is the Obama-Clinton competition so let’s have at it, okay? Here we have a virtual tie between two obviously bright and politically savvy candidates both of whom would represent a historic first if elected. While many of us may feel that we’d be happy to support either one, our primary here in Wisconsin is a mere 11 days away so we can only duck the choice for so much longer. What follows is something of a cheat sheet on the differences between Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton which I thought I’d pull together as a kind of public service. Don’t feel you have to thank me but I welcome your adoring comments. The Issues: By most accounts, the two candidates are remarkably similar on the issues. The two issues that observers use to draw distinctions between them are the Iraq War and Health Care Reform. Even on these issues their differences can appear to some as hairsplitting since they virtually agree on what to do from this point forward in Iraq and they both support providing health care to everyone who wants it. As for Iraq, Obama has gotten a lot of mileage out of the fact that Clinton voted in favor of authorizing the Iraq War while he opposed the war from the beginning. While Clinton did vote in favor of the use of force, as did John Kerry, John Edwards and many other Democrats, she did forcefully urge President Bush to work with other countries to apply pressure on Saddam Hussein before resorting to war. Obviously, Clinton and many of her senate colleagues voted as they did as a political calculation that to do otherwise would brand them as weak, limb-wristed namby-pambies. So much for political calculations, especially when it comes to matters of war. But, as the Baker-Hamilton Commission concluded, the key issue is what to do from this day forward and here they agree. Let’s get out as soon as possible and bring other countries in to help ensure stability. On health care, Clinton’s experience is both her greatest asset and liability. She knows the issue better than anyone. She lead her husband’s Task Force on Health Care Reform and is largely credited with being responsible for that debacle by devising an overly complicated package and refusing to consider any compromise. Her current proposal is remarkably similar to a national version of the Massachusetts legislation that […]