O’Dell Interviews with Obama and Keyes
ArchPundit
10 minutes on the radio–he complains about the media instead of his positions. It’s unclear given how he states his positions that this was good strategically or not.
Illinois Senate
Public Schools are Socialism
Berkowitz challenges Keyes on the socialist comment, the transcript follows:
Berkowitz: Let me, let me play devil?s advocate here because I think Barack [Obama, Democratic U. S. Senate candidate] has been on this show [over the years] about eight times, so I think I know reasonably well what he thinks, and he would say he cares about, certainly, improving the quality of education; he cares about jobs, and he understands that it is important– that it is important to have a quality education in order to have jobs here in Illinois. In that, he would say he agrees with you. He differs with you on the methods to maintain jobs.
[KEYES CALLS OBAMA A SOCIALIST]
Keyes: So, I am sure that he [Barack Obama] can easily mouth the words. Cuz, that?s what?
Berkowitz: But, you called him a socialist. Do you stand behind?
Keyes: He is a socialist.
Berkowitz: You, you?
Keyes: Folks like this, even the issue we are talking about?
Berkowitz: [But], he has said on this show that–
Keyes: Even the issue we are talking about. If you look at his stand, his stand says the only way we can get education is with government run, government dominated schools. That is socialism. I say, let?s have schools in which you give parents the choice, which then allows them to both go into a sector where the schools are going to be faith based, parochial schools that are started by private individuals–[or] where they might even be able to get together in their community and start schools for themselves, rather than do it under government domination. That?s the difference between a socialist and someone who really believes not only in free enterprise but in self-government in the community.
Let’s define socialism. From the OED:
A theory or policy of social organization which aims at or advocates the ownership and control of the means of production, capital, land, property, etc., by the community as a whole, and their administration or distribution in the interests of all.
That’s a pretty touch stretch. First, kudos to Jeff for getting him to at least answer the question. Someone else did it recently (perhaps Spike O’Dell) too.
No one claims that Obama wants to have public ownership of the means of production, capital, land or property (well maybe Joyce, but again, no one serious). He wants more or different regulations over business, but that goes to the core of the argument between those who argue over the number of market failures. It’s an entirely reasonable argument to say that he thinks the government can fix too many market failures. It is unreasonable to suggest that he wants to control the means of production. It’s especially silly given Keyes likes to tout his PhD in Political Theory.
Education isn’t a socialized market anyway–it is system that has the public dollars go to public institutions and people can ‘choose’ between them and private schools. Jeff thinks that more individuals should be able to take those public dollars and use them in private schools. I’m in limited agreement, but because someone cannot afford a private school, but has public schools made available is hardly socialist.
Because the CTA exists, we don’t call all transportation in Illinois socialist.
On Those “Biased” Polls
The Leader folks are trying to make something about the Trib’s polls. They are claiming they are rigged without identifying how the poll is rigged, but suggesting that one problematic poll at the LA Times is cause for concern.
Of course, given Survey USA had similar results a little bit ago, I’m unclear why the 41 point spread is surprising given the Keyes eruptions (now even worse). Survey USA had a 39 point spread. To be fair, I’m still skeptical of the computer polls Survey USA uses, but given both polls support one another, it’s hard to see what is at issue.
The Trib doesn’t explicitly identify how it obtains it sample (it should–list or Random Digit Dialing. In a Senate race either should be fine, but RDD done correctly is probably my preference. Even with that, 1 in 20 of all polls are simply wrong, but there is no reason to think this one is.
Of course, the Keyes folks could just release a well done internal poll to argue with them….
Maybe if they Just Went to Church
Oh my (Via The Truth About Keyes)
Apparently, somebody on the panel–it might have been him–actually enjoined folks that we should take a look at South American countries, where the heads of state aren’t even seen to go to church in public.
I wonder if he looks at what goes on in a lot of those countries. Maybe if they started going to church, the governments wouldn’t change so often. Maybe if they started respecting God, there wouldn’t be so many times when the military goes out of control and starts brutalizing the population, and so forth and so on. You never know.
That’s remarkably stupid. Remarkably.
1) Leaders are very Catholic in the region generally–though they don’t wear it on their sleeve.
2) The Catholic Church in Latin America is very tied into both conservative and radical politics so, umm…, Mr. Keyes might want to check in with the Pope on this one.
3) Mr. Keyes was a member of the Reagan administration’s foreign policy team, that helped to fund the right wing death squads that often targeted religious folks in Latin America–like nuns who were declared lesbians as if that had anything to do with their slaughter.
Oh, Yeah–The Other Guy
Austin Mayor has been keeping up on the other guy running for Senate in Illinois.
First, I missed his stop in East Saint Louis:
Earlier, speaking to a standing-room-only crowd of supporters in East St. Louis, Obama was more reflective. After the convention, he said, he visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where a bomb exploded on Sept. 15, 1963, killing four young black girls. The experience had helped him put his status as a rising star in perspective, he said.
“It’s easy to get swept up in the hoopla, to read your name in the papers and to see yourself on TV,” he said. “And all of that is fun. But standing in that church in Birmingham, Ala., I realized and I reminded myself that the reason you get into public service is not for yourself. It’s not about your family. It’s not about your vanity. It’s not about your ambition. If you want to be first, you have to be first in service.”
In Galesburg talking to workers being outsourced:
U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama says the struggle of workers is always on his mind.
“How do I make sure a situation like what’s happening in Galesburg does not happen again? How can I make sure ordinary folks get a decent shot at life?? says U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama to hundreds of cheering Galesburg residents.
A lengthy excerpt from the Quad City Times
Q:: On the topic of jobs, when you were in Rock Island recently, you noted both the Maytag (Galesburg) and Case (East Moline) factories were closing. What do you do to keep corporations in America in this global marketplace?
A: I don?t think there are quick and easy solutions. Some of these have to do with broader global trends and technology, but there are some things our government can do to encourage jobs growth and discourage outsourcing.
Number one, we can change our tax code to provide incentives for jobs to stay here at home. Right now we have a tax code that is backwards on that issue.
We can make sure our trade agreements are properly enforced so that when China devalues its currency by 40 percent, we?re bringing them before the World Trade Organization and making sure that we have an even playing field.
The third thing is investing in infrastructure that?s going to keep us competitive ? bricks and mortar, bridges, roads, broadband lines ? and also human capital, making sure we continue to have a first-class education system.
Interestingly, his answer to this isn’t as simple as many would make it out to be. Nor as content free.
Speaking of Media Whores
Larry Sabato’s most recent take on Keyes:
September 7, 2004 Update:
It is no longer worth pretending that this is even a competitive contest. Alan Keyes’s recent attack on Vice President Cheney’s lesbian daughter as a “selfish hedonist” has made Keyes persona non grata, even among many Republicans. We are changing the outlook on this Senate seat to solid Democratic, and we would not be surprised to see Barak Obama hit 70 percent of the vote. The Illinois GOP made a terrible mistake in plucking Keyes from Maryland for this contest, and it has set the party back years.
He’s Certainly Not Helping Republicans
Watching Schillestrom is like watching paint dry, but this is probably the most animated I’ve ever seen him (which isn’t very animated). A great lecture on the median voter theorem too.
The fascinating portion is at the end where he talks about reinvigorating the GOP–as if this year is going to be a disaster.
The Electronic Media Is Fumbling over Themselves to Get a Kass reaction
Kass is in this clip, but what is hysterical is how the TV guys jump in trying to take the attention.
Thompson has the best bit though. (Hollinger? What’s that?)
Party For the President Speech
For the Record: 1 mention of Bush
Is Madigan Smiling?
Only insofar as the Keyes meltdown will help Democratic downballot races, but the emergence of Barack Obama as a power base unto himself is not good news to Madigan who likes to run the show. It gives Emil more influence over the state operation as a close ally of Obama and movement candidates are always dangerous to the machine. In the short term, it is very, very good for him as he can go to business and use his stand against The Blagorgeous to feed at the corporate trough along with the Governor and he’s probably pretty safe in maintaining seats (sorry Cross guys, but it’s a tough year)
“Somewhere, Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan must be smiling.”