More on populism

I just saw this, pertaining to my last post, in the New York Times.

Trouble from Hope

I'm going to make myself the second person (after the previous Blogger) to declare Mike Huckabee the Republican front-runner for the 2008 Presidential race. Although I'm sure that his prolific authorship is an important factor, I have another reason.

I heard Huckabee on Meet the Press on Sunday ("heard" not "saw" because I get the podcast, so I can listen while I run - there's no time for exercise AND television AND finishing my Note), and he scared the crap out of me. I'll tell you why.

Now that McCain has expended every single ounce of his once-considerable credibility to fuel the final throws of the Bush Iraq misadventure, I was beginning to feel uncannily sanguine about our 2008 chances. Clinton, Obama, Edwards, they all seemed able to put the final kabosh on feeble John "Surge" McCain.

But then I hear Huckabee. This guy is the Governor of Arkansas, from Hope (like Bill Clinton), and was some kind of preacher before entering politics. He also raised taxes on damn near everything in the state to pay for better schools and roads. He's clearly out on the wingnut fringe on cultural issues, but he has the good sense to talk about them in a temperate way. He also appears to believe in activist government stepping up to do things to help people and the environment. Oh yeah, and he's a governor, so he's not carrying the millstone of Iraq.

It's become clear, I think, that we need to solidify our hold on middle-class populist Democrats to reestablish ourselves as the clear majority party. These are people who are concerned about the economic futures of themselves and their families, and will respond positively to reasonable government solutions on health care, education, balanced budgets, and the environment. But when Democrats have failed to offer this kind of strong economic program, this core constitutency can't vote their economic interests, so they vote according to their preferences on "cultural" issues. Unfortunately, this means that many of them vote against us, and we lose.

Huckabee scares me because he is enough of a fringe rightwinger on cultural issues to keep the Republican footsoldiers unified, but on Sunday he sounded on economic issues like we need to sound. Of course, if he's truly willing to raise taxes to pay for things, he might send the Republican corporate paymasters looking for a new stooge, but the GOP will probably be in such bad shape by 2008, that they'll take what they can get.

This isn't to say that we can't beat him. The falling stock of the Republican brand might alone be enough to finish him off, and if he's drank enough fire-and-brimstone flavored Kool-Aid, it might send a whole bunch of GOP moderates our way. But this is a guy to watch.

Candidate Books.

I believe there is a rule that if you are going to run for President of the United States you must write a book. I am not sure if it is an FEC rule or something written in some secret Masonic instrument buried deep underneath the National Archives, away from the prying eyes of the public. Actually, to say you have to “write” the book is an overstatement. You can have a book ghost-written, then simply put your name on the book. The book must be published in your name. The book does not have to be political, it can be fiction, and it can have creepy and awkward “dirty parts.”

I have compiled a list of all the candidates, Democrat and Republican, for the election in 2008 and the books they have written. This list includes candidates who have announced and candidates who have formed exploratory committees. It does not include candidates yet to announce. I will update as they throw their hat in the ring. It does not include adoring hagiographies written about the candidates.

Democratic Candidates filed with FEC
Sen. Christopher Dodd: None, but he does look like Peter Gallagher
Former Sen. John Edwards: Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives; Four Trials.
Former Sen. Mike Gravel: Citizen Power (out of print and written in 1972 – I didn’t say it had to be a recent book).
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: A Prayer For America (w/ Studs Turkel); Imagine a World Without Monarch Butterflies: Awakening the Hazards of Genetically Altered Foods (this has my favorite title).
Former Gov. Tom Vilsack: None.

Democratic Candidates with Exploratory Committees
Sen. Joe Biden: None.
Sen. Hillary Clinton: Living History; It Takes a Village; An invitation to the White House: At home with History; Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets (the hardest hitting of this list).
Sen. Barack Obama: The Audacity of Hope; Dreams from My Father.
Gov. Bill Richardson: Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life

Republican Candidates filed with FEC
Sen. Sam Brownback: Kansas Agricultural Law.
John H. Cox: I don’t even know who this guy is. None.
Michael Charles Smith: See above.

Republican Candidates with Exploratory Committees
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee: From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPS to Restoring America's Greatness; Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork: A 12-STOP Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle; Living Beyond Your Lifetime; Character is an Issue; Kids Who Kill: Confronting our Culture of Violence. (Huckabee rivals McCain for his prolific output. I believe this secretly makes him the Republican front runner. He also has a weight-loss book -- Americans love skinny people).
Former Gov. Jim Gilmore: None.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani: Leadership.
Rep. Duncan Hunter: A Martian Poet in Siberia (Ok, this is not the same Duncan Hunter, but it would be awesome if it was).
Sen. John McCain: Character is Destiny; Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir; Why Courage Matters; Worth Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick (McCain is prolific, but he has also been running for President for the past 80 years).
Rep. Ron Paul: Freedom Under Seige (sic); The Case for Gold (the Gold Standard is awesome!)
Former Gov. Mitt Romney: Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games (I know you will be disappointed that Romney was not a World Champion figure skater, rather he was the head of the Salt Lake City Olympics).
Rep. Tom Tancredo: In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America’s Border and Security.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson: None.

-Erik

Michigan Law School Democrats Enter the Blogosphere.

We at the Michigan Law School Democrats have our ear to the heartbeat of the youth, and we hear there is a new craze tearing up the internets called the "Blog." The law school does not allow us to endorse any political party or political belief using school funds. This "Blog" gives us a venue to advertise a broader range of Democratic events. We can also use it to enter the political and social discourse (however limited our reach).

Thanks for reading!

- Erik