The Blue State

Why "The Blue State" site is no more

If you are able to read this message, it's either because you subscribe to our RSS feed or have us bookmarked under our old address (thebluestate.typepad.com).  Everyone else has not been able to make sense of all the madness that has transpired over the last 12 hours.  They may never know.  But since you are here, let me tell you.

First thing is first: My four-year project known as "The Blue State" -- a personal site later turned blog that brought in almost one million visitors, raised the ethical bar for political debate online to the best of my ability and brought in dedicated writers and readers -- is no more.

This news is as frustrating for me as it is for many of you.  I put hours upon hours into this blog, as did Tony, Erick, Justin, George and all the other writers.  But our domain host, behind our backs, allowed an individual to purchase The Blue State on back-order.  We received no warnings that our site had expired.  Once it did, this morning, this site was officially transferred to an individual by the name of    Arshak Sargsyan of    Armenia.  That explains why you can no longer access the site at www.thebluestate.com anymore.

Thankfully our friends at Typepad saved each of our posts.  Other than that, the site is gone.  I protested all that I could on the phone with our domain host.  But they say it's now out of their hands (of course, that was by their choosing).  All I am left with is my enduring drive to shape the political debate online and encourage young people to get involved to help change the status-quo in our nation's capital.  I AM NOT GIVING UP!  This is only the beginning.

After spending nearly two hours throwing a fit and moping about how it all isn't fair, I am ready to move beyond The Blue State and create something even better.  But I need your help -- more than you know.  I plan to start from scratch.  There were a number of good things with The Blue State that I want to keep, and many things I would like to improve.  I want your feedback.  Sometime between now and June a brand new political site with a fresh name will be created.  I am starting over. 

Those who care and want to reflect a bit on the site that was, or offer some advice/help on the construction of a brand new site, please feel free to comment below.  Again, thanks for all your support over the years.  But like I wrote before, this is only the beginning of something newer and better.  I am determined.

Hopefully Obama doesn't campaign for this Democrat

Especially if Obama is serious about eliminating lobbyist influence from politics:

After spending more than a decade in Washington making millions of dollars at one of the nation's most prestigious law firms, the former Democratic congressman from Topeka is jumping back into the political arena in a bid to unseat Sen. Pat Roberts , R-Kan.

Roberts' campaign has already gone after Slattery with radio ads calling him a "Gucci loafers  and all" lobbyist who's out of touch with voters.

People like that who go to and from K-Street have no business returning to the public arena.  Who are they serving?  Their Firm?  The American public?

Obama's real challenge is correcting misinformation

If people focus on the issues -- Iraq, jobs, education, health care -- then Obama wins.  If voters get caught up on the fear-bating, race-bating and allow conservative spinsters to play off our insecurities, McCain wins.

Look at what has been happening in West Virginia as we draw closer to Tuesday's vote:

Like most people in Mingo County, West Virginia, Leonard Simpson is a lifelong Democrat. But given a choice between Barack Obama and John McCain in November, the 67-year-old retired coalminer would vote Republican.

“I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife’s an atheist,” said Mr Simpson, drawing on a cigarette outside the fire station in Williamson, a coalmining town of 3,400 people surrounded by lush wooded hillsides.

Mr Simpson’s remarks help explain why Mr Obama is trailing Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, by 40 percentage points ahead of Tuesday’s primary election in the heavily white and rural state, according to recent opinion polls.

It's the ultimate temptation for some: pay attention to what sounds intriguing or scandalous, and then believe it.  Obama will have a lot of repair work to do between now and November 4th.  As long as he convinces voters in swing states to vote on the issues, not fear, he wins.

Blue Nightowl Clips

Here we go with tonight's edition:

1. Hillary portrayed on SNL as sore loser.
2. Gravel and Obama girl on FOX News.
3. Kathleen Sebelius on "Vote For Change" effort.  (Look for her to be the leading candidate for the VP position)
4. Dodd on Meet the Press: Obama is the nominee.

More clips tomorrow.

Obama-McCain joint townhall meetings?

It's actually a possibility that this could happen, and could forever change the way presidential campaigning is done:

After a stop at a solar technology company in this central Oregon town, Obama was asked if he supported a suggestion that he campaign with McCain and hold joint town hall meetings in the run-up to the November general election.

"I think that's a great idea. Obviously we'd have to think through the logistics on this," Obama said. "Should I be the nominee, if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain , that's something I'm going to welcome."

More or less a suggestion that all this campaigning has made Obama more comfortable on the stump, and is confident that he has a greater grasp on policy than John McCain.

And as far as debates are concerned, Obama is looking 100% better than he did in 2007, when it showed during those early Democratic forums that he needed more practice.  The battles with Hillary Clinton helped prepare Obama for the general election.

Blue Nightowl Clips

As we approach the end of the week, here are some of the top political clips making their rounds on the blogs tonight:

1. B-Obama in Albany, OR.
2. White House report on teen marijuana use.
3. John McCain loses his bearings with the microphone.

More clips throughout the week!

Michelle lobbying against Hillary VP possibility

According to political insider Robert Novak, Michelle Obama, the possible future First Lady, does not want Hillary Clinton to be chosen as Barack's runningmate:

Close-in supporters of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama.

The Democratic front-runner's wife did not comment on other rival candidates for the party's nomination, but she has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.

We have known for quite some time that Michelle is not fond of the Clintons.  For example, the incident last January:

Pentagon vows to no longer treat soldiers like animals

Disturbing, sickening, horrifying and abhorrent are words I would use to describe this:

The Pentagon is recommending changes in the handling of troops' remains, after it was revealed that a crematorium contracted by the military handles both human and animal cremations.

A military official said there have been no instances or charges that human and pet remains were mixed. But officials are now recommending that troops' remains be incinerated only at facilities that are dedicated entirely to humans, in order to avoid any appearance of a problem. Or, officials said, families can opt to have a relative's remains sent to a local funeral home for cremation, which would be paid for by the military.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates believed the earlier situation was "insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

It's a matter that deals with the American conservative philosophy in general, which sells our government to the highest bidder, even if the work that contractors do is substandard.

Blue Nightowl Clips

Heading into the weekend, here are the top political clips of the night:

1. Obama on the campaign trail in Beaverton, OR.
2. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) speaks about Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Act.
3. Bill Clinton argues with voter.  His latest outburst.

More clips tomorrow.

Post-Indiana Clinton fundraising numbers not good

Compare this to the $10 million she raised after she won Pennsylvania.  This is a sign that even her supporters have come to grips with the fact that she's done:

Clinton had been increasingly relying on Internet donations this spring from new and small-amount contributors; the day after she won the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, the campaign brought in a record $10 million online. But Hassan Nemazee, one of Clinton's national finance chairmen, put the amount she collected online in the 24 hours after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries at only "$1 million-plus."

Nonetheless, she presses on until at least early June.

Video: John Edwards nearly reveals his endorsement

Earlier today on the MSNBC show Morning Joe, the commentators nearly got John Edwards to reveal who he voted for in the North Carolina primary:

Cindy McCain promises husband's campaign will play nice

She was not smart to say this -- because we know it will come back to bite her.  This was Cindy McCain on The Today Show this morning:

“Look, this is politics. We're going to go back and forth,” she said. “There are clear differences in this race between whatever candidates wind up against each other. That's the beauty of this race … What you're going to see is a great debate. Which is what the American public deserves. None of this negative stuff, though. You won't see it come out of our side at all.”

My guess is that this promise will be broken within the next 48 hours, if not sooner.