Washington Watch: "Who's Your Lame Duck?"

Are the Republicans in Congress determined to bestow upon President Obama, 'lame duck' status?

Since they won back the House in 2010, it sure seems like it.

Within the political realm, the term lame duck generally refers to a politician who is about to leave office and is awaiting a successor to take over. Lame ducks are seen as place-holders only.

Again, some in the Republican Party started thinking of Barack Obama as a lame-duck back in 2010. They assumed he wouldn't get reelected. They were wrong.

Still....they won't play ball with him. They have no desire to get in the game. Instead they are sitting on the ball.

In the past, they sat on the ball and shutdown the government. Today, they will sit on the ball when it comes to raising the minimum wage; passing immigration reform; reducing gun violence; extending benefits for the long-termed unemployed; and confirming needed judicial appointments. And, in what has been their only play: Will there be more votes (think we are up to 40 already) to defund Obamacare?

Seems like it is Congress that is in lame duck status!

Boehner and his gang are waiting and hoping for a Senate take-over in this year's mid-term elections so that they can thwart ALL legislation, except their own, from reaching the President's desk. Not only that, they will continue to block his judicial nominations. They will let him veto their legislation (if they are lucky enough to win the Senate, they won't have enough votes to override his vetoes. Unless weak Democrats cave. Could happen.) Instead, they will work toward regaining the White House in 2016.

Why is the GOP-led Congress so against this administration?

Is it racism? This comes up a lot in discussion, and there is no doubt there is an element of racism involved, but not entirely. Many of the right-wingers would accept an African-American ultra-conservative in the White House.

Is it ideology? Yes, but again, not entirely. There have been cases where the President has put forth ideas previously supported by the GOP and they are shot down.(electablog lists ten here in the article: ("10 ideas Republicans loved until Barack Obama became President")

Is it what and whom Obama represents? Bingo! Our current President represents the changing American landscape many are not ready for.  He represents a confluence of minority, immigrant, gay, young, female, technically-savvy, and progressive Americans, whom together are able to tip the scale in their favor. Democracy at its best.

It seems the GOP's only options are: to limit the voting of the aforementioned groups, to become more inclusive and representative of today's America, or to hope for low turnout in the midterms, which will favor their candidates. The irony is, if they do recapture the White House in 2016, it will be with a moderate candidate that will put forth many of the items on the Obama agenda.

Will things change anytime soon?  Well, there is the recent CNN interview where speaker Boehner suggests his party may go on offense this year as opposed to being the party of 'no.' (From "Boehner warns Obama headed for 'brick wall'," 1-28-2014)

"The Speaker conceded that his party has spent so much time railing against the President's agenda, they have gotten off track over the last several years in putting forward their own policy prescriptions – something he hopes to help correct this year."

In the meantime...in Washington....there is lots of quacking but little getting accomplished.

Washington Watch: "Christening Christie"

President Barack Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Oct. 31, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The whispers concerning New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are changing in tone and scope. It was only a few months ago that pro-Christie whispers were coming from some Democrats who believed Christie might be worth supporting in the presidential race. 

This was reminiscent of the Obama whispers from Republicans back in 2008. At campaign stops, even candidate Obama himself joked about the Republicans who quietly voiced their support of  him.

That same kind of 'undercover' support, from those outside his party, was beginning for Christie. His Obama bromance and past working relationship with Democratic Senator Cory Booker, didn't hurt either.

Now the whispers are changing. Now people are wondering if the Republican's best hope for the White House is still viable. The Bridgegate scandal, and other details sure to be uncovered by zealous New Jersey state Democrats, has Christie sinking in deep, deep waters.

Let's just say his baptismal in the murky waters of the 2016 campaign is not going well. Even the local paper wants to take back their endorsement of him.

Unrecoverable?  We'll see. We are still a long way from 2016 and I expect Christie to be in the mix. However, a White House run requires a well-crafted image. The currently whispered words about Christie have to change:  leader is good, bully is not; compassionate is good, abrasive is not; And then there's humble versus arrogant. Yep, a rewrite is in order.

Sounds like Christie needs Scandal's Olivia Pope.

Washington Watch: "Bridging the Internet Gap"

First Lady takes a selfie with Baltimore student at
T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va.,  Feb. 5, 2014.
(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

The Internet Gap, or the more commonly used phrase The Digital Divide, persists despite almost 75% of American homes now having Internet access.

This week, the Census Bureau released its 2012 report: Computer and Internet Access in the United States. The data has been collected since 1984, and tracks computer usage by factors such as region, race, education, gender, job, and income.

Education level remains a key determinant of Internet use in the home. As reported by NBC News:

"Among people 25 and older, only about 30 percent of people who did not graduate high school used the Internet in their homes in 2012. That figure nearly doubles to about 58 percent for high-school grads, and it jumps to almost 90 percent for people who obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher."

The Census figures also show an increasing use of smartphones among all racial groups. However, not surprisingly, the smartphone gap is most apparent when looking at age. Younger people use smartphones at greater rates.

The question is...."How are our young people using smartphones -- for entertainment or homework help? I think we know the answer to this one.

There is no doubt, the Internet is a wonderful tool for learners of all ages. Students have access to gobs of information at their fingertips. Are students using the Internet and smartphones for educational purposes?

I am from the 'dinosaur' generation that used encyclopedias for research on school projects. When I was a kid, the mark of being middle-class was to have a set of encyclopedias in your home.  There were even door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen and payment plans for parents determined to give their children the best educational resources.

We've come a long way from encyclopedias and library trips for research. As the Census figures indicate, most homes now have Internet access. However...not all. In addition, according to the Administration fewer that 1 in 3 of America's classrooms have Internet access that supports digital learning.

This past week the President visited a middle-school to discuss his ConnectED program. The White House describes the initiative as follows:

"The ConnectED initiative will, within five years, connect 99 percent of America’s students to the digital age through next-generation broadband and high-speed wireless in their schools and libraries. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon are already providing their support, collectively pledging to connect more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students by the end of 2015."

Broadband access is a needed step, but perhaps using smartphone mobile apps for education might be the best way to narrow the digital divide and encourage learning?

Here is a video of the President with a student's tablet during his recent visit to Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland. At this school each student has access to a school-supplied iPad:

Currently, many schools do not allow the use of smartphones (on a non-emergency basis) on campus or in classrooms.... nevertheless, this is the technical device most used by our children. Maybe we need to catch up when considering how to educate our kids.

Washington Watch: "Obama (Gently) Smacks-Down Congress"

President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28, 2014 (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Barack Obama delivered his 5^th State of the Union (SOTU) address with a style and tone reminiscent of his early presidential campaign years. He spoke of unifying themes and appealed to our greatness as a nation. The Republicans seemed confused as to when to applaud and stand, and tellingly kept their seats even when the President spoke of popular issues such as salary fairness for women and accessible health care for all.  

Barack Obama, as only he can, spoke in generalities while still getting in the ‘digs’ to the other side. This was not a red-meat speech…nevertheless, it was a chastisement. A good orator can do this. They can tell you off without you even realizing you've been told off. 

Make no mistake...the President told off the GOP-led House during the SOTU; and he did it while smiling the whole time.

Washington Watch: "Obama, Where Are You?"

The new year in Washington promises more of the same gridlock and partisan politics that have dominated for many years. If the President thought his re-election would end the Republican stubbornness, and insistence on getting NOTHING done, he was wrong.

This year, we hear Republicans are ready to vote another 40 or more times on ending Obamacare.  They think this is a winner for them going into the 2014 elections. It will be if all of the people benefiting from Obamacare (and there are many), stay home. And don't forget all of the efforts to purge young people, people of color, and other Democratic-leaning voters from the rolls. No doubt this will continue (in-lieu of outreach), as America grows more diverse.

In 2014, it is doubtful the Democrats will retake the House. Hopefully, the Party can hold on to the seats they have and gain a few additional seats. We wonder if more moderate Republicans will capture seats from the far-right fringe that seems to want to hold the nation hostage with their 'anti-Obamanism.' Most believe the battle for the Senate will be brutal.

So what's coming from the Administration? Will we get better messaging from the President this year than in 2013?

November 22, 1963: Memories of a Negro Child from Oakland

We were Negro back then. It took me awhile to realize when the TV newsmen spoke of the Negro race, they meant me, my family, and most of the people in my Oakland neighborhood. For the adults, Negro didn't produce the disdain felt for the other N-word. But then there was the variation used mostly by Southern Whites who called us Niggras. We would hear this term when whites were interviewed during the civil rights battles in the South that were going on in the late-fifties and early-sixties.

But for me, Negro reminded me of the young preacher, the civil rights leader always in suits, who talked about the dignity, hopes, and yes -- dreams of the Negro People. We were a People.... one of my earliest remembrances of our differences. They were Americans...we were a People.

Some of my older relatives, including my mother's oldest sister, insisted that we be referred to as colored, not Negro. To her, colored represented 'same as white' with just a little 'color' added in. And indeed, in my family as in most Negro families, there were relatives with very little 'color added in' who passed as white.

My aunt - the colored girl - as black women were referred to back then regardless of age, worked in the homes of wealthy whites on Nob Hill in San Francisco. Every now and then she would take me with her to visit 'Miss whoever-she-was-working-for-at-the-time.' The well-dressed woman was usually some rich man's wife, widow, or mother. The women always seemed nice enough, but I was too young to really understand there was more dividing us than wealth.

To them, I was a cute little colored girl. To me, they were rich white ladies who kept wanting to give me things - candy, clothes, books, cash - they just felt the need to shower me with gifts whenever they saw me. This was okay with me. Mostly, I wasn't allowed to accept gifts from anyone, but with my aunt standing near I learned to graciously acknowledge their kindness toward me. I'm sure lots of little Negro kids learned this routine.

The other whites we interfaced with were the military guys who served with my uncles. They would bring their young white girlfriends to our house. One guy left his girlfriend with us...shipped out and didn't come back to her or their upcoming baby. I believe her name was Maxine and she did what so many of the girls did in that situation. (You see her circumstance was not unique.) She found another sailor and left with him. She did stay in touch with our family for many years however, knowing that she would have been out on the streets without us.)

In 1960, there were a few lower-income whites that couldn't escape our mostly Negro neighborhood. I went to school with their offspring at Grant Elementary (since torn down) not far from our 28th and Telegraph apartment. My best friend in Kindergarten was a white kid named Jim. For awhile, Jim and I didn't understand the divisions between white and Negro. We needed assistance from our parents.

Mommy, "Whats a nig-a-ro?" I asked one day after school. (My mom still tells this story.) You see Jim had told me his mom did not want us to be friends, and I would not be visiting his house because I was a "nig-a-ro." The friendship was over and shortly thereafter Jim moved away - probably to an area where he didn't have to attend school with "nig-a-ro" kids.

This was race relations for me as a Negro child living in Oakland, California in the early 1960's. This was the backdrop when John Kennedy was running for President and decided to make a campaign swing through Oakland. Even though it was widely known he hailed from a rich family, Kennedy was seen as a champion of the underdog and the Negro People in particular. Like the rich white ladies on Nob Hill, surely he had many gifts to offer us. 

There was quite a commotion surrounding Kennedy's visit to working-class Oakland. Since Grant Elementary was near the route he would take on his way to de Fremery Park to greet supporters, it was decided that students would witness his visit first-hand -- lining the streets of his route to the park. I was happy because I was selected to wave the flag for my class as he drove by.

On November 2, 1960 Kennedy's motorcade (I didn't know it was called that until three years later) whizzed by and being small I didn't see a thing. I just heard them say, "Wave the flag, Linnie...Wave the flag!" And I did so (even though it was heavy) with all my might. I kept waving that flag until they told me to stop. Kennedy was probably miles away by then. They say Kennedy was mobbed by supporters at de Fremery Park and needed a police escort to get away.

Most of the Negros and the Colored People in my community loved John F. Kennedy and they were ecstatic when he won the Presidency the following week.

On November 22, 1963, I was in third grade at Brookfield Elementary School in what is called East Oakland. During recess we played tag almost every day. (Around that age the kids still played tag....normally the boys chasing the girls, however now I think the girls do some chasing of their own.)

We stopped our running and hiding when we noticed our teacher Mrs. Doxey, and some of the other teachers, crying and looking stunned. Mrs. Doxey brought us back into the classroom and told us the President had been shot. Not long after, I looked up and saw my mother at the door. She had come to get me. We only lived a few blocks from the school and she had walked over. She was the room mother so Mrs. Doxey knew her. In those days, all it took was a nod and I was released to go home with my mom.

There was sadness in our home and in the neighborhood when the President died. An overwhelming grief I had never seen - even when we had lost family members and friends. People who had suffered many hardships felt this was one more blow - it was personal.

The adults didn't spend a lot of time discussing conspiracy theories, since the majority of them were from the South and understood not getting answers on the murders of loved ones. They did however attribute the murder to Kennedy's stand on civil rights for the Negro People. Perhaps it made them more determined to fight.

1960. Me and my cowboy hat.

My family was from Dallas and had always been proud of their Texas culture. I had cowboy hats and boots from the time I was born. Suddenly, Dallas wasn't so popular anymore and the hats and boots were put away for years.

They say you never forget where you were or what you were doing when you hear the news of something like the Kennedy Assassination (or recently 9-11). At the time, we did not know if Kennedy's death marked the end of the civil rights battle, or if it would continue.

They say America lost its innocence on November 22, 1963. Nevertheless, there was also the coming together of a people united in grief. We came together not as ethnic groups, but as Americans.

Washington Watch: "Republican, Heal Thyself"

I'm a life-long Democrat...and, given the current "face" of the Republican Party (Limbaugh, Palin, Trump, Bachmann, Cruz), I won't be changing parties anytime soon. It's too bad because I think we are at our best with a two-party system -- with ideas coming forward instead of threats.

Today however, the Republican party has swung so far to the right (or maybe they are just being "led" too far right) that even my friends and family members who tend to vote Republican are shying away from the party.

In my view, the party let the far-right fringe get control (like a virus) in three-ways:

1. Wanting to beat Obama (and/or humiliate Obama) at any cost. For some it's policy or religious differences. Others are uncomfortable with the changing demographics in the country. Charles D. Ellison, Washington correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune, suggests in an article for The Root entitled, "Backwoods Mentality Takes Over Congress" that it is also rural versus urban. Ellison questions the motives of the so-called 'Tea Party' Republicans, saying:

"We assume that they, like everyone else who goes to Washington, want to participate in a spirited federal or national political process. But do they really?
Instead, they're forcing our modern political process to fight a new Civil War."

This is the 'scorched earth' policy that politicians talk about where no one wins -- certainly not our national unity. (Do we still have any?)

2. "Too Comfortable" GOP House members afraid of a challenge from the right. There are Republicans in  Congress who see the folly of their position and recognize that they have done very little of substance recently. Maybe there are some who understand compromise. However, they are being bullied and threatened with a challenger the next time they run for office. (And for Congress members this is a very QUICK two years.) This would mean they would have to get out and actually campaign for votes from their district instead of being a shoo-in.

3. Lack of leadership. If you can't stand up to a bully, you would at least hope your leaders could. Not the case in the GOP-led House. Boehner seems as lost as the rest of America as to a solution. He's trying to please all of the factions and this NEVER works. PTA moms know this. Parents know this! You end up losing the respect of your people and control of the situation.

Right now...their poll numbers plummeting...Republicans are scrambling to save face. No matter what happens, they will have to swallow a bitter pill.

Then maybe, they can work on getting healthy again.