Barack Obama vs. Reverend Wright

I feel as though I’ve just watched a man drown.

Barack Obama has found himself in a no-win situation, being forced to give a press conference to denounce every view that his former pastor is publicly advocating. Barack’s performance today was a dramatic shift from everything that has made him a successful candidate, in that he was visibly angry, quivering in his words, and obviously unsure of how to get himself out of this mess.

Yesterday, Reverend Wright launched a devastating attack on the leading Democratic candidate for President, with the most damaging assertion being that Barack is lying to the American people because he is a politician and doing his job. There were plenty more, and you can find quotes somewhere else, but in total it was analogous to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Today, Barack Obama has responded by openly declaring war on his former pastor, in saying that he was “outraged” by Rev. Wright’s comments, that he’s “divorced” himself from Wright, and referring to Wright’s speech as a “spectacle”. This is only going to escalate and there’s no doubt in my mind that this will destroy Barack Obama’s candidacy.

Reverend Wright has an undeniable national spotlight, believes firmly in all the views he advocates, is narcissistic, and has absolutely nothing to lose. This will get bloody, it will get fierce, and the only person this will hurt is Barack Obama.

In the short term, Barack Obama’s credibility will take a massive hit over the next week leading into tough primary elections in Indiana and North Carolina. The numbers to watch are the African-American voters in North Carolina, who I believe will be angry with Obama for attacking his former pastor. Especially in the south, pastors in Black Churches are the patriarch of the community and is held in high regard, not someone that you openly attack in the media.

In the long term, I believe there are two possible outcomes. The first, is that there’s a good chance that Super Delegates will realize what a disaster Obama will be in the general elections and make Hillary the Democratic candidate. The second, is that Obama will still receive the nomination of his party, but will be decimated on November 4th.

On the last few weeks…

The last few weeks have been really hectic, with hardly any time available to post anything.

I’ve got the Executive Board working on two items, building a chapter contact database and recruiting volunteers to help at the Texas Republican Convention. It’s pretty standard fare, really, we need to have a way to contact chapters in the state (Facebook isn’t going to cut it forever) and most College Republicans want to attend the convention in any capacity they can.

On my own, I’ve been using (maybe abusing) every avenue possible to obtain donor lists. From local candidates all the way up to the state party, I’m asking whomever will talk to me. So far we’ve got a pretty decent list of prospective donors, but there’s more to get a hold of. Those lists are for direct mail, of course, so I’ve been working along other channels to gain access to “trophy” donors, who I’ll meet with in person.

We’ll need the cash this fall, when we start working on campaigns and deploying volunteers all over the state. It’s a pretty big undertaking, but I’m confident we’ll be successful.

On that note, I’ll mention that I’ve only been watching four races: John McCain, John Cornyn, and the Congressional races in CD 22 & 23. Other than those, I haven’t been paying attention to much of anything. I should probably feel guilty about that, but I don’t. If the Republican wins in all four, then I’ve done my job.

On the school front, I had a ton of fun last week re-writing Sophycles’ Oedipus with a “California/Surfer” overtone. It’s for a production project in an Intro to Theatre class, which has been the highlight of my academic endeavors this semester. If you know Oedipus, you’d probably enjoy my version. Maybe.

Mitt Romney on your Radio Dial

This morning I was listening to the local ABC-owned AM radio station that carries Paul Harvey, while driving to my first class of the morning. In an interesting substitution, Mr. Harvey’s faithful listeners were greeted with the familiar, dulcet, tones of Mitt Romney, the former candidate for President.

I have nothing against Mr. Romney, but his performance was reasonably lacking.

Without any prior experience in radio, Romney noticably stumbled over several portions of his written copy. It can be hard, even with years of practice, so there’s no room to completely lambast the man for giving a good, solid, attempt at radio announcing. As previously mentioned, his voice is very easy on the ears, no matter what the content of his words.

It’s just that I would expect a nationally syndicated radio show as popular and important as Paul Harvey’s to select a substitute with some, if not years, of experience in radio or voice work.

With specualtion over Mr. Harvey’s retirement, it would be interesting to keep an eye (or ear) on how often Mr. Romney fills in for the soon-to-exit host. I doubt that’s what Romney is looking for, with all of his experience in the business world and political ambitions. It’s still something to think about.

To be sure, it hasn’t ruined my morning, but it’s worth pointing out for a few minutes.

The Power of Partnerships

I’ve always thought mutually beneficial partnerships had an intrinsic worth, especially when you’re the leader of a struggling political organization in an environment that surrounds you with successful political entities. That’s why I’ve spent so much time over the last two weeks reaching out to organizations and campaigns, and working together to form mutually beneficial partnerships.

It’s working.

So far we’ve got plans for events and programs that will be co-sponsored with the Republican Party of Texas, Texas Victory 2008, Texas Young Republicans Federation, Directors of Rick Perry’s ‘06 Campaign, in addition to several other entities of lessor distinction. At this point, we’re going to have partnership events and programs to cover every facet of the vision that I laid out for the federation.

The best part of these partnerships? These outside entities are stronger than we are and have a lot more cash. The thing is, each one of those groups needs something from the federation to make their expenditure worthwhile. What are they asking for?

Manpower.

We have thousands of members across this state, and thousands more that would join if we did a better job recruiting them. Campaigns need our members to volunteer, and will lend a hand and dollar to get those volunteers to show up. With other entities have news or information they want spread throughout the state via college students, and will help us grow so they have a stronger network to work with.

We’ve got a long way to go, but with the support of so many people and entities outside the federation, there is no reason we can’t succeed.

Charlton Heston, 1924-2008

Earlier this evening, Mr. Charlton Heston passed away at his home in California.

Mr. Heston will be forever remembered as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, as well as a life-long political activist. Throughout his long life, he fought heartily in defense of the 2nd Amendment, Black civil rights, and against Communism, along with a plethora of other important social issues.

Notable films in which Heston starred, include Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, and The Ten Commandments, along with a slew of others. In addition to roles in film, he also had a long, successful career in theatre. A brilliant actor, loving husband, caring father, and unabashed political activist. We’ve lost a great man.

Rest in peace, Mr. Charlton Heston.

Working & Relaxing

With nice weather lately, I’ve taken to working on the computer outside on the porch on occasions like tonight. The big push this evening is to put the finishing touches on the agenda for the convention next weekend, which is shaping up nicely thanks to a very nice bottle of pinot grigio.

The sun went down a little while ago, and the wind has picked up the scent lingering from the mint that I planted in the flower bed. That was probably the best improvement that I’ve made to the backyard, planting all that mint. It makes everything else in the world just melt away, as you smell the sweet aroma in the evening wind. It’s even more relaxing than the smell of baking cookies or barbecue.

We’ve got a busy convention agenda though, which should cover about 7 straight hours next Saturday morning and afternoon. I’m excited though. This will be the first state-level meeting that I’ve run, although I’ve written the agenda for several of these meetings in the past. Time management is a talent… apparently.

The reaction to my sharp time planning and adherence to schedule may prove an interesting accompaniment to all the business we’ll be taking care of. I’m a bit of a hard-ass when it comes to scheduling, but most people think that’s a good thing. Who knows, at least I appreciate that trait in others.

Alright guys, I need another glass of wine.

Apologies for Absence

Alright, I realize that I’ve neglected this blog a little in the last few weeks. It’s not because I’ve been too busy, because the truth is it only takes fifteen minutes to write most of these entries.

The reason I’ve been so quiet on the blogging front is my new position as Chairman of the Texas Federation of College Republicans. There are so many things going on everyday that I’d love to talk about, but I’ve had trouble figuring out where to draw the line between responsible communication of developments and irresponsible leaking of insider information. It’s a tough line to walk.

I still don’t know exactly where the line should be, but I’m just going to have some fun tip toeing.

Black Entertainment, Barack Obama, and Rev. Wright

Over the last month I’ve noticed that the local (Dallas-area) Rap and Hip-Hop radio stations have been featuring audio clips from Obama speeches in their station identification spots.

The basic outline is this:

A recognizable beat from a popular song begins to play, as the radio station’s typical voice-over guy let’s you know the call sign for the station you’re listening to. Then, audio excerpts from Barack Obama’s speeches begin to play over the beat. These clips can last anywhere from a few phrases to a lengthy minute of Obama. Lastly, the station’s voice-over guy again identifies the station and they go into the next song on the rotation.

This started as the Democrat candidates started campaigning here in Texas and is still continuing, though the individual spots have lengthened and increased in frequency.

Honestly, I’ve got no problem with this, just like I wouldn’t care if country music stations did the same thing for Republican candidates. If they want to do this, and it doesn’t break any election laws, then I could care less. I’ll even sit through the spots, just because they’re unusual and innovative. Maybe that’s just me though, because I find a considerable entertainment in campaign activities.

However, last night I heard something that could be going a little too far in my opinion.

As the Rev. Wright scandal (if you want to call it that) has caught the national spotlight, one of the area rap stations decided to play several excerpts from his most hateful sermons with a little hip-hop music in the background. When it was over, after what felt like several minutes, the DJ came back and said something to the effect of “Man, that’s real passion right there! I’m glad somebody is saying this!”

What followed was roughly five minutes of the DJ praising the words of the reverend, taking opinions from callers that ranged from “Amen, that brother is telling the truth!” to “Well, white people may not like this, but this is reality!”.

The specific example that most callers referenced was Rev. Wright’s absurd claim that the government invented HIV to kill black people.

Now, I’m all for the free expression of ideas and opinions, but many of the references to Rev. Wright cited were patently absurd and obviously false. Yet, an entire segment of the population is echoing his hateful passion with veracity that borders on mass hysteria. Is this an accurate microcosm of an Obama supporter, or even of the larger black community?

I just don’t know. It’s possible that nobody really knows, or could know, and even more likely that nobody really wants to know.

This Week in Review

This week has been a fast, interesting, and stimulating. It began last Saturday, as most of my weeks do, with some pre-celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It was the first day in several weeks that politics never entered my mind, and it was a welcome vacation, however short-lived.

Sunday and Monday were consumed with more and more drinking, although I was only drunk for a few hours on Monday afternoon. I typically pace myself, with the exception of March 17^th, but this year I was so busy with work on College Republican activity it was hard to find time to actually drink. Speaking of College Republicans, that’s where the biggest source of contemplation and action was rooted.

Last week our former State Chairman decided quite suddenly to offer his resignation, and expressed his desire for me to take his place. Thus, the Executive Board named me the temporary Vice Chairman last Wednesday and the former Chairman offered his resignation earlier this week.

This has led to a flurry of activity concerning the planning of our annual convention and development of a website, the latter being something we’ve lacked for quite some time. While I still cannot announce all the details of the convention, because we’re awaiting confirmation from outside groups and individuals, it’s going very well. It’s just taking a lot of time and thought.

The website, unlike convention, was much easier. On Wednesday, after my promotion became official, work on the website took off with unexpected ferocity and ease, thanks in large part to the hard work and determination of Andres Bocanegra, our federation’s Treasurer. It went live around 9pm, and was completed for all our temporary needs around 11:30pm that night.

You can visit the website here: http://www.myTFCR.org

Since then we’ve been focused entirely on convention, which is moving along swimmingly. We should have all the details worked out and confirmed by this time Saturday, which is when I will send out the official notice to everyone in the state.

I’ve been very impressed by everyone’s hard work on this effort, they’ve done a fantastic job. It’s pretty phenomenal, that after a year of little results a few hard working people have been able achieve so many advances. I think that it’s a great sign of things to follow for the Texas Federation of College Republicans as we move forward into our work on campaigns this fall and legislative efforts next spring.

Basketball and Work Ethic

This evening I spent the evening insulated from the oddly winterly weather here in Dallas. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have anyway, because the Houston Rockets were set to play the Dallas Mavericks, in what promised to be an exciting and entertaining game.

The end result is that my hometown team, the Rockets, won the game handily and extended their 17 game winning streak. But I was fascinated by the work ethic exhibited at all times by each member or the team and found it quite inspirational. Every player worked their hardest from start to finish, even when they were safely in the lead with a 25 point advantage.

I believe this can be made analogous to politics, just like most things in sports .

It’s a bit difficult to explain, if you don’t already see where I’m going. To be honest, I’m still grasping to put it into succinct words, and I’ve been trying for the last hour. However, the work ethic evidenced by the Houston Rockets over the course of their spectacular winning streak should provide inspiration to anyone who works to achieve their goals.

During my campaign to become the next State Chairman of the TFCR, I have dedicated myself wholeheartedly to this organization. I’m doing everything that I can as a candidate to build the TFCR up in people’s minds and prepare for success after I become Chairman. But, once I’m elected I’ll have much more to do and will be devoting all the time necessary to accomplish our collective goals.

That said, I can’t do this alone. If we’re going to get anything done that’s worthwhile, we must work together in all ways possible. This means we need to have the best, brightest, and more honestly dedicated College Republicans in our state working to help lead the TFCR.

While I don’t expect anyone to work as hard as I do, there should be some inherent motivation in any leader within this organization to deliver their best work ethic while we fix our organization, prepare for the campaign season, and execute our strategy for Republican success across Texas. I’m confident in making that request of every College Republican who wants to serve the TFCR as an officer.

I believe that exhibiting my strong work ethic will motivate other officers to follow my lead, just as the strong work ethic of officers will motivate the chapter leadership of federated schools, which those leaders will motivate their members with. It may sound optimistic, but it’s simply my unwavering belief that the TFCR is capable of incredible and amazing things.

Oh, Those Silly Democrats

Last night America’s political junkies watched the results from Texas trickle in, while Obama transitioned his focus to McCain. Oh, how short lived.

As it appears today, the Democrats won’t have their nominee until convention in September, giving whomever emerges a short ten weeks to mount their national campaign. That’s a huge boon to John McCain, who has roughly 35 weeks to prepare, since he’s the offical (unofficially) Republican nominee.

Not only will John McCain have the time to build his national campaign, he can also start sniping at both of the Democrats while they’re consumed with tearing each other down. This really couldn’t be more beautiful for Republican eyes… or could it?

President Bush, a man despised by nearly everyone except the most faithful of the right-wing, came out today with a glowing endorsement of Sen. John McCain. This will help bring together and rally the base in a variety of ways, while additionally unlocking the far-right’s vault of campaign contributions.

The two appeared together at the White House, giving a slight break from the constant debate surrounding the Democrat’s battle. It’s the epitome of strength and security.

The next several months will be quite exciting and potentially devastating for Democrats, not only in terms of Hillary and Obama, but everyone further down the ticket. This battle for the nomination will require all the “little people” to jump into the fray to defend their chosen candidate, which can only degrade the chances for their re-election as Governors, Senators, and Congressmen.

I will tell you, right now, it wouldn’t be an overwhelming surprise for Republicans to keep the White House, while gaining seats in both the Senate and House. Perhaps even a few Governorships as well, who knows. Last month that would have been dismissed as wishful thinking, but I doubt that anyone would dismiss it so easily now that the dye has been cast.

Mid-Week TFCR Update

After a few days of phone calls and emails, I figured it was a good time to give everyone an update concerning the “behind-the-scenes” work that the TFCR is doing.

Basically, the TFCR Executive Board is contacting Chapter Chairmen across the state and explaining the current situation, asking for their vote to suspend the constitution, and if they would prefer to have the convention in Denton or San Antonio. It’s a long and laborious process, especially considering our limited access to updated contact information, but it’s all we can do.

Thus far, I haven’t received a single “nea” vote against the suspension of our constitution and have been slightly surprised at each Chairman’s eagerness to cast their vote in support of the motion. It’s either due to a lack of caring about the TFCR or a quick acknowledgment that this is the only way to get the job done, and I’m betting on the latter.

Here’s the most current list of schools that have voted to suspend the constitution:

University of Texas – Austin
University of Texas – Dallas
University of Texas – San Antonio
University of North Texas
University of Houston
Texas Christian University
St. Mary’s University
Collin College
Amarillo College

That’s nine chapters of the twenty five that we need to make a 2/3 majority, so we’re doing pretty good after just a few days of work tracking the Chairmen down. Interestingly enough, the preference vote of Denton or San Antonio is very close, with a 5/4 deadlock. It’ll be interesting how things end up.

Well, that’s pretty much it for now. We’ve put in calls or emails to many other schools and are currently waiting to hear back from them, which should happen over the next several days. It’s kind of a waiting game at this point, unfortunately.

To remind everyone, we’re planning to hold the convention on Saturday April 19^th at either UNT in Denton or UTSA in San Antonio. This information will be distributed much more directly, and in more detail, once the vote is final and we can move forward with convention planning.

Take care guys, and if your school isn’t listed send me an email with your vote: rpmurphy@gmail.com

A Brief Synopsis of March 4th

Tonight, or last night, was very interesting in so many ways. As political junkies across America were glued to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, the reality show of the primaries was on epic display. It was moving, infuriating, endearing, and sickening… often simultaneously.

John McCain finally picked up the requisite delegate votes to become the Republican nominee beyond a shadow of a doubt and delivered a speech that deserves to be replayed as we move into the general elections. He gave the most succinct, direct, speech that I’ve heard the man deliver in a very long time, and it put him in fantastic shape as he harnesses his political capital and focuses on destroying his Democratic opponent.

Speaking of which, Hillary and Obama are completely and utterly locked into a death match now that Texas and Ohio have spoken. There’s virtually zero chance that either one will drop out of the race, and neither should be pushed into it by anyone. This will result in an intoxicating blood bath that Republicans can watch from the sidelines and enjoy with pleasure and glee.

I’d be absolutely shocked if they took the nomination all the way to convention, which makes John McCain even more likely to obtain his seat in the Oval Office. Whomever emerges from the convention (with my money on Hillary) will have ten short weeks to mount a national campaign, which compared to McCain’s 35 weeks appears incredibly trivial.

Add on to that the fact that Hillary and Obama will each blow their considerable campaign coffers on the remaining primary contests, and the picture for Republicans just gets brighter.

I have to mention Mike Huckabee as well, since his withdraw speech was both impressive and humble. It was the appropriate punctuation following his passionate campaign and I believe will serve to move Huckabee’s very loyal supporters towards John McCain. That’s the most important thing right now and I’ll be talking much more about it in the future.

In the meantime, I think all Republicans will be able to sleep very well tonight with the knowledge that the Democrats are going to bludgeon each other to death over the upcoming months. Their party is in utter turmoil, with divisiveness at every turn, while Republicans can now come together and rally behind their chosen candidate.

Damn it feels good to be a Republican.

Calling our Annual TFCR Convention

It’s been a very disappointing year for everyone involved in the Texas Federation of College Republicans, with many choosing not to actively participate in our failing organization. And, still the disappointments continue.

At this time of year we should all be looking forward to our annual state convention, but we’re left wondering when and if it will be held at all. It’s the responsibility of the State Chairman to set the date and location of the convention, with the consenting vote of chapter chairmen. However, our absent State Chairman has failed to hold state-wide meetings or plan a convention.

Without any other constitutional options, the TFCR Executive Board voted last Saturday to move for suspension of the TFCR Constitution, in order to plan and execute a convention.

I personally contacted our current State Chairman, giving him until February 27^th at noon to send a call to convention. He responded on Tuesday afternoon, promising that he would follow through and send the call. Accordingly, we gave him more time to work with, setting the new deadline for February 28^th at midnight.

Now, it’s 11:30 am on February 29^th and we have not received a call to convention or any communication from our State Chairman. Thus, the TFCR Executive Board is moving forward with the suspension of the TFCR Constitution, calling for a vote of Chapter Chairmen across Texas.

We have also contacted Charlie Smith, the National CRNC Chairman, who we are involving to insure that all of the actions we are taking are both responsible and correct.

This entire course of action isn’t preferred, but it’s the only option we have left to save our organization from further damage through inaction.

If you are a Chapter Chairman at a school federated within the TFCR and have not yet been contacted by a member of the Executive Board, you can contact me personally at 214-364-7730 or via email at rpmurphy@gmail.com.

Candidacy for TFCR State Chairman

Friends and Colleagues,

Just two weeks ago, we all watched as the New York Giants overcame the odds and skeptics to become Champions. They were underdogs throughout the regular season, throughout the playoffs, and going into the Super Bowl. They began with a tough start, were decimated with injuries, yet pulled together as a team and earned their victories in the face of adversity.

We have a similar situation in the Texas Federation of College Republicans. Over the last year our federation has fallen into disarray, with the vast majority of chapters choosing to take an inactive role. This leaves us with zero organization going into a crucial election this November.

However, all is not lost. We have several months to come together as leaders of our individual chapters and coalesce in a strong, stable, federation of College Republicans. Once we have re-established our unity, we can begin the process of training ourselves and preparing for a tough campaign season when College Republicans will be a vital component of victory.

During my spring break vacation I will be traveling across the state to meet with chapters in-person, to better understand the needs, desires, and strengths of each chapter and to restore their interest in active participation within the federation. This will be the first step of unification.

Over the following months, we will all work together as a team to resolve the problems that have been created over the last year and move forward in rebuilding. Part of this will be a series of chapter training seminars that all College Republican leaders will be expected to attend this Summer.

The TFCR has a bright future, despite our current situation. Like the New York Giants, we are a group of underdogs who have been written off, but posses all the attributes necessary to overcome the odds and take our place as one of Texas’ most influential political organizations.

Sincerely,
Ryan Patrick Murphy