Monday, November 14, 2016

The Fate of the Democratic Party

The battle lines for the mind and soul of the Democratic Party going forward just got a lot clearer today. Rep. Keith Ellison just announced his candidacy for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. Together with Howard Dean, these two candidates present unambiguous choices in terms of the future direction of the party. Dean, a staunch supporter of HRC and a former chairperson of the DNC has been a consistent voice for the mainstream, centrist policies which have characterized the Democratic Party for the past four decades. Ellison, a Sanders supporter and the first Muslim in congress, has been a vocal and eloquent spokesman for progressive ideas and policies for the past 10 years and was recently named by Sanders to consult with the DNC in order to help shape the Democratic platform in this year's election by providing alternatives to the party's past penchant for maintaining the status quo.
The choice could not have been made more clear: more of the same as represented by Dean or the beginnings of a new move forward as will be championed by Ellison. The millions of supporters of the real change promised by the Sanders' candidacy were largely disenfranchised by the DNC's stubborn insistence on clinging to a 'safe' course by nominating HRC. It now has been presented with the opportunity to correct this massive error of judgement and embrace a new wave of progressive activism and, in so doing, reshape the Democratic Party into an institution which more accurately reflects the will of an emerging, positive, forward thinking, and hopeful electorate.

Friday, November 4, 2016

A Final Statement and Plea Before a Election Day 2017

The fact that this election is a close contest is at once a sad testimony to the Democratic establishment's decision to steadfastly hold onto the status quo by nominating the only candidate sufficiently unpopular (if not downright hated) to actually lose to a person as vile and loathsome as Donald Trump while simultaneously an indictment of a political system in desperately dire need of a paradigm shifting change of direction. It is my fervent hope that we will survive this state of turmoil, division, and collective confusion only to reemerge at a time in the not too distant future to reclaim, reassert, and rediscover our shared and common humanity.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Game 7, Joe Maddon and the Reinvention of Baseball

Let us all celebrate the great game of baseball as represented last night in the concluding game of the 2016 World Series. It was truly a game for the ages with so many of the outstanding aspects baseball on full display. But as we do so, let us not mistake the Cubs victory for a vindication of its 'genius' manager. Be clear that this historic victory was accomplished in spite of Joe Maddon; not because of him. The overuse of Chapman throughout the Series became evident in this final game as the closer was thoroughly extended to his physical limits while showing heroic courage to get through the 9th inning thereby allowing his team to eventually prevail. Earlier in that same inning, his manager once again asserted himself unnecessarily when he called for a safety squeeze bunt by the power hitting Baez on a 3-2 count, 1 out, and a runner on third. Predictably, the slugger missed the attempt, struck out, and retreated to the dugout shaking his head as the scoring chance was squandered. I'm wondering if Baez had been called upon to bunt at all during the course of the year, let alone in this most crucial juncture of the biggest game in the recent history of the franchise.....a classic example of a manager overreaching to the detriment of his ball club. Baez was much more likely to put the ball in play with a hard ground ball or a sacrifice fly than with a one-time-only chance at a successful bunt. Maddon seems to fashion himself as a self-styled genius of a game that often requires only that the manager step aside and let the game flow unimpeded. In brief, Joe Maddon needs to learn that the great game of baseball does not need reinvention.