Gingrich the Grey

In the last 20 years of Presidential elections, the younger of the two major party candidates has won the national popular vote every single time.  Of course, winning the national popular vote doesn’t necessarily translate into an electoral victory, as 2000′s Bush v. Gore reminds us.  But the numbers are interesting nonetheless.

1992: Bush (68) versus Clinton (46)
DEM -22; DEM WIN

1996: Clinton (50) versus Dole (73)
DEM -23; DEM WIN

2000: Bush (54) versus Gore (52)
DEM -2; DEM WIN*

2004: Bush (58) versus Kerry (60)
REP -2; REP WIN

2008: McCain (72) versus Obama (47)
DEM -25; DEM WIN

This November, Obama will be 51 years old as he seeks reelection for a second term.  His opponent will be older than him.  On election day, Rick Santorum will be 54; Mitt Romney will be 65;  Newt Gingrich will be 69; and Ron Paul will be 77.

This trend says something about how each party vets candidates and values certain qualities in leaders.  For example, you could argue that youth has a powerful association with change and the future, and age with the status quo and the past.  In each of the contests above the prevailing mood of the nation was either inclined toward those associative qualities or actively seeking them.  That’s a far cry from Reagan’s two victories, when the national mood sought a return to an imagined past and other qualities best found in an elder leader.

Right now, I see nothing to suggest we are less inclined as a national body to favor the qualities most associated with youth.  This–and the circus that is the slate of Republican candidates–bodes well for the Prez.

Racism and the Inhumanity of the US-Mexico Border

Here is a video from the group No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives along the US-Mexico border.

100 Years of California’s Voter Initiative

I wrote an op-ed piece that is running in the local county paper, the San Bernardino Sun. In it I use the centennial of the California voter initiative (which is today, October 10th) as a platform to advocate for greater democratic reforms in government.

You can read and comment on the post here.

CA Dream Act

Jerry Brown did something admirable this weekend when he signed the “California Dream Act” into law.

The new law will allow undocumented youth to receive state-based financial aid in California. The bill also further protects their right to attend public universities. Coupled with previous legislation allowing undocumented youth the possibility of qualifying as in-state residents, the governor’s move this weekend made the playing field between undocumented youth who grew up in CA and youth born and raised in the state just a little more equal.

Unlike the federal “DREAM Act” this bill does nothing to provide a pathway toward legalization for the millions of undocumented youth who grew up in the United States. However, like it’s federal counterpart, the bill is focused on educational access, equity, and decency.

The basic decency of the law lies in the fact that these youth–whether or not they are citizen residents or “legal permanent residents” of CA–are Californians. Most spent nearly their entire lives here. Almost all are products of our schools and participants in our larger society.

They are also taxpayers and the children of taxpayers. The vast majority of undocumented residents pay taxes (local, state, and federal) though they do not have the ability to benefit from those taxes the ways that you or I do. Gov. Brown and the Dream supporters recognized the fundamental unfairness of a higher system that forces undocumented workers and their families to support it in numerous ways (like sharing the tax burden) but then treats them as foreigners in how they are admitted, charged, and supported.

I’ve spent too much of my weekend reading the misinformed and racially-based critics of the governor’s decision. They are hypocrites, at best, and racists at worst.

If they are anything they are ignorant. They don’t understand basic realities guiding the policy, or the basic realities of life for the undocumented. They have a narrow view of the migration process as a “choice” made by an individual, and usually view that individual as a criminal.

They live in a world shaped by the suffering and abuse of the undocumented, they economically benefit from that suffering, and they even promote and defend it in both intentional and unintentional ways. And, yet, when their cherished political ideals are actually embodied in our government in a more perfect and genuine way, they back away and hide in the safety of their ancient rhetoric of fear.

There can be no democracy without educational equity and equality of access. There can be no democracy in CA without some meaningful way for the masses of undocumented to become as integrated in our social and political worlds as they are in our economic.

This weekend CA opened up the possibility of becoming a more democratic state. We all will benefit from that.

MONDAY BLUES (09.12.11)

Been busy working, but I ain’t forgot about ‘cha!

“Death Letter,” by the immortal Son House (Mississippi, 1902-1988).

MONDAY BLUES (09.05.11)

Lenny Kravitz (New York & Los Angeles, 1962-  ) performing “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” at the April 1994 taping of his MTV Unplugged special.

 

The Kemp-Kershaw Combo

Despite their run into third place in the NL West, the Dodgers have had a rather dismal 2011 season.  Among the shiny bright spots, however, have been center fielder Matt Kemp and pitcher Clayton Kershaw.  While both are long shots, both re being discussed as possible candidates for postseason accolades: Kemp for MVP and Kershaw for the Cy Young.

In a casual conversation today with a friend, he wondered out loud how many times had the Dodgers had both the MVP and Cy Young award winner in the same year.  The Kirk Gibson/Orel Hershiser combo of 1988 he knew, but beyond that we only guessed.  I couldn’t get the thought out of my head so when I had a free moment, I looked it up.

It turns out, EVERY single time the LA Dodgers have had the National League MVP they have also had that year’s NL Cy Young Award winner.  This also happened once for Brooklyn.  Rather impressively, twice, the Dodger who won the MVP also won the Cy Young.  This was even more noteworthy at the time since when it happened (‘56 and ‘63) there was only one Cy Young winner for the whole of baseball.

Down below are the years the Dodgers won either award.  In red are the years they won both.

DODGER MVP WINNERS
1988: Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers
1974: Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers
1963: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1962: Maury Wills, Los Angeles Dodgers
1956: Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers
1955: Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers
1953: Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers
1951: Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers
1949: Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers
1941: Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers

DODGER CY YOUNG WINNERS
2003: Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers
1988: Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers
1981: Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers
1974: Mike Marshall, Los Angeles Dodgers
1966: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1965: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1963: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1962: Don Drysdale, Los Angeles Dodgers
1956: Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers