Barack Obama - Brian Schweitzer alliance to seduce Mountain West

[ZombieHorde]

snip-

The Democratic presidential nominee is from the city, eats arugula in his salad and has never shot a gun in his life. Mr Schweitzer grew up on a ranch, likes his steak and was endorsed for governor by the National Rifle Association. It is Democrats like Mr Schweitzer, whose state voted in the last Democratic primary on Tuesday and endorsed Mr Obama over Mrs Clinton, who hold the key to Mr Obama’s fortunes in November.

snip-

But it is also driven by the centrist pragmatism of Democrats like Mr Schweitzer, who are leftwing on trade and energy independence but also deeply mistrustful of the federal government. Mr Schweitzer was the only governor in the US to refuse to comply with the Department of Homeland Security’s instructions to create driving licences containing electronic data about the bearer.

The DHS told Montanans they would be unable to travel by air if he refused to comply. He did not budge. The DHS backed down. “We don’t trust the federal government – we think they made a mess of the Patriot Act after 11 September,” he says. He lampoons the DHS’s Transportation Security Authority as “Thousands Standing Around”.

snip-

And although Mr Obama describes lobby groups as “special interests” rather than “skunks”, he holds similar views to Mr Schweitzer on ethics reform. The governor of Montana, who, in spite of his earthy reputation, is a trained agronomist who speaks Arabic and worked for years in Saudi Arabia, says Mr Obama’s chances of winning states such as Montana have been sharply improved by the recent candidacy of Bob Barr for the Libertarian party.
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http://en.afrik.com/article13771.html

[anonymous171]

1. I'm all for it.

[u2spirit]

2. Schweitzer makes sense on so many levels

He's a maverick, he's anti Washington, he's honest and I see absoulutely NO downside to his being put on the ticket. I would like to know where the weakness in this ticket is.

[rockymountaindem]

9. The downside is that he probably won't carry his state for us in the GE

and even if he does, it's only three electoral votes. Richardson offers the possibility of carrying NM (it would be a lock, from what I hear) and it's worth two more electoral votes.

[ZombieHorde]

16. The upside is that he understands the Middle East and the people who live there.

I don't just support him for his electability, I support him for his worldly knowledge and commitment to Dem values.

-He was/is not afraid to stand up to Bush

-He knows and understands the ME very well

-He is fluent in Arabic

-He has made improvements in MT for education and has been working on increasing our green energy from the very beginning

-He has won elections in a red state

[gateley]

17. He's a Montanan --

He has GUNS! That will appeal to gun owners who fear the Dems taking their firearms away.

He's my #1 pick -- as somebody said upthread -- he's right on so many levels.

[benEzra]

46. More importantly, he opposes new bans on the most popular guns.

Senator Kerry had guns, too, but promised to fight hard to ban guns not like his. That approach bombed.

2006 showed that a more pro-choice position on guns can win in red states (Webb, Tester, Casey, Strickland, etc.)

[Yukari Yakumo]

19. Every state counts

Didn't 2000 teach you that?

[rockymountaindem]

23. True

But some states count for more and are easier to get. I would love to see Schweitzer on the ticket. I've met him and I got a really good impression about his commitment to renewable energy (which is what the presentation was about). I'm just saying he's not perfect due to geographical concerns.

[dansolo]

29. But he can put Obama over the top in OH and PA

Schweitzer is not going to be selected for ability to bring in Montana's electoral votes. He is going to be a counterpoint to Obama's supposed "elitism", which will go a long way to shoring up places like Ohio and Pennsylvania. He'd almost be worth picking for that alone. But when you add in everything else about him, he would be perfect.

[sandnsea]

30. Montana actually has a Dem tradition

It's only in recent years that they've really gone crazy Republican. There are strong Dem pockets that are always there, the right candidate could absolutely take it.

[ZombieHorde]

32. I agree, Schweitzer would help carry the west.

He is very popular.

"Schweitzer currently has one of the highest gubernatorial approval ratings in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of around 70 percent."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Schweitzer#Political_career

[Muttocracy]

3. The more I hear about him the more I like! nt

[Robeson]

4. He has always been my second choice behind Richardson....

...Obama really does have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. There are some great Dems out there for the VP slot.

[ZombieHorde]

6. "riches to choose from"

Very true!

[BlooInBloo]

13. Hah - I've got em in the opposite order! :)

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. Schweitzer isn't interested in being token red meat

And the mainstream media will make him out to be a traitor who went to Saudi Arabia to open a terrorist training camp and was soft on the war on terra by telling the DHS and TSA fucktards to drop dead.

[KittyWampus]

8. Schweitzer sounds pretty real to me, no token.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. he is real,

he is just unlikely to be interested in being a bone to be thrown at the angry white assholes of America when he has a good thing going in Montana.

[MercutioATC]

12. By his own statements, his goal is to change the world.

I think the VP spot might interest him.

[ellisonz]

7. I'm torn between Schweitzer and Webb.

[Skwmom]

11. Me too.

[abburdlen]

15. I really like Webb

He's a pit bull populist and call BS on the GOP lie that dems are anti-military
However...
He was in favor of telcomm amnesty not to mention his terribly sexist statements in his republican past.

He's a great guy in the Senate instead of putting him in the #2 spot

[muryan]

18. Its a hard decision

The ceiling is higher with Webb, he has more to bring to the table in my opinion. He also has a little baggage, so its a toss up

[gateley]

20. Webb could run into some trouble

regarding a paper he wrote -- or something he said -- stating that women weren't fit for combat. Also said the military academies would be better off shutting down than admitting women.

Bummer - I really like him and think he'd be great, but that could be a potential BIG problem-o.

[ellisonz]

24. You do know that was nearly 30 years ago and...

...Webb was a Republican. Even George Allen didn't stoop that low...

What next? Jim Webb killed Vietnamese people? The horror...

I would also note that women are still not allowed in most combat specific roles.

[gateley]

27. You make it seem as though I'm leveling these charges against him --

I'm not. Just suggesting it could be an issue - and you KNOW the RNC doesn't put a time limit on stuff it will use as ammo.

Why are you coming at me?

[ellisonz]

28. My apologies...

...that wasn't my intent.

I've just been reading too much HRC dead-ender stuff on this board. But somehow I don't think that would be the RNC line of attack.

[gateley]

41. No problem --

I just didn't want you to think I was personally making a judgment on Webb, because I really do like him a lot. (As a matter of fact, he was one of my top two for VP when Biden was still running :7).

But when I heard about this I thought that might become another larger-than-life issue -- and Biden's Neil Kinnock. nightmare is still alive and well after 20 years.

You may be right about the RNC not using that as an attack, but I'm not sure the media wouldn't give it a lot of attention.

Anyway, we'll just have to be in pins and needles -- or at least I am -- until he decides who will be his running mate. :hi:

[Honeycombe8]

35. That was a rightwing tv ad against him, you know. I'm a woman. I like Webb.

He is entitled to his opinion that women shouldn't be in combat. Many military men feel that way. It is GOOD to have a military man on the ticket, IMO.

[Cha]

14. This is good..I did not know this.

"The DHS told Montanans they would be unable to travel by air if he refused to comply. He did not budge. The DHS backed down. “We don’t trust the federal government – we think they made a mess of the Patriot Act after 11 September,” he says. He lampoons the DHS’s Transportation Security Authority as “Thousands Standing Around”."

The Patriot Act was bogus Owellian shite.

[gateley]

21. I heard an audio of him saying

"they can go to hell" or something like that. Loved it!

[gateley]

22. Also from the article - he's down on lobbyists:

Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, keeps the hide of a skunk in his office in the state capitol building in Helena to remind visitors what he thinks about lobbyists.

snip

But he has advice for how Mr Obama should treat the presidency if he is elected. “The next president will have 100 days to turn the big picture around – after that the skunks will take over,” he says. “If he wants to push through healthcare reform and take down the multinational oil companies he’s got to be quick and tough. There should be dead skunks in the middle of the road.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Ye Haw!

[Cha]

26. "Only Dead Skunks in the middle of the road"!

Go Schweitzer! I think that's advice Obama will working on from all different angles.

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. Personally he would be my first choice but so far there does not seem to be a lot of traction

for him as V.P. On both Rasmussen Markets and Intrade Prediction Market he is not even listed on the main V.P. list for speculating. He is listed however on an alterntive list at a 6.5% chance of becoming the nominee.

http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/contractSearch/

http://markets.rasmussenreports.com/

But here is the post I made before on why Brian Schweitzer would be my first choice:

(my apologies to those who have read already my post on this)


The Democratic Party's weakest points in a general election is in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities. In the state by state counting that Obama would need in order to win a general election this would play out very differently than exclusive Democratic Party caucuses and primaries in places like Wyoming or North Carolina. For Sen. Obama to win I cannot see how he can do it without broadening his appeal in the West, the South and border-states and making a respectable showing in small towns, rural areas and mid size cities. So from my point of view, the V.P. candidate needs to be a populist Southerner or Westerner or border stater who appeals to small towns, rural areas and mid size cities.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm





From the actblue website: "Brian Schweitzer is a different brand of politician who has earned our support based on his willingness to speak truth, and let the chips fall where they may.

A businessman first, he understands Main Street issues at his core, fighting for lower taxes, better health care and education, and the creation good-paying jobs.

A soil scientist by education, Brian lived in Saudi Arabia for seven years, speaks Arabic, and created the largest dairy farm in the Middle East.

As Governor, he has become the nation’s strongest voice for sensible energy policies in an effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while protecting the environment from the dangers of global warming.
Brian understands that energy security will create new jobs and technology for export, expanding our tax-base, reducing our trade deficit, and saving our
environment.

An opponent of the Iraq invasion from the start, he further understands that you can’t win a war when you’re funding both sides of it."

[TransitJohn]

31. Schweitzer or Freudenthal

make a hell of a lot of sense, actually.

[Fly by night]

33. Gov Dave Freudenthal (D-Wyoming) would be great.

I am thankful that I got to know him before he became Governor. He is thoughtful, experienced, down-to-earth and a (now) twice elected Dem Governor in a deep-red state.

It's a shame he's from Wyoming. Cheney has soiled that state so much that Americans might think twice about another Vice-Prez from there (just like many of us are ready to return Texas to Mexico to "thank" them for the Smirking Chimp).

[Honeycombe8]

34. Let's see a pic, how 'bout it? That name is not German, is it? nt

[nickinSTL]

36. yes, Schweitzer is a German name, so what?

you have a problem with that?

[The Caped Composer]

42. Schweitzer is a German name.

Brian Schweitzer's great-grandparents were Irish (mother's side) and German Catholic (father's side). Both sides of his family have been in Montana for generations, so if you're implying that his relatives were on the wrong side in WWII, you're off base.

Furthermore, having a German name hardly matters. Look at the fact that, right after WWII, this country elected a president with the most Germanic surname of any in U.S. history: Eisenhower. If WWII veterans and their families could vote for a guy with a German name so soon after the atrocities of a war against Germany, people nowadays will have no trouble with a similarly-named candidate.

Oh, and one more thing: it's hardly a bad thing to share a surname with the great humanitarian, Christian theologian, and physician Albert Schweitzer. While not everyone in this country is well-versed enough in history to know who he was, those who do will undoubtedly have positive associations with the surname Schweitzer.

[nickinSTL]

37. I like a lot that I hear about Schweitzer...

I'd be quite happy for Obama to pick Schweitzer.

I've also been concerned with Richardson's very lackluster performance in the debates for the nom, and that that weakness won't be a help to Obama, although on paper he's great.

I like that Schweitzer understands the ME, that seems like another plus on his side that I hadn't been aware of.

[muryan]

39. I've never liked Richardson as VP

I think he will make a great secretary of state, but I want someone who can destroy McCains pick in the VP debate.

[sam kane]

38. Class diversity, plus wind farms are sexy!

I like this guy a lot for VP, hugely popular working class gov and I didn't even know that he stood up to the DHS. He doesn't have a misogynistic record like Webb, and is an interesting person who has accomplished innovative goals, another anti-lobbyist!

[tokenlib]

40. Obama-Schweitzer would be an incredibly balanced ticket....

They are both colorful--but in different contrasting ways---Obama appeals to the urban educated--Schweitzer would appeal to rural-small town America. Obama is thoughtful, intellectual--Schweitzer is smart and can take complex issues and present them in almost one-liner fashion at times.

If we can get other surrogates enough face time in the media to support Obama on military and foreign policy matters---I think Schweitzer could help the ticket in more domestic areas. His interest in and committment to alternative energy would be a huge asset..

Schweitzer could have his own running mate--with four legs.

Damn, I hope Obama considers him. Schweitzer is an embodiment of the kind of change we need. The skunk hide on the wall is a priceless object lesson. He would show the nation that the 50 state strategy is serious--and that the West matters---and small town values matter.

[endelfam]

43. Yes!

For a long time I was thinking Richardson, but my feelings have changed. I have been thinking about Schweitzer for the past week. He is a perfect match for Obama. He's got progressive credentials, supports ethics reform, and is in the right part of the country for what we need to do. Just as importantly, he has the personality to talk to folk in smaller cities and rural areas. Too bad he doesn't speak Spanish as well as Arabic! Other than that he's perfect.

[ZombieHorde]

45. I saw a video of him taking Montana seniors to Mexico for thier perscriptions...

I believe that he was speaking Spanish in that video. I will post it.

[LWolf]

44. That would be a great ticket, for a variety of reasons. n/t