American Morning
Avlon: Independents looking for alternative to angry politics
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/22/wingnuts.olbermann.king.gi.art.jpg caption="On the left, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann; on the right, Rep. Steve King."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
In a week dominated by the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake and a seismic political shift in Massachusetts, the wingnuts couldn’t help but weigh in and drag the discourse down.
Keith Olbermann went on an epic rant, calling now U.S. Senator-elect Scott Brown a racist and conservative Congressman Steve King managed to politicize the pain in Haiti with talk of refugee deportation.
It’s a cliché to say that some liberals reflexively reach for the race card when attacking political opponents. But in 2010 that’s just one of the weapons in the identity-politics arsenal. And this week, with the Massachusetts special election hours away, Keith Olbermann threw the entire kitchen sink at Republican Scott Brown. Here’s his summation:
"In short, in Scott Brown we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea bagging supporter of violence against woman and against politicians with whom he disagrees."
I’m not sure which accusation is most offensive or absurd – “supporter of violence against women” might win that low-blow award. But the attempted call to arms apparently didn’t frighten Democrats to the polls and it might have helped alienate independent voters, who went for Brown in record numbers.
Olbermann is a smart, funny guy and his special commentaries are sometimes incisive, but this might have set a record for the most unhinged since he called President Bush a “fascist” and told him to “shut the hell up.”
Opinion: Earthquake in Haiti like Katrina, only worse
Editor's Note: Dr. John Mutter is a professor at Columbia University in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Department of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). He studies the role of environmental systems in sustainable development, including the role of natural disasters in reducing development opportunities for the poorest people. He founded and directs the Hurricane Katrina Deceased Victims List.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/18/mutter.john.art.jpg caption="John Mutter says an economic stimulus package is needed to achieve equitable recovery in both Port-au-Prince, Haiti and New Orleans, Louisiana."]
By John Mutter
Extremes of nature, like hurricanes and earthquakes, can occur almost anywhere. Their effect can be anything from a nuisance, the storm that ruins the seaside vacation, to the tsunami that takes more than a quarter of a million lives and ruins livelihoods for countless more.
Human losses are the most tragic of disasters’ many consequences and we wait now, aghast at the images on the Web and in the news media, wondering just how many people have died. How many children were in collapsed schools and people buried in hospital beds?
The magnitude of a natural extreme is a weak guide to the effect it will have. The Landers earthquake in 1992 and the Northridge earthquake of 1994 were about the same magnitude as the earthquake that struck near to Port-au-Prince, yet only 75 people died in those events. Any death is a tragedy, but we now brace ourselves for what we can expect to be horrifyingly large number in Haiti.
Earthquakes don’t kill people; buildings do. And the poorest constructed buildings are inevitably home to the very poorest people. Homes and other structures built way out of safe building code – if codes even exist or are known about, or minimally enforced after the building inspector is bribed for a permit – are built by people who lack the resources to build minimally safe structures if they could.
The rapidly expanding peri-urban slums encircling cities throughout the world are a swarm of these dwellings ready to kill their occupants at the slightest shaking or downpour. Often built in marginal lands, like barely reclaimed swamps and steep hillsides, they are the most dangerous places on earth to live.
Swing voters will decide Kennedy seat
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast and author of the forthcoming "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/29/avlon.john.art.jpg caption=" John Avlon says the too-close-to-call Massachusetts race is hinging on the choice made by independent voters."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
(CNN) - On Tuesday, the eyes of the political world will be turned to Massachusetts where an unexpectedly close special election is being held to determine who will succeed Ted Kennedy in the Senate.
Conventional wisdom labels Massachusetts a liberal bastion, but this stereotype misses the mark. In fact, there are more independents in Massachusetts than Democrats or Republicans.
Take a look at the numbers: There are roughly 2.1 million independent voters in Massachusetts, 1.5 million Democrats, and 500,000 Republicans. Yes, Democrats far outnumber Republicans in the Bay State - especially in Boston - but there are more independents than Democrats and Republicans combined.
This is the key to understanding why the race between Republican State Sen. Scott Brown and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, is so close. It reflects a broader dynamic occurring in American politics: Independents are the largest and fastest growing segment of the electorate.
There are now 11 states like Massachusetts, where independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans outright. Winning independents is the key to winning any election - and right now, independents are angry at the Democrat-controlled congress.
Avlon: Partisan politics ought to end at the water’s edge
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is the author of "Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics" and writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/07/wingnuts.malloy.quist.art.jpg caption="On the left, radio host Mike Malloy and on the right, Minnesota congressional candidate Allen Quist."]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
In the wake of the thwarted Christmas bombing we’re seeing an unwelcome return to hyper-partisans treating terror threats as a political football.
But wingnuts have their unique take on this ugly game and this week we’ve got two outer-limits analysis from the far-right and far-left.
On the right, conservative Minnesota congressional candidate Allen Quist announced that terrorism wasn’t in fact the biggest challenge facing freedom-loving Americans today. No, to him, the biggest challenge to freedom is coming from Democrats like President Obama and Nancy Pelosi, who are “destroying our country.” Here’s the full quote from a campaign stop.
“Our country is being destroyed. I mean, this is – every generation has had to fight the fight for freedom. This is our fight. And this is our time. This is it. Terrorism, yes – but that's not the big battle. The big battle is in D.C., with the radicals. They aren't liberals, they're radicals. Obama, Pelosi, Walz – they're not liberals, they're radicals. They are destroying our country.”
Quist is no political newcomer and this is no slip of the tongue. He’s served in the statehouse and been the GOP convention’s nominee for governor in the 1990s – and now he’s challenging incumbent Democratic congressmen Tim Walz for his seat. We should take Quist at his word: even while Americans are reminded of the non-optional war we are in against radical Islamic terrorism, he genuinely believes that Democrats in general and the president of the United States in particular represent a more clear and present danger to our freedom than terrorists.
Security experts: People are key to preventing attacks
Editor’s Note: Stephen Flynn served on the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton. He is president of the Center for National Policy and the author of “The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation.” Frances Townsend is a CNN national security contributor and former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush. She is a partner at the international law firm Baker Botts.
(CNN) – Tougher airport security checks are in place today. Travelers flying into the United States from 14 high-risk countries will now be subject to body scans and pat-downs. Passengers on other incoming international flights will also be subject to more frequent random searches. But what does all that mean and will it really make us safer in the air?
On Monday’s American Morning we dug deeper into the new security measures with homeland security expert Stephen Flynn and CNN National Security Contributor Frances Townsend. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
Kiran Chetry: Anybody flying into the U.S. faces these random screenings. All passengers coming from those 14 ‘terror-prone’ nations will be patted down and have their carry-on bags searched. How much does that tighten the net? Does it go far enough?
Stephen Flynn: We have a real challenge here. Airline security was viewed as the crown jewel of our post-9/11 homeland security efforts and obviously this latest incident exposed some serious gaps. There are limits though to just what we can do to pat down and screen every bit of our way to security. One of the two key elements that were very essential for preventing this attack was first the report from the father about the terrorist. That's a very important tool that we need to be able to use.
The other piece was of course the actions of the passengers themselves on the plane to obstruct the attack. We need to remember that in the overall layers of security that we embrace that our greatest asset often is everyday people. And to the extent to which some of the prescriptions that are coming out are really centered around technology and just heavily around the inspection process here, we're losing sight of the bigger picture.
Avlon: Wingnut's Facebook rant is fear-smear
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast. Previously, he served as Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://am.blogs.cnn.com/files/2009/12/wingnuts-reid-wiseman-art.jpg caption="Sen. Harry Reid and Mayor Russell Wiseman (Photos: Senate.gov / Townofarlington.org)"]
By John Avlon, Special to CNN
Wingnut comments are often characterized by unhinged anger and a complete lack of historic perspective – and that’s what we saw this week from Arlington, Tennessee Mayor Russell Wiseman on the right, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the left.
Mayor Wiseman was sitting down to watch "The Charlie Brown Christmas Special" with his children when he found the program pre-empted by President Obama’s speech at West Point announcing the troop surge in Afghanistan.
His conclusion? The timing was a deliberate affront to Christians and the Constitution from a “Muslim president.” His next move was to post his feelings on Facebook.
“Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it....w...hen the answer should simply be 'yes'....”
In an extensive thread unearthed and excerpted by the Memphis Commercial Appeal this week, Mayor Wiseman went on to widen his attacks, writing: “...you obama people need to move to a muslim country...oh wait, that's America....pitiful.”
At another point he wrote, “you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things would be different.”
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