The Hat Trick wants to take a moment to wish all my readers a joyous and Happy New Year. May 2009 be a wonderful year for you.
The Hat Trick has taken a bit of a hiatus since the Election Day post...unfortunately the Hat Trick's day job became very hectic and stressful with the election results, post election Senate hysteria (Senate races in Minnesota and Georgia) and just general work-related issues resulting from the continued bad economy.
Unfortunately the Hat Trick also got his pink slip two weeks ago and had his last day today so two things might happen with regard to this blog...either daily, or multi-daily posts as I will have a lot of time on my hands or no posts at all as I work to find new employment. Only the future will tell...
Finally, on a happier note, the Hat Trick is VERY excited for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic featuring the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois (the former second home for Mrs. East Coast Wing during her 20s!). This will be the third year that a regular NHL game will be played outdoors (last year the Pittsburgh Penguins squared off against the Buffalo Sabres in Ralph Wilson Stadium during a snowstorm) and it has been a hit. I'm glad to see two Original Six teams get a chance to participate in this fun and innovative idea from the National Hockey League.
The game starts at 1:00 PM Eastern time so take a break from all of those bowl games and tune in...it should be a great game after the Red Wings pounded the Blackhawks in Detroit last night (December 30)!
Regardless, have a safe and happy New Years Eve and the Hat Trick's best wishes to you all for 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Hat Trick 2008 Election Predictions
The Hat Trick has been AWOL lately…unfortunately the Hat Trick’s day job has gotten in the way, plus some travel. Add in to that a little bit of political/election apathy and you pretty much have the whole story. However, since it is November 4 and Election Day, the Hat Trick feels he should probably comment on what is going on…
Bottom line is that Senator Obama’s days as a member of the United States Senate will quickly be coming to a close as he gets the promotion to the White House. I don’t think it will be a landslide, but a solid victory…nothing like the close elections of 2000 and 20004. At this juncture the Hat Trick feels that Senator Obama will turn Virginia and Colorado and possibly Florida. Finally, the Hat Trick thinks Ohio will also go his way, sealing the deal. Also, unlike 2004 (and especially unlike 2000!) we should know the winner fairly early in the evening…likely by 11:00pm if not sooner.
The Hat Trick has felt for a while that Senator Obama would be victorious so I have been more focused on what happens in the House and Senate races…as a lobbyist this is the arena that will impact me the most. For pro-business conservatives, like the Hat Trick, the future doesn’t look pretty. The Hat Trick predicts that Democrats will gain 30 seats in the House…bagging 34 Republican-held House seats and losing four of their own seats. The Hat Trick’s “Upset Surprise Special” will be Pennsylvania’s 12th District, home to Democratic Representative John Murtha, an outspoken critique of the Iraq War and a Member of Congress with some significant ethical lapses in his past, including involvement in the “Abscam” scandal in the late 1970s, among other glitches. In 2008 Murtha is in trouble by publicly stating that his congressional district is a racists area and would not vote for Senator Obama. His constituents were not pleased and has turned an easy race for re-election into a real challenge for Murtha. The Hat Trick thinks this is the “Upset Special” for this election.
The races in the Senate are somewhat murkier although the Hat Trick predicts a solid night for the Democrats but not quite enough to get to a filibuster-proof 60 votes. The Hat Trick predicts Democrats will win seven seats, bringing their total to 58 seats (56 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut). This is how the Hat Trick sees the shakeout of those seven Senate races:
Alaska – Senator Ted Stevens loses for the first time since his appointment to the Senate in 1968. A conviction on corruption charges last week in D.C. Federal Court did not help his re-election efforts.
Colorado – Open Senate with the retirement of Senator Wayne Allard, a Republican. A former red state turning purple, and possibly blue, Republicans nominate the most conservative candidate possible, alienating moderates in an election year not friendly to Republicans. Democrats nominate House Rep. Mark Udall of the Udall Family dynasty and will win handily.
New Hampshire - Senator John Sununu hasn't exactly electrified the Senate since his arrival in 2003. Changing trends in New Hampshire (both House seats went to the Democrats in 2006) plus being opposed by a popular former Democratic governor of the state will put the Senator into enforced retirement after one term.
New Mexico - See Colorado. Republicans nominate most conservative choice to run against a Udall (this time House Rep. Tom Udall). Results are the same...welcome to the Senate Tom Udall.
North Carolina - One would think that Senator Elizabeth Dole would be okay in North Carolina but that state is becoming more purple by the day. A large turnout of Black voters for Senator Obama are going to kill Dole's re-election hopes. Of course it never helps your re-election efforts to spend most of your time in your Watergate condo in Washington, DC with your husband, former Senator Bob Dole, instead of the state your actually represent.
Oregon - Moderate Senator Gordon Smith (a cousin of the Udall clan mentioned above) is just going to get bagged in a state trending to become "really, really blue" with the current hippy/progressive contingent in Portland these days. If Smith had a D instead of an R after his name he would be fine.
Virginia - See New Mexico and Colorado. A former Red State now trending Blue, Republicans nominated an unpopular, very conservative, former Governor to face popular, moderate/business friendly, former Governor. How do you think this is going to turn out? The irony is that Republicans had a moderate, very popular House member retiring (Rep. Tom Davis) who wanted to run for the Senate but was maneuvered out of the nomination by the conservative wing of the Virginia Republican Party in a state trending moderate in recent years. Good move guys!
Finally, the Hat Trick feels that Senator Norm Coleman in Minnesota will prevail in his race against former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken. If ultra-liberal, jokester Franken wins this seat then God help us all...
The Hat Trick may provide some further commentary as Election Day 2008 continues. Feel free to comment on the Hat Trick's predictions...and, as always, regardless of who you support, please go out and vote...even if it is "None of the Above." A lot of people in our past history died for our right to vote and it is important to exercise that right every single election.
Bottom line is that Senator Obama’s days as a member of the United States Senate will quickly be coming to a close as he gets the promotion to the White House. I don’t think it will be a landslide, but a solid victory…nothing like the close elections of 2000 and 20004. At this juncture the Hat Trick feels that Senator Obama will turn Virginia and Colorado and possibly Florida. Finally, the Hat Trick thinks Ohio will also go his way, sealing the deal. Also, unlike 2004 (and especially unlike 2000!) we should know the winner fairly early in the evening…likely by 11:00pm if not sooner.
The Hat Trick has felt for a while that Senator Obama would be victorious so I have been more focused on what happens in the House and Senate races…as a lobbyist this is the arena that will impact me the most. For pro-business conservatives, like the Hat Trick, the future doesn’t look pretty. The Hat Trick predicts that Democrats will gain 30 seats in the House…bagging 34 Republican-held House seats and losing four of their own seats. The Hat Trick’s “Upset Surprise Special” will be Pennsylvania’s 12th District, home to Democratic Representative John Murtha, an outspoken critique of the Iraq War and a Member of Congress with some significant ethical lapses in his past, including involvement in the “Abscam” scandal in the late 1970s, among other glitches. In 2008 Murtha is in trouble by publicly stating that his congressional district is a racists area and would not vote for Senator Obama. His constituents were not pleased and has turned an easy race for re-election into a real challenge for Murtha. The Hat Trick thinks this is the “Upset Special” for this election.
The races in the Senate are somewhat murkier although the Hat Trick predicts a solid night for the Democrats but not quite enough to get to a filibuster-proof 60 votes. The Hat Trick predicts Democrats will win seven seats, bringing their total to 58 seats (56 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut). This is how the Hat Trick sees the shakeout of those seven Senate races:
Alaska – Senator Ted Stevens loses for the first time since his appointment to the Senate in 1968. A conviction on corruption charges last week in D.C. Federal Court did not help his re-election efforts.
Colorado – Open Senate with the retirement of Senator Wayne Allard, a Republican. A former red state turning purple, and possibly blue, Republicans nominate the most conservative candidate possible, alienating moderates in an election year not friendly to Republicans. Democrats nominate House Rep. Mark Udall of the Udall Family dynasty and will win handily.
New Hampshire - Senator John Sununu hasn't exactly electrified the Senate since his arrival in 2003. Changing trends in New Hampshire (both House seats went to the Democrats in 2006) plus being opposed by a popular former Democratic governor of the state will put the Senator into enforced retirement after one term.
New Mexico - See Colorado. Republicans nominate most conservative choice to run against a Udall (this time House Rep. Tom Udall). Results are the same...welcome to the Senate Tom Udall.
North Carolina - One would think that Senator Elizabeth Dole would be okay in North Carolina but that state is becoming more purple by the day. A large turnout of Black voters for Senator Obama are going to kill Dole's re-election hopes. Of course it never helps your re-election efforts to spend most of your time in your Watergate condo in Washington, DC with your husband, former Senator Bob Dole, instead of the state your actually represent.
Oregon - Moderate Senator Gordon Smith (a cousin of the Udall clan mentioned above) is just going to get bagged in a state trending to become "really, really blue" with the current hippy/progressive contingent in Portland these days. If Smith had a D instead of an R after his name he would be fine.
Virginia - See New Mexico and Colorado. A former Red State now trending Blue, Republicans nominated an unpopular, very conservative, former Governor to face popular, moderate/business friendly, former Governor. How do you think this is going to turn out? The irony is that Republicans had a moderate, very popular House member retiring (Rep. Tom Davis) who wanted to run for the Senate but was maneuvered out of the nomination by the conservative wing of the Virginia Republican Party in a state trending moderate in recent years. Good move guys!
Finally, the Hat Trick feels that Senator Norm Coleman in Minnesota will prevail in his race against former Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken. If ultra-liberal, jokester Franken wins this seat then God help us all...
The Hat Trick may provide some further commentary as Election Day 2008 continues. Feel free to comment on the Hat Trick's predictions...and, as always, regardless of who you support, please go out and vote...even if it is "None of the Above." A lot of people in our past history died for our right to vote and it is important to exercise that right every single election.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
More Brilliance from the Kennedy’s…
You’ve got to love the Kennedy’s and their self-righteousness…as well as their ability to hold others accountable while conveniently forgetting some of their own family’s challenges over the years.
In today’s Washington Post, Robert Kennedy Jr. was quoted on Monday at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC as stating that “That’s when the Republicans used to be good guys.” Kennedy was speaking to a group of children at the bookstore publicizing his new book on former slave Robert Smalls. Kennedy asked the group of children if they knew the political party of President Abraham Lincoln (not a leading question at all) and when they answered “Republican” he made his broad generalization on Republicans. Kennedy further stated to the Post that he had no qualms about the statement, feeling that the children were mature enough to make their own determinations.
Using the same logic we can only conclude that everyone with the last name of Kennedy is a liberal philandering, alcoholic, date-raping murderer…frankly I can barely type that sentence out because it is so ludicrous. Examples like Mr. Kennedy’s clearly illustrate the toxic ignorance that is a growing trend in today’s politics. It’s why both Congress and the Presidency have such low approval ratings. It’s why a good many people in this country cannot stomach the political scene and stay out, leaving an increasingly small pool of capable individuals running for office. In turn, this leaves our government in the hands of an ever increasing number of individuals who are not capable of statesmanship and drop into the gutter of partisan warfare. Liberals like Mr. Kennedy are flocking to Senator Obama, and will likely elect him President, because they feel he is an agent of change that our country desperately needs. Yet, by his ignorant statement and unwillingness to even consider how inappropriate it was to say that in front of a group of children, Mr. Kennedy descends into the very arena that they supposedly want to change.
Will we see any outrage over this statement beyond conservative circles? Will liberals and the media call out Mr. Kennedy and condemn his statement? I think the answer to that question is highly unlikely. Of course, if my statement above had been used to describe Mr. Kennedy’s family, or Mr. Obama's, I can only imagine the moral outrage that would come from it. Unfortunately for Republicans, that’s how it is in the current climate. How we combat it will help decide if the party can recover from what is almost-certain political annihilation on November 4.
In today’s Washington Post, Robert Kennedy Jr. was quoted on Monday at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC as stating that “That’s when the Republicans used to be good guys.” Kennedy was speaking to a group of children at the bookstore publicizing his new book on former slave Robert Smalls. Kennedy asked the group of children if they knew the political party of President Abraham Lincoln (not a leading question at all) and when they answered “Republican” he made his broad generalization on Republicans. Kennedy further stated to the Post that he had no qualms about the statement, feeling that the children were mature enough to make their own determinations.
Using the same logic we can only conclude that everyone with the last name of Kennedy is a liberal philandering, alcoholic, date-raping murderer…frankly I can barely type that sentence out because it is so ludicrous. Examples like Mr. Kennedy’s clearly illustrate the toxic ignorance that is a growing trend in today’s politics. It’s why both Congress and the Presidency have such low approval ratings. It’s why a good many people in this country cannot stomach the political scene and stay out, leaving an increasingly small pool of capable individuals running for office. In turn, this leaves our government in the hands of an ever increasing number of individuals who are not capable of statesmanship and drop into the gutter of partisan warfare. Liberals like Mr. Kennedy are flocking to Senator Obama, and will likely elect him President, because they feel he is an agent of change that our country desperately needs. Yet, by his ignorant statement and unwillingness to even consider how inappropriate it was to say that in front of a group of children, Mr. Kennedy descends into the very arena that they supposedly want to change.
Will we see any outrage over this statement beyond conservative circles? Will liberals and the media call out Mr. Kennedy and condemn his statement? I think the answer to that question is highly unlikely. Of course, if my statement above had been used to describe Mr. Kennedy’s family, or Mr. Obama's, I can only imagine the moral outrage that would come from it. Unfortunately for Republicans, that’s how it is in the current climate. How we combat it will help decide if the party can recover from what is almost-certain political annihilation on November 4.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Red Wings Visit the White House
The Detroit Red Wings visited with President Bush at the White House Tuesday to celebrate the Red Wing's 11th Stanley Cup victory this past June. President Bush had some nice comments to make about the Red Wings and included a particular poignant statement about Darren McCarty, noting his challenges with alcoholism and how he was worked hard to put his life back together and get back into the NHL. President Bush battled his own alcohol problems when he was younger so there is an interesting connection on this issue between the President and McCarty.
All in all a nice moment for the Red Wings and the President...and given the President's tremendous unpopularity probably one of the few light moments he has as his presidency winds down.
All in all a nice moment for the Red Wings and the President...and given the President's tremendous unpopularity probably one of the few light moments he has as his presidency winds down.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Culture of Corruption
In 2006 the then-Democratic minorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate ran on theme of a Republican "Culture of Corruption" in Congress. They weren't far off on labeling Republicans this way. The GOP had experienced an unusually high number of congressional scandals including the infamous Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal that sent now former Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican, to jail. Other problems came up including a page scandal where former Representative Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, was discovered to have been texting high school pages that worked in the Capitol on some highly inappropriate subjects.
Now it looks like the tables have turned and the big question will be how will the Democratic leadership address this scandal involving, ironically, the lawmaker who replaced Representative Foley. It looks like Representative Tim Mahoney (D-FL) is being accused of paying a former staffer, and his mistress, about $121,000 to stay quiet about the affair. We'll see how this plays out but it is always fascinating to the Hat Trick how politicians always try and play the morality card for political gain and always (always!) get burned doing it. House Republicans impeaching former President Bill Clinton when both the Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Appropriations Chairman (and incoming Speaker) Bob Livingston (R-LA) were involved in extramarital affairs. Current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) promised that the House of Representatives, under her leadership, would run the most ethical Congress in history. She has already stumbled badly with many ethical lapses in her own caucus including Representative Bill Jefferson (D-LA) current trial on corruption charges. The Mahoney incident doesn't help matters and I think the Democratic leadership is going to have to come down hard on Mahoney, otherwise they will have proven they are no better compared with the Republicans they threw out of office in 2006.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Opening Night Final Thoughts
The Hat Trick is somewhat embarrassed to note that, after posting earlier tonight that the Hockey Night in Canada match-up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens is always "a great match-up." Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, they got pounded 6-1. To paraphrase Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada…that's not nice and Ron Wilson (the Maple Leaf's new head coach) will remember that. The Hat Trick stands corrected!
In one final thought, the Hat Trick notes that the fourth fight in the Canucks-Flames game has just taken place...good, old school hockey!
Opening Saturday Night in the NHL
The Hat Trick has been privileged in watching some good NHL hockey tonight, the first Saturday night of play in the 2008-2009 season. Already some good games have been played and some are currently ongong.
Of tremendous importance to the Hat Trick is the fact that the Red Wings won their first game of the season, defeating the Ottawa Senators 3-2. It was a close game up until the end, especially during the last minute of the third period when the Senators put an extra attacker on the ice (creating an "empty net" situation…in order to put the extra attacker on the ice you have to pull your team's goalie) and it went down to the buzzer. Ottawa is a though team in the Eastern Conference and I'm pleased that the Wings were able to come out on top. An added bonus for the Hat Trick is getting to hear the national anthem of both Canada and the United States sung so beautifully by the representative from the Canadian Armed Forces…they always perform the national anthems in such a magnificent way.
Other highlights of the night include:
- The Washington Capitals put together a come-from-behind win against the Chicago Blackhawks, winning 4-2. The Hat Trick considers himself a secondary Capitals fan since it is the only way to get NHL hockey in the nation's capital. I like to see the Caps do well…they have a great arena to play in (the Verizon Center) and have a dedicated, yet small, following. The Hat Trick wishes the Caps well, however the Hat Trick always is loyal to the Red Wings when they play the Caps…which created some problems for the Hat Trick in 1998 when the Capitals matched up against the Red Wings for the Stanley Cup…and got swept by the Wings 4-0. Some of the Hat Trick's friends are still annoyed about that!
- Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, dropped an honorary puck at the start of the Flyers-Rangers game today. Regardless of how you feel about Governor Palin, it's kind of nice to challenge baseball on the sports connection with politics in America. The Rangers won 4-3.
- During the intermission between Game 1 and Game 2 on Hockey Night in Canada, Ron MacLean (mentioned in a previous post) had a segment with CBC News on the upcoming elections in Canada this coming Tuesday. Can you imagine that happening in the United States?
- The Hat Trick currently is watching fun, scrappy, physical game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames on Hockey Night in Canada. Calgary is pummeling the Canucks 3-1 as the first period is winding down.
- Most importantly...CBC broadcaster was sporting a great suit with a Mickey Mouse tie tonight...classic Don Cherry!
Needless to say, the Hat Trick is enjoying his hockey tonight. More to come on the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings…it allows the Hat Trick to avoid discussing the presidential election in which he is becoming increasingly weary!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
