Run General....
Submitted by Marla on January 18, 2010 - 7:42pm.
Democratic politics
.......and I'm sure!! most Clarkies will come back to help
=====================
Wesley Clark, the Little Rock-native who served 34 years in the U.S. Army including a stint as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, could enter the race as a Democrat for the 2nd Congressional District.
The Democrat spot recently opened up with the announcement by U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, that he would not seek reelection.
Roby Brock, a content parter with The City Wire at TalkBusiness.net, reports in this story that there is chatter in Democratic circles about interest from Clark as a Congressional candidate. Brock writes that a credible source says an internal discussion is taking place, and Clark is giving it serious consideration..............
that he shouldn't get involved now... it's a big mess and Gen. Clark's talents and smarts would be wasted... He is too strong and powerful and is more effective "attacking" from the outside (private sector) rather then being in the WH; but who knows, maybe he has a vision...
When the economy gets better, then I think Gen. Clark has a better chance persuading the lobbyist to do what is right and therefore will go down the history with an accomplished record as a politician; and is it necessary to be a politician to make a change?
...how Eric Massa will enjoy being senior to Wes...or how Wes would like it. Somehow I don't think that that would bother either of them.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
I agree however if by some odd chain of events this did happen I'll bet that Massa would be there at the swearing in to point out Clark's new "junior" status. :)
Barry
Our departure point is the present, our goal is the future... it is for us to determine.
as much chance of Wes running for congress as there is of Me running for president. 0
"I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had."—Nat Hentoff
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/eyeon2010/2010/01/halter-seriously-considering-c.html
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Clark for CongWESs?
Well...maybe not.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
His talents are better utilized elsewhere. This would limit him too much.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31655.html
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
I will support 1000% anything he decides to do. But I hate to see all the nasty negative comments at Politico--I would hope WKC gets appointed to some key position where he can do much good, rather than being subjected to this nonsense.
The General gets it right.
Competence--What a concept!
But then I reminded myself that General Clark is a warrior who has faced down sticks stones AND bullets. Those words won't hurt him. They only hurt him if they impeed his primary mission. General Clark can wear them as a badge of honor because he earned them the hard but honest way, by going out there and making a difference, and that always wins you enemies.
I trust in General Clark's personal decision making process, and I respect his choice as to the career he wants to follow. He can make a huge difference in many arenas, and each comes with it's own lifestyle. If the General runs for and wins a seat in Congress I can easily see him staying there for 16 years, gathering significant power and influence with each term of office served.
With a congressional district to work with no one can prevent Wes Clark from making direct contact with the people in it. It is different than running a national race, it would be more like campaigning non stop in New Hampshire for 9 months, and he could easily raise the money to blanket local media, so Wes would be heard directly, free of the distortion that national media attempts to impose on coverage.
Our General would make those commenters choke on those words. He is a patient and compassionate man, but he doesn't suffer fools.
I think Wes could do more good then most freshman congressman because of his media experience. He could get interviewed/heard a lot. I am afraid that the country will really need some help in this upcoming election.
I was kind of subconsciously aware of that point, but hadn't really framed it in my mind explicitly.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
this talk got started, but I highly doubt Wes would do it.
Armando over at Talk Left has a thread about it. He's definitely in.
Let's Put the Cult Back Together
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
is to put some stability in his and Gert's life. I venture to think that he gets damn sick and tired of riding in airplanes and sleeping in strange beds in strange hotels in strange countries.
"I try to avoid hyperbole, but I think Obama is possibly the most dangerous and destructive president we have ever had."—Nat Hentoff
Congresspeople seem to fly almost every Thursday or Friday and Sunday or Monday. They have to talk to constituents, and they're in campaign mode non-stop.
That may not be as arduous, however, as darting from Beijing to Copenhagen and all over the U.S. He may actually have more "Gert-time" than he does now.
I wonder if all of his board activities would be seen as a negative as a conflict of interest, even if he resigns from them if he runs? He already has had to restart his private interests once. I wonder if he's willing to do it again.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Three reasons for doing this:
1) He might honestly feel Democrats need all the help they can get to retain seats in 2010.
2) He might like the thought of holding elective office; he has achieved a great deal already in his lifetime, but never that experience.
3) He might see it as potentially opening other doors; at least nobody could accuse him again of "lacking experience" in elected office.
Wes Clark is a leader. Give him a year or two and he will be a leader in Congress. And Congress needs leadership. It's that simple. I am sure Wes will be an excellent representative for his district, but that isn't the point for me. If elected in short order Wes Clark will be a leader of the Democratic caucus in the House, and that will make him a national leader at a time when our nation needs his leadership. It never is about ego for Wes, get him into the Halls of Congress and let him get to work for America.
People just get really high expectations. They want "hope" and "change." Then, because of how our campaign finance system works and who hires the lobbyists who write the legislation. we have more of the same. My congressman is retiring. He says he hasn't seen this country so polarized since Vietnam. So long as the focus is on left/right, instead of the top 5% v everybody else, we're just stuck in a seriously broken system. If Wes were in congress, he might get something good done for his home district, which would be his job, but nationally, I think he'd be very frustrated.
And obviously these are all factors that he has to weigh since it ultimately comes down to if and how the General chooses to serve again.
I think Wes has a strong pragmatic streak to compliment his idealistic one. He knows from the military how hard it is to bring about change, and he knows it by now in politics also.
General Clark already knows most Congressional leaders personally, certainly the Democrats but not just them. Ted Kennedy never got fatally frustrated in Congress, he just kept working to make whatever improvements he could with whoever he could work with, and considered every inch of progress something gained that otherwise might not have been.
Hillary in Congress had an ability to not always stay boxed in by party lines also. General Clark would be appreciated within his district by those he served directly, and as for the general public, much less focus is put on a member of Congress than on a presidential candidate, with the exception of a tiny handful of House leaders.
Wes never backs away from a challange that he feels he can make a positive contribution to. It is an open question that only he ultimately can answer whether this is the role he wants to take on and feels he can achieve most by doing.
I've watched Eric Massa operate as a Congressman for all of one year now, and I already appreciate having his voice in the mix. Being a freshman Congressman isn't like being a freshman in College, you make of that national platform what you will, and who the hell cares how old anyone is when they embark on a new career path? That smacks either of ageism or more likely arrogance to think it is below the stature of any accomplished American to enter Congress at age 66.
It surely isn't ageism. It's reality. Not too many of us here are young anymore, and I know we're not ready for rocking chairs and diapers, but when we have already spent a lifetime opening up doors and getting where we are, most of us don't want to get put in a box because someone appeals to our sense of duty, and I hope Wes won't fall for it either. Right now he's free to operate however and wherever he chooses. I LOVE Eric, but the fact is, WE'RE tuned into him, but most people don't know who the hell he is, and he is absolutely powerless to change a system that is completely broken and corrupted. Yes, he has one voice. We all have one voice, and most of us don't use them nearly enough. We allow ourselves to become seduced by the idea that someone can SAVE us from the horror the world has become, which only makes us more powerless. We need to do a lot more about the things we DO have the power to change (and I suggest thinking really small, tangibly small) and develop the wisdom to know when things are beyond our grasp. We can use our voices, written or otherwise, to try to INFLUENCE other people to see things our way, but when we start thinking that the possibility of BIG CHANGES can happen through the political process, we have been totally suckered.
Well said, Susan.
I haven't trotted out Dr. Stephen R. Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) in some time.
He talks about two circles, the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence. He says that we must concentrate our energy (and worry) on the smaller Circle of Influence--the things we can affect through our choices. Doing that will cause the Circle of Influence to grow, whereas spending the negative energy "out there" in the Circle of Concern will cause the Circle of Influence to shrink.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Actually I reacted to the full phrase "kind of absurd for anyone to want to run..."
The key word actually being "want". It is not absurd for someone to want to run for Congress at any (healthy) age. It may or may not be the best use of their time or energy from someone else's viewpoint, but that choice belongs to the individual whose time and energy it is.
I would not urge Wes to run for any office now out of any sense of obligation, I agree with you there, but I would not ridicule that option for him either. It is not for me or for you to say that his time would be better spent somewhere else; on this or that corporate board or at this or that university. And it is not fair to Wes or anyone else to let our own frustration with the ineffectiveness of government color our perceptions about what is the right thing for him to do with his life now.
The truth is that Wes will be no less powerless outside of government than he would be in it, so that argument is moot. Congressmen/women and Senators remain free to write and/or speak their mind outside of the halls of Congress after they are elected. They can still participate in forums, do media appearances, write books on global warming and all the rest of it. After a couple of terms, often their profile is higher for doing so than it would have been had they not been in office. Most of Wes Clark's current "celebrity" comes from his 2004 Presidential run, and that is fading now in the public eye.
If Wes Clark, or anyone else, thinks that being a member of Congress can possibly be a platform for making a difference, even a very small one, and they want to try God Bless them. And that lifestyle might suit Wes better than his other options would, unless you think he is ready for that rocking chair and I know that you don't. lol. What would make you think he should choose being Chairperson of the Ethenol Council or whatever over being in Congress if he would rather have a role in Washington?
That's my bottom line Susan. I think it makes sense for Wes to run if it makes sense to him. It was your specific choice of words that kind of set me off, they seemed too judgmental in the opposite direction. It is neither absurd for Wes Clark to choose to run for Congress nor for him to not want to be drafted for that out of some sense of obligation. It's his choice and I trust his judgment as to what is best for him and I know he will continue to serve our nation well wherever he choses to do it.
It was your specific choice of words that kind of set me off, they seemed too judgmental in the opposite direction.
Well, of course we're being judgmental. All of us are, including you, Tom. That's neither good nor bad.
We're "judging" because we care about Wes, we care about the country, and we care about what he can do to maximize his influence, since we agree with his philosophies and principles. But the bottom line is that we want what he wants out of life. I wrote after his withdrawal from the presidential race that if he wanted to stay home and tie flies, I'd learn how to tie flies--and I don't even like fishing.
My only hesitation is to be careful not to want what WE want instead of what he wants.
(When I finished this, I realized that we probably agree, LOL.)
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
But I might go so far as to say that it's not even so bad to want what we want from someone we respect and support, as long as we clearly respect that it is what he wants in regards to his own life that is the undeniable bottom line. Wes gathered some good people around him, I'm confident that all of us here are clear about that.
why wouldn't or shouldn't Wes consider running for the U.S. Senate?
Timewise it might be difficult because the primary is, I believe, in May (filing deadline is in March)
But Blanch Lincoln seems to be closer to a Republican thn a Democrat and she recently supported Murkowski's push against the EPA's new regs for emissions.
I'm not politically savvy so maybe it's impractical but the Senate needs a spine and although there are a handful of good Senators including, IMO, Feingold, Leahy, Sanders and it seems so far, the rookie, Whitehouse - leadership is sorely needed.
Well, Eve, several of us believe that it is simply against Wes's nature to oppose an incumbent Democrat...of any stripe.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
yes, Stan, that crossed my mind for a second or two,
and perhaps they are friends and Wes may understand the political pressure she feels under.
Nevertheless, I felt very proud of Wes when he stood up for Ned Lamont and rightly tried to hold Joe Lieberman accountable, although that might not be exactly the same as the current situation in Arkansas.
Can't believe I would be the first to see this little blip, but here is the link for all it's worth...
"But ... I did pick up some political gossip over by the frozen salmon.
A well-known Washington insider has been telling Arkies this weekend that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is trying to talk Sen. Blanche Lincoln out of running for re-election.
That would open the door for a Wes Clark candidacy. And U.S. Rep. Mike Ross would be in the race in a heartbeat. Then comes a deluge of candidates in the 4th District. Forget for a moment what a Boozman candidacy does for the House of Dominoes on the Republican side from Senate down."
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2010/01/grocery_store_gossip.aspx
The Rebuttal
"Sen. Blanche Lincoln's office (D-AR) is denying reports that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is allegedly urging her to retire this year, in the face of poll numbers showing her in a tough race.
"No truth to it," Lincoln spokeswoman Kate Laning Niebaum told The Hill. The DSCC also strongly denied the report, in an interview with TPMDC. "Sen. Blanche Lincoln is running an aggressive campaign in Arkansas, and we have no doubt that she will win," said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy.
This came after the Arkansas Times reported that the DSCC was urging Lincoln to bow out. Such a retirement would hypothetically open the way for a different Democratic candidate, such as fifth-term Rep. Mike Ross or retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark (who has also been rumored as a possible candidate for the House seat of retiring Democratic Rep. Vic Snyer)."
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
Just musing here, approaching wild speculation, but since I don't think we've seen ANY Dem step up for the AR-02 race, yet, could it be because some of those considering the race may want to fry a bigger fish?
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
be going to announce retirement tomorrow -- all wild, wild speculation going on. I think I'll go back to my book.
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
Olberman and the King of the Kossacks were on this. They phrased the announcement as "major." Would "Yes, I'm running" be characterized that way? I guess these days it might.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2010/01/lincolns_twittering.aspx
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Supermarket chatter. Could be. Guess we'll find out Tuesday by other comments. I'm out of the loop on all of this. On everything except work actually. ;)
Thanks for the link.
Nothing Wes does would surprise me at this point I think. And because we have established that he is certainly cloned and there are at least six of him..... I'd venture that he/they could easily serve in congress and still maintain his other duties and obligations as energy guru, scholar, military adviser, disaster consultant, author, businessman, investment banker, international relations expert, and so on....
tomorrow,
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x151753
Just sayin'.
"Just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a Man In Black."
-Johnny Cash
This is a surprise out of left field!
Hey...if this is what Wes wants to do....I'm in. I'll follow and support him in whatever endeavors he chooses. Always will.
The Dem Caucus certainly could use some "starch".
On the one hand:
Toes curl up in delight at the thought of Wes teaming up with Eric and Franken time and again to shine some much needed truth and transparency on issues and players. And I'm all for more holding of the nitwits accountable and such. Those guys seem like ones who do that, and do that well.
On the other hand:
Toes curl up in delight at the thought of Wes teaming up with Eric and Franken time and again to shine some much needed truth and transparency on issues and players. I'm all for more holding of the nitwits accountable and such. Those guys seem like ones who do that, and do that well.
Oh wait. That's not conflicted, is it.
Seriously, I'll still support this guy, no matter what he wants to take on. I suppose if I do have a hesitation about it, it's about a partisan run. I realize the pragmatic reasons for party backing, but I'd prefer to see him out there as (what those of us in college who didn't up with any of the Greeks used to call ourselves) A God Damned Independent.
(Which would be a great name for a third party.)
-- I'm laughing because it's not funny.
It's not just Franken and Massa. There is Webb and Sestak (hopefuly) too.
I wonder what committe assignment Wes would get. :-)
We shall shee...(as of this writing the link is only to the NYT home page, not a full article)
Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Wed, January 20, 2010 -- 11:19 PM ET
-----Obama to Propose Limits on Risk Taking by Banks
President Obama on Thursday will publicly propose giving bank
regulators the power to limit the size of the nation's
largest banks and the scope of their risk-taking activities,
an administration official said late Wednesday.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
the fitting office General Clark should run for is POTUS.
Run Wes run.
Ken
ps Is that your Bichon? I have one of those adorable fluffballs, aptly named Fancy.
Wes doesn't seem like he would go for state office. He missed his chance in 2008 out of loyalty and a possible admin spot with Hillary. Obama is going to be re-elected because all the GOP has is Palin. So it is not looking good for Wes as POTUS he is going to have to wait a bit.
That is all I have to say, . . . for now.
"Just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back, up front there ought to be a Man In Black."
-Johnny Cash
Hi everyone!! Long time, no see!
I remember seeing chatter about Clark for Congress a couple weeks ago and it reminded me to stop by and say hi.
I know Wes is doing a lot good in alternative energy right now but our Congressional leadership is seriously failing the country. Their mishandling has empowered the right and stalled their domestic agenda. I'd love to see Wes step in and like was pointed out earlier -- he could be a major voice in Congress due to his past experience and media profile despite the fact that he'd be a junior if elected. I'd be ecstatic to see him in public office, but we'll see what happens...
Hope everyone is doing great here at CCN!!
Chris
P.S. On a bit of a side note - I just applied to Grad School and in my essays mentioned how the Clark 04 campaign really inspired me to become interested in politics and public service. All Wes's ideas (ie "New American Patriotism") really got me excited and it was fun to reflect on that major influence on my thinking :)
"People who founded this country...had strong beliefs, but they believed in reason, and dialogue, and civil discourse. We can't lose that in this country. We've got to get it back." - Wes Clark
Don't be such a stranger.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Just saw this at the Yahoo! Groups. I can't see it, and I hope he doesn't in this political environment. Still, if he wants to do it, it would be fun to gather up all the Clarkies and have a Clarkie convention some weekend to blitz the area and have a little fun.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."