Party Purity

So, there's going to be a Democratic Party primary election in Connecticut soon. Joe Lieberman, the incumbent, now seems likely to lose the party nod to Ned Lamont, who is basically buying the party nomination (after giving money to past Lieberman campaigns). His candidacy grows out of his opposition to the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Lieberman's support for it.

This is going to be the first of several big skirmishes in the Democratic Party over Iraq. The so-called "Left" or liberal base of the party, represented by many on the blogosphere, interest groups, and, arguably, the New York Times editorial and news pages is attempting to assert its power in several campaigns.

There is a similar struggle within the Republican Party. A so-called "conservative" group, the Club For Growth, is supporting opponents of G.O.P. incumbents in the primaries. It is targeting RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) for political extinction because they do not adhere to the supposed party philosophy of lowering taxes & spending, cutting government regulation, and supporting a strong national defense.

The concern over party purity is nothing new in American political history. There have been "boll weevils"-Democrats who opposed civil rights legislation, "gypsy moths"-moderate Republicans from Northeastern states, and more recently, Reagan Democrats.

The problem I have with parties basically requiring an ideological purity test is that it is inherently dishonest and deceitful, given how our political system now operates. In most campaigns, party platforms and TV commercials are worded in such a way as to appeal to the greatest number of voters. That's why John Kerry was branded as a flip-flopper-"I voted for the $70 million before I voted against it." If some Democrats are opposed to the Iraq policy and want to demonize and punish Lieberman for it by purging him, fine. If some Republicans want to get rid of incumbents who do not support every single tax cut proposal, fine. But say what you mean in no uncertain terms and then mean what you say when elected to office.

All About The Music Festival-A Wet, Wild Time

I spent the entire weekend working at the volunteer check-in area at WXPN's All About The Music Festival, held for a second year at Wiggins Park in Camden, NJ. It was nice to meet a lot of cool volunteers, as well as media celebs, including Blinq blogger Dan Rubin, and traffic.com's Lauren Valle (who, as it turns out, volunteered for the Kid's Corner area).

I didn't mind spending a lot of time doing the volunteer thing. IMHO, the music lineup was not as chock-full of "must-see" performers as last year's was. In 2005, the AATM featured the Drive-By Truckers, Rodney Crowell, the Indigo Girls, Loudon Wainwright III, Melody Gardot, Jim Boggia, and Patti Smith. It introduced me and may others to the phenomenal Danielia Cotton.

This time around, the New York Dolls were the big headliner Friday night, and from all I heard, they were as strong as ever. No makeup, either! (wait ... maybe that's not a good thing ...)

Danielia Cotton rocked, as always. Alejandro Escovedo did, too. I'm definitely going to have to catch him next time around. And LRC picked up some cool CDs from Codename and Lotus, who sounded good even from where we were stationed.

Following on the heels of Slo-Mo's terrific appearance on Saturday, the big show was provided not by XPN, but by Mother Nature. The skies darkened, the wind howled, and then the heavens opened up. People ran as the rain fell ... and fell ... and blew, too- sideways, diagonally. The volunteers in our tent pushed the tables to the center, and huddled as all hell broke loose. We all got a good soaking and lashing from the wind and rain, as we laughed and wondered when it would all end, and if the abundant lightning would avoid us.

The rest of the evening for me & LRC and a hearty little group of volunteeers consisted of cleaning up some of the debris at the VIP tent near the Marina. And there was a lot of it-wet tables & chairs, broken glass, and soaked linens-dozens of them, some wrapped in plastic but all in need of a good laundering. Carting them around (and in the next bout of rain) was an additional ordeal that tired us all out.

Sunday's weather was everything a good summer music festival should have-a small wind, sunshine, and low humidity. A good way to end the weekend!

Another Sports Curse?

The world of pro sports is full of supposed curses. The Boston Red Sox couldn't win a World Series for decades because the team had sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Some in Philadelphia blame the lack of a sports championship since 1983 on the city's gentleman's agreement building limit being surpassed two decades ago. Now, supposedly, there's another curse against the 2000 champion Pittsburgh Steelers that is claiming the lives of a higher-than-normal number of team members.

The Steelers curse story from ABC News

What I Learned From Watching The World Cup

For most of the last month, I've been following the World Cup football (a.k.a. soccer) competition, initially because my girlfriend, LRC, wanted to look at the games and root for England's team. I really got into it all, and wound up enjoying it more than I thought possible. So, what of it?

1. Well, first of all, I think that these players deserve a huge amount of credit. Running up and down the field, tangling with each other, with no timeouts, no breaks, and only 3 substitutions for 90 minutes takes a lot of energy. Very impressive!
2. The slower pace of the game, as opposed to the quick & structured nature of American football, took a little getting used to. But it's a nice change. The game has its own rhythm, which is less subject to lead & momentum changes than American football, or basketball, but still is compelling in its own way.
3. It's nice to see the nations of the world get together on an athletic field to compete in a relatively peaceful way with a common set of rules.
4. The richest/most-populated nations of the world, China, India, Russia, Japan, and the United States, were not a factor in the tournament. That may not always be the case, and certainly is a change from Olympics competition.
5. Zinudine Zihane should be booking a ticket to Lehigh to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles later this month after this move in yesterday's title match. (see right). We could use him at cornerback this year.
6. The world's soccer fans certainly match the fans of college football, and the NFL for crazy outfits. And, bonus: there were no big violent incidents involving the "hooligans".
7. The tournament format, like the NCAA men's basketball field of 65, really is the best way to settle a championship.
8. Beckham will be back. Posh too!
   
9. I'm really looking foward to South Africa in 2010!
10. Did you know that Berlin's Olympic Stadium is where the USA's Jesse Owens put Hitler & the Nazis to shame at the 1936 Olympics? I already did, I'm only sayin' because I heard it like ... 9,000 times yesterday. Note to the ABC announcers: next time, beef up your notes!

Below are a few of many images I found of the great spectacle that is the World Cup.

English fans painted St. George's Cross on their bodies, or, as here, dressed in medieval regalia.

Go USA!

These women in blue were fans of the victorious Italian team.

Wow, her hairdresser is in for a treat!

Brazil is blessed with some of the more .... enthusiastic fans of any team on the planet.

A Bad New Jersey Driver

I know New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has a lot on his plate these days, what with most of the state government being shut down and all. But there's another matter involving his administration which is also troubling. His attorney general, Zulima Farber, is in a bit of hot water because her boyfriend's traffic tickets may have been cancelled due to her influence.

On Memorial Day weekend, Hamlet Goore was stopped by local police in Fairview as part of the "Click It Or Ticket" seatbelt check campaign. He was initially cited by police for driving without a valid license or registration. He called Farber, who was driven to the scene of the stop. Next thing ya know, those tickets were ripped up. Farber had several tickets and a bench summons to her name before she was appointed by Corzine; her lack of respect for the law led to former governor Jim McGreevey withdrawing her name from consideration for the state Supreme Court.

Corzine's counsel appointed a retired judge to look into the matter; he apparently will have investigatory and subpoena powers. I hope he uses them.

Philadelphia Inquirer story