He finally stepped down. I'd been waiting for the moment he said he'd leave.
But I'll get to Jon Kyl in a moment. Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as the president of Egypt. As I type, I'm watching Egyptians in Tahrir Square in Cairo celebrating the news. The Egyptian people feel that they've accomplished a major victory by protesting Mubarak out of office and demonstrating the power to change their nation and their lives. And they did it with little if any of the violence commonly associated with historically significant revolutions like in France and in Russia. Now let's see how the Egyptians handle things from here on.
I don't know if this will be like the Berlin Wall coming down or if it's the beginning of anarchy in the Middle East. Egypt has a large, educated middle class that can make a solid effort in making g a transition to democracy, but there's still the apparatus of the existing government to deal with, along with how elections there will play out in September. And other Middle Eastern countries with similar unrest are not as stable as Egypt appears to be. We'll see what happens . . ..
As for Arizona senator Jon Kyl, I'm more than glad to see him go. He's a mean, mendacious politician . . . even for Republicans! As the chief deputy to Mitch McConnell, he's played more than a small part in enforcing Republican orthodoxy in the Senate. His opposition to the nuclear treaty with Russia was an embarrassment. With Kyl giving up a Senate seat he could have likely won with ease, his Senate seat in Arizona now becomes a battleground for the two parties in the fight for control of the upper house. Yes, Arizona is more Republican these days, and no, Arizona voters haven't sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988. But Arizona is more fluid than, say, Texas, where Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is retiring and which is likely to elect a Republican (possibly a Tea Partier) to replace her. Janet Napolitano, now the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, was elected governor of Arizona twice as a Democrat - and by a huge margin in 2006 - and Kyl faced a tough challenge from real estate developer Jim Pederson that same year in an expensive campaign. The viability of moderate Democrats in Arizona proves that the election in 2012 is not going to be a slam dunk for Republicans, despite the strong conservative movements thriving in the state.
Don't assume that a Democrat can't get elected to the Senate from Arizona. Back in the fall of 2009, we all knew that the idea of a Republican winning Ted Kennedy's Senate seat was preposterous.
But I'll get to Jon Kyl in a moment. Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as the president of Egypt. As I type, I'm watching Egyptians in Tahrir Square in Cairo celebrating the news. The Egyptian people feel that they've accomplished a major victory by protesting Mubarak out of office and demonstrating the power to change their nation and their lives. And they did it with little if any of the violence commonly associated with historically significant revolutions like in France and in Russia. Now let's see how the Egyptians handle things from here on.
I don't know if this will be like the Berlin Wall coming down or if it's the beginning of anarchy in the Middle East. Egypt has a large, educated middle class that can make a solid effort in making g a transition to democracy, but there's still the apparatus of the existing government to deal with, along with how elections there will play out in September. And other Middle Eastern countries with similar unrest are not as stable as Egypt appears to be. We'll see what happens . . ..
As for Arizona senator Jon Kyl, I'm more than glad to see him go. He's a mean, mendacious politician . . . even for Republicans! As the chief deputy to Mitch McConnell, he's played more than a small part in enforcing Republican orthodoxy in the Senate. His opposition to the nuclear treaty with Russia was an embarrassment. With Kyl giving up a Senate seat he could have likely won with ease, his Senate seat in Arizona now becomes a battleground for the two parties in the fight for control of the upper house. Yes, Arizona is more Republican these days, and no, Arizona voters haven't sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988. But Arizona is more fluid than, say, Texas, where Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is retiring and which is likely to elect a Republican (possibly a Tea Partier) to replace her. Janet Napolitano, now the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, was elected governor of Arizona twice as a Democrat - and by a huge margin in 2006 - and Kyl faced a tough challenge from real estate developer Jim Pederson that same year in an expensive campaign. The viability of moderate Democrats in Arizona proves that the election in 2012 is not going to be a slam dunk for Republicans, despite the strong conservative movements thriving in the state.
Don't assume that a Democrat can't get elected to the Senate from Arizona. Back in the fall of 2009, we all knew that the idea of a Republican winning Ted Kennedy's Senate seat was preposterous.
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