First off, I hope you all have better things to do than watch DailyKos on this special (Christmas AND Hanukkah!)day. Eh, who I am kidding - this site gives us presents every day of the year!
Anyway, I was watching "The McLaughlin Group" this morning, and they were discussing the best and worst of 2005. It got me thinking about my own ideas for the year's best, worst and ugliest moments. I hope you'll find my picks interesting, even if you don't necessarily agree with them all. Also, feel free to add your own in the comments. So let's get started!
The 2005 Yellin Awards for Political Activity
Best Politician of the Year: There are plenty of possibilities for this category, but the award goes to RUSS FEINGOLD. Under normal circumstances, a twice-divorced Jewish Senator would never be considered for the Presidency, let alone hailed as a top possibility. But Feingold has pulled it off, with his bold and courageous stands on the Patriot Act, Iraq, the judicial nominees and the wiretapping/spying issues of this year. Now the (much-deserved) favorite of the liberal base of the party, he stands to emerge as a top prospective for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008.
Worst Politician of the Year: While President Bush has certainly had a rough year, he's still got plenty of time to turn it around, and has been making some headway. Rather, I give this award to JEAN SCHMIDT, the rookie Congresswoman from Ohio-02 who will probably be out of a job in 2006 thanks to no one, but herself. Schmidt bungled what should have been an easy win in a heavily GOP district in 2005, running an amateurish campaign and having to be saved by the RNC. In Congress, she called war veteran and respected Congressman John Murtha a coward on the House floor, just weeks after promising to bring "civility" to the Congress. Now Schmidt faces a likely primary defeat in May, and a well-deserved early retirement to her local John Birch Society club.
Best Electoral Showing: This award goes to TIM KAINE, the Governor-elect of Virginia. Despite facing a Republican state and heavy attacks on his personal beliefs, Kaine easily defeated Republican AG Jerry Kilgore by a 52-46 margin. He skillfully turned the "culture issues" on their heads, and kept the pressure on Kilgore's rather weak campaign. He gets props as well for elevating MARK WARNER to the top-tier of Presidential hopefuls in 2008.
Worst Electoral Showing: This award goes to ANGELA MERKEL, now Chancellor of Germany. Starting out with a 20-point lead, Merkel nearly lost to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was crippled by a sinking economy and personal scandals. Merkel will now have to lead a shaky "grand coalition" between the two major parties, and is politically hobbled by a governement unable to carry out her ideas. On the plus side, Merkel gets the MARGARET THATCHER award for making political history in Germany.
"Profile in Courage" Award (no offense, JFK): This award goes to JOHN MURTHA, the Pennsylvania Congressman who came out against the Iraq War this fall. Murtha faced a bombardment of criticism for his decision, but suceeded in making the war the topic of discussion in Washington. Murtha also wins the DRILL SARGEANT Award for his toughness and willingess to give as well as recieve verbal blows.
"Profile in Cowardliness" Award: This award goes to BILL O'REILLY, the political commentator who told a questioner to "shut up" repeatedly after being asked a perfectly decent question. O'Reilly gets this award for a number of other cowardly actions, which for the sake of the reader's blood pressure I will avoid mentioning.
Thin Ice Award: This award is for the politician who is currently (or previously) in danger of losing pretty much everything, but who is still hanging on. It goes to TONY BLAIR, the British PM who has spent the whole year being in danger of losing his job. First he had to deal with calls for resignation after the Downing Street Memo came out. Then the Labour Party barely hung on to enough seats in the House of Commons to keep him in power. Finally, he's been in constant danger of being forced to vacate his post to Gordon Brown, a more anti-war Labour MP. Yet the "British Bill Clinton" is still hanging on to his post, and winning the 2012 Olympics for London will keep him there for now.
Flying High Award: For an unbroken record of success this year, this award goes to CHUCK SCHUMER, senior Senator from New York and the Chairman of the DSCC. Schumer has recruited a plethora of high-quality candidates for the 2006 cycle, from Claire McCaskill to Jim Pederson to Bob Casey Junior. Whether you agree with his picks or not, Schumer has done an excellent job of opening the playing field for 2006, and possibly getting the Senate back. As usual, Schumer also gets the PUBLICITY HOG Award for his constant snagging of high-profile media events.
"Hey, Big Spender" Award: This is a tie between NYC Mayor MICHAEL BLOOMBERG and New Jersey's next Governor JON CORZINE. Both men spent lavishly from their own funds to win their job for next year, with Bloomberg in particular smothering Fernando Ferrer in advertisements. Money talks, clearly, as both men will have the jobs they want in 2006. Now about that transit strike, Mr. Mayor...
Unlikeliest Politican Award: This award goes to POPE BENEDICT XVI, who was elevated from his behind-the-scenes role in April to succeed the charismatic John Paul II. Cardinal Ratzinger (as he was known then) was considered too old, too conservative and too controversial to win, let alone serve the Catholic Church. Yet Benedict has succesfully come into his own, and while his politics are certainly conservative he has also been able to reach out successfully to more liberal portions of his flock. Benedict also wins the WEIRDEST ADVERTISEMENT SYMBOL Award for being pictured with a Budwiser in an ad on Politics1.com ("Benedict likes the Brewski"). I don't think I've ever seen that before in my life, nor will again.
"End of an Era" Moment Award: This "award" concerns the loss of all three major nightly broadcasters, either to retirement or (tragically) early death. TOM BROKAW, DAN RATHER and PETER JENNINGS represented an age of more gentlemanly reporting, with staid, solid reports on the news that affected us. I love Jon Stewart, but the idea of him succeeding Rather at CBS has to tell you something about the pool of qualified replacements for the nightly news. I mean, c'mon, he's a COMEDIAN. In an interesting side note, I was honored to have my picture below all three gentlemen last year in the NY Times in an article on blogging. Sadly, I'm the only one still practicing my craft.
Best Quote of the Year: This award goes to PATRICK FITZGERALD, the modern-day Elliot Ness, who when asked about the perjury issue during the Plame Case said: "That talking point [perjury is a non-issue] won't fly... The truth is the engine of our judicial system. If you compromise the truth, the whole process is lost ... if we were to walk away from this, we might as well hand in our jobs."
Worst Quote of the Year: Is there any doubt? "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie." Courtesy of GEORGE W. BUSH, Commander-in-briefs.
"Mr. Liberal" Award: This goes to HUGO CHAVEZ, the populist President of Venezuela, who has successfully turned South America into a hotbed of liberal, anti-Bush supporters. Whether you like Chavez's inflammatory statements or not, he's succeeded not only in enhancing his support, but also in driving South American politics his way - liberal-style.
"Mr. Conservative" Award: This goes to GROVER NORQUIST, who embodied conservative ideology when he said, "We want to reduce government to the size of which it can drown in a bathtub." Norquist's dream came true this year, as the Bush Administration succesfully weakened the government to the point of which it was unable to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Norquist, apparently was unrepentent.
Jerry Springer Show Award: This goes to the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, where apparently anything goes when a politician's temper flares. Jean Schmidt nearly caused a riot when she called John Murtha a coward, resulting in HAROLD FORD, JR having to be restrained by his colleagues. The Democrats chanted "shame, shame" as the GOP passed CAFTA in the dead of night, and an endless array of GOP House leaders shot down Democratic calls for parlimentary inquiries during the year.
If you, the reader have other categories to mention, feel free to say so. For now, Happy Holidays!