Archive for February, 2012

Olympia Snowe Retiring from Senate, Likely Handing Dems Key Seat

Posted on: February 28th, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

Senator Olympia Snowe unexpectedly announced on Tuesday that she is retiring from the Senate. Along with her colleague Susan Collins, the two are known as the “Maine moderates” and have both consistently won re-election as Republicans in a Democratic state. She cited increased partisanship as her main reason for retiring: “I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate.”

President Obama commended Senator Snowe for her service. “For nearly four decades, Olympia Snowe has served the people of the great state of Maine. Elected to the state House in 1973, Olympia went on to be the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress. From her unwavering support for our troops, to her efforts to reform Wall Street, to fighting for Maine’s small businesses, Senator Snowe’s career demonstrates how much can be accomplished when leaders from both parties come together to do the right thing for the American people.”

Snowe is one of the few Republicans that have been willing to cross the aisle and join Democrats on legislation during the Obama years. She supported the stimulus package as well as the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. She joined her Republican cohorts in killing the DREAM Act, as well as voting against health care reform, despite indicating that she would vote for it if it didn’t have a public option in the bill – which eventually was removed.

The senator was a decided favorite for re-election, especially in the general election, although Tea Party challengers were biting at her heels in the primary. With Snowe’s departure this seat now has to be considered favored for the Democratic candidate. However, only two weeks are left until the filing deadline for both parties. We’ll have to see who throws their hat into the ring. That being said, the Democrats were largely on defense so far this cycle in places like Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana. Having Maine as a new pick-up, as well as Massachusetts with Scott Brown, makes it much more likely that Democrats will hold onto the Senate.

Mitt Romney’s “The Artist” Performance

Posted on: February 27th, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

Last night “The Artist” won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The Chris Matthews Show lampooned the Romney campaign by playing off of the silent film theme:

Mitt Romney’s campaign could learn a thing or two from Hollywood: his campaign would be better off if he just kept his mouth shut.

Mitt Romney’s Obsession with Michigan Trees

Posted on: February 26th, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

Mitt Romney delivered one of the strangest and yet most hilarious stump speeches ever a couple weeks ago when he pandered to Michigan voters by talking about how their trees had the right height. “I was born and raised here. I love this state. It seems right here. Trees are the right height. I like seeing the lakes. I love the lakes. There’s something very special here. The Great Lakes, but also all the little inland lakes that dot the parts of Michigan,” Romney said.

While that speech left people scratching their heads, oddly enough it wasn’t the first time that Romney spoke about his fondness for the height of trees in Michigan. “This feels good, being back in Michigan. You know, the trees are the right height,” Romney said on Friday during his speech to a nearly empty Ford Field.

Back in November 2011 he said almost the exact same thing: “I love being in Michigan. Everything seems right here. You know, I come back to Michigan; the trees are the right height. The grass is the right color for this time of year, kind of a brownish-greenish sort of thing. It just feels right.” Apparently it doesn’t feel right enough for Romney to own a home in the state, though, despite owning properties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and California.

Recapping the GOP Primary

Posted on: February 26th, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

New York Magazine‘s John Heilemann has a great piece this week on the GOP primary race thus far. He writes about the rightward drift of the Republican Party, the struggles that “front-runner” Mitt Romney has had to curry favor with the Tea Party base, and Santorum’s rise as his primary conservative challenger. In Heilemann’s own words:

That Mitt Romney finds himself so imperiled by Rick Santorum—Rick Santorum!—is just the latest in a series of jaw-dropping developments in what has been the most volatile, unpredictable, and just plain wackadoodle Republican-nomination contest ever. Part of the explanation lies in Romney’s lameness as a candidate, in Santorum’s strength, and in the sudden efflorescence of social issues in what was supposed to be an all-economy-all-the-time affair. But even more important have been the seismic changes within the Republican Party.

The schism is very real. The establishment of the Republican Party – comprised of lifelong politicians, Wall Street execs, the Chamber of Commerce and others – usually wins out. Their picks included George H. W. Bush in 88 and 92, Bob Dole in 96, George W. Bush in 00 and 04, and John McCain in 08. Each of them won their primary fights – even after tough challenges for Bush Sr. and John McCain. That may not be the case this year with an insurgent Tea Party. While Rick Santorum is very much a Washington insider – serving in both the House of Representatives and Senate until his defeat in 2006 – he is a nightmare candidate for the establishment due to his ardently conservative views on social issues that will alienate independent voters, but attract the very conservative voters that Mitt Romney needs in order to win the nomination.

Operation Bald Eagle Interview on Books Are Cool

Posted on: February 20th, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

I recently was interviewed by author and blogger Stephanie Dagg. She runs the blog Books Are Cool, a destination for her thoughts on books as well as the publishing industry. Her books include Oh Gran! and Escape the Volcano. The topics in the interview range from my inspiration for Operation Bald Eagle to favorite foods. It’s quite extensive. Here’s a small sampling of the interview which can be found at this link:

Operation Bald Eagle is an exciting spy thriller from young author Kyle Bell. It follows the actions of CIA agent Ethan Clark and his assistant Martin Frost as they fight to prevent a cyber-attack on the United States. It’s gritty, fast-moving, worryingly plausible and brilliantly written. Well worth a read.

Kyle Bell is a very interesting guy so this has turned into quite a long interview, but I know you’ll find it fascinating. So here we go.

What inspired you to write Operation Bald Eagle?

I have always been a big fan of the spy genre – everything from James Bond movies to video games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. More recently I discovered Ian Fleming’s writings out of curiosity for how the movie character differed from the big screen renditions. I’ve drawn inspiration from all of these in order to write Operation Bald Eagle.

Which character from the book are you most like – Clark, Frost, Goldberg or Falcon?

I would like to think that I’m closer to Ethan Clark and Martin Frost than the villains! Ethan is level-headed and reasonable. Readers will find his coolness appealing, as well as the fact that he comes across as human. Frost is young and idealistic. He’s less cautious and prone to mistakes. Really, I’m a blend of both characters, although I could never do their job in a million years.

Check out the full interview at http://booksarecool.com/2012/interview-with-kyle-bell-author-of-operation-bald-eagle/.

Mitt Romney Wins Florida, But Will Lose the South

Posted on: February 1st, 2012 by Kyle. | No Comments

Mitt Romney’s win tonight doesn’t say much about what will happen in the rest of the South. North Florida went for Gingrich and is more in line with places like Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. This isn’t just a theory, either. South Carolina already voted for Gingrich over Romney in decisive fashion. The Peach State and its Southern neighbors should prove to be fertile territory in the same way that Romney benefited from New Hampshire’s proximity to Massachusetts. After all, Gingrich calls Georgia home.

South and Central Florida – where Romney did best – are full of transplants from the Northeast. These are the same type of voters that catapulted Romney to the governor’s mansion in Massachusetts. I would expect Gingrich to sweep the South and do well in blue-collar places like Ohio where Romney will come off as an out-of-touch elite.

When Gingrich says that he will go all the way to the convention he means it, especially if Santorum drops out of the race. If you consolidate the anti-Romney vote in a state less hospitable to Romney than Florida then Gingrich has a decent shot at winning quite a few primaries. Romney might have won tonight, but this race is far from over. Expect a conservative backlash against Romney in the primaries to come – especially in the South.