Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The solution
By VictorM:Economist Brad deLong has a solution for dealing with the current economic crisis, but I think his suggestion would solve just about every problem that has afflicted America for the past 30 years:
raze the Republican Party to the ground. Plough it under. Scatter salt in the furrows so it can never grow back.
We need another, very different opposition party to face the Democrats. We need it now.
Obama clawing his way into McCain's face
By VictorM:You didn't think that Barack Obama could hit back hard at McCain, could you? Here's proof that you're wrong (courtesy of the folks at the Onion):
Obama Runs Constructive Criticism Ad Against McCain
Monday, September 29, 2008
Is he really a good man?
By VictorM:I cringe every time I hear the likes of Barack Obama, Joe Bidden, Bill Clinton, and other Democratic party leaders say that John McCain is a good man. I know that they are operating under the Barack Obama strategy (or is it a tactic?) that we all can get along. And if they think this might sway enough fence sitters to win this election so be it, but I want to go on record as saying that John McCain is a jerk and certainly not someone I regard as a "good man." He's a lying, cheating, greedy, vengeful, disrespectful, political coward, two-faced, kiss ass, hot tempered, gigantic asshole. In addition, he's on the wrong side of every important issue.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
You just don't understand
By VictorM:The most telling moments of the Barack Obama/John McCain debate were each time McCain told Obama that he "just didn't understand." The notion that if someone disagrees with you it's because they just doesn't understand makes it difficult to reach compromises or build consensus. Just as with George Bush, it denotes a personality that scream "my way or the highway." It was clear in every case that Obama understood the issue, he simply disagreed with John McCain. And McCain simply has no tolerance for that.
I have been convinced for years, and now even more so, that John McCain's record of being a maverick was never because he had more common sense than his fellow Republicans, but rather because when they didn't go along with him, McCain went against them as a "fuck you" message.
It's time for America to tell John McCain to go fuck himself.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Danger ahead!
By VictorM:Nothing motivates people like fear, and George Bush does the fear bit like no one else. That's the only reason mediocrity in the White House has survived. The Daily Show takes it from here:
Will Democrats behave like they have caved in to this bullshit once and won't do it again? We shall see.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
She can see Russia
By VictorM:I swear, I want to stay away from from Sarah Palin, I really, really do, but I'm failin', specially when I see funny stuff like this:
The truth about John McCain
By VictorM:As I write this I have no idea if John McCain will show up for the debate tomorrow, but this statement is the absolute truth: John McCain - war hero, political coward.
We have nothing to fear, but lack of fear
By VictorM:I didn't watch the George Bush's TV show last night, but I didn't have to -- I knew all too well that he was going to channel Alfred Hitchcock, not FDR. Fear is a wonderful thing to get the masses to allow you to do whatever you damn well please. George may not be a quick study, but he isn't that dumb. So.. we had fear aplenty:
So -- this was no time to channel the ghost of FDR and tell us that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Instead, we were told that we should be fearful, that the "situation is becoming more precarious by the day" and that "the market is not functioning properly, there is a widespread loss of confidence and major sectors of American industry are in danger of shutting down."In the scheme of things, George Bush really is a small, despicable person.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sarah Palin: A delicate flower?
By VictorM:CNN's Campbell Brown is calling on the John McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like a delicate flower and to free her to show that she's competent. Ms. Brown contends that the current treatment of Sarah Palin is chauvinistic and sexist. See the video for yourself:
I think it's clear that Campbell Brown knows exactly why they are hiding Sarah Palin. While chauvinism and sexism may be involved, it's clear that in terms of qualifications to be one heartbeat away from the presidency, Sarah Palin is a delicate flower.
But I do like Campbell's approach. Well done.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Watcha talkin about, Bill?
By VictorM:After explaining why he understands Sarah Palin's appeal in the heartland, Bill Clinton added this:
My view is ... why say, ever, anything bad about a person? Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?Well, Bill, exactly who is saying bad things about her? I mean, she wants to teach creationism in schools, she doesn't think global warming is caused by man-made activities, she's against a woman's choice on abortion in any case, she's used her power for personal vendettas, she's lying about her track record, she is amazingly ignorant on some important issues, she makes up stuff when she doesn't know the answers... come on, as a politician, what's there to like about her?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Why can't I change their minds?
By VictorM:Are the constant reminders of John McCain and Sarah Palin lies, distortions, and lies likely to change many of their supporters' minds? Don't count on it, according to this article:
This sure explains a lot.The article's conclusion should be posted as a caveat under every political speech of those seeking office. And it should serve as the epitaph for the Bush administration: "People who lack the knowledge or wisdom to perform well are often unaware of this fact. That is, the same incompetence that leads them to make wrong choices also deprives them of the savvy necessary to recognize competence, be it their own or anyone else's."
The converse also bears repeating. Despite the fact that students in the top quartile fairly accurately estimated how well they did, they also tended to overestimate the performance of others. In short, smart people tend to believe that everyone else "gets it." Incompetent people display both an increasing tendency to overestimate their cognitive abilities and a belief that they are smarter than the majority of those demonstrably sharper.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Idiot of the day: Fernando C. de Baca
By VictorM:Fernando C. de Baca, chairman of the Bernalillo County Republicans, had this amazingly racist statement about the current presidential election and the Latino vote:
"The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors," he said. "African-Americans came here as slaves.I've got one word for you, Fernando: projection.
"Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."
Concerned Citizen
By VictorM:This anti-John McCain YouTube video was put together by someone calling him/herself "Concerned Citizen." It's damn good, I say:
Abortion debate solved? Not so fast
By VictorM:Ezekiel Bush thinks that he and his wife have come up with the perfect argument to send religious pro-lifers into a loop. His reasoning goes as follows:
God decides when to “call us home”. We’ve all heard Christians say when trying to comfort us about the loss of a loved one, “They are in a better place”, “God needed them in Heaven more than we needed them here”, or “It was their time, and only God can know when that is”.It all makes too much sense to someone like me for it to work on someone who votes Republican.
Taking all this into account, why would we mere mortals presume that God wouldn’t be able to save a baby if he wanted to? Also, there are many examples in the Old Testament of God using humans to do his work. What if he’s just deciding that the babies that do get aborted are supposed to be “called home”? Don’t Christians have faith that God will decide which baby’s are born and which are called home?
What Mr. Bush overlooks is that the anti-choice movement isn't about religion, God, saving babies, family values, morality, or any other such "rightful" reason -- these are just distractions from the real reason: getting people to vote Republican.
To get the people who swallow the anti-choice pill to change their stance, you'd also have to have them accept difference races, different religions, higher education (you know, the elites), scientific evidence over myth, etc.
Abortion is nothing more than one item in a package that includes greed, hate, and ignorance. And these traits will be stoked by Republicans regardless of a court decision on roe v. wade because it's the only way the Republican party stays in business.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Party like we're kicking Republican ass
Can we drill her head?
By VictorM:Sarah Palin was asked if Congress should pass a bill to ban exporting oil drilled in the USA. Here's her answer:
"Of course, it's a fungible commodity and they don't flag, you know, the molecules, where it's going and where it's not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first. So, I believe that what Congress is going to do also, is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it's Americans who get stuck holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here. It's got to flow into our domestic markets first."Damn, she makes Dan Quayle sound smart.
Some choice comments from the Kevin Drum blog:
She sounds very much like a student who crammed all night and now has everything all mixed up.
She reminds me of Damon Wayans' character on In Loving Colour that was always trying to use big words to demonstrate his intelligence but had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
She's tipping her debate strategy: Make every answer so completely incoherent that Joe Biden's head finally explodes from trying to follow her arguments.
I can't wait for South Park to feature Sarah and her Energy Expertise.
It's like her answer was run through Inuit to English on Babelfish.
She's used to speaking in "tongues". What do you expect?
Lose your house, lose your vote
By VictorM:Another example of your modern day Republican party being a group of thugs:
The Obama campaign filed suit in state court to block the GOP's "Lose your home, lose your vote" scheme, a plan to challenge the eligibility of voters whose homes have entered foreclosure - despite the fact that many remain resident in those homes. It's a typical GOP disenfranchisement campaign, and it's nice to see the Obama folks taking a proactive position...This kind of stuff has been rampant in the last few election cycles. That so many Republicans support this behavior, or simply don't care, is a true reflection of their "win at any cost" mentality.
The GOP has long employed the chimerical notion of "voter fraud," and preyed upon unpopular groups like students, non-Anglophone Americans and ex-felons. But they made a strategic miscalculation by going after homeowners suffering foreclosures. And by linking this effort at disenfranchisement to the others, the Obama campaign is going to make them pay.
I sure hope that this time Obama takes them to task and makes them pay for it.
Your news media hard at work
By VictorM:Yahoo News and the Associated Press just published the results of a poll, with the following results:
Not only did they bothered with such a dumb poll, but believe it or not, it was on the front page of Yahoo News. What, are they running out of Sarah Palin and/or John McCain lies to report?People would rather watch a football game with Barack Obama than with John McCain — but by barely the length of a football.
Obama was the pick over McCain by a narrow 50 percent to 47 percent, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll
Thursday, September 18, 2008
When dregs are good enough
By VictorM:Discussing the arrogance of neocons like Carly Fiorina, S.W. Anderson asks a truthful question and offers his astute answer:
How could Republicans give us a president and vice president as arrogant, ignorant, incompetent and bad for the country as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney?Obviously, conservative Republicans think real brains and talent belong in the corporate suite, whereas dregs are good enough for the White House.
Well, Republicans like the current office holders so much that they are prepared to vote for more of the same. Dregs indeed, all of them.
(PS. I like the site design, SW)
Biden vs Palin
By VictorM:It's no contest: Joe Biden is more of a woman than Sarah Palin, sorta... consider the following:
But I'll admit, Sarah has better hair.Joe Biden drafted the Violence Against Women Act.
Sarah Palin charged victims of rape for their own rape kits.
Joe Biden respects a woman's right to choose.
Sarah Palin wants victims of rape and incest to carry their babies to term.
Joe Biden wants to protect teens from getting pregnant by educating them.
Sarah Palin want to protect teens from getting pregnant by telling them not to have sex.
Joe Biden wants a Christian in the White House.
Sarah Palin wants a Christian White House.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Remember this bozo?
By VictorM:Yes, remember president George W. Bush, the man many of us have called the worst president ever? Yes, the fucker is still around, not that anyone pays much attention to him. But it's time to taunt something he can brag about:
President George W. Bush's job approval rating remains low, with just 27 percent of Americans approving of the job Mr. Bush has done as president.The highest disapproval rating since they began. I bet papa and mama Bush are so proud of their son.
A record 68 percent disapprove of the president's performance, the highest disapproval rating of any president recorded since Gallup began asking the question in 1938.
Oh yeah... and John McCain wants to be just like him.
McCain's real running mate
By VictorM:Paul Bagala has a good post explaining why John McCain's real running mate is George Bush, not Sarah Palin, and why, as I have advocated in previous post, we should stay away from her: because she simply is a distraction from the disastrous policies of the last 8 years, that same policies McCain wants to inflict on America.
And true to the proverb that a picture is worth a thousand words, this pictures speaks volumes:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A form of personal treason
By VictorM:One of the left's main complaints about the press is how they have treated John McCain very favorably, to the point of actually protecting his flaws. Richard Cohen, a columnist for the Washington Post, was, by his own admission, part of that group. But like several of his colleagues, Mr. Cohen is starting to sing a different tune about John McCain:
His opportunistic and irresponsible choice of Sarah Palin as his political heir -- the person in whose hands he would leave the country -- is a form of personal treason, a betrayal of all he once stood for. Palin, no matter what her other attributes, is shockingly unprepared to become president. McCain knows that. He means to win, which is all right; he means to win at all costs, which is not.The rest of the op-ed piece, titled The Ugly New McCain, is well worth reading.
Monday, September 15, 2008
One of the reasons they campaigned together
By VictorM:A few days ago I read a post that suggested one of the reasons John McCain and Sarah Palin were doing appearances together was the fear that she would outdraw him. Well, it appears now that that poster might be right: McCain's crowd numbers plummet in Palin's absence:
I guess the Republican crowds know who the most entertaining liar is.John McCain returned to the campaign trail on Monday, only this time without his popular vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin. The results were somewhat less than enthusiastic. As reported by MSNBC's First Read, the Republican presidential nominee addressed a crowd of roughly 3,000 people in a stadium that seats 16,000.
Lying, not so bad
By VictorM:The Obama team is making John McCain and Sarah Parlin's lies a central front of attack. I don't think they should ignore those lies, but as I have stated in the previous post, I don't think this gets much traction. Josh Marshall has a piece that explains why:
Yep, they all do it. That's what most people, particularly those who don't follow politics, will think. Unless the lie can be tied to something that scares folks, you're wasting your time. I think the McCain team is banking on it.Of all the shortcomings of the establishment press today, none is more central to the corruption of the profession than the decision to prioritize balance over accuracy. That corruption is visibly on display in the current coverage of the McCain campaign's policy of deliberate lies. And you won't find a better example than Cathleen Decker's piece in yesterday's LA Times.
Read into the article and you'll see numerous instances of McCain's repeated use of false claims and lies and one instance Decker is able to dig up of an Obama campaign claim that arguably leaves out some information.
But the conclusion and packaging of the article is that both candidates deceive equally and that they do so because it works.
I still say Obama needs to use the formula: he said this, now he's saying something different and the reason he's flip-flopping is because he wants to... end social security, provoke a bigger war, send your job overseas, etc.
The American people have become the scary cats of the world. Fear is the dominant emotion on a populace that has never known rough times but now sees terrorism and globalization rocking their core. They are scared shitless. They'll vote for the guy that makes them feel the safest.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Shooting blanks
By VictorM:This is not a "the sky is falling" post, but I am much less optimist about Barack Obama's chances of beating John McCain than I was a while ago. I know polls will fluctuate, but there's no denying that the race is at best tied, with McCain possibly ahead. With the current state of the country, and with the Republican brand so damaged, the current standings are cause for concern.
Obama has been responding quickly and firmly to McCain's attacks, but that's part of the problem -- he's responding! He's on the defensive. And when he attacks, he's mostly just shooting blanks.
If the target of ads are the independents, people who stand where they stand because they don't follow politics closely, the allegations against McCain and Parlin will not work:
-- McCain and Parlin are lying. Well, most people believe all politicians lie. So what?
-- Parlin sought earmarks. Two responses: 1) What the fuck are earmarks, or 2) So she sought money for her own state? What's wrong with that?
-- McCain is no maverick. Maverick? Oh yeah, that's what that McCain guy is.
-- Obama will provice health care to all. Sure, sure, that's what Clinton said too. It'll never happen.
-- Affordable college? And a pony and unicorns too? (Come on, see point #1 above).
Unless and until Obama scares the American people about McCain, everything else will miss the mark. The message has to be:
-- Elect McCain and Parlin and we'll have endless wars (clips of McCain... bomb, bomb, bomb Iran and Parlin putting an attack on Russia on the table).
-- Elect McCain and you'll have a crabby, temper-tantrum prone, reckless president risking your sefety and that of your children (use plenty of quotes by Republicans who say McCain is a hot-head).
-- Elect McCain and your social security benefits will be in risk during his presidency
-- Elect McCain and your job is most likely to land overseas.
I want to trust that Obama knows what he's doing, but frankly, I have no such confidence. The current state of the race is a clear indication that Republicans could be on their way to winning again with a much inferior candidate and conditions that don't favor them.
When it comes to campaigning, Republicans don't live in a world as it should be, they live in the world as is. Obama talks a lot about change, but when it comes to this campaign, he should start with himself. The real world is waiting.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The British get it
By VictorM:Come join our discussion forum and discuss this topic (read more about it in a post by rreppy):
A British jury has cleared six Greenpeace activists of causing criminal damage when they vandalized a power plant last year in a protest over global warming, based on the defense attorneys’ argument that the protesters were trying to prevent even worse damage from climate change.
Let's go to the videotape
By VictorM:McCain's distortions, lies, and half-truths exposed. See the 3 minute video and pass it on:
Back to our regularly scheduled programming
By VictorM:I believe that O¿O in the crowd makes a very good point: too much attention to Sarah Palin is exactly what the John McCain team wants because it detracts us from what really matters, that McCain's policies are almost universally rejected by sane Americans. It's time we focus again on the great liar himself, John "Bush's 3rd term" McCain:
We need to make sure that EVERYONE knows that John McCain has made a HARD RIGHT TURN from the person they thought they knew. We need to make sure that EVERYONE knows that John McCain will appoint Supreme Court and Federal judges that think it is OK for the government to spy on its' own citizens. We need to make sure that EVERYONE knows that John McCain is so far in bed with lobbyists he has to climb over 30 or 40 people just to get out of that bed. We need to make sure that EVERYONE knows that John McCain will GIVE MORE TAX CUTS to big business and the most wealthy of America.I hear you, man. Don't pop a vein.
We need to make sure that EVERYONE knows that John McCain will continue the BUSH TAX CUTS to big business that SHIP JOBS OVERSEAS. Etc...etc...etc...
Please allow me to introduce myself
By VictorM:First impressions linger. I know it won't matter to most Republicans, but I hope that most of those still sitting on the fence are paying attention to the Sarah Palin lies:
She introduced herself to the world stage by delivering a speech that she knew was a lie.That, my friends, is how Sarah Palin chose to introduce herself -- with lies.What kind of a person does that?
What does that say about her moral character?
How can the American people believe anything she says from here?
That was what she presented as evidence A#1 of her stature as a reformer!
Friday, September 12, 2008
McCain, flip-flopping again
By VictorM:Well, well, well... looks like someone, just several months ago didn't think a mayor or governor was prepared to handle national security issues. See the video for yourself:
Obama is right: McCain would rather lose his integrity than a presidential race.
Oh my...
By VictorM:First, she didn't know that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were private companies, now we have this:
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?Stop right there! No need to go any further. How much out of the loop does someone have to be to not know what the Bush Doctrine is, when it has been discussed ad nauseum for several years?PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
And some people want this woman one heartbeat away from the presidency? Republicans are insane!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Overreacting
By VictorM:I don't find this kind of appeal for calm reassuring. That's because I've seen two qualified Democratic presidential candidates lose to a moron, and all the while, I heard stuff like this:
It has come to our attention that a large number of Democrats have gone completely nuts about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
He’s going to lose! Sarah Palin is getting all the attention! The Republicans are so mean! Why isn’t he tougher?
Cheer up, Obama-ites. You’re overreacting.
If the Obama brain trust seems relatively serene compared with its seething base, it’s because they live in the Electoral College world, where the presidential race only takes place in a third of the country. They don’t care about national polls — a concept as quaint as measuring one’s wealth by caribou pelts.
Yeah, this may be right, but isn't that what we heard in 2004 and in 2000? I mean, why can't Obama keep his eye on the Electoral Vote and also attack his opponent? The two are not mutually exclusive. And the undecideds who will determine the outcome of the election are looking for someone with a backbone.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Spoken like a run-of-the-mill Republican
By VictorM:VP candidate Sarah Palin opened her mouth and spoke like she knew what she was saying, but in essence, she was making it up:
Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies.This is not unlike their claims the the government is too big, or Welfare is too expensive. They say these things without the slightest thought to what they're saying. They're just slogans that they repeat since birth.
Anyway... for a vice presidential candidate to not know about Fannie and Freddie, that's pretty scary stuff. A lot worst than not knowing how to spell "potato."
My fears coming to pass
By VictorM:The Obama/Biden ticket is in trouble. Sure, McCain's poll numbers are benefiting from a convention bounce, but his poll numbers are not what's concerning me right now. My concerns are two fold:
1. Palin has energized the Republican base. And those people vote in large numbers when motivated. She may not have the qualifications liberals look for, but she has all the qualifications the Christian Right and most Republicans like.
2. Obama/Biden are on the defensive all the time and the McCain/Palin team is attacking relentlessly. Obama took a swipe at Palin over her earmark flip-flop. For crying out loud, how many people in this country even know what an earmark is? And Joe Biden tells us what a good friend and what a courageous American John McCain is before he slaps him with a feather.
Republicans are running a 21st century campaign while Democrats are stuck in the 1940's. Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager is right: this is a race about personalities, not issues. It's not so because he said it; it's so because American voters say so. They've said so by voting for deeply unqualified people before and they could do it again. They're looking for a fighter, and they're only seeing that on one side.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Hillary supporters: get motivated again
By VictorM:There are many Hillary Clinton supporters who are still only lukewarm supporters of Obama. The following quote is from one such Hillary supporter who was having a hard time getting motivated for this general election:
If you were a Hillary supporter and you're still on the sidelines, you're an idiot!Then came the VP nod. And the return of far right conservatism. The whole abortion thing, not even for rape/incest. The PR around teenage pregnancy, like its some heroic thing. The desire to pit small town v. the rest of America. That some the rest of us suck. And that America is REALLY in small towns. And really religious. And you know, a specific type of religious. Your John Kerry and Bill Clinton need not apply.
And then suddenly I was back at it. It's like Palin reminded me of the sheer load of bullshit that we had experienced in the last eight years. Lets face it, whether because he is a poor communicator or whatever, Mccain is hard to hate. I know, I know, he's with Bush 90% of the time. But he's just so pathetic out there trying to pretend he cares in those speeches its hard to get too worked up.
But Palin, she's another story. The lies come easy, and the distortion matches with her like her brick red lipstick to her brown blouse. The whole bridge to nowhere. The lies about the money. The lies about earmarks and how she's not into lobbying. And then her hand writing saying "we did well!!!" She's a liar. A hardcore right wing liar. So I got motivated again.
Speed dating
By VictorM:Talking about John McCain's rash decision making process, Frank Rich makes this observation:
His speed-dating of Palin reaffirmed a more dangerous personality tic that has dogged his entire career. His decision-making process is impetuous and, in its Bush-like preference for gut instinct over facts, potentially reckless.That's just the way Republicans like it.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Americans are so narcissistic
By VictorM:Bill Maher and his take on why some Americans won't vote for Barack Obama:
In her acceptance speech, Gov. Sarah Palin accused Obama of using his run for the White House as a "journey of personal discovery" -- this from the lady who just spent 10 minutes of her speech introducing her family -- Track, Trig, Bristol, Piper -- for a minute there I thought she was calling in an airstrike... Barack Obama can't help it if he's a magna cum laude Harvard grad and you're a Wal-Mart shopper who resurfaces driveways with your brother-in-law. Americans are so narcissistic that our candidates have to be just like us. That's why George Bush is president.
The vast John McCain conspiracy
By VictorM:Kevin Drum pretty much summarizes the vast John McCain conspiracy to make Sarah Palin appear more palatable:
Judging from his public statements shortly after he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain thought she had opposed the Bridge to Nowhere. She hadn't. He thought she had sold the state's executive jet on eBay and made a profit on it. On both counts, she didn't. He thought she had cut taxes as both mayor and governor. She hadn't. He apparently thought she had fully explained her part in pressuring the state police chief to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She hasn't. He thought she was an enemy of earmarks and federal pork. In fact, she was a pioneer of both.All of the above is true but none of it matters. Sarah Palin may never appease pundits, but the Republican base is falling in love with her, I tell you. They think she's pretty, a great mother, has a good sense of humor, and worked hard to protect her sister from a rotten guy (their view, not mine).
Friday, September 05, 2008
Republican convention
By VictorM:Glenn Greenwald's take on the Republican convention is basically that nothing was a surprise:
Democrats have clearly decided (yet again) to cede that lowly playing field to the GOP and are hoping (yet again) that those personality and cultural issues are not enough to outweigh the country's dislike of Republican policies. This year is indeed different -- dissatisfaction with the Government is higher than ever before, the GOP is as discredited as a party can be, and Obama is a more effective candidate than those who preceded him -- but the attacks last night were only the beginning, not the end.Democrats want to talk about issues, Republicans want reality-TV name calling. Democrats are like people who watch a con movie multiple times and are surprised by the twist each and every time. And that's the only thing keeping this election perceivable close.
John Bush
By VictorM:Tom Ridge has a hard time getting the names straight in this interview:
Makes you wonder why he wasn't selected as the VP. :)Brokaw: But the fact is, Governor, that you had eight years of a Bush administration, and a lot of Republicans in Congress for the past eight years. So why wouldn’t the American people say, ‘look, they had their shot, we’re gonna change?’”
Ridge: Because John Bush…because John McCain is very much his own man. Because John McCain brings a different style, a different approach to the Republican leadership.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
This man is unstable
By VictorM:How dangerous would a John McCain presidency be? I think Digby's view summarizes it rather well:
John McCain is the man George W. Bush was pretending to be, right down to the flight suit. The Real Thing is actually far more dangerous than the cheap imitation. If he wins this thing, we could find ourselves in a very, very serious crisis, of both economic stability and national security -- and very likely of our government itself. This man is unstable.I remember when many on the left liked John McCain. I did too. I don't remember the date when I saw McCain for the jerk that he is, but I know it was during the Kosovo conflict, back around 1999. So we're talking a long time now. He's only gotten worse.
Are they really that easy to sucker?
By VictorM:Kevin Drum seems surprised by an answer he must have already known:
Yes, the so-called Christian right is, collectively, the dumbest group of people in America. Unfortunately, these people vote.The New York Times piece confirms something we already knew, namely that up until the middle of last week McCain's top choice for running mate was either Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. And he would have picked one of them except that word came back that the base would be furious if he chose a pro-choice veep. So he pulled a 180 and chose Palin instead. And the base has reacted rapturously.
But seriously: are they really that easy to sucker? It's plain where McCain's true sentiments lie: he would have chosen a pro-choice partner if he could possibly have gotten away with it. He only picked Palin out of absolute political necessity. And yet the Christian right reacted as giddily as if he had genuinely seen the light.
So I guess the answer is: yes, they really are that easy to sucker. Pretty amazing.
A good question
By VictorM:On the surface, this sounds like a good question about the Republican party:
can someone please tell me why (aside from rank political opportunism) bright, college-educated folks like Palin and McCain insist on putting Biblical mythology on an equal par with biology, physics, and astronomy? Evolution is science. Genesis is superstition. Casting a vote for the GOP ticket this year is endorsing ignorance.The answer is rather simple: they've won the presidency before with crappy candidates doing crap just like this. And the reason so many people vote Republican isn't just ignorance, it's mostly greed. The modern day Republican party is a political home for the greedy.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Grandma to jail
By VictorM:Having kids read about sex in a library book should be the least of this grandma's concerns; she should be worried about the kids having sex in the library (what else are libraries good for?) with the overly friendly local librarian:
I say put her in jail and throw away the keys... and give condoms to the kids.A concerned grandmother would rather go to jail than let neighborhood kids read about sex in a library book.
She may get her wish.
Officials in Lewiston, Maine, have told JoAn Karkos that she could face jail time if she does not, by this afternoon, return the library book "It's Perfectly Normal."
Karkos has had the book checked out of the Lewiston Public Library for more than a year in hopes of preventing children from reading it. Aimed at 9- to 12-year-olds, the book discusses puberty, sexual health and the emotions surrounding a child's newfound sexual awareness.
