I just started laughing when I read this -

Wandering by the Washington Monthly this AM I just started laughing. In the South "Upitty" was always part of the racial slur "Uppity Nigger" - just go look at the interviews CBS, NBC, ABC did in the South in the 60's or any of that period's history and you will see that the second word always traveled with the first one. Its there and pardon the pun, its there in spades.

A few days ago U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland from Georgia's 3rd Congressional District called the Obamas "Uppity". When questioned later by the Atlanta Journal his representative said he had no idea it was a racist slur.

Really?!? Westmorland was born April 2, 1950 in Atlanta, Georgia. How could he not know that "Uppity" is a loaded term? Wikipedia has an entry covering the life and times of Rep. Westmoreland. From this entry some of the wonderful things he has done while being a member of Congress are:

"In 2005, Westmoreland received criticism for spreading a memo to fellow House members that consisted of auto-industry talking points, verbatim, even using the same font as the auto-industry document. An aide defended him, saying, "such behavior is standard practice.""

"As a U.S. congressman, Westmoreland cosponsored a bill to place the Ten Commandments in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Westmoreland also sponsored a bill that the Ten Commandments could be displayed in courthouses in a historical setting."

"Westmoreland led a group of congressmen who opposed the 2006 renewal of certain provisions in the Voting Rights Act that require nine Southern states and a number of counties (mostly in the South) to obtain Federal permission for certain changes to election law or changes in venue."

Thankfully, Steven Colbert has Westmoreland's number and shows him to be the buffoon he really is (the interview starts about 1:40 into the clip) -

Real reporting from the AP

Instead of the usual pro-McCain stuff we see from AP here's some number crunching that often gets overlooked in the polls - below are a few sections from an article by Julie Pace & Stephen Ohlemacher:

CLAIRTON, Pa. (AP) — Five days a week, Linda Graham trolls tattered neighborhoods of this once thriving steel city outside Pittsburgh for unregistered voters she can sign up as Democrats — one of thousands of unknown volunteers whose work outside the limelight has already altered the basic arithmetic of the November election.

The epic nomination battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton helped put millions more Democrats on the voter rolls while Republican registration declined. Now Graham, 45, has taken three months of unpaid leave from her job at Pittsburgh's Central Blood Bank in the hope of adding to those gains before the presidential vote.

She's encouraged by the response here. "They're all feeling the crunch" of lost jobs and a sagging economy, Graham said. "But people are feeling empowered. They're feeling like, you know what, I hold a little bit of power in this."

To counter this effort, the Republicans are counting on a formidable, high-tech get-out-the-vote operation that has helped them win the past two presidential elections.

Since the last federal election in 2006, volunteers like Graham combined with the enthusiasm generated by the Obama-Clinton struggle to add more than 2 million Democrats to voter rolls in the 28 states that register voters according to party affiliation. The Republicans have lost nearly 344,000 thousand voters in the same states.

The Democrats hope their voter registration efforts can boost Obama to victory in competitive states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Florida and perhaps even give him a shot at winning traditional Republican states like Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Both Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain, are fighting for independent swing voters, and many of the new Democrats had been unaffiliated voters.

The number of unaffiliated voters dropped by nearly 900,000 since 2006. Many joined the Democratic Party to take part in the primaries and caucuses, and now they will now be targeted by an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign.

.....................

Nationwide, there are about 42 million registered Democrats and about 31 million Republicans, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press.

The Democrats have posted big gains in many competitive states, including Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado and Florida. They have also been targeting historically Republican southern states.

Since 2006, the Democrats have added 167,000 voters in North Carolina, while the Republicans have added 36,000. The Democrats' biggest voter registration goal is in Georgia, where the Obama campaign hopes to register 500,000 voters before the election, said Dean, who has spent the past month traveling the country on a voter registration bus tour.

"The Obama folks are serious about Georgia," Dean said. Georgia has added 337,000 voters since 2006, but the state does not identify them by party affiliation.

In Pennsylvania, the Democrats have added 375,000 voters since 2006 while the Republicans have lost 117,000.

America Votes, an umbrella organization, coordinates voter registration efforts for more than 40 groups in Pennsylvania, including unions, the NAACP and the Sierra Club.

.....................

Graham finds a potential voter at the first house she stops at. Justin Webb, a father of two, is unregistered, but tells Graham he has serious concerns about the economy.

"We need more jobs," said Webb, 28. "If we had more jobs, we would have more opportunities to better ourselves."

It takes Graham less than five minutes to register Webb as a Democrat.

What "Classic Republicans" think about Palin

We know the Republican Party's new owners, the religious right, love her but I've been wondering what old line Republicans think about Palin since McCain chose her as his wing-nut wing-woman last week. We know she was chosen to placate the religious waco's that form so much of the Party's base but what about the long suffering, old line Republicans? Well, here is what former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan and John McCain's former campaign chief Mike Murphy said when they thought the mikes were off during an interview with MSNBC:

Sad they won't say it publically - Peggy Noonan has already run for cover.

However, "Classic Republicans" may be dealing with the religious ownership issue in a more basic way - as a Aug. 5, 2008 NY Times article titled "G.O.P. Drops in Voting Rolls in Many States" shows they are taking Ronald R's advice and voting with their feet - either re-registering as a Democrat or as an Independent. Wondering if anybody at the RNC is actually watching?

Sarah Palin is here to stay -

There seems to be rumblings on the web that McCain will toss Sarah now that the warts are starting to show. Well its to late for that - those two are tied at the hips and he's got her no matter what. Poor John he's owned now - both by the religious right that controls the Republican party and by a beehive wearing right winged waco that long ago violated the Peter Principle.

This could turn out to be one of the great political train wrecks of all time - stay tuned.

Steve Pearce is toast

Great news - even the Republicans know that the right wing wacko Steve Pearce will loose and now they are letting their dollars do the talking -

From TPM:

Republicans' Senate campaign arm called off television ads Tuesday that were to air in New Mexico in the run-up to Election Day, an indication that it's leaving the GOP candidate there to fend for himself as the party braces for losses.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee's decision to cancel the New Mexico spots reflects its priorities during a tough year for the GOP, with the party lagging badly in fundraising and resigned to losing seats in the Senate.

The committee wouldn't comment Tuesday on the change of plans, but TV station managers in the state confirmed they had gotten word of it last week.

"The actual cancellation came today," said Bill Anderson of KRQE, the CBS affiliate in Albuquerque.

For Steve P. it sounds like the fat lady is singing even now, early in September.

An Alaskian blogger on Sarah Palin

Via HuffPo - more on Alaska, Sarah Palin, and John McCain's though process at Mudflats, Tiptoeing Through the Much of Alaskian Politics.

From that post, a photo of the town where Sarah Palin got much of her executive experience - Wasilla, Alaska



Don't know about you but it doesn't give me lots of warm and fuzzy feelings -

Will Conservative women condem Palin?

As I wander around the web I'm seeing one idea pop up - many women, mostly conservative, question Palin's role in a campaign when they hear she has a child with Down's Syndrome.

This will be interesting to watch.

Palin poster

I want a poster that says:

With Sarah Palin rapist win!

Sorry if this offends anybody but based on Palin's view that a woman shouldn't have the right to an abortion even after being raped the act of rape becomes a means for the rapist to procreate. From an evolutionary/population biology standpoint it makes simple sense. Rape becomes a way to spread around the rapist's genes.

All absolute beliefs have unforeseen consequences and Sarah Palin needs to face the fact that her belief that there should be an absolute ban on abortion has consequences which punish the victim and reward the rapist.

It would be a horrible poster or bumper sticker to see but that doesn't make it any less true.

As an aside - perhaps Governor Palin doesn't believe that a woman can get pregnant after a rape so this just isn't an issue. If so she won't be the first Republican to hold that view. At any rate we will know one thing for sure - we will have a wacko on our hands.

More Palin goodies ....

From the Politco:

— Palin didn’t back McCain in the primary. She stayed neutral in Alaska’s January primary — perhaps on account of McCain’s opposition to drilling in ANWR. “A lot of us are sitting back and waiting to see if there will be new players in there," she said in 2007. "That’s probably why that box that says ‘none of the above’ is so popular right now."

— Mayoral performance. Palin, who portrays herself as a fiscal conservative, racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla — that amounts to $3,000 per resident. She argues that the debt was needed to fund improvements.

— Stevens and Young, redux. Palin has distanced herself from the state’s two most popular politicians, but both appeared at Palin fundraisers during her 2006 gubernatorial bid.

— The environment. As governor, Palin vetoed wind power and clean coal projects, including a 50-megawatt wind farm on Fire Island and a clean coal facility in Healy that had been mired in a dispute between local and state governments.

— And, maybe, censorship. According to the Frontiersman newspaper, Wasilla’s library director, Mary Ellen Emmons, said that Palin asked her outright if she "could live with censorship of library books.” Palin later dismissed the conversation as a “rhetorical” exercise.

I think her veto of the wind and clean coal projects are a great place to start an attack. I can see the Obama advertisement now and expect we will all see on the air soon.

Ultimately, if she doesn't blow up in the next couple of weeks she may make it but the wolves are loose and if there is anybody in Alaska that has an axe to grind and wants a little "pay back" their time has come.

Anderson Cooper 360

It seems that on Anderson Coopers 360 show tonight there is a lively debate about the Palin pick and lots of post on his blog about the subject. My post, which was a few minutes too late:

Lets see - for a start she's a Creationist and thinks it should be taught in school, believes abortion shouldn't be legal even for a raped woman and doesn't believe that humans cause global warming.

Doesn't sound to moderate to me -

More fundamentally - McCain's claim that Obama isn't ready just flew out the window because he appoint her as his VP pick and Obama's claim that McCain doesn't have the judgement to be President just got supported.

Right now the press is in a feeding frenzy - lets see what else it uncovers.

Some of the more interesting opinions on the blog:

From Teri: Palin was picked because no other Republican wanted to join the Titanic , the metaphor for McCain’s campaign. My real worry is if something happens to McCain

From Lidna Harter: As a woman, I am distressed and insulted to think anyone would think that women are so one deminstional that we would vote for a woman regardless of her policies. McCain and Palin support none of the issues that concern the majority of women. McCain has just proved that he has poor judgement. He certinaly has read the American woman wrong, wrong, wrong. For the first time in my life ,I will actively and passionatley work for the election of an American president - Barak Obama,

From Carol Goodson: When I first heard about this, I thought it was a brilliant strategic move on McCain’s part, because I knew nothing about her…. but when I saw her talk on CNN tonight, I was appalled. THIS FLAKE is the person who could very possibly become President if the elderly McCain suddenly dies!??!? I am TERRIFIED. Don’t even talk about the fact that she has a 4-month old Downs Syndrome baby at home… why is she even Governor? Does this woman have any sense of responsibility AT ALL?
I am also a Hillary supporter. This McCain pick is insulting!!! OMG! Vote Obama! With if this chic becomes Pres. if McCain doesn’t make it? (sorry for the morbid thought)I can’t even imagine…..Please God! Let Obama win!!!

From vic nashville,Tn: How democratic party talk about former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience when they have community organizer top of the ticket

Plain approval rate as a governor 80%
9 % approval rate for congress

Obama long time experience is 20 years with Jeremiah Wright

Life long democrat and Hillary strong supporter will vote for Mc Cain
Hillary 2012 /Mc Cain/Palin2008

From rich: I’m an Alaskan. I know Palin. She is a winner. Strategically, McCain could not have made a better choice. When America gets to know her, they will wonder why she is not at the top of the ticket…someday…in the mean time, I hope she pushes for as many VP debates as possible - she steals the show in that venue. This will change the race as much as Clinton’s focus on the economy vs Bush 1. She is the best representative women could have. This is not a political hail mary, but a shrewd and wise choice for VP. It fundamentally changes the nature of this race, and makes the Obama/Biden call for ‘change’ look superficial and weak. Palin is the real deal and is not being taken advantage of, McCain is lucky to have her…that’s why Obama said, “the race is about McCain” in response today…hmmm…I think Obama is about to get Obama’ed…by a very capable woman.

From Mike In Ohio: what does it say about McCain’s judgement when he picks someone after meeting them onetime? Also, he just lost his best arguement against Obama, experience. I think its hillarious that even Orielly agrees that he just blew it.

From kornelia new york: Mc Cain have age related dementia . Who will like to have president without experience with 5 children / read problems/ She clearly have postpartum depression …..living her children for politics!!!Down sydrome is 24 hour job that child needs mother …she is pro life? what kind of life?

and finally probably the best observation from the center or right, from jeff layton: My view is that moderate MALE voters, like myself, who may have considered voting for a McCain/Romney or other ticket that might have represented something in the way of reasserting america’s image around the world will instead stray away from the funny talking Alaskan lady who presides over a State that has nothing to do with reality in the lower 48.

She is John McCain’s version of Harriet Miers–she’s some version of a “maverick,” but in the final analysis she’s SIMPLY NOT QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Obama’s experience might have been a close call, but Palin’s choice by Obama’s loudest critic who INITIATED THE QUALIFICATIONS DEBATE, proves McCain is turning his back on this Country.

McCain is the OLDEST to ever run, and she’s the LEAST QUALIED since Agnew. When you add that up, it simply doesn’t compute.

the right responds.......

Ever since I heard about McCain's choice of Palin as his VP choice I wondered what the established right would say -

As always NRO delivers - Here's what David Frum has to say:

Friday, August 29, 2008

Palin

The longer I think about it, the less well this selection sits with me. And I increasingly doubt that it will prove good politics. The Palin choice looks cynical. The wires are showing.

John McCain wanted a woman: good.

He wanted to keep conservatives and pro-lifers happy: naturally.

He wanted someone who looked young and dynamic: smart.

And he discovered that he could not reconcile all these imperatives with the stated goal of finding a running mate qualified to assume the duties of the presidency "on day one."

Sarah Palin may well have concealed inner reservoirs of greatness. I hope so! But I'd guess that John McCain does not have a much better sense of who she is, what she believes, and the extent of her abilities than my enthusiastic friends over at the Corner. It's a wild gamble, undertaken by our oldest ever first-time candidate for president in hopes of changing the board of this election campaign. Maybe it will work. But maybe (and at least as likely) it will reinforce a theme that I'd be pounding home if I were the Obama campaign: that it's John McCain for all his white hair who represents the risky choice, while it is Barack Obama who offers cautious, steady, predictable governance.

Here's I fear the worst harm that may be done by this selection. The McCain campaign's slogan is "country first." It's a good slogan, and it aptly describes John McCain, one of the most self-sacrificing, gallant, and honorable men ever to seek the presidency.

But question: If it were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat away from the presidency?

And here's a link to my National Post column on the choice.

08/29 08:36 PM

The National Post article cited above is a must read for his views on the Palin pick.

Well one thing for sure and for certain McCain's laughable attack on Obama as unqualified is now once and forever gone. On the other hand Obama's question about McCain's judgment is strengthened. Sarah Palin better be a quick study because the axes and knives are headed her way and she ain't seen nothing yet.

Sarah Palin

On first thought it hits me that McCain is simply bat shit crazy. Not sure if I've had my second or third though yet. Certainly its a "Hail Mary" move on McCain's part but it will take time to know if its inspired or simply nuts. Right now my vote is its nuts.

However, it needs to be said that she has her supporters - there is even a blog titled Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President that began Feb. 26, 2007. Its founding author, Adam Brickley, said this in a posting titled Why Sarah Palin?

This blog is the result of about a month worth of research on potential Republican Vice-Presidential candidates for the 2008 election. I had been considerably less than thrilled with all of the early speculation, mostly swirling around second-tier presidential candidates, so I decided to see if there was anyone better suited for the job that I hadn't been hearing about. So, I developed the following profile for the perfect VP candidate (using Rudy Giuliani as my presumptive presidential candidate):

1) A energetic, young, fresh face who will energize the electorate
2) Not connected to the current administration
3) Pro-Life
4) Pro-Gun
5) A woman or minority to counter Hillary or Obama and put to rest the idea that America only elects white males

One of the first names I found that fit these qualifications was that of Sarah Palin, the recently elected Governor of Alaska. I knew that I had stumbled upon a fantastic candidate for national office, but I kept looking in the hope that I could find other potentially viable choices. However, after looking at every GOP governor, senator, and congressperson, I found that Palin had only become more appealing.

She was certainly energetic and young, having become governor at only 42 years of age. Watching her speches and campaign ads, I discovered that she was definitely a new kid of leader, coming off more as a spunky soccer-mom than a stuffy career politician. As for abortion, she was staunchly pro-life; and as a lifetime NRA member she was the most pro-gun candidate in the country. Furthermore, her experiences in rural Alaska provided a perfect complement to the big-city credentials of candidates like Giuliani. Her moderately libertarian positions on most other issues also match up perfectly to Giuliani.

There was thing about Palin that initially worried me - "lack of experience". She had only been elected governor in 2006, and her only previous experience was as a two terms as a city councilwoman and two more as mayor in Wasilla, AK (population 8,471 in 2005) followed up by a failed campaign for lieutenant governor and a brief stint on Alaska's Oil and Natural Gas Conservation Commission. This didn't seem very appealing at first, but then I took the time to look closer at Palin's history. What I had failed to realize was that she had habitually knocked of powerful incumbent opponents and was a quick learner on the job. In the 2006 gubernatorial election, she rolled over scandal-prone incumbent Frank Murkowski in the GOP primary, then went on to defeat former governor Tony Knowles in the general election - pretty impressive. Further back, she had knocked off an entrenched incumbent to become mayor of Wasilla, then developed a reputation as a hard-nosed, effective mayor. Her performance in Wasilla got her elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors and earned her the nickname "Sarah Barracuda".

In the end, I decided that Sarah Palin had actually compiled a rather astounding record of achievements in her 42 years, and was more than capable of making the jump to the national level. So now I ask you who you would rather have as your Vice-President. You could accept conventional wisdom and choose from the lineup of old men currently being bantered about, or you could choose an inspiring leader like Sarah Palin. As for me, I'm going with "Sarah Barracuda", a candidate who will help us win the election and then deliver solid results.
Posted by Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan" at 2/26/2007 12:07:00 AM

More reasons to hate the Clintons - their supporters.

With the Dem Convention in full swing the Clinton sycophants are running wild. Tonight is all about Hillary worship. Tomorrow praises Bill. Even with giving both Tuesday and Wednesday nights to the Clintons their head monkey, Howard Wolfson, is doing what he can to hurt Democratic chances in the Fall. His latest screed in the New Republican Republic says that Obama has some real grovelling to do before the perfect one, Bill Clinton, to make amends for Bill's racist statements in South Carolina (see my post from January for more on this).

David Sirota asks a great and relevant question on HuffPo "Does it always - ALWAYS - have to be about the Clintons?".

As far as the HillBill show goes the answer is obviously - yes it does.

Biden it is .....

Now, please go and rip John McCain's face off - rhetorically/politically speaking of course.

Bill Clinton's Epitaph?

Now that it appears that the Obama Campaign has asked Bill Clinton to speak its interesting to think about what he will say and how he will be viewed in the long term.

On the latter point its anybodies guess but I just ran across a reader's comment that may be the basis of Bill Clinton's epitaph over at washingtonpost.com. Found via HuffPo.

Bill Clinton has become the Michael Jackson
of the Democratic Party. Everything he now
does is an embarrassment. The mask has
finally been ripped off, exposing for all
the world nothing more than a spoiled, whiny, mamma's boy who throws a hissy-fit
when he doesn't get his own way.

My god, what a way to end your career...

Posted by: JIM WHITTAKER, Hemet, CA | August 8, 2008 2:42 PM

Exxon McCain 08

Finally the DNC gets its act together. The Exxon McCain 08 Campaign.

The Yard Sign:


The Bumper Sticker:


The Button:



Hopefully they will all be available soon at the NM's Democratic Party State Headquarters - 1301 San Pedro, NE.

A quick look at an anti-Obama, pro-Hillary grassroots web site

For your examination is the following site: Just Say No Deal an umbrella site that list other independent anti-Obama sites across the web. In their own words "we are a coalition of millions with one thing in common: NObama".

Navigating from this site to many others it lists I get the feeling of moving through one big circle of web sites each looking a bit different but still essentially the same. A complaint on one was repeated on most of the others. Not much served to separate them save layout and color scheme. Another thing that hit me was the real lack of names that show up anywhere on these sites. The one glaring exception is the Media page on Just Say No Deal - for contacts we find:

East Coast:

Will Bower (PUMA)
Cristi Adkins (Clintons4McCain.com)
Diane Mantouvalos (HireHeels.com)

West Coast:

Robin Carlson (HillaryGrassRootsCampaign.com)

To Arrange Interview or Focus Group
Please Contact:

Andonia Public Relations: (617) 416-4897

Please note that Cristi Adkins is one of the backers of Clintons4McCain.com and involved with Allen Media Strategies. Catch this clip from Cristi on Fox News -

Curious that a group supposedly fueled by the grass roots has not one but essentially two Public Relations Company working for it. A quick search of "Andonia Public Relations" shows that it is headed by Diane Mantouvalos and it has specialized in attacking Obama and the Democratic Party for not worshiping Hillary Clinton. She's also a favorite on Faux News -

You have to wonder how much of this grassroots groundswell is real and how much a setup by the Republican Party using a pair of Media Relations firms that have loud mouths for sale.

Poor Heather, wrong again

What possessed the late, great Heather Wilson to send this, see below, to the NY Times escapes me save the need to cause a bit of trouble and aid the Republican establishment's plan to alienate Hillary's supporters from Obama.

Op-Ed Contributor
Hermione Clinton
By HEATHER WILSON
Published: June 8, 2008

The Democratic nominating system favors the most liberal candidate — in this case, Barack Obama. But there is a second reason Hillary Clinton lost that some are reluctant to openly acknowledge: a latent and lamentable sexism. She lost because the superdelegates — the Democratic establishment — went against her.

She became a caricature: too smart, too strong, too assertive, too rational, too competent. Think how the young Harry Potter and his male friends initially reacted to Hermione Granger and you get the idea.

— HEATHER WILSON, a Republican representative from New Mexico.

To think that Heather Wilson would say that Hillary Clinton was "too smart, too strong, too assertive, too rational, too competent" makes me think that this must have been submitted after she lost the primary last Tuesday. Based on this you would almost expect Heather to come out of the closet as a Hillary supporter. Certainly that string of compliments wouldn't have done her much good with the Republican base in the primary election. But then again it might not have mattered - we all know that this, like everything else in her political career, isn't real. Its just an illusion - another instance of Heather's famous "Crocodile tears" that's she's used so well to confuse the electorate and keep herself in office.

hcsfjm.com - is it real or is it Republican?

Found today via HuffPo a new site devoted to the evils done to Hillary during the campaign. Its called the "National Organization of Hillary Clinton supporters for John McCain". To save you grief and prevent more hits on their visitor counter here's the intro screen.
Click here for a larger view.

Like the website the whois entry from Network Solutions, listed below, really doesn't tell you too much.

Registrant:
Contactprivacy.com
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA

Domain name: HCSFJM.COM

Administrative Contact:
contactprivacy.com, hcsfjm.com@contactprivacy.com
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA
+1.4165385457
Technical Contact:
contactprivacy.com, hcsfjm.com@contactprivacy.com
96 Mowat Ave
Toronto, ON M6K 3M1
CA
+1.4165385457

Registration Service Provider:
Homestead Technologies, Inc, hostmaster@homesteadsupport.com
800-797-2958
650-364-7329 (fax)
http://www.homestead.com

Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 06-Jun-2008.
Record expires on 24-May-2009.
Record created on 24-May-2008.

Registrar Domain Name Help Center:
http://domainhelp.tucows.com

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.MDNSSERVICE.COM
NS2.MDNSSERVICE.COM
NS3.MDNSSERVICE.COM

Domain status: clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited

Leaving out all the boiler plate here's the remaining tidbits:

Current Registrar: TUCOWS INC.
IP Address: 209.157.71.50 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
IP Location: US(UNITED STATES)-COLORADO-ENGLEWOOD
Lock Status: clientTransferProhibited
DMOZ no listings
Y! Directory: see listings
Web Site Title: index
Meta Description: Hillary Clinton supporters for john mccain. We will never vote for obama
Meta Keywords: clinton hillary john mccain supporters
Data as of: 14-Jun-2005

A quick nsloookup confirms the ip address.

Besides the name, Ed Hale, there really isn't any info about who is behind this site. We have no clue who Mr. Hale is, if he exists, or where he lives if he does exist. Neither do they list the names of their members or supporters. The only other information is they they are not asking for any donations at this time. However, we will set up a "527" to run ads in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan and other swing states.

I've gone to contactprivacy.com and sent a message to those behind the site. I doubt they will respond. My guess is that's it another Republican dirty trick web site but we will see.

Who's more disgusting?

First up is a Clinton Supporter throwing a fit in DC today (via Pam's House Blend):



Next is the Catholic Priest going over the top mocking Saint Hillary:



By-the-by, his premise that the Clinton's believe they are "entitled" seems fairly accurate to me.

John Cole's category 57

Over at Balloon Juice I discovered that John Cole had come up with the category "I Can No Longer Rationally Discuss The Clinton Campaign" as a way to file posts - from the URL it appears to he his category 57.

His latest entry by the way is "Another Day, More Bullshit" which begins with the line:

Another bucket of bullshit from Camp Clinton:

And I thought I despised them! Cole has taken contempt to whole new levels of perfection.

I really appreciate his efforts. Its great seeing an expert at work.

The enemy of my enemy ain't my friend -

As a Dem and a long time opponent of Heather Wilson I have to admit pangs of sympathy for her right now. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted that Pearce has an excellent chance of beating her but its really stunning that the Repubs would elect Pearce instead of her - don't they know he has zero chance of winning in November?

Heather got elected and stayed in office because she voted like a Democrat as long as it economically mattered to her District and the State and never had to face a real Republican opponent. That plus the divine protection of the Albuquerque Journal and Saint Pete was more than enough to win her elections. She used the appearance, actually the illusion, of moderation to attract Independents and Democrats to beat a string of Democratic opponents. She got all the Republican votes because they don't split tickets like Dems do however they never really liked her. Now she faces Pearce in a closed primary and all her Independent and Democratic friends can't do much to help her.

Pearce is a guy who votes like a real Republican which is bad, bad news for the Labs and the State. He really is Udall's dream come true because, as I've said before, this election is all about jobs so folks will vote their economic interests which in a Udall - Pearce race will be Udall. (In a Wilson - Udall race that's a much fuzzier calculation.)

To think I worked against Heather all these years and it will be the Repubs that blow her away just because she's not a big enough wacko to suit their tastes! Now that's a case where the enemy of my enemy ain't my friend!

Huckabee jokes to fellow gun fanatics

I continue to be amazed.

To make a joke about assassination is fairly amazing but it reveals their mindset and plans - to paint Obama as a coward who won't stand up for the US.

One thing to be sure of - Republicans are Republicans even if they are a preacher. Ethics, honesty, & decency aren't something they value much.

Lets wait and see what the great uniter, John McCain, has to say about this -

This is way to funny!

Just when we all needed some comic relief this makes its way around the web.

Over at the Stranger in an article titled "Way To Not Look Like Crazy Cult Members, Guys" there are some great comments about this graphic. Here are a few of the best leaving out the more obscene suggestions:

• The artist who drew this should be beaten with a length of lead pipe.
• Why do I suddenly feel like listening to BeeGees music?
• Are you suggesting most Americans don't understand irony? Elitist!
• Can I get that on black velvet?
• look again, this clearly can't be obama: he's not walking on water.
• This is SO going on my van!...as soon as Solid Gold is over.

A list - A timeline of HillBill attacks on Obama

Over at Head of State an interesting list of attacks by the HillBill show on Obama. While its not exhaustive, that will be produced by some enterprising historians with massive amounts of time on their hands, it does show the pattern of events leading us to today's state of affairs.

Clyburn finally spills the truth

It seems that Pam's House Blend is the first to discuss the story that we should all be talking about - Rep. James Clyburn's statement that the Clinton's know they can't win and that their goal now is to destroy any hope that Obama can ever be elected so she can run again in 4 years.

With this one statement Rep. Clyburn has done more to expose the reality of the Clintons than scores of political opponents. He has my thanks!

Frankly its not a new idea for me - I've been thinking this for months and Chris Matthews of Hard Ball fame has said it several time on the tube. So Clyburn ain't alone. The importance here is not that the statement has been made, its been said publicly before, but rather who made the statement - the Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Thoreau once noted that "A grain of gold will gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom". I like to think that the same holds true for a grain of truth. Clyburn has used a grain of truth to reveal the fetid reality of Clinton land for all to see. Much as they will try - it won't be boxed up and hidden away anytime soon.

Because it needs to be said again and again and again here's Pam posting:

Black Leader in House warns Clinton of the damage of win-at-all-costs
by: pam
Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 18:00:00 PM EDT

I saw this article in the NYT this AM and it should alarm Democratic Party leadership. If the endgame of Clinton supporters in primary slugfest is for Hillary to win the nomination at any cost, the price will be higher than the party may want to pay in the long run.

Representative James E. Clyburn (SC) is the third highest ranking Dem in the house -- and an undeclared superdelegate. He was the elected official who told Bill Clinton to "chill a little bit" when the now-infamous color-arousal tactics were ratcheting up in the Palmetto state. Clyburn, who still has no plans to endorse a candidate, is concerned that the Hillary Clinton campaign has done critical damage to the party's relationship with black voters in its quest to win.

In an interview with The New York Times late Thursday, Mr. Clyburn said Mr. Clinton's conduct in this campaign had caused what might be an irreparable breach between Mr. Clinton and an African-American constituency that once revered him. "When he was going through his impeachment problems, it was the black community that bellied up to the bar," Mr. Clyburn said. "I think black folks feel strongly that that this is a strange way for President Clinton to show his appreciation."

Mr. Clyburn added that there appeared to be an almost "unanimous" view among African-Americans that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were "committed to doing everything they possibly can to damage Obama to a point that he could never win."

This is really a statement of feeling thrown under the bus, a term often associated with past maneuvers by the Clintons when it's beneficial to distance or disregard a group or individual standing between them and a political victory. That's common in politics, or course, but it comes up a lot for this duo, and it seems to be an open sore (or several dozen) that never fully heals.

Why gays, lesbians, blacks or any other minority trust the Clintons as far as they can throw them is beyond me.

This election is about power - what happens to the Democratic Party or the country is of no interest to the HillBill show - this is about putting them back on the thrown and they will destroy everything and anybody to get back into the White House.

I really can't wait to see how they respond - I sure they will send out one of their pet sycophants to drool all over the place. Perhaps it will be the slimey Howard Wolfson or the very slimey Harold Ickes or even the ultra slimey Terry McAuliffe. All we can do now is wait and see how they respond. I'm betting that they will be crushed, just crushed that folks would think such things of them - perhaps Hillary will cry again for good measure. Of course its all an act but its worked before and they think it will work again. Hopefully this time folks are wise to their games and will just tell 'em once and for all to just fuck right off.

Molly Ivins: Not. backing. Hillary.

While perusing MyDD I ran across part of an article by Molly Ivins way back in 2006 that explains why so many of us dislike the Clintons. After a little Googling the source appears to be here. For sake of clarity and respect for Ms. Molly below is her entire article.

- I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.

Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.

If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.

What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

I listen to people like Rahm Emanuel superciliously explaining elementary politics to us clueless naifs outside the Beltway ("First, you have to win elections"). Can't you even read the damn polls?

Here's a prize example by someone named Barry Casselman, who writes, "There is an invisible civil war in the Democratic Party, and it is between those who are attempting to satisfy the defeatist and pacifist left base of the party and those who are attempting to prepare the party for successful elections in 2006 and 2008."

This supposedly pits Howard Dean, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, emboldened by "a string of bad new from the Middle East ... into calling for premature retreat from Iraq," versus those pragmatic folk like Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Joe Lieberman.

Oh come on, people -- get a grip on the concept of leadership. Look at this war -- from the lies that led us into it, to the lies they continue to dump on us daily.

You sit there in Washington so frightened of the big, bad Republican machine you have no idea what people are thinking. I'm telling you right now, Tom DeLay is going to lose in his district. If Democrats in Washington haven't got enough sense to OWN the issue of political reform, I give up on them entirely.

Do it all, go long, go for public campaign financing for Congress. I'm serious as a stroke about this -- that is the only reform that will work, and you know it, as well as everyone else who's ever studied this. Do all the goo-goo stuff everybody has made fun of all these years: embrace redistricting reform, electoral reform, House rules changes, the whole package. Put up, or shut up. Own this issue, or let Jack Abramoff politics continue to run your town.

Bush, Cheney and Co. will continue to play the patriotic bully card just as long as you let them. I've said it before: War brings out the patriotic bullies. In World War I, they went around kicking dachshunds on the grounds that dachshunds were "German dogs." They did not, however, go around kicking German shepherds. The MINUTE someone impugns your patriotism for opposing this war, turn on them like a snarling dog and explain what loving your country really means. That, or you could just piss on them elegantly, as Rep. John Murtha did. Or eviscerate them with wit (look up Mark Twain on the war in the Philippines). Or point out the latest in the endless "string of bad news."

Do not sit there cowering and pretending the only way to win is as Republican-lite. If the Washington-based party can't get up and fight, we'll find someone who can.

Note added in proof: It seems that Hillary's view of MoveOn before and after their endorsement of Obama changed a wee bit. Knowing the Clinton's track record on ethics, truth-telling and requirement of absolute loyalty from all no one should be surprised.

openSUSE 11.0 is comming!

As of the 17th of April the next release of the best Linux distro is just 62 days away!

Dem's PrePrimary Convention - CD1 winners & losers

The results are:

Robert Pidcock	25 votes	4.16%
Martin Heinrich	339 votes	56.41%
Rebecca Vigil-Giron	67 votes	11.15%
Michelle Lujan Grisham	170 votes	28.29%

While Martin's vote didn't come as much of a surprise, he's been running for over a year, Michelle did much better than expected - securing the second spot on the June Primary ballot.

Questions remain if Robert Pidcock or Rebecca Vigil-Giron will try to gather the additional signatures necessary to get on the ballot. It appears that they only have a few days do so.

One piece of trivia deserves mention - since Martin won his City Council seat with a plurality, if memory serves me correctly - 30% of the vote, this is the first election where he actually won a majority of the votes cast.

Another view of Hillary's 3 AM ad

While I feel totally justified bashing the Clintons when and where I can - this you need to decide for yourself.

Direct and unedited from The Carpetbagger Report..........

---

We’ve all seen Hillary Clinton’s “3 a.m.” ad. We’ve also seen Barack Obama’s response ad. And the parodies of both. It seemed as if, over the course of just two weeks, there wasn’t much else to say about the whole exchange.

But Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson considers the ad from a perspective I hadn’t considered.

I have spent my life studying the pictures and symbols of racism and slavery, and when I saw the Clinton ad’s central image — innocent sleeping children and a mother in the middle of the night at risk of mortal danger — it brought to my mind scenes from the past. I couldn’t help but think of D. W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation,” the racist movie epic that helped revive the Ku Klux Klan, with its portrayal of black men lurking in the bushes around white society. The danger implicit in the phone ad — as I see it — is that the person answering the phone might be a black man, someone who could not be trusted to protect us from this threat.

The ad could easily have removed its racist sub-message by including images of a black child, mother or father — or by stating that the danger was external terrorism. Instead, the child on whom the camera first focuses is blond. Two other sleeping children, presumably in another bed, are not blond, but they are dimly lighted, leaving them ambiguous. Still it is obvious that they are not black — both, in fact, seem vaguely Latino.

Finally, Hillary Clinton appears, wearing a business suit at 3 a.m., answering the phone. The message: our loved ones are in grave danger and only Mrs. Clinton can save them. An Obama presidency would be dangerous — and not just because of his lack of experience. In my reading, the ad, in the insidious language of symbolism, says that Mr. Obama is himself the danger, the outsider within.

I’ve been tough on some of the Clinton campaign’s tactics of late, some of which have struck me as overly aggressive, needlessly divisive, and sometimes just plain ugly. But I’ve seen the “3 a.m.” ad a hundred times and I just haven’t picked up on racial undertones.

Patterson is an accomplished scholar who’s forgotten more about racial symbolism than most of us will ever learn, but this criticism strikes me as wildly off-base. The ad is premised on exploiting fear, but not racial fears. “Birth of a Nation”? Seriously?

I can think of a few too many examples, most notably Geraldine Ferraro a few days ago, of Clinton campaign officials and surrogates playing the race card in troubling ways. But to say the “3 a.m.” is one of them is a stretch.

---

But you know its always wise to remember "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

Hillary's missing experience

From the The Daily Telegraph:

Hillary Clinton had no direct role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and is a "wee bit silly" for exaggerating the part she played, according to Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former First Minister of the province.

"I don’t know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around," he said. Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don’t want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."

No one should be surprised after all we are dealing with the Clintons.

But, as they say, it gets better. Further along in this article you find that:

Steven King, a negotiator with Lord Trimble’s Ulster Unionist Party, argued that Mrs Clinton might even have helped delay the chances of peace. "She was invited along to some pre-arranged meetings but I don’t think she exactly brought anybody together that hadn’t been brought together already," he said. Mrs Clinton was "a cheerleader for the Irish republican side of the argument", he added.

"She really lost all credibility when on Bill Clinton’s last visit to Northern Ireland [in December 2000] when she hugged and kissed [Sinn Fein leaders] Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness."

For more on this see the article - David Trimble: Hillary Clinton mere 'cheerleader' in Ireland

Clintons distort images to attack Obama

As shown at the Daily Kos in a posting titled Obama "blacker" ad no accident another line of attack against Obama is to simply distort his image to make him "blacker".

Make him blacker and his nose wider to fit the stereotype they are pushing. No doubt it helps to scare the older white folks.

In a blind rush for power what's a little Photoshop between friends?

The Clintons are racist - pure and simple.

Hillary - bringing the DLC back to life

For Progressive Democrats this is important and should be scary - since the DLC, Democratic Leadership Council, is ashamed of our Democratic heritage moving them back into power can only be bad news.

---

From Kos' posting Team DLC embedded in Clinton campaign:

Clinton is getting her debate prep from Bruce Reed, the president of the DLC.

Clinton has been silent on her leadership role at the DLC, since it's not the sort of thing that people like to trumpet anymore. Reed has been an enthusiastic surrogate for Clinton, but the candidates don't always get to choose their supporters. (Al Wynn, anyone?)

But debate prep? Team Clinton has Team DLC firmly embedded in the campaign.

Update: Remember who top Clintonista James Carville wanted as DNC chair after 2006 in his attempted party coup? DLC executive director Harold Ford, who would clearly be a finalist for the gig in a Clinton administration.

This is yet another reason to fear a Clinton Presidency.

An email to Pam

Re: your posting The self-destructive Democrat, 2008 model

---

Pam:

While I appreciate your view that in the end we must fall in line and choose the lesser of two evils I've been playing that electoral game from the last 35 years and as a Progressive and as a Gay Man that attitude hasn't gotten me very far.

What I see is this - we as Progressives or we as members of the LGBT Community are seen as a doormat for powerful parts of the Democratic Party and I'm sick of it. I'm tired of the politics of division and beliefs driven by polls and I just ain't gonna play anymore. If Hillary eeks out the nomination I will not vote for President its just that simple. While I appreciate that Hillary is better than McCain on many issues there are larger issues here that demand our attention. What the Democratic Party stands for and why it exists is all I care about now - not getting Hillary into office so she will do a marginally better job than John McCain. I want the whole prize not just a glance at it.

The issues Progressives and the LGBT Community have had with the Clintons can't just be washed away. How can any of use forget or forgive Bill Clinton for signing the Defense of Marriage Act? He threw us under the bus because it was convenient to do so at that moment in time and space and she will happily throw us under the bus again when a pollster says it will give her a 0.0001% net gain at the polls. That's just how the Clintons play ball.

My attraction to Obama is his desire to unify and include not to split people into groups so that they can be used against each other. That is a Republican technique and also the Clinton technique of choice and it should be rejected by both Progressives and the LGBT Community. Obama's concern for inclusion is all I need. Re: experience well - I don't want him to have Hillary's or John's experience because that's what got us into the mess we have today.

The lazy, lazy press and the Clintons up to old tricks

From the Globe and Mail -

---

ALEXANDER PANETTA
The Canadian Press
March 5, 2008 at 8:53 PM EST

OTTAWA — If the Prime Minister is seeking the first link in the chain of events that has rocked the U.S. presidential race, he need look no further than his chief of staff, Ian Brodie, The Canadian Press has learned.

A candid comment to journalists from CTV News by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's most senior political staffer during the hurly-burly of a budget lock-up provided the initial spark in what the American media are now calling NAFTAgate.

Mr. Harper announced Wednesday that he has asked an internal security team to begin finding the source of a document leak that he characterized as being "blatantly unfair" to Senator Barack Obama.

What is now a swirling Canada-U.S. controversy began on Feb. 26, when the usually circumspect Mr. Brodie was milling among droves of Canadian media on budget day in the stately old building that once housed Ottawa's train station.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff Ian Brodie watches from the back of the room during a photo op before the government caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday.

Mr. Brodie wandered over to speak to Finance Department officials and chatted amiably with journalists — who appreciated this rare moment of direct access to the top official in Mr. Harper's notoriously tight-lipped government.

The former university professor found himself in a room with CTV employees where he was quickly surrounded by a gaggle of reporters while other journalists were within earshot of other colleagues.

At the end of an extended conversation, Mr. Brodie was asked about remarks aimed by the Democratic candidates at Ohio's anti-NAFTA voters that carried serious economic implications for Canada.

Since 75 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S., Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton's musings about reopening the North American free-trade pact had caused some concern.

Mr. Brodie downplayed those concerns.

"Quite a few people heard it," said one source in the room.

"He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton's campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. . . That someone called us and told us not to worry."

Government officials did not deny the conversation took place.

They said that Mr. Brodie sought to allay concerns about the impact of Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton's assertion that they would re-negotiate NAFTA if elected. But they did say that Mr. Brodie had no recollection of discussing any specific candidate — either Ms. Clinton or Mr. Obama.

So, it wasn't the Obama Campaign that was speaking to the Canadians it was the Clinton Campaign. One wonders if the lazy press will ever get around to informing us of that fact?

As always with the Clintons this just serves to remind us all - things are never quite what they seem to be -

Barack's not Hillary's "Stepin Fetchit"!

So, this AM Hillary is saying that there could be a Clinton - Obama ticket.

I just want to heave - guess she thinks they might need a good butler!

Looks like the Clintons are calculating again - they figure a "step and fetch it" might be handy to deal with those they throw under the bus. He could do a bit of "shuck n jive" and tell them that the nice white lady doesn't really doesn't mean it after all!

Please give me a break.

Anybody stupid enough to become a second to the HillBill show is walking into a trap. Vice Presidents and the Democratic Party have never fared well under the Clintons' reign.

Above all things Obama understands images and he knows he doesn't want to play the role of Stepin Fetchit in a Clinton Campaign. Just Imagine what the Republicans could/would do with that image!

Why I despise Hillary

Why I despise Hillary and the BillHill/HillBill show -

As a Democrat I'm part of a small but very real wing of the Party that simply despises the Clintons. The reasons why are long and weighty but it all boils down to two simple facts:

1) the Clintons believe what a pollster tells them to believe and their strength of belief is based on totally on how strong the poll is -

2) they like to win by dividing people not by uniting them and I sick of this technique. It seems to be a strategy much loved by the Bush - Clinton camps. It ultimately always ends the same way - nothing changes except the level of public discourse gets worse -

If Hillary ends up pulling out a win, and rest assured she only cares that she wins - not how many lies she tells or who she hurts to do so - I WILL NOT BE VOTING FOR HER IN THE FALL. I had hoped that Clinton fatigue would set in and save us from that fate but that doesn't appear to be true. I need hope and when the Clintons come back you can abandon all hope.

Let loose the lawyers!

New Mexico Caucus update - 020608

The full scope of this mess came into view today.

My guess is that by tomorrow night we will have a full tilt National disaster on our hands.
Besides all the voters that walked away without voting and other assorted problems consider one number - there are over 16,000 provisional ballots to be counted. Lets break this down - a volunteer organization has to open up and decide if 16,000 ballots are valid then count them.

If this process takes on average 10 minutes per ballots the numbers are as follows:

16,000 ballots/6 ballots per hour = 2,6667 "man hours"/8 hours per day = 333.3 days of effort = 66.7 weeks = 1.28 years

If we have robots running at obscene rates and on average do a ballot a minute:

16,000 ballots/60 ballots per hour = 266.7 "man hours"/8 hours per day = 33.3 days of effort = 6.7 weeks

So good luck getting them counted!

This is the danger of provisional ballots run-a-muck. They each take at least 100x as much time to deal with as a regular ballot and handing 'em out like candy is insane.

I think New Mexico just learned a lesson the rest of the US needs to pay close attention to -

Colon is toast!

Just found this AP story at KVIA's web site:

Associated Press - February 6, 2008 9:05 PM ET

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Governor Richardson says he's frustrated with state Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon after reports of long lines and other problems at polling sites in the state party's presidential caucus.

It was Richardson who in 2003 originally conceived of holding an early caucus in New Mexico, and the state's first one was in 2004.

Today, the governor raised the possibility that state Democrats should rethink whether to keep the early nominating contest four years from now.

Richardson said he was deeply disturbed by reports of long lines at polling places and other problems. Some polling sites ran out of ballots and had to rush to make copies.

He says he expressed his frustration to Colon.

Colon says he hasn't met with nor talked to Richardson.

Earlier today, Colon took full responsibility for problems and apologized for miscalculating.

Well good questions can be asked where was Big Bill when $'s were being raised for the Caucus. No doubt he was off running for President.

Well the World ain't fair and if Brian Colon didn't know it before he's learning it now -

Obama's visit to Albuquerque

Just got back from the mob scene at the Convention Center and the line literally went around the building. Once they filled up the Kiva and an overflow room in the Convention Center they got folks to congregate at the Civic Plaza across the street where he spoke to the crowd and visited for a few minutes.

Here's a few photo's I took -

      Barack has problems with a bad microphone

      Barack working the crowd

MoveOn endoses Obama

MoveOn, for the first time in history, is endorsing a Presidential Candidate - Barack Obama.

The votes:
    Obama: 197,444 70.4%
    Clinton: 83,084 29.6%

That pretty much says it all from the progressive camp - MoveOn members prefer Barack over Hillary by a factor of better than 2 to 1.

kos finally notices -

Wow, it took long enough -

This AM at the Daily Kos they finally notice what the Clinton's have been up to -

One of the biggest crocks of shit from the Clinton campaign, and a dirty one at that, has been the claim that Latinos won't vote for blacks. It's quickly become CW. Too bad it's not true.

Better late than never -

Edwards to quit race

Just heard on NPR -

Looks like he will end his race today in New Orleans - the same place he announced his candidacy last year.

Sad, he would be a much better President than Hillary. Now its up to Barack to stop her and save the Democratic Party from a Clinton powered implosion.

State of the US economy

From a posting by someone at Fleckensteincapital.com

Came across this paragraph in a Deutsche Bank report today and thought you'd enjoy it. The numbers are staggering and not a little ominous...

"On the political front, some noted the surprising focus on the manufacturing data given the change in the US economy, manufacturing had decreased to 15 pct of the workforce. The US now has more choreographers (16k) than metal casters. More people make a living shuffling cards (88k) rather than running lathes (66k) and there are three times the number of security guards than machinists (386k)."

So, let's see:
  more choreographers (16k) than metal casters
  more people make a living shuffling cards (88k) than running lathes (66k)
  three times the number of security guards than machinists (386k)

So much for the Clinton-Bush trade policies.

Whistling past the graveyard

Looks like McCain may have done it. In the final analysis I've always believed that the Republicans care more about winning than some old internecine fight that got started years ago. But still I'm a bit surprised its actually happened.

So, for the Hillary fans - answer me this - how does Hillary beat John McCaine especially since her candidacy will guarantee that every right wing nut in the Country will show up to vote against her and every other Dem on the ballot?

McCain will beat Hillary easily. When will the Democrats learn that somebody who believes in something always beats somebody who believes in nothing?

McCain has no sleaze - the Clinton's are all about sleaze. After 8 years of the Bushies that's something that Americans are tired of and will run from.

McCain is brutally honest - well what does one say about Hillary? She just gives us her annoying laugh that says she's fixing to lie again.

In a McCain vs Hillary race he will take ever state starting in Arizona and moving east to Georgia and South Carolina. Then he will win all the states moving up from Florida to North Carolina. This along will all of middle America and the northern tier of states should pretty much do it. Hillary may win Michigan or Illinois but I kind'a doubt it.

Hillary is a disaster for the Democratic Party - she will certainly loose the election but my fear is that whe will also loose the House and the Senate.

TPM's Weekend round up -

From TPN.

Its too good to miss - Maureen Dowd has really figured the Clintons' act out, she ain't impressed.

Is Clinton fatigue setting in?

Hispanic's "animus" for Blacks - Hillary's use of racism for power

Talking about his book "Election 2008: A Voter's Guide" on Cspan2's Boot TV, Michael Crowley today made the statement that from people in Hillary's Campaign its clear that they depended on the Hispanic's "animus" for Blacks for their victory.

Perhaps that's why they needed to paint Obama as the "Black Candidate in the race".

If depending on the dislike of one racial group for another ain't racism what is?

For the Clinton fans out there one question - how is this any different from what George Wallace did in the 60's and 70's when he ran for Governor & President?

Wiki to track the Clintons' racism

Thanks to whoever did this -

clintonattacksobama | Incident Tracker

Somebody need to track the Clintons' overt & covert racism - I appreciate their effort!

Now if we could get somebody to track their lying!

More on Bill's efforts this AM

Guess I am just furious -

I grew up in Alabama and know racism when I see it.

What Bill Clinton did today is racist and he knows it.

From Jack Tapper's blog -

January 26, 2008 8:18 PM

Said Bill Clinton today in Columbia, SC: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."

This was in response to a question about Obama saying it "took two people to beat him." Jackson had not been mentioned.

Boy, I can't understand why anyone would think the Clintons are running a race-baiting campaign to paint Obama as "the black candidate."

-- jpt

You can see Bill at work here.

When I wrote this how could I know the first racist attack would come from within the Democratic Party. I certainly owe the Republicans an apology.

Clintons' racist intent

From AP via TPM

Clinton campaign strategists denied any intentional effort to stir the racial debate. But they said they believe the fallout has had the effect of branding Obama as "the black candidate," a tag that could hurt him outside the South.

Finally BillHill lays it out for all to see. Guess they're proud of it. Bill and Hillary have been working hard to inject racism into the primary - looks like they have succeeded.

Obama's latest radio ad

You need to hear this radio ad -

Personally its pretty mild - somebody needs to call them the liars that they are.

Bill Clinton's racist strategy

If you have any doubt Bill Clinton will use racism to get back into power take a look at this:

To demean Obama's win Bill links him to Jessie Jackson and suggests Obama only won because he is black.

Obama's advertisement is right - Hillary and Bill will say anything, do anything to win. They have no ethics, no honor, no decency. They only care about power. They are filthy liars that must be stopped.

Democrats - abandon all hope - The HillBill Show is on the air!

For all those into Hillary worship I suggest a tiny taste of what's coming this fall came last night from Mitt Romney's response when he quipped "Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I just can't imagine. I can't imagine the American People can imagine it"

You can expect Republican talking point to begin to "raise" Bill's zipper in oh so many ways. They were just holding off till they felt Hillary had things locked up. Perhaps Mitt jumped the gun a bit, guess he just couldn't resist - it was a great line.

I can see the string of comments and jokes headed our way about what's happening in the West Wing and how Hillary has locked up the Interns because Bill is on the prowl (slurp-slurp, gurgle-gurgle). I have zero doubt that Bill's zipper will play a role in the election - the Publicans are just too smart to miss the opportunity. Their job will be to induce Clinton fatigue well before the election and ridicule and disgust is one of their most powerful tools in that process. The Clinton Camp's Swiftboating of Obama is only a prelude to the real race to come. They like to talk about how the Repubs will tear Obama apart - soon we will see what the real paid, professional experts of the Republican Party can do. It ain't gonna be pretty - the Clinton's have given them so much to work with.

Personally I am disgusted by the Clintons and can't imagine voting for 4 more years of the BillAry show. While moving a moron out of the White House we don't need to move White Trash in. My only hope is that the Publicans will get a clue and nominate John McCain so all the HillBill haters in the DemParty like me will have somebody to vote for.

HillBill - Swiftboaters extrodinare!

The HillBill Show is perfecting the Swiftboater's techniques on Obama, the guy who had the nerve to run against them in the Primary. In Wed's NY Times Maureen Dowd gives us a
taste of the disgusting dynamic duo in operation.

My sympathies to Obama - who precisely is he running against? Hillary or Bill

My brain is exploding!

David Brooks via The Daily Dish:

David Brooks says that "the people in the Bush White House think Hillary Clinton is better qualified to be President" and "I think its genuine, they like Hillary Clinton, the people in the Bush White House think Hillary Clinton is serious on the war she's serious on foreign policy they would entrust (they would trust) their legacy to Hillary Clinton more than to Obama and more frankly than a lot of the Republican Candidates"

Its almost impossible to know where to begin on this - does David Brooks actually believe this to be true? That a highly partisan White House would prefer a Dem than a Republican to take over? That they trust Hillary Clinton more than John McCain to deal with the war? Is David Brooks that gullible?

Certainly its spin - but for what purpose? Somehow I think Karl Rove is sitting somewhere laughing his ass off knowing that the Dems are on the verge of being saddled with Hillary while she's receiving praise from the Bushies. Enough to cause a bunch of good Dems to slash their wrists.

The speech I hope Edwards makes -

When Edwards looses the South Carolina Primary next saturday here's what I hope he says/does.

Friends we have run the race but its just not gonna work. We need to look at the greater good and have to admit that our number one priority today is to make sure that a Democrat wins the election in November and changes America.

It is clear to me and to many of you that Hillary Clinton can't win the general election. We don't need to visit the history right now but must acknowledge a simple fact that Americans elect people to the Presidency who actually believe in something - who actually have strongly held core beliefs. Unfortunately Hillary Clinton isn't that person. Senator Clinton believes what is convenient to believe. Here beliefs are determined by her pollster. This, in no small part, is the reason she is despised by most Independents and many Democrats. She cannot unite the Democratic Party, she cannot attract Independent voters, she cannot win.

There are other issues that must be addressed - the people want change and America needs change. How can Hillary Clinton, the Corporate Candidate, change anything? Folks are not fools. They know Corporations and their lobbyists don't support her out of the goodness of their hearts. She is owned by then - lock, stock, an barrel. Make no mistake about it - once in office she would surround herself with the same lobbyists and Corporate interests that have financed her Campaign. They will determine her solutions and there won't be change.

It is time for us to admit that I will not be the nominee. We must look to the future and do the greater good. Today the greater good is for me to endorse Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. He is a man who has the core set of beliefs that the voters demand, he is a candidate that has shown his ability to attract Independents, he understands the need for change and isn't encumbered by those who surround him. Barack Obama should be the next President of the United States.

Sunday morning disgust

The 100% Corporate owned candidate, Hillary, won Nevada. The shinning example of a Democrat that doesn't believe in anything except what the pollsters tell her is headed to the nomination. Unless she is stopped soon its all over.

The only good news in this whole mess is that if she gets the nomination when she looses, she will loose - I know of no Independent that will vote for her and we need Independents to win, we will be done with the Clintons forever. Right now I'm just hoping that McCain gets the Publican nomination - he's the least disgusting of the pack.

Wolf just had the ultimate example of the DLC on, Senator Evan Bayh, and mentioned the rumor that he was a possible VP choice. Now that's a ticket that won't get the base excited - Hillary and a DINO (Dem in Name Only) Senator. Think I'm gonna be sick.

Futility of NM's Feb. 5th Caucus

For any of us caught up in the preparations for the Feb. 5th Dem Caucus the post at The Huffington Post is likely to be depressing. In it while analyzing some exit polling at the Michigan the following statement was made:

Looking toward the future, the Michigan exit poll demonstrates the viability of the Clinton campaign strategy of winning solid majorities in states that, unlike Michigan and South Carolina, do not allow participation of either Republicans or independents in their "closed" primaries, like the February 5 contests in New York, Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona. Many very large February 5 states, however, including California, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, have open primaries that will give Obama a chance to pull in independent voters.

They don't even mention New Mexico in the list of states that have "closed" primary states.

Let's hope this is the last one.

The calm before the racist storm

Over at The Daily Dish Andrew has published a post from a Publican about how they really, really respect Obama.

Fine - I'm sure that many of them do but that's not the issue. Just wait till Obama wins the primaries and gets chosen as the Democratic candidate for President. That's when the boys that run the Republican Party will get their Swift Boaters going. Its gonna be fascinating to watch how quickly the Publicans attacks morph into plain old racism. The Publican power structure will have a real job keeping hold of their racist component - they will need to let them out to try and do a bit of damage to Obama but once out of the box its gonna be impossible to keep 'em from going wild.

Things will get nasty and anybody who thinks this race is gonna be about "the issues" is nuts.

Obamavasion hits NM

Received yesterday (Sunday) from the New Mexico for Obama mailing list:

Four Obama staffers are arriving tomorrow night (two for Albuquerque, one each for Santa Fe and Las Cruces).

Don't know if Dick Sniffing will be at Albuquerque International to cover the event but the Feb 5th invasion has begun.

Kristol - useless as usual

HuffPo covers Bill Kristol's arrival at the NYT in their own style - the title: If We Ignore Him, Maybe He'll Go Away and content - a single link to Kristol's first NYT article explains their view of the event.

However, a reader's comment is even better!

"That's it? This is what we got from that great intellectual giant? This is what everybody and their grandmother grabbed pitchforks and fire over? Any average reader of the current political scene could have written that column. The real story here is how full of shit Kristol is. The GOP is terrified of a Huckabee nomination."

The sad fact is that's also true for about 99.5% of today's press corps. Their job seems to rehash the obvious and explore the mundane.

Intel just can't play nice.

Essentially Intel's sales force just can't play nice.

After joining the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization last year Intel has decide to get out, see my earlier post.

From a NY Times article it seems that their sales force just can't live up to the OLPC membership agreement they signed hence its time to split.

Lets see what Intel and Micro$oft does now -

AWWMNUUBM - Unity08

From Chris over at OpenLeft we get another take on Unity08 along with a great acronym - AWWMNUUBM or Aging Wealthy White Men for National Unity Under Billionaire Media Moguls along with a good question - what do they actually want to do?

Another posting over at The Washington Monthly points out a little fact that seems to have escaped this group while they make their call for bipartisanship:

I suppose that's fine, but one wonders if the group realizes that Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson have already said publicly that they would have Republicans serving in their cabinet -- a claim no Republican presidential candidate has made.

I'm left to wonder if its bipartisanship for the sake of bipartisanship or a call for bipartisanship because they fear the Dems might actually get control of the place.

Unity08 - Republocrat - Demopublican come out of the closet to meet in Oklahoma

A brief segment from CNN's Wolf Show this AM lead me to a story about Unity08. Turns out that this group of Establishment Politico's are so concerned that the US is so partisan these days that its necessary for some wise, no doubt straight, white & Protestant, men to get together in Oklahoma and "fix" things for all of us.

Don't know about you but I'm gonna sleep sounder because of their efforts -

My only question is where were those folks a couple of years ago during the Republican dictatorship of Congress, you know those lazy dazy partisan days of Delay and Hastert running the House?

I've got a feeling this has more to do with the Corporate Establishment's fears that they may loose control than some grand desire for unity so we can face our mutual problems.

Consider two distinct possibilities the Establishment faces:

1) the Publicans become a religious party, after all that's what its base really wants

2) the Democrats move back to their base and become a populist party

If 1 & 2 happen where oh where will the Corporations, a.k.a the Establishment, go???

Hmmmmm, if both 1 & 2 happen and the Publicans actually read the Bible and start caring about the poor, sick, and justice imagine what could be done on Health Care, the Environment, and tax policy?

If that's not enough to get the old line Establishment Republicans and DLC folks, the Dem's corporate wing, out of their joint closet and to the table I don't know what is -

Update - Digby does a real job on this gathering of gasbags here. The hypocrisy of this group of irrelevant Elders is simply staggering.

Sorry Andrew but.......

I tend to read Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish daily and sometimes I agree, sometimes I disagree, and sometimes, as I did today, I find total nonsense.

Since he tends to read his email I sent him this:

Andrew:

Sorry but your Republican correspondent simply doesn't understand today's Democratic Party. For some reason the Republicans are fixated on the concept that GW hatred is the main motivator of the Democratic base. They simply don't understand that most of us know a fool when we see 'em and see the damage that GW is doing on a daily basis to the long term future of the US and the rest of the world. While we can't stand the sight of him and hate listening to the moron speak we just want him gone as soon as possible. Since the Republican base sees him as a good guy and thinks he has done a good job they are left to equate the motivations of our response to GW as similar to their response to Bill Clinton. They hated Bill Clinton because: 1) he couldn't keep his zipper closed and had the bad sense to lie about it; and 2) he was a fairly successful President. We're sick of GW because he is a delusional fool. Those are very different things. Personally, I don't hate GW - I just know he is a disaster of biblical proportions and dread the years of effort it will take to clean up the mess he and his minions have created.

Speaking as somebody who has been deeply involved in party politics for years, Hillary's support is totally based on the fact that she was married to Bill Clinton (name recognition) and that she appears to be a smart lady who keeps her cool under pressure. While she does have the establishment on her side the base ain't excited about her at all. Since she is widely seen as the establishment candidate and a supporter of the war its a bit illogical to assume that those Dems who's whole life is focused on GW hatred would flock to her to get back at GW. The anti-Hillary votes in the party are way larger than the pro-Hillary ones. If Edwards or Obama drops out before Hillary "wins" it all over for her because those two factions will quickly merge and be the majority.

Please let your Republican correspondent know that we DEFINITELY understand that GW can't run again and we will be finally shed of him in a bit over a year. We also know we won't be running against him next year. Who gets chosen as the Democratic nominee won't have anything to do with GW hatred - its just plain old politics as usual in the Democratic Party. Everyone I know counts the hours till GW moves back to Texas and hopefully disappears from public view forever.

Re: the Hillary vs. Obama vs. Edwards race - my vote/effort will be for Obama or Edwards. We need change after Bush not a return to the past.

Why the Repubs hate Huckabee

I've been wondering for some time why Huckabee wasn't the beloved child of the Republican Party. You may have noticed that the entire community of mainline Republican pundits have been dumping on the Southern Baptist preacher from Hope lately. It seemed odd to me - from my uninformed position he seems perfect - he's a fundie - he's a creationist - he's a preacher - he even believes - what more do they want?

Certainly they have been dressing up their contempt for Huckabee in some fairly high minded prose. Take for example this fascinating post from Right Wing Nut House where the author agrees with an attack on Huckabee from the rolling gas bag Charles Krauthammer:

I’m not talking about criticizing the idea that faith animates a candidate’s position on the issues. Nor am I calling for a moratorium on talking about religion in a political context. Neither is Krauthammer. What Krauthammer is saying – and what I am agreeing with – is that a line has been crossed, most notably on the Republican side, that seeks to give religion a privileged position in policy debates – absolute moral authority with a vengeance based not on the efficacy of one’s position on the issues but rather on the strength or nature of their religious beliefs:

Problem is - when you strip all the rhetoric away its pretty simple - Huckabee believes all the fundamentalist nonsense and that turns out to be one big problemo for the Republican establishment! They have been using the fundamentalist for years to gain political power and the little people have always known their place. Sure the elites of the Publican Party would throw 'em a bone every once and while when they needed their votes but they never meant for the fundies to have much say besides a bit of gay bashing every now and then. Now they face a fundamentalist candidate who actually believes what he says and has a chance to get elected. No wonder they are taking a collective dump.

Just imagine - religious wacko's in the Republican Party - whoever let them in? Well you did Mr & Mrs Republican Establishment and now they are eating the brie, measuring the windows for new drapes, and getting ready to take control of the Republican Party.

There was a young lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a Tiger;
   They came back from the ride
   With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the Tiger.

Michelle does it again -

Michelle Lujan Grisham came to tonights DFNM (Democracy for New Mexico) meeting and once again did well for herself. Since this group contained lots of early and big Martin H. supporters I was curious how they would react. Watching this very, very liberal crowd all I can say is that Martin should be worried. She walked onto his truff, had her say, and came out with a few new supporters. If the left wing of the Democratic Party starts to move to her way Martin's campaign is over.