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.