Politics: March 2008 Archives

I really want to encourage you to do this. I also cross-posted this over at MYBO but I don't see the need to wrap the campaign up in this.

That said, I cannot vote for Hillary Clinton. I know some of you feel the same way.

She should be made aware that many Democrats feel this way. I encourage you to let her know using the comment portion of her campaign site, or her Senate webpage if you are in her district.

What follows is what I sent to her.

Given your race-baiting campaign of negativity and the reality that you really are more into winning for yourself than in working for the good of the party and nation, I will not vote for you if you are the nominee.

I am a lifelong Democrat, of a family four generations strong of such. Should you somehow become the nominee, I will not be casting a vote for a presidential candidate. I will not be voting for McCain. I will not vote for you in some form of merged ticket with Barack Obama. I WILL NOT vote for you in any name, shape, or form.

Your ugly campaign has solidified it for me.

This is not a sexist attack. My wife will not vote for you either. And neither will many of her female friends. Some were once your supporters. No longer.

This is not a lone statement. I know of at least many other friends and co-workers who will not vote for you if you are the nominee. I will ask them to send the same comment to you.

You should know this. You should hear this. You should plan according to it.

I am not threatening, I am not being a blowhard, I am merely stating my position. You cannot change my mind, do not bother.

Please stop hurting our party's chances in November. Please stop sullying your once good name. Please actually listen to voters instead of discrediting us whenever and wherever you can.

I doubt it will make one iota of difference, but maybe if she gets a hundred thousand emails, she'll at least stop acting like Karl Rove. You know other people are doing this. Let's join them in telling her we know she won't speak for us, and we don't want her being our voice any more than we do George Bush.

Most of you know that my patience with organized religion goes only so far. Catholicism drags their feet, and the last Protestant sermon I went to gave me the news that chipping my dog means he's got the Mark of the Beast and is going to hell. So, yeah, F that noise.

That said, religion is making its mark on this year's presidential election. Let's take a quick look.

"Did we also mischaracterize Hagee when he called my religion 'The Great Whore,' the 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ' and a 'false cult system'? McCain cannot ignore Hagee's lies any more than he can tolerate his bigotry. This is getting out of control."

- Bill Donahue, Catholic League president

McCain takes religious advice from John Hagee, a virulently anti-Catholic and anti-gay fringe lunatic. He's an anti-Semite, hates Muslims, and believes that Hurricane Katrina was "The Judgement of God Against New Orleans". Between this guy, Falwell, and all the other evangelical ass-kissing McCain is doing, don't even try to sell me that this guy is a moderate.

McCain also consorts with Ron Parsley, McCain's "spiritual guide", who wants to eradicate Islam because to him it is a "false religion". Oh, the same assclown asserts that "Allah was a demon spirit". Yeah, that'll build the spirit of compromise and reconciliation we need with the Muslim world.

Seriously folks, since when did intolerance become part of American culture? Not to mention debt, torture, lying, resurging racism, and other evil sweet treats of the Bush years.

Hillary Clinton has her own under-reported religious issues as well.

Obama, of course, has been getting hammered by his "friends" in the media and by his "honored" fellow senator Clinton. He's been labeled a Muslim, has had to denounce (AND reject!) Louis Farrakhan. Now he's been labeled the AntiChrist. Wow.

Now he's been getting pummeled about the words of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Obama has spoken out against this. You can read the statement here or watch the following video:

Jim Wallis defends Obama in this article.

DailyKos asks why the religion of candidates like Huckabee weren't scrutinized more. Why just Obama? Good question.

For some good news, the Vatican now says polluting is a sin, though stem cell research is still off the table for Benedict. Oh well, maybe they'll get around to that in the 2050s or something. Southern Baptist leaders would also like to promote conservation and make climate change an issue, but they have a much bigger hill to climb (audio link here).

"Senator Obama was up in Iowa, maybe not so up in New Hampshire, but he was the same Barack Obama. Steady, reliable, 'No shock, Barack. No drama Obama.' "

- General Merrill A. McPeak, Air Force (ret.) on endorsing Obama

Rolling Stone magazine has an excellent article on Obama. And, someone found this old article that pegs Hillary as the continuation of Richard Nixon.

Yet another Clinton supporter asking her to give up her campaign for the good of the party.

Ferraro is under the illusion that she should be apologized to, since people seem to have come to the conclusion that she might be a racist. Um, your biggest support is Pat Buchanan, lady. I think an apology isn't what you should be waiting for. She is also pissed off and warns Obama that she won't fundraise for him if he's the nominee. Geraldine, he seems to be doing fine without your scary, bigoted self. And that, folks, is all the more I'm going to say about that Clintonite goon.

Saturday Night Live head Lorne Michaels is confused on why people say his show is ardently pro-Clinton. Apparently he doesn't watch SNL anymore either.

This is a funny response to Clinton hype.

And here's a video that might as well be a real Clinton campaign smear ad.

Two arguments for and against the Clinton "kitchen sink" attacks.

Pro-Obama governors on the false fear of Clinton's "big states only" argument. As if those states are suddenly going to turn Republican. Come on! Robert Creamer posted this and this explaining how Obama is by-and-large the best candidate the Dems can put up against McCain.

Keith Olbermann is still under the delusion that Hillary Clinton isn't aware of her campaign's racist overtones. That said, he makes a powerful argument to ask her to get her campaign back on track.

Personally, if she's so incompetent to not realize she's heading into Republican Klan territory, then she has no business in this race.

Now, more than ever, No Way In Hell.

An email from David Plouffe I got today:

Dear John,

When we won Iowa, the Clinton campaign said it's not the number of states you win, it's "a contest for delegates."

When we won a significant lead in delegates, they said it's really about which states you win.

When we won South Carolina, they discounted the votes of African-Americans.

When we won predominantly white, rural states like Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, they said those didn't count because they won't be competitive in the general election.

When we won in Washington State, Wisconsin, and Missouri -- general election battlegrounds where polls show Barack is a stronger candidate against John McCain -- the Clinton campaign attacked those voters as "latte-sipping" elitists.

And now that we've won more than twice as many states, the Clinton spin is that only certain states really count.

But the facts are clear.

For all their attempts to discount, distract, and distort, we have won more delegates, more states, and more votes.

Meanwhile, more than half of the votes that Senator Clinton has won so far have come from just five states. And in four of these five states, polls show that Barack would be a stronger general election candidate against McCain than Clinton.

We're ready to take on John McCain. But we also need to build operations in places like Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, and Oregon that will hold their primaries in April and May.
Barack Obama needs your support to fight this two-front battle.

With our overwhelming victory in the Mississippi primary yesterday, our lead in earned delegates is now wider than it was on March 3rd, before the contests in Ohio and Texas.

And thanks to your help, we have dramatically increased our support among so-called "superdelegates" -- Governors, Members of Congress, and party officials who have a vote at the Democratic National Convention in August.

As the number of remaining delegates dwindles, Hillary Clinton's path to the nomination seems less and less plausible.

Now that Mississippi is behind us, we move on to the next ten contests. The Clinton campaign would like to focus your attention only on Pennsylvania -- a state in which they have already declared that they are "unbeatable."

But Pennsylvania is only one of those 10 remaining contests, each important in terms of allocating delegates and ultimately deciding who our nominee will be.

We have activated our volunteer networks in each of these upcoming battlegrounds. We're putting staff on the ground and building our organization everywhere.

The key to victory is not who wins the states that the Clinton campaign thinks are important. The key to victory is realizing that every vote and every voter matters.

Throughout this entire process, the Clinton campaign has cherry-picked states, diminished caucuses, and moved the goal posts to create a shifting, twisted rationale for why they should win the nomination despite winning fewer primaries, fewer states, fewer delegates, and fewer votes.

We must stand up to the same-old Washington politics. Barack has won twice as many states, large and small, in every region of the country -- many by landslide margins. And this movement is expanding the base of the Democratic Party by attracting new voters in record numbers and bringing those who had lost hope back into the political process.

Push back against the spin and help build the operation to win more delegates in these upcoming contests:

Thank you for your support and for everything you've done to build a movement that is engaging voters and winning contests in every part of this country.

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Two points. One, yes, I get "Dear John" mail. Stop laughing. Two, the email, as most political ones do, asks for a donation. If you actually *do* plan to donate to the Obama campaign, kindly do so through my fundraising page at the Obama site? Thanks.

I ran across a pro-Obama blog this morning called Think on These Things and wanted to pass some highlights on to you all.

First off: Obama 101

Why to vote Obama over Clinton.

A list of Obama-themed songs.

In trying to justify her "experience", Hillary suddenly thinks words matter. Well, at least her words do.

She, on top of getting the Iraq War vote wrong, she also dropped the ball on the false ties between the Hussein regime and al-Qaeda.

Some experience.

Clinton attack dog Geraldine Ferraro now says she's being "attacked" by the Obama camp because she's white. Wait, the two Obama campaign folks countering her racist BS ARE white. What gives?

Also on this same blog, proof that Clinton and McCain have more in common than racist supporters, lobbyist ties, and Republican attack politics. Turns out their advisors work for the same lobbyist firm.

I was more than a bit miffed about the Secret Service not adequately protecting Obama - in Dallas of all places - but this story gives a little insight into their job. The coolest part though? Obama's code name is Renegade.

A look at what it will take for Obama to win and the increasingly more-pointed-to-theft path for HIllary.

Obama is gaining delegates from Clinton as California results clear up. Also, the definitive response to the incorrect "Clinton Wins Texas" meme will be in later this morning as caucus results complete.

Why Obama is up in the popular vote more than is reported.

More on Clinton's racist friends a la Geraldine Ferraro.

Clinton ad watch. More testing to prove whether or not Clintonites are purposely darkening Obama in a recent ad. Also, an angle that hadn't occurred to me yet: Is Hillary's "3 a.m." ad racist?

And just for fun: It's the Dishonesty, Hillary

Or both.

We start off with a former Clinton supporter who has just had enough and gives reasons why.

And it *must* be that bizarre of a campaign year when it takes Alec Baldwin to shoot down the Clinton and McCain campaign meme.

Clinton is playing delegate math again. First, she is pushing the "delegates can change their mind" meme, hoping Obama delegates will change their mind. Fat chance of that happening, lady.

Next, on top of calling superdelegates "automatic" - whatever THAT means - now Clinton is parsing the definition of "elected" (read primary states) and "caucus" delegates. Caucus delegates are the ones she keeps losing to Obama. It is funny that she should have had the "experience" of knowing caucus voters would be elections she'd lose for the most part. The only experience she got from that is she doesn't like motivated voters and wants to shun them.

Attention any state that has held a caucus. You, too, will soon be deemed "irrelevant" by some Clinton campaign troll. Line up with the small states she has lost and prepare to be shunned.

Oh, and the definition doesn't matter. Obama has more "caucus" AND "elected" delegates than Clinton has.

Geraldine Ferraro is the latest Clintonite to head to the race-baiting well, saying Barack is "lucky" he's black. Lucky? I've never heard of ANY minority being "lucky" to be so in this country. I guess she thinks he wouldn't have such a following if he were just a white guy or something. Damn, am I glad I was never able to vote for THAT nitwit.

Arianna on Clinton's fearmongering.

Gary Hart on Clinton choosing McCain over Obama and on how much of a cretin she is for doing so.

Nicolas Kristof on Obama's fight against bigots of all stripes.

Here's hoping for good news out of Mississippi tomorrow.

"You won't see me as a vice presidential candidate -- you know, I'm running for president. We have won twice as many states as Senator Clinton, and have a higher popular vote, and I think we can maintain our delegate count -- but you know, what I'm really focused on right now, because all that stuff is premature, is winning this nomination and changing the country."

- Barack Obama, when asked about being a VP to Clinton

A LOT of talk has come from the Clinton campaign this week on how they could win and people could still get Barack Obama *if* she asks and *if* he accepts a role as her VP *if* they manage to steal, erm "win", the nomination.

From Hillary to Bill to various minions, this has been a daily soundbite from the Clinton campaign, all in the interests of stealing voters away.

A couple comments. One, I seriously doubt she'd asked. Two, I seriously doubt he'd accept. Three, I STILL wouldn't vote for her even if Obama took on the role for the good of the party.

I know he's kind-of hinted that he'd say no to this. That's not enough. He REALLY needs to get out there and say no to intolerance and race-baiting. He needs to explain that he will not side with divisive politics and lies and slander at any cost. He should say NO, unequivocally, and give sound reasons as to why not. That's not attack politics or going dirty. That is explaining why his campaign is far different from her's.

It might even be career suicide in his current roles should he lose, but if he believes in this as strongly as the rest of us do, a Senate re-election bid shouldn't even be in the cards for him anyway. Not after he's elected president. And standing defiantly and definitively on the side of the angels is a good way to get there.

WE know this as his supporters. The rest of undecided Democrats and independents do not. They have to have this knowledge in hand before they go to the polls in the remaining states and Puerto Rico.

Well, the dream is deferred. Or the bitch is back. Whichever suits you.

Either way, Obama lost Ohio and Rhode Island, won Vermont, and will take more delegates out of Texas than Clinton, though she'll claim it as a win.

That said, what does any of this do for her? Or for Barack? I've got a couple views of this concept and even the worst case scenarios still look good for Obama.

First off, what happens if every superdelegate votes according to how their constituents did, for those who have them. Not a great picture, but not a knockout blow either.

Jonathan Alter shows us how Hillary can run the table in the remaining races and still lose.

A look at a nightmare if Clinton takes the fight to the convention.

And another opinion on how Clinton is not-so-silently benefitting from labelling Obama as a radical Muslim.

Meanwhile Clinton attack dog Harold Wolfson is comparing Obama to Kenneth Starr.

An Obama aide calls Hillary a "monster" and then resigns for the good of the campaign when a fuss is made. I doubt you'll see that from the "other side".

Clinton's foreign policy "experience" is examined and found wanting.

Meanwhile, Larry David doesn't exactly amuse me, but this article made me a temporary fan at least.

As you go through the night, take a moment to mess with a couple delegate counters.

This one is from CNN.

This other one is over at Slate.

This last one is a list of the superdelegates and who they are declared for. That way you know who to blame if Hillary steals the nomination, because she sure as hell ain't winning it on delegates given what those delegate counters show me.

Obama is going to take Vermont.

Some early exit polling shows the following:

First Exit Polls:

VT Obama - 67, Clinton - 33
OH Obama - 51, Clinton - 49
TX Obama - 50, Clinton - 49
RI Obama - 49, Clinton - 49

Tight, but not the worst trend in the world given recent polls.

A couple snapshots of the race.

Rush Limbaugh laughs and tries to talk his way out of comparing Obama to Curious George.

In a similar vein, the Clinton campaign is darkening Obama. Gee, I wonder what purpose that serves? Hmmm.

And now Republicans have found a new name for Obama: Bohammed. Real subtle.

Obama, Japan is all about Barack.

A great post at DemocraticUnderground thanking Obama supporters. And check out this additional comment. Very nice stuff.

More to follow. You know, unless I'm glued to the TV all night.

"How about we start things anew, instead. How about we get this country back on track using only the same tool that defeated Nazism and rebuilt Europe, or put a man on the moon, or simply gets each of us out of bed in the morning...Hope!!!"

- HGala, HuffingtonPost commenter

A couple things I've been meaning to comment on.

First off, the quiet conversation a lot of us are having over Obama's safety. It isn't just black Americans, it comes up every so often for the rest of us too. It particularly came to a head recently in Dallas (yeah, that Dallas, the one where JFK died), when the Secret Service made the police stop searching folks going to an Obama rally. You can imagine how sensitive the Dallas PD is to this kind of thing. The Secret Service says everything was secure, but seriously, can you believe that was true?

I sincerely hope that if he becomes the nominee they'll get their act together, and fast.

The other interesting trend are the crossover Republicans coming to support Obama. It's funny, I don't remember conservatives being near as cruel to the so-called Reagan Democrats as the Hillary camp is to these folks. I mean, they've had a rough decade of watching their party hijacked by fundamentalist hatemongers. Give 'em a break. They've found someone to believe in, so give them the benefit of the doubt. Let's welcome their loyalty and find some common ground in which to work together.

Let's face it, I'm not a fan of the War and Racism Party, but then again, these folks don't seem to be either. They're looking for a new home; let's give them a reason to stay.

One more article concerning Obama and the charisma he exudes. No, not in the Hillary scare tactic way, but in how he gets a lot of us to believe he can make the changes he speaks of.

Rush Limbaugh wants people to vote for Hillary. I'm not sure if he admires her bigotry or just wants McCain to beat her. Either way, he's probably on the right track on her chances.

And speaking of Limbaugh and bigots, I am in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Geraldo Rivera on something. Check this out as he discusses Limbaugh, Dobbs, and other racists.

Even Bill Richardson is coming around to realizing Hillary is a fearmonger in the Bush vein. He isn't endorsing anyone yet, but he's saying the right words.

A couple views of the campaigns. Here is a story on how the Clinton folks plan to force their will on the Texas caucus tomorrow. And over here is how Obama supporters go out of their way to volunteer, even picking up random volunteers who just want to pitch in.

Also, a look at each candidate's rallies in the San Antonio area.

Maureen Dowd weighs in on Clinton's message of fear.

And how *IS* Hillary's fearmongering ad working? Not well, apparently.

A look at how bigotry is affecting the minds of voters in Ohio.

And yet another look at the chaos that is the Clinton Texas operation.

Barack Obama is running the following two minute ad in Texas tonight:

For those of you waiting to vote tomorrow, give it a look.

I've got a ton o' political links and I want to pass on a few to ya. Yes, I'm been selective. Calm down.

Not sure if I linked Hillary's big mocking moment, but here it is.

Here is a slam on the Hillary campaign by Frank Rich, which is brutally honest in how she plays on fear and low expectations. Jonathan Alter asks Hillary to leave the race now. Paul Loeb wonders how much she'll hurt the party on her way down.

Over at HuffPo, Arianna analyzes the "only words" argument and how Hillary fails the test. The Chicago Tribune finds that yes, Obama's speeches do have substance. The Guardian confirms this and points out some differences between Obama and his opponents.

Frank Rich looked at the painful awkwardness of McCain running against Obama. This week he looks at how McCain, for some unknown reason, is taking cues from Hillary Clinton on how to beat Obama. Not that I'm complaining. Her losing strategy can be his for all I care.

Also, a look at how Obama's family in Kenya is viewing the race.

Turns out - and I'd love to think this is rumor, but I doubt it - that the black superdelegate supporters of Hillary Clinton are being pressured to "vote their race" and support Barack Obama.

Look, I think they're delusional and on the wrong side of the majority of Democrats. Hell, I'd love one of them to give me a reason why they back Hillary after all the vile crap she and her campaign has pulled lately.

That said, they are planning to vote the way they are for a reason. Let them do it. Don't sink to the same race-baiting the Clinton family advocates. Don't shove someone over to "our side" when they honestly believe in something different. Don't belittle their choice, even if their candidate is petty, small, cruel, and unworthy.

Basically, don't sink to the Clinton's level folks.

Just let them be wrong. After this is all over, you can not vote for them, not buy their books, change the channel when they go on as a talking head, shun them for the rest of their days for backing bigotry. That's what I do with most Republicans. Clinton and pals are just signing up for the same program as far as I'm concerned.

"Rock music in its lyrics often talks ahead of the time about what's going on in the country."

- Edmund G. Brown

Politicians have a long history of having music played at their rallies. Often it has absolutely nothing to do with their policies, sometimes even contradicts them. Reagan famously thought Springsteen's "Born in the USA" was about his brand of blind, sheep-like patriotism and was, of course, wrong on that as in many other things.

This year, however, things are taking an interesting turn. John Mellencamp asked the McCain campaign to stop using his songs. Good call. One, I wouldn't want to be associated with the War Party. Two, anyone who knows anything about Mellencamp or his songs would be silly to think that he expresses conservative values.

McCain did pull any such songs from his rallies' playlist.

"BOSTON has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything BOSTON stands for."

- Tom Scholz, guitarist/lyricist, Boston

Mike "Rapture Bunny" Huckabee has been playing Boston's "More than a Feeling" at his rallies of late. He received a letter asking him to stop doing so. Once again, I wouldn't want to be associated with this kind of thought either.

No news if Huckabee has stopped playing the song.

Personally, I love this. Barring country and Nazi death metal, most musicians aren't right wing idiots. And even country singers are probably pretty moderate seeing as they actually travel the country and interact with more than their neighbors. I hope other performers take a look at what is being played at campaigns and stop folks from allowing their music to subtly endorse policies they don't believe in.

That said, Jack Cafferty recently asked what songs symbolize the candidate's campaigns. Some of the answers are pretty funny.