Quote of the Day

I'm putting the finishing touches on a pre-election blog entry. It's pretty long and is the first step by me into moving past this election. It should be posted tomorrow. Imagine my real shock, surprise and satisfaction to see this editorial which says almost exactly what I have been saying for 15+ years and almost exactly what I wrote down for my own pre-election blog! While I came up with my own stuff prior to stumbling over this, this writer says it all with greater eloquence than I will. So, even though I will repeat some of these ideas in my own big post, you should know that we are not alone.

For years now I, and countless others, have been attempting to warn our fellow countrymen that the people running the Republican Party right now are not who they want you to think they are. This ain’t your granddad’s GOP, and it hasn’t been for some time. The Neo-Republican charlatans in control have only one thing on their mind — amassing wealth and political/global power (in order to amass even more wealth). Everything else is just theater, and secondary to those goals.

So how have they managed to keep so many — including rank and file Republicans — believing they have the best interest of the country at heart, even as they proceed, step by step, to demolish the middle class, with their “smash and dash” economic policies? Lies, deception, smears, meaningless distractions (lapel pins. pigs with lipstick), phony catch phrases (McCain’s campaign slogan “Country First”), war, terrorism, fear … basically anything they can come up with to keep you from focusing on what truly matters to the future of this country, or your own personal well being.

"Amy The Stylist"

Was paid more than $22 thousand by the McCain Palin ticket in just the past two weeks!. Her job? Sarah Palin's stylist. If the working class buys into the GOP's fraudulent sympathy again this year, it will just be plain embarrassing.

An acclaimed celebrity makeup artist for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin collected more money from John McCain's campaign than his foreign policy adviser. Amy Strozzi, who works on the reality show "So You Think You Can Dance" and has been Palin's traveling stylist, was paid $22,800, according to campaign finance reports for the first two weeks in October. In contrast, McCain's foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was paid $12,500, the report showed.

Quote of the Day

For years, many of the elite conservatives were happy to harvest the votes of devout Christians and gun owners by waging a phony class war against “liberal elitists” and “leftist intellectuals.” Suddenly, the conservative writers are discovering that the very anti-intellectualism their side courted and encouraged has begun to consume their movement.The cause of Edmund Burke, Leo Strauss, Robert Nisbet and William F. Buckley Jr. is now in the hands of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity -- and Sarah Palin. Reason has been overwhelmed by propaganda, ideas by slogans, learned manifestoes by direct-mail hit pieces. E.J. Dionne

Church is State, State is Church

The woman in this video is hopelessly ... um ... noninclusive. She insists that people just like her, and ONLY people just like her, are appropriate for elective office. Sadly, the attitude of this woman is multiplied by the thousands across the country and reinforced through hateful and misleading e-mails and through the typical Republican media apparatus designed to build even more distrust and intolerance. They know to have any chance in this or future elections, they need men and women like this. The GOP can't win elections on the facts, economic plans or any record of success. That's why they will continue to spread misinformation to encourage real and deep hatred to divide Americans and corrupt our political process for years to come - no matter who wins the election next month.

The Leader of the Pack

Andy Martin
Read all aboout the man that "Insane Right" follow.

McCain's Regret

John McCain was boo'ed heartily when he did it but he did it. He stuck up for Barack Obama and dismissed the ignorance coming from the people at his rallies.

"[Barack Obama is a] person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States. [He's] a decent, family man." ...John McCain

After months of smearing Barack Obama by his campaign and even more so by the Right Wing media, the resulting hatred has been spilling out in the McCain and Palin rallies this week. Yes, John McCain has sold out to the hate mongers to run his campaign,but in many ways he was never comfortable being one of them. I think McCain let is decent side reappear momentarily yesterday when he defended Obama at a rally, because he NOW realizes (like he did in 2000) that hateful words lead, unsurprisingly, to hatred and too often from the Right, this hatred becomes violence or attempted violence. McCain remembers the death threats eight years ago. He knows what it's like going against these people.

The crowds that show up for his rallies these days appear to have little appetite for the talk of bipartisan compromise that had been at the heart of his message around the Republican National Convention. During a rally outside a small airport in Mosinee, Wis., on Thursday, McCain said that "it's time we come together, Democrats and Republicans to work together. That's my record. I'll reach across the aisle." The crowd stood silent.

McCain really looked a bit horrified this week to hear the angry screams from the crowd in his rallies. "Kill him", "Off with his head", "Terrorist" screamed people in the crowd, echoing the standard logic of McCain or Palin voters. He should have been horrified - but not surprised. Talk to someone supporting McCain and chances are they do it for the same moronic reason. They think Obama is a Muslim or a terrorist. They really do! Who can blame them, that's the diet of lies they have been fed fior the past 2 years - what else would they regurgitate?

John McCain, I suppose, is just beginning to regret just how much he has given up his reputation and honor in by hiring the Rovian smear merchants to lead his run for the White House. He coddled up to the Religious Right, and now they are spreading misinformation for him in the churches. He pandered to the talk radio crowd and they are spewing their usual fare of fear and hate to support him. How ironic that McCain finds himself having to defend his opponent from angry mobs who seem ready to break out into a riot. Perhaps McCain has finally recognized the damage he (and his party) is doing to the country, and now that it seems too late to save the election, he may try to undo the damage he perpetuated and now will try to save this country from the ignorance he had fought against most of his Senate career.

Now that would be the old maverick we used to know.

UPDATE: Palin also Tempers Attacks on Obama

Quote of the Day

By David Gergan, who has advised presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. This is one of the smartest and most non partisan voices in America today. Even he is scared!

"There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence. I think we're not far from that," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday. "I really worry when we get people --when you get the kind of rhetoric that you're getting at these rallies now. I think it's really imperative that the candidates try to calm people down."

Incitement!

Long time listeners and readers know that I believe that there is is a significant portion of the "conservative movement" prone to violence and domestic terror. The record makes this clear. Through the years we've seen assassination attempts, coordinated clinic bombings, creation of armed militias designed to overthrow the government, the Oklahoma City Bombing, lone wolf church shootings and an endless stream of hate and threats coming from the right wing. When frustrated, they don't just try harder to persuade us in the marketplace of ideas, they become angry and resort to violence.

This always becomes more prevalent when these type of "conservatives" have their back to the wall. They feel completely justified in ignoring the law to further their goals or prevent policies they disagree with from advancing. We all remember the dark and dangerous people of violence who reared their heads during the Clinton Administration. Well, their backs are against the wall now and they are really ramping up the hatred!

Talk radio, Fox News and now Sarah Palin and John McCain, are inciting real hatred and anger among their followers that run directly counter to what this country is all about. Make no mistake about it, the very people who ignored our laws over the past eight years and those who continue to support those politicians, will instinctively resort to intimidation, hatred, and even violence. These "movement conservatives" don't negotiate because they believe they have the absolute truth. Even more frightening, many honestly believe that God backs them up on this. That is why violence is an acceptable choice for them. They are told that they are doing God's work and the laws of man - especially if they feel they are "unGodly" laws - are absolutely irrelevant.

So while the majority of Americans recoil at the current behavior of Republicans and the language used by Palin/McCain and their surrogates in inciting this hatred and violence during the last stages of the Presidential campaign, have no illusions that they are creating a dangerous place of us to live - now and in the years to come. All we can do is point it out, condemn it and be very careful.

UPDATE 8PM: John McCain has finally spoken out against the hatred. He was boo'd heartily by his supporters but I do give him credit for trying.

In Defense of Rich Lowry

The other day I mentioned the post by influential Conservative writer Rich Lowry about how watching Sarah Palin the other night gave him great ... um ..... self satisfaction. Well Boonman has been a lone voice in defending him. You have to read it!

Meltdown - What We Have Learned, What We Should Do

1. President Bush is not respected - by anyone.
It took 7 and 1/2 years for Conservatives to finally figure this out but even they have come to realize that their poster boy for Conservatism is a complete screw up. Of course their timing could not have been worse. Republican Bush put forward his plan, with the approval of his economic advisers and could not get his party to fall in line. Now, and only now, the Conservatives say that Bush can't be trusted. So you let your man drive us off the cliff and now try to distance yourself from him? Gimme a break! Where were you for the past 7 1/2 years?

2. Conservative Economics has failed & Conservatives don't care about America.
Let's face it - Reganomics has run it's course. Like all economic ideologies, the weaknesses eventually overwhelm the strengths. Trickle down / Supply Side economics has brought us to this mess. Some may argue that it gave us 20-25 good years (I don't think so, but that is an argument that can be made). But it's over. The fact that Conservatives in the House cling to this theory despite all the evidence proves that they are blinded by ideology and put their misguided embrace of supply side economics over the good of the country. Again.

3. You can't negotiated with Conservatives.
Never have been able to, never will be. Remember, the credo of the "Republican Revolution" was that "compromise is weakness". These people are rigid ideologues detached from reality. Look over the past 30 years and I predict you will see failure everywhere Democrats tried to appease or compromise with Conservatives. It can't be done. We should all know by now that Conservatives see only what they want to see and stick with their foolish ideology no matter what the facts on the ground are. My God, this should be clear to everyone by now! Don't bother trying to negotiate with these people - they don't play well with others and they will only bring you down.

4. Holiday shows others who don't put country first.
OK, so it is a big Jewish holiday. If the Jewish members of Congress say they can't work because of it - that's fine. It's their right. But make no mistake they are putting their religion over the good of the country. Don't tell me the world is coming to an end in the morning and then take a holiday break in the evening! No person taking time off in this crisis, Jew or non-Jew (even worse because they are doing it to pander rather than for their own personally held beliefs), should be allowed to put "Country First" on any campaign literature. It's not true. You are putting your religion first. That's fine - but just admit it.

5. Pelosi has bad timing.
Her speech yesterday was a brilliant explanation of how Reaganomics and now, Bushonomics failed the American people. But she should have given that speech everyday before yesterday and everyday after. The fact that Republican policies and ideology are to blame for our current disaster needs to be understood by all Americans. Pelosi should have made that clear by now and certainly should continue to hammer that point home in the months and even years to come. However, yesterday afternoon was not a good time to do it.

6. Democrats need to go it alone.
The Democrats should now start from scratch and write a plan that will get nearly unanimous Democrat support and not worry about the Conservatives, Bush or Paulson. When Conservatives in Congress walked away from responsibility yesterday because of harsh words and a blind allegiance to a failed economic theory, it became apparent that it's time to just leave them out of the process. Their input mostly favored the wealthy anyway so to Hell with them. They had their chance yesterday and could not muster the courage to do what was necessary. They blew their last chance to cooperate. The Democrats should now put together a bill on their own that reflect their values and those, increasingly, of the majority of their country.

Comment of the Day

Yeah. This about sums it up.

One of the rhetorical devices the GOP-prepped candidates (like Bush & McCain) like to use is talking about "blinking". They often say how a leader cannot blink in the face of a crisis, how they will not blink when confronting islamic terrorism, how we must not blink in the face of monumental challenges.

Well, now McCain and his entire campaign is blinking - blinking at the press, blinking at debates, blinking at the financial crisis. And it seems to me that on 9/11/01, President Bush did nothing but blink for seven minutes. After which he massively overreacted in one of the most memorable and devastating acts of cover-my-ass in American history, causing orders of magnitude more damage to America than Bin Laden could have dreamed of.

That should show everyone what these people are: bullshit artists who cower at the prospect of accountability and responsibility.

Sentence of the Day

"It's a manifestation of the contempt for knowledge, celebration of ignorance, and deification of greed that has come to define the modern conservative movement."

source

Lipstick on a Dick (Cheney that is)

Wow! All my worst fears are correct. Take 15 minutes to read it all.

The [New York] Times interviewed more than 60 Alaskans who've encountered the so-called Barracuda, the tales were not pretty.Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

Interviews show that Ms. Palin runs an administration that puts a premium on loyalty and secrecy. The governor and her top officials sometimes use personal e-mail accounts for state business; dozens of e-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.

There is so much more

Voter Supression - The Red American Way

If the Republicans can't win an election on the merits - they lie. When they can't win on the numbers - they change the rules. No wonder they HIDE behind the flag and bible. Otherwise this is what people would see they are doing. If you ever need to think of an example of the long term damage the conservative movement has done to our once thriving democracy, here's a nice example to cite. Sadly, it will be only 1 chapter in the fat history books of the future which explain the demise of the United States.

...White Republicans in some areas will keep eligible blacks from voting by requiring driver's licenses. Not only is this new-fangled discrimination constitutional, it's spreading. GOP proponents of the move say they are merely trying to reduce voter fraud. But while occasional efforts to stuff ballot boxes through phony absentee voting still surface, the incidence of individual vote fraud—voting when you aren't eligible—is virtually non-existent.

Distorting and Distracting Republicans are Dividing and Destroying America

So the Republican are succeeding in diverting voters attention away from the important issues of the day. You can't blame them - not only do they have no answers to make things better but their "dumbing down" strategy has worked over the past 30 years almost without fail. It's deja vu all over again in 2008. This year we are being asked to get all excited about Sarah Palin while ignoring the fact that she is the most unqualified, dishonest and unimpressive candidate to take the national stage in recent memory. Therefore, the McCain team wants to talk about lipstick and other idiotic topics. The press, of course, is more than happy to follow.

I no longer have patience for this type of crap. The American people really have a stark choice to make in this election. It is crystal clear that the GOP wants to distract and divide the nation even more than it is now so they can hold on to power. It's is also clear that Obama is trying to propose real solutions to our very real problems. If the American public, once again, gets distracted and votes for the superficial, then this nation will join hundreds of others in dissolving into the dustbin of history. As I mentioned before, many of us will not stop it from happening. With democracy comes responsibility on the part of the electorate. If the American public fails again to live up to this responsibility - then democracy will have failed - and so will have the great experiment called the United States of America.

I will continue to do my part to spread the word about the serious choice we face in November. However, I may not be posting as much about politics as you would expect. We'll see. If the debate turns serious again, I will welcome a real discussion on the issues. But if the media and the GOP continue to distract and divide, I will let them. After all, a country which rewards this stuff time and time and time again does not deserve to survive and is certainly not worthy of my time, energy or efforts.

Mainstream Media Manipulated Mightily

Perhaps the biggest lie the conservative movement has succeeded in getting away with is the lie of a "Liberal Media". No need to restate my many arguments disproving this. However I do have a couple more examples to add.

First of all, bowing to the pressure by FOXNews and their echo chamber, Keith Olberman has been removed from the anchor chair on MSNBC for their election coverage this political season. Seems FOX, talk radio and the GOP thought that he was not fair and balanced. So NBC dumped them. Again, the right wing makes others play by rules they regularly ignore.

Another case in point, the secretive Sarah Palin has finally agreed to face the media. Well, only sort of. She is talking with ABC News' Charlie Gibson, but only after he agreed to limit his questions to topics the McCain campaign approved of. Sarah is sooo special isn't she?

Palin: Not Ready, Willing or Able

Who is Sarah Palin? Well,that's none of your business!

We have a perfect stranger, 2 months away from being elected Vice President - 4 months away from being a 72 year old heart beat away from running this country. Amazingly, we have confirmation from McCain spokesmen that she is not ready for prime time. We know she is inexperienced, uneducated in world affairs and an extremists (funny how ignorance and extremism always go together). But now we find out that she will not answer questions from the media. Oh Sarahhhhhh, aren't you special.

Why is she dodging this most basic task of an open Democracy? Well I think it is because she is more Cheney-esque than anything else. I think she despises the media and "government in the sunshine" so, like Cheney, she will just ignore the media and do whatever she damn well feels like.

But lets give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that the McCain people are right. She is just "not ready" to face questions. Oh my F'ing God! So she is not ready to tell the public what she's all about, but will be ready to lead the world in a few months? No Way. No How. The GOP is trying to force a radical neophyte down our throats without giving the public time to learn what this person is all about.

The irony would be hilarious if it wasn't so serious. The Republicans tried to scare voters into thinking that Obama was young, inexperienced and risky. They mocked his "celebrity" and tried to say that his followers had a messiah complex. It was all BS of course but that's what they did. Yet they nominate someone younger, less experienced and much more risky and then praise her as the Messiah. Ladies and Gentleman .. "Conservatives" should not only be kept away from any positions of power but they should all be examined by psychologists. For them to hate (really, really hate) Obama for the very reasons they adore (really, really adore) Palin shows some serious mental problems on a massive scale. For them to now try to hide away this candidate to keep the rest of us from learning about her shallowness and extreme views is the height of disrespect and irresponsibility.

McCain tries to claim that he is a maverick. But sadly, it's the same old pattern of behavior from the Republican party: they do whatever they want, they force others to play by the rules they ignore and above all they are never, ever to be held accountable.

Country First my Ass!

Family Values: Preached not Practiced

Why do I say that the Conservative Movement, is now and has always been a fraud? Because the principles invoked by the leaders of the "Family Friendly" Republicans have never followed the rules themselves. Instead, they make sweet sounding appeals to REAL value centered people and smear Democrats as being against family values. All the while, they lead lives as sinful or even more so than your average American. (Limbaugh a drug addict, right wing preachers and politicians closet homosexuals, McCain affairs, etc. etc.) After a generation of conservative governing nothing has changed - abortions are up, and teen pregnancies by unwed mothers are still rampant - yet conservatives still claim to be the remedy of these social ills. Fool me .. what a hundred times!?! So-called conservatives scream and yell and point fingers, but in truth they are just fooling the most gullible and, in many cases, the most moral among us. That's why God has rejected the GOP. That's why the rest of us should too. Republicans cannot even control the sins of themselves or their families. Why in the world would we want them to try to control the morality of the rest of us?

Our Loyal Opposition Is Back

As I predicted, more and more of this sort of thing will be happening now that Democrats are beginning to be elected. It has happened every time Progressives start to make gains in American history - domestic terrorists from the right step in to violently oppose the wishes of the American people. It's what they do. It's who they are.

"CBS4 has now learned at least four people are under arrest in connection with a possible plot to kill Barack Obama at his Thursday night acceptance speech in Denver. All are being held on either drug or weapons charges. CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass reported one of the suspects told authorities they were 'going to shoot Obama from a high vantage point using a ... rifle ... sighted at 750 yards.' "Law enforcement sources tell Maass that one of the suspects "was directly asked if they had come to Denver to kill Obama. He responded in the affirmative."

John McCain: The Last American President?

AMERICA (hearts) HATEFUL LIARS!!!

Poll shows McCain in 5-point lead over Obama.

This country will surely get what it deserves in this election. If McCain wins through the smears and falsehoods he has now embraced, then he will be getting a country destined to decline into the dustbins of history. I know few people believe this right now but democracy can only work if people have faith in the system. For the past generation Republicans have had great success wining elections through spreading lies and fanning hatred. John McCain may well win this election in the same way, but it will be at great expense.

The difference this time is that Barack Obama has brought in a whole new generation of people into the process. These folks, mostly young, see right through this strategy and will either give up, rebel or revolt. No matter what they do, McCain would inherent a country divided into two camps: One no longer interesting in working to restore our once great nation and another so misinformed that they will (continue to be) sheep walking us over the same old cliff. It's a lose-lose proposition.

Also, unlike the present, I believe there will be very little interest by non Republicans in trying to change things. Why bother if American can't distinguish facts from fiction and choose hatred over unity? I predict a mentality of "If they want to ruin the country let them... Maybe we will pick up the pieces afterwards... or maybe we won't".

Yes, it does matter how you win. If John McCain succeeds by his current campaign strategy he would be a very lonely President with half the country no longer willing to work with people uninterested in serious debate. He would be a leader without followers. And then a leader without a country. John McCain would be The last American President.