The Poor Losers Of The Right
By Steve Hynd Monday Oct 13, 2008 4:30am
Pundits with conservative sympathies are starting to talk about the "L" word as they contemplate the utter collapse of Republican credibility and a probable scenario where Obama as President is backed by democratic majorities - even fillibuster-proof ones - in both Senate and House.
John McCain's campaign has already tacitly accepted the "landslide" scenario. It's latest tactic is to try to offer a McCain presidency to independents as a balance to Pelosi, something they wouldn't even contemplate if they thought that Republicans weren't going to take a major beating or if McCain had a chance of taking the White House under their own power.
They wouldn't be in such dire straits if the Bush Years hadn't been such a massive disaster in all ways both foreign and domestic, if McCain wasn't seen as just more of the same or if the GOP in general was seen as sensitive to the wants of voters rather than corporate giants and their lobbyists. It's their own damn fault and one of those generational adjustments that takes place whenever a polical party gets too used to idea of power (the permanent Republican majority), too incestuous with the big-money players (K Street Project revolving doors) or too hubristic about its ability to control the world around it (the neocon fantasy of "the end of history" and American hegemony). At some point in the future, it'll be the Democratic Party's turn again, although whether the GOP in its current form will still be around to witness that fall is beginning to be questioned too.
But hardline Republicans' reactions to their impending years in the wilderness are those of sullen and sore losers. They're turning to hate speech, false equivalences, myth-building to cover their own acts and myth-building to excuse their loss.
They're even setting up what Mark Steyn is already calling a "Cold Civil War". As my colleague Ron Beasley writes at Newshoggers:
the bile that will be heaped upon Obama after the election will make even the insanity of the Clinton years look tame in comparison ... the framing of it all being the fault of an illegitimate usurper who befriends terrorists and waves the white flag of surrender to America's enemies will likely find some powerful resonance. Scape-goating our problems always does, which is why we're entering such dangerous times, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Palin carrying the banner for all that insanity as she is now.
The GOP base loves her for it, and are already lining up to defend Palin from the consequences of her abusing power in Alaska, just as she'll be able to count on blaming McCain's "too honorable" campaign as the reason they lost. Get used to her. It's a safe bet you're looking at the future of the Republican Party.
Which is, by the by, why the Republican Party is going to become a whole lot smaller and perhaps even slip into the minor leagues, to be replaced by some new, saner center-right coalition with a new party name.
Still, I worry. The percentage of ultra-right diehards is likely to be enough to kick a few who are crazy enough to try make their long-promised insurrection or armed coup a possibility. Minority nutcases and to be labelled correctly as terrorists - but dangerous nonetheless.
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Just how bad is it? Majority Now Believes Business Wing of GOP More Likely to Cause Armageddon Than Evangelicals
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3787
Krugmann has won the nobel Prize Economy!
Take that Bush Neo-cons economy experts and geniuses!
when a liberal wins the Nobel, it's a "political statement."
When a conservative wins, it's based on merit.
That's neoconspeak reality. Sad.
There is no such thing as a "Nobel Prize in Economics"
There is however, a "Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics" given by the Swedish Central Bank I believe. Economics is not a real science, and the fact that they made up their own nobel prize speaks volumes about that specific community.
In any case, Kurgmann is an outstanding chap, so congratulations are in order I guess...
My sentiments exactly.
I guess I'm kind of a snob about the hard sciences. I dislike it when people confuse social science with science. I'm an atmospheric scientist, and trust me when I say there is a BIG difference between calculus-based physics and calculus-based economics.
Grats to Kurgmann, though. I'm really excited for him.
While I claim no extensive knowledge of economics, I do take exception to your claim that social sciences and 'hard' sciences are somehow removed from one another. As a student of archaeology, I can assure you that such studies are quite rigorous and require synthesizing information from a variety of scientific disciplines.
Or perhaps I am misreading your meaning. How do you define "social sciences?"
Social sciences are "sciences" which do not apply the scientific method in analysis of information. Their postulates cannot be proven or disproven. For example, sociology and economics are speculative because humans, unlike centrifugal forces, we'll say, cannot be accurately represented by mathematical equations.
Sometimes fields of academia can have both social science and hard science components.
Anthropology has both biological anthropology and cultural anthropology components.
Geography can be separated into physical geography and cultural geography.
I know this is a rather convoluted explanation, but is that any more clear?
but crush them. like a grape.
No, crush them like the cockroachs that they are.
I have to side with 'cockroaches' here. Crushed grapes risk turning into wine after some time.
Not fair to the cockroaches, however.
Cockroaches are some of the most adaptive species on earth. They really may outlive everything else. Let's hope that the republican party, as it stands right now, do not have this in common with cockroaches.
clearly you have not had cockroach wine
And just like cockroaches, they can survive up to seven days without their heads.
Speaking of radical buddies. Check out McCain's connections to David Ifshin.
David Ifshin traveled to North Vietnam with other anti-war radicals and it was then that he went on Radio Hanoi to denounce his own country's war effort.
As recently as two years ago, speaking at Columbia College, McCain affectionately and warmly recalled his relationship with David Ifshin saying:
"We worked together in an organization dedicated to promoting human rights in the country where he and I had once come for different reasons. I came to admire him for his generosity, his passion for his ideals, for the largeness of his heart, and I realized he had not been my enemy, but my countryman . . . my countryman ...and later my friend. His friendship honored me. We disagreed over much. Our politics were often opposed, and we argued those disagreements. But we worked together for our shared ideals."
McCain's words about David Ifshin were commendable and compassionate words for which he deserves credit and respect.
Ifshin, who had travelled to Hanoi [think Jane Fonda] to say words of support for the North Vietnamese--probably while McCain was still imprisoned in Hanoi--came back in later years to work for various Democratic campaigns. Those campaigns were then condemned for having someone with Ifshin's background working for them.
In that context--and at the time of Ifshin's final illness--McCain's words were generous and welcome for those who knew David Ifshin. Read John McCain's words again. They were spoken of an opponent. Would that he could speak like this again.
I used to like and respect *that* John McCain.
I don't recognize the John McCain currently running for president.
So what has republican spokespersons ann colter and michelle (gri)malkin been up to?
)O(
Where in the world
By Michelle Malkin • October 13, 2008 07:00 AM You can catch me on Fox and Friends this morning at around 8:10am-ish Eastern
Vomit. It's too early.
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That picture of an elephan't ass just screams, "Look out, we're gonna be dumped on!"
)O(
That pachyderm is gonna spend a long, long time in the woods...
Which begs the question, if a tree falls on the GOP elephant in the woods, is the elephant full of shit?
Today's 10 point lead according to the Washington Post is very encouraging. I love that Obama is pulling in more and more money because he may need it if something goes wrong in his camp or if McCain's does something right for a change.
But, it looks good.
It's wonderful. I'm especially happy about his 1/2 hour TV buys. Money like that makes this possible. I don't know what he's going to say (I can guess) -- but I know it has to be helpful.
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I don't know what to do with this... but I wish a blogger would give it some attention.
I spoke with someone who was a delegate for the GOP. We were talking about ACORN, and he said that some other Republicans were talking about voter registration drives.
One of them instructed the others: "When a left-wing organization is doing a voter registration drive.... go ahead and register! But put the wrong information." And then started laughing.
I expect that some of this stuff about ACORN might be the result of a concerted effort to discredit ACORN by filling out bogus registration forms and then reporting it.
Someone else could do more with it.
... after meddling with the past 2 elections the way they did.
The Republicans are in my ming a criminal organization now, the fact they have the brass balls to complain about voting irregularities after they being behind the disenfranchisement of millions... And they are laughing about it, they should be tried for treason these pieces of shit.
Classic. Let's hope someone does get on it. But as is usual with the GOP - even though (they were able?) to screw up Acorn's name and reputation -- the overall integrity of the group remains intact. They'll carry the scar - but they should be able to rise above it.
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There may be some problems with ACORN, but that is natural given the 100,000s of voters they are trying to register. In the end they are doing this country a service by getting people to vote that may have never voted before.
However, the Republicans have 30 million strong evangelical voters and their churchs' effort to support Republicans. I would not have a problem with this, but these church have tax-emempt status, so in a way all tax payers are paying for their efforts. These supposive churches need to be cut down to size by the tax authorities, as what many of them are doing is fraudulent and illegal. You cannot claim tax free status while undertaking political activities.
Say it isn't so, Joe!( LOL) Couldn't happen to a more deserved group of hypocritical, racist, criminal, ignorant and greedy pedophiles. FUCK em! Grind the filthy carcasses of this current Republican movement into the dust.
Re-thug-lics -- the party of immature, voraciously rapacious, despotic, doughy white, cowardly, angry, bigots, racists, perverts, xenophobes, pedophiles, murderers, war criminals, homophobes, misogynists, self-hating women, fetid wombs and consummate chronic liars.
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Make their tusks into billiard balls, their feet into wastebaskets, and distribute the meat amongst the poor.
I wouldn't assume that McCain is going to lie down and play dead just yet. There have been whisperings (ok, self-serving yelps from Bill Kristol) that the McCain campaign is going to try and somehow stake the moral high ground and absolve themselves of negative politics (I'm not joking). Claiming that McCain's attempts to calm the fervent neocon mobs at his campaign rallies, McCain will then claim that this "new strategy" is already working, as evident by a statisticaly insignificant uptick in some (but not all) of the tracking polls. More on this from Chris at AmericaBlog and .
In trying to implement this new "strategy" yesterday, McCain gave a quote that I'm really hoping the Obama campaign will pick up on (from the AP):
Now, one could argue that McCain is referring to his poll numbers coming back up and not the economy given the remainder of the sentence. But, if we are to accept this sentence at face value, then are we to believe that McCain thinks the economy has come back up in the last few days? Really?! On the heels of a 20% selloff week on the Dow? The Obama camp needs to get this quote in an ad. Now.
They're both delusional. This doesn't mean they aren't still dangerous. The NY Times needs to dump Kristol too. Maybe if the GOP is soundly trounced, they'll consider it.
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Sorry, I forgot to mention that Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight also discusses the new "strategy".
He made some awesome analogies linking a baseball game to the McCain campaign last week on the Colbert Report. I laughed quite a few times.
If you missed that episode, make sure you check it out.
And he's funny, too.
During the later years of Vietnam War, Mr. Ifshin traveled to Hanoi on numerous occasions and while there regularly broadcast radio messages to the American soldiers in the South that they were guilty of war crimes against the innocent people of North Vietnam. He proclaimed that the war was illegal and immoral. He was the Tokyo Rose or, as William Buckley commented, the Little Lord Haw Haw of the Vietnam War. He was also the host of the infamous Jane Fonda trip to North Vietnam. In short, Mr. Ifshin committed not acts of verbal offense or acts of protest at home, but acts that most who knew of them, considered treason.
To this day, many Vietnam Veterans cannot forgive nor forget the role David Ifshin played in their war. I was one Vietnam Vet that found his presence among the closest Clinton advisors to be sufficient grounds to work tirelessly, if unsuccessfully, for the reelection of President George H.W. Bush. Upon his death in 1996, none other than Senator John McCain eulogized David Ifshin on the Senate floor. Senator McCain found the grace in his own conscience to forgive the detestable acts committed by David Ifshin on his many trips to the enemy homeland during the Vietnam War. When McCain eulogized Ifshin, I was embarrassed to admit, I had not had the grace to forgive and to move beyond the Vietnam War and the ripping force it shot into the entire nation. If McCain could forgive, what issues could I possibly have? In his eulogy, he spoke on behalf of the better angels in all of us.
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=...
so what happened to that john mccain?
He simply wants to be president. He's another ignorant Frat-Brat who thinks he actually matters. His hubris and delusional self-importance are monumental. Money, Power, Control.
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We 1) shouldn't have been there to beginn with, 2) got our asses kicked, 3) committed horrible atrocities, and 4) deserved it.
Grow up...(and yep, I was there too)
Two wrongs don't make a right.
... are not the same. They are not in the same league... heck they are not even the same fucking sport.
Relativistic morality is always a bunch of bullshit, and it is sad that trolls like you have to go down to that low lever in the sewer treatment plant in order to get your attack points.
You guys are getting desperate... it is sad. Yet so encouraging...
Going on a North Vietnam radio station and preaching Anti American propaganda when American troops are bleeding and dieing is not even in the same league?
What turnip truck did you just roll in on?
When you bring up Ifshin, these righties go apeshit.
Must of struck a nerve.
Just because you disagree with someone's opinions/words, they don't stop being that: opinions and words.
Next...
Ipso facto, cum-bunnie...
Twp Huangs don't make a white!
The Republicans need to go away and reinvent themselves.. they no longer represent the interests and ideas of the majority of Americans. Their trickle down economic view does not work. Tax cuts have done absolutely nothing but threaten the economic well being of this country and no other country on the planet uses trickle down economics. Every day the U.S. loses its relative competitiveness. America needs responsible tax policy, not just tax cuts for the sake of tax cuts. Government is not the enemy. Government is the people.
Their neo-con foreign policy is a complete disaster. No other country on the planet, except maybe Russia, sees military power as the modern alternative to project power. Neo-con philosophy only isolates the U.S. and increases the hatred toward the U.S. This is a much flatter world now with the Internet and economic ties. No one country can hope to dominate with military power alone.
The Repubilicans view on the constitution is completely un-American and frankly un-conservative. Spying and arresting our own people without rights sounds more like the countries we rail against. We know there should be a balance to protect the country, but the Republicans have gone too far. The foreign threats win when we lose our liberties.
The Republicans not only have a bankrupt American and world view that is hurting this country, but they have lost their way on their own core conservative principals.
The Republicans need to go away for a good 10 years and reinvent themselves. Their increasingly shrinking tent that largely excludes woman, minorities and the middle class leaves them with a very small and narrow power base. They are a party in dire need of new leadership and new ideas. Palin might be their future, but at this time that does not appear to be a wise choice.
Given that the Constitution allows for a member of congress to be expelled by a 2/3 vote, it would not be unfeasible for a super majority of democrats to literally vote the Republicans out of existence.
I think this could be done, and I think it should be done. Furthermore I am more and more convinced that the US has reached a critical point in its history where we have to start thinking of having a new constitutional convention. We need a new constitution (or a series of amendments) to regulate political parties explicitly and to more clearly define the role of each branch of government.
In any case, those are my 2 cents. I could be wrong.
While I hate the Republicans as much as the next guy, I think that eliminating them from Congress would be a bad thing. Not because they'll do any good, but because the Democrats are already generally bad, they'll just get worse without any opposition. Now, if they could vote themselves out (and permanently bar themselves from politics) - now THAT would help a lot.
I'd be totally on board with that, if we knew that the remaining republicans were reasonable, rational people, rather than kneejerk-reactionary wingnuts proposing damaging legislation and supporting failed policy.
I also wish I trusted the democrats more than I do. They've failed us as well, when they had the chance to change a lot of things after the 2006 election. They failed to stand up to republication obstructionism, and refused to take the administration to task for its lawbreaking.
What a bum deal.
Phillip, well-said !
I've been saying this for a while, too. After the Repubs lose in Nov., they need to sit back, lick their wounds, and take steps to reinvent their party. Perhaps with a new name. I've been a proud lifelong Dem, but I recognize how the GOP was once a great party (recall that over a 100 years ago, they were anti-slavery and pro-woman's suffrage). Bu$h's & Cheney's merry band of neocons have completely corrupted the GOP (although they weren't the first. They were just the worst)! many, many, many Repubs and conservatives have left, seeing what has happened.
I totally agree....the current Repub party offers nothing anymore that appeals to normal Americans. Believe it or not, there ARE some "normal" Repubs out there. They're just lying low, and waiting for the madness to die off.
Meanwhile, let's enjoy Obama/ Biden '08 !
Read all about it!
The radical Republicans are going to get even more desperate these next three weeks.
two weeks ago (while actually inside the church of my youth, eulogizing my recently deceased sister at her memorial service) some punk-ass neo-fascist COWARD pulled my 'obama/biden' sticker off the back window of my car. can you believe that sh*t?
any coward rethug who feels like getting jiggy with ME (not my car) beware, i'll break the closest thing you thrust towards me whether it's your finger or your face. believe it, we 'libs' aren't all pushovers and there aren't nearly enough blackwater mercs to control the electorate if we go there.
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I know you didn't mean anything by it, but man do I hate seeing the words "punk" and "fascist" in the same sentence.
We punks are a generally friendly, non-violent, liberal people. Sure, we get rowdy when there's alcohol and great music flowing freely, and we'll throw down when necessary, but I can assure you less than .01% of all people who listen to punk music are conservative neo-fascists.
"If Adolph Hitler flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway."
-The Clash
We punks do get a bad name for no good reason.
(Even if I'm an aging one nowadays - but you should see the looks a burly middle-aged guy in a business suit, dark shades and cranked up Clash on his company-provided Mercedes's CD player gets!)
Regards, C
I live in a very conservative District. I have one neighbor who is a Democrat and we have noticed the Repug's are getting VERY edgy. We agreed NOT to put up any Obama signs. Won't change anything here and the signs can do more elsewhere. Also NOT worth the risk to poke the badgers.
I've been good-natured with them during the last eight years. They are being just hostile to me now. Will move when we retire.
To Seriously: Be watchful of your neighbors over the next few weeks. The diehard base of the GOP has become a cornered frightened ignorant animal. They are very likely to do something criminally stupid. Good luck to you and yours. Stay strong and prevail in this time of dislocation and doubt.
...contemplate the utter collapse of Republican credibility and a probable scenario where Obama as President is backed by democratic majorities - even fillibuster-proof ones - in both Senate and House.
A dream come true, even though Obama will muck it up by appointing some Republicans to his cabinet (big mistake!).
Any time a major political party has majorities everywhere, they screw up. They get cocky and full of themselves. Proof is the Rethuglicans and the Canadian Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney. Major victories mean they can do carte blanche for a few years. Sure you people want that?
You mean us stupid peoples?
I wouldn't call anyone stupid really. It just seems to me that there are a pile of Dem supporters that sound exactly like Rethuglican supporters and that scares the hell out of me. Replacing a government that did whatever it wanted to whenever it wanted to, with another, seems like a lost cause, doesn't it? Maybe it's just so much economic reality in the last few weeks for my brain to handle.
if they think this is all about power...then they will fall...and not in 4 years, but in 2...during the midterms
Oh how a minority upon reaching majority despises a minority
The GOP coffin is nailed firmly shut. The Democrats will have all the rope they need to hang themselves. Only then will we finally get a government that represents the majority of Americans. Shame on me for the cliches.
yes.
I for one am going to commit myself to holding my reps feet to the fire if they're screwing up. I emailed my rep over the bailout and they voted no. it passed and our savings are still down 40% just like everyone else. if they rebound and the bailout works as planned I'll say i was wrong, nothing wrong with that.
politics works a lot better when more people stay informed and involved.
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So.. guess that idea of the "Permanent Republican Majority" has gone the same way as "We'll be greeted as liberators" and "Deficits don't matter"?
Just like Rove's Grandpa though his beloved III Reich was going to last 1000 years.
"Don't get cocky, kid."
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I've been saying this for weeks. I'm very much afraid that Palin is not going away. She's pure essence of the current re-Thuglican party. She's too potentially valuable for them to simply jettison her as even a pathetic loser in this campaign.
How much legitimacy will she have? To those outside the very narrow and warped ideology of the party - none. But they clearly love her beyond all reason - and she's more at home on stage spouting their hate - with a smile and a wink - than a duck is in water.
I think she's dangerous and I'm not sure she'll be as easy to laugh into political obscurity as Dan Quayle - Kristol's OTHER monumental ideological failure - was.
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This election is far from over. There still needs to be a massive get out the vote campaign. Obama will not win if voter apathy takes over as it has in the past. Republicans and extremist right wingers can be counted on to vote. Those with the most to lose somehow find a way not to vote. We preached how important it was during Gore v Bush and although he garnered the most votes Gore still lost and I fear that hangover is still present. Kerry v Bush was a bad joke on those paying attention. With three weeks til the election we can not take our feet off of the pedal.
We're starting to sound like the rethugs of '94. There's still a lot of time. Remember, a Prevent Defense only prevents you from winning.
So you think the Republicans are going to want a political Civil War? I say BRING IT ON.
First battle ground: A new AG... and Rove and Cheney in handcuffs.
Second battle ground: An expanded Supreme Court with new judges to counter the political complexion of the existing judges.
Third battle ground: A Federal mandate for paper ballots.
Fourth battle ground: A simplified and JUST tax system.
I could go on...
A sure sign that the new government will be an actual representation of the people would be the arrests of high profile politicians right away. If this doesn't happen, then realism says it never will.
OK truth be told the Dems are almost as repugnant and corrupt as the Repugs. Our great political problem is ideological mental illness and having to demonize the pathetic bastards in the other party. 60% of voters are stark raving mad. 50% of those are right wingnuts and 50% are left wingnuts. So no matter what, there is always going to be 30% of all voters voting one extreme or the other. So that leaves 40% of those who have the illusion that there are really issues that impact the middle class. When the truth is that both parties are the complete pawns of competing corporation.
Obama wins the popular vote, but still loses. aaaargh.
My prediction:
Obama by 7 to 8% in the popular vote with a possible electoral landslide.
If the GOP loses big, look for Palin to slip out of the spotlight rather quickly. Don't think so? Remember she would represent a losing brand. The GOP will be desperately trying to reinvent itself. With luck, they will tell the Jesus freaks to go fuck themselves (but I won't be holding my breath).
I predict (in the event of an Obama victory) that on Nov 5 that a large part of the GOP will 'come clean' on the fact that they never really liked Palin (except perhaps initially) and squarely lay as much blame on her as possible.
about how the republicans did in 12 years, what it took the dems 40 years to do.
the dems controlled congress for 40 years, by building coalitions and also by bringing home the pork
then comes newt...who exposes the corruption of the speaker who (omg) was selling his crappy book to contributors, and skirting finance laws....oh for those days of the nickle and dimers
it is truly amazing to watch a party disintergrate in a matter of 14 short years...all because they had to get theirs as quickly as possible...and in doing so, may have very well destroyed the country that they alledgedly love
Sociopaths don't love anything. They're pure, and dangerous, opportunists.
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To me it's a sign that America has woken up and smelt the coffee of the Republican BS.
Geesh! And I thought that was McCain mooning the crowd!
Would that he would honor us with such a gaffe...
Hmmm...sounds like I need to give up drinking coffee.
)O(
That's an interesting idea. Yes Madam Speaker might be put off her game if she doesn't have a Republican ass to kiss. Gosh that's enough to make me me think about throwing Granpa a vote.......NOT.
We can get rid of Pelosi also.
Which is, by the by, why the Republican Party is going to become a whole lot smaller and perhaps even slip into the minor leagues, to be replaced by some new, saner center-right coalition with a new party name.
...the DLC.
The Bush-Krieg Theory is something even Pundits are having to recognize now. George Bush, during the primaries of 2000, used smear tactics against John McCain for which McCain launched personal attacks on George Bush - calling him an unethical, amoral, low-brow, "typical" politician. George Bush and the black baby meme destroyed McCain in 2000 and eliminated Johnny from the race.
Since McCain has boasted publicly about "supporting Bush 90% of the time", he's been intimately and inextricably tied to Bush at the hip - as well as being tied to the failed policies of this administration, not the least of which is our current economic meltdown. This is an impediment which is virtually impossible for McCain to get out from under.
Since McCain has nothing positive to spin on his side of the Bush/McCain ledger (everything from Iraq to being intricately involved in the deregulation which fertilized the ground for this economic crash and obvious outcome), all he can do is attack his opponent and, for all intents and purposes, become George Bush all over again.....yes, the George Bush who emasculated and decimated him in 2000.
To posit that McCain has been "defeated by George Bush again in 2008" is already a foregone conclusion and becoming more apparent with each new attack ad of his campaign. To confirm that americans are voting for a McCain/Bush campaign this year again is understatement. To presume that George Bush will again defeat McCain in this coming election is as obvious as one's nose on one's face. He's already done it.
With each new attack ad which is presented by the McCain campaign, the confirmation is becoming clearer and clearer that the same "integrity-less tactics" which the "old John McCain - the one who used to have self-respect and integrity" - railed nationally to abhore and detest -have now come to define this broken, old cipher of what was once our beloved war hero.
Each attack ad further erodes our image of John McCain. Does he really think that he has so little to offer the american people - a people who are so desperately in need of hope for our future that all he can do is attack his opponent? Is this pathetic shell of a man so out of synch with the middle class that he cannot empathize or feel their pain but, instead, continually takes the "low road" to add to that pain? It surely appears so and is confirmed every day of his disgusting campaign.
So, we must ask ourselves: what is left of John McCain at this point? We see a man who confuses the american people with "prisoners" in his public statements; we see a man so willing to tear down his opponent that he becomes a terrorist-enabler at his very rallies; we've viewed a powerless man unable to quell the very level of violence which he has been stirring at his rallies when he asks people to operate from their higher self - they boo him off the stage. How can this man be trusted to keep us ALL safe when he cannot even control or keep safe the people attending his rallies?
The answer to the question is obvious: George Bush has already beaten John McCain a second time - and he's beaten him to a pulp this time.
Nothing of the old John McCain is left any longer. His war hero status has been trumped by his own vile actions in public; his integrity has been besmerched by foul language and hate speech; his campaign is in tatters and the american people have been given a clear glimpse of how this man would govern. He's has failed us miserably by the selection of a now "ethically challenged" Vice Presidential candidate who we discover has ties toa right wing extremist secessionist group in Alaska with roots tied to Iran. This candidate's husband has violated Alaska law, with her help, and has spied illegally on state employees via their confidential personnel records AND was a card-carrying member of this radical extremist group through 2002, attending conventions with his wife. Her last convention address to the Secessionist Anti-US group was 2008 in which she commended them to "keep up the good work". This didn't occur when she was 8 years old, folks, it occurred a month or two ago! This is serious and frightening stuff following 8 long years of living under the Bush Reich.
George W. Bush Beats John McCain Twice - 2000 and 2008.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS NOTHING BUT RACISTS!
Yes, those 27 percenters are really showing their stupidity and lack of class. Showing their elephant's a$$ is an understatement. Fortunately, sophisticated, decent americans are not buying any of it; instead, they are repudiating these low-lifers all across the country as Dems sweep the local elections everywhere.
Dave,
I think you are right! The word tolerant is different for Repug's and Dems. The 27%'ers I know have deep-seated intolerance and feel seriously entitled to have the best life at the cost of others.
I hope Obama wins so I can just watch them get depressed.
If Obama wins, and if Bush actually steps down from office(I cannot imagine GWB going quietly, can you?)and Obama is sworn into office - I've got a bottle of forty-three year old Lonach whisky I'm looking forward to opening.
I have never been so anxious about an election before.
I'm coming over to your place on Inauguration Day.
I second that.
Paul Krugman has won the Nobel Prize for Economics. McGramps would do well to read some of Krugman's articles.
heheehehe Corn for my bung hole hehehhehehe
Last Friday afternoon, NPR brought in their political commentators, E.J. Dionne and David Brooks, to talk about the week. Recording is at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?..., but here's a quote from Brooks: "The era of global conservative free markets is over... The conservative era is over." I thought that was a pretty significant moment. The rhetoric in Brooks's NYT columns has modulated somewhat recently from its usual pro-conservative tone, but I haven't seen anything this direct there yet.
I think McCain had a chance to stake a claim to some legitimate economic policy territory that could have set him apart from Obama and helped rally his forces. Back when he "discontinued" his campaign and went to Washington to help Congress deal with the economic crisis, a group of Republican representatives refused to go along with the bailout. If McCain had appeared before them to champion the policy of "No bailout for Wall Street losers" to which the group was giving lip service, he might have found a solid, consistent message with which to deal with the emergency and distinguish himself from Obama on economic policy, and might have found solid support beyond his usual sycophantic base. But instead, he did the same thing Obama did and tried to say he led the way. He proceeded to wander aimlessly around the issue like he did on the stage at the last debate.
What's needed is the thorough education of these people as part of `the new deal`. Take away the mindlessness and you might get someone who can actually think about things.
The people who are manipulating this need to have their power taken away from them.
Nice likeness of Sarah Palin. Accurte. And to think how upset the wingnuts were with Newsweek's cover!
Wow. Faux News thought the Sarah Photo on Newsweek Mag was bad. Can't wait to hear what they have to say about her unretouched photo on Time!
"It's latest tactic is to try to offer a McCain presidency to independents as a balance to Pelosi...".
Hopefully, as part of a Democratic landslide, the Republican Nancy Pelosi will be soundly defeated. So, McCain can't depend on grasping at that straw.
That might be so. The bigger issue is whether it will stick or not. The bile they heaped on the Clintons, and Hillary in particular didn't keep her from coming within a hair's breadth of the nomination this year and possibly, the presidency.
Sliming Obama might be harder. I found Clinton to be a likable guy, but he always did have that 'slippery' quality to him. To me, at least, Obama is more likable, or more relevantly: less dislikable.
But with the Bush presidency in memory, and its record low approval ratings, it would almost take a conscious effort to do worse than Bush. And the more public support he'd have, the more Rush Limbaugh & Co end up on the fringe.
It doesn't matter what they say. What matters is whether anyone listens.
And speaking of which..
I think the fact that last week is now being seen as a 'rough week' for McCain all around, says a lot. Going in, I didn't think it was going to be a rough week for McCain. The Obama side didn't really make any major moves during the week.
They started off with the new Keating docu-ad. I didn't expect it to get much play, and it didn't. But I still thought Obama would have to play more defense than he did. In the end, it seems McCain/Palin got none of the advantage but all of the backlash from their smear attempts.
I think the old McCain was right, way back in January. People are tired of the smear politics.
Obama should commend McCain for his willingness to work across the aisle with Democrats, a quality that the country will need once Obama is in the Whitehouse and McCain is still in the Senate.
Why?
First, Obama already has noted that.
Second, I see absolutely no reason to stress the point when McCain is doing everything he can to distance himself from his party and the Bush administration. In particular in light that his voting record has tended towards voting with Bush and more in recent years.
Third, regardless of who wins the White House, the Senate Republicans will be needing the Democrats a lot more than vice versa.
Republican bloodbath.
I am sure the Democrats will win by a landslide, but can the ferverent supporters of mcInsaneintheMembrane and Sarah Baracuda really stand the thought of a Obama/Biden presidency, followed by an eight year Clinton return to the white house?
I hope they all have mental breakdowns, they're just a bunch of WHINERS!
Call us in eight years when America has returned to the road of peace and prosperity, without retardican rule.
What's the big deal? The problem with liberals is that we're not willing to strike back on the same level. We seem to feel that we have to remain above the fray from the psychopaths and lunatics of the far right. If anything, we should say "they're unpatriotic when they didn't support Clinton", they're anti-american when they go buy at walmart and don't support American jobs. They'll squirm and call us ridiculous but when they make the same arguments against us, we can say to them we were right about their hatred of America cause they're guilty too. We'll have the proof to laugh in their faces. And even though we already have that proof, conservatives are so dense, you need to do it in a systematic way in order for it to have any impact.
This should give the Republicans something to consider while re - inventing themselves.
George W. Bush’s unprecedented fiscal irresponsibility has led to record deficits and a record national debt. When President Bush took office in January, 2001 he inherited President Clinton’s budget surpluses. Those surpluses and a shrinking national debt are now but faded memories. George W. Bush ran on a platform of conservatism.
His administration has been dogged by numerous influence peddling scandals. The Jack Abramoff scandal is but one example. Bush’s entire presidency has been controlled by lobbyists.
Mr.Bush has waged an expensive (in both American lives and treasure) and needless war against Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Instead of focusing on the capture of Osama Bin Laden, Mr.Bush chose to invade a sovereign country and impose democracy on a people incapable and unwilling to accept that form of government. Once the United States no longer has a military presence in Iraq, Mr.Bush will have succeeded in transforming a secular government into a theocracy.
The “anything goes” cowboy mentality of George W. Bush’s administration has led to wanton deregulation of the financial sector of the economy. Coupled with his administration’s lack of enforcement of the remaining regulations has led to the collapse of this country’s and the world’s credit and banking systems. The effect of the collapse has yet to be felt on Main Street.
His administration proposed and Congress passed a nearly trillion dollar bailout of the failing financial institutions. The cost of this unprecedented giveaway will inflict an increased tax burden on future generations of Americans. This bailout emanated from the “leaders” of the political party that purports to be in favor of a position of less government intervention into the private sector.
The inaction of the Bush administration to prepare for and react to the tragedy that was hurricane Katrina will forever be remembered as one of our government’s biggest domestic failures. The President was too busy clearing Brush on his ranch to take a leadership position in the rescue and recovery efforts. The picture of him staring out of a window of Air Force 1 flying over the devastation in New Orleans will be a lasting testament to his detachment concerning domestic issues.
George W. Bush will be remembered as the president who was appointed by the conservative leaning Supreme Court in 2000 before the electoral process had run its proper course, and the allegations of voter intimidation and improper purging of the voter registration rolls in Florida had been duly investigated.
The presidency of George W. Bush will be treated by historians as a total failure on economic, domestic, and foreign issues. The one bright spot in his presidency is that ends in January, 2009. Pennsylvania’s James Buchanan may no longer be considered as the most inept and ineffective President of the United States.
GOP = Nero
Rome = American Empire
that's all folks
Someone should post Joe Scarborough's reaction to the Krugman win from his show this morning. He started by crying, "Andrea [Mitchell] just got terrible news." Andrea cuts in and says it was a legitimate email on her Blackberry from someone at the Times, informing her that Krugman won the Nobel. Joe and his sidekick then moan and lament that an American won the prize.
That face that an American won this year, with all the turmoil going on, should be a cause of celebration. Just because he spoke the truth about our system threatening to collapse two years ago is no reason to lament.
Who did Joe Scarborough think should have won? John McCain? Or the fake economic historian, Amity Shlaes, he had on the show an hour later, who argues in her new book that FDR's New Deal made the Great Depression worse. Worse!
Kruman has been dead-on accurate for 8 years (since the dot-com burst and Enron). This is excellent news, and it affirmation of his knowledge and the respect he earns from both sides of the election.
If Obama is our next president, he should hire Krugman as a consultant. Krugman loves Princetonaand will not leave. But we need his brain.
And let me repeat - an American won this year's Nobel in economics. That's not a small feat. We should be celebrating this. The Nobel is the Olympics for nerds.
It's going to get terribly ugly if Obama wins. It's ugly now. You will see white power come back like a new fad. It's already here,... there are message boards that have nazi glitter graphics with cutesy sayings like 'Later Hater!' sometimes with the twin 88's which stands for the double HH's for Heil Hitler.
My concern is that when Obama gets in, they will blame the disaster he couldn't possibly fix on him, & the right wing will come back in fascist levels in 2012.
This is one of the reasons why hearing & incarcerations need to start for war crimes ASAP. This government needs to be held accountable for 8 years of lawbreaking.
Its going to get real ugly, real soon, thats for sure. McCain supports have always been disillusioned, and they never accepted that Obama could actually win up until now.
This could go either way. My hope is that the current GOP falls completely flat and has to start actually being conservative again and start actually campaigning on issues. But the more likely scenario is that they'll start race-baiting again.
I think people will be more forgiving of Obama if he actually tries to fix problems rather than listening to the very distateful people who'll be advising him when he's president. I mean, I'm not voting for the guy, but Ill at least give him a chance.
libs need to get licensed to carry. seriously.
(the sound you hear is conservative heads exploding across the country; bullies don't do well when over-matched).
.
Check out the link below from BBC News. Funny it isn't in America yet, since Mr. Krugman is from America. Sheesh!
Anyway, Paul's economic comments are often heard on Rachel & Keiths shows, so if anyone needs validation on your economy, then Paul's must be pretty good as he just won the Nobel Prize for Economics!!!
Spread this baby around to all your Right-Wing friends.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7667190.stm
PAUL KRUGMAN for Minister Of Finance. I think a Nobel Prize winner should look good on a resume!
Which is, by the by, why the Republican Party is going to become a whole lot smaller and perhaps even slip into the minor leagues, to be replaced by some new, saner center-right coalition with a new party name.
I've been having similar thoughts the past couple of weeks.
...And don't let the door smack you in your ass on the way out.
A friend recently said. "I pray that Clemson looses to Wake Forest for the 'GREATER GOOD' of being able to get rid of their arrogant, pompus Coach Bowden". Last Thursday, Clemson University lost and today the Board of Directors fired Coach Bowden..."For the great good of the university!"
I'm a disgusted republican who plans to vote for Senator Obama: 1. He's the best man for the job under the circumstance. 2. I've lost confidence in the GOP leadership. 3. John McCain is not the maverick he once was and has caved to the Christian Right. 4. The Christian Right demanded McCain choose Palin or they would influence their member/followers to SIT out the election. 5. If Sarah Palin is the best the GOP has to offer we are in SERIOUS TROUBLE! 6 (and MOST IMPORTANT). A loss this time is for the "greater good" of the GOP, because it's the end of the Christian Rights control of our party.
There's a large group within the GOP who hope Obama goes into office
(and are voting for Obama silently) "FOR THE GREATER GOOD of the GOP" thereby taking the thunder and influence from the Chrisitan Right who demanded Palin's postion on the ticket. Then and only then, can the GOP get back to real issues and not the theological social agenda of the fanatical RIGHT. Otherwise, they're ready to move to another party and so am I.
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