Year: 2008

The Tide is Turning. Can Palin Survive?

Trish

Conservative columnist David Brooks is against Sarah Palin. Who can be for her?

Brooks picks up on themes surprisingly similar to those expressed recently by New Age leader Deepak Chopra. Chopra noted that Palin’s small-town values and ignorance of world affairs are a rejection of the global realities of this century. Brooks agrees that pride in ignorance is not necessarily a virtue.

The current owner of McCain’s soul shows no sign of letting him out of the deal

…in America, there has always been a separate, populist, strain. For those in this school, book knowledge is suspect but practical knowledge is respected. The city is corrupting and the universities are kindergartens for overeducated fools.

The elitists favor sophistication, but the common-sense folk favor simplicity. The elitists favor deliberation, but the populists favor instinct.

Look at the condescension and snobbery oozing from elite quarters, her backers say. Look at the endless string of vicious, one-sided attacks in the news media. This is what elites produce. This is why regular people need to take control….

And then Brooks says something I never thought possible.

[…]

Now McCain Is Lying about the Meaning of the Statement, ‘the Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong’

Jon Ponder

Phil Gramm (left), McCain’s treasury-secretary-in-waiting, the man who ramrodded the deregulation into law in the 1990s that is at the root of today’s economic meltdown, blamed the crisis on Americans, whom he called a “nation of whiners”

At a certain point, politicians who lie persistently will lose their credibility with voters. What’s tragic in the United States these days is that — unless the lie is about sex — politicians can prevaricate, dissemble and tell blatant falsehoods for years without suffering blowback. The American people didn’t wise up to George Bush, a lifelong, sociopathic liar, for example, until after he’d been reelected.
McCain has used the Bushism, “the fundamentals of the economy are strong,” no less than 16 times since the beginning of the year.
The odds are against it, but let’s hope it takes less than five weeks, not five years, for the public to wise up about John McCain.

Yesterday, within hours after dismissing the meltdown on Wall Street by saying the fundamentals of the economy were strong, McCain lied about the meaning of what he’d meant by “fundamentals.”

Here is his original statement about the meltdown, which is a regurg of Bush’s standard talking point on the economy:

“Our economy, I believe, still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but these are very, very difficult times, so I promise you: We will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street,” McCain said.

He added: “The McCain-Palin administration will replace an outdated, patchwork quilt of regulatory oversight and bring transparency and accountability to Wall Street. We will have transparency and accountability and we will reform the regulatory bodies of government.”

Note that there is not a word or phrase in his statement that refers even indirectly to American workers. Nonetheless, after a barrage of criticism, McCain came out a few hours later with a totally fabricated formulation in which he implied that he was referring to workers when he said the fundamentals of the economy were strong:

[…]

Palin Admitted Smoking Pot

Jon Ponder

Not only was Sarah Palin, the darling of “values voters,” the mayor of the meth capitol of Alaska, during the 2006 governor’s race, she admitted that she has smoked pot:

Palin doesn’t support legalizing marijuana, worrying about the message it would send to her four kids. But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority.

Palin said she has smoked marijuana — remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law — but says she didn’t like it and doesn’t smoke it now.

“I can’t claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled.”

Clinton claimed he ate marijuana brownies in college.

Hunting Moose Is About As Much Sport As Shooting Cows

Jon Ponder

Palin and her kill

Sarah Palin’s favorite food is reported to be moose stew, but one of the allegations against her ex-brother-in-law, the state trooper, is that he killed a moose without a license. Some sources say that, at the time, Palin was not so outraged over this illegal act. Reportedly, she helped eat the illegal moose.

Update: I’m informed in the comments that this poor moose-like animal is actually a caribou, which is a North American reindeer. Now we know where Palin stands on the War on Xmas.

We didn’t have caribou or moose in the Blue Ridge of the Great Smokeys where I grew up. Full disclosure, however, there was an Elks Club.

Ht Roz

Ask Dr. Democrat: Why Do People Believe McCain’s Lies?

Dr. Democrat

Dear Dr. Democrat:

I don’t know how thinking people can go along with the lies McCain is spitting out — Weather Underground, black liberation theology, etc. The extent of the unrecognized racism in this country (all 50 states), and how easy it is to tap, and how easy it is to manipulate people with it, is depressing. How can people accept McCain and Palin at face value when it’s impossible not to notice their flaws? How can Hillary-ites say they’ll just stay home rather than vote for Obama?

Mystified in Micanopy

Dear Mystified:

They’re carpet bombing Obama with lies in order to a) keep him and the media distracted as they scurry around refuting lie after lie, and b) shredding Obama’s biggest asset, his charisma. Carpet bombing with lies is how Swiftboating works. John Kerry decided not to engage in the scurrying around, and it lost him the election. It’s also what Rove did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000. It always works.
doctordemocratsmall5.jpg
Republicans have gamed our imperfect system. They have thoroughly discredited the media (often with the media’s help), so that when the MSM debunks one of their lies, GOP voters discount it out of hand. They also carefully craft the lies so that they’re not easily disproven, a la “I never had sex with that woman.”

A currrent McCain-Palin lie is, “Obama requested $1 billion in earmarks this year.” This year, he requested $0. In the four years he’s been in the Senate he has requested about $1 billion, but unlike the other senators he made his request amounts public. Oh, and Palin has requested $495 million in earmarks in her 21 months as governor. None of this really matters on the political stage, however, because the average voter starts snoring after the “B” in billion.

Even the best strategy that doesn’t involve lying and skullduggery has little chance against the dirty politics being played by McCain and Palin.

The best news I saw last week was that Obama had lunch with Bill Clinton. With all his faults and recent missteps, Clinton is better at political strategy than Rove. But even the best strategy that doesn’t involve lying and skullduggery has little chance against the dirty politics being played by McCain and Palin.

The only way to win is to play offense on their sleazy turf — as I like to say, to cram the truth down their throats. Republicans absorb minor defeats. They don’t care if they get caught lying by the MSM or the Dems because they have created an alternative reality among their followers in which their accusers — the Dems and the MSM — have no crediblity. Obama has proved that he can nail them, but what needs to be done is a total annihilation, something that leaves McCain totally discredited.

I don’t know what that is — maybe a zinger a la “You’re no Jack Kennedy” in the debates. Otherwise, this is, as it always has been, John McCain’s contest to lose. The best we can hope for today is that Obama can take all the states Kerry took plus Ohio. That is possible, mainly because the GOP in Ohio is in disarray from scandal, but even there, those scandals are now two years old and fading in voters’ memories.

[…]

Enthusiasm Vacuum: Jeb, Crist, Martinez Together Can’t Pull a Crowd for McCain

Trish

Despite the presence of every big name in Republican Florida politics, the kick-off this morning in Jacksonville of a four-city Florida tour by John McCain was poorly attended.

All weekend, those of us who live in Northeast Florida heard announcements on radio and T.V. that the rally set for Monday morning had been moved from its original smaller venue to a much larger one to accommodate the anticipated throngs. Whoo-hoo, we Democrats said, disconsolately. But it turns out the only unexpected crowds were from the Obama camp.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain held his first rally without running mate Sarah Palin today, and let’s just say there were seats available

By 8 a.m., prominent Florida Republicans including Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, current Gov. Charlie Crist, former Govs. Jeb Bush and Bob Martinez, and Sen. Mel Martinez began revving up the crowd inside Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

“American Idol” finalist Phil Stacey sang the national anthem, then Arizona senator was introduced by his wife, Cindy.

Sounds like a can’t miss crowd pleaser, right? Not according to the Washington Post.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain held his first rally without running mate Sarah Palin today, and let’s just say there were seats available.

The McCain “Road to Victory” rally was originally scheduled to be a pancake breakfast, but the campaign said there was such an outpouring of enthusiasm the event was shifted to the 15,000-seat Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

The may not have been the best idea: There were almost no supporters in any of the cavernous arena’s 24 upper-level seating sections, and only eight of the 21 sections downstairs held fans. Only four of those were filled, though some supporters crowded around the stage on the arena floor.

McCain and wife Cindy made a point of thanking supporters for coming out on “a Monday morning” for the 9 a.m. rally.

Yeah, that was probably why more fans didn’t appear. It was Monday morning. But as pressed for time as everyone was, McCain still managed to work in a reference to having been a prisoner of war.

McCain quickly connected with his audience, saying he has a special connection to northeast Florida, recalling that he was stationed at Cecil Field when he was deployed to Vietnam.

“In the years that I was away in prison, the people of Orange Park, Fla., took care of my wife and family,” McCain said. “The people of Jacksonville opened their hearts to my family, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Of course, when he says his “wife and family,” McCain is referring to his first wife and their children together before McCain unceremoniously dumped them all for the much younger and richer and blonder Cindy Hensley.

The event did draw some people with real enthusiasm though. It’s just that they were on the Obama side.

…supporters of democratic opponent Barack Obama also showed up for the rally. Just across the street, waving signs, Obama supporters like Minerva Fare said they’re hoping to pull in some of the undecided voters.

“Obama is the man, he has a plan to get us back where we need to be,” said Fare. “A lot of people are teeter tottering. And some don’t support McCain. They are just supporting him to be part of the party.”

Start that party without me.

McCain’s Cousin Explains Why He Won’t Vote for Him

Trish

The St. Petersburg Times is running an open letter from John McCain’s cousin, who lives in Tallahassee. In “Cousin John, Where Did You Go? ” Adam Vaulx Boles first explains his history and relationship with McCain, and his family’s pride at their famous member’s accomplishments.

Then pride turns to shame.

Clearly, a lot can change in eight years. Our nation has gone from a time of unparalleled prosperity and peace to one marked by debt in the trillions of dollars, record foreclosures, and a global reputation for warmongering and neo-imperialism.

“America’s working families no longer recognize you, John McCain, nor does your own.”

So, where is the straight-talking, commonsense John McCain of 2000? I’m afraid he is long gone, replaced by a desperate version of himself who seems to contradict nearly everything he once stood for.

What becomes apparent in his ideological about-face is just how out of touch McCain really is with America’s working families.

In a time when the country is facing the worst housing crisis in the memory of most Americans, McCain couldn’t even recall how many homes he owns. When asked how many homes my side of the family owns, I can answer you pretty quickly. Zero.

Just like so many working families in this country, we were nearly ruined by the ongoing mortgage and foreclosure crisis. Our family home of three generations was sold at auction last year. The story is a familiar one: We were suckered into a refinance deal during the real estate boom, and when times got tough, the near criminally deregulated mortgage companies changed the rules on us.

What was John McCain’s response to this? He lumped together all the families who fell victim to the smarmy sales pitches from subprime lenders, calling us “irresponsible,” a move the New York Times described as “mean-spirited and economically naive.”

[…]

After Palin Pick, We Must See McCain’s Medical Records

Trish

We were concerned about John McCain’s age and health even before he chose someone with no objective qualifications as his running mate. We are even more concerned now.

But after watching these two docs explain the situation so eloquently, I am beyond concerned.

The best way around the looming McCain/Palin fiasco is simple: Let’s just elect Barack Obama, and let McCain convalesce in one of his many houses in Arizona and big fish Palin crawl back into her tiny little pond.

Karl Rove Says McCain Ads Go Too Far

Trish

The world must have turned on its axis. Cats must be barking and dogs meowing. How far do you have to go for Karl Rove to say you went too far?

Rove has leveled similar criticism against Obama.

Rove: “There ought to be an adult who says, ‘Do we really need to go that far in this ad?'”

“McCain has gone in some of his ads — similarly gone one step too far,” he told Fox News, “and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the ‘100 percent truth’ test.”

“They ought to — there ought to be an adult who says, ‘Do we really need to go that far in this ad? Don’t we make our point and won’t we get broader acceptance and deny the opposition an opportunity to attack us if we don’t include that one little last tweak in the ad?'” he said.

Of course, saying Obama voted to teach sex education to children before they were old enough to read is way beyond the “tweaking” category. And Rove makes it sound as if Obama “similarly” smeared McCain. In fact, he hasn’t.

But no one seems willing to use the L-word any more.

So allow me: McCain is lying. Sarah Palin is lying. People who lie are liars. McCain and Palin are liars. They have no truth to offer. Is that plain enough?