This week Congress started the 'marking up' session on the Health Care and Insurance Reform. It is crucial we keep the pressure on them pass the bill.
The Daily Kos has an excellent article about the amendments we should push to support, and those we should push against.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/21/10112/5602
Barack Obama has not been on the national scene as long as John McCain, but people who know him well attest to his judgment, compassion, and ability to make decisions and advance programs that address the needs and goals all Americans. He has demonstrated this in his work in the Senate, campaign, proposals, two books, and travels around the world. Obama exhibits his calm, deliberate nature in everything he does. His ideas are comprehensive and address near- and long-term challenges. There is a good chance that what would be a surprise to McCain would not be a surprise to Obama. For example, it was easier for Obama to handle the financial crisis because he’d been aware of the problems on Wall Street and Main Street for some time and did not have to change his stance on regulation. Obama has gathered around him a world-class group of advisors. The Obama/Biden administration will handle the mess inherited from the Bush administration and any new crisis that occurs.
The Republicans claim Americans must vote Republican to keep America safe. But I disagree. Barack Obama understands the complex nature of the world. One of his first acts of legislation addressed proliferation of nuclear materials. His energy plans address the substantial security risks if we continue at the present levels of demand for oil: we are contributing to the income of nations that fund Islamic fundamentalism. He knows the war in Iraq hurts the ability of our military to fight in Afghanistan and elsewhere. He will devote effort to the peace process in the Mideast. His strategy concerning Russia includes helping to decrease the dependence of its neighbors on Russian energy, addressing tensions before they escalate into military confrontations, and engaging with the Russian government and Russian people.
All of Obama’s plans are comprehensive and based on an understanding of history as well as the current facts on the ground. We cannot be a strong nation militarily if we don't attend to rebuilding our bridges and roads and improving education for everyone.
There is no massive voter fraud. But there is a move for voter suppression.
The McCain/Palin campaign is claiming widespread voter fraud, but there is no evidence. The voter registration efforts of ACORN and other groups aren't perfect, but their problems are caught. Mickey Mouse will not be voting. Claiming voter fraud is a long-standing tactic of the Republicans, but it remains without proof.
In contrast, investigation does show that Republicans work hard to suppress turnout by making it difficult for new voters and others to cast a ballot.
There are many reasons to vote for Barack Obama: his comprehensive, detailed proposals; his attention to the needs of ordinary Americans; and the fact that many people, including long-time friends of John McCain, such as Colin Powell, believe Obama has superior judgment and temperament.
Here is another reason: do you want to vote for the side that is encouraging more people to register and vote, or are you on the side that wants to limit voting?
Tonight, Wednesday, October 15, is the last chance to donate or write a short "why I want to win the quilt".
The drawing will take place Tuesday, October 21, in Tucson, AZ. (A member of the Obama campaign will be on hand!) Quilters from across America got together early in July to create this incredible king-sized quilt to raise funds for the campaign. Right now, we are just $1,560 away from our goal of $15,000. The quilters have themselves taken on all of the costs involved in making this one-of-a-kind work of art.Go tohttp://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/maingroup/QUILTERSFOROBAMAfor details.
we're winning this thing, guys... this is increasingly clear -
and we could jump the gun and start acting like gracious winners...
sarah palin is no threat to us or what we hope to do for America -
and to waste these FABULOUS 4 weeks in any negativity - when we can be connecting with our fellow americans who ARE aligned with us or who want to believe but are having trouble making the leap...
if it were the last day of your life, would you spend/waste even a nanosecond of that 24 hours even thinking of sarah palin? nada... if it isn't worthy of our last hours, it isn't worthy of any of our hours that always COULD BE our last...
better to focus on what we CAN do - new innovative, ingenious ways to bring our country back from the brink...
forging bonds with each other in a Kinder Gentler country...
i am sickened by what i've seen of both mccain and palin but i prefer to spend my time reaching out to my fellow americans and trying to think of What We Can Do, what we can reasonably do...
and i must say that watching her little girl piper licking her hand to smooth down the hair of her baby brother as palin was delivering her convention speech... and then last friday seeing that little girl carrying that baby off the stage -
i can't hate or mistreat the woman who gave birth to these children...even if/when she is hateful and mistreating to us...
i read afterward that 90% of down syndrome babies are aborted after the amniocentesis test... i don't know if i could have or would have done what i think is The Right Thing and "gone through with it", having a choice Not To... but i admire her for it and was touched beyond words by the sweetness between her 2 youngest children...
forgive them because they know not how awful what they are doing is -
and, please, let's not waste a minute of this great 4 weeks - a time that, at 56, i canNOT believe i have lived to see - the amazing grace of the obamas and the powerful experience of community they have jumpstarted for us -
let's LOVE this next wonderful month...
and brace ourselves for the blowback/payback on november 5th - because a LOT of repubs aregoing to be riproaring mad and burned up... we are gonna pay for the win -
but til then? it's all good -
fired UP!
if we could start planting some yard signs -
"FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE REPUBLICANS"
in the yards already sporting obama signs on busy, heavily trafficked streets...
i've been talking to americans on the ground in NH and SC and NC and VA and OH -
and i see a crying need for us to reach out to a lot of our fellow americans, esp the salvageable repubs...
if we can demonstrate a warm affection, a sense of humor... that'd go a long way to defusing the eruption and blowback/payback i see coming on november 5th... and that i have experienced a little with my obama bumperstickers and buttons...
google Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Republican" - there's a yard sign for $20, bumperstickers...
i joke with repubs that we're gonna have to tie them up to a chair on election day and let the air out of their tires -we gotta do what we gotta do - and it'll be fine, they'll see... it usually brings a sweet smile [NEVER A VOTE!] and that's a start...
if we could be gracious winners... and start the hard work of truth and reconciliation now...
barack and michelle have done their part - they coulda torn their opponents and critics a new asshole 1000 times and instead they have kept their peace...
we need to try hard to bring our repub americans around... we want to be inclusive and part of the One Nation under God that barack has called us to?
$20... if you go up to the door of anyone who has planted a yardsign - and ask them if they'd be willing to add this,another one... if they can spot the $20 cost or not...
like johnny appleseed - planting a warm communalism???
Election Day is just 33 days away. That's not a lot of time. And you live near a crucial general election battleground state -- Pennsylvania. Polls show a very close race in Pennsylvania, and this weekend is the last chance to register voters. We have a real chance to win this state. But it's going to take all of us working together. That's why this weekend, we're organizing teams of supporters from neighboring states to come to Pennsylvania for our Drive for Change weekend canvass. Sign up to Drive for Change to Pennsylvania and help Barack and Joe Biden. <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b423/814360994/VEsE/> Each and every vote in Pennsylvania is absolutely crucial to victory on Election Day. In 2004, John Kerry won the commonwealth by only 2.5% of voters. We need to step up our efforts in Pennsylvania, but we need your help. Pennsylvanians who are undecided need to hear Barack's message, and we are depending on your help talking to them about the real choice in this election. Join us for the Drive for Change and help make a big difference in Pennsylvania: http://my.barackobama.com/PABorder <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b423/814360994/VEsF/> No prior experience is required. Staff will provide you with everything you need. We can't do this without you. Thanks, Paulette Paulette Aniskoff Field Director Pennsylvania Campaign for Change P.S. -- If you can't travel to Pennsylvania this weekend, you can still make an impact in your own state. Turn your enthusiasm into action and sign up to volunteer today: http://my.barackobama.com/volunteer <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b422/814360994/VEsC/> <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b45d/814360994/VEsD/> Want to make a difference at home? Visit your state homepage <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b45c/814360994/VEsA/> to find out the different ways to get involved.
<http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b45d/814360994/VEsD/> Want to make a difference at home? Visit your state homepage <http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c135be/504e97ab/6880d6f2/1188b45c/814360994/VEsA/> to find out the different ways to get involved.
Volunteers: Our Heroes and Heroines
A Report on the Massive Voter Registration Blitz in Peekskill
It was a brilliant day in every sense of the word. The azure sky was dotted with large puffy clouds high in the sky. The air was cool. The sun was warm. A perfect fall day for a voter registration drive. The volunteers were brilliant. They came fresh faced and unbelievably enthusiastic to make this day mean something in the history of the most important election in many of our lifetimes. Most had found the call to action on the Obama website announcing events. In all, an extraordinary 80 people signed up and 60 turned up—an extraordinary percentage. We registered 171 people, 98 Democrats, 15 Republicans and 58 for other parties.
The first wave of 12 volunteers arrived promptly at 9AM to wo-man stations at highly—trafficked local supermarkets, eateries and public places around the city. They were quickly trained, given maps to get there, supplied with tables and chairs, Register to Vote signs, voter registration forms in English and Spanish, absentee ballot applications, cards printed up with the Board of Elections phone number and website to allow voters to find polling places and check on registration and even some bunting to decorate the table. For the most part the tables were non-partisan, though where permitted, we did display Barack Obama and John Hall for Congress signs.
The next wave of 25 turned up at 9:30 to hit the streets and go door-to-door. They were also quickly trained (a pattern that took place in waves throughout the day), given similar packets and walking maps of targeted districts that had a history of Democratic voting patterns. Some were already well-seasoned canvassers and some neophytes. Some came with friends. Some came alone. They went out in pairs or triplets, making everyone feel comfortable. Each person came back exhilarated from talking with people, nudging voters to open their minds and think about the issues and the need for change. Community amongst the volunteers was palpable.
Peekskill is a very diverse and often hilly city with neighborhoods that range from upper middle and working class to subsidized housing. Most volunteers came back with 2-6 registration forms, but they had left off thousands with instructions to send the forms into the Board of Elections or the Field Library in the center of town. We learned that this follow up has massive impact. Bohlman Towers is a subsidized housing project where voter suppression existed for years. During the last drive, on July 26th, few people were home and few were registered. We left hundreds of forms at doorsteps. This time, our volunteers learned that most people there are now registered either because of the forms left behind or because of their availability at the Field Library up the block.
Another crew arrived at noon to relieve those who had wo-manned the stations in the morning. Some stayed till 3:00 PM, others till 6:00 PM. And yet another exuberant group, including 4 members of the national African-American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Westchester Alumni chapter came from 3:00-6:00PM. I want to thank all of our brilliant volunteers.
A very special thanks go out to our brilliant co-organizers and hosts, Marybeth McGowan and Leslie Masson, who generously made their home available as a staging area, helped with the organization and compiling of the packets, grilled burgers and hot-dogs throughout the day for hungry volunteers, and who loaned me their strength and moral support.
Special thanks go to Jeremy Mand, Regional Organizer for Westchester in the John Hall for Congress campaign, for his untiring help with everything. The way he floated between the stations and the canvassers re-supplying people with voter registration forms, etc., while keeping spirits up, was invaluable.
Special thanks go, also, to Darren Rigger, Chair of the Democratic City Committee for helping me with defining priority districts and housing complexes.
Thanks to everyone, we canvassed every single priority district. We left behind hundreds of voter registration forms with instructions regarding where to send them. What we did on Saturday will be only the tip of the iceberg after this trail of forms comes into the Board of Elections. Thanks also to the people who leafleted the town on Friday.
Special thanks go to our community merchant partners who made such a difference: Royal J Diner, C-Town, Peekskill Coffee House, Stop & Shop, A & P and to the City Clerk who gave us permission to be across from the Farmer’s Market and in front of the Field Library.
Since the primaries, when the Peekskill Democratic City Committee started to register people in earnest, and since the massive voter registration drives of July 26th and September 20th, we have registered over 500 people and still counting. Voter registration forms can still be found at the Field Library on Nelson Avenue and at C-Town.
With much gratitude and love to you all,
Carole Gersten
AP reports that McCain will attend tonight's debate. Hope to see you all tonight in Rosendale!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpgkjc
Join us at 7pm Fri., Sep. 26th for an exclusive showing of "Full Battle Rattle", a film about life inside the US Army's Iraq simulation in California's Mojave Desert. A Q&A session with award-winning director Tony Gerber and Presidential Debate Watch Party will follow. The Debate Watch will be across the street at the Bywater Bistro, 419 Main St, 9pm. Please bring items for care packages for soldiers that we will be assembling for shipment to our servicemembers in Iraq. $20 admission. Hosted by Hudson Valley for Obama and the Marbletown Democratic Committee. For more info, call 687-7374 or email smgnyc@yahoo.com. Suggested Care Package contents: a personalized message of support from the you, an AT&T prepaid international phone card, snacks/candy, playing cards, reading material, shampoo/conditioner, tooth paste/tooth brush, sunscreen, hand sanitizer
Beth
John McCain thinks there are no real problems with health care in this country since people always can go to a hospital emergency room. He says “Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.” Several years ago, he argued for better oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but for most of his career, and since he was nominated, he has said he always is in favor of less regulation. Many on his staff are lobbyists for the financial sector and Phil Gramm, author of the critical deregulation laws, is his main economic advisor. Now, in the midst of delicate negotiations involving the country's financial institutions, he calls for the firing of the chair of the SEC, even though that would not serve to calm the markets and is not possible under current rules. John McCain does not think through the implications of his words. He describes his decision making process: "I made them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can. Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint."
Barack Obama remembers his mother struggling with medical costs and during his career, he has listened to the sad stories of other people. He believes we can do better. He would work to broaden access to health insurance and lower costs by measures such as allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies as now done by the Veterans Administration. He does not propose following the model of the banking industry! In fact, Barack Obama has been warning about the problems in the financial sector for some time. He recognizes the real human pain of home foreclosures. His plans make connections between issues and situations and policies. For example, he would provide funds to state governments so that, even with the downturn in revenue from local taxes, critical infrastructure such as bridges could be maintained, ensuring the public safety and generating jobs. His detailed proposals for promoting economic growth are available on the web site www.barackobama.com. His advisors and supporters include investors such as Warren Buffett; past office holders appointed by Republicans as well as Democrats (Paul O'Neill, Larry Summers, Paul Voelcker and others) and respected academics, a group Alan Blinder, past vice chairman of the Federal Reserve and Obama advisor, calls "mainstream with a dash of creativity." Barack Obama has the judgment, experience, and temperament to be the leader for these very challenging times.
FIRED UP! READY TO GO!!!
For those ready to take action and be deployed to a battleground state for five weeks, or alternatively those who are interested in committing to travel to Pennsylvania at least four weekends between now and November 4th, there is a special training session this weekend right here in the Hudson Valley. It will be held in Suffern, NY which is only about forty five minutes away. If you are interested in doing everything you can for the campaign and making a serious commitment, here is your chance to really take part in the Obama campaign as an Obama field organizer. Please email Moira Kelley ( mkelley@barackobama.com ) as soon as possible to let her know that you can attend. The training is Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm at the Indian Rock Shopping Center located at 128 Route 59, Suffern, NY 10901. Her original email with more details is below.http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Suffern&state=NY&address=128+Route+59The NY Field team will be conducting Camp Obama Hudson Valley (Rockland County) trainings this weekend. As part of our Camp Obama training, we place time in our schedule to get a phone call from a regional field director/field organizer in PA to do a live conference call with our campers on site to walk through a "day-in-the-life" of an Obama field organizer in a battleground state. The location is below:Indian Rock Shopping Center128 Route 59Suffern NY 10901www.loopnet.com/property/15007741/1-28-Route-59/ <http://www.loopnet.com/property/15007741/1-28-Route-59/> Saturday and Sunday from 9am – 3/4pm.Breakfast will be provided both mornings.Please send anyone interested in attending this event to my email address. We are looking first and foremost for those ready to be deployed for five weeks to a battleground state, preferably Pennsylvania. We will also take those who are ready to go out for four weekends. If you are not sure about someone's eligibility definitely just pass them on to me and I will handle.Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and immeasurable efforts!
For the last few days, there has been light rain, generally during the night, in my town of Mt. Kisco. It has had little effect on our lives and I did not even bother with an umbrella when I've gone out. Down in Houston and Galveston, there have been hurricanes, with considerable damage to homes, roads, buildings and infrastructure, the total cost is still unknown, and millions are without power. It is, then, technically correct to say: "Precipitation has occurred in Mt. Kisco and in Houston." However, the statement is highly misleading.
A similar situation has occurred regarding the presidential race. The terms aggressive, low, deceptive, over-stating the facts, and lying have been applied to both campaigns. This is wrong. One can attempt to make the case that the Obama campaign is guilty of exaggeration when they point that McCain said he was a computer illiterate, that he put the level to be considered rich at $5,000,000, that he doesn't understand economics, or that he didn't know how many houses he had. McCain actually made these statements, just as he used the lipstick on a pig saying, but perhaps we weren't to take them seriously. Sarah Palin has said she said "Thanks but no thanks to the bridge to nowhere". The truth is that after making campaign promises to build the bridge, she dropping support of the project after the general outcry against it. She and Alaska kept the money as they did the large number of other earmarks gathered by Alaska, far more in terms of dollars per resident than the national average.
In contrast, McCain is lying when he says that Obama will raise 'your' taxes, pointing to everyone in the hall when it is a surety that these people make less than $250,000 a year. Independent analysis indicates that Obama's plan will NOT raise taxes for the vast majority, but impose lower taxes for most people than McCain's plans. McCain is lying when an ad says Obama's one legislative achievement was a bill for comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners. Senator Obama has sponsored and championed legislation for a variety of significant issues, including non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, ethics, transparency in government concerning earmarks, and equal pay for equal work and the 'sex education' bill focused on age-appropriate lessons so young children could avoid predators. And Palin is not telling the truth when she says she is against earmarks. Yes, ads and political speech often take dramatic license. But lies are lies and one side, the McCain/Palin side, is guilty of lies of hurricane strength.
Joe Biden being chastised for saying something "true"? Now THAT is a new low. Well, no, it's not a NEW low, it's the same "low" the GOP has been using for years, which is a full-out-Karl Rove assault on truth itself.
It is simply TRUE that if one wants to humanely support the issue of special needs children, one SHOULD support stem cell research. PERIOD. And not only so as to intervene in the process of birth defects developing (I for one don't think special needs should be 'weeded out' of the human community) but primarily to pursue effective treatments and interventions in those needs and to mitigate the suffering they cause. Special needs children could live more beautiful and less painful lives with appropriate scientific advances, and I'm all for that. Stem cell research is some of the most profoundly impactful and promising research for such life-improving advance.
Now, of course part of what's happening here is that Palin is being used as a political bear-trap. She advances a position that HAS an alternative, but since her life story has a personal bearing on an issue, the voicing of the alternative can be called "sexist" or "a new low" as the trap is sprung. I realize Palin herself would probably rather shoot such prey, but the GOP is happy with trapping commenters from the left until they have to gnaw their own legs off to escape.
I for one will neither gnaw off my leg nor wait for Sarah to come shoot and dress me. I'm going to call pigs pigs--and Sarah's positions are pigs. McCain's positions are pigs. As frightening as the image might be, you can put lipstick on the McCain pig, but it's still a pig--it's still a policy disaster (one after another) leading to a still bleaker future than the one Bush/Rove/Cheney have left us with already.
McCain/Rove/Palin ain't catching this liberal in any jaws of death.
And remember everyone, to thank John McCain for turning yet another campaign into "The Karl Rove Show". PUTTING COUNTRY LAST AGAIN, John. Now THAT move is a definite PIG.
John McCain has mastered audacity this week, while losing himself more or less completely. Let's review!
Exploiting 9/11 for political gain: The film at the RNC was inexcusably vile and inappropriate when all decent outlets had self-imposed a moratorium on such painful and traumatic footage. But since pain and trauma are now campaign strategies of the RNC, it is to be expected of them. Still makes us want to vomit, but to be expected. Kind of like spoiled seafood.
Stolen Message: Absent any ideas of his own, John McCain has now coopted the "change" message of Barack Obama. That's pretty audacious and then some. And quite unbelievable. Hey, there's his slogan: "Change That Is Unbelievable". Listen John, if you haven't managed more than one or two pieces of major legislation in 30 years, and Obama passed one like yours in his first term, I think it's pretty clear who's the change agent in this race. Changing your positions and your moral believability is not the change WE need, though it may have been the change McCain needed to try and win. Maybe a better slogan would be, " A Changed Man :( ".
Lies, big lies, and outrageous lie-bombs: The "Bridge To Nowhere" queen, who kept the money despite her current "no thanks" message about it, has now lied seven times about that boondoggle, five of the lies coming after the debunking of the lie. McCain falsely claims that Obama has never faced his own party on anything, when in fact he confronted both parties with effective ethics legislation, akin to Mccain's ONLY senatorial achievement on campaign finance. The campaign of Mccain keeps falsely claiming that Obama will raise taxes despite the truth being that 95% of Americans will get tax breaks (and despite the tax that McCain will impose on our health care benefits from our employers even as he refuses to extend healthcare in a civilized way). That's pretty audacious, I'd say! Hair-blowing-back audacious. I just change the channel now every time Nancy "Lobbyist-cum-spokesliar" Pfotenhauer comes on the t.v. Oh, there's another lie: the plan to come down on lobbyists when in fact the whole campaign is being run by them. Wooey, thats AUdacious (in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way...).
The new ad on "education": Claiming that Obama's only accomplishment is passing a bill to provide sex education to kindergarteners when in fact that bill was to protect kids from predators is about as politically vile as one can get, and truly marks McCain's departure from the sphere of decency. By the way, I thought his only accomplishment was being a community organizer (say it with a sneer)? McCain can't even keep his lies straight anymore I guess. This ad--exploiting children's protection for political gamesmanship--is such a thick pool of vileness that I lost that last little tiny sliver of respect I used to have for the former hero. Oh yeah, he sacrificed that label this week. Heros don't need to play cynic, and shouldn't. Play cynic, and you are not a hero anymore, sorry.
Cease and Desist? Not!: By my count, McCain has now OFFICIALLY stolen the use of four songs and been asked to cease and desist by all four copyright holders. This week his answer was to just keep using one of them. If he can't be trusted with intellectual property rights, how on earth can he be trusted with our government? It was more important to celebrate the meanness of SP than to abide by the law. But that, truly, is symbolic of the woman, I suppose, as she bent and manipulated whatever laws were inconvenient to her in Alaska.
The Audacity of Soullessness
Barack has conveyed the audacity of hope to many of us over the past few years, but the new audacity is really all McCain's (another theft, I suppose)--the audacity of being a lying, politically savage dishonorable man whose soul is now permanently tarnished. I don't use "soul" language or moral recrimination lightly--I really mean it when I say it. This will be the week we all remember how good a time John McCain had out on the trail with Sarah, selling his soul to Karl Rove for the enjoyment of saddling our country with another four years of war, and a 25% chance (those are the mathematics of VP succession) of being governed by a bigger liar and more mean-spirited person than himself.
McCain/Bush Morph
The audacity of all this is such as to leave our jaws dropped. How...on...earth....could....he.....?? we might say. But McCain has learned the lesson of his master, GWBush: you can because you CAN and because you DO. It's a particularly vile example of the Jesuit maxim, "Better to ask forgiveness than permission". Except the Bush--Rove--McCain strategy is "Better to do the unpermitted and unforgiveable" and thumb your nose at those who might morally balk at the strategy. I think even the press is stunned, but since they've been semi-neutered for years by the emergence of the reality-challenged right-wing alter-press, they barely know what to do. Asking some real questions would be a start, thnx.
John McCain (really, Karl Rove is behind this, but it's YOUR campaign, John), you have sacrificed your manhood, nay your very humanity, this week. It's a tragic fall story about a former hero. It's ugly, it's vile, and it excites people who are moved by the lizard brain. Congratulations, Mr. McCain, for exciting your "base". How base.
So, in order to keep tabs on the right, I get email from TownHall.com. Last week, they sent a vile, lying email about Obama attacking Christianity, just because he questioned how one would pick and choose biblical verses to turn into legislative action (the problem the right faces). Leaving that insanity behind, let's look at the startling topic for today:
Today, they sent an email letter from JohnMcCain, asking for donations. Wait, I said. Donations? Isn't he only allowed public financing as of last night?
APPARENTLY NOT!!
The link in the email leads to a donation page that says the following:
McCain-Palin Victory 2008 is a joint fundraising committee by the McCain-Palin Compliance Fund, Republican National Committee, and Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania Republican Parties. Because the McCain-Palin Campaign is participating in the presidential public funding system, it may not receive contributions for the any candidate's election. However, federal law allows the McCain-Palin Campaign's Compliance Fund to defray legal and accounting compliance costs and preserve the Campaign's public grant for media, mail, phones, and get-out-the-vote programs. Contributions to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 will go to the Compliance Fund, and to participating party committees for Victory 2008 programs.
Aside from not even proofreading their own donation page ("for the any candidate's election"), this statement is an obvious example of the kind of loophole exploitation that is sure to typify McCain governance. It has certainly typified the governance of Sarah ("I don't want your earmarks but I'll keep the money, thnx!") Palin and McCain's (still) economic advisor Phil Gramm (of the Enron Loophole fame).
So how much of the "campaign" is actually run under this "Compliance Fund"? It turns out it is kind of hard to say. For a brief tutorial on how this "Compliance Fund" works, see:
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/04/qa-the-cost-of-compliance.html
To see how McCain has already figured out a way around the campaign limits he has allegedly wrapped himself in like a flag, see the following, from McCain's own website:
Contributions to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 ("Victory 2008") are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Victory 2008 allocates contributions to the Republican National Committee ("RNC"), the state parties’ federal accounts, and McCain- Palin Compliance Fund ("Compliance Fund") in conformity with federal limits. Unless a contribution would exceed federal limits or a contributor designates otherwise, Victory 2008 will divide contributions as follows: For Individuals - The first $28,500 will go to the RNC, the next portion will be divided evenly between the Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania state parties’ federal accounts up to a maximum of $9,250 for each Committee, and the final $2,300 will go to the Compliance Fund. For Federal Multicandidate PACs - The first $15,000 will go to the RNC, the next portion will be divided evenly between the Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania state parties’ federal accounts up to a maximum of $5,000 for each Committee, and the final $5,000 will go to the Compliance Fund. Contributions to the Compliance Fund will be used solely for legal and accounting services to ensure compliance with federal law and not for campaign activities. Compliance funds may defray a portion of broadcast advertising, national and state office "overhead", and computer/website expenses. Contributions from corporations, labor unions, federal contractors, and foreign nationals without permanent residency status to Victory 2008 are prohibited. *Federal law requires us to report the name, address, occupation, and employer of any contributor who gives more than $200 in an election cycle (for Compliance Fund contributions) or more than $200 in a calendar year (for RNC and state-party contributions).
And diary in yesteday's DailyKos (where the above is also reprinted:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/3/121153/4361) asks, like I am asking: what on earth do giving limits mean, when in fact this allocation system shows that the campaign is funnelling donations into avenues that are in fact campaign channels, including television ads?
JOHN MCCAIN IS NOT IN FACT LIMITED TO HIS ALLEGED 83 MILLION, period. Giving limits mean nothing.
Obama Donors: GIVE ALL YOU CAN POSSIBLY GIVE, now that the fundamentalist coffers have opened for Mr. McCain, who has sold his soul to the fundamentalists he once decried.
GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE!!!! If this post inspired you, why not use MY donation page?
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/dashboard/main/
I think we saw in Obama's speech why he actually beats John McCain in polls concerning leadership, which is pretty remarkable given all of McCain's claims about "experience". In the acceptance speech that marks a real transition in our national history, we saw a man who knows how to LEAD. That is doubtless why the official talking points of the conservative blogosphere and talk radio are aimed at making us Obama supporters into a bunch of lemmings and Obama into some latter-day Caesar. Leadership frightens those who would rather preserve the current authoritarian system. Authoritarians don't lead, they dictate. Leaders frighten them. But let them wail on--it tells us over and over again how empty their prospects are and how dangerous their power is.
Leadership means getting people around you ready and willing and able to work to bring about the policies and initiatives that need our country's attention.
Leadership is getting systems to work.
Leadership is understanding systems in relation to the people who will make them work and who need them to work.
That's leadership.
I went to John McCain's website, and looked around for what leadership I could find there. Under the "About" tab, we find the encapsulated case for "Why McCain"--so I clicked on that to find out why McCain should be "leader" of the free world. I was surprised to not even find the words 'leadership,' 'leader,' or 'lead' anywhere in the discussion. There are many statements about what will be accomplished in McCain's presidency, but not a clue about just how except his promise to listen to anyone with a good idea and to work with anyone. I came away not knowing how on earth a man who has been so at odds with his own party for so long and who has now completely alienated everyone in the other party expects to have any substantive policy initiatives brought into being. And I don't see how the American people are part of that model of government, especially given how much we know about the role of lobbyists in McCain's life, legislative history, and campaign, and especially given our exclusion from our government for the past eight years of rule by Bush/Cheney (who also promised to listen to all good ideas and proved unable to do so). It sounded, from McCain's own "Why" statement, more like policy would be somehow "authorized" into being. More of the same?
We have been told again and again by the McCain campaign that he is a "maverick", but that maverick has managed to actually "lead" very little in his legislative life. Standing up to your party is admirable, but it doesn't tell us how someone will actually get something done. Defiance of party ideology is not leadership--it's defiance. Defiance can be important, but it's just NOT leadership. McCain showed leadership in getting McCain-Feingold into law despite the tricky terrain of campaign finance. But really leading on the issue of campaign finance ethics and law would have generated a public initiative and broad finance policy that would not have allowed clever 527s and loophole exploiters to continue to corrupt our electoral process. What kind of "leader" has a convention that ten of 40-something Republican Senators decide not to even attend? What kind of "leader" inspires one of the loudest, shrillest people in his own party (Anne Coulter) to promise to campaign for democrats if he is the nominee? Maverick status seems to have eaten way into McCain's capacity for 'leader' status.
Then there's the timing issue. Being on "the right side of history" and of facts on the ground is important. That Obama is more on the right side of history than McCain is evident. Basic political and social temperaments show them to be rooted in forms of thinking that represent the stark contrast between the 20th and 21st centuries. But there's also the fact that a leader needs to be on the right side of facts on the ground--people have to be willing to be called to act by a leader. Enthusiasm and initiative in Republican quarters is at a low I've not seen in my life-time, with the exception of an elite few who take it upon themselves to make the rounds of media appearances--but given what we know, their enthusiasm can't help but sound forced and blustery; and their recourse to mockery of all things Democratic pretty much proves the emptiness of inherent Republican enthusiasm. Whose energy can McCain tap into right away to start getting things done in the one term he is likely to be able to do? The political physics of this just don't add up.
The Presidency is fundamentally a leadership position. It is clear who is more ready to lead in the way that our country needs leadership right now, and that is Barack Obama. A leader needs an energy base to tap into as he undertakes reforming our broken and hijacked systems--Obama has that fanning out across the country right now, while McCain doesn't even have a ground-campaign, much less an energy base in the public to get things done nationally. A leader needs managament skills that hearken to inclusivity and wise organization--Obama has assembled extraordinary bi-partisan advisory teams tasked to build a government of competence and effective meeting of the needs of people, while McCain has managed to assemble a campaign of exactly the people who brought us Bush/Cheney twice, complete with organizational initiatives with the same brutality and cheapness as the Rove era and an economic advisor that considers the rest of us to be "whiners".
I want to stand up and work for my government behind a leader who has shown me that standing up and working for my government is his plan. That man is Barack Obama.
OK, so everyone's pants are in a twist because the McCain campaign has labelled the Dem Convention, "A Mile High and an Inch Deep". This on the heels of slamming Obama as a "celebrity" for weeks.I think we now have some clues to pull together for the right wing's new, improved language to assault all things non-republican. Note the following paragraph in Jonah Goldberg's assessment (in early august) of the recent ESPY award being given to the two black athletes who raised their fists on the Olympic medals podium in 1968:Goldberg writes, "The stench of self-congratulation surrounding ESPN's decision [to honor Smith and Carlos] is thicker than the air in a locker room after double overtime. The argument that Smith's and Carlos' critics must dine on their denunciations rests on an inch-deep nostalgia and the triumph of celebrity culture." (for full reporting on Goldberg's nonsense about this, see: http://zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/18326)Sounds to me like Mr. Right Wing Talking Points Goldberg has nicely nutshelled the official narrative tack of the Right for us: "inch deep" and "celebrity culture" are the memes of note that will be hurled around at everything they hate. They are not reserved for the campaign but part of the broader cultural strategy afoot. The culture war will buttress the campaign memes and vice versa, especially just in case Obama wins and they need to keep trying to diminish him.It's another incarnation of their general strategy of projection: The anti-intellectual set accuses the smart guy of being shallow; the "I have more listeners/viewers than god" blusterers in right wing media accuse the interesting guy that people like of being a "celebrity". It's brilliant and effective, especially because it plays on the general public's being too busy to think much about the complex psychological game they are sucked into by these people. "The bully who thinks little must be right, because it's the easiest thing to think and aligning myself with the bully makes me feel strong."
The Right realizes that intelligence possibilities are ratcheted up by the blogosphere and wide availability of information on the net; so that has to be innoculated by pre-framing all liberal content as "shallow" and predicated on mass-thinking (hence the ratcheting up of "socialism" talk in conservative blogosphere). So, let's innoculate against the innoculation and pre-meme the memes, shall we? Let's "frame" McCain's exceptionally shallow "I'LL DEFEAT IT!" response to all questions that he cannot answer with "I was a POW"....let's frame his 'celebrity' over and over again with the clip of him calling the media "his base". This coming week should be a good start.
