I don't watch FOX news or listen to Rush Limbaugh, so I am glad that Jon Stewart keeps and eyes on them for us. My blood pressure goes up everytime I hear anything come out of their hateful mouths and the other day I went looking for some facts and want to post them somewhere I can get a hold of them when I need to! and spread them around too!
Under the Bush Administration:
The Obama budget increases defense spending but all you hear about is the cuts to projects that have been wasting billions of dollars every year.
Please feel free to add more important facts to this blog - we need ammunition!
I've gathered some information that should help us fight back the smears and the lies. I agree that Obama needs to stay above the fray and keep the message on the economy. It's surrogates and supporters like us who have to fight back. We have come to far and worked to hard canvassing, phone calling, registering voters, convincing and informing undecideds, etc. for it to all go the way side like Kerry in 2004. We cannot afford another 4 years of the last eight. time is drawing close and we need this win. Fight back with truth. mccain and palin have allot of political skeletons that need to be forced out of the MSM closet. I've gathered some info, if you have more please share.
CNN truth report On Obama and Ayers:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMRON2GPXUA
Obama gives the go ahead to surrogates, to bring up Keating five and other associations:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/5/19317/4480/333/621072
The Obama campaign already has an ad related to it - make it viral
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHW-RO1_WN0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsI_0bV2CZo
Also bring Up Mccains lobbyist:http://www.mccainslobbyist.com
Donald Diamond:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/23/it-goes-well-beyond-the-keating-five/
Richard Quinn:
http://politicalconsultantmisconduct.blogspot.com/2008/01/richard-quinn-associates-employee-of.html George Gordon Liddy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6F3biK1Mb0&feature=related
Mccain Voted to protect Domestic Terrorist
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/06/mccain-abotion-bombers/
Lets also include the GOP's newest talent, Palin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmt0rLtgmK0
My vote for the OBAMA fight song! (Mosh - by: Eminem)
"Come along follow me as I lead through the darknessAs I provide just enough spark that we need to proceedCarry on, give me hope, give me strengthCome with me and I won't steer you wrongPut your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fogTo the light at the end of the tunnelWe gonna fight, we gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna marchThrough the swamp, we gonna mosh through the marshTake us right through the doors
All the people up top on the side and the middleCome together lets all bomb and swamp just a littleJust let it gradually build from the front to the backAll you can see is a sea of people some white and some blackDon't matter what color, all that matters we gathered togetherTo celebrate for the same cause don't matter the weatherIf it rains let it rain, yea the wetter the betterThey ain't gonna stop us they can't, we stronger now more than everThey tell us no we say yea, they tell us stop we say goRebel with a rebel yell, raise hell we gonna let em knowStomp, push, shove, mosh, 'forget' Bush, until they bring our troops home
And as we proceed,To Mosh through this desert storm,In these closing statements, if they should argueLet us beg to differAs we set aside our differencesAnd assemble our own armyTo disarm this Weapon of Mass DestructionThat we call our President, for the presentAnd Mosh for the future of our next generationTo speak and be heard!"Many may question my judgement by posting Eminem's song lyrics on my blog...but like many of us...I often look to music to express how I am feeling. Although Eminem wrote this song for the last election...four long dark Bush years later...the lyrics still ring true (shocker).
1) We must remember that loving our country and loudly disagreeing with the current administrations policies is AMERICAN! Sick and tired of this anti-American defense the GOP keeps slinging around.
2) I want our troops out of Iraq. That statement does not diminsih my unwavering support and utmost respct for our troops abroad!
Let us speak and be heard! OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!
My daughter recently asked me what the Watergate scandal was all about. Unfortunately, I had a senior moment and all I could remember was a botched break in, something about a lawyer, and claims that Nixon was trying to change the course of an election. Sad...
So I bought Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America, by Rick Perlstein, to refresh my memory.
I haven't got to Watergate yet, but on page 28 I read a passage that feels peculiarly up-to-date. The author is talking about Nixon's first congressional campaign, in which he ran against a well-loved congressman that many believe was the inspiration for the movie Mr Smith Goes to Washington:
He [Nixon] and Chotiner [Nixon's campaign manager] were chartering the Nixon method. You didn't have to attack to attack. Better, much better, to give something to the mark: make him feel that he has one up on you . Let him pounce on your "mistake." That makes him look unduly aggressive. Then you sprang the trap, garnering the pity by making the enemy look like a self-righteous and hyperintellectual enemy of common sense, ... inspiring a strange sort of protective love among voters whose wounded resentments grow alongside your performance of being wounded.
Nixon won.
The 2008 incarnation of this method is to just throw out a divisive and patently untrue remark, and let the opposition pounce. You still get the pleasure of watching the opponent being perceived as aggressive and self-righteous. You still garner the protective love of voters who hate to see anyone 'picked on', even though you started it. And you still profit from wounded resentments. But you don't need Nixon's poker-playing genius to make it work.
Many people are now encouraging Obama to get 'tough' and fight back harder. However, that simply plays into the game. Will Obama figure out how to neutralize this strategy? Only time will tell.
As I've grown older I have seen so many of these utterly regrettable tactics by republicans. I've come to believe that the reason we have up to 20% undecided voters is due to the inability of these fence sitters to develop an opinion of their own. They are perhaps the only group that does not see through these transparent attacks. They buy into cheap clichés and slogans. Tax and spend liberals, Wrong on Family Values, Wrong for America, Universal healthcare is socialism and of course the latest: Obama wants to teach sex ed to kindergarteners.
I have always admired the fact that Democrats have always tried to take the high road. No More. I say kick em in the teeth. If thats what the swing voters understand, then do it. It's ugly, I don't like it, but if you don't go toe to toe with them, you lose, plain and simple. Bill Clinton had a response team that responded to every negative attack within one hour. It worked. It didn't hurt that he was a Rhodes Scholar that came across like a fishing buddy, but thats not Barack's personality.
Both Barack and Joe have to dig deep and go bare fisted. Biden is particularly good at this, but the media is so taken with Palin that Biden's rallies get little to no coverage. He speaks so well to the common man, and he can cut like a knife without being condescending.
People may disagree with me but Palin was picked as much for how much the camera loves her as anything. The most sexist thing that has happened is McCain's selection of her with the idea that Clinton women would vote for her based on her genitals. Ask yourself this: Had Palin looked like Bea Arthur, would she have been picked?, and if she had been picked despite that, would there be this buzz about her? No
Another Palin point: If this woman is so damn tough, why can't she speak for herself about these non-issues, and just why isn't she tough enough to talk to reporters, or take questions from plain ol Americans at all the events she appears at with John?
Folks, the truth is, she is not ready, not now, not in November and not in January. They are hiding her from real questions. The press is debunking her "reformist" image daily and the more they dig up, the less likely McCain will expose her to "Meet the Press". We know Charlie Gibson will set softballs on the tee for her, so that can go in the fluff category. As an unimportant aside, is anyone else sick of her shrill grating voice? She can assert on the topic of the "Bridge to nowhere" "Thanks, but no Thanks" as many times as she wants, but that has been disproven. The point is, she comes across great with a acript, lets see her have to speak her own words.
The McCain campaign has zero policy ideas, they have zero substance, so distraction and slimeball attacks are what they use to keep Obama defending rather than asserting the issues. So I say slap him down on the dirty stuff, and let the 527 groups play in the mud, then hammer him on the issues and force him to answer about the policies he doesn't have. They admitted they don't want this to be an election about policy and issues, they want it to be about the candidates, well force him into the issues, he's given us the roadmap on exactly what his weakness is.
To quote a wise and honest man: ENOUGH! Are we really going to let the Republican Machine of Attack and Distortion – R-MAD – derail us from our defining moment in history? Hell No!!! The only way to fight R-MAD is to get mad (as hell and not take it anymore). The only change McCain offers is a few pennies for the middle class compared to many dollars for the wealthy. The only change McCain has shown is in his positions. The McCain of old was an occasional maverick senator with his honor in tact; the McCain out on the campaign trail is a flip-flopping neo-con, devoid of any scruples, who will say and do almost anything to seize power. McCain is worse than an irascible old man who is somewhat detached from the issues of the day; he is an angry, bitter and impulsive warrior who has cares only about settling old scores. And most of all, McCain is a cynical and sly politician who -- far from putting country first -- has put the extreme right wing of the Republican Party first by placing Sarah Palin potentially a heartbeat from the presidency.
McCain is Cheney squared! And Palin – a neophyte governor short on work ethic and intellect but long on charm and political acumen – is Bush cubed!
Make no mistake about it; we are in the fight of our lives. We cannot allow Republican bigots and elitists to beat us by characterizing our candidate – a black child of an interracial marriage who was raised by his single white mother and grandparents – as somehow not one of us; we cannot allow Republican corporate welfare mongers to defeat us by branding us as fiscally irresponsible; we cannot allow the Republican whores of lobbyists to cast themselves as pure reformers; we cannot allow Republican sexists, who would consign women to carry to term pregnancies caused by rape and incest, to pretend they respect women’s rights simply because they’ve elevated a token to the vice presidency; we cannot allow Republicans to once again feign empathy for the middle class while lining the pockets of the rich; we cannot allow Republican disbelievers of global warming to bamboozle us into a “drill first ask questions later” mentality; and we cannot allow the Republican squanderers of our American blood, treasure and standing overseas to seize from us the mantle of security.
Why? Because we are Democrats; we stand for something. We are the party of Jefferson, Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy. And truth be told, if Lincoln were alive today, he would be with us as well and if Clinton had been just a little more disciplined he would have also made the list.
Simply put, we cannot afford four more years of Bush-Cheney-Rove and we will not let this nation be taken there across the McCain-Palin bridge to nowhere worth going – at least not without a damn good fight!
Please Obama do not apologize for another comment that the McCain campaign and the media is taken out of context. Stand by your statement because it is true. Also challenge McCain on the SEX ED campaign ad. Some things call for a classy response, but some things require you to defend your honor.
You need to say "ENOUGH!!!" multiple times while on the campaign trail.
And challenge McCain more. You don't have to get in the gutter to challenge him.
Challenge McCain, by stressing all the veteran-related bills McCain voted againstChallenge McCain for voting against equal pay for equal work.Challenge McCain by showcasing the ObamaTaxCut.com toolContinue to hammer that McCain is a third term of Bush, recent polling shows this is working.Hammer McCain on healthcare, education, etc.Let Biden challege Palin, NOT YOU.
Hi everyone. I have been following this history-making election year with avid interest. I'm a politically neutral Christian, but am keenly interested in Senator Obama's campaign, so I follow his trek via the media (mostly msnbc). I'm a single mother of one child whom I homeschool, and I own a homebased business in Atlanta, Georgia, of which I'm a native.
I titled this blog post Lovers and Fighters because I watched Senator Obama's speech yesterday on education, and was impressed by what I heared (LOVED the 'lipstick on a pig' left-hook); however, I was floored when I saw his opponent's ad claiming that Senator Obama advocates sex education for kindergarteners (they really put a spin on it). Of course, I am eagerly awaiting Senator Obama to vehemently counter this ridiculous ad. At least---I hope he will, and not with some half-toot response--speak on it!
The only negative thing I can say is that the Obama camp really should swing back and land some punches against these hypocritical, off-the-issues Republicans. To go back a little in time, one noteworthy person who raised hell when his opponents made ridiculous charges against him was President Clinton (no I did not vote for Clinton or anyone else--I'm politically neutral--but Mr. Clinton garnered my respect becasue he raised hell and fought back!).
Of course, the end result was that Bill Clinton won. You don't lie down on the ground while a bully is stomping you to a pulp, because they'll do it everytime they see you. I say to Senator Obama: raise up and fight back! Show us that passion man! Win this thing!
What does everyone else think? Do you agree with me, or am I taking a militant stance? Write to me--luv to hear from ya--guys and gals alike.
Dear Barack Obama and campaign team.
I really feel that you've been off your game since Sarah Palin came into the picture. Yes, she really livens things up, but please, please hammer, hound, shout, repeat to the people what she is all about--creationism, pro-life even in the cases of rape and incest, banning books, abuse of power, teaching abstinance instead of health, how secretive she is, how opportunistic she is.......She's Dick Cheney with lipstick.
If you enlightened voters on what she stands for and paint a picture of what the United States would be like if she had her way then the people that have been taken with her will think again.
They are bullying you with their rhetoric and lies, don't let them do it. The country's future is at stake.
Sincerely yours,
Alli
This is a simple one, and it's one that seems so easy to understand, but yet, continually eludes the left:
IF SOMEONE PUNCHES YOU, PUNCH BACK. IF SOMEONE KICKS YOU, KICK BACK.
The concept of turning the other cheek, of not 'sinking to their level' does not, and has not ever worked, in American Politics in the 20th and now the 21st centuries. Americans don't research, they don't pay attention, they don't know what's really going on with their candidates. Instead, they pay attention to sound bytes, to news reporters, and to blog writers.
But for many independent or undecided voters, these people aren't well-versed in what is good and bad about a campaign. And like any other voter, they are able to be swayed by the continuing barrage of negative campaigning.
Which is a necessity, especially at this stage in the game, especially with the Swift-Boat/Karl Rove tactics the right continually utilizes to pounce and attack Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
John McCain is lying about his record. He has no plan, and he has voted against things he helped to foster. Sarah Palin has no record, and she's already lying on the little bit we know about her.
So why is the Obama/Biden campaign just letting things slide? People believe the crap they are told by candidates, until another candidate tells them its wrong.
If Palin & McCain claim she's a reformer who took on the Bridge to Nowhere, then the Obama & Biden campaign need to release news footage of her supporting the bridge. If she says she sold a jet on eBay, then she needs to be called out on it.
Not just in the blogosphere, but by the candidates and their surrogates.
We cannot let another election slip through our fingers just because there is some ideal about 'doing things right' and not sinking to a low level. It comes across as weak and powerless, not smart and honorable.
LET'S GET SERIOUS
The gates are open, and the real race is on. That whole nomination thing... yeah, that was a warm up. Now are the moments that really matter more than any that came before. Every action is scruitinized, every attack is measured, every movement counts.
We need to start organizing smarter than ever to break down McCain's assult.
They have some very effective weapons. Nasty, unethical, and even underhanded. They use them because they have worked in the past and that's all they have to their advantage this time.
Why have the Republicans done so well the last 12 years or so? Because they understand marketing.All you need to get your marketing to work is a better than average first impression. That's it. Nature takes care of the rest as people build up these beliefs that we use in our daily life to frame our existence. The Republicans realized a while back that if you define a term your way or create a slogan that is accepted to be true, you can MAKE REALITY.One of my biggest gripes has been that the Dems have by, and large, been nice and fair-game playing folks. Well, I want that in my office and I DO want that in my politics, it just can't hold a candle to someone who's cheating.Does that mean you HAVE TO be just as dirty? NO! You can do it without lowering yourself, but you have to get serious about it. Attack them on all the legitimate fronts. Keep a consistent theme throughout your 2nd tier supporters letting them know the angle you're approaching this from.For example, the fact that Palin supports creationism, is a TOTALLY VALID point. You don't criticize her for her beliefs (not only does she have the right to have her own, but so do the voters that associate with them), but you can attack her on her desire to place creationism in public science class.Attack them because they don't have details. And you can't just leave it with a platitude... "uh... McCain doesn't have... uh... enough uh.... details...." Most Americans will tune out by the second "uh". Its too flat, doesn't stick. Isn't at all musical. And certainly doesn't have the sensational sting that causes it to reverberate in the media.Remember IT IS MARKETING! Think about all the ads you get bombarded with. If you see an ad that says it can fix all your life's ills, you probably wont believe it. But if it has a sincere enough slogan or pitch (and human association and emotion are big points towards that) IT WILL WORK. Just look at "Male Enhancement" and other snake oil promotions.Most people go off that first simple human impression which is a combination of subtle details. Those' "uh..."'s of Barack will kill him in debates or anything else on TV. Empty pauses are better than Uh's.To be fair, McCain is worse than Barack in this regard (have you seen his smile?), but Palin is not. And neither is their 2nd tier supporters who get the Talking Points memos and go to town with B.S. line after B.S line.Here's what I suggest: 1. Collect a pile of things we've identified over the past few months in which McCain/Palin have either flipped on or been caught looking very stupid because of. Every time they said something that we can make a case against. Need examples, refer to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 2. Run an Ad blitz showing the faults. Tear down their credibility. Bottom line is that we've sat around and let them generate too much credibility. No pictures of Barrack or Biden though. That's not necessary. In fact, its better to credibility if the sources are clippings from Fox or CNN. For a closing, maybe simply direct people to a website to "get the facts" where detailed (an unbiased as possible but still marketing oriented) arguments are made. 3. Follow up later with credibility building statements and representations, images that project "the feel" of Barack's no-nonsense but shades of grey approach. People don't yet realize that he's a nuanced individual that can see both sides. Refer to Barack's own acceptance speech for the ingredients for that measured entrenchment. 4. Start fighting McCain's so-called strengths. Again Barack did an excellent job in his speech. If you didn't notice, its not the liberal line you should be looking for, but where he offered olive branches and attacked McCain's own support base's claims. 5. This one is all on Barack. Take a crash course in dropping the "uh". He's a chrismatic guy otherwise. But its just one of those things that, although work fine in person, doesn't translate to TV. 6. If Hillary and Bill are willing, set them loose. Being in their position they are not directly associated with Barack (especially with the distance Hillary has put between her and Barack in the primaries). Have Hillary rip Palin apart. She was all prep'ed to do McCain too, so I think if she could find time to do that too it would help.The No. 1 important thing to remember is we can't mess this one up! Kerry was a shoe-in, and he failed. We do this again, and I'm moving to another country to avoid the idiocracy Apocalypse.
Hello! Is anybody home?? People in the blogosphere and most importantly Barack Obama and the Obama campaign team.... We cannot take this lying down... Guiliani and Palin speeches make it abundantly clear..... It is Karl Rove redux! It is Lee Atwater and Joseph McCarthy redux...TOO!
Please e-mail comments...and let me know you are out there and share my belief that we cannot let this re-play of the '04 campaign unfold. We have to unite any way we can and stand up to these bullies...FIGHT BACK...NOW! AND FIGHT BACK EFFECTIVELY and not in a way that allows the Swift Boaters to roll over our candidate like they did in 2004... the only way to beat a bully is to stand up and push back...and hard....never yield! We must!
Will the majority of voting Americans reject this bullying and nasty devisive speech and demogoguery? How long will we continue to tolerate insulting righteous innuendo from hypocritical right wing politicians who use not so-veiled words and rhetoric to spread hatred and contempt for fellow Americans who do not share their political views and who are citizens with the same rights entitled to respect. No one, who has any common decency, would talk to anyone the way Guiliani in particular addressed our candidate and those of us who support him. This is intolerable especially from a man who is a hypocrite.
Speak out! Let me know you're there....the silence is deafening!
The American people, regardless of whether they are on the left or right, need to rise up unite and reject this behavior. Our country must be better than this? Especially after what we've been through after 8 years.... who is more patriotic? This b.s. has gone on long enough. Conservatives must be pressed to see the reality of the toll that 8 years have taken on our country -- not the least of which is exemplified by the fiscally irresponsible siphoning off of our blood and treasure into a war without any connection to 9-11 and our personal security.
It is not acceptable in our public discourse for this kind of talk to go unanswered and, more importatly, fully and effectively challenged and DEFEATED! .... And, where's Pastor Rick Warren who, professing good old Christian values, should be speaking out loudly and vociferous-ly against the betrayal of the bible by Guiliani, Palin and others -- love thy neighbor...oh, I guess that only applies to neighbors who agree with right wing demagogues like Guiliani (and McCain)!
Everyone: we've got to stand up, unite and fight this and elect Barack Obama. Enough! Please speak out and by your comments let me know you care and not allow this year to be a repeat of 2004!
Over the past 3 weeks, we've seen Obama's strong lead in the polls eroded. Furthermore, we've seen Mc Cain ahead in a couple of polls. Senator Obama's negatives are way up, while Mc Same's likeability is also up. This is the result of a month of negative campaining, and we democrat need to learn.
This folks on the right including senator Mc Same don't believe in the truth. They will say and do anything to win including selling their soul. We need to hit back and hit back hard. Mc Cain wants to get nasty, I say give him hell. We need to stop running hollier than holly campaignes, these sort of campaignes has not gotten us anything. We need to hit Mc Cain like Clinton hit Dolle in 96.
It is not enough to redirect foliks to fightthesmears.com , most folks believe whatever it is that they see on the TV. Senator Obama claimed that he would fight back, thus far I haven't seen the fighting. We have too much at stake this election, we can not afford to give it away. I urge the senator and his campaign to stop being so passive while Mc Cain attacks, attacks and attacks. Senator this is your moment, let's not waste it.
Lance
Please man up Senator Obama!
Senator Obama has to shed the warm fuzzy guy for a few rounds and go toe to toe with Mr. McCain. Of course McCain is attacking his patriotism, and he'll do it again, because he knows Senator Obama will let him. Obama's response to McCains amped up Rhetoric is basically "don't say those things about me." What? Throw a punch Barack, even us peace loving liberals know that sometimes you have have to retaliate against the bully. Mr. Obama's campaign people are doing a horrible job at advising the senator and getting him back on his game. First of all - the venue at The Saddleback Church was a horrible mistake and the only person that won here was Rick Warren. What did Senator Obama expect to gain out of this forum? I wonder if Bishop T.D. Jakes had invited Mr. Obama, would he have gone? I don't think so.
I guess even in this arena, the Senator has to distance himself from African-Americans. Politics is a rough and tumble game; fortunately to bring John McCain down a notch or two only requires telling the truth about him and his voting record, on veterans issues and much more. Expose Mr. McCain for his lack of real vision, his dangerously short temper (why is no one talking about this) and posturing as some sort of tactical military strategist. Senator Obama should stop prefacing everything he says about John McCain with "I respect Senator McCain's Service,"; it sound too conciliatory and has the hollow ring of "with all due respect." What is with the bizarre hero worship in this country anyway? Progressives must figure out a way to frame patriotism within a progressive context, or we will continue to lose the Presidency to bumper sticker politics. If Senator Obama is not careful, he will only have himself to blame for losing to the worst presidential candidate in a very long time. Senator McCain's own base neither wants or respects him - rabid miscreants that they are - they only want to hold on to power just a little longer.
The neo-cons have unfinished business in the Middle-East and losing The White House will definetly have an impact on their agenda, but who knows, private contractors like Blackwater are now functioning in a military capacity. Because we don't have the guts or the sense in this country to elect men like Dennis Kucinich, Senator Obama will have to do. Senator Obama's base is growing weary and confused. RE-ENERGIZE YOUR BASE MR. OBAMA! Stop trying to imitate these small town-hall gathering like McCain - it doesn't work for you.
Mr. Obama draws large crowds and this is where he shines. Senator Obama draws large crowds, because people like his message of hope, while Senator McCain is willing to say anything in order to win this election. Get off the ropes and get back in the game! Stop reacting to conservatives and frame the the discussion. Obama has to stop running against McCain and run against the conservative agenda which has left our country in a mess.
Stop repeating the attacks, and attack McCains own judgement. How many more wars does Mr. McCain want to fight? The neo-cons are salivating at the thought of reconstructing the cold war, which means more military build-up, more wars, more defense contracts. Can someone please tell the truth about what is going on in Georgia or least show some footage of all the dead Ossetians that they murdered? I am astonished that there are still Americans who believe that conservatives can be trusted with the future of this country. Mr. Obama this race is yours to lose - take McCain to task and tie the Bush Administration around his neck.
By Foon Rhee, Boston Globe Staff | August 14, 2008
Senator John F. Kerry yesterday rejoined the battle with one of his fiercest antagonists from his 2004 presidential bid, launching a website to combat a new book highly critical of Barack Obama, his party's presumptive nominee this year.
The initial target is Jerome Corsi, who wrote "Obama Nation" and also was coauthor in 2004 of "Unfit for Command," which attacked Kerry's Vietnam War record in 2004. But Kerry's website - called "Truth Fights Back" - will also seek to counter assaults on other Democrats this election.
"John Kerry can and will fight for the truth on cable news, but we need all of us to battle against the smears in every way," it says on the website. "By signing up, you'll stay on top of the right-wing smear machine and help us battle it back! This site is designed for activists like you to take back the truth from the Bush/McCain politics of Karl Rove that have come to dominate the GOP. So sign up and join in the fight, and start reporting in some smears!"
The website will be funded by Kerry's political action committee, and could bring more supporters to the senator, who is seeking reelection in Massachusetts.
The site is similar to the Fight the Smears website that the Obama campaign itself launched in June to truth-squad the raft of Internet-fueled rumors about his alleged lack of patriotism and that he is "a secret Muslim." As of yesterday, Obama's site did not directly address Corsi's new book, "Obama Nation."
The New York Times reported yesterday that the book will debut at No. 1 on the Times nonfiction hardcover bestseller list on Sunday, despite challenges to the accuracy of its assertions, among them that Obama is a stealth radical who might have never ceased his youthful experimentation with drugs.
"The goal is to defeat Obama," Corsi told the Times. "I don't want Obama to be in office."
Since his razor-thin loss to President Bush four years ago, Kerry has often said he didn't react quickly and forcefully enough to attacks on him, most notably by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and by Corsi. The attacks helped undermine Kerry's standing as a decorated veteran with substantial foreign policy and national security expertise.
In a message to supporters yesterday, Kerry said, "We know the game, we've learned some things . . ."
"You can't just play defense against smears, pointing out how they aren't true," the message continued. "You've got to play offense, too, exposing the whole cynical game for what it is: an attempt to keep us from talking about the real issues and ultimately changing our country for the better. The Republicans have nothing to run on, no ideas to push, no solutions for America. They'll run a campaign of laughable gimmicks and outright distortions and lies. But we can fight back with the truth - and the truth can win this time. Let's do it."
Last week even though, it was Barack's 47th birthday and all I found myself getting angrier, more frustrated and enraged with each day's new MSM headline. First it was Mc Same's attack ads which so clearly lied. It was infuriating hearing the Mc Same campaign, blithely obfuscate especially Rick Davis's oh so slimy twist on race baiting. I found myself listening to the ads, wondering if I personally knew any of the performers I'm an actor by profession, who'd done the VO. At first, I felt that the Obama ads and quotew released in response were too tepid though; I didn't want the Obama campaign to sound as if it has been put on the defensive
Then it was the story that Bill & Hillary were up to their usual tricks: Bill quoted giving a limp endorsement of Barack and Herself, quoted endorsing more obesience to her primary supporters at the convention including putting her name up for the nomination. By this point my blood was boiling.
So when, Edward's infidelity was confirmed and his apparent future in an Obama campaign or administration was wiped out with it, I was beside myself.
An then my husband, fed up with listening to me rant asked me, "So what are YOU going to do about it? As a former community organizer myself, I should have realized it sooner. Time to Dig In and Fight Back. In fact, I'd already begun looking for some local events. So I signed up to go back to my hometown of Phllly to register voters this Saturday.
Next I invited a few friends to join us. OneFunnySistah, of my stand-up comic friends, replied that she's put together a show that she's calling "Ba'Rock The Mic" We realized we're both are hungry to have a stronger, more direct impact.
So we're now looking for events where we can bring the show and help bring people out to Vote for Change. Interested?, & have an event, idea that could use some entertainment, contact me here.
I know it's still summer and the Olympics are on - But NOW it is the time to get ready and focused for the FALL CAMPAIGN. Nothing beats the satisfaction of DIRECT ACTION. I know I feel better already.
Peace,
Kharafina
Nelson Mandela
It is time for Obama to respont to the recent attacks on him. McCain is using the Bush playbook of proposing his own false choices or strawmen then giving his response to attack Obama. It would also be appropriate to start using credible surrogates to fight back as well. In any case Obama must take the fight to McCain and not be afraid of attacks on the many personal and political weaknesses of McCain. McCain is Bush in sheep's clothing
It is also time to acknowledge the current situation in Iraq and lay out broader policy consistent with the direction things seem to be taking. Reemphasize the 16 month time span and the need to keep some US forces to insure we don't lose the ground gained. Also present the plan for Afganistan. Use some of the military minds supporting him to help formulate a strategic plan that formulates what all would happen in that 16 months and beyond. Denying the existence of what seems to be a significantly changed situation over the last year gives political enemies an advantage in the battle with the wrong right wing.
Thoughts?
Two weeks ago I thought we could have squeaked out a narrow victory in PA -- now I think it's a 50-50 proposition that we will avoid a double digit loss. Just as before New Hampshire and Texas/Ohio Senator Obama got into safe mode and relinquished an opportunity to end this race with a resounding victory. Before all my fellow Obama loyalists "denounce and repudiate" me at once, I know that Senator Obama has made a conscious decision not to play old style "gotcha" politics, that the ABC debate was woefully skewed against him, and that some polls actually have Senator Obama gaining after last Wednesday’s debate. But I also know that the media has been much less enthusiastic towards Senator Obama (his 35,000 strong rally in PA barely got a mention today) over the past few days and that we lost the lead in the Gallup daily tracking poll today for the first time in a month -- HRC now leads Senator Obama 46%-45%! I believe that we are now trending downwards not so much because of "bittergate" but because of the debate and Senator Obama's general unwillingness to take on HRC's misrepresentations directly, which makes him seem weak or aloof.
We need a stronger message over the next three days and we need to focus on the Philly suburbs. The "Declaration of Independence from the Cynical Politics of the Past" that Senator Obama gave voice to at last night's rally is a good start but he (and his surrogates) must hammer it home over the next few days by actually calling HRC disingenuous, cynical, hypocritical, and manipulative. I know that Senator Obama is mindful of the general election and the need to cultivate support with HRC's core constituency of white women. I also know that he has to tread carefully so as not to seem to be bullying HRC, which would allow her to once again play the victim card. But she has shamelessly impugned Senator Obama's patriotism (she recently said that his bitter comments were not consistent with "American values") and her gratuitous comments regarding Richard Ayers were extremely hypocritical given her husband's pardons. And now she is blatantly mischaracterizing Senator Obama's observation that the debate did not sufficiently focus on substantive issues as him whining -- more hypocrisy! Senator Obama has to call her out on these falsehoods and he will not suffer if he does it in the context of decrying her as the Cynic-in-Chief that she is!
