More On McCain Trying To Be The Non-Republican Republican

The following is a clip from an article in The Nation. Click on the link to read more...

George Bush is a dramatically unpopular president, with an approval rating as low as that attained by Richard Nixon in the depths of the Watergate scandal. And the Republican party has become so riddled with corruption that, at a convention that has been graced with the presence of Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay and others party leaders who have been forced from office under clouds of scandal, McCain felt required to announce that, "I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans."

To an even greater extent than his newly-minted running-mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin – who introduced herself as a battler against crooked Republicans -- McCain referenced his own record as "a maverick," declaring that, "I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you."

The whole anti-Republican Republican ruse might have succeeded, were it not for the fact that McCain's rhetoric was at odds not merely with his own voting record – 90 percent with Bush – and his own Bush-on-steroids agenda.

McCain - Trashing Everyone

If John McCain does get elected as President, one has to wonder just how effective he will be - other than wielding a veto pen. He's pissing off Republicans almost as badly as he trashing Democrats. And no matter how you look at it - part of getting things done in our government is the cooperation between the executive and legislative bodies. Will there be anyone else in office who can get along with the curmudgeon?

The following is a bit from The New York Times (read more by clicking on the link, though free registration is probably required)...

Washington must be in pretty sad shape.

John McCain derided it as overrun by that “old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd.” Mitt Romney railed against the liberals who have their mitts on the gears of government. Sarah Palin cannot wait to turn the place around.

Evidently, those Republicans who controlled Congress for most of the last decade better watch out.

It was an odd element of the Republican National Convention that so much disdain was heaped on Washington, considering that Republicans ruled the capital completely for most of the last eight years and that the 12-year Republican grip on the House was broken by Democrats just 18 months ago.

The unofficial slogan of the party gathering in St. Paul could have been: “We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Us.”

Political Fun - Republicans

More on the Governor of Alaska

Getting tired of this stuff yet? I am - and yet I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Goota know all there is.

The two paragraphs I've posted below are just a small bit from a much longer article by someone who lived in Wasilla and knows Sarah Palin. Read the whole thing at Air America by clicking on the link.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative." During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

Sarah Palin - Earmark Queen

I really, really appreciate all of the work done by Think Progress.

As all of the information about Sarah Palin's background has come out since she was named as John McCain's running mate, I've been a bit outraged and surprised at her lack of experience in matters of national importance. Part of the reason for the surprise and shock is that she appeared on the scene so quickly.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and all of the others who ran for President this year had their baggage. But, we all had two-years, give or take a few months, to sort out their issues and their positions. We had a chance to see them, listen to them, check out their back-stories and decide what was important - and what was not - as they geared up for the race. That's why we finished with Obama and McCain - the voters had their choice. Even Biden, who finished very low in the race for the nomination, was vetted by the populace. We know who he is.

But this whole Sarah Palin thing is disquieting. I know - we're not really voting for her - the race is about John McCain, but still - she'll be a significant part of the administration if John wins, and she'll be President of the U.S. Senate ex officio and that puts her in charge of one of the most powerful legislative bodies in the world, alongside the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now on to the issue this is all about. John McCain says he hates lobbyists and the influence peddlers in Washington. He says that he'll put a stop to their influence - that he'll veto any pork-barrel legislation that crosses his desk when he's President. He also proclaimed that he selected Sarah Palin to run with him because she was strongly opposed to earmarks (aka pork-barrel projects). Like so many of his tales, this turns out to be a lie.

I was especially surprised to learn that Alaska has no income or sales taxes. See below.

The following is from The Wonk Room over at Think Progress (remember? I mentioned them at the beginning of this post?). Read more by clicking on the link.

Sarah Palin: Earmark Queen Of The Earmark State»

In 2000, Sarah Palin, as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla, hired a Washington lobbyist to secure federal earmarks for her community.

This is not totally atypical in her state. Alaska’s government receives more money per capita in federal earmark money than any other state, despite being the only state in the union with no income tax and no sales tax. They fund their government primarily with petroleum money, and recently distributed oil profits to its citizens in the form of rebate checks.

But even in her heavily earmarked state, Sarah Palin was the earmark queen.

From 2000 to 2003, she secured over $27 million in earmarks, averaging $6.7 million in federal money every year for her town of about 6,700 people.

President Bush Fun Photos

Newt Gingrich Shilling for Big Oil

Newt Gingrich is on the stump again - he was on the Daily Show this past week - but what I didn't know, and it was not apparent in his interview with John Stewart, is that he's now in the embraces of the big oil companies. The following is from the Progress Report (Think Progress's newsletter) dated 9/5/2008.

RADICAL RIGHT -- GINGRICH CLAIMS U.S. HAS MORE OIL AND GAS SUPPLIES THAN VENEZUELA OR SAUDI ARABIA: During an appearance on the Tavis Smiley show earlier this week, former House speaker Newt Gingrich -- stumping for his "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" campaign funded by right-wing billionaires to sell the Big Oil agenda -- claimed that "if you used America's energy resources and you didn't have to buy oil from Venezuela or Saudi Arabia it'd be a lot less expensive." Yet what Gingrich didn't mention is that the United States has only 2 percent of the world's oil and gas reserves but uses 24 percent of production. This isn't the first time Gingrich has showed his ignorance on energy issues. He has previously said that inflating car tires properly in order to save energy is "loony tunes" even though both the Department of Energy and the auto industry advocate such practices. A few days later he made the astonishing claim that inflating your tires somehow enriches Big Oil's profits.

Klein Speaks of McCain's Acceptance Speech

I don't always agree with Joe Klein (he's a columnist for Time Magazine), but sometimes his words are precise and worthy of reading. Here are a few words on the RNC from his most recent article. Click here to read the whole article.

This is yet another McCain gamble: he figures that the only way the country will elect a Republican after eight years of scandal and stupidity is to promise a completely different Republican Party. His essential message was right: Washington does have to catch up to the global economy, shake loose the bonds of the special interests and industrial-age bureaucracies. But there was little in this speech that indicated that he had any idea how to do that besides relying on his fierce sense of righteousness. And the Republican Party is what it is: an overwhelmingly Caucasian group of people — 93% of the delegates were white — who cheer more vociferously for tax cuts than they do for country.

...

In the end, the strongest aspect of the speech may have been the awkwardness of the delivery. What we saw tonight was the real John McCain. But his offering was thin for a country in a heap of trouble. Given the admitted failure of his party, he didn't present anything more than his own integrity as an action plan. And given the anger and vitriol of his campaign — given the scurrilous, sarcastic speeches he allowed to be delivered on Wednesday night; given the embarrassing antics and media conspiracies spouted by his staff — McCain's reputation for integrity has been badly damaged.

McCain's presence in our public life has been, on balance, a valuable thing. His speech tonight gave intimations of why that has been so, but it lacked the drive and creativity of a true presidential acceptance. He is the standard bearer of a failed ideology — ironically, a belief in "me first" before country — and tonight the leap between what McCain really cares about, and what his party really believes, proved too great a chasm for an old warrior to bridge.

Please Read This One

Sometimes (and I've said this before) other people find just the right way to put things into words that you are feeling. I ran across this essay at Boing Boing and I'm posting a substantial portion of it here because it is absolutely full of great quotes and useful information. To read the whole thing, click on the link.

Our pal Douglas Rushkoff posted an insightful essay about the RNC speeches.

I felt a bit nauseous watching the Republican convention last night. I’m very much a give-the-benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy, so I try to listen to the arguments people make even when they’re made in over-the-top or patronizing ways. Sometimes it’s good to distinguish between the rhetorical devices and the underlying substance. Even people who use manipulative language sometimes have an important point beneath their persuasion techniques (ads against smoking, for example).

I usually don’t feel uneasy when I put those filters on, but last night - during the Guiliani speech - I realized I was no longer filtering a speechwriter’s intentional manipulation; I was trying to look beyond real hate. These folks were gritting their teeth, shaking their fists, and smiling the way gladiators do when going into combat against barbarians. And this is the incumbent party. The ones currently in power.

What is it they hate? Guiliani and Palin both made it pretty clear: community organizing. Community organizing is energized from below. From the periphery. It is the direction and facilitation of mass energy towards productive and cooperative ends. It is about replacing conflict with collaboration. It is the opposite of war; it is peace.

Last night, the Republican Convention made it clear they prefer war. They see the world as a dangerous and terrible place. Like the fascist leaders satirized in Starship Troopers, they say they believe it is better to be on the offensive, taking the war to the people who might wish us harm than playing defense. It is better to be an international aggressor - a bulldog with lipstick - than led by the misguided notion that attacking people itself makes the world a more dangerous place.

In their attack on community organizing - a word combination they pretended they didn't know what it meant - Giuliani and Palin revealed their refusal to acknowledge the kinds of bottom-up processes through which our society was built, and through which local communities can begin to assert some authority over their schools, environments, and economies. Without organized communities, you don't get the reduction in centralized government the Republicans pretend to be arguing for. In their view, community organizing as, at best, equivalent to disruptive and unpredictable Al Qaeda activity.

But it actually goes deeper than this. Consider how Republicans have so far justified their choice of candidate: he is a "great man." That America needs a "hero" in the White House to lead us in continued preemptive strikes against Bin Laden in Iraq (I know Bin Laden is not in Iraq, but Giuliani clearly implied he was). Only a leader with McCain's war record and paternal qualifications can help Americans muster and maintain the tenacity necessary to "drill baby drill," (even though this will have no influence on oil price or supply) and generate the requisite hate to "kill baby, kill." As I explained in Coercion, having a parent figure on whom to transfer authority allows people to regress to a more childlike state. This not only allows them to feel safe; if gives them the freedom to express their rage. Make no mistake - that's what we're witnessing. And this rage - not America - is the greatest threat to humanity's long-term chances for survival.

Republican party representatives are proud today that their convention has finally produced the "same level of energy and enthusiasm" as the DNC's last week. And while it may have produced the same level of excitement, the excitement was of a very different character. It's much easier to get people riled up but inviting them to hate a man - particularly one who they haven't been allowed to hate for traditional reasons. Giuliani's job - much like his job as mayor of NYC - was to give the Republicans in attendance permission to hate Obama and the potentially intelligent society he represents. It's not about city vs. country or educated vs. military. It's about thought vs. violence.

In the black and white world of those committed to war as an international relations strategy, voting "present" makes no sense - especially when the Illinois legislative process is willfully misrepresented. (Voting present is a way to preserve the bill without passing it in its current state. Far from an easy out, it is the hard path - requiring further negotiation to remove earmarks and other problems.) They would prefer the simple relief of a "yes or no" world, where the evil are punished and the good rewarded. For in such a world, we get to know who the enemy is and just hate them. I don't believe hate is the best way to motivate people to develop long-term solutions to problems. It is a tried and tested way to motivate them to short-term support of dangerous leaders. That much is certain. But if McCain and Palin are able to rouse the national hatred they will need to actually win this election, I fear they will have unleashed a force that they will be unable to control.

Republicans Love Them Some Lies - Part 3,241

So Much Stuff to Post - So Little Time...

I loved this bit which I've stolen from Crooks and Liars...

Quite possibly Quote of The Day in a Wednesday full of good quotes, including Noonan’s naughty word, comes from Ted Anthony of the Associated Press:

The Republican message about the Palin offspring comes across as contradictory: Hey, media, leave those kids alone — so we can use them as we see fit.

If you doubt this scenario, consider this: On Wednesday morning, a teenage boy from Alaska stood in a receiving line on an airport tarmac, being glad-handed by the potential next president of the United States — because he got his girlfriend pregnant. TV cameras were lined up in advance. The mind boggles.

Freudian Slip

Talk about a Freudian slip - listen for the "John Bush"

Republicans Love Them Some War and Dead Bodies

One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.

The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.

Yes We Can

Republicans Love To Lie

Over on Bob Geiger's blog, he's posted just a few truths to counter come of the lies the Republicans love to spout. I suppose, if they told the truth about their accomplishments, NOBODY would vote for them. Below is one taste of the fact-checking - click on the link to read his whole article...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

The Facts: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

John Stewart on Republican Spokespeople

John Stewart and his staff do one of the best jobs on television of rooting out stupidity and hypocrisy in American politics. The following video clip is out of this world.

Palin's Candidacy

Why did John McCain pick Sarah Palin as his Veep choice? Here's what folks had to say in one poll.

And posted below is a video of what CNN's Jeffrey Toobin thought of Palin's acceptance speech...

McCain's Patriotism Two-Step

Congress Decides: 4th Amendment No Longer Needed

McCain - An Angry Old Man?

The following from Joe Klein at Time read more by clicking on the link...

The story of the day out here in Minneapolis is the McCain campaign's war against the press. This has been building for some time. Those of us who have criticized the candidate--and especially those of us who enjoyed good relations with McCain in the past--have been subject to off-the-record browbeating and attempted bullying all year. But things have gotten much worse in recent days: there was McCain's rude, bizarre interview with Time Magazine last week. Yesterday, McCain refused to an interview with Larry King, for God's sake, because Campbell Brown had been caught in the commission of journalism on CNN the night before, asking McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds what decisions Sarah Palin had made as commander-in-chief of the Alaska national guard. (There was an answer that the unprepared Bounds didn't have: she had deployed them to fight fires.)

So what's going on here? Two things. McCain is just plain angry at us. By the evidence presented in the utterly revealing Time interview, he's ballistic. This is a politician who needs to see himself as the man on the white horse, boldly traversing a muddy field...any intimations that he's gotten muddied in the process, or has decided to throw mud, are intolerable.

The second thing is more insidious: Steve Schmidt has decided, for tactical reasons, to slime the press. He wants the public to believe that there is an unfair--sexist (you gotta love it)--personal assault going on against Palin and her family. This is a smokescreen, intended to divert attention from the very real and responsible vetting that is taking place in the media--about the substance of Palin's record as mayor and governor.

Empty Seats?

Wonkette has a short commentary on the inability of the Republicans to fill their convention hall. Link.

Vetting Sarah Palin - On The Cheap

More Competition For McCain?

Funny - Is McCain Palin's Bitch?

Adult Language!

Six Minutes of Palin on CBS News

Running Scared

Following the upheaval over the announcement of his Vice-Presidential nomination, Sarah Palin, John McCain is taking no more chances.

In order to head off any problems, Senator McCain is already announcing some of his cabinet choices as a trial balloon to see how things will float in the country. Below are his first announcements. The link to the original post (and some explanations of why he chose these people) over at Jesus General is below the announcements.


Link

Buying Influence Doesn't Slow Down

David Letterman - Obama

Why We Fight

We fight in Afghanistan and Iraq for "our freedom." So say the Republicans. We laud our dead soldiers for their heroism in protecting the U.S - for protecting our rights. The Right-Wing produces propaganda that says we liberals do not support America - that the soldiers died protecting our rights to protest and speak freely.

But what does any of this have to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? How are these wars protecting anyone's freedoms, let alone our own. Want a little picture of the people we are fighting to keep in power?

A Nation of Military Might

An awful lot of U.S. citizens have become convinced that military might is the right way to handle any problem that comes along. Need more oil? Invade a country that has some. Want a place to provide the U.S. with military bases so we can have presence in the Middle East? Take over Iraq. Want more power for the Christian Right? Attack a nation or two of Muslims.

Our military is the largest in the world. Of all military spending in the world, the U.S. spends about 46% of the total. The UK, France, Japan and China are next - each with about 4.5% (Source) Now, just think about that for a minute. When you have a military that is so huge, every problem in the world seems as if it probably can be solved with military might.

We have an aggression problem here in the U.S. Even as I watch the political conventions, I see delegates chanting (both parties) "U.S.A, U.S.A..." as if war was some sort of athletic competition. It is rather sick, don't ya think?

And a big part of the problem is that it carries over into our own everyday lives. We look at "power" and "command" as a way to solve all sorts of problems. Got a drug addiction problem? We'll capture you and lock you up. Got some protesters in Minneapolis? Arrest them and lock them up. Got some homosexuals getting married? Capture them and drag them down the road behind your car until they are dead.

We are a physical and brutal society. And it's getting worse because this "brute force" solution is spreading to the point that it is violating our rights. We need to seriously reevaluate what is going on in this country and get our rights back. BUT - we're still heading in the wrong direction.

Check out the following from a web site called Reason...

The Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Department (that's them above) just obtained an armored personnel carrier, complete with a belt-fed, .50-cal turreted machine gun. Sheriff Leon Lott has charmingly named the vehicle "The Peacemaker," and insists that using a caliber of ammunition that even the U.S. military is reluctant to use against human targets (it's generally reserved for use against armored vehicles) will "save lives."

Can we call this overkill, yet? Is there any weapon people like Sheriff Lott would consider inappropriate for use against American citizens?

Sarah Palin Is a Religious Nutjob

The Huffington Post has an interesting post up, with video, of Governor Palin speaking before her church. A couple of sentences are pertinent...

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Just prior to discussing Iraq, Alaska's governor asked the audience to pray for another matter -- a $30 billion national gas pipeline project that she wanted built in the state. "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said.

Slow News Day - Sarah Palin

From Daily Kos where they also have a video posted on a Republican talking head trying to defend the Palin choice...

It was a slow day in terms of Sarah Palin news. Let's see what we've learned:

* From an article in Time, we learn that she's into book censorship.

Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

* Here's an article about her and religion. In this quote from a speech before the Pentacostal church, we learn that she can spew religious nonsense just like George Bush.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God," she exhorted the congregants. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Funny Photos - Republicans

Posted Without Comment

Political Funnies - President Bush

Remember Me - Video

With our country involved in two wars and God knows only how many police actions around the world, Remember Me...

McCain - Washington Reformer?

John McCain is now making the claim that he's going to clean up corruption in Washington, D.C. This has even been more pronounced since he named Sarah Palin as his running mate.

But in a related matter, can you name the "Keating Five?"

Link

Just How Stupid Are We?

Sort of in keeping with my own developing belief system - that humans are really pretty stupid most of the time - comes this post. Link is after the clip....

George Mason University historian, and New York Times best-selling author Rick Shenkman gives some insight as to why we proud Americans vote the way we do. His latest book, entitled “Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter” is his sixth publication in the line of political/historical works.

Shenkman says that politicians are counting on Americans to depend on those 30-second infomercials to make their decisions. There is a reason why countless dollars are poured into advertising - political strategists want to take advantage of our emotions.

Still not convinced on Rick’s thoughts? Check out these statistics that are featured in his book:

--Only 2 in 5 voters can name the three branches of the federal government.

--Nearly half (49%) of Americans think the president has the authority to suspend the Constitution.

--Only 1 in 7 can find Iraq on a map.

--A majority (70%) continued to believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, even after the 9/11 Commission reported that the claim was groundless.

--Only 1 in 5 know that there are 100 federal senators.

--Only one-fifth of Americans between ages 18-34 bother to keep up with current events.

Link

Palin's Daughter is Pregnant

Given the conservative political views of Sarah Palin, including several public statements that she supports abstinence-only sex education, this is a bit of a shock. From Reuters via the New York Times

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

I wonder if this will have any impact on the support from conservatives?

McCain Likes Palin's Behind - Video

Lieberman is a Joke - From 2006

Rain On The Republican Convention - Video

In retrospect, this is actually pretty awesome irony in light of Hurricane Gustav causing some cutting back of the Republican National Convention. Might there really be a God whith a terrific sense of humor? Or perhaps even HE hates the posturing and hate preached in HIS name?

This video was produced by James Dobson's Focus on the Family Group just prior to the Democratic National Convention. And this post is not original with me - I had seen the video earlier, but was reminded of it in this post at Daily Kos.

Plot to Assasinate Obama - Video

How come this didn't get more play in the national press? Were they too busy killing time discussing speeches at the Democratic Convention that they never showed?

Super McCain to the Rescue!

Do you suppose that John McCain/ Sarah Palin's meaningless blustering actually impresses anyone? But I guess we saw Republican bluster when Katrina hit as well - they act all important and do nothing but create false hope and meaningless rhetoric.

The following from Yahoo News...

Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav.

The image came from a Daily Kos post - click on the image to link to the source.

Why Palin Won't Work for McCain - Link

On Daily Kos, one diarist did some excellent digging and came up with a great post - "PALIN-tology - 45+ Problems for McCain's VP in just 35 hours."

Nearly all of his stuff is documented and it's worth checking out as a reference for those of you who believe, as I do, that John McCain makes bad choices and is bad for this nation.

Link