By request, my thoughts thus far…

A certain Maria in Toronto (much love to my Canadian readers!!) wrote to ask this bitch for my thoughts on the 2008 election coverage/happenings thus far.

Girl, you asked for it (wink).

Shall we?

I don’t know about y’all, but this bitch has had enough political bullshit tossed my way in the last few months to keep me shoveling for a lifetime.

I’m tired of listening to people debate elections and candidates as if this shit were fantasy football.

And I’m tired of discussions about the bedazzling factor of this chess move versus the fantastical cleverness of some other move designed to turn on the press yet full to bursting with nothingness.

So, I’d say my emotional state is damn near Howard Beale-ish.

I live in a city where white flight has left deep trenches that allow too many people to navigate their way through life without ever seeing what the fuck is going on around them. Just by selecting a certain route to work people can go about their business and never see the city…never see what needs to be done and who needs to be given a voice.

Then, come an election, they get some direct mail pieces talking about all manner of progress that hasn’t really happened and threats that don’t really exist and they take their blissfully uninformed ass to the polls and vote for four more years of the same miserable waste of time, space and money.

And my city suffers for that.

Well, I see the same damn thing going on with this election from the bottom of the ballot on up.

I’ve got to be honest…I don’t give a flying shit if Gov. Palin’s middle name is AgentforChangeMaverickChangeAgent or if she discovered the cure for the common cold.

News flash – Palin isn’t running for president.

Neither is Joey B., for that matter.

So, unless someone wants to get into an awkward as hell life insurance-esque discussion of why the fuck y’all are really debating her qualifications…

***cue crickets***

…yeah, uh huh…then move the hell on.

The economy is fucked…very fucked…not fixable any time soon and requiring a lot of serious attention…fubar!

Our children are being sorta-educated by a system that is guaranteed to look good on paper and leave them unprepared to compete in a global marketplace.

Immigration reform is still unaddressed and, just like healthcare reform, that shit ain’t gonna get any easier the longer we let it sit.

We are at war without a definition of success or completion…we’ve got a reduction of violence out of a troop surge but no measurable political reconciliation…and the rest of the world is moving into military and political postures that look a lot like the lead up to WWI.

People in my hood are starting to discuss winter fuel prices like Soviets used to lament the price of bread.

The roads are fucked up…our ability to handle natural disasters is so up in the air that news anchors visibly sigh with relief when a flood doesn’t result in a massive loss of life.

The air is polluted…rent is too high and foreclosure too real…the water tastes funny…our food is suspect…and we’re on the way to another holiday season full of “oh shit, don’t let Tommy chew on that!!” recalls from hell.

All of that shit and so much more remain pilled high and stinking with a vengeance.

That’s what happens when we the people discuss whether a candidate would be nice to grab a beer with instead of the issues and the policies being proposed to address those issues.

What we are dealing with right now is the outcome of two back-to-back elections built on the wrong foundation and a media supported policy of ignore and redirect.

And we all suffer for that shit.

Lawd, have mercy.

So when I read reports that people are responding to this insulting as hell intellectually lazy off topic when we can least afford to be off topic pseudo-coverage, I can only conclude that my fellow Americans have either learned to enjoy and eagerly anticipate pain, misery and want.

Or mayhap people have lost their motherfucking minds.

Or could be that there are a lot of us out there about to give voice to our inner Howard Beale…

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Shall we proceed?

Oh yes, indeed!

A bitch was enjoying a rather fantabulous cup of coffee this morning while sorta-watching Good Morning America when my senses were assaulted by a now familiar source.

Overtly patriotic, alarmist or carnivalistic music?

Check!

The same two motherfucking people doing all the voice-overs for all the ads?

Check!

Wild claims and accusations flying everywhere?

Check!

Well, it must be primary season again…and that means its time for wall to wall over the top and poorly written political ads from hell.

By my second cup of coffee a bitch had heard a Republican candidate for Governor blame her opponent for everything short of inventing the West Nile virus!

Fantabulous.

I’ve got to admit that these primary ads are kind of amusing. I mean shit, when else will a bitch get the chance to witness obvious as hell city-based candidates wading through a Missouri farm pasture stressing their Missour-ah values and their Missour-ah roots followed by blah, blah and fucking blah?

Or see money hungry conservative power fiends attempting to demonstrate that they’re actually human by surrounding themselves with smiling fresh faced chil’ren even as they read off some copy hinting that the election of their opponent is prophesied to bring about the end of days?

Anyhoo, this bitch has decided to enjoy the primary advertising while it lasts because you can bet your ass that the nastification of the general election bombardment is right around the corner.

Oh, the joy of living in a swing state…

Crossposted from The Angry Black Bitch.

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Naiveté Scene

Frequently, I’ll come across a comment on a blog or news article where the commenter is obviously a political newbie.  “Let’s all boycott so and so, that will get their attention”, or “If Hillary doesn’t win, I’m voting for McCain”, or “Obama betrayed us, he’s moving to the middle”. Reactionary dismay is as good a term as any for it. What it isn’t is politically astute. Like anything, politics has formulaic qualities. However, today’s uniformed commenter is tomorrow’s politically savvy citizen, so while I see things they don’t, I’m glad they are engaging in the conversation.

That line of tolerance stops at pundits.

Pundits are not politically stupid. They see, evaluate, and dissect; it’s not unreasonable to expect they get the game.

Bob Herbert has an article up on the Times site today. He is unhappy with Obama’s tack to the center. It’s too much that Obama is talking to the Fundies, doesn’t despise Scalia, and took a middle position on the FISA snafu (which I agree with him on, but I see the mechanism behind it). He’s claiming the base is in an uproar.

Yawn.

The base is ALWAYS in an uproar post primary. The candidates ALWAYS move to the middle and reach out to the other side pre election. This is how you WIN. Once you win, and hopefully win the down ticket races as well, you get to work and start governing. Then you get to put the real meat on the table, the stuff you think is going to move the country.

Mr. Herbert, et al, do you really think that if George W. Bush, with a full boat congress, didn’t hand the Fundies their platform, that Obama will? Please.

If that’s the case, pick up your pundit toys and go home. We’ve got an election to win.

Crossposted at Bring It On!

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How to pretend you give a shit about the 08 Election.

A video that will embolden everyone!
Today Now!: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

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Adopt a Political Candidate

This morning, over at FranIAm’s place, she brought up an important point. She says we MUST become invested in good local politicians. She then introduced us to Darcy Burner, Democrat for Congress in Washington’s 8th District.

On July 2, her house burned to the ground. Her attitude: “We lost stuff. It’s just stuff. The boy is fine. The husband is fine.” She is in a tight race in the 8th Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, who narrowly won re-election in a 2006 contest with Burner.

In light of the fact that I am feeling sorry for myself, I have decided to do the next indicated thing to get out of my naval gazing. The Diva is adopting Darcy Burner. I am doing this for a number of reasons: first, Reichert, although a moderate Republican, supports Bush’s Iraq war; second, Burner is part of a group of Congressional Candidates who, if elected, will call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq; third, I really like her attitude.

Plus, as FranIAm pointed out, she needs the fundraising assistance. So, go here and donate, let’s elect Democrats.

Crossposted at DivaJood’s Place.

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Of Mice And Men

David writes at Dangerous Creation. He is an Aussie who pays attention to the ups and downs of American politics, political blunders, economic woes and our warmongering ways. ~ Dusty

This morning I watched an Australian current affairs program (Insiders) that came from the U.S. The topic, you guessed it, was the interminable American Election.

During the course of the program leading strategists from the Democrat and the Republican camps were interviewed and then followed a panel discussion with three people who came from the media and one from one of the American institutes, etc.

I felt a sense of increasing frustration as the program continued because, though it was agreed that America needed to change its direction and modify its arrogance, the participants carefully avoided the main issue: that of fixing the deeply flawed, easily manipulated American political system, the one that Bush clearly exposed for the whole world to see.

Into my mind flashed the moving story “Of Mice And Men.” It was as if Steinbeck, in 1937, had, without knowing it, written a cautionary tale, one that would symbolize America in the twenty-first century. To me, America seems to be an amalgam of both George and Lennie, a fraught combination of cynical cunning and retarded power.

Follow up:

Now most people know the story. During the Great Depression, two men who dream one day of owning a farm get work on a property. George Milton is smart, cynical and ambitious. Lennie Small is huge and has great strength but he has the mentality of a child, a child who loves petting soft, furred creatures. However, he doesn’t realize his own strength and sometimes he kills them (see photograph of Lennie with his now dead pet mouse). This need has already created problems in other places. To cut a long story short, George tries to pet the hair of his boss’s wife and accidentally kills her. To stop Lennie being killed by a mob, George shoots him and heads for the hills.

How does this relate to America, you ask? Well, like George Milton, America is cunning, cynical and has great ambitions based purely upon its own self-interest. And like Lennie Small, it possesses enormous strength via its military but it hasn’t got the intellect to use it with maturity or wisdom or subtlety. So it blunders from war to war, never learning that violence is counterproductive.

The result? Currently America, because of major foreign policy blunders since WW2 (and because of George Bush) is the most hated country in the world and yet, unbelievably, it is now contemplating the nuking of Iran which will further enrage the whole Muslim world. And, instead of learning from the Bush experience and changing flawed aspects of its political system (like giving the President too much power), America is forging full steam ahead to elect yet another President who will have the same powers as Bush does. It’s like giving Lennie more and more pets which, sadly he inevitably kills.

People who don’t learn from history always make the same mistakes. It’s time to get rid of the Lennies and the Georges who occupy powerful places in the American Government and the Pentagon and allow some normal, sane, non-greedy, peace-loving people to run the country.

Otherwise the greed-based, misdirected strength of America will destroy our world.

Crossposted at Dangerous Creation

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GOP hates Bob Barr

And why wouldn’t they? He is a right of the center guy that seems to have more scruples than any Rethug on the ballot. Yes, I am looking at you John Weathervane McCain. According to the NYT writeup yesterday, Barr is trying to appeal to the vast majority of Ron Paul enthusiasts, of which there are many.

Third party candidates can fuck up a party’s wetdream. Nader has done it to the Dem’s and Ross Perot did it to the Rethugs. From the NYT writeup:

On the ballots in 30 states so far, Mr. Barr has the chance to be a spoiler for Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, in several states, among them Alaska, Colorado and Georgia. Mr. Barr’s campaign advisers also assert he has similar potential in other mountain states, New Hampshire, Ohio and other swing states.

The Republican Party and the McCain campaign have swatted away the Barr candidacy, but some Republicans are taking it seriously. If the early polls hold up, and Senator Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee, pours heavy resources into Georgia, that state could be up for grabs, said Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia.

Nader isn’t a new face on the general election front and I personally think any damage he will do to the Democratic nominee is marginal, but Barr could embarass the Rethugs. A point to make, and the NYT does, is that no Libertarian has ever gotten more than 1% of the vote. Money isn’t flowing into this campaign yet either. From the NYT writeup:

Yet Mr. Barr faces formidable obstacles. No Libertarian candidate has ever won more than 1 percent of the vote in a presidential election, and Mr. Barr is severely lacking in money, resources and name recognition. He has yet to lease a campaign headquarters, have a fund-raiser, tape a television advertisement or hold a campaign event.

There is also the fact that the convention which nominated him wasn’t completely behind him either. It took six votes to hand Barr the nomination, and it was by a very thin margin. Before anyone gets excited about Barr, they should consider his record as a former Rethug member. His votes for the Patriot Act bill, the Iraq AUMF, impeaching Bill Clinton and sponsoring the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 shouldn’t endear him to anyone but the most right of the rightwing nutjobs.

Barr is attempting to distance himself from those votes now however, blaming them on the (R) after his name at the time. He now states he is “for a speedy and complete withdrawal of troops, with no permanent bases; on same-sex marriage, he believes that states should make their own laws; and on wiretaps without warrants, he is fiercely opposed, arguing that the bill that would legalize searches without warrants violates an individual’s constitutional rights”.

Barr is eyeballing the Ron Paulistas right now that consider themselves Libertarian. The Paul supporters aren’t flocking to Barr at this point however. Some are highly pissed off that Barr is pandering specifically to Ron Paul supporters. Ron Paul has refused to endorse Barr’s candidacy as well.

The long and short of it is how much support in November Barr and Nader will draw from the two main parties. Polls, which I hate with a passion, are showing both Nader and Barr garnering 3% of the vote in specific toss-up states. Obama’s bean counters are happy that Barr has joined the fray, saying he might make the difference in states which are important and still close between Obama and McCain.

All in all, it remains to be seen what Barr can do..money is his nemisis right now, and the same goes for Nader. This general election season looks to be all about the money and breaking records for how much you can raise and spend. Obama has the edge there and frankly I just want to get past the Democratic convention and head into the final stretch..I am so ready to get this shit over with, it ain’t even funny.

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Obama opts out of Public Financing.

For the first time since 1976, a major party US Presidential candidate is opting out of Public Financing for the general election. Using John McCain’s candidacy as the example of how the current public financing system is broken, Obama said

If we don’t stand together, the broken system we have now, a system where special interests drown out the voices of the American people will continue to erode our politics and prevent the possibility of real change.

McCain’s campaign is beholden to Washington Lobbyists like his economic advisor, Phil Gramm, and special interest PACs.

Obama’s decision is nothing short of refreshing, especially since the last 7 1/2 years have been driven by special interests and greed.

Greed and oil lust have driven the current administration. I am convinced that Bush’s cronies have been deliberately manipulating the price of oil, raising the cost at the pump, just so he can railroad through the ban on offshore drilling. Bush faces opposition in Congress, but he really hopes to leverage the soaring pump prices to get Congress to cave in before election day. And when they start drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, I wonder who will get the no-bid contract?

But Barack Obama is not afraid of the big bad guys on the other side. He presents genuinely alternative points of view and ways of doing things, and he does not back down from a fight. Funding will come from people like you and me rather than the likes of UBS. Yes, we can.

Crossposted at Journeys with Jood.

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The US of A pathy

Pew released a great report today. I’m still digesting it, but this jumped out at me. Despite the huge uptick in voter registration, the rock star crowds turning out to see Obama, the invigoration at precinct level of Dems thanks to the 50 State Strategy and the DFA, and the overall national desire for new leadership, we are STILL… lazy about our democracy.

There is considerable interest in the presidential campaign in the surveyed countries. A large majority of Japanese say they are following the election very closely (24%) or somewhat closely (59%). As a point of comparison, a third of Americans are following the election very closely, with another 47% saying they are tracking the campaign somewhat closely. – Pew

That’s 83% total for Japan, 80% for the USA. Our economies are closely tied, so I can see why Japanese citizens would take an interest in us, even an equal interest.

At least half or more of respondents in such countries as Germany, Australia, Great Britain and Jordan are closely following the election. There is less interest in the election in many other countries, including France, where 40% are focusing on the campaign, Mexico (33%) and Spain (25%). – Pew

Ok, back up the truck, Jack. 33% of Americans are closely following this election while 40% of the French are? 50% or more of Germany, Australia, Great Britain and Jordan? Are you seeing the disconnect here?

People around the world who have been paying attention to the American election express more confidence in Barack Obama than in John McCain to do the right thing regarding world affairs. McCain is rated lower than Obama in every country surveyed, except for the United States where his rating matches Obama’s, as well as in Jordan and Pakistan where few people have confidence in either candidate. – Pew

So McCain is making a stand in the “Die American Bastards, Die!” global arena, while the ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD sees Obama as the more capable leader. Could it be that he articulates his positions in an intelligent, thoughtful way? Could it be the world is ready for American leadership that leads instead of blasts? That articulates instead of smirks? One that is evenhanded instead of hot headed? One that, God forbid, listens as well as talks?

Gee, ya think?

Obama’s advantage over McCain is overwhelming in the Western European countries surveyed: Fully 84% of the French who have been following the election say they have confidence in Obama to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared with 33% who say that about McCain. The differences in ratings for Obama and McCain are about as large in Spain and Germany, and are only somewhat narrower in Great Britain. – Pew

Ok, I’ll probably take some heat for this stereotype, but when have 84% of the French agreed on anything? France is a country steeped in the art of passionate argument. Frankly, I’m impressed Obama can pull 84% of the French into a unified opinion. Think what he could do for the USA; it boggles the mind.

So why are McCain and Obama so close in this country? I think a couple of factors play here. First is that change is not a quick animal. Panic, yes. Panic is fight or flight. If we run aground into a Depression, you’ll see panic as modus operandi. Change, however, is a choice, and in a country this size, it takes awhile for a change that is happening house to house, mind to mind, heart to heart, to actually manifest itself in a measurable way. This is why the 50 State Strategy is working, because it casts info, resources and inspiration wide.

The second reason McCain is seen as close to Obama is the media. To paraphrase J. K. Rowling, the media exists to sell itself. They need a horse race, and by God, they’ll massage the news to give us one. The emergence of independent media on the internet, which is coming into its own at the same time the 50 State Strategy is bearing fruit, blunts some of the MSM fluff.

It’s not that I think Americans are going to reject the MSM as much as notice that what they read on the internet doesn’t match what they saw on ABC, and the stuff on the internet linked to sources they also read, which linked to other stuff, and so on. Weaning ourselves from media drivel is to embrace independent thinking, and while we are not there yet, it IS the direction we are headed. That slow choice for change is a done deal. Like the music industry, media is forgetting who drives the bus.

Americans, on the other hand, need to get back in the democracy game and start driving OUR bus. Reinvesting in an observant, conversational and engaged approach to our political clime is critical. The real loser in allowing political factions and the media to divide us for their own gain is us. We don’t have the luxury of disliking each other, because we really do need each other. Disagree, sure. Argue? Absolutely. I’ve said many times, this country was founded on an argument, and we’ve been arguing ever since. (So French, no?)

What we can no longer afford is to be conned together. The days of easy provocation are toast. Face it, we ALL love this country. We all have a stake in her prosperity, her image in the world, and her ability to demonstrate viable democracy. Beyond that, we have a stake in electing reasoned leadership that stops the Iraq war money pit, ends the three card monty game with our constitutional rights, and refocuses our resources on improving American life quality, opportunity and prosperity. The way we protect that stake is simple.

Pay attention, and get involved. Apathy is so 2004

Crossposted at Bring It On!

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The “Family Values” of John McCavein

Bear with it…. it’s a long post, but I believe this guy’s behavior towards those most loyal to him should absolutely be a campaign issue. After all, wasn’t Clinton’s behavior grounds for a near-constant drumbeat from the “values” wingtards for 8 years?

You know, one of the greatest things about the left blogosphere is that we all know something. What I haven’t seen, someone else likely has, and we share. I am always hunting for obscure tidbits that our useless mainstream media refuse to touch, because they aren’t likely to be touched any other way. We of the truth are dedicated to the notion that only the truth informs you enough to know what you’re doing. You can’t know the difference between right and wrong if all you ever see or hear is the wrong.

The fantastic Lydia Cornell blog has a frequent contributor and commenter who goes by the handle “Larry.” Larry made me aware of something out of Johnny’s past that I think you need to take a good measure of yourselves. You will not be surprised (I wasn’t,) but I believe you WILL be both angry and appalled.

Read more

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What’s Next

The Washington Post reports

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is likely to suspend her presidential campaign on Saturday and endorse Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, according to informed sources.

The New York Times reports

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will endorse Senator Barack Obama on Saturday, bringing a close to her 17-month campaign for the White House, aides said. Her decision came after Democrats urged her Wednesday to leave the race and allow the party to coalesce around Mr. Obama.

An Associated Press report says

Clinton, in an e-mail to supporters, said she “will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.”

The AP report also says that Mrs. Clinton is exploring ways to retain her delegates in order to promote her issues which include her call for universal health care. This is an issue dear to my own heart. I was pleased to hear Obama, in his speech Tuesday night, declare that Hillary Clinton would be at the forefront of solving the health care crisis in America. Mrs. Clinton will endorse Obama on Saturday, which is essential as we go into the November election season. Okay, the conventions are still ahead. Running mates have yet to be selected. But really, at this point, the match-up is Obama vs. McCain, and we need to focus on the issues that matter. Issues, not personalities. Issues: health care; the disaster in the mortgage and housing arena (thank you Phil Gramm, McCain’s chief economic advisor); getting us out of the Civil War we created in Iraq; social security; the environment.

Read more

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