Trouble for TeaBaggers?

From TPM Muckraker:

CNN has a lengthy (for TV) report on the infighting that, as we’ve detailed, is besetting the Tea Party movement.

The high-note comes when CNN gets on camera the GOP consultants who run the Tea Party Express to answer charges that their “grassroots” Tea Party group is little more than a front for the Republican Party.

Says Joe Wierzbicki of Russo, Marsh:

I think what you’ll find is, at Tea Party rallies, a lot of the people who are mad at the Republican Party, many of them are Republicans themselves.

We’d asked similar questions of Russo, Marsh, which is run by California Republican political operative Sal Russo, but never gotten a response.

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Lobbyists invited to the Republican retreat?

Oh yes, of course they are! From ABC:

The day after President Barack Obama urged members of Congress to be more transparent about their interactions with lobbyists, the House Republican Caucus headed up Interstate 95 for a retreat where they will be able to mingle privately with… lobbyists.

The annual retreat, sponsored by a non-profit group called the Congressional Institute, is meant to be a chance for members to escape the Beltway to talk about big ideas, hear from rising stars in the party, media pundits, and even visit with President Obama, who will address the caucus Friday.

In between these work sessions, though, there will be less formal gatherings involving several of the Institute’s 14-member board of directors. The vast majority of the Institute’s board is made up by top Capitol Hill lobbyists whose clients include leading drug manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and such major corporations as American Express and Verizon.

Institute Executive Director Mark Strand said the entire event has been scrubbed for potential ethics problems, and everything will be done above board. He explained it this way:

“The institute’s supporters, who include lobbyists, do not plan, attend or participate in any session of the annual conference. They are invited to a reception and dinner and depart the next morning,” he said.(emphasis mine)

“Such a courtesy for a tax-exempt organization’s supporters is commonplace and within ethical rules,” Strand added. “All members of Congress who participate in the conference pay their own expenses. The Institute does not employ a lobbyist nor does it engage in lobbying.”

Oh…and there will be no “transparency” during the reception and dinner, meaning the press will not be allowed to attend. Chew on these facts regarding lobbying Congress:

Last year Washington lobbyists netted $3.2 billion, a 13.7 percent increase from 2007, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics aka OpenSecrets.org.

And it’s the industries most affected by the economic downturn that seem to be doing much of the spending: finance, insurance and real estate, the group found.

Fucking carpetbaggers. Nothing about Congress turns my stomach more than lobbyists. Nothing. They are the hyena pack, ready to surround and consume whatever they see as a threat to their bottom line, regardless of the consequences to Main Street and the average Joe and Jill American.  Below is a list from OpenSecrets of the top 20 corporations and what they spent to lobby Congress in 2009:

US Chamber of Commerce                                                    $73,899,200
Exxon Mobil                                                                           $27,430,000
Pharmaceutical Rsrch & Mfrs of America                                $26,150,520
General Electric                                                                       $21,470,000
AARP                                                                                     $21,010,000
American Medical Assn                                                           $20,830,000
Chevron Corp                                                                         $20,815,000
Blue Cross/Blue Shield                                                            $20,067,939
Pfizer Inc                                                                                $19,669,268
National Assn of Realtors                                                        $19,477,000
Verizon Communications                                                         $17,820,000
FedEx Corp                                                                            $17,000,000
Boeing Co                                                                               $16,850,000
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn                            $15,980,000
Northrop Grumman                                                                 $15,180,000
Lockheed Martin                                                                     $13,533,782
Business Roundtable                                                                $13,410,000
ConocoPhillips                                                                         $13,382,079
American Hospital Assn                                                           $13,230,696
Altria Group                                                                             $12,770,000

Ain’t that some shit?  Makes me wanna beat someone about the head and shoulders with a Louisville Slugger.

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…and that depends on which definition of extremist you’re working with.

Let’s jump right on in.

Since Justice Souter announced that he was outta there at the Supreme Court, this bitch has noticed that conservatives have taken to using words like extremist, radical and activist to describe the kind of judges they intend to oppose.

Cough.

Now, I know that there are some who think that Getting Active on the Court is a land populated exclusively by liberals…and this bitch acknowledges that, since my ass is sitting in a non-segregated hotel room preparing for a meeting having traveled on a non-segregated plane because some judges decided to get their activism on in response to grassroots pressure, I’m not totally against activist judges…but liberals do not own exclusive rights to judicial activism.

I know that there are some people who are incapable of seeing the world as a complex place full of folks with lots of different views…’tis hard to believe, since those of us who regularly disagree with them are loud as a motherfucker…but the reality is that one person’s extremist is another person’s rational thinker.

The chorus to a bitch… “What brought this pondering on? Why doth thou feel the need to state the obvious?”

A bitch, in reply… If I have to hear another news segment covering conservative concern over who President Obama may or may not nominate to replace Justice Souter that fails to touch on the fact that this bitch and many of my fellow Americans were freaked the fuck out by the extreme as hell and now proven to like a side of radical activism with their decisions judges that the President Scooter B. set before the Senate for confirmation back in the day…well, I may have to break out the merciless rod of correction and get busy!

Shit.

Heaven to hell and back again on a red eye, why the fuck does the press always accept the premise of the argument that what alarms the far right alarms the majority?

Why?

And why the hell don’t they at least pretend to value balance and cover the fact that millions of us have been beaten down so much that we are thrilled with the stingy opportunity to maintain the current count instead of lose yet another seat to a throw-back anti-knowledge far right ideologue?

Hell, lots of folks voted for President Obama for this very reason because we all knew back in 2008 that the next President was going to replace at least one Justice.

Sigh.

I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me…a bitch must be suffering from travel brain…because my ass should know by now that coverage like that would just be too much like right.

Blink.

***logs off to go get my meeting on***

Crossposted from the Angry Black Bitch.

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party of no ideas

mom saw gingrich on tavis smiley the other night- and when smiley asked him why the gop hasn’t delivered any solutions to any issues and just seemed to be griping about stuff- gingrich referred him to american solutions. i should have known better… sigh.

“The structure is now in place to advance a core set of “tri-partisan” (i.e. majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents), principles and solutions that will unite a majority of Americans and effect real change now and beyond the 2008 elections.

That blueprint for real change is codified in the “Platform of the American People” – a solutions-oriented agenda that represents a fundamental break from the red-versus-blue status quo. This unique political document validates our belief that the scale of change required is so large that a new approach (e.g. a Red, White and Blue Platform) to public policy is necessary and should be implemented across all levels of government, in all 513,000 elected offices.
Top 10 Reasons YOU Should Support the Platform

1. English should be the official language of government. (87 to 11)
2. We want our elected leaders in Washington to focus on increasing the energy supplies of the United States and lowering the costs of gasoline and electricity. (71 to 18)
3. The option of a single rate system should give taxpayers the convenience of filing their taxes with just a single sheet of paper. (82 to 15)
4. Every worker should continue to have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot election when deciding whether to organize a union. (79 to 12)
5. Keeping the reference to “One Nation Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is very important. (88 to 11)
6. Congress should make it a crime to advocate acts of terrorism, violent conduct, or the killing of innocent people in the United States. (83 to 12)
7. We should dramatically increase our investment in math and science education. (91 to
8. We believe that if research indicates we could build clean coal plants in the United States with no carbon emissions, it would be important to build such plants as rapidly as possible. (71 to
9. Illegal immigrants who commit felonies should be deported. (88 to 10)
10. We support giving a large financial prize to the first company or individual who invents a new, safer way to dispose of nuclear waste products. (79 to 16)

so, this is the ‘core ten’ ideas. guess they should have proofread the website because in the page i linked to there’s a place to download the ten—- en espanol. yep. whatever newt.

the platform- is in pdf format- and from what i have read- it’s 12 pages or so- it looks like a goddamned rehash of the last 8 years under bush and a retread from when newt led his ‘republican revolution’ in 1994. nothing new- same god bullshit, illegal immigrant bullshit- what he doesn’t get is that there are already laws on the books and in the constitution to handle just about all of this platform. bush and cheney were too busy looting our life savings to be bothered.

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Tough times

Make for a rocky road — The economic situation seems to get more scary with each passing day. More of us have less money and fewer jobs, the U.S. auto industry is still in trouble, the deficit balloons and the housing industry seems moribund. But we are in for a change; our President-elect has promised that. But he has warned that the economy will get worse before it gets better. Here is my take on why, based on the stories my regular contributors have been sending my way (see Hat Tip Key below).

Just how bad it it? AlterNet says, “This Looks Like the Start of a Second Great Depression#” (1/9/09). I am not sure I would go that far, but I am of an optimistic nature. The Raw Story reports, “US deficit to hit 1.2 trillion dollars: budget office*” (1/7/09). This bothers me a great deal, as I am a saver by nature. And TruthOut ran this story earlier: “December Job Losses at 673,000, Worse Than Thought*” (1/7/09). That’s bad for my kids but not for me, as I am a retiree.

Who gets hurt by all this? BuzzFlash notes that, “Wealth of U.S. millionaires down 30 percent*” (1/6/09). Yahoo! News notes:“Mass. investor saw inside Madoff scam#” (12/19/08). We see by the Washington Post that “Thieves Stole Indentities to Tap Home Equity#” (11/27/08) — about this Jon says, “. . . the downside of all this technology.” From Dandelionsalad: “Rachel Maddow Show: Bailout for Auto Workers Forbids Strikes*;” it was published on (1/10/09). See also, The Raw Story#. Regarding reproductive rights, The Raw Story: reports that “New Bush rule could hit poor, rural women the hardest#” (12/3/08).

What happens to our children? Under the Bush administration college tuition rates soared. Here is another manifestation of the same kind of irresponsible policies. AlterNet exposes, “How colleges are using a cynical ploy to appear more exclusive* (1/6/09). McClatchy gossips, Levi quits oilfield job; Palin denies she helped him get it* (1/5/09). The Boston Globe spins, “Help wanted: Wienermobile drivers – Globe-trotting#” – (12/6/08). There could be worse jobs out there, folks.

Who caused all this pain? Republicans reason and Think Progress reveals, “Limbaugh’s Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started the Economic Crisis to Help Elect Obama#” (12/22/08). Yahoo! News/AP IMPACT: “How Freddie Mac halted regulatory drive#” – This was published on 12/7/08).

Are the fixes working? Time Magazine headlined, “Bailout Report Card: How Successful Have the Financial Relief Efforts Been? – The Bailout From A to F#” (1/5/09). This is an extremely valuable overview of how the current administration’s interventions have worked to date. To summarize:

Fannie and Freddie Takeovers: Grade D. Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): Grade C. Hope For Homeowners: Grade F. Capital Purchase Plan: Grade C. Money Market Fund Insurance: Grade A. The Fed’s Actions to Ease Lending: Grade B.

What about accountability? AlterNet: “Financial Meltdown Provides Final Verdict on Reaganomics*” (1/7/09). A New York Times op-ed piece by one of my favorites, Frank Rich is a very enlightening expose of the impossibility of our situation, or is it? Headlined, “Eight Years of Madoffs#,” (1/11/09), this is a very important opinion with which we should be familiar. Rich concludes,

If Bernie Madoff, at least, can still revive what remains of our deadened capacity for outrage, so can those who pulled off Washington’s Ponzi schemes. The more we learn about where all the bodies and billions were buried on our path to ruin, the easier it may be for our new president to make the case for a bold, whatever-it-takes New Deal.

You might want to save today’s post as a souvenir of the Bush administration. Thank Goodness, it will soon be no more. The people, most of them, will be gone, but the downsides will linger for a long time, I am afraid.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans economic crisis

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Saying Goodbye to 2008

When it comes to 75% of Americans#, we cannot say “Goodbye to all that,” including George W. Bush, soon enough. To set the stage for this post, check out “Bush by the Numbers 2.0.” from ProPublica:  “. . . our look at the 43rd president’s impact across American life.”  This piece is a set of great graphic comparisons of before and after Bush, a catalyst in America’s declining influence#.

Say Goodbye to “That’s not my fault” –

• Regrets? Bush has too few to mention, according to this 12/23/08 story at Politico.
• Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman: (from ProPublica and WaPo)  “When Cox was asked whether he should be blamed for a culture of lax enforcement that allowed multiple warnings about . . . [allowing Madoff] fraud to go undetected, he said: “Absolutely not. In fact, it’s in the DNA here that people thrive on bringing big cases.”

Say Goodbye to Republican failures (from ProPublica) –

• “Browse Iraq Reconstruction History for Yourself” (12/15/08) Read it and weep.
• “HUD Secretary Steve Preston told today’s Washington Post that the [Hope for Homeowners'] program is a flop: Only 312 people have applied because it’s “too expensive and onerous for lenders and borrowers alike.” “
• Robert F. Dacey, GAO chief accountant’s report:
  “Since a consolidated federal financial report was first required by law starting in fiscal year 1997, the GAO has said that agency systems for keeping track of finances were flawed.” [Agencies that cannot pass an audit: Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, for example]
• Why Detroit got the kitchen sink of questions: (from 12/9/08 TPM Muckracker) A GAO report on how treasury disbursed bailout monies gives us “two kinds of news about the TARP program – bad news and worse news,” says Rep. Barney Frank.

Say Goodbye to the mystery of the mortgage crisis –

• Watch the old movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” to learn how it all happened (from Newsweek).
• Read Arianna Huffington# (from AlterNet,) who says, “The Right-wing Economics That Got Us Into This Mess Should Go the Way of Soviet Communism.”
• CNBC’s Biased Reporting on the PPT# [Plunge Protection Team]: (from Funny Money Report) — Did the government manipulate the financial market?

Say Goodbye to corporate greed, lawlessness and ineptitude, facilitated by Vice-President Dick Cheney. (see also — “Cheney’s Legacy of Deception*” from 12/23/08 – TruthDig.

• “The 10 Worst Corporations of 2008#. The financial meltdown and economic crisis illustrated that corporations will destroy even themselves in search of profit.” (from AlterNet): “AIG: Money for nothing. . . Cargill: Food Profiteers . . . Chevron: ‘We can’t let little countries screw around with big companies’ . . . Constellation Energy: Nuclear Operators . . . CNPC (Chinese National Petroleum Corp): Fueling Violence in Darfur . . . Dole: The Sour Taste of Pineapple . . . GE: Creative Accounting . . . Imperial Sugar: 13 Dead . . . Philip Morris International: Unshackled . . . Roche: Saving Lives is Not Our Business . . . “

Say Goodbye to “disgusting” Republican hypocrisy# –

• Robert M. “Mike” Duncan#: (from Newsweek)
  The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was
  “shocked and appalled” that one of his potential successors had sent
  committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song
  called “Barack the Magic Negro.”

Say Goodbye to political spin –

• Year-end Whoppers# (from Newsweek): “Consider some of the bogus claims we’ve debunked just since Election Day.” And from Think Progress: “Limbaugh’s Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started the Economic Crisis to Help Elect Obama#.”
• Get Ready for a Lost Decade# (from the Wall Street Journal): Pure pessimism — “Our point here is that the bad policy vicious circle probably has a long way to run. While it’s still possible to entertain wild hopes about an Obama administration, such hopes are partly self-liquidating on closer inspection — they exist in the first place only because Mr. Obama has given us so little to go on, except campaign boilerplate. Bottom line: Politics is in charge — in a way that makes a lost decade of subpar prosperity more likely than not.” The Plank adds its own “Depressing Thoughts*” about the world’s fiscal future.

We are not sure to what we are saying “Hello,”with the inauguration of President-elect Obama. But we are ready for change.  We are ready to say goodbye to unwillingness to take responsibility for things gone wrong. We will be happy to say goodbye to failure after failure. We are tired of hearing, “I have no idea what happened.” We are  ready to say goodbye to inordinate corporate influence on our government. We will be happy to be saying goodbye to a reality too filled with Republican hypocrisy, lies, spin, secrecy and deception. We have nowhere to go but up.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans bush

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Soon we can say, “Goodbye to all that.”

Many of us feel impatient that time is not moving fast enough in the transition from Bush and Republican rule — f failures, scandals, lawlessness and ineptitude — to the inauguration of the Obama administration. This Quote of the day says it: “Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn’t seem to be working.” A lot is happening all at once. Back in early October, George W. Bush admitted he had “a lot of work to do in his last 100 days” before he leaves office, according to CNN. From wondering “What is NorthCom up to*?” asks AfterDowning Street.org regarding yet another “Operation Vigilant Shield,” to wondering what will happen to the Republican Party after our current president (OCP) leaves, here are a few of those things to digest.

The World Economic Summit this weekend produced this Financial Times headline: “World leaders unite to restore growth.” In the understatement of the year, OCP said,

. . . the meeting was an “important first step” but added that there was more work to be done and “a meeting is not going to solve the world’s
problems.”

The Wall Street bailout agenda comes first. Naomi Klein, writing at AlterNet, recently called it “Bush’s final pillaging” of the treasury. “The scope of the $700 billion bailout continues to widen#,” Yahoo! News headlined. And still Bush warns against “aggressive economic regulation,” says the Washington Post.

Resisting the rule of law — Everything is not exactly going his way, however: “Court Smacks Down Bush Administration in White House Emails Case,” is the Mother Jones headline. And we are warned that “Bush, out of office, could oppose inquiries,*” in this story from the New York Times.

Election 2008 is over for Republicans – Ex-presidential candidate, Senator John McCain is meeting today with ex-senator Barack Obama today to decide how they can cooperate on behalf of the country. Rank and file Republicans probably are saying “good riddance.” But the party in not rid of its ex-vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who stole the show at the Republican Governors’ meeting last week, according to Politico.com.

Rebuilding the Republican Party – Who will chair the Republican National Committee? The story of the contenders is in Politico.com. Another website, About.com explored the question on everyone’s mind, “What’s next for the Conservative movement?” “Has there been a Mormon-Evangelical rapprochement*,” is the question posed at The Plank/The New Republic. Six ways the GOP can recover and start ruining the world again# (fun,fun) comes via 236 News. And finally the “Secrets of Talk Radio*” are exposed by the Milwaukee Magazine.

It feels wonderful to be able to say “Goodbye to all that.”

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans presidential transition

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Mickey Edwards on the Constitution and the Presidency

To my readers:  This “S/SW Classic” post was first published on Jan. 12, 2008.  It seems to me to have pertinence to the current circumstances.

An outstanding program was presented by former U.S. Representative Mickey Edwards, (R-OK), January 7, 2008, at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars and broadcast on C-SPAN. Edwards’ lecture focused on the U.S.Constitution and the current presidential races.

is a Constitutional scholar and journalist who wrote a yet to be released book, “Reclaiming Conservatism: How a Great American political Movement Got Lost–And How It Can Find Its Way Back.” Currently a Vice President at the Aspen Institute and on the faculty at Princeton, Edwards served as a Republican U.S. Representative from Oklahoma from 1977-1993. He was on the Appropriations Committee and in the Republican leadership.

I took four pages of notes during the broadcast which I am presenting here in essay form, as I have in the past with congressional hearings. I paraphrase Edwards when I did not get exact quotes. I have also developed a number of links that relate to the material Edwards presented that lend standing to his points. And I have rearranged his points for flow and clarity. I have tried for as much accuracy as I can, because he presented important material in a brilliant manner. He begins with this:

“American Exceptionalism” is illustrated in our constitution. It really began 11years after America declared its independence in 1776. No other country had tried this before. The Constitution is designed to prevent dictatorship. Henry V was a dictator.

Edwards quoted the journalist Dana Milbank on the idea of “head of government vs. head of state. Our president is the head of state, but not the head of government. Our president heads only one of the three co-equal branches of government. The Kenneth Branagh movie, Henry V had an episode illustrating why the founding fathers decided that the United States would not be a monarchy: In the film, a friend of the King’s stole something during a battle. This was against a royal decree and punishable by execution, which was carried out. In this system the King and the elites decide; the people have no say. All the decisions come through kingly decree.

This is the way our founding fathers did it: We said the people would be in charge of their own destiny through their representatives. In the American system the people decide whether to go to war; they make spending and taxing decisions through their elected representatives. The Bush presidency is absolutely unprecedented. He declares he is “the decider, the chooser.” With Presidential signing statements Bush says, “I have the right to determine whether the law is binding on me. Regarding torture, for example, I will determine whether the law is binding on me or not.”

Bush made 1100 signing statements, more than all the former presidents combined. Edwards testified in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the presidential use of signing statements to circumvent the law. Edwards served on an American Bar Association Task Force (that included a lot of Republicans) studying this question. It found that such signing statements violate the constitution: Article One, Section Seven says the president can do one of two things with a law passed by Congress. He can sign it into law or not sign it (a veto). It takes two-thirds of both houses of Congress to overturn a veto. The President does not have a constitutional option to sign something into law and then ignore it.

Unitary Executive Theory means that Bush does not feel bound to follow the law. The president claims that officials work for the president, and are not bound to obey Congress. The General Accounting Office took a look at what happened to the 2006 Appropriations bill. It found that fully 1/3 of Congressional directives had been ignored by executive agencies. Bush said I can decide. He decided they did not need to go to court to conduct surveillances, and that some people were not entitled to habeas corpus protections.

Regarding presidential executive orders – Edwards feels that, “These are perfectly fine when confined to the executive branch. Things like secrecy and privacy are justified as long as they do not intrude into the judicial or legislative branches, or on the people.

Regarding executive privilege – It is OK. But there are limits to it. For example, Harriet Myers was subpoenaed to come before a congressional hearing and testify about certain communications within the Justice Department. She ignored the subpoena, citing executive privilege. However, the President was never involved in the communication under question. The claim was made that executive privilege extends to everyone in the executive branch – all who are working under the president – not just to communications between the president and his subordinates.

The rule of law and the Judicial Branch – What happens when the President will not obey the law and Congress tries to go to court to make the President follow the law? What is our recourse? The problem is that the courts make access so difficult. The issue is that the Supreme Court and the other Federal
courts have Constitutional rules of “standing,” entitlement to bring suit in that court to settle “cases and controversies.” When Edwards was in Congress he and a number of other legislators wanted to sue President Carter in “Edwards v. Carter.” They lost because the courts said they did not have standing. They had not been personally injured. We do not know whether we have been wire-tapped, for instance. And the courts have twice not upheld the line-item veto for a president.

The President has no power not to implement any of the laws. He has no power to violate any law that he has signed. In the Jackson Supreme Court decision, it said that when Congress speaks on an issue, presidential power is then at its lowest ebb. The three branches are equal.

So, if going to court is not practical, what can a Congress, that does not have “standing,” do to force a President to follow the law? Edwards’ suggestion is that Congress use the power of the purse.It would go something like this: Congress could say, “We will cut $25 million out of the office of the Secretary of the Interior. Or we will not fund the office budgets of three such departments. And we will begin to issue a number of subpoenas, and hold a number of hearings.”

Congress has enormous powers that they do not use effectively. Edwards declared that “this Congress valued loyalty more than the Constitution. The powers of Congress are an obligation imposed on the members of Congress to fulfill. It is their responsibility to exercise it under the Constitution.”

How did we get where we are today? Edwards said, “We have lost track of what our system is and why it is different than what went before.” We have forgotten that the President is not the head of government. The Constitution was designed to keep the power in the hands of the people, through their elected representatives. For example look at Congressional earmarks. Congress is to decide on spending, as opposed to letting the Executive branch decide, OMB, for example.

We are too ignorant of our system of government. Students have not been taught, and the press does not point out such things.

What about Iraq? The war was justified under false claims. It was called a” preemptive” war. But that is when we go to war because someone is presenting an active threat to the U.S. It was actually a”preventive” war. That is when we go to war against someone who may become a threat. Edwards said that as he has traveled in the Middle East, he learned that there is almost universal anger at the U.S. for the invasion of Iraq. The leaders were opposed to us going in; but now these same leaders are against our arbitrarily leaving prematurely.

The 2008 presidential election — Regarding the current criticism of Barack Obama’s “vision over specifics:” Edwards says, “Hooray for him.”

Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe was the one who discovered how widespread the Bush use of presidential signing statements is [and won the Pulitzer for it]. In his recent article he asked all the current presidential candidates what they would do regarding signing statements.

People need to ask the current candidates this question: “Where do you understand the limits of your powers to be?”

Some will say that the current threats mean that “We need a strong leader.” Professor Richard Neustadt says that such strength is embodied in a power to persuade, the power to stir the people.

Today is actually not an unprecedented threat for the U.S. In 1776 if Britain and France had combined forces against America we could have easily been defeated. In the face of even that possibility, the founding fathers decided we would not have a monarch. The other point is that in a time of unprecedented threat, isn’t there a risk in having only one person be the decider? We need more heads than just one. What if that one is of sub-par intelligence?

The U.S. needs to defend itself, of course. And we may even need to curtail liberties for a short time. But that is a decision to be made by the representatives of the people. We said yes back in the ‘70’s, but that such surveillance can only be done if the executive branch goes before a court to get the authority.

When asked who among the current candidates would be the strongest, Edwards first said, “none of the above.” He also said, however, that we will have plenty of opportunity to evaluate people over time. He then added that he would take a lot of heat for saying it, but would have to chose Hillary Clinton. Edwards likened some candidates to Henry V, including Rudy Giuliani “and perhaps McCain.”

He said that “reaching across the political aisle would be essential,” naming Obama, McCain or Huckabee as the strongest in that area. Edwards continued saying that the next president just cannot insist on going it alone. He or she will have to build support.The President can have a big influence of members of Congress. The President should meet regularly with the leadership of Congress before coming out with any program. Edwards said the Bush tried only to reach out to his Republican base, and that he actually does not know who that is. He also pointed out that “he has no problem trying to get Middle East leaders such as Olmert and Abbas to shake hands, but would not think of doing the same with Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner.”

Mickey Edwards found out how to reach across the political aisle to me, a Progressive Democrat. Don’t we wish there were more like him?

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics bush 2008 election presidential candidates conservative mickey edwards

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Ending the conflict

It will not be quick or easy. By conflict I mean the wars abroad and those at home. Many of feel that this election has ended our “long dark night” of discouragement, pessimism and battling to change things. “Unity” and “reconciliation” were among the watch words used to describe what CHANGE meant. Where to start?

Abroad includes all of the Middle East. President-elect Obama has committed to ending the occupation of Iraq in a responsible way, and refocusing on the conflicts in Afghanistan and the nearby border regions of Pakistan. This will amount to first figuring out what to call the new conflicts, besides the “war on terror,” such a misnomer. After that it amounts to a laser beam focus on destabilizing and interrupting al Qaeda. Then the entire military needs to be repaired and re-purposed. Well, optimism says that all should be a piece of cake, huh? The pessimists among us will say that it will be impossible to disengage from Iraq; it is too fragile and we dare not “lose.”

Discouraged others say that the military industrial complex is too formidable to reform or refocus, let alone dismantle.

At home includes conflict within and without the two main political parties, conflict among social classes and ethnic groups, and even the conflicts within our families and smaller social circles. No problem says the optimist. We’ll get started on that right away, too. Whoa, there, say the pessimists. Does not psychology, sociology, anthropology and political theory maintain that conflict is a natural and inevitable part of the human condition? Homeo sapiens is a fighting species, biologically programmed to favor the winners to be the fittest, the survivors? Pessimistically, we could always be fighting.

Conflict, how to end it? The cynic in me says, forget it. The job is too big and too hard. I talked about the weight of the world on our new leader’s thin shoulders in yesterday’s post . My friend “betmo’s” comment was this,

“We are all a bit older and grayer and more subdued after 12 years of the yoke of wrong rule. The weight of the world should be shouldered by all of us. We should lift Obama up to be the leader he needs to be by shouldering the responsibility for change – millions of shoulders carry a lot of weight.”

Conflict remains at home and abroad. Where is the rational middle ground to start to diminish conflict? What should we realistically work towards, now that we the people of good will are all joined in this common effort of CHANGE? I cannot think of a better way to look at the question that though my reader’s powerful thoughts.

We cannot afford to be overly optimistic or pessimistic. We must figure out what is realistic. And it is realistic for me to say to myself, not speaking for anyone else, I am capable of figuring out what my shoulders can carry. I know what I know how to do, what I have the capacity to accomplish, what are realistic goals that can be met just by me alone. Whew! That feels do-able, rational and realistic. I cannot presume to speak for, dream for or plan for others. That is theirs to do. . . or not.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics obama conflict middle east economy

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Monday before TUESDAY marks the 11th hour.

What can you say when time is running out? Talk to yourself:

• If you are a candidate, you would hope to say, “I have done my best; now the voters decide.”
• If you are a voter who has already voted, you can say “Thank goodness!”
• If you haven’t voted yet, you can say, “Whatever it takes . . . I’ll prevail.”
• If you are refusing to vote, even for McCain-Palin, you can say, “Shame on me.”
• If you are a member of the media, you can say, “I’ll do my honest-to-goodness best.”
• If you are a blogger, you can say,”Hang in there; a bit of respite is coming.”
• If you are from outside the U.S., you can say, “Good Luck to America!”

Where are we at this 11th hour? Campaign funds have been spent at an incredible rate. (Obama’s “infomercial” was watched by 33.5 million people). The time for big new ideas on how to win has expired. The papers have all made their endorsements*. More Conservatives have endorsed Obama# than Democrats have endorsed McCain. The candidates that head both parties have either reconciled or split. The Republican Party is more well known# to voters, as candidates are revealed at their best and worst over time#. Most voters know where the Democrats stand on the issues after four debates. New methods for getting out the vote emerged, and old methods for suppressing votes have shown up again.

After Tuesday’s election results are final, we know that half of us are going to be bitterly disappointed at the outcomes. We all know that things will change# in a new administration, such as not keeping campaign promises, raising or lowering taxes#, and resolving the problems of the economic crisis in different ways than what is being tried now. New coalitions will be formed. Old groupings will break up. Democracy will again prevail.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics 2008 elections democrats republicans political parties

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Constitutional protections under fire in this election, or not?

Is the United States Constitution powerful enough to be a bulwark against the threats of its internal enemies? TPM Muckraker published (10/31/08) the Department of Justice’s list of counties where DOJ election monitors will be deployed, adding that it “looks on the level.” This sounds good. Five counties in Texas will be involved. Other TPM Muckraker related election stories do not sound so good:

• News that the state of Georgia may be trying to suppress voters by refusing to extend voting hours
• Colorado continued to purge voter lists, despite a settlement with voting rights groups
• Wisconsin will attempt to intimidate poll watchers with prosecutors and agents “looking for voter fraud.”

“Even the least of these” — Diverse Americans must come under the protection of of the eagle’s wings. Racism does not die easily, as this election has unfortunately shown. This is a wonderful piece that illustrates my point: “Commentary: Republicans summon ugly old ghosts#” is by my favorite, Joey Galloway, a McClatchy columnist extraordinaire. He concludes with wise words:

Here’s a prediction for you, for them: McCain and Palin will go down to defeat by 15 to 20 points, and they’ll take a heap of Republicans down with them.

The financial collapse and the painful fallout that’s stalking the nation won’t be righted overnight, however. Putting Barack Obama in the White House and giving the Democrats a veto-proof majority in Congress won’t mean that happy days are here again.

Hard work, sacrifice and suffering lie ahead. It could take a decade or more to repair all the damage that Bush, Dick Cheney and all their henchmen in prison, out of prison and on their way to prison have done to our economy, our military, our standing in the world, our Constitution and to civil discourse, common decency and competent governance.

In the meantime, we Americans would do well to try to remember all those things that our grandmothers told us about how to get by in hard times.

How to get by on a lot less.

How to grow a vegetable garden.

How to squeeze a nickel till the buffalo bellows.

How to appreciate the small joys of family and friends.

How to share what you have, no matter how little you have, with those who have nothing.

Someday we may be able to tell our grandchildren about the Election of ‘08 when we, the people, turned away from anger, hate and greed and once again embraced the better angels of our nature.

Defending their rights to say these awful things is tough but necessary. Sarah Palin made a head-spinning statement in a radio interview Friday that Glenn Greenwald brilliantly explored in a recent post. Palin’s comment was to the effect that press freedom is a threat to the First Amendment. Unfortunately, this time the Constitution protection of free speech may be on the side House Minority Leader John Boehner’s recent use of an expletive to describe Senator Barack Obama#. It may also be on the side of Elizabeth Dole’s vile campaign ad#. Her opponent has every right to go to court protesting that she has been defamed, but candidates open themselves to being unfairly targeted when running for office.

Equality under the law – Another right-winger, Dennis Prager’s comment, that “Equality is a European value*,” is also allowed. But, thankfully, others, such as Ali Frick at Think Progress, can rebut the statement with sarcastic irony:

Or if they had looked to the United States Constitution, they may have erroneously thought “equality” was an important American value:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Thankfully, Dennis Prager is here to protect and defend American inequality.

Help is on the way — Thinking ahead and probably assuming that OBama wins (I cannot imagine MCCain would be interested), Anthony Romero of the ACLU announced that his organization has developed an action plan for helping the next administration to restore the Constitution. To quote his e-mail:

October 31 , 2008
ACLU Releases Presidential Transition Plan to Restore Civil Liberties

In anticipation of the presidential election, the ACLU released a set of recommendations detailing steps that the new president should take to “clean house,” renew freedom, and restore the nation’s reputation.

“This past administration has left us with a disastrous legacy of bad policy, abuse of power, and civil liberties violations,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington Legislative Office. “The next president, whoever he is, must immediately begin the process of undoing this far-reaching assault on our nation’s freedoms and core values, and the ACLU’s ‘to do’ list provides a detailed roadmap for achieving that.”

”Actions For Restoring America,” outlines actions to be taken by the next president on his first day in office, in his first 100 days, and in his first year.

The 83-page document proposes actions across a wide variety of topics, including national security, human rights, women’s rights, civil rights, drug policy, the rights of LGBT Americans, immigrants and prisoners, privacy and free speech.

Read the entire ACLU transition plan including suggested executive orders, mandates and directives from the president.

A few ideas on other questions posed in my post — “When Judges Make Foreign Policy - United States Supreme Court,” is a great analysis of how important constitutional checks and balances in foreign policy have become in recent years. Worth the read, it was written by Noah Feldman at The New York Times (10/28/08). Feldman begins,

Every generation gets the Constitution that it deserves. As the central preoccupations of an era make their way into the legal system, the Supreme Court eventually weighs in, and nine lawyers in robes become oracles of our national identity.

. . . how the justices will address critical issues of American foreign policy in the future hangs very much in the balance. This may seem like an odd way of thinking about international affairs. In the coming presidential election, every voter understands that there is a choice to be made between the foreign-policy visions of John McCain and Barack Obama. What is less obvious, but no less important, is that Supreme Court appointments have become a de facto part of American foreign policy. The court, like the State Department and the Pentagon, now makes decisions in cases that directly change and shape our relationship with the world. And as the justices decide these cases, they are doing as much as anyone to shape America’s fortunes in an age of global terror and economic turmoil.

. . . Charged with interpreting the Constitution and therefore shaping its contemporary orientation, the Supreme Court needs to be extraordinarily sensitive to the demands of history. When the court gets it wrong, the consequences can be serious. The Constitution we get will still be the one we deserve, but our deserts need not be good ones. The Constitution, let us not forget, gave us slavery and segregation. It gave us dysfunctional limitations on progressive legislation that was desperately needed in the years before the Great Depression. We like to think the Constitution is always leading us toward a more perfect union. But this has not always been the case, and as with any experiment, there is no guarantee that it will be in the future.

My conclusion today is that the Consitution will be up to the current challenges, ALL of them. Bring on the election!

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are “betmo*” and Jon#.

View my current slide show about the Bush years — “Millennium” — at the bottom of this column.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics constitution republicans courts 2008 elections

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Election – the big picture:

The last presidential debate is over. Fewer people watched this debate than watched the second.  Most people think that Barack Obama was the more successful debater.  And, because that is the case, the Republican smear machine is still in operation, according to Wired.com (#).

E-mail smears have targeted Obama’s patriotism since his presidential run began, but the Sacramento website appears to be the first case of the smears being openly adopted by an official GOP organization. The attacks come as polling shows voters growing increasingly impatient with the perceived negative tone of Obama rival John McCain’s campaign, following attacks seeking to link Obama to a former 1960’s radical.

Truth squads are out.  There are websites dedicated to that work.  Television networks make some attempts to help viewers sort fact from fiction.  Attempts to define Barack Obama as somehow dangerous are back-firing. Recent weeks have proven that racism remains a nasty reality* in far too many places#.  And it was unleased# by the McCain campaign#.  John McCain has been playing with fire.# People worry about the potential for violence#.  Moreover, McCain is losing credibility as a true maverick with the general public, and also with many in the mainstream media*.  

“Joe the Plumber” is on the hotseat, along with Sarah Palin,# according to Yahoo! News#.  Joe is actually a worker.  He is not a licensed plumber, and several government entities that have jurisdiction are probing further.  Veep candidate, Sarah Palin, is also having major ethics problems#.  Palin’s problems are turning out to be the perfect example of that old saw, “the pot calling the kettle black*.”

TV ad buys for presidential candidates are in a state of flux.  It is quite a contrast.  Obama is going to be speaking to the nation on many major networks for a half hour soon.  And the Republicans are forced to cut back on any advertising in several states.  Voting has begun for many people.  Many people worry that the Republicans will somehow steal the election#. There are predictions that there will be major voting problems, a possible “major meltdown, according to Yahoo News# Time magazine reports that college students will be particularly affected, “facing major stumbling blocks#.”

President George W. Bush has 94 days left in office.  There have been 4185 military deaths in the Iraq war since March of 2003.  And in 18 days it will be Election Day.  Get the picture?

Hat Tip Key: Most of today’s story leads came from my regular contributors, Jon (#), and “betmo” (*).

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A noun, a verb and 9/11 ™

KO skewers all the pigs in lipstick that have R’s behind their names. You know the suspects…one of which is John McCain.

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Sunday News Digest — “Unbelievable!”

The country is getting back to political normalcy, now that the Democratic and Republican convention-eers are going home. It has been unbelievably crazy, according to my blog friends. Two of them send me good stuff that I just need to share, regarding a number of facts, issues, Republican shennanigans and shameful things. I am posting the more complete items in more or less chrono order, newest first.

“Sarah Palin Would Hate Rosa Parks#,” by Van Jones @ The Huffington Post (9/7/08). This post is about those of us who pursue the noble cause of community organizers and activists. To quote:

Sarah Palin and the GOP had great fun this week belittling Barack Obama’s background as a community organizer. But in doing so, they were not just putting down one person.

They were attacking the (small “d”) democratic traditions of the United States, itself.

“Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean#,” by Charley James @ The LA Progressive (9/5/08): To quote this revealing article’s conclusion:

. . . [Palin's offensive racial slur deleted for this post] may be everyday language up in the bush. Whether it – and the outlook, politics and world view Palin reflects when she says such things in public – should be part of a presidential campaign is another thing altogether. The comment says as much about McCain as it does about Palin, and it says a lot of things about Americans who overlook such statements (as well as her record) and vote anyway for McCain.

“Investigation into Palin Now on Fast Track#” @ ABC News, 9/5/08: To quote:

ABC News has exclusively learned that Alaska Senator Hollis French will announce today that he is moving up the release date of his investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her office to get the Alaska public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, fired. The results of the investigation were originally scheduled for release Oct. 31 but will now come almost three weeks earlier, according to sources.

“Are Evangelicals Really Sold on Palin?#” @ Time Magazine, 9/5/08: To quote:

. . . To a degree, that’s true. Palin’s pro-life credentials are impeccable – she opposes abortion in all circumstances, even in cases of rape and incest, except when a delivery will result in death. And her strong, open religious faith will make her the perfect person to reach out to conservative Evangelicals, who still don’t fully trust the Republican nominee. But McCain and his aides may not want to say hallelujah just yet. While Palin is inspiring rhapsodies from the lions of the Christian right, her appeal to more moderate and younger Evangelicals – as well as independent swing voters – may be limited.

Lost in the stampede of social conservatives to embrace Palin this past week is the fact that she is culturally outside the mainstream of Evangelicalism. Over the past few years, a growing number of Evangelicals have been consciously distancing themselves from the more extreme stands of the Christian right.

“Team McCain and the Trooper#,” by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, @ Newsweek (9/5/08). It is sub-headed, “Nominee’s ally moves to curb probe of Palin.” Jon says about this story,”I had a feeling this would happen, because if she did intervene she will face indictment; game over. But what will happen will probably look like the ‘04 Fla. recount; attorneys everywhere.” To quote (their links):

Key Alaska allies of John McCain are trying to derail a politically charged investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin’s firing of her public safety commissioner in order to prevent a so-called “October surprise” that would produce embarrassing information about the vice presidential candidate on the eve of the election.

In a move endorsed by the McCain campaign Friday, John Coghill, the GOP chairman of the state House Rules Committee, wrote a letter seeking a meeting of Alaska’s bipartisan Legislative Council in order to remove the Democratic state senator in charge of the so-called “troopergate” investigation.

“Palin’s Stall*” an editorial at the Anchorage Daily News (9/5/08): To quote:

Gov. Sarah Palin is taking the wrong approach to Troopergate. She should be practicing the open and transparent, ethical and accountable government she promised when running for governor and boasts about now that she’s on the national stage.

Instead, Gov. Palin has begun stonewalling the Legislature’s attempt to get the bottom of allegations that she, her family or staff violated ethical or state personnel rules.

As a result, the Troopergate allegations hang over Palin’s future and cloud her candidacy for vice president.

“Tailor Made for the Bush administration*” @ Media Needle (9/3/08). “You can’t make this up,” says betmo. Quoted links:

Palin demands that the Independent Prosecutor stop investigating her.Now she’s claiming Executive Privilege.

“About Sarah Palin: an e-mail from Wasilla#” By Anne Kilkenny @ Crosscut Seattle (9/2/08): It is absolutely fascinating and well worth the read. One very interesting section it called, “Claim vs fact.” To quote:

A suburban Anchorage homemaker and activist – who once did battle with the Alaska governor when Palin was mayor – recounts what she knows of Palin’s history.

Editor’s note: The writer is a homemaker and education advocate in Wasilla, Alaska. Late last week, Anne Kilkenny penned an e-mail for her friends about vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whom she personally knows, that has since circulated across comment forums and blogs nationwide. Here is her e-mail in its entirety, posted with her permission.

Quick Takes on the McCain-Palin buzz –

• @ Yahoo! News, 9/6/08: “Palin: More and less than she seems#”
• These from betmo @ leftinaboite, 9/6/08: “Caribou Barbie Sequestered Again,” and “More of the same” at bobceska.
• @ Yahoo! News, 9/5/08: “SARAH PALIN, QUEEN OF THE NOBODIES #”
• @ Think Progress, 9/5/08: “McCain Campaign Plans To Keep Palin Away From The Press#”
• @ AlterNet, 9/5/08: How My 7-year-old learned about sex from John McCain#”
• “Oops!,” from betmo. It’s @ Talking Points Memo 9/5/08: “Mystery Solved” When is Walter Reed not Walter Reed?
• @ AlterNet, 9/5/08: “ Country Club First: Walking Around in the RNC’s Wonderland.” A visit inside the GOP bubble mindset.
• “Whew!” from betmo. It’s @ pridepress, 9/5/08:”Real World Experience from Alaskan Educator.” Very specific background on Palin.
• @ The Huffington Post, 9/3/08: “McCain was against Palin#” and “Big News Page – Sarah Palin#“
• “Osmosis?,” asks betmo. It’s @ Think Progress, 9/3/08: ”McCain-Russia-Alaska.
• @Think Progress, “McCain Campaign Plans To Keep Palin Away From The Press#”

Miscellaneous news — “Did a Mississippi raid protect right wing politicians?*”It is from truthout.org (9/1/08). betmo asks poignantly,”where can i move where it’s free? where can i move where it isn’t corrupt?”:

Reference key to links – sent by my regular contributors, #Jon and *betmo.

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans palin alaska mccain 2008 election

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The POW and Barracuda show comes to an end..

Happily, the RNC convention came to a close. For the most part it was damage control. First Mother Nature had her say & threw a hurricane on opening day. No one is going to forget the awful images and memories of the Katrina catastrophic disaster enhanced by the Bush administration incompetence.
Cindy McCain & Laura Bush actually stood in front of the mostly empty convention hall, and said ” it’s time to take off our Republican hats, and put on our American hats” and help hurricane victims. How’s that for a snapshot of a mindset? They must have been wearing their Republican hats during Katrina.
Palin was all over the map. Was she the holier-than-thou respect my daughter’s privacy persona. Sister Palin would have us bow to her pro-life choices and ask, no demand we respect their privacy, while she & the republican would destroy our ability to make our own personal choices. Palin opposes abortion, even in the case of rape.

Then we saw pit bull Palin. The gun in each hand, Annie Oakley persona. She’s a rootin’ tootin fighter. But don’t cross her or she will fire you. She had the gall to insult Biden’s 35 year service in the Senate, claiming she had more experience. Palin was 9 years old when Biden became a U.S. Senator.
Palin showed us some bitchy snark, and in her attempt to put down Obama, just happened to distort the facts, and lots of them. I hope the media does their homework, to let the public & Palin know, she is playing loose with the facts, and call her on it.

I want to add that it is not a double standard to question the wisdom or practicality of having parents of an infant, a 4 month old special needs infant , in the mix of the Executive branch of Government. It is not a double standard for females, it is practical question and an observation- I’ve never seen an infant in ANY executive branch family male or female, because it is both parents choice and responsibility to care for their infant. It’s not fair to the infant, or either parent that such a demanding job would come first over the care of an infant. Palin’s political power hunger trumps the needs of her infant. I’m sick of reading articles saying no one ever questions male politicians parenting skills or obligations. To that, I reply no male politician has sought an Executive Branch position with in infant in tow. Like vinegar & oil, the two don’t mix. Parents with infants have stayed away from the job for good reason. Let’s not leave common sense at the door, trying to make this a gender issue.

The republican party is 93% white. There is not much diversity there. This convention spent waaay too much time retelling the Prisoner of War story of McCain. I have no doubt McCain went through hell. It is an amazing story, and he did an honorable thing, I respect and admire his story. That being said, it really has nothing to do with the problems we face in the here & now, problems HE was a part of creating. The problems we face will not be solved by the minds that created them. ( Ok I am quoting one of my bumper stickers now)… but it’s true. McCain IS a part of the problem. He’s votes with Bush policies 90% of the time. Why would anyone think we would see any different policies or much change at all, with McCain at the helm?

The republicans want to carry on the same agenda. They want to bow to big oil and allow the rape & pillage of our land. Alternative energy to them means Nuclear power plants, nuclear waste dumps, offshore oil drilling, and coal mining. McCain & Palin will support Exxon, Mobile, Chevron & Shell, and the rest of us can go to hell.

McCain said he hates war & wants peace, but that was after he said a 100 year war was fine by him. I’m sure his speech writers & handlers advised him to try to soften his original remark. More damage control ~ their reputation is at an all time low- and they have earned it. Remember George Bush promised to restore integrity to the White House in his presidential campaign. Safe to say his mission failed, miserably.

There was a whole lot of glitz and shallow, sanctimonious rhetoric. What crowd there was, chanted U

• SA, and at some point, people were yelling “Drill baby Drill”. The republicans are big on enemies, terror, and fear.

The party is so tattered, they decided to keep Bush out- no personal appearance from the sitting president. They beamed him in via sattelite, for a video appearance. He was allegedly immersed in overseeing relief efforts for the hurricane. Truth is he is just a liability.
There was nothing the republican party could have said or done to get my vote.
In summary, their version of “leadership” has been torture.

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