Popdose: Political Culture: Obama, Ayers, and Advanced Citizenship
Zack
· 1 year ago
Hillary's campaign is claiming that she pulled in $10 million in the 24 hours since she won the Pennsylvania primary. So it's not over yet. And what's even more amazing is that she took it all in while under heavy sniper fire! Digby managed to convince me today that the drawn out primary process is actually a good thing for the Democrats, primarily because it has driven new voter registration through the roof and now a lot more people have something invested in the process. Despite all the bitter talk that's happening now, I think that bodes very well for November.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
I'll just reiterate what I posted on Py's column a few days ago: The election is over. John McCain has won and there's not a damn thing the Democrats can do about it.
Sounds dire? Here's how it works: Clinton and Obama take it all the way to the Convention. Obama has the popular vote and the best wishes of a new, young electorate. Nonetheless, the powers that be will go with Clinton because of her past. Obama supporters are shunned, disillusioned with the process since it essentially hands the torch to the old guard, and those supporters do not back her. The vote is irrevocably split. McCain waltzes through.
Now, having said this, when this happens the Democratic party ought to close shop. Seriously. With all of Bush's negative aspects shoved to the fore, there should be no way a party member espousing the same policy rhetoric should win. But he will in what will be considered the biggest Democrat collapse in the history of modern politics. When this happens, all who align themselves with the Dems should be regarded as electably impotent and should seek other associations and put the damn donkey out of its misery.
Zack, I wish I could share your positive view, but I'm prepping myself for four more years of Dubyanomics, and it hurts something fierce.
JonCummings
· 1 year ago
I don't buy it. I'll grant you that McCain could win--though I'm still doubtful about even that--but if he does win it will be razor-thin and it will be purely because the attack machine has somehow negated all the Democrats' natural advantages in the worst Republican year since 1932...or, frankly, if America is just too racist to elect Obama.
And before you write off the DemocratIC Party (extra upper-case letters intended) entirely, there is not a chance in the whole wide world that Democrats won't still control both houses of Congress in 2009--in which case, in the wake of the last eight years, McCain won't be able to push through one single item of his agenda.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
A few people who I really respect and love have come out and said very disheartening things about Obama. I won't go into the specific details, they're quite hateful. Needless to say that there are many who would much rather see four more years of the failed policies over a (racial epithet) in the White House.
And I already see a MacLock happening. Much like the jokes about old folks racing home to see Andy Griffith as Matlock, a large percentage of our senior citizens have thrown their support to McCain because of his age. Pressed about it, they don't seems to have any other opinions beyond it. He is "one of us", regardless of what havok he may wreak upon Social Security.
But hey, if the beer-drinkers can have a drink with Dubya, why can't the advanced aged pop a Geritol with Johnny Mac?
1Py_Korry1
· 1 year ago
The right finally has an Obama terrorist connection. They were trying to chum the waters with a repetition of his full name at a McCain rally to see if it would attract the sharks. But why feed the echo chamber with the name "Hussein" when they now have a casual relationship with Ayers that will be made causal.
Dw: I'm not quite ready to write off the Democratic party. Clearly they are in a generational transition, but Howard Dean is no Richard Daley, and while Hillary's support for the Iraq war is a deal breaker for many Democrats who support Obama, I don't think we're at a point if Obama doesn't get the nomination that a large number of his supporters will refuse to vote for Hillary. I do think that both Hil and Barack need to start reminding voters of the McCain/Bush connection and why we don't want to continue down that road.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
Hell, I'd just be happy if Hil and Barack would stop going after each other and focus on McCain in general. It is generally considered that, unless the both of them strangle each other to death on the campaign trail, one of them will be facing McCain and they need to focus.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
Oh, and here's a campaign notion I just couldn't ignore: McCain toured Katrina-ravaged New Orleans today in a shiny, black uber-bus that cost more than what most of the city dwellers make in an entire year.
They called the wonderbus the "Straight Talk Express". There's a good chance that the bus is not American made or manufactured, but I'm just guessing on that one.
eric
· 1 year ago
I know people in the liberal echo chamber here will not care, but Obama has said his first priority as President would be to protect and enshrine the right of mothers to freely "dispose" of their unwanted pregnancies. I won't use the inflammatory "m" word.
That tells many of us all we need to know about Obama's character, as it pertains to leading the country. His associations with Rev. Wright or Ayers is dust on the balance in comparison. Of course, all is fair in politics, and if these associations can be used to prevent him from gaining the power to advance the cause of abortion, I won't mind. But it is for many a sideshow.
I could say the same thing about his tax policies, which make no sense for a nation in the economic situation we find ourselves in.
I could say the same thing about his qualifications for the post of commander in chief.
His experience and his stated goals should be enough to disqualify him.
And Rolling Stone says the Dems have already lost this election. Matt Taibbi writes, "It doesn't matter what Obama does at this point. He's fucked either way. If he gets into a catfight with Hillary, the peanut gallery will slam him for being just another typical politician. If he sits there and just lets her plunge knife after knife into his abdomen, he'll have every hack at Time and Newsweek saying he doesn't have 'what it takes' to compete in the 'blood sport' that is politics..."
[I think we've already seen Obama take several missteps under the pressure Hillary is putting him under. She's forcing errors on his part.]
Concluding, he writes, "Democrats had all the momentum going into this race because of seven years of uninterrupted press scrutiny of the Bush administration; by the time November rolls around, however, most voters are going to feel like the Democrats have been in charge for over a year. And McCain will be able to swoop in and ride a 'throw the bums out' uprising straight to the White House..."
And speaking of bums, all the folks running for president are US senators. Since each one thinks he/she has plans and solutions that will save the country, what in tarnation are they waiting for??? They could introduce those wonderful, magnificent, nation-saving plans in Congress right now. The nation could have an opportunity to vet these great agendas ahead of time, in detail. This goes for McCain, too, by the way. I'm sick of all the promises. They are all part of government, and if they have solutions for our problems, they should put up or shut up. Right now. Amen.
All Comments
Digby managed to convince me today that the drawn out primary process is actually a good thing for the Democrats, primarily because it has driven new voter registration through the roof and now a lot more people have something invested in the process. Despite all the bitter talk that's happening now, I think that bodes very well for November.
Sounds dire? Here's how it works: Clinton and Obama take it all the way to the Convention. Obama has the popular vote and the best wishes of a new, young electorate. Nonetheless, the powers that be will go with Clinton because of her past. Obama supporters are shunned, disillusioned with the process since it essentially hands the torch to the old guard, and those supporters do not back her. The vote is irrevocably split. McCain waltzes through.
Now, having said this, when this happens the Democratic party ought to close shop. Seriously. With all of Bush's negative aspects shoved to the fore, there should be no way a party member espousing the same policy rhetoric should win. But he will in what will be considered the biggest Democrat collapse in the history of modern politics. When this happens, all who align themselves with the Dems should be regarded as electably impotent and should seek other associations and put the damn donkey out of its misery.
Zack, I wish I could share your positive view, but I'm prepping myself for four more years of Dubyanomics, and it hurts something fierce.
And before you write off the DemocratIC Party (extra upper-case letters intended) entirely, there is not a chance in the whole wide world that Democrats won't still control both houses of Congress in 2009--in which case, in the wake of the last eight years, McCain won't be able to push through one single item of his agenda.
And I already see a MacLock happening. Much like the jokes about old folks racing home to see Andy Griffith as Matlock, a large percentage of our senior citizens have thrown their support to McCain because of his age. Pressed about it, they don't seems to have any other opinions beyond it. He is "one of us", regardless of what havok he may wreak upon Social Security.
But hey, if the beer-drinkers can have a drink with Dubya, why can't the advanced aged pop a Geritol with Johnny Mac?
Dw: I'm not quite ready to write off the Democratic party. Clearly they are in a generational transition, but Howard Dean is no Richard Daley, and while Hillary's support for the Iraq war is a deal breaker for many Democrats who support Obama, I don't think we're at a point if Obama doesn't get the nomination that a large number of his supporters will refuse to vote for Hillary. I do think that both Hil and Barack need to start reminding voters of the McCain/Bush connection and why we don't want to continue down that road.
They called the wonderbus the "Straight Talk Express". There's a good chance that the bus is not American made or manufactured, but I'm just guessing on that one.
That tells many of us all we need to know about Obama's character, as it pertains to leading the country. His associations with Rev. Wright or Ayers is dust on the balance in comparison. Of course, all is fair in politics, and if these associations can be used to prevent him from gaining the power to advance the cause of abortion, I won't mind. But it is for many a sideshow.
I could say the same thing about his tax policies, which make no sense for a nation in the economic situation we find ourselves in.
I could say the same thing about his qualifications for the post of commander in chief.
His experience and his stated goals should be enough to disqualify him.
And Rolling Stone says the Dems have already lost this election. Matt Taibbi writes, "It doesn't matter what Obama does at this point. He's fucked either way. If he gets into a catfight with Hillary, the peanut gallery will slam him for being just another typical politician. If he sits there and just lets her plunge knife after knife into his abdomen, he'll have every hack at Time and Newsweek saying he doesn't have 'what it takes' to compete in the 'blood sport' that is politics..."
[I think we've already seen Obama take several missteps under the pressure Hillary is putting him under. She's forcing errors on his part.]
Concluding, he writes, "Democrats had all the momentum going into this race because of seven years of uninterrupted press scrutiny of the Bush administration; by the time November rolls around, however, most voters are going to feel like the Democrats have been in charge for over a year. And McCain will be able to swoop in and ride a 'throw the bums out' uprising straight to the White House..."
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/1976...
And speaking of bums, all the folks running for president are US senators. Since each one thinks he/she has plans and solutions that will save the country, what in tarnation are they waiting for??? They could introduce those wonderful, magnificent, nation-saving plans in Congress right now. The nation could have an opportunity to vet these great agendas ahead of time, in detail. This goes for McCain, too, by the way. I'm sick of all the promises. They are all part of government, and if they have solutions for our problems, they should put up or shut up. Right now. Amen.