First, all of us, starting with the Obama campaign, should stop saying that John McCain has voted with the Bush Administration only “90% of the time.” That is actually his average over the last 8 years. A few years back when he was still playing maverick it got to as low as 70%; but last year it was 95%, and this year while he was pursuing the coveted Republican nomination, it was 100%. Well, 2008 is nearly over, so I think we can accurately say McCain votes with Bush 100% of the time, hence “McSame.” You can actually chart his positions and voting record in relation to his current political calculations and ambition.
It’s due to this career of flipflopping and opportunism that NOBODY with any sort of convictions who’s been paying attention to McCain feels they can trust him as far as he can be thrown. That include(d) the far-right “Christian” fanatic base which (at least in puppetmaster Karl Rove’s estimation) is indispensible to a Republican victory. Gesture after gesture failed to move them – he tried speaking at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, kissing the ring of the man he had once aptly tarred an “agent of intolerance”; he insisted with a straight face that the US Constitution was based on the Bible; he’s repeatedly promised “strict constructionists” on the bench and in case anyone didn’t understand that, he specified “in the mold of Alito, Scalia and Thomas.” Still the distrust emanating from the “base” was palpable, and their lack of enthusiasm was cause for great hope among us Democrats.
So it was a shrewd call on Karl Rove’s part to force McCain to pick Governor Palin as a running mate. (In what may turn out to be the final death-gurgle of his old maverick heart, he had wanted to pick his warmongering BFF Joe Lieberman. Rove sternly nixed the pro-choice Jew.) And that’s why the base is ecstatic – from Jubal on up, they are jubilant. Not because Palin is young, or sexy, or funny or feisty or a “reformer” (LOL) or a big surprise. But because she is a bonafide religious fanatic they can trust. Lack of Christianist enthusiasm solved. Now WE have to work even harder, to get back our country for sanity and peace.
[Tomorrow: “John McCain is Morally Unfit to Lead” and “Imagine a President Palin.”]
Speaking of Karl Rove, it seems McCain has now sidled up cozily to that
toad- f’ing- miscreant who masterminded the smear campaign that ended McCain’s 2000 presidential bid. How quickly McCain has forgotten how infuriated he was by the rumors that he’d fathered a black baby out of wedlock; that his wife was a drug addict; that he was mentally deranged because of his experience as a POW. I guess now that McCain’s the beneficiary of this revolting political strategy, it’s not such a bad tactic. Now THAT’s character!!!!
Vern –
Wow! Such an impressive change in writing style! Short, sweet, to the point, and not lacking in bite. This article was much easier to read that your previous work. And adding teasers to the end of your post: awesome! We should all be doing that for our readers. Kudos! I hope the improvements in your production value are permanent, not to mention that your analysis is dead on. Two thumbs and two big toes up!
Longboobs –
Rove is the devil. He’s Jeff Flint on a national level (no rhyme intended). I’m fairly certain he was behind the swift boat vets. If the Dems ever tried that against McCain, it would backfire like Elmer Fudd’s rifle whenever he has Bugs in his sights just because he was sloppy enough to be captured by the enemy! Word on the street is that he was a terrible pilot who crashed 5 planes.
SMS
You hit this one out of the park, Vern. Really.
Clear and concise information. Many people don’t have the time/patience/interest to untangle all the political doings portrayed in the news, so your thoughtful piece is a gift to us all.
I saw a piece on the difference of Senator McCain and CANDIDATE McCain -it illustrated his need to change positions on so many issues in order to be successful as a candidate to a party that really doesn’t like him at all. By political necessity, he’s had to reinvent himself even more obviously into BushIII in order to get the support he needs to win this election. He’s a party Frankenstein.
Looks like the Swiftboaters are getting ready to unleash their attack ads starting tomorrow, according to the NYPost:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091302270.html
How long is everyone going to argue between Coke and Pepsi and act like there’s really a difference?
That’s why I’m going with RC Cola this year!
THIS IS GREAT VERN !! I love it !
Please keep it up, keep up the Palin bashing. Keep up the Palin/lipstick cartoon. You are working wonders, driving more and more women (and believing conservative & moderate dems and independents) into the McCain/Palin camp.
Good work Vern – love that cartoon.
Sincerely – junior
junior,
Don’t know what kinda women you’re hanging with, but if you think the truth is driving women away from the Dems, you’re keeping some pretty sorry company…
Vern –
Your Obama man crush is amusing.
Hey Junior,
There is an entire webiste of women who are decidedly turned off by Gov. Palin. Here is an entry by a Christian woman who takes exception to the GOP pick for VP. Well written and surprisingly thoughtful:
First I want to say that I am an Evangelical Christian Southern female who opposes abortion; however, any seriously thoughtful Christian will admit that this is only one of several Biblical principles and no one candidate nor political party owns a consistent Christian platform. I am writing to state in the strongest of terms that I am appalled at the choice of Sarah Palin as the Republican VP nominee.
It is difficult to find the words to express my dismay and discouragement over such a cynical, purely political decision by John McCain to choose such an unqualified person. It is my opinion that Ms. Palin’s experience as the mayor of a very small town and a new governor of the least populous state as well as her limited travel and education leave her lacking in exposure to the critical issues threatening our country.
In addition, she exhibits a worrisomely simplistic and reactionary propensity with a seeming blithe disregard for the complexity and gravity of the office. In addition to these concerns, Ms. Palin’s smugness, arrogance, and lack of humility further guarantee that her election would continue our country’s disastrous course of the last eight years under the Bush/Cheney administration. For a man who claims to be a man of honor who puts “Country First”, it is so sadly ironic that he is willing to put our country (and our world) at such terrible risk.
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/
I wonder what people will really think once she comes out of hiding 😉
Glad to put a smile on your face, Junior. Although that was really more of a McCain attack than a Palin attack. I bet I know what happened – you just looked at the picture and didn’t read anything, and you still think “lipstick on a pig” is about Palin. You’re not REALLY supposed to think that, didn’t you know that was a FAKE scandal?
Also, I think you have your talking points a little wrong. They are, we help Palin every time we attack her personally and attack her family. Not when we describe her as being a religious fanatic, which is germane to whether she should be President.
Still, happy to cheer up your weekend!
Vern, great article, well written and informative. I would have rather seen a graphic that exposed McCain’s flipflopping for political reasons rather than continue your clever graphic illustrating McCain’s hypocracy in attacking Obama for a figure of speech he himself often used. In fact I would like to see that graphic retired as its value was time limited except in a retrospective of your work.
To give limited credit to Junior he has identified a downside to the graphic. It’s like the communication class illustration: If you go home and the house is a mess and you wish to discuss the division of household work and how maintenance can be improved you will not get there by announcing to your mate “This place is a pig stye!” You will only get a discussion about who is the pig, or in this case who is the pig and who is the lipstick. In any case the discussion goes off topic and your original goal will not be accomplished anytime soon.
If Carl Rove has shown us anything its the penchant for the American people to spend time discussing and reacting emptionallly to the pig and not to what the pig symbolizes to the illustrator but rather what a “pig” means to them. He wins elections when he cortrols the dialog and makes it about something other than the issues. We can win if the people focus on the issues, we could lose if people focus on the diversions.
And Junior, thank YOU for Caribou Barbie and all the swiftboating:
An Obama aide this morning sent over his fundraising number for August: More than $66 million, topping his previous best month of $55 million by $11 million or more.
The astonishing haul means Obama is more than on track to raise the $300 million or more that the campaign had intended to raise for the general election — a total that required him to raise over $50 million a month, which he’s succeeded in doing.
The total suggests that McCain’s gains, and the choice of Sarah Palin, helped galvanize and expand Obama’s donor base: The campaign reports adding half a million new donors this month…
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/obama_raised_more_than_66_mill.php
Vern – You say “swiftboating” like it is a BAD thing. I don’t want to rehash the 2004 election, but when you libs use that term, get this, … nobody cares. Get over the swiftboat thing – it is a loser, just like John Kerry.
Red Vixen,
You have convinced me. I am certain now that McCain/Palin will not carry the insane liberal vote. Thanks for the link, you were able to show me that the following lunatics probably would not favor Sarah Palin as VP – loonies like:
Gloria Steinem
Alice Walker
Margaret Sanger
Arandhati Roy
and my all time favorite Susan Sontag – who blamed America for the September 11 terror attacks and once declared that “the white race is the cancer of human history.”
Yeah, I am afraid all is lost for McCain/Palin if they do not carry the insane liberal voting block – NOT !!
junior,
The fringes from both sides of the aisle will always fight with each other. The bulk of the country is made up of moderates. And for the win, moderates are going to have to decide if they want McCain or Obama or Barr as president.
I don’t care for a candidate of either party that hides out. We’ve already had that. I don’t care for a candidate who has voted consistently with the last president, Bush. I’m no radical and I am pretty sure I know who I am going to vote for. However, I am keeping my options open.
Fibbing and swiftboating won’t work this election cycle: It’s all too familiar. Hiding out won’t work, either.
Red Vixen –
Leapin’ Lizards, I remember reading a post of yours saying you were going to blog on real estate related issues only. Why the flip-floppin’ and fibbin’?
Hey anon 2:20 –
She’s doing a great job in her new role. I’ve had to tone down my rhetoric a bit lately for professional reasons and I’m ecstatic that she’s picking up the slack for me.
Her perspective is fair. Her writing style is fluid and easy to digest. She’s committed and dedicated to her causes and this blog.
She changed her mind about her topics so that she could expand her repertoire and indeed our entire blog.
I’m very happy she did. It’s hardly “flip-floppin’ and fibbin!”
SMS
Right, she forgot to add: … and your house is still screwed.
Fair is a relative term Sarah, as you know, I might view it slightly differently.
Note to the left side of the aisle: Swiftboat/MoveOn two sides of the same coin. Get over it and stop whining about it! Grow up and realize it is all the same BS just spinning in a different direction. The left has the “mainstream” media, whatever that is these days, so stop crying that you get swiftboated. After all Kerry is and was lying about some things and you still can’t explain all of that away or get over it!
I don’t hear nearly as much about MoveOn and the connections to foreign investment brokers who have been judged to be actual criminals. Or the statements they made about what they would do to corrupt our system of govt. and as I have said before, I still think have a hand in our current energy market problems, even if I can’t prove it.
I’m sure the right would have stopped complaining if SCOTUS had decided the other way in FL and AL Gore too. But you still have NOT gotten over any of it. Bitter, pathetic and very childish is how it is being viewed by the great middle ground of American voters, like it or not that’s how it is. Deal With It! The more you whine and cry, the more dirt and mud that flings, the worse it is for you in the court of public opinion. DWI!
Get back to what positive changes you want to make in the world and stop the negative stuff, you will be more successful in the end. Nice really does work in the long run.
And PLEASE, stop blaming everything on racial or gender bias, it simply isn’t so. Not that it’s entirely gone in our society but you do impede progress by playing the blame game ALL the time. WOLF, Wolf, wolf and after a while no one listens anymore. You also need to stop marginalizing those who disagree with your opinions, it isn’t making friends.
Can’t we all just move on…?
Sarah, how sweet of you to say those things 🙂
Hey, did you all hear about the Alaska protest against returning Sarah?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/14/103042/902/965/597033
We begin in Anchorage, Alaska, where a group of average women decided to hold a small rally to let it be known that their Governor, Sarah Palin, does not represent their views on many of the issues that are important in their lives.
They put together a press release and sent it to the Anchorage media outlets. A local right-wing talk show host broadcast the names and phone numbers of the two organizers over the air. They began receiving a series of harassing phone calls for the remainder of that afternoon. The leading TV station picked up the story on Thursday. Alaska Public Radio Network put up some audio.
An anonymous caller contacted the local media on Friday afternoon and told them they were one of the organizers, and the rally had been cancelled. Someone even faxed forged a document saying the Secret Service had cancelled the permit for the rally, even though no permit is required. Some people were putting an awful lot of effort in to making sure no dissent would be heard from Alaska.
Well, it didn’t work. Despite overcast skies and a forecast for rain, there was a rally here today. Oh man, was there! In fact, it was by most accounts the largest protest rally in the history of Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News wrote that the rally drew an “estimated” 1500 people. Let me be clear: the organizers used a hand-clicker and counted at least 1,483 Alaskans, mostly women, who showed up to say that Sarah Palin does not speak for them. They also counted 93 McCain/Palin supporters. The national media loves to say that Sarah Palin enjoys an “80% popularity rating” in Alaska. Do the math on todays rally, and you’d need a faith-based calculator to get 80%. This was grassroots activism at its best – Alaskans coming out to speak their minds on a host of issues. Here are some still pics, I’ll update with video later today.
Hey, SMS –
Are you saying Red Vixen is your attack dog since you decided to tone down your bark?
There’s plenty of room in the sandbox. Stop alienating those who want to play. If RV changed her mind and decided to expand her topics, then RV should step up and say so.
Junior: loonies like:
Gloria Steinem
Alice Walker
Margaret Sanger
Arandhati Roy
and my all time favorite Susan Sontag…
What the… Do you know half of those women are dead, Junior? Did you even look at Vixen’s link? Not holding up your end of things too well, I have to say.
In Junior’s small circle of friends (possibly even too small to form an actual circle) NOBODY has ever heard of Ron Paul, and people either don’t care about “swiftboating” or think it’s a GOOD thing.
Junior need to go out more, Junior need to meet more people.
anon,
I am not sure what the issue is. I did some r/e posts and then had another idea I was interested in posting…. Art gave me the go, so I did. I checked with him when I did another un-r/e post and he gave me the greenlight to post what interests me.
If you have some things you want to post, why not ask Art for some equal time?
Is this seriously an issue? The Vixen will write about whatever she goddamn pleases. And if anyone don’t like it they gotta come thru ME.
Yes Vern, I know that half of those lunatic people are dead. And where do you think I came up with that list by other than my having reviewed the link ? Their pictures are shown, along with quotes from each, as outstanding examples of the American woman.
Apparently you did not review RV’s link, otherwise you would have realized this. I would suggest that you think a little deeper about your criticisms before you barf them out onto the blog.
I notice that you have not taken issue with my description of these “fine” people exemplified on Red Vixens recommended blog as the lunatic left.
How about that Susan “the white race is the cancer of human history” Sontag ?? I have to express my deep gratitude to Vix for that brilliant informational referral.
But Vern, you repeat yourself! 😉
Hey Junior,
Did you see that Alaska lawmakers have voted to subpoena Todd Palin?
By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 46 minutes ago
The abuse of power investigation against Sarah Palin, Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, took a potentially ominous turn for her party on Friday when state lawmakers voted to subpoena her husband.
Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP State Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats. “Let’s just get the facts on the table,” said Huggins, who appeared in camouflage pants to vote during a break from moose hunting.
Thomas Van Flein, the Palins’ private attorney now representing her as governor, did not immediately return calls for comment.
The Senate committee acted at the request of investigator Stephen Branchflower, who is gathering evidence on whether Gov. Palin abused her power by firing Walt Monegan, the state’s director of public safety. Critics charge she fired Monegan after he refused to dismiss Mike Wooten, a state trooper who had a messy divorce from the governor’s sister. Palin says Monegan was let go because of a budget dispute.
Branchflower also said he wants to interview the governor, but omitted her from the 13-person list of subpoena targets he presented to the lawmakers overseeing his investigation.
He said Todd Palin is “such a central figure. … I think one should be issued for him.”
Palin, cast at last week’s Republican National Convention as a supportive husband, oil rig worker and championship snowmachine racer, has emerged in the days since as also a powerful figure in his wife’s administration. Despite holding no government position, he attends official meetings and is copied on e-mails concerning state business.
While Todd Palin’s role in the dismissal of Monegan is unknown, the request for a subpoena suggests he spurned earlier calls to testify voluntarily. Monegan voluntarily submitted to an interview earlier in the week.
Nor was it immediately clear whether Van Flein was representing Todd Palin as well as the governor in the investigation. Van Flein is working at taxpayer expense to represent the governor in her personal and official capacity.
The subpoenas, which were approved for 12 state employees in addition to Todd Palin, instantly gave a new, national significance to what until recently was a controversy confined to Alaska.
The McCain campaign released a statement from Alaska Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, blaming Democrats.
“I’m disappointed by the complete hijacking of what should be a fair and objective process,” the Republican said, calling the investigation a “smear.”
The investigation — dubbed “Troopergate” — began before Palin was chosen as Sen. John McCain’s running mate. Since then, Palin’s supporters have argued that the investigation is politically motivated, and urged lawmakers to turn the matter over to the three-member State Personnel Board, which is appointed by the governor and charged with handling ethics complaints.
Palin has said she fired Monegan over disagreements about budget priorities. Monegan says he received repeated e-mails and phone calls from Palin, her husband and her staff expressing dismay over Wooten’s continued employment.
One member of Palin’s administration was caught on tape discussing personal information about Wooten, raising questions of how he knew those details.
Branchflower also asked for a subpoena for the phone records of one Palin administration official, Frank Bailey. Bailey was recorded calling an Alaska State Trooper lieutenant and discussing confidential information about Wooten, including his job application and worker’s compensation claim. In a deposition taken by Palin’s attorney, he testified that he never saw Wooten’s file, but instead received the information from Todd Palin.
Vice President indicted! Now thats change I can believe in.
She’s quite the sneak, too:
Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that it would cost $468,784 to process his request.
When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages — through a federal records request — he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.
“Their secrecy is off the charts,” Mr. Steiner said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26691018
Think we can start publicizing Palin’s lies and McCain’s flip-flops without being accused of sexist swiftboat tactics?
Think we can start publicizing Palin’s lies and McCain’s flip-flops without being accused of sexist swiftboat tactics?
Probably not, but the stories just keep coming. In fact, Govenor Palin is the gift that just keeps on giving. To Obama/Biden. The more she tries to keep her secrets, the harder the media will dig. She’s also run roughshod over a number of people as well as setting up her cronies as part of her inner circle. This choice by McCain is looking weaker by the day. What in the world was he thinking? The media is vetting this candidate, since McCain obviously didn’t.
Here’s the Librarian thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVAXaJ-SHo8&feature=related
Apparently you did not review RV’s link, otherwise you would have realized this… I notice that you have not taken issue with my description of these “fine” people exemplified on Red Vixens recommended blog as the lunatic left.
True that, Junior, I didn’t go to the link because I didn’t need any convincing that millions of intelligent American women find Palin objectionable. But now I have.
First, those are five great women overall, although Sanger did a few things I disagreed with, and Sontag – a very harsh polemicist – said some things I wouldn’t say (all of which do come off a lot less crazy in context.)
I’ve been looking through the site though and I haven’t come across those five. First I see
The great Eleanor Roosevelt
Nina Simone – want to make fun of her?
Miaxine Hong Kingston, fine novelist
Shirley Chisholm, trailblazer for black women
Chief Justices Ginsburg & Justice O’Connor….
… still haven’t come across your favorite 5, and I’m starting to forget what your point was. Oh yeah. Was it this: Since the sharp-tongued, controversial Sontag is included on this anti-Palin site, that somehow reflects well on Palin. Maybe even makes her qualified to be President. Do I have that right?
Vern in answer to your query my point is this –
RV said, “There is an entire website of women who are decidedly turned off by Gov. Palin.”
I am supposed to be impressed that women who are apparently inspired by communist sympathizing America haters do not like Gov. Palin (?? – my hands are up in a questioning gesture – ??).
I am not impressed.
I am supposed to be impressed that women who are apparently inspired by communist sympathizing America haters do not like Gov. Palin
I will help you out, junior.
Eleanor Roosevelt, Nina Simone, Shirley Chisholm, Maxine Hong Kingston, Chief Justice Ginsburg, Chief Justice O’Connor, Susan Sontag, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, Margaret Sanger, Arundhati Roy = NOT COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZERS.
AND ALSO:
Eleanor Roosevelt, Nina Simone, Shirley Chisholm, Maxine Hong Kingston, Chief Justice Ginsburg, Chief Justice O’Connor, Susan Sontag, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, Margaret Sanger, Arundhati Roy = NOT AMERICA HATERS. (Some of them America critics, sure, I hope you’re not so simplistic and unpatriotic to confuse the two.)
Vern,
If you’re actually interested in getting the record straight on just who works across the aisle more, you ought to do a “little” looking around.
“…since 2005, Mr. McCain has led as chief sponsor of 82 bills, on which he had 120 Democratic co-sponsors out of 220 total, for an average of 55 percent. He worked with Democrats on 50 of his bills, and of those, 37 times Democrats outnumber Republicans as co-sponsors.”
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/15/records-show-mccain-more-bipartisan/
Red Vixen: For every hatefilled blog you think you can find, I can find two links about women supporting her.
http://www.womenforsarahpalin.net/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0TD7DFboCk
You cannot be a moderate, think that politics should be so minor in your life that it only should be done in moderate terms, or even have a moderate IQ and say that Barry Hussein will do a better job of reaching across the aisle and working with others.
As Junior said, the wacked out leftists will NOT vote for John McCain. Point settled.
Vern,
If you’re actually interested in getting the record straight on just who works across the aisle more…
Terry,
Who cares.
Vern –
My goodness, your temper surely flared over the Vixen-gate matter. You need to take a deep breath and not let your raw emotions rage out of contol
…”And if anyone don’t like it they gotta come thru ME.” Ouch!
Your temper tantrums kinda remind me of McCain’s.
anon (who, since the rest of you can’t see other identifying marks such as e-mail addresses and IP addresses) is different from anon, or anon, or the other ever-popular anon:
That was meant not so much as temper, as Lancelot-like gallantry toward the married, maligned, miraculous Red.