A Sickening Feeling

Four years ago, I sat on my living room couch and watched a young politician I'd never heard of give an incredible speech at the Democratic National Convention. I immediately thought, "Where have they been hiding this guy?" I had never felt the combined feelings of awe, inspiration, national pride and hope all rolled into one - and evoked by a politician. And there he stood, calling to our better selves as one nation, as one people.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

He was presidential material then, and even I could recognize it.

The next day we all spoke of the new guy, Whatsitsname. What an amazing speech he gave, that guy, Whatsitsname. Too bad he can never be elected president - he wouldn't have a shot - there are too many racists in this country. Whatsitsname would never have a chance.

"Whatsitsname" was Barack Obama, and he announced his run for the Presidency two years later. Not only was he an African-American running for president, but he would have to take on the most powerful political machine in recent history. How could he possibly compete against Hillary Clinton, the Clinton machine and all her money? The night he won the Iowa primary, I finally believed it could happen. I thought if Iowa could vote for Obama over Clinton and Edwards, then so could others.

And then the smears began. The ugliness reared its head. Obama wasn't like us, he was "different." We heard rumors of Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko. We heard a Manchurian candidate theory. We heard that he was hiding a Muslim background, that he was educated in a madrassa when he was a child in Indonesia. We heard that his wife was never proud of her country until her husband ran for president, that he wouldn't recite the Pledge of Allegiance and would turn his back on the flag, that he wouldn't wear a flag pin on his lapel, that he took his oath of office not a Bible, but on a Koran. Veiled and not so veiled racism permeated everything and my euphoric feeling of national pride became one of shame and embarrassment.

But through it all, Obama's message of hope rang through. It didn't matter that the racists were throwing everything they could at him, he was coming out on top. Hope trumps fear. Change supersedes the status quo. We were tired of being beaten over and over again with the fear mongering, smear tactics and lies of the last seven years from the most corrupt administration in our nation's history, and we weren't going to take it anymore. And on August 28th 2008, forty-five years to the day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, Barack Obama was accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

And then along comes the "honorable, maverick, war hero reformer" John Sidney McCain III and his peanut gallery of a campaign. Back in 2000, McCain was touted as one of those thorns in the side of his own party, voting his conscience, not kowtowing to the party line. That is, until the Rovian Machine of Destruction turned him into a shell of his former self with a smear campaign the likes of which we hadn't seen before. Up was down, left was right and black was the color of the illegitimate child the Bush campaign accused him of fathering.

But the 2008 John McCain, however much he may have stated that he wanted to run an honorable campaign, remembers the tactics that killed his 2000 campaign, and in a last ditch effort is throwing all of his chips into the pot to try and gain some traction with little more than three weeks left until Election Day. The problem is that he's miscalculated who he was reaching. Moderate Republicans, independents and Reagan Democrats have stopped responding to fear mongering, so the only people he is reaching are the frenzied base whose votes he already had. And boy, has he worked them up into a lather!

John McCain asks, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" Sarah Palin, a transparent vice presidential choice to appease the Republican base, stokes the flames of uncertainty when she says Obama doesn't see America as she sees it; that Obama sees America as "being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

The fear chip, the Ayers chip, the mysterious foreigner chip, all politically designed to help decrease McCain's deficit in the polls has only caused a greater schism between the Democratic and undecided voters he's trying to woo, and the ever increasing radical base he is playing to. And at this point in the campaign, if you're still trying to win over your base instead of trying to expand your appeal, it's over.

But I fear it may be too late. The genie of racism has been let out of the bottle. And no matter how hard McCain may try to put it back, the damage has been done. The rage he's let loose, the fear and overt anti-Obama hate displayed at his rallies has truly made this a dangerous situation.

Unfortunately, it was always in the back of my mind that Senator Obama would inherently be in more danger solely because of the color of his skin. This danger has now been amplified by the nasty, hate-filled rhetoric of the McCain campaign, Sarah Palin and yes, the "honorable" John McCain. And there is no way that you cannot blame McCain for it. It's his name at the top of the ticket. He is responsible for the actions of his campaign, whether the idea to go this route was his, or Rick Davis' or Steve Schmidt's, McCain either approved it or went along with it knowing it was the last bullet in his gun. And seeing the hate from the pitchfork and torch crowds has given me a sickening feeling.

Liveblogging at Bob Cesca's...

... is like a virtual Republican overload support group. And cheaper than actual therapy. The best part is the connection you feel and bonds you create with fellow commenters.

We've been liveblogging during the Democratic and Republican Conventions and have developed an online friendship discussing our mutual feelings regarding the political scene. We get angry, snarky and silly. There are a few that rise above like 'jane', 'The Space Cowboy', 'ceu', 'JG' and 'kansasdem', but by far, one of my favorite bloggers that I recently discovered is Mr. The Elvis Dingeldein ("its pronounced Dang-le-deen, bitches!") and his blog, "Clusterdouche." He just cracks my shit up. And I mean laugh-out-loud, can't-stop-giggling HI-larity!

Over the last two weeks, it's been my pleasure to try and match the man's sharp wit, insane sense of humor and amazing writing skillz. I haven't even come close, but I have made him laugh once or twice, so imagine my surprise when he complimented me. Yes, I enjoy and admire Mr. Elvis' writing so much that I'm flattered by his comments, so I'm including them here along with some of our comments during the RNC.

Mother, moosehunter, maverick....oh, puke.
How many times have they said "maverick"?? Obviously, they don't know what that word means.
Posted by: ceu at September 4, 2008 09:06 PM

[Obviously, they don't know what that word means.] I don't know what they think it means, but I always substitute the word "cocksucker" for "maverick."
Posted by: Broadway Carl at September 4, 2008 09:09 PM

BEST FREUDIAN SLIP EVER!!! TOM BROKAW INTERVIEWS TOM "RED, YELLOW, ORANGE, GO!" RIDGE, WHO SAYS:
"Because uh John Bush (D'OH!) ... John McCain is very much his own man."
Ohhhh, how I fill the Obama Underoos with love!
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 4, 2008 11:21 PM

Dear Michael Gerson : Please insert a rabid, feral, and deeply aggravated wolverine cub in your rectum and hang upside down by your ankles until it works its way to your filthy, filthy mouth.
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 4, 2008 11:26 PM

I love Rachel Maddow enough that I would get a sex-change operation and become a flaming uberdyke to get next to her. She's glorious. GLOR-ee-USSSS!
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 4, 2008 11:48 PM

The Jane™ said, chicks DIG humor its hotttt
Listen, sister, if years and years (and years) of reading the Interview page of a Playboy centerfold while fighting the urge to doze off in post-self-coital bliss has taught me anything, it's that The Hot Girls love them the sense of humor. And also Corvettes. And money. Yeah, mostly it's the money. But a sense of humor is always a distant third.
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 4, 2008 11:55 PM

So what does it say about a Republican National Convention with no overt "Republican" signs in the arena, no douchebag Republican monkey-president and no shoot-you-in-the-face vice president? The top two members of the Republican party were nowhere to be seen.
Matthews is talking about it now... condemning your own party leaders so you can be elected.
OOOH! John & Cindy McCain confetti! Also, a Sarah Palin impersonator and a couple of guys with John McCain hand puppets. Not the first time he's had a hand up his ass.
Posted by: Broadway Carl at September 5, 2008 12:02 AM

You and I are truly soul brothers, Mr. The Broadway Carl. I say we merge our efforts and become The Broadway Clusterdouche, what say you, sir?
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 5, 2008 12:04 AM

Mr. The Elvis Dingeldein: I'm honored that you would consider my occasional quip worthy of such an esteemed compliment. A Broadway Clusterdouche merger is a wonderful thought. That and all the Obama Underoos talk makes me hot.
Posted by: Broadway Carl at September 5, 2008 12:11 AM

"The Broadway Clusterdouche" Sounds like a fantastic musical. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber could write the score? And I think Pat Buchanan would come to see it - he just mentioned something about McCain and "mano a mano," so I think he likes that sort of thing.
Posted by: KatinWilm at September 5, 2008 12:13 AM

Andrew Llyod Webber has so already written The Broadway Clusterdouche, Katin, haven't you ever seen an ALW show? Jesus The Christ™ (Superstar!) they're insufferable!
Posted by: Elvis Dingeldein at September 5, 2008 12:15 AM

I'm going to copy and paste your compliment and post it on my blog, Mr. The Elvis Dingeldein, for surely no one would believe me if I said, "You know, back in aught 8, one Mr. The Elvis Dingeldein asked me to join forces for a Broadway Clusterdouche extravaganza. Then the Republicans won back the House in 2010 and I threw my laptop out the window. I never heard from my Bob Cesca friends again."
Posted by: Broadway Carl at September 5, 2008 12:17 AM

So does that mean that Jane is singing "Don't Know How to Love Him?" Perhaps McCain's first wife could fill in if Jane is otherwise occupied.
Posted by: KatinWilm at September 5, 2008 12:18 AM

Or she could be singing, "What's The Buzz" not realizing it's her vibrator.
Posted by: Broadway Carl at September 5, 2008 12:20 AM

And so if you value your sanity in this insane political time, you should do yourself a favor a stop by one of Bob Cesca's liveblogging threads and vent. It cures what ails ya. Stop by Clusterdouche as well - it's fucking hysterical.

Just A Regular Joe...

... and exactly the type of guy we want standing next to Barack Obama in the White House.

No More Lobbyist Or PAC Money

"The DNC and the Obama Campaign are unified and working together to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Our presumptive nominee has pledged not to take donations from Washington lobbyists and from today going forward the DNC makes that pledge as well," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Senator Obama has promised to change the way things are done in Washington and this step is a sure sign of his commitment. The American people's priorities will set the agenda in an Obama Administration, not the special interests."

BOOYAH!

Fuck You, RNC

Please forgive the light blogging these past few days (I'm feeling a bit under the weather) but I had to get something off my chest before I hit the sack.

Has the Republican National Committee gone fucking nuts?

"As a legal matter,'' RNC chairman Mike Duncan said today, this is a "maliciously false'' campaign ad. "The advertisement in question falsely and maliciously'' quotes Sen. McCain as saying that extending the war in Iraq for 100 years would be fine with him, and places it in a context of images of combat. "Clearly this ad is just another attempt by the DNC to mischaracterize Sen. McCain's statements.''

As Mark Ambinder writes:

The RNC provided no evidence to support their charge that the communication was illegally coordinated, aside for a few newspaper articles pointing out that some Democrats work for both a candidate and the committee, like pollster Cornell Belcher. DNC chairman Howard Dean said this morning that neither campaign saw or heard the ad before the put it out.

The RNC is ginning up the threat of legal action to give weight to their criticism of the ad's content. Cairncross would not say whether the party will sue CNN or MSNBC, the two cable networks airing the ad, if they refuse to kill it.

The RNC's content charge is not black and white. The DNC wrote the ad carefully. Nowhere does the narrator or any chyron state that McCain is fine with the Iraqi war persisting for 100 years. The visuals -- explosions, bloodied troops -- take care of that association.

So what are they saying, that as long as the negative ads are geared towards Democrats, it's fine? Fuck you, RNC, McCain said it and the DNC has a right to use it. Whatever caveat McThuselah added after ("as long as Americans are not being injured... harmed or killed.... It's fine with me'') is all well and good, but how long before we get to that point? How many more deaths, American and Iraqi, will it take? I wonder what they'll say if a "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" ad comes out. Are they going to deny that McCain sang it?

Sure, take it out of context, it was just a joke, he was just pandering to the audience du jour, what's the big deal? I don't know about you, but I don't want ANYONE running for the Oval Office who "jokes" like that, or says something stupid about "obliterating" another country.

New DNC Ad - McCain's "100 Years In Iraq"

The Democratic National Committee seems to have decided that since Hillary and Barack are still fighting with each other, they might as well do their job and start questioning John McCain, since we can't expect the MSM to do it.

Here's their latest ad - hard to argue with actual video, eh, Maverick?

It's About Time!

Americans are better off? Prosperous time? Low unemployment? Low inflation? Jobs created?

Has any journalist, talking head or pundit questioned anything that has come out of this idiot's mouth? This ad doesn't even begin to question his constant flubbing of Sunni/Shia and trying to link Al-Qaeda with Iran.

Maverick Skips Stimulus Vote

Republican presidential candidate John McCain skipped a difficult Senate vote Wednesday on whether to make 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for rebate checks as part of a proposed economic stimulus package.

Senate Republicans blocked the passage - final vote 58-41. The "support the troops" party decided that extra money for disabled veterans and seniors, or extending unemployment benefits is just too much stimulus apparently. (60 votes were needed to pass. Harry Reid voted no in order to be able to bring the bill up at a later time.)

So let's do the math. 58 yeas, Reid's would've been 59. 99 Senators who voted. One Senator didn't vote. Where as Mr. Straight Talk, my friend?

...Asked Wednesday morning to comment on the pending vote, McCain talked about the need to pass a stimulus measure quickly. Later, on his plane, he said he was not sure he would make the vote.

"I haven't had a chance to talk about it at all, have not had the opportunity to, even," McCain said. "We've just been too busy, focused on other stuff. I don't know if I'm doing that. We've got a couple of meetings scheduled."

Whichever way McCain may have voted, it would have been a difficult choice given his status as the Republican presidential front-runner.

Senate Democrats cleverly bundled the rebates for seniors and veterans, key voting blocs, with expanded unemployment benefits and home heating subsidies for the jobless and poor. President Bush and Republican leaders, as well as conservatives McCain was scheduled to woo on Thursday, vehemently oppose the expanded benefits and subsidies.

That put McCain in a bad political spot. Voting "no" with Republican leaders would have offended millions of Social Security recipients and the disabled veterans not scheduled to receive rebates. Voting "yes," on the other hand, risked alienating Bush, GOP leaders and conservatives already suspicious of McCain's political leanings.

Yes, that's what we need in a new leader, ducking out of difficult choices when he is most needed to make a decision. His plane landed at Dulles at 5pm. Reports say it was plenty on time to get to the 5:45pm vote. But he had a couple of "meetings." Even his own staff was confused as to whether he was going to make the vote or not.

"While he says one thing on the campaign trail, when the time came to act, John McCain was absent," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "America doesn't need four more years of a president who puts what's good for him ahead of what's good for our country."