Political Jackass

I’ve not blogged about politics for a while, mostly because I’ve been burnt out on the subject since the election.  I get this way after every national election and can’t write about politics for a long time after.  Lately, there have been things that have been bugging me though, so I’m going to go on a little rant.

Republicans
Republicans need to grow up.  I’m so sick of them publicly announcing that they want President Obama to fail.  Seriously.  How patriotic is that?  That is disgusting.  You may not agree with the guy’s policies, but he’s doing what he thinks is best for America and by wishing he fails you are wishing that America fails.  Rush Limbaugh needs to shut the hell up (so does Ann Coulter) and the Republicans actually need to reach out to the other side.  The Dems and Obama have reached out numerous times (even when I wish they hadn’t) but each and every time the hand comes across the aisle the Republicans slap it.  It’s no wonder that the polls are showing that people have a more favorable opinion of the Dems than the Republicans.

Democrats
Grow up.  You are also having problems.  Pay your taxes.  Don’t show up to the big dance with the hot date and then brag the entire time.  Yeah, you have reached across the aisle, but you have done it with a bit of smugness that you don’t really need.  I know, I know, the Republicans were like that when they were in power.  But they aren’t anymore.  There’s a reason for that.  Don’t get to cocky.

President Obama
Mr. President, you’re making some great speeches and getting some things done, but I do have some issues with you.  Stop being so eager to get support from Republicans.  They are just going to burn you.  You’ve gotten a little better lately with not caring what the Republicans think.  You even reversed Bush’s policy on funding for stem cell research, which is a definite “F You” to most Republicans, and that’s good.  Play hardball with them, especially when they aren’t doing anything to give you support and are publicly bashing everything you (and your wife) does.  They aren’t the only ones you need to play hardball with though.  Start playing hardball with Wall Street.  It is time to say no more.  Giving them more and more money isn’t going to help.  They will keep asking for more and more.  Instead, give stop giving to Wall Street and give to the people.  How about a stimulus check please?  Hell, you give me $600-$800, I know I’m going to spend that a lot more wisely than Wall Street bankers.  I’ll do something to stimulate the economy of real people.  Not the economy of corporate jets and retirement packages.

That’s all I got.  It’s a scary time right now and I’m sick of all the right-wing rhetoric being blasted my Limbaugh, Coulter, CNBC, and anyone else who wants to see the President fail.  At least when Bush was in office we didn’t want to see him fail (we knew in the back of our minds that his policies would anyway).

Another quick though. If Obama wins this election will the historical Republican base take back over the party? I’m talking about the small-government, fiscal conservatives and libertarians. Or will the social conservatives and radical right be the dominant force? Perhaps they should split. The religious right can create their own party that is true to their mission, a Theocracy Party. It’s a shame what they’ve turned the GOP into, and if they rally around Palin after this election it will only get worse.

Here is a quick thought: Obama is known for being a very powerful speaker able to bring people together and look towards a positive future. McCain and Palin use scare tactics, name-calling, and divisive speeches to get their party riled up. The politics of hate. Is that really what you want? You don’t see people at Obama rallies yelling racial slurs, traitor, kill him, bomb Obama, etc. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what the Republican Party has become.

by By Paul Begala from CNN

John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls “a checkup from the neck up.”

In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, he is not thinking “outside the box,” as some have said. More like out of his mind.

Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain’s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania.

He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.

He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television and — obviously — a woman.

He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.

He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.

And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown that he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

I read this great Op/Ed piece in the New York Daily News by Michael Goodwin about Hillary’s whining and how it’s hurting her campaign, especially in the last debate on Tuesday. She starts out by whining, then tries to make a joke, taking a stab at Obama, and watches it fall flat. Here’s the opinion piece:

You don’t have to love Hillary Clinton to feel her pain. By the end of Tuesday night’s debate, she knew she had failed to change the dynamics of a race slipping away from her. The deflated look on her face telegraphed acceptance, even resignation.

But any sympathy is tempered by the fact she has only herself to blame. Her uneven performance, punctuated by one of the strangest complaints I have ever seen in a presidential debate, likely dashed her last hopes of victory. The self-pity behind the complaint was shocking and unappealing.

She started by being feisty – to a fault. The first 14 minutes were devoted to health care, her signature issue. Yet she was on the defensive and kept interrupting the moderators because Barack Obama skillfully focused on the requirement in her plan that every American purchase health care, whether they want it or not. It is a fair attack because Clinton has never explained how she would enforce that requirement or say what the penalties would be; she didn’t last night, either.

Clearly frustrated by that rocky start, she began her answer to the second question, on NAFTA, with the complaint. “Well, can I just point out that in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time? And I don’t mind,” she said, clearly minding.

Then she made the mistake worse with a foolish rehearsed line: “And if anybody saw ‘Saturday Night Live,’ you know, maybe we should ask Barack if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow.”

Wow. Woe is her. What a blunder. This is political malpractice of the first order.

This bomb was far worse than her “change you can Xerox” line of last week. This was a petulant whine. There was rustling in the audience, but mostly there was an awkward silence of the kind you notice when someone has said something weird or inappropriate. Creating discomfort in voters over your pain is not a traditional formula for victory.

Obviously, Clinton believes the press is biased in favor of Obama. It’s a charge her team has made frequently. Yet her raising it with a victim’s tone came off as a plea for sympathy – not an endearing quality in someone who wants to be President. A President is supposed to feel sympathy for the people, not the other way around.

There was one other noteworthy exchange. Asked about the endorsement he got from Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who makes frequent anti-Semitic statements, Obama said he had renounced those remarks. He went on to say he was a staunch friend of Israel and cited its “special relationship” with America. He concluded with the touching note that many American Jews were instrumental in the civil rights movement, and that, as President, he hoped to restore what he called a “frayed” bond.

No complaints there. Or here.

Very well said, Mr. Goodwin.

If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic Party’s nomination without winning the popular vote, I will not vote in the Presidential election. People who know me know that I’m deeply interested in politics and think that voting is one of the most important things you can do, but I will not vote for someone who is put in place by a few elite party members when the majority of the party votes for someone else (Obama).

Hillary Clinton will take the Democratic nomination even if she does not win the popular vote, but persuades enough superdelegates to vote for her at the convention, her campaign advisers say.

The New York senator, who lost three primaries Tuesday night, now lags slightly behind her rival, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, in the delegate count. She is even further behind in “pledged” delegates, those assigned by virtue of primaries and caucuses.

So, she’s saying that even though the majority of the people don’t want her to be the nomination, she’s going to stay in it anyway. That is certainly not democratic.

You may ask why I don’t vote for McCain then. That’s simple, while I respect McCain, I think he would be a terrible president and I think he would continue bad policies that have led this country in the wrong direction under Bush. So, if Hillary steals the Democratic nomination, I will not vote. I will watch her lose against McCain. She’s too divisive of a person to beat McCain. I’m in her party and I don’t like her (though, I was a fan of Bill). When McCain wins, the country will be in even more trouble. All because of Hillary.

Here is a great op/ed piece I found while browsing Google News today.

By Margaret Carlson

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — There was a time when politics wasn’t a blood sport.

At the end of the day, Tip O’Neill shared a whiskey with Ronald Reagan, and Senators George Aiken and Mike Mansfield had breakfast daily. Now it’s routine to call your opponent a liar, a coward, or an al-Qaeda operative.

Last week, the public debate hit a new low when radio talk- show host Rush Limbaugh accused actor Michael J. Fox of being a fraud.

Read more…

I love browsing the internet to find right wingers complain about their rights being taken away. For example, this quote:

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is the bedrock of our free society. When a society is not free to ?keep and bear arms? then they in effect become slaves of the government. There has been a great deal of debate in the past about what the Amendment means but it is obvious that the phrase ?The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed? means that the people (the citizens of the US) have a right that is not to be taken away. Unfortunately, in the anarchy that followed hurricane Katrina, the government seized firearms belonging to law abiding citizens.

What I find so funny about this is the fact that the Second Amendment is the only amendment that the Right seems to care about. They see no problem in destroying the real amendments that hold this country together, like the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. Heaven forbid the government try to restore order to a place which has seen more chaos than even the South Central riots. It seems the right would rather see mass chaos if it meant preserving the right to their guns.