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).

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.

According to CNN, The Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert will be running for President in his home state of South Caroline as a Democrat. The reason? The GOP is too costly. The Democratic Party requires just $2,500 or 3,000 signatures whereas to get on the GOP ballot you need to raise $35,000.

Funnyman Stephen Colbert’s presidential campaign is apparently no joke.

The host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” will file papers late Wednesday or early Thursday to put his name on South Carolina’s Democratic primary ballot, a source familiar with the comedian’s strategy said.

The South Carolina native will not file papers as a Republican because the $35,000 required to get on the GOP ballot is apparently too high a threshold.

“They priced us out of range,” the source told CNN.

The South Carolina Democratic Party demands a candidate pay $2,500 or garner 3,000 signatures to get on the ballot. Surrogates of “The Colbert Report” star will file the hand-signed papers at state party headquarters before the November 1 filing deadline.

The mock conservative pundit whose show regularly features real politicians and political commentators announced that he was running as both a Democrat and Republican on October 16.

But whether Colbert’s name will show up on the ballot remains unclear.

The state party’s 26-member executive council — with representatives from each of South Carolina’s six congressional districts as well as state members of the Democratic National Committee — will meet Thursday afternoon to decide which candidates meet the criteria to appear on the ballot. Read more…

Most Americans see President George W. Bush as too inflexible on the war in Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-run Congress have the final word on when to withdraw U.S. forces, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed on Monday.

I guess when you fuck up for this long people start to lose faith in you, huh? Too bad BushCo doesn’t care about what the American people think and still do whatever they want.

Nearly 80 percent of those polled said Bush is not willing enough to change policies over the unpopular war that has taken a huge toll on his approval ratings, the Post reported.

The poll was conducted last week, after Senate Democrats failed to advance a plan that would force Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by April 2008.

More than six in 10 Americans — 62 percent — said Congress should have the final say on when to pull out U.S. forces, compared with 31 percent who said the decision should rest with Bush, the poll showed.

Not surprising. Again, this doesn’t matter to BushCo. They think they are above the law. Hell, Cheney doesn’t even think he belongs in any branch. One minute he’s claiming Executive Privilege on his documents and transcripts, and the next minute saying he’s part of the Legislative Branch. Don’t you love how they mold the government to whatever scandal they are facing this week?

The percentage of Americans seeing Bush as too rigid on Iraq has climbed 12 percentage points since December, the Post said.

Probably because people are finally seeing BushCo have no plan on getting out of Iraq. Remember that sign, Mission Accomplished? If this is accomplished, then I’d hate to see what failure is. (source)

The top two Democratic presidential contenders rebuked Republican rival Rudy Giuliani Wednesday for suggesting the United States could face another major terrorist attack if a Democrat is elected in 2008.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said the man who served as New York mayor’s during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks should not be making the serious threat that faces the country into “the punchline of another political attack.”

“Rudy Giuliani today has taken the politics of fear to a new low and I believe Americans are ready to reject those kind of politics,” Obama said in a statement. “America’s mayor should know that when it comes to 9-11 and fighting terrorists, America is united. We know we can win this war based on shared purpose, not the same divisive politics that question your patriotism if you dare to question failed policies that have made us less secure.”

Read more…

Democrats, now a majority in Congress, fired a symbolic shot across President George W. Bush’s bow yesterday, passing a toughly worded but non-binding resolution that opposes sending thousands more U.S. soldiers into Baghdad’s violent cauldron.

It was the first anti-war vote since Sept. 11, 2001, a rare rebuke of a sitting president’s foreign policy and one that could set the stage for a showdown over Iraq between Democrats in Congress and the beleaguered President.

“Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush, announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq,â€? the resolution said. Read More…

The Democrats are actually working, and working hard, at doing something good for the country after years of policies backed by Bush and his cronies were passed without so much as a thought by the Republican controlled Congress. First the anti-war resolution was passed, with some support from moderate Republicans and now the House votes to void $14 billion in tax cuts that BushCo gave their oil buddies.

“Big Oil is hitting American taxpayers in three ways,� said Representative Nick V. Rahall, Democrat of West Virginia and chairman of the House Resources Committee. “They are hitting them at the pump. They are hitting them at the Treasury, through the tax code. And they are hitting them through royalty holidays.�

Read the article from the New York Times here.

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill backing embryonic stem cell research, marking a major challenge to President George W Bush.

The stem cell bill was among the top priorities for the Democrats, who took control of Congress last week, but Mr Bush has vowed to veto it.

Advocates of stem cell research say it could lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Mr Bush says the research would destroy human life in the name of science.

The bill was passed by 253 to 174, but fell short of a two-thirds majority needed to overcome the veto. read more…

It’s a shame that even though most Americans back the research but Bush won’t listen.