GOP political pundits are polite on camera about the astonishing pick of 18-month Alaska governor Sarah Palin as the heart-beat-away Veep choice of 72-year-old GOP presidential candidate John McCain.
The real opinion of the GOP spinners surfaced yesterday when Reagan's speechwriter Peggy Noonan, and McCain's former campaign chief Mike Murphy gave their off-camera (but recorded) judgment of the selection of Palin to NBC's Chuck Todd.... here's what they really think. (YouTube)
The transcript:
Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it's not gonna work.
Noonan: It's over.
Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.
Todd: Don't you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)
Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.
Murphy: They're all bummed out.
Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.
Murphy: I totally agree.
Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at and they blow it.
Murphy: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.
Todd: And as you called it, gimmicky.
And there you have it. From GOP insiders. McCain's first big decision.... B.S.
The real... unvetted?.... record of McCain's Trojan horse selection is being unmasked daily. Palin's actions as mayor and governor fly in the face of her touted bio as a corruption-fighter and earmark spurner... as a gun-totin', supercharged hockey mom in go-go boots who can leap over her dearth of foreign policy experience in a single operative-managed bound.
What Palin is, is the religious right's dream come true. She is anti-choice, even in the case of rape and incest.... an extreme too radical for even Cindy McCain. She justifies the war in Iraq as "a task that is from God." And, claims it is "God's will" that the U.S. government contribute to a $30 billion gas pipeline she wants in Alaska. (NY Times)
Palin promotes intellectual design.... creationism.... and wants it taught in public schools. One of her first acts as mayor was to try to ban books in the city library that she deemed inappropriate.
Oh yes, and as mayor of tiny Wasilla, Palin raised the sales tax to build a hockey rink (her kids play) and "gathered up $27 million is subsidies from Washington, $15 million of it for a railroad from her town to the ski resort hometown of Senator Ted Stevens, now under indictment for failing to report gifts."
She was for the earmarked bridge to nowhere before she was against it.... although as Alaska's governor she kept the millions anyway.
If you ever doubted that a McCain presidency would be a continuation of the extreme and failed policies of the neo-con right wing loonies propelling George W. Bush, McCain's selection of Palin put all doubt to rest.
Evidently the McCainites think they'll snag Hillaryites with the selection of Smokin' Sarah.... that they'll cast aside their hard-won feminist gains in favor of A WOMAN!
And, McCain's handlers hope the nation will forget his Hillary-bashing misogynist jokes like the one with which McCain regaled his audience at a GOP Senate fundraiser in 1998... "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." (Salon)
Sis-boom for McCain and women!
The only thing ugly here is the GOP's arrogant assumption that all the jobless, bankrupted, ignored and fast-disappearing middle class will vote for more of the same with McCain and his Trophy Vice.
That would be the bridge to nowhere.
Showing posts with label Hillary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hillary. Show all posts
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Hillary Weathers NH Storm
Hillary's perfect-storm loss in the New Hampshire presidential primaries didn't happen. She weathered the storm, defeating rival Barack Obama in a cliff-hanger by a couple of percentage points.
The forecasters missed this one.... big time. Why is that? Every poll, except one by a college, showed Obama carrying the day.
Obviously the polls were wrong. There may have been several reasons besides the fact that Obama may have tried to make history instead of a cogent rationale for the vote.....
It could be that people lied to the pollsters in New Hampshire. While saying they could and would vote for a black candidate, in reality when left to the secret process of casting their vote, they showed a less-unbiased face than the PC one shown the pollsters.
On the other hand, the voters in Iowa had to publicly declare.... no room there for private ugliness. As the process moves forward Obama would do well not to depend on the sunny beachfront of acceptance reflected in the polls, they could be quicksand.
And, while there was no storm, there was a shower of sympathy for a more vulnerable, even teary, and ganged-up-on appearing Hillary. Her softer side was, and will be, a more formidable campaign front for Obama to face. She said she found herself in New Hampshire.... believe it.
And Bill.... he was well off-stage when Hillary made her acceptance speech. Perhaps at last recognizing he's more of a distraction. Hillary managed to overcome his "help," although his ham-fisted attempts to make the Obama story into a fairy tale may have given her some of the "there he goes again" womens' vote.
The next big battleground state for the Democrats will be Nevada on January 19, the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The most sought-after endorsement there is from the 60,000-member-strong Culinary Workers union and this morning ABC News confirmed that the union will endorse Obama.
This endorsement will definitely give Obama a boost in a state that is expecting only 40,000 to participate in their caucuses. But, Hillary is also courting union workers, John Edwards (who finished a distant third in NH) has invested a lot of time in Nevada with his populist message, and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (who barely registered in NH) is counting on the large Hispanic population of Nevada to pull him out of the campaign storm cellar.
Let's see what the polls forecast for Nevada .... regardless, Obama had better batten down the hatches as he navigates the rough primary seas in Nevada and onward to Super Tuesday.
The forecasters missed this one.... big time. Why is that? Every poll, except one by a college, showed Obama carrying the day.
Obviously the polls were wrong. There may have been several reasons besides the fact that Obama may have tried to make history instead of a cogent rationale for the vote.....
It could be that people lied to the pollsters in New Hampshire. While saying they could and would vote for a black candidate, in reality when left to the secret process of casting their vote, they showed a less-unbiased face than the PC one shown the pollsters.
On the other hand, the voters in Iowa had to publicly declare.... no room there for private ugliness. As the process moves forward Obama would do well not to depend on the sunny beachfront of acceptance reflected in the polls, they could be quicksand.
And, while there was no storm, there was a shower of sympathy for a more vulnerable, even teary, and ganged-up-on appearing Hillary. Her softer side was, and will be, a more formidable campaign front for Obama to face. She said she found herself in New Hampshire.... believe it.
And Bill.... he was well off-stage when Hillary made her acceptance speech. Perhaps at last recognizing he's more of a distraction. Hillary managed to overcome his "help," although his ham-fisted attempts to make the Obama story into a fairy tale may have given her some of the "there he goes again" womens' vote.
The next big battleground state for the Democrats will be Nevada on January 19, the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The most sought-after endorsement there is from the 60,000-member-strong Culinary Workers union and this morning ABC News confirmed that the union will endorse Obama.
This endorsement will definitely give Obama a boost in a state that is expecting only 40,000 to participate in their caucuses. But, Hillary is also courting union workers, John Edwards (who finished a distant third in NH) has invested a lot of time in Nevada with his populist message, and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (who barely registered in NH) is counting on the large Hispanic population of Nevada to pull him out of the campaign storm cellar.
Let's see what the polls forecast for Nevada .... regardless, Obama had better batten down the hatches as he navigates the rough primary seas in Nevada and onward to Super Tuesday.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Is Hillary Really Inevitable?
Throwing red meat to his GOP base, Rudy Giuliani unleashed a new battle cry.... "I'm not Hillary."
While dissing Hillary Clinton, Giuliani, as a member of the white-males-only GOP presidential candidate club, ironically told a national convention of Republican women devoted to getting women elected, "We have a record that's very, very proud and very long of making certain that women participate on a full and complete and equal basis with men."
Just not when aspiring to the highest office.
Today's New York Times also fired at Hillary.... Frank Rich aimed his powerful pen at the similarities between Hillary's perfectly oiled "inevitability" campaign and that of the losing Al Gore in 2000.... or even that of slick New York Republican Thomas Dewey running against the unslick but earnest incumbent Harry Truman in 1948. Dewey sloganeered... "It's time for a change." NOT!
Rich wonders if with a presidential candidate from New York known for her experience, competence and above-the-fray demeanor.... Hillary.... the Democrats could lose the White House in 2008.
In a effort to divert attention from this robotic campaign performance, Hillary has resorted to a loud giggle-laugh.... it's about as humanizing, and authentic, as Rudy Giuliani's smooching I'm-a-loving-husband cellphone calls from his third wife in the middle of campaign speeches.
The public senses authenticity.... and Hillary's make-no-mistakes defensive debate crouch punctuated with a laugh sure to be labeled a "Shrillary" is a campaign three dollar bill.
Next thing we know, Hillary will plant on her frisky Bill a full lip lock a' la Al and Tipper's convention stopper. But, what Hillary really needs to do is stop giving safe answers when voters are looking for Truman truthiness. Rich grumbled, "What I saw on television last Sunday was the incipient second coming of the can't-miss 2000 campaign of Al Gore."
Tying together both the Giuliani take on Hillary with the cautionary tale of Rich, Maureen Dowd today unleashed her piece "The Nepotism Tango" in defining the Democratic frontrunner.
Dowd muses that, "Without nepotism, Hillary would be running for the president of Vassar. But then, without nepotism, W. would be pumping gas in Midland -- and not out of the ground."
As Joe Biden pointed out at last Sunday's debate, all of the "old stuff" might get in the way of passing legislation. "The special interests, with regard to Hillary, they feed on this, you know, this Clinton-Bush thing." That "thing" is dynasty.
Perhaps this seeming dynastic inevitability is the reason for Hillary's un-Mona Lisa guffaw.... tickled pink by the thought of her entitled Democratic coronation.
Or, is it as Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of the very conservative The New Republic, sees Hillary (listen up "equal" GOP women), "She's like some hellish housewife who has seen something that she really, really wants and won't stop nagging you about it until finally you say, fine, take it, be the damn president, just leave me alone."
Hillary seems locked into her disciplined campaign march, daily becoming less, not more, likable.... just like the hapless wooden Gore, despite his wardrobe changes and wife wuzzies. As the saying goes, at this point it's still Hillary's to lose.
Which might not be a bad turn of events for the Democratic party and the country. We can do better than the dynastic choke-hold of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton.
While dissing Hillary Clinton, Giuliani, as a member of the white-males-only GOP presidential candidate club, ironically told a national convention of Republican women devoted to getting women elected, "We have a record that's very, very proud and very long of making certain that women participate on a full and complete and equal basis with men."
Just not when aspiring to the highest office.
Today's New York Times also fired at Hillary.... Frank Rich aimed his powerful pen at the similarities between Hillary's perfectly oiled "inevitability" campaign and that of the losing Al Gore in 2000.... or even that of slick New York Republican Thomas Dewey running against the unslick but earnest incumbent Harry Truman in 1948. Dewey sloganeered... "It's time for a change." NOT!
Rich wonders if with a presidential candidate from New York known for her experience, competence and above-the-fray demeanor.... Hillary.... the Democrats could lose the White House in 2008.
In a effort to divert attention from this robotic campaign performance, Hillary has resorted to a loud giggle-laugh.... it's about as humanizing, and authentic, as Rudy Giuliani's smooching I'm-a-loving-husband cellphone calls from his third wife in the middle of campaign speeches.
The public senses authenticity.... and Hillary's make-no-mistakes defensive debate crouch punctuated with a laugh sure to be labeled a "Shrillary" is a campaign three dollar bill.
Next thing we know, Hillary will plant on her frisky Bill a full lip lock a' la Al and Tipper's convention stopper. But, what Hillary really needs to do is stop giving safe answers when voters are looking for Truman truthiness. Rich grumbled, "What I saw on television last Sunday was the incipient second coming of the can't-miss 2000 campaign of Al Gore."
Tying together both the Giuliani take on Hillary with the cautionary tale of Rich, Maureen Dowd today unleashed her piece "The Nepotism Tango" in defining the Democratic frontrunner.
Dowd muses that, "Without nepotism, Hillary would be running for the president of Vassar. But then, without nepotism, W. would be pumping gas in Midland -- and not out of the ground."
As Joe Biden pointed out at last Sunday's debate, all of the "old stuff" might get in the way of passing legislation. "The special interests, with regard to Hillary, they feed on this, you know, this Clinton-Bush thing." That "thing" is dynasty.
Perhaps this seeming dynastic inevitability is the reason for Hillary's un-Mona Lisa guffaw.... tickled pink by the thought of her entitled Democratic coronation.
Or, is it as Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of the very conservative The New Republic, sees Hillary (listen up "equal" GOP women), "She's like some hellish housewife who has seen something that she really, really wants and won't stop nagging you about it until finally you say, fine, take it, be the damn president, just leave me alone."
Hillary seems locked into her disciplined campaign march, daily becoming less, not more, likable.... just like the hapless wooden Gore, despite his wardrobe changes and wife wuzzies. As the saying goes, at this point it's still Hillary's to lose.
Which might not be a bad turn of events for the Democratic party and the country. We can do better than the dynastic choke-hold of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Hippity Hop to the Money Shop
After the Don Imus career-halting rapper-lingo jabs at the talented Rutgers women's basketball team, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) denounced his remarks as "small-minded bigotry and coarse sexism" that "showed a disregard for basic decency and were disrespectful and denigrating to African Americans and women everywhere."
Her opportunistic indignation came just days after she and hubba-Bill were thrown a fundraiser by none other than the well-heeled hip-hop producer Timbaland. The shindig at Timbaland's Pinecrest, Florida home raised a reported $800,000 for Hillary's presidential campaign.
Timbaland's rapping takes the form of, well.... violent, obscenity-laced lyrics about small-minded bigotry, coarse sexism and remarks denigrating to African Americans and women.... you can find a sample of them here.
As we have already learned, Hillary tilts at whatever windmill will gain her the presidency.
Hillary's disconnect between her public scolding and private actions remind me of the saying... "In some, the superficial runs very deep."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Supremes, not satisfied with handing the 2000 election to the corporate bought-and-paid-for George W. Bush.... thus tarnishing their image as impartial, Constitution-protecting justices.... recently upheld a federal ban on what is misleadingly called "partial-birth" abortion.
Their decision tipped the balance-of-power over a woman's right to choose in consultation with her physician toward religiously-inspired government interference.
It's the first step in the drip, drip, drip erosion of women's protection under Roe vs Wade.
Her opportunistic indignation came just days after she and hubba-Bill were thrown a fundraiser by none other than the well-heeled hip-hop producer Timbaland. The shindig at Timbaland's Pinecrest, Florida home raised a reported $800,000 for Hillary's presidential campaign.
Timbaland's rapping takes the form of, well.... violent, obscenity-laced lyrics about small-minded bigotry, coarse sexism and remarks denigrating to African Americans and women.... you can find a sample of them here.
As we have already learned, Hillary tilts at whatever windmill will gain her the presidency.
Hillary's disconnect between her public scolding and private actions remind me of the saying... "In some, the superficial runs very deep."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Supremes, not satisfied with handing the 2000 election to the corporate bought-and-paid-for George W. Bush.... thus tarnishing their image as impartial, Constitution-protecting justices.... recently upheld a federal ban on what is misleadingly called "partial-birth" abortion.
Their decision tipped the balance-of-power over a woman's right to choose in consultation with her physician toward religiously-inspired government interference.
It's the first step in the drip, drip, drip erosion of women's protection under Roe vs Wade.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Follow the Money
I'm feeling sucker-punched, and disappointed in presidential hopeful John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth. After their heart-touching press conference where they announced the return of Elizabeth's cancer, they had my admiration for their grit and devotion to a cause greater than themselves.
But since, they have solicited sympathy emails on John's campaign site, and then used the email addresses of the tens of thousands who responded for their hit-up-for-money list. Some say it's just a good fund-raising strategy.
I say it doesn't pass the smell test. Just makes them another of the shameless money-grubbing pack.... knocks them off of their new-found high ground.
And, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) finally released the numbers for his campaign's haul in the first quarter of the year..... $25 million. Obama is treading on the heels of Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) supposedly unmatchable money-raising machine that spewed-out a lower-than-expectations $26 million.
But since, they have solicited sympathy emails on John's campaign site, and then used the email addresses of the tens of thousands who responded for their hit-up-for-money list. Some say it's just a good fund-raising strategy.
I say it doesn't pass the smell test. Just makes them another of the shameless money-grubbing pack.... knocks them off of their new-found high ground.
And, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) finally released the numbers for his campaign's haul in the first quarter of the year..... $25 million. Obama is treading on the heels of Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) supposedly unmatchable money-raising machine that spewed-out a lower-than-expectations $26 million.
And, there is more bad news for Hillary behind the numbers. "Obama appears to have surpassed Clinton in several ways: He raised $6.9 million through donations over the Internet, more than the $4.2 million that Clinton raised online. He reported donations from 100,000 people, double the 50,000 people who gave to Clinton." (WaPo)
Suddenly, Hillary isn't looking like a shoo-in. This makes the Drudgies of the world most unhappy. They love giving her good headlines, almost fawning coverage trumpeting her "inevitability" as the Democratic presidential nominee. Because, she is the GOP's choice to run against.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Dueling Pews at Ten Paces
The 42nd anniversary of the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, AL on Sunday has turned into a dueling pews media circus between presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton. (D-NY).
Several weeks ago Obama, who is gaining momentum with black voters, announced that he would deliver the keynote speech at a service honoring the march from the Brown Chapel AME Church, where demonstrators organized for the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
So..... last Monday the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute (located at the foot of the historic bridge) announced that Hillary would attend the 42nd Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee and represent her husband, former president Bill Clinton, at his induction into their Hall of Fame.
It was then arranged for Hillary to speak at the First Baptist Church just yards away, and at precisely the same time, that Obama is speaking.
But, evidently still worried that she might not upstage Obama, Hillary brought in the big guns.
Suddenly finding a opening in his schedule, Bill will now swoop into Selma for his induction, right after the walk over the bridge.... thus not upstaging Hillary at the church and walk, yet still spreading his "first black president" rock-star aura over her.
And, this is why Hillary's negatives are so high.
She is so obviously calculating. It isn't pretty watching her elbow her way into the Selma festivities, just as she is elbowing her way into the presidential nomination.
Her pushy behaviour simply highlights one of Obama's strengths, his upbeat but measured approach to things. His likability.
And, as long as Hillary's campaign is just obviously reacting to Obama's inroads with black voters, he'll outdraw Hillary and continue his rise in black voter polling.
Several weeks ago Obama, who is gaining momentum with black voters, announced that he would deliver the keynote speech at a service honoring the march from the Brown Chapel AME Church, where demonstrators organized for the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
So..... last Monday the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute (located at the foot of the historic bridge) announced that Hillary would attend the 42nd Annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee and represent her husband, former president Bill Clinton, at his induction into their Hall of Fame.
It was then arranged for Hillary to speak at the First Baptist Church just yards away, and at precisely the same time, that Obama is speaking.
But, evidently still worried that she might not upstage Obama, Hillary brought in the big guns.
Suddenly finding a opening in his schedule, Bill will now swoop into Selma for his induction, right after the walk over the bridge.... thus not upstaging Hillary at the church and walk, yet still spreading his "first black president" rock-star aura over her.
And, this is why Hillary's negatives are so high.
She is so obviously calculating. It isn't pretty watching her elbow her way into the Selma festivities, just as she is elbowing her way into the presidential nomination.
Her pushy behaviour simply highlights one of Obama's strengths, his upbeat but measured approach to things. His likability.
And, as long as Hillary's campaign is just obviously reacting to Obama's inroads with black voters, he'll outdraw Hillary and continue his rise in black voter polling.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Missing Molly
It's often said, but seldom more aptly.... we'll not see her like again. Molly Ivins.
It was "Molly Ivin's Joyful Outrage" that helped us laugh at the puffed-up anti-populist powerful. "And joy was the key...fighting the good fight was a kick" for Molly.
Yet, while she did irreverently trim the shrub, let's not forget her political acumen that could send a Texas-sized Tabasco-tipped dart into the heart of the matter. Like Molly's bulls eye Hillary-hit on January 20, 2006:
"I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
"Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges."
Then Molly went on to remind us that we need "political courage and heroes.... when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times."
Amen Molly.
It was "Molly Ivin's Joyful Outrage" that helped us laugh at the puffed-up anti-populist powerful. "And joy was the key...fighting the good fight was a kick" for Molly.
Yet, while she did irreverently trim the shrub, let's not forget her political acumen that could send a Texas-sized Tabasco-tipped dart into the heart of the matter. Like Molly's bulls eye Hillary-hit on January 20, 2006:
"I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.
"Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges."
Then Molly went on to remind us that we need "political courage and heroes.... when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times."
Amen Molly.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Iowa: Mama 0 - Obama 1
Hillary has some tall explaining to do in the tall corn state.
"In corn-growing Iowa, the first stop in the presidential nominating process, Clinton will have to explain the ethanol vote she cast on June 15, 2005." (WaPo)
"Clinton-Obama Differences Clear in Senate Votes" and the ethanol difference is a silo-sized stumbling block for Hillary since Iowa has more ethanol plants than any other state.
Hillary supported an effort to block a proposed amendment to the 2005 energy bill that would have established an ethanol mandate for refineries, Obama voted for the ethanol mandate.
On the Iowa caucus scoreboard, chalk one up for Obama.... who is already wildly popular in the state that put John Kerry (D-Mass) on the road to his successful nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.
As Iowa's Democratic governor-elect Chet Culver opines, "Many of us dream of a day where Iowa is the national leader in renewable energy...." (Des Moines Register, 1/1/07)
Hillary tramples Iowa's fields of dreams at her peril.
"In corn-growing Iowa, the first stop in the presidential nominating process, Clinton will have to explain the ethanol vote she cast on June 15, 2005." (WaPo)
"Clinton-Obama Differences Clear in Senate Votes" and the ethanol difference is a silo-sized stumbling block for Hillary since Iowa has more ethanol plants than any other state.
Hillary supported an effort to block a proposed amendment to the 2005 energy bill that would have established an ethanol mandate for refineries, Obama voted for the ethanol mandate.
On the Iowa caucus scoreboard, chalk one up for Obama.... who is already wildly popular in the state that put John Kerry (D-Mass) on the road to his successful nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.
As Iowa's Democratic governor-elect Chet Culver opines, "Many of us dream of a day where Iowa is the national leader in renewable energy...." (Des Moines Register, 1/1/07)
Hillary tramples Iowa's fields of dreams at her peril.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)