Monday, September 01, 2008

Weekend Report

JACKBOOTED THUGS
Apparently the federal government is taking full advantage of the cover provided by Gustav to trample the Constitution and absolutely ABUSE their power regarding the RNC Convention. Glenn Greenwald is on the job.

WHAT HAPPENED TO "COUNTRY FIRST"?
Ezra on McCain's choice:
This was, for McCain, a major decision. And we can learn from it. And here's what even his supporters must admit: Country did not come first. Polls did. The calculations are fully transparent. Understanding that he needed to broaden his electoral coalition, he picked a woman. Understanding he needed youth, he picked a young politician. Understanding he needed to emphasize his reformist credentials, he picked a onetime whistleblower. What he didn't pick was anyone able to help him govern, or capable of stepping forward in a moment of crisis. Palin is not an experienced foreign policy hand like Lieberman or a successful and experienced governor like Tommy Thompson. Today, McCain chose his campaign over his presidency. Over our presidency.


PALIN HAS MILITARY COMMAND EXPERIENCE. NO, SERIOUSLY...
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds just talking completely out of his ass when questioned about Palin's lack of foreign policy experience... "Palin has more military command experience than Obama AND Biden because she commands the Alaska National Guard." Like all governors. Stateside. During natural disasters. Of which Alaska's had zero.

OBAMA'S IMPERFECT SPEECH
There was one BIG part of Obama's speech that I thought was weak. Bitch, Phd caught it as well...
I loved Obama's speech at Invesco, but there's one part where he was wrong:

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.


No, actually John McCain doesn't care. He doesn't care that millions of Americans don't have health insurance, or if he does, he cares more about party ideology that the government shouldn't be in the business of making sure people have health care. He cares more about the hollow platform of "individual responsibility" than he does about individuals, more about the political benefits of being pro-life than the moral implications of denying women agency over their own bodies. John McCain and Sarah Palin get it. They know. They just don't give a shit.

Perfectly put. It was the first thing I thought when I heard him utter the words. I'm sure I'm not the only one... Bitch, Phd makes a great point about Palin as well...
Does her support for overturning Roe, and her belief that creationism should be taught in schools, and her denial of global warming mean she's dumb? No. She just cares more about the triumph of her political worldview than she does about the Constitution. Just like a lot of Republicans.

[...] Dismissing Palin as insignificant isn't going to help us. She didn't get where she is, so fast and to such acclaim, by being a dummy. We should recognize her for what she is: smart, charismatic, and full of support for policy positions that hurt ordinary Americans.

4 comments:

Toast said...

No, actually John McCain doesn't care.

Well no shit, Sherlock. That's a well-worn tactic: Act like you're giving your opponent the benefit of the doubt, but do it in just such a way as to sow doubt in your audience's minds. "Hmmm... McCain really doesn't care, does he?"

Chris Howard said...

I actually thought that part of the speech was very effective. In essence he confirms the suspicion as he denies it that John McCain doesn't care, while also hammering him by saying he just doesn't get it. That paints him as out-of-touch and reinforces the houses thing and the confused old man thing.

Mr Furious said...

It jumped out at me because it is very much apiece with all the "John McCain is an American hero..." garbage that precedes any comment from a Dem.

Yes, it is an effective rope-a-dope technique, and allows an embrace before sticking in the schiv, butat a certain point I am done repeating that fuckers talking points for him.

McCain doesn't care, and hopefully sooner or later someone will actually come out and say it, not just sow it.

Bob said...

"It jumped out at me because it is very much apiece with all the "John McCain is an American hero..." garbage that precedes any comment from a Dem."

I agreed with you up until the point when Obama said yesterday:

"...McCain ddeserves our gratitude, but he doesn't deserve our vote!"