The Secretary of State of New Hampshire has announced that they will do a statewide recount. Finally a state is taking sane steps to reassure its people that they in fact participated in a valid election and putting the controversy to rest. It’s about time. A lot of people have been shouted down as conspiracy nuts because they suspected otherwise. I am puzzled and a bit angry that it is controversial for progressives to insist on anything less than mandatory recounts of paper ballots for at least a random selection of districts in EVERY election. The burden is on the state to prove that the election results are correct, yet I read person after person insisting that we should be quiet. It is absurd to think that the burden of proof rests on the citizens.
Tag: elections
Jan 11 2008
Political Hate-Speach
…let me just tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out — is this wrong?
Glenn Beck, May 17, 2005.
The well-springs of poison are about to open up…
Given the body count already of key Democrat politicians and American civil rights leaders and labor activists who have been assassinated in America, in the Americas and around the globe; given the levels of hostility and invective from the right this cycle already, I have a question:
Will Americans allow right-wing cranks to promulgate homicidal fantasies over the air-waves unpunished, as they have in the past?
What happens when, not if, Glenn Beck, Don Imus, Andrew Sullivan or some Fox crank ‘hypothetically’ discusses the assassination of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Hussein Obama or whoever the Dem candidate happens to be?
There was a diary titled: ‘Breaking: …. Dead’. Few laughed. We know what the wing-nuts are thinking. And it’s only January, the crap hasn’t even started yet.
Turnout for Dems has been fantastic. Americans, hungry for change, are registering and voting in record numbers. The world is paying attention. I watched HRC win on TV on a rush-hour train in downtown Tokyo.
Yet, for the frightened, the idea that a woman, a person of color, a liberal, a Democrat, might actually win the election in November is both an anathema and a blessing. While the prospect fills the wingnut with horror and self-loathing, it also offers the long-awaited opportunity to indulge in the sickest of fantasies. The one where the good guys have to shoot down the bad. For real.
Because, for the misogynist, this election isn’t about Hillary. For the racist, 2008 isn’t about Barack or his religion. For the authoritarian, this isn’t about John. It’s about fear and hate, plain and simple. The idea that someone supposed to be lower on the totem pole might actually grasp the golden ring fills these sad, sick souls with grief, impotence and rage. It’s not like that’s a secret.
So when you listen to Sullivan and Reynolds fan the flames of Hillary hatred; or listen to Fox speculate about whether Barack is secretly a Muslim, be clear: Reynolds and the other so-called ‘responsible’ media types are tip-toeing right up to the edge of the line, pandering knowingly both to the worst instincts in us all, but also to the sickest in society, hoping/fearing something just might happen as a result.
Appealing openly to the murderous appetites of the right is a form of terrorism; and it’s a form of terrorism that works. A war was sold to America by playing on just such fears. And, lest we forget, that was no dream when Glenn Beck fantasized about murdering Michael Moore on the air two years ago.
…let me just tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I’m wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out…
That’s a major media figure fantasizing about murder. Next time, he might not ask if it’s wrong…
Jan 06 2008
Obama: Big Brother Inc. and You
Why Obama is Winning. Every web site you visit folks are talking about Obama. Obama won big; and he won big by bringing out an immense number of voters, shattering all records. Team Obama blew HRC almost out of the race. Edwards is struggling to keep his place.
What Happened? Hillary was strong among Dem women, but lost to Obama among women over-all. Mark Penn is feeling the heat; he never saw the tsunami coming. In large part, because much of the hard work done to create that tsunami went on under the radar.
What if you discovered your candidate liked all the same books; visited the same kinds of websites; shopped at the same stores; and, most important, shared the same values and beliefs?
Odds are, if you’re even thinking about voting for Obama, the ‘unity’ candidate and those with access to his political intelligence know all about you and your family. Where you plan to spend your next vacation. How much you’ll pay in taxes. Whether you’ve recently consulted a doctor. And much, much more.
Why mention the 2008 revolution in data-mining now? Because the on-going investigation into our private lives isn’t going to end with the election of the transformational candidate. That’s not the kind of change Obama is talking about.
Jan 04 2008
Obama: A Cup of Nothing
‘I won’t tell you what you want to hear, I’ll tell you what you need to know.’
Gee, sounds like the worst of both worlds to me.
Not true. Tonight, when the aspiring leader of the free world declaimed: ‘I’ll tell you what you need to know’, my blood ran cold. Executive authority? Vive le roi!
Matt Yglesias purrs. Others squeal with delight. I, on the other hand, don’t like Obama; and I don’t like what he says.
And until he wins the nomination, I get to tell folks here why.
If he wins the nomination.
How do I loathe Obama? Well, actually it’s not that simple.
I’ve taken the measure of my hostility towards Obama and discovered a great deal I do like in the candidate.
I respect Obama’s intellect and his accomplishments. I respect his commitment to family and community. I respect his commitment to building a bright future for himself and for his family and community. ‘Nuff said.
How did that speech go? “…in small towns and big cities you came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents…” Did I hear that right? Republicans are awarded second-place mention in Obama’s victory speech? Gee, I wasn’t aware that Republicans won anything in Iowa when Obama finished ahead of Edwards and other committed Dems.
But Obama isn’t kidding. Obama appeals to Republicans, actively, as he did in Iowa tonight. And if you like the idea of climbing into electoral bed with the Andrew Sullivans and George Wills of the world: good news! Sullivan and Will are already there, with Tweety! Andrew informs us that NRO is chirping an Obama song, too.
Bill Bennett watched the Iowa results and shocked pundits by assuring his all Wall-Street buddies that Obama represents no threat whatsoever? Huh? I thought die-hard Republicans are supposed to paint the Dem winner in shades of red or pink. But Bennett, a career bible-thumper and gambler of long experience, looks hard at Obama…and likes what he sees. Bennett’ message is un-mistakable: upper-income voters should have no problem pulling the lever for Obama. Big Pharma doesn’t have a better friend than silly Sully. Sully’s giddy support for Obama and antipathy for universal health-care should be enough to worry folks. Clearly, many are too busy hoping.
If accountability matters to you, if you believe strongly that those who lied America into the war must be punished, if you believe corporate America is a threat to your freedoms, your income, your health and your job, you may want to think carefully before putting the forgiver-in-chief in the White House.
Obama may win the nomination. That’s when critics like me get to STFU and commit to burning the Republican house to the ground. But if folks decide to follow a man who doesn’t scare Bill Bennett, don’t be surprised to discover some of the worst criminals are standing next to you inside the Dem tent before the match is struck.
Jan 02 2008
2008 Year of the Mouse
Anytime the aspirations of Andrew Sullivan, George Will and Markos all congeal around the same Ivy league lawyer the rest of us have cause to pay attention. Is a new day truly about to dawn in America?
Let’s hope not.
Dec 21 2007
Will the Real Democratic Party Please Stand Up?
Submitted by feline on December 21, 2007 – 12:31pm.
The Democratic Party has morphed into a strange multi-headed creature over the last 10 – 15 years. I’m all for diversity, but when they can’t remember their own principles and vote consistently as a group, the Republicans and the Administration end up winning on legislation as if they were the majority.
The Dems are invested in the idea that voters are so fed up, we’ll vote for anyone that doesn’t have an R in front of their name. But, here’s the problem: I have no idea what the D means anymore.
Does it mean this?
CHARTER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
Or does it mean this?
Democratic Leadership Council
I had once had hopes that it meant this:
Congressional Progressive Caucus
(Remember when those used to be the ideals of the Party and not just a Caucus?! Sad…)
Anytime I see the word “New” anymore, I get really worried:
New Democrat Coalition
And I don’t know how a representative who identifies him/herself “conservative” even gets to have a D in front of their name:
The Blue Dog Coalition
(How in the hell did the Democratic National Committee let that start happening? Do these folks even know the Bylaws of the Party?)
Well, there you have it, the “Democratic Party”! It’s become so hybridized, I wouldn’t know some members of the Party unless they had the D in front of their name (with the exception of a few who actually seem to have read their Bylaws and the U.S. Constitution).
Every election cycle, the Democratic Party feels the need to reinvent itself in order to secure or gain a majority. Maybe if members of Congress with a D in front of their name would just adhere to the principles of the Democratic Party while they’re in office, they wouldn’t have to work so hard and waste so much money trying to convince the voters that they’re different from the Republicans.
We’re NOT STUPID, you know…
(That was my Andy Rooney, impersonation, I hope it was okay.)
Nov 08 2007
I’m beginning to lose all hope
No. Really.
I again have a temp job at our County Elections Department. I was there for the last election, but this time it’s the BIGGY…the Presidential year.
And, I’m losing hope for our society. Our Democracy. Why you ask? Well…where do I begin.
People have no idea how to fill out a simple voter registration card. No. Really. They can’t remember where they live. They often have no idea what county they live in. Good Buddha, they can’t even remember if they are registered or the last time they voted!
Sometimes, you know, it’s not all the computer’s fault. Sometimes it’s just pure, plain ignorance that bumps people off the voting rolls.
People don’t understand what a Primary is. They are upset to be told they can’t vote for just anyone they want to in any election they want to. The customer feels that they are always in the right. Retailization, I call it. Retail outlets are forever saying their customer is always right…and the customers are buying into it.
Many folks refuse to re-register to vote because they are fearful of being called up for Jury Duty. Now, what does that say about our judicial system that people are refusing to participate in it. They’ll watch it on the TeeVee on Law and Order, but they won’t go near it in real life. “Too inconvenient” they say.
Some folks won’t even be bothered with voting. They don’t have time they say. It doesn’t matter they say. Politicians are all the same they say. What’s in it for me they say.
I don’t know. I try to put on bright smile and trudge off to work but with the morons in Sacramento who wanted to have their little Presidential Primary in the “spotlight”, they have created 3 elections to be confused about next year.
I’ll give you 5-2 that most people are going to be so sick and tired of the whole shebang by next November, most won’t want to show up.
Oct 20 2007
House 2008: How many seats will we gain?
reposted from dailyKos, with changes
This is the first in a series estimating how many House seats we will gain in the 2008 election. For those who like to cut to the chase, my best guess is a net gain of 6 seats. There is less than a 5% chance that we lose seats, and about a 7% chance that we gain more than 10.
Details below the fold