The Top o’ the Ticket in 2012

I’m having fun this afternoon.  I just clicked into the Huffington Post’s Election 2012 page and came up with a whole bunch of articles about who what when and how (sorry about the lack of a “w” there!) President Obama will be challenged in a bid for reelection in 2012.

One of the articles presented this very interesting portrait of Sarah Palin looking (to some I guess) “presidential”.  Frankly, I think she looks worried.  It’s a great suit by the way – but the flag pin is a bit big – not so much for the actual collar of the suit, but just IMHO because I think the size of the flag pin signifies the size of one’s (Republican) intention to take over the US – but that is just me – so put me and not all 8 of my readers on a watch list somewhere.

There is another article that says that one Republican strategist doesn’t think she’s electable.  Eh – maybe – personally, I hope not for all the reasons I wasn’t wild about her in the first place – she isn’t qualified – ‘course when did that ever stop anyone from running for anything – I would add to that the simple fact that for some reason, she just couldn’t fulfill her obligation of being Governor of Alaska.  What does that say to you that you spend lots of money (presumably not only yours but OPM as well) and then, once you have achieved what for many has been the pinnacle of their political careers, you bail? Call me crazy but what if she does become POTUS and decides she doesn’t like it and that the offer of a reality TV show – let’s call it Ex-POTUS – seduces her away from the job.  Hey, maybe it would turn out to be a favor, especially if she had a compromise-but-great VP choice – say Mike Huckabee or Bobby Jindal, but does anyone really want to go down that road – as Nixon showed us, “abdications” are so messy?  So, here I am an avowed Liberal Libertarian agreeing with the likes of Sig Rogich and Karl Rove – as for Christie Todd Whitman – she’s right – Palin might energize the base but the base doesn’t get anyone on either side elected. 

“Bases” are just about 30% of the voters on either side of the middle line – the other 40% are the ones that swing the election right or left. 

I am going out on a limb here, albeit not a very dangerous one, and saying that there’s no way to call the 2012 election from here at the end of 2010.  Why? Well, because the 2010 election is just over and the newly-elected haven’t even had their chance to fail – and they will.  We are in a wholly new place with TPTB.  We the people are giving them (TPTB) about 10 minutes to do it right (figuratively of course) and then we are moving on.  Our tolerance for inaction, inability and failure to follow through is becoming very short lived and, should the newly-elected not do what they came to do in, say approximately 270 days from taking office, We the People will be back on a “fire the bastards” band wagon.

Gone are the days of the 1990s when We the People allowed the opposition an entire presidential cycle to screw up. 

© 2010

I am an Angry White Woman

I am over fifty.  I am over-educated.  I am angry at the way this country has been run for the last 8 years. I am the woman that the MSM thought was going to a) support Hillary Clinton ( I did not, see Turn Your Red State Purple) and b) leave for McCain/Palin in droves.  Well, the migration to McCain didn’t happen.  As reported in HuffPo by Anna Greenberg, the vote migration was to John McCain by white men.  McCain received a 10 point bump right after his convention in the white male demographic.  This seems to me to speak more toward white man racism than woman sexism (yes, women can be sexist and it is just as sexist to suggest that women will vote based on gender as it is to suggest that women vote for men because they are good looking!).  According to Greenberg, 83% of women for Hillary now support Obama (oh 17%… do you really want the Pitbull in Lipstick to be president?  You know that is where this is headed… Statistically, McCain has one foot on a banana peel and the other… well… you know… in his mouth.  BTW, did you know that the average age in the US for widowhood is 54… take a wild guess at Cindy McCain’s age at her last birthday… I personally don’t like the stats… )

In an earlier article on the same subject, Greenberg discussed blue collar women and their support of McCain. “Obama’s real struggle is with white blue collar women voters — the same group that challenged Kerry. Currently, Obama trails McCain among white women without a college education by 19 points, 37 to 56 percent; according to Democracy Corps, Kerry lost these women by the exact same margin, 40 to 59 percent.” I can see where Sarah Palin will appeal to this demographic.  She appears “real”.  In teaching college courses on theatre, one of the most common statements I heard about plays my students were required to see had to do with their perceived “realness” of the play.  The more “real” the more they accepted the message.  The more “unreal” … and “unreal” in this context means complex, abstract or subjects outside of the student’s experience… the less these students were able to relate, and thus, the less they “liked” the production (NB: these were theatre courses for non-majors, most of whom were freshmen or sophomores).  Now, if an election campaign is not a piece of political theatre, I don’t know what is.  Back to Sarah Palin.  She appears “real”.  She, like George W Bush is one of those people “regular” people would “like” to have a beer or a prayer with… She has a carefully crafted public image making her appear to be “like us”.  She is “not elite” (although in my opinion that is arguable), presenting herself as “just” a hockey mom.  She comes off like your next door neighbor or the cashier at the grocery store.

I don’t want “just” a hockey mom, or “just” a little league dad to be president or vice president.  My neighbor doesn’t know any more than I do about running a country.  The cashier at the grocery store may have a good grasp of what it costs to feed a family, but that is where her economic knowledge ends (unless, like in my town people with college degrees have to take jobs at the grocery store to be able to have a job.)  I want someone who has studied the issues and has a plan.  I don’t want someone who thinks that because, on a clear day, on a tiny spit of land, in the middle of the ocean, property that belongs to the US can see property in Russia to be in charge of the nuclear codes.

Let me put this another way… to those of you who think that she would make a good president (because that is highly likely and that is what she is interviewing for) think back to a time in school, when you hadn’t done the reading and you got asked a question by the teacher and how difficult a moment that was for you.  Got it…. ok now, go an look at the Charles Gibson interview (minute marker 7:52) when he asks her about the Bush Doctrine… you don’t need to know what the Bush Doctrine is to know that she doesn’t know what the hell he was talking about.  Do you want that person in charge of the nuclear codes?  I do care if Obama is not your cup of tea, I am not going to say that I don’t but if you cannot vote for him for what ever reasons, vote for Ron Paul a fine conservative, Constitutionalist Libertarian and a man with years of experience in government.  Vote for Bob Barr, a Libertarian with years of experience.  I want Obama to win yes… but more than a win for Obama, I DON’T want Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

© 2008
Vote Obama/Biden 2008
Vote for Change we CAN Believe in!

More on Lipsticks for Pigs

So now, Obama has to take precious time out of his campaign to refute idiotic remarks from the McCain/Palin campaign.  These people will stop at nothing to smear Obama.  Well, Obama, in his ever eloquent way has spoken…

Please take a couple of minutes out of your day to hear:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMtcW2Hq5iE

© 2008
Vote Obama/Biden 2008
Vote Change

It Can’t Happen Here — or Can It?

In the Life Imitates Art Department and cross-referenced to the Remember/Study History or We are Doomed to Repeat It Department:

There once was a book called It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.  It was written in 1935.  For those of you who are Sci-Fi fans, the TV miniseries V was loosely based upon the book primarily because the TV Powers that Be thought no one would buy a story about America getting hijacked by a Fascist. There is a book review of the re-release of the book in 2005 that is long and unfortunate since it has the distinction of reading like a 6th grade book report wherein the reporter tells the entire story of the book… sheesh when will they learn… anyway… here if you feel like you have to read the whole thing.  I actually recommend the book, which you can read here.

Aaaannyywaaay… the point here is that 73 years ago (one year before the current Republican nominee was born) one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century wrote a book that basically predicts that the citizens of the United States will allow a ruthless dictator to come to power because they just can’t believe it can happen here.  We have safeguards, right?

Last week, when Obama visited the American Airlines repair facility in Kansas City MO he promised that one of the  “first priorities as president would be to review every executive order issued by Bush on issues such as warrantless wiretapping and overturn them if they are found to be unconstitutional.”

We need this man.

© 2008
Vote Obama/Biden 2008
Vote for REAL Change!

Community Organizers and American Values

Sorry, I changed my mind about posting on Sarah’ budget cuts.  This particular Daily Kos diary is so wonderful I am just saying go there now and read it.  Hurry.  We’ll wait for you.

Ok now do you feel better?  I have been depressed all day because of the sarcastic snarkyness displayed last night.

So I have another place for you to check:  on Tikkun.  Again, I’ll wait here.

Ok.  Now that you are up to speed, let me say this, and my apologies to anyone who already read my comment on Mudflats:

the upshot of the article is this:

“Democrats, being Democrats, will mostly talk about the realities nonstop without paying attention to the dimensions of values and symbolism. Democrats, in addition, need to call an extremist an extremist: to shine a light on the shared anti-democratic ideology of McCain and Palin, the same ideology shared by Bush and Cheney. They share values antithetical to our democracy. That needs to be said loud and clear, if not by the Obama campaign itself, then by the rest of us who share democratic American values.”

People, this is a call to action… we are all smart and articulate writers. Perhaps we do not have the platforms that some have, but as this particular blog (Mudflats) shows platforms change, even when they are built on mudflats. If you don’t have a blog, get one. Write about McCain & Palin = Bush & Cheney. Write about their assault on the democracy we all hold dear. Forget the “FACTS” for a while. Facts like the US is a republic and not a democracy, or that Palin and McCain lie when the truth would do better. Hammer in to the symbolic worth of our shared Democratic Values, cry out “Extremist” when you see an extremist. Ask who would better serve the American Dream? Sadly, it is not “facts” that win elections – otherwise Al Gore would just be leaving office and this would be a vastly different race, not to mention country.

We have a voice. We must use it. Not just here [on Mudflats], where it is safe and we mostly all agree… but, to use the Alaskan vernacular we’ve all learned so recently, “outside” (NB: Alaskans refer to out-of-state as “outside”.)

We must keep at this.

As another commenter on Mudflats said:

“Jesus was a Community Organizer, and Pontius Pilate was a Governor.”

© 2008
Vote Obama/Biden 2008
Vote for CHANGE!!!

So John McCain Wants Hillary Clinton’s Disenchanted Voters…

I can see why he would. There are a lot of women in particular who, according to the talking heads, wanted a woman candidate…

So what did he do? He picked Sarah Palin. Makes sense, to someone, I am sure. Not me. Certainly not me…

Hillary Clinton is a woman.

He picked a woman.

Hillary Clinton is pro-choice.

He picked a woman.

Hillary Clinton is pro-conservation.

He picked a woman.

Wow. That’s telling ’em. He picked a woman. A 44 year old woman.  So, is SHE ready to lead? Remember, she would be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Personally, I’d rather the person a heartbeat away from the presidency be Joe Biden.

If John McCain and the Republican Party thinks that the reason American women were voting for Hillary Clinton was solely gender based, they are more out of touch than I thought. Women, like African Americans, Irish-Americans, and all the other hyphenated Americans are able to make decisions that are not gender or racially or culturally based. They are intelligent, capable of making an informed decision and vote FOR people based on their ability to serve.

I am sure there are women who think Sarah Palin is “right”. I just cannot imagine that any of Hillary Clinton’s constituency will find her a reasonable substitute for Hillary Clinton thereby attracting them in droves or even in ones. Sarah Palin is straight from the Republican Base. Hillary Clinton’s constituency is straight from the Democratic Base. They aren’t going anywhere.

Obama/Biden 2008
Vote for CHANGE.

© 2008