“Pursue essential purposes calmly” – J. Gould

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat if necessary. We have an interlude of 40 days and 40 nights til the spin cycle winds down on the Pennsylvania Primary.

For the real deciders — undeclared superdelegates — this interval will be a time of reflection. They face one momentous, uncomfortable decision for themselves, their constituents, their Party and their country. No matter how frantic the crossfire gets, no matter the clamor outside their cloisters, they won’t be rushed.

The focus of their deliberations will be Obama first, History second, Hillary third. Below the fold, a look ahead at this period of reflection … and our parts in it.

Bill Bradley disenfranchises MI and FL. AND CA, NJ, NY, MA, AZ, OH…

Bill Bradley and Nita Lowey were on Meet the Press this morning and Tim Russert (aka Pumpkinhead) and Bradley had the following exchange:

TR: What should happen to Michigan and Florida?

BB:Well, I think the rules are the rules. MI and FL both knew that they wouldn’t be seated if they moved their primaries up. They decided to do that anyway. I mean if we want to make sure that MI and Fl are seated, well, then, don’t let that determine the outcome. They get a 50/50 division and go into the convention, everybody will be there.

TR: Are you disenfranchising the voters of MI and Fl with that position?

BB: Well, I think this is not the voters, per se, but the parties of those states made that decision and there are consequences for that decision.

Sunday: Solidarity

Welcome new readers of The Confluence. We are a merry band of bloggers, exiles by our own choice or our own words, standing on the brink of a new progressive blogosphere. Make yourself at home and join us in solidarity.

• If you haven’t read ronkseattle’s summary of the DailyKos writer’s strike so far, please do. At the heart of this strike is the idea that free speech really should be free. It should not be held hostage to the proprietors of large web sites. As dissenting voices are chased from the marketplace, so are the ideas that go with them. We do not know what the future holds for the political blogosphere but there are hundreds of voices that go unrecognized because their sites do not reach the threshhold level of size. Stay with us as we brainstorm on how to change this model.
• Tom Watson puts his finger on the problem in his post on The Left Splits: Writer’s Flee DailyKos over Clinton Bashing. Here’s the money quote:
  

  The resentment among non-Obama backers is growing rapidly – you can see it in the comments here, and I can see it in my emails. There’s a real split among party activists, and it’s getting wider. Some of it is motivated by the media’s love affair with one candidate – and hatred for the other; Keith Olbermann’s embarassment drove many over the edge. But much of it comes from boorish, Stalinist behavior online – the kind of “you’re either with us or against us” attitude we saw so much of when the Bush crowd was flying high. It’s disturbing, particularly because so many of the targets are women. This is not the Democratic Party many of us have worked for; this is not the progressive blogosphere we’ve supported. Without blaming the worthy candidacy of Senator Obama in any way, this is not a progressive movement – it’s a harsh, echo-filled politburo bathed in faux post-racial hosannas and the gauzy camera lens of “hope.”

  This is also the time to note the lack of leadership in the party.

• A funny thing happened on the way out of Macy’s yesterday. I was on the way to my car when I passed two retail assistants talking to one another while on a smoking break. One turned to the other and said, “Yeah, but what about Michigan and Florida?” *ping!* Did I hear that right? Just two average NJ Joe’s standing on the sidewalk in front of Macy’s, dragging on their Camels and talking about delegate counts? Yes, my droogs, they knew the frickin’ delegate counts and they knew which states were important and they knew what was going on. So, as I passed them, I updated them that Michigan was headed for tha do-over but I didn’t think that Florida needed one. One of them burst into howls of laughter while the other just smiled and nodded his head. The laughing one stopped and asked, “So, didn’t Hillary win Florida?” and I told him, “Yes, 1.75 people can’t be wrong. They certainly voted like they knew what they were doing.” He started laughing again and he and his friend went on talking as I went to my car. Now, I don’t know about you, but it is my humble opinion that when the average cashier at Macy’s knows what the score is and who is ahead, it is going to be very difficult to spin the Florida controversy as a win for Obama. This experience is not atypical for what is going on all around me in NJ. When people spot my Hillary button in Starbucks, they start to talk politics like it is second nature. My asian colleagues hash it out with me at lunch. My *sister* who is not a politico, sucks up information like a sponge on this stuff. People are tuned in and are following this like a real horserace. And I think they know what is going on, who is pulling the strings and just how much they can trust the media. Thank you SNL. So, if I may make a recommendation: wear your Hillary button (or Obama button, if you must *sigh*) on your jacket or your backpack or your sleeve when you’re out in public. And don’t be afraid to engage people in political talk. You know what’s going on and can fill in the missing pieces. Listen to what people are saying. Hold back the emotional aspect and just listen. The public is waking up and using its mind. And that is a powerful thing that we need to encourage.
• Oh, give me a BREAK, Josh! How the hell do *you* know Hillary unleashed the Jeremiah Wright stories in the news? Do you have proof? Have you seen the secret drop site somewhere in the DC metropolitan area where an operative from Hillary’s campaign stands, slouched up against a park bench with a package full of already publicly available videos of Wright going off on a tangent? Oo, Oo, maybe there is a balcony somewhere where a geranium is changing position on a daily basis. Will you get real? Anyone could have dragged that stuff out. The Republicans have picked their candidate. The primary season is over for them. They can spend all of the rest of the year picking off our candidates. And it’s not like Obama didn’t share some culpability for his situation. After all, Hillary didn’t force him to associate with Wright for 20 years or include him on his spiritual advisory panel. But so what if Hillary’s campaign *did* whip up this frenzy? Politics is not a tea party. Are you going to come to Obama’s defense every time something negative comes out about him? Can’t he fight his own battles? This is just silly and unworthy of a Polk Award winner. It’s just another example of the Clinton Rules/Obama Rules. Put up or shut up, Josh.

Strike News (and Special Comment) for 2008-01-15 [UPDATE 1]

Alegre’s dailyKos Writers Strike has been noted by ABC, the NYT, Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic (producing over 200 frantic comments – you can guess the tone). Bring on your own sightings in comments, and I’ll update.

UPDATE: Alegre has a strike update up at MyDD, with additional coverage. Somebody please convey my encouragement. (I’ve spent a large chunk of my life on the internets, and MyDD is the only place I’ve ever been banned.)

Why Not Take Five?

Riverdaughter is taking an evening off, so the BFF is sitting in as guest host. I’m not much of a politician, but I do understand a cocktail hour. So why not take five from your busy schedule, taste some wine (I’m drinking a 2003 Medoc, Chateau Greysac) or order a cocktail — try the St. Andrew’s from Rendezvous in Cambridge: Benromach scotch, Maker’s Mark, lemon, amarene cherries, & a blood orange twist. Then relax and listen to the sound of Dave, Paul, Gene, & Joe.  Enjoy the evening, chat with friends, and please drink (and vote) responsibly.

She’s a sticker, thank God

Back in the dark days of February, I wandered over to the BoomanTribune just as Booman posted an anti-Hillary rant. Booman was totally shocked by a story he’d just read in the Seattle Times. But where he was shocked – disgusted by it – in a weird way I was charmed. And I’ve thought about the story often in the nearly two months since:

Hillary Clinton: front and center
By John F. Harris

As she ran for Senate as a sitting first lady in 2000, Hillary Rodham Clinton was facing an obstacle that her advisers found a bit awkward to discuss in her presence.

Her husband’s impeachment and the sexual affair that precipitated it were still recent memories. Now, that scandal was causing a headwind for the candidate as she found her own values questioned by a key segment of New York voters. This was the delicate subject on the table one evening at a White House strategy meeting, several participants recalled. The president gazed intently at poll data and then turned to his wife. “Women,” he announced, “want to know why you stayed with me.”

There was an awkward pause. But Hillary Clinton did not seem embarrassed. Instead, a half-smile crossed her face. “Yes,” she responded, “I’ve been wondering that myself.”

Jabbing the air for emphasis, Bill Clinton gave his answer: “Because you’re a sticker! That’s what people need to know — you’re a sticker. You stick at the things you care about.”

Five years later, Hillary Clinton’s tenacity in her personal and political life has left her the most formidable figure by far in Democratic politics — and in position to make history as the first woman to become president if she runs and wins in 2008.

In the months since I first read this quote Hillary’s campaign has seen some of the darkest days a surviving candidate could face. In some quarters, her campaign was written off months ago. But Bill’s right – Hillary’s a sticker. And where would we be if she wasn’t?

It always seemed obvious to me that Obama’s campaign was built on sand. That his lack of obvious negatives wasn’t enough to propel him all the way to the White House. And having powerful friends isn’t enough to convince Mom & Pop Voters to take a chance on a totally unknown and inexperienced candidate as we face the frighteningly critical issues we’re bound to be facing in November.

Whatever you think of the issues, you must admit that the Obama story has taken a dramatic turn. The Rezko story is expanding and the videos of Pastor Wright’s audacious rants are going viral (and isn’t there something about earmarks?)  Riverdaughter has been writing about Obama’s “Terrible, Horrble, No-Good, Very Bad Week” for a while now as his campaign spirals out of control.

But, I’m not panicking.  We’re still getting through the vetting process and my candidate is a sticker.  Thank God.

Afternoon Silliness

One thing lead to another while I was searching for the Quasimodo Sanctuary video and I found this video by serendipity.  It’s too good to pass up:

Now, now, if you’re imagining the throng doused with molten lead as Obamaphiles, that would be naughty.  Perfectly understandable, but naughty.  We do not hurt our friends with hot metals.  We use our words.  😉

I’m going out for awhile.   Don’t make a mess and no wild parties.  This is an open thread.

“When the moving van leaves 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue”

Hillary had a great day in Pittsburgh yesterday. She made a couple of stops including a gathering at Soldier and Sailors Hall. See the video from those gatherings here from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (sorry no embed 😦 ) Here’s my favorite line:

“In less than a year, the next president of the United States, will walk into that Oval Office, and waiting there will be alllll of the problems and the unfinished business, left behind when finally the moving van departs from 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.”

Yeah, George, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We’ll be singing, “Welcome Home Hillary!”

Saturday Morning in March

Seriously, guys, I have to break out the vacuum and the Clorox cleanup today and start pitching stuff out. But before I get to that, and I suspect I will procrastinate quite a bit, here are some interesting things for your perusal and reflection:

• Let’s start with Mawm, the comedic genius I found at Taylor Marsh’s site in the comments. First, let me back up to a passage in Obama’s letter on the Huffington Post where he throws his pastor and member of his campaign’s spiritual advisory board under a bus:
  

  The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign.

  We’ll get back to Obama’s declaration in a sec. But for now, here’s Mawm’s suggestion for a skit:

  I’d love to see a skit where Obama is watching a Wright sermon that is nothing but love and peace talk. He has to get up to go to the bathroom. As soon as he leaves, Wright launches into one of his tirades. When Obama comes back Wright starts talking nice again. This could go on for 20 years in the skit. Have you noticed Obama is never around when he might have to take a stand?

  Why, yes, Mawm, I *have* noticed that. And as I have said before, I don’t want to dwell too much on a few examples of Wright’s psychogenic fugues that have been taken out of context and blown up to monumental proportions. Yeah, it’s not pretty but we all occasionally reveal a darker side to our natures. However, I do find it interesting that Obama states that he knew about the Reverend’s offensive language at the time he began his presidential campaign, which would make that over a year ago. What does it say about his judgment that he let the thing fester to this point? The thing that jumps out at me over the past couple of weeks during the Samantha Power kerfuffle, the piling on of Geraldine Ferraro (and how much Obama’s campaign enjoyed it) and this latest turmoil over Wright is how Obama and his camp seem to think their feet don’t get dirty in all of this. They’re still floating above it all, at least in their own minds. It’s annoying to them that the rest of us don’t see them as simply too young, beautiful and creative to be dragged into the mud. No doubt they are sighing with exasperation and impatiently glancing at their watches, wondering when it will all be over so they can get back to disenfranchising those pesky voters in Florida who are standing in their way. Little do they know that this is just the beginning. But I wonder who has been giving them assurances that this too shall pass, it’s all in the bag?

• Florida might need to rethink its mail-in primary. Actually, it was my impression that they had studied it for more than a year. In any case, an expert from Washington state says he doesn’t think that fraud or coercion will be big problems but that logistics for the state of Florida will make it very challenging to distribute ballots to everyone who needs one. Let’s hope the Florida Democratic Party has mindmapped and Gant charted this adventure. Of course, probably the best solution would be for Obama to wave the rules and have the delegates seated as is. It would save him the humiliation of losing a second time.
• Congratulations American Federation of Concerned Bloggers! You have been cited on many blogs as of this morning including MyDD, Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic, and Taylor Marsh. I seem to recall there were others. When I find more, I’ll update. People are taking notice. Good work!
• Jamison Foser at Media Matters highlights journalistic inconsistency between reporting on Democrats vs Republicans. (Well, that ought to be an easy job) Specifically, he is referring to the issue of the Villager’s harping on Hillary’s tax returns but *not* harping on John McCain’s, who also hasn’t handed it over for us to examine in minute detail. If the Clintons have planned this well, there will be a big lead up to the PA primary in April, then they will release the returns and the media will discover… nothing.
• Geordie reminded me of this scene from The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Yes, we are sanctuary.

Nightcap- New Old Friends

It’s getting late. But some of us aren’t ready to call it a night yet. So much going on and our minds are working overtime to take it all in and make sense of it. But we need to wind it down, kick back, relax, feed our cells (that means you gqmartinez)

So, we’re hanging out at Joe’s. It’s always cool and dark here. The bar is a long gleaming wood affair that Joe keeps in tip top shape with daily doses of lemon cream polish like the kind my grandmother used to use.

There are small tables and chairs and dark secluded corners. That blonde singer is back. She does the blues so well, like she feels it deep down. “The eagle flies on Friday…Lord have mercy on me”

Set’em up Joe. I’ll have a Baker’s bourbon OTR.