Whose Side Are These People On?

I thought Michael Dukakis and John Kerry were text book examples of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but they were master politicians compared to the clueless idiots that are ruining, er running the Obama campaign. 

Now it’s no secret I want Obama to lose, but it still says “Democrat” after his name and it’s embarrassing to watch what Obamanation is doing to the brand name of our party.   The worst part is the lefty blogs.  I gave up hope of seeing any sign of sanity or intelligence at Cheetoville or any other kool-aid sites, but now even TalkLeft and Salon are getting seriously stupid.

First of all, Obama supporters need to quit claiming that Senator McCain and Governor Palin are insane extremists.  They aren’t.  They are pretty much typical conservatives, and about half this country shares their views.  I don’t agree with them, but I think they are rational, intelligent people.   If they win in November it will not plunge our nation into the Dark Ages.

Secondly, Obamanation needs to knock off the frantic search for something negative to throw at them, particularly in regards to Governor Palin.  The Obama bloggers already sacrificed their credibility with “Panty-Sniff 2008,” wherein they horrified the nation with a wankfest claiming Sarah wasn’t the mother of Trig Palin. 

So the attempt now to make mountains out of every molehill in Alaska is not only a waste of time, it is counterproductive.  Every time they attack Governor Palin, more people decide to vote for her and Senator McCain.  Don’t believe me?  Check the polls.

I know my words will fall on deaf ears.  I can say it loud and clear:

OBAMA SUPPORTERS!  YOU ARE HURTING OBAMA AND HELPING MCCAIN BY RELENTLESSLY ATTACKING SARAH PALIN OVER PETTY ISSUES!

But they still won’t listen.    Obamanation is alienating the voting public, but alientating is what they do best.  They thought insulting Hillary supporters was the way to get us to vote for Obama.  But if they are going to be so damn stupid, I wish they wouldn’t call themselves Democrats.

Scratching Post Happy Hour Friday – The DNC can’t say we didn’t warn them

It’s an after work Friday Happy Hour at the Scratching Post!  2 for 1 specials on well drinks and a FREE Long Island Iced Teas for everyone in honor of Universal PUMA High Priestess Supreme, Ms. Harriet Christian, a true Working Class Hero.  If you can, please buy a Pink PUMA for Hillary so she doesn’t have to be clean up janitor lady for the Obama Campaign mess here, and can concentrate her time in helping Down Tickets Democrats and fulfill her honorable role s a Senator of NY.

Harriet appeared on Neil Cavuto’s show from the Republican National Convention.  O-bot troll prophylactic: some of us PUMAs aren’t following the Republican ticket as Harriet has freely chosen to do, but because the 2008 DNC decided to commit voter fraud and ruthless sexist propaganda to oust the popular vote winner, this is what happens:

Remember Harriet, lifelong Democrat and diner waitress who campaigned tirelessly for Hillary Clinton?  here’s a reminder:

As a proud feminist Latina with Afro-Carribean roots, I do not feel that what Harriet Christan said was in any way r*cist.  She told the truth as she lived it and saw it in person at the RBC meeting.  Our Infantry Co-Commanders and PUMAmobile Denver trekkers GaryChapelHill and Mawm also witnessed the hijack and voter fraud on May 31st 2008.  Our PUMA Delegates witnessed firsthand reports from the “Hotel Roll Call vote” from the 2008 DNC and how 18 million votes were thrown under the proverbial Obama bus.  No more.

So Harriet, even though I probably won’t vote for either of the major parties this November, I salute you today for being that Working Class Hero, like John Lennon sang of in this song.  Raise those killer Long Islands for Harriet and to all those Working Class Heros that aren’t down with their vote being thrown in the trash for the sake of “party unity.”

¡Que viva los PUMAs! (Long Live PUMAs!)

Governor Palin’s Winning Narrative

My Preferred Snack Till November 5th

Both Myiq2xu and I have focused on the power of narratives as they relate to this election season. We humans are all wired to appreciate a good story. In fact, storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment, and we all do it without thinking, don’t we? We organize the events in our lives into a beginning, middle and end, and then relate them to our circle of friends, family and other loved ones.

A narrative is like a story on steroids. It organizes a person, not events, into a prism through which all of their actions are seen. This year, the “narrative” candidate on the Democratic side was Barack Obama. When people wanted to know what he would do for us as President, he would tell his story. Historic candidacy. Post-racial. Post-partisan. Washington outsider. Against corruption. Uniter, not divider. Sounded great to a lot of people, who never noticed that the narrative did not fit the reality.

Obama’s narrative was powerful enough to get him the Democratic nomination. (Okay, that, and the DNC forced it to happen, but it was still a huge factor.) By itself, McCain’s narrative (did you know he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and is a straight-talking maverick?) might have trumped Obama’s. But the fact is, people are tired of do-nothing government. Thanks to eight years of destruction by Bush, the Republican brand is incredibly weak, yet the Democrats took over in January of 2007 and failed to do the only thing that would stop the war(s) in Iraq and end the gridlock on the economy and the environment: impeach Bush and Cheney. Obviously, Pelosi and Reid aren’t so wonderful either.

So now what? Where do we go from here? Maybe a young, fresh-faced outsider who promises to fight partisan gridlock and lobbying and special interests?

Well, if you want that narrative, why not go with Governor Sarah Palin?

The DNC’s never seen a bad guy/gal like this…well, except in 1972 and 1980

Conflucian commenter “NH” said the following which resonates with my PUMA consciousness:

NH, on September 4th, 2008 at 9:27 am Said:

I hope they blame us. That will give us power. With that power we can clean up the Dem party.

You said it, NH!  Then instantly, I thought of legendary movie anti-hero Tony Montana in Scarface who in this scene, defines this point even further (language NSFW):

Please oh PLEASE blame us for Obama’s catastrophic loss in November.  Get one of those “styrofoam Greek columns” and take a swing at Hillary Clinton supporters who are not falling line with the DNC, simply because we will not support a candidate who engaged in voter fraud and sexism to grab his candidacy. 

No, We’re Not Voting Obama. Get Over It!

Yes, that’s right, Obamans, we are not “coming to” the One. According to Gallup’s latest, at least 20% of Hillary’s (polled) supporters are still refusing to drink the Kool-Aid.

Call us whatever you want. Tell us we’re being insulted by the fact that John McCain, a Republican, did not pick Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, to be his VP. Personally, I didn’t think he would. Did you?

Go ahead, tell us the Republicans want to overturn Roe v. Wade. Your candidate’s campaign said he would use that tactic as blackmail in order to get us pesky gals to fall in line, after all! Well, of course the Republicans SAY that to please their rabid anti-abortion base, but actions speak louder than words, a concept which Obamans never seem to grasp. The Wingnut Branch of the Republican Party owned all three branches of government for 6 out of the past 8 years, and Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land. Why and how would a President McCain suddenly overturn it, given the large Congressional Democratic majority which will exist to prevent him from doing so?

Meanwhile, here is what the Obama/DNC Conglomerate’s actions tell us:

• Misogyny is perfectly okay, whether the woman is a Democrat or a Republican.
• Despite garnering the most primary votes of any candidate IN HISTORY, despite jumping every hurdle every other Democratic nominee has ever jumped in the past, Hillary Clinton was still undeserving of either the Presidential OR the Vice-Presidential nomination. Because, well, VAGINA!!!!

Not exactly the Party of female empowerment, are they?

How about the actions of the Republican Party?

• Leapt forward to defend sexism directed at their VP pick.
• Picked a woman as VP because of what she could bring to the Party: evangelical and conservative voters, and Republican, Independent and PUMA-tic women and men who may wish to put female empowerment above other issues.

Now, what are we to conclude about which Party, and which politician, cares about gender equality? Like it or not, folks, if McCain wins, a woman will be elected to the Executive Branch for the first time in the history of our country. That’s nothing to sneeze at, even if the Obamasphere pretends otherwise.

So stop it already. There is nothing Obama can say to gain our votes. His actions have spoken louder than any pretty speeches he could make. There is also nothing Hillary can say. She has done more than enough, and I support her very strongly, but I do not agree with her on everything, most notably her at-gunpoint support of Senator Obama. (Gasp!)

Some of us are leaving the top of the ticket blank, some are voting McKinney/ Clemente, some of us are voting Nader, and some of us are voting McCain. But just as we said long ago, we are NOT voting for the illegitimate, unqualified and unelectable Barack Obama.

Turns out that women CAN make up their minds after all.

Get. Over. It.

David Axelrod’s Secret Weapon: A Play in One Despicable Act.

You Think I Work for YOU?

THE SCENE: DAVID AXELROD’s office. It is reminiscent of Yogurt’s cave in the movie “SpaceBalls.” (One word: Merchandising!) Everywhere are products relating to The One. Obama t-shirts, Vera Wang clothing, mugs, buttons, posters, bumper stickers and other paraphernalia are carefully lit and displayed throughout the room.

AXELROD himself, Barack Obama’s right-hand man, is too hip to even have a desk. He sits on a leather beanbag chair, with his feet up on a beanbag ottoman for support. He does all his work on his iPhone and iMac, which rest on a side table next to him. For his guests, other beanbag chairs are casually strewn about. A large metal box sits on the coffee table in the center of the beanbags. It has no markings or buttons whatsoever, but it is clearly very important due to its central location. A small Exacto knife sits beside it.

A knock sounds at the office door.

(BILL BURTON, Barack Obama’s campaign manager, enters somewhat timidly.)

AXELROD (standing, impatiently): Come in, Bill. I told Frieda to send you right through. 

BURTON: Geez, Dave, you know I can’t understand that accent of hers.

AXELROD (sniggering): Yeah. But who needs her to talk?!

(BURTON and AXELROD snicker manfully.)

BURTON (scornfully): Anyway, Dave, I just heard that John McCain picked a woman to be his VP. Some chick from Alaska – a small-town mayor or something? Seriously, what is that old idiot thinking?

AXELROD (casually): Really? Hmmm. Let me check it out! (cruises the Intertubez on his iPhone for a moment)

AXELROD (wonderingly): You mean, Governor Sarah Palin?! America’s Hottest Governor? Wow. That bastard has balls, I’ll give him that.

BURTON (confused): Dave, is this something for Barack to worry about?

AXELROD (impatiently): Bill, you moron, of course it is! This Palin bimbo is young, pretty and has a 70% -90% approval rating in Alaska. Plus, the fundies will LOVE her, since she’s one of them. Meanwhile, Barack is stuck with that gaffe-tastic old fossil, Joe Biden.

BURTON (sighing): Too bad the President didn’t pick Hillary as his VP. Then McCain couldn’t have stolen his thunder this way.

AXELROD (annoyed): FOCUS, Bill. We lost that argument to Michelle WEEKS ago! Now, the old man pulled a possible game-changer out of his ass, but I think I’ve got just the thing to stop the bleeding. (gestures towards the metal box on the table)

BURTON (in awe): Wow. Is that – what I think it is?

AXELROD: Yes. It’s – The Rove-inator.

It’s a Conflucian “Caption This!”

I know my Conflucian bretheren can come up with something for this photo:

 Here’s my caption:

UPDATE: Join Matt tonight at 11PM ET, where he interviews Philadelphia lawyer Phillip Berg, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/My-Two-Cents 

H/T to Ben for suggesting this song, which sums up a lot of our feelings lately:

This is an open thread.  What did you do today other than hang out here? 

The show must go on: 2008-2012

Hey look over there, it's 2012!

Happy Labor Day everyone!   For all of those Conflucians in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, we hope you are well & please report how things are in your little corner of the South.  Keep safe & hope you and your loved ones are well!

In the meantime, the show must go on.  The great Heidi Li Feldman wrote something that perked my inner mountain lion to new heights:  Why Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton must be the next Senate Majority Leader  – but before some of you say “WTF??”  – please read her article at the link above. 

Senator Clinton is eminently qualified for this role. (Indeed her experience in the Senate and the respect in which she is held there were among the reasons she would have been such an excellent Democratic President this year, since working effectively with the legislative branch, especially the Senate, is a large part of what makes a President successful.) She has the policy ideas and the political savvy that can make the Senate an extremely powerful force for progressive change. Senator Clinton has the respect of foreign leaders the world over.

Furthermore, Senator Clinton now enjoys a popular mandate for her views and policies: she won more votes than any other presidential contender in a primary season ever has; polls show that were she running against John McCain she would be beating him handily; and she is a politician of national prominence who has support from rank and file voters of all affiliations.

Thus, the importance of making sure that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected by her Democratic peers to lead them in the Senate. Information on how rank and file Democrats can work toward this objective to follow. Stay tuned.

Now, this does not mean that Hillary will weaken her presidential chances for 2012, in fact, it strengthens it.  After the Pelosi-Dean-Brazile-ocrats get the McCain/Palin SuperDuper Spanking this November, our goal is to bring Democracy back to the Democratic Party.  Well, here’s our chance to get rid of the most incompetent and corrupt Democratic leadership since, uhh, since …. well hell, there’s never been a more corrupt DNC leadership ever! 

If Cindy Sheehan beats Nancy Pelosi, a big part of the problem is solved.  Pelosi loses her House seat and she goes back to San Francisco.  But if Nancy Pelosi wins her 2008 election against Cindy Sheehan, Hillary Clinton as Senate Majority leader makes Hillary the most powerful and influential Democrat in the nation, regardless of who’s the Speaker of the House.   Nancy will carry the large and looming Obama/Biden defeat on her shoulders and there’s nothing that’ll give more cooties than an election loss, whether it’s a general, state or local election.   

Just by Hillary obtaining Harry Reid’s position, Hillary becomes the de-facto Democratic Party Leader due to her strength and record for fighting Republicans head-on, and her emergence as a true populist leader during the primaries, and with that 18 Million “I told you so’s” elephant in the room strengthening her 2012 run.  Hillary has something that nobody in the DNC has.  Leverage.  Hillary came out smelling like ROSE from the DNC convention.  She gave above and beyond the call of duty.  Not to mention the voters who were shafted in the interest of “party unity.”  

My point is: Hillary has YOU AND ME and 18 million others who believe she is the best leader for our country.  She already has re-energized the Democratic voter base and as Senate Majority Leader, she’ll bring a much needed backbone to Democrats should McCain win (and he will).  She’s the only Democrat, other than President Bill Clinton, that Republicans retreat, stand down and run scurrying to their bunkers.   Why do you think Dick Cheney has a permanent scowl on his face?  (Michelle Obama, look out, your face will freeze if you keep making that “scoop mouth!” –  h/t Sugar @ Sugar n Spice Blog.)

We all know that Obama/Biden is going to get the SuperSmackDown of SmackDowns this November 4th – and I can’t wait!  We are only 3 days in the general election and the Obamaphiles are verklempt and going into hyper High School Gossip mode over Sarah Palin as VP.   We need to distance ourselves from the High School Gossip Kool Kidz Krew.   We need to start thinking beyond the election and start regrouping to put Democracy back into the Democratic Party.  We need to support Down Ticket Democrats (but Nothing on Top of the Ticket – N.O.T.) for that impending McCain/Palin win in November, to ensure than they enforce the “checks and balances” to the Executive and Judicial branches as it was intended by our country’s founders.  Primary Election reform is another goal we must make sure is addressed to the post-electables.  

Personally, I have no dog in this election fight anymore and I’m quite ok with that.  Neither McCain nor Obama speak to my needs as a voter.  But the show must go on!  What do you think of Hillary Clinton as Senate Majority Leader?

Misogyny: It’s Not Just For Hillary Anymore.

Why Do Those Stupid Bitches Hate Me?

Remember when we began, PUMAs? Remember when we used to frequent the blogs like The Cheeto, The Big Blue, HuffPo and AmericaBlog? Remember how we used to think Air America was actually liberal, instead of a bought-and-paid-for 24-hour orgy of Hillary Hatred?

I know it’s painful to think about now, but remember when you tried to fight back against the raging misogyny at these so-called “progressive” media outlets? What was their excuse again?

“I’m ready to vote for a woman President. Just not THAT woman. This hatred is brought on by Hillary herself. If she were a man she would have gotten the same reaction from me.”

Well, fellow PUMAs, looks like that excuse has gone bye-bye.

Over at the Cheeto (Daily Kos), they are in meltdown mode. (Won’t link to that place.) From “real moms” disputing Governor Palin’s tale of her pregnancy to a “reasoned” analysis of how Alaska is OMG like really small and so that means she OMG like has no experience at all despite her years of being Governor and OMG she is not qualified to be President despite the fact that she is not running for President and OMG McCain is going to die like tomorrow and that means this woman will be President OMG OMG!!!111!!!

Scratching Post Saturday Night – Democracy is more important than my LadyParts

 

We are the ones no one was expecting, and boy are they pissed.  Our votes are PRIME REAL ESTATE – but if the O-borg, particularly Joe Conason from the New York Observer, keeps writing stuff like this, what makes you think we’re voting for “Mr. Yes He Can’t?”

To take her at her word — as those who constantly proclaim their devotion ought to do — means joining her behind the new Obama-Biden ticket. Rather than sulking over the slights and stupidities of the primary, she speaks about the disastrous implications of a Republican victory as well as the policies and values she holds in common with Sen. Obama. Do the rejectionists think that her speeches on his behalf are insincere — that when she says she wants him to win, she is being false? Such assumptions are an insult to her.

Still more confounding is the threat by some of her supporters to defect to John McCain. His campaign’s latest commercial features a grinning Clinton supporter who praises his “maverick, independent streak” as well as his “experience and judgment,” and promises that “it’s OK, really” to vote for the Republican. Is this the politics of revenge? Is it the cult of personality? Is it just stubborn idiocy?

Whatever else it may be, it is not OK. No, it is emphatically not OK to mislead Sen. Clinton’s supporters into lining up behind a candidate whose positions are the opposite of hers, whose judgment on many issues is woefully deficient, and whose maverick independence is no more than a memory.

Sen. McCain, too, deserves to be taken at his word — which makes it all the more astonishing that anyone who claims to have voted for Sen. Clinton would consider voting for him. He has declared his firm opposition to reproductive rights and promised to appoint Supreme Court judges who would restrict those rights. He would continue the U.S. occupation of Iraq and may well expand the war to Iran and beyond. He opposes universal health care and denounces Social Security as a “disgrace” that should be privatized. He dropped his principled opposition to the regressive Bush tax cuts and his support of immigration reform to pander to the Republican right.

Speaking of right-wing Republicans, their encouragement of the intransigent Clintonites is a clue for the clueless. The sudden affection lavished on Sen. Clinton by neoconservatives and other assorted wingnuts could hardly be more transparent or insincere — or predictable as soon as Sen. Obama, their erstwhile favorite, secured the Democratic nomination. Pundits who beseeched Democrats to join the Obama campaign as a crusade to destroy the Clintons now demand respect for her. But their insincerity is blatant. They merely want to exploit her most disappointed supporters, whose eagerness to cooperate in that strategy is mystifying.

Private opinions about Sen. Obama and his chances of victory notwithstanding, Sen. Clinton clearly understands that her own political future, her family’s political legacy and the causes she holds dear will all depend on the vigor of her support for the Democratic ticket this fall. And despite persistent hisses of complaint from both the Obama and Clinton camps during the convention week, she knows there is no upside in recalcitrance and no downside in enthusiasm. As a lifelong advocate of racial and gender equality, she should appreciate the historic moment that she and Sen. Obama have the privilege to share on the public stage. None of her supporters should stoop to tarnish it.

You know what Joe?  F__K You.  F__K you and your vote stealing candidate.  Had you done your job as a journalist, you would’ve discovered that Obama stole this convention through caucus fraud, SuperDelegates donations through Nancy Pelosi’s PAC, with the help from the RBC and Fake Role Call meetings.  So get your nose out of my uterus. I will support DownTicket Dems even if they were a participant in the Death Of Democracy in the Democratic Party – because they will ensure that McCain and Palin’s power do not go unchecked.  And numbers say that in 40 years and 5 Republican presidents with very conservative Supreme Court majorities haven’t turned over Roe v. Wade, so why should they now?  Obama stole a campaign and attacked with his rabid cyber-dogs and cultlike supporters in the media.  What makes you think he’s going to protect MY rights as a woman after he let misogyny be the main weapon to suppress dissent?  Democracy is much more important to me than my uterus, so go do your job instead of deciding what my ladyparts should be doing/thinking.

Rico has his Pink PUMAs and Mountian Lion Martinis – Flo has her catchers mitt, so Smiegels beware!  For entertainment tonight, nothing like a good Latin Jazz timbal duet between Tito Puente and Shiela E. 

PLUS: Join Matt from “My Two Cents”  11PM ET tonight!  Topics: DNC convention, McCain’s stunning VP pick, polls, tactics used to sway Hillary supporters/pumas to Obama through fear and doubt. Special guests will drop by to weigh in!!!  http://www.blogtalkradioshow.com/My-Two-Cents

¡Que viva los PUMAs! (Long live PUMAs!)