Some of Nothing

Rachel Maddow Pleads. Will Democrats Respond?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Rachel Maddow is pleading for Democrats to listen to Hillary Clinton when she says that she's going to take this Democratic primary race to the convention. John and Joe of Americablog envision the same scenario. Rachel sees this whole Michigan and Florida adventure as just a delay tactic and that once the rules and bylaws committee meets at the end of the month to discuss it, their decision-making process will probably continue until the Democratic convention. And if that happens, Democrats will lose. I agree with her. Obama needs to get like 90 Superdelegates before May 31st, so will Democrats finally step up and deal with this problem?

Wishes have worked in the past. Pretty please?

UPDATE: How do you criticize Clinton's "tenacity" without using sexist psycho ex-girlfriend metaphors? John Cole has the answer:

This race now is no longer a race, but a hostage crisis. Hillary is surrounded, and she can see the super-delegates through the windows of the bank lobby and she knows they are armed to the teeth, wearing their kevlar vests, weapons sighted, aimed, and with the safeties off. In her heart of hearts she knows it is over, but still she keeps the pistol cocked at the head of the party. Maybe, just maybe, something will happen and she can make it to the fueled plane she demanded be taken to the airport and then she can go away to her big payday. She has come this far, she can’t quit now. Miracles happen.

But it won’t happen. It never does. Not even in the movies, at least not the good ones.

There. That wasn't so hard; was it? It's Stockholm syndrome on steroids.

UPDATE 2: Keith's not kidding (h/t BryAnn):

Or click here (if embed doesn't work)

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Nothing New byslag at 4:55 PM 4 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

McCain Republican Talking Points Comments

The Mr. and I have been talking lately about comments he's been seeing on blogs and news sites. Having recently joined the Some of Nothing Karmic Justice League in earnest, he's been going online and fighting the good fight in comments sections across the land. I try to keep him from getting all extracurricular about it since he's generally wasting his time, but he's sometimes more optimistic about people than I am. And he's good at talking to people on their own individual levels. I have no such skill.

Interestingly, the Mr. has said multiple times now that there must be some sort of concerted effort to get Republicans to post comments on these sites. He's been struck by the consistency of the misinformation found in them and by the overall lack of spelling ability. Having discussed it several times, I told him I'd post on it if I ever found any facts to support it. Well, facts are found on the John McCain website, apparently:

John McCain to unleash 101st Fighting Keyboarders - Concern Troll Division:

John McCain's campaign is using their campaign website to encourage supporters to post supportive comments on political blogs, including the most well-known liberal site in the blogosphere. And to make things easier, they're including talking points with which sympathizers can use to get out the McCain message.

If I were a gambling person, I would bet a lot on the notion that McCain's fighting keyboarders are just the beginning of seriously organized Republican infiltration of comments sections everywhere. I strongly suspect that either the RNC or some 527s are employing the same strategery using a much more negative message. The words "socialist," "Marxist," and "Muslim" are coming up far too often in both general news and liberal blogs sections everywhere to be just a bunch of average morons mindlessly repeating talking points. It seems too concerted and intentional. And if I were a conspiracy theorist, I would suggest that some comments coming from people supposedly supporting Clinton or those supposedly supporting Obama are actually part of the program. Since Republicans recognize that they have absolutely nothing at all to say in favor of themselves, their only recourse is character assassination. And what better way for Repubchickens--unable to abandon their fetal blogging positions--to go about it than to hide behind a hillaryis44 alias?

I'd pay to find out more about this.

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Nothing New byslag at 2:27 PM 0 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

CNN Pundits Encourage Clinton to Change Strategies

Rather than actively covet it, CNN pundits (starting with David Gergen) suggest that Clinton instead come out and reject/denounce the racist vote (from Culture Kitchen):

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we have been looking at some of the exit polls from Kentucky, in particular the issue of race. Voters who said that race was important in making their decision or is the factor in making their decision.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It is more disquieting news I think for Barack Obama as he looks for the general election.

COOPER: One in five I think.

GERGEN: It was about 21 percent that race was a factor. Nine out of ten of those voted for Hillary Clinton.

COOPER: And that is people that would admit it to a complete strangers taking these exit polls theoretically it would be even larger those who would not admit it.

GERGEN: And from her point of view, over a quarter of the people who voted for her today in Kentucky were people who said race was a factor in their decision. And it really means -- I mean, she's been talking about sexism in this race and she has complained about some in the last 24 hours.

You know race is really playing an increasing issue. And it also raises the question in my judgment of whether she shouldn't say, you know, if you want to vote against him because he's black, I don't want your vote. I don't want to win that way. This has no place in this primary. [emphasis mine]

Recently, I've been reflecting back on this historic primary trying to decide what I think has been each candidate's highest and lowest points. And I don't mean that in terms of polls or media narrative; I mean that in terms of how each candidate has behaved--how they have demonstrated leadership. Although I've been wanting to post on this topic for a while now, I've held off because I honestly can't think of a real significant high point in Clinton's campaign. Honestly, there's nothing I can think of that she's done that has demonstrated exemplary or courageous leadership. However, if she eventually did what Gergen suggests--as John Edwards did early on (and got no credit for)--that would be her high point. It would be something that would redeem her somewhat in my mind because it wouldn't be all about winning for winning's sake but, instead, would be about displaying leadership.

Not holding my breath.

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Nothing New byslag at 1:09 PM 0 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

Lieberman Concern Trolls at the Wall Street Journal

Holy Joe starts his rationally-challenged article with a question:

How did the Democratic Party get here?

I actually thought this was a good beginning. I've often wondered how the Democratic Party could have ever included Joe Lieberman, let alone put him up as a VP candidate. But apparently, that wasn't where he was going:

How did the party of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy drift so far from the foreign policy and national security principles and policies that were at the core of its identity and its purpose?

I agree. How did we, the Democrats, ever let the fear mongers push us into a stupid war with no real moral foundation or path to success? Oh wait. That wasn't where he was going either:

Beginning in the 1940s, the Democratic Party was forced to confront two of the most dangerous enemies our nation has ever faced: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. In response, Democrats under Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy forged and conducted a foreign policy that was principled, internationalist, strong and successful.

Well, there was that whole Bay of Pigs incident. Not to mention the Vietnam War, which Kennedy has some right to claim a part of. And I guess the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were straightforwardly principled actions according to Lieberman. But that was such a long time ago, and blowing up entire cities of innocent civilians is an easily forgettable event. I'm sure the few families of those people that remain don't even remember their names anymore. So, it's all good. I digress:

This was the Democratic Party that I grew up in – a party that was unhesitatingly and proudly pro-American, a party that was unafraid to make moral judgments about the world beyond our borders. It was a party that understood that either the American people stood united with free nations and freedom fighters against the forces of totalitarianism, or that we would fall divided.

Hmmmm....being "proudly pro-American" means judging the world beyond our borders while completely forgetting to judge ourselves? I think there's another term for that: hypocrite. And when we talk about "freedom fighters" are we talking Iraqi insurgents? Cuz I think our US soldiers in Iraq may have a problem with us standing united with those freedom fighters. Just a guess....

Long story short, Lieberman's concern troll article is lengthy and not worth all the words he used to write it, let alone all the words required to make fun of it. I just wish the Democratic Party wouldn't put up with his imperialist recklessness anymore.

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Nothing New byslag at 9:52 AM 2 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

Stuff from Last Night's Primary Coverage that I Need to Make Fun of

1. It's a travesty of justice that a boorish Neanderthal (or troglodyte homunculus, if you prefer) such as Joe Scarborough is in any position to affect public opinion in this country.
2. Apparently, it's going to take more than female and black male presidential candidates to get racists and sexists off the teevee (I'm looking at you, Pat Buchanan).
3. Chris Matthews thought Michelle Bernard was "left of center". I've heard this woman talk maybe three times ever (thanks to Rachel Maddow for forcing her on me) and knew instantly she was a right wing shill. She calls herself "right of center". The "liberal media" has no idea what the word liberal means.
4. Howard Fineman needs to either get a new hair dye or go au naturale. Or someone needs to stop spilling pots of coffee on his head before every teevee appearance.
5. Watching the pundits complain about the complexities of the Democratic nominating process while having no problems with their own elaborate dissections of voting demographics is hilarious. Working, white, undereducated voters have become working, white, undereducated, Appalachian voters. Their next logical step is to complain that Obama's problem demographic in this race has been working, white, undereducated, Appalachian voters named "Ted". My neighborhood video store has a better categorization method than these people. Want to browse movies about Christian Hermaphrodite Skater Teens with Eating Disorders anyone?
6. The pundits dismiss Obama's big win in Oregon because it's a far left state right after they claim that McCain wants to turn Oregon red. Do they even listen to themselves talk?
7. No one corrects a Hillary supporter's claim that Hillary has won the popular vote. What do these people do for a living again?
8. Still, the only person that counts in end of this race is the white man. It's amazing how many different contretemps end in that conclusion.

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Nothing New byslag at 8:10 AM 0 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

Calling Kentucky
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

While working up my courage to make a few phone calls for Obama today, I was debating whether or not I would wimp out and choose to call Oregon or grit my teeth and call Kentucky. For better or worse, the Obama website made the choice for me. Kentucky, it was. Unsure of what I was in for, I was happy to find that, instead of trying to convince any old Kentuckian to vote Obama, I was calling only to remind current Obama supporters to get to the polls. So, if you have some time on your lunch hour or whenever, give Kentucky a call. It's easy! And honestly, talking to fellow Obama supporters in a state I've never been to this morning was a bit energizing in that it helped remind me that there's diversity of opinion everywhere. It's just a matter of percentages.

And if you need more inspiration:

Oh yeah. And for all those people who keep claiming that Obama has completely abandoned Kentucky:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Barack Obama complimented Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton Monday night and called for unity against Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the fall election.

Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, took his bid for the White House to a packed Kentucky International Convention Center on Monday night.

"She has served this country well, and whatever differences between myself and her, they pale in comparison to the differences we've got with George W. Bush," Obama told a crowd of about 8,000. "They're nothing compared to differences we have with John McCain."

(via John Cole)

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Nothing New byslag at 10:20 AM 0 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)  

Obama Grants Wishes! Calls McCain "Afraid".
Monday, May 19, 2008

Apparently, Obama is stealing McCain's ability to grant wishes because he granted my wish to see him call McCain out on his big chicken tendencies. From TPM:

McCain said [calling Iran weak compared to the USSR] revealed Obama's "inexperience and reckless judgment." Here's the key part of Obama's reply...

"Here's the truth: the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons, and Iran doesn't have a single one. But when the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust, Kennedy talked to Khrushchev and he got those missiles out of Cuba. Why shouldn't we have the same courage and the confidence to talk to our enemies? That's what strong countries do, that's what strong presidents do, that's what I'll do when I'm president of the United States of America."

Obama also said: "What are George Bush and John McCain afraid of"?

Watch it on video in all its glory (and to find out what McCain's really thinking when he talks, just replace his words with "Kokokaw" over and over again in your mind):


More of this please!

Best screenshot ever from TPM:And what do voters think about Obama's recent responses to Bush/McCain? From Gallup:

Obama Opens Up 16-Point Lead, Biggest Yet

More of this too, please!

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Nothing New byslag at 1:53 PM 2 dispense karmic justice! (or just comment here)