The End of the GOP Ticket
I feel bad for John McCain. I think he’s a great person who’s done great things. On the trail he had to concede some of his McCain-ness (I’d like to avoid that other M-word which became meaningless as soon as the whole GOP started to embrace it) and I definitely don’t agree with him on most policy issues.
But, he was the best Republican candidate in my lifetime, and maybe the last Rockefeller Republican the GOP will run for a long time. Unfortunately he ran against the best Democratic candidate in a lifetime.
His running mate on the other hand… you know the drill.
And when McCain and Palin split up in Arizona Wednesday, the personal differences were stark.
McCain drove himself home in a Toyota sport utility vehicle. Palin’s departure was a grander event. She left with an entourage of 18 family members and friends and a Secret Service detail, heading to the airport in a motorcade stretching more than a dozen vehicles, flanked by a dozen more cops on motorcycles.
PUMA’s Damn America, Move to Canada
Posted at 4:29 PMSome of the most interesting reactions in last night’s election came from the supposed Hillary Clinton holdouts who chose personality over ideology and decided they just couldn’t vote for Obama. Here are last night’s comments from Hillaryis44, which quickly go from cocky to sad and then onto racist with the eventual cry of “God Damn America,” a phrase which was abhorrent to these bitter people, just weeks ago. I guess they hate America now because someone they think hates America was elected President, if that makes any sense.
They still claim his supporters must be puppets of the media. Even after an overwhelming victory, they refuse to accept the existence of rational support for Obama and denounce most of America.
These are the scum of the American Electorate. Swayed by personal attacks, rumors, and misdirection. Seemingly unattached to any real issues and more concerned with phony narratives and firsts than the direction of the country.
6 PM: Obama Simply Can’t Beat McCain.
moononpluto Says:
No way in hell is obama plus 15 in pa, noone ever has had it more than 5
wbboei Says:
What’s with Hillbuzz asking us all to “be nice” to Obots if Oliar loses??
Are they kidding me with that shit? I plan to gloat my head off and give the subtle O’liar finger to every bot I run across.
Right on. We will treat them with the same love and respect they treated us and hillary after the DNC stole the nomination from her and gave it to bambi. In other words, we have two good reasons not to be civil to those little bolsheviks.
JanH Says:
Memo to Media:
Wishing won’t make it so!
7 PM: Hillary Would’ve Won Kentucky
djia Says:
it’s way to early to call any of these states………i would love to see early called states for obama to actually be a Dewey/Truman moment
pm317 Says:
Yep, Hillary would have won KY.
confloyd Says:
wbboei, Obama has a picture of Che Guevara on his wall in his office that he has never moved into!
Ronald Says:
sadly, tragically and wrongly,
Hillary Clinton is not going to be our next president.
But, she remains my hero.
confloyd Says:
WTF, is the matter with Florida, Fox acting like its all over for McCain!
justmeinmountdorafl Says:
FL is 57-43?!?!?!?!? for Obama
HillGuy Says:
You guys, calm down. Only 2% reporting in FL.
HillGuy Says:
A Democrat needs to win WV to win the White House.
8 PM: WTF? FUCK OFF!
rickya Says:
With 14% in Obama is leading McCain in Florida by a wide margin. WTF????
lisaque Says:
fuck off
HRC2009 Says:
I am really discouraged. Obama projected to win PA..
mp Says:
I am kinda of down right now
Caroline Says:
Did you honestly think that McCain was going to win NH and PA. Get it together people. It’s too early to have a heart attact.
rickya Says:
The media networks would be racing to call states for BHO. But in the case of PA, they will all be wrong. This would be the Truman moment for this election.
HRC2009 Says:
So far, BO is only winning states that he is expected to win..
rickya Says:
“CNN hasn’t given PA to Obama.”
They will and they will be wrong.
meiyingsu Says:
I can’t believe that PA will go to BHO.
9 PM: Is That Mean It Is Over?
rjk1957 Says:
They are holding back calling states for Mccain in hopes of Obama hitting 270 before Mccain hits 100
HRC2009 Says:
Things are not looking good…. I am very disappointed. McCain is more fit to become president, just as Hillary was…
Paula Says:
If he wins OH it’s over.
admin Says:
Fox News projects Ohio goes to B.O.
meiyingsu Says:
admin, is that mean it is over?
clintondem99 Says:
Bye everybody! I had enough of politics and I am ready to go back to my trading desk. I am ready to go back to work. Admin i thank you for all your wonderful postings.
HRC2009 Says:
It’s OVER. I’m very disappointed. Going to sleep now. Hopefully all of this is just a nightmare….
meiyingsu Says:
clintondem99, it may be ACON.
HillGuy Says:
Paula, as much as I used to dislike him, I would take an eternity of Bush over one day of BO.
mp Says:
hillguy….yes I would take bush over BO… Just did not imagine it this way!
RobWI Says:
basil9, it would seem that the United States of America just got punked.
mp Says:
I kinda in a shock…..I did not think it would be like this!!!!!
jeleanoro Says:
It’s so unbelieveable…we all watched how he beat Hillary….there’s fraud involved here somewhere…he’s not winning fairly…Acorn definitely has something to do with it.
jade Says:
This is sad.
If BO wins this, he has Hill and Bill to thank for it. They may not have cared for BO but they were very convincing on the campaign trail for that ASS HOLE. I wish they would have showed the party their ass like the party did to Hillary. Those bastards don’t deserve to win tonight. I am done with the Democratic party and big media Fox included. They sold out the country for a Chicago Thug and stole the nomination from Hillary. This should very well be her victory tonight had the DNC, Big Media, and the RBC did their jobs. To hell with them all. They will get what they deserve. Many thanks to Admin and the rest of the contributors on this board for exposing BO for the lying, cheating, Chicago thug that he is. Being an AA woman, I should be happy that an AA man will be POTUS, but I can’t find it in my heart to celebrate his victory after all that I know about him and how he and Axelrod stole the nomination from Hillary Clinton.
May God Bless America (We are sure gonna need it)
10 PM: The Night America Died
moononpluto Says:
Isnt it funny that the states we were not worried about McCain will probably lose, like Florida and Ohio and the rest will probably be ok.
hwc Says:
Hillary is going to be kicked to the curb by the Bots so hard it will make your head spin. She’ll be lucky to get a seat on the knitting subcommittee.
You can pretty much kiss the moderate wing of the Democratic Party good bye.
ShortTermer Says:
The night America died.
Paula Says:
Frankly, this is closer than a lot of people thought it would be. Last I saw, BO’s up just 1 percent in the national vote, but that’s enough to give him a few swing states that’ll put him over the top electorally.
justmeinmountdorafl Says:
ShortTermer, I agree, its the night Obama died.
justmeinmountdorafl Says:
mean, the night America died, with Obama leading.
skmf12 Says:
SORRY ADMIN,
I believe hillary can personally take credit for this turnout. my opinion of her is forever changed… she chose party, over us and the country. i’m disgusted, but it is what is. oh well admin, for you i have nothing but praise. I have a feeling this has set race relations back a lifetime, i know i will never feel the same. anyway, see y’all tomorrow…
jithendra Says:
i dont know but mccain is catching up in OHIO.. 52 - 46 now
skmf12 Says:
oh one last thing,
i hope obama can redeem himself, i dont wish bad on him, if we do that, we wish bad on us… if he surprises us and carries out something good, more power to him…
(but i will never like that NASTY LOOKING michelle obama!!!! LOL)
justmeinmountdorafl Says:
remember ohio, they gave it to Kerry then took it back and gave it to Bush in 2004
moononpluto Says:
I’m surprised at Florida, really really surprised.
neetabug Says:
I was a presiding judge here in Cleveland. It amazes me how many people that came in to vote. They could not follow directions. We had the scan ballots where you fill in the circle. After the polls closed we opened up the ballot box to take out the scan ballots. More people checked the box instead of filling the circle in. Half came in that could hardly read. Oh how these people will be disappointed.
peppermintgirl4145 Says:
Street money won PA. ACORN for everything else. I’m cashing in my bonds. I’ll pay Bush’s capital gains. I can’t afford 28% tax. I held them as I didn’t want to pay 15% when I interest is so low. I am truly sick. I’ll bet we have 8 years of this. What was Hillary thinking? She will never be President now - plus - I am no longer proud of her. I can’t believe she and Bill supported him with his associations. I think America as we know it is gone……..
neetabug Says:
I will not be watching cnn, msnbc, fox, or any news channel ever again. I am done with the news media.
We will see who gets the last laugh
Hillary chose party over country!!!!!! I am done with politics forever. I will never trust any of them, including Bill and Hillary
11 PM: God Damn America (or “Fuck Obama I Hope He is…”)
henry Says:
iF NO ONE ELSE HAS SAID THIS YET GOD DAMN AMERICA. I am finished.
moononpluto Says:
Also, if I hear one more word about America being a racist country, i will personally slap them.
moononpluto Says:
well Racist as in all the aa’s voted for themselves, they were the racists in this.
admin Says:
Thanks to all you here.
Our hands are clean - we did everything to stop this horror from occurring. The kool-aid drinkers have what they wanted. Now the responsibility is in their hands.
We should all be proud. We issued the warning, but were ignored. The Dimocrats will now have no excuse to accomplish what they said they would do.
In the end McCain could not overcome the economic collapse which destroyed the lead he kept for 10 days after the Republican convention.
Congratulations to Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright and Emil Jones, etc.
moononpluto Says:
So Admin can you tell us who you are now?
debbie Says:
here’s my racist statement for the night
AA’s you’ve now been paid your $40 and a mule…ooops the one is only half black…you just get the mule.
henry Says:
Do not if this has been said yet this evening] But I say Goddamn America You are fucking idiots and deserve everything that comes your way’ I am beyond diswgusted.
henry Says:
Sorry i say fuck you you stole an election waffles is not my presicent and never will be
HillGuy Says:
Tonight proves that AA’s aren’t oppressed in this country; rather, they are given handouts. Never would an inexperienced, socialist, terrorist-loving, racist, sexist, gay-bashing, hypocritical, opportunistic WHITE junior Senator be given a free pass by the media like this son of a bitch has.
ShortTermer Says:
I know that fraud was rampant and BO will change this country - but into a place where those who dissent can not live. I also know that a Republican probably had no CHANCE to win, but John McCain is not BUSH and it is BUSH and the Republicans that have brought down the Republican ticket.
However, the only reason that Hillary is not President is because it was stolen from her. I have watched her face since June and she has aged beyond belief, and yes she and Bill had an effect on who won this election - party before country.
henry Says:
Fuck obama I hope he is……….
ShortTermer Says:
Agree with Newt. The media is dead, it can not redeem itself. We are the best media that America has now. We must hold his feet to the fire.
What happened to the PUMA votes, any accounting for that?
admin Says:
The California gay marriage ban is currently winning. 11% of the vote is in 56 yes, 44 no. Another legacy of this horrible night.
marie3548 Says:
They claimed on Fox tht they have no evidence that PUMA voters did not support Obama so they are claiming that they did.
But we know that is not true.
birdgal Says:
This is tragic. Stop the world, I want to get off.
pm317 Says:
I am stunned about OH and FL (and may be PA).
12 PM: The Islamic Brotherhood
UnLadyLike Says:
Folks….I feel truly depressed. I am a regular on PUMA site. The mask of BO will come off…it is just a matter of time…just as he revealed his true colors to Joe the Plumber.
Only a matter of time…..I will turn off MSM and the Government for at least 4 years. I did it with Bush because I could not bear to see him win in 2000.
I am not sure with all the “GOP internal polling”, how the numbers played out the way they did, except for massive FRAUD on many levels.
Can we keep sites such as this active so that like minded and spirited people like us will have a venue to continue our quest toward a fair and just political arena???
Please does anyone feel the same???
UnLadyLike Says:
No we will be watching Obama down in Hell.
JanH Says:
I only have one last question:
Is it too early to start impeachment proceedings?
confloyd Says:
Just a reminder folks, all those Obama supporters on the Gaza STrip are probably shooting their AK47’s in the air tonight in celebration of the “one” be elected (awarded) the Presidency!
All the Islamic brotherhood are saying to themselves that they are ready to take this country over from the inside NOW!
confloyd Says:
This is the FIRST time in my entire life I am afraid to be living in the United States!
1 AM: O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frighted thee bluegirl Says:
Peppermintgirl, I feel exactly the same as you. Right now I’m really feeling very sick. I feel so down, I could just cry. I feel like the bottom just dropped out from under me.
I KNOW if this election hadn’t been fixed, PA, FL, Ohio, VA and some other states, would have been McCain’s. He had PA for sure.
Right now, I don’t think I will ever be able to vote for Hillary again. I’m truly fed up with her and Bill. They left us down in order to stay with the party for any future elections.
The party evidently meant more than her supporters. We stayed true to her, but she didn’t stay true to us or the country. It was just politics, as usual to them and I don’t care what anyone says.
I just had to take a couple of sleeping pills to hopefully make me sleep, but I don’t think they are going to do the trick. I am so down.
2 AM: The Bill Ayers Book Cover Dress, On Sale Now
confloyd Says:
birdgal, just saw a picture of the book. The book is red with black flames, just opposite of MO’s dress. I do think that dress is a statement!
The idiots in this country that elected them are going to get the shock of their lives when they realize that just threw our country over to communists!
3 AM: NOT MANY INTERESTING COMMENTS THIS HOUR. THEY WERE PROBABLY WAITING FOR THAT IMPORTANT CALL.
4 AM: Goodbye Christmas, Hello Ammo
djia Says:
Dear Santa,
please bring my family a set of passports, lots of ammo, and each of us a ticket on a midnight train to canada
P.s. Oh and can you put a rush on christmas this year? I am not sure we have much time before its not allowed here in America anymore.
The Voter Fraud Myth
“If they found a single case of a conspiracy to affect the outcome of a Congressional election or a statewide election, that would be significant,” Richard Hasen, election law expert at the Loyola Law School, told the New York Times last year. “But what we see is isolated, small-scale activities that often have not shown any kind of criminal intent.”
But that hasn’t stopped Republicans trying. Five of the 12 US judges who were fired last year, in the scandal that led to the resignation of US attorney general Alberto Gonzales, were axed because they refused to pursue the issue of voter fraud with sufficient vigour. It also explains the Republican attacks on the community group Acorn, which pays people to register voters in low income and minority areas. Some of Acorn’s workers made up names. That should be and has been condemned. But there is no evidence that it has resulted in a single fraudulent vote ever being cast since Acorn began its large-scale voter registration drives four years ago.
Problem is, the GOP is already setting this up as their talking point for why they lost the election, if they lose. If the margins are high enough I don’t see it gaining much traction, but if it’s close I can’t see why Jon McCain wouldn’t use this as a scapegoat, it’s too easy a target.
Hopefully one of the new administration’s new concentrations will be election systems reform.
Chris Rock owns Bill Clinton, Katie Couric owns Sarah Palin, the federal government owns your local check cashing store and Letterman owns McCain.
Late night TV is the best part of the election season.
Via Wonkette.
Vote for Obama
Shaviro over at Pinocchio Theory argues that, despite the fact that the Democrats will more than likely disappoint anyone who thinks anything will actually “change” beyond a pathetic return to Clintonian neoliberalism, one should nevertheless vote for Obama:
It is not stupid to vote for McCain/Palin; rather, it is evil. Republicans are intrinsically, and necessarily, morally depraved. Anyone who votes for McCain/Palin, or supports them, by that very fact demonstrates that he or she is a person utterly devoid of basic morality, and lacking in any respect for others. To vote for McCain is to shit on human civilization, and show utter contempt for human values and human hopes. And not in spite of the Democrats’ hypocrisy, but rather precisely because of this — because their hypocrisy is, as it were, the compliment that vice pays to virtue — the only moral thing to do in this election is to vote for Obama.
(Via I cite.)
Toyota Brown
Posted at 11:42 PMSo although many people seem to be dreaming of the slightly more exciting Republican nominee, last night I had the strangest dream involving Obama and McCain. It took place at a surreal convention center; the decor reminded me of a mix between a David Lynch film and a vibrant Nintendo videogame. Anyhow, the video being broadcast was showcasing, in a cartoony, almost socialist realist form, all of the various ways in which Barack Obama was better than McCain, making the case for how easy it should be for him to win. A typically stupid “dream as a fulfillment of a wish,” as Freud said.
Then John McCain took the stage with someone who was apparently an old buddy of his from their rock and roll days. The guy had sagging, but tight white skin, numerous piercings, shades and a soul patch, reminiscent of Tommy Lee. His nickname for McCain was “Toyota Brown,” the origins of which were not explained, except that it was referred to as a term of endearment from when John McCain, too, was evidently a hard rocker in the mid- to late-70’s.
Which is all to say that from now on I’ll be referring to John McCain as “Toyota Brown” on this blog, and hope others follow in my footsteps.
Change We Can Believe In
While John McCain is out and about touting how the “fundamentals” of the economy are strong (as to what he means by “fundamentals,” I’m sure he has a very thorough answer), because to say they aren’t means that you are insulting hard-working Americans (unlike, say, actively voting against workers’ rights), McCain’s economic council is busy pretending that they had nothing to do with bringing about one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history. Worth mentioning in particular is Phil “A Nation of Whiners” Gramm’s special role:
Gramm orchestrated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 which “destroyed the Depression-era barrier to the merger of stockbrokers, banks and insurance companies.” He also pushed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000, which made legal “the mortgage swaps distancing the originator of the loan from the ultimate collector.” The Nation writes that “those two acts effectively ended significant regulation of the financial community.”
So basically, if this chart of Obama’s and McCain’s respective tax proposals hadn’t already convinced you that it’s in your best interest to vote for Obama, then McCain’s surreal ineptitude regarding the economy, as well as his cadre of buffoons, should perhaps be some food for thought.
The Palin-Whatshisname Ticket
Hopefully this will be the last post in a while that contains the name “Palin” in the title, but this article by Frank Rich on the unbelievable phoniness and absurdity of the McCain campaign is probably one of the better op-ed columns I’ve read in the New York Times in quite a while. If you’re lazy, though, here’s the conclusion:
As Republicans know best, fear does work. If Obama is to convey just what’s at stake, he must slice through the campaign’s lipstick jungle and show Americans the real perils that lie around the bend.
Palin
Adam Kotsko in The Weblog:
The problem with Sarah Palin is not her “inexperience,” her specific abuses of power as governor, her vague relationship to an Alaskan secessionist movement, her family dramas, or her apparent ignorance of the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Nor is the problem some kind of “meta” fact about her character that these various factors reveal, in combination or separately. Nor indeed is the problem that McCain apparently chose her with that peculiar blend of cynicism and recklessness we’ve come to expect from the Republican Party and McCain in specific.
No, the problem is that she’s a right-wing nutjob. Under no circumstances should she be allowed within fifty miles of the judicial appointment process or the running of the federal bureaucracy — again, not because she’s inexperienced or has a tendency toward self-aggrandizement or might have covered up her daughter’s pregnancy, but because her views on virtually every policy issue on which she’s formed an opinion are insane and because she is being given a “crash course” on the remaining issues by a man whose views are also insane.
The fact that her selection is being hailed by a major faction of the Republican Party is further evidence that the Republican Party is a fundamentally illegitimate political organization, not because they’re incompetent or corrupt (plenty of Democrats are incompetent, corrupt, or both), but because they have insane beliefs or are willing to pay lip service to insane beliefs. It’s content, not form — would that liberal commentators could recognize that.
Sarah Palin’s Troubles
Posted at 1:54 PMIn the last few days I’ve learned the following about Sarah Palin:
- Her teenage daughter is pregnant.
- Her Down syndrome child is probably her grandchild.
- She thinks the founding fathers created the Pledge of Allegiance.
- She was an Alaskan Secessionist.
- She is under investigation in an ethic’s probe.
Either John McCain made a huge mistake which he’s suffering for or Digg and Dailykos are vindictive rumor mills. Either way, someone is pouncing.
‘An insane choice’
Obvious, but also very true. I don’t understand why the Obama camp isn’t pouncing.
… in prison!
When Obama chaffed McCain for forgetting how many houses he owns, Rogers huffed, “This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison.”
Yeah, it’s from a Maureen Dowd column, sorry. I couldn’t resist the pause.
Walnuts! McCain is Really Old
This website is pretty amazing. (Via Matthew Yglesias.)
Has the “Surge” in Iraq Worked?
Immanuel Wallerstein writing for the Monthly Review:
I could go on—about Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, the Gulf states. The fact is that the United States is decidedly weaker everywhere in the Middle East in the eighteen months since the surge began. Has it not been in part, maybe in large part, precisely because of the surge? The Middle East today is like a large geopolitical balloon. If you squeeze it at one point, the air will simply displace itself to another point. And the balloon is getting more fragile all the time. It is on the verge of bursting.
(Via 3 Quarks Daily.)
America: A Nation of Whiners
Posted at 5:10 PM
It is undoubtedly the case that America is a nation of whiners. It is and always has been, how else do you think it came into existence? I don’t think anyone will contend otherwise, which is probably why the media has focused almost solely and unrelentingly on the “America is a nation of whiners” sound-bite from Phil Gramm’s recent diatribe. Even the blogosphere is partly to blame for this. Of course, this focus is essentially a reaction-formation designed to obscure and repress the far more ideological claim on Gramm’s part that economic failure is “psychological,” i.e. subjective.
The subjectivist theory of economics has long been a staple of neoliberal ideology, which argues, for example, that the value of a commodity, rather than being the objective cost of the labor required to produce said commodity, is in fact reflective of its marginal utility. But on the specific issue of the business cycle and economic crises, marginalist theory fails to provide an adequate explanation: instead it has to rely on its late-capitalist ideological counterpart, New Age obscurantism, which promulgates that the problems we experience, and our reality in general, are purely of our own making. And clearly the liberal rejoinder that “it has real consequences!” is not enough. It is a prototypically pathetic response, as it accepts the neoliberal framing of the debate, simply adding that subjective reality can lead to actual, concrete harm to human-beings.
There is obviously a grain of truth to the liberal argument, but the more important issue at stake is whether economic crisis is “psychological” in nature, or part in parcel of an objective process. Marx articulated the latter view in his Theories of Surplus-Value. His formulation of crisis theory, which points to an inherent tendency of capitalism to undergo crises as a result of the over-production of fixed capital, is perhaps one of his most important contributions to the critique of capitalism.1
As Marx writes, “In the crises of the world market, the contradictions and antagonisms of bourgeois production are strikingly revealed.” To take that a step farther, crisis also reveals these very same contradictions and antagonisms within our political discourse. Here the link between Marxism and psychoanalysis becomes quite explicit: it is the goal of the analyst to confront the analysand with the contradictions inherent to her/his discourse in order to fully expose to them their relation to the unconscious truth, a truth which contradicts every discourse, including its relation to itself. The whole debacle involving Gramm points to an unconscious repression of class struggle, which is the sine qua non of the political struggle.
That is why I will be voting for Stalin come November.