March 9, 2008 - March 15, 2008

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Anarchists order Tasers just in time for RNC

Filed under: Republican National Convention

The RNC Welcoming Committee, a self-described anarchist/anti-authoritarian organization, has ordered Tasers for each of its members. That is, if a press release circulated by the group earlier today is to be believed.

"Due to a unique corporate-anarchist confidentiality agreement, the exact number of tasers or documentable evidence of this new order will not be disclosed," reads the statement, going on to claim that the tasers' order "has absolutely nothing to do with the upcoming Republican convention... the timing is purely a coincidence."

The faux move lampoons the St. Paul Police department's purchase of 370 tasers--one for every patrolman--last month. Asked if it had to do with the fast-approaching convention, police spokesman Tom Walsh told the AP that the purchase was "in no way related. It simply isn't."

The Welcoming Committee assures the public they will not seek out any "machine guns, rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, concussion grenades, batons, water cannons or helicopters."

Posted by Matt Snyders at March 13, 2008 4:09 PM | Comments (2)

 

Hillary Clinton is in Wal-Mart's pocket

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

A reader asks that I pass along this YouTube clip:

The takeout: Hillary served for six year on the board of Wal-Mart, which doesn't exactly have the best track record for workers' rights and healthcare.

If you want to know more about how Wal-Mart treats workers, read:

The Wal-Mart Menace

Leeches at the Gate

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 12, 2008 10:24 PM | Comments (5)

 

Geraldine Ferraro is a closet racist, part II

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

I thought Keith Olbermann's interview of Newseek's Howard Fineman on this subject last night was quite extraordinary. It begins just before the five minute mark of this clip:

Fineman's normally a pretty level-headed political reporter. But he doesn't bother hiding his disdain for the Clinton campaign's tactics. It has become a loathsome operation.

Posted by Paul Demko at March 12, 2008 10:39 AM | Comments (2)

 

Geraldine Ferraro is a closet racist

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

Who knew the trailblazing female VP nominee was a closet racist?

But what other conclusion can you draw from the most recent series of events, which now stands as the most absurd thing to happen in the presidential campaign since Dennis Kucinich confessed to believing in aliens.

In an interview with The Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif., Ferraro said:

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

This touched off a minor controversy. Ferraro had touched the third rail of American politics--race--and lived to talk about it. And boy, did she want to talk about it, telling the Daily Breeze:

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up. Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"

This is a classic example of not knowing when to STFU.

It hurts Hillary in a lot of ways. For one, Ferraro is a fundraiser, and Clinton is scrambling to disavow the remarks without alienating a money stream. But it also provides a glimpse at Future Hillary, i.e. what Hillary will be like when not in campaign mode. As the first female VP candidate, Ferraro is probably more like Hillary than Bill is. This will also make it harder in the future for Hillary to question Obama's "readiness on day one" without seeming to echo Ferarro.

UPDATE 1: Apparently, Ferraro originally used this language on John Gibson's radio show on February 27, 2008. Here's a YouTube clip of it:

UPDATE 2: She used similar language about Jesse Jackson all the way back in in April 1988 in the Washington Post:

And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 11, 2008 7:48 PM | Comments (20)

 

Always bet on black: Oddsmakers pick Obama 3 to 1

Filed under: Primary

Watching coverage of the presidential race since "Terminal Tuesday," I've been getting agitated at how the mainstream media blurs the facts in an attempt to turn this into a compelling horserace. The fact is, this contest, like so much of life, comes down to math, and it doesn't favor Hillary. To catch up, she'd need to win the 12 remaining contests by an average of 23 percentage points each--roughly double the margin she achieved on her most favorable terrain in Ohio, according to this Newsweek analysis.

While journalists are dealing from the bottom of the deck to keep viewers tuned in, the oddsmakers of the Iowa Electronic Market are heavily favoring Obama. According to this article:

Intrade traders gave Obama a 75 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. president, versus 23.5 percent for Clinton. Traders on the Iowa Electronic Markets, a nonprofit exchange run by the University of Iowa for research purposes, gave Obama a 74 percent chance of winning, versus 24 percent for Clinton.

This is good news for Obama fans, because the IEM has been very accurate at picking the eventual winners of political contests--much moreso than polling. According to this Wikipedia article:

This may be because it uses a free market model to predict an outcome, instead of the aggregation of many individuals' opinions. The speculator is more interested in a correct outcome than in his or her desired outcome.

Best advice for those gambling on the election? Listen to Wesley Snipes:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 11, 2008 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

 

Orgiastic Republican sex freak waxes moralistic about Spitzer

Filed under: National Republicans

Eliot Spitzer used a prostitution ring to cheat on his wife. Bad, bad Spitzer! You, the prince of accountability! It's high time the party of morals rebuked you, using an unimpeachably objective media outlet!

But because that party and that media outlet don't exist, we'll have to settle for Republican group sex aficionado Roger Stone and Fox News.

We've written about the GOP operative Roger Stone before, and how the charmingly amoral hedonist rolls from S&M sex party to swinger gathering in between calling Hillary Clinton vulgar names. To his credit (?), Stone doesn't seem to actually believe any of his own horseshit, but does parlay it into presumably well-paying media gigs like this one on Fox:

Yes, that's the resigned-in-disgrace Dole aide whose forays into leather sex parties forced his ouster talking about how a self-righteous Spitzer got what he deserved. I know you'll be just as shocked as I am to learn that a Google News search for Stone's name plus the name of "family values" Republican David Vitter (who also was nailed in a prostitution scandal) turns up exactly zero hits.

Let's get the obvious out of the way. Self-righteous politicians are loathsome, hypocritical self-righteous politicians are vile, and Spitzer should be ashamed of himself. But if you're expecting Republican operatives like Stone to condemn Vitter, or Larry Craig, or whoever the perv du jour is, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

The point is this: an attack news outlet finding someone with a swift, polished tongue to do what he does best with it. Or possibly second-best, depending upon who you ask.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at March 10, 2008 9:57 PM | Comments (6)

 

Should McCain choose a black VP?

Filed under: John McCain

No matter who wins the Democratic nomination, John McCain will also be competing against a Historical Moment. Either it will be the first woman nominated or the first African American, versus a guy who looks like he'd fit right in with the framers of the Constitution.

Which is why some Republican pundits are urging McCain to select a VP of color, or ideally, the twofer known as Condi Rice.

In an op-ed published in today's New York Times, William Kristol puts forth a list of untraditional choices, including one pube-hair loving Supreme Court Justice:

Perhaps the most obvious way McCain could upend the normal dynamics of this year’s election would be a bold vice presidential choice. ... He could persuade the most impressive conservative in American public life, Clarence Thomas, to join the ticket.

The most impressive conservative in American public life?! That's heady praise for a man whose greatest accomplishment seems to be keeping his yap shut for two years straight.

Meanwhile, in this New Yorker column, Henrik Hertzberg suggests Condoleeza Rice as a VP choice that would allow McCain to have his base and eat it too:

If McCain really wants to have it all—to refurbish his maverick image without having to flip-flop on the panderings that have tarnished it; to galvanize the attention of the press, the nation, and the world; to make a bold play for the center without seriously alienating “the base”—then he can avail himself of a highly interesting option: Condoleezza Rice.

Of the two, I think Condi is the better choice, both individually and demographically. But the funny thing about such speculation is that it shines a spotlight on how old, white, and male the Republican party continues to be compared to Democrats. I mean, can't the Republicans find a Conservative African American without having to poach the one from the Supreme Court? What's Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire up to these days?

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at March 10, 2008 3:30 PM | Comments (1)

 

Al-Qaeda would celebrate an Obama victory, claims subhuman homunculus

Filed under: Shameless Whores

In our feature on the Iowa caucuses, I described Rep. Steve King (R-IA) as a "xenophobic Golem look-alike who once unironically called Joe McCarthy 'a hero for America.' " It occurred to me later that perhaps these words were a tad harsh for the controversial congressman.

No longer. Not after that pitiful war-lusting pervert one-upped himself Friday in asserting, "If [Obama] is elected president, the radical Islamists--al Qaeda and their supporters--will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11, because they will declare victory in this War on Terror."

I grew up in King's district in uber-conservative northwest Iowa, so I am (unfortunately) well-versed in the troll's lunacy and the clinically insane base to whom he panders. I realize that to take the time to refute this blatant, crazed fear-mongering is to lend his shattered worldview more credence than it deserves.

But such garbage is worth noting, because it illustrates an increasingly familiar phenomenon benefiting the McCain campaign as of late. Act 1: a far-right GOP whore parlays Obama's middle name into Obama-as-Muslim-terrorist inneundo, thus injecting the languid conservative base with a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Act 2: John McCain swoops in and disavows the comments, which causes moderates to swoon over his above-the-fray campaign and "independence."

It's a brilliant racket, and I suspect we'll see it played out with greater intensity and frequency in the coming months should Obama secure the nomination.

Posted by Matt Snyders at March 9, 2008 3:01 PM | Comments (9)

 

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