May 2008

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Why Obama is coming to St. Paul to declare victory

Filed under: St. Paul

Today it was confirmed what was first rumored yesterday: Obama is coming to St. Paul on Tuesday for what will be, for all intents and purposes, a victory speech.

Although the campaign was careful to qualify itself--ultimately, there can be no victory speech until Hillary decides to concede, which should be any day now--make no mistake about it: this is a victory lap, and there's a symbolic power in holding it in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Obama will stand under the same roof where Republicans plan to hold their national convention, and he will tell them: No more!

Gone are the days of Democrats running, letting the jackals on Fox News dictate the terms of the debate and cowing them with the label "liberal" as if it were a dirty word. St. Paul is Obama's line in the sand, his declaration that he's going to take the fight to them from day one.

This will be an exciting day for Obama supporters in Minnesota, who helped swing the state for him by a 2/3rds margin during the caucuses and added to the candidate's momentum as he was on his way to beating Hillary.

Show your support by affixing this decal to your car, store window, local Republican headquarters, or what have you:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 31, 2008 4:04 PM | Comments (4)

 

Well-heeled locals kick in big bucks to help Republicans party like rock stars

Filed under: Republican National Convention

The lede of this New York Times story is about Democrats struggling to raise money for the convention in Denver, but the more interesting nugget for Minnesotans is this:

The Democrats’ situation contrasts markedly with that of the Republicans, whose committee is on budget in its $39 million fund-raising drive for the Republican National Convention, to be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sept. 1-4. Teresa McFarland, a spokeswoman for the host committee, said it expected to meet its June 15 target of having 80 percent of the money raised by that date.

In fact, the Twin Cities committee has budgeted $58 million for the convention, nearly $20 million more than it is contracted with the Republican National Committee to raise. Half of that $58 million is to be raised from Minnesota companies, and half from national fund-raising, according to the committee’s marketing material.

Ms. McFarland said that her committee had been aided by the fact that 19 Fortune 500 companies are located in the region and that “we have been thrilled with the generous support of the local community.”

It's interesting that the RNC has so much money banked, considering Republicans were recently crying about the state refusing to kick in a multi-million dollar line of credit:

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, local host committee chief executive Jeff Larson tells Governor Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders that he's disappointed and has a "grave cause for concern."

As the host committee was trying to lure the convention to St. Paul, it negotiated a package that included a state commitment to back the committee's fundraising with a letter of credit that would be tapped if there's a cash flow shortage.

The Legislature didn't pass a bill seeking a $39 million letter of credit in 2007. And in 2008, a smaller amount of $14 million also wasn't approved.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 29, 2008 8:07 AM | Comments (1)

 

Hillary's Downfall

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

As has been pointed out before on this blog, the most hyperbolic, grabbing-at-straws rhetorical maneuver deployed by pundits/candidates/strategists has got to be the equating-your-opponent-with-Adolf-Hitler song and dance. And that applies to both sides of the political charade.

Is there an exception to this rule? Yes. But only if the Nazi-analogy in question is hilarious or tongue-in-cheek. (Preferably both.)

The following clip delivers on that score. On its face, the idea of juxtaposing a scene from the 2004 German flick Der Untergang with Hillary Clinton's, uh, "resilience," seems to push the limits of good taste. But "Hillary's Downfall" passes the test, particularly if you ascribe to the theory that Clinton's glum refusal to step aside in the face of mathematical defeat is hurting Democrats' chances in November.

Enjoy.

Posted by Matt Snyders at May 27, 2008 1:44 PM | Comments (2)

 

Want to speak freely? Better get permission first

Filed under: Republican National Convention

The Minneapolis City Council is moving forward with a free speech ordinance to control protests during the Republican National Convention, despite the objection of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, several protest groups and two city council members.

The Public Safety & Regulatory Services Committee approved the controversial "Voluntary Registration Plan," authored by councilman Paul Ostrow and amended by councilman Ralph Remington in a three-to-two vote last week. The general council will vote on the ordinance June 6.

During the hours of discussion, a standing room only crowd of activists snickered and sneered at entirely Democratic committee's decision to recommend the ordinance that requires groups of 50 or more planning to hold a public assembly near pedestrian sidewalks and crosswalks to notify and obtain approval from city staff if they wish to obtain priority for the space. The city reserves the right to deny or revoke permits at anytime within reason and there is no appeal process for groups whose proposal is rejected.

Under the plan, supported by the Minneapolis Police Department and Mayor R.T. Rybak’s office, the MPD can enforce reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on protesters throughout gatherings, regardless if a group has secured a permit. Police can also order dispersal if necessary.

"Chaos is not necessarily in the interest of free speech," says Ostrow who has worked for over a year developing the plan. "This protects free speech…the strength of the proposal is that it sets forth responsible guidelines for police to address any problems."

When the national spotlight shines on St. Paul, the city council doesn’t want to look unprepared, said Remington. "We don’t want them to say the hicks in Minnesota didn’t even know how to handle an event of this size," he said at the meeting.

Never before has there been a Republican event of such stature in a primarily democratic city, echoed committee chair Don Samuels. Just like Obama has more security detail than any other presidential candidate, this too is an exceptional situation that requires exceptional preparation. From abortion, to war, to capital punishment, groups on both sides and their visceral opponents are likely to come here, he bellowed.

"As we have seen lately even the Olympic torch has brought about violence...We need to be prepared."

But the ACLU and others see it differently. Citizens in attendance called the proposed ordinance, which would still be effective after the convention, a "draconian resolution" that amounts to "toleration surveillance" in a "fascist police state." At a time when Americans have a lot to say about gas prices, the war, health care and the economy, it’s important to remember that people not only have the freedom to speak about these issues in America, but they “should be encouraged to do so,” they argued.

Ostrow’s plan discourages spontaneous protests, since groups that don’t seek approval can be removed from the space if another group has reserved it, argues councilman Cam Gordon.

"I don’t think that’s appropriate. If there can be two groups on the sidewalk coexisting peacefully and nobody is breaking any laws, then both groups should get to stay on the sidewalk."

It's not really that voluntary, railed councilman Gary Schiff who likened Ostrow’s proposal to other shamelessly name policies that do nothing to live up to their moniker. (Think No Child Left Behind and the Clean Air Act). The proposal is considered "voluntary" because there is no criminal punishment for not registering protests with the city.

The two filibustered throughout the May 21 meeting, introducing several amendments to limit the policy's reach such as putting a time limit on the plan, restricting it only to the days around the convention and changing the bill's language to say large groups "are encouraged" to get permits, rather than the standing language that reads large groups, "must obtain" a permit. Both amendments failed with three-to-two votes.

"It just showed their unwillingness to compromise on this issue," says Gordon, who, with the help of Schiff, introduced what they say is a true voluntary proposal at the meeting. Their proposal, broken into two parts (here and here) was never brought to a vote allowing Gordon the opportunity to reintroduce it at the June meeting.

The alternative plan encourages protest groups to communicate with police about intended gatherings, but does not give the city the power to allocate sidewalk space. It also clarifies the roles and responsibility of the police department.

While supportive of Gordon’s proposal, the ACLU would prefer no free speech ordinance be passed.

"We think we should keep free speech as free as possible in the city of Minneapolis," said Charles Samuelson, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota. "The big crowds are not going to even be in Minneapolis anyway. They’re going to be in St. Paul. The only place in this city anybody is going to be is at is the Hyatt."

The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Minneapolis will be the headquarters for the Republican National Committee

"The trouble with Ostrow’s proposal is there is no restraint on police behavior," says Samuelson. "I understand the desire to avoid physical conflict between two opposing groups….but that is exactly what police departments are best at. …The laws already exist. They are already in place. There’s no reason to regulate it anymore."

During the meeting a representative from MPD couldn’t name one time when there had been a situation on Minneapolis sidewalks and crosswalks between protests groups that hadn’t been solved peacefully by police.

"All this is a solution looking for a problem," says Schiff who worked with organizers of the RNC earlier this year to make sure protesters would be allocated sidewalk space. The RNC agreed, but the council still felt the need to create a free speech work group, he said despairingly.

"This is Minneapolis’s 150th anniversary as a city and I’ve never seen the need to require permits for gatherings of 50 people or more. Even city employees picketing city hall during there lunch break because of pay caps would have to get permission from the city under this ordinance."

"Just because the Republicans are coming into town doesn’t mean we have to start acting like them."

Posted by Beth Walton at May 26, 2008 12:59 AM | Comments (5)

 

Fox News commentator supports assassinating Obama

Filed under: Barack Obama

When Fox News contributor Liz Trotta slipped up and called Barack Obama "Osama," you had to roll your eyes at another tired, standard "slip-up" on the world's biggest joke of a TV network.

But then it got worse. Much worse.

She called the Democratic candidate "Osama" after noting that some people had raised the possibility of an assassination. Prompted from offscreen that she'd flubbed the name, equating the murder of a political candidate with the murder of a terrorist, she giggled about the prospect of killing them both, "if we could".

Here's the video:

A right-wing pundit suggesting that the assassination of a presidential candidate would be just fine isn't really all that surprising. In fact, some have suggested assassinating sitting presidents and Supreme Court justices. You'll note that said commentator still gets regular airtime on major networks.

This is why people that equate the radical left in this country to the radical right are silly. The radical left is mostly marginalized, writes in small niche journals, and when they fantasize, they fantasize about arresting the president so that his alleged crimes can be adjudicated on in a court of law.

The radical right has ridiculous amounts of money, influence at the highest levels of power, and regularly appear on national television networks. Would any broadcaster on another network still have a job if they suggested killing John McCain was equivalent to killing Osama bin Laden? No. Will Liz Trotta? If anyone wants to bet that she'll be let go over this, I could use some free money.

On the plus side, I'm sure Joe Lieberman will immediately condemn this incivility in public discourse. For more comic relief, we have ninja Wikipedia editors.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 25, 2008 9:57 PM | Comments (1)

 

Danica Patrick refuses to quit race

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

This DailyKos diary is the best satire I've read since A Modest Proposal:

Today at the Indianapolis 500 Danica Patrick, IndyCar's premiere Female Driver, insisted that she would keep driving around the track affectionately known as the Brickyard even if she lost today's race.

"You can't win it unless you are in it," she said. When questioned on what was the point of driving around a track after you've lost the race Danica responded, "Well, see the race isn't over until all the cars cross the track at 550 miles." Then she insisted that the Indianapolis 500 was actually the Indy 550 according to crew chief, Terry McAuliffe's own map of the racetrack.

"You know a lot of people want me to get out of the race," Danica Patrick said, "I can't really figure it out. I don't know why...In 1995 Jacques Villeneuve didn't win until the last lap of the race and in 1974 Swede Savage died before he could finish the race. So I couldn't answer -- Couldn't tell you why people want me to get out."

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 25, 2008 4:08 PM | Comments (0)

 

Who's the real threat: Vegan potlucks or Ron Paul's revolutionaries?

Filed under: Republican National Convention

Matt Snyders' story on the FBI soliciting informants to infiltrate lefty groups in advance of the Republican National Convention is generating a lot of interest in the blogosphere and has quickly entered our pantheon of Most Viewed articles. From his story:

What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant—someone to show up at “vegan potlucks” throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort’s primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division’s website, is to “investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines.”

The funniest part is that the authorities think that "vegan potlucks" are a great place to find rabblerousers. These are people who are so sensitive that they think a Whopper is cruel and unusual. Apparently, when the revolution is televised, it will be served with hummus.

If authorities are serious about protecting the city from riots, they might want to send some of their infilitrators to the next Ron Paul meeting. Just look at this recent video from Paul's supporters, which to my eyes looks like some kind of weird mashup of Birth of a Nation, Triumph of the Will, and The Sims: Fringe Candidates Edition.

Footage of police firing on protestors? Images of Redcoats marching in the Revolutionary War? A soundtrack last used in a Michael Bay movie? If this isn't an incitement to violence, I don't know what is.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 22, 2008 2:22 PM | Comments (94)

 

The Empire Strikes Barack: YouTube clip sees Obama through lens of Star Wars

Filed under: Barack Obama

I wasn't going to post this, but then I saw the mashup of the Cantina scene and Hillary drinking in Pennsylvania and I clicked embed:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 22, 2008 8:40 AM | Comments (2)

 

Someone played the Summon Paulbots card

Filed under: Ron Paul

Earlier this month, the LA Times reported that Ron Paul supporters were planning a Republican National Convention revolt against John McCain and the GOP establishment. MinnMon's Tom Elko has a new roundup of the coming Ron Paul Revolt, which is coming soon to a message board -- and possibly a city -- near you.

Why is this happening? What inspires this fervor? Some say it's politics. But we've found the real reason. It's this card:

For months now, I've been whipsawed and bewildered by the legions of fervent Ron Paul supporters that would show up whenever I mentioned his name. I assumed this was the fault of Google News alerts. Little did I know that there was a handy way of summoning a bevy of PaulTron 1000s. Just play the card!

The Republicans have played it for the convention. We've played it unwittingly several times on this blog. Every time the card shows up, so do the flock of commenters, bearing rhetorical torches about "Iraq," "the Constitution," "sheeple," and other less-polite canards.

Now Tom Elko's fallen into the same trap. Turn back, Elko! They're immune to the "Repel Paulbots" card!

Experienced Magic players will note that it's a white card. How appropriate.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 21, 2008 2:05 PM | Comments (6)

 

Hillary Clinton refuses to go away

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

Her Kentucky victory speech seems to indicate she's going to stay till the bitter end.

She says she's going to push on till there's a nominee: "We’re not going to have one today, and we’re not going to have one tomorrow, and we’re not going to have one the next day."

Memo to Hillary: We're not going to have one till you drop out of the race.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 20, 2008 10:19 PM | Comments (2)

 

McCain's health is number one story among Time readers

Filed under: Media

The No. 1 story most popular story among Time readers?

How Healthy Is John McCain?

By Michael Scherer and Alice Park
His bout with melanoma after the 2000 campaign makes his health and his age election issues today. Why he's still at risk

This can't be a good meme for McCain. Additionally, it ups the ante on his VP pick, since that person could very well end up serving out the rest of McCain's term.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 19, 2008 10:43 AM | Comments (1)

 

Michael Medved: American DNA is best ... except for those pesky slaves and their bad genes

Filed under: National Republicans

Michael Medved's commentary on the supremacy of American DNA is one of the most laughably transparent, self-contradictory and offensive smatterings of words it has ever been my displeasure to read. In his world, racial tension is the fault of slaves' undesirable DNA, which he claims is less given to positive traits like risk-taking.

All of this is based on one specious premise:

Nevertheless, two respected professors of psychiatry have recently come out with challenging books that contend that those who chose to settle this country in every generation possessed crucial common traits that they passed on to their descendents. In “American Mania,” Peter C. Whybrow of U.C.L.A. argues that even in grim epochs of starvation and persecution, only a small minority ever chooses to abandon its native land and to venture across forbidding oceans to pursue the elusive dream of a better life. The tiny percentage making that choice (perhaps only 2%, even in most periods of mass immigration) represents the very essence of a self-selecting group. Compared to the Irish or Germans or Italians or Chinese or Mexicans who remained behind in the “Old Country,” the newcomers to America would naturally display a propensity for risk-taking, for restlessness, for exuberance and self-confidence ...

The fact that this argument is largely untrue is the least of its concerns. Forget the fact that two professors of psychiatry -- whose work, to be fair, Medved may be mischaracterizing -- are offered as experts in evolutionary biology. Forget that Medved is saying that the American melting pot has fused people into a common DNA phenotype in, oh, 200 years, which is about as scientific as phrenology without a sense of touch.

It's the rank hypocrisy that puts this one over the top. The people that Medved credits with building the greatest nation in the world through the most choice genetic material are the self-same people he wants to keep out of the country today.

For the past couple of centuries, people of a "self-selecting group" that demonstrated a "propensity for risk-taking, for restlessness, for exuberance and self-confidence" were desirable additions to the genetic fabric of the country -- but now we ought to build a high wall to prevent their entry? Coming for the promise of land in the 18th and 19th centuries represents more "risk-taking" than chancing starvation, dehydration and violence in the 20th and 21st?

If you're going to make the argument that these traits are desirable for your nation's gene pool, the chain of dominoes leads away from the border restrictions that conservatives vehemently endorse.

If you thought immigration was a controversial topic, though ... read this:

The idea of a distinctive, unifying, risk-taking American DNA might also help to explain our most persistent and painful racial divide – between the progeny of every immigrant nationality that chose to come here, and the one significant group that exercised no choice in making their journey to the U.S. Nothing in the horrific ordeal of African slaves, seized from their homes against their will, reflected a genetic predisposition to risk-taking, or any sort of self-selection based on personality traits.

In short: Michael Medved thinks slaves passed on bad genes, or at least less desirable genes than European immigrants.

That's offensive on its face, of course, and reflects the pseudo-scientific racism that postures as intellectual. But if you're flabbergasted over that claim, don't miss two important words. This DNA difference, in Medved's perverse world, is the source of our "racial divide."

If only this guy's DNA had allowed him to take more risks!

That's right, today's racial tensions aren't the fault of, say, centuries of racism. Nor of segregation both forced and de facto. Not lack of voting rights, or housing discrimination, or interracial marriage being illegal for nearly two centuries, or Emmitt Till, or siccing dogs on nonviolent protesters, or any number of quiet indignities. African slaves did not have risk-taking DNA, and that's why a gap between black and white Americans still exists in this country.

Spot this risk-takers in this photo!

Damning with faint praise time. Medved's has defended American slavery before, but -- and how sad is that this disclaimer applies -- his apologism for slavery is not as horrifying as other conservatives' defense of human bondage.

I can't believe that it is the year 2008, and I just typed that last paragraph. But then, I can't believe Medved wrote this article, either.

On the other hand, let's be open-minded. Maybe there's something too this. Maybe Americans not descended from slaves are more likely to take bold, daring risks! As their banner-bearer, it seems only fair that Medved act to convince skeptics.

Hey Michael: I hear jumping head-first into a wood chipper is pretty risky. Why don't you go do all of us that share your DNA proud?

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 18, 2008 5:46 AM | Comments (1)

 

"Puking Republican lobbyists" to get their drink on after all?

Filed under: St. Paul

Councilman Dave Thune

Last month, St. Paul's City Council narrowly voted down extending bar closing times until 4 a.m. during the Republican convention. Councilman Dave Thune capped the 4-3 decision by telling a reporter that the alternative would have been "a nightmare" of "puking Republican lobbyists" for his downtown constituents.

On Thursday, Governor Pawlenty signed into law a bill allowing 4 a.m. closing times for Twin Cities bars during the four-day convention.

So now what?

Thune, reached Friday, confirmed he's still opposed to the later closing time, but acknowledged that concessions in the new law would likely be enough to entice the Council to reverse itself. In particular, Thune said, limiting later closure to the four weekday nights of the convention--and not the weekends--was key.

"That makes a lot of difference to me," he said. "Weekend stuff is problematic to me."

Details obviously are still to be worked out, but Thune says that bars in residential areas or with a history of late-night noise and police calls are unlikely to get to stay open past 2 a.m.

Councilwoman Kathy Lantry, who voted for later closing times last month, says the price tag for city taxpayers and the related question of policing will be a concern. "The commitment is that neighborhood protection will not suffer," she says, "but it won't be every Monday night if bars are open until 4 a.m.."

The city has the option of charging each bar up to $2,500 for a special permit.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at May 16, 2008 2:28 PM | Comments (2)

 

This isn't the first time Republicans have compared Obama to a Nazi

Filed under: Shameless Whores

Barack Obama has fired back at the John McCain-approved attack by George Bush equating the Democratic presidential nominee with a Nazi sympathizer.

"If George Bush and John McCain want to have a debate about protecting the United States of America, that is a debate I am happy to have any time, any place, and that is a debate that I will win, because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for."

He goes on to expose McCain as a hypocrite, pointing out that he had advocated talking to Hamas.

I follow the maxim that it's a foolish man who compares his political opponents to Hitler. But this isn't the first time Republicans have made this bogus argument about Obama:

Fox News Radio host Tom Sullivan took a call from a listener who stated that when listening to Barack Obama speak, "it harkens back to when I was younger and I used to watch those deals with Hitler, how he would excite the crowd and they'd come to their feet and scream and yell." Sullivan then played a "side-by-side comparison" of a Hitler speech and an Obama speech.

Video of Obama response:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 16, 2008 2:14 PM | Comments (2)

 

It's a long haul to November. How many wheels can the GOP afford to lose?

The special election win for the Democratic Party in Mississippi this week was the third such loss for a GOP desperately hoping to regain some of the seats they lost in 2006. Cue the pundit-parade!

The Mississippi defeat elicited a Karl Rove GOP State of the Party report disguised as a Wall Street Journal op-ed. He called it like he (and everyone else) saw it--a blow:

The string of defeats should cure Republicans of the habit of simply shouting "liberal! liberal! liberal!" in hopes of winning an election. They need to press a reform agenda full of sharp contrasts with the Democrats.

...Gallup's 2007 report found that fewer voters identify themselves as Republicans now than at any point in the past 20 years – despite the fact that less than a fifth of Americans agree with Mr. Obama's call to rapidly withdraw from Iraq. And while many Americans are concerned about the economy, most are satisfied with their own finances.

As Republican ranks declined, the number of independents and Democrats grew. Has the bottom been reached? It's too early to know.

Over at the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson was doing some corpse-dancing:

The Reagan era in American politics is about to end, and we have George W. Bush to thank for its demise.

...Almost every day, there's more evidence that 2008 is turning into one of those watershed years in American politics--1980, say, or 1968, or even 1932. You can start with the fact that the Democrats are poised to nominate the first African-American major-party candidate for president.

In The New York Times, a report from New Orleans would seem to urge caution in the corpse-dancing department.

While the article laid bare the new threat to "longtime Republican dominance of the South," it also cited the most troubling numbers to come out of the West Virginia primary--that 20 percent of the white voters who contributed to Clinton's trouncing of Obama stated plainly that race was a factor. It's a tricky victory for Clinton to trumpet.

In the Times piece, Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, "predicts 'the largest black turnout in the history of the United States' this fall if Mr. Obama is the nominee."

The numbers would seem to tip towards Black's prophecy. According to the Times piece: An "increase has been evident in Southern states with presidential primaries this year. In South Carolina, the black vote in the primary more than doubled from 2004, to 295,000, according to exit poll estimates. In Georgia, it rose to 536,000 from 289,000."

Returning to the Mississippi victory, race--or racism--again becomes a mitigating factor:

Many of the votes on Tuesday for [Mississippi Democrat] Mr. Childers — an anti-abortion, pro-gun-rights Democrat — were from whites who will in all likelihood pull the lever for Mr. McCain in November, analysts and voters themselves say.

“Obama, he’s too off-the-wall,” said Chappell Sides, a white Republican-leaning voter in Yalobusha County who said he was preparing to punch the button for Mr. Childers on Tuesday. “Hillary — I thought I hated her, till Obama came along.”

Another ringing endorsement for anybody-but-the-black-candidate.

What does it all mean for the Republicans who will be rolling into town in just a few months, however bandaged and bruised? Can somebody tell me if they have a chance of pulling themselves together? Karl Rove--are you still there?

There you are...

Look, says Rove, "no Congress has fallen as far and as fast as the Nancy Pelosi/Harry Reid-led House and Senate"...

Unlike President Bush, congressional Democrats will be on the ballot this fall, and can do little to improve their lackluster record before then. It must also be disconcerting for Ms. Pelosi that the Democrats' winning formula has meant conceding ground on guns, prayer, partial-birth abortion and other issues that matter to social conservatives.

Both parties face major challenges and have little time to alter the dynamics of the election to their advantage. Recognizing underlying problems and correcting them within a matter of a couple of months is one of the supreme challenges in politics. Whichever party does that fast and well will benefit come November.

Hardly a cheerleader's whoop--and when a guy like Rove puts down the pom poms, there is trouble indeed.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at May 16, 2008 1:26 PM | Comments (0)

 

What did Neville Chamberlain do? The meaning of appeasement

Filed under: National Republicans

"You keep using this word," Inigo Montoya says in the Princess Bride. "I do not think it means what you think it means."

Right-wing pundits use the word "appeasement" with regularity, and at least one -- talk show yakker Kevin James -- objectively doesn't know. In an appearance on Chris Matthews' Hardball show, James tried to equate Barack Obama's plan to open diplomatic channels with Iran to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler.

Trouble is, he didn't know what Chamberlain actually did, as this painful video and transcript make clear.

Chris Matthews is often objectionable himself, but he hits the absolutely correct distinction here. Talking to the enemy? Not appeasement. Giving them half of Czechoslovakia? Appeasement.

Plenty of lessons to be had here. That's one of them. The other is this: if you're going to call somebody out for doing the "exact same thing" as a historical figure, maybe hit Wikipedia to find out what that historical figure did first.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 16, 2008 12:52 AM | Comments (11)

 

Joe Biden calls bullshit on George Bush

Filed under: Bullshit

The polite media can't say it, but you can't be too prudish when your paper has sex ads in the back. Yes, Joe Biden said bullshit.

Not "bullsh*t" or "a barnyard expletive." Joe Biden called bullshit.

He was referring to President Bush's thinly veiled swipe at Barack Obama in which the president compared the Democratic nominee to a Nazi appeaser.

In Israel, no less.

So Joe Biden called bullshit. Here is the full text:

“This is bullshit. This is malarkey. This is outrageous. Outrageous for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, sit in the Knesset…and make this kind of ridiculous statement,” Biden said angrily in a brief interview just off the Senate floor.

“He’s the guy who’s weakened us. He’s the guy that’s increased the number of terrorists in the world. His policies have produced this vulnerability the United States has. His intelligence community pointed that out not me. The NIE has pointed that out and what are you talking about, is he going to fire Condi Rice? Condi Rice has talked about the need to sit down. So his first two appeasers are Rice and Gates. I hope he comes home and does something.”

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 15, 2008 6:53 PM | Comments (1)

 

Jerry Falwell: Still Dead

Filed under: Shameless Whores

The only thing lower than kicking a man when he’s down is kicking a man when he’s dead. So we should note up front that we’re about to tread pretty damn low here.

But so what? Come to think of it, with the imbecilicities embodied by Falwell still infecting the American consciousness (and threatening to crush John McCain’s frail little mole shoulders), I can’t think of a good reason why we shouldn’t unearth Falwell’s decomposing corpse, kick it around a bit, and shake the maggots out. (Maybe feed ‘em to robo-pastor Joel Osteen’s ravenous, outsized ego.)

So to mark the one year anniversary of Jerry Falwell’s expiration, we share this heartfelt tribute to the only man who’s ever made Pat Robertson look sane by comparison. Nevermind Wright and Hagee. On to bigger Jesus fish to fry . . .

The general consensus among the journalists responsible for the mawkish obituaries that littered newsstands one year ago was that Falwell, for all his unrepentant depravity, was redeemed to a certain extent because he was utterly sincere in the mind-bending, honky-baiting twaddle he propagated.

Who knows? Maybe he was. Maybe his insanity was so complete that he actually believed that the ACLU and the pagans and the feminists were responsible for 9/11. Maybe he was speaking from whatever black, pus-filled organ that passed for his heart when he warned, “AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.” Maybe. But issues regarding the man’s sincerity are irrelevant.

What is relevant is that Jerry Laymon Falwell has slid off this mortal plane and that the world is a better, saner place because of it. His bizarre sermons—no matter how varied in topic, scope, or tone—always had one thing in common: the unstated goal of these jabberings was to transmogrify the worst in human nature (stupidity, bigotry, mindless fanaticism) into unassailable virtues and to take the best traits demonstrated by mankind (love of truth, reason, sense of liberty, instinct for progress) and transform them into sinful proclivities and sources of shame.

From his bully pulpit, he compelled his sheep to cast aside their logic and critical thinking, to disregard notions of sensible tolerance, to embrace mind-poisoning fairy tales, to regard as evil all manifestations of happiness/pleasure, and to submit their wills to his marauding herd of yokels. In short, to renounce their virtues and to sully life itself.

It is impossible to conjure any means or ends more evil than the above mentioned. Falwell was not merely a symptom of evil, he was an embodiment of evil— a leering, lurching mascot of every deficiency plaguing our species ad infinitum. Power lust? Check. Willful deceit? Check. Propagation of hate? Check. Of ignorance? Check. War-mongering? Check. Aversion to reason and science? Double-check.

His power-lust—and the mystic swill he spat to that end—was borne from a striking lack of integrity, independence, and intellect. Unable to raise himself to even the remotest level of self-respectability, he sought instead to reduce other men to superstitious animals. In lieu of generating his own ideas, he digested archaic religious dogmas and shat their distilled poisons unto his victims. Simply smear some tripe on your resume about being a “spokesman for God” and you, too, can attain reasonable wealth without having to endure the toils of honest work. And while it would be merciful to paint his victims as mere innocents swindled by forces beyond their ken, it wouldn’t be just.

Let’s not mince words or fear accusations of elitism: Jerry Falwell’s followers were a discomforting assortment of excitable and dim-witted rustic rabble. With their fetish for victimhood and flare for melodramatics, they constantly mewled and complained that a nefarious element (be it the “liberal” media, academia, the Jews, Hollywood, homosexuals, immigrants, etc.) sought to “destroy their way of life,” a phrase they defined and redefined at their convenience, depending on the “aggressor” at hand. A sinister legion of baffled white males was thence able to play the victim card, despite having been granted, by birth, every conceivable societal advantage in the history of human folly. There are few things on this planet sorrier than a 35-year-old Georgia cracker pointing to his Confederate flag-emblazoned T-shirt, bitching about his stake in life, and rambling vaguely about “rebel pride.”

These are the kin Falwell and his ilk have wrought, the half-wits John Hagee continues to pander to, and the votes McCain will need to shore up in order to win the presidency. It’s difficult to watch Larry the Cable Guy today and not envision him as the love-child of a decadent love tryst between Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson circa 1966.

The image of Pat Robertson perched nude on a pulpit in such a position to better receive Jerry Falwell’s seed is not a pleasant image for a sane person to ponder. Both men are objectively ghoulish. And their mutual ghoulishness, it could be argued, is no coincidence.

It’s been said that a man’s face is a window into his soul. Jerry Falwell provided favorable evidence for this aphorism. More over, his entire body had a languid plumpness to it and was aptly shaped like a rotting pear. His skin was a sickly, pasty hue that hung from his frame like a flaccid, water-logged tarp. The poor bastard no doubt suffered from malaise, of both mind and spirit. His condescending smirk and smug eyes betrayed a degree of self-loathing rivaled only by Dick Cheney’s.

His incurable self-loathing should come as no surprise. The Reverend was such a grotesque caricature of self-righteous chicanery that—even as his heart pumped its last fatally sporadic beat and the final images of a squandered existence evaporated in the synapses of his withering brain—there is no doubt that even Jerry Falwell hated Jerry Falwell.

Posted by Matt Snyders at May 15, 2008 7:18 AM | Comments (8)

 

Grand Old Party Animals

Filed under: Republican National Convention

Let’s face it: Outside of rodeos, high-end brothels, and airport bathrooms, conservatives are notoriously inept partiers. For one, they tend to dance like malnourished chimpanzees (assuming they’ve had more than three Coors Light and there’s no television set nearby to distract them) and are more likely to be seen banning fun than having it.

As Ted Haggard will tell you, when right-wingers really want to get down, it’s time to get bipartisan. Which is to say it’s time to place a begrudging call to the wild-eyed liberal they roomed with freshman year of college, the one dude with “connections,” wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Or, in Haggard’s case, a gay prostitute who also peddles crystal meth (What’s known in the business as a “triple threat.”)

So it should be no surprise that the first—first!—explicit, unequivocal Republican call-for-unity in seven years comes in the form of “the official line of RNC clothing,” more specifically a t-shirt depicting a harmonious donkey and elephant joining together to hold a sign reading, “Let’s Party!”

I think I speak for every Twin Cities non-Republican when I say: “Fuck off.”

Sure, whenever it’s politically expedient, conservatives will whip Middle America into a pants-shitting fear-frenzy about those dastardly immoral liberals, what with their Mary Juana, naughty language, and race music. But when it comes time for them to cavort, their tone transforms into calculated “can’t-we-all-just-get-a-bong?” pish posh.

No more.

We reject your clumsy call for unity! We scoff at your contrived cooperative façade! We heathens are hereby on strike! (And, no, we’re not going to keep the bars open an extra two hours just so you can work up the liquid courage to call an escort service. You can’t have your Puritanical superstitions and drink them, too.)

Now leave us alone. If you really need us, we’ll be over here hitting on your daughter.

Posted by Matt Snyders at May 14, 2008 2:38 PM | Comments (1)

 

Convention Fact Check: Rumors and Realities

Filed under: Republican National Convention

Pretty much from the moment in September 2006 when the Republicans unveiled plans to congregate in the Twin Cities for their shindig to mark the passing of the red telephone from George W. Bush to the party's new standard-bearer, speculation has swirled around the Great Event.

We now know, of course, that the Republican National Convention will be held at the Xcel Energy Center, from September 1 through the 4th. We're fairly certain that John McCain, barring health issues, will give a triumphant speech. And we're happy to report that scuttlebutt about large advance orders of tri-colored balloons, confetti, and bunting has been confirmed.

But what about all the rest? Here's a quick rundown of some of the rumors circulating around the convention, along with the realities.

* Will protesters be herded into a pen to shout their slogans miles from their intended targets?

No, says St. Paul's assistant police chief Matt Bostrom.

"The city of St. Paul is a free-speech zone," Bostrom said. "I say that proudly. I was disappointed when I saw what Boston did (in handling protesters at the 2004 Democratic Convention). I don't understand this idea of putting people in a pen someplace so they can express themselves. That's not the way we will do things."

* Will St. Paul bars be allowed to stay open until 4 a.m. to suck extra profit from visiting flat-taxers interested in spending their nights getting shit-faced?

Not on our watch, said the St. Paul City Council, by a narrow 4-3 vote.

"It would be nothing short of a nightmare," said Council Member Dave Thune, whose Second Ward includes downtown. He said he wants to spare downtown residents the sight of "puking Republican lobbyists" in the streets.

* Will the Secret Service shut down the vast network of tunnels connecting caves alongside the Mississippi to the basements of downtown St. Paul?

Well, yeah. But wouldn't you?

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS first reported on the tunnel systems in 2005. According to St. Paul city employees, there are places people could go and wreak havoc.

From caves along the river, to manhole covers—if you know what you’re doing, you could wind up downtown, in places touching the foundations of secured buildings.

"We are going to use a variety of means to secure those," said St. Paul Police Assistant Chief Matt Bostrom.

* And what about that homeless shelter, anyway? Will it be shut down for the convention?

Let's take a closer look at this one. In case you haven't heard, St. Paul's hockey-rink-cum-convention-center sits directly across the street from one of the Twin Cities' largest refuges for the homeless. The Dorothy Day Center, run by Catholic Charities, houses nearly 200 people per night. And because the security cordon around the convention has yet to be made public, speculation is rife that the shelter will fall within the perimeter, and that all those living at the shelter will be displaced.

This theory was explored by MPR last year in a story quoting three homeless folks staying at the shelter who worried that they'd get kicked to the curb.

"That's the whole idea is to make sure that none of us go over there, to harass the people or to panhandle, or anything like that," says [a homeless shelter guest]. "That's what they're more worried about, us going over there and pandhandling or harassing the people cause it makes them look bad."

Erin Dady, who said I could identify her as St. Paul's convention czar (her actual title is St. Paul Marketing Coordinator, as well as Director of Convention Planning), says such rumors are wildly overstated.

"I just don’t understand how this has been a story for two years," she says. "It blows my mind."

As it turns out, Dady was quoted in that MPR story confirming "the possibility" that the center could be within the security perimeter.

But as Dady explains it--and as she insists she explained it when MPR asked the same question more than a year ago--the center will almost certainly fall outside of the core perimeter, meaning that no one working or staying at the shelter would need a special security clearance or a photo ID to come and go from the building. However, she adds, the shelter is highly likely to be within the no-driving zone.

Should Catholic Charities decide it's too much of a pain to keep the center open during the convention, Dady says, the city will help find somewhere else for all the homeless to stay.

As for Catholic Charities, spokeswoman Rebecca Lentz says the organization will make no decisions until the perimeter--determined by the Secret Service together with the St. Paul PD--has been publicly announced.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at May 13, 2008 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

 

In bed with Republicans: Hillary Clinton cheats on the Democratic party UPDATED

Filed under: Primary

It was widely believed that if Hillary Clinton lost Indiana as well as North Carolina, she would be forced to exit the race. Now comes word in the new issue of Time that the only reason Hillary won Indiana was because of Republican shenanigans:

Clinton's slim margin of victory in Indiana was provided, appropriately enough, by Republicans, who were 10% of the Democratic-primary electorate and whose votes she carried 54% to 46% — some, perhaps, at the behest of the merry prankster Rush Limbaugh, who had counseled his ditto heads to bring "chaos" to the Democratic electoral process by voting for their favorite whipping girl. Clinton's new glow, her newfound stump proficiency, her symbiosis with Limbaugh, seemed an eerily Faustian narrative. But, as we know, those sorts of bargains tend to end badly.

The worst part about it is, she's not even repentent. Indeed, the Verbatim page in the front of the book features a quote from Hillary celebrating and joking about it:

'He's always had a crush on me.'

HILLARY CLINTON, on conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who called for Republicans to vote for Clinton as a way of keeping Democrats divided

Bill only cheated on his wife. Hillary is cheating on the entire Democratic party.

UPDATE: Last night, Saturday Night Live turned on Hillary. Here's the clip:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 11, 2008 6:12 PM | Comments (2)

 

Hillary Clinton and Eminem both love White America

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

I suggest the following soundtrack while reading this post:

Once again, the Clintons play the race card:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There's a pattern emerging here," she said.

Yeah, the pattern emerging is that Hillary will do whatever it takes to win, including falling back on the kind of Southern race-baiting that builds a bridge back to last century.

Meanwhile, Tony Morrison backs away from her famous "Bill Clinton is the first black president" remark:

Do you regret referring to Bill Clinton as the first black President? —Justin Dews, Cambridge, Mass.

People misunderstood that phrase. I was deploring the way in which President Clinton was being treated, vis-à-vis the sex scandal that was surrounding him. I said he was being treated like a black on the street, already guilty, already a perp. I have no idea what his real instincts are, in terms of race.

Why did you endorse Barack Obama for the presidency? —Chris Francis Lightbourne, Long Island, N.Y.

I thought about voting for Hillary at the beginning. I don't care that she is a woman. I need more than that. Neither his race, his gender, her race or her gender was enough. I needed something else, and the something else was his wisdom.

Other stuff white people like.
Stuff white people like to eat.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 8, 2008 1:13 PM | Comments (5)

 

It's official: Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for President

Filed under: Celebrity Endorsements

When both Tim Russert and Matt Drudge agree, the fat lady truly has sung.

CONGRESSIONAL SOURCE: Hillary having trouble finding superdelegates who will meet with her... 'No one wants to see her today'... Developing...

Stephanopoulos: 'This nomination fight is over'...

Obama maps out general election strategy...

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 7, 2008 8:57 PM | Comments (0)

 

Operation Chaos: Rush Limbaugh dreams of riots at Denver convention

Filed under: Media

The round mound of rightwing scorn delights in the idea of human suffering being visited on the people of Denver, simply because they had the temerity to host a Democratic political convention.

Don't miss our sister paper Denver Westword's article on Rush Limbaugh's recent publicly-expressed glee over the idea of people rioting at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Money quote:

Within minutes of these words, however, Clear Channel Denver put out a press release claiming precisely the opposite. "A review of the full transcript... shows that Limbaugh

was not advocating violence in Denver at the Democratic National Convention," the document stated — and indeed, Limbaugh did say that "I am not inspiring or inciting riots" at one point. But this comment represented the briefest of asides amid a rambling, discursive take filled with observations like "Riots in Denver at the Democrat convention would see to it we don't elect Democrats — and that's the best damn thing that could happen for this country."

This is bile of the same sort as the McCain supporter who thinks the devestation of New Orleans was punishment for a sinful lifestyle. If Obama's ex-preacher said this, there would be a national scandal.

Here's a YouTube clip of Keith Olbermann on the controversy:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 6, 2008 3:05 PM | Comments (2)

 

McCain's preacher problem makes Obama's pale in comparison

Filed under: John McCain

In watching the ever-widening flap about Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama, I've been stunned that the mainstream media has effectively ignored John McCain's relationship with John Hagee -- a pastor who is at least as inflammatory, and whose endorsement McCain actively sought.

A full litany of Hagee's offenses against sanity would fill the blog with non-Strib content, and nobody wants that. So I'll summarize: thinks Catholic church is whore of Babylon, metaphorically "drinking the blood of the Jewish people,"; thinks Hurricane Katrina was the fault of gay Americans; thinks the pope is like Hitler.

The New York Times' Frank Rich has noticed, and writes a terrific column about it, using the episode as a jumping off point to a broader conversation about race in the GOP.

Now, if someone will only write about Rod Parsley, I'll be mildly sated.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at May 6, 2008 5:56 AM | Comments (0)

 

GOP vs. YouTube: The Uptake gets booted by crabby Republicans

Filed under: Media

The Uptake -- the winners of City Pages' "Best Citizen-based Media Outlet" -- have just posted a video of themselves getting kicked out of many Elephant gatherings.

Take the jump for the play by play ...

-- First we see Gavin Sullivan getting ejected by an old lady in a shiny gold hat, backed up by a fat dude in an orange vest. Sullivan narrates as he is thrown out by the "Republican thugs."

-- Then frequent CP punching bag Michele Bachmann barking into the microphone,

-- Some long, tedious stories about getting kicked outta places. Might wanna fast forward here.

-- Michael Brodkorb, a Republican blogger, gives props to the DFL for being open and allowing him to attend their conventions. Nice touch.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at May 1, 2008 7:13 PM | Comments (3)

 

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