Since the Palin discussion won't go away.........

Under normal circumstances, the VP selection might not have mattered at all, but it was because of what McCain purported to represent and because of his age and health that it took on more significance than most of these selections ever do.

Infighting, Jumping Ship, and Dead Horses

I'm beating a dead horse here, (Ross Douthat uses the same phrase in a link I just found as I returned to this to edit before posting), but I'm at a loss for why party loyalty trumps reason. I have no problem admitting that Joe Biden does no one any favors a good 10% of the time he opens his mouth (o.k., 50% of the time). But the fact remains that he is a good man, who made a commitment to his boys and stuck to it, through their entire childhood. He and John McCain have been very close friends for years, and he has tremendous respect for his foreign policy knowledge and experience. It is utterly disturbing the vitreous hate that is coming from the hangers on to the McCain/Palin campaign.

Everyone has a right to their beliefs; but to say that questioning your candidate is blasphemy is the makings of a fine dictatorship. While Andrew Sullivan is whole-heartedly behind Senator Obama, (I encourage you to read the linked piece of his) Daniel Larison, at American Conservative Magazine, is most definitely NOT. But he, in my opinion, is correct in pointing out that the GOP is not what it once was; fiscal conservancy, reduced government, strong military. It has become the captive of the "neocons', the far Christian right. But the current party has strayed from that; but better to hear that from a committed conservative:
Daniel Larison:
Having defended and enabled Mr. Bush for years, many of the recent ship-jumpers and critics of Palin finally declared that enough was enough, while some conservatives who have had more problems with the administration have decided that what is needed is more party loyalty and sycophancy focused now on Palin instead of Bush. When it is pointed out that this is self-defeating and actually makes more “purist” conservative arguments more politically irrelevant than ever, there is a flood of anathemas. (click here for full article)

I came back to this after reading a post from Ross Douthat. He does not think that conservatives/Republicans should vote for Barack Obama our of a jumping on the bandwagon mentality, but rather, decries the infighting that is going on, which IS MY POINT.
Ross Douthat: (click here for full post)
The bigger point (and I know I'm a broken record here) is this. Whatever direction you think conservatism should be going in from here on out, the absolute worst thing the members of a losing political movement can do - if they ever want to win again, at least - is attempt to pre-emptively close off debate about the movement's future. Conservatives need to have arguments, not promise excommunications, or else pretty soon there won't be very much worth arguing over.

An Appaling Comparison

Daniel Larison:

One response to the ridiculous cover of the latest issue of The Weekly Standard should be digust for the shameless adaptation of an iconic image from the Tiananmen Square massacre for the purposes of shilling for an awful candidate in a democratic election, but it seems to me that this might take TWS‘ democracy-promoting ideology and its alleged support for democratic dissidents far more seriously than they deserve. Of course it should go without saying that it is ludicrous and obnoxious to portray the frontrunner in a reasonably free and open election in the role of the Chinese military squashing the democracy activists of 1989, but then I expect that there is a nontrivial percentage of McCain supporters who think that the comparison is quite apt.

McCain is not standing alone in the path of a tank; he is not a valiant martyr to the rights of conscience and political expression. He is likely to be the runner-up in a large-scale contest for supreme power, and he will lose because most people in this country do not trust him or any other member of his party with that kind of power any longer. The perversity of comparing a man of his wealth and power, who seeks even more power, to a lone dissident engaged in futile resistance against overwhelming force is amazing. This certainly says something about that magazine’s respect for real dissidents in systems where contested and competitive elections essentially free of political violence are not possible. An example of real political dissent and courage is appropriated here for McCain to provide some lustre to the fading reputation of a dangerous and misguided politician.

OBAMA IS NOT A SOCIALIST (From a conservative. really).

I posted this the other day but apparently did not have a strong enough title. I have more points on this; votes McCain has made, actual video and audio of him saying, basically, "spread the wealth" as in, that's the right thing to do. Send me an email or comment if you want me to post them, but check this out by Daniel Larison; (a conservative) who parses the issue for us.

Larison: Redistribution of Wealth

....."As I noted before, labeling Obama as the wealth-spreading candidate is not only politically stupid, but philosophically misguided as well. It used to be that conservatives believed and could articulate the belief that market economies were on the whole better at allocating resources and equitably distributing wealth than economies subject to a great deal of state intervention. The time was when broad and even distribution of wealth was a Jeffersonian and conservative goal to provide for a broad class of property-holders as the basis for social and political stability. It was not a description of a left-wing or welfarist plot. So much for that....." Click HERE for full post.

(McCain) Playing Not To Lose

"This is an important point. There is a basic rule in any competition, and elections are no different. If you assume that all you really need do is show up and wait for the other side to fail, you will lose and probably quite embarrassingly at that. McCain never made the case for himself, because he assumed that he would be the default winner once the public decided Obama was unprepared. Whether......" (click title for rest)

In addition, RedState.com has Brad Smith saying it's over.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008

8:16pm
THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
Ta-Nehisi Coates Shares What Brought Him To Tears Today.
"Seriously guys sometimes we forget. Here's a note from a reader:

My father (85 year old African-American and, in fact, a "public
intellectual" who helped coin the phrase "African-American" 40 years
ago, a phrase we now take for granted on our census forms) and his wife
(77 old European-American, the term they both hope will replace "white"
someday, and life-long civil rights activist and academic) voted this
morning in Atlanta, GA. My stepmother emailed me this morning to tell
me about their experience, early voting, getting "fragile elderly"
treatment from the poll-workers, wishing she could kick up her
septuagenarian heels after casting her vote.

I sat in my office, reading her email, and wept. Then, I went down the
hall to my colleague's office, sat down, and wept. After seven decades
of constant struggle, my father walked into that booth and knew that his
life's work was now done. My stepmother can think of every person who
secretly and not-so-secretly thought of her as some kind of race
traitor, smile and think "I told you so!"

Obama will win, I'm sure he will. But today, my parents did. I am so
deeply, deeply grateful."
2:04pm
BILL MAHER'S NEW DEBATE RULES.
12:36pm
McCain YouTube Video; McCain declines to disown Obama-Osama comparison.
12:30pm
Florida Republicans start distancing themselves from McCain campaign.
"Even Gov. Charlie Crist, who helped deliver Florida for McCain during the primary, said he will be spending more time minding the state's weak economy than campaigning for the Arizona senator in the final weeks before Election Day."
10:56am
AN "OBAMA MONKEY" YESTERDAY AT A PALIN RALLY?
Yes folks, it is true, and here is the YouTube video to prove it. As Ta-Nehisi Coates says; it is not the one lone nutcase that is the problem; the world is full of wackos. It is the CROWD that allows it to happen.
"I wasn't going to post about this guy with the Obama monkey-doll. Then I watched the video again, and noticed something. There is nothing troubling about one lone racist nut in a crowd. What's troubling is the crowd. Dig how they just look on and smile uncomfortably. No one confronts him. This is the banality of evil, no? It isn't the guy doing the deed. Its the enablers who give comfort and haven to spew his hatred. On one level, I'm thankful for them. Anyone, who wants to now say that an Obama election proves that racism is dead will have to contend with this last week. And it isn't the nuts that this person must contend with---it's the crowds, the crowds who silently, and sometimes not so silently, just stand by and let it happen. They are all, to a man, cowards."


10:43
EPIC FAIL.
Andrew Sullivan calls out the overall result of the o-bomb-a-palooz-a with this link to an ABC News.com article. In his previous post, he refers to Bill Kristol's hypocritical article from yesterday calling for McCain to go positive. This after calling for McCain to go negative, just a few days ago. A gem from the press released snippet of McCain's new speech:
“The national media has written us off.,” McCain says in excerpts released by the campaign. “Sen. Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we’ve got them just where we want them.”
10:35am
Is McCain going to pull off his new "Feisty" speech?
Mike Allen @ Politico.com thinks "it's more like hitting the panic button".
9:57am
Hearing A Lot About Reagan, Lately?
Larison on "The Power of Myths".

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008

11:58pm
George Will: "McCain and his female Sancho Panza"

11:22pm
Another Conservative: Kathleen Parker calls for Sarah Palin to be muzzled.

10:30pm
Something For Conservatives To Think About: Daniel Larison explains why a McCain win will NOT further the Conservative cause.
" If McCain were somehow to prevail on 4 November, the calamity that would befall the Congressional GOP in 2010 would great and would help to erase all political gains of the previous sixteen years. Those conservatives who do not want to be consigned to the wilderness for the next decade or two need to think about the long-term consequences of a McCain victory, which would be disastrous for conservatives both in policy and political terms in the next several electoral cycles. If his insane mortgage-bailout-in-every-pot plan doesn’t persuade people of that, perhaps the prospect of being the minority party for the next twenty years will. "

8:07pm
Slate.com; Republican Mob Scene; they're energizing the base, alright.

7:23pm
This video deals with what some see as McCain's anger management issues. The next two; lowest common denominators.


7:o1pm
As a friend says, "For the Love of God". I have a few of these videos. (thanks to Daily Dish)
As I say, "OH MY GOD".

The one above; drunk (but "Patriotic") rednecks.

These people below are just f**ing scary. Sorry.


6:19pm
TIME: The Obama Surge: Will It Last?
I got a LOT of work done today. I have NOT kept up on this, however!! Thanks to Don Abbott for finding this. According to Joe Klein, it WILL.

1:35pm
Meant to do this all day.
Google Goggles, as in, "beer goggles". If you're so trashed that the email you are typing to your ex, your boss, your secret crush, the policeman that just pulled you over..... then this feature is designed to stop you from successfully sending that message you'll regret tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2008

DEBATE #2 RECAP/Notable items for 10/8/08

8:55pm
#8. See new video below; Obama spokesman Gibbs and Hannity go at it; Hannity doesn't fair too well (in my opinion).

7:26pm
#7. I NEED TO POINT THIS OUT AGAIN. I don't understand why nothing has been done about Hannity and his having Andy Martin do the "expert" "documentary" on Obama. The fact that the Anti Defamation League (ADL.org) has NOTHING on their site about this man who as an attorney in New York filed so many frivolous lawsuits he was banned from filing more without prior permission, and: (is this not slander?)

In a New York bankruptcy case, he referred to a judge as a "crooked, slimy Jew." During the bankruptcy dispute, he filed a civil-rights lawsuit claiming Jewish bankruptcy judges and lawyers were conspiring to steal his property. He asked a court to bar "any Jew from having anything to do with plaintiff's property."

In another motion in the case, he wrote: "I am able to understand how the Holocaust took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did, when Jew survivors are operating as a wolf pack to steal my property."

3:35pm
#6 Campaign Rally: McCain
"Across this country, this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners and the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent."

11:02am
#5. DES MOINES DEBATE-WATCHERS FEATURED IN A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE! This was brought my attention by Kelli Griffis; who was quoted here. Iowans rule, no doubt about it.

10:50am
#4. "New Financial Definitions"
I'm posting something I received from Mike in my office. It's a (humorous) "dictionary" of financial term- I've posted it as a "comment", click comments below.

10:45am
#3. ROLLING STONE: MAKE BELIEVE MAVERICK (Wow- this packs a pretty hefty punch)

10:38am
#2. Andy McCarthy, The National Review, "You Guys Are Nuts" (He is an ultra-conservative)
"With due respect, I think tonight was a disaster for our side. I'm dumbfounded that no one else seems to think so. Obama did everything he needed to do, McCain did nothing he needed to do. What am I missing?"

9:33am
#1. Daniel Larison, (Eunomia Blog on amconmag.com)
"If someone is not very proficient at lying and smearing his opponents and gives the impression that even he knows what he’s saying is nonsense, that somehow proves that he is honest and decent at heart. The correct view is exactly the opposite–if McCain knows the truth, doesn’t really believe what he’s saying and tells lies unconvincingly, that is evidence of the far deeper corruption of the man. Instead of being badly misguided or misinformed, he willfully says things that he knows have no merit or that he knows are unworthy of anyone in his position. In short, being a bad smear artist does not make someone ethical or honorable; it makes him unethical and incompetent. " Click here for full post.

Best Theory Of The Day

Ok, I was going to take a posting break and finish what I'm doing so I can leave at a decent time, but, this couldn't wait.
Daniel Larison's post from an hour ago dealing with Sarah Palin's (perceived?) newly affected folksiness had this great statement (click the title for the full post)

"Assuming an increase in aggregate folksiness, there are two realistic explanations: Palin has reverted to old habits of speech as crutches to cope with the additional pressure of being in the national spotlight (we can call this the SNL Theory of Increasing Adorability), or she has simply emphasized existing habits of speech that she has always had. "

My money's on SNL.

Sarah Palin Named Court Cases She Did Not Agree With

Daniel Larison also points out some Afghanistan issues...