The Democrat Thread

[BigSqwert]

If under the Bush/ McCain Economy you lost your home in MI... you dont get to vote. Sorry.

GOP = Voter Suppression

 

DEMS = Voter Turnout

[BigSqwert]

Very good article/blog about Mockery in the Public Discourse.

[Brian]

So, I never heard the lipstick on a pig saying before Obama said it, and when I heard it him say it, I busted out laughing. I took it as a knock at Palin, but now know that it wasn't.

[DrunkBomber]

So you know mathematically somehow that life begins at conception?

No, thats one topic that I dont really touch. I just think however if youre running for president you should answer questions even if SOME people may not like the answer. The question came to "In your opinion when does life begin?" Considering the nature of where they were I think its a question that should be answered. My point was that its hypocritical to criticize McCain for not answering a question when Obama does the same thing.

[lostfan]

No, thats one topic that I dont really touch. I just think however if youre running for president you should answer questions even if SOME people may not like the answer. The question came to "In your opinion when does life begin?" Considering the nature of where they were I think its a question that should be answered. My point was that its hypocritical to criticize McCain for not answering a question when Obama does the same thing.

Obama didn't completely evade that question, he at least gave a substantive answer on his views on abortion which is better than just punting.

[BigSqwert]

Andrew Sullivan today...

 

Obama Leads In Foreign Policy, Bush Follows

 

In some ways, Obama has been a shadow president for a while. Even JPod now concedes that Obama has been right about the terror war:

I wa

s

among many people who ridiculed the Obama propo

s

al at the time, on the ground

s

that 1) no nation violate

s

the territorial integrity of an ally, even if that ally i

s

problematic, and 2) Obama

’

s

bellico

s

ity

s

eemed entirely unbelievable, given that he

s

po

k

e in the wa

k

e of hi

s

remar

k

s

about meeting with the leader

s

of the world

’

s

wor

s

t regime

s

“

without precondition

s

.

”

On the latter point, he wa

s

and remain

s

wrong and fooli

s

h.

 

On the former point, though, he wa

s

, apparently, precognitive, and may be due an apology.

Ya think? Radley Balko adds:

Will McCain now condemn the Bu

s

h admini

s

tration'

s

deci

s

ion to go into Pa

k

i

s

tan? Or wa

s

thi

s

idea only naive ten month

s

ago? Wa

s

it only naive becau

s

e it came from Obama? The Obama campaign

s

hould be ma

k

ing a much bigger deal about thi

s

.

Yes, they should. On one of the most critical decisions of the war, Obama staked out a position a while back that the Bush camp and neocons assailed as naive, disastrous, and revealing of his unfitness to be president. But like almost everything else Obama has said about the war, he was right and Bush was wrong. Obama was ahead of Bush in proposing to shift troops to Afghanistan, ahead of Bush in suggesting a timetable for Iraq withdrawal (subsequently embraced by Maliki), ahead of Bush in arguing we should talk directly to Iran, and, of course, right about not fighting the war in the first place.

 

The Bush administration - when guided by the saner forces within it such as Gates and Rice - eventually follows Obama's advice. In that sense, Obama has been president for quite a while already. And proving he could be a shrewd, pragmatic and prescient one.

 

BOLDED emphasis mine.

Edited September 12, 2008 by BigSqwert

[HuskyCaucasian]

This is just disgusting:

 

Via Factcheck.org:

The new McCain-Palin ad "Lashing Out" begins like an earlier ad we criticized, with its reference to Barack Obama's celebrity, but then goes down new paths of deception. It takes quotes from news organizations and uses them out of context in an effort to portray Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, as unfairly attacking Sarah Palin and making sexist remarks. We've long been a critic of candidates (Obama included) usurping the credibility of independent news organizations and peddling false quotes, and this ad is particularly egregious. We found it airing in Denver, as recorded by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of TNS Media Intelligence.

[HuskyCaucasian]

That's rough:

[FlaSoxxJim]

So, I never heard the lipstick on a pig saying before Obama said it, and when I heard it him say it, I busted out laughing. I took it as a knock at Palin, but now know that it wasn't.

Well, of course it was a knock at (or a nod to) Palin, but not a sexist remark. It was very postmodern and self-referential etc., obviously intended to refer to the Palin hockey mom/pit bull quip from the Convention, but not calling her a pig. That just happens to be the adage.

 

And of course, McCain himself used that adage before as well:

 

 

Now, of course, it's vulgar and offensive and sexist and the McCain campaign has drummed up an amount of mock indignation that even Alpha Dog would be impressed by.

 

[BigSqwert]

I wonder how much money and airtime the Defenders of Wildlife are putting into this commercial:

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

From the republican play book: If you say it over and over as fact, it must be true... even if proven false.

 

McCain Falsely Claims Palin Never Requested Earmarks

Appearing on “The View” today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) falsely claimed that Sarah Palin never requested earmarks as the governor of Alaska. “Not as governor she didn’t,” McCain told Barbara Walters after she noted Palin “took some earmarks”:

WALTER

S

: What i

s

s

he going to reform

s

pecifically,

s

enator?

MCCAIN: Well, fir

s

t of all, earmar

k

s

pending, which

s

he vetoed a half a billion dollar

s

worth in the

s

tate of Ala

s

k

a.

WALTER

S

:

S

he al

s

o too

k

s

ome earmar

k

s

there.

BEHAR: A lot.

MCCAIN: No, not a

s

governor

s

he didn

’

t,

s

he vetoed

…

WALTER

S

: A

s

Mayor.

MCCAIN: Well, loo

k

, the fact i

s

that

s

he wa

s

a reform governor.

McCain’s claim that Palin never accepted earmarks as the governor of Alaska is divorced from reality. In fact, she actively sought them:

–

Though Palin did reduce Ala

s

k

a

’

s

earmar

k

reque

s

t

s

,

“

in her two year

s

in office, Ala

s

k

a ha

s

reque

s

ted nearly $750 million in

s

pecial federal

s

pending

, by far the large

s

t per-capita reque

s

t in the nation.

”

–

In March 2008, Palin wrote an op-ed in the Fairban

k

s

Daily New

s

-Miner,

s

aying that

her

“

role at the federal level i

s

s

imply to

s

ubmit the mo

s

t well-conceived earmar

k

reque

s

t

s

we can

”

and that her reduction of reque

s

t

s

wa

s

a re

s

pon

s

e

“

to the changing circum

s

tance

s

in Congre

s

s

.

”

–

In February 2008, Palin

’

s

office

s

ent

S

en. Ted

S

teven

s

(R-A

K

)

“

a 70-page memo outlining almo

s

t $200 million worth of new funding reque

s

t

s

for the

s

tate.

”

–

In her mo

s

t recent earmar

k

reque

s

t

s

,

“

Palin reque

s

ted million

s

of federal dollar

s

for everything from improving recreational halibut fi

s

hing to

s

tudying the mating habit

s

of crab

s

and the DNA of harbor

s

eal

s

.

”

[Steff]

I have never seen McCain so uncomfortable. Babara wasn't letting up. He cut Joy off several times and Whoopie was rolling her eyes at him for most of the first segment. His answer to her "separation of church & state" question turned into an advertisement for personal beliefs and when Elizabeth asked him about RVW he completely danced off the question and said "I will appoint R's, D's, and I's to the court to get all views..." When Cindy was asked if she supported abortion in the cases of rape & incest - a stance Palin does NOT agree with - she said she did NOT agree with Palin. I wonder how that will play out since Palin seems to be huge on that issue. At the end Barbara said to McCain "Tell Palin to come on. We'll ask her easy questions." Joy just about lost it in laughter before the cameras cut off. Overall I think he was terrible the first 30 minutes thinking that talking over them would work. He seemed to get it the second half though. Cincy sounded like a stuck up snob when asked how many houses they really do have. Something about her rubs me the wrong way. Though I'm not a MO fan either. Quite honestly I think the spouses should be seen and not heard right now.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

Woopie really put him in his place when she asked if she should be worried about being a slave again. The point being that over time, the interpretation of the constitution needs to change.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Sometimes you let your friends do the dirty work:

 

"Doesn't McCain want our children to protect ourselves from sex offenders?"

 

Edited September 12, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[Steve9347]

I wonder how much money and airtime the Defenders of Wildlife are putting into this commercial:

That's a bit much.

[Rex Kickass]

People find things sometimes that make me laugh.

 

I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training.

 

I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time. For 20-some years, including leading the largest squadron in the United States Navy, I led. I didn't manage for profit, I led for patriotism.

 

-John McCain, Fox News Presidential Debate, Oct 21, 2007

[Balta1701]

The Alaska state Senate Judiciary committee voted 3-2 today in favor of issuing subpoenas for 13 people in the Trooper firing scandal. One of those 13 people is Todd Palin, Governor Palin's husband.

 

That committee is composed of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The crossover vote? The Republican state senator from Wasilla.

[HuskyCaucasian]

That committee is composed of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The crossover vote? The Republican state senator from Wasilla.

Because he knows all the crap that surrounds Palin and the fraud she is.

[DABearSoX]

Because he knows all the crap that surrounds Palin and the fraud she is.

 

I never thought I could hate someone so much without even meeting them...I guess that she is an exception.

Edited September 12, 2008 by DABearSoX

[Steve9347]

Jeez, I know Palin is up against the Obama ticket, but come on guys. You've gotten out of hand with the hatred. I believe Sarah Palin deserves a shred of respect given she's accomplished more than anyone on this entire board. I don't want to see her ticket win come November, and I feel her selection as VP was a slap in the face to American politics, but that doesn't mean you have to hate a woman who still wants what she feels is best for this country.

[HuskyCaucasian]

 

McLobbyist.com

Edited September 13, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[FlaSoxxJim]

Jeez, I know Palin is up against the Obama ticket, but come on guys. You've gotten out of hand with the hatred. I believe Sarah Palin deserves a shred of respect given she's accomplished more than anyone on this entire board. I don't want to see her ticket win come November, and I feel her selection as VP was a slap in the face to American politics, but that doesn't mean you have to hate a woman who still wants what she feels is best for this country.

 

I wonder if she thinks it's best for the country that all rape victims be charged for the cost of their rape kits/medical exams like she thought the victims in Wasilla should be?

 

Under Palin, Wasilla charged rape victims for exam

 

Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

 

"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said

 

That's some progressive feminist right there.

 

She's a pretty despicable person to suggest she'd do a damn bit of good for womens' rights when you look at her failings in that area in the past.

 

 

[EvilMonkey]

I wonder if she thinks it's best for the country that all rape victims be charged for the cost of their rape kits/medical exams like she thought the victims in Wasilla should be?

 

Under Palin, Wasilla charged rape victims for exam

 

 

 

That's some progressive feminist right there.

 

She's a pretty despicable person to suggest she'd do a damn bit of good for womens' rights when you look at her failings in that area in the past.

You are of course assuming that SHE started the practice of charging for them. I suppose that when you call for an ambulance after an accident, that it comes out for free, right? Doesn't charge you for the trip, or services rendered?

Edited September 13, 2008 by Alpha Dog

[FlaSoxxJim]

You are of course assuming that SHE started the practice of charging for them. I suppose that when you call for an ambulance after an accident, that it comes out for free, right? Doesn't charge you for the trip, or services rendered?

 

I'm not assuming that at all. I'm suggesting as a mayor of a town of 5,000 people, when this story made news in the Wasilla paper in her 5th year as mayor, and quoted the Palin-appointed police chief as saying the town will continue to knowingly and willingly victimize rape victims a second time rather that absorb the paltry $5,000 to $14,000 a year it would have cost the city, Palin would have stepped up and changed the policy if she gave a rat's ass about victims of sexual assault or any other womens' issue.

 

You disagree apparently. I'm genuinely surprised.

 

A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.

 

"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper reported.

 

It also quoted Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon objecting to the law. Fannon was appointed to his position by Palin after her dismissal of the previous police chief. He said it would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year if the city had to foot the bill for rape exams.

 

"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims' insurance company when possible," Fannon told the newspaper. "I just don't want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer."

 

Also, to equate an ambulance bill for a trip to the ER after an accident with charging a woman who has just been raped an traumatized for her medical examination is beyond missing the point. I would like my society to make it easier for a woman to feel she can come out and report crimes of sexual abuse. I'm pretty sure billing them for the exam and lab work is not a way to make that happen.

Edited September 13, 2008 by FlaSoxxJim

[Rex Kickass]

You are of course assuming that SHE started the practice of charging for them. I suppose that when you call for an ambulance after an accident, that it comes out for free, right? Doesn't charge you for the trip, or services rendered?

 

A rape kit is used to gather evidence if I recall correctly. So it would be more like charging the person whose house was robbed to dust for fingerprints.

 

Beyond that, yes Mayor Palin's administration was the administration that started charging for the rape kits. Former Chief Stambaugh (the one Palin fired) did not charge for rape kits. As is evidenced by his budgets The policy started with Police Chief Fannon in 1998, and given that there was a contigency budgeted for rape kits until 1999, all points lead to the conclusion that the policy began in 1998 or 1999 and ended with the new law passed by the state in 2000.

 

http://www.cityofwasilla.com/index.aspx?page=136

 

If you want to pour through Palin's budgets and verify for yourself - there's the link.