The Democrat Thread

[BigSqwert]

John McCain used to pal around with economic terrorists.

 

edit: Didn't realize this was already in the other thread.

Edited October 6, 2008 by BigSqwert

[HuskyCaucasian]

TPM:

McCain rallies start in referring to Obama as Barack Hussein Obama.

[BigSqwert]

Joe Klein today:

I'm of two minds about how to deal with the McCain campaign's further descent into ugliness. Their strategy is simple: you throw crap against a wall and then giggle as the media try to analyze the putresence in a way that conveys a sense of balance: "Well, it is bull-pucky, but the splatter pattern is interesting..." which, of course, only serves to get your perverse message out. I really don't want to be a part of that. But...every so often, we journalists have a duty to remind readers just how dingy the McCain campaign, and its right-wing acolytes in the media (I'm looking at you, Sean Hannity) have become--especially in their efforts to divert public attention from the economic crisis we're facing. And so inept at it: other campaigns have decided that their only shot is going negative, but usually they don't announce it, as several McCain aides have in recent days--there's no way we can win on the economy, so we're going to go sludge-diving.

 

But since we are dealing with manure here, I'll put the rest of this post below the fold.

 

It is appropriate that the prime vessel for this assault is Sarah Palin, whose very presence on a national ticket is an insult to your intelligence. She now has "credibility," we are told, because she managed to read talking points off notecards in the debate last week with unwitting enthusiasm.

 

Over the weekend, she picked up on an article in The New York Times, which essentially says that Barack Obama and the former terrorist Bill Ayers have crossed paths in Chicago, served on a couple of charitable boards together, but aren't particularly close. To Palin--or her scriptwriters--this means that Obama has been "palling around" with terrorists. Now, I wish Ayers had done some serious jail time; he certainly needed to pay some penance for his youthful criminality--even if most people in Chicago, including the mayor, have decided that he has something of value to say about education. But I can also understand how Obama, who was a child when Ayers was cutting his idiot swath, would not quite understand the enormity of the professor's background. (I got to know Alger Hiss twenty years after the fact--he was a printing salesman then, a friend of my father's--and thought of him as a sweet old man, if a good deal more liberal than dad's other friends.)

 

In any case, this is rather rich coming from Palin, who is married to a man who belonged to a political party--the Alaskan Independence Party--that wanted to secede from the union. (I should add here that the Times may have been overreacting to the McCain campaign's attack on its fairness here: the Ayers story was a nothingburger, but it was placed prominently in the top left hand corner of page one--a position that would seem to indicate that it contained important news, which it didn't.)

 

Then we have the ever-reliable Bill Kristol, in today's New York Times, advising Palin to bring up the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Palin, of course, believes that's a darn good idea:

 

“To tell you the truth, Bill, I don’t know why that association isn’t discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country, and to have sat in the pews for 20 years and listened to that — with, I don’t know, a sense of condoning it, I guess, because he didn’t get up and leave — to me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up.”

 

So then, I'd guess, it would be appropriate to bring up some of the nuttiness that passes for godliness in Palin's religious life. Leave aside the fact that The Embarracuda allowed herself to participate in a cermony that protected her from witchcraft, how about her presence--she didn't "get up and leave"-- at a sermon by the founder of Jews for Jesus, who argued that the Palestinian terrorist acts against Israel were God's "judgment" on the Jews because they hadn't accepted Jesus.

 

Speaking of Jews, the ever-execrable Sean Hannity has been having intercourse with a known Jew-hater named Andy Martin, who now wants to expose Barack Obama as a Muslim. According to the Washington Times:

 

In 1986, when Mr. Martin ran as a Democrat for Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District seat under the name "Anthony R. Martin-Trigona," his campaign committee filed papers saying its purpose was to "exterminate Jew power in America and impeach U.S. District Court of Appeals judges in New York City."

 

Calling all Podhoretzs! Where's the outrage? I mean, don't the hateful doings at Palin's church and Hannity's perfidy deserve a lengthy exegesis from Pete Wehner or Jennifer Rubin or one of the other empretzled ideologues over at Commentary?

 

As I said, I'm of two minds about this. I don't want to give currency to this sewage, so it will remain below the fold. And I'll try to devote the lion's share of my time to the issues--the war, the economic crisis, the fraying health insurance system, the environment--that should define this campaign. But what a desperate empty embarrassment the McCain campaign has become.

[BigSqwert]

McCain was speaking today in New Mexico, doing his usual personal attack on Barack Obama, as the stock market plummeted (you can see the ticker next to McCain on the screen, an apt reminder of what McCain and his fellow Republicans represent), and McCain asked the crowd "who is Barack Obama?" Immediately you hear a supporter yell "terrorist." McCain pauses, the audience laughs, and McCain continues on, not acknowledging, not chastising, not correcting. Oh, but McCain does say in the next sentence that he's upset about all the "angry barrage of insults." Is McCain losing his mind, or just a liar?

 

LINK

[Cali]

My only contribution to this thread haha

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

Penn. GOP: Obama is "a terrorist's best friend"

 

Subject: "PAGOP: OBAMA - A TERRORIST'S BEST FRIEND."

Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Robert A. Gleason, Jr. released the following statement regarding Barack Obama’s relationship with Bill Ayers, a terrorist who helped found a group called the Weather Underground. The Weather Underground is a left-wing extremist group that was responsible for bombing both the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon in the 70’s. The group was also responsible for a pipe bomb that killed a San Francisco police officer in 1970.

 

“Barack Obama’s association with terrorist Bill Ayers is alarming and absolutely deserves to be questioned,” Gleason said. “We are electing someone to be our next Commander-in-Chief and I think it is more than fair to look into their background. The Obama Campaign admitted that Obama and Ayers were ‘certainly friendly’ and that says a lot about Barack Obama’s character. Ayers’ is a terrorist, and there is no denying that the group he founded attacked our country and killed innocent Americans.

 

“Obama claims that he didn’t know about Ayers background as a terrorist, but I find that hard to believe. Ayers past is well known and he has been quoted in numerous articles, including in The New York Times where he said that he thought he didn’t do enough and wishes that he would have set off more bombs. What does it say about the character of Barack Obama that he knowingly associates with terrorists? It tells me that Obama lacks the judgment and character to be our next Commander-in-Chief.”

[HuskyCaucasian]

I dont know if I have seen this...

 

McCain advisor says McCain would significantly cut Medicare and Medicaid to Fund Health Plan

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

 

The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan “budget neutral,” as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn’t given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn’t dispute the analysts’ estimate.

 

In the months since Sen. McCain introduced his health plan, statements made by his campaign have implied that the new tax credits he is proposing to help Americans buy health insurance would be paid for with other tax increases.

 

But Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain’s senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled. Medicare spending for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 is estimated at $457.5 billion.

 

Mr. Holtz-Eakin said the Medicare and Medicaid changes would improve the programs and eliminate fraud, but he didn’t detail where the cuts would come from. “It’s about giving them the benefit package that has been promised to them by law at lower cost,” he said.

[DukeNukeEm]

Congratulations Barack Obama on winning Florida!

[BigSqwert]

LINK

 

Pa. GOP hits rock bottom: Calls Obama "a terrorist's best friend"

 

I've been writing about political campaigns for more than a quarter-century now, and it really takes a lot to surprise me, but I am absolutely stunned at the depths that the Republican Party is willing to sink to try in win this election, even as polls are beginning to suggest it may be a lost cause for John McCain and Sarah Palin. At 9:29 p.m., I received in an email the sleaziest political press release I've ever seen. It came from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and it's headlined: "PAGOP: OBAMA - A TERRORIST'S BEST FRIEND."

 

Here's the meat of it:

HARRI

S

BURG

–

Republican Party of Penn

s

ylvania Chairman Robert A. Glea

s

on, Jr. relea

s

ed the following

s

tatement regarding Barac

k

Obama

’

s

relation

s

hip with Bill Ayer

s

, a terrori

s

t who helped found a group called the Weather Underground. The Weather Underground i

s

a left-wing extremi

s

t group that wa

s

re

s

pon

s

ible for bombing both the U.

S

. Capitol and the Pentagon in the 70

’

s

. The group wa

s

al

s

o re

s

pon

s

ible for a pipe bomb that

k

illed a

S

an Franci

s

co police officer in 1970.

 

“

Barac

k

Obama

’

s

a

s

s

ociation with terrori

s

t Bill Ayer

s

i

s

alarming and ab

s

olutely de

s

erve

s

to be que

s

tioned,

”

Glea

s

on

s

aid.

“

We are electing

s

omeone to be our next Commander-in-Chief and I thin

k

it i

s

more than fair to loo

k

into their bac

k

ground. The Obama Campaign admitted that Obama and Ayer

s

were

‘

certainly friendly

’

and that

s

ay

s

a lot about Barac

k

Obama

’

s

character. Ayer

s

’

i

s

a terrori

s

t, and there i

s

no denying that the group he founded attac

k

ed our country and

k

illed innocent American

s

.

 

“

Obama claim

s

that he didn

’

t

k

now about Ayer

s

bac

k

ground a

s

a terrori

s

t, but I find that hard to believe. Ayer

s

pa

s

t i

s

well

k

nown and he ha

s

been quoted in numerou

s

article

s

, including in The New Yor

k

Time

s

where he

s

aid that he thought he didn

’

t do enough and wi

s

he

s

that he would have

s

et off more bomb

s

. What doe

s

it

s

ay about the character of Barac

k

Obama that he

k

nowingly a

s

s

ociate

s

with terrori

s

t

s

? It tell

s

me that Obama lac

k

s

the judgment and character to be our next Commander-in-Chief.

”

First of all, and most importantly, there's absolutely nothing in the body of the release that supports this wildly inflammatory and arguably libelous headline, that Obama is a "terrorist's best friend." Despite more than a year of Obama's relationship with Ayers investigated by everyone from Fox News to the New York Times, no one has ever come up anything more than what the Obama campaign has said, that the two were acquaintances who traveled in the same circles in their Chicago, as advocates of school reform. That's a best friend?

 

Gleason says it's "hard to believe" that Obama didn't know about Ayers' background. Actually, it's not that hard to believe at all. If you have access to the Nexis service, as I do, you can read the coverage of Ayers' school reform activities in Chicago in the mid-1990s. Hard as might be for the Sean Hannitys and Robert Gleasons of the world to imagine, the articles by and large make no mention that this guy pushing for smaller class sizes was also a former 1960s radical. Why would articles, other than a lengthy profile of Ayers, mention that -- considering that Ayers has never been convicted of a crime and by the 1990s had been accepted by Mayor Richard Daley and others as a school reformer?

 

"What does it say about the character of Barack Obama that he knowingly associates with terrorists?," Gleason asks. Nothing, because the evidence is overwhelming that he didn't, that this was a casual association and that Obama knew little or nothing about his background. Reading this, it's hard to know whether to be angry or just sad that one of America's two political parties has sunk to this.

 

Seriously, this is the kind of crap that people usually put on people's car windshields at 3 in the morning, unsigned in crude block letters. The fact that the Republican Party of Pennsylvania would put this out on its official letterhead is truly a rock bottom moment in American politics. It makes me wonder what the Republican Party has to hide if they are this desperate to try to cling to power at all costs to their dignity and humanity.

 

There's one final ironic twist in all of this.John McCain's Pennsylvania co-chairman? He's a convicted felon. You can look it up.

[BigSqwert]

John McCain actively supports domestic terrorism. How can we trust him?

[clyons]

John McCain actively supports domestic terrorism. How can we trust him?

I've said this before, but I think McCain's relationship with G. Gordon Liddy is more analagous to Obama's with Ayers. Both Liddy and Ayers committed criminal acts for political reasons, and Liddy has acknowledged his willingness and preliminary planning to kill Jack Anderson to further political goals. How is the right wing's burglar and would-be assassin any less of a "terrorist" than the left wing's bomber?

[bmags]

I, too, have brought that up.

[Balta1701]

I, too, have brought that up.

I have difficulty putting in to words how pathetic I find the fact that they've managed to turn this in to a legit issue that they spend time on.

[Rex Kickass]

LINK

 

You can't blame a candidate for not reacting to one crowd member at a rally. There's a very good possibility that he may not have heard the heckler or knew exactly what he was saying. The video, though, does look bad - but you can't fault McCain for this.

 

However, the tone of the McCain/Palin rallies I've seen for the last few days have been ugly and nasty. And I mean foaming at the mouth ugly. Frankly? I hope that vision is just media bias showing through - because if it isn't, that's legitimately scary.

[lostfan]

Is McCain losing his mind, or just a liar?

Why does this have to be an either-or option?

[Soxy]

For lack of a better place to put this. . .

 

Your daily etymology lesson: Maverick

[HuskyCaucasian]

To Steal McCain's Line, How Dishonorable:

"In the most obscene chapter in recent American history is the conduct of the Kosovo conflict when the president of the United States refused to prepare for ground operations, refused to have air power used effectively because he wanted them flying -- he had them flying at 15,000 feet where they killed innocent civilians because they were dropping bombs from such -- in high altitude."

Edited October 7, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[BigSqwert]

I've been checking out what the McCain campaign is doing lately, they have run by far the dirtiest, most dishonest, presidential campaign in modern US election history.

[Steve9347]

I've been checking out what the McCain campaign is doing lately, they have run by far the dirtiest, most dishonest, presidential campaign in modern US election history.

That's no secret.

[mr_genius]

I wouldn't be too worried about McCain attack ads on this stuff if I was you guys. Most people don't care about Bill Ayers, or any of that stuff. They want economic answers.

[NorthSideSox72]

I wouldn't be too worried about McCain attack ads on this stuff if I was you guys. Most people don't care about Bill Ayers, or any of that stuff. They want economic answers.

Always issue no 1.

[HuskyCaucasian]

WHAAAA????

 

Cindy McCain, who stopped to visit a half-dozen children at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt today, said the presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has "waged the dirtiest campaign in American history," and her husband Sen. John McCain will use tonight's debate to correct the distortions.

[kapkomet]

WHAAAA????

One's up front about it and one's doing it behind the scenes. It's all the same, though.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

One's up front about it and one's doing it behind the scenes. It's all the same, though.

Makes it easier to think that way. But it just isn't the case here. One is simply going further than the other, and more regularly.

 

 

[BigSqwert]

One's up front about it and one's doing it behind the scenes. It's all the same, though.

You need to stop watching Hannity and Gargoyle.