How the Democratic Party Committed Suicide

By forcing Barack Obama down the throats of it’s base.

By using the unforgivably divisive tactics of race and gender exploitation to accomplish this.

By diverting blame to Hillary Clinton for Barack Obama’s thuggery and everything else.

By bending the rules.

By forgetting that if black Democrats are encouraged to vote for Obama on the basis of race, without directly addressing their issues, the tactic could be exploited to encourage women to vote for a woman on the basis of gender.

Two articles illuminate these truths.  One, by Will Bower, printed in the Huffington Post, chronicles the birth of the PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) movement.  Referencing the wide-spread disillusionment of many HRC supporters in the face of the Rules and By-Laws committee debacle, Bower writes:

Little did I know that there was already a hotbed of PUMA activity elsewhere in the blogosphere. Over at Riverdaughter’s “The Confluence” — inspired by the very same RBC ruling — a commenter known as “SM” (now “SM77″) had shouted out that very acronym, and Riverdaughter leapt into action with “The PUMA Unparty.” Soon thereafter, their fellow ‘Conflucian’, Darragh Murphy, would set “PUMA Pac” into motion.

I, too, have written of my memories of PUMA’s birth.  On August 24, I wrote a post laying out the reasons I feel Obama to be an illegitimate candidate.  A quick trip through my archives or through the archives of any number of Just Say No Deal or NoBama Network will tell the same story through different lenses.  In the face of such unanimity of opinion, its hard to imagine a compelling counter-argument from the DeaNC.  For the record, I do not support the NoBama Network, it seems too much like a Republican plant to me.  That being said, the actions of the DeaNC are solely responsible for creating such a rich environment for exploitation by Republicans, if that is indeed the case.  If it is not, I humbly apologize.

The fact that the DeaNC created fertile grounds for Republican pickin’s is borne out by the content of the other aforementioned article, this one published in the UK’s Times Online, highlighting the migration of women to Sarah Palin:

Jessica Goral had pretty much made up her mind two weeks ago: she was going to vote for Barack Obama. Then John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running-mate.

“She empowers a lot of women,” said Mrs Goral, a mother of two in Macomb County – a national bellwether in the battleground state of Michigan and an area rich in white, working-class swing voters who will play an important role in deciding the election in November.

edit

If Mr Obama should be in any doubt how gravely the vice-presidential nomination of the Governor of Alaska has imperilled his White House ambitions, then a day spent in Macomb County will make this clear: white women who voted for John Kerry in 2004 are suddenly deserting the Democratic Party.

Another of the original Just Say No Deal websites, HireHeels.com provided the links to these 2 stories in their comments section.  Diane Mantavoulos, one of it’s founders, has been one of the most visible faces of the PUMA movement as well as one of it’s hardest workers.

While the DeaNC might want to wish away the evidence of it’s self-inflicted wounds that PUMA represents, the truth is that the PUMA movement only represents the online presence of a national sentiment.  No matter what the polls say, there is no doubt within the PUMAsphere that Barack Obama will lose, primarily because so many diverse entities are so fervently dedicated to make it happen.  The DeaNC shot itself, the only merciful thing to do is help it die without dignity.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

McCain, Obama On The Issues

What issues do John McCain and Sarah Palin support?  I didn’t really know so I took a look around their official website to get a feel for where they’re coming from.

Roe v. Wade:

John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.

However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion – the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, “At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level.”

Doesn’t seem to be much room for debate in that viewpoint, does it?

From Barack Obama’s website:

Supports a Woman’s Right to Choose:

Barack Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in that case.

Remember what Bill Clinton said as you decide:

“Suppose for example you’re a voter. And you’ve got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don’t think that person can deliver on anything. Candidate Y disagrees with you on half the issues, but you believe that on the other half, the candidate will be able to deliver. For whom would you vote?”

There are other people running.  More comparisons to come, if I feel like it.

*BTW, FYI, this is what Hillary Clinton said on her website:

“When I’m President, I will appoint judges to our courts who understand that Roe v. Wade isn’t just binding legal precedent, it is the touchstone of our reproductive freedom, the embodiment of our most fundamental rights, and no one – no judge, no governor, no Senator, no President – has the right to take it away.”

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

“Uncle” Barack “Obama Waffles”

Oh, man, this election gets weirder and weirder by the second.  Now some enterprising conservative entrepreneurs claim they had “no idea” their politically satirical “Obama Waffle” mix just might be racially offensive.  What planet do they think we’re living on?

Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed “offensive material.” The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

Are you kidding me?

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama’s politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.

On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for “Open Border Fiesta Waffles” that says it can serve “4 or more illegal aliens.” The recipe includes a tip: “While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?”

Meanwhile, Free Republic re-printed a Wall Street Journal article a couple of days ago by Gary Fields and Jonathan Kaufman entitled, What If Obama Loses? that suggests such a result might trigger 60’s style rioting in the black community.  The Freepers got it from The Citizen.com.  The first quote comes from African American talk show hostess, Bev Smith:

Black talk-show hosts and black-themed Web sites are being flooded with callers and bloggers reflecting a nervousness—and anger—over the campaign. Monday night, Bev Smith, a nationally syndicated black talk-show host in Pittsburgh, devoted her entire three-hour show to the question: “If Obama doesn’t win, what will you think?”

“My audience is upset,” she said. “Some people said they would be so angry it would be reminiscent of the [1960s] riots—that is how despondent they would be.”

Oh, please.  Everybody needs to just chill on the bullshit.  If Obama loses it will be because he sucks.  Period.  Why a candidate who is only black when convenient, preferring to pretend to be “colorless” the rest of the time, would stir passions in the black community is as much an invention of Caucasian manipulated media narratives of a mythical “color-blind” Utopian society as is the inevitability of large-scale looting if he, as he should, loses.  That black people would gleefully participate, yet unwittingly assist, this kind of clairvoyant rabble rousing is equally irresponsible and just as worrisome.

Cut it the fuck out.

Besides, how many of America’s riots were racially motivated?  If we rioted every time we were disappointed, America would have burned to the ground a long time ago.

* UPDATE: Here’s the creators’ “explanation:”

Cut it out.

Please.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

They’re Running For President, Too

Cynthia McKinney – Green Party

Ralph Nader – Independent w Ron Paul

Bob Barr – Libertarian Party

Chuck Baldwin – Constitution Party

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Obama Cancels SNL, WTF?

Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times informs us:

With a deadly hurricane aimed at Texas, Barack Obama cancelled his appearance on Saturday Night Live this evening, spokesman Jen Psaki in a statement.

“In the light of the unfolding crisis in Texas, Senator Obama has decided it is no longer appropriate to appear on Saturday Night Live tomorrow evening,” she said.

Gee, I’m thinking it might have been very appropriate to appeal for help for Hurricane Ike victims in front of such a large audience.  But, hey, what do I know?  He did appeal to his supporters for help at a rally in Manchester, N.H. that his previously also-scheduled-to-attend running mate, Joe Biden (who?) didn’t:

Barack Obama urged his supporters Saturday to help victims of the monstrous Hurricane Ike but also vowed to work for all hard-pressed Americans suffering “quiet storms” in their own lives.

edit

“Even as we think about this enormous hurricane that’s moving its way through the Gulf, one of the things I’ve learned over the last 19 months is that a lot of people are going through their own trials and their own tribulations,” Obama added.

“There are a lot of quiet storms that are taking place throughout America,” he said pointing to rising job losses, home seizures and a healthcare crisis — to all of which, he said, McCain had no answers.

Though damage is widespread, the latest reports are that it will be less than feared.  Obama has said he will honor the severity of the situation by refraining from attacks on his rival, John McCain, says Ben Smith:

AFP reports that campaign aides say they will “scale back his savage attacks on McCain of recent days to avoid a show of overt partisanship in Ike’s potentially tragic trail.”

Huh?

What will Obama do instead of SNL?

Obama planned to return to Chicago after the New Hampshire rally and spend the rest of the weekend at home.

Oh.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal