Racism – A Reason To Vote For Obama, Not Against

Hallelujah!  Politico gets one right!  Yaaaay!

While I’m happy for Politico, I’m delighted that somebody is finally looking at the issue of race and racism realistically, and not through the distorted lens of the Obama campaign.  For Camp O, America’s racial legacy is a well to be drawn from for their advantage.  Obama has not explored race, he has exploited it.  CNN, sadly, is still in enabling Obama mode:

“When it gets real bad, and they never — with this one — look you in the eye, ‘Well, I can’t vote for him,’ ” McEntee told the diverse union audience. “This doesn’t even come out in code — it comes out like this: ‘I can’t vote for him because he is a black man. He’s not one of us.’ Well, sisters and brothers, when you hear that, you know what you ought to say? This is what I say: ‘That is bull—-! That is total, absolute bull—-!’ “

While I’m sure whoever the union guy is who quoted these unknown racists has heard this kind of garbage before, Politico explains the reality:

First, many pundits disregard, or at least undervalue, the share of voters who will vote for Obama because of his race. This group includes not only moderate and conservative blacks who otherwise might have voted for McCain but also (and more significantly) blacks who otherwise would not have voted at all. It also includes whites across the political spectrum who will vote for Obama at least in part because they wish to place the legacy of slavery and racism behind us. Indeed, six percent of white voters indicated as much in a recent AP-Yahoo! Poll.

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Never mind that Obama has a tissue-thin resume, that he repeatedly voted against laws to protect babies born alive after botched abortions or that he has ties to unrepentant terrorists and radical pastors. And never mind that Obama compiled the most liberal voting record in the Senate last year and is running one of the most liberal campaigns in modern American history. The media elites seem unable to imagine that Obama’s extreme liberalism might trouble voters in a country that remains fundamentally conservative. This is the same party that has lost five of the last seven elections by serially nominating liberal presidential candidates.

Look, the truth is, both articles contain a kernel of truth.  There are certainly people who will vote for Obama because he’s black and there are also people who will not vote for him for the same reason.  Some would even like to point to all kinds of charts and graphs and polls that show that it’s a wash.  It’s not.  Black people, if we indeed turn up in record numbers at the polls, which is by no means guaranteed, see Ohio early vote totals, will all be voting for Obama because he’s black.  If asked, most will lie and try to make up justifications where none exist.  White people who vote for him will do so for precisely the same reasons, primarily because there aren’t any others.  Those Americans who, regardless of color, refuse to be guilt-tripped into sacrificing their vote for appearances sake, will not only not vote for him, they will cast their votes, in protest, where they will be most effective.

Those people are PUMAs.

And there are more of us than you think.

Whether they know it or not.

Must Be Something In The Water

Oh, those wacky, horny politicians.  Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Florida, another scandal breaks.  This one, though familiar, is rich in irony, too, too rich, in fact.  See, the cleanup guy got caught wick dipping, too.  Let me explain.

ABC News (and every other news service in the country) is reporting on it’s investigation page, that Nancy Pelosi is calling for an investigation into allegations that Rep.Tim Mahoney, who was elected to replace page palling Mark Foley, paid off his mistress after firing her, to avoid a lawsuit.

Whew!

“I just learned today about the serious allegations concerning Congressman Tim Mahoney,” Pelosi said in a statement. “These charges must be immediately and thoroughly investigated by the House Ethics Committee.”

Right, Nan, sure, whatever.  The Republicans, naturally, are eating this up, so to speak.  From what I could gather reading my favorite scandal rag, Politico, Mahoney is a quite piece of work.  Seems the Congressman is a hypocrite, too.

The scandal could have repercussions far beyond the Sunshine State, where Mahoney ran under the slogan “Restoring America’s values begins at home.”

House Democrats flayed the GOP leadership for covering up Foley’s inappropriate behavior with pages two years ago — and Republicans are eager to return the favor.

Yeah, Timmy, but it’s what begins at the office that got you in trouble.  But wait, there’s more!  Referencing ABC, the article explains the $121,000 payoff to the woman, Patricia Allen, who broke off the affair after learning she wasn’t the only “other woman” in homeboy’s life, and the 2 year job he got her at his communication firm, which immediately kicked him straight to the curb:

“FRCR Inc. has resigned from Tim Mahoney’s campaign and permanently ended our relationship with him,” Fletcher wrote in an e-mail. “According to ABC News, Tim Mahoney apparently included our company in a secret legal settlement without the knowledge of our firm. Our firm did not agree to any legal settlement. If these allegations are true, Tim Mahoney’s actions are unacceptable and not in line with FRCR’s business ethics.”

Play audio of firing here.

All the articles have good juicy details and are worth a read, but I want to move on to the “doin’ a little sumpin’-sumpin’” rumors surrounding the Democratic nominee for president.  I’ve mostly left those accounts alone, not neccessarily because I don’t believe them, I just prefer not to think about it, but the last few days have been interesting, and since we’re dishing…

I’ve never known quite what to make of Larry Sinclair, the man who claims to have done drugs in addition to that thing-thing in the back of a limo with Barack Obama.  Anybody can say anything, of course, but Sinclair has been saying the same thing for a long time.  He even got arrested by Joe Biden’s son for trying to get the media to listen, and I just learned from my friends over at HillBuzz, he’s at it again.  What’s up with that?  Normally, I’d just file the info and be done with it, but…

In the last couple days I’ve read stories on HillBuzz, No Quarter and other sites about some chick Barack Obama was supposed to be banging until Michelle found out and exiled her to a distant island.  It seems Vera Baker was Obama’s campaign finance director until, one day, she wasn’t anymore, and then, she was in Martinique.  Now, like I said, thinking about the Big O playing “hide-the-salami” with anybody is a lunch losing proposition for me.  But with the election looming, The Lifestyles of the Corrupt and Greedy soap opera is getting verrrrry in-ter-rest-ink.

And a little stupid.

Obama Suckophants Make Me Sick

Just when I thought the Obama cheerleading was as bad as it could possibly get, it suddenly got stupid.  John Lewis playing with George Wallace fire was bad enough, Bill and Hillary Clinton enthusiastically stumping for the guy they lost friends over for saying “he can not win” is painfully disappointing, and Joe Biden’s “back off McCain” threats are infuriating, but Sherrod Brown’s “make O’Reilly cry” rah-rah is just too much.

Now, I’m no big Bill O’Reilly fan; the “loofah incident” is too deeply and permanently etched in my memory banks for that to ever happen, but trying to encourage people to vote for Obama just because it would piss O’Reilly off is just…juvenile.  “What’s next, na nanna boo boo?”   Anyway, here’s Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, in his own words:

“About quarter till 12 on election night, it’s gonna be Bill O’Reilly sitting there with Sean Hannity,” he said, drawing another cascade of jeers from the crowd at the mention of another popular conservative Fox host.

“No, no wait a sec, this is gonna be too much fun. You’re not gonna be booing ‘cause you know what’s coming next. So Hannity – they’re going through all these numbers and Barack’s won California, New York and Illinois and Michigan and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and all these others. And, you know McCain wins Utah or something,” Brown said, drawing appreciative laughs and claps from the energized crowd.

“Then Hannity’s sitting there next to O’Reilly, and they’re looking at each other, and O’Reilly says, ‘You gonna do it?’ And Hannity says, ‘No.’ So O’Reilly – sweat’s coming, tears are coming down his cheeks – you can see ‘em on your flat screen. And O’Reilly says, ‘Well, Ohio went for Barack Obama. He’s gonna be president of the United States!”

Please PUMAs, let’s not tell Sherrod that if that happens, Hannity and O’Reilly won’t be the only ones crying.  Let’s save the truth for election day; see who’s crying then.

Sheesh!

Why Not Turn Debates Into A Game Show?

The last line in a Politico article lamenting the sorry state of affairs that is modern-day presidential debates is a quote attributed to “debate expert” Alan Schroeder, who attempts to explain the debate commission’s reluctance to implement much needed changes in format:

“They have been a little slow in reacting to potential improvements but at the same time I have to appreciate the fact that they don’t want to turn this thing into a game show,” he added.

Why not?  I like game shows.  A lot.  And in this post-”Making of the President,” American Idol campaign era, game show-style debates fit right in.  The only question is, what kind of game show?

Would a “Survivor” style “lock-em-up-in-an-undisclosed-location-and-see-who-can-figure-his-way-out” kind of format work better than say, a Jeopardy-type question and answer show?  How about a test of macho skills?  I’d like to know which candidate could best wrestle a bear or consume the most oyster shooters fastest.   Maybe they could just put a bunch of questions in a barrel and have each blindfolded “contestant” pull one out to be read by the moderator, with the guy who’s quickest on the buzzer answering first.  Or put ‘em in a soundproof dunking booth and let the audience throw baseballs at a target if they don’t like the responses.  Since the whole election process has come down to an interminable pissing contest anyway, why not have some fun with it?

The possibilities are endless.

“Who Wants To Be The President?”

I like it.

A lot.

Why THIS NYT Story NOW?

In June, the Washington Post ran a story blaming the whole “Obama is a Muslim” brouhaha on a guy named Andy Martin.  Why bring it up now?  That’s what I’d like to know.  But that’s just what the New York Times did today:

Until this month, the man who is widely credited with starting the cyberwhisper campaign that still dogs Mr. Obama was a secondary character in news reports, with deep explorations of his background largely confined to liberal blogs.

But an appearance in a documentary-style program on the Fox News Channel watched by three million people last week thrust the man, Andy Martin, and his past into the foreground. The program allowed Mr. Martin to assert falsely and without challenge that Mr. Obama had once trained to overthrow the government.

I didn’t know WaPo was a liberal blog.  Anyway, let me be clear, as I have stated before, I don’t care whether Barack Obama is a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or a chicken entrails reader; he’s free to worship (or not) as he sees fit.  I’d be willing to bet most Americans feel the same way, one nutty lady at a McCain rally notwithstanding.  And goodness knows Andy Martin is not baggage-free.  I first became aware of him through some pro-Hillary articles he wrote and posted on his blog during the primaries, but he’s not the kind of guy whose logic inspires one to take whatever he says at face value, know what I mean?  So why is the New York Times giving this story air?

Seems the “Andy Martin is an anti-Semite who hates Barack” theory is attributed to Obama supporter, Danielle Allen.  From WaPo:

The e-mail landed in Danielle Allen’s queue one winter morning as she was studying in her office at the Institute for Advanced Study, the renowned haven for some of the nation’s most brilliant minds. The missive began: “THIS DEFINITELY WARRANTS LOOKING INTO.”

Laid out before Allen, a razor-sharp, 36-year-old political theorist, was what purported to be a biographical sketch of Barack Obama that has become one of the most effective — and baseless — Internet attacks of the 2008 presidential season. The anonymous chain e-mail makes the false claim that Obama is concealing a radical Islamic background. By the time it reached Allen on Jan. 11, 2008, it had spread with viral efficiency for more than a year.

Allen, however, seems to have a bit of bias of her own:

As an Obama supporter — she had met the senator while she worked as a dean at the University of Chicago — it made her angry. And curious.

“I started thinking, ‘How does one stop it?’ “

Allen set her sights on dissecting the modern version of a whisper campaign, even though experts told her it would be impossible to trace the chain e-mail to its origin. Along the way, even as her hunt grew cold, she gained valuable insight into the way political information circulates, mutates and sometimes devastates in the digital age.

Look, they’re all a bunch of kooks, in my opinion.  But the question remains, why are these two “bastions of journalism” acting as “Fight The Smears” surrogates?  Why now?  The percentage of people convinced that Obama is a Muslim is said to have risen from 8 to  13 percent since Martin began his “witch hunt.”  But, how many of those people were predisposed to vote for him anyway, and how many are likely to change their minds now that WaPo, NYT, and Ms. Allen have gone to such links to “debunk” a kooky guy’s theory?  And who sent Allen the clarion call email in the first place?

Methinks they all doth protest way too much.

Obama’s Pimping Your Kids

The Barack Obama campaign wants your kids to “get in your face” for him, and even provides handy-dandy tip sheets and blueprints full of nifty ideas for steamrolling your ass to his side.  Think I’m kidding?  C’mon, you know me better than that.   From Ben Smith’s blog:

A reader forwards on an email from the Obama campaign to his .edu email, suggesting he try to bring his parents, as well as “grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins,” on board, and offering tips as to how:

If your family isn’t already supporting Barack, it’s time for you to have “The Talk.”

With so many rumors and misperceptions out there, it’s incredibly important that you sit down with parents or other family members. Tell them who Barack is, what he stands for, and why you’re supporting him.

You may be the only person who can convince them.
Also from the email:  “Breaking the ice can be hard. Start by asking if they saw the debate on Tuesday and what they thought about it.”

Okay, you have been sufficiently forewarned.  Beware the over-solicitous college-aged Obamabot in your family and his/her “oh-so-sweet” stealth attack.  Be on alert for telltale KoolAid breath, and be sure to properly arm yourself with steely resolve.  If all else fails, threaten to cut them off financially, even going so far as completely taking them out of the will, if necessary.  If you’re too squeamish for reverse blackmail, a home cooked meal with their favorite fresh baked dessert has been known to disarm the most determined youthful Obot from their mission.  Humming standard gospel hymns while you rock back and forth and pretend to nod can serve to dissuade them on occasion.  Show naked baby pictures to their friends, if you have to.  Stories of long, painful labor experiences and nursing them through childhood illnesses could potentially serve as a deterrent, feel free to embellish as much a you deem appropriate.  Whatever you do, DO NOT ENGAGE.  Repeat: DO NOT ENGAGE.  Keep the nightmare image of morphing into Claire McCaskill uppermost in your mind, and you should survive relatively unscathed.  Remember, you love them, and their only real sin is youth.  Given time, they should recover fully.

To be fully prepared, go to this website and scope out the competition.  You’ll need all the advance prep you can get.  For starters, here’s the full email they’ve been sent, complete with marching orders:

Dear xxxx,

If your family isn’t already supporting Barack, it’s time for you to have “The Talk.”

With so many rumors and misperceptions out there, it’s incredibly important that you sit down with parents or other family members. Tell them who Barack is, what he stands for, and why you’re supporting him.

You may be the only person who can convince them.

But it can be difficult to bring up the subject, so here are a few tips:

* Send an email. You can scroll down for some talking points, but feel free to add your personal touch.
* Breaking the ice can be hard. Start by asking if they saw the debate on Tuesday and what they thought about it.
* Have some information handy. We have one-page summaries of Barack’s positions on various issues. Look for the issues you know are important to your family.
* Share Barack’s speech from the Democratic National Convention or Meet Barack, a video about who Barack Obama is, where he comes from, and what his values are.

For more resources, and to share your story about talking to family members, go to:

http://my.barackobama.com/thetalk

Earlier this year, as one national leader after another announced support for Barack, there was a common refrain — they said their kids persuaded them that Barack was the right candidate to bring about real change.

Family members talking to one another about Barack is one of the ways this movement has grown so large. Even if your parents are already convinced, talk to your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

There are only 25 days until Election Day. So have The Talk, and do it soon. Then tell us how it went, and what advice you would offer fellow supporters.

Thanks for all that you’re doing,

Obama for America

——– Suggested email ———

Hi,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the election and how important it is to our family.

I’ve decided to support Barack Obama, and wanted to let you know why.

There are many rumors floating around out there, so here’s some information about Barack’s positions on things I know are important to you:

– Economy: http://my.barackobama.com/EconomyFlyer

– Health Care: http://my.barackobama.com/HealthcareFlyer

– Education: http://my.barackobama.com/EducationFlyer

This is probably going to be the most important election in my lifetime, and it’s something I strongly believe in. So let’s talk about it. Ask me anything.

Thanks.

Remember, and I can’t stress this enough, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.  And if you have to, don’t be afraid to use one of those four arms to smack them upside the head. As unpleasant as such a prospect may seem, desperate times call for desperate measures.

You might just knock some sense into them.