Posts with the tag McCain

Defeated Republicans Lick Their Wounds and Debate Comeback Strategy

Mark C. Eades — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:21:13 EST

Still reeling from the punishing defeat handed to them by victorious Democrats on Election Day, Republicans are licking their wounds and debating their strategy for a comeback. As Democrats and progressives celebrate our hard-won victory, we should also be keeping an eye on our vanquished opponents and preparing to remain on the offensive against them, whatever comeback road they attempt to pursue. For the sake of the future, we cannot allow a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.

Most observers see two major possibilities for the GOP. One is that the party could stick with its rural, white, ultra-conservative base and become the party of the far right, thus alienating moderates, independents, and swing voters, many of whom would likely migrate to the Democratic Party and join the ranks of conservative-leaning "Blue Dogs" like Virginia senator Jim Webb. The other possibility is that the GOP could move toward a more moderate and less ideological, center-right position that could make it more attractive to independents and swing voters but at the same time would tend to alienate the conservative base. Neither is an exceedingly attractive option for the GOP, since either would likely result in the loss of one or another key Republican voting block. The electoral success of Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II depended upon a united Republican coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, defense hawks, and "Reagan Democrats." That coalition has now fallen apart.

I personally hope the Republicans will take the former choice, stick with their demented base, and become a far-right fringe party doomed to increasing irrelevance as old bigots die off and their children discard the prejudices, fears, and hatreds of the past. This is what may well happen if far-right blowhards like Rush Limbaugh have their way, warning their shell-shocked followers now against a moderate takeover of the GOP led by once-and-future-maverick John McCain and other hands-across-the-aisle types, whose ranks will seek to purge the party of "real conservatives" like Sarah Palin and those who identify with her. Never exceedingly popular among those on the far right, McCain is already being branded a defeatist and a traitor by the Limbaugh-Palin crowd, who are incensed by the attacks on Palin now coming from within the McCain camp itself, and who increasingly regret that McCain was ever nominated even as they are in his debt for giving them "their Sarah." Meanwhile, angry dittoheads at RedState.com have launched a bitter assault on Palin's Republican critics called "Operation Leper," and appear poised to advocate for Palin as a presidential candidate for 2012 and/or 2016. Perhaps we will see a full-fledged Palin faction form within the Republican Party in opposition to the forces of Republican moderation, leading to an all-out faction fight and perhaps even a split in the party. I sincerely hope so.

If, on the other hand, the Republicans choose the path of moderation, returning perhaps to the GOP of Eisenhower and Goldwater, our work could be a little more difficult. This possibility highlights the importance of maintaining the center-to-left coalition that enabled us to win in 2006 and 2008 just as their center-to-right coalition enabled Republicans to win in 1980, 1994, and 2000, as it raises the risk of swing voters swinging back to the Republican side if they are not happy with the job Democrats are doing in Washington. Those of us such as myself who are on the Left of the Democratic Party will have to balance our expectation of having a place at the table with the realization that the rest of the country isn't with us just yet. At least in the near term, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress will have to govern more-or-less from the center, and at the same time will have to prove that they are more capable of governing the country effectively than their opponents. Given the dominance of the far-right in today's GOP and its dependence on the conservative base, however, owing in part to the fact that so many moderate Republicans have either left the party or been voted out of office, I wonder how realistic or likely a route this second option actually is. I could be wrong, but I suspect hopefully that our opponents will remain in the funk they are currently in for quite some time to come.

Whatever course they may ulimately choose to take, our task as Democrats is to stop any GOP comeback dead in its tracks before it even starts. Democrats must remain on the offensive and must remain focused on solidifying and building our congressional majority in 2010, re-electing President Obama in 2012, and putting another Democrat in the White House in 2016. We must aggressively go after not only Republican congressional seats but also state and local offices nationwide. Grassroots Democratic organizing, voter registration, fundraising, and media activism are key to this, as is maintaining a strong center-to-left coalition through effective, balanced governance. We must demonstrate to the Republicans that they are dealing with a new, much tougher, much more aggressive and effective Democratic Party: a Democratic Party that won't be so easy to kick around as in the past, a Democratic Party whose days of whining about mean old swiftboating Republicans are over.

If we are to avoid a repeat of the last eight years or something even worse, no Republican comeback can ever be allowed to happen.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Miami, FL Voting Chaos

Democrat in Miami, FL — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:08:26 EST

Voting in Miami, FL....So much for paradise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfICeC6CPS4

Looks like McCain just conceded the election!!!

Democrat in New York, NY — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:50:16 EST

Well, MSNBC just played a tape of a press conference that McCain had on his plane today and it seems like he has realized that he has lost. It looked like McCain was conceding but not in a verbal sense but in a physical sense. My hunch is that his staff on the ground is telling him that it ain't going to happen for him. Just my hunch on his body language.

My friends, I can't wait till Lieberman is kicked out of office 4 years from now

Democrat in New York, NY — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:12:07 EST

Lieberdouche needs to be thrown out of office as soon as possible. And McCain keeps saying "my friends" as if he has any. What test has McCain passed? He failed most of his tests at the academy. He failed as a pilot in the navy. He failed as a husband and maybe even as a father. He has failed as a Senator, lest we forget the S&L fraud he was part of. He has failed as a republican presidential candidate the first time around. And this election season he has failed as an American and as a true Patriot. He is not and has never been a patriotic American. He is UNAMERICAN1

MSNBC is another republican network

Democrat in New York, NY — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:05:36 EST

All morning all I have heard on MSNBC are speeches being given by McCain and Palin. Not once have I seen a speech by the Obama or Biden. What gives?

Voting for McCain in 2008 is Like Voting for Nixon in 1960

Mark C. Eades — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:31:03 EST

If like me you are not old enough to have voted in 1960, or if you are old enough and voted for John F. Kennedy as you should have, try and imagine how it would feel if you had voted for Richard Nixon instead.

Imagine watching Kennedy's rise, in life and in death, to take his place among America's greatest presidents, knowing that you could have voted for him but didn't; and imagine then watching Nixon's descent to take his place among the worst, knowing that you voted for him perhaps not just once but two or even three times.

Imagine watching the secret bombing of Cambodia revealed, watching the sad tale of Watergate unfold, and watching Nixon's resignation in disgrace. Imagine looking back from the vantage point of 1974 and thinking of how you might have voted differently in 1960, of how at that pivotal point in time you made an unwise decision and ended up on the wrong side of history.

Now imagine how things might have been if lots more people had made the same mistake as you in 1960 and John F. Kennedy, one of America's greatest presidents, had never been elected. Imagine a world without President Kennedy.

Then, if you can bear repeating such a tragic error in judgment, go ahead and vote for John McCain.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Keep calling McCain a patriot dems while he...

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:57:20 EST

...keeps smearing Obama with these ads all over the country. Link.

MOB is a commie and that's that...

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:44:34 EST

...if people don't like to hear that then that's their problem. I don't believe you can support McCain's sleaze ball campaign tactics and call yourself a democrat. Has any one who is asking me to apologize to MOB even been to any of the republican sites? Have you noticed any of them saying anything like "oh, Obama is a patriot and he has served our country?" I am a democrat with a spine and will not take any crap from some republican or a republican pretending to be a democrat. This is politics and in politics this is how we fight with words. If we get slammed with words then we stand up and return fire with words. That's how we were trained to fight in the Army and so it should be fought. McCain supporters are COMMUNISTS!

McCain is NOT a PATRIOT because he has chosen the LOW ROAD!

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:54:42 EST

John Mcain is NOT a PATRIOT because he is trying to destroy our democracy just like a foolish frat boy!

A vote for McCain is unpatriotic!

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:08:53 EST

Any one who votes for McCain is unpatriotic because McCain is absolutely unpatriotic and unamerican. He is a liar who just wants power just like any banana republic chief. DO NOT VOTE FOR JOHN McCAIN IF YOU ARE A TRUE PATRIOT!

Service to our great Nation!

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:38:20 EST

I served proudly in the Army but I don't believe that gives me the right to LIE about my fellow citizens to win a high office the Sen. McCain has done. It also doesn't give me the right to disrespect my fellow country men and women the way Sen. McCain has done by selecting a totally unqualified person for the veep spot. He selected Palin for political reasons rather than for the good of the country and that is shameful. SHAME ON YOU SEN. McCAIN!!!

When McCain can respect our way of living then I will vote for him

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:24:35 EDT

Just because McCain served doesn't mean that he actually respects our way of living. He went into the Navy because his grandfather and father were in it not because he necessarily respects our way of living. The reason I believe I can safely say that McCain didn't join the navy because he necessarily cared about our way of living is because of the despicable way he has run his campaign. Our democracy is dependent on truthful and meaningful campaigns for correct selection of a candidate but Sen. McCain has been deceitful and disrespectful towards the electorate. He has tried to deceive us by allowing his campaign and his surrogates to lie about Sen. Obama's person and his professional record. He has been disrespectful towards us by selecting an unqualified candidate for veep without thoroughly vetting her first. Also, making a veep selection based on political expediency rather than keeping the country's best interests at heart. When Sen. McCain corrects these issues I will then think about voting for him. Country should always come first not flags, lapel pins, and saluting. Till McCain refuses to show respect for our country I will say this: SHAME ON YOU SEN. McCAIN!

John McCain's tax policy

Democrat in New York, NY — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:41:03 EDT

Tax the poor and give it to the rich. Once the rich become richer they will then control all the rest of the people who will have become poorer. What will uncle McCain do? He and Sarah Failin will retreat to the Lincoln bedroom to make whoopy. Fantastic! The only question now is whether Joe the Plumber will join them in a menage trois. Disgusting! Our potential leader could be engaging in such despicable acts is unbelievable.

An Open Letter to Senator McCain

Democrat in New York, NY — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:03:13 EDT

Dear Sen. McCain,

I know I am a partisan letter writer like my fellow "Democrat in Marion, NC" but I have to write this letter any way. Can you please tell us how you plan on turning the economy around? I know you say that you KNOW IT ALL, so please fill us mortals in on how you plan to do this. Also, you keep saying that people will get a $2500 tax deduction to buy health insurance but I can't find any health insurance company that will sell me one, so can you please share with us mortals the name of the company you have been conferring with? Also, you say you will cut our taxes across the board and balance the budget, pray tell us mortals again how you plan to do both with the national debt having been run-up ($10 trillion) by your brother BUSH over the past 8 years? And what about the war in Iraq? You keep saying that you will bring our boys and gals back with victory. Can you please define what that victory will mean? To me our soldiers have fought bravely and WON the war 5 years ago, so what exactly are we fighting for now?

My friend "Democrat in Marion, NC", which should actually read "Republican in Marion, NC pretending to be a democrat", claims that you happen to KNOW IT ALL as well so please enlighten us mortals. Thank you.

Best Regards,

Democrat in New York, NY

McCain and Palin had an affair!!!

Democrat in New York, NY — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:57:46 EDT

Is it not possible? I mean why would he pick her over all those well qualified women whom he has known for a far longer time than her? I think there is more to this story, I think they were secret lovers and that baby she had earlier this year is their love child! I think the media should do more research into this. If anyone has a problem with the logic I am using then they should explain to me the logic of Obama's crazy aunt story this weekend first.

Illegal Aunt

Democrat in New York, NY — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:41:33 EDT

So, now we have this story out of the administration (leak of course) that Obama's aunt is living in the U.S. illegally. Can we say these republicans will stop at nothing to hold on to power, even sell their mothers to middle east terrorists for prostituting themselves. But here is what I don't get. They, that includes the media as well, keep bringing up Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright, Ayers, Rezko, and now the crazy illegal auntie. Where is the story about Palin's relationship with the fascist party of Alaska? Where is the story about Palin being found guilty of abuse of power? Where is the story about McCain's S&L fraud relationships? These stories were covered for basically 5 minutes and then dropped but Joe "the dumb" plumber and socialist crap has been aired for the past two weeks non-stop! If we lose on Tuesday it will be because we (the democrats) didn't fight back. When someone fights dirty you need to get down and dirty also to take them out. After all we aren't running to be saints, we are running to run the country.

Palin is great!

Democrat in New York, NY — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:05:39 EDT

So according to Pat "the loser" Buchanan Palin is just wonderful and the future leader of the republican party. I just hope we don't have to see her as the veep because it will be horrible. She can take the republican party and run them into the ground for all I care. But this farce about her being a great veep or even president is absolutely moronic. All these dumb republicans keep talking about her having executive experience. That's like saying a manager of a mcdonalds' store should be made CEO of GE! While their other argument is that Obama doesn't have executive experience. Well, if you are ready to have a mcdonalds' manager be CEO of GE then I am sure you have no problems with a U.S. Senator, a position that involves having to make decisions about the nation, becoming president.

McCain's Chappaquiddick

John Dukovich — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:54:10 EDT

Did John McCain kill someone with his car while he was a young Lieutenant in the Navy?

For the past two months, a major American magazine and an allied news service have been engaged in a legal battle with the United States Navy over records that they believe show that John McCain once was involved in an automobile accident that injured or, perhaps, killed another individual.

Vanity Fair magazine and the National Security News Service claim to have knowledge "developed from first-hand sources" of a car crash that involved then-Lt. McCain at the main gate of a Virginia naval base in 1964, according to legal filings. The incident has been largely, if not entirely, kept from the public. And in documents suing the Navy to release pertinent information, lawyers for the NS News Service allege that a cover-up may be at play.

(Read more here)

Voting is personal...

Cactus Wren - FIRED UP to take on McBush! — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:43:26 EDT

I have to tell you, today I voted for Barack, and I cried. After I wrote this, I remembered that there was a wonderful video during the primaries, and I really did not feel the intensity of it until I voted in the general...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBVKsartJFs

At the U of A Student Union, I was just a few blocks from where I was when I heard that Dr. King was assasinated, and less then that far away from where I was when I heard that Bobby Kennedy was assasinated. The lifelong friend I was with on both of those days (and actually on the day we got the news about JFK), has since died of breast cancer. We had our children, passed middle age, and I wish she, and my Nana, who took me to my first civil rights march in Oakland, could be here now, and go with me to the polls.

There, at the Union, I was right on the Mall where I helped plant 444 crosses for Arizonans killed the Viet Nam war, including several classmates. Then again today, while walking back to work, I passed a corner where two ROTC students in uniform had tried to take a box of black armbands from me, destined for my department faculty for that Viet Nam moritorium day observance. One of our linebackers, "Bad Brad" who was in my English class, appeared suddenly, put his massive hand on my shoulder, and asked "Do you have a problem with my little friend here?' Brad was as tall as a tree, well over 300 pounds, and very black. Needless to say, these two little bullies scurried back into whatever rat-hole they had crawled out of to shove me up against the wall.

I moved back here in 2000. I work for right on the UofA campus. I am so blessed to be able to vote for Barack in a place where I was such an young college student activist, and to walk by these places that are connected to that past. I know Barack is not the perfect progressive candidate, but I believe that he can bring us together, and heal many of the ancient wounds.

The odd thing is, that McCain missed all of these years of the American Experience. I had friends and family members on the ground and at risk during the entire Viet Nam war, and prayed for there safe return every day. But two, two-year, tours were the max. John was in the hell-whole when Dr. King and Bobby were assasinated. He missed, through no fault of his own, the terrible shootings at Kent State, the Democratic Convention Riots, watergate and the impeachment hearings - he has failed to connect, and possibly this has a lot to do with it...

I also realized, when he seemed so unpreturbed by the horrible crowd behavior at the Palin rallys that he missed the horrible Wallace campaign, and all of the ugliness of those years. He just doesn't get it, because he missed the experience. Anyhow, I started this to tell you how I cried, and how much it meant for me to vote for Barack Obama, and his vision.

I have been off-line since just after the primaries, unless I go by a café, or stay late at work...and I can't deal with the negativity of the dem HQ crowds here, as I am more like my candidate in terms of knowing that inclusion and reaching out are only harder when all this division has become entrenched.

Every few decades, it seems as though we check into recovery with a democratic slate, and everything gets balanced back, we DO redistribute and life gets better... Presidents FDR, Kennedy, Clinton...and then we (yes we, red or blue) always seem to forget and go back to that addiction to power and greed, until we get so sick, and so divided -- and have to go back to rehab again.... Having watched this silly cycle for more than half a century I pray that we can cross back to being a great nation again, and finally kick the colonial attitude and all this false pride that just gets us in trouble.

Just to rekindle the hope, and keep us all energized over the next few days, one of my favorite campaign videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBk32JsV9l8

Barack, YES WE CAN! And we all need to, and will take up our part in rebuilding this great nation...

Palling Around with Harmless History Professors: John McCain and Rashid Khalidi

Mark C. Eades — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:06:47 EDT

Following the failure of their "Bill Ayres Strategy" to cause major problems for Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin have stumbled upon a new bogeyman from Obama's past to sow suspicion in voters' minds: Rashid Khalidi, a Middle East history professor at Columbia University, whose ties to the Middle East and the Palestinian exile community include no evidence whatsoever of terrorist activity or support. The McCain/Palin campaign has decided, however, that Khalidi is a shadowy figure with suspicious ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and with whom Barack Obama has a suspicious relationship because the two apparently attended a dinner together and said nice things about each other. I guess that means Obama has been "palling around with terrorists" again.

What John McCain seems to have forgotten, however (in addition to the number of homes he owns), is that he has far deeper ties to Khalidi than Obama has. While he served as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI) during the 1990s, McCain distributed several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including one worth nearly half a million dollars. A 1998 tax filing for the IRI shows a $448,873 grant to Khalidi's Center for Palestine Research and Studies for work in the West Bank (see grant number 5180, "West Bank: CPRS," on page 14 of this PDF.) The relationship between McCain and Khalidi extends back as far as 1993, when McCain joined the IRI as chairman in January. The IRI helped fund several research projects by Khalidi's organization in the Palestinian Territories that year, including over 30 public opinion polls and a study of "sociopolitical attitudes" among Palestinians. Khalidi's organization has also received financial support from the American Academy for Arts and Sciences, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Foundation for Democracy, none of which are known for funding terrorist organizations (see Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, MSNBC).

Rashid Khalidi's only offense is that he has published opinions on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict with which strong supporters of Israel might disagree, and with which Barack Obama has in fact expressed disagreement. The right to express opinions with which other people might disagree is guaranteed by the US Constitution, and is a cornerstone of modern higher education - a fact John McCain seems to have forgotten, just as he forgot how many homes he he owns and how many grants he issued to Khalidi's organization back in the '90s.

How many more times must we listen to John McCain and Sarah Palin make sad, desperate attempts to pin other people's words and deeds on Barack Obama? Simply knowing someone doesn't make you responsible for whatever that person might have said or done in the past. Neither Bill Ayres nor Rashid Khalidi are advising Obama, serving on his campaign, or likely to serve in his administration. End of story.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com