Hillary plays the race card

Hillary claims the support of hardworking white people in this clip from a May 7th conversation with USA TODAY: "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she says in the interview, which cites an article by the Associated Press. The article supposedly outlines (in Hillary's words) "how Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There’s a pattern emerging here," she said.



Tuesday night, during coverage of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Democratic strategist Paul Begala announces on CNN that the Obama Democrats "can't win with eggheads and African-Americans." Superdelegate Donna Brazile responds by (very politely, with oodles of class) ripping him a new one:



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Listening to: Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven
via FoxyTunes

Rightwing Deadheads?

Left: from postmodernbarney.com

Rightwing Deadheads? An oxymoron, you say. Yeah, I thought so too, but apparently, there are a few. I shoulda known, the very concept of a rightwing Deadhead is a scary thing, and the rightwing facet of that person's identity will invariably overshadow the Deadhead. My question: How can they co-exist? Any ideas?

What other combinations have you encountered that are similarly puzzling? Fascist pacifists? Christians-for-the-USSR? Marilyn Manson fans for McCain?

BACKGROUND: Some right wingnut who claims to be a Deadhead asked ME (note: I did not, and would not have asked HIM) if he could link me (see comments here) even though we disagree politically. I agreed, since I am a very NICE and OPEN MINDED person. However, I didn't link him back, which he didn't ask for.

I have only one 'conservative' (depending on your definition) on my blog roll, and he has been a well-behaved, well-mannered southerner; he writes about state and local politics. I guess I was fooled by my southern gentleman and forgot that most conservatives simply HAVE TO intervene in a coarse and blustery manner and make ongoing pests of themselves, rather as Dubya and Company are presently doing abroad. They confuse their meddlesome ways with actual political opinion.

And so, on this thread, we see him making a general ass of himself. I thought I was very nice, although I did tell him to lighten up and stop hyperventilating. As you can see, he did not argue the facts of what I wrote, since he doesn't know anything. He just fulminated. Fine--as a believer in free speech and an anti-fascist, I don't delete comments unless they are purely obscene (i.e. just asking for blowjobs), or spam running to about 7000 words a post (you know who you are!).

On the aforementioned thread, after I joke that I even let Republicans comment (I do, if they want), Abbaddon climbs onto the soapbox and delivers a speech about His Beliefs:

What makes you think I'm a Republican?

Because I'm not.

I'm not a Christian, either.

Nor am I opposed to same-sex marriage.

Or medicinal marijuana.

Or a woman's right to do with her body as she sees fit.

I am an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment (as all "Liberals" who fear the taking of their rights by the Bush Administration should be but oddly, seem not to be).

I am opposed to appeasement of those who would destroy any human through a peace-at-any-cost policy.

I am a relative pacifist.

I am proud of the US and our collective accomplishments. It is pride born of living in and traveling to some of the worst Third World shitholes on the planet that are governed by corrupt officials that take our money, neglect their people and badmouth us at every turn.

Most "Liberals" I encounter badmouthing this country have never left its borders.

I firmly believe that some people need killing because they are damaged beyond repair.

Is that all anathema to you?

Or just some of it?

Am I a "Republican" in your eyes merely because I take exception to hyperbole borne of an I-hate-all-Republicans-because-I-am= blinded-by-my-hatred-of-George W Bush-attitude?

I have Republican friends, Democrat friends, Libertarian friends and Wiccan friends. I don't judge people based on one aspect of their political point of view. And I don't make assumptions about others based on one aspect of their politics, either.

Note: In all of this fulminating, he does not address the subject of my post or the facts of the case, which was the shootings at Kent State University in 1970. He just goes on and on. (One of the few things I DO NOT hold Dubya accountable for, is Kent State.) Abbadon objects to my characterizations of the Republicans who ordered Martial Law on the Kent State campus (and therefore precipitated murder) as "laying it on thick." And I assumed from this, as well as his pro-war, spoon-fed-from-the-Washington-Times, Kick-Muslim-Ass bloviating over on his blog, that he was a Republican.

Certainly, you can understand that if one comes onto a blog defending Republicans, it is reasonable to assume that you ARE a Republican? If you aren't, and you don't want to be taken for one, how about you STOP ACTING LIKE ONE?

Poor Abbadon is so beside himself at his inability to argue with me, he goes over to his own blog and preens some more about not being a Republican:

ASS-U-ME

Well, maybe not me in this case.

Just for the record, I’m STILL not a Republican.

Not that there’s anything wrong with Republicans.

I’m just tired of people making that assumption because I support our country and our military.

And the Second Amendment. And because I think Obama is an elitist prick who doesn’t deserve my vote.

Update:

I’m also tired of “open-minded” liberals AND lefties and closed-minded Righties and self-righteous Christians.

And anyone else that seems to think their way is the only way to roll.

I replied, quite honestly, that HE IS THE ONE who wanted to LINK ME and then comes over here picking a fight. And what does this so-called PRO AMERICAN guy do? What they ALL do, of course: deleted my comment. (It made him cry!) He defends his cowardly action:

Daisy said (in the comment I deleted): Let the record show you came to my site to pick a fight (or some such shit).

No I didn’t. You acted like a nutter when I tried to set the record straight.

Let THE RECORD show I really don’t give a shit at this point.

Set the record straight? You didn't offer a single FACT of the case. How did you try to do that? What a crock of shit. You came to be disruptive, period. Let the record show, that I don't care either, but I can't resist analyzing the peculiar cultural position you are in. I find YOU a perfect example of how confused and fucked up the right wing is these days.

This discontented, mixed-up person claims to be a fan of one of the most leftist, countercultural bands in history, the band that accompanied Ken Kesey, the Merry Pranksters and Owsley across the USA. How is that possible?

TO THE RIGHT WING DEADHEADS (I don't think there are too many, but I guess there are a few confused, ignorant souls, who never understood the lyrics):

The Dead backs Barack Obama, and if you have a problem with that, take it up with them. DO NOT try to bully old hippie women, because you are too scared to take it up with The Big Boys. Okay? Go to Dead.net (there's the link, I made it easy for you) and post your nonsense there, for all to read.

Do not call yourself a Deadhead, ask to link me for this reason, and then have a temper tantrum because I actually have opinions similar to the GRATEFUL DEAD THEMSELVES. You are the inconsistent, confused one here, not me. Got it?

And cupcake, do not pretend you are pro-American, when you delete dissenting comments that make you cry, okay? Censorship is UNAMERICAN, remember? Do not wrap yourself in the flag and then delete comments: INTRINSIC CONTRADICTION. If you can't handle freedom of speech, Abbadon, please take refuge in one of the male-identified countries in the Middle East that you hate so much--they share your views on censoring women. You should be right at home there.

Reading Abbadon's "open letter to the Grateful Dead" (linked above)--one wonders why he can tolerate dissenting views from the Dead, but not from me or anyone here in Blogdonia. I think they call that acting-out or displacement. He has no control over his world and the people he admires, so he must blame someone else. Whatever, not my fucking problem. Grow up.

Next up, Republicans-Fans-of-Leon-Trotsky, Hookers-for-Huckabee. Play along at home!

Wordless Wednesdays (especially tough for some of us!)

Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is a firestorm - full of intensity and drama. Your thoughts may seem scattered to you most of the time... But they often seem strong and passionate to those around you. You are a natural influencer. The thoughts you share are very powerful and persuading.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

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Listening to: 13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me
via FoxyTunes

Goin Back to Indiana

After all of this bloodletting, will it finally be OVER?

I have been so annoyed by the coverage of this campaign, as well as the dirty tricks, the free ride of John McCain, the media obsession over Reverend Wright, etc... I have been especially unwilling to blog about the Democratic race, because all I could manage was sputtering.

Today is the much-anticipated Indiana and North Carolina primaries. Predictably, more dirty tricks have been uncovered this past week by NPR:

Group with Clinton Ties Behind Dubious Robocalls

by Peter Overby, All Things Considered, May 1, 2008

[NPR] Thousands of North Carolina residents answered their telephones last week to hear this message, delivered in a deep, soothing voice:

"Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return the application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

In fact, the deadline to register for the May 6 Democratic presidential primary had already passed. The robocall went to many registered voters who were expecting to vote that day. The call and follow-up mailings left many wondering whether they were registered for the primary or not.

This sounds like a classic example of voter suppression — sowing confusion in order to drive down turn-out. The calls seemed to be aimed at African-American communities, places where Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is expected to run well ahead of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

But the group behind the calls isn't partisan Republican or ideologically conservative. It's Women's Voices Women Vote, a 501(c)(3) charity that states its mission as registering single women to vote. The robocalls seem completely at odds with the group's usual, upbeat message. In one of the group's public service announcements, the actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus strolls thru a replica of the Oval Office and fantasizes about women electing a woman president (herself, actually, not Clinton; Louis-Dreyfus is actually supporting Obama).

I used to worry that Obama wouldn't be up to the Clintonian attacks, but now I realize if he can withstand this, he should be able to withstand the GOP's full-frontal assault that awaits him.

Clearly, the Clintons play for keeps. More from NPR:

Will Evans of the Center for Investigative Reporting, who collaborated in reporting this story, found some Obama backers among the Women's Voices leadership, but the group mostly has ties to Clinton and her campaign. [The group's founder, Page] Gardner worked on former President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Board member John Podesta was President Clinton's chief-of-staff. Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, used to be on the Women's Voices leadership team and did consulting work for the group.

The Institute for Southern Studies began investigating after receiving complaints about the robocalls. The institute traced the calls to Women's Voices, which has acknowledged responsibility.

The Institute turned up other complaints about the group as well, in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. A "Lamont Williams" robocall similar to North Carolina's ran in Ohio last fall. In Virginia, robocalls days before the February primary caused voters to flood the board of elections with phone calls, in turn triggering an investigation by the state police.

Kromm says this shows at least five months of a "deceptive tactic, illegal in many states." He notes, "Each time this group is criticized for this activity, they apologize for the confusion."

The North Carolina attorney general says the robocalls are illegal. State law requires that automated phone calls identify the sponsoring group and give the recipient a phone number or other means of contacting the group. The Lamont Williams call did neither.

Gardner told the North Carolina elections board that the follow-up mailing would go to 276,118 women. Now, the fair-elections group Democracy North Carolina is working with Women's Voices to pull back as many of those mailers as possible.

And speaking of my popular post about having an African-American name, should we wonder why Mr Robocall's phony chosen name is "Lamont"?

~*~

And by the way, Hillary is now the candidate with balls. Oh boy.

Isn't there some OTHER way, please God, to refer to dogged ambition coupled with an abundance of political nerve, except to name this universal trait after male gonads? What about the nice southern term AUDACIOUS, or words like CHUTZPAH or MOXIE? Yeesh. Politico. com reports:

Clinton may not like the story, but her supporters love it: The sheet metal workers union official in Portage, Indiana cited by [Senator Evan] Bayh had praised her "testicular fortitude" before lighting into unnamed "Gucci wearing, latte-drinking" opponents.

Also last week, a New York Post columnist wrote that she'd won the "cojones primary."

And James Carville, the Clintons' ubiquitous former aide, booster, and informal adviser made the point even more vividly, giving Clinton a two-gonad edge on her primary rival, Senator Barack Obama.

"If she gave him one of her cojones, they'd both have two," Carville said.

The ballsy fighter is the newest persona for a woman whom public life has taken from a liberal policy wonk to a devoted wife, from a wronged woman to a cerebral senator.

Just as this campaign, a campaign that began obsessed with showing strength, was revived with a show of vulnerability in New Hampshire. Last fall, she was the ultimate wonk; this spring, she's emerged as a beer-swigging, never-say-die populist—proud of her toughness above all, mocking out-of-touch elites and deriding economists as a class.

Skeptics might say these kaleidoscopic transformations have been, themselves, a bit ballsy.

Now, the candidate who would be the first woman president is being described as, metaphorically, a man.

And of course, they mean it as a compliment.

(((sigh)))

Stay tuned, sports fans.

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Listening to: Joy Division - Warsaw
via FoxyTunes

Hanson's walking tour in Asheville

Left: Photo by Jonathan Welch for Mountain Xpress.

~*~

As some of you know from my David Cassidy post, I'm fascinated with teenage idolhood in all of its multi-faceted, fun permutations. And I can't resist sharing this story:

Hanson’s big welcome

by Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt on 05/05/2008 for Mountain Xpress

Flocking to Asheville from Maine, New York, Virginia, Tennessee and across the Carolinas, Hanson fans are willing to travel great distances to see their musical idols up-close. More than 400 screaming fans — the majority being young women between the ages of 27 and 18 — gathered in front of the Orange Peel this afternoon for a chance to join the pop band Hanson on a one-mile barefoot walk through downtown Asheville. This is the band’s 66th “Walking Tour” since September of 2007, an event that aims to raise awareness on issues of poverty and AIDS in Africa, while empowering young people to stand up for a cause that they believe in.

But traveling great distances is not the only thing Hanson fans are willing to do to show their support, as Xpress learned when talking to the crowd of Hanson fans.

Michelle Brochon of Long Island and her best friend Katie Harris of Bowdoin, Maine, traveled 18 hours straight to have a front-row view of Hanson at their sold-out Asheville performance.

“It’s a special show because it’s my birthday,” said Brochon, who had been camping out at the Orange Peel since 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (two days before the concert). Brochon, despite sleeping on the streets, enthusiastically told Xpress that Hanson’s music means the world to her because, “They’re my age and they’re easy to relate too. They could have stopped making music, they could have sold out, but they didn’t and they keep making music on their own terms.”

Brochon and Harris were two of the five people who camped out for two-nights at the Orange Peel, and were joined by 60 others on Sunday night.

Along with camping gear, Hanson fans sported hand-made signs, one of which read: “We’re Walking A Mile W/ No Shoes On … What Are You Doing Today?” Other fans proudly displayed their tattoos inspired by the Hanson logo and by lyrics from their songs. One fan had the phrase: “Don’t lose yourself in your fear” tattooed on her forearm.

When the three Hanson brothers emerged from inside the Orange Peel, they were welcomed with ear-shattering screams and a cheer that seemed to ring through the city. They walked from the Orange Peel to Pritchard Park, where Taylor took out his mega-phone and began sharing stories about “The Walk” and the impact it’s made on raising awareness and energy in their generation. “We are the army of hope,” Taylor proclaimed. “We are not an underestimated generation, we have the capacity to make a difference.”

Needless to say, Hanson received a warm welcome from their local fan-base here in Asheville.

-— by Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt, Mountain Xpress.

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Listening to: Uncle Tupelo - Looking for a Way Out
via FoxyTunes