McBush the "Feminist"

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."

So you still think McCain's some "feminist icon" who's advancing women's rights? Think again. Next time he whines about "lipstick", remember this. Remember what McBush & his GOP really think about women.

ENOUGH!

FINALLY!! Someone else gets it. These swift boat attacks on Obama must stop.

Let's do our part to fight back.

Enough With the Racial Attacks

How disgusting! Just two years after the GOP unleashed some of the ugliest racist attacks against Democrats, they're at it again. Now, they've put out a new ad depicting Barack Obama unleashing a "pack of wolves" at Sarah Palin. Hmmm, now doesn't this sound familiar?

"Harold, call me."

"Willie Horton"

"law & order"

"Southern Strategy"

The Republicans have used coded racial attacks to scare white voters ever since Richard Nixon brought forth the "Southern Strategy" in 1968. They used "law & order" to conjure up images of rioting African Americans in the big cities. They used Willie Horton in 1988 to scare white voters with images of a black man sexually exploiting a white woman. In 2006, they resorted to the same message when they used the "Playboy" ad (with the images of a black man having sex with white women) against US Senate candidate Harold Ford.

And today, they're trying to do the same thing to Barack Obama.

As Obama said himself, "ENOUGH!" We must put an end to these racial attacks. Help truth fight back. If you know anyone who's undecided, talk to them about what Barack Obama wants to do for us.

This election isn't about John McCain's history or Sarah Palin's personal life or the many myths being spread about Barack Obama. No, this election is about us taking back our country. Let's remember that, and let's fight back when the GOP tries to distract.

Obama: Back Off Palin's Daughter

As a politician and a father of two young daughters, he better appreciates the dangers of dragging a politician's family into a campaign. From CNN:

MONROE, Michigan (CNN) – Barack Obama told reporters firmly that families are off-limits in this campaign, reacting to news that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant.

“Let me be as clear as possible,” said Obama, “I think people’s families are off-limits and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.”

Obama said reporters should “back off these kinds of stories” and noted that he was born to an 18 year-old mother.

“How a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off-limits.”

The Illinois senator became aggravated when asked about rumors on liberal blogs speculating that Palin’s fifth child - Trig - is actually her daughter Bristol’s. A Reuters report Monday quotes a senior McCain aide saying that Obama’s name is in some of posts, “in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their 'campaign of change,’”

“I am offended by that statement,” Obama shot back, not letting the reporter finish his question. “There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us.”

“We don’t go after people’s families,” Obama said. “We don’t get them involved in the politics. It’s not appropriate and it’s not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought that there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired.”

Senator Obama made it clear. If anybody in his campaign goes after the Palin family, they're fired. We're Democrats. We can do better than attacking a teenage girl.

The media on the other hand...

FACT CHECK: Obama Would "Raise Taxes on the Middle Class"

Check it out. I guess the McCainiacs just got caught with their pants on fire. Too bad for them. ;-)

It's Not About "The Race Card", or "Celebrity", or Even "Moses"

(Cross-posted at MyDD)

Apparently, everyone in the corporate media elite is chattering over whether John McCain's new attacks on Barack Obama are working. All I heard on the talk shows today were "discussions" over "the race card", "Paris & Britney", and McCain "defining" Obama. If one were just to watch the teevee, one would believe everyone cares about whether or not Obama is an "uppity, elitist celebrity".

But you know what? I don't think most people really do care about all the crap. Maybe if the corporate media elite were to look outside their Beltway Insider bubble, they'd see that the American people have more important things to care about.



I live in Orange County, CA, a place known to "lean Republican" (though we're not as strongly GOP as some would believe). If there's ever a place to see what the rest of America outside the Left Netroots thinks, it's here. So one would think that I'd hear all about these attacks on Obama in my recent neighborhood walks.


And guess what? People don't care about that stuff! So far, I haven't run into one voter in my neighborhood walks that has asked me about "Obama playing the race card" or "Obama acting like an elitist snob". No, they actually have to worry about keeping their homes out of foreclosure and jobs from being lost. These people actually have to worry about their relatives in Iraq and their kids breathing polluted air. Basically these regular people have real life problems to think about, so they're not obsessing over stupid crap like the faux scandals generated by the media.

So why is the media letting McCain get away with these ugly attacks on Obama? And more importantly, why are they allowed to spread these smears when the American people want to hear about what these two candidates will actually do about the issues that really matter? When I talk to voters, they don't go on and on about "the race card" or "celebrity". So really, why is the media obsessing over the same old garbage?


Well, we're not totally helpless. If the corporate media won't talk about the real issues that real voters care about, that won't stop us from doing so. Let's go out, spread some truth, and fight the smears. Oh yes, and let's go out & talk to our neighbors about the real issues. Believe it or not, they care about the real issues as much as we do.

Low Road Express

The Straight Talk Express has taken a nasty turn into the gutter.

Source: St. Petersburg Times

The Obama campaign has started a new website called The Low Road Express, ostensibly named after the New York Times editorial:

Well, that certainly didn’t take long. On July 3, news reports said Senator John McCain, worried that he might lose the election before it truly started, opened his doors to disciples of Karl Rove from the 2004 campaign and the Bush White House. Less than a month later, the results are on full display. The candidate who started out talking about high-minded, civil debate has wholeheartedly adopted Mr. Rove’s low-minded and uncivil playbook.

Visit the Low Road Express for more details on the McCain Smear Campaign!

Beef, Smears, C4O and Other Dramz!

About 2 months ago, give or take - I was approached by psychodrew and atdleft and asked if I wanted to join as a contributor for the blog Clintonistas for Obama.

I went to the site and saw the list of people that were involved. Some of the names I didnt recognize, but others not only did I know - but were some of my favourite people at MyDD. I didn't hesitate in accepting.

Around the same time that I was working on a diary that was not particularly flattering to Obama. I didn't know what to do - should I cross post it or not? Since now it was not just little old canadian gal speaking - I was afraid that the C4O's may not want to be associated with it. So I emailed psychodrew and atdleft asking what I should do. They were split - on one hand we agreed that the C4O are explicitly not cheerleaders but on the other - this would be my first post - would this be a good introduction?

In the end - they both encouraged me to cross post - I did. But the fact that I considered censoring myself due to the political climate should be bothersome to those that share progressive values. For the record C4O do not ask for consensus before posting - although I did this particular time.

Why am I sharing this, or better yet why should you care?

Well currently one of the C4O is being attacked for 'smearing' Obama. We are not a monolithic voice. Just like none of you are. And speaking only for myself is I COULDN'T GIVE A DAMN WHETHER A PRAYER WAS LEAKED OR NOT. And I might add that not only am I Jewish but have been to the Wall.

But that's not the point of this diary really - rather that this hysteria of criticism of Obama - whether accurate, warranted or not needs to stop. *YOU* ARE NOT A PURVEYOR OF DISCUSSION THAT IS ALLOWED. Now that isn't to say that there are some blatant troll diaries around like this or this, but I think the disctinction is pretty clear to intellectually honest people.

We, as bloggers are not water carriers for a particular candidate but rather united in are desire to see liberal (or Democratic) values and agenda in governance (at least most of us are).

I read a piece at Talk Left that summed this problem up rather nicely:

Consider how some on the Left react to any criticism of Barack Obama. Instead of thinking about the ramifications for the policies they claim to support (or oppose), their kneejerk reaction is to defend Obama at all costs and to lash out at anyone who criticizes Obama.

Do they care about the effect on the actual policies? Not so much. By attempting to create a political landscape where Obama can do no wrong - they lose the war on issues.

So really this has got to stop. People have a right to gripe and complain about Obama and anyone else, you want to debate them - go for it. That's why its called Democracy!

Tuesday Strategy Session: Defending Wes Clark, Stopping "PUMA", Saving the Constitution

(Proudly cross-posted at Democratic PartyBuilder) Hey, everyone! I'd like to start a new tradition here at C4O. I want for us to do a weekly strategy session, when we can all get together and discuss some important action items. So are you ready to join me for our important weekly strategy session? First off, I want us to talk about the new right-wing smear campaign against a promiment "Clintonista for Obama" and good friend of ours, Gen. Wesley Clark. Because Wes Clark isn't afraid to tell the truth about John McCain's dangerous plans to keep our troops mired in Iraq indefinitely, the radical right is now having its friends in the corporate media trash the General. That's why VoteVets now has a peitition up for us to support Wes Clark. But still, what else can we do? Can you help me come up with ideas? In other news, Chris Dodd is asking us to become citizen co-sponsors of his amendment to the FISA compromise bill that would strip retroactive immunity from telecom companies that aided and abetted the Bush Administration in warantless wiretapping. What else can we do to support Dodd? What can we do to save our Fourth Amendment privacy rights? There's a great group up and running on "MyBO" (the Obama campaign's online community) calling on Barack Obama to do the right thing... How can we support their efforts? And finally... We just have to figure out a smart strategy to take care of "PUMA". One of our fabulous community members informed me about Yes to Democracy, a fantastic clearinghouse site where we can get the real facts about what the "PUMA movement" is all about. So what can we do to support their efforts to actually support what Hillary Clinton is calling for us to do? We now have a wonderful group of committed Democrats that's continuing to grow and flourish... But what can we do to take that to the next level? I'd love to have your input. OK, so do you need a quick review of our agends for this week's strategy session. Well, here goes: - Defend Wes Clark Against the Right-wing Smears - Save our Fourth Amendment Privacy Rights - Stopping the "PUMA Madness" Are to ready to help me do something? :-)

So Now He's a Bad Christian?

I really wish the VRWC would make up their minds already. Last week, it was the terrorist fist jab. Today, he’s bad a Christian, this smear, via the Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family. Dr. Dobson resurrected a 2006 speech by Senator Obama on the need for progressives to reach out to people of all religious faiths, including the traditionally Republican evangelical Protestants:

But what I am suggesting is this - secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King - indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history - were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Moreover, if we progressives shed some of these biases, we might recognize some overlapping values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We might recognize that the call to sacrifice on behalf of the next generation, the need to think in terms of "thou" and not just "I," resonates in religious congregations all across the country. And we might realize that we have the ability to reach out to the evangelical community and engage millions of religious Americans in the larger project of American renewal.

Here is the offending passage:

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.

According to Dr. Dobson, Obama was “dragging biblical understanding through the gutter” and “distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own…confused theology.” Apparently, there is only one good way to read the Bible. That’s bad news for the millions of Christians, myself included, who believe that Dr. Dobson’s selective interpretation of the Bible is a distortion of Jesus Christ’s message of love, forgiveness, charity, and tolerance.

Of course, distortion is a tool regularly used by Dr. Dobson. In December 2006, Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice-president Dick Cheney, announced that she and her partner of 15 years were going to have baby. The right wing religious groups that have supported the Bush administration, who had been able to overlook Mary Cheney’s homosexuality up until that point, reacted with disgust and outrage. Dr. Dobson responded by writing a guest column for Time in which he argued that being raised in a home with same-sex parents was harmful to children:

With all due respect to Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, the majority of more than 30 years of social-science evidence indicates that children do best on every measure of well-being when raised by their married mother and father. That is not to say Cheney and Poe will not love their child. But love alone is not enough to guarantee healthy growth and development. The two most loving women in the world cannot provide a daddy for a little boy--any more than the two most loving men can be complete role models for a little girl.

The social-science evidence he cited was conducted by Dr. Kyle Pruett and educational psychologist Carol Gilligan. Both experts were outraged that Dr. Dobson attempted to use their research to discredit same-sex parents.

From Dr. Kyle Pruett:

Dr. Dobson, I was startled and disappointed to see my work referenced in the current Time Magazine piece in which you opined that social science, such as mine, supports your convictions opposing lesbian and gay parenthood. I write now to insist that you not quote from my research in your media campaigns, personal or corporate, without previously securing my permission. You cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles. There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions. On page 134 of the book you cite in your piece, I wrote, “What we do know is that there is no reason for concern about the development or psychological competence of children living with gay fathers. It is love that binds relationships, not sex.”

From Carol Gilligan

Dear Dr. Dobson:
I am writing to ask that you cease and desist from quoting my research in the future. I was mortified to learn that you had distorted my work this week in a guest column you wrote in Time Magazine. Not only did you take my research out of context, you did so without my knowledge to support discriminatory goals that I do not agree with. What you wrote was not truthful and I ask that you refrain from ever quoting me again and that you apologize for twisting my work.

With Obama actively reaching out to the evangelical community, this attack should come as no surprise. However, Dr. Dobson is no friend of John McCain, having recently repeated his pledge not to vote for him. CNN alluded to more personal reasons for Dr. Dobson having lashed out at Senator Obama. He was apparently angry at having been compared to Rev. Sharpton, whom many conservatives perceive as racist.

Regardless of his motives, expect Dr. Dobson and others to continue their attacks on Senator Obama and his family. With conservatives on the defense, unable to provide a positive image of America to voters, their only path to victory is on the road of fear and hate. He’s a Muslim. He’s a terrorist. He attended a racist church. His wife is an angry, black woman. She hates “whitey.” He wants to negotiate with terrorists. He’s a sexist who doesn’t respect women.

Be aware. Be ready. Fight back.

Note: During the primaries, I made it clear that I was unimpressed with the speeches that so excited Senator Obama’s supporters and I didn’t understand how those words qualified him for the presidency. However, as an Obama critic, I must acknowledge that this speech on religion is impressive. It is well worth a read.