A Open Letter to My Fellow Democrats
By Chuck Taylor on May 25, 2008 at 9:42 AM in Barack Obama, Democrats, Hillary Clinton
In recent months, I’ve been sitting quietly for the most part, not saying much but reading an awful lot. The emphasis is on the word awful.
I’m a Democrat. I’ve voted Democratic, for the most part, for candidates for local, state and national elections for almost fifty years. Sometimes it’s with a little misgiving, as in the McGovern campaign, where he only carried one state and DC against the likes of Nixon. And sometimes it was with enormous enthusiasm as with the Kennedy campaigns.
It’s been sad beyond words at times, especially when RFK was assassinated. And it’s not been without disappointment, either with failed elections like Al Gore and John Kerry, a failed campaign like Teddy Kennedy, or a failed presidency like Jimmy Carter. But I’ve never made to feel that I didn’t belong in my Party.
Unfortunately, one campaign’s advocates, and particularly those who are using the blogosphere to state their views, have finally gotten to me, the way no Republican ever has; not the CREEP supporting Nixon camp nor the Christian zealots that helped force Bush-II down our throats.
I’m going to say this once: it’s not per se bigotry or racism to honestly believe that some other candidate would be the better standard bearer for the Democratic Party and would be the better person to lead the country.
It’s not pandering or disloyalty to question the qualifications and motivation of any candidate and to examine their background, education, sources of income and support, voting record, and associations. To raise questions or concerns about a candidate is not grounds for any member of the Party to be disinvited to participate, encouraged to leave, or to have their motives, judgment, or sanity impugned.
The invective I see hurled at large numbers of members of the Party in good standing is perhaps unprecedented especially when amplified by the great megaphone of the Internet. Many of us have been around longer than those who are the loudest. When members of our Party say they would prefer that the right of participation in the electoral process be protected and cherished, it would be well to understand the motives of members who have seen not one but two successive Presidential elections stolen by chicanery and outright thievery because we didn’t have a theft-proof majority.
Make no mistake about it, friends, the right to vote is under assault by those who would establish a “permanent majority” so as to make constitutional checks against tyranny, oppression, and partisanship a nullity. To join in the same tactics of those who would strip the rights of the elderly, the poor, the non-white population who are otherwise as equally qualified as are each and every one of you, is to join in a reprehensible campaign to place the government in the hands, not of those who consent to be governed, but of those who can afford to pay for their privileges and advantages.
Many of you who have cried, “But the rules… “, have probably not read them. You might want to since they provide for hearing, compromise, fair treatment, and for seating all or part of delegations in precisely the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Certainly, the voters in Florida and Michigan, and those who voted in non-binding primary states have some expectation of having their views represented and should not be punished for actions taken by others including the other Party.
Frankly, extending the franchise generally, even within the Party, would only strengthen our ability to succeed in elections where broad appeal to the sentiment of the voters is the key to success. To say that someone’s opinion shouldn’t count merely because it is different than yours is the antithesis of what we should hold dearest. Alienation of significant numbers of those who identify with the Democratic Party is only a plan to return to the sidelines of governance where “State Secrets” and “Unitary Executive” trump “Congressional Oversight” nearly every time.
If you want to continue for four more years of frustration and inaction against an entrenched and highly partisan administration all you need do is discount and disown a significant body of the party in a way that is designed to have that segment read out of the Party so that they will sit on their hands in the general election or vote for the other candidate. Nobody has a lock on truth in an election. If you cannot reach across differences in the Party and embrace your fellow Democrats, you have no hope of reaching across differences beyond our Party in attempting to govern this country, no matter what the campaign slogans may say.
Divide us at your peril.
Fifty Years a Democrat
(Release: November 13)
on sale for only $16.95.
has a spatula.)
8% Off at $11.95, with a rare five-star ranking by 294 customers: 
And check out these: 
("This crazy redhead is on to something. Her pink Rambler story alone is worth the price of the book," writes 
- “Richard Sale’s reportage on Washington, the CIA, the American armed forces, and foreign intrigue has created a perfect background for this account of the steady growth of President Clinton as a master of the game of nations.”--W. Patrick Lang, former head of Middle East Operations, DIA
"Anne C. Heller's stunning biography of Ayn Rand" uses a "plethora of newly unearthed research and fresh insight."
There is a big wave of democrats waiting to switch to Republican or Independent. It is for the DNC to save their party if they want.
Clinton should be top of the ticket and OBama can be considered her VP. Anything else is going to get moderate democrats to switch party.
I’ll keep my registration Democratic, for now. Come November, if things go as I expect, I’ll be writing in Hillary Clinton or voting for McCain. I’ll be damned if I’ll empower the likes of a Reid, Pelosi, or a Dean.
I have said many times, I am writing in Hillary Clinton and working and voting for Democrats who support her. I will actively works against any Democrat who supports Obama. To me, you cannot support a candidate who allows the disenfranchisement of voters. That is my litmus test.
In my state, there is no registration requirement for Party ID. Therefore, I do not have that option.
But, I will be working with the Third Party here as well as Clinton Democrats.
Please investigate doing this, because I have heard some pollsters speak who can show you
how this might actually help Obama in close races if Hillary is written in.
The only vote against Obama is a vote for McCain.
Writing in Hillary will not produce the desired result.
Considering I read yesterday that Obama’s people have already chosen someone to take the DNC leadership from Dean, we could expect an endless stream of hand-picked Obama candidates for the next several elections. I’m understanding the strange loyalty of people like Richardson now, in a clearer light. I understand it… they are dangling the carrot a revolution in the DNC, taking over the Party to shape it in their own fashion. Anyone siding with OBama will be “in”, those with Hillary will be left out.
you know.. that whole “join the movement” thing that’s plastered all over Obama’s site. Unfortunately for them, millions of us won’t be going along with the “movement”, and if he gets the nod, he’ll fail so miserably against McCain that the movement will become an albatross.
Even if he wins the GE, and has a fruitless and poor 4 years (much like Carter did), due to his inexperience, the Democratic Party will be cast into the “wilderness” exactly as it was after McGovern and Carter.
Obama is simply NOT QUALIFIED.
I read that too and my radar is going off big time!!
Right ON! Words of Wisdom 4 sure!
I agree, that’s a serious concern for me: should Obama be the nominee, if my vote in any way helps the DNC and him win it will be vindicating and rewarding this atrocious and disgraceful behavior. The Democratic party was supposed to stand for the people, for women, the voters; a fair democratic process.
The way they have treated HRC and her supporters has to be clearly rejected at the voting booth. Otherwise, make no mistake it will continue on the same path and become worse.
It is undoing decades of progress for example in the treatment of women at the workplace: if the DNC and a presidential candidate (Obama) allow and encourage the things that are being said on TV and written in blogs and newspapers NOW. Why do you think it will change once they are in office?
It is already happening; people feel more “relaxed to joke” using language 1 year ago would definitely get them into trouble –or wouldn’t even think about using.
And if all these are allowed in the media and higher office then why not at the workplace? Who will enforce anything?
We know the Reps. won’t. So we need to force the Dems. to stop it, pay attention and change their behavior. And the only way to do that is to reject their actual course and tell them: NO. Think again.
Be aware that each state has varying rules about write-in votes, and they’re quite dicey. For instance, many states tally write-in votes for the Democratic nominee, and will generally go to the NOMINEE.
So if you are certain that you do NOT wish your vote to go to Obama if you write-in for Hillary Clinton, the answer lies in not voting at all, or voting for McCain.
If the purpose of anyone’s write-in vote is to really count for something, it is my view that a vote for McCain is in order. Local Board of Elections should be asked for opinion regarding write-in policies.
i will not even vote for hillary if obama is the vp if hes on the ticket im switching to independent and voting mccain my whole family will to ….
ditto
Except that we have just held over 50 contests to decide who the nominee would be and Obama is the winner. It’s astonishing to me the people like yourself who think that Clinton should just be awarded the nomination even though she lost. It’s insane. Truly.
I was a Democrat for 37 years. I loved my party. We stood for gender and racial equality, stood up for the working man, stood up for the common man.
Yesterday I recieved my Independent Voter ID card. I was made to feel unwelcome in my own party. But , then again, I was just a member of the core Democratic base, and expendable in the view of the race card playing, sexist elitist, Obama.
I will follow Hillary Clinton anywhere. I will follow Barack Obama nowhere.
You should not be giving up this soon in the fight.
Obama and the media want you to think the campaign is over for Hillary and that she should give it up. The roar for her to leave will only grow louder if Obama reaches 2,026 delegates.
That’s because the DNC wants Hillary to solve the problem which was of their making…
namely the theft of Florida and Michigans delegates.
Listen…
When the convention starts — so long as Hillary (who won FL/MI) has not quit — there will be no justification for using the 2026 number (which exclues FL/MI) rather than the 2210 number (which includes FL/MI).
Although a First Ballot count may be inconclusive in determining a nominee, Florida and Michigan will have to be counted on the 2nd and all subsequent ballots.
A brokered convention is our only hope!
(Do not buy the Obama/MSM lie that a brokered convention would be a bad thing!)
By definition, I am part of the Obama “creative class” (graduate degrees, living comfortably, liberal on social issues).
But frankly, the ARROGANCE of the Democratic Party in “not needing” the old coalition and “forging a new one” deeply offends me at my core.
I do not believe in cultural arrogance. I do not believe in disenfranchisement of voters. I do not believe that only certain parts of the Democratic coalition “matters.”
Everything Obama and his supporters purport to believe in is deeply offensive to me, even as a “creative class” member.
Everything the DNC has done this time is deeply offensive to me, as a lifetime Democrat.
I’ve already changed to Independent.
I’m DONE with these arrogant pricks.
And if you’re listening or reading this blog, Axelrod, you can kiss my you know what. It is you and Obama and his supporters who have divided my party.
And I resent it, DEEPLY.
The DNC and many SDs truly believe this problem is nothing more than a bunch of sore losers. What’s odd to me is that they are applying the attitudes known about Obama’s supporters to Hillary’s supporters.
That’s foolish. We’re an entirely different group with quite different political experiences. I’ve only won 1 real candidate in my lifetime, and that was Bill Clinton. I’m quite used to losing.
In fact, I’m astonished when I win much of anything in the political front.
We’re also not the types to fire off letters much. I think there are a group of Hillary supporters who fall into that group, but the vast majority of us haven’t ever gotten into that type of action. I personally only sign petitions when they are part of a true national message action led by a reputable source. My letter to the SDs was to use their judgment and ask for their support for Hillary. Nothing more. I have responded to the DNC only when money requests came in. As a demographic, in other words, we’re much more likely to be silent. We’re not the bloggers of the world.
So the message coming into the party leaders who tried to pull of this shenanigan should be viewed as merely the tip of the iceberg. We are the group who doesn’t say alot and just votes otherwise. Oh well. And once you lose us? You’re probably going to have a hard time winning us back.
That’s human nature. We tend to be in the group that is loyal. We don’t switch back and forth like trout. We don’t make decisions based on one vote or even one issue. So it’s fairly hard to get us off-track.
Obama succeeded. LOL* He managed to drive away the loyal Democrats.
You just couldn’t make this year up if you’d tried.
You need to switch now and send a letter to the DNC telling them why.
They need to know the fate that awaits if they nominate the wrong person.
We have met the enemy , and he is us.
Slouching toward defeat in November?
well said,what the obama supporters dont seem to understand is that a lot of us are americans first and democrats second.i for one can never vote for someone that has since he was a teenager associated with people that are clearly antiamerican,those of you that support obama can say well you cant judge him by his associations.let me remind you of a couple of sayings my parents hammered home to me while i was growing up,you are judged by the company you keep and if you lay down with dogs you are bound to get fleas.i confess i dont understand how anyone who takes the time does not come up with the same conclusions most of here have ,that he is unfit for the presidency and a danger to the country.remeber one other tried and true saying ,if it walks like a duck,quacks like a duck it must be a duck.
See Thanks — For The Vitriol..
Beautifully written. Thanks.
I read today’s post-mortem editorials on Hillary’s remark, with the usual dose of adjectives describing her as “pathological,” “sociopathic,” etc., and I was reminded of a short, brief remark made by someone on here that stuck with me: “Survivor generation.”
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that’s a huge part of what we’re seeing in the press. It’s the popularity of shows that portray humans as unprincipled, backstabbing, over-emotional, and mean-spirited that has become the mark of the generation that has turned Hillary into the one “voted off the island.” These are the “winners.” Those who play fairly? They are the losers and jeered for stupidity.
And so we have been voted off the island, too. Oh, sure, they would like our vote. But not our thoughts, our experience, or our sensibilities.
Just the votes, please, and then we’ll go right back to bashing you, too.
When you said “Survivor Generation” at first I thought you meant those of us who grew up before the advent of a Polio Vaccine with the threat of Nuclear Annihilation over our heads.
A time when schools were segregated and blacks rode in the back of the bus.
A time when a sitting President could be assassinated and half the country would cheer.
A time when there were riots in the streets and protesting students were shot dead by those charged with protecting and defending the Constitution.
Now I see everything that Democrats who went before being sacrificed on the alter of cowardice these last two years by our party “elite”.
Thank you for the reminder.
And they think they’re fearsome?
Not quite.
A little perspective, here, for them, not that they can see…
anything.
They couldn’t find their ass with a GPS.
“Fearsome”?
Tee Hee!
I was trying to explain to friends yesterday that the worst invectives I have heard about myself and my voting choices have been from fellow Democrats on the blogs and not from Republicans. How in God’s name it ever came to this, I have no idea, but it certainly was from the Obama supporters and always directed at Clinton supporters. No going back. No kiss and make up. Time, money and votes are being withheld.
I sensed that this could happen when I saw the complete lzck of public accontability in the war. I remember all too well. There was public support for Bush.
Then, it turned.
It fed the fire of anti-Bush hatred. But I’m a big beliver that what you say about your enemy WILL be said about you, pronto.
AnninCa- I’ve been thinking about that so much lately. Though it would seem unrelated, I saw a pic of Madonna and Sharon Stone the other day. They were dressed to the nines for a premiere. They looked great.
However… the comments below the photos were despicable. 99% of them were commenting that they were “old and ugly” in various forms.
And I thought that’s what’s going on now in our culture. You see the comments on the internet about people’s appearance, etc., and they’re all nasty and negative. The only positive stuff you see, in regard to public figures, is comments about a thin and young celebrity who has given birth and gotten thin in record time. Everything else is ugly.
People are meaner. The entertainment people ingest on a daily basis is mostly negative, and judgmental. Especially about women. People say things to each other online that you would never say to someone’s face. If someone like Keith Olberman were to grab a soapbox and give his ranting monologue in a park people would scurry away from the lunatic, and condemn him for his vitriol.
It has definitely become the “Survivor generation”, but also the “Jackass generation” and the American Idol generation”
Yes, my friend and I were chatting last night. Same thing is going on in the work environment. She’s working with a woman who openly sneers at her, is sure to never respond politely, plays office politics like she’s on the Survivor Show. LOL* My friend is very sweet, competent, attractive and valued by the bosses, so it’s not a “real” threat.
But this girl acts like she’s on-line snarking when nobody’s looking.
I just personally think, “There but for the Grace of God go I.” What a negative outlook. Competition, I’m for. I’m competitive. But for gosh sakes, there’s got to be a reason.
My son said, “oh, it’s just on-line stuff.” No, he’s wrong. It’s the editorial writers who sound about like any other bloggers. It’s the TV programs purporting to discuss politics. It’s obviously bigger than just blogging trolls.
They really are out there.
My favorite (including some here) are those who love to label the candidates with psychological terms. LOL* That always makes me chuckle.
Like they would know a psychopath if they met one? That makes as much sense as trying to determine when a pathological liar is telling the truth.
The way I see it is the essential problem is the party has already decided you (we) don’t matter to them anymore. Any last ditch attempt to make the party change course, is, I think, unlikely to have an effect.
This party has decided to go in a different direction and it’s not likely to change unless its leaders are replaced.
The interesting bit for me is why? I’d love to hear some of the decision-making conversations going on at DNC. I’d love to know just what metrics they used to both discount parts of the traditional democratic party and at the same time assume they will return.
They must have done some kind of cost/benefit analysis – don’t you just wonder what that involved? These folks get way down in the weeds when looking at voters and money. I wonder what the tipping points were?
The same metrics that they are using to deny the latest approval ratings.
Bush: 30%
Congress: 18%.
Like this Democratic leadership group is on solid ground? Hardly. I’ve never, ever seen it so low.
That says it all. How can Pelosi and Reid even look themselves in the mirror.
The only conclusion I come to is that they are satisfied that they get a pay check and free medical care plus a cushy retirement when their constituents wise up.
this is the reason we need term limits on these people that just sit and draw a check and do nothing for the people that elect thim ……
Obama supporters are responsible for undermining and compromising our Party’s fragile coalition.
Violent, vicious and vitriolic Obama supporters have destroyed the Democratic Party.
I would say the stupid, wealthy people who finance them have had far more to do with it.
None are impressive, all are kind of dim bulbs, both Republican, and Democratic.
Clinton must take them to court, and challenge them every step of the way, as they have disenfranchised every single democratic voter by illegally declaring Obama the nominee.
Clinton won.
Again, I certainly hope the good lord is smiling, because none of those people, other than Clinton, is intellectually able to lead this country.
Of course, if one wanted to set them up to destroy their OWN corporate infrastructure, which they are, though they can’t grasp how (!) this would be the way to go, dumb Obama…
Speaking of court what about the lawsuit filed by the Florida Democrats.
I frankly agree with you. Huffington Post has done more harm to the Democratic Party than any other single site. The absolute trashing of Hillary was breathtaking.
Today, Taylor Marsh linked an article on that site. I must say, I frankly am offended when that happens.
I think her blog is a cesspool and truly should be boycotted by decent-minded political writers with an ounce of commonsense. I could stand it when the moderation policy allowed for a variety of opinions. Once they started moderating out Hillary supporters, then that turns the site into nothing more than a kind of hate-filled 24-hour-a-day Hillary bashing site.
But….hey, that’s my 2 cents.
Huffblow…is just ANOTHER ELITIST WHORE PROTECTING HER INTERESTS.
NOT EVEN INTERESTING IN TERMS OF POLITICAL OPINION…KINDA LIKE THAT OTHER PHONY ELITIST WHORE…WHAT’S HER NAME…MAUREEN O’DOWIDIOT…MEDIOCRITIES ABOUND LIKE BLOWFLIES AROUND OBAMA.
(I find Huffington’s pieces incredibly boring, too.)
And here’s the irony: My 26 year old son has been a Democrat longer than Arianna Huffington or Markos Moulitsos.
They were both previously Republicans who gleefully took part in the 1990’s trashing of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The rest of us, who have been lifelong Democrats through McGovern, Dukakis, and Carter, no longer matter to the DNC.
Well, ok then. I’m gone.
You know, I’m trying to understand the republican portion of this drive to fix elections, as Chuck alluded to in his post.
I understand the Obama’s and the K**, but what of their freeper counterparts?
There are differences, despite people who think they’re the same, agents of the same parties.
I guess the pajama guy yesterday was a good start.
Makes me yearn to hear acapella barber shop quartets, and polka, I don’t know why.
Huffington is a professional Democratic election loser by design. Her ties to the Kerry wing of the party should make that abundantly clear.
For all her love of John Murtha last cycle, she managed to ignore his opinion this time around altogether.
I consider her a double agent & agenct provocateur in the extreme. Fake leftie. Huffpo is merely the answer to the blogosphere, not a legit part of it. It also makes me laugh to have heard Keith Olbermann refer to her as a “net root.”
You can only go as far as you know, & he seems to feel no need to pop out of his GE bubble.
Minus 6 democratic voters in Pennsylvania is all I can tell them.
I’m sorry I cared & contributed & volunteered & blogged on behalf of the Democratic party since 2000.
They’re the problem, not you, or me.
As someone wrote so eloquently the other day, essentially, it’s our party, they should go.
Thanks for the letter Chuck…I have been a democrat since my first vote in 1979…The only national election I sat out was Kerry because I was frankly still Pissed Off at the Party over abandoning FL and The Hijack of 2000 and not standing up for Gore…THE PARTY BUILT BY FDR HAS BEEN UNDER THREAT BEFORE…BUT NOT BY FASCISM AND NOT WITH THE COLLUSION OF THE MEDIA TO THIS EXTENT..
I WILL NOT SUPPORT OBAMA THE FASCIST…I WILL NOT SUPPORT THE VISION OF DONNA PUTIN FOR A NEW PARTY…AND I WILL NOT SUPPORT THE DEMOGLIARCHY AND THIS FRAUD…
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN AGAINST OBAMA IF CLINTON IS DENIED THE NOMINATION…IT IS THE LOGICAL THING TO DO…IT IS THE MORAL THING TO DO AS OBAMA IS UNFIT FOR ANY POLITICAL OFFICE
If a company’s employees insult you and treat you like shit on a regular basis, do you believe their management when they say oh, it’s just an isolated incident?
SHIT NO. It’s their corporate culture.
Same with the Obama cult. You’re with them, or you’re against them.
(Sounds familiar???)
The Obama cultists make the Obama cult. FUCK THEM. THEY DESERVE TO LOSE, and LOSE BIG.
And how do you fight them, given they’ve exposed their entire arsenal, already?
Join with John McCain. That is what I intend to do. And vote for anything that is opposed to BO. That should say it pretty loud and clear.
I will only vote for the candidate who supports universal health care. Obama does not support it. In fact, he criticized it with Republican talking points in his misleading and deceptive fliers. I will only vote for a candidate who offers truly universal health care, which in my opinion is a core Democratic principle.
Obama is not a Democrat. I will vote for someone who at least upholds those values if Hillary is not nominated. Do not even try to blackmail me. Obama is not a Democrat.
Democrats willing to take a risk to save the ideals of party from the current “owners” of the DNC must either vote Clinton or vote for her if she runs independent, or vote for McCain if Clinton is not on the ballot. I believe even a v.p. Clinton is not enough here. We must vote against the party which we’ve nurtured for so long. Either shake up the current party and enable it to regain its proper footing, or form the basis for a new party. This general election is more important than anything as it is our last opportunity to to refute the unrelenting media trashing of a qualified candidate, the most qualified in my opinion, and the pre-packaging of a product of Chicago corruption as a candidate for POTUS. If Clinton is not the presidential nominee, vote against the Democratic Party in November and make that vote count by defeating the party. Do not fall for a Clinton v.p. tactic. Send a message. This election is the last chance. After this, the “pods” will be in charge and America will be truly without hope.
The Name of the Game is Cash!
Obama’s fund raising machine is comprised of 95% small donations under 200 that are bundled and do not have to be tracked with who is giving.
The rule/justification: its too costly to track such small donations so you can just bundle them = take money from middle eastern interests and launder it as small donations. This will come out.
Few democrats can harness the type of fundraising machine the CLintons have except obama.
Few of the local politicians aka super-delegates have the money to campaign effectively.
Obama has contributed massive amounts of money to super-delegates who have swayed his way, super-delegates who without endorsing obam would be cash strapped for their local election campaigns.
This nominating election has been bought and paid for by the Obama camp with cash disguised as small donations from american voters.
Its simply Amazing that…
Clinton’s Fundraising is 95% from people who have made the max donation of 2300 and CAN BE FULLY accounted for…only 5% of obama’s fundraising money falls in that same bracket.
The Remainder of Obama’s fudraising is 95% from “small donors who have made contributions less than 200 at a time” and therefore DO NOT HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR thanks to the loophole in Election laws.
Not surprised here at all. I’ve suspected he’s been lying.
Today, Obama indicated that voter reaction to FL/MI is nothing more than Hillary stirring the pot.
He is mistaken. He will wish he hadn’t said that, too.
Watch him tank even worse.
When you consider that Obama has claimed to raise ver 200 million this way, and you begin to preak it down that 190 million is from donations under 200.00…
When you understand that he proprots that 1.9 million donors have given an average of 100 dollars each to him…
When you try to reconcile that with hsi claim that earlier he was raking it in from donations of 5 t0 and 20 dollars…
Thats a lot of contributions…I wonder how many of those contributions they will claim came in as 5 10 and 20 dollar bills in unmarked envelopes through the mail…
This crook has an explanation for it i am sure.
He needs no explanation for it, no one will ask him.
I have been anti-Obama ever since he attempted to shove Tammy Duckworth down the throats of Illinois Democrats in DuPage County in 2006. Because he is a machine politician, I cannot cast my vote for him in good faith.
Those who are truly committed to integrity in politics will not cast their votes for Obama if he is the nominee. In fact, they will write their superdelegates and beg them to support Clinton during the convention.
They only see themselves, like the good narcissists they are, projecting their own internal melodramas on the world, the better to feed their dysfunctional egos.
They cannot see the bigger picture, friend or foe.
I will not vote for McCain, this is Clinton’s election, period, I question Mccain’s lobbyist connections, we disagree vehemently in matters of policy. I was disappointed when he, who was tortured, championed Cheney’s position. Where is the spine?
Obama belongs in jail.
Isn’t it childish to think Obama in the White House would remove Fitzgerald, and therfore all criminal prosecution?
Even when the republicans do this sort of thing, it backfires…
There must be so much chaos…
What was wrong with Tammy Duckworth? I heard about that election and thought an Iraq vet would be a good idea. . . .
Agreed. I thought she spoke well, too.
I don’t know anything that was wrong with Tammy Duckworth, but I do know that Marie Kegaless (sp) had, entirely on grass root support, waged such a close campaign that the republican she went up against knew he couldn’t withstand another onslaught by her and announced his retirement.
The democratic party, instead of giving her the support she had won and deserved, turned on her and offered support to anyone but her. I think Tammy had to move into the area in order to qualify to run.
And then Tammy lost although Marie did her best to help Tamy. Marie would have won, but the Democratic Party couldn’t take a chance on her. Sound familiar?
Chuck – so well said!
Do you post at MyDD? If yes, would you consider posting this there? I know they have gone off the deep end, but it’s such a complete expression of individual things that we have been saying for several months, I would, at least, like to know that we gave the kidz a chance to grow up before it is too late.
Those of us who are on the verge of leaving MyDD will try and get your back.
Thank you.
Valid points and well said. A couple of additional points:
1. This time around it is very different: The use of goons and goon tactics to push party people in the desired direction. Normally goons are used against the opposing party not within the same party.
2. You have to question the aims of those willing to use such tactics against those of their own party. To my mind, only someone so full of hatred for all people (of any party) would be willing to excercise such hatred.
I think Clinton knows this guy and his ilk are bad through to the very core of their being. I think that is the real reason she will not quit. I think she is hoping that innocent people will eventually wake up before the nomination and put a stop to him and the party elite who think they can use him for their own ends.
This is bigger than the Parties….CLINTON SEES THINGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE….DANGEROUS FOR AMERICA…HER RHETORIC OF UNITY WILL BE TESTED SOON…EITHER THERE IS A DEMOCRATIC PARTY WHO WILL REDEEM ITSELF OR THE FASCIST TAKEOVER IS COMPLETE…
*** SHE IS THE ONLY FIGHTER WE HAVE…SHE AND HER SUPPORTERS ARE FIGHTING FOR MORE THAN THE PARTY….AND WE ALL KNOW IT…***
Yes, I think so, too.
AnninCa you are so right about the Huffington Post. At one time that was the first site I would go to everyday, up until the California primary. The site consists now of nothing more than hardcore Obama-kool-aid-drinking fanatics and hate-mongers.
I always had a certain degree of suspicion about Arianna in the back of my mind. We knew her in her previous incarnation as the wife of a millionaire Republican candidate for governor of California. She brought the tactics of the other party over to the Democrats when she decided to switch sides.
How do we get an objective media back. When MSNBC puts what I call propaganda on and calls it truth, something horrible is happening. When the country allows Olberrman to speak such trash against a sitting Senator and do nothing about it, I say something is horribly wrong. I have taken MSNBC off my remote, CNN will be next, and FOX after today will soon follow.
Something has to be done about the tube and I don’t know what more I can do. I have written letters (nice letters) until I am blue in the face. The only thing left to think is that they like it this way which doesn’t say much for those watching.
Something else bothers me. The women on the various channels sit there while the men dehumanize Hillary and say nothing. I am outraged at home, screaming at the TV, and they sit there and say nothing. What is wrong with women that they would allow this to happen? Don’t they realize they will be next and there will be no one to speak for them because that is the way it works. I look for character in the faces of some of these women and find nothing. They all look like they came out of the same mold.
THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A GREAT PURGE IN THE MEDIA… It has happened before…anyone remember WAPO during Watergate…The Monopolies have to be split up….
Both Bill Clinton and Al Gore have spoke several times against the conglomeratization of the media. They both believe, as I do, that fair elections cannot be had until the monopoly is broken. It’s like we don’t have a democracy anymore, we have a mediocracy now.
I like to compare media today with health care. It’s up to the consumer to find credible sources and develop a plan for newsgathering, with the help of a few experts along the way whose experience matters.
The network news programs have lost…..you ready?…..18 million viewers in this year. Heard that yesterday. Don’t know about the validity, but I sure wouldn’t doubt it. Most people are not masochists. They are NOT going to try to eat dinner while some TV personality slurs people and screams.
So the simple truth is that we, consumers, need to support writers and journalists who offer credible sources as back-up to articles purporting to state the reality, who clearly indicate when stories are opinion pieces, who are consistently even-handed in attitude and fair-minded when it comes to interpretation……and then “purchase” those services.
When Mr. Coffee makers quit working for much longer than a year, I quit buying the product.
agree with you AnninCA….how astute the comparison…Didn’t you love it when Bill Clinon talked about the Doctors who lobbied so hard to defeat the reform of Healthcare in the 90’s wrote a formal apology to Sen. Clinton stating that they were wrong and contributing across party lines to her campaign….GOTTA LOVE THAT !
*** BILL CLINTON FOR FIRST DUDE ! ***….chuckle….
When I recently asked this same question a poster replied; I encourage people to learn more about this act and if you support it lobby for it.
“The decline of the media started when Ronald Reagan abolished an important piece of legislation in the FCC called the Fairness
Doctrine in 1987. This removed the legal requirement for the media to
provide equal prime time for victims of slander to issue rebuttal. Keep in mind that the media did not slander as much between 1949 and 1987 when the Fairness Doctrine was in place since they would lose tons of money if they had to use up that lucrative prime time for rebuttal, so they were more careful about what they said and they reported more fact than opinion. The opinions that make up the “news” shows today are where the slander comes into play. They have been given a platform with no Fairness Doctrine, in which to say whatever they want about whomever they want and there is nothing to stop them.
Getting rid of the Fairness Doctrine also emoved the legal barriers to monopoly in the media. Now GE (NBC and MSNBC) and Time Warner MONOPOLIZE the market and there is no legal requirement for diversity or slander rebuttal. Thus, you get 24 hour bashing of Hillary Clinton and 24 hour glorification of Obama. Eventually, our media could be nothing but a government propaganda arm.
There is the Media Ownership Reform Act or MORA, which has been proposed but not passed and is scheduled to be reintroduced very soon by Rep Henchey of NY. Here is the info on that:
http://www.house.gov/hinchey/issues/mora.shtml
This desperately needs to be passed, as you can see from the gross media bias in this campaign, but I guess the votes will depend on who GE buys off to protect their turf.
Reply With Quote
they are in most cases younger women..they have never been without the rights we fought for them for….i say…they should be wary of what they wish for..they just may get it..and then they will have to fight for the rights we fought for them for ..they are in for a rude awakening!! and they deserve what they get!
I remember fighting to be the first woman in a winning professional teams locker room..and finally getting permission..but i would not go in without the rest of them women..to be with my husband..and their husbands…..and fighting for rights for women reporters to get the same access as men..well..it wasn’t that long ago..and they can easily be turned back..isn’t that what we are seeing now..the smearing of a qualified woman over and incompetant man , non qualified man??????
Those smug young women on the news casts smear and jear Hillary at their own peril..and in a way..i hope it is their peril..because it came to easy for them..so they don’t give a rats ass ..who or how many fought for their rights.
Those rights can easily evaporate..and like i said..they will have earned what is coming to them!
I for one am damn tired of fighting for them!
fu.. kem
oh and about that glass ceiling …….hahahahahaha..
yes the smear women at their own peril..
fly
http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2008/M5/C00431445.html
OBAMA FUNDRAISING INFORMATION:
SUMMARY
5. Covering Period 04/01/2008 Through 04/30/2008
7. Total Receipts This Period 31,922,904.75
Contributions by State
NO STATE WAS SUPPLIED 12,048,335.09
Contributions by Zipcode
NO ZIP WAS SUPPLIED 12,391,737.91
Contributions by Employer
NO EMPLOYER WAS SUPPLIED 12,622,560.25
Contributions by DateMarch 26, 2008 2,300.00
March 28, 2008 2,300.00
April 01, 2008 12,448,371.03
April 02, 2008 258,992.41
April 03, 2008 354,611.69
April 04, 2008 381,733.29
Disbursements by Purpose
MEDIA BUY 18,441,935.30
Disbursements by Payee
GMMB (? http://www.gmmb.com/main.htm) 17,115,960.21
Now Compare to Clinton’s Numbers
SUMMARY
5. Covering Period 04/01/2008 Through 04/30/2008
7. Total Receipts This Period 26,911,626.98
Contributions by State
NO STATE WAS SUPPLIED 5,965.00
Contributions by Zipcode
NO ZIP WAS SUPPLIED 61,689.21
Just a couple indicators that might be interesting. anyone want to start analyzing the cooked data?
WTF? Where is the media reporting on that stuff?
My favorite Obama doublespeak is when he and his campaign boast that the majority of donations are over $5.00
Notice the language? He’s not saying under, he’s saying over. Yeah.. 200k bundled would be over $5.00
i saw obama dancing in the streets of puerto rico yesterday, looked real presidential, what a disgusting sight…….also some reporter got close to him and said he reeked of cigarette smoke. i thought he told everybody he quit ? more lies everyday. the rezko trial is with the jury, we should know the verdict next week. i hope he is found guilty and obama is then charged in that whole mess. that is only one of the reasons hillary stays in the race. you just never know what might come up.
There are no people of real courage in the media. If an Ed Murrow were around today, he’d/she’d be exposing the media gang bang the way Murrow exposed McCarthy. There is nobody in the media capable of doing this today. The people must speak out. If Obama is the nominee and, let’s say he puts Warner or Webb on the ticket, how do you defeat him other than voting for McCain or bringing a third party candidate on the scene very quickly who can command at least 1/3 of the vote? Polling shows HIllary as a third party candidate can command 20-22% of the vote and possibley upset the election. But once she leaves the Democratic Party, there’s no going back and she would most likely destroy her career. So, if she’s not the nominee, a vote against the Party must be a vote for McCain. If anyone else has a better strategy, please say so because I’ve never voted Republican in my life and I hadn’t planned on doing so until the DNC and media made every effort to destroy Hillary Clinton.
BTW, I looked up Tammy Duckworth (who lost her congressional election) and she’s an Iraq vet who lost both legs and a vocal opponent of the war. Her husband is also a military person who was also deployed in Iraq. Lots of stuff on her at Wikipedia.
I get the the theme and the perspective of your open letter and thank you for it’s even handed composition.
In highlighting the current dysfuntional condition of the Democratic Party, it will take some kind of leap of “faith” to “unify” the party.
The damage is almost complete. The simple fact is it can not be undone and looking ahead in the next few months will only be made worse.
Obama said Thursday in Florida he “doesn’t want to jump the gun”…he has.
As a long time Indie, I have voted mostly for democrats most of my voting life. I will not do so this year. I will vote for Senator Clinton only if BO is no where to found on the ticket. I will vote against any democratic that supported BO.
I will not support any candidate that has used criminal and immoral behavior to gain station on the backs of those citizens they (BO) they were elected to represent.
OBAMACRATS ARE TRULY VILE
I for one do not want our nation governed by a party of racists, butif it is to be run by racists I would rather it be by American Racists and not the Communist racists. Would reparation also be in order for the millions of poor white folks too, who have worked for below the minimal wage level that defines poverty? Who would represent them in case Obama gets the nomination? Seeing as how the church he attends has lready stated his hatred of whitey.
how can one man declare himslef anything when the majority of Americans have voted for the other candidate??????/ why have we so easily taken back seat to this thug..and why has Hillary been shoved aside..when the majority of Americans have voted for her..in big dem and swing states!
the media..and youth..so lets shove back..turn them off now,.and keep them off!
kick them in the nuts with your remote!
shut them down!
fly
Why Pelosi and Reid thinks they can dramatically change my opinion if they support Obama? These people have amnesia, but I don’t, i remember the poll regarding jobs well done compare to Bush and congress got lower votes than him. It only shows losers magnetize each other. I’ll support Hillary through and through but no VP for me.
Remember this, people: Most of the BO cultists are Democrats du jour. The DailyKos guy was a REPUBLICAN until recently. Same with Ariana Huffington.
They’ve hijacked the Democratic Party for their own pet project (BO).
Hillary was a Democrat when BO was in diapers.
Chuck, thank you for your very apt post. I’ve been a democrat for 37 years, and you have expressed much of what I am feeling. I’ve voted for many democrats who weren’t my first choice, and who I didn’t even like that much. But I never doubted that they were democrats. I never doubted that their policies would reflect democratic policies.
But not this time. There is no way in hell I will pull the lever for Obama, if Hillary is not elected. I cannot and I will not sanction what he stands for. It is too repugnant to me. I don’t like McCain either, but even he is not the ultimate disaster that Obama will be. Electing McCain won’t split the democratic party into little pieces that will never heal, or elevate Obama’s cronies to top positions in the party where they can destroy it more. I’ll hold my nose and vote for McCain, because in 4 years I’ll have another choice. And that time it won’t be Obama, because he’s going down to McGovernesque defeat if he is elected.
Well said, Mr. Taylor. I hope you continue to not “sit quietly”; your insight is sorely needed.
Thanks Chuck! This just served as a reminder for me to make this month’s donation to Obama! I suspect they need a little extra to counter faux Dems like you and your crew here.
I’ve been having a lot of angst about this election and my first reaction was like many here,to leave the Party. I refuse to do that, because I refuse to let a small faction of crooked politicians highjack my Party. That said, I have decided to do something proactive. that is to get involved at the local level. I mean basics: poll workers, election watchers, etc. Rather than just give up and let them win, I’m going to fight back. If enough of us get involved we can take our party back. I learned a long time ago that politics really is bottom up, contrary to what we’ve seen recently. If we are large enough in numbers and we refuse to be complicit at the local level, they have to deal with us regardless of who we are. I had to be reminded by my husband, who is the political operative in the family, how it all works. You build your own machine and if you are large enough and have enough backing, you have the power and they have to deal with YOU. Do what you have to do for this election. After that, GET INVOLVED. You have a pretty good base to work with already on this blog community.
You are right! The party does not belong to this loud minority. They are fringe and always were. They always muck up our ability to elect presidents with these left cliff Marxist whackjobs. They are loud and high energy but they always get the shaft in the general election. They are NOT the majority. Every time they do this, they register a boatload of young people. McGovern registered even more than Obama has. In the end they are NOT the majority. The next time they try their stunt, this group of young people will be older and smarter to this smarmy crap. Then they will register the NEW young people. But in the end, they do NOT prevail and never will. They need to go back to their own failure fringe parties.
Right here with you Chuck Taylor!
The Democratic Party has long been painted by the Repubs as weak, ineffective, etc. One only has to look at how hard Gore fought in 2000, or how hard Kerry fought in 2004, or how hard our Congresspeople have fought against Jr. these last 8 years, to see that the Repubs are at least partially correct.
Hillary is the best example I’ve ever seen in a politician who is willing to stand and fight for what she knows is right, no matter the odds. Can you imagine if Pelosi had half the tenacity Hillary has? Before Dems even won the majority in 2006, Pelosi announced to the world “Impeachment is OFF the table!” Huh?? These are the people we thought were going to fight for us?
When I see the Dem leadership behind Obama, I know that these are NOT the people who have the drive and determination to fight with everything they’ve got to restore our country and our constitution. At the first sign of possible defeat, they pull back, weaken their position, or lay down and give up.
They could all learn a lesson from our Hillary. You don’t give up and you don’t give in when you’re fighting the good fight.
I am so disillusioned by the anti-Clinton faction of the Dem Party that I will be re-registering Independent if O! is the nominee. My dad and I will not be voting for him. NV has a “none of the above” option which we both will take.
If it takes the destruction of the Democratic Party to kick the entrenched, moneyed, weakling “leadership” to the curb, that’s what it takes. They’ve allowed the party to be dragged slowly and surely rightward to the point it’s now nothing more than Repub Lite. No thanks.
I do realize Hillary is no flaming liberal, but her core issues are progressive and she is definitely left of center, whereas O! is right of center, leaning ever more sharply to the right as he tries to “unify” Washington! Unify? With the Radical Regressives? Be forced more rightward to get along with them? Um. No. No. and No.
obama is the prize fighter
tom daschle and howard dean are the white [managers]
they chose the best one to back so that tom daschle and howard dean [can win] and >make money<.
the head republicans have riped off the country for 8 years.
now the [head democrats] want to rip the country for the next 4 years
they dont want reform, they are the power brokers they want [power and money]
______________
some acuse top republicans and top democrats as wanting the same thing [power and money] and now i see why there is a perminent ruling class in amaerica.
hillary a true reformer ,is [cut down by here own party, for not playing the [power and money game] VERY SAD.
If the Republicans set out to deliberately destroy the Democratic party from within, I imagine the person they would send to do the job would look a lot like Barack Obama.
Yesterday, I received this email from Howard Dean. I couldn’t believe what I read. Especially given the fact I had written my objections and disgust over the way Clinton was being treated and strongly stated there was no way I would vote for Obama even if Hillary were given the VP spot. Has anyone else received this email? What actions are being taken regarding this email or recommendations on how to respond? This “tactic” strongly reminds me of Obama’s underhanded tactics used to secure his seat in Illinois.
Update: John McCain is breaking the law
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 6:09 PM
To:
“CAnn XXXXXXXXXX”
XXXXXX,
Demand that John McCain keeps his promise to the American people. Add your name.I wrote to you in late February asking that you sign on in support of a complaint we made to the Federal Election Commission regarding John McCain.
The complaint was fairly simple. John McCain decided to break a promise he made to the American people — he said that he would accept federal matching funds for his primary campaign, but then backed out of the pledge after he started receiving staggering amounts of lobbyist and special interest money. We asked the FEC to enforce the agreement he had made.
When they didn’t act on our complaint — one that thousands of Americans signed on to support — we sued them. Recently, a federal judge said that we had to give the FEC at least 120 days to act.
Their time runs out in one week, on June 24.
You can put pressure on John McCain to honor his agreement with the FEC by signing your support — we need 100,000 Americans to stand up and demand that he keep the promise that he made the American people. If we’re ever going to have truly clean campaigns, it’s going to take all of us fighting for them.
I know that lawsuits, FEC rulings, and the intricacies of campaign finance law can be a little dry.
But consider this: while both Senator Obama’s campaign and the DNC have unilaterally rejected lobbyist and special interest money, John McCain’s campaign is blatantly breaking campaign finance law to raise as much of it as they can.
John McCain — the self-branded “maverick reformer” — is the exactly the same kind of Republican we’ve seen for decades. He breaks the rules to fit his own interests, and he does it at the expense of the American people and the integrity of the electoral process.
He knew exactly what he was doing when he signed the pledge with the FEC, because that used the money he was promised in return as collateral on a loan.
Be one of the 100,000 people to send a message to John McCain — the law matters, and we’re not going to let McCain and his lobbyist supporters ignore it.
My February email is below. It explains in detail why we’re taking this action.
It’s time to put an end to this, and I hope you’ll help.
Howard Dean
—– Original Message —–
Subject: John McCain is breaking the law
Date: Mon 25 Feb 2008 03:50 PM
From: Howard Dean
The Democratic Party
We are filing a complaint with the FEC. Sign your support.There was a lot of talk last week about John McCain’s blatant hypocrisy on ethics and integrity in Washington.
Here we go again.
McCain is now breaking the law by ignoring the campaign spending restrictions for the Republican primary that came when he asked for federal matching funds — funds he used as collateral on a loan that helped keep his campaign going.
But now that the lobbyist and special interest money has started pouring into his campaign, he’s trying to back out of the promise he made just a few months ago. They’re feeding so much cash into his bank account, this “reformer” wants nothing to do with federal campaign finance laws anymore.
That’s why today, we’re filing a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission demanding that John McCain be held to the campaign finance laws. Trying to back out shows a total lack of integrity and honesty — he made a deal with the American people to to abide by the law, and in return, he was guaranteed taxpayer money that he used to back a loan.
CAXXXX, I’d like you to add your name in support of our complaint, and ask as many people as you can to sign on. American taxpayers made a deal with John McCain — now that he’s flush with lobbyist cash, he wants to pretend that it never happened.
Here’s the background on the situation.
A few months ago, John McCain applied for and was approved to receive federal matching funds. Because he couldn’t find enough people to fund his campaign, he was also forced to apply for a $4 million line of credit, which he secured by using the federal matching funds as collateral.
By taking the federal funding, he agreed to spend no more than $57 million until the Republican convention. But so far, his campaign has spent at least $49 million [but OBAMA HAS RAISED OVER $150,000,000 and has spent MILLIONS, so far on his campaign] — leaving him [McCain]with less than $10 million to campaign with through September.
Now that he’s won the nomination and has the support of the Republican lobbyist and special interest machine, he’s trying to ignore that the whole thing ever happened. He recently wrote a letter to the FEC telling them that he was backing out, even though the FEC is very clear that any request to withdraw from the agreement must be approved; you can’t just change your mind and take it back — legally, you have to be given permission.
McCain isn’t asking because he knows he’ll never be granted permission, and he doesn’t want to have to accept the funding restrictions he agreed to when he used the money as collateral for a loan. He’s ripping a page right from George Bush’s playbook: ignoring the laws when they aren’t convenient and hoping no one will notice.
He can’t change the rules in the middle of the game because he doesn’t like how things are going for him:
Using government programs when it’s politically convenient and breaking the rules when it’s not … remind you of anyone?
Just like George Bush, John McCain thinks he’s above the law. McCain poses as a reformer, but seems to think reforms apply to everyone but him.
Time to send him a message.
Howard Dean
Make a Contribution
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.