Hard to believe this is more than 25 years old. Even harder to believe that this looks like John McCain’s dream political rally.
Here is a sign that your campaign is coming apart at the seams. At a rally at Iowa State University, the heart of “Red State Country”, your campaign starts booting out college students because they “didn’t look right“. Now I’ll admit that the word “tolerance” makes me itch because it has been overused by the hypersensitive granola-eating wimps who want us all to join in a rousing chorus of Kumbaya every night, but turning away people from your own political rally because they “didn’t look right“? If your campaign is so worried about hecklers that you have to canvass the crowd ahead of time to get rid of troublemakers whose only sin is “not looking right”, then how do you expect anyone to trust you long enough to let you lead the country? What does “looking right” mean? Is there a dress code for Republicans now? Are you kicking out anyone who isn’t quite white right enough for you, Senator McCain?
So ya thought ya might like to go to the show.
To feel the warm thrill of confusion, that space cadet glow.
I got me some bad news for you, Sunshine.
Pink isn’t well, he stayed back at the hotel,
And he sent us along as a surrugate band.
We’re gonna find out where you fans really stand.
Are there any queers in the theatre tonight?
Get ‘em up against the wall. — ‘Gainst the wall!
And that one in the spotlight, he don’t look right to me.
Get him up against the wall. — ‘Gainst the wall!
And that one looks Jewish, and that one’s a coon.
Who let all this riffraff into the room?
There’s one smoking a joint, and another with spots!
If I had my way I’d have all of ya shot.
I hate telephone advertising. While I realize that this is a controversial choice, I am prepared to defend my position against the hordes of angry defenders of the right to interrupt my dinner while peddling your bullshit product/service/charity/political candidate.
That said, a couple of things have happened recently that have made me rethink my opinion.
Electing Barack Obama will put your children in danger
Barack Obama is soft on crime
Coddling criminals and putting them on the streets early
Willie Horton, there is a call for you on the white (fear) courtesy phone!
Of course, the only reason they were asked to read this script was because it illegal to robo-call in the state of Indiana. If you’d like to hear the ad as it ran in other states, here you go.
If you don’t feel like listening…
Hello, I’m calling for John McCain and the RNC, because Democrats are dangerously weak on crime. Barack Obama has voted against tougher penalties for street gangs, drug-related crimes, and protecting children from danger. Barack Obama and his liberal allies have a disturbing history of coddling criminals. so we can’t trust their judgment to keep our families safe. This call was paid for by the Republican National Committee and McCain-Palin 2008 at 866 558-5591. Thank you, bye
Hey Senator McCain, if minimum wage phone monkeys can see through your bullshit, how well do you think this is going to play with the rest of the country? Maybe you could outsource the calls to India since they neither know, nor care, about you or the American public.
Think about this for a minute, telemarketing is one of the slimiest professions known to man, even prostitution is more honest about what it is than a telemarketer who calls during dinner asking to speak to Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so about something “REALLY important”. If these guys are saying “No thanks, I have standards.” to your message, then maybe you should re-think the message.
Maybe if you were more like this guy, you could have Sarah Palin do something useful for your campaign.
Bravo! Some McCain supporters with sense chased away some folks who were offering more “Obama is a Muslim” rhetoric at a McCain/Palin rally. I have been a very loud voice in bashing the bigots among us, but it makes me hopeful that there are those who support McCain who will not stand for this foolishness. It pleased me even more to see a representative of the McCain campaign flatly state that they do not want these bigots and their so called “support” in the upcoming election.
It seems that the good folks at In Jesus (Mexican Gay Porn?) have solved the mystery of why a formerly respected Republican “Maverick” has turned into a doddering fool in only 8 short years.
I especially like how they refer to Senator Obama as “B. Hussein Obama”. Nice touch, as if we didn’t quite get the hint that Obama was a “Scary black Muslim who practices witchcraft and is going to kill us all once Satan makes him President of the United God Fearing States of Holy Jesusland.”
Among the more ludicrous claims…
Obama is 75% Arab and a Muslim. (so which one of Obama’s grandparents is the non-arab? Would it be the ones from Kenya? or the two who lived in Kansas all their lives?)
Obama’s cousin, Odinga, wakes up at 3:00 AM every morning to lay a new curse on John McCain and Sarah Palin. (“Hear me mighty mum-fu-fu, spirit of politics! May Sarah Palin be forced to appear on a weekly comedy show!“)
Obama’s family are simultaneously Muslim, Satanist, and “Tribal” (Does that mean that Obama finances his campaign from Casino revenues or something?)
Oprah and her “200 million followers” all support Obama (This one might be close to truth, although I am not sure the number is as low as 200 million.)
“Dick Morris of Fox News” was sent to Kenya to help Obama’s cousin run for president of the country! (OH THE HU-HANNITY!!!)
I think the most interesting bit of information from these lunatics is that even the rabid Krispy Kristian Koalition thinks that McCain “looks confused and like an idiot”.
There’s a campaign slogan for you. “John McCain, even the religious nutbags think he’s lost it.”
This should come as no surprise because there is one former Bush cabinet secretary who still has his personal integrity intact. There is one former Bush cabinet secretary who saw what was going on 4 years ago and said “No, I will not be a part of this.” I’m talking, of course, about General Colin Powell.
In case you need a refresher on the circumstances behind Powell’s departure as Secretary of State, the Bush administration forced Powell out because he was frequently at odds with cabinet members such as Donald Rumsfeld. Powell never went public or spoke negatively about his time in the administration and has consistently taken the high road in all discussions on the matter. As a result, he has maintained favorable opinion with most of the American public, and his endorsement of Obama is a severe blow to the McCain campaign.
Predictably, McCain has moved to counter the blow by mentioning that every other living Republican former Secretary of State has endorsed Senator McCain. To paraphrase Chris Farley… La-deee-Fricking-dah. Republicans endorsing one of their own is no surprise, and frankly, not much of an endorsement. Is there anyone out there who thinks “Well, Nixon’s Secretary of State endorses McCain. That’s good enough for me!”
Having a former member of the current administration endorse the candidate from the other party, on the other hand, speaks volumes about the ineptitude of Bush and, by extension, a presumptive McCain administration.
Sure, you might see the Al Jazeera logo at the bottom of this screen, but those are Americans that are making us look bad, not the announcer who just happens to be speaking the truth.
Let’s address these comments one by one… They are all ludicrous to the point of hilarity, but for the sake of argument, I’m going to tackle them anyway. I need the laugh this morning.
“I’m afraid that if he wins, the black will take over”
Yeah, because he’ll pass that “Kill Whitey” law that the black community has been clamoring for all these years. Pay no attention to Congress or the Supreme Court or the fact that the President can’t pass any laws on his own. Whitey is gonna PAY when Obama is in the White (racist) House.
“He’s not a Christian! This is a Christian Nation!”
Oh, so then the Reverend Jeremiah Wright scandal was completely made up! How could Obama have anything to do with Reverend Wright if he isn’t a Christian in the first place! It still amazes me that a constituency that can recite the Second Amendment so passionately and eloquently is completely ignorant of the First Amendment. You remember that one, right? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”? You can find it just before you get to the part about “Freedom of Speech” which is another clause that the Republican Party likes to ignore.
“When you’ve got a nigger running for president, you need a first stringer. He’s definitely a second stringer”
Maybe if Obama broke into a chorus of “Mammy”, he could move into the starting lineup, eh? What’s the matter? Is Obama not “uppity” enough for you, Mr John Deere hat?
Fuck. We’re 30 seconds into a 2 minute video. It gets worse.
“He seems like a…wolf in sheep’s clothing. Now Palin… She’s filled with the holy spirit.”
She’s filled with something alright. Seriously, if Christians are this stupid, how did that religion survive for 2000 years? I know this is a fundamentalist minority in Christianity, but let’s compare a list of atrocities between Christianity and Islam some time. It’s easy to blame “Islam” for the world’s ills, but don’t forget that our side has a few extremists too.
“He’s related to a known terrorist”
Who? Did Bill Ayers adopt him or something?
“He is friends with a terrorist of this country”
This would be an inconvenient time to bring up the connections between the Bush family and the Bin Ladens, eh? The Bill Ayers story has been beaten into the ground already. The fact that this “connection” is gaining traction with members of the Republican base says more about the intelligence of the average republican voter than it does about Senator Obama’s character.
“Just the whole… Muslim thing and everything”
Sorry lady, you can put it in vague language all you like, but you’re still a bigot. A bigot that is too stupid to understand that Obama is not a Muslim. You’re part of the problem.
“Obama and his wife… I’m concerned that they could be anti-white”
Project much?
“I don’t like the fact that he thinks us white people are trash.”
Not all white people, lady. Just you. In this case, he happens to be right.
The commentator in this news video introduces the video, then does not speak again until 1:20 of the 2:08 video. The pictures tell the story. The commentator introduces a pro-Obama protester, who happens to be white and is called “Baby Killer”, “Nigger”, and “Muslim” by the Republicans in attendance. He plainly states that he is afraid that one of these whack-jobs is going to try to kill Obama, and his fears aren’t that unreasonable.
“The divisive nature of this campaign has brought out into the open what is usually discussed behind closed doors in America. It’s a reminder that hate and fear are still powerful forces in American deciding(sic).”
The one good thing about all of this is that it is bringing racists and racism out into the open again. Let the world know where you stand. Are you a racist, bigoted moron? Or not? Why is the Republican party such a stronghold of white racism? Why do racist minorities flock to the Democratic party? Let’s not pretend that only white people are idiots like this. What is it that is keeping racism alive, and how do we kill it?
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone use “quotation fingers” around the word health.
“So called ‘heath’”?
“Alleged ‘health’”?
“‘Health’ is just a code word for a welfare mom who doesn’t want to hatch out a 17th kid”?
“‘Health’… is the extreme pro-abortion position”
WHAT?!?
Damn those mothers who want to keep on living. How dare they inconvenience our health care system with their silly desire to breathe. Sorry, I can’t even mock this idea effectively because it’s too ridiculous on it’s own merits.
Abortion is none of the government’s business and watching the religious right try to fight this issue is a comic exercise in ignorance, prejudice, and stupidity all rolled into one.
Schieffer: But even if it was someone — even someone who had a history of being for abortion rights, you would consider them?
McCain: I would consider anyone in their qualifications. I do not believe that someone who has supported Roe v. Wade that would be part of those qualifications. But I certainly would not impose any litmus test.
Schieffer: All right.
No, it’s not all right. In one sentence, McCain says that someone who supports Roe v Wade is not qualified to be a judge on the Supreme Court. In the VERY NEXT SENTENCE, he says “I certainly would not impose any litmus test”.
Litmus Test: A litmus test is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office, the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would choose to proceed with the appointment or nomination. (The expression is a metaphor based on the litmus test in chemistry.) Those who must approve a nominee, such as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, may also be said to apply a litmus test to determine whether the nominee will receive their vote. In these contexts, the phrase comes up most often with respect to nominations to the judiciary.
If you’re going to bullshit, at least put in a couple of sentences of fluff about how you are fighting for a person’s right to life. (even though you support the death penalty)
Then, of course, there is Joe the Plumber…
I have a few questions for Mr. “The Plumber”.
1) Since when do plumbers make more than 250,000 per year? (No, really… I might consider a career change)
2) According to the data provided by CNN and mentioned in an earlier column here, the tax burden for people making between 250,000 and 650,000 dollars will increase, on average, by 12 dollars per year. If such an additional burden means that you are now unable to afford to buy your own business, then isn’t your capital stretched just a little thin already?
3) How, exactly, did you manage to appear on Fox News almost immediately after your “spontaneous” encounter with Senator Obama?
Wait just a minute…
In the first few seconds of this clip, you mention that your business makes between 270,000 and 280,000 dollars per year.
You’re seriously telling us that paying an additional 12 dollars per year in taxes (on average), one dollar per month, is the difference between you being able to afford your own business and not being able to afford it?
Bullshit.
In fact, since I will admit that I’m using an “average” figure to come up with 12 dollars/year, let’s look at EXACTLY how much more “Joe the Plumber” will pay in taxes under Obama’s plan.
FACT: Obama will raise the marginal tax rate on income greater than 250,000 dollars per year from 35% to 39%.
FACT: Marginal tax rate affects only the income within a particular bracket.
CONCLUSION: Given Joe’s statement that he makes between 270 and 280 thousand dollars, here are the numbers.
270,000-250,000 = 20,000 dollars taxed at the highest marginal tax rate.
280,000-250,000 = 30,000 dollars taxed at the highest marginal tax rate.
Under the current tax code, Joe pays between 7,000 and 10,500 dollars per year at the highest marginal tax rate. (35%)
Under Obama’s tax plan, Joe would pay between 7,800 and 11,700 dollars per year in taxes at the highest marginal tax rate. (39%)
Net difference: 800 dollars per year.
So 800 dollars per year, not counting the elimination of Capital Gains taxes for small businesses is the difference between “Joe the Plumber” being able to afford his own business and not being able to afford it? Sure, that’s a bit more than the 12 dollars/month cited elsewhere, but we haven’t yet discussed the savings from Obama’s “Making Work Pay” program that would put an additional 500 dollars per year in Joe’s pocket (whoops, final number just dropped to 300 dollars per year) nor have we mentioned reductions in lower marginal tax rates that would bring the overall tax burden down significantly.
800 dollars per year translates to about 16 bucks per week. (300 ~ 6 dollars/week)
Perhaps if Joe cut out a couple of six packs per month, he’d be able to afford that business of his after all. The fact is, if the success or failure of his business depends on less than 20 dollars per week, maybe Joe is riding a little too close to the edge, financially, to be successful as a business owner at this time. Maybe another year or two might help Joe stabilize his financial position to the point where a cup of coffee each day won’t be the difference between success and failure.
While watching the debate last night, I thought that McCain clearly outperformed Obama in the first 30 minutes or so. The “Joe the Plumber” references were really hitting home and illustrating the difference between McCain’s plan and Obama’s plan. The problem is that folks like you and me can go back and check the facts, run the numbers, and watch previous speeches and debates to see where candidates have fudged facts or outright lied to us.
In fact, Jon Stewart and friends have made a rather successful TV show based on this concept. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
I just got home from a weekend excursion to Alabama. My wife and I took in an Auburn football game (brutal loss…) and spent the weekend visiting her family. All in all, it was a relatively pleasant experience…
Except for…
As you might have guessed by now, I’m backing Barack Obama in this year’s presidential election. If this surprises you, I would invite you to click on the Politics category and ready pretty much anything you find there. While I knew, intellectually, that Alabama was “Red State” country and largely in support of John McCain, I really didn’t understand, in my gut, what that meant until I went to the game on Saturday.
Maybe you’ve heard those stories about people at McCain rallies who say that Obama is ‘an Arab’ and dismiss them as the rantings of scattered morons in a sea of otherwise rational human beings. I talked to more than a few McCain supporters at the game (a local politician was giving out McCain/Palin stickers, and nearly everyone in the crowd of over 80,000 people had one on), and ‘Arab’ is only the first in an alphabetical list of things I heard Obama called this weekend.
Arab
Communist
Foreigner
Mohammedan
Muslim
The “N-bomb”
Non-Christian
Socialist
Un-American
Uppity
I heard more than one person state flatly that although they knew nothing about Obama’s policies, they would vote for McCain because they didn’t want a black man in the White House. I honestly thought we were past this kind of thing as a nation. These weren’t “Bubbas” wearing overalls and driving pickup trucks. These were men and women whose only distinguishing superficial characteristics from an otherwise intelligent human being was an eastern Alabama accent. These were doctors and lawyers and otherwise educated men and women saying things like “Obama should know his place” and “I won’t vote for any Muslim.”
To be fair, not every person wearing a McCain/Failin’ sticker was racially motivated. I heard folks talk about how Obama was going to raise taxes for them despite the fact that none of the people who voiced this fear were in a tax bracket affected adversely by Obama’s economic plan. I heard folks talk about how Obama was going to make the US weaker even though the current President has done more to damage the United States around the world than any President in my lifetime and McCain’s plan is to continue those policies.
I don’t know what scared me more. The fact that they didn’t know any better? or the fact that the information is so easy to find, yet they don’t care enough to look for it. In a way, it is a testament to the power of the Conservative Christian movement in the south. I saw very little curiosity and a great deal of lock-step dogmatism masquerading as intelligent thought. Having lived in the south for my entire life, I know for a fact that not everyone falls into that stereotype, but seeing such a large number of those people in one place was a bit frightening. Those votes count just as much as mine does, and they put as much thought into who will be the most powerful leader in the world as I might put into which football game I’m going to watch next weekend.
