Holding the DNC’s Feet to the Fire: An Interview with Marc Rubin of The Denver Group
By Ani on September 21, 2008 at 10:55 AM in Barack Obama, DNC, Democratic National Convention, Democratic Nomination, Donna Brazile, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi
In the face of some powerful Democratic fundraisers/supporters of Senator Clinton and even Democratic legislators now boldly endorsing Senator McCain, it is clear that the wheels may be coming off the Obama/Pelosi/Reid/Dean/Brazile bandwagon. That people would abjectly refuse to support the Presidential nominee and, you should pardon the expression, start batting for the other team, seems shocking. Although given the disingenuous, inexperienced candidate we are supposed to be supporting, not at all surprising.
The media’s pillow-fluffing rhapsodic musings about the Obama ‘movement’ made them abandon their objectivity faster than a child abandoning a broken toy. The DNC gambled on an unvetted, unqualified, well-sculpted concoction of New Age-y hyped up post-partisan platitudes that really don’t make much sense to Americans struggling to keep afloat. Their gamble has resulted in a split of the Democratic Party. No matter what Obama does, his numbers won’t go above 50%. No amount of money, media favoritism, or caucus fraud can change that fact.
What to do now? When in doubt, play: j’accuse!! The media and Dem party leadership have started pointing fingers. Racism!! They cry. Nonsense, I say.
The racism charges have been put out by Senator Obama personally and many in the DNC/Obama wing of the Party. This is a scenario that both they and the media can hide behind to avoid questions and blowback if Obama loses. It’s a way to be insulated from failure so they can still claim to be relevant if the election results in a loss for Obama in this “no lose year for Democrats.” How we got to this place of throwing the far more qualified candidate under the bus will be discussed for some time to come.
What we are seeing is a battle for the Democratic Party itself. Clearly the ‘Howards’, ‘Nancys’ and ‘Donnas’ in the DNC chose to kick the Clinton wing to the curb by forcing delegates to make a selection before it was time to vote and staging an end run around the legitimate nominating process. They did their best to pretend that Hillary’s 18,000,000 voters and her 1912 delegates did not exist.
To that end, Marc Rubin and Prof. Heidi Li Feldman, co-founders of The Denver Group, through the use of grass roots fundraising, both on and off the internet, did a tremendous job of creating and placing effective targeted advertising that added pressure to the decision to put Hillary’s name into nomination and get a roll call vote at the Democratic Convention.
Unfortunately, we all know what happened as a result of the thuggish tactics of the DNC leadership. The only good news is that the reputations and favorability ratings of Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, Harry Reid seem at an all time low. Apparently, someone out there is paying attention.
Marc Rubin shared his thoughts with me about the Convention, its aftermath and how The Denver Group is evolving in an effort to apply pressure for change in the fractured Democratic Party and hold the current party leadership’s feet to the fire.
Marc, looking back, what is your feeling about how the Convention played out?
The convention was a total fraud. The roll call vote was rigged, and every Democratic rule and procedure was violated in order to do it and they did it in broad daylight right in front of the watchful eyes of the news media who have the powers of observation of a drunken sailor on a Saturday night. They just let the corruption happen without comment. Some of the more egregiously blind were Mike Barnicle, Chris Matthews and of course that Olbermann guy who still thinks this is sports.
What would you want to explain about the roll call vote or outcome for those not as intimately involved in the situation? There are still those who think Senator Obama won the nomination “fair and square.” What is your response to that?
Well there is no accounting for people’s ignorance and refusal to think for themselves, but according to Democratic Party rules it was totally rigged. Rule 6, I believe, states clearly that pledged delegates have an obligation to vote according to the voters who elected them based on the primaries.
Just as one example, Clinton ‘landslided’ Obama in the New Jersey primary winning many more elected pledged delegates than Obama. As you saw during the roll call vote all 130 pledged delegates “voted” for Obama. And no one blinked an eye. And as everyone knows super delegates were going to decide this because Obama didn’t have the 2/3 needed in pledged delegates. They never were given a chance to vote. The last unofficial count according to Politico.com prior to the roll call vote showed among super delegates, 271 for Obama, 268 for Clinton and 160 undecided. If the roll call vote was honest, Obama would have most likely lost.
Had you ever been so involved in a campaign? What motivated you to go the extra mile?
What motivated me was unfairness. The incredible deceit of Pelosi outright lying during the primary season, saying that super delegates had an obligation to vote according to the pledged delegate count, the slanted playing field, the deceit and dishonesty of the news media and people like Jonathan Alter, MSNBC and others calling for Clinton to get out, and of course the Florida and Michigan fiasco when Obama and the DNC and the media colluded to deny both states their rightful voices. The last straw was after the last primary when Pelosi forced super delegates to declare 6 weeks before their votes would count so they could short circuit the process and declare Obama the winner when he wasn’t.
As Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania pointed out, the DNC insisted on nominating the weaker candidate. Aside from the obvious consequence of making the election harder to win, what do you think are some of the short and long term consequences of such an action to the Democratic Party going forward?
Harder to win? Try impossible to win. One candidate ‘landslided’ the other in 13 of the biggest states in the country, not just won, but won by landslide margins and they sent out the loser. They deserve to lose and lose big. The short term consequences are short term pain for long term gain because a massive Obama defeat will get rid of Dean, Pelosi, Brazile and the Obama wing of the party and get it on the right track again.
The DNC is using various scare tactics to get everyone to fall in line. What is your response to their favorite ploys?
a) McCain as neocon?
As rated by conservative groups, McCain has the worst conservative voting record of any Republican member of Congress which is one reason Rush Limbaugh hates him. I’m going to write a post specifically addressing all of this because it’s so ludicrous.
b) Threats to reverse Roe v. Wade?
As for Roe v. Wade, it’s designed to scare people who are ignorant of the law, the limits on the power of the executive [branch] and how the legal system works. It’s virtually a done deal that Roe v. Wade will never get reversed in a McCain presidency and if you want proof, no Presidents were more opposed to Roe v. Wade than Bush and Reagan and nothing happened in 16 years of both administrations and for logical reasons. It won’t happen under a McCain administration either.
c) Conservative SCOTUS appointments?
Appointing judges is a crap shoot. Look at David Souter. Besides, even conservative judges respect court precedent and only in extreme and compelling circumstances are willing to overturn long-standing decisions and it hardly ever happens and it wouldn’t with Roe v. Wade. There is a big difference between conservatives WANTING it to be overturned and a court doing just that, assuming you could even find a case where someone with the standing to bring a law suit would do it.
d) What about the DNC and media pushing that if one does not vote for Senator Obama, one must be racist? How effective is this tactic?
Martin Luther King said he dreamed of a day when a person would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. That day has obviously not arrived for Obama, his campaign and those in the DNC, who think making an issue of race and using it to try and intimidate weak minded people is the way to win the election.
Any objective person would come to the conclusion, based on everything known, that Obama doesn’t have the character, courage or the conviction even to be an effective Senator much less President. Using accusations of racism to try and intimidate people into voting for an unqualified candidate will backfire among everyone who sees through it and resents it.
That doesn’t include patronizing knee-jerk liberals such as Keith Olbermann and others like him; the kind of patronizing pseudo-liberals that Lenny Bruce made fun of in the early 60’s, who want to show how un-racist they are by drumming up support for someone with the ethics of a dishonest used car salesman.
But it’s a good reason the polls can’t be trusted. When Obama and his minions try and use the race card to intimidate people, those who do feel intimidated will say one thing but will do another. The more they do it, the more they alienate the people they are trying to win over, so the tactic of trying to get people to prove they are not racists by voting for him, like taking some kind of loyalty oath, smacks of racial McCarthyism, and while it might be successful with some, most people will reject it.
Aside from the obvious wish to scare up voters, why do you feel they are using such a risky tactic?
It is a sign of desperation and reinforces the truth that Senator Obama has nothing to say and nothing to offer.
We have many, many African Americans who have been elected to public office — mayors, governors, members of Congress, members of state legislatures, and none of them had to use race as a tactic to get elected. All were elected on their merits and won re-election or were defeated based on their performances. In the end the more Obama uses race the more he is telling people he has no game.
I understand The Denver Group has a new offshoot — Democrats for Principle Before Party — what are your new goals going forward?
A massive defeat for Obama and the resignations of everyone in the DNC who produced him and the elimination of the Obama wing of the party which is obviously corrupt and putting the DNC back into the hands of people who understand the word “democracy”.
It wasn’t Clinton’s supporters who stooped to the level of the Obama wing and corrupted and mishandled everything, so to start with, Clinton and her supporters would obviously do a better job getting a Democrat back in the White House and getting the entire party back on track after all the “I told you so’s” are over. This also means replacing Pelosi, Reid, Dean and everyone else. If the Democrats retain control of Congress, I can’t see any member of the House with 2 cents for a brain re-electing Pelosi Speaker of the House. Once this is over, we should see a big power shift back to sanity.
When you see how the DNC has so skewed the process this time, what can be done to effect change on a grass roots level? What would be your advice to those feeling completely disenfranchised by the primary season – how can they bring pressure to bear to make sure this sort of thing never happens again?
Vote for an Obama defeat, whether than means voting for another candidate or leaving the Presidential line blank. No money to the DNC, and donating money to The Denver Group to help finance Democrats For Principle Before Party.
Finally, what can you say to those who don’t understand why you are not just “lining up” the way most Dems usually do in support of any candidate? If you could correct any misconception about how they view your actions, what would you say to them?
I’d say they should look at themselves and whether they have decided to believe what Obama and the news media tells them or their own “lying eyes”. Understand that Democrats don’t “fall in line” like Republicans do, that Dean and Pelosi’s “fall in line” strategy has backfired and showed a distinct lack of understanding of who Democrats are, and the last thing I would tell people is do themselves a favor and try thinking for themselves and not believe something is true just because someone tells them so.
But if people can’t see the rank dishonesty and hypocrisy in everything Obama has said and done by now: his lying about [Rev.] Wright and the fact he was never offended enough by what Wright was saying to leave and never go back, his lying about FISA, NAFTA, his reneging on his promises and pledges, and if they don’t mind being led around by the nose I don’t know there is anything more anyone can say.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, Marc. I honestly feel watchdog organization like yours are critical, particularly now, when the media is working so diligently to manhandle the truth. As you and Heidi Li point out on your website, it is crucial to stop all the errant finger pointing and lay the blame squarely at the feet of those to whom it belongs.
I’m not advocating anyone vote one way or the other, but John McCain said something apropos during his convention speech, in re vetoing ‘pork projects’ that come across his desk: “They will be famous. You will know their names.”
A good prescription for the current Democratic Party leadership. Don’t you think?
* * *
*Marc Rubin is an award winning art director and writer in the advertising business, was a contributing editor for National Lampoon in its heyday, the head writer on a number of prime time network TV series and is currently developing several movie and TV projects.
To learn more about: The Denver Group / Democrats For Principle Before Party.
http://tominpaine.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-massive-obama-defeat-becomes.html
Everyone listen. If you believe Obama violated the Logan act go to this link. It’s so easy to voice your concern. We have set up this petition with (www.rallycongress.com).
http://www.rallycongress.com/americansentinel/1223/a-call-for-hearings-into-senator-barack-obamas-violation-of-the-logan-act/
Note: use the “send for free” option.
You have to read this article. Obama’s pro-choice position has gone too far.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/09/nyt_trashing_truthtellers_on_o.html
You know I am for a woman’s right to choose but I don’t think abortion should be used as a form of birth control….I know someone who did that 4 times and maybe more… to stop people from hearing the truth on Obama’s voting record is wrong and for the NYT to cheer this sort of thing on is wrong also…
Is that what people want in America? A woman’s right to choose is one thing… what Obama wants is wrong…
…or how many women and MEN use the “choice” of abortion to justify thier own irresponsible behavior? Ever think about ‘morality’ from that perspective?
If they are not responsible enough to use birth control, is it wise to force them to have the responsibility of caring for an infant/child?
Abortion is an individual choice, one that I think on the individual who has to feed the child should make. not because I don’t know life begins at conception, but because i know that their are far things worse than death. Like a two year old who’s dad told her and her mother that they were going to the zoo. they found their remains along I 20 about two years later. the father had killed them both. when i was a kid I loved the zoo my father got us year long passes and we would go at least twice a month. So to imagine, this little girl being told she’s going to see elephants and tigers, and bears, and lions, and then to find out her self being snuffed out by her father who she trusts. There are things worst than death. However I must say I could not vote for someone who refuses to give an infant who survives and abortion attempt and not give it help. As a nurse i could and wood not be able to comply. I could never leave a baby in a supply closet to die. and something is wrong with any health care worker who can. I can not work around children, or in obstetric I empathize with them way too much. I would probably take apart any adult that purposely hurt one. However once air hit lungs that child is separate from the mother, and becomes a ward of the state, screw mommy, if not then i know a few teen age mothers who flushed baby down toilets or left in garbage cans minutes after giving birth who need to be released. obama’s words was “it’s too traumatic on the mother, to have another doctor come in and examine the baby.” And to know he’s a father, and that he lacks the ability to super impose natasha’s or Malia’s face on an infant bothers me. this man has a complete and lack of empathy for anyone or anything. I actually think bush has a better concept of what people are feeling than obama. I also don’t lke the way that the news media lies about palin’s belief in abstinence only birth control plan, and that she only wants creationism taught when this is far from the truth. And yet they will lie about obama’s policies.
It isn;t about birth control… Its about having some moral disipline and not copulating everytime you get the urge!
Historically that’s not true. Women in marriages wih men who had no regard for their wives who may have had already one too many children and whose sexual urges took prescedence. After 6 children, a coat hanger is tempting in a world without birth control and a husband that might not even respect the rhythmn method.
Today women have more options. And yes, women should be more vigilant about their choices. Men are never going to be this vigilant. And there are no laws that would be fair in a democracy that will make them.
This is where the dialogue should be. Making women understand the realities they face so they can make the best choice.
I would like to see a society which encourages girls, especially under-age girls to think about their sexuality. It seems like a good idea to them to exercise their freedom, but at such a young age, they are condemning themselves to choices they don’t fully understand.
tell you what, why don’t you preach on sunday at your church. you have every right to your views. and i’d fight for your right to have them and fight you trying to force them on me. what i do in the privacy of my home is not your business or the state’s.
Feminists For Life, the group Palin belongs to, do consider things from that perspective.
And some of our historical feminists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton for example, saw the need for abortion as society’s moral failing not women’s. First of all women shouldn’t be impreganted with unwanted children and that is partially a man’s responsibility. But second, women who do become pregnant should be supported enough that they can keep and raise those children. It is the obstacles that prevent women from being able to carry thru in their preganancies that are the real crime, obstacles like starvation, poverty, violence, lack of healthcare.
Abortions have existed forever. They were certainly going on in Elizabeth’s day, long before Roe V Wade. She saw women risking their lives to abort, not because they had no morals, but because they were dealing with horrible choices like bringing a child into the world where it would die before it was five of starvation or disease. People can tell me things are differant now days but that doesn’t explain the fact that the number one group of homeless and hungry people is still women and children.
So, from a feminist perspective I hate the way Roe v Wade is used as if it were the final word in women’s rights. And I really resent how it used as a noose around women’s necks every election year for over 40 yrs now. Trust me, women aspire to so much more then just the right to safely abort an unwanted pregnancy.
Thank you, well said. I’m a pro-choice woman but it is long past time that the women’s movement expand its horizons beyond this single issue. There are so many more issues effecting women both in this country and around the world and we need women (and men) across the political spectrum addressing them.
I feel that the women’s movement has been held hostage by one political party and one single issue for far too long. I think that is why there is so much visceral hate being directed at Palin. She is clearly a feminist and she just might open it (feminism) up to other view points and they (the establishment) don’t like it.
I agree street_parade… and Palin is the best example of a “feminist” I’ve seen in a long time! Hillary layed down the sword - that was her decision and I respect that. But it’s not about “choice” issues. It’s about Women being treated EQUALLY. I am female, I work in the oil field. I know how important it is that women get RESPECT and I know how little they do get… I don;t have to agree with everything Gov Palin says; I still admire her honesty, guts, determination and STRAIGHT FORWARD appreciation of life.
correct; any time a women makes it in a man’s world, it benefits all of us, whether we agree with her politics or not. (and i don’t think palin’s politics are that bad anyway). i worked in mining for a while, and i know what you mean about women not getting any respect. a lot of lefty women who have never gone anywhere they weren’t “supposed” to, don’t understand that real sexism is still out there.
But second, women who do become pregnant should be supported enough that they can keep and raise those children
That’s it, exactly.
I could not agree more.
I feel that this is what first wave feminism would do. I count Kate Waller Barrett, who established the fist Crittenden Missions, among them. Barrett’s POV was that unwed mothers should be given shelter and helped through their pregnancies, and trained in life skills so they could support their babies.
30yrDemnomore
Isn’t more tasteful and ethically correct to allow each and every woman whose body will host the new life to decide what she wants to do with her life? It is ludicrous to want to control another person’s body and impose your own religious, moral views. It’s really fascist-like. Even Palin said that she believes in woman’s choice and she certainly upheld proudly the Constitution on the matter as well as the constitutional rights of gay partners’ benefits. Leave other women alone–unless you want to support their kids or you want to pay for their health and education. And trust me, now that Hillary is not running, there’s no way on earth Universal Health care will be anything but a dream in the near future. That goes for both Tweedle Dee McCave and Tweedle Dumb Obamarama!!
Invoking racism into the election is not about shaming whites into voting black. Invoking racism is to incite racism on the streets to make sure that the minorities vote for the minority and that they make it to the polls on Election Day.
Denise-
Thanks for this link-good information.
Virginia is in the news a lot lately…
I just learned that there is a process called “Early Voting” going on there as of last Friday. So…people can cast their vote for president and if any new information about candidates or issues comes out between now & Nov 4-well…too late for that voter-cant change their position on choice.
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2008/09/21/obama-s-early-voting-advantage.aspx
Obama’s Early-Voting Advantage 9/21/08
TNR
An excerpt…
“Unfortunately, several states now let people vote weeks before Election Day.
As Amy Sullivan (my wife) notes in her recent piece on the subject, Virginia allowed some people to start voting last Friday, and half a dozen states kick off early voting next week.
So a non-trivial portion of the electorate could end up casting a vote before there’s a single presidential debate.
It’s ludicrous.
Having said that, I can see this preposterously early voting benefiting Obama. “
I believe for early voters their choice is carved in stone and no news and no blunder would change their mind even if they waited until election day. I am one of the highly educated who works in THE LEGAL professional community, and among my also highly educated colleagues that say they will definitely vote for Obama, not one of them can give a single best reason to vote for him other than he’s not Bush or he represents change. None of them can answer a question about Obama that is a standard in witness examination, what actions has he taken in the past that would be a fair indicator of how he would react in the future under similar circumstances.
They can’t answer it because they can not find anything he has done in the past. The cognitive dissonance is amazing, the answer I get to this question usually ends up… but Palin still scares me. It is as if highly intelligent people who can analyze complex factual patterns and draw logical inferences from often times what appears to be contradictory facts on the surface can not make a simple judgment analysis concerning Obama other than that he is new.
they’re voting for him because obama’s the “cool” choice. sheesh, what is the democratic party becoming.
yeah well those bitter gun loving blue collars are the majority and THEY VOTE. whereas the so called professional will vote if they can’t get their favorite golf course that day. that is how it has been and will be again.
I’ve heard it said that’s how Obama won the North Carolina Primary, because on election day, polls showed Clinton ahead.
Also, there was the coincidence of the 250,000 ballots - that was the number of early/absentee votes, and the same number with no down-ticket Democrats marked, only the presidential choice, as I recall. That isn’t to say all the ballots without down-ticket candidates marked were early/absentee, but there may be a high correlation. Begs the question: were the all the people who cast votes entitled to vote, or some were only told to vote Obama, so didn’t bother to vote for others, just didn’t care, or what?
I fear the extent of voter fraud that will be attempted by the Obama campaign. Kind of like misogyny - if the got away with it thus far, through the primaries, who’s going to stop them now?
If states don’t cross-check with new voter registration to see if the voter was registered elsewhere, what’s to stop them from traveling to an adjacent won to vote double? Triple? Gives a whole new meaning to “vote early, and vote often”.
SJC-TX
I liked the piece. Thanks.
I am really inept at this blogging business, but I want everyone to get on the Denver Post website to find an opinion piece by Chuck Plunkett entitled “Really, why is this a toss-up?”
I don’t know how to add the link, but here are some excerpts:
“How is it possible that Barack Obama can’t get traction now?
He and Democratic leaders blame the Republicans but, honestly, how could the Grand Old Party have mattered after these last eight, unbelievable years?”
Plunkett goes on to make fun of the Democrats for trying to use the race card, then says:
“If the unthikable happens to the Democrats, what will party leaders do the morning after–after, that is, they stridently challenge the vote?”
They had a winner, 18 million will argue. Instead, they chose Barack Obama.
‘Never again,’ party leaders will say, ‘will we annoint someone untested!’
If John McCain loses, history will remember him as the candidate who beat the odds and ran one of the shrewdest campaigns in the history of campaigns. But if Barack Obama loses, he’ll go down like Icarus, a naive but wondrous mortal who didn’t put in his time and so didn’t know what to do.
Except History would judge Obama far more harshly, because Icarus hurt only himself . . .”
Plunkett also goes on to say this:
“If he loses this election, if he mucks up the best chance the Democrats had to win in a generation, he and the party leaders who went along with the progressives who backed him would be forever cast as wannabe working with has-beens and neophytes who had no worthwhile ideas for voters and no idea what was coming.
“‘Audacity’ would become synonymous with foolish pride.”
I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS IN A COLORADO PAPER.
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10503528
There’s the link.
Thank you Mr. Rubin. And, since the convention, Obama has hoped you would not notice the changes he’s made to his website:
http://slate.com/id/2200517
That is Obama.
“Always change you can believe in”
katmandu-thanks-good link!
Obama is playing the race card, and the media is helping him. I just hope that the overwhelming support of the media doesn’t translate into votes on the ground. There has to be a back-lash from the voters. Obama has a definite edge cos the democrats are more trusted to manage the economy ( read William Jefferson Clinton). In around 2 weeks, the polls will stabilise. Hope McCain can pull this off.
benny — I don’t care if its Obama playing the race card or its the media finally coming to the realization that Obama cannot and will not win. Just as long as he loses — they can say what they like. I am beyond guilt for him. I care more about the millions of Americans who were duped by Fanny Mae and Freddie Mack. He didn’t mind taking tons of money from people who set out to screw ordinary people and now are left with this mess — which McCain predicted.
Send this immature hopester back to the Senate — and as for Dean and Pelosi send them packing.
I was wondering if someone could start a petition to go to MSNBC, CNN, NBC, etc that we could sign stating our objections to the media’s bias and outright pushing for Obama.
benny-
to your point about Obama playing the race card.
He was and he is-right from the beginning of his political card and judging by how little we know about what really happened during his college & law school days-he may have been playing the race card then too.
These 2 articles describe the ‘Race Card Strategy’ as used by Sen Obama and the people who helped make it happen.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=aa0cd21b-0ff2-4329-88a1-69c6c268b304
The New Republic, “Race Man” by Sean Wilentz
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070219/hayes
The Nation, “Obama”s Media Maven” by Chrisptoher Hayes. 2/19/08 issue
You are so right about the purpose of the racism card and it has been true from day one. It is not designed to guilt trip nobama people into voting for him. That is a ridiculous theory since humans do not work that way. No, the racism that Obama ignites is about firing up his base and particularly getting AAs and youth to vote. These two groups tend to be overwhelmingly for O but they are also far more likely than any other group to not vote. Early voting means that these people can be identified and tracked to make sure they do vote by the election day deadline and Obama workers have a full month to follow-up on them and make sure their ballots are cast. Contrast this with an election day ballot only—the logistics of identifying them and dragging them to the polls keeps their turnout low.
Fantastic post, and I am really glad to see the focus coming down to ‘defeat BO by a landslide.’
Let’s make history.
PUMA!!
kal — yes let the landslide begin.
Off topic but worth discussing. Last night Saturday Night Live went so far over the line that I will no longer watch the show. In order to parody what the hard left believes to be smears againsts Obama, they did a skit in which the media alleges that incest has been going on in the Palin family. That’s right: incest. It was one of the most disgusting and unfunny skits ever performed on Saturday Night Live. I hope everyone continues talking about this and not letting SNL and NBC off the hook for this. In fact, I hope someone writes a piece on this abomination for No Quarter.
Yes, but you know I’m really grateful when the absurdity starts coming from our comedians instead of our politicians.
I don’t like incest jokes either, but at least SNL was attempting some satire. The people over at Kos were trying to be serious and that scares the crap out of me.
but the media is a tool for far-left politicians, so same-same.
still, i agree with your premise.
who knew the new left is the old right!
Going off topic on this one. This is a bit long, but I was touched by this PUMA:
(Sept 20, 2008)**** Firsthand Report***** I Was Invited To Speak As Hillary Supporter For McCain At Campaign Rally
As a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, I recently had the opportunity to give a speech at a McCain rally as to why I have now switched my support to Sen. McCain. In private e-mails with friends and forum members I have been encouraged to post the text of my speech here for everyone to read.
I can honestly say it was well received by the target audience and I was completely shocked to receive a standing ovation. What I spoke of that day was spoken in truth and from my heart. I hope all here will find it inspirational. Here is the text of my speech.
Good morning! I am so honored to be here today, and to speak to you about why I am supporting Sen. John McCain for President.
A supporter of Democrats my entire life, I was an avid supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton. But, when she suspended her campaign in June, I knew I would throw my support behind Sen. John McCain. Not out of anger or spite, but because Sen. Hillary Clinton was right when she said she would bring a lifetime of experience to the White House, Sen. McCain would bring a lifetime of experience to the White House, and Sen. Obama would bring a speech.
It was a simple decision and now I am the State Chair for “Citizens for McCain,” an organization founded by Sen. Joe Lieberman for Democrats and Independents who put their country first and support the candidate for president who has a proven record of bipartisanship politics.
I agree with Sen. McCain on many issues – the important issues. I trust in his plans for energy independence, tax cuts, creating jobs for Americans, better health care, and as a mother of a soldier who has served in Iraq I trust him to bring our troops home safely and in victory. I trust him to get the government’s spending under control and I trust him to implement policies that will return the strength to our economy and ease the burdens so many Americans carry each day. I trust him to do those things because he has promised those things.
And Sen. McCain says what he means and he means what he says. He is a man of character and those seem to be in short supply in Washington these days. But, Sen. McCain has lead the way in character for many, many years.
I want to relay a story to you that was first presented in the New York Times Magazine in 1997.
In 1982 when Sen. McCain was first elected to the House, Arizona Democratic Congressman Morris “Mo” Udall took him in hand and Sen. McCain has said Mo reached out to him in 50 different ways. Four years later when he was elected to the Senate, Sen. McCain said he felt his greatest debt of gratitude was to Congressman Udall, saying “There was no way Mo could have been more wonderful and there was no reason for him to be that way.”
In the late 1990’s, Sen. McCain made the trip every few weeks to a veteran’s home not far from our nation’s capitol to visit Congressman Udall, who by then lay ill and crippled with Parkinson’s Disease, twisted and disfigured. Udall was rarely conscious and even when he was, showed no signs of recognition.
On one particular day, a nurse entered and said “Almost no one visits anymore.” Once one of the most sought-after men in the Democratic Party, Udall lay dying and was visited regularly by only one single old political friend – Sen. John McCain.
Sen. McCain has reflected on how it affected him when Mo Udall took him in hand all those years ago. Sen. McCain said it was one man saying to another that while they may disagree in politics they didn’t disagree in life. That party political differences only cut so deep. It was the reason Sen. McCain continued to visit Mo Udall, long after Udall lost his political influence. You see, the politics were never all that important. It was the friendship. Congressman Mo Udall died in December 1998.
But, Sen. McCain didn’t forget Mo Udall’s kindness and he carried it forward. When Sen. Hillary Clinton arrived on the Senate floor in 2000, she wasn’t warmly welcomed by the good-old boys club. But, there was one man who was there to welcome her – Sen. John McCain. He reached out his hand, welcomed her, and showed her around, much like Mo Udall had done for him so many years ago.
That, my friends is character and if character is the measure of a man then I would say Sen. John McCain far exceeds the measure.
I want a president with character. I don’t want a president who has to hold repeated press conferences to apologize for and explain his lack of judgment in his personal, business, and religious associations; and I don’t want a president who spent 143 days in the Senate before he decided he was experienced enough to lead this country.
I want a president with proven experience. I want a president who learned long ago that there is great value in bipartisanship politics. I want a president who loves his country and will fight for it. I want a president I can trust.
And I want a president who isn’t afraid to be a maverick, to shake things up, and stand their ground. Known as a maverick for years, Sen. McCain cemented his status when he chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. He sent a clear message not only to Washingtonians but to the world. Change is coming to the White House and it isn’t the false and empty change being touted by his Democratic opponent.
That change is coming in the form of Maverick McCain and Sarah Barracuda Palin and we’ve all been put on notice – the face of Washington politics is going to change - for the better. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are proven reformers and they’re going to march that reform right into Washington together, and starting on day one that reform is going to begin to heal this nation’s troubles.
So today, I am here to ask you do to what Sen. McCain asked in his acceptance speech at the Republican Convention – stand up with him and fight.
Stand up and fight to bring real change, proven change to Washington that will change the course of this country for the better.
So, let’s stand up together, work together, and fight together, regardless of political party, and let’s elect Sen. John McCain as the next President of the United States.
Benny that is the most incredible speech. I have tears in my eyes just reading it. You have summed up what most of us see in John McCain, the maverick. A man who has the courage of his convictions and who isn’t afraid to reach out.
this is wonderful
That is a truly stirring speech. I’m ready.
Brilliant speech! I was already voting for McCain, but I believe this heartfelt speech will convince others to do the same. Thanks for posting it!
On a tangent, I must say thanks to all of the folks who post here regularly (trolls excepted). Sites like this have become a real haven for me during this depressing election year. (I am a Hillary supporter, but I can’t get behind that con man, no way, no how.) Your wisdom and courage keep my spirits up and make me believe that good days are ahead for our country. Now if only NObama would get out of the way…
Thanks for the speech again!
Wonderful speech. You have summed up what so many of us are feeling in a touching, and eloquent way.
I have been thinking about how to make a statement on Nov. 4th, one that can unite PUMAs and inspire the 18 million who voted for Hillary to let go of the party, and stop enabling its leaders to continue to commit fraud against the American voters, especially those they blatantly disenfranchised when they ignored our votes, and then laughed at us telling us we could either fall in line, or stay home on election day because we had nowhere else to go. So, my plan is this:
I would like to send a clear visible signal to other PUMAs of our solidarity by wearing orange to the polls (or Puma’s), and voting red. I, for one, plan on saying, if only to myself, “This one’s for you Hillary”, please consider joining me. I am trying to find interest in putting together a commercial where we specifically speak to fellow PUMAs and urge them to join us. If anyone has any feedback or suggestions please post them.
BTW, the interview went well (I think) and we will be on the Today show on Wednesday morning as representatives of Virginia, who are Democrats for McCain. It took eight hours to produce about two or three minutes of tape, so I don’t think it qualifies as my 15 minutes of fame, but I hope it encourages any who seeit, who might be on the fence.
Liz B - I have no orange in my wardrobe right now, but by Election Day I will! I’d be proud to stand in line wearing orange and not voting for Obama!!!
MCCAIN/PALIN 08
HILLARY 2012
And let’s not forget, that 0bama didn’t visit his mother on her death bed!
I am sitting here crying after reading the text of your speech. McCain is a good man and he will hold this country close to his heart and take care of it.
That speech is wonderful. You likely convinced every single person who heard it. Thank you for posting it.
And we have another Udall (Mark) running for the spot held now by one of the most ineffective, ridiculous Repub Senators in Congress, Wayne Allard (CO). He’s running agains Bob Schaffer, a choir boy for “W,” who has graced our state with his attendance and the attendance of Cheney and others at many thousand dollar money raising dinners for his friend Schaffer.
If you have extra money–I know, who really does–give some to Mark Udall. He could’ve won this one handily,except I think for the Nobama effect that is occuring in Colorado.
I’m going to the bottom to post some excerpts from a great opinion piece in the Denver Post today about Obama’s problem.
Benny - thank you so much for that wonderful speech and for your courage in giving it. You speak for many, many Hillary supporters, me included. I honor you for speaking out for us and saying so eloquently what I feel.
Where ever you are please talk to 1 person a day and try to help them see that the McCain/Palin ticket is the only one that can stabalize our country in the near term.
We have 45 days to give Hillary a gift. A red New York for starters.
Don’t take your eyes off the goal and it you are timid about going into Rebublican Territory, let me reassure you…
THey welcome all volunteers. Give 2 hours a week to talk on the phone or write to the media. Lord knows some of the most amazing writers are on this site.
Lift up your voices and let them ring out for the truth that Obama is bad for Americans at all levels.
We have to win this one folks the stakes (the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Venezula, etc) are too high.
but how can we defeat massive voter fraud?
that is the dirty huge secret. nobama will do anything to steal the election. how do we fight back against that, NOW?
Volunteer at the polling stations.
Get out the vote for McCain so that his win is undeniable.
A landslide win would help defeat election fraud.
No O Ever-
good question.
One thing we can do that should be easy I think-if okay with Larry & Susan-is to continue posting our daily observations here at NQ regarding possible voter/election fraud related issues. If we see/hear something-we need to be as specific as possible with details (dates,times, participant names if known, locations) and bloggers can still maintain their privacy. These activities need to be documented. There are many NQ readers/bloggers who may be able to take it from there (pass on to media contacts, investigative journalists, citizen journalists, authorities) etc…We could also post links to articles that discuss election integrity topics/violations etc…
Go to following link for more details….
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bev_Harris
*************************
Make no mistake about it, many highly questionable voting-related activities are in process as we speak and new ones are being thought of daily.
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_stump/archive/2008/09/21/obama-s-early-voting-advantage.aspx
Obama’s Early-Voting Advantage
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2008/09/obama-front-group-busted-for-voter.html
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Obama Front Group Busted For Voter Registration Fraud In Michigan
Just how much more God damn money does Obama
need, to seal the deal?
How many more time’s does Campbell Brown have to
hike her skirt on national T.V.?
How many more time’s does Cafferty, Olberman, Matthew’s, Robert’s and Cooper have to get on their
knee’s and salivate on National T.V every God damn day to get this Jack-ass over the finish line….
Got an inetersting e-mail today
FORMER HILLARY CLINTON ACTIVISTS MIGUEL D. LAUSELL
AND LUCHY SECAIRA ENDORSE JOHN MCCAIN
As Democrats for McCain Ranks Continue to Grow, “Change Is Coming”
For Immediate Release
Friday, September 19, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550
ARLINGTON, VA — The McCain-Palin presidential campaign today announced the endorsement of Miguel D. Lausell, Senior Political Advisor to Hillary Clinton, and Clinton Delegate-at-Large Luchy Secaira.
“Although I supported Hillary during the primaries, I now support John McCain and Governor Palin because I am putting my country first,” said Secaira, former Hillary Clinton Florida Delegate-at-Large. “They have the experience and judgment to lead America through these difficult times, and I trust them to work with Democrats to do the right thing for our country.”
Lausell, who advised Senator Clinton on a variety of issues including international trade, telecommunications and Latino affairs, added, “John McCain has a long record of reforming government and working across the aisle to achieve bipartisan results. His courageous leadership is exactly what we need in the White House, and I am convinced that John McCain is the right leader at the right time for our nation.”
Both Lausell and Secaira supported Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primaries, but they will campaign for the McCain-Palin ticket.
Lausell has served as President and CEO of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company; Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Telephone Authority; a member of the Governor of Puerto Rico’s Economic Strategic Council; President of the Export Policy Commission of Puerto Rico; and Undersecretary of the Department of the Treasury of Puerto Rico. He served on the National Finance Board of the Gore 2000 Committee and was a member of the Democratic National Committee’s Leadership 2000 Board.
Secaira, who is of Dominican descent, traveled to eight states to coordinate grassroots efforts for Senator Clinton, has a doctorate of neuropsychology and was trained at New York University
An excellent article! But then, “excellence” is the standard at No Quarter!
You know, when this first began [the primary days], way back before Super Tuesday, I use to think, “wow, what a wealth the Democratic Party has - Clinton (my choice), Edwards, and this new guy Obama (who even then I thought, “gee, he would be great to pick up after Hillary in eight years).” Dear god I was niave. And boy have I learned. My view quickly changed nearing Super Tuesday and then after. I went from preferring Hillary to realizing she was the only one. I use to think of those who support Obama, “to each their own.” Now, I find it hard to understand how they can and hold them accountable for their willful denial and ignorance of who he is and what his *shudder* Presidency would mean for this country.
… I guess that’s “change,” though not the type I thought the DNC was talking about.
Good Morning NQ posters.
Have some fun with this…
Newsmax.com
barackobamtest.com
Test yourself to see how much you support this guy
Anyone remember the ad democrats once used against the republican presidential candidate, “would you buy a used car from this man?” Could come in handy for the republicans to use now.
Thank you for the interview and this post.
We Clinton democrats will have to lead the party back to its roots!
I never in my lifetime would have thought I would have done what I did this week.. I registered Republican and that’s where I will remain until at which time the divided-by-obama democratic party is done and over with. I put my trust in a man who has proven he LOVES America and a woman who “connects” with God, rather than a man who “connects” with Ayers, Wright, Rezko,Khalidi, and “the Chicago Machine.
that was brave of you, caringnurse1. we have to bring down Obama and his cult following. America is at peril. Obama has no convictions of his own and is dangerous. maybe I’m being dramatic, but this reminds me of the rise of Hitler, in his time the “One”.
I think we should be afraid…
this piece about Hitler has so many similarities to what we are going through now. yes I am posting the link again..
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/begins.htm
caringnurse1 I changed back in June…never thought I would have
caringnurse1-
are you a first-time voter or did you change your party affiliation?
I ask this because I would be cautious about doing paperwork to OFFICIALLY change my party membership it being so close to the presidential election.Too much could go wrong in the paperwork process that might prevent you from being able to vote on Nov 4.
If you are a registered Democrat, you can still vote for a Republican or Independent, or Green etc….party presidential candidate.
If you are a Democrat You DO NOT have to switch your party affiliation vote for someone other than Sen Obama for president