The readers of No Quarter understand that the Free Press is one of the institutions that helped take America from a fledgling group of colonies and in just a little over 230 years transform us into one of the great empires in history. We are also aware that that particular institution is in as deep a decline as is our nation. The two go hand in hand.

The main steam media (MSM) let all of us down in this election season and if Barack Obama is not up to the job, they will be largely responsible for helping continue the American decline that the Bush team has so skillfully worked on for the last eight years.

So today, when the Washington Post via their ombudsman admits they were a bit Pro-Obama, it does not make me feel better. The wounds are too deep for an I told you so to clot the bleeding. Nope, after reading the piece from Deborah Howell, I am just even more pissed off.

Read the story here

It’s not like this is news to us.

The op-ed page ran far more laudatory opinion pieces on Obama, 32, than on Sen. John McCain, 13. There were far more negative pieces (58) about McCain than there were about Obama (32), and Obama got the editorial board’s endorsement. The Post has several conservative columnists, but not all were gung-ho about McCain.

Stories and photos about Obama in the news pages outnumbered those devoted to McCain. Post reporters, photographers and editors — like most of the national news media — found the candidacy of Obama, the first African American major-party nominee, more newsworthy and historic. Journalists love the new; McCain, 25 years older than Obama, was already well known and had more scars from his longer career in politics.

The number of Obama stories since Nov. 11 was 946, compared with McCain’s 786. Both had hard-fought primary campaigns, but Obama’s battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton was longer, and the numbers reflect that.

And the Post is not alone. Newsweek’s Meacham and Thomas admitted this week to Charley Rose they have been troubled a bit by the somewhat creepy nature of Obama’s singular being and his hold on his devoted followers. Tom Brokaw opined that he really does not know much at all about our President-elect.

Predictably, now that the man has been elected, the MSM will admit the error of their ways as a way to hedge their bets, just in case things go south. Then they can puff up their chests and say they were right all along. The problem is, no one is buying it anymore. Even many of those who have consumed copious amounts of “Barry Berry Kool Aid” admit the MSM has been in the tank from day one.

The mea culpas are too late, the damage is done. Whatever shred of credibility the MSM once had is as dead and buried as Tim Russert.

The MSM must now be looked upon for entertainment purposes only. Those interested in uncovering the truth must look elsewhere. You can look around the net, there is a lot out there, but who knows what to trust? You can stick with us at No Quarter, our resources are meager, we have but time and our hearts to give, but we will be keep digging. We won’t get everything right, but we will keep an open mind and look at both sides of everything.

Most importantly do not keep your beliefs to yourself. Citizen silence can kill great nations. Keep spreading the word. Door to door, e-mail to e-mail, blog to blog. It is the only way to combat a free press that is no longer free.

Don’t think for a moment that just because the election is over, that President-elect Obama’s Kool-Aid drunk hordes of internet volunteer/bots/thugs are going to fade away and go back to playing Doom, Sims, Dungeons and Dragons or trolling for dates on Facebook.

In fact, one of the netroots’ great gurus, none other than Joe Trippi believes the Community Organizer in Chief will harness the power of his millions of devoted on-line minions to create one of the most powerful lobbying forces ever. Frank Greve of the McClatchy newspapers writes about that here.

Oppose the President at your own peril.

Joe Trippi, the Internet politics guru whose computer geeks made Howard Dean a contender in 2004 and who went on to design Obama’s socially networked campaign machine, offers a provocative and educated guess.

Trippi predicted that Obama would use his forces, first and foremost, to intimidate congressional foes of his agenda, rally his allies and forge “one of the most powerful presidencies in American history.”

Certainly, Obama reaches the White House with the biggest, best organized, fastest-acting grass-roots army in the history of presidential campaigning.

Moreover, because his Internet operation was miles ahead of Republican John McCain’s, Obama’s liberal-to-libertarian electronic activists are in a position to dominate the new political medium much as conservative Republicans dominate talk radio.

As for political utility, many thousands of volunteers such as Hood will be deployable within hours, with great precision and at almost no cost, thanks to the campaign’s state-of-the-art information-management systems.

The president-elect’s political operatives know, for example, the ZIP codes and hence the congressional districts of each of Obama’s million most active campaigners, those who volunteered via his Web site mybarackobama.com. It’s a social network that the campaign set up to communicate needs, events and assignments to volunteers.

We have already witnessed the power of his online intimidation network. Pro-Hillary websites shut down after thousands of false spam reports from Obots, personal e-mails of bloggers reported for spam and turned off as well and of course those lovely trolls who invade every site to hijack any discussion that deviates from the Obama party line.

Several media outlets were bombarded with harassing phone calls, e-mails and protestors minutes after the devoted received “Obama action alerts” letting them know that opposition voices were soon to appear on certain programs.

Those who read here are already well aware that the candidate who promised a new kind of politics also approves of a new kind of political dissent. That is of course, no dissent at all.

It really is scary to think of how he might use that power to pursue his agenda. All the more reason that we at No Quarter must begin to organize ourselves and grow our ranks. It will be the only way to combat the power of the mob.

In Obama’s World-Series-delaying infomercial last week, he stated the need to “rebuild the military.” Rebuild?

Senator Barack Obama originally attracted liberal Democrats to support his candidacy by endorsing the Caucus for Priorities. At the time he said:

First, I’ll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I’m the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president, I will end it. Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space. I will slow our development of future combat systems, and I will institute an independent defense priorities board to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending. Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons. I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material, and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.

Back in September, having secured the Democratic nomination, Obama appeared to begin shedding some of his long-held positions. Among changes, he now wanted to increase the size the military. As CNN reported, McCain quickly pointed out the flip-flop.

“Sen. Obama told the extreme left what they wanted to hear during the primary, now he’s trying to tell you what he thinks you want to hear,” McCain responded in Missouri. “My friends, you may not always agree with me but you will always know where I stand.”

But not so fast. Maybe Obama’s really talking more literally. He did say “rebuild the military”. Which military? Recall that a short while back on July 2nd, Obama announced:

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set,” he said Wednesday. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.”

First, is he saying that the military is failing? Why else would you not continue to rely upon it for our national security?

And secondly, create a parallel “civilian” military that is “as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded”?

He hasn’t established a need, nor has he been forthcoming on his plans. The comment has been scrubbed from his campaign Web site. As well, the media has covered this up—the video clip exists (above) but I cannot find a single mainstream newspaper that has reported on this.

What is Obama’s Civilian National Security Force? Is it Nazi Brown Shirts? An institutionalized version of ACORN, Public Allies, and some of his cult following? A state version of Saul Alinsky’s disciples?

But, more seriously, as he set out to cut the military, a consistent position until after his July 2nd announcement about creating a “civilian national security force”, does he mean to rebuild the military by creating this parallel Civilian National Security Force?

Charles Lemos writes in NoQuarterUSA on July 20, 2008:

Is he referencing the ATF, FBI, or DEA? Or something new and different say like the Defense of the Revolution Brigades that they have in Cuba and Venezuela where neighbors spy on neighbors? Surely he can’t mean the US Foreign Service and the Peace Corps et al be funded in the billions of dollars. Whatever he is referencing it sounds like a dramatic departure from current practice and current funding. And why did it take the press so long to catch the discrepancy between the speech as delivered and the prepared remarks? Why are the references in the transcript to this deleted or omitted? Should we be worried? He was rather emphatic about it so I doubt that he just got carried away and ad libbed it.

I admit that I do not hang on Obama’s every speech and go through them with the a fine tooth comb but perhaps I should, for the press is not doing its job. It is, apparently, in the business of unadulterated adoration. If he is proposing something new and different, shouldn’t we be asking questions especially since it sounds rather open-ended and, to be frank, worrisome for civil liberties.

Commentors to Lemos’ article asked if this was to be our version of a Republican Guard (Ownaa). Another, Fred C. Dobbs, asks, “Komsomols? Young Pioneers? Spetznatz? Winnie Mandela Football Club? Patrice Lumumba University Marching and Chowder Society? Legion Etrangere?”

Ani next wrote in NoQuarterUSA, Arrogant Thing, You Make Everything…Horrid, on July 22, 2008:

I now understand Senator Obama thinks our military isn’t enough and wants to employ a civilian national security force? Can you say Blackwater? Does this scare anyone else?

Then, RobWarrior shared an example of Obama’s civilian national security force, in NoQuarterUSA, The Case for David Freddoso, on September 20, 2008:

However, [David Freddoso] who wrote a well researched book, made a mistake. He dared to question the chosen one. So when he was scheduled to appear on a Chicago radio show on Monday night, Obama’s minions went to work. The Obama action alert went to the e-mails of his devoted followers and future brown shirt wearing members of his Civilian National Security Force.

Included in the e-mail was the following:

“David Freddoso has made a career off dishonest, extreme hate mongering,” the email claimed. “And WGN apparently thinks this card-carrying member of the right-wing smear machine needs a bigger platform for his lies and smears about Barack Obama — on the public airwaves.”

That’s not just lies, fabrications or embellishments, it’s libel.

Obama’s thugs were instructed to inundate WGN with phone calls, e-mails and anything else to disrupt the Freddoso appearance. Yes, they did the same thing a few weeks ago, when the same show booked Stanley Kurtz, who is one of the few people actually bothering to find out what really happened with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge.

The show went on and Freddoso made his case. And there wasn’t a hateful word spoken, despite the actions of Obama’s Chicago gangsters. There is not a hate mongering word in Freddoso’s book. Of course, they wouldn’t know that since they haven’t bothered to read it.

Eastan McNeal discussed at NoQuarterUSA in Obama’s Civilian National Security Force in National Horror 101 on September 30, 2008:

It may come to no surprise that a Civilian National Security Force (CNSF) like the one Obama suggests can be and have been proposed or implemented in places like Cuba, the Soviet Union, China, Venezuela, North Korea and East Germany. But we live in what is now considered a country that values individual freedom and freedom of choices.

To make this concept even more disturbing, Obama has also called for greater integration between his CNSF and public schools, so that young Americans are better prepared to be active citizens. He said he would make federal assistance conditional on school districts establishing service programs and setting the goal of 50 hours of service a year for middle and high school students.

“Just as we teach math and writing, arts and athletics, we need to teach young Americans to take citizenship seriously,” he said.

This sounds like coerced patriotism for the lower and middle class. Get out there and volunteer for something, kid, or we’ll have to shut down the library and charge you double for your books. Private schools, like the one Obama’s daughters attend will be inherently exempt, of course. His girls will never be forced to take target practice lessons and patrol the borders of Hyde Park, protecting the locals from moderate low information interlopers who may try to climb the gates for a better look onto how the other half lives. You know - like the One who…. today is running for the right to conscript your kids into his brown shirt urban army.

Soldier4Hillary had a comment about THAT, as did others:

Soldier4Hillary | 2008-09-30 09:20:10 |

I read No Quarter every morning before I leave for my appointments for the day and out of all of the times I have done so this article has affected me the most.

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

I am done with the Democratic party. Done. That one quote gives the impression that were incompetent. That quote gives the impression that we are all part of the “failed administration of the last 8 years and should be replaced”.

We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set

Is he attempting to state that we have failed to keep out country safe? That we have failed in on our mission? What “national security objectives that have been set where we dropped the ball? This is like a slap in the face. So what happens to us when he gains office now that the Democratic party has basically stated we are no longer needed? We have law enforcement agencies already so what exactly is this “civilian force” that needs to be stronger than our current military and just as strongly funded? No one is going to fight on behalf of us if the Dems win if they are already plotting how to replace us.

I honestly do not know what the future will holds. It used to be worrying about medical treatment and my current medical board I am going through but the more these people talk it seems I may have more to think about.

This plan for a civilian military goes against EVERYTHING I believe in. They need to go and stroll through the halls of Walter Reed and tell them that they see that they haven’t achieved there “national security objectives”. Go to Landstuhl and visit those there and tell them we haven’t achieved our goal. I am disgusted and pissed off. People have sacrificed so many things and not once, not once can Obama open his mouth and say one good goddamn thing we have done. I am tired of reading this type of shit. We volunteer for this. The same way people make the choice to become police officers, firefighters etc etc. I am tired of people looking the other way and letting this shit fly.

Comment by Agust304 | 2008-09-30 23:48:21:

Soldier

You are so right on.

My brother-in-law is an Air Force vet like me. He is republican. My wife is old democrat. My kids are mostly independent in their voting, as am I.

I do not see my choice to reject Obama as anything other than me exercising my right to be a citizen who has an opinion and feelings.

One feeling I have is don’t mess with my kids. One opinion I have is I am not ashamed of my opinion.

Thanks for piping in. I always like your stuff.

Comment by TeakWoodKite | 2008-10-01 00:39:56

What “national security objectives that have been set where we dropped the ball?

That must sting like a slap in the face to all that serve.

What a DumbAss he is, Sargent…

While I normally do not read or quote WorldNetDaily, Joseph Farah has also asked about Obama’s Civilian National Security Force. Writing on July 15th he asks:

What does it mean?

If we’re going to create some kind of national force as big, powerful and well-funded as our combined U.S. military forces, isn’t this rather a big deal?

I thought Democrats generally believed the U.S. spent too much on the military. How is it possible their candidate is seeking to create some kind of massive but secret national police force that will be even bigger than the Army, Navy, and Air Force put together?

Now, maybe he was misquoted by the Congressional Quarterly and the Chicago Tribune. I guess it’s possible. If so, you would think he would want to set the record straight. Maybe he misspoke. That has certainly happened before. Again, why wouldn’t the rest of my colleagues show some curiosity about such a major and, frankly, bone-chilling proposition?

Are we talking about creating a police state here?

The U.S. Army alone has nearly 500,000 troops. That doesn’t count reserves or National Guard. In 2007, the U.S. Defense budget was $439 billion.

Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that?

If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?

So far, despite our attempts to find out, the Obama campaign is not talking.

….

Who will Obama appoint to administer this new “civilian national security force”? Where will the money come from? Where in the Constitution does he see justification for the federal government creating such a domestic army?

The questions are endless.

Yes, the questions are really endless.

As Obama has not been forthcoming in what he means by his “civilian national security force” and by his call to “rebuild the military” one has to look at several of the people he has hired. WordNetDaily writes in Camp Obama in Who is Jamillah Muhammad:

The list of people that Obama has worked with over the years and now has involved in his campaign does help answer some questions. It also reflects the dark side of Obama’s intent:

Sen. Barack Obama hired Jamillah Muhammad, an early community organizer friend in Chicago, to help train young volunteers in the “ruthless” agitation tactics of the late socialist organizer Saul Alinsky. The training sessions have been held at something called “Camp Obama” inside the campaign’s Chicago headquarters.

As WoldNetDaily explains, Jamillah Muhammad “led anti-military counseling in Chicago during the Gulf war” and her Chicago Coalition of African-American Religious Women sponsored “peace clubs”. Her agenda “dovetails with Obama’s plan to slash military spending and shift national resources to nonmilitary service, creating an army of young community organizers, such as those who work for the radical nonprofit ACORN.

Jamillah Muhammad served “as director of resource and program development for Jesse Jackson’s PUSH for Excellence in Chicago.” She previously “worked with Obama as a community organizer in the housing projects on Chicago’s South Side.”

“We have to support our troops from a different perspective than white people, because our soldiers are going to return home to the same lousy situation they left,” she said. “Patriotism means something all together different for us.”

….

Obama hired his old friend and colleague as a senior trainer at his Camp Obama, which has trained more than 2,000 young campaign volunteers in the techniques of community organization originally popularized by radical Saul Alinsky in order to organize voters and help win the election. Alinsky was a street agitator who sought to “rub raw the sores of discontent” and provoke a socialist revolution in America.

Camp Obama’s director is Jocelyn Woodards, another former Obama colleague who worked with him early last decade at an ACORN subsidiary to help get out the vote during Carol Moseley-Braun’s Senate campaign.

Woodards has taught campers to “be absolutely ruthless” in turning out the vote for Obama.

Obama recently told supporters in Nevada, a hotly contested state, to sharpen their elbows in the final days of the campaign. Confront Republicans, he said, and “get in their faces.”

American Thinker has a useful take on Obama’s civilian national security force. Lee Cary wrote back in July that Obama’s intent is “about turning America into one, giant, community organizer’s sandbox at enormous cost to taxpayers.”

The immediate context for that amazing statement was a preview of parts of his plan to vastly expand community service opportunities for Americans of nearly all ages. He said,

“People of all ages, stations, and skills will be asked to serve.”

Obama Youth? Not if our vote means anything!

Now you must Pay.

Does this man’s evil vindictiveness make you shiver or what?

Update from Larry Johnson:
So much for “new” politics. One of the ostensible justifications put forward by Obama acolytes to explain why a guy with such little experience should be President is that he is “above politics.” He will bring us hope and a welcome change from partisan wrangling. In other words, he is not going to act like all of those other nasty, partisan politicians, especially Republicans. He is going to bring Republicans and Democrats together.

Horseshit!! If that was true he would have welcomed the Washington Times and Dallas Morning News on to his plane despite their endorsement of John McCain. He could have demonstrated thru action that he would welcome even those who oppose him. He could have taken the high road. But he showed his true colors. If you don’t worship at the feet of the Obama Messiah then get your ass off the damn plane.

I don’t fault Obama for doing what other politicians–like Richard Nixon–have done. I just wish he stop with the sanctimonious bullshit and admit that he is a normal Chicago politician who plays hardball and says what he needs to say in order to get elected.

Yes, you, too, should you dare breathe a word that you might be thinking of buying a business, or heck - who knows what else as long as you aren’t supporting The One - can have ALL of your records researched - by someone in the state government. No, I am NOT making this up - it happened. Oh, coincidentally (cough, choke), the person, Helen Jones-Kelley, from whose office a good bit of this all happened, made the maximum allowed donation to - yes, of course, Obama. But she SWEARS that is not what motivated her looking into all of Joe’s records. Get this - her “reasoning” is that when someone mentions they want to buy a business, of course it is the responsibility of the state to investigate if that person is actually CAPABLE of buying that business, or if they have back taxes, or liens, or are on welfare, or…Sounds to me like maybe they were not checking out his business but GIVING him the business because he - GASP - does not support Obama. That alone seems to be reason enough to investigate this private citizen by THE STATE. For Ms. Jones-Kelley, that is. Not for the Ohio Senate president, Bill M. Harris:

Harris called the multiple records checks “questionable” and said he awaits more answers. “It’s kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket,” he said.

If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper stories as buying a business, “it must take a lot of people a lot of time to run these checks,” he said. “Where do you draw the line?”

Where indeed??

Read the rest ->

Here’s a discussion of the situation courtesy of Bill O’Reilly (don’t start - I can’t believe it, either) and Megyn Kelly, with a little bonus ACORN coverage at the end:

Are you getting this?? The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services INVESTIGATED A PRIVATE CITIZEN BECAUSE HE MENTIONED HE MIGHT WANT TO BUY A BUSINESS in framing a question to a presidential candidate, the answer to which exposed more of the candidate than he wanted. That is their BS explanation for why they have delved into this man’s life. What a crock. We know damn well why they are delving into his background, because I can GUARANTEE you that not every person who mentions they would like to own their own business has a State office go into their economic and personal records, whether that information is released or not (and Ms. Jones-Kelley claims the confidential information was not. Uh huh.) No way in hell.

Oh, and you are going to love this additional reason into why she investigated Joe the Plumber. Because she was getting so many media requests about information that, she claims, was in Public Records, and some that was, um, confidential. Well, I may not have gone to Journalism school, but I do have a ton of education, including 5 years of graduate work. I don’t recall anyone EVER doing my research for me. If it is in PUBLIC RECORDS, that means you can look it up your own damn self!! And if it is CONFIDENTIAL, why are you LOOKING at it?? So, not only did Ms. Jones-Kelley do their jobs FOR them, but she did it on STATE TIME and on a STATE COMPUTER. She claims there was no ill intent to these checks, some into confidential records. Funny - because I’m sure illin’ that anyone in state government would stoop to these levels simply because a resident of the state ASKED A QUESTION!! I mean, really - it wasn’t even an inappropriate question, for pete’s sake!

I should add that a clerk who used the LEADS (Law Enforcement Automated Data System) to determine if Joe’s address was the correct one for - naturally - the media, actually got in a little bit of hot water, though the “punishment” for using a state computer to access a private citizen’s information which then - miraculously - made its way to the media is unclear. Yeah, okey dokie.

Here’s the bottom line: if this sort of activity is occurring NOW, when Obama is just the (illegitimate) Democratic nominee, what in the sam hill will he do if he is PRESIDENT? We all thought - okay, almost all of us (shoot, someone supported the guy) - that President Bush was the most vindictive, petty, thin-skinned politician to come down the pike. But Obama and his minions, with their attacks, from verbal, physical, destructive, and dangerous - even to the point of trying to run the McCain campaign bus OFF THE ROAD, has taken this to a whole other level, and it is disturbing on a massive scale.

Let’s recap, just in case anyone is missing the point: a private citizen, just an ordinary American citizen, had his life investigated by his STATE government, and turned upside down BECAUSE HE ASKED A QUESTION. If that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, well, I just don’t know what will.

Well, I can certainly agree with that - that’s the only reason I am willing to consider McCain: Obama.

I could get rich selling this one. Aw, hell - any one of them…

Seems people are paying attention to Obama’s BFF, Jeremiah Wright, after all!! And to McCain’s character - I mean, that he has a demonstrable one, and it is GOOD!

PRECISELY!! It defies logic to even make the claim that to question the resume of someone, especially a candidate for the most powerful job in the world is racist!!

Oh, please - do NOT get me started on the Fourth Estate and the depths to which they have sunk this election. Show of hands who thought they sucked in 2000? And how much more do they suck now? Uh, yeah - total. They have failed miserably in their obligation to REPORT and not editorialize, or promote, or belittle, or act as if their sole responsibility is to tell us their OPINION, and not do their level best to report NEWS impartially, not rumors or lies or innuendo, but the actual facts of the story that they spent time RESEARCHING. You know, actually working on stories as opposed to regurgitating press packet info. Oh, damn - I got started after all…

It is our Constitutional Duty to not have leaders who defraud us, as the Democrats did this year. As they have for several years now as they work to deconstruct the Constitution and its protections. And you better believe, with what Obama has already shown us, should he “win” his way into the White House, you ain’t seen nothing yet. If state offices are already investigating private citizens without cause, what do you think will happen if Obama ends up as president with a Democratic House and Senate? We saw how they acted this year, especially with the caucuses and the RBC/DNC. We have seen how Obama’s “supporters” have acted. Obama hasn’t called them off as a candidate, no way will he call them off as president. It will be a new day - and not a bright one.

Amen to that. Love of country, love of the Constitution, love for the Bill of Rights, and love for true democracy - and if that means a revolution is needed, count me in.

Since I started writing speeches more than ten years ago, I have always believed in the Democratic Party. Not anymore. Not after the election of 2008. This transformation has been swift and complete and since I’m a woman writing in the election of 2008, “very emotional.”

Not only has this party belittled working people in this campaign, it has also been part of tearing down two female candidates.

Wendy goes on to explain how she was first inspired by Edwards but not getting a job with his campaign, came to work for Obama:

I helped with his announcement speech and others. I worked in the Senate when he was in D.C. One day after a hearing on Darfur, we were walking back to the office. I was still hobbling from a very bad ankle injury and in a very kind and gentle way he offered his arm when we approached the stairs. But later in debate preps and phone conversations and meetings, I realized that I had made a mistake. I didn’t belong. No matter how hard I tried, my heart wasn’t in it anymore.
…
This drift started on a personal level with the fall of former Senator John Edwards. It got stronger during the Democratic National Convention when I counted the substantive mentions of poverty on one hand and a whole bunch of bad canned partisan lines against Senator John McCain. Some faith was lifted after Senator Hillary Clinton’s grace during a difficult hour. But that faith was dashed when I saw that someone had raided the Caligula set and planted the old columns at Invesco Field.

The final straw came the other week when Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (a.k.a Joe the Plumber) asked a question about higher taxes for small businesses. Instead of celebrating his aspirations, they were mocked. He wasn’t “a real plumber,” and “They’re fighting for Joe the Hedge-Fund manager,” and the patronizing, “I’ve got nothing but love for Joe the Plumber.”

Having worked in politics, I know that absolutely none of this is on the level. This back and forth is posturing, a charade, and a political game. These lines are what I refer to as “hooker lines”—a sure thing to get applause and the press to scribble as if they’re reporting meaningful news.

As the nation slouches toward disaster, the level of political discourse is unworthy of this moment in history. We have Republicans raising Ayers and Democrats fostering ageism with “erratic” and jokes about Depends. Sexism. Racism. Ageism and maybe some Socialism have all made their ugly cameos in election 2008. It’s not inspiring. Perhaps this is why I found the initial mocking of Joe so offensive and I realized an old line applied: “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party left me.”

Wendy then delivers the most blistering indictment of the current Democratic Party and certainly I agree with her reasons for holding them in such low esteem now:

The party I believed in wouldn’t look down on working people under any circumstance. And Joe the Plumber is right. This is the absolutely worst time to raise taxes on anyone: the rich, the middle class, the poor, small businesses and corporations.

Our economy is in the tank for many complicated reasons, especially because people don’t have enough money. So let them keep it. Let businesses keep it so they can create jobs and stay here and weather this storm. And yet, the Democratic ideology remains the same. Our approach to problems—big government solutions paid for by taxing the rich and big and smaller companies—is just as tired and out of date as trickle down economics. How about a novel approach that simply finds a sane way to stop the bleeding?

She correctly addresses the DNC’s outdated talking points and ideology in the midst of the economic storm we face. If Obama had any real clue as to policy, post–partisan genius that he is purported to be, he would think outside the box and propose something new. Clearly he is not capable of doing so, only stealing others ideas for his own; riding in late to take credit after doing none of the hard work required to get there. Remember “Congress will call me if they need me.”

…Not only has this party belittled working people in this campaign from Joe the Plumber to the bitter comments, it has also been part of tearing down two female candidates. At first, certain Democrats and the press called Senator Clinton “dishonest.” They went after her cleavage. They said her experience as First Lady consisted of having tea parties. There was no outrage over “Bros before Hoes” or “Iron My Shirt.”

Ms. Button remembers this outrage as well as the rest of us. All of Senator Clinton’s accomplishments and great policy ideas were tossed under the bus in favor of every negative speck of dust the press and Obama’s campaign could find to magnify.

But here we are about a week out and it’s déjà vu all over again. Really, front-page news is how the Republican National Committee paid for Governor Sarah Palin’s wardrobe? Where’s the op-ed about how Obama tucks in his shirt when he plays basketball or how Senator Biden buttons the top button on his golf shirt?
…
Here we are discussing Governor Palin’s clothes—oh wait, now we’re on to the make-up—not what either man is going to do to save our economy. This isn’t an accident. It is part of a manufactured narrative that she is stupid.

Most interesting to me was Wendy’s take on Sarah Palin. It was encouraging to me that a die hard Democrat would take the time to put aside any preconceived notions and actually looks at Palin’s record:

Governor Palin and I don’t agree on a lot of things, mostly social issues. But I have grown to appreciate the Governor. I was one of those initial skeptics and would laugh at the pictures. Not anymore. When someone takes on a corrupt political machine and a sitting governor, that is not done by someone with a low I.Q. or a moral core made of tissue paper.

Obama, who wouldn’t know strong moral code if it bit him, and can’t seem to find a policy he likes well enough to hold on to against the changing winds, might want to take a page out of Sarah Palin’s book — instead of belittling her.

When someone fights her way to get scholarships and work her way through college even in a jagged line, that shows determination and humility you can’t learn from reading Reinhold Niebuhr. When a mother brings her son with special needs onto the national stage with love, honesty, and pride, that gives hope to families like mine as my older brother lives with a mental disability. And when someone can sit on a stage during the Sarah Palin rap on Saturday Night Live, put her hands in the air and watch someone in a moose costume get shot—that’s a sign of both humor and humanity.

Has she made mistakes? Of course, she’s human too. But the attention paid to her mistakes has been unprecedented compared to Senator Obama’s “57 states” remarks or Senator Biden using a version of the Samuel Johnson quote, “There’s nothing like a hanging in the morning to focus a man’s thoughts.”

Her statements about Iraq were also surprising; certainly unusual coming from a Democrat:

But thank God for election 2008. We can talk about the wardrobe and make-up even though most people don’t understand the details about Senator Obama’s plan with Iraq. When he says, “all combat troops,” he’s not talking about all troops—it leaves a residual force of as large as 55,000 indefinitely. That’s not ending the war; that’s half a war.

I was dead wrong about the surge and thought it would be a disaster. Senator John McCain led when many of us were ready to quit. Yet we march on as if nothing has changed, wedded to an old plan, and that too is a long way from the Democratic Party.

In closing, I think Wendy echoes the sentiments of a great many Hillary supporters who, alternately, sit in wonderment and horror that the Democratic Party they fought for, donated to, campaigned for and believe in all these years would exhibit the behavior Ms. Button discusses here:

I can no longer justify what this party has done and can’t dismiss the treatment of women and working people as just part of the new kind of politics. It’s wrong and someone has to say that. And also say that the Democratic Party’s talking points—that Senator John McCain is just four more years of the same and that he’s President Bush—are now just hooker lines that fit a very effective and perhaps wave-winning political argument…doesn’t mean they’re true. After all, [McCain] is the only one who’s worked in a bipartisan way on big challenges.

Before I cast my vote, I will correct my party affiliation and change it to No Party or Independent. Then, in the spirit of election 2008, I’ll get a manicure, pedicure, and my hair done. Might as well look pretty when I am unemployed in a city swimming with “D’s.”

Whatever inspiration I had in Chapel Hill two years ago is gone. When people say how excited they are about this election, I can now say, “Maybe for you. But I lost my home.”

Just yesterday, Senator Biden made another mind bending statement when he said “this is a new Democratic Party not the party of the 70s and 80s. This is a party that has adjusted to the realities of a new world order.”

I am not sure what ‘new world order’ he is talking about, but if it includes demeaning women, belittling working class voters and ignoring the issues that weigh heavily on our country at the moment in favor of pretty, vacuous sound bites and “word salad.” obviously I am not a part of it.

Thanks Wendy, for having the courage to speak up and tell the Democratic Party off.

Aren’t I BENEVOLENT???” Woohoo!!! Where do I sign up? Well, I suppose I could vote for the Authoritarian Socialist in the election and have these dreams (cough, choke) come true! Yes, you, too could have your hard earned dollars go to spread the wealth around, apparently something the Civil Rights Activists didn’t work hard enough to do, according to Obama.

Oh, yeah - surely by now you have seen the video of Obama from 2001. A whole bunch of intrepid writers at No Quarter have dealt with this video and story in a most awesome fashion(Uppity Woman, LisaB, Matthew Weaver, Ani, to name a few), but someone else has weighed in, too. And I don’t mean me.

Well, except to bring you this, someone of whom you have surely heard - Johnny Mac. Yep, there’s a brand new Mac Attack on Obama’s long-held ideology of “spreading the wealth.” I might add, Obama can just feel FREE to share his millions of dollars any ol’ time he wants, though judging from the donations on his released tax returns, like so many other issues, he is ALL TALK and NO ACTION. What the hell else is new?

Anywho, Senator McCain was speaking in Ohio, land of the fraudulent votes by Obama staff (oh, McCain wasn’t talking about the fraudulent votes and ACORN, though I reckon he could have thrown that in there - maybe another day), and focused on the whole “lemme have your money and I’ll dole it out the way I see fit” mindset of Obama:

It’s been a long campaign and we’ve heard a lot of words, and great campaign trail eloquence. The amazing thing is that we’ve learned more about Senator Obama’s real goals for our country over the last two weeks than we learned over the past two years. It is amazing that even at this late hour, we are still learning more about Senator Obama and his agenda. He told Joe the plumber right here in Ohio he wants to quote “spread the wealth around.” It’s always more interesting to hear what people have to say in these unscripted moments, and today we heard another moment like this from Senator Obama.

In a radio interview revealed today, he said that one of the quote — “tragedies” of the civil rights movement is that it didn’t bring about a redistribution of wealth in our society. He said, and I quote, “One of the tragedies of the Civil Rights movement was because the Civil Rights movement became so court-focused I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change.”

Good googly moogly. Did Obama REALLY say that? OUT LOUD?? Whew - “coalitions of power” has GOTTA mean ACORN, right? I mean, really, who else could it mean but the organization for whom he worked, to whom he has given almost a cool million from his own funds, and tons more from all of us. The one working overtime to amass so many voter registrations, legit and not, that they overwhelm election boards so they can’t POSSIBLY find all of the fraudulent ones…Just a guess on my part, though, since he didn’t SAY, “ACORN, the political and community organizers on the ground who can put together actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change.” Ahem. Nothing like that. Right.

But since Obama has been a bit unclear on what he actually MEANT by his whole Hope/Change thing, McCain can clear that up for you:

That is what change means for Barack the Redistributor: It means taking your money and giving it to someone else. He believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs. He is more interested in controlling wealth than in creating it, in redistributing money instead of spreading opportunity. I am going to create wealth for all Americans, by creating opportunity for all Americans.

Pretty much! Hey! Guess who else holds these kinds of beliefs? Are you thinking who I’m thinking? Yes! Bill Ayers!!! The Marxist/Anarchist!

McCain then raises the Obama tax plan:

We’ve all heard his campaign trail promise: he says he only wants to tax the rich. But these unscripted moments and his record tell a different story. He supported the Democratic budget plan passed just this year that called for raising taxes on people making just 42,000 dollars per year. And Senator Obama has voted 94 times for tax increases or against tax cuts.

Senator Obama may say he’s trying to soak the rich, but it’s the middle class who are going to get put through the wringer, because even the tax increase he admits to misses the target. To pay for nearly a trillion dollars in new government spending, his tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this country, and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses.

Whether it’s Joe the Plumber here in Ohio or the working men and women across this country, we shouldn’t be taxing our small businesses more as Senator Obama wants to do, we need to be helping them expand their businesses and create jobs. America didn’t become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to “redistribute.” In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity, for those who need jobs and those who create them. And that is exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.

According to the Wall Street Journal, when Obama says $250,000, he REALLY means more like $164,500, since that is when the tax hikes will kick in. There’s more:

Mr. Obama’s most dramatic departure from current tax policy is his promise to lift the cap on income on which the Social Security payroll tax is applied. Currently, the employer and employee each pay 6.2% up to $102,000, a level that is raised for inflation each year. The Obama campaign says he’d raise the payroll tax rate on incomes above $250,000 by as much as two to four percentage points — though it’s unclear if that higher rate would apply to the employee, the employer, or both.

In any case, lifting the cap would change the nature of Social Security from an insurance program — which pays out based on how much you paid in — into a wealth-transfer program that is far more progressive.

Huh - that seems to be a theme with Obama. Sharing the wealth. Oh, no, wait - sharing YOUR wealth however he sees fit. There is much more about his tax policy in the WSJ article (h/t to a No Quarter reader - sorry - can’t find your name now!). McCain adds:

My opponent’s massive new tax increase is exactly the wrong approach in an economic slowdown. The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington. We can’t let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-jobs economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes…

I’m not going to spend $750 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I’m going to make sure we take care of the working people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. We’re going to double the child deduction for working families. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America. Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.

Exactly. There is more in Senator McCain’s address to Ohio today, including more on the economy:

If I’m elected President, I won’t spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money. Senator Obama will. And he can’t do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt. I’m going to make government live on a budget just like you do.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren’t working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.

I’m all for keeping an eye on the $700 BILLION bailout, especially with reports coming out today that bankers are planning billions - yes, I said BILLIONS - in bonuses to the very people who helped to get us into this position, as well as raises to employees, and maybe buying some more banks - with YOUR MONEY!!!! Maybe that whole oversight wasn’t such a bad idea after all…

McCain continued, saying:

Let me give you the state of the race today. There’s eight days to go. We’re a few points down. The pundits have written us off, just like they’ve done before. My opponent is working out the details with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid of their plans to raise your taxes, increase spending, and concede defeat in Iraq. He’s measuring the drapes, and he’s planned his first address to the nation for before the election. I guess I’m old fashioned about these things I prefer to let the voters weigh in before presuming the outcome.

What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before the starting the victory lap … someone who will fight to the end, and not for himself but for his country.

Obama has been claiming victory almost from the day he got into this race, if you ask me. For some reason, he refused to be held to the same standard as any other potential nominee EVER, refusing even to be properly vetted (see Larry Johnson’s excellent presentation by a former FBI agent on this very issue). What was more amazing is that he was allowed to get away with it, so we are just now - a WEEK before the election - getting some information that has been available for SEVEN YEARS. Wow.

We do know John McCain, though, and we know he is telling the truth when he says:

I have fought for you most of my life, and in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate. There are other ways to love this country, but I’ve never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high.

As a lifelong yellow dog Democrat until 5/31/08 (when the RBC/DNC took votes cast, and certified, from Clinton and GAVE them to Obama making it clear the fix was in, and the DNC was no longer democratic), I knew all about Senator McCain. One may disagree with his policies, but one cannot, with any credibility, challenge his patriotism or his dedication to the country he serves. He concludes:

I know you’re worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future.

Will we continue to lead the world’s economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren’s future be brighter than ours?

My answer to you is yes. Yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.

I’m an American. And I choose to fight. Don’t give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight.

Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what’s right for America.

Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington.

Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead.

Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.

Fight for our children’s future.

Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Now, let’s go win this election and get this country moving again.

Could you please add, “Fight for free speech” while you are at it, Senator? That seems to be something the Obama camp would like to curtail. I, for one, think it’s mighty important. Just sayin’. Ahem.

Don’t you feel like McCain is channeling Hillary Clinton? Seems that way to me, anyway. I don’t agree with all of his policies, but I do think he is a man of honor, of integrity, a public servant burning with a passion for this country and her well-being, thus OUR well-being. Obama? Not so much. Obama seems in it for him and him alone, with an eye to imposing his true ideology and beliefs on this country once he has bamboozled and hoodwinked enough people to get him in (one way or the other - see comment regarding ACORN above) for HIM, not us, HIM. McCain seems to see Obama for who he is, and is fighting for this country to not fall into the hands of one who wishes to “redistribute the wealth” of the citizens any more than it already is (think Social Security), or to put our economy at greater risk.

Like I said, Obama - redistribute your OWN wealth, if you want (hey, maybe your buddy Warren Buffet will let you spread HIS around), but leave mine the hell alone.

Car displaying McCain sticker vandalized

Saturday, October 18, 2008

CLEARWATER (Bay News 9) — A Clearwater man’s vehicle that displayed a bumper sticker supporting John McCain has been defaced in what appears to be a hate crime, authorities say.

According to authorities, 41-year-old Frank Armstrong’s 2006 Lexus LS 430 was parked on the 1400 block of Gulf Boulevard when someone or a group of people scratched the letters “KKK” into the paint and burned a U.S. Flag on the vehicle.

Authorities say those involved also used cigarettes to burn several areas of the car and apparently urinated on the car. …

Armstrong’s vehicle displayed a bumper sticker supporting the McCain campaign and another that was anti-Barack Obama leading investigators to believe the crime was racially or politically motivated.

No witnesses or surveillance video have been found.

Hoping to keep what’s really going on from the public eye, including his own longtime involvement with ACORN, and in order to quell the First Amendment once again while allowing voter registration fraud to continue on his behalf, Comrade Barack Obama’s attorney has written a ludicrous letter to the DOJ.

In typical Comrade fashion, Obama is attempting to deflect, reroute and change the subject while ACORN voter registration (and early voting!) fraud continues to be discovered throughout the USA in huge numbers.

As with Joe the Plumber, Obama is attempting to intimidate dissenters and blame everyone but himself and his beloved ACORN for their fraudulent voter registrations and attempts to plant deliberate seeds of chaos on Election Day.

Frankly, I am surprised the word “Racist” wasn’t used in the letter. Yet.

Obama campaign counsel Bob Bauer has sent a letter (.pdf) to the Department of Justice requesting that Special Prosecutor Dannehy — who is currently investigating the firings of U.S. Attorneys — expand her investigation to look into whether any administration officials have worked in a joint effort with the McCain campaign and the RNC in legitimizing the allegations of vote fraud.

In the letter, Bauer asks for an inquiry into what he calls a “systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.” On a conference call with reporters, Bauer went further in explaining their position.

“These [vote fraud] allegations do not mean illegal voting,” Bauer said. “Nobody really expects thousands of Mickey Mouses or Tony Romos to show up at the poll to vote this fall. But at the end of the day, the reason that you’re getting the daily calls, the reason — quite apart from political desperation — that they’re resorting to this issue and not to others, is to utilize the mantra that they’ve hit upon and the organization whose name they plan to make famous as a proxy for attacking the electoral process itself.”

Bauer went on to say that the allegations are an “unprecedented effort to essentially sap the American people of confidence in the voting process” and that “an attack on the voters cannot go undefended.”

No Mr. Bauer, it’s an unprecedented effort to register anything that moves and get it to vote for Barack Obama, even if it is a seven year old child or a dog. After all, Comrade Obama has trouble closing deals and is generally accustomed to a combination of cheating and having someone help drag his butt over the line. (See “Democratic Primary”). This of course is only necessary if he can’t knock his opponents off ballots.

The idea of course it to keep what is going on quiet. Snatch it from the public and pretend the problem isn’t there, while Obama and his ACORN continue to perform their Magic in battleground states. Deflect. Reroute. Blame the messenger. Change the subject. Whatever it takes, it’s how Comrade Obama rolls.

But the McCain campaign isn’t going to be gagged by The Gagger In Chief, Comrade Obama.

In a response to the letter the Obama camp sent to the Justice Department, the McCain campaign has released this statement:

“After a week of shifting stories and clumsy corrections regarding Barack Obama’s connections to ACORN, the Obama campaign resorted to their now-customary heavy handed tactic of attempting to criminalize political discourse. Today’s outrageous letter to Attorney General Mukasey and Special Prosecutor Dannehy at the Justice Department asking for a special prosecutor to investigate Senator McCain and Governor Palin’s public statements about ACORN’s record of fraudulent voter registrations (including in this week’s Presidential debate) is absurd. It is a typical time-worn Washington attempt to criminalize political differences. For someone who promises ‘change,’ it is certainly only more of the same.”The letter’s request that the Department of Justice investigate ‘recent partisan Republican activities throughout the country’ is almost a parody of the Obama campaign’s attempt to intimidate their political opponents. In case Sen. Obama’s lawyer did not notice, we are in the midst of a political campaign, not a coronation, and the alleged criminal activity he calls ‘recent partisan Republican activities’ are what the rest of us call campaign speeches and debates. All of this is unfortunately reminiscent of the Obama campaign’s recent creation of a ‘truth squad’ of Missouri prosecutors and sheriffs to ‘target’ people who criticize Sen. Obama. Rest assured that, despite these threats, the McCain-Palin campaign will continue to address the serious issue of voter registration fraud by ACORN and other partisan groups, and compliance by states with the Help America Vote Act’s requirement of matching new voter registrations with state data bases to preve nt voter fraud.”

Obama’s attorney is right about one thing he said in his ludicrous letter: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! America needs to RUN to the polls on November 4 and put a stop to this hoax candidate who has locked up his own records and hidden his own affiliations from the public in attempt to Overthrow Democracy and turn America into a Chicago Thug machine.

*Photo art: Freedom Fairy, of course.