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Blog For Arizona
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Madman McCain unlocks Pandora's Box
Posted: 15 Oct 2008 06:42 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlogForArizona/~3/422077846/madman-mccain-u.html
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
There are dark forces in American politics to which no politician should ever
appeal out of recognition of the simple fact that it is beyond their control,
once those dark forces have been released from Pandora's Box, to recall those
dark forces back into the box safely. These dark forces tend to take on a life
of their own and devour the politician who released them from the box, as well
as everything else in their path, like a black hole consumes all matter in
space.
I have written before that this is not your father's GOP. Traditional
Republicans long ago abandoned the Republican Party to register as independent
or no party preference voters, or registered with other political parties, out
of revulsion for what the GOP has become.
The modern-day Republican Party has devolved into a coalition of what were once
its fringe elements on the far right of the party. They have succeeded in
hijacking the party apparatus and its brand name to lay claim to legitimacy for
their radical ideological extremism.
The tie that binds them all together is "fear." Fear of anyone who is not "one
of us." There exists a schizophrenic dichotomy in the Republican Party: they
wear a collective sense of "us versus them" victimhood on their sleeve while at
the same time proclaiming their superiority to and entitlement over all "other"
Americans. The nativists, racists, religious bigots, end-timers, and
anti-government "black helicopter" militia types now comprise the "base" of the
GOP. These are radical extremist fringe groups who should never be allowed
anywhere near the levers of power.
John McCain and Sarah Palin have made a fundamental mistake over the past few
weeks by appealing to these dark forces in their base with coded "dog whistle"
language designed to manipulate their fears and prejudices. They are breathing
life into a monster they cannot hope to control. It will devour them both and
bring ruin to America if these dark forces cannot be put back into the box
quickly.
The appeals of McCain and Palin to these dark forces are the reason for the
"angry mob" mentality at their recent rallies. Only the GOP base attends their
rallies, so it is no surprise that we have heard fear and racism and bigotry
expressed by the GOP base. (The only things missing from these angry mobs are
the traditional pitchforks and torches.)
There was the man in Wisconsin who said he was mad, "I'm really mad, and what’s
going to surprise you, it’s not the economy. It’s the socialists taking over
our country."
The man unleashed a long, unhinged rant ... and referred to Obama and Nancy
Pelosi as "hooligans." McCain didn't utter one syllable of objection. In fact,
he nodded bemusedly at the "socialist" mention.
And at the end of the man's rant, McCain said that the man was "right."
After the man's rant, the crowd got worked up and chanted "U-S-A" a bunch of
times. Then McCain replied: "Well, I -- I think I got the message. Could I just
say, the gentleman is right." McCain then went on about how it was true that
Americans are angry.McCain Supporter Rants About "Hooligan" Obama And
"Socialist" Takeover
McCain and Palin fed the energy of the angry mob GOP base at their rallies for
several days until late last week, when McCain took a question from a woman who
said she did not trust Obama, because "he's not... [an American] he's an Arab"
(wingnut shorthand for "Islamic terrorist"). McCain took the microphone away
from the woman and offered a defense of Barack Obama as "a decent family man
citizen." Earlier he told his supporters that they should not be scared of
Obama, and that they should be respectful. (I am guessing that the Secret
Service has had a talk with his campaign.) The angry mob GOP base turned on
him; they wanted to continue to revel in their anger and hatred. McCain lost
control of the monster he helped to create.
The rallies of McCain and Palin have since continued to be frequented by the
angry mob base who have shouted out "terrorist," "off with his head," and "kill
him" (the Secret Service is investigating one or more of these individuals).
There are signs and shouts of "Obama bin Lying" and "Obama bin Laden"
ignorantly comparing Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden and insinuating that he is
an Islamic terrorist. Neither McCain nor Palin have admonished these
supporters for their hateful or threatening insults.
McCain and Palin continue to question the patriotism and loyalty, even the very
"Americaness" of not only Barack Obama, but by extension, the majority of
Americans (53% in the most recent CBS News/New York Times Poll) who support his
candidacy for president.
Americans need to ask themselves one fundamental question: do you really want
an angry mob political party crippled by its fear and motivated by nativism,
racism and bigotry to control the levers of power for another four years? I
didn't think so.
It is time for the modern-day Republican Party to be forced to wander in the
wilderness for a generation to rediscover its roots again. Component parts of
the GOP coalition need to be jettisoned entirely: the imperialist warmonger
Neoconservatives, the anti-intellectualism end-times religious cults, the
anti-immigrant successors of the know Nothing Party, the racism of the
Neo-Confederate successors of white supremacists, and the totalitarian
Neo-Fascists. These radical extremist fringe groups do not represent the
time-honored ideals of the traditional Republican Party.
Republicans allowed these radical extremists groups inside their tent.
Republicans will have to take back their party from these fringe groups and
kick them out of their tent. If Republicans do not, the monster they helped
create will devour their party and likely cause irreparable damage to America.
Republicans, it is your patriotic duty to put the dark forces you unleashed
back into Pandora's Box.
Bonus: See Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" after the fold.
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Palin Troopergate Denial is "Orwellian"
Posted: 15 Oct 2008 03:15 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlogForArizona/~3/421922864/palin-trooperga.html
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Last Friday the long-awaited 263-page Branchflower investigative report into
Alaska's "Troopergate" scandal was released to the public. A bipartisan
(mostly Republican) legislative council voted 12-0 to find that Governor Sarah
Palin had abused the power of her office by violating an ethics provision of
Alaska law. Troopergate report: Palin abused power: Gov. Sarah Palin Download
the full report here.
The key findings of the The Branchflower report are:
Finding Number One
For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor
Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the
Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides
The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public
trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through
official action is a violation of that trust.
Finding Number Two
I find that, although Walt Monegan's refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was
not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a
contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In
spite of that, Governor Palin's firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and
lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire
executive branch department heads.
Finding Number Three
Harbor Adjustment Service of Anchorage, and its owner Ms. Murleen Wilkes,
handled Trooper Michael Wooten's workers' compensation claim property and in
the normal course of business like any other claim processed by Harbor
Adjustment Service and Ms. Wilkes. Further, Trooper Wooten received all the
workers' compensation benefits to which he was entitled.
Finding Number Four
The Attorney General's office has failed to substantially comply with my August
6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for information about the case
in the form of emails.
And what was Governor Palin's response, as well as the McCain campaign's
response to the findings of the Branchflower report? The Governor claimed that
the investigation "vindicated" her and found that she had not broken any law or
done anything unethical. No, really.
At best, Governor Palin suffers from a reading comprehension problem.
At worst, Governor Palin is demonstrating that she is a congenital liar and/or
suffers from cognitive dissonance. You may want to seek out professional help,
Governor.
The locals in Alaska are having none of Governor Palin's obvious prevarications
and difficulty with the truth. The Anchorage Daily News published this
blistering editorial criticizing the Governor Palin vindicated?: ADN Editorial:
Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an
embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.
She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found
"no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."
Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.
Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah
Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska
Executive Branch Ethics Act."
In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.
Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report.
Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters.
That's the charitable interpretation.
Because if she had actually read it, she couldn't claim "vindication" with a
straight face.
Palin asserted that the report found "there was no abuse of authority at all in
trying to get Officer Wooten fired."
In fact, the report concluded that "impermissible pressure was placed on
several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get
Trooper Michael Wooten fired."
Palin's response is the kind of political "big lie" that George Orwell warned
against. War is peace. Black is white. Up is down.
Gov. Palin and her camp trumpeted the report's second finding: that she was
within her legal authority to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But
the report also said it's likely one of the reasons she fired him was his
failure to get rid of her ex-brother-in-law trooper.
That's not "vindication," and surely Gov. Palin knows it.
* * *
Gov. Palin and her husband felt so passionately about Wooten because the case
was so personal to them. Their passion blinded them to any other
considerations.
They had no sense that the power of the governor's office carries a special
responsibility not to use it to settle family scores. They had no sense that
legal restrictions might prevent the troopers from firing Wooten. They had no
sense that persistent queries from the governor's office might be perceived as
pressure to bend state personnel laws.
Gov. Palin and her husband were obsessed with Wooten the way Capt. Ahab was
obsessed with the Great White Whale. No Wooten, no peace.
Has Gov. Palin committed an impeachable offense? Hardly.
Is what she did indictable? No.
But it wasn't appropriate, especially for someone elected as an ethical
reformer. And her Orwellian claims of "vindication" make this blemish on her
record look even worse.
You asked us to hold you accountable, Gov. Palin. Did you mean it?
Bottom line: Gov. Palin, read the report. It says you violated the ethics law.
John McCain (Charles Keating) and Sarah Palin (Walt Monegan) thus become the
first presidential ticket in American history for which both nominees have been
investigated for ethical violations while in office and found to be culpable by
a legislative investigative body before even being elected to the White House.
And this is the team that promises to reform Washington. Right. No one
believes that.
(h/t Buzzflash.com)
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Dalessandro a Democratic Pickup in LD-30?
Posted: 15 Oct 2008 12:30 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlogForArizona/~3/421777644/a-democratic-pi.html
by David Safier
LD-30 has been a pretty safe Republican district, until now. Andrea
Dalessandro, the lone Democrat running for State House, has a fighting chance
of taking one of the two seats. Even loyal Republican consultant Nathan Sproul
lists LD-30 as vulnerable to a Democratic pickup.
Republicans outnumber Democrats by a large margin in the District, but it's
possible things could break well for Dalessandro. Here's her winning formula.
Campaign, Campaign, Campaign. Dalessandro's got that covered. She never stops.
Convince Democrats and like-minded Independents to "single shot" -- vote only
for her instead of casting two House votes. That's a very distinct possibility,
given the ultra-conservative credentials of David Gowan and the
pretty-darn-conservative credentials of Frank Antenori.
Get some split votes from moderate Independents and Republicans. That's
possible as well. David Gowan is one of the stable of ultra-right wing
candidates consultant Constantin Querard is running statewide. They do very
well in the low-turnout primaries where the "crazy base," as Jon Stewart calls
it, comes out in droves and knocks out the more moderate Republicans. But in
the general where the turnout is higher, especially in a presidential year, the
more mainstream Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents balk at voting
for the crazy-base candidates. Gowan has skipped a few public forums lately,
which can scare away votes that would otherwise come his way. So Dalessandro
could benefit from voters who will choose Republican Antenori, then balance
that out with a Democratic pick rather than Gowan.
Have other Republicans split their vote by single shotting. Also a distinct
possibility. Lots of Gowan's purist supporters will vote only for him, writing
Antenori off as not doctrinaire conservative enough. Antenori supporters could
be turned off by Gowan because he's too right wing. That would lower the tally
for both candidates, allowing Dallesandro to beat the one with the lower vote
total.
Add the fact that this looks like a Democratic year, with energized Democrats
and listless Republicans -- even McCain isn't generating much heat in his home
state -- and Dalessandro could win with a strong second place or maybe even end
up with the highest vote total of the three.
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GOP Runs Green Candidate to Siphon Off Dem Votes?
Posted: 15 Oct 2008 11:23 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlogForArizona/~3/421704092/gop-runs-green.html
by David Safier
The Dry Heat has a story about a bogus Green Party candidate in LD-10 whose
only purpose is to take votes away from Democrat Jackie Thrasher. The evidence?
The "Green" candidate, Margarite Dale, was "a loyal GOPer who re-registered
four days before the deadline to become a Green party member and candidate."
The Green Party is campaigning against her.
This is a Phoenix-area election, so it doesn't directly affect us in S. AZ, but
it could affect the Democratic push for a majority in the house, so it's an
important election, just like all the other contested races. Jim Weiers is
running in LD-10, and he's a lock. He doesn't need any help getting elected.
But his Republican running mate, Doug Quelland, does. Democrat Thrasher has a
very good chance of winning one of the two seats. So the Weier/Quelland plan
is, put up a faux Green candidate, take a few votes away from Thrasher, and
Quelland may be able to squeak out a victory.
One more thing. Our old friend Constantin Querard is Weiers' campaign
consultant. This sounds like his kind of devious ploy. Though I may be doing
Weiers a disservice here. He could probably come up with a rancid scheme like
this all by himself.
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