No, we can all do without that unity. Republicans are not to be trusted--the hundreds of thousands of corpses stacked around their record should speak for itself.
Respect and unity are earned, not granted freely to freaks who have trashed the 1st, 4th and 5th amendments. A lot of souls died for those rights, and for Obama to be clueless is irritating.
Right now I'm voting for Edwards, based upon his kinda economic populism. Things can change, and all know me here, I will help and vote for Hillary if that time comes. If.
I want to hear how Obama is going to repudiate multiple efforts of George Bush, like tax cuts. Until then they're all weenies to me, being different on Cuba and knifing Hillary doesn't mean shit. I hope to Jesus they know that.
Posted by paradox at August 26, 2007 04:09 PMIrresponsible sexual behavior??? Well, that tells me all I need to know about the sexual behavior of Coburn.
Any person willing to reach across the aisle to assholes like Coburn is not fit to run for the Presidency. Obama hasn't figured out yet, evidently, that you can not deal with people such as Coburn, on any level.
Posted by Judith at August 26, 2007 04:22 PMI guess you guys missed it when Obama worked with Coburn to pass government transparency legislation. The point is that you have to work with people, even those you strongly disagree with on most other issues, in order to get results for the American people. Obama has done that.
Perhaps when you guys mature a bit, you'll understand this concept.
Hee hee. Cooperating with traitor freaks is maturity.
I don't give a shit for a microsecond what that little shit Senator dares to have the arrogance to flap his god damn one term lips about, be it unity, Cuba, or how he's a wussie like the rest of them.
With whatever this twerp thinks he can add to his tiny experience base by passing one puny bill, this is supposed to grant all Republicans trust and immunity from all the vast incredible crimes of the last seven years?
I think not, mother#ucker. No, not at all.
Posted by paradox at August 26, 2007 04:42 PMThis is why Obama fails to inspire me.
Posted by Coral at August 26, 2007 04:42 PMI think it's much better to stick with Hillary Clinton.
Let's see now. Hillary Clinton:
1. voted to authorize the Iraq war
2. voted for the USA Patriot Act
3. voted to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act
4. voted against the Feinstein-Leahy amendment restricting U.S. exports of cluster bombs to countries that use them against civilian-populated areas
5. is a prominent critic of the International Court of Justice for its landmark 2004 advisory ruling that the Fourth Geneva Conventions on the Laws of War is legally binding on all signatory nations
6. accused the Bush administration of not taking the threat of a nuclear Iran seriously enough
7. opposes the International Treaty to ban land mines
8. supported Israel’s military assault on the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon which took the lives of over 1,000 civilians (500 children)
9. says Bush's so-called "surge" is working
10. opposes the repeal of 100% of DOMA (allows for only the repeal of article 3)
Yep, Hillary the Hawk has a far superior gift than Obama for bringing people together.
Posted by Christopher at August 26, 2007 05:03 PMWe're all liberals here, I shouldna' called you that , man, sorry.
Posted by paradox at August 26, 2007 05:04 PMHey paradox,
I think you have a little spit falling off the side of your mouth. You might want to take care of that.
You can call people names all you want, but it won't hide the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about
Posted by Mike at August 26, 2007 05:06 PMBelieve me I know all this, Christopher, but what am I supposed to do, vote for a Republican in 2008?
The way things work is that Californians get stuck with whatever the loony process spits out. I'm in acceptance mode, we must win in 2008.
I loathe it too, but if Hillary is the nominee will we really put down our tools for 2008? We'll stay out of the fight?
I wish to God these weenies would simply shut up and attack Bush. Be truly brave. Instead we pine for Al Gore, it's a seriously fucked up situation.
Posted by paradox at August 26, 2007 05:11 PMMike, I know what I'm talking about, I never have spit on my mouth, and the word is simply too fun and powerful to pass up sometimes.
Barrack Obama is a weenie. He doesn't say he'll end the war immediately, he doesn't say he'll reverse tax cuts, the little shit one-termer goes after Hillary and a brave new world with Cuba.
Speaking of names, 95% of the male population describes that as a word of perfect rhyme to "wussy." That's your boy. They call all Democrats that, and until they prove they can fight with Republicans the same word of fame will follow us always.
Wussy. Until this guy fights Bush he's dead to me.
Posted by paradox at August 26, 2007 05:20 PMSpeaking of bringing people together, Hillary and Guiliani have more in common than both living in New York state.
They support a tired U.S. policy on Cuba that has failed for the past 46 years. Apparently, Hillary is much more interested in sucking up to the small, but vocal Cuban-American community in South Florida than embracing new ideas.
But she is, after all, the status-quo candidate.
While the subject here is bringing people together and a subtext of Obama-bashing, perhaps someone can explain why she [Hillary] supports the 46 year old embargo and our current policy of isolating Cuba, both of which have failed miserably?
Obama would allow Cuban-Americans to visit Cuba and send financial support to their families as often as they want to. According to him, that would help bring democratic change in Cuba.
Oops, I guess this fact wasn't supposed to be mentioned?
Posted by Christopher at August 26, 2007 05:21 PMChristopher,
Those are ten very good reasons not to support Clinton. Unless I hear otherwise then I'm voting for Kucinich in the primary and holding my nose in November.
Sigh, it's going to be a long year.
GO HILLARY, GO !!!!!
The Obama-Coburn bill, S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, was widely praised by groups across the political spectrum and endorsed by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Log Cabin Republicans.
Why wouldn't you work with Tom Coburn to pass a bill to create an open database so the public can see earmarks? His other views are irrelevant in this case. I'm not a fan of RedState.com but I can see the value in working with them to keep the FEC from regulating blogs. If blogs can find common cause without getting ideological cooties I think it's reasonable to expect our elected officials to do the same.
The scary ass bogeyman Republicans didn't win a single race in 2006. And Democrats don't get elected to beat Republicans. The get elected to govern.
Posted by joejoejoe at August 26, 2007 07:13 PMHmm. I respect a man that can have an open discourse with a person that has completely opposite views of himself. I do it myself, and I see that as an asset.
Now, Hillary can be divisional all she wants, trying to be the spokesperson for democrats, while reaping money from corporations that are run by Repugs and the principles that conservatives stand. Do you really want someone so two-faced in office? Or would you rather have a president that can have empathy for a person or a culture other than his own and has no secrets to hide?
Good old John Edwards of Fortress Investments. Earns $479K for a part time job from the last quarter of 2005 into the December of 2006. Has half his net worth invested in Fortress and received $150K in campaign donations from his former coworkers. I loved that anti poverty tour he made making condemning comments about the foreclosures in New Orleans and Cleveland all the while he's invested in the company doing the foreclosing. Seems his appearance in NO's 9th Ward was just houses away from houses being foreclosed on by his investment company. His appearance in Cleveland had the same closeness. What a mess this guy is. Two Americas, he lives with the fat cats and forecloses on the other America's homes. Forecloses on victims of Katrina. Condemning predatory lending all the while he's invested in it.
34 homes foreclosed on in NO by units of Fortress
"Mortgage experts say there's no clear line dividing standard subprime loans from "predatory" ones. Generally speaking, said Thomas Lawler, a former official at mortgage buyer Fannie Mae, predatory loans carry high interest rates that are allowed to rise but not drop. They may be loaded with prepaid fees. Lenders may make monthly payments look smaller than they really are by not requiring borrowers to put taxes and insurance in escrow. And the loans generally don't allow early payoff without a steep penalty. That bars refinancing if interest rates drop.
A review of some courthouse records in Louisiana shows that Green Tree and Nationstar mortgages carry many of those attributes. Several carry accelerators that allow the already-above-market initial interest rate to nearly double. They also carry penalties for early payoff."wsj.com
Fortress Investment Group LLC (parent)
Green Tree Servicing LLC
Nationstar Mortgage LLC
I see Paradox has respect for this guy. Hold you noise brother when you pull that lever or touch that screen.
Posted by peter at August 26, 2007 09:46 PMAnd just for grins:
By Waleed Ibrahim and Wisam Mohammed Sun Aug 26, 6:27 PM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key measures seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation.
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore congratulated Iraq's leaders on the accord, hailing it in a statement as "an important symbol of their commitment to work together for the benefit of all Iraqis."
The apparent breakthrough comes two weeks before U.S. President George W. Bush's top officials in Iraq present a report that could have a major influence on future American policy in Iraq.
"I hope that this agreement will help Iraq move beyond the political impasse," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told Reuters. "The five leaders representing Iraq's major political communities .... affirmed the principle of collective leadership to help deal with the many challenges faced by Iraq."
Maliki's appearance on Iraqi television with the four other leaders at a brief news conference was a rare show of public unity.
The other officials present were President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd; Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi; Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Masoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
...
But Democrats are not convinced, and presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and fellow Senator Carl Levin have called for Maliki to be replaced.
Maliki hit back on Sunday, saying: "There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin."
"This is severe interference in our domestic affairs. Carl Levin and Hillary Clinton are from the Democratic Party and they must demonstrate democracy," he said. "I ask them to come to their senses and to talk in a respectful way about Iraq."
Posted by peter at August 26, 2007 10:01 PMObama brags of forging friendships with Republicans, saying, "The opportunities are there to create a more effective relationship between parties."
This sub-category of Dems should be called the I Got This Black Eye Walking Into a Door Dems. Obama's not just blindly excusing the malignance of the do-anything, say-anything Rethugs, but transferring complete blame for that behavior on Dems who weren't "nice" or cooperative enough.
These voices that are trying to start "fresh" by spreading the blame fifty fifty are only guaranteeing the perpetual return of these scumbags, without accountability or consequence, as they've been doing for decades.
I've also been disappointed to see Jon Stewart sanitizing so many right wing thugs and murderers on the Daily Show in the name of this "new" comity.
The idea is that Liberals and Dems get half the blame but none of the patriot / security cred or respect. (Yeah, he has to be the ONE cuddly librul who they can't help but cherish if he backhandedly denounces the bad, shrill liberals who do rotten stuff like complain about mass murder and lost rights.
That's never worked before, isn't working now and never will work because this Rethuggernaut only moves forward and does whatever it has to do keep advancing. So "Moderates": get real about fighting what's out there or get the fuck out of the way of people who will. They're just more telegenic Lieberman Lite whiny self important assholes wasting people's time.
Posted by Ellie at August 26, 2007 10:31 PMI think Obama is going to run as an Independent. If we were going to run as a Democrat then he should know that he only has to appeal to Democratic voters in Democratic primaries. The Corporatocracy who support Obama will do anything to stop Hillary and an Independent run by Obama will split the Dems and put in one of the Republicans who could never win otherwise.
Posted by s hall at August 26, 2007 11:12 PMEllie --- I couldn't agree more. The Democrats are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore. So along comes an appeaser asking us if we can all get along now. 4 more years of this mob who runs this country now will finish us off. Obama seems to have a Dictator fetish. First he wants to meet with Dictators without reservations. Now he wants to sell us out to the Republicans. Obama go back to Illinois and let us elect a Democrat to this this mess.
Posted by s hall at August 26, 2007 11:25 PMI have come to the conclusion that the Obama supporters are really right wingers. Some of the posts have the same whining that was used to promote Bush on these websites.
Posted by s hall at August 26, 2007 11:33 PM"The point is that you have to work with people, even those you strongly disagree with on most other issues, in order to get results for the American people."
Mike, oh you mean like the Republican Congress 'worked together' with the Democrats? I think the days of "working together" are long gone, thanks to seven years of ideologues in Congress.
Posted by Judith at August 27, 2007 12:05 AMYou never sleep with the enemy.
Posted by Judith at August 27, 2007 12:18 AMI was appalled to see Barack Obama's nice guy list of good Republicans, the ones he looks forward to working with, the ones whose counsel and advice he will seek. Why did he do this? I've been impressed with him and grown to like him, but I'm much more likely to support a Democratic candidate who gives us a list of which Republicans should be going to jail. Sorry, but I'm just not interested in the old business-as-usual, go-along-to-get-along, you-scratch-my-earmark-I'll-scratch-yours bipartisanship. And isn't there some unfinished business we should take care of, one or two little things, a subpoena or two, Iraq, before we kiss and make up? Besides, I don't think you can lie down with Karl Rove and the Swift Boat vermin without becoming Karl Rove and the Swift Boat vermin, and that, for me, is what the Republican Party has become. Are these three men cited by Obama the lonely three Republican men of principle, the ones who managed to keep their honor all through the dark times? Lugar, Warner, and Coburn? Come on. Aristotle said that character is habitual action: look at what these "good" Republicans have done, and tried to do, all their lives. Look at how they have voted! You want me to tell you, Barack, that any friend of yours is a friend of mine? Sorry. Any friend of theirs is no friend of mine, I'm afraid.
Posted by Judith at August 27, 2007 12:37 AMLink to above.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-dwyer/obamas-turn-or-this-ca_b_61833.html
Posted by Judith at August 27, 2007 12:38 AMBarack O'Reagan strikes again!
Posted by JoeCHI at August 27, 2007 04:49 AMsince pants pissing peter likes to keep up with current events:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2896186.ece
Posted by Gay Veteran at August 27, 2007 05:25 AMWow! Who let Scout of of his/her cage?
Posted by the professor at August 27, 2007 06:09 AMI have to ask this: Can someone clarify what the reporting duties are for our intrepid campaign bloggers? Because while Jeff writes well, I feel like we're not being given a different look into Sen. Clinton's campaign. I feel like we've graduated to a higher level of campaign spin stenography. If it's stenography the TLC wants to bring to the readers, that's the editor's choice, but I'm going to stop reading Dinelli's work because it's simply become another route for transmitting the same inside attacks on the other candidates' campaigns.
Posted by idiosynchronic at August 27, 2007 06:34 AMI was appalled to see Barack Obama's nice guy list of good Republicans, the ones he looks forward to working with, the ones whose counsel and advice he will seek. Why did he do this?
Because we've seen the effects of partisanship on steroids under Republicans. It doesn't work. Now I'm not saying they won't treat Obama like Bill Clinton; probably worst. I would be surprised if they didn't. But as President if you are going to consistently get anything meaningful thru Congress, you've got to create your own alliances and that means getting votes when you need them from the other side of the aisle. Will it always work? Nope, but Obama feels its worth a try.
When the Repubs won Congress in '46, the atmosphere was bitterly partisan. It was payback time for the twelve years they had to put up with that "Man in the White House" and his socialization of America. Truman was a pipsqueak who wasn't even worthy of the job and they let him know it. But that didn't stop them from passing the Marshall Plan and the GI Bill.
Posted by Daryl at August 27, 2007 10:25 AMDon't forget, Coburn is one of the few (probably only) members of Congress who has, personally, performed abortions.
IOKIYAR.
Posted by bartcopfan at August 27, 2007 01:11 PMDon't forget, Coburn is one of the few (probably only) members of Congress who has, personally, performed abortions.
Coburn is probably best known for advocating the death penalty for doctors and caregivers who perform abortions.
So, is he going to set an example by administering the death penalty to himself?
His obsession with sexual titillation during a Holocaust movie, and fantasies about high school bathroom lesbianism, make him my odds-on favorite to be exposed as the next reich-wing GOPervert after Larry Craig.
Posted by Mike G at August 27, 2007 09:12 PM