Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The 2008 Republican Party: Abortion, Abortion, Abortion. Some Things Will Never Change


It's 2008. The country is mired in a deadly, costly war in Iraq. We are engaged in another critical war in Afghanistan, where the Bush administration, distracted by Iraq, has taken its eye off of a resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda. We live in an age of terrorist threats. Our economy is in recession, or at best, on the verge. Oil and gas prices are at record levels. We're saddled with record debt. Inflation is increasing. Consumer confidence declining. Unemployment up, real wages down. A tanking stock market. Our educational and health care systems trail the rest of the Western world. But what's become the central theme in the Republican's insatiable hunger for the White House? Abortion. That's the issue they think will most energize and rally their base as well as independents. That abortion is enough to divert voters' attention away from the miserable failure of the GOP's last eight years in power, and the fact that it's nominee, Sen. John McCain, offers nothing more than another four of the same.

McCain's appointment of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate is a cheap attempt to play this incendiary card. She's hard-core anti-abortion. The GOP's banking on her evangelical street-cred to outweigh the fact that she has virtually no experience whatsoever to be placed in such a critical position in national politics. It's the same old Republican bait-and-switch game. When the shit starts to hit the fan, they toss out the social hot-button cards--religion, gay marriage, abortion--to appeal to the lowest common denominator in the electorate. It's dumb-down-America time. Once again, they're trying to get Mr. and Mrs. Middle America to say, "Sure the Republicans and George Bush have let me down...sure, the party isn't offering anything different this time around. I don't have enough money to pay my bills, fill my car with gas and take care of my kids...I can't save any money...my wife lost her job...my groceries keep going up...I don't have adequate health coverage...but hey, I'm voting for McCain and Palin because they'll fight to prevent some sleazy New York liberal women from getting abortions." But will Americans, even Republicans, vote against their own economic interests yet again as they did in 2000 and 2004?

But to the religious right, the stakes are even higher. The GOP's message is not just about abortion per se. The Rovian promise to its myopic base is that the McCain/Palin ticket will stack the Supreme Court with Justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade. Indeed, with two vacancies likely to arise within the next president's term, this issue is a major one, and the Repubs are pulling out all the stops. When it comes to God, faith and family values, many Republicans have a funny way of ignoring everything else, even at their own expense. And McCain and Palin know this. And they're milking it for everything they've got because they have little else to run on. It certainly isn't McCain's command of economics, nor is it Palin's national security experience. And when it comes to "family values," McCain's infidelity, Palin's teenage daughter's unwed pregnancy, her abuse-of-power investigation, or her husband's DWI certainly doesn't paint a Rockwellian picture.

In fact, McCain's national security "expertise" is highly overrated. He unconditionally supported the Iraq invasion, helped Bush take his eye of Afghanistan and al Qaeda, and continues to be a reckless war-monger. That he was "right" about the surge should impress no one. Did anyone honestly believe sending in 20,000 additional toops would not have a positive impact in decreasing the violence in a very specific area like Anbar Province? His support for the surge was and remains irrational, as it, like the war itself, has failed to create a sustainable, self-governing American-style Democracy in Iraq, which was the goal (something McCain and the Repubs like to forget). Shift to abortion, abortion, abortion. Divert and distract. It's the classic Rovian playbook.

This time around, in 2008, voters should reject the abortion issue just as they should gay marriage, gun control and anything else that simply doesn't matter. Our nation's in the shitter, for Fuck's sake. They should go to the polls to protest their colossal outrage that Bush's elective vanity war in Iraq has made us and the world less safe from our real enemy, al Qaeda, and that our anemic economy is killing them. But will they....


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80 comments:

Sidney Condorcet said...

Recall that the McCain campaign only started improving in the polls when they went negative about Obama. Highly-placed sources in the McCain campaign, as well as political pundits of all stripes, have consistently said that the only way the Repubs can win is if they make the election 100% a referendum of Obama. If they can make you scared of him...he'll raise your taxes...he's exotic and foreign and unAmerican...he's a liberal radical...well, then McCain stands a fighting chance of victory.

The great thing about McCain choosing an unvetted neophyte like Palin is that it completely takes the focus off of Obama. Had McCain chosen someone the media and political class and American public had already known something about, then McCain could go back on the attack shortly after the VP rollout. However, as Palin's many scandals, remarks, history keeps dripping out of the spigot, the McCain campaign will be on the defensive for much of the next few weeks, right up until the debates. And once the debates have come, the ability to construct and drive home a negative narrative of your opponent is out of your hands. The debates and the concomittant expectations game will dominate...

McCain campaign would have done far better by choosing Romney...Romney may be a weird dude, but the media has already taken him out for a walk and many Americans were somewhat familiar with his story. McCain just cost him all that he worked hard to do in August. Obama will fly under the radar for the next two-three weeks, working on his ground game, airing his tough ads in the battleground states,while the media rides Palin hard and builds the negative narrative of McCain-Palin all on its own.

Keep up the good job, McCain.

Anonymous said...

Abortion. The obssesed group on abortion are the leftists, not the conservatives.

The real issue to conservatives is how the constitution is interpreted. To liberals it's how it's RE-interpreted.

Anyone who spent a smattering of time knows that - regardless as to how they feel about abortion - Roe v. Wade is bad law.

I am personally pro choice. I have daughters and a wife. I am extremely displeased that their right to choose is based upon made up law that appears NO WHERE in the constitution. A right of privacy "emanating like penumbras" from other rights is a foundation built on sand.

My home state - Florida - has an explicit right of privacy embedded firmly in its constitution. That's how you do it.

The founders could have and chose NOT to. It's not as if it were a novel concept. People sought privacy since they crawled into separate caves in prehistoric times.

But leftists can't win political arguments in the field of ideas, so they fight them in the court, getting their hand maidens to create new law.

They are not really pro choice. They are pro abortion. They can't understand why Palin didn't abort her handicapped child. They can't understand how a 17 yr old high schooler doesn't get an abortion.

Planned parenthood makes little if any effort to counsel adoption or anything other than contraception and abortion.

Bill Clinton and the democrats said they wanted to make abortion safe, legal and rare. Tell me a single thing that the left has done to make them rare?

Lefties are all about the lack of personal responsibility. Be it abortions to erase inconvenient mistakes, trial lawyers to go after mega awards when coffee is too hot and unionist teachers who they refuse to hold up to standards of performance.

Anonymous said...

Lieberman slammed Obama last night at the convention. Any independent thinking person would heavily weigh the opinions of the 2000 Democrat Vice Presidential candidate who will be voting for McCain in 2008.

Obama is a historic candidate - he's the most inexperienced, inept person to be nominated by a major political party.

Anonymous said...

10:3 Thank you.

Issues became the second consideration in this election when the Democratic Party pushed Obama into the slot for the presidency. First his lack of experience was the issue. In addition to that, it is now his lack of character.

Character and experience are the issues that have to be considered for the welfare of our country.

Sidney Condorcet said...

"The real issue to conservatives is how the constitution is interpreted. To liberals it's how it's RE-interpreted."

Conservatives care more about the Constitution than liberals..Well, except when it comes to:
1) illegal searches and seizures-4th Amendment (Wiretapping in contravention of the constitution and FISA)
2)torture (in contravention of the 8th Amendment, American law against torture, and treaties we've signed on to, such as the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions)
3) The Patriot Act
4) Federal funding of christian groups in violation of the separation of church and state
5) Oh, Sarah Palin as mayor of Wassila wanted to censor books in the Public Library in violation of the First Amendment...

"Lefties are all about the lack of personal responsibility."
What about Republicans and "corporate welfare"? All the subsidies to BigAg, BigOil, etc...

Abortion is a nonsense issue. There will always be people who recklessly get pregnant. Then what do we do about unwed young mothers since Republicans would take abortion off the table? Don't forget that Republicans spent decades demonizing these people when we had welfare, which were once called "Mother's Pensions" and this program was lauded when they were utilized primarily by white women in the 30s-50s. If 10:31am would empower the government to make that personal choice for women, that the MUST have the unwanted child, then what? Do we hear of Republicans clamoring to expand benefits to these women? Do we here about child care benefits so they can work or the return of welfare payements? No. Republicans don't care about dealing with the AFTERMATH of their extremist policy. Not all young mothers have strong and supportive families to help them with the tremendous burden of caring for and rearing a child. What do we do with these women?

Republicans won't answer that, because they in fact don't care about these unborn babies. It's a political issue and that is all.

Anonymous said...

He is also the first bastard who sought the presidency. His father was a drunk. He lies about his history - he claims to owe his life to JFK's airlift of young Kenyans for bringing his dad to the US. Also to MLK for his Selma march for making black/white hook-ups more acceptable.

Problem? His old man came to the US in 59 and Kennedy became Prez in 61. Selma happened in 65, Barry was born in 61.

Sidney Condorcet said...

John McCain and his violent temper and his decision-making skills (all by the gut) have no place near the White House.

He and his "trophy vice" are pathetic and will lose big in November.

Anonymous said...

Why do Todd and Sarah Palin hate America?

He was a member of the Alaska Independence Party whose founder espouses hatred for the United States government and damns the flag of our country.

She has often spoken to this hateful group in courting their vote, even doing so as Governor of Alaska.

Anonymous said...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13096.html

It’s a macabre point to raise on the night when Palin will speak to the convention here — but a look at the actuarial tables insurance companies use to evaluate customers shows that it’s not an irrelevant one. According to these statistics, there is a roughly 1 in 3 chance that a 72-year-old man will not reach the age of 80, which is how old McCain would be at the end of a second presidential term. And that doesn’t factor in individual medical history, such as McCain’s battles with potentially lethal skin cancer.

“For a man, that’s above the expected lifetime at the present,” said Michael Powers, a professor of risk management and insurance at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

The odds of a 72-year-old man living four more years, or one full White House term, are better. But for a man who has lived 72 years and 67 days (McCain’s age on Election Day this year), there is between a 14.2 and 15.1 percent chance of dying before Inauguration Day 2013, according to the Social Security Administration’s 2004 actuarial tables and the authoritative 2001 mortality statistics assembled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

“It’s not just a matter of McCain being age 72,” said Lois Horwitz of Boston University’s department of mathematics and statistics. “It has to do with, of course, the underwriting characteristics of their lives.”

Actuaries say different insurance companies might factor in McCain’s history of cancer differently, but that in any case it probably wouldn’t help the Republican candidate’s odds.

Plus, Powers noted, serving four or eight years in the White House could wear down the presidential candidates even beyond what actuarial statistics would predict.

“Probably, there is a substantial effect associated with being in an office like the presidency,” said Powers. “I think people do believe it tends to age you rather quickly.”

Anonymous said...

Democrat Senators that voted for the Patriot Act:

Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Breaux (D-LA), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Carnahan (D-MO), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Cleland (D-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Corzine (D-NJ), Yea
Daschle (D-SD), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Edwards (D-NC), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Graham (D-FL), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hollings (D-SC), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Yea
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Miller (D-GA), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Torricelli (D-NJ), Yea
Wellstone (D-MN), Yea
Wyden (D-OR), Yea

Athena Smith said...

Imagine of it were Michelle who had joined a secessionist party (those people always hated America)
Imagine if Obama had a 17 year old who got pregnant (those people can’t keep their kids off the streets)
Imagine if it were him that cancelled last night’s appearance on Larry King because of the tough questions on his VP (those people are always hiding when the going gets tough).
Imagine…

Anonymous said...

Michelle was proud of her country "for the first time in her adult life" in 2008.

Anonymous said...

All that proves is that anything can be passed by a legislature when a power-crazed Executive (trying to make the Unitary Executive theory a fact of governance along with the imperial presidency) plays on the fear of the people...

Congressman Conyers (D-MI) told Michael Moore than nearly every congressperson did not even read the legislation. They failed in their job when they took Bush and Cheney's word for it. Of course, Bush and Cheney had ulterior motives.

Anonymous said...

The Legislative branch is supposed to be check and balance against the Executive and Judicial branches. If the Legislative branch didn't perform their due diligence before 98 out of 100 Senators voted in favor of the Patriot Act, it's not the fault of the Executive branch.

Unlike Barack "Present Vote" Obama, these Senators had to take a stand. If they failed to research before they took a position - shame on them.

I noticed Biden voted in favor of the Patriot Act. I guess his judgment should also be called into question.

Anonymous said...

come to think of it, Biden also authorized the invasion of Iraq.

He also wanted to surrender (with Obama) when things were getting tough.

Anonymous said...

We do not derive rights from the Constitution, the Constitution and government exist to protect them.

If you want to argue that God or your Creator did not intend for you or anyone else to have an inherent right to privacy and that the state has better claim to your private affairs than do you, make your argument.

Somehow I doubt most ordinary people (read: those without a political ax to grind) who identify themselves as "conservative" will agree with you. They're the ones with the "Live Free or Die" bumper stickers on the backs of their pickups...

Anonymous said...

10:54 Are you suggesting the Palins were member of Obama's church where Wright preaches the hatred of America and whites. That was some commute to attend church. Or, maybe there's a branch church in Alaska. Also it was said last night on TV that she remained a Republican.

11:11 Michelle belongs to a church that says GOD DAMN AMERICA, and preaches hatred against the country and lies about its activities. imagine that.
Obbama's 18 year old mother got preganant out of wedlock and no one has brought that up. imagine that.
It wasn't that Brown asked tough questions, she was out and out extremely rude and dissed her guest. I was embarrassed to watch it and thought she should be reprimanded.

11:03 So far the only candidate who has suffered a threat which scared us all is Obama.

Anonymous said...

Republicans have completely fucked this country up these last eight years. From record surpluses to record deficits. From fighting and waging unnecessary wars. From becoming hated in the world by violating all our values and treaty commitments through torturing, indefinitely imprisoning hundreds of innocent people, extraordinary rendition, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians...

From not having brought Bin Laden to justice to the legacy of incompetence and cronyism as evidenced by the response to Katrina...

Bush's effort to privatize Social Security...Republicans's efforts to demonize illegal immigrants...

The outing of Valie Plame for political reasons...The firing of 9 United States Attorneys for political reasons...

The war on science: from global warming to creationism...The continuation of corporate welfare to BigOil and BigAg...

Republicans have shown that they are completely unfit to govern. Elections are about accountability. If democracy is to work at all, the Republicans MUST be shown that INCOMPETENCE and FAILURE will not be tolerated.

Anonymous said...

11:33,

No, I'm not suggesting the Palin's were members of Trinity United. I don't know how one could begin to infer such a thing.

Trinity United does not preach hatred of white people. There are white members of the church, white preachers who preach there and it's part of an overwhelmingly white denomination.

The Alaska Independence Party's founder expressly states his hatred for the United States government and wants to separate the state from the United States. Mr. Palin was, and maybe still is, a member of that party. Sarah Palin spoke to the group on several occasions and even did so as the governor of Alaska.

Why do the Palins hate America and want their state to leave the union?

Anonymous said...

This Democrat controlled congress is the least accomplished and most unfavored congress to ever exist.

Anonymous said...

More exhortations of morality from the most morally bankrupt political party in America! If McCain's tactics work (and I fervently pray they won't!), this country deserves more of the McSame!

Anonymous said...

11:33,

First of all, Barack Obama's mother was not raised in a fundamentalist Christian family.

Secondly, how in the world is Barack Obama to be blamed in any way shape or form for the actions of someone else that happened BEFORE HE WAS BORN????

Are you really this desperate? How silly of me. Of course you are!

Athena Smith said...

TRo go back to the abortion issue.
One should take a look at the social effects of teen pregnancy. Here they are:
Less than one third of teens who have kids before 18 complete high school.
The great majority do not marry.
Fifty per cent of all teen mothers and 75% of single teen moms go on welfare in the first five years after the birth.

As for the kids the costs are the following:
They are far more likely to become poor, to be sick, to suffer from higher rates of abuse, to drop out of high school, to become teen mothers, to get involved in crime, and get a divorce.

On top of all this, we stubbornly adhere to “abstinence-only” programs. The organizers of that program have celebrated the drop in teen pregnancies without assessing the aggregate data. The National Center for Health Statistics showed that from 1990 to 2006, births by unwed teens rose by 3%, as did births by unwed adults. The decline in births by teen mothers since 1990 occurred among married teens and their generally adult-aged husbands, a group that has not been the target of the “only abstinence programs.”

For the state of Massachusetts, which has a low teen birth rate the numbers are as follows:
The average
annual cost for a child born to a teen is $6,000. The total annual cost associated with teen childbearing exceeds $100 million, which includes $37 million for public health care, $65 million for child welfare, $29 million for incarceration, and $34 million in lost tax revenue, due to decreased earnings and spending. Massachusetts however is a state with one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates. If you go to the ones with the highest, like Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, Arkansas and
New Mexico, the picture is very grim.

So, let’s prohibit abortion. Let’s push far more teens into having babies.
Then what?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

This Democrat controlled congress is the least accomplished and most unfavored congress to ever exist.

11:42 AM

What the hell can they accomplish with that fucktard, neoconservative, theoconservative, shit-for-brains, corrupt monkey in the White House? It takes two to tango, johnny. The Dems will accomplish quite a bit once President Obama is sworn in next January.

Anonymous said...

11:42,

Actually, that's not true but facts have a way of slipping past the GOP collective.

Anonymous said...

if its not true, tell me which congressional session also had single digit approval ratings

Sidney Condorcet said...

11:50am,

Seeing as how modern polling didn't come into being until after the first 160 years or so of congressional sessions, i think it's difficult for anyone to say which congress is the "most unfavored to ever exist."

I know the Republican controlled Congress from 1946-48 was extremely unpopular. But we don't have reliable figures for their popularity.

Anonymous said...

11:50,

It's not my job to prove your assertion true or untrue. It's YOUR job.

However, according to Gallup, current polls are on par with those of 1992. But then this entire discussion is, of course, ridiculous as Gallup only began polling Congressional rankings 30+ years ago. There have been plenty of Congresses in American history that were not well regarded.

Your position of "least accomplished and most unfavored ever to exist" is simply unsupportable and is little more than frivilous hyperbole.

Anonymous said...

The Democrats are claiming the 2008 Democratic Convention to be the "greenest" in history - ignoring the conventions of the 1800's which were definitely more 'green' than the 2008 DNC.

Until its proven that a previous congressional session had a lower approval rating, it is fact that the 2008 Democrat controlled congress is the least accomplished, most unfavorable congress in history.

Anonymous said...

Someone please tell me...

Why is it bad for Palin's daughter to be pregnant with the intent to marry her companion when it's okay for Barack Obama to be the first bastard child to run for president even though his parents never married?

Sidney Condorcet said...

Oh, and get your facts straight 11:50am!!

Congress does not have "single digit approval ratings."

From realclearpolitics.com:
The last four polls show their approval ratings being: 18%, 20%, 17%, 16%. Sure, it's low as hell, but hardly "single digits."
And it's not as if Bush is wildly popular. He's also one of the most unpopular presidents in history. The realclear average has his approval ratings hovering in the high 20s to low 30s. Hardly ratings to get excited about...

Anonymous said...

12:04 PM,
Ooooh, does the mere mention of Obama's out-of-wedlock birth make you a racist?

We might need Sidney the misogynist to make this call.

Anonymous said...

Are you folks insane?

How in the world can there be any sort of reasonable comparison between being the PRODUCT of a teenage pregnancy and being the parent of a teen who gets pregnant? Are you actually claiming the child is somehow to blame for the act of being conceived or the parents getting married?

The GOP bots have lost what little minds they had left...

Anonymous said...

racist or not, the guy is a bastard child. No way around it.

And as to the fellow who doesn't think its fair to blame Obama for things that happened before he was born...how come it doesn't bother you that he claims benefits for things that happened before he was born? Such as how the 1965 Selma bridge march made it more acceptable for his folks to hook up in 1961?

Anonymous said...

How are the liberals trying to blame Palin for her daughter's pregnancy ? Is Palin supposed to put a chastity belt on her daughters and lock them in a closet 24/7 ?

The Dem bots have lost what little minds they had left...

Anonymous said...

Are you folks insane?

How in the world can there be any sort of reasonable comparison between being the PRODUCT of a teenage pregnancy and being the parent of a teen who gets pregnant? Are you actually claiming the child is somehow to blame for the act of being conceived or the parents getting married?

The GOP bots have lost what little minds they had left...

12:16 PM

I'll take this one....

Sarah Palin has every right to preach to her children as to values. What she CANNOT do is require that they adopt those values. Each person is unique and each person has the right to choose their own path. All a parent is entitled to is that he/she be given the respect to a respectful consideration of their views by their adult/near adult children.

As to Obama, he is the bastard child of a wackjob and it's hard to imagine some of that nuttiness didn't rub off. For example, look at his longstanding relationships with Ayers and his nutty preacher - all the kind of things his wack-a-do mother subscribed to.

Anonymous said...

12:22,

Nice attempt at spin, but that's all it is. You do not address the question at hand.

Obama is being blamed for being the product of a teenage mother. It's absurd on its face.

I did not realize that the GOP believed that 17-year olds were responsible for themselves. Where is it in their platform that parents are no longer responsible for their children at that age?

Because Obama's mother was a "wackjob" her parenting was more likely to rub off on Obama than the parenting of Bristol's mother was on her? It is to laugh.

Please don't try again. Your contortions will lead to serious injury and I do not want Andy or myself to be held responsible for your pain in any way.

Anonymous said...

12:47 PM,
You are obviously not a parent. If you were you would understand that parents are legally responsible for their children but cannot be held accountable for each and every action of their children.

Anonymous said...

Specifically who is blaming Palin for her daughter's pregnancy?

Bristol is responsible for her own actions. Her actions, though, speak to a broader debate which is the lack of effectiveness of abstinence-only sex ed programs which are supported by Sarah Palin. It also speaks to the long-standing theme within the Republican Party that teenage pregnancies are the fault of poor or absent parenting and loose morals (no, I'm not only referring to the girls who get pregnant but the boys who impregnate them, too).

Personally I hope Bristol and Levi's child grows up happy, healthy and becomes a productive member of society. Being in the spotlight, though, makes the duties of parenting the child by Bristol and Levi that much more difficult.

But that is a choice Sarah Palin made.

Anonymous said...

12:47 PM,
If parents must be responsible for every action of their minor children, are you claiming that a parent should have to know about and/or approve of abortions for minors ?

Anonymous said...

12:56 PM,
And by your logic, people who work 'under the table' and don't pay income tax speaks to a broader debate about taxing income versus consumption.

Anonymous said...

12:53,

Check your "obvious" detector for new batteries. I have two children, ages 13 and 12.

Whether you want to accept it or not, in certain circumstances the public does hold the parents of minors and teenage mothers and fathers responsible. You might want to check into the Parent Liability Child's Act.

Anonymous said...

OK, so if one of your children gets pregnant or HIV, should you be held accountable for their mistake ?

Anonymous said...

12:56,

That's not what was written, now, was it? You've managed to put your own spin on another's comments to pivot and try and make some lame point.

There are only 6 states that do not have parental notification laws. So what is your point?

Anonymous said...

My point is the actions of a minor have nothing to do with Palin's ability to perform as Vice President of the United States.

Obama agrees with me.

Anonymous said...

1:10,

According to the law, yes, there are circumstances under which I can be held responsible for the actions of my children.

Personally I would also hold myself accountable as they are my children and it is my responsibility to ensure they act appropriately and responsibly.

I do not hold you to the same standard as I do not know your circumstance or beliefs. I do know something of Sarah Palin's circumstance and beliefs, though. From where I sit, she's made a decision that will make it more difficult for Bristol and Levi to be successful as parents and it is a situation that could have been avoided.

Not the pregnancy, the public forum into which it was thrust.

Anonymous said...

"I'm here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward. I'm here because John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American," -- Joe Lieberman, 2000 Democrat Vice Presidential candidate

Anonymous said...

1:16,

There's no straight line or even a circuitous line that can get you from your first statement to your second. You'd need a helicopter.

Obama agrees that families are off limits, especially the children. That does not mean, and he does not say, that Sarah herself is immune from scrutiny.

And while some GOP bots are complaining about questions regarding Palin and her responsibilities in the same breath they bring up Obama's dead mother as some sort of indictment on Obama because she had the temerity to give birth to him!

It would be stunning if it were not so typical.

Anonymous said...

1:28 PM
You can't ignore the fact that the guy you voted for in 2000 has endorsed John McCain.

"I'm here tonight because John McCain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead our country forward. I'm here because John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American," -- Joe Lieberman, 2000 Democrat Vice Presidential candidate

Anonymous said...

Most traitors in history disguised their motives as "patriotic."
Many loved treason.
Nobody loved the traitor.

Sidney Condorcet said...

“As far as I’m concerned [Barack Obama] is a ‘Baruch,’ which means a blessing. He is a blessing to the United States Senate, to America, and to our shared hopes for better, safer tomorrows for all our families. The gifts that God has given to Barack Obama are as enormous as his future is unlimited. As his mentor, as his colleague, as his friend, I look forward to helping him reach to the stars and realize not just the dreams he has for himself, but the dreams we all have for him and our blessed country.”
---Joe Lieberman on Barack Obama in 2006.

I guess Joe was for Barack before he was against him.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/31/lieberman-2006-i-will-help-obama-reach-to-the-stars/

Anonymous said...

On the abortion front, how can any of his supporters swallow his vote to kill children born of failed abortions?

Anonymous said...

"As far as I am concerned, he is a baruch, which means a blessing. He is a blessing to the United States Senate, to America and to our shared hopes for a better, safer tomorrow for all of our families. The gifts that God has given to Barack Obama are as enormous as his future is unlimited. As his mentor, as his colleague, as his friend I look forward to helping him reach to the stars and realize not just the dreams he has for himself but the dreams we all have for him and our blessed country." - Joe Lieberman, former Democrat who is now struggling to hang onto a semblance of relevance and his career, 3/30/06.

Anonymous said...

Joe's 2006 statement could still hold today, but that doesn't mean anything since John McCain is obviously superior to Obama when it comes to preparedness to be President of the United States in 2008.

Joe's 2006 comments about Obama don't mean he was for him before he was against him, it just means that McCain is, in Joe Lieberman's opinion, the better option for President.

Joe Lieberman, as Obama's "mentor, colleague, and friend" knows both individuals well. He weighed both candidates and selected McCain for his support.

Anonymous said...

1:45,

Why do you insist upon repeatedly posting this lie?

Sidney Condorcet said...

Joe's 2006 comments about Obama don't mean he was for him before he was against him, it just means that McCain is, in Joe Lieberman's opinion, the better option for President.
----------

Why should we care about Joe Lieberman's opinion? He was a principal cheerleader of our unnecessary and costly war in Iraq and is now a cheerleader of war with Iran. Joe Lieberman sucked as a VP candidate in 2000 and as a presidential candidate in 2004. I don't think anyone really cares what he thinks.

Chuck Hagel has known McCain for decades. Hagel, a Republican, has steadfastly refused to support John McCain.

Also, this is what Senator Cochran, a Republican from Mississippi, had to say about the notion of John McCain as President:

"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain by phone. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

A member of McCain's own party said this about him. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Anonymous said...

It is no lie. He voted to deny medical support to children born of botched abortions. That means he wanted them dead. What's hard to see there?

Anonymous said...

Cite the specific vote, liar.

You are going down a road that's already led to nowhere. Alan Keyes tried this same crap in the 2004Senate race.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Joe will continue his support knowing Sarah Palin attends a church that is anti-Semitic and was in the pews while this filth was being preached?

I wonder if Joe will continue his support knowing in spite of his belief we need to be Americans first that the Palins were active with a group that does not want to be part of the United States?

Sidney Condorcet said...

Also, this is what Senator Cochran, a Republican from Mississippi, had to say about the notion of John McCain as President:

"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said about McCain by phone. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

Anonymous said...

Heres the real truth. Repubs dont give a shit about this country. Its all about power and money and they dont care how they get it or how much damage is done to this country in an effort to achieve their goals. If that is not the lesson clearly seen in the last fifteen to twenty years and especially so in the last eight then you are only kidding yourselves!

Anonymous said...

Abortion foes in Illinois, following the lead of registered nurse Jill Stanek, are targeting Obama (D-Ill.) for a number of “present” and “no” votes he cast on anti-abortion legislation during his time in the Illinois state Senate.

It is hardly unusual that a Democratic candidate would receive unfavorable attention from anti-abortion groups. But Stanek and other anti-abortion crusaders in Illinois are targeting Obama because he voted on a package of legislation collectively known as the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act.

The legislation came about after Stanek, then a nurse at Christ Hospital in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, witnessed late-term abortions “where babies were being aborted alive and shelved to die in the soiled utility room” of the hospital, in her words.

Stanek, who said she held one of those infants until it died after about 45 minutes, began reaching out to public officials, testifying before both state and national lawmakers.

From 2001 to 2002, Obama voted either “present” or “no” on the legislation. In his floor speeches at the time, he cited in particular his concerns about the constitutionality of the definition of a “born alive infant” and the inclusion of potential civil and criminal penalties for doctors in these situations. He also warned that the bill might compromise the relationship between a woman and her doctor.

Anonymous said...

And by the way, almost the exact same legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law.

The vote? 98-0

Anonymous said...

2:30, 2:32:

Ah, there's the rub. ALMOST the exact same legislation is not the same legislation.

Note the time period from which you copied and pasted the information you posted here, 2000-2001. As stated previously this same crap was brought up in the 2004 Senate race and got no traction because it's false.

Barack Obama's position on BAIPA was the same as the Illinios Medical Society during 2000-2001 and when the zealots finally agreed to the same language as in the federal bill in an Illinois bill, guess what happened? The IMS supported it and it passed!!

Interestingly enough, Illinios ALREADY HAD IN PLACE LAWS to prevent what Jill Stanek SAYS she witnessed at Christ Hospital. DA Jim Ryan's office investigated the claims back in 1999 and found no substantiation for her claims regarding babies left to die and could not prosectute for violations of existing laws against what Stanek alleged happened.

Yours is a manufactured scandal feeding at the trough of the low.

Anonymous said...

Pardon me. Jim Ryan was the Illinois State Attorney General, not a local DA.

Jill Stanek's sensational claims were investigated by the highest levels in the state of Illinois and found utterly lacking.

Anonymous said...

Spare me....the legislation was the same in all essential elements. As to Ryan, I just cut and pasted an article from The Hill.

Anonymous said...

SPARE YOU? What are you, a Moon-Unit, Valley wannabe? If you repeatedly lie, you deserve to be called on it and in this case you got roundly and soundly slapped straight.

At least 3 Illinios laws were on the books at the time Jill Stanek made her allegations against Christ Hospital. The Republican Attorney General investigated and could not substantiate a single one of the allegations so it could not prosecute.

It should have been "end of story" at that point but the anti-abortion zealots recognized another opportunity to scare people and ran with it.

Anonymous said...

Andy, the war has not just made us LESS safe, but lest we not forget that the war is ILLEGAL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL and Bush should and technically CAN be prosecuted for MURDER according to the LAW (per Vincent Bugliosi, who convicted Manson)--but one thing Andy wants us to ignore is that Obama and Biden will continue the war as well. The Democrats have not done JACK SHIT about ending the war since their takeover of the House and Senate in 2006. They have outrageously given George W Bush a blank check to continue his war machine----we should all be more angered at the Democrats than the Republicans for that reason alone. The Democrats BETRAYED us, the Republicans are just still being who they always were, warmongering assholes. But the Democrats are LETTING THEM be warmongering assholes.

Anonymous said...

Its people like anonymous 2:43 who are destroying this country with their blatant and utter stupidity. To even utter the two words "great" and Bush together in the same sentence must take a mental disorder so profound, that not even I am aware of. George Bush is a "great failure" is the only time I would put those two words together.

If I hear one more person say "we havent had a terrorist attack since 9-11" again I think Ill scream! How quickly they forget what party was in the White House AND Mayor of NYC during 9-11. That matters not to them. 9-11 was ALLOWED to happen---that is evident by the miserable failure and JOKE which was the 9-11 Commission. Did you EVER hear anyone say "we havent had another attack since Oklahoma City" in late 2000 when Clinton was wrapping up his 2nd term? NO. Of course not---they just blamed him for it over and over and Im not even defending him, because he could have known about it in advance since there is PROOF that the FBI was involved in orchestrating it, which is why there were NO federal agents in the Murrow building that morning when on any normal day, there would have been.

It's like a 2-headed monster. There is NO difference between Dem and Rep these days---but Andy is still living in the dream world where he actually thinks the two parties work toward different interests and agendas.

Anonymous said...

414 - you can't be serious. Other than about your personal political bias that is....

Of course we had another Oklahoma City because of Clinton. It's called 9/11.

It was his fault - he wouldn't take Osama when Sudan offered him up. What's more, he treated the first WTC bombers like criminals instead of terrorists. Then there was the Cole.

All of this was Clinton's fault. He is the reason so many people died.

It's amazing - you want to give him the economic credit that was the by-product of Reaganism and exculpate him from his own negligence.

This country and the events affecting it don't happen over night. It's like that old saying about turning a battleship on a dime - can't be done.

So in your book, President Slimebucket reaps the benefits of the work of others and avoids the result of his own negligence.

Wow. I wish I could live in your fantasy world. Which drugs are the required ticket of entry?

Sidney Condorcet said...

4:37pm is right...Clinton caused 9/11...

Of course, Bush didn't take Bin Laden seriously at all either and his administration failed to heed all of the warnings of an imminent attack throughout the summer of 2001. Of course, that's not Rice, Rumsfeld, Tenet's, Cheney's, and Bush's fault. Not at all.

Bush also has FAILED TO CAPTURE AND BRING BIN LADEN TO JUSTICE AFTER EIGHT FUCKING YEARS and LAUNCHED AN UNNECESSARY WAR THAT TOOK THE FOCUS OFF OF BIN LADEN....

Of course, 4:37pm would argue that it's still Clinton's fault...

4:37pm is a total douche wearing blinders...He's right that Clinton dropped the ball, but omits that Bush has royally fucked up countless times..

Anonymous said...

Not only Joe Lieberman but many of us were for Obama before we were against him. I started to shift when I saw and heard Rev. Wright and heard Obama had listened to that hatred for twenty yaars. Then Obama's sarcastic remarks against Hillary turned me further, but I was still for him. I began to become enraged at the media's treatment and the DNC's treatment of Hillary, but that had nothing to do with Obama. I really was on the brink when he voted Repuvlican on spying, drilling and religious groups.

However, the final blow was when I saw a tape of him on FOX News - a channel I switched to because they never dissed Hillary - and on the tape he said that allowing surviving babies of abortion to live would undermine Roe v. Wade.

That's when I totally became one who is now against him. Joe has his reasons, too.

Anonymous said...

I am afraid of people who have no respect for life. They become suicide bombers, and if they have the power, they can send our soldiers carelessly into war. I do not believe in aborting beings whose life begins at conception, and I certainly don't believe in killing a baby who survived abortion. I wouldn't want to have a beer with anybody who approves of that cruelty, let alone having such a person as President.

Anonymous said...

5:03,

Of course no candidate for president approves of such behavior so sleep well, your nightmare won't come to pass.

Anonymous said...

5:10 What a comfort to know you know Obama was lying when he said on tape that to allow the surviving baby of an abortion to live would weaken Roe vs. Wade so he was agains it. I much prefer a liar for President that one who votes to allow babies to die.

Anonymous said...

Surely its time to reject ALL anonymous contributions ... if you dont have the courage to write your name then how can I believe a word you anons say????

Anonymous said...

6:37 PM,
"if you dont have the courage to write your name then how can I believe a word you anons say?"

Why should we recognize your complaint if YOU don't have the courage to write your name ?

Anonymous said...

Hi, I have been Anonymous but now I'm convinced I should introduce myself. My names is John Doe. Glad to meet you folks and I hope we can become good friends.

Anonymous said...

Oh, John, at last I know who you are. I will now reveal that I am non Anonymous but am Jane Smith and I think I love you now that I know all about you.

Anonymous said...

anon 437----the first WTC bombing was actually orchestrated by the FBI---research it. The man they had go in and place the bombs in there actually placed them father away than the FBI wanted him to. You can call me crazy all you want, its all FACT. Im not saying Bush brought down the twin towers but his administration worked very very hard to cover everything up---even waiting 441 days to investigate it and then Bush appoints New World Order buffoon Henry Kissinger to spearhead it until it was met with numerous protests, then he resigned when he found out he'd have to disclose his business acquaintences. Bush did not want the 9-11 commission at all. he was pressured by the victims families and since then he has done NOTHING to Bin Laden. The FBI even ADMITS they have no proof to even INDICT Bin Laden!! On their OWN website www.fbi.gov, 9-11 is not even listed among Bin Laden's crimes-----hmmm, I wonder why!