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September 4, 2008 at 01:52:36
Promoted to Headline (H3) on 9/4/08: by Mary Lyon Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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Let’s see, how to appeal to all those wavering independents and disaffected Hillary supporters? Let’s insult those stupid Democrats and Obama people reeeel good and kick ‘em in the teeth, sneer at their efforts to be inclusive, to work toward unity and rehabilitate America’s damaged image around the world, or to help people in great need, and then make a shameless plea for their support at the polls. Scoff, especially rudely, at their community organizing efforts – the ultimate and most effective hands-on grassroots outreach programs that help people in need directly where they live – especially if government has turned its back. If Sarah Palin wasn’t belittling the community organizer, Rudy Giuliani before her was literally laughing at the very words “community organizer” every time he uttered them.
I wonder how the community organizers of America will take to this repeated slap-in-the-face - they who toil long hours for far lower pay and benefits (if they’re lucky) than Palin OR Giuliani likely have ever had to try supporting a family with. “Obama has never had to lead people in crisis,” Giuliani smirked. No, he’s merely been in the trenches with his sleeves rolled up, HELPING people in crisis, when he could have been in Manhattan, going for the big bucks like you’ve been doing, Rudy, ever since your time as mayor ran out. Maybe Giuliani and Palin enjoy the luxury of being arrogant and smug like this because they’re fortunate enough never to have needed the help or ideas or energy or efforts of a community organizer. I’m sure these Republican celebrities and the conventioneers who snorted and stomped and ate it all up are, at heart, nice people. At least I would hope so. But that’s assuming they even have hearts. And unfortunately, I don’t see much evidence to support this from any of the behavior on display on Sarah Palin night.
“She spoke to me as a mother,” according to one female delegate from California. I’m sorry to hear that. Does it mean said female delegate, too, is a thumb-your-nose meanie? Listening to Sarah Palin made me wonder about this, as she paraded around the stage of this political pageant in her “America’s Hockey Mom” garb, flattering herself as being the pit-bull with lipstick. Does that mean Palin is raising all those kids to be mean, hurtful, snide, and snarky – the way Mom just was – to crazed, slobbering cheers from snorting red-meat attendees? I’m a mother, too, and she did not speak to me. To say her remarks, and those of Giuliani before her, were off-putting would be the understatement of the decade. Evidently the Republicans aren’t content to guilt us into voting for John McCain, who died for our sins broken bone by broken bone – as Fred Thompson recited in long, arduous, agonizing detail the night before. No, if we aren’t driven by guilt, or the standard GOP fare - fear, then maybe it’ll be by flat-out bullying.
And of course, in Palin’s case, there was also the ever-present family. Funny enough, this is the same family whose members we’re told are off-limits, private not public figures, noncombatants, who must be left alone and are not open for public discussion or questioning. They’re the same family members who were lined up in the front row of the box seats, in the spotlight, passing the baby around between them so all could see, touch, pet, and coo. There was the pregnant teenager holding hands with her boyfriend – who looked decidedly uncomfortable having to clean up and wear a suit and tie and sit there in public with all those strangers and TV cameras. Each one was introduced by name from the audience and described at length, including the extended family members not present. Then those who were on hand were hauled up on stage after Palin’s speech to be showcased in public again. But – they’re – um – really not public personae now and not to be touched, okay? Perhaps with her eldest daughter’s pregnancy clearly in view, that explained why Sarah Palin may have forgotten to sound off about one of her pet policies: doing away with all sex education in public schools other than abstinence-only.
I should have known. I’ve sat through more Republican raise-the-roof campaign speeches than I can stomach. The hypocrisy and half-truths (at best), and flat-out lies (at worst) were legion. Both Palin and Giuliani also made sure to include the reliable fall-back references to 9/11, although Palin had an ingenious new way to sneak it in. After all, her older son ships off to some place called EYE-rack on – bless my soul – September 11th of this very year. I guess he’ll be fighting for her freedom to mock and insult and belittle all the people with whom she disagrees.
And that’s the painful point of this particular evening. We heard little of what the Republicans specifically plan to do to help America or dig her out of the epic economic and foreign policy holes into which their traditional policies have dumped her. But we did hear plenty of what they obviously consider their best strengths – being mean and nasty. That and more tax cuts for the rich and drilling in every other person’s back yard – with the possible exception of John McCain’s many properties – will get you a few minutes needing to meet with a community organizer.
They don’t offer anything meaningful for anyone but the very smug and the very rich – because the tax cuts they occasionally mention this week will inevitably be the same old baloney – or baloney for you if you’re not among the elite haves or have mores. They don’t offer many other stories than the one we already know almost too well by now about John McCain’s background. Did you know he was a P.O.W.?
They don’t offer any indication that they won’t keep bloating Washington the way Republicans have for the past seven-and-some years, especially if they like all that ultra-expensive war-making and exploding debt which will be tantamount to a lifetime tax increase on every man, woman, child, AND four-footed creature in the nation, endangered or not. They don’t dare mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as their immediate legacy, even though their stale ideas are just George W. Bush, piled higher and deeper. They don’t offer change except to dress the next Dick Cheney in a skirted suit. And while Palin thumbed her nose at the media and insisted she was going to Washington to serve “this great country,” I wondered if that was the same country from which she and her husband, an Alaskan Independence Party member, seem so interested in seceding. Or, wait a minute. It must just suddenly be all different now.
If you want smart-ass remarks and cruel, arrogant putdowns, and you want to talk trash about Barack Obama, Palin and pals are your kind of people. Palin proved in her big speech that she could sling mud as well as shooting moose. Yes, she can dish it out. And she can read that speech that was written for her by the McCain campaign guys very well. Here’s hoping she’ll be able to take it, too, because she made it clear that she’s ready to play with the big boys – on equal footing, and to be as mean, nasty, and insulting if not moreso. Maybe that also means they no longer have to live under the restrictions against duking it out with a girl.
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| 16 comments |
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You are so right!
Republicans are mean....and hateful, spiteful, jealous, arrogant, ignorant, insensitive, cruel, angry, greedy, selfish, deceitful, misleading, controlling, demeaning, dishonest, and manipulative .....and these describe the "good" ones... Looks like they found a mascot in Palin. God Bless us if she becomes VP. Your article is dead on! by Viki (2 articles, 16 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 73 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 2:27:50 AM  (0+)
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Reply: republican and conservative values
what you are mentioning are all values and is part of the values debate. I would say that these are failed conservative values:  by Edwin Rutsch (64 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 155 comments) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 1:23:21 PM (0+)
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Republicans Are Mean
Comment from Ratings: Well said - Republicans are bullies. I don't see them working for the American people but for themselves and their rich oil friends. McCain is the new Bush all over again. Remember, you are the product of your association. If McCain voted 90% with Bush then logically it is still the same party. It was ok to associate himself in the last 8 years so what makes it different now? Nothing. It’s the same. The point is same faces, same policies. Can you let everyone know that Alaska does not have oil like Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Azerbaijan – it’s a facade and a decoy hence why would McCain want to go Nuclear - Hello? (He's going nuclear because McCain knows, Bush knows, Palin probably does not know (because she is not a geophysicist), the American people don’t know that Alaska cannot fuel America hence pointing towards Nuclear Power as the only solution. Palin is just a distraction to confuse the American people. The oil in Alaska will not save American economics. There is some but its not free flowing and its buried deep. It will destroy Alaska to drill it. In the long run the best source of energy is gas, wind, wave, solar that is all environmental energies though not biofuels as it depletes the soil that is the land that feeds us. The soil is important for human health. And going genetic modified does not resolve the issue as this causes human health issues. So if you think that Sarah Palin, the Energy expert is going to give you cheaper fuel think again – what makes you think that Oil companies are going to sell it for cheap? Even if you think they are American companies or McCain’s Government. McCain won't save America - he wants war. Think about it while we the people have been ripped off, who has been making all these profits in going to war? Can anyone name these companies wreaking all the money? In the meantime we don’t have healthcare, taxes are high and ours houses are being devalued or about to be repossessed. Was there any weapons of mass destruction? No. The whole world including America is more dangerous in these last 8 years and the billion dollar star weapons can’t still find Bin Laden's cave. Everyone knows where Bin Laden is but McCain doesn’t then again some of you want him to lead the country. He has been sitting tight with Bush for the last 8 years. Surely he would have used his commander expertise and notified Bush where they can find Bin Laden and all these terrorists. The truth is America cannot afford another war. Recently American trained Georgian troops killed Georgia citizens so that America would get its oil even though Russia never agreed to this independent state i.e. Georgia. Whilst Bush was watching the Olympic Games like he was playing golf whilst American troops were fighting and being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan he was building McCain’s profile. McCain was to rush over and resolved this Georgian issue. But little did he know the Russian’s are not willing to back off their territory regardless whether George W Bush declared Georgia as an independent state via NATO or whatever. Does Bush/McCain want war with Russia? It sure looks like it. Do we want another war with Russia? No. Why is Cheney rushing over to Georgia and Azerbaijan? Because he is protecting his energy investments. That is ok but do you need to kill civilians to get that oil? Aren’t Republicans – Prolife???? So why is there so much war???? So does the world see America as an aggressor? What do you think? Even so in the meantime America must buy on the world market until other strategies pull through. Bush /McCain had their chance but again they are looking for trouble in Russia's backyard and then wonder why there is a surge of terrorists since Sept 11. Is this another Iraq? America cannot afford to go to another world war, its occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and it will never succeed because Americans are seen as the aggressors even so the tribes who have been fighting for almost forever and with their backward social structure have deep rooted social economics problems to huge to resolve in a lifetime. Was Vietnam a success? Internally America cannot resolve the oil crisis overnight, and not in 100 days or even over 4 years. Bush had his chance. McCain will give you more of the same. How is Palin going to clean up Washington – can someone tell me? Are there any Republicans who are just about to retire or leave their jobs that we don’t know of? I doubt it. It’s the same Republicans for Bush and the same Republicans for McCain/Palin. Don’t blame the Democrats blame Bush/McCain as they have been running the economy and responsible for the majority of all these bad decisions. Bush/McCain are for oil and for making profits by going to war. When you vote in November and vote for McCain think of war because this is what we are going to get. More of the same. The world is sick of war and we are sick of Bush/McCain. Bring something different to the table and the only ticket that can offer this is Obama/Biden. God Bless America! by maggs maggs (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 4:01:52 AM (0+)
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Reply: Good Article!
Tells it like it is! But let's include the world "evil" to describe this ambition of the woman and her "party" that wants to continue the destructive course they are on. by Martha Rose Crow (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 44 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 7:35:30 AM (0+)
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Yeah, and let's not forget...
how those liberals have wrecked the economy by not stopping us! We stand for change not Democrats! We won't let things go on like we've been doing! We'll change us! Trust us! Really! You know how truthful we are! by John Sanchez Jr. (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 25 diaries, 1791 comments [148 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 10:29:34 AM (0+)
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I agree!
Comment from Ratings: You were right on with this article. I was incited by the remarks of Palin AND keynote speaker - Giuliani. It did light a fire under me - so I made another donation to Obama! Secretly I want the Dems to start snarking on policies and personal attributes of the Reps - but then I am reminded by that little voice that says 'be nice' - ' be polite' and I congratulate Obama for taking the high road and not going there (because, frankly it would be easy) and concentrating on the good things he wants to achieve for our country. by Christine Watson (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 11:08:15 AM (0+)
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McCain and his surrogates dig holes FOR?
Dear concerned citizens of America and mass media of the U.S.A. In my firm professional, personal, and political opinion, the media should help the common voter to explore and discuss the following attributes of the present Republican and Democratic presidential slates: 1. Does the joint ticket have a calm, cool, and collected " temper and impulse" [Presidential Temperament]? Yours sincerely, PS: This nation will not buy into kitchen sink approah. We are getting deeper into internal and external holes thru these attack and world is laughing on us and enjoying our kitchen sink gimmics. I am sure GOP.RNC, FOX, RUSH, And McCains his surrogates will fail to dupe, decieve, and deprive USA its deserved leadership. by Ali khajawall (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 18 comments) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 11:28:35 AM (0+)
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Conservative values
haven't failed. The reason we're in the mess we're in now is that there are no conservative values. What never existed can't fail. There is conservative ideology only, based on the way they want it to be and the way they think it is. And, it manifestly is not. There is no value there. It's a bankrupt ideology with all the bankrupt banks and mortgage companies that go right along with it. by Ed Martin (139 articles, 0 quicklinks, 35 diaries, 173 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 4:23:09 PM (0+)
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Ghouliani Sickens
While news clips of last night's speech were playing today, my viscera resonated with an explosive reaction, i.e. personal compulsion to run for the toilet! It is impossible to glance at this heinous man without envisioning his total complicity in 9-11. And I don't give a lot of credibility to the alien-reptillian connection w/ the illuminatti bloodlines, but this miscreation could very well have a horny tail tucked under his pricey jacket. by sandra ray (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 11 comments) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 5:15:01 PM (0+)
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MY GREAT FEAR...
is that Palin is put on the ticket precisely because she is so easily personally attacked. By doing so, the Democrats will fall into a well-devised trap, turning the election into one of personality rather than issues. On personality, McCain can win with his POW status and long service in the Senate. The Democrats must stay focused on an issue oriented campaign. No personal attacks. For this reason, I see all of the hoopla surrounding the new baby as a misguided sideshow that only helps McCain. by W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 537 comments [52 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 6:00:53 PM (0+)
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Republicans lie, cheat, and steal for kicks.
Republicans are crooks. They are cowardly and cruel. by John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1760 comments [39 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 6:50:58 PM (0+)
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Reply: Clinton never lied
Then Liberals protest the War, burn flags, riot in the streets, break windows and flip cars on their side and cry Peace.. President Clinton when confronted about White Water said "I don't remember, I don't recall" that's not lying that's just forgettin'... Now Obama wants to put lipstick on pigs and still thinks Russian and Iran are small countries ... what was the big lie? No one remembers when Saddam told America, "If you attack Iraq we will destroy you with our WMD's ... I guess he was kidding.. good think we have a President that called his bluff.....and I suppose no one saw the people in Iraq dancing in the streets when the statues if Saddam went down... It would be nice if some of you so called Liberals would go to a third world country to see how we American's have it made... but seems like most of you don't have jobs....... you're too busy protesting by don bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments) on Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:08:17 PM (0+)
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There are Two Republican Worlds.
The one that exists only in the minds of the Republicans, and the one that is what is REALLY going on in real life. If it does not suit their idea of "how things should be," they sweep it right under the rug. by daveys (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 272 comments [20 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 8:11:10 PM (0+)
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Drop the hypocrisy
The Democrats can be just as mean as anybody else - if you even want to call these comments "mean". (Whaa. Boo-hoo.) Did everybody else sleep through Joe Biden's VP acceptance speech? (A possibility). Or Harry Reid's speech? Their comments were in full attack mode against Republicans. This is the game that is played at both conventions. "My party is great; the other party sucks." By the way, is Markos Moulitsas a Democrat? Just wondering. Now there is the face of "mean". by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 744 comments [30 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Thursday, Sep 4, 2008 at 8:32:05 PM (0+)
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Damn skippy they are
As an AMERICORPS volunteer for a full year of 60hr weeks and only a stipend for rent and utilities, I did grassroots work with all 7 of my cities Neighborhood task forces and I was the liaison for the city and Task forces. Working from the gound up, you do roll up your sleeves and work directly with the people in need. I accomplished a lot. That smirky condescending remark about Obama's community service sent me right over to the Obama camp and I wrote him a letter of support. I was planning on voting Nader, but after that, I am voting for Obama. Thanks all of you republicans, you probably just pushed the VOLUNTEERS FOR AMERICA over to the Obama camp! You forgot, they are short thinkers, lack the knowledge of the common people and the BIG PICTURE just isn't comprehendable to those pitiful republicans. All I heard was just mockery. Not much mention of economical solutions. Just drill our way out of everything. Drill drill mock mock. Palin is pathetic. One more thing, the Republican icon, Abramoff, got more time than the prosecutor even asked for this week. I guess there is a bit of justice left in our juries. Thank you Mary. I am greatful for your article. Too bad is in the NYT or WSJ, eh? by shirley reese (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 592 comments [98 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Friday, Sep 5, 2008 at 12:06:24 AM (0+)
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Thank You!
Comment from Ratings: You nailed it and made me smile. After seeing all those women in the audience cheering at the mean remarks, I feared that the values of womanhood have changed. I feel much better after reading your piece. by Challise Price (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Saturday, Sep 6, 2008 at 1:04:55 AM (0+)
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