The email below comes from a list-serve catering to far-right Christianists, and therefore offers us a clear view of how Bomb-Bomb plans to run: i.e., as Rambo, with short hair and in a business suit, and back again not just to idealize the war in Vietnam but to start up several more just like it.
This is why his party is so hot for Hillary Clinton as their adversary--because she
can be cast as "Hanoi Jane" to his John Rambo. (Kids, that's an old right-wing nickname for Jane Fonda, who went to North Vietnam back in the day, to show solidarity with the other side. What made her notorious, and still detested by a lot of veterans, was the moment when she donned a helmet, and gleefully mounted an anti-aircraft artillery launcher: the very weapon used to shoot down US flyers like John McCain.) This is partly why his party has been taking various stealthy steps to keep her campaign going.
By now they're also doing it to keep the Democrats embroiled in civil war--which
is an excellent way for the Republicans either to get McCain elected in November, or to establish a strong rationale for why he "won." For a good example of the first alternative, think back to the presidential race in 1968, when the Democrats were furiously split because the party, at Lyndon Johnson's bidding (and with Mayor Daley's help), gave the nomination to his VP Hubert Humphrey: a decent guy, but badly tarnished by the war, which (of course) he'd never criticized. After the chaotic, bloody Democratic National Convention, the anti-war wing of the party took a walk, the people generally were turned off by the melee in Chicago, and so Dick Nixon ended up as president (and not only dragged out the war, but also broadened it-- despite his campaign claim to have devised "a secret plan" to end it).
Such history could more or less repeat itself this year, especially if there's a bad scene at the next Democratic National Convention, in Denver (and it would be a lead-pipe cinch for BushCo's cops to make that happen; and with weaponry far more sophisticated than lead pipes).
On the other hand, the Democrats could win it on Election Day--even if the
Clintons steal the nomination, and some Obama people take a walk, or even if
Obama gets the nomination, and some Clintonites stay home and seethe. There's two big reasons why Bomb-Bomb could, arguably, not win in November,
notwithstanding the vast rift within the Democratic Party: the economy, which
is so flagrant a catastrophe that even Bush himself has started to acknowledge it; and BushCo's war, which is not going well, despite the "surge," and which has
no majority support--and which will be even less popular once BushCo starts
to bomb Iran.
But saying that the Democrats could win does not mean that they will prevail;
for the GOP has long since rigged the system so that countless Democrats and
independents will be variously disenfranchised by Election Day. (Many Democrats
have been disenfranchised already.) BushCo's Department of Justice, and the
Bush/Bush Supreme Court, and the GOP in most states of the union, and the
companies that make the e-voting machinery, have all been working very hard,
together, to ensure a "victory" for the Republicans; and if that happens, the
Democrats' notorious disunity will be one major "reason" trotted out incessantly
to help explain it all away.
Those who, like Obama, think that they can overcome all this through sheer
euphoric numbers at the polls had better climb down off that cloud ASAP;
because the Bush Republicans are not "incompetent" at the subversion of
democracy--and, moreover, they have every reason not to let Obama
become president (and appoint, say, John Edwards as Attorney General).
These guys are dangerous, and highly vulnerable to proseuction; and they
run both the federal government and the electoral apparatus in a lot of counties.
If they weren't very, very good at what they do, they wouldn't even be there.
And if you think that Barack Obama can defeat them just by virtue of his
popularity and/or charisma, you are badly under-estimating what he may be,
and all the rest of us are, up against.
It would be great if we could somehow get the Democratic Party unified,
but that does not seem likely any more--and we can thank the GOP for
having broadened and exacerbated the divide. If both sides can soon come
to terms, so much the better. But if they can't, then we must start to focus
on the next election, so that the Republicans can't get away with stealing it.
In other words, we have to stop denying that the GOP has perpetrated vast
election fraud, and that they're well-prepared to perpetrate still more; and
we have to stop denying that the GOP is also deeply into vote suppression
--and, sad to say, that the Clinton campaign has been heavily relying
on it, too.
In short, we have to talk about all this out loud, and deal with it at last. The
people have to be made ready for this next election--which must be the
most vigilantly monitored election that this nation's ever seen. And if Bomb-Bomb does appear to win it, those who voted otherwise, or tried to, must not just keel over in despair, the way the Democrats did after the 2004 election. If the networks say that Bomb-Bomb won, the rest of us must keep our heads, and learn the facts about exactly what went down, and never rest until there's not a shadow of a doubt about his victory--and if there's evidence that he did not legitimately win (as there will surely be), we must do everything we can to make it known, and not let up until we have the president we've voted for.
MCM
p.s. For those who want more information on the GOP's pre-planning for
a fraudulent election this November, and new studies of the GOP's election
fraud since 2000, check out Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion
of Democracy, 2000-2008, which I've edited for IG Publishing, and which is
coming out in just a few weeks. The book includes 14 essays by different
heavy hitters (including Bobby Kennedy) on different subjects, including
the theft of Don Siegelman's election in '02, the stolen elections in 2006,
and what the Supreme Court and DoJ have been doing since then to ensure
another presidential "victory" for their party,
News from the McCain campaigns
JOHN MCCAIN 2008 LAUNCHES "JOURNEY TO FREEDOM" COMMEMORATING THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN MCCAIN'S RETURN HOME FROM VIETNAM
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today launched a new web video entitled "Journey to Freedom," commemorating the 35th anniversary of John McCain's release on March 15, 1973 from the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" after being held for 5 S years as a prisoner of war.
The web video features fellow former POWs LtCol. Orson Swindle, USMC (Ret.) and Cdr. Paul Galanti, USN (Ret.), as well as John McCain's mother, Mrs. Roberta McCain.
John McCain is a decorated navy captain with a distinguished personal record and family history of service to our country. The son and grandson of two Admirals, McCain spent 5 S years as a POW in Vietnam. He commanded the U.S. Navy's largest squadron. His Naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
A group of John McCain's fellow former POWs released the following letter commemorating the 35th Anniversary of his release:
Dear Friend,
March is a memorable time for the Americans who were released from captivity in North Vietnam during the month back in 1973. The pathway to freedom began in February, as the war in Vietnam was concluding for America.
John McCain, one of those American heroes, returned to freedom on March 15th, 1973, released from Hanoi that day along with other very happy American Prisoners of War. His journey home was the continuation of a remarkable story with chapters yet to be written. Having survived life-threatening and disabling injuries, along with the brutality of the POW experience, John had steadfastly resisted communist efforts to exploit him and his fellow POWs. John's homecoming began a new phase of his life. His courageous service and his political career are well known today, and now he is the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party to be the next President of the United States.
We are but representatives of over eighty former POWs who shared those heady days of freedom and those years of captivity and suffering with John McCain. Collectively, we are proudly doing all we can to help our dear friend, John McCain, become our next commander in chief. We are campaigning with him, helping him raise money, speaking on his behalf and, in constant conversations, promoting his candidacy among our friends and family all over the country. We are doing so because we believe in John McCain.
Our convictions about John's character were born in the crucible of adversity. We have witnessed his courage, integrity, character and intellect. We know and respect his sense of honor and his tenacity in the face of grave danger and prolonged hardship. These qualities, combined with his life experiences, make John ready for the enormous challenges facing the leader of our country. No one -- no one -- is more qualified to be president, to lead our country, to protect our nation and our children and grandchildren. We know him. We know his strengths, his love of country and his commitment to serve it. He has been severely tested, and we have witnessed him under pressure. We trust his judgment and his ability to lead our country in these difficult times.
We are joined in that trust by over 130 retired Flag and General officers who are members of Senator McCain's Military Advisory Council. They know and have worked with John McCain over the past three decades dealing with major national security challenges. They know leadership and they know danger and challenges. They know experience. They know quality. And they chose John McCain for president.
We must elect a leader who is ready on day one for these difficult and dangerous times. We need a leader who will insist that we win in the struggle against radical Islam. John is committed to let our troops win! We need a leader who will take on the big problems that most politicians seek to avoid. Leaders take on the tough issues. John McCain is that sort of leader. He knows the American spirit -- he has lived it like no other candidate. He knows we can do better and that America's best days are ahead.
Sincerely,
Commander Everett Alvarez, USN (Ret.)
POW for 8 1/2 years
Colonel Bud Day, USAF (Ret.)
Medal of Honor
POW Over 5 Years
Rear Admiral Robert Shumaker, USN (Ret.)
POW for 8 years
Colonel Leo Thorsness, USAF (Ret.)
Medal of Honor
POW for 6 years
Commander Paul Galanti, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 1/2 Years
Captain Mike Cronin, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years
Major General John Borling, USAF (Ret.)
POW for over 6 1/2 years
Captain Richard Stratton, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years
Lt Colonel Orson Swindle, USMC (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years.
###
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310 First Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 - (202) 863-8500 - www.gop.com Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
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