The Republican Field of 2008.

The Republican Field of 2008.

In watching the GOP Field of 2008, it's like watching Alice in Wonderland, because so many things that just go in opposite of everything we supposedly knew about the GOP has been turned on its head.

The GOP used to be about ' authenticity'. They cherished 'true believers' above all else.

That is why Flipping Mitt and Rudy having ANY sort of a chance makes absolutely no sense.

Mitt Romney

Flipping Mitt is the most phony, plastic politician that I've ever seen. He has no core. He has no set of values, except for that he believes he should be President. That's the ONLY value he has.

He was against abortion until he became for abortion to win Governor of Massachusetts before he became against it again because he was running for President.

Pick and issue, and you'll see the same flip-flop all over the place.

He lied on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He's a total fraud.

He is a phony. Not only is he a phony, but he's a phony who believes in the continuation of the Imperial Presidency, as his responses to the Boston Globe questionnaire about Presidential Power proves. If you believe in The Constitution, Flipping Mitt's not your man.

EVERY PAPER that has studied Flipping Mitt in New Hampshire and Massachusetts has taken a pass on endorsing him.

If you want to read what those who know Flipping Mitt best TRULY think about him, try the Manchester Union Leader, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Concord Monitor.

And, I guess, I'm suspicious of ANYONE who was part of a secret meeting last year with Conservative bigwigs including Dick Cheney. NO OTHER GOP candidate was invited to the meeting - only Romney? That's enough guilt by association to cast yet another shadow on Flipping Mitt.


Rudy Giuliani

Rudy...Rudy...Rudy.

If the GOP nominates a pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-gun, thrice married MAYOR as their nominee...a few things...

NOT ONE MUMBLING WORD ABOUT MORALITY.
NOT ONE MUMBLING WORD ABOUT FAMILY VALUES.

Don't even open the mouth to utter the words.

Rudy should be disqualified for many reasons,but if you only need one, here you go:

He's welcomed, with open arms, into the busom of his campaign...

THE INTELLECTUAL ARCHITECTS OF THE IRAQ WAR.

They are firmly ensconsed in Camp Rudy, and that kind of ' company he keeps' should make you think more than twice about him.

And, it's not just the ' Progressives' who have a problem with Rudy.

This is what the AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE MAGAZINE thought about him.



Now, these are his OWN PEOPLE...his OWN PARTY...telling you which way is up...

So, that really leaves us with Huckabee and McCain.

Mike Huckabee.

I understand the appeal. He is a personable man, with an air of being comfortable in his own skin and making others at ease at the same time. While it's clear that Huckabee is a Christian, and that his faith is the cornerstone to his approach to governmental policy, it is also quite clear that Huckabee DOES NOT define his Christianity narrowly to the issues of: Abortion and Homosexuals. While those issues are in there for him, they are NOT the central focus of his Christianity, and that is one of the problems that the GOP Establishment has with Huckabee. As long as they could throw red meat to the Evangelicals, by so narrowly defining Christianity on the lines of Abortion and Gays, knowing full well that they had no intention of really doing anything on either issue, it was ok.

But, Huckabee is NOT that kind of Evangelical. He is NOT that kind of religious conservative. In listening to Huckabee give a few speeches, I have realized why the man was able to garner over 40% of the Black vote. It's because the Black voters in Arkansas saw that Huckabee was NOT a ' let them eat cake' conservative. Listening to him talk about keeping in mind the poverty-striken young boy in one of the poorest parts of Arkansas when he made decisions, he was speaking to the Christianity that African-Americans were pretty much raised upon until this Prosperity Gospel came on the scene. It was a Jesus that helped those 'least among us'.

Huckabee speaks a Populist message. He talks about those on ' Main Street' who are experiencing the economic anxiety of the middle-class and working class. He doesn't believe in unfettered capitalism without regards to the working man and woman. And nothing scares the GOP Establishment more than someone talking a Populist Message. Someone who isn't following the ' let them eat cake' model, which is why they are determined to stomp out Huckabee at all costs.

John McCain.

A candidate left for dead this summer has climbed out of the doldrums and back into the hunt.

Why?

Because, he finally became the John McCain of 2000 again. He may not be from central casting (a la Romney), or be a smooth talker (the Huckster), but there is something unmistakeably authentic about John McCain. It's when he lost it that he walked away from who he was.

In their endorsement of McCain, the conservative Manchester Union Leader said the following:

On Jan. 8, New Hampshire Republicans will make one of the most important choices for their party and nation in the history of our presidential primary. Their choice ought to be John McCain.

We don't agree with him on every issue. We disagree with him strongly on campaign finance reform. What is most compelling about McCain, however, is that his record, his character, and his courage show him to be the most trustworthy, competent, and conservative of all those seeking the nomination. Simply put, McCain can be trusted to make informed decisions based on the best interests of his country, come hell or high water

I think that's the bottom line about McCain. You don't have to agree with him on every issue. But, you can be certain that behind his decisions, there is a certain CORE there. He took his lumps in those debates because of his stances on issues that made him out of the mainstream with the party, but he took them because he believed in them. In debate after debate, John McCain would often provide the most ' HUMAN ' of moments in those debates, and they stood out because of his humanity and authenticity. In his Boston Globe Questionnaire, McCain stands up for The Constitution and the belief that the President is NOT above the law.

McCain has garnered the endorsements of the Boston Globe, Boston Herald,Concord Monitor and Nashua Telegraph.

I don't root for John McCain because I think he'd be the easiest GOP candidate. In fact, I believe he's the hardest GOP candidate. But, when I think of the possibility of a Republican President, he's the only one that DOESN'T make me think the very foundation of this country would be in jeopardy with his win.

NPR Redux: Sharpton & Kwanzaa

Just wanted to post the audio (once you click through, hit the "Listen" button at the top of the page. Est 15min) of our latest appearance on the Blogger Roundtable at NPR's News & Notes. Thanks to all involved in the show for getting us in the lineup so much this past year!

Again we didn't get to the Enough is Enough campaign, but we spent some solid time on Sharpton and Kwanzaa.

McCain losing votes to Obama in N.H.

Hat tip: Prometheus6

McCain losing votes to Obama in N.H.
By Maeve Reston and Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
December 30, 2007

NASHUA, N.H. -- Like many New Hampshire voters, Dave Montgomery considers himself a dyed-in-the-wool independent -- which in this state means he can vote in either the Republican or Democratic presidential primary when he goes to the polls Jan. 8.

This year, the semi-retired school bus driver from Milford finds himself torn between two candidates, one from each party: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama of (D-Ill.).

Montgomery likes McCain, he said, because "he seems to be enough of a rebel." He likes Obama for pretty much the same reason -- because he seems to be "his own man."

"I think either one of them could do the job," he said.

Independents like Montgomery may be the decisive factor for both major parties when New Hampshire holds the nation's first primary next week, hot on the heel's of Iowa's caucuses on Thursday. And the choices these nonaligned New Hampshire voters make almost assuredly will shape the nation's later primary races.

"This big group in the middle . . . has a chance to really transform the election," said Tom Rath, a veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist who is advising former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.). Describing the efforts to woo independents, he added: "It's more like a general election here."

If Obama bests national front runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), he probably will owe his New Hampshire victory to independents, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll suggested last week.

Among the state's registered Democrats, the survey found Clinton led Obama, 35% to 28%. But among independents who plan to vote in the Democratic primary, Obama led, 37% to 24% -- turning the contest into a virtual tie.

Rest of the article is HERE.

The reason why this article is important, is because it points out the fallacy of Barack Obama's ' Unelectability'.

In the last month, poll after poll has consistently shown that Barack Obama polls well, against every major GOP Candidate in the General Election. He consistently polls BETTER than Hillary Clinton.

Why?

Because of his appeal to independents and some Republicans.

You see in this article that Hillary wasn't remotely a choice for him. It was Obama or McCain. Independents have already told the pollsters that they aren't voting for Hillary Clinton. They will consider Obama.

You win elections by trying to appeal to the broadest possible constituency. Of course you CAN win with '50%+1', but what has that brought us in this country the past seven years? Nothing but bitterness upon bitterness. Why set ourselves up for that AGAIN (with Clinton), when we don't have to. When you have a candidate that can gather a broad coalition to govern.

Barack Obama is electable.

He's NOT the one that HALF THE COUNTRY says they will NEVER VOTE FOR.

I have said it before; I'm not naive to think that Obama couldn't be victim to some sort of Bradley Effect. But, I stand by this: for him to catch up to where Clinton is RIGHT NOW?

It would have to be the size of a tsunami.


Cross-posted at BrownIowa

Where are the Gun Rights, Second Amendment People With THIS Case?

Originally saw this case on Prometheus 6.

A commentary at Black America Web opens with this:

A bunch of white guys show up at your house after 11 p.m., cursing, calling your 20-year-old son the N-word and threatening to kill him. You take your .32 Beretta, go outside and order the mob off your property.

Instead of leaving, one of the white guys slaps the gun in defiance. What do you do?

John H. White, a resident of Riverhead, N.Y., said he knew what he had to do. On Aug. 9, 2006, White found himself and his son Aaron faced with precisely the scenario described above. Daniel Cicciaro, 17 years old, was the white kid who slapped the gun in White’s hand. White shot Cicciaro in the face, fatally wounding him.

Three days before Christmas, a jury of 11 whites and one black in Suffolk County, N.Y., found White guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

You read right. They come onto his property; threaten his child. Don't leave after KNOWING that there is a gun. One of them gets killed, and JOHN WHITE is the one who was found guilty?

WTF?

WTF?

The man in Texas kills 2 who weren't even breaking into HIS house, but his NEIGHBOR'S house...not charged.

This Black man is on HIS property, protecting HIS child, from a White mob spewing racial epithets at him....and he's been found GUILTY?

WHAT THE #*$&?

Where the hell is the National Rifle Association?
Where the hell are all those Second Amendment fanatics?
Where the hell are all those Property Rights fanatics?

Is anyone going to sit here and tell me that a WHITE MAN...
if FIVE BLACK GUYS showed up at his house...
AT NIGHT....
and after you've told them about the gun, they don't