UPDATE: John Amato will be on the radio with Rachel Maddow at 5:30 PST/8:30 EST to talk about Blue America’s project against Rove’s Freedom’s Watch on Air America.
Nightline: Monday night in Baghdad, Barack Obama is in the house. The house, the U.S. Embassy and it was an amazing scene.
Barack: I just want to introduce myself, I’m Barack Obama.
(Wild Cheers)
Nightline: The troops and state department workers mobbed him. And he responded with brief remarks praising their service.
Barack: So I don’t care whether you are a Sailor, a Soldier, an Airmen, or Marine. A National Guard, a Reservist, active duty, we just want to say thank you. Read on…
If John McCain and the GOP weren’t scared before Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East, they are now. McCain and his surrogates have been flooding the airwaves with a barrage of attacks against the Democratic candidate and looking more and more desperate. You can see the looks on the faces in the crowd, they are desperate for real leadership and a new direction for our country. Reporter Terry Moran says it all — “Barack Obama needed a big day and he got one.”
Speaking at the Netroots Nations conference in Austin, TX, Thursday, General Wesley Clark thanked the audience of Democratic activists for coming to his aid when the “right-wing freak show” launched a smear campaign about him after his “Face the Nation” remarks about John McCain.
“I was taken out of context. There is just no other way to say it. Someone said to me ‘This is a playbook operation by the right wing freak machine, the great freak show where they take a statement, distort it, blast it out of context and make it personal. They are so good at it they did all three steps in three hours and you fought back and I’m grateful for you from the bottom of my heart.”
In light of John McCain’s appearance before the NAACP’s national convention, Bruce Bartlett makes the case in a WSJ op-ed that McCain should argue that the Republican Party, all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, is the party of civil rights. (If this sounds familiar, Bartlett wrote a book on this subject, called “Wrong on Race.”)
Everyone knows this, but it’s worth repeating: the Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln and was established in 1854 to block the expansion of slavery. The Democratic Party was the party of slavery. […]
After the war, it was the Republican Party that rammed through the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution over Democratic opposition…. Historically speaking, the Republican Party has a far better record on race than the Democrats. Sen. McCain should not be shy about saying so.
This comes less than two weeks after the National Black Republican Association put up billboards in Florida and South Carolina saying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican (a claim which is demonstrably ridiculous).
Now, we’ve been down this road before, but if the right sincerely intends to push this argument again this election year, we might as well go to the trouble of pointing out how foolish — and frankly, intellectually lazy — this entire tack really is.
The inescapable fact is, the Republican Party of the 19th century bears no resemblance to, and has no bearing on, the modern-day Republican Party. The problem isn’t that Bartlett’s history is wrong; it’s that his history is irrelevant and badly misses the point. (Read the rest of this story…)
Today’s vote in the Senate approving FISA legislation was a huge blow to our country, our Constitution and our rule of law. Twenty-six Democrats stayed true to democratic principles and voted against the bill, which grants immunity to telecommunication companies who betrayed the American people by illegally spying on our communications without warrants.
One of the Democrats who voted correctly today was Senator Russ Feingold, who appeared on Wednesday’s Countdown with Rachel Maddow. Feingold has long been a staunch advocate for following the Constitution, speaking out against President Bush’s illegal wiretapping program and fighting and voting against the anti-American Patriot Act. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama voted for the FISA legislation, and while Feingold says there is hope that as president, Obama could change the unconstitutional aspects of the bill, it was still “the wrong vote.”
Maddow: “It is heartening to hear your optimism on the prospect of Obama’s presidency on this issue, but of course, his vote today led a lot of us who see this as a real abrogation of the fourth amendment to be very concerned.”
Feingold:”Well, it was the wrong vote. Any Democrat that voted that way was not voting according to what people in the Democratic Party clearly want, but, you know, we’ll pull together after the election, we’ll lay the case out again.”
Watching the media react to Gen. Wesley Clark was a sight to be seen. The McCain camp basically just had to sit there and laugh at what was happening. Why bother issuing statements and whatnot when major news analysts like Andrea Mitchell can do their work for them? And this blog post about McCain being a Manchurian Candidate by who else–The Politico—didn’t help either.
Andrea furiously threw it in Clark’s face as if he wrote it himself. She also accused Clark of being part of a coordinated effort to attack McCain’s military record.
Andrea: Well, let me point out that some of the critics from the republican side have pointed out that there seems to be an organized campaign and whether or not you played into this that also on Sunday a liberal blogger…on Americablog wrote…
First of all there’s a factual issue because no one has proved that to my satisfaction that John McCain ever did any propaganda for the enemy…
Then she dishonestly brings up the MoveOn ad to link it to McCain’s military service. That’s just a flat out lie. Shame on you, Andrea. Clark rightfully shot back at Mitchell:
Mitchell: Now, I know that John McCain…
Clark: Andrea, that doesn’t say anything about his military career. That asks about John McCain’s judgment and I think that’s a very legitimate issue…
Andrea, Wesley Clark deserves a little respect, don’t you think? You can be sure John never asked Obama’s campaign if he should write that post. And Obama’s people never asked Webb, MoveOn, Clark or any of us to write or say anything either. The message has been sent, people. Do not mess with McCain. I’m sure John McCain thanks you very much, Andrea. A job well done. McCain’s Media strikes again. Here’s more on them and Clark….Let’s see her or the Villagers step up to defend Obama on anything. Won’t happen. Remember how they defended his 100 year in Iraq comment?
Paul Waldman discusses the fact that McCain has successfully exploited his POW status for years with the willing help of his fans in the media. They go so far as to pretend he “never mentions” it, even though it pretty much defines the man…
Brian Williams: You know what I thought was unsaid —they took their position Chris, we’re seeing the replay — they end up in this spot and the sun is coming is just from the side and there in the shadow is John McCain’s buckled, concave shoulder. It’s a part of his body the suit doesn’t fill out because of his war injuries. Again you wouldn’t spot it unless you knew to look for it. He doesn’t give the same full chested profile as the president standing next to him. Talk about a warrior.
Sen. John McCain’s campaign on Monday launched the McCain “Truth Squad” - a group of political and Vietnam contemporaries who would counter attacks on the Senator’s military record. In hopes of nipping any criticism in the bud, the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that worked so hard to defame Sen. John Kerry’s own Vietnam record.
On the conference call, Day - in addition to the other participants - decried comments made by Gen. Wesley Clark over the weekend, in which he questioned whether McCain’s war experience really qualified him to be commander-in-chief. Defending McCain’s service, Day was quick to personalize his remarks, attack.
That Day would politicize Vietnam in his defense of McCain is not surprising. During the 2004 campaign, he said of Kerry: “My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971.” And after appearing in a national advertisement for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign, Day formed the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, an extension of the Swift Boat effort.
Asked to compare the attacks he helped launched against Kerry in 2004 to those being waged at McCain today, Day said the defining issue was truthfulness.
This only makes Obama’s remarks about Clark all the more regrettable. What a liar that Bud Young is.. At least he could have said “truthiness“….
I understand that Obama is going to move to the center during the general. It’s a fairly common practice even if I disagree with it, but to go after MoveOn which supported him so strongly is a bit much.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday, in a major speech on patriotism, criticized MoveOn.org for referring to Gen. David Petraeus as General Betray Us last year. The Illinois senator said politics too often seems “trapped in old, threadbare arguments” that he called “caricatures of left and right.” The Democrat argued that “given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions.”
MoveOn.org, a powerful left-of-center interest group, endorsed Obama in the Democratic presidential race. “None of us expect that arguments about patriotism will, or should, vanish entirely; after all, when we argue about patriotism, we are arguing about who we are as a country, and more importantly, who we should be,” Obama stated in his speech from Independence, Mo. “But surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism.” Obama also said that he would “never question the patriotism of others in this campaign.” The senator made clear, however, that he would “not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”
I agree completely that he has to stand up strong against the smears that are coming and have been raining down on him by the right so far. And we haven’t seen nothin’ yet. We all want him to win very badly in the fall, but he’s moving much more to the right than I would have thought this early.
Sure enough, just as I was about to publish this blog post, I got an email from Obama spokesman Bill Burton: “As he’s said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator McCain’s service, and of course he rejects yesterday’s statement by General Clark.” So much for Vice President Clark.
UPDATE: Take our AOL Hot Seat Poll on whether Obama was justified in criticizing MoveOn and Clark below the fold
Al Franken’s U.S. Senate campaign has released a new ad, hitting Minnesota GOP incumbent, Norm Coleman on the need to invest in America again, and calling him out for his claims that he was right to support the debacle in Iraq, and that he would do so again, even knowing what he knows now:
“Coleman said earlier today that he was not wrong to support the war in Iraq, given what he knew at the time. Nor did he believe that support was wrong knowing what he knows now.”
We released a YouTube video today highlighting Norm’s admission that, knowing what he knows now, he still would have voted to go to war in Iraq.”
Actor John Cusack donated his time to make a great new TV ad reminding voters how McCain is just like Bush on all the important issues.
Can you help raise $70,000 to get the ad in front of swing voters? Read on…
John Amato did a ton of successful work to help get the word out about Cusack’s new movie War. Inc. because it was so relevant to the situation in Iraq. As we’ve seen it now is being distributed to many more cities and theaters throughout the states. The country needs to be constantly reminded about the army of private military contractor’s that have expanded ten fold under Bush and Cheney. It’s a window into the future exploits of the Blackwater type contractors that are now bringing in the big bucks and someday may land in a city or country next to you with freedoms that our usual law enforcement agencies do not enjoy.
John Cusack even did a live C&L chat recently to discuss his fantastic new movie and now he’s made this ad for Moveon.org and its right on the money — but, they’ll need money to get this great commercial on the air and seen by as many people as possible. Visit Moveon.org now and please donate if you can and help get John’s message out to the people.
It’s been about a week since Barack Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination, and talk about who might be in the running for his VP slot has quickly gone from parlor game to all-consuming obsession in some political circles.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s vice presidential vetting team discussed roughly 20 names with a senior Senate Democrat Tuesday, including some well-known options and others that are “outside the box.”
Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota told CNN that some of those on the list are “top officials now,” others are “former lawmakers” and others are “former top military leaders.”
Conrad said Obama’s team wanted his impressions about the people on the list, including the respect they command and their “standing with their colleagues.” He termed their discussion “wide-ranging.”
MSNBC’s report added some additional details, pointing to a series of specific names that have been “bandied about” among congressional Dems and Obama’s search committee, including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, Kathleen Sebelius, Ted Strickland, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Daschle, and Sam Nunn. The report indicated that “the two other names that invited extended discussion were Biden and Strickland.” (For the record, the only name on that list that would worry me is Nunn.)
As for “former top military leaders,” Wesley Clark’s name certainly comes to mind, as does Anthony Zinni’s. But MSNBC noted, “[O]ne name the vetters are inserting in the conversations is one that is not a household name — Ret. Gen. James Jones, the former Marine-turned-NATO Supreme Allied Commander.”
Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley joined Keith to commend Kucinich and his impeachment bill, which is now co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Wexler. While Turley says there are numerous crimes for which Bush could easily be impeached, the President’s greatest ally has been the Democratic Congress who have skirted their constitutional duties and consistently given him a pass rather than practice any oversight. It’s clear impeachment will remain off the table for the remainder of Bush’s term, but as Keith put it, problems like this will never be solved if people like Kucinich and Wexler don’t stand up and say something.
Olbermann: “I’ve often argued here, that even if you don’t think the words aren’t lead to any actions, say the words anyway, simply to get them on the record for history and simply because, nothing has ever changed from bad to good in this country without somebody first saying, this is bad. Assess the importance of what Dennis Kucinich did last night.”
Turley: “You know, it is very important. The fact is, that this is not supposed to happen the way it’s happened in the last seven years. The framers, I think, would have been astonished by the absolute passivity, if not the collusion of the Democrats in protecting President Bush from impeachment. I mean, they created a system that was essentially idiot-proof, and God knows we’ve put that to the test in the past few years, but I don’t think they anticipated that so many members of the opposition would stand quietly in the face of clear presidential crimes.”
On a side note, major kudos go out to Keith and Countdown for beating BillO for the week in the crucial 25-45 demo!
Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, kicked off his two week, swing state tour today in Raleigh, NC. In a speech about economics, Senator Obama made clear the differences between his health care platform and the failed Bush/McCain policies that cater to the “healthy and wealthy” and have left some 47 million Americans without health insurance.
Obama pledged to make it easier for every American to get good health care, do away with exemptions for pre-existing conditions, stop drug companies from price gouging, and then said something that was greeted with great enthusiasm by the crowd:
“By the way, I’m going to be partnering up with Elizabeth Edwards, we’re going to be figuring all this out.”
Obama is smart to enlist Elizabeth Edwards, who backed Hillary Clinton’s health care plan earlier in the primary season. I believe that together, they will come up with a health care plan with mass appeal that is so strong it will put the issue out of McCain’s reach this fall.
