October 16th, 2008
Patterico:
Put aside your rosy scenarios. We are headed for a bloodbath. At this point, every single undecided voter is going to break for Obama. His coattails will bring in more Democrats to a Congress that has a worse approval rating than Bush. It’s absurd — but it’s going to happen.
Oddly-Spelled Jeff:
I know the debate hasn’t started yet but no matter, Obama won. Of course McCain won among FoxNews viewers, Drudge and Instapundit readers, uh-counters, Freepers and anyone who actually paid attention to what was said. None of that matters because Obama won big among the coveted can’t-see past their noses middle without whom no one, least of all a Republican candidate in a rabidly anti-Republican election cycle, can ever win. Time to welcome the new overlords, and say hello to the 21st Century’s answer to the Great Depression and the new Warren Court.
A commenter at SayUncle:
McCain has my vote, but it will be a rocky 4 years till we can get a real executive. Palin Jindal in 2012.
Ace of Spades:
McCain is now the one dealing in the airy-fairy realm of vague slogans, whereas Barack Obama is the one communicating to the country on specific issues that are paramount to them.
Socialism is making its case while capitalism remains silent, as if ashamed to even speak.
Of course Barack Oama is winning. 90% of success is just showing up, and capitalism isn’t showing up. Because McCain is too timid to fix the blame on the socialistic risk-transfer the Fannie and Freddie subprime mortgages represented.
A great harm has been done to the nation. The country is angry. They are looking for people to blame — and if John McCain is too meek or “honorable” to lay blame where it deserves to be laid, well then, they’ll blame him. And the party he represents.
Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and yes, even Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, have no qualms whatsoever about blaming this crisis on McCain and his running mates George Bush and the GOP.
As to the “boy who cried socialism” shtick, I think hilzoy has the best response:
Seriously: given all the fretting on the right about Obama’s possible socialist leanings, of which I have seen precisely no evidence, you’d think they would have noticed that someone has recently been taking steps that are genuinely socialist. And that someone isn’t our guy; he’s theirs.
The moral of this story is: there are several roads to socialism. One is to try to bring it about. There is, as I said, no evidence that Obama wants to do that. But another is to govern so disastrously that drastic steps like nationalizing banks look like the least bad option. That was the Bush administration’s route.
If the people at the Corner are really worried about socialism, they should spend less time trying to conjure evidence of it out of thin air, and more time trying to make sure that their party nominates and elects people who will actually govern competently. Their years of cheerleading for Bush’s incompetent leadership have done more to bring about socialism in this country than William Ayers ever did.
Categories: Politics, Sour Grapes |
2 Comments
October 14th, 2008
David Kurtz, of Talking Points Memo, catches this opening prayer at a McCain rally:
I would also add, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November. Because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god - whether it’s Hindu [sic], Buddha [sic], Allah - that [McCain’s] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord I pray that you would guard your reputation, because they’re gonna think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. And so I pray that you would step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.
If it weren’t so offensive it would be funny. His ignorance is palpable (he apparently thinks “Hindu” is the name of a god, and that Buddhists pray to a god), the familiar xenophobic bigotry is well in evidence, and it reeks of childishness: he thinks his god cares who wins an election, and that elections are some sort of popularity contest between gods, a struggle to see who is “bigger”. Apparently gods have to intervene in elections (just as in football games and American Idol competitions) to “guard their reputations”, because it would be so embarrassing if their chosen candidate didn’t win. (Or, in this case, if the, supposedly, chosen Christian candidate of many non-Christians were to win, it would somehow be a victory for the non-Christian gods of those non-Christian supporters of that Christian candidate, and a loss for the god of the other Christian candidate, who is also the god of the winning candidate, but is humiliated by the victory of the one Christian rather than the other. The mind boggles at what this all means for Joe Lieberman.) He also thinks he’s in a position to give personal advice to his own god, which may not be a high-water mark for Christian chutzpah, but at least hints at what’s in store if we allow these yahoos to grab any further political power here on earth.
Of course it would be futile to expect any kind of consistency or rational thought to attach to this nonsense: If the Christian god’s reputation really is called into question by the outcome of this election, then when McCain and his fundy sheepfold get their asses handed to them in November one would, presumably, be entitled to regard that god in an appropriately lesser light, right? I mean, if McCain’s victory really does prove the greatness of McCain’s and Obama’s god, then Obama’s victory must really prove his impotence. But you’ll see no admission of that sort, you can be sure.
What we will see is more and more religion-as-competitive-sport among the beleaguered, angry, and resentful religious right, and more and more pandering to their fears and hostilities as the GOP continues to lose the middle. And as the non-Christian population increases in size and visibility, and as right-wing Christians lose the fight on their social-issue hatreds, one by one (miscegenation? lost, decades ago; mandatory school prayer? lost, decades ago; atheists-as-boogeymen? in full retreat; contraception? lost, decades ago and continuing; gay rights? lost, step by step over decades; gay marriage? in retreat; abortion? stalemate; stem cell research? stalling action, about to lose big time; gay adoption? losing; gays in military? partial retreat, about to lose it all; “Christian nation”? now a hallmark of bigotry), they gin up smaller and smaller issues to demagogue about (”Obama attended a madrassa”) and cling to sillier and sillier tribal symbols (God’s reputation in an election; “purity rings”).
When can we finally say religion has simply jumped the shark? Is it time yet? I think it’s getting close to time.
UPDATE: Jesus’ General nails it.
Categories: Church & State, Culture, General, News & Current Events, Politics, Religion, Sour Grapes |
1 Comment
September 18th, 2008
Fucking bullpen can’t fucking hold a four fucking run lead with two fucking outs in the bottom of the fucking ninth. [UPDATE: And nobody fucking on.]
Fucking sucks.
[ Note: As of this writing, they haven't officially lost yet, but it's only a matter of time. UPDATE: Yep, they lost in 12. Box ]
Categories: MLB/MiLB, Sour Grapes, Sports |
3 Comments
