Another Brick…

The AP has called the Mississippi 1st district race for Democrat Travis Childers.

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Sen. Clinton's Speech

[...]

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Robert Novak, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and
Associates, Frank Donatelli and Roy Blunt appearing in Republicans are just crazy.

There's more important news out there, we still have troops dying, for apparently no reason, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mess in Burma and the earthquake in China.

But this morning I was just trying to comprehend, what on earth would make any rational human being want to vote Republican.

While I'm no fan of Bob Novack, I did read his piece about Huckabee wanting to deep six McCain's presidential run.

You remember Mike Huckabee? He ran for the Republican nomination and he is the poster boy for the Religious Right. He's also the guy who wants to do away with the Constitution and replace it with his own interpretation of the Bible.

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I
believe it's a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change
the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the
Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's
standards," Huckabee said, referring to the need for a constitutional human life
amendment and an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Well, Huckabee's been making kissyfaces at McCain for quite a while now and Novak comes along and says that's all a front for an evil plan to help Obama win in November. Somehow the country deserves the plague of an Obama presidency to get it back on the right track and open the door for the Right Reverend Mike Huckabee to take over the country in 2012.

Nevertheless, reports out of the evangelical community dispute Huckabee's
support. One experienced, credible activist in Christian politics who would not
let his name be used told me Huckabee in personal conversation with him embraced
the concept that an Obama presidency might be what the American people deserve.
That fits what has largely been a fringe position among evangelicals, that the
pain of an Obama presidency is in keeping with the Bible's prophecy.

Of course, Huckabee's denying everything. Would a Baptist preacher lie?

I e-mailed Gov. Huckabee for a response, and he quickly shot back: "it?s total
and absolute nonsense! I told Bob this last week in a phone call. He went with
the story with his 'unnamed source.' Should have been listed as an 'unbrained
source.' He must have liked the story no matter how ludicrous it is. There was
NO conversation between Mike Farris and me to that effect. None. I don?t know of
anyone who feels that 'America deserves Obama.'

I, for one, do believe we deserve Obama.

Over on Huckabee's own blog, his denials are most vociferous and he even manages to put the usual right wing innuendo on Obama's character. Pretty slick for a country preacher.

Where do people dream up this stuff? Forget the ?anonymous? sources?there?s
nothing anonymous about my stand and here it is. We don?t ?deserve? Obama?we
DESERVE a President with the character, convictions, experience, and wisdom to
see the problems we face and try to lead us to solve them. We deserve a
President who truly loves this country and from whom there is no doubt as to his
respect for Faith, Family, and the kind of Freedom that those before us have
given their lives to pass on to us. John McCain meets that criteria and that?s
why I am campaigning for him and not hoping for Obama. The nonsense that I want
Obama to win this year so I can run in 2012 is absurd. I love my country more
than my own ambition. So let the record and truth be clear. And let the
?anonymous? sources either show the courage to stand up and be accountable for
their comments or shut up and leave commentary to people who aren?t afraid of
their own shadow.

Somehow, I just can't make myself believe that Mike Huckabee puts very much before his ambition.

If you go to Mike's blog, be sure to read the comments. Are these really the kind of people that we want making the decisions for our country? You can just feel the zeal dripping from their commentary.

Getting away from Huckabee, here's a quote from John McCain.

The people that surround me are honorable people.? - John
McCain [Town Hall Meeting, Exeter, NH 03/12/08]

And here's some of those "honorable" people that he surrounds himself with. They are all good Republicans, they'll do anything for enough money. The list is long, but here's one example.

Frank Donatelli

McCain Tapped Lobbyist Frank Donatelli To Run His Efforts At RNC. McCain
tapped lobbyist Frank Donatelli to become deputy chairman of the Republican
National Committee. The New York Times reported Donatelli will ?act as the
main liaison between the committee and the McCain campaign.? Donatelli is
a lobbyist at McGuire Woods and previously served as a lobbyist at Akin Gump
Strauss Hauer & Feld. His clients have included AT&T, Exxon Mobil,
PhRMA, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Verizon. [New York Times, 3/7/08; McGuire
Woods, accessed 5/12/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Records, accessed
5/12/08]

Donatelli Enlisted to Improve Ethiopia?s Relationship with U.S. In a
September 2005 letter sent to Ambassador Kassahun Ayele of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Donatelli set forth his obligations under their
contract, namely to provide ?government relations and related public
communications services to assist and work with Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., in
promoting and strengthening Ethiopia?s relations with the United States and, in
general, providing such other appropriate advice and assistance as will serve to
achieve these purposes.? [FARA Database, accessed 3/18/08, Letter signed by
Frank Donatelli on 9/6/05] ?

Human Rights Watch: ?The Ethiopian Government?s Human Rights Record
Remains Poor.? According to Human Rights Watch?s World Report 2008, ?The
Ethiopian government?s human rights record remains poor, both within the country
and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops
have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government
of Somalia. Government forces committed serious human rights violations,
including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against
Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somalia Region (Region 5). Abuses took place
in other parts of the country, notably in Oromia State where local officials
carried out mass arrests, extra-judicial killings and economic sanctions.?
[Human Rights Watch, accessed 5/12/08, emphasis added]

It's not just the Republican presidential candidates that are so out of touch that they don't seem to realize what they're saying. House Minority Whip Roy Blunt went on CNN and admitted that McCain would be just like a third term for Bush. He thinks that's a good thing.

Why would anyone, with even a semi-functioning brain, vote Republican?

It's Wednesday. Think about it.

Later

Read The Full Article:
http://lowdownsplace.blogspot.com/2008/05/robert-novak-mike-huckabee-john-mccain.
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Election Open Thread

Clinton wins big in West Virginia, picks up 10-12 delegates, but Obama will still be the nominee.[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OpenLeft-FrontPage/~3/289866171/showDiary.do

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Internet Bubble

I do find this interesting. USA Today: On the eve of the West Virginia primary, most Democrats nationally say Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton should continue the campaign, but more now say that it?s time for Clinton to quit.In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 55% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents also would like Illinois Sen. [...]

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http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/13/internet-bubble/

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Hillary Clinton WV Victory Speech

Hillary Clinton is speaking to supporters in West Virginia. Update [2008-5-13 21:9:19 by Todd Beeton]:"I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had their chance to have their voices heard." Update [2008-5-13[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mydd/~3/289827512/72216

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Please Stick a Fork in Lieberman: Isn't He Done
Yet

President Truman's old adage that there are no friends in politics has been put on vivid display this election season. Even in CampClinton, long time allegiances don't seem to hold water anymore. And, just as we did four years ago, we had the Democratic presidential nominee (John Kerry, for those of you who've blocked it out) diss his former running mate (my guy, John Edwards) and endorse someone else -- the junior senator from Illinois.

Which, of course, brings to mind my personal fav, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who turned his back on Democrats (again) when he endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for president. Never mind that Independent Joe caucuses with the Democrats or that it's our majority which provides him with the committee chairmanship (aka, bully pulpit) that he loves so much. It seems sadly appropriate that Joe gave the Dems the cold shoulder from the frozen tundra of New Hampshire.

Joe's really a piece of work when you think about it. Let's not forget that good ol' Joe lent his weighty support to McCain instead of home state Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), as is traditional -- yeah, remember, Joe, when Dodd was the only senator who endorsed your wannabe, also-ran candidacy back in 2004, when you had your own delusions of grandeur about the Oval Office having your name on it?

Now, I know Dodd endorsed Ned LaMont, Joe, after he beat you in Connecticut's Democratic primary -- as did the rest of the Democratic party. You lost the party's nomination fair and square and for good reason, Joe. Dodd was just playing by the rules. But paybacks are hell, huh? I guess you learned about that when your former running mate Al Gore endorsed Gov. Howard Dean over your two-faced self four years ago. Bet that stung.


What's next, Joe? A McCain-Lieberman ticket? Hmmm.... well, you share bylines, write legislation in tandem, why not crisscross the country together in a vain attempt to show your mutual obsession with a failed war policy really ain't so bad after all? While you say you have no ambitions to be VP (sure, Joe, 'cause your politics over the past few years haven't demonstrated an ounce of personal ambition), Sen. McCain credits good ol' Joe's endorsement with helping him out in New Hampshire, putting the wheels back on the Straight Talk Express.


So, he owes you, right Joe? Especially if you keep honing your skills at playing the gratuitous hitman role against the Dem's presumptive nominee, Barack Obama. The lastest bit about Obama being Hamas' candidate of choice was inspired -- and you even said it with a straight face. Way to memorize those talking points, Joe. I mean, hey, if you can show the Maverick up front that you're willing to be his lap, um, I mean, attack dog, he'll have to move you to the top of his Veep list, right?

Well, don't bet on it, Joe...there are no friends in politics, as you've amply demonstrated. Don't count on being rewarded for this latest sucker punch, Joe. I wasn't shocked by your endorsement/defection to Team McCain. And I wasn't shocked when you lumped your former party's frontrunner in with militant extremists. In fact, you're becoming depressingly consistent. It's no wonder you endorsed John McCain -- none of the other Democratic candidates asked for your support, and who could blame them?

I just wish Majority Leader Harry Reid would get a clue, and boot you out of the Democratic caucus once and for all. Becasue for you, Joe, I really hope that what goes around really does come back 'round again -- and slaps you upside the head. At the very least, Reid should take your chairmanship away and give it to a senator who will actually vote Blue in November, as he recently hinted.

But the sad fact is, for now, we still need your sorry ass to keep the Dems in power. But that won't be the case next year, Joe. The Democrats are looking good to take back some prime Senate seats, and hopefully that means your double agent days are numbered. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.


Copyright 2008. The Zaftig Redhead. All Rights Reserved.

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-lieberman-isnt-he.html

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Nebraska Democratic Senate Primary Results Thread

Here are the results: Scott Kleeb: 13,069 votes (66 percent) Tony Raimondo: 5,420 votes (27 percent) 3 percent of the expected vote reporting as of 9:48 PM Eastern Looking good so far for Kleeb... Tags: NE-Sen, Nebraska, Senate 2008 (all tags) [...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mydd/~3/289827513/825

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West Virginia Results Thread #4

With 12% reporting, Clinton is leading 60%-33%.  Treat this as a live thread for her speech.

And by the way, on the Republican side, Senator Straight Talk, with no credible competition, is only getting 76% of the vote.  

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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/289840435/1875

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Childers On Track To Win It

I didn't think the Dems would pull this one off. The Republicans brought Cheney in late bout of campaigning -- maybe not such a bad idea. But it looks like Childers is going to win this thing. He's only narrowly ahead. But it's pretty much only his[...]

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