Feb
14

Victory at any cost?

In Section: Fighting Bob Posted By: Fighting Bob

Bill Dixon told me that "politics ain't bean bags" and he was correct, but even politics has some rules. The Clintons have always operated as if the rules don't apply to them--especially when running behind.

Look at Florida and Michigan. They were told not to move their primary and they did. The candidates agreed not to compete in those two states--delegates won't be seated. OK so far? Hillary got more votes in Michigan possibly because hers was the only name on the ballot. And she got more votes in Florida.

I smelled a rat when she flew to Florida to a "victory" party the night of the primary. Now, sit down please because Hillary wants to claim both states! Whoa Nelly! Are you kidding? Had you made the argument months ago, you might have some shred of credibility. Not now.

And Mark Penn argues, get this, that super delegates are better positioned to decide than caucus delegates because, I'm not making this up, "Caucuses tend to attract fewer voters than primaries." Ufdah! Super delegates, anointed by the insiders, are more representative of Minnesotans than the DFL caucus attendee? Cut the horse heathers.

One more point. To keep pointing out that African-Americans support Obama suggests that it is because he is African-American. Nonsense! Blacks are the most loyal group of voters in the Democratic fold. I got 85-90 percent of the African-American votes when I ran for governor and U.S. Senate, and my pale Irish skin was not the reason.

The Clintons can't stop playing the race card. But take this to the bank: If the Superdelegates steal this nomination, there will be hell to pay.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: State Bar President Tom Basting appointed a commission to study TV ads of the two candidates running for the Supreme Court. He modestly appointed himself chair and provided the funding from the State Bar. (I've asked for the minutes of the Board of Governors approving this modest effort, and a copy of the budget, but no luck. Surprise, surprise.) Basting was apparently stung by criticism from Charlie Sykes, Bradley Foundation fellow and right-wing nut. Sykes found a contribution Basting made to a Democrat! Wow!

Basting's response? He put a WMC Board member on the panel. WMC is the problem, for heaven's sake. They want to buy the Supreme Court majority and threaten to pour millions of dollars into Gabelman's campaign from anonymous donors to defeat moderate Justice Louis Butler. Nice going, Tom Basting.

Paul Soglin braved the cold to picket WMC. The signs read: "Don't let WMC Buy Our Court." I looked but did not see the Basting Commission or Tom himself on the picket line, nor did I see them testifying in favor of public funding and disclosure of money givers. We need real reform not a do-nothing commission.
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Zero foreign policy experience - look where that's gotten us. Also, repealling NAFTA and his anti-business stances are not going to help this economy.
 
Can Obama catch Osama? How can Mr. Obama be a good candidate for the presidency with zero foreign policy experience? Remember we elected one before without a clue? I feel this whole Obama thing is mostly without substance and lot of it %u2500media hype. Every political event that Mr. Obama attends is such a media savvy, scripted and orchestrated affair. His arrival, getting on the stage, the background faces, all of it done on cue with the help of consultants and managers like in a movie production, with perfect pitch and timing for the newscast footage, for the maximum effect—reminiscent of Hitler’s big frenzied rallies in Berlin%u2500 using all the elements of the stagecraft. Although he’s extremely short on substance, in these days of slick marketing, Mr. Obama has so far proven that he’s great at running campaigns. Remember we’ve tried that one before? What we need right now is substance, substance and more substance to deal with worsening problems in the country, rather than all the foolish talk, and Obama style phantasmagoria. US is now 40th in the world in infant mortality, in longevity 41st! We are quickly on our way to becoming a third world country! Someone said that US has become “the richest third world country in the world!” What we need now is a person like Hillary Clinton who has a sober manner and a practical head on her shoulders. Mr. Obama is so dependent on media to prop him up, and Mr. Obama’s image seemed so well manufactured for the consumption and the manipulation of the public, his politics looking more and more like a Hollywood production than a real life political event. While Mr. Obama’s message is about change, what Mr. Obama really does seemed to be steeped in corporate media that cheered us along in a very big way to the quagmire in Iraq. Mr. Obama also claims to be MLK and even JFK, without having done tiniest fraction of the vast accomplishments of MLK or JFK. Do you really want to go back to those tragic times of American history? Mr. Obama even lacks a sustentative legislative record. But for American media, deeds have little value if you have the right image. I watch Mr. Obama’s rise in alarm for the sake of America’s future. His hubris is unsurpassed in American politics. I find him and his message without a clear political logic or details, more suited for TV audience, no discussion of issues, programs or policies, rather his speeches are full of name dropping and all sorts of claims, rich in platitudes and slogans. How come Mr. Obama’s embracing the Kennedy Camelot of the 60’s is considered going forward by the media, and if Hillary Clinton looks back to the 90’s for guidance%u2500 now that’s considered going backwards?
 
 
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