Site Presented By
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
This stuff was working in August when Obama was on vacation and preparing for the convention. But now when these people see him in the debates expecting a raving incompetent, imagine their surprise when they see that McCain fits that bill while Obama is calm and professional.
I'm starting to think this will be a huge blowout. The GOP will then turn its ire inward and begin eating itself from within. The unhinged behavior of BillO the other night is another sign of this cornered rat syndrome.
I expect the 'Kristallnacht moment' to come sometime in October. The neo-cons and the people who follow them like they are all members of the same cult. They are fascists pure and simple. They are in it for the jugular. We better hope nothing happens to Senator Obama. And did you hear about the republican who said he was told if they didnt pass the bailout that martial law would be declared. The republicans ship is sinking fast and they will do anything and everything for it to right itself. They will not go quietly into that good night....
Glenn’s post and Josh Marshall's (linked by gandhi) are both on the money.
One thing that struck me was that the McCain rally from Glenn’s video sounded like a taping of Jerry Springer.
I attended a Biden rally not too long ago (before the debate) - several thousand were there. I would think if anyone had a right to be angry or hateful, it would be those of us in the Biden crowd that have watched our nation steadily disintegrate year-after-year, largely under the leadership of the opposition’s party. Our crowd was very enthusiastic, but was completely well-behaved and there was nothing like the hateful loudmouths that competed with McCain and Palin. We cheered often and booed only a few times at the mention of McCain’s name or a damaging Republican policy, and no one tried to make themselves part of Biden’s speech. (And I contributed my fair share to both the cheering and the booing.)
Obviously, McCain’s negativity, the personal attacks and hate-mongering, fuels much of the anger and hate in his audiences. At the rally, Biden focused on the positive - changing things for the better - and directed any negativity solely at policies, not people. In fact, as Biden usually does, he even complimented McCain personally (which may have precipitated one of my boos).
I know this is Simple Answers to Simple Questions-time, but do McCain/Palin even care about the damaging effects of the hate and anger they are inciting? The fact they have made the calculation that holding office is worth that cost is disqualifying, imo.
One other tell from the Biden rally: Palin’s name was only mentioned twice and the crowd did not respect her enough even to boo her, they laughed derisively. Pew is right.
Like that final part of the horror movie where the possessed victim's head rotates 360 degrees, spouting black vomit, the McCain campaign's end is an ugly, horrific, spew of right-wing venom.
But Barack's people won't be drawn off their game. His poll numbers continue to climb, as the GOP circles the drain.
I'm loving it.
You've sketched out the only alternative scenario I can think of: there is a Machiavellian plan in the works which accepts (or requires) periods of Democratic control.
Yes, these periods might be useful--for placing blame, for stirring up the base against the opposing party. Or to simply punish the Republicans who were not allegiant to the corporatist agenda.
I find it unlikely, however, based on the way much of the Rovian crowd acts. They are like children throwing temper tantrums--impulsive, shortsighted. The highly visible guys, at least, clearly aren't capable of planning decades in advance. And having to accept losing as part of a greater plan? That seems incomprehensible. They don't tolerate losing an argument, much less an election!
Sure, Bush, Rove, McCain...they may all be window dressing. The men behind the curtain--Cheney and the rest of the PNAC crowd, the alphabet soup of agencies increasingly enmeshed with our national security appartus--maybe they can wait out an Obama presidency.
But some of those guys are getting really old. Cheney has racked up how many heart attacks? And so much damage has been done to the Constitution already. Killing it off completely is within reach right now more than any time in our country's history. Add the shock of a faltering world economy and an unprecedented U.S. monetary crisis and you've got the perfect storm right now.
I don't think these guys can afford to lose the "gains" they've made over the past eight years. I don't think they're going to let McCain--a guy they've been lukewarm about at best--lose it for them when the libertarian dream of starting with a clean slate is within reach.
None of this even takes into account the Rapture contingent, which has certainly, though less obviously, driven the push to reduce government's size to the point where it can be "drowned in a bathtub". You think these radicals can wait through eight years of anti-christ (i.e., Obama) rule before they're escorted through the pearly gates?
Like I said: perfect storm. I don't know how the neocons can pass on this opportunity. If ever they're seeking Osama Bin Laden's help, it is now.
I see one ray of hope, however. If Obama is so far ahead that even a terrorist attack (real or fabricated) could not be counted on to swing voters back into War Hero McCain's camp, perhaps any such plan would be aborted.
My guess is that we're going to be treated to another timely Bin Laden appearance regardless of how the polls trend. If Osama tilts the polls in favor of McCain, we may see a follow-up scare in the form of an attack.
Naturally, I hope my calculus is all wrong and that Obama just runs away with the race, sending the neocons into early retirement.
gpjones - You're welcome. Mme Cocktailhag has to be one of my favorite commenters on the web. And, is the one most likely to wring an unanticipated out loud laugh out of me. All the more delicious, because it comes as a surprise.
kitt - This:
http://firedoglake.com/2008/07/28/in-tennessee-eliminationism-is-no-longer-just-a-joke/
coupled with Glenn's 5th update is the reason I don't warn off folks who muse like gandhi did here:
http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/06/microcosm/permalink/50a0e13db5365089b69905b0c9ee53ac.html
There are any number of Timothy McVeigh types out there who really don't need much more than a nudge and a bit of luck. It's a fear I harbor whether I say it out loud, or not.
"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.
"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.
Uh-huh. I am mindful that Alma Powell didn't want Colin Powell running for elected office. Michelle Obama has guts.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
