Red State Rebels

A day of remembering

As Americans, we will never forget the bright September morning seven years ago when nearly 3,000 people died in New York City, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

But nor will we allow free-floating fear over terrorism to cloud our judgment at the ballot box. We will not forget how the Bush-Cheney administration used 9/11 as a cynical excuse to launch an unfounded war in Iraq, a war that has now claimed 1,180 more American lives than we lost on 9/11, a war that Sen. Barack Obama opposed from the beginning, a war that has left the mastermind responsible for 9/11 at large seven years later.

The campaigns say they're taking a day off politics today, and that is fitting. Given the toxic remarks made at last week's Republican Convention, however, it's ironic that John McCain will join Obama at a celebration of community service in New York later today.

Perhaps today will be a turning point in the campaign. Perhaps for the next 55 days, the candidates will stick to the issues, tell us how they plan to govern, avoid unfounded attacks, and inspire us to a more perfect union. That would be the most fitting tribute to everyone who has died in the name of America, whether on the streets of Lower Manhattan or the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eight weeks to go: It's the issues, America

Silly us. We were thinking that Barack Obama and Joe Biden had such compelling personal stories, leadership skills, and proven policy chops that they'd sail to victory, especially over a lackluster opponent who long ago sold his maverick soul to the Bush-Cheney-Rove wing of the GOP. But now, faced with the Dynamic Celebrity Duo of SuperMom and the POW, it appears our wonkish, workmanlike team is slipping in the polls.

This week-old piece by NYU journalism prof Jay Rosen (hat tip to 43rd State Blues and Fort Boise) laid out exactly what the GOP hoped to accomplish with the Sarah Palin pick by reigniting the culture wars, giving the mainstream media a new personality to exalt, and fomenting angst among activist Democrats. And guess what? It seems to be working ... for now. But the magic pixie dust will swiftly turn to rust as voters return our focus to the issues facing our nation. As I wrote in the comments at 43rd State Blues:

There's a reason McCain knew he had to try this sleight-of-hand: He can't win on his record of supporting Bush-Cheney policies 90% of the time. So ... let's NOT be angry. After 10 days of incredulity about the Palin pick, let's unite as Democrats and spend the rest of the campaign focused not on personalities but on **issues**, that is, "the damaged GOP brand" and why Democratic policies and proposals are far more helpful to working families.

Addendum: I wrote most of this post Tuesday afternoon. And now, Tuesday evening, I'm here to say that - if I wasn't quite there earlier today - I am now officially done worrying about Sarah Palin. About 60 people turned up for an Obama meeting here in Boise tonight, and most of them were brand new to the campaign. With the election just eight weeks away, people are tuned in and they're ready to help. You can join in by visiting the Idaho for Obama grassroots site and the campaign's official Idaho page. No matter where you live in Idaho, whether you have an hour or 20 hours a week, you can help be the change we need in America right now.

Update Wednesday morning: Check out this great response from Obama over the latest "phony outrage "from the McPalin campaign.

Live blogging John McCain

Welcome back to the final night of the Republican National Convention. I'm watching Cindy McCain now, and it's truly notable how much more muted the reception has been for her compared to the raucous reception Sarah Palin received last night. In fact, her biggest applause line by far was when she mentioned Palin. Of course, that may have something to do with Cindy's interview with CBS News indicating that she supports Roe v Wade and sex education - and hinting that her husband may not be a zealot on the abortion issue, either. Consider this more fodder for the theory that McCain was pushed into this pick by a GOP base that threated to abandon him if he went with a more moderate running-mate.

While we await the main event, let's also note the report today that this RNC has fewer black delegates than any other in 40 years. There are exactly 36 black delegates in St. Paul, or 1.5 percent of the total - and a steep decline from the 167 blacks present in 2004. Guess how many black delegates there were at the Democratic National Convention last week? I'll post the answer in the comments.

Enjoy the speech!

A fellow P.O.W. on John McCain

Watch this before the big speech tonight. It's only one voice, but this man's testimony ought to lend credibility to the case against John McCain and his inexperienced running-mate. In U.S. history, one in three vice presidents has wound up becoming president.

We'll have an open thread up later this evening for McCain's acceptance speech. Meanwhile, here are some excerpts.

Obama campaign slams GOP cynicism

Folks, I work for a nonpartisan, national organization that helps communities organize large-scale, action-oriented dialogues on pressing issues, so nothing ticked me off last night like Sarah Palin's nasty dismissal of Barack Obama's work as a community organizer. (Apparently, Rudy Guiliani mocked that line on Obama's resume, too.) Fortunately, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has blasted back with this response:

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let's clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

Also, this morning, I got an email from a normally apolitical cousin of mine in Illinois who told me two weeks ago that she believes all politicians are pond scum. But she was unnerved enough by last night's display of GOP arrogance and lies that she forwarded a fact-check round-up of the Republican speakers. I'll post that in the comments, since it's pretty long. You might want to send it to your friends and family, too. Then choose one point and write a letter to the editor.

Update: It turns out the fact-check memo I got from my cousin was this story from the Associated Press.

Live blogging Sarah Palin

We'll be live blogging Sarah Palin's speech to the Republican National Convention, which is set around 8:20 Mountain tonight. Mitt Romney is on now, followed by Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee before Palin. Feel free to start posting comments anytime, while I put up a few links of interest about Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.

As mayor of Wasilla, she apparently tried to ban a bunch of books.

Sarah Pallin, corruption fighter? Then what was she doing running Ted Stevens' PAC?

But these are the two most disturbing stories of all:

Remember when we thought the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was a loose cannon? Get a load of this Huffington Post story by Nico Pitney and Sam Stein, detailing how Palin's worldview was shaped at the Wasilla Assembly of God. Ed Kalnins, the minister there, told parishioners in 2004 they might be damned to hell if they voted for John Kerry, and this past June he said (with Palin as a co-speaker), "I believe Alaska is one of the refuge states in the last days, and hundreds of thousands of people are going to come to the state to seek refuge and the church has to be ready to minister to them."

Sarah and Todd Palin have longtime ties to and sympathy for the Alaska Independence Party. Todd, now "undeclared," was a member until 2002. In 1994, its founder's remains were found wrapped in a blue tarp and duct tape after a plastics-explosives sale went bad. As Kagro X wrote at Daily Kos today, "Nobody has more questions about this? About the Palins' having been fellow travelers with separatist party types who get killed in plastic explosives deals right in the militia movement/Waco/Ruby Ridge/Oklahoma City historical sweet spot? It's not like Republican militia-phile ciphers haven't made it as far as DC before, you know. Steve Stockman, anyone? Helen Chenoweth?"

Of course, Sarah Palin won't mention any of this tonight. She'll hit a home run with the GOP faithful in the convention hall, and she'll endear herself to the "security moms" who helped re-elect George W. Bush. We must let everyone know: The Sarah Palin we see tonight is not the full story. The Sarah Palin we see tonight does not represent mainstream America. Not even close. And John McCain didn't know it.

Update: Here's a speech postmortem from Bill Burton of the Obama campaign ... "The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years.  If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define 'change' as voting with George Bush 90% of the time, that's their choice, but we don't think the American people are ready to take a 10% chance on change."

Also, here's an even more exhaustive list detailing McCain's Palin Problem.

Let's hear it for the working folks

Happy Labor Day, everyone. I hope you had a great weekend. I stopped by the Boise Central Trades and Labor Council's annual shindig at Municipal Park, where hundreds of people were enjoying burgers and dogs hot off the grill and plenty of fine speechifying by our Democratic candidates. Before the speeches, I introduced myself to some folks at my table and mentioned that I write for a Democratic blog. One woman asked, somewhat in a panic, if it was a "Democrat" picnic. I said no, but that most union people lean Democratic, and that Democrats work hard for working families. Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw Mike Simpson, Bill Sali, Mike Crapo, or Jim Risch at this event? So yeah, it is a Democratic picnic in spirit, if not in fact.

Larry LaRocco, who has been Working for Senate since last summer, led off the speeches. ("I can't thank you enough for what you've done for working families across Idaho," labor leader John Kierce said as he introduced Larry.) "This is not a time to conceptualize or theorize or visualize about winning," Larry said. "This is a time to put our shoulder to the wheel and win." He blasted the John McCain-Jim Risch health care plan, saying he could describe it in three words: "Don't get sick." He also reminded the crowd that, as a Congressman in the 1990s, he voted against Bill Clinton's wishes and voted against NAFTA. He pledged to continue working jobs alongside Idahoans - he's done 34 so far - even after he's elected as a means of staying grounded in what working families experience every day.

Walt Minnick was next, and the 1st District House candidate said that America is not great because of its Wall Street millionaires or celebrities or star athletes, but because of its working people, adding that "if this country has a future - and it does have a future," it's because working men and women will work to turn around the crises of foreclosed homes, outsourced jobs, and health care and education that's beyond the reach of most middle-class Americans. "Fortunately, we're not the only ones to recognize this mess, he added. "The consensus is that Washington, D.C., is broken and that it's time to fix it.

Debbie Holmes, the 2nd District House candidate, pledged to focus on clean energy jobs, conservation, and honoring our veterans "with real help, not just lip service." She mentioned that as a former Hillary Clinton supporter who became a Barack Obama last March, she was insulted by John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as his running-mate, adding "Sarah Palin isn't ready to lead this country, and John McCain isn't either. He's proven it with his choice." She concluded her remarks by asking people to "show America that Idaho wants to be part of the change."

Kierce, the president of the Boise Central Trades & Labor Council, asked everyone present to consider giving "Eight in '08," or eight hours of volunteer work for a campaign of our choice. "You don't have to do it all at once," he said, and in fact, an hour a week from now through Election Day sounds about right. Click on the websites linked above, or consider volunteering for any of our great Idaho State Legislature candidates, many of whom were on hand for today's festivities, including Les Bock, Grant Burgoyne, Sue Chew, Brian Cronin, Greg Funk, Kate Kelly, Bill Killen, Phyllis King, Nicole LeFavour,  Michelle Waddell, and Elliot Werk. (I hope I didn't miss anyone. You can view a longer list of state candidates here. And remember Ada County commisioner candidates David Langhorst and Paul Woods, too. Let's turn the courthouse blue.)

Update: McJoan had a write-up and photos at Daily Kos, too. "Yes, Idaho still has Labor, though two decades of 'right to work' has lessened their ranks. Nonetheless, they're still active, vocal, and fighting for Idaho Dems." Read and see more here.

We don't get fooled again ... or do we?

Here's what John McCain and George W. Bush were doing three years ago, on McCain's 69th birthday, while people were drowning in New Orleans:

Now, word comes that Bush may skip his planned Monday appearance before the Republican National Convention due to his acute concern over Hurricane Gustav. (Yeah, right.) The convention will go on, but Republicans are certainly making a big show of expressing concern this time around.

Will the American electorate buy this, or see it for the crass politicking it is? I have no doubt that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is genuinely concerned about his state. But the rest of 'em?

Mainstream U.S. women dis Palin

Phylllis Schlafly may love Sarah Palin, but mainstream American women are highly suspicious of John McCain's motivations in selecting her. Editor & Publisher reports:

Here's a finding from Gallup: Among Democratic women -- including those who may be disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination -- 9% say Palin makes them more likely to support McCain, 15% less likely. From Rasmussen: Some 38% of men said they were more likely to vote for McCain now, but only 32% of women. By a narrow 41% to 35% margin, men said she was not ready to be president -- but women soundly rejected her, 48% to 25%.

  Meanwhile, here's what Alaska newspapers had to say:

"The long and short of it is this: We're not sure she's a competent governor of Alaska. And yet McCain, who is no spring chicken, has decided she's the best choice to replace him as president if he should win and then fall afoul of the Grim Reaper. Sarah Palin? Really?" (Anchorage Daily News)

"Palin is truly a remarkable figure, a person carried forward to enormous fame by the times and her personal charm and principles. Alaskans and Americans must ask, though, whether she should become vice president and, more importantly, be placed first in line to become president. ... Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance. " (Fairbanks News-Miner)

The chimera

Before John McCain asked Sarah Palin to be his running-mate, they'd met once in February and had one subsequent phone conversation (last Sunday). Bullied by social conservatives who vetoed his favored choices, McCain offered Palin the job on Wednesday Thursday. Palin is the least vetted vice presidential candidate in history, but we're quickly learning plenty about this inexperienced pol. Sisyphus has an illuminating post at 43SB outlining her ties to the corrupt Ted Stevens machine, her extremist views, and her utter lack of national experience. And MoveOn.org has sent this email to its millions of members, detailing - among other things - what Alaskan progressives think of her.

Says one: "Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position." Read it all here, and share these facts and opinions with the swing voters you know.