Dan Siegel: The Power of Y.O.U.!
<p><em>”I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.” Barack Obama, November 4, 2008</em></p> <p>Welcome to the Obama Revolution, brought to you by Y.O.U.!</p> <p>The Obama victory was powered by something new: The Y.O.U. Movement. This movement is composed of three integral forces which are shaping the next generation of citizen-driven politics. </p> <p>Y = Youth: The Obama campaign tapped the civic spirit of the Y Generation (born between 1977 and 1995). Young voters under the age of 30 backed Obama by better than two to one. Gen Y inspired many parents and grandparents to consider Obama, and mobilized their peers and helped get older voters to the polls (the “Florida Schlep” paid off!). The Y Generation has been awakened to politics by the Obama movement, and may well redefine political life during the first half of the 21st century.</p> <p>O = O politics: O politics begins with Obama’s roots as a grassroots organizer mocked by Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani at the GOP convention. The Obama organizing strategy and style of political leadership empowers citizens to act together in small and big ways. The pavement politics of grassroots organizing, married to online “netroots” activism, creates a micro politics accessible to all.</p> <p>O politics is also about one country unity undivided by base appeals and fear (true ‘country first’ patriotism). O politics is about one interconnected world where economy, ecology and security binds us together in shared interest. And O politics holds up the circle that connects us as one people living wisely together on a fragile planet. </p> <p>U = Us: The Power of Us as creators in the age of the Internet was on daily display in the stream of funny and inspiring viral videos for Obama. On a deeper level, Obama tapped the hunger for “Joe Citizen” to be part of something greater than self. “Us Politics” is less about the evils of them and more about the potential of us. We can believe in change that starts with you and me and the amazing difference we can simply make together. Or as Obama said in a nod to Alice Walker: “We are the change we have been waiting for.”</p> <p>The Y.O.U. Movement, reared in the 2004 Howard Dean campaign, came to maturity in 2008. Its potential to transform the nature of daily political life is still to be fully realized in the years ahead.</p> <p>The key question now is: How can this electoral movement be harnessed to help Obama govern wisely and effectively? President Obama will have an unprecedented “fourth branch of government” of engaged citizens at his disposal. This is a wired and ready base that makes the “vast right-wing conspiracy” of the Clinton years look like a Moose Lodge Club.</p> <p>”Change you can believe in” must be sustained by the many hands and feet who pedaled this movement. The incoming presidency will need its active base mobilized to fend it from sustained attack from those seeking to delegitimize its sweeping mandate for change.</p> <p>The other side of our watchdog role is to insure that the new Administration keeps true to its stated ideals of bringing real change to Washington and to “Main Street”. Unfortunately, the arc of presidencies does not bend towards greater justice and equality, nor towards changing the ways of doing the “people’s business”. The corruptions of power eat away daily as the will for change is negotiated and inevitably compromised.</p> <p>The Obama presidency may get bogged down by the enduring financial crisis and Middle East/South Asian mess. It could get sideswiped by events that have doomed many a presidency. In the hope of bringing the country together and searching for a national consensus, the Obama team may shy away from the kind of bold thinking and visionary action (think of an “American Gorbachev”) willing to confront powerful and profitable interests that need to be overcome. Will Obama be able to think and lead beyond the tested playbooks of the old Washington hands being brought on board to run the show?</p> <p>The list of what may not be can grow depressingly long. The only real way around the many imaginable obstacles and inevitable letdowns is to recognize that real change only BEGINS at the ballot box. “This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change,” Obama told us on election night. “It cannot happen without you.”</p> <p>We have much to celebrate on these new days for America, and during the coming season of thanks and gratefulness. But just as our President-elect has little time to lose, we too must continue to act as audacious citizens, cultural creatives and inspired changemakers to make this moment of hope one of real and lasting change! </p>
Jeff Schweitzer: Patriotism Reclaimed by a Fake American
<p>Hello, my name is Jeff Schweitzer, and I am a Fake American. I have been Fake now for 22 months. I just take one day at a time. I am doing the best I can. I think often about Real America, but realize I can never go back. I know that if I blindly wave the flag again I will not be able to stop. I understand that if I again question the patriotism of my opponents, I condemn myself to a lifetime addiction to mindless jingoism.</p> <p>Real America. Real Americans. Real Virginia. Attacking the patriotism of a political rival is a vile act, the product of a small mind ignorant of our history and blind to the fundamentals of democracy. Keep that in mind as Sarah Palin contemplates a run for president in 2012. Almost 65% of Republicans want her to run. We cannot afford to relax even in the face of Obama’s historic victory.</p> <p>Surely the ugliest legacy of the presidential campaign was this resurgence of the right-wing Republican idea of a patriotic “real America” battling against the evils of leftist ideology. Palin went so far as speaking of “pro-American areas of this great nation” leading to the inevitable conclusion that regions of the country are anti-American. Her good friend Joe the Plumber said that McCain was the “real American” in the election.</p> <p>McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenauer said that Northern Virginia is not the “real Virginia.” Given the opportunity to distance herself from the comment, she stood by the original statement. Joe McCain, the candidate’s brother, called this region “communist country.”</p> <p>But Palin/McCain advisers and their ever-present unlicensed plumber friend were not alone. Representative Robin Hayes said that “liberals hate real Americans that (<em>sic</em>) work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God.” Representative Michele Bachmann boldly declared that Obama was “very anti-American.” But she went further, raising the specter of McCarthy by calling on major newspapers to investigate her colleagues in the House to “find out if they are pro-America or anti-America.” Bachmann failed to define how a congressman might fall into one category or the other. I suspect that would be the mandate for the new House Un-American Activities Committee. Continuing the Joe McCarthy theme, Republicans also called Obama a Marxist, communist, socialists and, by association, a domestic terrorist. </p> <p>What is most striking about these divisive attacks are their asymmetry. Note dear reader that nobody in the Obama campaign, and no Democrat in the House or Senate, ever called McCain, Palin or a Republican member of the Congress unpatriotic, un-American or anti-America. The Democrats called Senator McCain… Senator McCain. The contrast could not be greater, or more revealing about character.</p> <p>Extremist Republicans continue to harbor the corrosive notion that only right-wing supporters love this country, and that any opponents by definition are anti-American. Ignoring the incredible arrogance of that idea, consider the inherent dangers of such nonsense. By denigrating opponents, these extremists remove the opportunity for debate or possibility of finding effective solutions to our most pressing problems. By questioning a rival’s love of country, right-wing ideologues reduce public discourse and politics to the level of religious orthodoxy. Being convinced that god is on your side leaves no room for discussion. </p> <p>Reducing politics to religion has other pernicious effects besides fostering ersatz patriotism. Trying to play to his religious base, McCain endangered our country with his selection for vice president. Be clear that opposition to Palin has absolutely nothing to do with gender. Asking Palin to wait in the wings to serve as leader of the most powerful nation on earth is like throwing a novice flyer into the cockpit of a Boeing 747 and asking him to fly the plane. Whether the new pilot was male or female, I would not get on that aircraft. Nor would I want a first year medical student to perform brain surgery on me, whether the doctor was man or woman. Palin was simply unqualified, and McCain grossly irresponsible for selecting her. He did so because he confused politics with orthodoxy. He confused opposition with anti-Americanism. He confused patriotism with mindless support.</p> <p>We can hope that Obama’s election was a repudiation of these sick attacks on patriotism and love of country. But probably not. Remember that 49 million Americans were willing to risk the possibility of a Palin presidency, and Palin led the pack of those attacking our patriotism. We must remain vigilant. In the meantime, I am going to rejoice in the defeat of dark forces and proudly reclaim my mantle of patriot.</p>
Palin Sorts Clothes To See What Belongs To RNC
<p>WASILLA, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party after it spent $150,000-plus on a wardrobe for the vice presidential nominee, according to Palin’s father.</p> <p>Palin and John McCain’s campaign faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the nominee. Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.</p> <p>Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, said his daughter spent the day Saturday trying to figure out what belongs to the RNC.</p> <p>”She was just frantically … trying to sort stuff out,” Heath said. “That’s the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for.</p> <p>”Nothing goes right back to normal,” he said.</p> <p>Heath dismissed the clothes controversy as “ridiculous,” and said his daughter told him the only clothing or accessories she had personally purchased in the last four months was a pair of shoes.</p> <p>RNC lawyers have been discussing with Palin whether what’s left of the clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn’t authorized comment.</p> <p>The McCain-Palin campaign said about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases were apparently made after that, the campaign official said.</p> <p>On Friday, Palin told reporters: “Those are the RNC’s clothes. They’re not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything.”</p> <p>In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Palin faulted the policies of the Bush administration for the defeat of the GOP ticket, and said, “it’s amazing that we did as well as we did.”</p> <p>”I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing,” Palin said in a story published Sunday.</p> <p>Amid speculation in Alaska and nationwide about Palin’s political future, the governor has scheduled a series of national interviews on Fox News Monday night, NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday and CNN on Wednesday. She also plans to attend the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida this week.</p> <p>Palin has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012. She also could seek re-election in 2010 or challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Still uncertain is the fate of Sen. Ted Stevens, who is leading in his bid for another term but could be ousted by the Senate for his conviction on seven felony counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts, mostly renovations on his home. Palin could appoint herself to replace Stevens.</p> <p>Heath said his daughter “hasn’t shown her hand” about her political plans, but he doesn’t believe she’d appoint herself should Stevens’ seat become vacant.</p> <p>In Wasilla, her hometown backers welcomed her, putting aside their disappointment over her unsuccessful bid.</p> <p>Jessica Steele can’t wait to see what Sarah Palin does next _ not with her political career, but with her hair.</p> <p>”That’s something I want to talk to her about: What’s our vision for her hair?” says Steele, proprietor of the Beehive Beauty Shop and keeper of the governor’s up-do since 2002. “I can’t wait to see her and say, ‘OK, I’ve got you alone for three hours. Just relax, and how are you, really?’”</p> <p>While Palin remains popular, the reality of defeat is evident.</p> <p>Bags of fan mail, as many as 400 letters a day, partially fill a room at her parent’s house. But parents no longer meet Secret Service agents when they pick up their children at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where Palin’s youngest daughter, Piper, is a student. The reporters and camera crews are gone from the Palin home on Lake Lucille, once patrolled by Coast Guard boats. Now a thick sheet of ice covers the lake.</p> <p>Four state troopers still guard the governor 24 hours a day, Heath said _ something Palin never had before.</p> <p>And in a bit of familiarity, Heath said he brought a pot of moose chili to Palin’s house this past weekend.</p> <p>___</p> <p>Associated Press Writer Sharon Theimer in Washington contributed to this report.</p>
Jerry and Joe Long: Lieberman To Remain Chairman Of Self-Serving Gasbag Committee
<p>Washington DC…Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced today that Joseph Lieberman will retain his chairmanship of the Senate Select Committee For Self-Serving Gasbags Spouting Sanctimonious Horseshit In That Slimy More Sorrow Than Anger Put Upon Tone.</p> <p>Lieberman, who begged now President-Elect Obama to campaign for him when his Senate seat was in jeopardy and repaid him by praising Sarah Palin and questioning Obama’s patriotism, seemed genuinely hurt that his colleagues would ever expect him to behave with even a marginal sense of decency or shame. “It’s sad”, droned Lieberman, “that my statements and actions over the past year in total support of the Republican party would somehow be treated as reasons for Democrats to hold me accountable.” </p> <p>Lieberman, who has been romantically linked to Pastor John Hagee, said he intends to remain focused on “what I believe will benefit Americans and America”. An aide later clarified that where Lieberman referred to “Americans” and “America” he meant to say “myself” and “Likud”.</p>
Matthew Duss: PNAC: Palin’s Pentagon In Waiting?
<p>Originally appeared on <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/10/pnac-palins-pentagon-in-waiting/”>The Wonk Room</a>.</p> <p>It looks like Bill Kristol may be making good on <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/06/kristol-pnac/”>his threat</a> to revive the Project for the New American Century. Since May, visitors to PNAC’s website were informed that “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/16/prominent-neoconservative-site-goes-under/”>this account has been suspended</a>,” but now the <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.newamericancentury.org/”>website is back up</a>, though it does not seem to have been updated with any new material. </p> <p>PNAC’s militaristic ultra-nationalism is implicated in some of the worst mischief of the Bush years, from the “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/000992.php”>global war on terror</a>” to the invasion of Iraq to President Bush’s support for Israel’s <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.newamericancentury.org/Bushletter-040302.htm”>refusal to negotiate</a> with the Palestinians. Many of its members served as <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/03/17/mccain-advisers/”>advisers to John McCain’s presidential campaign</a>. Bill Kristol is still listed as PNAC’s chairman, and is known to be “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/04/10/mccain-neocon-part-1/”>exceptionally close</a>” to the senator. McCain’s top foreign policy aide, Randy Scheunemann, serves as PNAC’s <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.newamericancentury.org/randyscheunemannbio.htm”>project director</a>. McCain spokesperson Michael Goldfarb is also listed as a PNAC <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.newamericancentury.org/aboutpnac.htm”>research associate</a>. </p> <p>We should consider what PNAC’s possible revival means for the future of Sarah Palin. Palin was first “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/sarahpalin/2827217/Neoconservatives-plan-Project-Sarah-Pain-to-shape-future-American-foreign-policy.html”>identified as a potential future leader</a> of the neoconservative cause” in June 2007 when the Weekly Standard’s annual summer cruise docked in Juneau. Several editors — including Bill Kristol — had dinner with Palin. Scott Horton reported that in the following months, the Standard published a number of laudatory items about Palin — “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-10/palins-talent-scout/”>starting with a paean</a> entitled ‘<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp”>The Most Popular Governor</a>’ that ran right after” the dinner.</p> <p>Among those associated with the McCain campaign, Kristol, Scheunemann, and Goldfarb are known to have been three of the biggest Sarah Palin boosters. It was reported that Scheunemann had even <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/05/soruces-mccain-aide-fired-for-trashing-staff/”>been fired</a> by the campaign after it was discovered that he was leaking information favorable to Palin to the press. Goldfarb later <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/06/mccain-adviser-disputes-campaign-i-was-not-fired/”>denied that Scheunemann had been fired</a>, but “<a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/08/sarahpalin-republicans-rushlimbaugh”>told reporters that Scheunemann’s Blackberry</a> had been confiscated in the days before the election,” and that his email had been cut off.</p> <p>After lobbying McCain to pick Palin as his VP, Kristol then used his prominent position as a New York Times columnist to <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-07/palins-mole-at-the-times/”>promote Palin</a> and criticize the McCain team’s handling of her. Given that Kristol’s faction began to close ranks around Palin in the waning days of the campaign, and given how deeply leveraged Kristol’s reputation is in her future success, it will be interesting to see what role the revived PNAC plays in continuing political adventures of Governor Sarah Palin. </p>
Joseph A. Palermo: My Advice to the Republicans for Reclaiming the White House in 2012
<p>I have read numerous articles over the past eight years by neo-conservative commentators like Bill Kristol and David Brooks offering their unsolicited advice to the Democratic Party about what it “must” do to move forward in the Bush era. So I thought it might be a good time for me to offer my own unsolicited advice to the Republican Party about what it “must” do to win the presidential election of 2012. Below are my suggestions:</p> <p>1). The Republican Party must nominate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2012. As John McCain said repeatedly during the campaign, Palin “has inspired Americans” and energized the GOP’s base. Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity pointed out that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. The McCain-Palin campaign highlighted that experience by enumerating her many accomplishments such as negotiating a $40 billion gas pipeline and overseeing a $6 billion state budget and 24,000 employees. She is a reformer who took on her own party and she understands the challenges of families with special-needs children. Clearly, like the mighty Alaskan Sitka Spruce tree, Governor Palin is cut from presidential timber. What’s more, she is cost effective because the Republican National Committee has already purchased her haute couture wardrobe for a presidential run (although she’ll doubtless need the 2012 fall collection Christian Louboutin pumps to stay current).</p> <p>2). The Republicans must call for much tougher, draconian immigration laws. It is a sure vote getter. The GOP shouldn’t be calling for a measly 700-mile fence on the Mexican border, but a 2,000-mile fence. They should follow Lou Dobbs’s lead on CNN, along with the Minutemen, and call for deporting the 12 million illegal aliens currently residing in our land and taking advantage of our generous social services. This tough stance would be a great seller in the border states as well as elsewhere in America, especially Colorado, Nevada, and Florida. The Republicans should also call for an end to remittances going back to Mexico and to other countries south of the border that drain cash from good Americans. I even have a slogan for them to use: “No Se Puede!”</p> <p>3). The 2008 Republican platform calls for privatizing Social Security but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. The GOP must take advantage of the good will American voters are now showing toward Wall Street. (Why else would they generously offer up $1 trillion of their hard-earned money?) The Republican Party must push hard not for the milquetoast “partial” privatizing of Social Security but for dismantling the entire entitlement program. What better time? Stock prices are low and they can only go up from here, which will give Republicans the opportunity to finally usher in George W. Bush’s “Ownership Society.” This policy prescription is a sure vote getter among younger Americans, as well as those facing retirement who value personal freedom.</p> <p>4). Republicans must stop all this talk about “pulling out” of Iraq and make the case for staying in Iraq for 100, 200, or even 300 years. This powerful stand will show voters the Republicans have courage and resolve and are not a bunch of weak-kneed “cut and runners.” This clear and forceful policy will put the naysayers and left-wing rock stars on the defensive and galvanize support among voters who know we got it right when we went into Iraq to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction and break his ties to Al Qaeda. All the peaceniks and communists will be hiding under their beds if Sarah Palin makes this case over and over again, and it is sure to play well in Red states as well as Blue states. Republicans must make the case that $12 billion a month is a small price to pay for freedom. </p> <p>5). The Republicans’ hero Margaret Thatcher famously said “Don’t Go Wobbly” and that is my advice to the GOP: The Republican Party must redouble its brass-tacks campaign tactics and step up the smearing and sliming and hit their opponent with everything including the kitchen sink. Bring back Bill Ayres and Reverend Wright and Rashid Khalidi and start assassinating Obama’s character early — I mean starting today — and don’t let up! Get Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachman on the stump to call for investigating “anti-Americans” in Congress, and get Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh to pump up the volume of their attacks (they were far too timid in 2008). Also, the RNC should hire Brad Blakeman to go out on a 50-state speaking tour and repeat his charge of October 24, 2008 when he said: “You know what the outrage is today? [It] is Barack Obama taking a 767 campaign plane to go visit his grandma. Forget about the energy that is wasted, what about the hundreds of thousands of dollars to take a private trip when this guy should be humping his bags on a commercial plane or taking a smaller plane?” This kind of no-holds-barred campaigning is popular among voters and cuts the Republicans’ way because it will remind Americans that the Republican Party means business. It is a sure winner with blue-collar voters, women, and especially with that sizeable and coveted chunk of the electorate: those who hate their own grandmothers.</p> <p>6). The Republicans must stay on message that anyone who disagrees with them about de-regulating the economy, privatizing government services, and outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries are, as McCain’s top economic adviser Phil Gramm put it, nothing but a bunch of “whiners.” The RNC must invest heavily in television advertising time driving home the point that Gramm (who holds a Ph.D. in economics) so eloquently articulated: Any “recession” Americans think they are in is nothing more than a figment of their imaginations. The GOP must constantly and repeatedly denounce this “mental recession” that seems to plague American voters (that is, when they’re not “whining” about the economy). Buck Up America! This stance is a sure vote getter because it plays to Americans’ strong sense of rugged individualism and stoic toughness.</p> <p>7). The Republicans must always blame the liberal media for any and all bad publicity their nominee for president, hopefully Sarah Palin, might receive. This anti-Big Liberal Media strategy is a winner because it reminds voters who the real enemies are. The RNC could put to great use Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher who so captured the hearts and imaginations of legions of adoring American voters. Wurzelbacher can make the rounds and become the public face for the Republican counter attack against the liberal media. As such an endearing and sympathetic figure, “Joe the Plumber” no doubt will win the hearts — as he already has — of millions of ordinary “Joe and Jane Sixpacks” out there in the “real America.” Joe can put to use his cunning intellect and verbal gifts to speak for the Republicans about the issues free of the filter of the liberal media rock stars. (And don’t forget to constantly call working people “Joe and Jane Sixpack” — they love being called that!) </p> <p>8). Finally, the Republican Party must step up and own its true legacy. President George W. Bush is a formidable force to be reckoned with out on the stump. The RNC should send him out on a 50-state tour to remind voters of the two-terms of peace and prosperity he brought to America. With the right talking points he must own up to his administration’s record without apologies and give them nostalgic reasons to vote for Sarah Palin for president. It will be a return to normalcy and American greatness, he must say. As the only two-term Republican president since Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush will be passing the torch of the party’s leadership to the able hands of Sarah Palin. The symbolism is sure to resonate with voters and Bush will be the Republican Party’s secret weapon for victory in 2012! </p> <p>So there you have it. The above are my expert suggestions (from an Ivy League Ph.D. no less) to the Republican Party as it seeks to retool and hone its message to reclaim the White House in 2012. I’m confident that if Republican strategists have the good sense to heed my advice the next presidential election will usher in another long period of Republican dominance of our nation’s political discourse, and along with it, pull together a popular mandate to set our country’s agenda for decades to come. </p>
Joseph A. Palermo: My Advice to the Republicans for Reclaiming the White House in 2012
<p>I have read numerous articles over the past eight years by neo-conservative commentators like Bill Kristol and David Brooks offering their unsolicited advice to the Democratic Party about what it “must” do to move forward in the Bush era. So I thought it might be a good time for me to offer my own unsolicited advice to the Republican Party about what it “must” do to win the presidential election of 2012. Below are my suggestions:</p> <p>1). The Republican Party must nominate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2012. As John McCain said repeatedly during the campaign, Palin “has inspired Americans” and energized the GOP’s base. Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity pointed out that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. The McCain-Palin campaign highlighted that experience by enumerating her many accomplishments such as negotiating a $40 billion gas pipeline and overseeing a $6 billion state budget and 24,000 employees. She is a reformer who took on her own party and she understands the challenges of families with special-needs children. Clearly, like the mighty Alaskan Sitka Spruce tree, Governor Palin is cut from presidential timber. What’s more, she is cost effective because the Republican National Committee has already purchased her haute couture wardrobe for a presidential run (although she’ll doubtless need the 2012 fall collection Christian Louboutin pumps to stay current).</p> <p>2). The Republicans must call for much tougher, draconian immigration laws. It is a sure vote getter. The GOP shouldn’t be calling for a measly 700-mile fence on the Mexican border, but a 2,000-mile fence. They should follow Lou Dobbs’s lead on CNN, along with the Minutemen, and call for deporting the 12 million illegal aliens currently residing in our land and taking advantage of our generous social services. This tough stance would be a great seller in the border states as well as elsewhere in America, especially Colorado, Nevada, and Florida. The Republicans should also call for an end to remittances going back to Mexico and to other countries south of the border that drain cash from good Americans. I even have a slogan for them to use: “No Se Puede!”</p> <p>3). The 2008 Republican platform calls for privatizing Social Security but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. The GOP must take advantage of the good will American voters are now showing toward Wall Street. (Why else would they generously offer up $1 trillion of their hard-earned money?) The Republican Party must push hard not for the milquetoast “partial” privatizing of Social Security but for dismantling the entire entitlement program. What better time? Stock prices are low and they can only go up from here, which will give Republicans the opportunity to finally usher in George W. Bush’s “Ownership Society.” This policy prescription is a sure vote getter among younger Americans, as well as those facing retirement who value personal freedom.</p> <p>4). Republicans must stop all this talk about “pulling out” of Iraq and make the case for staying in Iraq for 100, 200, or even 300 years. This powerful stand will show voters the Republicans have courage and resolve and are not a bunch of weak-kneed “cut and runners.” This clear and forceful policy will put the naysayers and left-wing rock stars on the defensive and galvanize support among voters who know we got it right when we went into Iraq to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction and break his ties to Al Qaeda. All the peaceniks and communists will be hiding under their beds if Sarah Palin makes this case over and over again, and it is sure to play well in Red states as well as Blue states. Republicans must make the case that $12 billion a month is a small price to pay for freedom. </p> <p>5). The Republicans’ hero Margaret Thatcher famously said “Don’t Go Wobbly” and that is my advice to the GOP: The Republican Party must redouble its brass-tacks campaign tactics and step up the smearing and sliming and hit their opponent with everything including the kitchen sink. Bring back Bill Ayres and Reverend Wright and Rashid Khalidi and start assassinating Obama’s character early — I mean starting today — and don’t let up! Get Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachman on the stump to call for investigating “anti-Americans” in Congress, and get Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh to pump up the volume of their attacks (they were far too timid in 2008). Also, the RNC should hire Brad Blakeman to go out on a 50-state speaking tour and repeat his charge of October 24, 2008 when he said: “You know what the outrage is today? [It] is Barack Obama taking a 767 campaign plane to go visit his grandma. Forget about the energy that is wasted, what about the hundreds of thousands of dollars to take a private trip when this guy should be humping his bags on a commercial plane or taking a smaller plane?” This kind of no-holds-barred campaigning is popular among voters and cuts the Republicans’ way because it will remind Americans that the Republican Party means business. It is a sure winner with blue-collar voters, women, and especially with that sizeable and coveted chunk of the electorate: those who hate their own grandmothers.</p> <p>6). The Republicans must stay on message that anyone who disagrees with them about de-regulating the economy, privatizing government services, and outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries are, as McCain’s top economic adviser Phil Gramm put it, nothing but a bunch of “whiners.” The RNC must invest heavily in television advertising time driving home the point that Gramm (who holds a Ph.D. in economics) so eloquently articulated: Any “recession” Americans think they are in is nothing more than a figment of their imaginations. The GOP must constantly and repeatedly denounce this “mental recession” that seems to plague American voters (that is, when they’re not “whining” about the economy). Buck Up America! This stance is a sure vote getter because it plays to Americans’ strong sense of rugged individualism and stoic toughness.</p> <p>7). The Republicans must always blame the liberal media for any and all bad publicity their nominee for president, hopefully Sarah Palin, might receive. This anti-Big Liberal Media strategy is a winner because it reminds voters who the real enemies are. The RNC could put to great use Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher who so captured the hearts and imaginations of legions of adoring American voters. Wurzelbacher can make the rounds and become the public face for the Republican counter attack against the liberal media. As such an endearing and sympathetic figure, “Joe the Plumber” no doubt will win the hearts — as he already has — of millions of ordinary “Joe and Jane Sixpacks” out there in the “real America.” Joe can put to use his cunning intellect and verbal gifts to speak for the Republicans about the issues free of the filter of the liberal media rock stars. (And don’t forget to constantly call working people “Joe and Jane Sixpack” — they love being called that!) </p> <p>8). Finally, the Republican Party must step up and own its true legacy. President George W. Bush is a formidable force to be reckoned with out on the stump. The RNC should send him out on a 50-state tour to remind voters of the two-terms of peace and prosperity he brought to America. With the right talking points he must own up to his administration’s record without apologies and give them nostalgic reasons to vote for Sarah Palin for president. It will be a return to normalcy and American greatness, he must say. As the only two-term Republican president since Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush will be passing the torch of the party’s leadership to the able hands of Sarah Palin. The symbolism is sure to resonate with voters and Bush will be the Republican Party’s secret weapon for victory in 2012! </p> <p>So there you have it. The above are my expert suggestions (from an Ivy League Ph.D. no less) to the Republican Party as it seeks to retool and hone its message to reclaim the White House in 2012. I’m confident that if Republican strategists have the good sense to heed my advice the next presidential election will usher in another long period of Republican dominance of our nation’s political discourse, and along with it, pull together a popular mandate to set our country’s agenda for decades to come. </p>
Joseph A. Palermo: My Advice to the Republicans for Reclaiming the White House in 2012
<p>I have read numerous articles over the past eight years by neo-conservative commentators like Bill Kristol and David Brooks offering their unsolicited advice to the Democratic Party about what it “must” do to move forward in the Bush era. So I thought it might be a good time for me to offer my own unsolicited advice to the Republican Party about what it “must” do to win the presidential election of 2012. Below are my suggestions:</p> <p>1). The Republican Party must nominate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2012. As John McCain said repeatedly during the campaign, Palin “has inspired Americans” and energized the GOP’s base. Newt Gingrich and Sean Hannity pointed out that she has more executive experience than Barack Obama and Joe Biden combined. The McCain-Palin campaign highlighted that experience by enumerating her many accomplishments such as negotiating a $40 billion gas pipeline and overseeing a $6 billion state budget and 24,000 employees. She is a reformer who took on her own party and she understands the challenges of families with special-needs children. Clearly, like the mighty Alaskan Sitka Spruce tree, Governor Palin is cut from presidential timber. What’s more, she is cost effective because the Republican National Committee has already purchased her haute couture wardrobe for a presidential run (although she’ll doubtless need the 2012 fall collection Christian Louboutin pumps to stay current).</p> <p>2). The Republicans must call for much tougher, draconian immigration laws. It is a sure vote getter. The GOP shouldn’t be calling for a measly 700-mile fence on the Mexican border, but a 2,000-mile fence. They should follow Lou Dobbs’s lead on CNN, along with the Minutemen, and call for deporting the 12 million illegal aliens currently residing in our land and taking advantage of our generous social services. This tough stance would be a great seller in the border states as well as elsewhere in America, especially Colorado, Nevada, and Florida. The Republicans should also call for an end to remittances going back to Mexico and to other countries south of the border that drain cash from good Americans. I even have a slogan for them to use: “No Se Puede!”</p> <p>3). The 2008 Republican platform calls for privatizing Social Security but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. The GOP must take advantage of the good will American voters are now showing toward Wall Street. (Why else would they generously offer up $1 trillion of their hard-earned money?) The Republican Party must push hard not for the milquetoast “partial” privatizing of Social Security but for dismantling the entire entitlement program. What better time? Stock prices are low and they can only go up from here, which will give Republicans the opportunity to finally usher in George W. Bush’s “Ownership Society.” This policy prescription is a sure vote getter among younger Americans, as well as those facing retirement who value personal freedom.</p> <p>4). Republicans must stop all this talk about “pulling out” of Iraq and make the case for staying in Iraq for 100, 200, or even 300 years. This powerful stand will show voters the Republicans have courage and resolve and are not a bunch of weak-kneed “cut and runners.” This clear and forceful policy will put the naysayers and left-wing rock stars on the defensive and galvanize support among voters who know we got it right when we went into Iraq to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction and break his ties to Al Qaeda. All the peaceniks and communists will be hiding under their beds if Sarah Palin makes this case over and over again, and it is sure to play well in Red states as well as Blue states. Republicans must make the case that $12 billion a month is a small price to pay for freedom. </p> <p>5). The Republicans’ hero Margaret Thatcher famously said “Don’t Go Wobbly” and that is my advice to the GOP: The Republican Party must redouble its brass-tacks campaign tactics and step up the smearing and sliming and hit their opponent with everything including the kitchen sink. Bring back Bill Ayres and Reverend Wright and Rashid Khalidi and start assassinating Obama’s character early — I mean starting today — and don’t let up! Get Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachman on the stump to call for investigating “anti-Americans” in Congress, and get Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh to pump up the volume of their attacks (they were far too timid in 2008). Also, the RNC should hire Brad Blakeman to go out on a 50-state speaking tour and repeat his charge of October 24, 2008 when he said: “You know what the outrage is today? [It] is Barack Obama taking a 767 campaign plane to go visit his grandma. Forget about the energy that is wasted, what about the hundreds of thousands of dollars to take a private trip when this guy should be humping his bags on a commercial plane or taking a smaller plane?” This kind of no-holds-barred campaigning is popular among voters and cuts the Republicans’ way because it will remind Americans that the Republican Party means business. It is a sure winner with blue-collar voters, women, and especially with that sizeable and coveted chunk of the electorate: those who hate their own grandmothers.</p> <p>6). The Republicans must stay on message that anyone who disagrees with them about de-regulating the economy, privatizing government services, and outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries are, as McCain’s top economic adviser Phil Gramm put it, nothing but a bunch of “whiners.” The RNC must invest heavily in television advertising time driving home the point that Gramm (who holds a Ph.D. in economics) so eloquently articulated: Any “recession” Americans think they are in is nothing more than a figment of their imaginations. The GOP must constantly and repeatedly denounce this “mental recession” that seems to plague American voters (that is, when they’re not “whining” about the economy). Buck Up America! This stance is a sure vote getter because it plays to Americans’ strong sense of rugged individualism and stoic toughness.</p> <p>7). The Republicans must always blame the liberal media for any and all bad publicity their nominee for president, hopefully Sarah Palin, might receive. This anti-Big Liberal Media strategy is a winner because it reminds voters who the real enemies are. The RNC could put to great use Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher who so captured the hearts and imaginations of legions of adoring American voters. Wurzelbacher can make the rounds and become the public face for the Republican counter attack against the liberal media. As such an endearing and sympathetic figure, “Joe the Plumber” no doubt will win the hearts — as he already has — of millions of ordinary “Joe and Jane Sixpacks” out there in the “real America.” Joe can put to use his cunning intellect and verbal gifts to speak for the Republicans about the issues free of the filter of the liberal media rock stars. (And don’t forget to constantly call working people “Joe and Jane Sixpack” — they love being called that!) </p> <p>8). Finally, the Republican Party must step up and own its true legacy. President George W. Bush is a formidable force to be reckoned with out on the stump. The RNC should send him out on a 50-state tour to remind voters of the two-terms of peace and prosperity he brought to America. With the right talking points he must own up to his administration’s record without apologies and give them nostalgic reasons to vote for Sarah Palin for president. It will be a return to normalcy and American greatness, he must say. As the only two-term Republican president since Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush will be passing the torch of the party’s leadership to the able hands of Sarah Palin. The symbolism is sure to resonate with voters and Bush will be the Republican Party’s secret weapon for victory in 2012! </p> <p>So there you have it. The above are my expert suggestions (from an Ivy League Ph.D. no less) to the Republican Party as it seeks to retool and hone its message to reclaim the White House in 2012. I’m confident that if Republican strategists have the good sense to heed my advice the next presidential election will usher in another long period of Republican dominance of our nation’s political discourse, and along with it, pull together a popular mandate to set our country’s agenda for decades to come. </p>
Palin Blames Bush Administration For Election Loss
<p>Gov. Sarah Palin blames the Bush administration for the failure of the McCain-Palin ticket, thinks people need to move on from the so-called “troopergate” controversy and has no plans to stop charging the state per diem for time at her home in Wasilla or having state-funded travel for her children.</p> <p>Palin also said she loved her time in the national spotlight and won’t rule out a run for president or vice president in 2012.</p>
Cliff Schecter: Progressive U.S. House Seat On The Line–It’s Up To You
<p>Hello from the great state of Ohio, where we heaved that Bush monkey off our backs and helped elect President Barack Obama, <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/11/democrats_gain_control_of_ohio.html”>took over the state house</a> with a progressive slate of candidates and elected two more Democrats to Congress. </p> <p>Make that three, <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>if you’re willing to help</a>.</p> <p>In Ohio’s 15th district, centered around Columbus, Ohio, we have one of the few House races that is still too close to call. <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.kilroyforcongress.com/2008/1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=27″>Progressive champion Mary Jo Kilroy</a> is currently <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://vote.sos.state.oh.us/pls/enrpublic/f?p=130:10:0″>down only 146 votes in the Ohio SOS tally</a> to Republican Steve Stivers, and with your help she can easily pull this race out.</p> <p>First, let me tell you what is on the line. In the left corner, we have Mary Jo Kilroy, who is in favor of gay marriage (take that Prop 8!), the Employee Free Choice Act, universal healthcare, eliminating tax breaks for companies that take our jobs to China and President-elect Barack Obama’s tax plan–to give tax cuts to hard-working middle class families while raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, who make over 250K per year.</p> <p>Here is Mary Jo, from her own website, on her position on Iraq:</p> <blockquote>It’s time to bring our troops home. It was a mistake to invade Iraq and it’s a mistake to stay there now. Our brave men and women in uniform did their job. Iraq needs to step up and take responsibility for its own country. <p><br />
Five years is more than long enough. I will vote to start to bring our troops home the day I am sworn in. We need to put America first, honorably bring this war to a close and take better care of our veterans.</blockquote> <br />
In the far-right corner, we have Steve Stivers. He is a <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://blog.dispatch.com/dailybriefing/2008/03/a_lobbyist_by_any_other_name_1.shtml”>former bank lobbyist</a> who was one of <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/oh_16_stivers_gets_by_with_a_little_help_from_his_payday_lending_friends”>only 4 state senators</a> in Ohio from either party to oppose regulating predatory lenders (on whose behalf he lobbied), mentions nothing about Iraq on his website and most ominously is <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.rollcall.com/issues/53_55/atr/20856-1.html”>one of Boehner’s boys</a>–a reliable crony for House Minority Leader John Boehner, who in a major moment of projection <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2008/10/john-boehner-obama-present-votes.html?showComment=1225490100001″>called our new President “chickenshit”</a> and is infamous for having once <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/09/boehner-western-union/”>handed out tobacco checks on the floor of the House to his GOP buddies</a> (he also has the same spooky tanning habits as George Hamilton–but I digress).</p> <p>Now, remember, this is a R+1 district, which encompasses a bunch of the suburbs and exurbs of Columbus, and we can get a Congresswoman from here who supports unions, gay rights, women’s rights and redeploying our troops from Iraq. Or we can get Boehner’s buddy–who you can count on to be a loyal vote for his best man on all legislation having anything to do with corporate power, Iraq and our constitutional rights. </p> <p><a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>It’s our choice</a>.</p> <p>Right now there are 27K-30K early absentee and provisional ballots left to count, more than enough to easily have the will of the people respected and send Mary Jo to Congress. These votes should be overwhelmingly Democratic, as they are largely from Democratic Franklin County, but we need to ENSURE they are counted (and as Stivers is Boehner’s boy, well, you get the picture). </p> <p>In fact, when Mary Jo first ran two years ago and took on the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, Rep. Deborah Pryce, she ended up down 3,500 votes after election day. But once provisional votes were counted she made up a whopping 2,500 votes. We have already seen progressive Jeff Merkley win a U.S. Senate seat this year after trailing his Republican opponent, based solely on early votes from Democratic districts. In other words, this is not only doable, it <em>will be done</em> if <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>we want it badly enough</a>.</p> <p>The issue is that provisional ballots have to be verified, so Mary Jo needs to keep paying some staff to ensure that legitimate ballots are not thrown in the trash. That means, whether you can afford $5 or $500, if <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>you are willing to go to her recount page at ActBlue and give a donation</a>, you can ensure that all the votes are counted and she becomes the kind of progressive voice in Washington that can help ensure President Obama ends the War in Iraq, protects our rights and brings us back to economic sanity.</p> <p>Or we can get another reliable vote for right-wing GOP Leader Boehner’s positions on economic issues and Iraq (more supply side and endless war for everyone!). This is entirely <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>in our hands</a>.</p> <p>As history has taught us, we need every vote in Congress that we can get (see Bill Clinton and universal healthcare for a refresher course). And a win by a progressive over the Boehner Machine and <a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2008/10/ohio-court-rules-for-mccain-palin-on.html”>Republicans who routinely attempt to suppress Democratic votes in Ohio</a>, via the counting of every vote, well, that would just be the icing on the cake.</p> <p><em><a rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank” href=”http://www.actblue.com/page/kilroycountsvotes”>Mary Jo Kilroy’s ActBlue Page for all recount-related donations</a></em><br />
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