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Politicizing Tragedy
[Photo credit: Denver Open Source]
Is it ever acceptable to politicize tragedy, such as the Minneapolis bridge collapse, or the cave-in at the Utah mine?
Hell, yes. And I'm not afraid to put it out there as just that. I am absolutely willing to discuss these events as part of politics.
Why? Because it was politics that, if it didn't downright cause these tragedies to happen, it certainly aided and abetted the degree to which these tragic events were magnified. And it is politics that bears at least some responsibility for the deadly consequences that may continue to arise from both of these examples.
Exhibit A: Gas taxes are how states traditionally pay for infrastructure.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Friday he is willing to reverse his longstanding opposition to a state gas tax increase in the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.
The state's gas tax has been at 20 cents per gallon since 1988. Pawlenty had vetoed bills to raise it in 2005 and earlier this year.
[...]The gas-tax shift is a huge political concession for Pawlenty, who has stood firmly against any state tax increases during his 4¼ years in office. In light of the bridge tragedy, "We've got to come together and we've got to move forward," he said.
Yes, by all means, let's wait until we have a river full of corpses before we "come together and move forward". If that's not crassly creating tragedy from pure politics, I don't know what is.
"The government learned lessons from Sago," says J. Davitt McAteer, a former official with the US government's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), referring to the mine explosion in West Virginia in which 12 miners perished and one, miraculously, survived.
Heralded as the most significant mining legislation in 30 years, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, signed into law by President Bush on June 15, 2006, was a result of investigations into the Sago accident.
[...]The other most important change called for, according to McAteer, was the hardening of chambers in which miners can hold out during rescue efforts. Those were required in West Virginia but not in the rest of the country.
Brilliant. Only have standards in West Virginia, but not the rest of the US because, you know, mining only happens in West Vir...nevermind.
The MSHA has issued 325 citations against the Crandall Canyon Mine since 2004, according to the agency's online records. Of those, 116 were considered "significant and substantial," which means they are likely to cause injuries.
Last month, inspectors cited the mine for violating a rule requiring that at least two passageways be designed for escape in an emergency.
The 325 citations would not be "an unusual number," says McAteer. "The ones that are troubling are where there's a mine-evacuation violation. Those are troubling events and those shouldn't happen."
So did they shut the mine down until, at least, those mine evacuation violations were fixed? Obviously, and tragically, no. MSHA has a less than stellar history of effective enforcement of worker safety provisions. Once again, the workers pay the price for energy policy being secretly written in the office of Vice President Cheney.
I have to ask myself, why aren't our politicians screaming about this more in the wake of these disasters? Simple. Because they don't want to be seen as "politicizing a tragedy".
The hell with that. Politicizing tragedy is what they accuse you of when they want you to shut up. Now is not the time to shut up. It's the time to speak up. So when you hear certain folks complaining that people are "politicizing tragedy", you might want to remind them that it's tragedy that money is being spent on war instead of infrastructure, and people in 21st century America die from bridges falling down. And you can also remind them that it's a tragedy that the lax enforcement of worker protections resulted in miners having no escape route from collapsing mines, despite the fact that this is mandated by law. And while you're at it, you can remind them that it's still a tragedy that our federal authorities were warned about the effects of a Category 3 hurricane hitting New Orleans, and then those same authorities ignored the warnings. And it's a complete tragedy that our children can't even be as safe from lead in their water as they were six years ago because of the weakening of our environmental laws.
Politicization of tragedy? Please--the tragedies have only just begun. Wait until the effects of global warming really get going.
For the past six years, the Republicans in power seem to have no problem whatsoever politicizing tragedy when they are running for office. And some folks are even using it as a platform for running for the Presidency of the United States. But get them close to even mentioning the word "accountability", and they leap to their feet, and shreikingly decry that you are politicizing a tragedy.
I have only one response to that accusation: Hell, yes. And I'm going to keep on doing so. It's not the politicization of tragedy that I'm worried about. It's the politics that are causing these tragedies and enhancing them that we should all be worried about.
Reading this made me remember how much I hate george w bush. AND republicans.
What a bunch of punk ass chimps.
What they mean is if you politicize it you are a ghoul, if they do it it is called party politics.
My only comfort is knowing they have to use the same bridges we do.
Well said, Casey.
A lot of people would say "oh, you can't blame the President for everything", but you know what?
Katrina, Minneapolis, the mines, .....
When can you start blaming the president and his cronies all the way up and down the line? When can you start blaming the greed tha politics breeds?
I agree with you. The time is now. Otherwise, no one is held responsible. Some of these might be accidents, but they are preventable accidents. And when that happens, someone has to be held responsible.
You realize if not for our government 'politicizing tragedy' we would not have a damn government at all...?
All they would have left is to name some more post offices after themselves.
I am really hoping that the tone on ths blog today reflects as much of the country's sense of outrage as possible.
I am finding it difficult to accept that my anger is even greater than it was. But it is that.
Happy birthday to my husband, and let's get out of here soon!
Oh, by the way, I found something quite by accident yesterday and it totally FREAKED ME OUT.
To all of you smarter than me, please read this and please tell me it's not true.
I was actually looking up National parks so I could kidnap my man and retire for some serious we time. And I quite accidently stumbled upon this....
Tell Me More About Albert Pike
http://threeworldwars.com/albert-pike.htm
Sometimes it is scary when things start making sense.
OMG. He really IS a child.
WH: Bush’s 418 Plus Days Off Considered ‘Recess’
Ralph, no offense, but that would be an excellent plan if you were trying to reach out to my grandparents.
Go to VoTechs (or any college campus) around the nation and try giving away free internet for a year, and I bet you will run out of internet before you do takers.
Go to the libraries and offer patrons the same.
Don't go for the older, less populated generations, no offense but they are not the logical target anyway. We need a twenty year solution not a 5 year one.
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The sad thing is that young people don't vote. They aren't interested in politics. They aren't interested in government. They aren't interested in political parties etc...
Speaking as a mother of young people, and a college teacher, I have to say that they ARE interested and they DO vote, and over the past two years, I have seen a massive awakening.
They do NOT protest; they do not write letters.
They wear t-shirts.
They put their politics into their home pages on Facebook and MySpace.
For these young people, they do what they do (art, music, psychology, computer science, etc.) and on top of that, they care about the war, the environment, healthcare, education, and the economy a great deal. They do NOT care about privacy or FISA or the outing of Valerie Plame--these young people have very little privacy and they expect to have less in the future.
But they will not stick around long enough to parse the intricacies of legislation on any of the above issues. They just want it fixed. Yesterday, thank you.
The internet culture is one of revelation and attention-seeking anyway. They decorate with slogans and positions; they don't hide away.
I think they would be most likely to vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. Seriously, you gotta look good and sound good these days.
But WE have opportunity to influence them into thinking a little harder IF we enter their world and try to understand how information flows.
I started a DCP Facebook group and we could do some exploring over there. If anyone has other ideas about how to connect and educate and get them to be a little more PRO-active, please do share. We'll write a book and make a lot of money...
Here's something that's breathtaking for it's sheer idiocy: http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/08/to_set_the_ship_on_a_better_course_you_have_to_be_ready_to_sink_it
Hard to believe this woman holds the Wilson chair at Princeton.
Spare me the "bipartisan" drivel. Clearly, she doesn't understand the nature of the problem she is addressing. Argghhh.
As a mother of 5 kids from 6 to 16 I also disagree. Every single one of my kids are VERY interested in what is happening politically.
Maybe even more so than the adults. Sometimes I think they see it more clearly than we do, their enthusiasim is certainly much more complete than older groups.
My kids are looking forward to that all important 'turning 18'...Why?...so they can VOTE. I'm not kidding, it is the first thing they list as looking forward to.
The young adults around me, in my family and friends, them too, they are very interested in politics. Again, more so than the older generations.
But..Very few young people have any hope of a personal relationship with our government. These are kids of empire and they are hip to the fact the empire does not give a crap about their future. They can't trust dems any more than they can republicans.
They do not know HOW to stop it. They do not know where the fight is, it is from all sides. We are looking at a total collapse of our policies, or Constitution and our infastructure.
Ralph... I hate to say it, but I differ with you 100% on it. Young people are begging, freaking begging to be engaged, no one knows how to get them onboard in an orderly fashion.
We always hoped to leave what was the best of us behind, we now know they will inhierit nothing of the sort.
They know it too.
I just asked my 16 year old, put him on the spot, I told him think about it 3 seconds then give me your answer.
"What would you say to someone who believes young people are not involved in politics because they are not interested in politics?'
He paused and said 'I would say the world is changing around us and many of us are just now finding out what is going on. We are trying to learn but everythings changing.'
I know he just told me something deeper than I expected, but I am not sure what. It was a surprising answer to me.
thanks for the data point Christy!
The sad thing is that young people don't vote. They aren't interested in politics. They aren't interested in government. They aren't interested in political parties etc...
Posted by: Ralpheh at August 8, 2007 11:53 AM
Not true anymore. The incompetency of W, the rigged elections, and the war that could get the young drafted, have changed the field quite a bit.
Look at the DCP, even. You are here, and so are Christy, V, and me. We are NOT aging baby-boomer hippies.
Christy,
I had a similar conversation with my 18-year old. We were in the car and Terry Gross was interviewing the musician John Mayer about his song "Waitin' on the World to Change."
(Here's a version, in case you don't know it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYTr-M4XWRE )
Mayer was talking about how powerless young people tend to feel and how much they really truly think that if they wait, things will change.
My son agreed, and pretty much agreed with your son, Christy, that stuff keeps changing and you have to hold on to stuff that matters. Friends matter. The future matters. The planet matters. Cool t-shirts matter too.
What we have to do is help them stop waiting and start the changing.
Posted by: Casey Morris at August 8, 2007 01:01 PM
Yes, Casey, I hear such similar drivel here inside the bubble. It's like a drone.................................................................
I have ended many conversations abruptly and with scathing remarks recently, in the service of maintaining my sanity, if not my social standing.
Man. This is becoming absolutely intolerable.
The chairman of the Clark County Republican Party — who last month was elected president of the Young Republican National Federation — has resigned both posts, apparently in the wake of a criminal investigation.
On Tuesday afternoon, Glenn Murphy Jr. e-mailed media outlets a letter announcing his resignation from both positions, citing an unexpected business opportunity that would prohibit him from holding a partisan political office.
However, the Clark County Sheriff’s Department on Friday began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct — potentially a class B felony — after speaking with a 22-year-old man who claimed that on July 31, Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative’s Jeffersonville home.
Murphy, a 33-year-old Utica resident, has not been arrested nor has he been charged with a crime. A copy of the police report has been posted on an politically focused Internet site and another was provided to a reporter with The Evening News and The Tribune on Tuesday evening.
Larry Wilder, Murphy’s attorney, said Murphy is cooperating with police and Prosecutor Steve Stewart. Wilder said Murphy contends the sex act was consensual.
A reporter was unable to reach Stewart on Tuesday evening.
In 1998, a 21-year-old male filed a similar report with Clarksville police claiming Murphy attempted to perform a sex act on him while he was sleeping. Charges were never filed in that case.
http://www.news-tribune.net/breakingnews/local_story_219210228.html
OMG. Has anyone ever seen a group of pervs like these republicans have become?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXWXQeHCWpo
The real deal of the Mayer song
The young adults around me, in my family and friends, them too, they are very interested in politics. Again, more so than the older generations.
But..Very few young people have any hope of a personal relationship with our government. These are kids of empire and they are hip to the fact the empire does not give a crap about their future. They can't trust dems any more than they can republicans.
They do not know HOW to stop it. They do not know where the fight is, it is from all sides. We are looking at a total collapse of our policies, or Constitution and our infastructure.
Ralph... I hate to say it, but I differ with you 100% on it. Young people are begging, freaking begging to be engaged, no one knows how to get them onboard in an orderly fashion.
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You can disagree with me!!! I wish that I am wrong about this. But it has been my experience with young people that it is "hip" to not vote, and not be involved. I have tried to work with College Dems at both the local university and the local community college - both were unsuccessful. The is so little interest at CC for a Dem group that there is no active group. There was a peace group at a local private college, but they were inactive, never updating the website or holding meetings/actions.
The University Republicans, here, brought in Ann Coulter to speak last year. I think they had over 1,000 people in the audience. All the Local Television stations were there. (Could the Dems or any liberal groups match this?)
At this same University, they started a World Can't Wait group and received some university funding. They brought in a Marine from IVAW and Sunsara Taylor from WCW to speak - we had an audience of perhaps 70 people in the audience (this was after Taylor had appeared on the O'Reilly show). I would say at least a majority of the small audience were non-students (perhaps 75%?). The speeches generated no local media coverage, not even the local newspaper.
I had an Impeach Bush Meet-up group for about three months. I got 5 takers. I closed it down for lack of interest.
With young people, I challenge them: I say the politicians are assuming ( and even relying on the fact) that you won't vote.
Ralpheh,
I have had similar experiences trying to help the students get organized on my campus, which is a huge, massive, out of control place.
The fact is, and I have come to accept it, that they don't want my/our help.
They have their own meetups; they are called "going to the bar."
They have their own organizations, and we faculty are NOT invited.
They hate lectures. And Sunsara, bless her (she is a friend) LECTURES.
They went to see Ann Coulter because she is outrageous and famously so. They didn't necessarily agree with her.
The media covered Ann and not Sunsara, well that is just shocking, I can tell you. Here in DC, it's all celebs all the time. We can't get coverage when Daniel Ellsberg speaks, when Dennis Kucinich speaks, not even when John Kerry speaks.
But if Brittany Spears showed up to testify....
All that snark discharged, I will add that your approach is the right one.
Tell them the rightwing politicians think they are stupid and won't vote. It has the added benefit of being true.
I will add that when they are at the bars, they do talk about politics. How do I know? I got asked inside once...
and they seemed well-informed!
Mann Coulter attracts crowds because s/he is a loudmouth who happens to be skinny and wear miniskirts.
Considering that we're talking about a dude, that's not too bad, really.
Karen: that John Mayer song is right on the mark - especially about the television being a lying machine.
OMG. Has anyone ever seen a group of pervs like these republicans have become?
Posted by: Christy at August 8, 2007 02:15 PM
Good point, especially considering that they are the defenders of family values.
Tell him to go down on Mann Coulter. At least, the Mann *looks* like a woman...
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at August 8, 2007 02:52 PM
Nobody does the low blow quite like the Mann.
Fornigate.
Hmm. this thread is getting punchy.
and punny.
monkey, I was wondering whether you have changed locales as yet.
The University Republicans, here, brought in Ann Coulter to speak last year. I think they had over 1,000 people in the audience. All the Local Television stations were there. (Could the Dems or any liberal groups match this?)
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I still don't think the Dems/ Libs could pull off anything like this. Maureen Dowd?? Bill Maher?? Steven Colbert??
BAD NEWS FOR THE DEMS AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:
NPR is reporting on All Things Considered that there is a ballot initiative in California to divide up the state's electoral college votes by congressional districts (not winner take all, as it is now). The ballot initiative is being pushed by Republican activists (the same who got Ahrnold elected).
I still don't think the Dems/ Libs could pull off anything like this. Maureen Dowd?? Bill Maher?? Steven Colbert??
Posted by: Ralpheh at August 8, 2007 05:04 PM
Jon Stewart or Colbert would be the ticket.
On the California initiative, yes it's bad for the Dems. On the other hand, it may, in fact, be a fairer way to go if every state adopted it on a population-per-district basis.
Posted by: Ralpheh at August 8, 2007 05:09 PM
That's old news, Ralpheh.
And I agree with Karen - *every* state would have to adopt something similar. But California doing it on its own - it simply renders itself toothless in the presidential race.
Another concern is that gerrymandering will go far more rampant, in order to lock up safe Rep/Dem districts. Gerrymandering has been very bad for my district - a neighborhood full of Democratic-leaning Chinese immigrants is now being represented by a xenophobic Republican. (And on the flip side, my work district, full of Republican businesses and few residents, is represented by a Democrat.)
Posted by: Ralpheh at August 8, 2007 05:09 PM
That's old news, Ralpheh.
And I agree with Karen - *every* state would have to adopt something similar. But California doing it on its own - it simply renders itself toothless in the presidential race.
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I have mixed feelings about that - the small and rural states already have a big advantage in the electoral college since states, they get two extra elector votes regardless of population.
BTW: It is not toothless:
If this proposal passes it would hurt the Dem presidential candidate in 2008. The Dems are assuming/counting on all of California E.C. votes in 2008. If the Dems have to battle in every C.D. in California, it would make the 2008 race much harder.
Ralpheh,
I said "toothless" because having all 55 EVs from California in the Democratic column is, right now, a key factor in both parties' presidential campaigns. California is a huge Democratic bloc (even though in real life, there are tons of Republicans here), and that forces Republicans to make up for it elsewhere. Or they try to fight it out with a huge GOTV operation, and turn the entire state red (which is more than possible, btw).
Go proportional, and that influence goes away. Especially given that some congressional districts (each district being one EV) are hopelessly Dem and others (like mine) hopelessly GOP, there are very few California seats worth fighting for.
Yes, the Dems will have to take about 20-25 EV loss, for sure. But it doesn't change the fact that California's votes are no longer up for grabs - pretty much set in stone for one side or the other.
OMG. Has anyone ever seen a group of pervs like these republicans have become?
Posted by: Christy at August 8, 2007 02:15 PM
Christy, this behaviour comes from every single group that denies rights to any other group of people. In this instance and in the denial of any such *abominations* they are really stating the obvious - I'm gay! The sooner our media gets this one right - "Murphy *came out* today and announced his gaydom. The allegations against him and his denial show this to be true." - the better.
When any individual pretends to be something s/he is not; the truth will out.
Posted by: karen at August 8, 2007 02:17 PM
Thanks Karen. Loved the song. And Gore Vidal available on that site too. I never tire of listening to him.
Nice reading from bottom to top.
I am a hippie boomer, for sure.
If I could retire, I would.
what she said - me too!
Casey:
I love this topic. It makes me sick every time I hear "you can't politicize this" "you can't politcize that." Well, excuse my French, but that is Bull and needs to be called out every time. If we don't "politicize" issues like public safety, not to mention declaring war, then we are not a democracy. Period. Full-stop. End of story.
Chuck in Houston
I mean, what the heck do we have politics for other than at a minimum to adjudicate issues of serious public import through a democratic process that protects certain minority (individual) rights????? My ancestors whopped kings and princes off this continent and my descendants will do the same.
Chuck in Houston
So, if we don't "politicize" something, does that mean us poor stupid unedicated fools are just supposed to sit around and wait until our social betters tell us what needs to be done? I'm sorry, but that is an insult to me and my family and my ancestors. I don't take too well to that. I guess I lack breeding. For example, [expletive deleted] them, I say.
Chuck in Houston, great great grandson of Andrew Jackson Hopkins
That's Braxton County West Virginia I'm talking about. And his dad Caleb was a Sargeant in Jackon's army, or so I was told.
That's on my mom's side. My dad volunteered the day after Pearl Harbor, and so did his brother.
Politicize that. They did.
Chuck in Houston
Exactly Chuck! All that went on after the 9/11 tragedy was highly political. However, I hasten to add that it was never democratic. The action to invade Afghanistan and get at Bin Laden was never put to the public as a question. It was a statement of fact. Followed a couple of years later by another fait accompli for which there were more voices raised in protest all across the world, including America. The invasion of Iraq. The 3 countries that aligned themselves together to pound evil into oblivion are NOT democratic countries. They may restore democracy one day when all of the 3 undemocratic world class liars are gone. Blair has gone. Howard goes in November. Bush should be gone and may never be. Who can tell?
Woz:
I think it is deeper than that, but then I am cynical. But think about this for a minute or two. When someone says "oh, that's just politics," or something in that vein (e.g., "they're all the same," etc.), what they are really doing is strengthening cynicism about democracy. Take that to another level and that means that people that do that hate democracy -- they want people to tune-out. In the America I grew up in, that meant people that hate America.
Just a thought.
Chuck in America
Woz:
I'm guessing that Australians deep down feel about the same, even if you did vote to keep the Queen! (I never understood that.)
Chuck in Houston
I'm guessing that Australians deep down feel about the same, even if you did vote to keep the Queen! (I never understood that.)
Chuck in Houston
Posted by: Chuck at August 9, 2007 12:24 AM
Me either!!! Next time there's a referendum about it and there are rumblings about it coming up when the Labor government is elected in November. If Howard has his way and scares folks again into voting for him - then the queen stays! That side of politics is certainly all for the monarchy.
Woz:
Not that I personally have anything against the Queen, mind you. It seems Her Majesty is a pretty nice girl, though she doesn't have a lot to say. It's just the idea of royalty that rubs me wrong. No offense intended and apologies in advance for any offense taken.
Chuck in Houston
I have nothing against the queen either. As far as I know she could have been good fun, if only she weren't so damned Royal. I know that she's got a sense of humour since she described the antics of 2 of her sons and their wives during one year as an "annus horibilis". She likes a lot of the people I like and has dubbed Bob Geldof and Elton John as knights of the realm. But, as far as monarchy goes - no time for it - or money. I'm sorry that she has had to live such an unknowing and sheltered life.
monkey, I was wondering whether you have changed locales as yet.
Posted by: karen at August 8, 2007 04:23 PM
Si, mi amiga!
The Simian 4 landed in NC on Friday... been unpacking ever since, and won't have internetssss/tv/phone service until Saturday, so while I've not been online, I HAVE found virtually every Starbucks in my area with a (good to the last) wireless drop.
Took a few daze to divert our (kids) minds and drove down to the Outer Banks yesterday, writing to ya from the lobby of the Kitty Hawk Comfort Inn... actually staring right now at the Wright Brothers monument on the dunes across the street.
Wow, this country has flown so high, and fallen so far.
monkey--thanks for sharing that! I can see where you are and I agree that the notion that American innovation created so much that is exciting and humanly helpful, and now look where we are: selfish greedy imperialists.
People yell at us as we protest--Why do you hate America?
I love America, but it feels like we are nursing a terminal patient; one who used to be a brilliant and creative person, but who went horribly wrong.
Posted by: monkey at August 9, 2007 07:53 AM
Glad to hear the Simian 4 landed safely and more importantly, I'm glad they moved before hurricane season hit.
Did the Simian 4 follow the bird's advice on how to pack for the move? If so, then the unpacking should go relatively easy.
Obama, Edwards, Clinton tied in Iowa - poll
August 3, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The three top Democratic presidential candidates are virtually tied in a new poll in Iowa, where voters will kick off the presidential nominating process in six months, The Washington Post reported in its Friday edition.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was the first choice for 27 percent of respondents in the Washington Post-ABC News poll, followed closely by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards at 26 percent each.
The statewide poll of 500 likely voters differed dramatically from most nationwide polls, which give Clinton as much as a 2-to-1 lead over Obama, her closest rival. Edwards generally registers a distant third in national polls.
Though Clinton is seen by Iowa voters as the strongest leader and most electable candidate, her rivals get higher marks for likeability, the Post reported.
The chairman of the Clark County Republican Party — who last month was elected president of the Young Republican National Federation — has resigned both posts, apparently in the wake of a criminal investigation.
On Tuesday afternoon, Glenn Murphy Jr. e-mailed media outlets a letter announcing his resignation from both positions, citing an unexpected business opportunity that would prohibit him from holding a partisan political office.
However, the Clark County Sheriff’s Department on Friday began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct — potentially a class B felony — after speaking with a 22-year-old man who claimed that on July 31, Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative’s Jeffersonville home.
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This guy is a sexual predator.
Wouldn't being National Chairman of the Young Republican Federation be a great opportunity to meet young men??????
Why has MSM even taken an interest in bloggers?
They are lazy.
When a reporter cites "Meteor Blades" of DailyKos when he wants a dissenting opinion about the behavior of Congress, that reporter can stay in his pajamas!
O'Reilly was interested because of the candidates only.
Malkin sent a spy, who would see that there was representation by dissenting vets.
Coulter and the others are laboring over The New Republic's "Baghdad Blogger," a soldier whose accounts are questioned. That is obviously an attempt to drive down bloggers in general (as unpatriotic, as usual).
All of those folks are the ones who need to be marginalized for their libel, slander and hate.
See "No End in Sight"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/9/23723/65017
Hillary on accepting campaign money from special interests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaAkcXynqLA
HILLARY SEZ: IT'S ALL GOOD!!!!
Hillary says that the lobby money comes from "real people" like nurses and social workers. Here is a quote from a nurse:
quote
I love how she (Hillary) seems so happy and eager to take lobby money!
I'm a RN and my views sure as hell aren't represented by Hillary Clinton.
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BTW: I just contacted the Clinton campaign and asked which nurses lobbying group and which social workers lobbying group had given her campaign some contributions. They could not answer my question - they said they would call me back.....
from crooksandliars.com:
"The new chairman of the DLC said he doesn’t know who’s been right about the Iraq war. No, I’m not kidding. And he wonders why most of the presidential candidates stopped at YKos and left the DLC conference blowing in the wind. He was there to talk about Obama’s foreign policy ideas and answered this way on Hannity and Colmes last night
Colmes: Barack Obama had a great point when he said those who voted for the war in Iraq and then had to apologize for that vote should probably be the last people to criticize he—who was right about the war in Iraq all along.
Ford: I don’t know who’s been right about this war all along…
Colmes: Sure you do…
Ford: That’s open for dispute.
Colmes: You don’t know who’s been right about the war all along?
Ford: One thing is clear. What we’re doing now is not working.
Does he think it’s an open debate? Attacking a country that didn’t…never-mind….It seems he’s trying to shift the focus of the war debate in a weird way, don’t you? This is pathetic and if anyone followed the Senate race, you’d know that Ford is as much a centrist as James Dobson is. The Blue Dogs have betrayed the American people since the Democrats took back Congress in November. His campaign reached as far right as it could go and he still lost to Corker in Tennessee in a close race. He got more media exposure than most in the ‘06 election because of the smear job they pulled on him. I emailed the DLC and asked them to clarify his remarks…I’ll have a second clip later where he criticizes YKos also… "
After reading how unprepared the Democratic so called leadership was in the FISA debacle and then this-I swear there is a reason sucking machine on the Hill.
TY Ruffian for yet another example of what is wrong with democrats.
That is creepy.
And I hate to say it, but I have a 'problem' with Queen Elizabeth the Second.
She is a war profiteer.
There is a reason she did not stop her own prime minister from invading a country that was no threat to Her nation.
Much too profitable.
I love America, but it feels like we are nursing a terminal patient; one who used to be a brilliant and creative person, but who went horribly wrong.
Posted by: karen at August 9, 2007 08:08 AM
I'm on the verge of giving up sometimes, too.
Wow, this country has flown so high, and fallen so far.
Posted by: monkey at August 9, 2007 07:53 AM
So right...
and best of luck in settling in!
It never ceases to amaze me how people sooooooo rich, and with such an opportunity to change the world, so often resort to the greediest, cheapest, most immoral pieces of sh*t ever to walk among us.
Billions of dollars is not enough, they need trillions. Millions of people killed isn't enough to make it important, they need more blood. More land, more power. It amazes me how NEEDY they are, even though they are born with more than they will ever need.
I often wonder what I would have been like if I had been born an aristocrat. I hate to say it, but me too, I probably would have never seen anymore than I wanted to see.
The intoxication of it probably would have turned me into a monster. No repercussions, no consequence, any desire, no matter how twisted, provided. I would have given Calligula a run for his money in debauchery.
The older I get I find myself Thanking God for some very strange things indeed. I am so grateful to have lived a life where greed was never an option.
Everytime I look at these mosters dressed up in all their finery I am so glad I am not one of them.
I think that every time I look at Tin Lizzy.
Posted by: Ruffian at August 9, 2007 10:03 AM
I am well convinced that the DLC is a bunch of Republican operatives who have infiltrated the Democratic Party, to weaken and destroy it.
Christy:
I have had similar thoughts about money and it's possesiveness and the way my life has turned out. I am just so amazed how persuasive the ull of greed/need becomes. And everything in their life is so governed by this need that they are blind to its existance.
There but for the something.....
The issue of why the U.S. has not provided sufficient funding and updating of much of its domestic infrastructure, i.e. roads, bridges, power plants, grids, FAA network - is troubling. Certainly, a lot of answers may be gleaned through assessment of related political and spending decisions. Just do it!