Tag Archives: election 08

Sarah Palin & the Secret Service Report

I’ve just started reading Newsweek’s Secrets of the 2008 Campaign series and I haven’t come to the part that the Telegraph refers to in, “Sarah Palin Blamed by the U.S. Secret Service for Death Threats Against Barack Obama.” Normally I’d wait and pull my quotes from the source, but this has agitated me so much I want to post about it now because I’m sure there’ll be much more to agitate me in the Newsweek.

The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of “palling around with terrorists”, citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling “terrorist” and “kill him” until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.
But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin’s attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: “Why would they try to make people hate us?”
The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin’s credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

I don’t know which disturbs me more – that this may well be true, or that it’s so easy to believe that it could be true.

It’s truly a shame to see the Republican Party continue it’s decline because of politicians willing to behave like this. Yeah, you just heard me bemoan the degradation of the Republican party, and no, I’m not on any prescription painkillers tonight.

It genuinely saddens me to see the way the party has highjacked by Evangelicals and xenophobes. Vigorous political discourse is dependent on a spectrum of perspectives and ideals and while those discussions occur between individuals, political parties serve an important role in our society. I’m not saying we need only two, I’m not saying that the religious should stay out of politics, but religion and narrow-mindedness and hate have no place in American politics and Republicans are the only ones who can fix their party and work to heal the damage that the last decade has inflicted on it, and on all of us.

This Telegraph piece came to my attention after the Queen of Spain tweeted it. Checking her site I see she’s got a good post up reacting to the report.
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President-Elect Obama seems to be real…

I’ve checked about two dozen papers now, plus CNN. President-Elect Obama is a real and for-true thing. It makes me cry all over again.

I refuse to think about how Ted Stevens possible victory in Alaska could bestow upon the nation Senator Palin.

No, I’m going to go back to reading all of the happy stories, like the New York Times, “Obama Is Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls” and the Washington Post, “Obama Makes History” and FOXnews, “For President-Elect Obama, a ‘Steep’ Climb Ahead”. The Onion gave us, Daily Beast and Huffington Post.

What a good day.

I’m saying it right now: we can only (semi)comfortably accommodate 10 out of town guests for the Inauguration and Jungle and Mrs. Pete have already claimed the best spots so make up your minds sooner rather than later.

the accidental republican

Do you know anyone else who could accidentally end up at an election-watching/victory party for McCain-Palin?

I didn’t think so.

In my own defense: not all of our neighbors wear their yardsigns on their sleeves. Before you tell me “every Virginian is a redneck republican” crap, I’ll remind you that Alexandria went to Obama by 72% and the only surprise has been that it wasn’t higher. This is Communist Northern Virginia I’m in, not Real America Virginia.

My brain was off in NaNoWriMo World when they invited me and it took me a few minutes to realize that I was in the belly of the beast. You’d think the lifesize cardboard cutouts of McCain and Palin would have tipped me off, but I thought they were being ironic. I believe, much to my horror, that I actually pronounced them cool. My memory may be playing games on me, but when reality dawned on me it seemed like the moment in a horror movie when one realizes that one is at a party of aliens. Or satanists.

I’m not referring to Republicans as satanists. Only Sarah Palin supporters.

Only kidding.

No I’m not.

Maybe I am.

At any rate, I had to make small-talk for a while and the 1st rule of cocktail party chatter: no politics, was moot. Ditto the second rule: no religion. I did the only thing I could think of: I talked a lot about the sex-toy give-away. I felt like a lizard discarding it’s tail to create a distraction so I could escape a predator, but whatever. I didn’t want to burn any bridges – not even the bridge to nowhere.

That, kids, is why you don’t take candy, or martinis, from strangers. Or neighbors who you don’t know as much about as you think you do.

Voting Gifts

Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Ben and Jerry’s are three of the bigger names giving away treats today to voters. If you’re in New York or Seattle, you can also get a free sex toy:

If the Maverick rhetoric in the presidential campaigns is doing anything, we hope it’s motivating everyone to get out and vote. Which is why we’re giving away a real Maverick, absolutely FREE to all voters. All men, not just Joe Six Pack, love the Maverick sleeve ($20 value). He’s always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo.
Wait, it gets better. We’ve got one more enticement. A free Silver Bullet ($15 value), because that’s what our country needs right now, a magical solution to difficult problems. Babeland’s most popular compact mini-vibe feels fantastic and is a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!

The promotion is good through November 11, details on the site. I think the link is safe for work, although the site probably isn’t worksafe in many offices.