John McCain: the great uniter — of Democrats
As recently as a few days ago, I was feeling sort of glum about the Democrats’ chances of winning the White House, considering the deep divisions within our party. We’ve all seen the exit polls: in Indiana, for instance, fully 50 percent of Clinton voters told pollsters that they would refuse to vote for Obama in the general election.
50 percent!
I wondered in my glumness: given the likelihood of a fairly close election this fall, how can the Democrats hope to overcome such profound division?
Then John McCain opened his mouth: and suddenly I was at peace.
(Reuters) McCain will seek judges like Roberts and Alito
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Tuesday he would appoint judges in the mold of conservatives John Roberts, Samuel Alito and former Chief Justice William Rehnquist if he were elected in November.
In a speech in Winston-Salem, the Arizona senator said he would “look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint.”
“I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and my friend the late William Rehnquist — jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference,” McCain told an audience at Wake Forest University.
So, if disappointed Hillary Clinton supporters — in many cases strong feminists — decide to vote for McCain out of anger, they’ll know what to expect in return: a Supreme Court dedicated to whittling away women’s reproductive rights.
But McCain hasn’t stopped there. He’s also upping the ante on the proposed pro-“life” constitutional amendment.
(ABC) McCain Poised to Flip on GOP Abortion Platform
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., faces enormous pressure from social conservatives to ignore his repeated commitment to change the GOP’s platform on abortion
If he were to change the party platform,” to account for exceptions such as rape, incest or risk to the mother’s life, “I think that would be political suicide,” said Tony Perkins, the president of the conservative Family Research Council, to ABC News. “I think he would be aborting his own campaign because that is such a critical issue to so many Republican voters and the Republican brand is already in trouble.”
A senior Republican close to McCain told ABC News that building a more inclusive GOP is a top priority for the Arizona senator.
But this adviser does not see changing the party platform to include exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother as necessary for achieving that vision.
It would seem, therefore, that McCain is probably about to agree to a platform calling for the outlawing of all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest and where the mother’s life is in danger. Yeah, that ought to win him a lot of Democratic support.
Poor John. Here he stands with a huge opportunity to take advantage of a badly splintered Democratic Party. Yet, instead of being able to move to the political center in order to seal the deal with some of these angry Democrats, he’s forced to continue selling his soul to far right nutcases.
As I was saying, I’m starting to feel a lot better about our chances of achieving Democratic unity in the fall.
After all, we have John McCain hard at work for us.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:28 am
wow…
ok, i see, i see
Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate
==> the sperm of a man like Fritzl is MORE WORTH than the life of a girl like Elizabeth?
because - that’s it - to choose one part means giving more value, higher priority: sperm (not even cells) vs. life (brains, faces, arms and legs, hearts and souls)….
sperm wins - brain loses?
let Elizabeth die in the cellar, Mr. McCain?
sorry, i guess - there is more at stake than only McCain
what will the world think of a country supporting the case of Josef Fritzl????
sure, there will be understanding!!
the Taliban - with a language without a word for “wife”, calling their female assets just “assets” (or better “possession”?) - will understand the Americans, and the Saudis - with their BMOs (black moving objects - not even allowed to drive cars, let alone to decide when to be used as breeding cattle)
but….
where human dignity doesn’t count, why should female dignity count?
happy Mothers Day!
May 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Steve said: “We’ve all seen the exit polls: in Indiana, for instance, fully 50 percent of Clinton voters told pollsters that they would refuse to vote for Obama in the general election.”
There may be more to this what what it seems. Rush Limbaugh has been encouraging rethuglicans to do what they can to disrupt the Democratic party, including casting votes in their primaries. If this has happened, then at least some of the reports of dissent inside the party are planted to provide newsfodder for the complicit press. Read more at Jeffrey Feldman’s FrameShop blog in a post called “Did Limbaugh Try To Incite Violence?”. (The site is frameshopisopen.com.)
Every step of the way, what we see reported has been stage-managed by the junta and its apologists. Don’t forget that the ‘riots’ that caused the 2000 vote recount in Florida halted were actually Washington based shock troops flown in to make trouble.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Since I was born in Indiana, have lived here all of my life; and my ancestor’s bones moulder in country graves in this state, I feel quite comfortable in being blunt about Hoosierdom. The Clinton supporters in Indiana, who say they will not vote for Obama, would not vote for Obama if he were God Almighty. They support Clinton because they will not vote for an African American. Many of them will not admit this. They want change, but they don’t want that kind of change. Some will not vote at all. Others will vote for McCain. There is a fair amount of racism in Indiana. Martinsville was once the national headquarters for the Ku Klux Klan. Skinheads and Neo Nazis have a following here. Survivalists and gun fanatics do, too. The NRA reigns supreme. It is basically a very conservative state. Evan Bayh is right of center. We have some real idiots in Congress, like Dan Burton, and he just got the nomination for the Repugs again. Indiana, though no longer truly rural, retains a lot of backwoodsy thinking. Some of my relatives would rather boil in oil than vote for a Democrat. I suspect that quite a few of those so-called Clinton supporters would not vote for Clinton, if she did win the nomination. When push comes to shove, they simply could not vote Democratic. This is a state where Bob Knight is still revered, even if his cursing, chair-throwing, woman-threatening personality is the absolute pits. I have heard people from small Indiana towns say that they avoid Indianapolis, because of the “Blacks”; and stereotype all African-Americans as violent, crooked, immoral and welfare queens. We no longer have welfare, but whatever…..the stereotype sticks. Indiana was solid for Bush in both 2000 and 2004. When it comes to politics and social issues, Indiana is not progressive. It can feel lonely here sometimes for a hardcore liberal Democrat like me.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:45 am
There is a fair amount of racism in Indiana, no denying that, but three of my best friends voted for Hillary strictly because she’s a woman and they like her. They will support Obama, however without hesitation. I have another friend, a guy who has voted republican all his life, he told me he will vote for Obama this fall. (he still refused to ask for a democrat ballot in the primary but will cross over in November). Three of my other men friends all voted for Obama. Even long time R’s are sick of Bush and are coming over to our side. I’m not saying Indiana will go blue this fall but it may be close.
The NRA really does reign supreme here. They have more influence than any racist group or religious group around. Indiana men may hate bush, they may hate the wars, they may want to “keep women in their place”, they may resent immigrants and they may be racist, BUT THEY LOVE THEIR GUNS. I remember when these idiots were all telling me that Al Gore was going to take their guns away. I’ve never seen them so upset and even when I tried to tell them that it was a hoax to get their votes, didn’t matter, the fear had already been put in their minds and they’d hear nothing I said.
I was amazed then, now I know what to expect. If the GOP wants Indiana to stay in their column, tell them Obama will take their guns away, it’s really that simple.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I wish Hillary had run a better campaign. I think if women had more power and control the world could be a better place. Anyone see the Oprah show where they set up actors in different scenarios of danger? It was women who intervened to stop abuse, it was women who put themselves in danger to help a stranger. I saw a re-forestation project going on in Africa, it was women planting the trees. Did you see the women carrying their opponent around the bases after she hit a homer and then broke her leg rounding first in that baseball game? Who built the tanks and planes for WWII? Women can work together to accomplish anything. There is push-back right now against women’s rights, against women in fact. Maybe there is a shift of power coming and men are a little frightened by that. I wish they would give us a chance to prove what we can do, to show them how to settle disputes without killing each other, how to build things competently and fairly. Hillary was not the woman but I am not discouraged. This push-back may be just what we need to re-energize women and bring more into the congress and other places of influence and opportunity. The supreme court may try to control our bodies and our paychecks, idiots like Matthews and O’Lielly may degrade and ridicule us, hateful preachers may try to intimidate and shame us, let them try. Look at Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma and Benazir Bhuto. Women have an inner strength even dictators cannot touch.
I am woman, hear me roar.
I am supporting Obama but I am hoping Hillary knocks old Harry Reid out of his seat and shows those men how to get things done in the senate.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Anyone read TomDispatch today?
“Me, I’m a Camera”
African women making a change
by Ann Jones
Read it.
I’ll bet Chuck read it. Where the hell IS Chuck anyway?
May 13th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I’m in the process of reading it. But along with Naomi Klein’s book and those of Chalmers Johnson I get so angry after just a sentence or paragraph or two I just have to put it down for awhile.