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(Time for a write-in campaign. Anyone know of a real Democrat with an easily spelled name from Newmarket? - promoted by Dean Barker)
Doreen Howard, a state rep from Newmarket, endorsed John McCain Thursday.
On Tuesday she asked the voters to select her as the nominee of the Democratic Party. Two days later, nomination in hand, she endorsed the Republican nominee for President.
It makes sense, really. McCain is running a campaign free of any ethical compass, using outright lies in campaign speeches and advertisements. I guess it rubs off on his supporters.
Ever since the Spawn of Rove took over McFailing's campaign, they've been limiting his trademark "Town Halls," since they are well aware that in the age of YouTube, Maverick McCain is easily revealed as Say Anything McSame. And indeed, fresh of some disastrous press events without Palin (the top of the ticket), I can understand why they'd want to hide him from actual voter scrutiny.
So instead of honoring the type of New Hampshire primary campaign he constantly brags about, McCain flak Tucker Bounds, with the help of the Fournier led AP, spins like a top about today's Nascar event:
"In a state like New Hampshire, no one knows better than John McCain that it's direct voter contact that sways the electorate. Seizing the opportunity to meet with voters on a large stage in New Hampshire makes an enormous amount of sense," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.
Yeah. House parties and town halls are exactly the same as an audience of thousands of spectators there to watch cars race around a track.
(Bumped, because it's too important an issue, and almost never gets discussed. - promoted by Dean Barker)
The Executive Council is a strange creature. There are only five districts in the state and the boundaries of those districts don't follow other divisions neatly. Counties and state Senate districts are split into different EC districts and vice versa.
Winning an EC seat doesn't seem to be a steppingstone to higher office (indeed, as Dartmouth's Dick Winters says, New Hampshire has few elected steppingstones at all). It may be a secure seat: Ray Burton has won re-election every two years for over a quarter century. The EC just doesn't get much attention.
...and read this long article from the NYT detailing how Sarah Palin has no understanding whatsoever of what it means to be a public servant.
And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor's career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.
"You should be ashamed!" Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. "Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!"
But that's really the least of it. It's truly frightening stuff - including new insight on her homophobic book banning - an absolute must read. Think a "backwater, End Times Dick Cheney," except she could very well obtain as much power as he in less than eight weeks. An absolutely terrifying toxic combination of zero qualifications for the job, visionless ambition, anti-democratic religious fundamentalism, and personal vendettas.
I will never forgive John McCain for the reckless, politically motivated decision he made. He has, without hyperbole, put our nation at risk. He turned the most important decision a candidate can make over to the Rush Limbaugh crowd, and then he never vetted her. Reckless!
So stop blogging! Stop blogging right now! Instead, spread the word, donate, phonebank, canvass, visibility, rinse and repeat.
Adding: in an earlier post, I compared Palin to Craig Benson, and someone rightly noted that Benson was such a unique creature that such comparisons don't apply. But this article has me thinking again - the two share a total lack of understanding of what a public office and a personal life mean.
So, the top news story just now (7pm) when I clicked on Google News is Lauren Dorgan's writeup of the Concord Obama event for the Monitor.
She included in her piece what I thought were two of the best moments of the night. One from Obama,
Obama said that McCain, an Arizona senator, has voted with Bush 90 percent of the time and that his promises of change are hollow.
"They must think the American people are stupid," Obama said...
, and one from the crowd:
Using papers from a college bulletin board and sticks of lipstick borrowed from fellow audience members, they made signs reading "Hockey Moms for Obama."
And now millions of people will be reading about it. Hoo-ray!
Here's a photo of the hockey moms, next to "Republicans for Barack":
Meditation for those bloggers who have been doing this from before the 2008 cycle: how crazy is it that these days you can rely on a campaign to have a YouTube up and ready almost immediately for those events you can't make it to yourself? Some of the DYI aspects of political blogging are going away as the medium grows and evolves...
To those who have become excited by the presidential campaign through Barack Obama's candidacy of change, please read on:
Almost a year ago, when there were seven contenders vying for the Democratic nomination, when Hillary Clinton was ahead in the polls, and when much of the state political establishment was behind her, freshman Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, who had previously been neutral, surprised everyone and endorsed Barack Obama.
Carol Shea-Porter was there for Obama when he needed her the most. And now it's time for Obama and his army of fired up Granite Staters to be there for her.
You see, since her victory in 2006 is defined as something of a surprise fluke - the truth is actually the opposite - the Republican party, debased nationally, feels as if this is one of the few races they have a shot at taking back.
In her short time in Congress, Carol Shea-Porter has been the consistent voice for change that Obama will herald in a new presidency. Just imagine a House and Senate and White House united to undo the damage done these past eight years.
So, fans of Obama, if you are at today's mega-rally in Manchester, consider stopping by to see Carol Shea-Porter, who is kicking off her re-election effort today. It's within walking distance of the rally.
CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF
SATURDAY, SEPT. 13 AT 2PM
CONGRESSWOMAN CAROL SHEA-PORTER at THE CHATEAU RESTAURANT
201 HANOVER ST. MANCHESTER
WWW.SHEAPORTER.COM
for more information call 603-397-3190
Update: CSP, from the kickoff:
"I have kept my promise to you - to stand up against special interests and represent the rest of us," said Shea-Porter. "I am fighting for better veterans care, energy independence and jobs and healthcare for the middle class. Our future requires vision and boldness. We can't go back to the days of rubber stamping failed policies and with your help, we won't. "
And this is brilliant. Courtesy the 'Ticker:
"John Stephen and I disagree on a lot of things, but we agree on one thing and that's Jeb Bradley is [per the vid] was what's wrong with Washington," Shea-Porter told supporters at Chateau restaurant.
So that you don't have to plow through the love letter editorial dressed as interview journalism, a summary:
* John Sununu wears sweaters and has a folksy manner, so it's easy to forget he votes with Bush 90% of the time to protect Big Oil & Big Pharma, prolong the Iraq war, etc. etc...
* John McCain thinks John Sununu is the Smartest Man in the Senate. So smart that, like Sarah Palin, he refuses to acknowledge the influence of humans on climate change.
* Ignore all the data about our shifting state demographics, please. We have an election to keep close.
My favs are the kids and the Hockey Moms for Obama.
Note: Sometimes the Flickr slideshows aren't working for me in the latest version of Firefox, so if you see a blank screen, try an earlier Firefox or some other browser like Safari.
Sprintin' Sununu put out another ad today which consists largely of him about to break out into actual sprinting, and plenty of misleading metaphorical sprinting away from his Republican, Bush-enabling identity. For example, it touts how he called for Gonzo to be fired, but nowhere mentions that he supported him as AG in the first place despite the scandal of the torture revelations.
Shaheen and the DSCC both fought back today too. The first ad shines a light on Fergus' ridiculous "radical community organizing" talking point (for much more on this see Kathy's outstanding diary), and the second is just pretty straight ahead hard-hitting on how out of touch John E. is:
Somehow, I made it to NH Tech Institute, so we've got a liveblog giong here.
CNN LIVESTREAM HERE
We only had to walk around the building twice to go to the wrong door and have someone tell us to go back again. In the rain. But it's all good. I'm sitting behind the "Reserved for the Union Leader" table.
Liveblog notes below the fold, and more and better pictures coming soon...
Jeb Bradley beat John Stephen 18,559 to 16,766 in the Republican 1st District Congressional race. Geoff Michael received 534 votes and Dave Jarvis 414. Running unopposed, Democratic incumbent Carol Shea-Porter received 20,989 votes.
Yes, obviously, when you count up all the GOP votes, you see that more of them showed up for primary day.
But when Carol Shea-Porter, unopposed, can match roughly 2/3rd of the total of all the GOP candidates in a competitive primary, that speaks loud and clear.
This race is a top priority. Carol is as genuine as they come, and as progressive as they come. We owe it to her to work our hearts out. Donate, volunteer, canvass, phonebank, visibility, rinse and repeat.
Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans."
...Palin's return to Alaska coincided with her first extensive interview since she became the Republican vice presidential nominee. In the interview, with ABC News correspondent Charlie Gibson, Palin struggled when asked to define the "Bush doctrine" on foreign policy, leading to repeated follow-up questions from Gibson about whether she believed in the right to "anticipatory self-defense" and crossing other nations' borders to take action against threats.
John McCain has obviously become a shameless, dishonorable puppet of the Bush/Cheney machine. That much is clear, and has been for some time now.
But here's today's not so deep thought, which hit me like a ton of bricks. Sarah Palin is Bush 2.0 - an example of a mindset created by the extensive damage of the Bush years. She may not believe in evolution, but she represents the next mutation of the species elephans Bushensis. That's why she doesn't have a clue about the Bush doctrine - in her world, it's natural for America to start aggressive wars. And that's why she's incapable of separating Osama bin Laden and a country that had nothing to do with him or his attacks - because eight years of lies have altered her genetic code.
Living through Bush/Cheney is nightmare enough. God help us all if America becomes led by people infected with Bush 2.0 DNA.
(The dynamic duo in one spot - awesome. And btw: It has been reported that Team Obama was saving a full force counterpunch to McCain's lies today, in deference to 9/11, so those going to Obama's event in Dover or Concord just might get to see it live. - promoted by Dean Barker)
Come to a "Campaign For Change" Rally with
Sen. Barack Obama & Sen. Joe Biden
When: Saturday, September 13th
Doors open at 8:00 am
Program begins at 10:30 am
Where: Veterans Memorial Park
Elm St. Between Granite St. & Merrimack St.
Manchester, NH
This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP at nh.barackobama.com
For more information call: (603) 668-2008 or go to nh.barackobama.com