Redeye's Week in Review

O-M-G. The right christian conservative Alabama republican party is standing in the need of much prayer. The Rev. Wesley is doubtless spinning in his grave with sufficient velocity to register on the seismograph at nearby King’s College.

Wesley’s eternal rest has certainly been disturbed by the actions of one of his ministers in the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. This comes about because the contest for the seat in House District 12 features not one, but two ordained Methodist ministers. The Democratic incumbent, the Rev. Rep. James Fields, made national news, being noted in The New York Times. This spotlight came because Fields, an African American, won the seat in a 2008 special election in a district that is 98% white. Fields is a retired state employment service staffer who is active as a Methodist minister.

Field Negro notes it's that time again...

As we get closer to November 2nd, his O ness and the dems are making their usual push for votes from the usual suspects. Old reliable. Black folks. Truth is, if black folks actually get out and vote come Tuesday, that well touted republican tsunami will be more like a huge wave.

What's the matter with Florida democrats? Is the possibility of an African American Senator just too much for them to swallow? Instead of pressuring Kendrick Meeks to drop out of the race they should be pressuring Charlie Crist to drop out and throw his support to Meeks. But nooooo, that would be too much like right (pun intended). White Florida democrats would rather lose than support a black man. We shall overcome someday. Sigh* Kendricks Meeks was right (no pun) not to quit. He is the kind of democratic candidate/elected official I wish we had instead of the democratic candidates/elected officials we have.

Meek showed a lot of backbone in declining the suggestion. I have no doubt it was tempting. After all, Clinton could argue that unless Meek got out (and endorsed Crist), the Republican will win. Presumably, Meek could be blamed for electing Rubio. Quitting could make him a "hero," while refusing to bow out could make him seem selfish or stubborn.

But Meek made the right move for his party and for his career.

First, it's important to note that Meek's exit might have also impacted the Florida gubernatorial campaign, which is very tight. Depressing the Democratic base -- especially African-Americans who are likely to turn out for Meek -- could have cost Democrats the governorship (an especially big deal this year as states are about to reapportion and redistrict congressional seats).

What's more, quitting now would be a disservice to all the Democrats who contributed financially to, and volunteered for, Meek. And never mind all the people who may have already "wasted" their votes on him during early voting.

But it's also important to note that this was the right move for Kendrick Meek, too. As Winston Churchill said, "Nations which went down fighting rose again, but those which surrender tamely are finished." I suspect the same could be said for political candidates.

Uh Oh, here comes the race baiting gop to Meeks rescue.

MEEK'S REPUBLICAN CHAMPIONS EMERGE.... It was always the scenario Republicans feared. The only development likely to prevent Marco Rubio (R) from winning Florida's U.S. Senate race fairly easily is if Kendrick Meek (D) stepped aside, and his supporters shifted to Gov. Charlie Crist (I). And as we learned overnight, as of a week ago, that very nearly happened.

But now that the deal appears to have fallen through, Republicans have a new message: the entire effort is evidence of some kind of racism. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement:

"President Clinton's actions to have Kendrick Meek withdraw from the campaign sends a chilling signal to all voters, but especially African Americans. One can only imagine the response if Republican leadership tried to force out of the race -- in the 11th hour -- a qualified black candidate like Kendrick Meek."

I can only shake my head...

party unity isn't something that just happens, it requires communication, a certain amount of give and take and respect for a diversity of opinions says the person who banned me from the front pages of right leaning Left in Alabama. Big D Democrat Representative Randy Hinshaw called for democrats to circle the wagons and pull together in November. With all due respect to Rep. Hinshaw, it's kind of hard to support a party that takes your vote for granted. I am the kind of democrat that always votes a straight ticket, but I'm putting party leadership on notice, this is the last year I will vote for candidates who pander to the right at the expense of the base to get elected then govern like republicans. I will either under vote or write in a name. I'm tired of being thrown under the bus. If I wanted a republican representative I would vote republican. You got that? What CPL said;

What I'm really not liking is that our votes are being used as food stamps - then we get flung under the bus when the elections are over.

We don't get seats at the table; we have virtually no input in policy making; but they want us to get the hell out and vote like we have influence on outcomes. We DO; don't get me wrong, but I'm tired of being called up like some kind of trick - good for a vote and nothing more.

gop state Senator Paul Sandford lost no time in using the recent bribery convictions for his political gain. He is running TeeVee ads dressed in a black apron pushing a wheelbarrow full of black trash bags and dumping them in a dumpster. Uh, who are you calling "trash" Senator Sanford? Democrats? Black democrats? Using convictions for political gain are nothing new for Sanford, he used Sue Schmitz conviction in his previous race. Speaking of Sue Schmitz she will celebrate her 65th birthday on November 3, 2010. In honor of her birthday please Vote for democrats on November 2 and send her a birthday card to let her know we remember her for her contributions and her public service on behalf of ALL the constituents in her district.

SUZANNE L SCHMITZ
#26831-001
FMC LEXINGTON
SATELLITE CAMP
P.O. BOX 14525
LEXINGTON, KY 40512

I will be off line this weekend attending the Coal Bowl at Legion Field. Full report when I return.

VOTE like your lives depend on it.

Sore losers undermine majority rule

Back in the day when I was contemplating running for a Student Government Office in high school my Daddy gave me the following advice,(para quoting) if you can't stand to lose don't run. Someone will win fair and square and someone will lose fair and square. You will either know the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. If you lose, lose like a winner. My 9th grade Civics teacher taught us the minority must be heard but the majority rules. Present day Politicos evidently learned different lessons from their parent(s)/mentor(s)/teacher(s). I've never seen such a bunch of sore losers.

Ironically Senator Joe Lieberman started the sore loser syndrome. Liberman was a gracious loser before he was a sore loser. Florida Governor Charlie Crist couldn't stand to lose so he bowed out of the republican primary to run as a spoiler, I mean Independent. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski couldn't stand to lose so she is waging an an aggressive write in campaign.

Sweet Home Alabama caught a case of sore loser syndrome starting with the Birmingham Mayoral Elections. Followed by the Tim James recount. A suit was filed to remove republican gubernatorial nominee Robert Bentley from the ballot and delay the election. And there are rumblings of a write in campaign waged by die hard supporters of the losers aka the minority. I sure do miss the good old days when the candidate with the most votes won. *Sigh*

The losers are turned into the sore winners.

The Sore Winners are easy to find. They are most visible at their flagship, Fox News, which dominates both cable news and the political conversation and yet is always embattled, defending itself against the heathen. They are loudest not only on secular talk radio, but also in Christian broadcasting, which tells its listeners that a nation that remains a nation of Christians rather than a Christian nation is a nation that has turned against them. This is not to say, however, that the Sore Winners are strictly a political phenomenon, manipulated, as some would have it, by their masters in the media or by the money men from Wall Street. No, what makes the Sore Winners such a force in American politics is that their anger is so personal.

And that's what scares me.

Worrying about what someone who doesn't think about you thinks about you: this is the essence of Sore Winnerdom, and it is no accident that it also the essence of the Republican animus. The Republican party was small and hidebound — the party of country-club corporatists, and the range-war West — until, with the Reagan Revolution, it began grafting unto itself the legions of the disaffected: the Christianists, the Southerners, the blue-collar workers displaced by the collapse of America's industrial base and estranged from the unions that failed them. The Tea Party, in this sense, is not a new development so much as it is part of an ongoing migration of the perpetually petulant, a political phenomenon grounded in a demographic one: the creation of a class of baby-boom retirees who have been deprived of meaningful work but given personal computers as Christmas presents. The skin on the Republican Party's "Big Tent" is by definition thin, and under it gathers a volatile throng of people with nothing in common but the fear that outside its environs someone is laughing at them — or simply having a better time.

And that's what scares me.

I can certainly empathize and understand the agony of defeat when your candidate loses a hard fought election. I didn't think the pit in my stomach would ever go away after the 2000 Presidential election. It was like deja vu all over again in 2002. I went to bed Don Siegelman was the Governor, when I I woke up Bob Riley was the governor. I had to accept the majority rule and get over it like a good American. How will the losers react if they don't win on Tuesday?(warning language)

if, as the most optimistic polling shows is possible, the Republicans don't win back the House of Representatives and lose a good many of the close Senate races next Tuesday, the reaction on the right will be violent. There will be a number of instances of Democratic headquarters vandalized, people who support Democrats will be assaulted, bomb threats will be called in, and there may even be an alarmingly well-organized, but supposedly grassroots and spontaneous, riot or two.

That's what I'm afraid of.

On the other hand I fear the Politicians with the most dangerous,wrong ideas are poised to win the Congress and the State Legislature.

Shaken by an assault on their assumptions, many Americans become more adamant in defense of discredited ideology.

I pray a majority of the Americans will beware of fears racist temptation. I also pray the American minority loves their country more than they hate President Obama.

[T]he truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, ... but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? ... There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you...

If you can't stand to lose don't run.

Take the TB Test

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A TEABAGGER WHEN...

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and
appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to
dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no
threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 1 trillion(and counting) on on
illegal war.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in
Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Grahib photos.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the national debt doubled under the previous
President from $5.674 trillion to $10.024 trillion.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping
Americans and the President lied about it.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown!

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
You didn’t get mad when over 5,500,000 jobs were shipped overseas from 2001-2008.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America
deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick

H/T chris_i_am via jackandjillpolitics.com

The Fear Factor

I don't know about you but I'm skeered not to vote on November 2, 2010.


I'm skeered people who think it's OK to wrestle a woman down and stomp on her head because she's a liberal will be in charge of our government.

I'm skeered gun-toting Tea Partiers and curb stompers will be in control of our government.

I'm skeered the Alabama State House will be controlled by legislators who think it's OK to punch their political adversaries in the face.

I'm skeered our government will be controlled by the Adult Bully's who think it's OK to trample on Constitutional Rights for political gain.

I'm skeered the United States Senate will be controlled by Senators who have liberal bloggers arrested because they are liberals.

I'm skeered the United States House of Representatives will be controlled by Representatives who want to repeal the health care reform bill.

I'm skeered our country will be controlled by Tea Party Loyalist who are biased against Blacks, Latinos, immigrants and Gays.

I'm skeered our School Boards will be controlled by members who think like this and consider the AEA and the NEA the enemy.

I'm skeered our country is going to be controlled by Climate Deniers.

I'm skeered our country is going to be controlled by legislators who compare Black People to Dogs on Welfare.

I'm skeered our country will be controlled by a party that is not big on preparation, or, well, work.

I'm skeered our country will be controlled by the reactionary rather than the rational.

"Now, more than ever, we need rationality in the U.S. Senate -- we need people
who are fighting for real solutions, not those fighting to stop progress."~

"This is 2010 -- a year that Democrats passed historic health insurance reform,
put in place the strongest consumer protections ever proposed, and enacted
legislation that provides tax cuts and expanded credit for small businesses.
It's a year that we've spent going to work for the American people while
Republicans have done everything they could to block our progress."

I'm skeered Congress will be controlled by the people who sent our sons and daughters to war based on DEAD WRONG Intelligence again.

Skeered yet?

VOTE!

They must think we are stoopid~Voice for the voiceless edition

GrannyStandingforTruth asks; Are Americans Plum Crazy?

Either Americans are plum crazy or the news media is deceiving the people. There is no way in the world that people in their right mind that if a snake bite them once that they would want it to bite them again. That just isn't logical I don't care how you look at it.

Hate is a powerful emotion (warning language)

If you were a United States Congressman or Senator, what would be your priorities?

Would it be the welfare and overall good will of your constituents? Would it be the security of the country you took an oath to protect? Would you want your people to be gainfully employed?

What about education for all the youth in your assigned area?
Or maybe you might want to stop corruption within your ranks so that the perception that the average person has of politicians would change for the better?

Or would the hate and disdain you hold for the man that sits in the seat you want outweigh what it is you took an oath to do?

It couldn't happen to a nicer pack of dogs. Well duh!

This is what progressives have been telling the Blue Dogs for two years. We're not going to lose, you are. If you want to win elections in conservative areas of the country, you have to stand up for what you believe in. You have to sell your ideas to your constituents. You can't just stick up for the pharmaceutical, insurance, and financial services industries. Their money is helpful, but people have Republicans to vote for if they want to serve corporate America. Watering down progressive population made it unpopular even on the left, and now voters don't even care if the candidates voted for it, so long as their party did.

Voter suppression republican style.

If you can't beat 'em, suppress 'em

Here we go again...

During the 2008 presidential election cycle, various voter suppression schemes emerged aimed at locking minority voters out of the political process. Those efforts included a "Lose Your Home, Lose Your Vote" scheme that turned on the use of foreclosure lists to challenge voter eligibility at the polls. "Vote caging," a scheme in which groups use lists compiled from undelivered mass mailings to challenge eligibility inside the polls, was also prevalent. The use of foreclosure lists and caging schemes are all unreliable efforts aimed at locking eligible voters out of the ballot box. Successful litigation brought on the eve of the presidential election helped shut some of these efforts down.

Unsurprisingly, efforts to restrict voter access have taken a turn for the worse this midterm election cycle, creating a racially-charged atmosphere in a number of places.

Groups purporting to combat vote fraud have intensified their efforts and many have unveiled plans to deploy hundreds of poll watchers to polling sites in several states on Election Day. Some groups have already dispatched watchers in states with early voting periods.

One Redeye rant leads to another Redeye rant~a blast from the past.

I wasn't asking goppers and righty's WTF was wrong with the democratic party etc., but I'm glad they responded because their answers were very insightful, and now we know exactly W, T, F, we are dealing with. So now that we know, WTF are we going to do about it?

VOTE!

Posers and Party Purity

Can I rant about Bobby Bright (Poser AL) and Gene Taylor (Poser MS)? I penned a similar rant two years ago where I made some uncomfortable and accused of applying a social litmus test to dems among other crap. Different year, same stuff.

Representatives (and I use this term lightly)Bobby Bright and Gene Taylor are the epitome of republicans posing as democrats so they can take advantage of the black democratic vote to get elected then govern like republicans. Both represent districts that are 30% African American. They know they can't win on the republican ticket so they are allowed to pollute the democratic ticket. Yes I said they are allowed. Not only are they allowed but they are encouraged to pollute the democratic ticket by the democratic party leadership.

You would never hear a republican elected official saying something like this;

Conservative Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.) said over the weekend that voted against his own party when he went to the ballot box to vote for president in 2008.

Or being rewarded for doing stuff like this;

Bright has shown his fealty to Boehner on every single contentious issue that has come before Congress in the past two years. In fact, when SCHIP came up for it's final vote only two Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against health care for needy children and Bright, of course, was one of the two. He has been sure to noisily vote against a woman's right to Choice (and, like Christine O'Donnell, he's even been against contraception), against equality for the LGBT community, against health care reform, against Wall Street reform, against energy legislation... You name it-- if Barack Obama was for it, Bobby Bright was against it. And that's been the theme of his reelection campaign, a reelection campaign that the latest polling shows he might be winning.

What DougKahn said;

It's not all about this district. It's about a couple of dozen spineless House Democrats who seem to not fear the Democratic voters in their own districts, so they pander to conservatives.

That's right (no pun), democrats fear conservatives more than they do the people who voted for them. Ain't that a dip? The question is why does democratic leadership (and I'm using that term lightly) allow, encourage and enable this phenomenon? Why do the pander to the wrong at the expense of what is right? Is the system so rigged progressives and liberals can't be elected?

I repeat, why are the Democrats the only party willing to compromise their principles and work "with those they don't agree with"? Huh?

I give republicans credit for party loyalty.Right or wrong they have courage to fight for what they believe in and are lock step. Why should Democrats listen to conservatives? Why do we let them push their agenda at our expense? Why do we continue to vote for candidates who pander to the hard right and take our votes for granted? Why?

"Voting for the lesser of two evils is still evil."~blogger jonwil

Enough of this foolishness!
That's what a lot of people don't seem to get. You allow a candidate to run and vote as a conservative election after election and he's not going to change. It's only when he sees he's losing his base that he starts getting worried and thinking more about his base.

Election cycle after election cycle, I've drank the Koolaid and voted Democratic, even when you couldn't tell the difference between the two party's candidates without a program. I've criticized people who "throw their votes away" by voting for Nader.

I no longer think that a vote for Nader is a vote thrown away. I see it as a message to future candidates, I'M now part of the undecideds. If you want my vote, you're going to have to earn it just as much as you do the conservatives vote. I'm not going to keep voting for you just because you have a "D" after your name.

I feel sorry for the Bright and Taylor's constituents. Thanks to their party's leadership they are represented by the lessor of two evils. Lord help them.

The right to vote is sacred to me. To many bleed too much, died too young and marched too far for me to compromise my convictions. I am not a "social conservative", I am a proud liberal Democrat. Candidates who do not share my values and my principles will NOT get my vote. I'm tired of being bullied by the right wing social conservatives.

Redeye Rant Over.

Redeye's Under the Radar Report

You won't hear about this on TeeVee;

Imagine the look of contempt on Karl Rove’s face this past Sunday as he swaggered toward his star turn on CBS’s Face the Nation only to be served with our subpoena sanctioned by the Secretary of the State of Ohio.

The federal subpoena orders Rove to testify in deposition. Our attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, intends to ask Mr. Rove about his role in the theft of the 2004 election, and to discuss his orchestration of tens of millions of corporate/billionaire dollars in the one coming up on November 2, 2010.

The Talking TeeVee Pundit heads are talking about Alex Sinks text message, the Rhode Island democratic gubernatorial nominee telling President Obama to shove it, and Rand Paul's *cough cough* professionalism but not a peep about this

The talking heads on Morning Joe told me that Rand Paul won his debate with Jack Conway last night because he came off as 'professorial.' But I don't think you can win a debate if all the news coverage coming out of it is related to one of your supporters stomping on the head of a woman.

Senator Ted Kennedy was right (pun intended), Torture was under new management in Iraq. Shoot the messenger.

A Fox News contributor and former state department adviser has accused WikiLeaks of conducting "political warfare against the US" and called for those behind the whistleblowing website to be declared "enemy combatants" so they can be subjected to "non-judicial actions".

In an opinion piece on the Fox News site, Christian Whiton lambasts Congress and the White House for failing to tackle the leaking of hundreds of thousands of files about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and demands action.

Here is why republicans want to control the
Governors office, the Lt. Governors office and the Alabama legislature and what they plan to do;

the Lt. Gov. appoints HALF of the Redistricting Committee in Alabama? A Folsom victory could result in a split Committee, which could maintain or increase Democrat control… or, at the very least, make it very hard for Republican to change the districts. Alabama needs permanent, positive change, and that starts with redistricting. An “under vote” on LT. GOV. is a vote for the status quo, and a vote for Folsom is a vote for politics as usual. Kind of only leaves one choice, eh?

I'd like to know who's in charge of the Alabama Democratic Party strategy-specifically who's big bright idea it was to Fight for Alabama with a right leaning blog? Trust the ADP to take a butter knife to a gunfight. *Sigh*

It ain't over till it's over
While Sparks has not had the advantage of the corporate money dump that Bentley is using, he has done a fairly brilliant job of playing the hand he has been dealt.

If you think Halloween is scary, stay your Donkey at home on November 2nd and see how frightful things will be. I will be voting a straight ticket because that's the kind of democrat I am.

More Questions for the Alabama Democratic Party

Approximatley 55 days ago ago I respectfully and sincerely asked the ADP the following questions about a contractual agreement for a specific and well defined product with the blog Left in Alabama.

Who entered into a contract with Left in Alabama on behalf of the Alabama Democratic Party and when?

Why would the Alabama Democratic Party enter into a contract with a blog with a clear understanding that nothing keeps us from kicking around the ADP at will here at LIA if we think they're screwing up.

Why are the specifics a "secret"? Those pesky contracts keep us quiet until it's done.....

Why would the Alabama Democratic Party enter into a contractual agreement with a blog who who bashed and smashed the Alabama Democratic nominee for Governor and echos right wing talking points regarding The Alabama Democratic Conference, The Alabama Education Association and says it's time for black leaders and elected officials to "step down" in favor of a so called new generation of black leaders?

Is the Alabama Democratic Party aware Left in Alabama has a history of supporting conservatives over liberal democrats and gave Congressman Artur Davis a free pass for his vote against health care reform?

Is the Alabama Democratic Party aware my front page privileges were revoked by the administrators because I said something they didn't like about Terri Sewell and because I wasn't an Artur Davis for Governor supporter? Although they claim I was never banned from posting Left in Alabama my account was disabled for several months. My account was briefly reinstated last month, then I pi$$ed them off again and was subjected to the Dale Jackson treatment.

To date those questions have not been answered now it has come to my attention the contract the contract was to develop a blog for the ADP, complete with informational pages on approximately 100 Democratic candidates. See Fight for Alabama.

In addition to the previous questions I am respectfully demanding answers to the following questions regarding Fight for Alabama.

1. What was the friends and family rate paid to Left in Alabama?

2. How were blogs chosen for the Blog Roll?

3. Why are only white blogs represented on the Blog Roll? And no South Union Street does not count because it's owned by the Montgomery Advertisor.

4. What other blogs does the ADP have a contractual agreement with?

I hope the ADP will answer my question and address my concerns because this situation needs some sunshine. As a loyal, long time long member of the democratic party I shouldn't have to beg for answers, they should be offered as freely as I offer my time, resources, and VOTES.

If you are really interested in Fighting For Alabama, you might want to pay attention to this

A federal judge has ordered defendants in an Alabama corruption case involving gambling-related legislation to tape record all conversations they had with public officials, political candidates, and lobbyists. That is a violation of the Fifth Amendment right to avoid self incrimination, according to a new report.

If you are really interested in Fighting for Alabama you might want to give this man some support

William G. "Bill" Barnes, a Democrat from Birmingham, is running a long-shot campaign against incumbent Republican Richard Shelby. Polls show Shelby with a comfortable lead, thanks partly to his massive campaign war chest, but Barnes does not intend to go quietly.

Instead of funding a blog you need to pay attention to the plight of some of your members;

If the cries of Montgomery politicians under indictment don’t generate sympathy, certainly the lamentation of unemployed workers in the Black Belt does. One effect of the bribe-induced Riley-Canary war on bingo in Alabama is the closure of bingo operations in Greene, Macon and Houston Counties, that employed literally thousands of workers, and brought millions of dollars annually to local government treasuries. We all wish that overwhelmingly black Greene and Macon Counties had bulldozers clearing land for new automotive and electronics plants, or for high-powered biology labs or computer engineering firms, but that’s the progress of the next generation. Right now, those counties are absolutely dependent on the entertainment and gaming business for their economic survival, and Obama’s what-me-worry attitude about Canary has placed that survival in jeopardy. Even in the white-majority Wiregrass, it’s probably safe to assume that Country Crossing employed a fair number of African-Americans in its service sector jobs. Had Bob Riley needed to worry about a U.S. Attorney with integrity in Montgomery, he would likely not have earned his Mississippi Choctaw bribes by shutting down the bingo halls, and the Legislature would probably have put a bingo referendum on this November’s ballot. As it is, there is no way to know when, or if, these businesses will reopen. At some point, even the President’s biggest supporters have to ask if he’s paying attention.

At some point, even the Alabama Democratic Party has to answer to loyal members of the party and let the sunshine in.

How are republicans planning to steal the midterm elections?

Seriously, why would voters reward the the party that got us into this mess and obstructed the cleanup?

How can the gop win without the African American vote?


How can the gop to win without the Latino vote?

Those ads by a right-wing front group called "Latinos for Reform" -- urging Latinos no to vote for Democrats in the coming election because they haven't delivered on comprehensive immigration reform -- may not be turning out to be such a hot idea:

But the fever-pitch backlash to this advertisement suggests the message could bring about just the opposite effect, by energizing a Hispanic voting bloc that may have been lethargic with a new and compelling reason to get out and vote — by and large, for Democrats.

The Silent Majority is sick and tired of the Tea Bagger noise machine.

So, just who is this Silent Majority? I'll tell you.

They are the quiet men and women in the grocery line when the right-wing cranky woman starts gassing her lunacy out loud about President Obama being a Muslim, being born in Kenya, or hating white people, or that he is cozy with terrorists.

They are parents, who attend school sports events with their kids, and are forced to endure hearing that same old, cranky man in the bleachers talking loudly -- and always loud enough so everyone can hear him -- about that "god-damned Nancy Pelosi" and the Democrats for socializing our health-care" and "taking away our constitutional rights".

This new Silent Majority of Americans includes not just whites, blacks, asians, latinos, but also families that are blessedly mixed racially, and who have a gay child, brother, sister, aunt or uncle that they love dearly. These Americans may not speak up in that grocery line or at the sports event, for not wanting to embarrass their children or because it's just not how they behave. But, believe me, their silence is deadly.

How can the gop win without the middle class?


How can the gop win without women?

How can the gop win without labor?

Is the gop counting on there being more angry white male voters than progressive voters?

Progressives haven't been hating on anything (excepting Rahm Emanuel); we've been begging the government to help people who are going bankrupt because of medical bills, who are losing their homes because they've lost their jobs, who can't even begin to pay for their kids to go to college. Progressives haven't been bashing the military, we've been begging our country to get back on the right track on civil and human rights, and to hold those accountable who took us down the wrong path. If we hate anything, it's needless human suffering. We haven't been railing against productivity and success, but against theft and a rigged game where the big bettors cannot lose.

We've been warning people that it's wrong to take our your pain and insecurities on the insecure who are in pain.

Is the gop planning to resort to the tried true voter fraud meme?

Playing off right-wing fears of rampant voter fraud, conservative groups are exhorting activists to film and photograph unseemly activity at the polls, question voters' citizenship, and follow suspect vehicles to keep the election from being stolen. Voting rights advocates now worry that such instructions—which are at the heart of the right's expansive poll-watching campaign—could encourage harmful and possibly illegal activity.

If you believe the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads and the Polling Pollster who Poll them, a majority of the American people are going to give the keys to the car back to the party that drove the country into the ditch. Now why would we the people do something stoopid like that? I mean, really?

The Shirley Sherroding of Hank Sanders

You know the drill by now.

Take a snippet of AL State Senator Hanks Sanders robo call to DEMOCRATIC voters out of context and spin it like a top. It's not what you say, it's what other people hear.

What AL State Senator Hank Sanders actually said;

Hello this is Hank Sanders, Alabama state Senator, and I’m still mad as hell. I say hell no! I ain’t going back to the cotton fields of Jim Crow days. I’m going forward with Ron Sparks, Jim Folsom and others who would do right by all of us. I hope you are mad as hell and will not go back, and you have the power to choose. I will stand until hell freezes over for Ron Sparks for Governor and Jim Folsom for Lt. Governor on November the 2nd.

Paid for by Alabama New South.

This is what the Reactionaries heard.
Here;

Sanders comments shouldn't shock any of you. The democrat power brokers like Hank have played low income blacks for fools for decades now. I probably mentioned this before but Ill never forget being in a democrat party headquarters on election day along the stateline when I was a little boy back in the 80’s and hearing a certain democrat elected county schools superintendent yell at volunteer drivers to be sure and take the [archaic, inappropriate term for a black person] to vote before you take them to get some fried chicken and beer at the Qmart store. But until the GOP starts recruiting credible young black gentlemen into the party in these areas. You might as well continue to get used to the Hank Sanders of the world….

This is what he should have said;

A message that might appeal to both Democratic groups is something like:

Republicans are taking care of the rich people; Democrats care about people like you.

And this;

I am upset that a politician by the name of Hank Sanders keeps calling my house campaigning for Ron Sparks and Jim Folsom using foul language. This is very unprofessional and I do not appreciate such language being brought into my home and left on my machine.

He goes into how he is mad as “h—-” and he hopes that we are mad as “h—-” and that he is not going back to Jim Crow days. The number he is calling from blocks all incoming calls or I would tell him this myself.

America, when did we become so immoral?

There's an old saying, if you throw a rock at a pen full of pigs the one that squeals is the one that was hit. Looks like there's a whole lot of squealing going on. We can all pretend the Tea Party movement of today is yesterday's Southern Strategy. We can pretend the gop is tolerant and inclusive of minorities. We can pretend KY republican Senatorial nominee Rand Paul doesn't want to repeal the 14th amendment. We can pretend AL 05 Congressional nominee Mo Brooks and AL Senate nominee Paul Sandford didn't snub the NAACP. We can pretend Alabama isn't the home of former Governor George C. Wallace and Bull Conner. We can pretend Alabama democrats aren't under attack. We can pretend we don't know what the gop infused, media enabled, Tea Party candidates mean when they say "they want to take their country BACK". We can pretend Alabama and America is post racial, but that's exactly what we would be doing. I'm sick and tired of pretending everything is lovey dovey.

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
Elie Wiesel

Senator Sanders said he was supporting candidates like Ron Sparks and Jim Folsom who will take us forward, not backwards. Instead of focusing on going forward the Reactionaries focused on re-enslavement and the word hell. Project much?

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King Jr.
US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. ... the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them~George Santayana



Hell no I ain't fergittin!

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of fickle demoCats

I can understand the gop having their underwear in a wad over DEMOCRATIC Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders robo calls to DEMOCRATIC voters, but why do those who call themselves progressive/democrats have a problem with this?

Hello this is Hank Sanders, Alabama state Senator, and I’m still mad as hell. I say hell no! I ain’t going back to the cotton fields of Jim Crow days. I’m going forward with Ron Sparks, Jim Folsom and others who would do right by all of us. I hope you are mad as hell and will not go back, and you have the power to choose. I will stand until hell freezes over for Ron Sparks for Governor and Jim Folsom for Lt. Governor on November the 2nd.

Paid for by Alabama New South.

I'll tell you what I think the problem is, feel free to disagree with me. The democratic party has been infiltrated by conservatives masquerading as progressives which resulted in an internal war between hard core liberals and hard core conservatives illustrated by the following statement:

The Democratic dream coalition this year is supposed to be African-American voters (often termed simply "Obama voters" which ignores the fact that lots of white Alabamians also voted for Obama) and rural white voters.

This statement is totally false. The majority of white Alabamians, democratic and republican, and the majority of rural white voters voted for McCain/Palin in 08. President Obama got 10% of the white vote in Alabama.

Yes, there are two different campaigns being run inside the same party.

Yep. The strategy this year (4.00 / 2)
for white Democrats running in "conservative" rural districts is to campaign as if rural white Alabamians have one foot dragging off the trailer steps and one arm in a KKK robe.

So how does Hank Sanders' robocall fit with the overall strategy? It seems insane to run two totally different campaigns inside the same party and think that neither side is going to catch on.

A huge and wonderful exception to this effort is the campaign being run by Greg Varner in SD-13.

Why the ADP isn't following his strategy statewide is beyond me. This lowest common denominator campaign is depressing as hell and an embarrassment to the state.

Why is the ADP following this strategy statewide you ask? Because the democratic party is divided that's why. The ADP party wants and needs the African American vote but they don't want the African American voters.

I have complicated reasons for wanting to call myself a Democrat. Those reasons are firm and cannot be swayed, even from within. But for all of those other moderates out there, doesn't this come across as just berating and ignorant type of campaigning? It sounds like something I would hear from a wannabe civil rights activist who has Venerable Reverend preceding their name. The black vote is very important. More important than the vote, is actually serving the black people of Alabama with meaningful representation. Does Hank Sanders represent anyone other than a small segment of the uninformed race voting blacks? This embarrass me to have some association with it. I know you guys get tired of me harping on the same old point, but if Democrats want to keep swapping power every four to eight years, then let Hank Sanders types keep preaching. I know that there will always be a extreme element of both parties. But those elements only account for very small percentages of the parties as a whole. 10% representation is not what America needs. I am so concerned that the polarization will continue due to foolish actions such as the Hank Sanders campaigning phone message above. Mad as Hell, Hell no, No way in Hell, Hell freeze over! I think Hank Sanders is caught up on words that begin with H and end with ell.

This commenter has it twisted. The Alabama African American vote was slightly more than 26% in 2008, not 10%. As a matter of fact, the 10% is the number of white voters for Obama, so I will agree with the commenter 10% representation is not what Alabama or America needs, so candidates like Artur Davis, Bobby Bright and Butch Taylor need to stop pandering to them.

AL State Senator Hank Sanders is not the problem, nor is the substance of his robo call.

There is a real dilemma in communicating with masses of people. If we speak in a way that is acceptable to everyone, we move few. If we speak in a way that effectively moves many, we offend some others. I have worked for years to effectively communicate so I move many without offending many. I don’t always succeed.

Well, I cut a second robo ad. I did not back away from the word “hell.” I said, “I will stand until hell freezes over!” I said “Hell no, I will not go back!” One of the first responses to the ad came from a woman in Mobile. She said that she had not intended to vote, but after my robo call, she not only was going to vote, but was urging others to vote. She said that she was “also mad as hell.” Our perceptions, judgments, and responses are so different.

So called super minority/partisan districts aren't the problem either. They are the solution to the problem.

Prior to the Civil War, African Americans were almost totally disenfranchised throughout the states. Latino voters faced similar barriers to voting in Texas and other parts of the Southwest., as did Native American and Asian American voters in the West. Even after enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, in 1870, which gave all men, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude the right to vote, many states continued to use various methods to prevent people of color from voting, including literacy tests, poll taxes, the disenfranchisement of former inmates, intimidation, threats, and even violence. Also, until 1965, federal laws did not challenge the authority of states and localities to establish and administer their own voting requirements.

I take issue with the following comment;

We have an amazing diversity of views for a site called "Left in Alabama." I think that's healthy and makes the site a better, more informative resource. The echo chamber effect just leads to group think and is the ticket to irrelevance. Pretty much all of us here agree 90% of the time on the basics. We diverge often on the strategies and tactics needed to achieve our goals, but that's how policies get negotiated in the real world. Why not on a blog?

In case you haven't noticed there is NO diversity in your font page viewpoint. Like the NPR/Juan Williams firing my front page privileges were rescinded because the content of my comments didn't conform to the group think mentality.

But losing his job for saying the sight of Muslims on a plane makes him a little nervous is wrong. It makes me wonder just how much any commentator, including myself, will have to go to water down his or her comments just to avoid offending some one's sensitivities.

As long as the ADP elite, progressives/democrats pander to right and take the of the base (African American voters)for granted there will be conflict within the democratic party. As long as African Americans stay in their place they are fine, but if they dare speak up and speak out they sound a nutty as the worst elements of the GOP or are told to start their own blog. As I said earlier, you can't have the African American VOTES without the African American VOTERS. You are either for the democratic party, or you are against the democratic party, a democratic party that fights for equal rights, civil rights, women's rights and human rights for ALL including African Americans.

If the cries of Montgomery politicians under indictment don’t generate sympathy, certainly the lamentation of unemployed workers in the Black Belt does. One effect of the bribe-induced Riley-Canary war on bingo in Alabama is the closure of bingo operations in Greene, Macon and Houston Counties, that employed literally thousands of workers, and brought millions of dollars annually to local government treasuries. We all wish that overwhelmingly black Greene and Macon Counties had bulldozers clearing land for new automotive and electronics plants, or for high-powered biology labs or computer engineering firms, but that’s the progress of the next generation. Right now, those counties are absolutely dependent on the entertainment and gaming business for their economic survival, and Obama’s what-me-worry attitude about Canary has placed that survival in jeopardy. Even in the white-majority Wiregrass, it’s probably safe to assume that Country Crossing employed a fair number of African-Americans in its service sector jobs. Had Bob Riley needed to worry about a U.S. Attorney with integrity in Montgomery, he would likely not have earned his Mississippi Choctaw bribes by shutting down the bingo halls, and the Legislature would probably have put a bingo referendum on this November’s ballot. As it is, there is no way to know when, or if, these businesses will reopen. At some point, even the President’s biggest supporters have to ask if he’s paying attention.

At some point I have to ask if the ADP is paying attention? It may make you feel better to call yourself a progressive because you don't want to be associated with liberals/democrats, but you're either with ALL of the democratic party of NONE of the democratic party.

Redeye Rant Over and Out.

Redeye's Week in Review

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill and Juan Williams together again. I first became aware of Juan Williams during his defense of Supreme Court Jurist Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearing. That alone makes him persona non gratis in my book. However, as a victim of censorship myself, I don't believe NPR should have fired him for expressing his opinion and I agree it was a blow to free speech.

But losing his job for saying the sight of Muslims on a plane makes him a little nervous is wrong. It makes me wonder just how much any commentator, including myself, will have to go to water down his or her comments just to avoid offending some one's sensitivities.

What's that saying...everybody has the right to freedom of speech until they actually try and use it?

Voter Fraud is a Felony, Voter Suppression with the State Seal of Approval perfectly legal. *Big snark* Well at least now we know why ACORN was attacked. Republicans know the black/Latino voter turnout is the key, therefor it must be suppressed or not counted. Only in America...

In the 2000 presidential election, 1.9 million Americans cast ballots that no one counted. "Spoiled votes" is the technical term. The pile of ballots left to rot has a distinctly dark hue: About 1 million of them -- half of the rejected ballots -- were cast by African Americans although black voters make up only 12 percent of the electorate.

Why can't there be a write in movement against Bobby not so Bright republican?

His own media ad campaign is aimed squarely in a very different set of voters than the true blue Democrats our ads were talking to. Bragging that he's voted 80% of the time with Boehner and that he won't help the Democrats win the leadership of the next Congress may work well in the rich, white suburbs of Montgomery with McCain voters-- Bright's political strategy every day of his life-- but we think the Obama voters in Barbour, Lowndes, Butler and Bullock counties needed to be part of the conversation too-- and hear just what Bright is telling his target audience.

What's that you say? republican congressional nominee Mo Brooks has a history of Dirty Tricks? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! NOT. You can tell a lot about a candidate by the views of their supporters. Democratic congressional nominee Steve Raby wants to go to Washington to fight for jobs, Mo Brooks wants to go to Washington to fight a girl. I report, you decide.

I guess it depends on what the definition of "race baiting" IS

Sanders is a bigot and thief. He and his partner in crime Rose Sanders have stolen Selma and Alabama blind for years. That so called voting rights museum is nothing but a pass through account for his campaign workers and family. Maybe he will have a heart attack soon and die. Nah, that would be to good for him. He must go to prison first. Time will tell, and so will his buddies already under the gun. I predict he gets indicted by years end.

I'm just saying....

Redeye's greatest hits continued

This is the third installment in my series of memory lane blog strolls leading up to the first anniversary of my front page privileges at Left in Alabama being yanked for allegedly making up stuff.

According to the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads and the Polling Pollsters who Poll them, the majority of the American People are mad as hell at the Obama administration and they aren't going to take it anymore! I wonder how come they didn't get mad until the President was a democrat named Barack Obama? Why are they really mad? Where was their outrage pre Obama? I mean, really?

I'm talking to you Birthers, Deathers, Teabaggers, conservatives, republicans, moderates, independents, blue doghograts and DINO's. What are you really mad about? h/t pams listserve via MagginKat via ZJ via a British friend in email

Keep your eyes on the prize and hold on President Obama

October 20th will be ten months into President Obama's administration. If we will only give this man time and support, I believe he will full fill the promises he made. I believe his eyes are on the prize, but there is just so much to do. It can't all happen as quickly as I want, but the faith I have in my vote on November 6th gives me hope that we are on the right track with the right leader. I'll say it again, give this President time and support.

Stoopid is as stoopid does

I'm asking the parents of HCS school students who didn't want their students "brainwashed" by the President's political agenda if they are happy they taught their students about bigotry, racism, pettiness live and in living color? Children are our future, how can they move forward and make this world a better place if they are taught to hate someone because of the color of their skin? How are we going to move forward together, one nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for ALL, if the children of the future are full of the prejudice and racism of the past?

Some suggested questions for gubernatorial candidates then and now

In light of the fact the gubernatorial candidates (except Ron Sparks) have agreed not to "play the race card" that may not be a good thing because in my mind "agreeing not to play the race care" is nod nod wink wink for "we are going to ignore black folks issues and concerns, and marginalize those who try to address them". So just in case I'm right (pun intended) here are some questions for ALL the candidates (republican and democrat) from a Redeye point of view.

Socialist is the New N word

PTCruiser at jackandjillpolitics.com reminded me of the historical use of the word;

the terms "socialist" and "communist" were among the favorite epithets hurled at Black Americans, their allies and organizations such as the NAACP before, during and after the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, these terms have been used since the early 20th Century, if not before, to discredit and stigmatize men and women fighting for social justice.

Proud Socialist signing off!

Fox News and Me, All Hate All the Time, UNfair and UNbalanced

If I ever doubted Fox News negative influence on our society I don't after today and the degree of the hate, lies and division in our country I don't after what happened to me today at a local Chevron Gas Station.

I frequent this particular Chevron station because they are one of the few full service gas stations. Meaning they pump your gas, check under your hood and wipe your windshield. Yeah you pay a little more, but when you're dressed to the nines heading to a function the last thing you want to do is pump gas. Today I decided to save a couple of pennies and pump my own gas, which meant I had to go inside to pay the attendant. Two women were inside watching television tuned to Fox News where the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads were discussing, strike that, defending Juan William and bashing NPR for firing him because of his remarks about Muslims.

NPR has fired senior news analyst Juan Williams, who also appears as a commentator on Fox News, for comments about Muslims that Williams made in an appearance with Bill O’Reilly.

As Fox News reported it:

“I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country,” Williams told host Bill O’Reilly during a discussion on the dilemma between fighting jihadists and fears about average Muslims.

“But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous,” Williams said.

The woman who swiped my card said, and I quote, "I don't blame him, I wouldn't want to sit next to a rag head on an airplane either."

I looked up from signing my receipt and we silently stared at each other for some long, uncomfortable seconds. I couldn't decide if I should say something or not. If I did say something what could I say? How I wish I could have made them take every drop of gasoline out of my tank. We continued to stare at each other without blinking. I finally broke the stare, politely said "Thank you" and left vowing never to spend another penny at that Chevron station again. I don't care if it's the last gas station on earth and it's pouring down raining and I'm about to run out of gas. I've notified my off spring and other immediate family members they are not to patronize the station either. The fact the woman felt comfortable making that comment to my face then daring me to say something about it speaks volumes about the state of race relations in this city, county, state and country. I won't get into the Juan Williams controversy, but the usual suspects wasted no time chiming in;

At Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government site, the headline is “Screw Free Speech, NPR Fires Juan Williams for Muslim Remarks.” Williams’ fellow Fox News contributor, Sarah Palin, just tweeted to the effect that “NPR defends 1st Amendment Right, but will fire u if u exercise it. Juan Williams: u got taste of Left’s hypocrisy, they screwed up firing you.”

The Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads scare me. They are predicting people who think like Andrew Breitbart and Sarah Palin are going to control Congress after the midterm elections. Let the polling pollsters tell it, the majority of the American people think the country is headed in the wrong direction. If they are right (no pun) and this is true. I weep for my city, my county, my state and my country.

Meanwhile Juan Williams is laughing all the way to the bank..

Even though he was fired from NPR, Juan Williams won't have to worry about keeping a roof over his head. The Los Angeles Times reported that Fox News has signed Williams to a new, three-year, $2 million contract. He will have an expanded role on the network and will write a column for FoxNews.com.

Bill Reilly and Newt Gingrich are calling on congress to investigate NPR. Ain't that a dip?

NPR is facing a storm of criticism for its decision to fire Juan Williams after his comments about Muslims on Fox News, with several prominent conservatives calling for NPR's government funding to be cut and refusing to appear on the network anymore.

Speaking on Fox News, both Bill Reilly and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called for Congress to investigate NPR and cut its government funding in the wake of Juan Williams' firing from the organization.

Faux News, we distort what you decide.
Lord help us.
Turn off Fox!
VOTE!

If only they would use their powers for good :)

Sorry but I can't let this lie stand.

PAC to PAC transfers. Former Alabama Congressman Glen Browder says they "encourage, facilitate, and enhance corruption" in Alabama and that a particular problem is unrestricted PAC to PAC transfers. They allow contributors/interest groups to pour huge sums of money into the political process and hide its origin.

This is said BEFORE the author successfully follows the money and describes the transfer process of how much to whom, when, and how often by taking a stroll through their FCPA (Fair Campaign Practices Act) reports show that, well, there's a whole lot of check writing going on.

It sounds good for effect but there is no such thing as "legal money laundering". Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, and/or destination of illegally gained money. It is common to refer to money legally obtained as "clean", and money illegally obtained as "dirty".

So unless there is evidence of illegally obtained PAC to PAC money being used in the process it's factually correct to say it's "legal money laundering",it's like saying someone is a little bit pregnant, or someone kind of robbed a bank.

PAC to PAC transfers are legal and evidently the money trail can be followed for those with the time and the inclination, so this statement is not factually correct either;

Our candidates could be getting money from North Korea and most of us would be none the wiser.

I wonder why right leaning Left in Alabama chose to follow the Alabama Education Association (AEA) money trail and not a republican PAC? I really don't understand the blatant hostility displayed by a progressive blog toward a progressive organization that represents the interest of public school teachers, administrators and support personnel. A majority of the members of Alabama Education Association are loyal democrats. They fight for the rights of the least and the left out. They fight for women to have the right to choose to obtain a safe, legal abortion. They fight for the right of all Alabamians to have access to quality affordable health care. They fight for the right of all Alabama students to have equal access to a quality public education. They fight for the rights or workers to organize. They fight for our LBGT sisters and brothers to have equal rights. They fight for civil rights. They fight for comprehensive immigration reform They aren't laundering illegally gained money, nor are they using PAC's to enrich themselves or maintain the status quo.

They use their powers for good.

Update~Tuesday This and That

I had to include this must read in today's edition,Obama's unkept promise to Alabama's blacks.
H/T to my pure Anglo-Saxon, save for distant branches of Scots and German friend Publius IX.

The election of Barack Obama was guaranteed to have far reaching, and long lasting implications for Alabama politics. The first election of an African-American President could not be anything other than a paradigm-shifting event. On the one hand, Obama’s presence on the ballot seems to have brought out the worst in white Alabama.

It's the vicious, never ending cycle of POVERTY, and the stereotypical myths stoopid!

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an assistant labor secretary in the Johnson administration, introduced the idea of a “culture of poverty” to the public in a startling 1965 report. Although Moynihan didn’t coin the phrase (that distinction belongs to the anthropologist Oscar Lewis), his description of the urban black family as caught in an inescapable “tangle of pathology” of unmarried mothers and welfare dependency was seen as attributing self-perpetuating moral deficiencies to black people, as if blaming them for their own misfortune.

Moynihan’s analysis never lost its appeal to conservative thinkers, whose arguments ultimately succeeded when President Bill Clinton signed a bill in 1996 “ending welfare as we know it.” But in the overwhelmingly liberal ranks of academic sociology and anthropology the word “culture” became a live grenade, and the idea that attitudes and behavior patterns kept people poor was shunned.

Democrats who try to break the cycle of poverty either get investigated, prosecuted and convicted for being "corrupt" or they are ignored and ridiculed by the party Elite.

None dare call it racism.

This is an ongoing problem with falling in bed with right wing radical groups: their support and energy is helpful to you, and their fundraising can be strong, but then you are placed in the uncomfortable position of being completely incapable of responding properly to overt racism.

Repeat after me, this is the gop plan for balancing the budget

End education, take away seniors income and give it to CEOs,take food and shelter away from the poor; give the power back to the CEOs instead of doctors to decide who should live and who should die, more deregulation, and outsourcing of jobs. And the rich live happily ever after.

No justice, you know the rest....

The Justice Department is going to defend John Ashcroft and argue that NO ONE has the right to sue ANY Attorney General EVER?

It's the stoopid media!

The paradox that exists in the media is the never ending relativism that does not allow for crucial facts to be agreed upon, thus no REAL policy can be agreed to. The media recognizes two main perspectives (right and left) puts the "talking heads" into either category, and never gives proper authority to one side based on their arguments or knowledge. Rather the media just makes it a "perspective", in which everyone has a perspective, and both left and right have a justified opinion on an issue, no matter how factually wrong they are. Every issue is interpreted as someones opinion, and all opinions are justified.

But were does this paradox lead us? To where this country is now. With little to no legislation being passed, no real change, and no hope that there will be any progress because no one can recognize what the facts are. If we want to change the political system, we need to agree on facts.

About those secret donations....

Donors to nonprofit groups that are spending millions on political ads this election have escaped public scrutiny because their donations don't have to be disclosed. But can they escape a hefty tax bite?

Oh what a tangled web we weave...

The more things change, the more they stay the same in Sweet Home Alabama

Five African Alabama workers say they were ordered to vote republican and President Obama was threatend at their workplace here in the land of cotton. Talk about a hostile working enviroment. Thank goodness we don't have to depend on the *ahem* traditional media to keep us informed about what's happening in Dixie besides the so called Bingo/democratic culture of corruption and cronyism *snark*. God forbid the MSM investigate and report on some some real cronyism and corruption.
H/T Deep Harm

Mon Oct 18, 2010 at 08:41:34 AM PDT
In recently filed lawsuits, five black employees of Altec Industries, in Birmingham, Alabama, say they were ordered to attend a rally at the firm for Sen. Jeff Sessions (Republican) in October 2008, were given pre-marked ballots, and ordered to vote Republican.

The workers add, in separate federal complaints, that when Barack Obama was elected president, "an employee drew cross hairs or a target on a picture of President Obama and posted it in the workplace." (Courthouse News, October 18, 2010)
Altec is described as a "holding company for a global manufacturer of aerial lifts, digger derricks, truck-mounted cranes and specialty equipment for the electric utility, telecom and contractor industries."

Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. - James Russell Lowell

Get 10 people you know to commit to vote Democratic on November 2; and ask them to each seek 10. ~blogvirgin

Part of being President is
Recommended by:FreeStateDem
understanding that you represent more than your base, something the Republicans have never mastered, which is how they ended up being so corrupt. The people who advise you on Wall Street, for instance, should be the people who know Wall Street from the dirty side of the tracks. The people who advise on keeping jobs here need to be the people who exported those jobs in the first place. What's the reason they did it? Is it simple greed, or a decision to keep the company alive in a global economy? If it's a business decision to keep a flailing business alive, who knows better than the owner of the flailing business what weakened their position? How are you going to know what's driving people if you never talk to them?

The world isn't that simple: evil greedy conservatives vs caring, responsible Progressives. There's a lot of evil out there on both sides, and a lot of caring. It's too easy to make this us vs them on every front. We're in a process of enormous change on a huge number of levels, and change engenders fear in human beings - we go back to lizard brain if the fear is strong enough. President Obama is smart enough and has a long enough vision to understand that this is way beyond partisan politics, capitalism, socialism, even campaign funding issues. Societies that can't adapt when the world around them is in flux don't survive. We're at survival point now, and that makes us as scared as the conservatives are.

Simple answers and quick fixes won't move us into the 21st Century. A good solid Democratic win in November would make a huge difference, and that's what I hope all of us are focused on right now.

by I love OCD

This is why we must VOTE on November 2, 2010.~Redeye

Real Liberal Quotes from Real Liberals, for the Real Liberal Mind to Chew On

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"~President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt had campaigned against Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election by saying as little as possible about what he might do if elected. Through even the closest working relationships, none of the president-elect’s most intimate associates felt they knew him well, with the exception perhaps of his wife, Eleanor. The affable, witty Roosevelt used his great personal charm to keep most people at a distance. In campaign speeches, he favored a buoyant, optimistic, gently paternal tone spiced with humor. But his first inaugural address took on an unusually solemn, religious quality. And for good reason—by 1933 the depression had reached its depth. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address outlined in broad terms how he hoped to govern and reminded Americans that the nation’s “common difficulties” concerned “only material things.”

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.~Senator Robert F. Kennedy

First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills — against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "Give me a place to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the world." These men moved the world, and so can we all.

"Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives, lessening human suffering, advancing the causes of peace and justice in our country and the world… Politics is what we create out of what we do, what we hope for, what we dare to imagine."~
Senator Paul Wellstone 1944-2002

I remember how he stood his ground in an era during which the needs of average Americans were largely ignored while power and money became even more concentrated in already wealthy, powerful hands; how he fought for economic justice, for universal health care, for a higher minimum wage and prescription drug benefits under Medicare; how he always had time to listen; how he challenged us, asking in The Conscience of a Liberal, ”How can we live in the richest, most privileged country in the world and still hear from Republicans, and too many Democrats, that we cannot afford to provide a good education for every child, that we cannot afford to provide health security for all our citizens?”; how he expressed concern for the safety of Muslim Americans after the 9-11 attacks; how he set aside an hour a week to talk with his interns to stay in touch with their lives; how he relied on and frequently sought the advice of his # 1 campaigner, his wife Sheila, who died with him; how he chose to run again despite the onset of multiple sclerosis, relying on his bubbling spirit to pick up the slack while the money poured in from out of state conservatives who were determined to bring him down; and how he was winning despite the efforts of corporations like the big pharmaceuticals that blessed his opponent with $200,000 while giving Wellstone $900 and change. Paul Wellstone was outspent time and again, but he was a winner because he played no favorites and was never outworked. Senator Tom Harken, Paul’s best friend and comrade through many Senate battles, fought back tears to say it best: “Paul was hampered by a bad back, but he had a backbone made of steel!”

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? 1967.

I believe it will end with a ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of
Appeals or a ruling of the U. S, Supreme Court. If this can happen to me, it can happen to mayors, congressman or presidents who appoint or take some action favorable to a contributor.

My conviction is anti-American in the sense politics must be funded and presidents who are elected appoint contributors as ambassadors, members of Congress vote in favor of issues that benefit contributors and governors appoint contributors to all kinds of positions. This is done every day in America, in every state and in Washington, DC.~Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired"~Fannie Lou Hammer

Fannie Lou Hamer, a Mississippi sharecropper, changed a nation's perspective on democracy.

Hamer became involved in the civil rights movement when she volunteered to attempt to register to vote in 1962. By then 45 years old and a mother, Hamer lost her job and continually risked her life because of her civil rights activism. Despite this and a brutal beating, Hamer spoke frequently to raise money for the movement, and helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, to challenge white domination of the Democratic Party. In 1964, the MDFP challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic Convention, and in l968, the Convention seated an integrated challenge delegation from Mississippi.

Deeply committed to improving life for poor minorities in her state, Hamer, working with the National Council of Negro Women and others, helped organize food cooperatives and other services. She continued political activities as well, helping to convene the National Women's Political Caucus in the 1970s. She is buried in her home town of Ruleville, Mississippi, where her tombstone reads, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."

"If you think Halloween is scary, don't vote on November 2nd and see how scary it will be"~Redeye

If democrats lose blame it on black voters

The script is already written; Democrats lost the majority in congress. Blame it on them there trifling black voters. I can already hear the post election, armchair quarterbacks and Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads blaming black folks because the gop infused, media enabled, Tea Party is in control of the government again. They are counting on black folks not showing up at the polls because "Obama is not on the ticket" and everyone knows they only showed up to vote for the black guy. *Snark*

Democrats know black voters hold the fate of the democratic majority in their hands and turnout is the key. Republicans also know their fate is in the hands of black folks, that's why they are already planning stuff like THIS. But I digress.

Democrats' hope could depend on black voter turnout

ATLANTA --- How Georgia Democrats fare in next month's election could depend on whether black voters show up at the polls.

Observers say turnout will be especially key among African-Americans, who turned out in record numbers two years ago across the country to elect President Obama. Obama's absence on the ballot, combined with an overall lack of interest in the midterm vote, will likely mean waning black support this year for Democratic candidates.

Democrats courting black voters in midterm elections

While President Obama's approval rating among African-Americans remains high, Democrats have voiced concerns that his popularity may not translate into votes come November's midterm elections.

The party has an added worry in that, historically, midterm elections generate smaller voter turnout than in presidential election years. The level of African-American votes Obama won in 2008, which was abnormally high, may be all but impossible to recreate during this less popular election season.

Bright's fate may depend on black voter turnout (Ain't this a dip?)

WASHINGTON -- The fate of Democrats in 20 competitive House races, including Rep. Bobby Bright, could rest on how many black voters show up at the polls on Election Day, a new report says.

Bobby not so Bright republican is the perfect example of candidates who run on the democratic ticket to take advantage of black voters and after they win govern like republicans. Bright voted with the republicans on 13 out of 15 major issues. Black democratic voters didn't vote for that. Democratic women didn't vote for that. Democratic labor voters didn't vote for that. If they had wanted that they would have voted for the republican candidate. Oh wait. They did. He's already saying he won't vote support Nancy Pelosi as SOH . Black democratic voters are damned if they do, damned if they don't vote for Bobby not so Bright republican. @#$%! And they wonder why black folks aren't excited about voting?

I blame the democratic leadership, specifically the DCCC, for the Bright fiasco. Their first mistake was letting Bobby Bright decide if he was going to run as a republican or a democrat. Psst! If a candidate has to decide which party he's a member of that should be your first clue. This is your second clue they are NOT a democrat;

A Southern Baptist deacon, Bright opposes abortion. He favors gun rights and once, angered by a crime wave, urged Montgomery citizens to buy firearms, learn how to use them, and do so when necessary. He champions the military in a region that is home to big installations. He frowns on taxes.

Their second mistake was not supporting the real, progressive democrat Cheryl Sable for US Congress.

I believe that Alabama is ready for positive change. I am the only candidate in this race who is promising something different. I have spent the better part of my life standing for equality and social justice. I fought for human rights in Alabama , and I will fight for justice in Washington. I have the background and qualifications to do a good job.

Hate to say it, but the democratic party takes black voters for granted. They need the black vote to get elected and to stay elected, but if they could figure out a way to accomplish either task without the black vote they would. What are black voters to do and where are black voters to go?

Can Democrats get the votes they need simply because they're not Republicans? You might think so in this presidential campaign. African-American and urban votes are critical to any Democratic victory. Bill Clinton won two terms without winning the most white votes. His margin was the overwhelming support of black voters. George Bush learned that lesson; that's why his campaigns spent so much effort suppressing the black vote in key states like Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. His victory margin was the tally of votes suppressed or uncounted.
Republicans are looking at another bloodbath in House and Senate elections next year -- the Presidential race is their great hope to hang onto some power and they will throw everything but the kitchen sink at it. Look at their committee fundraising if you don't believe me on that. Democrats can't afford to turn off African American voters -- or any other big chunk of our coalition -- if we want to win next November.

African American voters are the most loyal democratic voting block. The right to vote for African Americans is steeped in blood, sweat, tears, and pain. African Americans don't vote for candidates based on race, gender or sexual orientation. African American voters for candidates who share their INTERESTS.

Time and time again white democratic voters prove they will vote based on race/sex and against their INTEREST. For example,more Alabama white democrats voted for McCain/Palin than Obama/Biden in the 2008 Presidential election. More white democrats voted for Artur Davis than Ron Sparks in the Alabama democratic gubernatorial primary. Some would say it's because Davis didn't evoke a negative fear among whites. Based on the theory "the politicians that evoke negative fear among whites are those who have done the most for black representation in this state...especially Joe Reed. Hank Sanders and Richard Arrington have worked to increase political opportunity for blacks, but not at the expense of whites. Are you only liked by white voters if you water down the truth and ignore political reality?"

If democrats want to get African Americans out to vote they should start by working on their friends, neighbors, and co-workers now! Tell them to quit voting against their own interests. Black democrats will do our part, as we always do, so don't expect us to "take one for the team". In other words, give us something to vote for or we'll stay our Ebony Donkey's at home. The right NOT to vote for candidates who don't share our INTEREST is sacred to us too.