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It's an odd morning in Connecticut. Rumor has it that Joe Lieberman may be cancelling some events today (or not -- he may be filming it on the bus) to film a new campaign ad -- which is said to be a mea culpa on his support for George Bush and the Iraq War. So much for this gem:
It is time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be Commander-in-Chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war, we undermine Presidential credibility at our nation’s peril.
Guess that whole STFU to Democrats isn't operative for Joey "Save My Bacon" Campaigner any longer. Funny how that happens, isn't it? I suppose it's better late than never, but why only listen to your constituents 6 days from the primary? Guess that whole "nation's peril" theory isn't so compelling when you are looking at a potential voter pink slip, eh?
The Kiss Float is following the Bus to Nowhere this morning, and the word from the Connecticut bloggers is that Joe is currently on the bus and making his campaign stops.
Jane is on her way to the WalMart Rally -- at which both Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman are supposed to appear. (See yesterday's article on the cozy donor relationship between Lieberman and the WalMart heirs this election cycle. Hypocrisy, much?) She just phoned to say that she will update all of us when she gets confirmation on any of the rumors.
Things are flying fast and furious today -- so hold onto your hats. Let's play a game of "Where's HoJo Now?"
...Oh, and FYI, Jane just phoned to tell me that the Lieberman Bus to Nowhere is going close to 90 MPH racing into Bridgeport. Could they be trying to lose the Kiss Float? And how pathetic, if so?!?
UPDATE: Jane just phoned in an update. She has checked with her sources on the "Joe is cancelling events" rumor -- and they have discovered (independently of one another, btw) that the Lieberman campaign staffers lied to two of three journalists that Jane checked with -- telling them directly that Sen. Lieberman was cancelling events today, when he is not. He IS at the WalMart rally. (Maybe they were hoping the Kiss Float wouldn't show up at the rally, if people knew and/or reported on the fact that Joe was, indeed, going? Who is that afraid of a couple of paper mache heads on a truck, I ask you?!?) Other sources, as well, were hearing conflicting information from Lieberman staffers on events today. Deliberate? You be the judge...
UPDATE #2 (12:29 pm ET): Jane just phoned from the WalMart rally. Sources are telling her that Little Jimmy Olson, Cub Labor Leader, is responsible for Lieberman's appearance at today's WalMart rally. Seeing how Little Jimmy Olson planned the whole thing and all, it seems that he got his knickers in a snit when Lieberman decided to stay home and work on his new ad campaign. Word has it that Olson got on the phone with Lieberman directly and told him to "get his ass down here NOW" -- and since the AFL-CIO has only endorsed Lieberman until the primary, Joe came hopping like a scared rabbit.
Also, Joe bought and paid for his "cheering section" today. Lots of youthful Lieberman sign-holders who cheered on command for Joe's speech. Seems they were instructed to either "Boo" or just talk loudly during Ned Lamont's speech. How very Rovian of them -- straight out of the Republican play book. So much for that moral high ground, eh Holy Joe? Matt Stoller of MyDD also tells me that the telling falsehoods to certain reporters by the Lieberman camp may have been an attempt of their to mislead reporters that they don't like. Oh, I see, selective lying. ...more news as I get it.
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Kitlers!
rootz !
peanut !
I so hope those contribution records of WalMart cash to Lieberman this spring get wide circulation at the anti-WalMart Rally …
HoJo and WalMart, sitting a tree!!!
HoJo and K-Street, BFF!!!
HoJo and Dubya, umm, er, — let’s not go there . . .
Is the bus leaving a yellow stain behind it for Captain Queeg Lieberman?
Old Yellowstain?
Last time I heard him speak, his whole reason for the “undermine Presidential credibility at our nation’s peril” speech was to get action on a bill supposedly benefiting CT & progressives. (don’t remember which bill - no bill is worth that quote)
When Dems have to drink the koolaid in order to deliver anything for their state, the fed govt is in a sad state.
Time to kick the bums out of office, and replace them with “organic” people. By that I mean people who say what they believe, believe what they say, and fight for what’s right and true.
90 MPH? Where in the good old USA is THAT legal?
My! they drive fast in Connecticut. Recall Jane was dinged for speeding in her first Paul Bass column appearance, but she told us she was only keeping up with the head Nutmegger in the caravan.
be safe, all y’all!
Christy, I loved your prosecutor vs. DUI-lady story, and was reminded of a friend’s recent misadventure in Calgary, Canada, where he was a passenger in a car smacked by a truck after it was pushed into an intersection by a 17-year-old drunk driver. The DUI will have her privileges revoked for 25 years, her parents’ house and its contents will be auctioned to pay the medical bills of all who were hurt — none fatally! Our Canadian neighbors don’t risk this “five-time DUI conviction” madness we have in the USA.
One strike, if folks are injured, and a drunk is off the road, practically for good.
And we can’t do that here, why?
Is JoeLie for real? What would such a repudiation of his past Iraq performance be supposed to mean other than a quick fix to try to win support for the primary? Once back in office it would be business as usual. Anyone that would accept such a statement at face value (assuming that he would actually say such a thing) would be like the Senators who were “mislead” by Roberts and Alito.
Do not pass Joe. Do not collect $200 from WalMart.
Helairous! Thanks for the visual of the Liberman bus trying to lose the Kiss Float!
LMAO!!! Thanks Jane!
I hope he does make that ad.
When he runs as an independent, hopefully that will make him lose some of his Republican votes.
This piece about courting the minority vote and Joe’s racist flyer was posted on the nbc.30 website yesterday. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that my back-and-forth emails with the staff person from nbc.30 on Monday afternoon had something to do with it…
good work, shoephone!
yea, shoephone!!!
yay, shoephone, way to get the message into the right hands! You worked that one hard, and it paid off.
… eagerly awaiting *ilson’s report on Falcon VideoPac 46201: The Cute MailMan!
Didn’t some Lieber-youth trolls complain bitterly about the lawbreaking of Jane Hamsher.
I remmeber starting the “I am Spartacus” with the admission that I too have sped on highways in many states….
Buttwipes!
I know I can’t take full credit for it - that would be completely silly. But the woman I was emailing with was really pressing for info on the flyer. I think it was *ilson and/or Teddy SF who provided me with the link to the pdf. of the flyer, which I sent her, along with a link to Maura’s webpage.
*ilson and Teddy SF - I raise my glass to you!
This firepup gumshoe-ing is a group effort.
Wow, TSF, those Albertans don’t MESS with DUI, do they? That’s a breath-taking story!
shoey, I nominate you FDL Heroine of the Day!
Isn’t it too late for Joe to be making such a huge admission of his shakiness on Iraq?
He would only look more like a loser, and his republican friends who were going to vote for him are going to abandon him in droves.
Flip-flip Joe.
Gee, I hope that HoJo’s bus doesn’t encounter a couple of cars going the speed limit next time. That’d really slow him down. Encountering a couple of state troopers also would put a real bummer on your campaign trip.
Question for the lawyers at Fire, Dog, Lake, and Associates: Can you pay a speeding ticket for your campaign bus out of campaign funds? Alternatively, can you get a K-Street lobbyist to pay for it? There’s a bus driver in the diner across from Wal-Mart that really wants to know . . .
“to film a new campaign ad — which is said to be a mea culpa on his support for George Bush and the Iraq War.”
If true, I guess that means Joe’ll be getting a call from Karl soon:
“Joe, you go ahead and make that little campaign ad if you think it’ll keep you in office but just so we’re clear, you’d better not fuck with me or you’ll have bigger problems than Ned fucking Lamont.”
(blushing)
Okay, I have to go to work and inhale paint fumes now.
Credit where credit is due, shoephone, because we can absolutely infer the null hypothesis: had you not acted, nothing would be on their website!
The step-by-steps would be an excellent ROOTS Project how-to story, documented so that others could follow your spectacular example. Please consider taking a moment to writing down how it all worked, and your terrific results….
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Had Enough?
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The likelihood of the Lieberbus getting a ticket is zero. The chance of Lieber-friendly cops pulling over the kiss float — very high.
Although what good publicity THAT would engender….
Is Lieberman channeling Nixon? Let’s hope it’s an indication that he’s also on his way out.
EPU
Ok Kiddo - yes! We get our television news from Springfield, MO and they have had a bit more rain than we have this year. Late May looked like mid August this year. Lakes and rivers are very low. I am losing a lot of old lilac etc. Wisteria is taking advantage of this situation somehow. Must be related to kudzu.
shoephone - Way to e-race that horrible joe-smudge off on his own home team shirt.)
A bus, 90 MPH, and no ticket, remind me not to drive in CT again, especially with my kids in the car.
Christy,
I missed my usual late night visit to FDL last night and, after reading the Blegging post just now, hit the PayPal button to help you team up with Jane in CT. Thank you for everything you do.
If I can add a postscript to your Heat Wave comments, let’s not forget the wildlife. We’re in drought mode in my part of Texas, so I’ve filled a small stock tank with water for our four-legged friends.
A bus…
Doing 90…
Jane should be calling the cops instead of Christy.
How hilarious would THAT be?
Lieberman getting pulled over and the publicity over it.
One last thought before I “get into some paint”. If Joe actually makes a mea culpa ad, I will send money to TRex to cover the cost of that firepups dinner he’s planning on cooking when he arrives in CT.
Bus on the run, what fun!
mmmmmm, kin I suggest timestamps/approximate times on the updates. Thanks.
Question: Did CTBob create the Kiss Float? It’s so fine!
it was so funny a couple of weeks ago seeing a LieberTroll trying to get some traction about
the President perjuring about a blowjobJane breaking the speed limit … what will we tell the children? The LieberYouth kept returning and getting more hysterical each time since nobody was buying his stories … poor child! By the end, he was accusing Jane’s reckless driving causing a bus full of nuns to overturn while on the way to a hospital for sick kittens…Flippity. Floppity. Floop.
Lieberman is really going to have a campaign commercial saying he was wrong to support the Iraq Occupation? That will completely undermine his “man of principle” stance, won’t it? What a desperate act, if true. Plus, by doing this, he’ll burn any real or imaginary bridges he has with the GOP.
Lieberman has the uncanny ability to always make the wrong choice. It’s stunning he ever became senator.
puppethead 36:
That’s going to be some crazy tap dance. Even during the debate last month he was staunchly supporting the war.
and Colbert was smacking hard on Joey Short-Bus last night.
so is he a chickenhawk or just chicken?
Flip Flop & FLY AWAY, JoHo!
Jenny from the Blog @ 34
I would love to see a Virginia equivalent, maybe a big cowboy boot with training wheels.
That kiss float is one for the annals. Good, good on everyone involved.
“Its 106 miles to Bridgeport, we have a full tank of gas, half a package of cigarettes, its dark, were wearing sunglasses….. HIT IT !”
The image of the bus followed by the Kiss Float conjures up memories of the parade at the end of The Blues Brothers.
Elwood!
Jake!
Ned!
Jane!
Short Ride needs to put that crack pipe down. He has now gone way beyond the groveling wimpering and straight into total psycho out. WATB. Oh Georgie, I don’t like your war anymore, ’cause I wanna be a Dem Dem now. See everybody, I wanna be like you, so please, pretty please, vote for moi. LIAR.
bill @ 40
Ooh, a kiss float roll-out! Create a franchise tailored to every state. I love that idea!
You know, I actually hope Short Ride makes that ad – because in about 10 minutes, Ned’s people can put together a piece of all of Joe’s comments, all of his supercilious and condescending remarks, and no one will have any doubt that whatever reversal or shift or change in his position on Iraq that he’s making, just 6 days before the primary, he’s doing it for votes. Talk about naked political ambition (although I probably should not link “naked” in any way with Lieberman - talk about a horror show!) - this is a tactic that will blow up in his face, but good.
Wouldn’t trust Lieberbaby any further than I could throw him - not now, and for sure not enough to send him back to the Senate so he could screw us over again…and again and again.
Another thought on shoephone’s excellent adventure in influencing the media.
The reporter might have found the story and reported it without shoephone’s intervention, but journalists luv having outsiders drop a thoroughly researched story in their laps.
You have to get the facts straight — but if you do it right, influencing the media can be done.
yea, shoephone!!!
Really! Flip. Flop. Mostly flop.
puppethead @ 36
There’s really something to be said for continuing to test our ideas, and our incumbents, in the primary forge. Clearly, RGJoe’s stayed in place through lack of Democratic imagination — and from the satisfaction the ruling class gets from him when the chips are down. A reliable supporter of Corporatism, with all the untested sheen of a progessive — a rabid wolf in lamb’s clothing, a marionette on Pharma strings.
A “kiss” ain’t just a kiss, despite that Casablanca movie. Sometimes it’s a goat-fuck, and we’re the goat!
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Had Enough?
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Anne:
He’s got no core principles and yet he runs on a platform of absolute moral integrity. He’s got nuthin’.
I think we should get a half dozen more kiss floats and then Joe won’t even bother to schedule any events in the first place.
Cowboy boots with training wheels!!!!!! BWHAA!!!!!
Much to my surprise, in the last three days I’ve had conversations with five people, fellow CT residents, who I thought would be pro-Lamont but are most vehemently not. Their reasons run along the same lines: yes, the war was a mistake, but what is Lamont going to do about it? General feeling is that being anti-Lieberman is not enough. What does Lamont stand for?
Why doesn’t Joe have a Bio Diesel Bus? Unless of course it runs on hot air.
“Ooh, a kiss float roll-out! Create a franchise tailored to every state. I love that idea!”
Jenny from the Blog
I’m afraid of what the anti- Santorum float might display
Bill 54-
hee hee. Don’t get me started before breakfast!
elmake @ 52
A report from bizarro-world?
90 mph was pretty standard for I-95 when I lived in CT; I made all kinds of detours to avoid it but had a friend in Milford who I would ride with sometimes, my eyes shut and fingers crossed.
What -ck- said!
-ck- @ 46
And that part about the facts? Absolutely right, and put it in boldface italics, then have *ilson pretty it up with colors and blinking lights. When you’re fighting spin machines, the last thing you need is provide an opening for that label to be thrown at you.
Give the media the FEC contribution records.
Give the media transcripts from the Congressional Record.
Give them links to primary sources, video clips of speeches, and all the rest.
A good reporter doesn’t need to be spoon fed. They operate like Jane and Christy - when a reader comes across something tasty and passes it along, they love to take it and spread it around. They like good info, because it makes for good stories.
And if you become known as a trustworthy source of info and not a spin-meister, they might start coming to you with questions . . .
elmake at 52 — you know, he has a whole website with statements on what he is for on a wide range of issues — from education (which he learned about firsthand from his volunteer teaching for several years in an urban Birdgeport high school) to entrepreneurial actions we can take to support small business…and on and on. Maybe your friends should take a look at Ned’s website here and then e-mail the campaign if they have questions. You know, be proactive about their political involvement.
leetle tiny pink training wheels, where the spurs should be on the cowboy boots, and lots of FELIX everywhere on the anti-Allen float. Word is, he hates his own middle name, it being French and all….
So, elmake, I am sure you were able to convimnce him that he is a truly reasonable alternative? Right — Stands for health care (most recent ad) and less lobbying influence and education and privacy and right to dignity and keeping the government out of the bedroom and and and he is also ready to get the troops home from Iraq.
So, you were able to tell these “FIVE” people all this and they they said, “wow! I didn’t know that. Now I will vote for him.”
Right, Elamke? Good work!
“elmake” — are you getting $80/day like the imported NJ folk do or only $60/day like the CT folk that Joe is hiring?
bill at 9:16 am:
I would love to see a Virginia equivalent, maybe a big cowboy boot with training wheels.
That’d be great, if we can come up with a visual image that doesn’t require explanation. There’s so much wrong with Allen, but he hasn’t (to my knowledge) provided is with anything so iconic yet.
BTW, in Virginia, state legislators have immunity from traffic violations while the legislature is in session. (A friend of mine was a page some years back, and got to ride down to Richmond with his boss doing 95 or so.)
I think Lieberman’s campaign team must be looking to supercede multiple award recipient Bob Shrum, who currently holds the “Candidates Actually Paid Me Money for This” award for “Most Spectacularly Bad Campaign Management Ever” (not to be confused with the “Rats Leaving the Sinking Ship Award” which currently looks like it will be given to Katherine Harris, for “Most Campaign Management Changes Ever” *g*).
So far, there doesn’t seem to have been one good decision coming out of LieberCamp yet.
Redshift 63
How about a guy with his head up his own ass, holding a little boy’s cap gun and cowboy hat, wearing boots with training wheels?
A heads-up: Jonathan Alter will be on Al Franken’s Air America in a while to discuss why Lamont challending Lieberman is “a bad idea.”
Prolly more of the same nonsense as was in his much-linked and -derided article, but just thought y’all should know: same shit, but now with megaphone.
Joe bats a thousand, if you count foul balls.
A heads-up: Jonathan Alter will be on Al Franken’s Air America in a while to discuss why Lamont challenging Lieberman is “a bad idea.”
Prolly more of the same nonsense as was in his much-linked and -derided article, but just thought y’all should know: same shit, but now with megaphone.
Hey, shoephone, since you’re now a big media-relations cheese (*g*), you want to take a stab at getting the media to ask Joe if he’s going to return his campaign contributions from the Wal-Mart PAC and family?
Channel 30 News has this tidbit: The title sounds like a father chastising his son…with the son saying “pretty please love me again”.
It’ll be interesting to hear how strongly Franken challenges Alter. If he does at all.
I’ll believe a Joe mea culpa on Iraq when I see it with my own eyes. Holy (self-righteous) Joe ain’t the type to make apologies.
I do love the rumors about it!
If it is true, it sure shows that Joe’s own polling numbers are not looking good.
I did a little searching and caught this from digby:
(http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_digbysblog_archive.html#115447055097502883)
“Since for the first time in recent memory Joe Lieberman has gone silent on foreign policy it falls to intrepid blogofascists like myself to seek guidance about his thoughts from other sources. One place to look are the think tanks and policy organizations to which Joe belongs.
Here’s one called The Committee on the Present Danger. “What?” you say, “that group of rightwing fanatics from the 50’s and 70’s who agitated against detente and wrongly claimed that the Russians were on the verge of killing us all in our beds any day?” Well, not exactly. This is the new CPD, revived after 9/11 to find and replace the word “communist” with “terrorist” in all the wingnut demagoguery manuals.
Joe, along with Republicans Jon Kyl, George Schultz and James Woolsey is on the board of directors. (Woolsey likes to pretend he’s a Democrat but if he’s a Democrat I’m Angelina Jolie’s baby.) There are many other important luminaries involved with this group, such as Laurie Myelroie, the highly influential neocon nutball who hallucinated that Saddam Hussein was responsible for everything from the first World Trade Center bombing to male pattern baldness. There’s Ken “Cakewalk” Adelman, Newtie Gingrich and Victor Dave Hanson, who thinks the world is just one big Hollywood movie set. The list is very long. Here — read it and weep.
There are no voices of sanity, of course, nobody who was right about Iraq or who has even the slightest bit of pragmatic realism about the threat of terrorism. They would not want to break their unbroken record — after all, neocons have always been wrong about everything.
But Joe is not just a member, as I mentioned — he’s on the board of directors. He’s a honcho, the lone elected Democrat. So, I think it’s fair to assume that since he has placed his vaunted reputation so prominently on display for this group, he must sign off on their official statements.”
Joey can film all the commercials he wants but he’s way in too deep with the neocons now to pull out.
To be fair, Lieberman’s association with the CPD may be based on a sincere belief that Middle East stability and Israel’s protection will only be achieved through “neocon pacification” of the region.
But I get the feeling that all those guys (and gals) think that they’re living in some Tom Clancy novel and it’s the rest of us libruls who “just don’t get it.”
So, c’mon, Joe speak up-in what world do you live?
If Lieberman makes that flip-flop-on-the-war ad, wouldn’t that suggest he’s seen some recent bad polls?
Or am I just thinking wishfully?
Updated the post above as of 12:29 pm ET
*ilson46201 @ 62
From the quality of th epeople coming over here, I would guess a lower rate or a time share….
elmake i have found several ct folk like that also. there are still lots of folk in connecticut completely disconnected fromo what this race is all about. it borders on lazy, but it’s also true. i do hope you passed along neds website. there are lots of us in connecticut who would love to answer their question on “who is ned lamont”
My current favorite Alter quote:
“The revival of the romance of the antiwar left is a potential disaster for the Democrats.”
Since when is being against war “romantic?” Really? I don’t remember Viet Nam protests being “fun.” In those days you didn’t get a choice about whether you wanted to get arrested. You got your head bashed in if you didn’t get out of the way. Is that what he means by “romantic.”
bill at 9:33:
LOL, that would capture it pretty well! I didn’t mean to shoot down your original idea; it might well work, and is worth a shot unless someone comes up with something better.
bookwoman @ 70
Lots of problems with this story, but let’s start with the first word
The man’s a Reverend.
Can he get that minimum level of respect accorded to him please, Channel 30?
Speaking of Holy Joe,
Jewish tradition says that lucky things come in multiples of 18.
See wikipedia entry on the hebrew letter Chai
Let’s thank Joe for his 18 years of service in the Senate…. a wonderful gift from the voters of Connecticut.
Al Franken loves Jonathan Alter, having him as a regular on the show. But Franken has really, really soured on Lieberman and is impressed with Lamont, so we’ll have to see what the interview is like.
AP article on Sharpton’s visit:
http://www.courant.com/news/po.....lines-home
“elmake” — www.WhoIsNedLamont.com works well — www.WhoIsJoeLieberman.com is cool too
Fascinating because I believe the number 18 is also considered good luck in the Hindu culture as well.
*ilson, everytime I link to those Lieberman sites you worked I crack up. It is a joke that, for me, never grows old.
I salute you, brother!
redshift,
you still thinking of coming to CT this weekend?
after the Rev. Sharpton refusal to endorse Holy Joe, the LieberTrolls will be doing some Tawanna Brawling …
Little HoJo Annie’s Bus Tour — Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow!!! — is really a good idea, once you think about.
When the call comes from Unka Karl, Joe can just step outside and throw himself under the bus!!!
Teddy SF
Thanks for sticking up for the Reverend(s)!
Thanks for the image of the bus racing away from the ubiquitous papier-mache heads. I picture the tortoise and the hare or the tennis playing blancmange from Monty Python or the old SNL skit (cue theme from “Jaws”) “Who’s there? landshark.” (Guess you had to be there.)
More proof Marion is an idiot — she almost said Nedrenaline!!
WOW. I would like to here more about that phonecall, Reverend Al.
Details, please.
Well, I was in CT on Sunday at a family party.
I was hesitant to bring up politics, but was overwhelmed by the Pro-Ned sentiment. Not anti-Joe but PRO-NED.
I have never seen this particular group of people so energized behind anything political. Typical fence-sitters and contrarians not only knew the minutia of the race but were actively involved, including having ordered yard signs and confirming registration. The newbie’s comments above are suspect, as everywhere you go people seem to have embraced Ned. Old people, young people, Catholics, Jews, Hippie types and yuppies. For many reasons.
I’ve never seen anything like it. Only person I saw who was even considering Lieberman was my 88 yo grandpa, who was soft on his support and was pretty well converted by the end of the day.
I’d say out of 50-odd people, there were 30 solid Ned primary votes, and not one definite Joe vote. If my experiences are indicative - we will have a new Senator come Nov.!!!
I am returning Friday to volunteer through Tues. If anyone will be in town, love to meet ya. Email me Montauk190 at aol.
BTW, this was Stamford, Lieberman’s home turf. I saw TWO Lieberman yard signs - both at the same house :)
Well, down here in Alabama there are signs beside the road with the number to call the State Highway Patrol if you observe dangerous drivers - something like say a bus going 90.
Just saying…
I’m going to go and try streaming Franken. Once again, a pleasure. Good day.
Son of Liberty –
Does the Alabama Highway Patrol take calls for out of state emergencies?
Yea ! urban pirate!
bill -
I just checked and Alter won’t be on till the last 1/2 hour of the show… I’ll probably miss the interview, darn.
OT
from Raw Story.
Court makes US Chamber of Commerce pull ads praising Republicans for things they didn’t do… Developing…
http://rawstory.com/
Jenny from the Blog @ 44
a Kiss Float fleet
Eureka Springs, AR @ 97
What Eureka said — you gotta know that your work inspires all those who can’t be there.
Poor Joe, he just misses his KISS!
urban pirate at 9:51 — thanks for the terrific closeup report from where it really matters: CONNECTICUT.
Go Nutmeggers — a nation turns its weary eyes to you!
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Had Enough?
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in southern Indiana, the Chamber of Commerce was running ads for GOP newbie Mike Sodrel praising him for voting in the Pill Bill. Of course he wasnt in Congress yet for the vote and he ran against the Pill Bill too. They’ve pulled the ad …
Son of Liberty @ 94
I don’t know about CT, but the Highway Patrol in Texas would need 100,000 officers on patrol at any given time, and a phone bank the size of Alabama, to take on all the people putting along at 90 on Texas highways at any given time.
Well, I got those stupid Reliable Source bee-yatches to take my question this morning on WaPoO chatz….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....00699.html
And that is just the San Antonio 410 loop!
Good news, urban pirate!
No more Lieberschmerz!
Thnaks for the update. It seems like the Keystone Cops have taken over the Liarman campaign.
On the update — if Lieberman is in fact having his staff mislead the press, he will be punished appropriately by that very same press.
Man, Jane’s updates just get weirder by the minute. With tricksiness this sappy-amateurish, you’d think Joe’d be gunning for a first term on the Greenwich City Council, not a fourth in the U.S. Senate.
If — IF — this rumored ad actually shows up, it’s the very last stop he owns to pull out, isn’t it? With 6 more days of pleading still to fill, what’s he got left?
immanentize @ 107
Hee hee!
That’s why we all take 1604 now!
When the Iraq war started in 1991, The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce ran full page advertisements in The Chronicle, NYT and Wall St. Journal iirc. The ad apologized for the war protesters in San Francisco.
*ilson,
now the Chamber of Commerce is cutting tv spots for Republicans.
Time for a review of their tax status.
-GSD
Jenny at 44,
Ohio needs a float for Ken Blackwell, Sec of State running for governor.
He’s just awful. There are too many inconsistent/crappy/sleazy things he’s been and done for me to come up with only one idea for a float, though.
California has solved it’s speeding campaign bus problem by turning the freeways into rush hour parking lots!
*ilson46201 @ 104
*Ilson, that’s unbelievable. Well, I believe it but… dammit, how can we possibly monitor their lies? It’s like trying to catch every speeder on the freeway.
immanentize @ 110
Good point…Slimefels must not have heard that old saying about not pissing off people who buy ink by the barrel!
Thanks Eureka, Imm, And TeddySF.
I have to tell you, it feels really great to do something, anything, to help.
I’ve been lucky enough to work so far with a few of the local bloggers, several of the leaders in the women’s right groups, and even speak with Jane on the phone.
It’s inspiring. I don’t need to tell you all how dark some of these days have seemed. I’m afraid to feel real hope, but no matter what, I am seeing a sincere desire among so my people to makes things better that my faith is returning.
That being said - I don’t trust these rotten fuckers on the other side for one second. I won’t let myself get complacent. I’m gonna keep kicking them while they’re down. :)
Thanks for the updates Christy, they are riveting.
On the topic of “Where’s Joe?” I don’t see his name on this letter from Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate and House Democratic leaders.
http://www.giveemhellharry.com.....iraqletter
================
Had Enough, Connecticut?
================
OT message for Gotwolfy and Karen Lander here.
Margot @
115
Dang…
You’re right. I can think of about 10 different floats for the guy, and I’m not even from Ohio!
Maybe, in a throwback to what JC Watts’s dad said about black Republicans: Blackwell dolled up like a chicken and kissing Colonel Sanders’…feet?
Okay, so I wanted to say ass, but that might be a bit much. Although true.
(sniff?…sniff?)
Wait…I think I know what that nasty smell is that’s everywhere Lieberman goes…
(sniff?)
Flop sweat. The stink of desperation.
Eau de Defeat.
Peeeee-yewwwwwww! (gagging)
from TheLeftCoaster
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/008340.php
Did the Big Dog bill the LieberLoser campaign $100,000? Or was it $200,000?
Margot @ 115
This is where punaise’s idea for a fleet comes in handy. :)
Simply the rumor that Joe is considering a mea culpa on the war has to be hitting DC like a
fuckingtidal wave.urban pirate - your experience was really heartening for those of us not in CT, and just hoping that people are feeling the energy.
Thanks for all your hard work - those of us who can’t be there are really with you in spirit!
LJ/Aquaria, I think the senior Mr. Watts’ insight applies equally to women, gay, poor, old, and Israel-centric Republicans too (who’m I leaving out?). All of ‘em except the corporatists, finally.
ck 125:
REALLY? He was PAID? Whoa.
John Casper @ 127
John, I thought the same thing — it is as if Ned has already won in the minds of the entrenched Democratic political class.
Urban Pirate 119
e-mail flying your way. As for kicking them while down, Steve Gilliard got it right:
* doctored to get by the filters.
Per everyone else, hoooray Urban Pirate!
ck -
Never mind. You were making a funny, I see. :)
OT
I’m listening to Franken interview Daryl Herrschaft about the law and gay rights. I was truly shocked to hear that there are over thirty states (couldn’t catch the actual number) where businesses can legally fire people for being gay. No recourse.
Thanks RevDeb - emailed back.
Love that Gilliard!
Hmmm, site’s getting a tad funky again. You might want to have http://windcatpond.blogspot.com up and handy ‘case we go bye-bye . . .
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....26316.html
The Huffington Post is painting Jane as a racist with their picture at the top of the story.
Okay, who has the map to the “castle?”
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01671.html
Spazeboy is even mentioned.
Gilliard is a God.
The rumors about the ad may explain why Joey is trying to ditch the press - doesn’t want to be confronted in public about whether he is actually removing the velcro that joins him at Bush’s hip on Iraq, or just putting it out of commission until after the election.
Hope someone asks the question, in public, and on camera - that’s a moment I would pay money to see.
Jenny from the Blog –
Sort of a funny, but actually a real question — did Bill Clinton stump for Joe Leiberman for free, or did he bill for a “speaking appearance?”
It was probably for free (expenses paid) — but the question deserves an answer; and if the question becomes an internets toobz urban legend that is debunked on say, August 9th — well, shit happens.
Sharon @
7
i love reading about the kiss float following lieberman. i get such a clear picture of it and when i do i keep hearing the ‘jaws’ soundtrack in my head. *g*
do-doo, do-doo, do-doo, do-doo, do-doo…
that $100K speaking fee is what the Big Dog usually gets for corporate lunches etc. He spoke here at a university and got $50,000 from local political-type philanthropists. Last month he did for free a fundraiser for the Indiana Congressional Democrats (we’ve got 3 hot races) and raised $350,000.
Painting Jane Hamsher as a racist by using a graphic of Lieberman in blackface? I’m not saying that I understand the HuffPo’s usage of that imagery, but it doesn’t reflect on Jane.
what’s this kerfuffle about torch-bearing villagers getting a map to the castle? dont the reporters know about www.MapQuest.com or Yahoo Maps? Google has marvelous maps showing the terrain …
Oh, and checking in on our OTHER fave Senate
comediancandidate . . .Ex-Aide: Harris Hid Subpoena
Maura — if you are reading updates, could you give me a call or e-mail me? Thanks!
ck -
Well you know Clinton was paid some way or another. Dollars or beads or most likely a political quid pro quo. In some ways its all the same!
isis2 @ 143
Not only could that be the “Jaws” music, but what Joey is “doing” in his pants right about now…*g*
In following this primary and Lieberman’s conduct and overall campaign management, I find I am thinking more in terms of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and her work in grief. The five stages 1) Denial; 2) Anger; 3) Bargaining; 4) Depression; and 5) Acceptance.
I have worked and volunteered in political races and I have never had the sense of these stages as I have had in watching this race.
With the rumors of the new ad being filmed, I wonder if we will see something reflecting the bargaining stage or if it will demonstrate a hint of acceptance.
I do not offer these observations in support of Joe the man as I took quite a dislike to him in watching him run as Gore’s VP. Watching Lieberman’s self-destruction in this race has been amazing.
The idea that Joe will do a commercial criticizing the war, or Bush, and suddenly regretting his heretofore strongly held “principled” stance just cracks me up. He must realize, and internal polling must confirm, that he is in deep, deep, do-do.
Besides, aren’t people aware enough to see this sudden flip-flop, if he does do it, as either a disingenuous campaign ploy or further proof Joe is a moron? How could this possibly help him? The only thing that keeps Joe’s embarrassing campaign from being the worst of the season is Kathryn Harris. Now there’s a real idiot.
Ted Danson tried to do blackface when he was dating Whoopi Goldburg and it blew up in his face.
I love darkblack, but I wouldn’t go there, not when you’ve got Jesse Jackson, Maxine Waters, and Al Sharpton actually in CT, pounding the pavement, with you.
It’s not about what’s right, it’s about what’s HELPFUL. European Americans cannot use the “n” word. That may not seem fair, or logical, but it’s the way things are after three centuries of legalized white supremacy. The blackface strikes me as heading needlessly in the same direction.
It’s not as though the photo is adding anything and Joezoe can turn it around in a heartbeat
to portray himself as the victim in a way that is really going to resonate with African Americans.
So, the Liberman staffers are now being paid to boo while Lamont speaks? I can’t decide if I’m furious or not. I mean, how ironic that Joe Lieberman, who gets booed all the time by Dems (remember during the 03-04 primaries?) has to pay people to clap for him and boo his more progressive oppnonents.
Well, I’ll bet those who boo Joe aren’t paid to do it. Maybe those of you who attend his events can start to get some inside info on these paid hecklers; that would be fun!
John Casper - felt the same way when I saw the picture.
a victory for Lamont could be problematic for Hillary — Bill was helping wifey — that’s the pay-off
John Casper @ 153
I agree.
Urban Pirate
got nothing from you yet. you send? to me at mac.com
John Casper -
I honestly thought it was a scam page, like the one we were subjected to the other night re: Mel Gibson’s arrest for terrorist activity.
Are we sure that link is real? I sort of can’t believe it.
I am in concurrence with the moratorium on black-face images. Steve Gilliard who is black himself used a doctored photo(blackfaced imagery) of Michael Steele, I believe, and that caused a big flap on his blog. It was also used by wingers to point out the “racism” of the left and the “unhingedness” of the left blogosphere too.
There are many connotations and many uses of satire that can include such imagery, but that is best left to entertainers and satirists. To have an image like that within a mile of someone associated or even linked to a campaign is cause for dismay.
-GSD
HuffPo really needs to ditch that graphic fast !!!
After going over to HuffPo and reading the comments there, I would hope Jane would have them take the picture down, and the sooner the better.
HuffPo’s coterie of trollerie have already started hollering about “racism of the left”.
PKC, thanks for that comment. I knew there was something echoing familiarly here that I couldn’t quite identify … but you just did.
This isn’t a political campaign we’re watching our opponent conduct. It’s The Grieving of Joe Lieberman.
Maybe Jane didn’t approve the graphic, just gave Darkblack carte blanche to submit whatever.
Joe paying goons to cheer and jeer on cue? That’s just sad and desperate, esepcially for a religious man
“If you’re doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing. His word isn’t worth shit — not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal.”
– William S. Burroughs
Per everyone else, I really don’t like that particular Darkblack creation over at HuffPo.
I don’t see the point and I don’t see the need.
Yeh, blackblack badly misfired on this one. It is for real, but it needs to be gone, NOW.
That picture will end up on another flyer for Joe Lieberman claiming that Ned Lamont supporters are racists who go to “whites only” country clubs.
-GSD
Well wow. I didn’t even read the piece because the graphic was so disturbing - I clicked right off because I thought it was someone trying to stir up trouble. Wow, this does not serve us well at all.
Jenny from the Blog @ 165
It appears to be an upload from firedoglake, word press. Here are the properties…
http://www.firedoglake.com/wp-.....934f-4622-
From the comments section at Huffpo on that piece with the “blackface Joe” pic.
(Snip)
What the hell is the deal with the white guy in blackface? I do believe this woman has lost her mind. Not that any liberals will call her on it - that is saved for conservatives who make minor mistakes.
The mind boggles at the hypocrisy of the left.
By: TWM on August 02, 2006 at 12:56pm
Christy, any info on the HuffPo post? Unbelievable.
Gotta agree - that image can serve no purpose but to be a lightening rod that will be misinterpreted 50 ways from Sunday. I’m all for having some fun at Joe-Joe’s expense, but that’s going a bit low.
Les Kinsolving at the WH press conference asked about the Muslim who shot up a Jewish center in Seattle…
whoopsies Les — last winter the terrorist said he was tired of the evil of Islam and recognised Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and got baptised. That terrorist was a Christian, just like Kinsolving and McVeigh — lock ‘em all up, I say!
Cozumel 171 -
I couldn’t access your link but maybe then Jane hurriedly snatched something from the archives to accompany the story. Dunno. I have to think Christy’s on the phone with her right now. Still, it might be too late to undo some of the damage.
*ilson, I disagree.
IMO, blackface is simply not something Lamont supporters want to be engaging in. It’s a photo. Blackface carries enormous baggage for African Americans.
It’s a completely gratuitous photo. It nets Ned nothing and it really gives Joezoe an opportunity. Sure Ned can ford it, he can publicly lambast Jane as a way of showing solidarity with Maxine, Jesse, and Al, but why take the risk? Why get off message over a photo? Please, use whatever influence you have and have Huffpo take it down.
I know Jane’s the furthest thing from a white supremacist. The problem is convincing African Ameerican voters of that fact after they see that photo at the top of an article with Jane’s name on it. Not all the African American voters in CT understand the sublime genius of darkblack and they are not going to care about the FDL series on racism and white supremacy. All they are going to remember is the photo and think that Ned probably isn’t that much different from Joe.
Darkblack is the bravest, gentlest. warmest, most wonderful graphic artist I ever hope to meet in my life!
Well, I guess it’s not all that tragic. Joe Lieberman does approve of torture and murder, so what’s a little off-taste blackface compared to that.
* Just trying to not slam Jane too badly for a miscalculation…
Jenny from the Blog @ 176
Go here…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....26316.html
left click on the photo and then left click on ‘properties’
The photo is not helpful, I agree.
Man, I’m so laughing my ass off at that visual. I can imagine there were also a few bemused and/or amused drivers on I-95 today as well. I mean suicide alley has a tendency to put those on it in an ill-tempered mood, but seeing the Lieberman bus of tomorrow speeding by with a Kiss float urgently keeping up behind it, surely must have tossed a couple of drivers’ confetti.
new thread
Let’s put it this way. No one is talking about Mel Gibson’s acting in the Mad Max series right now.
That picture is an error and it can easily be used to attack Jane and Ned in connection.
Please Christy or Jane, get that picture off the Huffpo site. For Ned’s sake.
-GSD
Re: left click on the photo and then left click on ‘properties’
Oops! I meant right click, right click
Cozumel -
Thanks. My left-click is not bringing up anything… It’s okay, I trust what you say.
Hey all from Russia. Logging in from the roof of my hotel, 10pm and the sun has not yet set, even though it’s August and not White Nights.
TRex I sent you a little something for the team :) from the Scottish lassie. I know you will use it frugally to help the good guys win.
Two of the four sick babies in the ICU got better and were discharged to the ward. That left space to do two operations: yippee!
Thirteen year old Boris is slightly better today, still very sick but better is an improvement over the other options. Still ask for your prayers and positive energy–thanks.
Cozumel -
Still not getting it… but thanks. :)
Funny to see OCSteve commenting on one of Jane’s posts over there. Didn’t he leave here in a huff a few weeks ago due to one of her posts, saying it was the last straw, or some such? IIRC, he even said he was deleting his bookmark, fer gosh sakes!
I hope someone deletes Jim’s 187.
The photo is a disaster — at the least it is an unwanted distraction; at the worst, it requires major league damage control.
It is a mistake — but in politics, one side’s mistake is the other side’s opportunity.
Anne @ 150
lol!! you are sooo right. that float really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Michael, it’s “darkblack.”
How do you know darkblack’s gender? Are you sure?
Did you see what I said? “blackblack badly misfired …”? Guess that indicates my impression of the thing. Oh man.
Please, please, please, don’t feed. Please.
# 178 changed his mind …
As the composer of the work in question, allow me to make some broader points clearer. This will be my last word on the subject, but all are free to debate further, of course.
Lieberman has attempted to activate a voting demographic that his strategists believe will aid him in his quest.
To this end, he has imported a figure, Bill Clinton, who has standing with the American black community, and has repeatedly asserted his personal credentials as one who has worked on behalf of that community.
Yet Lieberman has engaged in race baiting (with the Lamont flyer) as a cynical attempt to game this demographic, and he has engaged in other activities which cast doubtful shadows upon this allegiance.
Thus, in my opinion, Lieberman is pretending to be something that he is not for personal gain, exactly like the vile caucasian minstrel show performers of Vaudeville.
And so my artist’s impression stands.
If we as a people run from controversial imagery, we will never stop running. Better to unearth and deal with the unpleasant than to live in fear.
As for those who would heap ad hominem at the expense of reasoned debate on the greater issues…I care not what you think, and you are free to ignore my work as you wish.
*ilson, you’re a peach.
PKC @ 151
great observation. and the thing about the stages of grief… a person doesn’t necessarily experience them in 1-5 order. it’s normal to skip a stage and then experience it later. and repeating the stages until final acceptance is common. i think we’ll see joe hitting more than a few stages more than a few times before this is over. it should be an interesting week.
My two cents on the HuffPo image:
It doesn’t matter what Lieberman has done or not done.
To hand your opponent a loaded gun pointed at your heart is just a mistake.
Doesn’t matter why.
This isn’t about running from controversy.
This is about getting Ned Lamont elected.
Focus!
darkblack –
Politics is a minefield, and it not within our power to say what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.
It took Steve Gilliard months to get past the blow back from his blackface and oreo post about Michael Steele.
I realize that no offense was intended, but that doesn’t mean the image in question will not give ammuntion to our opponents. This is going to take some serious mea culpas before it’s over.
darkblack, this is not ad hominem in any way.
Artistic freedom is a value always to be prized, but that image damages Jane — and way more importantly NED — at a very crucial time.
If only it were just representing your ideas — but it’s NOT.
Darkblack, I got what you were saying, and I thought it was a good point. But the image punches too many buttons, and is, as …and your little dog too said, a loaded gun pointing at Ned.
It’s like the “tar baby” comment from Romney. Technically, that’s a great description of the construction problems of the Big Dig. But it carries too many other connotations.
Is there anyone out there willing to tell us more about the Huffpo pic? The damage is already done, but it can be contained — gotta be replaced ASAP — the pic says it originated here at FDL, can’t someone retrieve/replace/TREX the thing — it is bad.
Darkblack - We understand what you were saying with that piece. The broader public either doesn’t care, or will use it to Lamont’s disadvantage.
Your argument works for me, but in the final analysis it’s similar to the defense Bob Fertig made of his ad equating Lieberman with the Nazi’s. To wit: ‘Of course people will use it to smear Lamont. But people are smarter than that and besides, Ned can handle the additional heat.’
I love your work, but in this instance it’s an unnecessary distraction.
As for what the picture “says” it doesn’t really say anything in tune with Jane’s post about Walmart — it is a wired non-sequitor. You know I LOVE your stuff DB, but this is the wrong image at the absolutely wrong time. Please take down the defensiveness and take down the pic. This is advice from those who love you.
This so reminds me of Francine Busby’s last-minute gaffe. Ned didn’t do this, but it’ll be smeared all over him just the same. Within the hour, probably.
Amen to imm’s 206, db.
I am not hosting the picture in question on any webspace available to me to delete data.
If it is the consensus of the community that I contribute no longer as a result of causing harm to a greater cause, I will accept that gracefully.
I have nothing else to offer.
Perhaps Darkblack should be commenting at the HuffPo to explain over there his reasoning for using this as he did over here.
And, I think some of you are overstating FDL’s influence on this Senate race if you think this will somehow turn things around for Lieberman. How many people in CT pay attention to blogs? The reason Lieberman is in trouble is due to the people and Dems of CT being disenchanted with him.. not because bloggers removed the scales off of their eyes. I dont think a potentially controversial blog picture posting is going to do anything the other way, either.
darkblack, you can certainly get on the line to Arianna and get that thing down faster than anybody except maybe Jane. PLEASE DO SO.
Darkblack, no staw men please, this is IMO a serious crisis. It is not about YOU. Whether you are hosting the picture is different than whether you know who is and can ask them to get it down pronto. If you can help pull it, please do everything in your power to do so.
db, are you saying that if that image compromises Ned’s election in any way, that’s OK? That the point of artistic freedom of that image is worth the election? And you choose not to respond and we are simply to ignore you? I don’t believe this.
DB, I don’t think there’s a soul here who doesn’t value your work and wit. More in question, I believe, is the decision to go ahead and use that particular submission. We just want what’s best for everyone; no one wants to see heads roll.
Nobody’s asking that you contribute no longer. But if it stays up, and I’m sorry but I really hope it does not, I do think you should go to HuffPo and state your views.
Darkblack - Nobody is unhappy with your work, just this particular use of it. So please don’t take the criticism personally, and please don’t stop contributing.
Scott Tribe - No, this blog doesn’t make or break Lamont’s chances. But why, as others have already stated, give the opposition even a scrap of usable ammunition?
darkblack, I do not for a minute question that your artist’s impression stands. I do not for a minute question your credentials as someone who abhors the legacy of legalized white supremacy as much as I do.
Your art, however, is not on display in a vacuum. As you well know, once you create something, it’s open to criticism and comment. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, Lieberman will “use” your art to portray himself as a victim of latent white supremacy in Ned’s campaign. You can repeat “If we as a people run from controversial imagery, we will never stop running. Better to unearth and deal with the unpleasant than to live in fear.” until you are “blue in the face.” It won’t matter.
We, the U.S., is not a monolithic people. African American voters in CT cannot be expected imo to “get” the nuance of your genius. “This” isn’t about your art or you as an artist. It’s about getting people to vote for Ned Lamont. In that very narrow context, your blackface of Joe is spectacularly unsuitable.
As you know, people develop in their “readiness” for art. The African American community has been denied access to education for most of their time in America as a matter of law. It’s not their fault they don’t get it.
darkblack, I love the art you bring to FDL. Seeing your Easter Island riff yesterday just reminded me of how much you do that I don’t get. I am an art idiot. I read that Michael Kimmelman in the NYT’s for the little I understand.
This is NOT about you.
This is NOT about your art.
Maxine Waters, Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson have put their credibility on the line for a wealthy European American, Ned. That does not resonate well with their constituents. Your blackface gives Lieberman a chance to rub your artwork in all their faces. They’ll understand, they also know a very large percentage of their constituents will not.
Are you familiar with the riots over the portrayl of the Koran in various European publications and the riots it caused? I don’t think this is as serious, but art always occurs in a specific historical context. So does artistic interpretation.
I would ask you to remember how badly Ted Danson failed in his blackface in Hollywood when he was dating Whoopi Goldburg. I would invite you to talk with watertiger about this. I don’t know her, but from some of her posts, she might understand this and I know you respect her art and she your’s.
DRUDGE has it up.
Thanks imm.
immanentize - Drudge? Cripes! I was looking for a trackback function at HuffPo to see how far and wide this has spread. I guess we know the answer to that one.
Joshua Godinez at 10:23 am - Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I cannot fucking believe this.
Front-paged at Free Republic, and in a top “Red Hot” diary over at RedState.
Here we gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Lotus: How so? I don’t know Ms. Huffington. However, if efforts to delete from FDL are unsuccessful, I will attempt contact.
immanentize: ‘Straw men’…? I have been told that FDL hosts the picture. Thus, FDL should delete it from their servers if possible, to which I certainly have no objection as it evidently does not reflect shared community values.
meta: No, no, and no.
I have offered my comments at HuffPo.
I would like to make something very clear…This is not about me or my work, as others have stated, and I concur.
Therefore, if it can be removed, so be it, and if the juxtaposed concept has done harm then all I have to offer is my permanent absence with no ill will offered from myself, as a point of honor.
lotus –
everyone makes mistakes, and all we can hope for is that this one will not cause too much blowback.
Thank you, darkblack. Please do what you can to help Ned today, and please do what you can to go on helping all of us every day, just as you always have.
darkblack –
You don’t need to exile yourself — all that is needed is a simple apology: “No offense was intended, and I apologize to anyone who is offended.”
It’s that simple, and it’s the truth.
If my work has offended anyone, for any reason, I apologise.
Fin
Ned has to mend fences with Maxine, Al, and Jesse right now. He cannot wait for them to call him. He has to reach out to them proactively and apologize. It’s not his fault, but he has to apologize.
It’s a good time imo for Ned to talk about the history of Jim Crow laws in the U.S., what made white supremacy legal until the civil rights legislation of the 60’s. African Americans never here European Americans ever even mention this part of our history, especially the lynching.
Politics is not a contact sport, it’s a collision sport.
It’s just another day at the office. This stuff happens all the time in any large campaign. We move forward. We turn what appears to be a crisis into an opportunity for Ned to strengthen his ties with the African American community. Ned stays on message. It’s Ned’s anti-war stance that is most important and that’s driving his popularity in the African American community.
Looks like the pic is no longer on HuffPo.
The pic is gone.
darkblack, I need you and I think FDL needs you.
I really hope you stay.
I really hope we keep seeing your art.
It would be a huge loss for FDL if we lost you.
This is about pluralism. Different symbols have different meanings in different cultures. European Americans have segregated themselves and other Americans have had to create their own symbols for interpreting reality. Occasionally we stumble onto symbols over which one or another culture has almost no tolerances with respect to the interpretation.
If Ned loses, it won’t be, because of this. This stuff happens. If Ned’s qualified to be a U.S. Senator, he better damn well be able to handle something as relatively minor as this. In the scheme of things, it’s not that big a deal, so please don’t take it on.
Great! It’s down!
lotus @ 233
It’s still on, just loads real slow.
Gawd, now it’s back UP at HufPo! WTF?!
Well done FDL!
The speed with which this was done is a terrific credit FDL!
Thanks JWR, thanks lotus.
I don’t know that darkblack’s blackface is a mistake or wrong. I don’t know. His/her explanation makes sense to me and I appreciate it.
As a recovering liberal white hand-wringer, let me state that I see a lot of liberal white hand-wringing going on here over this.
Politically, it is not good to give your opposition any ammunition. It is also important to realize that the opposition, the rightwingnuts are a intellectually dishonest bunch. They will attack what we are not.
Yep, they will likely use this image to do attacks but they smell the hand-wringing over this not the assumed racial slight this image might be.
Maybe it is time to just take a deep breath.
PKC, all that matters to me — and, I’m pretty sure, all of us — is that this not blow back on Ned. That isn’t “liberal white hand-wringing.” It’s a question of campaign PR tactics (not Ned’s but Rove/Joe’s). I just don’t want anything from FDL to enable those sick fucks. IN ANY WAY. EVER.
“Liberal white hand-wringing,” my fanny.
Image is still up at Drudge.
PWC, gosh please point out all the liberal white hand wringing” in this thread, I’m dying to see it.
I bet all the African Americans would like to see it too. Do you think that liberal white hand wringing,” will bring back all those who were lynched? Will the liberal white handwringing undue all the African American women who were raped by their European American owners, but then had to bear the child of the rape? I’m not aware of a lot of intermarriage between African Americans and European Americans, what do you think accounted for the non-African features that almost all African Americans have to some extent?
Will the liberal white handwringing pay the debt that the ancestors of African Americans never received for their labor as slaves? In Florida in 1920 there were four high schools in the entire state that admitted African Americans of both genders. What’s your liberal white handwringing going to do about that?
Do you want to know what I think you should do with your liberal white handwringing?”
This is about African Americans voting for Ned in the August 8 CT primary. I guarandamntee you, liberal white handwringing won’t be on their minds.
Maybe ask a black person how they feel? Are there any black FDLers? I showed it to my black wife and she thought it was hilarious. Shouldn’t she have been offended?
Image is down at Drudge, but still up at Huffpo.
Yeah, fred, all black peope think alike about everything. They all play basketball and they can all jump too.
fred @ 241
Does she like you to call her “my black wife”?
Just askin’ . . . .
John Casper @ 241
Well, then let’s ask more black people. Any suggestions? Any black FDLers out there? If not, are there any black folk you could show it to, John?
darkblack @
224
No no no! Don’t absent yourself! The art is fantastic.
fred, since your African American wife likes the blackface so much, ask her to donate to Ned’s campaign.
Similarly, don’t just ask African Americans about the blackface. Show it to them and then ask them to contribute to Ned’s campaign. Let me know how you do.
and to Fred and his black wife too…..
that was my point.
I work in Tribal programs and that has been one of the things I learned early on - is that what I thought might be offensive was not.
Just because humor makes reference to race does not necessarily means it is racist.
Darkblack,
Your work has not offended anyone. It has only triggered opportunistic slurs from people who don’t give a sh*t about basic equality and civil society much less ethnic or racial sensitivities.
Faux indignation from Drudge or Redstate is representative of their own hypocrisy and of those who thrive on, and foster, racial division, not take offense in it.
The only thing Darkblack deserves from us is our defense. DB did no wrong. Apologies are not in order; rather we only need to point out the hypocrisy of any of the race-baiting douchebags wallowing in the primordial ooze at Redstate. They are the ones who take glee in ANY opportunity to pick the scabs off, and pour salt into, any our country’s many racial wounds.
No one on this site, especially Darkblack, owes an explanation to anyone at Redstate, or to anyone else who choses to puff on the smoke the Redstate types might blow over this, for any of the justified shots taken at the Lieberman campaign for their behavoir.
Their yelping only makes this into something it isn’t if we let them sell themselves as something they are not.
slainte,
cl
John @ 246
since your African American wife likes the blackface so much
Now that is truly offensive.
Get out of the heat for a while and stop telling others how they have to think.
Caoimhin Laochdha, your point is not only well taken but finely expressed. Please teach me the meaning and correct pronunciation of your handle, so I can praise you properly.
Dear Lotus,
Thank you for your comment.
My name is easier to pronounce than it looks: Caoimhin (kevin) Laochdha (lah’hee). Irish tends to get overly generous with the consonants.
slainte,
cl
Ah, and slainte back atcha, Caoimhin.
Are you over here or over there? Or over where?
In the U.S. (legally!)
:)
cl
Caoil! (my attempt at “Cool!”) ;-}
fred, you’re the one who said her ethnicity was relevant. If you find it offensive, check your comments.
Joe is not the worst guy in the world, but he has made some horrible mistakes. One of them is talking out of his ass when he politicizes the most moral of events.