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Well, thanks to the RNC, I finally get to write a non-depressing post. Because as self-destructively clueless as the Democratic Party is, they’re still in better shape than the party that wants to keep the Iraqupation going forever. Check this out:
What 83 year-old William Sidwell of Queen City, Missouri found in his mailbox last week scared him. It was a letter from the Republican National Committee, but it seemed to bear grave news: “Our records show that you registered as a member of our Party in Schuyler County, MO,” the letter said. “But a recent audit of your Party affiliation turned up some irregularities.”
Audit? Irregularities? Was he in trouble? Were they threatening him? Sidwell went immediately to his ask his son, Dennis, a licensed public accountant, for advice. You can see the letter, and the accompanying “Voter Registration Verification and Audit Form,” right here. Particularly puzzling to the both of them, Dennis told me, is that his father is a life-long Democrat. [*snort*]
(…)
The letter, it turns out, is just a misleading pitch for a contribution to the RNC — one of the “irregularities” cited in the letter is that “I cannot find a record of you taking a single action in support of the Republican Party — not locally, not nationally!” A contribution, the letter suggests, would help set the record straight.
The letter is… deniably misleading. That is to say, yes, it’s possible that some people might take it seriously, but it’s tongue-in-cheek enough that the RNC can claim that they were not intentionally trying to deceive (the tried-and-true “I was just kidding!” defense).
Aside from the gimmicky-and-possibly-dodgy “OMG your standing in the GOP is in danger OMG!!1!” stuff, the full letter is really quite something. It alternates between guilt-tripping:
…[W]e have no record of your support for President George W. Bush.
In fact, we have no record of your support for a Republican Presidential candidate going back to President Ronald W. Reagan!
And scaremongering:
If we don’t ['set your record straight'], we risk Hillary Clinton as President with Bill Clinton the power behind the throne….
Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the usual liberal suspects are raking in cash hand over fist for the 2008 elections, and we have to keep up with them.
I know fear and guilt are kinda their thing, but that sure doesn’t sound like a strong, confident party to me. I also find it interesting that the issues they choose to highlight in the letter are guns, taxes, judges, abortion, and small government [*snort again*] – no mention of Iraq, or terrorism, or all that brilliant torture and wiretapping that’s keeping us all so safe. In other words, they’re running away from all the tough-guy issues that they pretend to have their biggest advantage on – I wonder why that might be?
Hell, they’re even trying to convince elderly Democrats that they’re really Republicans. No wonder the GOP opposes stem-cell research – an Alzheimer’s cure would be a huge blow to their fundraising.
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What thugs..
Laura Doty @ 1
They’ve always been thugs. It’s nice to know that they’re *scared* thugs now.
Probably makes them more dangerous, though…
What Laura said !
Nice bit of snark at the end of the post.
Joe Klein’s conscience @ 4
Thanks. I’m probably not the first to think of it…
Hi Eli,
you summed it up nicely:
“Hell, they’re even trying to convince elderly Democrats that they’re really Republicans. No wonder the GOP opposes stem-cell research – an Alzheimer’s cure would be a huge blow to their fundraising.”
Eli @ 2
Yes, I think so. Bullying and empty threats to scare folks are just thugly. But seizing assets, listening in on phone calls, flying spy planes over our own country–dangerous doin’s. I read it, and I get it. I write it, and I can’t believe it.
Hi Eli – Thanks for this post.
I’m in tears right now. I had written a post about the Army nurse who was killed last month in Iraq – the first nurse to die in combat since Viet Nam. I just found a comment by one of her colleagues who is in Iraq.
What do you say? Words just can’t do it, and I just wanted to be there and support them all – the old nurse in me, and the old nursing administrator in me who could never let a nurse suffer alone.
And I can’t do a single dayam thing.
When the going gets tough, the Goopers squeeze harder and harder and harder…on their own supporters!
They treat their own like Stupid Sheep because that’s how they think of them.
Karl knows the base.
Laura Doty @ 7
Well, they’ve only got 17 months to get what they can get.
EPU’ed
OT The NewsHour had its weekly roundup with Shields and Brooks. Shields thought the Democrats were having too many debates and that the debates they were having were targeted to their various constituencies: African Americans, labor, gays, etc.
I think I have been too hard on Shields. It is clear that he is going senile. Addressing people in your party, actually transmitting some information (however limited) on issues that are important to them, yeah, somehow I have problems seeing this as a bad thing. But for Shields it is an entirely different matter. He has to stay up past his bedtime for these long affairs where candidates talk. He might even have to take some notes or pay attention. This is not what he signed up for. Gee, if he had wanted to work for a living he would never have become a pundit.
BTW Moyers this week at least here has Fein and Nichols on impeachment Part II.
Apologies this is probably a rerun. Not sure.
N=1 @ 8
I’m sorry, N; that’s awful.
Alas, my reaction to most awful news these days is, “You mean that hasn’t happened already?”
And every single Republican presidential candidate kisses George Bush’s behind.
N=1 @ 8
N=1. I thought your post was beautiful…and it seemed to be a comfort to her colleague. Your note to her was also supportive. Don’t underestimate the power of your words, dear N–even though they can’t match your feelings, they carry truth.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 14
OKK – I wish often that I were as clear-minded as you.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 14
Carefully avoiding the skid marks and tick bites, by the way….
There was a fella hereabouts last year who sent out flyers and materials to hispanic folks, implying that if they were immigrants they might face jail time for voting.
PB @ 18
Was he punished or just exposed?
PB @ 18
Oh yeah, they pull shit like that every year. But I don’t think they typically pull fast ones on their *own* voters.
Laura Doty @ 15
Thanks, Laura. That’s really very supportive and helpful to me. But there is just such a sense of the frustration and the futility of her death – not to mention the hundreds of thousands of all of the others – civilian, contractor and military.
And for what?
Bush’s mental illness, Cheney’s Halliburton empire and a PNAC Hitleresque national nightmare?
In some ways, medical personnel have an easier time because their mission is clear – take care of patients. But those soldiers and marines on the ground – and their immediate officers – need to have a clear mission that’s compatible with the Constitution – how must they be dealing with this?
PB @ 18
Are you in Southern California? That fraudulent race?
Nice post, Eli! Nothing the Repugs do surprises me anymore.
Thanks, LL! There is nothing they won’t stoop to, but we already knew that.
I have to give the GOP credit … unbelievably, they continue to come up with new ways for me to be appalled, disgusted, repelled …
Can’t the dems legislate some truth in advertising with regard to campaigns? Someone in Darcy’s district put out a phone call saying she is a convicted felon. How can this sort of thing possibly be legal?
Along with paper ballots, please!
Jonathan @ 16
There’s more than a few that might not agree with you on that. But thanks. ;0)!!!
N=1,
Keep up the good fight. You are making a difference. I believe (or I’ll go mad) that good will triumph over evil.
Eli @ 24
Yep — and as long as they keep stooping, they’ll still be good for a laugh!
LoudounLib @ 29
It makes it harder to kick ‘em in the nards, tho…
Eli @ 30
Well, there is that…
N=1
That’s a question I hold, but cannot answer.
I erased my first response. I’m finding it too easy to slip into despair. I just know this. It’s better to do something than nothing, even if the effort seems insignificant.
And your efforts aren’t insignificant.
We can’t see how far the ripples we make go out.
Just keep plonking in the rocks.
Twain @ 19
It was sent out by the campaign office of Tan Nguyen, who was running against Loretta Sanchez for her Orange Co. seat. Justice investigated, and I think Nguyen skated, saying that an overzealous staffer sent out the mailing without his approval, and because he promised to send out another mailing correcting the information in the first, threatening mailing.
montag @ 33
Deniability is like oxygen for them. They always make sure they can blame it on a “bad apple” or two.
I got a similar letter but nearly laughed my self silly as there hasn’t been a Repug in my family going back…. well lets see… Just when was it that the Democratic Party started?
And it isn’t Alzheimer, it is Repug rigid brain disease. Think about it, their thought patterns are so narrow, rigid and fixated that it forms concrete barriers which just seizes up their brains.
The thing with Republican ‘philosophy’ (dogma) is that it’s so insidious. And the Republican right-wing will never ever give up. Never.
katymine @ 35
I wonder if any actual Republicans got it…
As for the Alzheimer’s, I’m talking about Democrats whose brains are so ravaged that they can be convinced they’re Republicans…
Eli @ 37
Ah, so Joe Lieberman has a medical excuse, eh? :)
montag @ 33
Sanchez, of course, held on to her seat. On Tuesday, 6 anti-war protestors were hauled away from her local office and cited for trespassing, after she refused to promise to vote against funding for the war. Because why? Upcoming bill also funds aircraft built in her district. What Digby says.
Twain @ 19
Well it was quite a ride, because it include a raid on his offices which he evaded (this was in October). However, last May the investigation determined that the letters themselves were legal, but there is still an ongoing investigation. This is the fellow who intends to challenge Sanchez…I don’t think he’s going to get anywhere.
OT
Iraq war czar: Consider a draft
* Story Highlights
* Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute is president’s new war adviser
* He says the all-volunteer force is stressed by frequent tours
* President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973
* Bush says he doesn’t think a draft is necessary
WASHINGTON (AP) — Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush’s new war adviser said Friday.
“I think it makes sense to certainly consider it,” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
“And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another,” said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the “Iraq war czar.” It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June.
Hi Eli!!!
I am beginning to form a (generic) political consulting concept for Progressive Populists . . .
But I’m out the door for the evening –
I sent the link to the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and to my elderly parents.
It’d be funny if it weren’t so sad, but sometimes I have to laugh to keep from crying.
raven @ 41
Yeah, I saw that and blogged it at my place. Basically just said “Helloooo, Third Rail!”
Hiya, ck! Long time no see!
Eli @ 37
Oh you mean like Harold Ford, Jr & My congresscritter Harry Mitchell who is the ONLY AZ Democratic Congressperson who voted for the FISA bill?
You mean a 28 yr high school teacher of government who GAVE MY 4th Amendment rights away?
That so called Democrat?
Turncoat Harry Mitchell?
raven @41
This guy Lute. What a loser. What does he do? For what price did he sell his soul?
Rudy Mispoke
“I think I could have said it better,” he told nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher. “You know, what I was saying was, ‘I’m there with you.’”–Rudy
katymine @ 46
I think they might just be wankers.
O.M.G. It’s Friday night!
http://www.theonion.com/conten…..nline_data
raven @ 41
E.S.C.A.L.A.T.I.O.N.
Eli @ 44
Watch out though. Hillary is advocating for the same thing I hear (in the guise of universal service for youth).
Richmond @ 52
In universal service (which would be a good thing for some of these kids today) the rich and priviliged kids would be stocking the shelves in libraries and the poor would be in Iraq getting shot at.
Lahoma looked at that pix at the top and said “kiddo, you know what you are don’t you? You’re a stranger in a strange land”. And I say is that sorta like being an anchronism? She says well, kinda. We laugh. ‘Cause we both know she’s right. Again. To know her is to love her. ;0)
katymine @ 46
I have met Mitchell, and have a lot of friends from Tempe High that had Harry mitchell as their government teacher. He was excellent as a mayor of Tempe. I live just north of Harry’s district (Shadegg – yuk) and was absolutely floored that he voted for the treasonous FISA BS. Unbelievable.
N=1,
Have you landed safely somewhere? What about the animals? Job situation? Hope you are stabilizing –
On a slight tangent Re: #41 OT – Military Draft:
A little-noticed part of the No Child Left Behind legislation is a requirement for schools to send contact information for juniors and seniors to military recruiters. You are legally allowed to “opt out” – to prevent your child’s contact information from being given. (Note that this does NOT prevent the military recruiters from talking to your child at school, it only requires them to have parental consent before they can contact them in person or by phone at home.) Unfortunately, the schools do not always make the “opt out” option well known.
Here’s a link for “opt out” form section 9528 for high school juniors and seniors. Be sure and follow up to make sure they were processed properly.
http://www.afn.org/~vetpeace/Opt_Out_Form.pdf
My son is 15 and a junior, and right now I’m terrified.
speaking of republicans….. there’s this from the AP (online). those of us from NY know all about this particular hypocrisy
Giuliani: I Misspoke About Ground Zero
August 10, 2007 7:58 PM EDT
WASHINGTON – Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Friday that he misspoke when he said he spent as much time, if not more, at ground zero exposed to the same health risks as workers combing the site after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I think I could have said it better,” he told nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher. “You know, what I was saying was, ‘I’m there with you.’”
The former New York mayor upset some firefighters and police officers when he said Thursday in Cincinnati that he was at ground zero “as often, if not more, than most of the workers.”
“I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them,” he told reporters at a Los Angeles Dodgers-Cincinnati Reds baseball game.
Fire and police officials responded angrily, saying Giuliani did not do the same work as those involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup from the 2001 terrorist attacks, which left many workers sick and injured.
On Friday, Giuliani said he was trying to show his concern for the workers’ health.
“What I was trying to say yesterday is that I empathize with them, because I feel like I have that same risk,” he said.
“There were people there less than me, people on my staff, who already have had serious health consequences, and they weren’t there as often as I was,” Giuliani said, “but I wasn’t trying to suggest a competition of any kind, which is the way it come across.”
Giuliani’s explanation further angered his ground zero critics, prompting several to issue a statement demanding an apology.
“He is such a liar, because the only time he was down there was for photo ops with celebrities, with politicians, with diplomats,” said deputy fire chief Jimmy Riches, who spent months digging for his firefighter son.
“On 9/11 all he did was run. He got that soot on him, and I don’t think he’s taken a shower since.”
Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union that fiercely opposes Giuliani, said he doubted Giuliani misspoke.
“I think he was simply showing what his true character is – a self-absorbed, self-deluded promoter who got caught and is now just simply trying to backtrack,” Schaitberger said.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards offered his own criticism of the former mayor. “That’s all we need is another person trying to exploit the tragedy of 9/11,” Edwards said while campaigning in Las Vegas. “What he ought to be talking about instead is trying to explain why the firefighters and the first responders didn’t have the equipment … to get the job done.”
A former deputy mayor, Joe Lhota, said the critics are politically motivated and wrong.
“They’re taking their anger out in the wrong direction,” Lhota said. “He was literally there four and five times a day; he did anything but run away.
“They’re losing sight of the fact that this country, and this city, was attacked on that day by terrorists; it’s their fault. Rudy Giuliani coordinated efforts in this city like no one had ever seen before.”
Also Friday, Giuliani named another former deputy mayor, Rudy Washington, chairman of his campaign in New York City. Washington played a role in ground zero operations for weeks after Sept. 11 and received medical coverage for debilitating asthma and other health complications.
(my bold)
It might be scarier than you think… are you sure that it isn’t a caging list letter?
LS @ 50
707!
I don’t think it was a registered letter, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
What better way to ensure that they don’t get a response…
O.M.G. Funny.
http://www.theonion.com/conten….._rep_hardy
raven @ 41
Ain’t gonna happen. The political shitstorm would perforate everyone’s eardrums.
I keep looking for the rift within the Lute joke, but can’t find it. WHEN does Punaise get back from France?
This whole thing of trying to win elections is just getting to be too hard. Too sloppy and too dirty as well. Alternatives are being explored.
Liberty Lover @ 59
Very true! He could be challenged for ‘not responding’ to said letter, thereby forfeiting his voter registration!
mental_equinox @ 63
I agree. The GOP seems bound and determined to self-destruct.
They are unable to escape the frame they have created for themselves.
Even better news!!! (And I am the LAST person to hop onto the “good news” band wagon even on a Friday night). Apparently farmers around the country are bull shit with the new push by the Feds to require employers to turn in SS numbers of workers to counter illegal immigrants, this coming just as the harvest is about to get underway. (News of this in NYTimes via Think Progress).
Hell hath no fury like pissed off farmers (they are even stronger as a group than gun owners in terms of issues). I bet Bush will have to back down, and even then they will be pissd. Nothing worse for the Rethugs. Absolutely nothing worse. And, with oil prices, mortgage issues, health care concerns, well, you know where they will turn.
Oh for a new Grange movement!
Eli @ 61
It doesn’t have to be registered, ‘do not forward’ has been sufficient!
Twain @ 53
It might be a good thing to let those rich kids empty some bed pans at the VA or Walter Reed. I’m sure many VA hospitals are desperate for orderlies and such.
dakine01 @ 71
Great idea. Like Mitt’s five sons !
Richmond @ 68
Bush never backs down, never ever. He always take it to another level. Which in the case of farmers means I can see him sending ICE out to intimidate.
Bush is systematically destroying the GOP base.
noen @ 67
Nothing at all wrong with the GOP marginalizing itself into a regional minority party.
Now you gone and done it, I have to register to vote in a building where there is a person operating the elevator, and in small town America where I’m the strange man from California, who worked for the government, and is a man of the cloth, and a scientist, a believer in evolution, and a damn Democrat.
noen @ 73
and the entire rest of the world, too.
dakine01 @ 71
There is absolutely no way it will work. I am former Peace Corps (which changed my life) but the minute Vista started up to help change things here, people screamed politics and it was stopped. Also, there was a youth corps in NYC putting high school kids in after school jobs in city organizations, museums and other things. The unions cried bloody murder and it was canned. To institute a national service would cost mega money as well, and the no-government people would hate it. Plus, there would still be the unfairness in terms of who gets what jobs, who is pressed into the military etc. It is just not going to happen.
Richmond @ 77
I agree with you but why did Lutz say that – was he just yakking as most Repubics do or was it a trial balloon and did Bush know he was going to say that? What now?
Richmond @ 77
plus each new administration has to start its own program, never any continuity.
noen @ 73
Bush and the rethugs backed out of the immigrant bill the first time around after the furor grew to a shouting match. If it is legal to bet on the web, I will donate $50.00 to Act Blue if they Do Not back down sometime before September, at least for farmers.
It’s time to turn the page on garbage politics.
http://www.politico.com/news/s…../5326.html
It’s time for Obama. Black, white, female, male, whatever. We just need someone who can lead with a good head on his or her shoulders. Hillary’s too invested in this Iraq mess to the point where she’s lying or in denial about her wrong vote for the war. Enough already. Iraq is a side show to the real war against bin Ladin and al Qaeda in Pakistan. We need a leader who can disengage in Iraq and focus us on Pakistan.
Richmond @ 80
That’s true, you have a point. I was just thinking back on some of the stories that I’ve read about how stubborn he has been in his life. There is that tennis story and the bicycle one. Just seemed to me he isn’t likely to back down most times. I suppose that if he can spin it so it doesn’t look bad he will change his course. Probably doesn’t happen much.
And on another note could we not draft those who earn under 350,000 a year, the poor and middle class already make up the bulk of the military, so in the name of fair and balanced service we might spare these children of the well off the burden of traveling the country helping their deluded parents dreams of political conquest.
Richmond @ 80
Aw heck, Richmond, donate $50 to Act Blue just so Pach doesn’t have to run over ALL the Blue Dogs in his Prius! Or did you mean you’d be donating $50 MORE? : )
I agree with you but why did Lutz say that – was he just yakking as most Repubics do or was it a trial balloon and did Bush know he was going to say that? What now?
Lute’s job is mainly to sit around and wait to get fired/blamed. Maybe he’s ready to just get it over with.
Um, hello – enough Dems already sold us out that the GOP doesn’t really need to run this kind of scam.
Pathetic.
jayt @ 85
Well, if he spoke out of turn I’ll bet he get un-czared really fast.
Laura Doty @ 84
*g* Prius! Is it a blue one?
JD21 @ 81
There is something ominous about this… hmmmm. Maybe the DOJ should take a look. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Seriously though, this is worrisome.. I can imagine the certificate mailings being closely targeted and used to intimidate elderly dems at the polls (or otherwise) re their party registration. I wonder if a suit (or attempt to obtain an injunction) might not be beneficial. Perhaps the parameters of the mailing could be discovered and counteracted. The republics would have a troupe of lawyers on this by now!
Richmond @ 88
He didn’t specify. We’ll have to ask (cf his Facebook).
My first thought when I read this story is it sounds alot like those sweepstakes letters that sucker the elderly into thinking they’ve won something but they have to buy a crappy product to get their prize.
Wait a minute, this is exactly like that, only instead of chintzy junk from China the crappy product is the GOP.
Laura Doty @ 64
Lieu-i Lute-i says we gotta go now?
(Miss you, Pun.)
Oh, I hope to heaven they send me one…. At one point George and Laura sent me a Christmas card thanking me for being such a staunch supporter. I laughed until I pulled a muscle and stuck it on my office door for everyone else’s amusement. I guess they got my name because from time to time I vote in the Repug primaries just to screw up the results….
Twain @ 87
AHH! THERE’S the little rift within the Lute (poor whipping boy) that by and by will make the music mute, and, ever widening silence all.
Apologies to Tennyson.
madmommy says
August 10th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Are you oddmommy’s angry sister?
Laura Doty @ 95
M’self, I think Cheney is playing him like a Lute.
SunnyNobility @ 90
There are no coincidences when it comes to Rove and this has his fingerprints all over it. Forget a lawsuit, impeach Gonzales the moment they back back in Sept. Anything less Rove considers as encouragement. Or start inherent contempt, good god it is way past time.
Grandma Millie @ 89
Well I would guess its time for a leader, I would like to think our pack of braking dogs are better than theirs, but after the last vote in congress I might find more faithfulness house lions and small dogs. I just don’t see the brains or the b*lls to do the job, but they get rich we get poor or dead. Please tell me its a cynical moment and it will pass.
OT – and apologies if this is old news:
*real* tough penalties in the TILLMAN case:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..ndly-fire/
noen @ 98
Well, that assumes that Abu Gonzales won’t resign during the recess and W then gets to make YET ANOTHER recess appointment…
jayt @ 100
that’s painful.
rubbing salt in the wound.
Personally I think Wes Clark is about the only one with his country at heart, his brains and leadership is the only hope. Too bad all those yearning for Gore didn’t give Clark all that wasted momentum.
The “I was just kidding” defense is a close cousin to the “Boy, was I drunk last night” defense. You know, the one you use when you’re the head of a nationwide Republican advocacy group and get caught trying to suck off another Repub while he’s asleep. “Wha…? Boy am I hung over, and what a weird dream I had …” [click of handcuffs]
But maybe that’s their only hope for electoral success. Find a way to get the entire electorate stinking drunk and fuck them over. As usual.
Marion in Savannah @ 101
Hmm, not much time to find an even bigger, even more incompetent asshole than Gonzo.
After all, Limbaugh’s making way too much money to take the pay cut.
Marion in Savannah @ 101
Well, that assumes that Abu Gonzales won’t resign during the recess and W then gets to make YET ANOTHER recess appointment…
Nope, sorry, I don’t believe it. Bush is as loyal as he is stubborn. And I thought the Dems were keeping a quorum so he couldn’t make any recess appointments? But even so, I can’t see him asking Fredo erm, I mean AG to resign.
Noen, are they keeping a quorum? I hadn’t heard, but oh, Lordy, how I hope they are.
jayt @ 100
I saw that, but Waxman ain’t done. We’ll see. If this stands it speaks to nothing other than cover-up.
When will we win at least one battle?
Nothing like Repub fiction writing. Especially their pundshits about how the world will end with the Democrats taking over the world.
Marion in Savannah @ 107
I don’t know, I thought that I heard/read Reid say he was going to but… who really knows any more? I haven’t seen anything at DKos about it, or perhaps I just missed it.
Elliott @ 102
Can Bush commute the reprimands?
Eli @ 111
If you are king, you can do anything and he DOES.
Marion in Savannah @ 107
No, they’re not. But my question is can they call a quorum in a heartbeat if need be?
Twain @ 112
he has no soul
Eli @ 111
Well, if the reprimands aren’t even going to be entered into the officers’ official records, I’m pretty sure they’re meaningless actions that are less than worthless.
Elliott @ 114
He gave it to the lord.
Hey Eli
Just a drive by to say hello, hope you’re doing good.
Loo Hoo. @ 113
Wouldn’t do any good. All Bush has to do is sign the order. Unless Reid has really good spies in the White House (fat chance!), they wouldn’t have enough advance notice to accomplish anything but look foolish.
You know what the best cure is for this fearmongering direct mail they are sending out?
The 50-State Strategy.
Every single Democrat across the country should know other Democrats in their district and be able to talk with them about the issues freely. Every elderly Democrat should be told by someone they’ve gotten to know and trust as a fellow Democrat that this kind of crap is utterly false, misleading, and a fraudulent attempt to obtain money through false pretenses.
The RNC — because of spec*al*sts in this field like Karl Rove and Richard Viguerie — use direct mail extensively, targeting the older voters heavily because they are most reliable voters. The direct mailers have extensive databases of info about YOU and everyone else around you, having purchased it from organizations like Choicepoint; they can identify who is a likely conservative voter based on their shopping habits. An older voter who has investment accounts and buys hunting magazines is a likely Republican, as is the soccer mom who gets religious publications. These folks will be sent direct mail that fits their situation; in the case of older voters, they’ll receive the kind of fearmongering crap cited in this post as they are easily gamed.
Make it a point to find out who your Democratic precinct delegate is; contact them and find out what they are doing to reach out to Democratic voters. And ask if you can help; if the precinct delegate doesn’t have a plan in place, make one of your own. Start by contacting your neighbors and see where they are on the issues, then develop a long term dialogue. And offer to help them get to the polls when the time comes.
We can stop this crap if we have the political will. Get your game on!!
~~~ModNote: Edited for content to clear filters.~~~
Eli @ 111
The president answered questions about accountability at his press conference yesterday. This is merely a supplement to his answer. Shorter supplemental response: “Fuck you.”
Twain @ 116
who was it yesterday asking
why wasn’t he born right he first time?
Eli @ 111
I think if he did that would be another issue that would alienate his base. Getting out of Iraq, health care and the Tillman case are issues that could really light a fire under a lot of people. We should be hammering the GOP on these day after day.
Can Bush commute the reprimands?
Possibly medals for helping the CIC prove his Universal “Mistakes Were Made” Theory?
Loo Hoo. @ 113
Wouldn’t it be too late then? Can’t Dumbya just up and declare an appointment willy-nilly? My fear is that Fredo may be so loyal that he’ll fall on the sword to make the bad press stop, and then Dim Son gets to put Lord-only-knows who into his position. (Hmmm… what’s Harriet doing these days…?)
Hiya, MM!
BigMitch @ 119
Interesting Presidential Trivia: Everything Bush says can be summarized as “Fuck you.”
The Tillman cover up is extensive and is infecting the Army now. There is a lot more to this.
Tillman’s direct superiors knew within hours of his April 2004 death in Afghanistan that the former football star had been killed by fellow Army Rangers, but the truth was kept from the public and Tillman’s family for five weeks-in direct violation of Army regulations.
“You should not consider this as an adverse action,” letters to the officers say. “This document will not be filed in any system of records maintained by the Army.”
Also, just one day after approving a medal citation claiming Tillman had been cut down by “devastating enemy fire” in Afghanistan, a high-ranking general tried to warn President Bush that the story might not be true.
The Army has not released a memorandum of concern issued to Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, Tillman’s battalion commander, for his handling of the punishment against the Rangers involved in the shooting of Tillman. Nor has the Army released names or disciplinary letters received by two other unnamed officers.
And, if it’s not in your 201 file, it never happened….
Re: T I L L M A N
As I recall the original story had them breaking up the platoon into two squads which was a fuck-up from the giddy-up. Not even a gig for that?
Eli: I hope you don’t mind but I thought this might interest someone:
From Blog the 5th:
PoliticsNJ is reporting that Assemblyman Mike Doherty is dropping his bid for the Republican nomination for the US Senate. From our very own Fifth District, the Warren County native had Representative Scott Garrett serving as his Exploratory Committee Co-Chair.
Ooh, Terror scare! Al Qaeda w/ nbc attack!!!
Breaking: Cheney controls Tim Russert!
CTuttle @ 129
al-Qaeda tried to kill Brian Williams?
TRex is upstairs with an evil plan
madmommy @ 92
Bingo!!
Last time I got a really trying letter from the GOP was in the early 80s, with a 8×10 glossy photo of Nancy Reagan in it and a request for contributions.
While I was moving a medical library from one point to another at that time an envelope of nudie photos fell out of a surgery textbook into my hands. I kept it, they were fairly modest, 50s nudes, nothing really objectonable. I put that envelope into my postage-paid envelope from the GOP and sent it back.
The NR photo was posted onto the dartboard in our basement and eventually disentegrated.
If I got the letter mentioned, I’d write Fuck you in red magic marker in it and mail it back.
I hate these people.
Dear Mod/Mods — thanks for the assist…and I knew better, forgot about that special word!!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 14
I wonder which one will be the first to finally say they have changed their mind and now they’re against the Iraq war. And, after that just how long it will take all the others to ‘reflect on the issue and come to the same conclusion’.
Their loyalty to Bush can’t last if they are to actually have a shot at getting elected.
Elliott @ 76
Who could have known there was a bus THAT big?
N=1 @ 8
As someone who served in Vietnam (thank God I never even came close to getting hurt, though I lost count of how many patrols I went on), The first job I was assigned to was protecting a hospital unit. I don’t know why, there wasn’t any danger from the ground, and we kept trying to get them to install some sort of cover for the doctors and nurses. I had one friend in particular, she was an officer, I was not, so we were breaking all kinds of rules just talking to each other as equals, but it started one night, when we got rocketed, and we all piled into the sand bag shelter (more specifically, the guards went inside the sandbagged tents where it was supposed to be pretty safe), and I noticed that she was crying. “What’s wrong, I asked. You have a reputation for being one of the toughest people around here?” Stupid me. “I’m 27 years old, and I’m scared, she said. I’m terrified. I don’t want to be one of those people lying in there on a gurney.” I reached over (I mean, it was Nam, what were they gonna do, send me home) and gave her a long hug. “I’m scared too, Julia,” I said, probably more scared than you are, but if we just concentrate on the hugh and forget about everything else, we’ll never see it coming if it does.” We got out of that one. We sat together (on purpose) through several other rocket attacks. “Why don’t you go home, I asked. You could get out.” “’cause I can’t leave these people, no matter how scared I am. They need me.”
One night, when we got in off a patrol, I noticed that all the hospital tents were down, and there were body bags laid out waiting for the choppers. Julia was among them. I wish she’d gone home. A war always kills the best people. I’m sure everyone else in that tent were “good people” too. They were all medical people. I went to the wall last year, and for the first time, I took my son, who is 18, and told him, read as many names as you can. They are all your aunts and uncles, because they were all my brothers and sisters. And I stopped, every time, as I do, at Julia’s name, and I think of a pretty, young, red-headed woman with a face full of frecles, who wouldn’t go home because her friends needed her. She did not give her life for her country. Even then, it wasn’t much of an idea. She gave her life for her fellow soldiers, as I’m sure this person you mentioned did, and I thought “we would have been nowhere without these young men and women. (not that the doctors were any slouches either), but Julia should have lived to come home. Cheer up, N=1. Your friend died doing what she believed in. We are all greatful, whether it was then, or now. Dry your tears. We all have work to do. If you want to feel a little better, read the Gettysburg address. Linclon had it right.
It would be interesting if a similar letter was sent out to Republican voters that said that they haven’t passed an “audit” for providing enough help in the “War Against Terror”.
“Our records show that you have not yet enlisted or encouraged a close relative to enlist in the Armed Services! We also have no records that you have voluntarily turned over your bank and phone records for review by the FBI. You have yet to make a $1000 Contribution to the Iraq National Redevelopment Fund. You haven’t reported any spurious activities by yor neighbors to the police, nor have you requested that your Congressman revoke all taxes on the nation’s energy producers. In lieu of that please remit $2400 to the 5 Republican Congressmen of your choice and an additional $10,000 to the RNC.”
Knowing a lot of lapsed Republicans in my area if they received a letter like this, they’d say…”DUES! I don’t want to pay no fricken dues. I’m not gonna pay up and I’m not gonna stay in this party any more if they start “auditing” me and hounding me for dues!”
And, thus, it seems to target a lot of “Reagan Republicans” who have no interest in giving the Party money NOW! There was a good reason their interest flagged after Bush-Pops, The Gingrinch who stole X’mas, and Bush-baby.
I can see them finding a Voter Registrar and changing their Registration to INDEPENDANT…or even…gasp!…DEMOCRAT.
The whole idea of the “Party” AUDITTING people even plays into the unpleasant mindset that Gonzo and the Pugs are out there checking into your bank accounts, political donations, etc. And who is this group of roaming “canvassers” that were out checking into your views on abortion, etc. If people don’t recall this group the implication is that the little snoopers were asking the neighbors?
Great job, RNC! Your begathon letter plays right into the points the progressives have been making all along about how the Republicans are the Party of the Police State.
cinnamonape @ 141, you read my mind. That solicitation letter was written with the fervor and flavor of a stern admonition. Who wouldn’t be offended. Folks on the fence about this Repug party’s leadership will bale “big time”
From their lips (fingers) to God’s ears.