The Incredible Shrinking Middle Class Tax Levels… So Which Is It Barack?

As I discussed before here

I think McCain says it all right here

During a rally in Hershey, Pa., McCain told supporters the gaffe revealed the Democrats’ true tax-and-spend intentions.

“It’s interesting how their definition of ‘rich’ has a way of creeping down,” McCain said.

“Senator Obama has made a lot of promises. First, he said people making less than $250,000 would benefit from his plan.

“Then, this weekend, he announced in an ad that if you’re a family making less than $200,000 you’ll benefit – but yesterday right here in Pennsylvania, Senator Biden said tax relief should only go to ‘middle-class people’ – people making under $150,000 a year.

“At this rate, it won’t be long before Senator Obama is right back to his vote that Americans making just $42,000 a year should get a tax increase.

Then there is the Wall Street Journal’s take on the situation…

Well, will families making less than $250,000 get a tax cut under President Obama, or not? Senator Obama has been saying this for months, but on Monday Joe Biden put the tax-cut income threshold at $150,000 in an interview with a TV station in his beloved Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Biden campaign later clarified — or at least tried to clarify — the matter by saying that anyone making between $150,000 and $250,000 wouldn’t get a tax cut but also wouldn’t pay higher taxes.

We suspect what’s going on here is more than Mr. Biden’s normal gift of gaffe. As with his admission that a President Obama would quickly be tested by our enemies, the Delaware rambler was stumbling into the truth. An Obama Administration couldn’t possibly pay for a tax cut for 95% of Americans by raising taxes on a mere 5%. Those 5% don’t make enough money, or at least they won’t after they find ways to shelter more of their income when their tax rates rise.

Just as Bill Clinton promised a “middle-class tax cut” in 1992 only to raise taxes on the middle class in 1993, Mr. Obama will quickly find that his tax-revenue math doesn’t add up. Add in the demands on Capitol Hill to spend more and to offset the Alternative Minimum Tax, and our bet is that even $150,000 would soon prove to be a moving tax target. Remember when the AMT was only supposed to hit 21 millionaires? Next year, without relief, it could hit 26 million taxpayers. Tax increases always hit the middle class because that’s where the money is.

Add this slip up to the reality of the tax plan explained here where the author explains 4 different ways that the Obama tax plan will result in higher taxes for everyone making $50,000 a year… and I am none too thrilled, not only with the tax plan but the continued lies and the pass on the lies the media gives him.

As McCain has said repeatedly… Obama is very eloquent, he will lull you into a sense of security with his beautiful words, but to get the real meaning, you have to listen to what he says very carefully.

Now, Bill Richardson has pegged the number at $120k…

FoxNews

For the second time in a week, a prominent Democrat has downgraded Barack Obama’s definition of the middle class — leading Republicans to question whether he’ll stick to his promise not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000.

The latest hiccup in the campaign message came Friday morning on KOA-AM, when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pegged the middle class as those making $120,000 and under.

Click here to listen to Richardson talk about Obama’s tax plan.

“What Obama wants to do is he is basically looking at $120,000 and under among those that are in the middle class, and there is a tax cut for those,” Richardson said in the interview, according to a clip posted on YouTube.

So which is it?

13 Obama Staffers Busted Illegally Registering And Voting In Ohio

NY Post

Thirteen campaign workers for Barack Obama yesterday yanked their voter registrations and ballots in Ohio after being warned by a prosecutor that temporary residents can’t vote in the battleground state.

A dozen staffers – including Obama Ohio spokeswoman Olivia Alair and James Cadogan, who recently joined Team Obama – signed a form letter asking the Franklin County elections board to pull their names from the rolls.

The letter – a copy of which was obtained by palestra.net, a Fox News affiliate – came a day after prosecutor Ron O’Brien publicly urged out-of-state campaign workers for both Obama and John McCain to “examine your conscience” before the elections board beings begins opening absentee ballots today.

Earlier in the week, O’Brien spoke with lawyers for both camps and urged them to make sure their staffs met permanent-residency rules, or face possible felony charges.

Also pulling his ballot yesterday was Hofstra University grad Jake Smith, an Obama volunteer who had voted in Knox County, Ohio.

On Thursday, O’Brien cut a deal with 13 out-of-staters, including four from New York, who tossed out their already-cast ballots and admitted they didn’t meet residency requirements.

Yeah, right, no fraud my ass.

Ayers Dedicated Book To RFK Assassin Sirhan Sirhan

Well, I guess Ted Kennedy is probably not going to like this one very much, but it turns out that one of Obama’s buddies for over a decade…  a man who babysat his children, a man in whose living room he launched his political career, a man with whom he worked with at two different foundations, and a man with whom he has shared many speaking engagements with…

This man, this friend of Obama’s, wrote a book called Prairie Fire.  In the introduction, he dedicates the book “To All That Continue To Fight And All The Political Prisoners In The US.”

That’s fine, except for one of the men named was Sirhan Sirhan…  the man that assassinated Robert Kennedy.

For Links To The Rest of The Story and Links To Screencaps, Please Visit This Post At My New Blog

If Iraqis Could Vote, It Would Be For McCain

AFP

For five years Ali and Mohammed have lived alongside US soldiers in their Baghdad neighbourhood near Rasheed Street, a prominent commercial artery running through the heart of the Iraqi capital.

During that time American culture and politics have become familiar to them, and they say that if they could, they would vote for Republican candidate John McCain in next week’s US presidential election.

“McCain would be best for Iraq because he would ensure stability,” said Ali, 66, an expert on the Sumerian era.

The personal qualities and political platforms of McCain and his Democrat rival Barack Obama are of little import to Ali, however. His focus is on Iraq and its neighbours such as Iran.

“The Iranians believe that if Obama is elected he will not take action against them despite their nuclear ambitions. That worries me,” said Ali, sitting on an old bench in Al-Zahawi coffee shop.

“If the Iranians get the bomb they will become the Tarzan of the region,” said the former teacher and lecturer at the University of Baghdad, referring to the vine-swinging strongman of the jungle in old Hollywood movies.

Mohammed, also a professor at the university, said he too preferred McCain “because Obama supports a rapid withdrawal of US troops.”

“Our army is still too weak and Turkey and Iran are threats. Iran’s President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad has warned Iran would fill the void left when US troops depart,” he said.

~SNIP~

Today, a few hundred metres (yards) from Al-Zahawi coffee shop, is the famous Al-Mutnabi books market, the only place where Baghdadis can find English books and magazines….

Barack Obama’s image peers out between two editions of “Vanity Fair” magazine kept next to the memoirs of former US president Bill Clinton.

But “The Audacity of Hope,” one of Obama’s books, has yet to find a buyer.

“I have no customer for this book….”

~SNIP~

“I trust the Republicans more. They’re more capable of establishing democracy in the world, especially in Arab countries,” said the 33-year-old. “Obama is far too left.” 

Iran Threatens To Attack The US! And Obama Would Make It Worse!!!

As a person that lived through the Iranian Revolution, I can tell you that Iran has been a problem for the United States since the gross mismanagement of Middle East policy by President Carter and the subsequent religious revolution in the country. The naive manner in which Carter approached people like Ayatolla Khomeni was dangerous, and blew up in the face of the United States.

Obama is every bit as naive, and the Middle East is a much more dangerous place today than it was in 1979.

In the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, the 80′s were dotted with Iranian sponsored terrorist incidents, most notably plane hijackings, and Iran was engaged in a fierce war with the US supported Iraq. By the end of the 80′s, Iran grew tired of the 8 year war, the economy was lagging, and people wanted an end to the violence.  A ceasefire with Iraq was signed in 1988.

During the 1990′s, Iran took a step back, especially as George Bush Sr. attacked Iraq, their mortal enemy. There were hints of moderation peeking through and possibilities for re-engagement were beginning to brighten during the Clinton years, but all these hopes were dashed against the rocks when the Supreme Council removed all the moderates from the ballot during the 2005 election. It was this year that Mahmūd Ahmadinejād was installed as President.

His nationalistic and religious rhetoric has fired up the base in Iran. The days of moderation and hopes for re-engagement are long gone and Iran continues to grow more hardline. Recently, a man named Ali Larijani has been named Parlimentary Speaker. He was the secretary of Iran’s national security council and chief nuclear negotiator prior to his new appointment.

Larijani stepped up the rhetoic in his most recent speech, explicitly threatening terrorist and suicide bomb attacks against the United States:

From The Jerusalem Post

Only a few days ahead of the American presidential election, Iranian parliamentary speaker ‘Ali Larijani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah ‘Ali Khamanai have launched harsh verbal attacks against the United States.

“The US method and conduct, expressed by this aggression, will only be stopped by a clear-cut and unexpected response, whose grounds were set by the martyr Hussein Fahmida,” Larijani said during a parliamentary session on Wednesday.

Fahmida was 13 when he detonated an explosive device he carried on him, destroying an Iraqi tank during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

As one of the architects of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and, because he is an Ahmadinejad appointee, this man is very likely to share the same religious beliefs that they are meant to bring about the end of the world, I take these statements very seriously. These are not people that joke around about things like this. This is a serious threat.

It is very likely that Jospeh Biden predicted just such a scenario when he said, “Mark my words,” the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy…. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.” and “Gird your loins,”

Madeline Albright agreed with Biden’s assessment and said, “it is a “statement of fact” that the election of the Democratic senator from Illinois as president will result in him being tested by a generated international crisis by America’s enemies.”

And recently, the French President explained why this is very relevant to our relations with Iran in the light of a possible Obama presidency when he said that “the Democratic candidate’s stance on Iran as ‘utterly immature’ and comprised of ‘formulations empty of all content.’”  and that  “Until now, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have tried to maintain a united front on Iran. But according to the senior Israeli source, Sarkozy fears that Obama might ‘arrogantly’ ignore the other members of this front and open a direct dialogue with Iran without preconditions.”

This is a dire and immediate problem because in that same article it is reported that, in addition to the threats of suicide bombing, French intelligence has concluded that Iran has already obtained up to 40% of the enriched uranium it needs for a bomb, the newspaper reports, and will have obtained the rest next summer.

The reaction of an Obama presidency is a worry as well because it is bound to be completely unpredictable.  Not only is the direct dialogue an issue because it gives a direct platform for Ahmadenijad to grand stand in the face of the President of the “Great Satan” but the subsequent decision making is suspect. 

As Joseph Biden, the Vice Presidential nominee, so eloquently explained that the American people are not going to like the decisions being made and that “there are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don’t know about that decision.”  Apparently, as we find with Sarkozy’s comments, neither are foreign leaders, and we all know the super position the last President put us in when he did things that both the international community and the American people hated.

It turns out that even the Iraqi experts agree that Obama would make the situation with Iran much worse.  Professor Ali from the University of Baghdad and an expert on the Sumerian region said that “the Iranians believe that if Obama is elected he will not take action against them despite their nuclear ambitions. That worries me…  If the Iranians get the bomb they will become the Tarzan of the region….”  And there are many more Iraqi experts saying the same thing.

So who do we want running this country and dealing with the very real threat that Iran is posing as they rattle their sabres?

The young and untested President who, as his running mate conceeds, will invite violent attacks and even the French think is completely inadequate and arrogant when it comes to foreign policy?

or

A tried and true experience President that knows what war is like, understands strategic and tactical military planning and has worked in foreign policy and diplomatic realm for decades?

Mr. Obama, I regret to inform you of my decision.  No Deal.  Country First.

Former ACORN Employee Testifies: We Were Given Donor Lists By Obama Campaign

From PittLive

A former staffer for an affiliate of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now testified today that the organization was provided a “donor list” from the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in late 2007 for fundraising efforts.

Anita Moncrief, a former Washington, D.C. staffer for Project Vote, which she described as a sister organization of ACORN, said her supervisor told her the list of campaign contributors came from the Obama campaign. Moncrief said she has a copy of a “development plan” that outlines how Obama contributors who had “maxed out” under federal contribution limits would be targeted to give to Project Vote, and that it was her job to identify such contributors.

So…  Obama claims to have “no ties” to ACORN, and yet we find out that Obama used to work for them, has spoken at ACORN meetings, represented them as an attorney in two court cases, paid them $830,000 for get out the vote projects…  AND is providing them with potential donor lists?

To quote Shakespeare, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

 

*Thanks to Bluemorning for finding this tidbit for me!*

Obama Is Accepting Untraceable Donations! Potential For Fraud HUGE!!!

As the investigation into the outlandish numbers that Obama has been reporting as fundraising each month continues, more and more inconsistencies arise.

The Washington Post’s newest investigation has discovered that the Obama campaign is accepting competely untraceable money over the internet…  how you might ask? 

VISA/Mastercard Pre-paid gift cards.

WaPo

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity, campaign officials confirmed.

Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has also chosen not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides acknowledged….

In recent weeks, questionable contributions have created headaches for Obama’s accounting team as it has tried to explain why campaign finance filings have included itemized donations from individuals using fake names, such as Es Esh or Doodad Pro. Those revelations prompted conservative bloggers to further test Obama’s finance vetting by giving money using the kind of prepaid cards that can be bought at a drugstore and cannot be traced to a donor.

The problem with such cards, campaign finance lawyers said, is that they make it impossible to tell whether foreign nationals, donors who have exceeded the limits, government contractors or others who are barred from giving to a federal campaign are making contributions.

The Obama team’s disclosures came in response to questions from The Washington Post about the case of Mary T. Biskup, a retired insurance manager from Manchester, Mo., who turned up on Obama’s FEC reports as having donated $174,800 to the campaign. Contributors are limited to giving $2,300 for the general election.

Biskup, who had scores of Obama contributions attributed to her, said in an interview that she never donated to the candidate. “That’s an error,” she said. Moreover, she added, her credit card was never billed for the donations, meaning someone appropriated her name and made the contributions with another card.

When asked whether the campaign takes steps to verify whether a donor’s name matches the name on the credit card used to make a payment, Obama’s campaign replied in an e-mail: “Name-matching is not a standard check conducted or made available in the credit card processing industry. We believe Visa and MasterCard do not even have the ability to do this…..”

First things first…  lets get to the absolute bold faced LIE that the Obama camp puts forth as an excuse…. 

“Name-matching is not a standard check conducted or made available in the credit card processing industry. We believe Visa and MasterCard do not even have the ability to do this…..”

As a former retailer, I can tell you that this is the biggest crock of crap ever and is patently false.  These people have to know that this is a lie.  There is no way they could not.

Credit card companies routinely have a set of security processes for situations called CNP or “Card Not Present.”  This is STANDARD practice for just about every online retailer I have ever heard of…  especially in the last 10 years with the rise of internet sales.

When you enter in your credit card information, the form also asks for your name and billing address.  The reason why it asks for these things is that the computer verifies this information with the credit card company when authorizing your card.  If there is a discrepancy, like an incorrect zip code, your card is denied instantly.

Once again, this is more than standard, it’s a fundamental rule of doing business online…  online retail 101 type stuff.  There is NO WAY they do not know this.  They would have intentionally set up the computer system to bypass the additional security precaution.  Yes, it would have had to been INTENTIONAL not to check.

Second, it is ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING that the Obama campaign is accepting pre-paid gift cards…  outrageous actually! 

These cards are totally untraceable because they are not tied to any names or addresses.  You can buy them for cash at the grocery store.  There is no way to tell who is donating and how much they are donating…  even with the Obama campaign’s “vigorous” back end checks.

This only adds to my “bullshit” call on Obama’s $150 Million in fundraising for September. 

As I have discussed previously, Obama claims that the reason for his massive fund raising is because of millions of different people have been making small donations, and yet we are finding out now that there are HUGE irregularities in Obama’s fundraising with ficticious donors making multiple donations, donors from other countries, and a tremendous amount of unnamed donors.

Until recently, the Obama campaign did not even have a self-verification process for people to go through to donate on the website to alert potential donors that they had to be US citizens and that there was a limit of $2300.  There was even a dropdown menu feature to choose a country that contained every single country in the United Nations as an option!

McCain on the other hand has every donor to his campaign in public record, even the small donors he doesnt have to disclose.  In addition, if you are overseas, you have to fax in a copy of your passport to the McCain campaign to prove that you are eligible to donate.  Hillary Clinton also included this security feature to prevent illegal campaign contributions.

The Obama camp now has a box you check to “verify” that you are a US citizen…  that is the check against foreigners donating to the campaign…  (You must be a US citizen to donate to a campaign.)

The prepaid cards make it absolutely impossible to verify anything…  name, address, citizenship, location…  ANYTHING.  They are totally and completely untraceable.

It is totally inappropriate and unethical for the Obama campaign to accept these cards.

More than that…  it is just wrong.

Update:  From Mike, one of my readers…  details on Obama’s credit card processor.

Chase Paymentech is the processor for the Obama Campaign. The Democratic Party works with a fundraising company Auburn Quad. You can go to the Democratic Pac ACT Blue, which sets up the fund raising websites for Democratic Candidates.
Democratic Congressmen. http://www.actblue.com/faq

Chase Paymentech has the most advanced card not present payment system, the Salem Platform, in the country. One of the reasons it is such a good platform is because of its security. Not only can they match names, but they can match addresses as well. They can stop multiple transactions within a given period of time. The Democrats have turned it all off.

Chase Paymentech is culpable because they should police their merchant’s sites for compliance issues, especially for the large sites that processes huge volumes of transactions.

If you would like to express your displeasure with Chase Paymentech, Corporate headquarters

Texas
14221 Dallas Parkway, Building Two
Dallas, TX 75254
800-824-4313

Chase Paymentech
Michael P. Duffy, President and CEO
Dan Charron, Executive Vice President, Client Services
Diane Donoghue, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Retail Network Services
Shane Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, European Union
Roger C. Hart, Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Sam Jawad, President, Chase Paymentech Solutions, Canada
Keith L. Kennedy, Executive Vice President, Strategy; General Manager, Multi-Channel Platform
Greg Schaub, Executive Vice President, Business Development

http://www.chasepaymentech.com

Does Anyone Else Find This Very Weird And Unsettling???

On Obama’s Website, there is a page called “The Talk.” 

It is a guide for children to talk to their parents about who they are voting for, and it has this weird pseudo-religious “talk to your kids about drugs” type feel to it, but in reverse…

Here is what the page contains…

Are you sure if your parents are voting for Obama?

If not, you may be the only person who can convince them. If you haven’t already, it’s time for you to have “The Talk” with your parents and other family members.

And tell all your friends to do the same!

Ideas to Get the Conversation Started

Approaching your parents about who they are voting for can be intimidating if you’ve never talked about politics with them before. But this campaign has been built by supporters sharing their stories about what inspires them and why they want to see change in this country. Here are some ideas for ways you can talk to your parents about why you support Barack:

• Call or ask in person if they saw the debate and what they thought about it. Tell them why you are voting for Obama and why it’s important to you.
• Print out for them information on some issues you know are important.
• Share Barack’s speech from the Democratic National Convention or Meet Barack, a video about who Barack Obama is, where he comes from, and what his values are.
• Email them and tell them why it’s important to you that they vote for Obama.

Think about their perspective. If they are Republican, or are concerned about Barack’s policies, think about where they are coming from and what makes them think the way that they do.

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do share your personal reasons for voting for Barack Obama;
• Do have confidence — your opinion matters to people who care about you;
• Do read up on Barack’s positions on the issues you know matter to them;
• Do find a good time when both you and they will be open to a conversation;
• Do talk to them in person if you live nearby, or on the phone if you don’t;
• Do ask your friends to talk to their parents and grandparents as well;

• Don’t worry about knowing everything about policy positions before you have this conversation; <!–
• Don’t forget to forward them articles;

–>

• Don’t feel defensive. Stay calm, cool and collected;
• Don’t wait until the last minute — it might take a few conversations for you to convince them, so start as early as possible;
• Don’t catch them at a bad time — make sure you have their attention and enough time to have a conversation.

What do you think about this…  is this really cultish and weird or is it just me?

So… Which Is It? $250k, $200k or $150k?

I think McCain says it all right here

During a rally in Hershey, Pa., McCain told supporters the gaffe revealed the Democrats’ true tax-and-spend intentions.

“It’s interesting how their definition of ‘rich’ has a way of creeping down,” McCain said.

“Senator Obama has made a lot of promises. First, he said people making less than $250,000 would benefit from his plan.

“Then, this weekend, he announced in an ad that if you’re a family making less than $200,000 you’ll benefit – but yesterday right here in Pennsylvania, Senator Biden said tax relief should only go to ‘middle-class people’ – people making under $150,000 a year.

“At this rate, it won’t be long before Senator Obama is right back to his vote that Americans making just $42,000 a year should get a tax increase.

Then there is the Wall Street Journal’s take on the situation…

Well, will families making less than $250,000 get a tax cut under President Obama, or not? Senator Obama has been saying this for months, but on Monday Joe Biden put the tax-cut income threshold at $150,000 in an interview with a TV station in his beloved Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Biden campaign later clarified — or at least tried to clarify — the matter by saying that anyone making between $150,000 and $250,000 wouldn’t get a tax cut but also wouldn’t pay higher taxes.

We suspect what’s going on here is more than Mr. Biden’s normal gift of gaffe. As with his admission that a President Obama would quickly be tested by our enemies, the Delaware rambler was stumbling into the truth. An Obama Administration couldn’t possibly pay for a tax cut for 95% of Americans by raising taxes on a mere 5%. Those 5% don’t make enough money, or at least they won’t after they find ways to shelter more of their income when their tax rates rise.

Just as Bill Clinton promised a “middle-class tax cut” in 1992 only to raise taxes on the middle class in 1993, Mr. Obama will quickly find that his tax-revenue math doesn’t add up. Add in the demands on Capitol Hill to spend more and to offset the Alternative Minimum Tax, and our bet is that even $150,000 would soon prove to be a moving tax target. Remember when the AMT was only supposed to hit 21 millionaires? Next year, without relief, it could hit 26 million taxpayers. Tax increases always hit the middle class because that’s where the money is.

Add this slip up to the reality of the tax plan explained here where the author explains 4 different ways that the Obama tax plan will result in higher taxes for everyone making $50,000 a year…  and I am none too thrilled, not only with the tax plan but the continued lies and the pass on the lies the media gives him.

As McCain has said repeatedly…  Obama is very eloquent, he will lull you into a sense of security with his beautiful words, but to get the real meaning, you have to listen to what he says very carefully.

ACORN Is A Deadbeat Tax Payer – Owes $3.7 Million In Back Taxes

Ok, so let me get this straight…

-This organization is tied to the SDS, a parent organization to the Weather Underground

-The founder is a friend/peer of William Ayers

-They are under investigation in well over a dozen states for voter registration fraud

-The founder/CEO’s brother imbezzled over $1 million

-And now we find out that they owe millions in back taxes…

And so why are the Democrats still giving this organization tax payer money?

Guest Blogger CT: Be Careful When Puma-ing, You Might Get More Than You Bargained For

Note From Texas Hill Country – CT is a blogger and a dedicated Conservative Republican.  This is the story about how (s)he came to know the PUMA movement and subsequent impressions.  I found this very interesting, wonderfully written and asked if I could cross-post the article here.  CT was kind enough to allow me to do so, and here you go…

From Politics and Critical Thinking

A few days ago one of the contributors on Conservative Badlands did a piece called the PUMA Factor, it was a look at how this block of voters might be one of the groups to decide the Presidential election in 08’. It made me realize that I didn’t know much about their movement or philosophies, other than the obvious. PUMA means Party Unity My Ass and they were angry because HRC got lambasted in the primaries and there was a SERIOUS possibility of caucus manipulation. So, I had an out of the ordinary idea, I figured go into their virtual community and ask them if anyone would be interested in answering a few questions for this post. Well I got some takers.

Most of the PUMA’s that answered the call of the wild in my open thread were female but the composite of their whole movement, I imagine, is a little harder to determine. One very pleasant and intelligent woman, who goes by the SN, Angrynana said this, “Also, there is a mistake in thinking all Pumas and Puma types are older, white women. There are men, people of many religions, all races, gays and lesbians, young, middle-aged, and older Pumas. There are groups from the West and the East. There are Native American Pumas and African American Pumas.” I can honestly say I believe this assessment. Since there were about 18 million people who voted for Hillary in the primaries and the Democratic Party is noted for its pluralism, it makes sense they are a very diverse lot.

What I was more curious about was what brought them to this point and what were they going to do after the election. Their responses ranged from moving to the GOP, going Independent, to retaking the Democratic Party. Judging the answers, Ereizindian sums the majority of their thoughts up well, “If the Dem leadership continues to deprecate its members who were slandered and vilified in the primaries and GE, I shall become an Indie, possibly on my way to becoming a Republican.” This is not to say all of sudden they identify with the Republican or Conservative movement. For them, however, it will be a near strategic impossibility to retake the Democratic Party. It has slid too far into an abyss of identity politics and viral cult worship, it is no longer about issues, it is about one man.

Despite their obvious visceral anger towards the Democratic Party establishment a single theme reigned supreme in the great majority of their posts and emails. Helen put it best, “IT IS COUNTRY AND PRINCIPLES BEFORE PARTY.” I was absolutely, jaw droppingly, astounded to hear a Hillary supporting Democrat in Exile say this. These responses gave me the insight to look at them as I have never looked at a political opponent before, I saw Americans who care about their country. This got me thinking, who am I to judge whether they can love their country just because they are Democrats. Neither Republicans nor Conservatives have the copyright or moniker on patriotism. After all aren’t PUMA’s demonstrating this by standing by our sides?

They have become apostates to their party but not their country, that speaks volumes to me. PUMA’s have recognized that this is about America, not a singular person. They also understand this has nothing to do with the sweeping change and one man, little m, cannnot shoulder this all by his lonesome. That goal is far too lofty and enchanting to be anywhere near reality. Truth be told, he is neither Atlas nor Prometheus, even if he thinks he is.

In closing I would like to thank all of the ladies and gentlemen who so graciously accepted my invite to participate in this undertaking, I hope I did you justice. Sometimes we get reminders of things from unexpected sources and that is what the PUMA’s did for me. My suggestion to Republicans and Conservatives, alike, try and understand them. Politically we may need them as much as they need us, we are rapidly becoming a house that is acquiring vacancies and they may need a home. More importantly, they are Americans who love their country enough to look past partisan lines. That, my friends, is the miracle of being an American first.

-CT

“Happy Hunting!”

Pic cred to The Confluence, I violated some internet copyright laws by snagging them. Hopefully in the spirit of the post they won’t mind.

Obama, Clinton and Edwards Speech Writer Leaving Democratic Party, Give Props To McCain

Excepts of the Article from The Daily Beast

Since I started writing speeches more than ten years ago, I have always believed in the Democratic Party. Not anymore. Not after the election of 2008. This transformation has been swift and complete and since I’m a woman writing in the election of 2008, “very emotional.”

See campaigns get complicated when you’ve written for so many Democrats. Not only had I written for Senator Edwards, but I had also been Senator Hillary Clinton’s speechwriter. Senator Joe Biden is a “good looking” man and his care after my father almost died from an aneurysm is the kind of kindness you never forget. When I saw Edwards at a traffic light in D.C. about a year after our meeting, he asked for help and I did and it was an honor to help him with his concession speech. And when the primary ended, it was a privilege to help Michelle Obama with a stump speech, be considered as a speechwriter for the V.P. nominee again, and send friends in Chicago ideas until the financial crisis hit. This is what the Democratic Party has been for me; it’s family. Now, it doesn’t even feel like a distant cousin.

This drift started on a personal level with the fall of former Senator John Edwards. It got stronger during the Democratic National Convention when I counted the substantive mentions of poverty on one hand and a whole bunch of bad canned partisan lines against Senator John McCain. Some faith was lifted after Senator Hillary Clinton’s grace during a difficult hour. But that faith was dashed when I saw that someone had raided the Caligula set and planted the old columns at Invesco Field.

The final straw came the other week when Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (a.k.a Joe the Plumber) asked a question about higher taxes for small businesses. Instead of celebrating his aspirations, they were mocked. He wasn’t “a real plumber,” and “They’re fighting for Joe the Hedge-Fund manager,” and the patronizing, “I’ve got nothing but love for Joe the Plumber.”

“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party left me.”

The party I believed in wouldn’t look down on working people under any circumstance. And Joe the Plumber is right. This is the absolutely worst time to raise taxes on anyone: the rich, the middle class, the poor, small businesses and corporations.

Governor Palin and I don’t agree on a lot of things, mostly social issues. But I have grown to appreciate the Governor. I was one of those initial skeptics and would laugh at the pictures. Not anymore. When someone takes on a corrupt political machine and a sitting governor, that is not done by someone with a low I.Q. or a moral core made of tissue paper. When someone fights her way to get scholarships and work her way through college even in a jagged line, that shows determination and humility you can’t learn from reading Reinhold Niebuhr. When a mother brings her son with special needs onto the national stage with love, honesty, and pride, that gives hope to families like mine as my older brother lives with a mental disability. And when someone can sit on a stage during the Sarah Palin rap on Saturday Night Live, put her hands in the air and watch someone in a moose costume get shot—that’s a sign of both humor and humanity.

I can no longer justify what this party has done and can’t dismiss the treatment of women and working people as just part of the new kind of politics. It’s wrong and someone has to say that. And also say that the Democratic Party’s talking points—that Senator John McCain is just four more years of the same and that he’s President Bush—are now just hooker lines that fit a very effective and perhaps wave-winning political argument…doesn’t mean they’re true. After all, he is the only one who’s worked in a bipartisan way on big challenges.

Please go to the article and read the whole thing.  It is a wonderful insider’s view of the party.

I would love to see some more elaboration on a few points, especially about the manufactured inanity of the narrative on Palin and the intentionality of it, but I guess that will have to wait for her next installment.

Guest Blogger: Grail Guardian “I Want More Than Your Vote, I Want Your Mind”

From Insight Analytical

I want, no make that need, you to join me in supporting a critical nationwide movement. This Wednesday, October 29, 2008, Senator Barack Obama has purchased half-hour blocks of programming on NBC, CBS, and Fox News Channel. His intent, I firmly believe, is to use Neuro Associative Conditioning (NAC) and Ericksonian Hypnosis to subconsciously influence millions of voters to “pull the lever” for him on November 4^th whether they want to or not. We must do everything possible to stop the American public from watching.

As GRL pointed out last Sunday in the The Past Week roundup for October 12-18, there is substantial evidence (pdf file) that Obama is using hypnosis techniques to win supporters any way he can. Please take the time to read at least the majority of the linked pdf file; I know it is extremely long, but it is important and explains in great detail what I cannot in this limited space. After you read it, forward it to all of your friends. I don’t care if they are McCain die-hards, PUMAs, or part of the Oborg. Everyone needs to read this information, and while I know it sounds somewhat over the top, I hope to convince you why this is so important.

So let’s talk a bit about Neuro Associative Conditioning (NAC). Many years ago, in my youth, I was a student of one Anthony J. Robbins. Robbins. There have been rumors on the web for months that Senator Obama is a protégé of Robbins. For those of you that have somehow managed to avoid his influence, is a world-renowned master of psychological operations (Psy-Ops) in the form of Ericksonian hypnosis, NLP, and his own form of this, which he calls NAC. He is a trainer of athletes, movie stars, businessmen, and politicians. Tony is best known for his famous Fire Walking seminars, where he used to teach ordinary people to walk across 2,000+ degree coals in their bare feet. His methods are quite powerful; I have done it twice myself, and have seen literally hundreds of others do the same. Robbins twist on NLP (see pdf file for a description of NLP) is what he calls Anchoring. This involves using a physical unique gesture to link to the feelings you create using NLP and hypnosis. Robbins teaches that you can use anchoring to link the feeling of calm, centered energy and power you feel just before Fire Walking so you can access them at will simply by repeating your unique gesture. Or in Obama’s case, you can link the anchor to the subconscious message you’ve imbedded in your subject’s mind using Ericksonian hypnosis. The pdf file goes into great detail about how this is done, but for simplicity’s sake, all you need to know is Obama’s main unique gesture is this (look at his right hand):

So why, you might ask, is this seemingly innocent hand gesture so important in Obama’s quest to seize control of our nation?

For the answer and the rest of the article, click HERE

Gallup: McCain Gains Ground – Obama +2

Gallup

The gap between Barack Obama and John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Saturday through Monday has narrowed slightly, and Obama is now at 49% of the vote to 47% for McCain among likely voters using Gallup’s traditional model….

The two percentage point margin for Obama over McCain in today’s traditional likely voters result, based on Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 25-27, is not the first time the race has been this close; it matches the two-point Obama margin that held for three straight reporting periods spanning Oct. 13 -17, a week and a half ago. The traditional model assumes that turnout will follow the patterns of past elections, in which both current interest in the election and past voting behavior are predictors of actual voting.

McCain Demands Copy Of Tape LA Times Is Suppressing – Obama At Anti-Israel Bash

Politico

John McCain’s campaign is demanding that the Los Angeles Times release a video of a party for a prominent Palestinian activist that Barack Obama attended in 2003.

The Times described the going-away party for former University of Chicago professor, and Obama friend, Rashid Khalidi, in a story in April. The story reported that Palestinians thought they might have a friend in Obama because of his friendships in that community, despite the fact that his positions have never been particularly pro-Palestinian.

“A major news organization is intentionally suppressing information that could provide a clearer link between Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi,” said McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb, citing Obama’s friendship with Khalidi, who is now a professor at Columbia University.

He said the video could, among other things, show how Obama responded to a poem recited at the party accusing Israel of “terrorism” and warning of consequences for U.S. support for Israel, which Goldfarb described as “hate speech.”

“The election is one week away, and it’s unfortunate that the press so obviously favors Barack Obama that this campaign must publicly request that the Los Angeles Times do its job — make information public,” he said.

The Best Article On Palin I Have Read So Far… By A Female Democrat No Less.

If you do nothing else today…  read this article.  It is entitled “Sarah Palin Is A Braniac“

Below is a snippet…  but just a snippet of it’s goodness, so read the whole thing.

The Daily Beast

It’s difficult not to froth when one reads, as I did again and again this week, doubts about Sarah Palin’s “intelligence,” coming especially from women such as PBS’s Bonnie Erbe, who, as near as I recall, has not herself heretofore been burdened with the Susan Sontag of Journalism moniker. As Fred Barnes—God help me, I’m agreeing with Fred Barnes—suggests in the Weekly Standard, these high toned and authoritative dismissals come from people who have never met or spoken with Sarah Palin. Those who know her, love her or hate her, offer no such criticism. They know what I know, and I learned it from spending just a little time traveling on the cramped campaign plane this week: Sarah Palin is very smart.

I’m a Democrat, but I’ve worked as a consultant with the McCain campaign since shortly after Palin’s nomination. Last week, there was the thought that as a former editor-in-chief of Ms. magazine as well as a feminist activist in my pre-journalism days, I might be helpful in contributing to a speech that Palin had long wanted to give on women’s rights.

Now by “smart,” I don’t refer to a person who is wily or calculating or nimble in the way of certain talented athletes who we admire but suspect don’t really have serious brains in their skulls. I mean, instead, a mind that is thoughtful, curious, with a discernable pattern of associative thinking and insight. Palin asks questions, and probes linkages and logic that bring to mind a quirky law professor I once had. Palin is more than a “quick study”; I’d heard rumors around the campaign of her photographic memory and, frankly, I watched it in action. She sees. She processes. She questions, and only then, she acts. What is often called her “confidence” is actually a rarity in national politics: I saw a woman who knows exactly who she is.

 

For all those old enough to remember Senator Sam Ervin, the brilliant strict constitutional constructionist and chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee whose patois included “I’m just a country lawyer”…Yup, Palin is that smart.

So no simple task then, this speech on women’s rights. For the sin of being a Christian personally opposed to abortion, Palin is being pilloried by the inside-the-Beltway Democrat feminist establishment. (Yes, she is anti-abortion. And yes, instead of buying organic New Zealand lamb at Whole Foods, she joins other Alaskans in hunting for food. That’s it. She is not a right-wing nut, and all the rest of the Internet drivel—the book banning at the Library, the rape kits decision—is nonsense. I digress.) Palin’s role in this campaign was to energize “the Republican base,” which she has inarguably done. She also was expected to reach out to Hillary Clinton “moderates.” (Right. Only a woman would get both those jobs in either party.) Look, I am obviously personally pro-choice, and I disagree with McCain and Palin on that and a few other issues. But like many other Democrats, including Lynn Rothschild, I’m tired of the Democratic Party taking women for granted. I also happen to believe Sarah Palin supports women’s rights, deeply and passionately….

Follow the link!

French Prez – Obama’s Iran Policy ‘Weak and Immature… Devoid Of Content’

From ABC

The respected Israeli newspaper Ha’artez reports that according to a “senior Israeli government source, the reports reaching Israel indicate that Sarkozy views the Democratic candidate’s stance on Iran as ‘utterly immature’ and comprised of ‘formulations empty of all content.’”

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., met with Sarkozy in July and they are said to have discussed Iran at length.

French authorities are said to be concerned that the international community doesn’t take the Iranian threat seriously enough. French intelligence has concluded that Iran has already obtained up to 40% of the enriched uranium it needs for a bomb, the newspaper reports, and will have obtained the rest next summer.

“According to the reports reaching Israel, Sarkozy told Obama at that meeting that if the new American president elected in November changed his country’s policy toward Iran, that would be ‘very problematic,’” Ha’aretz reports. “Until now, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have tried to maintain a united front on Iran. But according to the senior Israeli source, Sarkozy fears that Obama might ‘arrogantly’ ignore the other members of this front and open a direct dialogue with Iran without preconditions.”

Ok, so let me get this straight…  the FRENCH think Obama is an appeaser, weak, and arrogant?!?!?!?  The FRENCH?!?!?!?

Holy crap… 

You know you have a problem when the French are telling you that someone is not hardline enough!

Mississippi Ripe For Voter Fraud – 123% Of Population Registered, No ID Required

WLBT

Mississippi’s voter situation is hard to believe. Places like Madison County have over 123% more registered voters than people over the age of 18. 

Sue Sautermeister, First District Election Commissioner in Madison County, tried to purge the rolls, but ran into trouble when it was discovered it takes a vote of three of the five election commissioners and the purge cannot take place within 90 days of a federal election.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is the first to admit the situation with voter registration in this state is terrible.

“It is terrible,” he says. ”Combined with the fact that we don’t have voter ID in Mississippi, anybody can show up at any poll that happens to know the people who have left town or died — and go vote for them.” ….

Ok, so let me get this straight… 

1.  They have 23% more people registered than people over 18.  (much like Indianapolis btw)

2.  You don’t have to show ID to go vote

Does this sound like a REALLY REALLY bad situation to anyone else?

Ayers Tells GOP: “Get Over It”

NY Daily News

The man the GOP loves to hate tiptoed out of hiding Sunday – if only to blast Fox News and the rest of the media for his predicament.

William Ayers, the ’60s radical who is one of John McCain‘s talking points in his criticism of Barack Obama, told a Manhattan panel discussion audience he was tired of being used as cannon fodder in America‘s political wars.

Wow, “Get over it”….  that sounds oddly familiar.  I wonder where he heard that turn of phrase…

LA Time Suppressing Video Of Obama At Anti-Israel Party Praising Ex-PLO Official

NRO

Let’s try a thought experiment. Say John McCain attended a party at which known racists and terror mongers were in attendance. Say testimonials were given, including a glowing one by McCain for the benefit of the guest of honor … who happened to be a top apologist for terrorists. Say McCain not only gave a speech but stood by, in tacit approval and solidarity, while other racists and terror mongers gave speeches that reeked of hatred for an American ally and rationalizations of terror attacks.

Now let’s say the Los Angeles Times obtained a videotape of the party.

Question: Is there any chance — any chance — the Times would not release the tape and publish front-page story after story about the gory details, with the usual accompanying chorus of sanctimony from the oped commentariat? Is there any chance, if the Times was the least bit reluctant about publishing (remember, we’re pretending here), that the rest of the mainstream media (y’know, the guys who drove Trent Lott out of his leadership position over a birthday-party toast) would not be screaming for the release of the tape?

Do we really have to ask?

So now, let’s leave thought experiments and return to reality: Why is the Los Angeles Times sitting on a videotape of the 2003 farewell bash in Chicago at which Barack Obama lavished praise on the guest of honor, Rashid Khalidi — former mouthpiece for master terrorist Yasser Arafat?

Please follow the link to read the whole article….  just amazing.