Yesterday was V2-Day

Hard to explain. One of the top bloggers in the world is Beppe Grillo, an Italian comedian turned political activist who held a day last year called Vaffanculo Day (or F--- Off Day). I'm still trying to get my head around what exactly the day is about, but I think it's partly (or a lot) about Freedom of Information. Grillo, understandably, is a bit concerned about the Italian media, which is controled by a few companies (run by, gee, the guy who is against Prime Minister). You think the US is getting bad? Italy is our future. Anyway, Grillo has been using the Net to raise hell on this issue, and it's been quite interesting. Again, I'm only beginning to understand what this is all about, and hope that next time I get to Italy I can meet the man. You can read more about Grillo and V2-Day here. Read the rest of this post...

Now the Democrats have real "irreparable" problems if Hillary somehow manages to steal the nomination.

The fun and games are over.

A lot of people, including too many Democratic party leaders, sat back and watched Hillary and Bill plot and carry out their plans to destroy Obama. The pundits and a lot of Democratic strategists oohed and aahed at how aggressive the Clinton campaign had become. We've all been warned not to underestimate them as the Clinton team contocted new rules and new negative ads. The Clintons have an enemies list. The Clintons hold a grudge. Oh, and the latest is the Bill himself is the campaign's "strategist-in-chief" and he's pushing the negative attacks, just like his predecessor, Mark Penn.

This whole drama -- and it is always, always drama with the Clintons -- has played out as if we're in some kind of Clinton vacuum. It's as if there were no political consequences beyond those relating to Bill and Hillary.

There are.

This week, the Clintons and the Democratic party learned that there will be serious political consequences for the Clintons' bad behavior.

Rep. James Clyburn laid out very clearly what is at stake. The interviews Clyburn has done with several major news outlet should be sending shock waves through the Democratic hierarchy:

"If this party is perceived by people as having gone into a back room somewhere and brokered a nominee, that would not be good for our party," House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.), the highest ranking African American in Congress, warned yesterday. "I'm telling you, if this continues on its current course, [the damage] is going to be irreparable."

That fear, plus a more general sense that Clinton's only route to victory would be through tearing down her opponent, has led even some black Democrats who are officially neutral in the race, such as Clyburn, to speak out.

Clyburn isn't bluffing.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) backed up Clyburn's warning according to the Huffington Post:

"Jim Clyburn is my very best friend in the U.S. Congress and he and I talk on and off the record every day of the week," said Butterfield, who predicted that the race in North Carolina would ultimately be decided by single-digits. "That said, I had not read his comments... But politics by its very nature is a competitive process and there have been times when Sen. Clinton has walked up to the line and there has been a time or two when she has stepped over the line in terms of her comments... Whether there is an irreparable breach, I don't think we are at the point right now where we are at an irreparable breach, but it is foreseeable and that is why I encourage civility."

The likes of Mark Halperin and Chris Matthews and VandeHei/Harris and CNN's hapless political crew have been trying to tell us what these election results mean, but it's not really for them to say. The punditry was in a frenzy after the PA primary, but as Taegan Goddard noted "the chances of a Clinton victory are actually lower than ever."

And, in typical fashion, the pundits have ignored -- or more accurately missed -- what's really going on. If Clinton steals this election or decides to destroy Obama, she and her husband and her campaign are laying the groundwork for the destruction of the Democratic party.

Eric Schmeltzer ran some numbers for Ohio in a diary at DailyKos. It's worth a read, but here's Eric' conclusion:

So any way you slice it, winning over enough of the white-male-working-class vote that Kerry could not get, to just squeak by in Ohio in 2008 is a pretty tall order. Doable, but tough. Add into that even a slight African American problem, and Hillary Clinton pretty much loses Ohio in 2008.

Conversely, assuming Barack Obama does just as "poorly" with white men as Kerry in 2004, as the Clinton team seems to be saying, he actually has an EASIER time winning Ohio, on account of the fact that he has no African American problem.

Why no one has examined this is beyond me.

As we've been learning this week, Hillary has more than a "slight" African American problem. She is precipitating a crisis that cannot be ignored.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has become delusional and destructive. For me, the moment she jumped the shark was her NPR interview claiming Michigan was a fair election. Yeah, it might have been in the Soviet Union or Iran, but in America, an election in violation of the rules with only one name should never count.

The pundits can continue to game out the different ways Hillary can steal the nomination. That's all fun and games for them. For the rest of us, this is too serious. The Democratic Party needs an intervention before Bill and Hillary march us off a cliff. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's other terrorist pardon problem

But I'm sure Hillary will have a good answer as to why the public shouldn't think she personally procured the pardon of over a dozen terrorists - I hear she's fully vetted. I mean, not like it affects a Democrat's electability having to explain that they didn't free 16 terrorists in order to win a few votes. This guy, whose dad was murdered by those terrorists, has a different opinion of Hillary and her involvement. Imagine the TV ads he's going to star in, in the fall, should Hillary be the nominee.

Read the rest of this post...

Meet the racist who showed John McCain is powerless and inept

Yes, this is the face of Linda Davies. She's the powerful racist force from North Carolina who defied John McCain. This episode demonstrated that the leader of the GOP is hapless and incapable of standing up to bigots in his own party. If this woman can stand up to and defy McCain, who won't stand up to and defy McCain?



Raw Story has the video of Ms. Davies. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's gay problem, Part II

I wrote the other day about how Hillary seems downright afraid of saying the word "gay" (and don't even try to get her to say "lesbian"). I thought it might be interesting to see, in a real-world gay event, just how often Hillary used the words gay, lesbian and lgbt as compared to Obama. Well, what better event to test the candidates than the LOGO gay forum last August where all the Dem candidates were quizzed about gay issues. Here's what we found, in terms of how often Obama and Hillary used the following gay-related words:

Obama: 7 gay, 5 lgbt, 3 lesbian
Clinton: 2 gay, 1 lgbt, 0 lesbian

So that's 15 references for Obama, 3 for Hillary. And notably, no "lesbian" at all for Hillary. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's top advisers supported stripping Michigan and Florida of their delegates

Hillary has made such a big deal about Michigan and Florida (because it's the only way she can now steal the election), that you have to wonder why she'd keep as two of her top advisers men who were responsible for taking those states' delegates away. I mean, imagine two of your top advisers being responsible for what you claim is your number one grievance, and then keeping them as your top advisers? If Hillary really cared about Michigan and Florida, she'd fire Ickes and McCauliffe.

From AP:

Harold Ickes, a top adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign who voted for Democratic Party rules that stripped Michigan and Florida of their delegates, now is arguing against the very penalty he helped pass.

In a conference call Saturday, the longtime Democratic Party member contended the DNC should reconsider its tough sanctions on the two states, which held early contests in violation of party rules. He said millions of voters in Michigan and Florida would be otherwise disenfranchised - before acknowledging moments later that he had favored the sanctions.

Then there's this from top Clinton surrogate Terry McCauliffe's book:

"You won't deny us seats at the convention," he [Senator Levin] said.

"Carl, take it to the bank," I [McCauliffe] said. "They will not get a credential. The closest they'll get to Boston will be watching it on television. I will not let you break this entire nominating process for one state. The rules are the rules. If you want to call my bluff, Carl, you go ahead and do it."

As Joe noted last month, McAuliffe had different standards in 2004, then he does in 2008. Read the rest of this post...

John McCain can't win a stand-off with the NC GOP. How can he ever stand up to Congress or protect America? McCain has no leadership ability.

McCain has been rolled by the North Carolina Republican Party. All of McCain's alleged outrage about the NC GOP's racist ad have been for nothing:

“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure not only they stop it but that kind of leadership is rejected,” McCain said in an interview with CBS’s Early Show, adding that he has communicated his wishes “in every possible way.”

If McCain says he'll do everything in his power to stop it, and it isn't stopped, clearly, McCain has no power. That's very telling.

The NC GOP has no fears about pissing off John McCain (unlike the press corps, which lives in fear of his outbursts).

While this episode demonstrates the GOP gutter politics, it also really says something about McCain's leadership abilities -- or lack thereof. He is the head of the Republican party and can't get some two-bit political hack in the Republican party to heed his words. How is McCain ever going to handle Congress? Even worse, how is McCain ever going to handle our enemies? If people in McCain's own party don't listen to him, why would anyone else?

Yes, this episode demonstrates the weakness of John McCain's leadership. The NY Times notes:

Unless Mr. McCain quickly gets control of his party, we fear there will be worse to come.

Oh, there will be worse to come, because John McCain can't control his party. McCain is not a leader. Read the rest of this post...

USA - best health care system in the world

Just how stupid does one have to be to believe that the US health care system is the best? Sure, if you are Charles Prince (shamed Citi CEO) or maybe Lee Raymond and money is no object, it's great. How can we be such a wealthy country yet leave so many people behind? I must have missed those Christian lessons that highlighted why it was good to evolve into such a nasty, mean-spirited, me-me-me country. We leave so many behind yet shower praise on the greediest. Aren't we just a clever bunch?

Mark Windsor looks exhausted. For a week he's been undergoing radiation treatment on a cancerous tumor in his neck. A metal rod fused to his spine keeps his head stable. His muscles there are gone, the result of multiple failed surgeries to rid him of his disease. He can't turn his head sideways or look up or down. So his look stays fixed, despite his fatigue.

If I probably had gotten some good treatment several years ago I probably would have been cured," Windsor said from his home in Atlanta, Georgia.

The reason he didn't get care sooner -- he couldn't afford it, because he didn't have insurance. Windsor, a self-employed photographer, has had bone cancer -- a rare chondrosarcoma -- for more than 25 years. At 52, that's almost half his life. While he's found help from a few generous doctors, his efforts to survive have often been desperate. And now he's learned, largely in vain.

Read the rest of this post...

Clinton losing donors to Obama: "At the end of the day, all she had to do was open her mouth for me not to believe her"

The Washington Post has an article, with two major developments about the ongoing primary battle and the fallout from the negative campaign of Hillary Clinton is running. One part of the article deals with the impact Clinton's approach is having on key constituencies in the Democratic party -- starting with African-Americans. Rep. James Clyburn does an interview with the Post reiterating what he's been saying this week:

"If this party is perceived by people as having gone into a back room somewhere and brokered a nominee, that would not be good for our party," House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.), the highest ranking African American in Congress, warned yesterday. "I'm telling you, if this continues on its current course, [the damage] is going to be irreparable."

John wrote about Clyburn's growing concerns yesterday and I'll be doing another post later today with some additional information.

The other part of today's Washington Post article deals with the anger Clinton has generated among her own supporters, particularly donors. There are some choice quotes about Clinton's campaign from people who used to support her. As you read these statements below, keep in mind, they came from people who supported and donated to the Clinton campaign. Gabriel Guerra-Mondragón was also a major fundraiser for Clinton:

"I think she is destroying the Democratic Party," said New York lawyer Daniel Berger, who had backed Clinton with the maximum allowable donation of $2,300. "That there's no way for her to win this election except by destroying [Obama], I just don't like it. So in my own little way, I'm trying to send her a message."

And:

"We're just bleeding each other out," [Gabriel] Guerra-Mondragón said when asked why he had decided to join Obama's finance committee. "Looking at it as coldly as I can, I just don't see how Senator Clinton can overcome Senator Obama with delegates and popular votes. I want this fight to be over -- the quicker, the better."

And:

"However much one might have supported the Clintons, or one might support the usual suspects in the Democratic Party, I began to believe Obama represents a new approach. He gives off such a sense of relevance that he's sort of irresistible," [William] Louis-Dreyfus said.

He also expressed, as did other big givers who crossed to Obama, exasperation about the tone of the Clinton campaign and frustration with the candidate herself.

"At the end of the day, all she had to do was open her mouth for me not to believe her," Louis-Dreyfus said.

Again, those are former Clinton supporters on-the-record. All of these folks are now, no doubt, on the growing Clinton enemies list, but they're in good company. Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good morning everyone.

It has been another rough and tumble week in the world of politics. So once again, we offer our version of the "moment of zen" via the poem of the week: The Anactoria Poem by Sappho. Because Sappho wrote this poem in the 7th or 6th century BC, this is a translation, but we're assured by the poet who writes the poem blog, "Her passion, as always, shines through."

We'll be back to rough and tumble shortly.

What's up? Read the rest of this post...

Breaking - Zimbabwe opposition wins election recount

The vote recount has been released and they confirmed the initial results. Whether Mugabe will respect the results is another question.

For the first time in 28 years, the opposition had wrested a parliamentary majority from President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF in March 29 polls, triggering a recount of 23 out of 210 constituencies.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said 14 out of the 23 seats had been recounted so far, and the original result was confirmed in all of them.

Read the rest of this post...

Spring, finally!

Last April was pretty much perfect, from the start to the finish but so far this April has been so-so. Since I have not yet made it beyond my coffee, here's a photo from the Luxembourg Gardens last April with my French godson, Pierre-Francois. Despite the look on his face, he hated to leave that merry-go-round. Every time it slowed down he would push it again, dive in and hold on for dear life. Over and over and over. Anyone visiting Paris with kids really needs to head into the park which was created for children. Besides the fenced in area with this fun stuff, they have pedal-powered go karts, pony rides, a pond with cute little sailboats and much more. Even for adults, it's the perfect spot for strolling through the gardens, reading or of course, people watching. Read the rest of this post...

Zimbabwe opposition arrested by Mugabe

These are people who don't just talk about democracy and ignore it, they live democracy. No flashy photos of inked fingers and no seats of honor at the State of the Union address. Just real people taking real initiative in the face of a violent dictator. Unlike Iraq where democracy is hardly of interest to anyone, the US included, the Zimbabwe opposition is standing firm in the face of a aggressive and often violent 'police' action. Can you imagine what we would see if the Chinese weapons had arrived?

Riot police in Zimbabwe yesterday raided the offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change as well as those of independent election observers, seizing computers and documents and arresting scores of people in the biggest crackdown since last month's disputed election.

Truckloads of officers surrounded the building in Harare during an operation that lasted several hours. MDC officials said police had taken away more than 100 people, including staff and party supporters who had fled to the capital to avoid a crackdown in the countryside.

Read the rest of this post...