Local Candidates–Out There on Their Own, Unaware of PUMA Power

Babes in the woods….

That’s what my two local candidates for the New Mexico state legislature, Steve Fischmann and Nate Cote reminded me of when I met them on Sunday (September 28)…

Before talking to the candidates I met up with a guy who had canvassed me on behalf of Cote a few day earlier. At the time we had had a long conversation about the current state of affairs and he was well aware of Obama’s shortcomings (This is the second canvasser for Cote whom I’ve talked to who has big reservations about Obama.)  This fellow told me that he wouldn’t give a cent to any of the top candidates and noted that the Obama supporters in town had to buy signs.  He couldn’t get over it.

Steve Fischmann is running for NM State Senate (DIstrict 37) and he’s a fine candidate.  He exposed ” questionable deals by the State Land Office”  and is known for “his advocacy on behalf of the Organ Mountains and other public lands in New Mexico.”

Others know Steve because of his efforts on behalf of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and lower fuel costs, including his position as chair of the Southwest Energy Alliance and his service on the boards of the Southwest Environmental Center and the Coalition for Clean and Affordable Energy.

Nate Cote, our incumbent State Representative (District 53), beat a truly odious Republican last time out and I worked on his campaign doing phone canvassing. He has a fascinating background and has worked hard for people here in the district.

I nipped in to meet the candidates with the specific intention of seeing if they knew what was going on with PUMA and other disaffected Democrats.  Before I got to them, however, I had to run the gauntlet of the sign-in in sheet as well as several requests to put on a name tag.  I had absolutely no intention (even though there was an awful lot of interesting food set out) because I didn’t want to spoil the party.

As it was, as soon as I was greeted and mentioned that I had de-registered and wouldn’t be voting for Obama, I was told that by one of the hostesses that she wasn’t paying much attention to the national race because she was so busy with the local scene…but, she knew enough to launch into a speech about how awful Sarah Palin was.  I promptly fired back that Palin upheld the law on abortion and gay issues, was not against contraception and a couple of other items, and then finished off with a flourish about how I thought a lot of the negative message about Palin was a hit job engineered by Obama’s camp, specifically David Axelrod.

I think I left her in shock.

At that point I marched up to candidate Steve Fischmann and introduced myself.  We chit-chatted a bit and then I asked him if he knew what was going on with PUMA and what they were concerned about. I told him that he should know about it for his own good, in case someone popped a question to him about the state of the Democratic Party.

Well, he knew nothing about PUMA so I launched into a brief rundown on the actions of the party during the primaries and then said that Obama was all about Obama…separate offices from the party offices, which was a big departure from the “consolidated campaigns” I had worked on that pooled resources for all candidates. I also brought up the lack of funds coming in from the ticket to help local candidates.

At that point Steve indicated that he knew that there were two separate offices here in town. (The Obama office is on heavily-traveled main artery, while the regular party office is off in one of the older, more run-down business areas way off the beaten path.)  Then he told me he was “disappointed” that no funding had come in to help his campaign. I felt sorry for him.  I had made up a few slips with the URL of this website, so I told him to check here, as well as the other blogs listed on the sidebar, so he could get a feel what was going on among the grassroots.  He thanked me and said he was going to check us out.

I ran into Nate Cote as I left. He had appeared with Obama here on Memorial Day, like a good soldier.  He knew nothing about the PUMA disaffection with the party, so I quickly filled him in with exactly the same message I had given Steve.  When I got to the part about the party’s handling of the primaries, he indicated that he knew about it with a quiet ‘hmmm.”  At least that’s what I thought. As he took one of his signs out of the car for me, he said that he was just afraid people would never get to the bottom of the ticket to vote.  I declared that the bottom of the ticket was the most important part of the ballot…and I meant it!

While these fine people struggle to garner support for their candidacies, Obama continues to burn money without a thought to downticket races. And, I hope these candidates find the time to find out about PUMA. At least if someone brings up the PUMA phenomenon, perhaps, at least, they’ll know what we’re all about, and have a better idea of what’s going on beyond their district…

Part 1–THE LINEUP: A Who’s Who of The Associates of Barack Obama

~~By Grail Guardian

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part I has been combined in a double post with the follow-up with more Obama connections in Part 2 HERE.

For months now, we’ve been reading and hearing from the Obama campaign that it’s not experience that matters for Barack Obama (whose paper-thin resume includes being a Community Organizer, Chair of the failed Chicago Annenberg Challenge, and running for public office), but rather the excellent judgment that he displays. In light of the continued media frenzy favoring Obama and shielding him from public scrutiny, I decided that it would be timely to revisit that judgment in the form of the people Obama associates with professionally and personally (both past and present). I personally have been able to find few people that are close to the Illinois Senator that I would want anywhere near the Oval Office, but I’ll let you be the judge. I intend this article to be part of a much needed grassroots effort to educate those that only get their news from the Main Stream Media or do not follow politics closely, so feel free to link it, print it, e-mail it, or do whatever you need to do to get the word out (giving proper credit and/or links to Insight Analytical and myself is always appreciated). You can consider it an Obama 101 Picture Book Primer and a serious attempt to save this great nation.

The Past Week: Recaps & Random Thoughts, September 21-27 (Obama Goon Squads; Mortgage Mess; “Girl Power!” on CNN; Lynette Long on the Record; “Presents” in TX; Obama Strikes Gold; Rezko [Updated 1X]; “Racism” Now in O.J. Trial; For Democratic Reform)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Well, where do I start???   This week we welcomed Grail Guardian as a contributor, joining kenosha Marge! Her first posts proved to be very popular…we look forward to more great posts from this awesome team!

Now, onto the roundup…

GOON SQUADS…unreal…I had heard about it earlier on Saturday,and Uppity Woman wrote the story with the video and statement by Missouri Governor Blunt (and it’s also cross-posted at No Quarter ). I’ve been wondering when the dirt on Obama will be showing up in TV ads by 527s. I recall an ad that was blocked from being aired a while back.  I did a bit of research. The very first “swiftboat” ad against John Kerry was aired on August 5, 2004. Aren’t things pretty quiet so far? Well, maybe it’s because of threats…and now we have the Obama goon squads…while I detest “swiftboating,” I’m more alarmed by how far Obama and his minions are going with the use of intimidation. A MUST READ!!

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The Mortgage Mess…Backgrounders

On the mortgage mess, Truth is Gold has a great post titled “The Emperor’s Clothes…Continued” with a bevy of fantastic links on the subject.  Definitely worth a look!  As is this piece at No Quarter titled “Consumer Rights League, Obama, Acorn, and the SubPrime Mortgage.  Another example of the type of research that the mainstream media can’t…or WON’T do!

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Women’s Stuff…

I was sitting in a waiting room on Wednesday about 10 am MT and CNN was on.  The anchor (Kyra Phillips?) passed it over to a female correspondent who reported on a big meeting of women business leaders in NYC and which also included shots of Condoleeza Rice and Sarah Palin.  Guess what the title across the bottom of the screen read???

GIRL POWER!!!

I nearly retched…when I have you last seen the video of a group of male leaders referred to as possessing “BOY POWER!!!” ?

Thankfully, some women are getting some respect in the media…namely, Lynette Long of The Reclusive Leftists, who was referred to by none other than Bill Clinton on The View, although he didn’t name her.  And, she also was the subject of a piece by Marc Fisher, a Metro columnist at the Washington Post which was picked up by The Dallas Morning News (and who knows where else?) on Saturday entitled “Why a Hillary Supporter Flipped to McCain.” It’s a pretty straightforward article, but there is the obligatory dig at Sarah Palin’s “knowledge base” which Lynette responds to by referencing her character, instincts and her being “real.”  I, personally, would like to shove Obama’s “knowledge base” into Fisher’s face…but, they haven’t interviewed me!

Now, I have no idea why a “Metro reporter” writes an interview and it lands in the op-ed section, but maybe it’s just the way things are done these days. Sort of like when I read a Washington Post story in my local paper which is about McCain “eating” his plan to stay in D.C. if the bailout agreement couldn’t be finalized before the debate.  It’s full of more snide comments that pass as “reporting”…and, to me, it is pure op-ed on the news page.  But, that’s the state of “churnalism” these days…

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Texas “Presents”

Over at Hillbuzz earlier in the week, there was a video posted from the Republican Party of Texas.  The “narrator” wasn’t a professional…at first, I thought it was something created by a non-politico.  It grabs your attention simply because it doesn’t come across as a typical, canned politica ad and features a young-sounding person speaking out against Obama.  It’s on the subject of Obama’s voting record in IL…all those “presents” he used…Really interesting.

Hillbuzz (via Will Bowers’ PUMA) is where I also found out about the lovely gold coins that the Obama campaign is issuing with The Chosen One’s mug on them.  I thought the fake U.S. seal was bad…Funny thing is, I have a silver coin with Bill Clinton’s face on it…but, jeez, that one was from 1992 and was celebrating his actual INAUGURATION! For a guy who limped into the nomination and hasn’t closed the deal yet in the general, I’d say there’s a serious problem here   And, is THIS how they spend their money? This is like “Greek Temples Take Two“…

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Trials

Just in case you’ve lost track of Tony Rezko, the latest news from The Chicago Sun-Times blog (dated September 20) is that he will be sentenced on October 28. His attorneys want the case thrown out because key witness Stuart Levine was “unreliable.”  Recall that final sentencing was postponed 2 months (originally it was supposed to be August 21); now it will be a week before the election on the last couple of counts!  How will this reminder of Rezko effect the race? Anything?  The media will bury it, so it will be up to the GOP to show us pictures of Rezko’s tenements and chat about where the government money that was supposed to fix them went…Of course, if it gets any play, you can be sure that Obama will pose as having been victimized again and the media will make sure he’s portrayed as being clean as a whistle after all…

UPDATE

Uppity Woman points us to a story at The Real Barack Obama (formerly Rezko Watch) which has all the latests details on “the wide-ranging probe”–is Rezko SINGING???  There was much speculation that he might…if he is, what’s his tune?  Speculation:

“I’m told by a close friend of Rezko that he’s cooperating with the feds,” said a Sneed source. “I don’t know whether he’s talking about Gov. Blagojevich or Barack Obama or anyone else,” the source said.

Meanwhile, at the OJ Simpson trial, we’re seeing references to “bias and racism” leveled at the Las Vegas Metro Police.  See below for the link to the relevant post on the trial and how the outcome may affect the Presidential race…

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On Friday The Confluence announced a new site dedicated to taking back the Democratic Party. It’s called For Democratic Reform (FDR). This site should be a real boost for a strong push to get rid of the machine that has taken over the Democratic Party, as well as efforts to get the party back to its core values.

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This week in the fall garden…A couple of days ago I ripped out the pepper plants, all except the pimiento–the peppers are finally turning red!  Still plenty of Sweet 100 tomatoes and Golden Boys. I’m way behind in clearing things out so I can get the mustard, lettuce, and kale in…and I still haven’t planted the collard and broccoli seedlings, which are now VERY large seedlings…

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Finally, a brief remembrance of Paul Newman…a wonderful actor who became a great humanitarian.  Godspeed…

THIS WEEK’S POSTS

Posts by

*kenosha Marge

**Grail Guardian

Obama’s Presidential Portrait Already Chosen??? (See here) (Why Bother With More Debates or Having an Election??)

*Celebrity Endorsements and Other Annoyances

What? ACORN Given 20% of Bailout Money under Original Bailout Proposal??????? UPDATE 1X

Race, O.J., and Politics–The Potential for an October Meltdown

**Why Obama Doesn’t Want Clinton Democrats

The Sisterhood of Shared Indignities (A Double Post by kenosha Marge and InsightAnalytical-GRL)

**Selling America: Why the MSM Can’t Tell the Truth

The Past Week: Recaps & Random Thoughts, September 14-20 (Dog Activism; The Palin Wars; More McCain Offices Open; Joe Biden; We Need 30%; Odinga Revisited; A “Comment” on Congress)

Obama’s Presidential Portrait Already Chosen??? (See here) (Why Bother With More Debates or Having an Election??)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Well, if this isn’t proof that the fix must really be in….

Why even show up for a debate or waste time with an election? Or discuss the money earmarked for ACORN in the mortgage bailout bill? Or resist at all???

From the Washington Post’s “The Sleuth” column, we’ve got the not-so-subtle speculation that we’ve already got a Presidential portrait of Obama to admire! (Why doesn’t The Sleuth (Mary Ann Akers) go “behind the scenes” and do some sleuthing about the Democratic primary fix, Ayers, birth certificates, etc.?)

Artist Paints Portrait of ‘President Obama’

He doesn’t have the White House locked up yet but Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) already is the subject of a portrait titled “President Obama.”

(Courtesy of Chaz Guest)

“The painting is on hold and ready for when he walks into the Oval Office,” says Chaz Guest, the artist who painted it. Guest tells us the painting will be on loan to Senator/Possibly President Obama from the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago “until it is official.”

Guest decided to paint the portrait of “President Obama” since the Illinois senator was so appreciative of another portrait Guest painted of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall. That portrait, which Guest loaned to Obama, has hung in Obama’s Senate office for three years now.

Obama sent Guest a note thanking him for that painting on Oct. 11, 2005, saying: “A few years ago, Vernon Jordan told a graduating class that, ‘You are where you are today because you stand on somebody’s shoulders…and if you stand on the shoulders of others, you have a reciprocal responsibility to live your life so that others may stand on yours.’ One of the people whose shoulders I stand on is Thurgood Marshall…. Looking at the painting each day provides me great inspiration and comfort.”

Guest, who lives in Los Angeles, says he first met Obama four years ago at a fundraiser held at the home of major Obama bundlers Mattie and Michael Lawson when the rising political star from Illinois was running for Senate.

The artist sure seems confident that his portrait will be hanging in the Oval Office come next year. Perhaps there will be serigraphs (silkscreen prints) created of the painting of Sen. Obama at a later date,” Guest told the Sleuth via email.

The Sleuth seems to think that this really is IT because the artist “sure seems confident” and perhaps she is right, considering that Chaz Guest has known Obama for 4 years and has already been praised by Obama in flowery terms referencing Thurgood Marshall’s shoulders…OH, and the portrait has already been hanging in Obama’s little-used Senate office for 3 years. And why would Guest muse about the possibility of  “silkscreen prints”?  Jeez, are we going to have “silkscreen prints” bedecking every inch of the country???

Frankly, I think the portrait captures Obama almost perfectly…It’s all about looking forward, which these days equates with sideways and not really looking anybody in the eye…and it sure conveys a certain arrogance. The folded arms…ah, I know it looks strong, but folded arms indicate distancing or defensive. See ChangingMinds.org for more info on this posture…

Well, this portrait does have the potential to make it to the White House, I guess, but wouldn’t this one be more appropriate???

You may want to check out the post I did on this back in May…the little “stars” on the body parts sure do have interesting placements…Back then I described it as “hilarious”…but now, I’m no longer thinking it’s hilarious…

I’m thinking everything that has transpired this year has passed into the realm of the downright FRIGHTENING…

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UPDATE

From PUMA (Will Bowers)

COINS being minted, too!!

Celebrity Endorsements and Other Annoyances

~~By kenosha Marge

I am always disappointed when an actor/actress whose work I particularly admire opens their mouth and says something stupid or endorses some political candidate I don’t like or shows themselves to be a religious nut cake. I never see their work the same way again.