Howard’s Agony: Seems Like We’ve Been Here Before

~~By Grail Guardian

Howard Dean is at it again. Yep. There’s a You Tube video entitled the “Agony of the Women of 2008” (posted 11/15/08) of “Dean The Scream” on C-Span 2’s post-election “Presidential Election Analysis” by Smithsonian Associates. There he is decrying the rampant sexism in this year’s Presidential campaign. (H/T to “imustprotest” for the link.  Updated Editor’s Note: The You Tube video is from BettyJean Kling at Free Us Now–see blogroll)

As if he’s been screaming about it for years, Dean states:

“Washington doesn’t get it. They always get it last. This is the most underwritten story of this campaign… by the press… by the media.”

“Women my age, in m generation felt this really acutely. Because they were the ones that suffered all of the indignities that you suffer when you fight to win the battle for equality. As they did.”

“Nobody understood the agony that women, particularly of my generation, were undergoing about this…issue…and to this day, it has been swept under the rug and been forgotten because she didn’t win.”

Say what? Did Mr. Misogyny just say that the media screwed women?

“We thought we were past all this stuff and we weren’t. We weren’t surprised about the degree of racism or lack of it or whatever, that was endlessly examined. We did not examine the fact that we didn’t get, we haven’t gotten nearly as far ahead as we thought we were about equality between the sexes. And that ought to be revisited as a result of what happened.”

But wait, it gets even better! Coward goes on to defend… wait for it… Sarah Palin!

…and it happened to Sarah Palin too. All the stuff that happened to Sarah Palin, and I know God knows I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her political points of view, but a lot of the stuff that happened to her, as she pointed out, would not have happened had she been a man.”

Holy Toledo, Batman!

Is this the same Howard Dean that says he was slow to pick up on the sexism against Senator Clinton in the primaries because he doesn’t watch cable TV? Is this the same Howard Dean that asked Cynthia Ruccia of Women for Fair Politics “What sexism?” Or could it be the same Howard Dean that decried the media’s treatment of Hillary Clinton in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos near the end of the Democratic Primaries, too late to do anyone any good?

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me bring up another point on unifying the party. Geraldine Ferraro wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe this week where she talked about the persistent — what she’s saying is sexism — in the party and the difficulty that Barack Obama is going to have winning over Reagan democrats. Let me show — here’s a portion of what she wrote. She said that “Reagan democrats see Obama’s playing the race card throughout the campaign and no one calling him for it as frightening. They’re not upset with Obama because he’s black. They’re upset because they don’t expect to be treated fairly because they’re white. It’s not racism that’s driving them, it’s racial resentment, and that is in force because they don’t believe he understands them and their problems.” She’s talking about a deep breach. What does Senator Obama —

DEAN: Well, first of all, I’m not going to respond to Senator — I mean to Geraldine Ferraro’s views on race because I think they have been outside the mainstream and unhelpful. But I will respond —

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you are responding to them.

DEAN: No, but I will respond to something she said on sexism. There has been enormous amount of sexism in this campaign on the part of the media, including the mainstream media. We’ll leave present company excepted because I think that’s true. But there have been major networks that have featured numerous outrageous comments that if the words were reversed and they were about race the people would have been fired. So that’s a big issue. And there are a lot of women in this country who — there’s two issues here. One is one candidate is ahead and one is not. That happens all the time in primaries, and you get over that. What you don’t get over is deep wounds that have been inflicted on somebody because they happen to be a woman running for President of the United States.

Hmmmmm. Sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? But I can’t seem to recall Dean saying a single word about the obnoxious tactics used by the Obama campaign against Sarah Palin until after the election when it’s too late to do anyone any good. Wow, didn’t I just say that? Yep. I’ll say something else that I said at the time Dean made the first statement:

Howard, you are a coward, an idiot, and a liar. I can only pray that you are soon relegated back to the pages of history as the screaming lunatic you’ve proven yourself to be.

Why Obama Doesn’t Want Clinton Democrats

~~By Grail Guardian

It’s 44 days until the General Election as I write this and after a long and hard fought primary season the Democratic Party, and the Obama campaign specifically, are still unable to get over their terminal case of CDS. I can’t help but ask “Why”? For the uninitiated, CDS stands for Clinton Derangement Syndrome, usually defined as the uncontrollable impulse to rail against all things Clinton (Hillary, Bill, Chelsea, Hillary’s supporters, and basically anything connected to centrist positions).

Team Obama not only masterminded the overthrow of the Democratic Party to form the “New Democrats” (remember the May 31, 2008 coup when all semblance of the rules were overthrown at a behind-closed-doors meeting of the Rules and Bylaws Committee), they literally declared the nomination belonged to Obama despite the fact that:

• Hillary Clinton won more of the popular vote than Obama (when the Florida and Michigan primaries are included as originally voted)
• Automatic (also called Super) Delegates are unable to actually cast a vote until the national Convention
• Obama did not actually have enough Super Delegates “locked in” to declare himself the winner when he did
• Hillary Clinton didn’t contest the illegal theft of earned delegates in Michigan, despite her legal right to do so

Clinton suspended her own campaign, as she had promised during the primaries she began to campaign for Obama, she asked her fundraisers to jump to Team Obama, and eventually Clinton herself served as the conduit to end her historic campaign by interrupting a roll call vote at the convention to ask for Obama’s nomination by acclaim. Yet still the Oborg continues to harass Clinton supporters. Team O bloggers continue to infiltrate web sites that had been pro-Clinton. Commenters continue to compare John McCain and Sarah Plain to Clinton, who they now conveniently claim as one of their own. Web sites continue to be hijacked and crashed. The Main Stream Media continues to fawn over Obama as messiah, ignore every negative story posted about him on the Internet, and call anyone disagreeing with their views a racist. And Middle Class voters continue to be insulted, marginalized, and discounted.

So at this late juncture, one must ask why it is that so many of the Oborg continue to fight dirty against the moderate, centrist voters that refuse to support Obama, rather than to sensibly go after them? After all, Obama went after the right wing and evangelical voters with his votes on FISA and promises to continue funding George W. Bush’s Faith Based Initiative, so why not court the center? It only makes good political sense that once the cries of “you have no where else to go” and “you’ll fall in line eventually” were obviously falling on deaf ears that the next move would be to go after this significant voting bloc with gusto and speed. But with just over 6 weeks left, the taunting and harassment continues unabated.

So let’s look at the possibilities:

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)

It’s been a grueling week, hasn’t it?  The polls have shifted and the Palin bashing is intolerable.  And then there’s the little matter of the financial mess…I’m feeling a little panicky these days about the political situation all of a sudden…

You may have noticed that I put up a new picture in the blog header. I took it on September 15, the date of the last full moon.  I stood outside and watched the moon rise rapidly from behind the Organ mountains and, by some good luck, caught it in a shot that lines up perfectly in the header. The moon represents the feminine and every time I see it when I open the page, I feel something powerful…

Speaking of pictures…Courtesy HillBuzz, approved by Toro, Tico, and Slicker.

Now, a quick look back…

The Palin Wars took a few twists this week…

Bill Clinton opined about Sarah Palin and, unlike many in the media and the Obama camp, showed her some respect, a rarity these days. Pagan Power has the video in case you missed it…

***

You know, I’m surprised someone hasn’t dug up a video of a weeping Sarah Palin yet so it can be used to further tear her down.

So, check out Part 3 of CNN’s program, “Joe Biden Revealed,” which Mountain Sage posted early in the week in 6 parts. Watch as Biden talks about the loss of his wife (starting at about 5:11 minutes into the video).  Biden, reading a passage from his biography,  obviously chokes up with intense emotion over the memory of his first wife and describes how meeting his second wife, Jill, “gave him permission to be me again.” It’s an extremely moving moment.  But, can you imagine if Sarah Palin had revealed that sort of emotion?  What do you think the reaction would have been? Admiration or derision?

***

On Tuesday, Riverdaughter posted this piece, The 30 Percent Solution: Why Democratic Women Are Voting for McCain/Palin which references Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s book, “Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated. This passage grabbed me:

McCain and the Republicans are willing to elect a woman to the Executive Branch for the first time in the history of our country. They are advancing the 30% Solution. Obama and the Democrats are not, and are not. Do you get it now, Obamans?

It is time to make the Democratic Party take women seriously, for the first time since Mondale put Geraldine Ferraro on the Presidential ticket. It is time to acknowledge that, as Hillary said, Womens’ rights are human rights. And it is time to cast your vote for a woman this Election Day. I am casting my vote for two women, McKinney/Clemente, unless McCain comes close enough to win New York, in which case I will vote McCain/Palin at the top. And after this election, I am only casting my vote for women, unless I have no alternative.

I’m pretty much on the same page, and in New Mexico, if things are close, I may be doing the same thing in order to stop Obama and his odious machine.

***

Another example of something odious is The Democratic Underground, which I donated to and which became my second home (after Buzzflash).  I haven’t visited either site in ages, so I admire Texas Hill Country for braving it and reporting on what’s going on at that cesspool in his post, Democratic Underground – Bastion Of Sexism?

***

In my post from a couple of days ago discussing the advent of Sharia Law in Britain (see “This Week’s Posts,” below, for the link), I made passing reference to Barack Obama and his “cousin” Raila Odinga, who is a proponent of Sharia Law. What’s interesting is that a post I did back in April which delves into the Obama-Odinga relationship as well as Odinga’s interest in Sharia Law, is actually one of the top 3 active posts on this blog, according my blogstats; it’s still getting hits every day.  So, here it is, revisited:

Obama-Odinga:50-50 Split Demands Sound SOOOO FAMILIAR…

***

On Monday (9/15) an article titled “McCain Team Hustles Amid Rising Interest” caught my eye:

The exploding interest in Sen. John McCain’s campaign, fueled in part by the addition of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the ticket, has his staff scrambling to expand events.

A loosely organized and sometimes ad hoc approach to campaigning has been part of Sen. McCain’s political persona. But after he announced his running mate two weeks ago, thousands have been attending the rallies that have replaced Sen. McCain’s intimate town-hall meetings.

The campaign is expanding the number of Pennsylvania offices to 30 from 14, and its Ohio offices to more than 35 from 18. The formerly lean McCain campaign and Republican National Committee payrolls have doubled in size in recent weeks, an expansion that can be attributed in large part to Gov. Palin joining the team.

The intense final stretch is also driving expansion of the already large campaign operations of Sen. McCain’s Democratic opponent, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. But the McCain campaign, which 15 months ago was in disarray, faces a steeper climb.

One top Republican operative compared the McCain operation to a group of young talents who plan an ad-hoc musical in a 1940s film. Every morning, campaign organizers get together “and say, ‘Hey, let’s put on a show!'” the operative said.“This campaign is emboldening our target-state strategy with expanding, but measured growth, which is much better than Barack Obama’s retreating 50-state strategy,” said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. “So if someone believes that’s a problem, we are glad to have it.”

So, the GOP believes Palin has energized its base and many more offices are being opened in key states. What do you make of the last comment about the “target-state strategy” expanding in “measured growth”? Obama appears to have stopped McCain’s momentum for the moment, so we’ll have to see if McCain can regain it with the moves described in the article.

***

Yesterday, I posted the press release from the new “Democracy in Sufferage” PAC, whose goal is to stop Obama.  Just a reminder to help spread the word on this effort…

***

Ready for some humor?

This video is meant to put down Sarah Palin, of course, but it’s still funny to see Michael Palin’s qualifications for President via a bunch of Monty Python clips…

On the other hand, you might enjoy this joke courtesy kenosha Marge more!

A Joke from kenosha Marge

An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn’t really know what he wanted to do, and he didn’t seem too concerned about it. One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy’s room and placed on his study table four objects.
1. A bible.

2. A silver dollar.

3. A bottle of whisky.

4. And a Playboy magazine.

“I’ll just hide behind the door,” the old preacher said to himself. “When he comes home from school today, I’ll see which object he picks up. If it’s the bible, he’s going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he’s going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too. But if he picks up the bottle, he’s going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be. And worst of all if he picks up that magazine he’s going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer.”

The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son’s footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room.  The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room, he spotted the objects on the table With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm.

He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket.

He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired this month’s centerfold.
“Lord have mercy,” the old preacher disgustedly whispered.

“He’s gonna run for Congress.”

***

I’ll wrap up this roundup with an update on the gardening situation here in Southern NM. I ripped out all my lima beans and spent a couple of hours shelling and freezing them and have prepped the bed for planting my winter greens.  Soon, I’ll put up the plastic for the “greenhouse” and I look forward to some good crops collards, kale, broccoli and mustard.  This year I’m also trying turnips.

Out in the arroyo, the earth moving machines have destroyed a lot of habitat as the stream bed is being redirected and widened to prevent further damage to the slopes on the side of the arroyo across from me. I don’t know when the bunny and quail populations will return…it’s really shocking to see how much was destroyed. They only good thing is that the native plants WILL grow back relatively quickly.  Maybe I’ll put up a picture after the work is completed to give you an idea of what’s been happening on the other side of the wall.  My squirrels are safe, however, since they have their burrows up the slopes…and they are raiding the tomatoes with gusto!

THIS WEEK’S POSTS

*By kenosha Marge

“Democracy in Suffrage” PAC Formed, Press Conference 9/26…Goal: To Defeat Obama

While Hillary and Sarah Get Trashed in the U.S., Muslim Women in Britain Get Sharia Law

SHILLING and CHURNING–the State of the Media and the “Mass Production of Ignorance” (A Double Post by kenosha Marge and InsightAnalytical-GRL)

*American Media Shills for Obama

“Flat Earth News” – The State of ‘Churnalism’”

McCain LIVE at the Clinton Global Initiative, Obama by Satellite (Too Busy Cramming for the 1st Presidential Debate the NEXT DAY?)

Sarah, Joe and Liza the Chicken

*Sarah, the Mooseburger Mom

The Past Week: Recaps and Random Thoughts, September 7-13 (Where’s Obama’s Empathy?; Body Language a la Clinton/Obama (Experts on THE HANDS); Lower Pay the Obama Way; And a Finger Back at ‘Ya, Barack!)

Nancy Pelosi Talks about Hillary during an Interview about Her New Book “Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters” (Ironic Title, Isn’t It?) (UPDATE 1X)

I spotted it in USA Weekend Magazine over breakfast…a little squib in the “Who’s News” column about Pelosi’s new book.

According to Lorrie Lynch, the columnist who puts together this page,

Pelosi told her she wrote the book because “other people were writing my story; I thought I should.” She wants our daughters to know that “power is within them.” They should “have faith in themselves, set their path and be ready for opportunity.”

I nearly spit up my tea as I read this claptrap.

Lynch usually seems to be oblivious to what’s going on, preferring to focus on the celebrity aspect of her interviews.  The rest of the current column is full of answers to questions from readers which are extremely important. For example, the question right under the Pelosi squib asks whether George Clooney is half-Greek or half-Italian…

I’ve caught Lynch in the past showing her biases toward political figures, so I was on the lookout for a lot of fawning, especially since she met Pelosi years ago–24 years ago–at the Democratic Convention in San Francisco.

By the way, the convention she’s referring to is the 1984 convention where Geraldine Ferraro was nominated for Vice President to run with Walter Mondale.  Twenty-four years ago…gee, haven’t we come a long way, baby?

Lynch did a full interview with Pelosi, so I went over to her blog to see what was there.

Lynch got off to a slow start with a very insightful question about whether being the chair of the host committee during that convention was as hard as being head of the national party now.  OK…

Pelosi was given the chance to shower women readers with loads of advice:

LL: You say in the book that women should know their power but keep the faith. Talk about what you mean by keeping the faith.

NP: I wanted to convey to women they can do anything if they know the power and keep the faith. The power is within them. The faith is within them, too. So, it’s about themselves. They should  be themselves, have confidence in that… set their path, set themselves on a track, or not, but be ready for whatever opportunities come along.  When you and I sat down 24 years ago when I was chair of the host committee if you had said to me in three years you’ll be in Congress I would’ve said that’s totally impossible.  But, when your transitions are revealed to you it’s important to recognize them and to give your faith and confidence in yourself if it’s what you want to do.

Hear that, PUMA women? Nancy tells us to “keep the faith.”

Nancy also spoke of her fondness for Washington, D.C. and San Francisco…you won’t believe this prattle:

Washington…inspires me to honor the entrepreunerial spirit of our founders. And my city of San Francisco is  a city built on optimism and entrepreunerial spirit and all the rest. I take the optimism and the fresh new ideas of California to Washington every week, respectful of the traditions that are there but connected with the spirit of our founders to make change for the future, to take risks, be bold and make the future better for our children.

Somehow I’ve missed all that boldness and risk taking she’s been doing lately on behalf of us…and she sure likes the word “entrepreunerial,” doesn’t she?

But Lynch managed to ask a few pointed questions about Pelosi’s thoughts on Hillary Clinton. These “thoughts” are mealy-mouthed, weasely and scripted, of course:

LL: In your book you talk about cracking the marble ceiling in the Capitol. In the primary campaign we heard a lot about breaking the ultimate glass ceiling. Do you feel any disappointment  — or that it’s a setback for women — that Sen. Clinton did NOT become the nominee?

NP: Sen. Clinton made a tremendous and courageous effort to win the White House. She made it clear a woman can be president, serve as commander in chief, has the knowledge, the courage and the stamina to be president of the United States. What Sen. Clinton did can never be considered a setback because she advanced the cause enormously, she almost won. You can’t call that a setback because no woman had come that far, gained that much support  blazing the trail for herself, for the future, for other women. It was progress, it was ground breaking and it is because of Sen. Clinton that those strides were made.

LL: The question now is, if not Hillary, than who? Who will be the first woman president? You may be in the most unique place to know who else is out there with the talent and possibility. Is there anyone you think eight years from now could be  another great woman candidate?

NP: I wouldn’t rule out Sen. Clinton eight years from now but that’s up to her. But in addition to that, there are many U.S. senators and women governors and  women in the House of Representatives who could be on the path to the White House. But remember one thing: Eight years ago, no one had even heard of Barack Obama. So, we don’t know who it could be, but what we want to do is make sure there is enough encouragement of women to get involved in the process, to receive the kind of support to follow their aspirations. This  is not for the faint of heart.

LL: People from all backgrounds and walks of life supported Sen. Clinton and were excited about the possibility of a woman president.

NP: I think that’s true. There’s no question there was a great deal of exuberance for having a woman president. I can tell you from my own experience becoming Whip, (majority) leader and then Speaker of the House, the enthusiasm that I have seen for a woman standing in the path to power.
I think the public is way ahead of the politicians in terms of women doing whatever job they set out to do. Of course, older women want to see it, younger women are inspired by it, but what touched me when I reached power was the letters, communications, I would get from fathers of daughters that would say, ‘I’m so happy to see that you have reached the heights that you have for what it means for my daughter.’ It’s not just confined to women wanting women to be successful… It’s people looking to a new generation.

Well, Pelosi didn’t answer the question about whether she was “disappointed” about Hillary “losing” the nomination. And when Lynch asked her who would be the first woman President, if not Hillary, Pelosi moved right into the “next generation” talk.  I’d like to know, however, who exactly these “many” women senators, representatives and governors are that are poised to catapult into the forefront?  Who else has the experience, tenacity, and smarts of Clinton?

It’s pretty clear that Pelosi would be happy to see Hillary Clinton out of the way after this year.  She’s dead and buried as far as the Democratic leadership is concerned, PUMAS.  But we already knew that, didn’t we? She can gloss her words all she likes, but she isn’t fooling us!

The replies to this interview are interesting.  None seem to have mentioned Hillary so far, but they sure are critical of Pelosi!   Apparently, not all readers of Lorrie Lynch are ready to just “fall in line.”

And here’s little tidbit about Lynch and Keith Olbermann.  Back in April, Lynch made Olbermann’s “Worst Person in the World” list.  Why?

I only merited the third place WORSE for my item in Sunday’s print column on CNBCs’ reporter Erin Burnett. Keith was upset that I told readers how Burnett would not talk to us without her PR handler being in on the interview. In his rant (which you can view here) Keith chastizes me for not understanding that no public figure from “the president to Ashton Kutcher” is interviewed without his press handler sitting in.

Sorry Keith, I beg to differ. I’m proud to say we expect public figures to be able to answer questions without  their PR people in the room or on the phone. It makes for much better interviews. And my column is full of such conversations every week. In fact, in November of 2005, Keith himself was featured in the column (scroll down a bit for the item), having given a lovely interview that was completely handler-free.

How rich is this?? A gossip columnists displays some “journalistic integrity” and that guy who thinks he’s Edward R. Murrow disses her for not wanting handlers with interviewees?

Unreal…as is Nancy Pelosi.  Just unreal…

UPDATE Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hate to report anything from Drudge, but he quotes the Nielsen Bookscan as reporting that Pelosi’s book has sold 2,737 copies during its first week and this after the USA Weekend push.

By contrast, the anti-Obama title, OBAMA NATION, has sold 21,466, according to a Drudge “insider.”

Looks like the people are speaking!!

Tarnished Star #2? Keith Olbermann Does a Nastier Version of the Bill Richardson “Turn on the Clintons”

Here’s must read article in the New Yorker magazine entitled “One Angry Man” that really describes in gory detail the Keith Olbermann personality disturbance which manifested during the primaries. The article starts with how Olbermann has become the latest to help transform “news” into “opinion” on cable, even before the primary season, but the really interesting part of the piece comes later in the piece and centers on Olbermann’s nasty turn on the Clintons. It’s one thing to change one’s allegiance, but another to do so with such overt hostility. Richardson, at least, didn’t get nearly as nasty as he threw the Clintons under the bus. And Richardson doesn’t have a nightly television show which he can use to deliver a regular pounding.

I remember, as does the author, the time when Olbermann was a fan of Bill Clinton, in the era B.B.O. (Before Barack Obama). Clinton, for all his troubles, was what Republicans could be compared to, much to the detriment of the current Administration.

Olbermann says that he began the campaign season determined to remain neutral on the Democratic race, although he was plainly friendly with the Clintons. (During an interview with Bill Clinton in 2006, Olbermann handed the former President a personal donation to the Clinton Foundation.) Olbermann liked Obama, but he believed, at first, that he would not make a strong candidate.

Then, of course, the wheels came off. Olbermann, once the daring, outspoken “truthseeker,” bought into the meme that Clinton and surrogates were “attacking” Obama. I recently rewatched what I think was a pivotal moment in the shift of the season’s narrative. It’s the video of Michelle Obama just before the South Carolina primary in which she is asked why Obama has, if I recall correctly, “only 38% of the black vote” and she stated that figure would change because “black people will wake up.” We all know now that the campaign to turn Bill Clinton into a racist bloomed then.