Bill Richardson at Commerce: Scary

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

With the hoopla about Hillary Clinton as the nominee for Secretary of State, the nomination of Bill Richardson at Commerce seems anti-climactic to many.  I decided to check out what the Department of Commerce really encompasses and was in for a real education. The various tentacles that reach out from Commerce are something to behold…and, I think, will provide Richardson with a whole lot of ways to make mischief.

As a New Mexico resident, I have to admit that I can’t stand this duplicitous jerk.  Much of my disgust involves his push for the spaceport project and the way he foisted it off on the public. Tops on my list is the way he barred citizens from attending his sales job at a meeting for parents and kids at a public school.  Police were called to assist in shoving away people from the general pubic who wanted to get in to hear what the deal was (See “Rules” article below.)

Of course, there’s all the water he carried for Obama here in NM after stabbing Hillary Clinton in the back (the “Judas” incident as described by James Carville).  Ultimately, Richardson ticked off a lot of Democratic legislators in Santa Fe with his machinations. [See Let Me Tell You About Bill Richardson and “RICHARDSON’S RULES”… AND Bill Richardson’s Star is Falling with a BIG THUD (Not on VP Shortlist, State Legislators FED UP with Him)].

And then there’s the maneuvering he did on behalf of Harry Teague, newly elected to the House from CD-2. For all the ties between Richardson, Teague, and Republican Steve Pearce, see  “Harry T. and the Chamber of Secrets” co-starring Oil and Republicans–Screenplay by Bill Richardson [Subtitle: The Behind-the-Scenes Adventures of Bill R., Harry Teague and the NM CD-02 Democratic Primary].

And then there’s Richardson’s ties to an “ACORN”-like group (Part II: NM AG, “Gutsy Gary” King, Fighting for Transparency re: Non-Profits Like the League of Young Voters and ACORN).

Now, take a peek the Department of Commerce website.

Look at the list of areas on the left and click through and see what each encompasses. Richardson’s new fiefdom deals with everything from telecommunications to Iraq reconstruction to minority business, industry and security, and economic analysis, just to touch the surface.

Putting Richardson in charge of this department gives him a playground that might not have the high public profile of Clinton at State…but, in my opinion, there’s a heck of a lot of ways that Richardson may prove to be more powerful…and more quietly and under the radar…than Hillary Clinton will be in the long run.

***

Here’s one of my pieces on Richardson’s role in the Obama visit here on Memorial Day this past May, which also includes a discussion of a foreign policy faux pas by Richardson. (Search the site for several more part in the series I did on the visit.)

Obama to Visit Site of Bataan Memorial Death March on Memorial Day…To Repair Dumb Comment Damage? (Or…To Straighten Out Foreign Policy Mix-up with Bill Richardson?)

Richardson may not have gotten State, but he’s bounced back just fine by grabbing Commerce.

Attention NeoProgs: You DID NOT Defeat the PUMAs!

~~By Grail Guardian

Enough already! It’s been nearly 2 weeks since the mythical “post-racial” election that would change the world, purify acid rain, halt all crime, turn all hate into love, make rainbows appear simultaneously and permanently in the sky over every nation, end global warming, part the seas, cause God’s light to shine upon us, and make the Unity Pony the universally accepted mascot of the globe – yet still it persists! By it, I mean the gloating, the taunting, the childish harassment across the Blogosphere, the never-ending threats, and of course the omnipresent misogyny alternating between Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton.

Our own GRL posted a smattering of the nasty comments we’ve had here at InsightAnalytical earlier this week. The site has been in forced moderation ever since the election due to the attacks of the Oborg and threats promising to shut the site down (and GRL informs me that at least one of our “regular” trolls has been permanently banned due to abuse). In this same article, reader Leslie reports that she is still beset by combative co-workers trying to cure her of her “wicked ways”. The joy is not isolated to IA, however. A recent check at Not Your Sweetie showed someone artfully calling themselves “PUMA FAIL” asking:

“How’s that McCain landslide going?”

…more than 10 weeks after the article was originally posted. Useful? I think not. Unprovoked? Most assuredly (note that the comment is preceded by 2 links to probama sites). Isolated? Hardly. At Texas Darlin’s blog, commenter Jennifer Boucher went way beyond the acceptable [Strong Language Warning!]:

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!! HOW IS HAVING BARACK OBAMA AS THE NEXT PRESIDENT GOING TO FUCK UP AND RUIN LIVES AND/OR THIS COUNTRY!!! HAVE YOU BEEN FUCKIN’ BLIND FOR THE PAST EIGHT FUCKIN’ YEARS!! LOOK AT THE FUCKIN’ MESS THAT BUSH HAS MADE! HOW ABOUT THE JOB HE HAS DONE! THE ENTIRE WORLD FREAKIN’ HATES US, THE ECONOMY IS HORRIBLE, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS. DID YOU ENJOY PAYING OVER $4 A GALLON FOR GAS? DO YOU ENJOY PAYING HIGH HEALTH CARE COSTS? HIGH GROCERY BILLS? HOW ABOUT NOT HAVING A FREAKIN’ JOB! MCCAIN WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FIX THIS MESS! HE’S OUT OF TOUCH WITH WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE AN AVERAGE AMERICAN, HE HAS SEVEN FREAKIN’ HOUSES FOR ONE THING! BARACK OBAMA DIDN’T GROW UP WITH A SILVER SPOON UP HIS FUCKIN’ ASS, AND HE’LL WORK HARD FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN! THIS WHOLE FUCKIN’ BULLSHIT ABOUT BARACK BEING A TERROIST, AND HIS MIDDLE NAME IS HUSSEIN IS RIDICULOUS!!! SO WHY DON’T YOU STOP WASTING YOUR FUCKING TIME PUTTING UP THESE FUCKING WEBSITES! WHY DON’T YOU WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE AND OPEN UP YOUR FUCKING EYES WHY DON’T YOU, AND SEE WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON!!

Of course, I could go on with the examples, but you get the drift. They’re still bitter, they’re still hostile, and they’re still blaming the PUMA movement for…uh, gee – I guess for Obama winning the election? Nope. In fact, they’re still insisting that PUMAs don’t exist. To wit, blogger LastPlaneOut:

Nice try, but PUMAs are done.

They never existed.

I have spent every day of the last 5 months thwarting Darragh’s Legion of Lost Typists.

Every prowl she organized, I got there first. I warned the media and the politicos that you were coming for them. I helped Roland Martin at CNN duck you. I telegraphed your email swarms to every targeted delegate and superdelegate at Denver. I have an inbox full of “Thank you” letters from PUMA targets who listened to me and dumped your message swarms into unused voicemail accounts and fax machines in the utility closet. I have fought you on the HuffingtonPost, US News and a dozen other media outlets. I have blocked your disinformation at every turn, bombed your YouTube videos, pretended to be your friend in Denver and spoofed you in a thousand ways.

There aren’t 18 million of you, as tonight’s election proves. Hell, there doesn’t seem to be ANY of you, based on the vote. You’ve been living a fantasy.

Tonight, I am — like Lou Gehrig — the happiest man on the face of the earth,

Bravo, President Barack Hussein Obama.

And good luck, PUMAs, at whatever the hell it is you plan on doing now, at the fringes of American politics.

The conventional wisdom indicates that if we don’t exist we wouldn’t get bothered or even referred to anymore, right? Alas, there is no wisdom in the Oborg. Their attacks continue unabated. Not just against PUMAs, but, of course against, all women. And their favorite 2, of course, Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Hillary Clinton. This week’s Roundup mentions perennially perky “joke” CBS News anchor Katie Couric’s advice to Palin:

“I think she should keep her head down, work really hard and learn about governing. But I’m not anyone to give advice to anyone about anything.”

No one seems to be mentioning that Couric could stand to learn something about journalism. Meanwhile, Politico snipes Palin for being more interesting to the press than her fellow Governors at a meeting last week:

While her other governors diagnosed the GOP woes that led to their second consecutive electoral thrashing and plotted a way out of the political wilderness, Sarah Palin did neither.
Two events were added to the annual Republican Governors Association meeting especially for the Alaska governor and former vice presidential nominee, but her objectives were unclear and her message, mixed. For somebody who is now seen as a prominent leader in the GOP and perhaps the party’s instant-front-runner for the 2012 presidential race, it was a less than auspicious return to the Lower 48.

Of course the big news making Obot heads explode was the offer to Senator Hillary Clinton to be Obama’s Secretary of State. At the Huffington Post writer Nico Pitney couldn’t disguise his disdain for the possibility, noting that Team Obama had to create an argument for him to swallow the news and that:

The offer shows that the Obama team is, in fact, serious about bringing all types of political officials — former foes included — into its governing tent. During the Democratic primary, Clinton was often accused by aides to Obama of inflating or over-dramatizing her foreign policy experience.

Enthusiastic HuffPo commenter BeltwayBette showed her support for party unity as follows:

HRC, in spite of huge efforts to pump up her foreign service credentials, which flopped on the tarmac you know where — is not qualitied for SOS.
HRC is not a team player, never has been. As we recall, she allegedly flopped the health plan Bill gave her because no one In DC could or would work with her.
HRC is same ole,same ole — and still too personally ambitious for the presidency to belong to her — or to the latest Clinton to be floated for the POTUS – Chelsea Clinton. The Dynasty refuses to die.
HRC, whose talking points against Sen.Obama fed the McCain campaign for almost two years — will have the power to undermine the man for whom it is said she felt only great contempt . .
BUT this is still only a rumor. I personally wish that President Elect Obama would put a sock in his leaks. And that he would show some loyalty to those who fought so hard for him — like the man HRC’s surrogate Carville villified for his Obama endorsement — Bill Richardson.
In 2012,we may need BR again.

So, to paraphrase the probable future Chair of the DNC Donna Brazile, why not Stop the Hate? No one appears to be immune to the bilious attacks. The Oborg even seems to be defying their beloved leader in opposing his Secretary of State offer to Clinton. The only answer I can offer is that these demented animals need somewhere to channel all the hatred they amassed during the past 2 years. You cannot be that bitter and vitriolic for that long and then suddenly stop. That probably means I should have some tolerance and compassion for these poor tortured troglodytes, but I can no longer muster any empathy or understanding. Instead, I offer the Oborg this thought:

You did not defeat the PUMA movement on November 4^th!

You read that right! You couldn’t do it. McCain/Plain was defeated by our old nemesis, the NeoCons. The facts support it; they stayed home in droves! The supposed legions of new registered Democrats (courtesy of ACORN) never materialized. The other voters that never materialized were the Conservatives. According to the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza (yet another h/t to Not Your Sweetie):

much of the Republicans’ permanent political class has concluded that electing Sen. John McCain as president would have amounted to applying a Band-Aid to a gaping wound. Given the state of the party — bereft of a signature new idea and without many fresh faces — plenty of Republican operatives have come to subscribe to what I’d call the Ra’s al Ghul theory of rebuilding: Ghul, a villain in the movie “Batman Begins,” advocates destroying the city of Gotham to rebuild it from the ground up. “It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die,” he says — a sentiment echoed by many Republicans these days, who argue that hitting rock bottom was the only way to allow new faces and ideas to emerge.

What’s more, the final numbers seem to indicate that had Hillary Clinton been the Democratic candidate, she would have slaughtered John McCain according to CBS:

As voters left the polls on Election Day, many were asked how they would have voted if the election match-up were between Hillary Clinton and John McCain rather than Barack Obama and McCain. 52 percent said they would have backed the former Democratic candidate; 41 percent would have voted for McCain, wider than Obama’s 7-point margin over McCain.

Snip

While 85% of Obama voters said they would have voted for Clinton had she been the Democratic candidate, 13% would not have supported her including 6% who said they would have backed McCain and 7% who said they would not have voted. (Emphasis mine)

In short, one man can be considered responsible for Barack Obama’s victory: George W. Bush

The Washington Post concludes that:

…a look at this year’s political atmospherics suggests that the environment was so badly poisoned that no Republican — not Mitt Romney, not Mike Huckabee, not even the potential future GOP savior, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — could have beaten Obama on Nov. 4.

Why not? Three words (and a middle initial): President George W. Bush.

snip

Enter Palin, who was embraced with a bear hug by the party’s conservative base. All of a sudden, cultural conservatives were thrilled at the chance to put “one of their own” in the White House. In fact, of the 60 percent of voters who told exit pollsters that McCain’s choice of Palin was a “factor” in their final decision, the Arizona senator won 56 percent to 43 percent.

For skittish conservatives looking for more evidence that McCain understood their needs and concerns, Palin did the trick. It’s hard to imagine conservatives rallying to McCain — even to the relatively limited extent that they did — without Palin on the ticket. And without the base, McCain’s loss could have been far worse.

So what’s my point? Well, it’s threefold:

1) An admittedly immature STFU to the Oborg

2) To establish that we PUMAs did our part to defeat Barack Obama

3) To remind PUMAs everywhere that we forgot who we should have been fighting and debunk an old adage: the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

It’s time to start ignoring the Obots and realizing how ineffectual they have become. We still have work to do.

FLASHBACK: Democratic Messages–Does Obama Cut It? (With an Aside about Obama’s Organizing & Connection to One of the ’04 Candidates)

Back when I was contributing to that OTHER SITE, I wrote this piece about what the Democratic message in 2004 might be…or should be.  I looked back to 1992 to the Clinton-Gore campaign, then brought the reader back to 2003 and looked at the messages being formed by the leading candidates at the time (John Kerry hadn’t yet declared.)  James Carville was discussing the type of candidate that was needed to renew the concept of “generational responsiblity,” which he called the “big issue” for Democrats in 2004.  And who seemed to articulate this “big issue” most clearly during the primary season? Former Senator and Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun.

Braun, who was from Chicago, Illinois and who became the first black woman elected to the Senate, was fairly controversial (with campaign funds coming under scrutiny and a trip to NIgeria where she met with the dictator in charge).  She was defeated in her 1998 re-election bid but in 2003-2004 when she ran for President, her message about “generational promise” was the most clearly articulated. (She dropped out of the race 4 days before the Iowa caucuses and supported Howard Dean.)

What’s interesting is that Barack Obama was involved in getting her elected to the Senate through his work with Project Vote.  At the time he was popular for his “integrity” and “honesty” and was perceived as “not at all comfortable with the political game of getting and staying elected, of raising money in backroom deals and manipulating an electable image”  Wow, have times changed! (See “HINDSIGHT” below for more on Braun and also a link to a 1995 article on the activities of Barack Obama at that time.)

So, give this blast from the past a read and think about the shift in the Democratic message since 1992.  The idea of passing on a better future for the next generation is one that I’m not seeing much of this time around. Will Obama’s flirtation with some rather conservative ideas really serve the next generations well?? At the same time,  we’ve also seen a sharp split being created by the Obama campaign–old vs. young.  And what the older generation has done is getting short shrift. A break is being created, not a true bridging of the generations.  A whole lot of older folks have been thrown under the bus.

Oh, but in his acceptance speech, Obama does give us a line, as vague as ever…

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story — of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart — that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

Does it meet James Carville’s thoughts on the type of candidate Democrats need?  It seems incomplete to me…pursuing dreams is one thing, but having a better lfe than the previous generation is another. See below and and judge for yourself…

Let Me Tell You About Bill Richardson and “RICHARDSON’S RULES”…

On Thursday night (April 24) Bill Richardson and James Carville were on The Larry King Show (video). Richardson ran through all the little memes about Hillary Clinton that we’ve come to know and love recently, including comments about her the silly demand for debates, the outrageous demands to count the votes in Florida and Michigan, and her “negative” campaign.

At about minute 5:00 of the above-linked video, Richardson brought up the subject of Florida and Michigan. “All of a sudden” the Clinton campaign was bringing these states up and heck “we all agreed” not to run in their primaries. Well, we all know that the Clinton campaign has been on the trail of Florida and Michigan for weeks (Carville reminded Richardson that the Clinton campaign had proposed paying for a re-vote) and that not everyone agreed to take their name off the ballot in Michigan. As for Florida, Obama held a press conference and ran ads in neighboring states that reached Florida market, which, Richardson forgot, broke the RULES.

Richardson is very upset that we are even THINKING about Florida and Michigan, but, of course, he’s operating from the book of “Richardson’s Rules” which seems to favor disenfranchising the voice of the people.

“Richardson’s Rules” were in effect about a year or so ago when proponents of a spaceport (read: pork for Richard Branson) was being sold heavily here in Southern New Mexico. (It was sold again for a vote that took place this past Tuesday on a tax in Sierra County, and, unfortunately, it passed). At the time of the first vote here in Dona Ana County, Richardson pulled out all the stops, including addressing a school assembly where students were a captive audience and which their parents (potential voters) were invited to attend.

What about the citizens who wanted to hear what Richardson was saying who were NOT students or parents and who showed up at the school? Well, they WERE NOT ALLOWED IN…in fact, law enforcement was present to make sure there wasn’t any trouble.

Back when I was teaching, it would have been considered unthinkable to allow a politician to appear on school time to push his agenda, especially without an opposing view and especially with the public barred from attending!

So, we see that Richardson doesn’t want New Mexican citizens allowed into what should be public appearances, nor does he want the voters of Florida or Michigan to vote. Those are Richardson’s Rules. Do I want to see him on a ticket in November? NO THANKS!

On top of that, his comments about Clinton’s supposed negativity were just the usual Richardson hypocrisy.

Way back in October 2007, Richardson was still a candidate and was upset about negativity then, too. In a report filed on CNN’s website dated October 30, 2007 (Richardson: No More Negative Campaigning), he said:

To all the Democratic candidates, let’s stay positive,” Richardson said. “Let’s get rid of all this negative stuff that I’m seeing.”Richardson then singled out Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and former Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, for their critical remarks of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York.

“I’ve become very concerned about the negative tone of the campaign,” he said. “I think that Senators Obama and Edwards should concentrate on the issues and not on attacking Sen. Clinton.”

“The differences on the issues should be highlighted, but personal attacks I believe should not take place,” he said.

In recent days, Obama and Edwards have spoken out against Clinton’s decision to accept contributions from lobbyists. Richardson defended Clinton and reiterated that calling her “integrity into question,” was unnecessary and “personally negative.”

That, of course, was before he decided to stab the Clintons in the back and not only endorse Obama, but also talk badly about them.

Changing an endorsement is not the problem, but usually, politicians don’t go to the lengths Richardson has gone recently in his attacks on the Clintons. Oh, but that must be another of Richardson’s Rules–“Acting with class is NOT required.”

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