Clipmarks | masbury's 'race' clips

McCain: Obama's not an Arab - he's decent!

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:34:21 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: You can bet that will be heard around the world. Making peace with Arab nations just became harder. On the other hand, Arab-American voters (in the millions, and in swing states) just moved out of "undecided."

Clip Source: www.juancole.com

The McCain attempt to connect race and terror

in his advertising, while projecting an image of taking the high road

crashed and burned on Friday when he did not notice he was engaging in racist hate speech:

another supporter told McCain, "I don't trust Obama...He's an Arab."

"No, ma'am," he said. "He's a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with." '

Arab is a linguistic identity whereas Muslim is a religious one. Not all Arabs are Muslims

only a minority of Muslims is Arab

Worse than the lady's confusion between Arab and Muslim were her further obvious confusion between Muslim and dangerous.

Mr. McCain, Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans are decent, family-oriented citizens. The only thing wrong with calling Obama by either of these modifiers is that it would be incorrect. He is not an Arab ethnically, but rather northern European and Luo (Nilotic). He is not a Muslim but a Christian

As with his self-professed "hatred" of "gooks," McCain's

attitude

troubling

[Video]

Tags: mccain, arab

Long-shot races closing the gap as Repubs slip

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:38:08 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Surprises in WV GA, KY:
West Virginia - the 2nd closest race in the nation, McCain up only 1.1 points!
Kentucky: incumbent Senate Repub Leader Mitch McConnell now has less than 50% of the vote
Georgia: Repub Saxby Chambliss up by less than two

Clip Source: sage

the data above suggest continued progress for the Obama-Biden ticket following Tuesday night's debate.

Meanwhile, things have shifted a bit in races for the Senate. A series of new surveys released over the last few days confirm a significant narrowing in Georgia, which we now classify as a toss-up. Republican Saxby Chambliss now leads Democratic challenger Jim Martin on our trend estimate by less than two percentage points (45.3% to 43.5%).

And in Kentucky, internal polls released by both campaigns disagree on the margin, but agree that incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell is winning less than 50% of the vote (48% on the poll from the Democrats, 47% on the poll by Republicans). Our trend estimate still gives McConnell enough of a lead (48.2% to 42.6%) to rate "lean" Republican status.

Tags: wv, polls, kentucky, georgia

Country First? Really?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:41:58 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Will the disgraceful and desperate attacks hurt Obama? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is clear: they will hurt our country."

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Nothing has proven the utter hollowness of John McCain's "Country First" slogan than Sarah Palin's vile behavior the past few days.

We all know by now that her low-blow, guilt-by-association stump speeches, in part claiming that Obama is "palling around with terrorists" -- called "unsubstantiated," and "racially-tinged" by the Associated Press and "appalling" and "the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia" by the New York Times -- are part of a negative attack strategy announced publically by senior Republican operatives on Saturday.

Will the disgraceful and desperate attacks hurt Obama? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is clear: they will hurt our country.

Barack Obama will most likely be the next President

How is President Obama supposed to lead our country through two wars and the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression when candidates have spent a month trying

through ugly innuendo

to convince

the population that he's an evil, black Muslim terrorist who hates America?

Tags: country first, mccain, obama, palin

Deja vu! Listen to this 1988 campaign strategy

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:11:38 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: From Maureen Dowd: Lee Atwater's 1988 stategy, created to help Bush smear Dukakis, sounds awfully familiar: "The Democrat was a ’60s-style liberal who would raise taxes and take away guns. He was weak and would not protect the country militarily. He was a member of the elite 'Harvard Yard’s boutique'. He had a foreign-sounding name and was on the side of the Scary Black Man."
Let's get over the idea that Republican innuendos are not about race; race scare has been the strategy for years.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

But if McCain loses, he will have contributed to his own downfall by failing to live up to his personal standard of honor.

John McCain has long been torn between wanting to succeed and serving a higher cause. Right now, the drive to succeed is trumping any loftier aspirations. He cynically picked a running mate with less care than theater directors give to picking a leading actor’s understudy. And he has been running a seamy campaign originally designed by the bad seed of conservative politics, Lee Atwater.

Atwater relished teaching rich, white Republicans to feign a connection to the common man so they could get in office and economically undermine the common man

In the 1988 campaign,

this unholy quintet of charges:

The Democrat was a ’60s-style liberal who would raise taxes and take away guns. He was weak and would not protect the country militarily. He was a member of the elite “Harvard Yard’s boutique.” He had a foreign-sounding name and was

on the side of the Scary Black Man.

familiar?

Tags: republicans, lies, atwater

Whaddya know? People ARE talking about race!

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:00:53 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Here are some honest folks putting it right there on the table where everyone can see it.

Clip Source: www.motherjones.com

But, boy, do we have a long way to go. Check out this article about Obama organizers doing their best in Buchanan County, Virginia. Here's an excerpt:

...Obama's supporters, as they push to win this dead-even battleground state, are talking directly about race

When Cecil E. Roberts, president of the coal miners union that shapes politics in much of this mountain region, talks to voters, he tells them that their choice is to have "a black friend in the White House or a white enemy." When Charlie Cox, an Obama supporter, hears friends fretting about Obama's race, he reminds them that they pull for the nearby University of Tennessee football team, "and they're black."

Union organizer Jerry Stallard asks fellow coal workers what's more important: improving their work conditions or holding onto their skepticism of Obama's race, culture or religion. "We're all black in the mines," he tells them.

Tags: race, election, politics

Goldwater to McCain, race innuendo is GOP plan

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:37:02 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "The American right has come full circle in 44 years, with two allegedly maverick senators from Arizona playing bookend roles, one at the beginning, one perhaps at the end"

Clip Source: www.salon.com

The Republican Party under Nixon and Reagan succeeded because it was able to convince enough white Democrats and swing voters that it was the party of the "average American," oppressed by federal bureaucrats and do-gooder programs like busing and affirmative action. It was able to conceal the fact that it was the party of the rich beneath a populist, race-tinged appeal to white resentment.

By embracing cracked ideologies like trickle-down economics, by letting big corporations do whatever they want, and by religiously refusing to raise taxes, the GOP since Reagan has tilted much too far to the right. George W. Bush pushed the party over the cliff, with the final straw being his own unique contribution, a demented and pointless war.

conservatism has returned to being

a fringe movement

If McCain wins, it will mean that all the forces that led to the rise of modern conservatism -- racial resentment, unthinking anti-governmentalism and hatred of "liberals" -- still reign supreme.

Tags: republican, mccain, goldwater

Obama to McCain: Tell us about economy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:09:48 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: McCain attempts to change the subject away from America's most pressing crisis back to smear, knowing his economic views are not selling

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Barack Obama said Monday that John McCain is trying to shift attention from the troubled economy because the issue is bad for the Republican presidential nominee's campaign.

The Democratic presidential candidate told reporters in Asheville, N.C., that he "cannot imagine anything more important to talk about" than Americans' losing their jobs, health care and homes.

In published reports, an aide to McCain recently said his campaign would like to shift the presidential race's focus away from the economy, which has been a better issue for Democrats than Republicans

Obama, referring to economic turmoil, said: "The notion that we would want to brush that aside and engage in the usual political shenanigans and smear tactics that have come to characterize too many political campaigns is not what the American people are looking for."

Obama renewed his call for extending unemployment insurance and for

a second stimulus package that would include tax cuts for millions of Americans

Tags: mccain, obama, economy

BBC: "It is no longer a toss-up election"

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:06:06 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: McCain's only hope is to shock the race somehow. He succeeded in doing it at the convention. He tried and failed during the bailout crisis.

Clip Source: timesonline.typepad.com

For a period, it was possible to view the McCain versus Obama election as a toss-up, but we have gone beyond that point. It is no longer a toss-up election.

And events that take place during the campaign should not be reported as if it was a toss-up.

Obama is decisively ahead.

His lead is clear, it is reflected in state races and it is consistent.

McCain's only hope is to shock the race somehow. He succeeded in doing it at the convention. He tried and failed during the bailout crisis.

But there aren't very many opportunities to repeat the trick and last night was one of those. It was a long shot, but still a shot.

So Sarah Palin needed to win last night. Of course Republicans feared disaster, but avoiding disaster wasn't enough. Avoiding disaster means the race goes on smoothly and serenely.

And if it does that, Obama wins.

So by not losing Biden won.

Tags: mccain, obama, election, politics

CNN polls: Obama surges in swing states

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:23:06 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Voters in Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia suggest a shift toward the Democratic presidential nominee

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- Polls in five crucial battleground states in the race for the White House released Wednesday suggest that Sen. Barack Obama is making some major gains.

The CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. polls of likely voters in Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia suggest a shift toward the Democratic presidential nominee.

In Florida

51 percent of likely voters say Obama

47 percent

McCain

The last CNN poll taken in Florida

showed the race

tied at 48

Minnesota

Fifty-four percent

Obama

McCain

11-point lead is much larger than the 2-point

in the last CNN poll

similar story in Missouri, where 49

are backing Obama

48 percent supporting McCain

gain for Obama, who was down 5 points

Obama has a 4-point lead over McCain in Nevada, 51- 47

CNN's last survey

had McCain up slightly

In Virginia, which hasn't voted for the Democrats in a presidential contest since 1964, the new poll suggests Obama has a 9-point lead, 53-44 percent.

The last CNN survey in Virginia

had McCain up by 4

Tags: polls, politics, obama

If Palin is as much a candidate as the men ...

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:32:50 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Campbell Brown: "you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff"

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Campbell Brown says she's had it with what she calls Sen. John McCain campaign's chauvinism toward Sarah Palin.

I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin

I call upon the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower who will wilt at any moment.

She is strong, she is tough, she is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuf

Allow her to face down those pesky reporters just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today. Just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions.

By treating Sarah Palin differently from other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves.

Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do.

Tags: sexism, palin, women, mccain

Voters blame Repubs for economy

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:24:56 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Obama gains among men and seniors, two core McCain constituencies - both groups have flipped, narrowly favoring O.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- By a two-to-one ratio, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks, a new national poll suggests.

That may be a contributing factor to an apparent increase for Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain in the race for the White House.

Forty-nine percent of those questioned say Obama, D-Illinois, would display good judgment in an economic crisis, six points higher than McCain, R-Arizona.

And Obama has a 10-point lead over McCain when it comes to who would better handle the economy overall.

These numbers seem to be affecting the battle for the presidency. Fifty-one percent of registered voters are backing Obama, five points ahead of McCain, who is at 46 percent.

Where did Obama make his gains?

"In two core McCain constituencies: men, who now narrowly favor Obama, and seniors, who have also flipped from McCain to Obama," said Bill Schneider, a CNN senior political analyst.

Tags: mccain, obama, politics

Divided on racial views

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:37:42 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Is it just coincidence that the more powerful group doesn't see discrimination as much of a problem? H/T bbking13, who clipped another part of this good story.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Tags: race

Obama donor ranks swell with Palin nomination

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:06:32 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: 500,000 new donors after Palin enters race

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Obama backers break cash records as Palin redraws campaign battleground

Barack Obama pulled in $66 million last month, smashing his previous fundraising record amid clear signs that Sarah Palin has mobilised many grassroots Democrats against her as much as she has energised the Republican Party.

Mr Obama's fundraising total for August beat his monthly record of $55 million (£31 million) and was the highest in US presidential history. It came with the addition of 500,000 donors, many of whom signed on to the campaign after the extraordinary entry of Mrs Palin into the race as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

Tags: palin, obama, politics

Obama opens comfortable lead in Iowa

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:55:16 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Up by 12!

Clip Source: www.gazetteonline.com

Poll: Obama opens comfortable lead in Iowa

DES MOINES - Iowa has long been viewed as a battleground state, in part because of narrow margins of victory in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, but Barack Obama appears to have opened up a wide lead against John McCain.

THE POLL: The Des Moines Register, presidential race in Iowa of likely voters.

THE NUMBERS: Barack Obama 52 percent, John McCain 40 percent.

DETAILS: Conducted Sept. 8-10 by telephone with 801 Iowans. Sampling error margin plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

MORE: www.desmoinesregister.com

Tags: obama, iowa, mccain, politics

Mississippi GOP hides hot race illegally at ballot-bottom

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:55:45 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Restraining order now issued preventing ballot distribution; violation of MS election law

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

with tight polls in the race to fill out the remaining four years of Trent Lott's term, the Mississippi GOP has succeeded (for now) with its innovative plan to help Interim Senator Wicker remain in office: hiding the race at the bottom of the November ballot.

Pike County Elections Commissioner Trudy Berger today has already obtained a temporary restraining order from the Hinds County Circuit Court, barring Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Governor Haley Barbour from sending the disputed ballots to County Election Boards.

How clear is the law?

SEC. 23-15-367. Arrangement of names of candidates, order of titles of offices, and printing of official ballot generally

... (2) The titles for the various offices shall be listed in the following order:

(a) Candidates for national office;
(b) Candidates for statewide office;
(c) Candidates for state district office;
(d) Candidates for legislative office;
(e) Candidates for countywide office;
(f) Candidates for county district office.

Tags: gop, politics