Category: Election 2008

Guest Voice: Why the Neo-Cons Love Hillary by Jack Hunter

The Video (via TakiMag)

Transcript: (Via Charleston City Paper)

One item that made breaking news this week shouldn’t have surprised anyone – the possible selection of Hillary Clinton by Barack Obama as Secretary of State. And it’s a possible choice that has excited more than a few Republicans.

Neoconservatives afraid that a President Obama might even partially live up his promise to remove troops from Iraq have been warming up to the new administration and hedging their bets where they can. In his ongoing role as neocon concierge, Sen. Lindsey Graham’s arranged meeting between John McCain and Obama was one step, as was Graham’s blustering praise for Obama’s selection for Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a man who few conservatives have a kind word about. “This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama” glowingly said Graham of Emanuel.

And one can only assume that if Clinton were to take over for Condoleezza Rice, Graham and his boss John McCain will have the same enthusiasm and for the same reason. Republican Senator John Kyl, who teamed up with Joe Lieberman to get Congress to declare the entire Iranian army a terrorist organization as a precursor to possible war, said of Clinton as possible Sec. of State “It seems to me she’s got the experience. She’s got the temperament for it.” The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb was just as praiseful and more explicit about his excitement, “On the issues, Clinton’s a hawk. Not only did she vote to authorize the war in Iraq, she… went so far as to connect Saddam to al Qaeda… She threatened to ‘obliterate’ Iran (and) on matters of diplomacy, Clinton’s views are not so different from those held by John McCain and most Republicans. Clinton would be a fine Secretary of State… And perhaps she could even present the case for war with Iran to an insubordinate United Nations.”

Not since Operation Chaos during the primaries have we seen some Republicans so anxious to jump off the “Stop-Hillary Express” and on the Clinton bandwagon. The sort of Republican who cheers for Hillary is the same sort who embraced Lieberman. No matter how many liberal positions either held, socialized healthcare, open borders, higher taxes, anti-2nd amendment, it didn’t matter. As with Lieberman, so long as Hillary is prepared to continue sending U.S. troops around the world to continue the neoconservative mission of American global empire, Clinton would be their gal.

The Atlantic Monthly’s Andrew Sullivan noticed the neocons seeming comfort with Hillary during the presidential primaries “Among the neoconservatives there is obviously sympathy for her (Clinton) against the most decisively anti-war candidates, Obama and Edwards. Many publicly prefer her to the insurgent anti-war candidate in their own ranks, Texas congressman Ron Paul. Privately some neocons see her as an important substantive successor to Bush, perpetuating and retroactively legitimizing the Iraq occupation. She did vote for it, after all, they tell themselves. And her constant attempt to stay to the right of her opponents in the primaries has led to the bizarre spectacle of some well known Republicans showering her with thinly veiled support on Fox News.”

The rise of the neoconservatives to prominence during the Bush administration and the decades old term finally becoming part of the popular lexicon has led many plain, old fashioned conservatives to wonder, “what is it about these ‘neoconservatives’ that is actually conservative?”

Absolutely nothing. Neoconservatism’s main premise, that drastically different cultures in some of the most contentious parts of the world can magically become democratic through sheer force of American will, is arguably the most radical policy ever put forth by any government, anywhere. And conservatives now concerned about “radicals taking over the White House,” need to take a good, hard look at not only the woman Obama might be trusting with foreign affairs, but the Republicans who adore her.

The Far Left comes to its senses about Obama

It seems that the lights have finally come on and the Obama buzz has worn off amongst the far left.

Glenn Greenwald relays the following that was written by Digby, who Blogs at Hullabaloo.

The villagers and the right made it very clear what they required of Obama — bipartisanship, technocratic competence and center-right orthodoxy. Liberals took cultural signifiers as a sign of solidarity and didn’t ask for anything. So, we have the great symbolic victory of the first black president (and that’s not nothing, by the way) who is also a bipartisan, centrist technocrat. Surprise.

There are things to applaud about the cabinet picks — Clinton is a global superstar who, along with Barack himself, signals to the world that the US is no longer being run by incompetent, extremist, political fringe dwellers. Holder seems to be genuinely against torture and hostile to the concept of the imperial presidency. Gaithner is a smart guy who has the trust of the Big Money Boyz, which may end up being useful considering the enormous and risky economic challenges ahead. Emmanuel is someone who is not afraid to wield a knife and if we’re lucky he might just wield it from time to time against a Republican or a right wing Democrat. Napolitano seems to have a deft political touch with difficult issues like immigration which is going to be a battleground at DHS. And on and on.

None of them are liberals, but then Obama said repeatedly that he wasn’t ideological, that he cared about “what works.” I don’t know why people didn’t believe that. He’s a technocrat who wants to “solve problems” and “change politics.”  The first may actually end up producing the kind of ideological shift liberals desire simply because of the dire set of circumstances greeting the new administration. (Hooray for the new depression!) The second was always an empty fantasy — politics is just another word for human nature, and that hasn’t changed since we were dancing around the fire outside our caves.

If you want to press for a cabinet appointment at this late date who might bring some ideological ballast, I would guess that labor and energy are where the action is. It would be really helpful to have somebody from the left in the room when the wonks start dryly parceling out the compromises on the economy and climate change. But basically, we are going to be dealing with an administration whose raison d’etre is to make government “work.” That’s essentially a progressive goal and one that nobody can really argue with. But he never said he would make government “work” for a liberal agenda. Liberals just assumed that.

I could not have said it better myself. I watched as the Left; both moderate and far left, made Obama into a Messiah-like figure, who would right all of America’s wrongs. It was simply a myth. Obama is not superman, nor is he God. He is simply a man. A man who chose to try a make a difference in the political realm. I do not agree with Obama’s Political ideology; but I do admire the guy for deciding to do something to make change, instead of sitting on the sidelines and complaining; which is what a great amount of Americans do.

Another Quote from this that strikes me, as a bit odd, is this:

But Barack Obama is a centrist, establishment politician.  That is what he has been since he’s been in the Senate, and more importantly, it’s what he made clear — both explicitly and through his actions — that he intended to be as President.  Even in the primary, he paid no price whatsoever for that in terms of progressive support.  As is true for the national Democratic Party generally, he has no good reason to believe he needs to accommodate liberal objections to what he is doing.  The Joe Lieberman fiasco should have made that as conclusively clear as it gets.

That is because, that is what gets elected, Americans as a rule; tend to back away from extremists. Cynthia McKinney is a perfect example of that. Obama knew that if he was going to get elected, he had to run his campaign as a centerist and as a moderate Democrat, otherwise he would have lost.

Dept. of Corrections…

Hey, Sister Toldjah. You do mean, “Flag Burning Liberals”, right?

Cause that’s about what them damn hippy liberals are good for. I don’t buy all this stupidity that Liberals love America. That’s Bullshit of the highest order. If they’ve so loved America, they would never elected that floppy-eared fool, that’s going to be our next President.

(Trust me, there’s a ton of other “Not so Christian” or politically incorrect words that I’d like to call him, but it’s Sunday and I’m being cool about it.)

Sunday Afternoon Snort Worthy Quote

Responding to Sophia A. Nelson’s lament about how the Republican Party has not sucked up Pandered to the African-American race. Oliver Willis quips, “They don’t want your black ass!”

Just about made Coffee shoot right out of my nose! 😆

Thanks Oliver, I needed the laugh. 😀

Ugh: James Kirchick pisses in the Netroots Cheerios

Dang! Did someone do something to piss off James Kirchick? Not to get all ghetto on my readers…but, Damn homeboy got an attitude!

Kirchick Writes in the NY Daily News:

Barack Obama isn’t even President yet, and he’s already angering some of his most devoted followers on the party’s left wing. This is the mark of what could be a very successful presidency.

“With its congressional majority, the Democratic Party has refused to seriously try to end the war, to stop the bailout and to stop the trampling of civil liberties, just to name a few off the top of my head,” wrote David Sirota on the popular liberal blog OpenLeft, decrying the serial betrayals of Obama and the congressional Democratic majority. The Democratic Party, he wrote, has “faced no real retribution” for its manifold heresies, something that Sirota believes he and his band of angry bloggers must change. “We better understand why this happened,” he fumed.

Allow me to provide an answer. You don’t matter.

Ouch. That’s harsh. 😮

The week before Tuesday’s meeting, Obama let it be known that he bore “no grudge” against Lieberman. Setting a positive tone so early after a hard-fought election, he is already making good on his promise to, if not end, then at least lessen the “petty partisanship” he decried in the campaign. Among the positive outcomes of this week’s abject lesson in letting bygones be bygones, it is reassuring to see that the leadership of the Democratic Party isn’t as petty, vindictive and small as its left-wing supporters.

Not a good way to win or keep friends, if you ask me. I mean, I’m no Miss Congeniality here, but I don’t go around pissin’ into electric fans either. (Or so to speak…)

Others: DownWithTyranny!, Eunomia, The Heretik, Whiskey Fire, Riehl World View and Booman Tribune

Guest Voice: No More White Guilt – By Tom Adkins

Look at my fellow conservatives! There they go, glumly shuffling along, depressed by the election aftermath. Not me. I’m virtually euphoric. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not thrilled with America ‘s flirtation with neo socialism. But there’s a massive silver lining in those magical clouds that lofted Barack Obama to the Presidency. For today, without a shred of intellectually legitimate opposition, I can loudly proclaim to America : The Era of White Guilt is over.

This seemingly impossible event occurred because the vast majority of white Americans didn’t give a fluff about skin color, and enthusiastically pulled the voting lever for a black man. Not just any black man. A very liberal black man who spent his early career race-hustling banks, praying in a racist church for 20 years, and actively worked with America-hating domestic terrorists. Wow! Some resume! Yet they made Barak Obama their leader. Therefore, as of Nov 4th, 2008, white guilt is dead.

For over a century, the millstone of white guilt hung around our necks, retribution for slave-owning predecessors. In the 60s, American liberals began yanking that millstone while sticking a fork in the eye of black Americans, exacerbating the racial divide to extort a socialist solution. But if a black man can become President, exactly what significant barrier is left? The election of Barack Obama absolutely destroys the entire validation of liberal white guilt. The dragon is hereby slain.

So today, I’m feeling a little “uppity,” if you will. From this day forward, my tolerance level for having my skin color hustled is now exactly ZERO. And it’s time to clean house. No more Reverend Wright’s “God Damn America ,” Al Sharpton’s Church of Perpetual Victimization , or Jesse Jackson’s rainbow racism. Cornell West? You’re a fraud. Go home. All those “black studies” programs that taught kids to hate whitey? You must now thank Whitey. And I want
that on the final.

Congressional Black Caucus? Irrelevant. Maxine Waters? Shut up. ACORN? Outlawed. Black Panthers? Go home and pet your kitty. Black separatists? Find another nation that offers better dreams. Go ahead. I’m waiting.

Gangsta rappers? Start praising America . Begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. And please…no more ebonics. Speak English, and who knows where you might end up? Oh, yeah…pull up your pants. Your underwear is showing. You look stupid.

To those Eurosnots who forged entire careers hating America ? I’m still waiting for the first black French President.

And let me offer an equal opportunity whupping. I’ve always despised lazy white people. Now, I can talk smack about lazy black people. You’re poor because you quit school, did drugs, had three kids with three different fathers, and refuse to work. So when you plop your Colt 45-swilling, Oprah watchin’ butt on the couch and complain “Da Man is keepin’ me down,” allow me to inform you: Da Man is now black. You have no excuses.

No more quotas. No more handouts. No more stealing my money because someone’s great-great-great-great grandparents suffered actual pain and misery at the hands of people I have no relation to, and personally revile.

It’s time to toss that massive, obsolete race-hustle machine upon the heap of the other stupid 60s ideas. Drag it over there, by wife swapping, next to dope-smoking. Plenty of room right between free love and cop-killing. Careful…don’t trip on streaking. There ya go, don’t be gentle. Just dump it. Wash your hands. It’s filthy.

In fact, Obama’s ascension created a gargantuan irony. How can you sell class envy and American unfairness when you and your black wife went to Ivy League schools, got high-paying jobs, became millionaires, bought a mansion, and got elected President? How unfair is that??? Now, Like a delicious O’Henry tale, Obama’s spread-the-wealth campaign rendered itself moot by it’s own victory! America is officially a meritocracy. Obama’s election has validated American conservatism!

So, listen carefully…Wham!!!

That’s the sound of my foot kicking the door shut on the era of white guilt. The rites have been muttered, the carcass lowered, dirt shoveled, and tombstone erected. White guilt is dead and buried.

However, despite my glee, there’s apparently one small, rabid bastion of American racism remaining. Black Americans voted 96% for Barack Obama. Hmmm. In a color-blind world, shouldn’t that be 50-50? Tonight, every black person should ask forgiveness for their apparent racism and prejudice towards white people. Maybe it’s time to start spreading the guilt around.

Guest Voice: Too Much Denial Going On Around Here By By: J.J. Jackson

Too Much Denial Going On Around Here

By: J.J. Jackson

Dear God in Heaven above!  There is so much denial going on right now among Conservatives that I feel like I have just arrived at an AA meeting where there are bunch of first timers, who have been dragged there by their friends and family, and are shouting about how they, “don’t have a problem.”  I have just gotten about as sick of this as I can take and am ready to start slapping you denial riddled fools upside your empty little heads.  So here is my hand and here comes the slap that you all so rightfully deserve.

For nearly the past three weeks I have been hearing conservatives softening their tones on Barack Obama after he beat John McCain and his moderate ramblings on November 4th.  And if it did not sink in when I said in the last paragraph that I am sick of it, then let me reiterate it again.  I am damn sick of it.

You little pansies, and you know who you are, who are talking about giving Barack Obama a honeymoon and talking about waiting to see what he actually does really do make me sick.  You make me sick because a lot of you were the same people who were unloading on him and his Marxist ideology (clearly able to be seen by anyone reading what he has written and listening to anything he has said) for months prior to the election.  He deserved that barrage from the big guns then and he deserves the same firepower, if not more, pointed and unleashed upon him now that he has won. The man does not deserve any sort of a “honeymoon.”  There is no, “wait and see what he will do,” reasoning that is valid.  We know what he wants to do.  He has said it time and time again.  The only question is will he be allowed to do it.

But a lot of you namby-pambies, who try desperately to put forth your conservative, pro-liberty credentials, are denying everything that the man has said and done within his life and his campaign. You are hoping, beyond hope if you ask me, that he will all of a sudden change his stripes and not go full auto Marxist on our butts.  My God, what has happened to you cowards?

I would love to think that you are maybe just scared of saying something that Barack Obama or his “truth squads” might find objectionable and that you are moderating your tones out of fear.  We all know that history is replete with examples of how people with Obama’s ideas deal with their political opponents.  I cannot believe that you actually however believe that things will be different than what he promised when he was on the campaign trail.

Maybe he will be more moderate on taxes?  He will not be if you keep making excuses for him instead of preaching economic reality!

Maybe he will be more reasonable in fighting the war on terror?  If you start giving him a honeymoon and believing that now, all of a sudden, he will see how serious terrorism is, he will not be.

Maybe he will be a little more considerate of the first amendment? Yeah, I see that happening if you start making excuses and take a wait and see attitude!

Maybe he will not rush headlong into trampling on the second amendment? Ok, sure … you believe this despite all his anti-gun, anti-self defense remarks during his life and on the campaign trail why?

Oh, I know what your excuse is because you keep saying it.  You keep saying that now, because he is actually going to be sitting in the oval office and (you assume) held accountable for his actions, he will recognize the reality of the myriad of situations which will confront him and that he will have to act in more moderate ways because his is “smart”.  Yeah, “smart” … that’s what they call spouting Marxist talking points and promoting an ideology that has failed time and again from Mussolini’s Italy to Hitler’s Germany to Stalin’s Russia to Khrushchev’s Soviet Union to Mao’s China to Kim Jong Il’s North Korea to Castro’s Cuba to Chavez’s Venezuela?  Not to mention how it is currently failing in the plethora of European states that continue to struggle under chronically high unemployment rates and legacy costs for the “free” healthcare and welfare of Marxism light and the entitlement mentality.

You want him to change his stance on anything he believes?  You have to unload on him and keep hitting him with the truth.  No honeymoons.  No grace periods.

If I hear one more conservative or so-called capitalist (most of whom I believe are corporatists, in that they are capitalists looking to game the socialist system for their own ends, and not true capitalists) claiming that Obama is “smart,” despite my previous points about his promotion of an idiotic ideology that has always and will always fail, I may have to move from slapping them silly to putting a boot up in where the sun does not shine.  It is a ridiculous notion that you folks espouse.

“Smart” people do not rush headlong down a road that leads off a cliff.  I do not care how many degrees and letters they have after their names.  As we all know the halls of academia are littered with the corpses of people that have such honors behind their names and could not think their way out of a paper bag.  But they can certainly pontificate on the way things, “ought to be,” in their minds and muse and whine about why things are not that way.

It is time to stop denying who Barack Obama is, and always has been, and admit that he has given no reason to “hope” that he will be anything other than the man he has shown us to be.  It is time to admit that in order to “change” him (and the course this country has been on for the previous century regardless of what liberals believe) that he must be ridden and ridden hard.  He must be constantly smacked upside the head with the facts and not allowed to get by on good looks, charm and lofty, vacuous rhetoric.  He must not be given a free pass.  He must not be given a honeymoon.  And most importantly he should not be given any more credit than he is due.

Right now, his credit is zero.  So get up and stop being a bunch of wishful hopers like the mindless Obamatons that voted for him are.  And stop feeling, as they do, that by merely having “hope” that our troubles will be washed away and get your butts to work.

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J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the lead editor contributor to American Conservative Daily and also the founder of SignalCongress.com.  He is the owner of The Right Things – Conservative T-shirts & Gifts (http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings). His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com

Quote of the Day

After an election loss, recriminations are inevitable.  Everyone believes they know what went wrong and who is to blame for it.  Conservatives in the Republican Party are blaming the corruption and apostasies of senators like Ted Stevens (R-AK) for the party’s tarnished image, while more elite conservative opinion-makers like Kathleen Parker and David Brooks are arguing that the party must head left, and specifically jettison social conservatives, to appeal to a broader base of the electorate.

Most of these arguments are not credible.  For instance, the latter group cites poll evidence showing that such-and-such demographic groups, who had voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, all of a sudden switched to supporting Obama and other Democrats.  That is a true observation, but it does not necessarily follow that the GOP should act more Democratic to appeal to these groups.  The problem is that all demographic groups favored the Democrats more this year than they did last election.  The GOP lost ground among men, women, all educational and income levels, minorities, and age groups.  There is no group here that can be targeted for a specific appeal, no Rovian strategy that will woo a particular demographic.  The GOP simply lost.

The Obligatory Hillary Accepts Secretary of State Posting

I figured she would…. anyhow, Because everyone and their uncle’s brother is talking about it. I guess I’ll follow the herd here. (Walk like a buffalo…..80’s humor, sorry… 😛 )

Via the NYT’s “The Caucus”:

Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

“She’s ready,” said the confidant. Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week “was so general,” the confidant said. The purpose of the follow-up talk, he added, was not to extract particular concessions but “just getting comfortable” with the idea of working together.

A second Clinton associate confirmed that her camp believes they have a done deal. Senior Obama advisers said Friday morning that the offer had not been formally accepted and no announcement will be made until after Thanksgiving. But they said they were convinced that the nascent alliance was now ready to be sealed.

Mrs. Clinton’s spokesman, Philippe Reines, issued a statement Friday afternoon cautioning that the nomination is not final. “We’re still in discussions, which are very much on track,” he said. “Any reports beyond that are premature.”

I can almost hear the Republicans screaming “RETREAD!” now. Which is pretty funny considering that Reagan used Nixon and Ford retreads.

The victims of the Waco Massacre, which included Seventy-six U.S. Citizens including 21 children and two pregnant women; were unavailable for comment.

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