Davodd.com

Out of the thousands and thousands of good preachers available Jan. 20, Obama picked one of the leaders of the anti-gay marriage movement. As the Boston Globe says in today’s editorial by Derrick Z. Jackson:

   To this day, in all the phobic frenzy to ban gay marriage in state after state, not a single straight person has yet to demonstrate how a gay or lesbian couple’s marriage has any impact whatsoever on a straight marriage, let alone how it might bring the institution to its knees. Gay folks are merely a scapegoat for the fact that straight couples get it right only about half the time.

…

   Obama [is] exercising terrible judgment on someone who just got done injecting anti-gay ideology into politics in the biggest state in the nation. It is nice that Warren and many evangelicals are increasingly involved in the environment and global poverty. But it seems that Obama is having a little PJSD here, as in Post Jeremiah Stress Disorder. Having nearly had his campaign destroyed by the tapes of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright blasting America as a hopelessly racist nation, Obama seems compelled to close his eyes to one of the most powerful forms of conservative-driven bigotry left in this country.

…

   Obama earned an outpouring of support from gay and lesbian voters, even though his personal stand on gay marriage was standard political fare, stopping at civil unions. Gay advocacy groups praised how he included them rhetorically in speech after speech. Now, a month before that great day that could bring all Americans together unlike any in the nation’s history, Obama has gone out of his way to pick someone for the invocation who is not even close to being a pastor for all Americans.

   When Obama saw how flammable Wright was, he took him off the stage for the announcement of his candidacy in Springfield, Ill. Warren’s calling a ban on gay marriage a “humanitarian” issue should result in the same. If Warren is allowed to give the invocation, the bright American rainbow that got Obama into office will dim in a way that spells danger for what else Obama will not stand up for.

As of today, two states: Massachusetts and Connecticut recognize gay and lesbian people as full citizens with all the rights and responsibilities as every other citizen.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBSy5V4t7sI]

PSA No to Proposition 8

It is just sickening the outright lies the McCain/Palin ticket is telling in a desperate attempt to foment enough fear in the electorate to win based upon ignorance and bigotry.

Sarah Palin’s rant of lies in Clearwater, Florida this week is a low point in American politics, as reported by the Washington Post here is an excerpt:

“So I was reading the New York Times and I was really interested to read about Barack’s friends from Chicago.”

It was time to revive the allegation, made over the weekend, that Obama “pals around” with terrorists, in this case Bill Ayers, late of the Weather Underground. Many independent observers say Palin’s allegations are a stretch; Obama served on a Chicago charitable board with Ayers, now an education professor, and has condemned his past activities.

“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.

“Boooo!” said the crowd.

“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.

“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.

“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.

nod: Steph

OK … the below photo was released by the McCain campaign from the Republican convention.

Something tells me Sarah Palin wasn’t the only thing not vetted properly.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKkydrUnBZE]

Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin laughs as cancer survivor Senator Lyda Green of the Alaska State Senate is called a “bitch” and a “cancer” on “The Bob and Mark Show”, a radio show on KWHL in Alaska.

Even worse, she went back on the same show with John McCain after this whole fiasco when her VP nom was announced:

Yet bear this in mind – good things come to those who wait. If that means 2012, lets go there. Stronger, feistier and more steadfast in our convictions. As supporters, we know we are right in backing the best candidate running for President. It is simply that the hype has taken over the fundamental facts, which we never foresaw and we did not comprehend.

I have loved her since the tender age of 15 when I first started to become interested in politics, and was mesmerized by her ability to be a forthright and active First Lady and then an astounding Senator for New York. In “Living History” she wrote “My faith has always been a crucial, though deeply personal, part of my life and part of my family’s life. When I was confirmed into the Methodist Church, I took to heart John Wesley’s words” “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can..as long as you ever can.” I sat on a beach, with my diet Coke in one hand and Living History, slightly sandy, in the other. I gazed at the sunset and dreamt of what the promise of a second Clinton Presidency could hold and bring to America and to the world at large. This wasn’t just a woman, this was a leader. In 2007, she spoke the words the world had been waiting to hear. “I am putting together a Presidential exploratory committee.” My heart skipped a beat that day, and all the joyous feelings I had experienced at 15, my beach day, came gushing back to me. It was time for a woman President. It was time.

So in West Virginia after a 41 point victory on Tuesday evening, she once more infused my heart, mind and soul with hope and spoke confidently, passionately and courageously. She brought to the table the kind of hope that isn’t empty, that isn’t cheap and that comes at a great price. Her supporters poised once more, rose to the challenge she posed to them – to stay with her until the lady in the pantsuit says that its over. We have all prayed, in the face of a biased media and a reluctant democratic party, that the nation would listen to our calls and push her further towards the nomination. West Virginia, amongst the other crucial primary states, did not let us down. We’ll stand, we’ll fight, we’ll defend and we’ll continue.

“As long as we remember that there is no challenge we cannot meet, no barrier we cannot break, no dream we cannot realize. So, let’s finish the job we started. America is worth fighting for.”

This next part cannot be written without alluding to Senator Obama -sorry I am breaking my promise but it is essential to place my feelings into some kind of context.

At the White House’s Two-Hundredth Anniversary Dinner, Gerald Ford stated “Once again, the world’s oldest Republic has demonstrated the youthful vitality of its institutions and the ability and necessity to come together..the clash of partisan political idea’s does remain just that – to be quickly followed by a transfer of authority.” In response to this she wrote that this was proof that America’s foundations were stronger than individuals and politics. So what baffles me about Senator Obama’s ‘change in Washington’ politics is that it really is empty rhetoric. For a system that has worked for hundreds of years, albeit abused by the Bush Administration and in great need of re-establishing accountability and governance of the American people, not simply alluding to the ideals and preferences of those in power, it seems an awful lot of individuals are blindly buying into the ‘change we can believe in’ mantra. This is without really thinking through the fundamentals of what this entails, it being quite simply, unworkable and unnecessary in a system that serves American citizens each day, and with accountable political leaders having their best interests at heart, well.

The overwhelming advantage she has, has been her ability to really tackle head on, without reservation, the special interests that seek to curb positive change for the American people. Whether they be the drug companies, the insurance companies or the lobbyists. That resounding ability to rise to the challenge is what will lay the foundations for a remarkable Clinton Administration. She is unafraid, she is capable, she is ready and she is more than willing to be the fearless agent of change. That is why my thoughts are entangled within a web of uncertainty and moreover, frustration, at why this woman is not already the nominee, and why the Democratic party are so forceful in their rejection of continuing the race and keeping her Presidential bid alive. It is baffling to me, when here for the first time in a long while, America has been presented with the opportunity to elect an extremely able candidate, who also has a personality that oozes compassion and concern for ‘real problem’s. A candidate who not merely works for the people, but listens to their needs and acts upon their fears, dreams and desires towards a better future for all involved.

What is not to like about Universal Health care? A renewable energy plan that will pave the way towards tackling global warming on a worldwide scale? An Economic plan that will seek to end the home foreclosure crisis and allow America to once again have a balanced budget and a surplus, with employment opportunities? A plan that will make college affordable and early learning more accessible and widespread, allowing children to reach their god given potential? What is not to like about that John Edward’s, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd? Answer me that.

My conclusion is that they are not rejecting the policy ideas that have come with the prospect of a second Clinton Administration: they are perfectly visionary and exciting. They are rejecting the woman who would be the champion of such ideal’s.

But let me tell you about that woman: you know the one who said ‘Women’s rights are human rights”, the one who started the Cookie-Scandal holding a sign saying “put Broccoli back in the White House,” the first First Lady to ever have her own office in the White House, and testify in front of a Grand Jury. The Senator who stood with New Yorkers consistently, seven years after 9/11 fighting for health care, supporting their grief and holding their loved ones as they worked through their pain and anguish. Who stood by and not only fought politically as an elected official, but fought as a wife, as a mother, as a person. She is a beautifully warm woman by all accounts, but she is more than that. She found the strength within herself to forgive her husband, publicly and without shame of an extra-marital affair, managing to run a successful White House despite Michelle Obama’s contentions that she did not. She got re-elected into the United States Senate for a second term with a massive majority vote. Some despise her, some like her, some love her. New Yorkers fall into the latter category as do half of the United States it seems if one glances at the ‘popular vote’ statistics and the fall electoral college map. She is intelligent beyond comprehension. She is kind when kindness matters. She is tough when only toughness will do. She is inspirational.

It is not a case of loving her however. Its a case of recognizing she has the leadership credentials far beyond those of her opponent, and in love and in hate, acknowledging that she has what it takes to be the agent of change America so desperately needs after a destructive Bush Administration.

I just happen to love her. In case you were wondering, she is Hillary Rodham Clinton.

And she is still running for President. Madame President, that is.

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This is a special guest column written by Lauren Hammond. She may be reached via her Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171064270.

HOW OBAMA SUPPORTERS ARE SAVAGING NEEDED ALLIES

As a life-long democrat (well, like Hillary, I was raised republican but saw the light in college and switched parties before my first presidential election), I am desperately looking forward to a Democratic Party administration after 8 years of George W’s idiotic foreign and domestic policies.

Looking at the numbers, barring a miracle, Barack Obama looks to be the Democratic Party nominee in 2008.

That scares me; but not for the reason you may think.

I’m afraid of Obama’s supporters; not the man himself. Many – and perhaps most – of those supporters are newcomers to politics. And of them, a very vocal few are pulling no stops in belittling and demonizing Hillary Clinton and her supporters.

Horrid videos on YouTube have compared Hillary to everything from Hitler to the whore of Babylon. Of course, last year Obama’s staff started it all off on YouTube by throwing a hammer at Hillary’s face.

That is a fool’s game. If and when Obama clinches the nomination – he will need the vast majority of Hillary’s supporters to fight back the Republican onslaught that awaits him between now and November.

But here is where supporter inexperience can kill a Democratic victory in November. Like every other primary victor in the past, Obama – if he gets the nomination – will have to reach out and absorb his toughest opponent’s base. He also must be able to convince Hillary’s 50-state get-out-the-vote network to work for and to support him.

From personal experience, that will be a tough sell. For the past 4 months, as a fairly vocal Hillary supporter, I myself have been the target of personal attacks via email and the Internet by (supposed) teens and 20-somethings who use personal attacks in an attempt to demoralize me all in the name of their leader. I know they are doing the same to others.

Having faith that Obama is at heart a decent man, I have no doubt that he neither would condone nor agree with these tactics. But the onslaught is painful to watch.

These Obama-inspired political newbies walk in and dismiss tried-and-true politicking as “out of date” or insignificant as “that time has passed.” They thumb their noses at “old people” and those without college degrees (usually blue-collar union workers).

The life blood of the Democratic Party – along with racial minorities, women and gays – are unions and retirees.

Let’s face the truth, shall we? A big chunk of the under-30 crowd inspired by Obama fall into the same demographics and tastes (and political ideology) as the under-30 crowd that elected George W Bush in 2000. They, by and large, aren’t voting for him because they believe in his issues.

For these “me too” supporters, they fight for Obama because it is the popular thing to do. It’s what all the cool kids are doing. It’s mindless peer pressure, plain and simple.

They view the primary as a sport. And are demonizing Hillary and her supporters as the “other team” who must be crushed to make it to the playoffs.

The problem – to use a better sports analogy – is that we are not at that level of competition yet. Just now, we are just in the try-out stage for picking our team and deciding on the team captain.

These newbie Hillary-bashing and Obama-frothed fools are attacking members of their own team before the first game against the only real opponent – the Republicans – has been played.

Obama supporters MUST stop attacking Hillary and her supporters now, if not for the sake of our country, civil rights, and the Democratic Party; then for their own candidate’s fate in November.

Here’s what I mean: after news organizations started reporting Hillary’s win in West Virginia Tuesday night, the Obama attack machine started churning out the hate:

Obama supporter’s posts on a Facebook page for Hillary Supporters:

Ape Smith (New York, NY) wrote at 7:25pm You guys are dummies!! Obama’s win in North Carolina completely offset her wins in PA, WV, and IN!!!!! Oregon also offsets Kentucky.

Taylor Lee (Madison, WI) wrote at 6:50pm Why haven’t they taken this group down yet? I thought she was finished…

Kenny Williams wrote at 6:13pm “I believe that I’m the strongest candidate” No Hillary,my 9 year old brother could crush your skull.

Matthew Mufasa Alexander (Hampden Academy) wrote at 6:09pm …..lauren…..god hates dykes

David Wayne wrote at 5:55pm NO WONDER THE WHITE UN-EDUCATED SUPPORT HILLARY stoooopid !!!

From CNN.com:

HOW HILLARY SUPPORTERS ARE REACTING:

From CNN.com

Hillary supporters on her Facebook Page:

Jaret Hodges (Texas A&M) wrote at 6:00pm To Obama supporters: Reality is, Obama has the nomination. However, instead of being negative and isolating Hillary and her supporters, you should acknowledge her strengths; appeal to rural white voters and people without a college degree. Democrats CAN NOT win the White House without these categories. Be patient. To Hillary supporters: Instead of trying to work against the system and claiming you’d rather chose McCain, you should reflect on what this vote would mean. Without you, Obama can’t win the General Election. Before you get excited and agree, think about who is going into the White House if he [Obama] doesn’t. Are you ready for more WAR and more recession? To DEMOCRATS: Again, divided we fall…