mrv3000 | (no subject)

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

politics

(no subject)

The company network was down for a little while today, and so there was some news reading.

There was a time I liked John McCain. It was even as close as a few months back. Oh, I was never planning on voting for him in November, but I thought I wouldn't be all that irked if he wound up as President.

But things have been going downhill, and my respect for him has been steadily dropping. Today, I pretty much have no respect for the man. He and Palin have gone completely negative, whipping crowds into actual frenzies of hate. Do they actually think that bile will sway a voter? I'm not undecided, but I'm telling you that kind of bullshit would immediately turn me off if I was. It seems the only thing it's doing is working the already-loyal base into a froth. A really ugly froth. The kind I'm ashamed to share a country with. Yes, it's exactly that bad.

In politics I expect a certain amount of idiocy and snipping. And I don't believe that Obama wears a halo of perfection and innocence. But in my book, McCain and Palin aren't even registering a pulse on the integrity meter right now. Why would I want people like that leading and representing this country?

Threaded | Flat

Word.

It's just infuriating and depressing now.

I could not agree with you more.

I am consoling myself with the pretty clear fact that these heinous tactics are not at all working.

Absolute word. WORD.

And it's the frenzy of hate and bigotry and irrationality that I find really scary. It's one thing to disagree with your opponent in a legitimate and honest way; it's another to use fear tactics and hysteria to try to win.

OMG LJ I HAD A COMMENT AND YOU ATE IT.

Add that to all my McCain rage and I'm barely able to operate. Chocolate. Now. Gimme.

YES. Thank you.

I've lost all respect for this man. Period. I was like you--I used to even admire McCain. No longer. Every time Obama meets with McCain he thanks him for his service. He is polite, and I genuinely think he's grateful for the sacrifices McCain made during the war. But I have never, never seen John McCain return the hospitality--the closest was "he's a decent person." Calling him "that one" during the debate was deplorable. "That one" is a Senator, John McCain. You don't have to call him by his name, but goddammit, call him by his title. That's the very least you can do.

After thinking about Sarah Palin for a while, I finally "get" while people might fear Obama as president. It's (in some manner) the same fear I have with Sarah Palin--inexperience. BUT BUT BUT, I feel that Obama has a strong idea on the areas he's inexperienced in, and not only works to become knowledgeable, but hires people who already are. From Sarah Palin I just get the idea she doesn't care, and goes on to take swipes at Obama, gays, and Tina Fey.

I actually was going to vote for him in 2000, had he gotten the nomination. Now? I can't even stand to hear him speak without the enhancement of alcohol.

To make you feel better, the latest charts from FiveThirtyEight.com :

The behavior of the McCain/Palin camp sickens me. From the time he hired the very people responsible for Bush's smear campaign against him in 2000--and probably before--it was clear that he'd do anything, anything at all, to win, and for no other reason than he wants to be the President. Not because he has a plan or a vision or anything--he just thinks he should be the man in charge.

There is a small part of me that thinks that Palin and McCain know EXACTLY what they are doing, in a "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" way. And that terrifies me, because it should seem like an absurd, paranoid idea--and it's not, not anymore.

I've lost all respect for the man, but I have to wonder what he thinks when he realizes that so many of his supporters are ignorant at best and downright crazy at worst.

I know there are wonderful people that support him that are thoughtful and intelligent (even if I personally don't understand their choice) but my goodness that man has brought out some of the scariest people this country has to offer. Does he really want his claim to fame to be, "McCain, the presidential candidate that hatred, insanity, and ignorance supports."

Now there is the question of could Palin possibly face impeachment or censure in Alaska due to a finding of abuse of power?

Edited 2008-10-11 02:20 (UTC)

It's interesting you remark on this and then I found this article:

"Palin says supporters want tougher attacks on Obama" - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said more than one person has whispered in her ear in Ohio that John McCain needs "to take the gloves off" in his campaign against Democrat Barack Obama.

"With only 25 days to go, it's not negative and it's not mean-spirited," she said.

Oi. It's going to get worse now? Please no.

Try being in Alabama; even in a considerably more educated university-centered town, there is so much crazy hate. Mostly, it's coming from older(and others, but mostly older) people who suck the Fox News teat. And the racist rednecks, who of course are the loudest and most obnoxious. I have heard people say stuff like "We can't let a [n-word] into the White House" and "How can you vote for that [n-word]?" It's devastating to hear, even if it has only happened a handful of times. The fact that it happened period is sickening. I think a lot of the shouts of "terrorist" are coming from people who realize they can't say [n-word] in public, and are contenting themselves with a more "acceptable" slur.

However, I am very heartened that my "Alobama" sticker has yet to be peeled off my car (4 years ago, my "Students for Kerry" one lasted about a week; its replacement made it another couple of weeks). And those accursed "W" stickers are almost entirely gone. I see maybe a couple a week, instead of dozens a day. No one's stealing yard signs, or burning down the democratic candidates' offices. So not everyone is caught up in the crazy. The people who are...well, they were never going to vote for Obama anyways. Let them have their hate. I've had to avoid certain family members for months just to keep my sanity(if I thought it would do any good to discuss things with them though, trust me, I would and I have).

I was actually just watching a bunch of Daily Show eps, including the one where Bill Clinton was on, and I really liked the last bit he said about how/why Obama will win(this is paraphrased from memory): "It's not about getting more people to love Obama--the base already loves Obama. He/We have to show and prove to the others that we/he loves them, that we have their interests at heart."

He was actually speaking about it in regards to all the "did Hilary support Obama enough in her speech" muck the media was focused on, but it rings true as the way a campaign should be conducted. It's where McCain/Palin are really failing. They're doing the opposite: getting more people in their base riled up and loving them...but completely neglecting the rest of the country's needs.

I saw him as a better, more benign version of Bush. How wrong I was.

I'm with you 100%. I've always been a big fan of Obama, but when McCain got the nom, I thought, well, that's good. Even if we lose, maybe someone with some integrity will be in office. But he sold his soul for power, so to hell with him.

I can't believe the irresponsibility of the way they're whipping people into a hate-filled fervor right now.

I used to respect him, too. I hoped he'd get the GOP nom because at least he was an honorable man who stuck by his principles. Also, I used to think he wasn't the kind of guy who'd rig an election.

God, I wish I weren't too cynical to believe in polls. The electoral votes polls are so pretty.

well now Sen McCain is expecting people to be "respectful"-he neglected to pass that information onto his VP and his handlers-after whipping up the crowds the way they have, they are now experiencing the full force of how hate can take over-maybe now he has learned the adage-what goes around comes around it is certainly not the way to woo the independents and the undecideds-he had been playing to the crowd and not to the people who he needs to come to his side.

well do you think about what John Lewis from GA had to say about the McCain/Palin campaigning the last week or so? From what I've read they are incensed at the comparison. Really? well, too bad for them.
Their nastiness has turned around and bit them on the ass-hard and now they are crying and want to take their marbles and go home.
It is about time that somebody called them on it-too bad it wasn't McCain at the beginning of this mess. I always thought he was a decent man-and as Bush did this to him-he would not want to go down the same road. Too bad he didn't tell Palin or his team.

Threaded | Flat