RNC Taking It to the Street!

I can't be alone in thinking the new Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele sounds like a complete tool when he says things like the following:

“We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-surburban hip-hop settings.”

Yea, cause the first thing I think of when I think of hip-hop artists is people who are interested in "family values" and "respecting the law".

He added, jokingly, that “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”

And after a comment like that, I say "Good Luck with the one-armed midgets".

Steele described the new multi-platform PR offensive as “avant-garde, technically. It will come to [the] table with things that will surprise everyone — off the hook.”

"Off the hook" hasn't been the hip slang for at least 5 years. Please don't say that again.

Asked whether that meant cutting-edge tactics, Steele demurred. “I don't do 'cutting-edge,’” he said. “That's what Democrats are doing. We're going beyond cutting-edge.”

Oh great. You're a tool AND a marketing weinie. I bet you ask people to give "110%" as well. Actually, you probably ask them to give 120%, because 110% is what "the Democrats are doing".

Whatever you Like

One More Reason I like Obama

He thinks the one thing to change in sports is adding a playoff to college football. I couldn't agree more! Skip to about 1:15 in this video to see the quote:

For the Michigan/Obama Fans out there

http://www.urtshirts.com/?gclid=CKbZrqOgz5YCFQsQagodQSlj1g

Paris for President?

Warning up front: you can practically feel brain cells dying in anguish as you watch this.

YouTube: Paris For President (Sort of safe for work)

Worst part: I first saw this on CNN! What the Fuck CNN? I know 24 hours is a lot of time to fill, but THIS?

From R's down south blog ( now with harder to read colors; Sorry R, I liked it better the way it was before)

Weapon of Choice: How I've always said election should be

Election Projections Done Right

If you've ever wanted up to the minute electoral college results, this is the site for you:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Give McCain Credit

You have to give John McCain and his team credit: they know how to pick a VP.

NYT: John McCain selects Sarah Palin, the Republican Governor of Alaska

Sarah Palin has a lot of good things going for her as far as the Republicans are concerned:

1) She's a woman: What better way to try and drive those woman who are angry that Hilary Clinton did not get the nomination to the Republicans?

2) She is young: She's only 44 and will probably help to balance the criticism that McCain is as old as the dirt itself.

3) She's not in Washington: Alaska is about as far from Washington as you can get.

4) She is a staunch anti-corruption and anti-pet project crusader: You remember that Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska that everyone constantly made fun of? She was the one who cancelled the project. She has also been helping with the investigation into Ted Stevens (he's being investigated for letting oil companies pay for some construction on a house he owns).

McCain + Wedding Crashers

Last weekend Sue and I were catching up on some Netflix movies when I had a truly horrible thought:

Is it possible that we as a nation could REALLY elect a guy who was, even for the briefest moment, in The Wedding Crashers?

America Today

This is exactly how I feel our foreign policy has been the run the last 8 years:

http://overcompensating.com/posts/20080714.html

McCain reaching now

Watch this ad from John McCain (particularly the first 5 seconds):

McCain: Celebrity Ad

Are you kidding me with this shit? Celebrity? That's an attack point now?

Worse, it then cuts to pictures of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to get the implication: "Obama is just like these celebrities. Any day now pictures of him in a skirt with no underwear, drinking Red Bull at a party, and then crashing into a paparazzi's car will appear in the tabloids."

What worse, they don't even deny that was the point. When asked whether the campaign intended to imply that Obama is as "frivolous and irresponsible" as Spears or Hilton, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers replied, "I think that's exactly what we've been saying."

In the old days, you would have at least had the good sense to pretend you had no idea that it was bad to link him with those two. To come right out and say it like that? That's impressively evil.

Time for some Campaigning

Its that time again.

jibjab.com: Time for some Campaignin

Things OK as long as they are Addictive and Dangerous

NY Times: Bill to Regulate Tobacco Moves Forward

So I'm perusing this article just to see what sorts of regulations they are planning on when I hit this golden nugget of a quote from John Dingell, a representative from my state:

Representative John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, acknowledged that the bill was not perfect. “In a perfect world, we’d ban all cigarettes,” he said. “But the hard fact of the matter is that there are a lot of jobs depending on this. And more importantly, there are a lot of people out there who are addicted to this and they've got to have their fix.”

Apparently this guy is a complete dipshit.

First, he basically said that he is OK with dangerous products being released to people if jobs are on the line (asbestos isn't so bad, right?). Secondly, isn't that second part just a good reason to make every drug legal? After all, there are plenty of people who "got to have their fix" of crack everyday. Why don't we apply the same logic to that?

Bad Idea

From The New York Times:

Fla. and Mich. Governors: Give Us Our Delegates

Florida and Michigan are demanding that either the DNC accept the results of their elections or pay to have them run a new election.

Now I know I am betraying my own state by saying this, but there is no way the DNC should give in to this pressure. Michigan and Florida both knew what the party rules said about moving the date of your primary. Hell, members from the state party helped draft and approve the rules!

The bottom line is they knew the consequences and they ignored them.

Change the rules for them now, and you can bet that in the next election both parties would have a full on revolt on their hands where every state would move their primaries forward knowing that the rules aren't going to be enforced anyways. That way leads to chaos.

Worse, you are really punishing Obama for following the rules the party set forth (no campaigning in these states, take your name off the ballot, etc). That just doesn't seem fair. It would be like changing the number of delegates that Rhode Island gets from 21 to 121 now that the election is over there.

Bottom line: It sucks my voice was not heard in the Democrat primary, but I don't blame the DNC. I blame my state legislature. You should too.

Spoiler Alert

You know how I keep telling everyone, "I'm just not sure how a Democract can lose this year..."

I remember now:

CNN: Ralph Nader enters presidential race

People Who Should Not Be Allowed to Vote

Super Tuesday Not For Bexar Voters

From the article:

SAN ANTONIO -- All the talk about Super Tuesday apparently caused confusion for many voters in Bexar County.

More than 1,000 calls poured into the Bexar County Elections Department on Monday from voters wanting to know where they could vote in Tuesday's primary.

Problem is -- Texas isn't holding a primary on Tuesday, like more than 20 states are.

I'm being 100% serious here: If you are not smart enough to determine when your primary is scheduled for, we should take away your voter registration card right now and BURN it.

Update: Sue pointed out to me when she got home that it is "Super Fat Tuesday!"

Presidental Ballot Thoughts

My favorite quotes from my Sue yesterday:

'Who the fuck names their kid "Mitt" anyways?'

'Damn you Democratic party for making me vote Republican so that my vote would count!'

'I felt dirty when they put an 'R' next to my name.'

Select a Candidate

Still not sure who to vote for and want to base your decision on more than 5 second sound bites and who has the best hair? Try out NPR's Select a Candidate tool.

According to this I should vote for Edwards or Obama.

Three things I have learned never to discuss with people...

With all the buzz going on lately for the presidential primaries, I'm a little bitter that my vote in the Democrat primary next Tuesday won't even count! Bah. Ah well. I can take some comfort in the fact that if Romney loses here on Tuesday, that will pretty much be the end of his campaign.

Now I just have to decide if I should vote for the Republican I dislike the least (McCain) or if I should vote for the guy who would have the most trouble beating the Democrats (got to go with Hunter here. Who the heck is this guy any ways?).

The guy I don't want to see nominated: Huckabee. I've seen him on the Colbert Report a few times and every time I've thought that, "this is a reasonably smart, charismatic guy who can woo with the best of them". Hell, if he wasn't such an die-hard right wing religious guy, I might even be able to vote for him. This is a guy who could beat a Democrat.

I guess it could be worse. Honestly, if I look over every president in my lifetime, I can't help but notice that when it comes to moral issues and social changes, the president really can't do a hell of a lot. Congress is too divided on the real issues for there to be any real changes to things like gun control, abortion, etc. So the fact of the matter is I'm voting for the guy/gal who will best handle foreign affairs and budget issues. Maybe throw Social Security (yea right...) and universal health care on the pile. But moral and social issues? Not a chance.

Colbert For President

Can Colbert actually get on the ballot?