Dems Personal Attacks vs GOP’s Country First
Posted in Public Affairs, wordpress, Politics, campaign, election, Lieberman, Biden, McCain, GOP, Democrats, conservative, liberal, United States, hillary, Edwards, Foreign Affairs, Gov Sarah Palin on September 3rd, 2008 by Stanford Matthewscrossposted at:
Maggie’s Notebook
Conservative Thoughts
It is the GOP’s turn now. After the little bounce that Obama received for the DNC, reported by the MSM as the smallest in many years and now shrinking, his attack dogs focusing on Sarah Palin’s family has given the news cycles away and off whatever message Obama might have. While Obama and Biden try to distance themselves from the Democratic party’s personal attacks on Sarah Palin and family one is reminded of the Clinton precedent to leave children out of it. Something the left, including the MSM has abandoned this time around.
So the RNC is turning the party vs party debate to issues that matter. President Bush point out ’staying on offense’, stopping attacks and preventing another as he has since 9/11. The left’s central talking point is hope and change and not wanting four more years of the GOP. How much hope can you have that their change would prevent another attack on American soil. For all the opposition criticism of President Bush, we haven’t been attacked since 9/11. And the terrorist setup for that attack happened on President Clinton’s watch. The 9/11 Commission, often mistakenly cited by Pelosi as a plus for Dems, clearly demonstrates the docudrama ‘The Path to 9/11′ is true. The Clinton Administration dropped the ball and dropped 9/11 is President Bush’s lap. And some want them back in the White House in the form of Barack Obama and their foreign policy guru Joe Biden who was part of the Clinton terrorist debacle?
And as for the left’s attacks on Sarah Palin, including the MSM, the real reason they are upset by McCain’s VP pick is while they claim Washington is broken and requires something other than Washington insiders, Obama picked politics as usual Biden and McCain opted for someone not beholding to the Beltway. McCain and Palin both share the ability to ignore party politics to get things done. In contrast, Obama began his political career with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, other Hyde Park lefties and the Chicago political machine of the Daly variety. He has picked politics as usual and reinforced that with Joe Biden regardless of what his campaign claims. That is why they are upset about the defections of Joe Lieberman, the Maverick McCain and his running mate conservative reformer Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Earlier on this blog it was suggested in another post that the RNC needed substance not rhetoric. While some rhetoric in a political campaign is almost required, as long as it does not dominate the message certain allowances can be made. But as the article below demonstrates, speakers are presenting the fact that national security and defense has been successful during the Bush Administration as evidenced by no attacks since 9/11 and victory in Iraq. The so-called ‘maverick’ approach that has been a central theme of McCain’s history and his choice of running mate Sarah Palin will correct any departure from conservative principles on limited government, fiscal restraint and traditional values.
These are the things that keep Barack Obama up nights. If you view his campaign from the primaries it is clear that all three candidates, Clinton, Edwards and Obama stressed the far left agenda. All three touted the DNC, Reid and Pelosi slogan of a New Direction for America. You got the 2006 midterm Congress you asked for and their approval rating as well as their agenda are in the tank. And some want to continue that into 2009 and beyond. You’ve got to be kidding.
For all the slick marketing and rock star image making, Barack Obama is more of what the last paragraph described. With the GOP ready to correct the mistakes of the current administration yet continue its successes, trading for the empty hope and change of Obama would be tragic. As a guide, just remember the disgusting display of MoveOn and the fringe left against the troops and General Petraeus while the main three Dems candidates stood by and did nothing. Agreeing by their silence they would have accepted defeat and surrender. Not something anyone should accept. Yet they did. And they will in the future. If you don’t want that for your family, the choice is obvious.
For all their faults, the Republican Party has kept this nation safe. Without that all other issues are moot. This blog believes the choice is clear. If you have an opinion, share it.
Stanford Matthews
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Republicans Attack Democratic Policies at Convention
St. Paul, Minnesota
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President Bush used a 10 minute satellite address from the White House to praise Senator McCain, citing his defense of the military surge in Iraq, and describing him as someone who will protect Americans from further terrorist attacks:”We live in a dangerous world. And we need a president who understands the lessons of September 11, 2001: that to protect America, we must stay on the offense, stop attacks before they happen, and not wait to be hit again. The man we need is John McCain,” he said.
Tuesday’s speakers brought a change in atmosphere, as Republicans escalated criticisms of Democrats and McCain’s Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama.
Senator Joe Lieberman, now an Independent who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 2000 presidential race, said he was appearing in support of McCain because, as he put it, “country matters more than party.”
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| Senator Joe Lieberman at Republican convention |
Lieberman has drawn criticism from Democrats in Congress for his strong support of Senator McCain and President Bush’s Iraq policies, and had this sharp criticism of Democratic presidential nominee Obama.
“When others were silent about the war in Iraq, John McCain had the guts and the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq. When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, which would have been a disaster for the U.S.A.,” said Lieberman. “When colleagues like Barack Obama were voting to cut off funding for our American troops on the battlefield, John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion, advocate the surge, support the surge and because of that, today America’s troops are coming home, thousands of them, and they’re coming home in honor.”
John Boehner, Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, accused House and Senate majority Democratic leaders of doing little to solve American’s energy and other problems. Representative Michele Bachmann sounded a traditional Republican theme of less government:
BOEHNER: Washington today is broken and the Democratic Congress is its most visible symbol.
BACHMANN: Government is not a philanthropic organization. Government is not the family. And government certainly is not the church.
Fred Thompson, former senator and television actor who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency, sought to emphasize McCain’s credentials as a maverick who does what he thinks is right, regardless of what others say.
“He has been to Iraq eight times since 2003. He went seeking truth, not publicity. When he travels abroad, he prefers quietly speaking to the troops amidst the heat and hardship of their daily lives. And the same character that marked John McCain’s military career has also marked his political career. This man, John McCain, is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular,” he said.
While Republicans want to turn the focus of news headlines back to the main work of their convention, formally nominating McCain as their presidential candidate, he and his advisors are still battling questions about how thoroughly they examined Sarah Palin’s background before choosing her as a running mate.
Chosen for her social conservatism and anti-abortion stance among other things, she revealed this week that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter was pregnant, a fact Senator McCain says he knew. She is also the subject of an investigation in Alaska involving firing of a state official.
McCain advisors insist she was thoroughly vetted, and have provided journalists with details of the process. But media organizations quoted unidentified Republican party sources as saying Palin was not seriously considered until a week or so before McCain announced the selection.
McCain was pressed again on the issue during a campaign appearance in Cleveland, Ohio. “My vetting process was completely thorough and I am grateful for the results,” he said.
McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, says family matters should remain personal and not be mixed with politics, a view shared by Obama’S running mate, Senator Joe Biden. “I have a simple proposition. Children are off limits. Children are off limits.”
Senator McCain has predicted that Palin’s appearance at the Republican convention on Wednesday to accept the vice presidential nomination will help excite Americans about her candidacy. Republican delegates and others attending the convention expressed continued support for her and applauded McCain’s choice.
One would think that regardless of what the truth is, a successful trial attorney would be able to mount a convincing denial of the ‘rumor’ of a mistress and a love child or simply admit to the facts if that is what happened. Rather than point the finger at the MSM for continuous non-reporting of the story, perhaps the focus should be on John Edwards to set the record straight. Many have stated over the years that being a public figure does not entitle the public to know everything about a person with celebrity status. And probably an equal number have stated public figures must accept public scrutiny as an occupational hazard. The fact remains that media exposure will focus on such topics and stories to feed ad revenue and other purposes. With that in mind, those of us who would like the focus to move on to more important matters request John Edwards to speed up the inevitable conclusion to this gossip saga and lay out the facts. Bare all, John, get it over with already.
John Edwards caved to the Democratic party elite in 2004 to become number two on a failed ticket. Now John Kerry did the party’s bidding again by endorsing Barack Obama. Essentially the same story was posted here yesterday and things haven’t changed. Reports are out today that the D for ‘duh’ party may have soured on the Clintons. What was the first clue? Iowa was the proof for the Dems elite. If HRC could not sweep through the first two contests, Obama would get the nod from the party.
The ink is barely dry on Biden and Dodd dropping out of the 2008 race and you know that Senator John Kerry’s endorsement of Barack Obama was planned with the Senate candidate from Illinois. Is this a slick move to woo undecided voters, the 2008 version of the 2004 anointing of the Dems party elite and do Biden, Dodd and Kerry stand to profit politically and otherwise by winning cabinet posts if Obama would be successful?
Below are reports from Kerry’s 2004 cabinet plans and strategy as well as a post from Michelle Malkin on the topic. The only part of this campaign strategy that is compelling points to the possibility that the Democratic party elite is shunning Hillary Rodham Clinton and her former President husband Bill. When Katie Couric interviewed HRC this week to help her continue to market the tears thing and further the network’s desire for another Clinton White House she noted the house they were at as Hillary’s home in NY. With some reports suggesting Bill has tried to sabotage Hillary’s campaign and the living arrangements being what they are, how does anyone consider them married other than technically? Excuse the spontaneous thought please. Can’t help but wonder about these things and worse, why so many choose to ignore all of what is wrong with the Clinton clan.
It would appear the Dems party elite does not believe Clinton can be the GOP. It is also quite possible that the cold, calculating queen of cringe cannot be trusted to attend to party business. So the party is grooming the ‘naive and irresponsible’ other rookie Senator to do the party bidding.
The funniest thing about the New Hampshire primary was Bill Clinton whining about the media. With signature Clinton audacity, Bill had the stones to complain that the media has not provided the needed scrutiny of Barack Obama. Then Hillary Rodham Clinton tries the tears angle. And considering the many reports indicating a substantial number of voters did not make up their mind more than a few days or even hours before the polls opened, it is not unreasonable to think the polls were not wrong but that NH voters changed their minds in the hours before the vote.
If the polls were right on Obama leading by at least 5 points in NH after a victory in Iowa and he takes second place in NH behind by 3%, again, it is reasonable to conclude with the women’s numbers in NH that the ‘tiny tears’ or mix and match Barbie routine of HRC turned the vote for a narrow Clinton victory. And as for the slick Willie media scrutiny complaint, where are those First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton docs Bill?
comparison to the scrutiny required of the Clinton scandals, from Whitewater and Vince Foster through TravelGate, the impeachment of the former President, Lewinsky and Norman Hsu as well as the locked up First Lady documents . The Clinton transgressions are getting a walk in another Presidential election. But commenting earlier this month on this blog that Karl Rove was right and HIllary Rodham Clinton is the GOP’s easiest target in a general election gets a boost in NH this week.
Edwards edging 2nd in Iowa and third in NH. For the GOP it’s one for Huckabee, one for McCain and one for Romney. That’s right, Romney won the GOP caucus in WY. In the big picture NH may be a psychological and traditional statistical measure for candidates but WY’s 3 electoral votes are nearly as important as NH’s 4 at this point in the campaign. Besides the one quiet state victory for Romney is the 2nd place finish in Iowa and NH although it should be noted that fact alone makes the nomination a tougher objective.
What a difference a couple of months can make. Currently, at Rasmussen Reports, Huckabee has nearly the first place numbers held by Giuliani and Thompson earlier at 22%. Giuliani and Romney are in second with mid teens as McCain and Thompson follow in third in the lower teens. While McCain has been mentioned in news reports as gaining some strength of late, for example, the Peter King endorsement, his 13% is representative of the last months. Giuliani and Thompson have slipped while Huckabee and Romney have gained. The Dems, nationally have not changed, but Clinton is faltering in the early state polls while Obama continues to climb and Edwards appears the same and steady. For the GOP, Huckabee and Romney lead Iowa.
At USA Election Polls one could say Iowa is a statistical tie for each party. As most people know, Huckabee and Romney are a tie as well as Clinton and Obama are tied. Several delegate count listings have what one would expect based on national polls through the campaign to date. But when averages or proportional distribution of state delegates are considered the game changes dramatically.
If forced to pick only from the Democratic party offerings this blog would recommend Obama or Edwards. Only because they are not Clinton and are the only other Dems candidates with a chance to win. But then Biden, Dodd or Kucinich would not be selected here, under the conditions mentioned, or under any other circumstance. That would be why this blog would not vote for a Democrat in 2008. Oh, did Richardson get overlooked? Yes.
The honesty thing follows Clinton to SC as well. Obama again seen as good for change and as honest. If 70% of voters were white in 2004 and roughly 10% were black, the swap on % between Obama and Clinton on black and white votes means Clinton has an advantage in that category.
If you are a Democrat and you bought into your party’s strategy to use surrender in Iraq as the focal point for your Presidential bid you have no one to blame but yourself. Or perhaps you would like to include the US Military in your complaining for not losing. The success of the troop surge that the Dems have criticized from its announcement becomes difficult to oppose but that has not stopped Bill Richardson from doing so.
One headline reads ‘Democrats Split on Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants.’ Another one reads ‘Black Groups Split on Obama, Clinton.’ Then you have the revelation of Jack Murtha that the troop surge in Iraq is working. But Jack Murtha is split too. Jack Murtha is split with Jack Murtha. Or was his statement clarification more about Reid and Pelosi telling him what he thinks?
It is fair to say that Obama was on the attack before Monday even if few noticed. Early in the campaign Clinton’s two party rivals followed her lead. When Clinton rolled out an issue piece, Obama and Edwards responded with their own version. Unfortunately, each issue piece needed a name attached for the voters to distinguish one from the others. Obama tried to brand himself the change agent while Clinton opted for fake Southern accents and appearances at events in which she appeared out of place. Edwards took up the classic liberal approach to finding villains and victims with his ineffective poverty tour. The three rookies were trying to campaign. All three touted the party stand of antiwar, anti-troops and other anti-American themes to court their fringe kook far left liberal base complete with surrender monkeys. The Democratic party is perilously invested in that strategy and their candidates mirror the sentiment.
Not surprisingly both Clinton and Obama miss the point with health care. The issue has been reduced to a discussion of how to solve the uninsured problem, naming it universal health care and allowing those who will to assume it will solve the health care issue. Another sign of rookie inexperience is to portray a potential solution as the end game for an issue resolution. The GOP tends to characterize their offerings as simply a way to get everyone covered and nothing more. While the Dems want you to believe something called universal health care will solve everything.
You could say that fair is fair. Hillary Rodham Clinton has built her campaign’s foundation on being the husband of former President Bill Clinton. Her only claim of experience comes from living with him in the White House. So naturally when Barack Obama decides it is time for the same thing, he enlists Oprah Winfrey. But it would appear as though the ‘daytime diva’ started this chapter in the Obama campaign by offering her help.