Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Stolen Nomination? You bet. (MakeThemAccountable)
The 2008 Democratic Party nomination for the presidency was stolen from Hillary Clinton and given to Barack Obama by certain members of the party leadership.
Click through to read the deep, dark secret that the party leaders want to keep the public from knowing.

Barack Obama Has Learned: The Clintons Will Never Go Away (by Michael Barone, U.S. News & World Report)
 They have to let Hillary have her say [at the convention], given how many delegates she has. And they can hardly ignore the only politically successful Democratic president of the last 40 years. That means there’s a risk that the convention will not be an ideal television extravaganza for the Obama campaign. But that’s the price they pay for not sweeping the primaries. Hillary Clinton won more popular votes and more delegates in the primaries than Barack Obama. Obama won the nomination because of the big delegate margins he won in caucuses and because superdelegates went along with him. [Emphasis added.]

Gallup Daily: McCain, Obama Tied at 44%
John McCain and Barack Obama are tied at 44% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report of registered voters’ presidential preferences. These numbers reflect a slight drop in Obama’s support compared with what it has been thus far in August.

But he’s a great fundraiser, right?

$52 million in June

$51 million in July

Bumps from Clinton donors in June and July, and he’s starting downhill again.  How about that $300 million by mid-October, Barack?

How Super Are the SuperDelegates? (by madamab at The Confluence)
If you look at Obama’s performance against McCain objectively, the Senator from Illinois is tanking in the polls. In states where he had a double-digit lead, he’s hemorrhaging support. In swing states, McCain is starting to edge him out. In a Democratic year, this lack of enthusiasm is unheard of. And yet, it’s happening… If the SuperDelegates really ARE super, they will pick the person most likely to beat McCain in November, and that person, according to the best information we have, is Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now that Hillary will be on the roll call vote, will the superdelegates insist on doing their jobs?

Even in Sweden, Hillary Clinton loyalists are stirred up (Top of the Ticket, Los Angeles Times)
The Scandinavia problem surfaced when a Democratic political strategist offered an analysis of his party’s vice presidential sweepstakes Thursday night to the Democrats Abroad organization in Stockholm. Kevin Lampe said he didn’t believe Obama would choose Clinton or, for that matter, any other woman as his vice presidential running mate… J. Graigory, a 37-year-old writer living in Stockholm, said it would be “ironic” for Obama to take this view given that the convention will take place during the 88th anniversary of the American women’s right to vote.

We are a virtual movement (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
There are MILLIONS of us.  This is no exaggeration. The first day that Darragh Murphy opened her doors on PUMAPac, she got 35,000 hits.  That’s ONLINE hits.  There are many, many more people who aren’t internet addicts who we are contacting every day.  This movement was sparked by the RBC meeting and took off like wildfire… We are very successful… This is the true revolution that Joe Trippi was referring to when he wrote the book on the subject.  He just never expected it would be carried out by a bunch of old, working class, uneducated, Sino-Peruvian lesbians.

ACTION: TIME TO TURN UP THE VOLUME! (by Alegre)
POLLING FOR HILLARY: Scott Rasmussen was quoted as saying that he is receiving lots of inquiries about adding Hillary’s name to the polling match ups. Please continue to call or email and insist that major polls include HRC in polling data for President, now!
Click through for contact information.  It’s ESSENTIAL that we get Hillary included in a couple of matchups against McCain before the convention, so that the superdelegates can see clearly what they have to do.

18 Million Voices Rise Hillary Rise  Denver Check-In (from Ricki Lieberman, via email)
Sunday August 24th, 6 to 8 pm
The Broker Restaurant    Map and directions can be found here.
821 17th Street            Denver, CO

Many Will Still Cast Vote for Clinton (Political Wire)
According to Politico, half of House Democrats attending the Democratic National Convention are likely to cast their vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton. It’s now becoming clear that Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign moved his nomination speech to Invesco Field so that he could pack the stadium with true Obama supporters rather than face a convention hall with nearly half the delegates being only reluctant supporters.

“Unity Breakfast” Now on Tap For DNC (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Another press release received today from the DNC announces a “Unity Breakfast.” It’s an event that marries civil rights and faith. “…The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today unveiled plans for a unity breakfast to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington on Thursday, August 28 during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Martin Luther King III will join with civil rights leaders including Rev. Al Sharpton and faith leaders including Rabbi Jack Moline and Sister Simone Campbell to honor Martin Luther King Jr., the message of his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech and the movement behind the March on Washington.”
Even as we celebrate them, however, Obama is quickly undoing the Democratic Party’s stands on civil rights.  See below.

Resisting Civil Rights (by Anglachel)
I am watching the retreat of the Democrats from civil rights as such. Women of all socio-economic statuses are having their reproductive control bargained away. GLBT rights are being rejected as “politically unviable” even as individual states push forward. The rights of working class and poor men and women, regardless of color, religion, sexual orentation, etc., such as a right to health care or Social Security, are treated as “bi-partisan” bargaining chips. Privacy rights? Fuhgeddaboudit… What I see in the Deaniac crusade is a failure to address fundamental protections while pursuing a feel-good approach that caters to those who have already made it (or who fantacize that they belong in that group), the Whole Foods Nation crowd. It is as profound a change in this party as the Republican abondonment of its abolitionist roots.

Obama snapshots, Obama tea, Obama cookies (Wausau Daily Herald)
Wisconsin delegates headed to the Democratic National Convention next weekend will find Obama mania starts at their hotel. The Denver Marriott City Center Hotel will have a life-size cutout of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama the delegates can pose with. The hotel also will offer thirsty joggers bottles of a favorite Obama drink, Honest Tea. Delegates will find Michelle Obama’s favorite shortbread cookies on their pillows instead of traditional mints. Delegates who paid extra to be on the full-service Concierge Floor will have use of a lounge stocked with Obama’s autobiographies, “Dreams From My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.” DVD selections will include “All the President’s Men.”
They ought to have “The Candidate” available, too.

Buy Obama and Wear Him Too! (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter)

While I don’t imagine that thirty years from now people will be coveting these items in the same way they seek original Grateful Dead T-Shirts, this idea is sure to hit the fashion industry by storm, albeit for a short-lived period of time. Obama fashions will be hitting the market next month. This will give you roughly two months to wear your Obama fashion statement before relegating it to the Car wash pile out of shear embarrassment. After all, do you ever see people wearing a Kerry shirt now? Anybody? Anybody?

Obama to General Wesley Clark: Your Services Not Needed (by Steve Clemons at The Washington Note)
General Wesley Clark is not attending the Democratic National Convention. I was told by General Clark’s personal office in Little Rock as well as by the director of WesPAC that he would not be attending. Clark was informed by Barack Obama’s people that there was “no reason to come.” General Clark has been given no role of any kind at the convention. Rubbing salt in the wound even more, the “theme” of Wednesday’s Democratic convention agenda is “Securing America.” Wesley Clark’s PAC also happens to be called SECURING AMERICA.
General Clark hails from Arkansas, original home of the hated Clintons, who must be dissed whenever possible.

The 49 State Strategy? (Political Wire)
The New York Times notes that Sen. Barack Obama campaign officials “have made much of their desire to expand the traditional Democratic playing field into states like Idaho, Indiana, Missouri and Montana and have promised they will run a 50-state campaign.” However, the campaign has no office in Arkansas, even though the state has “a Democratic governor, an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, two Democratic United States senators and three Democratic Congressional representatives out of four.”
Wouldn’t want to get contaminated with that vile Clinton aura.

Obama’s strong response to negative book carries risks (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — It makes sense for Barack Obama to slug it out with Jerome Corsi, whose new book paints the presumptive Democratic nominee as a dangerous radical, analysts said Friday. But Obama’s strategy also carries some risks. “The old saying is that when you get in the gutter, everybody gets dirty,” said Kevin Wagner, an assistant professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University, particularly with information flying across the Internet.
There’s research showing that simply refuting sleaze only helps cement it in the minds of those who heard it before.  From Sam Wang, writing in the New YorkTimes in early July: “A false statement from a noncredible source that is at first not believed can gain credibility during the months it takes to reprocess memories from short-term hippocampal storage to longer-term cortical storage. As the source is forgotten, the message and its implications gain strength.”  We will never learn to fight the right wing until we find the right ways to exorcise, or at least replace, the lies.  Stating and re-stating the truth is actually detrimental, according to Dr. Wang.  But are we figuring out ways to do that?  Nope.  Oh, and fighting lies with lies isn’t a very good idea, either.  See below.

The Obama Overreach: Refuting A Few of Corsi’s Smears By Re-Writing History (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
Don’t get me wrong – I half expected to see anti-Obama author Jerome Corsi at today’s Bigfoot press conference. But not everything in the Obama campaign’s 40-page refutation of Corsi’s shoddy and dishonest book “Obama Nation” is fair. Much of what Corsi writes in his book is demonstrably false, irresponsible, and feverishly conjured. The book is indefensible, as are Corsi’s many bigoted remarks about Arabs, the Pope and others. But the Obama campaign got a little greedy in their refutations.
Click through for the details.

Allies Ask Obama to Make ‘Hope’ More Specific (New York Times)
As Senator Barack Obama prepares to [fight for] the Democratic presidential nomination next week, party leaders in battleground states say the fight ahead against Senator John McCain looks tougher than they imagined, with Mr. Obama vulnerable on multiple fronts despite weeks of cross-country and overseas campaigning. These Democrats — 15 governors, members of Congress and state party leaders — say Mr. Obama has yet to convert his popularity among many Americans into solutions to crucial electoral challenges: showing ownership of an issue, like economic stewardship or national security; winning over supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; and minimizing his race and experience level as concerns for voters.
Unfortunately, he’s been too busy to do what you ask, Democrats.

Aloha! (Or, What Were You Doing There?) (by PatRacimora at No Quarter)

Conservatives Claim Obama Is ‘So Bad For The Economy,’ While Wall Street Donates More To Obama (Think Progress)
Conservatives have been trying to frighten investors about the prospects of a Barack Obama presidency. Larry Kudlow wrote, “Wall Street, beware,” while The Street’s Richard Moore suggested “that the market seems to do better when Barack Obama is having problems.” Michael Pento of Delta Global Advisers claimed another Depression is “where we’re headed” if Obama’s economic plans are adopted… Wall Street however, disagrees, and is donating more to Obama’s campaign than to the campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Do they really want to put out the message that Wall Street loves Obama?

“We can win this one—but we’re going to have to fight for every vote.” (by vastleft at Corrente)
The subject line comes from MoveOn.org’s latest mailing. What have they or Obama done to fight for votes like mine (Boomer, feminist, secularist, Constitution-defender, Bush-hater)? Not a damn thing that I’m aware of. For the life of me, I’ll never understand why they decided to split their constituency by conducting a straw-poll of their members and going all-in with the winner. I keep forgetting: post-partisanship is only for Republicans’ benefit.
I know a sure-fire way to win in a cake-walk.  Nominate Hillary instead of this Bozo.

Whose Job Is It To Let Voters Know There Is A Clear Choice In This Election? (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
In a strange article, Robert Borosage and Katrina Vanden Heuvel “advise” progressives not on how to forward progressivism, but on how to forward Obama’s victory in November. The whole article is just strange, but this part REALLY is bizarre: “Progressives generally–and independent media and the blogosphere specifically–can contribute by reminding voters there’s a clear choice in this election . . .” Ummm, isn’t that Obama’s job? There is a whole “poor Obama can’t stand up to the Beltway Establishment and we need to prop him up” quality to the article that is just surreal. Let me put it this way, I found this article pretty demeaning to Obama as well as progressives.

The Defunding of the Peace Movement (by 60s anti-war activist Tom Hayden, writing in The Nation, thanks to Ricki Lieberman)
Ironically, the biggest single factor in the collapse of the massively funded peace project might have been the rising and unexpected primary campaign of Barack Obama, himself [supposedly] an antiwar candidate. Not only did unprecedented contributions flow online to Obama but the Senator also strongly disavowed the use of 527 committees… Furthermore, … Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid lost some enthusiasm for highlighting the Iraq issue because it exposed the Democratic Congress’s failure to defund and end the war… [And] Obama’s solid peace position now seems to be … sinking dangerously into orthodox paradigms on the war on terrorism, the new cold war and even the war on drugs in places like Colombia.
I cannot help but laugh.  This is a man who threatened violence if Obama wasn’t nominated.  He said on NPR, “If there were the theft of a nomination, if that was the perception of the Obama supporters, then probably there would be a ‘68 scenario.”  Ironically, of course, there was a theft.  Only it was for the candidate he was supporting.  So that makes it all right, see?  Never mind the irony of a supposed peace activist threatening violence.  We really tried to tell all these pro-Obama people that he doesn’t stick with any position, but they just would NOT listen.

Nancy Pelosi smacks Lieberman over anti-Obama remarks: Chairmanships in peril (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
Pelosi came out swinging against Joe Lieberman.  She said that if the Democrats win enough seats in the Senate then bye-bye Joe from any leadership position he might have held. That’s why he’s hooked himself onto McCain’s boots.
And she would have done exactly the same for Hillary, right?  RIGHT?

Would McCain consider a pro-choice running mate? (by Steve Benen at Crooks and Liars)
Just a few months ago, Chris Matthews asked John McCain if he would consider a pro-choice running mate, such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. “I don’t know if [his position on the issue] would stop him, but it would be difficult,” McCain said. McCain is saying something different now. “Republican John McCain says he has not ruled out choosing Pennsylvania’s popular former Gov. Tom Ridge as a running mate despite his support for abortion rights, a hot-button issue that could inflame some voters among the party’s conservative base.”

McCain, RNC report $96 million cash on hand (AP)
WASHINGTON – John McCain and the Republican National Committee started August with a hefty $96 million, financially flush and strongly positioned to compete with prolific fundraiser Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Bush still raking in cash for GOP (AP)
WASHINGTON – President Bush’s popularity has tanked, but boy can he still bring in the cash.

Majority: Let Bob Barr into debates (Hot off the Trail, McClatchy)
A new poll by John Zogby shows a majority of likely voters – 55 percent – want Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr included in this fall’s three presidential debates… The sentiment is nice. But it’s not enough. The bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates uses a different poll question to determine who gets in. It says only those candidates with the support of 15 percent of likely voters get onto the debate stage.
I think anyone who can get on the ballot in 40 or more states should be allowed to debate at least once.  That would include Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney, I believe.  Why are we afraid to allow these people on the stage?

Ohio’s Election Stolen Again? State May Face 600K Voter Purge in Coming Weeks (Advancement Project and Project Vote, posted at AlterNet)
Voting rights attorneys say hundreds of thousands of voters could be purged from voter rolls.

Did Washington waste millions on faulty voting machines?
WASHINGTON _ Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding that have gone to upgrade the nation’s voting machines since 2003 were used to purchase touch-screen systems that many states are now scrapping because of concerns about their security and reliability.
You bet they did.  I said so just the other day.  Is McClatchy reading MakeThemAccountable?

Affiliations of Cable News Watchers (Political Wire)
The latest Pew Research survey on the partisan make up cable news network viewership:
CNN: 51% Democrats, 18% Republicans, 23% independents
MSNBC: 45% Democrats, 18% Republicans, 27% independents
Fox News: 33% Democrats, 39% Republicans, 22% independents

Federal Court OKs Treason, Crimes Against Humanity (by Winter Patriot)
The traitors and war criminals who have taken over our government are dancing with joy…, and rightly so. [On Tuesday], a Federal Court of Appeals in Washington granted them legal immunity for every criminal action they have taken while in office. The ruling, made by a panel of three judges in dismissing an appeal in the case of Valerie Plame…, absolves government officials of individual accountability for any actions taken in an official capacity, regardless of whether those actions violated federal law or jeopardized national security. In effect, it legalizes treason, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Lawsuit filed against Gonzales, DOJ officials. (Think Progress)
[Thursday], six attorneys “rejected from civil service positions at the Justice Department filed a lawsuit” against “former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and three other top officials for allegedly violating their rights by taking politics into consideration” in the hiring process for the Honors and Summer Law Intern Programs. The complaint states that the Gonzales’s Justice Department oversaw the “gross deprivation of hundreds of individuals’ constitutional rights” in “an extraordinary, and uniquely successful, conspiracy to achieve political results.”
I don’t have much hope for that suit, either.

Bill O’Reilly goes Hollywood. (Think Progress0
“An American Carol” — a new movie which opens Oct. 3 — is directed by David Zucker and features a cameo by Bill O’Reilly. The film, according to O’Reilly, is “a spoof of the far left, focusing on Michael Moore, played by Kevin Farley — the late Chris Farley’s brother.” Pandagon notes that O’Reilly previewed the trailer on his show this week. The movie includes a scene in which O’Reilly follows the fictional Moore into a bathroom stall and slaps him.
Click through to watch the trailer.

U.S. weighing what to do next about Russia (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — President Bush declared Friday that the United States and its allies “stand with the people” of war-torn Georgia against Russian “bullying and intimidation.” He then left Washington for a 10-day vacation at his Texas ranch.
Please do not ever forget Bush’s “now watch this drive” comment, after pretending to be serious about a suicide bombing in Israel in 2002.