This Blog Cannot Wait... (John McCain - Get Offa My Lawn!)

This blog is sick and tired of waiting for the Democrats to pick a nominee, so this blog, beginning today, is running against John McCain. I am about ready to say that I don't care who the Democratic nominee is anymore (not true - I am still hoping for Barack Obama), but I won't go that far. Still, I am tired as hell of waiting around for the super-duper delegates to make up their minds and for every state (including Guam and Puerto Rico) to weigh-in with their selection for the presidential candidate that they think would make the better choice. Here are the

Top Ten Reasons Why John McCain Cannot Be President:

10. Waterboarding - Torture or No? Well, John knew the answer to that one when he was in the Hanoi Hilton, but now maybe waterboarding is okay.
9. Still standing by the Pastor Hagee endorsement.
8. What he knows about finance he learned from being a fifth of the Keating Five.
7. His foreign policy includes a statement that it is okay with him if we are in Iraq for the next hundred years.
6. Morally, he left his first wife when she was sick to marry a rich pill-popping recipe-swiping much younger woman (did I mention that she is a beer-distributor heiress?).
5. He has flip-flopped on important issues such as tax-cuts for the wealthiest Americans, torture and campaign finance reform.
4. He has pandered to the far-right-wing of the fundamentalist religious extreme (Jerry Falwell - once an agent of intolerance, is now a-okay with John).
3. He can't visit the Middle East without Joe Lieberman on his shoulder.
2. He's no maverick, he toes the GOP party line on reproductive choice, discrimination of gays, foreign policy, and corporate tax cuts.
2. So old that he can't remember the difference between Mickey and Daffy (one is a mouse, the other a duck).
2. His temper is a short fuse of dynamite, and his finger should not be on any trigger :(
1. Two words - Supreme Court.

This is just the first of a series of posts that will highlight all of the reasons why John Sidney McCain should NOT be the next president of the United States. Hope I don't have to write too many of these posts before I know who McCain's opponent will be ;)

10 Things You Should Know About McCain (but probably don’t) (April 5, 2008), Chris Guy

1. “The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day,” ABC News, April 3, 2008
“McCain Facts,” ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008.

2. “McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq,” Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008.
“Buchanan: John McCain ‘Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,’” ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008.

3. “McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill,” ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008.

4. “McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned,” MSNBC, February 18, 2007.

5. “2007 Children’s Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard,” February 2008.
“McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion,” CNN, October 3, 2007.

6. “Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady,” Associated Press, April 3, 2008.
“McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,’” Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008.

7. “Will McCain’s Temper Be a Liability?,” Associated Press, February 16, 2008.
“Famed McCain temper is tamed,” Boston Globe, January 27, 2008.

8. “Black Claims McCain’s Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: ‘I Don’t Know What The Criticism Is,’” ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008.
“McCain’s Lobbyist Friends Rally ‘Round Their Man,” ABC News, January 29, 2008.

9. “McCain’s Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam,” Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008.
“Will McCain Specifically ‘Repudiate’ Hagee’s Anti-Gay Comments?,” ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008.
“McCain ‘Very Honored’ By Support Of Pastor Preaching ‘End-Time Confrontation With Iran,’” ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008.

10. “John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record,” Sierra Club, February 28, 2008.

Polar Opposite Commercials for the Climate

By now I'm sure that you all have seen the public service ads that feature Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Former Speaker Gingrich, and another ad that has Reverend Al Sharpton sitting next to Reverend Pat Robertson on a sofa on a beach. What in the world do these odd couples have in common? Well, if you've seen the ads, you know that these odd couples are paired up to highlight the growing climate crisis, and by appearing together they hope to send a message that the state of the climate is a bi-partisan issue that we all need to address together.

Speaking of odd couples, you all may remember that several years ago Momma teamed up with Bay Buchanan (sister of right-wing pundit, Pat Buchanan) to co-star on Equal Time on CNBC. That got me thinking - that Al Gore and his crew over at WeCanSolveIt.org would do well to pair up Steph and Bay again for a polar opposite spot, and I've got just the venue for it. This morning, somebody mentioned something about Gilley's Bull Riding and Steph admitted to riding the bull "back in the day." So there you have it - Stephanie Louise Miller and Angela "Bay" Buchanan together, saving the planet by riding the mechanical bull at Gilley's. Do we have an image of what this might actually look like? Why, yes, yes we do. and without further ado, I present to you - "Bay & Steph Riding the Bull to Save the Climate."

Steph Weighs in on Polygamy

Some Thoughts on the State of the Race

Yesterday I e-mailed my friend who is a superdelegate and, echoing the words of Dr. Howard Dean, I suggested that it is time for her to make her endorsement and I also presumptuously went on to suggest who she might endorse. Barack Obama, of course, is my choice, citing as my evidence my disgust with the Clinton's campaign tactics, and the fresh perspective that Obama brings to the political arena. I have not heard back from my friend, and don't really expect to, knowing how busy she is - she is not only a superdelegate, but she also runs a 527 organization and is in the middle of trying a class action lawsuit against Union Carbide over carbon black exhaust that has polluted the entire Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.

Superdelegates are busy people. We are all fairly busy people - trying to make ends meet, trying to keep up with the twists and turns in this political year, trying to budget our paychecks so that we don't end up charging too much on our credit cards at the end of each month. In the midst of all of this economic turmoil, we are faced with making one of the most significant decisions that we may ever decide. Who will be our next president? I hope against hope that all of the infighting between Obama and Clinton hasn't permanently damaged the party to the extent that it would be impossible for us to come together and show up at the polls and defeat John McCain. But I am beginning to wonder. What will all those Hillary supporters do when she is not the nominee? Will they take their marbles and go home? I hope not, because every vote that we don't cast for the Democratic candidate is essentially a vote for the GOP, for at least four more years of the tragic war in Iraq and the downtrodden economy.

Just reviewing a few blogs and web sites I am aware how rabid and dug-in the Hillary supporters have become. They all seem as implacable as their heroine, as determined to deny reality as she is. This, I worry, may prove to be a problem not only for Obama but also for the nation come November. What we cannot risk is another stolen or even a close-enough election for the GOP to win via more election shenanigans. What we must do is get every newly-registered voter to the polls on November 4th and make sure that they are not handed easily-dismissed provisional ballots. We need to make sure that all the enthusiastic young voters who have turned out in record numbers for Obama are not sitting at home on that fateful Tuesday in November. What we must do is WIN in November - that is what matters the most, a victory over greed, incredible hubris, dishonesty and a violent outlook on the world and our neighbors. We all know that it will likely take years and more than one Democratic administrations to undo the horrible damage done by the Bush/Cheney administration. We cannot wait or risk a continuation of these despicable policies.

I am reminded of a line from one of my all-time favorite movies, Thelma & Louise. (It is a decisive moment in the film, when Louise is contemplating her future - in Mexico - and she needs to know if Thelma is with her on her trip or not, and it goes like this):
"Are you up to this? I mean, I have to know. This isn't a game. I'm in deep shit. I gotta know what you're gonna do." This is the question I pose to each and every Hillary Clinton backer in the country right now - I gotta know what you're gonna do. If not today, then definitely by the middle of next week - I hope that Pennsylvania doesn't leave us hanging, but if it does, I hope that the superdelegates see the writing on the wall and come on board the Obama bandwagon, and end the madness of indecision of the Democratic primary and name our nominee (Senator Barack Obama).

Facing Obama Fund-Raising Juggernaut, Clinton Seeks New Sources of Cash (NYTimes, April 20, 2008)

Clintons Sort Friends: Past and Present (NYTimes, April 20, 2008)

Michael Moore Endorses Obama

Viva Obama!