A must-read article from The Village Voice shows the universal pattern we’re all too aware of: right-wing media figures hyped Obama and demonized Clinton—exploited and distorted the highly explosive issue of racism—in order to game the race for the weaker Obama or, at least, cripple a Clinton candidacy. Only when Obama became the apparent nominee did they tip their hand.
The narrative spun by racists and demagogues shaped campaign coverage, presenting an almost alternate reality where Clinton was a ruthless race-baiter and Obama a benign force who had to “fight back” to deliver us from the rancor and divisiveness of partisan politics.
Right-wing media figures are quite influential and, thus, one must be most suspicious of the motivations of Republican voters who’ve been a factor in selecting our nominee.
Sixteen of the 45 Democratic primaries and caucuses held before this week were open affairs, allowing Republicans and independents to take part, and Barack Obama has won 11 of those contests. He almost invariably carried the Republican vote, which accounted for as much as 9% of the total in Wisconsin and Texas, and frequently ran even stronger among independents, who represented a fifth or more of Democratic primary voters in state after state. The 75% of the Republican vote that he won in Missouri, for example, may have pushed him over the top, and certainly, when combined with his 67% of the state’s much larger independent vote, it delivered many of the district-apportioned delegates to him. Republicans in Obama states like Washington, Wisconsin, and Virginia were even freer to cross the aisle, since by the time they voted, John McCain had already sewn up the GOP nomination.
snip
…even if they’ve only affected the margins, it’s precisely those margins—in states like Missouri, or in district delegate fights, or in the narrowing popular-vote contest—that matter.
Front page
Why is it OK for Republicans to pick the Democratic nominee?
Damn if I know. Let ’em throw the torturers and thieves out of their own party, then come talk to us.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
as Obama's campaign continues "Dem for a Day"-
his campaign is still encouraging Republicans to be “Democrats for a Day” over and over—-including in PA—
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/20…
— Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, hoping to improve his chances for a win in Pennsylvania, is working to register independents and Republicans as Democrats.
The Illinois senator is trying to get independents and Republicans to flip their official party registration so they can vote in the Keystone State’s April 22 closed primary, Politico reported. …
So, helping Republicans to pick the Democratic candidate...
… is playing nice. I don’t think so.
One more form of disenfranchisement for loyal Democrats, seems to me.
NOTE I don’t mind if individual Republicans to do the right thing and leave the dark side. But when a Democratic candidate’s campaign explicitly organizes Republicans to pick a Democratic candidate, I think it crosses a line. I just don’t see how it’s even ethical. Just imagine the howls of outrage from the Boys on the Blogs if McCain had organized a Democrat for a Day campaign….
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
and Michigan
The turnout was low in Michigan and now a revote will be conducted, all voters except those who voted in the Republican primary will be eligible to vote in the new primary. DK advocated for voting for Romney in the Michigan primary. How many of the Republicans that didn’t vote in the Republican primary will now come out to vote in the new Democratic primary?
kos did do that in Michigan, sadly, i think--
wasn’t it him who was encouraging MI voters to go Romney?
It’s messed up whoever does it, and it makes a mockery of our whole primary system—esp when it’s a closed primary like PA’s.
Popular vote count worries me
Obama and Axelrod intentionally smeared Clinton as a race-baiter as they headed to MS by accusing her of leaking the Drudge photo (lie) and refusing to apparently defend Obama’s Christianity on 60 Minutes*, respectively, to run up the numbers, which they did by about 200,000.
Clinton will need big PA numbers (400,000?) to have a chance at the popular vote count.
@Amberglow: Maybe we’ll also get another dose of Hillary Hate
, as was done in a NV “Democrat for a Day” flier.
*Even Stephen Colbert pushed that smear last night, playing that video clip (taken out of context), which assumes Clinton could somehow prove Obama is not a Muslim when even Obama can’t—no one can.
Also from the Village Voice, Michael Musto
Reproduced here in its entirety, because Musto has no shame and neither do I.
Clearly, what we need now are joke books about Obama and McCain. I’ll go first.
Or;
Thank you, Thank you; I’ll be here all week. Try the veal.
Hey, I just crawled in from Gitmo...
… and boy, are my shackles bloody!
I think that because Obama has refused to unequivocally condemn this book, he should quit the race immediately.
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.