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Guess who else is raking in the dough as Sarah Palin noisily returns to the national stage: her detractors. After months of trailing Republicans in fundraising, Dems raised $11.5 million in October, a record for a non-presidential year
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This Stupak amendment is going to have to get changed greatly or jettisoned all together. 41 Dems have now signed on to voting against a bill that contains Stupak. Greg Sargent has the letter:
November 7, 2009
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232 Capitol
Washington, DC 20515Dear Madam Speaker:
As members of Congress we believe that women should have access to a full range of reproductive health care. Health care reform must not be misused as an opportunity to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services.
The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive health servicesto which they are lawfully entitled. We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.
Sincerely,
This shit really works me up. Either there is a Constitutionally protected right of a woman to choose how to manage her own body with respect to pregnancies or there isn’t. This continual chipping away at this right has to stop. This is a big problem for Obama as I know he wants to have a landmark health care bill. Doing so while eroding the civil liberties of women is not going to work. Patting the little wingnuts and blue dogs on the head at some point is going to poison the thing.
Stupak is going to have to go, or Dems have to reconcile it. This is going to be challenging. Expect to hear much more on this in the coming days.
Update 2:54pm
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz is confident that the Stupak Amendment will most likely not be in the final health care bill:
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This was by far the best night of the convention. I was of the mindset that it was going along too slowly and overall was weak, but the more I think about it the more I realize every day built upon the other. Every speaker played a part to build toward history.
Day 1 we saw Ted Kennedy make one of the most courageous speeches in modern politics. For him to even make it out to Denver was an accomplishment. To then eschew a stool in his quest to pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders was something I’ll never forget. Brave. Strong. Memorable.
Michelle Obama continued with a rousing speech that laid the foundation for who Barack Obama is and why he should be our President. I thought she came across genuine, humble, and confident. The addition of her girls and Obama on the big screen was a cute and candid family moment that is the type of thing that could endear voters to them as a family and put them at ease with Obama as a candidate.
Day 2 Hillary gave a speech that both vindicated her supporters, let her have the spotlight and respect she deserves, while also getting fully behind electing Barack Obama. I personally felt she could have done more to neutralize some of the attacks from the right regarding readiness, but overall she did well and sewed the seeds of unity. Time will tell if there is follow through in campaigning and support in these weeks leading to November.
Tonight (Day 3), Hillary continued her vote of confidence by coming down to the convention floor and leading the motion to nominate Obama as the nominee. I thought that was a great gesture and inspiring move.
The highlight of day 3 and the best speech by far was President Bill Clinton. Despite widely reported sour grapes over Obama’s win, Bubba delivered a speech he had to give. A speech we needed to hear. He was absolutely on fire. Though Hillary left off the readiness comments, Bill hammered them home. There simply is nobody in Bill’s league when it comes to delivering political rhetoric. The only person close – and possibly better – is running for President this year.
I thought John Kerry had a surprisingly good effort and Joe Biden was outstanding. His delivery, other than a few stumbles, was very effective. I thought his use of volume changes was a very effective tool. Joe Biden’s story about his mom telling him to bloody the bully’s nose so he could walk back down the street the next day was a foreshadow of days to come and his treatment of John McCain.
So far we are teed up perfectly for an historic speech tomorrow night as Barack Obama, a black man, accepts the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for President of the United States. I can’t wait to hear it and see it. When you realize the history we are making here, it makes you think differently about it. Our grandkids will read about this some day and we’ll tell them we were there.
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The story about the Arkansas man who flipped out at his job at Target and proceeded to shoot and kill the Arkansas Democratic Party Chair may be yet another indication of the severe psychosis and hate filled rhetoric of the right. It’s unclear the motivation that Timothy Dale Johnson had for committing his crime, but it will be interesting to see what, if any, political motivations he may have had. I find it hard to believe there were none given who he targeted.
It sounds though, as if they guy just snapped:
Johnson’s co-worker says graffiti laced with curse words concerning a hallway were found by management. The graffiti said, “This hall is too god damn* narrow.”
Store managers called a meeting. We’re told they asked if whoever wrote the graffiti to step forward and admit it and he or she wouldn’t be fired. Our source says store management later found the same graffiti signed and dated by Johnson.
Over the next hour or so, Johnson’s co-worker says he wrote on a door and another hallway again with objectionable words. “Target is run by dumb jocks and sorority bitches*.”
A third graffiti was found on the human resources door saying, “sorority bitches*.” Our source tells us that management talked with Johnson and then Johnson stormed off and left the building.
I can think of no other reason that he’d go where he did and do what he did without some sort of political motivation. This is why bigotted hate language and fear mongering smears in our politics is dangerous. Because when we say “somebody is gonna get hurt”, they will. They have. Those who profit in hate speech will no doubt take zero responsibility for the actions and absolve themselves fully, but the climate create with their words and actions is clear.
* Note: The sources story has bitches and god damn marked out. I’m guessing based on the number of letters and context.
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We’re watching history being made tonight and it will happen again in November. Simply awesome. This will be the moment that I will forever remember as having flown 9 hours home from Germany to see a family I’ve longed missed over the past week and had the chance to watch Barack Obama become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.
I feel completely at home…
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A new piece in The New Republic by Michelle Cottle offers a glimpse into what went wrong with Hillary’s campaign.
Bottom line: I just don’t think she was hungry enough for it in the beginning. It wasn’t really until the ten-in-a-row loss that she started doing stuff like ‘Saturday Night Live’ and Jon Stewart. In the beginning, it was hard to get her to do those things.”
i think it was 11 in a row, but whatever. There are many more examples given by those in the know. Some we knew and others that were a bit surprising. Financial mismanagement bordering on fraud. More themes than you can shake a stick at. Inability to frame a campaign in a change environment. Circular firing squads. The list goes on. I’m sure this campaign will be studied for years to come. They took inevitable and turned it into unwinnable. Worth reading about the cautionary tale that is has become.
It would also behoove the Obama campaign to take a look see at what not to become in the general. They’ve been about as good as Hillary has been bad, though. It doesn’t mean their game doesn’t need to tighten up for a general – it does. There is certainly less room for error if he is to be elected in the fall.
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Not surprising given the desperation that must have been setting in prior to North Carolina and Indiana:
One of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s top financial supporters offered $1 million to the Young Democrats of America during a phone conversation in which he also pressed for the organization’s two uncommitted superdelegates to endorse the New York Democrat, a high-ranking official with YDA told The Huffington Post.
Didn’t work.
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They agreed in September to abide by the rules. This was back during the “inevitable” period. Now that they’ve had their inevitable asses handed to them, they want to count them as they voted despite the fact that their opponent wasn’t even on the ballot in one state and didn’t campaign in the other.
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Yes, indeed. They said this in September. Not only that, but they went so far as to criticize the Obama campaign for “violating the early state pledge“. Then they changed their tune and claimed the DNC rules were “not fair in principle and unwise in practice“, after having agreed to them. They had no such objections in September of 2007.
Ready to lead on day one my ass.
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Great piece in the Chicago Tribune highlighting much of what I’ve been saying about what Hillary must do. The question is will she become a loser the likes of Kerry or Kennedy? The difference will determine the nature of her future political power and it is surely something that is currently being calculated.
Clinton’s options, other than winning the nomination, are many. She may gain more leverage from losing than most any other failed presidential candidate.
The only way for her to accomplish this would be to campaign vigorously for Obama and get the sour grapes crowd to work for him and vote for him as well. It’s her best out. It sounds like this is the thinking on the inside as well:
The thinking among some who have talked with her campaign is that she would be a vigorous campaigner for Obama throughout the fall campaign, wiping out any memories of damage she might have inflicted while prolonging the primary season. In the process, she would also maintain and perhaps even enhance her own viability should Obama lose the general election to presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain.
So even Hillary people are saying what I’ve been saying. SHE needs to be the one to wipe out any damage she may have inflicted in the drawn out primary. She can and will be a powerful political force for years to come. It all depends on how she handles the exit here in the next few weeks.
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Last week in West By God Virginia it was 36 percent. Just 36 percent of Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton said they would vote for Obama in a general election. This week in Kentucky it was 33 percent.
Two-thirds of Clinton’s supporters there said they would vote Republican or not vote at all rather than for Obama, according to the polls.
Forty-one percent of Clinton supporters said they’d cast their vote for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and 23 percent said they would not vote at all.
This being the case all the while most polled say they think Obama will indeed get the nomination.
So I will ask Jill and the rest who are harping on what Obama must do to heal this type of problem (and it IS a problem): How is someone supposed to convince voters to side with him when they vote for his opponent knowing she will not win and claim they will not support him once he wins the nomination as they are predicting? 64% will vote McCain or not vote. That’s a huge problem.
Hillary Clinton’s problem. She has leverage with this bloc of voters. So much so that they support her over the party. They support her over a person with very similar policies and positions – policies and positions that have made them a huge Hillary supporter.
Hillary is a smart woman. She knows the likelihood of her winning butts up against sheer anarchy in the party and the odds of that being allowed to happen are so slim as to not even exist. She is making overtures in her speech tonight of taking this thing to the convention and being unwilling to stop her campaign of party divisiveness. It should be noted that her speech was again devoid of any recognition for Barack’s accomplishments despite his seizing the high ground again with congratulating her on a win.
She must be stopped. Someone needs to tap her on the shoulder and let her know if she succeeds in any plan to seek later redemption by cementing a defeat for Obama this time that there will be a loud cadre of people who may have supported her who will absolutely join in her destruction down the line. There will be no 2012. Face facts.
I’ve seen Hillary say voting for McCain would be a mistake blah blah. That’s not good enough. She needs to either give a speech and step down or give one telling these idiots that not voting or voting McCain would be betraying their votes for her should Obama win. It needs to be forceful and it needs to be NOW!
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I think it’s time for the online community to do so as well, including the Ohio blogosphere. Let’s show some leadership ourselves and form a tight circle around our nominee. Shall we?
Obama’s lead in Gallup is now commanding:
Sen. Barack Obama’s 16-point lead over Clinton in the latest Gallup daily tracking poll of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters comes from even higher support among groups that have been supporting him throughout the primary race, and from newfound support among several groups that have backed Clinton
Obama’s strengths have all been increased while pulling closer in demographics typical of Clinton strength. Obama leads or ties Clinton among women, Easterners, whites, adults with no college education, and Hispanics.
I hate to keep saying this, but it’s over. Been over. There is absolutely zero reason to continue to talk about anything other than unity. That Hillary is at this point continuing to say things like “this is nowhere near over” should be a clear signal that she has zero interest in healing any rifts and forming tight circles to compete in a general election. It’s as irresponsible as the idiotic group of women claiming they may vote for McCain in protest. Seriously delusional.
The argument that we Obama supporters need to coddle to such delusion is not compelling. No such coddling needs to be done. She lost. He won. Move on. Is it incumbent on the one being coalesced around to reach out and accept into the fold the supporters of the loser? Sure. The larger point that is being missed is that he can’t do that until the loser actually concedes losing and calls on her supporters to get behind him. To somehow argue that Obama needs to “do something about this” is insane at this point. Not in the midst of Hillary claiming it’s far from over and her supporters threatening widespread revolt against her opponent.
The only person who has any influence at all on those who would wreak havoc in their post-mortem tramatic stress syndrome is the candidate they are willing to do it for. Hint: It ain’t the guy currently in the lead. His job was to get more delegates and he did just that. Her job was to run an effective campaign that would anoint the inevitable candidate she was when this began. She failed to do that. In fact, she not only failed to do that, but she succeeded in a scorched earth kitchen sink policy that would make such supporter rapprochement much more difficult.
So as America begins to rally behind the eventual nominee, I’d call on those of us in the ’sphere to do the same. My arms are wide open Hillary fans. My guy can’t change his sex, but he can lead and fight for what you want fought for. Let’s do this. Let’s all join hands and sing:
Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya
Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya
Oh lord, kumbaya
Let’s all raise our voices in mass unity to those on the right circling like vultures during the bloodbath below awaiting such time as they should swoop down and snatch victory from the chaos. Let’s not let that happen. Let’s come together. Let’s shout to the heavens so that all will hear our voices as one: “Obama Bomaye!”
Thank you baby Jesus.
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Dann Remorse: That feeling you get when you know you were right to oppose a political candidate from the start but gave them the benefit of the doubt because they were on your side and you come to realize how right you were! Similar to the popular phrase “Buyer’s Remorse”.
I’ve been suffering from Dann Remorse for some time.
…but at least I have this collector’s tee!
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Yet another argument gone. The Super delegate gap has been closed and Obama now even leads:
I probably only do this because as I Kentucky native I constantly have to, but I’ve also known very bright people who were not racists that were from West Virginia. Roommate at West Point is one off the top of my head. Top flight guy. Love his Mountaineers!
I’ll let you say some, but not “West Virginians” or “Kentuckians”. To be honest, they are everywhere them hillbillies. I thought I wouldn’t see as many as back home when I moved to Ohio. Boy was I wrong!
Hell, even Rahm Emanuel is saying Obama is the presumptive nominee.
I’ve heard talk – and I don’t disagree – that Hillary is trying to ratchet down the rhetoric and ratchet down her fervent supporters in order to begin the healing process. This needs to happen and I hope it can happen.
The question I have is when does Chris Redfern become the biggest supporter of Barack Obama in the state? What’s the official time on that one? I wanna be there! 
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