ThinkingLiberal

The 800lb Macaca In The Corner: A Big Thank-You To George Allen

When George Allen singled out a young Indian man at a campaign rally - the only non-white in a crowd of 100 people - and called him a 'macaca', he cost himself his job and cost the Republicans control of the Senate.

At the end of the day, the voters simply couldn't ignore the racist in George Allen. So one word, an ethnic slur meaning 'monkey', decided the fate of the most powerful country on earth.

Now that the Democrats have the Senate as well as the House, we can expect a tectonic shift in American politics. We can expect oversight of the executive branch - particularly with regard to human rights and civil liberties, which this Administration has thrown to the dogs. We can expect a re-evaluation of our foreign policy. We can expect a shift in tax priorities to moderate the excessive cuts given to the extremely wealthy.

We can expect more money for healthcare and education. More money for police and firefighters. A raise in the minimum wage. A focus on small business rather than Big Oil.

In other words, George Allen could well be the savior of the American Dream.

"Let's give a welcome to macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia," said Allen.

And thanks to Allen's racism, the real world of Virginia - and the USA at large - is about to become a better place.

Deliciously ironic, isn't it?

Why Don't Republicans Want You To Vote?

In Denver, computers crashed all day. The lines shuffled along at snail's pace and thousands of voters simply gave up and left. Waits of over 2 hours to vote were common throughout the metro area.

The Democrats urgently petitioned the courts to keep polls open for another two hours, to give people their constitutional right to vote.

And the Republicans argued against that motion. And succeeded. The result is that countless Colorado voters have been denied their vote.

Why do the Republicans want to disenfranchise you? Answer it for yourself.

Dirty Republican Campaign Tactics

If your phone rang at dinnertime and a pre-recorded message said "Hi, I'm calling with information about (insert Democratic candidate here)", you might not be in the mood to listen right away.

So you hang up. And then the call comes again. And again. And again. In fact, you receive anything up to EIGHTEEN calls that night, each one beginning the same way.

And if you don't listen to them, you'd never know that those calls are not coming from the Democrats at all - they're coming from the Republican National Committee.

If you had waited long enough, you would have heard them finally admit to the 'robo-calls'. But in the meantime, thousands of people have been duped into believing that the Democrats have been calling night and day.

As a vote suppression tactic it is breathtaking in its audacity. It is also highly illegal. FCC rules dictate that the entity responsible for the content of the call must identify itself at the beginning; the Republicans only do so after a long pause following their initial message.

The Democrats finally sent out a Cease And Desist letter yesterday, the day before the election.

Too little, too late. What does the Republican Party care about a fine, if it can suppress turnout in Ohio? What does half a million here or there matter to the party that raises hundreds of millions for its candidates from lobbyists?

In any district in which this racketeering can be proved, the Republicans should forfeit their votes. It's the only way to put their lousy tricks to bed for good.

The C&D letter is published below.

Download cease_1.jpg Download cease2.jpg

The Personal Tragedy Of Ted Haggard

One of the values that I prize in the Democratic Party is compassion. Our party - at least, in theory - is the party of tolerance, care for the weak, inclusion for all.

When Ted Haggard was brought crashing down last week, I was gleeful. Another one bites the dust, I thought, another evil preacher of bigotry, hate and intolerance exposed as a fake, a liar, a man filled with loathing. A Republican, his true nature laid bare.

I revelled in his downfall, delighted in the ongoing revelations and his obvious guilt.

It was only tonight that I finally considered the personal tragedy that has befallen Ted Haggard.

Haggard is a gay man. And yet, he is so filled with self-loathing for what he is, that he denied that part of himself. I don't know a great deal about his upbringing, but I can guarantee you this - Ted's father had no compunction about telling his boy that homosexuality was evil, repugnant, vile. Any Haggard who thought otherwise was a traitor to the human race. No pansies in this family.

Haggard was brought up to hate gays.

Imagine his torment when he discovered that he himself was homosexual. Imagine the years of repression, the extraordinary capacity for self-deceit that he had to develop in order to be the man his father wanted him to be. Is it so surprising that he should grow up to found a church in which hatred of homosexuals was a recurring theme? Of course not - the more he denied his nature, the more he hated himself for being who he was, and the more angry he grew at the people who shared his 'affliction'.

Ted Haggard is a human being, and he deserves our sympathy. I am angered by his deceit, but I also understand it. Who amongst us hasn't some secret that we've never told of? When I was six, my friend Nicky and I dropped a kitten off the stairs to his house. We broke its leg. Since then, I have loved cats beyond all reason - partly, I'm sure, because of the terrible deed I perpetrated when I was small. There, I've confessed.

I hope that Haggard finds a life after this. I hope that he is able to come to terms with who he is, and that perhaps he will use his obvious powers of persuasion and communication to connect with people based on truth in the future, rather than a lie.

As I said at the beginning, the capacity for compassion is what differentiates we Democrats from many Republicans. Whilst I am glad that yet another Republican institution has been shown to be based on lies, I am trying my best to empathize with the human being whose life has been shattered by this news.

Good luck, Ted Haggard, and may your God receive you, however you turn out.

How Low Can You Go?

I wrote yesterday about a particularly vicious and unpleasant piece of campaign mail that was sent by the Colorado Republican Party to voters in the 7th Congressional District, where Democrat Ed Perlmutter is opening a lead over Republican Rick O'Donnell.

I am sure you will share my sense of repugnance when you see the piece, which you can download as a PDF below.

Not only is it meant to strike fear into the heart of the average voter by insinuating that Perlmutter is a sex offender (an outright lie) but it twists the facts in a typically Republican way.

Republican Dottie Wham, the Denver Senator who sponsored the legislation that the mailer references, said that the tactic was 'sleazy' and pointed out that the bill was tabled at the request of law enforcement, and that she and Perlmutter passed a more-comprehensive bill on sex-offender notification the next year.

O'Donnell has so far refused to condemn the piece, claiming that he had no knowledge or control of it. That's not good enough. The tactic is sickening, and O'Donnell should denounce it. Anything else simply signals his complicity in the state party's repulsive action.

Download republican_mailer.pdf

A Quick Reminder Of What Bush Has Done For Civil Liberties

FOR SALE:

One set of civil liberties, circa 1789.

These civil liberties were virtually untouched for over 200 years! You won't find a better set of freedoms anywhere on eBay! Religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of association - it's all here in this beautifully-preserved set of civil liberties.

42 previous custodians, all of whom, with one notable exception in 1973, took great care of these liberties. Current guardian has no use for them any more, and is prepared to listen to any offers.

The set is sadly no longer complete, since the right to a fair trial was recently sold by John Ashcroft to a Mr Juan Tanamobay. Also, the right to conduct your affairs without the government listening in has been removed from this auction after a separate bid by the NSA was accepted.

Some other liberties have been badly damaged over the last five years - the right to live free of cruel and unusual punishment is still valid in the USA, for the most part, but unfortunately the seller can no longer guarantee that this liberty will be accepted abroad.

Also, Habeas Corpus appears to be missing - an exhaustive search in the attic and under the bed has not turned anything up. However, the right to vote is still acceptable in most parts of the country where white-skinned people abode. (Note - seller reserves the right to remove and present to the Diebold Corporation before the auction ends.)

These liberties come free of any Geneva Convention restrictions whatsoever! Although originally bound by world opinion and law, they have recently been sprayed with a natural solvent that completely eliminated all ties to any international treaties.

You can do anything you like with these civil liberties! Ideal for the collector, or simply for someone who wants to make a fat profit selling them off piecemeal to the Saudis!

Also available: a pristine Expression of Righteous Indignation, which can be used on China, Cuba, Russia etc any time you need to take the focus off your own terrible record on human rights.

For more information, send $10 and a phone number at which you can be wiretapped to Alberto Gonzales, c/o The Bush Legacy, White House, Pennsylvania Ave., Washington D.C.

A Disgusting New Low In Republican Campaign Tactics

The State Republican Party in Colorado has achieved a breathtaking new low in campaign negativity.

Ed Perlmutter, the Democratic candidate in Colorado's 7th Congressional District, is running ahead of rival Rick O'Donnell in all the polls.

So the Republicans sent out a piece of direct mail. It closely resembles a notice that homeowners would get in the mail if a registered sex offender moved into their neighborhood; indeed, it has 'Sex Offender Notification' at the top of the piece.

The clear implication, which happens to be entirely false, is that Perlmutter is a sex offender.

This is about as despicable as it gets. Nothing could be lower than smearing your opponent in this manner. It is yet another sign of the desperation - and the disgustingly low standards - of the Republican Party today.

I cannot adequately express my outrage over this vile piece of evil propaganda. As many have said before me, the Republicans should be ashamed of what their party has become.

Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated

Dissent is what makes a democracy a democracy. The right to disagree with your leaders, and to voice that disagreement, is enshrined in any free democracy whether the constitution is codified (as in the US) or not (as in the UK).

Senator George Allen (the racist one) was heckled yesterday by a 20-year old student at a rally. The student, Mike Stark, asked Allen "Why did you spit at your first wife".

Then three men accosted him and threw him to the ground. The men were campaign workers for Allen, and the incident was captured on video.

As Stark said later, "I am a constituent, I am allowed to ask my Senator questions".

That may have been true before the Bush administration, Mr. Stark. But nowadays I'm not so sure.

Farewell, proud democracy.