Crist May Not Say It, But The Crazies Made Him Do It

Congratulations Governor Crist!

Thank you for saying goodbye to the Grand Old Party and hello to your new found freedom as an independent. Republicans loved the term "Drill baby drill!" last year as liberals and conservatives squared off on the issue of drilling for oil off of our coasts. Yet the Governor and U.S. Senate candidate had the where with all and good sense to change his mind on the matter, especially in the light of the catastrophic oil spill currently spreading in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the heels of that news, the Governor is set to announce his independence from the G.O.P. and run as an independent. Of course, this move may be the result of reading the writing on the wall and not something that is just out of left field.

Naturally, Republican leaders are infuriated at the news and are already threatening Crist to get their campaign contributions returned. They'll coalesce around State House Representative and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio and the election will now be decided in November instead of during the Republican primary held beforehand.

On the Democratic end, everyone in the blue camp has gotten behind Congressman Kendrick Meek. A month ago Swing State thought things looked good for the Dems in this race, granted that Crist would lose in the G.O.P. primary, but now everything has changed. A three candidate general election will definitely spice up the situation, though it remains to be seen if Crist can pull enough moderates away from going either to the left or right.

One thing is for sure, the popular Governor has lost a lot of ground to Marco Rubio in conservative circles these past few months, so if he wants to succeed this fall, he better show why the center-left should make him their Senator.

Thanks To A Judge, Florida Becomes A Little More Tolerant

The ballot measures across the country dealing with GLBT rights was a true shame, and shows us just how we have to go in order to achieve equality in our nation. Florida, Arkansas, Arizona and California were just the latest four to restrict the rights of a minority defined by their sexual orientation. However, as the battle in California moves to the courts, one victory was had today in Florida, as Judge Lederman in Miami found that the gay adoption ban in the Sunshine State was unconstitutional.

From PageOneQ:

Miami Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled Tuesday there was "no rational basis" for prohibiting gays from adopting children.

The ruling will allow 47-year-old Martin Gill to adopt two young brothers he has cared for as foster children since 2004.

Florida has one of the strictest bans on gay adoptions in the country. A judge in Key West ruled in September that the ban was unconstitutional, but that ruling has had limited legal impact.

Of course there will be an appeal, but this development is certainly a good sign. The will of the majority should never infringe on their rights of a minority simply for the way they are defined. Judge Lederman gets it, the California Supreme Court got it before Prop 8 was hatched and hopefully the rest of our judicial system will see it as well so that everyone is afforded human rights.

While Obama Wins, Equality For All Americans Fails

Make no doubt about it, last night was a tremendous turning point in our nation. Barack Obama's overwhelming victory was a testament to our nation's democracy. However, not everything went well for those that must seek to be seen as equals in our society. Across the country, numerous propositions were put onto the ballots of states such as California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas to restrict the rights of the GLBT community. I didn't expect much from Arizona, Arkansas and Florida (sorry to those that do support equal rights there but clearly you aren't the majority) but I was hoping California could overcome. I was sadly mistaken about having that hope.

From The LA Times:

In San Francisco on Tuesday night at the packed headquarters of the "No on 8" campaign party in the Westin St. Francis Hotel, supporters heard from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose decision to issue same-sex wedding licenses in his city led to the court ruling that made gay marriage briefly legal in the state. .

"You decided to live your life out loud. You fell in love and you said, 'I do.' Tonight, we await a verdict," Newsom said, speaking to a roaring crowd before final returns were in.

Elsewhere in the country, two other gay-marriage bans, in Florida and Arizona, also won. In both states, laws already defined marriage as a heterosexual institution. But backers pushed to amend the state constitutions, saying that doing so would protect the institution from legal challenges.

Proposition 8 was the most expensive proposition on any ballot in the nation this year, with more than $74 million spent by both sides.

The measure's most fervent proponents believed that nothing less than the future of traditional families was at stake, while opponents believed that they were fighting for the fundamental right of gay people to be treated equally under the law.

Obviously the ridiculous belief that restricting rights of the gay community made the "traditional" families safer. Shame on the majority of California's voters for denying people their rights as human beings.

Well, while their ignorance and bigotry may have the proponents of these bills cheering, they must know the fight isn't over. Just as the country's attitude on race is slowly changing as new voters come into the system and the older ones fade out, so too will the ability to treat people the same regardless of their sexual orientation. It took a long time to get where we are on race (and we still have a long ways to go) and hopefully we can get equal rights for all within a smaller amount of time. Maybe not this year and years past, but the future will ultimately be better.

Unlike Palin, Biden Knows What The VP Does

Sarah Palin described for a third-grader last week how she wants to abuse the power of the Vice-President's office. It was an over simplification of exactly how she sees being McCain's number two but important nonetheless of how she emulates the Dick Cheney method of corrupting government. Joe Biden was actually interviewed by a fifth-grader recently and at about the 4:00 min mark of this very cute video, he accurately tells young Damon Weaver what the VP does per the Constitution of the United States.

Sarah Silverman Wants You To Make The Great Schlep For Obama

Sarah Silverman wants you to make "The Great Schlep" for Barack Obama. So talk to your grandparents down there in Florida to avoid the bad butterflys and go vote for Barack Obama on November 4th!

Oh yeah, there are some very non-PC things in this video, so for the easily offended, beware.

Let The Push Polls Begin

We are now exactly seven weeks from election day and John McCain has a problem. We already know he can't win by talking about himself. That has been proven over and over again. He isn't even inspiring, did you see the "crowd" he attracted yesterday (not that is a steep drop, since he's been lying about attendance as well)? People want change and he isn't giving it to them, Obama on the other hand is surging ahead based on a message of change from the ways of the last eight years and not even the fact that Sarah Palin has a vagina can make a difference.

So what is McCain to do? He tried to start waging an all out culture war since Palin joined the team but now not even that tried and true GOP meme is holding much water. Somehow people stopped caring about lipstick when they saw Wall Street nosedive yesterday, reminding them of their own economic plight. Well McCain can't dwell on those issues since he basically wants to continue the same policies that Bush has used to screw us over during the last eight years. So now it is time to pull out another dirty trick from the bags of GOP henchmen, the pushpoll.

From No Blood For Hubris:

It is deja vu all over again, again.

PT Key West resident Joelna Marcus received a phone call today. She was asked if she is Jewish, and she replied in the affirmative.

She was asked if she was religious.

She was then asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that Obama had given lots and lots of money to the PLO.


Sounds like liar John McCain's Smear-Talk Express, not unlike Ol' Man River, just keeps rollin' along.


----
Update: Another FL voter (from Gainesville) has revealed he too received a similar push-poll call.
And here's a push-poll recipient from PA.

The assertion by the push-poller is ridiculous and holds absolutely no weight. It is the same exact thing that was used to knee-cap another Presidential hopeful eight years ago. When John McCain surged out of New Hampshire in 2000, a devastating call put in by Karl Rove to voters across the crucial state of South Carolina. It was a horrendous thing done to McCain and his family, I even felt bad for the guy. Now for his campaign to use the very same ploy against Obama is beyond the pale, but sadly, completely expected.

FL Republican Uses Burning Twin Towers For Partisan And Monetary Gain

Nearly everyone who remembers the images of the burning towers, whether live and in person here in New York or on their television sets around the globe was shocked and saddened by what they saw. It was a moment in American history where people forgot their partisan differences and came together as a nation. Unfortunately as time went on it divided us on what to do about terrorism, whether to bully the world or hunt and prosecute those that would do us harm. Although I disagree with those that want to bully, I would never use the images of the burning towers to make an argument against Republicans, but that is exactly what one Republican is doing to Democrats....and he's making a profit from it too.

From WFTV:

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A controversial billboard in Orange County has a picture of the burning World Trade Center and the message, "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat." The man who paid for the ad says he's trying to help Republicans, but officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate. There are billboards up and down busy Orange Blossom Trail, but this at John Young Parkway (see map) one sticks out. "Just looking at it, I'm not thinking about Democrat or Republican, I'm thinking about the twin towers and all the people killed," resident Mary Anderson told Eyewitness News. The ad went up last week and is causing quite a reaction."Why use the twin towers for that purpose?" Anderson questioned. The man behind the billboard is Mike Meehan, a St. Cloud businessman and musician. His website advertises a CD and music video titled "The Republican Song," with the chorus, "Don't vote for a Democrat." He's selling CDs for $5.

Just when I think that the partisan debate can't go any lower, some Republican somewhere will remind me that there is no limit on what will be done, no matter how grotesque.

Scalia Helped Bush Steal 2000 Election, Now Blames Gore For It

Antonio Scalia and the word 'timidity' have never gotten along, but his statements to the UK Telegraph recently were just a bit over the top, for him that is. His decisions from the bench have been plenty bad over the years, but to claim that Gore is responsible for Scalia and four other justices overturning a Presidential election is just absurd.

From RawStory:

"Richard Nixon, when he lost to Kennedy thought that the election had been stolen in Chicago, which was very likely true with the system at the time," said Scalia. "But he did not even think about bringing a court challenge. That was his prerogative. So you know if you don't like it, don't blame it on me.

"I didn't bring it into the courts. Mr Gore brought it into the courts," he continued. "So if you don't like the courts getting involved talk to Mr Gore."

The first state court case in Florida was filed by Palm Beach County voters who felt they were disenfranchised by the infamous butterfly ballot design. It was the Bush Cheney campaign who first took the case to federal court, filing a federal lawsuit on Nov. 11, 2000. A complete timeline of the Florida fiasco is available here.

He went on to say he regretted being a part of it all and blah, blah, blah. Though how can you trust that if he doesn't even remember how it all went down? Scalia doesn't pay attention to the facts on most things, as Dean calls him, "intellectually bankrupt" along with the other four that decided for Bush and on all other matters he simply toes the radically conservative line, being as active as he can for the neo-con movement.

DNC Dramafest 2008 Is Upon Us

It is now approaching 6:00 EDT and the members of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee have heard and asked questions of various representatives all day long. For the last two hours, they have been in recess, supposedly having a late lunch but probably trying to hammer out a deal behind the scenes before coming out into the watchful eye of C-SPAN (they are now trying to fill time with repeats from earlier today). The question is, what will come from their decision?

From the arguments we've heard a lot of substantive information emotional crap. The Hayes/Tilden Presidential election of 1876 was referred to as well as the more recent stolen election in Florida eight years ago. The worst offender was Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) a supporter of the fiscally responsible candidate, talking about the poor disenfranchised voters from years past and incessantly grandstanding for every vote to count. It'd be great for that to happen Bill, but the reality of the events surrounding Florida's primary run against the stated DNC rules is a slap in the face to every voter outside of Florida (and Michigan). Then there was this Hillary supporter arguing with the designated Hillary supporter. Some people really need to re-take kindergarten, jeez.

There were some better performances though, from Senator Carl Levin (especially for his passionate stance against Iowa and New Hampshire always going first), Michigan Chair Mark Brewer (for stressing party unity) and Obama supporter David Bonior for reminding us of what Hillary Clinton said before all of this was essential for giving new life to her campaign. Though with all of the emotion, passion and wishing for their side to win, Donna Brazile invoked the words of her Momma, and that is what should ultimately rule the day.

Update (7:13PM): Florida's and Michigan's delegation is now to be seated with each delegate given a half vote, split up 69-59. That gives Hillary Clinton 34.5 delegates while 29.5 delegates remain "uncommitted" from Michigan. In Florida she earns back 19 delegates from Obama's approximate 200 delegate lead. When all said and done with superdelegates, Clinton picks up 94.5 delegates and Obama got 68. It is a terrible decision for those that wish Hillary to win at all costs, but a fair compromise considering the rules that were violated. Now Obama is 66 delegates away from the nomination and we can wrap this up in three days once the final votes are tallied.

Thanks to Sean Robertson for the pic above!

Hillary Clinton Debunks Her Own FL/MI Delegate Argument

Oops!

Politics Comes Before Friends

Yes, you read that right. Politics and your party comes first. As far as things go for Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Kendrick Meek, they should know better that the good of their party is a higher priority than aiding the campaigns of their friends who just happen to be incumbent Republicans from Florida. Is there something in the water down there?

From Swing State Report:

Sensing a shift in the political climate of the traditionally solid-GOP turf of the Miami area, Democrats have lined up three strong challengers -- Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair Joe Garcia, former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez, and businesswoman Annette Taddeo to take on Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, respectively.

While there is an enormous sense of excitement and optimism surrounding these candidacies, some Democratic lawmakers, including Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kendrick Meek, are all too eager to kneecap these Democratic challengers right out of the starting gate in the spirit of "comity" and "bipartisan cooperation" with their Republican colleagues:

But as three Miami Democrats look to unseat three of her South Florida Republican colleagues, Wasserman Schultz is staying on the sidelines. So is Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat and loyal ally to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. [...]

This time around, Wasserman Schultz and Meek say their relationships with the Republican incumbents, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother Mario, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, leave them little choice but to sit out the three races.

"At the end of the day, we need a member who isn't going to pull any punches, who isn't going to be hesitant," Wasserman Schultz said.

Now, you'd expect this kind of bullshit from a backbencher like Alcee Hastings, but you wouldn't expect this kind of behavior from the co-chair of the DCCC's Red to Blue program, which is the position that Wasserman Schultz currently holds. Apparently, Debbie did not get Rahm's memo about doing whatever it takes to win:

The national party, enthusiastic about the three Democratic challengers, has not yet selected Red to Blue participants. But Wasserman Schultz has already told the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that if any of the three make the cut, another Democrat should be assigned to the race.

"It needs to be somebody who can roll up their sleeves," Wasserman Schultz said. "I'm just not that person; it's just too sensitive for me."

Too sensitive for you? I'm sorry, WTF does that mean? We aren't picking daisies here Congresswoman, this is about advancing a progressive agenda for our nation. Your "friends" have supported George Bush's war, his disastrous economic policies and endorse morally repugnant ideas that are prejudiced against minorities (save for the Cuban-Americans of the South Florida area of course). If you want to be looked upon with respect by your constituents and the party you are a part of, then it is time to grow up and do your job.

Congratulations Florida!

I'd like to personally welcome the state of Florida back to the reality-based community...at least for the sake of their science classes. After a long time of dodging the question, a slight majority on the board of education allowed the "E" word make it into the textbooks. Of course, it didn't happen without a fight from the religious freaks who do not believe in the separation of church and state.

From RawStory:

Florida's public school science standards for the first time will use the word "evolution," although the biological concept already was being taught under code words such as "change over time."

The standards state that evolution is "the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." That statement rankled opponents, some of whom had urged the board to add an academic freedom provision that would have allowed teachers to "engage students in a critical analysis of that evidence."

Evolution supporters, including mainstream scientists and clergy, told the board the academic freedom proposal was a wedge designed to open the door for injecting religious arguments into science studies.

Of course the creationists opposed the legislation, they do want God in the classroom, as much as they publicly deny it. They know that by allowing teachers to teach science rather than religion, they will lose the battle that faith be taught as fact in our public schools, those schools that funded by the taxes paid by people of many different faiths or no faith at all.

Twelve Days To Go For Giuliani

There's less than two weeks to go until Florida decides on their Republican of choice for the general election. Unfortunately for Rudy, his southern-most firewall state isn't too hot for him anymore. Now that everyone knows he's supposedly staking it out in the Sunshine State, Republicans all over the place are ruing the day he ever started this race and their own mental acuity for thinking about voting for him in the first place.

From The Gothamist:

People have been wondering about former mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign for a long time (his presidential campaign plan notebook went missing last January! he pays more attention to his friends' advice versus that of election consultants). Now, with the Florida primary on the horizon, it seems his New York-based supporters are starting to worry.

The first few weeks of the new year have brought Giuliani embarrassing finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Michigan as well as national polls - ones he used to lead with large margins - where he is now tied or in second or third place. The Times reports "supporters say they are confident that if Mr. Giuliani carries Florida or runs a very close second, he will remain the odds-on favorite" to take all delegates from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. But Cooper Union historian and Giuliani biographer Fred Siegel thinks Giuliani winning Florida requires "a miraculous comeback. I wouldn't bet on it."

Also, Giuliani's strategy to concentrate on Florida might be backfiring among voters. One Florida conservative told Newsday, "It concerns me that he really hasn't campaigned a lot, and he's placing everything on Florida," while another said, "He squandered his lead." And more damning, a Giuliani fan said, "I haven't seen him put out the effort yet." Ouch, but he does have 12 events scheduled for the Sunshine State this week.

I know that Republicans are having trouble making up their minds and placing their chips with any of the elephant candidates, but when it comes to this pachyderm things are looking pretty bleak.

Vaginas Are Scary

Apparently there are a lot of people out there that can't come to terms with their own bodies. They fear themselves with such contempt so that they demand a name change to a critically acclaimed play called the "Vagina Monologues." If you haven't heard of the play then get yourself acquainted because it is an important piece of theatric art that empowers women in our patriarchal society.

From RenaF on DailyKos:

I almost couldn't believe my ears this morning as I got dressed for work. I go about my morning routine with CNN's American Morning on in the background. I don't usually focus too heavily on what they're talking about unless it's hard news, but a brief mention of a story this morning caught my attention and left me literally disgusted.

If you would be so kind as to follow me, you can bear witness to the Great Vagina Controversy of 2007.

Here's the blurb from CNN's American Morning. They were doing a teaser for the 9am show, CNN Newsroom, hosted by Heidi Collins (transcript):

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" just a couple of minutes away. Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead this morning.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Soledad. And good morning to you, everybody.

That's right, we have these stories coming up in the "NEWSROOM" today. Good grief, first winter wouldn't start and now it won't stop. You've heard Chad talking about it, some spots in upstate New York buried under six feet of snow.

And the fight over Nigeria's oil riches. Our Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange face to face with masked rebels. A dangerous and amazing piece of reporting that you've got to see. We'll show you that.

And sign of the times -- a critically acclaimed play causing a little southern discomfort, so the producers have changed the name of "The Vagina Monologues."

Tony Harris is with me in the "NEWSROOM" of the hour right here on CNN.

(LAUGHTER)

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my gosh.

M. O'BRIEN: "The Hoohaa Monologues?"

COLLINS: You got it. Some people were offended, you know.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my goodness. I can see why. That's very interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: "Hoohaa" kind of bothers me.

COLLINS: No, I mean, they were offended by the original name.

S. O'BRIEN: No, no I get you on all fronts.

M. O'BRIEN: But you know, some people might have a "Hoohaa" problem. Who knows.

COLLINS: I'm done.

S. O'BRIEN: As am I. We're done.

CNN did an awful job of telling the true story of course. What happened was that a woman was driving with her niece one day and they saw the billboard advertising the play. The curious little girl asked her aunt what a vagina was, as children are naturally curious to learn about things they see. The aunt however, was furious that she would even have to answer a question about the female anatomy. In fact, she took that fury to the playhouse and had them change the name of the play to the 'Hoohaa Monologues.' Now that is ridiculousness at it's best worst.