Hail to the Chief!

(Did you hear hundreds of thousands of people singing hey hey goodbye as Bush flew off? Our long national nightmare is over.)

and no, i didn't cry. but i almost did.

Obama cult
I think that with the proliferation of buttons, t-shirts, posters, etc. that Obama supporters (spell checkers need to start recognizing “Obama” as a word….) may in fact be a cult….and me with my buttons, and t-shirts and posters, I’m ok with that. If it gets things done in this country, I’m ok with the fanatical support. Because unlike the cult of Mr. codpiece, the object of our veneration intends to get things done – like healthcare, energy security, and restoring civil rights.

Individual freedom
It is so ironic to me that one of the core principles of Conservatism is individual freedom and responsibility. This seems in DIRECT contradiction to GOP support of gay-marriage bans, right of privacy infringement and abortion bans. You stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours. INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM idiots! I’ll entertain your right to bear arms when you get out of my bedroom. I’ll consider smaller government when you get your laws off my body.

Well Prop 8 passed in California, stripping same-sex couples of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. Fortunately, the world has lawyers and they have descended en masse to file objections to the proposition. From what I can tell, they are levying three main arguments at Prop 8.

1. You cannot attach an unconstitutional amendment to a constitution. – Since the California State Constitution was found to hold equal marital rights for same-sex couples, you can merely pass an amendment (which standing alone as a law, would be struck down as unconstitutional), to negate the State Constitution proper.
2. You cannot strip rights from a class of people with a Constitutional amendment – Stripping rights from one class would require a Constitutional Revision and a two-thirds vote. AND to even get to the Revision, you’d have to open a Constitutional Convention - this too, would require a two-thirds vote.
3. Making a distinction in rights between same-sex couples and straight couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the federal Constitution.

There are two more arguments that strike me. You shouldn’t be allowed to make these kinds of changes to a CONSTITUTION with a simple majority vote. AND. IT’S JUST WRONG.

It’s like this, if the language of the Propsition was: “Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California."”, this wouldn’t even be an issue. Insert almost any other adjective before man and woman and you can see why this Proposition is a joke. Except it’s not a joke. It’s happening, and now thousands, of couples cannot get married. Not to mention that marriage is a CIVIL right, not a RELIGIOUS one. This should not even be an issue. And the Mormons, really? I mean really? Of all the people…after having been run out of New York state, and then Missouri before settling in Utah because of their quirky beliefs about, or all things, MARRIAGE. You would think that the Mormons would understand. And it’s not like I want to marry more than one girl, really, it’s just the one. Instead the Mormon Church poured nearly $20 million into the campaign to pass Prop 8, and supplied who knows how many GOTV volunteers. So, boycott UTAH – Mormon run, and boycott Marriot – Mormon owned. And for God’s sake, sign the Courage Campaign’s petition here and donate money to help us beat back this horrible horrible law.

Sanctity of marriage bullshit.
When you can drunkenly find a chapel in Nevada and get married at 2am, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get divorced 8 hours later when you’ve sobered up, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get married two, three, four times, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you claim you can get married to two, three, four women at the same time, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you force a child to get married just because there is a baby on the way, there can be no sanctity of marriage. Sanctity of marriage is bullshit. Marriage is a civil contract. There could be religious sanctity of marriage, but that is between your religious official and a believer – not me and the state. Shove off.

Campaign Post Mortem
Well, the campaign is over. It’s still not clear if we won or lost MO, though, I suspect that we lost it. We worked really hard and knocked on countless doors…and we killed in the city and the county, but we could not overcome the rampant bigotry in rural areas. I had a great time, and I can’t believe that it’s over. Election day had me in charge of four canvass captains and scores of canvassers – it was an incredible experience. Photos will be forthcoming. And that party at the Chase was electric. I’ll admit it, I cried a little. And I’ll probably cry again on Inauguration Day. We may have lost Missouri, but we sure won the country (did I mention that we picked of an electoral vote in Nebraska? Nebraska of all places!) So thanks to everyone I met on the campaign, and all the volunteers that came out and knocked on some doors, or made some phone calls, or donated money – it is much appreciated. It will be fascinating to see what changes President-Elect Obama will enact and what opportunities will arise. But we’ll be here, watching.

(I’ll miss checking fivethirtyeight everyday for the latest poll numbers, but the founder assures us that they are not going away and are going to continue to provide fascinating content for our perusal.)

(I’ll also miss the antics of former VP nominee Sarah Palin, though I suspect that she’s going to stick around for awhile. She’s had a taste of the limelight, and I think that despite the negative publicity, she wants more. Sarah Palin 2012? Please. Of course she is still facing an ethics investigation in Alaska…)

Prop 8 Redux
Keith O weighs in:

Yes we did.

(Via Bob Geiger - courtesy Steve Kelley)

YES WE DID!

Hypocrites

Pro-lifers

Someone please explain to me why Pro-lifers get to be called any more than pro-fetus? They are in fact not pro-LIFE, that would involve being pro-universal healthcare, pro-living wage, anti-war, anti-death penalty, pro-gun laws (not banning, just restrictions to prevent violence)….in my experience they might be some of these things, but if you really want to call yourself pro-LIFE, you have to be all of them. In reality, the pro-lifers, are anti-abortion – they are one issue, and that makes them pro-group of cells in a woman’s body. I would hazard to say that the real Pro-lifers are liberals, progressives who thing that all people deserve and equal shot, and if they mess up, or catch a bad break, then we should lend a hand.

And, I heard this sanctimonious Catholic scholar/spokesman/representative (?) on NPR this morning, talking about how he was anti-choice because he believed in the equality of the whole human race. Oh really guy? Because I don’t see you lining up to support gay rights, or the fair pay act, or the priesthood for women- those are all equality issues too. So really, say what you want, but say what you mean. Because you don’t mean that woman are equal to men, and you don’t mean that gays should have the same rights as heteros. You don’t.

Speaking of wackos,John McCain has been running around A LOT in Pennsylvania. He thinks that he can swipe this blue state away from Obama. He is deluded. The pollster average shows Obama up by 11 in PA – the most recent polling indicates that Obama is up by 12, 14, 9, 7, and 11 (in order, (Quinnipiac, AP Marist, Insider Advantage, Rasmussen, Muhlenberg). Just look at the pollster graph:



There is not a race here. John McCain will not close this gap. And yet, the media, along with McCain insists that this is a battleground state. If that were the case, then we would need to take states that McCain is winning by less than (the pollster average) 11% and call it a battleground. Let’s see, that would include such bastions of Republican Red as Montana, North & South Dakota, Georgia, Mississippi, and OOPS!
Arizona!

Recent polling in Arizona indicates a significant tightening to the presidential race here in McCains HOME state.



This should be HUGE news, if Obama was winning IL by only 6% we would be hearing nothing but that (he’s currently winning IL by 25%). Just another example of “it’s ok if you’re a republican.”

Moreover, McCain is doing robo-calls in his own state. He may lose Arizona – what a huge slap in the face! And all the media can talk about is how Pennsylvania is a battleground, NO. IT’S. NOT.

Sidenote. Thank GOD, my staging location on election day has wireless internet. I will not be without information from the world on one of the most important days in American history. The space itself is actually pretty cool – I just have to figure out what to do with it, and what the hell I am doing. I’ll be commanding an army of 150 volunteers. Better get my plan together… by tonight.

I think I know who's going to be Keith O's worst person in the world...

Meet Ashley Todd. Ashley Todd is a McCain supporter that made up a story about being mugged and beaten up at an ATM by a big black man that didn't like her McCain bumper sticker. AND he allegedly carved a "B" into her face - "B" for Barack. Um...she lied. Oh, and that "B," it's backwards - kind of like it would be if you did it yourself in a mirror....

Worst Person in the WORLD!

Fun with numbers

First a video:



Ok folks, here’s some numbers for you:

Of the 30 states that Bush carried in 2000, Obama holds a lead in 10 of them. Additionally, McCain has lost GOP support in all but seven of the states that Bush carried. The most striking of these, and two that Obama currently has leads in, are Montana and North Dakota. Obama holds leads of 3% in both – and the GOP support has collapsed -28 and -30 points respectively since 2000. Montana and North Dakota! Bush won these two states by 25% and 27%! Are you kidding me?!

Other tidbits:

Support for the GOP has collapsed +15 points in Virginia, North Carolna, Wyoming, Indiana, and (you betcha) Alaska. That’s right, despite have America’s favorite governor (/snark), McCain has lost 15 points of support since 2000. HAhaHAhaha..

Though not leading them, Obama is down by 10% or less in West Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia and Indiana.

Anyway, here’s a handy chart I made up, read ‘em and weep.



(all 2000 & 2004 election number courtesy Dkos, 2008 data courtesy pollster.)

NO on CA-Prop 8

Ok, so I’m not taking credit for this, but, the polls have switched in CA! The good guys are back on top 52-44! Thank you Ellen! You knew she had a lot of influence, didn’t you?

And thank you everyone that got involved or gave money or talked to anyone about this issue. And keep up the good work! There’s plenty of time for the polls to switch again, and that would be BAD. So keep fighting until Nov 5th.