A New Wave

Enough With The Roe v. Wade Arguments

Since Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination on June 7, I have read at least two articles a day by progressive bloggers telling Democratic women why it is in women's best interests to vote for Barack Obama. Of the numerous articles, these six are the most representative arguments.

In every case these purveyors of wisdom alternately chide us, berate us for being angry at the media, the Democratic Party system, and its leaders, and lecture us about throwing away our Freedom of Choice if we do not do the right thing and vote for Barack Obama.

First, let me get something out of the way: I'm a proponent and advocate of ensuring women's reproductive rights.

Comedian George Carlin Dies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the demise of humanity, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday. He was 71.

Hillary Clinton: Our New Populist-Feminist Heroine

Blogs and news sites are buzzing about John Heilemann's excellent profile of Hillary Clinton in this week's issue of New York Magazine.

Above all, Heilemann's article is real journalism and not the slash-and-burn, take-down, smackdown variety of "news" practiced by Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, FOX, and so many others.

Obama Says No Privatization Of Social Security

Barack Obama would change the way payroll taxes are levied for Social Security, eliminating the tax on wages between $102,000 and $250,000, but re-assessing it on incomes of $250,000 or more annually.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Friday called for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 annually, a step that would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans.

Draining The Ocean...Part II

Well, maybe we are making a small dent in sexism and misogyny after watching the performance of media professionals (and others who will go unnamed but fall under the general heading of Liberal/Progressive) during the primary campaigns. News articles over the past four days have been filled with story after story about not only the depth and breadth of sexism and misogyny displayed, but the admiration and respect Clinton has earned - even among detractors. Some examples:

Remembering Bobby Kennedy

I was living in Littleton, CO 40 years ago, a young person in the middle of another tumultuous time.

Like the November day in 1963 I remember precisely where I was and what I was doing when word came that another Kennedy had been shot.

Several friends and I had decided to go out to Dairy Queen for ice cream. It was the beginning of Summer. We were just a few days away from the end of classes and were looking forward to the warm days and cool nights of our arid Colorado summers. Dairy Queen: the quintessential 60s hang-out, like A&W, was across the street from another draw - the "slide", a tall and steep metal contraption (actually several of them) that started "rooftop" height and bounced you up and down all the way to the bottom - not quite a two-minute ride. It was new for its time and tame when compared to the thrills of today's amusement parks. It was scary enough for me (most of us, actually) that my heart raced every time I got to the top of and looked down at the shriking world below me.

We decided to get a "dipped cone", sit around in the car and yak, then head over to the "slide" for an early evening adventure. Since curfew was at 10:30 p.m., we only had a couple of hours. The DQ and this local amusement attraction were pretty much always jammed post Memorial Day.

There were five of us that night - the "wallflowers" and "geeks" who (at the time) didn't do drugs, didn't date, didn't party, but still had our own "clique."

This night was especially warm - not so unusual for early June, yet there was a heat and friction in the air, the kind that is often a precursor to a thunderstorm. Still, the skies were star-filled and there was a warm breeze blowing softly through the trees.

Here we were counting down the school year, planning - even if only in our fantasies - the wild adventures we would have as summer rolled out its green carpet and sunlit sky, feeling so free. It was for me one of the best times. All of my senses were alive this night. I felt completely in harmony with everything and everybody around me: a perfect moment in a perfect time. I was preparing to step into the next phase of my life, young adulthood, and all I could see and sense and feel was the golden promise of what lay ahead.

After our DQ/slide adventure came to an end, we made the requisite drop-offs of friends to their homes. Sandy - who drove - dropped me off last.

I opened up the door, walked through the kitchen and into the living room. My parents were watching the news - no surprise. My mom had tears in her eyes. I thought she and dad had an argument. She was very private and always denied the problems they had. But then, I looked over at the television, having heard Walter Cronkite's calm baritone voice as I approached the living room. It didn't occur to me at the time to wonder what Cronkite would be doing on our "local" news, yet I recall even now the dissonance it created.

The words BREAKING NEWS seemed jarringly out of place. They shouted at me across the bottom of the television screen and Cronkite's mustached face appeared to have been "on air" for some time.

Then the camera footage was played. Chaos. Screams. A rush of bodies to the focal point - a man, lying on the floor, blood pouring out of a wound in his head, a restaurant employee cradling him. And then Cronkite's voice: "We repeat. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy has been shot at the hotel where he had just finished delivering his speech after winning the California Democratic primary."

It was the third time in five years. But this time it felt so personal. I had identified with Robert F. Kennedy and his campaign. He seemed so fresh and refreshing, so honest and so compassionate about an invisible-but-growing body: the poor, the disenfranchised, the mothers and the children all across our land who were made visible because of Bobby Kennedy and his campaign. He was the vision we needed to take us from the darkness of Vietnam, two national tragedies, a world that seemed increasingly out-of-control. He was - this young and humble man - a bridge from the deep wounds of our past to a future filled with promise that our world could be, would be different.

And once again another young man who called to "the better angels in our nature" was gone.

I'm not sure, in retrospect, how we survived three assassinations in the span of five years - two of them in the same family. We are, I guess, more resilient than we believe ourselves to be. Youth, especially, has a capacity to heal wounds and salvage sorrow in a way that helps all of us heal, probably because there is the promise of a future that is - individually and collectively - filled with the hope and promise of what can be.

"Abraham, Martin and John" - Dion

Share your thoughts about that day. Where were you when Robert F. Kennedy died? What do you remember from that day? What did RFK represent for you?

A Tribute To Hillary Clinton & Her Supporters

This thread is a tribute:

First and foremost: To Hillary - a terrific woman, feminist, Senator from New York, leader, mother, wife,  role-model, and 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate. We already know you're the best! But we also want you to know that when you showed the world your "true colors" we felt comfortable and safe in showing our true colors, too. It makes us stronger as human beings and more beautiful in our unique and complex individualities.

Thank you, Hillary!

Second: To all of Hillary's supporters - who worked our hearts out phone-banking, knocking on doors, blogging, broadcasting (Taylor Marsh), fundraising, talking, debating, stuffing enveloped, distributing flyers, letter-writing, yelling at MSNBC "pundits", and every other action we have taken on behalf of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

(BELOW THE JUMP)

Finally: In honor of Gay Pride Week (which I noted in an earlier blog, but which got screwed-up when it was published):

HILLARY, STANDING UP FOR ALL AMERICANS STILL...

As we begin Gay Pride Month, I join the LGBT community in celebrating an historic year in which our country continues to make progress towards the fair and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Still, we have so much work to do. I look forward to working with the LGBT community to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need. We need to expand our federal hate crimes legislation and pass a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And finally, we need to put an end to the failed policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice - the traits that define our men and women in uniform - have nothing to do with sexual orientation.

Hillary - You Showed Us Your 'True Colors' "Like A Rainbow...

Share your thoughts about Hillary, the campaign, her decision to "suspend" her campaign, your personal stories. ONE RULE: No trolls, no foul language, no sexist or racist crap of any kind! I will be moderating...

What's Your Favorite...

T-shirt?

The Hillary team has received hundreds of designs for its new T-shirt. Your opinion matters.

Here are two of my favorites:

BREAKING NEWS, KY Polls, Hill Update & More

BREAKING NEWS:

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) was rushed to a Massachusetts hospital earlier today after he suffered a "seizure" at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport:

(CBS/AP) "Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was airlifted to a hospital Saturday after suffering a seizure at his home, and did not appear to have had a stroke as initially suspected, his spokeswoman said.
The 76-year-old Kennedy, a liberal Democratic icon and the lone surviving son in a famed political family, was undergoing tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said."

"'Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours,' she said. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Cutter said."

"...New York. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also issued a statement. 'My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today,' she said. 'We all wish him well and a quick recovery.'"

While I disagree with Sen. Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama and I thought that his comments last week were unfortunate regarding Sen. Clinton's campaign and a possible VP spot should she not win the nomination, Kennedy is a champion for progressive values and goals in the U.S. Senate. Along with others, I offer my thoughts and prayers for his recovery.

Calling All Older Voters

Jeralyn at TalkLeft has some informative thoughts and stats about older voters and their significance in this year's presidential election.

"When it comes to electability arguments for the superdelegates, however, I think there's something they need to consider -- that caucus results vastly undercount one particular segment of voters who will vote in big numbers in the general election: The elderly and infirm, including nursing home residents who weren't mobile enough to attend a caucus but who can vote by absentee ballot in primaries and the general election."

"If unable to attend caucuses, and most likely were, their preferences were excluded. This is one more reason I don't think that a superdelegate can equate a caucus win in a particular state with a win in that state against John McCain in November."

I went to the U.S. Census Bureau to get some numbers on older voters and to size up what they might  mean for a GE in November. Here's what I found:

Voters ages 65 and up number 37.5 million, or 16.6% of the voting-age population. Voters between the ages of 45 and 64 number 76.5 million (33.6 percent). I include this age group because they are, by and large, more likely to support Hillary Clinton, as evidenced by exit polls - and a trend that is in line with Andrew Kohut's finding that older voters (those 45-years old and up) haven't been enthusiastic Obama supporters.

Additionally, older voters comprise a slightly larger share of the electorate (114 million), than do voters ages 18-44 (113 million); and older voters have been a more reliable voting demographic than younger voters in past elections.

Looking at caucus/primary results from three states, Nebraska, Texas and Washington, it becomes apparent that something has occurred between the caucus votes and the primary votes:

"Nebraska: Obama won the caucuses. He got 26,000 attendees to Hillary's 12,000. In yesterday's (May 13) primary, the vote was Obama 46,000 to Hillary 43,000, or 49% to 47%. One explanation for the sharp decline in support is buyer's remorse. Another, more probable explanation is that the caucuses were unrepresentative of the state's voters."

"Washington: Obama won the caucuses with 21,000 preferring Obama to 10,000 preferring Hillary, but in the primary held two weeks later, he only won 51% to 46%, 353,000 votes to 315,000 votes. Only the caucus votes were used to determine delegates."

"In Texas: Hillary won the primary vote 51% to 47% and by more than 100,000 votes, while Obama won the caucuses, perhaps by as much as 60% to 40%."

It could be, as Jeralyn notes, that "buyer's remorse" has set in with respect to Sen. Obama's margin of victory in the caucuses and his narrower victories (or losses) in primaries. Or (Jeralyn again), it might be that caucuses are not representative of a state's voters.

Where Superdelegates Are Located

Here's a cool and informative map (does not include Alaska and Hawaii, though why I don't know. Perhaps Barack has now subtracted these two from the "57 states" comment he made last week when speaking at a campaign rally). The "map" shows where superdelegates are located, by state and by which candidate they have declared their support for. Blue and shades of blue are Hillary states and SDs. Green and shades of green are states from which SDs have not declared, or where some have declared but not all (thus the minus percentages). The map also utilizes "category circles" that are sized according to the percentage of superdelegates in each state - and where they are located within the state - who have declared support.

Any questions? There will be a test on this...

Visualize The Popular Vote

Hillary is ahead in the popular vote, with results from Florida and Michigan. According to ABC News, she leads Obama by 43,579 votes. Here are the tallies:

CLINTON: 16,691,639

OBAMA:  16,648,060

Although the Democratic National Committee and Sen. Obama continue to balk at including any results from these two states, the votes were counted and certified by the secretaries of state in each of these states. A meeting is scheduled on May 31 at DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. to hear appeals from both states, after which a determination will be made on seating delegates. At this time the issue of popular vote will also be raised. My best guess is that since delegates are apportioned based on voter preference for candidates (through primary or caucus results), the DNC must count the popular vote. As to whether they will depends on how much pressure is put on Howard Dean and members of the Rules Committee.

If you have not yet made your voice heard on Michigan and Florida, please take a moment now to do it.

MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA: MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A VOICE

Looking At Another Blowout Win In KY

I could make a wisecrack here about John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama with an eye toward getting the blue-collar working class voters to stampede to Barack. But I won't. I don't need to. Exit polls throughout this primary season have told and continue to tell the story. John Edwards managed to eke out only about 7 percent of these voters before he dropped out of the race. Hillary Clinton has been winning them all along, since Iowa.

And with that, here are the latest Kentucky polls:

Research2000: Clinton - 58%; Obama - 31% (with this tidbit):

[In a GE matchup with John McCain]: "McCain leads Obama by 25 percentage points
and Clinton by 12."

"This is a tough state for a Democrat for president," said Del Ali, president of the firm Research 2000, which conducted the surveys. "If Obama's sitting down with (his chief strategist) David Axelrod going over the electoral map in the fall, Kentucky isn't part of the equation. I think with Hillary it could have been."

Rasmussen: Clinton - 56%; Obama - 32%

SurveyUSA: Clinton - 62%; Obama - 28%

RCP Average: Clinton - 58.7; Obama - 30%

In Oregon it's anybody's guess, but RCP Advantage gives Obama a 14-point lead. Voters who have already mailed in their ballots were split 50-50 in their support. I don't have a clue if this "means" anything and I'm not going to predict...

NARAL BLOWBACK:

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you probably know about NARAL's endorsement of Barack Obama. I'm not going to provide the link to that story, but I will provide the link to NARAL's "home" site, where you can register your (ahem) comments about this disrespectful act.

Apparently, NARAL heard from so many women after they put up a "webchat" with Nancy Keenan, NARAL's president, that they had to put it in overdrive to keep up with all the comments, most of which were decidedly NOT supportive of their decision.

Turns out, this probably wasn't a smart move. A number of their state affiliates pushed back, issuing their own statements rebuking NARAL for making this decision and for making it without first consulting with its state affiliates.

"NARAL Pro-Choice America affiliates in key swing and primary states are openly distancing themselves from the decision by NARAL Pro-Choice America to endorse Illinois Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democratic nominee for president."

"Since yesterday's announcement, NARAL groups in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Texas and New York -- Clinton's home state -- have issued statements signaling their continued neutrality in the Democratic race and emphasizing that the national group did not speak for them on this matter. These groups represent nearly a quarter of NARAL's state chapters."

Tell me again who are the ones "in touch" with the will of the people...

Can You Say, 'Hypocrite'?

I found this gem on The Carpetbagger Report. It's not being publicized much (and my little blog probably isn't going to give it much traction), but it's worth noting because it is hypocritical on the part of the Obama campaign, which has said for months that Florida (and Michigan) should not be included in delegate or popular vote counts. (There are all sorts of hypocrisies in that stance, also, but to go into them would take another post). Now, however, since Barack believes he has the nomination "in the bag" Florida delegates count - particularly if they support him.

Speaking of Obama: "A Florida Democratic Party source says that, by their count, at least 8 of the state’s 13 Edwards delegates are switching to Obama, and none to Hillary. The delegates don’t, currently, count, but that could change…."

Finally (I bet you never thought we'd get here), here's our video of the day/week/whatever: