Democracy for New Mexico

Obama on Financial Meltdown vs. McCain's Head in the Sand

SEIU is spending $2 million+ to air this ad in 6 battleground states – NM, OH, PA, MI, WI, IA

In response to the recent tumultuous events in the mortgage banking industry and the financial markets, Barack Obama issued a statement taking the GOP's economic policies to task. Excerpt:

The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren’t minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.

I certainly don’t fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It’s a philosophy we’ve had for the last eight years – one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. It’s a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises.

Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up – from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street.

Meanwhile, it's evident that John McCain still has his head in the sand:

You know, that there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street and it is -- people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan begs to differ, seeing our current situation as the worst economy he's ever seen, by far.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton had this to say: "Today of all days, John McCain's stubborn insistence that the 'fundamentals of the economy are strong' shows that he is disturbingly out of touch with what's going in the lives of ordinary Americans ... apparently his 26 years in Washington have left him incapable of understanding that the policies he supports have created an historic economic crisis."

As we go forward, it will only become more apparent to everyone that McCain still believes in the deregulated, trickle down economics that have resulted in this worldwide meltdown. His campaign offers nothing to address and fix the problems that are causing havoc. McCain offers only more of the same. Like it or lump it.

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Calling a Lie a Lie

Witness some of McCain's lies

A common practice with some reporters in the trad media today (and especially with local media) is to present a fact and a lie as equivalent -- as merely two sides of an argument -- and in that way demonstrate what they claim is "balance" or "neutrality" in reporting. However, in real life and politics a lie is often just that -- a statement clearly refuted by well documented facts. Thus, the "other side" attempting to pretend that the lie is true (or the fact is a lie) is WRONG and needs to be called on it by what used to be called The Press.

At one time, fact-checking was considered to be one of the most important functions of The Press. Today, however, too many who view themselves as journalists apparently find it too much work or too dangerous to dig out and report the facts, especially if they don't jibe with their biases or the editorial bent of the owners of the newspaper or media outlet where they work. And even if they eventually have to admit someone -- like McCain or Palin -- has clearly been lying, they have a habit of using less accusatory terms like "untruths" or "less than accurate" or "misleading" for what should surely be called lies, plain and simple.

Michael Coleman Provides an Example
There's an excellent example of this kind of weaseling by Michael Coleman in today's Albuquerque Journal. In an article examining the views of New Mexico's Senators and Reps on McCain's simplistic and broadbrush yowling about earmarks and his unrealistic pledge to veto every single earmark request if he becomes president, Coleman slips in this inaccuracy:

The Bridge to Nowhere controversy has been resurrected in this year's presidential race. At the Republican National Convention this month, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said as governor of Alaska she shunned the money. Democrats contend she first welcomed it but later denounced it for political reasons.

Hey Michael, if you had bothered to read the news lately, talk to honest sources in Washington -- where you're based -- or even Googled half-heartedly, you would have discovered that it's not just Dems who are "contending" that Palin was for the bridge before she was agin' it. In FACT, Palin's dishonesty about the bridge has been widely reported and well documented by highly respected news and fact-checking organizations across the political spectrum. There's not a shred of doubt left that Palin pushed hard for the porky Bridge to Nowhere earmarks until it was clear that the political environment in Washington made federal funding impossible. At this point in time, even media sources that don't like to report the FACTS about GOP sleaziness have had to admit McCain and his VP choice have been less than honest about the bridge. Check out just a few of the outfits that say so:

Wall Street Journal Headline: "Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims." "The Bridge to Nowhere argument isn't going much of anywhere. Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government 'thanks but no thanks' to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state... But Gov. Palin's claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere." [Wall Street Journal, 9/9/08]

Chicago Tribune Blog: "The McCain-Palin Campaign Keeps Up the Misleading Line That She Was the Main Palyer in Taking Out the Bridge." "Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin keeps saying she stopped the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere' in an attempt to burnish her credentials as a pork-fighting reformer. And reporters keep pointing out that her claim is exaggerated. Still, the McCain-Palin campaign keeps up the misleading line that she was the main player in taking out the bridge. And still reporters keep shedding light on the inexactness, to put it politely, of that claim. One of the latest journalistic efforts to separate fact from fiction comes from PolitFact, a service of the St. Pete Times and CQ. Yet, the McCain campaign has cut a TV ad that pushes the line that Palin stopped the bridge. It's as if they've decided to go with that first two parts of that famous Lincoln quote: 'You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time...'" [Chicago Tribune Blog, 9/9/08]

Factcheck.org: Congress Had All But Killed Bridge to Nowhere When Palin Killed It, Was Sharp Turnaround From Position During Gubernatorial Campaign. "Palin may have said "Thanks, but no thanks" on the Bridge to Nowhere, though not until Congress had pretty much killed it already. But that was a sharp turnaround from the position she took during her gubernatorial campaign, and the town where she was mayor received lots of earmarks during her tenure." [FactCheck.org, 9/4/08]

Politifact: Palin's Stance On "The Bridge To Nowhere" Is "A Full Flop." Politfact, a service of CQ and the St. Petersburg Times wrote, "McCain said Palin has 'stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money on things they don't want or need. And when we in Congress decided to build a bridge in Alaska to nowhere for $233-million of yours, she said, we don't want it. If we need it, we'll build our own in Alaska. She's the one that stood up to them.' Nevermind that Alaska didn't give the money back. It spent the money on other transportation projects. The context of Palin's and McCain's recent statements suggest Palin flagged the so-called Bridge to Nowhere project as wasteful spending. But that's not the tune she was singing when she was running for governor, particularly not when she was standing before the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce asking for their vote. And so, we rate Palin's position a Full Flop." [Politifact]

AP FACT CHECK: Palin's Broader Story on the Bridge to Nowhere is "Misleading," Her Self-Description as a Champion of Earmark Reform "Is Harder to Square With the Facts." "Palin did abandon plans to build the nearly $400 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport. But she made her decision after the project had become an embarrassment to the state, after federal dollars for the project were pulled back and diverted to other uses in Alaska, and after she had appeared to support the bridge during her campaign for governor. McCain and Palin together have told a broader story about the bridge that is misleading. She is portrayed as a crusader for the thrifty use of tax dollars who turned down an offer from Washington to build an expensive bridge of little value to the state. 'I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere,' she said in her convention speech last week. That's not what she told Alaskans when she announced a year ago that she was ordering state transportation officials to ditch the project. Her explanation then was that it would be fruitless to try to persuade Congress to come up with the money... Her self-description as a leader who 'championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress' is harder to square with the facts." [AP, 9/8/08]

USA Today Adwatch Headline: "A Disconnect on Palin's Bridge Claim." "It's the claim that Palin 'stopped the 'Bridge to Nowhere' that sparked the dispute. The reference is to a proposed bridge to a remote Alaskan community that would have cost the U.S. government more than $200 million. Palin has said repeatedly that she told the federal government: 'Thanks, but no thanks.' As a candidate for governor, however, Palin supported the bridge." [USA Today, 9/8/08]

Anchorage Daily News Headline: "Palin Touts Stance on 'Bridge to Nowhere,' Doesn't Note Flip Flop." "When John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center. 'I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,' Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge. But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it. The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them 'nowhere.' They're still feeling pain today in Ketchikan, over Palin's subsequent decision to use the bridge funds for other projects -- and over the timing of her announcement, which they say came in a pre-dawn press release that seemed aimed at national news deadlines. 'I think that's when the campaign for national office began,' said Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein on Saturday." [Anchorage Daily News, 8/31/08]

Daily News Miner: Palin Supported Bridge to Nowhere, Later Kept the Money -- "That Was Hardly 'Thanks, But No Thanks.'" "In her introductory speech Friday as McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin picked up on the Ketchikan bridge that was never built as a symbol of bad federal policy... That is not how Palin described her position on the Gravina Island bridge when she ran for governor in 2006. On Oct. 22, 2006, the Anchorage Daily News asked Palin and the other candidates, 'Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?' Her response: 'Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now — while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.' Palin's support of the earmark for the bridge was applauded by the late Lew Williams Jr., the retired Ketchikan Daily News publisher who wrote columns on the topic... The money was not sent back to the federal government, but spent on other projects. That was hardly 'Thanks but no thanks.'" [Daily News Miner, 8/31/08]

TIME: "Palin Has Continued to Repeat the Already Exposed Lie" About Her Opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere. "Palin has continued to repeat the already exposed lie that she said, 'No, thanks,' to the famous 'bridge to nowhere' (McCain's favorite example of wasteful federal spending). In fact, she said, 'Yes, please,' until this project became a symbol and political albatross." [TIME Magazine, 9/9/08]

AP: Palin Supported Bridge, Later Abandoned Project But Used the Federal Money for Other Alaska Projects. "Palin voiced support for the bridge during her campaign to become Alaska's governor, although she was critical of the size, and later abandoned plans for the project. She used the federal dollars for other projects in Alaska." [AP, 9/9/08]

Washington Post's Kurtz: Palin's Assertion on Bridge to Nowhere a "Whopper." "The senator from Arizona has made a crusade of battling pork-barrel 'earmarks,' but the whopper here is the assertion that Palin opposed her state's notorious Bridge to Nowhere. She endorsed the remote project while running for governor in 2006, claimed to be an opponent only after Congress killed its funding the next year, and has used the $223 million provided for it for other state ventures." [Washington Post, Kurtz Column, 9/9/08]
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Clearly, a well-documented consensus has been reached that MCain-Palin lied about this, and yet the GOP candidates keep parroting the LIE on the campaign trail and in ads. And reporters like Michael Cole still refuse to call them on it. If you used the Journal as your primary news source (heaven forbid), you'd never know that the McCain-Palin claim about the bridge had been thoroughly debunked. I guess certain media owners want to keep it that way.

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Quote of the Day: Obama Hits McCain on Harleys

Go get him, tiger.

"Just ask the Machinists in Pennsylvania who build Harley-Davidsons," Obama said of McCain's record. "Because John McCain didn’t just oppose the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles, he called Buy American provisions 'disgraceful.' Just ask the workers across this country who have seen their jobs outsourced. The very companies that shipped their jobs overseas have been rewarded with billions of dollars in tax breaks that John McCain supports and plans to continue.

"So when American workers hear John McCain talking about putting 'Country First,'" Obama said, "it’s fair to ask – which country?"

--Obama, speaking this morning to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

McCain-Palin: Liars and Hypocrites

Can you believe that any thinking humans actually believe these pushers of doubletalk and outright lies? I guess they hear what they want to hear. They want to hear that it's somebody's else's fault and that nothing will be required of them in order to get things fixed. They are hearing it alright. Let's see how many suckers are out there when all is said and done. To believe what McCain and Palin are saying these days takes a gargantuan amount of denial. Imagine what kind of fear and insecurity fuels that kind of purposeful cluelessness ....

(Updated) Palin's Religious Freak Show and The Press

Wish we had a candidate like this one on Biblical matters

Update: Turns out a Corrales resident asked Palin and McCain some questions during their short photo-op at El Pinto yesterday. AmericaBlog has their first-person account.
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I know we're all supposed to be locked into a contemplation on the types of salsa purchased by McCain and Palin at El Pinto in the North Valley yesterday, or pondering the deep meaning of Whitesnake music being played at the McCain-Palin rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center Saturday. I know that some in this town think Palin neighbor Anne Kilkenney's fair but critical piece About Sarah Palin is annoying, but I suggest reading it anyway if you haven't yet done so. However, I think it might be most useful to consider some of the excruciatingly odd religious connections that have shaped Palin's world views -- such as they are.

Consider her long-time and continuing associations with outliers in the Assemblies of God - Pentacostal - Dominionist - Joel's Army - Third Wave end-timer movement. Palin's religious connections aren't with your garden variety Christian fundamentalists, but with the truly extreme reaches of the Christian right. I won't regurgitate the info here. You can read it for yourself in this article (with video) on Alternet for starters. There's also this diary on Kos that provides a roadmap to the Dominionist underground and lots of helpful links. It's a tangled up, rapture-fueled, Christian Nation hullabaloo alright, and Palin is definitely hooked in. Scary stuff. But even worse ...

Do you think Charlie Gibson, who embarrassed himself so badly with his phenomenally weird questions and proselytizing at a couple of Dem prez primary debates, will delve into this aspect of Palin's political-world view when he's granted the very first "press" interview with Palin? Naw, he'll no doubt be lobbing her softball questions and hanging on her every word about the ins and outs of her mooseburger consumption and how she and McCain are "mavericks" who just happen to have supported almost every single Bushie policy position until they started positioning themselves to head the GOP ticket.

Remember when The Press saw its mission as puncturing propaganda so citizens would be privy to the truth? Now the majority of "journalists" seem to be just a photo-op seeking, soundbite collecting mob of celebrity groupies who avoid rocking the boat so they can keep their "access." Access meaning their first-row seats in the ambulance celebrity chasing squad where they are lured with promises of interviews that usually don't materialize. Thank goodness there are some "pushy" reporters still out there, like Peter St. Cyr, who risked the wrath of the powers that be by daring to ask Palin a question or two yesterday. Sure, they were innocuous start-up questions, but I know Peter would have gone deeper if he hadn't been ordered to stop by political handlers. I say hurrah for daring to go up to Palin and ask anything in this stifling environment. St. Cyr was the only one who got to Palin, and he's a radio reporter.

You can have just about every one of the local TV and print reporters here. I'll follow St. Cyr's audio blog and the ever-improving live reports by Matt at anyday before I delve into the dribble on our local TV news or in the Albuquerque Journal. I'll check on reports from writers like Marjorie Childress and Tracy Dingmann at the NMI blog before I'll take the word of any trad reporter on a story. The good news is that as the trad media collapses, the independent internet media improves.

One of the most revealing experiences I had at the Dem Convention in Denver was hanging out in the venue's bowels where press of all levels, including many members of the national TV media, were ensconsed. It was like watching fisherman throwing chum into the water to lure the sharks. Every so often a whispered rumor would sweep through the press corps about some maybe or maybe not chance to get a sound bite or a video clip from a politico. A long parade of journalists would start sprinting toward some designated portal, often with large entourages trailing. Often, the rumored chance for pouncing was just a fake out and the media folks would come shuffling back, dejected and destined to resume the long wait for anything to "happen," newswise. I could just picture the politicos' press people giggling at the cattle stampedes they could start with just a whisper of an opportunity to see a Very Important Politico in the flesh.

Watching the melodrama, it became very clear to me just how powerless the trad media has become in this era of controlled politico marketing-advertising-PR. No wonder the average voter is so uninformed and ready to swallow the latest BS whole. Can our democracy survive it? In November, we'll get a number of clues when the results come rolling in. Will ordinary Americans vote with the facts in hand or will they succumb completely to the propaganda onslaught? I'm not making any bets quite yet, but I'm getting more nervous by the day.

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(Updated) Michelle Obama, Romney, McCain Plan Visits to New Mexico

UPDATE: According to KRQE and the McCain campaign, Johnny, his wife Cindy and the new symbol for unqualified tokenism, VP choice Sarah Palin, will appear at a rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday, September 6th at 6:00 PM. The event is free and public, but you must reserve a ticket here and pick it up within 24 hours. Tickets can also be reserved by emailing newmexico@johnmccain.com.

It was originally, and incorrectly, reported by KOAT that McCain would be here next Sunday and that Romney will visit New Mexico on Saturday. We'll see if their info on Michelle is any more accurate.
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Gustav may be bearing down on the Gulf Coast but campaign planning goes on. KOAT is reporting that Michelle Obama will visit New Mexico on Thursday, September 4th, VP slot loser Mitt Romney will drop in on Saturday, September 6th, and McSame himself will appear here on Sunday, September 7th. Given the shaky nature of what will go on in St. Paul this week -- with Repubs doing everything in their power not to be a part of any split screen TV coverage that shows them partying while a major hurricane in the Gulf is reminding people of their shameful history in dealing with Katrina -- I guess they think heading for the desert is the best plan.

Do YOU Know How Many Houses You Own?

McCain: All Black and White and Dishonest in Las Cruces

I was offered press credentials for today's town hall meeting with McCain in Las Cruces but decided it wasn't worth the gas money to hear the gas bag insist, once again, that he's not who he really is. Awe shucks, McCain would like us to think he's just one of the people and moderate to boot. But let's face it, McCain is a pandering rich guy who's grown long in the tooth in the dark heart of Washington. He's surrounded by syncophants and lobbyists for corporations and foreign powers. He owns, what it is, six houses? He can't quite grasp that the surge hasn't "worked" because the stated goal of the surge has not been met -- political reconcilation in Iraq and its government.

The vast majority of McCain's positions are to the extreme right -- not in line with the mainstream of the nation. He voted in favor of Bush policies more than 90% of the time. And yet he has the nerve to claim he's an independent, a moderate, a maverick. If by maverick you mean a stubborn old bull that runs wild trampling truth, then he's a maverick. Get this quote by Johnny about Obama rightly accusing him of questioning his patriotism:

“Let me be very clear: I am not questioning his patriotism. I am questioning his judgment. Senator Obama has made it clear he values withdrawal from Iraq above victory in Iraq,” McCain said. “He has made these decisions not because he doesn’t love America but because he doesn’t think it matters whether America wins or loses.”

Earth to McCain: America has lost and there is no "victory" to be had. There is only getting out in a manner that mitigates further damage, as much as possible, to all involved. I know complexities and ambiguities like that don't jibe with the game-day rah rah mentality of black and white thinkers like McCain, but the days of America winning anything by invading and occupying Iraq for years -- at a cost of $2-3 BILLION a week -- is long past, if it ever existed.

This isn't a football game. The situation in the region isn't cut and dried or uni-dimensional, so the only reasonable way out seems beyond McCain's ability to comprehend. You either win or you lose in McCain's world. He sees foreign policy like a body-contact sport, where grunting willfulness can win the day. Except that this is at least a three dimensional chess game.

McCain likes brute force, not nuanced strategies and diplomacy. He doesn't get the big picture -- only the scrimmage in front of him. It's one of his biggest weaknesses. An ability to focus only on what's directly in from of you can be a big help to a person in a prison cell -- but it certainly isn't what we need in a leader at a time like this. This is an era when swirling complexities mean that fine lines and artful analysis may well make all the difference. Those aren't McCain's strong suits, in any way, shape or form. He reads his note cards. He mouths the buzz words. He blusters and winks. He panders and smirks. But he doesn't really know jack about what's going on in the world today, what it means or how to fix it.

Dems to Protest Failed Bush-McCain Policies in Las Cruces Tomorrow

Things you might not know about McCain's economic policies ... and his wealth

John McCain will be holding a town hall meeting at the New Mexico State University Pan American Center Gym Annex in Las Cruces tomorrow starting at 10:00 AM. No doubt he'll be doing what he always does at such events -- launching underhanded personal attacks at Obama, pretending to be against the unpopular and damaging Bush policies he has long supported and generally trying to be something he's not. In other words, he'll be trying to convince people that he's offering fresh answers to new challenges when all he's really doing is serving up warmed-over remnants of what got us in this trouble in the first place. More of the same from the ultimate Washington insider.

We should never let McCain's dishonest posturing go unanswered. So it's great that folks from the Democratic Party of New Mexico, County Commissioner Bill McCamley, City Councillor Nathan P. Small and DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney will be there to protest the Bush-McCain economic policies that promise to keep us on the road to ruin. If you live anywhere near the Las Cruces area, you can too.

"Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike are looking for change this election year," said Josh Geise, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. "Maybe while he's here, John McCain can explain why his only plan for New Mexicans is to give them more of the same Bush Administration policies that have resulted in job losses, record foreclosure rates and sky high gas prices."

WHAT: Demonstration and Press Conference

WHO: County Commissioner Bill McCamley, City Councillor Nathan P. Small and DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney

WHERE: Intersection of University and Treviz in Las Cruces, NM

WHEN: Wednesday, August 20th at 11:00 AM

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ABQ McCain Staffers Trash 'Happy Birthday Social Security' Cake

Politico has the story and so does . But where are the pictures and videos? Isn't it time for someone at the Dem Party and all the campaigns, third-party groups and unions to start carrying around a very reasonably priced Flip Video, or at least a cheap digital camera, to record debacles like this? Come on folks, your local blowgowsfeer bloggers can't be everywhere, cameras at the ready. Think how many events are going on daily now, and then think how much synchronicitous action will be going on post-Labor Day. We need help in documenting the scene. Help! A video of the McCain staffers getting all chanty and destructive would be valuable indeed. Why don't we have one?