My PUMA is flummoxed by Palin.

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“MA!”

“WHAT!”

“Did you hear??”

“What? McCain?”

“YES! Aw, Man! It’s only 8 or so in California…I thought I’d get to tell you.”

“No. I am listening to the NPR. Family Radio has become annoying. That man thinks the world will end in three years.”

“SO???”

“So what?”

“What do YOU think? You were so curious about whom he’d pick…”

“I was really disappointed when I heard it…my heart just went down to the floor. What’s wrong with this old man, has he lost his brain or something? She is a young girl. No experience. She is Governor of state with 8000 population for only two years. What’s she know?”

“I think…Alaska has more people than—“

“Who cares! Don’t interrupt! Point is, I can manage things better than she can. This is guaranteed losing ticket.”

“You wanted Joe Lieberman, didn’t you?”

“I did!”

“And why is that, Mummy?”

“Because he is a Democrat. Was. I mean, he is independent. Also, he was so nice to you, when you met with him and his wife.”

“Awesome reasoning, Ma. Anyway, if not Sarah, then whom?”

“I would rather he gone for that…kid…the Indian…the governor…”“Bobby Jindal?”

“Yes. Him. He is better than this Sarah. Or the other one.”

“WHICH one, Ma?”

“Oh, start naming the names, I will tell you.”

“Um…Pawlenty…Romney…”

“THAT ONE! The Romney.”

“(facetiously) Eeeew. You’d vote for a Mormon?”

“What is wrong with the Mormon?

“Well, what is wrong with a Muslim?”

“You are a smart Alex. Mormons are people, too.”

“So are Muslims. By the way, I think Mormons secretly convert people, who are in no position to object to such tomfoolery, since, oh, I don’t know…they’re DEAD.”

“Nooooo. That can’t be true.”

“Mom. We’re Orthodox. Officially, they’re heretics.”

“We are Orthodox, and we are religious. They didn’t secretly do anything to you. That’s why we have nothing to fear from a Mormon.”

“Are you implying Muslims are full of harm and that we should fear them, then?”

“I DID NOT SAY THAT. Are you putting this on your website? DON’T PUT LIES ON THAT WEBSITE ABOUT YOUR MOTHER.”

“It’s totally off the record, Ma.”

“You are a terrible liar, Latha.”

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Who is the Muslim??”

“No one. I was just being obnoxious.”

“I thought Obama was a Christian? Now I am confused.”

“He is Christian, not that it should matter. Whatever, I just wanted to know what my own PUMA thought of it all?”

“PUMA? What insult are you shamelessly calling your mother now?”

“Oh, you don’t know? PUMA. It stands for “Party Unity My…ah…I’m at work, so let’s go with Kundi. Party Unity My Kundi.”

“HAHAHAHA. So I am a PUMA, then?”

“You’re in good company, so is Abhi’s mom.”

“Who is Abhi?”

“The boy who started the website I write for–”

“Is he single?”

“Mom, seriously, that would be like marrying my brother. Besides, hello, I’m neither single nor looking? Have you no shame?”

“Vatewer. It’s a reflex, now. I just don’t know what I am going to do in this election.”

“Awww. You sound upset. You really wanted Hillary, didn’t you, Ma?”

“I did. She seems…she knows what she’s doing. She knows how the office would work. She has pull. She is tough. I wish I could vote for her.”

“You could always vote for Obama. He’s a democrat.”

“I’m not democrat.”

“Are you finally coming out of the closet, and admitting you’re a republican? I CALLED IT. I so called it, when I was in high school.

“I am not democrat OR republican.”

“Then? You’re an independent?”

“If some other candidate could come and be independent, I’d be happy. Now I feel like I have no choices.”

“You can do one of three things. You can vote for Obama, vote for McCain, or not vote at all, in which case, I will love you a little bit less.”

“Are we running a fashion parade here? Miss congeniality? What the hell? I can’t vote for McCain now…I don’t want that woman in the white house. Maybe he likes having the young girls around, who knows.”

“Ha. Well, I think her gender is definitely why she was chosen.”

“I know! Does he think I am stupid or something? I was not for Hillary because of that. He can’t expect me to jump up and down just because he picked a woman. What an idiot.”

“So…you do realize that Hillary and even Slick Willy are supporting Obama, right? And that they want you to vote for him, too?”

“Aren’t you at work? What have I told you about behaving in a professional Manner? GET OFF THE PHONE. If I were your Manager, I’d fire you for personal phone calls.”

“All right, all right. I love you too, Ma.”

“See you later crocodile.”

“After a while, alligator.”

425 thoughts on “My PUMA is flummoxed by Palin.”

  1. Because Obama abducted them and replaced them with wind-up dummies (beard included) equipped with a recording of Daily Kos talking points.

    Anchors being windup dummies? Not too far off from the truth……sarcasm or not.

  2. @ 347 the doctor

    The Supreme Court is not black and white and has not been in a long time…The dynamics are really intricate…

    Like the shift of O’Connor towards the liberal side as opinions more conservative than her’s (Thomas) got on the court…similarly Kennedy moved to the left after interactions with Scalia…

    @ 349 Manju

    The only justices McCain will appoint will be moderates like him, his family and his inner circle…the fear should not be that they will be Conservatives, the fear should be that they won’t be strong. On the other hand no one seems to be pointing out that Obama’s justices will be far too reactionary and will interfere way too much in public life. Just because they will support your point of view shouldn’t mean that you should support transient arguments for why the balance between the judiciary and the legislature can be undermined.

  4. 352 · RahulD said

    similarly Kennedy moved to the left after interactions with Scalia…

    Only in the context of this Supreme Court can Kennedy be described as left.

    The only justices McCain will appoint will be moderates like him, his family and his inner circle…

    How on earth is McCain a moderate? Because he supported campaign finance reform and voted once for stem cell research? McCain has reliably opposed abortion throughout his career, and there is no reason to believe that his judge picks will not be the same way.

  6. I partially agree with your p.o.v of Kennedy, but on the most important of the issues for Social Conservatives he has voted with the liberals…I’m not law student but even perfunctory knowledge on the subject will show that my analysis is correct.

    McCain is a moderate in the sense that he is not a Conservative in the sense that most people on the website perceive us Conservatives as evangelical, proselytizing, war-mongering, racist, homophobic, old white men who want to start side businesses of back alley abortions. I hope I was succinct

  7. I thought any President that recommended a justice for the Supreme Court had to get them confirmed through Congress. Now, if McCain wins and has an opportunity to appoint a Justice to the supreme court, it isn’t like he can just pluck and place them on the bench. Seriously, is the Democratic Congress that impotent?

    Point being, the Democrats have control of Congress, which is the branch designed to represent the will of the people. The fear mongering that the Supreme Court is going to overturn roe vs. wade if a McCain is president is nonsense. Checks and balances anyone? If the Bush presidency hasn’t pulled it off, McCain’s won’t for sure. As President, he won’t have the luxury of a Republican congress as Bush did.

  8. Obama’s response to the Palin Babygate is spot on. I like how he pointed out that he himself was born to a teenage mother.

    Now I suspect that the blogs are going to attack Sarah Palin for letting her political career prevent her from properly raising her children. And for getting pregnant again when she already had too much to handle. And for risking that baby’s life by giving a speech and going on a long plane flight (a big no no) even after her water broke…..

  10. The fear mongering that the Supreme Court is going to overturn roe vs. wade if a McCain is president is nonsense.

    No it is not. That is in the Republican Platform. That is what energizes the republican base the most. The Republican base is far more obsessed with abortion, gays and guns than with the economy, the war or the energy crisis.

    Democrats will have to aggressively highlight the Republican agenda of overturning Roe v. Wade to keep pro-choice women from voting Republican just because they have put a woman on the ticket.

  11. 357 · GujuDude said

    If the Bush presidency hasn’t pulled it off, McCain’s won’t for sure.

    What does that mean – Bush hasn’t pulled him off? Alito, for sure, and Roberts, almost certainly, are very firmly in the Scalia-Thomas wing of the court. Alito, the replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor, is far to her right, so Bush certainly did what he wanted. One more vacancy/death and Bush would have decisively swung the court to the right for the next 30 years – especially since he has appointed young justices, and all the liberal justices are much older.

    Point being, the Democrats have control of Congress, which is the branch designed to represent the will of the people.

    That is the only possible bulwark. But if McCain is smart, I don’t see how somebody like Alito, if he is proposed, could really be stopped. i.e. somebody that doesn’t have an extensive record, will be well coached to say the most non-committal things, and not give Bork like hooks for the dems to eviscerate him or her.

    McCain is a moderate in the sense that he is not a Conservative in the sense that most people on the website perceive us Conservatives as evangelical, proselytizing, war-mongering, racist, homophobic, old white men who want to start side businesses of back alley abortions

    I don’t really care. He has a social conservative, fiscally conservative, pro-war agenda and advocates for primacy in the role of religion in public life. Thanks, but no thanks (not that I am happy with Obama’s interest in funding faith based programs either, but I have to go to vote with the candidates I have, not the candidates I’d like to have.)

  12. 358 · Valmiki said

    Now I suspect that the blogs are going to attack Sarah Palin for letting her political career prevent her from properly raising her children. And for getting pregnant again when she already had too much to handle. And for risking that baby’s life by giving a speech and going on a long plane flight (a big no no) even after her water broke…..

    Well, they are idiots if they do. This is no business but hers, and it is certainly misogynistic to say that she cannot be a good mother or parent because she tries to juggle work and family.

    All one can hope for is some troopergate revelations, a bad debate performance, or some idiotic comments of the kind she has made in the past.

  13. 362 · the doctor said

    Well, they are idiots if they do. This is no business but hers, and it is certainly misogynistic to say that she cannot be a good mother or parent because she tries to juggle work and family.

    It’s already happening on CNN with the talking heads on Larry King. I knew I should have stuck with watching Tivo’d Family Guy.

  14. Another good reason to vote for Obama, from a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?em

    “Is History Siding With Obama’s Economic Plan?”

    “Data for the whole period from 1948 to 2007, during which Republicans occupied the White House for 34 years and Democrats for 26, show average annual growth of real gross national product of 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents versus 2.78 percent under Democrats. That 1.14-point difference, if maintained for eight years, would yield 9.33 percent more income per person, which is a lot more than almost anyone can expect from a tax cut. Such a large historical gap in economic performance between the two parties is rather surprising”

    “It is well known that income inequality in the United States has been on the rise for about 30 years now — an unsettling development that has finally touched the public consciousness. But Professor Bartels unearths a stunning statistical regularity: Over the entire 60-year period, income inequality trended substantially upward under Republican presidents but slightly downward under Democrats, thus accounting for the widening income gaps over all. And the bad news for America’s poor is that Republicans have won five of the seven elections going back to 1980.”

    “The two Great Partisan Divides combine to suggest that, if history is a guide, an Obama victory in November would lead to faster economic growth with less inequality, while a McCain victory would lead to slower economic growth with more inequality. Which part of the Obama menu don’t you like?“

  16. Um, that TIME story has been discredited. There was no “pregnancy pact.”

    I haven’t been following this thread, so I don’t really know what any of these things have to do with the topic at hand, but I figured I’d do my part to debunk this urban legend.

  17. I wonder how the pro family values crowd would have reacted if Obama’s daughter had been in similar circumstances as Bristol – if she was of an appropriate age, that is. (Here’s a hint: it’s going to be less rah-rah-rah-family values, more welfare queen stories.)

    And word has it that Track Palin, born 8 months after the Palins eloped to marry, had several discipline problems growing up. And Todd Palin has had multiple violations, including drunk driving.

    Lovely, normal American family with great, responsible parents! God Bless America!

  18. Wow. This is turning into a real fiasco for the Republicans. We already know that Sarah Palin’s husband Todd is a union member who is not affiliated with the Republican Party, and that Sarah once supported Pat Buchanan the renegade conservative. Now it is being revealed that both Sarah and Todd Palin were once members of the anti-american Alaskan Independence Party whose goal is to secede from the United States and make Alaska an independent nation!

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html

    “Members of ‘Fringe’ Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s”

    “Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.”

    “Earlier this year, Palin sent a video message to the AIP for its annual convention, where AIP vice chair George Clark told the small crowd that Palin “was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town –- that was a non-partisan job. But you get along to go along -– she eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won’t go into that. She also had about an 80 percent approval rating, and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership.”

  20. What does that mean – Bush hasn’t pulled him off? Alito, for sure, and Roberts, almost certainly, are very firmly in the Scalia-Thomas wing of the court. Alito, the replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor, is far to her right, so Bush certainly did what he wanted. One more vacancy/death and Bush would have decisively swung the court to the right for the next 30 years – especially since he has appointed young justices, and all the liberal justices are much older.

    That means that after 8 years of the Bush presidency, Roe vs. Wade is still around. It hasn’t been turned over. Whatever the possibilities were, it hasn’t happened. Didn’t happen with Regan, Bush Sr. or Bush Jr. It’s a political loser to really overturn it. John McCain most certainly isn’t going to go down that path, not with a Democratic congress.

    That is the only possible bulwark. But if McCain is smart, I don’t see how somebody like Alito, if he is proposed, could really be stopped. i.e. somebody that doesn’t have an extensive record, will be well coached to say the most non-committal things, and not give Bork like hooks for the dems to eviscerate him or her.

    That means the Dems don’t have the conviction to stand their ground? Why? I can understand with a Republican congress, they can’t do much as they need to get their pork passed too, but now the Dems dictate legislation, so they’re the ones who can dictate what will/won’t fly. More likely than not, you’d see a compromise candidate if McCain is around that’d be a middle of the road person. McCain isn’t far right nor do religious conservatives really fancy him as a candidate (because of his centrist approach).

    No it is not. That is in the Republican Platform. That is what energizes the republican base the most. The Republican base is far more obsessed with abortion, gays and guns than with the economy, the war or the energy crisis.

    That’s a pretty broad brushed statement. Not concerned about energy? The war? Economy? That would be very false as the economy, energy, and war are talked about as much in Republican circles as Democrat along with all the other stuff I guess.

    People need to stop painting caricatures (for the left and right) if they want to engage in meaningful debates.

    Sigh…

  21. 370 · GujuDude said

    but now the Dems dictate legislation, so they’re the ones who can dictate what will/won’t fly.

    This betrays a fundamental lack of understanding about how the Senate works. the Dems could have filibustered Alito. It is just a political non-starter, because there is no red line issue on which they can block the nom.

    McCain isn’t far right nor do religious conservatives really fancy him as a candidate (because of his centrist approach).

    McCain isn’t a religious conservative, but he’s firmly rightwing. I’ve linked to his voting record and statements multiple times. There is no need to keep repeating the fairytale that he is centrist.

    Whatever the possibilities were, it hasn’t happened. Didn’t happen with Regan, Bush Sr. or Bush Jr.

    You need a vacancy. No way McCain is going to nominate a non-right wing judge. All that is needed is one more right wing justice to complete the process that Bush got a far away along with two firmly rightwing justices. And overall, the court has moved quite a bit right since the time of Reagan. The notion that a Republican presidency will not firmly move the court into a 30 year hard conservative agenda just does not gibe with current reality or recent history.

  22. after 8 years of the Bush presidency, Roe vs. Wade is still around

    What an absurd, irrational argument. Just because Republicans haven’t yet succeeded in achieving their agenda means that it is “fear mongering” on the part of Democrats to highlight their agenda of eventually overturning Roe v. Wade???

    Get real.

  24. Wow. Strong feelings on the Pallin thing. I find it interesting that few people mentioned the fact that she tried to get her brother in law fired.

  25. 372 · Valmiki said

    after 8 years of the Bush presidency, Roe vs. Wade is still around
    What an absurd, irrational argument. Just because Republicans haven’t yet succeeded in achieving their agenda means that it is “fear mongering” on the part of Democrats to highlight their agenda of eventually overturning Roe v. Wade??? Get real.

    Well, it does destroy the argument that Republicans want to overturn Roe v. Wade IMMEDIATELY, another good one we keep hearing every single election cycle.

    Guess it’s not such a priority for them. 🙂

  26. 374 · Faiqa said

    Wow. Strong feelings on the Pallin thing. I find it interesting that few people mentioned the fact that she tried to get her brother in law fired.

    I’m sure it was mentioned quite a bit… until this happened.

    Really, which is more interesting to tongue-wag about? Be honest! 🙂

  28. And Todd Palin has had multiple violations, including drunk driving.

    The drunk driving incident was from 1986 when Todd was 22 years old. Not much older than Barack when he was doing this:

    Years later in his 1995 memoir, he mentioned smoking “reefer” in “the dorm room of some brother” and talked about “getting high.” Before Occidental, he indulged in marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine as a high school student in Hawaii, according to the book. He made “some bad decisions” as a teenager involving drugs and drinking, Senator Obama, now a presidential candidate, told high school students in New Hampshire last November. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html

  29. 176 jyotsana said

    It is a grim reminder of how outside the enlightened mid-Atlantic, New England, the West Coast and the large urban centers the US entertains some very regressive and ill-informed notons, harboring a very strong contempt for intellect and caliber. It is also no coincidence that it is the progressive regions of the US that offer all the best that this country has to offer.

    Awesome. This kind of raw hatred and bigotry really worked well for the Kerry campaign in 2004.

    Keep it up. Do you have a tipjar?

  30. 370 · GujuDude said

    What does that mean – Bush hasn’t pulled him off? Alito, for sure, and Roberts, almost certainly, are very firmly in the Scalia-Thomas wing of the court. Alito, the replacement for Sandra Day O’Connor, is far to her right, so Bush certainly did what he wanted. One more vacancy/death and Bush would have decisively swung the court to the right for the next 30 years – especially since he has appointed young justices, and all the liberal justices are much older.
    That means that after 8 years of the Bush presidency, Roe vs. Wade is still around. It hasn’t been turned over. Whatever the possibilities were, it hasn’t happened. Didn’t happen with Regan, Bush Sr. or Bush Jr. It’s a political loser to really overturn it. John McCain most certainly isn’t going to go down that path, not with a Democratic congress. — McCain has been a strong and vocal member of Congress against abortions. He picks a VP running mate who equally has an extreme view on abortion and basically picked this running mate to shore up his religious base who from all indications doesn’t like him. Make no mistake, it is their intention to overturn Roe v Wade. They view it as murder, and they will not stop until abortion is illegal.

  31. I didn’t say that the religious right in the Republican party won’t (and haven’t) tried to undermine Roe Vs. Wade, but they simply don’t have the political capital (IMO) to do so anymore. A whole generation of women have been raised with choice over reproduction and some may think abortion isn’t right, the majority I have encountered don’t say they’d like to take that decision away from other women. It would be a strategic blunder to continue pushing Roe vs. Wade when politically, the party is weak. It may energize their “base”, but that base isn’t enough. You need the center of the country to follow suit.

    I also like how people decide who is right and who isn’t (and make it sound so, dirty). To someone on the extreme left, everyone is right. To someone on the extreme right, everyone is left. Just depends where you pick your discussion (and it’s a tiring one). I personally don’t oppose anyone based on the fact that they’re Republican or Democrat, rather, when you look at a candidate comprehensively, what is the total sum of their positions? Do they have the ability to make the right decision over their own personal feelings? Both parties have people that fit this definition, unfortunately in order to get to the top, they have to pander to those vocal elements before they get there.

  32. To someone on the extreme left, everyone is right. To someone on the extreme right, everyone is left.

    To a Libertarian, everyone else is nuts.

    M. Nam

  33. I am a two-issue voter right now:

    a) Abortion. McCain and Palin are anti-choice, and in selecting Palin, McCain has thrown a bone to the part of his party that most wants to rob ME of my reproductive rights. Screw that.

    b) Potential war with Iran. In all of the fulminating about babygate, it’s been largely forgotten that John McCain jokingly sang “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.” His VP pick admits “I don’t know much about Iraq” and didn’t get her passport until 2007 – unless she drops some incredible knowledge during the VP debate with Biden, she’s useless. A third war for this country would be DISASTROUS in addition to the civilian casualties.

    Say what you like about Obama, but Joe Biden is a pragmatist through and through. I don’t think either of them are in danger of running off half-cocked. And I don’t think either one of them would find it funny to drop bombs on Iran.

  34. The drunk driving incident was from 1986 when Todd was 22 years old.

    No one should give a rats ass about DUIs, fishing violations etc. Harping on petty stuff like that is just silly. Even troopergate and babygate pale into insignificance compared to the real deal breaker: Sarah and Todd Palin’s past membership in the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party, and continued sympathy for its cause. I predict that she will be pressured to decline the nomination soon.

    It now makes sense why she and her husband Todd felt it was so important that their baby be born in Alaska not Texas. So important that even after her water broke she took a risky 8 hour flight back to Alaska to give birth.

  35. I really like Obama’s statements regarding the whole ordeal Palin and her daughter are going through. He said, “I think people’s families are off limits and people’s children are especially off limits.” I appreciate and respect this. Too bad some of you aren’t taking his advice. There are many other things you can take issue with Palin about. Even the best parents can’t always control their children every minute of the day.

    And I’m astonished at how judgemental and nasty some of you are. I thought liberals were supposed to be open-minded and compassionate! I guess that only applies to those who have the same views you do. I mean, I can’t believe some of the things I’m reading here simply bcause her daughter got pregnant. Wow.

    I know its easier to focus on something like this rather than, let’s say, Palin’s inexperience because the inexperience argument can transfer to Obama as well.

    Bottom line is that is not going to matter much to voters at all. I don’t need to take a poll to realize that. Teenage pregnancy and pregnancy out of wedlock are not as taboo as they used to be, even for conservatives. Sure, most would not want their child to be part of either, but who does? It is certainly not going to make them NOT vote for McCain, as would finding out that one of Obama’s daughters (if old enough) was involved in something that traditionally goes against Democrat ideals would cause his supporters not to vote for him.

  36. 384 · Valmiki said

    It now makes sense why she and her husband Todd felt it was so important that their baby be born in Alaska not Texas. So important that even after her water broke she took a risky 8 hour flight back to Alaska to give birth.

    hey, val…ur usually a pretty wacky dude but i must say that’s pretty good conjecture. no way to prove it off course but thats what makes it such an effective weapon.

  37. Sarah and Todd Palin’s past membership in the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party

    This will be a net positive. Everyone knows that AIP(like most similiar movements in America) is just a way of expressing a desire for strong State rights and less power to Washington. I, for one, don’t understand why the permission for Alaskans to drill in Alaska must come from the Beltway.

    I am a two-issue voter right now: …Potential war with Iran

    The short-term solution to avoid war-mongering is to vote for someone like Obama (who would only go after Pakistan, not Iran).

    The long-term solution is to campaign for the transfer the title of the head of the armed forces from the President to a Congressional committee. Currently, the President is the Commander-In-Chief and the head of the armed forces. Remove this and make the armed forces report to a revolving set of Senators and Congressmen (from both Parties). This way, the decision to go to war will not rest with one person. The likelyhood of twenty people coming to the same decision is much much lower.

    The President being the head of the armed forces is a hangover from the days of Washington when the fledgling country was under attack from the British or from the days of Lincoln when the South was simmering. Moreover, in those days communication was lax and delayed, and the country needed one person to act quickly and decisively.

    Times have changed now. The twenty person committee gets information instantly from around the globe on their Blackberries just as the President does. There’s no justification for this power to go to war to rest with one person.

    M. Nam

  38. “I thought liberals were supposed to be open-minded and compassionate! I guess that only applies to those who have the same views you do. I mean, I can’t believe some of the things I’m reading here simply bcause her daughter got pregnant. Wow.”

    umm well there would probably be some bad stuff written by the other side if it was a democrat story and didn;t the republicans themselves get very nasty about McCain’s adopted daughter in 2000.

    i am not advocating personal attacks or talking about families, but the main issue is that this news of Palin’s personal family life does spill over into the policies she such as teaching of absinence only in schools and staunch pro life and that should be something we can and should examine. It also smacks of contradiction for conservative teachings of no sex before marriage etc so it gets people talking.

  39. 387 · MoorNam said

    Currently, the President is the Commander-In-Chief and the head of the armed forces. Remove this and make the armed forces report to a revolving set of Senators and Congressmen (from both Parties). This way, the decision to go to war will not rest with one person. The likelyhood of twenty people coming to the same decision is much much lower.

    The is one of the consequences of the “living documant” theories of constitutional law. it pretty clestr that the founders intended congress to have the sole power to decide when to go to war, leaving the prez with limited power just to deal with sudden circumstances.

    but original intent no longer matters.

  40. leaving the prez with limited power just to deal with sudden circumstances.

    This limited power also needs to be taken away from the President. “Sudden” in the 18th Century meant a week or two of response time. “Sudden” in the 21st Century means five minutes of response time (which is what it takes for a major news to go around the world). So if a country X attacks now, within a few minutes of the first bomb falling, we would be discussing it on SM. The Congressional committee would have known this before us, and would be on a video conference to decide the course of action.

    The President can continue to inaugerate kindergartens.

    M. Nam

  41. Sarah and Todd Palin’s past membership in the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party. This will be a net positive

    Only among libertarian wackos like you. You are a tiny fringe minority. Its inconsequential what you consider a “net positive”.

    Republicans are a party that trumpets its patriotism and nationalism. Its typically irrational of you to think that they would consider affiliation with an anti-american secessionist party as something positive!

  42. 391 · Valmiki said

    Republicans are a party that trumpets its patriotism and nationalism. Its typically irrational of you to think that they would consider affiliation with an anti-american secessionist party as something positive!

  43. 391 · Valmiki said

    Only among libertarian wackos like you. You are a tiny fringe minority. Its inconsequential what you consider a “net positive”.

    It is TRULY a pity that libertarians are a fringe and conspiracy theorists (with their associated level’s of intelligence) are legion. Do you even know who or what a libertarian is?

  44. 381 · GujuDude said

    I didn’t say that the religious right in the Republican party won’t (and haven’t) tried to undermine Roe Vs. Wade, but they simply don’t have the political capital (IMO) to do so anymore. A whole generation of women have been raised with choice over reproduction and some may think abortion isn’t right, the majority I have encountered don’t say they’d like to take that decision away from other women. It would be a strategic blunder to continue pushing Roe vs. Wade when politically, the party is weak. It may energize their “base”, but that base isn’t enough. You need the center of the country to follow suit. I also like how people decide who is right and who isn’t (and make it sound so, dirty). To someone on the extreme left, everyone is right. To someone on the extreme right, everyone is left. Just depends where you pick your discussion (and it’s a tiring one). I personally don’t oppose anyone based on the fact that they’re Republican or Democrat, rather, when you look at a candidate comprehensively, what is the total sum of their positions? Do they have the ability to make the right decision over their own personal feelings? Both parties have people that fit this definition, unfortunately in order to get to the top, they have to pander to those vocal elements before they get there.

    While, ideally, I agree the summation of one choices and policies are far more important that a party label, however after the past eight years and the judgement exercised by the Republican party, frankly have little to no faith in their ability to reach across the aisle and take a middle ground on any topic.

    They don’t put their country first, they put their party first. But maybe you should read Rove 101. Always make your opponent’s strength, their weakness. Always lie and make your weakness, your strength.

  45. 387 · MoorNam said

    This will be a net positive. Everyone knows that AIP(like most similiar movements in America) is just a way of expressing a desire for strong State rights and less power to Washington.

    Net positive only if they move on to the republican party. Big negative otherwise!

  46. 394 · lion said

    They don’t put their country first, they put their party first.

    Wow…Is that a baseless generalization or what! How can you say things like that without providing examples?

    This constant comparison of the Republicans to Christian Nazis is ridiculous…The whole party before country is more associated with Communist/Left Wing isn’t it – and now who is more representative of the left wing …the Republicans or the Democrats (I would mention the People’s Party but I don’t want louiecypher’s wrath on me!)

    If you want a generalization of putting oneself first, how about Obama’s constant smug

  47. While, ideally, I agree the summation of one choices and policies are far more important that a party label, however after the past eight years and the judgement exercised by the Republican party, frankly have little to no faith in their ability to reach across the aisle and take a middle ground on any topic. They don’t put their country first, they put their party first. But maybe you should read Rove 101. Always make your opponent’s strength, their weakness. Always lie and make your weakness, your strength.

    My theory is whenever a single party controls both the Presidency and Congress, you’re going to see the party line put ahead of whatever is right for the country. There is no check/balance whenever the two branches are under the same party.

    California kicked out a democratic governor and put a center right Republican (Arnold) in office. That action was the population of California sending a message (right or wrong, that’s what happened). Similarly, the Republicans lost control of Congress as they decided to run the party agenda, rather than what was right for the country and paid for it in 2006. Democrats lost congress in the early 90s during the Clinton presidency for some of the same reasons/perceptions.

    If opposite parties are in power, between all the BS that goes on in DC, a compromise is usually reached. It may not be the best solution for either party, but taxpayers tend to get a better deal.

  48. 396 · RahulD said

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    blockquote>394 · lion said

    They don’t put their country first, they put their party first.

    Wow…Is that a baseless generalization or what! How can you say things like that without providing examples?

    Actually it’s a play on what the Republicans themselves have been saying during their convention, so it’s a commentary how they have chosen to create a distinction themselves and use it as a talking point the past two days.

    However, the Republicans strategy for campaigning has been to ‘own’ patriotism. That in and of itself, after the past 8 years, I’m simply sick and tired of.

  49. I got the play on “Country First”…and I do agree with trying to corner the market on patriotism part. But too many of the comments on here are baseless diatribes against the Republicans, making this no different than the opinions from a sewer like DailyKOS

  50. 397 · GujuDude If opposite parties are in power, between all the BS that goes on in DC, a compromise is usually reached. It may not be the best solution for either party, but taxpayers tend to get a better deal.

    Actually I’ve articulated that position as well for many years. Everyone is better served if neither political party has full control control of the Federal Government. Unfortunately, with the past 8 years of career civil servants being pushed out, political filtering hiring practices being applied and re-writing long well established policies for campaigning, I’m lost faith in the moderates within the Republican Party.

    This has continued with the support Palin has been receiving after the McCain’s announcement. Where are my fellow Americans in the Republican Party, who would say enough is enough to the special interests?