Thursday evening updates

Thank you to jc for posting a link to John Edwards' statement about his employees who have come under fire from right wing extremists.

The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me. It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor, or anything else. But I also believe in giving everyone a fair shake. I've talked to Amanda and Melissa; they have both assured me that it was never their intention to malign anyone's faith, and I take them at their word. We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked. It will take discipline, focus, and courage to build the America we believe in.

Better than it could have been, I guess, but given that the "outrage" came from the likes of Malkin and Donahue, who are well known for their hateful rhetoric, this seems like a missed opportunity. Edwards could have invited Bill Donahue, for example, to commit to modeling the standard of civil, non-hateful speech that he wants Edwards to demand of his employees. After all, didn't that Jesus guy say something about removing the log from your *own* eye first?

And Karen added...

I agree with everyone here on Edwards.

On another subject, I think the bruhaha over Nancy's flight plans is hilarious!

Pelosi said she would be happy to fly on commercial airliners but said the House sergeant-at-arms office urged her to continue Hastert’s practice of using Air Force transport. She said she was informed on her first trip home that her plane would not make it across the country.

“I said well, that’s fine, I’m going commercial,” she told Fox News. “I’m not asking to go on that plane. If you need to take me there for security purposes, you’re going to have to get a plane that goes across the country, because I’m going home to my family.”

I say, "You Go Girl"!! ;)

jc commented Nancy's "scandal" is just another case of fake outrage by the right-wingers. I hope it helps remind Nancy that she's dealing with thugs.

Which is funny, because while I was on my lunch break today, this idear for a new bumper sticker popped into my head...

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Hillary's call to "conversation"

Lately, if one visits many of the high traffic Democratic/progressive blogs, one can't help but be greeted by Hillary Clinton's face, with words along the lines of "Be part of the conversation from the start." Oh, that's rich. In *so* many ways.

She's using that conversation meme pretty consistently. Now, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, Howard Dean said something about a "Great American Conversation" didn't he?

But, Hillary, what on earth do you mean, "from the start"? We've been *having* a conversation for several years now, and we've done a lot more than talk. We *knew* with every fiber of our beings that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was a *bad* idea. And we did everything we could to make our voices heard. But very few people have access to the kind of megaphone that would allow us to *really* be heard, so we were thrilled to find people like Howard Dean who were willing to carry *our* message to a larger audience. Want to know why some of us get so upset when people attack Howard Dean? Because he's often speaking for *us*--he's saying what *we* would say, if we had access to that kind of megaphone. So, when you diss Howard, you *are* dissing us. Please keep that in mind, and try not to act too surprised when we don't want to jump on your bandwagon after you've attacked our messenger.

Another reaction I have is that this whole "conversation" meme must be something that Hillary and her advisers decided would "sell" to bloggers. Sort of the way she came up with this:

In her statement, she also called for “bold but practical changes” in national policy, a four-word formulation that her advisers said was carefully chosen, given that she has sought to portray herself as both a pragmatist and someone who thinks big. Some Democrats dismiss the latter image, finding her too cautious. Yet her pledge of boldness reflects her well-known desire to disprove the notion that she is hesitant or calculating.

So, I *do* have my eyes open here, Hillary. I don't believe you want to have a conversation. I believe that you're using those words because you think they are effective marketing tools.

And besides, how *can* we have anything resembling a real "conversation" when it is to take place on your turf, on your terms? I would *love* to have a real conversation, where we talk about who we are as America, at our best, and how to find our way back there--or at least get closer to that place. It would be wonderful to talk about another way of relating to other nations, rather than just accepting the "Bush doctrine" as status quo. But from you, today, I heard this:

Clinton said her view is that the nation is engaged in a deadly fight against terrorism, a battle that she contends Bush has botched.

"I do think we are engaged in a war against heartless, ruthless enemies," she said. "If they could come after us again tomorrow they would do so."

So, even though he "botched" things, you can't resist using the fear tactic that has been (apparently) so successful for Bush. And that's another thing that bugs me, by the way. For all the hoopla about you potentially being the first woman elected president, you are way too closely aligned with the patriarchy for my liking. And, for me at least, mindset and worldview are more important than whether a candidate has a matching set of X chromosomes or an X and a Y.

Bumper sticker by jc

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