BearsLeft

DUPolarbear referenced this story in his comment on yesterday’s post, but this is a real smear not only on my family, but on me personally.

AP Report on Palin’s Church

Us Clintonites and the Republicans both called on Obama to repudiate his church when the hateful remarks and actions of that church were brought to light. He did.

Here we go again with the two faced nature of the coalition behind the R’s. Where are the “open-minded” Republicans calling for Palin to renounce this conference, if not the church.

The evidence is clear, that “reparitive therapy” does far more harm than good. There is not a single former leader of the ex-gay movement who hasn’t returned to their true self as an LGBT person. It’s garbage propaganda that ultimately harms families where parents believe their children can change.

So, where are the Logs? Why haven’t they called on Palin to answer this question? Is their platform about leadership from within?

*crickets*

“You saw one of the great speeches in the history of political conventions last night by an accomplished governor of a state who has just announced herself as a major force in the Republican Party in her own right, and I think the other side this morning, when you consider the backlash that is likely to occur after all the vile filth that’s been thrown at her, they ought to be sitting on the other side saying, Oh – My – God,” Schmidt said to the cheers of some 50 attendees. “I’ve been in some tough political fights in my career, and I will just tell you that over the last 48 hours, the smearing and the defamation of this family is unlike anything I have ever seen.”

This from remarks by Steve Schmidt, Senior Advisor to the McCain campaign, as he addressed the Logs in St. Paul this week.

First, let’s look at the “smears.” Sarah “Parade My Family” Palin invited this critique when she framed her own introduction to include detailed introductions of her kids. This was an intentional plotted maneuver by the McCain Campaign to garner the support of the “family values” crowd.

A couple weeks ago I posted about Sick Days Ohio and the decision by Gov. Strickland to oppose the bill.

Previous Entry

I have been saying that this is a bad piece of legislation ever since it came about. I agree with the Governor that this is the wrong time but more importantly the wrong bill. In addition, I took Lowquality Ohio to task for abandoning its position in opposing the bill instead moving to neutral.

Yesterday I was forwarded the following email:

Special Update, Thursday, September 4, 2008, 9:19 am

Sick Leave Backers To Pull Issue From Ballot

A coalition pushing a ballot initiative that would have provided seven days of paid sick leave for certain Ohio workers said Thursday it will remove the issue from the fall ballot.

Service Employees International Union District 1199 President Becky Williams said the Coalition for Healthy Families will ask to have the proposal taken off the ballot.

Ms. Williams said the decision “was not easy nor made lightly,” but was reached after “it became clear that a shrill and vitriolic ballot campaign marred by misinformation and disinformation would be impossible to avoid.”

In 1988 the Democrats thought Dan Quayle was so dumb that he would drag down the ticket.

In 2000 we thought that George W. Bush was too inexperienced and frankly stupid to ever win the Presidency.

Now in 2008 we are presented with another person who we quickly dismissed as lackluster and I fear that Gov. Palin will come back to shoot us all in the ass.

Karl Rove, as much as I hate to agree with him on anything, is freaking brilliant when it comes to electoral strategy and thinks that Gov. Palin will add 2 or 3 points nationally to the GOP ticket. He may be overplaying that a touch for hyperbole, but he’s right to some extent.

Rove on Washington Post

Blue collar America, especially in states like Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, etc might just like the ass-kicking gun toting wilderness mom from Alaska. I can especially see her appeal to male voters in more rural areas, the Nascar Dads that are only slightly below the security Moms in terms of targeting. She is a frank talker, direct on her support for guns and hunting, and her husband is a snowmobile champ. Put those two out in rural areas across the US and they are going to do damage.

Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, has been a joyful choice for VP for the majority of the left over the weekend, but I think that restraint is in order as the Republicans start up their convention in earnest today.

Yes, she is painfully unqualified. Ten years invovled with the city government in a town of 9,000 followed by two years as governor of a state with a population smaller than many counties does not qualify a person to run the most powerful nation on the planet.

However, this didn’t stop her from winning the Gubenatorial Race in 2006. She is a fighter, and must be at least a decent campaigner to pull off a victory over Tony Knowles, the former Governor.

Yes, she is tied to the growing scandals plaguing the Republican Party of Alaska, and has her own baggage with Troopergate.

However, she could pull 2% or more of the vitally important female vote in certain states. In the winner-take-all style contests of the Electoral College, this might just be the edge McCain needs to carry states like Ohio or Virginia.

Yes, her out-of-wedlock 17 year old daughter is pregnant by a 17 year old boyfriend. This alone should doom her within the religious right voting bloc that she obviously was tapped to bring onboard.

In my “From the Floor” post I commented that Tom Grote was on the convention floor and I assumed that his credential came at the expense of someone else. Today I got a call from his hubby, and seems I goofed. Tom had a credential to the building for that day only, like many, and was loaned a floor credential by a member of our delegation.

My apologies.

Just landed back in Columbus after an amazing week in Denver. United lost one of my bags so I’ll be dealing with the trip for awhile longer still. I still don’t understand how 3 bags that arrive at the airport together don’t arrive at the destination together. Clearly the name United does not refer to luggage.

The Democrats did what they had to do. Michelle started the week with a great personalization of her family and invited us into their lives and their journey to this place.

Hillary, all through the week, did everything she needed, and then some, to bring her delegates back into the fold. Bill followed that lead by making it perfectly clear where he stood, even if he is still grumpy in private.

Invesco Field is filling up pretty well with Sheryl Crow rocking out on stage. Unlike last night proceedings, you can feel the energy here in Mile High Stadium.

The campaign is being very smart about how they are using this crowd strategically. Twice so far we have heard from the Obama State Director encouraging us to make calls or send text messages to people we think are undecided to get them to watch the speech. Anyone not on the floor who makes 12 calls gets a chance to win a floor seat. They also are having us send text messages for contests on the jumbotron. Great way to collect cell phone numbers. Andrea, we were just ahead of our time.

I’m all of 6 feet from Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm who is dancin away. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a Superbowl, but I now understand the spectacle.

Oh, former lowquality ohio board Chair Tom Grote decided to grace us with his presence after skipping the rest of the Convention. Thanks for taking up a credential Tom. How about letting someone who works for change have it.

This morning I drove by Invesco Field on my way into downtown Denver. It flashed through my head that tonight I am a witness to history. While my candidate isn’t the one writing the history tonight I am still amazed that I get to be part of this.

The ghosts of slavery haunt us as a country through the continued rascism and discrimination that exists. Every time a joke is made or worse a hate crime committed, the country reminds ourselves of the horrible chapters in our history. The atrocities of that period should never be forgotten, but tonight we as a country take another step toward moving past.

Yes, I am laying the race card in play. Why? Because it must be and to look past it or be so politically correct as to not talk about it would be a disservice to this candidate and to a community that has suffered enough.

We must acknowledge that tonight is historic. Here on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech, an African-American will accept the nomination of a major political party. We as a nation will begin to write another chapter in our history, a chapter that should end on November 4th when we elect the first Africn-American President.

Rep. Chet Edwards is no friend of the LGBT community. Promoting him for VP made you look like you don’t give a rat’s ass about the people that live in your district.

To the democratic party and the Obama campaign who put this program together: putting Chet Edwards on the podium right before the VP nomination makes you look you don’t give a rats ass about our community or the party platform. Stop promoting democrats in name only. Stop rewarding bigots who don’t support the planks of the platform. Give me change I can believe in at all levels, not just the top.