Palin Blamed For Increased Death Threats To Obama

From Telegraph.co.uk:

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

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The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks.

Michelle Obama, the future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate us?"

The revelations, contained in a Newsweek history of the campaign, are likely to further damage Mrs Palin's credentials as a future presidential candidate. She is already a frontrunner, with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to take on Mr Obama in four years time.

Sarah Palin went over the line with her attacks on Obama and she's probably too damn stupid to realize it. In the article they say she's already a front runner to take on Obama in four years, my question is based on what, her looks. She doesn't offer anything else. She is just a dumb as right wing extremist, she need to take her ass back to Alaska where they love her. We need intellegent people to run for president, no more George Bush and Sarah Palin types.

Palin's Shopping Sprees More Extensive Than Reported

I know this is like 'water under the bridge' or 'kicking a dead horse' but there is more to the Sarah "Real American Hockey Mom" Palin's $150,000 shopping sprees. Some folks may be saying Fraze2000 just give it a rest she lost, don't rub it in. But fuck that, Sarah is a wicked broad so I don't mind kicking her while she's down. Newsweek is running a story about her shopping sprees which are even more extravagant than first revealed. Check it out:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

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McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

McCain's Campaign Gimmicks: Sarah The Moosehunter & Joe The Plumber

I know the election isn't over yet but the writing is on the wall. Come Wednesday morning the pundits will be filling the airwaves to discuss what went wrong with the McCain campaign. There are many reason for what looks to be a McCain lost but I think the real reason is the Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber gimmicks.

I read an article by Johnny Sisk writing at the Huffington Post, and he explained the whole John McCain campaign fiasco like this:

If you're looking for what's gone wrong with John McCain's bid for the White House, look no further than Joe the Plumber.

Like his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain's schoolgirl crush on Joe the Plumber has illustrated how badly the Republican candidate has misjudged the American electorate and mismanaged his campaign. In both cases, he enlisted uneducated rubes to campaign for him, hoping that these backwoods bumpkins could connect with and energize his red state supporters where he couldn't himself. And in both cases, his plan has backfired in horribly entertaining ways.

Damn! I couldn't have said that shit any better myself. But he's not finish he continues to lay it on McCain and his misreading of the American public:

By tapping a moose-hunting, God-fearing, pro-life hockey mom as his running mate, McCain (a man who prides himself on his "strategy" expertise) made the biggest strategic mistake of the campaign. He turned an election that had been a referendum on Obama's lack of leadership experience into a referendum on his own decision-making ability. McCain gambled with his VP pick, doubling down on a woman he thought could carry him to the White House by barking moronic drivel about lipstick on pit bulls.

The problem, of course, is that behind Palin's ignorant, uneducated, off-putting, and often hate-filled sarcasm - putting down community organizers? - was a woman who demonstrated a stunning lack of knowledge on everything from Bush foreign policy and Supreme Court rulings to a basic understanding of the Constitution. She claimed that she was the first line of defense from a Russian attack on Alaska and that the Vice President is in charge of the Senate. In other words, after two months of interviewing for the job, she still didn't know what the job was.

And he don't stop there, he goes on to serve up McCain even more by pointing out McCain poor judgement and taking the American public for granted with the duo of Palin and Joe the Plumber:

But the fact that McCain was willing to place our country in the hands of a woman whom he had met only once isn't what angers me most. It's that he put his candidacy ahead of his country. Country first? Hardly. Candidacy first.

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Unfortunately, McCain has badly underestimated the intelligence of the American voting public. Certainly, in some parts of the country, this strategy has worked. But more often than not, it's led to the divisive cultural skirmishes that have marred his ineffective campaign. Two weeks ago, this strategy was evident in Palin's now infamous "real America" remarks. And this week, it's Joe the Plumber.

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Just like Sarah the Pageant Queen, Joe the Plumber is yet another symbol of "real America" John McCain has trotted out and put on display, in hopes of convincing his red state friends that he is, indeed, one of them. After all, Joe's just like you! He's a hard working plumber who doesn't know the first thing about global economics or foreign affairs. McCain would be crazy not to give this man the mic.

After losing his party's nomination to a dim-witted moron eight years ago, why has McCain allowed two more dim-witted morons to appear at his rallies, field questions from voters, and speak on his behalf? I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Poor McCain the jig is up, your gimmick isn't working this time around. I think McCain should have just been himself and argued his case to the American people and not insult us like he has:

There can only be one reason he would lower himself to this sort of gimmicky schtick -- because he thinks it's the only way he can win. Incapable of doing it himself, he's asked two fear-mongering idiots to light a fire under the collective, bulbous ass of his fearful idiot base.

Palin, who's good at reading a teleprompter and not much else, has already been rumored for a talk show host job when this circus leaves town on Tuesday. And Joe the Plumber is reportedly working on a record deal. I hope John McCain is happy. He couldn't win the election. But he did help two people win the lottery.

More Racism, Hate At Palin's Rally in Vegas

From Crooksandliars

In LasVegas, videographer Matt Toplikar captured footage of McCain/Palin supporters as they came out from a rally featuring an appearance by Sarah Palin.

One camouflage-capped fellow captures the spirit of the event:

Obama wins, I'm gonna move to Alaska.

... Haven't you ever heard that the United States is gonna be taken down from within? What better way to get taken down from within than haveing the President of the United States be the one that's going to do it?

It seems they became especially aggravated when they encountered anti-McCain protesters outside. The same Alaska-bound supporter started leading a chant in front of them:

Vote McCain, Not Hussein!

Then there's the Pam Atlas wannabee:

This country needs to wake up! Obama is dangerous! This man is a tyrant to this country. I mean, he has connections to Arabs! His education was paid for by Arabs! He's an abomination.

And of course, the obligatory racist:

Don't be afraid of me! Be afraid of Obama! Obama bin Laden, that's what you should be afraid of!

... Yes, I am a racist. If you consider me a racist, well [unintelligible]. Those Arabs are dirtbags. They're dirty people, they hate Americans, they hate my kids, they hate my grandkids. And people like him [points to another supporter], more power to them.

McCain and Palin have somewhat ratcheted back their rhetoric, but the fuse has been lit.

You can watch the video here

I don't know about you but I'm so sick of these angry, illerate rednecks and their fucking hatred of anybody black or brown. Fuck those assclowns and fuck Sarah Palin, I'll be glad when this election is over so she can take her hill-billy as back to Alaska and I hope we never have to see that racist bitch again.

Palin Pissed At Her Campaign Handlers

You can tell when a campaign is sinking fast and know that they are going to get their ass handed it to them on election day. Why? Because they start pointing fingers and looking for others to blame BEFORE election day. If an election is close all the way to the end, the losing campaign normally point fingers after election day.

It seems Caribou Barbie, Gov. Sarah Palin is now frustrated with her handlers that were assigned to her by the McCain campaign. She's blaming the former Bush aides that were assigned to her for her now tarnished public image. There is a story of this on Politico in which she is starting to disregard the advice of her campaign managers:

Four Republicans close to Palin said she has decided increasingly to disregard the advice of the former Bush aides tasked to handle her, creating occasionally tense situations as she travels the country with them. Those Palin supporters, inside the campaign and out, said Palin blames her handlers for a botched rollout and a tarnished public image — even as others in McCain's camp blame the pick of the relatively inexperienced Alaska governor, and her public performance, for McCain's decline.

Let the finger pointing and the blame game begin, Palin is blaming her handlers and other people in the campaign are blaming her.

"She's lost confidence in most of the people on the plane," said a senior Republican who speaks to Palin, referring to her campaign jet. He said Palin had begun to "go rogue" in some of her public pronouncements and decisions.

"I think she'd like to go more rogue," he said.

I wonder what the old man at the head of the ticket have to say about Sarah deciding to go "Rogue" this late in the game. I got news for the McCain campaign, the entire campaign has been pathetic and has been totally outclassed by the Obama campaign. And as for Sarah Palin, homegirl is just not ready for the big stage, she can blame who ever you want but she need to look in the mirror. Just because she was popular in Eskimo country doesn't mean she will be a hit in the lower 48.

Obama Resoles his shoes while Palin spends $150K on her wardrobe

The talk of the day is that the McCain campaign spent over $150,000.00 on the Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin's wardrobe:

Since her selection as John McCain's running mate, the Republican National Committee spent more than $150,000 on clothing and make-up for Gov. Sarah Palin, her husband, and even her infant son, it was reported on Tuesday evening.

That entertaining scoop -- which came by way of Politico -- sent almost immediate reverberations through the presidential race. A statement from McCain headquarters released hours after the article bemoaned the triviality of the whole affair.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

Normally this wouldn't be a big story but it's been the McCain Campaign along with Sarah Palin as the lead attack dog claiming Senator Obama is an elitist and is out of touch with "Regular People" in small towns. You've heard the McCain Campaign's talking points that Sarah Palin is the small town 'Hockey Mom' who can relate to 'Joe Six Pack' and is the only one looking out for 'Joe the Plumber'.

The story is not about the money she spent it's about the hypocrisy and how easily the Republican Party are able to dupe their followers. You think 'Joe Six Pack' can afford to go to Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus and spend over $150K on a fucking shopping spree? That's is at least a 3 year salary for Joe the Plumber.

Now compare Gov. Palin's splurging with a Picture of Obama I came across today, which had the following caption:

"Senator Obama was doing press interviews by telephone in a holding room between events. Sometime later as he was getting ready to begin his event, he asked me if I was photographing his shoes. When I said yes, he told me that he had already had them resoled once since he entered the race a year earlier. Providence, R.I., 3/1/2008."

So Obama wears the same shoes for over a year and even get his shoes resoled while Sarah Palin goes out and spends $150K on clothes and her hair in the 7 weeks she's been on the national stage. Now who do you think is more like ordinary people? The Republicans are all about stories and slogans, they are dishonest and are without any substance. They rely on the common folks being dumb enough to fall for their smoke and mirrors. But not this time.

Sarah Palins Racist Crowd (Video by Al Jazeera)

Un-fucking-beleivable! This is at a Sarah Palin rally in Ohio. These racist motherfuckers are not even afraid to get on camera with their racism, you would think this was a Klan Rally.

Will Racism Destroy the GOP?

From Daily Kos

Yesterday, we were treated to the bizarre spectacle of John McCain trying to talk down his own supporters as their anger boiled over and they slandered Obama in crazed, often racist terms.

"No, ma'am," McCain replied to a woman's declaration that Obama was an "Arab terrorist."

Yeah - where would you have gotten that crazy idea?

Apparently, McCain and his advisers had no idea how ugly the strain of race-baiting they were stirring up would look, once it was out there in the light of day, and are now reconsidering their strategy. Funny, since anyone who's stopped by NoQuarter or RedState lately could have told them exactly what to expect.

McCain's strange contortions in trying to raise doubts about Obama show the dilemma the GOP finds itself in. The attacks that conservatives seem to relish most, be it Ayers, Wright, or Obama's obscure ties to African dictators, have practically no substance or bearing on the day to day concerns of voters and little appeal to the independents the GOP needs to win elections. But, should Obama get elected, that's exactly what we can expect from the right-wing noise machine, in spades. I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity are secretly salivating over the prospect of an Obama presidency, so they can crank the hate and fear up to 11 and sell lots of books with scary titles.

In some ways, the rise of Obama-hatred is just a manifestation of a larger trend that's been bubbling under for quite some time. With whites set to become a minority within decades, it may have been inevitable. Almost every country with a large influx of immigrants has seen a nativist political movement rise up to counter the cultural shift. Dovetail that xenophobic strain with the cultural conservatism that has been the mainstay of the GOP base for the past couple decades, and you could have a powerful movement focused on American traditionalism, one that has been building for some time but that was sparked into being by the first black president.

If Obama gets elected, expect to hear lots of "Remember when..." and "I barely recognize this country anymore!"

At the same time, this week's embarrassing focus on McCain's unruly crowds revealed that this movement could do more to hurt the GOP than to help it.

Republican Congressman Ray La Hood denounced Palin's attacks on Obama, saying they "don't befit the office she's running for" and "certainly don't reflect the nature of the man." It's also hard to interpret McCain's clumsy walking back of his own attacks as anything other than a response to GOP insiders worried about where this is taking them.

So they've lost David Brooks, and Bill Buckley's son...you have to wonder how many other fiscal/libertarian conservatives are going to flee the GOP if the turn towards "small town values" and cultural issues continues, combined with the newfound race-baiting rhetoric directed towards Obama. What happens if that rhetoric boils over into instances of right-wing domestic terrorism and violence a la Timothy McVeigh?

And so the GOP will face a choice, both now and in 2012. Do they go full-in with the culture war approach epitomized by Palin, Tom Tancredo and others? Or will they move in the other direction, towards a kind of social moderation of the kind practiced by Schwarzenegger or Michael Bloomberg? And, if they do moderate themselves, how will the rabid, nativist element of the base react?

And the Next Stunt: A shotgun wedding?

I take everything I read about American politics in the British papers with a grain of salt. But giving what we've seen so far, I can't say I'd be surprised if the moral jalopy that is the McCain-Palin Straight Talk Express sunk us even further into farce with something like this. From The Talking Point Memo

In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one -- the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain's campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. "It would be fantastic," said a McCain insider. "You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week."

What will be McCain's next stunt?

From Daily Kos

Brace yourselves. Next week could be another crazy one in the McCain campaign.

The "I'm suspending my campaign" to go back to Washington stunt didn't work to move last night's debate to next week which would have moved the VP debate. And in the debate, Obama proved to many, especially the undecideds, what we already knew. The guy is ready to be president. And McCain?

McCain has got to counter Obama's debate bounce and get Palin out of the debate or off the ticket all together. A debate performance equal to her interviews could push McCain's numbers down in the 30s and Obama's up in the 50s. McCain could be sandbaging us with Palin's horrific interview performance. NOT. The thought of Obama over 50 and McCain in the 30s will force McCain to go to his bag of tricks once again.

The fact that Palin wasn't the post-debate surrogate for McCain speaks volumes. Even McCain's PR people can put an intelligent sentence together about life and world issues. It's crazy to think that Palin is the nominee for the second highest office in the land, but can't be trusted to speak for and about her potential boss. Unbelievable.

If last night's debate and Biden's post debate performance are any indication, we actually may not hear from Palin again. We all should feel for her. McCain has opened her up to scrutiny and a spotlight that she couldn't comprehend. Her performance in interviews? Imagine how she might handle the give and take and follow up questions in a debate that weren't in her talking points. She can't even get through debate prep.

McCain has got to change the subject again. That's all he knows. There is no strategy. There is no message. Just gimmicks. And Palin is probably the first human gimmick in politics. She needs to regain her dignity and respect and go home.

Expect some kind of announcement this week. Don't underestimate McCain's desperation.
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Was the Sarah Palin pick a flop?

I think John McCain may be having a few regrets over his VP pick. Sarah Palin started out as an instant hit on the Republican ticket but over the past few days it is beginning to show that she could be a liability when it comes to Independents, Moderate Republicans and so called Reagan Democrats. Within 11 days her negative rating went from 35 up to 46 and her positive rating went from 52 down to 41.



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If I could ask Sarah Palin a question

I wish that I could ask Palin a question. There are children and other innocents being killed and injured in these wars. Children, not terrorists. Palin is pro-life, but gung-ho for war.

Why is killing children that feel pain OK, but killing a baby that doesn't feel pain not OK?

Christians believe that children live in a state of grace and would go directly to heaven without the paying taxes part. And if the mother is wrong she would face judgement day, just like the rest of us, right? So what's the big deal? Unless you doubt your own beliefs. If you doubt heaven, then you would be against abortion. If you believe in heaven, then shut up about abortion. Doctors ...Hippocratic oath...yadda..yadda... would be protecting the health and life of the mother. After Roe v. Wade the number of abortions didn't change. The number of deaths from botched abortions declined. Legal abortions save the lives of the mothers and protects their health. That is within the scope of the oath, if you ask me.

Your holy ideology is holey. You can't gun down defenseless animals and let them suffer and talk about defending life. You can't put some people in a POW camp, torture them, kill them, and then talk about how much respect you have for a former POW. Huh? You can't say that you have a God that decides all things and then YOU decide which children are ok to kill, and which aren't. You can't. When you talk about religious extremists you must include the 700 Club et al. When you talk about respecting life you have to include everything and everyone down to the smallest flower petal. Respect life yes, all life.

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