When I picked up my son from school today (with his two sick sisters along for the ride), he showed me this mask he made.
Wait. Is it Super Tuesday or Fat Tuesday?
He said he made it for Valentine’s Day.
Ow. My head hurts.
Hello everyone, this is Keith, otherwise known as The Bad American, guest blogging here at Deep Muck Big Rake for today.
I have to say looking at all the guest bloggers that have blogged before me, I feel honored and not the least intimidated to join this august group. Thanks again Becky for the opportunity.
I was at a loss as to what to write about today. I saw this wonderful piece by John Hockenberry, which I will link to here because I feel anyone with a passing familiarity or experience with the major media can both appreciate Hockenberry’s lament and commiserate with it.
Rather than write a 1,000 word pontification on the article, let me, for once, be succinct: no one who works for big media should expect to cover, produce, write or otherwise disseminate, any news that does not reflect the biases, prejudices, politics and financial interests of Corporate America.
The truth is out there, Scully. And it’s probably on a blog.
But let’s get to what everyone seems to be wondering in the wake of the news from Thursday: how long will they hold Britney Spears?
Kidding, kidding.
No, something serious: a 92 percent Caucasian state sends Barack Obama to New Hampshire (another lily white state) as the front-runner and suddenly Queen Hillary doesn’t seem so inevitable.
Should we allow ourselves a bit of irrational exuberance?
Well, perhaps. Let’s be honest about the situation: Obama played Iowa beautifully. Having lived in the state for three years before moving back to Ohio, the state rewards straight shooters and plain speakers. They do not cotton to those who double speak, look too well oiled or rehearsed, and show up to hay bailing in immaculately pressed overalls. Iowans know bullshit when then see it. What they saw in Obama was nothing but someone they think might make a very decent President.
And after all the bludgeoning by the Clinton machine, they grew tired of her act. It’s not that Iowans have something against the idea of another Clinton: Iowa Democrats are still wild about Bill. It’s just that Hillary Clinton, like relatives and fish, did not wear well.
It doesn’t mean New Hampshire won’t put her back in the lead — they just might. But it’s a cautionary tale when campaigning “out there”: Midwesterners have a lower threshold for production values than they do on the coasts. Learn it.
And if Obama hadn’t been so damned fresh and Kennedy-esque, the state might have rewarded John Edwards with a big win. Iowans generally like the South Carolinian but his populist message was driven home a little too late. When Barack Obama is the flavor of the year, me-tooism isn’t going to get your first place ticket punched.
And yet, the most fascinating aspect of the Iowa caucus was the amazing story of Mike Huckabee.
The real story here isn’t just Huckabee as the flavor of the week, nor is that Iowa’s evangelical Christians gave Huck the big push.
That’s all true. But what floors me as a former religion journalist in Cedar Rapids is that Huckabee’s brand of evangelical Christianity is closer to Jimmy Carter’s than Pat Robertson’s.
Mike Huckabee might have floating crosses traipsing across his ads but he has a social conscience that his giving the rest of the conservative Republicans the fits.
Link to this Paul Szep cartoon
The amazing thing that happened in that, at some point, maybe under undue prodding from folks like Rick Warren, a major faction of Christian Conservatives looked down at those WWJD bracelets and the thought hit them: maybe Jesus wouldn’t be for a capital gains tax cut after all. Maybe, just maybe, there was a little bit more to life than the mindless pursuit of material wealth.
But try telling it to the minders of the so-called “Reagan revolution.”
These guardians of wealth and privilege are rising from the muck to remind their yokel fellow travelers that all the God talk might be nice for the campaign trail but the real reason people are on the GOP train is greed.
Hugh Hewitt sees Huckabee as a stalking horse for pro-John McCain forces who used Huck’s Christian conservative base to decapitate Mitt Romney in Iowa and set up McCain for New Hampshire. But Hewitt sees something else even more dastardly afoot:
“Third, the conservative activists have to realize that there is an attempted coup under way. (The New York Times Columnist David) Brooks attacks by name Wall Street and K Street, Rush Limbaugh, The Club for Growth and President Bush, asserting that they constitute the “leadership class,” and that Huckabee’s war on them all was fueled by a knowledge of “how middle-class anxiety is really lived.” Brooks adds that Huck is forging:
A conservatism that loves capitalism but distrusts capitalists is not hard to imagine either. Adam Smith felt this way. A conservatism that pays attention to people making less than $50,000 a year is the only conservatism worth defending.
What utter nonsense. Did the tax cuts help families making less than $50 K a year? Did the prescription drug benefit? Does not getting attacked since 9/11 benefit only the middle and upper classes?
Will such neopopulism work? Nah. Even Brooks disowns it in the space of a couple of lines. Here is one of the most cynical graphs ever written on the day after an election:
Will Huckabee move on and lead this new conservatism? Highly doubtful. The past few weeks have exposed his serious flaws as a presidential candidate. His foreign policy knowledge is minimal. His lapses into amateurishness simply won’t fly in a national campaign.
Let me translate the NewYorkTimes-speak: “Thanks, you bozos in the sticks. We played you like a fiddle. Now it is time to bleed your guy to get our guy.”
Utter nonsense, Mr. Hewitt? The inability of Guardians of the Neo-Con Cabal in the GOP (for that is who they really are) to remove their bloated heads from their asses and smell the fear has already cost them Iowa and may possibly cost them their boy’s (Mitt’s) shot at the nomination.
All because a group of people are suddenly becoming the kind of Republicans Pat Buchanan had been envisioning for the last 15 years. Rampant job-killing free-trade agreements, hopelessly bloody foreign wars and a culture of turn a fast buck at all costs are suddenly far less popular in the Heartland.
And all it took was the near total destruction of the US dollar, US economy and US military to get the slumbering masses to realize they’d been suckered by the ghost of failed Reaganism — “trickle down” turned into a torrent of foreclosures, flag-draped caskets and unemployment lines. And now they want to set the ship straight.
Here’s Rush Limbaugh’s little brother David’s take:
“Far too many people believe we can continue to piggyback on our legacy of freedom, which is made possible by limited government no matter how big and intrusive government becomes. They believe we can undermine, with impunity, the constitutional pillars that guaranty our liberties, apparently assuming our glorious experiment in constitutional governance was an accident of geography or demographics rather than ideas. They believe we will always be the world’s lone superpower irrespective of whether we commit our spirit and resources to that effort. It’s just manifest destiny — or magic. Consider, for example, those who interpret our prevention of further major terrorist attacks on our soil since 9/11 as proof the threat has diminished, or perhaps was overblown from the beginning.
We expect liberals to believe: We can punish the producers in this nation without reducing overall output and hurting all economic groups; we can socialize health care without destroying its quality, quantity and affordability; we can assault our traditional values and cultural institutions without eroding the nation’s character; unbridled, illegal immigration without assimilation will lead to multicultural Nirvana; and we will be secure at home if we’ll just be nicer to foreign nations and more sensitive to the terrorists’ concerns.
But what about conservatives? Do we also need a reminder that free nations are the exception in world history and that our liberty was purchased with the greatest sacrifices and will ultimately disappear without a rededication to our founding principles?
Whoa, someone get Dave some smelling salts. You’d think the Red Army had already hit America’s shores and was working their way inland. All that bloviating from Huckabee winning Iowa — are they really this scared?
There are many other examples of this hyperventilating going on from the pro-war, pro-plutocracy neo-cons online. This link has a good number of examples. You won’t know whether to laugh, cheer or hurl.
What amazes me is that, as a liberal, I look at Huckabee, with his young Earth theories, Biblical literalism and anti-intellectualism as a smiling, yet dangerous threat to take America back to the dark ages a good deal faster than even the Bush gang.
But isn’t it fascinating that when the ChristCons start making noises that they might be ready to, at least in some ways, use their political clout to live out the Gospel as Jesus taught it — compassion for the less fortunate — that their “friends” rise up to drag them back to the right side of the plantation.
So have we really ripped the smiling face off the monster of the Reagan Revolution? Behind the grinning face of God-fearing, Middle Class white America, when you strip out all the bullshit niceties, it’s really, at core, all about the Military-Industrial complex raping and pillaging the planet.
I know: well, duh!But the cons have done such a good job selling the “rising tide lifts all boats” nonsense for so long that many religiously devout Americans have really believed that Jesus wanted savage wealth inequalities, social persecution and worldwide wars and that such things were good for America, GM, and the planet.
Now all that’s left is Rush Limbaugh screaming that it’s all about the guns and the money. And it always was.
So take heart, fellow progressives. Between the rise of Obama and the last protective masks being ripped from a ghoulish and soul killing political chicanery, there is at last, if perhaps for a fleeting moment, some reason for a little optimism.
But the neo-cons will not go quietly. And they are counting on the American public, dumbed down by years of being mis-taught their history, of falling for the same old scare tactics again and again. And in the end, they may be right.
But the American progressives have the opportunity now to really step forward and, if the future be Obama, keep him to his promises and especially to make sure that this rise of populism du jour isn’t just used as a fancy way of whipping up the disaffected but translates into actual policy that undoes years of damage to our body politic and social fabric.
And I’ve been reluctant to jump on Obama’s bandwagon. Then I read this post by Geoffrey R. Stone in Huffpo which contained this excerpt:
Shortly after Obama announced his candidacy for the Senate, I attended (and, indeed, co-hosted) a major fundraising event in Chicago for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation. At one point, I spotted Obama moving gracefully through the crowd, chatting amiably with each individual, dutifully pressing the flesh. As I observed him, I thought to myself, “What a waste. This is demeaning. Barack should forget politics and become a full-time law professor. Then he could really make something of himself.”
A few minutes later, I found myself standing next to Obama at the shrimp bowl. Although it was really none of my business, I decided to impart some of my wisdom. “Barack,” I said, “I’ve been watching you out there, making nice to all these folks. Why are you doing this? Given the realities of politics, you know as well as I that there’s no chance you’ll get the nomination, let alone defeat (Senator Patrick) Fitzgerald. Why don’t you just pack all this in and accept a full-time position on the faculty?” Barack smiled and thoughtfully replied, “Geof, I know where you’re coming from, but, you know, I have to do this. I believe I can make a difference. I have a responsibility to try.” As he blended back into the crowd, I thought, “What a waste.”
Read again the quote I highlighted. Suck it in just a little. I have to assume the quote is true and the sentiments behind it are honest and heartfelt.
And I am stunned, that in a age of selfishness, crassness and a general feeling that all politicians are ego-serving power-trippers here comes someone who honestly believes that with the intellectual gifts he has been given and developed, comes great responsibility and a calling to, as hokey as it sounds, leave the world a better place.
So for Obama and his legion of starry-eyed children, this will take a lot of work and will not be for weak hearts. After all, Alan Nairn on Democracy Now alleges warmonger Zbigniew Brzezinski is advising Obama on foreign policy (as he did Jimmy Carter) and the specter of super delegatesmake the possibility of a very un-democratic outcome. But this moment in time may represent our last best chance to turn back the march to total corporatism/fascism that threatens to place our nation and our planet on an irretrievable course to destruction.
And we all need to seize this moment now.
My fellow Americans…
Today is the dawn of a new day. A day that offers hope for a troubled nation. A day that, in years to come, will be seen as the turning point in renaissance of the United States of America. Today, dear friends, I declare my candidacy for the office of President of The United States of America.
While I may be slow entering the race, that’s only because I have many of the same problems as you. For instance, my car started making a funny noise last week and I only found time to get it to the mechanic today. The milk in the refrigerator is three days past it’s due date and, because I had no time to stop off at the store, I convinced my kids that the milk tastes funny because it’s Magic Milk that will allow them to become big and strong.
You see, my fellow Americans, I am just like you.
And we need an every day American in the White House! And while I may have missed out on Iowa, New Hampshire voters are sure to take notice as I roll out my platform.
For instance, as the father of twins I pledge to make baby changing tables mandatory in every public restroom from L.A. to New York City. I pledge to make grocery carts seat two kids so a parent no longer has to choose between grocery shopping and chasing after kids.
I pledge to bring back cough syrup – and make it work this time! Every <del>parent</del> child deserves to sleep through the night without coughing up a lung. This is the most technologically advanced society on earth. We made Post-its but we can’t make a safe cough syrup? I know we can do better!
I will be tough on immigration! Dora The Explorer has infiltrated our homes and poses a threat to every man, woman and child in this country. She sets a bad example for our children, cavorting with monkeys and straying far and wide from her parents. We will finally send big-headed kids back where they came from!
I will force all toy companies to face the real issues confronting parents today. Forget lead poisoning, we need to force toy companies to make toys that all operate under one size battery. No more D’s, C’s, AA, AAA, or 9-volt batteries. We demand uniformity and I will make sure we get it!
Health care in this country needs an overhaul. If elected president, I will make sure that all Band-Aids come with smiley faces and rainbows. Every doctor will actually have to listen to a parent’s concern or risk losing their license. No more condescending nods and insincere smiles from our pediatricians!
Finally, I promise to get tough on terror. If elected President I promise to protect every man, woman and child from the evil forces that exist in our country. I will do everything in my power to beat back the infiltration of two of the most terrifying forces our country confronts today. Yes, I promise that we will rid our society from Barney the Purple Dinosaur and Elmo, the red-haired freak with a tickling fetish.
There you are, my fellow Americans. As you can see I represent you, the every day American. I am in touch with what American needs to make this an even better society. Vote for me this year and I promise to make your life better. You can find more of my values and ideas by visiting my website at www.childsplayx2.com.
Hi, everyone. I’m Margaret, and I’ve actually never met Becky. We are e-friends, known only by listserv, email, and blog. We share interests in having a family and having a life as well. I admire her from afar, particularly now that she’s in Norway.
I’ve just started dipping a toe into political activism, and I’m puzzled by some of the things I’m learning. I thought I’d bat them around here and see what you think.
A few months ago, John Edwards did something I liked, can’t remember what it was, but I donated an embarrassingly tiny amount of money to his campaign. Naturally I have been bombarded with e-mail ever since. Now, I like Edwards, but I’m not sure if he’d be a good president. It seems to me he has little experience in Washington and none as an administrator of a big organization. But I do like many of the positions he’s taken. Also, as a blue-collar kid, I’m a real sucker for that whole “my daddy was a mill worker†shtick. And I’ve noticed a pattern: he announces a plan or stakes out a position, and later Hillary and Obama announce theirs, which are slightly to the right of Edwards’s. It looks to me like he’s providing cover to the frontrunners and pulling the whole field somewhat to the left, and for me that’s reason enough to be thankful that he’s in the race. (Note: Becky has not endorsed a candidate, and what I say here is my opinion only.)
So I responded to one of those e-mails and got on a conference call with Edwards  supporters in New Jersey and found myself volunteering to collect signatures to get Edwards on the ballot for the primary here in February. Now, I’m not shy, and as a student, I registered voters in housing projects in the Bronx (which would scare my mother half to death, so I’ve never told her about this, even now, after 30 years). So I know this isn’t hard to do. Problem is, I live in a comfortable suburb, in one of those towns people move to for the schools, and this area is overwhelmingly Republican. I needed to find registered Democrats to sign these petitions. But I figured that among my family and friends there are quite a few who share my politics, so it would be easy to find Democrats. Was I wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!
I was right about my family; the people I thought were Democrats actually were. But none of my friends, and I mean NONE, are Democrats. Most are independents, and a couple are Republicans so they can vote in the Republican primary in local races. Since around here the Republicans dominate, local elections are basically determined by who wins the primary. (In New Jersey, only party members can vote in primaries. I know it’s different in other states.)
I am spooked by this, by the fact that my friends are not Democrats. Maybe I am completely naïve (a distinct possibility), and not that the Democrats are perfect (Lord knows they are not!) but I despise and fear so many Republicans (Dick Cheney! Newt!) that I cannot imagine either being a Republican or remaining aloof and being an independent. There are a few Republicans among my family, but I just figure that Rush has infiltrated their brains, so I consider them the political equivalent of pod people.
So here are some questions I’d like to throw out to all of you. Do you belong to a political party? How did you decide? Do you know if your friends have made the same decision? Do you feel as strongly about this as I do? Is this making sense to you, or do you think I am a total wacko? (It’s okay, you can tell me, I can take it.)
So I read this.
MONTICELLO, IA.– As the sun was rising over the snow covered Iowa farmland, dotted with rolled bales of hay or straw (Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times kindly briefed me on the difference), the bus carrying reporters covering presidential candidate Barack Obama was headed towards Friday’s first campaign stop.
Oh, right. They don’t have hay and straw (or Wikipedia, for that matter) in Chicago. Or, gee, anywhere else in the state. And isn’t it amusing that someone at The New York Times is not from New York City?!? [guffaw, slap knees] Besides, it wouldn’t have the same ring to it to drop Freddy Farmer’s name from the Podunk County Weekly News. Now would it?
*asshole
I’ve never looked at it quite like this before, but Bitch Ph.D. has a thought-provoking post about why Hillary Clinton matters in this presidential race.
The reason Obama has to court women — in particular, feminist women — isn’t just because women are 54% of the electorate, as the NYT explains. It’s because for the first time in American history there’s a candidate whose presence in the race makes women’s issues and feminist issues a primary focus of the campaign. Women voters don’t have to choose between two men who may (or may not) give a shit about women’s issues based on their positions on everything else; we get a real choice between a candidate who, not coincidentally, is herself a woman and for whom women’s issues are central, rather than peripheral, and male candidates who have not, to date, made women’s issues central to their political careers.
I updated the presidential debate schedule. I get lots of search hits for the schedule, and I wonder …Â is it useful? Missing anything? Got anything to add? Drop me an e-mail or leave a comment to let me know. Thanks for stopping by!
Sept. 26, 2008 — Presidential debate focused on foreign policy and national security at University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss., 9 p.m. (Eastern), moderated by Jim Lehrer. According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, it will go on as planned.
Oct. 2, 2008 — Vice presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., 9 p.m. (Eastern), moderated by Gwen Ifill. Debate ticket lottery registration ends at noon on Friday, Sept. 26.
Oct. 7, 2008 — Presidential debate in a town hall format at Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn., 9 p.m. (Eastern), moderated by Tom Brokaw.
Oct. 15, 2008 —Presidential debate focused on domestic and economic issues at Hofsta University, Hempstead, N.Y., 9 p.m. (Eastern), moderated by Bob Schieffer. Debate ticket lottery registration for students ends at noon on Friday, Oct. 3.
Other debate schedules
Wikipedia (Democrats)
Wikipedia (Republicans)
Past debates
July 23, 2007 — Democrats debated at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, July 23, 2007. CNN and YouTube aired the debate, moderated by Anderson Cooper and sponsored by the South Carolina Democratic Party. CNN editors chose questions from videos posted on YouTube by viewers July 14-22.
Aug. 5, 2007 – Republicans debated at Drake University‘s Sheslow Auditorium in Des Moines on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, as a special edition of This Week with George Stephanopoulos (who moderated) on ABC. David Yepsen, political columnist for The Des Moines Register also asked questions. Tickets were available only to university students, faculty and staff. Doing it the YouTube way? (Shh! Don’t tell the candidates. They might not show up.) Stephanopoulos asked viewers for video questions.
Aug. 7, 2007 — Democrats will debate Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007, at 6 p.m. (CDT) — broadcast live on MSNBC and XM Radio — at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum at Soldier Field in Chicago. Gates open at 4 p.m. Everyone will be seated by 5:30 p.m. Host: Keith Olbermann, live broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olberman, 7:30-8 p.m. Tickets are available only for union members and their families. Contact your local union or the Chicago Federation of Labor at (312) 222-1000 for ticket information. Members outside Chicago can request tickets by calling (202) 637-5297 or e-mailing kbauer@aflcio.org. Submit questions for candidates here.
Aug. 9, 2007 — Democrats debated on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007, in Los Angeles at 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT) on the Logo network and the Logo Web site. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, Melissa Etheridge and Jonathan Capehart were panelists. Margaret Carlson moderated.
Aug. 19, 2007 — Democrats debated at Drake University‘s Sheslow Auditorium in Des Moines on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007, at 8 a.m. (CDT) as a special edition of This Week with George Stephanopoulos (who moderated) on ABC. David Yepsen, political columnist for The Des Moines Register also asked questions. Tickets were available only to university students, faculty and staff. The debate was sponsored by the Iowa Democratic Party and sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. See a transcript here or here. See ABC video here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Watch and rate video questions here.
Sept. 5, 2007 — Republicans debated Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007, at 9 p.m. (EDT) at the University of New Hampshire‘s Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H. Sponsored by the New Hampshire Republican Party, the debate aired on FOX News. Deadline for press credentials was Aug. 24.
Sept. 9, 2007 — Democrats debated Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) at BankUnited Center at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. It aired on Univision, RadioCadena and Univision.com. Univision’s news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas moderated. The debate focused on topics of particular importance to the U.S. Hispanic community, including education, economy, Latin American foreign policy, immigration and health care. All questions were asked in Spanish and translated to English for candidates. The candidates answered in English, and their answers were translated into Spanish. Tickets were available only to students, faculty and staff, and the debate was sold out.
While most coverage of the debate was fairly bland (as expected), Marc Cooper offered an interesting critique on Huffington Post.
Sept. 12, 2007 — Democrats will take part in a “presidential candidate mashup,” sponsored by Huffington Post, Slate and Yahoo! and moderated by Charlie Rose, on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007. Slatedescribes a mashup as “a new kind of campaign forum that will put you in charge of shaping exactly what kind of viewing experience you want to have — from the questions that are asked to the way you can pick and choose the issues you want to hear about and the candidates you want to hear from.” Rose will ask each of the candidates questions sent in by viewers. The videos will be coded and put online.
Submit questions to Huffington Post by sending a comment here. Include “Question for a Candidate” at the top of the comment. Submit questions to Slate to questionthecandidates@slate.com. Vote on topics at Yahoo! here. Facebook and MySpace will have platforms for submitting questions.
Sept. 16, 2007 — Republicans were set to debate Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). According to the Miami Herald, however, it has been canceled after only one Republican candidate (Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.) agreed to participate.
Sept. 17, 2007 — Some Republicans debated Monday, Sept. 17, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Organized by the Values Voter organization, it aired live on Sky Angel and aired later on the Inspiration Network, the DayStar Television Network, God TV and TBN Nejat TV. It streamed live on Values Voter Debate, American Family Association Online and radio and aired on VCY America.
Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily moderated. According to WorldNetDaily, questions came from Paul Weyrich, founder and president of the Free Congress Foundation; Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum; Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association; Judge Roy Moore, a WND columnist with the Foundation for Moral Law; Rick Scarborough of Vision America; and Mat Staver of Liberty Council. Viewers could send questions to f2ainfo@f2a.org.
Republicans slated to participate: Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Mike Huckabee, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and John Cox. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Fred Thompson declined to participate. Democratic candidates declined to participate in a separate debate.
Sept. 20, 2007 — Democrats answered questions about long-term financial security and health care on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa. Sponsored by Iowa AARP and its advocacy program, Divided We Fail, the forum aired live on Iowa Public Television and PBS stations across the country at 7 p.m. (CDT). PBS correspondent and anchor Judy Woodruff moderated. To register for tickets, call AARP at 877-926-8300 or write iaaarp@aarp.org. Iowans were invited to e-mail questions by Sept. 1 to mfetterhoff@aarp.org.
Candidates planning to participate were Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Debate organizers did not invite Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel to the forum. Read coverage here.
Sept. 23, 2007 — Democrats debated Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, at Detroit’s Fox Theater. Sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, it aired on Fox News. Obama and Clinton, so far, refuse to participate.
The CBC and Fox News have not set a date and place for a Republican debate.
I don’t see coverage for this debate anywhere. Did it happen?
Sept. 26, 2007 —Democrats debated Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007, at Spaulding Auditorium of the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. It aired on MSNBC, New England Cable News, NBC News and NH Public Radio. Co-sponsors were the Democratic National Committee and the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Tim Russert, NBC’s Washington Bureau Chief and host of Meet the Press,” moderated. Deadline for ticket-lottery applications was 5 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Tickets were available only to student, faculty or staff of the college or permanent residents of New Hampshire.
Sept. 27, 2007 — Republicans debated at the All American Presidential Forums on PBS on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007, at 9 p.m. (EDT) at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Tavis Smiley moderated. The transcript is here. Watch or listen online here.
(Democrats debated June 28, 2007, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Find the transcript here.)
Oct. 9, 2007 — Republicans debated on economic issues on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007, at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Centerin Dearborn, Mich. Sponsored by CNBC, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, the City of Dearborn, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Michigan GOP, the debate aired live on CNBC at 4 p.m. EDT. MSNBC rebroadcasted at 9 p.m.
Oct. 14, 2007 — Republicans will debate in Manchester, N.H., sponsored by ABC News, WMUR-TV, and the New Hampshire Union Leader. Canceled.
Oct. 20, 2007 — Democrats will debate in Manchester, N.H., sponsored by ABC News, WMUR-TV, and the New Hampshire Union Leader. Canceled.
Oct. 21, 2007 — Republicans debated on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007, at 8 p.m. (EDT) at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida and FOX News. Information about press credentials is here.
Summary by FactCheck.
Oct. 25, 2007 — Two Republicans, Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain, answered questions about long-term financial security and health care on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, at 7 p.m. (CDT) at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City, Iowa. Sponsored by Iowa AARP and its advocacy program, Divided We Fail, the forum aired live on Iowa Public Television and PBS stations across the country.
Dean Borg, host of IPT’s “Iowa Press,” moderated the 90-minute discussion solely focused on health care and financial security. PBS correspondent and anchor Judy Woodruff moderated. Sioux City Journal Editorial Page Editor Mike Gors and audience members also asked questions. AARP President Erik Olsen, AARP members and volunteers from five states traveled to Sioux City to attend the forum.
To register for tickets, call AARP at 877-926-8300 or write iaaarp@aarp.org. Iowans could e-mail questions by Sept. 1 to mfetterhoff@aarp.org.
View video here. GOP candidates: Prevention is health key, Bret Hayworth, The Globe Gazette, Oct. 25, 2007. More covereage here.
Oct. 30, 2007 — Democrats (except Mike Gravel) will debate at the Drexel University Main Building Auditorium in Philadelphia from 9 to 11 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007. Mike Gravel has been excluded from the debates because he did not meet fundraising and polling requirements. He’s not happy about it:
NBC’s decision is proof that our corporate media do not want a genuine debate over our impending war with Iran. … The fact that NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the world’s leading military contractors, is frightening and certainly smacks of censorship directed at the most outspoken critic of the influence that the military-industrial complex holds over this great nation. In the past decade, GE has benefited financially from the global war on terrorism and currently holds almost $2 billion in military contracts.
But wait. He’s got someone willing to pay his way into the debate. Gregory Chase offered NBC $1 million to include Gravel. Will it work? Stay tuned.
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee the debate will air live on MSNBC and be aired again on Telemundo. Brian Williams will moderate, and Tim Russert will ask questions. Deadline for press credentials was Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, at 6 p.m.
***POSTPONED*** — Republicans were scheduled to debate Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, at Iowa State University‘s Stephens Auditorium in Ames, Iowa, on MSNBC and MSNBC.com, but it has been postponed. More details to come.
Nov. 9, 2007 — Economic advisers for presidential candidates discussed economic issues in a debate at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the National Association for Business Economics and the National Economists Club, David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal asked questions, and Judy Woodruff of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer moderated. The event was open to NABE and NEC members and to credentialed journalists from business and financial media outlets. Registration was free, but space was limited, and advance registration was required. Registration deadline was Nov. 1.
Nov. 15, 2007 — Democrats debated Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, sponsored by the Nevada Democratic Party and CNN. Deadline to request tickets was Nov. 2.
Nov. 28, 2007 — The CNN/YouTube debate for Republicans, which had been postponed, was held Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007, at 7 p.m. (EDT), at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Fla. Anderson Cooper moderated. The debate, sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida, aired live on CNN and CNN en Español. Viewers posted video questions on YouTube until Nov. 25, 2007.
Dec. 1, 2007 — Democrats and Republicans were invited to participate in Heartland Candidate Forum at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, at Hy-Vee Conference Center in Des Moines. Sponsored by more than 24 community organizations (Common Cause, Center for Community Change, Iowa CCI, Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church, Working Families Win, Gamaliel Foundation, National Training & Information Center, Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa, among others), the forum covered health care, jobs, immigration, farming and the environment, housing and “clean elections.”
To attend, contact Common Cause at iowa@commoncause.org with the subject “Heartland Forum” and include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and number of tickets requested. Or register here. Sign up for updates here. Deadline for press credentials was Nov. 27.
Dec. 1, 2007 — Democrats will debate at The Iowa Black & Brown Presidential Forum at 8 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, at North High Schoolin Des Moines. Moderators: Michele Norris and Ray Suarez. HDNet live coverage will start at 7:30 p.m. (EST) with preview discussion featuring Mary Campos, Wayne Ford and Dan Rather. They will have a post-forum discussion afterward.
Dec. 4, 2007 — Democrats will debate at 2 p.m. (EST) on Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. Sponsored by National Public Radio and Iowa Public Radio, the debate will air on NPR stations, Sirius Satellite Radio, American Forces Radio and NPR.org. Steve Inskeep, Michele Norris and Robert Siegel will moderate, and all candidates are expected to attend. Because of the high level of security required, the State of Iowa Historical Building will be closed to the public. Apply for press credentials here.
Republicans were scheduled for a similar debate on Dec. 3, 2007, but it is being rescheduled.
Dec. 4, 2007 — Republicans were scheduled to debate Thursday, Dec. 4, 2007, at Hy-Vee Conference Centerin Des Moines, but it was canceled Nov. 15 because of lack of participation. Sponsored by the Republican Party of Iowa, it was to air on FOX News.
Dec. 9, 2007 — Republicans debated at 7 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007, BankUnited Center at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. The debate was originally scheduled for Sept. 16 but was canceled after only one Republican candidate agreed to participate. It aired on Univision, RadioCadena and Univision.com. Univision’s news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas moderated. Questions were asked in Spanish and translated to English for candidates. The candidates answered in English, and their answers were translated into Spanish.
Dec. 10, 2007 — Democrats debated in Los Angeles, sponsored by the DNC.
Dec. 12, 2007 — Republicans debated at 2 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, at Iowa Public Television’s Maytag Auditorium in Johnston, Iowa. Sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television, the debate aired on IPTV and aired again later.
Dec. 13, 2007 — Democrats debated at 2 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, at Iowa Public Television’s Maytag Auditorium in Johnston, Iowa. Sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television, the debate aired on IPTV and aired again later. Submit questions or ask about tickets here.
Coverage here.
This was canceled. Dec. 17, 2007 — Democrats will debate Monday, Dec. 17, 2007, at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. Sponsored by Politico, it will air on CNN.
Jan. 1-2, 2008 — MySpace held online presidential town hall forums. Coverage here.
Jan. 10, 2008 — Republicans on FOX News, moderated by Brit Hume at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Transcript here. More coverage here.
Jan. 15, 2008 — Democrats debated Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, at 9 p.m. (EST) in Las Vegas and aired on MSNBC on television and online. Submit questions here. Or here. Brian Williams moderated. Tim Russert and Natalie Morales also asked questions. Sponsors: NBC News, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 100 Black Men of America, IMPACTO, the African American Democratic Leadership Council and the College of Southern Nevada.
Jan. 21, 2008 — Democrats debated Monday, Jan. 21, 2008, at 8 p.m. (EST) at the Palace Theatre in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the debate aired on CNN. Wolf Blitzer moderated. Joe Johns and Suzanne Malveaux asked questions.
Jan. 30, 2008 — Republicans debated in California. Sponsored by CNN, Los Angeles Times and Politico. Coverage here.
Jan. 31, 2008 — Democrats will debate in California. Sponsored by CNN and the Los Angeles Times.
Feb. 21, 2008 — Democrats, sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Feb. 21, 2008, in Carson City, Nevada.
Feb. 28, 2008 — MSNBC hosts back to back forums on energy for presidential candidates from both parties, Houston.
(Originally posted: July 2007)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is pissed. Blackwater USAÂ employees killed one Iraqi police officer and 10 Iraqi civilians and wounded at least 13 Iraqi bystanders in a shootout in Baghdad on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007. Maliki called the action criminal, threatened to prosecute those involved, canceled Blackwater’s operating license and ordered the company out of the country on Monday. On Tuesday, the United States suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside the Green Zone in Baghdad.
Scratch that. Convoys guarded by Blackwater resumed today after suspending them for only four days. The U.S. embassy struck back at the prime minister, releasing a report that details corruption in his government.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice got the prime minister to agree to set up a commission to “look into the matter.” Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., asked Blackwater USA founder and owner Erik Prince to appear before the House Government Reform Committeeon Oct. 2, 2007, to determine if private contractors serve U.S. interests in Iraq and whether Blackwater USA “has advanced or impeded U.S. efforts.”
I’m curious. Who were the U.S. diplomats being guarded by Blackwater employees, and will they be required to testify before the committee?
Was it Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and his delegation — Reps. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., and fourth-timer Steve Pearce, R-N.M. — who recently returned from an “intense two-day tour” of Iraq? No. They were there the weekend before last.
Was it Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio, and his delegation — Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., Peter King, R-N.Y., Tom Latham, R-Iowa, Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio — who just returned from Iraq? No. They were in Baghdad earlier last week. (Gosh, it’s hard to keep track, isn’t it?)
Was it third-time visitor Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and her delegation — Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., fourth-timer Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and third-timer Ken Salazar, D-Colo.? Maybe. They were on the heels of the other delegation and were in Iraq on Saturday and Sunday.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne E. Tyrrell said Blackwater’s contractors acted lawfully and that the “civilians” who were killed were armed enemies. An Iraqi report said Blackwater guards were not ambushed. Instead, they fired at a car when it did not heed a police officer’s call to stop, killing a couple and their infant. In video shot after the episode, the child appeared to have burned to the mother’s body after the car caught fire.
In the meantime, Blackwater remains in Iraq, and Rice is telling everyone she has ordered a “full and complete review” of security practices, including Blackwater, which has a $1 billion, five-year contract with the U.S. State Department.
USA TODAY added an update to its breaking-news blog:
Update at 4:45 p.m. ET:We’ve requested comment from Blackwater USA. In the meantime, campaign finance records show that Prince has been a big donor to the Republican Party. In July, he gave $20,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Nice try, but that’s just the beginning.
Prince also gave the National Republican Congressional Committee $25,000 in 2005, $25,000 in 2004, $20,000 in 2000, $15,000 in 1989, $1,000 in 1986, as well as $71,950 to the RNC Republican National State Elections Committee in 2000, and the following:
That’s just for starters. I’ll keep looking. The USA TODAY guy might want to do the same.
War is Peace — Freedom is Slavery — Ignorance is Strength
This war is about peace. — President George W. Bush
Sanctioned visits to Iraq by elected officials started in May 2003, and they have been back-to-back ever since. AÂ National Guard general tried to see his troops in late 2003, but a Defense Department policy restricted his travel “for safety reasons” because a limited number of soldiers were available for security details. The general could not visit his troops, but more than 20 delegations visited Iraq in just eight months in 2003. (He finally got to visit his troops by the end of the year.)
Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., started the parade of delegations to Iraq by requesting a visit in early 2003. The Pentagon and the State Department refused. He took off for Iraq anyway in April by joining a convoy of relief workers into Iraq.
This will not be my last time going to Iraq. — Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
He was correct. He has been to Iraq 18 times … so far.
Less than a month later, a delegation left for Baghdad on May 23, 2003. Until then, Baghdad had been off limits because it was unsafe, even with armed military escorts. Elected officials insisted on going, however, saying they could not exercise “congressional oversight” from Washington. Three more delegations visited from June to August.
Even though 23 people died in a car bombing of the Baghdad United Nations headquarters on Aug. 19, 2003, an 11-member delegation visited the city on Aug. 25.
By the end of 2003, about a third of the U.S. Congress had visited Iraq.
The Pentagon promoted congressional visits, and House GOP leaders asked every Republican member to visit Iraq as soon as possible. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld believed visits would increase congressional support.
Surprise, surprise. They did.
I was hopeful that progress was being made, but based on the media coverage I had seen, I wasn’t certain. After three days of touring the country, I am now certain that we are making progress. — Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., after his Sept. 13-15, 2003, visit to Iraq (York Daily Record, Sept. 24, 2003).
War is peace.
U.S. House members were part of a delegation in Iraq, Oct. 6-10, 2003. Amory Houghton Jr., R-N.Y., said he was not concerned about his safety.
There’s a waiting list. A lot of people want to go. I think they’ll protect us pretty well. The one thing they don’t want to do is to have a bunch of congressmen slaughtered over there.— Rep. Amory Houghton, R-N.Y. (Star-Gazette)
(Delegation: Reps. Michael N. Castle, R-Del.; Jim Davis, D-Fla.; Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.; Amory Houghton Jr., R-N.Y.; Ron Kind, D-Wis.; Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y.; Fred Upton, R-Mich.; Greg Walden, R-Ore.)
War is peace.
Right on their heels was an all-female delegation during the week of Oct. 20, 2003. Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, wondered if there was a more positive story in Iraq than often portrayed in media accounts that emphasize continuing violence and Iraqi and U.S. fatalities.
The positive stuff isn’t coming through. — Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio (The Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 10, 2003)
They wouldn’t be staying overnight in Iraq, though, for security reasons. (Delegation: Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., Katherine Harris, R-Fla., Darlene Hooley, D-Ore., Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.)
War is peace.
Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., visited Nov. 6, 2003, even after a military transport helicopter went down, killing at least 16 troops (FLORIDA TODAY, Nov. 3, 2003). Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., expected to leave for Iraq in mid-November 2003 even though a trip by another congressional delegation had to be cut short after a bomb blast ripped through United Nations headquarters (Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 15, 2003).
A suicide bomb killed about 50 people and injured scores of others near Baghdad on Feb. 10, 2004, but Gov. Kathleen Blanco, D-La., “presented a positive picture of the occupied country” during her delegation’s visit Feb. 10-11, 2004. Even though extensive security measures highlighted danger at every turn, Blanco said she never felt at risk: “We were well-protected.” Guard units in front and behind their vehicles escorted the delegation, and Apache helicopters flew overhead.
War is peace.
In April 2004, Rumsfeld, who extended the tours of some 20,000 troops, expressed surprise that the death toll was higher than he expected. April was the deadliest month of the war so far with 147 U.S. troops and hundreds of Iraqis killed.
Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah returned with renewed confidence in the importance of the war and that troop morale was high after his visit June 3-6, 2004.
Things were going fine in Iraq. — Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah (The Associated Press, June 7, 2004)
Unconcerned for his safety, Bennett reported a sense of optimism from Iraq. He blamed the slowed Iraq reconstruction on Americans who protested the way building and infrastructure contracts were awarded. (Delegation: Sens. Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah; Bill Frist, R-Tenn; John Ensign, R-Nev.)
War is peace.
Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., and three others visited Baghdad and Fallujah, June 11-13, 2004. They wore body armor at all times, but Davis said,
…Â it wasn’t like there was a bomb going off every minute. — Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., June 2004
War is peace.
Two U.S. troops died on July 14, 2004, when a suicide bomb killed 11 and wounded 40 near the British embassy, insurgents beheaded a hostage and assassinated the governor of Mosul and the director general of Iraq’s Industry Ministry, capping off an explosion of violence in July, as almost 36 U.S. troops died in the first two weeks.
At least seven more delegations visited in August and September, during which time a mortar hit the roof of the U.S. embassy, and two mortar shells exploded about 500 yards from a delegation waiting to board a helicopter, and one U.S. soldier died in Baghdad that day.
Continued violence kept a September delegation from seeing much of Iraq up close, as they spent most of their time in helicopters and Humvees with tight security and flak jackets. Another delegation visited while officials sought freedom for several hostages. Two car bombs wounded American and Iraqi troops west of Baghdad on Sept. 26. Egyptian and British leaders urged the release of abducted workers and a civil engineer kidnapped with two Americans, later beheaded. Insurgents had kidnapped more than 140 foreigners and killed at least 26 of them. A rocket slammed into a busy Baghdad neighborhood, killing at least one and wounding eight. Hours later, another loud blast shook the U.S. embassy, where the delegation was.
A car bomb exploded in front of the Green Zone in October 2004, and another delegation arrived days later. Several more delegations visited from then until the end of the year. In January 2005, insurgents bombed the U.S. embassy, killing two Americans, while a delegation was in Baghdad for the elections. Yet another delegation visited in mid-January 2005.
As 55 people died in Iraq, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said none of the senators dared drive through Baghdad’s streets, even in armored cars during her Feb. 19, 2005, visit. Even so,
Much of Iraq was functioning quite well. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Feb. 19, 2005
War is peace.
A delegation visited Baghdad on April 1, 2007. A U.S. soldier and American contractor died, and a rocket wounded five people. Officials acknowledged an increase in violence after 500 Iraqis and six U.S. troops died, while Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., visited Baghdad and insisted security was improving. Four soldiers died when an explosive detonated near their vehicle in Baghdad on April 1. (Delegation: Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind.; Rick Renzi, R-Ariz.)
War is peace.
…
Under the table Winston’s feet made convulsive movements. … He was back at the Ministry of Love, with everything forgiven, his soul white as snow. He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implicating everybody. He was walking down the white-tiled corridor, with the feeling of walking in sunlight, and an armed guard at his back. The long-hoped-for bullet was entering his brain. … But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself.
…
This just in — The surge is working.
