I don’t know. I’m skipping yet another political convention — if the Republicans were engaging in non-stop lying, I was afraid the Democrats would engage in non-stop cringing — but the reports I’m reading today make it sound like they were talking strong and standing up for, for instance, a woman’s right to choose and against economic inequity to some degree. Here are a few highlights, and this was Michelle Obama’s speech:
It was a good speech, delivered well. That speech was also well-received by the troglodytes at Fox News, who have decided that Michelle Obama is a “wookie”, a “pig-person”, and fat. Get used to it; that (R) stands for (Racist).
I’m not hearing much about the military and Guantanomo, though, and they’re not slamming the 1% as thoroughly as they should. I’m tempted to at least have the thing running in the background on my TV tonight while I get other work done…except for one thing.
Are they all going to end their speeches with “God bless, and God bless America”? Because that makes me gag with its stupidity and insincerity.
When you are engaged in politics people are making decisions and effecting change themselves. No need for an invisible faerie at all. So why refer to it?
Yeah, but Michelle doesn’t pull your arms out of your sockets if she loses.
Oh, you caught that too?? (As if one would or could possibly expect anything different. I was fantasizing that nobody would use that as a final expression to end their speech. Dream on, I guess.)
Well, at least Fox News didn’t have “First Lady’s dress gets high marks” as the only story on their front page about it this morning, like CNN did. They’ve since switched that exact same spot in the grid to an opinion piece about her speech, but I got a screencap of the earlier setup.
A few decent speeches though,… and a few uninspired that fell a bit flat.
(not because I think I’m some great sexism sleuth reporter, but I have a friend teaching American Women’s History and I thought she might like a comparison of the various outlets and their coverage for her class)
In vaguely related news, Obama and Romny answers to Science Debate 2012 questions have been posted: http://www.sciencedebate.org/debate12/
Being a non A-merican I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised that even a modicum of though had been put into some of the replies (admittedly probably nil by the candidates themselves). And while much was said without much actually being said (blimey can Romney waffle) it was more than I expected. At the least I award brown-nose badges all around.
The Democrats…feh. The most stupendous geological event of the Holocene–complete summer melt-out of the Arctic sea ice–is practically upon us, and they can spare barely a word for the issue of climate change. The house is on fire and all they can talk about is cockroaches in the kitchen.
Confession; I can’t stand political speeches, not even by people I generally agree with. I couldn’t make it more than a couple minutes into the Democratic Convention speech that started people talking about the possibility of a President Obama.
And yet, I could listen to scientists talk all day, even when they talk about politics.
It was a good speech. It smashed twitter. The total twitter posts for that one day alone was almost the same as the full three days of the thug convention in Tampa. http://mashable.com/2012/09/05/michelle-obama-speech/
You should watch tonight (5 September 2012). Elizabeth Warren is scheduled to speak. When I heard she would be speaking I set my TiVo to get it.
The speech definitely had its moments; it is gratifying to hear a prominent figure in American politics actually stand up for the bodily autonomy of women and marriage and pay equality without any ambivalent waffling. Here’s hoping that there will be another Obama term of office, not only because a Romney White House would be a nightmarish disaster for the US and the broader world, but also so that President Obama will get the chance to maybe deliver on all those fine words this time…
I know that sounds awfully cynical, but frankly the whole ‘hope and change’ and ‘yes we can’ schtick is beginning to wear a little thin.
As for signing off with ‘god bless America’ – it is so ubiquitous in US politics that nothing else can realistically be expected, and so I switch off the minute I begin to hear the phrase. It is simply an empty platitude in the mouths of most, and indicative of the ongoing exclusitory religiosity of American politics.
@AussieMike, #10:
That might not be a reflection on the quality of speech, merely on the fact that if the average Republican voter thinks a “tweet” is the sound a bird makes just before you shoot it.
Michelle Obama is fat? Well, there goes another anorexic, off to the toilet to throw up after hearing that. We have this strange idea in this country that if we don’t like what a woman is saying, all we have to do is call her fat, and that’s that, even if she’s not. She’s fat – she’s irrelevant. She’s not fat – she’s fat anyway, and irrelevant.
Maybe the Repubs need an extra letter – RS – R for racist, S for sexist.
lol, the Science Debate at 7.
-Romney has to shove “less taxes, less regulation” in there, in several places.
-Romney gets the right answer on climate change and yet has to say something as stupid as ” However, there remains a lack of scientific consensus on the issue — on the extent of the warming, the extent of the human contribution, and the severity of the risk — and I believe we must support continued debate and investigation within the scientific community. Ultimately, the science is an input to the public policy decision; it does not dictate a particular policy response.”
-He has to snidely use the right-wing stigmatized term “globalization” when talking about pandemics.
-Apparently we spend too much on children’s education and get too little results. Obviously, teacher’s unions are at fault! -Obama sent money to “green energy projects run by political cronies” and refused a pipeline (which is inherently evil, apparently)! Oh, and Romney is going to fight the energy crisis through States’ Rights, trade with Mexico and Canada, and offshore drilling.
-While Obama worries about water scarcity in some regions, Romney wants to “modernize” water treatment to save money.
-Romney blames Obama for the FCC’s Net Neutrality, implying that it means restricting free, open internet. Hilariously, it means the opposite.
Even with all the sane things Romney believes and claims, compared to the average Republican, he is still a blatant partisan hack.
Back in the land of reality, I find it interesting how much she seems to be styled as a modern Jackie O., hair especially.
@13
A little post hoc ergo propter hoc on my part ya think?
I conceed, but I think you nailed it.
I’m not surprised that they’re not “slamming the 1% as thoroughly as they should.” Would you bite the gravy train that feeds your campaigns? A lot of the money donated by the “have-mores” goes to both parties as bet hedging.
Also for gay marriage, in her speech at least.
I caught part of Julian Castro’s speech. It’s nice to know that Republicans aren’t the only ones unaware of the existence of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries also built by immigrants (at the expense of each nation’s aboriginal people). “Only in America!” On behalf of every nation with plenty of opportunities for immigrants(and with public education and universal health care), may I offer Mr. Castro a sincere and hearty “Fuck you.”
Okay, so yes, speakers at the Democratic National Convention did end speeches with the obligatory reference to God, but Republicans are freaking out because Dems omitted the word “God” from their platform. Oh the horror!
Link.
Paul Ryan, speaking on Fox News, whined about the Democrats lack of god-pandering in their platform:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/80731.html
Notes from the Christian Broadcasting Network on the Democratic Party’s conspiracy against god:
Link.
Michelle pretty much kicked ass last night. And what about those Castro brothers? Sure, I know the whole “Only in America” thing is false, but I thought Julian was great.
I read that the Republicans had no veterans giving speeches at their convention. Is that true? Dems had a veteran, a mother of four soldiers, mentions of veterans, and plenty of VFW types in the crowd.
She could, though. Did you see her doing pushups?
Julian Castro took on the Republican misinterpretation of “you didn’t build that,” and he fucking blew that lie right out of the water.
A snippet from Michelle Obama’s speech that never mentions Mitt Romney, but that is a clear knockout punch aimed at Romney’s glass jaw and at the Romney campaign’s inability to tell the truth:
No worries – they’re only speeches. The spineless cringing of their policies will continue.
Wookies were heroic aliens to be admired. Deadly enemies of the bad guys, loyal friends of the good, mechanically gifted, strong and ferocious and brave and a match for a huge bunch of white clad stormtroopers and mindless droids.
Do they republicans really not know that & think that’s insulting her?
From the peanut gallery of comments about Michelle Obama:
Meanwhile, right wing nests of nuttery on the web are atwitter with the revelation that all the people at the Democratic National Convention were bused in, paid to attend — the Dems couldn’t get anyone to attend, etc. etc.
I think it’s a sad indictment of our democracy that candidates spouses are considered relevant to anything at all, let alone that they give speeches, but apparently some voters pay attention to that.
Lynna’s quote of some lying asshole running alongside another lying asshole:
Hmmm. Two can use the power of CTRL-F! (Fun fact: “Jesus” appears in none of the following documents. Despite all their bloviation, not even the Republican party platform. Go figure)
Republican Party Platform: God- 12 (mostly “God-given), Christian- 2 (one is someone’s name), Religion- 7, Creator- 1 (job creator)
Democratic Party Platform: God- 0, Christian-0, Religion-2, Creator-1 (also about jobs)
Declaration of Independence: God- 1 (Nature’s God), Christian- 0, Religion-0, Creator- 1
U.S. Constitution: God- 0, Christian- 0, Religion-0, Creator- 0
Bill of Rights: God- 0 , Christian- 0 , Religion- 1, Creator-
Soooo…whose platform is closer to our “founding documents”?
@8. danl.
You may find this interesting reading then :
http://climatecrocks.com/2012/09/05/shhh-be-vewy-vewy-quiet-romney-tiptoes-toward-climate-reality/
&
http://climatecrocks.com/2012/09/04/is-obama-rolling-out-a-climate-campaign/
& finally :
http://climatecrocks.com/2012/07/19/is-it-warming-yet-more-americans-say-like-duhh/
When Rmoney mocked Obama’s line about stopping seas rising and healing the planet in his speech I thought the audiences reaction to that jibe seemed uneasy and uncomfortable and it feel very flat for him. Perhaps they had Hurricane Isaac knocking out day one of their convention or the droughts, heatwaves and fires in many of their home states ..
Could just be me getting the wrong impression but then again maybe not.
Kathleen Sebelius did not end her speech with “God bless America.” It was amazing.
I watched the tribute video to Ted Kennedy, paying particular attention to the historical footage of Kennedy debating one Mitt Romney. We saw the RomneyBot voice his support for abortion and for Roe vs. Wade.
Kennedy then went on to say that Romney just needed to take one more step and declare that he was voting for Kennedy.
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, tone trolled the tribute video:
The New York Times reports that for the third month in a row Romney has raised more than $100 million. And this is quite apart from the Koch brothers pledge to spend $400 million to elect Romney, a sum that is more than John McCain’s campaign spent for the entire Presidential run. Then there’s Karl Rove’s PACs, SuperPACS, and super-secret “social welfare” organizations.
Rove claimed recently that his groups spent $110 million between May 15 and July 31, in addition to the $42 million spent by Romney.
Rove is intent on
winningbuying not just the Presidency, but also Senate races so that the Republicans will have a majority in the Senate. American Crossroad’s budget for this election is $300 million.kreativekaos @ #3
Daily Kos has reported that according to Paul Ryan, the Democratic Speakers at the convention didn’t invoke the said deity enough. I had to make a comment on the site. Almost made me gag to have to use the G word:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/05/1127950/-Naughty-Catholic-Paul-Ryan-finds-lack-of-theocracy-in-Democratic-platform-peculiar
Funny coming from Ryan, who worships an atheist, who was pro-choice and had multiple affairs during her life.
I thought that the speeches were good overall, at least the ones I caught were–I didn’t get home from work until around 9. And I don’t worry too much about the “God bless” nonsense. I really wish they didn’t do it, but the vast majority of Americans are religious and, while I think it is stupid and I wish they’d pander to me for once, at least the substance of the speeches was mostly good and I can ignore that last bit of pandering.
@12. I always switch off my radio/tv when they do that Kate Smith thing during the seventh inning stretch at ball games. Why not Pete Seeger’s “This Land Is Your Land”? (Except, of course, during Atlanta Brave and Cleveland Indian games.). Or, maybe Minchin’s pope song at San Diego Padres games? Or maybe 60 seconds of silence and meditation for all those harmed by government policies, actions and inactions?
Voter education works … sometimes.
Elizabeth Warren, who is scheduled to speak at the DNC this evening, is Scott Brown’s opponent for a Senate seat. She’s good. Maybe she will follow the lead of Kathleen Sebelius and purge god from her closing remarks.
Political intelligence.
The Dems had from 2006 to 2010 to show some spine. Don’t hold your breath. This is like NPR at pledge time: give a little lip service to liberals, then go back to fellating Wall Street as soon as you get the money. I’ll vote for the fuckers, but I’m not donating again until they torture the Blue Dogs on Air Force One, not Dennis Kucinich.
I don’t much care that they say “doG bless you all” and “doG bless America” BUT I get royally pissed off when I hear them say “the greatest country in the world – America!!” Both sides need to get past this american-exceptionalism crap!!
I was extremely energized after watching the speeches. Even my hubby was impressed with some speakers, and his attention usually gravitates to motorcycles, hunting, and tits. I’m fired up by this election and am sad some of my athiest peers are uninterested. Perhaps watch tonight(9/5) and you’ll feel some of the urgency in today’s politics. Serious shit is at stake, and, warts and all, the Dems are the ones who represent us most. Please watch, and please vote.
Michelle Obama spoke seven grade levels above Ann Romney.
More detail at the link.
I thought last night was good. Maybe they should stop while they’re ahead.
Another good reason not to tune in tonight is that Nancy Pelosi will be screechifying.
telling.
Michelle Obama looks very fit to me. In fact, with those shoulders, she looks like she could handle herself in a bar fight.
She is fit. Fit and healthy.
The idiots who are labeling her as “fat,” are doing their best to distract from or to discredit the substance of her speech, and/or they are haters of women.
Yes, she has ample hips and buttocks — which are also in good shape. WTF is with the stupid fat jokes? For some commenters there may be an underlying racist dog whistle to the big butt comments. Frankly disgusting.
Okay, okay. I have huge problems with the Dems*, but I still totally fucking ♥ Gov Duval Patrick’s speech. But, then again, he’s a pretty cool governor, anyway.
*And if they were ever to grow a spine, now is the time to do it.
But they won’t.
If either of the Obamas did not end their speeches with “God Bless America”, it would probably cost his reelection.
Biden might be able to get away with it, “oh, it’s just Joe being Joe and gaffing it up”. But the Obamas, that would just feed Fox ammunition that far too many people think matters.
James Rainey, writing for the LA Times, noted Michelle Obama’s stealth attack on Mitt Romney.
Link.
Typically demeaning right-wing response to the article excerpted above:
I liked most of the speech but I do think it it is very important for the whole of the USA to realize that “America” is not the greatest country on earth.
It’s a nice place. It has some amazing country and some amazing people…so does the rest of the world. Get used to it.
/Matt
Did you catch Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick? The most non-cringing Democratic speech I’ve heard in a long time — it was fantastic!
Listen to it if you get a chance.
In response to the discussion up-thread about climate change, writing for The Maddow Blog Steve Benen noted:
This is a serious election with serious issues at stake. I also wish the Democrats would talk more about climate change, and less about God. But folks, we’re the fact-based community and we know what the GOP will do if they get back into power.
If Romney makes a supreme court appointment or two, you can say goodby to what little federal environmental legislation we have, and the Republicans will be so far up everyone’s reproductive tracts, we’ll never pull them out. Worried about further blurring of the line between church and state? The US might just elect a man who thinks God lives on Planet Kolob and believes in direct revelation as an LDS Stakeholder. He’s not the sort of man who should have a position of power when we are well into the Anthropocene extinction.
Here’s a thought. Sometimes voting is about electing who you want, but often it’s about preventing harm. So even if you are cynical and jaded and want to complain about the Obama Administration, you might want to think about getting registered and maybe even helping out. Do your part to prevent about 30 years of harm that will surely follow if the GOP manages to control the Supreme Court. Do your duty as a citizen – watch the convention if you want, if it will motivate you, but get involved and get registered and vote.
And then get back to the issues advocacy that matters over the long run – on climate change, on atheism etc. Until then, we need to beat back the barbarians at the gates.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/05/Fact-Check-Michelle-Obama-s-False-Fairy-Tale-of-Struggle
Breitbart.com isn’t a fan, though the fact-checking doesn’t seem to directly contradict anything she said.
Tulsi Gabbard, 31, is a candidate for Congress from Hawaii. She is a combat veteran and spoke briefly to the convention about the sacrifices of military families. She ended her remarks with “Aloha and Mahalo”. If she wins in November, she will be the first Hindu elected to Congress.
Looks like the godbots won this round:
God reinstated into the DNC platform. Democrats kneel down to suck some Israeli jizz…
“wookie”??
Is this plain weirdness, or some US thing that I don’t get?
My guess would be an attempt to use a racist slur without being open about it.
I read it as calling her sub-human as the wookie’s long hair makes them look more like other apes than humans and as they cannot speak human languages (though they can understand them).
Personally, I’d rather have a wookie by my side than a Republican.
Looks like you may have spoken too soon: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/05/convention-floor-chaos-democrats-alter-platform-disagree/?hpt=hp_t1
Yeah, that “God Bless” horseshit makes me gag too.
Another thing, though, for us non-Americans is this “we live in the best country on the earth” that seems to constantly come up, and did in Michelle’s speech. By what measure I wonder?
Seems more likely that it is an expression of insecurity given the crazy wing-nuts in politics these days with half of the country supporting them and hell-bent on “every woman for herself”. It would be more honest to say something like, “we want this to be the best country in the world, and we keep fucking it up. We’re looking really bad here folks…can we please fucking stop being idiots?”
Other than that, I really liked her speech…except for the “God bless…” part. And, you know, she could’ve mentioned “those with no faith” along with the other good stuff…
Who the fuck are they even pandering to with this bullshit?
Assholes all.
*erk*
The fuck?
*rage*
Notice how the thrust of those articles seem mainly about the Israeli/Palestinian matter. Not one atheist is quoted about their feelings about getting a massive “FUCK YOU” from the DNC.
What’s with this “first lady” crap? How comes anybody intelligent can call herself “first lady”? Does anybody know the historical details of this horrible syntagm (who invented it, to whose arse the label was stuck first… etc) And what does it mean? There are ~350k persons in the USofA. Is there a “second lady”, and a “tenth lady”, or even a “lady number 175k” ?
It will be for me a big laugh to hear the label for the husband of the first woman president: “the president’s hairy half?” ;-), “first mister?” LOL.
Jill Biden is second lady. If we had a president with a husband, that person would presumably be first gentleman.
Yeah, well, the general public doesn’t really care about atheists or their concerns. One day they might, but today they simply don’t.
Even more importantly, this is the Democratic party showing their lack of conviction again by once again adopting the nonsense being spewed by die hard conservatives who would never vote for them anyway. This could’ve been an opportunity to stand up for their convictions and talk about being welcoming to Americans of all walks of life, but instead they gave up without a fight and adopted the conservative language and reinforced the idea that the US is only for a certain kind of people.
Of course, I’m probably wrong about the convictions of those in the Democratic party. Maybe they couldn’t really care less if certain people feel disenfranchised and excluded. They sometimes use words that make it seem like they care, but they rarely act on the few words they will use in support.
Nah. This is what they always do. Cave and cave and cave again. Then give us a couple rousing speeches.
But they’re still better than the horrible alternative.
It’s sad to realize that Richard Nixon was the last Liberal in the White House.
PZ:
Well, it seems the Democrats are AT LEAST in possession of a notochord. :P Oh, science silliness.
– Lewis Breland
I don’t understand this glorification of the military which has been used in imperialistic wars for decades. Let me quote Mark Twain’s version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. What he wrote about the Americans’ war against the Philippinos, applies today.
“Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword;
He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger’s wealth is stored;
He hath loosed his fateful lightnings, and with woe and death has scored;
His lust is marching on.
I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the Eastern dews and damps;
I have read his doomful mission by the dim and flaring lamps—
His night is marching on.
I have read his bandit gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
“As ye deal with my pretensions, so with you my wrath shall deal;
Let the faithless son of Freedom crush the patriot with his heel;
Lo, Greed is marching on!”
We have legalized the strumpet and are guarding her retreat;*
Greed is seeking out commercial souls before his judgement seat;
O, be swift, ye clods, to answer him! be jubilant my feet!
Our god is marching on!
In a sordid slime harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch,
With a longing in his bosom—and for others’ goods an itch.
As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich—
Our god is marching on.
* NOTE: In Manila the Government has placed a certain industry under the protection of our flag. (M.T.)”
The problem with soldiers and their families is that they don’t think. They do the same thing today they did in 1900. When they earn some respect, then I will respect them. I don’t foresee it.
You really should include Lily Ledbetter’s speech as a highlight:
The problem is that I don’t know who the hell they’re trying to pander to. Christian Conservatives? They’re already aligned with the other party. Liberal theists? Is their faith so fragile that they’ll leave unless the platform mentions their deity? The undecided voter? Are there THAT many moderates who are clamoring for political religious affirmations? Who?
The Democrats are supposed to be “The Party of Jefferson.” While the man had his faults, he’s mainly the credited for starting this church/state seperation business in the first place. Now, for the sake of avoiding the appearance of “godlessness” (A charge that their opponents will level no matter what the Dems do. The allegation of atheism always sells here in Christianity-poisoned AmeriKKKa. ) they are willing to betray that concept, stoop to the level of the Right, and piss off liberal atheist voters (like myself) to the point where I have to wonder who whether or not it’s worth it to vote in November.
anuran @ 70
How long until that lame excuse no longer shames us into voting for a Democrat party that is sliding further and further Right with each election cycle? As repugnant as they are, the right-wing has an agenda that it’s trying to advance, and it’s succeeding. Meanwhile, our side seems only willing to try to wait them out in hopes for some utopian future where all humans are wise and tolerant and will be ready to freely accept higher taxes for the wealthy, same-sex marriage, or removing “In God We Trust” from our currency without a potentially society dividing political scuffle. What’s it going to take for liberals to see that their party no longer represents progress? Another bipartisan backed war in the Middle East? More drone attacks on civilians, “indefinite detention,” and “enhanced interrogations?” Giving corporations their own stock-holder elected seats in Congress? What?