Avalanche on BS Mountain - Jon Stewart

With a kiss on the cheek to my beautiful Susan, who sent me this link:

UPDATE: This was NOT what I had led to believe it was.

This was a reaction NOT to the woman from Puerto Rico, but to the fact that a Ron Paul delegation was not being seated, the story can be found here.  My apologies for the confusion.

Well, so much for that idea.

I had been talking up the Democratic 4th District nominee for Congress, Sen. Eric Stewart of Belvedere as a relatively decent shot to upset one-term Tea Party Republican Scott DesJarlais in the re-configured district.

I hadn't sent money yet, since what little I have I want to give to West Tennessee candidates.  I didn't think all that much of the Stewart campaign's plans to force DesJarlais to debate, because it looked like they were chasing him from a position of weakness.  It might have been better to get one of the Nashville or Chattanooga TV stations to sponsor one and have THEM invite the Congressman, making it more difficult for him to back out.

Well, DesJarlais pretty much told them to pound sand, and from a political professional view, that makes sense.  If you are perceived as the leader, you don't want to debate your opponent if possible, because it elevates them to your level.  I digress.

Well, I noticed something in the DesJarlais staff response to Stewart to the effect that Stewart refused to say for whom he would vote either for US Senate (understandable at this point) or for President (WTF?).  Really?  The Dean himself wrote about this today.

Look, I know that even if President Obama went through the streets of Shelbyville healing the leper and the lame, people would boo and jeer him there.  I understand that.  However, Senator Stewart has apparently forgotten, as so many other rural Democrats have, under what party banner he is running.  If you didn't want to be associated with a Democratic President, then why in the hell did you run for Congress as a Democrat?

One of the reasons that Democrats are under siege in the South is that they won't stand up for who they are or what they believe in.  This does not help Democrats establish their brand, or define themselves for the voters.  If you refuse to define yourself, your opponents will be happy to do it for you.

It appears that Stewart's campaign has decided to follow the same blueprint as former Congressman Lincoln Davis's campaign of 2010.  Too bad for Stewart that Davis got crushed in 2010.

I have an announcement: If Tennesseans want to vote for a conservative candidate, they will vote for a Republican.  Period.  End of story.  Blue Dogism died a fiery death in the 2010 elections and effectively ended any chance that a conservative Democrat will be elected for the next 20 or 30 years.

That effectively leaves moderates and liberals for Democrats to reach for votes.  This means that you talk about economics and point out how the GOP House members are keeping jobs from being created by not supporting the President's plans.  When you talk about social issues, unless you frame it to your advantage, you are playing the Republican's game and it is NOT a game any Democrat can win.  No more tribalism, people.

Which leads me to my last point regarding Stewart and his campaign.  In the Humphrey article, there was this little bombshell:

Stewart presents himself as a conservative on some issues. For example, the senator said he is opposed to same-sex marriage, noting Tennessee voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman."I stand with the voters of Tennessee," he said.

So, we have a Southern Democrat opposed to the concept of civil rights?  Welcome back to 1954.

So, you ask, how is he supposed to answer any questions about that?  How about this, for a start:

"Well, given that the voters of the state put in a constitutional amendment to ban it, what could I do about it? And let ME ask YOU something:  How many jobs does banning gay marriage create in this state?  How many?"

Then you let it drop.  People might not agree with you at first, but the seed will have been planted and some of those folks will start to actually THINK about it.  Then they will appreciate that YOU thought about it and didn't just give them some bullshit placation.

Stewart's comments, and the attitude behind them, even more than the incompetence at the TNDP, are the reason we find ourselves in such bad shape outside Memphis and Nashville.  I once championed Eric Stewart, but no more.  Thank heavens I have Steve Cohen.

Is any comment really necessary?

I swear, if he didn't look just like his daddy I would think he was adopted. How could this schmuck be the son of Harold Ford?

Bravo to Chris Matthews!

Go head, pick yourself up off the floor, I'll wait.

Ready? OK, to see what I'm talking abut, go over to Pesky's place and watch Tweety verbally disembowel a right-wing noise jockey from LA, you'll be glad you did, it's that good.

Dumb bastard didn't even know what appeasement meant....

I am telling you, that he may NOT be going!

New York cable news station NY1 indicates that Eliot Spitzer is considering WHETHER to resign as Governor of the Empire State. Whether????????????????????????????

Dude, you gotta go, and as quickly as possible so David Paterson can get the state rolling. You're not going to do time (unless it's WORSE than originally reported), you'll probably just pay a fine and be suspended from your law license.

You have to go, and sooner rather than later, you're not surviving this stupidity. And, you SHOULDN'T.

What a maroon!

Is there something about becoming an executive that causes you to lose your mind? What the hell was Eliot Spitzer thinking when he hooked up with hookers?

This was a man who just a short time ago was thought to be a potential Presidential candidate, now he looks like the biggest idiot in the Empire State. He'll be lucky to finish out his term...

Here we go again...

Yes, I know former Shelby County Commissioner Bruce Thompson (R-05) was indicted today on Mail Fraud and Extortion charges by a Federal Grand Jury looking into MCS construction contracts. Believe me, I'm not thrilled.

What's even worse is that outgoing School Board member and incoming City Councilor (04) Wanda Halbert appears to be right in the middle of all this, as she was alleged to be the recipient of campaign contributions that was to have enticed her to support H&M Construction's bid to build new schools for the City of Memphis. She denies ever receiving any of this money.

Halbert joined outgoing Councilor Tom Marshall, and former School Board members Sara Lewis and Hubon Sandridge in testifying before this Grand Jury, whose work is apparently not over.

How many black eyes can this city take? Damn, Detroit and New Orleans are starting to look CLEAN by comparison, and this is NUTS.

Let me say this clearly and distinctly: if you are in Politics to make money, GET THE FUCK OUT. NOW.

I say this knowing that a lot of (hell, MOST) public servants are underpaid; however, even so, you are NOT supposed to find creative ways to supplement your salary. If Thompson is found not guilty, I will apologize; hell, even werewolves are entitled to a full legal defense, as Hunter S. Thompson (no relation) once said. The anger comes from putting the City and the County in this horrible position.

I refuse to leave Memphis because I believe it's worth saving. However, I am becoming an ever-shrinking minority.

Look, PacMan, what part of STAY THE HELL OUT OF STRIP CLUBS don't you understand?

Titans' defensive back Adam "PacMan" Jones is in trouble yet again, as Atlanta and DeKalb County, GA police want to talk to him about an incident early this morning at a DeKalb County strip club.

One of PacMan's entourage apparently fired shots at another car as they were leaving the Moreland Avenue joint Club Blaze at 4:16 A.M.; there had been an argument at the club, and the Jones posse followed the other car out, and shots were fired back and forth.

No one was hurt, fortunately.  Officers on the scene said Jones was not involved, but they believe he knows who was involved from his group.

PacMan, do the letters CFL mean anything to you?  Because that's where you're going to wind up if you were involved with this crap; Goodell isn't playing, as he does not want the league to have the reputation of the NBA.  Forget coming back after 10 games; you might not get to come back EVER after this.

Seriously, dude, if you want ANY chance to come back to the League, cut your boys loose and send them home, and stay the hell out of the clubs.  You can have girls sent to your house, they have that sort of thing in Atlanta, I believe; that way, you don't hit the clubs and nothing bad happens.

Roger Goodell is going to take Thug Life out of the NFL; he doesn't want to lose viewers or sponsors, and PacMan, you had better pay attention or your only hope is to play for the BC Lions.