With a tip of the cap to Steve Benen at the Maddow Blog, the President goes all Jeff Foxworthy on Romney:
Friday, October 19, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
SCDP, Drinking Liberally Co-Host Debate Watch Party at Dublin House
The Shelby County Democratic Party will be hosting a debate watch party at the Dublin House 2021 Madison Ave in Midtown Memphis. We are excited to co-host with Drinking Liberally, who will be providing appetizers for the crowd to munch on!
The party gets started at 7PM, with trivia starting at 7:30PM and the debate at 8PM. Obama gear will be on sale and we are excited to sign new people up for our membership drive. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Liz Rincon at 901.413.6983 or Jake Brown at 901.603.0984.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
SPECIAL EVENT THIS WEEK AT DRINKING LIBERALLY!
Drinking Liberally Memphis and the Shelby County Democrats are co-hosting a DEBATE WATCH PARTY at Dublin House, 2021 Madison Avenue, this Thursday night from 7:30 until 9:30 P.M. Come on out and join us for food, fun and the VP debate between Joe Biden and the Randroid, Paul Ryan!
We hope to see you there!
Friday, October 05, 2012
I truly don't know what to say here
Except, who on Earth convinced the Doc that this was a good idea? I appreciate the $$$ that Al and DJ Paul are making from this (at least, I HOPE they are), but this is nothing but STRAIGHT OUT WACK:
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
A few musings about the election
I keep wondering why on earth the Romney campaign keeps trying to run to their base to win this election when the economy is down (albeit moving slowly back upwards). The non-story yesterday on the "shocking video" that Fox News ran turned out to be a YouTube video from 2007 that no one cared about in 2008, so what's the big deal?
Then, I realized that Romney, with 5 weeks to go before the election, has yet to solidify his base. If you're at this point in an election cycle and you've not done this yet, you are cooked. They can't get swing voters because they aren't sure if the base will show up yet.
While their base (which is shrinking to be the extremely wealthy and those rural voters who can't accept even a HALF-black President) dislikes President Obama, the non-wealthy part of that base is not happy with Romney either. First, he is as unlikeable a nominee as we have seen, out of touch with people who don't possess the type of wealth he inherited and extracted from others.
Secondly, and most importantly, we overlook something that will absolutely hurt Romney among his rural and conservative Christian base: his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons. For me, I could care less, his stands on the issues (when he stands at ALL, that is) disqualified Willard a long time ago. This is the subject that no one wants to talk about in the mainstream media, but that's also why the GOP is desperately begging their base to vote for a man no one likes.
For conservative Christians in rural areas, a huge number of them believe, rightly or wrongly, that Mormonism is a cult. They are simply not going to vote for a Mormon for President, especially not one that they know in their hearts helped bring down the economy. No, they aren't going to vote for the President, but they will either vote for, let's say, the Constitution Party candidate or other minor-party candidate, or they will skip that race altogether, figuring they will wait four years for the President to leave office on his own.
Now, let's face it, I agree more with Green presidential candidate Jill Stein than I do President Obama, but so what? There is no Green Party structure to elect Congressional candidates (because they refuse to get involved in LOCAL issues, which is how the right-wing built THEIR infrastructure), so what good would it do even in the highly unlikely event that she won? When the Green Party gets serious about the electoral process, I will get serious about them. Even Noam Chomsky says that if you live in a swing state, you HAVE to vote to re-elect the President. That's why, even though it won't be as intense as four years ago, most of the President's base has come together to re-elect him.
This is not to suggest that I am not pissed about Geithner and Summers protecting Wall Street, and that the drone strikes continue to hurt us in the Middle East, I am. However, the threat, not only to America, but the entire PLANET, of a Mitt Romney victory, compels me to vote to re-elect the President.
Besides, don't you want to see Brit Hume and Sean Hannity weep and gnash their teeth on Election Night? I know I do.
Then, I realized that Romney, with 5 weeks to go before the election, has yet to solidify his base. If you're at this point in an election cycle and you've not done this yet, you are cooked. They can't get swing voters because they aren't sure if the base will show up yet.
While their base (which is shrinking to be the extremely wealthy and those rural voters who can't accept even a HALF-black President) dislikes President Obama, the non-wealthy part of that base is not happy with Romney either. First, he is as unlikeable a nominee as we have seen, out of touch with people who don't possess the type of wealth he inherited and extracted from others.
Secondly, and most importantly, we overlook something that will absolutely hurt Romney among his rural and conservative Christian base: his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons. For me, I could care less, his stands on the issues (when he stands at ALL, that is) disqualified Willard a long time ago. This is the subject that no one wants to talk about in the mainstream media, but that's also why the GOP is desperately begging their base to vote for a man no one likes.
For conservative Christians in rural areas, a huge number of them believe, rightly or wrongly, that Mormonism is a cult. They are simply not going to vote for a Mormon for President, especially not one that they know in their hearts helped bring down the economy. No, they aren't going to vote for the President, but they will either vote for, let's say, the Constitution Party candidate or other minor-party candidate, or they will skip that race altogether, figuring they will wait four years for the President to leave office on his own.
Now, let's face it, I agree more with Green presidential candidate Jill Stein than I do President Obama, but so what? There is no Green Party structure to elect Congressional candidates (because they refuse to get involved in LOCAL issues, which is how the right-wing built THEIR infrastructure), so what good would it do even in the highly unlikely event that she won? When the Green Party gets serious about the electoral process, I will get serious about them. Even Noam Chomsky says that if you live in a swing state, you HAVE to vote to re-elect the President. That's why, even though it won't be as intense as four years ago, most of the President's base has come together to re-elect him.
This is not to suggest that I am not pissed about Geithner and Summers protecting Wall Street, and that the drone strikes continue to hurt us in the Middle East, I am. However, the threat, not only to America, but the entire PLANET, of a Mitt Romney victory, compels me to vote to re-elect the President.
Besides, don't you want to see Brit Hume and Sean Hannity weep and gnash their teeth on Election Night? I know I do.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
This was a 99% of which I DIDN'T want to be a part
This story started about a year ago, when I started having pains right down my center when I walked from my car to my office. I mentioned it to my regular doctor and she seemed to think that it was an inflammation of my trachea, and it was only happening during the colder months.
Then it began to happen whenever I walked in and then I started having pains in my underarm. So, about 3 weeks ago, I went for my diabetes checkup (did well, by the way, an improvement from 6.7 down to 6.4) I saw a different doctor who helps out now at their practice. I mentioned it to him and he immediately scheduled a stress test for me.
A week later, I went to Methodist University Hospital, got the stress test done, and since they didn't haul me off right then to the Cath lab, I figured I had done well. Well, a week ago this past Friday, my regular doctor called me to say I had flunked the stress test and that I needed a heart cath to find out what was wrong.
Susan and I met with the cardiologist, Dr. Pranab Das, this past Friday, and they did an EKG, scheduling the cath at Methodist University Hospital for Tuesday. I have to say, Dr. Das is amazing, calmly explaining everything and making sure you remain as calm as he is. We were both impressed with him; if you use Methodist for healthcare and you need a cardiologist, this is the guy you need to see.
He explained that the cath would show any problems, and if there were no arteries with blockage of 70% or better, all that would be done would be to give me medicine. Above that, a stent could be put in or, worst-case scenario, bypass surgery, which would be done then.
We showed up at 11 AM on Tuesday, they got me in to a Same-Day Surgery room, and Susan's Aunt Barbara arrived to sit with Susan during my procedure. At 2 PM, I went to the Cath room. As Dr. Das had told me, they would use an artery in my wrist and not through the femoral artery in the groin, so I was given Lorezepam as a sedative, which sedated me but did not knock me out. Yes, I was awake for all of this!
About halfway through, Dr. Das stopped to tell me that my main artery was 99% blocked (he would tell Susan, but not me, that if we hadn't caught this, I would have had a major heart attack within a month). He would need to put in a stent and I said, "so I'm staying overnight then?" and he confirmed that.
I have to tell you, it kind of hurt, but it saved my life, and it was the strangest feeling in the world to feel a balloon expanding inside my heart. He put in the stent, got finished and I went to recovery for three hours, then back to my room where Susan was waiting for me. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life as I was to see Susan. I was too dumb to be scared, so she was scared for me, I think.
She told everyone how it went, and I made a few calls myself. I am off work until Monday, but I am still going to a wedding Saturday for two friends who are perfect for each other, and I need to see that.
I will get back to writing next week, as I am trying to keep the outrage down. Besides, every time Mitt opens his mouth, The President goes up 5 more points in the polls.
I am very fortunate to have you as readers and friends, fortunate to have Dr. Das as my cardiologist, and most fortunate to have Susan, without whom I would not have thought to have this checked out. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I would not be here without her.
See you in a few days!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Well, it is a START!
With a doff of the chapeau to Brandon, it appears that Eric Stewart will in fact vote for Barack Obama for President, per the Dean's latest article.
Own, be proud of it, and work with it, Eric. Now if you can just stop using other GOP memes, you might be onto something.
UPDATE: Remember how I complained about Stewart's tactics on the debate? OOPS. Looks like it may have worked after all:
Own, be proud of it, and work with it, Eric. Now if you can just stop using other GOP memes, you might be onto something.
UPDATE: Remember how I complained about Stewart's tactics on the debate? OOPS. Looks like it may have worked after all:
Scott DeJarlais (R) says "I wouldn't be surprised if there is a debate" with challenger Eric Stewart (D). He has declined debates so far.
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:
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Wow, just wow.
When I arrived at KWAM studios this morning, Cheri Delbrocco told me that this blog was listed as a must=read blog by Memphis Magazine's 2012 City Guide, and I have checked and found this to be true, it's in the back of the book. I had no idea, and I am stunned.
On behalf of Jon, Auto and myself, I want to send them a heartfelt thank-you. We do our damndest to provide opinions and coverage of state and local Democratic politics here, and this means a lot.
Again, our thanks.
Steve
On behalf of Jon, Auto and myself, I want to send them a heartfelt thank-you. We do our damndest to provide opinions and coverage of state and local Democratic politics here, and this means a lot.
Again, our thanks.
Steve
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
LWC Media Alert - Eyes on Memphis Wednesday morning from 8-9 AM
Yes, your not-so-humble Cracker has been invited to join Lexie Carter and Cheri Delbrocco tomorrow morning on AM 990, KWAM for their weekly show, Eyes on Memphis from 8-9 A.M. We will be talking about Romney's selection of Paul Ryan for VP and other notable political happenings.
What, you can't get to an AM radio at that time? What about your computer? The show will be streamed here, so please find a way to listen in, and call if you want to! Yeah, I might be groggy, but that's why they make coffee. Come join us and hang out tomorrow morning!
What, you can't get to an AM radio at that time? What about your computer? The show will be streamed here, so please find a way to listen in, and call if you want to! Yeah, I might be groggy, but that's why they make coffee. Come join us and hang out tomorrow morning!
SCDP Fundraiser "Moving Equality Forward"
From Elizabeth Rincon:
Date: Aug 18, 2012
Location: The home of John and Linda Sowell 2815 Lombardy (Chickasaw Gardens)
Time: 6-9PM
Central BBQ will be catering as well as beer and wine served. Silent Auction and other amazing door prizes! Come join us and support Marriage Equality and a more progressive Shelby County!
Suggested donation: $50.00/person $75.00/couple
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Liz Rincon at 901.413.6983
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