It occurred to me today that the reign of King George is almost over (202 days left to be exact) and we will soon have a Democratic president. Republicans are excellent politicians because they tend to back their opponents into corners with ridiculous accusations (“Obama is a secret Muslim!”, “John Kerry hates America’s veterans!”) or unrelenting investigations into irrelevant bullshit (i.e. the Clinton impeachment, Obama’s Rev. Wright fiasco). Democrats, on the other hand, spend much of their campaigns defending themselves from Republican talking points & in the end, the only thing the public remembers is the slanderous bullshit coming from the Right. Obama has been quite successful in his efforts to avoid this kind of defensive politicking, but the mainstream media outlets have tried their best to keep Republican talking points on the minds of voters by dissecting the “anger” of various voting blocks, reporting on minor faux pas made by the Obama camp, and avoiding discussion of the candidate’s platforms at all costs. It’s pretty clear that Obama won’t win this election without a fight even if he is clearly the better candidate. It seems to me that the best way to achieve success in November is to adopt the aggressive Republican style of politics & use it to our advantage. For example, the fact that John McCain is a member of the Republican Party should be enough to kill his chances at the White House. The sheer stupidity and callousness that has been exhibited by the party leadership during the Bush Administration has given us plenty of ammunition! So far, McCain’s camp has brought up Obama’s fleeting relationship with William Ayers (of Weather Underground fame) and the controversial Rev. Wright as reasons to distrust his candidacy. The obvious retort to such silly bullshit is to recall McCain’s very public relationships with the Worst Case Scenario President and the GOP! I need not remind you of all the crap the Grand Ole Party has presented us with recently, but I will bring up one of the best (and most useful) fuck ups that can be used to discredit McCain by using the same Guilt By Association techniques his party perfected.
Jack Abramoff & Co. fuck over Native Americans in one of the best political scandals since Iran-Contra: I am still baffled by how the Justice Department managed to charge so many high ranking Republicans even though they had a political ally in the White House. Kinda’ makes me wonder just how deep the rabbit hole really goes, y’know? Anyhow, here’s the plot: Abramoff used to be a lobbyist for two of the industries biggest Washington firms & served on Bush’s 2001 Transition Advisory Team (making him a homie of the Administration from the beginning, with intimate knowledge of Who’s Who in Bush’s White House). On January 3, 2006, Abramoff pled guilty to three criminal felony charges (conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion) in Washington, DC, followed the very next day by his guilty plea to two other criminal felony charges (conspiracy, honest services fraud, and tax evasion) in a Miami court. All hell broke loose with his guilty plea & an extensive corruption investigation resulted in the conviction of two White House staffers, a Congressman (Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio), various political aides, and multiple lobbyists. Scores of politicians were tainted by their questionable dealings with Abramoff, including the former U.S. Representitive from my district, Richard Pombo. Basically what Jack Abramoff did was he dished out bribes left & right, in exchange for political favors that benefited his lobbying clients. He attempted to punk his Indian tribe clients by demanding an estimated $85 million in lobbying fees and when they refused to pay, he orchestrated the lobbying efforts against his own clients! Meanwhile, he pocketed millions of dollars without paying the taxes due on the income. Bribes from Abramoff weren’t like free lunches or home made cookies. He sent former Republican Congressmen Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and Tom Feeney on golfing trips to Scotland. He had four sky boxes at major sports arenas that he made available to politicians for personal use or fundraising events. He doled out tickets to football & baseball games, VIP passes to music concerts, and provided expensive meals & gifts to any politician willing to be bought. SO, WHAT IS THE MCCAIN CONNECTION? John McCain was the chair of the Indian Affairs Committee during Abramoff’s era. He should have picked up on the Congressmen that were overly eager to finance Indian casinos promoted by Abramoff, but he didn’t. As the committee chair, he had access to an e-mail that clearly outlined the bribery agreement between Alabama Governor Bob Riley and Abramoff, but McCain withheld the e-mail from his final report on the Abramoff scandal. So, McCain wilfully protected a corrupt politician from a Congressional investigation AND proved he was incapable of overseeing a Senate committee. Seems to me that heading up a committee is a lot easier than overseeing the entire country!
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