Political Fraud: Selling America a Bill of Goods

It’s beginning to sound more and more like a Palin vs. Obama Presidential race.  My biggest fear is that conservative and independent voters around the country will wake up on November 5 and find out, much to their surprise, that it’s John McCain that won the office of President of the United States and only then will they wake from their stupor and see, and regret the silliness of what they’ve accomplished.

Talk about a bill of goods.  The sales pitch that the Republican supporters swallowed hook, line and sinker is something to behold.

The Democrats used their meeting to tell a richer, more expansive national story, one more or less in tune with the party’s platform and aspirations. In contrast, as we go to press, the Republicans are staging an elaborate fraud, the purpose of which is to divert the public’s attention from their disastrous mismanagement of government and to deceive voters about their agenda. Rick Davis, John McCain’s campaign manager, admitted as much when he said, “This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.” (The Nation Editorial Board – 8/3/08)

They are once again getting snookered by the pandering politicos who run the radical right.  Evangelicals, ever the willing suckers, are getting sucked in yet again.  Same thing with rednecks, soccer moms, and erstwhile social conservatives of all stripes.  “Join us again, [wink, wink].  We’ll string you along for another four years!”

I know that America is a nation of consumers and so should be a little more cautious about these kinds of advertising and aggressive sales pitches.  This time, it seems as though simple brand loyalty has kicked into high gear and the whole Party has bought into the sales pitch and is now shouting together in unison this fantastic, unbelievably bloated, false, and expansive advertising campaign.

The upshot here is that nothing short of a divine thunderbolt will get through to these people. They were wrong about Vietnam, wrong about Reagan, wrong about Clinton, wrong about Gore, wrong about Bush, wrong about Iraq, wrong about McCain, wrong about Obama, wrong about everything important to the political life of the country. And they were not only wrong; they were, and remain, proud of being wrong. Remember Richard Cohen on Iraq? “You and your kind were wrong to be right; we were right to be wrong,” he said. (Cohen–who, coincidentally, was also wrong about Clinton, Gore, Bush, Iraq, McCain and Obama–was quoting a French ex-Stalinist approvingly in that statement, thereby laying bare the similarities among power-worshiping courtiers across time, space and ideology.) (Eric Alterman – The Times, They Have A-Changed – The Nation 9/22/08)

Are there any educated consumers left?  Do these Republicans understand the damage they are doing to the country?  Have they no shame?  Don’t they understand that they are promoting a bombastic, wily, calculated, devious, overblown, scheming, empty shell of pseudo-conservatism wrapped in a sheen of falsehood and innuendo?

It’s the masters of spin. Spin the news, turn truth on it’s ear.  Tell tall tales with wide-eyed fascination and call it truth.  The tales and falsehoods are brazenly  apparent and the Republicans are joyously and enthusiastically lying their fool heads off. It doesn’t matter if it’s national TV or the local newspaper.  Lies, repeated endlessly, sell.  Just ask a used car salesman.  Have Americans ever bought a used car that the salesman REALLY wanted to sell?

Is anyone thinking of the United States of America? The Palin “bubble” is the conservative base getting excited about the return to the “Culture War.” Social conservatives have suddenly found their “feminist” side?  The word “sexist” has now been added to their arsenal of rhetorical bludgeons? This does the country any good?

The governor was aggressively marketed in terms of her maternity, yet questions about how she managed to mother five and lead the state were dismissed as sexist. The governor’s two years leading Alaska, which in terms of citizens served is the equivalent of being mayor of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was said to be the linchpin of her appointment, but questions about her breadth of experience were dismissed as sexist. Her surrogates wanted the press to write about mooseburgers and ignore how the governor had once pursued the kind of earmarked federal funds she now insists are anathema to her. Conservatives have probably used the word “sexist” more in the past week than they have in the past 50 years. (Anna Quindlen, “Can You Say ‘Sexist’? – Newsweek, 9/15/08)

“Drill Baby Drill” is all about Oil company profit NOT the welfare of the people.  What is good about this for Americans?

…the dirtiest little secret in this dirty game is that Big Oil doesn’t really want more crude coming to market. Oh, it does want the ANWR and offshore leases, because it wants to lock up and stockpile every last acre of public oil property before Bush-Cheney exit, stage right. But the Big Five (Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, Conoco Phillips, BP, and Shell) are siphoning enormous profits from our pockets by keeping supplies tight.



The Big Five control 55% of the U.S. gasoline market, and the top 10 control 81% of the market. It’s in their self-interest to use their monopolistic grip to squeeze the supply line, which means squeezing you and me. When Exxon Mobil says it is eagerly searching for more deposits, it is talking about bank deposits, not oil.

Some focus on McCain the “War Hero.” Wouldn’t it be smarter to see if his “message” could at least be deciphered in a coherent way?

I should note that there’s nothing offensive about a political figure changing his or her mind once in a while. Policy makers come to one conclusion, they gain more information, and then they reach a different conclusion. That is, to be sure, a good thing – it reflects a politician with an open mind and a healthy intellectual curiosity. Better to have a leader who changes his or her mind based on new information than one who stubbornly sticks to outmoded policy positions, regardless of facts or circumstances.

So why do McCain’s flip-flops matter? Because all available evidence suggests his reversals aren’t sincere, they’re cynically calculated for political gain. This isn’t indicative of an open mind; it’s actually indicative of a character flaw. And given the premise of McCain’s presidential campaign, it’s an area in desperate need of scrutiny. (Steve Benin – The Carpetbagger Report)

Wouldn’t it good for Americans to be able to trust this man’s honor and dignity?   Wouldn’t it be good to know how this translates into real policies that will improve the lives of Americans? How is this tale of pandering and rhetorical gymnastics helping Americans improve their lives?

McCain has been mesmerized and overshadowed completely by the dazzling Ms. Palin! He’s sold himself completely to the radical base of his party. He is deliberately confusing us, lying to us, and bringing only disgrace to himself and his Party.   Who is John McCain?  Does he ever speak for himself anymore?  How is this good for America? Sarah Palin is NOT running for President!  WAKE UP AMERICA!

2 comments

    • Edger on September 15, 2008 at 18:24

    He’s blown his load, and Palin can go suck a soccer ball.

    McCain got his bounce but when he lands it will be with a splat, and he’ll need prostheses to walk away from it.

    On October 02 Joe Biden will make Sarah Palin look like a good student, but no more then that. A student a few years away from graduation yet.

    Democrats resurge as Obama becomes $66-million man

    …Democrats released a breathtaking number yesterday: $66-million (U.S.).

    That’s how much Barack Obama’s supporters donated in August. No politician, not even Mr. Obama himself, has ever come close to raising that kind of money in one month. In August, 500,000 new donors joined the two million who already have contributed to the presidential nominee’s campaign.

    Republican nominee John McCain raised $47-million (U.S.) during the same period – by far his most successful effort. But because he has accepted public financing for his campaign, Mr. McCain is prohibited from spending more than $84-million (U.S.) during this fall election season.

    Why does this matter? For two reasons: First, it suggests that Mr. Obama will be able to outspend Mr. McCain by something approaching two to one over the coming weeks.

    Second, it reminds us that the fundamentals in this election continue to favour the Democrats, despite the euphoric frenzy among social conservatives over Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

    [snip…]

    A Des Moines Register poll has Mr. Obama ahead of Mr. McCain in Iowa 52 per cent to 40 per cent – an impressive lead in a state that went narrowly Republican in 2004 and narrowly Democrat in 2000.

    Iowa’s seven electoral college votes will hardly deliver victory to either side.

    But it does suggest that Mr. Obama’s strategy of targeting swing states by flooding them with field workers, advertising and voter-registration drives is having an effect.

    Assume – and yes, it is a debatable assumption – that the Palin Effect is at its zenith, that the Republicans cannot expect a further strengthening in the polls simply by virtue of her presence on the ticket.

    If so, then Mr. McCain has established something like a two-percentage-point lead over Mr. Obama, according to the RealClearPolitics compendium of polls. But Mr. Obama is still holding onto a narrow two-point lead in the key toss-up states of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

    Further, Mr. Obama is leading in three states that went Republican in 2004: Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico. Mr. McCain is leading in no state that went Democratic in 2004. So if an election were held tomorrow, and the polls are accurate, the Democrats would flip three states and win the White House, even though the Republicans would win the national popular vote – the 2000 result, reversed.

    But, of course, the election is still seven weeks away. And during those seven weeks, the fundamentals should continue to favour Mr. Obama.

    With their nearly two-to-one fundraising advantage, the Democrats will continue to out-organize and out-advertise the Republicans. It would be perverse if that advantage showed no results.

    [snip…]

    Unless the Republicans do succeed, miraculously, in convincing the electorate that the real issue is kindergarten sex ed.

    Kindergarten may be where the republican base lives, but they can whine and cry all they want.

    The adults are taking over.

  1. most absurd thing on TV. The markets are melting down, insane floods are occurring due to climate change and CNN switches to a McCain town hall where he is telling people that the economy is fundamentally good and that the reason this election is so slimy is because Obama won’t go on tour with him to town halls! Idiocrazy in action. When you watch the real world and hear the candidates address the ‘issues’ it boggles the mind.  

    If McCain wins this this country is too stupid to exist. Candidate Not Sure better start addressing reality, the real one, the one we see with our lying eyes, and lose this bipartisan honorable line. Crops do not crave electrolytes and idiots who cannot fathom reality should not be pandered to in the name of unity. We need someone who will speak out and start talking issues real ones, with solutions that are not just variations on the same theme. One bills himself as a Maverick and the other refuses to step outside the centrist role and fight with the truth.    

    Change you can believe in requires talking about the reality we live in not the made up one where crooks and killers are honorable, and black is white. Centrist won’t cut it when the reality of the situation is this crazy and our government offers Drill Baby Drill and we all march to Free Market is good. Bubbles and values are not edible. So talk some real Turkey Obama!      

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