Blogging Blue

…because the ones you’re using are tired.

Case in point? These comments culled from some of the comments I’ve received in response to my blog entries.

First up are these comments from “Notalib” in this thread (emphasis mine):

it is great that we have organizations like this. We need to start returning America to a country of morals and values and as long as we allow progressives to run unchecked this country will continue to destroy what once was a great country.

Take a good long look at that comment, then compare it with this gem from “El Gato” in a completely different thread (emphasis mine):

Zach I knew you were a flaming phony liberal Democrat! You and your kind are going to be the ruin of a once great country. My only consolation is that while you ruin it for the good people, you will also have to bear the consequences. Need an example? The German people who cheered Hitler into power paid the price. That’s the case in every socialist country on record!

Seriously folks, it’s time to pull out some new talking points, and please try to be just a little bit original. It gets boring hearing the same tired talking points from conservatives, and it really makes me wonder if those folks who repeat these nearly identical talking points are able to form thoughts for themselves.

And just for the record, it isn’t liberals and “our kind” who’ve ruined what was once a great nation; I’d argue our nation was ruined by over a decade of Republican control of the House and Senate, combined with a Republican in the White House. Further, I’d argue that the U.S. is still a great nation, as opposed to being “once great.”

Found in my emailbox today:

Glen Brower joins the other 92 Democrats across the state running for the State Assembly. That’s 92 out of 99!!

Help him get the campaign started. Here at the details of the kick-off party:

Date: Thursday, June 26, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Johnny’ Mo’s
Street: 1301 Milwaukee Ave.
City/Town: South Milwaukee, WI

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Glen Brower is the progressive candidate running to unseat Rep. Mark Honadel, the incumbent in the 21st Assembly District. So if you’re in the neighborhood, stop in at Johnny Mo’s and show your support for Glen’s campaign!

As first reported by Lisa Kaiser from Express Milwaukee, former Wisconsin State Senator Tom Reynolds - the same Tom Reynolds who was allegedly fond of asking his staffers if they were virgins - has ventured back onto the political scene here in Southeastern Wisconsin as the brains behind Clean Sweep Wisconsin, a political action committee with a stated goal of electing “NEW people to state offices to make our government accountable and work for the people again, instead of the special interests…

Throughout its web page, Clean Sweep talks a lot about finding candidates to run against incumbents from BOTH political parties, yet a quick glance at the PAC’s platform makes it clear that Clean Sweep Wisconsin is really looking for conservative candidates. Here’s Clean Sweep’s platform:

• HEALTHCARE - Reestablishing consumerism in health care by expanding the use of high deductible policies with matching health savings accounts.
• K-12 EDUCATION - Putting parents back in control of education by implementing an educational tax credit for parents to use at either public or private schools.
• COLLEGE EDUCATION - Capping tuition increases, streamlining courses and credit transfers between technical, 2yr. and 4yr. colleges, creating a tax credit on income used to repay college loans.
• TAXES, FEES & REGULATIONS - Halting all increases of taxes and fees, begin a moratorium on new laws interfering in the lives of Wisconsin citizens and Wisconsin businesses.
• IMMIGRATION - No more free welfare for illegal aliens.

Not exactly an agenda that appeals to liberals or progressives, is it?

In a recorded phone message, Reynolds said he recruited primary challengers for Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, and was trying to find more.

“In Milwaukee here, we are working on a full slate of 12 candidates — eight on the north side and four on the south side — and we are at eight or nine candidates right now,” Reynolds said in the message.

Now let’s recap:

• Conservative platform? CHECK!

• Candidates recruited to run against only Democratic incumbents? CHECK!
• PAC organized by ultra-conservative, highly partisan former Republican State Senator? CHECK!

Call me a cynic, but something tells me Clean Sweep Wisconsin isn’t as bipartisan as it would like to seem.

What’s your definition of a riot?

I know my definition includes any of the following:

• Bottles or other hard objects being thrown
• Police in riot gear using tear gas or other crowd control measures
• Fires being set and looting occurring

However, according to the folks over at the Daily Scoff, this is what constitutes a riot:

Now call me crazy, but I don’t consider that a riot. Now this is a riot:

Like I said, call me crazy, but I don’t see how the first picture could even remotely be construed as being a “riot.”

Seriously, this guy’s like the gift that keeps on giving. Now you might be wondering, “Who exactly is Charlie Black, and why’s he like the gift that keeps giving?” That’s a fair question, and here’s one answer:

Charlie Black is one of the chief campaign advisers for Republican Party Presidential candidate John McCain, and for many years he also did a lot of lobbying work for BKSH & Associates. Most recently he served as Chairman of BKSH, and among his clients were some of the world’s worst dictators: mass murderers, terrorists, and tyrants. Black has previously defended working for dictators including Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire, insisting that he never worked for foreign clients “without first talking to the State Department and the White House and clearing with them that the work would be in the interest of U.S. foreign policy.” In addition to his work representing dictators, Charlie Black has also been busy lobbying on behalf of big businesses such as AT&T and JP Morgan, and he’s also alleged to have continued his lobbying work even after he started working for the McCain campaign. And hey, did I mention Charlie also did a little work for a firm for a company with ties to Iran? Considering John McCain’s stated position on Iran - if “Bomb, bomb, bomb…bomb Iran” can be considered foreign policy - then this could pose a problem for the McCain campaign.

So that’s a little background on Charlie Black, and here’s a few the best quotes from the Charlie Black quote machine™:

“Certainly it would be a big advantage to him.”
– Charlie Black on the impact of a terrorist attack on US soil during the campaign on John McCain’s candidacy [Fortune, 6/23/08]

“In terms of being able to distort or mislead people, you’re never running in the clear. … Back in the 1970’s, you could say all kinds of outrageous things. Now, in almost any state you go into, you’ve got
at least one, maybe four or five state newspapers that will call your hand. Some of these state capital press corps are tougher than the national guys.” Charlie Black [Washington Post, 1/17/89]

“I’ve got access to just about anybody in the government.”
– Charlie Black [Washington Post, 8/12/89]

“I don’t see a problem in the world with it. … People are entitled to exercise their First Amendment right to work in any particular campaign they want.”
– Charlie Black, on the “revolving door” between lobbying and government [Washington Post, 10/8/92]

“Doggett got the endorsement of the big gay PAC in San Antonio. That wasn’t unusual, but then we got onto the fact that the gays had a male strip show at some bar and Doggett takes that money. That became a matter of his judgment, so we rolled it out there.”
– Charlie Black on his role during Phil Gramm’s campaign against Democrat Lloyd Doggett [Washington Post, 4/7/85]

Charlie Black truly is the gift that keeps on giving, and here’s to hoping he continues to put his foot firmly in his big mouth as the presidential campaign wears on.

H/T to Cory at One Wisconsin Now.