Blogging Blue

EXODUS 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

As a Catholic, I’ve often thought blasphemy to be a nasty business, and I’ve blogged a little bit about the predilection some folks on the right, like James “Hip Musings” Harris, for referring to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as the “Obamessiah” and the “Chocolate Jesus,” but Peter DiGaudio of Texas Hold ‘Em Blogger has taken his personal blasphemy in regards to Barack Obama to a whole new level.

Now I don’t proclaim to be the most devout Catholic on the face of planet Earth, but it seems to me there are some lines that just shouldn’t be crossed, and referring to Barack Obama - or any other political candidate or public figure - as “Chocolate Jesus” or “The Anointed One” is definitely a line I wouldn’t cross, but apparently folks like James T. Harris and Peter DiGaudio aren’t as concerned as I am about the implications of being a serial blasphemer.

That’s according to the campaign of Glen Brower, a candidate for Assembly in the 21st District. Public finance reports show incumbent Rep. Mark Honadel raised $18,222.74 for the month of June, while Glen Brower’s campaign reports raising $20,000. I’ve not been able to nail down a more precise number on exactly how much Brower raised in June, but I’ve been assured it’s over $20,000. The fact that Glen Brower has raised more than the incumbent in this race can’t be seen as a good sign for Rep. Honadel, and if Brower can continue to outraise Rep. Honadel, this will end up being a very interesting race.

Well, it is if you listen to Mike Duncan, the chairman of the Republican National Committee. During a visit to the Republican Victory ‘08 headquarters in West Allis, Duncan said, “I think Wisconsin is definitely in play for us.” Now I know it’s Duncan’s job to rally the Republican troops on behalf of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, but given recent polls showing Barack Obama with an eleven point lead in Wisconsin Presidential polls, with Obama at 50% to McCain’s 39%.

Now sure, there’s still a lot of time until the election, and anything can happen, but these poll numbers, combined with John McCain’s propensity for flip-flopping and continued gaffes, can’t bode well for his chances of closing the gap and ultimately winning Wisconsin’s electoral votes in November.

I know I’ve spent a lot of time in the past week talking about the idiocy of Michael Savage, and while I had hoped to be able to move on, I’ve got a little bit of good news to report. WINA, a radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia, has pulled the Michael Savage show from its station. In a statement released on the station’s web site, it said:

“We also understand that sometimes people make mistakes,” the statement said. “However, Michael Savage has shown no remorse and offered no apologies for his factless tirade and has, in fact, tried to justify his insensitive remarks. Our mission at WINA has always been to offer the best possible and most stimulating talk for Charlottesville. It is clear that Michael Savage no longer fits with our, or your, high standards.”

It’s good to see a radio station take a stand against the kinds of comments we’ve heard from Michael Savage, and it’s just real a shame 620 WTMJ and Program Manager Tom Parker couldn’t be bothered to do the right thing as well.

There’s been a lot of speculation in the media recently that Republican nominee John McCain is poised to pick his running mate, perhaps as early as this week, and while the speculation may be just that, I just wanted to take a minute to make my prediction. My pick as John McCain’s running mate is Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota.

In the interest of being totally honest, my first inclination would have been to predict Louisian Governor Bobby Jindal being McCain’s choice, but given Jindal’s statement that he would not accept the position if offered, Governor Pawlenty would be my obvious next choice.