Blogging Blue

Back in June, I blogged about Deb Bartoshevich, a disgruntled supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton who chose to support Republican Sen. John McCain rather than support Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. As a result of her decision to support McCain, Bartoshevich was stripped of her status as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and it seemed that was the end of the story, until this week.

The McCain campaign unveiled a new ad starring Bartoshevich, who claims to be a “proud Hillary Clinton Democrat” who’s supporting Sen. McCain for president. What’s curious to me is Bartoshevich’s claim to be a “proud Hillary Clinton Democrat,” despite her statement earlier today that she no longer considers herself a Democrat:

Later in the news conference, Bartoshevich said she no longer considers herself a Democrat. Asked if she were a Republican, she said: “I am an independent.”

What I’d like to know is why Deb Bartoshevich ever considered herself a Democrat to begin with. Does she support a woman’s right to choose? Does she support healthcare for all Americans? Does she support an end to the conflict in Iraq? These are questions I’d love to ask Deb Bartoshevich, because I’d love to know if she’d answer yes to any of those questions. Moreover, if she would answer yes to any of those questions, then I’d love to know how she can support a candidate in John McCain who’s opposed to all those positions.

What’s more, I’d love to know if this is really just a matter of sour grapes because her candidate didn’t end up as the nominee.

So here’s my question…why was Deb a Democrat….does anyone know?

3 Comments »

My initial thought upon hearing of the selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s running mate was, “That’s a good choice.”

Sen. Biden brings a wealth of experience, both on foreign policy and domestic issues, but more than that, he’s personable. As much as I like Barack Obama, one of his shortcomings as a candidate seems to be his inability to connect with voters in more intimate settings like town hall meetings, and that personability is exactly what Joe Biden brings to the Democratic ticket. Additionally, I think Sen. Biden’s going to prove to be an effective “attack dog” for the Democratic ticket, something we didn’t see in the 2004 election with John “Mr. Nice Guy” Edwards. In fact, Biden took a few jabs at John McCain yesterday:

“Your kitchen table is like mine, you sit there at night after you put the kids to bed and you talk about what you need. That’s not a worry John McCain has to worry about. He’ll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at.”

Now sure, conservatives will no doubt attack the selection of Biden as Obama’s running mate; they’ll run footage of Biden criticizing Obama - indeed, they already have - but what Obama’s choice of Biden proves is that he doesn’t want to surround himself with “yes men.” And sure, conservatives will try and attack Obama for running a campaign of change while choosing a running mate who’s the consummate Washington insider, but they can’t have it both ways. This is the hypocrisy of so many on the right…on the one hand some conservatives attack Obama for being inexperienced, yet when he chooses a running mate to balance out his relative inexperience, he gets attacked for it.

It’s hypocrisy, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Mike Plaisted has more on Biden’s selection.

No Comments »

Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas.

I know it’s more likely to be Senator Joe Biden, but if the choice was between Biden and Edwards, I’d rather see Edwards get the nod.

4 Comments »

Asked in an interview on Wednesday how many houses he own, Sen. John McCain couldn’t answer, because apparently it’s really easy to lose track of how many homes you own when you can’t count them all on one hand:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

“I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.”

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.

Considering how hard Sen. McCain has tried to portray his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, as an elitest, I can’t help but think this is yet another in a long line of examples of Sen. McCain’s unabashed hypocrisy. For a guy who once rode a campaign bus called the “Straight Talk Express,” Sen. McCain sure does seem averse to giving Americans a little straight talk.

Here’s an ad from the Obama campaign about Sen. McCain’s many houses:

H/T to Dan Cody and Deke over at Caffeinated Politics.

6 Comments »

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne is suing Republican presidential nominee John McCain as well as the Ohio and national Republican committees in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The lawsuit came about after the Ohio GOP ran an ad using Browne’s song “Running on Empty” without his permission. Browne’s lawsuit claims the use of “Running on Empty” in the ad is an infringement of Browne’s copyright and will lead people to conclude he endorses McCain, and the suit says Browne is a lifelong liberal who is as well-known for his music as for being “an advocate for social and environmental justice.” Browne has donated thousands of dollars to Sen. Barack Obama over the course of several years.

Here’s the ad in question:

Republicans were quick to spin the lawsuit, with Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio party, calling the lawsuit a “big to-do about nothing.” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers also disavowed the ad, saying it wasn’t a product of the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign.

Here’s the point I find most interesting:

The suit notes that other musicians, including ABBA and John Cougar Mellencamp, have asked McCain to stop using their work.

What, the McCain campaign can’t find any respectable musicians that are willing to let them use some music for an ad? The fact that there’s been a pattern of copyright infringement on the part of the McCain campaign when it comes to their ads speaks volumes about the lengths Sen. McCain and his staff are willing to go to in order to get the good Senator elected president.

No Comments »