Hillary Wins

This week's testimony by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sums up everything that is out of touch with the Republican Party.

To better understand what is going on and why Hillary's presence was so demanded by Republicans you have to step back from reality for a moment and enter into a make-believe world where everything is a conspiracy.  Truly that is why Republicans think Benghazi is so important.

They believe the administration convened a huge cover up about the events of the attack on the American embassy that left 4 dead.  They believe the administration was negligent by ignoring intelligence warnings leading up to the attack; and that the administration tried to downplay the attack by claiming it was just a random protest turned violent.  For this, the GOP and Fox News viewers think Hillary should be fired, Obama should be impeached and we should immediately start governing the way Republicans want or face annihilation.

But history, factual history, paints a very different story of what is really prompting the GOP to appear to care.

Now what possibly could cause Republicans not to care when over 30 people were killed at American embassies and consulates over a 6-year period?  Oh that's right, George W. Bush was the Decider and everything was perfect in the world. Republicans were governing as fiscal conservatives by running up a trillion dollar deficit and doubling the federal debt.  They were busy trying to privatize Social Security, growing government to huge levels and bailing out mega-wealthy CEO's with trillions in tax payer money.

But now that those good ol' days are gone, they want everyone to believe they care.  And their Fox News minions and Facebook conspiracy theorists are more than happy to go along with the charade.

Republican Conspiracy Refresher

Since the election I've mainly focused my conspiracy theory attention to myths on how the GOP lost the election.  Those are the most fun for me.  Republicans lose big time in an election they predicted was an easier cake walk than invading Iraq and both turned out just about the same for them.  Doesn't get any better for those of us in the reality-based community.

Because of this, I missed out on Republican conspiracies floating around about Hillary Clinton and her intentional fainting spell so she could get out of testifying about her huge cover up on Benghazi.  A little fainting doesn't fool anyone, so Mrs. Clinton had to come up with something bigger to avoid Rep. Issa and his truth-finding committee.  So how about a blood clot in the head?  Nope, she's not fooling anyone.

God-forbidden, if Hillary were to become very ill and pass away due to her sickness, these total idiots would no doubt believe she faked her own death to avoid testifying to their witch hunt committee.  They're insane, and sadly, they are a major political party that shares legislative power in America.

2016, WTF?

I suppose if I must make a comment about 2016 I'll go on record as saying this:

Anyone talking about 2016 right now is stupid.  The problems we face in this country right now are immediate, real and should not be clouded by media talk of an event over 4 yeas away.  It's dumb.

Hillary will be almost 70. Too old. I'm thinking Mario Cuomo should be given more attention for 2016 than what he's getting. But he's old as heck too. On the GOP side, I have no clue. They would be idiots to nominate Jeb Bush. So that's probably would they'll do.

Obama - Clinton

I have no idea if Team Obama is going to replace his current running mate with Hillary Clinton or not.  But like almost everyone else, I agree doing so puts his reelection chances at about 90%.  I'm all for an Obama/Clinton ticket.  Having her on the campaign trail is about as good as it gets.

Quickies

• Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's call for all Americans to be held at gunpoint and told America should be governed by Biblical law was edited out of the version posted on the Republican United in Purpose website. Hummmm...it's just like it he never said it...

• Biden's announcement yesterday that a deal is in the works to cut $33 billion from the federal budget is going to have a hard sell to the GOP base because they want $60 billion, which is still well short of President Obama's budget plan that cuts $100 billion a year.

• When asked where a person can find family values in Newt Gingrich's thriced married life in which he's had multiple affairs, Newt answered people need to look at the "totality of my life" and realize he spoke to God about it.

• Rand Paul jokes Fox News can't decide what they love most: bombing the Middle East or bashing the president.

• Gallup has Hillary Clinton at a 66% approval rating.  A lot of this has to do with the fact Republicans and Fox News have shifted all their focus and venom onto the president and left Hillary alone for almost 3 years.

More Than Change

Over the last year I've gained a lot of respect for Hillary Clinton. I've never been a big fan of hers and in the 90s did not care for her much at all. In 2000 I had the chance to meet her while she was campaigning for her NY Senate seat. I left impressed with how well she stayed on topic-- it was just amazing.

Though she would never have been on my list of presidential hopefuls, I would have had no problems voting for her in 2008 had she been the nominee. Now her ability as Secretary of State to direct the foreign policy of the President has been nothing short of exemplary in my view. Yesterday's performance is case in point.



Also over on the sidebar (at least for now) there is a video of her response where she directly and correctly states that Dick Cheney is not a credible source of information. These are classic examples of the change that has been brought to America. But it's also indicative of just how left behind the GOP is. I'm not sure if they haven't fully come to terms with being tossed from office or if they are so indulged in their Fantasy World that they don't realize they aren't in power anymore. Talking points from Dick Cheney or any other incompetent Bush official no longer guide this country, and that's a wonderful sentence to write. Pence's reaction to Hillary's answer is all the proof we need.

The Lone Dissent

Moral Crusader and the man who ran his 1998 House race on the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and also the same man who paid prostitutes for sex while morally crusading against Bill Clinton, is the lone vote against Hillary Clinton today in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Pardon the Mess

Boy are Bush's pardons getting messy! Not only did the most unpopular president in history issue a pardon to Isaac Toussie only to take it back once it was learned he was a major campaign contributor to the RNC, Bush also issued a pardon to a convicted gambling executive who contributed money directly to George Bush's campaign.

Alan Maiss, former president of Bally Gaming, made two contributions totaling $1,500 to Bush's campaign in 2003 and 2004, a USA TODAY review of federal election records shows. Maiss mostly donated to Democrats and gave only to one other Republican besides Bush: then-Nevada senator Paul Laxalt in 1979, the records show.

Remember the right wing, Republican outrage over Clinton's outgoing pardon of Marc Rich? The controversy was surrounded by the fact that Rich's wife made contributions to the Hillary Clinton's senate campaign and to Bill Clinton's foundation, but never directly to the president's campaign. What's the difference now? Why isn't the right wing calling for Bush's head? Probably because they are all sheltered into the fantasy world with Fox News blaring in the background.

Look No Further

I never thought I would see the day when the Republican Party would compare their presidential candidate to former First Lady and current U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton. The Republican brand of which my generation grew up with is forever gone. Twelve years ago a GOP campaign tactic that compared Bob Dole to Hillary would have been entirely unthinkable. Eight years ago no one could have predicted it either; it would have been political suicide. Even four years ago anyone who would have said the GOP would be openly embracing Hillary Clinton as their poster girl for their next president would have been forever excommunicated from any serious political discussion.

Today, with no where else to turn and certainly with their current president at 23%, Hillary is their safest option. Amazing.

The future equivalent of this would be the Democrats using George Bush in 2016. It just will never happen, hopefully. (full mailer)

Very Nice

I finally broke down and watched some of the convention last night. I thought Hillary's speech was almost perfect. I don't think there is anything else she could have done or needed to do.



I didn't watch Fox News last night. After two days in a row of Fox I had to take a break. I know I laughingly call it a circle jerk but I honestly believe it is the closest thing to a parody of actual media that I've ever seen. If they are still blasting their Chaos Theory after Hillary's speech last night then I'm not sure there is a better term other than circle jerk to describe what they do.

Moving On

Looks like the the race for the White House will have to move on without Hillary Clinton. I think she gave a good dropping out speech on Saturday. It wasn't the greatest speech ever delivered but it hit all the key notes and I don't know how many times she mentioned that Barack Obama needs to be president. Sadly the drug addicted Rush Limbaugh's operation chaos failed. I think Limbaugh has already declared victory and moved the goal post a bit with his "operation" just like any good Fantasy World Republican does when reality doesn't support their claims. However, there is still speculation Hillary might be the VP. Whatever may come of that I still think an Obama-Webb ticket would be much stronger.

On to sports.

Watched the almost Triple Crown on Saturday. I've never witnessed a Triple Crown in my lifetime. The last Triple Crown winner was before I was born. So I was hoping to watch a little history over the weekend. The history I was hoping for didn't quite happen but Big Brown did become the first favorite to finish last. So history was made nonetheless.

I also watched, for the first time in two years, part of an NBA game last night. I hate the NBA with a passion. All the traveling and all the fouling and the non-existent defense reminded me why I don't watch the NBA more. I was glad to see Boston win; I will admit that. But I really have no stake in the NBA.

Out

Hillary to drop out on Saturday. It was fun, and I can't imagine all the books and dissertations that will be written about 2008.

She Really Wants the Job

BET founder, Robert Johnson, says Hillary has authorized him to lobby Obama for a VP spot. Johnson has always been a Hillary supporter and never been very vocal about Obama. She's playing her hand really well.

Accepting the Nod

As expected and as predicted in March, Obama will be the Democratic nominee. I am an Obama supporter, which I'm not shy about, and I look forward to attending the inauguration. However, there is still a little bit of work to be done.

Hillary didn't suspend her campaign last night. I don't think that surprised anyone. If she's not given the VP nod, then she will have to in a matter of days. Or she can be like Ron Paul and take it all the way to the convention. Let us not forget that the GOP still has a possible scenario on their hands. Paul has yet to suspend his campaign and has promised to be at the convention. Hillary hasn't been that vocal about her intentions yet.

From what I can tell Hillary is hanging on for the VP slot. If she doesn't get that then she will suspend her campaign and support Obama. If she gets the nod, then she will continue her campaign and the GOP better kick into high campaign finance gear because I can't imagine the huge amounts of money Obama, Hillary and Bill will be able to raise.

I don't think Hillary is forcing herself into the VP slot. I think she's leaving open her campaign to suggest that she's by far the most popular and most experienced; if not the only person for the job. The question is, does Obama want her as VP. And does he really have a choice? I think an Obama-Jim Webb ticket is much stronger but I also am not sure how Obama cannot offer it to Hillary. This is an interesting situation and anyone who studies politics should be on their edge of their seat right now.

There's no question Obama is the nominee. All that remains is will Hillary be is VP and if not, where is she going to go? Going to the convention is still a great possibility. Though I would rather see her be VP than stage a Ron Paul stunt.