One of the Democrats running for Delaware governor, Jack Markell, has been running ads on TV recently which strike me funny. Instead of pointing out Delaware’s problems are the current leadership’s fault, it would seem that Delaware’s problems are President Bush’s fault. Uh, Jack, Minner/Carney (Democrats) run the state, not Bush. Delaware’s problems are clearly laid at their feet, not Bush.
Although with a second thought, Markell is trying to win the Democrat primary, so a little BDS works well with his party.
His ad, which has been on TV for a while, is finally on YouTube here.
When word got around about a magazine cover depicting Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama in Islamic garb and his wife Michelle, armed like a terrorist, doing a celebratory fist bump in the Oval Office as an American flag burns in the fireplace, obviously the Obama campaign was none too thrilled about what The New Yorker magazine termed a “satrical” cover for its July 21st issue. Howls of protest have come from others on the left side of the aisle as well.
Never mind that many of those protesting have characterized current President George W. Bush as everything from “Bushitler” to American terrorist to devil incarnate, when you pick on one of their own all is no longer fair in love or war.
More to the point, the cartoon by Barry Blitt is almost assuredly going to make this particular issue of the staid magazine that few in middle America have heard of, much less read, an instant hit. Despite their leanings far to the left, one has to assume that The New Yorker does operate under the profit motive and if a controversial cover helps move a few thousand extra issues that’s great for the bottom line. Let’s face it, we’re not talking about Playboy here so most regular readers are subscribing to the tome for the articles.
And perhaps what may have made those on the “progressive” side a little less hysterical about the Obama cover is if they placed it as part of a thought bubble, one which eminates from a redneck Southerner leaning on his pickup truck, gun rack and Confederate flag window decal in full view. Maybe for full effect they could put a NASCAR sticker on one side of the bumper (perhaps a #3 with wings) and a sticker of some sort proclaiming the driver is a dittohead on the other. It sounds a little busy for an average-sized magazine cover so perhaps just the part with Barack and Michelle Obama made the cut.
Rush Limbaugh is correct when he regularly opines that good comedy has an element of truth in it. What makes this cover so believable is that many Americans do look at Obama in just such a manner - witness the hullabaloo about his middle name or lack of a flag pin on his lapel until some of Barack’s most recent appearances. Throw in some of Michelle’s comments and it’s easy to see why this perception dogs both Obamas.
My contention is that this is yet another distraction from the real issues that separate Obama from GOP standardbearer John McCain - their differing stances on the Long War and negotiating foreign policy, McCain’s recently conversion to the concept of energy independence through drilling for our own oil in most areas rather than forced conservation and the far-off technology of alternative fuels, and the wallet-straining ambitions of an Obama presidency versus the more fiscally conservative John McCain are but three examples.
While I wouldn’t go so far to say that The New Yorker’s cover is a calculated move in reverse psychology by the Obama camp, it does serve to establish yet another divide between perception and reality as far as GOP voters go, subtly branding those who would vote against Obama as racist, sexist, xenophobic, or a combination of the three. Personally, I don’t give a darn that Barack Obama is half-black, I just happen to think his policy ideas are half-witted.
In the last post I mentioned the Democrat-controlled congress having an approval rating at 9%. Much is discussed about President Bush’s low approval ratings. According to this web site, over the month of June 2008, depending on the survey his numbers are between 28% and 32%. So who’s got the real problem, Bush or the Democrat-controlled congress?
(I didn’t count the LA Times/Bloomberg poll which is an anomaly on the page, reporting Bush’s approval at 23%. The LA Times has also been reporting polls showing Obama beating McCain by double digits, inconsistent with anyone else’s polls.)
Most everyone has commented on the all-time record low approval rating for Congress, which is resting at 9%. The Democrat-controlled congress have spent the last 1.5 years of their so-called “mandate” for change doing nothing. Since they took over DC to make “change”, we’ve gotten higher unemployment, higher gas prices, foreclosures through the roof, etc. Is that change I can believe in? Quit wasting time trying to impeach Bush and take away our first amendment rights (here and here).
There’s something very nice about political parties in Delaware. In general, it is fairly easy to get your political party on the ballot. This means that many choices are available to each voter. And for the most part, the minor party candidates are treated as candidates and not the red-headed step child of the election.
Today I thought I would be reading something about the Democrats when I saw this headline: Socialists register for Delaware ballot. Instead, it was an article about the Socialist Workers Party getting their Presidential nominee on the ballot here in Delaware. Yes, I should be able to tell the difference between the two parties, but explain the difference after you read this:
[The Socialist Workers Party candidates] represent a platform that includes active support for unions and labor groups, withdrawal of all American troops from foreign nations and citizen status for all residents of other countries now in America illegally. The group has branded American forces as “imperialist” representatives of wealthy American interests.
Well, I’ll give you this. The Socialist Workers apparently want to remove all troops on foreign soil, whereas the Democrats only want to remove troops fighting the war on terror.
To update a story I posted earlier, the News Journal has an updated story on the Eminent Domain veto. They report:
Minner would not agree to be interviewed about her veto. But in a letter to state senators she released to the media, the governor wrote that the bill could restrict the state’s ability to get an easement on private property for beach preservation or other purposes and be more costly to taxpayers.
Hopefully the Legislature will see the light and override this veto. Call your representative Monday (that’s today) and let them know you’re not happy about this! And while you’re at it, don’t forget about the Planned Parenthood funding.
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Elbert lives in the thriving metropolis of Laurel, Delaware, with his family. If anyone else posts on this blog, they may or may not live in Laurel. It is up to them where they decide to call home. You will find posts on here about almost anything. For the record, Elbert is politically conservative. His Christian theology is generally conservative, also some would disagree. He hold to the foundations of the faith, and on the theology, he is a mash-up of Wesleyan-influenced Pentecostal/Charismatic thought. He’s not “old school” Pentecostal/Charismatic though.
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