Will the RNC replace Michael Steele with a hockey-mom?

GOP strategists are surely already considering who can best replace their controversy-laden RNC Chair - their principle questions are the timing and who will be able to insure the media spotlight stays on the party's message while inspiring both donors and voters, particularly the vocal, visible Teabaggers. Perhaps this time they'll turn to a woman?

After all, the most recent crop of Naval "Sailors of the Year" were all female, and women make up more than 50% of the U.S. population while turning out to vote more consistently than men.  In fact, if Representative Bachmann weren't seeking re-election she'd surely be in the running, but she'll have to wait her turn as elite GOP strategists have to be aware of the looming November election as they consider their "short list."

Who can inspire big donors? Who can keep the media focused on the GOP's talking points? Who has a photogenic face and comfort in front of the cameras?  Who has the balance of national recognition and all these other elements, and is available to step up and step in when the next gaffe strikes Michael Steele down?

The Thrilla from Wasilla.

It's what she's been waiting for. It won't matter that she's blown any credibility on international affairs, or quit her post as Governor --  the chair doesn't direct policy or even write speeches; the job responsibilities are largely smiling for the cameras and memorizing scripted phrases while insuring a good turn-out for fund-raising events.

I'm sure there are other possibile choices, not to mention that the GOP loves how she distracts the rest of the pundits already pondering future presidential hopefuls.  But the GOP still has Romney and Huckabee, plus Pawlenty and Coleman coming out of "middle America" with records they can ostensibly run on to work with  thus leaving the hockey mom free to court publicity without anybody questioning her readiness or suitability to be Commander-in-Chief.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Tom Hayes: What does “The Obama Experiment” mean to you?

As an artist, Mike Cuffe has felt the high cost of health insurance premiums hit home and he's gone through many periods of not having any health insurance coverage whatsoever. He's also watched recently as more than one family member has been denied life saving treatments, "due to system that focuses on increasing shareholders revenues than on choosing wellness."

Cuffe's "TheObamaExperiment.com" site began in March 2008 to raise awareness by "creating art around then Senator Barack Obama's bid for the presidency." Then it took a turn for the strange in mid-July when the RNC launched a website using the same name evidently intended to obfuscate the debate and counter sentiment favoring President Obama's campaign for health care reform.

"Currently I find myself in a direct debate with the Republican National Committee over my website The Obama Experiment. I've created a health care piece entitled Support Wellness: Nationalize Health Care to offset their attack on Health Care Reform. You can watch me paint the image in time lapse..."

Here's the story about Cuffe's scuffle with the RNC, which is working to spin and propagandize the national debate over health care reform that a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC revealed is marred by misinformation. Any way you slice it 91% of Americans think at least some reform is necessary, yet over half have been taken in by spin-mongering about non-existent death panels and baseless rumors about a purported government take-over of health care.

In short, the GOP picked a name eerily similar to the domain Cuffe was using, TheObamaExperiment.com and inadvertently directed a lot of traffic Cuffe's way. When asked what he felt about the Republican version of The Obama Experiment, Cuffe said,

"I see it as a win, win situation. If they're going to tell people why they are against health care, I am going to tell people why I am for it. Their Obama Experiment dialogue is sending a great deal of people to my Health Care supportive website. I'm just the ying to their yang."

Tea Parties in the works since August 2008

Stephen Leser of OpEd News (OEN) provides revealing information regarding the "Tea Party" domain:

You can repeat the research easily yourself. It's just a matter of looking up registration information. Check it out:
http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx?Domain=CHICAGOTEAPARTY.COM

Please note the date of creation, August 3, 2008.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm..."

Some are trying to portray these protests as "spontaneous, grass roots" protests that are a natural "organic" response to Obama's economic policies (including those that are extensions of the GOP/Bush bank bailouts.) Leser points out the date the idea was conceived "not only predates the implementation of Obama's policies and his Presidency, it predates Obama being officially named the Democratic Nominee for President."

Now a lot of us wish taxes were lower, and suspect the rich already milk the system to pay lower tax rates despite what the rhetoric implies, but the facts support the assertion that this movement is anything but "spontaneous."

That's not exactly spontaneous, grass-roots sort of organizing.

"Who is Zachary Christenson, the owner of the domain? In turns out he is a right wing radio talk show host in the Chicago area with ties to several major Republican think tanks, and the Koch company, a Chicago area based conglomerate which heavily funds several Republican think tanks. These same Republican think tanks, like Freedomworks, the Cato Institute and Americans for Progress, just happen to be the primary groups behind the "Organic, Grass Roots" Tea Party protests. If you read the leadership of these think tanks, they are all led by heavy hitters in the RNC like Dick Armey and Steve Forbes...."

Imagine the solutions we could be creating if the GOP was willing to work together with the new administration. Instead, these "spontaneous, organic" Tea Party Protests, and the curiously naive "tea-bagging" rallying cry were planned over a period of months. They are evidently orchestrated, bought, and paid for by GOP operatives with the full knowledge of the RNC. It's no surprise the conservative media outlets are in full support; it makes for fine infotainment.

"...protest too much, methinks."

Are the people insisting it's the government that's promoting bad behavior doing anything they can to keep people from noticing the they arearrogantly promoting bad behavior? That's positively Rovian.

If you want to know the truth, my friends, follow the money.

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Michael Steele Is The New Chairman Of The Republican Party

Michael Steele just broke a barrier that I frankly thought I'd never see: he today became the first Black chairman of the Republican Party. That's amazing and it speaks to the better angels within the Republican National Committee and the totally watershed-level path of social change America is on, starting with the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president, then the stirring inauguration of President Obama, and now the selection of Michael Steele as RNC Chairman.

Who is Michael Steele?

Steele was Liutenant Governor of the State of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. Steele's also well-known as a regular contributor to several political news programs. And Steele ran for several offices, most notably for Senator of Maryland where he reportedly bussed in homeless people to distribute information flyers. Steele lost that race to Ben Cardin.

Steele has been a Republican since he was a small boy, and he's received backing from such conservatives as Karl Rove and former-VP Dick Cheney.

Steele has an uphill battle in repairing the Republican Party, but he's been able to destroy the idea that the RNC was the "White Southern" party just by his election. In my view his election actually makes the party more attractive to Women, who not only were his greatest supporters but who share the same "outsider" status in the RNC.

I think now the Republican Party has a split between the moderates, led by Steele and the wingnuts, led by Rush Limbaugh. It's going to be an interesting year.

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION RATINGS FIXED BY NETWORKS TO BEAT OBAMA

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION RATINGS FIXED BY NETWORKS

Check this out by Media Matters...

Summary: On September 2 and September 3, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News each dedicated more on-air time -- significantly more in most cases -- to official Republican convention programming during the most-watched portions of their coverage than each channel dedicated to official convention programming during the same times on comparable nights of the Democratic National Convention.

Findings for Tuesday, September 2, coverage of the Republican National Convention and Monday, August 25, and Tuesday, August 26, coverage of the Democratic National Convention are as follows:

• MSNBC dedicated 1 hour, 19 minutes, 52 seconds to scheduled convention programming during the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET hours of its September 2 Republican National Convention coverage; by contrast, MSNBC dedicated 56 minutes, 13 seconds to scheduled convention programming during the same hours during its August 25 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, and 59 minutes, 28 seconds during its August 26 coverage.
  

• CNN dedicated 1 hour, 23 minutes, 36 seconds to scheduled convention programming during the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET hours of its September 2 Republican National Convention coverage; by contrast, CNN dedicated 1 hour, 3 minutes, 58 seconds to scheduled convention programming during the same hours during its August 25 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, and 1 hour, 10 minutes, 45 seconds during its August 26 coverage.
  

• Fox News dedicated 1 hour, 16 minutes, 30 seconds to scheduled convention programming, including convention speeches, during the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET hours of its September 2 Republican National Convention coverage; by contrast, Fox News dedicated 56 minutes, 25 seconds to scheduled convention programming during the same hours during its August 25 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, and 38 minutes, 51 seconds during its August 26 coverage.
  

It means the convention coverage was fixed to counter the ratings that Obama got the week before.  The networks -- MSNBC, CNN, and FOX -- worked to fix coverage to draw more ratings for the Republicans.

 THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!   IS NOTHING SACRED?  The networks are in the tank for the Republican Party.

Fight them.  Fight the Republican Party, too.  

Sarah Palin, Jesus Christ Was A Community Organizer

Cristo de la Piedad (Transeuntes o Refugio). Zaragoza 2007, originally uploaded by Asemta.

In her speech last night, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's comments insulting community organizers as not having responsiblilty, or at least enough to demand respect, upset a great many people I know. From elected officials to students.

To mothers and sons and fathers. The people I talked to expressed an almost singular dislike for what Palin said, and in some cases Palin herself.

I'll not go there.

I will only remind Gov. Palin that there was one person who did work to serve the needs of those who had nothing and lost there way. A man who showed all of us in the World that we could be forgiven for our sins. A person who did instruct us in the ways of the Lord.

That person is the greatest community organizer ever.

We know him as Jesus Christ.

Obama / Palin? 37 Million Tune In To See Palin Fail A Speech She Gave Well

37 Million people -- almost as many people as tuned in to see Senator Barack Obama's historic speech -- went to a television to see Alaska Governor Sarah Palin give her Vice Presidential acceptance speech.  But I think the reasons why people tuned in were vastly different than those for Senator Obama.

They tuned in expecting to see her fail, even though I don't know what that definition is.  I mean what was she supposed to do, cry?  Hickup?  Get stage fright?  She's the Governor of Alaska.  She's suppose to be able to give a basic speech.  That's what she did.

What's sexist about all of this is how America seems to have "lowered the bar" for her and made it so it's ok that she' just "shows" rather than a "place" or a "win."   If a man gave that speech, he'd have been held to a higher standard.

My point is that there should be a vice presidential standard, not a mass-culture standard.

Now, if John McCain gets fewer ratings then we've got a scoop for the ages.  Maybe things are all turned around. Perhaps the ticket should be "Obama / Palin."

Just a thought.

Kevin On YouTube Video Claims To Be Bristol Palin's Daughter's Father

I just happened on a video that, if true -- and I stress if true -- could be very damaging to the crediblity of Alaska Governor and now Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. 

In the video, Kevin sits down on a couch and says that he met Bristol Palin because his uncle worked on the pipeline and got to know Bristol for "the couple of months I was there" and that they conceived a child while he was there.  He says she's a nice young lady and that he wants to be a part of the child's life. 

Kevin, who's Black and an Obama supporter, also reports that the parents -- Governor Palin and her husband -- have said that they do not want him near their daughter or associated with her.  Kevin says, again on video, that he wants to be a part of the child's life.  He also says that he does not want to play the "race card" but that the family may have some problem with the public knowing that Palin's daughter had a Black boyfriend.

(Frankly, no one cares about that.)

I sent a message for Kevin to call me to get to the bottom of this.

Watch the video.  He certainly seems like he's serious and he explains that he's a musician, gives his contact at his MySpace page, and I'm sure is aware of what could happen to him if he's caught lying, so he must be telling the truth otherwise, why stick his neck out?  At first, I thought it was a way for him to promote his songs, but that would be stupid.  And given the affinity young teenage white girls have for Black rappers, it's well within possibility they could have hooked up. 

The first order of business is to determine if his uncle really works up there.  If that's the case, then there's smoke.  And where there's smoke, there's fire.  

Here's the video.  You decide:

Palin Angers Community Organizers, Who Ask For Applogy

A new blog expresses how much community organizers are upset with the speech of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  Here's some of the text from a new blog called "Community Organizers Fight Back":

Organizers demand apology from Alaska governor, say “we’re working to clean up your mess!”

Community organizers across America, taken aback by a series of attacks from Republican leaders at the GOP convention in St. Paul, came together today to defend their work organizing Americans who have been left behind by unemployment, lack of health insurance and the national housing crisis.  The organizers demanded an apology from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for her statement that community organizers have no “actual responsibilities” and launched a web site, http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com, to defend themselves against Republican attacks.

I'll say it again:  attacking community organizers, some of whom register people to vote, was just plain dumb.  

Ms. Palin's Performance Wednesday at the RNC

The Republicans ran more effective campaigns in 2000 and 2004. They are adept at campaigning, and despite awareness of the tactics, adopting Rove's guidelines remains an effective, albeit eristic, tool for them.

But Palin's performance was merely the exectution and staging of a speech she didn't write. The GOP had a VP acceptance speech prepared, as you've probably heard/read elsewhere, but determined it was too macho and determined they had to start over from scratch on short notice when Palin was named.

So while the defense is well-orchestrated - and one would expect nothing less - the fact is it leaves most if not all of the real questions not merely unanswered, but unaddressed. None of the words were Palin's choice: the content reflects nothing but GOP talking points, and while Ms. Palin delivered them creditably she adopted the role of a talking head, revealing to neither the media nor the voters anything beyond her ability to handle somebody else's prepared rhetoric.

Credit the speech writers for what substance there was, although the AP questions the veracity of many points. But make no mistake:

That wasn't "Palin's speech" at all; Sarah Palin was delivering a well-scripted performance. It concealed her by cloaking her in familiar old-school GOP platitudes and rhetorical barbs, many of which such as the tax refrain have been debunked and disproven already. But the GOP has seldom lost relying on time-tested Rovian tactics and lies, have they?

Gov. Sarah Palin Speech Poorly Delivered To RNC

Tonight Alaska Gov. and now Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin gave a well-written, but poorly delivered speech to the Republican National Convention.

Guiliani And GOP Insult Community Organizers and Populists

I'm watching former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani talk on and on ..and on, but what is so galling is that he can't "do" a good speech. Geez, he's droning on and on and on. The speech is too long.

Ok, back to business. It was a politically stupid speech, because Rudy just insulted and alienated every community organizer and populist and quite possibility kissed that vote good by.

Community organizers bring people together for a common goal, be it getting elected officials to act on a problem or making sure than a neighborhood gets the services they need. Community organizers can work for non-profits or for organizations like the police department in your city.

What a dumb speech. I'm sorry, it just was. Rudy should be ashamed of himself.

DNC Tuesday Higher Ratings Than RNC Tuesday - 4.5 Million Difference

According to the Nielsen ratings service the Tuesday night of the Democratic National Convention drew more viewers than the Republican National Convention, 26 million viewers to 21.5 million, respectively.

Here's the breakdown:

All Households 14.2 16,235,000
Persons 2+ 7.3 21,528,000
Women 18+ 9.7 11,200,000
Men 18+ 8.8 9,519,000
Persons 12-17 1.4 220,000
Persons 18-34 3.7 2,508,000
Persons 18-49 5.4 7,226,000
Persons 55+ 16.1 11,427,000
African American Persons 2+ * 5.8 2,133,000
Hispanic Persons 2+ * 1.8 847,000
White Persons 2+ * 8.5 18,045,000

Gov. Sarah Palin: No Double Standard Applied To Palin

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com -- There's no double standard in how Governor Palin's being covered at all. She's vieing for the second most powerful position in the World. Indeed, Palin may be getting a pass by some. Suppose she was black and we saw photos of her kids friends -- teenagers -- holding rifles and guns? That would be an outrage. Why is that not the case here?

Governor Palin is in a position tonight where she has to give "that speech" it's a tradition by which presidential and vice presidential candidates are measured by. If she does not give anything less than "that speech" forget it.

George Bush: President's Address to GOP Convention 9.2.08

This is President Bush's speech endorsing Senator John McCain's run for President of the United States.

The Republican Convention Does Not Represent America

This is my short take on the RNC Convention and speeches of Tuesday, September 2, 2008. I hold that the Republican Party presented at the RNC does not represent America.

The convention consists of a part of America -- older, white, and mostly male -- and it's entirely focused on the war or matters related to it, at a time when we need to pay attention to rebuilding Amerca.

i did not like Senator Fred Thompson's speech, though I have the greatest respect for him. The surge did not work. It's that simple. What's true is that we have killed more than 80,000 iragi civilians and wrecked the culture of that nation.

Senator Joe Liberman stood up and comitted political suicide tonight. He attacked the Democrats and Senator Barack Obama, who Senator Liberman asked to help him get reelected in 2006, and Barack did so.

Now, Liberman's stabbing him in the back.

The Republicans have seemed to forget the plight of the working person.

RNC - Senator Joe Lieberman and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson Speak

The Hurricane Gustav crisis seems past, so the Republican National Convention is going to reboot its program starting today with this schedule posted on the RNC website:

The 2008 Republican National Convention today announced the program of events for Tuesday, Sept. 2. The program will feature speeches by U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson. Their remarks will reflect the convention's overall theme, "Country First," and the theme for Tuesday's events, which is "service." 

"We are excited to announce Tuesday's featured speakers, who will share John McCain's remarkable record of leadership and service with millions of Americans tonight. We are looking forward to showcasing John McCain's life-long record of putting his country first," said Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan.

"From his days as a POW who refused early release to his 20-year career in the U.S. Senate, John McCain has always put country first. Tonight's program will reflect his unmatched commitment to service and his vision for increasing Americans' participation in service and volunteer activities," said Rick Davis, McCain 2008 campaign manager.

Among the other speakers announced today are President George W. Bush (via satellite), First Lady Laura Bush, U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio), U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (Minn.), and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.).

The media stopped following the money: CONFLICT of INTEREST

Was it big oil money pouring into the "McCain Victory '08 Fund," as the sudden change in McCain’s stand on drilling in environmentally sensitive areas suggests? How will we ever know? There’s no benefit to a commercial news outlet in uncovering the source of the RNC PAC/527 money...

It got interesting in April, but almost nobody reported it...

Once Senator John McCain and the RNC began circumventing the McCain/Feingold limits via the creation of the "McCain Victory '08 Fund" with its $70,000 per individual donations they really left presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama with no reason to keep extending his offer to limit campaign spending by accepting public financing. They sprang into faux outrage, of course, ready to accuse him of a flip-flop despite the fact they'd not accepted Obama's conditional offer. Follow the money, not the spin, and you discover that this has gone virtually unreported. The commercial media outlets have a conflict of interest; reporting on the McCain fund undermines their profits.

Here's the simple truth:

The more money McCain (or Obama) has to spend, the more the media stands to earn on selling commercials. Selling not only to the two campaigns, but to PACs and 527s and anybody else who will buy air-time. The media clearly have a vested interest in not just ratings, but more so in the demand for commercials, and so the closer the race - and the more money the candidates (or parties, or 527s, etc.) raise - the more money the media outlets make by selling. Why report on McCain's funding success? Much better business to take advantage of all that cash, not cut off the former campaign reformer now laying golden eggs. It's their bottom line at stake, same as it ever was.


Talk about a conflict of interest.Was it big oil money pouring in, as the sudden change in McCain's stand on drilling in environmentally sensitive areas suggests? How will we ever know? There's no benefit to a commercial news outlet in uncovering the source of the money - they are just trying to get their piece of it.

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