This will no doubt set off a chorus of ARRGH FIREBAGGERS DIEDIEDIE, but President Obama needs all the votes he can get, and hopefully this will impress some people who are not yet quite as motivated as us elite Balloon Juicers. Via the comments, Vice interviews Cornel West:
Cornel West Plans to Vote for Obama in November and Protest His Policies in February…
After the polls swung in Romney’s favor after the first debate, did you reconsider your criticism of President Obama?
We have to prevent a Romney takeover of the White House. No doubt about that. It would be very dangerous in terms of actual lives and actual deaths of the elderly and the poor. Those people who are dependent on various programs would have to deal with the ugly damage of the further redistribution of wealth from the poor and working people to the well off.Right. But doesn’t criticizing Obama make all that bad stuff you just said more likely to happen?
I’m strategic. We have to tell that truth about a system that’s corrupt—both parties are poisoned by big money and tied to big banks and corporations. Speaking on that is a matter of intellectual integrity. American politics are not a matter of voting your moral conscience—if I voted my moral conscience it would probably be for Jill Stein. But it’s strategic in terms of the actual possibilities and real options available for poor and working people.
So voting for Obama is good strategy given the realities of the world?
A Romney administration would be a catastrophic response to an already catastrophic condition. I still get in a lot of trouble with my left-wing comrades on this—that I would still support Obama winning while continuing to tell the truth about drones dropping bombs on innocent people, which I consider war crimes, about the Wall Street government, about the refusal to close Guantanamo, about1021 of the National Authorization Act where you can detain citizens without trial or even assassinate citizens based on the decisions of the executive branch. All of those things to me are morally obscene. It’s a matter of telling that truth, strategically. I think we have to ensure that we don’t have a takeover by conservative right-wing or we’re in a world of trouble.…
My emphases. So now you can tell those “purity trolls” on your facebook feed: Eventheprogressive Cornel West is gonna vote for That Democrat in the White House. Because it doesn’t matter to the final tally whether people chose to vote for President Obama or simply against Mitt Romney — as long as they’re voting for our side. The Repubs are plenty motivated, and we can’t afford to start parsing whether potential Obama voters are doing so for the “correct” reasons.
Corner Stone
AAARRRGGGHHH! FIREBAGGERS!! DIEDIEDIE!
SFAW
Someone should ‘splain to Cornel that both parties is the same, and there’s no difference between them, and what about drones, and what about that pony I was promised?
Corner Stone
Personally I thought Romney was fairly funny tonight. He pushed it hard but it seemed acceptable humor overall.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Tonight? What, was there another debate?
Corner Stone
This 6 – 3 NFL snoozefest out West is worse than anything Cornel West could say.
Corner Stone
@SFAW:
Both candidates gave a brief light humor speech at the annual Alfred E. Neuman dinner in NYC tonight.
Obama was easy peasy as usual but Romney was actually on target a couple times in his stingers.
Corner Stone
I vote that the next time some mofo sarcastically invokes “Teh Drooooonnnnneeeezzzzz” in their easy dismissal comment they should have one follow their fucking ass around for a few weeks.
geg6
Cornell West and his gigantic ego drive me up a wall, but I’ll take every vote we can get. Good on him.
I can’t believe I just typed that.
Corner Stone
No idea why Frank Gore just ran right at the Defensive End on that last run play.
Felanius Kootea
I’m surprised he allowed himself to acknowledge there is a difference between Obama and Romney, but hey, every vote counts.
Oh, and I’ll repeat what I said in an almost dead thread below (from an article on Ohio):
I think people are underestimating the Obama ground game.
Yutsano
@geg6: ZOMG HE’S BEING PRAGMATIC!! His firebagger card is gonna get revoked. I predict he’ll get sternly worded letters now.
Schlemizel
Anybody hear the bullshit on NPR this morning about solving our tax mess? Those silly librules got 5 economists together that they claim covered the spectrum from liberal to conservative.
They offered two great ideas all 5 could agree on! No corporate taxes at all since those are the job creators and no home mortgage interest deduction since thats unfair to poor people.
I want to punch them all in the throat! These f’ers are going to try to justify screwing us all over in the name of balancing the budget & fixing the tax code. with those nice liberals at NPR leading the way!
El Cid
This is pretty much the reason the Communist Party USA continually called for voting for Democrats so as to stop the accession to power and thus control of state institutional mechanisms of the Republican fascists, though of course they were somehow or other working for the true revolutionary forces long term.
Lev
@Felanius Kootea: Perhaps. Though I gotta say, this article really got its hooks in me: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/18/koch-backed-activists-americans-for-prosperity
Hill Dweller
@Corner Stone: I thought Willard’s awkward delivery took away from some of the jokes.
Nevertheless, Willard had to get borderline nasty in the second half of his routine. I don’t know if it’s a strategy to treat Obama with such disdain or his normal nastiness, but it started getting uncomfortable. That sort of thing can’t play well to anyone but his base.
srv
Hmm, I don’t know. A couple weeks back, you didn’t need all us concern PUMA’s and now you are all hot and bothered and worried.
Should we set aside our concerns about the baby killer in chief? Or that Hitlery had to fall on the sword for Benghazi (soneone has to wear the pants in this administration), or that four more years means permanent 8% unemployment?
What does Obama have to offer? Think if McCain had been elected, we’d have a permanent Democratic Majority by now. Use to say you have to break some eggs to make an omlet, all those eggs got broken anyway.
Did I mention I miss Al Maviva? He could say the same with so many more words.
+5
Lojasmo
@Corner Stone:
I don’t give a shit. I am not doing anything wrong. Also, too, Tagggg can come at me, bro.
danielx
Yup. I don’t care about people’s motivations, I just think a Romney presidency would fall under the heading of Very Bad Things. My objections to Obama are numerous –
– foreign policy? not quite Dubya on steroids, but close
– civil liberties? what civil liberties?
– bankers worried? watch what i do, not what i say (i need their money)
– and a host of others…
But Romney would be a hell of a lot worse. The idea of Mitt Romney as savior of the American working class is so ludicrous that I can barely type it without going into hysterics. Foreign policy? You can’t get rid of neocons, they keep coming back – and they’re working for the Marquis. Domestic policy? It’s never been quite so obvious that…
“The primary purpose of the GOP these days is to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages (such as not regulating pollution and other socially costly externalities) to their wealthy donor base. All the rest of their platform, all the culture wars stuff, is simply rube bait.”
Things aren’t great right now, but they’d be a hell of a lot worse under Romney – a smarter and more vicious version of G.W. Bush.
Short Bus Bully
HATE the 49ers.
That is all.
Capt. Seaweed
@Felanius Kootea:
What a wonderful language English is. I have no idea what this means.
El Cid
@srv:
Is there evidence for this? Because I haven’t seen any substantial analyses leaning in this direction.
Or is this something which is only known to be true in the way that one knows the Force is there because one senses it?
Lojasmo
@srv:
I still don’t give a shit about you, M’kay?
Corner Stone
Triple coverage 40 yards down field. Probably not where you should throw the ball.
NonyNony
@srv:
Hm. Can’t tell if parody trolling or just stupid.
Spaghetti Lee
This thread has been remarkably calm so far. That can’t last, right?
Spaghetti Lee
This thread has been remarkably calm so far. That can’t last, right?
Jimmi the Grey
I consider both the wall street government and the not closing guantanimo to be more legislative than executive. Vote a better congress if you wanna fix those.
General Stuck
Voting is personal and sacrosanct for this fervent small d democrat. It is not my business who folks vote for and why (except for Corner Stone). That said. Dr West is a clown, whomever he votes for.
Spatula
OK. Since I have the go-ahead here to vote strategically, and I live in my beloved People’s Republic of Massachusetts, and I say that with great affection, which is safely in the Obama column, I will go ahead and strategically cast my vote for Roseanne Barr or Jill Stein.
Oh, and Liz Warren.
Is that OK with you Obots or do I still owe him my vote because something something…?
Corner Stone
@Spaghetti Lee: Well, if you ask enough times I’d have to say that no, no it can’t.
magurakurin
I think that West’s reasons are totally the correct reasons. Only one of two people can possibly win. Rmoney is clearly worse. Regardless of his problems with Obama, he has correctly and justifiably decided that voting for Obama is the best course of action.
I have zero problem with his reasons for Obama. And I may not agree with all of his complaints, but he is more than entitled to his opinion and his right to express his dissatisfaction with the man he helped elect in February.
Good on, him, I say.
Welcome back to the fight.
This time I know our side will win.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I saw Cornel West on TV a while back, doing a sarcastic riff, “Where’s the jobs bill, Barack? Where’s the jobs program?” It was about two weeks after Obama had proposed a $50 billion dollar infrastructure bill. But in the spirit of comity and Democratic concord, I celebrate the addition of one more vote in New Jersey.
Felanius Kootea
@Lev: Well, given all that Koch-backed persuasion, I’m glad that Obama has a 21-point lead among those who’ve already voted (even if we are just 10% of likely voters). It was a relief to mail in my ballot last weekend – I’m going to be at a conference on election day and it’s the first time I’ve been out of town for a major election.
Ella in New Mexico
I hate Mitt Romney so much it makes me want to cry.
I hate an America, with it’s Repukelikin’ dominated Congress and it’s wimpy Democratic Senate with Romney signing all the bills even more.
We have to win this one. For the Nation.
Spaghetti Lee
@NonyNony:
I would bet if I went back and reviewed them, something like 80% of ‘parody vs. stupid’ questions turn out to be ‘parody.’
cckids
@Hill Dweller: I agree. He is just a stiff. I mean, we all know neither of them write these jokes, but he makes it so obvious that he is just reading them.
Also, unlike Obama, or McCain last time. he is completely unable to laugh at himself. And much of his humor had a mean or whiny tinge to it.
fuckwit
Did anyone else notice that the big burst of applause from the audience happened when he asked Crowley if she could repeat what she’d said because RMoney was stepping on her. That for some reason was the moment they decided to cheer.
Cacti
So, has Corny finally forgiven the POTUS for not hooking him up with box seats at the inauguration?
ruemara
I have never gotten the mystique of Cornell West. I’m glad he combed his hair and gave his brain some air, but the fact this is somehow a biggish deal is annoying. This is what I’ve been saying about every single “OBAMA IS WORSE THAN BUSH” issue that cropped up since before the inauguration. The framing has always been one of betrayal, assumptions of incompetence and ignorance of law and Congress. When you make people feel so deeply betrayed, so personally offended, you create the situation where the tiny little coalitions that make up the democratic party are constantly hunting for votes amoungst the same groups, that if they approached things with an attitude of compromise and openness to listening, would be dominant in politics.
Todd
@Schlemizel:
Corporate taxes are the vehicle by which hubris and excess are controlled; they force investment in infrastructure, innovation and compensation schemes that encourage employee retention. Income taxes also can be tooled to discourage short term investing/gambling, diversion to foreign investment and excessive concentrations (with concomitant lousy decisions) of economic power.
Spaghetti Lee
I cleared up my misunderstanding with the county board about my registration, which is good.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@cckids: I’ll bet you 10,000 dollars Dennis Miller wrote that line about redistribution, and Joe Biden getting a “I’m Mitt Romney and I approved this message”… Biden kicked your boy’s ass, he’s not a joke.
The Dangerman
I recall how, in 2000, it didn’t matter if Bush won or Gore won.
Oh, wait….
Corner Stone
That’s going to sting in the morning. Really bad Alex Smith.
Shawn in ShowMe
Anne, I think you got this backward. Prof West has been used as justification for folks who were already opposed to Obama. He doesn’t shape progressive opinion. He has about as much influence on the liberal vote as the groundhog has on winter.
srv
@El Cid: Well obviously, a McCain bailout would have led to a tea party revolution in 2010. Lulz. The 99%’ers would be getting beat in the streets right now and a revolution would be a couple weeks away.
But we ended with a Pelosi-Reid-Obama biotches of Wall Street.
I’m sure the Goldman guys appreciate the sacrifice.
n00bs.
GregB
I was one of the 6,000 in NH today cheering on President O. I have had my ups and downs with him and the Democratic Party, but they stand head and shoulders above that pusillanimous and privileged shitheel Mitt and his odious party.
NH is going O.
Boudica
@fuckwit: Yes, but Michelle Obama was caught clapping during that exchange…and there was not supposed to be any clapping
fuckwit
I talked with a guy like that while I was canvassing.
He was upset about the civil liberties violations under Obama. I listened, agreed, and noted that Obama kept his promise to end the war in Iraq, and is ending the war in Afghanistan (which he didn’t even promise!).
And I pointed out that war is the single worst thing for civil liberties. We need to stop the killing, and demilitarize. Obama has ended one war and is ending another. I’m grateful for that, and it’s the a lot of why I supported him in 2008, and a lot of why I’m supporting him now.
Then I pointed out that we’d be a lot worse under RMoney, who is in a big hurry to go to war with Iran, for example.
I dunno if I convinced him, but it felt good to get those points across.
hildebrand
Romney was bitter. Even his jokes come with massive doses of venom. He couldn’t even force a laugh through the grimace etched onto his face.
I am so sick of Romney’s dismissive haughtiness and scorn that I actually started missing Sarah Palin tonight.
Boudica
my snark tag didn’t show up!
Joel
@Felanius Kootea: did not know about the term “credibility interval”. Apparently it is a confidence interval for bayesian statistics. The question is, why does that estimate (which is backwards-looking) need to be bayesian?
Librarian
@Corner Stone: That’s the Al Smith dinner, not the Alfred E. Neuman dinner. I know, it’s easy to get them confused.
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Since I was the only one prior to you who used the word drones, I’ll flatter myself into thinking that you were referring to me.
Assuming that to be the case: go fuck yourself, child, eight ways from Sunday.
Naturally, if I was not the target of your bracing half wit, my sincere apologies.
Corner Stone
@SFAW: It was a blanket condemnation. So don’t go flattering yourself too hard or else it may cause some chafing.
AA+ Bonds
At this point I believe you are actively trying to make your guy lose with your posting
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Jimmi the Grey: Same here.
And, if you want the drones to stop, getting troops out of Afghanistan and keeping them out of Iran is what is going to make them stop. And Mitt isn’t comfortable enough with himself to restrain his party from going into Iran.
AA+ Bonds
Balloon Juice spent about a billion hours lecturing Cornell West on how civil rights leaders reached out to Democrats during the 1960s and now he has done what you want and so to put it gently you should probably not motherfucking complain about it
SFAW
@Corner Stone:
Don’t worry, I use talcum powder.
My apologies for assuming incorrectly.
Anne Laurie
@Spatula: Well, if you don’t get your arse out to vote for Elizabeth Warren, I’m probably close enough to come down and punch you in person, okay?
(/taggsarcasm)
AA+ Bonds
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Guess what, the drones will never stop and the President is never your friend
different-church-lady
@srv: BATLIGHT!
Corner Stone
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Based on?
Yutsano
@Anne Laurie: This is horrifically naughty of me (I blame the influence of Sister Sarah) but I giggled at this mightily.
AA+ Bonds
@Corner Stone:
Dude no see once we have peace with honor the robots will come home and buy houses in the suburbs
different-church-lady
@Corner Stone: That would be the most bored drone in the universe.
SFAW
@Spatula:
Feel free to vote for Harold Stassen or Eugene V. Debs, if that’s what’ll give you some gratification. But, as Anne said: vote for Elizabeth Warren, too.
Redshift
Dunno how much play this has gotten outside of Virginia, but a couple of days ago in Harrisonburg, a store manager saw a guy dump a bag of trash in his dumpster and drive away, and when he had a look, found out it was filled with voter registration forms (on the last day to register.)
Long story short, he took it to the local registrar (who called the police in) posted it on Facebook to the attention of a friend who was a Dem activist. The description of the car got around, and some people remembered seeing it at the local Republican headquarters.
Today, the sheriff arrested the guy and charged him with eight felonies. He works for Pinpoint, another company hired by the GOP to “help” with voter registration. Both the company and the state GOP are shocked, shocked to find this going on. Oh, also, according to the guy’s Facebook page, he also works (or worked) for the RNC.
AA+ Bonds
I think you people are illiberal, anti-liberal savages, honestly, the way you go on about how robots bombing marriages is somehow defensible
different-church-lady
@Spatula: Based on your track record around these parts I’d say there just ain’t much we want from you at all.
Corner Stone
@different-church-lady: It is not for the drone one wonders.
Shawn in ShowMe
@AA+ Bonds:
Comparing a guy to who fell out with Obama because he didn’t receive inauguration tickets to 1960s era civil rights leaders is an affront to their memory.
SFAW
@Redshift:
Interestingly enough, in his mug shot, he looks a lot like James O’Keefe.
(Well, not really, but given O’Keefe’s history, who wouldn’t think it was possible?)
Mnemosyne
@srv:
Revolutions always work out great for the elites or soon-to-be elites. Not so great for the peasants. But you think of yourself as Robespierre, so you don’t really care what happens to the ordinary people who get killed in your revolution. Collateral damage, amirite?
nepat
Flannery O’Connor on Mitt Romney: “Those who have no absolute values cannot let the relative remain merely relative; they are always raising it to the level of the absolute.”
Chris
@danielx:
Smarter, no. Maybe even dumber. But certainly more vicious. Bush was a lazy asshole who left all of the actual work to his cabinet. Romney, I suspect, would govern as a micromanaging prick who would actually make things even worse than if he left it to his Cheneys and Rumsfelds.
WarMunchkin
Basically agree with Mr. West. I pretty much think all this accidental slaughtering of innocent people amounts to war crimes as well, but hell if I’m sacrificing the supreme court. The O-man 2012.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Chris:
I think Romney is fundamentally indifferent to foreign policy, in fact to everything except establishing the authoriteh of Himself and his fellow MOTUs
srv
@AA+ Bonds: Imagine what would happen if they bombed a gay marriage.
Other than Sullys.
Matt McIrvin
@Spatula: Also, YES ON 1! Do it for the independent auto mechanics!
(This is the first time I’ve ever seen AAA get into political activism.)
mdblanche
My pony was supposed to be named Cinnamon and fart rainbows. This pony’s named Buttercup and poops sprinkles.
SFAW
@mdblanche:
Call our Customer Circus Hotline, they’ll be happy to issue you an RMA number so that you can return your pony.
Unfortunately, ponies that fart rainbows are on backorder from Foxconn, so it may be awhile before you will get what you want.
Suffern ACE
I will be voting, but after this is over, I will be protesting. Not certain what it will be. The general nature of progressive causes makes focus difficult. i wish there could be consensus on one cause to burn our leaders in effigy over. But our leaders generally suck so there are so many choices.
MikeJ
@mdblanche: AS far as I know only one president has ever promised ponies, and he delivered.
taylormattd
@Yutsano: He stabbed them all in the back, threw them under the bus, slapped them in the face, pulled the football away from them, and forced them to eat shit sandwiches.
aimai
@Spatula:
Its really not much of a strategy. Speaking as someone who is in MA. A vote for Jill Stein or for Roseanne Barr will be faithfully recorded by the Clerk of the election in the same way we must record all hand written votes for “lizard people” and “my cousin bob” and “any honest politician.” Yes: we have to hand record and total all the stray barkings and gruntings of voters who come in to waste our time voting for imaginary candidates or candidates no real person knows is running. Lizard people did get one vote in my ward when Obama won. But Lizard people didn’t really get off the ground as a message vote.
aimai
taylormattd
@srv:
Seriously, please don’t vote for him.
Shove your vote up your ass, and write in Hillary, please.
Obama does not need the votes from all 52 of you, so don’t bother.
taylormattd
@Spatula: Nobody gives two shits what deeply stupid people like you do.
Chris
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Maybe. But micromanaging shit is one way to do the Respect Mah Authoriteh thing.
How did he do things at Bain and in Massachusetts, anyway?
SFAW
@taylormattd:
If that were true, people wouldn’t be giving the Undecideds the never-ending tongue-baths that have been going on for the last N weeks, and will continue until el 8 de Noviembre.
Political Observer
Guess whose machines are counting the votes in Ohio on election night?
Romney’s. A company owned by BAIN CAPITAL owns all the voting machines in Cincinnatti!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/18/1146805/-Guess-who-s-counting-the-vote-in-Ohio-election-night
ZOMG ELECTION IS STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLEEEEEN lol.
Spatula
@The Dangerman:
I certainly never said that. And I voted for Gore in Broward County, Florida.
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter to Gore or the national Dems enough to FIGHT TO THE DEATH for the WH, as the republicans would have and did. You may recall that Gore DID win the popular vote, and then chose to turn over the WH to Bush without exhausting every option.
So no, actually, everything after 2000 is more Gore’s fault than any voter’s or Ralph Nader’s.
Redshift
@Redshift:
Correction: It’s his LinkedIn page, and it says he currently works for the RNC: “Manage a team of 15-20 grassroots canvassers, conducting voter registration drives, staffing political rallies, organizing Get Out the Vote Efforts.”
Hill Dweller
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Willard had zero interest in governing while he was Governor. He passed the health care bill in order to use it when running for President. Once his approval rating tanked(it was 35% when he left office), he spent the rest of his term out of state laying the groundwork for a Presidential run.
I have a real hard time believing the country is going elect a largely failed Governor, who made millions sending American jobs to other countries.
taylormattd
@SFAW:
Fair point. I guess rather than saying “nobody”, I should have said “nobody but Cokie Roberts, Tweety, and Luke Russert”.
Political Observer
UH OH!
Look at this, OBAMA DOWN FOUR IN PENNSYLVANIA SHOCK POLL!
Looks like PA is back in play!
Mnemosyne
@taylormattd:
The only forgotten meme. Well done.
mdblanche
@nepat: Romney would have been a good man, if it had been somebody there to shoot him every minute of his life.
@SFAW: But I want it now!
trollhattan
@Political Observer: Mountain Dew haz still sticking yer Caps Lock, m’kay?
Randy P
A little statistics geekery.
Am I the only one who finds something really odd about the Romney “bounce” as reflected in Nate Silver’s metrics?
Specifically, the shape of the “Chance of Winning” curve. Over the long term, it shows a slow, upward trend for Obama, with a lot of wiggle and the occasional downturn. Just the kind of noise you’d expect in real-world measurements.
But in that steep drop credited to the smoothness of Romney’s lying in Debate #1, there is no noise at all. A rock solid absolutely straight line, and incredibly steep compared to the slope of what went before. There’s something extremely artificial about that bit of the curve. It makes me think it’s reflecting some mathematical adjustment in the poll weighting or the formula used rather than the actual polls. Real polls fluctuate.
Now we’re back to slowly growing and noisy.
Michael
Obama back over 70% in the 538 forecast and now cast, and holding steady at 83% at Sam Wang’s. I’ll be making phone calls this weekend. But everyone be scared by some crappy internal Repub poll in a state from which Romney has begun pulling resources!
mary
I too remember West being interviewed at the 2000 Democratic convention and declaring that he was going to vote for Nader because Gore was such a corporate stooge. Beginning with this and then his ‘disappointment’ with Obama, I really have no respect for this sensitive soul.
Will
As of tonight, Obama’s quietly pushed up to 70.6% in the 538 Forecast, and 71.6% in the Nowcast. Just like the crisis days of…..late August.
Anyone know if [Excitable Tool] is a sports fan? He’d be the worst after his team lost one game.
Michael
@Randy P: Sam Wmg’s looked similar. I wouldn’t read too much into it.
Cain
If you’re into some entertainment.. surf over to Amazon and look at the review for binders:
Enjoy the comments.. they are pretty hilarious. :)
ranchandsyrup
Droners on are unmanned. +scotchhh
Spatula
@Anne Laurie:
Not to worry, Anne, will def do the Liz Warren vote. :D
Spatula
@different-church-lady:
Ah gee, Diff, that just breaks my achy breaky heart.
What’s with the faux hick accent?
Spatula
@aimai:
Aimai, as a strategy for me, it works just fine.
Thanks!
nellcote
That’s awfully generous of Dr. West. Amazing how getting one’s radio show with Tavis “Wells Fargo pimp” Smiley cancelled can focus the mind.
Spatula
@taylormattd:
Awww…you mad, Brobot?
amk
fuck him and the firebaggers like srv, cornerstone too. They can shove their 0.00001% precious votes up their tight little asses.
jshooper
FUCK CLOWN ASS WEST !!!…I can’t stand that gap toothed goon…he’s a buffoonish caricature of what a black intellectual is…he talks in hollow meaningless bumper sticker sentences like sarah palin…His vile racist attacks on President Obama make him no better than Alan Keyes or Reverend Jesse lee Peterson in my book…just a “left wing” version…Every black person I know who doesn’t like Obama ALWAYS spouts bullshit that they’ve heard from this dumbass…and underlying point is ALWAYS the same…Obama’s not “black” enough…fuck him and the firebaggers who use HIM as a “black mascot” to justify their hatred of Obama
A moocher
@MikeJ: See, at least we know it is possible. At least one president has delivered at least one pony. The firebaggers (of which I am one) will never shut up, now.
jshooper
When it comes down to it I don’t even want the vote of people like Cornel West…He and the firebaggers have spent the last 4 years attacking, sabotaging and intentionally undermining President Obama at every chance they got…Over every issue (big or small)…They only use their “alleged vote” as an excuse to have people listen to them…and for them to get to go on TV and be called “disappointed Obama supporters”…You don’t get to be called a supporter if you never voted for the candidate…Their vote is a way to cover their ass…Completely meaningless
Tim I
Mr. West isn’t as stupid as I thought. That’s a rare and pleasant surprise – not that I expect it to last.
Maybe we should start a poll on whether he can restrain himself until February. I’m putting my money on November 22nd.
Taylormattd
@amk: +100 to you my friend.
AxelFoley
Fuck West. He and his tore up Afro can take his vote and shove it up his arse.
Fuck him and his partner in crime Tavis Smiley.
AxelFoley
@WarMunchkin:
Fuck him and fuck you with that war crime bullshit.
And with your username? Oh sweet irony.
AxelFoley
@Political Observer:
Oh, and especially fuck you, bitch. I’d love to shove my foot down your throat.
Joel
I’m a pragmatist.
Welcome to the big tent.
halfcynic
What utter bullshit, “permanent Democratic majority.”
1) NOTHING is frigging permanent, for fuck’s sake
2) If McCain had won, we’d maybe still have a Democratic Congress. We’d also currently have “Hitlery” (grow up) running against him, most likely, or at best some other Democrat that would undoubtedly fail to get any closer to the Platonic Ideal of Left Wing than Obama did because any such person *isn’t going to get nominated in the fucking first place right now.*
3) Did Purity Sue notice how a couple of SCOTUS judges were replaced during Obama’s tenor? Did they notice how they are “the left wing of the court?” Did they notice that several of the remaining justices are getting real old and unhealthy, and at least two of them are the remaining “left wing of the court?” Do they understand how *maybe* if Purity Sue hadn’t voted for fucking Nader, we might have had Gore’s picks on SCOTUS instead of Alito and Roberts? Among many, many other things.
4) Shut UP. Christ.
Triassic Sands
Funny, you don’t hear the president mention this…ever.
halfcynic
Oh for fuck’s sake, now who’s being a purist? A vote is a vote. West has had a lot of good things to say. I think his position is perfectly reasonable. Vote/support now, critique later. I’m not only voting for him, I’ve made phone calls and donated a few chunks of cash. And I still reserve the right to call him out. Obama himself has repeatedly said that this is in fact the function of the citizenry. Push from the outside; he can’t do it all from the inside. No one can.
It’s civics, not a football game.
slightly_peeved
@Randy P:
I think it’s just the inertia in Nate’s model. A very rapid drop and then random fluctuations got smoothed over a few days, turning it into a smooth descent.
Another Halocene Human
@Corner Stone: I watched the rerun on Maddow and I thought Romney’s “humor” was really forced. Actually, although all his jokes were barbs at Obama which relied on Republican frames what really killed it was his delivery.
But maybe I was spoiled by Bams’ self-deprecating humor and infectious smile.
I thought Obama’s dig at Tweety would be front page news here. Guess I was mistaken.
Another Halocene Human
@ruemara: It’s not a team that’s accustomed to winning and, hell, the last time we got a Dem in the white house he differed from the previous guy by fucking us with lube and giving us a reach around, but we got fucked all the same.
The Dem coalition is battered and bleeding (look at labor) and has ptsd.
Obama became a messianic figure to some lefty, progressive voters and when he turned out to not be like that, it was tough for some people.
Looking back, he massively de-escalated the crazy (which is part of why I voted for him) but for many people on the left the fact that he didn’t feed back into that fear and overreach and crazy was a big problem for them because of the expectations set up by the Bush years.
Another Halocene Human
@Todd: Corporate taxes are the vehicle by which hubris and excess are controlled; they force investment in infrastructure, innovation and compensation schemes that encourage employee retention.
Word.
You know what happened to US R&D?
Tax cuts.
Another Halocene Human
@Redshift: Wow, I hope that hits the big time news. That is some shit right there.
StarStorm
@Redshift:
Damn, that boy really has the white supremacist look down, doesn’t he? I’m actually surprised I don’t see neo-nazi tattoos.
Another Halocene Human
@WarMunchkin: War is the crime and we object to war.
Let’s not get in the weeds screaming about the means or trying to parse language and twist it into pretzels.
Pacifist isn’t a dirty word.
But it’s also unfair to blame the President for not being one. He never said he was.
Another Halocene Human
@Political Observer: Knock it off, DougJ.
Another Halocene Human
@Tim I: Cornel West is not stupid. Self-absorbed, yes. Stupid, certainly not.
Another Halocene Human
@Triassic Sands: Um, that’s because after losing election after election the Dems finally nutted up and followed the Republicans lead in using market research in their messaging. That’s why Obama uses that silly “middle out” comment, rather than the more idiomatic “grow from the bottom up”. But see, that also appeals to the aspirations of the working class and the poor, that they can aspire the middle class lifestyle and social mobility for their children. Middle class talk is comforting for the middle class and aspirational for those being cut out from it.
matoko_chan
@taylormattd: But did he shove anything down their throats?
Ron
@Spatula: Are you suggesting that the democrats could have ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling that the vote counting be stopped?
Cassidy
You have gotten the meanings of want and need mixed up. We don’t “need” your vote. No one is worried that we’re going to lose. We’re just upset that it is this close. We’d like, or “want”, your vote so that we can send the message to the GOP that they are no longer welcome in this country and that their values are not in line with American values. Now, if you have no interest in that and are moer concerned about protesting a moderate Democrat, than by all means, please do…and go punch yourself in the dick/ vagina while you’re at it. Thank you.
Patricia Kayden
@AxelFoley: Why you had to go and mock the man’s afro?
Just watched “The Matrix” movies for the first time and noticed that West was on Zion’s council. So I guess he’s an actor too.
Egypt Steve
My man. I am exactly where he is.
bjacques
Those angry people in the Middle East don’t hate us for their freedoms. They just sick of us repeatedly droning on about Democracy, firing off lectures on how to run their lives.
Obama’s continuation and expansion of Clinton’s and Bush’s policy of dropping missiles on people does him no credit, but with him in office at least the discussion is alive. It’s better than nothing.
On just about everything else, Obama’s been damn good and he’s played very well after being dealt a weak hand (which is how he got sandbagged by his own party on Guantanamo). Anyone who’s disappointed about how slowly the economy is recovering needs to remember that when the Mammoth Car is hurtling in the wrong direction, it takes a long time to turn it around and keep it from
[SPOILER ALERT]
running off a cliff, bursting into flame and melting into a huge pile of gold that can’t be moved at all.
I’m more than happy to support Obama’s re-election. I’d rather be disappointed by someone who’s trying to do something for 100% of the people than wondering whether someone thinks I fit among the 53% who are temporarily useful or the 46% who can be safely written off. (Come to think of it, that 53-47 dichotomy sounds a lot like the thinking behind a Bain Capital bust-out: you don’t have to convince the workers or even a majority of them, only a majority of the board of directors.)
celticdragonchick
@AxelFoley:
This. Also. Too.
StringOnAStick
My old hippie/anarchist ‘friend’ is voting Stein here in swing state CO because (1) drones, and (2) once Rmoney wins and really, really fucks it up for the common person, then that common person will finally join the Glorious Worker’s Revolution and the ponies will flow like sweet, sweet wine. Heighten the contradictions and all that, since it has worked so well before.
Yeah, I pretty much quit talking to the moron months ago. I just get the occasional email about what a fab choice Stein is and that ‘a message must be sent to the dems’. Idiot.
Brendanyc
@geg6: Yes on Cornell and his colossal ego. But his point is well taken. i consider myself not only to the left of Obama, but even perhaps left of CW, but i never hesitated to commit to the President in this election. In addition to the point he makes that voting in the US is not (almost ever) a matter of voting your conscience, but is a matter of strategy, i would add: if this country, which made me so proud of it (us) for finally electing a minority representative to such a high office, now turns him out after one term on the basis mostly of hostility to him (not the attractiveness of the alternative), well then, I’m moving to Canada.
this point of pride in our progress against racism would perhaps seem crass or self-involved if made by West, but since on the internet no one knows if i am a dog, i can make the point to stand on its own merits.
no, race is not a basis for voting for BHO, not for me, but it is a detail, a consequent implication, of whatever happens this November. Since i am in no way tempted to vote Republican, the only question is whether i would vote at all, and i say–with Prof West–yes indeed–for his reasons, for the symbolism of it all, and because those Obama women are SUCH great inspirations to my daughters and to me.
Lojasmo
@Spatula:
Speaking strictly for me, I don’t give a shit what you do, as long as you stop whinging here.
ETA: Not really sure what game West is playing here, as he lives in NYC which is a lead pipe cinch for O. Probably just wanking, like spatula.
pluege
the core problem with the American two party system is that voting your conscience (which includes abstaining because of the depravity of available choices) has the affect of supporting the worst of the two candidates. The solution is simple: allow people to either vote for, or vote against the candidate they wish to use their vote on. In this case, it would allow people disgusted with obama to not vote for obama, but not help romney by casting a vote against romney.
Giving voters of conscience a real choice should greatly increase citizen participation.