From Sage Stossel
Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought
Elitism Finally Defined
October 23, 2008 — Ron ChusidThis year we’ve heard numerous attacks based upon elitism from politicians who preferred to avoid campaigning based upon the real issues. First we heard it from Hillary Clinton during the primaries, and more recently John McCain and Sarah Palin have been making similar attacks. Maybe Brian Williams was wondering about who were really the elitists if John McCain, who owns at least seven homes and thirteen cars, and Sarah Palin, who has recently been on a $150,000 shopping spree, are not elitists. Williams asked about this in tonight’s installment of his interview with the GOP candidates:
“Who is a member of the elite?” Williams asked, according to excerpts of the interview, which will air this evening on “Nightly News.”
“Oh, I guess just people who think that they’re better than anyone else. And– John McCain and I are so committed to serving every American. Hard-working, middle-class Americans who are so desiring of this economy getting put back on the right track. And winning these wars. And America’s starting to reach her potential. And that is opportunity and hope provided everyone equally. So anyone who thinks that they are– I guess– better than anyone else, that’s– that’s my definition of elitism,” Palin replied.
“So it’s not education? It’s not income-based?” Williams inquired.
“Anyone who thinks that they’re better than someone else,” Palin said.
“It’s not a state of mind? It’s not geography?” Williams asked again.
“‘course not,” Palin answered.
“I know where a lot of ’em live,” McCain added with a laugh.
“Where’s that?” Williams asked.
“Well, in our nation’s capital and New York City,” McCain replied. “I’ve seen it. I’ve lived there. I know the town. I know– I know what a lot of these elitists are. The ones that she never went to a cocktail party with in Georgetown. I’ll be very frank with you. Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves.”
So instead of owning lots of houses, cars, and designer clothes the definition comes down to attending Georgetown cocktail parties. As Steve Benen pointed out, this is not the first time Gerogetown cocktail parties have come up. He also raised this in an interview with The Des Moines Register but The Trail outed McCain as an elitist:
For what it’s worth, our colleague Sally Quinn said that McCain himself hasn’t been a stranger on the circuit.
“I’ve sat next to him many times at dinner parties in Georgetown,” Quinn said. “He’s an absolutely delightful dinner partner.”
Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Sarah Palin have all raised these nonsense attacks based upon elitism. They all have one thing in common, assuming the current polls hold. None of them are going to win the presidential election this year. Becoming elected president or vice president makes one a member of an elite which Clinton, McCain, and Palin are unlikely to become a member of, but I don’t think this is what they had in mind when they launched their attacks on elitism.
ACORN and Voter Fraud
October 23, 2008 — Ron ChusidThere is no controversy over the fact that there are problems with voter registration efforts in which workers are paid to sign up people to vote. There are known cases, such as described in this report from CNN, in which people do put list fake names. While Republicans spin this to claim that Democrats are trying to steal the election, the motivation is actually monetary and carries little real threat of election fraud. While there might be fake names added to the voter roll, such fictitious people don’t usually turn up to vote. ACORN is legally obligated to turn in all the names collected by workers, but they have often flagged ones they consider fictitious. After reporting on a case of someone convicted for registering nonexistent people, the report places the problem in perspective.
University of Washington law professor Eric Schnapper says the idea of fake cards turning into real votes is a myth.
“There are no known instances of fictitious people actually voting,” Schnapper said. “You look at some of the names: Mickey Mouse. Dr. Seuss. Mickey Mouse only votes in Disneyland. He’s not going to show up at a critical precinct in West Virginia or North Carolina.”
Schnapper said that if anyone should be upset, it’s ACORN.
“The victims of this are the people who paid these workers $8 an hour to go out and find legitimate voters, and … they didn’t get their $8 worth; they put down phony names,” Schnapper said.
Schnapper said he’s worked on Republican and Democratic campaigns and has paid people to hand out leaflets or register voters. He said some of the workers do their jobs and some don’t.
ACORN said it has registered well more than 1 million voters, most of them Democrats. Though the group is under investigation in a number of swing states, such as Ohio and Nevada, amid accusations that it turned in fake voter registration cards, Schnapper said there’s no evidence that any worker intended to commit voter fraud and actually take those names, produce phony identification and vote on Election Day.
Threats of criminal prosecution may scare some groups into closing voter registration drives, according to Schnapper. It could scare actual voters away from the polls as well, he said, “and that really does affect the outcomes of the election.”
A report from the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School supports his claim. Researchers reviewed voter fraud claims across the country and found that most were caused by technical glitches, clerical errors or mistakes made by voters. One other finding: A person is more likely to be struck by lightning than to impersonate another voter at the polls.
ACORN has recently released a video on the Internet called “Fight Back: The Truth About ACORN.” It uses a mix of interviews and video to fight what the group calls Republican efforts to suppress voter turnout.
CNN asked Clifton Mitchell whether he and his team, at any point, got together to try to rig the election.
“When I did it, when my team did it, it wasn’t to steal any election,” Mitchell said. “They’re just trying to keep a job. But understand, I blame myself. I can only blame myself.”
It certainly might be argued that changes need to be made to address the problems of fictitious names being collected at all, but this does not represent voter fraud, and is not a problem such as we have seen with actual efforts by Republicans at voter suppression.
Al Queda “Endorses” John McCain
October 23, 2008 — Ron ChusidOne of the major goals of al Qaeda has been to overthrow secular dictatorships in the middle east in the hopes of replacing them with fundamentalist governments. George Bush played into bin Laden’s hands by knocking out Saddam for him. Bush further helped al Qaeda by radicalizing many moderates in the middle east, helping their recruitment and improving their reputation in the region. Forcing the United States to overextend itself, possibly resulting in eventual bankruptcy has been one of their tactics for handling a superpower. Considering the degree to which George Bush did exactly what bin Laden wanted, it is no surprise that bin Laden decided to give Bush assistance in winning the 2004 election, with CIA analysts concluding this was the purpose his pre-election tape.
With George Bush doing so much to help al Qaeda, it comes as no surprise that they hope to see a continuation of his policies under John McCain. This view has been expressed by supporters of al Qaeda:
“Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,” said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the “failing march of his predecessor,” President Bush.
The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had “exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy.” It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.
“It will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda,” said the posting, attributed to Muhammad Haafid, a longtime contributor to the password-protected site. “Al-Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America.”
Needless to say, the McCain campaign did not welcome this “endorsement” and held a conference call to attempt damage control. Spencer Ackerman reports:
I just got off a conference call held by the McCain campaign to deny that Al Qaeda, contrary to reports in the AP and the Washington Post, is rooting for their man. To describe the call as panicked would be an understatement.
Jim Woolsey, the former CIA director who publicly connected Iraq to the 9/11 attacks without any evidence in 2001, and senior foreign-policy adviser Randy Scheunemann spent more time whining about the Washington Post’s standards of fairness than on the logic of why Al Qaeda might prefer Sen. John McCain
What a week for John McCain. Colin Powell endorsed Obama, leaving McCain hoping that the endorsements of five out of six former Republican secretaries of state would be sufficient to counter this. Now he practically has the endorsement of al Qaeda.
McCain Believes Sarah Palin is More Qualified Than Joe Lieberman?
October 23, 2008 — Ron ChusidJohn McCain has sold his soul this year, saying and doing many things in hopes of becoming president which most people would never have expected from him. He’s said many ridiculous things this year, but this comment when interviewed by Imus might be the most absurd of all:
“I think she is the most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president.”
Palin’s lack of qualifications have become quite clear, but McCain apparently believes she is more qualified than Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, George H. W. Bush, Jack Kemp, and Al Gore.
