REPUBLICANS PUSH DEMS TO THE WALL ON ANTI-GAY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AS CONVENTION NEARS

This editorial sums it up perfectly.

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July 2, 2004
THE RUSH TO WEDLOCK POLITICS
The New York Times

The Senate Republicans' maneuver to stage a hurried, red-meat floor debate for President Bush's proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is nothing more than low-grade political mischief. The majority leader, Bill Frist, has opted to trash Senate procedure and bypass proper consideration in the Judiciary Committee to revive the Bush amendment, deservedly moribund for months. It is expected to come up barely a week before the Democratic presidential convention, perfect timing, as Bush partisans read their calendar, for pandering anew to their right-wing base.

In truth, the amendment has been generating all the Capitol momentum of a lead balloon. It is languishing far from the two-thirds' Congressional approval needed to send it to the states for consideration. Many politicians and an increasing number of other Americans, even those opposed to gays' marrying, find the idea of amending the Constitution to deny rights to a particular group of people objectionable. The proposal's fate was nowhere near settled in the Judiciary Committee, which by tradition is a prime incubator for constitutional change.

The amendment had been slated for consideration after the election, at the earliest. But with their slender majority power increasingly threatened, G.O.P. strategists clearly hope to squeeze some Democrats — Senator John Kerry included — who are wary or nuanced about the issue to provide attack-ad scripts for the campaign.

Senator Frist concedes that there are not enough votes for passage. But he insists that heterosexual marriage is under such attack that there's an urgent need to leap directly to a debate. "Every day I put it off, more people get married," Dr. Frist said in explaining the sudden rush. Imagine, more people getting married before they can be constitutionally discriminated against.

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KERRY PICKS A MATE

The Honeymooners - John & John

Check out these extremely witty and hopefully outrageous highway signs
http://www.freewayblogger.com/

THE NEW TOUCHY-FEELY WHITE HOUSE

It seems John and John can't contain their excitement.

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DRUDGE REPORT
THU JULY 08, 2004 10:09:35 ET

CAN'T KEEP HANDS OFF EACH OTHER

Hugs, kisses to the cheek, affectionate touching of the face, caressing of the back, grabbing of the arm, fingers to the neck, rubbing of the knees...

John Kerry and John Edwards can't keep their hands off each other!

In the past 48 hours, "candidate handling" has become the top buzz on the trail.

News photographers have been going wild with photos of the two Johns.

"I've been covering Washington and politics for 30 years. I can say I've never seen this much touching between two men, publicly," e-mailed one wire photographer.

When asked if the Johns are acting out a cynical focus group series of poses -- perhaps to show warmth to the chilly Bush/Cheney -- a Kerry spokesperson explained: "I think we're just seeing genuine affection between them."

But the spokesperson added, "I hope we do not see them wearing matching outfits when they ride bikes this weekend."

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As a non citizen who can't vote...i am often really frustrated by what I see/read so I try to live in De Nile area of town... but finally decided to watch last night (on CSpan)the live coverage of the Dems conf. I was REALLY impressed, especially with Barach Obama (wow, one day there really MIGHT be a person of color in that White house) and i really DO love Teresa Heinz Kerry... thought, after hearing her speak, that she was incredibly bright, warm and most of all (what is lacking with the GOP lot) was HUMANITY not full of vacuous Rhetoric.
Am looking forward to watchin it tonight to.. anyone else catchin it... (Amazing that its NOT on prime time telly here! This is life/future/important...)

Yes, Ive been watching..

My producer's eye couldnt help chuckling over Patti LaBelle having to follow Clinton's masterful oratory, and then doing her song as half the delegates were getting out of their seats and leaving. Even Patti knew that ELVIS HAD LEFT THE BUILDING..priceless.

The Baraka speech was fierce, and he's a hottie!

I would rate the speeches thusly:

1) Elvis (J'adore, PLEASE run for Mayor!)
2) Baraka
3) Teresa Kerry (extra points for Grrlpower)
4) Howard Dean
5) Mother of 9/11 victim

Found Hilary still wooden - I know she FEELS the passion, but she's got to let Bill show her how to emote.

D'oh I missed many of the other speakers... (started watching from begin of Barack). Chi Chi you and I should share a telly room we always watch the same shit! Ohh Leo's!

PS For the FIRST time in my life I am actually proud of Bennifer Afleck for standing up and supporting the Dems... more and more hollywood/media/celebs need to stand up and support... for god sake without Dems and Liberals these luvies wouldn't have a career. But the Ghastly Phoney of Publicists and Hollywood really stops celebs for standing up for anything political which is so sad. EVERYONE is sooooo bland these days. so I actually think good on Bennifer! (wow never thought I'd live to say that!)

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The blandness is exactly what needs to be overcome. It is one of the most disheartening conditions imposed by so much war-chill, economic squeeze, and backward looking ambitions of the current regime. It isn't so much an effect of fear of their diktats but the result of everything being squelched. It comes down to liberty -if the appeal is made so strenuously to people's childlike proclivities to step in line and shut up it gets verrrry quiet. You can't lead the world by being quiet, but it does make it easier to just follow the leader down the path of self-destruction.

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Baraka is HOT ! (and he's high yella ) I think he's replaced Wesley Clark as my fave political hottie. I hope he wins his Senate race. (Chi Chi, what happened to the attachment feature? I wanted to post Baraka's pic ...)

Bill's speech was without a doubt the best. But Baraka's was excellent. I thought Hillary was fine, but her husband did outshine her. Did anyone see Al Sharpton? I missed it but heard he rocked the house. I also liked Jimmy Carter's speech, and Howard Dean's, and Glenn Close's 9/11 tribute.

Sharpton was great cos he just vented! He got heated and angry about the GOP which was great. I am hearing allot of complaint about Teresa's speech but I thought she was great...yes her speech was more about HER than selling her hubby but GREAT. About time the First lady wasn't such a friggin stepford wife. One thing I realized was that the Dems thought GLOBAL not just LOCAL which I always feel is what the Republicans always do. Teresa and Elizabeth both women who have lived around the world.. think it means so much..as the current Bush dictatorship is sooo narror and local (in other words IGNORANT and laughable to the rest of the world!). American is not just the greater power that doesnt need the allies of other countries this stupid war proved that. The ignorant nationalistic rants of Bush promoted that American is always the great power that doesn't need any knowledge or support from any other country .. but he has been proved SO WRONG. Barack is not a fancy fella to moi.. but what a fab speaker he was... UNBELIEVABLE that there are no black senators?? is that true?

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Amazing, but true. There have been only two Black Senators since the Reconstruction!
There were actually two during those years that followed the Civil War, but does anyone remember who the other two Blacks in office since then were?
I am thinking Carol Moseley Braun, who was quite a firebrand during the '90s, was one.
And was Shirley Chisholm the other? She was also from Bed-Sty, ran for president, and wore those way-cool cat's eye glasses in the late 1960's. Wait, she was in the House, I think.
OK, so who was the other?
And why only two?

Don't know how much this one passed you by ... but a new lil Bush law... Cuban-Americans can now no longer visit their families once a year. They are now only allowed to travel to Cuba once every three years!! This is a BUSH not Castro law. God help any of them with sick or elderly relatives there! Ahhh democracy in the land of the free... great innit?

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Classic!
Link on Smoking Gun...
Bush said, "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." watch the clip! great!http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0805042bush1.html

Defo freudian slip

http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html

"Get Your War On," motherfuckers!
Wild & crazy site.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/arts/television/X22ZENG.html?pagewanted=1&th

The state of the Bush joke... becoming 'more serious' ...

I'm nautious. Evil as we all know he is, how dare Giuliani invoke 9/11 in such a disgraceful way! It's beyond the pale.

RE-ELECTING BUSH IS DEBT AMERICANS OWE VICTIMS OF 9/11: RUDY

By DAVID SEIFMAN
New York Post

August 31, 2004 -- President Bush must be re-elected because the nation owes it to the victims of 9/11 to continue his unrelenting war on terrorism, Rudy Giuliani declared last night.

In a rousing defense of White House policies, New York's former mayor told the Republican National Convention that Bush can be counted on to safeguard America, while Democrat John Kerry's inconsistencies raise questions about his commitment to root out terrorists.

"Thank God George Bush is our President," a fired-up Giuliani proclaimed, repeating a line he had used immediately after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

"We need George Bush now more than ever."

With Bush in command, Giuliani said there is no doubt terrorists "will continue to hear from us."

"We owe that much and more to the loved ones and heroes we lost on Sept. 11," Giuliani continued against a backdrop of the New York skyline.

Families of 9/11 survivors were in the audience at Madison Square Garden, absorbing the recollections of the official most closely associated with 9/11.

Giuliani was unsparing and unusually animated in his attacks on Kerry, especially for switching positions "often, even on important issues."

Kerry at one point declared himself an anti-war candidate," said Giuliani. "Now he says he's pro-war. At this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times."

The partisan audience often interrupted with ovations during the 40-minute speech.

One of the loudest applause lines was Giuliani's repetitions of a Bush doctrine: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists."

Contrasting the incumbent president with his challenger, Giuliani said Bush has proven his determination to combat terrorism "at the source," so we won't have to "confront it in the streets of New York."

"John's Kerry's record of inconsistent positions of combating terrorism gives us no confidence he'll pursue such a determined course," he added.

Democrats fired back at the relentless slamming of Kerry.

"It is shocking that after four years, there is so little to talk about in praise of this president that Republicans have to launch such vicious attacks," said Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

Giuliani's speech was the highlight of the first night of the convention, and the man dubbed "America's mayor" for his leadership after 9/11 didn't shy away from the topic, despite critics who say it is too sensitive for the political arena.

The terror attacks were also spotlighted in emotion-charged recollections by two widows whose husbands died on 9/11.

"My heart broke into a million pieces," said Debra Burlingame, whose husband was a pilot on one of the planes, speaking of the support her family received afterwards.

Tara Stackpole, whose husband was one of 343 firefighters who perished at the World Trade Center, said America should "never forget the sacrifices of Sept. 11 and the sacrifices made everyday by our sons and daughters in military service."

Some delegates were openly weeping during the tribute, which preceded Giuliani's speech.

There were also lighthearted moments.

"I've never seen so many Republicans in New York City," said Giuliani. "I finally feel at home," he went on.

When he first ran for City Hall, Giuliani was on a fusion ticket as a Republican-Liberal. His ascendancy to the ranks of Republican star was a remarkable turnaround for the former mayor, who didn't even attend the 1996 GOP convention in Philadelphia.

These days, some Republicans openly tout Giuliani as a presidential contender in 2008.

At a packed Midtown luncheon yesterday, former Sen. Fred Thompson declared that Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain are "referred to in some circles as the ticket."

"I don't know what they're talking about," Thompson added, eliciting knowing laughs from the plugged-in audience at the fundraiser for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides scholarships to children who lost a parent in special forces.

Even though Giuliani didn't speak until two hours into the luncheon, virtually every seat remained filled until he finished.

Introduced by McCain as "one of America's great heroes," Giuliani warned that the war on terror won't be won quickly.

"This organization has helped a lot of families," Giuliani said somberly. "It's going to have to help more families in the future.

"This war on terrorism is not going to be over tomorrow, it's not going to be over next month — it's going to go on for a number of years. I don't know how long."

Giuliani argued that firefighters and cops who gave their lives that day not only saved about 10,000 from almost certain death, but also lifted America's shattered spirit.

"As we were still in shock, suppose the story had been that firefighters fled their posts . . . They were walking to the fire. That's the first thing they gave us, a sense we could absorb something like this and we've got the spirit to fight back."

Giuliani's moderate views on social issues left some delegates from conservative districts questioning if he'd be the party's candidate in four years.

"I think he'd have trouble in our state because he's not pro-life and that's an issue in Oklahoma," said delegate Brian Mangham of Oklahoma City.

The party platform, crafted to Bush's specifications, include constitutional amendments against gay marriages and abortions, as well as limits to federal spending on embryonic stem-cell research.

But South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham insisted there was room within the GOP for diverse viewpoints such as Giuliani's.

It is always very dangerous when the reputation tagged on a politician has very little or no bearing on who that person really is and what he actually stands for. Seldom had NYC ever been run by a mayor with the level of vindictiveness and insensitivity as Rudiani. The people who tout him have no idea of what kind of a person he really is. But he's perfect as a Republican Messiah, wait until that party starts to dress its demigod in overt regalia and have children strewing flowers in his path. The proof of how little substance their 'leaders' have is that they will also trot out Schwarzennegger, a pot-puffing sex-gropper who makes ultra-violent movies. American politics finally goes Fellini.

I can understand why the Republican Party would need a so-called hero of 9-11 to tout as the sitting president was very much less than that.

I guess The Post missed the fact that the families of the 9-11 victims at the convention numbered very few and that at least half of them are appalled that the RNC is even being held in NYC at all.

Rudy's speech was not anything new at all; it was simply more of the mean-spirited and negative sourness that he has evidenced all along. This is a hero? Bah!

It is good to point out the plight of the families of the 9/11 victims hatches, since they were the ultimate pawns in the decision of the RNC to come here. They deserve everyone's thanks because it was a critical mass of the families that complained so strenuously about the RNC plans to use the actual WTrade site as a backdrop for convention rallies, which induced the RNC to back out of those plans, but too late to pull out of their contract to use the Garden. So the RNC was stuck coming here without the benefit of the one image orgy they were counting on to capitalize their efforts to exploit fear.

There are really two kinds of meanness in public appearances, the kind that utilizes the mean truth ( Jesse Jackson is at times masterful at this ) and the other, Rudiani kind, that is a regressive wallowing that does not seek to liberate consciousness or spirit but just denegrate and stigmatize its targets. It continues Rudiani's trait of showing actual disgust for the very citizens he ruled over. He, like all the other RNC gang, is a politician for masochists.

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I made the decision to shut myself off from pretty much all media this week. I have not read the Times, the Post, the Drudge Report, etc. and my television is only turned on to watch my fave programs (like "Nip/Tuck" tonight at 10 p.m.) It is off right now as I type. This is a departure from other elections, in which I have sometimes tuned into the RNC just to hear what's being said and how some topics are being handled. But not this year, it is just too insidious. Michael's post is the first I've read about any of the 2004 convention happenings, and as I predicted it made me sick. The rest of the week is only going to be endless propaganda anyway, and I feel like I've already spent 4 years listening to that. Blech!

As I was leaving work tonight another protest was forming in front of the NYC Public Library on 42nd & Fifth. It looked cool, all these protesters waving signs and massing in between the two stone lions. I hope the vigils continue each night, letting the stinking RNC know they are NOT WELCOME.

Their hideous official platform, btw, states that not only is the party in favor of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but also against ANY legal recognition of gay unions at all. Nice touch.

Andrew Sullivan and the Log Cabin girls are probably in a big K-hole right now.