Republicans can call Arlen Specter an opportunist all they like and maybe they’re right. But the fact remains, the senator’s party jump is the direct result of the Republican’s increasing intolerance of moderates within their party. I understand that Specter is not a model Republican and that a primary challenge is often the price a [...]

“The time has come for both left and right in this country to rediscover what philosophers call the “principle of charity” which asserts that a discussant’s argument should be interpreted in the way most compatible with the assumption that they are reasonable and well-intentioned.” – Jason Arvak in his post “On Lowering The Partisan Heat. [...]

We’re less than three months into this new presidency and we’re already hearing people on the right wing talking about how people could start rioting. Why? Because some dishwasher detergents are being banned in Washington. I’m not kidding. Between this and the Tea Party stuff, I really think Republicans are cutting any credibility out from [...]

After months of pleas from the small business community, the New York Times (the so-called paper of record) finally decided to cover some of the central elements of the legislation. Except that it was not an article discussing the potential costs of the legislation; nor was it even an article discussing the debate over the [...]

Oddly reminiscent of some recent comments I’ve read. Hmmm… I wonder if Nancy is commenting here on the Donk with sock puppets. h/t Joe Gandelman at the Moderate Voice

Me, elsewhere: Over the last few months, there has been much finger-pointing as to which particular sect of the old GOP coalition is to blame for the policy failures of the last 8 years and the electoral failures of the last 2 years…..I think these accusations are deeply misplaced – the problems have not been [...]

No doubt he’s thankful for Obama’s intervention so he could keep his seniority and charimanships. So now we’re seeing some penance. Certainly not necessary, but definitely appreciated. Brokaw certainly put the screws to him, and I think it’s fair that Lieberman was taking the “Look, McCain was my friend and I supported him. What do [...]

Well, I got duped. But then again, so did MSNBC. And not only that, Martin Eisenstadt does it in the blogosphere. How very Smear 2.0 of him… As you know, I was one of the foreign policy advisers on the McCain campaign who worked with Randy Scheunemann to help prep Sarah on her debate with [...]

A link to a video of Obama supposedly giving McCain the finger is on the front page right now… Boy, yeah, that’s damning. How dare he. jeezus…

Remember she of SNL fame? Well, she apparently thinks that Obama may literally be the devil. And no, it’s not a joke… I don’t want a political label, but Obama bears traits that resemble the anti- Christ and I’m scared to death that un- educated people will ignorantly vote him into office. You see, what [...]

And we have studies to prove it… Now used with equal zest by presidential candidates and unknowns running for low-level office, the calls that have generated controversy this month have been fixtures of national campaigns since the mid-1990s – despite little statistical evidence that they do anything more than annoy recipients. “We, so far, found [...]

TIME has more messaging… Mailer says Obama “thinks terrorists just need a good talking to” and is “not who you think he is.” Being mailed in Missouri and Virginia. Here’s McCain’s response… Absolutely? By the way, if Obama isn’t who we think he is…WHO is he? That’s the question I’d like McCain to answer. Tell [...]

Watch. Anti-Americanism is now the mantra for the right wing. Expect this to be the meme if Obama wins.

Nothing turns me off like partisan anger. I know a lot of people like to get wrapped up in the false fury propagated by certain partisans, but I try to keep my irrational outbursts focused primarily on my beloved Dallas Cowboys. I don’t really understand those who feel the need to bring the gladiatorial spirit [...]

… when rightwing blogs have to start defending Obama over scurrilous rumors. The once well-oiled rightwing machine has collapsed into the kind of rumor-mongering and dissociated, random attacks that marked the lefties back in their darker days. Looks like the vast rightwing conspiracy has fallen on hard times.

Over the weekend, Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia released a controversial statement condemning the John McCain campaign. Lewis claimed that McCain and Sarah Palin are stoking the fires of hate and had this to add: During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named [...]

The caption from Getty… VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – OCTOBER 13: Supporters hold up signs during a rally for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at the Virginia Beach Convention Center October 13, 2008 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. About 15,000 people turned out to see Palin and [...]

In a column for Pajamas Media, conservative scholar and essayist Victor Davis Hanson fights back against the trickle of conservatives who’ve bailed on John McCain. Hanson notes that the “nasty McCain campaign” isn’t particularly loathsome in historical context and that Barack Obama supporters have smeared McCain and Palin just as harshly. He touches on a [...]

The slo-mo implosion continues… From NY Times: He has nothing to lose. His campaign is totally overmatched by Obama’s. The Obama team is well organized, flush with resources, and the candidate and the campaign are in sync. The McCain campaign, once merely problematic, is now close to being out-and-out dysfunctional. Its combination of strategic incoherence [...]

I’ve been posting a lot recently about the various attempts to paint Obama as foreigner, a muslim, of Arab decent, a friend of terrorists and a terrorist himself. Well, now this is the first (to my knowledge) that explicitly involves a high ranking member of the GOP, at least at the state level. From TIME: [...]