I keep hearing reasons...

[unixronin]

I keep hearing people trumpet reasons not to vote for McCain, with the unspoken implication that these constitute reasons to vote for Obama.

Well, OK.  Here's a pretty damned good reason not to vote for Obama.  You know this economic trainwreck that's currently happening right in front of us because Congress passed laws to allow (and even encourage) stupidly risky practices in home mortgage lending?

When the Bush administration tried to rein in Freddie and Fannie from continuing to engage in risky practices, guess who stepped in to block their efforts?  Democratic senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and -- are you ready? -- Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, guess who were the top four recipients of campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie between 1988 and 2008?

Senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and -- still ready? -- Barack Obama.

A coincidence, I tell you -- just a coincidence.

Further down in the same article,

While Barack Obama was getting campaign contributions from Fannie Mae's Franklin Raines, John McCain was sounding the alarm about the crisis to come and trying to do something about it.  On May 25, 2006, McCain spoke on the floor of the Senate on behalf of his proposed Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005:

[subquote elided]

However, McCain's bill was killed in the Senate when Democrats threatened a filibuster.

Yeah.  Now tell me with a straight face that I should vote for Obama and the Democratic Party because they're gonna make it all better.

The simple fact is, both parties have become part of the problem.

Comments

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Sure. Looking at Obama and Biden and comparing them with McCain and Palin, no problem with the choice at all and this even though for me Obama's policies are not mine. Do we want a religious fanatic as VP and the person who picked her as President? People who lie like they are breathing? I mean, really? I've been saying for years that both parties are the problem. It remains the case that the Republican leadership made this problem--with some support from the Democrats, to be sure, but it was the Republicans who led this charge into the depths, and it's been so since Reagan and Volcker.

And then there are the war crimes.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

There you go with that whole 'religious fanatic' thing again.

Look, Moq'tadi al'Sadr is a religious fanatic, OK? Fred Phelps is a religious fanatic. Whatsizname Huckleberry (I can't bring the right name to mind right now; you know who I mean) is pretty out there, but he doesn't make the bar for "religious fanatic".

Sarah Palin is just a little more fervently right-wing-Christian than you're comfortable with. (And more so than I'd prefer, but I'll take a relatively moderate right-wing Christian as VP over Joe Biden, thanks.) That doesn't make her a fanatic.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, no. She's as fanatical--or at least has joined churches as fanatical--as al'Sadr. See (http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2008/09/pastor-muthee-witchhunter-all-right.html).

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

Oooooh...does this mean Trinity Church of Christ and Rev. Wright are back in play now? This should get more interesting...

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

Ya know, it also occurs to me that Biden's a member of a church that has actually killed uncountable people for heresy and for refusing to be converted and holds all kinds of crazy beliefs. Those guys are nuts. You've convinced me...we cannot afford a religious zealot like Joe Biden as VP.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I was wondering the same thing.

A little loopy, I'll grant. Mostly harmlessly loopy. But a fanatic? Uh ... No. Sorry.

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

Blacks are about 10% of the electorate. They vote 90% Democrat. Republicans consider it pretty important to figure out how to reach out to them, thus far without much success.

Evangelicals are about 25% of the electorate. They vote about 65% Republican. AFAICT, Democrats can't even conceive that any Evangelical would ever vote for a Democrat, much less that 1/3 of them do. Also, they can't conceive that merely by moderating their tone ('clinging to God and Guns' FTW!) that this might be able to make a significant dent in the Republican base.

Step 1 would be to stop refering to them as religious fanatics.