Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune

The latest Zogby Daily Tracking poll indicates Democratic Senator Barack Obama retains a 9 point lead over Senator Hillary Clinton days away from the Democratic Presidential primary — and the two are tied in Indiana.

Meanwhile, the latest Rasmussen poll shows Clinton has pulled even with Obama nationally among Democrats, although Rasmussen’s upcoming primary poll numbers — showing Obama leading in North Carolina and trailing in Indiana — have not changed.

Zogby reports:

Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois holds a nine point lead in North Carolina, and has now edged ahead of Hillary Clinton of New York by a statistically insignificant two points in Indiana, a pair of new Zogby daily tracking telephone polls show.

In both states, the candidates are essentially tied among moderate voters, while Obama holds leads among mainline liberals and progressives. Clinton holds substantial advantages among conservative voters likely to cast ballots in the Democratic primary election.

After a good day of polling, Obama retains a lead in North Carolina - 48% to 39%, with 13% either unsure or favoring someone else. In Indiana, Obama won the day by a small margin and now holds 43% support, compared to 41% for Clinton, with the balance either favoring someone else or undecided.

In several key past races undecideds have tended to break for Hillary Clinton. Watch the undecideds in the final batch of polling.

In Indiana, Zogby has Obama ahead of Clinton 43 to 41 percent — a statistical tie given the margin of error:

Clinton holds a sizable edge among Catholics and a small advantage among Protestant voters. She also leads among older voters, while Obama leads among all Democratic primary voters under age 55. In a key age demographic - those voters age 35 to 54 - Obama enjoys a 10-point lead. This was a group that went for Clinton in the recent Pennsylvania primary, after leaning toward Obama in the week before the election.

Clinton leads by 11 points among white voters in Indiana, which make up about 83% of the electorate. Obama leads by an enormous 10-to-1 ratio among African American voters in Indiana. He also continues to lead in northern Indiana, a large section of which is influenced by his hometown Chicago media market, and in Indianapolis. In the southern half of the state, which features a population much like that of Ohio next door, Clinton continues to enjoy a double-digit lead. Obama is holding on to a nine point lead among Indiana men, while closing the gap to five points behind Clinton among women.

Meanwhile, Ramussen shows a gain by Clinton nationally — and signs that the close race is indeed good for the Democratic party:

The race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination is now tied. Clinton and Obama are each supported by 45% of Likely Democratic Primary Voters. Last Monday, Obama led by eight. The ongoing competition between Obama and Clinton may be causing angst for party leaders, but the competition has been good for the Party label. In fact, the Democrats now have the largest partisan advantage over the Republicans since Rasmussen Reports began tracking this data on a monthly basis nearly six years ago.

In Tuesday’s Primaries, Clinton has a narrow lead in Indiana while Obama has the lead in North Carolina. Clinton leads Obama by five points. Looking ahead a few weeks, Obama has a twelve-point lead in Oregon. Rasmussen Markets data shows Obama continues to be the favorite for the Democratic nomination, but expectations have slipped significantly in recent days. Currently, the frontrunner is given a 73.7 % chance of winning.

All of this suggests that unless Obama or Clinton wins both primaries on Tuesday, on Wednesday morning the race could be exactly where it is today.

Today I received a solicitation for funds from the Republican Leadership Council - representing the moderate wing of the GOP. The central plea was to help stop the Democrats from raising taxes.

While it may be appropriate to inflame party regulars by appealing to stereotypes it doesn’t appeal to me as an independent. I am more interested in supporting leaders who will have mature conservations with the voters about what are the necessary amounts of taxes to achieve some minimum standard of living for American citizens. (The kind of speech Obama gave about race is what I have in mind)

I support Universal Health Care, renewable energy, energy independence, better education, Clean air and water , infrastructure improvements, and other public policies that improve our lives. And this may take higher taxes, or it might take less taxes if the waste is removed from the current budget.

What I want to hear from the GOP is how they are going to be better managers of the public funds. Until a few years back they boasted about what they would do if they were in charge of the government. Then I watched them waste money on a war, tax breaks to those who least need them, Tax breaks to the Oil and Drug industries, and abuse of earmarks way beyond that of the Democrats. And to me we are far worst off than we were before they took control.

So until I hear a more realistic and specific conversation coming from the GOP I will respond as I did when I got this letter. I made an online donation to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Because even though I risk that the Democrats might tax me a bit more than is necessary I believe they are more likely to err on the side of spending more on the essential needs of society than to provide less.

The latest Newsmax/Zogby poll taken after Wednesday night’s debate that contained one of the weakest performances by Democratic Senator Barack Obama shows rival Hillary Clinton now opening up a small lead only days away from the Democratic Presidential primary.

In recent weeks, as this chart shows, have shown Clinton keeping her lead in Pennsylvania but by narrow margins. For months she had enjoyed a double-digit lead there and Pennsylvania was expected to be a huge victory for her, but Obama had started to narrow the gap. Between Clinton’s use of his “bitter” comments and his debate performance there has been much speculation that his momentum stopped.

In this latest poll:

New York Democrat Hillary Clinton had a good day in the Newsmax/Zogby daily tracking poll ahead of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary, following a strong debate performance in Philadelphia Wednesday night, and now holds a 47% to 43% advantage over Barack Obama of Illinois.

The two-day tracking survey, which was conducted April 16-17, 2008, showed that 10% were either undecided or supported someone else.

The telephone survey, conducted using live operators working out of Zogby’s on-site call center in Upstate New York, included 602 likely Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania. It carries a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.

The race appears stable, as Clinton retained a sizable lead in western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, while Obama continues to lead by a large percentage in eastern Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia. In the central part of the state, including the state capital of Harrisburg, Clinton leads by eight points.

Pollster Zogby notes a long-term polling trend that should be troubling to the Obama camp:

Read the rest of this entry »

If you like The Moderate Voice’s blend of co-bloggers, guest voice posts, varying ideas, features and role in consciously trying to strengthen the Internet’s center while respecting the left and right, this is the time to help us help by donating whatever you can. We’re still in the middle of some changes so every donation helps.

You can donate by going to DONATE TO TMV on the right side of the template (or click on these links) and donating via Paypal, or Amazon OR click on my name in the upper portion of the masthead and email me if you want to send a check. If you want to make a loan, contact me for details on the interest you’ll receive. This will be posted each day until the drive is over.
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In Ohio on Tuesday, Barack Obama told a debate-audience that he favors opting out of NAFTA if the agreement isn’t re-negotiated so as to help more Americans keep their jobs.  Wednesday, CTV reported:

"Within the last month, a top staff member for Obama’s campaign telephoned Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, and warned him that Obama would speak out against NAFTA….

"The staff member reassured Wilson that the criticisms would only be campaign rhetoric, and should not be taken at face value."

Thursday, one Canadian official denied that the conversation took place. Another Canadian official seems to disagree. Today, CTV reports:

Read the rest of this entry »

What do people in Latin America think about Barack Obama’s difficulties with Hispanics? In the first article of its kind translated by WORLDMEETS.US, Alfredo Toro Hardy of Venezuela’s El Universal writes, ‘Curiously the biggest obstacle to overcoming the taboo that closes off the White House to non-Whites comes from Hispanics. The Hispanic community, which has always played a decisive role in opening the racial floodgates, is now being transformed into the last containment wall to the arrival of a Black man to the U.S. Presidency.’

By Alfredo Toro Hardy

Translated By Barbara Howe

February 14, 2008

Venezuela - El Universal - Original Article (Spanish)

Like a bulldog and despite having no chance of winning, Mike Huckabee refuses to withdraw from the Republican contest. That obliges John McCain to devote time and energy to prevailing over him instead of concentrating on reorganizing the party to confront the Democrats. Moreover, the face-off with Huckabee implies a confrontation with the Christian right and the more conservative elements of the party.

Meanwhile, this difficult effort to differentiate himself from Huckabee threatens to distance McCain from this high-powered faction of the Republican Party, which has so many financial and media resources to draw upon and such a capacity to mobilize voters.

This is a component of the party that McCain has never liked, but without their participation it will be difficult for him to win in November. It seems inevitable that this will lead McCain to forge an agreement between Huckabee and those factions that back him, perhaps offering him the Vice Presidential ticket. In that case, McCain will alienate many of the independent and centrist voters that that support him, and which he needs to prevail over the Democrats. McCain finds himself caught between the conflicting demands of winning the support of the Christian right and of centrists.

The Democrats, however, are breaking the mould and making history. By some unknown method, a woman and a Black man, representatives of the country’s so-called minorities, are competing to run for the nation’s highest office. Breaking the gender barrier would be impressive, but overcoming the barrier of race would be much more so.

Curiously the biggest obstacle to overcoming the taboo that closes off the White House to non-Whites comes from Hispanics. The Hispanic community, which has always played a decisive role in opening the racial floodgates, is now being transformed into the last containment wall to the arrival of a Black man to the U.S. Presidency.

READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. elections.

Many of us visit The Moderate Voice because the rhetoric and performance of the party extremes do not seem to be a comfortable fit. We are looking for a different community with which to belong. Most of us like talk and performance that is moderate in tone and balanced in application. And it is a useful exercise to continually reflect on what we mean by moderate, extreme and balanced.

It seems to me that each issue can be laid out along a spectrum from one extreme to another. e.g. Nationalized businesses on one end and unfettered markets on the other with gradations of regulation in the middle. I am drawn to the gradations in the middle. For me the compelling debate is about what kind of regulation and how much.

Similarly on Taxes: Socialism on one end and Libertarianism on the other with various philosophies of taxation in the middle. For me the attractive debate is about how much taxes are necessary to provide some agreed upon level of wellbeing for our citizens. I think it is a canard to talk about any significant reduction in overall tax burdens. Even with scrupulous management, our Federal budget might only shrink from $3 Trillion to $2.5 Trillion. The real issue is how the burden is shared by those to whom much has been given.

Few of the central controversies in our society can be resolved by simple extreme answers: they do not reduce to: power versus finesse, carrot versus stick, civil liberties versus security, and it certainly isn’t liberal versus conservative. It is almost always a balance and blend. And it is the leaders who are willing and able to speak to that Centrist sensibility who attract many of the folks who turn to The Moderate Voice.

Larry C. Johnson of No Quarter has been arguing for quite some time that Obama is insufficiently vetted to withstand attacks from the right. In a recent piece in The Huffington Post, he discusses the basis of his concerns. And while I don’t agree by any means with all Johnson’s conclusions about Obama’s candidacy or Obama himself, the warnings he has sounded and the red flags he has indicated have most certainly given me pause. In fact, it would be fair to say that Johnson’s writings were some of the first to raise serious doubt in my mind about whether Obama is the best candidate for the times (though I continue to hope he will prove to be the presidential candidate of the future).

He writes:

If you think for a minute that the Republican party — who used Willie Horton on Michael Dukakis to devastating effect, who portrayed triple amputee and veteran Max Cleland as a bosom buddy of Osama Bin Laden, and convinced many voters that decorated combat veteran John Kerry was a fraud — will give Obama a pass come the fall then you are in serious denial.

But, unlike the attacks on Dukakis, Cleland, and Kerry, the ammunition that Obama has provided to his political foes is significant and deadly. [Huffpost; links in original]

In light of what we know about GOP tactics, Johnson (like me) is bemused by Obamacrats’ willingness to take him at face value and resistance to questioning (or even allowing anyone else to question) his past and past connections.

Read the rest of this entry »

John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri

The Wall Street Journal article “Primary Sends Shivers Through Capitol Moderates” profiles the fate of incumbent Congresspeople who are perceived as straying too far from their party’s base. While the prodigal Democrats are targeted by MoveOn and ActBlue, the Republicans are targeted by the “Club for Growth.”

“We’ll be working this fall for ‘more’ Democrats, but today we struck a blow on behalf of better Democrats,” wrote Markos Moulitsas Zuniga on the popular blog DailyKos.com Tuesday night. “Our caucus is once again on notice. If they continue to serve corporate interests rather than their constituents, if they insist on remaining aloof to the nation’s popular sentiment, they’ll get booted in a Democratic primary like Joe Lieberman in 2006 and Al Wynn in 2008.”

The problem for me is that this analog to “Ethnic Cleansing” can get out of control with the criteria becoming so tight that only the zealots remain. My preference is for a criteria that leans as much on process as it does on policy. By which I mean whether someone is pragmatic, cooperative, collaborative and trans-partisan. Or in other words, someone who supports incremental steps to refining and perfecting the process of government through tighter ethics rules, public campaign finance, redistricting reform, voting counting integrity, open primaries, etc.

I would not be happy to lose a representative because of the genuine difference on values such as on gun control when they are otherwise in alignment on making sure we have an increasingly representative government. Likewise I would not want a corrupt and sinister representative who can expertly pander to the radical elements of the party.

Sometimes people disagree who are reasonable, fair and honorable.

You want to know why moderate Republicans are dying?

It’s not because conservatives have run them out (which they have).

It’s because we lack stamina. We lack backbone. We are more interested in our own wants and needs than in looking at the bigger picture. We see politics more as enterainment instead of hard work.

The far right got to where they are because they had passion. They had a vision for the country and saw the GOP as the vehicle to get them there. They weren’t just looking for someone that made them feel good, but someone who could help propel a movement. That’s why they are in control of the GOP and why moderates are not.

My fellow blogger and friend Pete Abel wrote today about his dissapointment with John McCain especially on what seems like backpeddaling on torture (I am also let down by McCain’s apparent reversal). While I’ll agree that McCain has dropped the ball on this one, I was mad after reading this post.

I kept wondering: okay, you don’t like what McCain did. Have you contacted him and raised bloody hell? Write to his Senate office? His campaign?

You want to know why McCain did this? Because he has to get the conservative base to win. I don’t like that anymore than Pete, but they are the ones that control the party, not the moderates.

He also did this, because he can. There are no moderates who will give him hell for this, no moderate Rush Limbaugh. If moderates don’t like what they hear, they will just go to someone they like, such Barak Obama.

What would have happened if an army of moderates jammed his Senate phone lines and email boxes? What if they called his campaign headquarters and shamed him for even thinking to do this? He might have changed his mind.

But of course, no one will do that. We moderates will get all pissy and just vote for someone else.

I support McCain, even though he isn’t perfect because he is probably the best candidate Republicans have had in a long time. He could pull the party in a better direction. And in the end, I am not thinking soley about McCain, but about the future of this party and trying to make it more humane and caring and more in line with true conservatism. But McCain can’t do that by himself; he needs a movement that will keep him honest.

The problem with a lot of moderates is that we want to be in love with our candidates. We want someone that thrills us and is a good show. That’s probably why so many moderate Republicans are going for Obama. He is thrilling and his speeches are wonderful. He talks about hope and unity and our nation is desparate need of both.

But in the end, he is a politician and he will dissapoint people. And in the end, he won’t do anything to help make the GOP a more center right party.

If there is anything that I’ve learned over the years is that politics is work and a bit of courage. My dear friend Jim is a lifelong Republican who is gay. He has gone to district conventions and presented resolutions that are gay friendly. My quiet, little friend has the guts to stand for justice in the middle of a bunch of social conservatives. He is a moderate that has a backbone made of steel.

I asked him once why he remains in the party. He told me that he has always been a Republican and that things will change. In the end, he knows who he is and is willing to fight for change.

I wish there were more Jims in the GOP. But the fact is, too many of us moderates aren’t willing to spend the time to get down and dirty and work for change. And then we wonder why the GOP has become so right wing.

I’m dissapointed that moderates are such wimps when it comes to working for change.

That’s about it, then, isn’t it—-all the talk about McCain as the new type of Republican moderate destined to lead the party back to its roots? I’m guessing that this latest news will put an end to talk among disenchanted Democrats of voting for him in November. 

Today, McCain voted legislation that intended to do exactly what he himself has advocated: adopted the Army Field Manual interrogation standards for the US government. Anti-torture advocates, such as the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, supported this crucial  bill. McCain himself said in a Republican debate in November that the Army Field Manual should be ‘the gold standard for interrogations.’

Read the rest of this entry »

Several news organizations report that Democratic Senator Barack Obama is projected to win the Virginia primary handily in a victory that indicates growing widespread support — and that Republican Senator John McCain is still getting a stern political spanking from hard-line conservative voters in a GOP primary race that remains too close to all.

MSNBC reports:

Sen. Barack Obama was projected to add to his string of recent victories with a substantial triumph over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary, NBC News reported Tuesday.

In the Republican primary, NBC said the race between Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was too close to call.

Voters in Maryland and the District of Columbia also were going to the polls Tuesday.

An Obama triumph would make it six straight over Clinton, the former first lady, who is now struggling to keep up in a race she once commanded. With 168 delegates at stake on Tuesday, Obama hoped to build on the lead that he has gained on Clinton in the past week in NBC News’ delegate count.

Interviews with voters leaving the polls in Virginia showed Obama drawing strong support across race and gender lines, indicating that he was eating into Clinton’s voter base.

And the details do show an expansion of his support:

Obama, who is hoping to become the first black president, won the votes of nine in 10 black voters in Virginia, where they were about a third of the electorate. That offset Clinton’s support among white women, six in 10 of whom voted for her.

But overall, Obama won among both men and women, even winning among white men.

Obama won the votes of eight in 10 Virginia Democrats under age 30. He did better than Clinton in nearly every age group, although Clinton had stronger support among older voters. The two candidates were about even among senior citizens. Obama won the votes of six in 10 white voters under age 50, while Clinton won six in 10 white voters over age 50

.
There were also a lot of new voters:

More than a third of voters in the Virginia Democratic primary said they had not voted in a primary before, as did almost one in five voters in the Maryland Democratic primary, according to the exit interviews.

Meanwhile, even though he has the nomination reportedly locked up, McCain continues to face gathering storm clouds to his right — and a loss of some independent voter support:

McCain lost caucuses in Kansas and a primary in Louisiana on Saturday to Huckabee, his last remaining major rival. He won caucuses in Washington state.

But exit interviews in Virginia showed the Huckabee was getting strong support from conservatives, a pivotal group within the GOP. Nearly seven in 10 voters in the Republican primary called themselves conservatives, and Huckabee was gaining half their votes in a strong challenge to McCain.

In a surprising showing of weakness for the Arizona senator, independents — a group McCain has dominated — were about evenly divided between him and Huckabee. People calling themselves loyal Republicans, who have previously given McCain a slight edge, were also split down the middle.

The AP reports:

The Associated Press projected that Sen. Barack Obama would extended his electoral winning streak by capturing the Democratic presidential primary in Virginia today.

The victory makes Obama the clear front-runner in delegates, passing New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the onetime favorite. She has set her sights on March 4, with its key primaries in large states.

Voters in substantial numbers were turning out today for primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Obama has momentum after winning five Democratic contests over the weekend.

On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain could win enough delegates to mathematically eliminate his opponents. The polls in Virginia closed at 4 p.m. PST. The others will close an hour later.

In Virginia, 60 delegates are at stake in the Republican race; for Democrats, 83 are stake, making it biggest prize of the day on the Democratic side.

The Democratic Party has proportional representation, so Clinton will win a share of the delegates. The Democrats’ candidate for the general election probably will be determined after the primaries are completed and the super-delegates — party officeholders and leaders — make their decision.

The bottom line:

(1) Obama has — for tonight at least — the beginning of Big Mo, which is fickle and could desert him when he hits the Clinton firewalls in Texas and Ohio next month.

(2) McCain continues to be shunned by many on the GOP’s right, spurred on by conservative talk show hosts who believe anyone is seen as moderate on any issues, reaches across the aisle on some votes, or gets independent support is a “liberal.” Monitoring these shows indicates these hosts seemingly would like to see him go down to defeat, unless he totally goes along with their positions. But if he shifts to placate them, he’ll lose him the kind of independent support he will need to win a general election.

Mike Lester, The Rome News-Tribune

The race for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination may not be totally over — but Super Tuesday was a watershed for the GOP due to the way Arizona Senator John McCain stacked up his victories: they were victories largely without rock-ribbed conservative support:

Republican John McCain won a sweeping victory on Super Tuesday even without winning the conservative base of his party, while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fought to a draw, virtually guaranteeing a long and sharply contested Democratic contest ahead.

The voting in the Republican primaries solidified McCain’s position as the GOP front-runner and dramatically lengthened the odds against prime challenger Mitt Romney. At the same time, a surprisingly strong showing by Mike Huckabee in several Southern states underscored the continuing importance of evangelical Christians in the GOP.

So the Evangelicals continued to show political clout. And what about the party’s most self-avowedly proud conservatives? The ones who insist on a litmus test and feel the party would be damaged by running someone who might be considered a moderate:

Notably, though, McCain failed to make inroads among conservative Republicans at the heart of the Republican Party: More than six in 10 GOP primary voters said they were conservatives — and only 31 percent of them voted for McCain. Still, McCain’s strong showing among independents and moderates, as well as his ability to attract crossover Democrats, could prove to be an advantage if he captures the nomination.

This suggests a couple of things:

(1) Conservative talk show hosts failed in their attempt to stop McCain. A monitoring of their shows indicated that many of them had become virtually nonstop commercials for Romney, complete with Read the rest of this entry »

Early returns suggest Arizona Senator John McCain has picked up some early victories with the help of moderates at the same time that the Democratic Presidential nomination race is showing some voting along racial lines.

News reports say primaries have been called in Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut so far in favor of McCain. He’s getting moderates votes but is clearly being rejected by many conservatives. The AP:

John McCain gained a solid victory Tuesday in the New Jersey Republican primary with the strong backing of moderates and voters worried about the economy, but still facing resistance among conservatives and those unhappy with his stance on illegal immigration.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama struggled for Democratic votes in a contest that would give the nation its first woman or first black presidential nominee. White women favored Clinton, while blacks overwhelming chose Obama, according to early results of an exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks.

Although moderates preferred McCain by a 5-to-1 margin over Mitt Romney, they split the votes of conservatives, a group that accounted for half the GOP turnout, the poll found.

At this (early) writing, the Drudge Report has this list up on its front page:

AL: OBAMA
AR: CLINTON
DE: OBAMA
GA: OBAMA
IL: OBAMA
MA: CLINTON
NY: CLINTON
NJ: CLINTON
OK: CLINTON
TN: CLINTON

AR: HUCKABEE
CT: MCCAIN
DE: MCCAIN
IL: MCCAIN
MA: ROMNEY
NJ: MCCAIN
NY: MCCAIN
WV: HUCKABEE

These are NOT states that have been officially called.

We’ll have more results here, Read the rest of this entry »

I like Hillary Clinton. Although my heart belongs to John Edwards, I voted for her as the candidate most likely to succeed, and even succeed superbly, at the thankless damn task that cleaning up after George W. Bush is likely to prove. After all, it’s not a
job for someone who can’t deal with being hated. But what a lot of people are saying now is that Hillary is too hated generally to make it to the White House; therefore Dems should get behind Obama.

I say that Obama would be much better off if he let Hillary do the cleaning up before he takes the presidency; it’s going to be a nasty, unpalatable job for the most part involving choices between one decision with consequences that are hard to stomach and another that is even worse. But Obama has signified that he would like to be president now. And many of my friends want him simply because they’re sick of the sound of Clinton-bashing. At least with Obama, mused one, we’d hear new, fresh contumely.

And we all know it’s true: Hillary is hated by many-many-many. In fact, she routinely gets reviled by right, left, and center. At The New York Times, Stanley Fish discusses the loathing that Hillary Clinton evokes from her detractors (not all of whom are Republicans), compared to which, he says, " the Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry was a model of objectivity."  Fish lists some of the crazier allegations against Hillary.  As he says, when the question presented is  "“Have the Clintons ever murdered anyone?” — and it turns out to be a rhetorical
question like “Is the Pope Catholic?” — you know that you’ve entered cuckooland."" (NYT)

But I’m more interested in the allegations of Hillary-haters who aren’t actually certifiable.  As Fish points out, many of the allegations against her are flat-out contradictory.  She is damned by her detractors (who aren’t limited to Republicans) no matter what she does.

Read the rest of this entry »

That’s what Howard Kurtz at WaPo calls it.

First we got Coulter promising with a straight face to campaign for Hillary if McCain wins.  Now Rush Limbaugh is saying that he’d rather see Clinton or Obama win the presidency than John McCain, despite Bob Dole’s plea for sanity on the party’s far right.  Too bad, Bob Dole.  That ship sailed a long time ago.

When it comes to the McCain mutiny, Limbaugh has plenty of company on the right side of the dial. Laura Ingraham endorsed Mitt Romney last week, saying, "There is no way in hell I could pull the lever for John McCain." Sean Hannity, who also endorsed the former Massachusetts governor, regularly rips McCain. Hugh Hewitt is urging the audience for his syndicated radio show to fight for Romney against what he calls a media-generated "McCain resurrection." But with a program heard on 600 stations, including Washington’s WMAL, Limbaugh is the loudest and brashest voice inveighing against the man he derides as "Saint John of Arizona." (New York Times)

Could it be that even some of the dittoheads have noticed that the far right has turned out to be wrong about every single thing it’s said every single time? Doubtful. Clearly, though, a certain number of sane Republicans have noticed.

Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to the fact that relatively moderate Senator McCain won the GOP vote in Florida WITHOUT the help of independents, we have this report about President Carter Leads Moderate Baptist Meeting

Weary of Southern Baptists’ dominance in American Protestantism, a new push is starting by other Baptist groups aimed at working on social justice issues, and showing their religious tradition is broader than the conservative SBC. Former President Jimmy Carter is leading the effort.