Election 2008

An Interview With Sarah Palin About Liberals and Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Allen) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:25:00 +0000

By: Cheryl Hunter, a small business owner near Palm Springs, California

SARAH:
"Silly liberals, don't you know by now that your philosophies are not in line with God's plan? All those trivial things you find so important like community organizing, helping the poor and disadvantaged, sharing the wealth, personal choice, promoting peace, respect for all living things. These ideals smack of bleeding heart, hippie, tree hugger liberal diatribe that shows weakness. Don't you understand that only the strong survive and we have to demonstrate our strength to gain respect? Don't you realize that the only way the "trickle down" economy works is when those at the top create new market energy from war and special interest? Well God is on the right side, don't you know, you all keep turning left and missing the boat. Come on now, really, what is all this turn the other cheek, make love not war, peace and harmony, who comes up with this crazy stuff anyway?"

INVISIBLE VOICE:
"SARAH!"

SARAH:
"What? Who is that?"

INVISIBLE VOICE:
"That's not important. You asked who came up with that crazy stuff. I just wanted to let you it was I."

SARAH:
"But who are you?"

INVISIBLE VOICE:
"Let's just say I Am someone you obviously don't know yet. I'd like you to hear a few familiar things that I've said in the past and really think about them."

SARAH:
"Um, okay, but I'm really busy with this V.P. thing and I've been told not to talk with anyone without permission."

INVISIBLE VOICE:
"I'm sure that I Am the one voice you should be listening to right now, you do not need to speak at all." Just hear my words:"

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. [Matthew 5:9]
Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. [Matthew 5:39]
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite-fully use you, and persecute you. [Matthew 5:44]
Do not judge, lest you too be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. [Matthew 7:1 & 2.]
In the temple courts [Jesus] found men selling cattle, sheep and doves and other sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. [John 2:14 & 15.]
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. [Luke 12.15.]
Truly, I say unto you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 19:23]
You cannot serve both God and Money. [Matthew 6:24.]
Love your neighbor as yourself. [Matthew 22:39]
So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you. [Matthew 7:12.]
If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. [Matthew 19:21]
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. [Luke 14:13 &14.]

And when thou pray, thou shall not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. [Matthew 6:6 & 7]

INVISIBLE VOICE (CONTINUES):
"Well Sarah, do you now understand where the crazy liberal ideas came from?"

SARAH:
"Yeah, gee it's a shame that those liberals misinterpret the Bible that way isn't it? I'm sure glad I have a grasp on what being a Christian really means. I need to clean up this country and then get the world to embrace our way of doing things. Being a leader is an awesome responsibility and if people don't fall in line with the right way sometimes a leader like me must get a little tough. You know like that tough love stuff. Hey, it works for my children so it must work for regular people too. Talk to you later, whoever you are, gotta' get back to my campaign. Now where did I put that fur coat?"

Please support Obama and the Democratic Senators fighting tough, well funded races in their states. Support by bookmarking and sharing this post, writing your own, volunteering to canvass, make phone calls or help with voter registration drives.

Contribute if you can by helping me to meet my grassroots funding goal on Obama's site: Help Barack Obama stay the course for positive change and our goal of energy independence.

Help the Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority to make these goals a reality.

An Open Letter to Clinton Supporters

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Allen) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:28:00 +0000

I have been reading a lot about the PUMAs making trouble for the Democratic Party. At first, I didn't understand why they seem intent on dividing the party. You would think I could relate. After all, I am a 44 y/o, white, educated woman whose politics are mostly progressive, but sometimes surprisingly conservative i.e. I fit squarely into the Clinton demographic. At first I was angry to see these people so outwardly intent on destroying a perfect opportunity for the Democratic Party to change the direction of our country. Why don't these people get it? They have become fodder for the neocons. Then, for a moment I had a flash of empathy (something we seem to have lost completely in this political climate).

I had always been a fan of Hillary Clinton. I was inspired when her husband had the courage to tap her to head up healthcare reform and disappointed that the decision was met with so much resistance. I purchased her books, waited in line at the book signings and had a brief moment in her presence, for which I felt even more inspired. As a professional woman who worked in a traditionally male field I have experienced gender bias, gender discrimination and all out misogyny. I watched as men, who I thought I knew well spew extreme hatred and rage at Hillary's active approach to the position of First Lady.

I went into the primaries gung ho for Hillary and delighted at the thought that maybe, just maybe we would finally have a female president. As I watched I felt she had changed. She struck me as condescending and bitter. Her campaign turned nasty in the face of Obama's positive message and soon after the Missouri primary I changed my mind. In making a change in my personal decision to support Barack Obama it took more than just a disappointment in Hillary's campaign, it was learning about Barack Obama and what he wants to accomplish that did it for me. I watched him speak, I read his book The Audacity of Hope (I am currently reading Dreams from My Father) and I read his platform statements. Reading The Audacity of Hope was an astonishing and inspiring experience. He is an incredible man with a profound understanding of our great Republic and our founders' goals, hopes and dreams. He also has a unique talent for listening and understanding an opposing view and finding ways to incorporate those perspectives so that policy can be pursued based upon that collaborative view.

If I had the chance to vote in a second Missouri primary I would not have been voting against Hillary, it would have been a vote for Obama. Obama truly earned my support. As Barack Obama pulled forward in the race I was still saddened to see my hope for a female president put off yet again, but thrilled to see a black man in the position. Both groups have been long denied the chance to feel the hope that the position of the presidency would bring and both groups are deserving. But Barack Obama is the better candidate, regardless of color, gender or any other classification we impose on a person.

Women my age and older who have fought for women's rights and personally struggled against an unfair system are understandably disappointed and disillusioned. I empathize with that. Hillary is an excellent candidate, but she isn't the best. As an aside, I expect great things from Claire McCaskill (Senator from Missouri) in the future. Perhaps Claire will stop working so hard for a minute and show her face a few times to let others see what a gem she is.

None of us can speculate as to why Hillary wasn't vetted. There are many reasons and I get some of them, others only Barack Obama and his senior staff know. Here are some of my guesses:

It is rare to have a previous opponent appointed as a VP running mate for the simple fact that all of the nastiness of the primaries will come back to haunt in the general election. McCain is already using Hillary's words against Obama. Imagine how damaging it would be to have those words used against her in the general election. She would be played as a hypocrite.
Hillary's message has been very different. Hillary's campaign was more on point with "kick the bastards out!" While I agree with that Barack Obama's message is much broader. He talks about changing the way we do things in Washington, not just by changing the rules, laws and the process, but by focusing on listening to each other, promoting more civil debate rather than the hateful divisiveness and working to bring the country together.
The Clintons are polarizing people. I watched in horror as the neocons built their base and attacked the Clintons with more ferocity and financial resources than this country has ever seen. It is not Hillary's fault that she has become an icon of division, in fact she and Bill responded to the relentless attacks with dignity and appropriate responses. I certainly couldn't have withstood that kind of attack, but the fact is they were beaten up pretty badly.

McCain is "for" nothing. He has nothing to promote in himself other than the POW card, which is wearing thin so his response is an anti-Obama campaign. He does nothing but attack Obama. Could you imagine the dirt they would dredge up if Hillary was on the ticket? All the old issues and scandals, regardless of whether the Clintons were finally vindicated would be brought out of the cellar and shined up on a daily basis.

To many, Hillary represents politics as usual, a Democratic dynasty which conflicts with Obama's message for change.

This is a sad truth, but it is reality: Obama, a black man has an uphill battle to win the general election. To have a black man and a woman on the ticket would probably ruin their chances.

Hillary is a leader. She aspires to the highest office in our country. She is a leader by nature and is not well suited to a second chair position. Has anyone thought that maybe she didn't want to be the pick for VP?

Obama had to tap someone he can work with on a personal level. After the nasty primaries it is understandable that Obama would want to select a person who can jump onboard right away without having to heal recent divisions and hard feelings.

I have no doubt that Obama wants Hillary in his cabinet. Whether she accepts is her decision. We need to realize that this is not the year to see a woman elected president. It is not Hillary's year. So I urge you to use your one precious vote wisely. Try to stop looking backwards and look at what it is about Hillary that you wanted in a leader. If you truly look you will find that McCain is as far from Hillary is George Bush. I hope you will agree with e that it is the year for Barack Obama, a person who may prove to be one of the greatest leaders our country will ever have. Barack Obama is worthy of the Democratic nomination, not just because he acquired more electoral votes in the primary, but because he is what the Democrats, in fact what Americans envision in a leader. I hope you give yourself the opportunity to see that.

I was not a John Kerry supporter in the primaries and didn't do anything other than vote in the general election. I didn't contribute money or time to help him win. I didn't do anything because he was not my candidate of choice and I was frustrated that I didn't think he was a strong enough candidate. We all know what happened and for the rest of my life, I will regret my decision to throw all of my efforts behind John Kerry.

Being a part of Obama's campaign, however small is amazing. The reason the campaign has more than 2 million donors is because Barack truly sees us, not him as the mechanism of change. When you are ready to open your minds and really see who he is and what he wants to accomplish you will be welcomed with open arms.

Here is the ballsy part of this post: When/if you are ready to help please join me in supporting some great Democratic Senatorial candidates who are running in tight battles. You can sign up for their e-mail information lists, volunteer or contribute at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee or directly at the individual sites of Al Franken (MN), Andrew Rice (OK), Rick Noriega (TX) or any of the others tight races here.

I have an Obama personal fundraising page on his official site where the online community can fight the negative with a positive. Please join me.

BARACK OBAMA IS A BLACK MAN

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Allen) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:21:00 +0000

Barack Obama is a black man. Okay, so I said it. I said what EVERYONE knows is at issue in this election, but no one will say aloud.

There is no question that racism is the only reason Obama does not have an overwhelming lead in the polls. There is also no question that the main strategy of the GOP and the McCain campaign is to prod and inflame the racial fears and uncertainty that exist in the minds of many white people to some degree or another.

Salon.com published an absurd editorial yesterday (Why isn't Obama Crushing McCain?). This piece included many detailed explanations as to why Obama isn't winning in the polls. Like any campaign there are challenges and mistakes which the pundits might examine, but nowhere in that article were Americans called to the mat for our racism.

If Obama was Bob Williams, a white guy from Chicago he would have it all but wrapped up. Maybe 20% of the white voters are overt racists, but a significant number have racial biases of some sort or another. McCain's campaign and the GOP has hit on those fears as far as they can by using images and words that trigger those subconscious fears. Take for example the charges that Obama is being presumptuous by trying to act presidential and appearing "overconfident." Every synonym for the word term uppity n*g*r has been used. The corporate media, particularly Fox used those terms over and over, like a broken record each day and they still bring them up. Anyone who denies the true meaning of those comments is either ignorant or lying. Would those words have come into play if we were talking about candidate Bob Williams?

This has become a predictable dance. All the McCain campaign must do is run a new ad a few dozen times. In his ads the issue of race is there, but just below the line of obvious. The corporate media hops aboard the bandwagon and repeats those words, replays the images such as that of a younger Obama with a little bit of a 'fro or shooting a three-pointer. In response, once, Obama make a slight effort to minimize the damage by acknowledging that he is not like the men on our currency (i.e. that he is a black man). On cue, the media collectively jumps on Obama for "playing the race card." The corporate media has fortified America's latent and not so latent fears by repeating ad nauseam these words and phrases. So is Obama expected to sit idly by while the GOP, the McCain campaign and nearly all of the media use his race as a tool against him?

The content of McCain's ads is silly and childish. They would not work against Bob Williams. It works because Barack Obama is a black man and the fears that many white folks still harbor are being deviously manipulated just below the surface.

Obama is the essence of what almost all dissatisfied voters want and need so McCain is doing the only thing he can do which is stir the pot and hit at the core of racial fear. Sadly, it is working.

A positive message must be repeated many more times than a negative one.

Help Barack Obama stay the course for positive change and our goal of energy independence.

JUST AS IMPORTANT: Please help the Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority to make these goals a reality.

Do Something Every Day to Support Positive Change

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer Allen) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:01:00 +0000

I have just started this blog and beginning this week let's brainstorm to find things we can do every day to help Barack Obama and the Democratic Senatorial Candidates to win and to promote positive change in our government, politics and for our country. I will post a list with my ideas tomorrow. Until then, let me know your thoughts.

A positive message must be repeated many more times than a negative one.

Help Barack Obama stay the course for positive change and our goal of energy independence.

JUST AS IMPORTANT: Please help the Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority to make these goals a reality.