Obama Opposition - Republican

Roger Ebert writes:

This process may soon be arriving at a moment of truth. The new issue of Vanity Fair mentions in its profile of Sarah Palin, as a casual aside, that Glenn Beck has booked the Dena'ina Center, the largest venue in Anchorage, for the date of September 11, 2010. What do you think that means? It could mean Beck simply wants to hold a rally in the home state of the woman who shared his podium on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.

Facing reality is a tough job but somebody's got to do it. And we foretell for you the events of the future NOT because we want them to happen, but to get you to act to keep them from happening. But to do that you need an action page, so here it is.

Put The Public Option Up For A Vote: www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1038.php

And now we will explain why this action page is so critical. To understand the current political dynamic, first you must understand that the Democrats are PLANNING on losing the next couple election cycles. UNTIL you understand that, the events to unfold in the next couple years (unless you act to derail them) will make no sense to you.

How did the Massachusetts Senate race end up so close?

1. The Right Wing Noise Machine. 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, the Right Wing Noise Machine attacks Democrats and liberals. Their leaders are FOX and Rush Limbaugh, but there is an army behind them. To them, everything Democrats do is wrong and evil. And if the facts don't agree with their paranoia, then facts be damned. They never issue corrections or apologies, they just smear. It's who they are, it's what they do, and Democrats let them do it.

2. The Corporate Media amplifier. The "FOX Effect" extends far beyond FOX studios. Right-wing Republican Joe Scarborough gets 3 hours every morning on "liberal" MSNBC to echo FOX smears. The "gang of 4" in the White House Press Corps - Jake Tapper (ABC), Chip Reid (CBS), Chuck Todd (NBC), and Ed Henry (CNN) - throws every FOX smear directly into the face of Robert Gibbs. Just ask Van Jones.

[Ed Note: On Monday, The BRAD BLOG published Frank Schaeffer's guest editorial, "Obama Will Win: Why and How His Critics from the Left and Right Will be Proven Wrong". Today, we're pleased to offer a counterpoint in reply by author David Swanson.]

Guest editorial by David Swanson

I've appreciated much of Frank Schaeffer's commentary at The BRAD BLOG but his column here this week on Obama winning was an exception. Schaeffer labels himself an "Obama supporter" and explains that Obama supporters are "sticking with our President." The language Schaeffer uses, after identifying himself as a "former religious Rightwing agitator", is helpful in illuminating a troubling pattern of thought that is widespread in our society:

"We faithful Obama supporters still trust our initial impression of him as a great, good and uniquely qualified man to lead us."

Here is faith, or at least faithfulness, explicitly entering politics through the advocacy of a recovering religious advocate. As everyone knows who has tried to recover from a pattern of thought, it is far easier to reject or reverse the specifics than it is to step outside the framework. But it is the framework that I find disturbing. I disagree with the point of view above just as much as I disagree with rightwing religious agitation, and for the same reasons. I don't want to be a faithful, trusting supporter of a uniquely great and good being.

READ THE REST AT The BRAD BLOG

At long last, today is the super-hyped Glenn Beck / FOX / GOP 9/12 March, a.k.a. "Million Moran March." (Name inspired by famous rightwing sign on left.)

Here are some of the signs expressing their positive, unifying post-911 spirit. More photoblogs by Adele Stan, Oliver Willis, NineTwelvePhotos, Tars Tarkas, TPM, Chris Edelson. Also Liveblogs by @DemocracyInUSA  

• Stalin Called...He Wants His Policies Back
• Bring Back Bush
• Joe McCarthy was RIGHT
• The cure for Obama Communism is a New Era of McCarthyism
• Do I "Look" Like I Want to "Serve" in Obama's Nazi Youth Militia?
• actual photos below...

As imagined by Dave Lindorff

My Fellow Americans.

I stand before you a chastened president. I made a mistake. Two mistakes really. (wild applause from Republican side)

I thought that Congress could do its job and through the
deliberative process, produce a health care reform plan that would win
broad support across the aisle and among all of you. But I’m afraid
that I was wrong. Health care is an enormous industry—maybe the biggest
and most powerful industry in the country—and it has far too much power
in Washington. Literally thousands of lobbyists, carrying tens of
billions of dollars in campaign contributions—have invaded these halls (and my house!) (relieved laughter)
and distorted the process, and in the end have stymied reform. (some hissing)

Meanwhile, I have realized that the answer has been staring us in the face all along.