"either you are or you aren't"

[Van Cruncheon]

matt taibbi

FULL METAL MCCAIN: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/21129038/full_metal_mccain/print

The reality is that the once independent-thinking McCain has by now completely remade himself into a prototypical, dumbed-down Republican Party stooge — one who plans to rely on the same GOP strategy that has been winning elections ever since Pat Buchanan and Dick Nixon cooked up a plan for cleaving the South back in 1968. Rather than serving up the "straight talk" he promises, McCain is enthusiastically jumping aboard with every low-rent, fearmongering, cock-sucking presidential aspirant who's ever traveled the Lee Atwater/William Safire highway.

Immediately after his speech in New Orleans, a pair of sweet-looking old ladies put down their McCain signs long enough to fill me in on why they're here. "I tell you," says one, "if Michelle Obama really doesn't like it here in America, I'd be very pleased to raise the money to send her back to Africa."

A few paces away, I catch up with a man named Ron Saucier and a woman who would only identify herself as Mary. Ron says his problem with Obama is the integrity thing. "He exaggerates too much," Ron says. "He's not honest."

"OK," I say. "What does he exaggerate about?"

"Well, like that time he was saying he had a white mother and a white grandmother," he says.

I ask him how this is an exaggeration.

"Well, he was saying . . ." he begins. "As if that qualifies him to . . ."

Despite my repeated prodding, Ron seems unable or unwilling to say aloud exactly what he means. Finally, his friend Mary, a grave-looking blonde with fierce anger lines around her eyes, jumps in, points a finger and blurts out one of the all-time man-on-the-street quotes.

"Look, you either are or you aren't," she says.

"And he aren't," Ron says, nodding with relief.

Only a few months ago, I was constantly running into Republicans at McCain events who had profound concerns about the Arizona senator's "liberal" record. But these days I'm hard-pressed to find anyone on the trail who even remembers that McCain once supported Roe v. Wade, and opposed the Bush tax cuts, and compared the tortures at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo to the techniques of the Spanish Inquisition, and even heretically claimed that Mexican immigrants were "God's children too." When I ask Mary Morvant, a pro-life Christian, why she's supporting McCain given his record on abortion, she gives a typical answer: "I'm much more concerned about Obama."

Break it down and this is basically the same old label game, with McCain trying to rally his crowds against all the major isms: terrorism, socialism, elitism, anti-Americanism. His crude attempts to paint Obama with these brushes are more or less the whole of his argument for the presidency. Obama is terrorist-coddler because he is "ready to talk in person with tyrants" like Ahmadinejad, he hates soldiers because he refused to condemn MoveOn's "General Betray Us" ad, and he's a socialist because he favors health-care reform — despite the fact that the Obama plan isn't "socialized" medicine any more than the universal requirement to buy private auto insurance is socialism.

[Van Cruncheon]

dp

[Trent Dole]

So basically McCain's campaign can be summed up like this:

[Crushed]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

[Trent Dole]

Add a picture of skeletor and you have it.

[Robo]

Wow, Rolling Stone printed a good article?  When's the last time they did that?

[Draft]

It's upsetting but not terribly surprising how often you see McCain supporters (who I think are largely anti-Obama rather than pro-McCain) struggle to express their racism in polite terms.

I kind of see it how I see the console wars, and how GAF moderation causes everyone to tip toe around their x/s/n-cigarillo status. If you hate distinguished black fellows and would never vote one into any political office, let alone the POTUS, just say so. Embrace your redneck/hillbilly/good old boy nature. Don't hide it.

Don't be a bigot and a coward.

[Fresh Prince]

Better of two evils policy in action

[Van Cruncheon]

Wow, Rolling Stone printed a good article?  When's the last time they did that?

matt taibbi is always good. he's got a bit of that gonzo spirit from the hunter s days (and the writing style), but he's a fair bit more grounded.

[duckman2000]

McCain's current TV ads make me chuckle. John McCain will save the environment, improve healthcare and make everything better for everyone. The dude is one box of puppies away from being an SNL skit all by himself.

[Phoenix Dark]

Break it down and this is basically the same old label game, with McCain trying to rally his crowds against all the major isms: terrorism, socialism, elitism, anti-Americanism. His crude attempts to paint Obama with these brushes are more or less the whole of his argument for the presidency. Obama is terrorist-coddler because he is "ready to talk in person with tyrants" like Ahmadinejad, he hates soldiers because he refused to condemn MoveOn's "General Betray Us" ad, and he's a socialist because he favors health-care reform — despite the fact that the Obama plan isn't "socialized" medicine any more than the universal requirement to buy private auto insurance is socialism.

i don't know about all that, but he's not american and i can't vote for a non-american

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I'm not surprised.

We're going to see a lot of racism suppressed for about 40 years rise to the surface during this election campaign.

[Rman]

I'm just tired of the republican fear mongering strategies.  Does anyone here remember Willie Horton?  That was almost 20 years ago and they still haven't changed.  I'm more of a centrist myself and have voted for republican and democratic candidates, but their presidential election strategy, while effective, really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Great Rumbler]

I'm thinking about voting for Obama this year, even though I don't agree with his positions, because I really don't care too much for McCain and I really want to see what happens if Obama becomes president.

[APF]

[edit: oops didn't mean to post]

[Human Snorenado]

Break it down and this is basically the same old label game, with McCain trying to rally his crowds against all the major isms: terrorism, socialism, elitism, anti-Americanism. His crude attempts to paint Obama with these brushes are more or less the whole of his argument for the presidency. Obama is terrorist-coddler because he is "ready to talk in person with tyrants" like Ahmadinejad, he hates soldiers because he refused to condemn MoveOn's "General Betray Us" ad, and he's a socialist because he favors health-care reform — despite the fact that the Obama plan isn't "socialized" medicine any more than the universal requirement to buy private auto insurance is socialism.

i don't know about all that, but he's not american and i can't vote for a non-american

You're right, McCain was born in Panama.  Vote Obama!

Taibbi is on point as always.  Anyone who wants a good laugh should read his book about the 2004 election, "Spanking the Donkey".

[Ganhyun]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

wow, your from Baker county?

Thats what? Tifton? Moultrie area?

Edit: Apparantly alot went to Kerry...

Bibb county
Calhoun County
Chatham county
Clarke County
Clay County
Clayton County
Dekalb County
Dooly County
Dougherty County
Fulton County
Hancock County
Jefferson County
Liberty County
Macon County
Muscogee County
Quitman County
Randolph County
Richmond County
Stewart County
Talbot County
Taliaferro County
Terrell County
Twiggs County
Warren County
Webster County

Wow, while Kerry won a few counties in GA, I guess it didnt help that he won those by very close margins, but lost the others by big margins.

But I think your in Chatham county now that I think about it, I remember u posting a Savannah news link before.

[APF]

However:

Isn't a "red meat appeal" penning slanted articles calling Republicans "cock suckers" and suggesting it's ok to hate on a long-standing "maverick" with independent-appeal because his campaign is really about racism?

[Human Snorenado]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

wow, your from Baker county?

Thats what? Tifton? Moultrie area?

There were multiple counties that went for Kerry over Bush in GA:  Baker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chatham, Clarke (Athens represent), Clay, Clayton, DeKalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Fulton etc.  And that's just throug the "f" counties.

[Ganhyun]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

wow, your from Baker county?

Thats what? Tifton? Moultrie area?

There were multiple counties that went for Kerry over Bush in GA:  Baker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chatham, Clarke (Athens represent), Clay, Clayton, DeKalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Fulton etc.  And that's just throug the "f" counties.

Yea, I was responding to Crushed, then noticed that myself

But yea, I posted the whole list that Kerry won. He didnt win them by much though, and got destryoed in the others.

[Tauntaun]

A few paces away, I catch up with a man named Ron Saucier and a woman who would only identify herself as Mary. Ron says his problem with Obama is the integrity thing. "He exaggerates too much," Ron says. "He's not honest."

"OK," I say. "What does he exaggerate about?"

"Well, like that time he was saying he had a white mother and a white grandmother," he says.

I ask him how this is an exaggeration.

"Well, he was saying . . ." he begins. "As if that qualifies him to . . ."

Despite my repeated prodding, Ron seems unable or unwilling to say aloud exactly what he means. Finally, his friend Mary, a grave-looking blonde with fierce anger lines around her eyes, jumps in, points a finger and blurts out one of the all-time man-on-the-street quotes.

"Look, you either are or you aren't," she says.

"And he aren't," Ron says, nodding with relief.

  Wow.



  Oh no.

[Crushed]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

wow, your from Baker county?

Thats what? Tifton? Moultrie area?

There were multiple counties that went for Kerry over Bush in GA:  Baker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chatham, Clarke (Athens represent), Clay, Clayton, DeKalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Fulton etc.  And that's just throug the "f" counties.

Yea, I was responding to Crushed, then noticed that myself

But yea, I posted the whole list that Kerry won. He didnt win them by much though, and got destryoed in the others.

Huh, I just remembered reading during the election that Chatham was the only one. Maybe I misread it or something. Oh well.

[Ganhyun]

Not enough bullets in the heads of southerners.

Hey hey hey.

I live in the only county in Georgia that voted for Kerry over Bush.

wow, your from Baker county?

Thats what? Tifton? Moultrie area?

There were multiple counties that went for Kerry over Bush in GA:  Baker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chatham, Clarke (Athens represent), Clay, Clayton, DeKalb, Dooly, Dougherty, Fulton etc.  And that's just throug the "f" counties.

Yea, I was responding to Crushed, then noticed that myself

But yea, I posted the whole list that Kerry won. He didnt win them by much though, and got destryoed in the others.

Huh, I just remembered reading during the election that Chatham was the only one. Maybe I misread it or something. Oh well.

wouldn't suprise me if they did say that. chatham County likes to feel special ya know

[Mandark]

Wow, Rolling Stone printed a good article?  When's the last time they did that?

matt taibbi is always good. he's got a bit of that gonzo spirit from the hunter s days (and the writing style), but he's a fair bit more grounded.

He is not and you know it!

He's a good wordsmith and it's nice having his ire trained on prosperity theologists like Osteen than on the liberal activist class this time, but I can't totally trust him.  I'm pretty sure he's flat out wrong on McCain having supported Roe vs. Wade for example.

I do think the broad thrust of the article -- McCain is following the Republican template of painting the Democratic candidate as a cultural Other -- is right, though.

[APF]

That's not particularly insightful however (nor do I think it's particularly accurate); a lot of these memes--like the one about the Republican being an old, dumb, racist fear/warmonger--are preaffixed to any candidate of that party.

[etiolate]

I wonder what the ratio of racist voting for McCain to Stupid Junior College kids voting for Obama just to have a black president is? Not that it matters, college kids don't vote. =0

[Van Cruncheon]

Wow, Rolling Stone printed a good article?  When's the last time they did that?

matt taibbi is always good. he's got a bit of that gonzo spirit from the hunter s days (and the writing style), but he's a fair bit more grounded.

He is not and you know it!

He's a good wordsmith and it's nice having his ire trained on prosperity theologists like Osteen than on the liberal activist class this time, but I can't totally trust him.  I'm pretty sure he's flat out wrong on McCain having supported Roe vs. Wade for example.

I do think the broad thrust of the article -- McCain is following the Republican template of painting the Democratic candidate as a cultural Other -- is right, though.

oh shit, that was an awful article. i am owned! i can't believe that the same matt taibbi who brought us the great derangement wrote that shitacular article. jesus! i hate liberals!

[APF]

I wonder what the ratio of racist voting for McCain to Stupid Junior College kids voting for Obama just to have a black president is? Not that it matters, college kids don't vote. =0

Yeah, reminds me of the "black best friend" (or whatever) comment from a couple of months ago, which I think hits closer to home than a lot of people want to accept. Thing is, even though both are coming from an anti-intellectual perspective, you can't exactly equate the two levels of racism there; "blacks aren't one of us" is on a whole different level than, "omg blk ppl r teh awsm!"

[brawndolicious]

I'm not surprised.

We're going to see a lot of racism suppressed for about 40 years rise to the surface during this election campaign.

The next few months will be fucking awesome watching each side throw and eat shit.  However, I think that the fear of being feeling racist is enough to convince most voters to vote Obama.