Who do you like?

[Pathless]

Looks like Mike Huckabee is interested in revising the constitution to meet "God's standards." Democracy Now! has the following quote from Monday's debates in Michigan:

Mike Huckabee: “I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards, rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.”

[wil]

Originally Posted by Pathless

This situation of no delegates--what's that about? Does it seem maybe kinda wrong to anyone else? From what I understand, the convention was moved up (by the DNC?? what? why?) and for that reason, they will not get delegates for the election. This, if I understand our convoluted electoral process correctly, basically makes the whole Michigan primary meaningless for the democrat side. So why even bother? Hell, if I were in Michigan and this was my political primary reality, I would have a hard time not feeling completely disenfranchised. I'd re-register as an independent and toss my vote out for the Cookie Monster.

Democracy? Or vote manipulation?

No this was the state parties saying we want to be early like Iowa and NH and the National Dems and Reps saying you can't move your primary date without permission or reprecussions, so they moved and the national party sanctioned.

[China Cat Sunflower]

Fredhorn Leghorn is out. Rudy had better win Florida or he's gone. Huckabee will probably be toast after super Tuesday. It's shaping up as a Romney versus McCain contest on the right. If Edwards doesn't get some traction soon he's gone.

Chris

[wil]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Fredhorn Leghorn is out. Rudy had better win Florida or he's gone. Huckabee will probably be toast after super Tuesday. It's shaping up as a Romney versus McCain contest on the right. If Edwards doesn't get some traction soon he's gone.

Chris

ah with the bullets flyin at the last ok coral debate, if Edwards can stay outta the street he may be the last man standin!

[China Cat Sunflower]

Ron Paul's supporters are swarming on Florida. That's got to be driving Rudy crazy.

Chris

[Paladin]

Hey, how come the corporate media isn't talking about Ron Paul at all?

[Paladin]

Originally Posted by Pathless

Looks like Mike Huckabee is interested in revising the constitution to meet "God's standards." Democracy Now! has the following quote from Monday's debates in Michigan:

Mike Huckabee: “I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards, rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.”

Yeah Pathless, I caught this on the tube the other night. Scary huh?

[wil]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Ron Paul's supporters are swarming on Florida. That's got to be driving Rudy crazy.

Originally Posted by Paladin

Hey, how come the corporate media isn't talking about Ron Paul at all?

Second in Nevada, fourth and fifth everywhere else, regularly beating talked about Guliani and Thompson...

I think the media and the rest are afraid, like they were afraid of Perot. Everyone at the top is happy with the status quo two party system. In boom and recession, war and peace they continue to raise their fortunes. Introducing common sense creating a viable third or fourth party scares the heck out of them. They'll gladly throw their millions at a couple of parties knowing one will win and access and influence will be maintained.

Ron Paul ran as a libertarian before, he still says no, but I still expect if he continues to make waves despite the almost complete news ban, we'll see him on some third party ticket.

He's getting harder for them to ignore.

[Pathless]

Originally Posted by Paladin

Yeah Pathless, I caught this on the tube the other night. Scary huh?

Yeah. Who do I dislike? Glad you asked!! Frontrunner: Huckabee. Apparently he wants to equate all forms of contraception with abortion:

Originally Posted by Cristina Page

Today, Governor Mike Huckabee is scheduled to travel to Georgia to commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. There he plans to join Georgia Right to Life to lend his support, as well as the focus of the national media, to HR 536. This legislation, also called the Human Life Amendment, is a state constitutional amendment that reclassifies the most effective and popular forms of contraception as abortion. The goal of the amendment is to create a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade while also defining life as beginning at fertilization. The anti-abortion movement believes that hormonal contraception (the pill, the patch, the depo shot, the nuva ring, the IUD) can destroy a fertilized egg. By setting in law the assertion -- the unproveable assertion -- that life begins at the moment of fertilization, the most common forms of contraception become abortion.

James Bopp, a leading anti-abortion attorney, in a memo to pro-life activists, explained what the practical applications of HR 536 would be. Establishing in law that life begins at the moment of fertilization could lead to, he writes, "enforcement of homicide laws against pregnant women, restricting the activities of pregnant women, outlawing contraception and so on." He continues, "The big picture is that the Human Life Amendment creates uncertainty in the law leaving it up to future legislatures to establish implementing laws and up to enforcement officials and courts to sort out what the law might mean in various applications." In other words, let's leave your right to use contraception up to your local assemblymember, district attorney and sheriff.

Huckabee appears comfortable with the implications of defining the most commonly used forms of contraception as abortion. In an April 2007 interview with the Des Moines Register editorial board, Huckabee explained his position this way, "There are some forms of birth control that really are the destruction of a fertilized egg." One of the editors offered a follow-up question, "Should the government ban that sort of birth control?" Huckabee replied, "Yeah, I personally think there are better ways to deal with contraception than destroying a human life. So, again I'm going to say that I'm always going to make my position on the side of protecting human life."

Huck Yeah!!!

Cristina Page: What the Huck? - Politics on The Huffington Post

[Pathless]

With all the riduculous b.s. about Barack Obama's middle name and how he's probably actually a radical Muslim terrorist whose last name has an "s" instead of a "b" and how he wipes his ass with the bible and on and on and on, I just have to say:

I'm embarassed for us, but mostly I'm angry that our whole electoral process is animated by television networks into a dark and regressive cartoon boxing match between candidates, puctuated by lame-ass rumors befouling and befuddling the uneducated minds of the masses.

Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein? So what??? I hear Mike Huckabee's middle name is Jesus, and he wants to change the constitution so that it has chapters and verses and a sprinkling of holy fathers and amens.

Whoop-de-dooo.

[Pathless]

Ron Paul on abortion and Roe V. Wade:

Originally Posted by Ron Paul

"The government doesn't have the right to invade your home or have cameras in your home," he said. "That doesn't give you the right to kill a child just because it was born and it was in the crib and you didn't like the way it looked and you went, 'Oh, we don't want to keep this baby.' Everybody knows it's illegal and it's killing. But one minute before the baby's born they come to me and if I did the abortion I'd get paid for it. So that's a real contradiction about the definition of life."

"If I can't defend life, how am I going to defend the liberty of every single individual on how they're going to run their lives? And I essentially do that, so I think that I have to be consistent on defending life or the defense of liberty doesn't hold up."

James Freedman: Ron Paul: Roe v. Wade a 'Big Mistake' - Off The Bus on The Huffington Post

Let's ask a woman who has had two abortions what she thinks, in the interest of balance.

Barbara Ehrenreich on abortion:

The New York Times > Opinion > Guest Columnist: Owning Up to Abortion

Why are men so often blabbing on about the morality of abortion anyway?

[bob x]

Originally Posted by Pathless

This situation of no delegates--what's that about? Does it seem maybe kinda wrong to anyone else? From what I understand, the convention was moved up (by the DNC?? what? why?) and for that reason, they will not get delegates for the election. This, if I understand our convoluted electoral process correctly, basically makes the whole Michigan primary meaningless for the democrat side. So why even bother? Hell, if I were in Michigan and this was my political primary reality, I would have a hard time not feeling completely disenfranchised. I'd re-register as an independent and toss my vote out for the Cookie Monster.

Democracy? Or vote manipulation?

It was very strange (wil's explanation of how it happened was spot on). I voted for Dennis, glad I got the chance before he had to pack it in and go home to defend his Congress seat. He got 4% which was a record for him!

[China Cat Sunflower]

McCain wins Florida, Rudy's out. For my money Edwards is dead. I'm going to vote for him anyway on super Tuesday and hope for a miracle, but he's going to have to make his own buzz until then, and that's a hard thing to do when the media has already decided what the narrative will be. If McCain pulls down more states on Feb. 5th than Romney I think the Party is going to flip and make him the establishment candidate. I know it'll eat into their craw, but even the evangelicals are pragmatists, and the GOP desperately wants to convert this hail Mary. I'd still rather run against Romney. The Mormon thing will kill him.

Chris

[bob x]

Originally Posted by China Cat Sunflower

Edwards is dead. I'm going to vote for him anyway on super Tuesday and hope for a miracle

A resurrection?
Good quote from another board: "Edwards was the most progressive of the three on the issues: what did him in is that he's a smarmy git."

[China Cat Sunflower]

Edwards pulled out today. I'll be voting for Obama I guess, although I find him vacuous and insubstantive.

Chris