The Democrat Thread

[bmags]

FYI:

I think it was Chris Matthews on MSNBC last night who said he's talked with senior Obama staffers who have said Obama's inner circle / cabinet will be 3 things:

 

Bi-partisan

Diverse

No Retreads / Youth

 

Basically, they want a bi-partisan group of diverse individuals who havent been around the White House too much before.

 

I'm glad because youth means they probably don't know what they can get away with...unlike Bush's.

[BigSqwert]

Just watched MSNBC's video footage of when they called it last night as well as the extended video footage of the immediate celebrations across the country. Gotta admit I got a bit teary eyed again.

 

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

FWIW:

Rahm Emanuel has been offered the Chief of Staff position

[lostfan]

Has anybody here ever heard the Black National Anthem? The last line of the song is "Let us march on, 'till victory is won." Someone sent that to me in an e-mail today and the lyrics to the song look deeper than they ever did before.

[lostfan]

Lift every voice and sing

Till earth and heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of Liberty ;

Let our rejoicing rise

High as the listening skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that t he present has brought us,

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun

Let us march on till victory is won.

[kapkomet]

FWIW:

Rahm Emanuel has been offered the Chief of Staff position

Well, there goes the "bi-partisan" thing right out the window, because this one's known as an "elbow pusher" for the Dems.

 

[bmags]

Well, there goes the "bi-partisan" thing right out the window, because this one's known as an "elbow pusher" for the Dems.

 

Kap, don't start this so early. As soon as he picks one democrat "bi-partisan" is out the window? Rahm knows the Congress and is an asset to get bills through.

[kapkomet]

Kap, don't start this so early. As soon as he picks one democrat "bi-partisan" is out the window? Rahm knows the Congress and is an asset to get bills through.

All I'm saying is, this pick is known as a hardball player for the Dems. That's it. But, of course he's going to have picks like this. It's expected.

[Balta1701]

FWIW:

Rahm Emanuel has been offered the Chief of Staff position

One interesting/worthy note about this is that Senator Obama's cabinet picks will likely give the Dems a much needed chance to get some "New blood" in to safe districts. Take guys like Rahm, or Biden, or maybe others who've been there for a while (Kerry comes to mind) and give them essentially a promotion while at the same time bringing in someone fresh.

 

Also...seriously, President-Elect Obama...you better freaking get FEMA right. Pay attention to the last 2 presidents and how each of them ran it. Your presidency can easily be defined by that one organization, and given climate change and the likelihood of the San Andreas/Heyward faults moving, it's going to be needed.

[bschmaranz]

It's his chief of staff, you gotta have a bulldozer.

Edited November 5, 2008 by bschmaranz

[Balta1701]

So how many Supreme Court retirements do you think we get in 2009? 2? 3?

[HuskyCaucasian]

So how many Supreme Court retirements do you think we get in 2009? 2? 3?

i think 2 or 3 in the first term

[DBAHO]

I ended up spending the majority of the night at a Young Democrats event in a bar in Midtown, Manhattan. When the 11PM results came in, with Califorina etc. and Obama becoming President Elect, the place just went absolutely nuts. Was great to see and be there to experience.

 

We also got into a big Democrats Function at the Sheraton. Here are all these people in suits etc., and I'm walking around with an Anti - Sarah Palin shirt on. Safe to say, it got quite a few positive reactions.

 

Times Square was crazy at about 1:30 in the morning or so, just with people chanting, music being played, hundreds and hundreds of cops everywhere.

[Balta1701]

i think 2 or 3 in the first term

I could actually see 4 reasonably within the first term. The Left leaning members didn't want to let Bush have the chance to totally remake the court. I think we'll get at least 2 next year alone.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Has anybody here ever heard the Black National Anthem? The last line of the song is "Let us march on, 'till victory is won." Someone sent that to me in an e-mail today and the lyrics to the song look deeper than they ever did before.

 

The HS I went to was about 80% African American during the time I was there. I learned that song and always wondered what there is about the lyrics that makes it the 'Black NA.' Great song, for everyone.

 

[Chet Lemon]

So how many Supreme Court retirements do you think we get in 2009? 2? 3?

 

One. I predict it will be Ginsburg. She's a solid Democrat and left-leaning Justice. While Stevens and Souter are "liberals" relative to the current composition of the court, they are more or less unpredictable iconoclasts. I would be extremely surprised if Stevens and Souter retired during the first year of an Obama presidency. I think Stevens wants to get the record for longest-serving Justice, which means another two years to accomplish that goal.

 

[Balta1701]

I bet there are a bunch of, er, retiring Republican staffers who are a wee bit annoyed that their bosses opposed extending unemployment benefits.

Snicker.

[lostfan]

The HS I went to was about 80% African American during the time I was there. I learned that song and always wondered what there is about the lyrics that makes it the 'Black NA.' Great song, for everyone.

The song itself is about not lingering over social injustices in the past and to keep moving forward until you finally reach your goal. The song isn't divisive at all, it's pretty hard not to appreciate IMO. We used to sing it at assemblies in school, first the national anthem, then the black national anthem. I never thought about the last line of the song until now. Pretty deep stuff.

[BigSqwert]

Finally someone calling that dweeb out:

 

Opening shot...

 

While I expected a little last-minute racial ugliness at the end of the 2008 campaign, particularly as Republican hopes faltered, I did not expect to find it on the Drudge Report, a right-wing but otherwise respectable Web site.

 

Yet the kind of stories chosen to top this site read by millions took a disturbing turn Tuesday.

 

" 'BLACK PANTHERS' BLOCK ACCESS TO VOTING STATION" linked to amateur video of a pair of ominous guys loitering around a polling place in Philadelphia. "IN OBAMA WE TRUST: 'He is Going to Pay For My Gas and Mortgage,' " inaccurately quoted an African-American woman saying that, if Obama is elected, she won't have to worry about those two essentials -- a big difference.

 

And on and on. "Ayers, Farrakhan Vote at Same Polling Location as Obama." "America jittery." "Prepare for chaos."

 

It was alarmist, unfair and racist -- partisan propaganda at its worst.

[lostfan]

Michelle Malkin was all over that s*** yesterday. "I call her Peggy Moocher." Uh, Michelle, she was talking about the economy, how and why would she expect that Obama is going to pay for those things for her...? Literally, the only reason I can think of is that she is a black woman supporting Obama so she automatically drew the conclusion that she was a welfare queen looking for a handout, if a white McCain voter said the same thing using different words, she wouldn't have thought twice.

 

I cannot stand Michelle Malkin.

[BigSqwert]

Interesting Obama article from ESPN.com

[Dick Allen]

What was the deal with the woman who sang the National Anthem at the rally last night? Someone should have made her practice using the correct words.

[BigSqwert]

What was the deal with the woman who sang the National Anthem at the rally last night? Someone should have made her practice using the correct words.

 

That was embarrassing.

[BigSqwert]

Well you got to admit he does wear nice clothes.

 

[BigSqwert]

Some comic relief courtesy of The Onion:

 

Hillary Clinton Resumes Attacking Obama

November 5, 2008 | Issue 44•45

 

NEW YORK—Less than 20 minutes after Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, New York senator Hillary Clinton officially resumed her political attacks against the senator from Illinois. "My fellow Americans, I admire Barack Obama, but in his first 20 minutes as president-elect, he has failed time and time again to deliver the change he promised," the former Democratic presidential candidate said at a small rally in Harlem. "Mr. Obama may deliver a rousing victory speech, but right now this country needs more than just speeches. It needs real leadership." In addition to her numerous scheduled public appearances, Clinton has also released a series of coordinated television and radio ads questioning the near-half-hour Obama has spent away from the White House, his failure to meet with a single foreign leader at Camp David since being elected, and the current lack of any female or minority appointments to his cabinet.