YOUR TEARS ARE DELICIOUS

OM NOM NOM

Evolve or die.

"Though the NRCC, RNC and Mississippi Republicans made a major effort to retain this seat, we came up short."

Translated: We did whatever we could to link Childers to Obama and Wright, but damn you people, once Racism doesn't work in Mississippi there is something wrong in this country. Look at WV, that's honest to God racism there and it's working for Clinton.

Translation: "Every man for himself. We are broke, we got nothin' and we are going under, so do all you can to try and bamboozle the voters into thinking you are something other than a Republican, good night and good luck."

This could be a sign of things to come for the GOP.

Did I say I just woke up?

Try again... I just woke up and went to the TPM main page hoping to find the final election tally on their "scoreboard" but, to my surprise, it had already gone dim!

"Conservative Democrat = Hillary Supporter? I don't know, you tell me".

You're being disingenuous. You were the one who wrote, ""I wonder, though, if a conservative Democrat is welcome in the party, given the current atmosphere".

Are you now saying you've no idea what you were talking about?

To repeat one of my two questions: How do you define what constitutes a 'conservative democrat'? You can either come reasonably near to explaining it, or you can't.

Well that's just it. I read from several sources that Mr. Childers is a "conservative" Democrat, whatever that means. So I go to his website and I look up his issues page. Standard boilerplate stuff. No indication where he stands on the kind of hotbutton issues that define "liberal" and "conservative" in today's mass political culture. So I am left to wonder what "conservative" Democrat means. However, I assume that this animal exists in some form or another and that it tends to favor Senator Clinton's candidacy over that of Senator Obama.

As for the "atmosphere" comment, it was a (apparenlty too) veiled reference to the hostility in the Democratic blogosphere for Senator Clinton and her supporters; many of whom I assume hold positions similar to those espoused by Mr. Childers and who seem less and less welcome in the party as it is seen by what I take to be the majority of posters on TPM.

Recessivist? That's a new one for me. It does not appear in my unabridged dictionary. And a Google search reveals that Richard is the only person on the internet currently using the word. However, from the context of Richard's earlier posts, I assume that the term is pejorative. What, pray tell, does it mean?

Back to the subject, Mississippi is a moral victory of immense proportions. Almost no one at the national level thought Childers was really going to do it, it was all about forcing the Republicans to spend money to win something that they shouldn't even have to campaign form. It would have been *nice* to win, but there are things you really shouldn't get your hopes up for, and the Republicans will win in *some* places. Anyway, making them sweat and spend right on their home turf was a victory in itself.

And now it's Good Morning, Congressman Childers!

WOW! And not even close!

W. was governor of Texas and thus had quite a bit of nominal executive experience (although his Lt did all the work of course).

Obama has not only published many "scholary articles", but headed the Harvard Law Review.

"you fools get all excited over some cheap rhetoric and the fact that he's black."

Believe what you want. That's not why any Obama supporters I know are voting for him. The soaring oratory is just icing on the cake. That he's black - ditto. We feel the same way about a woman (Hillary), but didn't choose on the basis of skin color or what's found between the legs. Not relevant.

Here is the meat and potatoes, not the icing on the cake:

I was first moved to consider Obama after reading his books last summer. I was impressed by Obama's keen ability to observe complex situations and draw powerful distinctions and conclusions from them. I was impressed by his unique background and personal history. I was impressed by his ability to see the humanity in others, to understand and fully appreciate different opinions and see things from multiple perspectives. I remember thinking, "Wow, this guy is the exact opposite of George Bush, worldly, sharp minded, curious, insightful, open and honest."

At that point, I still supported Hillary, but decided to do my homework. Over a period of months I compared their positions, began to pay attention to their campaigns, etc. While their positions were quite similar, I concluded that Obama's healthcare plan was better, and that his "judgement" argument actually had merit, at least in contrast to Hillary. I was also impressed by his unique resume and life history, which I felt would bring both a fresh, unique perspective to the White House.

I think everyone would agree that of the most important issues of our times is Muslim fundamentalist terrorism. What we need is a multifaceted approach if we wish to effectively deal with terrorism. We need to fight the conditions that lead people to choose violence. We need to understand why some people hate America - and not just some cheap line about how they're 'opposed to freedom and our way of life', for it isn't that simple. We have to build relationships and trust between peoples and cultures that now fear each other. Ultimately, the degree to which Muslim people consider the U.S. and the west as friends and allies, is the degree to which terrorism will recede, naturally. Figuring out how to accomplish something like that requires insight into the minds and hearts of the Muslim world, and an ability to appreciate and respect those viewpoints, good or bad, right or wrong.

Having lived in a Muslim country, having worked among the poor in Chicago, having family in Africa, and having travelled abroad many times, Obama is uniquely positioned to do what no other candidate can do. He can speak directly to people around the world in a way that they can hear him. His appreciation for different cultures and points of view will open doors of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiations that no other candidate could possibly expect to achieve. With his background, his skin color, and his name, Obama's election to office alone would positively transform the perception of the United States around the world. Finally, his ability to inspire others, to rally people to a higher purpose, to help others see the humanity in even their enemy, could extend beyond our borders and help bring about peaceful resolutions to numerous conflicts around the world.

Aside from that, there are a great many reasons why Obama supporters chose to support him. I can't speak for all other Obama supporters, but people are supporting Obama because of what he's accomplished, who he is, and what he stands for. Here's a list of things many people have cited, some of which are not even things I care that much about, but some others do:

-- Graduated first black president of Harvard Law Review having won trust and support of conservative members.

-- Passed over 600 high-money law firm offers to work for civil rights practice at fractional pay.

-- Added health insurance for 20,000 children, welfare reforms, earned-income tax credits, and increased minimum wage in Illinois.

-- Reformed death-penalty cases, requiring that interrogations be video-recorded. Passed Illinois Senate 58-0. Signed into law by Illinois governor who first opposed Obama’s bill. Obama succeeded by building consensus with conservative opposition.

-- Opposed Iraq war publicly, long before invasion. Accurately depicted it as of undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined objective, with a great likelihood of civil war breaking out.

-- Expanded program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD with Republican Senator Lugar.

-- Passed major ethics and lobbying reform bill with Russ Feingold, insisting upon tougher restrictions around gifts, meals, etc. And extended the interval preventing exiting congress members from moving directly into lobbyist positions.

-- Toured Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, and Palestinian territories, telling Palestinian Authority Abbas that US would never recognize Hamas leaders until they renounced mission to attack Israel.

-- Cosponsored Secure Orderly Immigration Act by John McCain. Passes Senate 62-36. Makes undocumented persons who have been here 5+ years only allowed to stay and apply for citizenship if they pay back-taxes, learn English, and have no criminal record.

-- Communicated frankly to Michigan automaker executives of need to increase fuel-efficiency standards by at least 3% per year.

-- Many aisle-crossing bi-partisan solutions throughout 10 years of senate experience (8 state, 2 federal).

-- 100% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood. National Education Association gives him an “A” on their most recent scorecard.

-- In Illinois State Senate sponsored 780 bills, 280 were signed into law.

-- In first year as US Senator, held 39 town-hall meetings throughout his state, sponsored 152 bills and resolutions, and cosponsored 427 more.

-- Designated US Senate point person on ethics by Speaker Harry Reid.

(fyi, this list was totally stolen from another poster on this site)

You may choose to believe what you want, but the reality is that Obama if far from being an "empty suit", and Obama didn't achieve this level of success simply because he's black. As Obama pointed out himself, if someone were to create a handbook on how to become POTUS, being black would not be in it. He's gotten where he has DESPITE the fact he's black, a testament to his fine political skills.

Childers is the newest Superdelegate.

Who will he endorse? The Candidate who carried his state? His District? The one his opponents tried to link him to? But the one he disavowed knowing?

Here is some fun guidance for responding [in your mind's eye, not necessarily in typed comments] to the latest troll behavior.

What appears both in this thread and in the last thread about the Mississippi special election was a tag team ugliness initiated by Yilla and followed through by Godzilla, both of whom flame on with lies about affirmative action as the cause of Obama's achievements and impressive resume.

When you read these flame comments, simply picture those flamers sitting at their keyboards suffering through life with tiny wienies to match their tiny brains. It is a fun image and at the least more likely than not to be the reason for their ugly comments. Yilla's screen name is rather vanillla-ish, and Godzilla's screen name is a pathetic attempt to hide a lack of personal prowess.

Sorry about the the mirror crack.

The use of the word 'recessivist' can out my high school American Government class and my Junior College Political Science classes. I may have coined it . . . or it may have popped up in discussions and I adopted it (late 70's, early 80's).

I will post a full discussion of the word/concept at TPM Cafe this afternoon.