Iowa Cometh

Rani now has a sinus infection and is reportedly sleeping with a "lavendar warming sheep" on her head so I'll weigh in briefly: Iowa. Caucuses. These caucuses are going to give the go-nowhere candidates a chance to quit without looking like quitters. And it's going to pick a frontrunner with actual delegates instead of just polls and cash. I'm going to rank the field as to my prefered candidates from both parties (in one handy list!)

1. John Edwards: Every time I think about crappy health care, huge co-pays and prescriptions draining my bank account I think about JE (not to be confused with JC although don't forget Jesus liked the poor and healing people too). Yes we have a chance for a good solid Progressive and maybe we can make some *gasp* progress!


2. Dennis Kucinich: Just saw Star Wars III again on Skinimax. Kucinich IS Yoda. Pointy ears. Wise words. Sees a lot of spaceships. Short. Handy with a light saber. Friendly with Large, hairy women (we all know what's behind Yoda's "good relations" with the Wookies. He's a freak!)

3. Chris Dodd: He's a bit of a speed-talker which is a problem because Americans can be slow-understanders. A cool stand on the senate floor, he speaks fluent Spanish...not a bad guy.




4. Barack Obama: Oprah likes him. He also does have a lot in common with JFK. He's charismatic, inexperienced, risky electorally and either he doesn't have a lot of policy ideas or is playing everything close to the vest (I believe the second, frankly.) Unlike JFK he doesn't have a quip for every occasion and also he tends to use big words most Americans don't understand. But wouldn't that be a relief after W?

5. Mike Gravel: "Imagine you had a chance in hell..."

6. Bill Richardson: Folksy only goes so far.

7. Joe Biden: Annoying life-long political insider.

8. Ron Paul: No NAFTA, no war--great; guns--fine (after the Bush administration I'm kind of glad the country is well-armed and hard to take over)...the rest not so much

9. Hillary Rodham Clinton: A wolf in sheep's clothing on war, trade and corporate welfare but we could use some progressive judges

10. John McCain: At least he's anti-torture (sort-of)



11. Alan Keyes: Easy to put him here because he has no shot. And he was in Borat!

12. Fred Thompson: This dude is comatose.

13. Duncan Hunter: Who?

14. Mitt Romney: Awful candidate and he "saw the Patriots win the World Series." Not even the Patriots are THAT good.

15. Rudy Giuliani: Slimy criminal taking shit from 9/11 firefighters. Wish I believed in Hell.

16. Mike Huckabee: "When fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." That's what Bush was wrapped in. This guy is a dangerous fundamentalist and is looking to become the Ayatollah of America. God help us all.

Fool Me Twice: The Hillary Clinton Nightmare--Part 1--Endless War

Snarff here. Rani is doing the Xmas thing. I'm part of Bill-O's war on Christmas, so I'm going to throw some posts your way.

Our experience should have shown us the danger in trusting this Administration as it marched to war. That is why I and many of my colleagues -- at least many of those who bothered to vote -- opposed the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. Unfortunately, Senator Clinton instead chose to lend credence to the Administration's position...It's easy to say 'fool me once, shame on George Bush,' but when she's been fooled twice, shame on her.
--Senator Christopher Dodd



As courageous as Chris Dodd has been these days (except for funding the war again), I have to disagree with him. Senator Hillary Clinton is the one trying to fool America twice, which is why any Democrat (and perhaps even the anti-war *gag* Repub Ron Paul) would be a decidedly better president.

While Senator Clinton mounts racist attacks against Senator Obama, (that drug dealer thing that would make George H.W. proud) she claims to be a helpless woman being attacked by misogynists.

Clinton touts her "experience" in her husband's administration, but asks us to forget her failure in her signature project (with a Democratic Congress no less)--Health Care reform. Oh, and then the Clintons helped to lose congress for 12 years and keep Rush flush with Oxycontin. Don't forget NAFTA--we all hear the "giant sucking sound" now. (Ross Perot had those great big ears so he heard it first.)

Progressives look forward to another Clinton administration like they look forward to open-heart surgery.

This first post will focus on perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Clinton's candidacy: her thirst for war.

I take responsibility for my vote. It was a sincere vote based on the facts and assurances we had at the time. Obviously, I would not vote that way again if we knew then what we know now.
Sen. Clinton on 2002 Iraq War authorization.

Except she did. Clinton voted for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment to "...designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization." What exactly is the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps? Is it a rag tag band of terrorists doing the hand-over -hand bars at an Al Qaeda "camp?" No it's actually the largest branch of the Iranian Army, currently over 400,000 strong. This is more than double the number of US troops in Iraq. In time of war, the IRGC reportedly can swell to 11 million. So it's no wonder that Senator Jim Webb called the bill "Dick Cheney's fondest pipe dream" and "...tantamount to a declaration of war." Senator Clinton is all too comfortable with war.

Not only does Hillary refuse to apologize for her vote to attack Iran, she believes the NIE "vindicates" her approval of the Iran war. Sound familiar? This is the same patented up-is-down doublespeak the Bush administration trotted out after the NIE. Here's what Hillary was saying about Iran in September: "The Revolutionary Guards are deeply involved in Iran’s nuclear program." Doesn't sound like vindication to me. But it does sound like Hillary circa 2003: "It is clear ... that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." Hillary Clinton: a mouthpiece for NeoCons everywhere.

Hillary is also committed to being in Iraq indefinitely. Even with nearly 4,000 dead US Soldiers and an Iraqi death toll tantamount to genocide, Sen. Clinton wants a permanent presence in Iraq. Apparently Big Oil money isn't red or blue, it's green like the rest of Hillary's special interest cash. Sen. Clinton shows the same callous disregard for human life that W has. As the remainder of the Democratic field promises to be out of Iraq in a year, Hillary Clinton betrays America yet again.

Should Hillary be elected she would be the first woman president. She may also be the first woman President to be tried for war crimes.

We need to use every tool at our disposal, including...the threat and use of military force.
Sen. Clinton "talking tough" about Iran at AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) dinner; 1/31/07