On Wednesday, October 8, your intrepid diarist stood in line with McCain supporters in Bethlehem, PA. While they were waiting in line to see Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin, they threatened protesters, called Obama a terrorist and repeatedly told the protesters to go home.

One McCain supporter hit the lowest point, IMHO. When a protester asked how the McCainites would feel if a friend of theirs had to pay for her own rape kit, one of them shouted back "She should die!"

Meanwhile, McCain and Palin continued to incite audience inside (no video available here). And the County GOP head twice called him "Barack Hussein Obama."
Truly horrendous, scary and revealing stuff.

If you've had enough of this sleaze, sign the petition:
http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/s/pagopapology

We'll deliver it to McCain the next time he's in PA. And we'll bring cameras!

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border."
Sarah Palin to Katie Couric on CBS News.

From Daily Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/28/21502/0937/455/613815

Hundreds show up in Philly on September 26 to tell Palin "No Third Term."


www.keystoneprogress.org

September 22, 2008
www.keystoneprogress.org

Pennsylvania Community Organizers discuss what they do and why they do it.

www.iamacommunityorganizer.org
www.keystoneprogress.org

We were appalled last night as we listened to speaker after speaker at the Republican Convention demean the fine work of community organizers. It was insulting to the people, young and old, who work to better our nation, starting in their own backyard.

We are community organizers. We build neighborhood organizations that work for the common good. We teach people to act as part of a community, using their shared American values. We help people recognize the power of living in a democracy, where acting together can effect real changes.

Community organizers help to build strong neighborhood institutions, fight against injustice, develop new leaders, create community-based solutions and strengthen existing structures.
It is a serious job that requires the trust of our community, because we have real responsibilities that impact the daily lives of our neighbors.

http://www.gop.com/About/AboutRead.aspx?Guid=a4cc4fcb-6043-4af2-860a-41ae912a2c42

RULE NO. 9 Filling Vacancies in Nominations

(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.

(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.

(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.

(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.

USW International President Leo W. Gerard commented today on John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, saying, "It is important to realize that while the governor's husband is a member of a union, this does not automatically qualify her for an on-the-job training program to become a heartbeat away from the presidency. And while her husband is one of 850,000 dues-paying members of the steelworkers union, it does nothing to absolve Sen. McCain of his long history of anti-union sentiment and anti-worker actions, including continuously pushing an anti-working family agenda."

Read more of the statement here.

http://www.campaignmoney.org/pressroom/2008/08/29/mccain-palin-pick

Palin Pick Underscores McCain's Loss of Maverick Reformer Credentials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Washington, D.C. – Campaign Money Watch, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog, released the following statement today from its director, David Donnelly, regarding Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) selection of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) to be his vice presidential running mate:"In choosing Governor Palin, Senator McCain is clearly trying to shore up his past maverick reformer image – an image that is now in tatters due to the type of campaign he's run and the big money lobbyists he depends on every day of the week," Donnelly said.

"This selection raises plenty of questions," Donnelly continued. "She bills herself as a reformer, but has been silent on whether she supports public financing of elections in her own state. As governor of an oil-producing state, she's been a friend to Big Oil. Given John McCain's extensive fundraising from Big Oil, her selection raises concerns of whether the McCain-Palin ticket will promise the same access for oil companies and their lobbyists that we've seen for nearly eight years from the Bush-Cheney administration."

Gov. Palin recently told a reporter, "When I look every day, the big oil company's building is right out there next to me, and it's quite a reminder that we should have mutually beneficial relationships with the oil industry."

For John McCain, that mutually beneficial relationship includes millions in campaign donations.

Campaign Money Watch is a project of the nonpartisan Public Campaign Action Fund. The organization works to hold politicians who are against comprehensive campaign finance reform accountable for where they get their political donations.

Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, today expressed its deep disappointment with John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate.

“Unfortunately, with her support for drilling in the Arctic Refuge and off our coasts, Governor Palin will simply continue the failed policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration and their Big Oil friends – policies that could make us even more dependent on foreign oil," LCV President Gene Karpinski said.

Governor Palin characterizes McCain’s flip-flop on drilling offshore as a positive step in his transformation from maverick to Big Oil's best friend.

She has implored McCain to change his position against drilling in the Arctic – something she will have plenty of opportunities to pursue as his running mate.

In addition to supporting backward-looking energy policies, Governor Palin has also opposed a crucial clean water initiative, sued the federal government for listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and opposed other important wildlife protection measures.

This ticket now stands in even starker contrast to the visionary energy plan laid out by Senator Obama last night, which will create millions of new jobs, improve our national security, and reduce global warming pollution.

“Now more than ever, America is in need of real vision and leadership to bring us a new clean energy future, and the McCain-Palin ticket offers nothing of the sort.”

Yesterday morning, on my way back from the high of the Democratic National Convention, I learned that Sen. John McCain chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential pick.