Call me sweetie and hear me roar!

In the left blogosphere, I have already read posts this morning about how Hillary voters need "to get over it" and unite to elect Obama in November. Well, if I had not taken a leave of absence from a party I don't recognize after 30 years of voting Democratic, maybe I would give a hoot.

I am finished with blind loyalty to a party that demonstrated how un-Democratic it is during this campaign season. Who are these people who have usurped my party? Seriously, they don't act like Democrats. What happened to champions of the working class, representing and fighting for everyone's equality and prosperity?

I have read about the so-called "new" coalition but the adjective doesn't necessarily mean improved.

The pledged delegate sham alone is reason for a timeout until the party reforms its anti-democratic, disenfranchising voting process that enabled the foisting of the DNC's favorite upon 18 million of us because of why? The cha-ching? With further insult compounded by the leadership's silence against sexism and misogyny.

There's a way to change a political party: protest!

And a Puma PAC protest with a roar!

Booing Obama

Via egalia from yesterday:

Mark Hemingway at The Corner: I just returned from the Clinton rally, and I don't know if this really came across on TV but there was a surprisingly audible number of boos every time Obama was mentioned. There were also a lot of people who didn't clap for him. . [T]he boos sort of took everybody in the press area aback when she first mentioned his name."

I tuned into the C-SPAN broadcast and noticed what sounded like booing beneath the cacophony of whistles and cheers at one time. Egalia, however, posted a Fox News video in which you can hear a baritone harmonic of boos when Hillary mentions Barack's name during the 1:24 minute clip.

Hillary Clinton's speech

Inspiring, blub-provoking, and spell-binding. I would be proud with Hillary Clinton as POTUS.

She delivered the speech suspending her campaign to an enthralled crowd of supporters in D.C. I watched her speak on C-SPAN to avoid the chattering teevee pundits.

Note how many times the crowd burst into applause:

Thank you very, very much. Well, this isn't exactly the party I'd planned, but I sure like the company.

(APPLAUSE) And I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you, to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked, sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors...

(APPLAUSE)

... who e-mailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, "See, you can be anything you want to be."

(APPLAUSE)

To the young people...

(APPLAUSE)

... like 13-year-old Anne Riddell (ph) from Mayfield, Ohio, who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her mom and volunteer there, as well.

To the veterans, to the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans...

(APPLAUSE)

... who traveled across the country, telling anyone who would listen why you supported me. And to all of those women in their 80s and their 90s...

(APPLAUSE)

... born before women could vote, who cast their votes for our campaign. I've told you before about Florence Stein (ph) of South Dakota who was 88 years old and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.

She passed away soon after and, under state law, her ballot didn't count, but her daughter later told a reporter, "My dad's an ornery, old cowboy, and he didn't like it when he heard Mom's vote wouldn't be counted. I don't think he had voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom."

(APPLAUSE)

So to all those who voted for me and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding.

You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives. And you have humbled me with your commitment to our country. Eighteen million of you, from all walks of life...

(APPLAUSE)

... women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African- American and Caucasian...

(APPLAUSE)

... rich, poor, and middle-class, gay and straight, you have stood with me.

(APPLAUSE)

And I will continue to stand strong with you every time, every place, in every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for.

Remember, we fought for the single mom with the young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, "I'm doing it all to better myself for her."

We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand and asked me, "What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?" and began to cry, because even though she works three jobs, she can't afford insurance.

We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, "Take care of my buddies over there, and then will you please take care of me?"

(APPLAUSE)

We fought for all those who've lost jobs and health care, who can't afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years.

I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I've had every opportunity and blessing in my own life, and I want the same for all Americans.

And until that day comes, you'll always find me on the front lines of democracy, fighting for the future.

(APPLAUSE)

The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him.

(APPLAUSE)

And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

(APPLAUSE)

I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I've had a front-row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit.

In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American dream, as a community organizer, in the State Senate, as a United States senator. He has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future.

Now, when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and progress. And that's exactly what we're going to do, by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I understand -- I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight, but the Democratic Party is a family. And now it's time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys, but today our paths have merged. And we're all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around, because so much is at stake.

We all want an economy that sustains the American dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries, and still have a little left over at the end of the month, an economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.

We all want a health care system that is universal, high-quality and affordable...

(APPLAUSE)

... so that parents don't have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead-end jobs simply to keep their insurance.

This isn't just an issue for me. It is a passion and a cause, and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured, no exceptions and no excuses.

(APPLAUSE)

We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality, from civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights...

(APPLAUSE)

... from ending discrimination to promoting unionization, to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families.

And we all want to restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, and once again lead by the power of our values...

(APPLAUSE)

... and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

You know, I've been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. And during those...

(APPLAUSE)

During those 40 years, our country has voted 10 times for president. Democrats won only three of those times, and the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

(APPLAUSE)

We made tremendous progress during the '90s under a Democratic president, with a flourishing economy and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world.

Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we'd had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court.

Imagine how far...

(APPLAUSE)

... we could have come, how much we could have achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now, the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can't do it, that it's too hard, we're just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject can't-do claims and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism that Senator Obama and I share and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. So today I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes, we can!

(APPLAUSE)

And that together we will work -- we'll have to work hard to achieve universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That's why we need to help elect Barack Obama our president.

(APPLAUSE)

We'll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our president.

(APPLAUSE)

We'll have to work hard to foster the innovation that will make us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children's future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we have to help elect Barack Obama our president.

(APPLAUSE)

We'll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq and get them the support they've earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that's as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our president.

(APPLAUSE)

This election is a turning-point election. And it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together, or will we stall and slip backwards?

Now, think how much progress we've already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions. Could a woman really serve as commander-in-chief? Well, I think we answered that one.

(APPLAUSE)

Could an African-American really be our president? And Senator Obama has answered that one. (APPLAUSE)

Together, Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union.

Now, on a personal note, when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running because I thought I'd be the best president. But...

(APPLAUSE)

But I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us.

(APPLAUSE)

I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter's future and a mother who wants to leave all children brighter tomorrows.

To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect.

(APPLAUSE)

Let us...

(APPLAUSE)

Let us resolve and work toward achieving very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices in the 21st century in our country.

(APPLAUSE)

You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories...

(APPLAUSE)

... unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.

(APPLAUSE)

To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.

Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you're knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on.

(APPLAUSE)

As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it...

(APPLAUSE)

... and the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.

That has always been the history of progress in America. Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes.

Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot soldiers who marched, protested, and risked their lives to bring about the end of segregation and Jim Crow.

(APPLAUSE)

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote and, because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together.

Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States. And so...

(APPLAUSE)

... when that day arrives, and a woman takes the oath of office as our president, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream big and that her dreams can come true in America.

And all of you will know that, because of your passion and hard work, you helped pave the way for that day. So I want to say to my supporters: When you hear people saying or think to yourself, "If only, or, "What if," I say, please, don't go there. Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

(APPLAUSE)

Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next president.

(APPLAUSE)

And I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.

(APPLAUSE)

To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected officials who stood with me in good times and bad, thank you for your strength and leadership.

To my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way, I thank you and pledge my support to you.

To my friends from every stage of my life, your love and ongoing commitment sustained me every single day.

To my family, especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me, and I thank you for all you have done.

(APPLAUSE)

And to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters...

(APPLAUSE)

... thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for dropping everything, leaving work or school, traveling to places that you've never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families, as well, because your sacrifice was theirs, too. All of you were there for me every step of the way.

Now, being human, we are imperfect. That's why we need each other, to catch each other when we falter, to encourage each other when we lose heart. Some may lead, some may follow, but none of us can go it alone.

The changes we're working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together.

That is what we will do now, as we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make history together, as we write the next chapter in America's story. We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share, and for the country we love.

There is nothing more American than that.

And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign...

(APPLAUSE)

... are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives.

So today I'm going to count my blessings and keep on going. I'm going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I'll be doing long after they're gone: working to give every American the same opportunities I had and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God- given potential.

I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and dividing love for our country, and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead.

This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that, in this election, we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future.

Thank you all. And God bless you, and God bless America.

(APPLAUSE)

Transcript link.

UPDATE: The speech via HillaryClinton.com.

You're our hero, Hill!

Photo by Barbara Kinney

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Excerpted from Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Money, money, money

From the MoJo blog, a few facts about the Obama cha-ching factor:

If each of Obama's donors gave him a modest $250, he'd have $375 million to spend during the two-month general election sprint. That’s $186 million a month; $47 million a week.

During the same September to Nov. 4th period, McCain will have about $85 million to spend since he has decided to take taxpayer money to help finance his campaign activities.

[snip]

Obama has more than 1.5 million donors; McCain has a few hundred thousand. If just a million of Obama’s donors sent him the maximum donation, $2,300, he could raise $2.3 billion.

What does it mean? MoJo concluded:

Two quick observations: (1) Obama is going to be able to use that money to make random red states like Kansas and Idaho competitive enough that McCain has to put time, energy, and money into winning them. That's a huge advantage.

Maybe, but whether Obama can win red states... well, I'm a skeptic. But here's the real nugget, the prize for Democrats:

(2) Obama could have enough money to finance every Democratic congressional race in the country. Certainly every key Senate race. He could essentially buy himself a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate.

Do I need to spell out why the DNC favored Obama and threw Hillary under the bus? Even if McCain wins, a super majority in the House and Senate is a coup.

Remembering Bobby

Robert F. Kennedy, Jan. 3, 1965 – Jun. 6, 1968

As a young girl I remember paging through LIFE magazine's tribute to Bobby in pictures and words. My family kept the magazine until dog-eared, creased, and faded, it fell apart years later. But the memories remained.

One of my favorite RFK quotes:

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change.

Moral courage, to dare to love without shame, rejecting the pressures of conformity, led me to come out as a lesbian a few years after the summer of 1968. I relished the freedom of being true to myself until confronted with the hard reality that indeed the world "yields most painfully to change." Yet, I moved on and thrived. Hopefully, the world will too.

Rest in peace, Bobby.

LGBT Equality Caucus in the House

Sapphocrat posted news about the formation of a LGBT equality caucus chaired by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) in the House of Representatives. What are their plans?

The mission of the LGBT Equality Caucus is to achieve the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the improved health and well being for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The Caucus will serve as a resource for Members of Congress, their staffs, and the public on LGBT issues. Congressional action this session on legislation combating hate crimes and employment discrimination based highlighted the need, and the desire people had, for more information on LGBT issues. The LGBT Equality Caucus is one result of those successful efforts.

Baldwin described the purpose of the Caucus as both symbolic and substantive, “…symbolic because, historically, of all the Member caucuses organized in the Congress over the years, none has ever been dedicated to equality for LGBT Americans. The very existence of an LGBT Equality Caucus in Congress makes a strong statement about the values this Congress and this nation hold dear.”

The Caucus will address not only U.S. domestic policies, but our nation’s foreign policy to safeguard the human rights of LGBT people in all parts of the world.

I counted 19 vice chairs and 31 members plus co-chairs Baldwin and Frank in the caucus. With two exceptions, all are Democrats, names to know and more expected to join. Of course, same-sex marriage advocate and former presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is a member.

Visit Sapphocrat at Lavendar Newswire for the complete list of vice chairs and members. She says, "Reads like a checklist of 'Who’s On Our Side.'”

Artist spotlight

Time for fine art. A painting I would love to have in my collection, Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve by artist David Hewson.

The inspiring painting is comprised of 24 kt. water gilt, blue, green, black, red bole (clay), oil on wood measuring 29 1/2" x 20".

A larger image--worth the click for the stunning details-- is here at the artist's website.

I've scrutinized the painting intensely in person and the pixel representation online just doesn't compare to the original.

Absolutely magnificent.

I'm also partial to Devotional, another masterful painting.

You can find Hewson's art at JHS Gallery in Taos, NM, a wonderful gallery where I've exhibited my work.

A few more examples of David's art at JHS Gallery available here along with his education and exhibition history.

If you visit Taos, carve out some time to see the incredible artworks on display at the gallery. You won't be disappointed.

We're not buying

Saw this some time ago at Shakesville, which led me to the Women's Media Center, a worthy enterprise if you haven't visited their website.

Now is as good a time as any to post the video, Sexism Might Sell, But We're Not Buying It!

WMC president Carol Jenkins wrote in a press release:

“As our new video shows, the media’s sexism is not specific to a candidate or campaign. But the presence of a woman, front and center at last on the national political stage, has sent shockwaves through a media grappling with ongoing problems of diversity. Hillary Clinton’s campaign has cast a spotlight on the institutionalized sexism that The Women’s Media Center was founded in 2005 to combat, providing us with a unique moment to examine ourselves and the media we consume. This is about the inherent and unnecessary obstacles that women face every day in speaking out and participating in the national dialogue.”

The WMC is working in partnership with Media Matters. You can sign the petition to protest the sexism of national broadcast news here.

Brain teaser

Of the two, which is the more powerful in America?

(a) The U.S. Constitution

(b) The R-complex or reptilian brain

Open for arguments.

Question of the day

From The Daily Howler, Lisa Caputo on last night's Verdict with Dan Abrams. Abrams hyperventilated about why Hillary didn't concede and endorse Obama on Tuesday evening:

ABRAMS (6/4/08): I mean, there were people on our air today, Charlie Rangel was on our air today, talking about this, saying–but expressing–and look, whether you agree with them or not, they felt that [Hillary] should have been, said different things last night.

CAPUTO: But you know what, Dan? With all due respect, let’s just put this in a historical context, if you would. Bill Bradley got out of the race in March and didn’t endorse Al Gore until July. Jesse Jackson took it to the convention. Ted Kennedy took it to the convention–

ABRAMS: But that’s an explanation of why they–

CAPUTO: No. But hold on! Why is there a different standard for Senator Clinton?

Excellent question.

And why did it take John Edwards sooooo long to endorse Obama?

Hillary's unreliable witnesses

Warped

I guess most folks already know that Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign. She sent out an email announcing a Washington, D.C. event on Saturday to say thanks to her supporters and declare her support for Obama. Putting her campaign on hold (as John Edwards did rather than dropping out) means she retains her delegates. I won't dive into speculation about what she will or won't do or say. And I am sure as jenny's crockpot not going to accept what the wagging tongues from the press corps or the Obamasphere divine.

It's Obama's show now. I've got my popcorn ready in anticipation of an interesting summer. On the implications for Obama, Anglachel gets it so, so right.

Kind commentary by Digby about Hill and Bill Clinton piqued my attention. Many of us in the Clinton camp would agree with her compliment about Hillary. "Senator Clinton, who in my view showed Democrats what a fighter looks like." Yes, indeed-y. One caveat to Digby's post. And it's significant:

Finally, whoever you supported in this race and however your feel about the candidates, there still remains the problem of our sick, sick political media and that's something that the blogosphere -- as alternative media --- need to sort through. I know that many of you have felt that this campaign's coverage wasn't as bad as I have painted it. But I think that when we look back on this we will see that it was yet another disgraceful performance on the part of our mainstream media (and, alas, our "liberal" media as well.) There is a lot to be written about that and I'm hopeful we can all look at this with clear eyes once we take a breather. [Emphasis added.]

Digby's media critique neglected to cite the ugly, sexist, misogynistic, and racist sneers that emanated from the "alternative media," the lefty blogosphere that pilloried Hillary and Bill Clinton. Maybe she didn't have the energy at the time to enumerate the excesses (or she's playing it kewl with her male blogger peers until she speaks out... I hope) but the Obamasphere has behaved exactly like the "sick, sick political media." And it is inexcusable. Very few dependable sources remain in the Left Blogosphere. Very. Few.

Via the esteemed Bob Somerby, whom I consider our most reliable witness, a few examples of the disinformation the Left Blogosphere has deployed:

• We are all Matt Drudge now--Moo-cows Josh Marshall and Kevin Drum wrongly fingered the Clinton camp for the photo of Obama in a turban and Somali garb and Josh pulled a fast one, "back-pedaled in a rambling, barely-coherent 'update' (same link)—a non-clarification clarification of a type he has come to master." IOW, TPM's accusation lived on without a proper retraction.
  

• How Obama manipulated the press to fuel the fire against Hillary's benign RFK remark. (Blog Boyz reactions posted below.)
  

• Josh Marshall's tinfoil hat over Obama's passport breach (Hint, hint: it's the evil Clintons).

• Rube running by whoever kidnapped Josh Marshall (WKJM) and stalking low-information liberals.

• David Sirota's "slapdash analysis" of racism in mostly caucus states, WKJM's mealy-mouthed assist, and stifling Greg Sargent. Ah, "ditto-heads now rule your world. . . If you want to call average people and party leaders racists, you can read Sirota’s piece and feel a thrill go up your leg."

• Matt Yglesias demonstrated that playing "kiss kiss kiss with the man who is sliming our leaders" isn't a new trend in the blogosphere.

• Plenty more that's searchable in Somerby's archives for those willing to dig without blinders.

In Obama Talking Points Memo, you can discover the irony of Josh Marshall criticizing "the notoriously fallacious Bill Kristol for citing Newsmax in his column" and then WKJM quoting "an unsubstantiated allegation from right-wing Matt Drudge as a source to smear the Clinton campaign as if fact-checking isn't important for him, but it is for Bill Kristol. Interesting double standard, no?" The extent to which the A-Hole Listers have gone to "get Hillary" could have been copied from a right-wing playbook.

Remember the Kantor video? Another Drudge excretion that the Obamasphere lapped up like chocolates, indicating again, "The Left blogs have lost their way."

Krugman offered a few insights into Clinton rules:

I won’t try for fake evenhandedness here: most of the venom I see is coming from supporters of Mr. Obama, who want their hero or nobody. . .What’s particularly saddening is the way many Obama supporters seem happy with the application of “Clinton rules” — the term a number of observers use for the way pundits and some news organizations treat any action or statement by the Clintons, no matter how innocuous, as proof of evil intent....

....During the current campaign, Mrs. Clinton’s entirely reasonable remark that it took L.B.J.’s political courage and skills to bring Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to fruition was cast as some kind of outrageous denigration of Dr. King.

Again from Krugman on alleged Clinton race-baiting:

It really makes me sad to see so many people get played by the media on this. If you prefer Obama, fine — but the evil, race-card-playing Clinton campaign is no more real than Al Gore’s claim that he invented the Internet.

And to Obama supporters, just remember: these people are not your friends. After they take down Hillary Clinton, if they can, your man will be next.

One last Krugman point from April in which he demolished Obama's "bitterness" about small-town stereotypes with facts and figures. He concluded:

And one more thing: let’s hope that once Mr. Obama is no longer running against someone named Clinton, he’ll stop denigrating the very good economic record of the only Democratic administration most Americans remember.

I responded at the time, "Trashing the Clintons isn't smart during these troubled economic times and I'm willing to bet that a ticket with Candidate Obama and without Candidate Clinton will have a chilling effect on GOTV in November."

Of course, the tone-deaf Obamasphere continued to malign both Hillary and Bill over Tuesday night's primary results in South Dakota and Montana. Shrill reactions from the Obamasphere on Hillary's speech whipped the baton up to signal a noisy crescendo. Note the insidious sexist references to this woman and clawing:

• The Atlantic's Matthew Yglesias: "I probably shouldn't write any more about this woman and her staff. Suffice it to say that I've found her behavior over the past couple of months to be utterly unconscionable and this speech is no different. I think if I were to try to express how I really feel about the people who've been enabling her behavior, I'd say something deeply unwise. Suffice it to say, that for quite a while now all of John McCain's most effective allies have been on Hillary Clinton's payroll."

• The New Republic's Jonathan Chait: "Incredible. She justifies her continuing the campaign by saying that she finished the campaign. She doesn't concede that Obama has a majority of delegates, let alone that he's won. She repeats her bogus popular vote argument. She congratulates Obama's campaign on its 'achievements,' but barely musters a single good word about him. I don't know what the fallout will be, but at minimum, I'd say that anybody on her staff who cares about their party has a moral obligation to publicly quit and endorse Obama."

• Firedoglake's Cliff Schecter: "Hillary Clinton is 'making no decisions tonight.' The crowd erupts. Yes, drag this out longer. Smart. Elect McCain. Ensure that Roe v. Wade is overturned, the Iraq War continues, tax cuts continue to reign down on CEOs and torture becomes state policy. Those are some smart Democrats cheering for that line."

• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "Obama won tonight and she still can't concede. Take a flying leap. You lost. You nasty woman."

• Moulitsas: "She hasn't said one nice thing about Obama. It's all about her. Period. There is nothing else that matters."

Before jumping in the time machine to expose more recent sickness from the Obamasphere, pull out the fainting couches and get the smelling salts ready over vile Hillary's comments about nomination races lasting into June:

Liberal bloggers slammed Clinton after she invoked the June '68 assassination of RFK in defending her decision to stay in the race:

• Daily Kos' BarbinMD: "The willingness to say such a thing in a cheap effort to sway superdelegates is disgusting."

• The Huffington Post's Bob Cesca: "Senator Clinton is embarrassing herself and the Democratic Party. She has ceased to be a viable, respectable candidate and has, instead, become a ghoulish, desperate shell of her formerly strong and admirable self."

• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "She basically invoked her opponent's assassination. What else does she need to do to convince the superdelegates that she ain't exactly presidential material?"

• Oliver Willis: "She is fracking crazy. [...] Seriously, who says this sort of thing? Your average person doesn't say it, let alone somebody running for president. Hillary Clinton didn't lose this race because she was a victim of sexism. She lost this race because people are tired of her clawing for power and running over everything to do it."

• MyDD's Josh Orton: "This is unacceptable. The United States has a history of profound political violence -- and the use of violence to oppress and coerce. And while I'm not quite willing to accept that Clinton spoke maliciously -- it doesn't matter. There is no excuse for flippantly referencing assassination, especially given the historic nature of Obama's campaign and our nation's grim history of racial oppression through violence. When Hillary Clinton speaks of our history, she is not reflecting academically or only in a vacuum -- her words and influence are real. To act otherwise is negligent, at best. [...] Even with the most charitable interpretation, I think her negligence is disqualifying."

• Firedoglake's Eli: "I really, really want to take Hillary at face value and not believe that she was actually using the prospect of an opponent's assassination to score political points -- hell, maybe the possibility of Obama getting shot simply didn't occur to her (it's certainly not on my mind very often). But even if her intentions were pure, it was still an incredibly careless and stupid thing to say."

• Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas: "It looks like many of Hillary Clinton's apologists and several political pundits claim that her assassination remarks can be explained because of fatigue. Perhaps. In fact, it's likely. But won't she be fatigued at 3 a.m. in the morning?"

• TAPPED's Sam Boyd: "If she really is trying to convince us that she's staying in in case Obama is assassinated that's nuts -- if he were assassinated she'd be the nominee almost certainly, whether she'd dropped out or not. And if that's not what she meant, why mention Kennedy's assassination at all? But really, this is just another example of throwing as much nonsense at the wall as possible and seeing what sticks. In order to stay in the race, Clinton needs to do whatever she can to hide the basic fact that there's virtually no way for her to win now. So distractions, like reminding voters that unexpected things like assassinations happen, are key. In this case, she went way way too far."

These comments hail from the alleged intellectual leaders of the liberal blogosphere and what did they do? They ranted and bayed at the moon like drooling lunatics. The "cogent, rational" Avedon snuffed the preposterous much ado about nuthin' over the RFK dust-up but do the Blog Boyz listen to a woman? Don't make me laugh.

Blog Boyz need to 'fess up to their Hillary hatred and the misogyny that has been brewing in the Obamasphere for years. But don't hold your breath. I cannot tell you how many times I have read how "divisive" Hillary is or about "her baggage." Way to go, team! Parroting how the Village defines our leaders!

Or ad hominem attacks--sHillary, sHill, DOMA-wife--written by lefty bloggers or in their comment threads. I've seen it too many times.

Or the knee-jerk reactionaries who reflexively pummeled Hillary over the 2007 Kyl-Lieberman amendment without investigating further--what a concept!--to realize Clinton pushed to remove use of force language against Iran from the bill, essentially throttling Bush-Cheney presumptive designs for military misadventures. Also, please tell me what's wrong about identifying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group when, according to a 2001 indictment, "the Iranian government inspired, supported, and supervised members of the Saudi Hizballah" and the Khobar Towers bombing and when former FBI director Louis Freeh testified in 2006 that the "training and the funding was done by the IRGC." Oh, wait. Obama was not present to vote for or against the amendment even though he was given sufficient notice. Funny that.

Just as hilarious, Bob Somerby remarked on the flag-burning bill that caused gnawing of pointy rat teeth on Hillary in the biased Left Blogosphere:

That’s right, dumb-ass! Clinton supported the flag-burning bill. And Obama supported it too!

But then, more than half the senate’s Democrats supported that bill, in June 2006. It was brought to the floor by Dick Durbin, Obama’s biggest senate supporter. Everyone understands the politics of these bills–everyone but [Richard] Cohen and [Gail] Collins, that is. Because they’re two of the world’s biggest androids, they keep singing the same tired songs.

And the Blog Boyz fell for this sop like our "biggest androids" and spread propaganda about that evil Lieberman look-alike, Hillary Clinton.

I've posted about the two faces of Kos, when he was fer Hillary before he was agin her (interesting his praise for Hillary), and the blogospheric outrage expressed over Obama's homophobic associations. The latter was a deal-breaker for me as a lesbian in addition to the reasons why I won't vote for Obama based on my feminist leanings. Oh, I will vote for a liberal--just not Obama.

If the SCLB thinks Hillary liberals and the working class will coalesce around Obama, the fauxgressive "alternative media" has grossly underestimated Barack's divisiveness, the impact of his campaign tactics, and his disadvantages aka thin résumé, and their silent complicity while watching, or worse, joining the aggressive savaging of the best candidate to defeat McCain in November.

To be fair to Digby, I don't recall her smearing Hillary. But taking her fellow bloggers to task? We'll have to rely on Somerby at The Daily Howler and ourselves to do the heavy-lifting, to shine a bright light on the A-hole Listers who divided the netroots with their inflammatory sexist and racial insinuations about Hill and Bill. Despite the warning from Media Matters Eric Boehlert during Eschacon08:

What’s happening online now is potentially dangerous: HRC has gotten dreadful press, not fair, “gotcha,” and so on — there’s a portion of the blogosphere that has ignored that and there’s a portion that has encouraged that.

It’s dangerous because the media criticism has to be consistent and relentless, and we can’t very well say, “You can’t go after our candidates … except this one.” I get nervous about pushback regarding disingenuous coverage - our response needs to be, “You can’t treat Democrats this way.” When people in the left blogosphere are quoting an anonymous Matt Drudge source, it makes me nervous.

His advice was summarily ignored or dismissed perhaps due to "mass psychosis" as was the case with high-flying Chris Bowers and his creative class mumbo jumbo.

I'll wrap up with a previous critique:

For bloggers who haven't noticed or have been preoccupied due to a terminal case of CDS or OFB cha-ching euphoria, the mainstream press corps is once again playing favorites as they did in 2000 and 2004. Our clueless so-called liberal blogosphere has ignored the carnage of influencing the Democratic nomination that began Oct. 30, 2007, through November and February (see subhead, Red Faced With Rage, and for background here, also here and the media racist storyline that the fauxgressive blogosphere swallowed like candy packaged with Bill's Jesse Jackson remark here).

Did the media give John Edwards a fair shake? No. And they have treated Hillary Clinton abysmally. Now that Obama has been getting his ax Gore-d... oh, how the Obamasphere has screeched its disapproval. The liberal blogosphere should have been howling all along, a disquieting non-reaction I will never forget. When the media smears Obama, one must call it out as the despicable crap that it is. Same goes for any Democrat including Hillary. Props to Media Matters on that score. What was the A-List Blog Boyz response to the sliming of Hillary and Bill Clinton by the press? They piled on or hung a Do Not Disturb sign on their blogs and took a nap. The SCLB has failed to understand that the media hates Democrats, all of them. Look at who owns the media? When media savage any Democrat, the long-term impact undermines the Obamasphere's "Precious."

When media darling McCain takes the oath of office because Democrats allowed a flawed caucus system to disenfranchise working-class Democrats, hyped the "Holy Grail" of pledged delegates like a McGovern mantra, and other silliness like punishing FL and MI to eventually crown Obama as the nominee--unforgivable if Hillary ends up with the popular vote edge--remember who's to blame. It won't be Hillary. Look in the mirror.

Kiss, kiss, sweeties. YOYO. I want little to do with a pack of ninnies, whose career trajectories, coveted status with Village poobahs, and Obama cha-ching matter more than integrity.

I have come to think of the Obamasphere as an extension of our sick, sick political media.

CREDITS: The Precious by Anglachel.

Hillary-bashing wingnut style

I wouldn't have been surprised to have found this odorous piece of Hillary-bashing caca in the Obamasphere or on MSNBC. Disrespectful, sexist, offensive, and crass delinquent humor from the right-wing gangsta boyz at RedState. Using photography enhances the intimidation factor, n'est-ce pas? Typical chest-thumping patriarchal BS.

Why does RedState hate democracy? Why do they hate women? They seem to be saying men need to manhandle strong-willed women to control them, to force them to do what they want even if it requires kidnapping, violence, usurping a woman's autonomy, coercing her submission--like an FLDS cult creep--and in Hillary's particular case, discriminating against her when male contenders have taken their nomination fights (with less votes) all the way to the convention in the past.

Not funny in the least.

If one is a spouse, girlfriend, or female associate of one of the RedState creators, snap a screen shot of the image quick. Could come in handy.

Keith Olbermann would be so proud of his violence-evoking, misogynistic prodigy.

Cretin scale: 10+.

Revolt of the Clintonistas

We will not go calmly without dissent. We are women who honor those like Hillary who have paved the way for other women, for us. We will not be satisfied with a under-qualified male taking the place of a highly-qualified female candidate.

The Democratic Party has abandoned us and so we shall leave it with this message.

You will have to earn our votes and Obama is an obstacle, sweeties. You cannot rectify the division caused by your sexist, homophobic Precious.

We will not be moved. We will not vote for Obama.

He represents all that is wrong with the nominating process in the Democratic Party: DNC favoritism, a thin résumé propped up by stagecraft, the delegate sham, the disenfranchising of voters via caucuses, the silence against sexism and misogyny, race-baiting by the Obama camp, weasel tactics gaming the press to smear Hillary, and the dirtiest campaign ever perpetrated against a leading female presidential candidate. Obama has lied promising a new kind of politics but we have not been deceived by his unity talk, talk, talk.

We will not tolerate an Obama candidacy. We refuse to follow the call for faux unity when it is a capitulation to sexism and we will never surrender to such terms.

We stand with Hillary more resolutely than ever. No matter what she says or what she decides, we have crossed over to standing on the principle that sexism is never tolerated, never to go unanswered, never to be excused from any Democrat.

Why do we need the Democratic Party? Since the midterm elections, congressional Democrats have compromised with Republicans to set us back on fair wages, to keep funding the war, to refuse to impeach a renegade executive, to fail to filibuster Alito enabling the SCOTUS with its 5-4 vote to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, to legalize warrantless spying on Americans, to provide amnesty to lawbreaking telecoms, to succumb to Bush's every demand. Just as alarming, telecoms are attempting to buy amnesty through the enticement of millions from lobbyists. Democrats have failed to unify against a disastrous presidency and the shredding of the Constitution so I find it laughable and hypocritical to summon the electorate to unite behind Obama.

Why should voters do what Democrats have not?

As a crowning blow to the presidential race, the high shenanigans at the un-Democratic May 31 RBC meeting proved the Democratic Party does not deserve our votes. The Democratic Party is no longer democratic. It is an oligarchy.

Until the votes are cast in Denver, the nomination isn't cinched. November looks more and more like a loss with Obama as the standard-bearer. Sadly, the party will have to learn this lesson the hard way. Until they honor, respect, and treat women as equals, they have lost a large chunk of us. Hillary was savaged, called racist, and threatened. So were her supporters. Not a peep was uttered by Democratic leaders including Obama who benefitted from and or instigated the smears. By their silence, they colluded with the sexist media. We will not reward sexism, the old boys congressional club, or the politics of divisiveness.

We're saying no to sexism and yes to the best qualified candidate: Sen. Hillary Clinton.

In November, I'm voting for a woman who has earned my vote.

Hillary is free to do what she must but it is not up to her to win her coalition over to the Democratic Party.

That is a job for the alleged leadership of Obama and the party for they are the culprits who owe us apologies, who must make amends. Hillary cannot erase what Obama and the Democrats have done. Only they can make the peace and they are too arrogant to recognize the damage done. Many election cycles will be needed for Democrats to prove worthy enough to have earned our votes.

Hillary didn't do anything to us but inspire and win our hearts and minds with her policies, experience under fire, and tenacity.

In the meantime, we will boycott, protest, and not lift a finger or spend a cent to help elect Obama. The party has communicated to Hillary and to her supporters, YOYO. They have a new coalition, new voters. And so the party can move on without us with our retort, YOYO, sweeties. Good riddance!

I have used "we" because I am sure from reading other pro-Hillary bloggers and their comments that I am not alone in taking this stand.

Consider me an Independent with no loyalty to any party. Candidates get my vote.

Narcissism run amok

When did CNN's Jeffrey Toobin get his psych degree and when did he conduct an evaluation of Bill and Hillary Clinton to deem them deranged narcissists? Via egalia, a piece of crackpot journalism.



I agree with egalia:

Did I ever mention that I regard the media with complete and utter contempt? Tell CNN what you think of Jeffrey Toobin.

How much does this bozo get paid to proffer irresponsible falseholds? This is our worthless media in action.

Sniffles

I've been offline with a late spring cold but I hope to resume blogging shortly.

Let me affirm my allegiance to Hillary Clinton no matter the outcome with congratulations for her 36-point victory over Obama in Puerto Rico.

I am conflicted on whether she should take the veep slot. How many more qualified women have been passed over to lesser qualified men in the professional world? Too many. I would rather she didn't affirm that too often circumstance.

A vote for Obama is a vote for sexism.

I will still vote for a woman in November. End of story.

GOP waterboyz

I wonder if the A-hole Listers realize the kooky arguments and sliming of Hillary Clinton that they're making are in the "isn't it great that people are so stupid that they'll swallow this horsesh*t" category.

That's a deep thought.

Hillary, RFK, malignant absurdity

Via VastLeft, two commentaries on Hillary and her RFK assassination in June remark. First, the cogent, rational Avedon (with emphasis in bold):

I really look forward to the day when I don't get up in the morning and find my formerly favorite blogs littered with so many stupid posts attempting to twist statements by Hillary Clinton into Proof of Evil. When the Republicans say stupid things about Obama, everyone is perfectly capable of seeing through it and tearing it apart - in fact, y'all do it so well that I have little to add. Why can't we do that for Hillary? And why is it that when I try to do that, I get attacked as a "Hillary supporter", even though I've made it clear that I can't choose between her and Obama? What's wrong with you people? Do the Republicans spend half their time trying to destroy the reputation of the Reagans, or Gingrich, or any of their standard-bearers? Do you think they would spend five seconds doing this kind of self-immolation? Pull yourselves together - you're just joining in with a favorite Republican sport, and you are not helping clinch the nomination for Obama. The corporate media is always going to attack the Clintons, and they don't actually need your help. [And, for the record, HRC was talking about nominating races that ended in June, as she clearly emphasizes that word in the clip. And she picked the two June races that were most memorable for her. Now, if you can't figure out why the '68 and '92 races were particularly memorable for Hillary Clinton, you should consider the possibility that your prejudices are clouding your judgment.]

Duh! How biased, stupid, and/or ignorant of history can people get? Here's how: the MSNBC clown act from Rachel Maddow when the conversation turned to Clinton as Obama's veep.

MADDOW: I think that it makes you think that it would be very awkward for a vice president to be on a ticket—for a vice presidential candidate to be on a presidential candidate‘s ticket after she‘s made repeated references to his potential death. Yes, that would be weird.

But the other—but I think it‘s important also that you raised this prospect that she‘s talked about other assassinations in modern American history during this campaign.

GREGORY: Right.

MADDOW: I think for the superdelegates, I think John Harwood‘s point is well taken, which is that this shows a lack of discipline at best here. This shows—this is a gaffe and a big mistake from a remarkably disciplined candidate.

And if this was a mistake, it‘s a big an uncharacteristic mistake. If it wasn't a mistake, it‘s disgusting.

Project much, Rachel? Maddow video and transcript link at Corrente.

POSTSCRIPT: The Obama campaign stirred up the press corps by circulating lowlife Olbermann's wacky doodle commentary about Hillary's RFK assassination reference. Hey, it's a new kind of politics! When Obama plays lowdown, dirty tricks--and why would he if he's truly the inevitable nominee?--the words, change, hope, and unity, appear inside the O'Kool-Aid sippy cup.

Sexists on sexism

Ah, wonderful harp music is playing as my news media boycott continues. Speaking of...

How does a news network further undermine its credibility? By asking two punditheads who have made sexist remarks about Hillary Clinton to evaluate whether sexism has played a role in the presidential campaign. I kid you not! Who orchestrated the nonsense? MSNBC, of course!

During the May 22 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski asked MSNBC political analyst Mike Barnicle, "[D]o you think we'll be looking back on the coverage and on the conversations pertaining to [Sen.] Hillary Clinton's run for the White House and will sexism play a key role in what went wrong?" Barnicle responded: "No, I think the further we get from this election cycle, I think reality will play a much larger role in what has happened in this election than reality is playing a part now." Later, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan stated: "[T]here's resistance to a woman being the nominee, but by and large, I think the fact that she's a woman has helped her here." But as Media Matters for America has noted, on the February 26 edition of Morning Joe, Buchanan made the admittedly "sexist" comment that when Clinton "raises her voice, and when a lot of women do, you know, it's -- as I say -- it reaches a point ... where every husband in America ... has heard at one time or another." Additionally, on the January 23 edition of the program, Barnicle had said of Clinton: "[W]hen she reacts the way she reacts to [Sen. Barack] Obama with just the look, the look toward him, looking like everyone's first wife standing outside a probate court, OK? Looking at him that way, all I could think of ... was this fall, if it's [Sen. John] McCain that she's facing, McCain is likable. She's not."

After Buchanan criticized Clinton's voice on the February 26 Morning Joe, Brzezinski responded: "Oh, Pat, you're lucky you're not in the studio, I'm telling you." Buchanan said: "I know that's a sexist comment ... but there's truth to it! ... There's truth to it." He continued: "It's very difficult for women to reach those kinds of levels effectively, as it is to make them sort of a rally speech. They're not good at that." Brzezinski replied: "There is something so wrong with what you're saying, and what I fear is that the effect may be exactly what you're saying because of this double standard that people can't hear strength from a woman without using the B-word, and quite frankly, if that is what people are going to take away from this, it just seems to me as, well, everything that the Clinton campaign is arguing then." Buchanan had stated earlier: "[I]t's very tough for a woman. You see two men going back and forth at each other, you say, 'Boy, they're really going at it.' ... And you see two women or something, and say, 'Boy, what a catfight this is.' " During the April 23 edition of the show, Buchanan said of Clinton's speech following the Pennsylvania primary the day before: "[O]nly once or twice did that voice start rising to the level that every husband in America at one time or another has heard. You know, where it starts going up."

Barnicle made his January 23 comment during discussion of the January 21 Democratic presidential debate, among an all-male panel that included co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist, and correspondent David Shuster. [Emphasis added.]

They also talked as if Hillary is out of the race by refraining NBC Tim Russert's edict that Obama is the nominee and "no one’s going to dispute it." Bah!

Watch the Barnicle & Buchanan circus show in living color at Media Matters, a lot more including an noxious reference to President Billary.

Honestly, can news programming get any dumber and more clueless about its sexism?

Hillary still leads in key swing states

Quinnipiac University poll:

Plagued by a defection of Clinton supporters and white working class voters, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the leading Democratic presidential contender, trails Arizona Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican candidate, in Florida and Ohio, according to simultaneous Quinnipiac University Swing State polls released today. Sen. Obama is six points ahead in Pennsylvania. New York Sen. Clinton wins handily in all three states. No one has been elected President since 1960 without taking two of these three largest swing states in the Electoral College. Results from the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University polls show:

• Florida: Clinton tops McCain 48 - 41 percent; McCain leads Obama 45 - 41 percent;

• Ohio: Clinton beats McCain 48 - 41 percent; McCain tops Obama 44 - 40 percent;

• Pennsylvania: Clinton tops McCain 50 - 37 percent; Obama leads McCain 46 - 40 percent.

In the McCain-Obama matchups, 26 to 36 percent of Clinton supporters in each state say that if Obama is the nominee they would switch to the Republican in November. Only 10 to 18 percent of Obama supporters say they would defect to McCain if Clinton is the nominee.