Media Spending More Time On GOP Tactics To Disrupt The Democratic Convention Than On The Convention Itself

Karl Rove, who is running the McCain campaign's messaging operation through Steve Schmidt, seems to be the only voice in America badmouthing Michelle Obama's speech last night at the convention. And, of course, the GOP's official propaganda network, Fox, was happy to have him on tearing her down. Unlike Rove and Fox, David Gergen isn't part of the McCain campaign. He thought Michelle rescued the night.

The Democrats should be enormously grateful to Michelle Obama: after a very slow start to the convention, punctuated by a moving tribute to Teddy Kennedy and his own rousing speech, the first evening was in danger of becoming an entirely lost opportunity. But Michelle rescued it.

She was extraordinary, talking in ways that were both conversational-- always welcome in people's living room-- but also inspiring. She spoke in ways that reached out to people of all backgrounds. Democrats should be both proud and grateful.

It is impossible to know whether how many people will accept her message. To a significant degree, that is of course because she represents such a departure from the traditional order of things in America. She represents a new future-- of women who are not only devoted mothers and wives but also highly educated, caring people … and, yes, African-Americans, Hispanics, and people of many different backgrounds. One day the country will be there. Is it prepared to be there now? I'm frankly not sure. We are living through one of the most important chapters in the American story.

With the help of the media, the message of the convention and Obama's campaign is getting lost in a constant barrage of McCain flack, much of it in the form of concern trolling over Hillary Clinton.

Whether they knew it or not, the PUMAs who had congregated next to the MSNBC stage were making the night of the man who has done everything in his power to destroy their purported heroine. They held aloft Clinton signs and hand-markered cards reading “Stop Delegate Intimidation!” and “South Jersey PUMA.” At one point, three women and three men holding “McCain” signs started a melodic chorus of “Clintons for McCain, sweetie, Clintons for McCain, sweetie,” in reference to Barack Obama’s bad habit of referring to women by that diminutive. Next to them, a man in an Obama hat shouted, “You’re all irrelevant! Jesus!”

But irrelevant is not how the protesters will be portrayed by a media that has been salivating over the possible disruption of the Democratic convention-- by angry, broom-riding succubi!-- for weeks. Never mind that there were probably no more than 50 shouting PUMAs. Never mind that every national political convention in modern history becomes a locus for vocal agitators. Never mind that over the weekend, antiwar protests had been larger. Never mind that in three days in Denver I had not spotted a single PUMA or Hillary protester until I found where Chris Matthews was broadcasting. Never mind the guy in the toilet outfit. To hear Matthews, and the talking heads at CNN tell it, these demonstrators were “ground zero” in a rift that could potentially destroy the Democratic Party and ruin its national convention.

Instead of letting Karl Rove and Fox News and Republican hacks who hate everything Hillary Clinton has ever stood for, set the agenda for sincere Hillary backers (not counting the racists who just hate Black people and will never vote for Obama no matter what), listen to what Hillary herself has to say:

Rove Lures Sad Yentas And Fressers To McCain With Laughable PUMA Operations

A few months ago a friend of mine IM-ed me breathlessly. I had to hear a new band he had discovered; they're amazing and I could do a YouTube and people would love them. He's right; they are amazing. The band was Nirvana. At least he hadn't just discovered the Doors or Benny Goodman; that may come soon though. We all have a friend like this guy-- let's call him "Eve"-- who has the latest and most exciting news, but usually way after it's peaked, if not been used to wrap fish bones. Needless to say he's also Mr. PUMA, rushing me all their incredible newsletters (straight from Karl Rove's office).

While insisting that his Hillary "fanatic"/woman's rights advocate mom is voting for McCain but isn't a racist, the proof being that she donates to the colored people and helps them-- yes, I swear he says this with a straight face-- his is one of the South Florida families to whom the McCain PUMA strategy was geared. And it worked! Granted, there aren't that many people who make up their minds about American politics based on some weird combination of ugly personal racism and the essential question: "Is it good for the Likud?" Still, Florida is a state that has been known to sway elections based solely on problems arising out of seriously deficient intelligence quotients in the voters.

The StrangeDeathOfLiberalAmerica is written by a man whose father, grandfather and aunt came to America to escape death sentences. His grandfather was one of the most prominent German politicians of the last century. His unequivocal hate for Adolf Hitler earned him a death sentence. After the war, he returned to become mayor of Hamburg, rebuilding one of the WW II's most devastated cities. His family taught him that we must constantly defend democracy and the idea of the level playing field that sustains it.

To any Democrat or political reporter, the Hillary Trojans have all the earmarks of a Karl Rove effort. As the master practitioner of wedge politics, Rove may have found his ultimate wedge in the disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton. The more Rove can convince these people that the Democratic National Committee is an evil empire that robbed them, the more he can channel their anger to the Presidential candidacy of John McCain.

The problem with this convenient theory is that Rove and the GOP are far too clever to let themselves be traced to the Hillary Trojans any more than they could be traced to the Swift Boaters or the infamous Brooks Brother Riot of the 2000 campaign. When the histories of this era are written by another generation, the speculation will only continue to grow. Rove, of course, all but encourages this because like the cat burglar who never gets caught it only increases his reputation.

The fact that the Hillary Trojans seem to have a decentralized structure–the Al Qaeda of American politics–the harder it becomes to track down who is bankrolling them and masterminding their efforts. With 527 groups at least you can see who contributed, but with blog sites and political spam the detective work becomes harder. Prosecuting spammers has proven as difficult as catching sand with a sieve.

He goes on to profile the sorry gaggle of Hillary dupes and Rovians who have found themselves a bunch of suckers in Florida. The founder of PUMA, Jane Murphy, claiming to be an abused Hillary fan, happened to have been a McCain campaign donor years before Hillary ever mentioned running for president. One of PUMA's sister groups, Clintons4McCain.com was registered by the Republican National Committee on May 15 and the man who registered it, Michael Zimmerman of Scottsdale, Arizona maxed out to the McCain campaign on March 1, 2007. The "official" founder is Peter Boykin is a low grade hustler and pornographer, who appears to be a paid GOP operative whose job is to trick naive and sad Democrats like my friend and his family, many of whom are desperate to find reasons to vote against Obama without having to admit that they are terminal racists. One of Boykin's many other Republican-front sites, like Don'tVoteObama gives them just what they're looking for. There are dozens of sites, dozens of groups and dozens of kooks running around screeching about Hillary. One would think no one would fall for this who wasn't really, really stupid or seriously damaged from too many drugs over too long a period of time. One would be correct.

But if you still think that the PUMA sites and the other GOP ruses have more to do with Bill and Hill instead of with Rove and McCranky, let Kevin K put your mind to rest with the full story behind a Republican propaganda tactic that works on people who have been out in the sun without a hat for too many years... or who watch Fox News.



I know I'd never get to hear my friend and his family sing "Das Lied der Deutschen" or even the Confederate anthem or a Toby Keith song. I just want to see them all yelling "4 more years" as they march off to the polls in November. They may not do that but I bet they get all wrapped up in a conspiracy theory about how Obama stole Hill's and Bill's brains and got them to endorse him and his foreign, radical ideas and to campaign against their good buddy McCain. So pay attention to Rove and a bunch of GOP shills... or remember when you were young and idealistic and knew you hated racism and everything else the right-wing stands for, and listen to Hillary who you claim to admire so very, very, very much: