And this idiot represents me… Can we impeach Senators?

NARAL Pro Choice America endorses Obama and then … Chaos! Read the comment thread. Holy crap are the Clinton people pissed. Perspective folks. Via Cogitamus, which gives the issue a more serious comment than my flip one.

PS. I haven’t forgotten they also endorsed Lieberman, so I’m not really taking sides here. I just think the comment thread is pretty typical of when both sides get into it. This is ugly, and it’s unnecessary. Hillary Clinton has lost this race. It is over, and she should step aside because this is what she’s creating.

This answers some of the questions I raised yesterday about the 100% auction and how to make it non-regressive.

If you’re looking to understand the differences between the cap and trade proposals outlined by Obama and alluded to by John McCain, this is a good place to start. While I trust Obama, and I trust Drum’s interpretation, I don’t understand the mechanism by which the issued permits under the assumed McCain proposal create a windfall for the oil companies. Granted, I haven’t had the cycles to apply any brainpower to this, so does anyone want to take a shot at explaining?

I should say, I understand why it’s cheaper for the companies in the short run to get the permits rather than bidding for them, but isn’t that just corporate welfare in the normal sense? or is that supposed to be the windfall?

Also, Drum’s explanation of how the 100% auction is less regressive depends on any legislation actually applying revenue from the auction as grants or assistance or whatever for lower income Americans. That seems hopeful, though more likely with a Democratic Congress than a Republican one. It’s still the United States Congress, however… color me skeptical.

I haven’t read this yet, just want to read it and am more likely to do so if it’s here, than in my delicious feed. (via Cogitamus)

Pointing here because I don’t have the time to articulate this:

One of the things Obama supporters would be wise to remember is that when Clinton supporters and her campaign point out that a lot of people hated Hillary before this campaign even started, they aren’t lying. Dowd is one such example- she was brutal to the Clinton family throughout the 90’s, and she has been just as brutal the past year and a half. It is easy to understand how at this late point in the game, Clinton and her supporters feel she has not been given a fair shake by many in the media, and the reason they feel that way is because she hasn’t. That doesn’t mean that any distaste for the direction the Clinton campaign has taken is unwarranted, but it would be good to remember that it is not wholly unnatural for Clinton supporters to be, well, bitter, at this point.

I get that, too. The media has been ridiculous about her, especially the Andrew Sullivans and the Maureen Dowd’s of the world.

But the Clinton supporters might want to realize that the target for this isn’t Obama supporters (in general), an attack I’ve noticed happening frequently on pro-Hillary blogs. There’s also this tendency to lump reasoned criticism of the candidate in the same bucket as these unfair attacks. This is generally off base, as well.

In other words, I’m not your problem. Seriously.

I think this is a pretty typical reaction from Obama supporters. We get told we’re faint-hearted, or misogynists, or naive or stupid, or any number of other names because we think Clinton doesn’t have a shot at the nomination.

This is one area where Democrats really aren’t that different from Republicans. IP laws are already too strong, we don’t need them to be stronger. The PRO-IP act is a sham and a gift to corporations rather than any boon to creativity, musicians, artists, and writers.

Love the writeup. My favorite line:

So, what do you think? Festering symptom of a celebrity-obsessed culture or damn good idea? Does it create real value for clients who don’t want to pay for celebrity endorsement?

Why can’t be all of those things?

(well, except “festering”… we don’t fester.)

Press is starting to roll…

I don’t agree with John Cole about a number of things, but on this post about why he’s voting Obama, I completely agree:

I am under no illusion I will buy into everything Barack Obama puts forward, but I am damned sure convinced he is a decent man who, at the very least, will restore a sense of competence to the national stage. I am willing to meet most Democrats half-way, and I am already doing everything I can to get this man elected. I think Obama will act in good faith for this nation, and I am responding in kind. His policies are not outlandish or crazy or uber-left- they reflect a rational, and I would argue, a decent and progressive way forward out of the mess I helped to create. I won’t like all of them, and I will not agree with all of them, but there is no chance that I will ever be President, so perfect agreement is never a possibility.

And don’t get me wrong- I am not for Obama because of what I am against. I am for Obama because he is a decent man, a break from the past, and really a once in a lifetime opportunity. He has treated us like adults throughout this primary, and it is time to act like adults. There will be times we feel he lets us all down, but we are not electing a diety. We are electing a leader, and Obama is that leader. It is time to get past the bullshit of the last 20 years, the battles I am really tired of fighting, and time to turn our attention to the really important issues of the day- the economy, the budget, our international presence, our crumbling infrastructure, our military, medicare and medicaid and social security, and on and on and on.

If Barack Obama was not your your preferred candidate, I am sorry that person did not win, but it is time to remember that the target is John McCain and the Bush/Cheney way of doing things. If you can not accept that and help move us forward, please at least get out of the way.

That pretty much captures my view on the situation. The “treat[ing] us like adults” bit is really the key thing.

Hmmm, Coolspotters. Like the name, like the idea. Wish I had joined that startup. Oh, wait….