The Rookie Mistake

The fact is, the PTA, the little league, the neighborhood block watch -- those would all be nonexistent without community organizers.

My first paid job was with an organization that helped pregnant and teenage moms develop life skills -- the kind of program that Governor Palin liked to slash.   I've toiled in the trenches, and still do, albeit from a nonpaid place now.

That mocking, sardonic speech did not resonate.  It was all about dominating and "winning" the news cycle.  I swear, the short-sightedness of the McCain campaign is breath-taking.  They still think they can win through an airwar.

And I have news for them.  It's not 1992.  People have evolved on cultural issues.  And in some way they know it--they put an unwed, soon-to-be teenaged mother up on stage and everyone cheered.  That was a down-the-rabbit hole moment if ever I've seen one.

Man, I am really disappointed we didn't get to meet up in Denver...you are such an inspiration and you are brilliant :)

This is exactly what I couldn't put my finger on, why I am so angry, why now I am more fired up than ever.  She insulted me, and all my new found freedom fighter friends who have been working on the ground for Obama!

Thank you for your clarity, and for sharing such a gift of journalism at it's finest Al.

 

 

it was the sneering condescending tone
these people are out of touch, and I am still boiling with rage this morning...hell I had a bad night sleep last night, imaging the horrors this woman could bring if she comes near the WH

I was taken back by the viciousness of her attacks.  With scandalous laundry hanging in the front yard, I thought she'd do something to make people relate to her.  Few Americans are as mean and hate filled as this trash.  Her shrill attacks and stack of scandals will doom McCain.

I was wrong I guess. Jake Tapper links to a panel the Detroit Free Press did: Republicans loved her, Democrats didn't, Indpendents did't like it either. I'm hoping the polls end up reflecting the views of that panel in MI and across the country.

The Detroit Free Press invited a panel of Michigan voters to weigh in on Gov. Sarah Palin's speech last night. Their reactions run the gamut, but the independents didn't seem to care for her very much.

Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley independent: "Her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”

Mike Kosh, 38, West Bloomfield independent: “The way it looks to me, she's the Republican vice presidential nominee for one reason: Because Hillary wasn't selected.”

George Lentz, 66, Southfield independent: “I was completely underwhelmed. She was a Republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.”

Diane Murphy, 42, Sterling Heights independent: “It appears that once she makes up her mind, that is the end of it. We live in a gray world, not every answer is black and white.”

Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak independent: “Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turnoff. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”

- jpt

How does she think she got the right to participate in the political process in the first place? Because people before her ORGANIZED, marched, fought. What an idiot.

holy fucking thundercats, Al, i almost just wept tears of joy for you. i haven't even fully read your top two posts on Palin-palooza, but their existence (and Giordano-licious content) are what is making this election endurable in the toughest moments. (and more fun in the not so tough ones...)

like a fool i stopped at Halperin's lair (yes, he's a douche, but he's a good gateway collection of new stories) and saw that he gave Palin an A+ for last night.

now i know better than to get all Chicken Little, but i immediately realized that i needed to get your take on this first to immunize myself against the tradmed bullshit i know is out there this morning. and no surprise, you came through for us as always.

thanks so much for this site and your work, Al. i get paid tomorrow and am going to send coinage your way. (and i'm still pimping you like a mofo over at Kos every chance i get: http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/9/3/225755/0661/116#c116)

 

Sarah Palin and good old Rudy 9/11 Guiliani can be credited for getting this over-the-hill, ex-professional, pro-choice, anti-machine gun on our streets, soccer mom out of the house and out of her state to register voters in PA.  In fact there is a posse of us who got up this morning and started "organizing" a "carpool" to go down first weekend of Oct.   -- Just after we responded to David Plouffe's plea for another small donation to send them all a little message.  BRING IT ON!

 

and my schooling and experience definitely delves into community organizing and pushing against the status quo. What her speech and especially the idiotic Guiliani's signified to me was how much in my gut I want to defeat these people because they represent what is so wrong with the direction of this country.

You are right Al, I think she stepped into a minefield and she does not know she is going to be blasted out of the stratosphere by our righteous fight to these right wing tools of destruction.

I guess small-town mayors are like community organizers, except the mayors only need to be in the pocket of big oil and the NRA and get 617 people to vote for them to give them a springboard to the vice presidency of the United States, whereas community organizers have to motivate thousands upon thousands of disaffected people and help them have a voice to stand up to the entrenched interests that would prefer to ship their jobs overseas.

 

I still feel McCain's selection of Palin was the best move of his entire political life, and that was confirmed last night.  Just as the DNC had the buildup and climax of Hillary's "how will she do???" speech, the RNC was able to fool people into creating exremely low expectations around Palin, such that any performance short of having tomatoes thrown at her would be seen as a home run.  And she seems to give the left as many or more fits than Bush did - or even that Obama gives his opponents.

 

We simply can't underestimate the ability of the GOP machine to sell whatever they need to sell.  And they will try to do it by making us forget who our current president is.  Palin has done her job by distracting us for the last week, and injecting some sizzle into a moribund campaign.  I truly look forward to seeing how Obama counters tonight and into the next month, but ultimately, our job remains the same - to get. out. the. vote!

Al, No one could have said it better. No.one.

If I weren't so sad about it, I might be happy for all of the reasons you just stated about her pissing off many voters last night. I just think when we put the worst our nation has to offer on stage as a representative of our country, we set ourselves back soooo far in the World's eyes. I'm just so embarrassed that they share this country with us. I'm even more grateful for Barack after last night-which I didn't think was possible. I'm Fired Up and Ready To Go!

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

 

There is another difference between the two:

A community organizer takes responsibility, while small-town mayor Palin apparently failed in taking responsibilities that she had.

@Carpediva: glad I'm not the only PR fan among the FieldHands!

But seriously, folks. This was really exactly what the Obama campaign must have been hoping for.  Who are the people most indignant about Gov. Palin's speech? The very folks who make the phone calls, knock on the doors, register the voters, and collect the money that's going to make this election a blowout. How tone-deaf.

Also, @Rhoda: wow, just wow. That group sure is evidence that Nate's point is right on the money. Who is Gov. Palin to make jokes about a serious presidential candidate? Heck, who is Gov. Palin, period?!

So, Al, now that she's put her trademark go-go boot in her mouth, can we start pushing sexist, offensive internet rumors again? JUST KIDDING!

I couldn't believe that she belittled community organizing.  I donated to Obama after I received Plouffe's email.  Thanks Sarah!  I will be working twice as hard for our candidate.

Regarding the response of people like Halperin.  I think what you've gotta chalk it up to is a desire on the part of the press for this to be an exciting "horserace" again and for each minute of the day to be presented as a monumental "turning point, grand slam, game-changer."  They've got TV shows, newspapers, and websites to sell, so they'll throw whatever flammable substance is handy on the warm coals of the McCain campaign.

I think it's important for all of us, as Al might put it, to keep our eye on the ball and take the long view here.  We know what it will take to have an electoral victory this fall...and many of us are working hard at it already.  It seems to me that the "enthusiasm gap" Halperin's blathering on about today is more about the press than voters.  It's about the media trying to gin up enough energy to cover the race as a dead heat.  McCain was not providing that energy at all.  Palin is new, telegenic, and has an interesting (in both good and bad ways) biography--of course the media want, in their schizophrenic way, both to build her up and knock her down simultaneously.  That's what they do with all (gasp!) celebrities when they enter the public eye. We'll see all her adequacies trumpeted as triumphs and all her flaws fretted on as mortal sins...but in the end our best hope lies in the notion that truth will out and that the hard work of everyday people like us will matter more than what the media blowhards say (even on those rare occasions when they are saying things we like).

Seems the speeches yesterday provided a clear distinction between the Dem and Repub mindsets:

Dems: People-powered government.

Repubs: People-soured government.

It's nice to have the difference become so stark.

I was catching a drink with another Denver Field Hand last night during the Rudy Giuliani speech, and although I couldn't articulate it at the time, there was something about Giuliani's swipe at community organizers that really got under my skin. (I guess I missed the Palin moment,)

Really, when Giuliani uttered the words “community organizer” last night he looked as if he was talking about a varmint of some sort that needed to be shot. Then came the comment about how Obama never “lead” anything, because “community organizing” isn't a real job.

It was as if he was saying to every voter: you're a fool to believe that you can change things with Obama, you're a fool to support someone so inexperienced...someone so different...you're a fool and listen to me.

Upon reflection, I think what really irked me was the fact that Giuliani was essentially talking down to his audience.

It's a given that he already alienated any youth voters with all the unfunny cynicism, but I don't think anyone in this country likes to be talked to and scolded like child. His speech really insulted the intelligence of his audience, and that's a big mistake.

I'm glad to see some similar interpretations at The Field this morning.

Don't over look the fact that, to lots of suburban and exurban voters, "community organizer" conjures up only one image:  Al Sharpton.

Of course Obama can't go after it as such, and Plouffe's rejoinder is just right, but you know since both Rudy and Palin said it, it came from on high, and it's definitely a racist dogwhistle. 

Oh, and don't forget:  George H.W. Bush's "A Thousand Points of Light"?  Community organizations...

Translation: I got elected and therefore I am better than all of you!

I grew up in a small town and what I see in Sarah Palin is a serious case of "big fish, small pond" syndrome.  She comes across as the kind of person who starts with the feeling that she's better than everyone else in her small community, and then uses that belief as justification to scratch and claw her way to a position of authority, where she can wield her power to harm anyone who doesn't accept her superior image of herself.

Unfortunately for her, she's in the big pond now!

Let's see, our opponent has organized a community of 2,500,000+ to donate, register voters, canvas, and GOTV.  How do we defeat him?  I've got it!  Let's mock their community organizing!  That'll teach that 2,500,000 a lesson!

Now, let's all show them in November what an organized community can really accomplish!

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

Ordinary people like myself try to take our responsibilities seriously.  This statement cheapens that, IMO.

The McCain camp seems thrilled, just out right thrilled by the Palinmania. But, one of the truisms that has been repeated over and over is that you don't want your #2 a bigger star than your #1. I think this is happening. It may not get there completely, but I think it's close. I believe this is one of those unintended consequences when you're following whims and distractions and chasing media cycles, not following a disciplined plan.

The danger for Camp McCain is that the balance of power is off. All of a sudden, the P nominee needs the VP more than vice-versa.

I guess it'll remain to be seen how this plays out, but I'm just wondering what this means for the election when it becomes Palin v Obama not McCain v Obama. And can anyone help me think of when there was a similar dynamic?

When Reagan put Bush I on the ticket, it was to mollify part of the base, but he was clearly the star.

Well, now that practically every major media outlet has sung the praises of Palin's epic speech last night, I guess the McCain camp's war against the media is off, right Al?

Joe Biden on the Today Show today:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/biden-on-palin-whoa/

How refreshing.

 

The kids had their time to jump on the bed before bedtime last night.  Now that they've used up their energy, the adults can tuck them in.  Sweet dreams children!

But I never called myself a "hockey mom." I'm more of a track and field mom. I know this isn't true of all hockey mom's, but I reserved that term for the more belligerent mothers who screamed at the refs, at the other teams and sometimes swore even at the players. I found the "hockey moms" on our teams to be rather embarrassing and kind of scary. Sarah Palin definitely fits in with my definition of a hockey mom. I donated to the Obama campaign this morning. And now I'm going to find something to organize in my community.

Al, I think Biden's response was spot-on--he takes on the media for some of the 'sexist' view-points, and he also re-emphasizes that 'family is off limits'.

This is chess, not checkers--and the Obama camp gets it.

Palin/McLame are imploding, and the Obama campaign doesn't want to be associated with some of the impolitic comments that are coming from the corporate media.  Smart.

In their shrivelled, oligarch-loving hearts, the Republican rightwing really, really hates community organizers--and this must be why they thought condemning Obama's involvement with urban communities was fair game.

The contradiction is ripe: the we are 'reformers', but we don't like community organizers is just too huge to make sense.

OT: Sinful Cindy McLame proclaims that, unlike Sarah Palin, she supports abortion in cases of incest and rape.  Thank you Sinful Cindy for pointing toward Palin's extremism.  Sinful Cindy also thinks that including other types of sex education with an 'abstinence' focus is also acceptable.

Cindy, unfortunately, you are not the one being nominated as VP--so what you say does more to point up the excesses of this ticket than it does to salve our discomfort.

I can almost hear the freaking out from the bottom rung diarists at Kos "why isn't he fighting back! Wah Wah!" but I love his response. He's basically telling the Republicans "ok, you say she's ready to be in the deep end of the pool, we'll treat her that way".

Starting to raise expectations of her for the debate was especially good.

The only example in recent memory I can think of where a VP candidate outshone the presidential candidate was Bentsen and Dukakis.  But I find it hard to draw any parallels with this situation.  Bentsen outshone because he was the one with the experience who was considered tough, while Dukakis came across as very, very bland.  In many ways, this McCain/Palin pairing is completely unprecedented.

that pork barrel sarah can proclaim herself a fighter for special needs children when she cut special ed by 62% as gov.

New diary up on kos....the community organizer comment got us a convert!  I wonder how many more are out there?

Daily Kos: A Palin convert

 

 

 

is it not true that helping unwed teenaged mothers who do not have health insurance and a home get shelter and medical care among the many many things that Community Organizers do?

Why do Republicans think that is a bad thing?

Jesus hates the hypocrit most of all.

I wasted some time this AM waiting for the coffee and cigarette to kick in reading comments on HuffPo and other sites to see the reactions.

Guess what I picked up from women? And I -- just a thot -- think this perception might grow. Allow me to paraphrase from a bunch of posts as if it were one comment, when it definitely was not, OK?

"This is the kind of woman who comes into your office, befriends you, then screws the boss, then screws you. She's a snake. She's no friend of women, she'll walk over your backside in high heels to get what she wants. This is just the kind of woman other women have to watch out for, and never do before it's too late."

I saw Sarah Palin referred to as a snake twice within ten minutes on two different threads. The interesting thing to me is that the perceptions about her as a woman were parenthetical to the commenter's point. Sort of a throw-away.

This will be an interesting development to watch. Every woman over the age of 40 in America has known a woman like this -- the snake who gets you when you're not looking -- and has a tale to tell, whether they admit it or not. This sort of woman was the dark secret, and hidden motivator, of the 60s/70s feminist movement, and led to the sexual harassment laws.

Thanks for the great post! 

 

And thanks to the commenter who reminded us of the 617 votes Palin won in the mayoral election. I'd like to see a tabulation comparing her lifetime vote totals with Obama's.

Thanks for your voice, Al. I've been reading all year and really appreciate your insight and journalism. BTW I'm an organic farmer in rural Dixie and even here I can tell you there's change in the air.

Just wanted to note that I saw Mornin Joe and co. fawn all over last night's charade, and then Brokaw and Barnicle mentioned Tim Russert. Would he hypnotized like this? The GOP just put someone on the ticket who hasn't yet, as far as I know, faced any journalist since her open vetting began, and there are more than a couple questions to be asked. I know it's just the TV heads, but when even Brokaw is staring at the lipstick and not seeing the pit bull, I wonder what Tim Russert would say.

 

"You can take your 'unity' and shove it up your ass."

A snapshot of The Republican Party.

 

(this is an actual, unedited image from last night)

Roger Simon of Politico... "On behalf of the elite media, I would like to say we are very sorry. We have asked questions this week that we should never have asked. We have asked pathetic questions like: Who is Sarah Palin? What is her record? Where does she stand on the issues? And is she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? We have asked mean questions like: How well did John McCain know her before he selected her? How well did his campaign vet her? And was she his first choice? Bad questions. Bad media. Bad." http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13143.html

In an email just a couple of minutes ago, I asked him why he had put himself through the torture of watching Palin's speech last night, and he responded:

"Well I had misplaced hopes that she really was a maverick and would take on the establishment and show me something new. She didn't."

This from Barry Crimmins, highlighted in your post, is genius and made me laugh out loud:

"This attack was first unveiled by crooked cross-dresser Rudy Giuliani, who asked if anyone even knew what a community organizer does. Of course he knows exactly what a community organizer does - - a community organizer makes life miserable for racist, fascist mayors like Giuliani."

Spot. On.

I see lots of mentions of donations and volunteer commitments all over the internets this morning - awesome!  I signed up a few weeks ago to go to Georgia in early October but this morning I signed up to go to Michigan two weekends this month.  My standard monthly donation is already in. 

Let's go folks - we got the Best Closer in the game and with us helping him out we can make sure he closes out this last inning on top!

p.s.  Hi Cheryl in NJ!  I couldn't sign back in last night but I read your hello this morning.  Great to read your comments as always.

 

Biden didn't bother with Huckabee's lie that Palin got more votes when she ran for mayor, than he did when he ran for President. Instead, he graciously gave recognition to Barack for having pulled him, out of oblivion, in making him his Vice Presidential running mate.

I started laughing at that Rudy photo and then realized you can see a person who had jumped from the towers on the left. Did they really have that image behind him during the speech? omg

Here's what's dead wrong about the attack on community organizing: it's a betrayal of the only heart the GOP has, Reagan's call for people to help themselves rather than rely on government hand-outs. "Government is the problem," he declared at his inaugural address in 1981; "All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden."

Community organizers have been bearing that burden.

Anne @12:48 pm - Can you expand your comment for those of us who didn't see the show? Are you saying that the comment was good or bad, and why did you feel that way?

Inventor--the rightwing hates community organizers, and an organized community.  They support undemocratic, plutocratic power--always have.

My guess is that the rightwing want to attack Obama for his community organizer past, to depict him as a 'radical', a malcontent, a rabble rouser (of 'those blacks'), etc.

Demeaning Obama as a community organizer is 'bait'--and they will pummel him with associating with a terrorist--Aires--when he rebutts the charges.

I don't think that Obama will take the 'bait'--but he will emphasize what community organizers do.

Anytime a community becomes organized, the plutocrats lose.

Let's effen organize people!

OT: on another note, there has to be indigenous people in Alaska that don't like the idea of a McLame/Palin ticket, that don't like the fact that Palin wanted to prohibit catagorizing the polar bear as 'endangered'.  They would make a nice counter point to illustrate Palin's extremism.

Sarah Palin frees McCain to finally go after independent voters. She is who the Republicans wish they had in the primaries. Remember how they just couldn't get rallied around anyone? She will hold them in line and even get them enthusiastic while McCain repudiates Bush and the Republican Party, while he says everything that swing voters were hoping to hear from him.

Independent voters will be a bit disappointed by his choice of her, see it as a political tactic gone wrong and move on. Palin will no more turn them off of McCain than Quayle hurt Bush Sr.

Attack McCain, attack the wrongness of the issues and statements (like Al's doing), attack the lies. Attacking Palin won't help in the long term and may even help with her job of mobilizing the GOP machine.

McCain will shift to the center either tonight or within the next week. If he is allowed to get away with it, this becomes a tight race. By CH's analogy on the last post, this election can either be Reagan vs. Carter in 1980 where the swing voters break late to Obama, or it can be a 2000 nail-biter.

It's time to stop taking a baseball bat to the lizard's brightly colored severed tail, and time to take a scalpel to the heart of the beast, camouflaged though it may be. Palin is the distraction.

It would be great if he would give a speech devoted solely to the topic of community organizing, letting people know exactly how far their work reaches into people's lives and amplifying the central premise that this is the only way that people have to confront the powers that be, and to take responsibility for themselves (e.g. neighborhood watches). A speech that wouldn't have been necessary before is now a great opportunity, another teachable moment.

I think what this attack on community organizers revealed is the  disdain the established Republican elites have for those who dare to challenge their authority.  The attack seemed less like a calculated political move than a sincere assault on something that the Republicans abhor.  The last thing they want is the poor and downtrodden attacking their authority.  This was a "let them eat cake" moment.  I'm just shocked that Bush's speechwriters and McCain's campaign are so completely and utterly tone deaf.

I hope he turns her into chopped liver when they have this debate.

Billmon argues that "community organizer" is a right-wing dogwhistle for "poverty pimp". Basically it's the inner-city race card. Mixed with the radical card.

Can someone with Lexis-Nexis access do a search on "Guiliani" and "community organizer"? Wouldn't he have worked with these people as mayor of NYC?

 

 

We cannot afford to make a BIG election about SMALL things.   Traditional Media keeps trying to take us there.  NOT THIS TIME!

I am absolutely terrified at the thought of someone so close to the Presidency who supports teaching "creationism", banning books, abortion in cases of rape and incest, abstinence only programs...I could go on.  TERRIFIED I SAY!

I am glad Biden is focusing on the ISSUES that matter to the American people.  Folks are losing their jobs, pensions, etc.  It's pretty bad and all the Republicans can do is attack community organizers.

I mean really....

Beth in VA - The smattering of liberal voices out there trying to shop the argument that the term "community organizer" is scary to rural white Americans don't have a clue. From the mountains of Nevada and New Hampshire to the valleys of Ohio and Missouri, rural America has known community organizers for decades now. I am guessing that the people saying such things have little experience in rural communities and have let their stereotypes about the inhabitants lead them to such errant conclusions.

The media is lobbing McCain an easy underhand pitch here. Headlines everywhere are asking if McCain is capable of matching his VP's speech.

I predict McCain tries a "tough love" speech directed at the GOP and a direct appeal at independents. As I explain in my prior post (pending approval), Palin has the base locked down and will do the winking at them for him. He's going to start going after independents hard. Plan accordingly.

This is really all the proof you need to realize that last night didn't appeal to any reasonable people:

 

“I did not want that to end last night…I didn’t want the night to end. I didn’t want Rudy to stop. What a night! Folks we have a future beyond November here. Regardless what happens…The convention has been unified on the basis of conservatism. Properly executed, beautifully articulated.”

 

-Rush Limbaugh

 

 

For McCain/Palin.  I love it!!

Long time reader. First time caller. Have you noticed that the Republicans, after spending untold millions framing Obama as a "celebrity", now have a celebrity as a VP pick? Just sayin'. Thanks for the site, Al. I come here every day for all my anti-CL needs.

Guess what--the GOP fails to realize that the snarky comment about community organizers will only energize the folks on the ground even more!  Have they really not paid attention for the past 18 months?  Yes, there are the community organizers who do that work as part of their professional lives, many in churches or non-profit organizations with paltry pay.  There are the "activists" -- you know, those ones who control caucuses?  Then there are the *rest of us*, people who learned about Barack, decided he was our candidate, and heeded the call to work in our own neighborhoods when the campaign challenged us to DO something.

Thanks, Sarah Palin.   Your snide, snarky, dismissive, condescending remarks energize thousands of us "regular" folks who just happen to be engaged in our communities.  You can bet your hockey mom ass that many feet will be pounding streets everywhere across the country to GOTV and beginning Sept 25 here in Iowa, OSEV--One Step Early Voting for Barack.

Al, I hail from small town Mississippi--and, indeed, the term 'community organizer' has ominous overtones. Reminds them of the Northern liberals coming down to force them to marry their daughters off to blacks.

I disagree, I thought that the use of the term by Palin and Gulliani was put out there for a reason.

They may have guaged how this will play out incorrectly--but this is part of the smear Obama as a radical lefty meme.

Rightwingers don't like people that challenge the status quo--and many of the folks in Ohio and other places that will vote for McLame will interpret 'community organizer' in a negative light.

Only 60% (according to a Gallup poll) of the US population support labor unions and the right to organize in the face of corporate hegemony. This is frightening, but it is true.

Again, McLame et al may have gauged incorrectly--but there is a reason, a logic, in their plutocratic madness.

Another great diary on daily Kos.....highlighting some of the community organizers who have moved our country forward. I enjoyed this very much!

Daily Kos: Educating the GOP: A Photo History of Community Organizers

It's an adage on Wall st when traders are trying to unload a lame trade. And Wall street is having a rough day, down nearly 250 points as of now on news of bad retail and labor data. It is worthwhile to see trade correlations with media spew.

Wall Street is such a wonderful indirect indicator. That retail and labor data is really about stressed families who are unlikely to care much about mooseburgers and snide barbs served up with bubbly effervescence.

The tin kazoo conglomerates, (Mainstream Media) are obviously going to go nuts with the lipstick on the sad McCain pig and because they will be huge losers if the people reassert themselves.

I didn't watch the 'ahem' speech but I trust Al and Nate on this stuff and their account is asymmetric to the Media version now beginning to resemble some agonized whistling in the benighted graveyard of their fading hopes. The hogs will be hauled from the trough before too long and the Meth story is a hoot too.

re: "The smattering of liberal voices out there trying to shop the argument that the term "community organizer" is scary to rural white Americans don't have a clue. From the mountains of Nevada and New Hampshire to the valleys of Ohio and Missouri, rural America has known community organizers for decades now."

 

And, the labor organizing instincts of Walter P. Reuther (one of the Motown greats) were cultivated in rural/small town America.

Excerpt:

<blockquote>

His achievements were guided by his oft expressed philosophy of human endeavor: "There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well." Reuther believed it wholeheartedly and, as they say, walked the walk. He was nurtured to a devoted commitment to unionism.

His father, a brewery-wagon driver and union leader in Wheeling, W.Va., had the family regularly discuss the role of unions, as well as social and economic issues.

Like thousands of others who lived in poor regions such as West Virginia, Walter and two of his brothers, Roy and Victor, migrated to the Detroit area to find jobs in the auto industry. Not surprisingly, they became actively involved in the budding United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers Union.

 

</blockquote>

Source of Excerpt: Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century

 

 

Here's a photo diary about community organizers (searched to see if I might be repeating, but couldn't find this link here.)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/4/105623/5197/586/586233

On Metalife's thread about the Palin pick, a user named goodnewsfortheinsane commented

...maybe someone needs to remind Sarah Palin that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.

Al, thanks for the post, it summed up what I was feeling. Actually, I did not watch the whole speech and my lack of understanding of American politics (since I grew up in Canada – as my father was a professor at University of Toronto), I tend to believe the media’s caricature of American politics and let me tell you it is depressing.

Since I grew up outside of my country, I know exactly what is at stake and it depresses me, when the media reduces this important election to sound bites and personalities. You see in Canada, it is not hard to elect a nerdy professor with limited English as a head of a major party. But I digress, as someone who started her first high school community work volunteering with community organizers, I know what they do and I was flabbergasted to see that the Republicans actually, made the “Hockey mom” to attack community work. Who does she think was a catalyst for ensuring that special needs children had access to education – community organizers.

Finally, I think David Plouffe’s message is masterful and it should have been the first response of the campaign. I watched Bill Gibb on Larry King and I was disappointed. He did not counter anything. I hope they focus on this now – Gibb will be on MSNBC soon, so I hope she sharpens his message                                            

 

I'll leave it to Steven Hunt and others to say whether the actual term "community organizer" has negative connotations in their communities or the places where they came from. However, I think the argument that these bloggers are making is that Palin is trying to create a negative connotation (whether one already existed or not) that is racialized.

Palin was talking about her background, becoming involved in her community through the PTA then going into politics. As most of us here can see, this is very similar to Obama's own background as a community organizer then going into politics. So what's the difference between the two? Palin's experiences took place in a predominately white small town while Obama's took place in a predominately black inner city. The bloggers are then reading this as Palin comparing "hard-working Americans, white Americans" to "lazy, irresponsible" African-Americans.

This may well be reading far more into Palin's words than is actually there, but the argument that there is a racist dogwhistle isn't just that the phrase "community organizers" is somehow a code word, but that the larger argument she makes is coded. That even if the term "community organizer" has no negative meaning now, she wants to give it one.

Wow, that didn't take long. Posted on Politico.....a new website launched today!

Organizers demand apology from Alaska governor, say “we’re working to clean up your mess!”

Community Organizers Fight Back

 

Also, Nicole Wallace, McCain Sr. Advisor, said on 'Mornin' Joe' that community organizers are the guys that protest outside of the Gap.  The condescension in her voice was palpable and disgusting.

 

As a middle age woman whose voted Republican for over 30 years it was a sickening speech and a sickening statement from the candidate and the campaign.  I for one hope this country wakes up and votes 'NO' on these two frauds.

Yeah I guess a mayor is kind of like a community organizer, except you get to ban books at the local library.

Laura, this is exactly what I was trying to convey.

Of course, milliions of US folk will not ascribe to the term any negative connotations--however, there are millions that are very suseptible to sublte racism and rightwing 'dog whistles'.

No, I disagree with others here--I think Palin and Guilliani included the term 'community organizer' in order to focus the racialized, negative connotation to the term.

(You will note that Palin implies that being a 'mere' community organizer doesn't equate with being 'responsible'.)

Palin is likely too ignorant to realize this--but the pros that helped craft the speech knew exactly what they were doing.

I agree with that the phrase community organizers has ominous overtones. And this may have worked in 2000, or 2004.

The miscalculation is this: the first time this gets discussed this Sunday in church, or this Friday night in a small town synagogue, and the pastor or rabbi says, "But I'm a community organizer. How do you think I got your electric bill paid for you last month, Jim? How do you think I got the factory to stay open for another year, Ruthie, so you and the rest of you can feed your kids this winter?". . . the moment this term gets yanked out of the 60s, where these callow pols want it to stick, and is shown to be the lifeline that many are experiencing, the story changes.

Every religious guy (priest, pastor, rabbi) views himself as a community organizer. It may be an off-hand remark, it may be a speech, but once these religious leaders identify themselves as COs, then the game changes.

 

"Someone needs to remind Sarah Palin that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor."

 Brilliant!

Sarah just got me to pony up my largest single donation to Obama.  If McCain is half as disgusting I may have to match it.

Yglesias has a good bit on the culture wars, backing it up it with some more factual, less CW info.  This is the battle the GOP wants us to fight.  Whether we do or not, it's at least worth it to get real about it.

A brand new blog:

http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com/

Steven Hunt and Laura,

I would agree with you. Having grown up in Minnesota with extreme right wing Republican parents, the term "organizer" implied negative, negative in their worldview.  All about those "horrible DFLers" who were trying to organize farmers.  And the propaganda was that they all got their marching orders from the labor unions in the big city of Chicago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Democratic-Farmer-Labor_Party

However, I think that all this misses the point of the larger picture. Trying to use the term organizers in a negative way to appeal to the Undecideds and outside their Base will not have dog legs or whistles, IMO.

 

 is on the rise today. Here is quote I found

Community organizers across America, taken aback by a series of attacks from Republican leaders at the GOP convention in St. Paul, came together today to defend their work organizing Americans who have been left behind by unemployment, lack of health insurance and the national housing crisis. The organizers demanded an apology from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for her statement that community organizers have no “actual responsibilities” and launched a web site, http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com/, to defend themselves against Republican attacks.

I want to send the photo around - is it for real?  Did you take it or find it somewhere?  Any photoshopping?  

 

Aranae nailed it. The Palin pick is about locking down the GOP base, so that McCain can court independents. This strategy can be beat, but some people are unwittingly playing into it by letting themselves be distracted from things that can actually make a difference. Last night's speech was like a toreador's red cape, dangled to incite us to go charging in the wrong direction. Let's not get distracted by the flash. That's not where the opponent is.

The 33 percenters, Dubya's die-hards, who are already plugged into the reactionary current powering last night's speech, aren't going to be dissuaded. And the choir, to whom most of the preaching (outside of XCel Center) has been directed, isn't in any danger of defecting.

It's time to focus on registering voters, and making sure that every undecided voter out there understands that however he tries to dress it up, McCain is committed to continuing the policies of the Bush administration at home and abroad. People don't want to be fooled again. And with a little community organizing, they won't be.

In the face of what the Repubicans intend with insulting community organizers--this meme contradicts the 'reformer' image they are trying to put forward about Palin.

A 'reformer' that puts down community organizers.  Interesting.

But, remember, a Republican victory will not actualize on the basis of ideas--they can only win by fooling the people and taking our eyes off the prize.

Therefore, Obama might not want to take the bait.  True, progressive folks will reject Palin's slight--and they will become more energized because of it.

A lot of what will make victory a reality will be letting McLame/Palin make themselves look extremist and silly, all on their own.

I absolutely think that the way Palin (and I didn't hear Guiliani but I assume the same) referred to "community organizer" in that belittling way was meant to hark back to BET's Bob Johnson's insult early in the campaign about Obama "doing something in the neighborhood."

Which means they equate "community organizing" as the equivalent of doing nothing, or hanging around street corners.

Unfortunately (for them) they have absolutely no clue how many people they insulted last night.

KD

What amazes me is the way the republican robots snap to attention. Most of these people had never heard of Palin. Then, after the pick, the only they hear about her is negative. But one speech and they're all in. Forget about the fact the she in no way lives by the values they preach. Forget about the fact that she's MUCH more inexperienced than the guy they've been railing on. They've been told by their masters that she's the one, so like Pavlov's dog, they salivate all over themselves. And if they had a little "community organizing" going on in Wasilla, maybe they wouldn't be the meth capital of Alaska.

...the original community organizers?

Didn't our country rise from the fruits of those efforts?

Gracious they are a cynical bunch, these current republicans.

Even after taking $30 million in Federal money thanks to lobbyists....

Al.....are the republican gonna make this an Obama vs Palin fight?

 

A couple weeks ago, I wrote to you, Al, about Jerome Corsi (the Original Swift Boater) and his attempt to demonize Saul Alinsky (I write about it here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/5/16273/41684/349/563087). You told me that I was getting excited over nothing, that it wasn't going to go anywhere, and you were quite right, as ever.

However, I also told you that I was afraid that if we didn't get in front of this attempt to demonize him, the name "Saul Alinsky" would be a punchline at the Republican Convention.  It wasn't.  Instead, they just went straight for "community organizer" as a punchline.

This is a departure for the GOP.  They are usually best at creating a single-person bogeyman and demonizing him.  I can speculate over why they might have abandoned this Corsi line -- no one knew who Alinsky was, so there was no payoff, perceived anti-Semitism, whatever.

But they could not have made a bigger mistake than to start smacking down community organizers, who so utterly selfless work for next to no money.  And they could not have done more to make themselves look like privileged, out-of-touch rich folks than to openly laugh at the work of community organizers.  How utterly tin-eared could they be?

I mean, why stop at community organizers?  What about those hospice worker elitists?  They've had a free ride for too long!

Anyway, I think they woke a giant that wasn't exactly asleep, but was feeling pretty good about the way things were going in Giantland and maybe had taken a few days off from gianting.

Ms Palin would understand you don't corner your prey.

Pit Bull meet the community you so flippantly dissed.

They come in all the colors, Red and Blue, they aren't too pleased with you right now.

From a commentor on the Alaska blog mudflats; Jesus was a Community Organizer, and Pontias Pilate was a Governor.

Thanks for posting the links to the articles and site. I checked it out, and they also have a Facebook group, "Community Organizers Against Sarah Palin"! I joined, and encourage all Fieldhands to do the same.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37503697696

 Pretty dumb to pick a fight with people whose job description is overcoming the entrenched and powerful through unity I must say. As an aside, I noticed Rudy's stellar Spanish and he squawked that Obama has "zero accomplishments, nothing, nada, NADA!", so I have a message for Rudy: Andate a la chucha, huevon de mierda.

Si somos americanos, seremos buenos vecinos;
compartiremos el trigo,seremos buenos hermanos -- canción de Rolando Alarcón

Todos somos americanos.-- Barack Obama

I don't know what has gotten into Joe Klein for the last month or so but he is absolutely lighting it into McCain & Co. Here is what is wrote on his blog about the mockery of community organizers that went on last night. This has the potential to create a huge backlash. Let's organize, people! --------- Slowly, slowly, I am recovering from the extremely effective bilge festival staged by the Republicans last night. And while there is much to discuss, there was one item, in particular, that has to be considered infuriating: the attack on Barack Obama's service as a community organizer by the odious Rudy Giuliani--he's come to look like a villain in a Frank Capra movie, hasn't he?--and Sarah Palin. This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work--the mission, the witness--that Obama performed after he got out of college. Here's the first paragraph: Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent's work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice. So here is what Giuliani and Palin didn't know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed--job training, help with housing and so forth--from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord's work--the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a "task from God.") This is what Palin and Giuliani were mocking. They were making fun of a young man's decision "to serve a cause greater than himself," in the words of John McCain. They were, therefore, mocking one of their candidate's favorite messages. Obama served the poor for three years, then went to law school. To describe this service--the first thing he did out of college, the sort of service every college-educated American should perform, in some form or other--as anything other than noble is cheap and tawdry and cynical in the extreme. Perhaps La Pasionaria of the Northern Slope didn't know this when she read the words they gave her. But Giuliani--a profoundly lapsed Catholic, who must have met more than a few religious folk toiling in the inner cities--should have known. ("I don't even know what that is," he sneered.") What a shameful performance.

Drudge says Obama has raised 8 million since last night's rant by Gov. Palin

Palgirl- I think the repubs wanted to do that(obama vs palin), but Obama just gave a Press conference in which he stated categorically that he was running against Mccain and that her policies are the same as his. It was a great press conference. Obama was as usual cool, calm, collected and stood up for community organizers.

I think they have a two pronged strategy where the men (he, Biden, axelrod etc.) will attack Mccain and essentially either praise her speech giving skills or ignore her. But, the women, Sebelius, wasserman etc. will unleash on her and make specific charges against her. This way they are not deemed sexist. I think it is absolutely BRILLIANT. Just like the O campaign.

I used to be a chicken little. But, I am no longer that. I know we are going to win and BIG. I don't believe for a nano second that this election is close.I think the ground game will prove to be Mccain's waterloo. The O campaign is organized and really fired up especially after that hubris filled, divisive speech delivered by Palin.

Also, cannot understand why people liked her speech. It was irritating- her voice especially and the delivery was off, I didn't like it at all. Plus, she did nothing to make me like her. NOTHING. In fact, it did just the opposite.

Here is to every single person who is getting off their butt and doing whatever they can to change the direction of our government! You are all fantastic! I was feeling pretty down this morning after all the chatter about Palin's speech and the blatant lies about Obama that I'm afraid a number of voters will swallow as fact. But then I got a package in the mail that changed my outlook and reminded me of just how many of us are in this together and how damn hard everyone is working. A woman from Nevada named Karen Benzer decided to compile a yearbook, "50 States for Obama." Volunteers from every state created pages. They include pictures, signatures, hopes/prayers/poems, and memorbilia from the primary. It was so uplifting to thumb through and see all of the people in this book. It reminded me of one of my son's favorite stories - a book by Virginia Lee Burton - about the San Francisco streetcars. In it the folks who want buses to take over the street cars are voting no and the folks who want the streetcars are voting yes. The quote that immediately popped into my head was (and I'm paraphrasing because I'm too lazy to go find the book): "The no people were louder but the yes people worked harder." It doesn't matter how loud the GOP gets, we will work harder and we WILL suceed. Too much rides on this election. Let's show them that mocking community organizers is a tactic that will only serve to bit them in their collective ass in the end.

Thanks Al and all of you. I usually lurk here. I too was so angry yesterday I donated again (after donating on Thursday). I don't think she will play well in the middle but who knows right?

I like the Jesus line but let's remember---they already call Obama The One. So perhaps not compare him to jesus ah?

No, Sarah Palin is Dick Cheney with lipstick.

37.2  million people had tunrd in to watch her. I don't know what that means but it does make me uneasy.

 

Al, did you hear about this?

 

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/westmoreland-calls-obama-uppity-2008...

 

Unbelievable...

Will be interesting to see what Hillary does now. Now she has to make sure that Obama wins if she wants to run in 2016.

Gee, when did it become an insult to be compared to a swell guy like Jesus?

And Kos just posted the quote on his front page, so we've done our work for the day.

Bumper Sticker.

Here's Ezra Klein's take on the community organizer dig:

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=09&year=2008&...

When Giuliani sneered about community organizers on the "South side" of Chicago, it's pretty clear what he was saying: Barack Obama spent his time rabble-rousing among black people. It's no different then when the RNC called him a "street organizer." A community organizer can be a PTA member or a Christian Coalition lieutenant. Indeed, there's something deeply conservative about the vocation, which informally organizes citizens to demand better, fairer, and wiser treatment from detached government bureaucrats. But that's really not what Palin and Giuliani and the RNC are getting at. Community organizer isn't being used to describe a job but a background. Obama organized poor black people. Helped channel their anger and grievances and anxieties. That's change you can fear.

KD

Palin's speech was a lot like burning the end of a frayed rope. You lose some length, but you seal the rest off for good. I suspect burnt independent voters will move toward Obama and the Republican base will turn into a growth-inhibited echo chamber.

I don't think so. I have pit bulls. I love pit bulls. Gov. Palin, you are no pit bull. 

 http://www.badrap.org/rescue/breed.cfm

 

 

"Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor," - Mudflats.

You are right.  I have reviewed the transcript and digested the speech, and though it is full of holes and hypocrisy, the Achilles heel of it all was the derisive comment about community organizers.  And because it was done with such contempt, such scorn, it cannot be undone by later repositioning.  This one comment has revealed the heart of the GOP campaign... one that is full of contempt for the common man.  In fact, they have so much contempt for the common man that they feel they can say things like this and then still get their votes by spouting a few patriotic (but empty) lines.

 

But the common man will see through a speech which on one hand gets sappy about Truman having been a haberdasher while on the other hand is snide about Obama having been a community organizer.  And they will know that someone who proudly proclaims to have signed up for the PTA and then turns around and laughs at someone for having run a charity organization is not someone who is showing the character desired in a national leader.

 

As I see it, the GOP wants the contents of this speech to be forgotten while keeping the image of Palin being strong, powerful, and witty.  Therefore, it is up to the community organizers and common folk across this country to make sure that what was said is not forgotten - to make sure that Palin never lives this one down - to make sure that this speech is rerun in people's minds until they see it for what it actually is - contemptuous, belittling, and sarcastic.  To me, this speech can be the biggest rallying call of the Democratic party.