It's also happening in Iowa, where former Republican Congressman Jim Leach has come out in support of Obama. There are plenty of other past Republican voters in Iowa who are contemplating voting Democratic this year. IMO, the GOP has already written Iowa off.

I got an email forward from a friend the other night the just pissed me off to no end. The email was one of those ZOMG!!!! TEH FLAG!! apparently Obama's campaign plane has put his campaign logo on the tail instead of an American flag and we are supposed to up in arms about this.

The tactic is pretty obvious, but will it work, I keep asking myself? Are the people of this country so stupid that we have to see the flag on everything and lack thereof signifies lack of appropriate patriotic zeal?

Personally, I think the Obama campaign should counter and put a graphic of the constitution on the tail of the plane....to remind us that we are not about a f'ing flag, we are about a constitution.

It's also happening in Alaska, where the Republican mayor of Fairbanks just endorsed Obama.

And I've been saying for some time that Obama has the potential to be the Reagan for the left - not just winning the election, but creating a whole new generation of Democratic voters.

reagan did not convert a large number of people to conservative principles.

reagan converted a large number of people into republican voters, which, to be sure, was a terrific accomplishment in political terms.

if obama can convert some number of republican voters into democrats, he'll have pulled off something pretty big, regardless of whether they support, per se, "liberal principles."

Can someone then explain why McCain polls higher among Reps than Obama does among Dems? My only thought it that most Obamacans have already abandon the Reps and registered as Ind or Dem. Or Obama could be polling lower because there are still Clinton hold outs. But that still doesnt explain why McCain still pulls Reps in the high 80's.

Or maybe my numbers are wrong.

Even more important, will this convince Broder that Obama is the center?
.

The "Republicans For Obama" thing smells fishy to me.

I'm not sure about the couple in Florida though.

Could be the Republicans are worried about dissent-- about disloyalty and ultimately infiltration within their ranks, just like the Republicans have done to the Democrats (and to the country) through Zell Miller, Joe Lieberman, the media, etc.

In counter-espionage, a way to catch people who would help spies is to set up an "opportunity" for them to betray you. It's just like how the FBI back in the '80s Mafia days set up a fake Italian restaurant that was really great, and ended up attracting a big mobster patronage that they subsequently surveilled for months. If they set up a front-group to attract disloyal Republicans and get them to speak openly, then they can gauge what Republicans across the country are really feeling and they can hopefully (from their point of view) pre-empt people from working with real liberals to do the same kind of damaging tactics that the Republicans have relied on.

It doesn't have to be anything horrible or illegal-- just something as simple as a secretary or a driver a politician thought he could trust turning over proof of an affair to the press. It's that kind of thing the Republicans would want to head off in the future as the tide of public opinion continues to turn away from them for the forseeable future. These people have a strong distaste for minorities, the lower social classes and gays, and they will be realistic, look ahead, and think strategically to try to protect their "interests."

"I've had enough with the Republican economics,"

She must have just gotten her last 401k statement. Losing $2 for every dollar invested gets to be real old, real fast.

Even if my speculation is right (and if it's hard for you to see why I feel that way, here's a short-hand way to look at why I do: it just seems unlikely to me that Republican resistance to Republicans would become so sophisticated and organized at this point-- really unlikely) here's the silver lining you can take away from all this: either the Republicans feel that Republican dissatisfaction with Republicans is a real enough phenomenon that they have to worry about it and take precautions against the worst consequences for them it could lead to, or all the signs and manifestations of Republican dissent we're seeing are genuine. Either way, it means the floor is slipping out from under the Republicans.

FWIW - saw a "Republicans for Obama" bumper sticker here in Northern Westchester, NY

Either way, it means the floor is slipping out from under the Republicans.

Personally, I think they've finally realized that they've been duped. Reagan put a friendly face on conservatism that masked the behind-the-scenes agenda of the moneycons who really run the party. Social conservatives and libertarian leaning conservatives finally caught on in the past 4 years that they were really only tools to be disposed of once the big money boys were in power. Look at it this way: it's 2008 and abortion is still legal, there still isn't any prayer in schools, gay marriage is actually gaining ground and acceptance. Social conservatives got shafted for all their money and hard work. Libertarian leaning conservatives have seen civil liberties gutted and can now witness the joy of being tracked anywhere they go and have their phone calls listened to in the name of "security." A lot of Republicans have been faced with the reality that the cause they believed in, donated money to, and gave their votes to was just a cover to get moneycons into power.

All those people running around in 2000 saying "God is back in the White House" have started to figure out that God Money is back in the White House. Not exactly the bill of goods they thought they were buying.

http://obamascrapbook.com/index.htm

Googlebomb it. Make it viral.

Inoculate Obama from the October swiftboats.

The above link really is a humanizing introduction to Obama’s family history.

A weapon against demonizing political opponents.

Oh for Pete's sake.
The Democratic Party has left Dens too. They've abandonded our principles just as the GOP did their own.

The Patriot Act, oversight, habeus corpus, FISA, name it. They've caved to Repubs on every important issue. They're a disgrace too.

And no, I'm not voting for McCain, so save it.

But get the blinders off.

Another thing:

You have to remember that the corrupt, Republican mainstream media wouldn't be reporting something to you about Republicans who hate Republicans unless there was a reason for it.

Sure, it always could be that these two stories happen to have been written by members of the press who are as-yet not under the Republican influence. But our experience over the past few years should have taught us that now, those people are the exception, rather than the real, and what's realistic to count on is that there may effectively be no one working for the press who cannot be influenced by or deceived by the Republicans in one way or the other.

Remember, these are the people-- the conservatives-- who 50 and 60 years ago had already been well entrenched in government and all sorts of institutions. They have very conservative churches and community leaders preaching all over the country, defying the law by leading prayers and teaching conservative points of view in public, government-operated schools, and so on. And they had plenty of time to realize the threat the was looming in on them of having to say "Howdy, neighbor" to a black man, having to sit next to him at a restaurant, or having to watch him marry their daughter. This is why a man like George W. Bush gets elected and the media which is run by adult college graduates peddles you lies every day.

"rather than the real,"

Typo: rather than the rule.

Oh, and as for the airplane and the O over the flag - he has to be careful because that sh-t triggers people too.
As does the "Obama 08 President" emblazoned on the back of his Lazy-Boy in the front of the plane's cabin.

Tone-deaf for a guy who doesn't want to be seen as arrogant or preumptious.

Maybe. But my wife and one of her closest friends, both lifelong Dems, just changed their registration to unaffiliated (that's what we call independents in Conn.) My wife probably would have voted for Sen. Clinton; she thinks Sen. Obama is a socialist at heart and she didn't like his "race" speech because in it he took his problem - his relationship with his minister - and tried to make it her problem, but she's not all that thrilled with McCain; I don't know how she's going to vote come November.

FWIW - saw a "Republicans for Obama" bumper sticker here in Northern Westchester, NY

FWIW, in the sixties, the Beatles' management thought of the idea of putting up thousands of Beatles-stickers all over the US to create hype immediately prior to release of the band's first album in the US, and before Americans had ever heard of the group. And the Beatles and Brian Epstein were hardly Machiavellian, Rovian conspirators, and hardly knew any Beatle-crazed individuals who had been trained in a psychological warfare or an espionage school by the US military that they could kick around marketing ideas with.

I wrote:

...had plenty of time to realize the threat the was looming in on them of having to say "Howdy, neighbor" to a black man, having to sit next to him at a restaurant, or having to watch him marry their daughter.

Well, what they consider a threat, of course. It may seem silly to us, but a lot of people take this stuff very seriously-- never forget, the racists threw bricks and rocks and started riots over it in the '60s. And don't get fooled by those polls that say that 90% of Americans say that Lincoln was a good president, or whatever-- there is a difference between thinking someone is good at doing his job, is a capable person, and agreeing with everything he does in his professional capacity. I think a lot of those poll questions are very suspect measures of how many people in this country are dedicated to really irrational conservative ideology and bigotry.

Yeah I de-affiliated too. Life-long Dem myself, up until Pelosi, Dean and Brazile.

Couldn't vote for McCain, but the Dem Party does not represent my values anymore.

I think I'm just going to research down ticket candidates and vote for the ones I like and that's it.

Used to just pull the Dem lever and that was it.

Oh well.

It's also interesting to note that in Wisconsin's most Republican county (Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee), Obama has been raising more money than McCain has.

I think many are already saying "the Republican Party left me", but did it really? Let's face it, Reagen conservativism was all about preaching fiscal responsibility while being fiscally reckless, and about flexing US military might, but never really going through with it. Only in the military force area did the Bushies depart from Reagan. And that the Bushies don't even claim to be fiscally conservative any longer.

But the larger point is true, voters are leaving the GOP in droves. That's why I think this election is more of a blow-out than pollsters predict. I also have long believed that's why McInsane went negative so early - because his internal polls showed a much more dire prognosis than the nationals did.

If Obama can't romp in this election, I truly worry about the future of this country.

It's dangerous and simpleminded to take such a monolithic view of the Republican party. Although they've been shunted to the back seat of the party, there are millions of rational republicans.

There are, and always have been, people who think of themselves as "conservative" on social issues, or on fiscal issues, but are neither bigots or warmongers, just as there are many who think of themselves as Christians but have no more use for the Falwells and Reeds of the world than most readers here would. These people formed the traditional core of the Republican party. These are the people who are now reconsidering.

You don't need a grand conspiracy theory, with a James Bond spy-movie soundtrack, to account for a "Republicans for Obama" movement. You only need to acknowledge that some people who call themselves Republicans are honest, rational people who are willing to re-examine their allegiances. As we all should be.

Tone-deaf for a guy who doesn't want to be seen as arrogant or preumptious.

Sem, I agree on both your posts. Watching Dems cave on issue after issue has been disheartening. Obama's campaign is making a lot of mis-steps lately. The public is already sick of cult-of-personality Presidents.

Obama is a much better candidate that's why he's gone so far. Please vote for Obama, visit WHYOBAMA08.ORG

Speaking to what thersites said, a few months ago I had a conversation with a nice, elderly gentleman while helping him with getting information about his property. He liked to talk, as many old folks do, and I think the least I can do is listen. He was a retired railroad employee of the Burlington Northern and he mentioned how it was a shame that we couldn't put some know-how to good use and deal with our nation's problems. I agreed, and mentioned how a former boss of mine once worked hard to keep former railroad right-of-ways in the public domain by turning them into bike trails, and that part of the reason it was a good idea to do that was to keep the old railroad line there just in case it might be needed again. Well, now it just might given how oil is now peaking as a fuel source. Anyway, he then went on to talk a little about politics and said that while he was a good Republican and voted for George W. Bush twice, he said it was a mistake given how Bush has increased the national debt. He also mentioned that while we had to fight terrorists that maybe it didn't matter if we kept troops in Iraq or not. This wasn't just bloviating on his part, he was very sincere, like many elderly people are when you get to an age where you know you haven't got much time left on this Earth but you'd like to leave it a better place.

It occurred to me afterwards that this is the sort of Republican voter that might be open to change, as in voting Democratic, if his concerns about the future were addressed in a sincere way. I'm sure that thought's crossed Barack Obama's mind too. Anyway, it was very nice to talk with him given how much B.S. and just plain meanness makes the usual rounds in our political discourse.

How long will it be before the new conservative motto becomes "I didn't leave the Republican Party, the party left me"?

Hell, Andrew Sullivan has been saying that for months!

You only need to acknowledge that some people who call themselves Republicans are honest, rational people

...though you'd never know it by the representatives of movement conservatism who populat Kevin's forums.

You're assuming, Mr. Drum, that Barack Obama is a bona fide, died-in-the-wool liberal, and not merely someone who for expediency's sake has hitched his political wagon to what he perceives to be a currently stronger team of quarterhorses.

It is my opinion only, but I think that a real liberal would never have acquiesced to the Bush administration's position during the recent FISA debate, and agreed to grant immunity to corporate lawbreakers.

I'm going to vote for Mr. Obama, mostly because the notion of continued GOP rule is out of the question. However, I will continue to voice my reservations about such political cyphers.

These types of politicians can generally be had for a dime-a-dozen in D.C., state capitals, and county seats. And while they can talk a good game, they more often than not prove themselves to be mere mortals of gloriously average ability, whose personal judgments about pending issues are decisively risk-adverse, magnificently unspectacular and generally forgettable over the long term.

Given their druthers, they would prefer to kick the can down the road, while still availing themselves of the many perquisites and privileges befitting their rank and stature as elected or appointed public officials. However, we as citizens of this besieged country simply can no longer allow such continued self-indulgence on their part.

I only hope that, like Bill Clinton before him, a victorious Barack Obama rises to the occasion and proves me dead wrong in my initial assessment of him. I'll then stand very happily corrected.

Art Eclectic (above) makes some solid points.

For many years, the differences between Democrats and Republicans were not so vast. But, the Bushies have made Lee Atwater's wet dreams come true. I think there are a lot of traditional Republicans anxious to emphatically distance themselves from what has become the antithesis of conservatism, even Americanism.

Personally, I see John McCain's policies as ineffective, stale, and too much a continuation of the Republican status quo, and that's a damn good reason not to vote for him. I do not regard McCain and all Republicans as the Spawn of Satan, and I'm really tired of seeing that kind of extreme crap spouted by both sides.

I have no use for the current Republican party, and I don't need additional reasons to vote against McCain. I want to see my party best represent the entire nation, and as a result, I tend to critique it.

I'm a left-of-center voter, who tries to make reasonable decisions -- case-by-case -- on a variety of issues. I don't like ideological purity. Certain issues, however, like warrantless
domestic spying, I take exceptionally seriously, and don't like the way the Democrats have rolled over on the matter.

Like many of the folks here, I become cynical and exasperated with the "stupidity" of the American people, but that's a cop-out. This country hasn't had any leadership for decades. We've had years of shameless pandering to interest groups by both parties.

Bush may be in a bubble, but so is the citizenry. We've come to like bubbles more than reality. This will change under two circumstances: We'll either have a candidate/leader who will tell us -- like a doctor would diagnose a serious health problem -- the truth, and -- like a doctor -- offer a uncompromising plan to deal with it. Or we'll simply hit the wall, and eventually flounder our way to recovery, but with much more pain and sacrifice.

I wish I saw a reason to hope for the former.

I wrote:

FWIW, in the sixties, the Beatles' management thought of the idea of putting up thousands of Beatles-stickers all over the US to create hype immediately prior to release of the band's first album in the US, and before Americans had ever heard of the group.

Sorry-- point being that a few hundred Republicans for Obama stickers spread across the country could do something like make a fake Republican group look more like it was a realistic one that people actually support. Or the idea could just be to encourage rank-and-file Republicans who are going to turn traitor against their party to become more vocal about their discontent so they can be "found out" before they act in a way that turns out to be really damaging.

Mr. Douglas Kmiec is nothing but a split tongue, turncoat Republican liberal. He makes no sense at all supporting Obama. Mr. Kmiec and liberals like him are the scrouge of this great Nation.

This sure feels an awful lot like 1980 in reverse, doesn't it?

This morning I was just thinking that it really feels like 1992 to me. People are tired of Republican politics. McCain in my opinion tracks pretty well with George H. W. Bush in that he is neither a visionary nor knowledgeable enough about government to be effective. Obama is running on a similar change message that Clinton ran on, and I suspect he will be similar but without the sex scandel.

It was inane the first time you said it, lop.

Swan: to encourage rank-and-file Republicans who are going to turn traitor against their party to become more vocal about their discontent

How exactly does this benefit the Republicans? Someone's been reading too many spy novels.

I'm not a nitpicker, but after five repetitions, what's a "scrouge?"

I think a "scrouge" is a cross between a Scrooge and a Scrounge. I could be mistaken.

"I think a "scrouge" is a cross between a Scrooge and a Scrounge. I could be mistaken."

Thanks. I thought it was a basket of Freedom Fries.

Hey Aiken - I am not unwilling to be persuaded.

Here's an exercise for you - show me one time that Obama has sacrificed some political captial on women's issues? EIther with a vote or some sort of statement? But best with a vote.

And Not Present on the abortion stuff in IL won't wash.

Linc Chaffee was an old-school Republican, which is to say that he wasn't a racist, war-mongering, "spend-what-you-don't-have," politics-trumps-competency lying crook. While I'm a pretty staunch progressive, I mistrust single-party dominance enough to long for the days when true conservative values could compete on the public stage with true progressive values. We somehow managed to get a lot done when that was the case. Maybe, after the current batch of Republican miscreants is finally banished and the American people regain their senses, we'll see those days come around again.

@sem

Look. I know you're a troll and all you really want is attention.

But for the others who might consider your argument.

NARAL 2007 voting record (from NARAL website):

Obama: 100%
John McCain: 0%

So troll...

KTHNKSBYE

If this economy is what you get with tax cuts, de-regulation and large scale deficit financing, otherwise known as fiscal conservatism, then I can't afford to have another republican in the White House.

"He also mentioned that while we had to fight terrorists that maybe it didn't matter if we kept troops in Iraq or not."

A succinctly beautiful line, David W.

The more mainstream Republicans hear that it is okay NOT to vote the party ticket this year, the more of them will come out of the closet...so to speak...and vote for whom they think is best.

Obama may not be perfect, he may not have all the answers but he is intelligent and sharp. I have no doubt he could pick up more information in his first 100 days than Bush picked up in 8 years as far as running this country goes.

Moreover, Obama isn't in that revolting inner circle that runs America from behind the Chimp. I will vote for him on that point alone.

I would like to see Republicans and Democrats work together to get this country back on the right track. We'd have to do it in spite of Talk Radio's national hate-slathering and in spite of the right’s thinly veiled use of spin and propaganda but maybe these tools have been used enough now that We, the People are sick and tired of having our emotions used against us. Maintaining a constant state of fear for the benefit of the GOP is exhausting!

"while we had to fight terrorists that maybe it didn't matter if we kept troops in Iraq or not" says it all, really. And that it came from a Republican makes me hopeful.

Signed, a librul. :)

The Cynical Lesbian's post reads "Normanesque". Except for the admission that she is going to vote for Obama.

Now I am confused!

I don't think the polling supports any widesrpread republican vote for Obama. This sounds like a pretty weak line up. Chaffee is not a republican and generally viewed as a dunce by both parties. Leach was a well respected moderate, although he like Chaffee just lost an election. Danforth's daughter? Give me a break. Kimec is a joke.

How does this compare to the 1995 Democrat Keynote Speaker supporting Bush in 2004 and the 2000 Democrat VP nominee supporting McCain in 2008?

*

'How long will it be before the new conservative motto becomes "I didn't leave the Republican Party, the party left me"?'

I've been saying that for about a dozen years now...

Here's another former 20-year Republican (and former 2000 delegate for McCain) for Obama.

My sister who has never voted Democratic will also be voting for Obama (so long as Hillary is not the V.P., as she can't stand the Clintons).

Why, you ask?

Here's the answer:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/08/the-real-john-mccain-selfless.php

Republicans for Obama??? As far as I'm concerned these people never were Republicans, and obviously aren't Republicans now. At best, they are simply weak politicians with little conviction. Calling themselves Republicans for Obama is just a transparent political P.R. ploy to make it look like even Republicans are switching over to Obama. However, as we get closer to November, Obama is sinking in the polls, and McCain is rising. And, we still don't know how many of the 18 million Clinton supporters are switching over to McCain. And we still don't know how many people who said they'd vote for Obama, will actually vote for McCain, in the privacy of the voting booth. Obama has a track record with 9 days of foreign policy, and 16 months in government, and with very little to show for it. McCain has 25 years in the military ... 20 years in government ... tons of foreign policy experience ... proven commitment to this country, as a war hero who paid dearly. If you look at the facts, instead of Obama's smoke and mirrors, it's obvious that Senator John McCain should be our next President.

Bunk.

what has experience given us? if the one who is with experience does not know or understand how to use it. there are some mistakes we should learn from. did anyone ever see McCains flubber in Iraq? are you kidding me? I could not believe it. I am a republican from washington state but i had to vote for gulp! (gov building) democrat this year. I see in Obama the curage and ambition to put our country back on the right tracks again, or atleast he can stop the train from derrailment. we are using water up from the colorado when we could dare i say it create disalination plants and use water from the pacific. Does anyone remember the power outages in new york a few years ago. Lets come back to our homeland and create real security. We have a serious infrustructure problem. has anyone noticed? as for the clinton supporters..have you thought of voting for putin? kidding.. look at it this way Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush... Clinton? that would be 24+ years of two families. are you kidding me?...let us not forget there will be new judges. though im a republican i believe Obama will offer a change to our daily politics and if nothing else rationalize current events and talk to both sides as i have not seen done only few times during bush's first term. But then again what will our media shows do without controversy? im putting my full support behind Obama. I hope anyone who wants some difference will see my viewpoints the same.

Are you all just stupid, or do you want the great U.S.A. to become a socialist state (maybe a Marxist state)! B.Hussein O. is a socialist/marxist (read his early learning and training, via Saul Alinsky and Frank Marshall Davis & others). Go to your public library and read back op/ed issues of Investor's Business Daily for past few months (or www.ibdeditorials.com), try magazine "National Review", and Wall Street Journal. Or just listen to the language he (& Michelle) use about "shared prosperity", "mutual responsibility", & "a heavy hand of government is needed to ensure equitable distribution of wealth," etc.etc. Our wonderful country will be destroyed by his policies. Read them!!!!!! You are wrong, and we would pay the price (along with higher taxes.)

Are you all just stupid, or do you want the great U.S.A. to become a socialist state (maybe a Marxist state)! B.Hussein O. is a socialist/marxist (read his early learning and training, via Saul Alinsky and Frank Marshall Davis & others). Go to your public library and read back op/ed issues of Investor's Business Daily for past few months (or www.ibdeditorials.com), try magazine "National Review", and Wall Street Journal. Or just listen to the language he (& Michelle) use about "shared prosperity", "mutual responsibility", & "a heavy hand of government is needed to ensure equitable distribution of wealth," etc.etc. Our wonderful country will be destroyed by his policies. Read them!!!!!! You are wrong, and we would pay the price (along with higher taxes.)

Are you all just stupid, or do you want the great U.S.A. to become a socialist state (maybe a Marxist state)! B.Hussein O. is a socialist/marxist (read his early learning and training, via Saul Alinsky and Frank Marshall Davis & others). Go to your public library and read back op/ed issues of Investor's Business Daily for past few months (or www.ibdeditorials.com), try magazine "National Review", and Wall Street Journal. Or just listen to the language he (& Michelle) use about "shared prosperity", "mutual responsibility", & "a heavy hand of government is needed to ensure equitable distribution of wealth," etc.etc. Our wonderful country will be destroyed by his policies. Read them!!!!!! You are wrong, and we would pay the price (along with higher taxes.)

Redistribution of wealth!!! Are you kidding me??? I agree with you Sandy. The people on here that are supporters of Obama must not have jobs. They want those of us that are hard working to share our wealth with those that don't work hard. that's like asking me to go to the Dean at school and asking him to share my "A" grades with my classmate who has an "F" so we can both pass with a "C". And no, I am not "wealthy" I am a single white mom with three kids and I work two jobs (which together I make around $45k/yr) and go to school to better myself so I wont have to work two jobs in the future. I am showing my kids what it takes to achieve the American Dream. I am not on welfare, food stamps or any other form of assistance and rarely get any child support from my ex. I don't want my kids to grow up in an Obama socialist world. It will show my kids that its okay to be lazy because all the hard workers will take care of you "because its the fair thing to do". Give me a break!!!