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Hear that?
That was the bus running over McCain.
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That was the bus being backed up just to make sure.

The "how come Republicans keep endorsing the extremist" was exactly the email I sent to my wingnut father today.

I'm not expecting a response, because he's usually only interested in discussing socialism, the liberal media or the evils of progressive taxation anymore.

I'll get right up front on this---if Chick Fried has bailed on McCain, then he'll probably be part n' parcel of whatever effort is finally made to pick up the broken shards, and forge a new Republican Party. I advise cautious optimism, with a few extra heaping measures of caution added to the post-electoral recipe. The Democratic Party will always need a dose of checks and balances, but Fried has the potential to bring about a nex-gen "Contract with America" scenario.

All ahead slow on this one....

Sarah Palin = the iceberg

I don't really think these endorsements will change people's minds. But they may prevent some voters from changing their votes in the voting booth. I think that there are a lot of moderate Republicans who back Obama privately but will still find it difficult to actually pull the lever for Obama. I think these endorsements make it easier for them to do so. There are a stunning number of people who will vote Democrat for the first time in their lives. It can't be easy for them.

Are there practical implications of notable Republicans siding with Obama?

You are right that it undermines the "extremist" or "risky" narratives. I think Powell did that pretty effectively by himself on Sunday, which is why the national polls bounced back to Obama's highs shortly after that.

But even more, this trend is now creating a new narrative, should the press choose to report on it. Not only are sensible Republicans (and conservative newspapers) endorsing Obama in droves, but they are all citing Sarah Palin as a key reason. Just keep hammering that into the electorate's minds for the next 11 days.

That was the bus being backed up just to make sure.

You owe me a new screen, dude. And possibly rhinoplasty.

Sarah Palin = the iceberg

And you owe me a keyboard.

:-)

Will Fried be featured on any of the Sunday "News" shows? That will be very telling.
peace,
st john

I see your Fried and raise you a Zinn

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Hear that?
That was the bus running over Ralph Nader.

http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2008/10/howard_zinn_vot.html

What has or is taking people so long? Has Gov. Palin's inadequacies just become apparent? Has the tone shifted all that much in the last 40 days? Have world events changed so drastically that McCain's tempermant or judgment become too much of a liability?

Obviously these Republicans are all endorsing Obama just because he's black.

:-)

I don't think this is a surprise; the shape of the Republican split is becoming clear. The money guys and traditional conservatives, pretty much those who liked the old McCain, are jumping overboard; the far right (the Palin base) is sticking.

Everyone knows that your VP pick is supposed to be a strategic one. You want someone that'll pull in some crucial votes from areas where you might be weak.

With the pick of Sarah Palin, though, John McCain basically sold the moderate vote for the extreme. And I don't care who you think you are. You're never going to win an election with nothing but the extremist vote.

Never.

Fried's endorsement may not be as surprising as it seems. He already went on record earlier this year saying some extraordinarily complimentary things about Obama, with whom he was acquainted through HLS, & it's no surprise that he would cast a cold eye on a lightweight like Palin.

This is part of the opening salvo of the intra-republican battle over why McCain lost.

The money-cons and the neo-cons are trying to stuff the theo-con genie back in the bottle. Blaming Sarah Palin is their version of a Joe Klein "damn you dirty hippies" rant.

They waited until it was clear McCain would lose because if they jumped ship and McCain won they would be utterly marginalized.

Big deal. We're preaching to the choir here. How does this news penetrate the closed skulls of Joe Sixpaks? So Fried is a professor at Harvard Law School. That won't make a dent. Respected lawyer? Credible voice on judicial matters? Those words will only cause eyes to glaze over . . or else just translate to "another rich elitist." None of this matters where it matters most. And undermine McCain's talking points? Trying to keep track of McCain's talking points is like transporting bull frogs in a wheelbarrow.

I think Obama will win. . . he's GOT to win! But these endorsements probably won't make a difference.

Aside from Palin, the other factor most often cited is Obama's intelligence and curiosity.

We are seeing the 'intellectual' wing of the part (Fried, Buckley, Brooks etc) rejecting the anti-intellectulism of the far right. Going after Palin, who clearly lacks any kind of genuine curiosity about the world (more so than even Bush), is an expression of that rejection.

As conservative as they are, they'd rather be ruled by someone with the brain than a bible.

I wonder how the McCain campaign is going to spin this news?

Adam: Good call. Problem is, the Theo-cons are a big part of the party. Who will they replace them with?

Please keep these 'Republicans for Obama' stories coming. It's karma for all those Democrats for Reagan, etc. stories that we've been force fed for the past 28 years.

Charles Fried is one very smart individual.

I had him for Torts and for Jurisprudence, over thirty years ago. In the latter class, we did a close-reading of two new books, by Rawls and by Novack. Professor Breyer sat behind me, he was auditing.

Congratulations to Charles Fried, a wise, judicious man.

Thank Dog, just 11 more days of McCain/Palin negativity!

Come on in, Charles. The water's great!

Come on in, Charles. The water's great!

It seems to be getting clearer that the non-looney-toon branch of the Republican party, the so-called moderates, are deserting McCain faster than rats on a capsized ship about to go under. Just as the campaign apparchiks are seeking to assign blame everywhere but to themselves for fear of damaging their careers, so the remnants of the surviving, non-faschist, GOP want to live to see a revival of a far more moderate, and reality based party.

The coming fierce battle for the soul of the Republican party will be fun to watch. In its current incarnation it is the unstable marriage of the Christianists, the free-market corporate ideologues, and some libertarian types. Very few true conservatives in that mix, and the forces driving the factions apart are already greater than the glue holding them together.

If the red-blue map is recast, as seems likely, there will much less red and concentrated in the south, lots of purple in the middle, and very eye-soothing blue from coast-to-coast. It's not unrealistic to think that a major political realignment will occur with the Rethugs splitting into two parties, one of which might rightly be called Republican.

You're missing the point. It's not if they are a surprise or not, it's that Obama is picking up endorsements and McCain is not. I don't hear any Democrats jumping ship to endorse McCain....

I'd love to comment, but how could anyone improve on perfection?

I don't hear any Democrats jumping ship to endorse McCain....

Lady de Rothschild resents your impudence, subject, & shall have you in the stockade for three hours, starting noon, Saturday.

Chad writes:

I don't hear any Democrats jumping ship to endorse McCain....

No, how often does one see rats jumping onto a sinking ship?

"If Obama is so far from the mainstream, why do Colin Powell and a bunch of Republicans keep endorsing him?"

because he's a republican masquerading as a dem

I agree with "putnam" above. I had Charles Fried as a professor at HLS about 20 years ago. While I often don't agree with his politics, Professor Fried is a brilliant teacher, thinker, and scholar. I'm glad he and I are on the same page in our support for Senator Obama and in our rejection of Governor Palin.

Fried's recommendation will have absolutely no effect on my 80 year old brother-in-law or pretty much anyone else of the GOP kool aid drinkers.

As a college professor, the GOPers will immediately dismiss his statements as left wing, liberal and Democratic, even if he is the exact opposite.

These hard core GOPers don't bother reading their own emails that they forward on, no less anything longer than a mere sentence or phrase.

The GOP kool aid drinkers made up their minds 20 years ago, and they are not going to let facts or opposing opinions change their minds.