Reconsidering Becky Ruppe

Evidently my attacks on Becky Ruppe (the "pro-life, pro-gun", anti-gay "Democratic" candidate for the TN Senate) are getting under her skin. She is now quoting me in her campaign flyers!
Read more about Becky Ruppe's attacks on gays, me and the U.S. Constitution over on the Scott County Liberals (& Friends)

"If there was any doubt that Becky Ruppe is an authentic social conservative, she has dispelled it with a campaign circular distributed in area newspapers this week. She seems so eager to distance herself from the more socially progressive platform of her party's national committee that the word "Democrat" is altogether absent from this piece of campaign literature. (Neither, for that matter, does she declare her party affiliation anywhere on her campaign website, nor in the one radio advertisement I've heard for her candidacy.) Again, it's not unusual in the South for Democrats to buck the party's national-level agenda. What gives us pause is her willingness to belittle an entire section of the traditionally Democratic constituency in order to get elected.

The last page of the circular reads like it might have been written by any fundamentalist Republican candidate. Ruppe repeats her commitment to the "Rural Tennessee Values" of being "Pro-life 100%" (I'm not sure exactly what that means; are there exceptions for adult rape, or rape of a minor, or incest, or endangerment of the woman's health or life? Ruppe hasn't been forthcoming that I can determine); "100% pro-gun" with an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association; and the pledge that she will "make all [her] decisions regarding [the legal rights of gay couples] based on Christian values." Of course, Ruppe doesn't use the term "legal rights of gay couples"; she casts up the distracting smokescreen of defense-of-traditional-marriage and raises the specter of "gay marriage" as though it's something more than a phantom issue, a dodge to rally popular support. "Gay marriage" isn't a religious issue or even a moral issue: it's a civil rights issue, a question of whether or not the equal protection of the laws as mandated in our Constitution shall extend to all citizens. The Democratic platform for 2008 understands this. Of course, the distinction is an easy one to avoid when you're running for office, and Becky Ruppe does so with the all the deftness of a biblically-correct Republican.

She goes one better in her campaign flyer and dives headlong into the sort of religio-social warfare that would do Sarah Palin proud. She wastes no time in identifying Jim Maynard, a gay rights activist in Memphis who has been critical of Ruppe, as "a gay atheist" (which he is) who "says he is a gay, atheist, humanist, socialist" (so he does). She quotes Maynard's defense of the Constitution as a wholly secular instrument of government (which it is) as though he's not only wrong, but that his clear understanding of this nation's foundational principles somehow represents a threat to the American way of life. She quotes another internet commenter as pointing out that one might expect a female candidate for office who would have had no legal electoral rights a handful of decades ago to be "more open minded." Given that Ms. Ruppe quotes this as an example of an attack against her and her stand on gay rights, should we take from this that she considers open-mindedness in public service a bad thing? When she quotes this woman as saying that "she [Ruppe] will work to stop us... from being able to adopt, stop us from having the same legal rights that other married or even 'common law' couples will have" and does so without comment or clarification, should we assume that if Becky Ruppe is elected she would do exactly that? "
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And Congratulations to the Scott County Liberals for withdrawing their endorsement of Becky Ruppe!

"As gay rights activist Jim Maynard has observed, it's better to lose on principle than to win by sacrificing one's principles. We can't afford to settle for just any ol' Democrat, much less one who campaigns on fear and loathing."

Are Democrats Being Duped (Again)?

Given their past history, I don't have much faith in the Democratic Party leadership in Congress to stand up to Bush and the GOP. Bush's economic crisis has given Democrats a perfect chance to for once and for all KILL the conservative "free market" nonsense that created this crisis. They should stand up to Bush and Wall street.

Instead, it looks like the Democrats (Pelosi & Reid) are trying to work with Bush to bailout Wall street, while conservative Republicans have killed the Bush bailout and side with the American people against the taxpayer bailout. Why are the Democrats HELPING Bush again??

The Bush Administration is clearly trying to forestall the coming economic depression until after the election. Why should Democrats be supporting the Bush rescue plan instead of defending taxpayers against Wall street and the corporate rich?
Isn't it clear that John McCain and the House GOP wants to link the Democrats to the Bush Bailout ("socialism") and try to portray themselves as "populists" defending "mainstreet" against "Wall Street"?

It will be a political disaster if the Democrats side with Bush and the Republicans take credit for opposing the Bush bailout of Wall street!

I feel a political disaster coming. Talk me Down!

I'm not alone:
George Lakoff: The McCain Trap


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And as someone pointed out to me, Bill Clinton and the Democrats did help create this crisis by implementing some of the de-regulation that Wall Street bankers like Robert Rubin wanted. (It was his Secretary of the Treasury , Robert E. Rubin, now an Obama advisor, who helped to do away with come of the regulatory power of the Glass-Steagall act in 1999. That change set the stage for the current crisis in capitalism.)

Read how the Bill Clinton and the DEMOCRATS contributed to the current crisis by supporting deregulation of the financial industry:

Socialist Worker: The Bipartisan Deregulators

The Making of the Free Market Meltdown

Democrats Legalize Bush's Crimes!

Democrats Legalize Bush's Crimes

Unbelievable! Once again, the Democrats in Congress caved in to the most unpopular U.S. President (24%!) It's no wonder Congress has an even lower approval rating than Bush!

The Democrats caved in on funding the Iraq "War", which they promised the American people they would stop, and they have caved in on FISA, and have granted the telecom company's immunity for past crimes they committed for the Bush administration.

And Barack Obama supported the FISA "compromise"!!

This is not the "change" we want!

NOTE TO OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

Do NOT take our votes for granted! As much as progressives despise John McCain, we do not have to vote for Democratic candidates who pander to the corporate rich, the religious right, or the military-industrial complex. This is YOUR election to lose, and you will lose AGAIN if you ignore the progressive base of the Democratic Party! I WILL vote for a real progressive candidate, whether the are a Democrat or not!

There are OTHER political parties which DEFEND progressive values:
Socialist Party
Green Party

"Bush Dog" John Tanner Sides with GOP (Again)

Tanner Sparring with Fellow Democrats Over Iraq

"Bush Dog Democrat" John Tanner is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. He and other DINOS (Democrats in Name Only) are the reason this illegal occcupation is not over yet and our troops are stuck in the middle of a civil war. Anti-War activists should target DINOS like Tanner for protests, etc. We need to get him out of office and replace him with a REAL (progressive) Democrat!

Tanner and fellow ">Bush Dog Democrats are working on a "compromise" to help the Republicans get their way on Iraq, and keep our troops in the middle of that country's growing civil war.

Democratic Congress Gets Lowest Approval Rating Ever

The Democratic congress has failed the American people. Gallup: Approval Rating for Congress Matches Lowest Ever Recorded Only 18% of the American people approve of the job of this Congress, matching the lowest ever in 1992. It is even lower than George Bush's 32% approval rating. We can thank the Bush Dog Democrats who capituated on the Iraq War and unconstitutional wiretapping. Tennesseans are responsible for FOUR Bush Democrats: Cooper (TN-05), Lincoln Davis (TN-04), Gordon (TN-06), Tanner (TN-08).