Category: Politics

I wonder if this will become more common: potential voters who are fans of Webb becoming a bit lukewarm on him when he doesn’t take the high road by avoiding negative campaigning.

The MSM has picked the charge up:

The flier put out by Jim Webb’s campaign for U.S. Senate described his opponent as a corporate lobbyist who made money by sending American jobs overseas.

But what caught Dan Smolen’s attention was the cartoon that accompanied the text: That of a man with a hook nose and money spilling from his pockets.

It was a caricature of Harris Miller, Webb’s opponent in Tuesday’s Democratic primary who happens to be Jewish.

The image made Smolen, who is Jewish and Stafford County’s Democratic chairman, uncomfortable.

“I don’t think whoever did the cartoon caricature meant this as an ethnic slur,” he said, “but the effect of it was very troubling.”

…

“That doesn’t look so good. There’s no question to me that’s replete with anti-Semitic stereotypes,” said Mark Feldstein, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. “I’m not someone who readily cries anti-Semitism, but I think it’s hard to look at this and not see a number of anti-Semitic stereotypes plugged into this ad, from the hook nose to the ‘antichrist’ to the money-grubbing character.”

You can check out the flier here.

They even go so far as to cite two bloggers:

Folks posting messages on not LarrySabato.typepad.com, a politically minded blog where the image can be seen, have argued for days over whether the flier is a bold political move or a bad decision.

Shaun Kenney, chairman of the Spotsylvania Republican Party, accused Webb of “jewbaiting” on his blog, shaunkenney.com.

And the folks saying that it was just a joke? Nope. Seems it was meant for “just one event”:

“I’m completely satisfied with the Webb campaign’s recognition that this in fact, had it gone out, could’ve been a damaging situation and that in the future they’re going to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Smolen said. “I don’t think it was a deliberate smear.”

Ouch.

What was that Paul Goldman was saying about Webbloggers hurting the campaign?

Bush Campaign Reaching Out to Bloggers

President Bush’s campaign will unveil a Web site today that allows proprietors of online journals — Blogs or Web logs — to “get the latest campaign headlines and inside scoop posted instantly to your site through a live news feed from GeorgeWBush.com!”

Bush’s campaign is leaving nothing to chance as his devotees spread his message. The automatic feeds are offered in horizontal and vertical versions.

Clearly cognizant of the Web frenzy over Democrat Howard Dean, Bush’s aides held a conference call to preview the site, which replaces a bare-bones one that has raised $1.3 million from 6,000 donors since the campaign launch May 16.

Campaign manager Ken Mehlman said the site’s purpose is “sharing the president’s positions and tying them to grass-roots activities so that everyone who wants to, has something to do.” The site allows a user to type in a Zip code and find local and national radio talk shows. A letter can be automatically e-mailed to newspapers, and all the supporter has to do is paste in pre-scripted text such as, “President Bush should be commended for his strong leadership on the economy.”

Really, though, most of the sites that will use this feed already post or comment on most of the same stories on their own and link to the Bush in 2004 site.

So I get off my bus to find a ton of cops standing in formation in McPhereson Square and a protest going on at Vermont/15th and K Streets (I think it was the “Put The Squeeze On Capitalist Greed March” that started in Franklin Square at 14th and I streets around 7:30am). I went into the CVS and bought a couple of disposable cameras. By the time I got back outside, the police had moved in (a broken window at the CitiBank where the protesters stood was probably the reason).

I started taking pictures as the police broke up the protest. Someone set off a smoke bomb or a stink bomb of some sor (I eventually heard it was tear gas). The group of journalists and onlookers that crowded the police started to back away. Someone said something about pepper spray. Either way, the police quickly worked to break up whatever protest was going on.

People were backed up across the street into McPhereson Square while the police cleared out the protesters. They were put in plastic cuffs and then led onto two Metro busses and then taken somewhere.

A crowd stuck around to watch, protesters mixed in with journalists and bystanders. Now, here’s something I don’t get. The protesters off to the side, still protesting, holding their signs, hiding their faces, playing “Fight The Power” on their tape deck, if you’re so adamant about your cause and what you’re trying to push here, why aren’t you with those other guys getting arrested? Where were you when the cops came in? Running? Hiding? Or did you just arrive? I got more respect for the folks who are willing to stand their ground and get arrested than for the people who run away or come in afterwards to continue their protest. If you’re not willing to go down for what you believe in, how much do you believe in it?

Oh well. PICTURES!!!

There are 15 pictures, please give them time to load…
(NOTE: The following pictures are the property of Jason Kenney and their use without permission is prohibited. If you want to use one of these pictures for anything, just ask, I’ll probably say yes.)

As I approached	Another view	A closer look
Something’s happening	Tear gas!!!!	Everyone cleared out
The police kinda dug the extra room	So they started pushing everyone back	A few more quick shots
Nothing over there	The crowd I’d be joining shortly	One last close look
Everyone, on the bus!	The bus leaves, full of protesters	The police keep everyone back (probably my best shot)
People looking on	The corner’s now empty	And the police line up to go bust some more heads

These pictures were taken with two disposable CVS Photostar Flash Cameras with 400 speed film and developed by Ritz Camera One Hour Photo.

So this Friday the International Monetary Fund is coming to DC and with it the protestors. All of these anti-capitalist groups (they call themselves that) have said their goal will be to shut the city down, blocking streets, bridges, Metro stations and then some. And then they say how they’re not out to hurt anyone.

Bull.

Hey, guess what? If people can’t get to work, they can’t get paid, and if they can’t get paid, who’s going to pay their bills, put food in their stomaches, a roof over their head? You? Many people don’t come to work in DC for their health, they come because the pay is better here and they NEED that money to get by. You’re really messing with people’s budgets when you prohibit them from going to work.

What a wonderful way to get your message across.

Hey, you ever think about the fact that capitalism, the great evil you are protesting against, is the reason you are even able to organize and protest? Really.

Capitalism is the natrual byproduct of a free society. A society that allows freedom of speech, freedom or expression, freedom to buy and sell land and goods, that society natually leads to capitalism, an economic system that thrives when the government stays out of it. Capitalism occurs because the government allows these freedoms. When the government starts to step into this economic system and make drastic changes or even a move to get rid of it, you begin to see a loss of freedoms.

Sure, the government should and needs to do more about working conditions, wages, inflation and the like, but that needs to occur as a simple regulation of the capitalist system we have.

And, really, what is the alternative to capitalism? None of you guys are giving any options, you’re just jumping up and down and screaming about how evil it is. What would you prefer, communism? Barter system? Total government control in production and distribution of goods?

Christ, you need a message and a goal before you set to blocking off streets and disrupting the financial stability of untold thousands.

Besides, isn’t the IMF getting together to discuss sending money to poor countries? Aw, man, that SUCKS! Let’s protest that, shall we?

Grow up guys or you’ll never be seen as anything more than a neusance.