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Thursday, July 17, 2008
More Red Meat from Joe Deters: Local McCain Chair Says Lunch with Race-Baiter is “Personal Life”
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Photo courtesy of here.
John McCain came to Cincinnati this week to court the black vote at the national NAACP convention. McCain has a miserable record with the NAACP, receiving multiple grades of “F” from the organization in prior years. Meanwhile, the McCain campaign has just named Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters as its local chair, a move which has already caused Ohio Democratic State Chair Chris Redfern to issue a denunciation.
Deters’ longstanding relationship with Jim Schifrin, author of the notorious and racist rag-sheet The Whistleblower, isn’t likely to win Deters or McCain any friends at the NAACP. For example, Schifrin calls Cincinnati’s first directly elected African American mayor Mark Mallory a “gay darkie,” and he calls Cincinnati Public Schools’ superintendent Rosa Blackwell “mammy.”
McCain’s appearance in Cincinnati, shopping for Black votes, finds him steeped in controversy through the company kept by his local representative.
Back in February, McCain distanced himself from comments made by local radio personality Willie Cunningham. Cunningham kept referring to “Barack Hussein Obama,” which made national headlines. He later stated he was encouraged “to throw some red meat to the crowd… To get the crowd on their feet and get them happy.” Guess who made that suggestion? Joe Deters.
The day before McCain addressed the NAACP convention, Joe Deters reportedly lunched with the author of the notorious Whistleblower. According to Schifrin, the two traded racist jokes about Obama:
All of which was discussed at lunch yesterday when Hamilton County Prosecutor “JayWalking Joe” Deters met for lunch with Charles Foster Kane at a packed LaRosa’s in Newport . Besides McCain’s visit and the latest political gossip, other topics our Beloved Whistleblower Publisher discussed with McCain’s newly appointed Southwest Ohio Chairman included all the important items in the news, as well as batting around ideas for upcoming Whistleblower jokes and coverage. Best of all, Deters and Kane were eating like the natives at an Ebonics free restaurant where, unlike at eateries in downtown Cincinnati this week, the giving of gratuities for restaurant service was still being practiced. The best joke at lunch was: Obama lost a lot of points with colored people at his speech Monday night when he promised them all jobs.
Even worse, Schifrin included a joke about Barack Obama being assassinated.
As reported yesterday in The Beacon, we sent Deters letters asking him about this relationship, which he ignored.
Today, we caught up with Deters on Fountain Square at the McCain rally, and tried to ask him about this. He refused to deny the meeting, the relationship, or to denounce the racist content.
When we asked him about his relationship with race-baiting Jim Schifrin, he said that was his “personal life.” When we tried to show him how Schifrin writes about their relationship, he said he had “no comment.” When asked if he would repudiate the racist language of his friend, he said, “Get that camera out of my face.” Then two goons started working interference, cutting our interview short.
Among other questions, why is a County prosecutor surrounded by apparent body guards?
Near the beginning of McCain’s speech, he had this to say:
A few years before the NAACP was founded, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage and an insult in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There’s no better evidence of this than the nomination of an African-American to be the presidential nominee of his party.
Based on Joe Deters’s conduct, cruel and prideful bigotry appears to be alive and well in McCain’s own campaign staff.
This story was created in collaboration with Justin Jeffre.
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17 Jul 2008 at 09:27 am | #
BEACON READERS: Let’s take this one national! It ain’t gonna happen by itself, so don’t just sit there, start sending it around!
The Society to Clean Up Morons (S.C.U.M) like Joe Deters
17 Jul 2008 at 09:38 am | #
Not a bad idea. I cross-posted here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/17/8352/19332?new=true
17 Jul 2008 at 09:46 am | #
FANTASTIC!
just posted on it.
http://bloggerinterrupted.com/2008/07/joe-deters-mccains-ohio-co-chair-freaks-on-video-when-asked-about-bigot-buddy
17 Jul 2008 at 10:28 am | #
You are being far too kind on Cunningham. In his introduction for Senator McCain, Bill Cunningham said that he had a dream where Obama became president and was singing Kumbaya with those who want to kill us.
Saying that the uproar was because of Cunningham’s use of Barack Obama’s middle name is accepting WLW’s spin on the controversy.
17 Jul 2008 at 12:04 pm | #
Where is your article asking Obama about his relationship with William Ayers?
17 Jul 2008 at 01:13 pm | #
I didn’t realize William Ayers was from Cincinnati.
This article, if you didn’t notice, is Cincinnati-centric.
17 Jul 2008 at 02:36 pm | #
Has William Ayers been having lunch with the Whistleblower too?
17 Jul 2008 at 03:54 pm | #
Deters is so used to being treated with kid gloves and complete deference by the local media that you can see the shock on his face at being asked uncomfortable questions in front of a camera. And then you get to see the real Jay Walking Joe; an arrogant jerk and a bully who thinks that this City is his fiefdom.
The simple fact is that Deters should be in jail for his corruption which led to his resigning in disgrace as State treasurer. Had it not been for cover from the then GOP Attorney General, Deters would have joined his aides (who took the fall) in jail. At least we can have some comfort in knowing that Deters’ political career is effectively over, and that he will never go further than his current position.
You can read about Deter’s corruption at the Ohio State Blog.
17 Jul 2008 at 03:57 pm | #
Just sent to Joshue Micah Marshal at Talking Point Memo ( http://talkingpointsmemo.com ), which possibly conducting the best investigative Journalism on the web:
17 Jul 2008 at 04:09 pm | #
Emails also sent to Crooks & Liars and to Firedoglake ( http://www.crooksandliars.com http://www.firedoglake.com )
Keep up the pressure Dean. we need to get your diary at kos bumped up to the front page. Any ideas on how we do that? More hits? More comments??
17 Jul 2008 at 04:48 pm | #
I didn’t realize the dailykos was a cincy-centric website? I didn’t realize that McCain was cincy-centric?
You are the one trying to tie it to a national presidential campaign. Don’t try to backtrack it now. You wanted to make it about McCain from the start or there was no reason to include him. In your writing how many times did you use the word “McCain” vs. “Deters”.
No William ayers is killing people and sorry he didnt kill more and has a political relationship with one of the major presidential candidates.
Yeah you all are on the right track with the biggest problems facing us in the election with the Whistleblowers satire.
The Beacon- Only the agenda matters
17 Jul 2008 at 04:56 pm | #
anon #11:
I think you should talk to Cincysuz. She hates how we always go after Democrats.
No, wait, McCain and Deters are Republicans…
Drats! Which is it? To which party am I blindly loyal?
Oh, by the way, sorry for not writing about everything at once. Perhaps you can help me with cloning.
17 Jul 2008 at 05:39 pm | #
Cincy Capell, keep up the good work!
anon #11, a variation on the Dean’s cloning suggestion - go reproduce yourself (so to speak).
The Society to Clean Up Morons (S.C.U.M) like Joe Deters
17 Jul 2008 at 06:32 pm | #
second 83, are you a whiney Republican or a whiney Democrat? You all sound so much alike.
Why don’t you get off of your butt and write it yourself? We didn’t see William Ayers or talk to anyone from the Obama campaign. And what is our agenda anyway?
I don’t think you’ll find anyone that has been more critical of Obama’s policies than me and I don’t like the people he’s now surrounding himself with or his lurch to the right.
The racist Whistle-blowing rag isn’t satire (this is satire), it is offensive crap and anybody that thinks it’s funny should really be ashamed of themselves in my opinion. If you think McCain’s local spokesmen’s connection to the racist rag isn’t relevant to McCain’s visit with the NAACP, then you might just have some racist tendencies too.
The biggest problem facing us in this election is the political bigotry from the corporate media and the corporate parties, a lack of choice and real democracy, a corrupt campaign finance system that nullifies honest elections and private partisan corporations secretly counting our votes.
The biggest problem facing our country is the bipartisan support for the Military Industrial Congressional Complex that is responsible for the murder of millions of people all around the world and the denial of our people’s needs so that the few can make a killing off of the many.
17 Jul 2008 at 08:15 pm | #
Dirty Deeds Deters - I forgot exactly how bad he really is.
17 Jul 2008 at 08:26 pm | #
Whoof! I think this is one of Dean’s best works. Who the heck are these “goons’ I think taxpayers deserve an answer. Really. Were they paid for this time on the square? What are their names, titles, and qualifications? Since when does Deters get body guards and at what cost?
18 Jul 2008 at 09:19 am | #
MEP - yeah he said his middle name, but the they say Willaim Jefferson Clinton. or George W.Bush. At the same time, they say John Wayne Gacy.
and all the other serial killers they say their middle name. If thats his name why not? if he doesnt like it, he can change it.
I am now a decided voter. I am voting for Nader. dont know his middle name. I guess I dont know John MCains middle name either. means Nader is not a serial killer, so , good enough for me… plus everything he has actuallly spelled out makes sense.
18 Jul 2008 at 11:34 am | #
Good luck voting for Nader “R” as he will not make the ballot in any state this year. He is not backed by any party, he has little support and no money, as Republicans are not paying for his campaign this time around.
18 Jul 2008 at 11:46 am | #
Seconds83,
Is Schifrin a well respected member of the faculty at a renowned university? Has he worked on social justice and education reform in his career? Fact is, Ayers didn’t actually kill anyone. He was associated with people that might have tried to kill people, but didn’t.
The Weathermen were wrong in their actions. Of course, i can say that now, comfortably from 2008. I wasn’t there in 1968, i don’t know what was going on. I have heard from a number of people that were that it was a bad time. Ayers has in fact expressed regret. He has said that his comments about “not doing enough” were in fact about ending the vietnam war, not planting more bombs to blow up statues. The Days of Rage were in response to the trial of people blamed for the Police riot that ensued at the Democratic National Convention in 1968.
I don’t condone their actions. I just try to understand them for what they were.
18 Jul 2008 at 12:12 pm | #
Jill Hazelbaker, Communications Director
McCain for President 2008
Dear Ms. Hazelbaker,
Below my signature, there’s an unsigned e-mail I received from your office in response to my message yesterday, however, since then I have not heard from anyone else.
Today’s Beacon published a story which features a video interview with Joe Deters regarding his relationship with Jim Schifrin, who writes and publishes “The Whistleblower,” a notorious racist newsletter.
I’m reporting a follow-up in our Monday edition and I’d like to obtain a statement from Sen. McCain.
According to Schifrin, the day before Sen. McCain spoke to the NAACP convention, Mr. Deters had lunch with Schifrin at a local restaurant and the two of them were making racist jokes about Sen. Barack Obama.
In the video interview we conducted with Mr. Deters at yesterday’s McCain for President rally on Cincinnati’s Fountain Square, Mr. Deters said his relationship with Schifrin was his “personal life” and he refused to denounce Schifrin’s racist writings. Per our story today, these include calling Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory a “gay darkie” and calling Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Rosa Blackwell “mammy” and “Mrs. Buckwheat.”
I presume “Buckwheat” is how Schifrin refers to Mrs. Blackwell’s husband, Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State, whose views on Sen. McCain’s campaign was the subject of this article today by Andrew Welsh-Huggins of the Associated Press: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/NEWS09/807170406/-1/NEWS
1) What is Sen. McCain’s position regarding the writings from “The Whistleblower” which I’ve described above?
FYI, many more similar examples are available on request or via this website: http://www.thecincinnatusstandard.com/Whistleblower_2008.html Unfortunately, there’s no internal search engine on the site, but you may generate examples Googling using “thecincinnatusstandard.com” and along with a variety of common racial and sexual slurs.
2) What is Sen. McCain’s position regarding Mr. Deters’s relationship with Schifrin?
If I don’t hear from your office by late Friday tomorrow, I’ll assume Sen. McCain has chosen not to take a position on these matters.
Thanks and I hope to hear back from you or a member of your staff.
Sincerely,
[The Dean of Cincinnati]
The Cincinnati Beacon
ph: (214) 481-6464
cc: Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Associated Press
18 Jul 2008 at 12:38 pm | #
Well, at least Nader doesn’t have Goons. I have a thing against Goons
quite frankly I think the other 2 are full of it. At least one of them is honest and will tell you he is behind being full of it. I think when Obama get near the Holly Land, when he steps off the plane, I heared the were going to play the opening theme for ” Jesus Christ Super Star. ”
Send it to Sean and Alan. Alan will go coo coo for that.
PS Didnt the lady you wrote, spokeswoman for McCain , get in trouble yesterday?
She may not work there any more.
18 Jul 2008 at 12:52 pm | #
I sent it to Fox
18 Jul 2008 at 01:12 pm | #
HEY PEOPLE! CHECK OUT HERE’S WHAT’S ON “THE WHISTLEBLOWER” TODAY: http://www.thecincinnatusstandard.com/
Temporarily Down. We apologize for the inconvenience. The Whistleblower archives will return soon.
THE LAST POSTED ARTICLE WAS JULY 16. LOOKS LIKE JIMBO GOT CALLED ON THE CARPET BY DETERS OR THE PARTY.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEACON!!!!
18 Jul 2008 at 01:13 pm | #
Nader hater—
Nader will be on the ballot in many states when all is said an done—don’t be so silly! We only need 5,000 signatures in Ohio to get him on the ballot—so I’m pretty certain ballot access shouldn’t be a problem here in our fine state.
I can’t really understand why you are so quick to judge. My guess is that you really done’t know much about the man, or you only know (and believe) what you have heard via corporate media sources.
I like to think that I am a pretty critical person. I’ve looked pretty hard and I can’t really find much to criticize regarding Nader, his platform, or his policies.
If you are interested in actually educating yourself about Mr. Nader and what he stands for (rather than participating in the corruption by continuing to support an alredy “spoiled” 2 party system) might I suggest the book “Civic Arousal”?
It is very short(less than 50 pages), reads easily, and is very inspiring.
Granted, once you have completed the reading, you might actually have to use your brain, think critically, and possibly even make your own decisions regarding the new information you have just learned since there will be no one there to tell you what to do, think, or believe once you have finished the book—but I guarentee, even if your position on Nader hasn’t changed by the end, you’ll take with you many valuable lessons.
(Yes, I know, this wasn’t the topic—I couldn’t help myself, sorry)
18 Jul 2008 at 01:15 pm | #
R, don’t listen to nader haters because they are very uninformed. Nader is already on the ballot in many states accross the country, including states like Illinois and Arizona where he was knocked off of the ballot by the undemocratic Corporate Democrats in 2004. (Maybe they should be more concerned with making sure people’s votes are counted (Florida 2000 & Ohio 2004)rather than taking away choices from voters. Why do corporate Democrats hate Democracy?)
Nader just got almost half a million dollars in matching funds with more on the way and he’s raising money faster and faster on his website as Obama’s supporters become increasingly disgusted with his shredding of our constitution (reauthorization of Patriot Act) and his sprint to the right (FISA).
Nader has teams of volunteers collecting signatures to put him on the ballot in 45 states, including Ohio. We’ll keep an eye on the polictical bigots that hate competition and do all that they can to deter democracy so they can silence people and manufacture consent for endless bipartisan wars. Nader doesn’t get much money from Republicans because they know he’s not for sale, but Kerry and Obama sure take tons of Republican cash. Obama’s getting more Republican money than McCain, that’s why he flip flopped on public funding. Keep whining nader hater!
18 Jul 2008 at 01:32 pm | #
Dean, I wouldn’t hold your breath for the McCain team to do the right thing.
I saw this little news blurb today.
A rape joke?
It’s McCain being McCain?
Are you kidding me?
I guess it was just Willie, being Willie, Schifrin being Schifrin and Deter’s being Deter’s. And this is the party that constantly pretends they’re for family and community values. McCain jokes about killing Iranians too. How anybody could support this guy is beyond me.
18 Jul 2008 at 01:40 pm | #
That’s what I call a cut and run! I don’t think Schifrin can find a rock to slither under. We’re going to turn up the heat on these disgusting bigots.
It’s a new day in Cincinnati!
18 Jul 2008 at 02:25 pm | #
Chickenhawk Down! Chickenhawk Down! Chickenhawkdown!
MAYDAY…MAYDAY…
18 Jul 2008 at 03:43 pm | #
Call me niave, but I didn’t believe that anyone in their right mind would seriously publish that kind of crap….
*sighs*
Just when I got around to checking The Whistleblower for myself, there’s nothing to be found…
Good Work guys!!!
18 Jul 2008 at 04:06 pm | #
I disagree with the tactic that McCain should be censoring Deters. Whether its that or Obama having to censor Wright. There are too many issues in this election that aren’t being addressed b/c of the bs of who is in who’s camp.
Deter’s is a local elected official. The spotlight should stay on him and not focus on McCain. What are his thoughts, if he thinks it is satire, then why? But of course he won’t answer.
Then again Nader has his own foot to remove from his mouth:
“There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,” Nader said. “Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.”
“He wants to show that he is not a threatening . . . another politically threatening African-American politician,” Nader said. “He wants to appeal to white guilt. You appeal to white guilt not by coming on as black is beautiful, black is powerful. Basically he’s coming on as someone who is not going to threaten the white power structure, whether it’s corporate or whether it’s simply oligarchic. And they love it. Whites just eat it up.”
18 Jul 2008 at 04:26 pm | #
perhaps she could point me to your anti-obama articles. I seem to have missed them.
Also I never said you were blindly loyal to any party- I say you are blindly loyal to an agenda. An agenda which seems to be built on picking a target and trying to ruin them by whatever means are necessary.
I will say that if you want to talk about associations Obama’s directly are worse than a 4 times removed regional chair that McCain probably couldn’t pick out of a lineup.
Schiffrin even tells you it is satire and you miss it. Believe it or not there is more than one version of satire in the world. Comedy central doesn’t own the rights to it. Though I realize that is where you get most of your news it isn’t the end all to the world.
And on the truth side of things Deters isn’t even McCain’s local spokesman as you say above. But never let the fact stop you. It is that sloppiness that the Beacon is well known for
In addition I was told earlier that this had nothing to do with McCain that it dealt with deters. Now it appears to be about McCain. Is this not Cincy-centric anymore?
18 Jul 2008 at 04:53 pm | #
Bearman, nobody said anything about censoring people. There’s a difference between censuring and censoring. McCain already sought the endorsement of a bigot named John Hagee. It does matter who candidates surround themselves with, especially the people that they pick to represent their campaign.
If John McCain picked a grandwizard from the KKK you don’t think that should be relevant to his campaign? Of course it is, especially when the candidate already has a terrible record on civil rights issues and he comes to town to speak to the NAACP.
Racist speech is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated or condoned by any public servants. The spotlight was put on Deter’s and he happens to be the local spokesmen for John McCain who was speaking here in town at that moment. It shows McCain has poor judgement and McCain has said pretty offensive stuff as well, this is just par for the course.
Ralph Nader didn’t put his foot in his mouth. He spoke the truth about Obama and Jesse Jackson and Mumia Abul Jamal both seem to agree with him about Obama. Obama came and spoke to the NAACP and focused his speech on blaming black fathers for most of the problems facing black America while failing to discuss the severe institutional racism and classim facing people.
Obama failed to talk about how the costly and failed War on Drugs has torn families apart and caused African Americans and hispanics to be disproportionately locked up and given criminal records that prevent them from getting good jobs and higher educational opportunities. (We see the same thing here locally.)
The costly war on drugs is why we have 2.2 million people in jail, more than any other nation on the planet, including China. Obama didn’t mention that we have a lot of racist judges and prosecuters that say tough on crime which is just a smoke screen for war on the poor. He neglegted to metion the US has the most adult and child poverty in the industrialized world. He didn’t say anything about our third world infant mortality rate.
Obama failed to talk about how NAFTA and the so called free trade agreements have sent good jobs overseas and lowered wages, worker protections and environmental standards. Obama failed to talk about repealing the anti-labor Taft-Hartley Act.
Obama failed to talk about how the for profit health care system that says pay or die makes Americans pay more to get far less for our health care dollars than every other industrialized nation on the planet. He failed to talk about how the bipartisan war costs us 3 trillion dollars and makes our country less safe. He failed to talk about how the bloated and wasteful Pentagon budget needs to be reduced because it takes away from the needs of our people.
Why? Because he’s a corporate candidate from A to Z and he supports all of those status quo policies. There’s no difference between Obama and the other Democratic nominees of the past other than he likes to focus on how black fathers need to take responsibility for their kids.
Obama’s getting more Republican money than McCain because he’s supporting the kinds of policies that Republicans and the white power structure love. Obama’s saying what they want to hear on FISA, public financing, Isreal/Palestine and pretty much everything else including the black family. The only real change Obama will bring is a fresh face and articulate voice to the same old bipartisan corporate policies.
18 Jul 2008 at 05:20 pm | #
Bearman: I disagree with the tactic that McCain should be censoring Deters.
Poorly expressed. Books, paintings, videos, etc. can be censored, not people. What you probably intended to convey was, “I disagree with the tactic that McCain should be distancing himself from Deters.” If that’s your intended meaning, you’re entitled to it of course, but it’s not worth much.
Deters played the fool from move one. He could have distanced himself from Schifrin when the Dean first gave him the chance back in May. If nothing else, he should have told Schifrin to keep his name out of The WB. But smug self-satisfied mug that he is, Deters blew off the inquiry from what he probably perceived to be a puny local blogger. He tried to do the same thing at Fountain Square this week, but the dynamics were different; he was on already board the Straight Talk Express and the video camera amplified his arrogance. Now McCain’s campaign has to wear Deters’s stupidity, but it’s a lose-lose for all. If they jettison Deters, that’s news; if they keep him, his WB BFF relationship may continue to haunt them.
Heck, I’m happy either way. I love it when local yahoos get inspected by people from elsewhere who haven’t been drinking the Cincinnati Kool Aid. They look at creeps like Schifrin and party hacks like Deters and say, “WTF is wrong with a town where slobs like this get to roam free? Why is local media letting them get away with this?” (On the positive side, if you get asked that question by someone from out of town, show them any stories by Jack Atherton and say, “This is usually as good as it gets.” The outsider may buy you a drink out of pity.)
I suggest tagging other clods who enable the Rotund Racist. Like Deters, they may like to sit with him at lunch and make naughty jokes about Obama, but I doubt anyone of them want to publicly defend a bigot of such enormous proportions, both figuratively and literally.
18 Jul 2008 at 05:43 pm | #
You can say whetever you want and we’ll say whatever we want. What makes you say Deter’s is 4 times removed and how would you know? How do you know how well Deter’s knows McCain? Deter’s picked Willie Cunnignham to fire up the crowed at a McCain event. McCain acted as if he was outraged by this and then he puts the same genius in charge of his campaign here locally.
Maybe in Schifrin’s warped and wobbley world view he thinks it’s satire. I don’t think racist jokes fit this definition of satire, they are just racist filth meant to dehumanize large segments of the population so small and miserable people can try to pretend they are somehow superior.
You say;
quote]Comedy central doesn’t own the rights to it. Though I realize that is where you get most of your news it isn’t the end all to the world.
Did you know that studies show people that watch fake news on Comedy Central are better informed than people that watch Fox news? (I didn’t think so, they don’t do much real reporting on Fox.)
This is mostly about Schifrin and Deter’s, but when McCain’s campaign announced last week that Deter’s was placed as McCain’s regional chair, it became about McCain as well.
(Funny, the fact is I didn’t read anything about Deter’s being a “four times removed regional chair” anywhere, but I did hear he has lunch with someone that spews sexist and racist crap and he refuses to denounce any of it.)
It is a local story that includes McCain’s national campaign since the star of our show is his regional campaign chair. Keep watching your all spin zone faux news programs and try again another day my friend. The BS express already left town.
Hey Dean, where’s cincysuz when you need her?
18 Jul 2008 at 06:42 pm | #
It looks like Fatso has Cut & Run indeed. I doubt if there is a rock big enough for Schifrin to hide under, he of the corpulant, morbidly obese build. He can run, but he can’t hide from the Internet Archive. It’s all permanent folks.
18 Jul 2008 at 07:12 pm | #
YOU SHUT THEM DOWN!!!!!!! BBBBBWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Great work Dean, possibly your best work yet. I feel that you played a part in Heimich’s defeat in 2006, but you migh have even topped that now. I bet that the little wingnuts are hard at work scrubbing their sight right now, on direct orders from Deters & Alex Tryingtofoolyou. Wanna bet that Schifrin doesn’t mention Deters’ name in the Whistleblower for some time to come? And I bet that Deters doesn’t lunch with Fat Jimmy until the election is over.
You clearly got someone’s attention.
18 Jul 2008 at 07:47 pm | #
#1 SCUM - Actually S.C.U.M. is taken. The SCUM Manifesto (Society for Cutting up Men) was written and self-published by Valerie Solanas, the girl that shot
Andy Warhol, I think around 1970. It’s very collectable now and hilariously funny in a very sick way.
My name seems to come up for no apparent reason and then I get drawn in. I don’t know who the Whistleblower is. I can’t add any more worthless reading to my long, long, list so I won’t check him out. But if he is what you say then I support your effort to censure him. That he and Deters are friends makes sense. I don’t like racists, sexists and homophobes. That’s why I don’t like Tom Brinkman. Why not go after him? Oh, he’s exempt from those labels because he has, was it “convictions”? And Bearman’s right about Nader’s remarks though I think his remarks were ignorant and not racist. I’m not a Nader hater.
Now aren’t you sorry you put out the bait????? I would have stayed mute.
18 Jul 2008 at 08:16 pm | #
Cincysuz, the Dean has written about Brinkman and Brinkman is on his way out of office. Yeah, I think Brinkman is homophobic and I have said repeatedly I don’t support him, but that doesn’t stop you from pretending that ‘I’m a Republican that supports him’.
Seems64, doesn’t believe we’ve written critically about Obama and as you know, I have. You are a Nader hater and you’ve also pretended he’s a Republican even though you know he’s right on the issues.
What Nader said about Obama is true, he’s a corporate candidate that is telling the white power structure everything they need to hear in order to be comfortable enough to give him the green light (meaning their huge campaign contributions). I’m not sorry I mentioned you, just that you missed the point of my comment, that’s all.
18 Jul 2008 at 08:30 pm | #
Jim Meeker, I have to disagree with you there. I think the Whistleblower is more of a comically obese build rather than a morbidly obese build.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just the goofy glasses and Brinkman tie that makes the difference.
Schifrin’s like a waddling caricature of a fat, racist pig. He’s truly a sight better left unseen and unheard from. Do you think the man can actually run? Or can racist pigs fly?
Yes Dean, I think this is your best production thus far. Shall we take bets on how long you can keep a bad man and his disgusting site down?
18 Jul 2008 at 11:59 pm | #
I have a shocking undercover video of Jim Shifrin eating at one of the City’s best restaurants. You can view the video here.
19 Jul 2008 at 12:00 am | #
I’m not a Nader hater. I just don’t support him for president. And you sure can put a spin on what he said about Obama! Half African American? Nader’s too out of touch to understand his own insensitivity. That’s a given. Even his most ardent supporters admit he has a race gap. If he wanted to attack Obama, he could have done it via any number of issues on which they disagree and on which Nader is informed and well-spoken. Instead he followed his natural instincts and just like Fox Network went straight for the race jugular. Obama’s not black enough for Nader. Talk about arrogance. And Obama’s trying not to be like Jesse Jackson? Let’s hope so.
Before you start accusing me (and not the dudes) of hijacking the thread, even though you changed the subject, I’ll get back on track. Good reporting DEAN. Sounds like an unholy alliance. Maybe I’ll start irritating the Whistleblower.
19 Jul 2008 at 01:21 am | #
.
GREAT WORK, BEACON !
It is about time, ‘deters the cheater’ is placed under the ‘spotlight’ !
.
19 Jul 2008 at 03:20 am | #
GREAT WORK BEACON!!!! Keep getting this info out NATIONWIDE!!!
19 Jul 2008 at 08:13 am | #
Justin and Apron…you were both right. I meant to write “censuring”...fat fingers.
19 Jul 2008 at 09:18 am | #
Yo B-Man - I sense artistic inspiration a-plenty herein. So stop typing already and start drawing (smile).
19 Jul 2008 at 02:49 pm | #
Of course Obama doesn’t really go into any details about how CEO’s and politicians need to be responsible. He doesn’t address the rampant corporate crime, fraud and abuse that’s been documented even by the corporate media. Obama’s using Bill Cosby and the rights line about “personal responsibility” as if to say that people are poor because they aren’t responsible, don’t work hard and make bad decisions. This is a lie about millions of hard working Americans that are working longer hours and making less because Washington DC is corporate occupied territory and both parties are owned by corporations.
Obama’s pandeering to the right (the Raygun Democrats/Republicans) and supporting their policies. The only difference between Obama and John Kerry is the color of their skin, their policies are the same. Obama’s too corporate for Nader, but you like corporate politicians now.
19 Jul 2008 at 06:06 pm | #
Justin and others, all due respect, but this story has nothing to do with Ralph Nader. Not trying to stifle anyone’s passion, just prefer not to drift so far off topic. Plenty of room on the Beacon for other articles about Nader.
19 Jul 2008 at 06:28 pm | #
Well anon, I didn’t bring him up, Bearman, Nader hater and cincysuz did. They put out misinformation and I corrected them. Anyway, I agree that the topic is really about the McCain campaign’s Regional Chairman’s ties to racist rantings by Jumbo and we shouldn’t digress.
19 Jul 2008 at 06:41 pm | #
Anon - Justin is obsessed with Nader and takes every opportunity to give him a plug. No matter the topic, he always somehow steers it to Nader and ultimately slams all democrats. This thread started as an expose of an unhealthy, maybe unethical relationship between upper echelon local Republicans. Justin quickly changed the focus. He can’t take it for long. I’ve heard he is on Nader’s payroll but I don’t know that for a fact. He accuses others of following blindly but isn’t himself able to critically examine his deity—Ralph Nader.
19 Jul 2008 at 07:10 pm | #
I quoted Nader…so please tell me what misinformation I put out?
20 Jul 2008 at 07:17 am | #
Excuse me I brought him up. A. He has no goons, and i actually read his platform a few months back, when it was osted or linked here. I’m into the “ths makes alot of sense and could help people frame of mind. I agreed that every postion that he had was sound and reasonable. I have already seen Jesus Christ Superstar, and when John McCain tells me that he is full of S, I believe he is telling the truth. to me, that is a redeming quaility that he has. Now if he only had part B,c,d,f,g,h,i,.....
Naders platform makes sense to me, as a business person, as an advocate of those who need healthcare, the enviroment, and a sound fiscal policy. so Blame me, dont blame Justin of the Dean. Correct me if i am wrong, but he has answers, and they are in writing with some point and order. Puts him way ahead of the game in my mind. It’s just like the Cincy crap, none of it makes sense. Obama and McCain dont make sense.. Again, McCain at least he is honest enough that he can say he doesn’t make sense. Read the Nader stuff. It’s a plan, and not a pipe dream, gee we will, might, shoulda, coulda. Its a plan. It make sense. Remember when people did stuff because it made sense? I think we need that again.
WTG on the slob biggot. Guys like Deters, to me, are the most dangerous people on this planet. so are slob biggots, and politicians that will say anything just to get in the door. I am responsible for my own informed choice. Excellent story and civil action !!
20 Jul 2008 at 11:23 am | #
It looks like the Whistleblower archives are back up. Man, now I feel like an idiot for what I said yesterday at #36. That’s what happens when you don’t have a job, you look for excitement in the smallest of developments. Being unemployed sucks, but at least I can live off my wife who has plenty to go around!
20 Jul 2008 at 12:51 pm | #
Man, now I feel like an idiot for what I said yesterday
CM, you’re not the idiot. Deters is.
Stay tuned. This pie wagon may just be starting to roll.
20 Jul 2008 at 01:41 pm | #
Jeff Capell #53: Let me make this clear enough that even a simpleton like yourself can understand: I am not Greg Matusak. God only knows where you ever came up with your preposterous conclusion, but you need to go back to detective school Jeffy. I had never even heard of Greg Matusak until you started posting his name. Keep guessing Jeffy, but I am closer than you think.
Love,
CincyCapell
20 Jul 2008 at 02:04 pm | #
anon, as you can see cincysuz can’t comprehend that which is right in front of her face.
In comment #17 R brought up Nader and said he would like to vote for him. Comment #18 was Nader hater giving his clueless opinion that said Nader wouldn’t be on any ballots. Then # 24 responded about Nader as well and I responded to set the record straight. Then I brought back the thread to the topic.
Then in comment #30 Bearman quoted Nader and said he put his foot in his mouth. I disagreed and gave the details of how Obama was pandering to the white power structure through his words and policies. Then I went back to the thread. Comment #37 cincysuz implies I support Brinkman and continues to talk about Nader.
In fact every comment cincysuz made mentions Nader and she accuses me of being obsessed.
Bearman you said he put his foot in his mouth. He was asked what the difference between Obama and other Democrats was. I think the color of his skin is the only difference there is.
anon, I can tell people to focus on the topic, but as you can see they don’t listen. Cincysuz refuses to do so and says she’s treated unfairly.
20 Jul 2008 at 02:16 pm | #
The topic was racist Republicans and I added Brinkman as another good contender. I also commented on someone else’s mention of Nader’s racist remarks and I think that’s still generally on topic because, again, the topic is loosely, racist politicians. You taking advantage of the opportunity to bring out your six guns and start shooting at Obama, who is not the topic, is actually off-topic. You and Nader advising Obama on how he should act as a back man is white arrogance without a doubt. But again, you can’t comprehend what is right in front of your face.
20 Jul 2008 at 03:04 pm | #
cincysuz still can’t make a comment that doesn’t mention Nader. cinysuz has a habit of arguing with herself.
#37
The old cincysuz says it’s not racist.
#56
The new cincysuz stance is that it is racist. It must be lonely in the peanut gallery. cincysuz flip flops almost as much as Obama does. (FISA, Public Funding, Patriot Act, NAFTA, Israel/Palestine, WAR)
We don’t advise Obama how to act as a black man. We just point out that he’s a corporate candidate just like Kerry and Gore were. The Democrats need to stop running to the right and stop trying to be Republican-lite. It’s been a failed strategy from Mondale to Kerry. It makes them lose to the worst of the Republicans because they become the same thing, Clinton was only saved by Perot.
20 Jul 2008 at 03:30 pm | #
Justin: We just point out that (Sen. Obama’s) a corporate candidate just like Kerry and Gore were.
Justin, please clarify. I’m aware you’re a representative of Ralph Nader’s current political campaign. Is that “we” above referring to the Nader campaign’s official position, the Beacon’s editorial position, both or neither?
20 Jul 2008 at 04:11 pm | #
anon, with all do respect, you were the one that wanted us to stay on topic. I am not a spokesperson for the Nader campaign and I do not speak for the Dean or MEP. Cincysuz refered to me and (of course) Nader advising Obama on how to act as a black man. I said we (as in Nader and myself) don’t advise him about how to act as a black man. We point out that he’s a corporate candidate that is pandering to the white power structure and dialing for the same Republican dollars as McCain.
And now back to the topic of this article. The Whistleblower is back and now the question is will Cincinnati and its corporate media outlets shame those that feed Schifrin’s racist drivel or will everybody pretend that there’s nothing wrong with our public servants socializing with racist and sexist pigs.
20 Jul 2008 at 04:20 pm | #
Justin,
a. Nader not putting his foot in his mouth is your opinion and does not indicate that I was providing misinformation. Others have a different view. (see here and here.)
b. The polls show a large majority of African Americans already support Obama, and therefore knows that he has to win over undecided moderate white voters to win. Something wrong with that? Sounds strategic to me. I am full agreement with you on the problems that third party candidates have in getting on ballot and being taken seriously. IMO, Nader has the advantage of not thinking he is a serious contender for president so he can with as much force as possible publically announce all the anti establishment platforms he supports. That gives him radical cred, but doesn’t win him a majority of votes. (however, as always I respect his right to run no matter if any party thinks he is a spoiler or not)
c. Isn’t it interesting that Nader wants Obama to focus more on and speak directly to other African Americans yet “During his 1996 campaign for the presidency, he (Nader) failed to take a stand against Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in the state of California. Nader defended himself by saying, “I’ve come to believe that in a political campaign, if you don’t focus on basic, fundamental, democracy issues and corporate power, the media will scatter you in terms of other issues.” See here. So taking Naders advice, shouldn’t Obama be focusing on issues that affect all Americans?
d. It’s not his race (as Nader says and you seem to agree) that separates him from the other democratic candidates, it’s his charisma. If Kerry had Obama’s charisma he would easily have beaten GW. Unfortunately for Kerry he had little to none.
My point in initially quoting Nader was to say that none of the candidates are free from controversy. I just wish we could hear more about specific issues than this periphery stuff so we can make an informed decision in November.
20 Jul 2008 at 05:19 pm | #
Bearman, yes, it is my opinion that Nader didn’t put his foot in his mouth. I was really refering to Nader hater’s comment that said Nader wouldn’t be on any ballots when he is already on some and the list is growing fast.
As I said previously the Democratic Party’s strategy of running to the right is one that continues to fail. You saw it with Mondale all the way to Kerry with the exception of Clinton who was only saved by Perot’s strong independent campaign. You don’t see the Republican Party moving to the left because it doesn’t win you votes. It makes you look like you’re a typical politiican that has no character or principles. McCain has moved to the right since 2000, not the left.
If the Democrats would take on some of Nader’s progressive issues they would do better and so would our country, but they are too beholden to their corproate paymasters. Nader is a serious candidate because he’s talking about serious issues. In the plutocracy that we jokingly call a democracy only those with serious cash are considered serious candidates.
(Nader didn’t really run for President in 1996 according to the FEC. Nader was promoting a None of the Above Campaign as an electoral reform. People have called on him to run for president since the 60s and he said if you want me to run write in none of the above.)
Nader is talking about issues that effect all Americans like ending the military and corporate occupation, reducing the bloated Pentagon budget, single payer (not for profit) health care, a living wage, ending the failed drug war and prison industrial complex, saying NO to Nukes and Yes to solar, an aggressive crackdown on corporate crime, fraud and abuse. These are just some of the many issues that Obama has taken off of the table.
The problem isn’t that the Democrats haven’t had a candidate with charisma (you do have to go all the way back to Clinton for that), it’s that they have taken on the Republican agenda or what the Clinton-Gore administration called “triangulation”. We don’t need a better salesmen for the same old policies, we need new policies. The approval rating for the Democratic led congress is lower than Bush’s. That’s quite an accomplishment.
I did notice that you didn’t say Nader’s comment was racist as cincysuz tries to imply, but there’s a difference between saying something controversial (like Bush is a war criminal that was never legitimately elected) and putting one’s foot in their mouths. Nader’s always focused on the issues, it’s just the corporate media won’t cover what he says unless they can spin it into a race thing. Go to Nader’s website if you want to see serious talk about serious issues. If you’re happy with empty rhetoric about vague change stay at Obama’s site.
20 Jul 2008 at 05:45 pm | #
If you’re happy with empty rhetoric about vague change stay at Obama’s site.
Like the “empty rhetoric about vague change” in today’s report about Sen. Obama establishing a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq with endorsement from the Iraqi prime minister.
20 Jul 2008 at 06:05 pm | #
Justin - did you got to Republican strategy bootcamp? Your accusations of flip-flopping sound right out of Karl Rove’s playbook. Throw enough dung against the wall and eventually some of it has to stick. Am I surprised? Of course not. But get something a little more original dude. Last year’s neo-con sloppy seconds aren’t working. Your man McCain is currently attempting to use the same strategy against Nader’s nemesis, Obama. Naturally, people won’t fall for it again.
20 Jul 2008 at 06:45 pm | #
The suggestion that accepting money from corporations is inherently corrupting is fundamentally flawed. Justin, you yourself prove the point.
Look, you made a lot of money from large corporations, your recording company and other corporations that sponsored your group’s tours and hired you for endorsements. Presumably you’re still receiving royalties and other payments.
Did that corrupt you? Not that I’ve noticed. On the contrary, you’re more politically radical than ever. No doubt you use your money to support causes in which you believe. Sounds like a pretty good system to me.
We all agree that the campaign system is corrupt and too often filters out good people from getting through. That’s not news and Barack Obama doesn’t walk on water. But Nader’s all wrong about what’s happening with the Obama campaign and as a young activist with a lot to learn, you’re missing this historic political opportunity by choosing to allign yourself with someone who has become an irrelevant crank.
You may now go resume pontificating.
20 Jul 2008 at 07:03 pm | #
anon, don’t be silly. Obama was critical of the Patriot Act before he voted to reauthorize it. Obama was against giving the telecom companies immunity before he voted for it. Obama said he was against the war before he voted to fund it. Obama even endorsed Al Gore’s hawkish Neocon running mate over Ned Lamont.
And don’t forget when Obama talks about withdrarwaling the troops he’s not talking about withdrawaling the private contractors. You know the one’s like Halliburton and Blackwater, the worlds most powerful mercanary army. Obama is a hawk and he reversed his position on Israel/Palestine and a lot of other issues.
20 Jul 2008 at 07:35 pm | #
anon, I have not advocated for socialism or abolishing corporations as many of my anonymous critics try to pretend. I simply support the idea that fictitious entities AKA the modern corporation is not a person and has fraudulently been given legal “personhood” which should be repealed.
Corporations shouldn’t play any role in government or in elections where the people are supposed to elect public servants. Corporations should not write their own rules and have a revolving door where their CEO’s (VP’s of Halliburton) become the one’s that deregulate (or regulate in favor of the corporate interest over the public interest).
Corporations shouldn’t get corporate welfare and they shouldn’t get tax shelters. (In a real free market or any just world they shouldn’t get to dump their waste in our air and water.) Oh, and despite Obama’s vote, corporations shouldn’t be able to spy on us and neither should the president. These aren’t really radical ideas and I’m no more radical now than I’ve ever been.
Some of us work to change this corrupt campaign finance system while others call those that push for real election reforms “spoilers”. Well my friend, you can’t spoil a system that is already rotten to the core.
And you say I’m the one pontificating?
The corporate parties have spoiled our country, our economy and our environment and you are complicit when you vote in support of them rather than challenging this. Why would someone opposed to the war support a pro-war candidate in 2004? You did vote for a pro-war candidate didn’t you?
That Democratic Congress has an approval rating that’s in the single digits because they fail to be an opposition party and their rhetoric on the campaign trail is as empty as Obama’s. I think you’re inspiring me to write an article on Obama.
20 Jul 2008 at 07:39 pm | #
My word- leave town for a week to go on vacation and all hell breaks loose! Go get ‘em Jason!!!!
All I have to say is after a week in Florida- I am shocked to say….I wouldn’t be surprised to see Obama take Florida. I have NEVER seen so many bumperstickers, yard signs and people talking Democrat in that state in the 45+ years that I have been going there for summer and winter vacations. And it is young, middle age and old all talking Obama and people talking about how being a POW has had to make McCain a very ill person since they all know someone who was a POW and they are all mentally unbalanced. And people are talking about his temper. Now they like Cindy- but don’t talk about her drug rehab since they don’t know that much about it. But they don’t like him.
People say that Ohio is the state to rock the boat- I’d say Florida- just as Timmy Russert.
And can someone send Deters to go work with his cousin in his slimy law firm in Kentucky?
Gees Louise-I don’t care what anyone says but- The Whistleblower has been spreading enough hate about women-Jenny Dinkle (Come on-why should a woman have to take her chemotherapy son with her to a session on raping children-with male on male sex offenders when there should be a session about her abusing boys for him to go to- and in a smaller private office since he is immunosuppressed?- and all that ass at the Whistleblower can call her is a MILF- as her only son is dying?) And then forget about his race related comments-he hates women just as much- it is so obvious that after seeing a real picture of him- he ain’t gettin’ any at home or any place else! Who would even let him if he were paying for it???? UGLY Mother!
20 Jul 2008 at 11:28 pm | #
Actually cincysuz, not all of Obama’s supporters are blind followers. Many expressed outrage over Obama’s FISA flip flop. They even had a revolt on his own website. If more of his supporters would put pressure on him to take better positions instead of just allowing him to take them for granted it would make him a better candidate and make his chances of winning better.
Obama is taking Republican money and supporting Republican positions and when I criticise him for it you pretend I’m a Republican. Do you think that anybody really believes that silly goose?
21 Jul 2008 at 01:04 am | #
.
Looks like, with the ‘fishwRap’ new blog format, the Beacon is surpassing the rag is number of posts ?
Certainly, the Beacon is covering the stories that the right-wing rag doesn’t want in their message framework !
.
21 Jul 2008 at 08:38 am | #
Justin,
I saw McCain a long time ago, when all this first started( election) . he was on John Stewarts show, and was making a joke. The joke was that he would just have to go home and” beat the C out of his wife”. You could even see Jon Stewart wince. Man does have some anger.
21 Jul 2008 at 10:48 am | #
Totally OT….
Just go out to You Tube and search McCain’s temper- or Google it. He has a temper that is just a disaster zone. And anger-he is mad about everything. I don’t declare a party- but do we need a President who is angry all the time and call his wife a c*&t in public- and a whore with too much make-up on a TV show? My God! That is total disrespect.
And did anyone hear Cindy’s comments on the View the day she was on…“Well I really hope that people don’t expect me to give up my duties at my Foundation and at the company. The campaign has taken me away for too long and I just can’t afford to spend time in Washington all the time having dinner parties for people I don’t know.” Hello…isn’t that part of being part of the first family-putting your personal life on hold to handle the social life of foreign affairs for the country? My word that has only been done since our first president and she wants to change it now? Amazing.
21 Jul 2008 at 10:53 am | #
50 K contribution for 5.9 Billion in trades, well that’s a pretty good deal. so the legal markup is 5 %, so even if he discounted ( and I am sure he did… probably…. maybe,) that is whopping commission !!!!!!
could hire alot of Goons for sure.
As far as the restaurants, I wonder why they didn’t close down for “remodeling” like they did after the first Kool Jazz fest. Forget tip, they just walked out and didnt even pay the check ! no kidding. So they closed next year , and since they couldn’t quite understand the notion that you eat in a restaurant, you pay the bill, alas, all the restaurants were branded racist.
21 Jul 2008 at 12:40 pm | #
Anon Comment 64:
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by “irrelevant crank”.
How exactly is Nader irrelevant?
If he is so irrelevant, why do people label him a “spoiler”? Why do people refuse to sign the petition to get him on the ballot, citing the fact that they are afraid he will “steal votes” from their choice candidate (and this is a grevience of both McCain and Obama supporters alike)? If he is so irrelevant, why are people so irritated and afraid of him? Why was he banned from the debates in 2000 even when polls showed that most Americans would have preferred him to be included?
Third party candidates bring fresh ideas, more viewers** and new voters to the debates. How then, being a third party candidate, can Nader be seen as “irrelevant” in this regard?
**In 1996, when Perot was included in the debates, they were watched by an average of 90 million viewers—viewership increased with each successive debate. In 2000 the two-party Clinton / Dole debates averaged 41 million viewers. Viewership decreasing, each successive debate.**
J.J. in Comment 65 is right on the mark.
I was an Obama supporter before and during the primaries. However, since then I have seen Obama flip-flop on many issues that are very important. Standing with the Republicans and voting FISA through was the last straw for me. I don’t even think the word outrage captures how I feel about that particular issue. The fact that Obama stood with Feingold and Dodd on this issue while collecting campaign donations and while attempting to secure the Democratic nomination and then, once the nomination was secured, turned around and did exactly the opposite of what he said he was going to do, is a pretty good indication in my mind ,what his presidency would be like. Obama has a habit of doing this type of thing, a quick glance at his voting record coupled with a review of his press releases confirm this trend.
For this reason, I have a very hard time understanding how and why anyone in their right mind can seriously trust him at all, let alone trust that he has the ability to instigate and ignite the real changes that are needed in our country when he is so obviously afraid to challenge the status quo when given the opportunity. Actions speak louder than words— Obama can talk about change all he wants, but when it comes to acting, he’s already failed miserably.
In my mind, this makes Obama the “irrelevant crank”.
21 Jul 2008 at 12:44 pm | #
Justin, we’re so far off topic, i figure that we can just keep the bus going right off the cliff. Besides, i’ve already voiced my opinion on Schifrin and Deters.
We know that you are a compensated employee of the Nader Campaign. You will mention him in as good a light as possible, whenever possible.
Also, i’ve been to Ralph Nader’s website a few times and each time i go there looking for the answers that you promise. Yet, each time i click on one of the links to show Nader’s policy on this i get political crap that talks about how the status quo is not good enough. Nader does not talk about how he will put these policies in place, just that he will. That’s not good enough. I need to see how these programs he promises will actually work. Not just that they work in Canada, but how they will work here.
21 Jul 2008 at 01:39 pm | #
librariangrrl: In my mind, this makes Obama the “irrelevant crank”.
Whether you agree or disagree with Sen. Obama’s polities, it’s unclear how you could
label the Democratic candidate for President “irrelevant.” Next time you’re at the library, you may wish to consult a dictionary.
Re: Ralph Nader being a crank, I’d direct you to the recent documentary, “An Unreasonable Man,” in which his former close associates from his consumer advocacy days (before he went off the deep end) stated much the same conclusion about him.
21 Jul 2008 at 01:52 pm | #
NtotheC, I think it’s pretty clear how a single-payer health care system will work, it’s bascially like expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. Medicare is a single-payer system already operating in the US. You get rid of the greedy health insurance companies that make a killing by saying pay or die.
Here’s an excerpt:
There are already petitioning efforts by citizens across the nation to get a single-payer system in states like Ohio. Have you signed the SPAN Ohio petition yet? There is a lot of support for this issue, but Obama has taken more health industry payola than even McCain has.
One could say the same thing about Obama’s site having “political crap”, don’t you think? With Obama’s for profit plan there aren’t any working models in this country or in neighboring countries that you can look at to see an example of it working well. With Nader’s plan you don’t have to imagine how it could possibly work because there’s already working models to look at.
I’ve supported Nader for years, do you view Democrats and people working on the Obama campaign with such skepticism as well? I would hope so. Nader has been consistent while Obama has changed his policies with the political winds and he uses ambiguous (or deceptive) language.
21 Jul 2008 at 02:04 pm | #
Justin - How about moving this forward by contacting Ralph Nader and getting a statement from him about the McCain campaign’s SW Ohio rep’s relationship with Jim Schifrin? Seems like a good opportunity for Mr. Nader to speak out against racism and to use his stature to take on a powerful local Republican law enforcement official.
Does Mr. Nader think Mr. Deters relationship with Schifirn is his “personal life”?
Does Mr. Nader think Mr. Deters should admit or deny that he had lunch with Schifrin the day before Sen. McCain’s speech to the NAACP and that the two traded jokes about Sen. Obama?
Please advise if you plan to follow-up. If so, how about posting your letter to him on The Beacon?
21 Jul 2008 at 02:35 pm | #
Justin, i do view anyone on the payroll of any organization or political campaign with skepticism. After all, those people are being paid to do what they are doing.
One question i have for you (not Nader, since he can’t answer me directly and you don’t speak for him - no jibe there, just honesty) what happens to the health care industry if that happens? i’m not talking about the bloated salary ceos and people making tons of money. I’m talking about those people that work for the industry, which is one of the largest in our country. I’m not saying that this is a reason to keep things as is. I’m a supporter of national health care, i just think this is an issue and Nader does not address questions like this. Obama doesn’t either, but no one is here claiming that he’s the savior (little “s”).
Obama’s website certainly has lots of political crap. But you are claiming that Nader cuts through all of that and tackles the hard political issues. I contend that he doesn’t. Not just on health care, but on energy, middle east politics, et al.
Ask hard questions and Nader doesn’t come up with the answers. he comes up with partial solutions that would have very difficult unintended consequences or prohibitive costs.
21 Jul 2008 at 02:45 pm | #
anon, Whether you agree or disagree with Ralph Nader you can’t say he’s a “spoiler” that is going to take away votes, possibly cost Obama needed votes and he’s “irrelevant” at the same time. Sorry status quo Corporate Democrat, you can’t have it both ways. Take your own advice and look up the word as well.
In this trailer you can see Eric Alterman going off on Nader. Alterman blames Nader for the war and the things that his beloved Democrats actually supported. I mean, somebody should tell Alterman about the stolen election and how Leiberman, Kerry and Clinton voted for the war. You do know it was a stolen election don’t you anon?
You say that Nader (who was ranked as one of the 100 most influential men of the past century by Time and Life magazines) went “off the deep end” because he entered the electoral arena? In this clip Ralph explains why he reluctantly ran from president because no other real progressive would. He was saying the things that Al Bore should’ve been saying but was too beholden to the corporations to say, which is why Nader was selling out arena’s and Gore couldn’t.
Your corporate party thinks that they’re entitled to our votes and they operate fraudulent presidential debates. They were so scared of Nader they had to exclude him from the debates, in fact they were so scared they even had to keep him away from a building where it was being televised though he had a ticket and was invited by a news organization to do an interview. Watch how unAmerican this is.
I encourage everyone to watch this documentary because it’s not just a puff peice, it has the worst of his critics. Ralph started over 100 public interest groups. Many of his former employees went on to become a part of the status quo and he’s been critical of them and they’ve been critical of him. I ran into one of his former Nader Raiders and she was thrilled to sign my petition.
Nader’s has a better record of serving the public interest than Obama, he has a better platform and he’s a far superior candidate. You can vote the lesser evil if you like and you may now go resume pontificating.
21 Jul 2008 at 02:48 pm | #
Concerned Constituent:
Deters is not a campaign chair for Nader. Stop trying to take this off topic. Deters now has an apparent established relationship with a disgusting race-baiter. This has gotten McCain in trouble in the past with the Cunningham incident.
What will McCain do? Should he keep Deters on the campaign?
21 Jul 2008 at 02:52 pm | #
Concerned Constituent, why don’t you do it? And send one to the Obama campaign while you’re at it. Then send us the results of your inquiries. Some of you need to learn you can do these things yourself without the Dean and I having to do all the work for you.
21 Jul 2008 at 03:10 pm | #
NtotheC, I actually heard Nader give a speech on health care where he was scheduled to speak for 45 muinutes, but he spoke for probably an hour and a half. He then took questions until they finally had to end the program because the venue needed to close. I wish that it had been filmed because he got very specific on these issues.
I’m not a spokesperson for the campaign and won’t try to be. I will say that getting rid of the for profit parts of our health care system won’t mean that there won’t be any jobs. There are people working in Canada’s system and in the Medicare system. The important thing is that we get rid iof the fraud and waste.
I think we can all agree that we should have the most efficient system possible and this is the most efficient system any candidate is talking about. I wouldn’t say your question isn’t legitimate, I think it is and I wish I could give you a better answer.
I don’t think it’s fair for you to say that Nader doesn’t answer these questions, he does and I’ve heard him spend over an hour taking questions like yours on this issue. If the corporate media would cover Nader and other Independent candidates and he was included in the presidential debates this would be a part of the national discussion.
Nader is putting the issue on the table because it should be a part of the national discussion. It’s the corporate media and the corporate parties that don’t want single-payer discussed and so they shut him out. People want to hear real solutions and they say no.
21 Jul 2008 at 03:39 pm | #
NtotheC, I believe that Nader is expanding the debate on all of these important issues and so does John Nichols of the Nation. We should have a real debate and discussion about these issues but the Corporate Democrats protectively immitate the position of the Republicans which means there will be no real debate without an Independent candidate. They take away any substanitive debate and replace it with asking people who makes you “feel” more secure or who you would like to have a beer with.
Nader is of Lebanese decent and having him participate in this discussion would make the discussion not only worth watching, but would show the world that not all Americans support the kind of warmongering rhetoric that Obama spewed while speaking to the Israeli lobby (AIPAC).
21 Jul 2008 at 04:44 pm | #
Anon—
Since Obama continues to to change his mind on the issues (going from one extreme to the other, at a flip of a coin) the words that come out of his mouth are irrelevant. They mean nothing, have no relevance, are inaplicable, are unimportant, have no weight, etc.
Can you tell me what Obama really stands for? His campaign is brilliant. It is inspiring and it makes me teary eyed. But ya know what, his campaign says one thing and his voting record says another. Actually—Obama says one thing then Obama says another—you don’t even need to look at the voting record to see the inconsistancies.
I don’t think that I would have chosen to call any political candidate of this magnitude an “irrelevant crank” to be honest with you. But since you brought it up, it seemed a far more applicable term to slap on Obama than Nader.
Certainly, Obama secured the Dems nomination, but he did so under false pretenses and by taking advantage of the people’s desperate need for hope.
Most of us agree that both parties are corrupt. Are you suggesting that because Obama secured the endorsement of a terribly corrupt party, that makes him a more relevant candidate than one who stands by his beliefs and chooses to run outside the corrupted system as an independant candidate?
21 Jul 2008 at 06:16 pm | #
Why wouldn’t McCain keep Deters? They seem to be philosophically and politically and maybe morally aligned. McCain isn’t going to disavow someone that he agrees with.
21 Jul 2008 at 06:19 pm | #
Cincysuz, I agree with you. McCain would probably find that racist rag as “clever” and amusing as trey does.
21 Jul 2008 at 09:45 pm | #
We have taken this topic WAY WAY WAY off topic. It has nothing to do with Nader- it has to do with sleezy Deters and his sliming ways with the Whistleblower.
So can we either come up with a new post- Justin please write a Nader piece- and keep those there- and get this back on track?
Someone has to get this back to the National Media attention again-just like Willie-Boy made an ass out of himself-get back on the wagon and do it again with Joey. He has the baggage for this to go far- so can we please get back on topic.
At least Wendy did an OT before her post!!!
23 Jul 2008 at 04:32 pm | #
Here you go Rocko. I only write about things that I think are newsworthy. Again, I didn’t make this thread about Nader and I kept trying to bring the thread back on topic. I’ll probably write one about Obama soon too.