Crossposted from Town Called Dobson
click to enlarge
First off, Bill Donahue is a prick. Secondly, John Edwards is an idiot for giving in to him. This just smacks of the same weak-kneed Democratary we saw during the first six years of the Bush Administration and frankly, I don’t want to see any more.
If you are considered a bigot because you criticize the Vatican’s stance on abortion, gay marriage, birth control or the pedophile cover-up, count me in. I read the blogger’s posts and their comments and thought none of it belittled Jesus Christ, it did however nail the Vatican and their apologists for their inhumane stance on human rights and the rights of children.
Bush clearly didn’t hear the voice of the people during the last election and I guess John Edwards didn’t either. We are all shit-sick of George W. Bush, the war in Iraq AND wimpy Democrats.
I want them all gone.
Edwards did not fire the bloggers nor ask them to resign. He kept the bloggers on and after being harassed beyond belief and receiving threats they resigned from the campaign. They resigned to keep from derailing John Edwards Campaign. You might want to check out the two lady’s bloggs and see what they had to say about the situation.
Have you checked out their blogs? Then it would be nice if you would link to them.
http://haloscan.com/tb/amsmiles/2508079355547722156
here is shakespear”s sister. The other blog is down at this time.
oops that is the track back here is the blog link
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/
Keep in mind, this is a cartoon, and the character speaking, Herbal, is a conspiracy theorist and is simply repeating what is being said in the MSM.
The African American character, Rakarah, is just cynical after living in the South all these years AND a from being a product of Catholic school.
These characters all have a long history.
but why help the right wing spread lies about the bloggers and the situation? Why not have the characters talk about the threats and why the bloggers resigned?
Well, I don’t think I am helping the right wing.
The punchline should say it all. The bloggers didn’t go far enough.
Just about everything on Edwards’ agenda is anti-catholic according to Donahue – stem cells, birth control, gay adoption, civil unions, abortion, etc.
My feeling is the attention of readers here and on other left blogs on this strip is on the first panel, they never get to the last.
Comments from the politically moderate and mostly unwired (in a web sort of way) have all focused on the last panel. They see it at odds with Edwards’ health care plan.
I am far from moderate. I am as about as liberal as you can possibly get.
No, Edwards didn’t fire them. But he didn’t stand up for them either, and that gave the clear signal that they were fair game. His campaign hired them apparently without reading their blogs (oh, really? You tell me they’d hire someone for a specific kind of job without doing any research on the very skill set they were hiring these two individuals for, when their writing was SO easy to find? Maybe John Edwards doesn’t read those blogs, but you can’t tell me that SOMEONE didn’t read them first… and if they truly didn’t, they weren’t doing THEIR job, were they?)
The Edwards campaign caved, not by firing Melissa and Amanda — but by giving greater creedence and respect to the diatribes of the likes of Donahue and Malkin than to supporting their own people. Edwards’ statement, which was slow to come out, basically said, Gee, you rightwingers have a point here, thanks for bringing it up. I’ll tell the girls to behave from now on, but I won’t fire them, ’cause that might piss people off too… and the message that got across was but I’m not going to protect them either.
And what happened next? Amanda and Melissa’s blogs were deluged with some of the worst hate-filled crap you can imagine, including overt threats of violence. THAT is what Edwards left them vulnerable to. He let THEM take the heat, let THEM be the targets… rather than standing up and risking pissing off.. who? People who would never have voted for him anyway? Compared to the vicious tripe that Malkin writes, Melissa and Amanda are Sunday-school angels. And realizing that their association was now a liability for Edwards, plus the onslaught of hate spew and threats of violence, they each chose to resign.
But what if Edwards had come out swinging? Had actually defended what Amanda and Melissa wrote, even if it wasn’t the official position of his campaign, because they wrote it as free speech before they were hired? Had made it clear that he DID support them, and that he wasn’t going to let the likes of Donahue or Malkin dictate who he should or should not have working in his campaign? You think that all those lesser bullies would have come out of the woodwork to deluge Pandragon and Shakespeare’s Sister with their threats and their nastiness?
This is basic playground bully psychology. If the teacher doesn’t stand up for the kids being picked on, because, well, MAYBE something the bully said has a point, then all the other mean-hearted kids know that those kids are fair game. And it just gets worse. If the teacher steps in and says NO, you CAN’T DO THAT, then maybe the bully looks for another target, or he comes up with another tactic, but all the other kids keep their mouths shut because they know the victims have someone in their corner.
John Edwards is a trial lawyer — if he doesn’t understand those dynamics, how could he ever win a case? If he can’t stand up for his own supporters, regardless of whether he agrees with everything they’ve ever said or written, how the hell can he expect us to believe he’ll stand up for anyone else once the going gets rough? This was a shot across the bow, and he shoulda shot back, not adjusted the course.
And where were all the other candidates on this issue? Sitting back and watching, hoping that Edwards’ poll numbers in the netroots would drop? Letting the rightwing lunatics divide and conquer? Making notes to themselves, “be more careful vetting our employees, we don’t want anyone too controversial..”
Yeah, Edwards has some great planks in his platform. But he let the nutjobs win this one in the end. And they know it.
</rant>
REALLY disappointed with Edwards on this one. No candidate is perfect, but he just lost his top billing on my list.
Yep, still weak-kneed.
Yup.
Always has been, always will be.
I am telling you…he has no talent.
His mansion is sufficient evidence of that.
You don’t build a $5 million temple to conspicuous consumption when you are preaching power to the people. Not if you have the SLIGHTEST understanding of how politics works in this country.
Too weak.
AG
Yes, Edwards could have used this as an opportunity to say that he is sick and tired of the direction of this country being heavily influenced by a bunch of religious nuts. In other words, adopt the combativeness of the right wing, turning its rhetoric about nuts and extremists on its head.
I think this country is ready for that. People are completely fed up with fundies and war mongers. But our Dem leaders, even alleged populists like Edwards, seem completely unaware of this outrage.
Of the top three, Edwards was my first choice, but now I am starting to look more favorably upon Obama.
Edwards DID fire them; at least according to Salon. Then he retracted the firing. It was only ever a matter of who he would cave to: Donohue, Malkin, and their ilk or the lefty blogosphere. He chose the latter, but cave he most definitely did.
He did not fire them. Check Amanda’s and Melissa’s blogs. I do not think these two women would lie about something like this.
You want to disagree with me, fine. But down-rating comments is reserved for behavior, for attacks on other members. Not for stating opinions you happen to disagree with. Unbelievable.
How dKos of this person.
AG
I rated it that way because it is spreading lies about Melissa and Amanda and their employment with the Edwards campaign. I will change it to satisfy you but you really should check out their blogs before you post lies.
Take it up with Salon’s War Room, because that’s where I read it.
To be clear. I’m not referring to their resignations. I’m talking about the endless period of dissembling before Edwards came out with his mealy-mouthed statement in which he never really said he’d keep them on staff, but didn’t say he wouldn’t. According to Salon, the entire staff was in disarry — obvious that — and they had been fired, but then were unfired.
But as far as that rating goes, you’re out of line. A warning is given to people who are borderline trolling, not for people you disagree with. You’re abusing the rating system.
I changed it. My bad.
You now say you didn’t say he fired them. but you did.
“Edwards DID fire them;” directly from your above post. and who are you going to believe the bloggers themselves or salon? I will take Amanda”s and Melissa’s word over anyone else’s on this topic.
No, I’m saying that he DID fire them, before he came out and announced that he found their comments offensive but that they deserved a “fair shake.” I’m talking about that pathetic spectacle last week, not their recent resignations. My point is that he is absolutely a weak-kneed panderer, even if he is not responsible for their resignations. Although Janet in MD has a point. He didn’t show full-throated support for them either. He’s a whore.
Here. I found the link to the source material:
Clear now?
“YOU’RE FIRED!!!”
Whadda buncha maroons!!!
Edwards for President.
A Home Depot of the mind.
AG