CRITICAL MASS

How to Speak Heartland

Deconstructing the GOP's 'country first' strategy.

Newsweek Web Exclusive
Sep 3, 2008 | Updated: 12:14  p.m. ET Sep 3, 2008

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  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/06/2008 11:16:52 AM

    HEY WE CAN USE JOHN McCAIN'S MIDDLE NAME(SIDNEY) AND JOE BIDEN'S MIDDLE NAME(ROBINETTE) OR EVEN SARAH PALIN'S MIDDLE NAME (HEATH) BUT YOU BETTER NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT MENTIONING BARACK OBAMA'S MIDDLE NAME BECAUSE IF YOU DO THEN YOU ARE TRYING TO SCARE PEOPLE ! IT IS HUSSEIN ! THAT DON'T SCARE ME BUT HIS POLICIES DO !!

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/06/2008 11:15:57 AM

    HEY WE CAN USE JOHN McCAIN'S MIDDLE NAME(SIDNEY) AND JOE BIDEN'S MIDDLE NAME(ROBINETTE) OR EVEN SARAH PALIN'S MIDDLE NAME (HEATH) BUT YOU BETTER NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT MENTIONING BARACK OBAMA'S MIDDLE NAME BECAUSE IF YOU DO THEN YOU ARE TRYING TO SCARE PEOPLE ! IT IS HUSSEIN ! THAT DON'T SCARE ME BUT HIS POLICIES DO !!

  • Posted By: Ranger-Suasponte @ 09/05/2008 10:21:53 PM

    ABOUT SARAH PALIN:

    http://webpages.charter.net/suasponte/

    If you really want to know Sarah Palin's history (in detail) this is a "must read". It was written by Anne Kilkenny, a resident of Wasilla, Alaska.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/03/2008 4:43:56 PM

    According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses). To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror. There are teachers ... and then there are educators . .i have to wonder how much longer the obama supporters will keep kissing the mirror ?

    • Posted By: Tea6 @ 09/03/2008 5:29:19 PM

      So you are saying that resistance is futile. We are all plugged into the Matrix and our purpose is to serve. As prophesized by Morpheus, THE ONE disagrees.

      • Posted By: Jose52 @ 09/05/2008 4:50:39 PM

        tea6, Your response is childish. You should continue living in your movie fantasy world. No wonder you're a blind lib who misses the point of willnotvotebambi, you believe the left wing/media mantra that Bush is bad/economy sucks ... crap. Barry is bad for our country. He will ruin.... what's the use! You deserve to be blinded by the truth and then question why ? Winston Churchill said (misquoting) "when we are young we think with our hearts and are liberals. With age and wisdom, we think with reason and are conservative". I hope you work and search for truth and wisdom.

        Remember obambi supporters love barry's crap and will continue kissing the mirrors. Choose to be an American, as McCain says we are all Americans. May God bless you.

    • Posted By: ALLEAS @ 09/03/2008 5:28:22 PM

      THIS IS SUCH A SILLY STORY. WERE YOU TRYING TO COMPARE THE ANTICS OF TEENAGE GIRLS TO THE DEVASTATION FACING OUR COUNTRY AS A DIRECT RESULT OF REPUBLICAN POLICIES AND LIES? NO WONDER THAT THIS COUNTRY IS ON THE BRINK OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. VOTERS LIKE YOU WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON THE WRONG TRACK.

    • Posted By: elizabethpaige @ 09/03/2008 4:51:20 PM

      Better that you wonder how much longer McCain will keep kissing Palin's butt.

  • Posted By: trini @ 09/05/2008 2:48:12 PM

    Thompson another angry old man

  • Posted By: tschanks @ 09/03/2008 8:30:34 PM

    I'm wondering if anyone can answer this for me? I have grown a little weary of the McCain POW thing. I understand the sacrifice, courage, & all he went through, and it's respectful to honor that. But how long until it just becomes another political ploy? I'm wondering if there are other POWs or vets out there from any war or conflict that has an opinion on this? At what point does it become just a ploy? Thanks.

    • Posted By: Jose52 @ 09/05/2008 11:09:17 AM

      You will never see it now, because you do not understand character and experience. If you cannot see this, then you do not understand evil that is in this world. To question McCain is to label your inexperience and knowledge of history. Do yourself a favor and see the Movie "300". Besides the blood (and sex), study the values that the Spartans exibited and the understanding that freedom isn't free. McCain grew up with these warrior values and served his country (and spent 5 ....). All truth. All factual history. Your callous attitude shows that you have no respect and honor for your self and your country. Consider moving to Russia. I will help you with the plane ticket.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/05/2008 9:48:03 AM

    Part 1 Who got Obama started in his political career? William Ayers, of course, is the Weather Underground bomber. And Obama began his career, his coming out party in 1995, and Ayers and Bernadine Dorns home.
    And then for, you know, some 20 years, Obama has been working with Ayers, certainly since 1995, on a series of foundations: the Annenberg Foundation and the Woods Foundation. The boards of directors together, or in the Annenberg Foundation, Ayers created it, and Obama was on it. And together they spent the money of these foundations to implement their radical socialist agenda.
    A lot of people say, no, they just know each other. They???re not friends. Just because -- you know, just because they worked on boards together.
    Obama was in 1995 going to take the seat of Alice Palmer, who is also an extreme socialist. She???s an African-American who had actually gone to Russia and had attended communist party meetings and reported on them. And it was all very much of a leftist gathering.
    Ayers and Dorns were like the stamp of approval on Obama, introducing them to their click of leftist friends for funding and for advancing his candidacy. So that very beginning was a chosen intentionally association with Ayers and Dorns to launch Obama`s career, and Obama knew exactly what he was doing picking him.
    Senator Obama is the one who???s saying, "This is just another guy in my neighborhood," but in fact, that???s not true at all. It may turn out to be that they had a much closer relationship through their work together on the Annenberg Challenge to create their ideas to control the government and its people that???s the challenge!
    His agenda -- I believe, in 2001, in which Ayers was unrepentant, saying that he wished he bombed more. And obama???s greatest influence is
    Saul Alinsky he was a radical socialist organizer. His main book was "Rules for Radicals." His methodology was you go in as a community organizer. That means, really, a rabble-rouser.
    You rub raw the discontent of the community, almost in a communist sense. You find class antagonisms. You learn to speak the grievances in the people???s own logic and language, and then you go for radical redistribution of income and wealth through gaming power and mobilizing the community. Making them think that your working for them by doing small stuff that seems to help but ultimately you gain far more than the people you help it???s a trick to get them on your side because it seems you care about them and in turn they move you to the top of the political ladder!

    • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 09/05/2008 9:53:09 AM

      Part 2???
      The -- the connection to Saul Alinsky. In
      Fact, Alinsky had change as his mantra. And by it, he meant radical socialist redistribution of income from the haves to the have-nots. That was the primary purpose.
      Alinsky dedicated "Rules to Radicals" to Lucifer, whom he called the first radical. And he said it was a Machiavellian approach, which means you???ll lie, do whatever you need to do to get power, because the haves were going to lose to the have-nots, who were being championed by this community organizer. (Obama)
      The theme is common that Senator Obama made in San Francisco about people are bitter, clinging to God and to guns. That is actually a paraphrase of something Saul Alinsky wrote in that same book, in "Rules for Radicals."
      A very condescending view that he has of the middle class as people who are lost, who -- he says that they turn bitter, because they cling to certain fixed points that are elusory, but very real to them. They ask questions that Alinsky considers meaningless, like what does our flag mean to you? Interestingly, something that was just said at the Republican convention. That???s Alinsky. You know,obama???s his influence coming through.
      Just take a look at his taxation policies. He wants to increase capital gains, because he says they???re unfair.
      The point is that he clings to this relationship. And he???s even defending Ayers now. His campaign is defending Ayers, despite the fact that he???s an unrepentant terrorist who set bombs and may, according to congressional testimony, may have even been involved or had knowledge of a bombing that killed somebody. That???s the important thing.
      Alinsky taught to say whatever is necessary to get power. That???s the Machiavellian approach. When Obama articulates policy positions, especially moving to the center, it may be completely calculated. We will not see the real Obama until its too late then we are going to be stuck in a radical system that will take a civil war to get out of !

  • Posted By: gili4 @ 09/05/2008 7:59:27 AM

    Ah McCarter! You pompus idiot! You northern white black bigot! You Communist slut! I could go on and on about factual descriptions of what you are, but you get the picture I hope by now. Your article about Fred Thompson shows just how jealous you are of his abilities and shows just how inadequate your's are in turn. Seeing as how you're a Newsweek typist on the internet I would expect no more. It's the reason I never subscribed to that magazine. From the way you string words together the picture I get of you is that you're fat, white, bald, and very very Northern.

  • Posted By: valark @ 09/05/2008 5:39:33 AM

    Anyone want to put their money where their mouth is on their nominee? Let's put the money in an escrow account until November...of course, you would have to have had a job or some other means to obtain money to particpate.

  • Posted By: faminchin @ 09/04/2008 10:02:11 AM

    Speaking Heartland....lol

    How is this for Heartland?...We at Newsweek are not biased. Just because we only print stories that praise one side and try to rip the other side, does not make us biased....right?...lol

    Here is Heartland for you.........Obama wants to raise taxes...but only on the wealthy and on business. Now what stops those who are wealthy from moving to Canada or buying an island and keeping their money? How does raising taxes on American Businesses help us to compete in a global market?

    I lived in North Carolina when Clinton got his luxury tax passed. NC had a huge industry in the state that built large boats, luxury boats. Within a year or two.........there were no boats being built and the majority of those companies went out of business. Why? Because those who were wealthy enough to buy them, flew to another country and bought them to avoid the additional tax.

    If you really believe that raising taxes on the wealthy is the solution to all our problems, then vote for Obama. But if you investigate the facts you will see that 95% of the revenue that is collected in Washington, comes from 5% of the population already. Who is that 5%......the wealthy. That's right, the super wealthy in our country are already getting soaked with taxes and are responsible for 95% or our federal revenue.

    So if anybody is really interested in "being fair"....we should probably be talking about raising taxes on the poor, who generally pay nothing into the system and still get refund checks.

    • Posted By: valark @ 09/05/2008 5:32:58 AM

      "So if anybody is really interested in "being fair"....we should probably be talking about raising taxes on the poor, who generally pay nothing into the system and still get refund checks. "

      How do you get refunded money you haven't paid? Or was it just a poor word choice?

    • Posted By: AskPlus @ 09/04/2008 12:17:57 PM

      That's not quite how it works. The poor don't really get richer. And the top five percent don't pay for every one. But it is good rhetoric. Very Rep-like. Raising taxes will come across the board and we are all going to suffer. Those trillion dollar wars do that.

  • Posted By: faminchin @ 09/05/2008 12:01:57 AM

    Being from the Heartland myself, I confess I am having trouble understanding something in the election. Perhaps someone can explain it? But I don't believe anybody can deny that our economy no longer stands on it own. We are in a new era and belong to a global economy.....right?

    Maybe I am just looking at it in the wrong way, but I am having difficulty understanding how raising taxes on American Businesses as the Obama Plan states it intends to do, helps American Businesses compete in a global market place.

    • Posted By: valark @ 09/05/2008 5:19:52 AM

      The President does not control the economy. Just like a bank who holds your house note controls your financial health, our debtors control ours. China would be our biggest world "bank" in this sense and our relationship with them is stable.

  • Posted By: Lee Holmes @ 09/04/2008 6:27:17 PM

    Lets put the icing on the cake.


    FOX NEWS Bill O'Reilly :Interview With Barack Obama Sept.04,2008:Remarks:

    ''The Surge succeeded beyond our wildest dreams''.

  • Posted By: Lee Holmes @ 09/04/2008 2:32:38 PM

    Yeah,and Obama was against The Surge before he was for it. And Joe Biden was for bankruptcy relief before he was against it. And he was for offshore drilling before he was against it.[in a speech yesterday,as a matter of fact]. Heh. Thats the problem. ''Nuance''and ''flip flop''are bi-partisan diseases.

    The Wall St.Journal Sept.04,2008:''Biden Changes Tune,Opposes Offshore Drilling''.

  • Posted By: dunnhaupt @ 09/03/2008 2:25:07 PM

    The rising poll numbers for Obama begin to show the effect that McCain's disastrous choice is having across the country, even before she has opened her mouth. It was another disastrous decision of the McCain campaign to hide Ms Palin from the press. Rule One in politics is NEVER to offend the media.

    • Posted By: RavenMaven @ 09/04/2008 1:38:13 PM

      Rule one in leading a country. Do what is right for the people, and never ever change your mind regardless of what some uneducated pundit who has never held your responsibility thinks. This is not a popularity contest egghead, It is the future of the country that is at stake. As a voter with a brain of my own, I could care less what the idiots at CNN and MSNBC think about it.

    • Posted By: thehappyamerican @ 09/03/2008 2:54:36 PM

      Obama did not get a seriouse BUMP from his extravaganza... and while the RNC is running about 1/2 of a convention. Obama has NOT put a significant lead up! And what little bump he got is evaporating. he's the choice of the news media.. as was Al Gore and John Kerry.
      Rule number one in the media...NEVER forfeit your credibility ! But the American journalist is a slut! And a liability to Obama/Biden.
      McCain is going to the White House!

      • Posted By: neos @ 09/03/2008 3:13:57 PM

        Today, Rasmussen reports that, 'Obama then enjoyed a fairly typical bounce from his convention and it remains to be seen how what kind of bounce McCain will get.'

  • Posted By: AskPlus @ 09/04/2008 12:15:10 PM

    The snarky Ms Palin wants the media to report on her undereducated teen son going to Iraq, but would prefer that they leave her HS drop out whiskey-swillin' daughter and her HS drop out drunk boyfriend out of it. She also doesn't want the media to get too close to the fact that the Lady Bristol is having a baby after being impregnated at 16. That's bad of the media - they should leave it. She does wants the media to report her opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere - after she supported it with deed and money. But, she does not want the media to report she left her little small town broke while mayor, but please do talk about the 80% lovefest-rate as a 1 1/2 year Gov. The media should steer clear of oil talk, oil-job hubbies, oil conflict of interests, murdered dogs and Library books.

    The media should stay far away from her being under investigation by a bipartisan state legislative body. And Ms. Palin really promised to cooperate with a legislative inquiry, but this week she hired a lawyer to fight to move the case to the jurisdiction of the state "personnel board" - which Palin anoints and appointed. In her cloud of rhetoric musings and snaps, Palin said speeches are just a "cloud of rhetoric." Which the media should ignore altogether. And for God's sake - for the religious right - don't talk about the lobbyist hired and ear marks received, squandered and hidden. Instead talk about how she was vetted two week ago in three hours.

    But she's apparently a good hockey mom, who should be forgiven. A bit nasally though like Fran Drescher. I bet those glasses cost more than a haircut too. Stylish. She'll look good giving her sister's ex the boot.

  • Posted By: mccainsupporter @ 09/04/2008 8:53:51 AM

    Some Democratic leaders including Obama but not Joe Leiberman have asked what have we accomplished in Iraq? John McCain was right in his support for the Iraq surge. Iraq today is in relative peace and is no longer hostile to the United States. Iraq is currently producing two and a half million barrels of oil a day and is capable of producing four and half million barrels a day. At $120 one hundred and twenty dollars a barrel Iraq has current oil revenues of $300 three hundred million dollars a day. Those revenues can grow to $500 million dollars a day with increased production. Thanks to the John McCain support of the war and the surge $300 million dollars a day are not being funneled to enemies of the United States to support terrorism around the world and to buy missiles and nuclear weapons that can be used against the United States. With an income stream of three hundred million dollars a day, Iraq was capable of purchasing hundreds of nuclear weapons. Our current progress with North Korea on nuclear issues is a result of cutting off the money flow and purchase of missiles and nuclear technology from North Korea to Iraq.

  • Posted By: mccainsupporter @ 09/04/2008 8:53:29 AM

    Democratic leadership under Barack Obama wanted to cut and run in Iraq now today and just before our successful surge, just as Democratic leadership wanted to cut and run in Vietnam before our 1200 POWs came home in 1973. John McCain realizes he would not be here today if the Democratic leadership had their way back in 1972. Because he spent early years in Indonesia, Barack Obama may not be the Democratic Presidential candidate today but for our efforts in Vietnam in 1972. Richard Nixon a former Navy officer who served before John McCain years in the Navy understood that North Vietnam never returned any of the captured French POWs after their defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Only the week long bombings of Hanoi including Christmas day in 1972 with our B52 bombers finally convinced North Vietnam that we wanted our 1200 POWs back now. The bombings also convinced the South Vietnamese that we would support them in the future under the Paris Peace Talks agreement. Although the United States lost in Vietnam are efforts there gave other countries time to develop their fragile democracies. Indonesia today is a democratic country today that is friendly to the United States and has a population of nearly two hundred million people, the fourth largest in the world. Barack Obama spent his early childhood in Indonesia attending school with his mother and step-father during the time of the Vietnam War. It has been reported that the former President of Indonesia stated that our efforts in Vietnam although we lost allowed Indonesia to fight off communism and develop as a democratic country. Our efforts in Vietnam bought Indonesia time. Barack Obama could have been caught up in a communist insurrection in Indonesia during his early childhood if the United States had cut and run and had not tried to slow or stop a rapid North Vietnam takeover of South Vietnam. All of Southeast Asia including Indonesia could have rapidly gone Communist if the United States did not at least make a stand to resist the rapid expansion of communism and stand by our ally South Vietnam. Ironicallly both John McCain and Barack Obama would not be the men they are today and John McCain would not be here if we had followed Democratic leadership to cut and run in Vietnam before our POWs were returned.

  • Posted By: Lee Holmes @ 09/03/2008 9:57:42 PM

    McCarters asinine bloviating can be summed up with less verbal effort.

    Heartland= Flyover Country.

    You are forgetting your Shakespere Jeremy.

    ''An honest tale speeds best,being plainly told''
    Richard III,Act IV.

  • Posted By: FairG @ 09/03/2008 8:10:12 PM

    I would like to discuss how the speach of the former Senator Thompson went but I cant really since Brian Williams and other commentators kept interrupting his speech with their own comments or interviews from other republicans about Gov. Palin's pregnant daughter. I have to say I was very annoyed to say the least. Especially after watching the DNC where no speeches were interrupted. Media bias anyone??

  • Posted By: JJ4770 @ 09/03/2008 5:14:09 PM

    Being an ineffective legislator does not qualify one for the highest office in the land. I am not sure what jobs one would be qualified for that had been an adjunct law professor, community organizer (not sure what that is) and state legislator who thought they were elected to just show up for votes on issues effecting their constituency. Maybe I am missing something, but if someone has had actual executive experience, even on a much smaller scale, wouldn't they be more qualifed for an executive position? Obama has had the spotlight for the last year, now all this media attention on Palin is making her the celebrity candidate and she is not even at the top of the ticker. Brilliant choice by McCain camp. Choosing Romney or Lieberman would have received about 5 mins. of airtime. I hope Palin breaks a foot off.

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