MOMocrats

Guest Post: Christina of "A Mommy Story" Writes to All Politicians

The MOMocrats are pleased to welcome Christina McMenemy of A Mommy Story, blogger, mom, and Ohio voter to share her story with you and any politician who wants her vote.

Dear Politicians,

Hi there. I'd like to talk to you a little about this election. I'm a mom of two, living in Ohio, with a family income under $50K a year. You could say I'm pretty close to the average American. I want to give you a few of my ideas about how to reach out to the American public, or if not them, at least me.

First off, please drop the mudslinging. I'm sick of it. I have to listen to my daughter argue with me enough, and I don't need to see my presidential candidates bickering like three year olds, too. I don't care who called who what - just tell me what you stand for and believe in, and let me do the comparison.

Second, please stop trying to demonstrate that you're one of us. Seeing you have a beer in a local bar, go bowling (when you're clearly not a fan of bowling), and try to act like you would hang out with me if you lived in my neighborhood doesn't impress me. I don't want to vote for the person I'm most likely to have a beer with, or the person I think is the best looking. This isn't American Idol - this is for the most important job in this country. I don't care if you're good looking or can knock back shots of whiskey with the best of them. I want you to show me you're smarter than me, and smarter than most of the people in this country. I want to know you can handle yourself with class amongst foreign dignitaries and not that you can use urban slang to appeal to me.

Flag pin? I gotchyer flag pin right here.

Of all the questions asked during the Pennsylvania debate, the one that pissed me off the most was why Barack Obama does not wear a flag pin. Does that mean he's unpatriotic?

No, but if you are questioning his patriotism because he doesn't adorn his suit with colorful enamel and cheap metal, then you might be a hypocritical bigot.

You know what? I am glad he doesn't wear a flag pin. I have decided that of all the reasons to support Obama, the fact that he doesn't wear the fucking flag on his lapel is the most important reason to vote for him.

Is this asshole a patriot?

How about this jerkoff? Patriot?

Dick Cheney's "Quagmire"

Please watch this video of Mr. Evil himself, Dick Cheney, in 1994.

Even Dick himself didn't think invading Iraq was a good idea: "How many dead Americans is Saddam worth?...Not very many."

Spread the word and donate to moveon.org.

Ahi-gate! McCain "family recipes" lifted from Food Network

Dear Cindy McVain,

It's not that I have a huge problem with you passing along recipes that you enjoy—people do that all the time. Otherwise how would everyone know how to make that crushed ramen noodle-cabbage salad thing?

It's not even that I have a problem with you riffing off of a recipe that you found online and adapting it to suit your tastes. Again, such is the nature of recipes. And heck, it's even okay to reprint a recipe that is adapted from somewhere else as long as it has the requisite 3 or 4 changes so it's not like the original recipe. But it is polite to let people know where you got your ideas if they aren't your own.

What I have a problem with is you lifting delicious-sounding recipes from the Food Network and then trying to pass them off as if you've been cooking them at home for the past 35 years. I do think it's a little, oh, I don't know—psycho?!?! that you did that to create the illusion that you cook these foods for your husband and children and that you enjoy them together as a family. And, Cindy, you didn't even try to change them, not even a little bit. (Okay you changed one word, "salad" to "slaw.") Hi, Cindy! Welcome to the internet! We can see you, you know.

I love that the recipes you have chosen "Ahi with Napa Cabbage Slaw," "Passion Fruit Mousse," "Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peas, and Mushrooms" sound just exotic enough to show how worldly-but-not-too-wordly you folks are without being totally inaccessible to the unwashed masses.  Oooh, ahi. That's Hawaiian for tuna...but they have it at Costco.

But wait, Ahi with Napa Cabbage? Sesame oil? Soy sauce? Isn't that gook food? You're telling me your husband eats that?

And Passion Fruit Mousse. Come on, Cindy. You know you aren't cooking that. With all the time it takes to whip up your airy and frothy hairstyles, when do you have time to whip up an airy and frothy dessert? But you're right, it sounds delicious. And I like how you subliminally slipped in the word "passion." As in your husband's "passion" for war-mongering?

"Cindy's Recipes." What an absolutely rich oxymoron. That's like me saying "Stefania's Beatles Album Collection." Ain't happening. Trust me.

Everything you McCains put out there for public consumption is an absolute fraud. A total sham. Right down to your pathetically plagiarized recipes.  Thanks for helping to remind us of that.

[image: the Huffington post. Clink the link above for more side-by-side comparisons.]

For the record, MOMocrats co-founder Stefania Pomponi Butler loves that ramen noodle-cabbage salad thing.

Cast your vote for Angie's Choice: Senator John McCain

Hat tip to my friend Delville Van McWorth (not his real name, but he wishes it was) for pointing me to this blog post by actor/comedian Michael Ian Black. Black "breaks the news" (okay, like, a month ago) that Angie Harmon has finally decided who she is going to back for president, and her candidate of choice is John McCain. Says Black:

Like many of you, I was worried that Angie wouldn't make up her mind until September or October, which I think we can all agree, would have been terrible for the country.

Not just terrible. A travesty and a crying shame. I mean, without brave people like Angie Harmon and Elisabeth Hasselbeck telling us who to vote for and breaking down all that really hard and confusing political stuff for us so we can "get" it, where would this great country of ours be?

Women like Angie and Elisabeth are patriots, and don't you forget it.

When she's not worshipping at the altar of Chuck Norris, MOMocrats founding editor Stefania Pomponi Butler writes the irreverant and delicious CityMama.

MOMocrats WTF of the week: Tom Ammiano needs a time out (to continue his bad metaphor)

From San Francisco Chronicle's Matier & Ross, SF Supervisor Tom Ammiano recently quipped:

"Gavin's situation kind of reminds me of that kids book, 'Heather Has Two Mommies. Only in this case, the moms are Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein - and they're pulling him in two different directions. What's a boy to do?"

This in regards to San Francisco's upcoming Olympic torch run.

Pelosi is calling for San Franciscans to speak out against China's human rights record and protest the torch, while Feinstein is urging restraint so as not to piss off the touchy Chinese government. Both, er, "mommies" are mentors of Newsom.

Now.

I have been sitting on this comment all day wondering if I was justified in being more than a little ticked that Ammiano was dismissing two very smart, very dedicated, extremely hardworking, long-standing public servants—one of whom is the Speaker of the House for crissakes—as "mommies." (Ew, breeders.) Lesbian mommies at that. Hardy har har. We know you used to be a stand-up comedian Tom, but that ain't funny.

It doesn't matter how you personally feel about Pelosi, Feinstein, or Newsom for that matter. This kind of characterization is disturbing.

And I am not saying that being a mom is something to be ashamed of: it isn't. I am proud to be a mom, mommy, mommyblogger, MOMocrat, you name it. In the right context being called a mom is a compliment. This is not that context.

Ammiano is likening Newsom—Mayor of San Francisco, and, last time I checked, a grown man— to a child that is being "pulled" (or is it "nagged," Tom?) to make a decision.

What's with all the patronizing, Tom? Referring to two Federal legislators as "mommies" in a twisted metaphor that is so creepy on so many levels I don't even know where to start?

I think an apology to Feinstein and Pelosi is in order. Anyone else who thinks so can let him know:

Supervisor Tom Ammiano
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, Ca 94102-4689
(415) 554-5144 - voice
(415) 554-6255 - fax
Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org

MOMocrats Founding Editor Stefania Pomponi Butler blogs CityMama and is very protective of Mayor McHottie.

MOMocrats WTF of the Day: Barack Obama's Passport Breach

So, what I want to know is, "Who's been looking at Barack Obama's private information?" I'm looking at you, George W. Bush. And the gang of criminals that are actually running this country. Into the ground.

And then what I want to know is why anyone would want to run for president and have to endure all the bullshit that Barack Obama has had to endure? I mean, the stained blue dress incident is pretty shitty, but Hillary Clinton has not had to face the same level of hideousness (from racism to death threats) that Barack Obama has. No one has tried to tie her to terrorists because of her name or insulted her mother for her parenting choices or threatened to assassinate her if she gets elected. P.S. Thanks for feeding the Wright story to the superdelegates, Hill. Appreciate it!

This is disgusting. And I hope we get to the bottom of the story, like, yesterday.

Hillary Clinton wins Ohio and I feel nothing but anger and frustration

GOD, now she's never going to call it a day. How long do you think we're going to be stuck with her?

It's bad enough that my candidate isn't in it anymore, I am waiting...I just want to be able to stand fully behind Barack Obama as he battles John McCain for the White House, and... I can't.

Hillary, stop making a fool of the Democratic party. This I honestly believe: you can't win. Too many people just don't like you.

And, by the way, Hillary?  THIS mother of two little girls is not raising them to support someone who stood by a cheater (the same cheater sent out unleash assholerly all over the midwest and northeast), played the gender card while campaigning when she thought it would be helpful, went negative in order win a primary, and used fearmongering to get votes.

Clinton v. McCain. Come one people, we really don't want that do we?

Hillary, if you really want to unite the Democratic Party you need to step down. Now.

P.S. When my phone rings at 3AM, it's a bootie call.  Or at least it used to be back when I had game.

P.P.S. Step down!

Clinton campaign's fake radio news

Just when you think the primary contest couldn't get any more pathetic. (When will it be over?!!) This afternoon there is a report (to Time courtesy of the Obama campaign) of the Clinton campaign running this ad on radio stations in Ohio.

The ad begins:

"This is an election news update with a major news story reported by the AP..."

Then it goes on to say various other things: Obama, NAFTA, political maneuvering, etc.

You know when you're in your car, you're already consumed by the task of driving, perhaps you've got passengers with you talking, etc. So of course, you'll probably only hear the beginning of this "ad" calling your attention, then comes the "election news update."

Apparently, outright trickery of voters is not too low a level to stoop for Clinton. And I thought the "3 a.m." ad was bad.

And I've been trying to come up with something positive to say about the primaries, really I have...

Crossposted on Modern English

Dodd speaks up strongly against immunity for illegal wiretapping---how important is this to Obama and Clinton?

It was nearly two years ago when Jim Risen and Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times broke the story that the American government, at the highest levels, was illegally spying on American citizens. They won a Pulitzer Prize for that story,the biggest to break since Woodward and Bernstein broke Watergate in 1973.

Are you, like me, just old enough to remember the ripple effects through the 1970s of Watergate?

If so, you might join me in being surprised that the reaction to the 21st century illegal wiretapping story was for Congress to try to enact a measure that retroactively made all the illegal wiretapping legal (granting full amnesty), and moreover granted immunity to the participants, including the telecommunications companies, from lawsuits.

With the measure to provide this protection on the floor, Senator Chris Dodd took a strong position against it. In January, he spoke movingly and persuasively about the need to err on the side of less secrecy in a democracy, the need to trust courts to handle these matters with appropriate protection of state secrets, the need for Republicans to stop blocking honest debate and voting, and appealed to his colleagues to not be persuaded by fear-mongering. (Click here to read the transcript of that speech.)

When it came time to vote to extend the temporary surveillance law including the amendment to provide immunity to telecom companies, the GOP voted block and the Democrats split---19 voted in favor of immunity.

What about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton? How did they vote?