Sarah Palin VP?!?!

You have GOT TO BE F*CKING KIDDING ME.
I go on vacation, and the world goes crazy? I figured it would survive without me for a week, at least!
What in the name of all that is holy is John McCain thinking? Palin is more of a right wing whack job than he is! The woman's track record as a Governor (an office she's only held for TWO YEARS) is appalling. Her policies on conservation atrocious. And McCain wants us to believe that he cares about Polar Bears and Wolves and the sanctity of our National Parks?
Here's what Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen had to say:

Shocking Choice by John McCain

WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

“This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”

And I thought the Bush administration was bad! All I can say is I hope that by making this utterly idiotic choice (an obvious push to get female voters!) John McCain has just committed political suicide.

Haha of the day

It's funny, but it's not. From DCCC.org:

						Republican Leader Boehner caught golfing while House GOP pretends to be outraged at high gas prices Big Oil tax breaks and subsidies supported by Republicans... $14 Billion Political contributions made to Republicans by Big Oil this cycle... $13.5 Million Profit earned by the top five Big Oil Companies last quarter ... $44 Billion Cost of Boehner's green fees while a small band of Republicans' express faux outrage about gas prices... $240 The Grand Oil Party's hypocrisy about the cost of gas... Priceless Learn more about the Grand Oil Party's Hypocrisy on Gas Prices »

I heart Paul Begala

Wow, I must have too much time on my hands, posting like crazy. They're all still mostly copy-pastes, but its something, and I couldn't help but share this. Ya'll know by now that I mostly focus on the issues more than the political parties behind them, but I support the DCCC, and I just had to share this email. Dear Deborah, Apparently, it didn't take long for the "Grand Oil Party" to come unglued. After I called their fat-cat funders a bunch of dirtbags in my email to you on Sunday, they started squealing like a pig stuck under a gate. House Republicans are crying so hard over my "dirtbag" comment, you'd think they just found out they were forced to spend the Fourth of July quail-hunting with Dick Cheney. So I want to take a minute to do something I don't do often enough: apologize. I am very sorry for calling those fat-cat plutocrat Republicans "dirtbags." Doing so was grossly unfair. To bags of dirt. After all, dirt is good. Things grow from the dirt. I myself raise tomatoes and corn and pumpkins, jalapenos and cucumbers and lettuce - all from the good earth. No, it was too kind, too generous to call them dirtbags. Probably better to call them oilbags or toxic-waste-bags or chemical-pollutant-bags. So I'm sorry. Still, even though I used such a comparatively flattering term, the Republican whine machine was in full whimper. Yesterday, before their alligator tears even dried from crying about me calling them out, they mobilized their favorite shadowy attack squad and Karl Rove-backed Freedom's Watch to come after Democrats launching vicious attacks against 16 Democrats starting today - please help us hit back twice as hard with our own ads. Contribute $35, $50, or more to our EXTENDED DEADLINE Matching Campaign before July 4th to fight back against the Rove-Freedom's Watch attacks - Democrats will still MATCH and TRIPLE your gift. Of course the Republican hypocrites are launching their attacks today. Between my comment about their 'dirtbag' funders and my good friends at the DCCC hiring a 'W' impersonator to record radio ads against their Big Oil friends in Congress, we've clearly gotten under their skin. As we say back home in Texas, "a hit dog barks." They don't know how to handle a Democratic Party that is ready, willing, and able to hit back when the right-wing slime machine kicks into gear. This is exactly how we're going to win this year - but we need your help to keep it up. Contribute $35, $50, or more to our EXTENDED DEADLINE Matching Campaign before July 4th to fight back against the Rove-Freedom's Watch attacks - Democrats will still MATCH and TRIPLE your gift. The days of Democrats quietly enduring Republican smears are over - as are the days of Republicans living by a double standard. The Bush Republicans questioned the courage of a war hero like former Senator Max Cleland. They besmirched the war heroism of John Kerry. They spend years smearing Bill Clinton, savaging Hillary Rodham Clinton, and viciously attacking Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Now they're attacking Barack and Michelle Obama. But the second I call their fat-cat funders "dirtbags," they turn into a bunch of blubbering cry babies. This year, let's dry the crybabies' tears and celebrate Independence Day by giving Barack Obama the bigger, stronger Democratic Majority he'll need to declare our independence once and for all from the failed Bush-Cheney-Grand Oil Party policies for America. Contribute $35, $50, or more to our EXTENDED DEADLINE Matching Campaign before July 4th to fight back against the Rove-Freedom's Watch attacks - Democrats will still MATCH and TRIPLE your gift. Sincerely, Paul Begala