A unpleasant take all the spin

I was listening to Rev. Al Sharpton on The Tom Joyner Morning show (urban talk radio). He was talking about the Lamont victory (he was along side him last night) and how the war was the number one reason Lieberman's defeat.

He also talked about how Lamont's victory sends a message to the Democratic Party (mainly "Hillary and everyone else") that the "Democrats can not act like republicans and expect people to support them." (Sounds like he was echoing Kerry's sentiment about how we don't need two Republican parties. )

He singled out Hillary (cause it's the truth) for "voting for and defending the war until the polls started changing in CT and jumping on Rumsfeld" (even though Tom tried to deny that she wasn't a warmonger--he's a Clinton fan).

What's disturbing about all this was that Al, Tom and his gang are still repeating the "they all voted for the war" lie. Even about those that have admitted they were wrong/mislead.

Are they falling for the Bush, WH, corporate media spin too? Why can't they just say they were voting for diplomacy instead of making those that voted for it out to be warmongers? Why can't they see that there are dems that never supported this war that voted for the IWR and want to get out?


I don't care what anyone says THIS IS BUSH'S WAR PERIOD. Can't they see that?


If your looking for proof, here is the link for today's show (8/9)

http://www.tomjoyner.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/sharpton

and correct the misconceptions about the Iraq War Resolution.
You know,it wasn't a vote for the war, but a vote of caution and support allowing the President the discretion to make the decisions he felt necessary to secure and protect this country. Unfortunately, Bush didn't proceed with caution and abused the power allowed to him by this vote. This is the Bush, Chaney, Rumsfield war-period.

Wasn't sure if it was going to get noticed cause it's already posted here. :)

It's just so frustrating cause lots of people listen to Tom and get their news from him and the Cable News. Of course he is no political expert like Rev. Al, but it's just sad to hear them fall for the spin. Didn't they listen to what each Dem said? I can understand him mentioning Hillary (cause of 08), but I do wonder if this is going to be a problem for all Dems that are running in future elections.

We have to find ways to get the truth out to them. I even heard Tom say that he reads AP and looks at The O'Liely Factor. :puke:

The criticism may die down after everyone stops analyzing Liberman's loss. Or, the spin could intensify.

To be fair, John Kerry is really the only Democrat who voted for the IWR who's done a whole lot to try to right that wrong. I don't want this to be a problem for him, but there are other Dems who brought this upon themselves.

Either way, you are right - we have to be vigilant, and work to get the truth out there.

The problem however is that he (and other Dems) are stuck defending it.

And now you have Gergen and the WP saying that the Lamont victory is going to help Gore cause he is moving to the left and didn't have to vote for the IWR.

I feel Bush would have gone to war with Iraq regardless. No, they can't see that becasue they would rather pat themselves on the head and say I was right, they were wrong and I need an ego inflation so I'll bash the Democrats. This is the mistake some people have made and that some continue to make. It really doesn't matter now if a person was right on Iraq to begin with, what matters now is fixing that mistake and the Bush Doctrine. That's my opinion but it seems that both Sharpton and Moore have used Lamont's victory last night to congradulate themselves rather than the voters last night.

And I like Al, but this is so disappointing coming from him. At least he didn't call Kerry out though (or not yet).

I seem to recall he wasn't all that thrilled with Kerry. So how does he explain his support for Hillary when she's the chief centrist cook spoiling the broth.

He was on TJ three times and he treated him ok. He even referred to him as "my man John Kerry" after the 1st debate. I think Tom wanted JK to be Clinton (campaingning like 1992 and 96).

I remember the first time JK called in (around August 04). Tom questioned him about why he wasn't fighting back against the Swifties. He liked his ideas regarding HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and health care, but didn't like how he handled the smears.

The second interview had him explaining about Iraq and asking about the rally in Philly with B. Clinton. Tom told JK to tell him hello cause it was his first public appearance since Bill's heart operation.

The last interview was on Election Day (sigh) and I remember Kerry being really enthusiastic about winning. The last question Tom asked was do you think they (Rove, the GOP) were going to do something sneaky? Kerry said that he was just holding his breath and see what happens after that.

I wish he had some audio archives available, but he doesn't. There was a thread I found in the DU archives that had good feedback from the interview.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=775260




As far as love for Hillary. It goes back to The First Black president adoration during the Clinton years. Blacks related to Clinton, cause like them, he came from a tough, yet humble upbringing. And there were black leaders that defended him during the impeachment trial (and Lieberman).

That said, Tom's support for Hillary (and Bill) is support for wanting him back in the WH cause life was better under Bill with peace and prosperity, the saxophone and smooth demeanor.