The next 3 months are really going to suck. big time.

[cali]

The ugly underbelly of racism, bigotry, hate and lies are going to be right up in our faces thanks to rMoney, repukes, Citizen's United and the xian right. The complicit MSM will do virtually nothing to call out this stinking garbage.

This is going to be the ugliest election season of my lifetime by leaps and bounds.

It's hard to take.

[elleng]

1. Yes cali, you're right.

We'll have to take a LOT of deep breaths, and work very hard.

[2ndAmForComputers]

2. Just think of the days immediately afterwards and all the Nelson Muntzing you're gonna do.

[Lint Head]

3. Thank God for Xanax.

It's already been ridiculously bigoted and racist. It will get worse. I am going to immerse myself into finishing some songs I'm writing.

[Texasgal]

4. I feel like diving under the covers

with a good crime novel and wait until it is over. Ugh.

[dogknob]

5. Yes. War is ugly.

And that's what this is.

You and I have discussed this in the past.

[JanetLovesObama]

6. Used to it.

I've gotten so used to the hate and bigotry towards President Obama and his family these past 5 years I just brush it off now. I live in Texas. The shock is long gone.

[cali]

10. I live in Vermont

We may be the whitest state but Vermonters support President Obama more than the voters in any other state with the possible exception of Hawaii.

[rox63]

26. Are you getting any of the attack ads aimed at NH?

We're seeing them in the Boston tv market. I know other states are seeing worse, but what I'm seeing is bad enough.

[randome]

7. After the first debate, I think we'll all feel better.

[MrSlayer]

8. It already sucks.

I'm suffering from political fatigue already. Battling so many stupid people day in and day out is getting to me. I might need to take off for awhile.

[jwirr]

9. I have always hated the election season but I actually fear this one. The other side has abandoned

all pretense to any kind of ethical behavior.

[dtom67]

14. Hear ya...

the worst part is that people seem to flock to this ugly hate-crap.


but I still have hope that they are just a very loud and visible minority.


I've never understood why people need a TV commercial or some preacher to tell them how to vote.


Fuck 'em.

[Warpy]

11. The ads are already starting to creep into National Geo and Science

and even Ovation. Soon the set will be tuned to TCM and nothing else and if they're playing shite, I'll listen to net radio or watch DVDs. I knew it was coming. I've stripped Costco of all their BBC sets of literature vids. Or I'll see if PBS is doing their interminable fundraising and if not, watch them for a while.

This is likely to be the worst election advertising season ever.

[dogknob]

12. And thanks to people like you it may soon be Ostrich Season.

Get out of the bubble.

[Warpy]

16. I sense no profit in hanging my nose over a cesspit to see if it stinks.

I know it does.

Your mileage may vary.

[dogknob]

19. We need to win by a margin so large that not even Diebold can "fix" it.

That's going to involve more than sticking around here all the time talking about how we're right and they're wrong.

True, there are many who will always see any hard, verifiable evidence as lefty propaganda.

It's the people who say they "don't do politics" who need to be reached. Often.

It's hard, it's frustrating, and sometimes the sense of futility can be overwhelming. That's why I have DU to keep me going in the real world.

And I frankly don't care if you have 8 million posts to my 800. An ostrich is an ostrich.

Try this out on your don't-do-politics friends: "It's up to you to decide who the bad guys are, but by doing nothing you are definitely helping them."

[rocktivity]

13. Fortunately, it looks like Obama's going to fight back, so we'd better ready, too.

They want a class/woman war? Let's give 'em one!

I'm fired up and ready to go, with claws sprung and sharpened --

[center]
[font size="16px"]"JUNGLE RED!!!"[/font]
[/center]

[Jessy169]

15. The one enjoyable aspect of this election so far

has been watching Mitt the Twit making a complete ass out of himself. The Romney three-country foreign gaffe-a-thon tour kept me laughing and the cartoonists busy the whole time. As much as I also hate the despicable appeals to racism and the lies and other loathesome politics coming from the Repubican side, the humorous "silver lining" to this cloud has been watching Romney self-destruct. From the looks of it, the "fun" is just beginning. So yeah, very ugly, very disturbing -- but try looking on the "bright side". Keep the sense of humor going and we'll make it through November.

[toddwv]

17. Eh...

I frequent an online discussion site (politicalforum.com) that is teeming with right-wingers.

The dregs of humanity surface when they are given the shroud of anonymity that the internet provides and it is UGLY... 365/52/24/7.

So I'm not surprised at all when the most base elements of society peek out from underneath their rocks.

[elfin]

18. I am only watching via DVR to skip the hate

Have long ago checked out of many "news" programs in favor of Stewart, Colbert and Charlie Rose.

Hit DU and NYT etc via Internet in the AM to see if there is a reason to turn on the TV for breaking news that is truly important.

Might check out Charlie on CBS AM, and flicker into MIka and Joe until my agitation levels obviate my blood pressure med.

Then on to classical music for the PT/exercise routine.

I already know I support the Dems, so don't need or appreciate another hyper view that makes me crazy.

[Fumesucker]

20. Wait until Obama wins..

This is nothing, the right wing is going to go so far off into the weeds it'll make today's insanity seem quaint..

[JDPriestly]

21. That is because the stakes are so high.

This is one of the most important elections ever. The elections seem to grow in importance as the country is torn apart.

[derby378]

22. OR...

...the next three months could be the Democratic Party's finest season since 1994.

We have three months to get our Democratic candidates elected to the US house as well as the state legislatures. My House candidate is Katherine Savers McGovern, who is looking to unseat Pete Sessions. My state lege candidate is Carol Kent, former state legislator and daughter of an old friend, who is running against an inexperienced Republican candidate for an open seat.

Let's face it - things aren't going to get any better if Barack Obama wins a second term but the House remains in the hands of the Tea Party, which is making life hell in Texas for anyone making less than $250K per year. Obama needs some love, sure, but not at the expense of our House, Senate, and state candidates.

We have three months to work for everyone on our ticket. We can do this.

[fadedrose]

23. I dunno....I recall one year that wasn't a picnic

I watched the Chicago Democratic Convention when Sen. Eugene McCarthy was running against...guess what...I forget who he was running against. Mayor Daily had cops all over the street because of the rioters who were being beaten and jailed left and right, and this wasn't Republicans against Dems - it was Dem/lefts against Dem/rights in the convention hall itself as well. Need some help here, what year, anyone? While you're at it, what were they fighting about? I forget that too.

I still remember the closing night when they showed the streets sad, empty, and battle-littered, and NBC played Frank Sinatra's "Chicago."


Oh, not anywhere near as dramatic, but memorable all the same, when Jimmie Carter won the Dem nomination, Sen. Edward Kennedy who also had been running refused to shake the hand Carter extended to him on stage at the celebration of his victory.

In fact, I can't think of a peaceful election....I sort of remember the Supreme Court and a lot of people going cross-eyed in Florida counting chads.

If you say that this will be the worst, I don't know if the party/country can take anything worse.

But I agree with you, it will be bad...

[radiclib]

33. 1968

Robert Kennedy had forced LBJ to withdraw by entering the race as a second antiwar candidate along with McCarthy, and was murdered for his trouble. Sitting Veep and LBJ toady Hubert Humphrey was poised to take the nomination away from McCarthy despite the fact that he won exactly ZERO primaries. The nomination process had revealed itself as a joke, further inflaming the antiwar protesters to take to the Chicago streets. Mayor Daley, the very embodiment of an old-time party boss, ordered skulls to be cracked. Inside the hall, the war and the treatment of the protesters on the street were blowing the party apart. Even Dan Rather got his ass kicked. Fun times for all.

[oldhippydude]

34. in 1968 i worked for Gene Mc Carthy in Oregon..

that primary was a couple of weeks before California... most of us working the campaign pretty much knew that the momentum was going toward Bobby Kennedy at that point... of course Bobby was assassinated in California..


yes i remember HHH i sure as hell voted for him over Nixon...You can say what you want about Mayor Daly, yes was an old style machine politician... and the bloodbath in the streets and parks was a national disgrace, and was a large part of putting Nixon in the Whitehouse.. Hubert Humphrey will always be remembered as an old line labor union liberal..

before you put down HHH too much remember this was 68... a lot of people still supported the war.. what hurt HHH was that he was LBJ's vice president, and hence was identified with the war.. the only thing Nixon had to do was to come forward saying he had a plan.. the voters did the rest.. sure enough he had a stop the war in 72

that was Hubert Horatio Humphrey.. btw

[fadedrose]

38. I voted for him in the primaries

and was so angry at the convention that they had the audacity not to nominate him for some stupid reason.

I was a bit peeved with McCarthy after his loss, I mean after he was robbed, because he didn't go public to make us supporters feel better. Everyone of us felt as bad as he did and we needed him.

Oh the memories.....

[fadedrose]

37. Thank you!!! How could I forget Robert Kennedy???

I saw that scene where he got shot so many times on TV I thought I'd never forget , but somehow the convention took a memory all on its own. Omg, and Hubert Humphrey with no primary wins...

I knew all that and forgot...

This would have to be one helluvan election year to be worse.

[SHRED]

24. The MSM makes money off this garbage...

...so why should they question it?

[bvar22]

40. Exactly!

The more they can make it look like a dramatic Horse Race,
the more they can inflame people by pandering to the least common denominator,
the more $ they will rake in.
The also is true for both Political Parties.
Perpetual Elections are NOW very, VERY Big Business, hand in glove with the Media,
worth $BILLIONS$.
Both Parties, and their business partners in the MSM appear to be downplaying the actual issues and the impact of things like Free Trade on the Working Class,
and focusing on the Jerry Springer aspects of the campaign.

"Oh No He DIIIINNNNIT!"

[SHRED]

41. PLUS...

...they get paid from Super PACs for the advertising.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

25. So glad to live in a blue state. I pity the battleground states.

[dogknob]

30. I live in Orange County, CA. We are outnumbered by more than 2-1

I wear my "Kochroaches Are People, My Friend" button whenever I leave the house.

I get hateful glares from trophy wives in line at Pedro's Tacos.

Clever words such as "hippie," "faggot," and "communist" magically surface in conversations when I am in the room.

Occasionally I am asked questions by people who are genuinely puzzled as to the meaning of the button -- the sorts who "don't do politics." These are the moments that make it all worthwhile because I get to explain what it means and I do so in a respectful tone. I do not condescend. I do not insult. And I am armed with cold, verifiable facts.

Lots of people who didn't know who the Koch Brothers are do now.

I have convinced people to remove their money from Wells Fargo and put it into a local Credit Union -- and had them approach me later to tell me that they actually did it.

I have convinced people that Eric Holder is being attacked for doing his job and defending the voting rights of minorities.

I have convinced people that Ron Paul panders to liberals by offering them what they want in exchange for ignoring his racist views.

Not many people, but Jumpin' Bajeezopotamus! What if we ALL convinced 5 people? It takes a lot of crap and futility to get those 5, but it is totally vital to winning in November.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

42. I'm in Orange County too. Saw a Ru Paul sign in a window in Newport Beach. :)

[glowing]

27. Try living in a "Swing St".. Commercial after commercial of political ads...

and its only been Romney/ Obama so far.. I saw my first anti-Nelson one start about a week ago...

[davidthegnome]

28. There is a bright side to this

We aren't fighting among ourselves nearly as much as we did during 2008. I remember constantly suffering the contempt of Clinton supporters who told me I was too young to know what (or who) I was voting for. Nothing has ever made me more angry than being talked down to, so I generally responded in kind. In retrospect, I suppose 24 is rather young, but I was a very self educated 24.

We've got our guy - and I don't think there are many dems or progressives who won't get out and vote for him. Romney is disgusting and scary and will not appeal to those of us who don't invent our own facts. I've run into precious few people here in Maine that like him - though in my area the complaint is that he's too "liberal". Maybe it'll keep some idiots from voting R this time around.

Overall, I'm optimistic. We may not have the same spending power as the right - or the same fanaticism as the Christian right, but what we do have on our side is pretty significant. Compassion. It has always been lacking among conservatives and it is my belief that in the end, it is what will make them go the way of the dinosaur.

[leveymg]

29. Thought you were talking about US intervention in Syria and the buildup to war with Iran

The ugly underbelly of racism, bigotry, hate and lies are going to be right up in our faces thanks to the complicit MSM, which will do virtually nothing to call out this stinking garbage. Indeed.

[Kalidurga]

31. Yep it's bad

But, I think that Democrats are going to keep the Senate, win the House back, and Obama is going to be reelected. So, if you think they are crazy now, just wait they can and will get worse. I never thought I would see this kind of racism and hate in my lifetime, but maybe it has been there all along and I just didn't see it.

[zorro1]

32. The last 15 months have been no picnic!

But you're right, last presidential election I was threatened for my Obama Biden bumper sticker. I removed it only for fear of what may happen while traveling with my children. I live in an 75% ultra conservative area in Washington State. The climate of hate is even more vocal and in your face than it was four years ago. I have already recommended to the local Dem's not to door knock in Franklin, Benton, Walla Walla, and surrounding counties. As they still say this is Bush Country. Another saying is having affordable health care would be nice but not if I have to use it to treat wounds inflicted on me by neo-cons.

[Pizz]

35. Our people are not stupid

I think they are preparing day and nite for this crap.
You know they understand its coming and as Barack says
"He may be skinny, but he's tough."

[Jamaal510]

36. Just stay away from Fox News or any right-wing sites and messaging boards,

and you should be okay. Plus there's still at least MSNBC and CurrentTV who are good at calling the G0Pee out, not to mention the trio of upcoming debates in October. Once October comes, you can look forward to watching Mitt R0bme make a clown out of himself in the debates.

[obxhead]

39. I'm not so sure about that.

Obama and his team have done an excellent job of keeping Romney on the defensive. If the story stays about Romney and his ever shifting lies it may look more like picnic with a terribly ugly pinata getting the shit beat out of it.