The Hollywood Liberal

Bonus Quote of the Day
“Many of you feel a responsibility to the voters in your state. Others want the choice to vote what’s in your heart. I am not telling you what to do.”

— Sen. Hillary Clinton, essentially releasing her delegates to vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

The Happy Warrior
Sixty years later, Hubert — can you believe it?

Humphrey returns from the 1948 Democratic Convention

Growing up in Minnesotan this speech sixty years ago at the 1948 Democratic Convention, and the man who gave it has always meant something special to me:

Fellow Democrats, fellow Americans:

I realize that in speaking in behalf of the minority report on civil rights as presented by Congressman DeMiller of Wisconsin that I am dealing with a charged issue — with an issue which has been confused by emotionalism on all sides of the fence. I realize that there are here today friends and colleagues of mine, many of them, who feel just as deeply and keenly as I do about this issue and who are yet in complete disagreement with me…

Friends, delegates, I do not believe that there can be any compromise on the guarantee of civil rights which I have mentioned in the minority report.

In spite of my desire for unanimous agreement on the entire platform, in spite of my desire to see everybody here in honest and unanimous agreement, there are some matters which I think must be stated clearly and without qualification. There can be no hedging — the newspaper headlines are wrong! There will be no hedging, and there will be no watering down — if you please — of the instruments and the principals of the civil-rights program!…

To those who say, my friends, to those who say, that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years late! To those who say, to those who say this civil-rights program is an infringement on states’ rights, I say this: the time has arrived in America for the Democratic party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights!

Sixty years later Hubert we are getting there. It is by no means the end, but it is a pretty awesome step.

Oh, and this happens to be the forty-fifth anniversary of another great moment which makes tonight all the more satisfying.

Never prouder to be an American, never prouder to be a Democrat.

(photo via the Nandotimes)

Thread
And now, a few words about healthcare.

Signed,
Not Atrios

Why We Need a Revolution
Efficiency tweaks won’t save us. Even if every car in the world were a hybrid, growing demand would dwarf savings.

The Christian Right’s Slick Campaign to Make Abstinence Seem Trendy
Conservatives finally learned that moralizing doesn’t keep teens from having sex. Now they have a creepy new tactic.

James Carville Hasn’t Changed; He Was A Spy for Bush in 2004
This is a repost of what I wrote here in TPM in 2006. I just came across a troubling incident that Bob Woodward reports in his new book. Very troubling. On page 344, Woodward describes the doings at the White…

Moment of History
Our David Kurtz on the convention floor as Hillary calls to make Obama nominee by acclamation … More here….

Hillary Clinton’s Grand Slam

Oh, the talking heads were talking. Oh, my were their lips flapping. Hillary wasn’t capable of fully supporting Obama. The Clintons were going to fracture the party. Why were the Clintons invited to speak in the first place? There was a ton of nauseating commentary with no substance. Just filling air-time.

From her opening paragraph, Hillary Clinton made it clear that she was supporting Barack Obama and she wanted her supports to get behind Obama also.

I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

She went on to say …

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.

This won’t be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don’t fight to put a Democrat in the White House.

We need to elect Barack Obama…

Hillary Clinton went the extra mile. She made it clear that she was on the team bus and wanted her supporters to join her on the bus. Her speech was perfect. She talked about why she wanted to run and why she now supports Obama. She hit George Bush and John McCain with several excellent lines. (suggesting that she will be an excellent campaigner in the fall for Obama) Any speech that can mention Harriett Tubman, the woman’s suffrage movement and universal health care is a great speech in my book. Hillary Clinton hit this one out of the park. Outstanding!!!

Bill gives Obama forceful endorsement
Bill gives Obama forceful endorsement

Arctic ice shrinks to 2nd-lowest level
Climate change rapidly transforming northern ecosystems: researchers.

One Year Ago Today, Alberto Gonzales Resigned
One year ago today, Alberto Gonzales resigned as Attorney General of the United States amid questions of his “competence to run the Justice Department” and “accusations of perjury.” As the Washington Post reported at the time, Gonzales was “one of the nation’s most controversial attorneys general since the Watergate era”: [Gonzales’s] resignation, submitted Sunday to President […]

One year ago today, Alberto Gonzales resigned as Attorney General of the United States amid questions of his “competence to run the Justice Department” and “accusations of perjury.” As the Washington Post reported at the time, Gonzales was “one of the nation’s most controversial attorneys general since the Watergate era”:

[Gonzales’s] resignation, submitted Sunday to President Bush and disclosed yesterday, removes one of the nation’s most controversial attorneys general since the Watergate era. He will leave behind a Justice Department battered by allegations that partisan politics has infected its law enforcement mission.

Gonzales’ departure from the Bush administration has done little to reverse the well-documented politicization of the Justice Department.

In recent months, his replacement — Micheal Mukasey — has refused to say whether he believes Gonzales politicized the department, has promised not to investigate officials who authorized the use of torture on detainees of the U.S. government, and has refused to review the qualifications of career employees hired by former loyal Bushie Monica Goodling. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said recently, Mukasey “hasn’t provided the balance that I had hoped for.”

In April, the New York Times reported that Gonzales “has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster” as a result of his performance as Attorney General. Gonzales found work — at least temporarily — in June, when he was hired to “provide assistance to a special master on a patent case.”

Black Delegates Also Bask in Obama’s Big Moment
DENVER, Aug. 27 — Lena Taylor, a Wisconsin state senator from Milwaukee, is “overwhelmed” by the history that will be made Thursday night, when Sen. Barack Obama will become the first African American to accept a major-party presidential nomination. Add in that his acceptance will come on the 45th…