- McCain’s 7 top campaign advisers are Washington lobbyists.

- McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time.

- Palin was for the ‘bridge to nowhere, before she was against it.

Politico’s Ben Smith asked Koch what prompted the Obama endorsement: “The designation of Palin to be vice president. She’s scary…Any time someone goes to the library and says, ‘I want to ban books,’ and the librarian says ‘no,’ and she threatens to fire them — that’s scary.”

***ED KOCH’S STATEMENT***

I have concluded that the country is safer in the hands of Barack Obama, leader of the Democratic Party and protector of the philosophy of that party. Protecting and defending the U.S. means more than defending us from foreign attacks. It includes defending the public with respect to their civil rights, civil liberties and other needs, e.g., national health insurance, the right of abortion, the continuation of Social Security, gay rights, other rights of privacy, fair progressive taxation and a host of other needs and rights.

If the vice president were ever called on to lead the country, there is no question in my mind that the experience and demonstrated judgment of Joe Biden is superior to that of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a plucky, exciting candidate, but when her record is examined, she fails miserably with respect to her views on the domestic issues that are so important to the people of the U.S., and to me. Frankly, it would scare me if she were to succeed John McCain in the presidency.

***

Worth noting is that she was the mayor of a town with 9,000 people, which is a smaller population than if you were to draw a two block radius from my house. And he’s tapped her to be the vice president of the United States of America? A 72 year-old heartbeat away from being the most powerful leader of the free world? Astonishing that McCain made the decision to choose someone not with experience to lead the United States, but someone with incredibly socially conservative values in a move meant to pacify the extreme right.

Immediately following the decision, one of Oregon’s Christian terrorist organizations came out applauding his choice which only goes to further show my point above.

While yes, Sarah Palin may energize an evangelical base, she has no experience to be the vice president. She may be able to lead a population of 9,000 – or maybe even 683,478 in Alaska, but there is a massive difference in the needs our country that we must satisfy when we’re in the middle of a war that is out of control, huge economic crisis and the loss of respect from the rest of the world.

We are the United States of America and this is no time to choose a leader to simply placate the extreme right on social issues.

All in all I am glad that McCain has picked Palin. After what may have been the most successful convention in modern history, the Democratic Party is ready to rock and roll with the leadership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Sen. Hillary Clinton motioned to cut the roll call short saying, “With eyes firmly fixed on the future, and in the spirit of unity with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let’s declare together with one voice right here, right now that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president.”

“Is there a second?” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California asked the crowd of more than 4,400 delegates.

Delegates then affirmed Obama as their choice with cheers, officially capping a long and hard-fought battle between Obama and Clinton.

Clinton released her delegates earlier in the day, freeing them to vote for Obama if they wanted to do so.

The roll call vote got the third night of the Democratic National Convention off to an energetic start.

(via CNN)

In other news, it looks like Barack and Biden have the upper hand in some major swing states. (via Time)

Via HRC:
“In selecting Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, Senator Obama has chosen a proven and effective advocate for fairness and equality that our entire community can be proud of,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Senator Biden’s record in the United States Senate is one of support and understanding that has been unwavering throughout his career.”

Recently, Senator Biden, as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, played an instrumental role in securing the passage of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), legislation which included Senator John Kerry and Senator Gordon Smith’s provision repealing the discriminatory HIV travel and immigration ban. His working across the aisle guaranteed that the Kerry-Smith provision was adopted. Furthermore, when opponents of the provision attempted to garner support to strip the provision from the bill, Senator Biden fought to keep the provision in the bill and helped secure the votes for PEPFAR’S final passage.

“We only need to look back to the recent passage of the repeal of the HIV travel and immigration ban to see the type of leadership we can expect from Senator Biden on the issues important to our community,” continued Solmonese. “It was because of his determination and tenacity that we were able to see this relic of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS torn down.”

“If the support Senator Biden has proven on our issues is any indication of the type of Vice President he will be than our community can be assured that Senator Obama has chosen a thoughtful and staunch advocate for equality as his closest adviser,” concluded Solmonese.

Highlights of Senator Joe Biden’s Record of Support for the GLBT Community
101st Congress (1989-1990): Overall Scorecard Rating 90%
102nd Congress (1991-1992): Overall Scorecard Rating 91%
103rd Congress (1993-1994): Overall Scorecard Rating 89%
104th Congress (1995-1996): Overall Scorecard Rating 78%
105th Congress (1997-1998): Overall Scorecard Rating 83%
106th Congress (1999-2000): Overall Scorecard Rating 86%
107th Congress (2001-2002): Overall Scorecard Rating 100%
108th Congress (2003-2004): Overall Scorecard Rating 63%
109th Congress (2005-2006): Overall Scorecard Rating 78%

● Helms Amendment – Hate Crimes Statistics Act (February 8, 1990)
Senator Helms offered an amendment to a hate crimes statistics bill (S. AMDT. 1251 to S. 419) stating that “the homosexual movement threatens the strength and survival of the American family” and that “state sodomy laws should be enforced.” The Helms amendment failed 19-77 (Record Vote No. 12). HRC opposed this amendment. Biden also opposed it.

● District of Columbia’s Health Care Benefits Expansion Act (July 30, 1992)
Senator Brock Adams (D-WA) offered a procedural motion to block attempts to repeal the District of Columbia’s Health Care Benefits Expansion Act, a measure adopted by the D.C. Council to provide D.C. government employees the opportunity to purchase health care coverage for their domestic partners. The motion failed 41-51 and implementation of the D.C. law was subsequently prohibited by Congress. HRC supported this motion. Biden also supported it.

● Justice Clarence Thomas Confirmation (October 15, 1991)
The Senate voted on President George H.W. Bush’s nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed his nomination 52-48 (Record Vote No. 220). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.

● Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement (November 4, 1993)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered an amendment to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1993 (S. AMDT. 1097 to S. 1607) to increase penalties for federal crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation and other characteristics. The Feinstein Amendment was the first piece of federal legislation to provide protection on the basis of sexual orientation. The amendment passed 95-4 (Record Vote No. 351). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.

● Codification of the Ban on Gays and Lesbians in the Military (September 9, 1993)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 (S. AMDT. 783 to S. 1298) to prevent codification of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on lesbians and gays in the military. The amendment failed 33-63 (Record Vote No. 250). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.

● District of Columbia’s Domestic Partners Ordinance (July 27, 1993)
An amendment was offered to allow the District of Columbia to implement its ordinance allowing unmarried couples or partners to register with the D.C. government, making them eligible for group health insurance offered to D.C. government employees for a higher premium. It failed 43-55 (Record Vote No. 217). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.

● Employment Non-Discrimination Act (September 10, 1996)
In its first test in Congress, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 932), which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, came within one vote of passage in the Senate. Senator David Pryor (D-AR), who supported ENDA, missed the vote for a family emergency. The bill failed 49-50 (Record Vote No. 281). HRC supported this bill. Biden also supported it.

● Hate Crimes Amendment to Defense Authorization (June 20, 2000)
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, renamed the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, as an amendment to the fiscal year 2001 defense authorization bill (S. AMDT. 3473 to S. 2549). The Kennedy-Smith amendment would extend basic hate crime protections to all Americans in all communities by adding real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to the categories covered and by removing the federally protected activity requirement. This amendment was overwhelmingly approved 57-42 (Record Vote No. 136). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.

● Federal Marriage Amendment (July 14, 2004)
The Federal Marriage Amendment (S.J. Res 40), introduced in the Senate by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), would have enshrined discrimination into the U.S. Constitution by defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman and prohibiting federal and state laws from conferring same-sex couples with marital status and “the legal incidents thereof,” thereby endangering civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. The amendment needed a two-thirds majority (67) to be passed in the Senate and a three-fifths majority (60) to proceed to a vote on the amendment (cloture). The cloture motion failed 48-50 (Record Vote No. 155). HRC opposed this cloture motion. Biden also opposed it.

● Federal Marriage Amendment (June 7, 2006)
The Marriage Protection Amendment (formerly called the Federal Marriage Amendment) (S.J. Res. 1) would have enshrined discrimination into the U.S. Constitution by defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman and prohibiting federal and state laws from conferring same-sex couples with marital status and “the legal incidents thereof.” The amendment would thereby endanger civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. The amendment failed by a vote of 49-48, falling 11 votes short of the 60 necessary to invoke cloture, a procedural motion to advance to a vote on the substance of the bill (Record Vote No. 163). The amendment would have needed 67 votes (two-thirds majority) to pass. HRC opposed this amendment. Biden also opposed it.

● Justice Samuel Alito Confirmation (January 31, 2006)
The Senate voted on President W. Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed his nomination 58-42 (Record Vote No. 2). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.

● Judge William Pryor Confirmation (June 9, 2005)
The Senate voted on President Bush’s nomination of Judge William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate confirmed his nomination 53-45 (Record Vote No. 133). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.