4/27: Does The Senate GOP Have A Frist Strike Policy?

Most eyes are on the announcement by Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist and Senate GOPers that they won't accept Senate Min. Leader Harry Reid's compromise to allow some filibustered jud. nominees come to a vote. In the blogosphere, the left and right each seem to be equally convinced that Senate GOPers either do not, or do (respectively), have the votes to change the filibuster rule. Both sides also strongly think the Dems, or GOP (respectively), have the upper hand in '06.

Elsewhere, mostly liberals and centrists criticize -- and poke fun at -- Pres. Bush for his hand-holding photo-shoot with the Saudi Crown Prince. Meanwhile, conservatives are angry with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) for giving an anti-Bush speech on the anniv. of Abu Ghraib while ignoring more positive dates related to the conflict. And campaign finance-concerned Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) rejects the invitation of DailyKos -- where Feingold himself occasionally blogs -- to sign onto a Senate bill that would keep the FEC from regulating blogs' political activities.

Plus: A one-size-fits all blog post.

TRACKBACKS: Aired Grievances

Where the blog swarm is headed, who's taking part, and what they're saying:

• The AP's early version of the no-compromise story seems to get the most attention from lefty blogs: Obsidian Wings; No More Mister Nice Blog; Joe Gandelman; The Left Coaster; Electablog; MyDD; Talking Points Memo.

  >> Liberal Jeralyn Merritt: "I don't think Frist has the votes in his own party to pass the nuclear option. I don't see him as a viable 2008 presidential candidate anyway, but if he loses this battle, he's toast in that regard. The war isn't over, we need to stay vigilant. I suspect one of the fallouts will be the passage of the Real ID Act. ... Even so, Sen. Reid has earned our praise. We're lucky to have him." Lefties Oliver Wills and DailyKos both describe it as a Frist-"blinks" situation.

  >> Blogs for Bush: "This is great news. Republicans have the votes to ban judicial filibuster, and the Democrats are losing their battle of obstruction." Conservative Captain's Quarters: "Fine and good. Now will someone tell me what their negotiations covered during the past three months? It cannot have taken 100 days of this session to reach the same positions that existed at the beginning of this session."

• A New York Times op-ed by Bob Dole -- who hopes the rule change isn't "necessary" but disagrees with the Dems' version of filibuster history -- gets a number of links from the right: QandO; The Corner; Betsy's Page; PoliPundit; Joe Gandelman. Not linking, but on topic: at RedState, Mark Kilmer and commenters argue why the '68 filibuster of SCOTUS nominee Abe Fortas should not be applied as precedent to the current filibuster debate.

  >> Outside the Beltway: "Unfortunately, the public has been ill-served by incompetent civics teachers, who misinform students about the nature of checks and balances. The nonsense about the Framers creating three "co-equal" branches and the inclusion of the filibuster as part of the checks and balances mechanism is so ingrained in most people that the actual history of the Constitution seems odd."

• Just before deadline, a post on the Drudge Report was picking up attention about Air America radio talker Randi Rhodes playing a "skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning" to Bush resulting in a Secret Service investigation. So far, only righties: The Museum of Left-Wing Lunacy; Michelle Malkin; My View of the World; The Corner; Observations; Charles Johnson.

  >> Pejman Yousefzadeh: "I sincerely doubt that Air America was trying to inspire someone to kill the President, but to say the least, the comments were in exceedingly poor taste. And if rhetoric such as the above are all they are good for, then perhaps they are not good for anything at all." Damian Penny snarks: "What is happening in America, when you can't even make a joke about killing the President on the radio without getting a visit from the Secret Service? Damn you, Ashcroft!"

BUSH: Not That There's Anything Wrong With That

Reason's Matt Welch: "If, as the saying once went, the road to Riyadh runs through Baghdad, there was no evidence on display during Crown Prince Abdullah's world-leader-leading second visit" to Crawford. "Besides making sure that all the Kingdom's 26 million oppressed subjects saw multiple images of their unelected theocrat being physically intimate with the Leader of the Free World, Bush and his pal Abdullah issued a mealy-mouthed joint statement" which made no mention of "recent Saudi floggings and imprisonment of 100 men for "dancing and 'behaving like women,'" or of the continued imprisonment of three dissidents who dared call for elections and free assembly." Welch, on part of the statement that promised to make it easier for "Saudi businessmen and students" to enter the U.S.: "Well, forgive me for being cranky about it, but I'll go ahead and place the speeding-up of visas for young Saudis pretty low on my things-I-must-do list."

Centrist BuzzMachine, on the photo op: "Bush is going to regret this photo."

Lefty Justin Logan: "I was getting more and more pissed off last night about it, but another blogger has "driven me over the edge with allegations of 'ethnocentricity' and 'vague homophobia' against those of us who were wondering what the hell is going on with that. ... A gay friend this morning asked me in so many words: 'What the hell is going on with that?'" More: "I'm not one of those 'Topple the House of Saud!' nutjobs, but for God's sake, at the very least an arm's length relationship (in both physical and figurative terms) is in order."

BLOGS VS. THE WORLD: Feingold Rejects Kos' Challenge

DailyKos diarist/Sen. Feingold responds to Markos Moulitsas' request (see 4/25 Blogometer) that he sign onto S. 678 to prevent FEC regulation of blogs, explaining it "would exempt all communications on the Internet from the definition of 'public communication' in the campaign finance laws" and writes: "Opening this loophole would undo all of the successes of BCRA that we saw in 2004, from increasing the number of small dollar donations to reenergizing the party." Moulitsas responds: "Fair enough. The Internet IS a loophole. But one that is necessary to ensure the success of that all important unfettered and free blogosphere." And there's plenty more between the 2.

Meanwhile at RedState, GOP activist Mike Krempasky explains why the FEC's proposed "'volunteer exemption' and the 'media exemption'" are insufficient to protect all bloggers.

Liberal Duncan "Atrios" Black: "It isn't about whether the internet should have some sort of exception that the rest of the media doesn't enjoy -- the rest of the media already enjoys it. The question is why the internet should be singled out for disclosure requirements that other outlets for expression aren't subject to. ... To put it another way, let's say I turn my blog over to Joe Trippi for a few weeks. Would he have to post up his full client list on the blog? Doesn't sound unreasonable, except for the fact that he never had to do so when appearing on MSNBC or any other outlet."

Later, Markos responds to those who don't believe he showed Feingold "proper deference": "I consider this place a community of equals, and Russ Feingold gets as much deference as any of you would get -- which is praise if I agree with you, and a sharp dissent if I don't. On the issue of Internet regulation, Feingold and I have a sharp disagreement, but that does nothing to lessen my admiration and respect for the man," and "despite our disagreements, I think Feingold's participation in this debate is extremely exciting."

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Another Brick At The Wall (Street Journal)

Centrist liberal Brendan Nyhan criticizes a 4/26 WSJ editorial "on the tax code, which concludes that "[t]he U.S. tax system is already 'progressive' enough," uses a common trick: talking about the rising tax share paid by upper income Americans without once mentioning the rising pre-tax income share that they receive. ... When you receive a disproportionate increase in pre-tax income, you're going to pay more taxes -- this isn't rocket science."

Lefty Kevin Drum points up a chart the WSJ "must have inadvertantly overlooked" that shows middle-class rates rising about 1% with upper-class rates falling about 9% and says: "I see that the Wall Street Journal is busily cementing its reputation as the most dishonest editorial page in the country." Citing a New York Times story, TalkLeft asks: "Why is Laci Peterson more important than Lisa Eatmon? Both were 8 months pregnant when they were killed and dumped in the water. In both cases, their husbands were charged amid claims by authorities they were running for the border. But I bet you've never even heard of Lisa Eatmon, let alone seen her face every night on the cable news shows." Several of her commenters speculate the difference is racial; Peterson was white, Eatmon was black.

Conservative Michelle Malkin weighs in with an alternate take: "Laci went missing on Christmas Eve 2002 and the mystery lasted until the following spring ... The twists and turns in the case .. and Amber Frey, etc., etc., provided irresistible fodder for the cable news networks and crime shows. By contrast, Eatmon hadn't been reported as missing... [when] her body was found and suspected nothing before the discovery. Since the body was recovered, the New York Times has run six Metro section stories on the case ... [and] the New York tabloids and wire services have published a total of 31 stories on Lisa Eatmon's murder. Not exactly the silent treatment."

BOLTON: A Matter Of Characters

WSJ's James Taranto locates a Salon piece on U.N. Amb. nominee John Bolton from 7/16/03, which goes: "Bolton is surely 'an ideologue's ideologue,' as his frequent sparring partner Joseph Cirincione, at the mainstream Carnegie Foundation, describes him. But it's also not quite that simple. For one, unlike most ideologues, particularly hard-charging ones on the right, Bolton gains power from his pleasant demeanor, much as Jesse Helms does. During the Florida recount, Bolton was a confident and calm professional." Taranto comments: "This should make it clear, if it wasn't already, that the complaints about Bolton's demeanor and temperament are simply a smokescreen for ideological objections to his pro-American worldview."

Ed Lasky at the American Thinker concludes at the end of a lengthy critique of reputed Bolton critic/ex-Sec/State Colin Powell: "Should we be surprised that a man who betrays a mentor and plagiarizes his idea, a man who says one thing in front of a camera and the opposite behind the scenes, a man who refuses to risk his reputation by engaging in military activity, a man who counsels appeasement to dictators, who permits Shiites to be sacrificed to the genocidal Hussein, would betray an administration that bestowed upon him one of the most prestigious titles in the world? Frankly, no."

SOCIAL SECURITY: The Only Thing They Agree On -- Someone's Getting Snookered

Conservative Power Line's John Hinderaker, on the Dems' 4/26 rally against Bush's SocSec plans featuring fed'l workers: "This really is demagoguery at its worst. Federal employees already have a private contribution plan. No member of Congress relies on Social Security for his or her retirement. I doubt whether any Democratic member of Congress really believes that Social Security reform would be a bad thing. But naked politics rules, and the Democrats are once again betting that the ill-informed will be a majority on this issue. ... The Democratic Party's cynical exploitation of these people is one of the scandals of the current political era."

Liberal Talking Points Memo, on the extension of the 60-day SocSec tour: "White House exteeeeeeeends Bamboozlepalooza Tour past 60 day deadline! Because two months of humiliating failure just isn't enough ..."

Lefty economist prof Brad DeLong disagrees with Washington Post's Jon Weisman for writing that Dems see the SocSec issue "as their best chance to make political gain" and writes: "Democrats see the issue as one of stopping yet another destructive and badly-thought-out Bush proposal ... It's not just about politics. After all, if it were just about politics, would the Republicans be splintering? [IA Sen. Chuck] Grassley, [WY Sen. Craig] Thomas, and [ME Sen. Olympia] Snowe are not just playing the game of politics, they are trying to figure out what is best for the country -- as are [ND Sen. Kent] Conrad and others."

WHITE HOUSE '08: Rudy Runs 'Em Over?

24 hours later, Patrick Ruffini's ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani vs. the GOP field poll has over 3250+ self-selected respondents. Whereas Rudy was handily beating Frist and John McCain yet just behind VA Sen. George Allen, he now far outdistances all comers. Allen still has a 10-point edge on the other 2. A caveat the pro-Rudy swing likely has something to do with the link from libertarian-leaning and very pro-Rudy Instapundit.

Slate's Mickey Kaus on the LAT's Ron Brownstein "party-in-a-laptop" column, mentioned in the Blogometer yesterday: "Brownstein explains the great flaw in the base-pleasing strategy of Karl Rove in 2004 and the Democratic CW now: by ignoring moderate swing voters ... the two existing parties open a royal road up the middle for a centrist third party maverick who uses the Internet to create a national organization and raise millions in a matter of days. ... Brownstein has spotted the template for 2008, I think."

IRAQ: Not-So-Happy Anniversary

Kennedy's anniversary speech draws fire from the right: Little Green Footballs: "The ever-disgraceful Ted Kennedy gave a very special speech today, using the word 'torture' 38 times ... What an absolutely reprehensible human being he has become, a glaring symbol of the irrelevance and bitterness of today's Democratic party."

Conservative Arthur Chrenkoff: "Senator Edward Kennedy didn't have anything to say on 19 March, the second anniversary of the start of the liberation of Iraq. In fact, he kept quiet until two days later, only to talk about President Bush's judicial appointments. Senator Kennedy didn't have anything to say on 9 April, the second anniversary of the liberation of Baghdad and the end of Saddam's regime. In fact, he kept quiet until the following day, when he spoke on the occasion of receiving a community award."

Ex-Army officer Phil Carter wrote last week, on the clearing of senior officials in wrongdoing at Abu Ghraib, at Intel Dump: "In the Army's leadership schools for officers and sergeants, the doctrinal manual preaches quite a different result from the outcome of this investigation. Bottom line: commanders (and NCOs) are responsible for everything their unit(s) do or fail to do, period. A commander, especially a general officer, is not just responsible for those things he/she ordered, but for those things that he/she knew about -- or should have known about."

Anti-war prof Juan Cole on a Gallup poll finding 50% of the public believes Bush actively misled them on Iraqi WMD: "I am sure that Bush & Co. exercised poor judgment, jumped to conclusions, exaggerated threats on the basis of thin evidence. All that is well documented. But it seems to me remarkable that so many in the public think they actively lied. It is easy to see why the public so concludes. ... They know that there was a pre-existening [pro-war] policy, and that the administration cut and pasted the evidence to push that policy."

BLOGGERS VS. BLOGGERS: Selective Outrage?

Liberal MaxSpeak: "Is it me, or is there much less attention from people like InstaPundit, Belmont Club, Power Line, and Roger [L.] Simon paid to anti-authoritarian uprisings in Ecuador or Mexico? Where are the extended posts, protest photographs, and denunciations of "the Left" for insufficient democratic vigor? Must we conclude that democracy is safe and secure in Latin and South America, but so imperiled in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that it requires continual surveillance?"

IN THE STATES: Tony Rap Could Still Lose?

Lefty journalist Marc Cooper: "Barely three weeks to go in the L.A. Mayoral run off between incumbent Jimmy Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa and it is -- excuse the cliche -- a real yawner. Both guys are promising the moon when -- in fact -- thepost of Mayor of Los Angeles is a weak one. ... Tony Rap, as Villaraigosa was known in high school, appears to be coasting to an easy May 17 victory. Some polls show him 20 points or more out in front with Hahn in freefall. But only the most naive would call this bout already over." As evidence, he points to an article by blogger Kevin Roderick in the Los Angeles Magazine.

MISCELLANY: Huffington, Santorum And Gannon -- Oh My!

On 5/16 Personal Democracy Forum hosts its '05 blogging conf. Among the bloggers who will be present: Hugh Hewitt, Jeff Jarvis, Dan Gillmor, DailyKos' Moulitsas, Doc Searls, Josh Marshall. Among the non-bloggers: Craigslist's Craig Newmark, GOP consultant Tucker Eskew, New York Times' Jennifer 8. Lee, MoveOn's Zack Exley, ACT chair Gina Glantz. Among those somewhere in-between: Arianna Huffington, Ex-Dean advisers Nicco Mele and Zephyr Teachout, National Review's Rich Lowry, and RedState's Krempasky.

Recently the Blogometer noticed Sen. Rick Santorum's (R-PA) bill helping Accuweather. Right-leaning Wizbang's "Jay Tea" has more: I'll admit I find the whole idea of getting excited about weather a bit silly, but to each their own. But [a couple of bloggers following the case] noticed that their criticisms of Santorum's bill (and, by extension, Accuweather) attracted some rather heated responses. [One blogger] was a bit puzzled, but Dave was intrigued enough to look into his critics. Lo and behold, he reports they are posting from IPs owned by Accuweather. ... To me, it looks like Accuweather is dabbling in ["astroturfing"], along with more traditional forms of political influence."

JustOneMinute's Tom Maguire on Gannongate, also yesterday: "Steve Soto has fun with the questions for the conspiracy-minded, but eventually get to the one question that needs to be answered before the others are relevant: 'I wonder how many other reporters have similar anomalies with their Secret Service security records? Just asking.' Exactly. At this point, we have no idea whether [James] Guckert's sign-in behavior is unusual. ... A commenter at Steve's mentions that some days Guckert signed in that did not include a press briefing did include a photo-op. Oh, boy, unraveling already?"

Roger L. Simon posts an explanation from Andrew Breitbart about his leaving the Drudge Report and why he's signed on with the forthcoming Huffington Post, which seems likely to be to the left of him.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: How The Blogosphere Will Be Co-Opted?

Conservative John Hawkins contemplates how a "corporate takeover" of blogs might happen, using News Corp. as an example: "Here's a concept: go to 20 conservative bloggers with audiences ranging let's say from 2500 readers a day to 20,000 readers a day and offer them a two year contract for a job with 'FoxBlogs' -- 20 blogs set up off the main Fox webpage. Let's say they offer a salary between $25,000-$40,000 a year, health care, vacations, the works -- plus, no restrictions on content & on staff web designers to handle any problems. How many bloggers would take that deal? Probably a lot of us, because that's the dream a lot of us have: to live off of our writing. So let's say Fox has now committed 750K a year to get 20 bloggers who bring, let's say, 150,000 - 200,000 readers to the table initially. Then Fox really gets to work. They add links to these bloggers from their website, they cycle them into the guest lists on Fox, they get them slots on Hannity &O'Reilly 's radio show. Give it a year or so and the same 20 bloggers who were pulling in 200,000 or less readers per day could be doing 1-2 million sets of eyeballs per day. If you can have 2 million readers after 1 year, are 3-4 plausible for year two? Sure. 5-8 million year three? Sure."

More: "When all was said and done, you'd end up with a few really big independent blogs and everybody else with any kind of audience at all working for corporations. The rest of the blogosphere would be reduced to sort of a "farm team." You go out, you prove yourself by building an audience, and one of the big corporate blogs snaps you up and gives you a salary. ... The only thing stopping the corporations from taking over the blogosphere is that the corporations haven't decided to do it... yet."

LEST WE FORGET: Generic Post

Jim Treacher writes the all-purpose blog post: "Can you believe that politician? How do these guys think they can get away with this stuff? That party is always pulling crap like this. Throw the bums out! ... The thing that one blogger said was stupid and dumb. Get a clue, jerk. A member of the mainstream media made a mistake. Stop stealing your paycheck, member of the mainstream media! Tipjar on the right."

NOTES AND ERRATA

Yesterday's Blogometer made it seem as if the Denver Post's John Aloysius Farrell wrote for the Rocky Mountain News. The bad is ours. But hey, at least we got "Aloysius" right.