November 09, 2005

11/9: Blue Harvest

As expected, 11/8/05 was a pretty good election for the Dems, even if it was an off-year. To recap: Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) is now gov-elect, as is LG Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mike Bloomberg will remain NYC's GOP mayor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ballot measures all failed. Individual mayor's races occurred and other ballot measures passed and failed in various states, but we can't cover it all. Here's what we can:

ELECTION '05: The Bloggers Have Spoken, The Bastards!

Reax from the left -- A header at Daily Kos: "Weird. We won. Onward to 2006!" More Kos: "I have to say, while this beats the losing we've experienced the last couple of years, this is still quite unsatisfying. Let's call it the appetizer. 2006 is the real target." Kevin Drum: "It looks like George Bush is now officially an electoral albatross." Atrios: "For purely petty reasons, the results I cared most about yesterday were the California ballot measures. Arnold, denied!" More Atrios, on Corzine: "Maybe I should see if that cell phone # he gave me once still works..."

Reax from the right -- RedState: " Well, that wasn't fun ... Nor was it entirely unexpected. When Republicans don't give their *own* supporters a reason to vote for them (other than 'the Democrats are worse!!'), how in the world can they expect to reach swing voters? Welcome to the consequences of failing to inspire anyone." PoliPundit: "The fate of the ballot initiatives indicates a real need for the GOP to make an ideological case to voters. This president typically makes the case for competence, not ideology. However, in the wake of Iraq-gas-prices-Katrina-Libby-Miers, competence is no longer an argument that works in favor of the GOP. Republicans need to find simple themes and reconnect with voters." Conservative Matt Margolis: "Democrats may act as if this is a springboard for more victories in 2006, but precedent says this is not the case. In fact, when Democrats won the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey in 2001, and then-DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe saw a 'huge shift in political momentum' only to seethe Republican Party increase their majority in Congress the following year."

Reax from the middle -- Joe Gandelman emphasizes that it was a bad night for the GOP, and adds: "Taking a middle line, you could say it suggests that plans for a decades-long Republican electoral majority are premature. It is generally considered unrealistic for Democrats to expect that in flash they can win back both houses of Congress in 2006. But the election results show the GOP would be foolish to take anything for granted." Mickey Kaus: "Anti-gerrymandering reform lost in both California and Ohio. You might say it's time to take the fight to the courts -- and there are valid constitutional arguments to be made, along Baker v. Carr lines, against partisan or pro-incumbent gerrymanders. But isn't it kind of difficult to argue that the courts need to intervene to make democracy fair after the voters, in a perfectly fair, non-gerrymandered state-wide election, have rejected the idea?"

More reax -- Lefty Carpetbagger Report writes: "So this is what it feels like to have a good election year. I'd almost forgotten." Barbara O'Brien at American Street: "I'd hate to be a Republican campaign strategist tonight, huh?" Below The Beltway: "Republicans need to figure out what went wrong here in Northern Virginia, and fix it fast or they could face this same problem in 2006, 2008, and beyond." Denise Best, at centrist Donklephant: "Looks like the pendulum is swinging back toward the 'left.' Or is swinging away from the 'right' a more accurate description?" Noting close margins in VA and NJ and a big win for GOPer Bloomberg, Free Belarus suggests that "perhaps the media should stop kidding itself that ['05] has anything to do with Bush or the Republican Party." But Instapundit thinks GOP turnout problems "can be laid at the feet of the White House and the Republican leadership." Re: Corzine's NJ win, Talent Show asks: "Is this what it feels like when the good guys win?" Rumblings from the Captain's Quarters: '05 "shows that the GOP can expect a tough time trying to hold their margins." Lawhawk dismisses any nat'l comparisons: "This wasn't a referendum on Bush, but rather a continuation of relatively closely contested elections that find the Democrats winning because of their natural advantage in registered voters." In that one Mayor's race, Moderate Voice sees "a clear mandate in New Yawk."

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Kaine Is Able

Dem-leaning Waldo Jaquith: "For the third election in a row, Democrats have taken more seats in the House of Delegates. ... The tides have shifted. Republicans are losing their grip on power in Virginia, in no small part thanks to President Bush's weakening grip on power in the United States."

Ex-Shouting Cross the Potomac blogger Will Vehrs, guesting at Commonwealth Conservative, comments on Kaine's victory speech: "Kaine mentioned calls from Potts and Kilgore. He went out of his way to call Potts' campaign honorable. Kilgore ran a 'spirited' campaign. The crowd almost booed Kilgore. He said nice words about the beliefs of the opposition."

Conservative James Joyner calls the VA race "nasty but more-or-less issue free": "Kilgore ran a campaign right out of the Lee Atwater playbook, trying to portray Kaine as Michael Dukakis with a Southern accent. He steadily declined in the polls largely because that obviously wasn't true."

In a post titled "The Hunt for Scapegoats Begins," GOP-leaning Bacon's Rebellion analyzes how Kilgore went from frontrunner to loser.

VA resident Meryl Yourish: "So the choice, for me, came down to this: Do I vote for the guy with the really weird eyebrow, or the guy with the smirk? I went eyebrow all the way. My guy won."

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: The First Act In A SEN-GOV Switcheroo?

BlueJersey's Juan Melli compares Bush's 2.9% '04 win to Corzine's 10-point (or so) victory: "If Bush got a man-date, then today, New Jerseyans demanded a polygamous man wedding."

Conservative Enlighten NJ's last post was at 8:18 p.m., summarizing the latest count and noting that AP had called the race. In the comments, where liberal readers tease Enlighten NJ about its part in spreading rumors about Corzine, an anonymous ENJ blogger writes: "It is what is. The voters have spoken -- Corzine will be the next Governor and we wish him the best."

GOP-leaning DynamoBuzz: "'The Day After,' that apocalyptic disaster movie from the 1980s, can pretty much be used as a metaphor for the NJ Republican party. Hard to remember that less than 8 years ago they controlled both houses of the NJ legislature and the governor's job."

In the Agora, on rumors that Corzine will tap acting Gov. Richard Codey (D) to replace him in the Senate: "[A]s I understand it, there's some animosity between Codey and Corzine because of Corzine's pushing aside the acting governor to run for the seat himself, so Codey might turn down an appointment. Corzine might also go for a one-year caretaker in the seat, but I doubt it."

PoliticsNJ's Inside Edge offers some history on previous sens. who have become govs., and offers some more: "In the last ten gubernatorial elections where no incumbent was a candidate, the party who controls the White House lost six times."

CALIFORNIA CABLE: Apparently the T-800 Can Self-Terminate

Right-leaning Matt Szabo: "The lesson from the massacre of 2005 is that Californians are not ideologues. We are socially-liberal fiscally conservative freedom-loving pragmatists. We recalled Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger to reform a broken government, not to impose a right-wing agenda."

Steve Soto, at The Left Coaster: "If the man goes 0-4 and the state GOP loses out on getting anything through tonight, why would the Democrats in the Legislature even bother to pay attention to the Administration next year, when they could just wait for a new governor? W... I'd like to know which political rocket scientists advised the man to put his leverage on the line with approval ratings in the 30's."

At The Corner, Claremont-McKenna prof Jack Pitney writes, the Dem legis. now :might get cocky and push even harder for a liberal agenda. If so, the governor could have an opportunity, just as his own hubris provided an opening to the Democrats earlier this year. Meanwhile, however, he has to brace for some painful news cycles in the days ahead."

Left-leaning Hugo Schwyzer, in a late update: "All of the governor's initiatives are failing, as is the abortion notification initiative. Turnout seemed better than anticipated. Most of the outstanding ballots left to be counted are in liberal counties (Alameda, Los Angeles), and soon I will head to bed -- cautiously optimistic. I've been on the losing end of so many elections, it seems too good to be true that the left might have swept here in California tonight."

Conservative Presto Pundit: "Voters had a chance to shoot the rabid dog of failed government and instead turned the gun on themselves. Our children will pay -- and pay and pay."

INTEL: Just What This Town Has Been Missing -- A Leak Investigation!

Last p.m., cong. GOPers announced that they want a joint investigation of an alleged leak that led to Dana Priest's Washington Post report on secret CIA prisons in other countries. Additionally, as Think Progress reports, "in an off-camera meeting with reporters, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) revealed that the leak likely came from a Senator or Senate staffer who attended a GOP-only meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney last week, where the detention centers were discussed." CNN's Ed Henry covered the story last p.m.; Think Progress posts the video as a Quicktime file. A Daily Kos diarist, Running Scared and Martini Republic are among many lefty bloggers unhappy with the GOP's focus but amused by the intraparty accusations. Brad Blog sees it as part of something bigger: "To defend against the indefensible leaking of the identify of a covert CIA operative in the TreasonGate affair, it is now clear that the Rightwing has begun an offensive to try and attack the CIA in order to define them as a 'rogue agency' who was out to get the Bushies from the get-go." Conservative Balloon Juice: "While on one hand, this is a deeply cynical maneuver to quell reports of CIA perfidy both past and present, it does illustrate one of the problems created by the Plame investigation -- will leakers feel safe to leak the classified information the press and public needs."

Liberal Rob Schumacher: "It's disturbing that classified information (Plame's identity, the existance of these prisons) seems to leak out of DC like water leaks into the Titanic... but in this instance they should not only investigate the leak, but the substance of the leak as well." Right-leaning Instapundit: "Another leak probe is getting started. I think these may become a regular thing when classified information is published. Thank the New York Times!"

Hugh Hewitt quotes Senate Min. Leader Harry Reid alleging that Cheney was behind the Plame leak, and comments: "It was a through-the-looking-glass moment, where Harry Reid embraces his inner Michael Moore. It may work in the fever swamp, but I doubt very much if ordinary Americans think much about these wild charges other than that they indicate a Senate minority gone way over the cliff."

Weekly Standard's Worldwide Standard summarizes the admin's critics: "First, the cry of many anti-Bush liberals was that Bush officials "pressured" intelligence analysts to reach the judgments made in the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate. When that line of attack was torpedoed by two bi-partisan reports ... they descended into cuckoo-clock land with another conspiracy in which a secret cabal forged those Niger uranium documents to push the U.S. into war. That fizzled the other day when the FBI weighed-in. The latest is that Bush officials presented the intelligence to the American people in a dishonest campaign to rush us into war."

FRENCH RIOTS: Among The Thugs

Captain's Quarters notes that the 13th night was the worst yet: "So new social programs don't work, and a heightened yet tentative police response has prompted a more significant attack on French infrastructure. Torching cars might signify localized discontent run amok; firebombing the subway system looks a lot more like a terrorist attack. Will the media understand the significance of the tactical adaptation, or will it continue to pretend that this is nothing but youth running wild?"

OxBlog's Patrick Belton writes from France: "I'd arrived at Aulnay-sous-Bois yesterday expecting a seething cauldron on just the point of boiling over. What I found was quite different, and surprised me. Aulnay has seen the worst violence of any of the banlieues to date, but its housing projects had their windows open, laundry hung out to dry, music and laughter spilling out from within; the streets were filled with children playing. The only odd inkling this was a neighbourhood whose violence this week featured in the news of every newspaper in the world was the procession of the odd burnt car being towed away like a discarded effigy; or, in the case of the Hertz station which lay inconveniently by the Cite de l'Europe, a whole parking lot of them. Someone clearly had a bad experience the last time renting."

THE ALITO NOMINATION: Justice Brownnoser?

UCLA law prof Stephen Bainbridge comments on a Daily Princetonian article which reports that judge Samuel Alito's thesis adviser, prof Walter Murphy, has used Alito's thesis in his own work: "Candidly, and without wishing to give offense to any of my former students, this is pretty rare and therefore high praise indeed. In 17 years of law teaching, I've used exactly three student papers as either research memoranda or, in two cases, by asking the student to co-author a more developed paper with me. It's a very positive indication of the quality of Alito's intelligence."

Via Tradesports, Mattazuma is putting money on Alito to get at least 70 votes in the Senate: "I figure that if John Roberts got 78 votes, Alito will do at least that well. I'm considering the 80 contract as well, it is currently at 9."

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Which Newspaper Will Be The First To Start Using The Strike Tags?

Righty Tom Maguire notices that New York Times columnist Nick Kristof has tinkered with an entry on his TimesSelect page addressing mistakes in his previous Plamegate columns. Maguire points out that Kristof's updating policy is not as transparent as blog standards, and adds: "Mr. Kristof's paragraphs on the question of whether [ex-Amb. Joe] Wilson told him that he had debunked forged documents, and whether Wilson could have done so, have been extensively re-written -- the bits I excerpted and criticized have disappeared, so Mickey Kaus and I appear to be discussing a different entry from the one currently on offer. Well, that is one way to stump the critics. Mr. Kristof's new entry does preserve the theme of the old one -- Wilson *might* have debunked specific signatures and dates, rather than the broader question of whether the deal actually happened. Well, yes, and pigs might have flown."

In a 10/30 column, Time's Klein described an e-mail circulating among conservatives that was critical of Bush 41 NSA Brent Scowcroft, who has caught some flak for his New Yorker-printed criticisms of the current admin. Klein had not seen the e-mail himself, but reported it as "talking points about how to attack" Scowcroft, and quoted an anonymous GOPer saying: "I was so disgusted that I deleted the damn e-mail before I read it. But that's all this White House has now: the politics of personal destruction." But in the most recent issue, Weekly Standard's Scrapbook section described it as "about as ad hominem as a seminar paper." WSJ's James Taranto and National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru both received the e-mail in question, and agreed that Klein got it wrong. Ponnuru wrote: "It was not a how-to guide about attacking Scowcroft, and it did not make any personal attacks on Scowcroft. Instead it explained why the author regarded Scowcroft's specific points and general philosophy as wrong. Is that a terrible thing for the White House to do?" Now Real Clear Politics' John McIntyre posts the full e-mail, and concludes: "We will let you decide who is really doing the smearing in Washington these days." Kausfiles concurs: "If you can't send that around then you can't have a useful argument about policy."

QandO's McQ fisks ex-CBS prod. Mary Mapes' comments in an ABC News story. From ABC: "Mapes says she is continuing to investigate the source of the controversial documents whose authenticity was seriously questioned by the CBS panel." McQ responds: "She could team up with OJ." More from the ABC: "She tells Ross that she had no journalistic obligation to prove the authenticity of the documents before including them in the "60 Minutes II" report. "I don't think that's the standard," she said." Wizbang's Paul: "Huh? Any journalist can make any attack against the President of the United States and the authenticity of the accusations is irrelevant? Why not ask him if he stopped beating his wife yet?"

X-FILES: Because There Weren't Enough Nixon Comparisons Floating Around Already

Capitol Hill Blue, described by Wonkette as a "political rag that also functions as a tin foil hat," reports that the Bush admin. "has compiled dossiers on more than 10,000 Americans it considers political enemies," apparently including ex-Amb. Wilson, CIA "operative" Valerie Plame, filmmaker Michael Moore, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), columnist Joe Conason and lefty bloggers Markos Moulitsas and Wonkette herself, Ana Marie Cox. Tennessee Guerrilla Women: "Unfortunately, this is all too believable." Lonewacko: "Of course, this report might not be true in whole or in part. It might be an anti-Bush smear. Or, it might have been intentionally leaked: either they have this information and this is a threat, or they want to make their enemies think they have this information." Via Technorati, we mostly see liberal bloggers hoping that they are on the list as well.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Midas Click?

Tech blogger Dave Taylor explains Google Adsense: "I realize that $0.20 [per click] doesn't sound like much money, but if you have a few hundred visitors a week, and some percentage of them click on these adverts, you could easily make $20-$50 or much (much!) more from your site each week, without having to do any work other than add the special AdSense code to the pages in the first place." Loaded Mouth's Tas takes issue with the promise of easy blog money: "Folks, let me tell ya something: Loaded Mouth gets thousands of visitors per week, and I made dick of Google Adsense. If you have thousands of visitors a day, or if you beg your readers to click on your ads, then you'll make money. But otherwise, stop dreaming. And don't listen to people like this Dave guy."

LEST WE FORGET: Stacked

Aaron's CC has launched a project called "Deck O' Bloggers 2005." He's taking suggestions, and posts sample cards showing Hugh Hewitt as the King of Diamonds and Michelle Malkin as the Queen of Hearts. He writes: "Link-whoring? Yeah, a bit. But how much are a piece of custom photoshopping unique to your blog, a good laugh and bragging rights worth?"

Posted by at November 9, 2005 12:49 PM