December 02, 2005

12/2: The Longhorn Of The Law

In today's edition: the Washington Post's report on the DoJ and TX redistricting, increasing objections to the U.S. military planting stories in the Iraqi press, Ralph Reed's lobbying trouble in TX, rumors that Pres. Bush's mother is out to get VP Cheney, a bit on John Kerry's curious claim about the troops, a bit more on Plamegate, and the "war against Christmas."

REDISTRICTING: Maybe They Just Didn't Want To Mess With Texas

Washington Post's Eggen has a blockbuster story this a.m., reporting that 6 DoJ attys had unanimously concluded that the '03 redistricting spearheaded by then-Maj. Leader Tom DeLay failed to meet requirements of the Voting Rights Act, but they were overruled. What's more, the relevant 73-page memo "has been kept under tight wraps" since then. That memo is now publicly available, here in PDF at the Lone Star Project. Via Technorati, we see that 60 blogs are linking already, including some of the most-read on the left. As yet, few GOP-leaning bloggers have weighed in; Gateway Pundit does, heading a post: "Democrats Declare Fair Representation Illegal."

Liberal bloggers are incensed about the redistricting, but feel vindicated by the report. Not many are surprised, either. Just a Bump in the Beltway: "There is the law, and then there is Texas, which still hasn't decided if it wants to live under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Oliver Willis invokes the widely popular "shocked, shocked" line from "Casablanca." Rising Hegemon calls it "The Republican War Against Voting." DCCC's Stakeholder: "The list of offenses and outrages in this article almost defies enumeration. ... This is exactly the kind of thing the Voting Rights Act was supposed to prevent. It's called racism." The Carpetbagger Report: "Aside from the substance of the argument, this is yet another telling example that career officials at the Justice Department just aren't willing to tolerate ideological nonsense anymore. The message to Bush appointees is as subtle as a sledgehammer -- you play politics with the law, and we'll embarrass you on the front page of the Washington Post. Good for them."

Others picking up on the story include Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Susie Madrak, AMERICAblog and The Left Coaster.

REED: 4.2 Million Oversights?

News that GOP consultant/GA LG candidate Ralph Reed failed to register as a lobbyist in TX during 2001-02, while allegedly recieving $4.2M to lobby TX officials to shut down 2 Indian-owned casinos, is making the rounds, primarily on the left. It hasn't got wide attention just yet, but considering the Jack Abramoff connection, it'll probably stick around.

Non-FNC pres. Roger Ailes is a bit disappointed that "the criminal penalty for lobbying without registering with Texas authorities is a monetary one." Irregular Times focuses on evidence that Reed lobbied Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), although Cornyn's office denies it: "Now, what, oh what, did Ralph Reed talk with John Cornyn about? This corrupt deal is enough to bring criminal indictments against Congressman Tom DeLay, so the fact that Senator Cornyn now has his fingerprints on the scheme ought to have his lawyers scrambling. It's time to hand over your emails and memos, Senator Cornyn."

GA-based GOP consultant Erick Erickson, best known for his contributions to RedState, comments at Peach Pundit: "I actually am a big Ralph Reed fan. I'm not sure where I'll fall in this race and really am of the opinion that not all the candidates have entered yet. But, I have a serious question and I address to those of you who are on the record supporting Ralph in this race (Cagle people need not chime in, we already know what you think). My question is this: At what point can we accurately use the phrase 'embattled Ralph Reed'? I think we may definitively be there."

PENTAGON: It's Only A Bad Thing If You Get Caught?

The news 1st broke about the Pentagon paying the Lincoln Group to plant pro-U.S. stories in the Iraqi press 1st broke on 11/30, and it's been building ever since. Next to the redistricting report, it's a top story today. Many more blogs have picked this up than we're counting.

>>From the left -- Laura Rozen: "You know, this is how this administration has always approached the truth -- whether it be pre-war intelligence or the issue of detainee treatment -- as something to be assaulted, denied, bought, manipulated, spun ... It's amazing to see that there's anyone left to even be surprised by this stuff. ... Gen. [Peter] Pace may be on his way out and not even know it." An ex-employee of an "embassy of another American war zone" tells TAPPED's Garance Franke-Ruta that "the work the Lincoln Group is doing as pretty standard psy-ops stuff that goes on all the time and is in no way limited to the American approach to Iraq. The obvious follow-up question is whether someone has a contract to do similar work in Afghanistan." She proposes some "unique questions": "Did former Bush staffers write any of the stories being placed in the Iraqi press?" While not illegal, she writes, it would be "unseemly." LAT, KRT and NYT have all reported on the story, and to Kevin Drum it seems they were all working on it prior to the LAT breaking it. He observes: "All of these articles are the product of weeks of research, and it's not just coincidence that all of these reporters have been working on the exact same story. Somebody's been trying to get the word out about this. Somebody who's not very happy with this program. But who?" Pacific Views: "The Bush apologists are the 'let the market rule' true-believers and they've been watching our news cycle go from news about candidates, debates, issues, to devolving into the 'if it bleeds, it leads' media that never has anytime to devote to real politics or issues because it is chasing after the next fear-mongering or sensational story. And if you live in Iraq, a story about a car bomb blowing up a mosque" is a big story.

>> From the right -- Jeff Goldstein argues that the "wisdom" of using propaganda is different from the "ethics" of it. He notes, "this campaign was designed to retaliate not only against enemy propaganda in Iraq and other parts of the middle east, but ironically (and sadly) against our very own media, whose coverage has been almost uniformly sensationalistic and dire. Was it a good idea? That depends. Do Iraqis read the LA Times...?" Captain's Quarters expands on the same: "The problem with propaganda is that it only works for a short time, until it gets discovered. When that happens, the propagandist soon discovers that their ability to tell the truth has been hopelessly compromised. No one will believe them." He is pleased that the WH has begun investigating the issue: "In order for our long-term relations with the Iraqi people to remain strong, we must not just be seen as another bull-tosser in a long line of bull-tossers; we need to maintain our credibility." And Tim F. of Balloon Juice is even less happy: "This story discredits every positive thing that's ever been written about us in Iraq, whether Americans had anything to do with it or not. How can Joe Iraqi know if the story's real or if the writer's on the take? He can't. So our brilliant imagemeisters in DC have once again managed to achieve precisely the opposite of what they set out to do."

BUSH: Your Mother Should Know

The Washington Note's Steve Clemons passes along a rumor picked up from an unnamed source: "Barbara Bush is allegedly TICKED off at Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Andy Card, nearly all of them -- except Karen Hughes -- for how her boy is faring in the hearts and minds of Americans. The matriarch of the Bush clan is colder than North Pole ice right now to those around her son who she thinks have undermined him. I'll tell who my sources are if Patrick Fitzgerald gives a call and makes me -- but the sources are very close to Poppa Bush (41), who has been traveling a bit with some of his old entourage, including Brent Scowcroft and others of the first Bush regime." For what it's worth, Clemons sources have been incorrect in the past, such as the report that Fitzgerald had obtained more office space just as he was indicting ex-Cheney CoS Scooter Libby. Clemons did follow up with a quick retraction when that proved wrong. Blinq's Daniel Rubin puts together a brief summary of others who have sensed a split between Bush and Cheney during the fall. That includes liberal Huffington Post as well as the Washington Times.

Paul Mirengoff at Power Line looks at Bush's rebounding approval numbers in the latest FNC poll. He writes: "The swing isn't surprising inasmuch as the economy is booming, the stock market is climbing, gasoline prices are sinking, and the president is finally defending himself and his policies with respect to Iraq. ... These trends could easily produce further increases in the president's popularity. However, to get to break-even (and certainly to get much beyond that point) I think we'll have to see a reduction in the level of violence in Iraq, or a disengagement of a decent share of our forces with no surge in the level of violence."

IRAQ: Leveling With The Troop Levels

John Kerry is getting hit by conservatives for criticizing Bush for using military backdrops, and saying: "Every troop I've met in Iraq comes up to me and says, 'Thanks for speaking out on this.'" While the line has not been published in any MSM outlets, it apparently came from his post-Bush speech rebuttal, and seems to have been 1st posted at The Corner by John Podhoretz, who scoffs: "Every single one? Gee, I really don't believe him." Karol Sheinin points out that during WH '04, Kerry used to say there should be more troops in Iraq, now he says less. She adds, "as far as I can tell ... Kerry hasn't been in Iraq since about a year ago, in January 2005, right after the election when his position was still 'more troops needed.' So, were the troops in Iraq thanking him for speaking out on the need for more troops?"

Red State's Mark Kilmer notes House Min Leader Nancy Pelosi's support for Rep. Jack Murtha's Iraq plan and notes, as he sees it, 3 schools of thought on Iraq from Dems. "This is deep, folks. The divisions, that is. The Dems have the fringe elements -- MoveOn.org, dKos, Dean, Pelosi -- trading barbs and gobs with the DLC'ers and Clintonistas. This is good news, in that it assures us that we will remain in Iraq until the Iraqis are ready to stand on their own and the Republicans will retain their Congressional majorities."

Don't Bomb Us, the unofficial blog by Al Jazeera staffers calling attention to the memo said to show Pres. Bush and British PM Tony Blair discussing the idea of bombing the satellite network, has been up for 1 week now. Although attention is down compared to its launch, it's still picking up links at mid-to-top tier blogs such as Politics in the Zeroes, Dread Pundit Bluto and Firedoglake. In a post noting the brief anniv., a Jazeera staffer writes: "While some writers on our blog have been emotional, the official position of Al Jazeera has been to suspend judgement and conclusions until the Memo is seen. So will someone get on with it and publish the damn Memo already..."

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Bloggers Demand, NYT Supplies

Mickey Kaus is mocking New York Times' Bajaj for spinning falling gas prices as an ominous sign. One Bajaj line in particular stands out: "Gasoline prices ... have fallen because higher prices held down demand and Gulf Coast supplies have been slowly restored." Kaus writes: "It's indeed deeply disturbing to learn that higher gas prices have held down demand, causing those prices to fall back to a level at which demand begins to rise again! It's almost as if some insidious law was at work -- as prices rise, demand declines! As supply increases, prices fall! You can't win!" Earlier, The One-Handed Economist noticed the same thing, taunting: "How else are prices going to fall? Are the magic pricing fairies going to wave their sugar-sweet pixie sticks and mystically change the market-clearing price? Have you ever even taking an economics class, Vikas Bajaj?"

PLAMEGATE: Advantage -- Jane Hamsher's Rolodex!

On 11/30, Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher wrote: "According to a source who wishes to remain anonymous because they don't want to be identified ... Viveca Novak is indeed being called to testify before Fitzgerald at [Karl Rove atty Robert] Luskin's request. Rumor has it that in May of 2004 when [Matt] Cooper and [Tim] Russert were first subpoenaed, 'inveterate gossip' Viveca knew that Matt Cooper's source was Karl Rove and she just happened to mention it to her buddy Luskin. Luskin is now claiming that this surprise revelation to his memory-challenged client is what prompted them to go hunting through his emails and call up the one he had written to Hadley." The New York Times carried a similar report on 12/1, as Hamsher noted later. Jeralyn Merritt summarizes a few loose ends, including the "discrepancy between Cooper and Rove's description of the call in which Rove said centered around welfare reform while Cooper doesn't recall that being discussed." And: "Cooper's July, 2003 articles mention White House sources. How could Rove not remember his own conversation with Cooper when Cooper said Rove asked him to treat the conversation as 'deep background?'" Atrios tries to piece it together: "If what we've learned recently is true, Matt Cooper, who went to court so that he wouldn't have to reveal a source, told colleague (not editor) Viveca Novak who that source was, and she in turn blabbed about it to a likely target of the investigation. Can someone explain the journalistic principles involved here?"

Tom Maguire posts the transcript of a 6/26/03 report on pre-war intel by NBC's Andrea Mitchell, and he comments: "She was all over the State Department side of things, wasn't she? She even led with the story about the misplaced INR dissent on Saddam's uranium plans, which was not announced by DCI Tenet until July 11. In fact, her opening paragraph is all CIA-bashing. Any chance she was told a bit more than she reported here? Who knows? Currently, only Don Imus is asking, so until Libby's lawyers get an opportunity to put her on the stand, we may have to wait patiently."

LABOR: The Janitorial Vanguard?

Labor blogger Nathan Newman reports in a header: "5000 Janitors Organize in Delay's Back Yard." Calling it a "tremendous victory of historic proportions," he argues for what it means: "The failure to organize the South is the number one, two and three reason why the labor movement peaked after the end of World War II and has been in slow then faster decline ever since. ... think of the Houston janitors as a beachhead in hostile territory. We can sometime look at the numbers and forget how significant even a small union presence can be in an area with very little organizing at all." At MyDD, Matt Stoller considers the blogosphere's relationship to labor, and concludes there isn't much of one: "The blogosphere isn't very conducive to discussing labor issues, mostly because blog readers probably don't belong to unions and don't know much about them. I know I didn't know anything about unions a few years ago. This can often blind us to important political developments."

MIDTERMS '06: Lucas With The Lid Off

On 12/1, Bluegrass Report's Mark Nickolas launched a blog to draft ex-Rep. Ken Lucas (D-KY) to run for his old seat, currently held by Rep. Geoff Davis (R). Appropriately enough, it is titled Draft Ken Lucas. Nickolas writes at DKL: "I am committed to leading the charge and committing my time and energy over the coming weeks to get Ken into this race, but I cannot do this alone. ... We probably have 2 to 3 weeks to accomplish this task. That's it. We need help now."

Daily Kos highlights a National Research (R) poll, which shows that an ad the NRSC ran against Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey (R) may have actually helped him in his primary challenge to Sen. Lincoln Chafee. Kos: "[NRSC chair] Liddy Dole's NRSC is lagging behind the DSCC in fundraising, yet it has spent a significant amount of its meager war chest running ads against a fellow Republican. ... Dole can't do much right these days." [Update: The poll was commissioned by the Club for Growth.]

CULTURE WARS: The Spirit Of Christmas

Last p.m., "The O'Reilly Factor" featured a poll result showing 42% of Americans believe there is a "war on Christmas," whereas 48% do not. Frequent O'Reilly critic Crooks and Liars comments: "It's pretty bad Mr. O'Reilly, when your constant pounding of the 'War on Christmas' theme doesn't even resonate with your own audience." However, the poll was not one of O'Reilly viewers, but was conducted by Opinion Dynamics.

NYC radio talker/blogger Kevin McCullough is encouraging blog readers to inundate the ACLU's NYC HQ with Christmas Cards, as a means of protesting the org.'s opposition to religion in public life. He recommends: "Go get as 'Christmas' a Christmas card as you can find... something that says.. 'Joy To The World,' 'For Unto Us A Child Is Born,' but at least 'Merry Christmas,' put some of your own thoughts into it, sign it respectfully and zip it off in the mail..." So far the project has been promoted on mid-to-top tier blogs such as bRight and Early, Hugh Hewitt and Captain's Quarters.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Big Gap Between Love And Hate

Blog analysis blog Duel analyzes the 6-month trend (via Blogpulse) for the terms "love" and "hate" in blog postings. Duel explains: "It appears that love has trumped hate in the blogosphere with an approximately 3-fold higher volume of posts over the entire period. While the proportion of weblog posts that include these terms has been relatively stable, there has been a decrease in the use of both terms over the past month. The use of 'love' has dropped by approximately 33% (13.5% to 9% of all weblog posts) and the use of 'hate' has declined 25% (4% to 3% of all weblog posts). It's an interesting phenomenon that I can't explain. Have we become less polarized on issues over the last month? Doubtful. It would be interesting to take a look at longer term data to see how much variation there has been in these numbers so that we can determine whether it's real or not."

LEST WE FORGET: It's A Fact!

Ace of Spades HQ is soliciting "Cool Facts About Dick Cheney" from readers. Make that "facts" -- with scare quotes around them. Apparently the blogosphere knows a lot of cool facts about Cheney, because the post has gathered 500+ comments. Not all of them are suitable for a family-friendly blogsuch as this one, but here's a few that are close enough:

• "He's a huge Bette Midler fan and he tears up a bit during those Hallmark commercials."
• "So mean he laughs throughout Old Yeller."
• "He has refused to keep a defillabrator [sic] at home, choosing instead to throw himself on the 3rd rail at a nearby Metro station."
• "Dick Cheney started a war to make billions of dollars for Halliburton."
• "The only thing hard enough to cut Dick Cheney is Dick Cheney."
• "Barbara Bush was a brunette until the day she walked in on him in the can at a 70's GOP gathering."

NOTES AND ERRATA

In the 12/1 edition, we repeated information to the effect that the MoveOn ad criticized for using British soldiers to represent U.S. soldiers was pulled. In fact, MoveOn is continuing to buy airtime for the spot.

In the same edition, we also insinuated that comments we quoted by John Fund about Senate Min. Leader Reid were from his column, when in fact they were from an e-mail to Power Line.

To read the unabridged edition of the Blogometer, visit http://blogometer.nationaljournal.com. Questions, comments, reservations? Drop us a line at blogometer@nationaljournal.com.

Posted by at December 2, 2005 12:27 PM