March 15, 2006

3/15: Censure And Sensibility

In this relatively slow week, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and his lonely but much-discussed censure resolution are the only topics to engage the full spectrum of the blogosphere. Not much has changed since yesterday; liberals continue to support Feingold and criticize the GOPers who attack him, plus the Dems who haven't followed him, but they didn't expect much better. Conservatives, used to the left having field day after field day with the troubles of Pres. Bush and the cong. GOP, are finally getting out of class themselves (and taking the left to school, if you can stand the metaphor reversal.) Perhaps the biggest development is the report that Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) accused Feingold of "siding with terrorists" in a FNC radio interview, and lefty bloggers are now circulating a petition asking him to apologize.

As we said, it isn't a very busy week -- but there are some interesting things going on: A new GOP straw poll for WH'08 is one, another is VA SEN Dem candidate Jim Webb participation in the comments at Daily Kos, underreported anti-conservative comments by ex-SCOTUS justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the New York Times' apparently botched Abu Ghraib reporting, and -- in a rare Blogometer scoop -- we have excerpts of Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas' revealing interview in next week's New York Times Magazine.

EAVESDROPPING: Spinning Feingold Into Hay

While not much has changed re: Feingold's proposal since our last edition, it's still getting plenty of commentary:

Ex-Spinsanity co-editor Brendan Nyhan finds GOPers responding to Feingold with "attacks on dissent" and "absurd straw men." In one example, he criticizes a claim from WH spokesperson Scott McClellan, which GOPers "have repeated before, [and] bears no resemblance to reality": "No major Democrat has said that 'we shouldn't be listening to al Qaeda communications,' and censuring the President for breaking the law governing wiretaps certainly doesn't indicate opposition to such wiretaps." Liberal Watertiger writes a post as an open letter to the "DLC, DNC and Senate idiots": "I'm going to say this very, very slowly so you can understand. Bush is an unpopular president who is administering a highly unpopular war and who admitted to committing a crime. What part of this don't you get?" Slartibartfast at Obsidian Wings doesn't think much of Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist's assessment that the Dems' rejection of the censure resolution proves it was a "shameful political stunt": "Bill, here's a possible alternative: perhaps Democrats want to see this resolution subjected to some debate ... I'd suggest that your capacity to diagnose illness at long distance without an involved sit-down with the patient...well, it hasn't been good. Your credibility in diagnosing this as a political stunt, while nonzero, is far too low for me to give your opinion much weight." Glenn Greenwald writes, "at bottom, what this whole episode illustrates, yet again, is that if Democrats want to be perceived as strong, and if they want to lose the albatross of being perceived as weak, what they have to do is extremely simple and clear -- stop being weak and be strong."

Centrist Joe Gandelman adds running commentary to excerpts of reports from the AP and Dana Milbank on Dems and the censure move, and comments: "The problem is: until Feingold presented his proposal Bush was under fire from attack dogs from the GOP's base. A censure resolution could send them back to Bush's support if it comes to a vote, particularly if top Democrats are forced to take a stand. If the measure comes up and they vote for it, they could lose the support of some of the party's liberal base. It is a political monkey wrench -- one thrown, this time, from within the Democratic party's own political tent."

Dave Wissing at The Hedgehog Report notices that the Milbank column makes light of Dems' reax to Feingold's proposal, and considers: "I initially thought this would at least help Feingold among the extreme left, but I am beginning to wonder whether this single incident managed to turn Feingold into a national joke on the same level with Howard Dean." Conservative Mark Coffey thinks it more likely is a political stunt, after Feingold told FNC: "I'm amazed at Democrats, cowering with this president's numbers so low." Coffey replies: "The numbers so low? What do numbers have to do with it? It's not a stunt, is it? I mean, it's the principle of the thing, right, Russ?... Russ?" Captain's Quarters: "Feingold has discovered the key difference between leadership and grandstanding. The former involves motivating a group of people to follow your lead by engaging the group's enthusiasm for your direction. The latter involves making decisions for others without bothering to consult them." Conservative AJ Strata, on the Dems: "They can't run for from their base. They are trapped in a trap of their own making. And it will get worse. The new litmus test is impeaching Bush." Right-leaning Steven Taylor does think the motion deals with a legitimate issue: "I would like to see a full investigation of the President's action on this matter to determine if he did, in fact, violate the law. If he did, I would actually like to see a censure resolution voted out. If a President misbehaves, a President ought to be called on it by the Congress." However, he also realizes "that partisan and electoral politics so infuse this issue that true and an honest communication from the Congress to the President is not going to happen." Tom Maguire summarizes, "Feingold positioned himself nicely for 2008 by staking out a position only a certain segment of the left could love -- 'Hey, gang, let's censure the President for trying too hard to protect us!' NO, that's not what Feingold said! But its what polls say people are hearing..."

Meanwhile, 1 GOP sen. and 1 Dem sen. are getting hit from the left over their opposition to Feingold -- although it's certainly the GOPer getting hit harder -- According to some liberal bloggers, Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) accused Feingold of "siding with terrorists" in a 3/13 interview on FNC radio.Senate Majority Project points to the audio on Boulder's "progressive talk" station here [WAV file]. Otherwise, w've seen no press releases or MSM reports about it -- but plenty on the blogs. CO-based ProgressNow Action has posted a petition calling on him to apologize. Many pick up word of this from Matt Stoller at MyDD pronounces: "Senator Feingold, you are a man of integrity and a real Democrat. I'm proud of your strength and your leadership. Senator Allard, your weak, cowardly nature means that you don't know what it means to fight the fear that terrorists seek to spread. You and conservatives like you enable terrorists with your weakness and posturing." The Agonist, on Allard: "Scoundrel? Last refuge? How about plain ol' pathetic." David Sirota actually welcomes Allard's response: "That's the kind of over-the-top, wildly-out-of-control response Democrats should want from Feingold's move, because it shows the GOP to be so maniacal, so desperate to hold onto power that they will say absolutely anything, no matter how ridiculous." A commenter to Stoller's post adds: "I just spoke to a staffer in Allard's office. I asked if Allard was saying that Feingold is 'traitor,' or that he is guilty of 'treason.' I was told the senator had not made that remark. I then quoted the senator's actual remarks to the staffer, and the staffer suggested the senator would be issuing a clarification of his statement later today."

Busy Busy Busy locates the censure resolution promoted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in '99. A commenter "suggests that Sen. Feinstein's proposed censure resolution against President Clinton should not be held against her because it was offered as an alternative to impeachment. Alas, this was not the case. A completely different censure resolution proposed by House Judiciary Committee Democrats in early December 1998 was, in fact, intended to substitute for impeachment." Liberal Oasis follows up: "But why just pick on Feinstein? She had many co-sponsors. In fact, there were 24 other sponsors who are still in the Senate -- 19 Dems, 4 GOPers and 1 GOPers turned Dem-friendly Independent. ... The question for all of them is: why would you censure a president for an office affair but not for illegal wiretaps?"

WHITE HOUSE '08: Turkeys In The Straw

GOP Bloggers is hosting a straw poll for the WH'08 primary, featuring all GOPers currently seeking the nod plus ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (and thereby eliminating Sec/State Condoleezza Rice, to one commenter's complaint). The poll asks readers who they "would like to see" as well as who they "would not like to see" get the nod. These answers have been averaged together, and with 4700+ ballots cast, only 4 are in positive territory: VA Sen. George Allen by a healthy margin, Giuliani is not far back, MA Gov. Mitt Romney trails by a bit more, and ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich is just barely above the line. Candidates with the biggest negatives are NE Sen. Chuck Hagel, NY Gov. George Pataki, Frist and AZ Sen. John McCain.

MIDTERMS: Naturally, You Would Expect A Candidate Named "Webb" To Get The Blogging Thing

From 7-8:00 p.m. on 3/14, ex-Reagan Navy Sec./VA SEN candidate Jim Webb (D) appeared live in the comment threads of a diary posted to Daily Kos. It didn't get the front-page treatment other pols often get that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) got last year, as is the general rule not to, but it nevertheless picked up 128 comments -- more than most diary entries on the site, but not a blockbuster. The site uses a moderated comment system allowing participants to grade up or grade down a particular comment; Webb contributed 14 comments, and all were graded highly by readers (who don't always bother to use the system). Only one comment received a single demerit -- that was Webb, on censure: "I'm not sure I would support a censure over the NSA surveillance issue, but I do believe that people need to keep connecting the dots on the widespread abuse of power in this Presidency. Too many people in the Congress want to 'kiss that issue' as it goes by." That comment otherwise received votes up like his others. Netroots figure Bob Brigham asked which current sen. Webb would "most like to have dinner with and why?" Webb replied: "Well, right now I'd love to have dinner with Harry Reid, and ask him to endorse me. That would make my life a lot simpler..."

At The Corner, K.J. Lopez spies -- and posts a screen shot of -- Sen. Debbie Stabenow's (D-MI) "Anti-Photo Op": "Senator Stabenow is on the Senate floor right now speaking next to a sign that says 'dangerously incompetent.' Will make for a cheap commercial later this election year." GOP and College has started a Photoshop contest based on the image. Ed Driscoll: "Now this is how a Karl Rove sting operation works, when it all comes together!"

At The Next Hurrah, DemFromCT cites a Gallup report carrying the header "Democratic Congressional Lead Among Registered Voters Largest Since '82" and suggesting a "fairly competitive election." DemFromCT: "That's assuming that Republican turnout is like it was in 2002 and 2004. And that's where you figure in the current state of nervous Republicans, already making excuses for the losers in power." More: "2006 is all about Bush's disastrous decision to invade Iraq instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan. ... Americans aren't going to vote Republican because they're afraid of Hillary. They know who rubber stamped the Bush agenda, and they'll vote for anyone who represents change."

NETROOTS: Crashing Into Kos

Next weekend's "Questions for" column by Deborah Solomon in the New York Times Magazine will feature Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos and co-author of "Crashing the Gate" (see previous coverage). A few noteworthy excerpts -- Kos, on his WH'08 preferences: "I like Mark Warner. I like Russ Feingold. I don't hate Hillary, but I don't like anyone who is declared by fiat to be the front-runner." On his military service: "Joining the Army was the best decision I ever made, and leaving the Army was the second-best decision I ever made. I went into the Army weighing 111 pounds, at 5 foot 7, and I had no self-confidence. I came out thinking that I could conquer the world." On whether the site earns him enough to "be able to eat": "Last year, I probably earned somewhere between $70,000 and $80,000. I live comfortably." On meeting John Kerry: "I was in a bathroom stall next to him at the Democratic National Convention. I didn't say hello. It was a private moment for him."

"Crashing the Gate" has been receiving mostly positive notices from the MSM and their fellow lefty bloggers, but one with a different take is Lindsay Beyerstein of Majikthise. Some excerpts from her lengthy post: "'Crashing the Gate' says surprisingly little about blogs. I was expecting a crash course on the theory and practice of netroots democracy written by two pioneers of the movement. ... However it is ironic these self-proclaimed populists' main suggestion for improving the electoral fortunes of the Democrats is to revitalize its consultant class." More: ""The authors' all out attack on the party's corrupt and antiquated electoral machine is by far the strongest part of the book. Unfortunately, it often seems as if they regard the netroots primarily as a means to end the Democratic establishment's stranglehold on campaigns rather than as an engine for social change in its own right. ... The authors don't seriously discuss the blogosphere as a source of ideas or as a nexus for activism. They seem more interested in the blogosphere as a medium for placing targeted ads than as a new engine for independent news or as a novel brake on the power of the mainstream media and politicians."

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Abu-Boo

New York Times ran an item 3/14 noting that Salon challenged the ID of a person profiled in the newspaper "who says he is the iconic hooded figure" in the Abu Ghraib photo. Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesperson "confirmed" to the Times: "Our investigation indicates that the person you have is not the detainee who was depicted in the photograph released in connection with the Abu Ghraib investigation." Mediacrity: "In addition to questioning whether the fellow interviewed by the Times was the one in the photo, Salon also found that other details in the ex-prisoner's story were apparently wrong. ... Too bad the Times didn't mention that. I guess saving the paper from embarrassment is a lot more important than admitting that it ran a piece that is looking more and more like a lot of hooey from start to finish." Bill Millan: "This has the same ideological basis as 'Rathergate.' They were so eager to smear the administration that they went with a 'fake but accurate' story." Little Green Footballs, noting that the clarification says the paper "spoke with representatives of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International" who believed the man in the photo was the person ID'd by the Times: "Interesting. When the Times wants to check a story about Abu Ghraib, they don't call anyone in the US government. They call Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, two of the most politicized left-wing NGOs in the world."

Objecting to the characterization of Bush criticism as coming solely from the Dems' "liberal base" by Shaiglagh Murray in the Washington Post, AMERICAblog's John Aravosis aims to explain succinctly "why liberal blogs are constantly berating the traditional media": "Because the traditional media is made up of a growing number of increasingly sloppy children. And their sloppiness is now jeopardizing our democracy. It's gotten us into a war that's a disaster, and it's helped re-elect a president who isn't capable of managing our country. All because the traditional media let themselves be emasculated and lobotomized rather than simply doing their job."

JUDGES: Sandra's Day Out

One story going around the blogs but not much by the MSM concerns a 3/9 speech by ex-SCOTUS justice Sandra Day O'Connor at Georgetown. As reported by NPR, O'Connor "took on conservative Republican critics of the courts," saying that GOP "proposals, and their sometimes uncivil tone, pose a danger to the independence of the judiciary, and the freedoms of all Americans." So far it's been picked up by The Huffington Post, a diarist at Daily Kos, Philly Daily News' Attytood

One of the few MSM types to pick up on the story was lefty blog favorite Keith Olbermann; on 3/13 Crooks and Liars made the video available. Eric Alterman, at his MSNBC-hosted Altercation: "The only reporter present was NPR's Nina Totenberg. Nobody else covered the speech, but here's what she said: attacks on the judiciary by some Republican leaders pose a direct threat to our constitutional freedoms. No really. And while she didn't name Tom Delay, you could not mistake her target. She quoted his attacks on the courts at a meeting of the conservative Christian group Justice Sunday last year when DeLay took out after the courts for rulings on abortions, prayer and the Terri Schiavo case."

Among the few conservatives to pick up the report was The American Princess, who heads her post: "No Wonder Democrats Loved Her." Center-right law prof Ann Althouse ended up writing about it only after people kept asking why she hadn't commented, explaining: "I agree with O'Connor's points ... but it felt like a report from last year, too stale to address. Cornyn and DeLay haven't continued with that idiocy, and a lot of things have happened since then. Why not address those things? Why not say something about how the push-back against Cornyn and DeLay changed their behavior?"

IN THE STATES: The Bell Hop

TX-based Dem blogger Charles Kuffner comments on receiving an e-mail about a local fundraiser for MO SEN candidate Claire McCaskill: "I could whine about Texas being everybody's donor state, but this happens all the time around the country. Besides, McCaskill is a strong candidate with a real shot ... What does bug me is seeing the names Ben and Melanie Barnes at the top of the host list. If you search for the Barneses on the TEC contributions page, you'll see that they've given a lot of money to fellow Democrats over the past several years. They've also contributed" $7OK+ to ex-GOPer/indie GOV candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn since 12/02: "Which makes me ask why, in a year where the incumbent Republican Governor is polling at 40% and less everywhere you look, are they not supporting [TX Dem GOV nominee] Chris Bell?"

Commonwealth Conservative gives props to Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of several govs. paying a visit to Iraq: "Kudos to Governor Kaine for visiting Virginia National Guard troops serving in Iraq. It's possible he may also make a stop in Afghanistan before returning home on Friday."

ETHICS: Follow The Oregon Trail?

Via The Oregonian, Gerik at Left in the West: "The word out in Oregon is a bipartisan proposal to create an independent ethics commission," sponsored by Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). The bill would create a commis. "made up of former members of Congress, to replace the current House ethics committee." As Walden puts it, "we simply don't have the time or, frankly, the objectivity to provide the necessary oversight over our colleagues." "have put together the latest in a series of attempts to reform the way Congress passes or does not pass the smell test. Now I can admit to not being up on the latest good, bad, and ugly attempts at reform following the wrath of Jack Abramoff and the Republican Culture of Corruption but this one looks half decent. Decent in a 'this stands a chance of passing' kind of way.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: What Do You Call 1,000 Lawyers Blogging? A Joke That No One Understands

Hugh Hewitt quotes from an '03 Joseph Epstein essay on attys' low perceived low stature in the U.S., "Why I Am Not A Lawyer": "How did lawyers go from Americans natural aristocrats, from an almost priestly cast, to figures an increasingly large share of the population look upon as, chiefly, disastrously expensive to do business with, hopelessly pugnacious, and people for whom life is much better when they play no part in it." Hewitt, a law prof himself and organizer of an upcoming panel on blogging and the law at Chapman Univ.: "I think the reason lawyers have flocked to blogging is because of the very decline Epstein pointed to, and that among the country's hundreds of thousands of lawyers -- approximately 600,000 all told -- are those who are attempting to redeem their careers via the public engagement that blogging allows while fulfilling the deep desire to write in the manner that briefs and law review articles will not permit because of their rules."

LEST WE FORGET: The Butterfly Effect

The Oscars are over a week past us now, but this only just came across our virtual transom, and it's worth sharing -- Nick Starr discovers the very Florida-like shenanigans which may explain this year's upset in the Best Picture category.

Posted by at March 15, 2006 12:28 PM