June 30, 2006

6/30: SCOTUS Water To GOP Wine?

Many throughout the blogosphere played SCOTUS' 6/29 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision as a stinging rebuke for Pres. Bush's war on terror. No doubt the majority opinion bristles with contempt for Bush's detainee policies, but blogger reading of the decision demonstrates the decision's practical effect is more of a congressional call to action than an administration loss. With the fate of prisoners now moving to Congress righty bloggers believe GOP brand strength on national security can wallop Dems through Nov. while lefty bloggers express both outrage at coming GOP tactics and advice to Dems on how to counteract. All that plus '06 and '08 round ups as well as an appearance from lefty blogger favorite Stephen Colbert.

SCOTUS: Substantive GWOT Debate Coming To Congress?

The best blog summary of SCOTUS' 6/29 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld can be found at left leaning Balkinization: "The key to understanding Hamdan is that the Court did not tell the President that he could under no circumstances create military tribunals with very limited procedural guarantees. ... Rather, the Court told the President that under Article 36 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, he could not do so. ... The reason why the President is bound by these requirements is because Congress passed the UCMJ and because the UCMJ uses the laws of war - which include the Geneva Conventions - as a benchmark for procedures in military commissions."

Righty Orin Kerr concurs and adds some history: "As Jack Balkin notes, the opinion just says that Congress needs to be on board if the President wants to deviate from a court-martial-like trial for the Gitmo detainees. ...If the 2004 decisions rejected the concept of a law-free zone, Hamdan rejects the concept of a Congress-free zone. On the other hand, the Court has upped the ante only a notch. It has avoided a grand confrontation between the Executive and the Judiciary, at least for now."

Right Wing News immediately saw GOP '06 opportunity in the decision: "if the reasoning here is supposed to be that Congress hasn't approved of military tribunals, then let's put it up for a vote. ... Basically, we'll have the Democrats who'll be so concerned about the terrorists rights that they'd favor letting them beat the system and get loose to kill more Americans. On the other hand, the Republicans won't be very concerned about the right of foreign terrorists and their first priority will be protecting America. Protecting the rights of Al-Qaeda or protecting America?"

Andre Cochran at Counterterrorism Blog had a similar reaction: "The decision is actually a huge political gift to President Bush, and the detainees will not be released that easily. The President and GOP leaders will propose a bill to override the decision and keep the terrorists in jail until they are securely transferred to host countries for permanent punishment. ... They will challenge the "judicial interference with national security" and challenge dissenting Congressmen and civil libertarians to either stand with the terrorists or the American people."

Lefty Balloon Juice was incensed at that the GOP would make a political issue out of something SCOTUS just ruled ought to be a political issue: "Let's put aside the inherent nihilism in this response - and there is still something even more offensive about this passage: "They will challenge the 'judicial interference with national security' and challenge dissenting Congressmen and civil libertarians to either stand with the terrorists or the American people." ... It never gets old, being told you are a traitor and in league with the terrorists because you disagree with current administration policy. Let me be the first to tell Andrew Cochran, whoever that is, to go [use your imagination] himself. Twice."

Fellow lefty (but no Dem lover) Middle Earth Journal hopes the issue will fade quickly: "I'm not sure this needs to be a "huge political gift to President Bush" but it will turn out that way. With the Democrats in congress made up of folks that are either spineless or just as hawkish as the neocons a law will be passed easily that legalizes the military tribunals. If congress tries to put lipstick on the pig to make themselves look important Bush will simply ignore the portions of the law he doesn't like."

Also from the left Reed Hundt at TPM Cafe has advice for Dems to head of Rovain machinations: "Look for the brilliant mastermind of November victories to use the Supreme Court's pro-prisoner decision to the R's advantage this fall. Add to "cut and run" as an epithet for Democrats the potent message that D's stand for releasing murderers and terrorists. To thwart this tactic, Democrats need to clamor for legislation calling for no bail, confidential reports to Congress on the danger to the country from these prisoners (conducted by the 911 Commission), trials starting no later than in the fall, and harsh penalties."

WH'08: Like Lemmings Off A Granite Cliff

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas says the argument that NH voters "force candidates to do retail politics" and that they are "good at vetting the candidates by listening to them up close" is "bulls**t." Kos wants us to "look at the before and after of the Franklin Piece College Poll. First line is 1/20-22, 2004 [IA caucus was on 1/20/04], with the trend line in parenthesis from 12/1-4, 2003." Kerry 30 (14) Dean 16 (39). "In 2004, Iowa picked our nominee, and New Hampshire did nothing more than rubberstamp Iowa's decision. No amount of 'retail politics' on the ground in New Hampshire could overcome what Granite State voters saw in the Iowa results and Dean's 'scream.'"

Later Kos wrote it was "established earlier that New Hampshire rubber stamped the Iowa results in 2004, laying waste to the claim that Granite Staters were somehow better able to make decisions based on their up-close access to candidates, the so-called 'retail politics' that romantics think drive decisions" in IA and NH. "But only 124,331 participated" in the '04 IA Dem caucuses. "Six percent. Six. And we're supposed to trust Iowa with this decision because they are 'more engaged' and have 'experience' vetting candidates? Six percent seems to be the opposite of 'engaged'. Those arguments are utter bunk. Iowa didn't decide our nominee. Six percent of registered voters in Iowa decided our nominee, a decision then rubberstamped by New Hampshire. Put another way, 124,000 people in Iowa decided" for 60M Dems "who the nominee would be. That's not a fair system. It's not a democratic system. And even though the DNC is just tinkering around the edges for 2008, it's a system that needs to be changed in subsequent cycles."

GORE: Tree Hugging Needs Nuke Hugging

Moderate Raymond Learsy at Huffington Post writes that Al Gore's film "has crystallized" the global warming issue "me in a very personal way. But where I part ways with Mr. Gore is in his reluctance to give adequate consideration to nuclear energy. In a recent interview, Gore dismissed nuclear power, saying he doubted it would "play a much larger role than it does now." His main concern against nuclear power revolved around the risk of weapons proliferation, an issue that cannot and must not be dismissed."

ROMNEY: Eloquence On Marriage

Right-leaning RCP Blog's Tom Bevan doesn't personally "favor a federal marriage amendment," but "I find Romney to be among its most eloquent defenders. He made a reasonable and persuasive case for the FMA in a recent letter to the Senate, and I've also seen him make the same case on the stump. Obviously, the issue appeals greatly to many Republican base voters, but I suspect the tone and tenor with which Romney approaches the subject will resonate with a broader audience as well."

CT SEN: No Really, This Race Is About More Than Iraq

Tim Tagaris at the official Ned Lamont Blog introduces cable co. exec. Ned Lamont's latest TV ad: "The war, the war, Ned's campaign is only about the war!" The war is a pretty big deal-there is no more important issue our government tackles than war and peace. But it's not just about the war. Did you know that in addition to being a successful businessman, Ned is a volunteer teacher in an inner-city public school?" Jane Hamsher at firedoglake and Maura at My Left Nutmeg both gush over the effort.

Not all lefties got the "this race is about more than Iraq" memo. John Amato at Crooks and Liars claims an 'exclusive' from Arianna Huffington: "Jack Murtha would not support Joe Lieberman for the Senate unless he changes his position on the Iraq war."

Christy Hardin Smith at firedoglake explains the significance: "elected members of Congress don't normally speak out about other elected members of Congress unless there is a problem...and Jack Murtha clearly has a problem with Holy Joe. Maybe it was the leading off of the Republican side of the debate on the Iraq issue last week."

Meanwhile TAPPED's Michael Tomasky looks at CT registration numbers and reluctantly finds himself agreeing with a Dick Morris column concluding Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) "would win overwhelmingly" as an indie: "Consider: First, voter enrollment in Connecticut looks like this. You have roughly 700,000 Democrats, 450,000 Republicans, and 930,000 unaffiliateds. Assume also a fairly weak Republican, as seems to be the case -- a bloke named Alan Schlesinger, the "two-term mayor of the city of Derby," according to his Web site. ... Assume that, running as an Independent, Lieberman would get the lion's share of unaffiliateds, and probably not an insignificant number of Republicans. He would be very tough to beat."

FL SEN: Going To War With The Army We Have

Righty PoliPundit acknowledges that Rep. Katherine Harris' (R) numbers have actually decreased against Sen. Bill Nelson (D) but also thinks its high time the GOP closed ranks: "I do wish the GOP powers that be would just shut the hell up about Harris and support her the best they can. It's time to close ranks and fight the good fight for the Florida Senate seat with the army we have not the army we wish we had."

RedState still wants to debate the matter: "So, given that Nelson has less than a 50% favorable and 38% undecided, should the GOP finally rally around Harris and her money, or at least shut up and let her fight? Chime in below." A terribly unscientific sampling of commenters shows opinion divided. Sample against from Adam C: "She's polling in the 20s last I saw. There are more important, cheaper races that will matter more. May I recommend MD, MN, WA, OH, NJ and MO as places where the probability that a $20 [donation] will change an outcome is greater. If we are looking at races where the R is done by over 30 points, then I'd prefer NE, WV, and MN get some notice before FL. They all have strong challengers polling higher than Harris is." Sample for from A Faurot: "Rep. Harris was on 1270 WFLA this morning talking to the early morning guy and I was impressed."

PA SEN: Pay Attention To Me!!!

Under the header "Santorum Begs for Debates" righty Ryan Sager at RCP Blog beats up on Sen. Rick Santorum: "Wow. This is embarrassing. Usually it's the long-shot challenger who has to hound the aloof incumbent for debates. But, down by 52-34, Santorum is the one who's started a Web petition to get Bob Casey to debate him."

VA SEN: Rageaholics Anonymous

From the right NRO's Jim Geraghty looks at the recent Sen. George Allen (R) campaign manager Dick Wadhams and ex-Navy Sec. James Webb (D) aide Steve Jarding spitball fight and shares his personal Jarding experience: "I have something in common with Steve Jarding - we have the same editor on our books at Simon and Schuster. ... Jarding ... well, we're seeing the same tone in his press statements for Webb that turned me off from "Foxes in the Henhouse." It will be interesting to see if Virginia voters share his taste for rage."

WA SEN: Good Thing She Didn't Kiss Bush

Lefty Matt Stoller at MyDD explains that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) "is not liked among progressives for a variety of reasons" (read Iraq) but that "now she's making net neutrality a campaign issue against her opponent, Mike McGavick. ... Cantwell ... was absolutely with us on this vote. Not only did she vote for net neutrality, she voted against the underlying bill. In other words, having Democrats in the Senate really matters. I've thought since the beginning that this is a voting issue, at least for a certain slice of the electorate. Americans of all parties love their internet, and hate their phone/cable company."

Lefty Talking Points Memo is all over McGavick on social security: "As I noted yesterday, we hear that in private conversations, McGavick is a die-hard phase-out man...only he won't come clean about it in his election campaign. ...Anyway, it seems pretty clear he's a diehard supporter of phase-out but won't come clean about it with the public, which brings us to our contest. So here's the deal. We're holding a contest to see who can get a straight answer out of Mike McGavick on Social Security - against phase out or in favor of it."

IL-10: A New Hope

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas asks readers to support ex-cong. aide/businessman Dan Seals: "Seals has lit the locals on fire, and is one of those rare candidates that has widespread local grassroots support, as well as great respect from the DCCC. The 10th is a Democratic district, with a partisan performance index of D+3.6. ... He's been referred to as the "next Obama", and some close observers of the race...cringe at that comparison. But the comparison, whether accurate or not, does hint at the level of excitement Seals is building in the area.

MN-05: Jesse Vs. The Swiftboaters

Power Line notes that Jesse Jackson is coming to town to support State Rep. Keith Ellison (D) and takes the opportunity to highlight Ellison's past defense of his connections to the Nation of Islam. PL notes that DFL Party chair Brian Melendez describes any questioning of Ellison's past as "swift-boating" and concludes: "When the press gets around to asking the DFL candidates for governor (Mike Hatch) and Senate (Amy Klobuchar) whether they support Ellison, I anticipate that Melendez will describe the questions as a sign of Swift-boating bigotry."

NC-08: CAFTA Comes Home To Roost?

The fundraising push at lefty MyDD continued with Matt Stoller singing the praises of textile worker turned social studies teacher Larry Kissell: "As a dedicated progressive running in North Carolina's eighth district, he's captured the hearts of the local blogs and local progressive activists. ...NC-08...been heavily hit by corporate trade agreements, with lots of textile factories being closed and heavy job losses. The key issues are gas prices, health care, education, etc, the same ones resonating nationally. The district itself has a Democratic Performance Index of 50.5, and North Carolina Democrats have been looking for a good candidate to challenge incumbent Robin Hayes for years."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: GOP Loves Bloggers

The House GOP Conference reached out to sympathetic right bloggers 6/29 14 members including House Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) and House GOP Conf. Chair Deborah Pryce (R-OH). HumanEvents Online and ShopFloor.org have great roundups of the action including:

• Roy Blunt and Deb Pryce on Medicare Rx Program
• Rep. John Doolittle (CA-04) and Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) on Taxes and Spending
• Rep. Katherine Harris (FL-13) on Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Offshore Drilling
• Scott Garrett (NJ-05) on Bilingual Ballots and N.J. Senate Race
• Cliff Stearns (FL-06) on Bilingual Ballots, UN Waste and Offshore Drilling
• Rep. Pete Hoekstra (MI-2), Rep. Ed Royce (CA-40), Rep. Eric Cantor (VA-07), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN-07), Rep. Randy Neugebauer (TX-19), Rep. John Carter (TX-31), and Rep. Todd Akin (MO-02)

LEST WE FORGET: Has Colbert Stopped Beating His Wife?

If the Blogometer couldn't work for The Hotline, we'd want to work for Rep. Jack Kingston (GA-01). Is there a more fun office on the Hill? For those of you who haven't seen it already here is Kingston and Stephen Colbert on "Journeys With Jack."

Posted by Conn Carroll at 12:17 PM

June 29, 2006

Capitol Capitalization Failure?

In the wake of SCOTUS's 6/28 decision on TX redistricting, the left was buzzing over opportunities to use Dem control over state legislatures to hobble GOP House delegations in key states (i.e. IL, NJ, and NM now, and possibly CA, PA, and CO after potential '06 wins). But even from their own ranks, lefties have questions about such efforts. Some wonder if constant re-districting is good for democracy, others look at the way Dems would have to draw lines to copy the GOP tactic (by shuffling base voters around) and wonders if Dem efforts to emulate the strategy would run afoul of the Voting Rights Act since the Dem base is often made up of minority voters.

Also, the Blogometer looks at progressive displeasure with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) over religion, SEN and HOUSE round ups, and finally a quick jab at campaign finance reform.

SCOTUS: Will What's Good For The Goose Be Good For The Gander?

Election Law breaks SCOTUS' 6/28 LULAC v. Perry inot three key holdingd: "1. Partisan gerrymandering claims remain losers, at least for now. ...2. The Court Appears to Close or Be Closing Other Avenues for Challenging Partisan Redistricting, Including Through Mid-decade Redistricting. ...3. Justice Kennedy Is The Swing Voter on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and the Result is a Mixed Bag for Supporters of a Strong Reading of the Act." Rick Pildes at SCOUTSblog has in depth analysis on each of the holdings including: "Justice Kennedy concludes, in essence, that the Voting Rights Act does not permit Latinos to be grouped as Latinos, merely because they share Latino identity and vote for Latino candidates, when they otherwise differ in class status and location in this way. Moreover, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alitohave laid down a major marker on these issues, for in the Chief's separate opinion, he writes: "It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race."

Many progressives saw opportunity in the court's failure to strike down partisan mid-decade redistricting.

• Seeing The Forest: "Time For Dems To Redraw Some Maps! This sounds bad. It isn't. Why not? Because it means that states with Democrats in control can now do the same thing."
• The Carpetbagger Report: "This very well may turn out to be one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for moments for the Republican Party. In recent years, Democrats in DC and at the state level, have played it straight and agreed to abide by approved district lines, even if state power control had shifted since the lines were drawn. Republicans, true to form, have played by different rules, and redrawn district boundaries."
• The Democratic Daily: "Republicans might also come to regret this as Democrats control the executive and legislative branches in Illininois, Maine, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Louisiana, Washington and West Virginia, and this could be increased by several states in November.
• Chris Bowers at MyDD: "We have a pretty good chance to take the trifecta this year in California, Colorado, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. We already have the trifecta in Illinois. After the 2006 elections, Democrats need the guts to wake up and realize that the public will not revolt in the face of Republican power grabs, and that Republicans will not play nice because we decide to do so. Redrawing the maps in those states will make it all but impossible for Republicans to hold the House after the 2006 elections."

DavidNYC at Swing State Project urged progressive caution, noting that the make-up of the Dem base might hamper their ability to capitilize on partisanship to the same extent GOPers can: "

Those of you looking for a silver lining might point to #2 and say, "Well, at least we can screw the GOP, too." Indeed, some people are already ticking off a list of states where Dems could stick it to the Republicans: Illinois, California, New York, and so forth. Conceviably, if state legislatures show some spine, this kind of thing could happen. But #3 is, perversely, what gets us. ...But at its core, the VRA says that redistricters must try to maximize the number of "majority-minority" districts. ...But the bottom line is that if you have a state with, say, five majority-minority districts, you can't cut that number down to four to spread some of those Dem-voting minorities around. It would be pretty much flat-out unconstitutional."

Others on the left urged local Dem temperance in redistricting along partisan lines. New Donkey: "But no one should forget that the one place in which a DeLay-style GOP partisan re-redistricting foundered was Colorado, for the simple reason that the state's own constitution banned mid-decade redistricting. Looking ahead to the next decade, states should strongly consider emulating Colorado's ban on the practice of overturning congressional and state legislative maps every time partisan control of state government solidifies or flips."

Typical righty reaction included joy that former House maj. leader Tom DeLay's legacy would live on. But a few also noted the importance of the mid-decade portion of the decision. Right Wing Nuthouse: "Also of note is a part of the decision that may have huge ramifications down the road: The Court ruled that states may redraw district boundaries any time they wish rather than waiting for the Census report that comes out once a decade. This could be very troubling for our democracy. As it stands now, most people do not know who their Congressman is. What would happen if people were shuttled all over the map every couple of years as one party or another took control of the statehouse? I am willing to bet that number would decline even further.

Allahpundit at HotAir thought the decision was great news for federalism: "Which means, obviously, that local elections just got a lot more important vis-a-vis national business. Good news for federalism and better news for the GOP if it rolls craps in the Congressional elections this November but holds power at the state level. We'll see how various state legislatures take the news, and which ones move quickly to press the majority party's advantage."

WH'08: Granite Whining

Lefty bloggers were pleased with 6/28 reports that the DNC authorized an additional primary before NH's contest. DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas: "I want to see the primary stranglehold held by Iowa and New Hampshire ended, and will cheer the day that happens (and it will). Iowa and New Hampshire are not representative of the nation. Not in the least. Their exhalted roles will not last for eternity. ...That New Hampshire is freaking out so much will only harm them long-term. Let them move up their primary. The DNC should retaliate by stripping that primary of its delegate-assigning ability."

Under the header "Anti-Democracy New Hampshire Whines About Expanding Democracy" fellow lefty Chris Bowers at MyDD writes: "Is there really any other way to phrase it? ...New Hampshire is simply acting like any other privileged class has acted throughout history when its un-democratic privilege is under threat. Their arguments in defense of why they should have that privilege are always connected either to a sense of elitism where New Hampshire residents are somehow better able to make decisions than people who live outside of New Hampshire, or to the always anti-democratic appeals to "tradition" where the desires of those alive now are considered worthless when compared to the desires of those who lived in the past.

OBAMA: Not The Dreaded L-Word!

Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) 6/28 contribution to a Call to Renewal conference call were not well recieved by the progessive blogging community. Some were so upset they invoked the ultimate progressive epithet. Chris Bowers at MyDD tells Obama: "Well done. Your mentor, Joe Lieberman, would be proud." The Agonist chimes in: "See, now, this is a Lieberman moment. Because what Obama is doing is using Republican talking points about Democrats and religion to criticize his own party."

Other lefties saw a different boogeyman at fault. Pachacutec at firedoglake: "But this bull***t from Barack Obama is Bill Clinton's fault. The greatest victory of the radical right wing has been to train Democratic politicians to disrespect, mischaracterize and run against their base in the progressive movement. And that is Bill Clinton's fault." Ezra Klein also suffered a 90's flashback: "This in Clinton territory, where Barack's raw ability makes him something of a political rorsach, and renders it all the more important to apply close scrutiny to the actual content of his speeches."

Lefty Pam's House Blend announced her exit from the Obama band wagon: "The bloom is off the rose, folks; he must be running in '08. Barack Obama doesn't understand what the real problem is." And Atrios tells Obama he's hurting his cause: "Dear Senator Obama, If you think it's important to court evangelicals, then court them. If, on the other hand, you think it's important to confirm and embrace the false idea that Democrats are hostile to religion in order to set yourself apart, then continue doing what you're doing. It won't help the Democrats, and it probably won't even help you, but whatever makes you happy.

Lefty condmenation was not univeral. Ron Chusid at The Democratic Daily blamed the media for mischaracterizing Obama's speech. Nathan Newman at TPM Cafe looks at fellow lefty reaction and believes his cohorts proved Obama's point: "If you read the whole speech, the almost kneejerk response to Obama pretty much illustrates his point of the discomfort by some progressives in any discussion of religion in the public square. This was a speech to other progressive religious people and I really find it hard to believe people are trashing it so hard, given that he upholds almost all progressive principles. DailyKos spinoff Street Prophets also backed Obama: "Liberal bloggers like Atrois - no fan of religion - are up in arms over the senator's speech but I say, Amen! My denomination is fortunate to have Barack Obama as a member and the United States is fortunate to have him in the Senate."

Liberal Buddhist The Republic of T. wants no part of any Dem/evangelical alliance: "But you don't have to look much further than the Republican to find out what happens when a political party gets in bed with evangelicals. You come out of it a different party, with different priorities, and a powerful new constituency that you'll probably have to keep satisfied if you want to stay in power. And, at the end of the day, that's what it's all about anyway. Getting power. Keeping power. Period."

GORE: Bookseller-in-Chief

Martin Peretz at The Plank looks at strong sales of Al Gore's book An Inconvient Truth and asks: "Do I think this should worry Hillary Clinton? Yes. Not because she hasn't written a book that was on the best-seller list. All you have to do is to take a look at her website to see how scattered her steely mind really is. Her only "brave" position is that she favors a law making burning the American flag a federal crime. My God! ...By the way, Mrs. Clinton has not a word in her compendium of cares about the environment."

KERRY: Machines of Character Destruction

Wade Sanders at Military.com reviews Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) "participation in a winter 1968 skimmer operation, during his brief assignment to Coastal Division Fourteen" as well as Dr. Louis Leston's account of treating a Kerry wound and concludes: "One can only hope, probably without any possibility of realization, that the Kerry destruction machine, fueled by a consuming hate and a philosophy of destruction, distortions, and lies, will take the time to thoroughly review the totality of the available records and the facts. ...There is absolutely nothing wrong with being angry that John Kerry, as well as hundreds of thousands of other veterans, opposed the Vietnam War. It is, however, terribly wrong to manufacture lies and distortions to satisfy that anger and hate. That energy would be better directed towards the steady dismantling and underfunding of the Veterans Administration."

ROMNEY: A Cult Classic?

Righty Ryan Sager at RCP Blog writes: "Mitt Romney is quickly emerging as the only plausible '08 alternative for social conservatives to more socially moderate frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and John McCain (and, yes, I'm putting them in that order for a reason). The elephant in the room, however, to use my new favorite phrase, is Romney's Mormonism." Sager later links to an On Call (go team!) write up of Romney's appearance on Pat Robertson's 700 Club and comments: "One question: What's his response to people who think Mormonism is a cult? ... Not a promising start."

PA-07: Weldon of Arabia

Ex-Iraq contractor Dave Gaubatz approached Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA 07) for help to get the U.S. military to investigate four sites where he thinks Saddam's WMD is buried. When the military didn't bite, Weldon did, offering to personally go to Iraq with Rep. Pete Hoesktra (R-MI) (ignoring the minor detail of terrorists run amok), personally excavate the sites and take credit for the WMD if were found -- or cover-up his visit if they weren't. The post-partisan Wonkette recapped the madcap plan, "Weldon decides to take secret trip to Iraq with Peter Hoekstra, get equipment and men, 'go digging by the Euphrates,' find weapons personally. Without telling Pentagon, press, or Democrats. Over Memorial Day weekend. Strangely, it doesn't work out. Curt Weldon, we love you." Lefty Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly shut his eyes, rubbed them and let his jaw hang open: "Did you get that? He was going to take a little jaunt to Nasiriyah, break out his shovel, and start digging around himself -- without telling the military what he was doing. Then, when the glorious shells were found, he was going to call in the press and declare himself Weldon of Arabia, Discoverer of WMD. Ho-lee shit. Pennsylvania can do better than this whackjob, can't they?"

Paul Kiel at TPM Muckracker writes that Gaubatz isn't "some reluctant witness to this aborted adventure. He tells the whole tale on his website, which he started out of frustration after Weldon's adventure never happened. 'I then established this website,' he writes, 'and have informed both Congressmen I will keep updating it until the suspected WMD sites in Iraq are inspected.' Gaubatz, remember, says he knows four sites where there are WMD caches."

Lefty Obsidian Wings'Hilzoy thinks Weldon is "completely unprofessional opinion, just the sort of lunatic we do not need in Congress" and that "all good men and women to come to the aid of their country" and donate to Weldon's opponent, Joe Sestak (D).

UT-03: There's No Crying In Politics

On 6/28 Right Wing News wished it could tell everyone that John Jacob's (R) showing was a "moral victory since Rep. Chris Cannon (R) had everything breaking his way except the illegal immigration issue and Jacob still got 44% of the vote, but moral victories in politics are almost always a cop-out. ... In Chris Cannon, you basically had a candidate who the voters in the primary found acceptable in almost every way, except for his position on illegal immigration." Yet immigration was "such a big deal that 44% of the voters were willing to defect to another candidate because of that one issue. That suggests to me that, at least for this election cycle, being for the Senate's immigration plan could be just as deadly for a Republican as being pro-abortion or pro-gun control."

MN SEN: Down The Memory Hole And Back Up Again

The scale-down of refrerences to Pres. Bush on Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R-06) was inititally exaggerated, but it remained fodder for lefties who gleefully used it as evidence of Bush's unpopularity. But righty Kenendy v. The Machine is using the story to knock the Minneapolis Star Tribune and its page designer: "Old teaser line: 'Bush withdrawn from Mark Kennedy's website -- but not completely.' New repolished one that you put up after being caught: 'Bush still appears on Mark Kennedy's website.' Different headline, but same old hatchet job story. Changing the header doesn't change the fact that you got caught running (again) with Democratic talking points. Do the right thing and issue a retraction."

MT SEN: Go West, Lefties

State Senate Pres. Jon Tester (D) is the apple of lefty blogs' eyes after his debate performance last p.m. and tightening-race with Sen. Conrad Burns (R). Kos has "no doubt that the Montana Senate race has become one of the top two in the country." While Tester decided whether to run, "John Morrison jumped in so everyone then assumed that Morrison money and name recognition would carry the day. That was especially the though in DC, with the beltway conventional wisdom confirmed and endorsed by the Hotline. So it's with great satisfaction and respect for Chuck Todd's honesty that I saw this update to his Senate rankings. ... I have to say, his performance in that debate put him at a whole new level. Somewhere along the line, perhaps on primary election night when his underfunded people-powered movement swept him to victory, he made the transition from "citizen legislator" to "senator". I was honestly shocked. Like Todd, I underestimated Tester, and I already had HUGE respect and hopes for him. p.s. I think I'd move to Montana if my wife let me. But she won't.

Jay Antenen at TPM Cafe writes that changes to Burns' own policy positions shows the race tightening up, because when a western GOP senator "announces legislation to limit future gas, oil and mineral leases on federal lands one of two explanations is available. He has gone mad, or he is facing a tough reelection campaign. This is not quite how...Burns (R) is spinning things, but news that he wants to halt future drilling in the Lewis and Clark National Forest has environmentalists cheering him for a change, energy lobbyists scratching their heads, and...Tester (D) not quite sure what to make of it (a campaign spokesperson offered the Great Falls Tribune this pretty pitiful response).

NJ SEN: Isn't Social Security A Dead Issue?

Talking Points Memo says state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R) is a "big phase-out supporter" of Social Security. "On Kean's website he says: 'Tom is committed to keeping the promise of Social Security for current recipients and those nearing retirement. At the same time, changes will be required to keep the program solvent for future generations. ... In the U.S. Senate, Tom will work with Republicans and Democrats to find bipartisan solutions to the long-term challenges facing Social Security, so that this important program can continue to provide retirement security for Americans far into the future.' But last year in the New Jersey state senate he apparently twice voted against a bill calling on President Bush to abandon his plan to phase out Social Security and replace it with private accounts.'"

WA SEN: Another "Square-State Candidate" Gains Popularity

Adam C at Redstate is "very impressed" with ex-Safeco CEO Mike McGavick (R) who has "his own campaign blog and a superb website. More importantly, he is following in the footsteps of Sen. [Slade] Gorton and Mr. [ex-State Sen. Dino] Rossi and their successful brand of Washingtonian Republicanism. Importantly, he is selling himself to moderate Democrats and independents, thus growing the pool of potential Republican voters. ... Republicans could use more people like Mr. McGavick who are reaching out and winning over the disaffected middle in purple and left-of-center states."

DEMOCRATS: We're Going Back To The Future

DNC chair Howard Deantold a religious conference that America is "about to enter the '60s again," but then said he was not referring to the Vietnam War or racial strife. Dean said he's looking for "the age of enlightenment led by religious figures who want to greet Americans with a moral, uplifting vision." SisterToldjah thinks "Dean actually made a few good points, if one sifts through the moral and religious pandering. Such as the acknowledgement of the harm that some of the '60s liberal 'feel good' policies did to our nation." Ankle Biting Pundits tells Dean that the rule about speaking "is this - if you make a statement and have to use the next 5 minutes to talk about what you don't mean, you probably shouldn't make the statement in the first place." Blue Crab Boulevard says Dean and his nostalgic ilk "remember the days of their youth with the rose-colored glasses of what they wished for and dreamed rather than the stark reality of what did happen. Rising crime rates, declining cities, alarming drug use rates, divisive politics, riots and a host of other problems. What they remember is youthful enthusiasm and idealism. Which sadly, led nowhere." Ace Of Spades doesn't know "where people get the idea that the Democratic Party is stuck in the 60's, the party of pot, pacifism, and pwife swapping."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: At Least We'll Know Why An Immigration Deal Failed

Crank at RedState wants to know what RedState's readers priorities are when it come to immigration reform: "Here's the interesting question, though, especially for those who want genuine enforcement but are not fans of legalization plans. Which is more important? If it comes to this, would you blow up an enforcement-plus-legalization bill because stopping anything that has an amnesty or amnesty-like component is more important than improving enforcement? Or would you accept a compromise bill that does both?"

"Assume, for the sake of argument, that these ended up being the only choices as we come down to the end of the year. And assume that (1) the bill involves enforcement provisions that are real, tough, and a genuine improvement, and that (2) the legalization plan does impose some costs and consequences, but nonetheless allows current illegal residents to become citizens more easily than if they just left the country and joined the back of the line for legal entry."

Results at 10 AM 6/29:

Legalization is worse than poor enforcement. I'd rather have
the status quo than anything that smells like amnesty. 44%
Better enforcement is a good thing, and it's worth accepting
a legalization plan. 27%
I'm in favor of both better enforcement and legalization. 16%
Legalization is a good thing, and it's worth accepting
a tough enforcement plan. 6%
Forget enforcement, forget legalization - open the borders
and abolish citizenship requirements! 4%
I'm happy with our immigration laws just as they are. 3%

LEST WE FORGET I: Passive Aggressive Narcissists (Not So) Anonymous

The blogosphere is often the ideal forum for deep philosophical debates about the great issues of the day. And sometimes its not. From Instapundit: "

Andrew Sullivan is calling me passive aggressive for linking this post by Jeff Goldstein. I didn't really think it was about Andrew, but it seems that these days, everything is about Andrew. Except Andrew's blog, which seems to devote a disproportionate amount of attention to me. It's funny, though, that Kos called me "passive aggressive" in an email to the Townhouse email list and now Sullivan's repeating the phrase. (Of course, compared to Kos, everyone's passive-aggressive). But then, Jeff Goldstein was announcing Sullivan's transformation into a Kos diarist ages ago. I guess he was just ahead of the curve.

LEST WE FORGET II: But Do They Have The Bloomin' Onion?

The Blogometer could rip an item off of The Onion everyday for a LEST, but we do so as little as possible. This item was just too good to pass up.

McCain, Feingold Co-Sponsor Chain Of Integrity-Themed Eateries

Citing a longstanding need to "restore honor and dignity to the American food-service industry," Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced the public debut of their joint business venture Monday, a chain of integrity-themed restaurants which opened in 12 locations nationwide. The new Russ and John's chain, which the two senators funded privately via small financial donations of no more than $2,000 per investor, was founded on the idea that "today's customers want quality food without all the lies and exaggerations that all too often accompany it," according to McCain.

In an effort to avoid the "thinly veiled bribery" found in the majority of restaurants, Russ & John's prohibit tips, disparaging them as "the worst kind of soft money," according to the "Message From The Founders" on the restaurant's menu. Instead, management will distribute company-issued "server grants," intended to prevent undue influence on the waitstaff's performance and ensure that every customer receives the same quality service.

"Our servers are not there to just tell you what you want to hear," McCain said. "If a customer asks how the Zesty Three-Cheese Ranch Chicken Platter is, and if it's not particularly good, they're going to be up-front with you and say, 'Frankly, the chicken is not that good.'"

"Their heart is in the right place, but I don't ever see myself eating there, especially when there's a McConnell's Pork Barrel right across the street," said Sen. George Allen (R-VA), referring to the barbecue-style eatery owned and operated by Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, known for its controversial "lawmakers-and-campaign-donors-eat-free" policy. "Who wants to eat at a place that bans complimentary soda refills on ethical grounds?" Allen added.

Posted by at 12:42 PM

June 28, 2006

6/28: Deal Or No Deal?

There are conflicting rumblings from the blogosphere on the immigration front today. Pres. Bush immigration plan supporter Rep. Chris Cannon's (R-UT 03) big win over businessman John Jacob (R) looks like a setback for pro-enforcement GOPers, but at the same time Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has come out with statements many pro-enforcement bloggers interpret as movement away from Bush's "amnesty" plan. Those developments, plus reax from 6/27 primaries, WH'08 news, Election'06 round-up, and a possible GOP opportunity from the New York Times bank record revelation below.

UT-03: Horseshoes And Hand Grenades

Righty Strata-Sphere described the 6/27 primary between Rep. Chris Cannon (R) and businessman John Jacob (R) as "the real first test of the immigration issue on the right." Strata-Sphere previewed Cannon's victory this way: "We have the two candidates who reflect the schism on the right. And tonight will tell which side has the upper hand (my guess is neither - which is why the far right cannot win the day in the end)." Ryan Sager at RedState briefly reported last night that Cannon beat "Tancredoite John Jacob by a healthy margin."

At deadline, none of the bigger righty pro-enforcement sites had reax up on the (RedState, PoliPundit, Right Wing News, The Blogometer is looking in your direction) but its still early. The Corner that never sleeps was all over the race though, but divided in opinion. John Derbyshireminimizes the defeat for the pro-enforcement side with: "Still, 56-44 is pretty darn good against a 5-term incumbent, by an erratic and inexperienced candidate, in a Mormon district." John Podhoretz retorts with perhaps the insult of insults at The Corner: "you're sounding like Kossacks in talking about Jacob's loss to Cannon. What a triumph! Losing an election by 12 points! Wow! Maybe next time restrictionists will lose an election only by 10 points! Then you'll really have the bad guys on the ropes!"

Back in the Beehive state Other Dicta By Steve was happy to see GOPers kiss and make up: "It was so refreshing to see Congressman Chris Cannon and John Jacob act so graciously towards one another on KSL after Jacob conceded after their rather acrimonious primary campaign. Jacob said that since the people selected Cannon, he'll back him completely even with help with fundraising (Lou Dobbs, Bay Buchanan, and Senator Tom Tancredo take that!). In return Cannon welcomed Jacob to help him fight for immigration reform, even by soliciting ideas from him. Now that the primary is over I'm looking forward to see how the Cannon Jacob tag team will do in a smackdown that isn't against each other."

The left had their eye on the race as well. The Idiotarian Savant: "So much for a powerful wave of xenophobia carrying the GOP to victory in November. If there was any deep-seated obsession among the conservative base (Utah, anyone?) on this issue, it would have shown up here." RandyMI at DailyKos was quick to celebrate low GOP turnout in the contest: "For all the talk about a lack of Democratic enthusiasm coming from Daily Kos and others, it looks like Republicans are experiencing the same thing, in what is supposed to be the hottest primary race tonight between incumbent Chris Cannon and John Jacob. ...Gosh, you mean the mighty Republicans are lazy and apathetic, too? They're not showing up for the primary that Lou Dobbs has been talking about for a week?"

SC LG: The Hardest Working Man In SC

SC bloggers from the left and right were thoroughly impressed with LG Andre Bauer (R) 6/27 victory over businessman Mike Campbell (R). SC native and conservative Voting Under The Influence: "Lt. Governor Andre Bauer faced the perfect storm for defeat. First, he had a scandal ... then he had a plane crash that injured him and nearly killed him. Add to those two things the fact that Carroll Campbell's son was his opponent and the former President of the United States was working against Andre Bauer. That, folks, is the perfect storm for defeat."

Crack The Bell notes that "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Andre's total vote margin is nearly identical to that in Lexington." VUTI also saw Lexington County as the key for Bauer: "Whatever the reason, Andre Bauer and the Lexington County gang that delivered the 11,000 plus runoff votes and a margin bigger than Andre's victory margin statewide proved they are a political force to be reckoned with."

Bloggers supporting showed an interest in quickly rallying behind Bauer. What Now? writes: "Our Campbell endorsement, like our Quinn endorsement, was mistaken. In hindsight, Campbell never put forth any specifics about his ideas. Campbell is apparently not a conservative. Instead, he seemed moderately liberal on many issues, including school choice. Congrats to Andre. We will enthusiastically support him in the general election."

Lefty SCs urged Dems not to take Bauer lightly. LaurinLine: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Andre Bauer can NEVER be underestimated. He's the hardest working campaigner out there and his base is fiercely loyal. I suspect Barber's campaign would have been much happier tonight to receive news that they were, instead, facing the son of the most popular governor of the last 30 years.

CLINTON: Not The Anti-Christ After All

Lefty blogger reax to Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) hiring of Kerry-Edwards blog outreach director Peter Daou continue along a similar theme: We love Peter, we hate Hillary. We'll watch and see what happens. Cenk Uygur at The Huffington Post describes Daou as "one of the most astute and aggressive bloggers in the country," and "Hillary as the poster child for equivocation and triangulation." Uygur concludes: " Hillary hiring Peter Daou is a little like Nixon going to China," and he sees three possible outcomes: "1. Hillary will actually listen to what Peter has to say and adjust her views and actions; 2. They will not be able to see eye to eye and Peter will be ignored and then will eventually leave the job; 3. Peter will become an apologist for Hillary's current stances on things like Iraq, which are hideous and morally repugnant." Uygur believes Daou is the best candidate to pull off outcome one: "If you asked me to pick one person to send into the teeth of the Democratic establishment to deliver this message, I couldn't name anyone better than Peter. If Hillary doesn't listen to him, then there's no hope for her and no chance for reconciliation."

Also at HuffPo under the header "Friends Don't Let Friends Work for Hillary" RJ Eskow is a little insulted by the move: "On a personal level, I wish him all the best in his new position as Hillary Clinton's netroots consultant. On a political level, I feel obliged to do my best to ensure that he doesn't succeed. While I'm happy for Peter - she's not the anti-Christ, for God's sake! - I would be insulted at the idea that the substantive differences that I (and many others) have with Hillary can be resolved through some sort of outreach program."

GORE: 19 Out Of 100 Scientists Can't Be Wrong

After the Senate Environment and Public Works Cmte condemned the AP for titling an "Scientists OK Gore's Movie for Accuracy" after only receiving replies from 19 out of 100 scientists contacted for the story, lefty bloggers attacked the release's author Marc Marono. Talking Points Memo: "Until a couple months ago, the press release writer, Marc Marono, worked for CNSnews.com where he distinguished himself by using disgraced NASA crony George Deutsch to attack NASA scientist James Hansen. ... Earlier, Marono wrote this beaut questioning whether Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) may have faked the wounds for which he received two Purple Hearts."

On the right Power Line picks up on a UPI report showing a box office drop from its record $70,333 per play to $12,334 during its third week. PL concludes: "It's no shock, I suppose, that most people aren't interested in seeing propaganda films about the weather. But the topic is an interesting and important one which we wrote about quite a few years ago, and will try to return to as time permits."

GIULIANI: McCain People Not Dumb

The unofficial Giuliani Blog has been tracking web ads at the Weekly Standard and think they've uncovered a clandestine Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) stalking effort: "In recent months browsing the Weekly Standard online or NRO, I have yet to come across an ad for Straight Talk America. But Rudy starts making presidential noises with an online ad buy on several conservative websites, and all of a sudden, McCain ads start popping up. ...The people advising McCain aren't dumb. They understand the serious threat Giuliani poses, and realize that Rudy's entry into the race could well be a campaign-ender for them."

MCCAIN: A Blogger Is Born

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) made his debut into the blogosphere 6/27 at the widely respected if not popularly trafficked Porkbusters. McCain invoked Ronald Reagan, laid common ground with National Review, and asserted his commitment to small gov't:

"Among the core values we Republicans share with Pres. Reagan is a passion for free market principles such as lower taxes and opposition to unnecessary government regulation; and, very importantly, belief that the government that governs best governs least. I don't think any Reagan Republican would disagree that fiscal restraint and small government are bedrock principles of conservatives. ...The editors of National Review have argued - and I agree with them - that unless Republicans curb government spending by reforming the budget process, we may lose our majorities in the House and Senate. I will go one step further and say that if Republicans do not reform our budget process, we will deserve to lose our majorities. ...I have never blogged before. But I understand readers can leave comments on each post and that these comments can be rather, ahem, blunt. So I am happy to entertain any questions, comments, or insults you might have for me at this time."

The effort already has garnered popular attention from righty traffic leader Instapundit.

LANDSCAPE: The Most Important Week Ever

Under the header "End of Q2 Fundraising Push" progressive Chris Bowers at MyDD urges readers to help lefty approved candidates through ActBlue: "This is it. These are the final days where fundraising totals matter to the overall narrative. The Q2 fundraising deadline ends at midnight on Friday. That is only 75 hours away. This is the combined netroots page, for which you have already helped raise more than $224,000, but for which this week is its most important week ever." Bowers goes on to offer brief capsules on each of the endorsed candidates including: Ned Lamont (CT), Jon Tester (MT), James Webb (VA), Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Darcy Burner (WA-08), Patrick Murphy (PA-08), Joe Sestak (PA-07), Paul Hodes (NH-02), Eric Massa (NY-29),and Linda Stender (NJ-07).

CT SEN: Who's Kooky Now?

Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-CT) office continues to alienate the blogosphere. Ben Wyl at TAPPED reports: "I just got off the phone with Lieberman's press secretary, and I can confirm that yes, she is a bit "kooky." I had called to find out simply what polling company the senator was using, and she nearly jumped down my throat. ... She terrorized me for a few minutes, asking why I had called, until I told her that I was only a lowly intern who knew nothing and oh, would she please let me go. ... Needless to say, she didn't answer my question."

Meanwhile back in CT lefty bloggers believe the AFL-CIO's endorsement of Lieberman is great news for cable co. exec. Ned Lamont (D-CT). DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas: "The AFL-CIO did endorse Lieberman for the primary, which means Joementum will have their support in August. This was never in doubt. What was in doubt was the November endorsement. And by withholding that at this point, Lieberman's decision to go independent has just gotten a whole lot more difficult."

Message discipline ruled the day in lefty blogland:

• Connecticut Bob: "This is a huge blow to the Senator's efforts should he decide to flee the Democrats and run as an Independent in November."
• Matt Stoller at MyDD: "The endorsement is good for Lieberman's primary chances, since he doesn't really have a base for the primary and these are real votes. It also boxes him in, though, since it means that these votes are only good if he goes the higher risk primary route."
• ConnecticutBLOG: "This is a huge blow for Lieberman because his campaign desperately wanted the support of the union until November (general election) and not August (primary). For Lieberman, taking the indy route will be riskier than if they had the support of the union until November."
• My Left Nutmeg: "Their endorsement is ONLY for the primary. When he loses, it's back to the drawing board. This is a big defeat for the DC power brokers and a moral victory for the Lamont campaign (not to mention the people of Connecticut)."
• the unofficial LamontBlog: "In a likely fatal blow to any Lieberman plans to leave the party, the AFL-CIO today refused to endorse an independent Lieberman candidacy in November, flying in the face of statements made yesterday about supporting Joe in November regardless of how he fared in the primary."

The unofficial LamontBlog also did some digging on Lieberman's media consultants after Lieberman's 6/26 attack on Lamont consultant Bill Hillsman: "But if Joe's going to go the "glass houses" route, let's take a look at the people who are doing his ads, the super-beltway-insider Glover Park Group. Their recent work includes ad campaigns for such staunchly Democratic and progressive interests as Pfizer, Smirnoff Vodka, MCI-Worldcom, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America."

PA SEN: The Deliverer

Right Wing News sat down with Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) 6/27. Highlights include:

John Hawkins

: What do you say to people who now know that we discovered 500 WMDS in Iraq, that Saddam had stockpiles of weapons, and yet they still say, "Aww, that's not a big deal. What does it prove?" What do you say to those people, Rick?Rick Santorum
: Well, I say that it was one of the pieces of the puzzle that we believe helps put together the threat that Saddam was to this country and the world...

John Hawkins

: Now, you're doubling Casey in fund raising and I'm hearing that you intend to run ads all the way from now until election day. If you had one concise message that you wanted to get out to people about Rick Santorum and one concise message that you had to let people know about Bob Casey, what would it be?
Rick Santorum: The concise message is that I am someone who has the courage of his convictions, who will stand up and tell you what I think, and I will deliver on what I promise.

VA SEN: Capture The Flag

Demonstrating yet again why ex-Navy sec. Jim Webb (D) is everything DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas could dream of in a candidate, Team Webb's Steve Jarding fiercly responded to a Sen. George Allen (R) press release claiming Webb "continues to demonstrate he is totally beholden to the liberal Washington Senators who dragged him across the line in the Democratic primary." Jarding at Webb's campaign siteBorn Fighting: "George Felix Allen Jr. and his bush-league lapdog, Dick Wadhams, have not earned the right to challenge Jim Webb's position on free speech and flag burning. Jim Webb served and fought for our flag and what it stands for, while George Felix Allen Jr. chose to cut and run. When he and his disrespectful campaign puppets attack Jim Webb they are attacking every man and woman who served."

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas links to On Call's (go team!) write up of the incident and adds: "Chris LaCivita, who orchestrated the Swiftboating of John Kerry in 2004, works full-time for George Allen. So it's no surprise the Allen campaign wasted no time in attacking Webb's patriotism. Webb was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Hearts while fighting in Vietnam. While Allen was playing cowboy at a dude ranch in Nevada."

Also at DailyKos commenter Al Rodgers posts pictures of Webb from his Vietnam days and Allen in Confederate garb from Gods and Generals stills under the header "Real Deal vs Cheap Fraud."

Over at NROGreg Pollowitz still holds out hope that a flag controversy could help Allen: "Hopefully this strategy works as well for Webb as it did for George Allen's past opponent, Chuck Robb. ... Attempts at a flag-burning amendment were made in 1995 and 2000, and supporters failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate both times. In 1995, the vote was 63-36 in favor. In 2000, it was 63-37, and one of those voting against was Virginia Democrat Chuck Robb. ... Robb's opposition to the amendment cost him dearly in his re-election bid when the Allen campaign used it against him."

BLOGGERS VS. MSM: Put Up Or Shut Up Time?

Righty TimChapmanBlog's 6/27 post that the House GOP would offer a resolution condemning the New York Times for publishing information regarding the administration's SWIFT bank records tracking program panned out 6/28. TCB: "This is indeed a welcome development. GOP House leadership is showing that they are in tune with the American people. Paging Bill Frist - where is the Senate companion resolution?"

Fellow righty John McIntyre at RCP Blog thinks the issue is a winner for the GOP: "The issue plays to Bush's strengths and continues to paint the picture of the President as a stalwart fighter, protecting America's safety while the left-wing press does their best to undermine as many successful anti-terror programs as possible. The Times and the far left are so completely out of touch with where the country is on national security and terrorism issues they probably thought this disclosure would hurt Bush politically. They are clueless."

Libertarian QandO links to lefty Glen Greenwald's critique of righty Times complaints but ends up barely coming to a different conclusion: "Still, that rhetoric aside, I find the intellectual points of his argument compelling ... but still incomplete. Incomplete, because, while I am predisposed to the view that government interference with the press would be a very bad thing, I also believe that there are legitimate national security secrets and that a State has a legitimate interest in keeping them secret. I believe that, with regards to those legitimate national security secrets, we have a compelling interest in preventing leaks, or, failing that, finding and prosecuting leakers. And I find the notion that a journalist has a confidentiality shield far beyond even that which Doctors or Lawyers have - one that shields them from disclosing details about a crime to which they were a witness or participant - absurd."

On the left, Arianna Huffington at The Huffington Post comes down for the Times: "Here's a change. After a year of regularly hauling the New York Times and its editors to the cyber woodshed for acting more like an arm of the Bush administration than the paper of record, I'm turning on the computer to -- wait for it -- sing the praises of Bill Keller and the gang on West 43rd. It's not exactly a newsflash that the Bushies would like to keep everything other than Valerie Plame's CV wrapped in the political equivalent of Harry Potter's invisibility cloak -- hidden from the prying eyes of the pesky public."

Also at HuffPoGreg Sargent thinks the GOP should put up or shut up on the matter: "So this is kind of strange, then. Both Snow and Dick Cheney have explicitly said that the Times has put the nation's security at risk - and presumably they think the paper continues to do so, since it won't back off its right to publish such stories. Yet by all indications the administration is unlikely to take any real action against the paper, mainly because it could be politically disastrous for Bush. Either the administration is putting politics ahead of national security and won't act aggressively against an institution it says is endangering American lives - because it would be bad for Bush. Or the administration's claim that The Times endangered national security is just the latest in a long string of lies it has told to the American people. Which is it?"

IMMIGRATION: Is Specter First Crack In Comprehensive Reform?

Senate Judiciary Cmte chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) said the Senate may consider adopting a timetable on immigration reform that puts border security and employment verification first on the agenda, sidelining guest worker and legalization programs for a later date. Righty Captain's Quarters writes this is another indication that the public is ahead of the pols -- and that the pols are taking notice: "Is Congress out of touch on immigration? Almost assuredly. Even Jane Harman, the California Democrat who represents a reliably liberal district, noted her surprise recently at the reaction of her constituents to the efforts at normalization. People in this country...will not support another normalization effort without finally completing the loop and getting serious about border enforcement. In this way, the American public has gotten themselves way ahead of their elected representatives."

Kausfiles writes "it sure looks like...Specter is moving rapidly, if not desperately, in the House's 'enforcement-only' direction." Specter didn't "think" the Senate would pass enforcement-only legislation. Kaus picks-up on Specter's hedge: "He doesn't 'think.' This is the pre-conference bluster period, remember. House members may think [Specter] might think different in a few months! ... How about this face-saving timetable: Border security, first, employment verification first--and Congress promises that in a few years it will debate a legalization bill? Throw the man a lifeline!"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Link = Traffic = Happy

Spot-On thinks fellow righty critiques are overplaying the Kosola scandal due ton the ineffectiveness of keeping the blogosphere at bay by hiring some on staff. SO has a suggestion for a different strategy:

"The failure of the Kosola-style net-tops approach is well-documented. After the June 6 elections, it even led me to ask if the medium was dead. But the missing links in most efforts for netroots activism are, in fact, the missing links."

"Take a look, for example, at Governor Schwarzenegger's blog. Were they to ask, I would tell them the truth-it's AWFUL. The posts are too long, it's not updated often enough, it has no synergy with the press operations and they don't have pictures. But what's really missing are the links. Both Howard Dean's Presidential campaign and Bob Hertzberg's campaign for Mayor of Los Angeles understood something that campaign bloggers seem to have overlooked-the relationship with the blogosphere is a two-way street."

"Dean and Hertzberg would link to blogs, news articles, and their own press releases like it was going out of style. In the case of Hertzberg, for example, I can say firsthand that I was more likely to write about local Los Angeles politics (and admittedly look more favorably towards Hertzberg's point-of-view) because I believed they'd link to me. And in the blogosphere link = traffic = happy. If the problem with "netroots" is that small self-selected groups of like-minded people are only "speaking" among themselves the solution for political campaigns (or businesses or even bloggers) would seem to be simple. Link."

LEST WE FORGET: Oops

As a slave to tight deadlines, the Blogometer has sympathy for those who find themselves in need of posting corrections. But this one (thanks Jonah Goldberg and Regret The Error) is a doozy from the UK tabloid The Sun:

"On 13 February we published an article headed "Who bum it?" reporting that two Premiership footballers and a music industry figure had a "gay romp" in which a mobile phone was used as a "gay sex toy". On 16 February we published a picture of Mr Cole and his fiancee headed 'Ashley's got a good taste in rings'. Some readers have understood that Mr Cole was one of the two Premiership players involved in the gay sex and that Choice FM DJ, Masterstepz, was the music industry figure. We are happy to make clear that Mr Cole and Masterstepz were not involved in any such activities. We apologise to them for any distress caused and we are paying them each a sum by way of damages. The Sun wishes Ashley all the best for next Saturday's World Cup quarter-final."

Posted by Conn Carroll at 12:27 PM

June 27, 2006

6/27: Where's The Old Kos?

As a long time fan of sports talk radio (KNBR 68, THE Sports Leader), the Blogometer loved DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas the first time we read his over the top rhetoric and unapologetic anti-war stance. Markos is a bright and strategic thinker and the Blogometer truly wishes him well on his quest to help reshape the party. But as Markos becomes a polished operative he may be losing the impish truth-teller qualities that drove him to fame. For example, Markos attributes his absence from a Time magazine piece on CT SEN to his refusal to play along with the reporter's "anti-war frame." Markos says he told Time he was targeting Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) due to his stance on Social Security.

No doubt Markos did not like Lieberman's Social Security posturing, but Markos hated Lieberman long before that debate. DailyKos' popularity is built on the coherence of its anti-war stance, not Social Security or any other progressive issue. But Markos has bigger plans past Iraq and Pres. Bush. He is working on a new book focussing on his "Libertarian Dem" philosophy and Ex-Navy sec. Jim Webb (D) is perhaps Markos' ideal embodiment of his ideal Dem candidate. Markos' realizes the MSM currently keeps him in an anti-war only cage and he is desperate to expand his portfolio. Markos's will do much better getting his case across if he maintains the honesty that made him so powerful to begin with.

BLOGGER VS. MSM I: Iraq Is Just One Of Many Reasons To Hate Joe Lieberman

DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas took Newsweek to task for inaccuracies in their 6/25 profile: "So Newsweek says in their title, "The Daily Kos thinks the politics of Iraq will help him shape the Democratic Party." Now read the story and tell me where I or anyone else says that "the politics of Iraq will help us shape the Democratic Party". Talk about making [stuff] up. Also notice unsourced assertions that I talk to the party leadership "several times a week" and that I have "brainstormed with Democratic operatives about the fall campaign". Utter fabrication. Again, yet another piece makes up stuff to make me look more powerful than I am."

Jane Hamsher at firedoglake also objects to Newsweeks' Iraq focus and explains that her Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) hate stems from his Justice Sam Alito cave-in: "Objecting to Holy Joe's warmongering is a perfectly good reason to oppose him, but it does not appear to be the unifying factor that many would have it. ...As I've written many, many times before, my rabid lambiness took root during the Alito cloture vote, when Lieberman sided with the Gang of 14 to put a sexist, elitist, fundamentalist Dobson-loving bigot like Strip Search Sammy on the Supreme Court."

Eric Boehlert at MyDD has a lengthy take-down of the article as well. Highlights include: "Newsweek announces "Democrats lost the week in the war over the war." In order to make that GOP-pleasing political calculation, Newsweek conveniently avoids any reference to a string of national polls that show a majority of Americans actually support the Democratic initiative of troop reduction timetable. ...Again, busy pushing the nervous narrative that "some Dems" fear bloggers like Markos might drive the Democratic Party too far left, who does Newsweek turn to for a confirmation quote about what "some Dems" are thinking? A partisan Republican, of course. (Newt Gingrich.)"

BLOGGER VS. MSM II: Is 'Swiftboating' Just Another Word For Oppo?

Lefty bloggers continue to rally around DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas. Under the header 'The Swiftboating of Kos' The Whiskey Bar has a lengthy analysis on the TNR/Kos/Armstrong dust-up including some Kos criticism:

Actually, the real reason I haven't posted anything about this idiotic affair is up until now it's that it's been just that: idiotic. At times, scanning the feeble slurs over at the The New Republic's "blog," the Plank, really has been like reading a bad Monty Python parody I mean, the idea that Kos could use his influence, such as it is, to intimidate Left Blogistan into a quivering reign of fear is simply laughable -- a paranoid fantasy that wandered away from Free Republic.com and was adopted by some silly little Ivy League boys who've decided they like how Karl Rove plays the game and want to get in on the fun.

But there's no question Kos made a dumb mistake when he asked his blogging buddies to pipe down about the "story." ...The truth is that while I admire Kos's energy and enthusiasm, and am impressed by the online community he's nurtured, his politics are hardly mine. He's a Democratic Party activist and loyalist; I'm not.
To be perfectly honest, my impression is that Kos the blogger has long since been swallowed up by Kos the aspiring politician. I would say he's sold out, but Kos has never, to my knowledge, claimed to be anything other than a Democratic (big and little d) political activist.

Fellow lefty This Modern World is no fan of the "Ken Starr of the blogosphere" TNR's Jason Zengerle but also feels that Markos isn't the real target: "It's not just Markos and Jerome Armstrong being dragged through the mud, it's every liberal blogger (especially those in the Advertising Liberally network). ...Every liberal blogger has been besmirched by these unsupported insinuations and we've got every right to be p****d. And if that makes me just another lowbrow, potty-mouthed blogger, so be it. I'd rather be an immature fool than an immoral elitist. ...We're all getting Swift-Boated now."

Garance Franke-Ruta at TAPPED is just happy that lefty blogosphere laundry is being aired now instead of later: "All I can say is: Far better for this kind of stuff to break mid-'06, when nothing electoral is at stake and no one is really paying that much attention, than during election season '08, when the story could have mushroomed into 527-funded television attack ads that could have been devastating to a Mark Warner candidacy (imagine the impact of using Armstrong's analysis of the causes of 9-11 to tarnish Warner on national security, for example). Markos has been complaining for some time that he believes Hillary Rodham Clinton's people have been doing research on him. All I can say after the revelations of the past week is: I certainly hope so." GFR also thinks ex-VA Gov. Mark Warner's (D) organizational skills come out badly from the episode: "If Warner didn't know, when he hired Armstrong, that this kind of stuff was in his background -- the SEC settlement, the political astrology -- it's a sign his PAC failed to do its own due diligence. Warner's nascent campaign, meanwhile, has seen a staffer become the main story, which is never good, and which is even worse at a time when most of the public doesn't know anything else about the former Virginia governor."

Also at TAPPEDBen Adler offers an explanation for TNR's blogosphere unpopularity: "TNR, on the other hand, indulges Bush crony Greg Mankiw with a non-sensical cover story in favor of social security privatization, and indulges neo-con Lawrence Kaplan (and Peretz) in contemptuous anti-left diatribes. ...The blogosphere is pragmatic, non-ideological, and very tolerant of moderates (see their recent embrace of Mark Warner). What they do not tolerate is the public flagellation of their party's left-wing that gives aid and comfort to the enemy."

The News Blog is still demanding more action from TNR in response to Zengerle's posting of a fictitious email attributed to TNB author Steve Gilliard: "I have just received an e-mail from TNR editor Frank Foer which said they thought the apology is adequate and "they had nothing more to add". It was bad enough they tacked on Gilliard-gate to their mistake on their reporting. But now, they're defending a dishonest source, who sends e-mails without any proof of their accuracy. My question is simple: why are they protecting a dishonest source on a story?" Fellow lefty travelers wanted the leaker punished. Atrios: "Burning sources who mislead you just seems like a no brainer to me. Aside from punishing someone who aided and abetted your screw up, it also sends a signal to other would-be bulls***ters that their attempts may not be consequence free."

Conservative Protein Wisdom also wants emailers burned, but not just the leaker: "How do you feel about revealing the names of those on the Townhouse email list? Because it sure would be groovy to see how many of them mentioned the story after Kos suggested you bury it like so many Hussein-era Iraqi swamp Arabs." Libertarian Instapundit thinks the list is a matter of "public interest!"

Over at Slate, after a bloggingheads TV session with Bob Wright Kausfiles believes David Brooks owes Kos an apology for botching the Brown-Hackett-endorsement-Armstrong-hiring-timeline.

For the best rundown of the entire Kos/Armstrong/Hackett/Brown kerfuffle lefty BuckeyState Blog pens a lengthy history and concludes:

To date kos has failed to directly address the central issues. Does Armstrong barter his services with clients to include the editorial influence of kos, if so is kos party to this ? Instead he has diverted attention from this question by attacking those asking these questions. Kos at the end of the day I think has poor judgement and is naive - Hackett flip flop, the DLC attack that never came, Warner and Yearlykos- all leave many wondering. While Armstrong and kos have a symbiotic relationship, and some business ties (in the past, and with their recent book) I don't believe there is any transfer of money for editorial influence - I think Jerome simply gets some of that for free, that at least is my impression. I personally don't care how this story turns out, the netroots in the Ohio Senate race are now poisoned beyond recovery thanks to these bozo's - I just hope I don't have to witness them screw up any more races in the state I live.

CLINTON: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Hire 'Em

Lefty blogger stalwart and Kerry-Edwards blog outreach director Peter Daou announced at his Daou Report that he had been hired by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as a "blog advisor." Daou explains: "Since launching the Daou Report in December 2004, I have written extensively about a 'triangle' comprised of the traditional media, the political establishment, and the blogosphere. I have argued that "closing the triangle" (i.e. enhancing the connection between the three entities) is imperative for the Democratic Party and the progressive netroots. ...I have been offered, and accepted, what I believe is a unique opportunity to help close the triangle: joining Senator Clinton's team as a blog advisor to facilitate and expand her relationship with the netroots. There are endless possibilities for Clinton-netroots collaborations, from Net Neutrality to the Privacy Bill of Rights to voting reform to so many other critical issues."

Lefty The American Street still is no HRC fan but still supports Daou's decision: "I have and will retain, enormous respect for Peter Daou. But his work will not convince me to support Hillary. There'll be Nader or some Independent, or maybe I'll have to consider a real Green (which I never felt Nader was). I wish we could have a woman president. But I require a qualified one."

Left of center Michael Crowley at The Plank was impressed with the move: "I'm not flagging this to make any larger point about certain recent blog fights, but it does seem noteworthy that Hillary Clinton, that bane of the liberal blogosphere, has hired a prominent liberal blogger. (Presumably just for her Senate re-election, of course--because we know how badly she needs the netroots for that battle royale...)

On the right Riehl World View sees conspiracy: "Perfect, absolutely perfect - what a move. Hillary Clinton has hired Peter Daou. Here is Daou's announcement. Congratulations are in order before I put on my partisan hat. Let's look at what just happened - The New Republic, Newsweek and others just finished softening up the preeminent Liberal blog, DailyKos. Perhaps Markos Moulitsas wasn't so far wrong when he suggested that Hillary's camp was at least partly behind some of the current hits he's been taking. What better way to enter hostile territory then by opening up a wedge, or at least a soft spot to land. If people become disaffected with DailyKos over any controversy, no doubt Hillary and company will be happy to provide them with a place to land.

MCCAIN: A Nixon Liberal

Jason Zengerle at The Plank picks up on TPMmuckraker reports that Grover Norquist is firing back at Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the wake of McCain's report on the Abramoff scandal and wonders: "Is Norquist still strong enough to derail a McCain presidential bid? Or has the Abramoff scandal left Norquist in such a weakened position that his opposition won't mean much in the 2008 GOP primary? It looks like McCain's betting on the latter."

Also at The PlankJonathan Chait tries to singlehandedly sink McCain chances in a GOP primary by praising his views on the role of government: "I think McCain is (or was) a liberal because a liberal today is anybody who rejects conservative assumptions about the role of government (and isn't a socialist.) By today's standards Eisenhower and Nixon were liberals, a fact conservatives make themselves.

GORE: A New New Deal?

Margaret Nagel at lefty hangout The Huffington Post sees parallels between FDR's pre-presidential career and Al Gore's journey through the wilderness:

Polio had taken Roosevelt out of the 1920 and 1924 presidential elections where he would have surely lost -- as those were Republican years. Polio asked him to develop patience and a maturity he hadn't before possessed. Leaving Washington and the world of politics behind allowed him to expand his vision and learn to listen. When he ran for President in 1932 he was ready. He understood the Great Depression on an emotional level. He had already seen it up close in Georgia. He knew how to talk to the country in a direct and honest way. He was the right President at the right time. The New Deal could only have sprung from him. On its most basic level the New Deal put people to work and gave them hope. It didn't fix the economy. But it kept people going while the economy fixed itself. It was sort of like Roosevelt swimming in the waters at Warm Springs.

Al Gore has been cast out into the wilderness so to speak. His political career sidelined by an election that political scientists will be analyzing forever. His humiliation and pain have been channeled into his work on the environment. Global warming is his Polio. He has been out into the real world. He has had to lick his wounds and revalue his values. And that has visibly changed him. There has been an internal upheaval inside Mr. Gore that is tangible. And he seems the better for it.

CT SEN: Joenertia

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas likes ultra Beltway insider Dick Morris' latest take on Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-CT) chances indy chances. From Morris reported by Political Wire:

"I think Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) will lose the primary and will be so crippled by the defeat and Ned Lamont (D) so empowered, that he will lose the general election as an independent. Sen. Jacob Javits (R-NY), in 1980, could have avoided defeat by not fighting the Republican Primary against Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) and running as an independent. But D'Amato was so empowered by the primary win and Javits so disempowered that he won the general election with Javits running a poor third.
"Lieberman's correct course of action is to withdraw from the primary and run as an independent. It is the only way he can get re-elected."

Markos reax: "If Lieberman goes indy, the [stuff] would hit the fan. He might have a better chance to win as an indy than in the Dem primary, but it's no guaranteed conclusion. Joe's Republican friends might feel emboldened to vote GOP, smelling the chance to replace Joementum with the real thing. And Democrats will suddenly be well-apprised of Lieberman's lack of loyalty and his breaking of his word to Reid and Schumer to remain a Democrat."

Christy Hardin Smith at firedoglake hammers Lieberman for his version of a Pres. Bush run in: "You want to see what panic looks like - re-read that Joe-nertia quote from above: "I don't think he kissed me, he leaned over and gave me a hug and said "thank you for being a patriotic American." Pathetic. No one is buying."

Also 6/26, Kos highlights Lamont's latest TV ad and pays tribute to its creator: "It's not surprising that this ad came from Bill Hillsman, who is the best political ad maker in the country, of any partisan stripe. And thing is, he's not a partisan. Having been shut out of the DC consultant racket by the beltway mafia, Hillsman has been the admaker of choice for independent third-party candidates. ...But smarting from the ad (and boy is it good), the Lieberman campaign issues this bizarre statement. The attacks on Hillsman are especially weird, since Lieberman supposedly is such a bi-partisan independent. ...p.s. Ironically, the Lamont campaign turned to Hillsman after no beltway media firms would take the case for fear of being blacklisted by the Beltway Mafia. Thank god, for that, huh?"

MD SEN: "I Love The '80s" Edition

Lefty Bloggers are hammering LG Michael Steele (R) for his Willie Horton ad producer Floyd Brown hosted 6/22 fundraiser. The News Blog: "He's taking money from racists. Cardin's people will hammer him stupid about this, as they should. I mean, who is he trying to kid. They want him in office because they know he won't stand up for black people and will represent their interests. His conservative buddies can say it's no big deal, but black people aren't stupid. We learned from Clarence Thomas about how skin color doesn't equal loyalty."

Prometheus6 chimes in: "It's like visiting Bob Jones University...an undercover way of conveying the support of the racist wing of the Republican party."

MN SEN: Bush Who?

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas enjoys a quick laugh at MN Publius careful tracking of Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R) recent "purge" of some references of Pres. Bush from Kennedy's official site. MN Publius notes three major Bush-washes including: a Bush/Kennedy pic that is now a Kennedy/cuddly-children pic; bills once described as "signed into law by President Bush" now simply "become law"; and Kennedy's record has changed from "Supported the President's Plan to create jobs and boost the economy" to "Successfully worked to repeal the Bush Administration's steel tariffs."

Kennedy press. sec. Heidi Frederickson: "There are several photos and stories on our campaign website referencing President Bush. We have nothing to hide, it is Amy Klobuchar who is trying to hid things in this campaign. Where are the pictures of Mark Dayton and Howard Dean? Where is the information about her 12-year career as a registered lobbyist?" (Hotline reporting, 6/27).

CORRECTION

Kennedy still has pictures of Bush on his site. Therefore we have changed the above and incorrect "all referneces" to the more accuate "some references." The Blogometer apologizes to Rep. Kennedy and his staff.

RI SEN: The Center Can Not Hold

Irish poetry lover and DailyKos diarist Republic Not Empire splices lines form William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming" with analysis of Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) travails and concludes: "Lincoln Chafee is trapped. And it's his own party's fault. Don't get me wrong; political centrists can make our country great. Chafee is a interesting Senator; e.g., he's the only Republican Senator who voted against the Iraq war resolution. He can read Greek and Latin, and change shoes on a horse. Perhaps it is through his Classical learning that he has cultivated in political life the Horatian dictum mediocritas aurea, or Golden Mean. Indeed, he appears to be a true moderate on a number of issues."

VA SEN: Is Webb Kos' Ideal Dem?

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas love affair with Ex-Navy sec. Jim Webb (D) only grows deeper:

"I've been pleasantly surprised with Webb's politics, exhibit A of the new breed of pragmatic Libertarian Democrats that I think can win tough territory long ceded by Democrats to the Republicans. Gay marriage? He doesn't want government in your church. Abortion? He doesn't want government in your doctor's office. He doesn't want government in your bedroom. And, just as importantly, he's not too crazy about Big Business sticking their nose where it doesn't belong either. A real war hero, Webb has been clear in the need for the U.S. to get the heck out of Iraq."

But you know what excited me about this race, more than anything? The promise of becoming a template for people-powered electoral victory. ...While no one thinks television advertising and direct mail are going anywhere, the fact that Webb won the race without ANY of that stuff is shocking. (Correction: Webb did one direct mail piece.) This was people-power in action. And no, I'm not talking Daily Kos. I'm talking about the kick-ass, aggressive, and effective Virginia netroots.

SCOTUS: Far From Settled

Righty bloggers were by far the more happy campers after SCOTUS' 6/26 decision in Randall v. Sorrell striking down VT's campaign finance law. Election Law Blog sums it up: "The decision...is a monumental one, because it marks the first time that the two new Justices have considered a campaign finance case. Though the decision is a defeat for Vermont and for those who supported Vermont's campaign finance laws, this is about the best decision that (realistic) supporters of campaign finance regulation could have hoped for from the new Roberts Court.

DailyKos' Adam B has a representative lefty response: "That's three justices, including the two new members of the Court, agreeing that campaign finance reform is constitutional in general, but just not in the way Vermont attempted it. (Add the three dissenters, and you've got at least six justices stating that this is generally constitutional.)"

On the right Ross Kaminsky at RedState writes: "There is a clear indication here that further challenges to campaign finance would be met by a Court which is more interested in protecting the First Amendment than we've seen in a long time."

Fellow righty Skepticseye has a fabulous set of snarky of all six opinions. Sample: "Justices Thomas and Scalia: Hi, this is Clarence. Nino isn't writing because he can't talk about this stuff without his head exploding. We hate Buckley because it doesn't protect contributions adequately. This decision adds to the unacceptable muddle that is campaign finance constitutional jurisprudence. So we concur with the judgment, but Breyer is making a mess of stuff again."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Bush, Exit Frame Right

UC Berkeley Prof. George Lakoff writing at The Huffington Post is worried that Dems may be overplaying Pres. Bush's incompetence in '06 to their detriment in '08:

Progressives have fallen into a trap. Emboldened by President Bush's plummeting approval ratings, progressives increasingly point to Bush's "failures" and label him and his administration as incompetent. For example, Nancy Pelosi recently charged "The situation in Iraq and the reckless economic policies in the United States speak to one issue for me, and that is the competence of our leader." Self-satisfying as this criticism may be, it misses the bigger point.

Bush's disasters - Katrina, the Iraq War, the budget deficit - are not so much a testament to his incompetence or a failure of execution. Rather, they are the natural, even inevitable result of his conservative governing philosophy. It is conservatism itself, carried out according to plan, that is at fault. Bush will not be running again, but other conservatives will.

The mantra of incompetence has been an unfortunate one. The incompetence frame assumes that there was a sound plan, and that the trouble has been in the execution. It turns public debate into a referendum on Bush's management capabilities, and deflects a critique of the impact of his guiding philosophy. It also leaves open the possibility that voters will opt for another radically conservative president in 2008, so long as he or she can manage better. Bush will not be running again, so thinking, talking and joking about him being incompetent offers no lessons to draw from his presidency.

LEST WE FORGET: Pay Attention To Me!!!

Bloggers on all sides hate it when others portray them as insolent children, and bloggers rightly point out that they are actually well educated, wealthy, and old. Yet some of even the best bloggers often go on rants that only hurt everyone's credibility. Chris Bowers degrades us all with this tantrum at MyDD surrounding the Kos/Zengerle/Armstrong affair:

The entire narrative is based on some of the shoddiest and most biased journalism you will ever witness. What I would like to note, in the fashion of former Springfield Mayor Sideshow Bob, is how irritating it is to work one's way up from lurker to mid-level leader in this movement over the course of four years only to have conspiracy theorists credit all of your contributions to the movement to two other people. I mean, come on--I even made two detailed posts back on Thursday describing how I control the Liberal Blog Advertising Network (see here and here), and the conspiracy nuts at TNR and the New York Times still want to credit that achievement to Markos and Jerome. What do I have to do to get some credit from the tin-foil hat crowd for being one of the main conspirators here?

I mean, if we are going to have an insane conspiracy about how a handful of people somehow control the progressive netroots, I want to be one of the people cited in that handful. It is probably connected to my long-standing desire to play a super-villain in a blockbuster movie, preferably one with several Dr. Evil-type laughs. This might have been my one chance to make that dream come true. Oh well. I thought I was making some progress when I was described as the minister of politics in the court of the blogosphere by Salon, and when the Philadelphia Democratic Party started a PAC apparently with the express purpose of doing battle with me and my friends, but I guess it is two steps forward, and one step back. I think my next move is to start purchasing some nice bling-bling with the MyDD logo on it. Then, I will start making netroots activists, political candidates, and staffers kiss said bling-bling before I grant them an audience with me. If I do that, then maybe Chapelle's Show will start doing Charlie Murphy - Rick James type sketches about me. I'm Chris Bowers, b**ch!"

Posted by at 01:30 PM

June 26, 2006

6/26: Diversity Training

It's the nature of journalism to take broad and complicated facts and force them into a coherent narrative. Often in this pursuit of comprehensibility, complexity is sacrificed for simplicity. So is the major sin running through the Blogometer today. At the heart of almost every fight between bloggers and bloggers, and bloggers and the MSM, is an unwillingness to acknowledge differences while demanding full understanding of one's own diversity of opinion (i.e. Vast Left Wing Conspiracy vs. Vast Right Wing Conspiracy vs. monolithic MSM). So this weekend we have Newsweek, David Brooks, and the entire staff of The New Republic condemning the entire diverse lefty blogosphere by attacking just two (though admittedly prominent) members of its community. On the right, Hugh Hewitt is stepping up to a big challenge, trying to meld the boisterous Townhall righty hangout with the more moderate wing of the righty-talk radio world. All would be better served by taking the time to study the real divisions in their opponents' positions.

BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER: The Astrology Based Community

The pre-blogger activist life of ex-VA Gov. Mark Warner (D) advisor Jerome Armstrong continued to produce blogosphere fodder this weekend when Riehl World View uncovered Armstrong's past penchant for astrology based forecasting. RWV explains that at its inception "MyDD didn't have anything to do with democracy, direct, personal, or otherwise when it started out as an astrological tabloid, forecasting the ups and downs of the stock market based upon the stars." RWV provides links to past Armstrong posts relating the rise of Osama Bin Laden to the "exploration of the Kuiper Belt in 1992," and Pres. Bush's "natal chart" to his post-9/11 "special calling."

Unlike the pay-for-play and SEC accusations, Armstrong owns up to his astrological past but then both minimizes and and embraces his former hobby at MyDD: "Oh yea, on the astrological stuff. ... Down that line, I dabbled with planets and predictions in the most abstract manner, as one of several different predictive mathematical disciplines ... It has nothing to do with what I consult with in online political strategy. But hey, like JP Morgan once said, "millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do!"

Righty bloggers thought it was Christmas in June.

• Pejman at RedState: "I'm just gobsmacked. How precisely is it possible that the "Blogfather" of the "Netroots" movement, the guy responsible for being Gov. Mark Warner's Ambassador to the Technoworld ... how is it that that guy was trusted to call shots and give advice based on whether the moon was Waxing Gibbous, or whether Orion was in a reclining chair."
• Wizbang: "The Warner and Brown campaigns are in a bind. Dropping Armstrong is the logical course of action, but it they do they risk losing the support of Kos, whose support seems to correlate pretty strongly to Armstrong's employment.
• DonkeyCons: "A visionary Democratic political consultant who sees world-historical significance in the movements of Ixion, Quaoar and the Kuiper Belt? It's a target-rich environment."
• Stromata Blog: "Liberals sneered at Nancy Reagan's consultations with astrologers and insinuated that they influenced her husband's political agenda. If that had been true, it would have been the strongest argument ever in favor of astrology. Jerome Armstrong appears to be a much more zealous follower of the Zodiac than Mrs. Reagan ever was. I'm not sure whether astrology or leftism suffers more by the association.
• Just One Minute: "So one of the leaders of the "reality-based community" is an astrologer - who knew?"

Fellow righty Wizbang claims to have caught MyDD in flagrant cover up of the burgeoning Stargate: "In the hours since the story broke it looks like a search and replace has been done at MyDD for the term 'astrologer ' See this post (Original / Sanitized) for and example of the purge - look for the second comment by 'Hugh' in the original post. Suddenly it's not there anymore in the latest version of the 2004 post, which Google cached in February 2005."

BLOGGER VS. MSM I: Two Out Of Three Lefty Bloggers Can't Be Wrong

The fight between The Plank's Jason Zengerle and the DailyKos/MyDD axis spun off into side scandals over the weekend. As the Blogometer already reported Zengerle first accused DailyKos' Markos Moulitsas and MyDD's Jerome Armstrong of connecting support for Dem candidates with employment for Armstrong, and then trying to put a wet blanket on lefty blogger comment on the story. Beltway Blogroll (go team!) has a great full rundown of the story. Zengrle's original post turned on three emails puportedly sent to a private lefty-blogger only email list called "Townhouse" one of which Zengerle claimed to be written by The News Blog'sSteve Gilliard . While the other two emails turned out to be authentic, Zengerle admitted 6/25 that the third "wasn't." In the same post Zengrle refused to bow to lefty blogger calls for him to out his Townhouse sources.

For Gilliard, Zengerle still had not fully paid for his mistake: "What I would have liked to see is an admission that his refusal to actually consult with anyone he quoted was a fundamental mistake. ... I don't think Zengerle has handled this well, and this grudging article tries to minimize the gross error he has committed. ... Again, and I will be e-mailing Foer with the same request: I