June 16, 2006

6/16: Freak Show

The Blogometer's job description does not include helping Ann Coulter sell books, so despite the broad blogger interest in the banshee's latest provocations, I've almost entirely ignored her existence. Coulter is very simply a freak show that entertainment outlets like the Today and Tonight Shows trod out for publicity stunts and, more specifically, ratings ploys. While Coulter's success in book sales is still distressing at least nobody in the left or right blogosphere takes her seriously and she has been largely kept out of serious news venues.

This is all a round-about introduction to ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson's latest comment about Karl Rove on his blog No Quarter: "Karl is a shameless bastard. Small wonder his mother killed herself. Once she discovered what a despicable soul she had spawned she apparently saw no other way out." The Blogometer only posts this despicable comment in hopes that major news outlets that have allowed him to speak in the past (Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio, ABC's Nightline, NBC's Today Show, and the New York Times) never provide outlet for his hate again. Johnson was also a featured speaker at the YearlyKos panel on the Plame Affair. The vast majority of lefty bloggers have proven themselves capable of expressing their displeasure with Rove without uttering a comment as low as this. If lefty bloggers want to be taken seriously by Dems they must distance themselves from the Johnsons of the world the way righty bloggers have roundly criticized Coulter.

Righty bloggers celebrated the defeat of Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) Iraq-withdrawal resolution. Decision'08: "When it comes time to put up or shut up, once again we see a Democratic Party more than happy to snipe at the President's policies in Iraq for partisan gain, but far too cowardly to vote their conscience (and that's giving them the benefit of the doubt - either they're lying when they say they oppose the war, or they're too afraid of political backlash to vote the way they feel - you can't have both)." Hugh Hewitt thought the six Sen. Dems voting Yea ought to have their own name: "The KosCaucus: Boxer, Byrd, Feingold, Harkin, Kerry and Kennedy."

Fellow righty California Yankee at RedState thinks the vote will be a little different the House: "The vote on the House's Global War on Terror Resolution will be closer than the Senate's lopsided 93-6 vote. But not that close. House Democrats realize that voting against such a resolution will expose them to attacks that Democrats who oppose the resolution don't support U.S. troops and advocate a "cut-and-run" strategy.

Kerry also came in for unkind words from the usually left but pro-war sympathizing The Plank. Martin Peretz wonders how Kerry managed to produce such a lopsided defeat: "What was in the tactical side of his brain when he made this pronunciamento before he had figured out the details of his proposal? Well, a way to get headlines, I suppose. But every time Kerry speaks about Iraq you are almost automatically reminded of his seriatim record which shows that he was all over the place on the matter. ... For all their ragging against Bush's war, as they term it, even the Democratic Party isn't for a withdrawal from the field. Of course, this does not bode well for Kerry's perpetual aspirations to be president. But nothing else does either."

Fellow PlankerMichael Crowley offered a limited defense of Kerry: "there's a specific reason why Mitch McConnell forced a premature Senate vote on Kerry's Iraq-withdrawal resolution: Senate Democratic leaders, I'm reliably told, had been working on a middle-course alternative allowing their party members to oppose Kerry's plan without implicitly seeming to support Bush's policy (and thus without further enraging hard-core anti-war activists). Democrats had been expecting several more days to prepare, but it seems McConnell cut off his rivals at the parliamentary pass.

On the House side, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) took to The Huffington Post to reiterate his support for Rep. John Murtha (D-PA):

The Iraq debate in the House should begin with one fundamental truth: We are in Iraq and our leaders have no plan to get out of Iraq. ... The extent of our involvement, the length of our stay, the number of our dead is controlled by religious clerics in Iraq, because we have no strategy except to wait for Iraqis to "stand up." U.S. soldiers in Iraq are doing a heroic job. But, we are not doing ours. It is not partisan politics to insist that a nation in war have a plan to achieve peace. ... I support the Murtha Resolution that puts in place a plan to protect our soldiers, protect American interests in the Middle East, and protect the American people here at home. ...The American people want change because the Pentagon under this admin. distributes PR plans, not military plans.

Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) also posted The Huffington Post, but he stopped by to tout his bipartisan efforts for more Iraq oversight:

As the cost of the war in Iraq approaches $400B the failure of the Republican Leadership in Congress to ensure proper oversight of these funds has led to waste, fraud and abuse of tax-payer dollars. This isn't just about saving money. It's about saving lives. Every single dollar that may be wasted or lost is one less dollar that can go to protect our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...There are some solutions to this problem -- one of them is a bipartisan bill (H.Res. 116) I co-authored with Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa, which would re-establish the Truman Committee to ensure that American tax dollars are being judiciously spent in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...Congress must not continue to abdicate its responsibility to demand transparency and accountability in the allocation of funds for Iraq and Afghanistan. That is why I will continue urging my colleagues to pass my Truman Committee.

Many lefty bloggers noted the 2,500 U.S. deaths in Iraq. Meteor Blades at DailyKos took issue with WH press/sec Tony Snow's assertion that it was just a number: "Proving what a perfect spokesman he is for the chickenhawks who concocted this war and murdered the 2500 as surely as if they made them kneel with their thumbs tied behind their backs and personally beheaded them. The Bush Regime would surely prefer these 2500 to be just "a number." Nameless statistics." Meteor goes on to list the 2500 name of the American dead in honor of Father's Day.

Conducted 6/6-9 by MyDD.com; surveyed 1936 members of MoveOn.org's membership roster; margin of error +/- 2.2% (release, 6/15). Note: This poll was conducted online. Participants were contacted via email, and interviews were conducted over the web.

Fav/Unfav
Bill Clinton         93%/ 6%        Tom Daschle          64 /23
Al Gore              92 / 7         Dick Gephardt        62 /27
Barack Obama         90 / 2         Chuck Schumer        57 / 8
John Edwards         86 / 9         Harry Reid           56 /17
Barbara Boxer        85 / 7         Robert Byrd          56 /17
Nancy Pelosi         75 /16         Bill Richardson      47 / 8
Jack Murtha          71 / 3         Mark Warner          35 / 8
Russ Feingold        70 / 5         Evan Bayh            33 /11
John Kerry           68 /30         Paul Hackett         24 / 1
Wes Clark            66 /18         Rahm Emanuel         23 / 5
Joe Biden            65 /21         Tom Vilsack          14 / 5
Hillary Clinton      65 /33         Stephanie Herseth     6 / 1

Dems Have Done ___?                                 Excel/ Fair/

                                                     		Good  Poor

Getting own supporters to the polls                  		 25%  72%

Attacking GOPers                                      		 22   76

Standing up for what they believe in                 		 20   79

Pointing out differences btwn Dems/GOPers             	   	 17   81

Getting news media to cover message/arguments         		 11   87

Providing clear agenda for how they'll govern         		  8   91

Persuading undecideds to support their candidates     		  6   91

With Which Statement Do You Agree Most?

Dems should fight GOPers on most legislative battles, even when there

is little chance of winning.

Dems should fight GOPers only on leg. battles where there is a good

chance of winning.

Statement 1          72%

Statement 2          24

Dems need to concentrate mostly on offering a positive agenda showing

what policies they will enact when elected, even if it means spending

less time attacking GOPers for the mess they have made in DC.

Dems need to concentrate mostly on attacking GOPers for the mess they

have made in DC, even if it means spending less time offering a

positive agenda showing what policies they will enact when elected.

Statement 1          77%

Statement 2          21

MSM VS. BLOGGERS: Like Asking The Sharks How The Guppies Taste

This week's Political Insiders poll from National Journal talked to 71 GOPers and 66 Dems (6/17 issue). For complete question wording and more, click Poll Track.

What Impact Will The Netroots Have On 11/06?

                          GOP Dem

Help Dems                 14% 69%

Help GOPers               15   0

No significant impact     70  31

IMMIGRATION I: Amnesty John

Over at righty PoliPundit, KnightHawk checked at blogmate Oak Leaf's post about Border Patrol union local 2544 and likes what he finds: "I had a good laugh after following the links from from Oak Leaf's post about local 2544 as it seems a new moniker has been attached to John McCain by the US Border Patrol that suits him perfectly. They refer to him as "Amnesty John," well he sure is making friends all over the place."

The Corner's Kate O'Beirne believes there is little chance for an immigration bill this year: "It seems that this week the smart money is on no reform bill at all before the election. The Senate is preparing for a conference while the House is not. Opponents of the McCain/Kennedy/Hagel/Martinez legislation see the Senate conferees as stacked in favor of the bill, with only 4 of the 14 Republican conferees having voted with a a majority of the GOP caucus on key conservative amendments. House Republicans seem more convinced than ever that being seen as compromising at all with the fatally flawed Senate bill is bad politics."

And over at RedStateHoratious looks at Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) targeting of Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) and thinks Tancredo is getting a little too big for his britches:

What is amazing about that development is that his GOP colleagues have not yet responded with any degree of outrage over his blatant disregard for Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment in the midst of perhaps the most precarious election cycle since Republicans took control. ... Tom Tancredo is becoming a political hack, and there is simply no way that he speaks for all of the 99 Members who are in his caucus just because they think that illegal immigration is out of control and needs "reform." It is time for his colleagues to publicly reveal that he doesn't speak for them."

IMMIGRATION II: Cokie Cooked

Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum points to a fantastic map lefty Brendan Nyhan obtained. Nyhan posted the map as a follow up to Cokie Roberts' assertion that IA-01 was a very white area that doesn't really have any immigrants." The University of Wisconsin Applied Population Lab demonstrates that the state's Hispanic population has spiked around major meatpacking facilities in Iowa. Nyhan concludes: "Given that many of the Latinos taking the dangerous, grueling jobs in meatpacking facilities are likely to be undocumented immigrants, it's not surprising that Iowans are concerned about the issue of illegal immigration. Some of this may be xenophobia; some may be serious concern about policy; but in any case, Roberts, an alleged NPR "analyst," should understand how Iowa has changed before pontificating about its politics."

Drum comments: "It's an interesting data point that lends support to the idea that concern about immigration has spiked recently because it's increasingly affecting areas that have never experienced significant immigration before, rather than being confined primarily to border states like California and Texas.

Barely a fortnight into his new office, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) has already rankled righty bloggers keen on cutting GOP earmarks. Instapundit highlights Club for Growth's assessment that Bilbray "claims to be a fiscal conservative, but so far he's off to a bad start." CFG reports that Bilbray voted against all four of righty blogger favorite Rep. Jeff Flake's (AZ) "anti-pork amendments." RedState chimes in: "I would have campaigned for Busby out in California 50. As Andy Roth notes, less than a week after getting re-elected to Congress, Bilbray voted for over 1500 earmarks and voted against all of Jeff Flake's earmark cutting amendments. With friends like these, we might as well have elected Busby."

Normally Dems wait till they lose in 11/06 before the soul searching begins, but with their dreams of taking over Congress slipping away, Democracy for America's Rick Jacobs writing at The Huffington Post wants to study what went wrong in CA 50 now. Jacobs is teaming up with MyDD to hire a professional, highly regarded polling firm to help us understand what happened" in womens' studies professor Francine Busby (D) loss. Jacobs' asks readers for both ideas for poll questions and money to help fund the project.

Talking Points Memo looks at Dem success in removing ethically troubled Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV) from the ethics cmte and the 6/15 vote to remove of Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) from the Ways and Means Cmte and asks: "What about Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee? ... Appropriations is the committee that spends the money. It's probably, by definition, the most corruptible committee in the House. Interestingly, Lewis was the chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee when Duke Cunningham was getting all that loot for Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade. As Chair of that subcommittee, Lewis had to sign off on all that stuff. Perhaps he was just oblivious to what was happening, though according to a knowledgeable source, Brent Wilkes says Lewis and he have been tight for years. Has anyone seen a talking head, an editorial page, anyone suggesting it may not be appropriate for Rep. Lewis to be in charge of House earmarks while all this is going on? If you have, let me know."

Jonah Goldberg at The Corner thinks the tide may have turned against the Dems, but he is no more happy about the current state of the world:

About a month ago I wrote somewhere around here that the Tony Snow appointment might be remembered as the start of the administration's turn around. I think this week may be remembered as the start of the Democrats, if not quite implosion, than at least it's major fumble. YearlyKos anointed the blogosphere lefties, Hillary got booed, John Kerry flip-flopped again, coming out in favor of a bug out and saying he was wrong about the war, Pelosi announced she's giving up on the "culture of corruption" mantra, Murtha retracted his bid to run for majority leader, this Billy Jefferson thing, etc. And, of course, last week the Democrats didn't take Duke Cunningham's seat.

I wish I could be happier for the Republicans, but they still vex me to distraction. What was it Kissinger said of the Iran-Iraq war? "Pity only one of them can lose."

At times it can seem there is no collection of individuals more reprehensible than the US Congress, but luckily we have the NFL to dissuade us of that notion. Deadspin updates us on the trials and tribulations of Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Chris Henry:

"Getting arrested once during an offseason is a mistake. Getting arrested twice labels you a troublemaker. Three times, you're officially an epidemic. But when you're arrested for the fourth time in six months - aw, now you're just showing off."

"This is a roundabout way of saying that Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry got arrested again. The charge this time? Providing alcohol for three underage women in a hotel room in April; one was 18, one was 16, one was 15. ... So, if you're keeping tabs, that's a marijuana possession charge, an illegal gun-possession charge, a DUI and now providing liquor to a minor. Since December."

Posted by Conn Carroll at June 16, 2006 12:24 PM