September 15, 2006

Blogometer Extra

PA 07: Weldon, Why So Curt?

Taylor Marsh at Firedoglake makes a determined effort to get to the bottom of a burning question: Did Rep. Curt Weldon--he of Able Danger infamy--avoid the draft, and why won't he settle the issue publicly once and for all?  Marsh writes:

I got interested in the Weldon-Sestak race when Curt Weldon decided to swiftboat Joe Sestak, starting with a smear against his daughter, who just so happened to be fighting a malignant brain tumor at the time. ... Weldon didn't stop there, next swiftboating Sestak for wearing his uniform, which was quickly smacked down. Evidently Curt was a little jealous he didn't have one.

Marsh posits the aforementioned question regarding Weldon's draft status and, after crafty fact-finding and sleuthery, finds more unknowns than answers.  "To my knowledge no one has ever pressed [him] on the specifics of his draft story," Marsh writes.  "Did Curt Weldon seek a medical exemption after drawing number 153 in the Vietnam draft of December 1969?"

After considering two vague explanations previously given by the Weldon camp for his lack of service, Marsh attempts to get a hold of him directly.  "I left a message with Weldon's Director of Communications, who was with the congressman when I called.  He has not gotten back to me as of this posting."

The issue may not even be settled if and when Weldon publicly addresses it, but in the meantime, take a gander at his Democratic opponent Joe Sestak's first TV ad (Will Menaker at TPM Cafe has the goods), in which he never even mentions Weldon.  The question might really be, will Sestak bring up, even obliquely, Weldon's participation in the curious crowning ceremony of Rev. Sun Myung Moon?

NY 19: Hall's No One-Hit Wonder

Howie Klein at Firedoglake sings the praises of former rocker, latter-day progressive John Hall.  Hall's come a long way from his days in the band Orleans; he's since been a "long time, serious-minded Democratic activist, serving as a school board president and a county legislator."  Klein credits Hall's dogged determination and serious knowledge of the issues as the driving force behind his success in the recent primary over "the Rahm Emanuel candidate, [Judy] Aydelott + 3 other Democrats."

Klein expects Hall to have a tough battle against defending Rep. Sue Kelly in a "safe and sassy" Republican district, but he's confident Hall is ready to rock against a compromised incumbent:

"A dyed-in-the-wool thoughtful progressive, John is as different from Sue Kelly as night is from day, not only in the ethics arena – she has consistently taken huge legalized bribes from Big Business and voted, blindly, for their interests to the detriment of her constituents – but on most policy matters. She has been a dependable rubber stamp for Bush and the far right GOP leadership. John is a vehement supporter of diplomacy as a way to solve problems, rather than unprovoked war."

As if that weren't enough, Klein continues the harsh compare/contrast, calling Hall a "formidable candidate against a robotic hack politician who never heard a proposal from Big Business she didn’t think was dandy."  That may all be true, but Kelly can at least say that she's never appeared on notoriously cheesy album cover.

Posted by Conn Carroll at September 15, 2006 06:00 AM