December 19, 2006

12/19: Bloggers And The GOP

While the Blogometer has been taken to task before for suggesting that righty blogs are not as socially conservative as the larger GOP base, others have noticed similar patterns. Recent GOP WH '08 blogging again suggests the pattern may be true. While National Review Online's Byron York documents MA Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) troubles with social conservatives in SC, Power Line's Paul Mirengoff offers a limited defense of Romney's positions on gay marriage, stem cells, and abortion rights and goes on to announce he's still leaning toward Romney.

More interesting though is this passage from righty blogger stalwart Captain's Quarters castigating Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) for blocking a judicial nominee for attending a civil union ceremony: "A union ceremony breaks no laws and infringes on no one's rights. It involves two people celebrating their relationship without demanding any recognition from the government or special rights as a result. ... The government does not belong in the bedroom, and the Senate has no business extracting pledges of recusals from judicial nominees for any reason." How representative are these sentiments of wider GOP primary voter opinion?

BROWNBACK: Get Out Of My House

Captain's Quarters describes news of Brownback's drop of a hold on the judicial nomination of MI state judge Janet Neff an "Early Setback For Brownback." CQ describes Brownback's hold on Neff for her attendance at a same-sex union ceremony as "unprecedented" and "ridiculous." CQ adds: "Neff's attendance at a private function on her own time has no bearing on her fitness to the bench. A union ceremony breaks no laws and infringes on no one's rights. It involves two people celebrating their relationship without demanding any recognition from the government or special rights as a result. The two women invited family and friends to attend, and Neff decided to support her friend and help her celebrate a ceremony that would have taken place regardless. ... The government does not belong in the bedroom, and the Senate has no business extracting pledges of recusals from judicial nominees for any reason. If Brownback doesn't understand these two concepts, then he has no business anywhere near the White House.

HUCKABEE: Tic Toc

IA's Caucus Cooler runs through the GOP field, writing: "Rudy and McCain have clear issues with certain sects of the GOP base. Romney has been engaged in a 2-week flap over flip-flops on social issues. Brownback is liberal on immigration and can't raise the money." CC then hits Huckabee for failing to "take advantage" of the opening: "By the time they get off the pot, it will probably be too late to do anything except finish 3rd or 4th in Iowa and fizzle in New Hampshire."

HUNTER: Pat Buchanan Lite?

Outgoing Armed Services Chair Duncan Hunter (R-CA) experienced a mini-blog-bloomlet 12/18. Right Wing News, IA's Krusty Konservative, and NH's GraniteGrok all had kind words for Hunter including:

• Krusty Konservative: "From what I've read Duncan Hunter is a solid conservative candidate. ... I like Congressman Hunter but I don't know if he is the credible conservative candidate I'm looking for. While the Iowa Caucus is all about retail politics, I wonder how Hunter will motivate caucus goers to support him."
• GraniteGrok: "He opposes partial birth abortion. Favors school vouchers. Favors drilling in ANWR. He regularly votes to de-fund the National Endowment for the Arts. He is pro-military (his son just finished his second tour in Iraq as a Marine). ... For this conservative blogger, when I look at the positions taken by Mr. Hunter, I find myself in almost full agreement."

Right Wing News posts video of an ad "running in South Carolina" that RWN found underwhelming: "It's about "fair trade", which, along with national security and illegal immigration is one of Hunter's three big issues, but is that really the issue to start a campaign on? ... most conservatives are free traders and I'm not sure that this message is going to necessarily appeal to them. Personally, I think Hunter have been better off doing a commercial bragging about his role in getting the wall through the House. That would have also set him apart from a lot of the other contenders and there would have been a larger, more receptive audience for what he had to say."

MCCAIN: They Don't Like You, They Really, Really Don't Like You

RedState's Erick Erickson reminds readers that RedState "will not be offering an endorsement for any Presidential candidate for the foreseeable future, if ever." But he goes on to be blunt: "Consider me in the anybody but McCain camp." Erickson acknowledges McCain is right on spending, North Korea, Iraq, and abortion rights, but also pronounces him "wrong on the fundamentals." Erickson explains: "All John McCain needs is a CNN camera crew and he stands ready to shove conservatives under the bus if he's guaranteed prime time and Anderson Cooper crying tears of joy while Chris Matthews stands by blowing kisses. ... John McCain is not my choice because he seeks to regulate first and ask questions later."

Beltway Blogroll rounds up left and right reaction to McCain's introduction of a bill seeking to curtail child pornography writing: "But one means to that end -- punishing Internet sites that fail to report pornographic content on their servers -- does not sit well with bloggers who, thanks to an article in News.com, see McCain's bill as an attack against them."

Instapundit links to Beltway and adds: " I think that John McCain realizes that bloggers are unhappy with him over McCain-Feingold -- he said as much in our podcast interview -- but I don't think he grasps just how unhappy, or how much this hurts him. I suspect that (at least some of) his staff does, though. But what can he do about it?"

ROMNEY: Much Ado About Something

Reacting to Byron York's article on the damage recent reports of 1994 Romney statements that were "pro-choice, in favor of expansive gay rights, and dismissive of Ronald Reagan" Power Line's Paul Mirengoff writes: "The gay stuff strikes me as much ado about very little. As I've said, I don't perceive a big gap between what Romney said 12 years ago and what he's saying now. And the fact that Romney ran twice for state-wide office in Massachusetts without ever saying he favored gay marriage tells me that he's a solid social conservative on this issue."

The abortion and stem-cell issues are more of a problem for Mirengoff: "By his own admission, Romney has dramatically changed his position. ... Romney's conversion took place in 2004, by which time he must have been thinking about running for presidency. Moreover, in the case of stem cells he converted to the position that I don't favor." These differences, however, are "not deal-breakers" for Mirengoff and he says he still "leans towards Romney" over Giuliani and McCain. Mirengoff does acknowledge that room is opening for a fourth major candidate though.

Still in defense mode over Romney and gay marriage: The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez celebrates Romney's 12/18 quote, "I don't think there's any conflict between feeling that all people deserve respect and tolerance and that discrimination is wrong and a belief that marriage is between a man and a woman," and adds: "Romney would do us all a service if he could get us to a point where a statement like that ... does not make news because it is a given. To take us to a place where those who support protecting traditional marriage are not easily and routinely dismissed in polite society as homophobic would be a great milestone for civil society."

Also at The Corner, Jonathan Martin looks at Romney efforts to circumvent "Old Media" through the use of NRO and FOX News as well as "friendraiser[s]" like the one documented by TN blogger Bill Hobbs. Martin writes: "Now instead of getting 750 words of "If I Should Decide To Run..." in the Tennessean, we have Romney talking up his efforts to build up a national finance base and explaining why he doesn't do Sunday talk shows. And what does Team Mitt get? A Reagan comparison (at a time when he could use one) and largely favorable report that many a Tennessee Republican will see today along with, assumedly, a kind word or two on talk radio that will be heard by thousands of other Volunteer State GOPers. Oh, and probably a few more checks for that campaign that he may or may not launch."

CA 10: "The Kiss" Becomes "The Caress"

The samecircles that got such mileage out of naming Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) SOTU embrace of Pres. Bush "the kiss" have now labeled the pre-Iraq-war picture of Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) sitting with Bush's hand on her lap "the caress." But Tauscher's trouble with pictures past does not end there. DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas calls Tauscher "a coward" for "scrubbing pictures of Lieberman from her site in fear they'll be used against her." Kos even hits Tauscher for photos not on her site including one from the signing of the Homeland Security Act, calling the pictured Tauscher, Lieberman, Bush, and ex-Maj. Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) "the four horsemen of the apocalypse."

Kos later spells out the netroots case against Tauscher: "Suffice it to say, she's the leader of the Conservative Blue Dog Democrats, has consistently undermined the Democratic Party, has been a driving force (not just a supporter) in things like the Bankruptcy Bill, and essentially acts like she represents Utah while serving in a 59 percent Kerry district."

Names of a potential challenger have not yet surfaced on the bigger blog front pages but state Sen. Tom Torlakson's (D) name was mentioned in the comments section (however, other commenters insist Torlakson has his eyes set on state school superintendant in 2010.

DEM FIELD: Not The Results They Were Looking For?

The netroots are upset with Newsweek for failing to mention the full results of their latest poll in their cover story on Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL). The bloggers have no problem with the results mentioned in the story showing "86% of respondents would vote for a qualified woman candidate for president if their party nominated one, and 93% say the same for a qualified African-American," but they note that Newsweek forget to mention the results of the specific matchups between the top GOP/Dem frontrunners which show HRC beating Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), ex-NY mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) and MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) in head-to-head matchups.

The Carpetbagger Report writes: "Now, I appreciate the fact that these early polls are likely to fluctuate a lot in the coming year, but why on earth would Newsweek not report the data at all?

DEM FIELD II: There's A Flag On The Field

Looking to head of internecine '08 warfare Atrios posts

• 1) Your favorite candidate is the only one who can win.
• 2) Your favorite candidate is the only one who will truly get behind a progressive agenda.
• 3) Other candidates are part of some nefarious conspiracy to destroy your candidate.
• 4) Supporters of other candidates are motivated by groupthink.
• 5) Supporters of other candidates are operating in bad faith and arguing dishonestly.
• 6) "Powerful" bloggers shouldn't be "biased."
• 7) Primary season is the silliest season of all.

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas approvingly links to Atrios' rules and adds: "Too bad we can't have referees with yellow flags running around penalizing people for making these stupid arguments. Because we're going to hear them over and over again."

Meanwhile, at The Huffington PostMatt Stoller argues HRC and Obama "are not on our side in terms of progressive movement building" and therefore are not ready for the "bar fight" that is presidential politics. Instead, Stoller likes ex-Gen. Wesley Clark (D) and maybe John Edwards. Stoller says Clark "is a genuine liberal, and has fought the right clearly and consistently for the last four years, most recently in Connecticut when he was the only real surrogate against Lieberman" while Edwards has "spent much of his time working with unions" but has not stood "up for us in a real way."

DEM FIELD III: A Niche Market

TAPPED's Ezra Klein notes the exit of ex-VA Gov. Mark Warner (D) and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) from the WH '08 field and writes: "In presidential primaries, "space" is the definitional attribute. Niches get filled, interest groups sated, and constituencies satisfied. ... Warner and Bayh both dropped out because there was little space to Hillary's right and even fewer voters waiting in it. ... The dynamics of this field are friendly only to liberals, and serious, electable ones at that." Later Klein adds: "As for the involvement of Howard Dean in all this, the Democratic Party is now one that he and his movement created. ... The center in the 2008 primary will be just about where Howard Dean, the lefty, was in the last one. And his success from that spot was an undeniable force in popularizing it, all the more so because it was proven right by events."

The Plank's Jonathan Chait wasn't buying: "Color me confused. I think the ideological distinction between Obama, Edwards and Gore and Hillary Clinton is fairly narrow. ... Dean ran as a faction candidate--the guy who would wrest control of the party from the traitorous moderates and give it to the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." I thought that was a bad message to bring into a general election, and it turns out it was a bad message for the primaries also. ... So, while Obama and Edwards have a progressive message, they're not promising to make the streets of Washington run red with the blood of the Democratic Leadership Council. Indeed, Obama, who is substantively quite liberal, has a can-we-all-get-along message that seems to account for much of his popularity."

CLINTON: Fool Me Once, Shame On You ...

TPM Cafe's Greg Sargent puts HRC's "I'm not going to believe this president again" APquote under the header "Quote Of The Day: Hillary Won't Be Fooled Again."

OBAMA: The Same, But Different

MyDD's Jerome Armstrong is showing signs of joining the pro-Obama camp. After reading Newsweek's interview with Obama, Armstrong writes: "The movement behind Barack Obama is as compelling as those behind Clark and Dean in 2004, but also different ... It's tragic that had John Kerry and John Edwards used the polarizing rhetoric on Iraq that they do now, they would have defeated Bush. ... The '08 contest, with Democrats trying for trifecta control, will be a much different election. Instead of battleground strategies, we need mapchanger attitudes; instead of nit-picking about single issues, we need a connect-the-dots vision; instead of kick-ass partisan rhetoric, we need an appeal to the nation that instills hope."

GOP FIELD: Another Free Agent Hits The Market

IA's Caucus Cooler reports one of the top remaining WH '08 "free agents," Rep. Steve King (R-IA) ex-COS Chuck Laudner, left King's staff and "is actively seeking support in an attempt to become either the state Chairman or the executive director" of the IA GOP. CC adds: "A source close to Rep. King said that the Congressman is not supporting or opposing Chuck's bid for State Chair/ED."

LANDSCAPE '08: Here To Stay

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas looks at the 30 Dem House pickups and notes: "11 of the 30 districts were districts that a strong war-fueled Bush couldn't garner 50 percent against a weak Kerry. In only 10 of those districts did Bush win by a double-digit margin." Kos goes on to argue that continued GOP governing incompetence will solidify Dem gains in many of these seats and adds: "They'll clearly have big opportunities to roll back some of those pickups -- TX-22, OH-18, and FL-16, the scandal pickups -- tops amongst them. But some of these races (like CA-11, IN-02, and KS-02) are not the flukes they appear to be. These were second-time candidates who built a long-term infrastructure in their districts. But in that same vein, we have plenty of new targets to go after."

BLOGGERS VS. AUSTIN: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Texas Kaos' Annatopia announced "Project Bridge the Gap" 12/18 on MyDD. Inspired by a narrow loss at "taking over" the TX Dems in June '08 and upset over a "institutionalist" decision "not to compete statewide in 2006" Annatopia is trying "to hand deliver a copy of Crashing the Gate to every TDP officer and SDEC [State Democratic Executive Committee] member."

Annatopia feels "that the Texas Democratic Party should no longer rely on turncoat big donors (like the ones who sabotaged Chris Bell by jumping ship to support "Independent Republican" Carole Strayhorn), and instead should build their small donor base. We believe that we should have a functioning party in all 254 counties, and we believe that it is a show of respect to travel the state and ask every voter for their support. We don't believe in waiting for demographics to shift in our favor; we believe in aggressively reaching out to the emerging Latino majority."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Just Say No

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas advises Kossacks against "those extended warranties Best Buy and others try to sell you." After seeing a friend struggle to get Best Buy to honor a warranty on a digital camera, Kos did "a little bit of Googling" on consumer warranties and pronounced them "scams." After noting Business Week reports that retailers often make better profits on the warranties than the items themselves, Kos posts a brief USA Today ad sponsored by Consumer Reports reading:

Dear Shopper,
Despite what the salesperson says, you don't need an Extended Warranty.
Yours truly,
Consumer Reports

LEST WE FORGET: 'Tis The Season For Wholesale Smiting

RedState's Moe Lane blegs for reviews of Eternal Forces, the video game based on the Left Behind book/movie series. Lane writes: "What I want to know is, can it sustain the comprehensive levels of violence and sustained automatic weapons fire that I would personally require from a Tribulation-based game? And can I reasonably expect to be able to fire tank rounds and/or SAMs at demons at some point during game play?"

Lane continues: "PS: I'm being serious. I'd love to play a real, honest-to-God Apopcalyptic game that was done by people who actually knew something about the Book of Revelation. But I gotta have the wholesale Smiting."

Posted by Conn Carroll at December 19, 2006 12:17 PM