December 01, 2006

12/1: No Dogs In These Fights?

Reinforcing MyDD's Chris Bowers 11/27 observation that the netroots do not have a standard bearer in '08 DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas tell readers "I am 100 percent undecided at this point. I don't even lean toward someone." Kos advises: "I'm in no hurry, and none of us should be either. Make them work for our support."

Somewhat similar sentiments can be found on the right today as Power Line's John Hinderaker and Captain's Quarters both lament the like of a "mainstream conservative" in the '08 GOP field. With neither side truly in love with any one of its current candidates, will '08 fail to provide us with good information on how the blogs can affect their respective parties' presidential nominee?

RGA: Party Crasher Express

Ankle Biting Pundits contributor and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) tells readers, "McCain Steals the Show at RGA Meeting" and adds: "Some Republican Governors have already stated publicly that they will support McCain if he decides to run in 2008, including Jon Huntsman of Utah, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, and, according to one source, Haley Barbour of Mississippi."

Captain's Quarters explains: "Tim Pawlenty, who will preside over the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minnesota, gave McCain more than just one lift when he drove McCain to the reception. ... He could have ceded this ground to [MA Gov. Mitt] Romney, especially since some of his own allies tried to paint the Governor as exploiting the RGA for his presidential ambitions. Instead, he charged into opposition territory and made sure that he matched Mitt step for step -- and even walked away with an important endorsement and possibly a running mate. McCain will be tough to discourage in 2008."

In non-'08 RGA news, National Review Online has both Jonathan Martin and Kate O'Beirne reporting from Miami, FL. Highlights include:

• Martin: "Outgoing RNC chair Ken Mehlman opened up day two of the RGA meeting here in Miami with a strongly-worded speech laying out his vision for how the GOP can regain their status as the majority party ... After praising Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gov-elect Charlie Crist and LG/Sen candidate Michael Steele for their outreach efforts this past cycle (and citing the statistical inroads they made with minority groups), Mehlman reminded the group that the GOP "needs to be growing, not shrinking." Calling for "comprehensive immigration reform," the chairman implored his fellow Republicans to "remember that we're a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants." ... On the same theme, Mehlman also alluded to the new regional problems facing the party (singling out New England) and compared them to the same challenges Democrats have faced in the South.
• Martin: "Giving welcoming remarks on a RGA panel devoted to homeland security, Governor Jeb Bush pointedly said, "Rep. Tancredo is absolutely wrong" about the host city for the conference. "We celebrate diversity here."
• O'Beirne: "during short presentations on the recent elections, panelists acknowledged that Republicans (and conservatives) suffer from a brand-name problem, but found some good news in polling data that shows Democrats haven't been embraced. ... I was surprised that national security was ignored as a political issue during this discussion, which might be because 1) it is an audience of state officials, or 2) no one is quite sure what to say about how the issue of national security can be a political asset for Republican candidates.
• O'Beirne: "To illustrate the importance of the GOP's GOTV operation, Sara Taylor, political director at the White House, reminded the audience that 18 congressional seats were decided by 5,000 or fewer votes and Republicans won 12 of them. And they were told that 61 Democratic members in the new House were elected in districts that George Bush carried in 2004, 32 of them by 55 percent or more."
• Martin: "The panelists also were largely in agreement that Republicans are lagging on taking advantage of the internet and bloggers. Newhouse, who polled for Sen. Joe Lieberman after the Dem-turned-Independent lost his primary, recalled how they'd get "daily email updates about what the bloggers were saying." In Republican campaigns, Newhouse said, "we had none of that." Consultant Russ Schreifer noted how some of his clients would ask where the GOP version was of the joint fundraising liberal bloggers did for favored candidates. Schreifer also recognized how the blogs had become not just fundraising outlets, but also unfiltered mediums for opposition research. Democrats did a better job, he said, of putting out such oppo online as a way of getting it into the media's bloodstream. And by the time the MSM got it, the DCCC already had the ads cued up."

Not in Miami, NewsBustersMatthew Sheffield links to Reuters reports of Google CEO Eric Schmidt's address advising GOPErs: "The ones that take advantage of [the internet] most effectively will be the ones that will be the winners of the next election." Sheffield adds: "Schmidt also said that his company was establishing procedures to stop web spamming (aka "Google bombing") that many left-wing blogs engaged in during the 2006 elections by repeatedly linking to negative articles about Republicans in order to bump them upward in search results. Unsavory business types also love to engage in this, in many cases setting up "spam blogs" designed to promote their products and web sites to unsuspecting web readers."

GOP FIELD: Mainstream Conservative Wanted

Power Line's John Hinderaker describes the "three announced contenders" for the GOP field (McCain, Romney, and ex-NY mayor Rudy Giuliani) as "strong...[b]ut none of the three is a mainstream conservative." Hinderaker adds: "What we are lacking in this lineup is a straightforward, mainstream conservative whose views align with the party's base across a broad range of issues: security, taxes, judges and the social issues." Hinderaker goes on to identify ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich as the best fit for this role but acknowledges that Gingrich carries more baggage than Northwest Airlines." Captain's Quarters echoes Hinderaker's concerns: "It's a long way to 2008, but conservatives might want to start thinking of at least one more credible conservative with national impact to draft into the race."

Over at RedState, Erick Erickson wonders why '08 hopefulls still pursue Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell: "Sonny Perdue, Mitt Romney, and others, in doing so, display a tone deafness toward the evangelical movement, which long ago moved beyond Falwell and Robertson ... I suppose for media attention those are the two guys to go to. ... They are, I suppose, the right wing equivalents of the Reverends Jackson and Sharpton. ... The fact of the matter is, though, that if a politician really wants evangelicals to get comfortable with them, James Dobson and Chuck Colson are the men to cozy up to."

Wizbang's Lorie Byrd announces that righty blogger backed ABC Pac has launched a "Your Choice, Your Voice" page to accept contributions to potential presidential candidates. The page includes a long list of possibilities ranging from the big three (Giuliani, McCain, and Romney) to Sec/State Condoleezza Rice and NY mayor Michael Bloomberg.

GIULIANI: The Frontrunner?

Race 4 2008's Woodrow Eisenhower links to Hotline On Call reports McCain advisor Mark McKinnon identified Giuliani as the GOP frontrunner when asked as a panelist of The Hotline/UVA Center for Politics Conference 11/30. Eisenhower comments: "While McKinnon is probably trying to keep McCain and his supporters on their toes so they don't get too complacent with all the belly-scratching the mainstream media is giving them, it is interesting to hear a major political expert go against the grain, even if it means down playing the power of his own boss. ... There does, however, seem to be a slow but noticeable move, even amongst the media and beltway pundits, toward acknowledging that Rudy is indeed a, if not the, frontrunner for the Republican nomination."

Also talking frontrunner status, The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru claims he knows all "20 conservatives in Manhattan" and "they all seem to be supporting Giuliani for president in 2008." Ponnuru links to an NRO article on Giuliani's state-by-state poll numbers and comments: "Giuliani's supporters have been arguing that most of the people who back him in the polls must know, or be able to infer, that he is socially liberal on some issues. (Murdock points out that Giuliani was actually a socially conservative mayor by New York City standards.) Fair enough: But I doubt many of them know that Giuliani was for partial-birth abortion, and their perception of him as a law-and-order man may lead them to mistake his position on immigration as well."

The Corner's Andy McCarthy responds by musing on what types of judges Giuliani would appoint: "At the moment, I don't think there's much of a public record about the type of judges he'd appoint. But let's say he were to tell us he'd like to see originalist judges in the mold of Justice Scalia, or at least that he doesn't agree with Sen. Specter's view that Roe is a "super-precedent." That might give him space to contend that, while his personal views on some social issues are liberal, he strongly believes these issues ought to be resolved by the democratic process, not imposed by activist liberal courts."

ROMNEY: Boston, We Have A Lawn-Guy Problem

The Right Angle's John Gizzi reports outgoing members of Sen. Bill Frist's (R-TN) political team are likely to join Team Romney. Gizzi names Cat-Bond partner Linus Catignani, Alex Vogel, and Jack Oliver. Gizzi adds: "Can Frist himself be far behind the "Romney Express" if his top campaign team is poised to hop on? According to the same source that tipped us on "Team Frist,""The Leader [what intimates call Frist] will back Mitt Romney, in part because he can't stand John McCain."

The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez alerts readers to a Boston Globe article hitting Romney for using "illegal Guatemalan immigrants, to maintain the grounds" around his home. K-Lo classifies the issue as a "lawn-guy problem" and tells readers: "According to the Globe, the Romneys used a lawn-care company he connected with through his church. He evidently never asked about the legal status of those working for them. ... Asked about it at the RGA - seemingly hearing about the status problem for the first time - Romney replied, "Ah, geez."

Over at Ankle Biting Pundits McCain advisor Patrick Hynes ascribes the "inordinate amount of chatter regarding Mitt Romney's religion" to two dynamics: "The first dynamic is the liberal media's desire to paint evangelical Christians as intolerant of other religions (i.e. Mormonism). The second dynamic is the Romney supporters' disquieting hyper-sensitivity to any observation at all about Romney's faith by people who are not overt Romney enthusiasts. ... The whole thing is rather tedious to watch." Hynes goes on to tell readers there are a "great many other reasons" he opposes Romney, but his faith is not one of them. Hynes also took the time to email Clarion Ledger reporter Laura Hipp for her side of the Falwell-supports-Romney kerfuffle:

"This is the direct quote from Romney: 'A number of religious leaders among the evangelical Christian community will validate my effort if I get in. A number will say they endorse me. Others will say that if I'm the nominee, they'd be happy to work for me. I think a few already have, Dr. Land and Jerry Falwell and some others said look if this guy's the nominee, that's great we'll be happy to work with him.' "He used Falwell's name, implying his support."

Finally, The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru shares his thoughts on MI conservative activist Josh Mercer's new site Romneyisaliberal.com: "The issues he mentions are the same ones Murdock mentions as problems for Giuliani: guns, abortion, and gay rights. Romney may have an honorable explanation for his apparent change of heart on these issues, but I haven't heard it myself."

DEM FIELD: As Long As We're On The Subject

Noting that "everyone else wants to" talk about '08 DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas posts a collection of "stream-of-consciousness" thoughts on '08 hopefuls:

• Sen. Evan Bayh (IN):"I won't forget those Democrats who dug deep on behalf of our majorities, and those who didn't. There was no one more miserly than Evan Bayh. Out of all the candidates, I am hostile to one -- Bayh, and it's because he demonstrated none of the party-building leadership I expect from our nominee and hopefully president."
• Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY): "[T]he Democratic nomination is not Hillary's for the taking. ... she tops out in the early polls, a popularity contest, at 35-ish percent. Now, money is good to build name ID and to brand. But who doesn't have an opinion well-formed about Hillary already? She's only been around 14 high-profile years. She's got one direction to go -- down."
• John Edwards: "I still think the frontrunner is Edwards. The primary schedule fits him best -- Iowa, where he dig extremely well in 2004, Nevada, where UNITE-HERE (which represents all Vegas casino workers) is an unofficial extension of the Edwards campaign, New Hampshire, where he only needs to show up and place top-three or four, and then South Carolina, where he should theoretically clean up."
• Al Gore: "No one knows if he's going to run. All indications say "no", though he's got a bunch of his supporters going around trying to drum up interest. It looks like an ego play -- get a reluctant Gore to enter the race to satisfy public clamoring for it. His entrance would be dramatic and welcome. And what better place to announce than when he accepts his Oscar for Best Documentary? Now that would be exciting.
• NM Gov. Bill Richardson: "Of course, Bill Richardson will make a play for Nevada, counting on regional kinship and its Latino voters to pull him to the top and give him a boost headed into the next few primaries. In fact, Richardson is a big reason the Nevada caucuses even exist. Still, if it's a battle of Latino voters versus Labor, I would give the edge to labor. My people still don't vote in the numbers they should. But Richardson is also very popular in the Latino community. If anyone can get them out, it'll be him."

OBAMA: Theater Candidate

Netroots opposition continues to manifest against Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). LiberIL View's Braamer describes Obama as "a windblown politician ... who has never claimed to be a Black leader. ... Nowhere is this more evident than in the most critical issue facing Americans and the world at this dangerous juncture in history: the war in Iraq. ... Obama continues on his lifelong quest to demonstrate that he is a reasonable, thoughtful Black man - unlike the others. This is theater for American audiences only, and has nothing to do with statesmanship, or the search for peace. ... There is a political solution to the American war in Iraq, although not the one Obama and his corporatist friends are willing to accept."

On the right, Obama's outreach to Rev. Rick Warren is ruffling feathers:

• The Corner's K-Lo's official Evangelical Guy: "There is very much a strong belief in the Evangelical movement that the pastor must take care of the "pulpit", both in what he preaches from it and who he invites to preach from it. Warren inviting Obama is like inviting a wolf among the sheep."
• The Corner's John Podhoretz: "K-Lo, your e-mailer says it's "inappropriate" for Rick Warren to invite Barack Obama to speak from his pulpit, since it is a "holy place." Warren built that church practically by himself. It's his pulpit. And it is for him and his congregants to decide what is or is not appropriate conduct on that pulpit. Besides which, do evangelical Protestants believe a pulpit is "holy"? Isn't that more of a Catholic view? (Please don't send me 500 e-mails on this topic, as I have a column to write. Just discuss amongst yourselves.)"
• Townhall's Hugh Hewitt: "Rick Warren is catching some flak for inviting Senator Obama to a conference on AIDS, in Africa and around the world. Rick's a friend, so you can discount this if you'd like, but it seems to me that setting aside political differences --even on crucial issues like protecting the unborn-- is certainly appropriate when the focus is on the prevention of a deadly disease and relief for a epidemic devastated continent."

WEBB: Ned Lamont In Combat Boots

Sen.-elect James Webb (D-VA) is rapidly becoming the netroots darling of the 110th Congress. Glowing reactions to his recent chilly White House exchange with Pres. Bush include:

• The Huffington Post's Brent Budowsky: "Jim Webb is the real deal straight talk express, no bull dished, no spin doctored, no punches pulled. Jim Webb cares deeply, fights like hell for what he believes, knows what he is talking about, stands up for his brothers and sisters in combat, plays to win, fights with honor, and is an American patriot of the first order of magnitude."
• Raising Kaine's Rob: "First off, Webb is getting bashed for preferring not to go through this Presidential pomp and circumstance? When did our Presidents become some sort of monarch, where it's unexpected and even haughty to avoid some executive reception line. Seriously? Oh my, our Senator refused to kiss the Presidential ring! He didn't want his autographed picture! What a "pompous poseur!"
• Digby: "I'm watching some "Democratic strategist" named Rich Masters agree with Joe Scarborough that Jim Webb had made a rookie mistake by failing to kiss George W. Bush's ass when the jerk got snippy with him. ... I don't know what it will take to get them to stop doing it. They are making Jim Webb into one of the "crazy" guys like they made Gore and they made Dean. Don't they get that whenever a Democrats stands up to a republicans the establishment turns around and says they are nuts. Why are they helping them?"
• The Washington Monthly's Christina Larson: "On the campaign trail, Webb rarely talked about his son. He wore his son's boots as a personal reminder, but otherwise deliberately did not talk about him. Towards the end of the campaign, Virginia's Democratic governor Tim Kaine would bring it up for him, aides say. It might seem odd not to exploit the fact of having a son in Iraq on the campaign trail, but that's Jim Webb."
• Kos: "But I will say that there are things I'll be looking for -- executive experience, a track record of leadership, especially in controversial issues, an outside-the-beltway mindset, loyalty to party, demonstrated material assistance to the Democratic gains in 2006, an embrace of people-power, and some Webb-style cojones."

LA 02: Is That $100K In Your Briefcase, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me

TPMmuckraker's Paul Kiel looks at Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) new ad and points out that his claim that he was never photographed taking a bribe is accurate. Kiel notes: "The FBI informant actually is captured giving Jefferson the briefcase filled with $100,000 in cash as an intended bribe for the Vice President of Nigeria -- not Jefferson himself, so he does have a point." Kiel has the new ad in full.

MyDD's Tim Tagaris sees the race in stark terms for the blogosphere. Tagaris: "I consider Karen Carter's campaign run-off quite similar to Paul Hackett's special [in OH 02 in 8/05] in that our involvement in both symbolize something larger than the actual election itself. With Hackett, we finally had someone willing to stand up to President Bush on Iraq. ... With Karen, our support sends a message to the Democratic Congress that we expect the people of New Orleans will finally receive the assistance and attention reality demands. Nationally, it also sends a message that Democrats won't tolerate corruption on either side of the aisle."

AL SEN: Ford Tough?

Kos notes that ex-Sen. Max Cleland (D) will not seek his old seat against Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who ousted him in '02, but that Rep. Artur Davis (D) is thinking about a bid against Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Kos: "If Davis -- a killer orator and skilled politician -- enters this race, it's immediately a second-tier race. That might not sound impressive, but we're talking about an African American candidate in Alabama here. And let's not forget, [Sen.-elect Jim] Webb (D-VA) was a third-tier candidate most of the race, made the second-tier after the Macaca incident, and didn't really go top-tier until the last month of the race when polls showed a competitive race. We'd also get to see just how racist the GOP wants to continue behaving, and whether such appeals continue to have an impact in the South."

MS SEN: First In The Series Of Dominoes?

Political Insider's Drew Pritt speculates on rumors of return bids by "the Big Three," ex-Govs. Ray Mabus (D) and Ronnie Musgrove (D) and ex-AG Mike Moore (D). Mabus and Musgrove are said to be contemplating a ticket for GOV in '07, while Moore is contemplating a SEN bid. Moore "has been the Democrats' dream candidate for some time."

Moore's bid is based on the assumption that Sen. Thad Cochran (R) retires. If he does, look for Rep. Chip Pickering (R) to step up for the GOP. In that matchup, "Moore would be able to easily outraise Pickering. Outraised and outgunned, and especially if the Democrats recapture the Governor's office in Jackson, Moore would be almost unbeatable." More: "Should Mississippi fall, it will be only a matter of time until Georgia and Texas fall, at which point Richard Nixon and Strom Thurmonds "Southern Strategy" of turning the South into a bastion of Republican superiority will be dead."

Linking to Pritt's post, Kos credits DNC chair Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy for making life easier for Sen./DSCC chair Chuck Schumer (D-NY): "As much tension as we had between Schumer and Dean this year, you better believe Chuck will be happy to see that Mississippi has a growing ground operation ready to work for Moore (or whoever the Dem nominee is)."

Jonathan Singer is also optimistic about a Moore-Pickering matchup. "Moore would come in with a number of strengths, not the least of which is his overwhelming favorability among the Mississippi electorate." More: "Of course 2008 is still a long way off and there is no definite proof that Cochran will not defy the prognosticators by running for a sixth term."

DEMS: Boulevard Of Broken Campaign Promises

Noting a Washington Poststory saying Dems are now unwilling to restructure Congress per the 9/11 Commission's suggested reforms, NRO's Jim Geraghty, who had been "debating writing something nice about the incoming Congressional Democrats," is now critical of Dems who "roasted their opponents for picking and choosing which ones they preferred; they insisted that only instituting all the recommendations demonstrated a serious commitment to protecting the American people. And now, we learn, that pledge was 'crap,' as [Rep. John] Murtha would likely put it."

At RedState, Pejman Yousefzadeh agrees: "This refusal -- after swearing up and down that all of the Commissions recommendations would be implemented -- is bizarre to contemplate ... until we notice that the recommendation involves Congressional reorganization, which will result in the loss of a certain amount of power and influence for the incoming Democratic majority." So does Ivy J. Sellers: "Considering the fact that the entire Democratic campaign plan this past year was based around the war, and a big reason they came to power is because the public wanted changes made to change the course of the war, this is big time. The public should be outraged at such a blatant betrayal." B.T. has no high hopes: "Gee, wonder if the MSM will hold the dems as accountable as they hold President Bush for any lapses in National Security now? Not. Holding. My. Breath." Captain Ed piles on.

From the left, TNR's Michael Crowley calls the move "definitely a real substantive and symbolic mistake." But if Dems "manage to push through other good legislation beefing up homeland security -- in the neglected area of securing loose nuclear materials, for instance, I suppose they can sorta make up for it." Also walking The Plank, TNR's Isaac Chotiner opines: "Whatever one thinks of the commission's recommendations, it's this sort of thing that makes you cynical about Washington ever really changing, election results notwithstanding." Left CoasterSteve Soto wonders if Dems are crazy like a fox: "Is this the first of several broken campaign promises, or a case of gaining the support of committee and subcommittee chairmen to get as large a package through as possible?"

Meanwhile, TPM's Kiel wonders about another Murtha-esque member: "Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is set to head up the panel that controls the purse strings for the FBI -- which is investigating him for his earmarking habits. Does anybody see that as a problem?" TPMmuckraker's Justin Rood has details.

GOP: Heckuva Job, Liddy!

Kos examines his archives and comes up with another reason he'd like to see Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) back atop the NRSC: "It wasn't just the millions that Liddy Dole dumped into Chafee's campaign, both in the primary and then in the general, it was also the scores of boots she removed from battleground states East of the Mississippi. For three weeks, the NRSC took its troops out of Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Missouri to rescue Chafee's ass in a primary, even though he was always a long-shot to retain the seat. And I'm sure no decision of that magnitude was made without Rove's direction."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's Almost As If Networks Like To Control How Their Content Is Presented Or Something

AMERICAblog's John Aravosis links to a Chicago Tribunearticle on tv network use of YouTube and comments: "So, it actually helps TV networks get MORE viewers if their videos are posted on YouTube, but we shouldn't post their videos on YouTube because somehow that harms them (cough, Comedy Central). Okay. And, at the same time, CBS can post their own videos all over YouTube, and they do, but when we post the same videos on YouTube somehow THAT harms CBS. How? Not clear, since CBS is already posting its videos, for free, on YouTube, so it's not like they're worried about their content going on YouTube, and it's not like they're suffering a harm for it being there. So what's the problem again? The networks need to decide if YouTube is a good thing or a bad thing, because in the meantime they're creating a lot of bad blood (Comedy Central)."

LEST WE FORGET: Fabu-Mass

Andrew Sullivan posts a reader email: "Thanks so much for the slide show of Benedict on the runway. My favorite is the velvet toque trimmed in white fur. When I was a young gay boy in the 50's I told myself I loved going to mass because I was good, but I was really just entranced by all the fabulous appurtenances."

Sullivan adds: "I've often wondered how many straight Catholics fully appreciate how gay their church has always been. Especially in the old days. High Mass was, in its heyday, more elaborate and choreographed than a very melodramatic Broadway musical. Do people really believe that gay priests and religious had nothing to do with it? They had everything to do with it."

Posted by Conn Carroll at December 1, 2006 12:11 PM