February 27, 2007

2/27: One Giant Focus Group

Some critics may assert that conservative blogs do little more than get bloggers fired from their day jobs. But as WH'08 continues to play out, it's clear they can also serve as testing grounds for candidate responses to troublesome issues. Since ex-NY mayor Rudy Giuliani convinced more conservatives he was running, hardly a day passes in The Corner without some contributor offering his/her defense of Giuliani on some issue (guns, gays, immigration, abortion, etc.) and then later reporting back on email response, often even adding reader suggestions on how to improve Giuliani's case. Frank Luntz could only dream of this kind of instant feedback.

GIULIANI: A Coming Out Party

Noting that some conservatives "have wondered when he would begin making appearances at events targeted at the conservative community" Captain's Quarters lets readers know Rudy Giuliani will be speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 3/2. Forwarded the story by Giuliani's eCampaign Adviser Patrick Ruffini, CQ comments: "This is a smart move for Giuliani."

A quick tour of The Corner previews the issues on which Giuliani will face a skeptical crowd. John Derbyshire tries to defend Giuliani's record on immigration, explaining Rudy "has a personality and intellect not the least, NOT THE LEAST, inclined towards the sappy-sentimentalist kumbaya view of humanity at large, or of immigrant humanity in particular (here, at least, his family background will have been informative)." Bull Dog Pundit at Ankle Biting Pundits responds by linking to Giuliani efforts to fight federal welfare-immigration reporting requirements requirements and comments: "To me this position is very troubling. It seems that not only is Rudy in favor of a [John] McCain-like amnesty program, he actually went to court to protect illegal immigrants.

Also at The Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru notes Giuliani had other problems with the '96 welfare bill prompting Kausfiles to wax: "Hillary Clinton was almost certainly in favor of the 1996 welfare reform law while Rudolph Giuliani opposed it. ... That could mean Giuliani is more liberal than people realize ... or it could mean that Giuliani is more opportunistic than people realize and therefore more likely to reposition himself. ... My guess: Both, but definitely the latter."

Looking to help Giuliani rehabilitate his gun-control past, Derbyshire later admits how silly Giuliani would look duck hunting and posts photo-up suggestions from a reader: "A much more suitable photo op would be for him to shoot an IDPA match, where shooters emulate concealed weapons permit holders acting out real-world bad-guy situations. It fits much better with his tough-on-crime image, and would appeal more to the hard-core 2A [ i.e. Second Amendment] types."

Back in IA, the Caucus Cooler passes along rumors that "former RNC Early Vote/Absentee Ballot director Tony Delgado will manage Rudy Giuliani's campaign in Iowa. In addition KC Jones will be the reg. pol. dir. who oversees the state. Jones spent a brief stint in IA working for Pres. Bush. In '04 she was the Minnesota deputy exec. dir. for the pres. Most recently she ran Rick O'Donnell's cong. race in CO-07. A number of Iowa activists with ties to Jones have said they've received calls from her in the past week regarding Mayor Giuliani's campaign."

MCCAIN: No Word On Whom Hagel Is Endorsing

RCP Blog's Tom Bevan tells John McCain: "If you're looking to mend fences and try to become the choice of conservative Republican primary voters, it's best not to go around trumpeting news of an endorsement by Senator John Warner of Virginia - especially after Warner just finished spearheading an effort in the Senate to rebuke the President and undermine his Iraq policy."

In more positive McCain blogging, Extreme Mortman reviews jokes from McCain's recent IA tour. After posting McCain's, "I don't know if you heard the story about in the state prison, one inmate, they were in the chow line and one of 'em said to the other one: 'The food was a lot better in here when you were governor.'" joke, Mortman comments: "the joke works because McCain saves the kicker - "governor" - for the very end. All too often bad joke tellers telegraph the punchline early in the joke, rendering it useless by the end. McCain's got a good sense of timing. Must be why he skipped Iowa last time."

ROMNEY: Iraq Rarely Comes Up

RCP Blog's Tom Bevan interviewed Mitt Romney 2/26 including:

• RCP: What's the question you get asked most?
• ROMNEY: From Republican crowds most often the question relates to immigration, then education and health care. Interestingly, very rarely is there a question about foreign policy, Iraq, Iran. I typically have to insert those into my opening remarks to get the audience to draw out on that at all.
• RCP: What's your impression of the job Rumsfeld did?
• ROMNEY: I really don't think pointing fingers at individuals is a productive exercise at this point. Clearly the president would agree the buck stops with him. He's responsible for the management of our affairs, and I would not suggest we go and try and find individuals within various departments to assume the blame.

Reacting to the Romney's thoughts on interview response to questions about Iran, Ankle biting Pundit's's Bull Dog Pundit writes: "So the bottom line - Mitt is saying the right things and is short on specifics, but I don't think any candidate could have given any more detailed answers and really known what the hell they were talking about."

ROMNEY II: Like A Virgin

The Corner's Peter Suderman got a laugh out of Grover Norquist's explanation as to why conservative seem willing to forgive Romney's past liberal positions: "It's called secondary virginity," Mr. Norquist said. "It is a big movement in high school and also available for politicians."

Suderman comments: "That's cute ... And I think he's right: Conservatives ought to be open to converts." The Brody File, however, notes that not all Evangelicals are impressed with Romney's wayward teen impersonation posting text from a former NH Christian Coalition dir. Paul Nagy email: "As a longtime conservative activist in New Hampshire, I thought it was important that my fellow conservatives see these videos of Mitt Romney passionately outlining his SUPPORT FOR abortion, SUPPORT FOR gay marriage, SUPPORT FOR Affirmative Action, and OPPOSITION TO Ronald Reagan's economic policies."

Brody comments: "It's too early to go counting numbers but this email illustrates an important point. There seems to be a split in Evangelical conservative circles about Romney."

CLINTON: Sisterhood Only Goes So Far

Noting that "as my mother's daughter, I feel obligated to support and vote for Hillary Clinton" Alternet's Courtney Martin asks if she is "obligated, as a young feminist" to support HRC? Explaining why not, Martin writes: "As a young, fed-up progressive, I want to vote for someone who seems real, who strikes me as outside of the old guard and its outrageously overblown campaign spending. I want to support a candidate who doesn't compromise on certain issues -- violence, the constitution -- and understands the wisdom of the 'middle path' in others -- taxes, Social Security. ... That person is not looking much like former first lady, current Senator Clinton."

Talk Left's Jeralyn Merritt links and adds: "I don't think feminism requires one to to vote for a female candidate. ... if I decide to support Hillary, it won't be because she's a woman. It will be because I think she's the best choice to lead our country, based upon her experience, intelligence and position on issues -- all issues, not female issues."

EDWARDS: His Better Half Indeed

"As an aside" DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas tell readers, "I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say (in DC and outside it), 'I wish Elizabeth Edwards was running instead of her husband.' I don't take that as a knock on John, but testament to how much of a star Elizabeth could be."

Also at Daily Kos, David Mizner links to Ezra Klein The American Prospect profile of John Edwards and asks: "Edwards Rejects Clintonomics; will Obama?" Over 850 Kossacks commented on Mizner's diary (overwhelmingly positive) which included: "Here's a layman's explanation of Clintonomics (the only kind I'm capable of giving): limited, targeted social spending-especially on education, research, and science-combined with an obsessive commitment to "free" trade and yearly balanced budgets."

Mizner identifies where Edwards departs from the plan: "Edwards is tipping over the two sacred cows of corporate-sponsored Clintonomics: "free" trade and yearly balanced budgets. Instead, he's promoting fair trade and an activist government that helps the middle class, the working class, and the poor." Mizner then challenges Obama: "But where Barack Obama stands is an open question. The early signs are not promising. He recently headlined the kickoff event for the Hamilton Project-the Wall Street backed group that seeks to quash progressive reform of America's trade policy."

GORE: But He Bought An Indulgence At The Church Of Native Energy, So It's All Good

Seeing The Forest's Dave Johnson and The Huffington Post's James Boye co-wrote a Daily Kos diary examining a "Right Wing Smear Machine" attack on Al Gore following his big Oscar night 2/25. The diary tracks "The Tennessee Center For Policy Research" (which claims: "Gore's mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES)") dissemination through conservative news outlets, starting with The Drudge Report, moving to many conservative blogs and finally ending up at ABC News and Fox News.

Johnson and Boye attack the report: "How did they get the utility bills? They also didn't have the courtesy to ask Vice President Gore about them (despite their hollow claim of being non-partisan.)" They also link to Gore's response, via Think Progress, which does not refute any of the facts asserted in the Drudge Report but does offer:

• 1. Gore's family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.
• Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family's carbon footprint - a concept the right-wing fails to understand.

OBAMA: Wasn't Dean The King Of Meet-Ups?

Calitics diarist 'atdleft' is amazed at the "grassroots infrastructure" the "Obama folks" are already setting up across the country. After attending meet-ups in Fullerton and Costa Mesa, CA, the self-identified Obama volunteer writes: "Again, people from all walks of life and from throughout the county braved the gloomy weather outside and the always busy freeways to come and meet fellow Obama supporters in OC. And yes, about halfway through we were all setting up a real grassroots primary campaign here in Orange County, a place with so many Democrats, yet a place that is often ignored by the national Dems (except when they want money)."

IRAQ: More Partisanship Wanted

Stu Rothenberg received rare agreement from Kos and Atrios after advising Dems to make Iraq a more partisan issue writing: "In fact, a partisan division over the war probably would help Democrats by further damaging the Republicans between now and next year's Presidential election."

Kos comments: "Make the war partisan. The GOP already did." Atrios adds: "Republicans want to continue the war and Democrats want to end it. It's that simple. ... Make it partisan. The Republicans are. Let them have their war." Also following the story, The Carpetbagger Report's Steve Benen writes: "Dems want to end the war. Republicans prefer an open-ended commitment and falling in line behind a president who's been wrong every step of the way in this crisis from the outset. Let's take that dynamic to the country and see what happens."

Hoping Dems do take their proposals to the public, Townhall's Dean Barnett attempts to tell Kos why the Dems are unwilling to be more aggressive in ending the war: "When the Democrats ran in 2006, they positioned themselves as anti-Bush on Iraq. No further elaboration was forthcoming. That was their entire Iraq platform. They insisted that providing plans for Iraq wasn't in their job description, much in the way my petulant maid at Soxblog Manor insists that she doesn't do windows."

Dean adds: "While the public clearly doesn't like the war in Iraq, it also doesn't like the idea of losing the war in Iraq. If the Democratic congress declares defeat or undermines the war effort, then they'll risk public scorn. And it there's one thing that the Democrats don't want is public scorn. After all, we're only 21 months away from a presidential election."

IRAQ II: Prelude To Spring

The Washington Post is under heavy netroots fire for not adequately promoting its poll's finding that 58% would support "Congress trying to block Bush's plan by creating new rules on troop training and rest time that would limit the number of troops available for duty in Iraq." The Left Coaster's Steve Soto comments: "The real reason that the Democrats are losing some support with the public over Iraq is because the White House and the congressional GOP leadership have successfully established a narrative with the media that the Democratic Party is flailing each week to defund the troops."

Soto advises: "Democrats should ready themselves for the next stage in this debate this spring, such as the [Joe] Sestak plan and a limit on funding in the FY 2008 appropriation process. In the interim, the weekly message from Democrats should be that the GOP had a chance to take control of this war, and instead voted to keep it on autopilot."

Happiness with Dem action on Iraq remains highly mixed. At MyDD, David Sirota responds to an AP's description of internal Dem 'divisions' writing: "Make no mistake about it: The renewed refusal by Democrats to use their majority in even the most basic way to stop the war is a declaration that the new majority is not close to using even the most basic powers afforded to it to stop or slow down the war. In other words, in backing off, the Democrats have just weeks after the 2006 anti-war election mandate effectively declared themselves as supportive of the Bush administration's stay-the-course policy - a truly sickening act of cowardice."

But fellow MyDDer Chris Bowers argued the AP was selling Dems short: "First, the article never actually quotes Pelosi saying anything against Murtha's plan--it just claims she said that. Attacking her because of words a reporter put into her mouth is unfair, especially considering how often it happens to Democrats. ... Yes, the war is the most pressing issue we face, and yes there are Democrats who are not on board that we need to pressure. However, this is a crap article that is utterly unfair to the Democratic leadership that is in fact still pursuing plans to end the war as vigorously as ever."

NEVADA CAUCUS: Leaving Las Vegas

Citing NV Dem refusal to disassociate Fox News from 8/14's WH '08 forum, Kos says top-tier candidates looking to both free up their schedules and score points with the netroots should just skip the event. He writes: "The best thing Barack Obama may have done this young primary season was to freeze out Fox News after their "Madrassas" smear of him. I don't know if he's still cutting them off, but fact is, he sent an unmistakable message -- he'll only deal with legitimate news operations, and Fox News ain't one of them."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Another Campaign Must

Techpresident's Fred Stutzman did a quick survey of the top links generated by Googling WH '08 names and reports: "For each candidate, their Wikipedia entry is ranked no lower than 5th place by Google. In addition, the Wikipedia entry ranks higher than the election web presence of that particular candidate for 25% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans. There is no other entity on the web that plays such a systematically influential role in candidate information positioning as Wikipedia, pointing to its increased importance as a messaging tool in the 2008 cycle."

Stutzman continues: "This is truly eye-opening data. Wikipedia's influence is systematic and pervasive, perhaps to the point of overreaching. Should Wikipedia outrank a candidate's electoral site? Clearly, this shows that monitoring Wikipedia is a must for every campaign - thankfully Wikipedia makes this easy with RSS-based monitoring."

LEST WE FORGET: As Long As Were On The Subject ...

The Corner's Jonah Goldberg shares the rules of a reader's new poker game called -- Wikipedia:

Each player is dealt three cards, with five common cards on the table, meaning each player has eight cards with which to make his best 5-card poker hand. After a round of betting, each player is given to the opportunity to "overwrite" one common card with one of his hole cards, and take a replacement hole card from the deck. The "overwrite" costs 10c (for bandwidth). Another betting round ensues, followed by a second "overwrite" round with the cost raised to 20c (next round 30c, etc.). Once a player passes on the chance to overwrite, he cannot elect to do so in a later round. Betting and overwriting continues until all players pass their chance to overwrite. After one last round of betting, players reveal their hands.

Posted by Conn Carroll at February 27, 2007 12:23 PM