March 01, 2007

3/1: A Suggestion For McCain

Earlier this week, the Blogometer highlighted the importance of Wikipedia due to the high placement of its pages when WH '08ers' names were Googled. Today, YouTube has introduced a new Politicians channel called "You Choose '08" that "provides a platform for people to engage in dialogue with candidates and each other through the use of community features such as video responses, text comments and ratings."

As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) tries to patch things up with conservatives, why not use the light-years change in communications technology as inspiration to revisit a signature stumbling block between him and the conservative base: McCain-Feingold. McCain wouldn't have to admit a mistake or claim his thinking evolved, just that the recent explosion in comm. possibilities has made the broadcast restrictions (at the core of McCain-Feingold) quaint and obsolete. This would not be a fix-all, but it could be a good start on the road to reconciliation with votes he needs to win the nomination.

CPAC: Calling All Groupies!

Bloggers not able to attend 3/1-3's Conservative Political Action Conference can follow all the latest news at Rob Bluey's CPAC Bloggers website. Outside the Beltway's James Joyner is no fan of Bluey's chosen template but does comment: "The coverage, though, is quite good and will quite likely be useful to other CPAC bloggers and groupies of same."

BROWNBACK: Separating From Huckabee?

Ramesh Ponnuru alert's Corner readers to The Club For Growth's latest presidential white paper giving Sam Brownback a passing grade. For Club pres. Pat Toomey: "Over his year and a half in the House of Representatives and his ten years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Brownback has proven himself to be, on balance, a strong defender of limited government and pro-growth policies."

GINGRICH: Blogger Lover

Draft Newt Media Outreach Manager Matt Keller wants to make sure bloggers know about "a small get-together for interested highly committed individuals attending CPAC ... to meet the Draft Newt staff" at 5 PM 3/2. Michelle Malkin reports that Gingrich himself will be available to bloggers 3/2 morning before his speech to the whole conference 3/3.

Draft Newt also links to video of Gingrich debating ex-Gov. Mark Warner at NYC's Cooper Union 2/28.

GILMORE: Searching For Respectability

RedState's Rob Bluey says Jim Gilmore "was up front about the 'cockiness'" of his 2/27 statement to bloggers that he was the only true conservative in the race. Bluey identifies 3/3's CPAC straw poll as a first test of whether Gilmore can back up his bravado: "A good finish -- or something respectable -- would instantly propel Gilmore from the second tier to a serious challenger."

GIULIANI: Taking Opposition Seriously

Riding high off recent polls showing him making inroads with evangelicals, Rudy Giuliani is disappointing conserv. bloggers with eCampaign Adviser Patrick Ruffini's announcement that Giuliani "will not be doing blog interviews when he comes to CPAC" 3/2. Michelle Malkin responds: "If I were a smarter politician trying to convince grassroots conservatives that I really do want their votes, I might, I dunno, make some time to talk with them -- and not just at them."

Building off of James Taranto claims that Giuliani's growth among evangelicals can be explained by the fact that so-called religous leaders "don't actually exercise as much power as we're constantly hearing" and that "the religious right is actually far more thoughtful in their political picks than they're often given credit for," The Corner's Peter Suderman adds: "As a variation on that, I'd suggest that the religious right just isn't as monolithic a group as it's often characterized. ... And let me also suggest that part of Rudy's appeal to evangelicals might have something to do with what at least appears to be a genuine willingness to take opposing views seriously."

Also offering explanations for Giuliani's evangelical popularity, The Brody File points readers to '01 BBC Newsitem on Giuliani's criticism of a photograph depicting Christ as a naked black woman as "outrageous and disgusting." From Giuliani: "If it were done against another group there would be an outcry in this city that would demand that they take the photograph down, but anti-Catholicism is just accepted prejudice, it is allowed in the city and in our society."

In Giuliani-hating, Townhall's Matt Lewis reminds readers that Giuliani business partners Alan Placa and Bernard Kerik have "never been charged with a crime" but also breathlessly reports that Kerik "had two mistresses, an illegal nanny" and Placa "was accused of "groping" a student in high school in the mid-1970s." Lewis concludes: "Whether or not Kerik or Placa are innocent or guilty, it is still interesting that Giuliani has surrounded himself by so many people who have, at least, questionable backgrounds. What is more, he has invited both of them to be part of his business -- in spite of the evidence and allegations. It's one thing to stay friends with someone with a past, and it's quite another thing to do business with them."

The Corner's Ramesh Ponnuru is also unsold on Giuliani, noting Rudy's support for GOP Terri Schiavo legislation and sharing reports of Giuliani ignorance on immigration issues.

More friendly to Rudy Outside the BeltwayJames Joyner links to Politicoreports on the "mostly left-leaning Democrats who don't love Jesus" who Giuliani appointed to the bench while NYC mayor, but also highlights graphs from the story showing Giuliani had little control over the appointments process. OTB comments: "[I]t's not as if he had free reign."

HUCKABEE: Kucinich To Challenge Pryor

RedState's Adam C seconds The Hill suggestions that Mike Huckabee might better serve the GOP as a challenger to Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) then as a presidential candidate: "The Huckabee for President campaign, of course, must say they are not even considering such a possibility. But they should be and the sooner Huckabee comes to his senses, the better for Republicans, AR, and Huckabee himself who otherwise will be a Kucinich-like also-ran."

MCCAIN: We Just Do And Do For You, And This Is The Thanks We Get?

John McCain irked conserv. bloggers by finding time to pre-announce his WH run on The Late Show with David Letterman while still failing to address CPAC. Captain's Quarters blogs: "Considering McCain's claims to be our true representative in the race, the conservative activists gathered here at the Omni Shoreham hotel might expect him to reprioritize a bit." Michelle Malkin criticizes his "interesting priorities."

Also blogging on CPAC, The Right Angle's Ivy Sellers tells readers McCain "reportedly tried to circumvent the organizers of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference by reserving his own conference room to hold a separate reception at the Omni Shoreham Hotel where the conference is taking place." Malkin notes: "President Bush has never attended CPAC. President Reagan spoke at the event 12 times."

ROMNEY: Clearly, He's Undecided

Looking to familiarize himself with Mitt Romney's record Ankle Biting Pundit's Bull Dog Pundit 'blegs' Romney supporters and detractors for "resources" that can give him "an idea of what his accomplishments were as Governor that he can tout in his run for President." BDP elaborates: "If you want a idea of the things I'd really like to find out about here it is (but don't limit yourselves to just these) - his role in the Big Dig problems (if any); his record on dealing with public employee unions (other than the teachers); how he did, or did not, improve improve the business climate in Massachusetts; his environmental policies."

CLINTON: Gore's Biggest Fan?

Commenting on Hotline On Call suggestions that recent James Carville rumor-mongering about Al Gore entering the race in order to pull grass roots support away from Barack Obama, DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas comments on Hillary Clinton: "So they must be confident that Gore is solidly out of the race. That way, their little misdirection campaign can safely inject enough confusion into the race to keep Obama (or Edwards) from becoming that dominant anti-Clinton candidate."

MyDD's Chris Bowers didn't buy the theory asking, "Why on earth is the amount of attention non-Clinton candidates receive a zero sum game?" Bowers continues: "If, ten and a half months out, a candidate is bringing in some of the largest crowds we have seen in a Democratic primary ever, then I think the Clinton camp needs to find a new way to reduce Obama's activist support."

Also commenting, Atrios focussed more on CNN commentator/Clinton strategist James Carville's role, mockingly calling for a "Blogger Ethics Panel"

Back in IA, Bleeding Heartland's Drew Miller casts doubts on Team Clinton claims they raised "one million dollars through smallish online donations." Miller recaps: "The first solicitation email came from Bill Clinton on the 21st, followed by James Carville on the 22nd, Madeleine Albright on the 26th, and Bill Clinton again today. Despite all this, as of this post she is still $100k short. ... Now I wouldn't be surprised if all of a sudden they mysteriously came up with the margin tonight, but I suspect that if Obama tried the same thing he would easily surpass one million. That is if his basically run-of-the-mill campaign is even willing to take the risk."

EDWARDS: Don't Drop The Soap!

The Plank's Jason Zengerle congratulates John Edwards for coming out against the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy but hopes that soon Edwards will "pull the trigger on gay marriage" as well

GORE: But What If Obama Had One An Oscar?

Putting his cracks new Media Strategies to work, Extreme Mortman reports Al Gore receive little 'Web 2.0' buzz from his recent oscar win:

As of 3 p.m. Monday, ten video clips of Al Gore at the Oscars had been uploaded to YouTube. But none of them had gone viral, meaning no one was e-mailing them around, or received any traction online. A total of only 384 views for all 10 clips. ... Gore's online social networking numbers are a bit a bit better, but not by much. Comparing the numbers for the "Draft Gore" MySpace page and the five largest Gore Facebook groups before the Oscars (1 p.m. Saturday) and after (3 p.m. Monday), we found a bump of 8%. That's respectable, but the hard numbers are tiny: friends/members increased from 4,649 to 5,019, up 370.

Mortman concludes: "With Web 2.0 dominating politics these days, that might not be enough to launch an Al Gore presidential campaign. Oscars may mean something to the billion TV viewers, but for online activists, it's less impressive."

OBAMA: A Hannah Ruebenowitz Moment?

TPM Cafe's M.J. Rosenberg hopes Barack Obama's 3/2 AIPAC conference address will "be his Sister Soulja moment where he tells a powerful interest group something it does not want to hear, specifically that as President he will embrace the role of honest broker and help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace and security." Rosenberg isn't keeping his hopes too high though: "My guess is that he'll give a real pro-Israel speech i.e. he will explain why Israel is important to him and why it will require strong fair leadership from America to secure its future."

IRAQ: Wait Til '08?

Talk Left's Big Tent Democrat ably sums up the netroots options when it comes to Iraq: "For in reality there are two positions available now - for ending the Debacle or for continuing it. ... It is that simple. And the choice is binary." BTD is firmly in the end the war now camp and explains how it can be done:

First, announce NOW that the Democratic Congress will NOT fund the Iraq Debacle after a date certain. You pick the date. Whatever works politically. If October 2007 is the date Dems can agree to, then let it be then. ... Second, spend the year reminding the President and the American People every day that Democrats will not fund the war past the date certain; Third, do NOT fund the Iraq Debacle PAST the date certain.

BTD goes on to remind fellow netrooters: "Some argue we will never have the votes for this. That McConnell will filibuster, that Bush will veto. To them I say I KNOW. But that does not fund the Iraq Debacle. Let me repeat, to end the war in Iraq, the Democratic Congress does not have to pass a single bill, they need only NOT pass bills that fund the Iraq Debacle.
Understand this, if you want to end the Iraq Debacle, this is the only way until Bush is not President. If you are not for this for ending the war, tell me what you do support. I think this is the only way. And if you shy away from the only way to end the Debacle, then you really are not for ending it are you?"

Unconvinced, MyDD's Chris Bowers claims "willpower to end the war is collapsing in Congress" and asks: "Is A Democratic President The Only Way To End the War?" Bowers answers: "It seems to me now that the only way to end the war will be by electing a new Democratic president in two years time. Not only is that nowhere close to a guarantee, considering Giuliani's strength, but if Clinton ends up as President I don't particularly trust her to actually end the war. At this point, about the only presidential candidates who we can trust to end the war if they take office would be the candidates who attack this backslide by the Democratic majorities on the grounds that it does not go far enough."

While Daily Kos' Barb in MD is still calling on Congress to abandon "non-binding resolutions and meaningless gestures ... And then do something about it," The Huffington Post's Mike Lux seems to side with Bowers when he writes: " Dems don't have either the votes or the balls to force a constitutional confrontation with Bush to get us out of this war." Lux advises activist to: "Urge our congressional leaders to bring up the Iraq war issue every single week that Congress is in session. ... Organize like crazy in all these states and districts with pro-war Democratic Senators and Congresspeople. ... Keep praising the Democrats who want to do the right thing." Lux concludes: "These may not be perfect solutions, but there are none in this situation. Let's keep looking for strategies and pressure points that actually help us, rather than bitching about things we can't change."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Can Only Get Worse As WH '08 Approaches

Atheist film maker Brian Flemming takes YouTube to task for its "apparently easy-to-game complaint system" which recently removed a video "by a Christian pastor lampooning the Blasphemy Challenge" who directly mocked Flemming (calling him "Brian Lemming").

Flemming blogs: "YouTube's draconian action makes no sense. I can't see anything in Pastor David's video that warrants a removal from YouTube for inappropriate content or copyright infringement. I certainly wouldn't dispute his right to use the images I happen to own, especially in the way he uses them. His work is a commentary, criticism and parody -- three uses clearly protected under the fair use doctrine. And rightly so."

Flemming concludes: "If YouTube turns into a war of various interest groups organizing to red-flag expressions of ideas they don't like -- and YouTube's policy is to give in to that pressure automatically whenever it gets high enough -- then YouTube is going to suck. YouTube really needs to fix their complaint system."

LEST WE FORGET: These Are Our Choices?

Worrying about the future of Britney Spears' children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, Showbiz Show Blog's Julius Sharpe writes:

Ordinarily you might worry when the mother of two toddlers checks into rehab, but rest assured Britney's two boys are receiving the best of care from a man who wore a velvet track suit bedazzled with the word "Pimp" to his wedding. ... If there's one thing I've learned from reading the works of renowned pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, it's that back-up dancers make the best parents. Just ask that guy who fathered Madonna's daughter who gets to see her once a year. ... Hip hop and good parenting go together like assault and battery. When was the last time you heard about a "battery" that wasn't preceded by an "assault?" Anyone with a degree in psychology will tell you that children blossom best in an environment of erratic feeding, loud bass-driven noises, and filtered mentholated smoke.

Posted by Conn Carroll at March 1, 2007 11:18 AM