May 15, 2007

5/15: This Is What Worse Looks Like

The Blogometer has mentioned before that things are probably going to get worse for the GOP online before they get better. RedState's current war against the GOP leadership is exactly what that 'worse' is going to look like. The GOP cannot expect bloggers to become a potent ally if they constantly berate and belittle them. While online conservative activists could do more to bring assets to the table, if the GOP continues to ignore bloggers, they should not be surprised if their first targets are GOPers, not Dems.

BLOGGERS VS. BELTWAY: It Might Be Awhile Before Boehner Posts At RedState Again ...

More and more conservative bloggers are joining RedState's Erick Erickson campaign to block Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) from the Apps. Cmt. Sympaticos include:

• The Right Angle's Ericka Andersen: "This battle is important not only for it's individual success but also for future battles we must win against corruption in our leadership. By proving we can win this one, we will ultimately eliminate more immorality and shoddy justification from intruding into our leadership."
• Michelle Malkin: "You can't criticize the Dems' culture of corruption if you aren't willing to do something about the GOP's. Help show Nancy Pelosi how it's done.
• Right Wing News: "Personally, I don't think anyone who has solicited a prostitute, Democrat or Republican, belongs in Congress, much less on the appropriations committee and some of those land deals look shady. ... So, I'm with Redstate: there's no way that a guy like Ken Calvert should be anywhere near the appropriations committee."
• John McCain aide Patrick Hynes at Ankle Biting Pundits after calling Rep. John Linder's (R-GA) office to ask if he supported Calvert: "They can't just give me a straight yes or no answer? Republican leadership in the House is making the goal of electing more Republicans to the House seem like a bigger waste of my energy than, say, winning back the New Hampshire state senate."

Stepping up his own efforts, Erickson challenges GOP leadership aide's assertion that the case against Calvert is "crap." Erickson links to the police report from Calvert's arrest for solicitation as well as an AEI article criticizing Calvert's earmarking past. Erickson adds: "It takes guts to stand up to your own leadership. It's cowardly to let soon to be indicted Jerry Lewis tell you who you are appointing to Appropriations."

Erickson also shares Linder's assessment of the blogs ("John Linder told the reporter less than ten people called yesterday about Calvert and that it does not matter anyway because he does not trust anything bloggers have to say") and names Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) as 5/15's target: "She's ripe for attack on her donors and business interests in her state. Likewise, Texas Christian University could become a base of operations in her district for activism against this Calvert decision."

CLINTON: Bill Makes Us Feel Warm And Fuzzy Too

A five-minute Hillary Clintonbio-vid narrated by Bill Clinton is going over well in netroots circles. Generally no fan of HRC, TAPPED's Ezra Klein allows: "It's often worth taking a step back from the campaign and remembering how damn impressive Hillary Clinton is, how sustained her dedication to public service has been and how many sacrifices she's made along the way." The Huffington Post's Lane Hudson thought the new use of Bill was important: "He certainly increases her warm fuzzy factor, which she desperately needs. I look forward to seeing the role he plays in the coming months of the campaign. He is her greatest weapon and I don't think she will fail to use him."

TPM Cafe's Eric Kleefeld notes Clinton has begun working the phrase "turn the page" into her campaign rhetoric. Kleefeld explains: "But as it turns out, the phrase "turn the page" is a signature line that's been used countless times by Barack Obama in nearly all his stump speeches."

DODD: The Hallmark Candidate

Chris Dodd continues to establish himself as the strongest anti-war candidate. His statement on Reid-Feingold's attachment to the Water Resources Development Act drew wide praise, including Siun from firedoglake: "We want to see the other presidentials step up with Dodd and make this a real vote, not a parliamentary maneuver. And for the candidates who are not in the Senate, we want to see them go on the record, support a real vote and tell us which way they would vote."

Also with kind words for Dodd, Mike at Blue Hampshire quotes Dodd in Merrimack, NH, 5/12: "My father was ... a chief prosecutor under Robert Jackson at Nuremberg. He spent eighteen months in 1945 and 1946 at the Nuremberg trials. ... It was a hallmark of who we were. And from that experience, that whole international architecture came about: NATO, IMF, World Bank, the U.N. System -- it came as a result of the Nuremberg experience." Mike comments: "I know people might not generally see "Dodd" and "moving speech" as adjacent concepts -- but this set of of the cuff remarks was as potent as any of the speeches I've heard so far this season."

Reporting on internal items, The Nation's Ari Melber praises Dodd's hiring of MyLeftNutmeg's Matt Browner Hamlin as perhaps "the first traveling blogger in presidential campaign history." More Melber: "The Dodd Campaign was smart to tap a true believer who challenges the conventional wisdom in the blogs and the papers, even if he's never worked on a campaign before."

EDWARDS: Bonior's Boy

John Edwards has two new destinations for netrooters to interact with his campaign. The Huffington Post's Lorelei Kelly points readers to Support the Troops. End the War which "asks Americans to celebrate Memorial Day by showing support for the troops while opposing the war in Iraq." Kelly comments: "This is a smart move for many reasons. Despite the efforts of Rove and his PR minions, Americans have not fallen for the repeated attempts to make supporting the troops indivisible from supporting the President's war policy."

Edwards also has a new page devoted just to IA, which Bleeding Heartland promotes along with a Des Moines Central Library Town Hall meeting scheduled for 5/15.

More generally, MyDD diarist David Mizner acknowledges doubts about Edwards "political development" leftward, and then addresses them with a review of Edwards record since joining the Senate. Mizner concludes: "Speculation about the forces that have shaped Edwards is just that, speculation; but it's easy to believe that he was influenced by his departure first from the Senate then from Washington, his decision to take responsibility for his bad vote on the war, Elizabeth's illness, his relationship with Bonior, and, above all else, the countless hours spent talking to and working side by side with the people he wants to help. It's not that his fundamental beliefs have changed. It's that he's found a philosophy that suits them, as well as the the will and the opportunity to act on them."

OBAMA: Hard To Nail Down

Barack Obama's "This Week" appearance elicited divergent responses, including:

• DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas on reports Obama clung "to middle ground" on Iraq: "Obama is either going to look really good -- if he manages the impossible and actually gets Republicans to sign on to a troop withdrawal, or he's going to look like a patsy -- for thinking that Republicans would abandon the president on the issue and "compromise" on anything at all, much less Iraq. We'll know in short while which it is."
• MyDD's Green and Bold on George Will's comparison of Obama to Ronald Reagan: "The cool thing about Obama, and Mr. Will certainly sees this quality, is that in practice Obama is reliably progressive, yet his rhetoric and persona are undevisive. ... Obama is our party's answer to the Great Communicator. ... Barack Obama, if nominated, will cruise to victory in the general election."
• The Plank's Jonathan Chait on Obama and Affirmative Action: "As a substantive matter it's interesting -- and, to me, encouraging -- that a black Democratic candidate would endorse the principle of transforming affirmative action into a program of race-blind economic uplift. Politically, it seems like another step that could help him with downscale voters."
• Matthew Yglesias: "Obviously, one concern people have with Barack Obama's candidacy is that they worry that a black man faces intrinsic electoral problems. I would say that the flipside of this is that an African-American Democrat probably has more latitude to say sensible things about affirmative action that would get a white candidate in hot water with supporters he's counting on."
• The Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum: "In any case, the most Obama seems to be suggesting is that he's OK with income-based affirmative action and - maybe - also OK with a modest reduction in race-based affirmative action for well-off blacks. Sometime in the indefinite future, that is. But it's hard to tell. Obama doesn't like being nailed down on specifics much, and this is a topic where nobody likes being nailed down anyway."

GOP FIELD: NPR's Kinda GOPer

Power Line's John Hinderaker explains why he is not concerned a Chuck Hagel third-party run would hurt the GOP: "Maybe people at NPR are yearning for a candidate like Hagel; I know some Republicans who are yearning for a new candidate, but it isn't Hagel: it's Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich. ... Hagel is widely despised within the party, and the last poll I saw had him at 1% among Republicans. My guess is that a large majority of those "yearning" for a Hagel candidacy would otherwise vote for the Democrat."

BROWNBACK: Open This Box

Internet radio fan SC's Daily Chaser thanks Sam Brownback for sponsoring the Internet Radio Equality Act which would allow sites like Pandora to continue operating in the face of RIAA efforts to shut them down. DC comments: "I don't know if this will garner any additional primary support for the Senator's Presidential Campaign, but it is pretty cool nonetheless."

GIULIANI: Same Position, Same Package

The Corner's Rich Lowry is not impressed with Rudy Giuliani's latest tactic on abortion: "As far as I can tell his new posture on abortion involves saying the same things he had been saying about it before, but adding that he feels "very strongly" about it at every opportunity."

But NY Sun's Ryan Sager points out that NRO has two pro-Rudy items up. One from Ted Olson on Giuliani strengthening the judiciary and another by Club for Growth's Pat Toommey on Giuliani's record as mayor.

ROMNEY: Issue Critical

First admitting "the more and more I study the candidates, the more I realize that the Mormonism "issue" as it is being called is really the critical issue for [Mitt] Romney," The Brody File goes on to share pro- and anti- Romney email from his Christian Broadcasting Network readers:

• Mitt Romney's run for the White House is raising the profile of the false religion he espouses.
• This guy believes he is going to become a god someday in a distant galaxy. Have we all gone crazy?
• It finally dawned on me a couple of weekends ago why I'm against Mitt Romney and why I'd not vote for him. It's not because he is a Mormon. It's because it gives legitimacy to the LDS Churches drive to be accepted as a Christian group.
• The Romney candidacy is bringing bigots out of the woodwork, and I don't think there are really that many of them. I believe and hope that most conservatives are able to rise above religious differences and vote for the best man on his merits.
• What is important to me are the values of a person, which are clearly visible though a lifetime of behavior. Mitt Romney shares my values.
• I firmly believe Romney would not force Mormonism on anyone. But their families are quite good and the kids are always taken care of as far as I know.

Moving to abortion, RedState's Hunter Baker asks: "William F. Buckley has come to the aid of Mitt Romney by pointing out that for a few minutes in the 1960's, he could have been characterized as being pro-choice. Quite true. ... Here's the question: Does anyone think that Mitt Romney would be pro-life today if he had chosen to run for a second term in Massachusetts rather than for the presidency?"

AmSpec Blog's John Tabin answers: "Actually, I'm not sure that that would tell us if Romney is "really" a pro-lifer. Politicians have to pick their battles, after all, and given the political climate in Massachusetts, he might well have chosen to keep his pro-life sentiments to himself ... In any case, we should be less concerned with what a politician believes in his heart than in what he'd do in the real world. On that score, my sense is that a President Romney would indeed be allied with pro-lifers most of the time."

F. THOMPSON: Lot's Of Stuff Happening In September

NRO's Jim Geraghty says the initial review of Fred Thompson's 5/12 speech to the Council for National Policy "were much more well received than his California address." The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez adds: "Not only did he talk about Scooter Libby but Sandy Berger. Of course he's not actually running a campaign (yet), but I suspect he has no intention on pulling back if he gets in the race. "

Also, RedState's California Yankee is not happy about news Thompson may wait until 9/07 to jump into the race: "Waiting until September ... is a mistake. It is now less likely that a successful campaign can be announced just weeks before the Iowa caucuses as Bill Clinton did in 1992. The front loading of the 2008 primaries, and 20 candidates, requires an earlier commitment."

IRAQ: Put Up, Or Shut Up

The netroots are largely unimpressed with Maj. Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) promise to get a vote on the Reid-Feingold Iraq legislation as part of the Water Resources Development Act. Daily Kos' mcjoan allows: "This vote will mirror the McGovern amendment to the supplemental bill in the House last week, putting the majority of the majority of Congress on the record for ending the Iraq war." Those less enthused with the move include:

• Atrios: "I imagine there's a pretty close correlation between those who regularly prattle on about Democrats needing to stand for things and show strong leadership, yadda yadda, and those who aren't too thrilled that they'll have to actually take a stand."
• Firedoglake's Phoenix Woman: "Reid needs to let the Feingold bill - the one that really would end the war - have a clean shot in the Senate, and not be spot-welded to a water bill that he knows full well the Republicans will filibuster to death. But the scuttlebutt is that a number of chickens**t Democrats - including some presidential candidates - don't want to go on record as voting for a clean end-the-war bill, so he's obliging them by attaching it to a bill that the Republicans will of course filibuster until (surprise, surprise!) the dreaded end-the-war measure is removed. That way, they have their cake and eat it, too: they can avoid going on record on the war and yet pretend that they really woulda voted for it if not for Those Mean Ole Republicans filibustering the bill.

Also war-related, DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas picks up on news Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will be hosting a fundraiser for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and comments: "'Democratic strategists' should know Lieberman would do something like this. This is his modus operandi -- sticking shivs into Democrats nationwide as he perpetually relives his 2006 grudges. ... Maine will be a proxy war for those who want to rescue our country from the ravages of the GOP disaster, and the Liebercrats who'd rather cozy up to their Republican benefactors. ... No matter what Collins says, the Iraq War belongs to her and her party."

IRAQ II: Signs Of The Post-Rumsfeld Era

The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez links to Michael Yon reporting of a letter by Gen. Petraeus calling troops to "observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect." Yon comments: "This letter from General Petraeus deserves the widest possible dissemination. It should be published widely, and posted on every headquarters wall, and read aloud by every troop in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can pummel al Qaeda and other terrorists mercilessly and grind them into the dirt, but we cannot afford to turn local populations against us while we do it."

PROSECUTOR PURGE: No Escape

Captain's Quarters makes the case that Dep. AG Paul McNulty's departure may finally tilt the costs of retaining AG Alberto Gonzales above the benefits:

With everyone more or less acknowledging the monumentally bad handling of the terminations, many thought that Gonzales would eventually fall on his sword, as is typical in these situations. When he did not, the assumption was that the White House did not want to withstand a bruising confirmation process in the Senate.

They can't avoid it now. The DAG has to get confirmation, and they can't just leave the position open, either. If Bush didn't act to fill the slot, the Democrats could claim that he was derelict in his duties and start an impeachment. This means that the Democrats can take lots of shots at the White House, demand all sorts of testimony, and issue subpoenas like raffle tickets at a county fair.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Identity Before Ideas

Pouring over Pew data showing "ideological self-identification means very different things to different people" MyDD's Chris Bowers observes:

In the final analysis, are we really talking about ideology, or even specific issues areas, or are we talking about culture and identity? Surely it is a mix, but I don't think we have emphasized, or at least appreciated, the cultural side nearly enough. If we want to play a bigger role in the Democratic coalition, we need to figure out ways to bridge our intra-coalition cultural gaps. Otherwise, our view on where the party will go won't have the impact on 2008 that we desire. If many people are not supporting Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John Edwards for ideological or policy-related reasons, we probably won't be able to shift their support for ideological or policy-related reasons.

LEST WE FORGET: MEMO ... TO: Pot ... FROM: Kettle ... RE: Your Blackness

TAPPED's Ann Friedman writes: "A new study shows the Sunday-morning talk shows are total dudefests -- more than 75% of guests are men. This research brought to you by an organization whose staff and advisors are more than 75% male."

Posted by Conn Carroll at May 15, 2007 12:43 PM