June 15, 2007

6/15: First They Came For Fox ...

While the netroots seems increasingly resigned to a Hillary Clinton nomination, as evidenced by their killing of the Fox News debate, they still hold a significant amount of sway in the party. Since its inception, the netroots have long questioned the political leanings of Politico, and a 6/14 article divulging details of a Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) conference call with bloggers only fueled their suspicions. If Politico wants to keep co-hosting debates with netroots-approved networks like Keith Olbermann's MSNBC, they might want to tone down their Dem coverage.

BLOGGERS VS. MSM: Rage Against The Machine

As part of their ongoing campaign to tar The Politico as just another cog in the "right-wing noise machine," the netroots went all out to discredit Josh Bresnahan after he reported Sen. Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Peter Pace "incompetent" during a conference call with "liberal bloggers."

The netroots quickly moved to quash the story by gathering assurances from bloggers on the call that Reid never said any such thing. TPM Cafe's Greg Sargentlanded assurances from Daily Kos' mcjoan and BarbinMD, AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay and John Aravosis, as well as MyDD's Jonathan Singer.

Daily Kos' BarbinMD describes the impact of Bresnahan's crime: "And since Politico "broke" this news, just as it happened when they created the "slow bleed" story that was immediately picked up by every conservative publication and prominent Republican, the alleged remarks by Reid are being used to paint Reid as an anti-military surrender monkey. John McCain has called Reid's alleged remark "highly inappropriate, Wolf Blitzer is breathlessly reporting that Reid "bashed" the military, and this is how Tony Snow began today's White House press briefing. ... It seems that this newest mouthpiece for the Republican Party is, again, just making it up."

Atrios chipped in naming The Politico his Wanker Of The Day and AMERICABlog's Joe Sudbay adds: "The right-wing noise machine is in full attack mode against Harry Reid over comments he allegedly made on a conference call with several bloggers, including John and me, earlier this week. ... This is a vintage trick from the right wing. Take something that's based on a rumor, and that isn't a problem even if it's true, and try to turn it in to a story."

Later, another blogger on the call, Bob Geiger, came forward with a tape of the call including this passage from Reid:

I guess the president, uh, he's gotten rid of Pace because he could not get him confirmed here in the Senate... Pace is also a yes-man for the president and I told him to his face, I laid it out to him last time he came to see me, I told him what an incompetent man I thought he was.

Faced with evidence Reid did use the word 'incompentent' to describe Pace, the netroots shifted their criticism, claiming The Politico over hyped the story, took the quote out of context, and gave GOPers a pass on similar comments in the past:

• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "Contrary to what the Politico reported, Harry Reid didn't call General Pace "incompetent" to a bunch of liberal bloggers. Reid said that he met with Pace and laid out for him, in person, what an incompetent man he was."
• Bob Geiger: "What he said about Pace was not said in the spirit of throwing some rhetorical red meat to a bunch of liberal bloggers by gratuitously bashing General Pace -- which is certainly what one could infer from The Politicos "reporting" on this story."
• Talking Points Memo's Greg Sargent: "Yes, he did say that Pace is "incompetent." But the context shows that the controversy's way overblown."
• DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas: "If you want to see how the right-wing noise machine works, compare the freakout over Harry Reid calling the incompetent Gov. Pace "incompetent", and the, um, nothing that happened after John McCain said this to Gen. Casey."

CLINTON: Caged Birds For HRC

Jack and Jill Politics' Jill Tubman recently stumbled across Maya Angelou's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, but found the video "a bit... strange." More Tubman: "Angelou focuses almost exclusively on Clinton as a strong woman and what her rise to power represents. She also draws parallels to Hillary and black women everywhere."

EDWARDS: No. 3 Just Ain't Happening

John Edwards supporter and MyDD contributor TarHeel admits "us die-hard Edwards supporters would like to see Edwards doing better" and offers some suggestions for the campaign:

• Macro Idea 1. Run as an Outsider, who's not a lifelong politician and not backed by the Washington DC Lobbyist insiders. ... (a natural contrast with Hillary)
• Macro Idea 2. Do something to "undo" if possible some of the ridiculous haircut coverage. ... I know he says he wants to make sure everyone should have the same chances as him but it hasn't broken through.
• Macro Idea 3. Come out against Bush's Immigration Bill. This is hugely unpopular. Most americans outside the blogosphere heavily oppose it. Union workers seem unhappy with it. Americans (outside the blogosphere) instinctively don't believe in rewarding illegal behavior with citizenship. This would bring lots of free press for Edwards and distinguishes him from others on the Democratic side. I'm fairly certain this wouldn't lose any votes in Iowa or NH or SC.
• Macro idea 4. More innovative ways to use the internet. ... I'm hoping to see more innovative use of the internet and YouTube only type "commercials" MADE BY THE CAMPAIGN that could break through and get free media air time.

In other Edwards suggestions, Matthew Yglesias felt "warm and fuzzy inside" after reading reports Edwards may be proposing to removing drug company patents on "breakthrough drugs" in exchange for "cash incentives," but is later disappointed to find out Edwards proposal "turns out to be less awesomely radical than it at first appeared." From Yglesias: "What's not clear to me is whether companies who invent drugs under this "prize track" would need to forgo a patent in exchange for the prize. If not, this is a mildly useful way to encourage the development of drugs whose market potential isn't so hot (malaria treatment, say). If the answer is yes, by contrast, then this turns into a neat pilot program that, if successful, could come to supplant the current development model."

OBAMA: The Choice Of A New Generation

MyDD's Jerome Armstrong is tired of Barack Obama's "fake self-proclaimed movement" and is ready to declare the "race is Hillary Clinton's to lose at this point." Armstrong says Obama has never aligned himself with the existing netroots movement "that began with Dean in '02, swelled for Wesley Clark in '03, led Dean to the DNC Chair and propelled the Hackett and Lamont candidacies, leading to the surge of activists voting for Democrats in '06." Armstrong adds:

It is not a movement, but a candidate. It's about Obama, and nothing more. He's got numbers in the same way that Coke or Pepsi have consumers; supporters in the same way that Bono and the Dixie Chicks have fans. But this is partisan politics, and Obama will not survive the rightwing machine's onslaught without a strategy that includes internet partisanship.

Armstrong's post drew out Obama defenders including:

• The Huffington Post's John Bohrer: "Even in a campaign of hype, it's hard to fake this kind of excitement. ... there's no denying Obama's campaign has tapped something that is pumping people up and getting them to hit pavement for him. Call it a movement, call it whatever you want, but it's something we're not seeing from the other campaigns."


• TPM Cafe's Nathan Newman: "I think there's a real possibility that Obama may be doing the deepest form of movement building, tapping into previously ignored issues and constituencies that may come roaring into prominence and power with his campaign. And that kind of movement building can create significantly expanded political majorities for such a candidate if he succeeds."

RICHARDSON: Give Me A Sign ...

Impressed with Bill Richardson's "warmth and charm that proved he was half-Mexican" The Huffington Post's Vicky Schorr still left a San Marino, CA, Richardson fundraiser unnerved after the host's daughter's fell flat on her face during Richardson's remarks. Schorr blogs: "Most of the crowd trickled off then, but some of us lingered, unable, quite, to leave the scene. ... Nor could we shake the sense that it had somehow meant something. Was a sign of something, something wrong, broken, that maybe we couldn't fix this time. A sign that even if Richardson is as terrific as he seems, as smart and as right-thinking, as able a diplomat as well, a man of the world the way this gang in office are boys in the club, it still wouldn't matter."

Also blogging on Richardson, The Plank flags news that an audience member in NV had to remind Richardson that France is a member of the UN Security Council. Ryan Lizza comments: "For those not familiar with the Richardson resume, he was Clinton's ambassador to the United Nations."

GIULIANI: The Ramesh Primary

Responding to Ramesh Ponnuru's latest National Review article arguing Rudy Giuliani's "stand on abortion is so bad in so many ways that it ought comprehensively to disqualify Rudy for the Republican nomination," The Corner's Peter Robinson points to Giuliani's promise to "increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children" and asks: "Does this affect your thinking? And a second query: Would it affect your thinking if early on Rudy persuasively hinted-or came right out and stated-that he would name as his running mate a throughgoing pro-lifer?"

MCCAIN: The Anybody But Mitt Campaign?

Jonathan Martinreporting on John McCain's purchase of an anti-Mitt Romney URL produced a second day of conservative pondering about how McCain's new anti-Romney offensive could possibly end an a McCain nomination:

• Townhall's Dean Barnett: "Does he think he'll reap some benefit from turning himself into the political version of Grandpa Simpson? If I were McCain, I'd go upbeat and explain my own positions and repair my own relationships with the party faithful. That's what he has to do."
• AmSpec Blog's Philip Klein: "Does the McCain camp simply think that Giuliani and Thompson will fade and they'll be left with Romney? Or do they think if they can knock off Romney early, they'd do better in a two man race with Giuliani or Thompson? Beats me."
• Townhall's Patrick Ruffini: "McCain-friendlies seldom if ever tout the Senator's thin conservative credentials; they know that doing so would only draw conservative fire. The goal is to muddy the waters with attacks on Romney that seem to materialize out of thin air. ... The McCain camp's strategy: McCain's opponents are just as bad as he is. The only difference is that McCain was never pro-choice. ... If it works, their strategy will give us a Giuliani vs. Thompson race. Two clear finalists: a moderate vs. a conservative. Where exactly does the hard-to-pigeonhole McCain fit in in this scenario?"

ROMNEY: Science Friday

The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez promotes Mitt Romney's new NRO article looking at "real scientific opportunities" in stem cell research. Romney highlights recent developments showing a possibility for non-embryonic stem cell research and writes: "It is time to move beyond typical Washington politics, and offer support for stem-cell research techniques that bring science and ethics together to promote life, protect life, and save lives."

In other pro-Romney blogging, The Brody File reports Traditional Values Coalition chair Rev. Lou Sheldon has a commitment from Romney that if elected he will be sworn in on The Bible, not the Book of Mormon. More Sheldon: "I felt sincerity, not phoniness."

F. THOMPSON: Grading On A Curve

The Brody File posts exclusive video of Fred Thompson's pre-recorded message to he National Right to Life conference 6/15 in Kansas City, MO. Brody comments: "He sure does come across as authentic. It's downright folksy and non-threatening. It really is his first official "salvo" into the pro-life arena as a presidential candidate. Oh, that's right. I forgot. he's not a candidate...yet." K-Lo is also impressed: "It's good - on stem-cell research, on SCOTUS, on infanticide....on entitlement reform, and then to the war."

Also touching on Thompson and life, AmSpec Blog's Philip Klein explains why past pro-choice statements won't hurt Thompson: "after months of hearing Giuliani's pro-choice views, and watching Romney's embarrassing, and recent, flip-flop on the issue, Thompson's pro-life voting record in the Senate is looking pretty good. ... The bottom line is that after months of being disappointed with the current crop of candidates, conservatives want to rally around somebody. As a result, they'll likely be more forgiving to Thompson than they may have been otherwise."

Not a fan of yet another GOP hopeful, Andrew Sullivan blogs after watching an interview of Thompson: "Thompson seems charming if you need someone to while away a long evening - and you'll have to remind him of what's recently been in the news. But he also seems bored. And remarkably free of any specific ideas to run on."

IMMIGRATION: The Enforcement Is In The Mail!

The Corner's Mark Krikorian sums up conservative reaction to news the WH is reviving the Senate immigration bill with promises of $4.4 bil. in supplemental spending for securing the border: "You know what they say: The check is in the mail, Islam is a religion of peace, and Sure, I'll enforce the immigration laws!" At Redstate, Rob Bluey's Senate sources say Sen. Min. Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has agreed to "roll over conservatives" by scheduling the debate and vote at a time he knew Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) would be out of town. And Laura Ingrahamasks WH press. sec. Tony Snow why nobody believes anything he says.

Townhall's Hugh Hewitt picks up on McConnell promises to bring the Senate to a halt if Dems sink a 5th Circuit judicial nomination and blogs: "it seems hard to imagine McConnell following through on his threat and yet allowing a huge immigration package desperately wanted by Ted Kennedy to sail through. ... Why a path to citizenship when the Bush nominees can't get a path to a floor vote?"

Also tanking in conservative eyes, Sen. Min. Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) is drawing fire for his denunciation of "talk-radio people." Hewitt responds: "I will invite Senator Lott on the program next week to discuss what is in the bill and the amendment package. I suspect he will decline, but you never know." Kausfiles adds: " Is that Rush you're talkin' about?"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Right Wing News answers a readers query on why big business wants the Senate immigration bill to pass:

[T]his bill isn't going to end illegal immigration. Instead, it will guarantee these businesses a flow of illegal immigrants for years to come. For example, illegals who come here on a guest worker program will simply go underground when their time is up instead of going back home. Moreover, the bill won't secure the border, which is why even the CBO admits it will only cut the flow of illegals by 25%.

That means the shady businesses get to keep the 12-20 million illegals who are already here, get more workers from chain immigration and a guest worker program, and in another 20 years, we'll have 9-15 million more illegals ready to accept their amnesty. Then, the process will start all over again, except it will be even easier on the illegals because there will be 12-20 million former illegal aliens who will be voting citizens by then.

LEST WE FORGET: Our Long National Nightmare Is Over

Watching the Spurs Kevorkian the Cavaliers 6/14, Basketbawful blogs: "Nike's 'We are all witnesses' commercial ... seems a little silly with an impending sweep ... we are all witnesses to WHAT? Self-destruction and ignominious failure?"

Posted by Conn Carroll at June 15, 2007 12:44 PM