July 23, 2007

7/23: An End To Fortune 500 Sponsorship, Or The Beginning Of Partisan Brands?

Is Jet Blue's decision to drop their association with YearlyKos the start of a new era in corporate/pol. party relations? As DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas points out, it is impossible to label the 8/2-5 convention a "hate gathering" since "just about the entire Democratic Party leadership" will be addressing the convention. If anything YearlyKos is just about the most accurate preview of the '08 Dem Convo that you'll see. If those in the netroots follow through with their threats to retaliate by targeting Fox News sponsors (first up, Home Depot), and are successful, will corporations be forced to choose sides or abandon the political arena all together (like Jet Blue did)? And if so, would that even be a bad thing?

DEM FIELD: Favorite Sonless

Browsing through the Liberal Blog Advertising Network, Open Left's Chris Bowers noted that very few bloggers had endorsed any of the WH '08 Dems. Bowers writes: "This is a stark reversal from 2003-2004, when public blogger endorsements of Democratic presidential candidates were the order of the day." Among the reasons Bowers identifies for the lack of blogger enthusiasm for any one candidate, is the desire not to divide the netroots community. More Bowers: "Even though there has so far been a record-breaking amount of activism on behalf of Democratic presidential campaigns this cycle, the progressive blogosphere and netroots community remains profoundly divided on which candidate it supports. ... Since bloggers are ultimately accountable to their readers, a divided community makes a forthright, activist public endorsement impossible for me. I can't represent the community if I start taking unilateral action against the wishes of many in the community."

NV CAUCUS: Our Democracy Needs More Open Bars

Reno and Its DiscontentsMyrna Minx pens a snarky FAQ on the 1/19 NV Caucus including: "Basically, everyone is directed into a large venue where they mill around for hours trying to find out what precinct they belong to and where that precinct meets. Then you spend a few more hours with other members of your precinct yelling and stomping your feet and wishing there was an open bar. Finally, whoever is the most obnoxious Democrat in your precinct gets a chance to compete against other blowhards to represent you and your neighbors (no doubt very badly) at the national convention in Denver next year."

On who will win, Myrna informs: "All that needs to be determined is who the Culinary Union is going to endorse. Otherwise, forget about any other candidate surviving the process besides Clinton. However, if Edwards wins the Iowa Caucus and is endorsed by the Culinary Union, a major surprise could be in order."

BIDEN: Ex-Lieberman Staffers Wanted

Atrios celebrates his first Joe Biden press release by posting Biden's YouTube response to Rudy Giuliani's YouTube spotlight question. Atrios also takes the opportunity to note Biden has hired former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) aide Marion Steinfels, but decides not to hold it against him since: "Working in his favor is the fact that Lieberman fired her."

CLINTON: Kos Hearts Hil

Acknowledging that single digit online straw poll showings and net unfav ratings among MoveOn.org members tend to reinforce the perception that "Hillary Clinton is not a blogosphere favorite," Open Left's Chris Bowers examines how deep netroots distrust of Clinton is, and actually finds anti-Clinton feelings to be a distinct minority in the community.

Taking a closer look at the MoveOn numbers Bowers notes: "While the above graph shows her with a net negative favorable ratio among regular blog readers, she actually has a +20% net favorable ratio among occasional progressive blog readers. Thus, among all blog readers, she actually has a slightly net positive favorable ration, at 52%-47%." Also combing through Daily Kos and MyDD diaries on HRC, Bowers finds that "anti-Clitnon" entries "made up less than 1% of the articles written on Dailykos and MyDD over the last month."

Bowers concludes: "In the end, this means we might be talking about a very small percentage of the progressive blogosphere that both vehemently dislikes her, and would very much like to see another announced candidate win the Democratic nomination. Even among those people, "stopping Clinton" might not even be a particularly high political priority for them, either now, because it is still almost five months before the earliest possible date for the state of the primaries, or even later, simply because presidential politics is not their chief focus."

DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas, for one, is clearly warming up to HRC's nomination: "It's not every day that a candidate has as good a week as Hillary just did. ... First of all, she burnished her "anti-war" credentials after a Pentagon official ... essentially accuses her of treason ... Then she burnished her "netroots" credentials by aggressively taking on Bill O'Reilly and defending YearlyKos and Daily Kos. ... Finally, she burnished her "woman" credentials after the Washington Post discovered that -- gasp! -- she has boobs. .. Not too shabby."

OBAMA: The Reluctant Populist?

Open Left's Matt Stoller is beginning to like what he is hearing from Barack Obama. Linking to a Boston Globestory describing Obama's new "populist message" Stoller blogs: "This is very different than the call for universal health care in January. Today, he's directly blaming the lobbyists and industries. In January, he was blaming cynicism and unnamed skeptics. ... Obama has clearly changed his campaign strategy. He's not a natural populist, so this suggests that he has either decided that economic populism will defeat Clinton or that the establishment has accepted that universal health care is going to happen. I think it's the latter, since the neoliberal Hamilton Project people are now beginning to move towards universal health care in return for free-ish trade.

GIULIANI: Apparently, Some New Yorkers Swear Sometimes

Conservatives were not impressed with video from Talking Points Memo showing Rudy Giuliani saying bulls**t at a police union rally in '92. Michelle Malkin blogs: "I've expressed my disapproval before when public figures use profanity in public. But making a big deal out of Rudy's remark at an NYC rally and trying to score some kind of gotcha to embarrass social conservatives who might support Rudy makes the Left-o-sphere look even more ridiculous than they already are."

Ann Althouse adds: "Some people don't like the harsh word "bullsh*t" -- and I'm modifying it here with an asterisk out of my bullsh*t fear of filters - but it's a normal and useful word. I'm sure cops appreciate it. Using it doesn't make you crazy, and I'm positive TPM doesn't think it does. TPM is simply trying to hurt Rudy's chances with conservatives so he won't get the nomination and get his chance to win over liberals."

ROMNEY: He's Fourth, Not First

Power Line's Paul Mirengoff isn't buying Mitt Romney senior strategist Alex Gage's analysis that Romney is the GOP front-runner. Mirengoff argues: "I know this isn't a normal election cycle, but it's difficult to consider a candidate running fourth nationally with only 10 percent support the front-runner. ... I question the thrust of Gage's assessment that Giuliani and Fred Thompson "may be competing for the same pool of voters." For Romney to move up in the "standings" he will have to compete with Thompson for the votes of conservative base members. Giuliani is also competing for these votes, of course, but he seems well-positioned to compete for McCain voters to the extent McCain continues to slip."

F. THOMPSON: A Long Time Ago In A Law Office Far, Far Away

Conservatives continue to downplay the importance of at lest the pro-life angle to Fred Thompson's early '90s lobbying revelations. The Brody File posts portions of an email from Third Branch Conference chair Manuel Miranda, including: "I saw the recent media interest in Fred Thompson's billing of 20 hours while 'of counsel' to a large firm for slight assistance to an abortion group. ... The first thing I thought was that, like Thompson, I couldn't name clients to whom I billed thousands of hours while in practice just a decade ago, let alone the many, some unsavory, clients to whom I might have billed for small consultations on behalf of another colleague's clients."

Brody comments: "It's been interesting to see conservative leaders jump to Thompson's defense on this issue. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council seems OK with it. Miranda is too. Has Thompson become "Teflon Fred"? So far, nothing is sticking. It seems that conservatives are searching for their next "hero" that Thompson is getting the benefit of the doubt for now."

BLOGGERS VS. MSM: Your Not Gonna Find This Many Dems In One Place Again Till Denver

Nearly five hours after defiantly tauntingBill O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin for failing to force Jet Blue out of their sponsorship of YearlyKos, DailyKos' founder Markos Moulitsas admitted 7/20, that Jet Blue CEO David Barger had pulled Jet Blue's logo off the official YearlyKos site, and disavowed any relation to Daily Kos outside of an initial donation of ten airline tickets to the organizers of the convention.

Markos responded: "As for my part, I'm cancelling my JetBlue American Express card and will be looking at alternative options for my future travel. ... JetBlue wants me to note that they didn't pull the tickets they donated to the event. So the sponsorship remains, but they are too afraid to let anyone know that they donated those tickets. ... Doesn't this seem the worst of all worlds. Will right wingers be appeased considering that JetBlue is still giving yKos free tickets? Way to piss off everyone..."

Later kos addresses O'Reilly's claims that YearlyKos is a "hate" gathering, noting that "just about the entire Democratic Party leadership -- Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and Dick Durbin" will be addressing the convention and WH '08ers Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson will all be participating in a presidential forum. Kos adds: "Anyone who tries to claim this is a "hate" gathering is saying, essentially, that the entire Democratic Party is a "hate" party. ... And that's the key -- anyone who claims this event is anything but a celebration of the best the Democratic Party has to offer is simply, to put it mildly, blinded by partisan rage and completely out-of-touch with reality."

TPM Cafe's Greg Sargent tracks the story and is encouraged by Hillary Clinton's willingness to join with the netroots in attacking Fox: "Little by little, it's becoming almost de rigeur for Dem primary candidates to forcefully push back against right wing media figures, on behalf of themselves and others, as a way to appeal to progressive Dem primary voters. ... Needless to say, this is a very good development. It amplifies to an untold degree the critique that many of us have been pushing for some time and it generally makes life more complicated for wingnut slime merchants, who, treated regally for two long by craven network execs and others at the big news orgs, had grown accustomed to thinking of themselves as untouchable. "

Kos and MyDD's Jerome Armstrong also single out Clinton for kind words. From Armstrong: "And no such thing as bad list-building, Clinton adds a petition page to 'Tell Bill O'Reilly to stop smearing grassroots progressives.'" From kos: "What's really interesting about this whole affair is that the most aggressive pushback is coming from Hillary Clinton's camp. JetBlue may have just exacerbated their PR problem, but at least we're seeing that the days when Democrats would've followed suit are behind us."

Others in the community noted Bill Kristol's attack on Dems for associating with Daily Kos and responded by pointing to "hate-filled voices" that GOPers are allowed to associate with. The Carpetbagger Report blogs: "And, finally, if Kristol wants to play the guilt-by-association game, and argue that political figures should distance themselves from those the establishment finds too extreme, I think the left should gladly engage in the debate. ... High-profile Democrats are supposed to keep their distance from anyone who dares to say anything intemperate, but Republicans have no qualms about maintaining close professional ties to some of the most vitriolic, hate-filled voices in our public discourse. "

TPM's Steve Benen adds: "Rush Limbaugh, shortly after he publicly mocked a man for having Parkinson's, was invited to the White House. Ann Coulter still draws support from Republican presidential candidates. In 2001, just 48 hours after 9/11, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said Americans were to blame for the attacks and said the nation "deserved" the terrorism, but that didn't stop Republican presidential hopefuls from reaching out to them for support. ... And now Democratic candidates are supposed to avoid YearlyKos because Fox News dug up a handful of hot-headed remarks from anonymous commenters? Please."

Open Left's Matt Stoller wants to see the battle over corporate sponsorship joined, and singles out Fox News advertiser Home Depot as a target: "I don't like the argument that your sponsors are responsible for your content, but apparently Fox News does. ... Right now, Home Depot has a target on its back."

IMPEACHMENT: More Contempt, Less Censure

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) coordinated his 7/22 Meet the Press unveilling of his two censure resolutions with a Daily Kos diary defending his decision not to push for impeachment at this time. Feingold blogs: "The last time I posted on Daily Kos, it certainly generated a lot of interest, even though many people disagreed with what I had to say. ... While I still am not convinced that Congress should pursue impeachment, you made some great points about how important it is to hold this administration accountable for its terrible misconduct. ... So, as I announced a little while ago on Meet the Press, I plan to introduce two censure resolutions in the Senate in the coming weeks. ... As far as impeachment is concerned, as I have stated, I do not believe it is the right course of action right now. Censure is a way to formally rebuke the administration for its misconduct so that the historical record is clear, without putting the country through a very trying process."

Always a sympathetic audience for Feingold, the preponderance of Kossacks still believe impeachment is a better course than censure. Reactions include:

• You're good guys, but you're wrong on this. Here's my advice: Take a strong stand on an issue that's important to us where there is a decent chance of meaningful victory if you show leadership. If you lose so be it. But make it meaningful. We don't need another week kneed gesture. It's an embarrassment. Do something meaningful.
• Censure is a nice but worthless gesture. What you did on your last diary, unknowingly or not, was give cover to the House members who would rather spend the next 16 months securing their job then being bogged down in impeachment. Censure no. impeachment yes.
• MoveOn began as a movement to demand censure instead of Impeachment for Clinton's lying about a blow job. ... In other words, by censuring Bush, Senator, you are implying that his crimes and Constitutional abrogations are on a par with Clinton's covering up an extramarital affair (in fact, didn't you sign on to the censure-Clinton effort?).

Also on the netroots wish list for congressional action: inherent contempt proceedings for recalcitrant administration witnesses. Linking to news Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) promises the House will file contempt charges against Harriet Miers for ignoring a Jud. Cmte. subpoena, a Daily Kos diarist hopes that a 'supercharged' inherent contempt finding will "allow the Congressional Sargent at Arms to roll into Texas and arrest Ms. Miers (hopefully at church) after which they could presumably lock her in a cloak room until she 'gets religion.'" If other contempt findings are to follow, the diarist argues, "it may end up being "Impeachment by a thousand paper cuts," in this looming Congressional battle for truth."

Talk Left's Big Tent Democrat links to Volokh Conspiracy analysis supporting the legal basis for inherent contempt findings and comments: "It seems difficult to see how unitary executive proponents can argue with the power of Congress to commence inherent contempt proceedings while at the same time denying the rights of the courts to review claims of executive privilege. Indeed, Volokh obviously can not. Yet another reason to favor inherent contempt proceedings in the face of the Bush Administration's outlandish assertions."

BLOGGERS VS. BELTWAY: We Want You! To Help Draft Our Telecom Laws

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is working with Open Left in "an interactive approach to drafting legislation" on national broadband policy. Starting 7/24, Durbin will be "engaging in a series of four nightly broadband policy discussions with the online community" looking for "he best and brightest ideas on what Congress should do to promote and foster broadband."

Open Left's Matt Stoller explains the importance of the effort: "At stake is not a set of wonky policy details, but a fundamental vision of how Americans communicate and relate to each other. Is the internet, and broadband access to it, something to be held for people who only live in certain geographic areas? Is the internet a content delivery vehicle offering a wider choice of content than any previous medium, or is it a public space to nurture democracy? The set of incentives put into our airwaves and our national wireline infrastructure is the physical answer to these moral questions. In other words, it's now time to begin to figure out our vision for a universal internet."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: HGH Is Just The Beginning

Slate's William Saletan flags a New York Times article collecting anecdotal evidence that "healthy teenage pitchers and their parents are seeking reconstructive elbow surgery to improve their throwing speed." Evidence from the article includes: "1) One doctor used to do 5 to 10 such procedures per year on high-school pitchers; now he does up to 75. 2) Kids as young as 14 are getting it. 3) A minor-league pitcher "trumped up his symptoms" to get the surgery; other "young pitchers with marginal injuries" are seeking it. Reasons: college scholarships and pro contracts. Objections: 1) The kids don't need it. 2) It doesn't improve throwing speed. 3) The underlying problem is abusive overexertion of kids' arms. 4) Maybe they should stop throwing hard pitches till they're 'old enough to shave.'"

LEST WE FORGET: Best Columnist Ever

Matthew Yglesias examines the career path of the Washington Post's newest columnist:

It's an odd little world we live in. By any reasonable standard, in 2002-2003 Michael Gerson, in his role as White House speechwriter, helped outline a foreign policy approach that, whether you liked it or not, was certainly audacious and new -- taking some strands that had long existed in US political culture and taking them much further than they'd ever gone before. If all this had gone well, Gerson could have left his government job and become a pillar of the Washington Establishment. Since it turned out to be a tremendous failure, instead he got a Council on Foreign Relations fellowship and a Washington Post column.

Posted by Conn Carroll at July 23, 2007 12:48 PM