June 16, 2008

6/16: Silly Season

This weekend was a fairly quiet one in the political blogosphere, as many bloggers are still coming to terms with Tim Russert's death and discussing his legacy. That said, the fur continued to fly over a few (relatively) minor issues. John McCain sent the netroots into a mini-uproar when his campaign postponed a fundraiser that had been scheduled at the home of TX oilman Clayton Williams, who made an offensive joke in 1990 in which he compared rape to weather. Liberal bloggers are arguing that McCain hasn't gone far enough to distance himself from Williams, and they're urging him to return the $300,000 that Williams helped raise for his campaign. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are mocking Barack Obama for borrowing a line from The Untouchables while speaking at a Philly fundraiser.

MCCAIN: This Probably Isn't The Best Way To Court Hillary Supporters

McCain postponed a Monday fundraiser that had been scheduled at the home of TX oilman Clayton Williams after ABC News contacted the McCain camp regarding a controversial statement that Williams made during his unsuccessful 1990 campaign for governor:

"Clayton Williams stirred controversy during his 1990 campaign for governor of Texas with a botched attempt at humor in which he compared rape to weather. Within earshot of a reporter, Williams said: 'As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.'"

Liberal bloggers are arguing that McCain hasn't gone far enough to disassociate himself from Williams, and they're urging him to return the $300,000 that Williams had helped raise for his campaign:

• The Field's Tracy Russo: "A man who has such a disgustingly cavalier attitude towards something as horrific, violating and criminal as the rape of a woman has no place in politics, let alone polite society. This is a man who should be shunned by anyone with a conscience. That includes Senator McCain. It's not enough that Senator McCain cancels an event because the media got wind of it. [...] Senator McCain should publicly reject and denounce this man. He should donate every single dirty dollar that this man has raised for him -- all $300,000 -- to an organization working to combat rape in our society -- like RAINN or RVA. And he should apologize immediately and completely to his female supporters for daring to entertain the thought of keeping company with this despicable, disgusting individual."
• Oliver Willis: "So a guy makes a sick joke about rape that was highlighted in a campaign ad, but the McCain camp still thought it was perfectly fine to take his money and have a fundraiser with him until the press comes a knockin'. [...] I guess the McCainiacs didn't do 'A Google'. Or, more likely, they did and they don't care. Here's an idea: Tell John McCain to give back the $300,000 he raised via a man who jokes about rape."
• Open Left's Matt Stoller: "The President is first and foremost a moral symbol, a leader in whose person America places its trust. McCain, by only breaking ties with a strong financial backer who treats rape as a trivial activity after the media caught him, is showing that trust in him would be woefully misplaced. This is not a partisan gripe, and I would praise McCain is he did what Russo suggests, and gave the money to a charity that focuses on rape victims."
• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "[Williams' statement is] far beyond sexist. It's despicable and bordering on sociopathic."
• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "This pig says he's raised $300,000 already for McCain. And by McCain saying he's still planning on having the fundraiser later this year, he obviously has no problem with this guy or his attitude towards the rape of women. Then again, McCain is the guy reportedly called his wife the c-word. I'm thinking McCain's outreach to Hillary voters isn't going so well."
• Firedoglake's Cliff Schecter: "You can tell that after the c*nt story, the profile of McCain's failed first marriage in a major British newspaper and his atavistic positions on birth control and abortion, McCain might be getting a bit worried about seeming insenstive to women. So under the 'Straight Talk Express' goes Clayton Williams. [...] Not to say it wasn't the right thing to do. But then again, so would be firing [campaign manager] Rick Davis. And he hasn't done that yet. This move is all about the women's vote. Nothing more. Nothing less. Oh, and Clayton Williams, he has already raised 300K for McCain. So Mr. Reformer, what are we gonna do with that campaign loot now?"
• The Atlantic's Matthew Yglesias: "When the McCain campaign got asked about [Williams'] 'lie back and enjoy it' remark, they swiftly canceled the fundraiser. So that was the story -- McCain cancels fundraiser. Except now it turns out that the fundraiser's not canceled and the $300,000 is still being banked, the venue is just shifting to someone else's house. But to whatever extent McCain would have owed Williams favors pre-'cancellation' he still owes him favors now. It was the bundling of the contributions, not the use of Williams' house, that was the thing of value Williams was offering McCain."

MCCAIN II: No Habeas Corpus For You

After the Supreme Court ruled that foreign terrorism suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay have the constitutional right to challenge their detention in civilian courts, McCain called the ruling "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." Liberal bloggers are criticizing McCain for his response:

• Digby: "If you wondered whether John McCain was a just a partial or a complete jackass before now, this will surely end all speculation. [...] The right to petition for habeas corpus is about as fundamental to our nation as it gets. McCain is a bloodthirsty man, always has been. He's not one of those guys who comes from military culture and learned the limits of war and came to suspect the military industrial complex, like Ike. He's a hot tempered, flyboy type, unsuited to leadership and not known for thoughtful contemplation. [...] His experience gives him tremendous credibility to be an historic leader on this issue. But he's being a political whore, as he is so often, completely ignoring his duty to the constitution and the necessity of putting the United States on some sort of moral footing after these eight years of perfidious constitutional radicalism."
• Open Left's Daniel De Groot: "McCain shows he's a real conservative...ie someone who hates the idea of an enforceable constitution [...] I am hoping Obama will respond to [McCain's remarks]. Since he has already issued a statement in support of the ruling, and is a constitutional lawyer and all, perhaps he could explain to John McCain just how the Bill of Rights works. In particular, the right to petition a court under the grand writ of habeas corpus is not, and was never intended to be, contingent on US citizenship. For a bunch of so-called 'strict constructionalists' and 'original intent' fetishists, you'd think conservatives would get this."
• Firedoglake's Attaturk: "For [wrongfully imprisoned] GITMO prisioners like [Mohammed] Akhtiar, the only hope of their release is the beneficence of John McCain. How many more of those like him are held (and abused) in GITMO [and other places], deprived of review by a judge of release? And John McCain would love to keep it that way."

Meanwhile, Daily Kos' Kagro X argues that this year's presidential election will have major implications regarding the composition of the Supreme Court: "What does a 5-4 decision in a case like Boumediene v. Bush mean? In Republicanland, it means everything the Supreme Court has told them they've been wrong about for the past 7 years is one vote away from being suddenly right. And staying that way forever. One more vote, and torture isn't unconstitutional. One more vote, and indefinite detention on the president's say-so isn't unconstitutional. One more vote, and warrantless wiretapping isn't unconstitutional."

MCCAIN III: But What Does He Really Believe?

Several bloggers are discussing Ben Smith's report about McCain's meeting with disgruntled Clinton supporters such as Will Bower, the founder of a group called "Party Unity My Ass" (PUMA). Smith reports:

"Bower said he'd liked McCain's answer on judges, in which he 'pointed out that he supported Bill Clinton with both [Ruth Bader] Ginsberg and [Stephen] Breyer.'

Another person who was present, but asked not to be named to avoid conflict with fellow Democrats, said he'd pressed a McCain staffer on McCain's position on same-sex marriage.

The staffer 'said it was the same as [John] Kerry's position,' he said."

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin is critical of McCain's outreach efforts: "McCain's left-wing outreach campaign continues. Thought you'd like to know what he was purring into the ears of the disgruntled Hillary supporters known as 'PUMAs.'"

Liberal blogger Steve Benen is also critical of McCain's efforts, albeit for completely different reasons: "In attempting to divide Democrats, McCain has decided to try blatant deception, and hope Clinton supporters don't know the difference. [...] On judges, McCain thinks voting to confirm Ginsburg and Breyer is evidence of moderation. That's absurd. Breyer was confirmed with an 87-vote majority. For that matter, 96 senators voted to confirm Ginsburg. Voting with the majority was hardly a bold act of courage for McCain. Indeed, even pointing to these two votes is a classic red herring. The question isn't whether McCain voted to confirm qualified judges nominated by a Democratic president, the question is what McCain will do to the judiciary if he's the president. We already know the answer to that question -- because McCain has told us over and over again of his deeply-held desire to make the courts even more conservative than they are now. [...] As for gay rights, for McCain to equate his position with John Kerry's is utterly ridiculous. Kerry supports civil unions, McCain doesn't. Kerry supports allowing gay Americans to serve openly in the military, McCain doesn't. Hell, McCain actively supported and campaigned for an amendment to Arizona's constitution that would 'ban gay marriages and deny government benefits to unmarried couples.' Similar to Kerry? Not so much."

OBAMA: That's The Chicago Way

Conservative bloggers are mocking Obama for borrowing a line from The Untouchables while speaking at a Philly fundraiser:

"Barack Obama is warning supporters that the general election fight between him and John McCain may get ugly, but the Illinois senator is vowing not to back down.

'If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,' Obama said at a fundraiser in Philadelphia Friday, according to pool reports.

'We don't have a choice but to win,' Obama said, joking that he has heard 'folks in Philly like a good brawl. I've seen Eagles games.'"

• Townhall's Matt Lewis: "The Chicago way? That's not change you can believe in..."
• Hot Air's Ed Morrissey: "Is he endorsing concealed-carry and the right of people to defend themselves with firearms? Or are people only allowed to 'bring a gun' to defend themselves in debates, rather than in life-and-death situations? Obama would 'bring a gun' to argue that people shouldn't have the guns in the first place."
• NRO's Jim Geraghty: "I guess I'm less offended than most on the right by Barack Obama declaring during the weekend that, 'If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.' Sure, he once supported a nationwide ban on handguns. But he's never supported a ban on gun metaphors."
• Commentary's Jennifer Rubin: "The McCain camp is zinging Barack Obama for his not very presidential tough-guy remark, 'If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.' One can imagine the howls if McCain ever said something like that. 'Angry!' 'Bully!' That's what they would say, no doubt. And they'd be right. That's, to borrow a phrase, a schoolyard taunt, not the language of a presidential nominee."

OBAMA II: Pulling A Cosby

Conservative bloggers haven't had many good things to say about Obama lately, but several of them are praising Obama for his Father's Day speech, in which he "sharply assail[ed] absent black fathers":

• Right Wing News' John Hawkins: "There's very little that Barack Obama says that's worth applauding. In fact, most of his shtick consists of completely empty rhetoric about hope and change combined with a few dashes of whining and liberalism. However this Sunday, Barack Obama was spot-on for once. [...] I guess, even a blind squirrel grabs a nut every once in a while..."
• Lewis: "This strikes me as refreshing, helpful, and also politically sagacious. This is the Obama that would be hard to stop."

Less surprisingly, The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan was also delighted by Obama's speech: "We're lucky to have this guy at this point in history -- black and white. Really lucky."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Goodbye To The Master

Matthew Yglesias examines Russert's legacy:

"With Russert's passing, the country loses one of its most influential journalists -- host of Meet The Press, debate moderator, and trend-setter. He was a model for other, lesser hosts. Russert's signature innovation was to ditch the staid, respectful interviewing method implicit in a title like Meet The Press (as if the program were a social brunch) in favor of a more aggressive, at times bullying, in-your-face style. With the shift in approach came a change in style -- away from the classic television personality's search for patrician authority in favor of a newfound quest for working class authenticity.

The fruits of Russertism are not always sweet. I've written critically of how Russert's bloodsport approach tends to obscure rather than illuminate the policy issues at stake in elections. [...] Still, anyone working professionally in the political journalism game needs to respect Russert's achievements. He transformed the industry because, on some level, he made political coverage on television work, and created models that have kept political TV relevant in the 21st century. He consistently beat his Sunday Morning show rivals in the ratings."

LEST WE FORGET: Sarcastic Interns

From "Overheard in the Office":

Boss: Hey, do you think you could go down to the cafeteria and get me one of those teeny tiny things of 1% milk for my cereal?

Intern: You know, with my dual degree from business school, I think I may be able to swing that...I'll bring another intern as backup just in case.

Posted by Ian Faerstein at June 16, 2008 01:00 PM