August 2009 Archives

BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: David Dayen

Today the Blogometer talks to David Dayen, who blogs at Calitics and Hullabaloo in addition to his own personal blog.

(If you're looking for Thursday's edition of Blogometer, click here).

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up just outside the city, in Bucks County. In 2006, [Rep.] Patrick Murphy turned that district Democratic for the first time I can ever remember, and Dems now outnumber Republicans there.

Where do you live now?
I now live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you have an occupation other than blogging, what is it?
I am an editor for various television shows. Most of them are way up at the high part of your digital dial on networks you've only sort of heard about.

What's on your iPod right now?
I just downloaded a bunch of old jazz, Clifford Brown, Billy Strayhorn, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis. I also try to keep up with the latest, I have the new Phoenix album, some Santogold remixes. I sample a lot of stuff.

What book do you think every person should read?
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is probably a chic pick. I'd also say anything by Peter DeVries, he's my favorite humor fiction writer.

Please finish this sentence: "When I'm not blogging, you'll probably find me..."
out somewhere with my wife (2 weeks and counting!). I think if I didn't say that I'd be in trouble.

What has been your favorite blog post, or your favorite story to write about?
I've been able to really dig into the California budget crisis story -- which isn't about a budget crisis, actually, but a political process crisis -- in ways that I don't think others have. I'm pretty proud of my work on that issue and what we've done at Calitics. If we do get a major shift in how the state governs itself, I'd like to think I played a (very) small role in making that happen.

Which blogger(s) do you consider indispensable, if any?
I read lots of bloggers every day, and I find all of them great, but I'd say my co-blogger Digby. Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly is another must. I'm not sure he's human -- maybe just some liberal blogging robot.

Who's your favorite non-liberal blogger?
The Next Right is at least trying to do something interesting, although I don't always agree with them. Actually, they've gotten away their original intention of new conservative organizing a bit. I also don't mind Reihan Salam, he's back blogging at National Review's "The Agenda".

Who's your favorite active politician? Least favorite?
Favorite is absolutely [WI Sen.] Russ Feingold, followed by my home-district Representative Henry Waxman, who actually knows how to get things done in the legislative process. Least favorite? I try constantly to understand how any American could pull the lever for [OK Sen.] James Inhofe.

Care to venture any predictions about the 2010 CA gubernatorial race?
[GOP candidate] Meg Whitman will spend $50 million dollars. That's a pretty safe prediction. Other than that, I think the Democratic grassroots are unenthused by their choices, and the same dynamic may exist on the Republican side. My personal view is that we could elect Noam Chomsky or John Birch and have the same structural barriers to governance in California, so we'd better deal with them first.

What would you realistically like to see Democrats accomplish in 2009?
They have to get a health care reform bill passed. The stakes are too high right now. I think it can be done if the White House recognizing the easiest way to get it done, through demanding that conservative Dems don't join a Republican filibuster. They can vote their conscience on the final bill after clearing cloture.

If you could give President Obama advice, what would it be?
I'm sure he gets plenty of advice. I would say that he doesn't have to fear the critics in Washington who may call him too partisan if he enacts legislation that people outside Washington generally like. There's much more to be gained by advancing policy that helps people than pleasing elites. I don't see a lot of that yet.

What keeps you up at night?
That Washington has just become too broken, too wired for the status quo, too difficult to enact real change, that those who bought into Obama as a transformative figure just pack it up and go home.

8/27: Replacing Ted

Political bloggers are buzzing about Peter Roff's suggestion that ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) may run for the late Edward Kennedy's (D) vacant Senate seat. Liberal bloggers find this prospect exceedingly unlikely, since Romney was unpopular when he left office and he has since moved considerably to the right of MA's political center. Among conservative bloggers, some like the idea of Romney running for Senate, while others believe that he has little to gain from such a move. Meanwhile, the netroots are urging the MA legislature to give Gov. Deval Patrick (D) the authority to appoint a temporary successor to Kennedy's Senate seat, since they believe that Dems can't afford to lose another vote for health care reform.

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Lange, Houle, digby, Lux, Klein, publius, watertiger, Serwer, Kuttner) continue to pay tribute to Kennedy. Many conservative bloggers (McCain, RS Insider, Reynolds, McLaughlin) are criticizing the late senator, although others (Mirengoff, Hanson) are being more magnanimous. Meanwhile, liberal bloggers (Scher, Cesca, McCarter) are arguing that the best way to memorialize Kennedy is to pass universal health care, while conservative bloggers (Liebau, Goldberg, Malkin, Allahpundit, Perrin, Hawkins) are accusing Dems of politicizing Kennedy's death.
• Liberal bloggers (Yglesias, Bowers, Benen, digby, Sudbay) are furious that Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) -- one of the six senators trying to negotiate a bipartisan compromise on health care reform -- assured conservatives that his participation in the negotiations has helped delay reform. Meanwhile, other lefty bloggers (McCarter, Singer, Black, Attaturk) are promoting a new AARP poll which found that 79% of Americans support the creation of "a new federal health insurance plan."
• Liberal bloggers (Yglesias, Benen, Marshall, Willis) are buzzing about the fact that Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) told supporters that the GOP is struggling to find its "great white hope."
• Several conservative bloggers (Malkin, Hawkins) are joining SC LG Andre Bauer (R) in calling on SC Gov. Mark Sanford (R) to resign.
• Conservative blogger Erick Erickson is pushing the rumor that CIA dir. Leon Panetta's resignation is imminent. However, other bloggers on the right and left are dubious.

Finally, please check back later today for our interview with David Dayen!

MA SEN: From Ted To Mitt?

Liberal bloggers doubt that Romney will run for Kennedy's vacant Senate seat:

• FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver: "Romney served one term as governor of Massachusetts and was not popular at the time he left office. [...] Plus, there's the question of how Romney would position himself. Is he going to revert back to being pro-choice, and pro-civil unions again? He probably can't win the Senate seat unless he does. But he probably can't win the Republican Presidential primary unless he doesn't -- particularly on the abortion issue. [...] Speculation aside, Mitt Romney is probably smart enough to know this (whatever else you might say about him, Romney's not lacking for brainpower). Romney has a pretty good brand and probably 75 percent-plus name recognition among likely voters. And last I checked, you don't have to be popular in Massachusetts to become elected President. Running for the Senate seat is virtually a pure downside play for him."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "Romney ran for governor in Massachusetts as a center-left, pro-choice, tolerant New England Republican. He left office after just one term as a conservative with an approval rating in the 30s. Which version of Romney would run for Kennedy's seat? He couldn't run to the right; he'd lose. He couldn't run to the left; it would ruin his presidential ambitions. Second, Roff may have missed it, but while President Obama's approval ratings aren't as strong as they were, he maintains a 73% approval rating in Massachusetts. It doesn't look as if the Bay State would be anxious to replace Ted Kennedy with a harsh, reflexive opponent of the White House. And third, by all appearances, Mitt Romney isn't actually a resident of Massachusetts."
• MyDD's Jonathan Singer: "I'm sure there are more numbers on Romney out of Massachusetts, but this smattering of polling culled from some quick googling is likely not unrepresentative of the general dislike Massachusetts voters hold towards Romney. He's really the person the GOP would want to run to replace Kennedy?"

On the right side of the blogosphere, NRO's Lisa Schiffren likes the idea of Romney running for Senate: "As Peter Roff at U.S. News suggests, should Romney run for and win that seat, he would actually be in a position to make a real difference in the health-care debate. Needless to say, proving himself effective in that role -- and why wouldn't he? -- would put him in a far better position to run for president in 2012. [...] Romney could be a serious leader of a renewed opposition. Then...the sky's the limit."

Hot Air's Allahpundit disagrees: "[T]here's more to lose in doing this than there is to gain. If he wins, he ends up stuck in the minority with the rest of the GOP with no way to pass legislation unless he compromises with the Democrats -- not something a guy who's already suspected of RINOism is wont to do. If he loses, it proves he's a paper tiger who can't even carry the moderate states to which he's supposed to appeal as a potential Republican nominee. Running and winning would lend him some extra gravitas and name recognition, which he'll desperately need in a primary against [ex-AK Gov. Sarah] Palin and media darling [ex-AR Gov. Mike] Huckabee. But even so...seems like a longshot with the potential for catastrophe."

MA SEN II: Succession Matters

Liberal bloggers want Gov. Patrick to appoint a temporary successor to Kennedy's Senate seat as quickly as possible so that Dems have another vote for health care reform:

• Open Left's Chris Bowers: "Whatever the current legal hurdles and unfortunate timing of this process, the ethics of the situation seem pretty straightforward. There is a moral imperative to provide health care coverage to all Americans, just as there is a moral imperative to provide equal representation to all Americans. Those values outweigh any process arguments we can expect to hear coming from the Republican Noise Machine as this effort moves forward."
• Open Left's Adam Bink: "I do not think Ted would want us to miss having his vote on a strong health care bill- or, for that manner, a number of other important issues coming up, including immigration. I think that's why he asked the Massachusetts legislators to change the succession law. And that law is a problem for getting health care done, as may be a fair number of people I have heard wish to take his seat with regard to other issues. So I don't think we should hesitate, if it becomes necessary, to put pressure on the Massachusetts legislature, or support the most progressive candidate we can find who is willing to run for Sen. Kennedy's seat. He was known as the liberal lion, and it I think it would be a disservice to his legacy to replace the great progressive icon with someone who will not continue that legacy."

Meanwhile, Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher speculates about what will happen if the MA state legislature fails to give Patrick the authority to appoint an interim senator: "[I]f the legislature does not for some reason pass such a waiver, there won't be 60 Democratic votes in the Senate until after a special election. Which means the Republicans could filibuster any health care bill. So passage through the Senate would mean: (1.) Waiting 145-160 days (2.) Getting [ME Sen.] Olympia Snowe on board with something (Stimulus II, Electric Boogaloo) (3.) Reconciliation. Of the three, I'd say the most likely is #2 for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that there still aren't 50 members of the Senate who will support the public option in Kennedy's HELP bill, and polling indicates that the country doesn't believe the Democrats should pass a health care bill without any Republicans on board. The White House has proven itself to be historically sensitive to those optics far more than they have worried about losing the base, and I don't see any reason why that should stop now. I would lay odds this will happen regardless of what the Massachusetts legislature does. So I'd say going forward, we're likely to get a bill out of the Senate that's quite a bit weaker than Kennedy's HELP committee bill for the sake of getting Republicans on board."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Price Of Seniority

Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias:

"Timothy Noah opens his Ted Kennedy profile on this note: 'Talk about inauspicious beginnings. At the tender age of 30, the youngest sibling of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy seemed pathetically unqualified to enter the U.S. Senate.'

The point is to highlight the irony that Ted went on to become the greatest of the Kennedy brothers. But it's worth being clear about the fact that he had such an impressive career in part precisely because he initially got a job he wasn't qualified for. The Senate operates largely on the basis of seniority. A guy who can enter his fifth term and only be 54 years old is a guy who's going to be able to wield some major influence for a long time. And yet Massachusetts must have had many better-qualified potential senators who, had they gotten the gig, never would have acquired Kennedy's legacy not just because they would have lacked Kennedy's skills but because they would have been too young.

This winds up having some odd systematic effects. It's nice, for example, to see a veteran progressive legislator like [VT Sen.] Bernie Sanders get a 'promotion' up the Senate. But the man's 67 years old, so he's never going to amass tons of seniority and we're never going to hear about 'powerful Energy Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders of Vermont.' And yet Vermont is a reliably liberal state. If some other, equally progressive but much-less-qualified man had won that Senate seat instead, the cause of progressive politics might have been much better served in the long run. In large part, I think this is just one of several reasons why both houses of congress ought to reduce the significance of seniority (and also of committee chairmen) but given the system we have in place it's something savvy political activists should keep in mind. When you're looking at a fairly safe seat, it's very good to find a young candidate."

LEST WE FORGET: Market Evidently Capable Of Supporting More Than One Reality Show About Cake

From The Onion:

"CHICAGO -- Though the stock market remains shaky and consumer spending has reached a standstill, the U.S. economy is apparently still robust enough to produce nearly half a dozen television shows about cake. 'This flies in the face of basic economic theory,' University of Chicago economist John Holloway said Friday, referring to such programs as Ace Of Cakes, Cake Boss, and Last Cake Standing. 'Despite the worst recession in a generation, these shows somehow make enough money to pay for sets, celebrity hosts, producers, camera crews -- not to mention the cakes themselves -- all so people can see a dessert that looks like a Dr. Seuss character.' Holloway made it clear, however, that no known mathematical model has yet been able to explain why in the hell anyone would watch those Real Housewives Of Whatever shows."

8/26: Ted Kennedy, 1932 - 2009

Liberal bloggers are paying tribute to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), who died last night at the age of 77. Lefty bloggers are calling Kennedy "our best and most effective senator" and praising his many legislative accomplishments. Many are arguing that the best way to memorialize Kennedy is to achieve his goal of passing universal health care. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are divided in their reactions to Kennedy's passing. Some are paying Kennedy tribute even as they criticize his actions, while others are arguing that he "represented all that is wrong with Washington."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Klein, Benen, Morrill, Yglesias) are mocking RNC Chair Michael Steele for criticizing Medicare one day after vowing to "protect" the program. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers continue to criticize Steele for defending Medicare in the first place.
• Liberal bloggers (McCarter, Benen) are criticizing Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for making contradictory statements about the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Obama admin. over health care reform. Liberal bloggers (Yglesias, Benen) are also criticizing Grassley for vowing to vote against an "imperfect bill."
• Liberal bloggers (Greenwald, BooMan) are criticizing Rep. Peter King (R-NY) for making the following statement about AG Eric Holder's investigation of CIA interrogators: "It's bullshit. It's disgraceful. You wonder which side they're on." Conservative blogger Allahpundit thinks King went too far with his remarks.
• Conservative bloggers (Hewitt, Johnson) are urging their readers to donate money to NV SEN candidate Danny Tarkanian (R), who is currently the only declared opponent to Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D). Meanwhile, righty bloggers are wading into the CA SEN GOP primary, with some questioning ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina's pro-life credentials and others defending them.

KENNEDY: The Left Loses Its Lion

Liberal bloggers are paying tribute to the late MA senator:

• BooMan: "I think we lost our best and most effective senator."
• TalkLeft's Jeralyn Merritt: "I'm at a loss for words right now [...] R.I.P. Teddy, thank you for your lifetime of service and dedication to our country."
• Daily Kos' Meteor Blades: "Kennedy was a liberal fighter in the old mold. The plethora of legislation he helped pass made life better for children, for the poor, for African-Americans, for immigrants, for workers. He didn't just give lip service to the rights of workers, he stood in their corner. He fought for access to health care and for quality education. And he opposed the likes of Robert Bork and others who wanted to trash the gains American women, workers and minorities had made over the years. He will be sorely missed."
• MyDD's Transplanted Texan: "The man who gave us SCHIP, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and COBRA, who erased immigration quotas, who defined liberalism, who stood up to [Ronald] Reagan. A real American hero."
• The Huffington Post's Robert L. Borosage: "We have lost a giant. The Senate is a smaller place today -- a special measure of joy, political passion, irrepressible energy has been lost. [...] He will be missed. And the great cause of his career -- health care for all -- will pass the Congress as his final triumph."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "The greatest legislator of his generation, and one of the giants of Senate history, Kennedy will be remembered for an unrivaled legacy that has touched the lives of the nation and the world."

Several lefty bloggers are arguing that the best way to memorialize Kennedy is to pass universal health care:

• TPMCafe's Robert Reich: "Most Americans will never know how many things Ted Kennedy did to make their lives better, how many things he prevented that would have hurt them, and how tenaciously he fought on their behalf. In 1969, for example, he introduced a bill in the Senate calling for universal health insurance, and then, for the next forty years, pushed and prodded colleagues and presidents to get on with it. If and when we ever achieve that goal it will be in no small measure due to the dedication and perseverance of this one remarkable man. We owe it to him and his memory to do it soon and do it well."
• Balloon Juice's Anna Laurie: "The glee of Senator Kennedy's enemies and ours will be unbounded over the next few days. I'm sure the birfers, astroturfers, industry shills, talibangelicals, Blue Dog DINOs, glibertarians, neocons, and general malefactors of great wealth will weep crocodile tears as they lament that Teddy's death should not be used as an opportunity by crass liberals to pass the kind of serious health care reform he spent the last thirty years championing. And that, my friends and President Obama, is why it's time to come back after Labor Day with a single coherent Senator Edward M. Kennedy Health Care Reform Bill, and to twist whatever arms, ears, or other parts are necessary to get a good strong comprehensive bill passed and signed, NOW. We owe the memory of a great man no less."
• Transplanted Texan: "[M]y health insurance is through COBRA -- I wouldn't have paid for my annual physical and semi-annual dental checkup this summer, and I would be subject to preconditions, if not for Ted Kennedy. Health care reform must pass, and let that be his legacy more than any family relation."

KENNEDY II: Give The Man His Due

Several conservative bloggers paid Kennedy tribute even as they criticized his actions:

• NRO's Bill Bennett: "Whatever one thought of him, there is no one in the Senate of his force, sheer power, and impact. If you think there is his equal in this, tell me who it is. [...] To the American Left, he was their lion. To the American conservative movement, he was our bane. But today, we put the politics aside and wish him and his family God's peace."
• AmSpec Blog's Quin Hillyer: "Decent people do not take potshots at others (unless the other is a Hitler or Stalin) in the 24 hours of the other's death. I have never, literally never, written any good words about Ted Kennedy. But there was one time when I was impressed and in a weird way inspired by him. At the Democratic convention last year, when he willed himself out of the hospital, in a terribly weakened condition, to make what truly was a superbly written and even, despite his ailments, a well delivered speech in support of the man, Obama, who WOULD NOT have been about to be the nominee without Kennedy's support, Kennedy's speech -- with its deliberate echoes of his 1980 convention speech, 'the dream shall never die' -- was a triumph of courage and commitment. Sitting in the convention hall covering it for the Washington Examiner, I literally got chill-bumps. In terms of valiance, it was like seeing Willis Reed hobble onto the court in the NBA finals against the Lakers, only to an even greater Nth degree. In a reckless life spent pursuing the wrong goals through wrong and often vicious means, it was a magnificent moment of grace."
• AmSpec Blog's W. James Antle, III: "I hope to have more to say about this later, but for now I'll say this: Ted Kennedy is beloved and earned the love of those who admire him. Ted Kennedy was hated and while I can't say anyone deserves hatred, he certainly earned that too. He stood for many things with which I disagree and his irresponsible behavior led to a young woman's death, without him ever paying the price. Yet he was also generous to those in need both with public funds and his personal commitment to children who lost too many fathers. Both stories ought to be told."

Several righty bloggers urged their readers to hold off on criticizing Kennedy until more time passes:

• Michelle Malkin: "Put aside your ideological differences for an appropriate moment and mark this passing with solemnity. There is a time and place for political analysis and criticism. Not now. Yes, there will be a nauseating excess of MSM hagiographies and lionizations -- and crass calls to pass the health care takeover to memorialize his death. That's no excuse to demonstrate the same lack of restraint in the other direction. Not now."
• NRO's Jim Geraghty: "There will be plenty of time to recall all of the reasons Ted Kennedy made enemies in this life, plenty of time for our traditional, 'Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.' I've got the Michael Kelly collection that includes 'Ted Kennedy on the Rocks,' his definitive profile from the early 1990s, which showcases all the highs and all of the lows. I'll go through it sometime soon to recall those sides of Kennedy that won't be showcased in the montages today, stories like that 'sandwich' with [CT Sen.] Chris Dodd, but today's not the day for that."

Meanwhile, NRO's Kathryn Jean Lopez prays for Kennedy's soul: "He's responsible for things that are deeply offensive to my conscience and diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic faith, and he probably led some people astray by his example. But our faith also teaches that we are all sinners and that there is redemption. He had some incredibly good forces in his life, not least among them his sister, Eunice, who just died. I pray for the repose of his soul and for his family."

KENNEDY III: No Tears Here

Other conservative bloggers were less kind to Kennedy:

• Robert Stacy McCain: "Whenever Kennedy would inflict his pompous self-righteous liberal moralizing on us, I'd always hear Ann Coulter's immortal words: 'Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.' And so I've used that line for the last time. And the knowledge of that finality is the only sadness I feel about Ted Kennedy's death."
• RedState's Erick Erickson: "I can't say that I'll miss him. He, to me, represented all that is wrong with Washington -- a kingdom of nepotism and worship at the alter of failed liberal policies that get repeated ad infinitum. He opposed school choice for the poor while segregating his kids from the poor in school. He supported policies opposed to life except when life could be advanced through the destruction of the unborn. He opposed a strong national security against even the evidence of its necessity during his brother's Presidential administration. Ted Kennedy supported the expansion of the welfare state and a culture of dependency on government, made all the more tragic given how ensnared his life was to dependency. He should have known better given his own life and that of his family. And then there's Mary Jo Kopechne. May she rest in peace."
• AmSpec Blog's Doug Bandow: "There is much to criticize in his career, particularly leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die after the auto accident on Chappaquiddick Island in July 1969. The ensuing cover-up kept him out of jail and preserved his Senatorial career, but effectively ended his presidential hopes. Even in the twilight of his career he failed to take responsibility for his actions, which tragically and unnecessarily ended another life. The result is an indelible stain on his legacy, which should disturb even liberals, whose cause he so effectively (and unfortunately) championed."
• Power Line's Scott Johnson: "We live in Edward Kennedy's America not only in the consequential legislation that he sponsored and saw through the Senate, but also in the afterlife of the vulgar political sham on which Senator Kennedy relied to defeat the nomination of Judge Bork."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A Lesson For Progressives?

Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias:

"Ted Kennedy's speech from the 1980 Democratic Convention is probably his most famous, and rightly so. Its closing line is, I think, crucially important: 'For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.'

I'm never able to express myself nearly that well, but what I take Kennedy to be doing here is trying to offer an alternative to the boom-bust mentality that I think often overtakes American progressives. There's a tendency to get extremely wound up with optimism about the imminent dawn of sudden and radical change for the better, and then intensely bitter, cynical, and depressed when that fails to materialize. The reality, however, is that change is hard. That's not an excuse for the people who stand in its way, it's the reality. But if you respond to the difficulty of making things better by giving up or getting frustrated, then it only gets harder.

Building a better country and a world is work -- hard work -- and it's work that goes on. And on. And on."

LEST WE FORGET: No One Expects An Electric Fence

From Overheard in the Office:

Coworker #1: Well, I climbed over the fence and knew that it hurt for some reason, but I didn't realize it was an electric fence until I climbed back over a second time.
Coworker #2: So you're pretty much telling us that cows have more sense than you?

8/25: A Good Compromise Leaves Everyone Angry

Political bloggers are taking a break from the health care debate to discuss AG Eric Holder's decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate evidence that C.I.A. interrogators abused detainees. Liberal bloggers are complaining that the investigation (as currently described) will be too narrow and will only punish low-level operatives instead of the George W. Bush officials who authorized the controversial interrogation techniques. Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, are complaining that the proposed investigation will do significant "damage" to the C.I.A. In short, Holder's decision appears to have made no one happy.

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Klein, Drum, Yglesias, Morrill, Cole) are calling RNC Chair Michael Steele a hypocrite for writing a Washington Post op-ed accusing Dems of trying to harm Medicare, considering that Steele previously declared that Medicare cuts should be "on the table." Conservative bloggers (Costa, Henke, Edwards) are also criticizing Steele, who they believe is sacrificing conservative principles for short-term political gain. However, conservative blogger Allahpundit supports Steele's strategy of targeting seniors, calling it "cynical yet effective."
• Liberal bloggers (Singiser, Kleefeld, Willis) are mocking Steele after he suggested that MO SEN candidate Roy Blunt (R) should be cleaned out of the "crapper." Righty blogger Erick Erickson is frustrated by Steele's comments.
• Most liberal bloggers (Welsh, Sudbay, Yglesias) are unhappy that Obama reappointed Ben Bernanke to a second four-year term as Fed Chair. On the other side of the political spectrum, one conservative blogger supports Obama's decision.
• Conservative bloggers (Vadum, Malkin, Gateway Pundit) are accusing the Obama admin. of trying to "desecrate" 9/11 by turning it into "a day of leftist celebration and statist idolatry." Liberal bloggers (Benen, Black, Willis) are pushing back against this accusation.
• Liberal bloggers (Marshall, Singiser, Willis) are buzzing about a new poll showing ex-U.S. atty Chris Christie (R) leading NJ Gov. Jon Corzine (D) by only 3 pts.

DOJ INVESTIGATION: Hold On, Holder

Liberal bloggers are complaining that the DoJ investigation into the C.I.A.'s interrogation methods (as currently described) will be far too narrow:

• dday: "The narrowness of this investigation, focused on only the CIA personnel who colored outside the lines set down by moral lepers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, is reprehensible. If it only extends that far, we're seeing a replay of the Abu Ghraib investigation which sent Lynndie England to jail but let those who authorized and directed the abuse free with nary a warning. Basically, Holder is following the Office of Professional Responsibility report, which recommended that they reopen about a dozen prisoner-abuse cases, some of which include murders. I hold no brief for the CIA personnel who engaged in this, but confining the mandate to the low men and women on the totem pole will do nothing to chill the potential for such abuse to happen again. If any old lackey in the Office of Legal Counsel can write up an opinion essentially validating torture, and they become de facto legal as long as those using the guidelines follow them generally, we don't really have a rule of law anymore. And future Presidents will easily discern the loophole in the system."
• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "Reports out thus far don't tell us whether Holder is leaving enough room for a more systemic investigation. We don't know how much of 'looking backward' he's willing to do right now. If it remains as narrow as this initial report indicates, we'd in the long run probably be better of with a truth commission. Exposing how the torture regime was conceived, constructed, and implemented -- from [ex-VP Dick] Cheney's office down -- is in the long term more important than the prosecutions of a few personnel who ended up carrying out those policies."
• Salon's Glenn Greenwald: "As a practical matter, Holder is consciously establishing as the legal baseline -- he's vesting with sterling legal authority -- those warped, torture-justifying DOJ memos. Worse, his pledge of immunity today for those who complied with those memos went beyond mere interrogators and includes everyone, policymakers and lawyers alike: 'the Department of Justice will not prosecute anyone who acted in good faith and within the scope of the legal guidance given by the Office of Legal Counsel regarding the interrogation of detainees.' Thus, as long as, say, a White House official shows that (a) the only torture methods they ordered were approved by the OLC and (b) they did not know those methods were criminal, then they would be entitled to full-scale immunity under the standard Holder announced today. This quite likely sets up, at most, a process where a few low-level sacrificial lambs -- some extra-sadistic intelligence versions of Lynndie Englands -- might be investigated and prosecuted where they tortured people the wrong way. Those who tortured 'the right way' -- meaning the way the OLC directed -- will receive full-scale immunity."

Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, are condemning the investigation:

• Power Line's Paul Mirengoff: "[CIA dir. Leon] Panetta understands the damage to the CIA that will result from the decision to head down the road to prosecutions. But that impact is obvious, and is understood by Eric Holder and Barack Obama as well. Unlike Holder and Obama, though, Panettta, who came of age when the Democratic party was still committed to the vigorous defense of our national security, thinks injuring the CIA is a bad thing."
• NRO's Seth Leibsohn: "This is an extremely bad way to begin a presidency -- worse than [Bill] Clinton's first-year rookie mistakes -- and I believe these are the signs of an already-failed presidency. And finally, as the administration blasts away at the CIA, somewhere at Langley, good men and women, watching their agency go through these political throes, are watching their president who started all this play golf and tennis today."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Public Albatross

The Next Right's Patrick Ruffini:

"Whatever the outcome of the health care saga, it seems safe to conclude that the public option is dead. It is worth analyzing its impending demise for what it teaches us about American attitudes towards government, and how political battles are won. [...]

The public option is an idea that was born, literally, in the last Presidential campaign. Even so, it was little discussed in 2008, when the main bone of contention was Hillary [Clinton]'s individual mandate to purchase health insurance. A Google News search from the height of the Hillary-Obama primary battle shows two health care-related mentions of the 'public option' in January 2008, zero in February, and two in March, one in April, and two in May and June. That the public option was new and unfamiliar made it easily characterized as a ploy to introduce single-payer in miniature, which it was self-transparently was in the eyes of its originators. [...]

Exactly like the Social Security fight in 2005, liberals hoped that by injecting more government into the health care system they could change the political culture, just as conservatives hoped private accounts would awaken more of us to the rich abundance of the free market. However, as the economic crisis showed, the political system is only designed to tolerate sudden changes to America's economic model in a crisis atmosphere. We've seen more than a good bit of economic nationalization in recent years/months, but only as a response to a perceived crisis. Could health care in America be nationalized? Sure -- if the pandemic flu struck the United States and was well on its way to killing millions of Americans and private institutions were judged inadequate -- and even then, political leaders would caution that it was a temporary measure. Welcome to the 'bailout' school of health care reform.

The problem for Obama is that after months of 'crisis' after 'crisis', the welcome mat has worn thin. Not unexpectedly, 'emergency' moves toward socialism in the auto and financial sectors have sidelined elective moves towards the same in health care."

LEST WE FORGET: Hey, Let's Advertise To Those Least Inclined To Agree With Us

NRO's Jim Geraghty:

"Fascinating. 'The labor-affiliated group Americans United For Change is running the Facebook ad,' accusing Sarah Palin of lying about "death panels," 'directly targeted at the more than 800,000 listed "supporters" of Palin on Facebook.'

Precisely how receptive does Americans United For Change expect those 800,000 Palin supporters to be in response to an ad that calls her a liar?

And is anyone else starting to think that Americans United For Change has more money than it knows what to do with?"

8/24: Guess Who's Bizzack?

Lately it seemed as though Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) had relinquished his title as the netroots' least favorite member of the Senate Dem caucus. Although he had spent years angering the left with his hawkish rhetoric (not to mention his outspoken advocacy of John McCain's WH bid), Lieberman had been relatively quiet as of late. Consequently, liberal bloggers have been directing most of their fire at the centrist Dems whom they perceive as obstructing Pres. Obama's health reform agenda, such as Max Baucus (D-MT) and Kent Conrad (D-ND).

Yesterday, however, Lieberman jumped back into the netroots' crosshairs when he urged the Obama admin. to postpone large-scale health care reform "until the economy's out of recession," adding that "there's no reason we have to do it all now." Lefty bloggers are furious about Lieberman's comments, since they believe that further delaying health care reform legislation will only make it less likely to pass. Markos Moulitsas declares: "The 2012 Connecticut Senate race can't begin soon enough."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Allahpundit, Hinderaker, McCarthy, Hewitt, Riehl) are criticizing the Obama admin. for increasing its 10-year budget deficit projection from $7T to $9T.
• In '10 SEN news, liberal bloggers (Dayen, desmoinesdem) are buzzing about rumors that Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) will challenge Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Other liberal bloggers (Singiser, Senate Guru) are excited that the LA Dem Party has filed an ethics complaint against Sen. David Vitter (R). Meanwhile, conservative bloggers (Morrissey, Malkin, Antle) are pleased that a new Mason-Dixon poll found that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is vulnerable.
• In '10 House news, liberal bloggers (Moulitsas, Hamsher) are excited about a new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll which indicates that Blue Dog Dem Jim Cooper (D-TN) is vulnerable.
• Liberal bloggers (Hamsher, Waldman, Gittelson) are criticizing Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) for refusing to say whether she would vote against a conference committee health care bill that does not include a strong public option.

LIEBERMAN: Just When We Were Starting To Forget About Him...

Liberal bloggers are blasting Lieberman for urging Obama to postpone health care reform "until the economy's out of recession":

• Daily Kos' Moulitsas: "The 2012 Connecticut Senate race can't begin soon enough."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "The conventional wisdom is that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) of Connecticut is willing to stand with the Democratic caucus on everything except national security issues. He continues to prove, however, that this isn't true at all."
• Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias: "Unlike the case with some of his colleagues, you can't chalk Senator Joe Lieberman's apparent opposition to universal health care up to political cowardice. Connecticut is a solidly Democratic state at this point, and it's pretty clear that the main political threat Lieberman faces is from his left. Nevertheless, he's a man with the courage of his convictions and his convictions just don't seem to be especially progressive."
• Firedoglake's Attaturk: "Joe Lieberman's love of spending hundreds of billions on freedom through explosions knows no bounds. There are no limits to how much Lieberman would ask the American tax-payer over generations to pay for his beloved wars. If Obama, for some reason, called Joe up some evening and asked him to vote for $100 billion so as to bomb Tehran he'd have the supportive Op-Ed in Fred Hiatt's hands by the next morning. But when it comes to providing policies that actually benefit Americans, in America of all places, like health care; no matter how small the relative price, it is too much for Senator 'He's with us on everything except the War' (thanks Harry Reid)."
• The Washington Post's Ezra Klein: "Joe Lieberman's heterodoxies were, for a time, quite contained. He might have been a [William] Kristol-ite neoconservative on foreign policy, but he remained a Connecticut liberal on domestic and social policy. That was before Ned Lamont's challenge, and before Lieberman was abandoned by many of his Democratic colleagues, and before he was ousted in the primary and began finding his best friends were conservative talk show hosts. The result has been a slow transition away from liberalism on all issues, not just foreign policy. The latest step in this process is Lieberman's Sunday call to wait on health-care reform."

Klein goes on to criticize Lieberman's argument: "Putting [health-care reform] off is likely to mean the same thing as not doing it, as anyone with a passing familiarity of past decisions to 'put off' health-care reform will tell you. But I'm more interested in this idea that we shouldn't make large social investments until we're out of recession. First, we probably are out of recession. Second, health-care reform is scheduled to begin in 2013, by which time we will almost certainly be out of recession, and if we're not, we have bigger problems. Lieberman might be uncommonly pessimistic about our prospects for growth, but that would imply support for health-care reform, as it will pump a trillion dollars into the economy and thus stimulate demand. Third, the costs of reform largely manifest in the later years of the decade, namely 2015-2019, by which point we may or may not be in recession, but if we are, it will probably be a different recession than the one we're in now. There is, in other words, no connection between whether GDP growth is slightly negative in the third quarter of 2009 and whether we should spend money between 2013 and 2019 building a universal health-care system. When people say we shouldn't do health-care reform because of the recession, they're saying something about their preferred approach to health-care reform, not to recessions."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Disillusionment On The Left

digby:

"I would guess that the [Obama] administration thinks that liberals will forget all about this public option business in four years and have nowhere to go anyway, so there's no need to worry about them. And they might even be right except, as I've noted before, the list of 'hedges,' 'compromises' and 'betrayals' is getting quite long. And it's only in the first year, the time when the president has the most political capital and doesn't have to obsess over what every ignorant swing voter thinks about everything.

And there are some big fights to come --- one big one especially, called 'war funding' that could make health care look like a kindergarten cat fight. And I have absolutely zero reason at this point to think that one's going to come out any better than health care.

I don't think Obama can count on all of his base sticking with him through thick and thin. Watching a Democratic president and a large Democratic majority unwilling to pass decent legislation in the face of the dysfunctional, impotent clownshow that currently calls itself the Republican Party is about the most depressing thing I've seen in all my years observing politics. I can't even imagine how I would feel if I were 20 years younger and a lot less cynical."

LEST WE FORGET: Chubby Jewish Boy Dreams Of One Day Being Next Apatow Muse

From The Onion:

"EVANSTON, IL -- Sources close to Arthur Meyer reported that the overweight Jewish teen hopes to someday inspire film producer Judd Apatow to create a series of comedic vehicles for him to star in. According to friends and family members, the 14-year-old is working to develop the persona of a foul-mouthed, emotionally stunted young man who seems hopelessly crude and self-indulgent but is ultimately lovable and capable of redemption. 'I've been practicing having "guy moments" with my pals where we call each other gay, but not like in a bad way,' said Meyer. 'I just want to be a movie star who plays an everyday guy who spends all his time looking at or discussing pornography, and then somehow winds up dating hot chicks.' At press time, Apatow had already produced six films slated for a 2010 release with Meyer in the lead role."

8/20: Massa-ive Attack

Conservative bloggers are upset with Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) for comments he made to liberal bloggers at the Netroots Nation convo over the weekend. Speaking on the health care debate, Massa called the now-infamous "pull the plug on grandma" remark made by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) "treason."

Conservative bloggers jumped on Massa's remarks yesterday. RedState quarreled with the Rep. over the legal definition of treason before reeling of a list of what the blog called actually treasonous acts by Dems elected officials. One example:

"Did Grassley...accuse, on the Senate floor, the current president of telling “lie after lie after lie” to talk us into a war that he did not support? Nope. That’s Little Teddy Kennedy, or Senator Edward Kennedy(D-MA) to you. Probably a stretch for treason, but it sure gave comfort to our enemies."

On Massa:

The topic attaining such gravity, it should go without saying that if a Congressman charges publicly that a Senator has committed treason, then he (a) better be right, and (b) better have the evidence in hand to back it up.

But conservatives aren't the only ones calling on Massa to dial back the rehtoric. TPM's Josh Marshall writes, "[Were Grassley's remarks treasonous] Against sanity, honesty, self-respect? Sure. But I think [Massa] means against the country, which is pretty whacked."

FL SEN: The Comeback Kid?

Conservatives are positively gushing over a new poll showing ex-FL state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) gaining ground on Gov. Charlie Crist (R).

Town Hall's Jillian Bandes writes, "Hooray!"

CA SEN: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Meanwhile, liberal bloggers are loving a new report on the voting habits of ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina (R).

MyDD: "[Fiorina's camp] would be one of her first brushes with the democratic process as, it turns out, she barely ever votes ... [she] has no records to prove that she registered to vote just like she has no records to prove she was an effective CEO before being fired with that cushy golden parachute."

NJ GOV: I've Got Friends In Low Places

But it's the race between Gov. Jon Corzine (D) and ex-U.S. Atty Chris Christie (R) that still dominates the liberal blogs. Yesterday's focus was a a video of a Christie speech from earlier in the year that recently surfaced. The clip shows Christie -- according to the left-leaning Emptywheel -- "promising to give his former AUSAs jobs throughout state government, speaking of them as if they were still 'his' AUSAs, and admitting that he had already had a conversation about this with them about those jobs."

The blog's take: "there's already growing evidence" Christie "is mobilizing ongoing relationships with friends at the US Attorney's office to help his campaign" and "that was before we learned" about the video.

Steve Singiser weighs in at DailyKos: " The revelations about Christie and Rove raised suspicions that the great GOP hope in Jersey might not understand the whole "conflict of interest" thing between federal law enforcement and partisan politics. Today, we learned from Christie's own mouth (from a speech earlier in the year), that it is even a little bit worse than originally thought."

NAVEL GAZING: Off The Rails And Into The Weeds

Perhaps the bloggiest thing in the political blogosphere yesterday was a minor war over the phrasing of questions in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. Liberal health care public option proponents were upset at the health care quesitons in this month's version of the poll, which they claimed were biased in favor of public option critics. The poll showed a majority of respondents were opposed to a public option.

After taking flak, NBC's Chuck Todd said the question will be rephrased in next month's poll and essentially acknowledged the critics' concerns.

Bloggers from both sides weighed in:

• Liberal Jason Rosenbaum, blogging on Firedoglake: "It's good to hear that that NBC and the Wall Street Journal are going to ask people what they think about the actual bill this time around. Makes you wonder what bill they were asking about last time..."

• Conservative Meredith Jessup also had a problem with the NBC/WSJ poll, taking issue wih the claim claim that NBC/WSJ pollsters "gave people 'the facts' about ObamaCare" before asking questions about it. "And after hearing those 'facts,' a majority supported the plan" -- "Sounds like classic push polling." More from Jessup: "By its push polling, NBC is not simply reporting the news—it is blatantly attempting to shape public opinion."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Yep, That Just About Sums It Up

The title of Ezra Klein's post on the WSJ/NBC poll: "Americans Hate Everyone, Believe Everything."

LEST WE FORGET...

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

8/19: Jack Tanner Rides Again

NJ GOV has come to the rescue of the liberal blogger corps. After weeks of painstakingly researched posts about health care, liberal bloggers are finding solace in a race that (this week at least) is focused on the potentially salacious. Bad week for ex-US Atty Chris Chrisite (R) means good week for health care-weary bloggers.

But beyond simply slamming Christie, the left is also laying praise on Gov. Jon Corzine (D) for his tactics this week. Of particular interest is a video released by ThinkProgress camp of Corzine calling Christie "a lawbreaker" in an interview.

Jonathan Singer writes:

"These are strong words...[and] the form of these words is effective, too. It recalls a scene from 'Tanner '88', Robert Altman's excellent 20 year old mockumentary about a presidential aspirant in which the candidate, played by Michael Murphy, delivers a fiery address to his staff, who surreptitiously film then release the speech. While this video doesn't have the same artistic flair or framing of the video shot for 'Tanner', with the camera filming upward through a glass coffee table, it does offer a similar result -- a sense of being brought inside the circle."

As for Christie's handling of the situation, liberal bloggers are less impressed. Emptywheel smells blood in the water on the issue of Christie's loan to an assistant in his office when he was U.S. Atty, and highlights Christie's admission (click "Christie Mortage Loan" to view) that he's made similar loans in the past. From the blog:

I'd be really curious who and what those loans were about. But looking through his disclosure forms, I don't see any hint of them, unless they involved the Christie Family Charitable Foundation, which he had until he became US Attorney (but in which he said he had no management control). Now he did say he and his wife had give money, so maybe that's where this money came from. But don't you think Mr. Transparency ought to tell us about all the funky loans he has given in the last little while?

Liberal blogger Steve Singiser on last few days in the Garden State: "About the only good thing you can say about" Christie's "horrific news week is that he seems to be getting all of it out of the way quickly."

NH 01: Stand-In And Deliver

Conservative bloggers continue to to focus on members of Congress who have canceled town halls, transformed them into conference calls or moved them to union halls. Moe Lane sees a political opening in NH for Manchester Mayor Frank Gunita (R), who's challenging Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D). The Rep. hasn't held any town hall meetings yet, and Gunita announced he will hold one 8/31.

Lane praises the move, titling his post "Frank Guinta does the job Carol Shea-Porter can't." Lane on Shea-Porter: "Expecting moral courage from a professional antiwar activist is like expecting a jackass to sing: there's nothing stopping you from doing it, but there's no getting past the fact that the jackass simply lacks the basic ability in the first place."

FL SEN: Lincoln Mark II

Liberal blogger Singiser weighs in on Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart's (R) self-recusal from the short list of contenders for caretaker of Sen. Mel Martinez's (R) seat. The decision means Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) plans for the seat have "gone awry," Singiser writes, and means that "the only thing that is clear at this point is that Crist has a pretty sizable mess on his hands, where he could take some fire no matter who he appoints."

HEALTH CARE: The Tables Have Turned

On Monday, it was progressives who were firing on Fort Sumter over health care. Today, it's the conservatives who are ready to start a civil war over the issue. Erick Erickson takes aim at the Heritage Foundation and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) for backing co-ops. Hertiage raised the topic in a policy brief, which Erickson says has led to "confusion" among GOPers.

"The Heritage Foundation, which played a vital part in building conservative support for Romneycare in Massachusetts, is setting the stage for Republican capitulation on healthcare ... By throwing untested cooperatives out as an idea, the Heritage Foundation gave an option to Democrats struggling to keep their 'reforms' from sinking.

Enzi's recent backing of cooperatives as a compromise solution to reform is evidence of the Heritage Foundation fail, Erickson writes.

"The Democrats have latched on to cooperatives as their fallback with useful idiots like Enzi on board. After all, Enzi's logic goes, Heritage likes them so they must be okay and conservative. But they are not."

His advice for both the think tank and Enzi is direct.

"So Mike Enzi: shut up. You too Heritage. I value your contribution, but trying to helpful in a debate where it is clear what Democrats really want just sets you up to be used and abused. You should have seen this coming and your judgment must be suspect on this as a result."

Meanwhile, John Hinderaker isn't moved by the gun-toting health care town hall protestors. He writes, "This strikes me as very dumb. Leave your guns at home!"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Bob Novak, RIP

Bloggers on both sides of the spectrum mourned the passing of columnist Bob Novak. One especially personal obit, from conservative blogger Paul Mirengoff:

"As I college student I devoured the Evans and Novak political biography of Lyndon Johnson. I don't recall ever enjoying a political biography more. When I finally met and spent some time with Novak two years ago, I told him so. Novak seemed to appreciate the compliment, but was still unhappy about what an uncooperative source Johnson had been (by contrast he described Barry Goldwater as a great source).

Over time, I became increasingly less enamored with Novak's work. Experience had taught me that, frankly, I could never be fully confident that the story I was reading was based on an attempt to tell the whole truth, as opposed to an attempt to say something that would serve the interests of a friend or, above all, a valued source.

There's no disputing, however, that Novak for better or for worse was a giant, perhaps the giant, of Washington journalism."

LEST WE FORGET...

Remember the titans.

8/18: Stood Up On The Night Of The Prom?

The liberal bloggers are revolting. And not just because they all just spent the weekend partying nonstop in Pittsburgh. A DailyKos blogger describes the emotional rollercoaster for progressives that was the past 48 hours:

"This is a Netroots Nation tradition I could do without. It seems like when the larger progressive community is all occupied by something like a huge and fabulous four-day conference, we get a big ol' bucket of cold water thrown on the party ... This year, it was increasing hints, followed by massive confusion and very, very poor messaging out of the White House, that the firm commitment [Pres.] Obama made for a public option as a candidate and new president has been slipping."

Liberal bloggers are lashing out at who they think is responsible for the so-called WH flip-flop on public option: "the clown show provided in tag team" by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Senate Finance Cmte chair Max Baucus (MT) is also taking hits.

Hurt feelings are evident all across the liberal blogscape:

• Josh Marshall highlights a tweet from SEIU Pres. Andy Stern under the headline "Where Is This Going?" Stern's tweet: ""We should not lower our expectations on health care. We won the election and a bad plan could lose the next one-America needs real reform."

• Ezra Klein recounts his day on MSNBC's "Morning Meeting" panel 8/17. Grassley appeared briefly as a guest. Klein writes, "His version of bipartisanship is strikingly partisan." Matt Yglesias goes a step further on the Grassley MSNBC appearance: "Grassley’s being a jerk, in other words."

Yglesias then moves on to a Dem who's also left him with a bad taste in his mouth lately. "what on earth is Max Baucus doing? He’s chairman of the committee. There are 60 Democratic Senators. He should write a bill and bring it to the floor. In fact, he should have done so a month ago. Instead, he’s given veto power over both the substantive and procedural aspects of reform to a man who’s not even pretending to be negotiating in good faith." In a later post, Yglesias leaves Obama off the list of the responsible if a public option isn't included in health care reform -- the real culprits are moderates in the Senate, he argues. "These are men and women who have amassed a great deal of power, and who ultimately need to decide on a daily basis what it is they want to do with that power. If they choose to use it for bad ends, then blame them for that, not Obama."

• As the idea of compromise takes hold, liberal bloggers are calling on progressive members of Congress to stand in the way of any bill that doesn't call for a public option. Chris Bowers: "The Progressive Block is the reason for the different direction of negotiations on health care, and the reason why there is still even a chance for a public option. With the White House clearly not drawing a line in the sand, we have to keep the Progressive Block together, or else the public option is dead, and the rightward slide will become unstoppable ... As such, we have to fight against the emerging meme of Paul Begala, President Clinton (and maybe even Paul Krugman) and other elite opinion makers in the Democratic Party urging the Progressive Block to fold."

Meanwhile, conservative bloggers aren't sure what all the fuss is about.

• Michelle Malkin on the remark by HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius on 8/16: "It’s not a misstatement. It’s not a surrender flag. It’s a trial balloon to measure the potential nutroots backlash versus the potential Senate pick-ups. Besides, the public option provision can always be stuffed back in via a 3am manager’s amendment or during the House/Senate conference to reconcile each chamber’s Obamacare bills."

NJ GOV: Blow The Hatch

Liberal bloggers are attacking on ex-U.S. Atty Chris Christie (R) as information about a loan he gave to an employee while he was U.S. Atty comes out.

• From Emptywheel: "Amid all the questions of whether or not Christie violated the Hatch Act with his discussions with Karl Rove about his race, it seems rather, um, curious that the woman he has given a significant loan to also has had questions about Hatch Act violations raised."

FL SEN: The Incredible, Shrinking, Tan Governor

Conservatives are continuing to hammer FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R) over the way he's run the Sunshine State. Erick Erickson highlights a new study that shows FL's population is declining for the first time since the end of World War II.

He writes, "As Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist has done his best to implement ridiculous state level schemes like Barack Obama is doing at the national level. Now, to quote Rev. Wright, the chickens are coming home to roost — or rather they’re skipping the early bird special and fleeing."

PA SEN: Put Your Money Where My Mouth Is

Erickson also accuses Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), of being 'bribed' by Obama for his vote on several key bills. Conservatives are focusing on Specter's recent public appearance at Netroots Nation 8/14. During an audience Q & A session at the convo, Specter said he would "vote with the majority" on progressive legislative darlings like EFCA, cap-and-trade and a health care public option. On 8/17, Specter announced Obama would would attend a Sept fundraiser for Specter.

Erickson: "Sure, Obama had already said he’d campaign for Specter, but had actually done not one thing to help Specter ... The question is: which came first? Did Specter saying ‘yes’ persuade Obama or did Obama persuade Specter?

More: "Unless you think the news is wholly coincidental, we must now consider the need to spell Arlen Specter’s last name with a dollar sign instead of an 'S.'"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's Still The Economics, Stupid

Amidst all the talk of progressives going to war with Dem leaders over the public option, conservative blogger Chip Hanlon reminds GOP leaders that they're not off the hook with their party, either.

Hanlon recounts a recent meeting he had with "a very senior member of the GOP Congressional leadership":

"In response to another attendee's question about where the GOP would head, this official flatly confirmed rumors I have been hearing for months, that Congressional GOP Leadership believes that the only reason they lost the majority in both houses was due to an unpopular war (Iraq) and an unpopular President (W). The ONLY reason."

"...If he had looked up from his soup after replying, he would have seen the many looks in my direction from others in attendance around the table: a couple were giving me the 'atta boy' look while a half dozen others were literally shaking their heads at his reply. One openly mouthed, ;unbelievable' to me."

"...The understanding in his mind is clear: us silly little fiscal conservatives out here aren't going anywhere. So, I guess if you expect the NRSC to stop endorsing extreme moderates in GOP primaries or are hoping the House GOP will hear our pleas on spending restraint and abusive earmarks, you are going to be very disappointed."

LEST WE FORGET: It's Always The Ones You Least Expect

"Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan" - Los Angeles Times

Out Of The Parents' Basement And Into The Streets!

Bloggers of both political stripes descended on Pittsburgh this weekend, swapping their cutting-edge News 2.0 tools for something even the crotcheties old-skool scribbler is familiar with -- face-to-face human contact. Liberals gathered for the fourth annual Netroots Nation conf and were joined by a cavalcade of media and political stars, from Bill Clinton to PA-and-Netroots favorite son, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA). (Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) was there, too, but -- as we show below -- he wasn't really anyone's favorite). According to media reports, there was a healthy showing for the conf's dozens and dozens of panel discussions.

This year's Netroots was the first of the era of total Dem control in the WH and Capitol Hill and the mood at the "graduate-level political convention" was "upbeat." More from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette blogger Timothy McNulty:

"The scene is about what you'd expect. Upbeat ... Casual (I just walked the whole registration area, through a couple hundred people, and counted exactly one dude with a tie). Earnest" (8/13).

Meanwhile, across town, conservatives bloggers held RightOnline, an answer to Netroots that media reports characterized as far smaller than its rival. The guest list was also featured conservative media stars as well as the PA SEN race: ex-Club For Growth chair Pat Toomey (R) delivered a keynote address.

McNulty blogs:

"There was a bit of envy about the bigger convention a riverboat ride away. [One blogger] mentioned how she stopped by Netroots and paged through their giant agenda, and how they don't have to tell people to blog, tweet, email or post YouTube videos, as is still happening on the right. Netroots 'isn't about instructing people how to use the tools, it's about engaging in the conversation,' [she said]" (8/14).

In between all the showering and offline social interaction, however, bloggers found time to keep the web humming with chatter about health care, the '09 races, and corporate boycotts.

PA SEN: Sestak's No Straw Man. Except When He Is

Pollster Stan Greenberg ran a straw poll of 252 attendees at Netroots Nation. Among his fidings? "Participants prefer" Sestak over Specter "though neither" PA SEN cand reaches 50%. 33% of Netrooters "remain undecided" in the race. But Sestak is "viewed more favorably than Specter personally": Setak had a 46% favorability rating "compared to" 15% for Specter.

Other results from the poll:

• 53% "say that they cannot support a health care reform bill that does not include a public option."

• 46% "support the compromise energy bill passed by the House." 27% "oppose it...because of concessions to special interests."

• Pres. Obama "is immensly popular" with Netrooters while ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) "is extremely unpopular."

• 36% say Palin "would be easiest to beat" in 2012. Ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) "is second with a fifth of attendees choosing him" as most beatable (DemocracyCorps.com, 8/15).

VA GOV: All's Well That Ends Well?

They may be outgunned on the blogosphere, but conservatives are stoked about ex-AG Bob McDonnell's (R) chances against state Sen. Criegh Deeds (D) in VA GOV.

• Powerline higlighted the Washington Post poll from 8/16 which showed McDonnell extending his lead over Deeds. From the post: "Sixteen years ago, the Republicans signaled their revival with wins in the Virginia and New Jersey governors' races. This year, they seem likely to replicate these victories. This hardly guarantees a 1994 style comeback next year. But right now, Republicans need a psychological boost and their chances of obtaining one in November seem good" (8/16).

• Firedoglake's still hoping the new Deeds focus on McDonnell's social record will pay off for the Dem. "There's a reason the GOP nominee is nicknamed "Taliban Bob." And there's a reason the GOP is making every effort to clean up McDonnell's record and reputation" (8/15).

CAVEAT EMPTOR: Bring On The Boycotts

The health care debate is, of course, still cranked to 11 across the blogosphere. The new battlefield? Retail aisles. On 8/11, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed that opened with a quote from Margaret Thatcher before going on to to say "the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system." Needless to say, liberal bloggers choked on their gluten-free carob chip cookies and soy milk when they read it.

• On 8/13, OpenLeft called for a boycott, and credited another blog with the idea. "Not very smart for a company that depends almost entirely on wealthy Democrats who are willing to pay five dollars for a six ounce carrot soda. Come on, you can do it, boycott them for at least a week and discover how much money you can save at Trader Joe's."

By the weekend, the idea had picked up steam on the left, with MyDD, and Matt Yglesias picking up the call.

• For their part, conservatives are suddenly discovering an appetite for seitan. National Review's Jonathan Adler blogs, "Others of us are also free to shop there more often — and I think I will (though I'll still buy the conventional produce instead of the organic)." Human Events agrees.

Meanwhile, conservatives have their own list of business to avoid. On 8/13, the New York Times reported "About a dozen companies have withdrawn their commercials" from Fox's Glenn Beck show after Beck "said late last month" that Obama "was a racist with a 'deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.'"

• RedState blamed the left for the move and called for a boycott of the firms that are no longer advertising on Beck's show. "If they are successful, they will move beyond Beck to others."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: What's Old Is New Again

TPM's Josh Marshall blogs on the health care protests: "I remember when Dems started bringing guns to all those Social Security phase-out events back in '05. Heady Days."

LEST WE FORGET: Full Of Win

The Comment Of The Day over at Wonkette: "That child is the grandson of a mill worker."

8/13: Chuck Joins The Deathers

Liberal bloggers are furious that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) endorsed the false claim that the House health care bill encourages seniors to commit suicide. Grassley is one of several high-profile GOPers to have made this accusation in recent days, joining AK Gov. Sarah Palin, ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich, and others. However, lefty bloggers are particularly upset that Grassley made these comments, since he is one of three GOP senators negotiating a health care compromise with Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). In fact, Pres. Obama had praised Grassley only a day earlier for "sincerely trying to figure out if [he] can find a health care bill that works."

The netroots see Grassley's inflammatory remarks as further evidence that the IA senator "is not participating in this process in good faith." Joe Sudbay complains: "Here's all you need to know about why there is no health insurance reform bill in the Senate Finance Committee: Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is a deather. [...] If Democrats continue working with Grassley, they're bigger fools than we could have imagined."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Geraghty, Hood, Allahpundit) are buzzing about a new USA Today/Gallup poll which found that the townhall protests "have succeeded in fueling opposition to proposed health care bills among some Americans." Liberal bloggers (digby, Marshall) are disturbed by this poll.
• Conservative bloggers (Malkin, Emanuel, Vadum, Morrissey, Bandes) are criticizing Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) for answering her cell phone at a townhall event.
• Liberal bloggers (Yglesias, Serwer, McCarter) are buzzing about the new revelations regarding ex-WH aide Karl Rove's role in the controversial '06 dismissal of several U.S. Attorneys. Other lefty bloggers (McIntyre, Singer, Lux) are arguing that Rove's ties to ex-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) will damage the latter's NJ GOV bid.

GRASSLEY: Why The Heck Are Dems Negotiating With This Guy?

Liberal bloggers are furious that Grassley made the following remarks at a townhall yesterday:

"'There is some fear because in the House bill, there is counseling for end-of-life,' Grassley said. 'And from that standpoint, you have every right to fear. You shouldn't have counseling at the end of life. You ought to have counseling 20 years before you're going to die. You ought to plan these things out. And I don't have any problem with things like living wills. But they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma.'"

Liberal bloggers see Grassley's comments as further evidence that Dems should not be empowering him in the health care negotiations:

• AMERICAblog's Sudbay: "Here's all you need to know about why there is no health insurance reform bill in the Senate Finance Committee: Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is a deather. Today he repeated the lie that health care reform would set up euthanasia death panels in order to kill senior citizens. Seriously, that's all we need to know about this brilliant 'bipartisan' strategy. [...] If Democrats continue working with Grassley, they're bigger fools than we could have imagined."
• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "For the 487th time, why in the hell is this guy in the negotiations? Chuck Grassley needs to be cut out of the negotiations, now, whether by Baucus or the White House. He is not participating in this process in good faith. The fact that he has any input into this piece of policy making is a travesty."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "[N]egotiating with Grassley in good faith is a mistake. Grassley isn't serious about reform. Not at all. Seriously. He's proven this again and again. It's time to stop trying. Grassley will only let down reform advocates in the end."

Time's Joe Klein: "Senator Chuck Grassley has announced his membership in the [Rush] Limbaugh mainstream of the Republican Party on the non-issue of Death Panels. This is the man who is the lead Republican negotiator in the Senate Finance Committee's effort to create a bipartisan health care bill -- and he either (a) hasn't the vaguest notion of what's in the bill or (b) he is so intimidated by the ditto-head-brown-shirts that he is trying to fudge a response to keep them happy. Either way, he should be ashamed. And once has to wonder about the fate of the Senate Finance Committee deliberations if this is what the Administration is dealing with."

On the other side of the blogosphere, the rightroots continue to push the argument that the House bill will encourage seniors to commit suicide. RedState's Erick Erickson writes: "No one is saying that Obama wants to shoot granny. Obama and [WH adviser] Ezekiel Emanuel want granny to shoot herself when she becomes, according to government bureaucrats, a burden on the state."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Are The Health Care Protests Working?

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver:

"At the end of the day, health care reform is liable to succeed or fail based on the extent to which Americans -- and the Congressmen they elect -- are informed about the true nature of the bills pending before the House and Senate. We're in a somewhat peculiar situation in that the idea of health care reform overall remains popular, and moreover, the views toward most of the particular elements that are actually contained within the health care packages (like the public option or the surtax on the wealthy) are also pretty popular. And yet, when you ask people about the 'plan' being contemplated by the Congress and/or the President, it is not very popular. There are a lot of reasons for this, many of which are the Democrats' fault -- they haven't settled on a particular plan, and the President's messaging, although better of late, has not been terribly effective.

But the real upside to the protests is that they perpetuate misinformation about the Democrats' bills. Forget the birthers -- I want to know how many Americans believe in the 'death panels'. [...] Ultimately, the message that Democrats need to be getting across is not that the protesters are protesting in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons, but that they're protesting, in some substantial measure, about the wrong things: that what they seem to think is contained in the health care package doesn't necessarily match the reality."

LEST WE FORGET: Sotomayor To Add Ballistics Expertise To Already Deadly Supreme Court

From The Onion:

"WASHINGTON -- In addition to her extensive command of corporate law, intellectual property cases, and arbitration, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor also brings a world-class knowledge of ballistics and experimental weaponry to an already deadly Supreme Court, analysts said this week. 'Justice Sotomayor's unique knowledge of flares and boosters will be a welcome addition to the nation's highest judicial body, providing a perfect complement to Breyer's stick-fighting, Kennedy's psyops, and Ginsburg's melee skills,' legal scholar Toni Martello said. 'After the recent loss of Souter's crack archery and hotwiring talents, the Court will have to do all it can to stay lethal.' Court observers are still unsure as to what value Justice Thomas' expert napping abilities could possibly be adding."

8/12: August Is The Cruelest Month

Liberal bloggers are growing increasingly frustrated with the way that the health care reform debate has proceeded during the August recess. Many bloggers are complaining that conservative activists have been able to "dominate the narrative" by disrupting Dem townhalls and asking congressmen angry questions about health reform. Chris Bowers laments: "The human focus of health care reform has shifted from Americans in need of a better health care system to conservatives yelling crazy things at Democratic members of Congress." Meanwhile, other lefty bloggers think the WH and the DNC should have done a better job mobilizing health care reform supporters in anticipation of the recess. Jane Hamsher writes: "Even though it was widely known that there would be massive pressure on members of Congress during the August recess, Organizing for America does not seem to have done much in the way of planning for the month." The bottom line is that the mood in the liberal blogosphere is grim. It's easy to see now why lefty bloggers were working so hard to pressure House Dems to pass a health care bill before going on vacation.

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Richardson, Hinderaker, McCarthy, Klein, Geraghty) are accusing Pres. Obama of lying at yesterday's townhall when he denied having supported a single-payer system. Righty bloggers are pointing out that Obama (1.) described himself as "a proponent of [a] single-payer universal health care plan" back in '03, and (2.) said that he was willing to consider an eventual shift toward a single-payer system in '08. At least one liberal blogger (David Sirota) agrees with conservatives that Obama is "lying" about his past support of a single-payer system.
• Yesterday we noted that Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) had criticized AK Gov. Sarah Palin's claim that the Dem health care reform bills would lead to the creation of "death panels." However, after Obama cited Isakson's comments while refuting Palin's claim, Isakson released a statement distancing himself from the House bill and its end-of-life counseling provision. Liberal bloggers (Cole, Lewison) believe that Isakson is afraid of angering the GOP base since he is up for re-election in '10.
• Conservative bloggers (Erickson, Geraghty) are arguing that VA GOV candidate Creigh Deeds (D) is showing his desperation by attacking his opponent Bob McDonnell's (R) anti-abortion views.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Growing Frustration On The Left

Liberal bloggers are growing increasingly frustrated with the way that the health care debate is proceeding, since they believe that conservatives are controlling the narrative:

• TPM reader DM: "It really is amazing to watch a fringe right-wing movement completely dominate the narrative surrounding the health care debate. The Democratic Party has the strongest governing coalition we have seen in years, and yet, they are being run over by misinformation campaign that includes lies so bold and outrageous that one actually grows to gain begrudging respect for the Machiavellian mindset that allows otherwise seemingly rational people to perpetuate this stuff on a public whose gullibility should never again be underestimated."
• Open Left's Bowers: "The health care reform debate narrative should be about average Americans struggling against a powerful, for-profit health care financing industry. Instead, it has become a narrative about grassroots conservatives (no matter who funds them) against Democratic politicians. While this is still a people vs. the powerful debate, it is not exactly the people vs. the powerful debate we want to be having. The human focus of health care reform has shifted from Americans in need of a better health care system to conservatives yelling crazy things at Democratic members of Congress. This may be a good way for Democratic members of Congress to get free media play, and thus appear to be champions of health care reform simply by appearing to be the strongest targets of the right-wing (which would benefit those Democrats gearing up for primary elections). However, it isn't helping us win the overall argument as well as an average American vs. for-profit health care company narrative would be."

Meanwhile, Firedoglake's Hamsher believes that the WH and the DNC should have done a better job mobilizing their supporters in anticipation of the August recess: "Even though it was widely known that there would be massive pressure on members of Congress during the August recess, Organizing for America does not seem to have done much in the way of planning for the month. [...] The teabaggers know what they stand for. The White House, in its desire to take credit for whatever passes and call it a 'win,' has remained deliberately vague. Nobody wants to walk into the right wing meat grinder with a bunch of crazies over an issue as passionate as health care when the only thing they're rallying around is a bunch of vague platitudes. There's only one thing that can fight back against big lobbying money, and that is popular support. The failure of the President and his support organizations to inspire and mobilize those who want to support health care reform well in advance of this moment is short sighted almost beyond belief."

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: Just Ignore Them; They're The Fringe

Many liberal bloggers are arguing that the conservative activists who are attending these townhall events represent only a narrow slice of the electorate:

• AMERICAblog's John Aravosis: "[T]hese people came over from FOX News and the Rush Limbaugh show, mixed in with some Dick Armey astroturfing to boo. They're not real. They don't represent America. They represent the 20% of Americans who still call themselves Republican, who still think George Bush did a bang up job. They've been told to disrupt [townhall] sessions, and like the good mindless lemmings they are, they're doing just that. There is no logic behind it. They're rude, boorish far-right extremists who will never accept a Democrat as a legitimate elected official. The sooner the Democrats realize what they're up against, the better."
• Firedoglake's Blue Texan: "I've made this point previously, but I think it's worth repeating: these town hall protests (why do they continue?) are not about the country debating health care reform. They're ideological hissy fits, orchestrated by the Republican party and their corporate cronies. Their purpose: to vent about 'SOCIALISM!' -- which for the Teabaggers is everything from the stimulus to Medicare and Social Security -- and fatally wound a Democratic President in the process."
• BooMan: "Another day, another town hall meeting full of lunatics. It's going to be a long, long recess. Fortunately, no 'real Americans' are opposed to health care reform."

Meanwhile, Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias doesn't understand why congressmen continue to hold these townhall events: "There's been so much focus on the spectacle of the whole thing that nobody's really stepped back and explained what the purpose of these events are other than to give us pundits something to chat about. Obviously this is not a good way of acquiring statistically valid information about your constituents' opinions. And it doesn't seem like a mode of endeavor likely to increase the popularity of the politician holding the town hall. The upside is extremely limited, and you're mostly just exposing yourself to the chance that something could go wrong."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: How Conservatives Are Blowing Their Chance

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder:

"The American people remain anxious and confused about health care reform. That is an underlying reality that Republican activists are so eager to exploit. But doing so required a certain restraint -- and a willingness to traffic in at least approximate truths -- and an ability to make distinctions within their own ranks about which tactics were valid and which tactics were venomous. [...] Remember, the target audience for Republicans is Blue Dog Democrats in Congress. They won't panic unless they perceive organic anxiety. The White House's goal was to prevent the Blue Dogs from panicking. The swing constituents in these congressional districts aren't angry Republicans, and the Blue Dogs know this. They're political independents for whom the sanctity of the process is important. These are the type of voters who like President Obama because he appears willing to bring people together even though they don't agree with their policies.

As usual, in a pattern that the left patented during the Bush administration, the organized right lost control of its message. Lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, were being asked to respond to non-sequiturs (would you support a health care reform plan that grows the deficit? Health care grows the deficit right now, so it's a nonsense question, one that is easy for politicians to answer); they found their meetings full of engorged spleens. Unrestrained, these town hall meetings are going to turn off the type of voters Republicans most need to pressure Blue Dog Democrats -- independents who don't have red genes or blue genes. Both Fox and MSNBC televised Sen. Arlen Specter's raucous town hall meeting live. It was full of confrontation and protest. There were boos when Specter reaffirmed his president's Americanness."

LEST WE FORGET: Spoiler Alert

McSweeney's contributor Wayne Gladstone makes a list of "Spoilers I've Delivered To English Lit Majors":

• Godot never comes.
• Bartleby is a lot like humanity in his preferring not to.
• Peyton Farquhar sure has an active imagination at Owl Creek.
• Your close reading skills and knowledge of symbolism will not be rewarded in your job as a lawyer or coffee barista.

8/11: Euthanasia?

The notion that the House health care bill will encourage euthanasia for seniors and disabled people has been a subject of blog chatter for weeks, ever since longtime health reform opponent Betsy McCaughey made the claim on ex-Sen. Fred Thompson's (R) radio show. The blog chatter grew exponentially louder over the weekend when ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) warned that the Dem health care plan would create a government "death panel" that would decide whether or not to provide health care for Palin's parents and infant son. Liberal bloggers are describing Palin's argument as a "malicious myth" and are blasting the various conservative pundits who are promoting it. Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, argue that Palin's claim is valid. John Hawkins warns: "If you don't think it will happen here if Obama gets his way then you're fooling yourself."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Malkin, Lane, Unum, Hawkins, Jacobson, Henke) are blasting Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for writing a USA Today op-ed in which they accused the conservative activists who are disrupting congressional townhalls of using "un-American" tactics. Some liberal bloggers are also criticizing the op-ed, although others are defending it.
• Liberal bloggers (Sudbay, Wheeler, Willis) are praising Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for warning that the health reform effort will "lose...momentum" if Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and his gang of six fail to reach a compromise by Sept. 15.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Johnny Isakson Wants To Kill Your Grandmother?

Liberal bloggers are buzzing about the fact that a prominent GOPer -- GA Sen. Johnny Isakson -- described Palin's euthanasia argument as "nuts":

• The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman: "Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the actual author of Section 1233, says that the interpretation of that section as encouraging euthanasia is 'nuts.' Question to be asked to every Republican officeholder and talking head: 'Sen. Isakson says that Gov. Palin is nuts. Do you agree?'"
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "[Isakson] is a genuine, Grade A, far-right senator from the Deep South, and he thinks Palin's argument is 'nuts.' Assorted wingnuts and Tea Baggers may not believe the administration, Democrats, objective news sources, or the plain black-and-white text of the legislation, but they should at least be willing to consider reality from one of the Senate's most conservative members. So, it's time to put Republicans on the spot, starting with [ex-Speaker] Newt Gingrich. Sarah Palin thinks voluntary advance care planning creates 'death panels'; Johnny Isakson thinks that's 'nuts.' Who do you think is right?"
• Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "Pro-life Republican Johnny Isakson wants to murder old people in their sleep. Or something. [...] Quick, somebody ask Newt what he thinks."
• Think Progress' Matthew Yglesias: "Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia) isn't a moderate Republican. He's not even really a 'reasonable' conservative. But he does have a special interest in end-of-life planning and he was one of the drivers behind the idea that Medicare ought to cover voluntary end-of-life counseling sessions for seniors who are interested in such services. This is the molehill out of which Sarah Palin and others built the dishonest mountain of 'death panels.'"
• Mother Jones' Kevin Drum: "[I]t's good to have [Isakson] on the record. [...] Needless to say, though, this won't make a whit of difference among the lunatic fringe."

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: Sorry Johnny, But Sarah's Right

Conservative bloggers are arguing that Palin's warning about Obama's "death panels" is valid:

• Right Wing News' Hawkins: "There's a simple reason this is in the bill: it's cheaper for people to take some pain pills and wait to die in a hospice than it is for the government to provide an expensive operation. Does it say they're going to force anybody to choose that path? NOT YET -- but, you take a non-college educated person: they're old, they're scared, and they're talking to a doctor, who knows much more than they do about their health. It's pretty easy to see how they could be talked into taking the money saving option. People who would live if they were treated in the United States die on a regular basis in countries with socialized medicine because they have to wait in line too long, because they're denied operations, and because the government doesn't want to spend the money on the best equipment. If you don't think it will happen here if Obama gets his way then you're fooling yourself."
• Townhall's Meredith Jessup: "The assumption that a government-run health industry would neglect the needs of aging seniors is not just a logical assumption, but in many parts of the world employing similar 'public options,' it's a reality. If the White House needed more evidence that a government-run health care option would result in forms of euthanasia, they should look no further than the President's advisor on health policy: Dr. Ezekial Emanuel. Emanuel claims that 'doctors take the Hippocratic oath too seriously,' and argues, 'Even if a twenty-five year old receives priority over sixty-five year olds, everyone who is sixty-five now was previously twenty-five.'"
• NRO's Wesley J. Smith: "Palin is not being paranoid. Some of President Obama's most influential health-care advisers have promoted rationing and quality-of-life judgmentalism. For example, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's brother, has suggested that we can no longer afford Hippocratic medicine, laid the intellectual groundwork for rationing based on age, and even stated that medical services 'provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed.' (My analysis of Emanuel's proposals can be found at my First Things blog.) No wonder Palin is worried about the level of treatment her son Trig would receive under Obamacare. True, Palin would be a more effective critic of Obamacare if she didn't write like a college-student blogger. But her concerns are legitimate and substantive. And that shouldn't be lost in the criticism of her lexicon."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Negotiating With Terrorists?

NRO's Victor Davis Hanson:

"I think the more we ponder the [Bill] Clinton trip, the worse it is going to be appraised. We have hostages in Iran. An American soldier is being held by the Taliban. Our allies have hostages in North Korea. So what conditions determined the spouse of the secretary of state to make a special trip to meet demands imposed by the North Koreans kidnappers to release their hostages? Had any of the other detainees in various other countries worked for Al Gore, would they have been accorded such visits (e.g., will Bill Clinton now go to Waziristan to meet the Taliban? Will he go to Tehran to meet [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad?)? This issue is strangely omitted in almost all discussions of the trip.

Once we get beyond the emotional high of seeing two young Americans rescued from such a creepy regime, I think we are going to collectively sober up and realize that we just did what we always said we would never do: bargained for the release of hostages from terrorists. Think away the notion of North Korea as a legitimate government, and we are indeed left with begging a terrorist clique, at a critical time in non-proliferation talks, to release those they kidnapped for the purposes of humiliating the United States. What would have been the press reaction had [George] Bush I been asked by someone like Boone Pickens to visit Pyongyang to free two of his company's kidnapped employees in North Korea with the complicit blessing of the [George] Bush II administration amid talks about nuclear violations?"

LEST WE FORGET: Little Butterball Holding Up Ice Cream Line

From The Onion:

"HARRISBURG, PA -- According to witnesses who are sweating their nuts off, the line at the Baskin-Robbins is currently 12 people deep, thanks to an indecisive little butterball holding things up at the counter. Sources said the chubster, whose breath has almost completely fogged up the glass display case, already has chocolate on his shirt, and is now regarding the ice cream selection with the sort of glazed look typical of the heavily sedated. In the event that Mr. Porkpie ever makes up his mind, it is unlikely that he'll be able to reach into the pockets of his stretched-to-the-limit pants to pull out the money to oh my God, he just asked for another sample despite the fact that everybody in this goddamn line knows he's going to get the chocolate peanut butter. Store regulars said the situation wouldn't be so bad, but the manager had to run to the bank for change, leaving only Wendy behind the counter to wait on this sausage-boy, and she's no rocket scientist."

8/10: Mel's Had Enough

Conservative bloggers weren't sorry to see Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) resign his seat early. Michelle Malkin bid a curt farewell to "Mel 'Shamnesty' Martinez" while Paul Mirengoff observed that "Martinez won't be missed." However, conservative bloggers were still upset that Martinez didn't provide a specific reason for leaving before the end of his term. Quin Hillyer wrote: "[I]f he is getting out just because he's sick of the job, or for some other lesser reason, then he's a quitter and is exhibiting bad character."

Bloggers are currently speculating about whom Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will appoint as Martinez's replacement. Most bloggers believe that Crist is likely to appoint someone who won't threaten his own Senate ambitions, such as ex-AG Jim Smith (R) or ex-Gov. Bob Martinez (R). Ed Morrissey thinks the latter would be a poor choice, since Martinez was unpopular when he left office and putting him in the Senate "is not going to make too many Floridians very happy." Meanwhile, Erick Erickson argues that it doesn't matter whom Crist appoints, since ex-FL House Speaker Marco Rubio is going to "beat everyone in 2010 to get there anyway."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Hunter, Aravosis, Marshall, Cole, Lemos, Llorens) are blasting ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for warning that the "evil" Dem health care plans could threaten the life of her infant son Trig. Liberal bloggers (Benen, Blue Texan, Cole) are also criticizing ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) for defending Palin's remarks. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers (Hinderaker, Malkin, Jacobson, Althouse) are defending Palin's comments.
• Liberal bloggers (Hamsher, Lewison, Sudbay, BooMan) are criticizing WH CoS Rahm Emanuel after he reportedly warned liberal groups to stop running ads against Dems.
• Conservative bloggers (Lopez, Reynolds, Hinderaker, Allahpundit) are criticizing Pres. Obama for saying: "I don't want the folks who created the [financial] mess do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess."

FL SEN: Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out, Mel

Conservative bloggers aren't sorry to see Martinez resign as Senator:

• Malkin: "Mel 'Shamnesty' Martinez steps down."
• Power Line's Mirengoff: "Martinez won't be missed. His last significant act was his vote to confirm [SCOTUS Justice] Sonia Sotomayor. But for the opportunity to cast a vote for the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice, Martinez might have skipped town earlier in the summer, as many of our residents like to do."
• AmSpec Blog's W. James Antle, III: "There's a quote I've seen attributed to both M. Stanton Evans and John Schmitz when conservatives were criticizing Richard Nixon for his trip to China: 'I don't object to the president going to China. I object to him coming back.' My thoughts on Mel Martinez's tenure in the Senate, in light of conservative criticism of his resignation, are similar."

Conservative bloggers are also criticizing Martinez for not providing a specific reason for his decision to resign:

• AmSpec Blog's Hillyer: "We don't know yet what the truth is about Martinez. But if he is getting out just because he's sick of the job, or for some other elsser reason, then he's a quitter and is exhibiting bad character. Such a resignation is inexcusable."
• Mirengoff: "I don't understand politicians who decline to finish their term for no apparent reason other than their personal preference. The only 'explanation' Martinez offered was this: 'it's time I return to Florida and my family.' In other words, 'I felt like it.'"
• NRO's Jim Geraghty: "I'm hearing two different explanations for the out-of-the-blue resignation. The first, from a Hill source, is that members of Martinez's family are going through a difficult personal circumstance at this time and he's responding to that. The second, via Marc Ambinder: 'He's fed up w/ the Senate, his colleagues, his party and wants to get on w/ life.' If it's the first, he'll have my sympathies and a full-throated defense; Florida can always find another senator, but a child can't find another dad, a wife can't find another husband, etc. (I do not know whether the family members experiencing a hard time are Martinez's wife or child; I'm just using those titles to make the point.) If it's the second, he's going to catch hell."

FL SEN II: What Will Crist Do?

Several bloggers are speculating about whom Crist will appoint as Martinez's replacement.

Hot Air's Morrissey thinks it would be a mistake to appoint ex-Gov. Bob Martinez: "Martinez? Well, at least Crist won't have to worry about competition, but that's hardly going to cover Crist in glory. Martinez left office after losing to a Democrat when his approval ratings hit somewhere below George Bush's. He went to work as [George] Bush 41's drug czar and did nothing to improve his reputation in the two years he served. Crist doesn't want to give the office to someone who could challenge him for the seat, but picking Bob Martinez is not going to make too many Floridians very happy."

RedState's Erickson argues that it doesn't matter whom Crist appoints, since Rubio will eventually win the seat anyway: "Word on the street in Tallahassee is that Governor Crist intends to appoint Jim Smith as Mel Martinez's replacement. Smith, a former Attorney General, is now a lobbyist. He's also the Chairman of FSU. How fitting. He could save everyone a lot of trouble and money by just going on and putting [ex-FL House Speaker] Marco Rubio in the Senate and let him establish some seniority before he beats everyone in 2010 to get there anyway."

Meanwhile, liberal blogger Nate Silver offers his thoughts: "There is absolutely no upside here for Charlie Crist. When you're running for Senate, and you're protecting a huge lead, the last thing you need is a wild card like this that can cause people to grow upset with you. Odds are that Crist will take a look at what happened to [NY Gov.] David Paterson and at least make a decision quickly. [...] If Democrats really wanted to play hardball and squeeze Crist on this decision, then someone like [FL Rep.] Robert Wexler could take one for the team and announce he had decided to run for Senate. That's probably too much risk for too little reward. But don't be surprised if you see a few bluffs/trial balloons along these lines if Crist takes too long to make his pick."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A Triumph For Inertia?

New Majority's David Frum:

"What would it mean to 'win' the healthcare fight?

For some, the answer is obvious: beat back the president's proposals, defeat the House bill, stand back and wait for 1994 to repeat itself. The problem is that if we do that...we'll still have the present healthcare system. Meaning that we'll have (1) flat-lining wages, (2) exploding Medicaid and Medicare costs and thus immense pressure for future tax increases, (3) small businesses and self-employed individuals priced out of the insurance market, and (4) a lot of uninsured or underinsured people imposing costs on hospitals and local governments. We'll have entrenched and perpetuated some of the most irrational features of a hugely costly and under-performing system, at the expense of entrepreneurs and risk-takers, exactly the people the Republican party exists to champion. Not a good outcome.

Even worse will be the way this fight is won: basically by convincing older Americans already covered by a government health program, Medicare, that Obama's reform plans will reduce their coverage. In other words, we'll have sent a powerful message to the entire political system to avoid at all hazards any tinkering with Medicare except to make it more generous for the already covered. If we win, we'll trumpet the success as a great triumph for liberty and individualism. Really though it will be a triumph for inertia. To the extent that anybody in the conservative world still aspires to any kind of future reform and improvement of America's ossified government, that should be a very ashy victory indeed."

LEST WE FORGET: Area Man Uses 'Big Buck Hunter' Score To Determine Ability To Drive Home

From The Onion:

"FAIRFIELD, IN -- After spending five hours at Dunn's Irish Pub on Wednesday night, Michael Sampson, 31, was overheard citing his Big Buck Hunter score as proof of his sobriety, and thus his ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. 'I shot the hell out of every one of those deer in the background, I didn't kill any does, plus I got bonus points at the end for gettin' those duck bastards,' Sampson told bar patrons, staggering as he put down the game's gun-shaped neon-orange controller. 'All right, let's go.' Sampson then finished his beer, paid his tab, and severely injured all three passengers when he swerved off the road and slammed into a 10-point buck at 65 mph."

8/6: 80% Of Success Is Showing Up...

Liberal bloggers are employing a dual strategy to counteract the conservative campaign to heckle Dem lawmakers at townhalls over their support of health care reform. On the one hand, lefty bloggers are accusing these right-wing activists of being "sponsored by the healthcare industry and Republican party" and decrying their "intimidation tactics." On the other hand, lefty bloggers are urging progressives to start attending these townhalls themselves, since they don't want opponents of health care reform to dominate the events. Joan McCarter begs Daily Kos readers:

"If you want this, show up and let your representatives -- and the traditional media -- know it. Show them that the majority of people in this country want real reform and want it now. Don't let the screamers change the subject. Don't let them shut down democracy."

Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are accusing Dems of being hypocrites now that the DNC is simultaneously criticizing the conservative protesters and encouraging Pres. Obama's own supporters to start showing up at these events. Michelle Malkin writes sarcastically: "Hey, no top-down direction here in President Obama's latest mass e-mailing to his minions."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Bowers, Sudbay, McCarter) are annoyed that Obama reportedly encouraged Dem senators to continue reaching out to GOP senators and told them that he wished "left-wing groups" would stop running ads against Dems.
• Conservative bloggers (York, Erickson, Hinderaker) are still complaining about a post on the WH blog which included the following sentence: "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov." Meanwhile, righty bloggers (Malkin, Erickson, Goldfarb) were pleased when Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) echoed their complaints about the WH blog post, although liberal bloggers are accusing Cornyn of hypocrisy.
• Conservative bloggers (Wehner, Geraghty) are promoting a recent Washington Post article which implies that VA voters are growing disillusioned with Obama. Liberal bloggers (Foser, Chait, Fernholz) are blasting the article.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: You Gotta Fight Fire With Fire

Some liberal bloggers are urging their readers to start showing up to Dem townhall events in order to counteract the conservative protesters:

• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "So we know that the screamers and right-wing performance artists are part of a larger astroturf effort. They don't represent a significant segment of the actual voting population in the country. But you know what, that doesn't make a damned bit of difference if they're the only ones showing up. [...] We absolutely have to show up. Because it works, as The Crusader shows in this diary today, and Don Briggs demonstrated in his Monday diary. [...] If you want this, show up and let your representatives -- and the traditional media -- know it. Show them that the majority of people in this country want real reform and want it now. Don't let the screamers change the subject. Don't let them shut down democracy."
• Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "[MD Rep.] Frank Kratovil was hung in effigy. [CT Sen.] Chris Dodd was told to go kill himself. [VA Rep.] Gerry Connolly says that one Freshman was assaulted, and Brad Miller got death threats. [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi is showing up to support [CO Reps.] Diane DeGette and Jared Polis at an event in Denver tomorrow, and the Malkinites are going to be out in force. If you're in Denver, please show up and support Democrats against the thuggery of the insurance industry-funded GOP astroturfers."

In a separate post, Hamsher provides a list of August health care events: "Listed below are the health care events for Democratic members of Congress. If you know of an event and you don't see it listed, let us know here. If you want to go to any event, you can sign up to join a group (if there is one) or create a group. You can also search to see if there is group near you planning on going to an event by searching here. You can communicate with others at the event by using the hashtag #FDL combined with a hashtag of the member's last name and state. We will contact people by mail to arrange meetup times in advance of the event. You can find a list of best practices here. Please take flip cameras and photographs. Tell us what happened and upload videos and photos after the event here."

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: Who's Astroturfing Now, Dems?

Conservative bloggers are arguing that Dems are hypocrites for accusing the townhall protesters of being "astroturfers," since Organizing for America is now urging its members to attend these events:

• NRO's Yuval Levin: "The White House has taken to accusing Republicans of organizing or manufacturing the outrage about Obamacare at town halls with members of congress in recent days. But from the looks of this DNC website, Republicans aren't the ones doing the manufacturing."
• AmSpec Blog's Philip Klein: "At the same time that the DNC and his own White House are trying to argue that people voicing their concerns about health care legislation to their elected representatives are 'manufactured,' President Obama just sent out an email to members of his Organizing for America operation to 'commit now to taking at least one action in your community this month to build support for health insurance reform...'"
• Malkin: "Hey, no top-down direction here in President Obama's latest mass e-mailing to his minions. Only thing missing is advice on how to dress like 'real' grass-roots activists and instructions on how to snitch on friends and neighbors saying 'fishy' things about socialized medicine. Astroturf powers, unite!"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Wal-Mart Takes On The Girl Scouts

The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg:

"Apparently, Walmart wasn't satisfied with being the top media-manipulating, union-busting, soul-sucking, Nazi cake-decorating crappy-Chinese-products selling store in America. Now it's preying on Girl Scouts. Walmart has copied two of the group's signature cookies, Thin Mints and Tagalongs, and will soon sell them nationally at lower prices -- sure to cut into the do-gooders' profits, which are generated solely from cookie sales."

LEST WE FORGET: How To Get Out Of Work

From Overheard in the Office:

50-year old guy #1: I don't want to be here.
50-year old guy #2, passing by: Just shit your pants. Nobody likes working with you if you have shitty pants.

8/5: Democracy Or Mob Rule?

For the third consecutive day, the big topic in the blogosphere is the conservative activists who have been flooding townhall events and heckling Dem lawmakers over their support of health care reform. Liberal bloggers are decrying the tactics of these activists, calling them "angry extremists" and accusing them of "attempting to shut the other side down." Lefty bloggers are also criticizing the media's coverage of these townhall events. Meanwhile, conservative bloggers are arguing that progressives are only complaining about these protesters because they're desperate. Philip Klein writes: "The fact that liberals are reduced to whining thus suggests they're losing the organizing war, and that they know it."

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Emanuel, Malkin, Jessup, Henke, Troy) are criticizing the Obama admin. for telling supporters, "If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."
• Conservative bloggers (Ledeen, Klein, Allahpundit) are blasting the Obama admin. after WH press sec. Robert Gibbs called Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "the elected leader" of Iran.
• Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) wrote a diary on Open Left asking the netroots to support his Senate campaign. Most liberal bloggers are excited about Sestak's candidacy, although some are lukewarm.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: This Isn't Democracy; This Is Mob Rule!

Liberal bloggers are decrying the tactics of the townhall protesters:

• Daily Kos' mcjoan: "It's [the] cynicism of this astroturf campaign that's particularly disturbing, because it's not about the rights of citizens to freely express their dissent. It's not a free exchange of views, it's one side attempting to shut the other side down. It's what the Republican party has been about since the [Ronald] Reagan 'revolution.'"
• dday: "It's ridiculous to suggest that this is some new-found passion on the right just bursting to the fore in reaction to a piece of legislation. These are the same people who crawled out from rocks and into Sarah Palin rallies last year, screaming that Obama was a terrorist and a Muslim. [...] They hung a Democratic congressman in effigy last week. They harass Republican representatives about the President's birth certificate. They are angry extremists, and it's fair to ask Republican leaders whether they support hanging Democrats, imagery of tombstones, birther fantasies, and the rest. This is not about policy. It's about incitement to violence."

Meanwhile, lefty bloggers are pleased that the WH and the DNC are criticizing these protesters:

• Daily Kos' BarbinMD: "This is the kind of pushback we need to hear from all Democrats."
• dday: "We have Robert Gibbs openly calling this the Brooks Brothers Brigade. That's a start."
• The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman: "I'm glad the White House and the DNC are calling out the organized mobs dedicated to destroying town hall meetings. Next step: doing some organizing of our own, to make sure the teabaggers aren't the only ones who show up. Let's see if Organizing for America can live up to its name."

Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, are defending the protesters:

• AmSpec Blog's Klein: "If liberal organizations were succeeding in the current health care debate, they'd simply have larger numbers of people in support of their policies at all of the townhall meetings, allowing them to drown out the 'small number of rabid right wing extremists.' Instead, the meetings are being swamped by opponents of their proposals. Coordinated or not, the attendees of the meetings are real people with real concerns about what is being discussed in Washington. The fact that liberals are reduced to whining thus suggests they're losing the organizing war, and that they know it."
• Townhall's Meredith Jessup: "It's clear now that the Obama administration does not take kindly to an informed public. [...] Oh, the audacity of dissent! Of course the American people couldn't be smart enough to actually figure out what his plan means for the health care industry on their own; and of course people would never be vocally angry with a policy that would dramatically alter and affect their own health care!"

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: Is The Media Dropping The Ball?

Liberal bloggers are blasting the media's coverage of the townhall protests:

• Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher: "[O]rganizations like CBS and the New York Times do not report the news when it is right in front of them. They pass off these transparent lobbyist funded thuggery as a grassroots effort. They do not say who is organizing these violent uprisings, or how they are being funded. These media outlets are playing a critical role by telling the country that its people believe something that they don't. It is blatant propaganda being passed off as news, and it is to 'journalism' what David H. Koch is to 'grassroots.'"
• BarbinMD: "[K]udos to the reporters who have recognized what has been happening and are asking questions about it. But of course the question is, will they aggressively report on it or will they follow the lead of the New York Times and CNN's Candy Crowley and either ignore or dismiss it?"
• dday: "15 million people protested the Iraq war and the coverage was virtually nil. Lobbyists bus 100 people into a Congressional town hall and the media hypes the 'Tehran-like' atmosphere of them. Groups of people at town hall meetings are not perfect indicators of the overall attitudes of a population, and even among the town halls, traditional media highlights and politicians respond to very selective segments of those groups."
• Firedoglake's Scarecrow: "With the support and encouragement of the Republican leadership, one of America's most despicable political thugs, [ex-House Maj. Leader] Dick Armey, a corporate lobbyist funded by the 'health' industry, is organizing mobs to disrupt, harass and intimidate every public event organized to discuss the health care reform effort. [...] But instead of condemning such reprehensible behavior, the media writes absurd stories about the resurgence of the party, it's prospects for 2010-12 and who the next leader will be."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's Not A Scientific Poll, But...

NRO's John J. Miller:

"What GOP presidential candidate do young conservatives prefer for 2012? I had a chance to ask this morning, during my talk at the national conference of the Young America's Foundation. The audience was about 250 conservative student activists. Their views are of course not representative of the general population, college students, or even conservatives. But they do represent something -- a level of energy and enthusiasm on the Right. They are an interesting micro-demographic. Their opinions matter.

Here's how we did it. I read a list of eight potential candidates: [ex-MA Gov.] Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, [LA Gov.] Bobby Jindal, [MN Gov.] Tim Pawlenty, [ex-AR Gov.] Mike Huckabee, [ex-Speaker] Newt Gingrich, [IN Gov.] Mitch Daniels (a suggestion from the floor), and -- just for fun -- Gen. David Petraeus. I emphasized that nobody was committing to anything. This was not a swearing of allegiance. Instead, it was a snap poll on preferences today. Then I read the names a second time, one by one, and asked for show of hands.

The result: Romney was the easy winner, with Jindal clearly in second place. Each of the others had scattered support. I was suprised by Palin's poor showing. She was buried among the also-rans. Petraeus didn't win a big show of hands, but the suggestion of his candidacy was received with applause: Young conservatives are clearly open and intrigued by the idea and would like to know more."

LEST WE FORGET: Hush Falls Over Patriots Camp As Tom Brady's First 10 Passes Go 3 Yards

From The Onion:

"FOXBOROUGH, MA -- Excitement surrounding the return of quarterback Tom Brady devolved into mute panic Thursday as each of Brady's first 10 passes barely made it to the line of scrimmage. 'Oh, God,' said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, breaking the silence that fell across the assembled players, coaches, and legions of fans who had just witnessed Brady's ninth pass flutter slowly from his limp hand and land between his own feet. 'Who's our backup? Does anyone know who our backup is?' When asked for comment, wide receiver Randy Moss said he doesn't care how poorly Brady throws the ball as long at it rolls in his direction."

8/4: Targeting Townhalls

Yesterday we noted that righty bloggers were excited about the latest tactics being employed by conservative activists, who are attending Dem congressmen's townhalls and asking them aggressive questions about health care reform. Now lefty bloggers are pushing back, arguing that these protests constitute a top-down campaign rather than an authentic grassroots uprising.

However, some liberal bloggers argue that it doesn't matter who's behind these townhall protests. The bottom line, they say, is that conservative activists appear to be outworking their liberal counterparts. "Folks can whine on endlessly about outfits like Freedom Works putting these rackets together," Josh Marshall writes. "But if the president's plan has any public support they should be able to get supporters to these events too, right?"

Greg Sargent agrees and points his finger at Organizing For America, the DNC-housed political operation that emerged from Pres. Obama's WH campaign. "OFA is supposed to be doing exactly what the right is now doing: Staging very visible displays of passionate support for their side's goal -- i.e., health care reform," Sargent writes. "Will Obama's much-vaunted campaign operation be outworked by the Tea Baggers?"

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Conservative bloggers (Morrissey, Malkin, Ross, Gateway Pundit) are posting video footage of the latest Dem Reps. to be heckled at their townhall events: Steve Driehaus (D-OH) and Steve Kagen (D-WI).
• Most conservative bloggers (Mirengoff, Hillyer, hogan) are praising Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for opposing the confirmation of SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor, although Allahpundit is confused by McCain's decision.
• Following Liz Cheney's well-received speech at the RedState gathering in Atlanta, Allahpundit wonders whether Cheney is "ingratiating herself with the rightroots ahead of a possible congressional run."
• Influential liberal blogger Chris Bowers has announced that he will be working for Rep. Joe Sestak's (D-PA) Senate campaign.
• Liberal bloggers (Greenwald, digby, Sirota, DougJ) are buzzing about reports that G.E. interfered in the editorial content of Keith Olbermann's MSNBC show (Olbermann denies the allegations).

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Intimidation Tactics?

Liberal bloggers are criticizing the tactics being employed by conservative activists who are attending Dems' townhall events:

• AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay: "So, what the GOP can't win at the ballot box, they intend to win by intimidation tactics?"
• Oliver Willis: "Tea party nutters are creating mob events at congressional townhall meetings that make those Code Pink demonstrators look like a senior citizen's social. We elected a black president, the right lost their minds."
• The Reality-Based Community's Mark Kleiman: "I didn't approve of Weimar politics when it was being practiced by the anti-war left, and I still don't approve of it when it's practiced from the right. Asking a rude question at an open meeting is fine; disrupting a meeting for the purpose of preventing people from talking to one another is not. If reporters were less gullible or more interested in informing than in entertaining, they would report the story as 'lunatics interfere with democratic process' rather than 'citizens oppose health care reform.' And they might want to ask some questions about whether the same astroturf lobbying firms that are writing forged letters to Congressmen are also involved in organizing the disruptions."
• The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen: "If you put aside civility, decency, American political traditions, and intellectual honesty, the right-wing harassment strategy makes quite a bit of sense. It's a straightforward idea -- corporate interests, which have a financial stake in killing health care reform, organize far-right fanatics to disrupt public events and discussions, and create the appearance of widespread opposition."

Conservative bloggers are defending these protesters:

• AmSpec Blog's Philip Klein: "The liberal effort to discredit American citizens who are expressing their views on an issue of vital importance is completely without merit, but it is instructive. It tells us that liberals know that despite their tremendous advantages in terms of resources and power in Washington, they are losing the health care messaging war. It's becoming clear that Americans are not ready for a government takeover of the health care system, and they aren’t going to sit by idly while Democrats ram it down their throats."
• Commentary's Jennifer Rubin: "I think this is called community-organizing. But the Obama spinners are beside themselves. Greg Sargent demands to know if Republicans approve of 'loud and angry mob hecklings.' Yes, this is democracy in all its messy glory -- holding legislators accountable, demanding to know why they haven't read legislation they are voting on, and asking impertinent questions. Next thing you know they will be marching, signing petitions, and running for office. The horror of it all."
• RedState's Erick Erickson: "The rich irony here is that the party that chose a community organizer as President cannot handle communities of people organizing and protesting the destruction of their way of life. The protestors must be bought and paid for by lobbyists -- it is the only explanation. The Democrats, like the reporter who knew [Richard] Nixon would lose because no one she knew voted for him, will find out just how wrong they are at the ballot box."

HEALTH CARE REFORM II: So What If It's Astroturfing? It Works!

While many liberal bloggers are complaining about the right's "intimidation tactics," others argue that liberal activists are simply being outworked by their conservative counterparts:

• TPM's Marshall: "Folks can whine on endlessly about outfits like Freedom Works putting these rackets together. But if the president's plan has any public support they should be able to get supporters to these events too, right? Not to pull the Black Shirt routine but to provide some public demonstration that there's real public support for making reform a reality. If there is. So that's the question. Where's the other team?"
• The Washington Post's Sargent: "OFA is supposed to be doing exactly what the right is now doing: Staging very visible displays of passionate support for their side's goal -- i.e., health care reform. I don't know if OFA is succeeding or not. If so, its successes are decidedly less visible than what we're seeing from the anti-reform forces, though this could reflect the fact that OFA events don't emply the raucus agitprop we're seeing from anti-reform crowds. But OFA's activities, and those of the Democratic Party in general, are suddenly are much more important, now that there appears to be a very deliberate right-wing effort under way to create the impression of populist opposition to reform. It's yet another reminder that health care is the ultimate test of whether Obama's vaunted campaign operation can drive Obama's legislative agenda and achieve real results. Will Obama's much-vaunted campaign operation be outworked by the Tea Baggers?"

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Why The Right Will "Win" The Recess

NRO's Jim Geraghty:

"Marc Ambinder is helpfully Tweeting, 'Wrong q: whether or left or right will "win" the recess health care organizing. Right q: will right's win be genuine or artificial or both?' Interesting that the right's win is perceived as a fait accompli. (Rest assured, grassroots conservatives, that if you are active and your message is heard by nervous lawmakers, your victory in persuasion with be dismissed as 'artificial.' Or at least not organic, or not gluten-free or something.)

I would note that the Democrats aren't going into the August with the lead; they need to move public opinion in their direction. We're seeing a few efforts on that front. First there is a sudden Orwellian insistence that this is 'health insurance reform'; please ignore the past two and a half years of references to 'health care reform.' We're going to see this reaction at these town hall meetings dismissed as 'Astroturf.' And we're going to see relentless demonization of health insurers.

But I'm not sure 'aren't insurance companies terrible?' persuades Americans who are skeptical or nervous about ObamaCare. Yes, many voters have gripes with the current system, but they're doubtful that any of the five versions of the legislation before Congress will improve things. If, indeed, the constituent meetings become a series of deer-in-the-headlights lawmakers running from masses immune to the usual spin and talking points, then it's hard to see Democrats returning in September with more votes than when they left."

LEST WE FORGET: Lost In Translation

From Overheard in the Office:

Product development guy: I just got an e-mail in Chinese... What do I do?
Product development gal: Just copy/paste it into Microsoft Word and change the font.
Product development guy: It's Chinese, not Wingdings.

8/3: Recess Activism

Back when the "Tea Party" movement was taking off earlier this year, we were struck by the fact that conservative bloggers were embracing a method of activism (street demonstrations) that liberal bloggers had largely abandoned during the George W. Bush years. We questioned whether these protest tactics would actually help the GOP win elections, or whether they merely provided frustrated conservatives with an emotional outlet. However, it increasingly looks as though these protests aren't geared toward winning elections (at least, not directly), but rather toward influencing policy outcomes. For instance, the latest tactic being embraced by conservatives is attending townhall meetings of various Dem incumbents (such as TX Rep. Lloyd Doggett and PA Sen. Arlen Specter) and asking them aggressive questions about health care reform. By recording these contentious exchanges and posting them online, conservatives seek to "embarrass" these incumbents and pressure them into voting against health reform. As Peter Wehner explains: "A few more episodes like this will cause some knees to buckle among Democrats and those in the Obama administration, as they begin to see for themselves how deeply and passionately much of the public feels about Obama's effort and the way he and congressional Democrats are attempting to execute it." Liberal bloggers, meanwhile, are accusing their conservative counterparts of pursuing a "Harassment Strategy".

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Benen, Black, digby, Rosenberg, Willis) are blasting Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) after he warned that the ads that progressive groups are running against his position on health care reform "would backfire -- and might even derail the entire reform process."
• Liberal bloggers (Benen, Zasloff, DougJ, Black) are discussing the possibility of using the "reconciliation" process to pass health care reform in the Senate. Meanwhile, lefty bloggers (McCarter, Sudbay, BooMan) continue to criticize Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's (D-MT) efforts to win GOP support for his compromise health care bill.
• RedState has endorsed Sec/State Karen Handel (R) in the GA GOV race and state Rep. Nikki Haley (R) in the SC GOV race following their appearances at the RedState gathering in Atlanta. Ex-FL House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) also gave a well-received speech in which he asked the RedState activists to support his Senate bid.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Protest Is Patriotic

Conservative bloggers are predicting that these contentious townhall meetings will turn wavering Dems against healthcare reform:

• Hot Air's Ed Morrissey: "If anyone questioned why Barack Obama and [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi wanted to get a health-care reform bill passed before the August recess, the following videos will explain it clearly. In three town-hall meetings with Democratic denizens of Capitol Hill, crowds reacted angrily to a government takeover of health care. [...] If Pelosi and Obama had a tough time holding the Blue Dogs before the recess, they will have a lot more headaches when Congress returns in September -- and hopefully a lot more skeptics as well."
• NRO's Wehner: "For a sneak preview of what Democrats will face during the August recess, on the attempt to sell their plan to overhaul our health-care system, take a look at this clip. A few more episodes like this will cause some knees to buckle among Democrats and those in the Obama administration, as they begin to see for themselves how deeply and passionately much of the public feels about Obama's effort and the way he and congressional Democrats are attempting to execute it. Call it democracy in action."

Michelle Malkin urges her readers to keep protesting: "This taxpayer counterinsurgency is exactly what I talked about on the ABC This Week panel earlier today. The long, hot recess is underway. Make yourselves heard. Mark your calendars for the nationwide August 22 Recess Rally. Prepare to be demonized, of course. And don't let up until socialized medicine goes down."

Meanwhile, Glenn Reynolds directs his readers to "Operation Embarrass Your Congressman", which encourages conservatives to (1.) attend their congressmen's townhall meetings during recess; (2.) ask them questions about health care reform; and (3.) post audio/video of the exchanges "to show just how arrogant, ignorant, and insolent our elected representatives really are."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Senate's Small-State Bias

FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver:

"As you all surely know, the Senate is not a terribly democratic institution. A voter in Wyoming -- population 533,000 -- has about 70 times more ability to influence the Senate's direction than one in California -- population 36.8 million. And the lack of representativeness can be particularly acute when the Senate is conducting business at the committee level. Max Baucus's Table for Six, for instance, which may very well determine the fate of efforts to reform health care, is made up of members who collectively represent about 6.5 million people, or around one-fiftieth of the country's population.

This in and of itself is problematic for Democrats, since there is a correlation between the size of a state and how Democratic it tends to vote in elections for national office, although the relationship is not as strong as you might posit (Rhode Island, Delaware and Hawaii are small states too). The bigger and more structural problem, however, may have to do with the ways that small-state senators raise funds, and in turn, whose interests they are beholden to. [...]

[S]enators from small states tend to be relatively more dependant on special-interest money -- it makes up a larger share of their overall take. Senators from the ten smallest states have received, on average, 28.4 percent of their campaign funds from corporate PACs, versus 13.7 for those in the ten largest. There is a tendency to think of senators from small states as being populists, and there are a few instances in which this is accurate -- Jon Tester of Montana and John Thune of South Dakota, for instance, are relatively non-dependant on PAC money. But for the most part, something the opposite is true, and senators from small states in fact have more incentive to placate special interests."

LEST WE FORGET: Status Updates Since My Mother Became My Facebook Friend

McSweeney's contributor Scott A. Harris:

• Scott is making good, well informed decisions.
• Scott is going to bed at a very reasonable hour.
• Scott is drinking only on occasion, and even then it's just one or two.
• Scott quit smoking several months ago without any apparent difficulty.
• Scott is in no way involved, currently nor in the past, with a married woman, regardless of what anyone is saying.
• Scott is making large, regular contributions to his savings account.
• Scott is making yet another home cooked meal, avoiding fast food as usual.
• Scott is no longer in debt like he used to be...boy that would be terrible.
• Scott is in no way affected by the current economic downturn...everything is a-okay.
• Scott is not gaining weight, and his clothes fit just fine.