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Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.

Archive | June, 2011

Weiner Won’t Resign, Seeks Treatment, Leave of Absence from House

By on 11 June 2011

“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” said the spokeswoman, Risa Heller. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well. Congressman Weiner takes the views of his colleagues very seriously and has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents.” – New York Times

When I heard the words “underage 17 year-old,” then today the words from Weiner’s spokesperson that “his communications with this person were neither explicit nor indecent,” referring to the star struck teen who thinks she’s in love with the New York congressman, what came next was pretty predictable.

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Queer Talk: Let us Pray

By on 11 June 2011

Joyce Arnold is a liberal Independent activist whose weekly column “Queer Talk” appears on Saturday.

Our main players today: Rick Perry; the American Family Association; and Old Navy. There will be brief a appearance by a couple of polls.

The story of Rick Perry and his initiation of “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a nation in crisis” was a little slow in taking off beyond Texas. After all, it’s Rick Perry, governor of Texas, who is probably best known nationally for his conversation about Texas seceding from the union. Again. And for complaining about the evils of the federal government, while also taking money from the same, and complaining about not getting more.

From Think Progress, on Friday:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) looks increasingly likely to enter the 2012 presidential race, with sources telling the Daily Caller he is ‘90 percent’ in.

With that in mind, last Saturday Perry announced an “apolitical” event, a “day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation.” Perry, via The Response :

America is in the midst of a historic crisis. We have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters. The youth of America are in grave peril economically, socially, and, most of all, morally. There are threats emerging within our nation and beyond our borders beyond our power to solve. …

Or as Perry said in an invitation to governors: (via Texas Tribune)

Given the trials that beset our nation and the world, from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and continued debasement of our culture, I believe it is time to convene the leaders from each of our United States in a day of prayer and fasting.

The event is organized and funded by the American Family Association, and will be held on August 6, at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Via the Tribune: “Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the governor had been planning the event since December and was comfortable with the Tupelo, Miss.-based AFA as a host … . ”

Well, sure he’s “comfortable” with them. They’re giving him cover, and funding, for a “Look at me!” national moment. And what better way to establish your Very Red credentials than associating with the AFA? The Houston Chronicle:

… (AFA), a nonprofit that operates a network of 192 radio stations with 2 million followers that has been labeled a ‘hate group’ by the Southern Poverty Law Center for what the SPLC calls the dissemination of ‘known falsehoods’ about homosexuality. The AFA also has called for numerous boycotts against companies and entities it says ‘promote the homosexual agenda.’ …
Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Perry, defended the governor’s association with AFA. … She also denied that the event was politically motivated, saying Perry simply felt it was important to bring people together in prayer.

If any blanks still need to be filled in, this from Think Progress:

The large prayer event … will include anti-LGBT themes and rhetoric, as confirmed by the host organization. Tim Wildmon, president of (AFA) …, acknowledged that one of the purposes of ‘The Response’ is to end the ‘increasing acceptance of homosexuality’ by American society.

Polls (see below) do support that last assertion.

AFA multi-tasks, and while organizing this apolitical event for a sitting governor, they continue their boycotting actions. From RightWingWatch:

Following their not-so-successful boycott campaign of Home Depot over the company’s sponsorship of gay pride parades, leaders of the American Family Association have called for the boycott of Old Navy because the store is planning to sell shirts to benefit the anti-suicide, anti-bullying It Gets Better Project. Bryan Fischer, the group’s Director of Issues Analysis, … urged his listeners to “drop by your Old Navy store … and tell them you’re not going to shop at Old Navy until they get their minds right” … .

For a little context, which provides indications of why the AFA, Perry and such Right minded people are so intent on “the homosexuals” (along with “abortionists,” “illegals,” etc.), two polls find growing support for Queerdom. I think Perry is focused more on the purely political than the moral, but nothing says “Look Right at me!” better than a candidate wrapped in the flag (U.S., not state; his handlers may have to remind him about this), very sincere, brow furrowed head bowed in prayer, before a few thousand people and national media.

From American Progress:

A new poll from the Center for American Progress shows that the American public strongly supports workplace nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people. … This support comes at a time when new research shows just how much dis- crimination and harassment this population faces on the job. …

Seventy- five percent of likely voters say they favor ‘protecting gay and lesbian people from dis- crimination in employment,’ while 73 percent say they favor these protections for ‘gay, lesbian, and transgender people.’ …

The survey also found that 9 of out 10 voters erroneously think that a federal law is already in place protecting gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination.

The Employment Nondiscrimination Act was first introduced in 1994. Multiple introductions followed, the most recent in April of this year. We don’t seem to be able to get beyond “introductions.”

And from Gay Politics:

More than 60 percent of American adults say it would not matter to them if a candidate for president was gay, according to a new poll from Pew Research … . Thirty-three percent of respondents said they would be less likely to support a gay candidate.

The poll showed gay candidates were more acceptable than candidates who had extramarital affairs, who did not believe in God or who had never held elective office.

Nothing gay implied, but Perry does seem to meet all three of the preferences – no extramarital affairs; believes in God; has held elective office as governor, for what feels like a very long time. I’d love for him to leave Austin, but not if it means a move to DC.

Visit Facebook site “Protest of Rick Perry’s Prayer Event” to learn about a “peaceful demonstration to protest ‘The Response …’” There are options for those who can’t attend, including those who do not live in Texas, and who want to urge their governors to “reject Perry’s invitation.”

Of many possible conclusions to all of this: separation of church and state is mostly a fantasy.

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GUEST COLUMN: Independents are not Moderates

By on 11 June 2011

Sarah Lyons is the Director of Communications for IndependentVoting.org, a national association of independent voters and activists. She is the producer of “Can Independents Reform America” (DVD) featuring highlights of the 2011 National Conference of Independents.

Pew Research Center released a survey last month which was encouragingly called “Beyond Red vs. Blue.” Encouraging, that is, for the growing number of Americans eager to find a way out of the partisanship which has come to dominate public policy making at nearly every level of government.

The study—an 150 page analysis—was quickly digested by reporters eager to get a leg up on the latest political trends just as the Republicans held their first televised Presidential debate in South Carolina which, notably, holds both an early primary and an open primary in which independents are allowed to vote.

“Voters More Complex than Red/Blue” wrote ABC political director Amy Walter. “The Misunderstood Independent,” echoed Aaron Blake and Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post.

The fifth study of its kind conducted by Pew since 1987, the survey aims to give a broad overview of the character of electorate and sorts Americans into eight cohesive groups based on values, political beliefs, and party affiliation.

Three of the eight classifications that emerged from this year’s study were dedicated to independent voters—up from 2 classifications in the 2005 survey. More importantly, the presence of independents was evident across all five of the remaining classifications including those meant to define Democratic and Republican voters. In those groups, independents comprised 15% – 34% of their total makeup. Independents are everywhere it seems.

Pew acknowledged this in their report stating, “In recent years, the public has become increasingly averse to partisan labels… There has been a sharp rise in the percentage of independents—from 30% in 2005 to 37% currently.”

The survey also encouragingly pointed out that—contrary to much theorizing that independents comprise “the center” of American political life—they remain a diverse lot with strong opinions. “The growing rejection of partisan identification does not imply a trend toward political moderation, however. In fact, the number of people describing their political ideology as moderate has, if anything, been dropping,” wrote Pew, acknowledging that while independents have come to played a central role in the last three national elections—this does not a “center” make.

Pew’s findings amplify our own, discovered not through polling, but through the activity of organizing independents over the course of two decades. Independents are not in the middle between Democrats and Republicans. Rather, they want to move beyond the confines of parties altogether.

Perhaps more so than any other group of American voters, independents are attuned to the fact that partisanship is not a behavioral issue—it is a structural one. Since partisanship is produced by the structure of politics, addressing the issue of partisanship meaningfully means changing the political structure. That’s why reforms like open primaries and nonpartisan elections are so popular among independents.

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My $0.02/Saturday: Remembering Griswold and Anne Royall

By on 11 June 2011

1920's Japanese advert for tea suitable for pregnant and nursing women. Apparently it was also good for colds!

Morning news junkies… here are my picks from the week to go with your Saturday morning cuppa. Enjoy.

(the Anne Royall stuff is at the end!)

Women’s Rights

I loved this headline from RH Reality Check’s Andrea Grimes, so I’ll start off with it – “The Pill Kills” Protesters Unwittingly Help Hundreds of North Texans Get Contraception. Last Saturday, about a 100 American Life League (ALL) activists gathered outside a Dallas Planned Parenthood to protest birth control pills for “killing” marriage, babies, and women, using all kinds of lame canards, including feigning concern for women’s health of all things (see the link for details, it’s just too laughable to repeat.) In turn, Planned Parenthood of North Texas asked supporters to donate money for every control freak that showed up to ALL’s protest. More than 600 women will get free pills thanks to the anti-choicers going right off the cliff with their neverending campaign against women, which I’m convinced is the oligarchy’s “gateway drug” to controlling the rest of the 99 percenters. What a way to honor the anniversary of Griswold, too.

Via the American Prospect… Reading between the Rights:

Nearly 50 years after Griswold v. Connecticut, conservatives think the Constitution protects your privacy.

This week marks the 46th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court reproductive-rights case Griswold v. Connecticut [...] Despite the permanent entrenchment of the right to privacy in American constitutionalism, the reproductive rights that Griswold helped to expand are now under siege. Protecting the reproductive rights of American women, in particular, will require determined action in all branches of federal and state government. Progressives should begin by defending the rights announced in Griswold unapologetically. The Court was right 45 years ago, and the rights it articulated in that case are worth preserving.

Taylor Marsh has a great piece up on this as well that she crossposted over at The Moderate Voice under the title “Thank the Gods for Griswold v. Connecticut“:

That Speaker Pelosi, the first female speaker in U.S. history, and Pres. Obama helped Democrats like Rep. Stupak marginalize women’s freedoms in the health care bill was breaking faith with women who helped elect these officials. When Obama doubled down to take funding away from the women of Washington, D.C. he made matters worse.

To teach Democrats a lesson, putting a Republican in the White House would simply hurt more women. However, the economics of the times, which hits women very hard, has taken our eyes off reproductive health care to the economy. The sad truth is we’re not getting equal attention from either big party who’ll be hawking their policies for 2012 and promising the moon.

Don’t believe Obama or the Republican nominee.

Precisely. I know I won’t.

Stem Cell & Heart Research

Next up… Encouraging news, via Reuters… Scientists show heart can repair itself, with help. The BBC has some good coverage as well:

You can read James Gallagher’s report on the breakthrough here, but the research raises the astonishing prospect that we might, one day, teach the human heart to repair itself. A new golden age of regenerative medicine now seems tantalisingly close.

From the British Heart Foundation, which is responsible for the research:

Our Associate Medical Director, Professor Jeremy Pearson, said:

“To repair a damaged heart is one of the holy grails of heart research. This groundbreaking study shows that adult hearts contain cells that, given the right stimulus, can mobilise and turn into new heart cells that might repair a damaged heart. The team have identified the crucial signals needed to make this happen.”

Also in related stem cell heart research news: Cytori Reports Sustained Benefits at 18 Months in Cardiac Cell Therapy Heart Attack Trial (press release, via Reuters).

2012/Politics Reads

I found this next one interesting, even if it has no impact on anything… LA Times: Democrat Michael Dukakis, who didn’t get to be president, wishes the same for GOP’s Mitt Romney. Here’s what Dukakis said on CNN when Eliot Spitzer asked him if there was anyone amongst the GOP slate he could respect:

DUKAKIS: Yes, John Huntsman. I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t want him to be the president, I want the current president to be re-elected, but I have a lot of respect for Huntsman.

I’m really not sure why he wants a “Democratic” president who won’t fight for jobs to be re-elected, other than it’s the politically correct thing for a Democratic partisan to say of course, but speaking of Huntsman… According to a Politico report on his “no-names strategy,” Huntsman and Obama have an agreement not to attack each other personally by name, at least for now.

If Huntsman were to end up putting his hat in for 2012, I wonder how long he could actually last the GOP primary cycle without referring overtly to the incumbent President. Especially in the debates.

In other 2012 developments: The bad news about Newt’s campaign falling apart is that it’s giving the “Rick Perry for president” peanut gallery more to yap about. All I can say is if Goodhair runs in 2012… eesh, that’s too scary to even contemplate. If you’re looking for a short horror story to read this morning, look no further than the Wapo’s piece on Perry weighing a candidacy this go-around, which came out before the Perry people abandoned the sinking Gingrich ship:

Perry has been a virtual crusader against what he calls an increasingly intrusive federal government and a defender of the states to run their own affairs.

The legislative priorities in Texas as of late have been forced sonograms, guns on campus, tax breaks for yachts, etc. The Austin Chronicle has called what just transpired in our legislature the Worst. Session. Ever. Not a state government record to be bragging about, and far from fighting governmental intrusion considering Perry’s declaration of an “emergency” priority for anti-abortion legislation. Keep in mind, too, that Perry is the guy trying to pray the national debt and natural disasters away and elevating hate groups to carry out such nonsense…

Perry‘s Day of Fundie Bullshit

From the UT Austin schoolpaper — Perry’s proclamation draws national attention, incites criticism from non-Christians:

Gov. Rick Perry is attracting national attention after organizing “The Response: A Day of Prayer and Fasting” to deal with a nation “in crisis.”

The daylong “non-denominational, apolitical, Christian prayer meeting” scheduled for Aug. 6 at Reliant Stadium in Houston is modeled after a ritual in the biblical Book of Joel, according to a press release. The American Family Association will cover the costs of the event, a move that has raised alarm from the Secular Coalition of America.

Sean Faircloth, executive director of the Secular Coalition of America, said the civil rights firm Southern Poverty Law Center designated the American Family Association as a hate group in 2010.

“It is sad to see a governor pandering to the most extreme and hateful fundamentalist groups,” Faircloth said.

Earlier this week, Joyce Arnold did an excellent news diary about Perry’s prayer lunacy, as well.

Normally I try to ignore stupid religionist pet tricks of this nature, because there’s always that fine line to walk in terms of making them more important than they are by paying them any attention, but I’ve really had it with this endless Christian Nation crap and their perpetual state of hate this time. It’s too much, and Perry’s involvement in all of this just stinks to high heaven. He should run for President of the American Taliban already, but then maybe that’s what running for POTUS is these days… Anyhow, the long and short of this being, I’m almost tempted to attend the August 6th protest and bring others with me if I can work it out:

Anybody that values the separation of Church and State is welcome to join — non-theists, non-Christian, secular Christians. Please be aware that we are NOT trying to convert or mock anybody’s religion,” the event’s page said.

Happy Pride

All LGBT voters and supporters, and all liberal constituencies of the Democratic party really, need to read Joyce’s post from last Saturday, “A Measure of Pride,” in honor of Pride month:

A photo on the “Winning the Future” LGBT website was taken on June 17, 2009, when Obama signed an executive order increasing benefits for Federal employees with same-gender partners. When I saved it for possible use, I noticed how it was tagged on the website: “lgbt hero image.” That, apparently, is how the O campaign is measuring their pride in accomplishments for Queerdom, at “hero” heights.

I tend to measure accomplishments, and pride in accomplishments, by way of employment non-discrimination protection; housing protection; marriage equality; the end of DADT discharges while the repeal process plays out; prosecution of hate crimes; LGBT kids free to go to proms, protected from bullying … things like that. And more often than not, those I most admire and appreciate are the people – usually at the non-Insider level – who spend years and decades working to make such things happen. These people are the real heroes, the real standard for the measure of pride in being and living as who they are.

Don’t forget Joyce’s Queer Talk later today. I never miss it, and neither should you! (That link should update with her latest post up top whenever it goes up.)

How Did America Get Here

Over at foreignpolicy.com, Steve Walt has food for thought up on what’s ailing our political system and how we got here, which FP is previewing on its frontpage as “Fiddling with Weiners While Washington Burns”:

If we were facing an imminent threat of invasion, we’d be looking for our Lincolns, Marshalls, Roosevelts, and Eisenhowers, and we wouldn’t be wasting our time with the Palin circus, which is nothing more than a “reality TV” version of real politics. Back when another Great Depression was looming in 2009, you actually saw the political system work, precisely because even head-in-the-sand politicos dimly understood that we were in Big Trouble and needed to do something. But once that immediate crisis was over, it was back to gridlock and grandstanding as usual.

That’s because the crisis wasn’t over. The head “politico” himself just bailed out the big banks and told the American people to “sacrifice.”

It’s too bad Walt tags his post only with “Bush’s legacy.” Obama has been given enough time to “change Washington,” and one of the reasons the Palin reality show circus continues is precisely because Obama is not a Lincoln or a Roosevelt. Most of America was looking for a leader to come in and fix the mess Bush made. When there isn’t any meaningful alternative to the corporate welfare agenda facilitated by both the D and R parties, that’s all the more oxygen in the room left for Palin and her tribe, as well as Bachmann and hers, to suck up.

Don’t get me wrong. Palin and Bachmann would make horrible presidents. But, it’s weird to mention one of them in a post about where it all went wrong that says absolutely *nothing* directly about the sitting president of the United States or his personal contribution to this mess.

Well enough about the guys and gals who are failing us on the domestic stage. Yup, that’s a cue up for my reads on you-know-who.

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We Don’t Build Anymore, We Privatize

By on 11 June 2011

… Today’s intellectual consensus thus fiercely opposes public infrastructure. For example, while it’s always nice to talk about repairing bridges, in 2009, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) pointed out the truth of the Obama administration’s stimulus program: “Larry Summers hates infrastructure. And some of these other economists — they don’t like infrastructure. … They want to have a consumer-driven recovery.” – Public pays price for privatization

If Pres. Obama is going to change the current economic trajectory he has to do something concrete, literally.

Matt Stoller wrote about it this week, linking to a piece by Laura Tyson. From Stoller:

[...] We need to look to the political coalitions behind our immense public works and ask which coalitions today support the current infrastructure rhetoric. Seen through that lens, the real trend in infrastructure today is not building more of it but privatizing what exists.

After all, building infrastructure implies the ability to build things here and being able to use the power of taxation to finance them. Privatizing infrastructure requires the ability to securitize revenue flows. Which one do you think modern America does better?

Privatization takes inherently governmental functions — everything from national defense to mass transit and roads — and turns them over to the control of private actors, whose goal is to extract maximum revenue while costing as little as possible.

Republicans have long advocated this in the name of free markets — saying that privatizing government services reduces the size of government. Democrats express more mixed support, but they sometimes go along for the privatizing ride.

Yet it isn’t true, as a general rule, that privatization shrinks the public sector. When investor demand for high returns is combined with the natural monopolies of public assets, what often results instead is citizens finding themselves saddled with high fees and poor service.

Even more perniciously, selling infrastructure such as toll roads puts the coercive power of the state in the hands of private actors. We have great public assets built by prior generations. We should and could be building a better country for our children, rather than liquidating what we have. [...]

In response, Cato comes down on the side of no art, applauding Gov. Sam Brownback for eviscerating the Kansas art budget.

It’s not J.F.K.’s country anymore.

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Weiner Wrap, with Barbara Walters

By on 10 June 2011

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The elite D.C. media, new media, talking heads, gleeful Republicans, and spineless Democrats all weighed in… and then New Yorkers had their say, including Barbara Walters.

According to the one-day poll, conducted Wednesday, just 33 percent of voters in New York’s Ninth Congressional District think Weiner should resign from the House, while 56 percent do not think he should resign. – Poll: Weiner’s Constituents Don’t Think He Should Resign

Rep. Weiner is not resigning, in spite of the chattering class calling for it.

An ethics investigation may reveal more, though I doubt it because they take too long and even Charlie Rangel survived his, but there’s no reason to jump unless there is something indictable. Again, see David Vitter. The worst is over for Mr. Weiner, regardless of what may ensue from the Democratic establishment.

If John F. Kennedy had been held to today’s standards he would never have been president, with his White House behavior something the press would have ravaged him over today, perhaps rightly so:

Since they had not lived together before marrying, Jackie was unprepared for what she called Jack’s “violent” independence — by which she meant not just his habit of going off with his male friends but, more important, his thinly disguised promiscuity. … “I don’t think there are any men who are faithful to their wives. Men are such a combination of good and evil.” … Jackie’s unhappiness was no inducement to Jack to restrain himself. In the summer of 1956, while she was int he late stages of a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage, Jack went on a yachting trip with George Smathers in the Mediterranean, where he enjoyed “a bacchanal, with several young women getting on and off the boat at its ports of call.” … In 1958, when younger brother Ted got married, Jack was caught on tape whispering to him “that being married didn’t really mean that you had to be faithful to your wife.” – An Unfinished Life, by Robert Dallek (pgs. 194-195)

The bad news is Rep. Weiner’s campaign to keep his job and weather his stupidity isn’t going to be easy.

The good news about the revelatory photos is, congratulations, Tony, and Barbara Walters agrees.

Walters acknowledged that she had seen the picture “days ago.” As the women discussed the authenticity of the picture, Elisabeth Hasselbeck offered a theory: If Weiner hasn’t denied it was his, then it must be flattering.

“It is,” quipped Walters.

… “What he did was unfathomable,” she added. “I just heard a statistic which is 56% of his constituents want him to remain in office. And he’s been, if you’ve followed him, a very effective, outspoken, sometimes angry, certainly passionate congressman … the personal stuff is between him and his wife.”

Classic statement on Weiner from Democratic grand dame Diane Feinstein, “I just view it with great surprise and dismay. That’s all I can say.”

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, said “of course” Weiner’s actions make it tough for Dems in ’12. That’s malarkey, especially in the Senate, where Dems were in trouble long before Weiner’s wiener went wide.

Thanks to Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare-ending budget scheme, the House could be in play for Democrats.

Pres. Obama’s problems are economic not moral, with any trouble he’s getting from Democrats who think he’s compromise and capitulated of his own making.

We can now also put to sleep any notion that Breitbart was going to uphold his words on the “Today” show, where he said he’d hold the photo as insurance in case Weiner went after him.

In fact, two nights ago, Andrew Breitbart went out drinking with Anthony and several others — and according to Anthony, showed the picture to numerous people, even leaving his laptop computer unattended with the picture on the screen for long periods of time. One of those people was right wing flamethrower Ann Coulter. Here’s Anthony’s photo of Coulter reacting to the picture; notice that his computer is apparently there, but Breitbart is nowhere to be seen. – Charles Johnson

Johnson goes on to allege Breitbart handed his phone around the studio. As I tweeted yesterday, did Breitbart actually believe that talk radio shock jocks wouldn’t leak the photo?

Breitbart and the shock jock statements now sound laugh out loud hilarious. Needless to say, neither Breitbart or Anthony “regret” the release of the photo.

The Washington political establishments of both big parties are not hip. But they deliver verdicts differently. Republicans are permanently self-righteous and allow disgraced politicians like Vitter to keep on keeping on. Democratic self-loathing doesn’t allow for that and with so many Blue Dog Democrats now holding sway it will take the strength of Huma Abedin and the dogged tenacity Weiner’s has exhibited on the House floor to weather the party’s wrath, which they both are intent on doing.

In fact, much of the defense of Weiner is actually for Abedin, who is respected as a “substantial” woman of great substance and character. She’s the one encouraging her husband to dig in, which contrary to Roger Simons and Jay Newton-Small and others, does not require she make an appearance.

“She loves her husband very much. She is committed to her husband and her marriage,” the close friend said. She’s adamant that her husband does not resign, and is optimistic that he can continue his career as an elected official. “I think people have weathered worse,” said the source. “They are still talking all the time about what to do [to survive the scandal],” the source said, adding that they plotted his political comeback while at the hotel. – Weiner on wife support, Huma has his back

The calls for resignation were a mistake, especially looking at new generations of potential politicians waiting in the wings. Social media mistakes will be common to many good people coming up the ranks in politics, which Krystal Ball represented in 2010. But it shouldn’t be a deal breaker, nor should we continue to expect what never can be delivered: perfection in our politicians.

Weiner’s no Jack Kennedy and he’s no Bill Clinton. But at least his wife Huma is carrying his child and his cheating is virtual (at this point, though it really doesn’t matter if it crossed over after his X-rated exposure). You can’t say that about Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Edwards, David Vitter or the scores of other politicians who’ve been unmasked.

If Weiner had only paid a prostitute he wouldn’t be in this trouble. The Washington political establishment, including the media, can handle the oldest profession pitfall; they just can’t wrap their heads around virtual sex.

Originally posted at TMV.

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Republicans Wake Up to Romney

By on 10 June 2011

Suddenly, the election theme has changed. The Republican line in 2010 was: He’s a leftist. Now it is: He’s a failure. The issue is shifting from ideology to stewardship. As in 1992, it’s the economy, with everything else a distant second. The economic numbers explain why Obama’s job approval has fallen, why the bin Laden bump disappeared so quickly, and why Mitt Romney is running even with the president. Romney is the candidate least able to carry the ideological attack against Obama — Exhibit A of Obama’s hyper-liberalism is Obamacare, and Romney cannot rid himself of the similar plan he gave Massachusetts. But when it comes to being solid on economics, competent in business and highly experienced in governance, Romney is the prohibitive front-runner. – Stewardship? Or ideology?

Mitt Romney was never a far right-wing conservative wacko. That’s why he went down in flames in 2008. No one believed it. There’s a reason he’s got a reputation as a flip-flipper and that’s because he was trying to be all things to all people. But you don’t get to be governor of Massachusetts by being crazy.

Mr. Romney is now a more confident candidate. He’s decided that if he goes down he’s going down being who he is, which he seems to have discovered, even if nobody else has yet.

He’s not sure of the details, but he believes climate change is real and humans are responsible.

Like most other Americans, he likes Pres. Obama, because what’s not to like?

Romney made one statement when he announced that was a pitch perfect campaign platform on the case for why people should give him a try. No flame throwing, just the facts as he sees it.

A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually, very much the sort of thing Americans like to do: We gave someone new a chance to lead; someone we hadn’t known for very long, who didn’t have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better place.

At the time, we didn’t know what sort of a President he would make. It was a moment of crisis for our economy, and when Barack Obama came to office, we wished him well and hoped for the best.

Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have more than promises and slogans to go by.

Barack Obama has failed America.

Charles Krauthammer is appealing to Republicans’ inner ideological demon, reminding them that winning is better than losing and Mitt Romney has the resume for the economic times.

Mitt Romney is convinced and he intends to be the nominee. His plan is to outlast everyone else, because he’s got the money to do it, with others picking up a state here and there.

You’re not going to hear a far right message from Mitt Romney. It’s going to be all economics all the time. When asked about gay marriage recently, he simply replied “nice try.”

Krauthammer is also signaling it’s getting late and Republicans need to get their act together. Newt was a horrific embarrassment that makes everyone look bad.

Pres. Obama is struggling mightily right now and sounds like it.

All Mr. Romney has to do is channel morning in America with Mitt, which is exactly how he began his campaign.

What you won’t hear is a hard right ideological plan. Mitt’s gone to school on Barack Obama, the negotiator in chief, and he’s going to copy the model that put Pres. Obama in the White House.

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Panetta in Pakistan

By on 10 June 2011

Coming after his confirmation hearings for SecDef, Leon Panetta arrives in Pakistan:

CIA director Leon Panetta arrived here Friday on an unannounced visit that marked his first trip to Pakistan since al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a Navy SEAL raid more than a month ago, U.S. and Pakistani officials said. Panetta’s visit comes as the administration seeks to keep its badly bruised relations with Pakistan from deteriorating any further.

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National Enquirer Claims New Scoop on Edwards Saga

By on 10 June 2011

From the tabloid that broke the story to begin with, which vaulted them into We Can’t Afford To Ignore What They Print Anymore territory:

“It was Elizabeth’s idea to secret­ly record a video and tell what knew of the affair and John’s horrific betrayal.” [...]

“It was then – without Cate’s knowledge – that Elizabeth turned the video camera on herself. She passed the video to a close friend and asked that it be sent to prosecutors,” said the source.

“On the secret video, Elizabeth spells out EVERYTHING she knew.

“Elizabeth wanted to haunt John and Rielle – literally from her grave – and she has”.

Elizabeth Edwards was given absolutely no reason to take her secrets about what John did with her.

If true, and we don’t have corroborating proof that it is, it’s an absolutely brutal last act that will change how she will be remembered. It also would flesh out the toughness in her, the grit, as well as the ugliness that came to be revealed as part of what the Edwards marriage was about, contrary to their very public image, which John Edwards used as the foundation of his presidential ambitions.

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Karl Rove & Republicans Take Hit Out on Debbie Wasserman Schultz

By on 10 June 2011

… Wasserman Schultz is kind of an easy target. Any “aggressive messenger” is. Extreme and shrill is always far easier to spoof than subtle and nuanced. – Hot Air

…and the D.C. political class is sucking it up.

Democrats are freaked that Karl Rove is leading the Right, The Hill and other Republican-leaning outfits in a targeting campaign to discredit Debbie Wasserman Schultz, all in attempt to Pelosi her.

And, yep, right on schedule, the Democratic boys club is getting nervous.
Continue Reading →

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Get Yer Palin Propaganda Before the Emails Drop

By on 10 June 2011

**UPDATED**

The Alaska Archives of Palin Emails
(continually updated)



Keeping her fans hopes alive and her options open. …at least until the 24,000 emails drop later today.

From the New York Times:

Even as Ms. Palin orchestrates much of her messaging through digital media — one moment she tweaks President Obama via Twitter, then she elaborates on Facebook, all from wherever she might be at that moment — her old e-mails are being released by the pound, not the pixel, in six standard paper boxes, a total of about 250 pounds at a printing cost of $725 per set. And at least initially, the documents can be had only by either picking them up here, in remote Juneau — a city accessible only by plane and boat — or by having them shipped, at considerable cost, to newsrooms across the country.

In addition, more than 2,000 pages of the e-mails have been withheld for various reasons, including executive privilege and privacy, according to Mr. Parnell’s office. Many of the documents that are being released have had details redacted by state lawyers.

“Why has your staff only implemented taxing ways to disclose these (redacted) public documents? What about scanning them?” Andree McLeod, a Palin critic who started filing records requests even before Ms. Palin became a national figure, wrote to Mr. Parnell recently.

The documents are to be released at 9 a.m. Alaska time on Friday — 1 p.m. in New York — and some news organizations are putting into place elaborate systems for scanning them and inviting the public to help search them online. MSNBC, ProPublica and Mother Jones magazine are working with a research company to create an online database of the documents. The company, Crivella West, created a similar database last year when the state released a much smaller set of documents related to the involvement of Ms. Palin’s husband, Todd, with state government. The company has not said when exactly its new database will be ready.

You can read them at the LA Times in the “Alaska archives” once they arrive.

The Washington Post and the New York Times are among the news organizations asking readers to do the job for them, because they no longer have the staff to do it themselves.

Friday is always considered dump day, which certainly holds true for Palin today.

In brighter news for Palin fans, “The Undefeated” is now going to get a nationwide release.

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Anthony Weiner on Resigning: ‘I’m not’

By on 09 June 2011

**UPDATED**

According to the one-day poll, conducted Wednesday, just 33 percent of voters in New York’s Ninth Congressional District think Weiner should resign from the House, while 56 percent do not think he should resign. – Poll: Weiner’s Constituents Don’t Think He Should Resign

I didn’t believe he would and he shouldn’t.

Rep. Anthony Weiner looked almost relaxed as he was interviewed by the New York Post, or maybe the best word is relieved. He was carrying a lot of guilt and shame, with the worst finally happening to him. His secret is out and everyone knows. There’s nowhere to go but up from here.

His wife Huma Abedin is reportedly standing behind him and urging him to fight for his job and to renew his life, which was the whole ballgame. She didn’t have to come out on camera to prove it, though fogies and establishment types demanded it.

The New York Post got the scoop:

“I’m going to get back to work as best I can,” he said.

“I betrayed a lot of people and I know it and I’m trying to get back to work now and try to make amends to my constituents, and of course to my family of course,” he added. “I’m going to go back to my community office and try to get some work done.”

Weiner reiterated what he told the media earlier this week.

“As I said when I spoke at the press conference on Monday that I exchanged inappropriate things with people and, I think that I’ve now got to deal with those consequences,” he added.

“I was completely honest on Monday after I hadn’t been for a while,” Weiner said outside his lawyer’s office in Midtown.

Who knows, maybe talking with the Big Dawg helped and he might have gotten some sage advice about fighting through this hell.

The worst is over (no matter what happens in the ethics investigation).

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Newt Gingrich Campaign Team Bolts

By on 09 June 2011

**UPDATED**

The word for this moment is “implode” for $500,000 or a coupon for one of Tiffany’s classic blue boxes.

Jonathan Martin reports it was “a team decision” in The Newt Gingrich campaign implosion.

Chris Cilizza: Gingrich presidential campaign implodes.

Iowa Caucuses’ Jennifer Jacobs: Gingrich’s entire paid Iowa campaign team resigns.

Jim Galloway does something similar.

The best description that hits closest to the mark comes from Larry Sabato:

At the end of May, Gingrich took a previously scheduled two-week vacation while other candidates campaigned. All told, one can not only question the execution of Gingrich’s campaign, but also the commitment of the candidate to it. Remember when failed Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley took a vacation between her primary victory and the special election against now-Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA)? Inviting comparisons to Coakley, who shockingly lost Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, is obviously not any campaign’s objective.

Newt Gingrich is no longer the political animal he was in the ’90s, far from it. He looks terrible, out of shape and slow. Contrast it to any of the other candidates enjoying copy and coverage, with Newt acting like an entitled lord waiting to be crowned. His staff obviously woke up and decided they weren’t going to lose their life for a presidential wannabe who’d rather be on vacation.

To add a little color, consider the comments reacting to Newt’s Facebook belch as foreshadowing of a further collapse to come.

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Romney’s Critics Stirring Up Climategate

By on 09 June 2011

“Bye-bye, nomination,” Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday on his radio talk show after playing a clip of Romney’s climate remark. “Another one down. We’re in the midst here of discovering that this is all a hoax. The last year has established that the whole premise of man-made global warming is a hoax, and we still have presidential candidates that want to buy into it.” – Romney draws early fire from conservatives over views on climate change

Rush isn’t the only critic.

“Remind me again: Why is this guy considered the front-runner for the Republican nomination?” blogger Doug Brady wrote Friday on the site Conservatives4Palin after Romney’s remarks in New Hampshire. “I may be going out on a limb here, but shouldn’t the Republican candidate oppose Democrat positions? Or am I living in the past and hopelessly naïve?” – Mitt Romney: No apologies on climate change stance

First it was Donald Trump who made Tea Partiers pissed by stealing their thunder, which brought Sarah Palin out after a long absence after the Loughner shooting and her video statement debacle.

So, if Romney looks like he’s headed for the nomination, is that the tipping point for Sarah Palin to ride to the rescue? She’s said all along that if she’s needed she’ll run. Well, wouldn’t a Romney candidacy now be the worst for the flat earth climate deniers?

All Sarah will need is a horse and some bells (leave the musket guns at home), because her fans are ready.

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Health Care ACA on Trial

By on 09 June 2011

In the most important appeal of the Obamacare constitutional saga, today was the best day yet for individual freedom. The government’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, spent most of the hearing on the ropes, with the judicial panel extremely cautious not to extend federal power beyond its present outer limits of regulating economic activity that has a substantial aggregate effect on interstate commerce. – Cato

Log this under the bad memory file. Someone should have figured out a way that ACA wouldn’t have been so easily challenged. But that’s spilled, sour milk, though it’s the reason for the graphic, as we still need health care reform.

Not everyone agrees with the quote above, though most of the things I have read point to the fact that acting Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal for the Obama administration got grilled on high.

Cato’s Ilya Shapiro certainly was happy:

Countless times, Judges Dubina and Marcus demanded that the government articulate constitutional limiting principles to the power it asserted. And countless times they pointed out that never in history has Congress tried to compel people to engage in commerce as a means of regulating commerce. Even Judge Hull, reputed to be the most liberal member of the panel, conducted a withering cross-examination to establish that the individual mandate didn’t help that many people get affordable care, that the majority of people currently without coverage would be exempt from the requirement (presumably due to their income level).

In short, while we should never read too much into an oral argument, I’m more optimistic about this case now than any other.

But as Jonathan Cohn writes in a good rundown, if you read other reviews on what happened it’s a bit more mixed.

From Ian Millhiser:

The plaintiffs in this case make the most common argument conservatives levy against the ACA — its provision requiring most Americans to either carry health insurance or pay slightly more income taxes violates the Constitution because Congress cannot “regulate inactivity” — only the states have this power — and therefore people who don’t buy insurance are somehow off limits.

The judges, however, expressed extreme skepticism at this argument. At one point, Judge Frank Hull, a conservative Clinton appointee nominated as part of a compromise with the GOP-controlled Senate, announced outright that “this whole inactivity business just doesn’t get me.” Judge Stanley Marcus, a similar compromise Clinton appointee, said on several occasions that the plaintiffs’ entire states’ rights theory didn’t make sense.

Segue to , acting Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal for the Obama administration:

Mr. Katyal said that the insurance mandate clearly had an economic rationale because governments, hospitals and the privately insured end up shouldering costs for uninsured patients who cannot pay. That rationale, he said, satisfies the test set by the Supreme Court in a string of prior decisions: that the Commerce Clause permits Congress to regulate activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

What the Supreme Court has never considered is whether a choice to not buy a product can be considered an “activity” that can be regulated, as the government asserts.

Nobody knows how this one is going to end. The next hearing is in September in D.C.

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Herman Cain: Muslims Require Loyalty Oath

By on 09 June 2011

It's hard to know where to start with this one. It starts with Cain demanding loyalty oaths from Muslims, but no one else. Charming, I know.

Herman Cain was voted to have won the first Republican debate. He didn't have a clue about anything on foreign policy, but that didn't matter. With Republican primary voters all you need is to plug in your ideology and away we go.

It's the Liz Cheney theory, too.

But sitting down with Glenn Beck, Cain took his ignorance to a new level, adding bigotry to it.

BECK: So wait a minute, are you saying that Muslims have to prove, there has to be a loyalty proof?
CAIN: Yes, to the Constitution of the United States of America.
BECK: Well, would you do that to a Catholic or a Mormon?
CAIN: No, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t because there is a greater dangerous part of the Muslim faith than there is in these other religions. I know there are some Muslims who talk about but we’re a peaceful religion. I’m sure that there are some peace-loving.

When a politician manages to make Glenn Beck look like the sane one he's got trouble.

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The Gentleman Candidate

By on 09 June 2011

From Jonathan Martin today:

For now, though, the Republican is seeking the mantle of the civility candidate, and one of his top aides said the velvet hammer policy applies to not only Obama but the other GOP presidential hopefuls.

“He’s not one to tear anyone down by name, whether that person is Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Gov. Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama,” said Matt David, likely to be Huntsman’s communications director. “I think he’ll make it clear where he disagrees when it comes to policy and where he wants to take this country, but for him this is a campaign based on substance and not names.”

As exotic an approach as it seems for the modern political era, Huntsman has been insistent about his intent to keep the debate on a high plane.

In the video clip, Huntsman said he would not have intervened in Libya, but also hints that if he were president our involvement in the Middle East would look different. As a liberal, there is a lot not to like about him, but his view on foreign policy isn’t one of them.

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Old Fogie Justice and Breitbart Lies

By on 09 June 2011

“She loves her husband very much. She is committed to her husband and her marriage,” the close friend said. She’s adamant that her husband does not resign, and is optimistic that he can continue his career as an elected official. “I think people have weathered worse,” said the source. “They are still talking all the time about what to do [to survive the scandal],” the source said, adding that they plotted his political comeback while at the hotel. – Weiner on wife support, Huma has his back

Ed Rendell proclaimed today on “Morning Joe” that Rep. Weiner is a dead politician walking, my words not his. If he is, Democrats better understand who wins here and it isn’t them or progressives. So far DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has kept quiet, even amidst RNC chair’s Reince Priebus’ hypocritical judgment, which only applies to Weiner, not Vitter or other Republicans who have been caught up in scandals, with Vitter’s solicitation of prostitutes actually a crime.

As both Rendell and Mike Barnicle know but are conveniently fogetting, if John F. Kennedy had been held to today’s standards he would never have been president, with his White House behavior something the press would have ravaged him over today, perhaps rightly so:

Since they had not lived together before marrying, Jackie was unprepared for what she called Jack’s “violent” independence — by which she meant not just his habit of going off with his male friends but, more important, his thinly disguised promiscuity. … “I don’t think there are any men who are faithful to their wives. Men are such a combination of good and evil.” … Jackie’s unhappiness was no inducement to Jack to restrain himself. In the summer of 1956, while she was int he late stages of a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage, Jack went on a yachting trip with George Smathers in the Mediterranean, where he enjoyed “a bacchanal, with several young women getting on and off the boat at its ports of call.” … In 1958, when younger brother Ted got married, Jack was caught on tape whispering to him “that being married didn’t really mean that you had to be faithful to your wife.” – An Unfinished Life, by Robert Dallek (pgs. 194-195)

Classic statement on Weiner from Democratic grand dame Diane Feinstein, “I just view it with great surprise and dismay. That’s all I can say.”

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Patty Murray, said “of course” Weiner’s actions make it tough for Dems in ’12. That’s malarkey, especially in the Senate, where Dems were in trouble long before Weiner’s weiner went wide.

Thanks to Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare-ending budget scheme, the House could be in play for Democrats.

Pres. Obama’s problems are economic not moral.

Now, giving Andrew Breitbart control over your life because you were stupid is Rep. Weiner’s own fault. But any notion that Breitbart was going to uphold his words on the “Today” show, where he said he’d hold the photo as insurance in case Weiner went after him, should be at the very least questioned, while I admit to believing he leaked it on purpose, no matter what he says.

In fact, two nights ago, Andrew Breitbart went out drinking with Anthony and several others — and according to Anthony, showed the picture to numerous people, even leaving his laptop computer unattended with the picture on the screen for long periods of time. One of those people was right wing flamethrower Ann Coulter. Here’s Anthony’s photo of Coulter reacting to the picture; notice that his computer is apparently there, but Breitbart is nowhere to be seen. – Charles Johnson

Johnson goes on to allege Breitbart handed his phone around the studio. As I tweeted yesterday, did Breitbart actually believe that talk radio shock jocks wouldn’t leak the photo?

Breitbart and shock jock statement from yesterday, which is laugh out loud hilarious at this point:

Earlier today, a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission.

Prior to the publication of our story on BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com this past Monday morning, it was necessary to show the pictures I had received from our source to several news producers, including several at major news networks, to prove that the additional material I described really did exist, which some have continued to doubt.

This morning, I showed a photograph, which our source claims Weiner sent her, to radio hosts “Opie and Anthony” of the Sirius XM radio network on my mobile device. Somehow, without my knowledge or permission, apparently a picture was taken of my mobile device, and subsequently published by Opie (Gregg Hughes) on Twitter.

His co-host, Anthony (Anthony Cumia), stated today:

“In regards to the photo of Anthony Weiner that was leaked by members of The Opie And Anthony show on 6/8, I want to make it clear that Andrew Breitbart had no knowledge that this photo was being made public. A phone with the photo was being displayed and a camera in the studio caught it. It was then uploaded to twitter [sic], again, without Andrew Breitbarts [sic] knowledge.”

I regret that this occurred.

Needless to say, neither Breitbart or Anthony “regret” the release of the photo.

The Washington political establishments of both big parties are not hip. But they deliver verdicts differently. Republicans allow disgraced politicians like Vitter to keep on keeping on. Democratic self-loathing doesn’t allow for that and with so many Blue Dog Democrats now holding sway it will take the strength of Huma Abedin and the dogged tenacity Weiner’s exhibited on the House floor before to weather the party’s wrath that continues to build.

The calls for resignation remain a mistake, especially looking at new generations of potential politicians waiting in the wings. Social media mistakes will be common to many good people coming up the ranks in politics, which Krystal Ball represented in the last cycle. But it shouldn’t be a deal breaker, nor should we continue to expect what never can be delivered: perfection in our politicians.

Weiner’s no Jack Kennedy and he’s no Bill Clinton. But at least his wife Huma is carrying his child and his cheating is virtual (at this point, though it really doesn’t matter if it crossed over after his X-rated exposure). You can’t say that about Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Edwards, David Vitter or the scores of other politicians who’ve been unmasked.

If Weiner had only paid a prostitute he wouldn’t be in this trouble, as David Vitter proves. The Washington political establishment can handle the oldest profession pitfall; they just can’t wrap their heads around virtual sex.

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Breitbart Leaks X-rated Shot to Opie and Anthony

By on 08 June 2011

**UPDATED**

After saying he was going to keep the X-rated photo as leverage, you know, (ahem) in case Rep. Anthony Weiner targeted him, Andrew Breitbart leaked the photo during an appearance with wingnut radio hosts Opie and Anthony.

It was tweeted earlier by the radio hosts, which was posted on yfrog, then Gawker blasted the photo.

From Raw Story:

Though they now claim that they retrieved a still of the phone from a videotape of the show and that Breitbart didn’t allow them to photograph it, the original image, now removed from Yfrog, showed a thumb in the corner of the lens, as though it was taken from a cell phone camera. Yfrog was the image-sharing service to which Weiner sent the “joke” photo of him in his boxers that started the entire scandal.

The bad news is Rep. Weiner’s campaign to keep his job just got a lot tougher (if not impossible).

The good news is, congratulations, Tony.

Tim Kaine sent the message for the Democratic Party this morning when he asked Weiner to resign, followed by others, so I sent a message via Twitter to Mr. Kaine. He will not get my vote for senator.

That all this is happening as we find out Huma Abedin is pregnant adds a poignant note to this sorry spectacle.

I remain someone who doesn’t think stupidity is a criminal offense, nor is a libido, and neither means someone can’t handle their job in Congress. It’s also not breaking news that a man could be proud of his junk and the boys. It’s just best not to take a photo then transmit it across open technology platforms when you’re a sitting congressman, no matter how proud you might be. It’s criminally dumb, but not shocking to me.

To drive the point home, I particularly want to get sleuthing anti sex puritans out of politics so that private foibles, except something seriously criminal, should not be an impediment to public office. It’s simply long past time America grew up.

When I look at the carnage of the George W. Bush presidency, a faithful man who couldn’t navigate technology if his life depended on it, I’m convinced of this.

Rep. Anthony Weiner engaged in risky behavior considering the trail technology leaves, which may or may not require counseling, but it doesn’t mean he can’t work a job if New Yorkers want him to.

The notion that Weiner will keep Democrats from focusing or winning in 2012 is preposterous, but that’s what Obama loyalists are pimping. People are focused on the economy and jobs, with the longer Republicans focus on Weiner’s weiner bound to eventually cause a backlash.

As long as there are prudes and moralists we will continue to be led by tight-ass people whose squeaky clean life make it miserable for the rest of us, but also don’t make this country work any smoother, make the middle class stronger, or wars less likely.

On the upside, maybe this will be Alec Baldwin’s big break, though what he knows about running the biggest city in the country is yet to be proved.

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Screw Austerity

By on 08 June 2011

“This will be the largest economic campaign we have ever run,” Justin Ruben, MoveOn’s Executive Director said in an interview with The Huffington Post. “The goal here is to really change the debate and refocus it on the stuff that is necessary to create jobs and make the economy work for regular people … It is unreal that with widespread misery across the country, Washington is focused on closing the deficit and giving tax breaks to millionaires.” – Sam Stein, Huffington Post

The video was marketing, as Stein explains in his piece.

What it’s selling is something big, at least Van Jones and MoveOn.org hopes it will be. The date to mark is June 23rd.

UPDATE: T4H has a post up “In the News” on the Obama administration’s ridiculous refusal to endorse a jobs bill. That’s right, a Democratic administration thinks it’s too expensive to focus on jobs.

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