I am not interested in blogging, so a few quick hits is all you are going to get from me today.
1.) Despite the fact the Republicans are the party of torture, fiscal irresponsibility, domestic surveillance, blown war management, drug warriors, and sex cops, self-styled libertarian Glenn Reynolds just couldn’t find it in himself to pull the lever for Harold Ford. Glenn places some of the reasoning for his vote for the GOP candidate on the ‘sexual McCarthyism’ of the ‘left’ (translation- one leftwing blogger) despite remaining silent on the Blackwell campaign (and the entire GOP establishment) attempting to smear Strickland (more here on this). He then links to ‘analysis’ from batshit crazy Dan Riehl, who explains how the ‘Dems’ are ‘blowing it.’
For those of you keeping score, the logic goes like this:
Fucking up the country in every way imaginable and betraying all of your alleged libertarian beliefs = bad.
One left-wing blogger allegedly outing a Republican Senator= MUCH worse.
I am beginning to think the only person Glenn is fooling with his libertarianism is himself (BUT HE VOTED AGAINST TENNESSEE’S ANTI-GAY AMENDMENT!). Not even Red State is pretending he is a libertarian anymore (“More importantly, if moderate Republicans like Glenn are sticking with unexcited Republican candidates over charismatic moderates like Ford…”).
2.) What the hell is Peggy Noonan talking about?
3.) Red State is outraged (OUTRAGED!) about a one minute call to a phone sex number. Since the GOP has blown the budget, it can’t be about the expense, and since the GOP has proven itself full of perverts and philanderers, it can’t be about the sex, so we will just file this under “Election Year BULLSHIT“:
State Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western, who’s running against Arcuri, criticized the ad and requested it be pulled.
The ad, which WUTR, WKTV and Syracuse stations WSTM and WSTQ refused to run Friday, asserts that Arcuri, the Oneida County district attorney, called a telephone sex hot line while staying in a hotel at county expense.
No one is disputing that a telephone call was placed from Arcuri’s hotel room two years ago to 800-457-8462, a number that today is a sex line. But the significance of that call — which documents show lasted one minute or less — was hotly contested Friday.
•Arcuri provided records showing that a number with the same last seven digits, but a 518 area code, was made one minute after the 800 number was called. That 518-457-8462 number goes to the state Department of Criminal Justice Services.
Sean Byrne, executive director of the New York Prosecutor Training Institute, said Friday he had misdialed the 800 number from Arcuri’s hotel room.
•Meier denounced the ad, which his campaign did not create or pay for, and called it “way over the line.” He said he’s asked that the ad be dropped.
•One media expert said he was baffled the National Republican Congressional Committee decided to run the ad, given the flimsiness of the facts.
“It is such an egregiously stupid accusation,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University. “It really does make you look sleazy when you can say they knew this and still ran it.”
Principles, Red State. Principles.
Somewhat related story- Bush stumps for adulterer during values week.
4.) Bush announces he will not change strategies in Iraq. Before you get too depressed, realize that his statement is actually reassuring, as I was unaware we had a strategy in Iraq. Maybe if we are all good and eat our vegetables and vote Republican, they will share it with us after the elections. Unless it is still super-duper double-secret probation confidential. I can’t believe I ever voted for these people.
5.) Some good news from Iraq- there has been a huge growth in opportunity for independent contractors:
Behind the maze of men with guns in Iraq is a very simple truth: their barrels offer protection, something Iraqis say the government has never given them.
A Divided City On Friday, the web wound tightly around the southern city of Amara, where the two largest and best-armed militias, both made up of religious Shiites, were fighting for control of the city.
But when the prime minister speaks of disarming militias — those mushrooming armies of men with guns that carry out most of the killing here — Iraqi brows begin to furrow.
“He’s just talking,” snapped Fadhil Sabri, a 37-year-old generator repairman in a grease-stained shop in Sadr City, a Baghdad stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia.
“Not now. Not even in 10 years. You need arms to defend yourself,” he said.
That is all. Have a good weekend!