Watching the news coverage of Blagealphabet, and how truly damning the recordings are, and the only thing that keeps popping into my mind is what on earth he was thinking. It was so damned brazen- this was not garden variety corruption. Jeffrey Toobin seems to be in a state of shock.
Meanwhile, the GOP is still completely clueless:
Shortly after the news broke that Blagojevich was arrested for, among other things, seeking to profit for filling the Senate seat vacated by Obama, the RNC fired off an e-mail to reporters that included laudatory remarks the president-elect has made about the troubled governor in the past.
Included in the RNC e-mail was an Obama quote: “If the governor asks me to work on his behalf, I’ll be happy to do it.”
The e-mail also noted that when Obama endorsed Blagojevich for a second term, The Associated Press reported the president-elect said: “We’ve got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois.”
Apparently the RNC missed Blagojevich hating on Obama in the indictment. At any rate, today’s poll says 80% of the country approves of how Obama has been handling himself with the transition. Good luck with the smear. Morons.
And since we have not had one for a while, here is a kitty:
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
KITTEH!
(I’ve had a shitty day. I needed the cute.)
DougJ
I’m pretty sure Blago was hiding Obama’s *real* (read: not American) birth certificate. But with a Kossack like Fitzgerald running this investigation, there’s no way that will ever come out.
I hope Tom Maguire is able to get to the bottom of this.
kommrade reproductive vigor
With Palin no longer shopping with the RNC’s credit cards, they have to blow their cash on something.
Laura W
@Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse: and you surely need a laugh.
If you’ve not been through today’s threads yet, cut to the chase and GO HERE NOW.
Thanks to Jane for the French version. I posted the silent version this morning. Both are equally pants-wetting funny, although if you speak French (which I don’t. Well. At all.) this one might be a tad funnier.
Tom
What’s the RNC trying to tie Obama to Blojo for? Don’t they know the election is over?
Was this just a knee-jerk "guilt-by-association" attack? Can they not help themselves?
It seems kind of odd to issue this kind of an attack AFTER an election. I think there’s an attitude that during an election, you do what you have to do. But this just seems to be attempt to undermine Obama for no apparent reason. And it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t such a weak (and seemingly false) attack.
MattF
The Republican Politburo has its collective head so far up its ass that it has to open its mouth to blow its nose. You can hear them thinking– ‘OK, no more fooling around– this time the smear will work’.
cleek
well, if we’re postin cat vids, i must post my own.
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Actually, I believe the kitty is mimicking Gov. Blagojevich’s thought process sequence here. Upside down and lying.
But the cat’s already shown to be smarter…no incriminating wire-recording derived from tabby’s yapper.
No such luck for Gov. Blago-bits. It appears he put his greedy paws right into those hidden clumps in his personal cat-box.
kommrade reproductive vigor
As for what Blahgobitch was thinking, this little ditty sums up his thought processes.
Laura W
@cleek: Now THAT’S entertainment!
Bill Arnold
But this just seems to be attempt to undermine Obama for no apparent reason.
The current Republican party is not an actual party of ideas. It is simply a party of clockwork-predictable anti-Democrats.
I want a real opposition.
Laura W
I would also like to add that this kitty is wicked cute. The markings are gorgeous, and I melt when I see those curled-in bunny paws. Little bat ears…
Maybe I’m like one of those women breeders who upon holding someone else’s baby immediately wants a new one of her own.
Only with cats.
JL
It’s been an amazing day. Obviously Blago… thought that if he did it, it was legal. That didn’t work for Nixon but why not try it again.
binzinerator
From the AP:
Yeah, but we know that won’t matter to the wingnuts. If sitting on the same board as a guy who was a Weatherman back when Obama was 6 is proof Obama is a terrorist to these kind of people, this is of course going to be smoking gun proof Obama was trying to sell his old senate seat. Or something.
Jesus H. Effing Christ. Is there any way we can rid this nation of these damned gooper fools? They are demonstrably a danger to the nation and have already caused a great deal of death and suffering.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Cleek, your cats almost forced me to tell my cats that they aren’t the prettiest. But then I thought: Do I really want crap-filled shoes for the rest of their lives?
Shhh! Don’t tell them.
passerby
Well what the fuck was Obama supposed to say?!? "I think the governor is a shifty asshole and I’ll stone wall him any chance I get!"
Politicians + Other Politicians = Strange Bedfellows especially in Chicagoland.
Joshua Norton
He must have watched "Fargo" a few times too many. I can just imagine him looking at William Macy’s character and thinking ‘Hell, I can do better than that’.
demkat620
There are no words for this level of stupid. The only thing that could have made this better was if the FBI killed a turkey during Fitzgerald’s press conference or Blago had been arrested while wearing two wetsuits with a dildo up his ass.
Unbelievably dumb.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
No, no they don’t. That only works with white presidents. Black presidents are fair game until they are taken down, however that happens, however long it takes and they will look in every nook and cranny, and consider ever opportunity to get rid of "that scary n*gg*r".
TheFountainHead
Oh noes! Da Bambas sez da meeninles prazes 4 da Blago-blag!!11!1-elevenses!1!!!
Da conekshun + corupshun r offious!
Comrade Jake
The best part has got to be Rod bragging the other day about people recording him. I mean, this guy is making Palin look like a fucking rocket scientist.
Mnemosyne
Man, if it turns out to be true that Rahm Emanuel was the whistleblower, I will be in seventh heaven.
The Other Steve
TPM had a note that the final straw may have come from Rahm. As in Dumbo talked to Rahm and tried to demand something from him and Rahm put a knife in his back.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Exercising unbridled ego is dangerous. I have never understood why so few realize this.
The Other Steve
I loved the thinking that appointing himself Senator would gain him more favorable coverage.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: Yup. And even if he serves two terms, fixes the economy, captures Osama bin Laden, finds a cure for cancer and leaves with the highest popularity rating ever, they’ll still say it was their hard work that finally saved America and ousted the scary brown guy from the White House.
Are we sure it’s all right to laugh at these guys? Seriously, sometimes I feel like I’m at a freak show laughing at the mentally and physically disabled.
plus C
What gets to me is that he did this while he was already under investigation. It’s like if Ted Stevens had added another story to his house a couple weeks before being convicted.
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
Jabberin’ Jeebus, my fucking dog knew that Fitzgerald had Blago’s phone tapped, and the mutt only reads USA Today.
Comrade Jake
NoQuarter is fairly entertaining on this. They’re convinced it’s only a matter of time before it emerges that Obama got favors from Rod.
Expect that to emerge sometime just after the Whitey tape.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Sweet! That’s change I can believe in (and more than a month before Obama even enters office, too!) ;)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Obviously he meant the kind that comes in a certain shade of green.
passerby
"But as this is a ongoing investigation involving the governor I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."
Asked what contact he’d had with the governor’s office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."
But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.
While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a "kingmaker," Axelrod said, "I know he’s talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."
______________
Oops. Obama should not shy away from being candid. The least little misstatement, like this one, will be epic R fodder. While only a small gaff, it unnecessarily muddies him.
Instead, something like: "Yes, the question of who would replace me came up in conversation and I think Illinois has a number of outstanding candidates who would serve the people well." See? If I could come up with some political bullshit kind of answer, certainly he could.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Thanks, Laura. That’s Québecois French from the kitty! "Give me the paper! Chalice! Hostie! I’m tired of this …". Really, these could have been exact quotes from me today. J’suis tanné, moé, aussi!
"Chalice" pronounced, "caw-LISSE!", literally means the chalice used at Communion. It’s a medium big swear word. "Hostie", pronounced "oast-EE!", refers to the Communion host. It’s another medium big swear word. Blasphemy is traditionally a big source of Québecois swearing. In fact, the Montreal Archdiocese ran a major ad campaign a few years ago meant to bring people’s attention to the fact that these weren’t just curses, they really did refer to elements of the Mass.
r€nato
Obama pals around with
terroristscorrupt politicians!Common Sense
TPM debunks the source claiming Rahm leaked the Guv:
gopher2b
Watch how McKenna, current Chairman of the Illinois GOP, is handling this situation. He took a stand against Durbin last week who was seeking a pardon for Ryan and he was very articulate today on the radio.
Here’s hoping from the ashes….
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Blockquote est un maudit tête-carré today.
"Oh, tabernacle!". The man swore in French as a car splashed through a puddle, sending water onto his pants. He could never be quoted in the papers here. It is too profane. So are other angry oaths that sound innocuous in English: chalice, host, baptism. In French-speaking Quebec, swearing sounds like an inventory being taken at a church. …
The swearwords have persisted even though church attendance has plummeted in the past 40 years. Because of that drop, "when the young kids on the street are swearing, they don’t even know what they are swearing about," mused Monsignor Francis Coyle, pastor of St. Patrick’s Basilica in Montreal. "They’re baptized in church, and that’s about it."
Last spring, the Montreal Archdiocese commissioned an advertising campaign that erected large billboards in the city intended to shock and educate. Each billboard featured a word like tabernacle or chalice — startling swearwords on the street — and offered the correct dictionary definition for the religious term. Such as: "Tabernacle — small cupboard locked by key in the middle of the altar" containing the sacred goblet.
demimondian
@Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse: That is just too funny.
Of course, American profanity is no better. Have you ever actually thought about what a "mother-fucking son of a bitch" actually is?
Comrade Stuck
Well, this didn’t take long. The old anti-Clinton playbook comes off the shelf in a blink of an eye. It’s a little dusty, but no matter. Floggin Aces has a rag.
Somebody get Ken Starr on the Horn! Stat.
Laura W
@Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse: Oh wow. I knew you’d know! Now I have to go back and listen with your translation notes.
It’s funny that blasphemous swear words up there are sort of sublimated and related to the chalice and the host, as symbols of Christ, where down here we just say "Jesus Fucking Christ", and mean pretty much the same thing, only more directly, huh?
(Thay may lose something in the Ketel One translation.)
Laura W
@Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse: I didn’t click thru to your link before posting. It seems I might not have needed to!
JFC!
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Oh, Jesus Christ gets namechecked as well. One of my favourite classic swears, rather old-fashioned and rural and not in use today, is one about a specific number of Christs riding a very specific type of wagon drawn by a specific number of horses. (OK: Christs: deux. Horses: deux. Wagon: charabanc. )
The semi-canonical list of Québecois blasphemy is here.
And then there’s Batman swearing a blue streak in Euro and Canadian French (Flash animation) here.
sidereal
WTF is the RNC doing campaigning against the President-Elect after the election is over?
ronin122
Heh it’s not just the right going there. Lots of morons posting the same thing in HuffingtonPost’s comment sections, and how "omgz Axelrod said weeks ago they had talked so contradictions, HMMMMMMMMMM…..". Honestly no clue what the make up is between Republican trolls, Naderites and flat out people-incapable-of-rational-thought, but it’s one reason I shy away from their comment sections. Just kinda stupid how they take the quotes out of context.
Any thinking person can see Axelrod was saying they had at least spoken and some names were floated as one would expect, and Obama’s saying there was no depth to any deliberations (at least between himself and Blago personally). Somehow I doubt Obama would try to get his hands dirty with Blago the last month or so considering everything, but hey I guess this is proof we should have voted for Hillary or Johnny or Nader or something.
JL
It’s apparent that the indictment indicates that Blago and Obama were not friends.
Laura W
@demimondian: Well, having clicked through Mary’s link, it may be a close approximation to:
Enfant de chienne
Unless that translates into "puppy".
JGabriel
demimondian:
Actually, "bitch" as a derogatory curse precedes English – if I remember correctly there’s a passage in ancient Greek, probably The Iliad, where Helen refers to herself as a "bitch".
So it would seem that the usage of "bitch"/"female dog" as a cuss word may have roots extending back to Indo-European.
.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Axelrod said they talked? What does that entail exactly – here’s a questionable scenario:
Blagowhatshisname: Hi, Barack. Thank you for coming to see me, I wanted to talk to you about how we fill your seat, and if you have any thoughts of how we can best create the most advantageous appointment?
Obama: No, governor, I don’t. I think that is something that should be left up to you. My job now is to prepare to be president, that’s a lot of work right there, now that Bush has totally changed the financial structure of the entire world… I’m booked, you’ll have to do that on your own, sorry.
Did they talk or not?
kay
@ronin122:
I think you have to look at what he was asked.
It’s this: "were you aware of what was happening with your Senate seat?"
Obama says no, that he didn’t talk to the governor.
"what was happening" is pretty vague. In the context of the arrest? Well, no, he wasn’t "aware of what was happening". They called him last night and told him they were going to arrest the governor.
I understood the question the same way Obama did.
Laura W
I am so confused about how to feel about Caroline Kennedy taking Hill’s seat.
Marcus has the whole fairy tale fetish clouding her vision…she is lilting and tilting and shooting sparks as she speaks of the possibility.
Jane Hamsher (is that John’s imaginary girlfriend?) is not so sure.
My imaginary boyfriend, Lawrence O’Donnell, is 100% sure that she’d rock.
Please tell me what to think!!!!!!!!!
That’s why I come here, after all.
r€nato
if you think that mere facts will stop the wingnuts from spinning tales about how Blago and Obama conspired to sell Obama’s old Senate seat, you have not been paying attention for the past 16 years.
I bet Bill Ayers figures into this as well.
The Grand Panjandrum
@Mnemosyne: Fox News speculation. Unless I hear it from another source then it probably is just that, speculation.
Joshua Norton
I really don’t think she could handle it. She’d be in the spotlight 24/7, just for being a Kennedy and JFK’s daughter. Jackie brought them to absolutely run from the press and Caroline has always been in complete lock down about her private life.
Jeff
But this is more important than the fact that we are selling T-Bills at a negative interest rate and people are buying them.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
I think Fran Drescher has plans to be more sparkle-orgasm producing then Caroline Kennedy. Personally, I like Caroline much better. I’ve come to the conclusion those who started in sitcoms and movies and not in talk shows or stand up comedy with a focus on politics should stay away from politics altogether and just work on finding a new prime-time/blockbuster hit.
JL
@Laura W: Caroline Kennedy was appointed by Bloomberg to an education committee designed to raise test scores in NYC. Not every Senator arrives in congress well versed in all parts of government so her lack of experience should not be an issue. I’m not sure who Jane would support. IMO Lawrence is right. She’s bright, articulate and does her homework.
DougJ
I’ll take Hamsher’s word over O’Donnell’s any day.
And, btw, I think you could do better than Larry.
Emma Anne
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII:
But Clinton didn’t get any surcease either. Of course, they did call him the first black president, but I think it is more Dems versus Repubs.
cleek
it’s never too early to start preparing for the next one. so, it’s necessary to keep the rubes agitated – lest they stop sending checks.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
You can exchange at least 30 different ideas in that statement from how Obama isn’ t a Christian, wasn’t born in America, doesn’t have the experience to be president…. so many of the accusations that came out in the campaign and on and on and on… and what do you get? Wingnuts will think whatever they think, why does it matter? Do they make the rules?
Laura W
@DougJ:
And do you have names, emails and phone numbers for me to prove this preposterous assertion?
(Thanks for the great laugh. You almost beat out the Québecois Copier Kitty!)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
They didn’t start impeachment proceedings against him until a few years into his term, and nobody planned to assassinate him. While I’m not so sure that the assassination plots that have been uncovered could have done real damage, the fact is people are afraid of that scary black fellow from Chicago much more they were of a white southern philanderer.
Jon H
Anyone who would like to see Crabby Patty and her beautiful babies can see her here.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Christ et Christ sur charabanc, Jon. H.! I was having pasta here!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Jon, how many offspring are there and what the heck do you do with them? You’re not planning to keep them all, are you? Another question: how exactly did your crabby patty end up in that situation? Was it planned parenthood and did you hire out a stud or what? Just curious WHY you would want a pregnant scorpion?!?!?
Calouste
@Tom:
The GOP is only about getting elected, not about actually governing. And they need to have something to do when they are not in a position to raid the treasury.
Laura W
@Jon H: Bravo, for taking matters into your own claws.
You knew it’d be a cold day in bloghell before they’d show up here, huh?
You must be very proud. They are infinitely cuddly little critters. (Did I read in another thread that they were all dead now, or am I making shit up again?)
TheHatOnMyCat
Saw Hamsher on this subject today … I’m afraid I agree with her.
This is America, we don’t have royalty. If you want to be in public office, you run. You file petitions and raise money and and stump and campaign and shake hands in coffee shops. You don’t call the governor and say you’d like to be a senator.
I don’t care how likeable Ms. Kennedy is. I don’t find her tactics to be likeable.
DougJ
How about an MSNBC reader contact form?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
How about Fran Drescher, TZ? I’m not sold on Caroline, but, I’d rather someone who was surrounded by a family that understood politics and debated viewpoints then someone who made their fame play-acting on sitcoms. You?
Indylib
@Jon H: Ewwww!
No wonder John wouldn’t post that! LOL
TheHatOnMyCat
I don’t know anything about Fran Dreschler other than what I can see on tv commercials that star Fran Dreschler. I don’t have any reason to think she is qualified for the job.
But anyway, I don’t like the idea of royalty, dynasties and oligarchies. No offense to Ms. Kennedy, but let her run for the office.
Laura W
@DougJ: I honestly do not know what that means.
DougJ
Like George W. Bush.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well, on that, we agree. :)
Brian J
As I’ve said many times before, you almost have to hope the Republicans bark up this tree. There doesn’t appears to be any evidence that Obama or anyone connected to him did anything wrong–quite the opposite, in fact. Yet if they try this guilt-by-association nonsense once again, they risk looking even more childish and out of touch than they do now.
JL
@TheHatOnMyCat: In 2010 there will be a special election for the Senate seat, until then the governor will appoint someone to take the seat. Since it’s an appointment there will be no campaigning by anyone.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: You asked every question that raced through my mind when I saw that picture, except this one:
So you can have even MORE scorpions.
I think it’s neat she carts them around while they’re little. I am wondering if she feeds them. Or if she’ll feed on them if they don’t leave beat it when they get older. That would make the scorpion brighter than the average fReichtard blogger mom.
DougJ
You know those things on the CNN and MSNBC sites where you can make comments, suggestions, questions about the various shows and personalities? It could be a great way to get to know Joe Scarborough personally. (But be sure not to bang your head on any desks if you ever do meet him.)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well, yeah, DUH! But, WHY would someone want 20 or 30 potentially deadly scorpions? I just don’t get it, I’m sorry.
DougJ
Clearly, you’ve never watched "24", libtard.
TheHatOnMyCat
I’m quite aware of that. It has no bearing on what I have already said.
Ms. Kennedy can run for the office in 2010. Meanwhile, somebody else who has run for office and faced the voters can have the job in the meantime. If you think this translates into her not getting the appointment because she is a Kennedy …. even if you can argue that she is a qualified candidate … then yes, I would not appoint her exactly because she is a Kennedy.
I don’t think it’s healthy for America to stick itself with dynastic figures.
Ed Marshall
Blago is utterly insane. I argued with people that he was going to appoint whoever Obama told him to and shut up. The horribly unpopular governor of Illinois doesn’t just fuck around and do what he feels like against the President Elect. I guess no one told Hot Rod that and now he’s sitting around in a jail cell.
Comrade Stuck
@Jon H:
They are so cute. You must very proud.
I bet they taste goood too, fried up nice and crispy.
JL
@TheHatOnMyCat: Is the issue that she hasn’t campaigned or is the issue that she’s a Kennedy? There are a lot of folks who have campaigned that are probably not fit for the job. By the way, I personally don’t care who Patterson appoints, I just hope that he is not being wiretapped.
Comrade Jake
Lou Dobbs was all over this story on CNN, and the apparent contradiction between what Obama said and what Axelrod said. He said there are "lots of new questions" about the relationship between President-elect Obama and the Governor Blagalphabet.
So they asked the campaign, and… Axelrod says he was wrong when he spoke before. Obama never spoke to Blagojevich. Story over, right? Nosiree Bob, Lou Dobbs is suspicious!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Well, I confess, I did watch the first and most of the second season before it became right wing propaganda fodder. It got old. When I stopped watching, Jack Bauer’s daughter was dating a terrorist, I assume Kiefer Sutherland’s character survived death about fifty times since then.
Just Some Fuckhead
Imagine Blagojevich running Health and Human Services..
You wanna immunization, you better be coughing up more than blood and snot. Fuck you.
You wanna food safety?? Fuck you, I wanna hummer with a plasma tv in it.
Youra kid needs a Head Start?? Fuck you, my kid needs a gold plated fucking xbox.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
You clearly didn’t read the indictment.
TheHatOnMyCat
It’s both. She has never asked the voters to hear her views, or subjected herself to that kind of scrutiny.
Without her name, which is to say, without her identity as part of a famous political family, what reason would there be to take her seriously as a candidate for this appointment?
One could say, well, a lot of freshman senators arrive in DC with as little experience. True, but in almost every case, they’ve run for the office and stood up a candidacy and subjected themselves to that test, probably in two cycles, one primary and one general election.
Let her do that. If she wins, good for her. I’ll applaud her victory.
Jon H
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII:
Jon, how many offspring are there and what the heck do you do with them?
There were about 17. They lived in the tank with the mom. They’re dead now. A couple months after they were born, my landlord put the condo I was living in on the market. The realtors kinda freaked, and they told the building condo board, who told me to get them out of the building. So I took them to my parents’ house, and they lived in their tank in the furnace room.
A few months back, after Crabby Patty had passed away, I was bored with them, and my parents were bored, so I told my folks to just drop a block of dry ice in the tank, and freeze/suffocate them all to death.
They did so. A while later, my dad took the dead scorps out of the tank and laid them out on the workbench. The next morning he went to look again and several were missing. ;^) Doh! Gave them a little excitement for a Saturday morning.
how exactly did your crabby patty end up in that situation? Was it planned parenthood and did you hire out a stud or what? Just curious WHY you would want a pregnant scorpion??
I believe she was pregnant when I bought her. I housed her with another scorpion, but she was an African species, and the other was an Asian species, so probably wouldn’t be compatible. I had been wanting to find a male of the same species, so I could breed some but never got around to it. One day, I came home from work, and noticed she had a bunch of babies on her. Yay!
Why would I want a pregnant scorpion? I dunno. I’m a science nerd. I thought it’d be cool. I also have a video of the Asian scorpion (the late Prickly Hal My Scorpion Pal) eating a goldfish.
These species aren’t particularly dangerous. The sting is supposed to be about on par with a bee sting. They mostly rely on their claws. (The rule of thumb is: skinny pincers = nasty venom; fat pincers = weaker venom). I managed to keep them for a couple of years without getting stung or pinched.
TheHatOnMyCat
Nobody listens to Lou Dobbs.
Jon H
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII:
Nah, they ain’t deadly unless you’re allergic. These are the big black ones that always get used on Fear Factor. They look impressive because they’re so big (she was maybe 4" excluding tail) but they have reputations as big wimps.
MikeJ
But nobody is going to be running for this seat. It will be filled by appointment. It seems like a silly argument to say that she should run for a seat that there is no election being held for.
The alternative I suppose is to drag up a Dem that ran for the Senate, and failed to win. Great. Appointing losers seems to be a worse strategy than appointing somebody who didn’t run.
Kennedy is popular, charismatic, and smart. Have you read her books? She understands and respects the constitution. That’s the best qualification for the job, and we’ve got more evidence of it in her books than we would have with any other candidate for the seat.
TheHatOnMyCat
Can you take them for walks?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
As I stated above, there’s talking and then there’s talking. One addresses issues, the other doesn’t. Just because Axelrod said they talked doesn’t mean they really talked, if you get my drift.
—–
Jon, thanks for the understanding, I am just concerned about what you would do if they had all lived. It reminds me of when a friend of mine (about 23 years ago) had a brother who brought home a baby alligator not thinking about how huge and aggressive they become eventually.
Jon H
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
I am wondering if she feeds them. Or if she’ll feed on them if they don’t leave beat it when they get older.
I believe they get some kind of nourishment through her back for a while, and she might feed them bits of whatever she’s eating, once they’ve climbed off.
At one point, I thought she had eaten about 2/3 of the babies, but when I changed the tank’s dirt, I discovered that the rest were still alive, and just burrowed deep in the substrate. We only ever saw 8 little ones around, but there were still 15 or so.
I have no idea how they could tell that the critter walking by was a scorpion and not a cricket.
TheHatOnMyCat
Perhaps you should direct that remark to somebody who is making that argument.
I said, let her run in 2010. Not now.
If she is that great, then she’d have no trouble running for office and winning. Let her do that. I do not respect the idea of dynasty or royalty, and there is no other reason than dynasty to consider her for this job. The world is not devoid of smart people who understand the constitution. I’m pretty sure that qualified people can be found in New York. And frankly, your last sentence strikes me as just goofy.
This is America. Writing books is not a free pass to high office. Let her run, and be opposed.
Jon H
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Walks? Not really. I took one out once and let it crawl around on my gloved hand, but that’s about it. Other people are a bit braver.
Jon H
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: I am just concerned about what you would do if they had all lived
They’re actually sold in Petco pet stores here in Massachusetts, so they’re not terribly rare. They certainly wouldn’t survive a winter. And since they glow green under blacklight, they’re fairly easy to find if they sneak away. :^)
TheHatOnMyCat
I was thinking of a little leash, and a stroll down the avenue.
Or maybe a team of the little critters, in harness.
If nothing else, you’d find out where the crickets are hanging out.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Oh, so you were their own version of Hitler and holocausted them? You evil, evil man, you.
::chuckle:: just kidding.
Jon H
@Laura W: You knew it’d be a cold day in bloghell before they’d show up here, huh?
John’s a furist.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TheHatOnMyCat: Well, ya know, I disagree. We appointed senators in this country longer than we’ve been directly electing them and we weren’t less American because of it. I’m not a fan of dynasties but she’s an accomplished person and she did a whole lot to get Obama elected. No doubt Obama wants her in the Senate to help bring Republicans along with our agenda.
Ed Marshall
I did. I just can’t believe what I’m reading.
Mnemosyne
I knew it was too good to be true. Sigh.
Comrade Stuck
We have an abundance of Tarantulas around here, and I’ve considered catching one for a pet. But then i figure they’re best left to live free and keep the insect numbers down.
kay
@Comrade Jake:
It bothers me that they’re cherry-picking the Axelrod tape.
In it, Axelrod says, prior to the Lou Dobb’s moment, "I haven’t asked him so I don’t want to get ahead of myself here…"
Then goes on to say they talked.
I just think if we’re going to play amateur prosecutor on tv we have to be as rigorous as, say, Patrick Fitzgerald. The predicate part matters, if what we’re doing here is parsing statements.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Are you saying you think the transcriber(s) lied? Are you saying you think the tapes don’t exist or were not the governor’s voice? Or are you just saying it’s incredible and hard to wrap your head around but consider that stranger things could have happened in this world?
Mnemosyne
I’m afraid you are mistaken. Don’t you remember the whole kerfuffle where Jesse Helms warned Clinton not to go to Fort Bragg without a bodyguard?
Comrade Jake
@kay:
Axelrod probably made a reasonable assumption that Obama and Rod had talked about the issue, and is now correcting the record. Dobbs is such a fucking hack.
What sucks is that this will provide something of a distraction in the coming weeks, at a time when Obama really doesn’t need this kind of nonsense.
TheHatOnMyCat
We agree on one thing: That we disagree.
We did a lot of things earlier in this country. We don’t do them now. America was governed by the gentry in earlier times. Not now.
The arguments I see here in favor of the royal Kennedy appointment sound as if this is the only chance she will ever have for public office. She has a lifetime of chances and opportunites left. Let her run, engage in the process, and win an office on her own.
I don’t like dynasty and royalty. Appointing her would be a gesture toward dynasty and royalty. There is absolutely no way a person with her experience, and without her name, would be seriously considered for this appointment.
That’s my opinion. I am a big fan of democratic process with the small d. I am not a big fan of cronyism, dynasty, and privelege. If Kennedy is as wonderful as her fans say she is, she will win handily in 2010 when she runs for the office, and more power to her if she does.
Color me totally unconvinced by the pro-Kennedy material I have seen here. If she’s a winner, then let her run, and win. I’m not convinced she’d win, but if she does, great.
Ed Marshall
That would be it. Blago was living in some fantasy world where he thought this was all going to fly.
Comrade Stuck
@Comrade Jake:
From the recordings and Fitz’s statements, by every indication the Obama campaign did not offer in any way to play ball. Obama first stated that nobody had talked to Blogo, but quickly corrected to say HE hadn’t. I’d be surprised if no one had. We are going to have regular doses of this shit from the RWNM the next four years. It’s better than having wingnuts in the WH by a long shot. Such is life.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TheHatOnMyCat:
Thankfully, we can make an empirical determination with the help of wikipedia and this comprehensive list of senators that have been appointed since we began directly electing them.
kay
@Comrade Jake:
Clipping tape kills me. It makes me tear my hair out. I think it’s the reason we get lawyeresque non-answers from politicians.
Another example: Obama was asked today" were you aware of what was happening with your Senate seat?"
I’d need a better question before I’d answer that. Not because I’m inherently crooked, but because it’s too broad. What the hell does it mean? What kind of question is that?
"Happening" ? When? Was he aware that the Governor was selling his Senate seat?
Well, no, he wasn’t. Next question.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@Mnemosyne:
You’re not attempting to argue that the military wanted to kill the president, are you?
Wiki lists two non-serious attempts against Clinton in their Assassination and Attempts page.
Both of them were quite lame, one person operations that didn’t have a chance in hell of bringing down their intended target (Clinton).
The Moar You Know
OT: Joe the Plumber yanks out the long knives and shivs McCain in the back.
He loves him some Winky, though. Sparkles. Also.
TheHatOnMyCat
Right. A quick history of expedient political patronage is just the guide we need to direct our choices now.
( rolls eyes )
If your argument is that the list is weak, then that supports my argument.
If your argument is that the list is strong, then you are apparently arguing that the most anti-democratic action possible is right choice. After all, a special election gets the seat filled AND provides a democratic small d process. (The reason why that isn’t the easy choice here is that elections cost money. It’s cheaper to appoint somebody now and have the election at the next cycle. Not because it’s the best way to fill the seat).
I favor the most democratic small d possible option here, which is to appoint that person who holds elective office and is the best available choice right now, and if one is a big Kennedy fan, encourage her to run for the seat year after next.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TheHatOnMyCat: My argument is neither. I’m simply suggesting to you politely that you have the wherewithal to make an empirical case instead of pulling shit out of your ample ass in your usual boorish manner.
freelancer
Hall of Fame response to Wingnut Troll on SN! thread:
"Blagojevich? HELLOOOOOOOOO???
Biggest scandal of 2008 and all we hear at SN! is crickets chirping.
Good grief. Obama hasn’t been sworn in yet and already he has a “-gate” attached to him.
Way to go, Corruptocrats.
*clap*
*clap*
*clap*"
Chuck Butcher
MikeJ:
Well hell, I’ve got all that along with having run for Fed office and like Hillary I’m not from NY and not a dynasty.
TheHatOnMyCat
December 8, 2008
Amid Talk of Kennedy, Paterson Turns to Humor
By DANNY HAKIM
Gov. David A. Paterson said on Sunday night that Caroline Kennedy has not yet explicitly indicated to him that she wants to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as senator. He added that he was still considering a number of candidates to fill the seat.
The chatter in Democratic circles has been dominated by the news that Mr. Paterson discussed the Senate seat with Ms. Kennedy last week, holding open the possibility that she might be chosen to occupy the seat once held by her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, and serve alongside another uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Mr. Paterson, for his part, has spent much of the past few weeks fielding questions about whom he will choose to replace Mrs. Clinton, who was picked to be secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama. The governor made sport of the speculation during a speech in Washington on Saturday night.
But he said that though he and Ms. Kennedy had discussed the Senate seat, the ball was essentially in her court.
“I have enough qualified candidates that I don’t think I have to draft anybody,” he said in an interview on Sunday night. “Part of the consideration is how willing people are to serve, so I would figure if they were willing, they would make the request. I haven’t really taken anyone in hand and asked them.”
Ms. Kennedy, he added, is “thinking about it.”
“Her questions were more informational,” he said, referring to their conversation last week. “She said, ‘I’ll talk to you again to let you know if I’m interested,’ and I thought that was fine.”
Mr. Obama was asked on Sunday about Ms. Kennedy on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Caroline Kennedy has become one of my dearest friends, and is just a wonderful American, a wonderful person,” Mr. Obama said, “but the last thing I want to do is get involved in New York politics.”
Mr. Paterson said he would be meeting with Mrs. Clinton, Senator Charles E. Schumer and other officials this week to discuss the vacancy. He said he had not spoken to Senator Kennedy.
The governor has been able to make sport of the rampant speculation over who would replace Mrs. Clinton. He was one of the two main speakers, along with the Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour, on Saturday at the winter dinner of the Gridiron Club, a press association, where politicians often try their hand at humor.
He noted the cavalcade of luminaries bending his ear.
“They are blowing up my cellphone,” he said, according to a transcript, and then began listening to “messages” from New York’s top political figures that were recorded on his cellphone and played over the audio system.
First, there was the voice of Mr. Schumer.
“Hi, Dave,” he said. “It’s Chuck Schumer. I thought I would let you know my view on the Senate race. I have one criteria above all. I would like a devout evangelical. That way, there will be no competition for Sunday press conferences.”
Mr. Schumer was mocking his penchant for holding news conferences on Sunday to get media coverage on what is generally a quiet news day.
Then, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg weighed in.
“Hey, Governor. Mayor Mike here. Listen, about that open Senate seat, is that term limited in any way? Just wondering.”
Next up was Senator Clinton.
“I know you’ll make a wise and careful choice, but Chuck asked me to make a suggestion,” she said. “There are so many qualified candidates. And Chuck knows that naming a replacement will be very difficult. So he figures, Why bother? Why does New York need two senators, anyhow?”
She went on at some length to say she knew there was “just one candidate who will bring the perfect combination of intelligence, integrity and passion to this job, and that person is…”
At that point, the voice mail beeped and the future secretary of state — pending Senate confirmation — was cut off.
(see full version at NYT)
TheHatOnMyCat
I don’t agree that there is any empirical case to be made, but if you think there is, then make it.
Or, go fuck yourself. That would be okay too. A list of people is not an empirical case. It’s just a list of people. Does the list prove something?
Then show that. Otherwise, my rebuttal stands as submitted.
You really want to now make this about me? That’s all you got?
Pretty weak, pal. Even for you.
MikeJ
This is America. Writing books is not a free pass to high office. Let her run, and be opposed.
Nobody argued that writing books is a free pass into office. I understand your point. You want an election. There. Will. Not. Be. One. Nobody is going to run for this vacant senate seat, no matter how good or bad. There is no election. Somebody will be appointed.
Kennedy is qualified. I think she’d make a good senator, and that’s based on reading what she’s written. Since there isn’t going to be an election, and really, there isn’t, you need some method other than speeches made during a campaign (that, once again, isn’t going to happen) to determine what this person is like, and what his or her thinking on governance is. Hey, whaddya know, she’s written hundreds of thousands of words about just that.
In 2010 there will be an election. She and anybody else that want to can run then. Until January of 2011, somebody needs to fill the vacant seat so that the people of New York are represented. The people of New York have laws about how this seat is filled, and it’s not an election.
Bostondreams
As a history teacher, this scandal really makes me laugh. I’m going to discuss it with my APUSH kids in class Wednesday; it’s AWESOME timing. We just finished talking about the ‘corrupt bargain,” when Speaker of the House Henry Clay made a deal with John Quincy Adams to steal the 1824 election from Andrew Jackson when it was thrown to the House. Clay and Adams had ‘conversations about the future,’ and two weeks after Adams was chosen by the House, Clay became Secretary of State.
These modern politicians, no style like our early national leaders! :)
TheHatOnMyCat
MikeJ, if you want to argue with me, you might try responding to my argument, rather than making a pretend argument with somebody who is not me but gives you an easier argument path.
I am fully aware of how the process will work, I have said so several times. Can you read my posts? I have been quite clear on this point.
My argument is that it is better to choose a replacement who has run for office and faced the voters, than to choose somebody who has never done so, or even suggested that they might do so, but whose name is lit up by a famous name that can only be called a dynasty in the political context in this country.
My argument is that if Kennedy is so great a choice, then she can run and win when the election comes around. She is not being denied a chance at the job. Nor being denied a shot at any other job.
My argument is that a dynasty choice of someone who has never run for office and never stood any political test is bad on its face, a priori. A bad idea, period.
I do not agree that she is qualified, although that is certainly an arguable point. I don’t have any way of knowing that she would be an excellent senator, but I would certainly welcome her campaign to convince voters that that would be the case, when the opportunity arises.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TheHatOnMyCat: You made the assertion that there is no way a person with her experience would be appointed to this position, absent her name. It’s an easy enough chore to check all of the appointees against their wikipedia entries to determine if this is the case.
As far as your monkey grinning – doesn’t faze me. I’m an alpha in my prime. :)
TheHatOnMyCat
Nope, that is not my point, and I am not going to let you represent that as my point.
My point is that she should run, when the next election comes around, which is in 2010 the last time I looked.
Somebody else should be appointed now. That is my point.
What you said, that is not my point. Do not call that my point.
TheHatOnMyCat
I am asserting that absent her name, she would not be at the top of any reasonable list of best possible candidates.
I am further asserting that this is America in 2008. Among the prospective candidates for such a job who have run for public office and faced the voters, there are bound to be good choices. Pick one of them.
The connection between those two statements is the idea that the best possible choice is, by definition, somebody who has run for office and stood that considerable test. I’d probably settle for somebody who hasn’t, if they agreed to only serve the interim term.
Again I say, I am a fan of the democratic process in which people run for office, take that great risk, do the work, stand for election, and succeed or fail at the ballot box. I see no reason to short circuit that process here.
It’s a reasonable argument, and I am making that reasonable argument.
TheHatOnMyCat
I have no idea what you think that means.
I’m making a political argument. What are you doing?
MikeJ
Whoever is appointed is not going to run. Nobody CAN run for this seat.
Having run for office in the past is no more of a qualification than being named Kennedy is. You would prefer someone that the public has already said no to over a competent person . By your reasoning, any idiot who has ever run for any office, even if they were rejected by the public, is more qualified than a constitutional scholar with a lifetime of involvement in public affairs. That is frankly (original word choice redacted) puzzling.
The only question seems to be, is she a qualified citizen over the age of 30. I think she’s very qualified. You think she’s not. That’s a reasonable argument to have. The artificial hurdle you erect has nothing to do with what kind of senator she would be, and is nonsensical since there won’t be an election that she could run in.
Just Some Fuckhead
@TheHatOnMyCat: No, it’s not a reasonable argument. It’s not even an argument. It’s just a boneheaded opinion that you’re too lazy to try to prove empirically. By your standards, any Republican that ever ran and lost a race for dogcatcher would be the preferable alternative to Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. Or maybe not, since you can’t be bothered to offer up the qualifications you feel are necessary to be appointed to an interim Senate seat, just some whiffy bullshit about what democracy means to Teez.
She can be appointed and then she can run in the election in two years. Check the list, it’s happened about 110 times since 1913.
Edit: Dumbass.
Jon H
The classic shady way for the Dems to handle the Blago thing would be for NY Gov Patterson to appoint son-of-a-Manhattan-doorman Patrick Fitzgerald to take Clinton’s seat (conveniently removing him from Blago’s case.) ;^)
(Realistically, I doubt Fitz would be interested, even if he weren’t in the middle of prosecuting the governor.)
Conservatively Liberal
I wish to put this ‘doesn’t take a rocket scientist’ stuff to rest once and for all. One of the guys I work with on a computer project is a former (retired) ‘rocket scientist’ (engineer) who lives in New Mexico. He must be good because the government keeps calling him back to help them on some projects, and he goes because they pay him better now that he is ‘retired’ and they want to get rid of him faster when he is there because of the cost…lol
One thing he is not is a computer guy, but he is willing to learn. Unfortunately it is Linux, not just using it but understanding how it functions and how we need to configure it for our use. I can send this guy a file package for an app, tell him how to make a shortcut to launch it with and he still blows it and quickly loses patience. I have to write the most detailed descriptions of a step by step process to complete the simplest tasks, including every single little thing that could possibly go wrong in each step, or he blows a fuse and wants to throw in the towel.
Just getting him up and running on FC9 was a nightmare that I am in no hurry to repeat, never mind setting up the databases, networking, security and everything else.
I would have let him quit a long time ago except that in other aspects of the project he is pretty damned handy to have around, especially since he is retired, willing to volunteer and this is a free project (read as ‘costs me money’).
Being a ‘Rocket scientist’ doesn’t mean that you have the answer to everything. ;)
abrxas
John, you are funny. First, Bible Spice then Blagalphabet! You could start a cottage industry for derisive nicknames. Fucking hilarious. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
Comrade Stuck
@MikeJ:
This sounds like pretty good creds to me. Not to mention that by every indication, she is an honorable honest person. Why can’t she be a legitimate choice. Because her name is Kennedy? The Kennedy family themselves are a political institution, not just a famous family. Growing up in that environment of learned and dedicated public service should count for a lot in the experience department.
Someone is going to be picked without an election and the only person who is legally bound to make that pick is Patterson. I think the Founders and the good people of NY would be pleased with such a choice.
My only question would be does she have the temperment for the job. And she is the only one that can really answer that question,
Just Some Fuckhead
@Conservatively Liberal: Smartest folks I ever met were the biomed techs in a hospital.
Shawn in ShowMe
Andrew Cuomo has already proven he can win elections and currently holds the office of Attorney General. If the Kennedy name didn’t trump the Cuomo name, this wouldn’t even be a discussion.
Delia
Agent Flowbee is now having wet dreams about Joe Biden becoming President because of Obama’s scandalous ties to Blago. Rezko is in there. The whitey tapes are probably in there too somewhere. So is the Great Chicago Fire, I imagine. I can’t bear to link.
Comrade Stuck
Andrew Cuomo is somebody who may have a temperment problem, at least for the collegial environ of the Senate. He kinda has a rep as a hothead, I think.
Comrade Stuck
@Delia:
I think the Whitey Tapes and Rezko/Obama buddy crime proof is still in Al Capone’s vault/ Geraldo just didn’t look hard enough is all.
Will Hunting
THOMC – your argument falls short in the following way. I doubt there is anyone in New York who has run for office and faced the voters in New York the same way a Senator Clinton has. Who would that be exactly? Possibly former mayors of NYC, or a former sitting governor or US Senator. Other than that, who is there? Selecting some state rep or a sitting House member hardly gets you there.
Weighing the available choices against someone like Caroline Kennedy would not produce the qualitative landslide you suggest it would.
I happen to agree with the dynastic component of your argument, but simply running and winning office somewhere in the state of NY does not make one qualified to be one of its two Senators.
Shawn in ShowMe
Joe Biden, coincidentally, has the same reputation. Or at least he did when he was Andrew’s age.
Comrade Stuck
@Shawn in ShowMe:
For that matter, so does John Mccain. If he can muzzle it in public, not too big a problem. I recall seeing him a debate years ago on cspan for some NY office, and looked like he was about ready to explode with anger. Maybe he’s mellowed since.
demimondian
@Comrade Stuck: In fact, McCain is notorious for his temper.
Mnemosyne
Either I misunderstood your original point or you misunderstood mine.
My point was that the Republicans were starting whisper campaigns and making thinly-veiled threats long before Monica Lewinsky started her internship at the White House. They put together an 8-year-long harassment campaign that finally turned up a miniscule lump of dirt because even a blind squirrel will find a nut once in a while.
The impeachment wasn’t something that sprung up out of nowhere because of Clinton’s stupidity. The Republicans were prepared to pounce at the slightest pretext, and it turned out that the pretext was a blowjob.
Person of Choler
Merry Fitzmas to all, and best wishes for Hope, and Change, and Politics Not As Usual in the New Year and many years to come.
charlie
Stupidity and cupidity are a toxic combination. Blago had both in spades.
Third Eye Open
Man, Finals has me all screwed up. I missed all the juicy bits of political news the past three days.
BTW, that kitteh owns me, her name is Sangira, and she is a talker and a warbler. She also knows how to open doors. Silly kitten.
[email protected]
Many years ago, while pulling a stretch in county for ‘creating a public nuisance’, I met a fellow we’ll call ‘Bobby’, who was pulling a somewhat longer stretch for having, what the judge called, a ‘problem with authority’. Naturally, given our mutual anti-social attitudes, we became fast friends. One day while out on work detail, this youngster, who had been sentenced to 7 years for burglary, and was awaiting transfer to the state D.O.C., escaped. (This was a major dumb-up by the jail personnel, the kid should never been allowed on work detail after he had been sentenced to D.O.C time, but whatever.) The ridiculous part was, the kid would have only done a year or so, on the burglary charge before he paroled, but the ‘escape’ charge carried a automatic five years with no with parole, and the kid knew this. I asked Bobby, somewhat rhetorically, "What could he have been thinking?" He replied, "Thinking? He’s 17 years old! He wasn’t thinking about anything, except how long it was going to be before he got laid again." Then he added, "Listen, there is such a thing as ‘criminal genius’! But you’re not likely to encounter much of it in here! There’s very little ‘thinking’ involved in being a criminal; most of it’s instinctual." I suspect this little piece of wisdom may also have some political applications as well.
deadrody
Wow, two whole posts about the kind of corruption that would have erupted this site into an entire page of rants. And what’s better, both posts dovetail nicely into how the GOP is fucked up.
Good one. At least your conversion to leftard wingnut is complete. The fact that your savior, The ONE, is a direct product of the most corrupt political machine in the entire United States, is, apparently of no consequence whatsoever here.
Cain
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
Fixed.