Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
by Tim F| 26 Comments
This post is in: Media, General Stupidity
If you’re already rich and powerful, Obama’s message of empowering ordinary Americans doesn’t sound very hopeful. Real hope for those guys is the prospect of passing on a hundred million dollar inheritance without paying taxes on it.
The <em>Wall Street Journal</em> ExplainedPost + Comments (26)
by John Cole| 95 Comments
This post is in: Politics, Republican Stupidity, War on Terror aka GSAVE®, Republican Crime Syndicate - aka the Bush Admin.
The thing I don’t get about this whole FISA mess, to include the petulant walkout in Congress, the president’s multiple misleading statements (including another stammering and stuttering appearance just a few moments ago), Andy McCarthy’s apoplectic bag of gibberish, and the Powerline today, is why are they lying?
Why? The facts are clear:
For example, Richard Clarke, the former Chief National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Advisor to Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, has stated: ‘Our ability to track and monitor terrorists overseas would not cease should the Protect America Act expire. If this were true, the president would not threaten to terminate any temporary extension with his veto pen. All surveillance currently occurring would continue even after legislative provisions lapsed because authorizations issued under the act are in effect up to a full year.’
“And, Kenneth Wainstein, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security recently said in an interview – according to the New York Times – that if the PAA expires, intelligence officials would still be able to continue eavesdropping on already approved targets for another year under the law.
“We must not fall prey to fear-mongers who claim that our intelligence community could ‘go dark.’ That is simply not true.
And, if it is so important, Bush could sign an extension. He chose not to do that. Kevin Drum also points out another option:
Look, if it’s that important, there’s a simple answer: pass the bill without telecom immunity. Then come back and introduce immunity in a separate bill. If you’ve got the votes for it, fine. If not, too bad. I’m against immunity myself — though hardly hellbent on the subject — but whichever way the vote went, in the meantime we’d have the FISA extension and surveillance could continue normally.
So we are in a 12 day recess, Bush does not have his bill, and yet, life still goes on. But back to my main question- “Why are they lying about it?” I just do not get it. Do they really see some sort of political gain? Or are we finally at the end of the rope, they can not win any arguments, so the minority party and this failed President have only lies and bullying tactics to show that they are somehow relevant?
*** Update ***
This post is in: Election 2008
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) is reportedly switching allegiances:
Confusion erupted Thursday night amid reports that a prominent African American supporter of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s had changed his mind. Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who is also a Democratic superdelegate, was reported by the New York Times as having decided to switch his superdelegate vote from Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama after Lewis’s district, around Atlanta, went for the Illinois senator.
But the Clinton campaign reported having no word from Lewis on the subject, and a spokeswoman for Lewis, Brenda Jones, said the Times story and a similar one by the Associated Press, saying he was contemplating such a switch, were inaccurate. Both the Times and AP stories quoted Lewis directly after speaking with him; he was not available for comment later Thursday.
That’s bad news for Hillary and, I think, barring some incredible performance in the next primaries, that the Clinton campaign is effectively drawing to an end. Lewis’s switch, if in fact it’s true, is not surprising to me because I think it reflects a larger phenomena. In the beginning, Obama was just a charismatic young senator with a following that a lot of people probably didn’t think to take all that seriously. Now, people are seeing that there is quite a bit of substance behind that charisma that’s just not there in Clinton. As Obama continues to win and get more coverage, people are getting to know him better and are paying attention to him. And, of course, there’s the whole “not wanting to be on the losing side” thing.
As John noted earlier, Clinton is banking on the super delegates. They may not hang around long enough to be of much use.
by John Cole| 31 Comments
This post is in: Politics
I had thought the Stimulus Bill was worthless, and this just confirms it:
The voters’ message is getting through, not only in settling the fights for the Republican and Democratic nominations but in changing the mind-set of Washington.
The clearest evidence of the change is what happened last week on the economic stimulus bill. A week ahead of their self-imposed deadline, the House and Senate, by overwhelming votes, sent to President Bush almost exactly the kind of relief measure he had sought for the staggering economy.
***As one example of the turnabout that has taken place, consider the comments of House Minority Leader John Boehner just before the 380-to-34 vote to approve Senate amendments and send the bill to the president.
Using Broderian logic, this means the bill was good because it was overwhelmingly supported. By my logic, that being that anything Broder supports is bad, the bill must suck.
by John Cole| 77 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics
All together now- “Privatize the profits, socialize the costs”:
The banking industry, struggling to contain the fallout from the mortgage debacle, is urgently shopping proposals to Congress and the Bush administration that could shift some of the risk for troubled loans to the federal government.
One proposal, advanced by officials at Credit Suisse Group, would expand the scope of loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. The proposal would let the FHA guarantee mortgage refinancings by some delinquent borrowers.
It will be interesting the number of different ways taxpayers take it up the ass during this affair.
(via Calculated Risk, where a pithy commenter notes with what will most likely turn out to be alarming accuracy- “Oh, they’ll come up with some noble reason, with a scary-sounding name, like “saving the economy,” or “safeguarding America’s financial future.” It’ll be stirring.”)
by Tim F| 46 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
Maybe it’s silly to assign a deeper meaning to the bizarre walkout by most of the Republican Congressional delegation when plain perversity could cover it. But if I had to guess about some strategic plan at work here, my bet would be that a lot of Republicans don’t want to go on record in support people who unambiguously broke the law. If I was a constituent of any of those 29 nay voters I sure as hell would make a habit of calling his/her office to ask what kind of subpoenas it’s ok for me to flout.
Heck, it wasn’t that long ago that legal troubles plaguing Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Randall “Duke” Cunningham, Tom Foley Mark Foley [ha ha, wrong millennium. -ed.] and an amazingly long list of other corrupticons kicked the GOP in the electoral nuts. It can be hard to shed a reputation for countenancing lawbreaking if you turn around and countenance lawbreaking some more.
***Update***
…and they all came back in time for the next vote. It sure seems like they have a lot of faith in Harriet Miers’s legal chances, doesn’t it?
Pack Of Wailing Infants On The Capitol StepsPost + Comments (46)
by Tim F| 35 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
Will the Congressional GOP stage an emotional meltdown over contempt citations for Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten? All signs point to yes. Note that there isn’t any meaningful question about whether Miers and Bolten flouted the law. They both refused to answer subpoenas by citing privileges that don’t exist. Believe me, I would love to cite blogger’s privilege if the need should arise. Too bad I can’t do that, and unless Harriet Miers has some supercitizen status that I’m not aware of neither can she.
Of course, Harriet Miers is a Republican and therefore innocent until George Bush personally says otherwise. It always amuses me when those firm law-and-order Republican principles run and hide when the wrong kind of people get caught breaking the law.
***Update***
And like that it’s done. Will Attorney General Mukasey have the spine to resist White House pressure to subvert the unambiguous will of Congress?
Ha ha, I can’t believe I just said that.