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You are here: Home / Si, Senor

Si, Senor

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Although it has been a tough couple weeks for Jewish Canadians, I really hope that Dan Senor gets into the 2010 New York State Senate race, if only because this is one of my favorite Colbert interviews ever. He actually recommends that Stephen bring his family to northern Iraq for a vacation.

Senor is one of the many Republican political operatives who was given real governing responsibility in Iraq. No one could have predicted….

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  1. 1.

    El Cid

    I can’t wait for the Campbell Brown episode of “No Bias No Bull” on Senor’s campaign claims.

  2. 2.

    SGEW

    Attackerman had a nice reaction to this news:

    I once had the pleasure of being introduced to Dan Senor during Peter Beinart’s 2003 Hannukah party. We ate some latkes and chatted amiably about Iraq. He didn’t let his mask of smug bullshittery slip the whole time. Everything was going awesomely in Iraq. Sectarianism was nonsense and the economy was rarin’ to go.
    . . .
    In other words, I approve of this man’s bid for the Republican nomination to represent my home state of New York in the United States Senate.

    “Smug bullshittery” is a pretty good line.

  3. 3.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    Mr Campbell Brown is thinking of running against Cuomo? Jesus, that will work out about as well as his Iraq stint worked out for the Iraqis.

    UPDATE: I see the masterful El Cid got the first Campbell Brown reference in. Cheers, mate!

  6. 6.

    Ann B. Nonymous

    I am still hoping for Larry Kudlow. It would be an utterly fascinating primary.

  8. 8.

    David in NY

    Mr Campbell Brown is thinking of running against Cuomo

    No, no. Against Gillibrand. I repeat my prediction (you heard it first from me) that she will kick his ass all the way back to Baghdad.

  10. 10.

    JGabriel

    So that’s Dan Senor. I’d never seen him before. He’s obviously a pencil-dicked weasel-douche.

    What the hell was Campbell Brown thinking?

    .

  11. 11.

    JenJen

    You know, the movie “Green Zone” is getting good reviews, and I’m hoping there’s a Dan Senor character in there somewhere. Certainly should be.

  12. 12.

    Quackosaur

    @JGabriel:

    Because as wise sages once said: it would be irresponsible not to speculate…

    She married him to prove she doesn’t succumb to liberal bias. He keeps her honest be telling her that her program has hit his friends too hard.

  13. 13.

    JenJen

    @Quackosaur: You know, I never knew who the hell Campbell Brown was until she embarrassed that Tucker whats-his-name (not bow-tie-boy) who was a McCain/Palin spokesbot during the 2008 Election on live teevee.

    Haven’t paid a bit of mind since, either.

  14. 14.

    Anne Laurie

    @JGabriel:

    What the hell was Campbell Brown thinking?

    “Wingnut welfare is the most secure retirement program in a modern economy. And since the little weasel’s a Republican, requests for physical intimacy with me will be both infrequent and not very time-consuming.”

  15. 15.

    Jake

    His campaign will be self-financed, courtesy of the 10 billion tax payer dollars missing from the CPA coffers……….

  16. 16.

    geg6

    Mr. Campbell Brown will get his head handed to him by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. And I will be dying to hear what Tweety, Bobo, Broder, Queen Sally the Homewrecking Whore, and the entire Village have to say about that.

  18. 18.

    maus

    @El Cid:

    I can’t wait for the Campbell Brown episode of “No Bias No Bull” on Senor’s campaign claims.

    Ungh, not bold-faced lying 24/7 shouldn’t be a gimmick and anyone who uses that phrasing is immediately suspect as hell.

  19. 19.

    williamc

    I’m not a New Yorker.

    I love the City, and I hear the upstate area is chockablock with reactionary imbeciles.

    But why would a Bushie who was responsible for this think that he has a chance in NY. He will get destroyed in the City and suburbs just by being attached to Bush. What’s the game here?

  21. 21.

    El Cid

    @maus:

    Ungh, not bold-faced lying 24/7 shouldn’t be a gimmick and anyone who uses that phrasing is immediately suspect as hell.

    I’m not snarking when I say that I’m not sure what this means.

  22. 22.

    maus

    @JGabriel:

    What the hell was Campbell Brown thinking?

    “I appreciate earning a regular cable news paycheck and this is the dance I’m paid to do”. Who cares whether she believes it or not? The end-result is the same.

  24. 24.

    JenJen

    In other news, Tiger Woods has hired Ari Fleischer (!!) to help him rehabilitate his brand.

    Old Bushies Never Die. And They Never Stop Hoodwinking And Separating Fools From Their Money, Either.

  26. 26.

    MikeJ

    @El Cid:

    I’m not snarking when I say that I’m not sure what this means.

    I believe it means that if you have to point out the times you aren’t lying it doesn’t speak well for you.

  27. 27.

    El Cid

    @MikeJ: Who? Campbell Brown? Dan Senor? Both? Neither?

    If it’s Dan Senor, well, he’s a proud and paid liar.

    If it’s Campbell Brown, well, yeah, CNN’s not exactly a fount of journalistic achievement in covering U.S. politics, though Brown actually did maneuver beyond the typical media fray in calling out Republican bullshit during the 2008 campaign, so I give her a bit more credit than the typical inane CNN drone such as Wolf Blitzer or John Right Wing Talking Points Bullet List King.

  28. 28.

    MikeJ

    @El Cid: I hope I don’t misinterpret maus, but it seemed pretty clear in the original comment that the show named “No Bias No Bull” was hosted by the CNN employee, so that must be the person being referenced.

  29. 29.

    Sentient Puddle

    @El Cid:

    Brown actually did maneuver beyond the typical media fray in calling out Republican bullshit during the 2008 campaign

    That she did. CNN noticed, attempted to capitalize on her as a rising new voice for the network, and (possibly because of CNN taking notice) she promptly devolved into faux-centrist bullshit that CNN is renowned for.

    Flashes of brilliance sure, but no consistency. I’m not going to give her much credit.

  30. 30.

    El Cid

    @MikeJ: Okay, but skipping the actual context of the propagandistic nonsense filling up the U.S. news cycle, Mrs. Senor would probably explain that, you see, unlike the completely neutral and journalistically heroic news segments on the network, her show would allow a bit of editorial comment, etc.

  31. 31.

    Tsulagi

    Liked the clip. “Sure, it’s a little messy, but look at the positive. No civil war, just a little ‘high-level sectarian violence’ among neighbors”

    Nothing but competence in Senor. During his 15 months with CPA, he also brought his Harvard MBA skills to bear. Only $8B or so in unaccounted for cash bricks. If he runs, wonder if he’d have any problems financing his campaign.

  34. 34.

    mistermix

    The fact that this guy is even being discussed is an indication of how weak NYS Republicans are at the state level. The southern strategy/teabagging just annihilated them for a generation statewide.

  36. 36.

    SteveinSC

    While choking down my morning coffee and watching Scarface and his band of Superficials, Kirsten Gillibrand got on between the tut-tuting and sneering about Massa. I had the impression when she was picked that we were getting some upstate, but civilized, New Yorker version of Palin: all anti-gun control, pro-life diaster. But goddamn she was great on that show. I know I hadn’t heard any more negatives about her and now and again some positives. She had her shit together about the HCR and succinctly and clearly walked them through the major elements. I learned something, but Scarface’s eyes glazed over (no pictures or mention of ‘Bama) and everything blew over Mika’s head after the first five seconds. They tried to needle her on whether she was for repeal of DADT, gun control, etc. and she deftly handled the (admittedly simple minded) “brain trust”. Impressive woman.

  39. 39.

    aimai

    I feel sorry for poor Zbig every time I hear what a total moron his daughter turned out to be. He must simply writhe with shame.

    aimai

  41. 41.

    someguy

    @ Mistermix,

    The fact that this guy is even being discussed is an indication of how weak NYS Republicans are at the state level. The southern strategy/teabagging just annihilated them for a generation statewide.

    Bullshit.

    It goes to show you what the corrupt NYS Republican machine eventually wrought. The big bowl of dicks Upstate NY is eating – and downstate is snacking on – is what ‘moderate’ Republicans caused, people like Pataki and Joe Bruno. It’s a hangover. They were the suiciders, as Bush would say. The teabaggers’ help in destroying the statewide Republicans and making them radioactive so that even a moron like Hoffmann can’t win in a reactionary district is just the maraschino cherry on top of the huge turdpile the ‘moderates’ left behind.

  44. 44.

    Jenn

    Likely the press isn’t going to cover it, but check out Harry Reid’s letter to McConnell! LOVE IT.

    http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=323016&

    An excerpt:

    As you know, the vast majority of bills developed through reconciliation were passed by Republican Congresses and signed into law by Republican Presidents – including President Bush’s massive, budget-busting tax breaks for multi-millionaires. Given this history, one might conclude that Republicans believe a majority vote is sufficient to increase the deficit and benefit the super-rich, but not to reduce the deficit and benefit the middle class. Alternatively, perhaps Republicans believe a majority vote is appropriate only when Republicans are in the majority. Either way, we disagree.

  45. 45.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @Martin:

    First Massa, now Rahm has obviously had someone rear-end Reid’s family to send a message on getting health care passed.

    Who was that masked man?

  46. 46.

    kay

    I didn’t think much of Campbell Brown before watching that clip, but I now think less of her.

    Why’d she marry such an arrogant asshole? Ugh. That cavalier bragging tone about Iraq- all that fake enthusiasm and posturing.

    He’s loathsome.

  47. 47.

    Martin

    @Jenn:

    LOVE IT.

    Yawn. Call me when Reid frogmarches McConnell into the Senate with said letter sticking out of his ass.

  48. 48.

    les

    @Jenn:

    OK, who’s impersonating Harry Reid? I mean, I don’t much like the guy, but having a pod person running the Senate sets a bad precedent. Or…hmm…never mind, carry on.

  50. 50.

    Eric U.

    @Martin: after Massa, I don’t think I want to hear about Democrats rear-ending anyone.

    Let’s leave that sort of thing to the family-values republicans

  51. 51.

    El Cid

    @kay:
    Per the NYT:

    …[W]hen Mr. Senor returned to Washington in 2004, she called him. “I was wildly, wildly curious about his experience in Iraq,” she recalled. Their first date was a group dinner, with Tom Brokaw and another journalist. They were all discussing Iraq while Ms. Brown and Mr. Senor flirted. “There was clearly a lot of energy and electricity between us,” Mr. Senor recalled.
    …
    Their early dates were like being on the campaign trail: full of debates and cheap food. “We would mostly get sandwiches and sit in the park and talk,” she said. “We’re both passionate about the Middle East. We never ran out of things to talk about.”
    …
    Mr. Senor especially liked the fact that she could discuss serious subjects but not take herself seriously and that she had such a carefree attitude about her perfect-seeming appearance…
    …
    He added that “she makes me smarter; she makes me defend my views, which reminds me of home.”

    A lot of journalists and their subjects have hooked up. I guess if you’re part of an insane major news media world where what the Bushies were doing in Iraq was to some degree normal rather than some horrendous evil, why not?

    Still, though I detest Senor’s role in public life, but I hope they have a happy marriage, because that sort of partnership is pretty rare for a whole lot of people. I just hope that any future political involvement by Senor is a miserable, rejected, laughable failure.

  52. 52.

    Jenn

    Well, I like Harry Reid. Granted, he’s not flashy, which doesn’t play well on TV or in today’s media. He’s also someone I wouldn’t want to get angry with me. He seems like someone who works really hard to keep his temper tamped down, which given he damn near killed someone who was trying to bribe him back in the day, is probably a good thing.

  53. 53.

    mai naem

    @Ann B. Nonymous: I thought Kudlow was thinking of running in Connecticut. Tweety was thinking of running in PA and Ford and Zuckerman were thinking of NY. I was hoping for Scarbo himself. Personally, I would like to see Rudeeee 9Iluiani take a whack at either Gillibrand or Cuomo.
    I watched Gillibrand on Morning Ho this morning and she looked good but I swear she goes from looking really dumpy and frumpy to looking really attractive. I know I shouldn’t mention her looks but hey….

  54. 54.

    kdaug

    FWIW, I knew Cambell’s brother Kevin in college. Genuinely a good guy, collector of ivory pipes (we won’t be discussing what we used them for – it was college), and her/their father was a 20/20 reporter back in the day.

    But don’t doubt that there’s serious calculation behind these guy’s moves. It’s how they roll.

  55. 55.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @El Cid:

    Their first date was a group dinner, with Tom Brokaw and another journalist. They were all discussing Iraq while Ms. Brown and Mr. Senor flirted.

    I just threw up in my mouth a little bit reading that. Dangerous Liaisons meets the banality of evil in early 21st Cen. America.

  56. 56.

    El Cid

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ: It’s only you crazy radical hippie fringe extremist leftist pacifist liberal types who take all this shit about ‘war’ and ‘occupation’ so damn seriously. The real people know it’s just a game to send American women and men to fight in for political purposes, and that’s cool, and apparently also quite a turn-on for the action-seeking media classes.

  57. 57.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ:

    Yet once she started covering television news in Topeka, Kan., it became clear she was ambitious. She eventually joined NBC, covering George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, during which she became known among other things for expertly applying mascara just as the plane was landing. And she never tried to sneak back home to Washington for rest and relaxation. “I came home once, to change my clothes from fall to winter,” said Ms. Brown, who has been married and divorced.

    If I had to write shit like this for a living, I think I’d rather work for McDonalds. I blame El Cid for making me read NYT marriage ceremony dreck.

  60. 60.

    kay

    @El Cid:

    I hated the Bushies, El Cid, and that clip is pure Bushie.

    I think all that bullshit bragging bravado is a big national problem, from politics to the bidness sector.

    It’s an act, he’s a fraud, and that attitude is deeply, deeply disrespectful to the seriousness of what we did when we invaded that country.

    It’s repellent. I think we can ask that neoconservatives at least show the common decency not to be grinning and strutting when they’re describing Iraq.

    I love that the happy couple are “passionate” about the mideast. Here’s hoping they don’t turn that “passion” towards another country, and invade it.

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