Do we really live in a world where bloggers can allege having had affairs with politicians and suddenly become national celebrities? Is this something we at Balloon-Juice should consider as a traffic maximization strategy? And who would be a good politician to claim I’ve had an affair with?
Archives for May 2010
SestakGate
I don’t think that SestakGate will have much traction with voters for a number of reasons: (1) it’s a complicated process story and voters don’t care about complicated process stories, (2) “Sestak” is difficult to pronounce, and (3) Sestak is running against Pat Toomey, who is a shitty candidate. I find it remarkable that Broder has his Depends in a twist over it, given that he pooh-poohed the US Attorney scandal, which is along somewhat similar lines only a million times worse and illegal to boot.
That said, and John has probably asked this before: why the hell did Sestak have to bring this up in the first place? The stupidity of this strikes a real chord with me because I was a big Eric Massa supporter and campaign volunteer and he told stories like this all the time, even before TickleGate. Supporters ate them up because they showed how evil Rahm Emanuel and the DCCC were (Rahm ran the DCCC in 2006, during Massa’s first run, and in 2008, Massanistas generally believed that Rahm was still the puppet-master of the whole operation). I suspect that many of these stories were true, btw, but they became tiresome after three years and you can see what kind of insanity they devolved into in the end.
There’s a certain type of candidate who loves to tell stories about how the big boys told him (it’s always a him) to do X and he told them to fuck off and did Y instead. I guess it’s part of being a populist and the candidates who do it are often excellent populist candidates (I think Sestak is probably stronger than Specter in the general in this environment). But, my FSM, it gets annoying after a while.
Supporting the Troops
Michael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners’ association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500. This is story illustrates the type of legal quagmire that can get out of hand while soldiers are serving abroad and their families are dealing with the stress of their deployment. And fixing the mess isn’t easy.
***Seeking to avoid hearing about the situation in Iraq, May stopped watching the news. She rarely answered the door, and Michael says he couldn’t tell her when he went “outside the wire”—off-base. May also stopped opening the mail. “I guess she was scared that she would hear bad news,” says Michael. That was why she missed multiple notices from the Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association informing her that the family owed $800 in dues—and then subsequent notices stating that the HOA was preparing to foreclose on the debt and seize the home.
In Texas, homeowners’ associations can foreclose on homes without a court order, no matter the size of the debt. In May 2008, the HOA sold the Clauers’ home for a pittance—$3,500—although its appraisal value was $300,000, according to court documents. The buyer then resold the house to a third person. (Select Management Co., the company that manages Heritage Lakes, declined to comment for this story.)
It wasn’t until June 2009 that May realized what had happened. Around that time, the new owner started demanding rent from the Clauers. She told Michael, who was still in Iraq. “At first I didn’t believe it,” he says. “I didn’t understand how someone can take your house and not give you anything for it.” When Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited Iraq in July, Michael says he told him about the problem. According to Michael, Perry called May and put lawyers in touch with the Clauers’ attorney, but couldn’t do much to alleviate the situation. (Perry’s office didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.) In August 2009, the new owner sent the couple an eviction notice, according to court records filed in the case. In Iraq, “the stress level was finally starting to come down,” says Michael, and he was “starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” He adds, “Then all of a sudden I get hit with this, and I’m trying to get out of there and get home and see what I can do to fight this.”
There are so many things shocking about this, but what struck me the most was the nonchalance of Rick Perry. You would think any politician would realize the golden opportunity to look like the hero here- particularly intervening in the favor of an Army Reservist and resident of your state.
But then again, empathy is overrated in the GOP.
First They Came For My Burner
Following the lead of privacy trailblazer Mexico, we’re going to start recording the ID of everyone who buys a prepaid cell phone. I’m sure you can guess the reason why:
“This proposal is overdue because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones that are hard to trace,” Schumer said.
The firecracker non-bomber used a prepaid cell phone to call a Craiglist seller to buy his Nissan Pathfinder. Ergo, prepaid cell phones are bad. If he had used a pay phone, we’d be installing security cameras in every booth. If he had used two tin cans with a string, we’d be regulating the sales of baked beans and butcher’s twine.
I realize this is merely a proposal, but is there any doubt that it will pass in an election year when the secret passphrase (“terrorism”) is used? We’re just lucky that Schumer didn’t decide to ban Craigslist, Nissan Pathfinders or gas barbeque grills.
I Suppose It Is Good News We All Agree This is a Catastrophe
But when the oil company that caused the mess is using this terminology, you have to wonder how horrible it is:
BP’s top official, who had previously said the environmental impact on Gulf of Mexico would be modest, upgraded his assessment Friday to an “environmental catastrophe.”
Also Friday, engineers in the Gulf tried the “junk shot” method in an attempt to stop a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward said.
The procedure involved shooting debris such as shredded rubber tires, golf balls and similar objects into the blowout preventer in an attempt to clog it and stop the leak. The goal of the junk shot is to force-feed the preventer, the device that failed when the disaster unfolded, until it becomes so plugged that the oil stops flowing or slows to a relative trickle.
The company plans to resume its “top kill” method, pumping heavy mud into the leak, later Friday, he said.
Goodness.
I Suppose It Is Good News We All Agree This is a CatastrophePost + Comments (38)
Oh- Hey Look at That Non-Story Going Away
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) said Thursday his brother has spoken with White House officials about the congressman’s allegation that he was offered an Obama administration job if he would stay out of a Democratic Senate primary.
Sestak ran in, and won, that primary, defeating the White House’s preferred candidate, Sen. Arlen Specter.
He told reporters Thursday that he would not expand upon his prior statements until the White House releases its report on the matter. President Obama said in his news conference such a report would come “shortly.”
Of course Sestak will wait. That way he can screw them again.
*** Update ***
Kay gets this exactly right in the comments:
He’s struggling to back off the allegation. He made the allegation, Obama responded. It’s his turn to talk. I don’t know why the White House report would matter. That’s nonsensical. Presumably he was there.
He’s actually getting them in deeper. The WH said they conducted a preliminary inquiry, and that’s consistent with contacting his brother (who is his campaign adviser). His announcement today that they had contacted his brother once again pushes it back to the WH. That isn’t where it belongs. It’s his job to back up his accusation.
Pretty much.
Oh- Hey Look at That Non-Story Going AwayPost + Comments (73)
Repealmentum
House Republican leaders introduced a bill Thursday to repeal and replace the sweeping healthcare law adopted in late March.
According to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the measure would repeal the current law and replace it with the alternative the minority party offered to the original healthcare legislation last November.
“As unpopular as this healthcare bill is today, it’s at the height of its popularity,” Blunt said. “The more the American people know about it, the more concerns they are going to have, and the more they are going to look at alternatives.”
I find it simply amazing that anyone would vote for these morons.