Earlier today, Doug Mataconis tweeted:
This is the fundamental problem we have right now (and this is not a let’s all trash Doug Mataconis post). The problem we have with our media and those who follow our so very messed up political discourse is that all too often, we spend valuable time debating and discussing the nonsense Republicans puke up and throw against the wall to see what sticks.
Let me be clear- the Republicans no more want an “independent” Secretary of State than they want to expand voting rights. Secretaries of State work at the behest of the President to implement his/her foreign policy. The very notion of “independence” is antithetical to the position. You know what an “independent” Secretary of State means- a rogue Secretary of State.
So spending any time analyzing this latest round of nonsense is playing into their hand. What they want is to weaken Obama. Period. That is all they care about. This is just today’s most recent round of nonsense from the bullshit party:
Corker, who will be the ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the new congressional term, implied that he considered Rice too much of a partisan and urged Obama to pick a more “independent” person as chief diplomat.
“All of us here hold the secretary of State to a different standard than most Cabinet members,” he said. “We want somebody of independence.”
He implied that Rice, who is close to the president, was, instead, a “loyal soldier.” Corker also seemed to contrast Rice and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, with whom he said he has had a positive and “transparent” relationship “from day one.”
Collins said that after a 75-minute session with Rice she still had many unanswered questions and remains “troubled” that on the Benghazi issue Rice played “a political role at the height of a contentious presidential election campaign.”
This isn’t about Susan Rice. This is not about her response to Benghazi. Christ, the Republicans have spent more man hours on Benghazi than the 9/11 attacks or all the hundred or so folks who were killed at embassies during the Bush years. This is little more than waging the GOP’s jihad against the Democrats, but this time with a more refined touch.
This is just more bullshit they are churning up to occupy the beltway class, when really all it is is another opportunity to try to hamstring the administration. I honestly have more respect for Joe Wilson, who just stood up and screamed “You lie” than these passive aggressive assholes. And anyone who seriously spends any time trying to figure out what an “independent” Secretary of State is should just be put on your list of idiots to ignore.
BTW- that LA Times piece I linked call Corker a “moderate.” We’re so far down the fucking wormhole we may never recover.
arguingwithsignposts
Man. When they’ve lost Doug Mataconis … WOW!
ETA: Your parenthetical eluded me on the first read. My apologies. Still, WOW!
Baud
This post is spot on.
I hope Obama has decided he wants Rice to be SoS. Because, at this point, choosing someone else will be portrayed as caving, regardless of the actual reasons.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This whole thing is making my head spin. I don’t know what makes me sicker, the fact that McCain, Graham et al are desperately trying to give Al Qaeda credit for an attack they had nothing to do with, or the fact that with the exception of Kelly Ayotte, every single nitwit getting camera time to express their troubled concerned questions about Susan Rice voted to promote Condi PDB Rice. There are seven or eight other individual fucks in this cluster that all boil down to “our media suck”.
ETA: interesting that they are all scared to take on Hillary Clinton
Suffern ACE
Yes, I see. Because no one ever knew what party Hillary was a member of.
dmsilev
I do have to say that it’s absolutely hilarious to watch hard-core partisan Republicans praising Hillary Clinton. Maybe she threatened to have them whacked just like Vince Foster if they didn’t pretend to be nice to her.
PeakVT
He implied that Rice, who is close to the president, was, instead, a “loyal soldier.” Corker also seemed to contrast Rice and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, with whom he said he has had a positive and “transparent” relationship “from day one.”
The Repukes are so desperate to find something to discredit the administration (by proxy through Rice) that they have managed to twist themselves into the position of having to praise Hilary Rodham Clinton?
No, really, Bob, we have enough evidence that Repukes are insane. You can stop trying to prove it now.
Punchy
Obama needs to nommy her, and when they bounce her, just recess appoint her like Bush almost did with Bolton. The howling from the wingtards will be heard from Saturn.
Schlemizel
it sure would be nice if some of our elected Dems would bother to mention Johns point Or Jims @#3.
What was it under Boy Blunder, 11 embassies attacked & 65 people killed?
Baud
@Schlemizel:
Disagree. That’s an argument for surrogates.
Argon
Maddow is suggesting that these guys want Kerry to take the position instead so that Scott Brown can run for Senate. It’s not too far fetched.
hildebrand
Time for Hillary to come out and support and praise Rice.
Alison
@Baud: Agreed. Unless Rice herself were to specifically and publicly say she didn’t want the job – which I haven’t seen any hint of – he absolutely should make her the nominee. Partially, mainly, because she’s worthy of the job and would do well in it, but also, just as nice big FUCK YOU to McCain and his whiny ass cohorts, and also as a subtle “I won” reminder.
Fuckers.
arguingwithsignposts
@Argon: THIS! I said earlier that Obama would be badly served by picking out Senators for cabinet positions at this point. There’s plenty of talent outside that body full of self-important windbags.
Alison
@hildebrand: She has http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/11/hillary-clinton-susan-rice-has-done-a-great-job-150575.html?hp=l3
TheMightyTrowel
@Argon: RossinDetroit (I think) posted a link about that 2 days ago. I said it then, I’ll say it now: sounds suspiciously plausible.
I also liked Maddow’s comment that, excepting the US vs Russian context, Republican-watching has devolved to kremlinology.
Ben Franklin
Just when you think that last breath has left the corpse……..
death-rattle.
Hunter Gathers
As we all know, only an old white guy can be a proper ‘independent’ Secretary Of State. Not like one of those uppity, highly educated, accomplished hyper-partisan black women. Only members of Republican voting constituencies can be proper members of the President’s Cabinet.
David in NY
Was it the republicans who recently voted against an appropriation for enhanced embassy security or did I dream that (or was it just wrong)(question mark — got some glue in that key).
MikeBoyScout
Our Pres just needs to let loose his inner anger translator “Luther” and understand a significant number of us who supported his reelection support him.
General Stuck
What this is about, and what the past shitstorm of obfuscation, obstruction, and obnoxious unrelenting horseshit is about a bunch of losers trying to control the actions of the president that beat them in every single fucking way. It is too clever by half way of forcing Obama to pick their nominee for SoS, instead of the election winner president picking his. And if he chooses Rice, then this pouty wankery about a non story non issue will stay alive, because there isn’t a blue dress to point at. I can’t think of a lower form of behavior by US senators. John Bolton said we could lop off several stories of the UN and nobody would care, and Bush put him up to be our UN rep. That is a real reason to oppose someone for a position. Not this crappola.
Mnemosyne
Translation: we want someone who will go behind Obama’s back to implement the policies that we want. Because, as everyone knows, inside the Beltway, “independent” means “backs every Republican policy while claiming to be an independent thinker who just happens to agree with Republicans every single time.”
Waynski
Maybe he should nominate Ted Nugent for Secretary of State, Clint Eastwood for Defense and Bernie Madoff for Treasury. They’re all Republicans. Bipartisanship!!!
Schlemizel
@Baud:
OK, I won’t quibble if we could just get some fucking push back from somebody, anybody. Instead this shit just lays out there & festers without response so its the only story the stenographers can repeat
Baud
@Schlemizel:
FWIW, I’ve heard some of the MSNBC pundits make that argument, so it’s out there at least to that extent.
Soylent Green is FReepers
Ummm… not to spoil the Corker party, but wouldn’t a SoS who significantly deviated from the President’s instructions be in violation of the Logan Act?
PeakVT
@arguingwithsignposts: You’re right about the talent part, but at the same time it wouldn’t hurt if Obama nominated some blue-state fossil to a less important department. With Kerry, though, there is a potential Republican candidate lurking who recently won a Senate special election. It’s an obvious danger.
Suffern ACE
First, I think what they are doing is revenge for Bolton, and not much more than that. They couldn’t do that to Hillary when it was her turn because her qualifications for the job included being a senator.
I think he should drop her and keep her at the UN. That’s how it goes. My question is this-did the stuff Richardson was investigated for that went nowhere in 2009 disqualify him forever? I would not select Kerry. I’d go with Bill if I could.
fuckwit
This is simple. The Rethugs are holding out for JOHN FUCKING MCCAIN as secy’ of state.
That is why McCain is throwing a shit-fit tantrum. That is why the media, who was and remains McCain’s base, is throwing a shit-fit tantrum along with him. This is what the dog-whistle word “independent” means– it means “Republican”, or, in the case of McCain “maverick”.
This is McCain trying to hold the whole fucking country hostage.
The only nominee that the Rethugs and the village idiots will accept, is McCain. Anyone else will be facing a firehose of opposition.
And yes, I chose the word “firehose” quite deliberately. History has shown us how you defeat thugs with firehoses. You don’t fucking back down, that’s how.
Fluke bucket
Amen brother. A-fucking-men.
gf120581
A few points I’d like to make:
1. Susan Collins praising Kerry today only gives more fuel to the fire for those suspecting the GOP is doing this to give Scott Brown a chance at returning to the Senate.
2. In today’s GOP, Bob Corker may well qualify as a “moderate.” When Saxby Chambliss is probably facing a primary challenge because he’s too “moderate,” it’s clear “moderate” in the GOP is “someone who occasionally talks to Democrats in a civil tone.”
3. She’s an inexperienced young female politician who says stupid things, has been considered for Veep, has a lust for the cameras and provides eye-candy for McCain…are we sure Kelly Ayotte isn’t just Sarah Palin after doing a Doctor Who-style regeneration?
4. New possible motivation for McCain: a new place in history. I recall that McCain was yapping about the need for a “special investigative committee” a la Watergate to investigate Benghazi some time ago(though he’s shut up about it now) and I’m thinking he’s seeing himself as a 21st century Sam Ervin, taking down a “corrupt” President (who he just happens to despise). It’s certainly a more flattering place in history than as a failed Presidential candidate. Of course, it’s absolutely ridiculous with no basis in reality, but neither is anything else these clowns are spouting.
Garbo
This is such bullshit. Having these meetings between Rice and the Three Stooges behind closed doors was a mistake because these assholes can pretend anything about the content. Every other aspect of the story was playing out in the public eye and getting debunked in real time. Now there are mysterious “questions.” That’s what you get for treating these WATBs like adults.
Spaghetti Lee
All true, but there are some laughs to be had. A Republican praising Hillary Clinton! Kind of like the Newtster praising Bill. Maybe the people who say Republicans will just leech onto the Obama legacy once he’s a decade or so out of office are right.
dmsilev
@gf120581: Re: McCain, some people have speculated that he’s trying to avoid irrelevance, since in the next Senate session his highest ranking committee position will be in the Indian Affairs committee.
I’m dubious; even if he had no committee assignments whatsoever beyond wanker-without-portfolio, he’d still be a regular fixture on the Sunday gabfests and would still get reporters to listen to him.
muddy
@Hunter Gathers:
Maybe they just don’t want another black woman named RIce, because then they can’t point to their one to prove they are not racists.
Suffern ACE
@fuckwit: you know, if you appointed McCain, the stress of the travel would kill him in six months. The reason he is always in those Sunday shows is that he never goes anywhere. Lieberman is out, McCain dead.
The problem is a lot of damage can be done in six months.
Suffern ACE
How do we know that Kerry himself isn’t orchestrating this?
Mandalay
@fuckwit:
That is not true, and would never happen.
That is also not true. McCain and Collins have both said that they would be sympathetic if John Kerry was nominated.
That is absolutely true. I wish high level Democrats had as much fire in their belly as you. Apart from Obama and Reid I haven’t seen much spine from the leadership since the election. Why is nobody out there yelling that McCain & Co are full of shit and bile?
gf120581
@Spaghetti Lee: I know, it is rather hilarious to hear all this GOP praise of Hillary. It’ll be even more hilarious if she runs in 2016, because she’ll have all of these ready made sound bites of Republicans praising her that she can use in ads to say, “See, the opposing side thinks I’m just great!”
More proof the GOP sucks at the long game.
Hal
Kerry is in line for Sec of Defense, so if the plan is a Brown run, then it is not dependent on Susan Rice not being nominated for SOS.
Also, I think it was Maddow mentioning another popular, long term Republican thinking of running beside Scott Browm.
Also, Brown lost. By 9 points to someone most people had not heard of until a few months ago. Brown is toast.
Suffern ACE
@Mandalay: because senators, soecifically democratic senators, deserve the “girly man” insult MoDo ascribes to them.
Darkrose
Charlie Pierce had a really good point about the Scott Brown thing. Brown’s whole shtick was that he was the not-really-Republican-Republican Nice Guy ™. His attacks on Elizabeth Warren over the silly Native American thing, and him sneeringly calling her “Professor” like that was something to be ashamed of is one of the big reasons he lost: he showed that he’s a mean-spirited, petty, whining little prick. He’s no longer the Nice Guy. Also, the MA Democrats ran a horrible candidate against him last time. If they don’t make that mistake again, I doubt Brown will coast to victory.
I want Susan Rice to get the job, because sistah from Stanford who doesn’t make me cringe? Yeah! But if Kerry did get tapped, I’d be crossing my fingers and toes that Deval Patrick would run against Scott Brown.
Jay
Ah yes, Bob “Harold, call me!” Corker.
Christ, what a yokel.
Rich2506
Didn’t newspaper editorialists all agree during the Clinton Administration that AGs should be independent of political party and then didn’t they all mutter “nevermind” when Alberto Gonzalez followed G.W. Bush from Texas to become the US AG?
JasonF
Take Scott Brown off the table — offer him some position in the administration where he can’t do much damage. I’m not sure is Shinseki is staying around for the second term, but if not, nominate Brown to Veterans Affairs (Brown is a veteran and served on the VA and Armed Services committees in the Senate). Or maybe move Shinseki over to defense if Panetta is leaving and then put Brown in VA. Commerce might work as well.
Do it the right way and Brown can’t turn it down without damaging his brand (remember Judd Gregg). So he’s either out of the running for Massachusetts Senate or he has shot himself in the foot with Massachusetts voters and Obama gets to reinforce his own brand as the only adult in the room.
arguingwithsignposts
@JasonF: Ambassador to Truckmenistan.
catclub
@efgoldman: ” And, FSM willing, Reid will have been able to get some filibuster reform through, and she’ll get confirmed anyway.”
If Hillary resigns before the new session, and he names her and McCain promises to block it ( or Ayotte) then it helps get filibuster reform through – at least for executive branch and judicial appointments. LGM says those count as non-amendable.
brettvk
@fuckwit: Ahh, no, I finally call too crazy. Not even the Senate Republicans would be insane enough to entrust the nation’s diplomacy to an emotionally unstable, possible early dementia case like McCain.
catclub
@Darkrose: ” I doubt Brown will coast to victory.”
Probably right. I only wonder if he has any money left in warchest.
Second thought is, he does not need it since the bankers will refill that very fast. I say avoid giving him another shot.
arguingwithsignposts
@brettvk: Peak wingnut is a lie. They would have endorsed John the Walrus Bolton.
General Stuck
@JasonF:
I watched some of the debates with Liz Warren, and wouldn’t let that sombitch anywhere near the VA or any cabinet position. Make him honorary Cherokee pissing stick for reservation dogs to do their business with.
Colonel Mustard can run the pooper scooper
Suffern ACE
@catclub: money is not a problem. Do you think Grover stops finding money, especially in elections where democrats don’t have Obama at the top of the ticket?
Soylent Green is FReepers
@arguingwithsignposts: every time I see that man on TV I’m wondering why nobody’s yelling at him to get a haircut. He’s an ambassador and this is his idea of appropriate grooming?
rikyrah
@efgoldman:
I think he should drop her and keep her at the UN. That’s how it goes.
AMEN
brettvk
@arguingwithsignposts: Did they want Bolton for SecState? I thought the recess appointment to the UN (after it was blocked by Senate Dems) was a way of signaling the Bush admin’s contempt for the UN to the base, by forcing a sneering and manifestly incompetent Bolton on the General Assembly. But SS is another thing altogether, you have to have a grownup there.
JasonF
OK — living far away from Massachusetts, I don’t really pay much attention to Brown and was under the impression that he is reasonably competent. If that’s not the case, then ignore what I said, as it’s clearly not worth putting him somewhere that he might do damage.
catclub
@brettvk: I disagree. They would.
I remember a certain Senator John Tower, who was apparently an incredible alcoholic, who nonetheless was going to to be Secretary of defense.
I think his alcoholism came out in the press a little too much, but it was not because the republican senators were balking at the possibility.
Edwin Meese was the fucking Attorney General of this country, for pete sake.
arguingwithsignposts
@brettvk:
Theoretically, you have to have a grownup in all the major cabinet positions. GOP history tells us that’s not always reality.
Maude
@brettvk:
They approved Rummy for Defense. He’s a crazy as an s house rat.
kay
I love that McCain’s big puffed up outrage came because “she said it on all the SUNDAY SHOWS!” He actually said that.
Like anyone fucking cares about or watches THE SUNDAY SHOWS besides John McCain and his media friends.
If she set out to “mislead the American people” she surely could have chosen a forum where they might have HEARD it.
Suffern ACE
@catclub: didn’t John Tower show up drunk dressed as Superman at one point? I forgot he was supposed to be DoD secretary.
Mike in NC
It’s all about “Ni-CLANG” with these fuckers.
catclub
Every single republican, but one, voted for Tower, he was defeated by Democrats. Democrats Chris Dodd and Lloyd Bentsen voted for.
brettvk
Y’all are alarming me. I really hope you’re over-assessing the crazy among the Senate repubs, who are traditionally supposed to be saner than the House.
gf120581
@brettvk: You think too highly of the modern GOP. If anything’s clear, it’s that there are no grownups left over there or at least any grownups that are listened to.
If Romney has won on Election Night, you can bet Bolton would be his pick for SOS. (Either him or that little neo-con puke stain Dan Senor.) Bolton was his top foreign policy advisor. And if that doesn’t give you a chill thinking about what Romney’s foreign policy would be like, I don’t know what will.
kay
What about this?
They started this fight w/ Rice to keep Clinton in the job because they don’t want Clinton running around free, just being a high-profile partisan Democrat?
It’s purely political, we know that. So it’s just a question of HOW it’s political.
dead existentialist
I’m more concerned with the supposed fact that Ambassador Rice has investments in TransCanada who are behind the Keystone XL pipeline. Charlie Pierce tipped me off to this, but the new blog layout requires scrolling.
A-and Susan is teh hawt! (I’m hoping she’s using her shareholder status for the good of mankind. I’m a sucker for good-looking women.)
Jesus, our political overlords have a lot of money!
g
Erm….are we remembering the Secretary of State Madame Rice who once famously made a Freudian slip and referred to the president who appointed her as her “husband”?
Jeebus. Do these Republicans lack memory, or do they merely lack shame?
Suffern ACE
@catclub: ugh. Reading that sorry history. Because Tower was rejected, we got…Dick Cheney in the role instead. And from there…
The prophet Nostradumbass
@General Stuck: Perhaps we can open a new consulate in Svalbard and appoint Brown the consul there.
g
@kay:
Yeah. If we’re going to stary pillorying politicians for playing it fast and loose with the truth on the Sunday shows, I think we’re going to have to pillory quite a few before we get to Susan Rice. I’m looking at you, Senator McCain.
The Golux
It’ll never happen, but the world would be a better place if the press recognized that Republicans are, for all intents and purposes, trolls.
Don’t feed the trolls!
PsiFighter37
This whole bout has made me hate the McCain/Graham buddy show even more. Heck, even that asshole Lieberman isn’t going along with their shtick on this one.
Fuck both of them with rusty pitchforks. I really think Obama should nominate Rice out of spite, but I have no trust that the MSM will illuminate the overriding issue – that is, Susan Rice has ZERO to do with any of the decisions in Benghazi and that she was merely repeating what the intelligence agencies put forth.
And if those fuckers try to fight that, just bring up how they voted for the Iraq war based on even shittier intelligence. Make ’em squirm and defend their Bush-era records that they conveniently like to forget about.
Felonius Monk
Why is it that whenever McCain speaks these days, it reminds me of a teenager making fart sounds with his armpit? This fossil needs to be gone from the halls of government; he has now become an impediment to our future.
Gian
I’d love to see some purple heart band aids at the confirmation hearings.
catclub
@Suffern ACE: I realized that when I checked. No good deed goes unpunished.
amk
So where are the so called dem surrogates on this ? Every boneless fuckwit seems to have been afflicted with mute syndrome.
Montana
The republicans have all become Michelle Bachman.
Suffern ACE
@amk: regarding those surrogates-remember how this Summer, Obama had started that “Private Equity is Bad. Romney is Bad” attack line and surrogate (and otherwise brave mensch) Corey Booker went on the TV and emphasized that message by saying that it was class warfare and indeed Corey himself expressed great love for private equity?
What are these surrogates to whom you refer?
dww44
@PsiFighter37: Tonight, the Daily Show had all the video of the McCain/Graham duo testifying about the WMD in Iraq. And, they were testifying on the floor of the Congress. They also had video of Condi Rice talking about the “tubes”. Stewart pointed out that while Susan Rice had corrected her Sunday Show pronouncements in short order, such corrections have yet to be forthcoming from the GOP twins or any member of the Bush Administration for that matter.
Then he had great video of a press conference held by an Ohio AA Congressperson named Fudge who, flanked by other AA women, made a brief but emotional shout out in support of Ambassador Rice.
It was a great segment. Worth a watch. Repeats at 7:30 p.m. on my cable tv tomorrow evening.
The GOP is really shameless and they REALLY can’t handle losing, as Rikyrah has so eloquently pointed out. Kay’s also right. This to-do is all about politics;we’re not just sure yet what those politics are.
GregB
Have I said Fuck John McCain, Lyndsay Graham, Susan Collins and the rest.
The first words out of Susan Rice’s mouth should be:
This is nothing more than a high tech lynching for uppity black women.
Then she should personally call John McCain a racist on par with Bull Connor.
bcinaz
Collins gave the game away today. Republicans want to put Scott Brown back in the Senate my forcing PBO to nominate John Kerry. Really, Republicans won’t find anyone not named John Kerry to be ‘qualified’.
craig
Well said Cole. Nice to have you pissed off again.
Ruckus
@JasonF:
I’m going to be a little, OK a lot selfish here. I get my healthcare from the VA. The VA works. We need competent people running our government, let’s not fuck it up by appointing some douchebag conservatard no matter what imagined, eleven dimensional chess move upside there may be. I’d be a better department director than any conservatard politician, so if you need a placeholder that actually gives a shit… Of course my language usage may need some work.
Cmm
I also found Maddow’s theory to make a lot of sense. Especially since the ones leading the charge are 2 other “foreign policy guys” I the Senate. I am sure they have clashed with Kerry over the years, and would like having him out of their hair (or lack thereof, in the case of McCain), and leave an opening for the return of Scott Brown to boot.
I am with those who say that if Obama wants Rice for State, he should nominate her and fight for her. Elections have consequences, dammit.
Napoleon
It suddenly occurred to me yesterday (and it looks like some up thread) this isn’t even about Rice, this is about trying to force Obama to appoint Kerry so Scott Brown can take that seat back, and Obama is just stupid enough to do that.
amk
@Napoleon: Yeah right, a Columbia & Harvard educated black guy with zero political connections, who yet won the presidency twice in a batshit crazy, half racist country, is the stupid one, while you, a bloviating know-it-all in a blog, are really the smart one.
Idjit.
Napoleon
@amk:
Maybe you missed the part in his first term where he did exactly as I fear he will do here by putting people in his cabinet that were either in the Senate or expected to run for the Senate thereby increasing the difficulty for the Dems to hold seats in the Senate.
J R in WV
@fuckwit:
Well, then, here’s a plan: Nominate McCain potty-mouth. Make him resign his senate seat before being advised and consented.
Let him be questioned about calling his wife a c–t in public; do it repeatedly in the hearings with tape of the event, which must exist in some news organization.
After he calls a Senator a fuckwad under oath, drop his nomination like the dung-beetle it would be. Then work hard to elect a new Democratic senator from Arizona.
amk
@Napoleon: Which senator exactly did Obama tap for cabinet position ? If you’re hung up Gov Napolitano, then get over it, she was being term limited and she had zero chances in AZ senate elections.
Real American
@amk:
President Obama appointed two sitting Senators to his cabinet, Clinton and Salazar–however, both of those Senate seats remained in Democratic hands.
The likely Senate candidates appointed were Napolitano and Sebelius. Napolitano could have challenged McCain in 2010 (preliminary polls showed her performing well) or could have ran for the open seat in 2012 (which she likely would have won).
Sebelius could have run for Kansas’ open seat in 2010. Considering just how red Kansas is I’m not sure how she would have performed, nor have I seen any polling, but considering she was elected statewide before it’s not unreasonable to assume she could have made it close.
The more you know!
Full Metal Wingnut
@Argon: Absolutely brilliant work by the GOP. See, Kerry and Rice are the only two people in the known universe qualified for the State position, so if they destroy Rice.
But seriously, I find that facile. No matter how much Kerry wants it, I wouldn’t appoint him if Rice couldn’t make it for the same reason. I know they think Obama is an affirmative action dumbass, but again, there are more than two people in the known universe who can take the position, and Obama would not be so stoopid that he wouldn’t see that. And that’s presuming that another Brown run would be realistic. I like Maddow, but sometimes I think she’s either too clever by half or just misses the mark.
Full Metal Wingnut
@Full Metal Wingnut: I guess I didn’t make my point clear. Point being that Maddow’s theory (And some other liberal bloggers) is that these GOP senators are burning a shitload of political capital on something that might very well not pan out the way they want it to. If they just want to stick it to Obama and undermine him, or they really, really don’t want Rice, it makes sense. But for any other reason, it’s just not a smart play. And I would never accuse Graham or McCain et al of being smart, but they’ve been in the game long enough to know the score. You don’t have to be smart in…well any sense of the word to be a savvy politician.
Full Metal Wingnut
@Full Metal Wingnut: Sorry, just so there’s no ambiguity to what I’m saying:
OK, what happens if Obama doesn’t nominate Kerry, which was their super secret evil genius “plan.” And it’s not Rice either. And they still don’t like the person. They’re in a shit sandwich position because they’ve already burned so much political capital shitting on Rice. They lose a lot of credibility that they could otherwise use against this other appointee (and they don’t know who it is yet even!). I know obstructionism has been rewarded, but it’s gone so far that even Lieberman isn’t going for McCain’s game. If McCain or Graham make a play against the non-Kerry/Rice nominee, other GOP senators will want to distance themselves, and even be hesitant to speak out too strongly for fear of the taint of that bullshit (and we should work harder to make the story as much of a taint as possible on them) The story they’re pushing just does not have legs or relevance outside of the Foxiverse (and even my parents, who watch that channel religiously are sick of hearing McCain babble).
They would not have had this problem if the anti-Rice Benghazi story actually had legs. That would have given them a lot more leverage over the president. But it backfired, and if they were smart, they would’ve started doing damage control a while ago.
Redacted
A “loyal soldier?” Didn’t Condi have a Freudian moment where she referred to Bush as “her husband?”
Just another GOP line of BS, another day ending in “y”.
patrick
I don’t know, Maddow’s argument is pretty persuasive….BUT what would be golden is if he does try to appoint Rice, and the rethuglicans burn whatever political capital to block her nomination, and persuade to appoint Kerry, and I don’t know, Obama decides to appoint someone like Colin Powell back to SOS…..I think Powell under Obama would be much different than Powell under bush, and I can only imagine what the republicans would do with that….11 dimensional chess, bitchez
Jay in Oregon
@The Golux:
The GOP is the party of nihilism. Republicans are simply not interested in governance.
When they’re not in power, their goal is to sabotage the workings of government so they can try to wheedle their way back into power.
When they are in power, their goal is to sabotage the workings of government in order to prevent the Democrats from regaining power.
All for the benefit their rich crony buddies.
Full Metal Wingnut
@patrick: I still find it unpersuasive since, even the dullest Senators understand how the game is played. There’s nothing to force Obama’s hand in nominating Kerry, and no pressure on him to do so. I mean, if the Neanderthal Republicans can figure this out, surely the Democratic Senators see this.
Full Metal Wingnut
Basically my point is that if this so-called scheme is so obvious that blog commenters and an MSNBC host find it intuitive, how could the Democrats, especially the ones who have the power to stop it (Senators, presidential advisors) not see it? A scheme so obvious can’t work, unless there is something to force Obama’s hand. And there isn’t. An 11th dimension chess argument is more plausible-Obama floated a sitting senator through back channels to give Republicans wet dreams of getting closer to Senate control, and hopefully entice the dumber ones are goaded into doing stupid things thereby distracting everyone. Smart Obama is more plausible than smart GOP at this point.
Full Metal Wingnut
Actually I just realized I’ve been assuming this whole time that the Republicans are smart enough to realize that this weak sauce is too obvious to work. Nevermind.
patrick
@Full Metal Wingnut:
now you got it…..
I think the republicans are stupid enough to think that Obama and the congressional dems are stupid enough to fall for their trap….Obama ain’t no Admiral Ackbar…