Ben Nelson and Ed Schultz get in shouting match over phone!

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Tuesday August 18, 2009 · 1:41 PM PDT

2009/08/18 · 13:41

I can't believe no one has posted this yet. Doesn't anyone read Greg Sargent's excellent Plum Line?

Senator Ben Nelson was so upset with MSNBC’s Ed Schultz’s on-air criticism of his failure to embrace the public option that the Senator contacted Schultz to complain, prompting a private yelling match between the two over Nelson’s stance, Schultz confirms to me...

westofrome

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Wednesday January 21, 2009 · 8:36 PM PST

2009/01/21 · 20:36

Mediabistro's Fishbowl DC reports that MSNBC is planning a new 10pm show, at long last! It was a bit of a mystery why the network was running a rerun (albeit, a rerun of Countdown) against original shows on MSBNC and Fox.

FishbowlDC claims the New York Times will report on the show in tomorrow's edition...which should be online any minute now.

So...until we have more news, who would you like to see in the slot? I have been hoping for Ana Marie Cox to get a show, but she just signed on as Air America's DC correspondent. Speculate away...

UPDATE: The Times article is here, and doesn't say much, other than that the network isn't looking for a "splashy" hire, but rather to promote from within, a la Maddow going from Countdown guest host to host of her own show...

GA Senate Runoff: Critical Questions

westofrome

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Wednesday November 05, 2008 · 6:02 PM PST

2008/11/05 · 18:02

Now that we're heading into a runoff in GA, here are the questions that come to mind:

Conventional wisdom would give the advantage to Chambliss, since he came so close to 50%. What's more, the balance of the vote went to Libertarian candidate Buckley. Libertarians tend to lean R. Is this an accurate assumption in GA?

Martin just underperformed Obama in GA (Obama 1,811,198 - Martin 1,727,626), but mostly, we have to imagine that their votes overlapped. Martin's success in forcing a runoff was surely given a huge boost by high Dem turnout for Obama. How can we keep the turnout as high on Dec. 2 as it was on election day? How much of the Obama organization can be kept mobilized for the next month? Will Obama campaign in GA for Martin? Should he? Will the campaign be able to help with other resources, such as voter lists, offices, etc.?

westofrome

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Thursday October 16, 2008 · 12:44 PM PDT

2008/10/16 · 12:44

Joe the Plumber isn't in the range of the $250,000 income bracket that would see taxes slightly rise under Barack Obama's plan. But he's desperately afraid that he might someday be so successful, and then be subject to a raise in taxes. (In the meantime, his taxes will go down, but never mind).

The argument that Obama has made before, and should have pressed in the debate last night, is that a broke middle class doesn't create demand for plumbing.

I don't know what projects Joe's company works for. But I know that families unable to pay winter heating bills, medical costs, and college tuition aren't likely to, say, add new bathrooms to their houses.

They aren't likely to buy new houses, so the demand for new housing with attendant plumbing will drop.

Without money, they can't buy products and services, hurting business that might otherwise open - businesses that need plumbing.

Without a strong middle class, the economy collapses.

westofrome

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Monday October 13, 2008 · 5:25 AM PDT

2008/10/13 · 05:25

A lot has changed since 9/25, as the financial crisis, Obama's calm competence and McCain's increasingly desperate and erratic campaign has swelled Obama's lead across the nation.

Some states, however, remain seriously underpolled and may well be swing states under the radar. Take Louisiana, for instance.

westofrome

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Friday October 10, 2008 · 3:55 PM PDT

2008/10/10 · 15:55

A new poll from Insider Advantage shows Jim Martin and Saxby Chambliss tied at 45!

With 8 percent still undecided, this seat, unbelievably, is totally winnable for Martin and the Dems! Undecided voters tend to go to the challenger if they haven't made their mind up by this point.

Not only would it bring the Dems that much closer to 60, it would be a wonderful way to recapture the seat formerly held by Max Cleland, who was so viciously smeared in 2002.

Please donate to Jim Martin at his ActBlue page to help him take this one home!

Right now he's at $77,960. Can we get him over $100,000?

New Rasmussen NH Poll: Obama 53, McCain 43!

westofrome

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Friday October 03, 2008 · 7:08 AM PDT

2008/10/03 · 07:08

A new Rasmussen poll out this morning shows Obama opening up a large lead in this heretofore tossup state - regularly the closest state by Pollster averages.

New Hampshire may not be a huge prize electorally, but it would be a large blow for McCain psychically for him to have to pull out as he did in Michigan. New Hampshire is supposedly where the independents love him for his "straight talk", his old-school Republican bona fides. It's where he crushed Bush in the 2000 primary and prevailed in the 2008 primary as well.

If the polls start to show New Hampshirites falling hard out of love with McCain, not only will it make it that much harder for McCain to get to 270, it will reinforce the narrative of him as "not the 2000 McCain you thought you knew".

The Truth on the Bridge to Nowhere (and how to frame it)

westofrome

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Wednesday September 10, 2008 · 5:29 AM PDT

2008/09/10 · 05:29

Barack Obama has said that Palin "was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it". That's not quite the whole story.

Last night, I saw Rachel Maddow take on Palin on her lies, but she stated that Palin was for the bridge before it became embarrassing to be for it. That's not quite it either.

The sequence of events, as best as I understand it, is that Palin was for the bridge (and any other pork Young and Stevens could get their hands on). Meanwhile, in Congress, it became a symbol of excess and the funding was deauthorized for the bridge. Palin was still for it, but the money from Washington wasn't available for the bridge any longer, and she didn't want to spend Alaska money to make up the difference. So the money was reallocated to the Road to Nowhere, which didn't pack the same powerful symbolic punch...

westofrome

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Friday September 05, 2008 · 6:49 PM PDT

2008/09/05 · 18:49

According to the AP:

Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.

Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the "Love Won Out" Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

westofrome

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Friday August 29, 2008 · 8:58 AM PDT

2008/08/29 · 08:58

From the AP (not online, that I can find)

March 2, 2000 (AP)

Judge upholds firing of Wasilla police chief

Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin maintains she didn't fire Police Chief Irl Stambaugh three years ago because he supported her election opponent John Stein. But even if that was her reason, she was within her rights to dump Stambaugh, a federal judge has ruled.

westofrome

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Thursday August 21, 2008 · 10:26 PM PDT

2008/08/21 · 22:26

Matt Yglesias, freshly established over at Think Progress, goes with Sebelius:

Veep Day is tomorrow, by all accounts. My against-the-grain prediction: Sebelius. What do you think?

This follows Atrios predicting Sebelius a few days ago:

Okay, my money's on Sebelius, based on ~~deep sources within the campaign~~ nothing at all.

westofrome

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Tuesday August 19, 2008 · 9:42 PM PDT

2008/08/19 · 21:42

After a flirtation with Wes Clark, I'm comfortably settled on Sebelius as my most-hoped-for VP pick. A scan of the press/blog CW finds that the most common knock on Sebelius is that it will alienate Clinton supporters, who will be angry that Obama picked a woman other than Hillary.

Now, this is a plausible-enough-sounding talking point, but really turn this one over in your head.

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Ben Nelson and Ed Schultz get in shouting match over phone!

Breaking: MSNBC plans new 10pm show

GA Senate Runoff: Critical Questions

A broke middle class doesn't create demand for plumbing, Joe

Time to poll Louisiana? Not polled since 9/25

Martin ties Saxby Chambliss in new poll, 45-45!

New Rasmussen NH Poll: Obama 53, McCain 43!

The Truth on the Bridge to Nowhere (and how to frame it)

Palin's church promotes "gay conversion" conference

Palin has history of questionable police firings

Yglesias joins Atrios in picking Sebelius for veep

Why the conventional wisdom is wrong on the Sebelius-Hillary issue