Below the fold: funnies, calendar, headlines, exposing Giuliani, Robert Redford, etc...
The Lineup (Copying to another site? Link back here):
- MTP: Patrick Buchanan (R) & Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) debate immigration; roundtable of WaPo's David Broder, CNBC's & WSJ's John Harwood, PBS's Gwen Ifill and Politico's Roger Simon discuss Decision2008
- FTN: roundtable of ex NYC Mayor Ed Koch (D), GOP consultant Ed Rollins, actor Sam Waterson (Unity'08), and Politico's John Harris.
- This Week: Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) & Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) on immigration; roundtable of Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, ABC News consultant & ex-Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke (R), ABC's Jake Tapper and George Will; David Hyde Pierce talks about Alzheimer's disease
- Fox News Sunday: Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS); Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Cal Ripken Jr.
- Late Edition: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) & Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) talk about Iraq war escalation; Vietnamense Pres Nguyen Minh Triet; Egyptian Amb to US Nabil Fahmy; Israeli Amb to US Sallai Meridor; ex US Special Envoy Dennis Ross (author "Statecraft"); Ralph Nader; roundtable of Bill Schneider, Elaine Quijano, and Joe Johns
More TV Alerts (all subject to change) (would appreciate a link back to this diary or my Penndit post, for those copying this to other sites.)
- Political Capital with Al Hunt (Bloomberg, repeats throughout weekend): Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on 6/22
- Chris Matthews Show 6/23-6/24: David Ignatius, Elisabeth Bumiller, Richard Stengel, Kathleen Parker discuss "Has Hillary Clinton successfully played to the antiwar Democrats at the same time she has preserved her national security toughness for a general election? What coalition is Michael Bloomberg dreaming of?" Quotes here.
- Newsmakers (C-SPAN, 10am): State Dept. Iraq Coordinator David Satterfield on 6/24
- Road to the WH: John Edwards at MCCXXIII on 6/24; John McCain at Merchant Marine Academy on 6/24; Barack Obama in IA on 6/24;
- 60 Minutes: Joe Darby on turning in Abu Ghraib photos on 6/24; sperm donors and their kids on 6/24; Hitler's secret archive on 6/24
- Kudlow & Co (CNBC): Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) on 6/25
- The Daily Show: Steve Vogel on 6/25; Bruce Willis on 6/26; Michael Moore on 6/27; Claire Danes on 6/28;
- The Colbert Report: Tom Hayden on 6/25; David France on 6/26; Daniel Gilbert on 6/27; Doug Bailey on 6/28
- Tavis Smiley: Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer (D-NJ) on 6/25; Michael Moore on 6/28; Frank Luntz on 6/29
- Leno: John & Elizabeth Edwards on 6/25; Michael Moore on 6/26;
- Letterman: Keith Olbermann on 6/27; Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on 6/29
Sunday Talk Ratings for Last Week's Shows
Hotline 6/21: "For the week of 6/17, NBC's "Meet the Press" won the week with a 2.4 rating/7 share and 3.142M viewers. CBS' "Face the Nation" was second with a 1.8/6 and 2.354M viewers. ABC's "This Week" 1.7/5 and 2.297M viewers. "Fox News Sunday" came win with a 0.9/3 and 1.089M viewers." Last week's guests here.
Robert Redford interview on NOW
Redford talks about global warming and environmentalism. Audio only.
Predictions from this weekend's Chris Matthews Show
Link. More interesting than usual.
ELISABETH BUMILLER, NEW YORK TIMES:
"There's a big debate in the Bush administration right now about what to do about Iran and its nuclear ambitions. And right now, the debate is: Should we tee it up and leave it to the next administration in 2009, or should we do something first in late 2008 -- and that might be military action."
RICHARD STENGEL, TIME MAGAZINE:
"In the next few weeks, people are going to start questioning Rudy Giuliani's national security credentials. They're going to say, 'Look, here was the guy who was in New York City on 9/11. He knows how to do something after terrorism strikes. But does he know how to do anything to prevent terrorism from striking, which is what the job of the president is?'"
KATHLEEN PARKER, WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP:
"The state treasurer in South Carolina, Thomas Ravenel, has been charged with possession of cocaine for distribution. He was also heading up Giuliani's campaign in South Carolina. So this is bad news for Giuliani. It may be worse news as things move along because talk is that Thomas is going to have to make some decisions about who else may go with him in the next few weeks, and some of these campaigns that are taking advantage of this may have their own holes to patch."
Lede of the Week
Time on Giuliani's uh, inner circle...
How many alleged criminals can a law-and-order candidate be associated with before it starts to hurt? That's the question facing former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, following the indictment Tuesday of Thomas Ravenel, his volunteer campaign chairman in South Carolina.
The TIME story is actually relatively positive for Giuliani, believe it or not. It mentions Bernard Kerik in addition to Ravenel, so why would I call it 'relatively positive'? Because Time didn't include the child sex abuser priest that Giuliani has on his firm's payroll that was reported way back in February by Townhall of all places.
More Giuliani:
Reid Tells Bush Where to Stick Bush's Veto Stamp
That's the spirit.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is known for his tough and sometimes controversial talk toward the Bush Administration, and on Friday the Nevada Democrat offered a newly biting comment in response to the White House’s veto threat of the Senate’s energy bill.
"They can take their rubber stamp and you know what they can do with it," Reid said Friday. "We’re going to continue to do what we think is right for the American people."
Headlines
- New DOD Report: We Are Not Prepared for Mental Health Problems Facing Iraq Vets. Paul Reickhoff on how you can help.
- Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) comes under fire in my Sunday Talk posts for good reason. After bashing Dems on member earmark disclosures, we find out that McHenry is pushing for a $129K earmark for a Christmas tree foundation. Remember, when Patrick McHenry pushes for earmarks, it's not pork... it's "directed spending." This prompted DCCC to make fun of the "Pissant" and write this song for McHenry. For more GOP earmark hypocrisy, see Jerry Lewis and Duncan Hunter. Oh, and Don Young. And let's not get started on Ted Stevens...
- Michael Moore premieres "Sicko" in D.C.
- Froomkin exposes Dick Cheney
- Why There Aren't More Progressives on Talk Radio
- Dems criticize GOP plan for veterans' health
- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) takes a hard look at contracting abuse in Iraq.
- Dems talk new energy technologies
- Rahm Emanuel is an assh*le (95% of the time), but he's our assh*le. On our branches of government and on defunding the Office of the VP.
- As usual, if it's not here... DKos's front page, TPM, TPM Muckraker or Think Progress had it. Developments in Abramoff investigations, US atty investigations, Veco, Iraq, detainee issues, etc. I had company this week, so perused the blogs less than usual.
- Brave New Films has progressive vids.
- Senators reach agreement on fuel economy. Given how GOP Senators blocked raising taxes on oil companies, it's time to revisit Rahm Emanuel's GOP love letter to oil lobbyists.
Electoral Stuff
The ratings for Dems in Congress aren't so hot, but before the NRCC starts popping the champagne, Hotline's House Race Hotline wrote 6/22:
It's not been a good week for the House GOP. And while a bad week does not a bad cycle make, there are some early warning signs for the party.
-- First, the NRCC has had a hard time banking money while paying down debt. While both parties raised the same amount of money in May, the DCCC have a nearly $10M CoH advantage.
-- And recruiting has been hit or miss. GOPers missed on their key recruit in PA-10, and when they find top challengers in GA-08 or in KS-02, they can't seem to keep them out of bruising primaries.
-- Finally, recent polling has indicated that the environment for the party has not gotten better since '06. A Dem NC-08 poll shows a rerun cand within two points of Rep. Robin Hayes (R). And other polling has shown that voters in swing CDs prefer Dems by large margins.
-- It's certainly too early to hit the panic button for the GOP. But this cannot be a trend for the party if it's to have any hope of breaking even, let alone taking back the House, in '08.
Dems should take some of the blame for their falling approval ratings and for why they aren't getting more passed. However, it's also true that they've only got 49 votes in the Senate, and that the GOP & Bush are a major reason for things not moving as fast as we'd all like. (That, and the fact that the Senate was designed to make things move slowly.) Dems can keep their 06 gains and expand on them if they don't overpromise and keep the pressure on the GOP.
Calendar (subject to change)
- Clinton, Edwards, Richardson & Biden raise $ in LA this weekend.
- Senate resumes consideration of H.R. 800 (Employee Free Choice Act) at 1pm on 6/25. They debate until 7pm. On 6/26 at 11:30am, there should be a motion to invoke cloture on H.R.800.
- House Judiciary Cmte hearing on post-9/11 air quality on 6/25 at 1pm. Scheduled witnesses include ex-EPA admin Christie Whitman (R), Whitman's former chief of staff, Eileen McGinnis, John Henshaw (ex-admin of OSHA), etc.
- S.1639 (Immigration compromise) cloture vote takes place on 6/26 in the Senate.
- 6/26: CA-37 holds special election to replace Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D) who died earlier this year.
- House Armed Svcs Cmte hearing on Walter Reed on 6/26 at 1pm. Scheduled witnesses: Former Secretary of the Army John Marsh, co-chairman of the Independent Review Group; Togo West Jr., former secretary of the Army, former Veterans Affairs secretary, and co-chairman of the Independent Review Group; Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody; Acting Army Surgeon General Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock; Army Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Army Brig. Gen. Michael Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center; and Army Col. Terrence McKenrick, commander of the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
- Senate Budget Cmte hearing on health care on 6/26 at 9:30am. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) are scheduled witnesses.
- House Judiciary Cmte on Guantanamo detainee legal rights on 6/26 at 2pm.
- House Oversight & Govt Reform Cmte hearing on New Orleans labor issues on 6/26 at 2pm. Scheduled witnesses: Jeffrey Steele, former employee of the Army Corps of Engineers; Ted Smuckler, director of public policy for Immigrant Worker Justice; Jennifer Rosenbaum, staff attorney at the Immigrant Justice Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Saket Soni and Jacob Horowitz of the Workers' Justice Center for Racial Equality; Paul DeCamp, administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration in the Labor Department; Tracie Washington, president and CEO of the Louisiana Justice Institute; and Catherine Ruckelshaus, litigation director for the National Employment Law Project
- House Budget Cmte hearing on "Foreign Holdings of U.S. Debt: Is Our Economy Vulnerable?" on 6/26 at 2pm.
- Joint Economic Cmte hearing on early care & education investment on 6/27 at 11am. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) is a scheduled witness.
- Senate Special Cmte on Aging hearing on "Paid to Prescribe?: Exploring the Relationship Between Doctors and the Drug Industry." 6/27 at 10:30am.
- House Foreign Affairs Cmte hearing on "Iraq: Is the Escalation Working?" on 6/27. Scheduled witnesses include: Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, president of Klein Steel Services, Incorporated; Anthony Cordesman, a chairman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Frederick Kagan, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
- 6/30: Q2 fundraising totals are due to the FEC.
- List of cmte hearings is NOT exhaustive. Lots of other hearings on FY 2008 budget, nominations for various posts, environment, housing issues, health care, workforce issues, veterans' issues, children's issues, wild fire management, death penalty, homeland security, IEDs, financial services sector oversight, etc.
Tidbits
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) has sold a painting of his on eBay. Check it out.
Recent presidents have been pretty tall. Size matters.
Kudos to Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) for sticking up for his interns
Clay was fuming last week after getting an electronic missive from President Bush’s legislative affairs shop disinviting his five interns from the event on the lawn at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Clay wanted to bring all five because he could not bring members of his family; they’re back home in St. Louis. So he sent their names and Social Security numbers to the White House to get them past the gate. But on Friday he heard back from the White House Office of Legislative Affairs: "Interns are not permitted to attend the picnic."
"If family members cannot attend, members are allowed to bring one guest," White House staffer Casey Watts Morgan said.
That really irritated Clay, who said his interns were really looking forward to the event.
Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) on his post-Katrina housing
Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) has been poking fun at ITK for more than a year after she called him a freeloader. After his home floated away in Hurricane Katrina, he and his family relocated to his brother’s place.
Taylor recently — finally — moved out after his brother’s home caught fire when it was struck by lightning. Taylor helped put out the blaze in his brother’s attic, but even he knew it was time to go. He and his wife, Margaret, are still waiting for their home to be rebuilt on the property where it was washed away by the deadly storm.
The congressman temporarily rents what he describes as a "400-square-foot shack" on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis. The "shack" is the servant’s quarters to a larger home destroyed by the storm.
"It’s better than a FEMA trailer," he says.
Taylor expects the family home to be finished in August.
Jon Stewart on David Letterman in February, 1996.
Stephen Colbert on Jon Stewart:
The Funnies
- Leno: "Bloomberg says he has no plans to be president. Now don't confuse that with President Bush, who has no plans as president."
- Leno: "The Republican Party here in California has obtained a special visa to hire a Canadian to be the state deputy political director, 'cause they say they can't find a qualified American to do the job. Apparently, working for Republicans is one of those icky jobs Americans just don't want to do."
- Leno: "Yesterday, President Bush vetoed another stem cell research bill. Bush says stem cell research goes against his religious beliefs. Mitt Romney agrees with him ... at least he did yesterday. I haven't checked Romney's position today."
- Leno: "Hillary Clinton has picked 'You and I' by Celine Dion as her campaign theme song. In a related story, John McCain's campaign song also by Celine Dion. It's the theme from 'Titantic.'"
- Indecision2008 has been up and running, FYI.
The Onion: Addressing Climate Crisis, Bush Calls For Development Of National Air Conditioner
Seersucker Thursday is a Congressional tradition. Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) declined to participate.
One Hill staffer sniped about Shadegg: "So he doesn't likes stripes, I guess I could understand if it was his fellow Arizonan Rick Renzi, who may soon be wearing stripes of his own supplied by federal tailors," the staffer said, referring to Renzi's current land-deal troubles.
Hotline Last Call asked readers what Michael Bloomberg should name his political party if he were to create one. Submissions included:
- Democrats Against Going Through Primaries
- Bloomin Onion Party
- The Other White Guy Party
- The "I Poop Coins and Wipe with Bills" Party
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) on Cheney's claim that he's not a part of the executive branch of government: "I always thought that he was president of this administration"
Stephen Colbert guests on Whose Line Is It Anyway
Lewis Black on Iraq & Katrina:
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Get Well Soon, Lady Bird
She's still in the hospital