It only seems fitting that as Washington, DC marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in this weekend, right-wing bloggers are gathered in Las Vegas to honor the legacy of Andrew Breitbart.
Like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting on the failed burglary lead to the resignation of Richard Nixon, Breitbart has inspired a new generation of journalists and news organizations.
And, also like them, his methods have affected the way politicians behave.
In fact, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's recent behavior is right out of the Breitbart playbook.
No doubt, Andrew is looking up and smiling.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Roundtable: Author David Maraniss, Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Mark Halperin (TIME), Former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) and Kim Strassel (Wall Street Journal).
Face the Nation: Serial Liar Mitt Romney (R); Former DNC Chair/Vermont Gov. Howard Dean; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Roundtable: Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal), Richard Lowry (National Review), Jan Crawford (CBS News) and John Dickerson (CBS News).
This Week: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd, Former Obama Economic Adviser Austan Goolsbee and Katrina vanden Heuvel (The Nation).
Fox News Sunday: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe; Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Former CIA Director Michael Hayden; Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Democratic Strategist Joe Trippi, Karl Rove (Crossroads GPS) and Juan Williams (Fox News).
State of the Union: White House Adviser David Plouffe; Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Reliable Sources: Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas; Cenk Uygur (Current TV); Matt Lewis (Daily Caller); Len Downie (Washington Post); Phil Bronstein (Center for Investigative Reporting); Jane Hall (Formerly of Los Angeles Times); Michael Ware (Formerly of CNN).
The Chris Matthews Show: David Ignatius (Washington Post); Kelly O'Donnell (NBC News); Howard Fineman (Huffington Post); Liz Marlantes (Christian Science Monitor).
Fareed Zakaria GPS: London Mayor Boris Johnson; Author Niall Ferguson Lord Robert Skidelsky (Warwick University); Bjor Lomborg (Copenhagen Business School).
Up with Chris Hayes: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN); Author Michael Hastings; Radio Host Ester Armah; Michelle Bernard (Bernard Center for Women); Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic); Columbia University Professor Michael Bell; "Pentagon Papers' Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: a report on how America's lawmakers could legally buy stock based on non-public information simply because they wouldn't pass a law against themselves - a law they finally passed after this story first ran (preview); an interview with University of Maryland - Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski (preview); and, an interview with country music singer/songwriter Taylor Swift (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Jon Stewart studied the science of gaffes.
The Daily Show
Monday: Author Parmy Olson
Tuesday: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Wednesday: Actor/Comedian Denis Leary
Thursday: Actor Steve Carell
And Stephen Colbert judged Mitt Romney's blue-collar credentials.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Paul Krugman (New York Times)
Tuesday: Actress Olivia Wilde
Wednesday: Author Daniel Klaidman
Thursday: Author Lawrence Krauss
Elsewhere...
In the great state of Michigan, where the word "vagina" is now verboten, State Rep. Frank Foster found the perfect synonym to confront a female neighbor with.
On Tuesday evening, Foster was visiting a home on Lansing’s south side when he walked up to the fence and asked Michigan Nurses Association staffer Julia Smith-Heck to stop mowing her lawn. They had a conversation about the "Protect Our Jobs" campaign to permanently enshrine collective bargaining rights in the Michigan Constitution, which the Michigan Nurses Association actively supports. Foster became hostile and walked away.
He returned shortly afterward, demanding again that she stop mowing, saying it was bothering his autistic son. [Foster does not have children, according to his official bio information.] Smith-Heck declined, needing to finish mowing, but ended a short while later and went across the street to talk to her neighbor.
Foster, a woman and a boy of about 3 or 4 came out and walked up to Smith-Heck and her neighbor. Foster said, "I want to introduce you to my son, Chase. I want to introduce you to the person whose night you ruined."
He then walked away, asking Smith-Heck, "Are you going to apologize?" She responded, "For mowing my lawn?" Foster said, "So you’re not going to apologize"? She repeated, "For mowing my lawn?" Foster yelled across the street, "You're a cunt!"
Meanwhile...
The campaign manager for Colorado State Rep. Marsha Looper discovered the perfect angle to market her boss' anti-gay rights message.
State Rep. Marsha Looper's campaign manager forwarded an e-mail to supporters that praised the lawmaker for voting against civil unions even though she has a gay son.
It's no secret at the state Capitol that Looper is one of at least four House Republicans with a gay child, but an unwritten courtesy has been to let the lawmaker be the one to publicly reveal that information.
Looper said she has been asked by some voters about her son's sexuality and has answered honestly, but never meant for it to become so public.
"I'm very, very disappointed," Looper said, of the e-mail making its way among El Paso County voters. "These are are very intimate issues. I love my son. I always will. He has said, 'Mom, I want my privacy.'" [...]
"God is truly to be praised for Marsha Looper because she also has a homosexual son," the e-mail reads.
And, in tangentially-related news...
The wife of Washington County, Utah Republican Party Chairman Willie Billings told openly-gay Republican presidential hopeful Fred Karger where he can stick his campaign swag.
From: nanette Billings
Subject: running for president
Message Body:
you are an idiot. You met with my husband Willie Billings today about you being on the Utah ballot. He brought your frisby, and tshirt home and it is now out in the trash. I never want to hear from such a radical idiot again. you think you are conseritave? conseritave means you beleive in the values of founding fathers and God. Do you know you cant procreate right? Well thank goodness for that. Nanette Billings
You stay classy, GOP.
- Trix