The Important Question for 2006

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Wednesday November 09, 2005 · 10:38 AM PST

2005/11/09 · 10:38

Thinking about the fractured Republican party and the newfound fighting spirit among Democrats, I am becoming more and more convinced that there is one question we should get every candidate for Congress in 2006 to answer:

"If it becomes clear that President Bush purposefully misled Congress and the American people in making a case for war, would you vote to impeach him?"

Follow me on this one. If asked of every candidate, and if the responses are collected so as to put pressure on those trying to dodge the question, Democrats can constrast a hopeful platform for the future without angry tirades against Bush, which, while necessary and legitimate, can sometimes take away from a pro-active, hopeful message.

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Republicans (stop short of) defending Rove

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Thursday July 14, 2005 · 8:58 AM PDT

2005/07/14 · 08:58

What is amazing about the GOP.com publicity statements from Republican notables is that they don't even defend Rove!

Not a single Republican Congressperson or Senator will stand up and say Rove is innocent, or try to refute the evidence that has come out against him. They have weak, mealy-mouthed statements of support and attacks on Democrats, but no actual support for Rove. Read More

Pop quiz: How many independent branches of govt do we have?

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Wednesday June 22, 2005 · 6:54 AM PDT

2005/06/22 · 06:54

Frist's spineless showing yesterday has more important implications than Frist's 2008 presidential bid, ones that Democrats can take advantage of. And that is: how many independent branches of government do we have? Because yesterday made it obvious that we have a powerful executive branch, and a legislative branch that does whatever the executive wants. Finally, you have the executive and legislative outright bullying the judicial. As an issue for the 2006 midterms, these are waters that cannot be muddied by right-wing toadies (unlike corruption, the Iraq war, etc.). 2006 midterms is the ball we must keep our eye on (that and pushing more formal investigations into DSM and other issues), and Democrats being the party of unflinching independence, not afraid to voice different opinions, may be a good way to connect with voters. Read More

Free Enterprise Fund on SS -- Unbelievable!

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Wednesday March 16, 2005 · 2:25 PM PST

2005/03/16 · 14:25

Over on Redstate they've got an interview with Steve Moore, formerly of Club for Growth and now with the Free Enterprise Fund. Go ahead and read it. I'll give the choicest quotes below, but here's a taste:

Note -- RS=RedState, SM=SteveMoore

RS: How do PRAs actual help solve the solvency issue that SS is facing?

SM: Just to be clear, solvency is far less important than allowing workers to own their own retirement accounts and enjoy the benefits of substantially higher returns than under the current system. We would be for modernizing this depression-era program whether it had solvency problems or not.

(emphasis mine)

(me): So whether or not SS is solvent, that is, not bankrupt, that is, whether it exists or not, is not as important as personal accounts? A safety net is not as important as getting people a couple extra bucks when they retire (something they can already do in private investments)? Read More

Cataloguing the lies of Gannongate - and renaming it too...

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Thursday February 10, 2005 · 6:14 PM PST

2005/02/10 · 18:14

In addition to all the ongoing hard research and soft speculation, two things have occurred to me. One, that the aptly-named Plame and PropaGannon, or Gannongate, monikers be changed to reflect the mainstreaming of the story and consensus that Gannon himself is now an obstacle to the real investigation. Two, that a designated place (here or on the forthcoming dedicated site) be established to catalogue the statements, lies, and contradictions that come out as people (especially those within the Administration) are questioned on this. Read More

The Media's got me down. I tell you why. You tell me it's not too late.

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Tuesday February 08, 2005 · 7:13 PM PST

2005/02/08 · 19:13

I'm a little down lately - some work things, some family things, and some politics. Mostly, I just feel like the messages that get out in the media from the left are so filtered, and watered-down, while the right-wing messages build up like snowballs running down a hill. The Smear Vets vs. National Guard is the prime example, where a right-wing driven story mushrooms despite being completely debunked, while a left-wing driven story disappears (questions about documents don't help either, I grant you). I know that they have been laying the groundwork for decades, but the change has been very apparent the last dozen years or so, and lately it is discouraging, if not stifling. BTW I'm a big fan of TomTech's This Week in Fascism Series. He has really opened my eyes to how dangerous the dysfunctional media truly is. Anyway, below I'll discuss how bad I feel it's gotten, then plead with this community to cheer me up by (please) pointing out ways in which it's not too late to counter the RWCM. Read More

We have an activist executive on our hands - impeach him!

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Tuesday February 01, 2005 · 9:54 AM PST

2005/02/01 · 09:54

We all have heard a lot on activist judges, mostly from the right-wing talking heads. Of course, there are activist judges on the right, too. But what is meant by an activist judge? As I think almost everyone can agree, an activist judge is one who extends his or her authority past interpreting the law and into rewriting laws. This stems from the third-grade understanding of civics that the legislature writes laws, the executives enforce them, and the judiciary interprets them as needed. This understanding is more or less correct, so we see a legitimate abuse of power when a judge essentially ignores or rewrites laws, one that should be corrected by removal of that judge from office. This is unacceptable whether you agree with the judge's ultimate ruling or not. Again, on these points everyone basically agrees regardless of political views.

So what about activist executives? We have, as I detail below, an executive who usurps the powers of the legislature and judiciary, and thus should be impeached.
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GOP fissures -- it's the budget!

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Friday January 14, 2005 · 8:08 AM PST

2005/01/14 · 08:08

Now that political cover is more important and party unity less unified for the GOP, cracks are showing between two factions, the far-right and the misguided near-right. Politics and necessity to back the sitting president, not to mention the corrupt GOP leadership, may keep them all in line. But what is currently breaking them apart are budget concerns.
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It is becoming CW that GOP leadership is corrupt!

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Wednesday January 05, 2005 · 8:46 PM PST

2005/01/05 · 20:46

This occurred to me when I found out that, despite the fact that it is unlikely to change the outcome of the election, it looks like the Democrats are prepared to contest Ohio's electoral votes. Recently, there seems to be a lot of stories coming out that paint the Republicans in, well, if not a bad light then at least a suspicious light. There are at least 4 (discussed below the fold) recent developments that, added up, are probably only moral victories for the Democrats. But the press generated by Democrats with spines opposing these policies, and moderate Republicans' reactions, is shaping a new CW: that Bush and the Republican leadership play dirty and have become corrupt because of their power. This is no surprise to us, of course, but it may finally be sinking in to the less-informed public and becoming CW. Read More

Bush aid undercutting UN: ultierior motive?

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Thursday December 30, 2004 · 9:31 AM PST

2004/12/30 · 09:31

I heard a report on NPR that triggered a cynical thought (one which may or may not have been an intended result of the way the story was reported). The report was entitled Aid Agencies Organize to Avoid Wasting Resources and it first mentioned the UN's and the "Bush Core Group"'s efforts to provide aid. The rest of the story was about how establishing independent aid groups serves often wastes resources and slows responses, at least in the short run.

So, and this may just be too cynical to state, but is Bush using this tragedy to establish new ways of providing aid, in an attempt to undermine perhaps the most important (and maybe only non-dysfunctional) arms of the UN.
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This worked! Got someone to turn off Fox News!

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Friday December 24, 2004 · 8:02 AM PST

2004/12/24 · 08:02

I presented a non-wingnut but diehard republican friend of mine (his irrititating stance it "to hell with everything as long as my taxes are low") with the following argument and it actually got him to stop watching Fox News! He is also into Rush and Hannity but has admitted that ever since this conversation he has found Hannity to be disingenuous too. He still thinks Rush makes "a lot of sense." Anyway, argument to follow. Read More

The Bush who cried Wolf -- a meme to get the truth on SS out

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Tuesday December 21, 2004 · 2:33 PM PST

2004/12/21 · 14:33

It still boggles the mind to know that the more that the current administration lies, the more the media let the lies pass and the more the public gets misinformed. But, even conservative pundits (those who live in the perception-based community) agree one some of these points: 1. BushAdmin were wrong, Iraq represented no 'crisis'. 2. BushAdmin were wrong, a war in Iraq would be a long, sustained effort requiring > 150,000 troops and hundreds of billions of dollars. 3. BushAdmin were wrong to allow torture. 4. BushAdmin were wrong about diverting resources (unconstitutionally!) to Iraq from the search for OBL. 5. BushAdmin was wrong to strip Americans of civil rights (wrong since there is no evidence of benefit to fighting terrorism, no convictions, etc) and so on...

With each of these there was a drummed-up hysteria, a new crisis, that most people now forget was the reason for these decisions/legislations.

A good opening based on this nugget is: this is the Bush who cried wolf. Read More

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