Daily Archives: February 10, 2010

Political Quick Hits

God, I love the First Lady. The epitome in class.

Newt Gingrich, the only real intellectual giant on the right, lied last night about Richard Reid being an American citizen to explain away why Bush had Reid read his Miranda rights during the Shoebomber Incident in 2001, in order to attack President Obama for doing the same to the Fire Crotch terrorist, who is not an American citizen. (The truth is that Reid is not an American, but a Brit). And today he actually admitted he was wrong (pick your jaw off the floor, I am not finished)…. but he lied again in doing so.

Another Republican and Democrat in Congress have announced their retirements. In case you are counting, that is now 12 Democrats and 17 Republicans. If the GOP hopes to regain Congress this year, they need more Democrats to retire, in fact, they need at least a 2 to 1 ratio like they had in 1994.

A new Quinnipiac poll finds that Americans by a 57% to 36% margin think homosexuals should be able to openly serve in the U.S. military. Voters also say by a 66% to 31% margin that the current policy of not allowing openly gay men and women to serve is discrimination. You know what I love about that result. It means 9% of Americans think the DADT policy is discriminatory and want to keep it in place because they are evil bigots.

In what Josh Marshall calls a key tell on where the repeal of DADT is going, Lt. Dan Choi, a gay West Point graduate and New York National Guardsman, who was recommended for discharge after publicly coming out of the closet and becoming a very public advocate for the repeal of DADT is back on duty with his National Guard unit.

Speaking of polls, the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll has the President’s approval and disapproval numbers at 51% and 41%, respectively.

You want to know how fake and dishonorable and disgustingly vile Sarah Palin is? Well, she wore a black bracelet on her wrist during the Teabaggin Convention over the weekend with her son Track’s name on it. What is wrong with that?

“The name on her black memorial bracelet — one, like the gold star, a demonstration of a friend or associate who was killed in action — is that of her oldest son, Track. Track served honorably in Iraq, and both he and his parents should be thanked for his selfless service to his country. He is also alive.

“Commemorating Track’s service by wearing a black memorial bracelet which is reserved for those dead or even a red bracelet for those missing in action, demonstrates a horrifying contempt for those who gave their last full measure of devotion or an almost unbelievable ignorance of the importance of symbols in American history…”

“Sarah Palin, please take off the bracelet. Be thankful you have no reason to wear it.”

A comment from commenter Eli: “Actually, Eric Robinson, the man who posted the article about Palin’s bracelet, has issued a retraction and apology. Scroll down to the bottom of his article. the bracelet was bronze, not black. The makers of the bracelet commented his article to set the record straight. Joe Biden has the same type of bracelet for his son as well.”

Speaking of that lying know nothing fascist, Chris Matthews finds her frightening. No shit, Chris. You are just now coming to that conclusion? Someone on Twitter or Facebook made a funny re Palin, saying that our collective “home arrests” during these back to back Blizzards this week is but merely practice for when Sarah Palin’s shock troops take power.

Matt Yglesias puts a poll earlier this week which showed 33% of Iowans support the “tea party” movement into context, noting that “38% of Americans have a favorable view of Cuba and 36% are favorably disposed toward socialism, but I don’t see anyone writing newspaper articles about how a populist wave of socialism is sweeping the country […] The number of Iowans who like the tea party movement is smaller than the number of Americans who want marijuana legalized or the number of Americans who believe the government has had secret contact with extra-terrestrials.”

UI touched on this earlier, but a new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that nearly six in 10 Americans say the Republicans aren’t doing enough to forge compromise with President Obama on important issues; more than four in 10 see Obama as doing too little to get GOP support. In addition, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they want Congress to keep working to pass comprehensive health-care reform.

Virginia To Legislate Against The Anti-Christ

From Daily Kos:

This seems reasonable enough:

RICHMOND, FEB. 9 — The House of Delegates is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill that would protect Virginians from attempts by employers or insurance companies to implant microchips in their bodies against their will.

But wait until to hear why some Delegates are supporting the measure:

It might also save humanity from the antichrist, some supporters think.

Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the “mark of the beast” described in the Book of Revelation.

“My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times,” Cole said. “Some people think these computer chips might be that mark.”

Is this a problem that people in Virginia are seriously concerned about?

Americans Continue To Support Health Care Reform

The Washington Post and ABC News did a poll asking Americans about the current political climate and bipartisanship. The basic result is that Americans are frustrated by the lack of progress on important issues and both parties are taking the blame for this, but Republicans are coming in for more blame. When Americans were asked about health care reform, they saw the following result:

Americans expect Congress to keep working. The election of one Senator from Massachusetts is no excuse to stop. The message about who is to blame for the impasse is also starting to come through:

I hope the message is getting through to weak-kneed Democrats. Failure is not an option, the voters expect you to get things done. Voters also expect their officials to make the hard decisions. I think Obama is doing a good thing with his televised bipartisan health care summit. He’s basically calling the Republicans’ bluff. I feel confident in his ability to sell the current plan and to point out the problems and flaws in the Republican plans.

Snowed In Wednesday Open Thread

Well, I guess we all should have plenty of time for blogging today since we’re snowed in. So, here is a fresh open thread for you to play in.

Ezra Klein on the Republicans’s health care reform ransom note:

Just screams “we would like to cooperate with you to reform the American health-care system,” doesn’t it? But don’t take my word for it: You’ll really want to read the whole thing. These are not folks who concern themselves with the appearance of good faith. The only thing missing is an obscure riddle that Obama must answer before he can speak to Mitch McConnell.

But I think the administration should release a counter-proposal. They will agree to literally every one of the GOP’s demands — including the ones that don’t make any sense — in return for one, simple promise: The final legislation is guaranteed an up-or-down vote in the House and the Senate. No filibusters. No delays. No procedural tricks. If the GOP wants a clean process, I bet a deal can be struck here.

I think we all know this will never happen, but perhaps calling their bluff will be a good way to highlight the Republican obstructionism.

Republicans have also painted themselves into a corner concerning the Christmas undiebomber. They started objecting to putting Abdulmutallab through the civilian courts even though they never objected with other terrorism suspects, including Richard Reid. In fact, John Brennan, Deputy National Security Advisor, wrote an op-ed for USA Today taking Republicans to task for their lies and distortions on the case. That hasn’t stopped the GOP from continuing the attack, no matter how nonsensical. TPM catches Gingrich lying about the similarities of the Reid and Abdulmutallab cases on the Daily Show.

Classic moment last night on The Daily Show when Newt Gingrich explained that it was okay to mirandize “shoe bomber” Richard Reid and not Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because Reid, unlike Abdulmutallab, is a US citizen.

Only, of course, Reid is a British citizen. Watch the video here.

What was so classic about this to me isn’t that Gingrich got a fact wrong. That happens, though to some more than others. But it was a larger illustration of how much Republicans are flailing to find any ‘fact’ to plug in to explain why the Abdulmutallab arrest was an outrage even though it went down just like every other arrest of a terrorist on American soil in like forever.

What, Exactly, Is Going On In Felton?

SOMEthing is, and it stinks of the Delaware Way.

You may have missed it, but Gov. Markell vetoed a Felton charter change yesterday. I’m not sure I can even recall the last time a governor vetoed a charter change, but it doesn’t happen every day. Or even during every administration.

But the vetoed change suggests an untold story.

HB 251, sponsored by Rep. Outten and Sen. Cook, would have, among other things, established that “(a)ny person otherwise eligible to be a member of Council shall not have a family member holding an elected office for the Town of Felton nor have a family member nominated for and/or appointed to an elected office in the Town of Felton.  For purposes of this section ‘family member’ shall mean spouse, parent, child, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent or grandchild.”

In other words, only one elected official per family, thank you very much. And the change would have taken effect just a couple of weeks before town council elections were held. Fortuitous timing.

While there may be good reasons to enact such a statute (just imagine Paul Clark and Pam Scott together on New Castle County Council), it does seem to clearly be unconstitutional. This excerpt from Markell’s veto message seems pretty definitive:

When a legislative body establishes restrictions on elected office, it ultimately limits the choices available to voters and restricts the ability of otherwise qualified persons to serve their community. Therefore, such restrictions should be targeted and reasonably related to the specialized demands of the particular office.  Whether family members can suitably serve concurrently as members of the Town Council of Felton should not be predetermined by the General Assembly through additional restrictions on membership; it should be left to the eligible voters in Felton.

Furthermore, the language in Section 1 of House Bill No. 251 is overly broad in significant respects.  For example, Section 1 also prohibits family members from serving successively on Town Council, as the language is not limited to prohibiting family members from serving concurrently. Thus, as written, the law would prohibit an otherwise qualified candidate from serving on Council if his or her family member currently serves on the Council, even if the currently serving Council member is not seeking re-election.

In addition, House Bill No. 251 would have the effect of disqualifying a person for service on Town Council merely through the nomination of a family member to that body.  A person seeking office would therefore need to receive more than just the most votes, he or she would also need to secure the commitment of their family members not to disqualify them by simultaneously seeking Town office.  Allowing family members to use the nomination process to limit the electoral options of their fellow citizens would not be consistent with our State’s democratic ideals.  These examples reinforce the principle that the eligible voters of Felton are the best persons to determine who represents them on Town Council.

Kudos to Colin Bonini and Dave Sokola for casting the only two ‘no’ votes on this misbegotten piece of legislation.

But that’s not what interests me. I’m more interested in how and why this change ever found its way into legislative form. There must be a real story involving real people and real feuds behind it, not just some bizarre hypothetical. There’s no way any self-respecting town solicitor would allow something like this to make it before the General Assembly without some sort of backstory. So I’m calling on our loyal Felton readers (distinguishable from normal Felton citizens by their ability to read without moving their lips) to give us the inside skinny on this story.

It Shouldn’t Matter, But I Bet It Will – Prop 8 Judge Outed

Via kos:

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay.

Screams of outrage from the Right in five… four… three…

Never mind that Judge Walker was assigned the case at random.  Never mind that it’s been perfectly okay for white male judges to determine the fate of women and minorities for centuries.  Personally, I’m sick of it.  Sotomayor’s temperament, anyone?  And if you feel I’m jumping the gun on this, forgive me.  I know what’s coming.

Mike Castle’s “Trash and Grab”

Rachel Maddow explains the “trash and grab” strategy of the Republican party. “Trash and grab” is the term that has been coined to describe the Republican habit of trashing the stimulus then taking credit for funds coming into their district. Mike Castle comes about 6:00 into the clip, and oh yeah, there’s a picture of Castle with a giant check.

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As Rachel points out, it’s not just the stimulus – it’s everything that Republicans have claimed to support in the past, even their own ideas. They vote no on PAYGO rules, on a bipartisan deficit reduction plan, on health care reform. They are the party of no, but more than that they’re the party of “no to Obama.” They don’t have any intellectual consistency, and they don’t have any interest in solving the problems they created in this country. They are the anti-America, hope for America’s failure party. Mike Castle seems like a nice guy, but when push comes to shove he still votes with his party. I don’t expect him to be any different as a Senator.