++The Washington Post says Obama's approval rating is now 42%. Of course, it's the healthcare. He must be in a free fall. He's lost all of 1.5% since the government shutdown--sort of like the real polls after his first debate with Romney.
++Healthcare itself has shown a 3% drop in polls.
++Reuters and other news outlets show the state exchanges are meeting or exceeding their expectations as the first period of stumbling has passed.
++The New York Times had an article that said the Census Bureau posted wrong unemployment data at a key period in the presidential race. So naturally the Right has been trumpeting this. I've received e-mails saying Obama's an illegitimate President. Of course, the irate--they are always irate--Right fails to mention that Mitt Romney really didn't pay taxes for ten years.
++The Amazon Post editorializes that the United States and Israel must reach a consensus on the Iranian nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Brent Scowcroft and Zbig has written Harry Reid not to move for more sanctions or else the negotiations will fail, which is the desire of many Senators. The Post editorial was written with Netanyahu's talking points in hand. They argued that the U.S. was easing sanctions and this would lead to the erosion of the sanctions regime and then Iran will reach a breakout point to develop nuclear weapons. But, dear reader, the only concession that is being made right now is that Iran can access their own money, which was frozen, nothing else.
++The New Republic says the Democrats are likely to lose more seats in the House in 2014 than gain any. That was quick. During the shutdown, they had a real chance to take the House and now all is lost.
++Liberal economist Dean Baker, writing in the Huffington Post, speaks to me when he calls Obamacare the most important piece of legislation in a generation. He said that even if it doesn't make more Americans insured--which it will--those--like me who have health insurance--have health security. The improvements in policies ensure that when I get sick,I will concentrate on getting well or preparing to die and not worry about leaving my family destitute and facing bankruptcy if I recover.
++Somehow we are supposed to be concerned about Liz Cheney's feud with her sister Mary. Liz Cheney is 56 points behind Mike Enzi in the GOP race for Senator in Wyoming. Liz needs to convince people she isn't soft on same sex marriage so she has to disagree with her sister who is in a same sex marriage. And this is news?
++Rolling Stone this morning points out that Eric Cantor's and Ted Cruz' praise of Batkid is ironic. They would take away his healthcare and doom him to die from Leukemia.
Showing posts with label Liz Cheney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liz Cheney. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Hapless Harry Rides Again
**While President Obama stole the show with his remarks on the Trayvon Martin case, it was Harry Reid who won the week. Threatening his nuclear option to stop the GOP's filibustering of President Obama's nominees, he actually wangled his way to the confirmation of the head of the Consumer Protection Agency,the Environmental Protection Agency,and the Labor Department. More fights are on the way with the Labor Relations Board.
**Harry Reid also was the inadvertent hero in Mark Leibovich's "This Town" where he appears as the only normal person in Washington. If you don't live here,read the book. If you do, it will make you nauseated about how corrupt the D.C. culture is.
**John Kerry in a bit of shuttle diplomacy has brokered an agreement for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the creation of an independent Palestine. Since the news broke out, all sides are hedging their bets but their noises seem to be the normal ballet before the talks begin.
**Feisty Helen Thomas died at 92, spending nearly 40 years tormenting Presidents. Her most remembered barb was asking George W. Bush,"Mr. President, tell us why you really invaded Iraq?"
**John Boehner said the true measure of success for the House is how many bills they repealed and not how many passed. 0 to date. This Congress is the least productive since the mid-1940s,having sent only 15 bills for the President's signature. The country is safe, the House will be in recess all of August and only meet 9 says in September. Then we are supposed to face the dance on the debt ceiling, even though with the deficit declining by the most rapid pace in history the raising of the debt ceiling may be put off until next year.
**Liz Cheney is getting whomped in the first polls out of Wyoming. Senator Mike Enzi has a huge lead.
**But we may not know anymore about the state of elections with the great "Poblano",the king of 538blog,master baseball statistician,caller of the 2012 election, the one and only Nate "the Great" Silver leaving the New York Times to go to ESPN and ABC News. It's worse than when Steve Benen left Washington Monthly for the Rachel Maddow show. Ah, these careerists!
**This weekend was the first debate between the "Cooch" and "the Macker". The "Cooch" said gays were "soulless" and "destructive", while Terry McAulliffe said he favored same sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws protecting LBGT individuals and couples. The "Cooch" is still pushing the revival of the anti-sodomy laws in Virginia, which had been found unconstitutional. The new law would prohibit oral and anal sex among any couple of any sexual orientation as well as married couples. The good news is that it would outlaw bestiality. The "Cooch" is facing a big backlash by large corporate donors who hate his anti-abortion positions and social conservatism. They are switching sides and going with Best Friend of Bill Terry McAulliffe. The Macker only leads the Cooch by 4 points.
**After surviving the threat of killer Tampons, the Texas Senate wants to double down and outlaw abortions after 6 weeks. Already with the 20 week law, several clinics have closed down. A federal judge has just stopped North Dakota's Fetal Heartbeat bill that limited abortion ton 6 weeks.
**During the last debate in Texas,the American College of Gynecologists finally after two years of restrictions across the nation came out blasting further diminution of reproductive rights because they claim politicians are interfering with the practice of medicine and actually endangering their patients' lives. What took them so long?
**The Weekly Standard wrote an article that sexual abuse in the military doesn't exist. Since it exists everywhere else, why doesn't it exist in the military?
**The Great City of Detroit has declared bankruptcy. But the judge may not let them do it because the creditors want public sector employees to lose their pensions. Rand Paul vows that President Obama will have to kill him before the administration bails out Detroit. Poor Paul Krugman had to put on his waiters again to walk through the sludge of the Right's arguments about why Detroit must go bankrupt. Well, if the United States isn't Greece, then at least we can make Detroit Greece. CEO Governor Snyder has other cities on his hit list including Pontiac. Stay tuned.
**President Obama will start the week with another series of talks about the economy.And they will not go anywhere because of Congress.
**Harry Reid also was the inadvertent hero in Mark Leibovich's "This Town" where he appears as the only normal person in Washington. If you don't live here,read the book. If you do, it will make you nauseated about how corrupt the D.C. culture is.
**John Kerry in a bit of shuttle diplomacy has brokered an agreement for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the creation of an independent Palestine. Since the news broke out, all sides are hedging their bets but their noises seem to be the normal ballet before the talks begin.
**Feisty Helen Thomas died at 92, spending nearly 40 years tormenting Presidents. Her most remembered barb was asking George W. Bush,"Mr. President, tell us why you really invaded Iraq?"
**John Boehner said the true measure of success for the House is how many bills they repealed and not how many passed. 0 to date. This Congress is the least productive since the mid-1940s,having sent only 15 bills for the President's signature. The country is safe, the House will be in recess all of August and only meet 9 says in September. Then we are supposed to face the dance on the debt ceiling, even though with the deficit declining by the most rapid pace in history the raising of the debt ceiling may be put off until next year.
**Liz Cheney is getting whomped in the first polls out of Wyoming. Senator Mike Enzi has a huge lead.
**But we may not know anymore about the state of elections with the great "Poblano",the king of 538blog,master baseball statistician,caller of the 2012 election, the one and only Nate "the Great" Silver leaving the New York Times to go to ESPN and ABC News. It's worse than when Steve Benen left Washington Monthly for the Rachel Maddow show. Ah, these careerists!
**This weekend was the first debate between the "Cooch" and "the Macker". The "Cooch" said gays were "soulless" and "destructive", while Terry McAulliffe said he favored same sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws protecting LBGT individuals and couples. The "Cooch" is still pushing the revival of the anti-sodomy laws in Virginia, which had been found unconstitutional. The new law would prohibit oral and anal sex among any couple of any sexual orientation as well as married couples. The good news is that it would outlaw bestiality. The "Cooch" is facing a big backlash by large corporate donors who hate his anti-abortion positions and social conservatism. They are switching sides and going with Best Friend of Bill Terry McAulliffe. The Macker only leads the Cooch by 4 points.
**After surviving the threat of killer Tampons, the Texas Senate wants to double down and outlaw abortions after 6 weeks. Already with the 20 week law, several clinics have closed down. A federal judge has just stopped North Dakota's Fetal Heartbeat bill that limited abortion ton 6 weeks.
**During the last debate in Texas,the American College of Gynecologists finally after two years of restrictions across the nation came out blasting further diminution of reproductive rights because they claim politicians are interfering with the practice of medicine and actually endangering their patients' lives. What took them so long?
**The Weekly Standard wrote an article that sexual abuse in the military doesn't exist. Since it exists everywhere else, why doesn't it exist in the military?
**The Great City of Detroit has declared bankruptcy. But the judge may not let them do it because the creditors want public sector employees to lose their pensions. Rand Paul vows that President Obama will have to kill him before the administration bails out Detroit. Poor Paul Krugman had to put on his waiters again to walk through the sludge of the Right's arguments about why Detroit must go bankrupt. Well, if the United States isn't Greece, then at least we can make Detroit Greece. CEO Governor Snyder has other cities on his hit list including Pontiac. Stay tuned.
**President Obama will start the week with another series of talks about the economy.And they will not go anywhere because of Congress.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Look On The Sunny Side Of Life*
*Monty Python--Life of Brian
* In the beating the dead horse department, the House repealed Obamacare for the 67th time. This fact is courtesy of Dana Milbank. Marco Rubio promises he will shut down the government unless Obamacare is totally defunded. In other news, New York state projects health insurance costs for the self-insured will drop 50% because of Obamacare. A pilot project of Obamacare has reduced Medicare costs significantly. Even if you live in states that didn't expand Medicaid to benefit poorer citizens, you will be able to get cheap health insurance.
*Richard Cordrey was finally confirmed as the new head of the Consumer Protection Agency after a nearly two year wait.
*The Senate finally agreed to temporarily solve the student loan crisis.
*Nelson Mandela is 95 today and apparently is recovering from his illness.
* Mariano Rivera wins his second All Star MVP and retires with a 0.00ERA in his all star appearances.
*AEI's Norm Ornstein floated an idea about a 21st century Voting Rights Act, which would expand the franchise and apply to the whole nation.
*The NRA accuses President Obama of using the Tayvon Martin case to make his case against gun violence.
*The NRA claims "Stand Your Ground" is a basic human right.
*A Florida woman--naturally black-- was sentenced to 20 years for shooting a ceiling to chase away her abusive husband.
*Elizabeth Warren submits a 21st century Glass-Steagall law to remove speculative investment from normal banking. She was joined by John McCain.
*Terry McAulliffe leads the Cooch in Virginia 43-39. The "Cooch" has doubled down on his attempt to reinstate the anti-sodomy laws, now claiming it is meant to protect children.
*Voters in North Carolina oppose the latest anti-abortion laws and over 80% were against the way it was passed. Kay Hagen now enjoys double-digit leads for the U.S. Senate race.
*It's legal to carry concealed weapons into the state capital in Texas but not tampons and maxi pads because they may be thrown at legislators.
*Liz Cheney has announced her campaign to run for the Senate in Wyoming. Senator Enzi doesn't understand why and she says because he is 69 he is confused.
*The Prop 8 crowd lost another attempt to stop same sex marriages.
*The United Kingdom approved same-sex marriages. Ireland approved a bill, allowing abortion in extreme circumstances.
*The House's immigration took the high road yesterday when one member argued Donkey DNA didn't mix with thoroughbred DNA to produce race horses.
*Tom Marino, R-Pennsylvania, wants to sue President Obama for delaying the implementation of the individual mandate for Obamacare, saying it is unconstitutional.
*The House passed a farm bill and voted down Food Stamps, the first time this has ever happened in the history of food stamps. Ironically,over 50% of food stamps are received by non-Hispanic white. The % is even higher in Republican districts in the South, where sometimes it reaches 70%.
*The Beltway pundits are skeptical that John "The Tan Man" Boehner can even get piecemeal immigration bills passed. The Club of Growth, Grover Norquist, the Chamber of Commerce, David Brooks are all saying if the GOP doesn't go along with this then it is political suicide. Yesterday Boehner and Eric Cantor claimed they were for some type of DREAM kids legislation. Even this is jeopardized because there is no motivation for any movement among the House GOP because of gerrymandering.
*Stevie Wonder says he is boycotting Florida until they repeal their "Stand Your Ground" law. He also said he would not play in any states where such a law exists.
*George Zimmerman's brother is off to Hollywood to try to launch an acting career.
* In the beating the dead horse department, the House repealed Obamacare for the 67th time. This fact is courtesy of Dana Milbank. Marco Rubio promises he will shut down the government unless Obamacare is totally defunded. In other news, New York state projects health insurance costs for the self-insured will drop 50% because of Obamacare. A pilot project of Obamacare has reduced Medicare costs significantly. Even if you live in states that didn't expand Medicaid to benefit poorer citizens, you will be able to get cheap health insurance.
*Richard Cordrey was finally confirmed as the new head of the Consumer Protection Agency after a nearly two year wait.
*The Senate finally agreed to temporarily solve the student loan crisis.
*Nelson Mandela is 95 today and apparently is recovering from his illness.
* Mariano Rivera wins his second All Star MVP and retires with a 0.00ERA in his all star appearances.
*AEI's Norm Ornstein floated an idea about a 21st century Voting Rights Act, which would expand the franchise and apply to the whole nation.
*The NRA accuses President Obama of using the Tayvon Martin case to make his case against gun violence.
*The NRA claims "Stand Your Ground" is a basic human right.
*A Florida woman--naturally black-- was sentenced to 20 years for shooting a ceiling to chase away her abusive husband.
*Elizabeth Warren submits a 21st century Glass-Steagall law to remove speculative investment from normal banking. She was joined by John McCain.
*Terry McAulliffe leads the Cooch in Virginia 43-39. The "Cooch" has doubled down on his attempt to reinstate the anti-sodomy laws, now claiming it is meant to protect children.
*Voters in North Carolina oppose the latest anti-abortion laws and over 80% were against the way it was passed. Kay Hagen now enjoys double-digit leads for the U.S. Senate race.
*It's legal to carry concealed weapons into the state capital in Texas but not tampons and maxi pads because they may be thrown at legislators.
*Liz Cheney has announced her campaign to run for the Senate in Wyoming. Senator Enzi doesn't understand why and she says because he is 69 he is confused.
*The Prop 8 crowd lost another attempt to stop same sex marriages.
*The United Kingdom approved same-sex marriages. Ireland approved a bill, allowing abortion in extreme circumstances.
*The House's immigration took the high road yesterday when one member argued Donkey DNA didn't mix with thoroughbred DNA to produce race horses.
*Tom Marino, R-Pennsylvania, wants to sue President Obama for delaying the implementation of the individual mandate for Obamacare, saying it is unconstitutional.
*The House passed a farm bill and voted down Food Stamps, the first time this has ever happened in the history of food stamps. Ironically,over 50% of food stamps are received by non-Hispanic white. The % is even higher in Republican districts in the South, where sometimes it reaches 70%.
*The Beltway pundits are skeptical that John "The Tan Man" Boehner can even get piecemeal immigration bills passed. The Club of Growth, Grover Norquist, the Chamber of Commerce, David Brooks are all saying if the GOP doesn't go along with this then it is political suicide. Yesterday Boehner and Eric Cantor claimed they were for some type of DREAM kids legislation. Even this is jeopardized because there is no motivation for any movement among the House GOP because of gerrymandering.
*Stevie Wonder says he is boycotting Florida until they repeal their "Stand Your Ground" law. He also said he would not play in any states where such a law exists.
*George Zimmerman's brother is off to Hollywood to try to launch an acting career.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
They want you as a new recruit--cue in the Village People
Rahm Emmanuel did a little rope-a-dope with the Fox News crowd by saving the best on Massa until right before he appeared on the Glenn Beck. First Steny Hoyer said Massa's charges about being forced out were "not serious", then Gibbs at the White House press briefing in the morning downplayed Massa's charges that the White House wanted him out because he opposed health care reform as ridiculous. Then as the day moved on, the press already knew right before Beck that the charges against Massa was he molested a series of male aides. The ones who hadn't pressed the ethics charges soon followed to make it known they had complaints also. By the time Massa got on Fox he was nearly as incoherent as he was the day before and only admitted to "tickle fights" with male staff. All the grave charges against the Democratic leadership disappeared and finally Beck had to apologize to the audience for wasting their time. Nicely done.
Meanwhile Howard Dean led a rally of pro-healthcare protestors in Dupont Circle. The group wanted to make citizens' arrests of medical insurance company executives who have called an emergency meeting in the Capital now that President Obama has taken out after them.
There are now 50 Senators on the record for reconciliation and 40 have signed on for the public option so far. Senate and House Republicans made it clear to day that they are going to make the mid-term elections a referendum on health care reform and will campaign to repeal it. I guess they are throwing in the towel. Now let's walk this one through. Let's say the republicans actually win both the House and the Senate and pass a bill repealing healthcare reform. Do you really think they will have 2/3rds of the Senate to override a veto? It's just a red herring.
Republican news outlets like Politico and Drudge are now circulating the story that Nancy Pelosi has "lost control" of the Democratic caucus because of how she handled the Rangel case. There is virtually no evidence of this. It's just another late minute ploy to shake Democrats who are wavering on health care.
What does disturb me is Steny Hoyer's statement that the vote may not be March 18th as the White House said today. That's the day President Obama is supposed to fly abroad. Don't go, Mr. President, until these clowns vote on it.
While all this is going on, the left appears to be throwing a tantrum and I can't figure it out why. Yes, the health care bill is far from perfect but it will help 30 million people and a few of us who remain at the mercy of the health insurance industry. But this drumbeat about how Obama is going to lose this constituency, that constituency for crimes real and imagined are at this early stage hyperbolic and certainly premature.
The good news is that a Zogby-Newsmax poll has Obama beating Bush 48-38. Zogby has definitely taken the one way ride to Palookaville. Once the premier pollster during the Carter years, he is just scrapping bottom for any clients he can get. For me, there is virtually no worth to Zogby polls at this stage.
Which brings me to the sad state of Rasmussen polls, which during past cycles were sensible and reasonable. My gut tells me Rasmussen is cashing in big time in the 2010 election cycle, perhaps to sell the business off. Rasmussen has been repeatedly been conducting polls around the country for Republicans in such a frequency as to raise questions about motivations. There is no earthly reason to have conducted so many polls so early in an election year except to establish a climate , a tone, a background favorable to Republicans and to influence the electorate. And to make buckets of cash.
Breaking down any of his polls recently, you will see Rasmussen over samples Republicans, often by as much as 8-9%. I was sad when Zogby bit the dust of credibility and I also regret Rasmussen travelling down the same road. Check for yourself, the difference in Rasmussen's approval polls for President Obama against Gallup or anyone else. You will find Obama has been in the low 40s in Rasmussen for quite some time, while Gallup ranges from 49 to 52. The difference is not plausible in my mind.
In many of these state races, Rasmussen has the only poll out there. If the Republican leads by less than 10 percent, then consider the race a toss-up. I think that is the margin of real error. And if the Democrat is in any type of lead, you already know the results.
All of this is part of an effort to manufacture a Republican comeback at a time when the party has no ideas or leaders. It's a very tricky thing to pull off. It's true they have their own private TV channel, which is the only one in my lifetime to actively organize protests against a sitting President. They also have dominance in my opinion over the other networks and the Washington Post. But so far they are just throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick. The rolling Rasmussen polls are part of a strategy of psywarfare. I'm interesting to see what Rasmussen will do from a business angle after the mid-terms are over.
For the public good, I think it would be great to have the media boycott U.S. Senators of both parties for one week. I think this would be a great experiment and it would send our Samurai Warlords crazy. Frankly, I don't care if Blanche Lincoln is for health care but doubtful about reconciliation. Or that Lindsey Graham put his finger in the air and decided it was OK to criticize Liz Cheney. And why must we have John McCain on every week since he lost to President Obama? Did we have Michael Dukakis on every week or John Kerry? And, by the way, where are the Democrats when it comes to national security issues? They never appear to defend the Administration even though it's cleaning up on the war on terror.
I've been watching Alabama ever since accusations were made against Karl Rove manipulating the case against Governor Spiegelman. Alabama over many election cycles has been owned by Republicans. Between Ralph Reed and Karl Rove, there have been dirty tricks played galore in the state. But I've noticed recently that the Democrats are beginning to put together a solid team of candidates, including for Governor. I think this is one state to watch for some interesting changes this year. The other state is Texas.
I was fascinated today to learn Rupert Murdoch is going to move the headquarters for his media empire to Dubai. I wonder how much of this is related to the Saudi ownership in the company. His leading business partner as I've posted elsewhere is a Saudi Prince, who reportedly funds the families of suicide bombers. Interesting that this goes uncommented on in the U.S.
I'm having a tough time becoming a permanent Yankee Fan. Steinbrenner will not extend the contracts of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera until after the season ends. He's the same old goat.
The Packard family is taking out after Carly Fiorina in California. Carly's main argument why she should be a Senator was her "superb" job as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Not so, say the Packards, who believe she brought the company close to ruin. They had to intercede to stop her attempt to acquire Compaq and finally stimulated a shareholder revolt to can her. You will recall the memorable moment in the McCain campaign where Carly told everyone that as CEO she purposely kept H-P funds abroad to escape paying Americam corporate taxes. So the people of California can elect a tax-dodger.
Charlie Crist looks like he's toast in Florida. Marco Rubio has an insurmontable lead for the Republican primary. Rubio is a major scandal waiting to happen. He's already been caught out using the party American Express card to charge his rather extensive personal expenses. He will be a disaster as a Senator, even though conservatives believe he is one of them--he's not. Crist has been a decent governor in hard times. Remember Jeb lost the entire state pension fund at Lehman Brothers. The Democratic candidate is too weak. Crist should either change parties or run as an independent.
Things are looking up for former Republican Lincoln Chaffee in Rhode Island. He appears to have a commanding lead in the race for the state house. He is one of those who was run out of the Republican party by the right.
The New York profile of Liz Cheney is worth a read. The operative elements of the article concern her personal and her husband's relationships with key media personalities in town. All her appearances are very managed and limited with the collusion of her media friends. It's not political, it's totally personal.
Finally, Jimi Hendrix Valleys of Neptune is sweet. You forget how good he was. This is the last album he recorded before he died. It was hung up in litigation until the family won the rights to all his work. It was recorded shortly after Electric Ladyland. I could have done without the copious notes on every single personnel dispute and where the band stayed in Manhattan during this period. But good listening.
Meanwhile Howard Dean led a rally of pro-healthcare protestors in Dupont Circle. The group wanted to make citizens' arrests of medical insurance company executives who have called an emergency meeting in the Capital now that President Obama has taken out after them.
There are now 50 Senators on the record for reconciliation and 40 have signed on for the public option so far. Senate and House Republicans made it clear to day that they are going to make the mid-term elections a referendum on health care reform and will campaign to repeal it. I guess they are throwing in the towel. Now let's walk this one through. Let's say the republicans actually win both the House and the Senate and pass a bill repealing healthcare reform. Do you really think they will have 2/3rds of the Senate to override a veto? It's just a red herring.
Republican news outlets like Politico and Drudge are now circulating the story that Nancy Pelosi has "lost control" of the Democratic caucus because of how she handled the Rangel case. There is virtually no evidence of this. It's just another late minute ploy to shake Democrats who are wavering on health care.
What does disturb me is Steny Hoyer's statement that the vote may not be March 18th as the White House said today. That's the day President Obama is supposed to fly abroad. Don't go, Mr. President, until these clowns vote on it.
While all this is going on, the left appears to be throwing a tantrum and I can't figure it out why. Yes, the health care bill is far from perfect but it will help 30 million people and a few of us who remain at the mercy of the health insurance industry. But this drumbeat about how Obama is going to lose this constituency, that constituency for crimes real and imagined are at this early stage hyperbolic and certainly premature.
The good news is that a Zogby-Newsmax poll has Obama beating Bush 48-38. Zogby has definitely taken the one way ride to Palookaville. Once the premier pollster during the Carter years, he is just scrapping bottom for any clients he can get. For me, there is virtually no worth to Zogby polls at this stage.
Which brings me to the sad state of Rasmussen polls, which during past cycles were sensible and reasonable. My gut tells me Rasmussen is cashing in big time in the 2010 election cycle, perhaps to sell the business off. Rasmussen has been repeatedly been conducting polls around the country for Republicans in such a frequency as to raise questions about motivations. There is no earthly reason to have conducted so many polls so early in an election year except to establish a climate , a tone, a background favorable to Republicans and to influence the electorate. And to make buckets of cash.
Breaking down any of his polls recently, you will see Rasmussen over samples Republicans, often by as much as 8-9%. I was sad when Zogby bit the dust of credibility and I also regret Rasmussen travelling down the same road. Check for yourself, the difference in Rasmussen's approval polls for President Obama against Gallup or anyone else. You will find Obama has been in the low 40s in Rasmussen for quite some time, while Gallup ranges from 49 to 52. The difference is not plausible in my mind.
In many of these state races, Rasmussen has the only poll out there. If the Republican leads by less than 10 percent, then consider the race a toss-up. I think that is the margin of real error. And if the Democrat is in any type of lead, you already know the results.
All of this is part of an effort to manufacture a Republican comeback at a time when the party has no ideas or leaders. It's a very tricky thing to pull off. It's true they have their own private TV channel, which is the only one in my lifetime to actively organize protests against a sitting President. They also have dominance in my opinion over the other networks and the Washington Post. But so far they are just throwing anything at the wall to see if it will stick. The rolling Rasmussen polls are part of a strategy of psywarfare. I'm interesting to see what Rasmussen will do from a business angle after the mid-terms are over.
For the public good, I think it would be great to have the media boycott U.S. Senators of both parties for one week. I think this would be a great experiment and it would send our Samurai Warlords crazy. Frankly, I don't care if Blanche Lincoln is for health care but doubtful about reconciliation. Or that Lindsey Graham put his finger in the air and decided it was OK to criticize Liz Cheney. And why must we have John McCain on every week since he lost to President Obama? Did we have Michael Dukakis on every week or John Kerry? And, by the way, where are the Democrats when it comes to national security issues? They never appear to defend the Administration even though it's cleaning up on the war on terror.
I've been watching Alabama ever since accusations were made against Karl Rove manipulating the case against Governor Spiegelman. Alabama over many election cycles has been owned by Republicans. Between Ralph Reed and Karl Rove, there have been dirty tricks played galore in the state. But I've noticed recently that the Democrats are beginning to put together a solid team of candidates, including for Governor. I think this is one state to watch for some interesting changes this year. The other state is Texas.
I was fascinated today to learn Rupert Murdoch is going to move the headquarters for his media empire to Dubai. I wonder how much of this is related to the Saudi ownership in the company. His leading business partner as I've posted elsewhere is a Saudi Prince, who reportedly funds the families of suicide bombers. Interesting that this goes uncommented on in the U.S.
I'm having a tough time becoming a permanent Yankee Fan. Steinbrenner will not extend the contracts of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera until after the season ends. He's the same old goat.
The Packard family is taking out after Carly Fiorina in California. Carly's main argument why she should be a Senator was her "superb" job as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Not so, say the Packards, who believe she brought the company close to ruin. They had to intercede to stop her attempt to acquire Compaq and finally stimulated a shareholder revolt to can her. You will recall the memorable moment in the McCain campaign where Carly told everyone that as CEO she purposely kept H-P funds abroad to escape paying Americam corporate taxes. So the people of California can elect a tax-dodger.
Charlie Crist looks like he's toast in Florida. Marco Rubio has an insurmontable lead for the Republican primary. Rubio is a major scandal waiting to happen. He's already been caught out using the party American Express card to charge his rather extensive personal expenses. He will be a disaster as a Senator, even though conservatives believe he is one of them--he's not. Crist has been a decent governor in hard times. Remember Jeb lost the entire state pension fund at Lehman Brothers. The Democratic candidate is too weak. Crist should either change parties or run as an independent.
Things are looking up for former Republican Lincoln Chaffee in Rhode Island. He appears to have a commanding lead in the race for the state house. He is one of those who was run out of the Republican party by the right.
The New York profile of Liz Cheney is worth a read. The operative elements of the article concern her personal and her husband's relationships with key media personalities in town. All her appearances are very managed and limited with the collusion of her media friends. It's not political, it's totally personal.
Finally, Jimi Hendrix Valleys of Neptune is sweet. You forget how good he was. This is the last album he recorded before he died. It was hung up in litigation until the family won the rights to all his work. It was recorded shortly after Electric Ladyland. I could have done without the copious notes on every single personnel dispute and where the band stayed in Manhattan during this period. But good listening.
No One ever expects the Spanish Inquisition, not even Glenn Beck
Morning--Glenn Beck tells his listeners to confront priests and pastors about the "social gospel" since this is a code word Communism and Nazism. Then they should leave the church. Early afternoon, news of this is posted on Huffington Post. By late afternoon the Office of the Inquisition arrives in the form of Jesuit James Martin, the cultural editor of America magazine. Martin blasts Beck in an op-ed on Huffington Post titled "Glenn Beck tells Jesus-Drop Dead". Martin then lectures Catholics that Beck is asking them to leave the Mother Church and he recites a litany of papal encyclicals starting with Pope Leo in the mid-19th century that articulate the social gospel and its centrality to Catholic teaching. And for non-Catholic Christians he recalls the teachings of Jesus about helping the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged. I would take this as a less than coded message to Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly to stay away from Beck for the sake of their eternal well-being. You don't want to make Jesuits your enemy and their appearance on such matters indicates Mr. Beck has caught the attention of the Cathoic Church. Next I expect the appearance of Max Von Sydow as the Exorcist. Don't think the Catholic Church is going to drop this now that they have officially taken a shot at Glenn Beck. This may be entertainment for Beck but this is serious stuff to the church hierarchy.
The last public appearance of a Jesuit in writing was the editor of America writing in the Washington Post defending Nortre Dame giving Barack Obama an honorary doctorate, pointing out that the Catholic Church recognizes that Obama's social and economic policies were closely aligned with the Vatican's teachings and that there was room to have a dialogue about abortion. You'll remember the fuss of people like Alan Keyes with his SpongeBob Square Pants stroller with a doll, which was supposed to represent a dead fetus.
Good news, Rush Limbaugh has declared he will be moving out of the country if the healthcare bill passes. He has put his departure date at 5 years--contract obligations and all. He will be moving to Costa Rica, which has universal healthcare. Rush previously benefited from Hawaii's universal health care system. This seems to be a conservative trait lately. Sarah Palin telling Canadians her family used to cross the border for health care. Too bad we can't have it here.
If you want to get a sense of why and how the Bush Administration sent me around the bend, just watch the Liz Cheney-Bill Kristol cartoon show for Keep America Scared. Yesterday,Bill Kristol brushed off criticism of the Al Qaeda 7--now 9--ad saying that only "establishment lawyers will object. After all lawyers don't liked to be criticized." By afternoon, people like Ted Olson and Ken Starr not only gave out little sound-bites but produced a letter signed by dozens of lawyers and Bush Administration officials blasting the attacks on the DOJ lawyers. When Ken Starr appears and is allowed to appear on the Keith Olberman show, you know something serious has happened. Starr pointed out that the lawyers defending the detainees were serving the justice system and that in future terrorist cases there will be the need for a vigorous defense. After all he said the Department of Justice was not called the Department of Law Enforcement for nothing. And, of course, he mentioned John Adams defense of British soldiers accused of committing massacres in Boston. Starr also pointed out that the American military called some of these people up on weekends to ask for their help.
By the time this all winds down, I am sure we will surpass Joe McCarthy's numbers of those accused of having "jihadist" leanings in the Justice Department. But the more I watch this I recall the genuine incompetence of the Bush people. A war presidency, where the only one in the loop with war experience was Don Rumsfeld. Colin Powell was kept out of the loop even though he had been the head of the Joint Chief of Staff. Dick Cheney, who had been pushed aside during decision-making times during the Gulf War, assumed pivotal control. Virtually all the lawyers involved knew nothing about war, terrorism, national security law and I would argue the constitution itself. The top leaders only appointed ideologues beneath them and not people with any competence. So you get the lunacy of a Monica Goodling at DOJ. All the military lawyers, FBI interrogators and permanent CIA personnel were cast aside for the whole debate on torture. Amateur psychologists were hired to develop the torture program with absolutely no empirical proof that these techniques would produce any actionable intelligence, while plunging the country into a period of committing war crimes. As we learned yesterday Liz Cheney acted to deflect State Department personnel from developing a broad coalition government in Iraq.
Dick Cheney used to say, "We're a Superpower so we make our own reality." Well, you have to know how to manage that reality. Hiring a freelance journalist at the Pentagon to review the case against Saddam Hussein and linking him to Al Qaeda and 9/11. That reality didn't last too long. Dissolving the entire Iraq army because Paul Wolfowitz said they were all Nazis, that was brilliant. I generally don't like the State Department but I don't consider it the enemy. I think they have recovered somewhat from the days of Alger Hiss. But remember you had Marc Thiessen, former aide to Jesse Helms, as presidential speechwriter and Helms called State "the Kremlin on the Potomac". Marc , who also has no experience in war, terrorism, law or democracy, is now the expert on how torture saved the country. Believe me, if there is a next time it will be worse.
Bill Kristol is the father of big government conservatism as readers of the Weekly Standard, which called for a coalition of social conservatives, economic conservatives and neo-conservatives molding public policy to their ideological ends. Bill has not an ounce of political sense when it comes to domestic politics as witnessed by his embrace of Sarah Palin and his calls for war against Iran. Ideology first, last and foremost. If conservatives want power as we have witnessed for the past ten years, they will also need to develop competence because policy isn't just about diktats from the nomenklatura.
I expect to see some new assaults on neoconservatives by traditional conservatives. Bob Tyrrell, the editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, is about to publish his book on the future of conservative entitled After The Hangover. He is supposed to call for the return of Goldwater-Reagan principles and jettisoning the neoconservatives. Personally, I believe their day is done and over with. Bob was always puzzled by the behavior of the Bush White House. Privately, he thought it could be attributed to W being a recovering alcoholic. That's a warm endorsement.
In recent months we have seen conservatives throw the following under the bus--lawyers, scientists and teachers. Next will be doctors if the AMA again supportsObama's plan to reform Healthcare. It's a dangerous war against expertise.
The last public appearance of a Jesuit in writing was the editor of America writing in the Washington Post defending Nortre Dame giving Barack Obama an honorary doctorate, pointing out that the Catholic Church recognizes that Obama's social and economic policies were closely aligned with the Vatican's teachings and that there was room to have a dialogue about abortion. You'll remember the fuss of people like Alan Keyes with his SpongeBob Square Pants stroller with a doll, which was supposed to represent a dead fetus.
Good news, Rush Limbaugh has declared he will be moving out of the country if the healthcare bill passes. He has put his departure date at 5 years--contract obligations and all. He will be moving to Costa Rica, which has universal healthcare. Rush previously benefited from Hawaii's universal health care system. This seems to be a conservative trait lately. Sarah Palin telling Canadians her family used to cross the border for health care. Too bad we can't have it here.
If you want to get a sense of why and how the Bush Administration sent me around the bend, just watch the Liz Cheney-Bill Kristol cartoon show for Keep America Scared. Yesterday,Bill Kristol brushed off criticism of the Al Qaeda 7--now 9--ad saying that only "establishment lawyers will object. After all lawyers don't liked to be criticized." By afternoon, people like Ted Olson and Ken Starr not only gave out little sound-bites but produced a letter signed by dozens of lawyers and Bush Administration officials blasting the attacks on the DOJ lawyers. When Ken Starr appears and is allowed to appear on the Keith Olberman show, you know something serious has happened. Starr pointed out that the lawyers defending the detainees were serving the justice system and that in future terrorist cases there will be the need for a vigorous defense. After all he said the Department of Justice was not called the Department of Law Enforcement for nothing. And, of course, he mentioned John Adams defense of British soldiers accused of committing massacres in Boston. Starr also pointed out that the American military called some of these people up on weekends to ask for their help.
By the time this all winds down, I am sure we will surpass Joe McCarthy's numbers of those accused of having "jihadist" leanings in the Justice Department. But the more I watch this I recall the genuine incompetence of the Bush people. A war presidency, where the only one in the loop with war experience was Don Rumsfeld. Colin Powell was kept out of the loop even though he had been the head of the Joint Chief of Staff. Dick Cheney, who had been pushed aside during decision-making times during the Gulf War, assumed pivotal control. Virtually all the lawyers involved knew nothing about war, terrorism, national security law and I would argue the constitution itself. The top leaders only appointed ideologues beneath them and not people with any competence. So you get the lunacy of a Monica Goodling at DOJ. All the military lawyers, FBI interrogators and permanent CIA personnel were cast aside for the whole debate on torture. Amateur psychologists were hired to develop the torture program with absolutely no empirical proof that these techniques would produce any actionable intelligence, while plunging the country into a period of committing war crimes. As we learned yesterday Liz Cheney acted to deflect State Department personnel from developing a broad coalition government in Iraq.
Dick Cheney used to say, "We're a Superpower so we make our own reality." Well, you have to know how to manage that reality. Hiring a freelance journalist at the Pentagon to review the case against Saddam Hussein and linking him to Al Qaeda and 9/11. That reality didn't last too long. Dissolving the entire Iraq army because Paul Wolfowitz said they were all Nazis, that was brilliant. I generally don't like the State Department but I don't consider it the enemy. I think they have recovered somewhat from the days of Alger Hiss. But remember you had Marc Thiessen, former aide to Jesse Helms, as presidential speechwriter and Helms called State "the Kremlin on the Potomac". Marc , who also has no experience in war, terrorism, law or democracy, is now the expert on how torture saved the country. Believe me, if there is a next time it will be worse.
Bill Kristol is the father of big government conservatism as readers of the Weekly Standard, which called for a coalition of social conservatives, economic conservatives and neo-conservatives molding public policy to their ideological ends. Bill has not an ounce of political sense when it comes to domestic politics as witnessed by his embrace of Sarah Palin and his calls for war against Iran. Ideology first, last and foremost. If conservatives want power as we have witnessed for the past ten years, they will also need to develop competence because policy isn't just about diktats from the nomenklatura.
I expect to see some new assaults on neoconservatives by traditional conservatives. Bob Tyrrell, the editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, is about to publish his book on the future of conservative entitled After The Hangover. He is supposed to call for the return of Goldwater-Reagan principles and jettisoning the neoconservatives. Personally, I believe their day is done and over with. Bob was always puzzled by the behavior of the Bush White House. Privately, he thought it could be attributed to W being a recovering alcoholic. That's a warm endorsement.
In recent months we have seen conservatives throw the following under the bus--lawyers, scientists and teachers. Next will be doctors if the AMA again supportsObama's plan to reform Healthcare. It's a dangerous war against expertise.
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