Month: June 2010

Oily Slime in Arkansas

by digby

So now that Joe Barton is secure in his position as ranking member on the House energy panel, he’s out there setting up allies in his quest to be Chairman if the GOP wins back the House and then cover the entire world in crude oil. Seems he’s starting by funneling money to one of the most heinous Republican candidates in the country, Karl Rove boytoy and professional Republican hitman, Tim Griffin.

Howie explains:

Our friends at Blue Arkansas have started looking closely at who’s been financing Karl Rove protégé, Tim Griffin, in his bid to take over Vic Snyder’s congressional seat in central Arkansas. And they found something very interesting, a shady outfit called the Texas Freedom Fund has contributed a grand towards Griffin’s campaign. It didn’t take much digging for Blue Arkansas to figure out who and what the Texas Freedom Fund is.

If you’ve been following the news lately, you couldn’t possibly have missed the dustup over Congress’ most oily member, Joe Barton (R-TX). Turns out he’s the sole owner of the Texas Freedom Fund and he uses it to funnel vast sums of cash from Big Oil executives and lobbyists into competitive campaigns around the country, particularly into campaigns where filthy oil money might prove embarrassing to the recipients. Now, keep in mind that Barton has taken more money from Big Oil than any other member of the House– by far: $1,447,880, so far. And after his performance last week, apologizing to B.P. for being made to clean up their mess in the Gulf, there’s every reason to believe that his own personal gusher will keep flowing strongly. As the Ranking Member of the House Energy Committee he is in a position to make sure the Oil Industry’s agenda becomes official policy.

So who’s this Griffin character Barton is so dead set on getting into Congress? Many of us first became familiar with Griffin around the time of the 2000 election when he worked as an opposition research director for Bush. His job, to smear Al Gore, was covered in Peter Marshall’s BBC documentary Digging the Dirt, and viewers got the impression, which over the years has proven correct, that he is one of the slimiest and least trustworthy rogues to mount the political stage in our lifetime. After serving on the Florida Recount Commission that helped steal the election for Bush, he was appointed a Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General, Michael Chertoff, then when back into opposition research for Bush’s reelection bid– two years before the election– and then became an aide to Karl Rove in the White House. Eventually Rove was able to force Arkansas US Attorney Bud Cummins to resign and to replace him with Griffin. Griffin, considered the sleaziest appointment in the entire Bush Regime, was never confirmed by the Senate, served on an interim basis and was eventually pushed aside when he became too embarrassing even for the Bush people.

There are many races in the fall that feature horrible Republicans. In fact, it’s pretty much all of them. But there are a few which are important beyond just the candidates’ conservative philosophy and Tim Griffin is one of them. He is the slimiest of political operatives, from the black-ops school of GOP dirty tricks. You might as well put this guy on the Supreme Court:

Like I said, you might as well put Roger Stone on the Supreme Court.

Howie’s running a contest to raise money for Joyce Elliott in her race against Joe Barton’s bff:

The folks and Blue Arkansas are hoping to raise the money to match Barton’s $1,000 for the progressive challenger running for the seat, Joyce Elliott. Joyce was endorsed by Blue America even before she won her tough primary race against a conservative Democrat and we would be eager to help her win this seat regardless of who the Republican opposition was. The fact that it’s someone as disreputable and as utterly unfit to hold public office as Tim Griffin only makes us even more determined. So… we’d like to encourage anyone who wants to help to toss a donation into the pot. At this ActBlue page you’ll find a slot for Joyce– as well as for other Blue America-backed candidates who are being targeted by Joe Barton and his oily corporate polluters with big bucks for Republicans. Barton wrote a check from the Texas Freedom Fund for $4,000 for Ken Calvert, $2,000 for Dennis Ross, and for $5,000 for Charlie Bass, conservatives running against Bill Hedrick in California, Doug Tudor in Florida and Ann Kuster in New Hampshire. Today everyone who makes a contribution to all three candidates– Joyce Elliott, Bill Hedrick, Doug Tudor, and Ann Kuster, will get a Blue America thank you CD and one winner will be drawn randomly to win an autographed book– This Moment on Earth by John and Teresa Kerry. (The hardcover book was signed for us by both of them.) Again, here’s the page to make your contribution.

(Read the whole post to find out about the smart candidates who are attacking Barton over this as well.)

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Self-Esteem Movement

by digby

Dave Weigel reports that incumbent congressman Bob Inglis attributes his drubbing yesterday in the North Carolina primary to the GOP grassroots’ unwillingness to tolerate anyone who isn’t angrily partisan and concludes:

Inglis’s explanation for his defeat is self-serving, but he’s also right — Republican voters have no interest in rewarding bipartisanship that involves shaming other conservatives.

Isn’t that fascinating? It’s the polar opposite of what Democratic voters do. They commonly reward bipartisanship that depends upon shaming liberals — and have for years. Indeed, it’s become a defining feature of the party. Is this some kind of self-esteem problem?

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The Tragedy Continues

by digby

Oh hell. Greg Mitchell reports:

“I hate to say it, but I’m surprised something like this hasn’t already happened.” This, tragically, was the death by suicide of a charter boat captain hired by BP to take part in oil leak cleanup or protection efforts in the gulf. The quote comes from Jason Bell, who worked for William Allen “Rookie” Kruse, 55, for three years as a deckhand and pilot. Kruse put a bullet [1] through his head this morning at a marina in Fort Morgan, Alabama. His boat was about to launch today and he was reportedly upset with the oil leak, the cleanup efforts and loss of income, and wondering how he would be paid for taking part in the Vessel of Opportunity program.[…]
The newspaper related that Baldwin County Coroner Stan Vinson “said witnesses told investigators that Kruse had been upset about the loss of business caused by the closing of fishing grounds and public perceptions of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.” Perhaps ominiously, Bell said, “He wasn’t any more aggravated with the whole situation than any of the rest of us.

Meanwhile, this video porports to show that it’s raining oil on the Bay St Louis bridge:

(This article says the video must be fake, but at this point, who knows. I won’t be surprised to see it literally raining cats and dogs. The world has fallen out of its bottom.)
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The Secret Order Of The Pen

by digby

CJR reports:

Yesterday in one of Politico’s write-ups of the furor that ensued as it became known that damaging quotes from General Stanley McChrystal and his staff would appear in an article by Michael Hastings in Rolling Stone, the following paragraphs appeared:

McChrystal, an expert on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, has long been thought to be uniquely qualified to lead in Afghanistan. But he is not known for being media savvy. Hastings, who has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for two years, according to the magazine, is not well-known within the Defense Department. And as a freelance reporter, Hastings would be considered a bigger risk to be given unfettered access, compared with a beat reporter, who would not risk burning bridges by publishing many of McChrystal’s remarks.

And in the version of that article live on the site today, what’s happened to the material on Hastings’s favorable position to report damaging remarks: poof!

Gosh, I wonder why they did that? (They aren’t saying, according to CJR.)

I’m guessing that the Grand Lodge of the Village Order of the Pen was aghast at that unfortunate indiscretion. One simply doesn’t share such rituals, signs and passwords with the uninitiated. They wouldn’t understand how important it is for journalists to have unfettered access to information they would never reveal lest they lose that access. It’s a secret they are pledged to take to their graves.

As we’ve already explored in great depth over the years, the purpose of journalism is not to tell the truth or even straightforwardly give people the information they need to reach their own conclusions. It’s to maintain the established order and obscure rather than reveal what’s really going on. If there’s one thing that really upsets the whole arrangement, it’s someone outside the order attempting to do the job differently. Why if that were to become common, the whole atmosphere of trust within the Village might disappear, and then where would we be?

They certainly wouldn’t be welcome at important private events they can’t report on like this, that’s for sure.

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Worse Than Worst

by digby

As Krugman and others have been saying for a while, David Leonhardt in the NY Times explains why the Fed (and the rest of the Austerity Pushers) are insistent on pulling back even in the face of high unemployment and weakness in the economy:

In effect, Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues have decided to accept an all-but-certain downside — high unemployment, for years to come — rather than risk an even worse situation — a market panic, a spike in long-term interest rates and yet higher unemployment.

Meanwhile, back on planet earth:

The market’s losses piled up after new Commerce Department data showed that new-home sales hit a record low in May, down nearly 33% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 homes, as buyers faced a lackluster job market without a housing tax credit. Economists expected 20.6% drop to 400,000.

The total was the lowest since the government began compiling this data in 1963 and comes on the heels of a big drop in existing-home sales reported Tuesday.

Traders are also awaiting word from the Fed. Participants widely expect officials to keep their key rate target near zero, but there has been some trepidation lately about the pace of recovery in the U.S. and other major economies and whether the Fed will change its outlook. The policy statement, due at 2:15 p.m. EDT, will be the central bank’s first opportunity to weigh in on the growth picture since a disappointing payrolls report on June 4 caused many traders to reassess their own bets that the U.S. will enjoy a steady recovery through year end.

I guess we’re all supposed to believe that the markets will panic over government spending but the worst housing data since 1963 (nearly two years after the meltdown!) and a 10% unemployment rate is just business as usual. Ok. I guess this high finance stuff is just too complicated for little old me.

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TMCP To The Rescue

by digby

Obama accepted McChrystal’s resignation and put The Man Called Petraeus in the job. It’s a savvy political move and may just destroy any plans Petraeus had for elective office. It’s a holy mess over there. Unless a miracle happens, he’ll now be caught in the quagmire.

The president’s words about the civilian chain of command were welcome and important. I’m glad my skepticism about that was proven wrong. Unfortunately this whole thing seems to be translating into doubling down on the policy.

At the end of the statement a lone reporter called out “Mr President, can this war be won?” The president didn’t answer.

Update: Spencer Ackerman explains why this is a double down, here.

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About Last Night

by digby

Blue America went one and one in last night’s primary runoffs, with Elaine Marshall in North Carolina defeating the handpicked beltway corporate Democrat. Howie writes:

The biggie, for the Democratic nomination to race extremist Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), was won– and very decisively, by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, the grassroots populist heavily backed by… well, basically by everyone but the DSCC. Bob Menendez, continuing his losing record, personally recruited some guy named Cal Cunningham– idea being that North Carolina isn’t “ready” for two women senators. North Carolinians didn’t agree and the $300,000 plus massive support from DC insiders didn’t save Cunningham from an electoral thrashing. He was trounced 60- 40% in a runoff that saw Ken Lewis’ primary voters follow Lewis straight into Marshall’s camp. Score one– one big one– for the good guys.

Elaine wrote a nice post this morning on Daily Kos thanking her netroots supporters, including Blue America.

Claudia Wright the longshot grassroots primary challenger in Utah came up short but her candidacy had a salutary effect, as they often do:

Claudia’s feisty challenge saw Matheson voting with Democrats on issues– like abolishing DADT– that would have been unthinkable without a vigorous primary. We consider the ads Blue America ran this past week in the St. George area to be the least we could do for a stalwart Democrat taking on such a thankless and odious task. Her first try for public office, Claudia wound up with around a third of the vote.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to both campaigns. Every time a progressive challenger wages a primary campaign, a few new progressives in their districts and states get their wings. And as Barney Frank said, the best way for grassroots citizens to influence congress is to wage primaries because there’s nothing a politician hates more than having to wage an election campaign. It’s good for them and as we’ve seen repeatedly, even when they win, they are often chastened and changed by the experience.

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The USA Board Of Ophthalmological Freedom

by digby

Colbert defends Rand Paul:

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
USA Board of Ophthalmological Freedom
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

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Feel The Excitement

by digby

In the mailbag:

WHY THIS TEA-PARTY MANIFESTO IS THE MANIFESTO

“Original Tea Partier” who predicted movement’s rise advises on guiding
principles; warns how brewing economic fixation could overheat

WASHINGTON – So this tea party movement. Who’s their leader? What’s their
agenda? How are they successful? And even as they score ballot-box surprises
across the country, where do they go from here?

Most of the press and even the president have expressed an opinion on the tea
party movement few flattering, many including accusations as severe as racism.
Now a media personality who’s provided precise insight on the modern-day tea
party movement years before it formed offers a book that’s sure to inspire and
infuriate adherents and critics.

Published by WND Books, The Tea Party Manifesto releases July 4. It’s written by
Joseph Farah, who’s been called “a tea partier before there was a tea party
movement.”

“There is a danger that the tea party movement can be compromised,” said Farah.
“Make no mistake about that. There are those who seek to limit its scope. If
they are successful, it could prove to be a lethal blow.”

The CEO and co-founder of WorldNetDaily.com, Farah will speak at the Tea Party
Unity Conference July 15 in Las Vegas and joined Sarah Palin as the only other
nationally televised speakers at the inaugural Tea Party Convention in February.

An ardent constitutionalist and First Amendment absolutist, Farah spent 30 years
running daily newspapers in major markets before founding WND.com, the world’s
first exclusively online news agency, in 1997. He sees the tea party movement as
the silver lining in the fast-moving clouds of the federal government’s roiling
expansion. Yet he warns how the movement whose success he unabashedly roots for
could suffer an early demise – primarily from within.

The Tea Party Manifesto, which also contains the U.S. Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence, is rife with Farah’s fiercely independent and
uncompromising insights, such as:

– “Some of the tea party groups have been rallying behind an effort known as
‘The Contract from America’ … about relatively narrow issues, most of which
are materialistic … “

– “It often takes strong medicine to cure people of their infectious flirtation
with socialism. In America, I believe that medicine, believe it or not, is named
Barack Obama.”

– “I wrote in Taking America Back … Most Republicans do not necessarily honor,
revere, and abide by the Constitution.”

– “Some have begun to say, ‘I’m not a Republican, I’m a conservative.”
Personally, I prefer one the founders used themselves -‘ patriot.”

– “As Bob Dylan said, ‘You gotta serve somebody.’ If we are not accountable to
God, we are incapable of self-government. The founders knew that. They were
right.”

In his 2008 book, None of the Above, Farah said voting for McCain would
perpetuate the federal government’s unconstitutional power grab and Obama would
accelerate it, awakening Americans to action. How that response would look he
predicted in detail even earlier – 2003 – with his book, Taking America Back, a
road map to restoring reverence for liberty to long-ago subverted cultural
institutions.

“The Tea Party Manifesto,” says Farah, “was written for the rank-and-file tea
party members, to give them the confidence they need to stay the course, to
boldly talk about issues beyond economic and materialism, to recognize that
America’s failings have been in its inability to discern right from wrong.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Farah – founder, editor, and CEO of WorldNetDaily, the
world’s leading independent Internet news source – joined Sarah Palin as one of
two nationally televised keynote speakers at the first national Tea Party
Convention in Nashville in February. He is scheduled to make a repeat
performance at the second national Tea Party Convention in Las Vegas in July.
His 2003 bestseller, Taking America Back, prophesied the movement today known as
“the tea party.” The former daily newspaper editor has authored, co-authored, or
collaborated on more than a dozen books, including Rush Limbaugh’s See, I Told
You So.

Farah’s keynote at the Tea party convention you’ll recall has a very specific focus:

Capping the first full day of the meeting, right-wing instigator Joseph Farah spent much of his dinner speech questioning whether President Obama was born in Hawaii and casting doubt on whether the president was legitimately elected.

“The media, the politicians … all say, no, it’s all been settled. I say, if it’s been settled show us the birth certificate. Simple,” Farah’s said, as his remarks were cheered by the roughly 600 activists gathered in Nashville for the event.

Farah runs WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative tabloid, book publisher and tireless critic of the administration. He dismissed those who say he is obsessed with the birth certificate issue saying, “I admit it, I’m obsessed with the Constitution.”

Farah said he believed establishing lineage was important for leaders, using Jesus’ genealogical ties to King David as an example. Obama has produced his official Hawaii birth certificate; though those associated with the “birther” movement claim they want to see a copy of the original document issued.

[…]

Farah went on to urge tea party activists to think beyond winning congressional elections in November and “take over not only the political institutions, but the cultural institutions, like the press, the entertainment industry, the universities, and yes the churches.”

“Are you ready to engage in a cultural war after we take back Congress?”

“Yes!” the crowd yelled back.

I’ll bet they are.

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High Class Call Boy

by digby

Unbelievable:

Earlier today, the house conferees in the Wall Street reform conference committee voted to approve the swipe fee compromise that was forged yesterday. As the compromise stood yesterday, banks and major credit card companies were set to lose billions in profits every year, thus denting their concentration of wealth and power. Also, some of the money will be passed along to small businesses, charities, and consumers.
On the Senate side of the Wall Street reform conference, however, New York Senator Chuck Schumer is still trying to protect the profits his wealthiest, most powerful constituents. Sources close to the process have told me that, in conjunction with major credit card lobbyists, Schumer is currently trying to get Republicans to offer a new amendment in the conference committee that would gut the compromise deal. Schumer has been working to defeat any regulation of credit and debit card processing fees all along.
Schumer is attempting to lower the visibility in his role fighting against swipe fee regulation, which is why the current plan is to have Republicans in the conference committee offer the amendment.

Sorry Chuck: you can run but you can’t hide. I think I’ll start referring to him as “Swipe” Schumer. It’s got a ring to it..