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December 31, 2005

2006 Prediction Thread

Line 'em up so we can all praise or laugh at eachother this time next year.

New Years Eve Resolution Thread

First of two open threads for the day. I also want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Years Eve. Whether your festivities include a quiet evening with yourself, family, or a loud one with friends--have a good time and be careful.

That said, what's your resolution for 2006? Do you even make one? I'm going with the same one I break out every year, to try and "do the right thing" in individual situations as they present themselves to me in life.

December 30, 2005

Weekend Open Thread

Get your 2006 predictions ready for tomorrow, but keep 'em to yourself for tonight. We'll re-visit them shortly before the elections in November.

Do Re Mi

Someone is about to sing.

Much like the Republican Party has been able to confuse Americans into believing that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had something to do with 9/11, watch them attempt to paint a picture of a completely corrupt congress, regardless of political party affiliation. But Jack Abramoff is the poster boy, he is the guy at the front of the parade with the baton, directing traffic. And guess what, he never contributed a single dime to a Democratic candidate.

Sometimes a few (or in this case up to 20) bad apples can ruin it for everyone. Unfortunately, this rampant corruption feeds an innate skepticism Americans have of government. That's cool with the Republican Party, because they want to shrink government down to a size that they can "drown it in a bathtub," but it hurts the majority who recognize government can be a tool used for good -- those of us who believe in health care for all Americans, affordable education, and keeping the promises made to our veterans.

In Ohio it's the convicted criminal Republican Governor Bob Taft. In Kentucky it's Republican Governor Fletcher. And the band marches on. Individual elected officials, regardless of political affiliation, will answer to their own constituencies and media outlets in 2006 (Bob Ney being the exception, because Ohio papers have inexplicably remained relatively silent on the matter), but the national story has a headline and a photo to go along with it.

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff consulted briefly Friday with a federal judge in Miami as they put the finishing touches on a plea deal that could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The plea agreement would secure the lobbyist's testimony against several members of Congress who received favors from him or his clients. [...]

Abramoff's cooperation would be a boon to an ongoing Justice Department investigation of congressional corruption, possibly helping prosecutors build criminal cases against up to 20 lawmakers and their staff members.

The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks, said the lawyers spoke by phone with U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, giving him an update on the plea negotiations. Huck scheduled another status conference for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The deal could be completed before then, the sources said. Abramoff could sign the plea agreement and exchange it with prosecutors via fax over the weekend, they said.

I can't wait until Tuesday.

Isn't This Appropriate

Where have I seen this movie before? Republicans spend recklessly and a Democratic leader comes in to save the day:

For one night, House Minority Leader Chris Redfern got to treat his Republican colleagues to a good time.

Two weeks ago, the House held its Christmas party at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe. But when it came time to pay, the House Republican caucus found itself a little red faced: its credit card was rejected.

But no worries. Redfern, the new state Democratic Party chairman, agreed to pick up the entire tab, including the $3,900 owed by Republican members.

Karen Tabor, spokeswoman for the GOP caucus, said the evening exceeded the Republican card’s per-transaction limit. Redfern is amused that his political adversaries had to write him a check.

Republican Speaker Jon A. Husted joked about it to members during the last session of the year: "Despite (Redfern’s) commitment to his political acumen, I was able to stick him with the bill."

The good news for Redern is that when his tenure as Democratic Party Chairman ends, that kind of financial assistance to Ohio Republicans normally lands you some kind of cushy job with little oversight.

Friday Friday Friday Open Thread

Still getting some rest before the New Year. Got any big plans this weekend? As far as the HTML in the comments, Like I said, I put in a call to the tech team last week, but we might have to wait until next year for the fix. Lo Siento! Good think next year is only a few days away (always the corniest joke). Anyway, what's going on in your communities?

December 29, 2005

Leave No Child Behind

Harris Poll. 12/18/05 to 12/14/05. 1,961 adults. MoE +/- 2% - Feb 2005 Reults in parentheses.

"Do you believe that the following statements are true or not true?"

Saddam Hussein had strong links with Al Qaeda
True: 41% (64)
False: 33%
Not Sure: 24%
Declined to Answer: 2%

Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded
True: 26% (36)
False: 50%
Not Sure: 22%
Declined to Answer: 2%

Several of the hijackers who attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11 were Iraqis
True:24% (44)
False: 42%
Not Sure: 31%
Declined to Answer: 3%

Saddam Hussein helped plan and support the hijackers who attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001
True: 22% (47)
False: 46%
Not Sure: 30%
Declined to Answer: 2%

It's getting better, but the fact that a clear majority of Americans cannot accurately answer any single one of the questions above is pretty disheartening.

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Fresh.

December 28, 2005

Minnesota Special: Dems Go Two for Two

We got a late stocking stuffer yesterday evening in Minnesota. Despite the fact that Republican Governor Tim Palwenty scheduled the two special election contests just days after Christmas, Dems went 2 for 2 last night, retaining one State House seat and winning a State Senate seat in a traditionally "red" district. It started with Paul Hackett in August of 2005, and last night's election is further proof that Democrats can win in the "reddest of red" and the "bluest of blue" districts across the country. From Minnesota National Public Radio:

The other contest in the special election was to the fill the Senate seat vacated by Republican Dave Kleis. Kleis resigned his spot after being elected mayor of St. Cloud in November. Democrat Tarryl Clark defeated Dan Ochsner, a Republican and St. Cloud radio host, by about 2,000 votes. Independence Party candidate Dan Becker came in a distant third. With two Democrats winning in typically conservative central Minnesota, Clark sees continued momentum for the DFL going into the fall elections.

"My precinct is one of two that neither President Clinton nor Senator Wellstone ever won in St. Cloud and we won. So maybe there is a change," Clark said.

Democrats control the State Senate in Minnesota, but the second victory allowed us to inch ever closer to taking back the State House in 2006. The House victory was shrouded in controversy when it became clear that the Republican candidate did not meet ballot requirements; she was tossed from the ticket a week before the election by the state Supreme Court.

Just a week before the election, the state Supreme Court agreed with a lower court ruling that Ek hadn't lived in St. Cloud long enough to be a candidate. Ek was dropped from the ballot. The next day her mother, Kay Ek, announced her candidacy, but the attorney general's office said it was too late to put her on the ballot. So Kay Ek ran a brief and unsuccessful write-in campaign. She was defeated by a wide margin by DFLer and Stearns County Commissioner Larry Haws.

Haws said it was unfortunate the residency question over-shadowed other campaign issues.

"I was not involved in the residency issue. I tried to stay focused issues like health care, education, transportation, better government," Haws said.

One hold and one capture. We enter the new year with a ton of momentum locally and nationally, but there is still a lot of work to do before the second Tuesday of November.

December 26, 2005

Fresh Open Thread

Hopefully our minds are rested and bellies expanded after the extended weekend. I'll be flying back from Chicago to D.C. tomorrow afternoon, so come Wednesday morning, expect the heavy posting to resume. Can't enjoy too much time off ... we have a country to take back.

December 24, 2005

Christmas Eve Open Thread

Can you hear the sleigh bells yet?

Even at the age of 29, I still made out a Christmas list and sent a letter to Santa Claus. I know its a busy time for jolly ol' St. Nick, Mrs. Claus and their elves, so I kept the list light, only one wish; hopefully it comes true. Here's hoping all of your dreams and wishes come true this holiday season as well!

Christmas in a War Zone

(I just received this in my email box from Bob Mulholland, a DNC member out in California; it's quite a story -- Tim)

This Christmas I (and I hope many Americans) will be thinking of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who are facing not only the ongoing war but also the emotional strain of being away from their families at such a time.

I was in Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam with the 101st Airborne for Christmas of 1967.

We were young paratroopers, most of whom were single (unlike today’s military where many are married and have kids) and my unit, along with 10,000 other paratroopers, had flown over in C-140 cargo planes during a 30-day period. Most who served in Vietnam flew over and then got assigned to a unit which was rotating people in and out, but we were like a family that had gone on a trip together.

I had scrounged up a scruffy tree, some paper decorations were added and a couple of guys sang Christmas songs. In one way we were lucky – at least my unit was on base that day to “enjoy” Christmas, while many other guys were out in the field.

I don’t recall if we got attacked that particular day, "incoming" being such a common occurrence, meaning rockets and mortars were coming in. There are no day-offs in war zones – it is constant work. You may be on guard or on patrol all day followed by a night on the perimeter with one other guy in a bunker taking one or two hour shifts. Your body is demanding sleep, but your brain is telling you no sleeping on your watch, otherwise it could be your final sleep.

The irony of my Christmas in Vietnam was that it was hot, but thirty-three years before on Christmas in 1944, my dad was in General Patton’s army in the Battle of the Bulge in the coldest, snowiest weather in memory in Europe. It was the largest land battle of WWII with over one million men total on both sides.

The other irony was that my outfit -- the 101st Airborne -- was also there in 1944 and ended up being surrounded by the Germans in the city of Bastogne. When the paratroopers were told to surrender, the American general replied, "Aw nuts," which confused the Germans.

The allies won the Battle of the Bulge and five months later ultimately defeated the Nazis and saved the world. But the deal created the Cold War between the Soviet Union and China versus the United States, which led to the Korean War, lasting three years and the Vietnam War which went on for over a decade.

As we celebrated Christmas in Vietnam we had no idea what was ahead of us and what was happening back home with our families - remember there were no phone calls home and email had not been invented yet. Just five weeks later, on January 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive opened up and in one month 2,000 Americans were dead and more than 10,000 wounded.

After that, President Johnson announced he would not run for re-election; Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; Robert Kennedy won the California primary and then was immediately assassinated; there was turmoil at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; and finally Richard Nixon was elected as President.

Some of the guys gathered around that makeshift tree in 1967 were celebrating their last Christmas, as they would be dead in a few months. Others, like myself, would be wounded.

During this holiday season, let’s think of our troops, and also contribute to the USO’s "Operation Phone Home" fund so some of the troops can call home over the holidays. To make a donation, go to www.uso.org or call 1-800-876.7469.

In some tragic cases it will be the last contact these brave service members will have with their family, but it will be remembered by their families for a lifetime. Oh yes, we will see this weekend video of troops in the war zones "celebrating" with turkey dinners and a Christmas tree, but they will be the exception – most of the troops will not have such a day.

December 23, 2005

Friday Morning Open Thread

If you had any idea what it took to get this thread up here this afternoon... The good news is, I can now post from anywhere in the world, so open threads a plenty over the holiday period!

December 22, 2005

Thursday Evening Open Thread

Getting closer and closer to the holiday break! In case you missed em:

Good Causes
AK-Sen: Special Election Law
That's What We Want To Know As Well...
Hagel: VP Cheney's Actions Beneath Dignity of This Country
OH-Gov: Republican Party Pay to Play
PA-Sen: Santorum Distances Himself...From Himself
Credibility Problems
MI-Gov & Sen: Dems Hold Big Leads
Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good Causes

(Governor Dean just sent out an email this afternoon urging Democrats to support two good causes this holiday season, among many others, Fisher House and Habitat for Humanity -- Tim)

Over the next few days we will gather together with our families and loved ones to celebrate the holiday season. As we take the time to remember the ones we love and welcome the New Year, it is important not to forget those who have suffered and sacrificed so much in the past year.

In particular this holiday season the families of our wounded, brave service men and women and the families displaced and devastated by the Gulf Coast Hurricanes deserve our special attention.

This time of year can be especially hard for families with a service member who has been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. At the time when a family most wants to be together, the unfortunate reality is that many wounded service members must receive specialized medical care great distances from their families.

A foundation called Fisher House creates comfort homes, built on the grounds of major military and Veterans Administration medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to loved ones during their hospitalization. Every year Fisher House serves more than 8,500 military families.

As we send our thoughts and prayers to all our troops and their families, and express thanks for the sacrifices they make on our behalf every day, I ask that you consider supporting the Fisher House Foundation by visiting:

http://www.fisherhouse.org/contribute/onlineGiving.shtml

As the headlines disappear for those affected by the hurricanes and their aftermath, the suffering continues. Tens of thousands are still scattered across the country in temporary housing.

We need to rebuild. We must provide homes for those affected and rebuild the communities that have been torn apart. Habitat for Humanity has been instrumental in building new homes for those who lost everything this past fall.

Habitat for Humanity is the American community at its best -- people coming together to achieve a common goal for the common good. Please consider helping them continue their vital work by volunteering with your local chapter or making a contribution:

https://www.habitat.org/giving/donate.aspx?link=1

All of us at the Democratic Party wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

AK-Sen: Special Election Law

Republican Senator Ted Stevens yesterday evening:

"I say goodbye to the Senate tonight."

Senator Stevens Today:

Not only does Sen. Stevens' office refuse to parse the sentence, but an ABC News producer who ran into Stevens last night said the Senator said he didn't know if he would be coming back.

So could Stevens actually retire? Who knows?

Is Stevens going to retire? Probably not. His temper tantrum yesterday is just the latest in a long line of tirades that amount to little more than the grown-up version of "I'm taking my ball and going home." Although in this instance, someone took his ball, and he is once again threatening to go home. He's pulled this stunt enough times now that he can no longer be taken seriously. But just in case... here is Alaska's election law should Senator Stevens decide to remain true to his word. Ironically, Alaskans just voted on a ballot initiative to change existing law should a U.S. Senate seat become vacant:

This measure would repeal state law by which the Governor makes a temporary appointment of a person to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy until a special or regular election can be held. Under existing law the seat remains vacant until an appointment is made. Under the initiative the seat would remain vacant until the eletion is certified and the senate meets. Existing law provides that a special election will be held within 60 to 90 days to fill a vacancy unless the vacancy occurs within 60 days of the primary election for that seat. This initiative does not change that provision. Should this initiative become law?

The people voted YES.

YES - 165017 - 55.59%
NO - 131821 - 44.41%

The old law would have allowed Republican Governor Murkowski to appoint a new Senator until the next election in Alaska, which would have to be held within 60 to 90 days of the vacancy. Because of the new law, the seat will remain vacant, leaving us with 99 United States Senators until the special election is held. There would then be another election for that seat in 2008, when Senator Stevens would have been up for re-election if he decided to keep his seat.

That's What We Want To Know As Well...

Washington Post:

The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.

Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.

Sign the Freedom of Information Act request.

Hagel: VP Cheney's Actions Beneath Dignity of This Country

A Party Divided:

"Cheney's poll numbers are very, very low," Hagel said. "This should be about elevating the debate and enhancing America and finding the solutions that we need to move forward. It doesn't help when you characterize people who disagree with you or threaten them or characterize them as unpatriotic or not caring about our people or our security. The American people see through that and it is beneath the dignity of this country."

I trust this will be replayed ad nauseum on every newscast tonight and through the weekend, especially after they ask everyone with an (R) after their name if they believe the vice president is acting in a manner that "is beneath the dignity of this country."

OH-Gov: Republican Party Pay to Play

So What?

Since he took office in 2003, Petro says, he has helped agencies recover $270 million a year in debts, up from $125 million under predecessor Betty D. Montgomery, now the state auditor.

But his reliance on outside lawyers to go after bad debts also has benefited someone else: Petro himself.

A Dispatch computer analysis of the 88 debt-collection attorneys paid by Petro’s office this year shows that 73 have donated to Petro’s campaigns. Collectively, the lawyers have given Petro’s campaigns $101,099 since 2000, with thousands more contributed by their spouses and law partners.

Told that 73 of the 88 lawyers who have received assignments to collect debts since July 1 are Petro contributors, Petro spokesman Mark Anthony said the number proves nothing.

"I’m not being flip when I say, 'So what?' " Anthony said.

Yeah, that's bad--even in a state where rare coin dealers make national news for bilking workers out of millions and Republican Governor Bob Taft pleads guilty to criminal charges, but it gets worse.

Petro flatly denies the allegation. But a chance encounter between his campaign fundraiser and a lawyer in a Columbus bar last summer has given fresh impetus to "pay to play" allegations that have dogged Petro and his predecessors.

In an affidavit filed earlier this week, Columbus lawyer Kevin O’Brien wrote that Petro’s campaign fundraiser, Amy Gravengaard, told him that Petro’s office would consider hiring him as a debt-collection attorney if he raised $25,000 for Petro’s campaign for governor.

It just gets worse and worse in the Buckeye State.

PA-Sen: Santorum Distances Himself...From Himself

The 2006 U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania currently serves as one of the best barometers for national sentiment of President Bush and a Republican dominated Congress. You have one of the ultimate "swing states," an incumbent Senator who until recently, consistently sides with the president, even going as far as to take the lead on corporatizing Social Security, and a Democratic opponent on the stump talking about affordable medicine, job creation, and keeping promises made to our veterans.

Strategic Vision. 1200 Likely Voters. December 16-18, 2005. MoE +/- 3%

Do you approve or disapprove of United States Senator Rick Santorum's job performance?

Approve: 40%
Disapprove: 47%
Undecided: 13%

If the election for United States Senate were held today, and the choice was between Robert Casey, Jr., the Democrat and Rick Santorum, the Republican, whom would you vote for?

Robert Casey (D): 50%
Rick Santorum (R): 39%
Other: 1%
Undecided: 10%

As a result of consistently anemic poll numbers, Rick Santorum has searched his soul to find himself on both sides of all kinds of issues: from the death penalty, to increasing the minimum wage, to Iraq, and his latest evolution of thought comes in the landmark Dover School District case. The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Early this year, Sen. Rick Santorum commended the Dover Area School District for "attempting to teach the controversy of evolution." But one day after a federal judge ruled that the district's policy on intelligent design was unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy.

And, he said in an interview, he disagreed with the board for mandating the teaching of intelligent design, rather than just the controversy surrounding evolution.

Santorum - who sits on the advisory board of the Thomas More Law Center, which defended the school board in court - said the case offered "a bad set of facts" to test the concept that theories other than evolution should be taught in science classrooms.

"I thought the Thomas More Law Center made a huge mistake in taking this case and in pushing this case to the extent they did," Santorum said. He said he intends to withdraw his affiliation with the Michigan-based public-interest law firm that promotes Christian values. [...]

In a 2002 Washington Times op-ed, Santorum wrote: "Therefore, intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."

But in recent interviews, including one in August on National Public Radio, Santorum said: "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom."

If Santorum keeps it up, he might be able to primary himself this May.

Credibility Problems

From the President's press conference earlier this week:

Let me give you an example about my concerns about letting the enemy know what may or may not be happening. In the late 1990s, our government was following Osama bin Laden because he was using a certain type of telephone. And then the fact that we were following Osama bin Laden because he was using a certain type of telephone made it into the press as the result of a leak. And guess what happened? Saddam -- Osama bin Laden changed his behavior. He began to change how he communicated.

From today's Washington Post:

President Bush asserted this week that the news media published a U.S. government leak in 1998 about Osama bin Laden's use of a satellite phone, alerting the al Qaeda leader to government monitoring and prompting him to abandon the device. The story of the vicious leak that destroyed a valuable intelligence operation was first reported by a best-selling book, validated by the Sept. 11 commission and then repeated by the president.

But it appears to be an urban myth.

The al Qaeda leader's communication to aides via satellite phone had already been reported in 1996 -- and the source of the information was another government, the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan at the time. The second time a news organization reported on the satellite phone, the source was bin Laden himself.

Causal effects are hard to prove, but other factors could have persuaded bin Laden to turn off his satellite phone in August 1998. A day earlier, the United States had fired dozens of cruise missiles at his training camps, missing him by hours.

MI-Gov & Sen: Dems Hold Big Leads

Strategic Vision. 1200 Likely Voters. December 16-18, 2005. MoE. +/- 3%

Governors Race
Jennifer Granholm (D): 46%
Dick DeVos (R): 35%
Undecided: 19%

Senate Race
Debbie Stabenow (D): 47%
Mike Bouchard (R): 35%
Undecided: 18%

Debbie Stabenow (D): 48%
Keith Butler (R): 26%
Undecided: 26%

Debbie Stabenow (D): 48%
Jerry Zandstra (R): 24%
Undecided: 28%

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Have at it!

December 21, 2005

Wednesday Night Open Thread

In case you missed 'em:

Andrea Mitchell Smackdown of Bogus RNC Press Release
Red Flag?
The Wives' Club
The "Next Attack" and Wiretapping
Gov. Dean on the "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act"
FISA Flashback
NY-Sen: Pirro to Drop Out Against Clinton
Senate Passes "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act"
Let's Make a Deal
Morning Open Thread

Have a great night!

Andrea Mitchell Smackdown of Bogus RNC Press Release

If you are a member of the news media, visit the Drudge Report, or troll around the right-wing blogs, you may have seen it... The RNC's shameless defense of unchecked executive power and domestic spying by the Bush Adminstration included a press release that accused Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter of authorizing searches and surveillance of Americans without a court order. Of course, not true, and entirely out of context. Strangely, it was Andrea Mitchell applying the complete smackdown of the release:

The RNC sent out this press release saying, quote, "Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter both authorized search surveillance without court orders." The RNC press release goes on to cite an executive order from President Clinton from February 9, 1995 that says, "the Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches without a court order." But that actually leaves out a crucial part of the sentence; so let's clean that up.

The actual executive order from President Clinton reads, "the Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches without a court order, if the Attorney General makes the certifications required by that section." And that section refers to a requirement that the Attorney General certify that the search will not involve, quote, "the premises, information, material, or property of a United States person." In other words, US citizens or anyone inside the United States.

It's the same story about how the RNC is framing former President Jimmy Carter's executive order, which is taking it out of context.

Can o' Fun has the video. Further evidence that the GOP knows they are on the brink of a world of hurt for spying on Americans without authorization from a court that approves such surveillance 99.97% of the time.

Red Flag?

Washington Post:

A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. late Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation.

Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court's work.

It will be interesting to see if Judge Robertson has anything to say in the coming weeks about his resignation, his feelings about the domestic spy case, and if President Bush has jeopordized national security by undermining the FISA court's work.

The Wives' Club

Keeping it in the Doolittle fam'

Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates, people with detailed knowledge of the case say. [...]

Prosecutors are also looking at how some former Congressional staff members landed their lucrative lobbying positions and at the role the wives of several lobbyists and lawmakers may have had in any influence scheme, a piece of the puzzle that investigators have begun referring to privately as the "wives' club."

Well, prosecutors need'nt start anywhere other than the Doolittle family. Congressman Doolittle's wife, Julia, whose records were recently subpoenaed by the Justice Department, was hired by Abramoff to raise money for his foundation and by his consulting firm. She was paid through Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, a company that she ran out of her home.

"A small business owned by the wife of Rep. John Doolittle is receiving 10 percent commissions for arranging fund-raisers for the Roseville Republican's political action committee, federal records show. The company, Sierra Dominion Financial Services, stages fund-raising events for the congressman's political action committee, the Superior California Federal Leadership PAC. During the current election cycle, the congressman's PAC has paid Sierra Dominion about $28,000 in commissions. That amounts to more than 10 percent of total PAC receipts through the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission reports." [Sacramento Bee, 8/15/04]

And...

Julia Doolittle Retained By Abramoff/Greenburg Traurig For Event Planning Services. Julia Doolittle's attorney, William L. Stauffer Jr., said Sierra Dominion Financial was hired by Greenberg Traurig to provide "event planning, marketing and related services, as requested by Mr. Abramoff" for Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation and his Signatures restaurant. Sierra Dominion received a monthly retainer from Greenberg Traurig from January 2003 until February 2004. Sierra Dominion primarily performed public relations and other event planning services which included, "identifying (and contacting) possible attendees for the event, and assisting in fund raising strategy and letters" said Stauffer. [WaPo Link, LA Times, 11/26/05]

Apparently, she isn't particularly good at her job either:

Julia Doolittle was hired by Greenberg Traurig, to put on a fundraiser for Abramoff's Capitol Athletic Foundation at the International Spy Museum. The Washington Post questioned the effectiveness of the fundraiser, "a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser in March 2003 at the International Spy Museum chaired by Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder and Fox News commentator Tony Snow. Its aim, according to invitations, was to honor James V. Kimsey, the co-founder and former chairman of America Online. ... Kimsey's chief of staff, Peter Kirsch, said that to his knowledge the dinner was rescheduled several times and then canceled; Redskins publicist Karl Swanson said that Snyder "lent" his name to the function at Kimsey's request but never attended. A planner for the event said it was finally held in December. Nothing in the foundation's books indicates that the dinner raised more than a few thousand dollars." [Washington Post, 9/28/04; 11/26/05, Los Angeles Times, 11/26/05]

The "Next Attack" and Wiretapping

You've probably seen a number of domestic spy defenders running around talking about laying the blame for the "next attack" at the feet of those opposed to unchecked executive power. After hearing it about half a dozen times on cable news and CSPAN today, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone (again) of the final 9/11 Commission Report released several weeks ago:

Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendations (.pdf):

# of A Grades: 1
# of B Grades: 12
# of C Grades: 9
# of D Grades: 12
# of F Grades: 5
# of Incompletes: 2

Grade Point Average: 1.53

Sadly, it's about priorities. And truth be told... homeland security has never really been a top priority of the Republican Congress or the Bush Adminstration when faced with a choice between keeping us safe vs. tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Of course, it's the Senator John "None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead" Cornyn's of the world attempting to push that line of attack forward. And to think he was rumored to be among those in the running for Justice O'Connor's spot on the Supreme Court. Gives some good insight into who makes a good candidate for the nation's highest court in the Bush Adminstration.

Gov. Dean on the "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act"

A release that just went out:

The Vice President’s itinerary says a lot about this Administration’s misplaced priorities. Vice President Cheney cut short his overseas trip to cast the tie-breaking vote on a bill that cut funding for student loans and Medicaid. In addition, the bill gives more tax cuts to millionaires, while increasing the enormous Bush budget deficit and heaping more debt onto our children.

This immoral Republican budget ignores the growing challenges of millions of hard-working Americans who are struggling with increased burdens like rising education costs, health care and energy costs. Americans deserve better. Democrats will continue to fight for common-sense proposals that reduce the deficit and improve the lives of all Americans.

FISA Flashback

This could certainly shed some light on why the Bush Adminstration skipped the court that had previously approved 99.97% of wiretap requests over the past 27 years. From a 2002 Washington Post article:

The secretive federal court that approves spying on terror suspects in the United States has refused to give the Justice Department broad new powers, saying the government had misused the law and misled the court dozens of times, according to an extraordinary legal ruling released yesterday.

A May 17 opinion by the court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) alleges that Justice Department and FBI officials supplied erroneous information to the court in more than 75 applications for search warrants and wiretaps, including one signed by then-FBI Director Louis J. Freeh. [...]

In one case, the FISA judges were so angered by inaccuracies in affidavits submitted by FBI agent Michael Resnick that they barred him from ever appearing before the court, according to the ruling and government sources.

Referring to "the troubling number of inaccurate FBI affidavits in so many FISA applications," the court said in its opinion: "In virtually every instance, the government's misstatements and omissions in FISA applications and violations of the Court's orders involved information sharing and unauthorized disseminations to criminal investigators and prosecutors."

The judges were also clearly perturbed at a lack of answers about the problems from the Justice Department, which is still conducting an internal investigation into the lapses.

"How these misrepresentations occurred remains unexplained to the court," the opinion said.

NY-Sen: Pirro to Drop Out Against Clinton

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Does anyone have page 10 of my notes on this race?

Senate Passes "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act"

A sad day in the Senate.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed legislation to cut federal deficits by $39.7 billion on Wednesday by the narrowest of margins, 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the deciding vote.

The measure, the product of a year's labors by the White House and the GOP in Congress, imposes the first restraints in nearly a decade in federal benefit programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and student loans.

Senator Reid had this to say about the bill:

Rather than share the sacrifices needed to get this nation's fiscal house in order, this Republican budget and this legislation target ordinary Americans by cutting programs like student aid, Medicare, and Medicaid, all to partially pay for another round of budget busting tax breaks for special interests and multi-millionaires. It's an attack on the middle class and those in greatest need, on behalf of lobbyists for the powerful.

"This budget is un-American. In fact, it's worse than that. It's immoral.

Let's Make a Deal

A very nervous Christmas for some. From the Washington Post:

Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, facing trial on fraud charges Jan. 9 in Florida, is negotiating a possible deal with the Justice Department, in which he would agree to plead guilty and cooperate in the wide-ranging political corruption investigation focused on his dealings with members of Congress and executive branch officials, people familiar with the talks said last night.

Abramoff would provide testimony about numerous members of Congress and their staffs if he and the Justice Department reach an agreement, the sources said. Negotiations have been ongoing for several months, people knowledgeable about the discussions said, but pressure is mounting because of the pending trial.

And what of Representative #1?

Prosecutors have told one lawmaker, Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), that they are preparing a possible bribery indictment against him over official acts that benefited clients of Abramoff. Ney inserted comments in the Congressional Record at Scanlon's request praising Kidan and castigating the reputation of SunCruz's then-owner, Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, during contentious purchase negotiations.

In October, prosecutors got agreements from Abramoff, Kidan, Ney and former Ney aide Neil Volz to suspend the five-year statute of limitations while the investigation continues. Ney has said he was misled by Abramoff and Scanlon.

In Scanlon's plea agreement, he agreed to testify against Ney. Kidan's attorney has said he is prepared to testify against Ney as well.

Republicans can try to muddy the waters all they like on the corruption issue, but the fact is, Abramoff never contributed a single dime to a Democratic candidate, ever.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Happy Wednesday! Eight-five thousand of you have added your name to Governor Dean's on the FOIA request. If you haven't, will you do the same? And if you have, how about forwarding it on to your friends, writing about it on your/some blogs, or posting a link on your website for the next two days? Here's the link.

I also wanted to let everyone know we are working on the bold/italics/hyperlink in the comments situation. Thanks for your patience.

December 20, 2005

Open Thread

To discuss the breaking scandal and anything else ...

Governor Dean Speaks on Domestic Spying (Audio)

Just released (.mp3).

Democrats are serious about fighting terrorists, and the American people deserve a President and Vice President who understand that we can protect our liberty and our freedom AND keep America safe. President Bush’s secret program to spy on the American people reminds Americans of the abuse of power during the dark days of President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew.

Why is it that President Bush went in front of the American people and said that a wiretap requires a court order, after having approved a wiretap program without a court order two years earlier.

From paying journalists to write positive stories, to allowing lobbyists like Jack Abramoff to peddle influence, to leaking the identity of a covert CIA operative in a time of war, the Republican Party's culture of corruption has to end now. The President claims Congress had the same intelligence in the run up to the Iraq War, but that turned out not to be true. The President claims that leaders in Congress were briefed about the program to spy on the American people, but that turned out not to be true either.

Its time for the President to be truthful with the American people. And while the President yesterday called the leak of his secret program to spy on the American people shameful he hasn’t applied the same standards to denounce the leaking of a CIA Agent's identity in a time of war. How can President Bush call the spy program leak shameful, while Karl Rove is still on the White House payroll, and still has his top secret security clearance. Whats really shameful is the double standard. This is an abuse of power.

It's un-American, and it's unacceptable. Americans need a President who will keep them safe and enforce the law, we don't need a big brother. Americans know we don’t have to sacrifice our basic liberties in order to fight the terrorists. Together, America can do better.

Video coming soon as well...

My How Far We've Come

"None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead." -- Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, December 20, 2005

"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" -- Patrick Henry, patriot of Virginia, March 23, 1775

UPDATE: LW in the comments another quote for the mix:

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -- Benjamin Franklin, patriot of Pennsylvania, November 11, 1755

Did George Bush Break the Law?

(Moments ago, Governor Dean sent out this letter to supporters across the country. Please take a moment to add your name to his on the Freedom of Information Act request -- Tim)

This is not an easy letter to write, and I'm afraid it may be a hard one to believe.

By now you have probably heard the news that George Bush is using the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance on American citizens without the consent of any court. After initially refusing to confirm the story, the President has admitted to personally overseeing this domestic spying program for years and he says he intends to continue the program.

These actions explicitly violate a law designed to protect US citizens. But the administration says that other laws somehow allow for this unprecedented use of a foreign intelligence agency to spy on Americans right here in the United States. According to reports, political appointees in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel wrote still-classified legal opinions laying out the supposed justification for this program.

I have asked our General Counsel to draft a Freedom of Information Act request for the relevant legal opinions and memos written by that office. Since the program's existence is no longer a secret, these memos should be released -- Americans deserve to know exactly what authority this administration believes it has.

You can help pressure the administration to release these documents by signing on to our Freedom of Information Act request in the next 48 hours:

www.democrats.org/foia

This extra-legal activity is even more disturbing because it is unnecessary -- the administration already has access to a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. That court was created precisely to provide speedy, secure judicial review to the actions of our intelligence agencies.

To allow authorities act as quickly as possible, officials can even apply for a retroactive warrant days after the surveillance has already begun. Secret warrants have been approved over 19,000 times -- only five applications were rejected in nearly thirty years. The court, which regularly acts within hours, is hardly a roadblock, but it prevents abuse by providing the oversight required by our system of checks and balances.

This administration must demonstrate clearly what legal authority allows it to disregard criminal prohibitions on unilateral domestic spying. Sign on to the request now -- it will be delivered on Thursday:

www.democrats.org/foia

In an interview on Monday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez admitted that the administration asked certain Members of Congress about getting a new law to allow spying on Americans without a warrant. Realizing that even a Republican-controlled Congress wouldn't authorize such a measure, they decided to manipulate current law and proceed with the program anyway.

Manipulation of a law like this is dangerous. The same Office of Legal Counsel used vague assertions of sweeping authority in the infamous torture memos. The victim of this reasoning is the rule of law itself -- when this administration asserts sweeping authority to step over any line of legality, it asserts that there are no lines at all.

Does this administration believe there are any lines it can't cross? Americans deserve to know. Join our Freedom of Information Act request now:

www.democrats.org/foia

Some Republicans will try to pretend that this is just another political fight. But Americans of every political viewpoint are rightfully disturbed by this extra-legal activity. The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, shocked by the report of this activity, promised to convene hearings in January.

Even Bob Barr, who was one of the most conservative members of Congress and the first member to file articles of impeachment against President Clinton, said:

"What's wrong with it is several-fold. One, it's bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it's bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it's bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order."

We need to know whether George Bush went beyond the limits of the law -- and whether he and his administration believe that there are any limits at all. Please join this important request:

www.democrats.org/foia

Even after the press found out about these actions, the administration tried to cover up its existence. According to Newsweek, George Bush summoned the publisher and executive editor of the New York Times to the Oval Office to try to stop them from running the story of these illegal activities.

We have seen this kind of arrogance of power before.

Richard Nixon once said in an interview that, "if the president does it, it can't be illegal."

He found out that wasn't true. This administration may need a reminder.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

In His Own Words

A speech delivered by President Bush on April 20, 2004 -- Buffalo, New York:

Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.

Well... Now We Know

LA Times:

The New York Times first debated publishing a story about secret eavesdropping on Americans as early as last fall, before the 2004 presidential election. [...]

But two journalists, who declined to be identified, said that editors at the paper were actively considering running the story about the wiretaps before Bush's November showdown with Democratic Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts.

Top editors at the paper eventually decided to hold the story.

Hat-tip to the always under-read Will Bunch over at Attytood.

Ohio Democrats Select Chris Redfern as New Chair

The painful process that began with the resignation of former chair Denny White ended last night with the selection of Ohio House Minority leader Chris Redfern to lead Ohio Democrats into 2006.

House minority leader Chris Redfern easily won election Monday night as the state's Democratic Party chairman, defeating Dayton-area county chairman Dennis Lieberman.

Redfern will finish the term of Denny White, who had resigned Nov. 23 after four years, and will run for re-election in June to a two-year term.

The vote was delayed for more than an hour as a somewhat testy discussion developed in the party's executive committee over how the vote would proceed. But once the vote was counted, Redfern had 88 votes to Lieberman's 31.

Redfern sought to soothe the differences in his first speech as chairman, inviting Lieberman up on stage.

"We have one common objective and one common goal and now we begin," Redfern said. "The work begins tonight."

Chairman Redfern will step aside as Minority Leader in the Ohio House of Reprensentatives, but not resign from the body entirely. Many Ohio bloggers attended the event and wrote up eloquent descriptions, play-by-play, and process stories; one blogger even promises to have the audio on his website by the end of the day.

Alaska: More Diebold Questions

Anchorage Daily News:

The official vote results from the 2004 general election are riddled with mistakes and discrepancies, are impossible for the public to make sense of, and should be corrected as soon as possible, the Alaska Democratic Party says.

To most Alaskans, the election may seem like a long-done deal, something that concerns only political junkies, candidates and analysts. But questions have been swirling ever since the polls closed about how the results were tabulated and the reliability of the electronic voting machines, said Kay Brown, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party.

For instance, when district-by-district vote counts are totaled, President Bush received 292,267 votes, according to an analysis by the Democrats. But his official total was 190,889, a difference of more than 100,000 votes, according to the state Web site.

Everyone agrees you cannot figure out how many votes a statewide candidate got in a particular district with the present system.

"The numbers just do not add up, and we'd like to get to the bottom of why," Brown said.

The story goes on to note how in some districts, more than 200% of registered voters cast ballots. This comes on the heels of news from Florida that an elections chief, Ion Sancho, was able to hack into Diebold-made electronic voting machines and alter vote totals.

The Democrats are not asserting that anyone hacked into the computers or that anyone who lost a race really should have won, Brown said.

"We are trying to determine how many votes each candidate got in each district, and we can't tell that from the public data," she said.

As in Florida, this isn't about trying to overturn elections--this is about having an electoral process where everyone can be confident that every ballot cast will be counted and that there is no foul play. It's regrettable that even the appearance of impropriety hangs above one of the most basic tenets of our democracy...the right vote.

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

You have the right to remain silent... or fill up this thread. Either way.

December 19, 2005

Open Thread

An open thread for the night.

And don't miss the portentous letter to Dick Cheney from Sen. Rockefeller on the domestic spying program that Tim linked to earlier.

It's a Pattern

November 14, 2005 - President Bush on Iraq:

Leaders in my administration and members of the United States Congress from both political parties looked at the same intelligence on Iraq, and reached the same conclusion

December 19, 2005 - President Bush on Domestic Spying:

There is the check of people being sworn to uphold the law, for starters.

There is oversight. We're talking to Congress all the time.

And on this program, to suggest there's unchecked power is not listening to what I'm telling you. I'm telling you, we have briefed the United States Congress on this program a dozen times.

Senator Rockefeller's 2003 Letter on Domestic Spying

Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:

The record needs to be set clear that the Administration never afforded members briefed on the program an opportunity to either approve or disapprove the NSA program. The limited members who were told of the program were prohibited by the Administration from sharing any information about it with our colleagues, including other members of the Intelligence Committees.

At the time, I expressed my concerns to Vice President Cheney that the limited information provided to Congress was so overly restricted that it prevented members of Congress from conducting meaningful oversight of the legal and operational aspects of the program.

These concerns were never addressed, and I was prohibited from sharing my views with my colleagues.

Senator Rockefeller, much like Congresswoman Pelosi, expressed serious concerns about the domestic spy program; he even did so in a hand-written letter to the Vice President the very day he learned of it.

Senator Rockefeller's Hand-Written Letter to Vice President Cheney (.pdf)

July 17, 2003
Dear Mr. Vice President,

I am writing to reiterate my concern regarding the sensitive intelligence issues we discussed today with the DCI, DIRNSA, and Chairman Roberts and our House Intelligence Committee counterparts.

Clearly the activities we discussed raise profound oversight issues. As you know, I am neither a technician or an attorney. Given the security restrictions associated with this information, and my inability to consult staff or counsel on my own, I feel unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse these activities.

As I reflected on the meeting today, and the future we face, John Poindexter's TIA project sprung to mind, exacerbating my concern regarding the direction the Administration is moving with regard to security, technology, and surveiliance.

Without more information and the ability to draw on any independent legal or techical expertise, I simply cannot satisfy lingering concerns raised by the briefing we received.

I am retaining a copy of this letter in a sealed envelope in the secure spaces of the Senate Intelligence Committee to ensure that I have a record of this communication.

I appreciate your consideration of my views.

Most respectfully,

Jay Rockefeller

Democratic Leaders on President's Domestic Spy Briefings

Reminiscent of his claim that members of congress received the same intelligence he had prior to the invasion of Iraq, the president continued his attempt to "share blame" with Democrats whenever his own poor decisions and/or leadership land him in hot water. Fact is, even Democratic leaders in the House and Senate weren't aware of the president's domestic spy operation until well after it was fully operational; the vast majority of members read about it with everyone else on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post last week. Further, because of restrictions on handling or disseminating classified information, the few members who were aware couldn't say a single word about the abuse of power and complete circumvention of constitutional rights that was already well underway.

From Senator Reid:

The President asserted in his December 17th radio address that leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. This statement gives the American public a very misleading impression that the President fully consulted with Congress.

First, it is quite likely that 96 Senators of 100 Senators, including 13 of 15 on the Senate Intelligence Committee first learned about this program in the New York Times, not from any Administration briefing.

I personally received a single very short briefing on this program earlier this year prior to its public disclosure. That briefing occurred more than three years after the President said this program began.

The Administration briefers did not seek my advice or consent about the program, and based on what I have heard publicly since, key details about the program apparently were not provided to me.

Under current Administration briefing guidelines, members of Congress are informed after decisions are made, have virtually no ability to either approve or reject a program, and are prohibited from discussing these types of programs with nearly all of their fellow members and all of their staff.

We need to investigate this program and the President’s legal authority to carry it out. We also need to review this flawed congressional consultation system. I will be asking the President to cooperate in both reviews.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi:

When I was advised of President Bush’s decision to authorize these activities, I expressed my strong concerns verbally and in a classified letter to the Administration. The Bush Administration, however, made clear that it did not believe that Congressional notification was required and it also did not believe that Congressional approval was required to conduct these activities. I have attached a copy of my statement on the President’s disclosure.

Yesterday, several of my colleagues and I sent a letter to Speaker Hastert requesting that he immediately take steps to conduct hearings on the scope of Presidential power in the area of electronic surveillance, and that the Speaker and I jointly appoint a panel of outside legal experts to assist the committees involved in those hearings. I have attached this letter for your information.

Billboard Update

When the billboard arrived in Cinncinati, there was a media event involving a number of Democratic activists and individuals from the state Democratic party. The first image is from the press conference highlighted by Ohio State Representative and Iraq veteran John Boccieri. The second is simply a stand-alone of the mobile billboard itself. Click on the photo for a larger image:

Jeff Gannon v.2.0

From today's press conference:

QUESTION: Mr. President, you said last night that there are only two options in Iraq, withdrawal or victory. And you asked Americans, especially opponents of the war, to reject partisan politics.

Do you really expect congressional Democrats to end partisan warfare and embrace your war strategy? And what can you do about that, to make that happen?

January 25, 2005 - Jeff Gannon:

Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup lines. And [Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've said you are going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?

A Shameful Act

From the president's press conference:

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Are you going to order a leaks investigation into the disclosure of the NSA surveillance program? And why did you skip the basic safeguard of asking courts for permission for these intercepts?

BUSH:...My personal opinion is it was a shameful act, for someone to disclose this very important program in time of war. [...]

But it is a shameful act by somebody who has got secrets of the United States government and feels like they need to disclose them publicly.

President Bush on the Resignation of Scooter Libby:

Today I accepted the resignation of Scooter Libby. Scooter has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and sacrificed much in the service to this country. He served the Vice President and me through extraordinary times in our nation's history.

Special Counsel Fitzgerald's investigation and ongoing legal proceedings are serious, and now the proceedings -- the process moves into a new phase. In our system, each individual is presumed innocent and entitled to due process and a fair trial.

From the Scooter Libby Indictment:

16. On or about July 7, 2003, LIBBY had lunch with the then White House Press Secretary and advised the Press Secretary that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA and noted that such information was not widely known.

17. On or about the morning of July 8, 2003, LIBBY met with New York Times reporter Judith Miller. When the conversation turned to the subject of Joseph Wilson, LIBBY asked that the information LIBBY provided on the topic of Wilson be attributed to a "former Hill staffer" rather than to a "senior administration official," as had been the understanding with respect to other information that LIBBY provided to Miller during this meeting. LIBBY thereafter discussed with Miller Wilson's trip and criticized the CIA reporting concerning Wilson's trip. During this discussion, LIBBY advised Miller of his belief that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.

18. Also on or about July 8, 2003, LIBBY met with the Counsel to the Vice President in an anteroom outside the Vice President's Office. During their brief conversation, LIBBY asked the Counsel to the Vice President, in sum and substance, what paperwork there would be at the CIA if an employee's spouse undertook an overseas trip.

19. Not earlier than June 2003, but on or before July 8, 2003, the Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs learned from another government official that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA, and advised LIBBY of this information.

20. On or about July 10, 2003, LIBBY spoke to NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert to complain about press coverage of LIBBY by an MSNBC reporter. LIBBY did not discuss Wilson's wife with Russert.

21. On or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, LIBBY spoke to a senior official in the White House ("Official A") who advised LIBBY of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson's wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson's trip. LIBBY was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson's wife.

22. On or about July 12, 2003, LIBBY flew with the Vice President and others to and from Norfolk, Virginia, on Air Force Two. On his return trip, LIBBY discussed with other officials aboard the plane what LIBBY should say in response to certain pending media inquiries, including questions from Time reporter Matthew Cooper.

23. On or about July 12, 2003, in the afternoon, LIBBY spoke by telephone to Cooper, who asked whether LIBBY had heard that Wilson's wife was involved in sending Wilson on the trip to Niger. LIBBY confirmed to Cooper, without elaboration or qualification, that he had heard this information too.

24. On or about July 12, 2003, in the late afternoon, LIBBY spoke by telephone with Judith Miller of the New York Times and discussed Wilson's wife, and that she worked at the CIA.

Domestic Spying Rationale

Always quick to note that September 11th changed everything, President Bush made the case today that domestic spying was not only legal, but necessary in doing everything we could to prevent another terrorist attack. Here's how the 9/11 Commission thinks this adminstration and congress have done in their pursuit of doing everything possible to prevent another terrorist attack in the United States.

Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendations (.pdf):

# of A Grades: 1
# of B Grades: 12
# of C Grades: 9
# of D Grades: 12
# of F Grades: 5
# of Incompletes: 2

Grade Point Average: 1.53

Monday Morning Open Thread

Happy Monday.

December 18, 2005

End of the Weekend Open Thread

For your pleasure.

December 16, 2005

Start the Weekend Open Thread

I don't know about you, but I am heading home for the night! Here are some posts you might have missed from earlier in the day:

Your Open Thread Suggestions
Ken Mehlman at it Again on PATRIOT ACT
Jean Schmidt: Start to Finish
Senate Dems Hold Up Patriot Act
Confirming What We Already Knew on Pre-War Intelligence
Grand Ol' Police Blotter
Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Friday Morning Open Thread

Have a great night!

Your Open Thread Suggestions

Last I posed a few questions to the group about the future of this blog:

For the regulars: Over the past month, what topics have I been writing about that you want me to keep hammering away at? What have I not covered enoigh?

For the new visitors: What topics would keep you coming back more often?

As promised, I read through many of them and wanted to share some of my thoughts.

Kristen:

Hey Tim, one thought on topics would be to do a piece on up and coming Democrats that we should be looking for and helping out as we near the 2006 Democratic take over of the House.

We are going to talk a great deal about Democrats who need our support in 2006. This answers a number of other questions as well, but because many races have contested primaries at this point, we can't really get out ahead and begin to organize specifically on behalf of candidates--we can only organize in the states to prepare for that eventuality. That's exactly why we started putting organizers in each of the fifty states early.

Also, I plan on doing quite a bit of traveling around the country as the cycle heats up. I'll be writing from inside individual campaign and organizational headquarters, posting videos, pictures, and talking about where they need help and how to best make that happen.

Annilow:

The more frequent open threads are helping a lot. Thank you.

Is two a day enough? I know the weekends are a problem, so thank you for bearing with us on that.

Bluejae:

Ideas on how people can become more involved in local elections. What seats are up, requirements, deadlines...how about laws concerning some issues,like voting! So that the everyday person gets a better understanding.

When it's time, information on how people can become a delegate for their presidential candidate.

Absolutely. See above! And yes, we are going to encourage people to run for all sorts of positions, delegates included. At our best, you'll know what kinds of seats are open all across the country and how best to get involved and put the behind of a Democrat in that seat.

April:

I would like to see more ties, with the incompetence of handling Katrina, and Fema's uselessness, highlighted with the President's lack of leadership on Iraq.

Why does this country hold Bush to such an extremely low bar. Just this week we finally get a "Victory Strategy"???? After 1,000 days. Isn't this a little lame.

How would be a good time to highlight the Diebold thing. Democracy in Iraq.....what good is Democracy in America if the votes are rigged.

I think we got a good start on that this week. See the following pieces:

Hurricane Katrina I
Hurricane Katrina II
Hurricane Katrina III

Iraq "Plan" I
Iraq "Plan" II
Iraq "Plan" III

Diebold/GAO Report I
Diebold/GAO Report II

Pam:

Not sure why DNC did not make this list, but for those who flip from blog to blog, here is voting which ends tonight, for Best Liberal Blog.

Good news! The Koufax awards just released their call for nominations last night. You can head on over and nomiate the DNC blog in any number of categories.

rjsnj:

Actually, I would like to see some positive issues on the list - how about national health care and energy independence for starts?

Agreed! I plan on writing a lot more about student loans specifically, in addition to the two you brought up.

bb:

Tim, You’re doin’ a heck of a job!

Great. If someone else said that, I'd be worried about keeping my job for more than another week.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback and suggestions. This won't be the last of the comments from last night's thread that I address on here, so don't be discouraged if yours didn't show up today. Feel free to use this entry to sound off on other ideas/suggestions you have for the site.

Ken Mehlman At It Again on PATRIOT ACT

Many in the mainstream media dutifully recited Ken Mehlman's statement in the run-up to the PATRIOT ACT vote, so the GOP Chairman went back to the well again after today's Democratic victory in the Senate. From a GOP release sent out only hours ago:

By obstructing permanent renewal of the Patriot Act, Democrats are again putting politics before national security. In 2002, the American people rejected politicians who blocked the Department of Homeland Security to appease public employee unions. Democrats who blocked the Patriot Act to appease the hard left should beware.

October 21, 2001 White House Press Briefing:

[I]t's no secret that there are a number of members of Congress -- some of whom came down to the White House today -- who believe that legislation is necessary to give Governor Ridge more power, the power that they think he may need. And they received a very strong message from the President today that no legislation is necessary [...]

[Governor Ridge's] job is a very busy coordination job. And one of the issues that came up at the meeting today was that one of the reasons the President has suggested to members of Congress that they do not need to make this a statutory post, that he does not need Cabinet rank, for example, that it does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security

Selective memory.

Jean Schmidt: Start to Finish

In the four years following September 11, anyone questioning President Bush's plan to win the "war on terror," or seperately in Iraq, found themselves branded as unpatriotic, unsupportive of the troops, an out-of-touch liberal, and even weak on defense. While the Bush Adminstration cavalierly sent the brave men and women to fight in Iraq without adequate intelligence and an always shifting rationalization for war, to any potential dissenters the message was clear: don't question, clap louder.

And they got away with it. For four years.

Senator Max Cleland, who literally left limbs on the battlefield, was smeared as weak on defense for failing to blindly support anti-union provisions in the creation of the Homeland Security Department; never mind the fact that President Bush himself was vehemently against the cabinet-level position to start. Senator John Kerry had his service called into question for failing to "clap louder" as President Bush sent the military into battle without the necessary equipment to keep them safe.

And so it was until November 18, 2005.

He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.

This wasn't the first time Jean Schmidt or those associated with her have questioned the service of a combat Marine. It was only three months earlier that an advisor to her campaign had done the same to Major Paul Hackett during a special election in Southwest Ohio. This was, however, the first time that Democratic legislators, the Democratic Party, and the emerging grassroots that will carry us into the future, effectively turned back the tried and true Republican attacks on the patriotism of those that dare do anything but "clap louder."

At the same time hisses and boos from the floor of the House echoed across the nation, the DNC decided something had to be done. A message had to be sent to individuals like Jean Schmidt who attack the service of military men disagreeing with her point of view while hiding behind the troops serving in an attempt to deflect reasonable criticism and questions from those who do not simply "clap louder."

A press release. Send out the surrogates. A mass email. A billboard. What? A Billboard? Yes, right in her home state. Right outside of her district headquarters. You want to smear a decorated combat veteran like Congressman Murtha? Fine. We'll take the fight right into your backyard. Fifty State Strategy.

The grassroots responded to the idea...overwhelmingly. Within 48 hours the billboard design was completed, contracts between the DNC and Lamar advertising were signed, and over seven thousand Americans contributed to get two billboards placed in Jean Schmidt's district. The first to go within 1 block of her Pourtsmouth district office, the second in the largest city in Ohio's 2nd Congressional District, Cincinnati.

Not only were a set of billboards about to go up, but the tireless DNC communication staff was generating earned media behind the effort both in Ohio and nationally.

It's been 10 days since Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean pledged that his party would stand strongly behind Rep. John P. Murtha in the wake of the Pennsylvania Democrat's emotional outburst over progress with the Iraqi war.

Now, Tom McMahon, the DNC's executive director, says, "From this day forward, the Democratic Party will commit to putting up a 'Shame on You' billboard in the home district of any Republican who attacks a veteran's service in order to score political points."

He says the first billboard will go up near Rep. Jean Schmidt's district office in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Then the phone call came. It was a representative from Lamar advertising telling us, "I don't like negative advertising." And with that, the Cincinnati billboard was killed. Then another phone call. This time it was the Lamar representative overseeing the Portsmouth billboard. Again...negative advertising.

The grassroots sprung to action once again. Phone calls and emails placed to Lamar acknowledged they hadn't handled this situation as well as they should have. A model of distributed research rarely practiced by large DC organizations yielded information about Lamar's political action committee that contributed significantly more money to Republicans than Democrats. The media, again, picked up the story:

An advertising company that gives most of its political donations to Republicans blocked the Democratic National Committee from putting up billboards criticizing Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio.

Lamar Advertising Co. of Baton Rouge, La., refused to put up two billboards in Portsmouth, Ohio, and another in Cincinnati with a picture of Schmidt and the following message: "Shame on you, Jean Schmidt: Stop attacking veterans. Keep your eye on the ball -- we need a real plan for Iraq."

Malia Rulon appearing in the district's largest newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer told it this way:

After Lamar rejected the ads, DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon e-mailed supporters asking them to sign a letter that the party sent Friday afternoon to the company, asking it to reconsider.

"Lamar's conduct in this instance raises serious questions about whether the company is unlawfully or improperly using corporate resources to favor or benefit the Republican Party or Rep. Schmidt," said the letter, which was signed by 50,000 people.

The company's political action committee - LamarPAC - has donated $229,111 to political parties or candidates since 2000 with about 62 percent going to Republican sources, including Sens. Mike DeWine, R-Cedarville, and Jim Bunning, R-Southgate.

Another grassroots Democrat in Atlanta came across a billboard in West Virginia accepted by Lamar Advertising:

Was this negative advertising in the opinion of Lamar? Apparently not.

The grassroots was outraged and the DNC listened to feedback from within the ranks. If it wasn't going to be a stationary billboard, get a mobile one and drive it throughout the entire second congressional district. Why limit it to Cincinnati and Pourtsmouth? Done. If we are going to be turned back by Lamar, why limit it to billboards? Run a series of newspaper ads in local papers informing Jean Schmidt that attacks on veterans would not stand. Done. There were many good ideas. Another was to hold an organization training inside her district, empowering individuals suffering under the national embarassment that is their congresswoman to defeat Republicans from the top of the ticket, to the bottom in 2006. That's right on message, compete everywhere, even in the "reddest" of "red" areas. And the DNC agreed to that as well, and will be sposoring a training early in 2006.

Then papers were finalized, contracts signed, and two days ago the mobile billboard rolled into Jean Schmidt's district. The driver reported in:

After a journey beginning in North Carolina, we are happy to report that minutes ago, your mobile billboard has entered Ohio's 2nd Congressional District... a full one day early.

We just received a phone call from the driver of the truck and he was happy to report that, "people are staring and pointing wherever it goes."

Then the billboard made its way to Cincinnati for a press conference flanked by State Representative and Iraq Veteran John Boccieri. At the same time, the earned media ratcheted up again.

Democrats had originally planned two billboards critical of Rep. Jean Schmidt at each end of her southern Ohio congressional district, but Thursday they launched a "billboard on wheels'' that will cover all seven counties of the district.

As freezing rain fell on the parking lot of Blue Ash's Veterans Park early Thursday, about a dozen Democrats gathered to watch as a truck hauling a 20-by-10 foot advertising sign took off on a nine-day tour of Schmidt's sprawling district.

Meanwhile, local television station WKRC ran a poll, asking viewers if the billboard was an important message or political propaganda. Southwest Ohioans responded overwhelmingly on the side of the troops.

How do you view the new billboard on Jean Schmidt?

Important Message: 77.8%
Political Propaganda: 22.2%

And that's where we are today. From start to finish a successful collaboration between the grassroots and the national party. The first of many more to come in the near future.

Senate Dems Hold Up Patriot Act

From the Associated Press:

The Senate on Friday rejected attempts to reauthorize several provisions of the USA Patriot Act as infringing too much on Americans' privacy, dealing a major defeat toPresident Bush and Republican leaders.

In a crucial vote Friday morning as Congress raced toward adjournment, the bill's Senate supporters were not able to garner the 60 votes necessary to overcome a threatened filibuster by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and their allies. The final vote was 52-47.

Bush, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and GOP congressional leaders had lobbied fiercely to make most of the expiring Patriot Act provisions permanent, and add new safeguards and expiration dates to the two most controversial parts: roving wiretaps and secret warrants for books, records and other items from businesses, hospitals and organizations such as libraries.

Confirming What We Already Knew on Pre-War Intelligence

Lie first to get out of the difficult debate and worry about it later--seems like a pattern to me. From a President Bush speech on November 11, 2005:

While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. (Applause.) Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. [...]

That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate -- who had access to the same intelligence -- voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power.

You might recall that speech as the Veterans Day address where the president took some heat by turning what should have been a national address in support of our fallen heroes into a partisan pie-fight. The "same intelligence" line was THE cornerstone of the Republican defense at a time when scrutiny about the decision to use force in Iraq was at a fevered pitch. Today, the Washington Post confirms what most of us already knew--the claim was simply not true:

A congressional report made public yesterday concluded that President Bush and his inner circle had access to more intelligence and reviewed more sensitive material than what was shared with Congress when it gave Bush the authority to wage war against Iraq.

Democrats said the 14-page report contradicts Bush's contention that lawmakers saw all the evidence before U.S. troops invaded in March 2003, stating that the president and a small number of advisers "have access to a far greater volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence information."

Hopefully the volume of reporters who parotted line in the hours and days following the speech will talk about the truth of the matter, now that it has finally been uncovered.

Grand Ol' Police Blotter

One of the closest races of the 2002 election cycle was a battle for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. The contest pitted Republican John Sununu against Democrat Jean Shaheen. When the polls closed and votes were counted, Sununu barely emerged the victor with 51 percent of the vote. Over the next weeks and months, allegations of foul play by the Republicans got ink in the local press. Of course, Republicans countered with a defense that Democrats were just suffering from a bad case of "sour grapes." As time progressed, it became clear that a telemarketing firm hired by Republican officials spammed the phone lines of state Democratic field offices, completely disrupting the GOTV operation of Jean Shaheen. Only problem... that's a crime.

Yesterday, former Republican National Committee New England Political Director James Tobin was found GUILTY "on two counts of telephone harassment for his role in a plot to jam Democratic phone banks on Election Day 2002 in New Hampshire."

New Hampshire Democrats celebrated the news. The trial vindicated the claims of foul play that some initially dismissed as sour grapes after the 2002 election, said Kathy Sullivan, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.

But Tobin's conviction is not the end of the phone-jamming matter, Sullivan said. The Democrats filed a related lawsuit in 2004 against the Republicans State Committee and the individuals involved in the phone jamming, but that superior court suit was put on hold because of the federal investigation.

Tobin chose not to take the stand in his own defense in the criminal trial, but the Democrats have the right to depose him for the civil suit, Sullivan said. "He's not going to be able to hide anymore from questioning about the exact nature of his involvement in the case," she said. The Democrats have tried to suggest that other influential Republicans also knew of the phone-jamming scheme.

Warren Henderson, the current chairman of Republican State Committee, called the Democrats' lawsuit "a publicity stunt" and "a cheap way for them to keep trying to flog the issue."At the same time, he embraced the Tobin verdict as a chance to condemn voter fraud and election abuse.

Amazing that anyone could call criminal interference in a federal election a "publicity stunt."

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

The mobile billboard hits the streets, and the presses. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Democrats had originally planned two billboards critical of Rep. Jean Schmidt at each end of her southern Ohio congressional district, but Thursday they launched a "billboard on wheels'' that will cover all seven counties of the district.

As freezing rain fell on the parking lot of Blue Ash's Veterans Park early Thursday, about a dozen Democrats gathered to watch as a truck hauling a 20-by-10 foot advertising sign took off on a nine-day tour of Schmidt's sprawling district.

"Shame on you, Jean Schmidt," said the sign's message, next to a smiling photograph of the freshman congresswoman from Clermont County. "Stop Attacking Veterans.:

The traveling billboard, paid for by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), refers to Schmidt's speech on the House floor last month in which she attacked Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, who had called for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Directing her remarks to Murtha, a decorated Marine veteran of Vietnam, she said that "cowards cut and run; Marines never do."

Meanwhile, local television station WKRC ran a poll, asking viewers if the billboard was an important message or political propaganda. Southwest Ohioans responded overwhelmingly on the side of the troops.

How do you view the new billboard on Jean Schmidt?

Important Message: 77.8%
Political Propaganda: 22.2%

Pictures and video coming by the end of the afternoon...hopefully. The mobile billboard will tour each of the seven counties in Jean Schmidt's congressional district.

Friday Morning Open Thead

Good morning everyone. I read through most of the comments/suggestions last evening, thank you for submitting them. Expect more on that later, but until then -- open thread!

December 15, 2005

Thursday Night Open Thread

Posts from earlier today:

Patriot Act
Iraq Elections
New FOX Poll
Abramoff vs. Democracy Bonds
Jean Schmidt Newspaper Ad
Democratic Nominating Calendar
Billboard Update
A Party Divided
More Problems for Diebold
Morning Open Thread

For the regulars: Over the past month, what topics have I been writing about that you want me to keep hammering away at? What have I not covered enoigh?

For the new visitors: What topics would keep you coming back more often?

PATRIOT ACT Vote Tomorrow

So says Senator Feingold over at TPM Cafe.

While taking the lead in opposition to a small handful of liberty-restricting provisions in the PATRIOT ACT, Senator Feingold has set aside time to inform the "blogging community" about his efforts in the Senate over at TPM Cafe (linked above). I watched Senator Feingold on CSPAN this morning discuss his willingness to participate in a two-way conversation with the grassroots; he made it clear that he reads many of the comments and subsequent posts written by him often address questions raised in previous entries. If you have been following the PATRIOT ACT debate (or even if you want to learn a bit more on the eve of the vote) the link at the top of this post is a great place to start.

On the Iraq Elections Today

From Senator Harry Reid's office:

The elections in Iraq are an historic moment and another important milestone. Americans salute the courage and dedication of our troops who made the elections possible and the brave Iraqis who cast their ballots. By voting today, the Iraqi people expressed hope for their government and their country.

Today's elections must signal the beginning of the crucial transition between the Iraqi and American governments. The next fourth months will be a critical time for Iraqis to assume more control of their country and allow for a successful transition in 2006, which will bring significant numbers of our troops home.

New FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll

Here are some of the more interesting results.

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics (.pdf). December 13-14, 2005. 900 Registered Voters. MoE +/- 3%. Likely Voters.

Do you approve or disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as president?

Approve: 42% (42)
Disapprove: 51% (48)
Don't Know: 7% (10)

So the president's approval rating stays the same in the Fox News poll, the disapprove number increases, MSBNC shows his approval rating increase by 1% (well within the MoE), and CBS shows his numbers in a free-fall on all manner of issues. When will we stop hearing about the mythical rebound?

Please tell me whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each of [the following groups]:

Republican Party
Approve: 43%
Disapprove: 47%
Don't Know: 10%

Democratic Party
Approve: 45%
Disapprove: 39%
Don't Know: 15%

In the past couple of weeks, George W. Bush has given a series of speeches on Iraq. Do you feel that the speeches have given you a better understanding of the situation in Iraq or not?

Yes: 25%
No: 53%
Didn't Hear Speeches: 17%
Don't Know: 5%

Looks like the PR plan for Iraq didn't have the desired attempt. Maybe that's why the vast majority of Americans (68%) don't believe the president has a plan for Iraq.

Samuel Alito has been nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. If you were voting on Samuel Alito's nomination, would you vote to confirm him or not?

Yes: 35% (46)
No: 27% (29)
Don't Know: 38% (25)

The Alito results are very interesting. The more and more people hear about Altio's promises to recuse himself from cases he has a financial interest in, then proceed to rule on them, the American people turn cool to his nomination. By comparison, when Harriet Miers name was withdrawn at the behest of extremists on the right, her approval rating was also at thirty-five percent. How low will Alito go?

Muddying the Waters

Over the next few weeks and months, expect a Republican Party attempt to muddy the waters when it comes to Jack Abramoff and Washington's culture of corruption. Take President Bush's interview with Brit Hume on Fox News (of all places) last night:

I'm — you know, the Abramoff — I'm frankly, not all that familiar with a lot that's going on up there on Capitol Hill. But it seems like to me that he was an equal money dispenser, that he was giving money to people in both political parties.

And from today's Hotline:

Was Jack Abramoff "giving money to both political parties," as President Bush suggested yesterday? No.

The lobbyist himself was a Bush Pioneer and directly wrote more than 200K in checks from '92 to '05 to Republicans. Abramoff never gave a penny to Democrats or Democratic committees.

This is only the beginning -- keep your eyes open. And don't forget the quote from uber-Republican Grover Norquist (National Journal, 7/29/95):

What the Republicans need is 50 Jack Abramoffs, Norquist said. Then this becomes a different town.

It is a different town, and come November 2006, citizens from across the country will take the first steps in reclaiming it for the American people. This is one of the fundamental reasons that the Democracy Bonds program is so important. As the Republican Party receives its funding from Jack Abramoff and his friends on K-Street--Democrats are putting organizers in every state with contributions from teachers, students, plumbers, and average everyday citizens like you and I. To improve upon Grover Norquist's observation:

What we need is more Democracy Bond holders, then this becomes a different country.

Jean Schmidt Newspaper Ad

You've seen the billboard -- Here is what's running in 10 Ohio newspapers.

I think Lamar would have been better off just accepting the original billboard.

The Nominating Report

I'm sure many of you won't be spending your afternoon reading through the transcripts and agendas from the meetings, but the Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling just wrapped up its look into the Democratic nominating calendar. The final report is available here if you're interested, and in the spirit of transparency, the DNC Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection has provided the materials from all of the meetings leading up to the report, which will be permanently available at www.democrats.org/commission.

The report is actually quite interesting even if you're just approaching the logic behind the nominating calendar for the first time. There's a lot of history and a lot of academic reasoning behind many of the decisions that make the schedule into what it is.

Billboard Update

This morning, the mobile billboard rolled into Cincinnati for a press conference that included Ohio Democratic Party staff members and State Representative/Iraq War Veteran John Boccieri. There was a press conference attended by five TV crews, three radio stations and all the local papers covered the news conference. Jean Schmidt's people also had some supporters there taking notes and photographing the event.

More coming soon.

Who's Divided?

From the Boston Globe -- A piece entitled "A divided GOP heads to year's end with unmet goals"

After starting the year full of grand promise, the expanded Republican majority in Congress is stumbling to the finish, with party leaders facing unexpected difficulty this week winning support for a raft of unfinished priorities, and major bills involving taxes, healthcare, and the war on terrorism appearing likely to get bumped into 2006.

GOP leaders threatened yesterday to keep Congress in Washington for a rare weekend session to get critical work done, and aides expressed hope that members' desires to head home for the holidays will push along compromises.

But the list of unfinished legislation underscores the deep divisions among Republicans that have stymied the party's broad goals for the year. For example, the proposal to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- the Bush administration's top energy priority -- is in danger of being shelved, with moderate Republicans who question its effect on the environment vowing to sink the entire budget if it is in the final bill.

At the same time, a bipartisan group of senators, mindful of an erosion of civil liberties, say they will filibuster a bill to extend the Patriot Act, with a showdown likely tomorrow that will pit Republicans against one another. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, is locked in a standoff with the White House over a measure he added to a different bill that would prevent the administration from torturing prisoners.

Of course there was that CBS poll released last week as well:

"From what you have seen or heard about the situation in Iraq, what should the United States do now? Should the U.S. increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, keep the same number of U.S. troops in Iraq as there are now, or decrease the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, or remove all its troops from Iraq?"

Democrats:
Decrease/Remove All: 76%
Increase/Keep Same: 19%

Republicans:
Decrease/Remove All: 41%
Increase/Keep Same: 53%

More Problems for Diebold/Electronic Voting

The Miami Herald:

A political operative with hacking skills could alter the results of any election on Diebold-made voting machines -- and possibly other new voting systems in Florida -- according to the state capital's election supervisor, who said Diebold software has failed repeated tests.

Ion Sancho, Leon County's election chief, said tests by two computer experts, completed this week, showed that an insider could surreptitiously change vote results and the number of ballots cast on Diebold's optical-scan machines.

After receiving county commission approval Tuesday, Sancho scrapped Diebold's system for one made by Elections Systems and Software, the same provider used by Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The difference between the systems: Sancho's machines use a fill-in-the-blank paper ballot that allows for after-the-fact manual recounts, while Broward and Miami-Dade use ATM-like touchscreens that leave no paper trail.

"That's kind of scary. If there's no paper trail, you have to rely solely on electronic results. And now we know that they can be manipulated under the right conditions, without a person even leaving a fingerprint," said Sancho, who once headed the state's elections supervisors association. [...]

Sancho said he tried to discuss the problems with Diebold, but met with resistance. On Monday, he did one final test with Hursti at the Leon County supervisor's office, Hursti hacked the memory card to spit out seven "yes" votes on an issue and one "no" vote.

Then, six "no" votes and two "yes" votes were cast into the machine the same way voters would. Those results didn't show up in the final tally -- just the ones hacked into the card.

Officials for ES&S, which makes the systems used in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Sancho says he has yet to conduct tests on the ES&S machines, but would do so next. With all the serious and reasonable questions about the security of electronic voting machines, why we wouldn't have mandatory paper trails for potential recounts is absolutely beyond me. I'm sure we can expect more from this story in the coming weeks as it appear to justify many of the concerns laid out by the Government Accountability Office (.pdf) earlier this year.

Thursday Morning Open Thread

And a happy one to all of you. What's going on in your communities?

December 14, 2005

Wednesday Night Open Thread

Have a terrific evening -- I'll try to pop in and out of the comments for the duration. Until tomorrow!

NY-Gov: Blowouts

Quinnipiac. 12/7/2005 to 12/12/2005. 1,091 New York State Registered Voters. MoE +/- 3%. (Trend Lines).

Spitzer (D): 62% (60)
Daniels (R): 15% (15)
Someone Else: 1% (2)
Wouldn't Vote: 1% (1)
Don't Know: 20% (22)

Spitzer (D): 64% (60)
Faso (R): 14% (14)
Someone Else: 1% (1)
Wouldn't Vote: 1% (1)
Don't Know: 21% (23)

Spitzer (D): 60% (56)
Golisano (R): 22% (22)
Someone Else: 1% (1)
Wouldn't Vote: 1% (1)
Don't Know: 16% (19)

Spitzer (D): 63% (60)
Weld (R): 16% (16)
Someone Else: 1% (2)
Wouldn't Vote: 1% (1)
Don't Know: 19% (21)

Dueling Alito Carols

From Senator Cornyn:

'Twas one month before the hearings, and all through the city
Not many Democrats were waiting, not even some on the Committee

The hard left was already distorting his rulings
Why wait for the hearings if you oppose all the President’s doings?

Some Senators asked for privileged documents, no exception
So much for the "so-called" right to privacy protection.

From strip searches to abortion, "he’s an extremist!" they wailed
But we’ve heard it before—against Judge Roberts, it failed.

Of course the attacks will not turn the public
"Confirm him" they say, we want independent courts in our republic!

Senator Schumer Responds:

'Twas a month after Miers, when all through the land,
Went a plague of amnesia ‘bout how she was canned.

Now, Cornyn! Now, Sessions! Now Kyl and Frist!
Not one had some recall of how she was dissed.

They blathered and brayed about up-or-down votes,
They acted dismayed and gave virulent quotes.

They forgot how their own was battered and fried,
How an up-or-down vote on her was denied.

With her conservative views not patently clear,
They allowed a campaign of cynical smear.

On Alito, they say, he deserves confirmation,
But don't wait for the hearings, just accept coronation.

Don't ask if his views on the law are too cramped,
This substitute nom must be rubber-stamped.

So "advice and consent" gets thrown out the door,
When there's peace to be made with the right wing's hard core.

Ken Mehlman's Selective Memory on the PATRIOT ACT

From an RNC Release:

In 2002, voters rejected the Democrats when they decided to play politics with our national security by blocking the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, at the behest of government employee unions. Voters will react the same way in 2006 if Democrats block the reauthorization of the Patriot Act to appease the hard left.

From an October 21, 2001 White House Press Briefing:

[I]t's no secret that there are a number of members of Congress -- some of whom came down to the White House today -- who believe that legislation is necessary to give Governor Ridge more power, the power that they think he may need. And they received a very strong message from the President today that no legislation is necessary [...]

[Governor Ridge's] job is a very busy coordination job. And one of the issues that came up at the meeting today was that one of the reasons the President has suggested to members of Congress that they do not need to make this a statutory post, that he does not need Cabinet rank, for example, that it does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security

Representative Number One

Jesse Lee over at The Stakeholder along with Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo are two of the best sources around for keeping tabs on Bob Ney's series of unfolding scandals. Check them out. But before you head off, make sure to read the piece Nightline ran last night on "Representative Number One" AKA "The Mayor of Capitol Hill."

"I think that Congressman Ney had better get right with his God," said Texas political consultant Marc Schwartz. Schwartz, who had extensive dealings with Abramoff and Scanlon, is cooperating in the federal investigation. In his first television interview, Schwartz tells "Nightline's" Chris Bury that Scanlon's testimony could be damaging for Ney.

"The information that he can provide would be extremely beneficial in uncovering what has become, in my opinion, a 'pay to play' scheme," Schwartz said.

In Texas, Schwartz represented the Tigua Indians of El Paso in their campaign to re-open the Speaking Rock Casino after the state had shut it down.

In 2002, Abramoff and Scanlon — who had once worked with the Tigua's competitors to shut the casino, sold the tribe on a secret plan, called "Operation Open Doors," to get Congress to reopen Speaking Rock. But the Tiguas would have to pay to play.

"We anticipate the tribe will have to make approximately $300,000 in federal political contributions," the document read.

The scheme called for language to be quietly inserted into an entirely unrelated election reform bill. According to the tribe's consultant, the key contact would be Congressman Bob Ney. In March 2002, Abramoff sent Scanlon this e-mail: "Just met with Ney! We're f'ing gold. He's going to do Tigua."

"He agreed to put language into the bill on the House side and would help us, help the tribe in making sure that the language stayed and that this change would be affected," Schwartz said.

Six days later, Abramoff sent Schwartz an e-mail that said, "Congressman Ney. 'Please get the following checks for him asap.'" The requests — which came from Abramoff — for Bob Ney's campaign and political action committee — totaled $32,000.

When "Nightline" asked Schwartz whether he believed it was a quid pro quo arrangement, in which a congressman was getting a certain amount of money in order to achieve a certain piece of legislation, he responded: "As I see it today, certainly yes."

"Nightline" asked him if it was a bribe. "Yes," Schwartz said.

Diebold

I am working on a larger piece that discusses voting rights concerns in the context of the General Accounting Office report on voting machines released in September and Ohio House Bill 3, but I first wanted to make sure everyone saw the recent news concerning Diebold and our good friend Wally O'Dell.

The chairman and chief executive of automated-teller and voting machine maker Diebold quit on Monday. The company, which has come under fire for its electronic voting business, said in a statement that the resignation of 60-year-old Walden W. O'Dell is effective immediately.

"The board of directors and Wally mutually agreed that his decision to resign at this time for personal reasons was in the best interest of all parties," said John Lauer, Diebold's non-executive chairman of the board.

Truth is, the resignation of O'Dell would have been in the best interests of all parties and the American people minutes after the voting machine maker promised to deliver Ohio to President Bush. Diebold executives are remaining mum about the real reason for O'Dell's departure.

Diebold spokesman Mike Jacobsen would not elaborate on the resignation.

When reached by telephone by The Associated Press, O'Dell said he would not comment about his quitting.

"I wish Diebold well," he said before hanging up.

The new president, Thomas Swidarski, wrote the maximum allowable check to the Bushy/Cheney campaign in 2004. More soon.

Billboard Update

After a journey beginning in North Carolina, we are happy to report that minutes ago, your mobile billboard has entered Ohio's 2nd Congressional District... a full one day early.

We just received a phone call from the driver of the truck and he was happy to report that, "people are staring and pointing wherever it goes." As I type, the billboard is heading to Jean Schmidt's office in Portsmouth before heading to Cincinnati for the reaminder of the evening and a press conference tomorrow morning.

More soon.

About Trolls...

One of the most unexpected things I have encountered since joining the team is how upset people get about "trolls" on the DNC blog. For those that don't know (even my father asked me the other night), the most basic definition of a troll is someone who comes onto the blog and consistently starts arguments to get a rise out of people. Sometimes I'll get upwards of 20 emails a day from people pointing me to comments people have made, or pleas to ban individual users who talk trash about the Democratic Party. Amazingly, I get more emails about that than links to local news stories or blog posts about various topics of the day.

I really hesitated to draft this post, it gives trolls the satisfaction of knowing they are getting to people, but the volume of emails has picked up. If the troll is cursing, or writing personal information about a user, I will zap them, and do it every time. Otherwise, I have two suggestions:

1.) Regardless of what they are saying, or how ridiculous or untrue it is, ignore them.

2.) If you are that outraged, instead of writing to me (which is fine), write a letter to the editor about Samuel Alito, the Patriot Act, Iraq, student loans, or any other topic that interests you.

Over the course of the day I am writing 6 or 7 posts on this blog, reading hundreds of other blogs/newspapers, talking to bloggers in individual states, and in 5 minutes talking with statewide organizers in Alaska about getting an online network set up.

In the relatively near future, we will have a self-moderating function built into the blog where individual users can down-rate comments and trolls can be blasted into oblivion because of the collective agreement of the community (much like Kos currently has).

I hope this helps.

Thanks!

Tim

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

What Andrew said.

December 13, 2005

Tuesday Night Open Thread

Survey USA released their latest 50 state tracking poll. This time, it's all 100 United States Senators. How is yours doing?

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

We're in Chicago today for a round of fundraisers and meetings - you know, the usual fare. But when one of our meetings cancelled on us, the Gov took the opportunity to get back to his medical roots and we dropped by a local children's hospital to say hello.

The Gov paid a visit to some kids who probably needed a little cheer around this time of the year and was given a quick tour of some of the facilities, inlcuding sitting in to watch some brain surgery. (I'm told the brain surgery was not on a republican lawmaker - although some would argue that it should be.) For some of the doctors it was quite a surprise to see Dr. Howard Dean walking around the premises.

It was a short visit, but a fun one nonetheless. When one of the doctors asked if the Governor still stays active in the medical field he replied "I haven't practiced medicine in 13 years. I wouldn't want to be my first patient!"

'The DeLay Effect'

Rampant corruption among Republican leaders in Congress -- including, but not limited to, disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay -- is starting to take its toll:

GOP media strategist Patrick Hynes has a scoop today about Republican internal polling numbers from House swing districts that show the Tom DeLay scandal and the Democratic drumbeat about a "culture of corruption" on Capitol Hill is having a very negative effect on the GOP candidates.

According to the polling: "No fewer than four Republican members of Congress in 'vulnerable' seats have received recent internal polling data that shows 'a Tom DeLay effect' that appears to give 'any Democrat' on the ballot question an average of 10 percentage points against the incumbent."

Hynes also reports "these polls came up at a recent House Republican Conference meeting, with a number of members expressing serious alarm about the GOP’s prospects in 2006."

It seems even DeLay's lackey's in the House are beginning to realize that if they hope to be reelected the corrupt status quo in the Republican leadership is unsustainable.

Bush Numbers Slide - Still No Plan on Iraq

Walking around D.C. this past weekend, I half expected confetti to come streaming out of RNC headquarters and a spontaneous parade to break out down First Street. You probably heard the good news trumpeted on every cable news channel and Sunday talk show -- the president's approval rating was at forty percent! Without minimum expectations, I suppose they would have nothing to shoot for. But the talking point touting a temporary rebound hid the real news inside those polls. Specifically, seventy percent of Americans believe President Bush has no plan for Iraq.

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Dec. 2-6, 2005. 1,155 Adults. MoE +/- 3%

"Do you think that George W. Bush has developed a clear plan for getting American troops out of Iraq, or hasn't he developed one yet?"

Hasn't Developed One Yet: 70%
Has a Clear Plan: 25%
Unsure: 5%

Further, they masked where the real division on Iraq lies--within the Republican Party.

"From what you have seen or heard about the situation in Iraq, what should the United States do now? Should the U.S. increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, keep the same number of U.S. troops in Iraq as there are now, or decrease the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, or remove all its troops from Iraq?"

Democrats:
Decrease/Remove All: 76%
Increase/Keep Same: 19%

Republicans:
Decrease/Remove All: 41%
Increase/Keep Same: 53%

But another day, and a new set of polls emerge that once again show the president's approval rating slipping, this time into the thirties. Zogby International:

President Bush’s job approval rating languishes under 40%, despite an upturn in the economy and a public relations onslaught defending the role of the U.S. military in rebuilding Iraq, a new telephone poll by Zogby International shows.

Just 38% of Americans said they approve of the job the President is doing, down from 41% in a national Zogby America survey conducted last month.

The survey showed Mr. Bush is most popular in the western United States, where 46% approve of the job he is doing, and the South, where 44% approve. Just 28% in the East and 37% in the Midwest and Great Lakes states give him good marks.

Like a bad game of Chutes and Ladders, the numbers slide and rise over time with the "chutes" getting the better part of the "ladder" more often than not in 2005. One thing does remain constant however, most Americans consistently believe the president has no plan in Iraq. This time, CNN/Gallup:

Despite a series of recent speeches spelling out the administration's policies on Iraq, the majority of Americans in a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said they do not believe President Bush has a plan that will achieve victory in Iraq.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Bush doesn't have a clear plan on Iraq, compared to 38 percent who said they believe Bush does have a plan for victory.

Quick! Time to produce another web ad.

WI-Gov: Dems Lead in Wisconsin As Well

On the heels of the latest Q-Poll showing Democratic Governor Ed Rendell handily leading all comers in Pennsylvania, there is good news from Wisconsin as well this afternoon.

Rasmussen. 500 Likely Voters. 12/7/2005. MoE +/- 4.5%

Jim Doyle (D): 48%
Scott Walker (R): 37%
Other: 4%
Not Sure: 11%

Jim Doyle (D): 45%
Mark Green (R): 39%
Other: 5%
Not Sure: 10%

The incumbent governor enjoys an approval ratings of fifty-six percent.

Ohio House Bill 3 Slated for Vote Today

As the Ohio State Senate votes today on House Bill 3, Iraq War veteran and State Representative John Boccieri had this to say:

My name is State Representative John Boccieri (D-New Middletown) and I’m a legislator near Youngstown. I’m also a C-130 pilot who returned from my last rotation a few weeks ago in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and my unit will be demobilized this month.

As I return to the Statehouse and my legislative duties, I’m so disgusted to be met with the majority party’s answer for election reform. I flew the Iraqi Governing Council, members of our military who specialize in International Elections, and private groups who were fighting to ensure there were fair and safe elections in Iraq and the Middle East. Little did I know that upon my return we would have to fight for fair and safe elections here in the Midwest.

Is it ironic that we would spend so much time and money ensuring Iraqis’ had the unfettered opportunity to vote, yet we would create barriers to access Democracy here in the U.S.?

We flew election ballots into Baghdad under armed guards, yet after reading The Conyers Report “What Went Wrong in Ohio” by Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), it appears that there were systemic problems with ensuring the safety and integrity of our own voting processes.

The legislation floating through the General Assembly is designed to frustrate and selectively disenfranchise citizens in this state from voting.

For example, my 82 year old great aunt votes regularly, and she doesn’t drive nor does she have a state driver’s license. She will be restricted from voting if this legislation passes because she doesn’t have a driver’s license or another picture ID. Even if she did have a license, if she had to move to a nursing home and her address didn’t match the license, she would be unable to cast a provisional ballot. Worse yet, if she became disabled and couldn’t sign her own name at the local board of elections, she would have to execute a power of attorney in order to vote.

Funny thing - all the Iraqis had to do was dip their finger in ink.

I put my life on the line and went to Iraq because my country asked me too, and the very freedoms we are attempting to deliver in Iraq are being challenged here in Ohio.

The Republican candidate for Secretary of State Representative Jim Trakas said that “Democracy shouldn’t be easy,” during the Ohio House debate on election reform. It is clear to me that if we don’t stand up and fight for our own freedoms and rights, they will erode slowly by apathy created from a sense of inability to change our political landscape.

I will fight this legislation and any other attempt to restrict our freedoms and I need your help too.

There is still plenty of time for Ohioans to sign the petition.

Integrity

Associated Press:

In a year filled with political wrangling, natural disasters and pop culture curiosities, Americans turned to Merriam-Webster to help define it all.

Filibuster. Refugee. Tsunami. Each was among the dictionary publisher's 10 most frequently looked-up words among about seven million users of its online site.

But topping the list is a word that some say gives insight into the country's collective concern about its values: integrity.

ABC News:

With a flurry of corruption indictments and related plea agreements threatening to become a storm, Congress is feeling the heat on ethics reform.

Criminal investigations in Texas, California, and Florida are shining a bright light on standards of conduct in Congress, helping sink public confidence in the institution to its lowest point in more than a decade.

Congress is responding. After partisan fights kept it dormant for much of the 109th Congress, the House ethics committee resumes work next month.

Meanwhile, four House Democrats last week proposed a package of reforms to help protect the integrity of the Congress. These include a ban on lobbyist-sponsored travel and lobbying on the floor of the House by former members to "make it harder for lobbyists to put their fingers on the legislative scales." [...]

Two prominent GOP House members have already been indicted: former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) of Texas for alleged money laundering, and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R) of California, who has pleaded guilty to bribery. But the broadening investigation into the activities of former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to implicate at least a half-dozen more lawmakers, including Rep. Bob Ney (R) of Ohio.

So far it is Democrats in the House introducing a plan to curtail the culture of corruption in Washington D.C. The article notes that "congress" is responding, but it will be interesting to see what Republicans side with their integrity-challenged leadership, and who sides with the people of the United States.

The Truth About Samuel Alito

From an email sent out moments ago by DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon -- Tim

In a few weeks confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito will begin in the Senate. Already serious questions are being raised about his record on important matters such as civil rights. As disturbing facts continue to emerge about Alito, Republicans in the Senate flip-flop on whether every nominee deserves an up or down vote - on one hand they were for it, but when extremist Republican activists soured on Harriet Miers, they decided they were against it. Now that the rightwing is popping Champagne corks for Samuel Alito, they are for it once again.

Keep in mind that the Alito nomination has already failed in one regard -- George Bush hoped it would help push his failure in Iraq off the front page. While this administration's botched management in Iraq has rightfully remained front and center, some disturbing trends have emerged around Alito's record.

You can use our simple letter to the editor tool to spread the word in your community:

http://www.democrats.org/alitoletters

Here are the facts. When Alito was nominated for his present job on the Court of Appeals, he made a pledge to the U.S. Senate that he would recuse himself from cases where he had a personal interest. On multiple occasions Alito has broken that pledge.

He broke his pledge in 1995 when he ruled on a case that involved his sister's law firm. And he broke his pledge in 2002 when he ruled on a case involving an investment firm where he had a six-figure personal investment.

Still more disturbing has been the series of shifting excuses for these serious ethical lapses. In the case of the investment firm, Alito's sponsors in the White House first claimed that a computer glitch failed to alert Judge Alito of the conflict. When that excuse began to be scrutinized, the explanation suddenly shifted, with administration officials arguing on his behalf that Alito didn't need to recuse himself after all.

Americans deserve a Supreme Court Justice who doesn't need a computer to tell the difference between right and wrong. You can make sure that your local paper covers these lapses and gives Alito's credibility a serious examination by writing a letter to the editor:

http://www.democrats.org/alitoletters

And it does not stop there. On a job application for a position in the Reagan administration, Alito pointed to his membership in an organization known as the Concerned Alumni of Princeton. During his time at Princeton and when he was still promoting his membership over a decade later, this group made its name fighting integration of women and minorities on campus.

While his job application clearly points out his membership in this organization, he has now reversed course -- his response to questions from Senators last month was, "I have no recollection of being a member or attending meetings."

A person seeking a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court must be upfront and honest with the Senate -- and with the American people.
Samuel Alito has a lot to answer for -- and your letter right now can set the stage for his hearings and ensure that the American people finally get the truth:

http://www.democrats.org/alitoletters

Thank you,

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

P.S. -- Last Friday I wrote to you about a sickening video the Republican National Committee put up on its web site. In response, ordinary people across the country raised over $100,000 for the Democratic Party over the weekend -- taking their attack and turning it into a Democratic victory. Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats on the Sunday political shows called on the RNC to remove the video from its web site. Thank you for getting the word out.

PA-Sen & Gov: Casey/Rendell Lead Challengers

A new Quinnipiac poll released this morning shows Democrat Bob Casey holding a wide lead over incumbent Senator Rick Santorum. Incumbent Governor Ed Rendell enjoys double digit leads over all potential challengers and saw his approval numbers reach their highest level since the start of the year.

Quinnipiac. 11/30/2005 to 12/6/2005. 1,447 Pennsylvania Voters. MoE +/- 2.6% (Trends in parentheses)

PA-Gov

Ed Rendell (D): 48% (47)
Bill Scranton (R): 36% (34)

Ed Rendell (D): 48% (47)
Lynn Swann (R): 35% (34)

Ed Rendell (D): 52% (52)
Jeff Piccola (R): 27% (26)

Ed Rendell (D): 53% (53)
Jeff Panyard (R): 24% (23)

PA-Sen

Bob Casey Jr (D): 50% (52)
Rick Santorum (R): 38% (34)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Enjoy.

December 12, 2005

Monday Night Open Thread

Required Viewing: Congressman Murtha's response to President Bush's speech this morning in Philadelphia. Via Crooks & Liars.

Enjoy the evening, and please refrain from acknowledging the trolls. If someone has reasonable disagreement, that's terrific--we actually welcome that in the Democratic Party. If someone is posting threats and cursing, they'll be banned.

Off The Radar... Literally

With the media a-twitter over the RNC's use of the web to discuss national priorities, it's easy to gloss over what has been forgotten. The day was September 14, 2005 and President Bush suffered a 39% approval rating in response to Hurricane Katrina. So he set out to address the nation and pledged national support to a wounded city.

And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know there is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

Since then... silence at best. At worst, complete neglect and total apathy. Inter-mixed with a discussion of the RNC's poorly produced web ad on yesterday's Meet the Press, Washington Post reporter Mike Allen had this to say:

The president stood in New Orleans and said it was going to be one of the largest reconstruction efforts in the history of the world. You go to the White house home page, there’s Barney camp, there’s Social Security, there’s Renewing Iraq. Where’s renewing New Orleans? A presidential advisor told me that issue has fallen so far off the radar screen, you can’t find it.

The RNC's homepage is no different. New Orleans? Pfft. You won't even find a mention of the city of New Orleans -- not even a hint.

From the New York Times:

The price tag for protection against a Category 5 hurricane, which would involve not just stronger and higher levees but also new drainage canals and environmental restoration, would very likely run to well over $32 billion. That is a lot of money. But that starting point represents just 1.2 percent of this year's estimated $2.6 trillion in federal spending, which actually overstates the case, since the cost would be spread over many years. And it is barely one-third the cost of the $95 billion in tax cuts passed just last week by the House of Representatives.

Priorities.

Priorities

New York Times:

The rumbling from Washington that the proposed cost of better levees is too much has grown louder. Pretending we are going to do the necessary work eventually, while stalling until the next hurricane season is upon us, is dishonest and cowardly. Unless some clear, quick commitments are made, the displaced will have no choice but to sink roots in the alien communities where they landed.

The price tag for protection against a Category 5 hurricane, which would involve not just stronger and higher levees but also new drainage canals and environmental restoration, would very likely run to well over $32 billion. That is a lot of money. But that starting point represents just 1.2 percent of this year's estimated $2.6 trillion in federal spending, which actually overstates the case, since the cost would be spread over many years. And it is barely one-third the cost of the $95 billion in tax cuts passed just last week by the House of Representatives.

All the grand promises made under the temporary lights at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans appear to have truly fallen "so far off the radar screen, you can't find it."

When You Wish Upon a Democrat

After a few days in 30 degree weather in New York City last week, I was really looking forward to our two days in Orlando for the Florida State Democratic Party Conference. Apparently, the Democrats in Florida were really looking forward to seeing us as well.

The staff told me that they expected this to be the largest conference in Florida history and were bracing for approximately 3,000 delegates from across the Sunshine State.

Close to 1,000 people packed the ballroom at the Contemporary Resort at Disney World to hear Gov Dean, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Governor Tom Vilsack speak about the need to re-elect Sen. Bill Nelson and put a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion.

Gov Vilsack had the best line of the night. "I'm looking forward to Reggie Bush winning the Heisman trophy because it will be the first time a Bush has won something with all of the votes counted."

There was a guy dressed in a Santa suit and when I asked him why he was wearing the outfit he replied: "I want to deliver a Democratic victory to Floridians in 2006." Ho, Ho, Ho!

In Case You Missed It...

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press this weekend...

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Graham, I want to clean something up, from The Greenville News, February 24, 2003, this is Lindsey Graham talking. "[Lindsey Graham] cited 'direct, substantial and unequivocal evidence that (Saddam) is supporting the al-Qaida murderers who plotted the September 11 attacks ... Saddam is an imminent threat.'"

Do you still stand by both of those comments? That Saddam supported the al-Qaeda murderers who plotted September 11th, and, two, he was an imminent threat?

Keep reading "In Case You Missed It..."

Ohio House Bill 3 Petition

There is a true grassroots effort afoot in the Buckeye State opposing Ohio House Bill 3 (HB-3). Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, is asking Ohioans to sign a petition in opposition to the vote supression bill.

SIGN JENNIFER BRUNNER'S PETITION

Ohio Blogs Joining In:

Brewed Fresh Daily
Toledo City Councilman Frank Szollosi
Buckeye Politics
OH-2 Blog
Plunderbund

From the petition:

[HB-3] will mandate that voters present an ID before voting. Voters without ID will be forced to vote a provisional ballot that may not be counted.

Fill out this petition and we will deliver it to Governor Bob Taft and tell him to veto this bill.

Dear Governor Taft,

Please veto House Bill 3. It will create longer lines at the polls, put my personal information at risk, and disenfranchise thousands of Ohio voters.

This is a voter discrimination bill.

If you are from Ohio -- Sign It.

More Billboards

More from the "retreat and defeat" crowd.

Flip-Flopping Frist

As the Alito hearings approach you can expect a lot more disingenuous repetition of the "up or down vote" talking points. For example, here's Republican Leader Bill Frist on the GOP-friendly airwaves of Fox News yesterday:

FRIST: So I think it would be unconscionable — I think it would be wrong — I think it would be against the intent of the founding fathers and our Constitution to deny Sam Alito an up or down vote on the floor of the United States Senate.

I have stood from day one on principle that these Supreme Court justices — nominees deserve an up or down vote, and it would be absolutely wrong to deny him that. And that's what the constitutional option is. You used the words nuclear option, and that — you can use that...

WALLACE: We have a flair for the dramatic.

FRIST: That's exactly right.

There you have Frist invoking principle, his conscience, and the Founding Fathers in defense of the up or down vote. He's so on-message he even works in the nonsensical "constitutional option", a construct of the pseudo-Soviet language police who help write the Republican talking points -- which is apparently too ridiculous even for certain Fox News anchors to adopt. (People who aren't mouthing talking points or who are otherwise normal call it the "nuclear option" -- an unprecedented effort by the Republican leadership to end the right to filibuster judicial nominees.)

So where was Frist when extremist Republican groups engineered a smear campaign against the first nominee to replace Justice O'Connor and sought to deny Harriet Miers an up or down vote?

"I look forward with anticipation to the president naming the next nominee quickly." -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee

How long will the media let Republican leaders distort reality? Which outlet is going to step up and refuse to let Frist and the others parrot this ridiculous line in their pages or on their airwaves?

The Back Burner

Keeping America Safe

From a presidential address earlier this year:

But I sit at this magnificent desk. It's a desk that was used by President Roosevelt and President Kennedy and President Reagan. And I read threats to the United States of America. Every morning, I'm reminded that my most important job is to make our country secure; is to protect the homeland of the United States of America. And that's what I want to talk to you all about today -- how best to protect the homeland.

Chairman of the 9/11 Commission and former Republican Governor Thomas Kean:

Despite some progress on homeland security, the issue isn't on the national front burner.

"It's not a priority for the government," complained Thomas Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey and co-chair of the panel. "A lot of things we need to do to prevent another 9/11 just simply aren't being done by the president or by the Congress."

Katrina

President Bush:

And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know there is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

Meet The Press Yesterday:

The last time the president was in the hurricane region was October 11, two months ago. The president stood in New Orleans and said it was going to be one of the largest reconstruction efforts in the history of the world. You go to the White house home page, there’s Barney camp, there’s Social Security, there’s Renewing Iraq. Where’s renewing New Orleans? A presidential advisor told me that issue has fallen so far off the radar screen, you can’t find it.

Lessons Learned from 9/11

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

While President Bush paints Iraq as the central front in the war on terror, the former members of the 9/11 Commission say the government isn't doing enough to protect us from another attack at home.

The bipartisan panel issued a shocking report card last week on the government's response to 41 recommendations the commission made in July 2004.

They released a set of "grades," A to F, to track the progress of many of the recommendations made.

The government earned five F's, 12 D's, two incompletes and only one high grade (an A-minus for blocking terrorist financing).

Even more unsettling were the emotions panelists displayed about the gaps in security precautions. "Are we crazy?" demanded Jim Thompson, former Republican governor of Illinois. "Why aren't our tax dollars being spent to protect our lives?"

Grade Point Average: .88 on a four point scale.

Getting Active in Florida

From The Ledger:

United in their hunger to win next year, Democrats sought the right blend of symbolism and style as they met during their annual convention this weekend.

The message: Democratic activists need to knock on doors and reconnect with voters they may have ignored in the past, seizing on those dismayed by post-Katrina failures, the war in Iraq and a steady drip of ethical problems among Republicans.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told more than 1,000 hard-core party members Friday night that they need to interact more within their communities to show disaffected Republicans and independents that Democratic positions are mainstream.

"Personal experience always trumps what the pastor tells you, what the teacher tells you, even what your parents tell you," he said of the need for one-on-one contact. "We are the party of American values standing up for what made America great. . . . The biggest mistake any minority party makes . . . is to try to be like the other party."

In the coming days/weeks we will be unveiling a series of tools for individuals across the country to help inform, mobilize, and organize online and in your local communities -- an Internet component built to achieve offline success. It's all coming together, and just in time for you to make a meaningful impact on the 2006 Midterm Elections. Stay Tuned.

Monday Morning Open Thread

What's going on in your state/local community?

December 9, 2005

Start the Weekend Open Thread

The pollster crafting our blog strategy informed us that my personal favorability rating benefits most by posting open treads at 5:06 P.M. on Fridays. Don't feed the trolls.

They Think You're Stupid

(An email that just went out from Tom McMahon -- Tim)

It's obvious to nearly everyone that Iraq is a mess. Over two-thirds of Americans believe that Republicans have no clear plan for victory and about the same number disapprove of the way the war is being handled. Yet the administration and its increasingly desperate collaborators are determined to cover up their lies, mistakes, mismanagement and corruption.

How desperate are they? We saw a few weeks ago when extremist Republicans called decorated combat veteran and Democratic Congressman Jack Murtha a coward for daring to propose a new plan for Iraq. And today the Republican National Committee hit a new low -- even for them. They released a video that, according to press reports, "shows a white flag waving over images of Democratic leaders."

Iraq is a deadly serious matter. And until Bush administration and Republican collaborators in the media focus on a strategy to actually accomplish our mission there, instead of covering up their failure, it will unfortunately only become deadlier.

It's been nearly three years since we went into Iraq, and things are getting worse, not better. That's why Democrats, independents, and even moderate Republicans are standing up for our troops and saying, "Enough is enough." We need a plan to accomplish our mission in Iraq.

Jack Murtha offered his -- a strategic redeployment to make our forces in the Middle East more effective and get the target off of our troops' backs -- and many Democrats signed on. Meanwhile, a bipartisan coalition of over 70 Senators came together to support a no confidence measure and lay out a plan to make 2006 a transition year in Iraq. No one expects everyone to agree on what the new plan should be, but everyone should agree that we need a new plan. But all the RNC has to offer is an inflammatory video and smearing of its opponents.

How can you stop this sickening behavior? There is only one language Republican leaders understand -- the language of money. It's what their leaders live on -- and what has gotten several of them indicted. If they know that every disingenuous attack means another $100,000 for the Democratic Party, they will think twice about launching them.

You can show them that every attack will only make us stronger. Let's respond in a way Republicans understand -- between now and Monday morning let's raise $100,000 so we can fight in every precinct of every state and tell the American people the truth about Iraq.

As corporate interests have learned, when it comes to getting the Republican leadership's attention, money talks:

http://www.democrats.org/sendamessage

Here is the dirty secret about these so-called web videos: the RNC will spend a tiny amount of money producing a commercial that they know is too negative to air -- it would turn off voters and create a backlash. They also know that without buying even fifteen seconds of airtime, Fox News and other conservative outlets will run these ads repeatedly as a "news report" once it's on their web site.

They know that a move like this is enough get a superficial media establishment and an insular group of beltway insiders worked up over a fake controversy -- and forgetting about the real mess in Iraq.

If they thought this ad would actually convince voters, they would buy airtime. Instead they put it on the web, to try to scare Democrats and certain easily-manipulated members of the press corps from telling the truth about the quagmire Republican leaders have created in Iraq. This is a tired, tired game -- but beltway insiders and complacent reporters fall for it every time.

You can change the story by showing that Democrats won't take these attacks lying down. And you can respond in a way that has real meaning -- putting dollars on the table that will be used to build our party infrastructure in every single state and get out a message of honesty and our plans for a government that works.

When we fight everywhere and speak the truth, we win. It happened when we swept governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey this year, and it will happen when we take back the Senate, the House and governors' mansions across the country next year.

Let's do it.

Thank you,

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

AR-Gov: Changing of the Guard

KTHV TV. 684 Registered Voters. MoE +/- 3.8%

Beebe (D): 49%
Hutchinson (R): 44%
Other: 4%
Undecided: 3%

KTHV TV. 684 Registered Voters. MoE +/- 3.8%

Halter (D): 34%
Hutchinson (R): 56%
Other: 5%
Undecided: 4%

These numbers struck me initially because current, term-limited, Governor Mike Huckabee (R) has an approval rating of 59% in a recent Survey USA poll. Mike Beebe is currently Attorney General and Bill Halter is an ex-Social Security Administration Commissioner. Homeland Security has become a major issue in this race during the past week, given the report released by members of the 9/11 Commission that gave a "failing" grade to the government in taking steps to fix the type of problems that led to September 11, 2001. Republican candidate Asa Hutchinson served as the Undersecretary of Homeland Security and it appears he will be held to account in his current run for governor of Arkansas.

General Peter Feaver the Next Secretary of Defense?

Well, Peter Feaver isn't really a General, he's a pollster. And he really doesn't have any experience war-planning, yet he wrote the "recently declassified" (sounds important!) document, "Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." Which begs the question: What the heck is a pollster doing crafting a strategy for victory in Iraq?

As the GOP's poorly produced "Web/Fox News ad" likes to point out, the troops are watching... I bet they feel much safer now:

Although White House officials said many federal departments had contributed to the document, its relentless focus on the theme of victory strongly reflected a new voice in the administration: Peter D. Feaver, a Duke University political scientist who joined the N.S.C. staff as a special adviser in June and has closely studied public opinion on the war.

Despite the president's oft-stated aversion to polls, Dr. Feaver was recruited after he and Duke colleagues presented the administration with an analysis of polls about the Iraq war in 2003 and 2004. They concluded that Americans would support a war with mounting casualties on one condition: that they believed it would ultimately succeed. [...]

The role of Dr. Feaver in preparing the strategy document came to light through a quirk of technology. In a portion of the document usually hidden from public view but accessible with a few keystrokes, the plan posted on the White House Web site showed the document's originator, or "author" in the software's designation, to be "feaver-p."

According to Matt Rozen, a spokesman for Adobe Systems, which makes the Acrobat software used to prepare the document, that entry indicated that Dr. Feaver created the original document that, with additions and editing, was posted on the Web.

Before the president gave last week's speech from the U.S. Naval Academy, Democratic and Republican Congressmen alike asked him to be more forthcoming about progress made in Iraq and to discuss just how the military was going to meet the challenges that lie ahead. He obviously agreed to do so, and then turned to a pollster to craft his message to the nation.

United Against a Failed "Plan"

There's a CBS/New York Times poll out there getting a good deal of attention currently; you may have heard about it. Republicans are celebrating the fact that the President enjoys an approval rating of 40% among the American public. Now THAT is spin. It seems that without minimum expectations, they would nothing to shoot for now-a-days. But they have to celebrate those results, because the rest of the numbers released in the poll uncover an American public deeply skeptical of the President's "Plan for Victory in Iraq." In fact, it would seem that the vast majority of Americans believe the president has absolutely no plan at all for victory.

CBS News/New York Times Poll. Dec. 2-6, 2005. 1,155 Adults. MoE +/- 3%

"Do you think that George W. Bush has developed a clear plan for getting American troops out of Iraq, or hasn't he developed one yet?"

Hasn't Developed One Yet: 70%
Has a Clear Plan: 25%
Unsure: 5%

Three years, and still no plan. Meanwhile, Democrats are nearly united in the belief that its time for at least some of troops to begin coming home. The division, contrary to mainstream media's "conventional wisdom," is most acute among Republicans.

"From what you have seen or heard about the situation in Iraq, what should the United States do now? Should the U.S. increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, keep the same number of U.S. troops in Iraq as there are now, or decrease the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, or remove all its troops from Iraq?"

Democrats:
Decrease/Remove All: 76%
Increase/Keep Same: 19%

Republicans:
Decrease/Remove All: 41%
Increase/Keep Same: 53%

What's even worse for the President is that the American people have some serious questions about his personal forthrightnes in the run-up to the war.

"Before the war with Iraq, when talking about what he knew about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, do you think George W. Bush was telling the entire truth, was mostly telling the truth but hiding something, or was he mostly lying?"

Entire Truth: 23%
Hiding Something: 45%
Mostly Lying: 25%
Unsure: 7%

"Before the war with Iraq, when talking about what they knew about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, do you think the members of the Bush Administration were telling everything they knew, most of what they knew, hiding important elements of what they knew, or mostly lying?"

Telling Everything/Most: 35%
Hiding Elements/Mostly Lying: 63%

The RNC can make all the poorly produced web-videos they like, and send surrogates out to every corner of the country -- The American people see straight through the spin. Name calling, attempts to confuse the issue, and labeling people as cowards and traitors have no traction while soldiers sacrifice their lives overseas.

Fact is, the president's "Plan for Victory in Iraq" was written by a pollster. They are more concerned with winning over public opinion on the war than taking the time to craft a clear plan for victory in Iraq. "Stay the course is not a plan" -- and the American people aren't buying.

NJ-Sen: Congratulations Representative Menendez

Associated Press:

Rep. Robert Menendez has formally accepted New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine's offer to serve out the remaining year on his Senate term, Democratic congressional aides said.

Corzine will appear with Menendez Friday at 2 p.m. at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., to formally announce his choice, the aides said on Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made.

Corzine had decided on Wednesday to choose Menendez over several other candidates, but he did not formally offer Menendez the job until Thursday night. Corzine was elected governor last month; state law gives the governor the authority to fill Senate vacancies. Corzine's Senate term expires in 2006.

Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, will be the first minority to represent New Jersey in the Senate. Dozens of Hispanic groups lobbied heavily for Corzine to select Menendez. He will join Sens. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. and Mel Martinez, R-Fla. as the Senate's only Hispanics.

The World is Watching

From the front page of the New York Times:

The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials.

The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition.

The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons.

At its simplest, Democrats are united in opposition to torture while the Bush Adminstration has fought anti-torture legislation tooth and nail. Our troops, the country, and the world are watching.

Friday Morning Open Thread

I offer only a deferment to you on what topics interest you this morning.

December 8, 2005

Thursday Night Open Thread

My evening at the office is in its last throes. Remember not to feed the trolls.

Soothsayer

From The New Republic:

February 2003. After Secretary of State Colin Powell made his case for war at the United Nations, most other leading Democrats applauded. Senator Joe Biden called Powell's case "very powerful and, I think, irrefutable." Senator John Kerry called it "compelling." Only Dean dissented. "I heard little today that leads me to believe that there is an imminent threat warranting unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq," he said.

Later that month, Dean warned that the Bush administration was preparing to invade Iraq unilaterally. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay charged that Dean "either doesn't know what he's talking about ... or he's seriously uninformed, or he's just misleading the American people and his party."

And:

June 2003. As reports began to surface that the Bush administration might have misled the country about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, many leading Democrats were hesitant to question the administration's probity. Republicans dismissed any doubts. Senator George Allen asserted, "It's not a question." But Dean said, "We need a thorough look at what really happened going into Iraq. It appears to me that what the president did was make a decision to go into Iraq sometime in early 2002, or maybe even late 2001, and then try to get the justification afterward."

Further:

April 2003. Senator Joe Lieberman declared that the capture of Baghdad and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime vindicated his support for the invasion. "The vindication that I feel is the confidence that with Saddam gone, America's going to be a lot safer than it otherwise would have been," Lieberman said. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said that "it's a continuation of a historic, long-term trend that we stand on the right side."

Once again the dissenter, Dean said, "All these folks who are crowing about their vote and the outcome are going to learn that the occupation will be very difficult." He added, "I'm not a pacifist. We've removed a horrible dictator, but the price we're going to pay is down the road."

"The D.C. definition of a gaffe is when you tell the truth and they think you shouldn't have." Read it--all if it--the whole piece is terrific.

Models of Success

Abroad

From President Bush's speech yeterday:

One of the largest projects was the rebuilding of the Najaf Teaching Hospital, which had been looted and turned into a military fortress by the militia. Thanks to the efforts by Iraqi doctors and local leaders, and with the help of American personnel, the hospital is now open and capable of serving hundreds of patients each day.

From today's New York Times:

President Bush on Wednesday cited a teaching hospital in Najaf as perhaps the top example of a successful rebuilding project in Iraq. Since the American-led attack against local militias leveled large portions of Najaf in August 2004, however, the hospital has been most notable as a place where claims of success have fallen far short of reality.

During two visits to the hospital by reporters for The New York Times over the past year, the most recent in late summer, work on refurbishing it had been limited to largely cosmetic work like new ceilings and lighting and fresh paint. Critical medical equipment was missing and the upper floors remained a chaotic mess.

Numerous Iraqis at the site said the hospital had not been ruined by the militia that occupied it during the 2004 fighting, but instead by looters who entered after the American military left it unguarded after the battle.

At Home

Speech delivered by President Bush at the Timken Company in Ohio (2003):

For the sake of our country, for the sake of the workers of America, Congress needs to pass this jobs growth package soon. (Applause.)

And that's why I thank you for letting me come and talk to you about some of the problems that we face here in America. I appreciate the Timken family for their leadership, their concern about their fellow associates. They're working hard to make sure the future of this company is bright, and therefore, the future of employment is bright for the families that work here, that work to put food on the table for their children.

One Year Later:

Mr. Bush spoke at the plant in April of 2003. The future of the company looked bright for the "families that work here" as Mr. Bush said. Then a strange thing happened.

On May 16, 2004, slightly more than a year after Mr. Bush’s visit, Mr. Timken decided to close the plant in which Mr. Bush spoke and two other Timken plants in the Canton area. [...]

Closing the plant means that 1,300 people who were told by the president one year earlier that they had a bright future now have neither bright future nor jobs.

No Plan at All

From a CBS News Poll:

Does George W. Bush have a plan for victory in Iraq?

Yes: 25%
No: 68%

Does George W. Bush have a plan for bringing the troops home?

Yes: 25%
No: 70%

Does Bush Adminstration have a clear plan to find homes and jobs for [Katrina] victims?

Yes: 20%
No: 66%

Quote:

Although a sizable majority – 79% - of Americans thinks the Bush Administration has no clear plan yet for keeping down the cost of home heating oil and gas, fewer Americans are personally concerned about the cost of heating their homes than were earlier this fall.

HAVA Problem With HB-3 in Ohio?

It wasn't even two months ago Republicans told residents of the Buckeye State there was no reason to enshrine language in the state's Constitution making it easier to vote (State Issue Two). In an attempt to dampen support for the four Reform Ohio Now Amendments, the GOP controlled legislature promised reform that would one day erase the memory of long lines seared into our heads after the 2004 elections.

They won. State Issues 2, 3, 4, and 5 failed by wide margins. True to form, Ohio Republicans just introduced legisation that makes it even harder to vote. From the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Voters would be required to provide formal identification at the polls under proposed legislation being debated this week in the Ohio Senate.

Abrupt, multiple revisions to House Bill 3 drew the ire Tuesday of the Ohio League of Women Voters and several public-advocacy groups. [...]

"There are some significant travesties," said Samuel Gresham of Common Cause Ohio. He recalled long lines to vote in inner cities and on college campuses during last year's vote for president. "People will be frustrated and go home. We must find a way to streamline that process."

In testimony Tuesday to the Senate Rules Committee, Catherine Turcer, legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action, also expressed her concerns about new obstacles to registering voters.

In addition to the new requirements necessary to cast a ballot, language included in the bill threatens individuals who conduct petition and voter registration drives. In response three Senate Democrats, Assistant Minority Leader Kimberly Zurz, Minority Whip Teresa Fedor and Assistant Minority Whip Robert F. Hagan, walked out of the debate yesterday evening in a show of protest.

Unfortunately, the Ohio Republican Party will do what it does best in these situations: take legislation clearly not in the best interest of Ohioans across the state, and ram it down the throat of the minority party. With scandal, ethics, and a criminally convicted Governor hanging around the neck of the Ohio GOP, using the legislature to limit access to the polls in 2006, 2008, and beyond is now a statewide campaign strategy.

Happy Birthday Duke Cunningham!

The GOP sends their best...

For those of you with a calendar handy, here are some other important birthdays:

Tom DeLay: April 8
Bob Ney: July 5
Conrad Burns: January 25
Scooter Libby: August 22
Richard Pombo: January 8
Dana Rohrabacher: June 21

Is it Already Thursday Morning Open Thread

Don't feed the trolls.

December 7, 2005

Open Thread: 100,000 Comments Edition

MacMan was comment 100,000 since we switched systems in late June. Thanks, guys.

Lamar Discourages Negative Advertising...

...remember? They turned down your billboard 48 hours after they received the artwork and 24 hours after the contract was signed. You might recall they did so because they deemed the ads "negative," and they don't run negative ads. Except, it would seem, in special circumstances:

State Blogs and the Washington Democratic Party

As part of the "50 State Strategy," the organizers from individual states hired by the DNC make the journey to D.C. for a series of training sessions. They normally come in groups of three or four--last month, it was Utah, Indiana, Alaska, and New Hampshire. The sessions are distributed over the course of two very long days, and include an opportunity for the Internet team (normally Josh or Joe) to head down and talk about using their own website, email, and blogs as an organizational tool.

The organizers from Washington arrived last night, and they asked to spend a bit of time talking with the Internet team, apart from the standard class, about the use of blogs--both internally on their own website, and externally on blogs both in their own state and nationally. Naturally, we agreed to spend the time with them.

The point of this entry isn't so much to praise the Washington Democrats for their desire to learn more than most organizers inquire about, but to ask you what you look for in terms of online two-way communication with your state party. Of course, if something big is happening in your state, we are going to write about it here on the DNC site. But at the same time, the DNC is a national organization, and will never be able to pump out as much local information about individual states as the organizers on the ground will. So, the floor is open, and the questions are:

Does your state party have a blog on its website? How do they use it well? What would you like to see them do differently? And finally, what kind of content would you like to see that would keep you coming back on your state party's blog?

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Top of it to you. Here are last night's special election results from CA-48:

Campbell (R): 44.7%
Young (D): 28%
Gilchrist (I): 25.1%
Tirilli (G): 1.3%
Cohen (L): 0.9%

December 6, 2005

CA-48 Special Election Thread

View the results here.

Open Thread: Flashback Edition in Video

Ahhh, the memories...in text:

President Bush, in an interview broadcast on Monday, said he did not think America could win the war on terror but that it could make terrorism less acceptable around the world, a departure from his previous optimistic statements that the United States would eventually prevail.

You can relive the magic moment...in video as well. And I thought an elephant and its noise machine never forgets. Go figure.

GOP Phony Outrage

I haven't seen this much feigned outrage since Bill O'Reilly's imaginary "War on Christmas" (as he simultaneously sold apparently dangerous "holiday ornaments" on the "Factor" website). But that was yesterday, and today brings a new attempt by the Republican Party to muddy the discussion about their failed leadership in Iraq. GOP Chairman Ken Mehlman's latest target: Governor Howard Dean.

Howard Dean is the latest national Democrat leader to embrace retreat and defeat in the central front in the War on Terror. His outrageous prediction sends the wrong message to our troops, the enemy, and the Iraqi people just 10 days before historic elections. Democrats across the nation should stand up and reject the pessimism of their chairman and strategy of defeat by their Congressional leaders.

Talking about a strategic redeployment of National Guard troops that shouldn't even be there in the first place sends exactly the right message to the troops -- that Democratic leadership will defend our security without abusing or misusing our military. Failing to properly equip our service members with the necessary body armor to keep them as safe as possible sends the wrong message to the troops. Cutting veterans benefits while we are at war sends the wrong message to the troops. Forcing wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital to pay for their own meals sends the wrong message to the troops.

Further, failing to convict any high-level officers for the embarassment at Abu Ghraib sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people. Transporting suspects across the globe to Soviet-era secret prisons in Eastern Europe sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people. Paying newspapers to plant positive stories in Iraq sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people.

And frankly, diverting the necessary resources and personnel to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden sends the wrong message to everyone: our troops, the Iraqi people, our enemies, and the American people.

If the Republican Party wants to start sending the right message to the parties Ken Mehlman cites above, he'll drop the tired and stale fake outrage, the stereotying, and sewing the division they thrive off of and have a real debate about Iraq.

Theirs is a party with a public relations ploy in place of a military and diplomatic strategy in the Middle East. Democrats are talking about alternatives to the failed leadership of President Bush in Iraq; a plan that includes bringing home the National Guard, strategically redeploying our military assets in the region, and keeping a sizable force with strike capabilities on the horizon as the Iraqi people begin the process of self-governance.

Governor Dean Audio Interview

The Governor sat down to discuss the Democratic agenda and strategy with Shripal Shah -- audio link here.

Special Election Tonight in California

Tonight's the night for the special election in California's 48th Congressional District. The seat became vacant when Representative Chris Cox accepted an appointment as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Steve Young is the Democrat in the race:

Listen to Governor Dean's "robo call" in support of Steve Young (Link).

Participate in the virtual phone bank for Steve Young (Link).

Visit Steve Young's campaign website (Link).

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

And to all of you I say... Good Morning!

December 5, 2005

TX-22: Constituents Ready To Vote Out DeLay

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. 803 Adults (713 Registered Voters). December 1-4, 2005. MoE +/- 4%

If Tom DeLay runs for re-election in 2006, in general, are you more likely to vote for the Republican candidate Tom DeLay or for the Democratic Party's candidate for Congress?

Tom DeLay: 36%
The Democrat: 49%

Voters' Opinion of Tom DeLay:

Favorable: 37%
Unfavorable: 52%
Unfamiliar: 11%

Based on what you have heard or read, do you think the charges against DeLay are definitely true, probably true, probably not true, or definitely not true?

Definitely True: 15%
Probably True: 40%
Probably False: 26
Definitely False: 8%

Nick Lampson is the likely challenger to Tom DeLay in TX-22.

Open Thread: Flashback Edition

Ahhh, the memories:

President Bush, in an interview broadcast on Monday, said he did not think America could win the war on terror but that it could make terrorism less acceptable around the world, a departure from his previous optimistic statements that the United States would eventually prevail.

From am August 31, 2004 NY Times article entitled: "Bush Cites Doubt America Can Win War on Terror"

Ohio State Representative Boccieri on Schmidt/Lamar

Portsmouth Daily Times:

Ohio Rep. John Boccieri, D-Youngstown, said Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, insulted all veterans last month during a Congressional debate over the Iraqi War.

“When you call one veteran a coward, you call every veteran a coward,” he said on Sunday in front of Schmidt's Chillicothe Street office. “I was personally offended by that remark, and I don't think there was enough of an apology. I have a message for Jean Schmidt - you're not sending the right message to the troops.”

Boccieri continued in a release:

I'm disappointed in Lamar Advertising. While our troops are supposedly fighting for Democracy in the Middle East we have such a confining view of Democracy here in the Mid-West. While our troops are supposedly fighting for freedom of speech in Iraq it is apparent we have to fight for it still here in America.

State Representative Boccieri is another in a growing list of "Fighting Democrats." As a C-130 pilot, he spent last year flying in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan transporting supplies and personnel.

CA-48: Special Election Tomorrow Night!

Back in June, President Bush tapped Republican Congressman Chris Cox (CA-48) as the next SEC Chairman, setting up a special election that has sparked a good deal of national interest. There are two things that have made this special election so...special. First, Democrats have a tremendous candidate in Steve Young, who fought his way through a heavily contested primary to earn a slot on tomorrow's ballot. Second, Independent candidate and anti-immigration extremist James Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, is one of five candidates up for election.

The district is reliably Republican-leaning and includes Orange County, California. However, with Gilchrist and the Republican nominee Campbell splitting the traditional GOP vote, Young has a great opportunity to sneak up the middle and steal a victory. Further, we all learned while wathcing the special election in OH-2 earlier this year that Democrats who present a powerful vision for the future and message of progress can compete anywhere in the country, regardless of past electoral outcomes in those districts.

There's about 36 hours left to go until the polls close in California. Steve Young's campaign has included online opportunities for anyone in the country to get involved in a meaningful way (ie. virtual phone bank). DavidNYC provides a terrific rundown of ways to get involved in the final hours.

Your Billboard in the News

The Associated Press:

An advertising company that gives most of its political donations to Republicans blocked the Democratic National Committee from putting up billboards criticizing GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt of Ohio.

Lamar Advertising Co. of Baton Rouge, La., refused to put up two billboards in Portsmouth, Ohio, and another in Cincinnati with a picture of Schmidt and the following message: "Shame on you, Jean Schmidt: Stop attacking veterans. Keep your eye on the ball - we need a real plan for Iraq."

The billboards are the result of 7,000 donations, DNC executive director Tom McMahon said, after Schmidt attacked Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat and Marine veteran, for his call for withdrawal from Iraq. Schmidt was booed off the House floor two weeks ago when she said "cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Google News shows 46 related articles on the web about Lamar Advertising's rejection of your billboard--that's quite a bit of press. Many of the papers/stations covering the story are from Ohio as well. Malia Rulon wrote a terrific piece about the refusal for the largest newspaper in Jean Schmidt's district, The Cincinnati Enquirer.

More From the 2005 Fall Meeting

DNC Member Jenny Greenleaf did a fantastic job cataloging the events from the past week in a series of diaries over at MyDD.

Yes, The DNC Does Notice!

DNC Meeting in Phoenix, Part 3

DNC Meeting in Phoenix, Part 2

DNC Meeting in Phoenix, Part 1

Blogging the DNC Meeting

It was only three years ago that Jenny Greenleaf started as a precinct committee person -- just last Friday, she was elected Secretary of the Western Caucus for the DNC.

WA-Sen: Cantwell Holding Steady

For the second time in less than a month, incumbent Washington Senator Maria Cantwell holds a 15 point lead over Republican rival Mike McGavick.

Rasmussen Reports. 500 Likely Voters. November 30, 2005. MoE +/- 4.5%

Cantwell (D): 52%
McGavick (R): 37%
Other: 2%
Not Sure: 9%

The poll also showed Cantwell with a 60% approval rating--a very good sign for the incumbent heading into her campaign for re-election to the United States Senate next November.

Monday Morning Open Thread

Happy Monday. Have at it!

December 3, 2005

Democrats Meet in Phoenix

As most of you know, this weekend was the DNC's Fall Meeting. After being rescheduled because of Hurricane Katrina, Democrats from across the country were able to get together in Phoenix, AZ to continue working for 2006, 2008 and beyond. Joe Rospars, the Internet Director here at the DNC, went to Phoenix to help make the event more accessible to the millions of Democrats who couldn't make it. After all, this your Party, and those in Phoenix are there fighting to make this country better for all of us.

As people find free time between the various meetings and sessions, Joe's been grabbing them and asking them to write a bit about their experience. We've archived everything sent to us here, so you can easily browse through all of it. The message below, from Debbie Marquez of Colorado, came to us last night after she spoke to the Hispanic Caucus for the first time.

Debbie Marquez is a DNC Committeewoman from Colorado and the first Latina elected from Colorado. She lives in Edwards, Colorado (in the mountains, near Vail, in Eagle County) where she owns a very successful Mexican restaurant with her Sister. She is a long time Democratic activists and has an 8 year old daughter who she plans to bring along to the 2008 DNC convention.

I was very nervous at the podium, speaking to a mic, in front of the room, for the first time at the DNC Hispanic Caucus. I was here to propose the resolution. Reading from a document full of "Wherases and Therefores".Trying to summarize so I can quickly get to the "Be It Resolved".

I remembered to breathe. My voice didn't crack. I paused when I needed to. And the silence was ok. No one yelled and said 'Come on - get with it.!' In fact the pause that seemed much too long to me was in retrospect only a few seconds. I did it! I presented, they voted and the Democrats are going to oppose the Colorado Anti-Immigration Initiative. I accomplished my goal. Si Se Puede!

I felt it was most appropriate that we passed this today - the anniversary of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. So today I asked and received support of the party of civil rights and human rights - the party of the people. The party of my people. Our people. The Democrats whose leader, Howard Dean is known for doing what's right, not just what's popular. Today just might be a magical day for activism.

Then our Caucus went further than I expected or prayed for. They created a task force to formalize a plan to create and raise money to nip the Colorado initiative before it spreadslike a plague to the rest of the country. Here I was, new DNC member, not only getting a resolution passed, but inspiring my caucus. A caucus that is full of experts who have probably won more elections than I will ever vote in!

I get some "congrats" and "good jobs" as I leave. (Did they not detect my nerves?!) Now we need to pass the resolution at the executive committee level. A member of the caucus from the executive committee takes me - the new kid on the block - to the big meeting room. A meeting that begins in ten minutes. How many copies will we need? Do I have time to run to get the doc on my computer? Are there any legal - or rules - hurdles that haven't been considered? These are the thoughts going through my mind as we walk into the meeting room.

We find a DNC staff person stapling copies of the resolution! "They have it done!" goes through my mind. Whew! I relax and think that maybe we'll get this passed.

Governor Dean, who has been saying at almost every group he spoke to that we can't be fooled by these type of bills that are put on the ballots to divide the party. I think it was he who also says something like "This kind of legislation has the fingerprints of Tom Tancredo all over it." He calls for a vote, the resolution passes. Unanimous again!

I high-five to the executive members who presented the resolution. I am feeling real good that I made the decision to bring this to the DNC this week. (Even though some said to wait until the April meeting. What? And miss 5 months of campaigning? Miss the Colorado caucuses?)

Tomorrow we present to the full membership. I think it will be like presenting to Congress since there are about the same number of people on the DNC. I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. But I remind myself that today I accomplished the Jean Yancey motto that I strive to live by. She always said, "Ladies, let's go out and make a difference." I add, "Because, It's the Right thing to do!"

December 2, 2005

Propaganda Company Founded by Major Republican Donor

Within many of the recent news reports about the U.S. military paying for propaganda to run in Iraqi newspapers was a paragraph like this, which appeared in the L.A. Times...

The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets.

In essence, the military was laundering the information through a firm to "mask any connection with the U.S. military." Sounds logical, but was that the only reason? The Project on Government Oversight has this, which makes you wonder if masking connections was the only reason...

Today, Senator John Warner (R-VA) visited the Pentagon to find out why contractor Lincoln Group has been hired to pay off media outlets to place positive news articles in Iraq. What the White House probably won't be looking into is how a tiny little-known start up named the Lincoln Group landed more than $100 million in Defense Department contracts which led, in part, to the news buys.

In August, 2004, the New York Times captured the Lincoln Group's young founder, Christian Bailey, on camera at a Republican National Convention event where he talked about the importance of cultivating the next generation of donors to the Republican Party: "These are going to be the big supporters, the big donors to the Republican Party in five years' time." Bailey was co-chair of an event for the organization known as Lead21, which claims to be an organization which promotes "political involvement for business leaders." But, from the looks of their web site, Lead21 is only interested in Republican political involvement. Government Executive notes that some of Bailey's political activities have been taken down from the web in recent months.

More from Phoenix

This short post comes from Jennifer Paun, a member of the Young Democrats or America who is attending the DNC's 2005 Fall Meeting in Phoenix...

My name is Jennifer Paun and a member of the Young Democrats of America and student of Boston College. I am attending the DNC conference as a guest. Within the YDA, I am head of the disabilities group within North East region. I participate actively in political campaigns both locally and nationally.

I believe this conference for me is a wonderful opportunity to network and have an active voice within the political process. I hope to attend a few conferences such as education and Women caucuses.

Friday Night Open Thread

Be sure to check out some of the introductions by DNC Members downstream. Enjoy your evening!

More From Democrats Abroad

(We learned a bit about the mission of Democrats Abroad earlier today from Executive Director Ali Chalupa. A few hours later, International Chairman Michael Ceurvorst stopped by to say hello as well.)

WE, and it is definitely a WE that are in the building here in Phoenix are combining dedication, skillsets, experiences aiming for more victories. We are focussing on our country's and party's needs, to include the issues that all of us are addressing: health care, jobs and the economy, education, true security, honesty and ethics in government... This session Phoenix is like a flower blossoming, as the training skills spread among the 50 states and the attitudes of cooperation take root. There is still the seething anger over a lot of the travesties the W group and there is a palpable desire to get to the agenda ahead.... It's the right kind of session a year ahead of the major elections in 2006.

Our tens of thousands of Americans living outside the US who are members of Democrats Abroad are planning to double the number of voters we helped register from abroad, from 200,000 plus to 500,000 in 2006 and doubling again to one million in 2008. We have programs and volunteers working now to get there, and great support from the larger DNC. Any one else who wants to join in can do so via http://www.democratsabroad.org.

Hot Topic At DNC Hispanic Caucus Meeting

(Jerome Wiley Segovia gives us a bit of the "behind-the-scenes" from a meeting attended by members of the Hispanic Caucus earlier today.)

As we worked through the various agenda items of the Hispanic Caucus meeting, one particular motion stood out. An initiative in Colorado aims to require recipients of taxpayer funded services to prove residency or US citizenship. DNC member Maria Echaveste (DC) spoke eloquently about why Democrats should mobilize to defeat this initiative in November of 2006, and why it poses an unrivaled opportunity for the DNC to engage organizers and build our numbers at the same time.

Deb Marquez (CO), Steve Ybarra (CA) and Manny Rodriguez (CO) all offered suggestions to move the motion forward and begin to organize an effective response, as the beginnings of a campaign to soundly defeat this initiative. The true, intangible value of these DNC caucus meetings lies in political synergy and the ability to gain national attention and response to local issues, especially when many of these issues occur in similar instances all around the country. The Colorado initiative is very similar in nature to Proposition 200, which unfortunately passed in Arizona in November of 2004, and to Proposition 187 in California. Throughout the Hispanic Caucus meeting, informal hallway meetings and dinnertime conversations/debates, DNC members familiar with the Arizona law provided input, ideas and information that was valuable in the formulation of today's action by the Hispanic Caucus.

As we strive to continually increase the number of active Democrats, the long fight ahead of us to defeat this initiative in Colorado may well prove to result in that great by-product of political campaigns: identifying new leaders, increasing the number of Democrats, increasing the field of donors, and energizing our party's base. And this is where the rubber meets the road, and where leaders within the party stand up and make sure that we begin to take action now, when it counts.

Fighting Dems in Phoenix - Bill Winter

(Bill Winter is a Democrat, United States Marine, and running against Tom Tancredo in Colorado's Sixth Congressional District. He's in Phoenix right now and wanted to share some thoughts with visitors to the Democratic National Commitee website. You can check out his campaign website here.)

A Jarhead's Journey to Washington begins!

Good morning, America! It's Friday morning, December 2nd, 2005, and
I'm in Phoenix at the Democratic National Committee fall meetings.
This morning I had the privilege of meeting with Gov. Howard Dean, Chairman of the DNC. I asked if I could get a photo with him and he said "You know they'll try to use it against you, don't you?"

This comment illustrates what I think is a serious problem in America
today. We are more divided today than at any time I can remember in my lifetime. We have been divided by fear and hate to the point that we can't even remember all the things we have in common anymore. The Bush administration has used fear to divide us at every turn, and Tom Tancredo has used hate to do the same!

This morning Gov. Dean said something that really resonated with me.
He said that Americans want to be united again--we desperately want to be one again. I agree with that sentiment more than I can even say!

That's why this campaign is going to be about the things we have in
common--the things that should unite us and NOt the things used to
divide us!

And the very first thing we all have in common is that we are all
Americans! We all live in the same neighborhoods! Our kids go to the
same schools. We all salute the same flag!

The second thing we all have in common is our humanity! We all care
about our families, our children, our friends, and our neighbors. We
all have hopes and dreams and aspirations. And we all have fears and
anxieties and concerns!

Jesus said that we should leave our gifts at the altar and go make
peace with our brother before we dared to approach God for anything. I believe we have to apply that order to America as well. That is why this campaign will seek to unify Americans so that we can find real solutions to our problems, and not be dominated and divided by hate and fear!

I'm not a professional politician. I'm just a kid from Colorado who
wants to serve my Country and my home. In every way that matters I'm just like YOU! Won't you stand with me and take back America? Go to www.WinterForCongress.com and join us!

Bill Winter

A Message From Democrats Abroad

(Democrats Abroad boasts an organization of more than seven million U.S. citizens living in forty-five different countries throughout the world. Ali Chalupa is the Executive Director and stopped by "Blogging USA" to share this message:)

Democrats Abroad's DNC delegation has arrived in Phoenix with one simple mission: to share with fellow DNC members across the country how we're working to register half a million Democratic voters living overseas by the 2006 election. Arriving from Canada, France Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Scotland, and Switzerland, our delegates have been describing some of the exciting new technologies we will launch at the beginning of next year: an energetic new website, an advanced membership database, and an online voter registration tool that will help tip elections in favor of Democrats in '06.

These projects have been made possible because of the tremendous support Democrats Abroad continues to receive from Chairman Howard Dean and the DNC. With thousands of Democratic grassroots activist living in more than seventy-three countries around the world, Democrats Abroad is honored to be part of the State Partnership project and to do our part to help Democrats win the upcoming elections.

We encourage Democratic leaders and activists to visit us when traveling internationally. Check out our website at www.democratsabroad.org or contact me, the Executive Director of Democrats Abroad, at achalupa@democratsabroad.org.

From Precinct Captain to DNC Member in Two Years

(If you visit some of the more popular Democratic blogs online, DNC Member Jenny Greenleaf is a known quantity. In less than one full election cycle, she went from precinct captain, to DNC Member, and just today Jenny was elected secretary of the Western Caucus! Her story has been an inspiration to many in the online community, and we are lucky that she stopped by to share it with us today!)

My adventure with the Democratic Party continues. Today, I've been elected secretary of the Western Caucus. OK, so mostly it means that I take notes, but it's cool to have the confidence of my fellow westerners.

The Western caucus includes DNC members from the mountain west as well as the west coast states. At our meeting today we elected new officers for the coming four years and discussed where to have our next annual conference-which is where the real action of the Western caucus is. Once a year, we get together to learn, share strategies, and get inspired to elect more western Democrats -- I blogged last summer's meeting from Helena, Montana.

For those who don't know me, I joined up as a precinct person only about 3 years ago. It took a bit of work, but I was elected to the DNC only 2 years later. I'm a poster child for the ease of taking over the Party. You can do it too. Go sign up.

The big meeting of the DNC is tomorrow, and I'll take notes and fill you in.

Introducing DNC Member Jason Rae

(Little known fact: The minimum age to become a DNC member is fourteen years old! At the age of seventeen, Jason Rae dug up that nugget of information and began his campaign that eventually culminated in becoming one of the youngest ever elected members of the DNC. Jason stopped by "Blogging USA" today to talk a bit about his experience in Phoenix this week.)

In the summer of 2004 at the state of Wisconsin's Democratic Party convention, I ran for a spot on the Democratic National Committee. I was honored to have been elected (while only 17 years of age) to a four year term representing the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone, especially someone so young.

I am delighted to be here in Phoenix, especially while it is snowing in Wisconsin. Since my arrival yesterday afternoon, I have been meeting with Democratic leaders from around the nation to work together that ensure that we come out ahead in 2006 & 2008.

One of the things I am going to be doing this afternoon is meeting with officials from the College Democrats of America and discussing more ways for the party to reach out to the newest generation of voters. Being only 19 (as of last week Friday), I am one of the youngest DNC members in the nation. When running in Wisconsin at age 17, I ran on the issue of having the party reach out to America's newest generation of voters. I found it outrageous that the party did not have more representation from this younger generation. That is why I am here, to ensure that my generation does everything possible to reach out the newest generation of voters.

Tomorrow morning at our general session, we will be discussing a resolution to create a Youth Vote Center. This is an important step forward in ensuring that we can win in 2006. I will be voting for this resolution with pride. This was one of the main ideas of my platform and hope to be involved from the ground up in this process.

Also while in Phoenix, I have had the opportunity to listen to the DNC pollster give us new data. The numbers are more than impressive and show that the Republicans just aren't doing it anymore. We saw it in New Jersey and in Virginia and we are going to see it all next year. Democrats are on their way to victory!

Having this opportunity to meet with Democratic leaders is wonderful and I feel so excited and so ready to take down the Republicans in 2006. (It is certainly worth missing my classes at Marquette University, where I am a college freshman). Forward to victory!

Showing 'Em How It's Done

Dan Slater, Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, stopped by "Blogging USA" and showed everyone that he is way ahead of the curve when it comes to Internet outreach:

This morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn to attend the Rural Council meeting — the group of DNC members committed to bring attention and resources to winning in rural areas of America. We were joined by Governor Dean and DNC Political Director Pam Womack for a good discussion of the DNC’s new efforts to attract votes in rural areas of America.

In Colorado (and in Montana), we know how important rural votes are. Because we — for the first time in a long time — focused attention on counties and races that had for far too long been forgotten by the Party in Colorado, we were able to buck the national trend and elect a new U.S. Senator, a new Member of Congress, and gain a majority in both the State House and the State Senate. With the possible exception of the State Senate majority, it is abundantly clear now that none of that could have been done without our rural focus.

After the Rural Council meeting, I attended the DNC Western Regional Caucus meeting. There, we elected officers and talked about our next stand-alone meeting. Because we are usually only given an hour or two to meet during full DNC meetings, the Western Region traditionally holds regional meetings away from the full DNC, where we focus more squarely on Western issues.

You can Vice Chairman Slater's blog here -- Pictures from the Phoenix meeting located here.

Chicago Alderman Joe Moore Reports In

(Joe Moore, Alderman from the 49th Ward in Chicago, is chairman of the National Democratic Municipal Officials Conference and serves on the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee. Joe Moore's leadership was instrumental in the passage of two Chicago City Council resolutions -- one opposing the unconsitutional provisions of the Patriot Act, and another opposing the pre-emptive use of force in Iraq.)

I am Chairman of the National Democratic Municipal Officials Conference (DMO). DMO is a organization of Democratic Mayors and City Council members from across the nation who are committed to rebuilding the Democratic Party from the grassroots up. Together with my fellow DMO officers, Councilmember Susan Burgess from Charlotte, NC, and Councilmember Myron Lowrey from Memphis, TN, I will be hosting a caucus meeting of local elected officials here at the DNC meeting. As the elected officials closest to the people, Mayors and City Council members are playing an integral role in rebuiding the party. We know first hand the devastating effect that the Bush Administration policies have had on America's cities and towns, and how urgent it is to return Democratic control to Congress and the White House.

We are also holding a Democratic Municipal Officials meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday, December 9th from 5-7 p.m. at the downtown Westin Hotel, Grand Ballroom. Senator John Edwards and Congressman Mel Watt will be our keynote speakers. We are hosting the meeting in conjunction with the National Leage of Cities Annual Meeting taking place in Charlotte at the same time. I urge all Democratic Mayors and City Council members to attend this important event and learn more about the important role they can play in returning our national government to the people.

For more information, please contact me at AldMoore@aol.com.

Joe Moore
Chairman, Democratic Municipal Officials
Alderman, Chicago, Illinois

Live From Phoenix: LaToia Jones

(LaToia Jones is the Executive Director of College Democrats of America and a familiar face at Democratic National Committee events. Last year, she discussed the importance of youth involvement at three of the four DNC regional meetings. When she stopped by the "Blogging USA" forum in Phoenix today, Joe asked her to introduce herself and talk about what the College Democrats are working on.)

What have you been doing in Phoenix?
College Democrats of America is presenting its 50-State strategy in conjunction with the DNC's State Partnership program. We're excited that Governor Dean has recognized the strong voice and powerful vote of the next generation of Democratic leaders.

As the Executive Director of College Democrats of America, I'm proud to say that at the DNC meeting in Phoenix, we have talked with every DNC member about our exciting plans for the future. For more information about College Dems, please visit www.collegedems.com.

What makes you excited to be a Democrat?
The great vision and direction that Governor Dean has brought to the Party by engaging the youth.

DNC Member Introduction: Jerome Wiley Segovia

(Jerome Wiley Segovia is a DNC Member At-Large from Fairfax, Virginia. In August, Jerome blogged from the DNC's Hispanic Summit, and did a remarkable job giving readers from across the country a "window into the event." Today, while in Phoenix for the Fall Meeting, he stopped to tell us a bit more about himself and some of the things he has learned the past few days.)

What have you been doing in Phoenix?
As a new member of the DNC, I had my first experience attending a Resolutions Committee meeting. Resolutions are an effective way for the DNC to communicate ideas and influence conventional wisdom. Most of the critical issues of the day will not fix themselves, and require leadership from articulate and motivated individuals to gain visibility and help gather support for viable solutions.

I watched as some of the authors of the various resolutions made remarks supporting or explaining their resolutions. A couple of resolutions that were passed by the committee touched on supporting the Middle East peace process and supporting the use of the filibuster by the minority party in the US Senate.

What makes you excited to be a Democrat?
It is a diverse, young-at-heart and accessible party.

DNC Member Introduction: Billi Gosh

(Billi Gosh is a founding member of the Vermont Women's Fund Council and has been a tireless educator about "problems that disproportionately affect women and girls - from poverty, to inadequate health care, to domestic violence." She is also in Phoenix representing Vermont as a DNC Committeewoman at the Fall Meeting.)

What have you been doing in Phoneix? I am representing Vermont at the DNC meeting. As, usual it is a very stimuating time, learning about what is going on in the other states. The more I hear the more certain I become that we will increase our numbers in congress and in many statehouses and legislatures in 2006. We are energized.

What makes you excited to be a Democrat?
I connect with the compassion and vision of the Democratic party. We are the answer to the despair that is rampant in our nation.

From the DNC Fall Meeting

Beginning yesterday, Democrats from across the country descended upon Phoenix, Arizona for the DNC Fall Meeting. It's a weekend filled with discussions, speeches, break-out sessions, and information individuals can take back to their states and effectively implement a comprehensive strategy to win elections from the top to the bottom of the ballot. Joe Rospars, Internet Director here at the DNC, has his very own "booth" set up where he has spent the day chatting with Democrats about using the net as an effective organizing tool. Several of them were gracious enough to write a bit about themselves, the meeting, and what they are trying to accomplish in their communities.

New Hampshire State Representative Marcia Moody:

Hi, I'm State Representative Marcia Moody from New Hampshire here in Phoenix, Az for the DNC meeting. There has been a lot of very valuable exchange of information applicable to all areas for the upcoming elections. A Women's Caucus is about to start and hope to exchange further ideas. Suggested legislation in other states has been very informative.

Memphis City Councilman Myron Lowery:

Hello Fellow Democrats:

The Democratic Municipal Officials are listening and learning here at the DNC meeting in Phoenix. We are planning our strategy for upcoming Democratic victories across the nation. This evening Democratic Municipal Officials will hold a meeting with all DNC elected local officials and next Friday, December 9th, we will hold our annual meeting in Charlotte, NC at the National League of Cities Conference.

If you would like to learn more about the DMO please send me an e-mail at myron.lowery@memphistn.gov

Todd Landfried - Maricopa County Democratic Party:

I'm Todd Landfried and I'm with the Maricopa County Democratic Party. I stopped by the blogging area to speak with other Dem bloggers in order to learn more about creating effective blogs and sharing that information with others. It was very informative and I was able to make some good contacts.

We'll have more introductions throughout the day, and hopefully pictures from the festivities as well.

More on Lamar Advertising

Wisconsin:

Anglers on their way into the north woods of Wisconsin this Labor Day weekend won't be seeing one important message about the Bush administration's environmental record. This month Environment 2004 tried to place an advertisement on two billboards along a Wisconsin highway that declared, "Mercury. It's what's for dinner. Served up by the Bush Administration." The ads were refused by the billboard company, Lamar Advertising of Central Wisconsin.

South Dakota:

The primary billboard company in Sioux Falls & Rapid City (in fact the only company in SF), LAMAR, has refused to allow us to put the billboards up. The general manager thinks it is “offensive” and a bad business decision. He doesn’t want to have to put up with a bunch of calls from people who oppose Planned Parenthood. When Kate Looby asked him if he would continue to display abstinence only billboards in SF, he told her he would because nobody has a problem with the abstinence only message.

Rejected in Texas by Lamar Advertising:

Pennsylvania:

Executives at a major outdoor advertising company refusing to run billboard ads criticizing state legislative leaders for voting themselves 16- to 34-percent raises, have been a steady source of campaign donations for some of those same lawmakers.

Officials at Lamar Advertising Co., which rejected the critical billboard ads proposed by the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania, have given nearly $30,000 during the past five years to Pennsylvania candidates and political action committees, according to campaign finance records. [...]

Kevin Reilly has given $7,400 to Pennsylvania candidates since 2000, including $2,500 to House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, considered one of the most powerful politicians in Harrisburg.

Sean Reilly has donated $1,650, including $500 to Perzel and $500 to the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Sign the letter. (Hat-tip to ETinKC)

PA-Sen: Centre Daily's Ironic Correction

Amidst all the controversy surrounding $1 million worth of pro-Rick Santorum ads sponsored by the shadowy group "Americans for Job Security," the Centre Daily Times filed this ironic correction in today's paper:

Thursday's editorial, "Politics, but not as usual," cited television advertisements touting the effectiveness of Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who, according to the copy, is the one getting things done in Washington.

A representative of Santorum's campaign responded from the nation's capital, where they apparently monitor all references to the candidate in newspapers back home, and explained that neither the senator nor his re-election campaign has anything to do with the ads.

Rather, a third party -- Americans for Job Security -- produced and is paying for the TV spots, independently of the candidate and his campaign, the spokeswoman said.

Of course, that kind of confusion is only to be expected when the "Americans for Job Security" commercials and a Rick Santorum "web ad" go up at the same time, with the same message, and contain individual scenes that are virtually identical.

OH-Sen: DeWine Vulnerable To Hackett & Brown

As Senator Elizabeth Dole fails to recruit top-tier candidates in many of the races Senate across the country, Democrats celebrate an embarrassement of riches. Ohio is just one example where we have not one, but two, tremendous candidates for U.S. Senate running to unseat Mike DeWine. A Rasmussen Reports poll released this morning shows that both are well positioned to unseat incumbent Mike DeWine:

Rasmussen Reports. 500 Likely Voters. November 30, 2005. MoE +/- 4.5%

Paul Hackett: 41% (42)
Mike DeWine: 42% (41)
Other: 6% (5)
Not Sure: 11% (12)

Sherrod Brown: 41%
Mike DeWine: 43%
Other: 6%
Not Sure: 11%

The number in parentheses are results from the last Rasmussen poll on the race; the report only included numbers on Hackett and not Congressman Brown who hadn't announced yet. Rasmussen has opened up the more specific data breakdowns from the poll, and there are some very interesting numbers -- check them out here.

Heeeeeeere's Howard!

The Governor was on the Tonight Show Wednesday night and we got to go where few people go...back stage. Hanging out in the green room with the likes of Felicity Huffman and Ed Asner was quite a thrill for a little ole guy like me from Revere, Massachsuetts. Jay Leno dropped in and spent a few minutes with the Governor to prep him for his appearance and then the Gov was off to the make-up chair. Over in the corner, Ms. Huffman was doing some stretching exercises to warm up while the Governor got ready. It was interesting to see people and Tonight Show staff who were as excited to meet Howard Dean as much as I wanted to meet Jay and Felicity!

I think the Gov did really well and even cracked a few jokes. After the show, Felicity told the Governor about her Vermont connection: her husband, William H. Macy, went to Goddard College up in Plainfield. Who knew?

A big thank you to segment producer Dave Berg, his assistant Mickey and the rest of the Tonight Show staff. They really made it a great experience.

Howard Dean, Ed Asner and John Melendez

Friday Morning Open Thread

Sign the letter.

December 1, 2005

Rejection Open Thread

For the night.

PamB found a great article about how Lamar denied another progressive group billboard space this summer. What else can you find? Dig it up and put it in this thread...

Billboard Company Rejects Your Ads

Below is an email that our Executive Director, Tom McMahon, just sent to Democrats across the country. As Tim mentioned below, Lamar Advertising has decided to reject the billboards that were to be placed outside of Rep. Jean Schmidt's office in Portsmouth, Ohio, despite knowing full-well what they said and what the goal was for days. Tom's email lays it out in more detail, but this is simply outrageous.

Our General Counsel, Joe Sandler, drafted a letter this afternoon that we plan to send to Lamar President and CEO Kevin P. Reilly, Jr. We thought that before we mailed it, you probably wanted to sign on as well. You can do that by clicking here: http://www.democrats.org/lamar.

Below is the full text of Tom's email and Joe's letter to Lamar...

This morning I was getting ready to send an email thanking more than 7,000 of you for stepping up to take the fight into the backyard of Jean Schmidt and any other Republican leader who attacks one of our veterans for cheap political gain. We had begun working with Lamar, an ad company in the area, and signed a contract to place two billboards near Jean Schmidt's district office in Portsmouth, Ohio (one on US-52 and one at 1024 Offnere Street). Thanks to your overwhelming response we were also looking into putting up additional billboards in several other locations in the Cincinnati market.

Unfortunately, at about 10 AM, we got two phone calls -- the first came from Lamar's Cincinnati office informing us that because of the content of the ad, they are refusing to continue to work with us. The second call came a few minutes later from Lamar's Huntington, West Virginia office, informing us that despite our signed contract, they were also rejecting our ad. This reversal came more than 24 hours after the DNC had signed a contract with Lamar, and 48 hours after they had accepted the artwork for the billboards you helped pay to put up.

By rejecting these ads, Lamar has limited your right to be heard.

The DNC's General Counsel, Joe Sandler, has drafted a letter to Lamar's chairman demanding that Lamar honor its commitment to run the billboards. They think they can get away with this because they own nearly every billboard in the district, but you can put pressure on Lamar to support free speech by signing on to the letter:

http://www.democrats.org/lamar

The full text of the letter is at the end of this note, and we will deliver it by noon Friday with the signatures of everyone who wants to be included. The management at Lamar Advertising has seriously miscalculated if they think that thousands of Americans who want to stand up for our veterans will be silenced.

The attack on a decorated combat veteran's courage and patriotism that came out of Jean Schmidt's mouth on the House floor was unacceptable. But Lamar Advertising seems to think that thousands of people coming together and holding her accountable for it is what's really unacceptable.

You can let Lamar know what you think by signing on to our general counsel's letter before noon on Friday:

http://www.democrats.org/lamar

Republican leaders need to learn they cannot get away with dishonoring the service of veterans to score political points. This is a pattern that needs to stop here and now, and that's why this billboard is so important.

Please forward this message around to let people know what's happening. I will be in touch as this story unfolds.

Thank you,

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Keep reading "Billboard Company Rejects Your Ads"

Your Billboard... Denied

We wanted to surprise you. Responding to feedback, we began making moves to place the Jean Schmidt billboard in Cincinnati as well as Portsmouth, Ohio. The contract with Lamar Advertising was signed, they had the artwork for 48+ hours, and then we received a phone call this morning. Actually two phone calls...

The first was from the Cincinnati district office of Lamar Advertising. They representative said, "I don't like negative ads." And with that, there was no Cincinnati billboard. But then 30 minutes later, we received a call from the Huntington, West Virginia office (for the Portsmouth ad) and they too would not be running the ad because it was negative.

More coming within the hour...

Bribery? Who Cares.

No wonder the Republican culture of corruption in Washington, D.C. runs so deep. Quite telling.

An Ohio congressman subpoenaed in the investigation of a Washington lobbyist pledged Wednesday to cooperate in the probe and said he doubted the matter would affect next year's midterm congressional elections.

"I don't believe so," U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, a Heath Republican, told reporters at Cleveland State University, where he spoke on a 2002 law on election procedures. "As far as any controversy on any member, I don't think that will affect midterm elections. It's a long time off," Ney said.

Most election issues are local, he said.

Flashback: Rep. Bob Ney Poster Boy in Bribe Probe (ABC News):

Identified in new court documents as "Representative No. 1," Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio has become the poster boy in the Jack Abramoff bribery probe, a beneficiary of trips, tickets and campaign donations, allegedly in exchange for official acts.

More on Americans for Job Security

Seems they have a bit of a history. This is everything Senator McCain has publically championed against for years -- now that AJS is running $1 million worth of ads in Pennsylvania, will he say anything before his high-dollar fundraisers with Rick Santorum tomorrow night?

Texas 2004:

Americans for Job Security [501(c)(6)] is under investigation by a Texas grand jury for potential violations of a law prohibiting the use of corporate money to influence state elections, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Prosecutors have been investigating AJS since a Texas watchdog group filed a criminal complaint in January alleging that corporate money was funneled through AJS to pay for attack ads against a state representative just days before a six-way special election.

At issue is whether the ads were intended to influence an election, which would make them subject to Texas election law, and whether they were funded with corporate money. AJS has refused to reveal its donors, which is its right as a Section 501(c) group.

Minnesota 2002:

Americans for Job Security, a Virginia-based interest group that opposes the reelection of Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, has made an unprecedented $1 million ad buy that will fill the airwaves in the last two weeks before the election, according to Wellstone campaign officials.

Campaign manager Jeff Blodgett said the buy is so large that it may equal what Wellstone and Republican rival Norm Coleman and the two state parties each are expected to spend on media in the closing weeks.

Blodgett said his biggest concern is that no one knows who funds the mysterious group, which has found a legal loophole that apparently allows it to keep its donors secret.

South Carolina 2004:

Americans for Job Security, an advocacy group based in Alexandria, Va., produced the first ad to directly target Democratic candidate for Senate Inez Tenenbaum. [...]

The ad cites The Greenville News newspaper to support on-screen quotes that read "exorbitant salary increases" and "school districts across the state are having to cut teaching positions."

While the quotes are an accurate representation of words printed by The Greenville News, the ad fails to mention the quotes have been pulled from an opinion piece written by the newspaper's editorial staff. Further, the ad fails to consider other points of context in the editorial.

Ultimately, several claims made in the ad were dubbed "misleading" by WYFF 4 in South Carolina.

Moment of Truth for John McCain

For $1,000 a head, you too can attend a fundraiser tomorrow for Rick Santorum with special guest, Senator John McCain. And while you're there, maybe you'd like to ask "reformist champion" Senator McCain what he thinks about the $1 million dollars in ads currently being run in support of Santorum by the shadowy organization Americans for Job Security. Shadowy, because they refuse to disclose both their donors, and the contribution amounts. The Associated Press explains how they avoid transparency requirements:

Americans for Job Security, based in Alexandria, Va., is registered under 501(c) of the federal tax code, a classification that allows groups to engage in political activity without revealing contributors as long as that is not their main activity. The president, Michael Dubke, said the organization does not reveal donors because that would distract from their message.

Make no mistake about it, Americans for Job Security is highly political, and highly partisan. Open Secrets details two of their ad campaigns in 2004 -- one against Inez Tenenbaum in South Carolina that dubbed her education plan, "No Bureaucrat Left Behind" and a $300,000 ad campaign in support of Richard Burr in North Carolina.

Rick Santorum refuses to disavow the ads, but since Senator McCain is in town, maybe its time someone ask him if he recalls this quote:

The need to reform the avalanche of soft money in our political system is evident in every competitive race in this country where parties, business and labor, and ideological groups on all sides are spending hundreds of millions of unlimited, and in some cases, unreported dollars to influence federal elections.

- John McCain

I'd say this is a perfect example of what the Senator was talking about and based an entire career fighting against.

Ohio Democratic Party to Select New Chair

Interim Ohio Democratic Party Chair, Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, announced the process by which the new chair will be selected in an email yesterday:

Mayor McLin has asked that all prospective candidates voluntarily comply with the following procedures:

* Send a Letter of Intent to Run for ODP Chairman no later than Monday, Dec. 5, 2005 at 5 p.m. The statement may be no more than one sentence.

* All Letters of Intent will be forwarded to Executive Committee member on Dec. 6, 2005.

* Upon receipt of the Letters of Intent, the next step is the Informational Request which will include submission of a Resume and Questionnaire to be completed by the candidates. Receipt of Informational Requests should be returned no later than December 10, 2005 at 5 p.m.

* Informational Requests will be forwarded to all Executive Committee members by December 12, 2005. After the State Executive Committee members receive the documents, we will post them on our website www.ohiodems.org. Packets will also be available at the December 19 meeting.

There are 137 members on the Executive Board that are responsible for casting votes for the next chair; on December 19, 2005, that group of individuals will select the next chair. However, 66 of those members of the board are up for election every two years on primary day -- this cycle, on May 2, 2006. After the new members are voted in, the entire 137 person body will reconvene and either retain the chairperson selected on the 19th of December, or vote for a new individual to fill the slot vacated by outgoing Chairman Denny White.

That's the process if you are an Ohioan and hope to keep tabs on the developments, desire to get involved or even run for one of those executive committee seats this May.

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Anyone see Governor Dean on The Tonight Show last night? What did you think?