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May 30, 2008

Really Early Morning Open Thread

Just a reminder, our Tech Dept will be doing some tweaking. So if you have with the blog today, don't worry... it's only temporary.

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May 29, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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UPDATE BY MIKE: Our tech department is going to be doing some tweaking under the hood over the next day or so, so please be patient if you have difficulties with this blog.

Thanks.

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Morning Open Thread

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May 28, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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Lobbyists for McCain

John McCain's campaign sent out a fundraising e-mail a few hours ago, soliciting supporters to drop $250 for a personalized McCain logo banner.

The subject of the e-mail, Frank Donatelli, says he and his wife have "been proud to work for and support" John McCain since his first presidential bid, and are proud to publicly showcase their support for the presumptive GOP nominee.

Frank Donatelli, however, is a longtime lobbyist:

McCain Tapped Lobbyist Frank Donatelli To Run His Efforts At RNC. McCain tapped lobbyist Frank Donatelli to become deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. The New York Times reported Donatelli will “act as the main liaison between the committee and the McCain campaign.” Donatelli is a lobbyist at McGuire Woods and previously served as a lobbyist at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. His clients have included AT&T, Exxon Mobil, PhRMA, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Verizon. [New York Times, 3/7/08; McGuire Woods, accessed 5/12/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Records, accessed 5/12/08]

Donatelli Enlisted to Improve Ethiopia’s Relationship with U.S. In a September 2005 letter sent to Ambassador Kassahun Ayele of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Donatelli set forth his obligations under their contract, namely to provide “government relations and related public communications services to assist and work with Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., in promoting and strengthening Ethiopia’s relations with the United States and, in general, providing such other appropriate advice and assistance as will serve to achieve these purposes.” [FARA Database, accessed 3/18/08, Letter signed by Frank Donatelli on 9/6/05]

• Human Rights Watch: “The Ethiopian Government’s Human Rights Record Remains Poor.” According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2008, “The Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Government forces committed serious human rights violations, including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somalia Region (Region 5). Abuses took place in other parts of the country, notably in Oromia State where local officials carried out mass arrests, extra-judicial killings and economic sanctions.” [Human Rights Watch, accessed 5/12/08, emphasis added]

You would think John McCain could find at least one supporter who isn't a lobbyist, right?

For all those lobbyists staffing John McCain's campaign, here's a banner for all of them to share. In fact, I won't even charge $250 for it.

"Gone in 60 Seconds"

Newsday calls Bush "the invisible fundraiser."

President Bush helped McCain raise money in Arizona yesterday, but the event was closed to the press because -- pretty transparently -- McCain knows Bush is poison, and doesn't want to pay a political price.

So the only film of the GOP president and the GOP nominee was at the Phoenix airport, where a Fox embed caught the two men together for a grand total of 26 seconds -- the first time they've been photographed together publicly since March 5, Fox said

The Latest McCain Lobbyist Scandal

It's one-after-another when it comes to John McCain and lobbyist scandals.

The latest:

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain’s national campaign general co-chair was being paid by a Swiss bank to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain about his economic policy, federal records show.

“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” reported Tuesday night that lobbying disclosure forms, filed by the giant Swiss bank UBS, list McCain’s campaign co-chair, former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, as a lobbyist dealing specifically with legislation regarding the mortgage crisis as recently as Dec. 31, 2007.

Talking Points Memo has been on the case, and he makes a couple of noteworthy points. The most interesting of which is, where does UBS stand to benefit?

Forbes says that UBS is among the banks worst hit by the global credit crisis, particularly in their direct exposure to the US subprime market. According to Forbes, UBS has some $37 billion in write-downs on assets tied to bad US mortgages. In other words, the bank's very life appears to be on the line in how the US government chooses to handle the matter.

More later.

Ouch

Scott McClellan, Bush's former press secretary, writes a pretty scathing critique of the Bush administration from the perspective of somebody who saw it first-hand and up-close:

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" and "downplaying the major reason for going to war."

McClellan includes the charges in a 341-page book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that delivers a harsh look at the White House and the man he served for close to a decade. He describes Bush as demonstrating a "lack of inquisitiveness," says the White House operated in "permanent campaign" mode, and admits to having been deceived by some in the president's inner circle about the leak of a CIA operative's name.

Let the White House spinning in response begin! So let's remember what Bush said when McClellan left: "He handled his assignments with class, integrity. He really represents the best of his family, our state and our country. It's going to be hard to replace Scott."

Morning Open Thread

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May 27, 2008

Bush Fundraises for McCain

President Bush is appearing with John McCain tonight in Arizona -- the presumptive GOP nominee's home state. You would think this would be a major attraction, no?

The event was originally scheduled for the Phoenix Convention Center but, due to a lack of interest, was moved to a private residence -- with no press.

An event in Utah was also downsized for the same reason.

John McCain's campaign is terrified of being seen with President Bush. They didn't even mention it in their morning e-mail to reporters.

Afternoon Open Thread

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A note on the RBC registration

Just a quick note if you tried to register for the RBC meeting this morning.

First, yes, it did go online. For about a minute. There was a lot if demand and were sorry if you didn't get a spot...they were gone pretty quickly. We'll make sure to have a feed available here on Democrats.org on Saturday so you can see it.

Second, if you did start to register and didn't get a confirmation email, there are two possible scenarios that may affect you.

1. You started the process but didn't complete it before the space was filled. If that's the case, unfortunately someone got the last spot just before you did. The difference between getting a spot and not was a matter of seconds.

2. You finished, you're on the list, and just didn't get an email. There was a lot of pressure on our system, and while we believe that everyone got an email that should have, let us know using this form and we'll take a look and let you know one way or another.

Also, for those of you who registered but don't see the event RSVP in your PartyBuilder account -- you're still on the list. We simply removed the event from the system to completely lock down registration.

If you have any other issues or questions, let us know through the form and we'll get them answered. We're sorry we don't have enough room for everyone who wanted to be there, but we'll make sure you can see the meeting if you want to. We also want to make sure that the people who signed up first get in.

RBC Meeting Information

A meeting of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will take place at 9:30AM on May 31, 2008 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. This meeting is open to the public, however due to space constraints, guests are being asked to pre-register their attendance.

Registration will open today at 10am. To register, click here.

Morning Open Thread

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May 25, 2008

Sunday Open Thread

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May 24, 2008

Saturday Open Thread

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May 23, 2008

Four Pinocchios Open Thread

From the Washington Post's Fact-Checker, on McCain's "Fantasy War on Earmarks:"

"Magical budgetary balancing act." "Figment of the McCain campaign's imagination." "Mystified by McCain's argument." "Largely fantasy." "Difficult to take even that promise very seriously." "Voodoo economics." "Wishful thinking."

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Behind Closed Doors

Bush will be joining John McCain on the campaign trail next week, but he's so unpopular they don't want anybody but big donors to know about it. The events will be closed to the public, and will not be allowed anywhere inside the fundraisers.

From the Associated Press:

President Bush starts raising money for John McCain's campaign next week, but the three fundraisers are closed, so there will be no news media cameras photographing the outgoing and incoming Republican party leaders together nor reporters observing their joint appearances.

The White House announced Friday that Bush will be the main attraction at three McCain events next week — in Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah.

There's also this bit of accounting involved, for those of you wondering whether taxpayers are funding the travel for these events:

During Bush's three-day trip, he is also holding official presidential events at a Mesa, Ariz., cable company on Tuesday and at the U.S. Air Force Academy commencement on Wednesday. Under the complicated formula by which the cost of presidential travel is allocated when he is doing party events, the presence of official events on his schedule dramatically reduces the cost to McCain's campaign for Bush's campaign appearances.

McCain Claiming to Have Highest Awards From All Veterans Organizations?

Another claim he'll likely be forced into backtracking from, since it's clearly not true. Here are some of the failing grades that McCain has received from these organizations, via Think Progress:

• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. [...]
• Disabled Veterans of America noted McCain’s dismal 20 percent voting record on veterans’ issues. [...]
• In a list of “Key Votes,” Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) notes McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. [...]

Friday Five

Here are five of the events in PartyBuilder for the coming week. You can add your own event or find one near you.

1. Vermont Democratic Convention (Barre, VT) - The Vermont Democratic Party State Convention will be held Saturday, May 24 at the Barre Civic Center. Delegates to the state convention will elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer.
2. Tabling for Change - Carnaval Festival (San Francisco, CA) - Disc: The 30th anniversary of California’s largest annual multi-cultural celebration. This year’s fest, themed “Many Cultures - One Spirit,” showcases Latin American and Caribbean cultures and traditions with food, music, dance and artistry, including works created by the talented community of Mission District residents and Bay Area artists.
3. The 50th Annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival (Garden Grove, CA) - This festival is the second largest city festival in the Western United States. It's held during Memorial Day weekend at the Village Green between Main Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Garden Grove.
4. South Bend IN, "Bush-McCain Challenge"! (South Bend, IN) - Take the "Bush-McCain Challenge!" This is an Operation Democracy event, on WEDNESDAY, May 28th, downtown South Bend at the wide, wide sidewalk at the corner of Jefferson St. and MIchigan St.
5. The Second Giving Tree for Progress (Milwaukee, WI) - Help grow the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County

Iraq Spending "Poorly Tracked"

Via the Washington Post:

The inspector general for the Defense Department said yesterday that the Pentagon cannot account for almost $15 billion worth of goods and services ranging from trucks, bottled water and mattresses to rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns that were bought from contractors in the Iraq reconstruction effort.

The Pentagon did not have the proper documentation, including receipts, vouchers, signatures, invoices or other paperwork, for $7.8 billion that American and Iraqi contractors were paid for phones, folders, paint, blankets, Nissan trucks, laundry services and other items, according to a 69-page audit released to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
[...]
Waxman said the poorly documented expenditures of seized Iraqi assets included a $320 million cash payment for employing 1,000 people that was handed over to the Iraqi Finance Ministry with "little more than a signature in exchange.

Morning Open Thread

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May 22, 2008

Afternoon Open Thread

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BREAKING: House Judiciary Subpoenas Karl Rove

Minutes ago, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former top Bush aide, Karl Rove, to appear before the panel on July 10, to answer questions about the White House's involvement in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys, and the prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman (D-Alabama).

Priorities

This vs. this.

McCain Puts Politics Ahead of Our Troops

Today the Senate voted to help the brave men and women who defend this country pay for college once they've completed their service. It was a historic vote, and McCain wasn't there to see it. Instead he attended a fundraiser.

Still, he has made his opposition to the bill quite clear.

McCain agrees with Bush, who has promised that he would veto this bill. Once again, these two are tied. This time, however, they're uniting against a bill that recognizes and honors the sacrifice of the troops.

It's worth noting that McCain has scored 30-percent on veterans issues, according to the nonpartisan Disabled Americans for America. This should be an issue where we could unite and show universal support. In fact, this vote was very bipartisan, with the overwhelming 75-22 majority in favor.

But McCain decided to side with George Bush. And then he didn't even bother to show up, at all.

McCain's Lobbyists

Ask not what your lobbyists can do for you, ask what you can do for your lobbyists:

But for half a decade in the 1980s, Black was also Jonas Savimbi's man in the capital city. His lobbying firm received millions from the brutal Angolan guerrilla leader and took advantage of Black's contacts in Congress and the White House.

Justice Department records that Black's firm submitted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act detail frequent meetings with lawmakers and their staffs and lavish spending by Black and his partners as they attempted to ensure support for Savimbi, whose UNITA movement was fighting the Marxist Angolan government.

In addition to Savimbi, Black and his partners were at times registered foreign agents for a remarkable collection of U.S.-backed foreign leaders whose human rights records were sometimes harshly criticized, even as their opposition to communism was embraced by American conservatives. They included Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Nigerian Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre, and the countries of Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, among others.

The top McCain lobbyist/advisor’s client roster reads like a who’s who of notorious foreign leaders.

3 For 3

We've hit record oil highs once again today, according to Reuters. But more than that, this is the third day in a row where we've reached a record high.

More:

The United States has repeatedly called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase its output to try to calm markets.

Leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia last week said it had raised production by 300,000 barrels per day, but the news had minimal impact on the market.

Yesterday top oil company executives sat before a Senate panel. This exchange gives some good insight:

Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told the executives there's "a disconnect" between normal supply and demand and the skyrocketing price of oil — surpassing $130 a barrel even as the oil leaders testified — that the industry has yet to explain.

J. Stephen Simon, executive vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp., said profits have been huge "in absolute terms" but must be viewed in the context of the massive scale of the industry." He also said high earnings are needed "in the current up cycle" to pay for investments in the long term when profits will be down.

"'Current up cycle,' that's a nice term," replied Leahy with sarcasm, "when people can't afford to go to work" because gasoline is costing close to $4 a gallon.

Morning Open Thread

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May 21, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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Afternoon Open Thread

• Awaiting more test results.
• A big joke.
• $132.

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Why John McCain's Straight Talk Rings Hollow in the Hispanic Community

As Americans watch and listen to pundits mull over exit polls particularly among Hispanic voters, I remember all too vividly the campaign promises made by then Governor George W. Bush. It was eight years ago that Governor Bush campaigned as the "Compassionate Conservative" in Hispanic communities across the country. Rolling out such themes as family values, a commitment to faith and the rewards of a strong work ethic proved a winning message for Hispanic voters. Hispanics in turn rewarded Bush and to the Republican Party with a respectable increase of support the Republican Party hadn’t enjoyed since Ronald Reagan.

Bush’s campaign promises varied from commitments to solving our broken immigration system, to increased funding for higher education, both issues high on the minds of Latinos. Also, a highly publicized trip to Mexico to visit with then-President Vicente Fox folks imagined that there would be substantive advancements in our relationship. This relationship with our closest neighbors soon ceased when President Fox refused to support the war in Iraq. The message of opportunity and inclusion (often in Spanish) falsely struck a positive chord at the time with a large number of Hispanics of all age groups and was repeated with greater success in 2004.

Fast forward to 2008 and you will find Hispanics across the nation watching this presidential election through a much more discriminating lens. Today, John McCain, like Bush, is trying to sound like a compassionate conservative. But there is a fundamental problem facing McCain and the Republican Party.

John McCain's "straight talk" rings hollow in the Hispanic community because George Bush already showed deeds, not just words matter. Their failure to enact any campaign promises to the community is a testament to both of their legacies. What Hispanic families hoped for was a fair shot at the American dream and an even hand for their children's education. Instead, today's Hispanic family struggles to make ends meet.

With the high increase of college tuition, more and more Hispanic families are finding it difficult to even ponder the notion of sending their children off to college.

Our community is left to wonder where the next tank of gas will come from, all the while, we find ourselves the targets of inhumane immigration legislation. Latinos have seen an astronomical rise in violent hate crimes against our community because of, in no small part, the poisonous immigration debate fueled by the likes of Republican leaders, big and small, like anti-immigrant extremist Jim Oberweis who John McCain endorsed and campaigned for earlier this year.

But Hispanics are optimistic about tomorrow. One thing is for certain, we've learned that just because a candidate speaks Spanish won't necessarily mean it will translate into solving our greatest challenges; or that living in a state that borders Mexico will not make you more compassionate toward Hispanics. Today's Hispanic voter could care less if John McCain shows up with a 10-piece Mariachi band. They will want to hear an explanation on why the Republican nominee was campaigning for Jim Oberweis, and why John McCain now says he wouldn't vote for the immigration reform bill he once sponsored with Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy.

We have seen this play before and, unfortunately for Senator McCain, Hispanics have had enough hollow talk.

The Strategery They Deserve

How else can you describe this brilliant "Super Genius Plan to Save the GOP," as Swing State Project jokingly describes it:

[GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter] also called for more out-of-the-box strategies, such as proposing a theme of "Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Threat," sung to the tune of the Rice-a-Roni jingle.

The plan appears to come from a memo that Right Wing News reproduced on their website. They describe him as "one of the sharper guys up there."

Apparently, that means trolling Free Republic archives for their campaign strategy.

Another McCain Lobbyist Forced to Leave

One more down...

John McCain's top foreign policy adviser lobbied the Arizona senator's staff on behalf of the republic of Georgia while he was working for the campaign, public records show.

Randy Scheunemann, founder of Orion Strategies, represented the governments of Macedonia, Georgia and Taiwan between 2003 and March 1, according to the firm's filings with the Justice Department. In its latest semiannual report, the firm disclosed that Scheunemann had a phone conversation in November about Georgia with Richard Fontaine, an aide in McCain's Senate office.

That's right. He was lobbying on behalf of his foreign clients to get McCain on board at the same time that he was the top staffer on foreign affairs for the campaign.

At every level of McCain's campaign, it seems to be run by lobbyists.

Morning Open Thread

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May 20, 2008

Election Results Open Thread

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Chairman Waxman Looking For Answers

Rep. Darrell Issa wants to prevent EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson from having to give those answers.

You'll want to check out this video, which TPM Muckraker describes:

Waxman was asking Johnson whether he had ever discussed two ozone rulings with the President. Johnson has previously testified that he had discussed California's emissions waiver, but now refused to say whether he had discussed the ozone rulings. The White House's involvement in overruling science-based recommendations from EPA staff in favor of more politically expedient alternatives is now the focus of Waxman's investigation.

No Lobbyists Were Harmed in the Drafting of This Blog Post

In the New York Times, there was an interesting read about John McCain's army of lobbyist staffers and their sordid work histories.

• McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis is currently "on leave" from his firm, a firm that took to a form of lobbying that doesn't require registration.

  But while Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis Manafort in 2006, the company has developed a specialty in recent years in a type of lobbying for which firms do not have to register — namely, representing the interests abroad of foreign politicians and businessmen.

  In recent years, the company’s clients have included the richest man in Ukraine and a former premier of that country whose opponents were supported by Mr. McCain. The Washington Post reported in January that Mr. Davis also set up a meeting in Switzerland in 2006 between Mr. McCain and a Russian businessman, who has been barred from entering this country, apparently because of accusations about past ties to organized crime in Russia. That businessman, Oleg Deripaska, has denied such links.

• Randy Scheunemann, the chief foreign policy adviser, lobbied on behalf of foreign governments for the last seven years.

  Over the past several years, Mr. Scheunemann met several times with Mr. McCain to discuss his clients’ interests. He introduced the senator to the foreign ministers of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia as they tried to win admission to NATO, and a representative of Taiwan as it lobbied for free trade, records show. Mr. Scheunemann also accompanied Mr. McCain to Latvia in 2001 and Georgia in 2006.

  Mr. Scheunemann was a registered foreign agent until March, when he ended his registrations for several countries. He had joined the McCain campaign several months earlier.

That doesn't sound good... But don't try to ask the McCain campaign about it. They're too busy sticking their fingers in their ears, eyes closed, saying "I can't hear you! La-La-La!"

A campaign spokesman, Tucker Bounds, said he would not comment on questions raised about Mr. Scheunemann or any other campaign advisers.

Oh sweet, sweet transparency.

Sad News

We know Senator Kennedy is a fighter and are praying for his health.

Governor Dean's statement:

"Senator Kennedy is a true American hero and a leader in the Democratic Party, having spent a lifetime standing up for the values of fairness, justice and equality. On behalf of the Democratic Party, we extend our prayers and well wishes to Senator Kennedy, his wife Vicky, and the entire Kennedy family."

Afternoon Open Thread

• 118
• Headline: "FAA Whistleblower Intimidation Probed."
• Republicans failing to reach out and recruit minority candidates.

Chat away...

The New and Improved House Republicans

Same as the old House Republicans, minus yet another retirement.

But they're also coming up with their "re-branding" effort's manifesto that embraces almost everything they've done to cause their headaches over the last year (no change on children's health, the war, etc). Mainly, we get proposals like this one:

A draft of the conservative agenda calls for the endorsement of a constitutional amendment to prohibit federal spending from growing faster than the economy except in times of war or national emergency.

The exception, given the rest of their party's platform, could mean that it'll take effect in about 100 years.

The article also notes that Representative Boehner "said Sunday that he intended to remain in his position." His position, of course, is the minority leader.

Not Just a Fraction

Via ThinkProgress, VoteVets Action Fund is coming out with new ad pressuring Senator McCain and President Bush to sign onto Senator Webb's 21st Century GI Bill.

Morning Open Thread

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May 19, 2008

Evening Open Thread

• According to USA Today, "the number of Republicans leaving Congress will cost the GOP millions of dollars in party-building funds for the fall congressional elections..."
• Survey of business economists: growth expected to return (slowly).
• "Reassigned?"

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MSNBC on McCainpedia

Check it out by clicking here. Contribute here.

Afternoon Open Thread

• They think this is just a "perception problem?"
• A sentence of eight years for laundering bribe money to Duke Cunningham.
• "14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic."

Chat away...

Webb's 21st Century GI Bill

Senator Webb was on Meet the Press yesterday discussing, among other things, his bill to expand educational benefits for veterans as they return from Iraq (and elsewhere). He made a point that I simply hadn't realized:

No president in history has vetoed a benefits bill for those who served. … The Republican party is on the block here, to clearly demonstrate that they value military service or suffer the consequences of losing the support of people who’ve served. … The president has a choice here to show how much he values military service.

So not only would Bush be the first to veto a benefits bill for the troops, but he'd be doing so at a time of war. And, by the way, John McCain should sign on, as well.

They've more than earned it. Give them the change they deserve.

McCain National Finance Co-Chair Bites the Dust

In the McCain camp, the staffers are dropping like flies. At this pace, John McCain might run out of staff before November.

John McCain's national finance co-chairman has stepped down, the latest casualty of a presidential campaign eager to cauterize damage caused by its ties to lobbyists.

Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, one of McCain's key fundraisers, resigned in the wake of a new McCain policy on conflicts of interest that required campaign volunteers to disclose their lobbying connections.

Thomas Loeffler, a lobbyist for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and longtime friend of John McCain, joins four others, including Doug Goodyear (McCain's hand-picked RNC convention coordinator who lobbied with the DCI Group on behalf of the repressive military junta in Burma) and Doug Davenport (a regional campaign manager who oversaw the DCI Group's lobbying contract with the Burmese junta in 2002).

The departures from after John McCain sent campaign manager (and lobbyist who worked for a pro-Putin party in the Ukraine last year) Rick Davis to fix the problem.

"Sen. McCain asking his lobbyist pal Rick Davis to 'clean the lobbyists' out of his campaign is like a farmer asking a fox to guard the henhouse," said DNC spokesman Damien LaVera. [link added]

The series of resignations from key staffers from the campaign is an incredible black eye for McCain. Their response?

Everybody must comply with the policy," campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker said. "The campaign will not comment further on individual staff members."

You heard that right -- Mr. Transparency's campaign is now operating on radio silence on the issue lest we know about all the others that had conflicts of interest, or unsavory former clients.

Introducing McCainpedia

Today we're launching McCainpedia, the latest online tools designed to provide greater access to information and resources. McCainpedia is an electronic encyclopedia that provides the opportunity for anyone, anywhere to review the raw facts and research of John McCain's record and then use it or share it in any way they choose.

By visiting http://www.mccainpedia.org, you're a mouse-click away from our research on John McCain. You can easily find and share information on a specific issue or use the data to create flyers, blog posts, or YouTube videos. McCainpedia follows FlipperTV, a unique online video tool launched in November of 2007 that allows users to watch, download, and use video taken by Democratic trackers of John McCain from the campaign trail. We've now incorporated FlipperTV directly into McCainpedia.

As Governor Dean pointed out in a statement, "McCainpedia provides the kind of transparency that John McCain would rather avoid and empowers millions of people to review McCain's inconsistencies and make up their own minds about Senator McCain." John McCain has been anything but public during the course of this campaign, so giving people direct access to his record allows for voters to make up their own minds and activists to have what they need to take action.

McCainpedia will be growing in the days, weeks, and months ahead, so be sure to bookmark it and keep coming back. You can also make a contribution to keep this project and others like it going, and help elect a Democrat to the White House.

Morning Open Thread

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May 18, 2008

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread

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May 17, 2008

Brown v. Board of Education

Fifty-four years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down one of the most historic decisions in the unanimous 9-0 ruling on Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

The decision overturned the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that established "separate but equal," ruling that it was unconstitutional.

Today, we celebrate this glorious decision and reaffirm our commitment to the betterment of our schools and the advancement of equality for all.

Read the full decision here.

May 16, 2008

Evening Open Thread

This one should actually work... chat away...

Ohioans Respond to John McCain on the Economy

John McCain said in April that "a lot of our [economic] problems are, as you know, psychological."

Ohioans, who are among the worst hit by Bush/McCain style economic policies, disagree.

John McCain: he's no economist, nor a psychologist, either.

McCain Sets Withdrawal Date

McCain's Campaign of Lobbyists

How many lobbyists does John McCain have running his campaign -- even at the very highest levels?

So many that he lost count.

Yes, with resignation after resignation and controversy after controversy about John McCain's connections to lobbyists -- which, by the way, have done their lobbying work inside of the campaign bus -- he's now being forced to re-vet his entire campaign staff:

After a series of disclosures forced the resignation of two McCain campaign aides with ties to unsavory regimes, the campaign has decided to scrutinize the background of the entire staff to ferret out connections to lobbyists.

This morning, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge, Rick Davis, the campaign manager, e-mailed to McCain's entire staff a memo entitled "McCain Campaign Conflicts Policy" -- Effective Today" that includes a questionnaire asking about previous professional activities.

One of the questions asks: "Have you ever been a registered lobbyist at either the Federal or State level?" Another asks: "Have you ever been a registered foreign agent? A third asks staff members to list all of their previous lobbying or foreign government clients.

But what about change at the very top?

Charlie Black is McCain's "senior counsel and spokesman." MoveOn.org is taking aim at him in a new ad:

Some organizations are calling on McCain to fire even more.

Rubin: McCain on Hamas The Ultimate Flip-Flop

It's being called "the ultimate flip-flop in American politics" by a former State Department official under President Clinton. As Think Progress points out, McCain now says "It is a grave and dangerous mistake for an American leader to meet with a terrorist organization like Hamas."

Here's what McCain had to say before, in an interview:

RUBIN: Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?

MCCAIN: They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so...but it's a new reality in the Middle East.

Morning Open Thread

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May 15, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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A Step Toward Equal Rights

Governor Dean today issued the following statement on the California Supreme Court decision to overturn the state's anti-marriage ban:

"The Supreme Court of California today took a step forward in the long march toward protecting equal rights under the law for every American. This should not be a matter of politics or partisanship; it is a matter of protecting the rights and dignity of all American families."

More on Bush's Outrageous Statement about Democrats

Speaker Pelosi: "What the President did in that regard is beneath the dignity of the office of the President and unworthy of our representation at that observance in Israel. And I would hope that any serious person would disassociate themselves from the President's remarks who aspires to leadership in our country."

Video via ThinkProgress:

Will McCain speak up?

Will McCain Denounce Bush's Remarks

Bush made some outrageous comments that "Democrats are in favor of 'appeasement' of terrorists in the same way U.S. leaders appeased Nazis in the run-up to World War II."

Governor Dean has responded (emphasis mine):

"On the same day John McCain is talking about putting partisanship aside, the President launched a cheap political attack while on a state visit honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel, one of America's greatest allies. Bush's outrageous comments are an embarrassment to our country, not based in fact and bring us no closer to our goal of ending terrorist attacks against Israel and bringing peace to the region. If John McCain is really serious about being a different kind of Republican, he'll denounce these remarks in the strongest terms possible."

Conyers to Rove: No

That's the headline at TPM Muckraker. With Karl Rove refusing to testify, in person and with a public record, House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers is saying that simply sending a letter isn't enough -- they need to actually be able to question him.

But he is willing to compromise by providing a list of initial questions that might be asked, which would allow him to make sure that the answers that he gives to the committee are precise and accurate.

From the letter Conyers sent Rove:

Our position remains, however, that since your client has made a number of on-the-record comments on these subjects to the media, and in light of your (now modified) statement that Mr. Rove would be willing to testify, we can see no justification for his refusal to speak on the record to the Committee.

Morning Open Thread

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May 14, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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John McCain and the Windfall Profits Tax

John McCain doesn't hate the windfall profits tax as much as the RNC does.

Once again, somebody didn't do their research.

And They Wonder

The day after losing big in Mississippi, worried Republicans across Capitol Hill question what's wrong with the "GOP Brand."

Then they pull a stunt to block First Responder legislation.

And then they go back to wondering why people are turning away from the Republican Party.

McCain's Lobbyists Are Putin Him in A Bind

McCain right-hand man/lobbyist ties to Putin-backed political party raises some eyebrows:

A consultant to Sen. John McCain hired a public-relations firm last year to burnish the U.S. image of a Ukrainian political party backed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to documents filed with the Justice Department.

The lobbying firm of Davis Manafort Inc. arranged for the public-relations firm's work through an affiliate last spring, at the same time Davis Manafort was being paid by the Republican presidential candidate's campaign. The firm is co-owned by lobbyist Rick Davis, manager of Sen. McCain's presidential campaign, and longtime Republican strategist Paul Manafort.

McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said Mr. Davis receives no income from Davis Manafort, although he still owns a share of the firm. "He earns no money from their activities while he is on leave," Mr. Rogers said.

It's just another notch on his lobbyist belt:

But like a little yipping dog that won’t go away, questions about the potential sway of lobbyists on the Arizona Republican continue to follow the “Straight Talk Express.” McCain has repeatedly said he learned much about avoiding undue influences, or the appearance thereof, from the Charles Keating scandal while he was a congressman representing the East Valley. One outcome of his connection to the Keating Five was his persistent efforts to pass campaign reform in the hope of reducing the influence of money over national politics.

… But what really hurts is that McCain complained about these tools of politics at the same time he continued to use them to benefit his constituents and his own career.

Memo: McCain Losing Ground

John McCain is proving that Republicans aren't just having trouble at the Congressional level. Voters see him as on the wrong side of the issues and tied to the most unpopular president in history. On top of that, the Republican "brand" is so damaged that not only can't it save him from the problems that voters have with him, but it can only hurt.

On the flip, read our new memo outlining McCain's failure to connect with voters.

Keep reading "Memo: McCain Losing Ground"

Mississippi Gets the Change They Deserve

Last night -- in a special election -- Democrats picked up another House seat in yet another district that has been reliably Republican for over a decade. As one GOP leadership aide put it, if they lost this one, they'd be looking for windows to jump out of.

You can bet it's going to shake up some House Republicans for the rest of the week. They're still spinning, but it's pretty obvious that they phoned this one in. Mostly, the NRCC tells Republicans not to rely on them to help out... at all:

I encourage all Republican candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, to take stock of their campaigns and position themselves for challenging campaigns this fall by building the financial resources and grassroots networks that offer them the opportunity and ability to communicate, energize and turn out voters this election.

That translates to: don't rely on the NRCC to save you.

So now the House Republicans are going to do the same soul-searching that they did the last time they lost a seat like this one. And the time before that. But what's going to change? Are they going to stop blocking Democratic proposals in the interest of getting things done? Unlikely. Will they stop politicizing everything, to the point that they're voting against Mother's Day? Doubt it.

Instead, they'll probably just come up with another slogan. Nothing against slogans, of course, but slogans don't distract people from blocking children's health care or standing with Bush on issue after issue.

Updated by Matt Ortega: The Hill:

The sky is falling on House Republicans and there is no sign of it letting up.

The GOP loss in Mississippi’s special election Tuesday is the strongest sign yet that the Republican Party is in shambles. And while some Republicans see a light at the end of the tunnel, that light more likely represents the Democratic train that is primed to mow down more Republicans in November.

Morning Open Thread

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May 13, 2008

Election Results Open Thread

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Rove Still Refusing to Testify... In Person

The latest is that he's now offering to testify in writing, but not in person.

Of course, this prevents follow-up questions and allows for lots of other issues that would be avoided if he simply bothered to show up in person. However, it appears that the written testimony would be public, unlike his previous position that he would only discuss it behind closed doors with no paper trail.

The testimony would be about the prosecution of ex-Governor Don Siegelman. TPM Muckraker notes that "Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) has yet to indicate what he thinks of the offer. We'll let you know when he does."

Afternoon Open Thread

• McCain's the only candidate who has no media scrutiny, but Washington Post's Dan Balz says he will, too, when the general election begins. UPDATE: It's ironic; the RNC made a grammatical error (incomplete sentence) in a post correcting a typo of mine. I'd better get a screenshot!
• Hagee to apologize to Catholics. What about the other outrageous statements that he's made?
• Rove still refusing to testify.

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Is McCain Serious About Standing Up To Energy Companies?

His tax package saves them nearly $3 Billion:

A global warming plan that weans America off dirty energy requires taking a stand against the huge utility & energy companies. But John McCain’s tax plan seems slightly more interested in lining their pockets.

An analysis from the Center for American Progress Action Fund finds that John McCain’s massive corporate tax cut would save America’s ten largest electrical utility companies and ten largest energy companies over $2.8 billion. (This is in addition to the $4 billion tax break for America’s five largest oil companies.)

Keep reading "Is McCain Serious About Standing Up To Energy Companies?"

Somebody Didn't Do Their Research

McCain gives his environment speech at a wind company after failing to stand up for it as an alternative source:

Conservative presidential candidate Sen. John McCain chose a clever but ultimately hypocritical location for his big climate speech. I hope the media aren't fooled by his ironic choice of wind turbine company Vestas as the backdrop, but I have little doubt they will run enticing photos and videos of wind turbines. [...]

In December, McCain himself failed to show up for a key vote that would have extended the wind power production tax credit, which has been a key driver of wind power in this country -- allowing it to compete with our better-subsidized power sources (like nuclear) in this country, and to partly offset the much bigger subsidies other countries have for renewables.

Morning Open Thread

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May 12, 2008

Afternoon Open Thread

• Because it would encourage young people to join the Military, the American Legion backs the Webb GI Bill that McCain is opposing.
• McCain missing every "major" environment vote, according to an article at Raw Story.
• TPM Muckraker puts together a timeline "of efforts by Hartmann, Haynes and other Pentagon officials to use the Gitmo trials for political gain..."

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82 Percent Say U.S. on "Wrong Track"

ABC News:

Public disgruntlement neared a record high and President Bush slipped to his career low in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Eighty-two percent of Americans now say the country's seriously off on the wrong track, up 10 points in the last year to a point from its record high in polls since 1973. And 31 percent approve of Bush's job performance overall, while 66 percent disapprove.

It sounds like the American people are not looking forward to four more years of failed Bush policies at home and abroad. That can't be good for the McCain campaign and their promise of a third Bush term...

McCain's Lobbyist Staff

This weekend, we learned that one of McCain's campaign managers (he has several) had ties to a firm had represented the Burmese military Junta. As a result of the media scrutiny, he was forced to resign. In addition, a McCain aide chosen (by McCain) to be in charge of running the GOP Convention also was also forced to resign for the same reason.

When his entire campaign is being run, at its highest levels, by lobbyists -- particularly when those lobbyists are conducting their lobbying business on the so-called "Straight Talk Express" bus, you can expect to see more of this kind of thing as the campaign goes on. And if he's elected, you'll see more of it in the White House, too.

Wind Power

If you don't like John McCain's environmental position, just wait five minutes... it will change:

But an examination of McCain's voting record shows an inconsistent approach to the environment: He champions some "green" causes while casting sometimes contradictory votes on others.

The senator from Arizona has been resolute in his quest to impose a federal limit on greenhouse gas emissions, even when it means challenging his own party. But he has also cast votes against tightening fuel-efficiency standards and resisted requiring public utilities to offer a specific amount of electricity from renewable sources. He has worked to protect public lands in his home state, winning a 2001 award from the National Parks Conservation Association for helping give the National Park Service some say over air tours around the Grand Canyon, work that prompts former interior secretary and Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt to call him "a great friend of the canyon." But he has also pushed to set aside Endangered Species Act protections when they conflict with other priorities, such as the construction of a University of Arizona observatory on Mount Graham.

Monday Open Thread

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May 11, 2008

Sunday Open Thread

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May 10, 2008

Saturday Open Thread

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May 9, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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Afternoon Open Thread

• Cheney: everything going "swimmingly" in Iraq.
• Valerie Plame files appeal "to resurrect lawsuit against Bush Administration."
• CBO shows McCain is wrong on the Webb-Hagel GI Bill.

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Friday Five

Here are five of the events in PartyBuilder for the coming week. You can add your own event or find one near you.

1. State Democratic Convention (Columbia, MO) - We are needing more volunteers to assist with ushering and other things at the convention. Please contact the local chapter for more information on helping.
2. Iowa Democratic Veterans' Caucus (Fairfield, IA) - See you in Fairfield for our next State Vets Caucus meeting on Saturday, May 10 at 10 AM.
3. Fish Fry (Frankfort, IN) - ALL YOU CAN EAT Fish Fry with all the fixin's (including homemade desserts!) Sponsored by the Roosevelt Kennedy Club as a fundraiser for local democratic candidates.
4. Drinking Liberally Monthly Meeting (Reno, NV) - Come on out and join in Reno's newest and most fun social club!
5. Political Leadership: Examining Local, State, and Federal Issues (Orlando, FL) - Join the Orlando area's top Young Professionals for an outstanding evening of networking, new business connections, promotions, great food, and dynamic speakers.

Republicans Vote Against Your Mom

Not just your mom. But my mom. And your mom's mom. In fact, every mother in America.

Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far. House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked yesterday to explain why he and 177 of his colleagues switched their votes, answered: "Oh, we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."

By voting against it?

Let's Make A Deal!

'You Scratch My Back I'll Scratch Yours' McCain pushed key land deal for fundraiser:

Sen. John McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade remote grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of valuable federally owned property that is ready for development, a land swap that now stands to directly benefit one of his top presidential campaign fundraisers.

Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks.

When McCain's legislation passed in November 2005, the ranch owner gave the job of building as many as 12,000 homes to SunCor Development, a firm in Tempe, Ariz., run by Steven A. Betts, a longtime McCain supporter who has raised more than $100,000 for the presumptive Republican nominee. Betts said he and McCain never discussed the deal.

Morning Open Thread

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May 8, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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John McCain's East River Tour

John McCain is taking a ferry ride down the East River from New York City to Highland, New Jersey tomorrow. Sounds like a great photo op, no?

Turns out, McCain's tour will pass a series of landmarks he opposed funding for or even voted against.

Bon voyage, Senator McCain!

Details below:

Keep reading "John McCain's East River Tour"

Record Turnout

Some folks at the Democratic Party crunched the numbers and put together some pretty remarkable findings about the record turnout this election cycle. It's transforming the Democratic Party and allowing us to compete everywhere, with tons of new voters being registered, so I'm recommending that all of you check it out.

Read it here.

Not only did registration increase 65% over the same period in 2004, but turnout increased as well. In Kansas, turnout increased 2,549 percent in Kansas.

We're making gains with young people, in "battleground" states, in unconventional states, and in every region in the country. Again, check out the memo. It's pretty exciting to watch the excitement on our side while Republican turnout is pretty stagnant.

Afternoon Open Thread

• McConnell "spikes" White House FEC request.
• Layoffs at the New York Times.
• FBI seeking Condoleeza Rice ethics probe records.

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Now Inflation the Big Concern

Both on Wall Street:

The improving picture on Wall Street has fed the widespread belief that the Federal Reserve will end its nine-month rate-cutting campaign at its June meeting, as it eyes the growing threat of inflation.

And with the public:

The poll suggests that inflation is the top economic issue for most Americans, with 47 percent of those questioned identifying it as the biggest economic problem.

"Surprising" Jobless Decline

From CNBC:

The number of US workers filing claims for initial jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, according to a report Thursday that suggested the labor market, while soft, was not deteriorating rapidly.

First-time jobless claims fell to 365,000 in the week ended May 3 from an upwardly revised 383,000 for the prior week, the Labor Department said.

The good news, according to the economist quoted in the article, is that things are bad but not "dramatically" worse.

UPDATE: First version said "jobs" instead of "jobless."

Morning Open Thread

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May 7, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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What about Nixon!?!

From today's Washington Post online chat with Karl Rove:

Columbus, Ohio: "You boldy predicted that Bush’s approval ratings would rebound — instead he is, according to Gallup, the most unpopular presdient [sic] in history. Will you finally admit that your vision for this nation has been overwhelmingly rejected by the majority of the people?"

Karl Rove: "Get your facts right — there are at least three president who had worse approval ratings, Truman, Johnson and Nixon."

1. That's his defense?
2. Rove is wrong, anyway.

Arizona Republic: McCain Not a Maverick

The Arizona Republic, John McCain's hometown newspaper, examined the presumptive GOP nominee's voting record and found that "when it matters most, he seldom bucks the party" on Senate votes since 1999. It is more evidence that John McCain's rhetoric on the campaign trail just doesn't match his Bush-like record in Washington.

But an Arizona Republic analysis of his Senate votes on the most divided issues in the past decade shows that McCain almost never thwarted his party's objectives.

The presumptive Republican nominee arguably cast the decisive vote 14 times since 1999 to ensure Republicans got their way, and he had five other close cases where his vote may have made a difference, Senate records show. By comparison, McCain effectively handed Democrats a win on roll-call votes four times in the same period. On one of those occasions, Republicans could still have won if Vice President Dick Cheney had cast a tie-breaking vote.

According to Congressional Quarterly, John McCain sided with President Bush's wishes more than 90 percent of the time in five of the last seven years. The study found that in 2007, John McCain sided with President Bush 95 percent of the time, and with the GOP 90 percent of the time.

The voting pattern seems at odds with the popular narrative that McCain's maverick tendencies make him an unreliable conservative.

"He is a conservative who votes conservative on most issues," said Keith Poole, a political scientist at the University of California-San Diego. "By no means is he a liberal or even a moderate."

John McCain: The Bush president Bush Republicans have been waiting for.

Afternoon Open Thread

• $123
• More on those missing White House emails.
• "Back issues" preventing testimony?

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Life Support

UPDATE BY MIKE LINK: The RNC whines that an opinion piece isn't fair to cite because it's somebody's opinion. And apparently they also don't realize that the person's bio is identified at the webpage we linked to.

The health care system would be put on "life support" under McCain, according to a piece over at the Hill:

More important, rather than relieving the burden weighing down middle-class Americans, the McCain-Bush plan squeezes them further.

McCain’s “solution” to the problem of rising healthcare costs is for Americans to pay even more and get less.

By ending employer-sponsored health insurance and replacing it with an individual market in which everyone buys their own policy, McCain’s plan will drive up costs for families. Ending employer-sponsored coverage is itself playing with fire.

GOP Getting Nervous

"Election Disaster?"

Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.

The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes — brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday — have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode.

“There is an attitude that, ‘I better watch out for myself, because nobody else is going to do it,’” the member said. “There are all these different factions out there, everyone is sniping at each other, and we have no real plan. We have a lot of people fighting to be the captain of the lifeboat instead of everybody pulling together.”

Republicans have lost recent special elections in very "red" areas that previously we haven't even been competitive in. There's another special election coming, too, in Mississippi. The White House has reportedly sent out their greatest hope to save the day... Dick Cheney.

And with that, members of the GOP leadership are starting to worry about keeping their jobs.

Morning Open Thread

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May 6, 2008

Election Results Open Thread

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More Governor Dean

Good news for all of us who just can't get enough Governor Dean -- he'll be on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann tonight at 6:10pm ET. And for those who missed it, here he was on the network earlier today:

Support the Troops

The must-read piece for the day is this one, which takes John McCain to task for failing to help give the troops and veterans the education benefits that they've more than earned.

The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Senator John McCain. [...] The benefits have not kept pace over the decades with the real costs of attending college. Moreover, service members have to make an out-of-pocket contribution — something over $100 a month during their first year of service — to qualify for the watered-down benefits. [...] Senator McCain’s office said on Monday that it was following the Pentagon’s lead on this matter, getting guidance from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Under pressure because of his unwillingness to support Senator Webb’s effort, Senator McCain introduced legislation with substantially fewer co-sponsors last week that expands some educational benefits for G.I.’s, but far less robustly than Senator Webb’s bill.

“It’s not even close to the Webb bill,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

Afternoon Open Thread

• McCain fundraising email today: "I'm sure I don't have to remind you how important even one vote on the Supreme Court can be. Issues concerning states' rights, abortion, affirmative action, the Second Amendment and religious freedom have all been decided by a very slim 5-4 margin."
• Lt. Gen. (ret.) Ricardo Sanchez: Iraq policy driven by Bush reelection politics.
• House committee to Cheney's chief of staff: testify.

Governor Dean on your TV

1:08pm ET - MSNBC LIVE with Andrea Mitchell
1:20pm ET - CNN Newsroom
1:30pm ET - Bloomberg Money & Politics

Don't miss it...

Judges

McCain never met a Bush judge he didn’t like. "In fact, McCain has never voted against a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court or federal courts, the Democratic National Committee pointed out."

Setting Yet Another Record

Oil over $120 a barrel, setting a record high. But no worries -- President Bush is on the case!

U.S. President George W. Bush, who has called upon oil cartel OPEC to increase output to help bring down prices, is expected to talk with officials from Saudi Arabia about the effects of high fuel prices on the U.S. economy on his trip to the world's top exporter later this month.

More, via the Associated Press:

Threats to supply emerged over the weekend and on Monday from Iraq, Nigeria and Iran. Also, a pullback in the recovery of the dollar against the euro and yen pushed investors back to commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation.

Primary Day Open Thread

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May 5, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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Happy Cinco de Mayo

May 5 marks the anniversary of the defeat of 8,000 well-armed French forces at the hands of the outnumbered Mexican army led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín in the Battle of Puebla, or Batalla de Puebla in Spanish, during the French intervention in 1862.

Cinco de Mayo is commonly mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on September 16 and celebrates Mexico's victory for independence from Spain.

In fact, Cinco de Mayo is much more significant in the United States than in Mexico itself.

Oppenheimer's Straight Talk on John McCain

Columnist Andrés Oppenheimer ripped John McCain over his embrace of the right-wing on immigration in Sunday's Miami Herald. Oppenheimer, an award-winning journalist, writes that following an interview with the presumptive GOP nominee, "I left with the distinct impression that he is moving steadily backward from his once progressive stand on immigration."

Hmmm. I smelled a significant shift in McCain's position. From what I recalled, McCain's 2005 immigration reform bill, which he sponsored alongside Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called for simultaneous measures to secure the border with Mexico and an earned path to legalization for millions of undocumented workers who are already in the United States.

Later, when he was running for the Republican nomination and faced an outcry from the anti-immigration wing of his party, he backpedalled to a two-step immigration approach: He said we must first secure the border, and only then deal with undocumented workers.

Now, it seems, he has retreated even further from his original stand and is proposing a three-step process, in which providing for a path to legalization of millions of undocumented workers would come at the very end.

Oppenheimer concludes:

McCain will be making a historic mistake if he continues caving in to immigration hawks in his party: He will never convince them that he is one of them, and he will lose the Hispanic vote that he needs to get to the White House. Worse, he will undermine his own claim that he is a straight-talk candidate and a true leader.

Afternoon Open Thread

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Democrats Expected to Surpass Republicans in Registered Hispanics

The Tancredo Effect:

For the first time, the number of Hispanic Democrats in the state is expected to exceed the number of Hispanic Republicans.

The Florida secretary of state is expected to release the month's voter registration figures to the state Democratic and Republican parties. The last set of figures, released in April, showed a bare majority of 212 Republicans over Democrats among the state's roughly 1.2 million voters who describe themselves as Hispanic on their official voter registration forms. In each month since the state started tracking Hispanic registration more than two years ago, Democrats have gained.

No Clear Answers

The Coconut Rd. earmark is gaining more and more attention. I've focused on some of the Republican infighting over who is to blame. The Anchorage Daily News, though, makes a more important point -- that there are still a lot of unanswered questions that Rep. Young has failed to address.

Here are some of them:

Rep. Young still has not addressed the campaign contributions from people with a stake in the Coconut Road earmark -- $40,000, some raised before the earmark was inserted, some raised after.

Rep. Young argues his earmark had local support. He says Florida Rep. Connie Mack backed it (a claim that Rep. Mack disputes). He says Florida Gulf Coast University wanted the interchange to improve hurricane evacuation.

But why were transportation planners in Lee County surprised at the earmark? They thought the money was for widening I-75.

Was the after-the-vote insertion of the earmark language an honest technical change, as Rep. Young said?

Alaskans still have reason to wonder why Rep. Young has spent $1.1 million on lawyers.

A Magic Wand

Here's President Bush, showing his usual compassion for high gas prices that increased dramatically over his term:

[Y]ou know, if there was a magic wand to wave, I’d be waving it, of course. I strongly believe it’s in our interest that we reduce gas prices, gasoline prices. … No, I think that if there was a magic wand, and say, okay, drop price, I’d do that. … But there is no magic wand to wave right now.

Is a serious energy policy out of the question, too?

Morning Open Thread

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May 4, 2008

Sunday Open Thread

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May 3, 2008

Saturday Open Thread

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May 2, 2008

Evening Open Thread

Republican vs. Republican: "Perhaps we don't just need a committee on ethical standards, but one on psychological standards as well."

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John McCain's Failing Grade on Healthcare

We already knew John McCain flunked Econ 101, but his week of healthcare events shows he got an "F" in Healthcare too. Here's a report card on McCain's healthcare proposals. [PDF]

Who is to Blame?

Republican Party infighting over Coconut Rd:

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) on Wednesday defended changes his staffers made to the notorious Coconut Road earmark, the third time in a year he took to the House floor in an attempt to justify one of his suspect pet projects.

Young also accused his GOP colleague, Rep. Connie Mack (Fla.), of first supporting the earmark in 2005, and then distancing himself from it once watchdogs and the media began raising concerns.
[...]
Ethics watchdogs have raised red flags over the Lee County, Fla., road project, the language of which was changed after that measure passed the House and the Senate but before it reached the president’s desk.

Afternoon Open Thread

Governor Howard Dean appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. Check it out:

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Friday Five

Here are five of the events in PartyBuilder for the coming week. You can add your own event or find one near you.

1. Tri-Lakes Democratic Club 2nd Annual Garage Sale (Branson, MO) - This is our 2nd annual sale. All proceeds raised will benefit Taney and Stone County Democrat candidates for local and statewide offices.
2. Wilton DTC Spring Breakfast Fundraiser (Wilton, CT) - Join us for breakfast! With Guest Speakers
3. South County Democratic GO-Team 2008 Campaign Kickoff Walk and Barbecue! (Chula Vista, CA) - The South County Grassroots Organizing Team is gearing up to play a big role in this year’s elections!
4. Former Vice President Al Gore Coming To Value City Arena (Columbus, OH) - Former Vice President Al Gore will bring his message of environmental sustainability to the campus of Ohio State University on May 4 starting at 6:00 PM.
5. Register voters (Phillipsburg, NJ) - People will gather in a social atmosphere where food is donated by local businesses. The primary purpose will be to register voters.

Friction

Now it all makes sense.

We wondered, along with many others, not why it took so long for General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan to be fired, but instead why she was fired now. It was almost a year ago the Office of Special Council recommended her ouster, as she led a GSA staff meeting along with a Rove aide that detailed Congressional seats that were "House targets" and "Senate targets."

Well, the National Journal has done some digging and they've discovered that it's because -- wait for it -- Doan was TOO independently minded:

According to House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, the headstrong administrator angered White House officials by refusing to abide by their wishes on several matters, including her recent rejection of suggested political appointees to fill senior-level vacancies at GSA.

Morning Open Thread

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May 1, 2008

Evening Open Thread

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McCain: Mission Accomplished

Tonight: Dean on The Daily Show

Governor Dean will appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight at 11pm.

And to keep with the day's theme, this segment from a couple years ago shows the most clever take on the Mission Accomplished banner I've seen to date (2:37 in):

McCain Defends "Mission Accomplished"

Just how far will John McCain go to defend Bush? Even further than Bush's spokesperson, apparently. This just in, from the Associated Press: "Republican John McCain says President Bush should not be held responsible for the much-criticized "mission accomplished" banner five years ago, but he should be blamed for bungling the early months of the Iraq war."

Let's not forget, as I mentioned earlier today, that "mission accomplished" was going to be in the speech, as well, and that it took Donald Rumsfeld -- of all people -- protesting in order to get it out of there. Specifically, the speech initially said, literally, that "the guns are silent."

That's the context.

Not the bogus explanation they're shopping around now. And that's not to say 'mission accomplished' didn't essentially make its way into the speech anyway. Let's not forget his claim that major combat operations were over. But more than that, what we've got here is a Republican presidential candidate who's willing to do more to protect Bush than Bush himself is willing to go -- for fear of looking out of touch.

So what does McCain have to gain by this? Maybe it's more about his own statements. This is a man who declared "massive victory" in Iraq. Maybe it's because he's the one who said that the war will be "over soon."

Or maybe he's so tied to Bush there's just no way out of it.

Mission Accomplished Open Thread

• Veterans to bring a Mission Accomplished banner to the White House.
• How the media covered it five years ago.
• And I'm curious... does anybody know what ended up happening to the actual banner? Is it sitting in a closet somewhere?

Chat away...

Rumsfeld Saved the Day for Bush

With the White House spinning the context for Mission Accomplished today, it's worth noting what the actual intention of the phrase was -- which was initially in the speech until Rumsfeld took it out.

MR. WOODWARD: Just one quick thing not on the list but someone told me about the other day, which I found fascinating. When the person that gave that speech on the Lincoln with the "Mission Accomplished" on the back, somebody told me that the White House speechwriters had used MacArthur's surrender speech on the Missouri as a model. And they literally had in that speech "the guns are silent," and you edited it out.

SEC. RUMSFELD: I took "mission accomplished" out. I was in Baghdad, and I was given a draft of that thing to look at. And I just died, and I said my God, it's too conclusive. And I fixed it and sent it back..

Rewriting History

White House Spokesperson Dana Perino: "President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific, and said, Mission Accomplished For These Sailors Who Are On This Ship On Their Mission."

Just to illustrate the absurdity of this point:

Five Years Later

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

- President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003

"The war will be over soon."

- Senator John McCain, February 25, 2008

And not only is the mission not "accomplished." There's no clear mission to begin with. The White House says one thing, John McCain says another. Except he's in favor of staying there for 100 years, which completely changes that mission.

It'd be nice to elect a president whose vision of finally getting out of Iraq doesn't occur at a time of robots and flying cars. So on this Mission Accomplished Day, my own personal question to McCain is what mission does he see for our troops for the next 100 years? What goal would he give them? And how, exactly, is it going to be just like Germany, Japan, or South Korean like he claims?

There are a lot of lessons. But one you should certainly take away is that just because somebody declares that we're going to stay in Iraq with an open-ended commitment and no combat doesn't make it so. It didn't make it so for Bush, and it won't make it so for McCain's vision of 100 years in Iraq.

Of course, McCain used to know this. But flip-flopped on it so many times I'm not sure he remembers what he has said. Asked by Charlie Rose if he thought the South Korean model would serve as an analogy, even if there were no casualties, he said "No..."

But times have changed; namely, he had to win a Republican primary.

Morning Open Thread

Chat away...