Pouty wingers can’t understand why Dede won’t play on their team
Now this is rich. The jihadis at RedState, having spent the last several weeks skilleting Dede Scozzafava, the onetime Republican Congressional candidate from upstate New York, are now whingeing that she should respond to having been driven out of the race by outsiders who don’t actually vote in her district, by throwing her support behind the right wing Congressional carpetbagger who can’t vote in her district either because he doesn’t live there, but who is now the de facto Republican nominee. Seriously. This from Col. Von Erickson himself:
In New York 23, the liberal Dede Scozzafava drops out and instead of supporting the guy the GOP crawls on bended knee to, she endorses the Democrat.
All the time we hear “conservatives can’t win the general” and “conservatives should play nice with moderates.” The record shows that the moderates cannot take losing and conservatives don’t win the general because the moderate GOP stabs them in the back.
If we are a team, it can’t just be the conservative players in trouble for not passing the ball.
Wait … you’re a team??? Didn’t your crowd just essentially read Ms. Scozzafava out of the Republican Party, after calling her a eugenicist who wants to wipe out minorities, implying that she’s a Marxist, and getting so hystrionic about her candidacy that even other Republicans started to think you were insane ? Doesn’t that, by definition, mean she’s no longer on your team?
Of course, the answer to that is ‘no,’ which is why Dede Scozzafava endorsed the Democrat, Bill Owens, today. Go team! Dede’s statement, in which she wisely focuses on those pesky local issues, after the jump. So go ahead … Read more
GOP Congressman: Obama an ‘enemy of humanity’
People for the American Way, which I presume will soon be labeled a communist beehive by Glenn Beck and the RedStaters, has a right wing watch site, which has been monitoring the kooky “How to Take Back America” / Phyllis Schlafly kookfest (which has featured lots of talk about Nazis, and plenty of other over-the-top Obama paranoia.) PFAW dispatched their latest findings to the Huffpo, which reports that not only did Arizona Congressman (and pre-litigious birther) Trent Franks reprise the demand that the president prove that he is a natural born citizen of the United States, he went on to say this:
“Obama’s first act as president of any consequence, in the middle of a financial meltdown, was to send taxpayers’ money overseas to pay for the killing of unborn children in other countries,” said Frank. “Now, I got to tell you, if a president will do that, there’s almost nothing that you should be surprised at after that. We shouldn’t be shocked that he does all these other insane things. A president that has lost his way that badly, that has no ability to see the image of God in these little fellow human beings, if he can’t do that right, then he has no place in any station of government and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity.” Read more
Melly Mel with the clientele…
Oh, so THAT’s why he quit the Senate 
…
Former Sen. Mel Martinez has joined the Florida lobbying firm DLA Piper — just two weeks after resigning from the Senate.
Martinez has joined the firm as a partner and will advise on issues ranging from government affairs, litigation, defense, energy and real estate, according to a statement released by DLA Piper.
USA Today reports that Martinez will come to the firm with $456,220 in cash from his campaign committee. DLA Piper made $11.8 million last year lobbying for clients that include the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lockheed Martin.
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey left DLA Piper last month amid negative media attention his Freedom Works organization received for its involvement in town hall protests.
Well, at least he’ll have to wait two years before lobbying his former colleagues (theoretically…) and as far as we know, Mel isn’t kicking off any tea parties.
Rep. King: What’s a little slavery between friends?
Iowa Congressman Steve King cast a lonely vote last night against those darned anti-slavery liberals, casting the 1 versus 399 vote against acknowledging the use of slave labor to build the U.S. Capitol because … it was the Christian thing to do:
“In the Capitol Visitor’s Center, we agreed to change the name of the Great Hall – which honored the immigrants that came legally to America – to Emancipation Hall to honor the 645,000 slaves and their descendants who were brought to the United States more than two centuries ago.
“Last night I opposed yet another bill to erect another monument to slavery because it was used as a bargaining chip to allow for the actual depiction of ‘In God We Trust’ in the CVC. The Architect of the Capitol and liberal activists opposed every reference to America’s Christian heritage, even to the extent of scrubbing ‘In God We Trust’ from the depiction of the actual Speaker’s chair in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“This is just the latest example of a several year effort by liberals in Congress to scrub references to America’s Christian heritage from our nation’s Capitol. Liberals want to amend our country’s history to eradicate the role of Christianity in America and chisel references to God or faith from our historical buildings.
Either that or he doesn’t think slavery was all that evil, especially when you weigh their numbers against the civil war deaths that came as a result of … the south … seceding … in order to protect … slavery … and plunging the nation into a treason-induced bloodbath … hey, wait a minute!!! King even tried to drag his far better namesake, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., into his mess, saying he believes every word Dr. King ever said. Really? How about these:
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
… In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.
Rep. King?
Who you gonna call? Charlie!
If you were going to quit your governorship in mid-stream, and you were a winger, who would you call? If you’re Sarah Palin, add Rudy Giuliani (hopefully he didn’t propose to her too much… or drool into the phone about how much she reminds him of his cousin…) Dick Cheney (who apparently discussed the ogre-like family’s possible vacation trip to Alaska, during which ‘m sure Sarah and her kin will keep their whale guns at the ready…) [sidebar: Jesus, Republicans are creepy!] … and Florida’s very own Charlie Crist to the list. Reports ABC News:
Palin’s phone calls are shown on her official schedule for May 2009, obtained by Alaskan Andree McLeod through an open-records request with the state and shared with ABC News. McLeod has filed numerous open-records requests for Palin-related documents, as well as four ethics complaints against the governor and her aides.“GOV: Telephone Call Into Governor Crist,” reads a May 4 entry in Palin’s schedule. A spokeswoman for Crist said she did not know who had initiated contact, or what the subject of conversation was to have been, but the two did not speak. “It was a courtesy call. They know each other, both being governors,” said Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac.
Well she didn’t call poor Bobby Jindal… or Michael Steele…! There too, also:
Crist may have had his own reasons to chat with Palin: to promote his candidacy for U.S. Senate, which Crist launched one week after Palin’s phone call. Nine days later, Crist announced an endorsement by Sen. John McCain, Palin’s 2008 GOP ticket-topper.
So will the Barricuda endorse the tan guy in Tallahassee over the RedState base’s choice, Marco Rubio, or will she “go rogue” again and oppose McCain’s choice and add fresh drama to the Florida GOP Senate primary? (Hell, at least their party HAS primary drama …) The plot thickens…
When the going gets tough, the tough get going, also
(…and by going, I mean “gone.”)
Sarah Palin shocked the political (and grammatical) world yesterday, by pulling a Ross Perot (just as nasally, but much less succinctly,) and quitting her job as governor of Alaska. To add insult to the injury she’s now done to her political career (and the voters who elected her,) she tried and failed to pull what I’m sure she thought was a clever maneuver: scurrying out of the 18 months remaining in her term on the Friday before July Fourth. I guess nobody explained to Sarah the concepts of “slow news day” and “sSunday shows…”) Here’s a small part of Miss Wasila’s rambling exit speech (which made Mark Sanford look like the sound bite king):
Watch the whole, tortured 14 minutes here. Or read the transcript if you dare, and good luck not getting a headache from all the verb splitting. Now, of course, basketball analogies aside, there seem to be about three possible scenarios that might cause Sister Sarah to quit on her base so suddenly:
1. Dead presidents. Palin said during her ramble that she and Todd have built up about $500,000 in legal bills defending Sarah’s multiple ethics charges. By quitting as governor, she frees herself to hit the lecture (shudder) and TV circuit and make some cash. Hell, she may even get her own talk radio show (can you just imagine listening to her talk for three hours straight? Scary!)
2. The hounds are advancing. Some big, major ethics or criminal probe was about to hit her, so Sarah’s getting out of dodge to avoid it. Maybe she even made a deal with prosecutors or investigators to resign rather than face the music. Wouldn’t be the first time a politician did that one!
3. Cooped up in Alaska. Sarah loves the fame she’s accumulated, and you get the feeling Sarah thinks she’s way too big a star to be stuck in the governor’s mansion. Her public needs her, and now she’s free to give them her all, without the chirping of annoying “ethics complaints” every time she leaves the state. She’d much rather travel the country, stump for Republican candidates and build up some favors in advance of a hilarious 2012 run (personally, I’m hoping for this one.)
4. She and Todd have decided to go ahead and take that secessionist party national. Okay, just kidding on that one. Maybe. Actually, one Huffpo contributor, journo Geoffrey Dunn reminds that she quit her last statewide office too, suggesting she might just be a serial quitter.
5. She’s figured out that despite her devoted following, her 15 minutes are waning. So she’s decided to cash in while the gettin’s good. After all, why should that little shit Levi get all the reality show love. The move also gives Sarah time to rush her book out before Levi’s, since Levi’s book clearly won’t be helpful…
Of course, it could also be all three. Or she might be insane.
Meanshile, the pundits react:
… but Politico leaves off the best reaction of all, by Ed Rollins:
And while Sarah’s biggest devotee, Roger Simon, apparently couldn’t bear to write a critical word about his Sarah, the rest of the staff at Politico had at it. Jonathan Martin reports Republicans divided … Glenn Thrush has five questions … Mike Allen provides some back-up for my scenarios 1 and 3 …
More good stuff:
The Anchorage Daily News reports on the thrills and chills Palin’s decision is sending through Alaska politics.
We reprise a new clasic: Vanity Fair’s It came from Wasila
Flashback: Palin makes Katie Couric look like Edward R. Murrow
Bill Kristol makes his own head spin off its axis. The always wrong neocon who once derided Barack Obama as “the least qualified man to receive a major party nomination for the presidency of the United States in modern times” cites Sarah Palin’s truncating of her already light governing experience as a big plus for her presidential prospects! Kristol’s best case for choosing Sarah Palin to govern us in 2012?
After all, she’s freeing herself from the duties of the governorship.
I mean it’s clearly the books and speeches she can do that make her qualified for the White House, not the namby pamby governing crap, eh Bill?
Eric Erickson of RedState outdoes himself, by accusing the media of “gang rape.”
Sarah ruins this Pajamas guy’s vacation.
Paul Begala calls Palin a bull goose loony…
Happy Fourth!
Where in the world is Mark Sanford?
The stimulus money-hating South Carolina governor (and would-be 2012 GOP presidential contender???) has flown the coop. So it’s time to ask: “Have You Seen This Man?” If you have, kindly tell his wife…
Meanwhile, the SC GOP is concerned:
… South Carolina state Senate Democratic Leader John C. Land III released this interesting statement about Mark Sanford’s mysterious disappearance:
“We’ve been concerned by the Governor’s erratic behavior for some time. We’re praying for him and his family. I hope he is safe and that he contacts the First Lady and his family soon.”
Milk carton, anyone?
UPDATE: Sanford’s whereabouts have apparently been determined (well, sort of … no one has actually talked to him…) His wife says she wasn’t worried. I guess he disappears like this all the time???
A day of mourning in Iran, neocon politics at home
From Al Jazeera English:
Thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man they consider the true winner of Iran’s disputed presidential election, have held a rally in Tehran to mourn the recent deaths of protesters.Thursday’s gathering took place at the capital’s Imam Khomeini Square in spite of a statement by the highest legislative body that it would meet the candidates to discuss their complaints about the vote.
… Mousavi had issued a statement on his website calling for Thursday to be observed as a day of mourning for those killed during the protests against the election result.
Chanting “Peace be upon (Prophet) Muhammad and his family”, the opposition supporters, many dressed in black, marched in south Tehran, the witnesses said.
Mousavi had urged his supporters to wear black as a sign of remembrance and remain peaceful.
One witness said the marchers carried pictures of Mousavi and placards like “We have not had people killed to compromise and accept a doctored ballot box” and “Silent, keep calm”.
Mousavi somehow managed to reach the venue and addressed the huge crowd.
He announced that a rally scheduled for Friday had been cancelled, and that his supporters should prepare for a major march planned for Saturday afternoon from Tehran’s Revolution Square to Freedom Square.
Mousavi has applied for a permission at the interior ministry but it is unclear whether this would be issued.
About 100 people gathered outside the United Nations building in Tehran earlier on Thursday urging the Guardian Council to take action over the disputed poll.
Officials have barred the foreign media from covering such “unauthorised” events.
However, they are expected to ensure a heavy turnout for a special sermon to be delivered by Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the country’s supreme leader, at the Tehran University campus on Friday. …
Meanwhile, Republicans continue to play politics with the Iran situation here at home, in a most disgraceful way, starting with the serially respectability-challenged John McCain (who has revised his “we are all Georgians now” belligerent, foreign policy crazy-talk) and the other pro-Ahmadinejad neocons (who can’t quite seem to get message discipline enforced on the Hill) and spreading even to some of the right’s saner voices. Great updates on that, and on the protest, at the Huffpo.
For now, the only thing I’d criticize Obama for is stating that there’s not much difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. That may have been true before the election, but it’s probably not now. Although, his saying what he did had the effect of distancing the U.S. from the opposition, which is probably what the administration wanted, and in the end, most probably the right thing to do. Let’s let the Iranians speak for themselves. The neocons’ days of treating Muslims like wayward children who must be given democracy by their western benefactors (usually at the barrel of a gun) is over.
Meanwhile, John Kerry bitch-slaps McCain via the New York Times.
And an Esquire writer advises Obama to let the Iranian red state die on its own.
Un-promise keepiers
John Ensign apparently didn’t entirely buy into the whole “Promise Keepers” thing…
Mel Martinez defends Sotomayor, awaits Rush’s condemnation
From The Hill’s Eric Zimmerman:
“For someone who is of Latin background, personally, I understand what she is trying to say,” Martinez said after meeting with Sotomayor today. “Which is, the richness of her experience forms who she is. It forms who I am.”
I believe Martinez is the first Republican senator to actively defend Sotomayor. This could be one of those symbolic turning points.
Martinez also said he expects Sotomayor to be confirmed “with pretty good numbers.”
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