The Dems being afraid to take on Bush

The Democrats are handed poll ratings that show Bush in the gutter, and evidence the guy is at once incompetent and dishonest. Let's get on it!

Bush Was Set on Path to War, British Memo Says

LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States
and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

In Charge, Except They're Not
By E. J. Dionne Jr.

Is President Bush the leader of our government, or is he just a right-wing talk-show host?
The question comes to mind after Bush's news conference this week in which he sounded like someone who has no control over the government he is in charge of. His words were those of a pundit inveighing against the evils of bureaucrats.

"Obviously," said the critic in chief, "there are some times when government bureaucracies haven't responded the way we wanted them to, and like citizens, you know, I don't like that at all." Yes, and if you can't do something about it, who can?

[...]

"So I've asked Chertoff to find out," Bush said. "What are you going to do with them? I mean, the taxpayers aren't interested in 11,000 trailers just sitting there. Do something with them. And so I share that sense of frustration when a big government is unable to, you know -- sends wrong signals to taxpayers. But our people are good, hardworking people."

Hold on: The president of the United States runs the "big government" he's attacking. This is mysterious. If Bush's "good, hardworking people" aren't responsible for the problem, the villains of the
piece must be alien creatures created by some strange beast called Big Government.

[...]

This episode is important because it is representative of a corrosive style of politics. Bush and many of his fellow Republicans have done a good business over the years running against the ills of Big Government. They are so much in the habit of trashing government that even when they are in charge of things -- remember, Republicans have controlled the White House and both houses of Congress for all but 18 months since 2001 -- they pretend they are not.

And when their own government fails, they turn around and use their incompetence to argue that government can never work anyway, so you might as well keep electing conservatives to have less government. It's an ideological Catch-22. Even their failures prove they are right.

And check these poll numbers from Time.

His approval rating is below 40% and nearly half the country questions his competence.

In general, do you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President? Approve: 39% Disapprove: 56%

Would you describe President Bush as ... ... Competent? Total: 52% G.O.P.: 90% Dem.: 25% Ind.: 46% ... Incompetent? Total: 47% G.O.P.: 9% Dem.: 73% Ind.: 53%

CONGRESS Voters lean toward putting the Democrats back in control even though the party is seen as lacking a clear agenda. Voters prefer the Democrats on many domestic matters, but Republicans hold a notable edge on handling terrorism.

If the congressional elections were being held today, would you be more likely to vote for the Republican or Democratic candidate?* Democratic 50% Republican 41%

Regardless of which candidates you favor, would you rather see the Republicans or the Democrats control Congress? Democratic 49% Republican 38%

Do you think the Democrats have a clear set of policies for the country? Yes 36% No 56%

Do you think the Republicans have a clear set of policies for the country? Yes 43% No 50% *Asked of registered voters. Includes respondents who "lean" toward a particular party

Which party would do a better job of ... Democrats / Republicans

... rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast?
Democrats ...48% Republicans ...21%

... standing up to special interests?
Democrats ...40% Republicans ...22%

... managing government spending?
Democrats ...46% Republicans ...31%

... dealing with corruption in government?
Democrats ...39% Republicans ...25%

... protecting the rights of Americans?
Democrats ...48% Republicans ...35%

... managing tax policies?
Democrats ...45% Republicans ...38%

... dealing with the war in Iraq?
Democrats ...40% Republicans ...41%

... dealing with terrorism?
Democrats ...33% Republicans ...44%

This TIME poll was conducted by telephone March 22-23 among 1,003 adult Americans by SRBI Public Affairs. The margin of error is +/-3 percentage points. "Don't know" responses omitted for some questions.

ITMFA!

Rolling Stone's political coverage has been on fire recently

I highly recommend Matt Taibbi's take on a Conrad Burns fundraiser.

My fact sheet was headlined crude oil in grand canyon national park. It had a nice picture of the Grand Canyon on it. I was going to be Matthew Taibbi, Government Relations adviser for Dosko, a fictional Russian firm representing various energy interests, including a fictional oil company called PerDuNefteGaz that wanted to drill for oil in the Grand Canyon.

[...]

The schmoozefest was on. There were about fifty people present, all in suits and all with name tags representing everyone from the NRA to Motorola to the White House; they all started furiously shaking one another's hands and gaping at one another's name tags, like dogs sniffing each other in a Central Park run. I accosted a young girl named Kristin, who was wearing a Burns name tag, and explained who I was and what I wanted, stammering out the phrase "seeking regulatory relief" and mentioning oil in the Grand Canyon.

And, if you want to be afraid, check out Jeff Sharlet's profile of Brownback. Oh my fucking God is this guy nuts.

He tells a story about a chaplain who challenged a group of senators to reconsider their conception of democracy. "How many constituents do you have?" the chaplain asked. The senators answered: 4 million, 9 million, 12 million. "May I suggest," the chaplain replied, "that you have only one constituent?"

Brownback pauses. That moment, he declares, changed his life. "This" -- being senator, running for president, waving the flag of a Christian nation -- "is about serving one constituent." He raises a hand and points above him.

[...]

He is running for president because murder is always on his mind: the abortion of what he considers fetal citizens. He speaks often and admiringly of John Brown, the abolitionist who massacred five pro-slavery settlers just north of the farm where Brownback grew up. Brown wanted to free the slaves; Brownback wants to free fetuses. He loves each and every one of them. "Just . . . sacred," he says.

[...]

He is running for president because murder is always on his mind: the abortion of what he considers fetal citizens. He speaks often and admiringly of John Brown, the abolitionist who massacred five pro-slavery settlers just north of the farm where Brownback grew up. Brown wanted to free the slaves; Brownback wants to free fetuses. He loves each and every one of them. "Just . . . sacred," he says.

[...]

Like most kids in Parker, Sam just wanted to be a farmer. But that life is gone now, destroyed by what the old farmers who sit around the town's single gas station sum up in one word -- "Reaganism." They mean the voodoo economics by which the government favored corporate interests over family farms, a "what's good for big business is good for America" philosophy that Brownback himself now champions.

In 1986, just a few years after finishing law school, Brownback landed one of the state's plum offices: agriculture secretary, a position of no small influence in Kansas. But in 1993, he was forced out when a federal court ruled his tenure unconstitutional. Not only had he not been elected, he'd been appointed by people who weren't elected -- the very same agribusiness giants he was in charge of regulating.

[...]

Brownback's wife, Mary, heiress to a Midwest newspaper fortune, married Sam during her final year of law school and boasts that she has never worked outside the home. "Basically," she says, "I live in the kitchen."

[...]

One of the little-known strengths of the Christian right lies in its adoption of the "cell" -- the building block historically used by small but determined groups to impose their will on the majority. Seventy years ago, an evangelist named Abraham Vereide founded a network of "God-led" cells comprising senators and generals, corporate executives and preachers. Vereide believed that the cells -- God's chosen, appointed to power -- could construct a Kingdom of God on earth with Washington as its capital. They would do so "behind the scenes," lest they be accused of pride or a hunger for power, and "beyond the din of vox populi," which is to say, outside the bounds of democracy. To insiders, the cells were known as the Family, or the Fellowship. To most outsiders, they were not known at all.

"Communists use cells as their basic structure," declares a confidential Fellowship document titled "Thoughts on a Core Group." "The mafia operates like this, and the basic unit of the Marine Corps is the four-man squad. Hitler, Lenin and many others understood the power of a small group of people." Under Reagan, Fellowship cells quietly arranged meetings between administration officials and leaders of Salvadoran death squads, and helped funnel military support to Siad Barre, the brutal dictator of Somalia, who belonged to a prayer cell of American senators and generals.

[...]

Brownback's chief of staff, Robert Wasinger, who clears attendees with his boss. Wasinger is from Hays, Kansas, but he speaks with a Harvard drawl, and he is still remembered in Cambridge twelve years after graduation for a fight he led to get gay faculty booted. He was particularly concerned about the welfare of gay men; or rather, as he wrote in a campus magazine funded by the Heritage Foundation, that of their innocent sperm, forced to "swim into feces."

[...]

Brownback is less concerned about the world being polluted by people. His biggest financial backer is Koch Industries, an oil company that ranks among America's largest privately held companies. "The Koch folks," as they're known around the senator's office, are among the nation's worst polluters. In 2000, the company was slapped with the largest environmental civil penalty in U.S. history for illegally discharging 3 million gallons of crude oil in six states. That same year Koch was indicted for lying about its emissions of benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia, and dodged criminal charges
in return for a $20 million settlement. Brownback has received nearly $100,000 from Koch and its employees, and during his neck-and-neck race in 1996, a mysterious shell company called Triad Management provided $410,000 for last-minute advertising on Brownback's behalf. A Senate investigative committee later determined that the money came from the two brothers who run Koch Industries.

Brownback has been a staunch opponent of environmental regulations that Koch finds annoying, fighting fuel-efficiency standards and the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. But for the senator, there's no real divide between the predatory economic interests of his corporate backers and his own moral passions.

[...]

Homosexuality may not be sanctioned by the Bible, but slavery is -- by Old and New Testaments alike. Brownback thinks slavery is wrong, of course, but the Bible never is. How does he square the two? "I've wondered on that very issue," he says. He tentatively suggests that the Bible views slavery as a "person-to-person relationship," something to be worked out beyond the intrusion of government. But he quickly abandons the argument; calling slavery a personal choice, after all, is awkward for a man who often compares slavery to abortion.

Yeah. This guy is a US Senator.

Good Night and Good Luck

I know I'm late to the bandwagon, but just saw this movie the other night, and damn. A must see.
















"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices." Edward R. Murrow

Dan Boren, hero of the Democratic party

What's up with the Texas Observer celebrating the vicious win of Dan Boren over Kayln Free in OK in an article by Chris Bell-flack Jason Stanford?

We put up an ad asking, “Do you want a congressman who supports gun control, abortion on demand, and partial-birth abortion? Kalyn Free does.” And on the Sunday before the primary, some Boren field staffers leafleted church parking lots with her position in favor of gay marriage, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

The Boren campaign described Free's endorsement by NARAL as "supporting abortion on demand for girls as young as 13." The gay marriage thing is great too. Nothing like winning on bigotry. The 'ol Karl Rove South Carolina strategy.

Rare good news:

Pork That's Good for the Heart May Be Possible With Cloning

A group of university researchers said yesterday that they had created what sounds like a nutritional holy grail: cloned pigs that make their own omega-3 fatty acids, potentially leading to bacon and pork chops that might help your heart.

One of the cloned pigs

Now, normally I'd be wary of genetically-modified food, but for healthy bacon I will make an exception.

Mmmmmmmmm....

"Boston Legal" screenwriters more adept than DC consultants

A group called "Wings of Justice" gave an award this week to David E. Kelley, James Spader, and the Writers of "Boston Legal" for a closing statement in the fictional TV show:

Each time we watched James Spader's closing arguments in the "Boston Legal" episode titled "Stick It," we wondered: "Why don't Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi say this? Why aren't there Democratic Party advertisements on television with this message?"

We don't know.

We do know that it is a splendid experience to watch someone say what needs to be said. Spader was talking to a fictional jury, but he's really talking to every American. Never was the case for democracy so articulately and compellingly -- and entertainingly -- distilled into an argument that lasts just a few minutes.

The case involved a defendant who refused to pay war taxes. Go to the site and click on James Spader's picture. It's pretty damn good.

Ben Bentzin...

...is like a dog turd you just can't totally scrape off the bottom of your shoe.

The TX GOP never should have stepped in him.

Texas GOP investigated again
Travis prosecutor checking whether party should have reported activity for Bentzin campaign.
AAS

The Republican Party of Texas, which settled a criminal inquiry into its campaign finances just months ago, is back under investigation for not reporting its involvement in the Ben Bentzin campaign for the Texas House.

Bush v. LBJ

Since today's bash Bush day, I thought I'd drag up this old LBJ quote:

We Liked Ike. This exerpt from a letter by President Eisenhower to his brother on Nov. 8, 1954 seems to have a timely ring to it:

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.

Bush and the Greeks

Friday, Bush will be participating in a Greek Independence Day celebration in DC.

Which is great and all, except that on every foreign policy issue of concern, Bush is fucking over the Greeks because he wants to make nice with Turkey so he can have help with Rummie's Project for a New American Century plot to create Syriana.

Check this analysis of Bush's record on issues affecting Greece, from Gene Rossides, President of the American Hellenic Institute:

[Q]uestions are being raised as to what his legacy will be as the 43rd President. Bush has three years remaining in his second term to turn things around in Iraq and to strengthen his democracy initiative in order to build a record for his legacy.

The thesis of this article is that unless President Bush alters his administration’s policy on Turkey and Cyprus, his democracy initiative will fail. The administration’s undemocratic position on the Cyprus problem and its double standard on the application of the rule of law to Turkey, the appeasement of Turkey and its failure to press for democratic reforms, make a mockery of Bush’s democracy initiative.

Historians and serious students of history will not overlook the glaring inconsistency in
Bush’s rhetoric and his policy and actions regarding Turkey and Cyprus regardless of what happens in Iraq.

[...]

Bush should also call on Turkey as part of his democracy initiative to remove promptly (1) the 35,000-40,000 illegal Turkish invasion and occupation troops from Cyprus, (2) the 120,000 illegal Turkish settlers and colonists brought from Turkey to Cyprus in violation of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and (3) to tear down the infamousTurkish barbed wire Green Line fence across the face of Cyprus.

Bush should also hold Turkey responsible for its invasion of Cyprus and its murders, rapes, the forcing 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes and property, destruction of churches and property and widespread looting.

To put meaning into his democracy initiative Bush also needs to address Turkey’s lack of full democracy. Freedom House in its annual survey calls Turkey only a partial democracy.

When is Bush going to publicly call for full human and political rights for Turkey’s 20% Kurdish minority?

When is Bush going to condemn the Turkish military’s brutal attacks on its Kurdish citizens?

[...]

Ataturk led the genocide against the Pontian Greeks in which 350,000 were killed and the burning of Smyrna. In 1955, the Turkish government under Prime Minister Menderes organized the infamous pogrom against the 100,000 Greeks of Istanbul and the Greek Orthodox Churches detailed by Professor Speros Vryonis, Jr. in his monumental book The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The Turkish Pogrom of September 6-7, 1955, and the Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul, published this year.

Turkey continues to this day its actions, some subtle, must overt, against the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarch, the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Christian religion. In 1971, Turkey illegally closed the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology. For the past several years, Turkey has been illegally taking church property.

The Bush administration has been all talk and no action regarding religious freedom in Turkey. If Bush wants to put meaning into his democracy initiative he should act vigorously regarding Turkey’s violations of religious freedom which U.S. law requires him to do. Specifically, the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) was enacted into law in 1998 following a unanimous vote by Congress. IRFA provides for up to 15 actions which the President could take against Turkey.

In the White House proclamation about Greek Independence Day, Bush declared, "Greece is the birthplace of democratic principles."

So here, again, Bush's talk about "democratic principles" doesn't match his walk, or his "swagger" or his "incompetent bumbling" or whatever we want to call it.

Here's Amnesty International on Cyprus:

A Greek Cypriot civilian was beaten to death while a Turkish Cypriot police officer failed to intervene. Two unarmed Greek Cypriot civilians were shot dead by Turkish Cypriot soldiers. A journalist was shot dead in an alleged politically motivated killing in the Turkish Cypriot-administered part of the island.

So thanks, George, for recognizing Greek Independence Day. Now can we trade that proclamation in for some human rights?

Bush is so full of shit.

So CNN is on in the background in my office, and Bush is giving a press conference. I catch this snippet from the Leader of the Free World:

"You know I don't follow the polls."

Whaaaa?

Are they still pulling that line after Washington Monthly busted them on it 2002?

President Bush doesn't believe in polling---just ask his pollsters.

A Washington Monthly analysis of Republican National Committee disbursement filings revealed that Bush's principal pollsters received $346,000 in direct payments in 2001. Add to that the multiple boutique polling firms the administration regularly employs for specialized and targeted polls and the figure is closer to $1 million. That's about half the amount Clinton spent during his first year; but while Clinton used polling to craft popular policies, Bush uses polling to spin unpopular ones---arguably a much more cynical undertaking.

Media Matters has called bullshit on this as well.

Even some random message board called the GWB out on it:

On the news show Washington Week, David Sanger a White House correspondent the New York Times said , the White House publicly claims to be disinterested in polls but in private the Bush administration is the most poll obsessed presidency he's ever seen.

The entire attack on Hillary Clinton that's been going on the past month or so, has been orchestrated by Karl Rove to discredit her as a critic of the administration because she has high positive poll numbers on nearly every criticism she has of the current administration. Rove even used focus groups shape the "Hilliary is angry" talking point campaign but dropped the use of the "angry" angle when polls showed that the public saw the "angry" allegations as just another smear campaign and it resulted in a backlash that lowered Bush's positive performance numbers even more.

These fuckers even polled the war in Iraq:

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

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

No polls eh?

Dems cowering in the corner (and me missing Wellstone)

Let's remember: 1) Bush clearly broke the law, and 2) his approval rating is hovering in the mid-30s.

So given this, when a Democrat steps up to say the obvious -- Bush shouldn't break the law -- the Dems:

Democratic leaders shy away from censure plan
Sen. Feingold's effort to condemn Bush over spy program fails to draw clear support

WASHINGTON - Democrats distanced themselves Monday from Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold's effort to censure President Bush over domestic spying, maneuvering to prevent a vote that could alienate swing voters.

Typical courage from Lieberman:

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who supports the Iraq war, said he does not buy the Bush administration's argument that it had the legal authority to enact the program.

But, he said, "I'd prefer to see us solve the problem."

In other words, Bush broke the law, but I'm not going to do anything about it.

Here's what Frist said:

Frist, a Tennessee Republican, called the measure "a political stunt that is addressed at attacking the president of the United States of America when we're at war."

Why doesn't Harry Reid fire back: "Yeah, we are at war, in Iraq, a war we shouldn't have started. You can wiretap there all you want. And we're at war with Al Queda, and you can wire tap them all you want. But last time I checked we are not at war with the American people, and you cannot wire tap them illegally."

"Oh and by the way, if you want to talk about the appropriateness of political stunts during wartime, that's a conversation I'm willing to ahve with you on Meet the Press or wherever you like, and we'll start with the "Mission Accomplished" banner and Top Gun playacting."

"Even many in your own party have said Bush broke the law here, so don't you dare chalk this up to partisanship."

Instead Reid said:

Asked at a news conference whether he would vote for the censure resolution, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada declined to endorse it and said he hadn't read it.

Fuck Joseph Schramm

Check out this letter to the editor in the local rag DC Examiner today:

Behavior led to police shooting

Media coverage of the unfortunate death of Aaron Brown has stopped for the moment, so I want to take this opportunity to focus the discussion in a different direction, and on the real cause. The kids involved instigated this tragic event. Officer Stowe, while performing his duty, tried to resolve it.

Everybody likes to place blame, so let’s start with the parents of the kids involved. The parents allowed them to stay out beyond 4 a.m. They raised them with no sense of right and wrong and little respect for others, for authority and for the law.

These kids were allegedly involved in theft, illegal drinking of alcohol and possessing and/or using illegal drugs. They were fleeing their crime scene and thought this was all a game or a joke.

If the kids had behaved responsibly, they would have stopped when confronted by a uniformed police officer. Had they done the right thing, the outcome of that night would have been quite different.

I am sure the investigation of Stowe will be decided based on the facts. I hope the parents and kids involved are also investigated and held responsible for their actions.

Joseph Schramm
Alexandria

So, four teenagers skip a tab, and cop shoots one of them to death, and this jackass says the responsibility lies with the parents for letting an 18-year-old stay out late? I bet this conservative piece of shit would have a far different opinion if a white kid were in SE DC late at night, and got shot by a private citizen who was Black in a questionable "self-defense" case outside a nightclub. Think he'd say the blame belonged with the parents for that one? Or think he's be hollering for justice?

You think he blames rape victims too for walking around late at night? And their parents for letting them out? If the "kids had behaved responsibly" this wouldn't have happened, huh? Is it "responsible" for an off-duty cop to shoot wildly at a moving car?

Does this man have no human empathy? Can he place himself in the mind of a kid who skipped a tab? Does he have sadness for the senseless loss of human life?

By defending this murder, Schramm hurts the credibility of all law enforcement.

The Post reports the use of force was questionable -- even if the officer's story was true.

Many public safety experts agree that policies allowing officers to shoot at moving cars are risky and antiquated.

"We put the emphasis on better training. Striking at a moving vehicle doesn't do you any good. If you think you had a problem before, try adding a corpse behind the wheel," D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said last night. "We feel better tactics, better approaches . . . is the way to go."

Geoffrey Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina and an expert on the use of lethal force, said officers can put themselves in a position to fear for their lives. "This is an issue that is well resolved at major departments for all the right reasons," he said. "You do not shoot at a moving vehicle when the only force being used against you is the moving vehicle."

But, even so, it appears the cop fired into the side of the car! See: Family, Witnesses Discuss Fatal IHOP Shooting

"I don't know why a cop would open fire on a vehicle full of kids, when, really, what should have been done was taken the tags down and called it in," Daughtrey said.

Sources told News4 that at least four shots were fired into the Jeep: one into the grill; one into the hood; one into the rear, side door behind the driver; and one into the rear quarter panel.

"Immediately after, we're yelling at the cop, telling him, 'He's not breathing. He's shot,'" Daughtrey said. "At that point, he told us to shut up."

Fuck you, Joseph Schramm, I hope you get arrested in a case of mistaken identity. Fuck the police. I hope this cop goes down for murder and gains a gain a new appreciation for Oz while in lockup

Don't get me wrong -- our society needs police, and most do a sacrificing, noble job, but if you can't discipline your own, if you can get shot 41 times for brandishing a wallet, fuck 'em.

Alright, I'm off to listen to some Springsteen.

Texas Politics Roundup

Ciro lost to Henry in the primary Tuesday. That sucks.

In a bitter rematch, Cuellar defeated the man he replaced two years ago — former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio — by capturing 53 percent of the vote, compared with Rodriguez's 41 percent. About 6 percent of the vote went to Victor Morales in the 11-county district that runs from the Mexican border to San Marcos.

Kos takes credit for the narrow margin:

The bottom line: we helped a campaign that was the walking dead and gave it new life, pumped in resources, and made it competitive. We did much to even the playing field even if ultimately we came up tantalizingly short.

Generally true. The bloggers raised a ton of money. As for Henry, how do call yourself a D when your spokesperson puts out this shit?

Colin Strother, general consultant to the Cuellar campaign, said Cuellar won by representing his district.

“It’s not every day that a Democrat in a primary goes up against labor, trial lawyers, environmentalists and bloggers and wins. You know, if you look at all the forces gathered against Henry, this is more than a victory. This is a really, really big victory.”

Cuellar was backed by the conservative Club for Growth.

In other primary news, DeLay got 62%. Would have been nice to force a runoff, but we still want DeLay as the opponent. Lampson is looking good:

Lampson readies $1.6M against DeLay

What the hell is wrong back home? Of course, it is Corpus Christi. But still, damn primary voters are stupid. A third of 'em voted for Gene Kelly again.

Reluctant winner ponders next step
Victor in Dist. 18 Texas Senate race thought he was out

By Sarah Viren Caller-Times
March 9, 2006

Dr. Henry Boehm Jr. has no choice. He's running for the District 18 Texas Senate seat in November, whether he wants to or not.

Boehm, 66, won the primary Tuesday night despite announcing his withdrawal the month before. Glenn Hegar, 35, took the Republican primary, beating out candidates Gary Gates, 46, and David Stall, 48.

First Molly Ivins, now Ann Richards. Cancer is a Republican and he doesn't like strong Democratic women.

To a swift recovery.

And the weekend is almost here. You know what that means:

Texas Independence Day!

Wave the flag, swill your Shiner/Lone Star/Whiskey, beat your chest, play Willie Nelson/Stevie Ray/Spoon too loudly, hook 'em horns, and make sure people from other states, especially Oklahoma, know their place. It's March 2.

The Texas Exes site has a fascinating explanation of how this became a big deal at UT:

It’s Texas Independence Day, and it’s observance on the University of Texas campus began with a missed class, a visit to Scholz’ Beer Garden, and a spiked cannon.

The University of Texas campus in 1896.

In the spring of 1896, the fledgling University of Texas was confined to a forty-acre campus, with a white-washed wooden fence around the perimeter to keep out the town cows. A Victorian-Gothic Main Building, only two-thirds complete, commanded the hill in the center. It was flanked by the Chemistry Lab Building to the northwest, and B. Hall, a men’s dorm, down the hill to the east.

[...]

On the cloudy, warm and humid morning of March 2, 1896, the Junior Laws were waiting for their next lecture in criminal law, taught by Judge Robert Batts. One student bemoaned the fact that the day was Texas Independence Day, a legal holiday for Texans, except, apparently, for those on the UT campus.

For years, students had regularly petitioned the faculty for a break on March 2nd, but had always been refused. “Our faculty is afraid to grant us a holiday, even on such occasions," complained the Alcalde, a weekly student newspaper that pre-dated The Daily Texan. “They fear that some 2 x 4 politician, or still smaller newspaper, will accuse them of not earning their money. That is the real cause of their reluctance to grant a cessation of routine grinds, to allow our Texan bosoms an inflation of truly patriotic atmosphere.”

After some animated discussion, the Junior Laws decided they would honor such an auspicious day by avoiding class altogether, and invited Judge Batts to join them. The diplomatic Batts responded with an eloquent speech, espousing all of the dire things that might happen to Junior Laws who skipped important lectures. The students listened, cheered, and promptly ignored Batts’ pleas, choosing instead to spend the day at Scholz’ Beer Garden just south of the campus.

Read more...

Oh yeah, and root for justice today.
















Supremes take up Texas redistricting, as reported in WP:

"Particularly grotesque shapes," judged Justice John Paul Stevens. "Much less compact" than before.

Justice Stephen Breyer offered a partially concurring opinion. "A long walking stick is what it looks like . . . It's not a circle . . . It's not absolutely terrible."

This is just embarassing:

But the geometric discussion evidently did not interest Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At first, she appeared to be reading something in her lap. But after a while, it became clear: Ginsburg was napping on the bench. By Bloomberg News's reckoning -- not denied by a court spokeswoman -- Ginsburg's snooze lasted a quarter of an hour.

This is an objective jurist for you:

Scalia immediately signaled his support for the GOP map.

Here's an analysis of the redistricting issue I came across from some people who know what they're talking about:

“What ifs” on Texas Supreme Court Review

If the Supreme Court upholds the map

Texas congressional elections will proceed under current lines in 2006.

Under the Texas precedent, other states will consider partisan mid-decade redistricting efforts and legal experts will attempt to define what voting rights protections remain under the Texas precedent.

If the Supreme Court rules the plan is illegal based on improper mid-decade redistricting

The previous Court-drawn plan would almost certainly be reinstated because the subsequent 2003 map would have been found illegal.

If the Supreme Court invalidates the map due to violation of voting rights, partisan gerrymandering, or the one person, one vote principle

The Court will almost certainly remand the case to the three judge court to provide a remedy consistent with the Supreme Court ruling.

Given that the Supreme Court’s accelerated schedule allows time for aremedy prior to the 2006 elections, it is unlikely that the Court would send the task of drawing a plan back to the legislature.

Consistent with the precedent established by the federal court in the Bush v. Vera congressional redistricting case in 1996, the Court could order that the March primary results be abandoned and that special congressional elections be held in new, legal districts.

The most likely scenario for the 2006 elections and beyond would be the reinstatement of the 2002 Court-drawn plan, because it is a legal plan based on the 2001 census that would remain in place after the plan invalidated by the Supreme Court is abandoned.

Who Would Run?
The seats lost under the DeLay plan were: District 1 (Sandlin), District 2 (Turner), District 4 (Hall switched parties), District 9 (Lampson), District 17 (Stenholm) and District 24 (Frost). If the map is reversed, Democrats would almost certainly reclaim Districts 9 and 24. It is also possible to reclaim Districts 1 and 2, assuming the former Members return or other very strong candidates are recruited. Obviously, District 4 is lost, and District 17 is strongly Republican and would not likely be reclaimed, even if Stenholm returned.

District 1 – If Max Sandlin returned to run, he would have an excellent chance to win. If not, then a very strong, well funded candidate would have to be recruited.

District 2 – Jim Turner would very likely return to claim his seat. If he does, he will likely win. If not, it would be very hard to reclaim this seat.

District 4 – This is a safe Republican seat. Hall is now a Republican.

District 9 – Lampson would almost certainly switch from CD22 and run in his old seat. Assuming he does so, he will likely win.

District 11 – While the seat is tough, Chet Edwards would run and win

District 17 – Stenholm has already publicly said he will not run. Republicans will hold this seat.

District 22 – This is the old DeLay seat. Lampson would likely abandon his current race and run in the 9th District. DeLay however, might decide not to file and leave the seat to a new Republican Member.

District 24 – This seat would revert to a minority opportunity district anchored by the African American community in Fort Worth. Frost would likely return to reclaim his seat.

District 25 – This seat was formerly held by Chris Bell. It is controlled by African American voters, and current Congressman Al Green would almost certainly run and win the seat.

I bet this was a fun time:

Democrats and Swingers

When I heard the latest poll numbers for Bush and Co., I thought of Swingers, the movie. Before I explain, let's relish in how bad these numbers are:

As the Houston Chronicle reported:

Bush approval rating nearing Nixon's levels

WASHINGTON - President Bush's job-approval rating fell to an all-time low — 34 percent — in a poll published Tuesday. That puts him not far above Richard Nixon's Watergate-era nadir and raises questions about how effectively he can govern in his remaining years in office.

Cheney is at 18%. Of course, he did shoot a guy in the face (you know that, but I just love saying it, even typing it).

Here's another poll, from Lou Dobbs' website. He asked:

Do you have confidence that the 45-day review of the ports deal will be intensive and thorough and the outcome based solely on the national security interests of the United States?

97% of respondents say NO. Granted, it's a self-selecting online poll, and only 10,000 people have responded, but damn. That's not a good number for Bush.

So what are the Democrats going to do with all these good numbers? This brings us to Swingers. Just like Mike when he gets the olive girl's number at the bar, we're gonna fuck it up. Consider this exchange in the parking lot after Sue pulls a gun and Mike challenges him (from the script):

SUE Listen. Just because I was the only one with the balls to stand up to them...
TRENT ... Oh yeah, like "Cypress Hill" was gonna do anything...
MIKE You live in such a fantasy world...
SUE What about you, Mikey? At least I got balls. You're always whining about some bitch who dumped you a year ago...
MIKE ... It was six months, and she didn't dump...
SUE ... Whatever. You're like a whining little woman. Big deal. You got a fuckin' number. Whoopee! You'll fuck it up...
TRENT ... Sue...
SUE Have you gotten laid once since you moved here? Did you fuck once?
TRENT ... Shut up, Sue...
SUE I know for a fact you haven't, because you never shut up about it. Your like a little whiney bitch...
TRENT Sue!
MIKE No, Trent. He's right.

I won't even post the exchange between Mike and the answering machine later that night. It's too painful too recall, much like election night 2004.

Here's Chris Dodd last month, admitting the Dems are Mike from Swingers, quoted in a NYT article titled, Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities:

Asked to describe the health of the Democratic Party, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said: ''A lot worse than it should be. This has not been a very good two months.''

''We seem to be losing our voice when it comes to the basic things people worry about,'' Mr. Dodd said.

I don't want to be all pessimism. At the end of Swingers, Mike found his balls and got the girl. That bitch back in New York (obviously a Republican in this sloppy metaphor) got shut down.

I don't have some self-assured, pithy (meaningless) analysis, either, which prevents me from ever appearing on a Sunday morning talk show.

All I'd really say to the Dem leadership is you're a big fucking bear with these big fucking claws, stop apologizing, read some Matt Taibbi, take a page from these poor musicians and stand on principle, and give me a reason to believe.

One coworker was commenting on Bush's poll numbers, "Too bad it's 3 years before the next election." Not true, 2006 is 9 months away, baby!