Colorado Politics

It didn't have to the this way. According to Colorado Pols, Colorado's Referenda C & D are going down in flames. I'm pissed. It's not election day and everything could change tomorrow, but I'm still pissed.

The way the ad campaign on both sides of this issue worked out is what is going to do in this amendment. As outlined in this post, the No side of this issue had the easy campaign strategy: just show the public that greedy politicians want their tax refund, and you're home free. In an age of nuance, where even our President doesn't do nuance, Referenda C & D are a hard sell. Such a hard sell that their side of the ad campaign was defending against the No side.

What should have happened? In my small mind, it seems that our Incredibly Republican Governor and our Incredibly Republican Former-Senator-Turned-CU President should have been seen in every television ad with any and all liberals from the State House and Senate and any other comers who wanted in to display the bipartisan effort that was being put into words (newspapers), but not visuals (tv). (deep breath) Run-on sentences suck, I know, but you get the idea. Personally, I think that Governor Owens has received so much heat from the national party for supporting an amendment that's probably considered socialism in some circles that he didn't want to take any more risk beyond supporting the measure. Instead, they showed pictures of the non-partisan Blue Book, displaying text from the ads. Excuse me? The flipping BLUE BOOK??? It's so disappointing that they didn't want my opinion on ad buys, but what the hell, that's what blogs are for.

I still hold out hope that it'll be close enough for the Yes vote to win, but if it loses, the people responsible will those who put together the television ads. They should know better.

Rosa Parks Memorial Tribute

On CSPAN right now is live coverage of the Rosa Parks tribute in the Capitol. Now, this is a somber event. But......

Our President is in attendance, along with many people of all races. However, while most of the white Republicans in attendance look a little uncomfortable, our President looks freaked out. If I could caption it, mine would be, "I hope they aren't thinking of Hurricane Katrina." Truly, he looks almost scared, maybe. Or he could be just pissed off that he can't be home getting ready for bed.

Either way, way to go Rosa Parks. You've scored large on this day: the first woman to lay in honor in the Capitol, and in tribute has made your President squirm. RIP, Rosa.

Martha, Martha, Martha

So, the verdict is in: Republicans are either desperate to hold onto power or have lost their minds. Or both. Watching the fallout on Fox, as well as Tim Russert's show this evening, the general talking point on the right is: Scooter (I still can't say that without thinking of the fuzzy innocent muppet, but I digress) Libby was indicted on a charge not related to the original charge and reason for investigation.

(cricket chirp)

Say it with me: Martha, Martha, Martha. Ms. Stewart was sent to prison for this, was she not? They couldn't indict on insider trading, but instead on the lies she told to investigators in the course of their investigation. Lying is a big deal.

Excuse me. Lying only matters when you're getting a blow job, not when outing classified agents. Silly me.

Shitbags of Liberty

So, my idea for a fun Friday night is to come home from a long day at work at watch Patrick Fitzgerald's news conference rerun on CSPAN. I know, I have no life. Regardless, I watched the whole smokin' thing. Then I watched some of Hannity & Colmes. Mary Matalin was the guest. Then Newt. Such contrast, my head almost exploded all over the tv room. Have to be more careful than that.

So much juicy information, so little brain space. Everyone on the planet with a blog or a news show is talking about the indictment of Scooter Libby. This link is for those of us who want to read it only, not have a .pdf file of it.

Even so. I know this will shock the hell out of you: Bill Frist, Leader of the Senate, the person who you'd expect to lead by example, is going to...wait for it...not allow a Senate investigation into the CIA leak. I would think, given how he was publicly thrown under the bus by Bush, that he'd allow it, just for payback. But no. He can't do that. Nor can he do what is the right thing.

Bill, your broom is worn out. Keep sweeping shit under the rug. Maybe one day it will stay there.

NYT: Fitzmas Delayed?

So, word has it that "Scooter" (how old is he?) may be indicted, and that Rove will continue to be under investigation and that Fitzgerald will ask for more time. Works for me. We get one indictment, with the promise of more roasting over that spit. Take all the time you need, Mr. Fitzgerald. Just don't get fired by Bush in the meantime.

Some Colorado Politics

If you live in Colorado, you've been inundated with ads about Referendum C &D. The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights says that surplus monies must be given back to taxpayers at tax time. This surplus money has nothing to do with the refund that you may get at tax time. The people opposed to C&D don't want you to believe that. The reason for C&D is that if it does not pass, then more money will have to be cut from the budget.

Tax freaks (Dick Armey, from whereeverhe'sfrom, but sticking his nose into Colorado politics...go figure) are well-funded and taking the easy path of a campaign that has serious consequences for the entire state. They want people to believe that they will no longer receive tax refunds that they may otherwise be entitled to. They belong to the Grover Norquist school of economics, that being the less funded government is, the more likely they'll be able to flush it down the drain.

So the reason I'm writing this, is that I received the best campaign advertisement in history today, from Ken Gordon from the Colorado State Senate. I'd give up a month's salary to see more campaign ads like this.

Unfortunately, I cannot locate the material on Ken's website, so here in brief is part of it:

___ Yes! I will vote for C&D and convince others to do so.
___ No! I plan to vote against C&D. I understand if voters reject C&D, you will be forced to cut $365 million from Colorado's budget. I urge you to cut as follows:

Then it lists options for cuts, such as services for the disabled, veteran's benefits, Medicaid, etc. (If the totat of your cuts equal less than $365 million, please erase your responses and propose deeper cuts)

The killer is in the fine print at the bottom:

I understand that by voting against Referendum C&D, to get a new Driver's license, I will forgo two weeks of paid vacation to camp out, in line at the Motor Vehicles Department. Furthermore, I agree to supply room & board for one felon in my spare bedroom or basement. (I would rather have a drug dealer than a murderer). I will assume responsibility for pothole repair, snow plowing and street sweeping for one 200-foot section of state highway (and hope my neighbor does the same). I agree to home-school my child until the age of 25. (I am particularly good at teaching how to factor quadratic equations).

I love this ad. More like this, please.

CNN: Miers Pulls Out

Well go figure. The White House that won't cave on anything is caving all over the place this week. The Gulf Coast Wage Cut, now this. Dems? Time to step up. The replacement nominee for Miers is going to be antithetical to Democratic values. I hope you're warmed up.

The Indictments

Sounds like very soon, very soon. From Steve Clemons:

"An uber-insider source has just reported the following to TWN (since confirmed by another independent source):

1. 1-5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.
2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.

3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" tomorrow.

4. A press conference is being scheduled for Thursday.


The shoe is dropping."

From his keyboard to god's ears....

In The Absence Of Real Information...

...people will make up their own. Otherwise known as gossip. Take for instance:

"Steve, just heard from trusted friend that McCain was approached about serving as VP if Cheney has "health problems" or otherwise steps down.
Beyond that, speculation that Miers will step down to be replaced by a Bork-like sub (even better, Bork himself...). In other words, Cheney takes a bullet, a titanic battle over SCOTUS ensued to change the subject. You didn't hear this from me, but feel free to pass on such unsubstantiated rumors."

From Steve Clemons' site.

That's the problem with everyone losing their mind all at once. It makes rumors like the above seem plausible. Go figure. At this point, anything is possible.

Watching Daryn Kagan On CNN....

...while she does a segment with Bill Schneider on the leak case, is miserable live television. Daryn wants really really badly for Cheney not to be involved. Keep dancing, Daryn.

:::chaneling Tom Petty:::: Oh, the waiting is the hardest part.........

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm.....

....Why wasn't Stephen Hadley in today's cabinet meeting? Isn't he always seated behind and to Bush's right? Karl Rove was there, but I couldn't find Hadley. Hmmm....

Scathing Scowcroft Article

The article in the post mentioned below is only available in its entirety in the New Yorker magazine. But this post from Scott Clemons lays out the juicy bits. There was a time when I'd read something like this and feel relief that an 'insider' was coming clean about the incompetence of the People In Charge. Now however, I just feel drained. It's painful to read that people who May Actually Know Something have been so carelessly tossed aside in favor of blind idealism to their cause. We're surrounded by dumbfuckery.

THIS Is Going To Hurt

Via Steve Clemons, we hear that Monday's New Yorker is not to be missed. Seems Bush the Greater's man will be speaking publicly and critically about Bush's War. I'll post the link when it's up. I can't wait. Bring the popcorn.

Holy Indictments, Batman!

Well, it's no damn wonder that the body language at the White House is so bad. This post takes the Plame/Treasongate matter to a whole different level than I'd gone before. Consider today's news that Vice President Cheney is a focus in the case, then put together with Larry Johnson's statement that National Security Advisor (Condi Rice's old job) Stephen Hadley is expecting to be indicted, and you have the reason that official Washington is shut down. They show up for work, but I'll bet they're watching cable news channels like the rest of us outside-the-beltway political junkies.

Hadley was Rice's Assistant NSA. If he's indicted, wouldn't it follow that she would be as well? Could that be why she was doing Sunday talking head shows? I dunno. There are many bloggers smarter than I who are on this story. But I wanted to blog about how tectonic this entire event has become. Wow.

Cops Who Beat Citizens

The word "citizen" used to mean more than it does today. "Citizen" invokes so much imagery when you stop and think about it. To be a citizen carries responsibility: to vote, to pay taxes, to generally do the right thing. By the same token, being a citizen carries pride: of belonging to a great country, having all the protections afforded under a democratic republic. Things like respect and honor come to mind.

In a democratic republic, citizens are to presumed innocent until proven guilty of a crime. This has become a "whatever" kind of comment, given the evil nature of people who can create some truly ugly ways to harm their fellow humans, and our thirst to see justice dispensed with so said evil pays the price, and rightsbedamned. I'm someone who can follow along with that at times, too.

Police in our country are given a high place of consideration, and with just cause. Someone who will harm a police officer will do anything to anyone. I agree with that stance, and agree that crimes committed against officers are deserving of stiff penalties. However, the reverse should apply to police officers. Since they are given that consideration, then when they commit a crime, especially one of violence against a "citizen", they should face a stiffer penalty than if some schmo committed that crime. Law enforcement can't have it both ways. You either are held to a higher standard because of your higher standing, or you're not.

Friday night, Bill Maher had on the Chief of Police of Atlanta. He was discussing the recent video release of the 63 year old man being beaten bloody by New Orleans police officers. Earlier in the evening, Aaron Brown's Newsnight on CNN had the lawyer defending the police officers; the guy was just pulling comments out of his ass, saying things like, "that wasn't a kick, that officer was just putting his foot down." On the guy's head, maybe, but from my couch, it looked like a kick.

Regardless, officers who are caught on tape (think about what isn't caught on tape) beating a "citizen" to a pulp deserve to be removed from duty and charged with a felony (the guys in New Orleans have been charged with misdemeanors) and prosecuted. If they are innocent, reinstate them. If they are guilty, they should never, ever be allowed to carry a badge, not even for dog catcher. They should feel the stiffer penalties of the law, if they want the law to hold them uip higher than the rest of us "citizens."

Back To Basics

Okay, I've scraped all the spleen off my monitor. Let's begin anew.

A few days ago, I spoke with a co-worker about this blog. She does not consider herself to be very politically aware, and her question about this blog was: "who are all those people?" Which illustrates to me that I've strayed away from my original premise for this blog: for the average person. Sometimes I need reminding that the average person does not consider CSPAN to be entertainment, nor do they know who Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) is.

So it is in that spirit that I restart the blog. For the average person. I don't blog a lot on Treasongate, or Jack Abramoff, or the internal goings-on of the GOP. There are many bloggers who do that already, and do it so much better than I could. My blog is about what I think affects real people, designed (saying it again to remind myself) for the average person.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog. Thanks for coming back.

...Where the President Pisses Off Bill Kristol...

Who said this?

"I'M DISAPPOINTED, depressed and demoralized.

I'm disappointed because I expected President Bush to nominate someone with a visible and distinguished constitutionalist track record--someone like Maura Corrigan, Alice Batchelder, Edith Jones, Priscilla Owen, or Janice Rogers Brown--to say nothing of Michael Luttig, Michael McConnell, or Samuel Alito. Harriet Miers has an impressive record as a corporate attorney and Bush administration official. She has no constitutionalist credentials that I know of.

I'm depressed. Roberts for O'Connor was an unambiguous improvement. Roberts for Rehnquist was an appropriate replacement. But moving Roberts over to the Rehnquist seat meant everything rode on this nomination--and that the president had to be ready to fight on constitutional grounds for a strong nominee. Apparently, he wasn't. It is very hard to avoid the conclusion that President Bush flinched from a fight on constitutional philosophy. Miers is undoubtedly a decent and competent person. But her selection will unavoidably be judged as reflecting a combination of cronyism and capitulation on the part of the president.

I'm demoralized. What does this say about the next three years of the Bush administration--leaving aside for a moment the future of the Court? Surely this is a pick from weakness. Is the administration more broadly so weak? What are the prospects for a strong Bush second term? What are the prospects for holding solid GOP majorities in Congress in 2006 if conservatives are demoralized? And what elected officials will step forward to begin to lay the groundwork for conservative leadership after Bush?


William Kristol is editor of The
Weekly Standard."

Just.....wow. One of Bush's staunchest (is that a word?) defenders. I have watched Kristol on Fox for weeks defending Bush in the face of the complete meltdown of the Republican party, both nationally and in individual states. This seems like a momentary spleen-vent, Kristol-style, but perhaps not. Either way, wow.

...Where the President Pisses Off Bill Kristol...

Who said this?

"I'M DISAPPOINTED, depressed and demoralized.

I'm disappointed because I expected President Bush to nominate someone with a visible and distinguished constitutionalist track record--someone like Maura Corrigan, Alice Batchelder, Edith Jones, Priscilla Owen, or Janice Rogers Brown--to say nothing of Michael Luttig, Michael McConnell, or Samuel Alito. Harriet Miers has an impressive record as a corporate attorney and Bush administration official. She has no constitutionalist credentials that I know of.

I'm depressed. Roberts for O'Connor was an unambiguous improvement. Roberts for Rehnquist was an appropriate replacement. But moving Roberts over to the Rehnquist seat meant everything rode on this nomination--and that the president had to be ready to fight on constitutional grounds for a strong nominee. Apparently, he wasn't. It is very hard to avoid the conclusion that President Bush flinched from a fight on constitutional philosophy. Miers is undoubtedly a decent and competent person. But her selection will unavoidably be judged as reflecting a combination of cronyism and capitulation on the part of the president.

I'm demoralized. What does this say about the next three years of the Bush administration--leaving aside for a moment the future of the Court? Surely this is a pick from weakness. Is the administration more broadly so weak? What are the prospects for a strong Bush second term? What are the prospects for holding solid GOP majorities in Congress in 2006 if conservatives are demoralized? And what elected officials will step forward to begin to lay the groundwork for conservative leadership after Bush?


William Kristol is editor of The
Weekly Standard."

Just.....wow. One of Bush's staunchest (is that a word?) defenders. I have watched Kristol on Fox for weeks defending Bush in the face of the complete meltdown of the Republican party, both nationally and in individual states. This seems like a momentary spleen-vent, Kristol-style, but perhaps not. Either way, wow.

Credit Where It's Due (even if it's questionable)

So, below I ranted raved, vented my spleen and used generally bad language to vent against the Flu Amendment in the Senate that Ted Stevens (R-AK) was going to work to defeat. Then magically, on Nightline Thursday night was Harry Reid and Bill Frist, the leaders of the Senate, discussing the importance of this amendment as a first step in fighting the coming pandemic of Avian Flu. It appears that by a voice vote, the Amendment passed. Good for the good doctor to intervene as a medical practitioner to get this done. Curious, though, is that his name is not listed as a co-sponsor, only Democrats are. Regardless, job well done boys.