I really don’t understand Joe Lieberman’s new ad, or his campaign strategy to highlight what he considers Ned Lamont’s "inexperience." One of the most powerful and enduring myths of American politics is the honest, uncorruptable newcomer vs. the political hack, the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington tale. Ned Lamont’s rather squeaky clean good-guy persona becomes even easier to tie to the Jimmy Stewart image as a direct result of Lieberman’s efforts, and nobody screams "tired old hack" right now louder than Joe Lieberman. He’s got nothing in the tank, no new solutions, no big ideas to run on – just a record of supporting an abysmal failure of a war and a history of selling out everything he ever purported to believe in so he could go steady with the GOP.
As Tim Tagaris points out, Joe isn’t even consistent in this particular sentiment. From his book, In Praise of Public Life:
“Of course I’m not saying that our political system should not sometimes be shaken up through the election of a new kind of leader, like Jesse Ventura in our time, or that it should not be open to the fresh perspective of someone from an entirely different profession, a person who has been successful, say, in business…”
No-Show Joe is guilty of virtually everything he ever accused Lowell Weicker of and more. He’s accepted large speaking fees, failed to show up for just as many votes as Weicker in half the time, and worse yet — confused bipartisanship with rolling over for personal gain. If he can put his finger on the American Myth of the Entitlement of the Cranky Old Git he might have a better shot at success.
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fITZ!
Fitz Jane Ned Keith Marcy
This is just one more instance of Joe’s campaigning incompetence. He’s reinforcing Ned’s message, just as he did in the primary, over and over again. His campaign has been an astounding example of how not to run a race as an incumbent.
Hey! How did you sneak in here Hugh! I coulda been a contender!
Jane, I just Netflixed this movie last week. It was great. I had never seen it before. Joeplunge is soon to be history!!
Jimmy Stewart!
Rock the boat, Jane!
Call me naive, call me stupid. And please, call me idealistic and principled. I’ve been called a lot worse. But I cling to the idea that women and men will do the right thing. If left to their own devices. I do NOT buy into the concept of “original sin”. And I never will. Best of all… call me progressive.
I think that the current arc of the campaign has too much Joementum to change.
This arc leads inexorably, inevetably, irrevocably to it’s pre-ordained conclusion: Joe-blivion.
No mortal can stop it now.
oh and of course Redd TRex Howie Donita Taylor Swopa watertiger mommybrain egreg Eli ofg NORSKE Saint Mary lhp all you fab newbies/delurkers and everybody else I’m forgetting!
I’m beginning to think Lieberman may be more representative of people who are interested in military contracts than his constituency.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031679/quotes
girls, too!
Fact is, he doesn’t really know what he’s doing, he’s been secure in his position of power for too long. Now he’s going scattershot hoping something will stick enough to get him into the margin of Diebold error.
My daughter is a first grader in Virginia and they are teaching her what patriotism means. I asked her if she thought patriotism meant telling the President he is doing a great job or did it mean telling him that you didn’t think he was doing a good job. She looked at me confused. I said the wonderful thing about our country is that it is just as patriotic to tell him when he isn’t doing a good job.
jesus marie, how could I forget the angie!
you majorly on fire, girl.
Hi Jane. I noticed this post doesn’t have a title. How about “There’s a new kid in town (Joe don’t wanna hear it)”
;)
Jane S. @ 14
Awhile back I decided to finally go back to school and get the degree that I skipped out on after high school… at the moment I’m taking an early US history course.
It’s an amazing juxtaposition to be reading the words of the deist philosophers who founded our nation while hearing the words of those who currently run it coming from the tv. They couldn’t be further apart.
Can you imagine? Back in the 1760s the body politic was *very* concerned about the opening of playhouses of all things, but that they might distract the citizenry from their civic duties and moral foundation!
The idea of free speech won that battle, but there’s an element of truth in that concern as well…
How about instaed of Jimmy Stewart, name the thread Joey Swaggert.
Look at Lieberman’s quote again.
This time, focus on the positive reference to Jesse Ventura.
Lieberman’s book must have come out around the time that Ventura’s public image was peaking.
So besides highlighting Lieberman’s hypocrisy, this quote also demonstrates two other unsavory characteristics that we have seen time and again from Lieberman:
1. Lieberman’s desire to praise high-profile politicians and public figures from outside of his own party to garner publicity (and respect from the cocktail weenie circuit) for himself and
2. Lieberman’s spectacularly poor judgment about which persons are actually worthy of praise.
See, e.g., George Bush, Farrakhan, McCain, Nancy Johnson, Dick Cheney, Jesse Ventura, and the list goes on…
How about “This town needs an enema!”?
#17–It is hard to instill in my child the ideals of the constitution, of free speech and see them subverted every day by our great leaders.
Twisted – nice Ghostbusters reference.
And Go Blue!
Oh wait, that was a Batman reference, my bad.
On the topic of the ad:
“I’m Joe Lieberman and I approve this message”
But I don’t approve of allowing youtube users to comment on my videos.
WUSS!
The ad must be the result of internal polling because one of the few things still going for Liarman are the memories of what he used to be and the misperception that his seniority somehow works to Connecticut’s advantage.
I’m sure the Lamont campaign has some ads lined up to address this canard – and to reinforce the importance of getting someone who has integrity and fresh perspective in Congress to take Joe’s place. Someone who has not been bought and sold by lobbyists and BushCo.
I was shocked to read recently – here or some other blog – that CT is 49th out of 50 in terms of federal funding. I don’t think many people in CT are aware of this statistic, or the fact that he has missed so many votes in the past six years, running away from key Dem policies and issues to attend fundraisers or run for President. (And BTW – he can’t use running for President as an excuse because people in CT are still pissed off about what he did in 2000.)
Lieberman is a phony who only shows up in Hamden, Newtown or Danbury when his *ss is on the line.
I hope the Lamont campaign kicks the “experience” meme to the curb ASAP
thanks, Sharkbabe ;)! btw, I loved your outfit suggestion the other night on the Howie’s congratulatory post for Ann and LindaR! Remind me to ask you if’n I ever get invited to a progressive and patriotic “do”!! You are so special.
OK– just two more quotes from one of my most favorite movies of all time… ahem…
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M…..Washington
(for us fearless ladies, remember the movie was from 1939 and Lieberlier is still way behind.)
The ad makes perfect sense, but only if taken completely out of today’s political context. It is a measure of how far from grace he has fallen.
Lieberman’s major theme has been his willingness to cooperate with the other party on a bipartisan basis. Normally, that can be a plus. In other times, when there was a strong principled center focused on the public interest (David Broder’s membrance of his world), bipartisanship was practiced by statemen/women on both sides of the aisle. But the Republican takeover in 1994 completely changed that, when they refused to work cooperatively with the Democrats and set about imposing their extreme radical agenda.
Since then we’ve have 12 years of extreme right wing radicalism. It’s been anything but bipartisan, because the right wing Republican leadership moved so far away from the bipartisan center on so many issue. With President Bush’s election, that extreme radicalism got even worse, with a strong neocon foreign policy (pre-emptive war) and a strong fundamentalist strain (faith-based programs) deliberately designed to break down the principle of church/state separation. With DeLay and Frist, pushing the Congress even further right, and without any ethics in doing so, it became impossible for any responsible Democrat to function in a bipartisan manner, because the centrist principles that made bipartisanship permissible were completely ignored by the radical Republicans and their extreme leaders, including the President.
Like many other Dems, Lieberman never seemed to grasp what had happened to the principles underlying bipartisanship, and he’s now one of the few DINOs left who still don’t realize that to be bipartisan in this regime is to abandon virtually every principle that Democrats have historically held dear.
So bipartisanship in this regime is not a virtue; it is unpardondable, because it means you go to wars you shouldn’t fight, endorse judicial appointments of extremists and tolerate an adminsitration that has openly tried to dismantle most of the New Deal, including Social Security and using the power of government to limit the power of corporations, instead of shielding them from their own excesses. The whole social compact is under challence, as well as the rule of law and hundreds of years of defining due process and personal freedome. How can one compromise with that?
In that context, what is Joe Lieberman’s “experience” worth? What does it mean?
If you want someone who routinely abandons principles of good government and fairness and the social compact government had with American citizens since 1932, and instead enables an unprincipled, reckless and lawless regime, Joe has plenty of “experience.” But why would anyone in their right minds vote for that?
Throw this bum out.
There’s a beautiful song that’s haunting the back of my mind right now, “Hold on, change is coming….”
Haven’t been able to stop by for long today, so mea culpa if this has already been covered.
The David Broder screed in today’s WaPoo? Read it for his take on the rising independence party.
As for me, I’ll take more assurance from David Sirota’s take on Broder.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0921-27.htm
And isn’t this a true beauty of the blogs–that Broder can pontificate from on high but now we “rabble” can deconstruct and debate and reality check in rapid response.
*xyz @ 23
See, the blogosphere IS self correcting!
Still enjoying the beat-down of the Domers, but time to focus on the Badgers.
bdu @
24
Yeah, I saw that it says “Adding comments have been disabled for this video.”
Profiles in courage, eh?
I wonder if it would be against the law for someone with a youtube account could copy it, upload it, and allow comments.
I thought one unintentional message sent by the ad was that “experience” was the *only* thing Joe had to recommend him.
“He may totally suck ass, but at least he knows how to be a senator!”
Joe really blows
scarecrow @ 27– exactly! ditto! spot on!
I think it’s unbecoming of Lieberman to support the people who blew the Trade Centers to smithereens in broad daylight and then exploited it to start a war in Iraq.
Jane, you’ve got mail!
Jane S. @ 21
Perhaps so. But my baby (my daughter), who is now a woman, confirms all that we did to help her understand the meaning of the Constitution has paid off. She knows the difference between right and wrong. She’s a progressive San Diego Democrat. And for this and so many other more important reasons we cannot count, we’re mighty proud of her.
Jane, your kung fu is amazing. I’m sure you are one blogger he knows (and curses) by name! Viva La Firedoglake!
To Scarecrow @ 27. Well said!
Here’s my shorter Joe2006 commercial…
“I’ve worked with Republicans to get us where we are today”
Brownandserve @ 38
Wow. That is a perfect counter-commercial. Brilliant.
angie @ 33
Absolutely!
Take out the last line and it’s Ned’s to use in the next debate, verbatim, and a great script for any commercial Ned want’s to make.
As Grover Norquist said, “bipartisanship is just another word for date rape” or something of the sort.
=========
Had Enough?
=========
channeling me to me –
until we kick their asses over stealing the very electoral process – and I mean it literally, physically hurt them, brandish their beloved guns right at them, put the fear of god and humanity and Jefferson in them, this is all for naught. We got Ned, they got diebold. Ned becoming a senator means nothing until we get serious about diebold.
We have had five years of an unelected junta destroying America and as much of the world as it can.
Could never have happened without deliberately, systematically fucking up voting.
They need do nothing more than continue to fuck up voting, and count on continued national silence. Who can blame them? It just works and works.
Voting security is THE ONLY ISSUE. You can kick the passion and intelligence of everybody here to the curb. It means fucking nothing until we re-secure the vote. I.e., re-secure the nation to the people.
I’m back from Warner Webb. Good heavens I’m glad to be a Virginia Democrat.
egregious @ 42
more please?
As Grover Norquist said, “bipartisanship is just another word for date rape” or something of the sort.
And GWB is the date rape drug…
Finally able to see the ad… Joe is sucking up to the fraidy cats jest like the rethugs do. Business as usual and oooh, change is scary and difficult and we just might not get our pork– ever, but if we keep him in long enough…
S.O.S., different election. Throw him out, CT. Go Ned.
It is a boring ad with tiresome voices unlike Ned and his “and we do too!” real voters.
OT: October surprise. I would love to see next week some time a blog with wagers on 1) what the October Surprise will be, and 2) when it will occur. I’m not much into gambling, but we could do a gentlepersons bet, with the winner(s) giving money to Act Blue. I have seen references to everything from finding Osama to making war with Iran to bringing the gas prices down to pre-1980 rates. I am sure there are other more creative ideas elsewhere. A moderator could pick the closest winners. I say next week selfishly because I am going to a week-end long wedding in Maine and will be away from the “internets.”
angie @ 33
double ditto
Richmond @ 46
I think that’s a great idea.
Sharkbabe @ 41
The Democrats’ reluctance to make an issue of this is the Number One thing that makes me question their seriousness about reclaiming the government.
OT – But I’m distressed. I saw the earlier article about Libby’s little win. Well, they’re not characterizing it quite that way now.
What an odd and unsettling headline.
Some clarity is totally desired. What does this mean? Is Fitz sunk?
egregious @ 42
Please tell us what happened!
scarecrow @
27
Well said, scarecrow. Very well said.
scarecrow @ 39
PERFECT. TOM SWAN ARE YOU LISTENING?
Richmond @
46
Or, you could just convince these guys to add a line:
http://www.intrade.com/jsp/int…..ctSearch/#
*xyz @
53
That really is very good.
meta @ 54
Thanks Meta – That is some serious fun. I wonder how often the site’s “polling” is correct. It’s an interesting site to follow!
Richmond—that’s an intriguing idea. We haven’t had a contest for quite a while.
Reading the Guy Noir comments that started last night and continued into earlier threads today, made me think that might be another contest idea.
Hey Jane—contest…Contest…Contest!
Lieberman is saying that Lamont’s inexperience leaves him unqualified? So… look… what has Joe Lieberman’s experience done for him, the people of Connecticut, this country, and and for that matter, the world. I’ve heard it said that ‘wisdom’ is being in possession of knowledge, and the correct use of that knowledge. Where does that leave Joe. Perhaps we should ask the dead who have given up their lives in the Middle East since Lieberman was first elected to public office.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 58
Experience is only a positive when applied constructively. There is no evidence that Joe has done so.
RBG @
57
Oh we may just have to have one…
Eli @ 59
And that is why George, Dick and Ken love Joe so.
I tell ya mateys, until we awaken EVERY ONE of our neighbors to tar, feather, keelhaul, and toss into Boston Harbor this electoral system, we’re finished.
1. There is no October surprise.
2. But as long as the Republicans play “open your mouth and shut your eyes” and the Democrats go along, anything can happen.
Jane Hamsher @ 52
Thank you, but I think you (and Christy) said all of this, months ago, which is what got us all interested in Lamont in the first place. The rest, as they say . . .
*xyz @ 53
1. Don’t we have his email? Tell him directly. Rerun of last night, Howie couldn’t reach somebody. Do a bypass–hey I work in cardiac surgery, we are all over bypasses. If one way to contact them doesn’t work, try 4 more. ADHD, we just don’t know when to quit. Literally.
2. A toast to scarecrow, who nails it as usu.
3. I’m workin’ on it folks, first gotta get out of these gorgeous but tight evening clothes. Ok ok navy skirt suit 2″ above the knee with gold buttons that I sewed on myself replacing ordinary ones, gold shoes and, duh, matching purse, sapphire jewelry. Pretty good for a briar girl. Political stuff to follow.
You went to Sweet Briar, Ms. Egregious?
Inventor @
9
Mere mortals may not be able to… However, do they vote on Diebold machines in Connecticut?? I trust them about as much as I do the pResident to do the right thing.
angie @ 66
No I mean I am a hillbilly! Like born in a briar patch.
y’are? woulda thunk it?
egregious @ 68
Shouldn’t that be “hillbillie”?
Thanks for the kudos. It just sorta came to me after reading scarecrow @ 27.
must leave computer and do late night run and soak in neighborhood/earth
Joe also seems to forget that he’s the junior Senator who once came to the Senate with no experience when he defeated the incumbent Weicker.
Marion in Savannah @ 67
There will be new Diebold optical scanners used in certain communities. However the Secy of State (a Dem) just announced that there will be random audits performed following the election – on the advice of University of Connecticut’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering
CT Bob has done a great job of covering this issue…
http://ctbob.blogspot.com/
SharonW @ 73
And look how well *that* turned out.
Maybe Joe has a point.
Brownandserve @ 71
I have a lot more long-winded posts that desperately need similar translation. Please check the previous 400 threads and report back. Thanks.
scarecrow @ 76
“Ned good. Liar bad.”
SharonW @ 73
I dunno, he may even remember that. Since “experience, seniority and familiarity” is the absolute minimum an incumbent has to run on, someone in his campaign must know that they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Scarecrow @ 27 writes:
To my mind, that’s the money paragraph of a beautifully cogent post that Jimmy Stewart would proud to speak from a podium, were he still with us. More power to thee, scarecrow…
Eli @ 75
That was the first thought that came to my mind too. But I don’t know what Joe was like back then. After talking with folks in CT, though, it seems that HoJo hasn’t changed much, if at all, over the years. Knowing what I do of Ned at this point, I would never compare the two.
I hope that we are all witnessing the beginning of a long and distinguished political career of a well grounded and considerate DEMOCRATIC progressive senator-to-be from CT.
May it be the beginning of a wave of decent, thoughtful, honest winners backed by citizen activists who care about the values that this country was founded on.
Maybe Joe is just worried that if he is out of power no one will like him anymore. So, he just doesn’t do rejection well. He needs a stuffed animal or something.
just saw this report on how our ‘friends’ view us
http://today.reuters.com/news/…..-topNews-3
Musharraf now says Pakistan’s cooperation in the war on Terra came as a result of (not a partisan gunslinger) Richard Armitage’s threat of bombing Pakistan “back to the Stone Age”
erm
Musharraf is in country for some meetings with his grends Condi and George
RevDeb @ 80
I was very much being facetious. The problem with Joe is not that he started out inexperienced. The problem with Joe is that he’s, well, at the risk of getting too technical… an asshole.
Eli @ 75
Oh man, ya killed me. :(
The thing is, Joe is fighting Weicker’s old fight now. Ned’s coming at him with the same things that Joe went after Weicker with. Let’s hope the result is the same. History does have a tendency to repeat itself.
AZ Matt @ 81
Well, *that* ship has already sailed…
Mack @ 82
Armitage said (per CNN) that never happened.
SharonW:
It’s a long road that has no turning….
Sharkbabe — I’m convinced that vote suppression in Demo-sympathetic areas is an integral part of the Republican strategy, and they keep trying to expand that effort, as in yesterday’s House vote to require new IDs as a condition for registration — all under the name of preventing voter fraud by illegal immigrants. And there is just enough of this stuff going on to put close races at risk — and it looks like we may have lots of close races. So I believe it’s a serious problem even if one does not yet credit the Diebold conspiracy theories.
Id like to see more coverage of organized Dem party efforts to counter these tactics, but it’s hard to find stories.
Hi kids. I’m making my signs for the Dick Cheney protest in Rochester NY tomorrow. I need 4 ideas and I need ‘em now. Please help me! Thanks in advance for your anticipated cooperation.
Richmond @
46
Although there isn’t any money on the matter… Ask, and ye shall receive, courtesy of tristero over at Digby
Eli @ 85
True, but it must be a real slow boat.
Eli @ 77
Damn. Wish I’d written that.
OT but yeow:
Religious coalition challenges federal abortion ban
The ad pushes the Joe Lieberman experience. Not to be confused with the Jimi Hendrix album, stay away from the purple acid.
Huge reality check. Running on your record in a CD age is ignernt.
op99 @ 89
To Quote on of Dick’s favorite thinkers:
“Fascism, which was not afraid to call itself reactionary… does not hesitate to call itself illiberal and anti-liberal.”
_Benito Mussolini
Ya, it might be much for a sign…
I was very much being facetious. The problem with Joe is not that he started out inexperienced. The problem with Joe is that he’s, well, at the risk of getting too technical… an asshole.
Ah yes! Nicely nailed.
The thing is that Joe was an excellent Attorney General here and he started out just fine as a Senator.
In fact, he must have started out at peak like an aged fine whine (pun intended) and then he quickly turned to vinegar. He did not get better, just older.
Signs for Cheney:
They call him Dick on purpose.
scarecrow @ 88
Jane and I talked about this when she passed through Pittsburgh – it’s basically a two-pronged strategy:
1) Keep “undesirables” out of the system, by voter purges, voter intimidation, voter discouragement (i.e., long lines, insufficient machines, “technical difficulties), poll taxes.
2) Tweak electronic votes already in the system.
I think their preference is to use Prong 1 as much as possible, because it’s easier to spin as “just hardball politics” rather than outright fraud and criminality.
Prong 2 is a risky last resort for when Prong 1 looks like it isn’t enough. But if they ever get busted, the Republicans could be in some serious deep shit if they can’t pass it off as A Few Bad Apples (Maybe this is why the machines are so easy to hack? So tampering doesn’t prove the existence of a sophisticated, organized Republican effort?). It also leaves a much more suspicious slime trail of bizarro voting results and out-of-whack exit polls.
Oilfieldguy @ 97
Dick Tip:
Long on Halliburton
Short on Armor
Please bring my child home.
Signs for Cheney:
When Dick was elected you knew we’d be screwed.
AZ Matt @
81
I think I’ll give Joe a Shar Pei so that he has some comfort when Ned wins!
http://i18.photobucket.com/alb…..harpei.gif
op99 @
89
“In his heart he knows he’s wrong”
He may lean right but he’s always wrong.
Warner is investing hugely in the Webb race. It is really important to him, at a time when he might go with other priorities. He doesn’t talk about ‘08 but clearly that’s on everyone’s mind. He left office here with an 80% approval rating, and tonight showed why. People respond to him personally like a long-lost dear relative. Oh you’re HERE! He has star power, at least here in Virginia. We will see if that translates nationally.
I had limited time with him personally, tho he did remember when we met previously as well as one of my children.
Long talk with his staff about how Democratic party activists, progressives, and bloggers are a becoming disappointed with his lukewarm support of the Democratic candidate for Senate in CT. Yes he did give the maximum from his PAC but he needs to do MORE. Other frontrunners are perceived as doing more for Lamont. Staff wanted to know where I blog, of course I was proud to answer fdl while not telling them about my own humble blog.
Great talk with union leaders from Virginia and West Virginia who are very gung ho about both Warner and Webb.
Lots of top Northern VA Democrats, but I felt a kind of empty space, like there is room for someone wonderful to become more prominent here. Not all voices are being heard.
WEBB my man, just wonderful. THIS IS MR SMITH, READY TO GO TO WASHINGTON. The real thing, not slick, no sound bites, just an honest man who wants to serve his country. He doesn’t need to, he has had titles including Secretary of the Navy and he has had fame as a successful author and producer, he just wants to serve his country again. How refreshing. He has been criticized for not making political hay out of his Marine son going to Iraq, but he says that just wouldn’t be right. Everything is not politics! Family commitments are important, yet separate from the political world. Again how novel here in Washington. His son is serving in a very dangerous location, please pray for him.
He is jazzed by the success of the 2 debates this week and ready to plunge ahead. He kept talking about Russert’s interview and the opportunity to show people himself in stark contrast to Allen. The second debate at Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce was also important, because as on cue, Allen made yet another mis-step visible to the voters. There will be a third debate October 9. It has been draining to have these two back to back but helpful in getting the message out. He will be spending a lot of upcoming time in south EAST Virginia, NoVa and south west Virginia already know and love him. Warner is going to be there introducing him and supporting him.
I talked with several people including staff about rigged and stolen elections. They definitely get it, the experience of Maryland is very fresh. Other discussions included the depletion of the middle class in America; other Congressional races; and how great it was to see support and money come pouring in for Webb now that it’s a close race. People want to support a winner, and they are more and more seeing that the winner will be Webb.
Last, the Republicans are bringing in the heavy guns. They are afraid they are going to lose Virginia, and are pouring in money and resources and dirty tricks experts. WE MUST BE READY TO FIGHT BACK.
Dickhead & Halliburden
Since 2003,
Purvayors of the Best
Contaminated Water for Our Army
I knew I could count on you guys for great ideas. Thanks!
Eli –
All good reasons for spotlighting the expectation that this is what will happen. Start complaining now, and often, to put pressure on election officials to create more voting opportunities. And create a political climate so that if/when something suspicious does happen, there is some public support for challenging results/procedures. You’d think there would be organized Dem efforts already happening in Ohio, Fla, etc, especially in the toss up districts, but I never see stories on them. Can’t believe that NOTHING is happening.
Oklahoma kiddo @
100
ditto.
and, No More Orphans Over There Or Anywhere!
Cozumel @ 86
it’s a race to the bottom in credibility between these two
personally i think we bought some time in Pakistan with $$$
Mushararaf now wants more
And that old standby – Cheney shoots his friends in the face
Cheney:
How much money have you made from Iraq?
How many $$$ have you made in Iraq?
Prairie Sunshine @ 87
It’s a long road that has no turning….
A Mobius strip that comes back on itself.
angie @ 102
That is really sweet of you angie! Probably shouldn’t let the SPCA or PETA hear about that. They get a little upset.
Of course…Cheney’s gota gun!
Or.. Cheney – Friend or Foe, it makes no difference!
scarecrow @ 107
The Democrats should have been on full battle stations about electoral reform after 2004. It didn’t happen. They’re taking a gradualist, behind-the-scenes approach, and never displayed any sense of urgency that our electoral system MUST be fixed before the 2006 elections.
I think I understand what they were thinking (that they would be accused of falling for wacky liberal tinfoil hattery), but they should have been pushing the narrative that The World’s Greatest Democracy should have The World’s Best Elections, and that the Republicans of all people shouldn’t want there to be *any* conspiracy theories floating around questioning their electoral legitimacy.
But they haven’t. Apparently they don’t think the actual machinery of elections is important.
Now can I rest?
Sign for Cheney:
Five deferments = “Staying the course”?
OT
hey jane! i was just checking out boing boing and they have an artice about soundexchange. apparently these wizards can’t find artists they owe money to. among those listed: L7.
might want to let donita know there’s a check waiting for her.
cheers
Marion in Savannah @ 67
Thank the diety(s) no. It is my understanding they have good old fashioned clunky mechanical booths.
The Democrats should have been on full battle stations about electoral reform after 2004. It didn’t happen. They’re taking a gradualist, behind-the-scenes approach, and never displayed any sense of urgency that our electoral system MUST be fixed before the 2006 elections.
I think I understand what they were thinking (that they would be accused of falling for wacky liberal tinfoil hattery), but they should have been pushing the narrative that The World’s Greatest Democracy should have The World’s Best Elections, and that the Republicans of all people shouldn’t want there to be *any* conspiracy theories floating around questioning their electoral legitimacy.
But they haven’t. Apparently they don’t think the actual machinery of elections is important.
I read somewhere today, Rawstory I think, that there’s another Kennedy article coming out tomorrow in Rolling Stone.
It appears there’s an ex-Diebold employee who knows of tampering in the Georgia Cleland election.
egregious– that is exactly who Webb is– plain honest and earnest. No BS. America and the Dems are gonna be well served indeed when he is elected in November.
No slick there. He can deal with Timmeh and Wolf quickly. No BS– just the peoples’ and the country’s business.
and he remembers the world, too.
thank you!
Margot @ 93
Yep, this has been in the works for a while now. Dr. Carhart has been one of our favorite heroes for years. RCRC has usually been involved with these cases submitting amicus briefs. For some reason this time it seems to be singled out which is great.
The majority of people of faith are pro-choice. We’re just not as loud and angry as the anti’s so we don’t get the press.
Eli — I recall that for the 2004 general election, there were teams of Dem attorneys ready to be dispatched to deal with suppression/intimidation or other challenges, and these were responses from the Fla 2000 fiasco. I just find it hard to believe the Dems would be doing less now. btw, the NYT story on the immigration bill noted the Dems all voted as a block against requiring new, special IDs for all new registration.
Wonder if DNC and Dean are organizing something, funded through state parties.
Prairie sunshine at 28 The David Broder screed in today’s WaPoo? Read it for his take on the rising independence party
BE AWARE of incipient propaganda about the need for “a new independent party”, or anything talking about UNITY. This is Plan B for the neocons to help elect McCain/Lieberman in ‘08. It makes my teeth hurt just to type that.
I’m also wondering if the October surprise has something to do with Pakistan. There’s been an awful lot of postering lately and Bush is scheduled to meet with Mushareff and Karzai next week.
I’m just so suspicious of that timing and all the renewed discussion of bin Laden. Not to mention the fact that India has connected their 7/11 to our 9/11 and indicated that both groups trained in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Inventor @ 120
Per my 74 – yes, CT is using Diebold optical scanner for the first time this election
scarecrow @ 124
That’s all well and good, but they should have been changing the electoral *laws*, too. At a bare minimum, they should have been pushing to make paper trails an absolute requirement, along with requirements on voting machine availability (i.e., limits on the number of voters per machine), stiff penalties for voter intimidation, and rigorous guidelines for voter purges.
Eli at 49 The Democrats’ reluctance to make an issue of this is the Number One thing that makes me question their seriousness about reclaiming the government
The dirty little secret is that many incumbent Democrats also benefit from voting machine fraud.
How weird is it in Maryland that the Repub. Governor wants to go to paper ballots and the Dems are resisting??
Need to go to (1) all paper ballots, hand counted; or (2) at a minimum OPEN SOURCE CODE that can be tested and verified before ballots are cast.
Cheney signs – now I’m paralyzed with indecision – I’m gonna start working on one, but keep ‘em coming, I’ll check back.
Good timing, to answer Eli’s earlier comment just as he speaks.
Hi Eli!
dab from CT @ 127
Really?
Ah shit!
The dirty little secret is that many incumbent Democrats also benefit from voting machine fraud.
Al Wynn’s-A-Wynn, maybe?
*waves at egreg*
egregious @ 117
Thanks for the write up and thanks for going so you could both support Webb and be our reporter. Great job!
Eli — yep. This would have been impossible in congress, cause the Dems have no power, but they could have at least raised the level of public awareness and concern. I though some states had been active, where there are Dem legislatures and Secretaries of State — e.g., Californa?
At least we may get rid of Mr. Blackwell.
twisted martini – haven’t gotten mail….
Democrats really do need to get more serious about transparency and honesty and accountability in government, if for no other reason than to distinguish themselves from the Republicans.
AZ Matt @ 113– I think Joe would be real nice to a little doggie who resembled him so much! He could cut down on the constant peeking in the mirror he’s so used to and the kisses…omg!
SharonW @ 50
BTW, folks, I’m still distressed here!
Was ANYTHING said here by any legal mind that might make me feel better? Seriously, read the link. It’s different than the earlier article posted here today.
scarecrow @ 135
I think if they framed it well, they would essentially force the Republicans to admit that they’re opposed to democracy. Or, more likely, just offer up really transparently lame excuses. It could also be a subject where they might be able to peel off enough principled or (more likely) worried-about-their-constituents Republicans to actually get something passed.
op99 @
89
There are a couple of bumper stickers here. Don’t know if they’ll serve, but it’s what i have at the moment.
angie @ 138
It could work as long as he takes a pooper scooper with him during the walks to clean up the messes.
And predictably, McCain folds on torture. Marty Lederman has the text here, along with a brief explanation.
This just makes me sick.
Inventor @ 132
Well, they did seem to do due diligence when researching types and it does have a paper ballot back up. I just can’t imagine there’s that kind of scamming going on here. It seems…well…unseemly for Connecticut.
Yeah, this is the part wherein I seem naive, I know.
masaccio @ 143
McCain = Specter.
AZ Matt @ 81
I am willing to donate my entire stuffed animal collection…well not my bunny and NOT my dog Blackie who replaced a real black dog who died when I was 5…to Joe if he will drop out of the race NOW. Anybody else?
I see that Common Cause has a web site on election reforms:
http://www.commoncause.org/sit…..p;b=196480
Hillary and Sen. Boxer introduced a reform bill last year:
http://clinton.senate.gov/~cli…..17501.html
op99:
Hey Dick, Who are you shooting today?
or
Dick, Point that thing somewhere else!
(yeah, I know they are lame)
Eli @ 145
McCain = Sphincter
Cheney:
Protecting Lawyers faces from al Quaila
Yeah, but under the new definitions, McCain wasn’t tortured. I’m sure he’s feeling much better about himself now.
I think I see the core of a letter to my Senator here. Not that it’ll do any good at all.
AZ Matt @ 149
Digby and the others were right. It’s nothing but kabuki.
Sign for Dick Cheney:
Pro Life, Pro Stem Cell Research!
Where Are Your Frozen Lifesavers, Dick?
___________
McCain = Opportunistic Old Coot
OOC
Out Of Control
(in November)
Cheney…Fossil Fuel Fool
RevDeb @ 152
Yep. And the media eats it right up. McCain is a principled maverick! McCain forced Bush to compromise on torture!
Here it is folks, the forces of civilization have asked to be run over. This is from “Deal on detainee treatment quells GOP revolt,” POSTED at CNN.com: 10:32 p.m. EDT, September 21, 2006:
Have the spineless Democrats decided that resistance is futile and capitulated to America’s “Enabling Act”? If they won’t filibuster now, no currently sitting Democrat should ever be forgiven.
scarecrow at 76 I have a lot more long-winded posts that desperately need similar translation. Please check the previous 400 threads and report back. Thanks.
I love languages and accept this challenge. Post #1..Post #2..Post #3……..Post #400. Ok.
Scarecrow: REAL democracy and freedom = good.
Current administration = bad. REALLY bad. Evil. Like in the Bible kind of Evil.
So am I ready to simultranslate for the UN? :)
scarecrow @ 147
I like the Common Cause list very much.
I don’t think electoral reform is something a Democratic minority can achieve behind the scenes. I really do think it can only pass if they make the voting public aware of what they’re trying to pass, and that the Republicans are trying to suppress it.
angie @ 153
Those were really good. To play off your Pro Life — Pro Life if You aren’t Black or Brown
Wigwam @ 156
Was there a signing statement on the Geneva Conventions?
Colbert wagging the finger at Joe who didn’t come on the show even though he promised him coco puffs. Love it.
Sign for Cheney:
F**K YOU MR CHENEY
Okay, so I take it that not a soul here is concerned over the “Libby win” today? I’m over reacting? I’m invisible, again? What?
November 2006:
Last throes for Cheney regime
Cheney spawns terrorists
Dick Cheney:
America’s torture expert
Be greeted as liberators:
Impeach Cheney
SharonW @ 144
I actually think the optical scanning system we used to have in Maryland is the way to go. You take a felt tip pen and connect the ends of two arrows on a paper ballot which then gets optically scanned.
Then all you need to do to ensure the integrity of the underlying tabulation software is to do a manual comparison of the paper ballots with the computed totals on a random sample of the scanning devices. If there is any significant descrepency that might affect the outcome of a particular race, you manually count all the paper ballots associated with that race.
Eli @ 160
Gawd, the same thoughts here. If george does do a signing statement on this I guess he won’t have to obey himself.
payback is a bitch, Eli @ 155. “You denigrated me and my family in 2000– you owe me booosh– I wanna be king next and you owe me. Gimme a hug, c’mere!”
Colbert ripping Joe now.
SharonW @ 163
I would imagine if there is something really important here, Christy and Marcy and Swopa and a few others will be all over it in short order.
Sharon W
I will leave it to the ladies of the lake to interprete what the ruling means. I’m sure there will be a post about it.
I just remembered a note a canvasser wrote on one of the walk sheets I was data entering yesterday. This 70-year-old guy they were talking to apparently just started yelling, “Fuck the Republicans! Fuck Bush! HANG Santorum!”
Suzanne @ 162
There is really something earthy and straightforward with your slogan. It really captures the moment and probably expresses the sentiments of most folks here.
Suzanne @ 162
LOL Straight, and to the point ; )
Suzanne @ 162
As Dr. Ben Marble said, Go F**K Yourself, Mr. Cheney!
Perfect.
angie @ 167
I fear that if the Republicans are smart enough to not sabotage his nomination, McCain will be unstoppable. The media is just too much in love with the straight-talking independent maverick persona that they’ve constructed for him.
The Democratic nominee will have to work double-time to prove McCain is really a sycophantic Bush enabler.
Inventor @ 132
You know those little tiny tubes of stuff that if you get some on you, your fingers stick together? Get some. ;-}
“Impeach Cheney First !”
angie @ 173
That too ; )
It seems there is a new thread.
And it is time to say g’night all.
Well thanks RevDeb and Suzanne. I did read the earlier article here today, but it wasn’t nearly as alarmingly headlined or phrased or as indepth as the one I posted.
It’s nice to know everyone else is keeping a calm countenance. My head is ready to explode.
Of course, it’s not solely that news, but all the other news about the administration that should be headlining and isn’t.
AZ Matt @ 171
And the *’s make it tv’able.
scarecrow @ 147
There has been a lot of work on election reform – mostly at the state not federal level. TrueVoteCt is one among many active state groups:
http://www.truevotect.org/index.html
Eli @ 174
I have friends and family who loved McCain, but that maverick has been rode hard and put up wet as they say (at least among the people I know that I tried to talk to long ago!) They want nothing to do with him since his disgraceful behavior these long 6 years. Sort of like Powell.
angie @ 182
I sure hope you’re right. The media will be pimpin’ him hard, I guarantee.
Suzanne @ 169
Also, check Glenn Greenwald tomorrow; he’s been following this very closely. He had reported a few days ago that Harry Reid had promised that the President’s bill would not be passed by the Senate, but what now?
If the Dems are smart, they will nail both Bush and McCain hard, and quickly. They can nail Bush by saing that after signing the no torture bill months ago, he has now broken his promise and gone back on this statement we don’t torture, and now endorsed torture again, taking on the unilateral right to interpret the Geneva Conventions, caving in to Cheney and giving the US another black eye to go with Abu Graihb (sp), at exactly the time when Powell, the military, the UN and Europe are all expressing growing concerns about US moral authority.
They can nail McCain (and Lindsey G.) by saying they got rolled and caved into the right wing radicals in their own party who flooded their offices with protests for not kowtowing to the Commander in Chief. No makericks; no integrity; must self-serving, attention grabbing rubber stamps.
Jane? We need a spotlight article here, with a link to Glen’s piece when it comes out. Please?
The Dems better hit this hard and quickly because you know the Republicans are going to characterize the Dems as being the only remaining holdouts in the President’s efforts to go after the terrorists.
Gonna be nasty.
scarecrow @ 124
There was an ENORMOUS legal team in Ohio in 2004 but Kerry conceded before they could carry out their challenges.
I hope so too, Eli. ;) I think I am.
Daniel Ellsberg up on Colbert.
oops — Suzanne, SharonW — I think you’re talking about the Libbly ruling; I was talking about the detainee legislation. Sorry. And your story is important too. We’re on overload.
Wigwam @ 156
Like I said, I hope they have the next move figured out because Rove is aching to paint the Dems as soft of terrorism.
However his game plan has definitely been thrown off track by Powell and Schultz. The Dems should read into the record the objections of those two Republicans, etc.
Oilfieldguy @ 99
Even his friends call him (a) Dick.
SharonW -
I commented obliquely about the ruling earlier today – but I’ll have mercy on you, and try again!
Don’t panic yet. Judge Walton has been steady as he goes in this case so far, and I haven’t lost faith in him. For some good takes on this ruling, see the comments to emptywheel’s current post at her blog. The real battle starts next week – the 27th – when Judge Walton has to decide what classified information is “relevant” to Libby’s defense and therefore admissible at trial/to the public.
The language in the article that is scaring you is related to the ‘graymail tactic’ of Libby [something akin to “too big to fail” for banks, and high-level lying Republican federal government employees love trotting out the graymail tactic in an attempt to defeat the long arm of the law]. Fitzgerald has been dealing with this issue almost from the get-go of this case. He has received stupendous help and cooperation from the CIA thus far, and successfully negotiated many rapids. Fitzgerald has known from the outset that the case was in danger of dismissal if classified documents were ruled necessary for Libby’s defense, and the agencies involved refused to provide them, citing “national security.” That’s not news, but final push is coming to final shove on it, soon.
Next week is the big test – first of the Judge’s fairness in his rulings, and after that, of the government’s (White House/CIA, etc.) good faith in attempting to accommodate the release for trial of whatever documents the Judge rules are relevant.
So – stay tuned. But don’t worry about today’s ruling (yet).
P.S. Eli – I absolutely agree with your comment about the possibilities waiting to be exploited by framing the debate so that the Republicans are forced to admit they are anti-democracy. Their actions already demonstrate that dreadful fact – yet the damn Democrats couldn’t quote the Constitution on TV if their life depended upon it, which it’s starting to look like it does…
op99 @ 130
Beers and Shotguns Don’t Mix.
Joe knows he’s a bad actor. It shows in his eyes. The guilt is there.
Recently my beloved spouse had a conversation with a colleague from Connecticut.
My “Beloved Spouse” mentioned the Connecticut Senate race, saying something inocuous like “so, Connecticut’s got a real race going on up there, huh?”
But, the response he got wasn’t encouraging:
“Yeah, wow, that Lamont guy is really scary!”
“Beloved Spouse, realizing his colleague was a right-winger, ignorant, likely both, said, “why is that, what do you mean ’scary’?”
The response was: “Well, Lamont has absolutely NO experience at all!”
Lieberfuck and dangerstein have apparently decided to play that chord for all they’re worth. Of course, you and I know there’s nothing to it. But, the Lamont campaign really needs to hammer home the point that Joe Lieberfuck’s “experience” consists of not showing up to vote, voting against his own constituents’ interests, and playing rubber stamp to the most corrupt administration in history.
I am late to this thread, so I expect I’m just writing to myself. I am sure this point was already made several times. But I just got done reading the GQ poll, and it talks about how the experience “issue” was being hit by the Lieberman campaign at the end of the primary season, the race was tightening, and that the Lamont campaign was concerned about the effect of that line of attack. So it should come as no surprise that Lieberman’s campaign is hitting hard on that issue. I did see one earlier poster who made the point that Lamont needs to come up with an effective response to this line of attack. Take it away from Lieberman, and he’s got no clothes left.