Fred Hiatt tries his best to do the intellectual slalom on John McCain’s pending FEC violations by finding a way to discover meaningful campaign finance reform…by ignoring campaign finance reform…to the benefit of…wait for it…John McCain!
Who could not have foreseen? [Condi]
Damn, the prospect of getting ribs sure must be a powerful force!
Would the country really be better off with a system that would allow one party’s nominee to spend unlimited amounts while the other — not having taken a dime in public funds — is hobbled by spending constraints for the rest of the supposed primary season, which stretches until the conventions in late August and early September? The primary spending limit is about $57 million; Mr. McCain had reported spending $50 million by the end of January. The public financing system needs fixing. In the meantime, voters would be better served by having the Republican and Democratic nominees compete on a reasonably level playing field.
Well heck Freddie, maybe the country would be better off if the rules applied to the GOP every once in a while? After all, if life was fair, Steve King (R-Iowa’s Shame) would have been ridiculed and shunned this weekend, instead he somehow became a bludgeon for the forces of banality.
McCain filled out the paperwork and secured a loan using public financing and promising to observe it’s limitations. If the GOP is so stupid as to trap him in the regulations by demanding all of Bush’s FEC nominees be voted on as a block, including the odious Hans von Spakovsky, then that is the fault of Bush, the GOP Leadership, and McCain himself. It is decidedly not the Democrats problem.
When they had their little get together last week, perhaps McCain could have mentioned it to Bush, between the latter’s rants and spastic dancing. But it appears that did not happen.
So the regulations work — it’s just that the GOP doesn’t. McCain’s fix (and his ultimate flouting of the law) is the perfect symbol of how the GOP does things, in contravention of laws they use to their benefit, before breaking them.
So suffer the little wankers.
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mornin’ Attaturk.
Morning Attaturk….
Wasn’t the last campaign-finance-reform measure called the McCain-Feingold Act?
NPR’s Morning Edition says Al Qaeda is now back to full capacity as it had before the War in Afghanistan…so much for the war on terror, eh?
Please pardon me while I get some pre-trial music fired up….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3s5rPZQLK4
(it’s a personal tradition)
Last thread sounds like ya’re getting the ire up for your trial today, jayt. It’s just unforking believable that someone can be put under the jail for that kind of offense when there’re so many in DC and other places that go free. I used to trust the law; now it and those who enforce it scare the livin’ spit outta me. Best of luck to you and your client.
Last thread sounds like ya’re getting the ire up for your trial today, jayt
yeah, I think I’m about where I should be mentally and emotionally. And thanks.
More pre-trial prep:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgRlPGz3mUQ
And to keep things in proper perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoUEMZnibS8
now – Let the Day Begin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXywSZ-Zdmg
Sorry for the pause…went to check out the latest on a few other blogs. Guess I’m gonna have to cross C&L off the list; they’ve started locking up the ‘puter almost every time I go there.
Dial-up here; brief description of your choice of music to get psyched up, please?
Dial-up here; brief description of your choice of music to get psyched up, please?
Somehow the music from Pulp Fiction always gets me into a proper “I’m just not in the mood to take any shit – from anyone” frame of mind.
Depends on the trial, of course, but that’s the proper mood for this piece of crap I gotta do this morning.
Don’t really see any way I can win – but I *can* shut down their little kangaroo court for a day, maybe even two – that’ll probably have to do on this one…
Oh – just noticed you said dial-up – it’s instrumentals from Pulp Fiction
It’s no wonder the prison population in this country is thru the roof and this would seem to be a large part of how it got that way.
Tucker Carlson up next on JoeScar – maybe he’ll reveal his future…
It would be nice if the Dem nomination process could reassure voters that the Dems are the party of law and order. I mean, ever since Al Gore’s concession, they’ve been staking a claim to this dubious mantle, and I really think that by this election the meme will have germinated enough to actually plant. That is, unless they continue playing this disenfranchisement accusation game.
yep–he’s writing for the New Republic now also…
identified as a writer for The New Republic…
I definitely noticed that that was how he was introduced.
Now they’re gleefully replaying the clip where he blatantly insulted the British reporter. A good chuckle for all…
NY Daily News: Hillary’s chutzpah at offering number 2 ticket to Obama–while running behind Obama…
So McBus wants to change the rules in the middle of the game. clinton2 wants to change the rules in the middle of the game. obama is caught in a NAFTA mess by trying to triangulate. And one of these three turkeys is going to be our next incompetent pres. What a farkin joke.
Don’t know what the trial is you are heading for jayt(?) but if it is against the gummint I wish you all the luck…. beat those bastards.
Morning all.
Hillary is routinely bashed on Morning Joe…Mika is my favorite of the lot…
Samantha Power should not have resigned form Obama’s campaign, IMHO…
She broke the first law of campaigning. She told the truth. That kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.
Samantha Power should not have resigned form Obama’s campaign, IMHO…
I’m gonna respectfully disagree on that one, Biodun. In fact, I think that Obama should have publicly called for the resignation. It was a *very* bad statement, and the Obama campaign could have made a bold statement as to its integrity and refusal to go negative intra-party, in stark contrast to the HRC campaign. He looks much better on the high road, imo.
And Tucker has me wanting to throw things at my teevee again. Says the best argument for the Iraq war was always that it showed the world that we’re flat fucking crazy, and might just do *anything*. Good riddance, ya maroon.
Good morning, pups. It’s [gag] Kristol and Cohen and Krugman in the NYT. AWATT Kristol writes about “McCain’s Daunting Task” and says that Republican hopes to the contrary notwithstanding, Democrats will unite behind Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, or behind a ticket with the two of them. Mr. Cohen’s column is titled “Tribalism, Here and There,” and he says we’re not beyond tribalism and that the main forces in the world today are the modernizing, barrier-breaking sweep of globalization and the tribal reaction to it. Mr. Krugman writes about “The Face-Slap Theory” and says that last week, Tim Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, came as close as a Fed official can to saying that we’re in the midst of a financial meltdown.
http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/
The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and the biscuits are out of the oven. I want my hour back… Have a good day.
Good Morning Pups,
I had to turn Scar off. They made me want to get rid of my coffee this am. LOL
More Hillary bashing…The 18-year-old girl in the famous 3 AM Hillary phone call ad is not too happy to be in the ad, coz she’s an Obama girl..ouch!
From Krugman
Included in those calls is Carlyle Group which has now ovr 400 million in margin calls they are not going to be able to make without digging into the pockets of….. maybe the bin ladens?
oh come on: they’re just having fun…*g*
Hillary offering the number 2 spot to Obama is like selling a house you don’t own… ouch!
Daschle quoted on MTC saying the same thing…ouch x2!!
Be careful out there. Here is a new list to be aware of.
From the Times
No penalties have been published for committing these particular sins but no doubt a return to the inquisition will be in order as it is now legal in the USA
they just won’t stop the piling on…ouch x3!!!
One of those new deadly sins is pretty rich coming from the Vatican and a Pope who did the best to cover stuff up as a Cardinal.
Mika wanting to talk about the anti-torture veto. The Scar squelched *that* in a heartbeat.
Hypocrisy will be listed in future years.
I’ve always wondered how Karl Rove got a Republican elected Pope…
bigotry will be listed in future years
A wide stance in the confessional
Hi
A wide stance in the confessional
laughing over the idea of Karl Rove in a confessional. He’d need a young priest, or the guy might die of old age before Karl got through…
Timmeh now on…also bashing Hillary….ouch!!!! x4…calling Clinton supporters Cintonistas…Ouch !!!!! x5…and offering Obama the #2 spot is like asking him to go to the back of the bus…ouch!!!!!! x6….
I have the same problem – I’m using an i-Mac G5 and Safari – what are you running?
Mika now quoting MoDo on Hillary….ouch !!!!!!! x7….
don’t get your hopes up on this one bit, they are not going to enforce this rule and I am laying odds ten to on
I even think they made a similar concession to a democrat a few elections ago, though not for president
You know Karl has a wide stance.
*gag*
So when exactly is the financial disclosure report due out that shows how close to the spending limit the McCrazy-Train campaign is?
From what I hear, that barbeque shindig in Sedona cost him some serious coin. Unless it was off the books or the Mrs. Crazy-Train covered it.
Either way, isn’t there someone watching this sort of thing other than the two-person FEC? Shouldn’t the dems be keeping him honest?
Do I have to think of EVERYTHING this morning??!! LOL
12 billion dollars missing in Iraq. Think any of it found its way to the goopers? Nah.
this campaign finance thing can only help the democrats, since mccain will not adhere to the rules the democrats better point out that it’s more of the same, rules are for everyone else when it comes to these fascists
that’s the meme
Sorry, Jeff, stepped away from the ‘puter for a few.
Mac OS X v. 10.4.11
Safari 3.04
Would be nice to know I’m not just being paranoid. *g*
Are you doing a force shut down to get out of it?
Have you tried FireFox instead of Safari?
Got it; just don’t like it, probably mostly b/c of being used to the other one.
I think McCain has already spent over the limit. There is apparently no one to keep him honest until the FEC nominees are voted on.
Which leads me to ask. Why the hell does the minority have the power to hold up all the nominees like this. Can’t the Dems just schedule 5 votes, one for each nominee and tell the GOP to go to hell?
…and tell the GOP to go to hell?
Not sure – but I always figure – “act first, then apologize later if need be”.
I know I’m talkin’ to the wind, here…but I think the amounts raised and used during this campaign are obscene.
I once discussed the millions raised with my poli sci professor. I expressed my dismay at the money wasted on campaigns that could be better used elsewhere. He shrugged his shoulders and said it really wasn’t that large of an amount.
Well…tell that to the homeless, the poor, the people in Louisiana who still haven’t recovered, the people who’ve lost their homes to mortgage foreclosure…and on and on…
Can’t the Dems just schedule 5 votes, one for each nominee and tell the GOP to go to hell?
Apparently, this would require some
ballspolitical savvy.Regardless, there is no down-side to McCain exceeding the limit since there’s no agency in place to administer punishment for doing so.
That policy seems to work well for the goopers……and they *never* apologize afterward. :-(
That’s the problem with the Catholic Church. I absolutely hate the Church yet how can one disagree with them on their new deadly sins, abortion of course *excluded* from my list (and drug dealing must be seen in social context).
come on upstairs and talk about religious bigotry there
If you are wondering who is taking Tuckers place in the evening slot. It’s Scarborough. Yuk!!!!!
So, the Republicans pull off a major fuckup, and Freddie is trying to spin it like a top?
Wow! Sounds like his take on the Iraq Invasion, doesn’t it?