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January 28, 2008

Comments

Anon

Ya but you know supposedly it's McCain's attacks on Romney that have been sleazy.

Gawd I loathe McCain but the NRO gang make me want to puke.

The guy has been voting for Conservative judges for maybe twenty years but ghee he might have said something that John Fund overheard while he was taking a crap in the next room with the water running...

Anon

Oh and ghee those little peons are suddenly the great defenders of Rummy.

Give me a cotton pickin' break.

Wow what a pack of asshats.

narciso

Well we know the Gang of 14 kept William Haynes off the court; ratifying AQ detainees
constitutional rights; we know that similar negotiations kept Miguel Estrada and a number of other figures off the appeals and US Supreme Court. McCain's general view would be to have judges of Harriet Miers or worse; with the campaign finance and 'no torture' positions firmly defined. With Rudy you have Ted Olson as a guide; with Romney you have Ann Comstock; one of Ashcroft's aides (Hide the children, the Lord High Inquisitor is here)Paul would dispense with trials altogether, and go for drumhead tribunals, and Huckabee, don't ask.

Skip

Well, Fund is sticking by his story, says he has "multiple sources". And McCain has backed off from his unequivocal denial. He now says "I don't recall a conversation where I would have said that." That's not the kind of thing you say when the statement is something you never could have said.

And, in fact, it's a perfectly reasonable thing for him to have said, if it's in the context of saying "look, I'm going to nominate guys who will be confirmed easily, but they'll still be conservatives". That would be something he could definitely have said in an attempt to reassure his Senate colleagues.

In any case, if it truly is "multiple-sourced" (and it likely is because K-Lo on the Corner said she'd heard the same thing over the weekend) it will all come out in the next few days. If McCain really did say it, and handled it this poorly, it should pretty-well kill his candidacy. And if it's from the Romney camp it should do the same thing to him.

Jane

Reid and Pelosi look terribly constipated at this State of the Union address. Someone needs to get them some prunes.

vnjagvet

They need to be able to make the exits, though Jane, or there will be big trouble.

Ann

Jane, Harry Reid looked like he wanted to spit and Nancy looks very pale and beady eyed.

windansea

"Let me just look you in the eye,"

yeah, that always convinces me

Rick Ballard

"Harry Reid looked like he wanted to spit and Nancy looks very pale and beady eyed."

Everything's normal then. No surprises.

Ann

Do you find yourself blinking alot watching this? ;)

I love when they catch people sleeping!

Jane

Does Congress vote this year on Reid and Pelosi's leadership positions?

RichatUF

It looks like Pelosi was reading something else. VP Cheney looks like he wants to go hunting

centralcal

I am so gonna miss Cheney sitting there in the future!

Jane

Oh gee, the democrats are against cloning. I'm surprised.

Rick Ballard

"Does Congress vote this year on Reid and Pelosi's leadership positions?"

Hopefully, maybe in December when the Dems select new minority leadership....

Jane

Rick,

How is it determined (the timing)?

RichatUF

Kennedy looks like he got out of the Senate Bar just in time.

centralcal

Wow. Babs (Barbara Boxer) looks like she just removed her witch costume, but not her witch makeup. What has happened to her?

RichatUF

Is it just me or did I notice the Democrats all sit on their hands when Bush said we are defeating the terorists?

glasater

Jane--Congress will have a new number/name in January of 2009. If the D's win the House it will be a proforma routine. Pelosi will remain Speaker.
In the Senate--Reid could be challenged--that is if he wins re-election which in his case is not a certainty.

Rick Ballard

Jane,

My understanding is that leadership positions are sorted out in December (after the elections) for the incoming Congress. There are no statutes concerning the matter - it's strictly under the control of the parties. The two parties go about the process in different ways with the Dems maintaining a seniority system that dates back quite a ways. That's why there are a lot more very old goats on TV on their side.

glasater

I didn't say/write it well but the organization of the D's and R's is in January of 2009. Leadership is elected then. The full House votes on the Speaker at that reorganization.

RichatUF

Headscratcher on the Palestinian question-2 states by the end of the year?

Problem, how are the Egyptians supposed to corral all the Gazans streaming into Sinai-or was that the plan all along?

FISA reform and the Senate is going to let it expire. That got about half the chamber to cheer.

Jane

Thanks guys. I've wondered about that since Reid and Pelosi assumed their positions, so I appreciate the explanation.

Isn't it nice that the democrats "support" the troops? We should be grateful they don't want to mow them down with gunfire.

Patrick Tyson

Jane—

There's a new Congress every two years. Members retire, lose, get elected to something else, etc. The parties organize sometime before the end of the year and then the House votes for the Speaker (one candidate from each party) on the opening day of the session, January 4th. I'm under the impression that the two bodies are informed that this or that Member or this or that Senator has been elected/named to this or that leadership position and the same is true of committee assignments though some of those may be subject to a confirmation vote by the whole House or Senate. It's been awhile since I paid much attention.

Reid isn't up until 2010.

Jane

So no chance of getting rid of them in the meantime unless we catch them with a page or something?

RichatUF

Jane-

So no chance of getting rid of them in the meantime unless we catch them with a page or something?

For a democrat that would mean a promotion.

Whoa...a moment of affection between the president and Con. Barney Frank...what the hell is Fox news coming to-

Ann

Was anyone horribly thinking of Hillary up there?

I will sure miss Bush and Cheney.

centralcal

Me too, Ann, me too!

RichatUF

KS governor making the response. We hate Bush and that's all you need to know.

Clarice

No--It's the great depression in the Heartland and only Dems can save us.

vnjagvet

For an Eighth SOU, it was pretty good, I thought. Bush is not an ideologue, despite all of the BDS from the left. There is a certain amount of BDS from the right as well.

Of the 65 to 70% of disapproval, how much comes from the left and how much from the right would you guess?

Rick: Any numbers on this?

Jane

No, it's al Qaeda is not a real enemy.

I want to tell her to go shove it.

Sue

Boy, I'm glad she isn't coming to us as a partisan democrat, but just as an American. ::eyeroll::

Ann

Thought you guys would enjoy this after that rebut:

Son of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sibelius Designs Raunchy Prison-Themed Board Game

Clarice

The Dems seem delighted to portray themselves as the party of whining women who want to invrease got and mother everyone while ignoring our enemies abroad. PHEH. My husband said he couldn't bear to listen to a word of this drivel.

Sue

Did anyone notice her 3 examples of what this majority in congress was able to accomplish? Kind of slim pickin's for her to garner enthusiasm for the dems in congress. IMO, of course.

Clarice

--***Increase govt****

centralcal

Clarice - your husband is astute and has extremely good taste! But, then he chose you, so you know that already.

Other Tom

The most important thing the Gang of 14 did was to alleviate the need for the Republican party to be the ones who changed the filibuster rules for judicial nominations. Unless you are sure that the Republicans are likely to hold a 60+ seat majority in the Senate when the next two Supreme Court nominees are identified, you have to be extremely grateful for their effort. And in the meantime, they gave us Samuel Alito, and he's going to be there for a long, long time.

It's all the art of the possible; keep that in mind. And don't let the perfect candidate be the enemy of one that is OK.

Clarice

central, don't make me blush!

Sue

I have serious problems with McCain on the ICC issue. If we are going to give up our sovereignty I want a D after the name that did it. McCain scares me. On just about every issue but the war. I may have to close my eyes, hold my nose and drink lots of liquids, but I'll probably vote for him if he wins the nomination.

Jane

You are a wise man Other Tom.

Rick Ballard

Vnjagvet,

The exit poll for the SC Republican primary had a 52% 'Satisfied' and 17% 'Enthusiastic' response to 'Feelings About Bush Administration'. If you split three ways (for the Muddle), then its:

Favorable/Unfavorable

Dem 10/90
Rep 70/30
Muddle 45/55

to get 65%. Change the Muddle to 40/60 to get to 70%.

vnjagvet

Yes he is, Jane.

vnjagvet

Yes he is, Jane. Especially on that issue.

centralcal

I am not an idealist anymore. I would like to think that I am pragmatic. But, I am who I am (flaws and all). I cannot vote for John McCain. There is nothing about him that I trust or like. There is very much about him that is distrust and dislike.

Ann

Centralcal,

There have been so many threads that I don't know if you caught
an apology from both J M Hanes and myself for messing up your screen name. Sorry, from MidOhio :)

Always wondered what Centrical meant? Dah

glasater

Sue--I'm with you all the way on the ICC. Rich posted a great example on a previous thread.

Jane

Well Centralcal there is a part of me that would like to see the democrats win, and return the favor of the last 8 years. But I remind myself that this country is more important than my desire for payback.

Sometimes it is not easy.

Sue

One thing the governor said that I totally disagree with is we, the viewing audience, don't care about who stood, who clapped, who did what when. I care greatly. I will always remember when Bush said he tried and failed to overhaul SS and save it and the democrats didn't just stand and applaud, they cheered. That will be played over and over when SS goes belly up.

Sue

And another thing I really, really enjoyed. Watching John Kerry watch George Bush give the SoU address. ::grin::

Rick Ballard

The Alito story is no big deal. McCain has numerous colleagues who will cheerfully ram a stilletto under his ribs any day of the week.

The Republicans did away with seniority precisely because it allowed Senators who were intensely disliked by the majority of their caucus to rise to positions of true power. Under the new rules the best they get is Chairman of the Sub-Committe on Tollbooths and Rest Stops. McCain had Commerce (from '97) so he wasn't entirely buried. (Commerce - isn't that the one that deals with telecom and spectrum licensing?)

MayBee

Boy, I'm glad she isn't coming to us as a partisan democrat, but just as an American. ::eyeroll::

yes, that amused me too. [monotone mommy voice:] Mr. President, just do as Democrats say and there will be no more ugly partisanship.

Ann

Very Insightful from NRO:

McCain Behind the Scenes [Ramesh Ponnuru]
A Senate source whom I trust responds to my call for specifics:

McCain stood in the middle of the GOP cloakroom and yelled at several of his Senate colleagues because they deigned to have a vote — to have a vote — on Inhofe's "English As the National Language" amendment to the 2006 immigration bill. He accused conservatives of being "divisive" and "insulting" Latinos for suggesting that immigrants ought to learn this language. He was nasty and unhinged. About 10 staffers witnessed this. He delighted in telling the conservative senators there that they were destroying the party with these efforts. This is what Santorum is talking about. He had antipathy for social and cultural conservatives' efforts.
That's the type of thing Santorum should be letting us know about.

glasater

Hillary and Bambi were interviewed on NBC after the SOTU and Bambi's talk was pretty under-whelming. He seems to do well in front of a crowd but not so much one on one.

RichatUF

glasater-

Italy is moving forward on 2 cases as well. The "redition case" and the "checkpoint case".

The ICC will rope in young soldiers and marines, with meager means to defend themselves, in a "court" already hostile to them, and without the benefit of redress or a sympathetic press like the Hadith case here in the States. It would be the single biggest foreign policy disaster a president and congress could enact.

glasater

Rich--how are these events being countered? It would seem that our government would be involved in these soldiers and marines' defense.
If you are inclined to point me to any further information I would truly appreciate it.

JM Hanes

McCain bull headed response to Anderson Cooper about the timed withrawal slam against Romney was appalling. He is in say anything mode, and his reaction to his critics in the past few days has been uniformly dreadful.

If he intends to sign on to the ICC, that's it for me. We would be sacrificing our own constitutional rights, any number of which are not recognized by the international tribunal. This is a monster problem when a treaty supercedes our own laws. The court''s own powers are enumerated without sufficient clarity to prevent it from expanding its own jurisdiction, which includes intruding on national sovereignty, and there is no appeal to or check upon its decisions.

I assume that Senate would have to ratify that decision, although I'm not absolutely sure, but I'm getting extremely nervous about the kind of international agreements he might simply take upon himself to sign, on any number of fronts. The ICC is a very dangerous proposition, and McCain's apparently vague understanding of constitutional issues is a serious limitation.

MayBee

Oh yeah, I'm totally against us signing onto the ICC.
Without some sort of veto power there, I can't imagine it's something we want to participate in. Despite what Mary-Anne Slaughter says about it giving the power for special forces to arrest someone. I can't imagine we would let someone else's special forces in to our country to arrest someone on some specious indictment.
Milosovec's trial was about as big a clown show as I've seen, and I can only imagine how much they'd enjoy calling our President over to testify in this and that trial (as they did to Clinton and Clark, although after they were out of office).

Sue

I'm glad to see others have started looking at McCain and the ICC issue. I can't believe it was something that slipped under the radar until this late in the nominating process.

MayBee

Ooops, I mean Anne-Marie Slaughter.

Syl

We all know (except McCain) that the whole point of the ICC is to make it impossible to wage war.

Fanatical human rights advocacy and self-defense are mutually exclusive.

boris

Self defense is always problematic for statism.

centralcal

To Ann and JMH - yes, I caught the apology for the name misspelling, although no apology is even necessary! I have been hit and miss on most of the recent threads due to a family reunion of sorts - youngest son flew in from Pittsburgh for a week.

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battery

If it's not too late, can I vote for "SnottyGate" ? I like the aliteration...

sophy

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