January 31, 2009
Today in news that makes me jizz in my pants
Blagojevich Gets Job Offer — From Reality TV
Never say die, Blago. Never say die. If you can’t get your own reality show, there’s always Dancing With the Stars or The Surreal Life. I’d watch your crazy ass in anything. Just please don’t leave us! If we have to spend the next four years mocking Tom Daschle’s glasses or Jim Jones’s creepy stare, we’re gonna get bored and fast.
January 4, 2009
Uplifting news
Va. Governor Kaine to Become DNC Chairman
There will be the usual bitching (he isn’t a progressive, he has DLC ties) but I’m thankful for this news. Coming from a state that four years ago was solidly in the Republican column, Kaine understands the power of the changing electoral map more than your average party hack. He’s guarenteed to stay loyal to the Obama line and push his agenda. This also gives him something to do for the next few years if Obama plans to appoint him to some position (AG?) after reelection in 2012.
So count me in as immensely pleased with the pick – this makes up for the Richardson brouhaha and then some.
December 30, 2008
All Blago, all the time
Blagojevich is my favorite delusional politician EVAH. Further proof why: he’s decided to appoint a Senator after all! The fucking valuable seat goes to former Illinois AG Roland Burris, who previously expressed interest in running for the seat, saying he would only serve temporarily and step aside for the next candidate.
It’s sort of suprising to see myself type this, but I think Allahpundit at Hot Air has the funniest take. Blago really should pull the “I’m on a mission from God” card. And it’s hard to tell what the best course for Reid is. Reject the appointment? Seat him provisionally? Pass the buck on to the Senate lawyer team? Jeff Greenfield seems to think the Senate doesn’t have much say in the matter.
Whatever happens, we’re sure to be in for more Blago insanity — and that makes me a happy, happy girl. I’d be happier if he’d decided to appoint himself, but that may have been too much to ask, huh?
December 29, 2008
Webb Sets His Sights On Prison Reform
Washington Post – Webb Sets His Sights On Prison Reform:
Somewhere along the meandering career path that led James Webb to the U.S. Senate, he found himself in the frigid interior of a Japanese prison.
A journalist at the time, he was working on an article about Ed Arnett, an American who had spent two years in Fuchu Prison for possession of marijuana. In a January 1984 Parade magazine piece, Webb described the harsh conditions imposed on Arnett, who had frostbite and sometimes labored in solitary confinement making paper bags.
“But, surprisingly, Arnett, home in Omaha, Neb., says he prefers Japan’s legal system to ours,” Webb wrote. “Why? ‘Because it’s fair,’ he said.”
This spring, Webb (D-Va.) plans to introduce legislation on a long-standing passion of his: reforming the U.S. prison system. Jails teem with young black men who later struggle to rejoin society, he says. Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled “soft on crime.”
It is a gamble for Webb, a fiery and cerebral Democrat from a staunchly law-and-order state. Virginia abolished parole in 1995, and it trails only Texas in the number of people it has executed. Moreover, as the country struggles with two wars overseas and an ailing economy, overflowing prisons are the last thing on many lawmakers’ minds.
But Webb has never been one to rely on polls or political indicators to guide his way. He seems instead to charge ahead on projects that he has decided are worthy of his time, regardless of how they play — or even whether they represent the priorities of the state he represents.
There are very few senators who have either the political clout or the courage to take on an unpopular issue like this. Webb has the latter in abundance – even when I disagree with him, I am sure that he is taking the position because he believes it’s truly right, not because he wants to be popular. (Think the intellectual opposite of, say, Evan Bayh.) I’m not sure he has the former. It’s safe to assume Obama has no interest in handling a touchy subject like this in his first term, not until he’s wrangled the economy and our foreign policy into manageable shape. Even the rosiest projections suggest that will take up his entire first term.
And speaking of 2012, I do wonder if Webb even plans on running for re-election. He writes about his ‘06 campaign in A Time to Fight with considerable distate, for obvious reasons – seeing yourself smeared as a pedophile with a big headline on Drudge = no fun. He is not at all far-left, but he doesn’t give off the “safe” moderate vibe of Mark Warner. The Republicans may see him as an easy target. If he decides not to run again – or if he does run and loses – it would be an immense disappointment to me, and a major loss for the Senate.
December 28, 2008
All right — this is pretty awesome
Kennedy To NYT Interviewers: You Belong At “A Woman’s Magazine”
NC: Could you, for the sake of storytelling, could you tell us a little bit about that moment, like, where you were, what you said to [your husband] about your decision, how that played out?
CK: Have you guys ever thought about writing for, like, a woman’s magazine or something? (Laughter)
Probably won’t help with her media problem, but it’s hard for me to hate someone who pokes the media like that. Hey, maybe she has something in common with the Republicans after all!
Caroline & Hillary & Michelle & Us
New York Times: As a Candidate, Kennedy Is Forceful but Elusive
There is a lot of ado about Caroline Kennedy. Paterson’s dilemma is unenviable, but the answer seems obvious to me: hold a special election. Kennedy already leads in every poll conducted so far; sometimes the lead is meager, sometimes it is strong, but I’ve never seen her tied or behind Cuomo.
What does concern me is this: Kennedy would certainly become a lightning-rod for conservative criticism of the basest kind. Her uncle has become off limits for any Republicans with a modicum of taste, due to his illness. But the candidate she’d be replacing in more ways than one is Hillary Clinton.
December 27, 2008
This is ground control to Governor Rod, you’ve really made the grade
… and the papers want to know who does your ha-a-ir:
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday that if what he’s done as Illinois governor is an impeachable offense, he’s living on the “wrong planet” and is in the “wrong place.”
Speaking to a WLS-TV reporter outside a Chicago law office, the governor said he was hired to fight for the people of Illinois and that’s what he’s been doing.
The interview marked the first time Blagojevich has spoken to the media since giving a defiant three-minute speech last Friday in which he said he’ll fight the forces against him until he takes his last breath.
The 52-year-old Democrat is charged with scheming to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Federal prosecutors built their case against the governor using wiretapped conversations riddled with profanity.
I know I should hope this guy resigns, just so he doesn’t blight the Obama administration anymore, but I can’t help but love his insane persistance. In an age when politicians are forced to sand away any and all imperfections in their quest to become the blandest, most acceptable candidates imaginable, it’s nice to see that genuine eccentricity has a place among our nation’s leaders. Maybe he’s a narcissistic sociopath, but damn if he isn’t honest about it.
Meanwhile, Patrick Fitzgerald is determined to stamp out any remaining Fitzmas joy:
Fitzgerald Asks Blago Impeachment Panel Not To Subpoena Obama Aides
The Illinois House committee investigating a possible impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich won’t subpoena two incoming White House advisers, a spokesman said Saturday, shutting down a request from the embattled governor’s attorney.
In a letter received by the committee Friday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said any such subpoenas “would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation into the activities of Governor Rod Blagojevich and others.”
Fitzgerald asked the special investigative committee specifically to not subpoena President-elect Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Obama incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Nils Larsen, a Tribune Co. executive vice president.
Say it ain’t so! On the plus side, this means Republicans can stop pretending that they have any respect for Fitzgerald, since he’s clearly in the tank for the president-elect, just like he was in the tank for the Plame/Wilsons, am I right?
On the other hand, maybe they can spin this their way: Fitz is still a man of law! Rahm and Valerie are so deep, so involved in this scandal that they can’t testify without blowing the cover off of the whole thing. That’s the ticket. Oh yeah…
