Midyear snapshots of our glorious two-party system: (2) The R's in the wilderness (which they're gonna kill if their polluters don't do it first)

MINNESOTA UPDATE: Franken wins, Pawlenty will sign! [see below]

•

Is it Princess Sarah's turn to watch gasoline being poured

on her 2012 presidential campaign?

by Ken

As we continue our snapshots of our glorious two-part system at work, moving on from the Dems, it's not entirely clear that the Republicans ought to be included. Do you call that "work"? Here's what Republicans do now: Whatever happens, if it comes from a Democrat, they Just Say No. O perhaps I should say they Just Scream No.

From a certain vantage point, we could just sit back and enjoy the spectacle of the Republicans in the wilderness, after eight years of consolidation of all federal government power in the hands of the Permanent Republican Majority (pat. pending). Ha ha!

In theory, being out of power should be right up the right-wing loons' alley. Opposition is what they're traditionally good at, probably the only thing they're good at. They're sure as hell no good at governing. If we learned anything in the eight years of the Bush regime -- and mind you, it's not at all clear that a lot of the country did learn anything -- it's that turning actual governance over to these crackpots can be a recipe for catastrophe, especially when the particular crackpots harbor megalomaniacal delusions.

Unfortunately, for the moment the wingnuts seems to have lost their touch. Oh, they remember the joys of opposition, all right, they've just come to think "opposition" consists of saying "Fuck no, fuck no" all day long, intermixed with the occasional "yo mama wears sweatsox." Now I don't at all underestimate the disruptive potential of the Republican campaign of nonstop obstruction and obfuscation, all greased with the now-standard policy of "all lies, all the time," so carefully nurtured during the 2008 presidential campaign. And people will grow impatient, even though they kept claiming last fall to understand that it would take time to haul the economy out of the deep trench in which the Bush regime buried it.

Still, it's kind of a limited message, and there are signs that it hasn't escaped the country's notice that the R's have given up any pretense of interest in constructive participation in the governing process. Meanwhile, somehow they just don't seem to have regained the flair they exhibited in the Clinton years for nuclear opposition, though they do seem to have become rather good at the meltdown part.

I don't have the heart to jump ugly any more on poor South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, the conservatives' conservative. Besides, apart from the question of whether he will resign, a question he doesn't seem much interested in, the principal question under discussion is, who done him in? And since the list of his enemies seems to include most everyone in South Carolina, this could take awhile.

[UPDATE: Oops! In breaking news, it appears that the number of encounters with his Argentine love goddess admitted by Governor Sanford has jumped from four to seven. The guy does appear to have this small problem with how he's, like, a pathological liar. Is it any wonder that he was so highly regarded by die-hard movement conservatives as such a steadfast man of principle?]

Then, has anything been heard from Nevada Sen. John Ensign since his Senate colleagues welcomed him back last week, accepting his apology?

It all seems to be enough to throw a scare into card-carrying wingnut loon Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who seems to be showing unexpected signs of sanity, indicating the other day that he might be prepared to sign Sen.-elect Al Franken's election certificate if the state's Supreme Court were to rule that way (as it has just done) -- heresy for the wingnut conspiracy headed by Texas Sen. John Cornyn to keep that seat open as long as possible rather than allow Franken to be seated.

[UPDATE: Governor Tim says he will indeed sign. The only thing is, that followed a full-fledged confession from Norm Coleman. So I'm not sure how many grains of sanity he gets credit for, considering that at this point he really had no alternative.]


NOW IT APPEARS TO BE THE TURN OF THE
SWEETHEART OF THE FAR, FAR RIGHT

Is it America's Princess' turn to watch gasoline being poured on her 2012 campaign? New York Daily News political correspondent Michael Saul offers this preview of a piece upcoming in Vanity Fair:

Sarah Palin trashed by members of John McCain's campaign team in Vanity Fair

Alaska's lipstick-wearing pit-bull is a "Little Shop of Horrors."

That's how one longtime friend and campaign trail companion of John McCain, the vanquished 2008 GOP presidential nominee, described veep nominee Sarah Palin.

In an expansive story in the August edition of Vanity Fair, a slew of senior members of McCain's campaign team told reporter Todd S. Purdum that they suffer a kind of survivor's guilt following the 2008 presidential election.

"They can't quite believe that for two frantic months last fall, caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job, and might never be," Vanity Fair reports.

During the campaign, there were reports of anonymous McCain aides describing Palin, the governor of Alaska, as a "diva" and a "whack job."

The Vanity Fair article recounts how strained Palin's relationship was with the McCain advisers. She maintained "only the barest level of civil discourse" with Tucker Eskew, the operative assigned to be her chief minder, the magazine reports.

She believed Steve Schmidt, McCain's top strategist, had lied to her about conducting polling in Alaska - that was a "belief she conveyed to anyone who would listen," the magazine reported.

As previously reported, Palin was so intent on delivering her own concession speech on Election Night that she wouldn't accept advisers telling her that McCain had decided he would be the only one to speak. She took the issue up with McCain himself, discussing it on the walk from his hotel suite to the farewell rally.

Palin did not speak on Election Night. Only McCain addressed the crowd and the nation.

One McCain aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he "always wanted to tell myself the best-case story about her."

"I think, as I've evaluated it, I think some of my worst fears…the after-election events have confirmed that her more negative aspects my have been there…."

As his voice trailed off, he said, "I saw her as a raw talent. Raw, but a talent. I hoped she could become better."

Palin refused to comment for Vanity Fair.

THERE MAY NOT BE A SANTA CLAUS, BUT
THERE'LL ALWAYS BE A WILLARD (SIGH)

Here's our Willard burbling about the Sanford Affair:

“Seeing this family become healed is our highest priority,” Romney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“At the same time, and not commenting particularly on Governor Sanford, … people in public life ought to be held to a higher standard. … I heard one … former governor say, ‘Well, everybody makes mistakes.’ Well, that’s true.

“But not all mistakes are the same. And not everybody is a governor or a senator or a president. And we expect [those] people to live by a higher standard, because what they do is going to be magnified, their families are going to be hurt more by what they do, the things they care about will be hurt, and the culture of the nation and the people who follow them will be hurt.”

Does the man have a silver tongue, or what?

"Not everybody is a governor or a senator or a president." Check! Should we perhaps have exact figures on this? It seems to be important. A rough percentage, at least? Let's see, there are 50 governors, and, um, 99 senators (thanks, Norm Coleman and John Cornyn!), and one president . . . so we add that, and divide by the entire population, and . . .


YOUR TWO-PARTY SYSTEM AT WORK: REP. JEFF
FLAKE (R-AZ) STEPS TO THE PLATE ON ACES

We used the Waxman-Markey "climate" bill as a sort of test case for how the Dems are functioning at midyear 2009. How about the R's? Let's consider the case of Jeff Flake (AZ-06).

Naturally Congressman Flake, as a Republican, opposes ACES. His website reports:

“The last thing a fragile economy needs is a new energy tax, yet that’s essentially what this cap and trade bill is,” said Flake. “This bill is more about generating revenue for the federal government than it is about addressing climate change.”

So we know for darn sure that the congressman voted his conscience Friday night, right? Um, not exactly. The website report continues:

Unfortunately, Congressman Flake was unable to vote on the bill due to a family obligation. Congressman Flake’s daughter was Arizona’s representative in the America’s Junior Miss scholarship program, and Congressman Flake and his wife were there supporting her.

“Obviously, it was a tough decision to miss voting against the cap and trade bill. But I’ve let my daughter down enough over the years, and I felt I just couldn’t let her down again.”

Had he been able to vote, he would have voted against the bill. Unless it is changed substantially, Congressman Flake will vote against the cap and trade conference report when it comes back to the House.

Whatta guy! I'm sure the fact that the congressman will vote against the bill later was of great assurance to his ideological comrades as they did battle in the vote Friday night.

#

Leaders? Pick One: Amy Klobuchar, Kendrick Meek, Jan Schakowsky

No leaders in this snapshot

An old friend, a very wise one, told me that if I expect leadership from politicians I'm bound to be very disappointed. They follow. Usually they follow which way the wind is blowing. The better ones follow actual leaders. Earlier today I wanted to see if momentum is starting to build towards recalling Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who is using his state's Senate seat as a hostage of national Republican obstructionism. Wednesday Public Policy Polling had reported that 63% of Minnesota voters think Coleman lost the race and should concede. 59% believe Pawlenty should certify Al Franken's election so that he can be seated immediately. (60% of Minnesota voters think Obama has done a good job and 30% don't. In November Obama won the state with 54%.)

And yesterday I saw that they released another poll. What I was looking for was Pawlenty's job approval. As I expected, it was dismal. Only 46% of Minnesota voters think he's doing a good job; 40% disapprove. If the state Supreme Court rules, as expected, that Coleman lost, and Pawlenty still refuses to sign the election certificate, he could, in my estimation, lose a recall initiative. That's what I was looking for. But then a saw another number.

It doesn't surprise me that freshman Senator Amy Klobuchar has a high approval rating. She seems to work hard, especially now that she's handling constituent services for two senators, and she has been a moderate backer of much of Obama's agenda for change. But her approval rating was remarkable-- 62%. "That’s the best PPP has found for any of the 18 Senators it’s taken approval ratings of across the country over the last year. " By way of comparison, approval ratings for three senators up for re-election in 2010:

Richard Burr (R-NC)- 35%
Jim Bunning (R-KY)- 28%
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)- 45%

So why is Klobuchar soaring? She certainly hasn't distinguished herself as a great leader or innovative thinker or even a partisan hero. She's just a quiet middle-of-the-pack freshman who doesn't make any trouble and tends to her constituents in a conscientious way. You don't see brilliant policy proposals coming from her the way you expect from Bernie Sanders or Dick Durbin or Russ Feingold or Tom Harkin.

Let's take an entirely different example. No one would ever accuse Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek of showing any leadership in any area other than in currying favor with lobbyists. He's a definition of a mindless rubber stamp, a go-along-to-get-along hack. Most observers have also noticed that his ethics are abysmal, if not criminal. And yet, he's the favorite candidate of national Democratic insiders for the Florida Senate nomination-- this despite the fact that he's never been tested and wouldn't win a statewide race against even the worst of the possible GOP candidates. He has something far more valued than leadership; he does what he's told and doesn't ask why. Like Klobuchar, Meek is "nice." That's a far more valued commodity. (By the way, although both are moderates, I'm not trying to lump Klobuchar in with Meek. He's a pitiful hack; she's a solid public servant. And she isn't corrupt.)

Rather than leaders we're used to seeing useless hacks and shills like Bernie Thompson (D-MS) grandstanding and playing up to yahoos and wealthy campaign donors, the way he just did over the release of the Department of Homeland Security document warning of possible dangers of terrorism on the far right (like in the case of the Oklahoma City bombing).

If you were looking for Democratic elected leaders to publicly stand up against the manipulated Know Nothing teabagger parties yesterday, you would have been sorely disappointed. I can't say I checked every single congressional website, although I checked many. I get press releases from dozens of members of Congress. I read a lot too-- and widely. But I've only found one Democratic leader willing to stand up and criticize the faux grassroots teabaggery: Jan Schakowsky, who, correctly rated them despicable. Like secessionist loon Rick Perry (R-TX), many far right Republicans, of course, are trying to embrace the teabaggery.

"The ‘tea parties’ being held today by groups of right-wing activists, and fueled by FOX News Channel, are an effort to mislead the public about the Obama economic plan that cuts taxes for 95 percent of Americans and creates 3.5 million jobs," Schakowsky said in a statement.

"It’s despicable that right-wing Republicans would attempt to cheapen a significant, honorable moment of American history with a shameful political stunt," she added. "Not a single American household or business will be taxed at a higher rate this year. Made to look like a grassroots uprising, this is an Obama bashing party promoted by corporate interests, as well as Republican lobbyists and politicians.”

She's running for the U.S. Senate too. If her voting record in the House is any indication-- and she's currently the #4 best out of 435 members-- and if her leadership capacity is something you think is a positive, you'll probably agree that she'd make a great addition.

Franken Is No Longer "Leading"-- He Won

Al Franken is as entitled to a seat and a vote in the U.S. Senate as either Mike Johanns (R-NE) or Jim Risch (R-ID), the only two Republican freshmen. It's been obvious for months that Coleman's RNC-financed frivolous law suits and challengers were just about preventing Franken from taking his seat, not about really contesting the election. The best explanation for what the Republican Party is doing was blurted out by Michele Bachmann supporter Jim Bendtsen from Anoka County just north of Minneapolis. He told USAToday that "he's willing to forgo a senator if it means slowing President Obama's agenda. 'I'm in favor of keeping Franken out of office as long as possible,' he says. 'The more votes Obama has at the federal level, the more damage I think he's going to do to America.'" That is the definition of unadulterated Republican obstructionism as preached by the slobbering three-headed god, Rush-Ann-Glenn they've all sold their souls to.

After a trial spanning nearly three months, Norm Coleman’s attempt to reverse Al Franken’s lead in the recount of the U.S. Senate election was soundly rejected today by a three-judge panel that dismissed the Republican’s lawsuit.

The judges swept away Coleman’s argument that the election and its aftermath were fraught with systemic errors that made the results invalid.

“The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately,” the panel said in its unanimous decision.

In rejecting Coleman’s arguments, the panel said the Republican essentially asked it to ignore Minnesota election requirements and adopt a more lenient standard allowing illegal absentee ballots to be counted.

The panel also rejected Coleman’s comparison of Senate election problems to those in the 2000 presidential race in Florida.

Unlike Florida, Minnesota has statewide standards for absentee voting that are “uniform and explicit and apply in every county and city,” the panel wrote.

It's simple; the court has ruled Franken won the most votes which, in a democracy, means he won the election. The airtight 68 page opinion is adamant that the election was fair, that it did not violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and that each county's adopted ballot counting rules was proper and in accordance with state and federal laws. It's is almost shocking at how completely it slaps down Coleman's spurious claims. The judges have declared that Franken is entitled to a certificate of election.

Coleman and the GOP want to protract this as long as they can, just to make it more difficult for Obama to overcome GOP de facto filibusters on his entire agenda. He has already announced he will appeal to the state Supreme Court. Governor Tim Pawlenty has vowed to allow Minnesota to go without a second senator for as long as the Republican Party is willing to finance challenges and lawsuits. It's clear that Minnesota voters should start a recall of Pawlenty.

After a statewide recount and seven-week trial, Franken stands 312 votes ahead. Franken actually gained more votes from the election challenge than Coleman, the candidate who brought it.

The state law Coleman sued under merely required three judges to determine who got the most votes and is therefore entitled to an election certificate. That critical certificate is on hold pending appeal, and GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty has hedged when asked if he'll deliver it after the state courts are done reviewing the case.

"The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the November 4, 2008 election was conducted fairly, impartially, and accurately," the judges wrote in their unanimous opinion. "There is no evidence of a systematic problem of disenfranchisement in the state's election system, including in its absentee-balloting procedures."

Even the Republican Party propagandist embedded on MSNBC, former right-wing congressman Joe Scarborough, is telling Coleman that he lost and it's time to give up the shameful obstructionism: "Norm... you lost... It's over Norm? OK? It's over."

Wednesday's Minnesota Independent has some bad news for Coleman: most voters think he should concede. And Pawlenty better be careful; 59% of Minnesota voters say he should sign Franken’s election certificate.

UPDATE: And I Hope The GOP Isn't Planning The Same Strategy Of Disruption For Tedisco

As the counting of paper ballots continues in NY-20, Scott Murphy continues to expand his lead. The crazed and desperate Tedisco, who was forced out of his local GOP leadership job, has even challenged the absentee ballot of NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, whose elevation to the Senate is what opened the seat he and Murphy have been vying for. Gillbrand and Murphy, unlike Tedisco, live in the district.