You Go Girl

Pelosi: Investigate, Prosecute Bush, and roll back his tax cuts.

Good to see someone remember they're Democrats.

I guess when you're riding a popularity wave as strong as this, it's time to hang ten.  Beyond the fact that Obama's leadership rates as high as Bush's inflated numbers right after 9/11, the contrast with Bush now is stark as he has sunk to an all time low and has been there for a couple of years. 

As the principle driver of Obama's legislative agenda, Pelosi is in a great position to stab at the heart of the conservative cabal that ran this country like a mafia fiefdom.  She can take risks Obama won't, lest he lose his mandate -- which in turn will feed Pelosi's success.  It's an interesting dance.

Bottom line though, the conservatives have "emboldened" their worst enemy, a liberal Congress with populist backing.

Speaking of Rats Fleeing the Sinking GOP

Friday UPDATE: 2 GIs, 22 Iraqis Killed; 15 22 Iraqis Wounded
Also, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are
threatening to attack Turkish pipelines
if Turkey attacks their bases.

Mel Marinez was never an easy fit for the face of the GOP, and while it looks like our friend Oliver exaggerated a bit when he said Martinez quit the GOP, Mel has stepped down as Chair of the Republican National Committee . . .

to spend more time . . .

with his . . .

(wait for it) . . .

(no, not his family, too easy . . .)

Constituents? :'-D

That's a new one. Ya think there might be some kind of trend coming? --Nya.

There's more...
Maha doesn't single out individual defectors and retirees that now seem to be running over each other to leave the GOP, but looks at the general trend of corporate types and evangelicals deserting a party that they thought they could control and through which could redraw the globe in their image -- but instead they became the party's vassal, subordinate and beholden to hacks they discovered were incompetently stupid, greedy, arrogant beyond tolerance, and are not going to be missed by the people who put them in power only to be jerked around.

But in the annals of the profoundly stupid, there's two types we usually see -- especially on shows like Keith Olbermann's Countdown: stupid Republicans and stupid criminals. TPM Muckraker scores the rare TwoFer: a really stupid Republican criminal. In fact, Duke Cunningham was so stupid, the defense contracters who were bribing him to strong-arm the Pentagon brass for those sweetheart deals Duke's benefactors were paying him to get had to literally spell out exactly what Duke was to tell the military officials. And when I say spell it out, Duke was given talking points -- which included a script.

4. I (Duke) would like you (Mr. Oliver) to take the following steps.......
5. I (Duke) would like to handle this immediately.

Rarely does one end up in jail if they didn't do something just plain stupid. Amazing that these neo-con-poops could turn the tables on anyone at all. But the story from Paul Krugman that Maha quotes does blow your mind, especially since this comes to us through a convoluted trail that started at Politico.com of all places. See, the party hacks of the GOP didn't take long to understand they didn't need to wait around to be bought by the K-Street lobbyists, but could sell their wares to the highest bidder:

According to The Politico, “many C.E.O.’s” used the term “extortion” to describe “the annual shakedowns by committee chairmen with jurisdiction over their industries.” And now that Mr. Santorum is out of office, heading the America’s Enemies program at a right-wing think tank, the faint sound you hear from K Street is that of lobbyists singing: “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.”

But, Sadly No. Or more accurately, MoJo alerts us that the Living Dead: Santorum, Blackwell, and Gingrich are out on the rubber chicken circiut.

It's a real horror show here at FRC's WB [The super-Christian Family Research Council's Washigton Briefing -mark]. Former senator Rick Santorum came out to slam Hillary Clinton on abortion, former Ohio secretary of state Kenneth Blackwell came out to jabber about civilization or ideas or something, and former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich came out to talk about how Americans support certain things in massive majorities (prayer in schools, the pledge of allegiance, etc.) only be see their near-consensus on these issues overruled by the courts and the elites in Washington.

Mind you, I wouldn't trade places with the Republicans for a minute. But I'm rather disgusted watching our own leadership cower before these hyperventilating outrage merchants because one of the few elected Democrats with steel instead of pudding in his spine called Bush out on his bloodlust and mentally defective priorities. It wouldn't take too many missteps for there to be outright revolt against Pelosi and Reid among the base of netroot activists, myself included.

Reid is especially bothersome as we end the week. You simply don't make nice with the likes of Limbaugh, and you certainly don't undermine one of your own, especially when he's doing the right thing despite running for President. But don't worry Harry, I guess nobody but us bloggers give a damn.

If Chris Dodd puts a hold on the Telecom immunity bill and everyone ignores it, did it really happen?

Nope, especially when even the leader of your caucus blows you off.

Hey GOPers! Any room on that raft of yours? This ship of state is almost too full of holes to save.

Maybe It Won't Pass...

In a time when our President is identified merely by one initial, "W," and the spine of the congressional Democratic leadership cannot be identified at all, I yearn for the days when 3-initial Democrats, FDR, JFK, even LBJ and the promise of RFK were something quite different than the breed in attendance today.

Democrats with Balls.

I, like so many on the left -- some far left, others only moderately so -- and even those wandering in the middle cannot express their reaction to the "Capitulation Bill" without using the word, "disappointment." Even that word hardly seems to capture the proper emotion.

I've seen weak displays of rhetorical tricks masking the inability to follow one's convictions before; swallowing principles to pursue the practical, pragmatic politics of the day. But what we witnessed yesterday with the cave-in by the Democratic leadership giving Bush yet another blank check for his Iraq war was nothing short of pathetic.

The most egregious example came from Speaker Pelosi herself, indicating that she probably would not vote for a bill she is actively helping to get to the floor. Could there be a more cravenly cowardly stance? Explain how this is not the height of hypocricy.

The oft quoted maxim by Margaret Mead advising us never to underestimate the power of a small group of dedicated people's ability to change the world because that's the only thing that ever has, neglects to consider the sheer stupidity of those people when they've been in elected office too long.

The only thing that gives me some solace is that the candidate I've been supporting for President came out on the right side of this issue, and so many others in the way he urges us to look at our foreign policy and reject the GOP framing.

The only way to beat them is to stand our ground and not give an inch. That's what John Edwards did today.

Today, he went to the heart of America's foreign policy establishment and called out the Bush crowd for their misuse of patriotism. He had the guts to say what all of us know—that the Bush Terror Doctrine has failed our troops and failed America by straining our military to the breaking point and sowing chaos around the world.

John Edwards offered a clear plan to rebuild our forces and cure the damage inflicted on our military by Bush's policies. He offered a vision of an America where moral leadership is once again the rule, and where we are stronger and more secure because of it.

John Edwards' principled stand remains strong and righteous. I've no doubt that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama face a difficult choice -- one far harder than voting for cloture on the Feingold defunding bill when they knew it would likely fail.

Their choice, however, should not be that difficult -- if they really meant they way they voted on Feingold-Reid. We shall indeed see if they will put their money (rather, our money) where their mouths are. So far, their silence is deafening, and as you know, "silence is betrayal."



UPDATE: Chris Dodd is going to vote no on the Capitulation Bill, putting more pressure on Obama and Clinton -- and giving hope to those of us who still hold out hope...and want action.


UPDATE II: Kerry says NO too.

"An Iraq Bill Without a Deadline is Meaningless"

"We support the troops by getting the policy right and this bill allows the President to keep getting the policy wrong. We need a deadline to force Iraqis to stand up for Iraq and bring our heroes home, not watered down benchmarks and blank check waivers for this President. We support the troops by funding the right mission, not with a White House that opposes a pay raise for our brave men and women in uniform," Kerry said. "The original Senate legislation offered a roadmap to change course in Iraq. This new version enables the Administration and Iraqi politicians to deliver more of the same. I am determined to continue pressing this issue until President Bush changes course. We owe our troops nothing less than a strategy that is worthy of their sacrifice."

Call, make some noise. Be heard. Don't let this one go down without a fight.