Campaigning for Tessa Hafen In Nevada
Road Report from Ted Chiodo:
Mahalo! A final report on doings this week from the neon wonderment that is Las Vegas. Tuesday night, John Kerry, the traveling crew and I went to a fundraiser for Tessa Hafen, a first-time candidate running for Congress in Nevada’s 3rd District.
Tessa’s campaign is a case study for what is at stake this year. She is a smart and talented third-generation southern Nevadan who was born and raised in Henderson. Tessa spent the last eight years of her life working for the state’s senior senator, Harry Reid. She offers voters a real alternative to her Bush rubber stamp opponent, Jon Porter. Tessa’s drive, determination and hard working staff have already shown that a campaign run on ideas can take it to even a much-better funded opponent. Tessa is now within striking distance of winning this House seat, and with support from Democrats like you, she will.
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John Kerry was met by a smiling Tessa Hafen, who introduced him to Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (NV-01) and a group of 50-60 Democratic young professionals. After 20 minutes of picture taking and chatting, soon-to-be Congresswoman Hafen got things rolling, asking “doesn’t it feel good to not be a Republican today?”
The crowd was gracious and enthusiastic while Tessa chronicled her start in the race, when no one gave her a chance against a well funded Jon Porter. Against the apparently long odds, Tessa Hafen has been fighting hard, and is getting through to people dissatisfied with Porter’s lack of leadership in Washington.
Hafen finished by introducing John Kerry, who spoke about the fear and loathing of the Republican slime attacks against veterans like Patrick Murphy. (See Murphy’s guest blog about his race.) John told the crowd that the only card the Republicans have left to play, in Nevada and in the rest of the country, was the fear card.
I’m in DC for a quick layover now, and then off to the great state of New Hampshire on Thursday.
--Ted
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Thanks, Ted. Sounds like a great time.
Best of luck to Ms Hafen. Yes, it feels wonderful not to be a Republican today and every day!
See ya in NH!
Thanks for the great recap, Ted. Looking forward to seeing much more of Tessa - or rather Congresswoman Hafen - in the future.
GV, You’re wrong. It feels wonderful to be a Republican today:
JOHN MCCAIN WARNED CLINTON IN 1994 RE NK NUKE DEAL, LAYS BLAME SQUARELY ON CLINTON ADMINISTRATION.
CONGRESSMEN CALL FOR HEARINGS, INVESTIGATION OF SANDY BERGER’S THEFT OF DOCS FROM NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVES, POSSIBLE MISSING PIECES FROM CLINTON TERROR RECORD.
SENATE MINORITY LEADER HARRY REID HANGS UP ON AP REPORTER WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT SHADY LAND DEAL IN NEVADA, SERIOUS ETHICS VIOLATIONS SUSPECTED IN $1.1M CASH TAKE.
NEW POLLS SHOW NO POLITICAL GAIN FOR DEMS IN FOLEY SCANDAL, VOTERS CONSIDER DEMS JUST AS BAD OR WORSE, REPUBLICANS GAINING IN NEW POLLS.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R-CT) FIGHTS BACK AT OPPONENT DEMANDING HASTERT RESIGN DURING KENNEDY FUNDRAISER, RECALLS KENNEDY AT CHAPPAQUIDDICK: “HASTERT DIDN’T KILL ANYONE.”
NEW DAVID ZUCKER (“AIRPLANE”) VIDEO PARODYING MADELINE ALBRIGHT, CLINTON ADMIN RE NK NUKES/CODDLING DICTATORS AND TERRORISTS A BIG HIT!
JOE LIEBERMAN LEADS NED LAMONT BY 10+ POINTS IN RECENT POLL, GAP WIDENING.
Can’t wait to read tomorrow’s paper! Foley is milked out, if you’ll pardon the pun. I’d rather be in my shoes than yours right now, the roof is caving in on you! You think people don’t remember Gerry Studds actually HAD sex with a minor page, or don’t know that the same twisted libs screaming for Foley’s head are the same that repeatedly re-elected Studds? Being from Mass, I remember! And just think, Karl Rove hasn’t even dropped his October Surprise yet! I can’t wait! Ha ha ha! Let the Swift Boating Begin! Feel the fear! Sea of Red, anyone? You’re going to have to slash a helluva lot of voter drive bus tires and raise a lot of dead voters to win this time around. Worst part? You know it’s all true! Ta Ta, Dahlings!
Thanks to The Mad King we get a glance into the world as seen by a Republican.
It’s sort of like the Bizarro World of the old Superman comics, except for being evil as well as being bizarre.
What do we have for him, Don Pardo? That’s right, Ron! A strange world just slightly less bizarre than the dream world Dems have lived in prior to every election since 2000: A giddy pre-election methamphetamine-like rush over MSM polls followed by post-election wailing and gnashing of teeth! Only one poll counts, pal. The one you guys keep consistently losing! I’m with the illustration from Jon Stewart’s book “Democracy Inaction”: The guy digging a grave next to a headstone bearing the epitaph “Democratic Party, RIP.” Good stuff on Drudge. Check it out! I’d recommend a double dose of Prozac first. See you in November!
Wow Mad King thank you for sharing all those right wing talking points - which wingnut blog did you find those on? Oh, please don’t bother letting us know, some of us actually read the dribble on the wingnut blogs daily. It’s a hoot. You kids with your red koolaid are so out of touch with reality. Sort of in a perpetual “State of Denial” I’m afraid, much like the boy king and the grim reaper.
You take care now, make sure they feed you in the nuthouse - I’m sure they have a special place reserved just for you and your pals.
Oh, one last thing - here’s a little reading for you:
Book says Bush just using Christians
He’s one fine piece of work, the fool residing in the house. We’ll be happy to see him gone.
Wow Mad King,
I can tell you listen to Druggie Limbaugh, and “I was affraid to serve in the military"Sean Hannity.
But don’t worry the Kool Ade jug that you all drink out of is about to run out.
Lets see how many nukes did North Korea have during the Clinton Years ???? That would be, if you can count this high Mad King 0.
Iran was trying to build nukes during the Clinton years or during King George’s reign????
Hurry this is a trick question Mad King.
Lets see one more for you all bright thinking right wingers, Did Osama B. or Suddam bring down the twin towers??? Ya you get your info from Fox News and Druggie limbaugh, I guess this one is not a fair question.
So Mad Cow, crawl back under your right wing rock, put your blinders back on, and keep going to the church of Druggie Limbaugh.
Yes we will see you at the polls in Novemeber. Now remember Mad Cow when you vote, don’t forget to take your play book that Karl Rove colored with his new set of crayon’s that draft dodger Cheney got him for a early Christmas Present.
Mad Cow one more thing, I spelled Saddam, Suddam so that you would understand the way druggie limbaugh talks. Have a nice day.
Tessa Hafen sounds like an excellent candidate. It would be great if she replaced the incumbent.
Whoa. So that’s what the inside of a Republican’s head looks like. Damn dark in there, Mad King.
So, for you, it’s all about swiftboating and the October surprise? Is democracy a game, MK? Is that how you see it?
This is about America, MK. That’s why we’re here. It’s not about dredging up old scandals. It’s about taking the country back.
I could talk all day about Republican scandals. For you to start your post with John McCain is the ultimate irony, he’s got plenty of skeletons in his closet. But I won’t. At least not right now. Because it’s not about him, it’s about what’s best for the American people.
The focus on the Foley scandal is about protecting our children, MK. If it were up to me, it would be investigated and measures to protect the pages would be put in place, and we could get back to discussing N Korea and Bush’s debacle in the ME. If Hastert had addressed Mr. Foley’s predatory actions when he learned of them, this wouldn’t be an issue now. But he didn’t. He just let Mr Foley go on, knowing he was using his position of power to prey on innocent children. And the media loves it, because sex scandals drive viewership. They know that people don’t want to hear about the loss of our moral authority or the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis. That doesn’t get folks to turn on the tube.
Here’s a thought. “Tell the American people the truth.” That’s one from our host. Thanks, JK.
MadKing, people like you make me sad.
Wow, I thought the term Mad King referred to Dumbya.
p.s. Clinton did NOT fire the shots from the grassy knoll… sorry to disappoint you.
Yoo-hoo, is Mag Queen still around?
Bush ‘04 Video Flashback: N. Korea policy ‘will work’
by David Edwards and Ron Brynaert
At a debate in 2004, President Bush explained that his policy against bilateral talks with North Korea would be effective in preventing them from becoming a nuclear power.
The president says, “We began a new dialogue with North Korea. One that includes, not only the United States, but now China, and China has a lot of influence over North Korea. Some ways more than we do. As well, we include South Korea, Japan and Russia. Now there are 5 voices speaking to Kim Jong Il, not just one. And so if Kim Jong Il decides again not to honor an agreement, he’s not only doing injustice to America, he’ll be doing injustice to China as well. And I think this will work. It’s not going work if we open up a dialogue with Kim Jong Il.”
In 2002, the United States released $95 million to North Korea as part of an agreement to replace its nuclear program.
“In releasing the funding, President George W Bush waived the Framework’s requirement that North Korea allow inspectors to ensure it has not hidden away any weapons-grade plutonium from the original reactors,” the BBC reported in 2002.
Bush’s Presidential determination said that the decision was “vital to the national security interests of the United States.”
The directive said that the United States was “continuing to make significant progress on eliminating the North Korean ballistic missile threat, including further missile tests and its ballistic missile exports.”
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_Bush_04_Flashback_N._Korea_1010.html
... and now, they have the bomb.
Wow, are you friggin thick.
Edited: Please do not repost items across multiple threads. Thanks.
Well I applaude you for stating the opinions so many of us share . Thank you for not following the rest of the sheep in this country. thank god we live in a country where all opinions are welcome to be shared .... after all isnt that what america is really all about?
Hmm.
“the truthonly” is an interesting nickname to choose considering that the entire content of your posts consists of suppositions, speculations, exaggerations, unproved accusations—in fact, everything *except* the truth only.
And I can’t speak as to why your previous post was removed by the mods, not being one of them myself; but if I had to guess, it might had to do with your linking to outside sites that have been thoroughly discredited and are unwelcome in more rational circles. I could be wrong about that, though. Since your latest post doesn’t include those links, if it remains in place this time that may be its own answer.
What your latest post also didn’t include is such minor but necessary niceties as proper punctuation, capitalization, grammar, spelling, use of white space, et cetera. And that’s not just nitpicky stuff, because the absence of them makes your lengthy and meandering post not only difficult to read physically, but difficult to take seriously in general.
And can it be ..that using? twice?? and even three??? times as many question marks as needed makes your questions seem all the more URGENT?????? I think NOT!!! ...rather the opposite, in fact. Your writing style makes your rhetoric come across as rabid and ranting that way, when I’m sure you’d prefer it to come across as reasonable and credible instead. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
I know the old saw says that “just because you’re paranoid, that doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.” And we’re not out to get you here. We may just be out to ignore you instead, since you’re obviously past the point where replying to your points with logic and, goddess forbid, actual *facts* might do any of us any useful service here.
There are plenty of places for conspiracy theorists, wingnuts, tinfoil-hat wearers, and rabid speculators on this world wide web of ours. It’s just that this isn’t one of those places. So all you’re doing here is wasting your time and our bandwidth by shotgunning us with the same rants you’ve obviously been spouting everywhere that you can possibly find to post them.
There’s simply no audience for your poorly-written potboiling postulations here, sir (or madam, as the case may be.) I’d suggest that you just move on to some other stray corner of cyberspace where you can find some similar souls to share your suspicious screeds with instead.
(Oh, and by the way… carrying on conversations with oneself online using different nicks is considered to be one of the warning signs of terminal cyber-silliness. You might want to avoid that in the future.)
just my $.02,
Otter
It used to be…. back when Clinton was president.
Sharing opinions is offlimits to the Mad King (aka Spoiled Rotten Brat)
Reading Drudge, as the Mad King recommends, is a great gateway in to the madness of current Repubicans. Like George Bush, they think they have won a mandate, desptite the fact that the majority of voters disagreed with Republicans on virtually every issue in 2004. Once the Republican myth of ability to keep the country safe was shattered with Katina, their ability to win was finished.
They overestimate their majority, forgetting that circumstances under which Bush “won” the 2000 election. Bush lost the popular vote, and would have lost the electoral college if there was a full recount in Florida, or if the over-count was taken into consideration. Winning reelection during time of war by the lowest margin of any President in this cituation in modern times is hardly a vote of confidence.
Republicans also control the Senate only because of the advanage given to small states with each state getting two Senators regardless of population. A majority of people have voted for Republican Senators. The Republicans would have barely maintained their majority in the House if not for seats picked up due to DeLay’s games in Texas.
While some Republicans hold on to fantasies of a last minute come back, or deny how much trouble they are in, most realize the position they are in. That’s why some Republcans talk about how it might be better if they lose this year. Yesterday, at Liberal Values, I posted a excerpt from the Evans-Novak Political Report which shows the situation most Repubicans realize they are in:
There’s also more on Novak’s comments in the full post.
Above Pamela links to a story about a book arguing that Bush was just using Christians.
Does this mean Bush is not really a right wing religious fanatic?
Does this mean Bush didn’t mean it when he claimed that God chose him to be President and advised him to go to war in Iraq?
Warner is not running in ‘08
Otter
Thanks for the 2 cents about “thetruthonly.” With “thetruthonly” comment edited, the 2 cents is confusing.
Ron
That’s a good question isn’t it. I was wondering the same thing myself late last night. I know we’ve discussed this topic in the past on the Dem Daily.
Otter—thanks for your 2 cents worth. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Ahem Mad King… I believe you belched “NEW POLLS SHOW NO POLITICAL GAIN FOR DEMS IN FOLEY SCANDAL”...
well…
As chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Tom Reynolds has had one mantra when it comes to helping House Republicans win this year. Elections, he’s said repeatedly, will be won on local issues, not national ones. “I’ve never seen the action of one member affect the outcome of the election of another,” Reynolds told reporters last summer. Well, he’s seen it now. The Mark Foley scandal has landed Reynolds in big time trouble back home in New York—so much so that the man in charge of electing House Republicans could lose his own job come Election Day. Reynolds’ admission that he was made aware of Foley’s “overly friendly” e-mails (but not the explicit instant messages) with a former House page last spring, has sent his poll numbers south and put him among the ranks of the GOP’s most vulnerable incumbents. At least three new polls taken in the aftermath of the Foley mess have Reynolds losing to Democratic businessman Jack Davis. A Zogby Poll released Sunday had the NRCC chief down by 15 points. Before Foley resigned on Sept. 29, Congressional Quarterly listed Reynolds as a “safe Republican.” Not anymore. CQ has now reclassified the Reynolds/Davis match-up as “leans Democratic.”
http://www.talk.newsweek.com/politics/
Posted by Ron Chusid | October 12, 2006 11:07 AM
Ron, I think that it has more to do with the fact that there were political advisors around Bush who were perfectly willing to take advantage of Bush’s faith and the relationship that it grants him with the religious right. The point might be made that he himself permitted the relationship to be “used and abused”. Much of the advice may have been couched in terms such that he really thought that he was connecting with them at a “truth and soul” level at the same time the political advisors just cared that some connection could be made and manipulated.
dwahzon,
While in my snarky comment I phrased it as if it was an either or question, obvioulsy the real answer is somewhere in between.
Come to think of it, the answer is probably the worst of all possible ones. Bush is both a right wing religious fanatatic and he takes advantage of Christians for political gain (regardless of how much is due to advisors taking advantage of Bush’s faith).
Agreed, Pamela, it certainly is. If it helps, the “my $.02” reply was written well before the mods removed the post it was in reference to. But you didn’t miss much in the removed post this time anyway.
What was posted there was just the same old thing we’ve all seen plenty of times before, a long-winded poorly-written paranoiac screed about how the truth behind the terrible events of 9/11 was totally covered up by the media-industrial complex because it was really all a convoluted secret plot by the Republicans / PNAC / Bilderbergers / the Illuminati / space aliens / disgruntled marsupials (whichever you prefer) and yadda, yadda, yadda.
Oh, and of course said screed also started and ended with the author whining about how his previous post on the subject had been removed by the mods for no valid reason and so that’s just another sign of how we’re also tools of the conspiracy who only pretend to allow free speech here and blah, blah, blah.
In other words, just more of the same old same old moo-manure. Not to worry, Pamela. Trust me, you didn’t miss a thing.
so many heads so few brains,
Otter
Otter
Of course we all know that the media-industrial complex does have a propensity to cover things up. In recent months I’ve attended a couple of non political social functions where this was discussed openly by a very mixed group of lib’s and conserv’s. I haven’t had time to look into it myself, but I’ve been surprised to find intelligent, well informed people outside of the sphere on both sides of the aisle discussing it.
I’m glad I missed it here though. Tantamount right now of course is the ‘06 midterms.
“Tell us your phobias, and we’ll tell you what you fear.”
—Robert Benchley
Blaming Bush for North Korean nukes is like blaming Churchill for Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
Convenient, but it ignores the fact that Kim had no intention of honoring any agreement he ever signed, just like Hitler never did. Kim Jong il played everyone, especially Madeline Albright with her Michael Jordan basketball and champagne glass.
If North Korea wasn’t violatiing the Agreed Framework until Bush’s watch, then why did Albright have to go there on her infamous visit and photo op in 2000? Let’s face it, sheeple, Cliton’s hoped-for legacy is falling apart by the day. He will be regarded by historians as a pantsless Neville Chamberlaine who failed in every foreign policy endeavor he ever engaged in. Name one accomplishment, ONE! That goes for Kerry too! Personally, I’m glad that sops like Jimmy Carter, john Kerry and Madeline Albright are coming to the fore in opeds saying we need to talk some more and submit to nuclear blackmail in the name of peace, because the American mood is just the opposite now and souring more with every threat by that maniac. And just in time for elections, too. And you cry into your brie wondering why you never win elections! Ha! On a side note, do any of you have any connections with Harry Reid? I’m looking for a good deal on some Vegas property!
Otter,
Neat trick by Benchley. I bet he never misses the “who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?” question.
For the blog’s English lesson of the day, phobias would be tantamount to what we fear. It is of paramount importance that we overcome our fears and do not get taken in by conspiracy theorists, just as winning in November is of paramount importance.
Thank you, Ron, for that sermon on the ‘mount.
But was there another post between my Benchley quote and your reply to it? I could’ve sworn I felt a sudden blast of hot air blow by us for a moment there, but I’m sure it’s really not worth the trouble of going back to check.
es la hora de deponer el arbusto,
Otter
....“because the American mood is just the opposite now and souring more with every threat by that maniac. And just in time for elections, too.”
You said it, bub.
W is a maniac of epic proportions.
P.S. Put the crack pipe down.
The Mad King is back with more (as Otter put it) hot air.
Another example of refusing to face reality. So John Solomon has yet another unsubstantiated charge against Harry Reid. Most likely this one will blow over like his other fallacious charges against Reid. While it is premature to really judge this accusation, worst case scenario so far is that there was a problem in the manner in which he reported the specifics of the transaction.
Quite trivial compared to the institutionalized corruption we’ve seen under GOP rule.
Mad King makes no more sense on Reid than he does on Korea, where he blames people like Clinton who did somwthing to contain North Korea and ignores the manner in which Bush screwed this up. Maybe Clinton’s solution wasn’t the best, but if so the answer would be to come up with something better—not to do virtually nothing and act in a manner towards North Korea which worsens the situation.
Otter
Benchley has some great quotes floating around. Among my favorites:
“There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don’t.”
“The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.”
“Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.”
It’s almost important to remember that there are two sides to every story. That’s one of the things I admire about JK - he’s willing to listen and judge things on their merit.
We have to be careful not to label others, because sometimes those we don’t agree with do good work and their work gets supported by those we do agree with. I won’t go into it at the moment but, JK recently threw his weight behind an initiative that was brought up by someone who perhaps has been labeled wrongly by others who misinterpret his intentions.
Humor is always important though - isn’t it? Benchley was a great humorist.
Reaping the Fruits of Bush’s Korea Policy
By Joe Conason
If North Korea’s first nuclear weapons test was indeed a dud, we will hear another round of jokes at the expense of Kim Jong Il and his clown haircut. But while mocking an eccentric dictator is always fun, he has equal reason to chortle at the Bush administration’s erratic foreign policy, which has stumbled into a dangerous corner.
Back in January 2002, George W. Bush invited the world to judge him according to a single crucial objective. That was when the President first denounced the “Axis of Evil,” which included Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and vowed that the United States would not tolerate their acquisition of “weapons of mass destruction.” The result has been a disastrous war in Iraq, which had no such weapons, and a diplomatic stalemate with Iran and North Korea that encouraged those states to continue their nuclear weapons programs.
By invading Iraq on the pretext of disarming a hostile regime, Washington sent an unmistakable message to the two remaining members of the so-called axis, which was reinforced by the American refusal to engage in bilateral talks with Tehran and Pyongyang. Only military power, underscored by the actual possession of nuclear weapons, could guarantee survival against a superpower bent on “regime change.” Both regimes took the hint and did precisely the opposite of what Mr. Bush said he wanted.
Over the past five years, the Bush policy toward both Iran and North Korea has vacillated between threats and negotiations. Sometimes the White House tries to rally world and regional powers toward solutions through multilateral talks, and at other times the administration appears to prepare for violent confrontation with one or both countries. With our military strength diminished and our forces distracted by the Iraqi sand trap, however, that destructive option no longer seems realistic, if it ever was.
That won’t stop the usual chorus of right-wing extremists, who maintain their influence on American policy despite the debacle they have created in Iraq, from banging their war drums. (They don’t know how to do anything else.)
These opportunists will claim—as Senator John McCain immediately did—that the hapless Bush policy is somehow the fault of Bill Clinton, who left office six years ago. These geniuses will insist—as they did on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal—that more economic pressure should be inflicted on the impoverished North Koreans by China and South Korea.
And these experts will advise us—as the neoconservative writer David Frum did on the op-ed page of The New York Times—that the United States should also accelerate construction of its missile defense system, which doesn’t work; curtail humanitarian aid to North Korea, which could starve millions and precipitate a crisis on the Chinese border; and encourage Japan to drop out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which might destroy that highly effective agreement and instigate a new arms race in dozens of countries that have refrained from nuclear weapons for decades.
Such chest-puffing exercises require ignorance or oblivion of certain central facts, including our current financial dependence on the Chinese, and the potential impact on the world economy of a sudden North Korean implosion that cripples China.
moron…
http://www.observer.com/20061016/20061016_Joe_Conason_opinions_conason.asp
marc trager - thanks for that link!
MadKing, short and simple.
The Date:
October 9, 2006
The Headline:
N Korea tests nuclear wepon
The President:
George W. Bush
Six years of Bush policy ending in failure.
To keep Sandy’s story short, but expand slightly, note we have two versions of the same story.
Clinton had a policy on North Korea. Bush drops policy and replaces it with little more than calling North Korea part of the Axis of Evil. Bush policy fails and North Korea develops bomb.
Clinton had a plan to fight al Qaeda (which was generally blocked by Republicans in Congress). Clinton passes on recommendations to Bush Administration. Bush Administration ignores plans (and Condi caught lying when she claims she never received the plans). We saw what happened there.
Notice the similarities in these stories? Then compare this to the Katrina story to extend to domestic policy.
So how do the Republicans think they can get away forever claiming to be the party that keeps the country safe?
Clinton certainly had his faults, but leaving us with eight years of peace and prospertiy is no a bad record. I’m not sure which aspect of “peace and prosperity” the Republicans object to so much. It is also a shame that they cannot take responsibility for their many incompetent moves, and instead try to blame everything on Clinton.
By special request…
Lunatic Fringe
by Red Rider
Lunatic fringe
I know you’re out there
You’re in hiding
And you hold your meetings
We can hear you coming
We know what you’re after
We’re wise to you this time
We won’t let you kill the laughter.
Lunatic fringe
In the twilight’s last gleaming
This is open season
But you won’t get too far
We know you’ve got to blame someone
For your own confusion
But we’re on guard this time
Against your final solution
We can hear you coming
(We can hear you coming)
No you’re not going to win this time
We can hear the footsteps
(We can hear the footsteps)
Way out along the walkway
Lunatic fringe
We know you’re out there
But in these new dark ages
There will still be light
An eye for an eye;
Well before you go under…
Can you feel the resistance?
Can you feel the thunder?
marc,
I don’t understand.
Lunatic fringe
I know you’re out there
You’re in hiding
Hiding? They have a representative posting right here. What kind of hiding is this? :)
The dumb kind, Ron!
Smoke ‘em out of their orifice.
Ron,
Yes, I would say that is more accurate.
Six year ABSENCE of policy ended in failure. Another ‘duh’ moment in Bushland.
Even the south no longer supports Bush on the war.
For the crazed monarchs out there…
Far from being “milked out”, Foley is the case of the gift that keeps on giving…
As Republican candidates run in droves from Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds and the rest of the House Republican leaders who covered up the Mark Foley scandal, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove raised eyebrows by agreeing to step in for Republican Senator John McCain at two Buffalo fundraisers next Friday. It turns out this isn’t the first time Rove and Reynolds have worked together on the Mark Foley matter.
A new report in the New Republic Online reveals that, as Foley was considering not seeking reelection this year, Karl Rove intervened and strong-armed Foley into running again. According to the report, “Foley said he was being pressured by ‘the White House and Rove gang,’ who insisted that Foley run. If he didn’t, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.” Foley reportedly told associates that, “the White House made it very clear I have to run,” and promised that serving for two more years would “enhance his success” as a lobbyist. [New Republic Online, 10/12/06]
The fact that Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief political advisor, and Tom Reynolds teamed up to convince Mark Foley to run for Congress—even though Reynolds knew about Foley’s inappropriate emails with teenaged boys—raises serious new questions about Republican efforts to cover up this scandal. Did Reynolds alert Rove to Foley’s emails before asking Rove to put on the pressure? Did Rove join in the House Republican leadership’s cover up of the scandal? Was anyone else at the White House aware of Foley’s inappropriate contact with minors? Now that the entire country knows Tom Reynolds and the House Republican leadership failed these children, why is Rove going to Buffalo to bail him out?
“Instead of trying to save Tom Reynolds’ political career, Karl Rove should explain whether he or anyone else at the White House knew about the scandal when he pressured Mark Foley into running again,” said Democratic National Committee Spokesman Damien LaVera.
“What Republicans like Tom Reynolds and Karl Rove don’t seem to understand is that this is about children, not politics. People are looking at this as concerned parents, not as Republicans or Democrats. They don’t want more finger pointing, they want real leaders who will take responsibility for their actions and stop putting politics ahead of the safety of our children. Democrats are offering a new direction for America that includes a return to honesty, accountability and ethics in Washington.”<i></i>
The story on Foley being pressured to run, even by people who knew of his activities, is not new or unique to The New Republic. I had a story on this over a week ago at Liberal Values: http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=391
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/12/45416/993
Mostly about the local race, but a good recap.
Bush: Country ‘better off’ with Hastert in power
POSTED: 8:42 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP)—President Bush stood shoulder-to-shoulder with embattled House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Thursday, offering a powerful boost in his moment of need and declaring the country “better off” with Hastert in power.
“I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House who is going to be the future speaker of the House,” Bush said as he opened a speech to raise money for two Illinois congressional candidates.
-snip
Bush defended him, without mentioning the Foley case.
“Speaker Denny Hastert has a long record of accomplishment,” Bush said. “He’s not one of these Washington politicians who spews a lot of hot air. He just gets the job done.”
The crowd of Republican donors standing in a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom responded with loud applause.
“I have worked with him up close,” Bush continued. “I know what it’s like to work with a speaker who is determined to protect the United States of America and a speaker who wants to make sure that everybody who wants a job in America can find one.
“He has delivered results for the people,” Bush said. “This country is better off with Denny Hastert as the speaker and it will be better off when he is the speaker the next legislative session.”
moreons…
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/12/bush.hastert.ap/index.html