Talking Points Memo | October 21, 2007 - October 27, 2007 Archives

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10.27.07 -- 11:30PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Dangerous All By Himself

Check out David Greenberg's piece on Giuliani in tomorrow's Post. The basic point is a simple but very accurate one: the talk of Rudy as too moderate or liberal for the GOP is malarkey. Rudy's reputation for liberalism is based on three factors -- abortion rights, gay rights and serial adultery. In which order, I'm not certain. But those basically cover it. On most other key issues Rudy is fundamentally an authoritarian, and thus a right-winger on the key issues of the day. And that's a product Republicans are buying.

I've discussed at some length the group of fanatics and warmongers that Rudy has surrounded himself with as advisors on foreign policy. But there's a point that's important to take note of here. In their book American Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay make an important point about President Bush's foreign policy and the influence of his advisors -- the so-called "vulcans." They argued that it is a mistake to believe that because President Bush had no experience or deep knowledge of foreign affairs that his policies were just the work of his advisors, as though he were a blank slate or an empty vessel into which they could simply pour their agenda.

The advisors were key. But Bush didn't end up with these advisors by accident. And as we've gotten to know President Bush over the last eight years it has become clear that the key aspects of his policies -- petulant unilateralism, a reliance on force, inflexibility and more -- are rooted in the president's personality. They cohere with a world view that he clearly brings to the table.

I think the same is the case with Rudy. Yes, Podhoretz and Pipes and Rubin and the rest of them are nuts. But it's no accident he's gravitating toward them and vice versa. He has a deeply authoritarian personality. And his approach to governing is heavy on bullying and what in domestic affairs amount to appeals to force. Soften the words a bit and I think even his fans would agree to that description as the root of his success.

The thing is that whatever his views on abortion, which he's trimming daily, Rudy offers to the Bush 30% what they love about Bush which is authoritarian government and aggression abroad. The absence of conspicuous religiosity in Rudy's World is a significant difference. But I think these other qualities, especially with where core Republicans are on Iraq, trump even that.

At least on foreign policy and presidential power -- two pretty big issues at the moment -- Rudy is Bush without the soft edges.

--Josh Marshall

10.27.07 -- 10:16PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Our partners at Veracifier went down to DC to spend a little time at the Family Research Council's Values Voters Ho-Down last weekend. Here's some of what they saw ...

--Josh Marshall

10.27.07 -- 12:22PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Crystal Ball in Secessionville

Check out this Times article on South Carolina as the pivotal state in the GOP nomination process. It seems more than likely that Mitt Romney will win Iowa and New Hampshire. Nothing is for certain; but his leads there are substantial and consistent. But South Carolina is where the white evangelicals -- en masse -- come into play. If Rudy can't win there, the importance of his strong plurality showings on the national level probably fade quickly, both as an indicator and as a reality, since Romney will likely pick up the support of others who throw in the towel. If Rudy can win there it probably means the lifers will trade their principles on abortion for beefed up aggression abroad.

Of course, none of these developments may mean any such thing. But that's my read as of now.

The Times paints it as a four-way contest with McCain and Thompson. I'd discount those two -- McCain as a collapsed candidacy, Thompson's as a joke waiting for its punch line.

And for those of you interested in such things, here are the latest Intrade prediction markets charts for Rudy (at 42.1) and Romney (25.8) ...

Rudy

Romney

That's the race.

--Josh Marshall

10.27.07 -- 12:17PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

In the Wilderness

Family Research Council bucks the emerging pro-life embrace of Rudy.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 10:55PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Push Send

We have all either heard of or experienced cases where a misaddressed email or a "cc:" that was supposed to be a "bcc:" got the sender in really hot water. But the House Judiciary Committee has taken it to a whole new level.

A while back the HJC set up a web tipline for tipster with information on politicization and wrongdoing at the Bush DOJ. Today the committee sent an email to all the tipsters alerting them to extremely tight safeguards in place to keep their identities and stories confidential. Unfortunately they put the 150+ email address in the "to:" field in the email, not "bcc:". So everyone's email got sent to anyone else. And probably because of pranksters one of the addresses those emails got sent to was none other than the vice president's office.

Paul Kiel has the whole sorry tale.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 9:55PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Wilkes Takes Stand In Own Defense

Celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos surprised everyone, including prosecutors, by putting alleged Duke Cunningham briber Brent Wilkes on the stand in his own defense when trial resumed in San Diego today. In his testimony, Wilkes made specific denials of a number of the pieces of evidence arrayed against him. Then there was this exchange:

Prosecutor Phillip Halpern asked Wilkes whether he had told colleagues to deny any wrongdoing about their transactions with Cunningham.
"I believe you're referring to the phrase, 'Admit nothing, deny everything and make counteraccusations,'" Wilkes said. "It's a CIA saying. It's a joke."

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 5:00PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Double Standard?

Fox News goes after John McCain for using some of its debate footage in one of his campaign ads and demands he remove any Fox News reference from his campaign website.

But lookee, here.

Rudy Giuliani has Fox News plastered all over his campaign website, and as far as we know, Fox News hasn't said a thing.

Rudy and Fox News chief Roger Ailes go way back.

McCain gets a cease and desist letter. Giuliani gets nothing.

Coincidence?

Late Update: Fox News responds--bars all candidates from using its footage and images.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 4:08PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Alert!

Horowitz on Cavuto (Fox). Right now.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 3:45PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Slouching Toward a Vote

A House vote on holding Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress could come within the next couple of weeks.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 3:14PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Dick Cheney goes hunting again Monday. Those of you in the Hudson River Valley are in the warning zone. Take heed.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 2:24PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

I'm Important!

So Ben Craw and I just got back from the final day of Islamofascism Awareness Week at Columbia University where David Horowitz delivered a speech that might be better titled David Horowitz Awareness Week. He actually seemed a little more scattered and ragged than I'd seen him in previous speeches. The highlight of sorts was when he discussed the recent incident in which a noose was left on the door of an African-American professor at the university. He agreed it was an 'unfortunate incident'. But his real point was the double standard it showed since nooses were being figuratively left on the doors of college Republicans who'd invited him to campus. And of course, a noose always hangs over Horowitz's head because of the threat of violence he's under from college progressives who want to silence Islamofascism Awareness Week.

On one level, it's obviously offensive. But the comedic dimensions of the man's self-pity and fantasies of victimization are far more profound.

Here's a video sneak peek look at next week's episode of TPMtv on the finale of Islamofascism Awareness Week and Horowitz's quote.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 2:13PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Rudy!

We are at least now getting some clarity on the Rudy question. Pretty simple. Even now, at the point when bluffing would have maximum advantage, most of leading conservative and pro-life lights are happy to get behind Rudy Giuliani's candidacy. The third party talk is basically just a lot of talk.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 12:47PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

A Well-Paid Potted Plant

If you're Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), this is not what you want to read your lawyer saying to the press:

“By the time somebody comes to me, they are pretty far up the creek. The good thing is they will pay almost anything."
--Brendan Sullivan, quoted by the Washingtonian

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 12:26PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

The GOP's Abortion Divide

As Josh noted earlier, there may have been a seismic shift in the GOP primary race yesterday, when Sam Brownback essentially gave Rudy Giuliani a pass on his abortion rights views.

Over at TPM Election Central, we're tracking the fallout from Brownback's remarks. And they really do have far-reaching consequences--for Giuliani, for the prospect of a third-party pro-life candidacy, and for some of the other candidates, Mitt Romney, in particular.

For instance, a major Romney supporter, who is pro-life, is outraged over Brownback's remarks, telling Greg Sargent in an interview that Brownback is "cozying up" to Giuliani for some purported personal political gain. That in turn complicates things for Romney, who is still trying to secure a Brownback endorsement to shore up his own weakness among evangelicals. Around and around it goes.

Late Update: Brownback's political director in Iowa (up until his departure from the race) says Giuliani may get the nod from Brownback because he has the best chance of beating Hillary.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 11:56AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Get the Popcorn Ready

Here's one to keep an eye on. We've written a fair bit about John Tanner, the chief of the voting rights section at DOJ. This is the guy who thinks voter ID laws are inherently unfair to whites because--and you have to follow the logic here carefully--the elderly are less likely to have ID cards, minorities have less access to health care and therefore die younger, the elderly are thus disproportionately white, and, if you're still following, voter ID laws therefore actually benefit minorities.

That logic from the federal officer in charge of protecting minority voting rights prompted Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to call for Tanner's resignation. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) followed suit yesterday. Sen. Ted Kennedy is now asking that AG-nominee Mike Mukasey conduct a review of Tanner and consider firing him.

That's not the only eyebrow raiser from Tanner. He also inserted himself into the investigation of voting irregularities in Ohio after the 204 elections. Tanner is not a political appointee, but he still manages to do the bidding of those on the Republican side who view minority voting protections as a hindrance to GOP electoral success.

Next Tuesday, after DOJ essentially stonewalled allowing him to testify, Tanner finally goes up to the Hill for an appearance before a House Judiciary subcommittee. Might be a fun one to watch.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 11:29AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

New developments in unearthing the details of the administration's torture policies. Paul Kiel has the details.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 11:14AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Thompson Disagrees with Cheney on Executive Power

Jake Tapper talks with Fred Thompson about executive power:

Thompson agreed that he didn't share the views of Vice President Cheney when it comes to the supremacy of the executive branch.
"No, I think the constitution in times of war, especially, is very definitive about that," he said. "The president is the commander in chief, but the Congress has the power of the budget. The power of the purse. So everything has to go through that prism. So it’s divided power in the constitution. Our founding fathers divided that up. Divided it up at the federal level, the idea being that things like Watergate should be made very difficult to happen. So no one branch of the government can misuse power."

. . .

Thompson said he sides with the Bush administration in its struggle with Congress over "issues of surveillance," but he suggested in some of the cases on detainees that have been ruled upon by the Supreme Court he sides with the Congress.

I'm not sure what to make of this, but it's not what I expected to hear from Thompson.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 10:29AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

FEMA At It Again

FEMA employees played the roles of reporters at a press conference yesterday given by the deputy FEMA administrator on the California fires. The Post's Al Kamen has the details.

Late Update: You may remember that in the early days after Katrina, hundreds of firefighters sat in Atlanta awaiting deployment to the hurricane zone. When one group of firefighters was finally dispatched, it was to serve as a TV backdrop for the President's press conference.

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 10:23AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Today's Must Read Watch

Watch the Duke Cunningham/Brent Wilkes scuba diving video shown at Wilkes trial. Bali Hai indeed!

--David Kurtz

10.26.07 -- 10:23AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Dingbat Clampdown

The state of Pennsylvania has decided not to release a list of state polling places to prevent terrorists from disrupting the state's elections.

Just glad we have our priorities straight.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 9:51AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Horowitz says Princeton University is participating in "Islamofascism Awareness Week." But University and the campus college Repubs say that's news to them.

"Asked in an interview this week with The Daily Princetonian why Princeton was listed as participating in Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, Horowitz said he thought he was invited to speak at the University as part of the program. He added that he thought College Republicans scheduled the event last week, rather than during the official Islamo-Fascism Awareness week, so that it wouldn't conflict with midterm exams."

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 9:25AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Power Trumps All

I've told a number of people over the last few days that for all the talk of this evangelical third-party candidacy if Rudy gets the nomination, I'll believe it when I see it. Sam Brownback, a big pro-lifer, appears to be laying the groundwork for a Rudy endorsement. It makes a hypocrite of one or the other of them. Probably both. But I bet you'll see others making their peace as well, especially if Romney doesn't, can't make the sale.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 9:09AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Flip-flopping to the Nomination

We talk a lot about Rudy being at the front of the Republican pack. And there's no question about that if you look at the national polls. But it's very hard to ignore that Romney has a commanding lead in Iowa and a solid lead in New Hampshire. While he's yet to take the lead in South Carolina, he's rising fast. And he's got the right people down there working for him (right in the highly amoral sense of the people who tend to win the contests down there).

The delegates at stake in these contests are negligible. But these contests tend to be defined by those early contests. There's always someone who thinks he can wait till the bigger delegates races to start racking up numbers but I've never seen that work.

--Josh Marshall

10.26.07 -- 12:39AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Sweets and Candies

Former Iranian President Khatami has attacked President Ahmadinejad for falsifying government economic statistics and hiding the depth of the country's economic plight.

From the Guardian, "Mr Khatami's comments represent his first explicit criticism of his successor and follow predictions that he might run in the 2009 presidential election. Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former aide to Mr Khatami, said the remarks were intended to prepare for a reformist revival at the March parliamentary elections."

Presumably, if the US launches a war against Iran between now and 2009 this should increase the chances of Khatami's unseating Ahmadinejad at the next election, yes?

(ed.note: Earth to bleary early morning readers. Yes, this last sentence was meant sarcastically. Tooth fairy still not real. Colbert not really running for prez ... etc.)

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 11:58PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Reason Certain to Prevail

From the Post ...

A U.S. military strike against Iran would have dire consequences in petroleum markets, say a variety of oil industry experts, many of whom think the prospect of pandemonium in those markets makes U.S. military action unlikely despite escalating economic sanctions imposed by the Bush administration.
The small amount of excess oil production capacity worldwide would provide an insufficient cushion if armed conflict disrupted supplies, oil experts say, and petroleum prices would skyrocket. Moreover, a wounded or angry Iran could easily retaliate against oil facilities from southern Iraq to the Strait of Hormuz.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 10:28PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Credibility

From the Post ...

In approving far-reaching, new unilateral sanctions against Iran, President Bush signaled yesterday that he intends to pursue a strategy of gradually escalating financial, diplomatic and political pressure on Tehran, aimed not at starting a new war in the Middle East, his advisers said, but at preventing one.

Yep ...

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 8:26PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

What's Up in Syria

At various times I've mentioned the DC insider sheet The Nelson Report. The writing style sometimes takes a little getting used to. But in tonight's edition, Chris Nelson says there's a growing consensus even among skeptics that that Israeli raid was on some sort of nuclear reactor under construction in Syria. For now I'll simply pass on this link to a report just out from David Albright (who was highly credible and skeptical on the Iraq WMD questinos) and his colleagues at the ISIS think tank on the question.

I'm still quite skeptical. But very knowledgeable skeptics seems to be growing less so.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 8:03PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Work in the TPM News Room!

Live in the New York area? Come work with us as an intern in our newsroom at TPM World Headquarters. Research stories, hunt up and edit video, be a part of everything we do as we gear up for 2008. Find out the details here.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 6:12PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Romney open to embracing Rudy's insane foreign policy vision.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 5:48PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Can It Really Be?

Dems will block Mukasey nomination unless they get an answer from the AG nominee on whether waterboarding is torture.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 5:48PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Twisted Coda

Given his statements sad is not the right word. But bizarre certainly and a weird coda to the career behind one of the great discoveries of the 20th Century: DNA. James Watson, who along with Francis Crick discovered DNA, the core building block and information transmitter of life on earth, has been forced to retire as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island. This, of course, comes after last week when Watson told an interviewer that he is not optimistic about the future of Africa since, he believes, Africans have a lower average intelligence than whites.

Has he always been a racist? I'm not naive enough to believe that there are not many more than a few people who still believe such things. What does strike me as odd is that he expressed these views openly and unabashedly.

No profound observations. Just a passage that seems worth noting.

Late Update: TPM Reader LP responds ...

In answer to your question, Watson has at least been a horrible racist for the past several years, probably his whole life, in addition to being a notorious sexist since the very beginning. I went to a talk of his at Berkeley while I was a molecular biology grad student there, and he spoke for an hour in a public setting making completely fabricated scientific claims as to links between skin color, obesity, happiness and sex drive. With some misogyny thrown in (women are only interested in getting men to buy them pretty dresses). Some female faculty walked out in the middle of it. The whole thing was written up by the SF Chronicle at the time, and it's a pretty interesting story and they got absolutely every detail right: I think the difference is that American scientists were used to it and had been ignoring it. It took an event outside the US to really bring the problem into focus (and more blatant statements, I suppose, though not by much).
Good riddance, I say.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 5:04PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Mission Impossible?

For Hillary, the dilemma is how to trumpet her own inevitability without creating impossible expectations.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 4:47PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Syrian Subterfuge?

More on that Israeli bombing run into Syria, from the Post:

A mysterious Syrian military facility that was reportedly the target of an attack by Israeli jets last month has been razed, according to a new satellite image that shows only a vacant lot in the place where Syria was recently constructing what some U.S. officials believe was a nuclear reactor.
The new photograph, taken by a commercial satellite yesterday, suggests that Syrian officials moved quickly to remove evidence of the project after it was damaged by Israeli bombs on Sept. 6, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a nonprofit research group.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 3:18PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

OK, But Just a Peek

White House offers Leahy and Specter access to secret surveillance docs already released to Senate intel committee.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 2:47PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Love Me!!!

The student paper at GW interviewed Horowitz on 'Islamofascism Awareness Week' and he seems to have let the cat out of the bag about the goal behind the event.

"I'm a prominent conservative but no one is inviting me to speak at their campuses," Horowitz said in an interview with The Hatchet. "I had to create an event."

The conspiracy against me is revealed by the fact that despite my popularity and prominence no one wants to have me come and speak at their campus.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 12:58PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Little Threat

From Ha'aretz ...

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.
Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing on its most basic fears. Last week, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said similar things about Iran.

The article also reveals for the first time a document Livni prepared and sent to Olmert a few months after the Second Lebanon War proposing a new division of labor between the two. "Enclosed is a proposal for work procedures between us, with the aim of providing an answer to Israel's strategic needs and facilitating early planning and the formulation of coordinated Israeli positions ... within the framework of cooperative
relations, full transparency and continuous mutual updates," wrote Livni.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 12:16PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Rudy?

TPM Reader JM responds to my post from last night on Rudy ...

I bet all the Democratic frontrunners are praying that Rudy wins the nomination. Why? Because negative campaign advertising is more effective than any other political tactic, and Rudy’s life reads as if it’s been scripted for cinematic evisceration. No one has pulled the big guns out against Rudy yet. He’s got a target on his back the size of Montana’s sky: his personal indiscretions, his penchant for befriending mobbed up guys and sexually abusive priests, and his flip-flopping on issues near and dear to his base. Then there’s Rudy’s perceived strength: 9/11. Talk to the FDNY about that one. Once the real heroes of 9/11 have told their side of the story in 30 second snippets with the Twin Towers devastation swirling in the background, Mr. 9/11 will be Mr. Smoldering Ruin. If you doubt any of this, take a look at Robert Greenwald’s short videos on Rudy. There’s a powerful, multi-faceted anti-Rudy narrative lurking out there waiting for a wide audience. As the 2004 election proved, swiftboating works. This time around, should Rudy get the nod, the swiftboating will have the added benefit of being, you know, true.

I agree with a lot of this. Indeed, I've written about a lot of it. There's a lot to be said about Rudy's judgment by the fact that he put a mobbed-up cop in charge of the NYPD on the basis of his having done a good job as Rudy's driver. He's also being advised on foreign policy by a pack of loons. And I hasten to point out that I didn't say Rudy might be a strong candidate but that I think he might be the strongest. Big difference.

That said, I didn't think Rudy'd be at the head of the pack in October 2007. So we'll see.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 11:53AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Now, I don't want to knock paralegals in any way. I've known paralegals who were far more competent and capable than many lawyers. But when the head of one of the State Department's anti-corruption units in Baghdad isn't a diplomat or a trained anti-corruption official but a paralegal who works at the U.S. embassy, you have a sense of Bush Administration priorities.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 11:37AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Rudy wins over the heroin kingpin caucus.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 11:32AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Waxman v. Rice

Condi Rice faces down Henry Waxman this morning in an oversight hearing. Already, Rice seems to have picked up on some of Alberto Gonzales' more dubious stonewalling techniques as a way of avoiding answering questions. Spencer Ackerman leads our coverage at TPMmuckraker.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 9:57AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Army admits leaking Beauchamp documents to Drudge.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 9:57AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

TPMtv: Campaign 2008 Roundup #3

Did the Obama campaign's effort to embrace a 'new politics' lead to his collapse in the polls? We take a look in our third weekly campaign 2008 roundup ...

Watch this episode on YouTube.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 9:37AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Today's Must Read

A fascinating glimpse into Blackwater's secretive compound in Baghdad's Green Zone.

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 8:42AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

The Waxman Cometh

Nice profile of Henry Waxman in today's Washington Post, although it's really more of a profile of how he and his staff operate, which is even better. If you're into muckraking, you'll practically salivate at how smart and effective the committee's Democratic staff has been:

But the real secret, Waxman said, is simply to follow investigations wherever they lead. When Republicans were in control of Congress, the committee began looking into the activities of felonious lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a probe that turned up e-mails that Bush administration officials sent via Republican National Committee accounts. When Democrats took over, Waxman pursued it further, producing evidence that administration officials as high as former presidential adviser Karl Rove had violated federal rules by using RNC e-mails to cover their tracks on official business, including the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys allegedly for political reasons.
As it turns out, thousands of RNC e-mails have disappeared, stoking still more investigations.

Waxman's fascination with government contracting led him to investigate the pricing on a contract between the General Services Administration and Sun Microsystems and a no-bid job, ultimately terminated, that GSA chief Lurita Alexis Doan had given to a longtime friend.

When committee aides asked the GSA for information about the contracts, they inadvertently received documents on a political briefing that a White House political aide had given to GSA political appointees after the 2006 elections. In subsequent interviews, multiple sources told committee investigators that, at the conclusion of the briefing, Doan asked what could be done to "help our candidates" in the next elections.

Now, that investigation has swelled, as committee staffers seek to catalogue all the political presentations and activities that White House political staff members marshaled in federal agencies in connection with the 2006 elections.

Pulling threads to see what they unravel--whodathunkit? But compare that to this tacit admission from Waxman's predecessor as chairman, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA): "For the administration, and for a lot of others, people need to be careful now. Someone is looking over their shoulder."

--David Kurtz

10.25.07 -- 12:56AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

It Could Happen Here

Who's the Republican I'd least like to see the Democratic nominee run against next year? This topic came up in my conversation with Markos of Daily Kos last week. And he was pretty clear that he thinks the Republicans' strongest candidate is Rudy Giuliani. But I'm having a hard time getting my head around this question.

Basically I agree. He's their strongest candidate. For all his problems of temperament, authoritarianism, ignorance and general ridiculousness, I know most people don't see him that way. The sheen of 9/11 is real for Rudy. And many otherwise sensible people see him as a generally moderate guy on social policy who couldn't be as stupid as Bush in managing the country's foreign policy but would still be ready to kick some ass to keep everyone safe. He's the only one of their crew who could put even a few reliably Democratic states into play.

I don't think he's wears that well over time. And I think the generally bleak outlook for Republicans would doom his candidacy. But these things are definitely possible.

So yes, he's their strongest candidate. Unless, that is, he splinters the Republican party and spawns a third-party social conservative protest candidate who siphons off numbers even in the high single digits and he gets crushed.

So their best candidate or their worst. I'm already repeatedly on record saying that I think it's ridiculous to believe that Rudy can win the Republican nomination with the burden of his social liberalism and personal profligacy. (A prediction that isn't looking as good as it once did.) And if he does, that certainly suggests there should be some sort of revolt on the right. And the Dobsons and other hardcore right-wingers are certainly talking a good game about supporting a third party candidate.

Those of us who've watched a few of these cycles know that these threats seldom pan out. But on the other hand I don't think we've seen a case in modern history where the presidential nominee was against what is arguably one of the party's two or three core issues.

So I can't really make heads or tales of this whole question. All the possibilities require outcomes that common sense tells me are not likely to happen. Who can help me with this?

And as long as we're on the question of Giuliani, another point. As Sullivan noted today, in quoting Jimmy Breslin, if we're on the subject of fascism, Rudy may be a better mark to revive the the use of the name than someone wearing a suicide belt in Tel Aviv.

My point of comparison would be Benito Mussolini. You've got the extreme hostility to civil liberites and the foreign policy adventurism. But I'm not thinking so much of the harder and sinister side of the fascist dictator as his more comic and melodramatic traits. The strutting peacock on the balcony, the histrionic gesture, the rich personal vanity. I propose to term my insight 'combofascism'.

--Josh Marshall

10.25.07 -- 12:29AM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

The Younger Set

You've probably seen how Stephen Colbert is running for president. You may even have seen this Rasmussen poll that has Colbert pulling down a respectable 13% of the vote in a hypothetical Rudy-Hillary match-up.

But look at this paragraph down into Rasmussen's write-up (italics in the original) ...

Colbert does particularly well with the younger voters most likely to be watching his show and therefore most aware of his myriad presidential-like qualities. In the match-up with Giuliani and Clinton, Colbert draws 28% of likely voters aged 18-29. He draws 31% of that cohort when his foes are Thompson and Clinton. In both match-ups, Colbert has more support with young voters than the GOP candidate.

There's something appropriate in this. Americans in their twenties would prefer a normal person pretending to be a Republican buffoon than the real thing.

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 11:00PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

No, I Can't Help It

So I'm here checking out the Young America's Foundation, conservative group that helps college conservatives bring right-wing speakers to campus. They've got a little widget that helps you select speakers by name, topic, price. It's sort of the VRWC accessible in 8 or 9 different dimensions at once.

Anyway, I'm checking out prices people charge, topics they'll yak about and how they describe themselves. So I come across Horowitz. He's a "civil rights activist and author."

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 10:50PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

About Time

The Times takes a look at the loons who make up Rudy's foreign policy team.

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 9:36PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Most Annoying Thing on the Planet

I know many of you may not be crazy about the number of ads we need to run, though we try our best to keep it in bounds. But here is my nominee for most annoying web innovation this century. You've probably noticed that on some sites these days if you happen to randomly click on unlinked text a little box pops up with the dictionary definition of the word you clicked and of course an ad. (I'm used to low-rent sites pulling this kind of nonsense but the New York Times is doing it now too.)

Now I don't mind ads if they're paired along with something I'm remotely interested in. But do you ever really click on these things to find word definitions? I'm convinced this whole thing is just a scam to serve up accidental pop-ups while allowing the publisher to pretend they're providing a service.

If you find this useful, please let me know. (And no, don't worry, we're never going to do it. It's just my idle curiosity.)

Late Update: TPM Reader RM, not a fan ...

The Times has been doing it for months now. I'm someone who highlights paragraphs as I read them and when I accidentally click on the highlighted section I get the damn pop up.
It's irritating as hell and it's gotten to the point where I'm so sick of it I don't even look at the Times' site anymore.

But at least they got rid of Times Select, eh?

I do the exact same thing. Drives me nuts.

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 8:20PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Rep. Noxious Weed

It was of course a publicity stunt. But in case you hadn't heard about it, I wanted to flag this incident. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) is the chief immigrant-basher in Congress, perhaps in the country. He's also running for president. Yesterday, Sen. Durbin held a press conference on the senate side of Capitol Hill to introduce a bill that grant legal status on illegal immigrants who've graduated high school, choose to serve in the military and meet certain other requirements. As you can imagine, the immigrants they chose to have on hand all had legal status. But Rep. Tancredo suspected there might be illegals somewhere on hand. So he rung up ICE (the successor to the INS), told them he believed illegals would be on hand and asked them to raid the event.

Apparently the ICE officials sensed that even that this would be too craven and outrageous even for the Bush era and wisely demurred.

Tancredo doesn't cut much of a figure in the progressive blogosphere. But in the mainstream media circles he's treated as a respectable if rather outlandish figure. But it's worth pausing play for a moment and recognizing the guy as we would if read about him in the history books: a hate-peddler and huckster, the dark side of our national selves.

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 7:52PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

HRC Hits Obama Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign hits the Obama campaign for its planned use of an anti-gay gospel singer for a campaign event.

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 6:07PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

Perino on the "Code Pink Congress"

--Josh Marshall

10.24.07 -- 5:45PM // link | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)

In Need of Protection

Blackwater sends an emergency extraction message to supporters ...

From: Blackwater Worldwide
Date: October 24, 2007 12:42:04 PM EDT
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: A Request for Your Support Reply-To: btw@blackwaterusa.com
A Request for Your Support

The Blackwater family is comprised of dedicated and active service providers that work vigorously to support the American nation. In this tumultuous political climate, Blackwater Worldwide has taken center stage, our services and ethics aggressively challenged with misinformation and fabrications. Letters, e-mails and calls to your elected Congressional representatives can and will create a positive impact by influencing the manner in which they gather and present information.

While we can’t ask that each supporter do everything, Blackwater asks that everyone does something. Contact your lawmakers and tell them to stand by the truth. Correspondence should be polite and professional. We don’t support generating negative messages. Tell the Blackwater story and encourage your representatives to seek the truth instead of reading negative propaganda and drawing the wrong conclusions.

Suggested themes:

- Cost efficiency of Blackwater – saving the US taxpayer millions of dollars so that the US Government doesn’t have to take troops from their missions or send more into harms way

-Professional population of service veterans and mature law enforcement personnel

- Sacrifice in lives lost by Blackwater saving US diplomats without one single protectee harmed

If you see a lawmaker speaking good things about Blackwater, contact their offices and let them know that they have your support. Find and contact your federal, state, and local officials by visiting www.congress.org.

Expanding our communications effort starts with you. Pass the word –
pass the truth.

--Josh Marshall

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The Younger Set

No, I Can't Help It

About Time

Most Annoying Thing on the Planet

Rep. Noxious Weed

HRC Hits Obama Campaign

Perino on the "Code Pink Congress"

In Need of Protection