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December 30, 2003
On Dean and Insiders
Charlie Crystle has an excellent piece on his blog today about why Democratic Insiders fear Howard Dean. For those who don't know, Charlie Challenged for the Democratic nomination to run against Specter in 2004, withdrawing about a month ago. Here is a little teaser but visit Charlie's blog for more details:
The reality? There are 2 separate entities called the Democratic Party: the Outside Party, made up of Democratic voters, and the Inside Party, made up of insiders like politicians, political operatives, "finance chairs", and other power brokers. As voters, we look from the outside in. The job of the candidates and/or the Party is to make us voters feel as though we are part of the same Party every couple of years, then go about their business of positioning for more and more power, frequently at the expense of, well, us--the Outside Party. But we're not really a part of their thing. And they don't want us to be
Posted by seamus at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2003
The Blaring Silence
Yesterday, the world of blogdom was a stir with the news that Thomas Kean, former NJ Governor and Chair of the 9/11 Commission, had stated that the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001 could have been prevented. Most pointedly he suggested that the people responsible were still in their jobs and had not been punished or held accountable.
Well, this is big news. And I don't know what happened, but Kean did not say the same thing on Nightline tonight. Well, he did, sort of. But he pinned the blame today primarily on the lowest levels of government - border guards, field agents, some mid-level fbi person. I don't doubt there is some blame there to be had, but I got the distinct feeling as he was questioned by Chris Bury that he was intentionally not saying something. And he did on several occasions say that he didn't want to say more because the Commission hadn't completed its work and hadn't agreed on what recommendations to make.
Fair enough, but something bothered me all the same. We know that too much occurred on the high levels for there not to be any blame there. And for hist part Nightline host Chris Bury said much of the same thing - responsibility has to fall somewhere amongst the array of top government officials. The buck has to stop somewhere.
But there is more. Why is the Commission so dogged in trying to get access to White House documents, allegedly never seen before outside of the White House, if the blame is in the lower levels of government? And what about the reporting that Time has done regarding plans to attack Afghanistan that were prepared at the end of the Clinton administration? There is more to this story. And for his part, Kean said that the story of what happened as we knew it would be different after their work is done. But he wouldn't tell us how. Until then...
Posted by seamus at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2003
New Pennsylvania Polling
A bunch of interesting stuff in a new Quinnipiac Unviersity poll of Pennsylvania.
First, as for the Democratic primary, Howard Dean has jumped out to a huge lead. This may be significant as the poll was taken one week after the Gore endorsement and one day after the capture of Saddam. Here are the quick numbers:
Dean 28
Lieberman 17
Gephardt 10
Clark 9
Kerry 7
Again Edwards, the other supposedly mainstream candidate doesn't make much of a showing. And Dean is best in the matchups with Bush as well:
Bush v. Dean 49-43
Bush v. Lieberman 50-43
Bush v. Kerry 50-42
Bush v. Clark 50-41
Bush v. Gephardt 50-42
Some good news for Hoeffel who is challenging Specter for his Senate seat:
Pennsylvania voters split 46 -- 44 percent on whether they want Republican incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter reelected or whether they want someone else. But Specter leads U.S. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel 50 -- 32 percent in a general election matchup.
Hoeffel's poor showing in the head to head matchup isn't a big deal since he has just started up his campaign. But he does need to get his campaign act together. Not having a primary opponent hurts him in my opinion because he won't get much press until the Republican primary is settled. The flip of that, of course, is that Toomey might very well damage Specter's reputation if the Republican primary gets bloody.
The poll has approval numbers for Specter (57-31), Santorum (56-29), and Bush (53-43). The numbers that surprise me here are Santorum's low disapproval rating. It looks like a lot of folks are unsure. But I can't believe that this nutcase (and that is what he is) is doing that well.
One last important thing. It does appear that the steel tariff decision will hurt Bush some, but maybe not a lot.
Pennsylvania voters disapprove 52 -- 36 percent of President Bush's decision to end tariffs on foreign steel, but 75 percent say this will not affect their Presidential vote.
Digest that!
Posted by seamus at 09:18 PM | Comments (1)
9/11 Was Preventable
So says former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean who heads the commission looking into the 9/11 attacks. This news came off of the CBS news website and has hit the blogs like a storm. It seems that Kean may be pointing the finger at the Bush administration:
) For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston."This is a very, very important part of history and we've got to tell it right," said Thomas Kean.
"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen."
Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers inside the administration and laying blame.
"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed," Kean said.
To find out who failed and why, the commission has navigated a political landmine, threatening a subpoena to gain access to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions of the Bush administration – that there was never any thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an airplane into a building.
Go and read the whole article. It is worth the read. And keep your eyes peeled. As of right now noone else is covering this huge news.
The most obvious issue here is that Kean is saying that the attack was preventable and that at least some administration officials are to blame. What is interesting is how closely resolution of who is to blame is tied to the release of the daily national security briefings that Bush gets. There seems to be an implication here that it is someone very high up within the administration. And it includes possible testimony from Bush and Clinton!? I can't even imagine Bush being questioned publicly like that. Diane Sawyer ate him alive and she is a softie. But Clinton? This could be interesting. Something to my mind wonders whether this might relate to the one hold over from the Clinton administration - George Tenet. I don't know but I'm curious.
Posted by seamus at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2003
Military Celebration
I was so impressed with the Major General whose unit captured Saddam that I thought it worth an entry. He maintained the proper demeanor in the face of this accomplishment. It is irrefutable that this is a good day for our fighting men and women who once again have accomplished an important objective. And the Major General was clearly pleased but kept a straight-faced demeanor with a touch of humility. His observations were accurate noting that the effect on the people of Iraq and the insurgency were unclear (and wouldn't be until things played themselves out). And he correctly noted that the one obvious devevelopment would be a sense of relief that this particularly evil man was captured. The Major General emanated confidence, patience, and humility.
I also wanted to give props to Howard Dean who struck just the right chord in a press conference this morning. He was humble and made it clear that this was a military success to be celebrated as such regardless of policy differences. And I was equally disappointed in Joe Lieberman who tried to twist Saddam's capture into political points on Meet the Press. Ironically, just as some pundits were projecting that military success in Iraq was bad for Dean (because of his anti-war stance) I think that Dean demonstrated this morning why he should be our next President of the United States of America. Unlike George Bush and Joe Lieberman, Dean is showing that he can ride political success without gloating and he can deal with perceived political problems without sulking. And if he is the next President he needs to make sure that Major General gets a promotion!
I am still a worrier. So while I think and hope that our soldiers take this day to celebrate their skills and commitment that we all continue to scan the horizon for signs of things to come. Certainly this car bomb in Iraq this morning is an indication that we cannot lose site of our difficult circumstances in Iraq. Fortunately that Major General is such a clear and excellent leader I feel confident that our troops won't lose sight of the danger they face.
Update: Rockefeller points out the obvious but it adequately expresseses my concerns.
But Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, cautioned the capture likely will not end the insurgent attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq. U.S. officials were wary of retaliatory strikes.``Given the location and circumstances of his capture, it makes it clear that Saddam was not managing the insurgency, and that he had very little control or influence. That is significant and disturbing because it means the insurgents are not fighting for Saddam, they're fighting against the United States,'' said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
I'd also take note that an American soldier was killed today, 17 Iraqi police officers were killed, and new explosions and gunfire were just reported from Baghdad. Please, Please keep our soldiers in your thoughts and prayers. I fear their success may be as dangerous as the previous quagmire.
Posted by seamus at 12:07 PM | Comments (1)
Saddam Hussein Captured!
Well, it is about damned time. I think it's a good moral victory for the U.S. Military. But I'm not going to rush to gloat about this victory. If he had been captured in a fashion that suggested he was anything but a defeated man I would be excited without reservation. But he wasn't. And as the NY Times indicates the insurgency attacks on American troops will continue.
The obvious potential positives are outlined excellently by DHinMI over at DKos:
The biggest positive from Saddam's capture will probably be in eliminating the fear that he will return to power. That's a huge relief for many common Iraqis who may now be more emboldened to assist U.S. forces with intelligence about the resistance forces attacking out troops. There may also be less acquiescence by the general population to having the resistance forces move as effortlessly through the country.
Lets hope that these positives playout. I may be too much of a worrier but here is why I'm not celebrating without reservation. I simply don't believe that this will have much effect on the insurgency. The main drive for the rebellion is American presence in Iraq. Before his capture I couldn't say how much influence Saddam was having on the rebels. After his capture I simply can't imagine that he was doing much from his spider hole. He was a defeated man nine months ago. So how exactly could he have been coordinating the resistance? I don't think he could have been.
I look at this in the way I look at my favorite football teams. Both the NY Giants and ND Fighting Irish have been penalty makers this year. When they scored a touchdown I didn't celebrate. Instead I scanned the field/television for indications of a penalty. I simply can't take the disappointment. Well, its time to scan Iraq for the warning signs. Will the depleted possibility of a Saddam reign curb the rebels? Or will the rebels look at it as an opportunity to establish a new, sovereign Iraq free of American control?
The problem is that if Saddam's capture does not defeat the morale of the rebels that means that a lot more American men and women will be killed before this is all over. I can't stomach watching more Americans killed or maimed in this way for a war that wasn't necessary. The only positive that I think is indisputable is that when there finally is a new Iraqi leadership (whether by American means or otherwise) that it may be a more humane one (and less hostile to America). That would be a real positive regardless of the outcome of this war. Unfortunately, Saddam wasn't the only Iraqi with potential as a tyrant.
Let us hope for the future of Iraq and most vitally the American troops in Iraq. I should probably celebrate without hesitation and enjoy the moment. But I get the sense that the Bush administration is going to gloat about this. But don't think the Iraqis don't watch television. We have already humiliated the hero of many over there (not a bad thing really in Saddam's case) but we could motivate the insurgency more if we are seen as excessively gloating which would put more Americans at risk, not less. If Bush's staff is smart they will take a humble approach to this moral victory and resist gloating. They don't need to gloat to get political points from this. But then, they don't seem to understand this humility thing.
Folks, keep our military in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season. This could be a turning point.
Posted by seamus at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2003
Post-Gazette Calls for Independent Counsel
This is pretty godo news. Via Fester's Place I learned that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called for an independent counsel into the Plame Affair. In case you forget, Valerie Plame is the CIA agent whose identity was exposed by a Senior White House Official as retaliation for her husbands coming clean on the Bush administration's false claims about Saddam's attempts to acquire uranium.
[President Bush] added publicly Oct. 7 that he didn't know if the employee would be found out....
It is hard to believe that information supporting or refuting the charge of a senior administration leak isn't out there. Apart from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who put Ms. Plame's name in print, reporters from ABC, NBC, Time and Newsday also have been cited as having been leaked the information by presidential political counselor Karl Rove.
When the matter first surfaced, this paper advocated putting the investigation first in the hands of nonpolitical Justice officials. Some members of Congress were calling for the appointment of a special independent counsel, given the possible conflict of interest created by a Justice Department headed by Attorney General John Ashcroft and the alleged involvement in the affair of Mr. Rove, an Ashcroft godfather.
Given the failure of the Justice Department to produce results in its investigation -- not even a grand jury subpoena so far -- we now recommend that an independent counsel be appointed, and that the Justice Department be required to turn over any information that has been found so far.
It's clear now that Mr. Bush's underlings heard his Oct. 7 message. The word in Washington today is that, indeed, the administration official won't be found.
That is unacceptable in terms of the implications for America's intelligence officers working in dangerous circumstances overseas. It must not be allowed to stand.
That is most of the editorial. This is excellent and calls the Bush Administration on its questionable rhetoric and investigation delays. Hopefully this will help propel further action on this treasonous issue.
Posted by seamus at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)
Hoeffel for Senate
It looks like Joe Hoeffel is going to be the Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania. The Hoeffel for Senate website is up and it looks ok. It needs a blog and he needs to get registered on Meetup.com. I've already e-mailed the campaign and encouraged this route and I hope others will as well. The bottom line is that beating an incumbent like Specter will require that Hoeffel borrow significantly from the Dean campaign tactically.
Which brings us to Charlie Crystle, the other Democratic candidate who just dropped out. Crystle's campaign had the right approach but was unfortuantely leaned out of the race by the Rendell administration. Read Crystle's explanation for yourself and draw your own judgements. I think this was a bad decision because as difficult as Primary Campaigns can be, primary competitions draw press attention whereas resolved primaries have more difficulty on that front. But the decision has already been made so I'm willing to throw my support to Hoeffel if that is what it takes to get this thing off the ground.
I'm conditionally going to support Hoeffel's Senate campaign. It will be conditional in that my long term support will depend on what direction he takes the campaign. If he uses it to build a grassroots network in Pennsylvania and to push important progressive issues I will back him. But if Hoeffel runs a mediocre campaign and tries to run to the right of the Democratic Party I won't. To some degree it will depend on how realistic his chances look six months from now. I also haven't heard anything about who the Greens might run. This will be important to my ultimate decision as well.
So far the signs are good. Here are some key excerpts from his announcement speech:
But I’ve met too many workers who are among the thousands to lose their high quality jobs, and who are now struggling to make ends meet.I’ve met too many senior citizens who cannot afford to buy the prescription drugs they need.
I’ve met too many college students who plan to leave this state after graduation because we cannot provide them with the jobs – or the future – they deserve.
He has positioned himself on the jobs and prescription drugs issues to campaign against Specter on his support for Bush policies. This is important because Specter has not been effective at moderating the President's radical right wing approach to policy. In fact, in most cases Specter has embraced Bush's neoconservative policies.
I hope that Hoeffel runs with the last point in that part of his remarks. The declining population in Pennsylvania (particularly in the under 50 group) is having a disastrous effect on our rural economies - not to mention my social life. Also Pennsylvania has something like the third most colleges of any state in the country which means that college politics can be important if its tapped into appropriately.
Twenty-seven years ago, you gave me the chance to serve in Harrisburg, and I used it to fight hard to improve healthcare for seniors, expand consumer rights and make the tough decisions necessary to balance the budget every year.Then as a county commissioner, I worked in a bipartisan fashion to create one of the largest open space preservation programs in the nation and to revitalize our communities.
In Congress I am working to bring new jobs to Pennsylvania and to change unfair trade agreements that take jobs away. I am fighting to preserve Social Security and Medicare without privatization. I’m fighting for investments in our schools, real environmental protection and to maintain a strong national defense in a dangerous world.
In all these years I have never seen such radical, reckless and regressive policy as we see now from those who control Washington. I’m fed up because we can no longer keep our moral commitments to our citizens. I’m fed up because Pennsylvanians are being cheated.
Pennsylvanians are being cheated by the people who have rewarded our traditions of hard work and family values with long unemployment lines and hard uncertainty. They have squandered the surplus, bankrupted the national treasury, caused budget and trade deficits to soar and thrown three million Americans out of work.
Pennsylvanians are being cheated by the people who have taken us to war with half-truths and deception. Their arrogance, unilateralism and cowboy diplomacy have reduced our stature in the world and made us less secure.
Pennsylvanians are being cheated by the very people who promise to leave no child behind – but worry more about leaving no corporation behind. They have given away billions to the wealthy while cutting essential programs for the poor and sticking the middle class with the bills.
Of Hoeffel is going to have a chance he has to tap into the anger and frustration that the base is having and he needs to do it early. He needs to motivate those on his side and I like how this speech seems to try to tap into that. Now I've never seen him speak so I cannot testify to how convincing he is and would love to hear other's thoughts on this. If he isn't convincing on the stump, the speech writers can't pretend he is and an opportunity for success could pass him by.
This is important because the time to challenge Specter is now. He has made a noticeable move to the right and has disappointed too many people. A recent poll gave him negative approval ratings and he is being attacked from the right by Patrick Toomey. It was watching him defend Bush's radical Judge's on the Senate floor that convinced me it was time for a change. Somehow I don't think I'm alone.
Posted by seamus at 01:48 PM | Comments (1)
December 11, 2003
Now this is a frivolous Entry
I know everyone was just waiting to hear about Kucinich's date so her is the AP report:
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A much-watched first date for presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich ended with kisses on the cheek and an endorsement.``Gina, we'll talk,'' Kucinich told Gina Marie Santore after the two had breakfast Thursday with a gaggle of reporters and photographers nearby.
A political Web site, PoliticsNH.com, chose the New Jersey woman over nearly 80 other contestants for a date with the twice-divorced Ohio congressman. He had joked recently about what he wanted in a potential first lady.
Kucinich, 57, told reporters Santore's endorsement was more significant than Al Gore's backing of front-runner Howard Dean ``and based on actual discussion.''
I don't get it, she lives with her boyfriend but is dating Kucinich now? Obviously not a real romantic event.
Posted by seamus at 04:53 PM | Comments (0)
Desertion... ummm. ... We mean Resignation.
I was planning to write on this today but Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo has a post that says everything that requires being said.
This operation really runs like a well-oiled machine, doesn't it.Almost half of the 700 members of the first battalion of the new Iraqi army to undergo training have, in the Pentagon's words, 'resigned.'
ok, so lets get this right. We are training Iraqui soldiers to replace American soldiers but instead they are resigning. How does one explain why we appear to be training the opposition?
p.s. I haven't seen a better report on supreme court arguments about Pennsylvania redistricting than the AP story I posted yesterday. If anyone sees a more detailed report please let me know.
Posted by seamus at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2003
Arguments are over
Well, arguments are over in the Pennsylvania gerrymandering case before the Supreme Court. And the first AP article is up. I was hoping to get the Nina Totenburg run down on NPR but my bet is that her time will be spent on the campaign finance ruling. In any case, here is a teaser from the AP article:
Democratic voters who challenged the plan want the high court to use the case to spell out rules limiting partisan gerrymandering, the practice of drawing districts to favor one party over another.
During the arguments, Justice Antonin Scalia asked how the court could define unfairness.
Paul M. Smith, the attorney for the Democrats, said that a minority party getting two-thirds of new seats after redistricting is unfair.
But Bart DeLone, a deputy attorney general from Pennsylvania, said that there is political motivation in line-drawing. "And frankly, we don't have a problem with that," he said. "The question is whether or not they have been shut out of the process."
The Supreme Court has made it almost impossible to win a claim that partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional, although justices left the door open to such claims in a splintered 1986 ruling.
Posted by seamus at 04:06 PM | Comments (0)
Beyond Ridiculous
It turns out that we killed 15 children in bombing raids in Afghanistan this past weekend. While news of 9 dead children was released over the weekend news of the other six was buried until the Pentagon was questioned about it. Which brings us back to a common theme within the Bush administration - take responsibility for nothing. This is how the Pentagon explained that they may not have been reponsible for killing these children:
"We don't know what caused the collapse of the wall because although we fired on the compound there were other explosions inside the compound," he said.
So, what exactly caused the "other explosions"? I'm sure it had nothing to do with the bombing. This administration disgusts me more and more every waking moment. Disrespect for human life is not an option for the next president of the United States.
Posted by seamus at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)
the world has gone mad so I write
"I have never seen anything like this in my life," said Phil Verleger, a California oil economist and the president of the consulting firm PK Verleger LLC. "That's a monopoly premium — that's the only term to describe it. Every logistical firm or oil subsidiary in the United States and Europe would salivate to have that sort of contract."
How sweet it must be for Halliburton to make a killing selling gasoline to one of the biggest oil shares in the world. The above quote comes from a NY Times article on Halliburton boondoggle at the taxpayers expense. Also check out Flogging the Simian for Soj's thoughts on a press briefing on this very subject.
Posted by seamus at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
Ralph Nader in 2004
Ralph Nader has put together an exploratory committee for a 2004 run for President. I supported and voted for Nader in 1996 and 2000. However, in 2004, I have thrown my support behind Howard Dean. Folks should make up their own mind but there is good reason to consider backing the Democratic nominee for President this time around in my opinion.
Posted by seamus at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)
Dean Leads in Pennsylvania
This new poll from The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Institute shows Dean in the lead in Pennsylvania:
John Kerry 10%
Wesley Clark 10%
Howard Dean 19%
Dick Gephardt 6%
Joe Lieberman 12%
John Edwards 0%
Carol Mosley Brown 3%
Al Sharpton 3%
Dennis Kucinich 2%
Other 4%
Not Sure 31%
Ok, now this is the first time I've seen Dean in the lead in Pennsylvania but what is with Edwards getting a stale 0%. He should be embarassed that Kucinich, Braun, and Sharpton are kicking his ass. I know, I know. No one is really campaigning in Pennsylvania. But still, this is bad for Edwards.
A couple of other notes. The favorability numbers show Dean with the only net positive amongst state voters (looks like both R and D) of the Democratic Presidential candidates. Also, Kerry does best with Bush in head to head matchups followed by Dean and Clark. Overall I'd say that given the high MOE (see below) Pennsylvania is still wide open.
Unfortunately the sample is small (430, only 189 Democrats) with an MOE of +/-4.7% (7.1% for Dem/ Primary numers). Given that, everything I just said should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Update: Not sure how I missed this but the poll also had numbers for the Specter-Toomey race with Specter ahead 52% to 25%.
Posted by seamus at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
Something to Smile About
Finally we get something to smile about. The US Supreme Court has just upheld the key provisions of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law. This is good news for political campaigns. Now, if we can only reform the public financing of elections to make it more viable to modern elections.
Here is the AP article on the US Supreme Court's Decision:
Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer signed the main opinion barring candidates for federal office, including incumbent members of Congress or an incumbent president, from raising soft money.The majority also barred the national political parties from raising this kind of money, and said their affiliates in the individual states may not serve as conduits for soft money.
Without soft money, politicians and political parties may only take in donations that are already allowed in limited amounts, such as a private individual's small re-election donation to his or her local member of Congress.
That means no more huge checks from wealthy donors, and no contributions from the treasuries of corporations or labor unions.
The Supreme Court's 300-page ruling on the 2002 campaign finance overhaul settles legal and constitutional challenges from both the political right and the left. Although the reform effort was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush, many politicians and others in the business of politics were leery of it.
Posted by seamus at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
We Live in Disturbing Times
Here is another offense to the innocents who died because of George Bush's unjustified war:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraq's Health Ministry has ordered a halt to a count of civilians killed during the war and told its statistics department not to release figures compiled so far, the official who oversaw the count told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The order was relayed by the ministry's director of planning, Dr. Nazar Shabandar, but the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which oversees the ministry, also wanted the counting to stop, said Dr. Nagham Mohsen, the head of the ministry's statistics department.
``We have stopped the collection of this information because our minister didn't agree with it,'' she said, adding: ``The CPA doesn't want this to be done.''
A spokesman for the CPA had no immediate response.
The U.S. and British militaries don't count civilian casualties from their wars, saying only that they try to minimize civilian deaths.
There is no polite way to put this. The more that George Bush hides behind lies and misinformation, or in this case preventing facts from becoming publicly documented, the more necessary it is that he is defeated in 2004 if he isn't impeached sooner.
Posted by seamus at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
The Supine Seahorse
For those who are interested in the Pennsylvania Redistricting case and how it relates to national politics check out this article in last weeks New Yorker where you can learn about the "Supine Seahorse". Here is the first paragraph on Pennsylvania from the article:
After 2000, Pennsylvania lost two seats in Congress, and its legislature had to establish new district lines. Republican legislative leaders there engaged in no subterfuge; they candidly admitted that they intended to draw the lines to favor their party as much as possible. In the midst of the battle over the Pennsylvania plan, DeLay and Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House, sent a letter to the Pennsylvania legislators, saying, “We wish to encourage you in these efforts, as they play a crucial role in maintaining a Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives.” The Republicans in Harrisburg used venerable techniques in redistricting, like “packing,” “cracking,” and “kidnapping.” Packing concentrates one group’s voters in the fewest possible districts, so they cannot influence the outcome of races in others; cracking divides a group’s voters into other districts, where they will be ineffective minorities; and kidnapping places two incumbents from the same party in the same district.
Here is an article in the Philly Inquirer on the Redistricting Case.
Posted by seamus at 09:37 AM | Comments (1)
Pennsylvania Redistricting in Supreme Court Today
Somehow this snuck up on me. The case Veith v. Jubelirer is being argued before the Supreme Court today. You can download the briefs from the Supreme Court on their website. More on this later.
Posted by seamus at 09:03 AM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2003
A Green Working for Dems
Republicans have become so extreme in their agenda that this Green Party registered American is now officially splitting his free time (I actually have none so this is an empty statement) between supporting Greens and supporting Dems in key races. If a Republican made sense I would vote for her but Specter has become as acceptable as his magic bullet theory (actually I don't know crap about the merits of his theory on the JFK assassination but thought that a humorous dig).
First a hooray for the Greens who had a phenomenal showing in Pennsylvania last month. It is pretty cool to see Bob Cogan and Bill Smedley amongst the winners. Go Greens Go! I haven't reported on these results yet so they are news (here atleast):
In a groundbreaking day, the GPPA continued to build and strengthen a new generation of elected officials across the state - our greatest number of wins yet, keeping us among the most successful states in the country. And while our "high profile" candidates failed to win electorally, they certainly have contributed to our credibility - and have broadened our base. Congratulations to all our candidates and our unstoppable volunteers.Amongst many highlights, Mike Zowniriw beat an incumbent Rebublican to become the Township Supervisor of Richland Township in Bucks County. Pennsylvania can now also boast of two Green Constables. So watch out you don't mess with the Ten Key Values.
The following is a list of our wins; for the complete election results, please click here.
Township Supervisors
* Robert Cogan, Edinboro Township, Erie County
* Mike Zowniriw, Richland Township, Bucks CountyBoro Council
* Kerry Nee, Sinking Springs Boro, Berks Cty
* Michael OMalley, Sinking Springs Boro, Berks CtyTown Council
* Tom Davidock, Port Clinton, Schuylkill Cty
* Catherine Scheib, Ward 1, Union CtyConstable
* Nicholas Selgert, Lancaster County 1 & 5
* Bill Smedly, Nippenose Township, Lycoming CountyAuditor
* Mary Lou Alsentzer, York County
* David Brooks, Connestoga Township, Lancaster County
* Frank Divonzo, Paxtang Boro, Daupin County
* Ed Gately, Sr, Manheim Township, York County
* Phill Getty, Solebury Township, Bucks Cty
* Dean Hornberger, Exeter Township, Berks
* John Irwin, Martic Twp, Lancaster Cty
* Mike Korsak, Franklin Twp, Chester Cty
* Kurt Reichenbach II, Eat Buffalo Twp, Union Cty
* April Sullivan, Hellam Township, York County
And I'm damned happy to announce my support for the current Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate Joseph Hoeffel. Hopefully he'll have a website up so so that folks can propel his campaign forward. Even if Hoeffel fails to beat Specter he could very well set things up nicely for the defeat of that nut Rick Santorum (and his dog). Here is the early article from the Post-Gazette.
Oh, and one last thing. If you've got the goods send them to Stephanie Herseth who is running to take the seat from that GOP criminal Janklow.
Posted by seamus at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2003
Bringing Dems the House
With so much attention on the Presidential race it was nice to see this update on how the Democrats can take back the House in 2004. Here is Mr. Liberal's take on the open seat in Pennsylvania's 15th District:
PA-15 (Open seat): With Congressman Pat Toomey running against Senator Arlen Specter in the GOP primary, the Democrats have a good shot at winning the seat. This seat went for Al Gore in the 2000 election, and Toomey won a rematch against a weak opponent with 57% in 2002. In 2004, the Republicans have a bitter 3-way primary between State Senator Charlie Dent (a moderate), Joe Pascuzzo (a conservative) and Brian O'Neill (who has been endorsed by Gary Bauer-take that for what it's worth), an attorney. This allows the Democrats a shot at winning this seat, but we need a strong candidate first. Dave Wallisch, a county judge, is considering a bid, and he's the best Democrat to win the seat. If Wallisch runs, the Democrats have a good chance of winning this seat. If not, we'll likely go with Jim Maza, a former County Commissioner and a township supervisor, who would probably fall short of victory.
Now, just maybe the Democrats will get it together and nominate a candidate that is actually worth supporting.
Posted by seamus at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2003
Democracy Alert!
Bush doesn't like true elections. His brother helped remove thousands of African Americans from the voters roles before 2000. Now Bush is opposed to a popular election in Iraq. But wait, weren't we trying to bring democracy to Iraq? From the NY Times:
Iraqi census officials devised a detailed plan to count the country's entire population next summer and prepare a voter roll that would open the way to national elections in September. But American officials say they rejected the idea, and the Iraqi Governing Council members say they never saw the plan to consider it.The practicality of national elections is now the subject of intense debate among Iraqi and American officials, who are trying to move forward on a plan to give Iraqis sovereignty next summer. As the American occupation officials rejected the plan to compile a voter roll rapidly, they also argued to the Governing Council that the lack of a voter roll meant national elections were impractical.
Meteor Blades has a good run down on this obviously stupid Catch 22.
Posted by seamus at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2003
Congressional Interference - 15 Yards
This case of redistricting in Texas should be of interest to anyone interested in Pennsylvania politics.
Tensions Flare Over DeLay Subpoena In Texas Remap CaseFollowing extensive discussions last weekend among senior House lawyers, Minority Leader Pelosi rejected a Republican-backed effort to have the bipartisan House leadership support Majority Leader DeLay's effort to quash subpoenas issued to him and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, as part of the Texas Democrats' federal court challenge to that state's new redistricting plan. Although Pelosi supports the legal principle that House members can only be subpoenaed in "exceptional or extraordinary circumstances," her spokesman said today, "Mr. DeLay's pervasive, controlling and time-consuming involvement in the Texas redistricting process appears to provide such circumstances." With DeLay having recused himself, the House's five-member bipartisan legal advisory group consequently was unable to reach majority agreement to submit a brief on the issue. But the three federal judges handling the Texas case issued a ruling late Monday that essentially backed the position that advisory group members had discussed. The behind-the-scenes maneuvering provides further evidence of how the Texas redistricting case has poisoned relations between the two parties at the highest levels of the House.
Visit the Burnt Orange Report for more information. And by the way, Burnt Orange Report is a great blog on Texas politics.
Posted by seamus at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
Sounds of Silence
I have been consumed by things other than politics these past couple of weeks which is why I haven't posted.
Now, visitors know that I strongly opposed the Iraq invasion. Since before the war it was clear that the Bush administation was not being honest about its intentions in Iraq. They manipulated intelligence to strike fear in the hearts of Americans and gain support for their plans in Congress. And maybe it will turn out that the bullies in the White House will succeed politically as a result.
But one thing I absolutely don't understand is the notion that anti-war Americans are being unpatrioric by opposing this unnecessary war. I saw this weird letter from a Navy sailor via Atrios and can't figure out how a President who lies to the public in order to send American soldiers to get killed for his own political gain and still have the support of even a single soldier.
Don't get me wrong, there is amply evidence out there that Bush is losing support within the military. But I'll never understand how those soldiers can continue to throw their political support behind Bush with such a poor calculating record as Commander in Chief. Perhaps they don't pay attention to the details of the war debate or are so partisan that party is more important than truth. I do not know.
Posted by seamus at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)