Fitz!

FITZ!

Kobe

Hooray!

This is what I’ve been hitting “refresh” for all morning.

I guess Bill C could do Lieberman some good among minority voters, but I think they’re smarter than that, don’t you?

Why would they fall for Lieberman when they haven’t seen him in years?

Just because Clinton said they should? I bet not.

Speaking of dear Kobe, how’s he doing these days?

And isn’t it about time people found another name for Blair than Bush’s poodle?!
An insult to poodles everywhere!

Jane in CT! You go girl!?! ;->

I’m really disappointed in the Big Dog. Maybe I’m just naive. I wonder if we’ll ever elect leaders who won’t act like they’re in some exclusive club once they get in. Damn. That’s one more nail in your political coffin, Hillary.

What is Clinton’s strategy in this?
I don’t understand. This will not help Hillary in anyway. Maybe that 30-year friendship, but in spite of Joe’s Senate speech against Bill?

Clinton is a better man than I am.

Ya think the big dog can help that whining little weinie?

Maybe they’re testing the waters to see how bad off he is and what a force to be reckoned with we are.

That’s a huge disappointment but not really a surprise. Clinton has been giving Bush cover for years, no real surprise he would do it for Lieberman. After all the phone calls and letters I wrote on Clinton’s behalf ten years ago, while Lieberman was posing for pictures with Bill Bennett and Lynne Cheney, this is real kick in the gut.

Feh,Clinton’s just going so he can look up Joes skirt.

oooh! w/in the first ten?

Re: Pres. C.

Don’t-cha think he’s just showing party loyalty?

He’s not stoopid. He knows whatever mild little things he says won’t stop NoMoJo’s slide, just cushion the bottom a lil’.

Ned wins, & Mr. C.’ll be there. Betcha!

nertz, but elevenses is fine…go NED!!

I wrote this in an email last week regarding Bill’s comments at a conference, and was thinking about writing up a more lengthy post about it, but I just have not had time:

This is about two things from Bill: 1) promoting Hillary’s interests (payback for Stand By You Man or marital loyalty, take your pick), and 2) Preserving the political viability of his 3rd way legacy over and against the new people powered movement.

Either way, it’s not good for Democrats in the 21st Century.

Clinton nostalgia is not our friend, in our writing or our mentality. It keeps us looking back to apply strategic choices from the past into an entirely different strategic political terrain. Bill Clinton 2006 is a problem, not a hero to be emulated or accorded strategic or political deference.

Until we’re willing to make that argument clear in the party, we’ll continue to lose and weaken the party. The ‘08 primaries may get us there.

The analogue in my mind is to Eisenhower in the days of yore on the other side. The conservative movement recognized Ike’s centrist, sometimes liberal (for them) legacy and popularity were a problem. They ran Goldwater in ‘64 and got crushed, but the long term trend to discredit the Eisenhower apporach to politics paid off for them electorally. Rick Perlstein knows a lot more about this than I do, as what I get comes for the most part from his book Before the Storm.

Oohhh, I’d say AIPAC and other “friends” wiggled some treat in front of BIg Dog’s nose.

“We’re disappointed that President Clinton isn’t content to abide by the results of the Democratic primary, and we hope the President convinces Joe to respect the will of Democratic voters. We look forward to having him come back and campaign for us in the fall.”

Actually, that would be a good question to pose to the big dog. Will he support the winner of the Democratic primary and will he urge Lieberman not to run as an independent if Lamont wins the primary?

Boy, am I tired of all this talk about what an amazingly brilliant strategist Bill Clinton is.

If Bill Clinton campaigns for Joe Lieberman, it’ll just go to show the man has no pride. No pride at all.

The Big Dog can lick my dogs balls.

My prediction:

Lamont wins the primary, and Lieberman comes under intense pressure to quit the race and not force a divisive 3-way contest. Leaverman then mumbles a bitter farewell and takes a multi-million dollar lobbying gig with the defense industry.

w00t, I say, w00t!

hey Jane? Will you be going to the Pond House fundraiser?

Pac at 14. Your analysis sounds exactly right to me. I’m sick to my stomach that Bill would sell himself to preserve the Incumbancy Club. If your principles are negotiable, they’re not principles.

OT–BIIIG kerfuffle off camera at NAACP! YAY

How desperate do you have to be to ask someone to come out to support you who you publicly castigated and chastized in the well of the Senate on moral grounds?

That is just so upside-down and backwards as to fit perfectly into Joe’s campaign strategy. *g*

Bush is being audibly heckled by the audience !!!

Carrying on from last thread — CT has not made the Diebold move yet. We have the same mechanical voting machines we have used for 30 years. You go in the booth, and pull a big lever that closes the curtain behind you and sets the tally.

You pull down a tiny lever over the name of your candidate, and a red metal X is revealed. The machines prevent voting for more than one candidate per office mechanically.

After you have pulled the tiny levers for your candidates, you pull the big lever open — it opens the curtain and records your tally.

The numbers collect in the back of the machine, which is unlocked with multiple witnesses when the polls close.

I’ve lived here for 27 years, and don’t recall there ever being any sort of vote-counting problem with these machines.

Lots of yelling and someone on stage behind the preznit and he stops yammering briefly… now he brings up Condi.

yeehaw!

I’m not sure what the Big Dog is up to, but I’m sure he’s up to something. He’s one of the greatest politicians of all time, and he calculates everything out. I don’t see his angle here, though. Any guesses? I’m not buying any of the ones I’ve seen so far.

I just can’t believe Clinton has that much clout anymore in political races. I like the thot that his mutterings in support of the Lieb. won’t really influence voters, but might calm Joe down enuf that he just goes away after the primary.

At least I hope so.

CONGRATULATIONS JANE.
I called NARAL this morning with the new poll results. I asked them to reconsider their endorsement of Whinerman and shift it to the winner of the primary. I won’t hold my breath, but it sure was fun leaving the message.
I am stunned that Ned has overcome all those Whinermann endorsements. I felt like they were an avalanche.
With that said, your focus is exactly where it should be, assuming nothing and forward.

OT I cannot believe Clinton’s decision. Is he trying to piss off Hillary even more? Was this a deal, Hillary would support the winner of the primary if Bubbah campaigned for Whinermann?
None of it matters.
All that matters is that Ned keeps doing what he’s doing. Stay on message.
Loved your interview with him last night.
He really came across with the gravitas that we expect of a U.S. Senator. IMO he’s got tremendous cross-over appeal to all the Ct Republicans who still believe in honest government. Most of them don’t profit from K-Street either.

Where are you all watching this NAACP coverage?

J. Donne @ 19

He’s too busy with his own…

Do not underestimate the power of the Clinton electioneering for Joe. Bill is the best pure magnetic personality campaigner on a national scale in my lifetime besides JFK, RFK and (maybe) Ronnie Reagan.

I will say, as has been pointed out, that actual strategies like ‘triangulation’ may have fit the times, but you wage the last war, campagn or election without recognizing present political conditions ‘at your peril’.

Who still uses Lotus 1-2-3?

It’s wonderful to hear that Ned is ahead in the polls. I’m ignoring issues like MOE, etc. for now ’cause it just feels so good. I’m thinking Ned will widen that gap for the better.

Count me as a vote in support of Cosmo/#20 - Clinton, by offering some support, will be in a position to persuade Joe to not go independant.

My backup prediction is that Clinton will get up there and damn Leiberman with extravagantly faint praise. He could pull it off if he wanted to.

Anne– was on msnbc– now he’s pressing the flesh.

blech

Bill can help raise the big bucks — he came to town last week for Baron Hill, Democratic congressional candidate (Evan-Bayh-Democrat) — it had to be moved to a bigger venue coz the original was too small — he can draw a crowd!

Looking at bit into the future, I hope there is not a huge, depressing letdown if Lamont loses. There are so many things that look somewhat hopeful in the progressive world, but none of them really seem to be panning out much. Rove is still on the loose, all the Republican scandals that don’t seem to be making much of impression on “Middle America”, I would guess less than 20% of voters really know about Cunningham, Scanlon, Ney…

I sure hope Lamont wins, but with all the noise in the blogs about the possibility of him winning, I am hoping that we aren’t all setting ourselves up for a huge letdown if he doesn’t.

I know, I’m a cynic and a pessimist.

Here’s an explanation — EPU’d on the last thread — that bears thinking about:

Phil says

July 20th, 2006 at 7:59 am
Hillary needs HoJo to win so that the anti-war wing of the party is slowed down because she is not part of our faction. Remember Lanny Davis’s attack was surely given the green light by B&H.
If HoJo loses Hiilary chances for 08 are diminished.

kirby, I remember those same kind of machines from watching my parents vote in NM. (Way more than 27 years ago!)
Now here in Ohio, in the May primary in Cuyahoga County, they had trouble with the optical scanner and the absentee ballots. The ballots had heavier black lines than in other places, or something, and they finally had to hand-count 16,000 or so votes.
http://www.acluohio.org/newsce.....ws/?cat=12

If Bill Clinton campaigns for Joe Lieberman, it’ll just go to show the man has no pride. No pride at all.

No successful politician has any pride. Well the ones who come from money do. The rest have to beg for money compromise on things that are important to them and put up with fools they can’t stand. Clenis is no different as a dem insider he’s part of the incombent protection racket. The fact that joenertia tried to fuck him and has been screwing his party for a decade doesn’t matter. zell,joe is a like a made man in the mafia. No matter how big a douche the other mobsters protect him.

“Bill can help raise the big bucks.”
I agree, but that just got a hell of a lot tougher. Everybody can tell Joe to win the effing primary first.

As a result of Whinermann’s “Plan B” there is now real doubt about who the Republican nominee will be. If Ned’s finance people can just get major donors to DELAY a decision until after the primary, that’s worth almost as much as scoring a donation to Ned.

I used to be a big Clinton fan but not any more.

Big Dog is not going to turn the tide in Ct. and will only weaken his own standing and that of Hillary’s. Too bad but this War is bigger than both of them and HoJo is toast…

Throw a blue dress on Joe on the float, and I think Big Dog will want some of the action.

See you folks tonight, I’m out the door in a few.

zeppo 39 — what’s this “we?”

We have always been realistic about the fact that Lamont would, in all likelhood, have a very difficult time prevailing against Joe’s influence and money. This is negativity predicated on revisionist history. Anyone “setting themselves up for a letdown” has only themselves to blame — I for one supported Lamont from the start for no other reason than that it was the right thing to do. If others have some kind of prevailing need to only back winners, please don’t blame us for it. You didn’t get that here.

I wouldn’t sweat this now. If Lamont takes out Lieberman, and Clinton then comes out for Lamont as the nominee, Joe is going to look pretty bad.

I kind of disagree,, I think clinot still packs some influence and this isn’t good for lamont

someone needs to slap bill top the head

oh.

I do believe in some commment or two I’ve made here in the last week or so decrying lack of polling I’ve come up with the prediciton of 48/48/4 when actual numbers got released. I also thought Ned would get 22% or more in the State Convention to make it onto the primary ballot. (IANPP/C/) I am no political pollster/consultant. I took one class in political/media analysis just before Clinton ‘92. We used a case study that analyzed the 18 months leading up the Helms’ reelectiion in 86 v. Jim Hunt. But some of that info stuck with me.)

Just beginners luck. But informed opinion based on facts helps.

Thanks Jane for all you do.
—–
Off topic: LTE seems like it’s gonna be Godot in real-life. Not published today. Again. If nothing by Sunday, I’m gonna create another timely piece for submission. I’m sure something will catch my eye to be worthy of comment.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but it’s a statistical tie.

Yeah, I know the poll shows Lamont up by 4%, with a MOE of 3.8%, but trust me: I do this for a living.

The MOE is only valid for each number - Lamont’s 51%, Lieberman’s 47% - but not for the difference.

If the two numbers were independent of one another, the MOE of the difference would be about 5.3%. But they’re obviously very strongly negatively correlated - if Lamont’s support goes up, Lieberman’s has to go down, and vice versa. And in a situation like that, the MOE of the difference is basically double the MOE of each number, or 7.6%.

Nonetheless, the poll results do translate into about a 65% chance that Lamont leads among likely primary voters, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

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Today: Theyre in Vegas baby!!

We need your help - you can make a difference - contribute to the collective genius (and bring a friend). Thanks!

You must not know Ct. and our history of anti-war feelings. Big Dog is going to be smaller as a result of HoJo’s lose.

The DLC, the “third way” and NAFTA. Three evils supported by the huge dog and the even larger Senator dogette. Disgraceful.

I said some time ago that I thought that if Lieberman lost the primary, he was going to get a talking-to about bowing out of the race, and having the grace to leave with some dignity (assuming he will be capable of grace and dignity, that is). Lamont will easily beat Schlesinger in the general, I think, so it won’t be a case of CT losing a Democratic seat if Lieberman drops out after the primary.

He can drag all the old-guard Dems he wants into CT to campaign or endorse, but it’s my feeling that the presence of Bill Clinton or Joe Biden or Barbara Boxer doesn’t change Lieberman into the Senator that CT Dems are looking for. All it really does is confirm for many voters that there are other Dems who are just as cluelss as Joe.

Great catch lotus at 8:12
It sure explains a lot.
I can’t believe people who lived through Vietnam, such as Hill and Bill, “don’t get it.”
Occupying Iraq and Afghanistan is *ucked in the head lose lose lose strategy.

Jane @47: Sorry. No, I didn’t mean to infer that. I suppose I am feeling very negative about how things are progressing in this country. I suppose I was referring to all the progressive blogsphere when I said “we”. O.K., perhaps I should have just said me.

Have a great meeting tonight. Wish I could be there….

George told Bill about Joe’s lips. Bill just couldn’t resist.

-GSD

Oh yeah, Reportedly the Lebanese defense minsiter says the Lebanese army will join forces with Hezbollah if the IDF invades Lebanon.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/S.....e/ShowFull

Has anyone seen todays WaPo op-ed on Plamegate, The Futility of Chasing Leaks”?

But there’s more futility — and fatigue — to come. The futility will be evident in the acquittal next year of Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. The acquittal will be yet another symbol of the misuse of prosecutorial time that is the big problem with leak investigations.

…

To win a perjury case, however, a prosecutor has to prove that a defendant willfully made false statements. Libby’s attorneys will argue that his misstatement was an innocent mix-up by a top executive branch official who dealt daily with waves of reporters and a constant crush of domestic and international issues. It will be virtually impossible for the government to prove otherwise — beyond a reasonable doubt — when such a plausible defense exists and no conclusive evidence has emerged showing that his recollections of his contacts with journalists were intentionally false.

These wankers are saying that the elaborate web of lies–the fictional narrative–Libby told about hearing of Plame’s identity from Tim Russert was merely the mistaken recollection of a busy man.

I’m surprised that they didn’t throw in speculation that Joe Wilson’s indictment is imminent.

Jeeze.

Pach and Phil both nail it. We must remember that Clinton’s campaign strategy sucked all the air…and money…out of the entire rest of the Democratic campaign structure.

State legislatures were lost. State elected officials, i.e. Secs of State and governorships, were lost. Congress was lost. We are still in early innings–maybe even pre-season here, folks. It’s going to take us a long time to rebuild Howard Dean’s vision of a 50-State Strategy. We may have stumbles, missteps and losses along the way, but we must keep on getting better and better.

Day by day, campaign by campaign, issue by issue, we need to keep moving those small stones.

Granted that I’m a Clinton fan, but I see this announced campaign visit Monday as the result of Joe getting on the phone to Bill and begging him to come. Clinton is well-known for his loyalty, and for his inability to turn down requests from old friends.

Angie,

Did George Bush refer to Condi as a prop?

-GSD

zeppo 57 — wish you could be here, too. We would cheer you up, I’m sure ;)

Yet another reason to not support Hillary for Preznit.

And I wouldn’t worry to much about Independents in the generals. Indies are notoriously left-leaning on social issues, and generally more centrist on economic ones…and what does Lieberman actually offer those folks that Lamont couldn’t do better? Plus he’s got the hated Bush wrapped around his neck. Those numbers only show name recognition right now, and once Lamont is known, Lieberman’s support will plummet (assuming his campaign doesn’t completely disintegrate before then).

Keep the faith, folks!

Rats. EPU’d again.

About the Big Dog visit . . . .

May be not as stupid as it looks.

1) He knows whatever happens, Dems aren’t going to hate him, and
2) Could he perhaps take some pleasure in having the self-righteous HoJo come begging to him for help? How utterly humiliating for Lieberman, after what he did to Clinton in the Lewinski thing.

Also, it doesn’t harm Clinton to campaign for an incumbent Dem. That’s not exactly being a communist, however wrong-headed I may think it is.

Most of all, it makes HoJo look even more like the political opportunist hs is to say those ghastly things about Clinton and then use him for political survival when he needs him.

This latter just makes the contrast with fresh-faced and earnest Ned even moreso.

I don’t know if this angle has been vetted. But a couple of weeks ago Big Balls Bill was at a fundraiser and became visibly and verbally assaltive at a question about Hillary’s support for the war on Iraq. Given Joe’s support of chimpy’s little excursion into M/E could this be BBB motivation to support this credent.

zeppo at 39

Not so fast about that Middle-America-not-budging thingie…

Definite low but potentially significant rumblings in OH, anyway, I do believe/hope.

it’s gonna be a long long year, whew

don’t let up, but ya might want to keep the maalox handy.

PS, I can’t tell you how many times remembering your “small stones” has saved my sanity lately. A thing of beauty, that.

Yeah, GSD– wrt the voting rights act and he got a very few woohoos when he named her.

fyi– Kofi Annan speaking now on Lebanon on cnn.

Frank Probst #29,

Yes, I’m thinking the same thing. Bill Clinton is a deep-think politician, which isn’t that common these days. Perhaps I read too many books about political intrigue, but sometimes “helping” out is the best way to sandbag or change direction of someone. For all we know this is how Clinton gets inside Lieberman’s head to get him to abandon his independent bid.

Or it could just be giving a helping hand to major DLC candidate. I just hope there’s more to it, Clinton owes Lieberman nothing.

If B. Clinton campaigns for J. Lieberman, he endorses the Big Lie War.

That’s all there fuckin’ is to it.

Millineryman — I like it. Somebody should put on a blue dress and jump on the KISS float.

I think Glorfindel is right. Clinton is doing a favor for AIPAC and other high rollers quid pro continued support for Hillary. It is the same dynamic as the Marc Rich pardon prior to her first Senate run. (Ehud Barak and AIPAC wanted a pardon for Pollard, which Clinton could not do and got Rich as their second pick.)

Steve

Maura could do it, Jane!

Anon - the “we’re so busy we just forgot” defense might work if the people on the jury that hears the Libby case have their memories wiped clean, but with the accumulation of disingenuous explanations throughout this administration for why this or that was said, or happened, there’s a better than even chance that the jury isn’t going to buy it. Pat Fitzgerald would not have brought the indictments if he didn’t think he could prove the perjury from all directions.

Clinton is not going to sway any Democrats, and it is possible his help will turn off Republican and Indep. general election voters who would go for Lieberman. They’ll vote Rep. or stay home (with Bill C.’s face on the Lieberman team).

Except I find it hard to believe Clinton will extend his support to Joe if he loses the primary.

RT at 51: I think the other factor to add is the trend in the polls. If the relative standings were bouncing around, I wouldn’t take much hope from a poll that shows Lamont at the edge of the margin of error. But the trend of the few polls we’ve had has all been Ned’s way, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Jane,

Let’s see if we can get a blue dress volunteer tonight. Frankly seeing the HoJo figure in a blue dress is better. Wouldn’t take much

selise and I are still coming. Hope you got my e-mail yesterday.

Great news on new poll for Ned. On the Clinton visit, I assume it will be public (at least more public than the other LIeberloser ones. Can’t Ned supporters infiltrate (with or without hidden Lamont buttons) and use this as an opportunity to button hole Lieberman supporters to change their views.
OT. If Coulter did in fact send white powder to the NY Times as admitted. She should be arrested and brought to trial. It is like yelling fire in a theatre. Someone could have gotten hurt (stress from incident, trying to rush away from powder). She is also inciting violence by others who will put in something less benigh.

Who has an email address for President Clinton? I’d like to let him know why Joe is not a good choice.

OT — I could listen to Kofi Annan’s voice, in any language, all day and all night. So soothing.

btw, Scooter Libby was the lead attorney in the Marc Rich pardon …

AYLDT # 65,

It sure does make old Tokin’ Joe a pathetic case. Never thought of it that way.

Joe, who “boldly took to the senate floor to denounce” Dirty Bill for his indiscretions.

Now Joe is begging and pleading to be saved by the man he helped almost torpedo.

How do you spell weasel?

-GSD

ditto, lotus, and he speaks the elegant language of diplomacy– long unheard from anyone in our govt.

So I’ve got this really good idea for a group project or two [see Pulp Fiction]. My favorite is a group book entitled something like The Democratic Liberals Who Ate Cleveland that collects absurdities from the Right Wing Blogs, Coulter, Malkin, Rush, etc…

ahhhh– A dozen people in blue dresses, black wigs and berets, doing the can can on the edge of the kiss float–it would be funnier if they had big mustaches and hairy legs–, with a guy in a Droopy costume reading JoMo’s Senate speech on this in a megaphone.

RT 51

I thought I saw the MoE at 2%. The sampling was 2500 which seems large. At 2% then the spread is 4% total which makes for a dead heat. Still Ned is up a total of 18 over a month ago, there’s the momentum.

OT:

Voinovich wants Bolton renominated when his term expires, and declares that for Congress to oppose him would be bad for “our country, the United Nations and the free world.”

Click Me!

“Big Dog” has been kissing George H.W. Bush’s ass for five years now, so the kiss float won’t bother him a bit. Look what “big dog” did to the Democratic Party? He was the best thing that ever happened to the GOP. He gave them a Republican Congressional Majority and a Republican President. He gave them NAFTA to enrich all their greedy cronies. He gave them a cruel gruel called “welfare reform.” He did the DLC to the Democrats all along and his legacy is nothing but George W. Bush. I don’t know why ANY self-respecting Democrat would even like the guy. Where are the independent thinkers in this party!? Maybe that’s what’s wrong with Democrats–they just don’t get it. “Big Dog” is Joe Lieberman.

Anon at 8:26
Thanks very much for the link to the WaPo op ed.
Looks to me like a naked attempt by media attorneys to drive revenue from journalists who are rightfully scared of WH persecution.

From the article I am not sure either has read Fitz’s indictment. I am more confident neither has read the court filings that Christy, emptywheel, and others pour over, where the Judge keeps handing Ted Olson’s ass back to him in a sling.

It’s a shame they want to slander Fitz in attempt to improve their own billings.
Anyone who wants to let them know how you feel about this can reach them here:
http://www.judges.org/nccm/ncc.....anford.htm
Bruce W. Sanford
Partner
Baker & Hostetler
Washington, DC
bsanford@bakerlaw.com

Bruce D. Brown
Partner
bbrown@bakerlaw.com

kurt 88 - you gotta wonder what kind of drugs he’s been taking.

Clinton’s campaign strategy sucked all the air…and money…out of the entire rest of the Democratic campaign structure.

That is absolutely correct — in 1996, Bill Clinton turned the DNC into a rubber stamp of the Clinton/Gore campaign. The DNC ran identical ads, with only a different disclaimer.

In the meantime, generic support for Congressional Democrats had fallen 7% among older voters, between January and June.

Clinton sucked all of the political oxygen and money, and the GOP held on to their House Majority — which was a green light for Ken Starr.

Bill Clinton is a charismatic politician, but he’s also a heliotropic narcissist. He is conflicted about doing good for all and doing good for Bill Clinton. When they coincide, Bill Clinton is great; when they don’t, we get CAFTA, Welfare Reform, and HoJo fluffing.

I think every one is right about AIPAC, big donors, Hillary’s campaign, but don’t forget Clinton’s psychology: Having one of his leading critics forced to ask him for help, what a boost to that needy high chair king ego! I think this is the same motive behind his friendship with the Bushes: getting the people who said all those nasty things about him cite their friendship and Clinton’s support for them….
as Molly Ivins says, the sumbitch is good, no doubt about that.

angie, I wonder if KA drops his gs in French too.

Back atcha, lotus. And empathy on your concerns about your friend. If you want to talk about it, you’re welcome to email me at PrairieSunshine at msn dot com. I’ve walked in your moccasins….

Scrambly day–CT Nedheads, you rock! Will be fun to read more later.

As for the statistical tie of the poll, it’s really bad news for Lieberman. Incumbents under 50% are in trouble, plain and simple. And when it’s against a primary challenger—within your own party—that can’t be a good thing at all.

Maybe the Kiss Float needs a black beret and bright red lipstick on the Bush head in time for BigDog’s visit. I bet Bill would understand its toxic symbolism better!

This is rich.

I believe in Saddam’s Iraq they were known as “minders”.

“MORGAN CITY, La. — Residents of trailer parks set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to house hurricane victims in Louisiana aren’t allowed to talk to the press without an official escort, The (Baton Rouge) Advocate reported.”

http://www.firstamendmentcente.....x?id=17178

-GSD

I can understand Clinton helping Lieberman here. I have long suspected that Clinton urged Lieberman to give the impreachment-era speech on the Senate floor, as a way to let the pressure out of the tire, as it were. Plus they go back 3 decades.

But who impressed me was Swan. Tom Swan handled that issue perfectly. I suspect that the reason that Lieberman is behind this soon is that Lamont has people like Swan, and Lieberman has people who will let reporters think for an entire news cycle that Lieberman is gonna bolt to take the GOP nomination if he can get it.

Gilliard weighs in on the Clenis visit. Includes HoJo’s entire floor speech chastising Big Dog over his moral lapses.

Steve closes thusly:

If Clinton didn’t grow up in an alcoholic household, he wouldn’t be trying to please people who wouldn’t lift a finger to help him.

Let him go to Waterbury.

How about a great big SOUND TRUCK, in the area near Clinton’s endorsement speech… replaying Lieberman’s scolding of Bubba on the Senate floor?

‘Cuz it’s kind of hard to be endorsed by somebody, when that somebody is busy being scolded by the guy he’s endorsing, for having a loose pants fly…

(And again, folks, like the deadly “The Kiss”… just GET IT ON THE NEWS…)

p.s. to Bubba: Sorry, pal, but if you’re gonna be “pragmatic” here, like some sort of DLC John McCain… we gotta BRING YOU DOWN. You’ve stayed too long at this party, anyway, and our obligations to you as loyal Dems have all been met. Have a nice retirement.

He only drops harsh and hard g’s like we have in english, lotus. french is mellifluous, like him. ;)

Thankfully he brings up Gaza now.

Prairie Sunshine at 60: Not to mention that the DLC’s “contribution” to strategy discussions is always “look, Clinton was elected President, so taking our position will win elections! (As long as you don’t look at any other election since we’ve existed.)”

Possibly Howard Dean’s biggest success has been to remind the powers that be that it’s the Democratic National Committee, not the Democratic Presidential Committee.

Bill is a great speaker, and I respect him a lot, but I don’t think he’s going to change a lot of minds in CT. I just hope he realizes that. And I would have respected him more if he’d taken a page from Al Gore on the race.

O/T, CODE BROWN Wag-the-Kim CNN news banner:

BREAKING NEWS:

Iranians were believed to be present at North Korea’s July 4 missile tests, assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, testified today.

Good news on the Iraq front. Attacks in Baghdad are up from the same time last year.

This is an obvious sign that the insurgents are desperate.

“U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said there has been an average of 34 attacks a day against U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital over the past five days. The daily average for the period June 14 until July 13 was 24 a day, he said.”

-GSD

All I can say is: Wow!

Lets hope this happens.

Maybe Clinton’s jealous of the action Joe’s been giving Bush.

Connecticut? Multiple blue dresses & CA-style campiness.

Please no. Leave it at the kiss float.

Grew up in New England. Please trust me on this.

Could backfire for Ned.

[no. I’m not a prude/party pooper but, last I looked, down east is still down east. and savvy would still counsel not going ‘over the top’ IMHO]

Remember that HoJo ran as an anti-war Democrat(70’s) and now wants to be a pro-war Democrat in the darkest Blue of Blue states. No chance in the primary but maybe in the general, and that is why Bill, Hillary, Lanny, DLC, and others are going all out to stop Ned now and weaken the anti-war movement.

GSD 83

I try to put myself in the mindset of Mr-&-Mrs-America who aren’t that interested in politics.

Believe it or not, I know quite a few of them.

One notable couple comes to Austin from their retirement ranchette out in the Hill Country to have dinner with us every month or so.

He is retired NASA, amateur astronomer, and reads Time Mag every week to maintain his Good Citizen creds. She was a flight attendant, a stay-at-home mother and is an active artist. She doesn’t think political stuff affects her life, and they hate, hate, hate fundie Christians.

They both despise Bush, having lived through what he did to Texas in the 90’s. He can’t believe the election was stolen because “it would be impossible to keep such a large conspiracy secret” and besides, Time would have told him so, if it were true.

So I sound them out when we have dinner together, and I have a pretty good sense of how they look at things - - especially if I squint.

That’s how I saw Liebermann as looking like a political opportunist for getting Clinton to campaign for him. I’m pretty sure Pete and Cindy would see him that way.

The trick will be if anyone from CT remembers Lieberman’s moralistic scoldings from 8 years ago.

I think we need to make them remember it, but specifically, not through fun stunts.

The Q-poll is excellent news for Lamont. Just think of the progress since earlier in the year from 35% down to 4% up, and half of that change made up in the last month alone (IIRC).

This fantastic turnaround demonstrates three things clearly: 1) Lamont has become an excellent campaigner in touch with his party’s voters, 2) he has assembled a great campaign staff, and 3) the opposite is true for Lieberman.

The Lieberman campaign must be in deperate straits. If they assume that Lieberman will not win, than at all costs Lamont must be kept from a big margin of victory say 10% or better. Such a margin could kill their independent campaign in the Fall. That means the Lieberman campaign will have to go fiercely negative, much worse than heretofore, on Lamont to stop his surge.

As for the Clintons, and other old-time colleagues who endorse Lieberman in the primary, I don’t mind that. They are simply demonstrating loyalty to a long-time friend and colleague; ironic since Lieberman himself runs a big deficit in the loyality quality. It is just these old-time friends of Lieberman, who after he should be defeated on August 8, are the ones who will have to turn on him in the general election. Every Democratic candidate running in a close election in CT or elswhere will be asked the same question: do you support your party’s nominee in CT for the senate or do you support the disloyal Lieberman?

I dunno, heavy Monica symbolism really rubs me the wrong way. Sure, it was one of Joe’s most shameful moments, and the one with relevance to Clinton’s visit, but it just doesn’t seem good for Democrats for us to try to shame Bill with it.

Bill has been sent by his DLC wife. He said it himself: ‘When she’s president I’ll do whatever she says’ (paraphrase). After all, she is one of his senators. His schmoozing with Daddy Bush also disgusts me. Will the Democratic Party ever get beyond the Clintons?

Bruce at 8:42. Thanks for a terrific comment. Never heard that before about Bubbah orchestrating the Whinerman speech, interesting.
I hope you are right about Swan.

I think Democratic Party is beyond B&H but MSM loves to push them on US.

GSD, your 98 pairs with this from LAT:

It Wasn’t the Court Order She Sought
Illegal immigrant seeks order against husband. The judge tells her to get out or be deported.

By Sam Quinones
Times Staff Writer

July 20, 2006

A substitute judge hearing the case of an illegal immigrant seeking a restraining order against her husband threatened to turn her over to immigration officials if she didn’t leave his courtroom.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Pro Tem Bruc