Login HereWhen Al Gore appeared on the Hill yesterday to talk about global warming, James Inhofe was a complete dick. I don't mean just your average, run-of-the-mill, anti-science idiot, he went out of his way to be rude to Gore and bait him, carving out new territory in GOP public assholedom. On whose behalf was he appearing?
Good question. Over at Kos, Rp has the answer:
Top contributor for 2006 by industry sector, 1) Energy and Natural Resources: $604,965.
Top contributor for 2006 by industry: 1) Oil and Gas: $319,708, 2) Electric Utilities: $195,907.
Top individual contributors for 2006, 1) Murray Energy Corp: $22,800, 2) Koch Industries: $22,750
Travel Financed by Special Interests for 2006 Cycle: 34 trips
Total Cost of trips: $45,131.92
Sponsor of most trips: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Assn.
Top contributor for 2004 by industry sector, 1) Energy and Natural Resources: $590,219.
Top contributor for 2004 by industry: 1) Oil and Gas: $304,156, 2) Electric Utilities: $188,713.
Top individual contributors for 2004, 1) Murray Energy Corp: $33,200, 2) Koch Industries: $22,750
Top contributor for 2002 Election by industry sector, 1) Energy and Natural Resources: $533,519.
Top contributor for 2002 Election by industry: 1) Oil and Gas: $284,706, 2) Electric Utilities: $162,213.
Top individual contributors for 2002 Election, 1) National Republican Senatorial Cmte $33,500, 2) Murray Energy Corp: $33,200, 3) Koch Industries: $16,750
Inhofe is also the ranking Republican on the Environmental and Public Works Committee, formerly its Chairman. For those who think the earth is 5,000 years old and Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs, this probably seems perfectly reasonable.
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Shazzam!
Barbara Boxer’s smackdown of Inhofe was a thing of beauty.
The outrage with the Bush administration and the GOP continues to build in this home.
Gore/Edwards for ‘08.
(((((Jane)))))
Ooh, nice one Jane.
He was disgusting.
Al Gore was positively genteel and unruffled by his “assholedom”.
Inhofe is definitely the worst senator. Ted Stevens is a very close second.
Shmucks.
Zee @
2
Seriously!!!
“carving out new territory in GOP public assholedom.”
Now there’s a bottomless pit!
THA-WHACK!!
That’s gonna leave a mark, Jane!
Mr. Inhofe is a bought man. As an Oklahoman I am terribly ashamed of Inhofe.
A consequence of this last election is that I didn’t lose my fucking mind.
Boxer rocked.
Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. . .
The smackdown was beautiful but the look of stupefication on Inhofe’s face was even better.
Nice points - and nice title.
Hardly a surprise, since Imhofe is from Oklahoma. Oklahoma (I spent 3 1/2 yrs. there, btw) has 2 major industries, still - agriculture and oil-and-gas - otherwise known these days as energy.
And yes, while I was there Don Nickels was pretty close to the stupidest person in Congress, but Inhofe has him beat.
I can’t figure out how he got through med school.
What’s up with Gates and the defense dept? Are we about to hear news about Iran?
Just a suggestion for my fellow Dems, (the ones in Congress), you’d better trot out the impeachment process, ASAP, or these guys are going to get us into a much worse situation than we already face…
Yes, that one is quite a piece of work. I always ask my family in OK why they continue to send him to DC?!
Don’t forget that Al is used to the goobers!
What an Inhole!
Do elections have consequences? All the Washington Dems are doing is re-arranging deck chairs - they need to step up and impeach!
Impeachment is off the table, further war crimes, crimes of aggression, even a nuclear first strike on Iran are “on the table” according to Clinton, Edwards, and Obama… statements like that, made in fealty to a foreign power acting inimically to Americas interests, those statements should have consequences. Anyone uttering support for aggressive war agaisnst yet another country should forfeit the support of anyone who cares about peace.
and really, a (D) in front of their names does not matter.
An what of Lieberman? A man who calls himself a member of my political party. There are many to be rid of.
Mack @
18
Some say he licks his comb.
I went to school w/ some of his kids and my mom went to high school with him. She says he was a jerk back then too.
I don’t want to flog this too much, but I think it is a vey important piece of the puzzle that everyone here must read.
Does RNC owned server connect the dots between missing e-mails and Ohio vote theft?
As long as we call what is bribery “lobbying” charlatans like this silly amoral man will be our representatives in Congress.
To get there we need absolute limits on what candidates may spend on getting elected. for example, in the UK, candidates until about 20 years ago could spend only about $1000. It is about $10,000 now, so, what limit should we set, say $60,000, $100,000 for the House, and perhaps $250,000 for the Senate…. Primaries could have the same or lower limits.
We might get more intelligent representatives as well as more honest. Wow!
This is not rocket science, and actual democracies have had election-spending limits for a long time. If we did not have a constitution frozen in pre-democracy times we might have moved on long since.
How about a new crusade once we are over this current one, ladies?
I just suddenly had this mental picture of a bunch of nerdy, pocket-protectorized scientists going all “Clockwork Orange” on his ass.
“Singin’ in the rain, I’m singin’ in the rain!”
Whew, ok. That was just a joke. Boxer was much smoother.
Yesterday’s exchange between Boxer and Inhofe is a perfect mini version of the big picture since the midterms. They think they still have the power. When we show them they don’t have it - they’re dumbstruck. Boxer and Jane are right. There ARE consequences…lots of them. And here they come.
Inhofe belongs on a long list of R’s who have proven in recent public appearances that they need to get their wings clipped next time around. Tom Davis and Darrell Issa are right up there with the Oklahoma Obfuscator.
I have said it before, we(the blogs)took out Delay, Foley and Allen,(and the Republican majority),is there any doubt these guys have muck galore that we can rake up just by exposing the right list of historically available truths?
Although Issa’s already well known for his shady past, there’s little doubt these other “company men” (literally) have skeletons dancing in their closets, just rattling to be free.
angie @
5
completely agree… i was especially impressed that gore sincerely tried to figure out how to reach out to inhofe (his request that they get together with a mutual friend of theirs)… gore didn’t get angry - he just tried to think about how to address a hurdle. very classy, very smart… and hard to do!
sporkovat @ 19
Here we go, agreeing again….. We have The New Best Congress Money Can Buy, but unfortunately one without even the iron grip of Republican Whips at least to get them vote as they are told.
This bill of Money or Not for Iraq/Iran and its other clauses is a plain pathetic joke. So who do our Dem Reps work for, really????
Boxer: “You’re not makin’ the rules…You used to when you did this. You’re not doing this anymore.”
Niiice. And Gore just looks on with a smile on his face….
Thus the difference between an educated, articulate Vice President and an ignorant fucking jerk.
Gore didn’t have to even raise his voice, he knew he was dealing with a moron.
sunny @ 23
Sunny. flog it EVERYWHERE.
OT - the house has now begun a 4 hour debate on the bill for supplemental funding for the iraq war. (on c-span now)
my rep - jim mcgovern - just stood up and said he would vote for it.
damn. damn. damn.
18 more months of funding. damn.
Pachacutec @
12
They’re the modern Stone Age family!
selise @ 33
The problem is that there’s no way any Republican will vote to totally cut off funding. A deadline to pull out, but no abrupt cutoff.
selise @ 33
did you mean dumb, dumb dumb (and dumber)? never mind. I know what you mean.
Does this joker think this is going to guarantee an Exxon board seat when he retires or something? Jeesh.. how many oil companies are headquartered in Indiana anyway? He should try representing his constituents instead of Texans.
Meanwhile, in either example of inconceivably bad behavior, New Zealand press is reporting that shrub actually laughed out loud when NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark asked him for a free trade agreement, capping a barely civil set of official meetings with the admin…:
“But Mr Bush did not mention New Zealand’s desire for a free trade agreement, and laughed when Miss Clark brought up the issue. In keeping with every other member of his administration during Miss Clark’s visit to Washington, he refused to take any questions from the media. “
I guess shrub doesn’t like NZ very much. We’ve been ruled by a gang of heavily armed, semi-literate thugs. The barbarians own the gate.
grape_crush @ 30
Is there a link to a video anywhere? C&L, youtube? I’d love to see this…
grape_crush @
30
It makes me think of what could have been, had all the votes been counted…
Jane, you seem in fine fettle today
T- @
6
One thing I find so discouraging is that these bozos continue to get re-elected & thus accrue seniority.
C’mon folks in OK & AK, are ya really THAT dumb????
Its at the top of this post.
i wish there was a “grand court of the earth” and anybody who craps up our planet has to go to “earth prison” where they are neutered or spayed and they have to plant trees and care for endangered habitats for the rest of their lives.
Jesselyn Radack has some choice words for BushCo.
Yeah, Inhfe is a major putz. But I thought both Boxer and Gore handled it well, and now Inhofe is just hot air, instead of someone who could hijack the committee. All because of one little election…
Well, the snarky comments on the Edwardses decision have started, and no surprise - it is our ‘liberal’ media. Particularly that idiot Jay Carney Time Washington bureau chief. He apparently is appalled someone would soldier on in the face of a cancer diagnosis instead going away … Link to the idiot
If you would like to comment on Jay’s article go here …
D’oh! Slaps forehead w/ hand…
Thanks.
Sorry here is the link to comment on Jay Carney’s article …Feedback
Inhofe is obviously obsessed with nazism. I wonder why:
My bold. “You say something over and over again…believe it.” Sounds to me like he’s describing BushCo’s tendencies.
I really wish Gore could run for President and be (re)-elected in 2008, because I think he’s by far the best qualified of the potential candidates. Judging from Inhofe’s pathetic attempt to discredit Gore based on his home electricity bill, it’s clear that if Gore did run, he’d be swiftboated regarding his personal use of energy. I know Gore pays for carbon offsets, but I’d like to see a wider discussion in the blogosphere regarding how to react to this sort of attack on Gore and other pro environment leaders. Politicians should not have to adopt the personal lifesyle of Gandhi before they are permitted to raise the issue of what we are collectively doing to this planet.
Mauimom @ 41
Ted’s worse. Inhofe’s a stupid bully who dabbles in corruption. Stevens’ just just as stupid and just as much a bully but he positively bathes in corruption. The rethug Senate was simply his personal patronage mill. Remember when he threatened to quit unless he got his bridge to nowhere?
I do not find it ‘progressive’ or particularly helpful to single out all, or most people, from certain regions or states as being less than intelligent for some of the politicians who get elected from those regions or states.
Rats - can watch the video - but since I had to re-boot and re-install everything recently, can’t get audio. Thought I had solved the problem. Oh well.
Who is laughing in the background when Boxer is brandishing the gavel?
Inhofe? Gore?
But Inhofe on Fox & Friends this morning sez Gore is DEFINATELY going to run for prez. Readallabouddit:
rawstory link
Hmmm. A bit off-topic (to the extent that Rove is ever off-topic), but I was reading Froomkin today and thinking about Blumenthal’s latest, and it occurred to me that if Rove was actually a political advisor in the ordinary sense, that is, the campaign architect and so on, that the current subpoena fight would never happen.
The question many of us have asked repeatedly, “why is a purely political advisor on the government payroll?” is key here, and key to the hollowness of Republican partisans’ claims that the Democrats are just out to ‘get’ Rove because he’s been an electoral pain to them.
Rove is on the government payroll because the plan all along has been to turn the government into a political weapon. Whether it’s using your tax dollars to give corporations a hefty return on their investment in the Republican Party, or trying to get bogus investigations of Democrats to hurt their electoral prospects, or so many other things, he has a government job as a political advisor because he and his boss believe that politics is the primary function of government. That, fundamentally, is what is wrong.
If he worked for the RNC, and didn’t have a security clearance, and wasn’t giving orders to government agencies, he’d be just as annoying politically, but he wouldn’t be getting subpoenaed. But he has chosen to be employed by us, and so he has to answer to us.
Mauimom,
I know where some of the folks in AK and OK are coming from…like Ed*ard Teller, Okkiddo, and OilfieldGuy. We are blue beacons bobbing in a sea of red. Don’t paint us with that mouthbreather broad brush.
We’re the 40% volunteering, organizing and voting straight democratic tickets every damned year with no local results.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 52
If you’re referring to me, I didn’t do that here. Politicians legitimately try to represent the people and companies of their states. I was just pointing out that Inhofe is the Senator from IN and not TX, where many of his traditional top contributors are/have been based. It is his responsibility to attempt to represent his own constituents in IN and not those paying his bills, no matter where they come from.
More from Inhofe:
I thought the greatest hoax ever played on the American people was the tissue of lies that took US soldiers to the Iraq War, a war that’s been costing taxpayers an average of $2 billion a week since March 2003, not to mention thousands of lives lost.
And then there’s this bit of - I’d say idiocy, but that’s an insult to honest idiots. (From TPM, italics mine.)
Constitutional scholar Tony Snow on ABC this morning:
The executive branch is under no compulsion to testify to Congress, because Congress in fact doesn’t have oversight ability. So what we’ve said is we’re going to reach out to you – we’ll give you every communication between the White House, the Justice Department, the Congress, anybody on the outside, any kind of communication that would indicate any kind of activity outside, and at the same time, we’ll make available to you any of the officiels you want to talk to …knowing full well that anything they said is still subject to legal scrutiny, and the members of Congress know that.
Woops.. I’m sorry. Inhofe is OK and not IN. Sorry.. for some reason I always thought he was from Indiana.
i would have been much more understanding if the bill had included funding for only 3 or 4 months… this just takes the conversation off the table until just before the 2008 elections… playing games with this is NOT ok in my book.
18 fracking months of funding. that is not what i supported dems to do.
dakine01 @ 13
It sure as heck was, wasn’t it!
selise @ 28:
I was too. I watched both the House & Senate hearings, and one thing that really stood out to me [in addition to Gore’s incredible knowledge & ability to speak about the issue — can anyone imagine the Chimp ever doing this] - was his doing the “best” of what politics used to be: trying to listen to and acknowledge the other side, and then attempting to find common ground.
One of the reasons I like both Gore and Edwards is that each has the “we’re all in this together” point of view, rather than the “me, me, me, mine, mine, mine [and SCREW YOU]” attitude that started with the greedy Republican years of Ronald Reagan and continues in full force today.
Gore really articulated again and again how we are all in this together, and how we could work together to get out of this horrible situation, attempting to balance many conflicting interests, if each will give a little and trust in each other’s good intentions.
What we get from the Republicans is their need to win at any cost and to screw everyone else.
What we get instead in Gore & Edwards is a “let’s work together.”
I’m old enough to remember both John & Bobby Kennedy, and I long for the return of that type of leadership.
Blub @ 58
Um - now I made my own dumb mistake this morning but — Imhofe represents Oklahoma, not Indiana.
Blub: Inhofe is the senator from OK, not IN.
And if the GOoPers think politicians should be living like Gandhi, using next-to-no electricity etc, let them be the first to do so. Otherwise, it’s just hot air coming out both ends.
Somewhat off-topic, but . . .
Recent developments involving House and Senate subpoenas raise the pressure on Scooter Libby. He can volunteer information which might reduce his sentence. If he remains silent, it may nonetheless become public, and soon. Being in jail rather than with your family is bad enough; being there for a pointless sacrifice is far worse.
Blub @ 58
I am not directing that comment to anyone. If I have an objection to something someone says and I want to voice that objection, I will name that individual. ;0)
What to make of this?? (sorry if already posted):
yahoo link
Constitutional scholar Tony Snow on ABC this morning:
Phony Blow wouldn’t know his ass from a hole im the ground. At least Scotty boy had a better handle on lying accurately.
looseheadprop @
40
Just got back from my walk. 35 minutes, have to build up to an hour (well, 5 hours a week anyway). Or else Marcy kicks my ass.
Mauimom @ 64
thank you for your insight on this… very nice way to put it.
Hey You @ 67
adding perjury counts by lying to Congress or contempt of Congress charges seems like a good way to get your sentence lengthened.
counterproductive.
Jane—
It would just be payback for the Chris thing.
P J Evans @ 60
This makes me feel like I’m walking through a field after a devastating ’snow storm’ and all i feel at the bottom of my boots is the soft mushy crap that the snow so nicely covered up.
Thanks Tony
Jane Hamsher @ 71
Jane, have you tried this? ;)
Ah.. just looked up Inhofe…
Apparently, the following is a classic quote from him, speaking about West Bank settlements:
“I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason: Because God said so. As I said a minute ago, look it up in the book of Genesis. It is right up there on the desk.”
That should, I think, all that needs to be said about this man.
T- @ 57
Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend or paint with a broad brush. I really DO wonder what folks who support these guys are thinking. I honor and appreciate your work; I’m just scratching my head to try to figure out the thinking of the “majority” in those states.
One of my good friends lives in AK and says that despite how bad Stevens is, many local folks appreciate the fact that he “brings home the bacon” and are just too selfish to vote against that.
Sorry again that my remark offended. I really am just trying to understand, as a path towards changing things if possible.
He didn’t quit, and the bridges in question remain unfunded and unbuilt. I’ve known Sen. Stevens for 34 years, and the letter I wrote to him last year criticizing him for some wild, uninformed statements at a conference of telecommunication executives, remains unanswered. I told him his speech was an embarrassment to all Alaskans, and that he should consider stepping down. It is the only letter I’ve ever written to him which wasn’t answered.
Here’s Froomkin!
Glenn from Canada @ 50
They’re going try to to swiftboat anyone we nominate. There’s no way we can judge in advance which of their attacks will be most successful, so unless there’s something that non-wingnuts would find convincing, it’s just not worth taking it into account when judging potential candidates. If you give in on one of these attacks the first time they roll it out, you’re just saving them the effort of flogging it, which they’ll then put into attacking another candidate. Better to spend our time strategizing how to shoot the attacks down.
I doubt there’s anyone other than hardcore wingnuts who would be convinced not to vote for him by “Gore is a hypocrite about global warming because he doesn’t live in an unheated cave!” Anyone with a grain of sense and without a partisan axe to grind understands that the man is a friggin’ former Vice President, of course he lives in a big house, and he’s fighting a global problem, so of course it requires world travel.
Blub @ 77
I happen to believe in the Bible. God did say that He gave that land to the Israelites.
But, later in the OT He took it away because of the sins of the Israelites. The real question is whether he intended for them to have it back now? Should we interfere?
tbsa @ 70
From Congressional Oversight Manual published by the Congressional Research Service (page 6):
Eastland v. United States Servicemen’s Fund, 421 U.S. 491, 509 (1975):
Expanding on its holding in McGrain, the Court declared, “To be a valid legislative inquiry
there need be no predictable end result.”
{{{{Mauimom}}}}
It’s also refreshing to see that Inhofe has other concerns besides the environment and environmentalists and nazism:
annx @ 46
Guess it’s hard for the Rethugs to admit that Dems like John and Elizabeth don’t “cut and run” when the going gets tough. ;-)
Inhofe was suffering from gavel envy I suppose.
Tony Snow on ABC TV this morning:
“The executive branch is under no compulsion to testify to Congress, because Congress in fact doesn’t have oversight ability.”
That probably did not come out the way Tony intended, but it speaks volumes about what this administration is trying to do: basically, get rid of Congress. Or at the very least, make Congress irrelevant by replacing it with the rubber stamp variety.
This administration understands only power. It has no interest in governing.
Remember:
“If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.”
~George W. Bush
Jwoods @ 82
I’m a Christian too, but I think the more fundamental issue here is that this man actually believes that explicitly theocracy should be the guiding force of US foreign policy in the middle east. This goes far beyond the “morality” arguments usually made by fundies, social conservatives and fringe ideologues. Even the evangelicals, as opposed to the fundies, would disavow Inhofe’s bigotry here.
I’ve seen a reference today to a Supreme Court case from the late 1920s that very specifically addressed congressional oversight of the executive branch, but can’t find out what case that was. Yet.
Mauimom,
No offense taken.
Just hitting the steam valve on the pressure that builds when we’re not able to educate the knuckledraggers wandering around down here occaisionally bumping into each other and mumbling inconsequential bullshit every once in awhile.
P J Evans @ 60
Tony Snow is an obstreperous, obsequious lapdog.
I really want the J.O. blowhards to just shut their piehole when they are spewing their excrement about “unprecendented” requests from Congress.
Sitting Presidents and VP’s who’ve testified before Congress [PDF File]
The rest of the disclosed Justice Department documents do not provide evidence of whether the President was involved in those discussions. But since only two e-mails delivered to Congress were dated in the period between mid-November and December 4, it is believed that there may yet exist undisclosed e-mails from that period which provide answers.
“The e-mail exchange is particularly relevant to Bush’s case because the Supreme Court has provided only limited protection for executive privilege,” according to The Hill. “It acknowledges the need to protect communications between high-ranking government officials and those who advise and assist them, but it has also ruled that the public interest can outweigh that need in ‘non-military’ and ‘non-diplomatic’ discussions. Critics of the U.S. attorney firings argue that Bush’s case for executive privilege would be significantly weaker if his aides never discussed the plan for the firings with him.”
(from Raw Story–good analysis of issue that may be important with regard to the scadal de jour.)
I understand Inhofe is very beatable but the Democrats are having a hard time finding a good candidate.
The Republicans might likely leave Edwards alone regarding the decision to keep running for president. But look out if Edwards starts pulling away from the pack. The GOP will show no mercy. As usual.
Ed*ard Teller @90.
This one?
McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135, 177, and 181-182 (1927):
Congress, investigating the administration of the Department of Justice during the Teapot Dome scandal, was considering a subject “on which legislation could be had or would be materially aided by the information which the investigation was calculated to elicit.” The “potential” for legislation was sufficient. The majority added, “We are of [the] opinion that the power of inquiry — with the process to enforce it — is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function.”
Thank you, Jane. I live in Tulsa and Inhofe is a huge embarrassment to our state. For the record, we have a lot of committed, active people in the sustainability movement in Oklahoma, and the late Carrie Dickerson, an amazing woman, started and led the opposition to a nuclear plant in northeastern Oklahoma. She mortgaged her farm and spent her savings, but she stopped the utility company. Talk about a David and Goliath story. She was an inspiration.
katherine graham cracker @ 94
isnt there a dead guy they can find? it worked before.
So Bush could lose the executive privelige debate if he claims that no one ever told him about this mess- but if he admits he knew about it- he’s sucked into the scandal..
Now there’s a find kettle of fish for President Lame Brain!!
TiredFed @ 32
quite the treasure trove
selise @ 72
That is part of why I wish Gore would get into the race, and why Edwards is my favorite so far (though not quite enough to get me working for him yet.) Someone (perhaps Swopa or Jerome Armstrong, I wish I could remember) many months ago advised ignoring all the jockeying and horserace and “electability” chaff and looking for a candidate who inspires you. Because an inspiring candidate makes people want to overlook the attacks and the smears, and an uninspiring candidate, whose supporters are there because they think s/he can win, rather than because they thing s/he’s the best one for the job, is far more vulnerable to nagging suspicions of “well, maybe there’s something to it…”
I want someone who’s willing to say not just that the policies of the past six years (or the past ten years) must be changed, but that all of how we’ve been told to think about government and society for the past twenty-five years has been wrong, and it’s time to put things right. “We’re all in this together” is a great way to start.
Fox News features grovel-to-grovel coverage of all things Rethuglican.
Dem wins senate race in Oklahoma? That’d be welcome news. Could Utah be far behind?
I’m of the mind that until we have public financing of campaigns, we’ll never solve our problems. Inhofe is Exhibit A.
Yesterday, Durbin & Specter introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, and there’s a counterpart in the house.
More info available at the following:
DKos diary by Adam B
Public Campaign website (info & online petition)
MoveOn Political Action also doing a petition
Emma @ 97
;0)
If any pundit or blogger wants to say that the left blogs are filled with hate,profanity ,etc like they have been saying the last year or so, one only has to go to the politico.com blog post on ben smiths apology on getting the Edwards story wrong.
The comments on that post are vile, sickening,putrid.
And the Politico is supposed to be a major new blo