×
- In addition to the opposition to Dawn Johnsen on the grounds that she's pro-choice and anti-torture, the GOP has decided to stand its ground against David Hayes for the No. 2 spot at the Department of the Interior. Meanwhile, Tom Coburn managed to tack an amendment onto the credit-card reform bill which would reverse a federal judge's ruling banning concealed weapons in national parks. I'm rapidly losing confidence in the Senate's ability to function like anything resembling a legislative body, and to echo Matt Yglesias, the body's increasingly frequent role in grinding the nation's business down to a halt has serious policy implications for the future.
- It's nice to see Lindsey Graham essentially validate my long-held theory that large swaths of America quite simply lost their minds in the wake of 9/11. But he's on even less firm ground than most, given that this period of temporary insanity led to some regrettable -- though not illegal -- law-breaking. This sort of justification gets used by powerful committee chairs like Diane Feinstein to argue against forming independent torture commissions because they would be "explosive" in nature. Well, no shit, Senator. Is anyone claiming that going into the details about what our government did in the "war on terror" will be a pleasant experience?
- Speaking of torture, the latest explanation from The Philadelphia Inquirer for formally hiring John Yoo as a columnist: "There was a conscious effort on our part to counter some of the criticism of The Inquirer as being a knee-jerk liberal publication,” [editorial page editor Harold] Jackson said. “We made a conscious effort to add some conservative voices to our mix." It's amazing that the "liberal bias" threat still carries weight, but at least the Inquirer is providing a public service by letting its readers know that being pro-torture is a "conservative" policy position.
- Well, Tea Party 2.0 (now with 100 percent teleconferencing!) won't be as dramatic as the original astroturf/grass-roots hybrid effort. Still, it's interesting to see the ways in which the Republican Party is splitting into two camps: those who simply want to wield political power again and those who want ideological purity regardless of political relevance. (For more on the division, see: the Crist schism.) The Republican Governor's Association, which is sponsoring the teleconference, seems to think the party's future lies with the fringe right, while the NRSC just wants more Republicans in the Senate. Then there's the RNC, which really needs to get a grip on reality.
- Remainders: Video evidence that Arlen Specter's main constituency is himself; once-savior of the GOP George Allen shills for the energy industry; a Bush plant makes a headache for the OMB; and the culture wars unsurprisingly prove to be a weak issue set for the GOP comeback.
--Mori Dinauer
