After flirting with candidates who used “Barack the Magic Negro” CDs as part of their campaign, and others who belonged to whites-only country clubs, the RNC settles on Michael Steele as the new face of the Republican Party
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/steele-wins-rnc-chairmanship.php
Meet the new chairman of the Republican National Committee: Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele . . .
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[Josh Marshall] Reminds me of the good old days in 2006 when Steele's senate campaign rolled out signs to fool people into thinking he was a Democrat. . . .
“Falling upward” http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/01/30/steele/index.html
[Alex Koppelman] At first glance, this appears to be the kind of step forward that the Republican Party needs to be successful in the years ahead. . . .
On other fronts, though, Steele's a questionable choice. He hasn't displayed a ton of political acumen -- he's won elected office only once, and he didn't head that ticket. He lost the aforementioned Senate race, and, before that, couldn't even win a GOP primary for state comptroller; he placed third, in fact. His tenure as head of the Maryland party wasn't brilliant, either, and he repeatedly had trouble recruiting candidates. (In his defense, it's not easy to be a Republican in the state.) Along the way, he's made some serious missteps: He got in trouble in 2006 for making some unguarded remarks disparaging then-President Bush to a group of reporters. His name was supposed to be kept off the comments, but when it quickly became obvious who was responsible, Steele tried to lie his way out of the gaffe. Also in 2006, he attracted unwanted attention when, speaking before a Jewish group, he compared stem cell research to medical tests that the Nazis conducted on prisoners during the Holocaust.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/30/164136/813/507/691063
[Steele, 2006] Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele profusely apologized yesterday for comments linking stem cell research to Nazi experimentation . . .
In an appearance Thursday before the Baltimore Jewish Council, Steele responded to a question about stem cell research by saying he was "cautious" about the idea of "tinkering around with life," and added:
"Look, you of all folks know what happens when people decide they want to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool," Steele said . . .
More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2009/jan/30/republicans-michael-steele
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2009/jan/30/republicans-gop-chair
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/republicans_cheer_for_chairman.php
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/30/15465/3705/532/691030
Don’t miss it: “Planet Black Guy” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28941230
A party in decline
http://www.newsweek.com/id/182137
[Michael Hirsh] As House Republicans defy President Obama over his stimulus package, the party seems to be reverting to form after decades of overreaching ambition and outsized growth; think of the GOP, perhaps, as the Citigroup of politics. Many Republicans seem resigned—even content—to go back to being the party of Barry Goldwater. In other words: We don't care if we're marginalized. In our hearts we know we're right. Never mind that the party suffered terrible defeats in 2008 and 2006, some thoughtful Republicans (mainly on the Senate side, like Lindsay Graham, as well as intellectuals such as David Frum) have been fretting for some time that the GOP base is getting too narrow. These days, you hear little talk of Karl Rove's bigger tent or reinventing conservatism. Quite the opposite: it seems as though the party has decided to go back to basics. The message they're sending: "We don't care if Obama won or that he's popular; let's just wait until the country sees the truth again, as old Barry did. Until then, we'll be happy to be the righteous minority again, proudly willing to go down in flames for our beliefs: government spending never works, and tax cuts always do. Keynesian stimulus is for liberal witch doctors." . . .
http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/30/boehner-to-gop-less-work-more-talk/
[House Republican leader] Boehner reminded Republicans that they are no longer in the business of legislating and should focus almost solely on communicating their message with voters.
"We are in the communications business,” Boehner told the crowd during his opening remarks. “We can build a new Republican majority one issue at a time." . . . [read on]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012903445.html
[Eugene Robinson] Watching the House Republicans vote unanimously against President Obama's economic stimulus package, I thought of Ronald Reagan, the air traffic controllers and the potential consequences for those who fail to recognize that one political era has given way to the next. . . .
More: http://www.americablog.com/2009/01/house-republicans-delighted-and-elated.html
House Republicans "delighted" and "elated" and "celebrating" over their zero votes to save the economy . . .
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18204.html
The assembled Republicans rose in a standing ovation Thursday night when Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio showed them a C-SPAN video of the vote itself, according to people present. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) told the group that Wednesday’s vote reminded him of a roll call in 1993, when Republicans forced Democrats to pass a tax increase without a single GOP vote. And conservative Arizona Rep. John B. Shadegg offered a toast to many of his more moderate Republican colleagues who opposed the legislation. . . .
Their cheerleader
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/29/mcconnell-warns-of-grim-gop-future/
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell painted a downright dismal view of the state of his party Thursday afternoon, telling Republican National Committee members the GOP is in grave danger of being marginalized to a regional party.
"We’re all concerned about the fact that the very wealthy and the very poor, the most and least educated, and a majority of minority voters, seem to have more or less stopped paying attention to us," the Kentucky Republican said . . .
More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/incoherence-by-digby-republican-hack.html
Rush Limbaugh is the Reverend Wright of the Republican Party – it’s time to wrap him around their neck and ask constantly whether they endorse or repudiate his racist and inflammatory comments
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_en_ot/limbaugh_vs_obama
For all the talk of new politics and a new start with a new administration, the media person who has emerged as the chief voice of opposition during the first week of Barack Obama's presidency — Rush Limbaugh — has been doing this for 20 years.
The talk-radio titan said, days before Obama was sworn in, that he hoped Obama failed because he didn't believe in the incoming president's policies.
It's kept him in the headlines ever since, to the point where MSNBC on Thursday asked: "Is Rush running the GOP?" The day before, every Republican House member voted against Obama's economic stimulus plan, a bill Limbaugh has ridiculed as the "porkulus" plan.
"Obama was trying to marginalize me," Limbaugh said. "His hope was that the House and Senate Republicans would join him in denouncing me. Didn't work."
When Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Georgia Republican, tried to praise his House leadership this week by saying it's easy for talk-show hosts to stand back and throw bricks, the headline on the Politico Web site read: "House GOP member to Rush: Back off." Gingrey was so bothered by the phone calls of complaints that he visited four conservative talk-show hosts, including Limbaugh, the next day to apologize. . . .
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/labor-groups-radio-ad-hits-gop-leader-rush-limbaugh.php
Americans United For Change, the labor-backed political group that is currently campaigning for President Obama's stimulus package, has a new round of radio ads tying the GOP to Barack Obama's most vocal critic at this point: Rush Limbaugh, who is taking on the role of the true Leader of the Opposition . . .
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/01/john_mccain_dittohead.php
[Matt Yglesias] That Rush Limbaugh is loathesome can, I think, be taken for granted. But as we’ve been having occasion to note recently, to a really striking extent conservative politicians everywhere are taking their marching orders on policy and legislative strategy from a boorish and occasionally drug-addled talk radio host. Even John McCain, who a lot of people thought would go back to his maverick schtick of 2001-2003 vintage after losing the election, is standing firmly behind Rush:
I don’t know why he would do that. Mr. Limbaugh is a voice of a significant portion of our conservative movement in America. He has a very wide viewing audience. He is entitled to his views, and he has a lot of people who listen very carefully to him. I don’t know why that the President would take him on. He’s part of the political landscape, and he plays a role.
On the upcoming Senate stimulus bill vote – the lay of the land
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/previewing-the-senate-stimulus-debate-do-they-have-the-votes.php
One possible X factor arising today is the sideline maneuvering of Sen. Ben "Gang of 14" Nelson [D-NE]. He's staying true to form by trying to build a bipartisan coalition of senators to support major changes to the House bill. . . .
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11247
Nelson even is willing to remove popular Pell Grant increases, saving them for annual spending bills later in the year. . . .
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11243
New York Senator Charles Schumer indicated that he would push for increased rail and mass transit spending in the stimulus. . . . Also of note, Senators Patty Murray, Diane Feinstein and Ben Nelson are apparently crafting another amendment that will increase infrastructure spending in the stimulus . . .
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11246
Another declaration from the inner halls of the kleptocracy, this one from Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND). He represents North Dakota not Wall Street - and yet is threatening to vote against the stimulus bill because it doesn't give away more money to Wall Street. . . .
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/30/224541/155/230/690315
[Saxby Chambliss, R-GA] If we truly want to stimulate the economy, there's no better place to do that than defense spending. . . .
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/30/20224/2014/446/691132
[Reuters] Former presidential rival John McCain expressed disappointment on Friday that President Barack Obama has not negotiated with Republicans over a huge economic stimulus plan and said he is working on an alternative package. . . .
More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/clockwork-by-digby-its-clear-blue-dogs.html
Army suicides
http://www.propublica.org/article/as-army-suicides-mount-officials-promise-again-to-address-it#7740
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that the rate of soldiers committing suicides increased last year to the highest level in thirty years. As today’s New York Times reports, the number of suicides among soldiers has now increased for the fourth year in a row . . .
Former NSA official lays out the details of illegal wiretapping. The media response? [Crickets]
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/01/30/why-the-silence-on-tices-revelations/
Before leaving office, Bush ordered Karl Rove not to testify
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/01/30/bush_still_trying_to_keep_rove_quiet.html
Just four days before leaving office, Newsweek reports that President Bush "instructed former White House aide Karl Rove to refuse to cooperate with future congressional inquiries into alleged misconduct during his administration."
A letter to Rove's lawyer said that Rove "should not appear before Congress" or turn over any documents relating to his time in the White House because Bush "was continuing to assert executive privilege over any testimony by Rove -- even after he leaves office." . . .
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/clinton_lawyer_on_bushs_exec_privilege_claim_there.php
Neil Eggleston, who specialized in executive privilege issues for President Clinton's White House . . . told TPMmuckraker that, since President Obama has already issued an executive order that appears to take the view that a former president can't assert executive privilege, he's unlikely to back Bush's claim. And assuming things then wind up in court, Eggleston said he'd be very surprised if a court sided with Bush, ruling that executive privilege can be asserted retroactively.
More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/newsweek_obtains_letter_from_bush_lawyer_asserting.php
Congress delays subpoena deadline: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/buying_obama_time_congress_delays_rove_subpoena_de.php
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/01/30/rove-deadline-delayed/
[Emptywheel] I think this is a good thing. . . . [read on]
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http://thinkprogress.org/the-architects-where-are-they-now/
[Richard Perle, September 22, 2003] “And a year from now, I’ll be very surprised if there is not some grand square in Baghdad that is named after President Bush. There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they’ve been liberated. And it is getting easier every day for Iraqis to express that sense of liberation.”
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/richard-perle-was-right-by-dday-george.html
Richard Perle was right . . .
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