Day: March 7, 2006

Next Texas Governor Might Hold a Grudge Against DeLay

Trish

Texas politics is so interesting, it’s easy to see why George W. Bush hopped a taxpayer-funded plane home to vote today. Consider the governor’s race.

Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell appears to have easily won the Democratic primary. Were Bell to take the governor’s mansion this fall, it would be a particularly sweet victory, since he was knocked from office after only one term by Tom DeLay’s nefarious redistricting scheme, currently up for review by the Supreme Court.

If Bell does win, he’ll have to face these challengers:

  • Republican Gov. Rick Perry, long rumored to be involved in extramarital affairs with people of both genders, and signer of the state’s Defense of Marriage Act.
  • Carole Keeton Strayhorn, better known as White House Spokestool Scott McClellan’s mom. Yes, she’s had more husbands than just Scottie’s dad, but then, that’s why we need to defend marriage. She’s running not as a Republican, but as an Independent.
  • A Libertarian named James Werner out of Austin.
  • Our favorite perennial candidate: Kinky Friedman, former rock star and very bad mystery writer. Friedman, for the younger PR readers out there, once toured the country with Bob Dylan and a band called the Texas Jewboys, which had a hit, “Asshole from El Paso.”

Kinky brings up another interesting Texas political fact. When Gov. Perry signed a bill banning same-sex marriage in 2005, he invited religious leaders for a photo op, including a “rabbi” of the Jews for Jesus variety as the representative for real Jews. He was later forced to apologize.

The day might not be far off when he’ll have to do more than say he’s sorry — he might have to pack his bag and get on down the road.

Tweety Says He Can See Boehner’s ‘Greatness’

Jon Ponder

Chris Matthews is cable TV’s Lady MacBeth. We constantly see him obssessively trying to wash his hands clean of stains that won’t go away — that he was a staffer for the late House Speaker and Democratic Party legend Tip O’Neill and a speech writer for President Jimmy Carter. In other words: he was a Democrat.

On Monday, the new House Majority leader John Boehner, a perpetually tanned, nicotine-addicted Republican Party hack from Ohio, on his show. Boehner, who is probably best known for handing out bribes on the House floor, may be a lot of things but I think even he would admit that “great” is not one of them:

MATTHEWS: Is [Hillary] a socialist?

BOEHNER: Uh, no. I’ve worked with her on a number of issues —

MATTHEWS: Well, on the issue of health care, is she a socialist?

BOEHNER: She would be to the left of most people I know.

MATTHEWS: But not a socialist?

BOEHNER: I wouldn’t go that far.

MATTHEWS: You wouldn’t go that far? What stops you?

BOEHNER: I don’t like labeling of people.

MATTHEWS: You call her a liberal. You called it Hillarycare.

BOEHNER: I don’t want to call her a socialist.

MATTHEWS: Could she carry Ohio in the general?

BOEHNER: I don’t think so.

MATTHEWS: Who could beat her?

BOEHNER: Anybody.

MATTHEWS: Anybody. Strong words. We’ll be right back with House Majority Leader John Boehner. You can see this man’s greatness.

World Is on Fire, So Republicans Must Pass Flag Protection Amendment

Jon Ponder
If things were going well, would they really need two wedge issues?

With Iraq on the verge of civil war, the Veep rattling his chains at Iran, half of New Orleans sitting in rotting debris, our healthcare system collapsing and Antarctica melting, the Republicans who run Congress have just announced plans to bring the “Flag Protection Amendment” to a vote this summer.

It is the second wedge issue campaign they have announced for the election season. Earlier, we learned they will vote on the gay marriage amendment this summer as well.

If things were going well, would they really need two wedge issues?

Here is the email from Dr. Frist, which was forwarded to me by an unnamed source:

[…]

Negroponte Lives Large, Shows DC Fatcats How to Kick It, GOP Style

Jon Ponder

Great work if you can get it:

On many a workday lunchtime, the nominal boss of U.S. intelligence, John D. Negroponte, can be found at a private club in downtown Washington, getting a massage, taking a swim, and having lunch, followed by a good cigar and a perusal of the daily papers in the club’s library.

“He spends three hours there [every] Monday through Friday,” gripes a senior counterterrorism official, noting that the former ambassador has a security detail sitting outside all that time in chase cars. Others say they’ve seen the Director of National Intelligence at the University Club, a 100-year-old mansion-like redoubt of dark oak panels and high ceilings a few blocks from the White House, only “several” times a week.

Surely Negroponte needs a comfort zone, forced as he is to spends hours in the witness chair in front of congressional committees, fielding hot potatoes on subjects over which he has no control — the NSA’s warrantless surveillance, domestic spying by secret military intelligence units, paying newspapers in Iraq to run pro-U.S. stories.

Of course, John Negroponte has paid his dues in Republican politics — but more importantly, he knows where the bodies are buried. Literally.

Flashback to the Reagan era when Negroponte was the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras and a key player in the wars in Central America:

Records… show that a special intelligence unit (commonly referred to as a “death squad”) of the Honduran armed forces, Battalion 3-16, trained by the CIA and the Argentine 601st Intelligence Battalion and Army Intelligence Service, kidnapped, tortured and killed hundreds of people, including U.S. missionaries. Critics charge that Negroponte knew about these human rights violations and yet continued to collaborate with the Honduran military while lying to Congress.

Bush’s Iraq Ambassador Admits Iraq War Has Opened ‘Pandora’s Box’

Jon Ponder

Bush’s Folly Could Spread War to Wider Region

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told the Los Angeles Times that by invading Iraq, the United States has laid the way to a regional sectarian war between Sunni and Shiite Musliims in the Middle East:

“We have opened the Pandora’s box and the question is, what is the way forward? The way forward, in my view, is an effort to build bridges across [Iraq’s] communities.”

Khalilzad argues that the United States must stay the course in Iraq, no matter how bleak things become.The other option, pulling out of Iraq, would result in a disaster similar to U.S. disengagemeent in the past from civil wars in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Somalia.

In other words, we broke it, so we bought it.

Ohio Senate Candidate Backs Death Penalty for Gays

Jon Ponder

Pam writes:

Gee, what a sunny, subtle stumping campaign this will be in the Buckeye State! Self-described “Biblicist” Merrill Keiser, Jr. of Fremont, Ohio, will be running the Democratic primary against Rep. Sherrod Brown.

Keiser told a local television station that homosexuality should be a felony, punishable by death. “Just like we have laws against murder, we have laws against stealing, we have laws against taking drugs — we should have laws against immoral conduct,” Keiser said.

While Texans Vote His Fate, DeLay Hits on Lobbyists

Trish

Texans could vote to end the reign of Tom DeLay today. Let’s all send good vibes their way.

How is DeLay spending what could be the day that ends his reign? Like all the others: trying to get more money from lobbyists

Meanwhile, how is Tom spending this day? Pretty much like all his other days in office: trying to get more money from lobbyists.

DeLay, a Houston-area Republican, faces three opponents in the Republican primary.

It’s his first election since being forced out of his job as House majority leader amid corruption and campaign finance scandals…

DeLay won’t be campaigning Tuesday, a spokeswoman said he’ll be casting votes. He’ll also be attending a Washington fundraiser being held by lobbyists.