Month: June 2011

Weiner’s Odd Behavior Explained

Buck Banks

Sending a picture of himself in his underwear to an adult is not a crime. Lying about it to federal investigators is. Which could be why he prefers to hire a private firm rather than letting the U.S. Capitol Police or FBI agents do their job.

— Politico’s Roger Simon, suggesting “it could be perilous” for Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) to ask the FBI to investigate the alleged “hacking” of his Twitter account.

Erratic Behavior Is Palin’s Achilles’ Heel

Buck Banks

Palin’s greatest vulnerability is the impression that she’s erratic. A well-orchestrated campaign like the one that Karl Rove rolled out for Bush ahead of the 2000 primaries could have mollified some skeptics. Like Palin, Bush was regarded as callow and not quite up to the job. Those doubts mostly vanished after a carefully arranged regimen of policy conferences, thematic speeches, and personal appeals to major GOP donors. By contrast, Palin’s support among Republicans has declined steadily since the last election. As her bus zigzags between national landmarks, trailed by an army of reporters mystified about her plans and intentions, she seems more erratic than ever.

— Josh Green, writing in the Atlantic.

Florida Lawmaker Questions Governor’s Assault on Free Speech

Buck Banks

art-assault-floridaPart of the series, Assault on Florida.

At Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s budget-signing event last Thursday, a handful of Democratic protesters were prevented from attending by sheriff’s deputies at the direction of Scott staffers. Today, Democratic state Rep. Mark Pafford of Lake Worth sent Scott a letter asking for answers:

Dear Governor Scott:

Following the state budget signing ceremony on Thursday, May 26, I have been asked numerous times if the event crossed any lines relating to the Florida Constitution, the Sunshine Law or other Florida statutes.

Reports from the press, media and at least one video aired on YouTube suggest that Sheriff’s deputies removed selected attendees from the ceremony, possibly at the request of the Governor’s Office. Those same sources, and my interpretation of the reports and video, indicate that those removed were participants who did not support the budget or who were wearing shirts or holding signs indicating their objection to your administration.

Florida Statute 119.07 permits the request of public records that may assist in resolving the numerous questions that have arisen as a result of the ceremony. Rather that invoking 119.07, I am requesting that your office simply respond to some specific questions related to the event, and resolve the matter.

Respectfully, I request responses to the following questions:

[…]

Most Americans Describe GOP Candidate Field Negatively

Buck Banks

12%

Of Americans view the Republican Party’s field of presidential hopefuls positively in one-word impressions, while 44% gave negative ones and 19% gave neutral ones, according to a new Pew Research/Washington Post poll. Even among Republicans and Republican leaners, 37% said negative things, while just 22% said positive things and 18% said neutral things. Most used negative words were “unimpressed” (42 mentions), “disappointed” and “weak” (21 each), “incompetent” (17) and “pathetic” (16). The only positive word that got more than 10 mentions was “good,” with 18.

Majority of Americans Oppose Ryan Budget Plan

Buck Banks

58%

Of Americans oppose Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Medicare overhaul proposal, while just 35% support it, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll. Additionally, 74% of seniors oppose it even though it would apply only to those currently younger than 55, “suggesting that seniors are most worried about changes to Medicare even if those changes are presented as ones that would not affect existing Medicare recipients.” Key finding: 54% of conservatives also oppose the plan, while Republicans are split, with 50% opposing and 48% supporting.