Month: November 2005

The Mood in California One Day before the Special Election

Jon Ponder

Make him go away: When Arnold Schwarzenegger entered politics he cast himself as a latter day Ronald Reagan, the actor turned politician who went from governor of California to president of the United States. The flaw in this scenario is that while Arnold may be Reagan’s intellectual equal, he lacks even one-tenth of Ronnie’s political instincts.

California has a high concentration of media-savvy voters, and one gripe pollsters often hear is that Arnold’s stage managed “fake news” events have worn well past thin.

A closer model for the Schwarzenegger governorship would be the Jesse Ventura administration in Minnesota. The former wrestler won the governorship in an upset, only to watch his popularity among voters decline until it all but ceased to exist.

A poll published last week showed that Schwarzenegger’s approval rating is 33 percent (which is three percentage points lower than President Bush). The remnants of Arnold’s credibility hang on the election tomorrow. But even if all four of his initiatives were to win, all it would buy him is another chance to win back a few Independents – the rest of us are lost to him forever.

It is also very unlikely to happen:

Schwarzenegger is backing four out of eight initiatives on the ballot Tuesday in a state that since 1911 has used initiatives as an end-run around its legislature. If approved, the measures would give Schwarzenegger an enormous boost, granting him the power to cut the state’s budget unilaterally and hobbling his biggest foe, organized labor.

But three recent polls, by the Public Policy Institute of California, the Field Research Corporation and the Los Angeles Times, seem to suggest that the governor is headed for a political Judgment Day. Of the four ballot measures Schwarzenegger is backing, only one — [Proposition 74, which seeks to micromanage teacher tenure,] is the weakest in terms of policy consequences — seems primed to pass, according to the polls.

Among those trailing is a measure that would strip the authority from the Democratic-controlled legislature to draw lines for legislative and congressional districts, and shift it to a panel of retired judges…

In California, Democratic Party and union activists — who have outspent Schwarzenegger by tens of millions of dollars in the campaign to defeat his measures — are almost giddy when discussing Tuesday’s vote. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” quipped Gale Kaufman, one of the lead strategists. And then she cackled loudly.

It may be too soon for giddiness – and if just one of the propositions passes we should be prepared for Arnold to take a victory lap around the state.

Not that it will help him much. California has a high concentration of media-savvy voters, and one gripe pollsters hear from them is that Schwarzenegger’s stage managed “fake news” events have worn well past thin.

Reagan, as dim as he was, had a true trouper’s sense of when to reign in the schmaltz. Schwarzenegger cut his teeth as a body builder, which is entertainment mostly played out in front of a mirror. His connection with the public is all show and no heart. He can’t stop preening and flexing his muscles even after the crowd has moved on.

IRS Targets Liberal Church over Antiwar Sermon

Jon Ponder

A whiff of fascism: In an era when the IRS looks the other way as Republican operatives hand out voter guides at services held in rightwing Christian megachurches, it is shocking to read that the IRS is targetting the taxt-exempt status of a liberal church over a single, apparently benign sermon last year:

The IRS cited a description of the sermon as a “searing indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq” and that it described “tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus.”

The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California’s largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.

Rector J. Edwin Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena told many congregants during morning services Sunday that a guest sermon by the church’s former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, on Oct. 31, 2004, had prompted a letter from the IRS.

In his sermon, Regas, who from the pulpit opposed both the Vietnam War and 1991’s Gulf War, imagined Jesus participating in a political debate with then-candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry. Regas said that “good people of profound faith” could vote for either man, and did not tell parishioners whom to support.

But he criticized the war in Iraq, saying that Jesus would have told Bush, “Mr. President, your doctrine of preemptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster.”

On June 9, the church received a letter from the IRS stating that “a reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church … ” The federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from intervening in political campaigns and elections.

The letter went on to say that “our concerns are based on a Nov. 1, 2004, newspaper article in the Los Angeles Times and a sermon presented at the All Saints Church discussed in the article.”

The IRS cited The Times story’s description of the sermon as a “searing indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq” and noted that the sermon described “tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus.”

Fans of HBO’s “Six Feet Under” will note that this is the gay-friendly church that David Fisher attended.

Sierra Club’s Top 10 List for Congress

Trish

The Sierra Club is appalled at the Pombo bill, which will allow oil drilling in both the Arctic and the Florida coast, and which will likely pass. The time is now to contact your representatives and sign the petition.

If the Republican leadership is so eager to please an oil industry that is squeezing Americans dry at the gas pump, we wondered what else we might find in the Budget Reconciliation Bill besides the keys to our most treasured natural areas. We wonder if any of these other favors for oil companies might be hidden in the bill:

1. Free massages and mud masks at the Congressional spa.
2. Golf trip to Scotland with Tom DeLay.
3. Year’s supply of caribou jerky.
4. Open contract with Haliburton for dry cleaning services.
5. Stock tips from Senator Bill Frist.
6. Whale watching junket with Richard Pombo.
7. Limited-edition red, white and blue Hummers.
8. Coupons for a free “5 Wing Flappertizer” at Hooters.
9. Friendship bracelets for oil and gas lobbyists, hand woven by Vice President Cheney.
10. Naming rights for future hurricanes.

Summit Was a Disaster for Bush

Jon Ponder

Things were so bad that he left early :

President Bush left the country before the conclusion of a two-day summit here as key South American leaders rejected the White House’s vision for a free-trade zone that would stretch from the Arctic to the southern tip of South America.

Fierce opposition from the populist presidents of the continent’s three largest economies — Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela — thwarted the resuscitation of the so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA.

“There are two points of view on the continent,” said Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa, referring to the five dissenting nations, including Uruguay and Paraguay. The five nations account for more than half of the continent’s economic activity.

Senior administration officials immediately disputed the notion that the session was a failure for Bush, noting that 29 of the 34 participating nations favored the trade pact, and that the summit’s final document calls for further talks next year.

“Isn’t that in itself an important accomplishment?” one administration official said.

But coming amid lackluster poll numbers for the president back home, some observers called the talks’ collapse another disappointment for Bush.

California Props: Just Vote No

Jon Ponder

Uncomplicate it : “Just Vote No” appears to be the trend that is surging here in California as Tuesday’s vote in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s special election approaches. Of the eight propositions on the ballot, Schwarzenegger is only promoting four, but the election itself is widely unpopular, and there is a growing “pox on all your houses” sentiment among voters that may well lead to the defeat of all the measures.

One of the proponents of “Just Vote No” is state Treasurer Phil Angelides, one of two declared Democratic candidates for governor next year. (The other is state Controller Steve Westly.) Angelides, who has the lead in establishment endorsements, including that of the state’s most popular Dem, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, discussed the campaign on the air on Air America’s “Al Franken Show,” when Franken visited San Luis Obsipbo:

One audience member said the most enlightening part of the show was when Angelides compared Schwarzenegger’s propositions to the federal government.

“It was clear through the discussion how the governor is extending the Bush agenda,” said David Drake, a San Luis Obispo resident and former Cal Poly graduate student.

During his talk with Franken, Angelides said that although Schwarzenegger campaigned as a moderate, he is pushing Bush’s agenda in California.

Angelides compared Proposition 74 — which would lengthen teachers’ probationary time and make it easier to fire them — to the No Child Left Behind Act.

He said those laws front as education reforms but don’t help improve schools.

Proposition 75 — which bars government-employee unions from spending members’ dues for political purposes — weakens working people’s say in government, Angelides said.

He noted it would allow big businesses to continue giving large contributions to politicians.

What Did Bush Know About the Campaign to Smear Joe Wilson – And When Did He Know It?

Jon Ponder

Tacit approval? In case you’re just tuning in: The syndicated column in which Robert Novak outed secret agent Valerie Plame was published in July 2003, but the investigation into whether Novak’s treasonous-ish “reporting” was, in fact, flacking for the White House did not begin until two months later. This gave Team Bush eight weeks or so to shred documents, delete emails and get its story together.

Two years and two months later, just about all that remains on the record about President Bush’s participation in the alleged cover-up comes down to this:

In the hours before the Justice Department informed the White House in late September 2003 that it would investigate the leak of a covert C.I.A. officer’s identity, Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, gave reporters what turned out to be a rare glimpse into President Bush’s knowledge of the case.

Mr. Bush, he said, “knows” that Karl Rove, his senior adviser, had not been the source of the leak. Pressed on how Mr. Bush was certain, Mr. McClellan said he was “not going to get into conversations that the president has with advisers,” but made no effort to erase the impression that Mr. Rove had assured Mr. Bush that he had not been involved.

Since then, administration officials and Mr. Bush himself have carefully avoided disclosing anything about any involvement the president may have had in the events surrounding the disclosure of the officer’s identity or anything about what his aides may have told them about their roles. Citing the continuing investigation and now the pending trial of [Scooter Libby], they have declined to comment on almost any aspect of the case.

The issue now for the White House is how long it can go on deflecting the inquiries and trying to keep the focus away from Mr. Bush.

California Under Assault from Banana Republicans

Jon Ponder

Steve Lopez:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted we had to have this special election next week. Despite a huge budget deficit, it couldn’t wait until next year, which would have saved millions. It had to be now, because his “reforms” were too vital to delay another minute.

So the governor got his way, ramming the election down our throats. And now what does he want? He wants most of us to stay home next Tuesday.

That’s right, he’d like us to skip the election he called for. Why? Because Big Boy knows the polls say that three of his four reforms are tanking and a fourth is a tossup, so his best chance of winning is to rally conservatives in a state with a vast Democratic majority. Prop. 73 could help his cause, since the parental notification proposal “defines abortion as causing the death of the unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born.”

You’ve heard of democracy run amok? This would be direct democracy run amok, and if Schwarzenegger prevails, I believe California would officially become a banana republic.

[…]

Bush Condemned Property Via Eminent Domain to Build Rangers Stadium – And Made $14 Million Off the Deal

Jon Ponder

Governing elite: The recent Supreme Court decision that allows local governments to use eminent domain to evict property owners in order to use their property for private development set off a howl on the Right.

“It was the first time in Texas history that the power of eminent domain has been used to assist a private organization like a baseball team.”

To counter the ruling, Republicans in Congress are working on legislation that would cut off all federal funding to local governments who use eminent domain to evict property owners.

The president may have a hard time keeping a straight face when he signs the bill, however. In his past life as a baseball team owner, Mr. Bush profited from exactly this sort of eminent domain eviction – to the tune of $14.3 million.

The story was first rerported by Texas reporter Robert Brice in May 1997, late in Bush’s first term as governor of Texas:

[…]

Rep. Rohrabacher Accused of Profiting from $5 Million Swindle – OC Church Members Were Defrauded

Jon Ponder

Gnarly: Orange County Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has been accused by the Los Angles Times of taking money from Southern California movie producer Joseph Medawar, in exchange for entré in the Capitol.

You’re right, Congressman. Only outside meddling by federal investigators could have prodded the corrupt Republicans who run the Congress into investigating one of their own.

Medawar portrayed himself as one of a rare breed: a producer of conservative Christian-oriented films. He made a lot of noise in this small, eternally under-performing Hollywood subsector when he announced plans to launch a rightwing film and TV unit called Steeple Productions.

One of Steeple’s first acquisitions was a $23,000 option on a screenplay written by Rohrabacher 30 years ago. Soon after signing with Medawar, the Orange County congressman introduced the producer to Washington bigwigs who might be helpful with another Steeple project in development – a television series about the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Unfortunately, Steeple Productions was a sham. A federal investigation found that Medawar defrauded Steeple’s investors – most of whom were members of Orange County churches – out $5.5 million in stock. He faces a 23-count indictment and life in prison.

You gotta love this quote from Dana:

“Frankly, had Medawar not had this meltdown and not been able to fulfill his obligations on his Homeland Security project, there would have been no question about this at all,” Rohrabacher said.

You’re right, Congressman. Only outside meddling by federal investigators could have prodded the corrupt Republicans who run the Congress into investigating one of their own.

More Republican Corruption – Public Broadcasting Chairman Ousted, Is a Friend of Karl Rove

Jon Ponder

More hot water for Rove: There’s a new outbreak of Republican corruption, and this time it’s not in the energy sector or the Pentagon, it’s at the top of the public broadcasting bureaucracy.

Is nothing sacred to these people?

According to the New York Times, Ken Tomlinson, who is a friend and philosophical fellow traveler of Karl Rove, was ousted on Friday from the board of directors of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. The termination was the result of an internal investigation into Tomlinson’s efforts to turn PBS and NPR into outlets of Fox News and, by extension, the Bush White House Communications Office.

Tomlinson was fired because of his efforts to turn PBS and NPR into outlets of Fox News and, by extension, the Bush White House.

In true Bush failing-upward style, Tomlinson will keep his other, even more powerful job. At least for now, he remains head of the Ministry of Propaganda, otherwise known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the government’s foreign broadcasting operations, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Martí, Radio Sawa and al-Hurra.

But Tomlinson is also in hot water at the BBG, where a separate, even more serious investigation has been looking into allegations he misused funds and hired unqualified cronies.

And here’s where it gets interesting: Investigators into the BBG allegations recently siezed Tomlinson’s email records and found a trove of messages back and forth between Kenny Boy II and his buddies at the White House, including Karl Rove. The contents of those emails could spell more trouble for the White House.