Mini-report

September 25, 2006

Every day, there are tons of items that I’d like to do posts on, but I run out of time, or feel like they’re smaller stories that may not warrant a post of their own. I may not be able to do this every day, but here are some items that may be of interest.

* An aide to Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), who facing a tough re-election fight, pretended to be a liberal blogger on several in-state blogs. Real bloggers got suspicious after the aide kept making odd defenses of Bass, and downplaying polls showing Bass in trouble. They tracked his IP address to the House of Representative’s server. Bass’s office said the staffer would be “appropriately disciplined.”

* A judge has just ruled that Carl Romanelli, the Green Party candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate race, is off the ballot in the Pennsylvania Senate race. He did not acquire enough legitimate signatures to qualify.

* Salon ran an item quoting three former college football teammates of Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), all of whom say that the “Virginia Republican repeatedly used an inflammatory racial epithet and demonstrated racist attitudes toward blacks during the early 1970s.” Allen has denied it and as much as I hate to admit it, the claim is looking a little shaky.

* When Hugo Chavez compares Bush to the devil, John McCain is outraged. When Jerry Falwell compares Hillary Clinton to the devil, John McCain thinks it’s no big deal.

* Speaking of McCain, Anonymous Liberal had a really good post about McCain’s appearance on Face the Nation yesterday, and noted how McCain’s answers about torture more closely resembled “doublespeak” than “straight talk.”

* The Medicare “donut hole” is — surprise, surprise — a serious problem.

* Arlen Specter is saying the right things about detainees’ habeas corpus rights, but everyone, everywhere expects his concerns to be fleeting. They always are.

* It sure looks like Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas ) slandered a foreign sex slave at the behest of Jack Abramoff in 1997.

If none of these particular items are of interest, consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

The Solan article appears to be another fabrication.
http://www.allenhq.com/2006/09/25/webbs-dirty-tricksters-salon/

  • Nice to see all the “principles before politics” of the Green Party on display. Romanelli certainly learned everything he needed to know on how to shill for Republicans from Ralph Nader, didn’t he? Shills for Republicans or morons too stupid to “get it, that’s the membership of the Green Party.

  • Excellent idea, CB. Realizing how pressed for time you can be, I think a feature like this would be a great addition to the site.

    Michael W

  • Nice featue, CB. A word of unsolicited advice? Don’t let that barrier between working and not-working get chipped away. All work and no play as they say.

    As for McCain, I’d say everybody against toture raise your hands.

  • Re McCain’s “answers” about torture:
    I saw Bill Frist on TV Sunday. He also refused to tell which forms of torture would or would not be allowed. I thought his explanation was interesting — by specifically telling the terrorists which methods of torture might be used on them, they could practice and prepare themselves prior to capture in to nullify the effects of the torture! Is this something they have seriously considered in drafting this “legislation”?

    This is like some spy vs. spy cartoon in the old Mad comic books. Do people seriously believe that these guys are making us more safe?

  • McCain sold out again to Bushco. Bush got everything he wanted and McCain got to puff out his chest and say he won. What a bunch of bullshit. Can you say christians for torture?

  • Mr. Carpetbagger,

    Allen has denied it and as much as I hate to admit it, the claim is looking a little shaky.

    Because the Allen campaign has posted a rebuttal to this claim its now “looking a little shaky”? I think you are giving them too much credit. a bunch of testimonials from former atheletes isn’t exactly a great rebuttal. Of course, that’s about all he can do to rebut the claim; it truly is hard to prove a negative. However, his confederate flag fetish, combined with his obsession with nooses, the photos with the white supremecy group, *and* the macaca incident all work together to lend credence to the racist claim.

    Shaky or not, does it “feel” accurate? Would you be surprised if it were true? No. In all honesty, no.

  • Let’s remember just who Felix Macaca Allen is. This is the guy who, as Virginia’s governor in 1996, asked to have his picture taken with the leadership of the Council of Concerned Citizens. The CCC is the group descended from the White Citizens’ Councils of the 1960s, who tried to resist integration in the South.

    They didn’t ask him; HE asked THEM. Allen has always figured that bigotry was a political winner for him. That it increasingly looks like a liability is one of the few encouraging developments of a political year in which some folks have decided that “pro-torture” is a political winner.

    Given everything else we know about Allen–from the slavery flag fetish of his “rebellious youth,” to the noose in his law office 20 years ago, to the wink-and-nod anti-Semitism he flashed last week–to argue that this guy hasn’t at least flashed his figurative white sheet is simply absurd.

  • Re: The aide troll from Bass’ office.

    A poster on another blog I read claims to have been a Republican insider prior to the 2004 election. According to what he says there are cycbercells of College Republicans whose sole intent is to disrupt blogs and discussion boards on the other side of the political fence.

    Given the behavior of some of the trolls I’ve seen on other boards I think we’re starting to get confirmation of what I’ve suspected for quite some time. Most of these trolls are sanctioned in some manner from the higher ups and their sole intent is disruption of the boards.

  • “I am not certain what we should fear more, a street full of soldiers who are out to plunder, or a room full of writers who are used to lie.”– Samuel Johnson

    If you refuse to learn about termites, you’ll never understand why your barn is collapsing.

    Churchill once remarked, at the close of that war, “We killed the wrong pig.” ( Patton proposed that we take theremnants of the German Army and push the Soviets back beyond the Ural Mountains. Patton finally knew the score and conveniently had an ‘accidental’ death.) Many G.I.s., like Joe, came to realize that they fought under an umbrella of lies. Col. Lindbergh, after visiting Germany, also saw through the cloak of lies concerning Germany.) Feeling fully secure that they canagain use the American people for their evil purposes, one arm of Regime is again pumping out “hate Hitler” movies while calling it history. The masses of asses, too lazy to research it themselves, are content to believe that cheese and moon dust are the same thing because they saw it in TV, or found it on the internet.

    Have you ever wondered why, since the Nazi party died in 1945, we are still being deluged with anti-Nazi propaganda? Regime, and its minions, are living in fear that someday the American people just might wake up. What better a place for the demise of Regime then in the land which gave birth to it?


  • See the facts: http://www.RalphHallofShame.com
    Then come to our campaign site: http://www.MelanconForUSCongress.com
    Help us shove this corrupt old “sell-out” from Congress.

    How? Simple. $25
    Congressman Hall is sitting on about a half-million in contributions, and most of that from major corporate contributions, and we here at Melancon HQ have, well…let’s just say a good bit less than that! HELP please!

    We are doing the heavy lifting…our fists are bloodied already, taking the fight to Hall.

    We want him OUT! We are David against Goliath the Neocon.

    Democrats, free-thinkers of all persuations, we all talk (blog) a good game, get all puffed up, red-faced and spitin’ mad…but now it is time to strike!
    How? Simple. $25
    Another way? PRESS COVERAGE!

    We have Hall in the corner, pounding on him. Get our back! Help us!

    EVERYONE should want this guy OUT! His lack of morality affects the nation, the world. He is the poster-sleaze for everything wrong with this neocon Congress.

    This is a rallying call if there ever was one. Melancon is one of the good-guys…a fighter for people, not corporations. Sharp tongued, sharp witted. He will fight hard in Congress to take this government back for us, WE THE PEOPLE!
    Fighting for Texas Families

    David Marlett
    Campaign Manager
    Melancon for US Congress (TX-4th)
    david@glennmelancon2006.com

  • There is no freedom at all without the freedom of association.

    Who loves America? Everyone who wants to come in and take it.Who hates America? The U.S. government who is giving it away.

  • What is #13 withallourmight talking about? He thinks the Nazis were the good guys? In that case who were the bad guys?

  • Allen is in big trouble. This (from Ryan Lizza at TNR) sounds pretty credible to me…

    But now another former acquaintance of the senator’s has come forward, saying that Allen once used the word “nigger” in his presence in the early ’80s. Chris Taylor, a University of Alabama professor of anthropology, says the incident occurred in about 1981 or 1982, when Taylor (then a UVA graduate student) visited Allen (then a Virginia attorney just beginning his political career) at Allen’s cabin in Earlysville, Virginia.

    Taylor told his account of Allen’s use of the N-word in a private email to a UVA colleague last month. The email was recently obtained by The New Republic. Taylor confirmed the authenticity of the email and reluctantly agreed to speak on the record about the incident.

    And Larry Sabato is definitely the straw that will break Allen’s already overburdened camel’s back. He is burnt toast.

  • Arlen Specter is saying the right things about detainees’ habeas corpus rights, but everyone, everywhere expects his concerns to be fleeting. They always are.

    You’ve got it absolutely right… how many times has this pattern happened before?

    1. Bush puts out crazy bill
    2. Specter attacks bill
    3. Dems say, “Even the great Specter opposes the bill”
    4. Specter writes fake compromise.
    5. Dems kick themselves.

  • On TPMCafe, from a diary on Daily Kos:

    Then it was tomVA’s turn at Daily Kos. Mr. VA investigates just who exactly are some of the teammates coming out in defense of Allen. He concludes that the 3 of Allen’s defenders are “1) a political appointment while he was governor, 2) a current GOP operative and campaign organizer, 3) an exec for a corporate sugar daddy.” Charles M. Hale was a member of the Board of Mineral Mining Examiners in Virginia, apparently appointed (or appointment confirmed) by Allen in 1997 while he was governor. Then, Who is Doug Jones? Doug Jones, Fairfax County Republican Committee. And, Who is George Korte? Executive Marketing Manager for Federal Systems Division of Intergraph Corporation, one of Allen’s biggest corporate patrons.

    I don’t think the claims are shaky at all, especially given who his “defenders” are. I know it’s impossible to prove a negative, and it’s really just he-said/she-said at this point, but the fact is that saying the n-word fits in perfectly with his known behavior. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who’s known people that used that word, and I know damn well that if any one of them was asked publicly if they used it they would deny it up and down and produce a half-dozen friends who would swear on the bible that the guy isn’t racist. Most of them would actually believe it, too.

    I just find it too hard to believe that someone with Allen’s background *didn’t* use the n-word at some point. I know people with a hell of a lot more moral fiber than him that have used it when they were kids, they just regret it now, and they picked it up from family or friends without really knowing what it meant. I can’t even believe it’s a story, in all honesty… it’s not the least bit surprising. Horrible and offensive, yes; surprising or out of character, no.

  • Given the behavior of some of the trolls I’ve seen on other boards I think we’re starting to get confirmation of what I’ve suspected for quite some time. Most of these trolls are sanctioned in some manner from the higher ups and their sole intent is disruption of the boards.

    One of the things I love about this site is that it is pretty much troll free. Not sure if it’s because CB deletes them (although I just can’t see him doing that), or if it’s because the posts here are so even tempered and filled with logical points that trolling isn’t worth it.

    Now, ThinkProgress, on the other hand, is a troll magnent. Some of the posts by the trolls over there just blow the mind, and there is no other explanation — they HAVE to be led by an overriding plan because all of their points are damn near the same.

    Now if I can just get myself to stop feeding them every once in a while …

  • Now, ThinkProgress, on the other hand, is a troll magnent. [SIC]

    Mr. Drum’s Political Animal blog on Washington Monthly is another magnet. There are a few principled right wingers there, but there are way more trolls.

    As for #13, I gotta admit I too am thoroughly confused.

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