Thursday’s political round-up

May 17, 2007

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will formally kick off his presidential campaign on Monday, after months of campaigning. He will make his announcement in Los Angeles, instead of his home state.

* Richard Viguerie, the conservative guru who pioneered direct-mail fundraising, is going after Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign with considerable gusto. “Rudy Giuliani is wrong on all of the social issues, is wrong on the Second Amendment, and is pretty much a blank slate on all other issues of importance to conservatives,” Viguerie adds. “If the Republican Party nominates him, it is saying to the American people that it has lost all purpose except the raw political desire to hold power. It will be time to put the GOP out of its misery.”

* Speaking of Giuliani, the former NYC mayor likes to brag about the drop in his city’s abortion rate during his tenure, but the NYT reports today, “A review of the figures from Mr. Giuliani’s years as mayor, from 1994 to 2001, shows that although abortions did decline and adoptions did increase, the changes mirrored national trends. Furthermore, other factors probably contributed to those changes, calling into question Mr. Giuliani’s suggesting correlation between the two trends.” NYC’s abortion rate dropped less than the national average over his eight years in office.

* Brownback thinks he has a uterus: “During [Tuesday’s] presidential debate, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) repeatedly motioned to his stomach to argue against pro-choice policies. ‘Here in the womb,’ he said, there ‘is a child that we’re talking about doing this to.'”

* Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), one of only four congressional Republicans to vote with Dems on the president’s war policy, is getting a primary challenge from far-right County Commissioner Joe McLaughlin (R). “I’ve campaigned for Walter before, but that all changed when I saw him on ABC with Dennis Kucinich saying the war on terror wasn’t worth it,” McLaughlin told the Wilson Daily Times.

* And the DNC officially announced “the dates, media sponsors and cities for the six DNC sanctioned [presidential] debates.” CNN and NBC each get two, while and ABC and CBS each get one. Fox News isn’t included. The first will be on July 23 on CNN, with one per month following through December.

Al Gore has authored a new book, The Assault on Reason. Excerpted in Time, the book is a jeremiad against the crippled state of American political discourse and democracy itself. But as prescient as Gore is on the decline of public debate in America, he may well understate the more fundamental transformation: politics itself as entertainment.

For the story, see:
“Politics as Theater: Al Gore’s New Book ‘The Assault on Reason.'”

  • ‘“If the Republican Party nominates him, it is saying to the American people that it has lost all purpose except the raw political desire to hold power. It will be time to put the GOP out of its misery.”’

    OK.

  • I’m really looking forward to Gore’s book. Never read any of his earlier ones, but just the title here seems to me a perfect summary of the last ten years in our politics. The Enlightenment itself is under attack from these cretins, who fail to understand that you can’t make a decent world on raw force and certitude.

  • OK, WTF is Leahy waiting for? Why hasn’t he demanded that Gonzales step down?

    I mean… WTF??? Four Republican senators are calling for Gonzales’ resignation. Pat Freaking Roberts is almost joining that club!

    …The tale inspired Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., to become the fourth Republican senator to call for Gonzales’ resignation. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., joined in the criticism.

    “When you have to spend more time up here on Capitol Hill instead of running the Justice Department, maybe you ought to think about it,” Roberts told The Associated Press.

    Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, who has not called for Gonzales’ resignation, agreed.

    “I have absolutely no confidence in the attorney general or his leadership,” said Leahy, D-Vt…

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gonzales_prosecutors_21

    WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU WAITING FOR, LEAHY?

  • Richard Viguerie obviously doesn’t understand the reality that only a Republican president can defeat the terrorists.

    LOL at Brownback

  • Isn’t there a million dollar prize waiting somewhere for the first man to give birth? Brownback should apply for it. Might have to have a C-section, but, all in all, I’d think it would be worth it.

  • >>NYC’s abortion rate dropped less than the national average over his eight years in office.

    You might want to correct that. From the Times:
    “On abortions, the number decreased in New York City in Mr. Giuliani’s tenure by 18 percent, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health and policy. Nationally, the number fell in that period by 13 percent.”

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