Wednesday’s political round-up

April 11, 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:

* They may have lost their top three candidates, but the Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate is moving forward according to plan. The CBC release a statement last night “announcing that it stands by its plan.” The statement said the CBC “will determine the format and select the panelists for the debates.”

* With the Don Imus scandal becoming the subject of national scrutiny, presidential candidates are being asked about whether they’d appear on his radio program. Yesterday, both Rudy Giuliani and John McCain said they would continue to appear with the controversial commentator.

* Speaking of Giuliani, conservative columnist Cal Thomas lit into the GOP candidate this week on Giuliani’s support for publicly-funded abortion. “Giuliani says people who don’t like his position do not have to vote for him. Many social conservatives who view abortion as a make-or-break issue are likely to follow his advice,” Thomas said.

* Giuliani also told an Alabama audience that locals should decide whether or not to fly the Confederate Flag. John McCain initially took that position in 2000, before reversing course and admitting that he was pandering to far-right Southern conservatives.

* With polls showing former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) looking strong in a hypothetical match-up against Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), top Senate Dems are pressuring Shaheen to consider the race. According to the Union Leader, “The Democratic former three-term governor had a serious discussion about the Senate race less than two weeks ago during a private meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.”

* And the NYT reports today that the GOP establishment is feeling a great deal of anxiety about 2008. “Republican leaders across the country say they are growing increasingly anxious about their party’s chances of holding the White House, citing public dissatisfaction with President Bush, the political fallout from the war in Iraq and the problems their leading presidential candidates are having generating enthusiasm among conservative voters.”

They may have lost their top three candidates, but the Fox News/Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate is moving forward according to plan. The CBC release a statement last night “announcing that it stands by its plan.” The statement said the CBC “will determine the format and select the panelists for the debates.”

Well, if they’re trying to publicly humiliate Fox, they’re certainly succeeding.

  • Here’s another small item you might enjoy.

    Remember the Powerpoint that Karl Rove’s office did for the GSA? One of the slides listed Republican vulnerabilities in 2008, with asterisks for possible retiring incumbents. One of those listed was Alaska Representative Don Young. When asked why Rove thought Young would retire — when Young has boasted of plans to set an all-time longevity record (to be reached in, oh, 2026) — Young replied: “Karl Rove doesn’t know what he’s talking about. If he did, we’d still be in the majority.”

  • What makes the Don Imus situation so funny (to me) is that the pundit class is rushing to defend him, quickening their own depths of douchbaggery.

    Overall, it is a tempest in a teapot considering that issues like Gonzogate and Walter Reed still hasn’t been resolved or this useless deadly war keeps dragging on.

  • The Don Imus act was a stunt. In ill taste, certainly, but a stunt. Stunts are as old as sideshows and circuses. They’re gimmicks designed to draw customers. Hubba, hubba, hubba at the carnival. Hellfire and brimstone in church. The network’s removing him for two weeks is also a stunt, designed to keep the effect of the Imus stunt alive. All Imus’ apologies are stunts. As they have been all his professional life. Americans are so dumb they fall for stunts routinely. That’s how no-talent slobs get rich, putting on stunts to catch the attention of TeeVee-addled zombies. Even if Barnum didn’t say it, there really is a sucker born every minute.

  • John McCain initially took that position in 2000, before reversing course and admitting that he was pandering to far-right Southern conservatives.

    This presumably means we can now expect him to go back to his original position?

  • With the Don Imus scandal becoming the subject of national scrutiny, presidential candidates are being asked about whether they’d appear on his radio program. Yesterday, both Rudy Giuliani and John McCain said they would continue to appear with the controversial commentator.

    Someone is surprised that the candidates of the party whose members largely agree with Imus’ positions on most everything – particularly “nappy-headed ho’s” – are going to continue to appear there???

    I believe there was a recent poll that the voters most likely to be affected by a candidate’s race and gender are Republicans.

  • From the NYT article:

    …Fergus Cullen, the New Hampshire Republican Party chairman, said that a smart candidate could turn adversity to his advantage by figuring out a way to politely turn the page from the Bush era. “The situation with President Bush is allowing everyone to turn to a new campaign,” Mr. Cullen said, “and that is probably an asset to all the candidates.”

    And Katon Dawson, the party chairman in South Carolina, expressed confidence that the party would recover from any internal damage it suffered as its candidates took shots at each other.

    “We don’t do well until we have a common enemy,” Mr. Dawson said. “Right now, our enemy is ourselves.”…

    BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

    “a smart candidate could turn adversity to his advantage”, so I guess he’s saying all the Republicans aren’t smart enough? Works for me.

    Being in the same party as the worst president ever is “probably an asset to all the candidates”!

    The real problem now is that the Republicans are fighting each other!

    “Right now, our enemy is ourselves”. (I see their point, if they weren’t themselves, we’d have president Gore and they wouldn’t have such a huge problem)

    …Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., a former head of the Republican National Committee, said the party needed to move away from criticizing Democrats and associate itself with one winning issue if it was to have any hopes of holding on to the White House in 2008.

    “What Republicans have to do here in the next year is do something other than complain about the Democrats,” Mr. Fahrenkopf said. “What they have to do is take an issue — and I happen to believe the issue is immigration — they have to push very strongly for it.”…

    Hey good luck on that one. IMHO the only thing that gets half the Republican base to vote for Republicans is their hatred of liberals, and by extension, Democrats. I guess he’s saying their hatred of Mexicans will make up for that?

    And does anyone believe that the Republicans aren’t going to “do something other than complain about the Democrats”? I’m sure they won’t just complain about them, they’ll smear them too.

    Won’t do any good, chumps.

    The “dying administration” is going to drag you down too. Good riddance.

  • “It’s a dying administration”
    – Shawn Steele, the former Republican Party chairman in California

    Suck on that one, Bush lovers.

  • “Someone is surprised that the candidates of the party whose members largely agree with Imus’ positions on most everything – particularly “nappy-headed ho’s” – are going to continue to appear there???”

    Tommy Boy, It will be interesting if Chris Dodd gives up one of his favorite platforms, given his all too frequent appearances with Imus. Here’s a bit of the 1/1/07 transcript:

    IMUS: It’s a pleasure for us to have you on.

    DODD: Well I appreciate it. It’s been about 14 years we have been doing this.

  • How often have we endured a “Don Imus Moment” that goes on for weeks on end?

    Mel Gibson, “Krammer,” Nick the Greek. (Bobby Knight is in an entirely different class, and has Imus Moments so often that he’s forgotten within a couple of news cycles.)

    These tempests in teapots, as Former Dan accurately calls this one, follow a course that is invariably the same. Feigned outrage, feigned apologies, unquestioned hypocrisy, and rampant opportunism.

    The offense is always characterized as having greater import and magnitude than it deserves. Imus has gone from a rude and insensitive talking head to the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The Rutgers team has gone from legitimately insulted women to the Emille Zolas of civil and women’s rights.

    I watched the Rutgers team press conference yesterday, and the players answered questions with remarkable candor and honesty. One answer in particular stood out. A player said that, at first, the team just “let it slide.” But then players were besieged by calls from reporters, and so decided to take a position. None of them seemed very upset, which is a mature response to an immature act. They were a class act.

    But as always, the professional mau-mauers pounced, once again sustaining their marginal credibility. The Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons don’t care about the Rutgers team. Racial tension is their bread and butter. Imus “dissed” the team. Sharpton, et all, are *using* the team.

    In my opinion, these familiar kabuki rituals simply deepen racial division and further impede communication regarding race relations in this country. That’s why the pros fan the fire and start new ones. God help them if racism actually ended. What would they do then?

    There ARE more important things to worry about. I wish the Iraq invasion had gotten the coverage Imus is getting.

  • I hope the CBC program devolves to one hour of Dennis Kucinich debating Dennis Kucininch on Fox.

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