Mary Matalin Has Sucked James Carville's Brain Out

I have evidence to prove this.

Yesterday, Carville called for Democrats to replace Howard Dean, the man who engineered their House and Senate triumphs, with Harold Ford. Harold, who just lost to a real right wing nutjob in Tennessee. Insane, no?

Here's the icing on the cake. In 2000, Carville proposed that Al Gore should choose as his running mate......Zell Miller.

See, Mary Matalin has clearly sucked his brains out. No question.

Go away, James Carville. Your useful life is over.

72 Hours

Pelosi in an Armani pantsuit at yesterday's news conference: Clothes for playing with the boys without pretending to be one.
Photo Credit: By Carol T. Powers -- Bloomberg News
That's how long it took the Washington Post to write an article about the first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

Problem? The article is about her clothes.

Yes, you heard that right, the WaPo has gone almost immediately to sexist analysis of the woman's wardrobe.

Because nothing matters about a woman other than what she looks like, right?

Is it 2006 or 1966?

If Ms. Magazine still had the feature, this article would be on the 'No Comment' page at the back of the magazine. Classic, traditional sexist bullshit.

Think I'm overreacting? Do you really think any newspaper in the country will analyze the wardrobe of the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid? Of course not.

Jeez.

Washington Post: Muted Tones Of Quiet Authority: A Look Suited To the Speaker

Call Daddy!

The little ditty was written in my friend Irene Zahava's writing circle, in Ithaca, New York:


T'was the eve of elections in GOP land.

George, Karl, Dick and Rummy, the Great Asshole Band

Were playing their song, "we're great," ad infinitum

Not knowing the people were all poised to bite 'em.

"Hey Karl" says our George with his head full of holes,

"Now you know I cain't read but I don't like these polls."

"The evening is young, George. Let's not make a fuss.

My strategic plan says the win is for us."

Dick sits on the side tying flies and just wishin,

"This sounds just like Katrina, I think I'll go fishin."

While Rummy who's smart feels his gut passing gas

As he's starting to think "I'll be out on my ass."

The evening wears on, the Dems can't be ignored,

But our prez reads the comics and looks pretty bored.

When the polls finally close Karl hits George in the head.

"Hey wake up buddy boy, I believe we're all dead.

It's the riff raff who've won, they want minimum wage.

They want health care and clean air, I'm just in a rage!"

Georgie panics and says, "They all think I'm a baddy,"

So he gets on the phone and he wails to his daddy,

"Daddy help me, I'm stumped. Help me please - please do sompin'

I'm afraid we've been walloped, it's a real Texas thumpin'."

"Now my boy, you remember in '04 way way back.

I slapped up your head, said don't go to Iraq.

But no, you had to beat me, show your dad you're a man.

So you marched into war, missing one thing - a plan.

OK this time you listen and you do what I say,

Follow all my advice and then you'd better pray.

First give Rummy the boot, he's the one they all hate.

And I'll get on the stick and deliver Bob Gates.

Then you get on the phone, say congrats to that Nancy.

Just say one or two words, you'll flub up if it's fancy.

Then get out on TV to the millions of folks.

And whatever you do, don't tell any dumb jokes.

You've just never been bright son, now you're a lame duck.

Georgie what can I say, face the facts, you've been fucked."


Written by Ann Wexler 11/9/06

You Can't Pick Your Family

While surfing the tubes of the internets today, I found that Barry Goldwater's granddaughter, C.C. Goldwater, did a documentary on her grandfather that was aired on HBO last month. I didn't see it, but apparently, not surprisingly, she sugarcoats her famous grandfather's life.

Most interestingly, a review of the documentary in the Phoenix New Times fleshed out the HBO film's 2-dimensional portrait by quoting letters to and from Goldwater which they found in the Goldwater papers in the Arizona Historical Foundation. Most of the letters are kind of sad, with Goldwater's children and grandchildren writing to him asking for money, or just to use his name and fame for their own commercial gain.

As a result of the newspaper article, the family has gone in and placed the letters under seal. When you go read them, you'll understand why. They don't tell you much about the Senator, but a lot about his kids and grandkids.


Romanesko: New Times story prompts Goldwater family to hide papers

Phoenix New Times: Goldwater Uncut
You've seen the G-rated HBO documentary on the Arizona legend, but there was so much more to Goldy than that

Phoenix New Times (PDF file): Goldwater letters from Arizona Historical Foundation

Bye Bye

Don't let the door, and all that:

Senator Macaca

Senator Man On Dog

Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Lay Waste)

Congressman Jim Ryun (R-Real Estate Investing)

Congressman Curt Weldon (R-Russia)

Ken Mehlman (R-Big Red Closet)

And, finally, a rant from Doug Thompson at Capital Hill Blue:

And the horse they rode in on

Say Goodnight, Gracie

Brilliant at Breakfast: Say goodnight, Gracie

Burns and Allen both conceded today.

(Sorry, but SOMEONE had to do it.)

Make The Public Airwaves Serve The Public Again

Dave Johnson, HuffPo: Restore The Fairness Doctrine!

I'd go further than this. I think that as a condition of being granted a license to broadcast, television stations should have to give political candidates free access to the PUBLIC airwaves.

Who profits from our current system of paid political advertising? Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox. GE, the owner of NBC. Etc., etc. It's basically a huge money-redistribution system. Corporations put money into political campaigns, and much of that money ends up in the pocket of the owners of the corporate media. Another corporate shell game.

Right now, the only way to get your message out in a political season is to pay for it. But why must that always be so? Can we imagine a new system, where broadcasters have to make available a certain amount of time for free to political candidates? Why not? We already regulate broadcasts by fining them for allowing people to say unimportant things like "fuck". Why not regulate broadcasts by requiring them to allow the most important of all speech, our political discourse, on the public airwaves for free?

Unsung Heroes of the Democrats 2006 Midterm Victory

George W. Bush, whose last minute appearances for Jim Talent in Missouri and Conrad Burns in Montana didn't help and probably hurt them.

Joe Lieberman, who sucked Republican dollars out of declared Republican races.

Karl Rove, back to being just Turd Blossom, no longer Boy Genius.

Rush Limbaugh, for making fun of Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease.

Dick Cheney, just for being Darth Cheney. Thanks, you Dick.

One guy called it right: Bob Geiger at democrats.com.

The Final Analysis: How The Senate Looks After Tuesday

So here's the bottom line: Of the 13 hotly-contested races, Democrats win 11 of them with Cardin, Stabenow, Klobuchar, McCaskill, Tester, Menendez, Brown, Casey, Whitehouse, Webb and Cantwell. The GOP gets victories out of Kyl and Corker.

And the Democrats take the Senate 51-49.

The Mighty Wurlitzer Will Now Bray for 'Bipartisanship'

Although you heard no cries for bipartisanship during the last six years when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the Presidency (and spent all their time cutting Democrats out of governing completely), now that Democrats have won the House and the Senate, the calls will come fast and furious. Bloggers call the corporate media 'The Mighty Wurlitzer' because they're the house organ for the Republican party. The organ has already begun to play the Republican theme songs. The Democrats must be bipartisan; you will hear this over and over again.

Don't be fooled. Listen to Glenn Greenwald of Unclaimed Territory:

The Bush meaning of "bipartisanship"

The President is going to include all sorts of flowery odes to the beauty of bipartisanship in his upcoming speech this afternoon -- much to the inevitable delight of the wise Washington pundit class, which will excitedly take him at his word and demand that Democrats "work with" the President rather than oppose and investigate him.

But what the Bush administration really means by "bipartisanship" -- as they are already making quite clear -- is that the Democrats in Congress do nothing to stand in their way and, most especially, that Democrats recognize that there will be no looking into what the Leader has done or subjecting his Decisions to any scrutiny. From Time's Mike Allen, today:

Advisers expect a battle royale over the balance of powers if Democrats use their new subpoena power to try to conduct what the White House is already calling "witch hunts." Bush and Vice President Cheney have made the expansion of executive power one of their hallmarks, and advisers say they do not plan to give up any of the ground they have won without a fight all the way to the Supreme Court. "We're going to have a fierce constitutional showdown over the boundaries of power between the executive and legislative branches," one adviser said. "The executive usually wins those battles, so we think we'll consolidate our gains."

To this administration, "witch hunts" means: refusing to allow them to rule in total secrecy and, instead, trying to find out what has really been going on in our Government.

Celebration

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (First ever female House Majority Leader)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Enjoying the post-Democratic win election afterglow.

Some fun links to keep your buzz going:

Freedom (Youtube video)

Suddenly nobody is talking about John Kerry anymore... (TBogg)

Richard Pombo Takes a Pounding (Wonkette)

Dr. Death (Billmon)

Turn, turn, turn (Billmon)

Classic Clinton Riff - Hilarious and So, So True! (Raising Kaine)

Bitch-Chokers Stick Together (Wonkette) […or, as an astute tipster put it, “Congressman McChokey Gets Help From Congressman McSmacky.”]

The admiral sinks Curt Weldon (R-Russia). (Attytood)

Video: John Hall victory speech (and song) (Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record)


WAHHHHHHH!!!!
(President Bush reacts to a reporter's question during his press conference in the wake of Democrats taking over the House and perhaps the Senate. Photo by Pete Souza of the Chicago Tribune.)

Get Out There and Vote

SNCC Chairman John Lewis [now Congressman John Lewis, (D-GA)] Attacked By Alabama State Troopers, March 7, 1965, Suffered Fractured Skull

In 1964, Lewis coordinated SNCC's efforts for "Mississippi Freedom Summer," a campaign to register black voters across the South. The following year, Lewis led one of the most dramatic protests of the era. On March 7, 1965 -- a day that would become known as "Bloody Sunday" -- Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led over 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. At the end of the bridge, they were met by Alabama State Troopers, who ordered them to disperse. When the marchers stopped to pray, the police discharged tear gas and mounted troopers charged the demonstrators, beating them with night sticks. Lewis's skull was fractured, but he escaped across the bridge, to a church in Selma. Before he could be taken to the hospital, John Lewis appeared before the television cameras calling on President Johnson to intervene in Alabama.