Monday, January 29, 2007

Republican Limbo: How Low Can They Go? (8:49 pm)

Anger over Republicans killing bills without recording the vote, Democratic operatives began videotaping early morning and late-night statehouse proceedings and posting them on their assembly’s blog and the Internet-based video site YouTube.

“We’re providing openness and access to Virginia government,” said Mark Bergman, spokesman for the Virginia Democratic Party.

Bergman argues that the videos are the only way for Virginians to see these committee proceedings because the Republican majority changed the rules in 2006 to allow off-hour committee and subcommittee votes to go unrecorded.

Last week, House Republicans in Virginia defeated a Democratic measure without recording the vote that would have raised the state’s minimum wage.

“They are scheduling these major votes in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, when no one from the public or press is there to see it,” Bergman said. “Two or three members could effectively kill a bill at 7:30…in the morning when nobody’s there and there’s no record of the vote.”

And how do the Republicans respond?

But Virginia Republicans said the video recordings of legislative proceedings have nothing to do with open government, instead accusing the Democrats of playing “gotcha” politics.

“It’s an effort to demonize Republicans,” said Shaun Kenney, communications director for the Virginia Republican Party. “It’s about targeting and embarrassing Republican delegates,” he said.
(…)
Kenney argued that Republicans changed the rules in 2006 to allow for unrecorded votes in order to combat “gotcha” bills sponsored by the Democrats.

Ah, yes, can’t have any legislation being a matter of public record if it means Republican votes might not be well received by the public.

via SusanG at dailykos

posted by Brian Zick | 1 comment

On the Fourteenth Day of Fitzmas: A Wrap Up (7:55 pm)

Emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler) and Jeralyn Merritt provide analysis for PoliticsTV.

Jeralyn at firedoglake and David Corn have posted recaps.

Booman catches Ari’s testimony at noteworthy odds with a report by former Time Magazine reporter John Dickerson, with the discrepancy having potential legal implications.

update:
Although not at all the way he remembers, or reported at the time, Dickerson speculates that Ari’s testimony was not intentionally false and misleading.

More likely, he admitted to prosecutors more than he may have actually done because better to err on the side of assuming he disclosed too much than assuming he gave over too little.

Perhaps Tamara Lippert and David Gregory - the other two reporters who were with Dickerson at the time Ari says he identified Plame - will perpetrate some, like, actual journalism and, y’know, report what happened. (But don’t hold your breath.)

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

John McCain vs John McCain (11:25 am)

Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films have created a new website, TheRealMcCain.com, featuring Cliff Schecter’s blogging. This little documentary showcases McCain’s Flippity Floppity Express.

Michael Finnegan’s LA Times report on Greenwald’s mini-documentaries is published on the paper’s front-page.

via Tracy Van Slyke

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

Air America Has New Owner, and Al Franken Is Departing to Weigh Bid for Senate Campaign (9:47 am)

Eric Hananoki for Air America reports on the two part announcement, made on Franken’s show today.

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

VoteVets Commercial Opposing Escalation (9:32 am)

Via Kos, VoteVets has produced another powerful and emotionally compelling TV spot.

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

On the Fourteenth Day of Fitzmas (9:08 am)

Emptywheel reports on Team Libby finishing cross examination of Cathie Martin.

David Corn discusses Team Libby’s Chewbacca defense strategy.

update:
Emptywheel documents Ari Fleischer’s testimony.

update 2:
Emptywheel has more from Ari après le déjeuner.

update 3:
Emptywheel has further cross examination of Fleischer and then testimony from David Addington.

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

David Broder’s Journalistic Posturing (12:08 am)

George Bush ignores the Congress, the Iraq Study Group, military commanders and the wishes of the public, as plainly expressed in the election results. So who does David Broder sneeringly condemn with this description?:

s/he gave members of Congress and other interested folks the impression that s/he thought s/he had all the answers — so please just do as I say

Hmmm, to whom could he possibly be referring, what prominent personage thinks they have all the answers, and that mere mortal inferiors should “please just do as s/he says”? Oh, goodness, no, not “The Decider.” Broder slams Hillary Clinton instead, alleging that her criticism of Bush’s failed war policy is a reversion

to the mode of her ill-fated 1993-94 health-care initiative, when she gave members of Congress and other interested folks the impression that she thought she had all the answers — so please just do as I say

Y’know, because, like, Hillary’s 1993-94 failed health care initiative is what has grabbed the current public’s distressed attention, and of course it was a horrible disaster, much much worse than the loss of 3000+ American lives, and $360 billion. And counting.

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Robert Drinan Has Passed Away (11:39 pm)

Lolita Baldor for AP reports:

WASHINGTON - The Rev. Robert Drinan, a Jesuit who — over the objections of his superiors — was the first Roman Catholic priest elected as a voting member of Congress, died Sunday.
(…)
An internationally known human-rights advocate, Drinan was elected on an anti-war platform and represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House for 10 years during the turbulent 1970s.
(…)
He opposed the draft, worked to abolish mandatory retirement and raised eyebrows with his more moderate views on abortion and birth control.
(…)
He became the first member of Congress to call for the impeachment of Richard Nixon — although the call wasn’t related to the Watergate scandal, but rather what Drinan viewed as the administration’s undeclared war against Cambodia..