For Texas State Republicans Tom Craddick &
Debbie Riddle, breaking the rules is a part of their job
Lawmakers above the law in Texas
Texas State Representatives are refusing to follow their own voting procedures, all the while creating laws concerning voter fraud.
For Republican State Rep. Debbie Riddle casting votes that don’t belong to you is a necessity: “We don’t have bathroom breaks”, she said.
And as one observer noted, “I certainly notice that there appear to be far more votes on the tick board than there were people in the room.”
Cute local news ‘42 Investigates’, um, investigates:
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/vote.flv[/flv]
As Craddick put it on the Texas House of Representatives website:
“Our goal is to help bring the legislative process to the public.”
Glad to help you out, Speaker Craddick.
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Written on September 30, 2007 | Posted in
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Nasty Newt
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich recently admitted that the 2004 Bush campaign against Sen. John Kerry was “cheap and nasty.” It’s good when people can admit mistakes; Not that the former Speaker was admitting any wrongdoing, or ever would.
Perhaps Republicans are due.
The actions of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly are certainly coming back to haunt them, which is timely, as Halloween is just around the corner.
And as Bradley Whitford recently said, you can’t out hypocrite a Republican.
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/newt.flv[/flv]
After much blathering and speculation, Gingrich has recently decided
not to run his own (cheap and nasty) campaign for president in 2008
But you always have to wonder if it’s a setup with this type of thing. Notice how Gingrich keeps glancing at the camera, as if aware that what he is saying is being recorded and will be disseminated.
Are the Republicans hoping for Hillary? We’ll see, but sometimes fate punishes you by granting your wishes. Either way, Gingrich admitting that Republican tactics are disdainful is a good first step.
But don’t just say the obvious Republicans, let all that guilt out. And don’t feel bad, confessions are making a comeback.
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The Decider & the Boss, starkly different symbols of America
Singing the Bush blues
Quoted by Crooks and Liars:
“This is a song called Livin’ In the Future. But it’s really about what’s happening now. Right now. It’s kind of about how the things we love about America, cheeseburgers, French fries, the Yankees battlin’ Boston… the Bill of Rights [holds up microphone, urging crowd to cheer] … v-twin motorcycles… Tim Russert’s haircut, trans-fats and the Jersey Shore… we love those things the way womenfolk love Matt Lauer.
But over the past six years we’ve had to add to the American picture: rendition, illegal wiretapping, voter suppression, no habeus corpus, the neglect of our great city New Orleans and its people, an attack on the Constitution. And the loss of our young best men and women in a tragic war.
This is a song about things that shouldn’t happen here—happening here.”
[video]http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Springsteen-blasts-WH.wmv[/video]
Bruce Springsteen on NBC, September 28, 2007
Written on September 30, 2007 | Posted in
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We are not toys
Reported by Greg Sargent of TMP, “Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) will be introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning Rush Limbaugh for his “phony soldiers” remark.”
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/rush.flv[/flv]
Rush Limbaugh’s ‘phoney soldiers’ comment
The remark made by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh comes on the heels of the MoveOn.org ‘General Petraeus or Betray Us?’ ad published in the New York Times ahead of the four-star general’s report to Congress on the Iraq war.
As noted here, the Senate wasted precious time on a vote to decry the ad instead of working on ways to end the war and better the lives of Americans.
Senate debating NYT ad
On one hand Udall is playing a political Perez Hilton, wasting time in Congress by focusing on the remarks of obnoxious entertainer. Described by Sargent, a resolution condemning Limbaugh “is potentially problematic for some in the leadership because there is an internal sentiment that it’s not Congress’ job to go around denouncing the remarks, however reprehensible, of private citizens.”
The sentiment is not just internal, we want real results not bombast.
On the other hand, Limbaugh’s rude remarks provide an opportunity for the Democrats to practice playing hardball with the Republicans, forcing congressional Republicans to vote their support for or against anti-war soldiers.
While the resolution has its roots in political posturing, Democrats need to take advantage of opportunities to sway more public opinion against the war in order to bring the troops home sooner. Political hay can be useful if it has a tangible, positive outcome.
Limbaugh has providing the Democrats some batting practice, and they could use it.
According to John Arvosis of AmericanBlog,
When MoveOn legitimately called into question General Petraeus’ honesty (he’s lied before), the mainstream media dutifully covered the Republicans’ crocodile tears. But when Rush Limbaugh - Dick Cheney’s favorite interviewer - attacks the integrity of American troops dying in Iraq for our country, the most the media can muster is coverage in their “blogs.” Whether it’s CBS blog, the Baltimore Sun blog, or the Chicago Tribune blog, there isn’t a lot of coverage of this issue in the real CBS News, the real Baltimore Sun, or the real Chicago Tribune, or anywhere else. Why the double standard? Senior Democrats have called out Limbaugh for his venom, which is usually what’s needed to make a story “real” in the eyes of the MSM. So why the double standard - when Dems are accused of dissing the troops, it’s a front page story for weeks. When Republicans actually diss the troops, it’s no big deal.
As Bradley Whitford recently said, “Everyone knows politics is an ugly business. And after the last two presidential campaigns you got to admit the Republicans are just better at it than we are.”
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/nodirtytricks.flv[/flv]
Whitford highlights Republican dirty tricks in an appeal against
the Presidential Election Reform Act
Whitford continued:
“Yet in the age of Bush, Cheney and Rove, we’ve seen Al Gore be called a tree-hugging liar, we’ve ben told that Global Warming is a myth, we’ve seen the devastating attacks of 9/11 as a wedge issue to divide the country, we’ve been rushed into war based on false intelligence, we’ve seen John Kerry, a decorated war hero, be called unamerican by a man who avoided his own military service.”
Our last president even commented on the ‘feigned outrage’:
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/billoncnn.flv[/flv]
Bill Clinton on the Republican response to the MoveOn ad
And as Sargent noted on his blog:
This is key. MoveOn’s ad on Mighty Scholar-Warrior Petraeus questioned his credibility, not his service. Republicans successfully sprinkled their Deception Dust all over the story and turned it into an attack on the troops. And the media bit — hard. As usual, the justification for covering and punditizing about the story was that Dems are vulnerable to charges that they are anti-military; therefore, the GOP’s demand that they condemn MoveOn was scoring political points; and perversely, this is what made the GOP assault news.
By contrast, Rush Limbaugh actually did impugn the service of soldiers who favor withdrawal from Iraq. But because Republicans aren’t vulnerable to charges that they’re anti-military, this doesn’t give Dems as clear an opportunity to score political points by demanding that Repubs condemn him. Therefore, it isn’t as newsworthy. Yes, the Limbaugh story is getting some traction today. But it will get nowhere near the attention that the GOP attack on Dems over the MoveOn ad got.
Part of the Democrats’ strength is their ability to take the high road on issues and not lower themselves to the dregs of political campaigning. It’s also a weakness in that Americans respond to negative attacks and tend to vote for those who attack with the greatest vitriol.
Being a conservative and Republican, Limbaugh’s snide ‘phoney soldiers’ comment allows Democrats to play politics on the issue of whether or not non-active soldiers can disagree with the policies of their government. While legally they can, many war-mongers, conservatives and Republicans have portrayed those against the war as anti-American. The Dems now have some chips in the game if they play this card right.
Funny enough, Limbaugh has a connection with both recent issues, calling Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel ‘General Betray Us’ for his anti-war stance before the MoveOn ad.
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/worstpersonrush.flv[/flv]
Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Limbaugh worst person in the world
If the Democrats can get congressional Republicans to denounce Limbaugh’s comments they will be able to assert that Congress supports anti-war patriotism, along with deflecting attacks against anti-war ideals.
While potentially politically useful, it’s a small step in the war of ideas, and one that most everyone already knew.
With Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly now both defending recent ignorant remarks, it appears that conservative hypocrisy is finally catching up with them.
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Written on September 29, 2007 | Posted in
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Television Cabinet Artwork by Dennis Lowe
The AFP reports that according to the September 29, 2007 edition of the Al Shams newspaper, a wife in Saudi Arabia has been divorced for watching a television program hosted by a male while she was alone. The husband deemed this act immoral and against Islamic law, divorcing her “on the grounds his wife was effectively alone with an unrelated man”.
Perhaps they just needed some marriage tips.
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Written on September 29, 2007 | Posted in
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Richardson looking the part
Complete extrication from Iraq is becoming the centerpiece of Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign theme. Under the umbrella of ‘experience and change’ bringing the troops home is Richardson’s specific policy goal and he’s hitting it hard.
Beyond tried-and-true black and white photos of his primary opponents, the Governor’s latest video attempts to differentiate himself from the other Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on the issue of Iraq by quoting their ambiguity on residual troop levels if they should take the presidency.
Conversely, the black and whites photographs of Richardson in the video are classy and powerful, not to mention the confident walk he delivers in one scene while being followed by an entourage of black-suited professionals (notice how they stroll past the white columns, oh how symbolic).
This new video is an accompaniment to his website, Get Our Troops Out, featuring Richardson’s plan for Iraq and side by side comparisons of the other Democratic candidates’ positions. The lower half of the site consists of a Unite to End the War map, an organizing campaign with a self-titled purpose.
Richardson’s video ‘The Choice on Iraq’ makes as strong a contrast as possible between himself and the other candidates on the Iraq war:
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/richardson.flv[/flv]
The Choice on Iraq
Now if only he could refrain from meandering during the debates…
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More on Bill Richardson, 2008 Election, Politics
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Oil spill humor? Didn’t think it was possible.
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/frontfelloff.flv[/flv]
Satirists John Clarke & Brian Dawe of Australia take on a sticky subject.
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Written on September 29, 2007 | Posted in
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[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/hillarydebatemoment.flv[/flv]
Sen. Hillary Clinton turning a debate trap into a victory
“Well he’s not standing here right now”
Clinton disagreeing with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, at the September 26, 2007 MSNBC Democratic Debate on the use of torture.
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Video is incorrect on the date
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Bush signs College Cost Reduction Act
“Childrens do learn” & other good news from the government
President Bush rolled over and signed the College Cost Reduction Act on September 27, 2007 despite an earlier veto threat.
According to Michael Roston of the Huffington Post, the bill “cuts interest rates on government-backed student loans, and increases the amount of money available under the federal Pell Grant.”
In his official remarks, Bush had good and bad things to say about the bill:
One of the best ways to make higher education affordable is through Pell Grants. Pell Grants make it possible for people from all walks of life to afford a college education. Pell Grants send an important message to students in need: If you work hard, and you stay in school, and you make the right choices, the federal government is going to stand with you. That’s what a Pell Grant says.
These are important steps. This bill does, however, create new and duplicative programs that divert resources from the Pell Grants. This bill makes some spending commitments that aren’t paid for yet, and I look forward to working with the Congress to ensure Pell Grant increases that are not fully funded in this bill are paid for with offsets in other areas. And we’re going to continue working with Congress to make sure the Pell Grants stay strong.
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) said of the bill, it “shows how the Congress and the President can work together.”
In related news, according to Reuters,
Offering a grammar lesson guaranteed to make any English teacher cringe, President George W. Bush told a group of New York school kids on Wednesday: “Childrens do learn.”
Bush made his latest grammatical slip-up at a made-for-TV event where he urged Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, the centerpiece of his education policy, as he touted a new national report card on improved test scores.
[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/childrens.flv[/flv]
“Childrens do learn”
If the president really wants to help students, he should stop speaking and sign more Democratic bills.
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Written on September 27, 2007 | Posted in
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Former Sen. John Edwards speaking at the MySpace/MTV dialogue
“What I don’t understand is George Bush”
A question and answer forum with Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards aired September 27, 2007 at noon on myspace.com/election2008. Edwards is the first in the series of online presidential candidate dialogues.
Screen shot of the event
Edwards answered questions from college aged audience members moderated by MTV’s SuChin Pak and Gideon Yago, and computer text questions moderated by Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post.
The online audience was able to express their opinion of the Senator’s answers by voting on the same webpage as the video streaming. Overall Edwards received high marks as indicated by the chart above. Cillizza kept Edwards apprised of the online audience response.
Partially blind audience member asks about stem cell research
Question topics ranged across the board in the hour-long dialogue, including the Iraq war, education, the environment, and energy.
Speaking of energy independence, Edwards called for American sacrifice, receiving a round of applause, stating “You can’t spend and innovate your way out of this problem.”
Several times during the forum Edwards asked for more time to answer a question and the moderators happily complied. Coming from the tightly controlled answer time of last night’s MSNBC Democratic Presidential Debate, Edwards seemed to be accustomed to wanting to say more than the time provided. Edwards appeared relaxed and comfortable at the forum with ample time to thoroughly answer each question.
Edwards answered the questions directly without overtly pandering to his audience, for which the audience expressed appreciation.
Asked at the end why he was running for president, Edwards stated, “I’m running for president of the United States so everyone can have the chances I had.”
At the end of the online feed after Edwards had left the stage, MTV moderator SuChin Pak said to the audience “I’ll met you out at the hotdog stand.”
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