Alan Keyes (speaking last night to an anti-choice group fundraiser) actually said Obama is a 'radical communist' who is 'going to ruin the country' (uh, I'd like to know how much more can it be ruined?).

He went on to say Obama must be stopped, or else 'America will CEASE TO EXIST'.

Wow--sounds like an implicit threat and call to violence to me.

Cao, who represents a heavily Democratic district, now faces a recall petition

How now Anh Cao?

Sorry this is another off-topic post, but apparently Clinton spoke last night and while he gives Obama an 'A' for his first month, but adds he wants to hear more positive stuff from Obama, that his talks should offer more definitive hope that we 'will get through this' (horrible time).

Meanwhile the reality is the recession will likely last a good long time (the estimate is five years or longer now). So, what should the President tell us? Should he give us false hope and sugar coat the truth?

He does end his comments saying that we can get through this as Americans, but he is careful to add that it will take time and we all need to make huge changes. This IS the reality. And I think it's good he is not speaking to us like idiots.

If anything, I think we all need to hear more detail about what to realistically expect, about having patience, about flexibility--about other coping skills we all need to call forth, such as helping others in need...

I'm not sure what Clinton wants to hear--but it would be wrong for Obama to promise things he can't deliver and it would be wrong to raise expectations--this would be a huge set-up for
bad reviews down the line...

Please, please, please let Dave Reichert run against Patty Murray for the Senate seat.

Despite his incumbency in the House, he has had strong challenges there in the last two election cycles. If he runs for the Senate, there is virtually no chance that he would win a statewide election and there is a very good chance his vacant House seat would go to a Democrat.

Am I the only one that thinks Sarah Steelman's "just another white guy in a suit" comment is ridiculously and overtly racist AND sexist?

I dig that there are a lot of "white guys" in office, and I agree that making politics (and education, and business) more inclusive is great for our country. But are we at the point of ignoring everything about a person except their race and gender? Really?

Disclaimer: I'm a white guy. But I'm not easily offended about race and think spirited dialogue is fine. But this was just stupid.

ahn cao's episode reminds me of the scene in godfather 2 when frankie "five angels" pentangelli is ready to testify before the kefauver committe. all of a sudden, his long-lost brother from sicily appears in the gallery, accompanied by tom hagen and surrounded by corleone soldiers.
frankie quickly forgets everything he was goint to say.
suppose cao has relatives, too?

I remember well when Sen. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992. She was a state Senator (my state senator actually) and the Repub she ran against was a US Congressman. She called herself the "Mom in Tennis Shoes" (for which was mocked by her opponent) and had distinguished herself in state government by working tirelessly on education and other people issues. She was majorly outspent, but grassroots worked for her. It was a major shock when she won... several guys I worked with teased me about her leading up to the election and then had to eat crow. Patty works really hard and is no nonsense and honest person; she doesn't seem like a pol, a big part of her appeal. I hope she'll run again and I think she'd win.

Blue Girl actually has a better piece about Cao. My favorite line was The GOP still didn't trust that their strong-arming would work and sent Kevin McCarthy, the deputy whip to stand next to him throughout the vote. Kinda has a mafia like feel to it, doesn't it?

OK mellowjohn beat me to it, but I'm still gonna post the link.

 

The Republican National Committee isn't impressed with President Obama...

Off da hook!
GOP 'bout to get beezay!

BEYOND THE CUTTING EDGE
THE GRAND OLD PARTY IS REBORN

Two Democrat congressmen were late for dental appointments this week and Benen chooses to complain about the RNC. What does that say about the mindset here?

Good one, Winkandanod!

Meanwhile, recycling Pataki would be a snore but that's the best the Rethug's can do. I'm more interested to see who will challenge Gillibrand in the primary. Hopefully someone with more substance and fewer guns.

Steve Benen wrote: "CNN's political blog did an item about the latest RNC press release. I'm not sure why."

Because the function of the corporate-owned so-called "mainstream" mass media is to catapult the propaganda of the corporate-owned Republican Party.

"The Republican National Committee isn't impressed with President Obama, and CNN's political blog did an item about the latest RNC press release. I'm not sure why." - CB

Unfortunately, a lot of the MSM is still solidly on the payroll of the Right Wing clownsuits who bought it lock, stock and barrel during the Bush administration. They give minimal coverage to Obama and maximum access to every wingnut with an axe to grind.

Why else are there still at least three wingnuts for every one progressive speaker on the Sunday morning bobblehead shows even now, as one example?

Why else are discredited idiots like Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich and Grover Norquist given more coverage than the whole White House team put together?

CNN could easily have included a few words of response from the DNC to counter the statements of the RNC in that posting, but they didn't. Doesn't anyone ever bother to ask themselves why?

It is not now and never has been a coincidence, and it's not going to stop until Congress takes a serious look at the media monopoly that exists today. And that's all I have to say about that.

Am I the only one that thinks Sarah Steelman's "just another white guy in a suit" comment is ridiculously and overtly racist AND sexist?

Well, I laughed when I read that. Living in Missouri, I understand that what she said is shocking to a good part of the electorate who are still stuck in the stone ages (southern Missouri in particular). I'm not sure how that will play to her likely voters. She lost the Republican primaries this past fall in the race for Governor. Frankly, if I had to have a Republican replace Bond (and thank God he's going), I'd choose Steeleman. The Blunts are a curse on Missouri. Against Robin Carnahan, though, I'm not sure. I think Steeleman might offer more competition.

Former Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman is apparently planning to run for the Senate next year

Watch out for Steelman. Some wingnuts really like her the way they like Palin -- check out this post, titled "The Other Sarah." She's actually prettier than Palin (in a local-news-anchor kind of way), and she's probably smarter (it would be hard for her not to be), so my guess is that they're going to bump her up to the big leagues soon.

Forget trying to recall Rep. Cao. Every once in a while someone suggests using or tries to use a provision of state constiutional law to recall a US representative or senator. It was tried on Sen Frank Church (D-ID) back in 1967 because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. It got shot down:

A recall campaign was waged against Church in 1967 by N. Idaho Republican Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin. Rankin unsuccessfully sued Idaho's Secretary of State to accept recall petitions for then-U.S. Sen. Frank Church.

The Idaho district court ruled that the recall laws of Idaho do not apply to U.S. senators and they would violate the U.S. Constitution. The Idaho Attorney General at the time, Allan Shepard, agreed with the court's decision.

"It must be pointed out that a United States senator is not a state officer but a federal officer whose position is created by Article I, Section I of the United States Constitution," Shepard wrote in a June 17, 1967, opinion for the Secretary of State. "There seems to be no provision for canvassing the votes of a recall election of a United States senator." Most commentators at the time believed that the recall attempt strengthened Church politically by allowing him to play the role of political martyr.

http://www.answers.com/topic/frank-church

Reichert to run - Ah, a year of "Green River Killer" re-runs. Well, at least Matt Hassleback will have something to do besides recover from injuries.

She might at least have said "another white guy in a suit with a bad haircut." Apart from Rick Perry, ain't no good hair there. Have to think she said this to get in good with Emily's List; if Missouri is anything like Iowa, and it is, she doesn't stand a chance in a Republican primary unless she does a credible Palin imitation.

Reichert barely defended his House seat against Darcy Burner in '06 and '08, and that was with huge infusions of cash from the RNC.

Are recalls of Congressmen constitutional? I've done some pretty extensive research on the Elections Clause for a law review article, and there's no court decision which really sheds light on the subject. It seems to me, though, that such a move is on shaky ground at best.

Think she could have said: "Roy Blunt is another {ethically-challenged} white guy in a suit, and I think the public wants change,"

Clearly nothing remains of the Gingrich "tolerate the moderates for the sake of gaining the majority" strategy.

On the one hand, that's great.
On the other hand, the lockstep idiocy method means there is no credible opponent to the Democrats which encourages complacency and self-service.

All we have to look to now is progressive activists to make Reid and Pelosi sweat a little. (The DLC would love to have them steer the Democrats so as to tack right in order to get an even bigger majority (except that tacking right lost the Democrats seats almost every election after 1992.)