The Commentariat -- May 30, 2013
Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Obama plans to nominate James B. Comey, a former hedge fund executive who served as a senior Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, to replace Robert S. Mueller III as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to two people with knowledge of the selection." ...
... In 2007, Comey testified before a Senate committee (that's Chuck Schumer asking the questions) about the March 2004 incident in which White house counsel Alberto Gonzales & chief-of-staff Andy Card invaded the hospital sickbed of AG John Ashcroft to get him to sign off on reauthorizing an electronic surveillance program. Massimo Calabresi of Time provides context:
Charlie Savage & Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., a lightning rod of Republican attacks during President Obama's first term, is now contending with a new round of criticism over the Justice Department's campaign against leaks to the news media." Some major news organizations, including the New York Times & the Associated Press, will not attend an off-the-record session Holder called to get media input on how leak investigations should be modified. ...
... Igor Bobic of TPM: "The Department of Justice claims it has proof it alerted the parent company of Fox News of a subpoena used to obtain the phone log records of Washington correspondent James Rosen as part of an investigation into a 2010 leak of classified information, according to CNN.... The Justice Department previously said it had notified News Corp. of the seizure on Aug. 27, 2010, but company official over the weekend countered by claiming they had no such record. News Corp.'s chief legal counsel at the time also issued a strong denial of ever receiving a subpoena from the government." ...
... CW: Fred Kaplan of Slate, who is an actual expert on national security, makes the same point I did as soon as I learned of James Rosen's Fox "News" report: that Rosen's report breached national security. "... the alarm bells went off not because he reported that North Korea was about to conduct a nuclear-weapons test but because he reported that the CIA learned of this fact from a source inside North Korea. In other words, Rosen revealed that the CIA had a source inside North Korea. It's unclear whether the source was a human spy or a communications intercept; it's also irrelevant because, thanks to this story, the source is probably no longer alive or active." Responsible reporters know better & will self-censor, delay or even kill a story that could compromise national security &/or security personnel.
Droning On. Mark Mazzetti & Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "Less than a week after President Obama outlined a new direction for the secret drone wars, Pakistani officials said that a C.I.A. missile strike on Wednesday
** Q: How is the Miss America Pageant like the Tea Party? A: They're both tax-exempt social welfare organizations. Michael Grunwald of Time: "... why should any group be tax exempt? The entire concept of a tax-exempt nonprofit -- not only the controversial 501(c)(4) social-welfare shelters but also motherhood-and-apple-pie 501(c)(3) charities and foundations -- is odd. An organization that doesn't make any taxable profit shouldn't need a special status to avoid paying taxes.... Charities, foundations and other intentional nonprofits shouldn't need tax exemptions unless they have profits they need to shelter. Which many of of them do. In 2012, the U.S. had 1,616,053 tax-exempt organizations, 10 times the number of fast-food restaurants. Harvard University is tax exempt even though it has a $31 billion endowment; it's basically a huge hedge fund with a lucrative merchandising operation attached to a school." CW: forgive Grunwald for making sense. ... ... CW: what Grunwald doesn't mention is that donors use the tax-exempt charities & "charities" as a tax dodge, too, and indeed the tax dodge is their incentive to donate. As I understand it, donations to 501(c)(4)s, like these Tea Party groups & Karl Rove's Americans for Prosperity, are not tax-exempt. But AFP's sister organization, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, "is a 501(c)(3), which allows donations to be tax-deductible but has restrictions on political activity." The Heritage Foundation (now under the direction of former Sen. Jim DeMint [RTP-S.C.]) is another example of a C-3 "charitable organization," & you can deduct your contributions to it from your taxes. So your civic-minded wealthy winger can redirect his tax contribution from the government to organizations dedicated to undermining said government. Congressional Races We've got a great chance of taking back the House. And I'm going to be working tirelessly wherever I get the opportunity to make the case to the American people that our ideas are the right ones. -- Barack Obama, in Chicago yesterday John Byrne & Kim Geiger of the Chicago Tribune: "President Barack Obama came home to Chicago on Wednesday to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates as part of his party's push to take back control of the House and preserve Democrats' majority in the Senate next year." ... ... Demographics. In a Hill op-ed, Democrat Mark Mellman explains why retaking the House will be difficult for Democrats. ... Dana Milbank: "Bob Dole must be some kind of prophet.Not 72 hours after Fox News Channel aired the former Republican leader's suggestion that the GOP put out a 'closed for repairs' sign, Michele Bachmann announced that she's going out of business. Just like that, the Republican conglomerate got an unexpected chance to shutter one of the balkiest shops in its supply chain." ... ... John Avlon of the Daily Beast on Michele Bachmann's Congressional career (which ain't over yet, folks): "Over her eight years in congress, Bachmann quickly achieved notoriety because of her cavalier disregard of facts (her staff told me she gets most of her information from WorldNetDaily) and her impulse to play mini-McCarthy (routinely accusing political opponents of being anti-American) and then turn around and play the victim card to raise millions of dollars online.... The way Bachmann chose to use her time at the podium of public service was a disgrace. She degraded national debate, consistently chose fearmongering over facts, and exhibited every impulse of the demagogue and the ideologue." ... ... Reid Wilson of the National Journal: "Rep. Michele Bachmann's decision to retire from Congress next year in the face of investigations by at least five different government agencies will bring to a close a political career full of sound and fury, signifying -- well, not much.... The FBI, the Federal Election Commission, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee and the Urbandale, Iowa, police department are all investigating various aspects of Bachmann's campaign.... her enduring legacy may be the lessons she taught in how to lose friends and become completely uninfluential. With her exit, Democrats lose a potent fundraising tool. Republicans lose a headache they would just as soon do without." ... ... Gail Collins: "... the Tea Party caucus Bachmann founded in the House has lost its traction. In the Senate, right-wing newcomers like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have captured the limelight from the congresswoman from Minnesota who once won the Iowa straw poll." ... ... Mistermix of Balloon Juice: "I expected [her videotaped announcement] to end with 'Marcus' arrest for activities in a truck stop restroom had no bearing on my decision to pack up my bags and go home.'" ... ... In view of the FBI investigation of Bachmann, Steve M. of No More Mister Nice Blog seems all surprised: "Wait: a proud constitutional conservative and fervent believer in limited government is under investigation by the FBI -- part of Antichrist Eric Holder's Justice Department -- and the GOP and right-wing noise machine aren't rushing to her defense? No one's calling this a witch hunt? No one's claiming that this is part of the Obama jihad against True Patriots? No one's dismissing the other investigations as traffic-ticket stuff? Well, obviously the GOP establishment considers Bachmann a liability -- it's done no pushback on her behalf." ... ... CW: I would add that the Grand Old White Boys do not like a grandstanding dame who, among countless other outrageous acts of self-promotion, gave her own State of the Union response instead of endorsing the Paul Ryan's official party response. As Tim Murphy of Mother Jones noted a few years ago, "... in an interview with Politico, a [former Minnesota Gov. Tim] Pawlenty [R] aide [said]: 'She's a real pain in the ass.' Former state Sen. Dean Johnson, who was the Republican minority leader during Bachmann's stint in St. Paul, has said, 'I don't think I ever served with anybody who I mistrusted more, from either side of the aisle.'" Murphy's column reprises some of Bachmann's greatest hits. ... ... Jonathan Chait of New York assembled his own list of "Bachmann’s ten greatest insights as President of Crazyland." ... ... Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times: "Some of her comments were just amusing, in an ignorant sort of way, like when she said the Revolutionary War began in New Hampshire. Some were distinctly unamusing, in an ignorant sort of way, like when she suggested that the vaccine against H.P.V. made people 'retarded.' Some were sinister, like comments intended to suggest that armed insurrection is a nice way to express your political views. Last year, for example, she said she wanted 'people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax.' In July of 2012, she accused Huma Abedin, an adviser to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of being a jihadist infiltrator in the government." Matt Miller in the Washington Post: Lawrence Lessig, the professor who has made campaign finance reform his cause, proposes a "money bomb" to encourage legislators to quit spending half their days dialing for dollars. You'll have to read Miller's column to see how Lessig's plan would work (or not). CW: I thought this anecdote was interesting: "When I worked in the Clinton White House, I heard Al Gore say something I've never forgotten. It was in an early meeting on health care reform in the Cabinet Room. Gore observed matter-of-factly that 'we'll never do health care reform right unless we do campaign finance reform first.' Twenty years later, his point still rings true for every major plank on the agenda for American renewal." Local News Kelly Heyboer of the Star-Ledger: "The controversy over the appointment of Julie Hermann as Rutgers athletic director continued today as e-mails emerged showing infighting within the university over whether the new hire was properly vetted.... Ssme in the 28-member [search committee] felt the process of appointing a new athletic director was rushed." Dr. Doug Cox, a conservative Republican Oklahoma state legislator, writes an op-ed in the Oklahoman against his fellow legislators' obsession with passing bills "aimed at limiting abortion and contraception.... What happened to the Republican Party that felt that the government has no business being in an exam room, standing between me and my patient? Where did the party go that felt some decisions in a woman's life should be made not by legislators and government, but rather by the women, her conscience, her doctor and her God?" ... ... Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "This year, Cox was the recipient of Planned Parenthood's Barry Goldwater Award, which is presented to 'outstanding' public officials in the Republican Party who have demonstrated their support for reproductive health issues." ... ... By contrast, here's what happens when you have a Democratic legislature: ... Patrick McGreevy & Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times: "California lawmakers Wednesday advanced a dozen gun-control measures, including background checks for ammunition buyers, and gave early approval to a tax penalty on the Boy Scouts for barring openly gay leaders." Bryce Covert of Think Progress: "The California Assembly is expected to vote on Wednesday on a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which passed both the Assembly and Senate last year only to be vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D). The bill, AB241, would guarantee housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers for the elderly and disabled overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, and the right to use kitchen facilities. It also provides live-in workers the right to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep." ... ... AP: "Republican Assemblyman Brian Jones of Santee says the bill would make in-home help unaffordable for all but the wealthy. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year citing the financial effects on families." CW: how does this make sense? What about the "financial effects" on the families of domestic workers? Leave It to BuzzFeed. Benny Johnson compiles puns on Anthony Weiner's last name that made it into print during his 2011 sexting debacle, most courtesy of the New York Post. The best, IMHO, was not a pun on Weiner's name, but -- also from the Post -- this headline: "Erections Have Consequences." News Ledes Los Angeles Times: "Ibragim Todashev was being interrogated in his Orlando, Fla., home by the FBI and Massachusetts police when he was killed early in the morning of May 22. Now his family and friends want an independent investigation of how Todashev, an acquaintance of the man accused of organizing the bombing of the Boston Marathon, died at the hands of authorities.... In an interview with the Los Angeles Times after his news conference, Todashev said it appeared that his son had been shot by multiple agents from both the front and back." New York Times: "The federal authorities are investigating whether the person responsible for sending poison-laced letters to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and a lobbyist for his gun-control campaign in recent days may have also sent a similar letter to President Obama...." Seattle Times: "In a proposed deal to avoid the death penalty, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has agreed to plead guilty to killing 16 Afghans during a March 2012 tour of duty with an Army unit from Joint Base Lewis-McChord.... If the deal is approved, Bales would receive a life sentence, either with or without the possibility of parole.... In Afghanistan, the plea deal could inflame tensions." AP: "Two threatening letters containing traces of the deadly poison ricin were sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York and his gun-control group in Washington, police said." AP: " The Syrian president has told Lebanon's Hezbollah-owned TV station that Damascus received the first shipment of Russian air defense missiles, according to remarks released by the station Thursday.... Israel's defense chief, Moshe Yaalon, said earlier this week that Russia's plan to supply Syria with the weapons is a threat and that Israel was prepared to use force to stop the delivery.... Israel has long lobbied Moscow over the planned sale of S-300 air-defense missiles to Syria. However, on Tuesday, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said his government remained committed to the deal."
... Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post fact-checker: "As one of our colleagues put it, 'The entire fact checking industry may have to hold a national day of mourning.'" ...
Alexander Burns of Politico: "Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, [who was formerly a Republican,] will formally switch his party registration Thursday, abandoning his status as an independent and joining the Democratic Party, the governor's office told Politico. Chafee quietly informed President Barack Obama of his intention to affiliate as a Democrat after reaching that decision in private....
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When I first learned that James Comey was being considered for FBI director and read his bona fides, I thought, another Bush leftover? But then I discovered that he was the one involved in the hospital drama around Ashcroft and the two White House pushy peddlers thanks to Rachel last night who covered this story, I now applaud the choice.Sounds like the guy has some scruples plus I like the idea he's such a tall man––lends itself so well to trench coats and "just the facts, ma'm" persona.
One more word about Bachmann: I've asked this question before and have yet to hear an explanation. Given that she fabricated time and again––ok, forget fabricate--Bullshitted her way through speech after speech where on earth were her handlers? Wasn't there anyone on her team that said, Whoa, Nelly, The Smoot/Hawley Act was passed during the Hoover administration, not during FDR who she said ruined the country with it. Early in her "in your face fibs" she was featured on one of the talk shows and said this: "Well, Brian, remember what Churchill always said: "Those that don't[who can't] remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Nein, I said to myself, that phrase wasn't Churchill, it was George Santayana, but I wasn't positive. I wasn't near my computer, but my handy dandy Bartlett's was an arm length away. It took me three minutes to find the quote which was, indeed, attributed to old George. A mistake like this is harmless, but it's indicative of a pattern. So I'm asking again, her staff can't do a wee check on her incorrect pronouncements? Why didn't someone in the audience ever contradict her? Did they not realize that this elected official was giving them false information every time she opened her mouth? She really is pathetic––this girl with the far away eyes.
Of all the wingnut personae gesticulating wildly upon the political stage, Michele Bachmann had a proven track record for producing reliably ludicrous twaddle.
Her imminent (but not imminent enough) departure--at least from Congressional side of the stage--may be leaving, as Glenn Kessler notes above, a fair number of political pundits, observers and connoisseurs of the absurd somewhat at loose ends.
But they should take heart. There are plenty more Chief Whackjobs in Waiting. But aside from the usual suspects, the Louie Gohmerts, the Inhofes, the Sanfords, Akins, fans of rape, misogyny, chaos, and drooling imbecility, those in the running for the new mayor of Crazytown are not nearly as dangerous as wingers who have been able to remake themselves as experts, as respectable fonts of wisdom and sobriety, like Paul (Magic Math) Ryan who would rather have elderly citizens scraping cat food out of a can than ask Jamie Dimon for another red cent in taxes; Darrel Issa (the richest man in congress, a guy who made hundreds of millions on systems designed to ward off car thieves, something he, with his arrests for car theft, knows quite well. We won't even mention the arrests for carrying unlicensed firearms, threats, arson, insurance fraud, etc...) who presents himself as a respectable searcher after truth, justice, and wingnut way. And let us not forget the Tailgunner and the Aqua Buddha, both of whom are jockeying to be president.
Bachmann's successors in stupidity are bad because they throw up distractions that hide the GOP's efforts to blow up the country. They also drag the level of public discourse down amongst the propeller hatted weirdos, bigots, haters, liars, and frauds.
But the real danger comes from those who are treated with respect and honor by the MSM, the ones whose idea of public service is self promotion, anarchy, fealty to the rich, and boots in the ribs for the poor, all wrapped up in $2,000 suits and at least one terrible toupee.
PD,
I wondered about that same thing (Bachmann's advisers and handlers).
For about three seconds.
Then I realized that no one with half a brain would want to be connected to such a putz. I mean, would you? Even if you were an up and coming or established Republican operative? The big names on the Red State side probably reminded themselves of the colossal Palin cluster fuck and thought better of aligning themselves with another bird brain (and Bachmann makes Palin look like Niels Bohr).
I'm sure that during her cup of coffee in the presidential race her campaign may have attracted a few names and high priced talent (such as it was), but on a day to day basis, I'm guessing she was the smartest person on her team. How's that for a scary thought? Smoot/Halley? They were probably lucky to have gotten the right century never mind the administration.
Yeah, the Santayana quote is a slip many people could make, but confusing John Wayne with a serial killer was all Bachmann. And make no mistake. Most of her voters couldn't care less if she's dumb as bag of hammers. They voted for her because she hates gays, liberals, blah people, and the blah president. Just like they do. They couldn't care less about the Smoot/John Wayne Gacy Act.
sorry...should have been Smoot/Hawley....I guess I need a smart advisor too. Or a better editor.
So Planned Parenthood has an award for Republicans who support women's reproductive rights?
Who knew?
How do they find these creatures? Geiger counter? They must be on the verge of extinction. Maybe that's why, in some years, they toss the award to "former Lt. Governors", State Senators, Reps, and Assemblymen, maybe directors of parks and rec.
I'll bet this award does wonders for their standing with the wingnuts. I mean, if you support the idea that women should be allowed to do what they want with their own bodies, just think of the state the place would get in after a while.
What's next? The vote?
Saint Ronald, help us!
@PD Pepe: if Bachmann had any "handlers" to try to rein her in, she fired them. As Reid Wilson wrote in the National Journal (column linked above),
"Her staff turned over constantly; almost monthly, it seemed, she had a new person speaking on her behalf. The pollster she first hired to conduct surveys for her presidential campaign, Ed Goeas, left little more than a month after her Iowa straw poll victory; at least two of her former Congressional chiefs of staff now openly ridicule her in the media.
"One of those former chiefs, Andy Parrish, is at the heart of the investigations stemming from Bachmann's 2012 presidential bid. Parrish said in sworn affidavit last month that Bachmann had been aware of payments made to an Iowa state senator who initially backed her campaign, payments that allegedly ran afoul of Iowa law. "
Kaili Joy Gray wrote a pretty funny piece about some of Bachmann's staff woes in January. Seems she refused to pay 5 of them unless they signed a non-disclosure agreement where they wouldn't say anything to the press or law enforcement about "unethical, immoral, or criminal activity." Um, that non-disclosure agreement sounds unenforceable to me. I don't think a person can avoid divulging criminal activity because he promised the criminal he would keep mum. Besides, a contract signed under that kind of duress might be unenforceable no matter what it said. Withholding pay is pretty close to the equivalent of holding a gun to the head. Bachmann may love the Constitution, but she sure doesn't love the law.
Marie
Bachmann was probably the most able at spouting nonsense to her followers. She worked that no malice nice white lady vibe whilst crazy shit bubbled out like an endless washer overflow. In the end, I think that her followers were merely embracing her lies because they were their beliefs and truth is not an issue. She always appears to be fully and truly deranged to me, as I think she believes everything she says. The Tea Party compadres left behind do not have the skill to present themselves as benign and earnest. No spoonful of sugar here. They are confrontational, clearly self serving and outright nasty.
Its amazing what nasty things you can say with a smile and a well modulated voice. Did you ever use that sweet special voice with your dog to tell them if they peed on the floor again, they were headed for the pound? Same idea with Bachmann. Yes, I was comparing the intellectual capacity of her followers to dogs. (Ms Frida, my beloved bulldog, has one fairly inactive marble, so I know of what I speak)
Didn't Ed Rollins, the most high profile Repub consultant associated with Bachmann, back away with prejudice after he had bilked her for what he could?
Akhilleus says: "...thought better of aligning themselves with another bird brain (and Bachmann makes Palin look like Niels Bohr)"
Niels Bohr, who, so the story goes, nailed a horseshoe above his office door for good luck. "You don't really believe in that stuff, do you? a colleague asked him to which Bohr responded: "No, but I've heard it works even for people who don't believe." So maybe Palin does have a bit of Bohrism although she'd nail a cross with maybe a bleeding Jesus, not a horseshoe.
Thanks Marie for the Wilson explanation plus if she dismissed staff at such a rapid rate she must have been hell to work with therefore her people must have felt compromised, downgraded and were reluctant to criticize–––let her drown in her own juice as it were.