Because He’s Known for Consistency?

ArchPundit May 31, 2011 No Comments

The Chicago News Cooperative has a good piece on why it’s so stupid and reckless for Blagojevich to take the stand:

“I am fascinated by the train wreck that is this trial,” said Lisa Noller, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago who now does criminal defense work. “He has been on the circuit so long he doesn’t realize the inconsistent statements he’s made. He doesn’t realize the admissions he’s made.”

But the prosecutors know them very well, Noller said, adding that they’ve studied his every public utterance, whether from the lobby of the federal courthouse, the pages of his book, speeches to college students or his television and newspaper interviews.

“If there’s an inconsistency to be found, they’ll know what it is,” she said. “It wouldn’t surprise me that in his heart of hearts, he doesn’t believe he’s done anything wrong. It’s textbook narcissistic behavior. He winks and nods at the jurors. He says, ‘Hi, I used to be your governor.’ I think he believes he’s got a shot.”

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“He’s the Charlie Sheen of criminal defendants,” said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor turned defense lawyer. “He goes out and does what he does. Half the world is amused and half the world is appalled.”

What Blagojevich is betting on, Cotter said, is that just one person on the jury will be amused or impressed. No matter how solid the prosecution’s case is, if Blagojevich’s nice-guy polished narrative resonates emotionally with just one juror, the evidence may not matter.

“He’s a politician and he was a good politician. You have to respect that,” Cotter said. “Is it a high risk? The fact is, when you decide what is high risk and what is not, you have to ask yourself ‘compared to what’?

“To flap your arms and think you’re going to fly is ridiculous. But if you’re falling out of a window anyway, you might as well flap.”

Flap away.

Cook Predicts 5 Illinois pick-ups

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

It’s behind their subscription wall so I won’t post most of it.

I think it might be slightly overly optimistic and I expect a pickup of 4 seats next cycle with one district being a swing.  Though Wasserman points out only four are safe Republican seats meaning a wave could lead to 14 Dem seats–I think 12 is more realistic.  As of right now they are using Obama’s 2008 numbers which are probably inflated over what his 2012 numbers will be and not a perfect proxy for Congressional races.

Daily Dolt: Soon to be Former Congressman Joe Walsh

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

How did I survive without my daily crack of stupid politician tricks:

Yesterday, GOP Rep. Joe Walsh raged at Jewish Americans for not being sufficiently pro-Israel. Many Jews simply refuse to buy conservative falsehoods about Obama’s stance on the 1967 lines, and the good Congressman finds this wholly unacceptable.

Today, Dave Weigel has published an interview with Walsh, in which he claims that Obama was only elected president because he is a “black man who was articulate”:

“Why was he elected? Again, it comes back to who he was. He was black, he was historic. And there’s nothing racist about this. It is what it is. If he had been a dynamic, white, state senator elected to Congress he wouldn’t have gotten in the game this fast. This is what made him different. That, combined with the fact that your profession” — another friendly tap of the bumper sticker —”not you, but your profession, was just absolutely compliant. They made up their minds early that they were in love with him. They were in love with him because they thought he was a good liberal guy and they were in love with him because he pushed that magical button: a black man who was articulate, liberal, the whole white guilt, all of that.”

Steve Benen had the quote of the day yesterday regarding the comments on American Jews

It pains me to say this, but Rep. Joe Walsh is not smart. After today’s column, that should be clear. His argument that President Obama wants a peace agreement based on the 1967 borders is demonstrably ridiculous — Obama, like Netanyahu and all modern U.S. presidents, sees the borders with land swaps as a starting point for negotiations — should leave no doubt where Walsh stands. The argument the congressman presents entirely indefensible. Walsh is not pro-reality.

We could, I suppose, explore whether Walsh is deliberately trying to deceive the public or simply doesn’t understand the subject matter he’s writing about, but either way, the column is idiocy.

It doesn’t pain me at all to say Joe Walsh is a moron.  He is.

But the Illinois Republican really gets cooking when he goes after Jews who refuse to see the world as he does.

[W]here is the outrage from the American Jewish community? Don’t they understand that the president is not pro-Israel? … The short answer is that most American Jews are liberal, and most American liberals side with the Palestinians and vague notions of “peace” instead of with Israel’s wellbeing and security. Like the president, the U.N., and most of Europe, too many American Jews aren’t as pro-Israel as they should be and too many share his belief that the Palestinians are victims of Israeli occupation.

So, after getting President Obama’s policy position completely wrong, Walsh feels comfortable lecturing Jews about their need to support Israel the way he wants them to.

Walsh, of course, is Catholic.

What’s more, after 10 paragraphs, Walsh never quite gets around to explaining how his approach to foreign policy strengthens U.S. interests, improves Israeli interests, bolsters the peace process, or helps anyone in any way.

It’s almost a parody of what a right-wing reactionary foreign policy looks like, and serves as a reminder of why clowns like Joe Walsh are not to be taken seriously.

The only bad thing about Walsh is that he’ll be going away after 2012 and I’m pretty sure he has years of entertainment in him.

Initial Numbers from Cook’s Redistricting Guru

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

He’s only using the Obama numbers because this is off the cuff.  Obviously, those are more Democratic than usual, but still interesting:

Boo Hoo

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

Kirk on the new map:

“The draft map is the unfortunate result of cynical partisans who want to override the decision of Illinois voters who elected fiscal conservatives to Congress.  Its main purpose is to force Nancy Pelosi back into power.

“The map senselessly divides dozens of Illinois communities and denies our growing Hispanic community their rightful opportunity to be fully enfranchised with a second Congressman.

“This map was gerrymandered to ensure suburban voters will have little voice in Congress.”

Actually the outstate part of the map is far better than the last map in making more geographically compact districts.

Now That’s a Map

ArchPundit May 27, 2011 No Comments

Capitol Fax has the proposed Congressional Map up.  It’s a good map for Dems. I think there are 12 likely Dem seats.  Bobby Schilling is gone with this map and Adam Kinzinger has to primary either Manzullo, Schock or Shimkus. If he had to primary anyone he wanted Tim Johnson, but he has no real ties to the Johnson areas.   More later, but take a look over at Rich’s site.

Scenes From The Blagojevich Trial Today

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Absurd Human Being

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Check out Stacy St. Clair’s recent tweets:

Here

Steans Forced to Mandate Biology Lessons

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

Via Rich

I’m baffled that if a school was going to discuss sexual health, it wouldn’t discuss contraceptives that are used and accepted by 80 percent of the population.

Legislation requiring sex education classes to discuss contraception in addition to abstinence passed the Illinois Senate Wednesday over objections from some Republicans who want local school boards to decide what material is best to teach.

“There’s been some suggestion that perhaps this isn’t needed, that there’s not a problem. Well, I’d like to give you the facts that suggest very much why this bill is needed,” said Democratic Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago, who sponsored the bill.

Steans argued the measure is needed because significant numbers of Illinois high school students are having unprotected sex.

The bill calls for “age appropriate” and “medically accurate” materials that emphasize not only abstinence but also contraception to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in sex education classes in grades six through 12. The legislation passed 30-28 and now goes to the Illinois House.

Once again, reality has a liberal bias.

Daily Dolt: Tribune With Dan Rutherford Close Behind

ArchPundit May 26, 2011 No Comments

I generally think Dan Rutherford is a decent guy and so this his effort to stop the state from consolidating bills was a bit of a surprise.  The Tribune’s editoral page, yesterday, kept up it’s absolute inability to comprehend state finances with this slop:

You used to be able to lead a long life without ever knowing the name of an Illinois state treasurer. Now, though, you owe considerable gratitude to the current treasurer, a Republican first-termer named Dan Rutherford. This week, he blew a very loud whistle. In so doing, he made it harder for Illinois lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn to sink you even deeper in debt.

Rutherford first calculated that the pols who run Illinois have amassed nearly $200 billion in debt. That includes some $45 billion in bond debt, $8 billion in unpaid bills and $140 billion in unfunded pension and health care benefits for public employees. Every household in Illinois owes $42,000. Don’t get us started on your share of the debts run up by your profligate local and federal governments.

What the Trib and apparently Rutherford don’t get is that the state already owes the money it is considering borrowing to pay bills already incurred. Instead of borrowing from people willing and capable of loaning the state money, we are borrowing from state vendors, doctors and other health care providers who treat state employees and all sorts of other people and organizations the state pays money to.  The state can consolidate that debt into a reasonable package without incurring any further costs that it won’t have to pay anyway according to state law.

I know this because my mother is currently dealing with patient, but incredibly persistent medical providers who keep billing her until the state gets around to paying out.  She’s fine and everyone seems to be willing to wait, but it is stress.  We owe it to the people and organizations that do business with the state to pay on time. That means a big consolidation loan that can be effectively payed down.  The Tribune’s refusal to understand this only shows how shallow and stupid it’s editorials have become.