Call It A Comeback
Eric Zorn might have fun taking a copy of today’s lead editorial to Bruce Dold:
My, it has been fun to watch them try to scare the wits out of each other in the state capital over something as dry as the state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Not that I’d be one to make fun of them, I quite often switch legislator with legislature-and I study state politics.
Supreme Court fundraising gets ugly:
A nine-pound stack of photocopies of garbage-picked documents was delivered anonymously to the Post-Dispatch and other media Tuesday, in an effort to prove Republicans are skirting campaign rules to raise money in the race. The documents include hundreds of e-mail printouts, campaign letters, restaurant employee time sheets, old phone bills and discarded envelopes – all apparently fished from trash cans.
Here I’ll take issue with how the problem is presented. First, there appears to be a violation. Isn’t that the first news that should be reported? Now, if it is simply writing thank you notes, it’s a violation and not a huge deal–a slap on the wrist and don’t do it again. But it is a violation and Luechtefeld admits it. Start with the lede.
Now, the gathering bit is important but in the context of this story it is secondary. It would be a great story on how campaigning is especially ugly or in a story on how partisanship is affecting elected judges, but to make it the focus of the story when there is a violation is a strange choice.
The other thing that would add context is a discussion of who might be doing the dumpster diving. It wouldn’t be Maag–unless he was really stupid. It would be someone who has an interest in getting Maag elected.
One of the bizarre parts of the Ryan custody papers is that another campaign brought it to light or went public–usually some nebulous organization or character does it so the campaign can keep above the fray. Explaining that process would be more interesting than quoting Maag other than to point out he denies involvement.
Because it is one of the funniest releases I’ve seen in a while–and Jeff is a friend:
May 23rd, 2004— 3rd District Congressional candidate Jeff Smith (D-St. Louis County) strongly condemns Republican Bill Federer for comparing a single payer system of universal health insurance to Nazi genocide.
At the Marine Villa neighborhood candidate forum, at St. Alexius hospital on St. Louis City?s South Side, Republican Bill Federer answered a question about universal health insurance by saying that the Nazi Germany was a socialist society that operated a single payer healthcare system until government revenue fell, at which point the Nazi?s began to slaughter the retarded and handicapped.
Smith said he had never heard anything quite so absurd as Federer?s comparison of proposals to improve the healthcare and quality of life of 44 million uninsured Americans to the Nazi slaughter of 12 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally retarded, handicapped, and other so called ?undesirables,?
?I cannot believe that in 2004, I heard a candidate from a major party compare ideas about improving healthcare for the 44 million Americans who have no access to insurance to a methodical system of slaughter. The radical right wing in this country is so brainwashed by their hatred of government that Bill Federer legitimately seems to believe that subsidized healthcare led to the organized murder of millions.?
Smith continued, ?Republicans like Bill Federer have no qualms about using the power of the state to spy on what library books you can read or to get between a woman and her doctor or to subsidize multi-national corporations that send jobs overseas. But the minute someone proposes helping the working poor and improving people?s quality of life, all of a sudden the Nazi?s are racing down Kingshighway. I have never heard priorities that upside down.?
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We should all be able to agree, Federer is a twit.
Sanchez is being rotated out, but the weird thing is the language used to describe his performance
President Bush praised Sanchez during a photo opportunity in the Oval Office. “Rick Sanchez has done a fabulous job,” the president said as he met with a group of Iraqis. “He’s been there for a long time. His service has been exemplary.”
At the Pentagon, Larry Di Rita, chief spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said both Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Richard Myers “are very impressed with the work Gen. Sanchez performed from the very beginning” of his service in Iraq. Sanchez took command there in May 2003.
Am I missing something here? A fabulous job? In what way?
Is this what a Gentleman’s C is?
Generally I’m willing to cut the brass some slack here, but what exactly has Sanchez done a fabulous job of? Perhaps this is why the Dear Mr. Rumsfeld continues to be employed?
Yesterday, I suggested some changes at the Obama site were foreshadowing some big changes…..
Guess who just joined the Obama Party!
For one Rick Klau over at ObamaBlog
So far, just one message
The other news is ‘some veterans’ of the Dean Internet team are involved. Care to elaborate Rick?
I had a feeling this was going to happen and it is great news. So now we have two very internet friendly campaigns in Illinois and Tari Renner in third. How ’bout the Party joining in?
Bike to work if you don’t find pretty much average gas prices typical.
One of my rants about St. Louis–usually found on Blog Saint Louis, the companion site to ArchPundit, is that Saint Louis leaders couldn’t find hip if it was attached to their thigh. But to give some credit to Blagorgeous, his admin is running commercials with Wilco songs promoting Illinois. As the Join Cross guys say–that is cool and hip.
Far more hip than Elvis.
And the problem–with Saint Louis? The Mayor nor anyone on RCGA has ever heard of Jay Farrar despite his residence on the South Side, ever present attendance at local concerts and a nationally known artist.
But they know who Nelly is. Dandy. I need to move North again.
And Chris–it isn’t as if I can get Steve Brown to pay attention anyway-unless a reader from around the office wants to bug him about the problem. (yes I know Steve Brown is not on that end of things, but lets face it–if the Speaker is going to get a fire lit under him to do something, it’s coming from Brown).
Some great anecdotes about riding to work. Biking to work is one of my favorite ways to clear out my mind–try it Friday if you haven’t before.
Ed Burke acted as if he was losing coverage with his cell phone while talking to reporters about the $17,000 in free insurance he received from Michael Segal.
Best part of the article:
Burke was notified he was getting free insurance. He started paying for it after Segal was arrested in 2002, according to testimony
Second best,
On Friday, when a reporter called the Finance Committee chairman on his cell phone to ask about the free insurance, the City Council’s most powerful alderman appeared to hide behind his cell phone.
”Hellooo? Hellooo??” Burke said, as if he didn’t hear the question, before hanging up.
A follow-up call to his cell phone seconds later went unanswered. He didn’t return a voice-mail message.
But did the phone ring or go directly into the voice mail?
On the post concerning Rich Williamson:
I’m tracking down what his position was exactly, but Williamson is back at Mayer and whatever long name it has now as a law firm. His position at the UN wasn’t likely a deputy to Negroponte, but I haven’t had time to figure out exactly where he was in the organizational chart.
And in 2000, he had no official candidate he was backing in the primary as he was Republican Party Chair at the time.
My apologies for the mistakes and thanks to Jeff Berkowitz for catching them.
ArchPundit
