Call It A Comeback
No, not this guy, that happens every weekend.
This guy. Apparently going to a megachurch is way out there for a black politician.
There’s a certain blindspot in the press about black churches and you know all those Democrats who think religion is icky. Hell, Warren is probably to the left of Meeks on social issues.
That’s probably a good thing. While everyone is running around trying to claim Murtha was swiftboated, let’s make this clear–Murtha was not in just one bad situation, but several. I’ll take him at face value on what he says about ABSCAM given how long ago it was, but in recent years he’s been in the pocket of defense contractors and has a friends and families plan going on. Despite his protestations over being willing to back Pelosi’s reform package, he worked with Republicans to kill another plan previously. That’s not an encouraging record.
The main take on Hoyer is that he’s too close to K Street. That’s a problem, but I’m unclear on how that makes Murtha better–Defense lobbyists are on K Street too. At least we don’t get the ABSCAM and friends and family plan added to the problem.
This leaves the only serious problems in Mollohan who I presume is not going to be head of ethics until his case is fully resolved and then the Hastings–Harmon issue where we apparently cannot find anyone who wasn’t impeached or under current investigation to head Intelligence. Really, this isn’t hard stuff people. Both are unsuitable and there are other people who can head up Intelligence. Harmon is probably a better choice in the short term, but if this AIPAC scandal isn’t cleared up soon, she needs to be removed until it is resolved.
Finally, Al Franken has on the challenger to William Jefferson on this morning–remember to help her out. You can also help out with the recount in FL-13 that is a friggen disaster.
He might disagree with Dean, but he at least gets that Dean is doing a good job even while disagreeing with him.
Carville has decided to take a win and use it to try and divide the party. Dandy, we can’t even get along when we win with this sort of crap.
I think the 50 State Project’s impact on this election is a bit overstated–sort of like the Trib’s slobberfest over Rahm. Both were important, but I don’t think the 50 State project is really showing that much impact yet. We’ll see it have a far greater impact in 2012 after the next redistricting.
I also tend to think the fight over resources wasn’t as clear cut as most in the blogosphere think it was, but I have enough faith in Dean and Rahm to know both were simply trying to do what they were tasked with.
That said, Carville is full of crap. Part of the reason it wasn’t a bigger win is that redistricting has reduced how easily a wave election creates turnover. We are still fighting off the legacy of the 1994 election in state houses. The 50 State Project is going to pay off by giving Democrats more control over redistricting and thus a better ability to hold a majority.
Rahm gets that part of it–remember he’s the one who wanted to do a mid-decade redistricting in Illinois. I am against that, but think that Democrats need to play hardball in Illinois on the next map. Ideally I’d like to see that as leverage for a federal Constitutional Amendment to essentially adapt Iowa’s redistricting process for the nation.
By my look at the Districts, Democrats could flip several seats including 6, 11, 10, and potentially one more. 8 and 17 can be made safe at the same time flipping it from a 10-9 map to a 14-5 map. 17 Can include Peoria, Knox County picking up labor strongholds to reinforce Hare’s seat. 11 Can be rearranged to be more of a South Suburban labor heavy seat. 6, 10, and 8 can be more spoke like to bring in some Democratic voters from Cook County and 10 and 8 can pick up some pockets from 9. Create 15, 18, and 19 to stick as many Republican strongholds down state into those Districts as possible. Then consider taking 14 and including Rockford and use it as a spoke like District from Cook, dumping Manzullo with all the upstate Republican strongholds we can find. That would leave 15, 16, 18, & 19 as Republican with 13 probably picking up the Republican strongholds in mid state. If we lose a seat the likeliest losses are in rural areas which continue to lose population relative to urban/suburban areas so we should be able to squeeze out a Republican in that process if necessary making it 14-4. It also reduces the Republican farm team. Shimkus and Manzullo survive–neither are going anywhere in the state. Weller, Biggert and Johnson all are pretty limited on the upside and they end up fighting over 2 out of 3 Districts if a District is lost.
If Republicans reading it don’t like it–get on the bandwagon to find a non-partisan solution to redistricting like Iowa has.
Congrats Frank, Matt and Mike.
In addition, political and cultural turmoil back in the U.S. is captured in several of the eligible films, including Frank Popper’s “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?” which documents a teacher, Jeff Smith, who ran for a Missouri Senate seat in 2004;
It’ll play in Chicago over Christmas:
December 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 at Facets Cinematheque
It’s really good. And you only see my face for about 2 seconds so don’t let that scare you off.
Apparently the B Sample for Floyd Landis had some problems
An unnamed source confirmed Landis’ claims that the lab had given the wrong number in Landis’ positive B sample, French newspaper Le Monde reported Wednesday.
“The error, of an administrative nature, does not mean the positive B sample was not that of the American,” Le Monde said. “But it is being used today by his lawyers … to contest his positive doping results.”
Landis won the Tour de France in stunning fashion after an astonishing come-back on the final mountain stage of the 2006 Tour, but was later tested positive for excessive testosterone levels during the now infamous ride.
Landis has contested his innocence since the positive was revealed, and last month posted his legal defence in a 300-page report online.
In part of that report the American clamed that the French lab wrote sample numbers on test forms that did not correspond with Landis’ number, then covered over the number with correction fluid and added his own.
The Le Monde story, which comes one day after French officials confirmed they were investigating a hacking into the Chatenay lab’s computer systems, said that the lab wrote the number 994,474 onto the doping form, while Landis’s number was 995,474.
“Even the best people make mistakes,” Landis reiterated to French television on Sunday. “I can’t say that the lab is always a bad lab, but I can say that in this case it made some mistakes … I did not take testosterone.”
So let’s assume the worst that Landis was doping.
We can’t tell because the French lab in question covered up what they claim to be a mistake. If there is no chain of custody the evidence is gone. Given the way these sorts of hearings are held I don’t know if that means Landis will win or not, but he should. Maintaining a chain of custody can occur even with mistakes–you simply document the mistakes assuming it’s a consistent one. Once the mistake is covered up–that’s the end of the usefullness of the chain of custody and the sample.
I was crushed when I learned that Landis was found to have doped. I didn’t say much because I figured he deserved a chance to defend himself. Now, it appears he should be granted the Tour title and reinstated. Even if he was doping we cannot reliably establish that.
And that’s the great tragedy. Landis pulled off one of the truly great performances in the Tour de France and even if cleared, he’ll always live under the suspicion of doping. And because the Tour relies on a lab known for screwing up time and time again, the integrity of the sport cannot be fixed.
In even more fun news, the lab is claimed it was hacked. The evidence–fake e-mails. The most likely scenario of forged e-mails not from the server wasn’t even entertained by the lab.
Friggen geniuses.
But let’s put this in context of the governing bodies in cycling–Landis has to fight for his reputation while the testing lab gets to claim ‘an administrative error’ and get backed up as the victim. Unbelievable.
Instead of fighting over credit, let’s just be happy and move forward
But today we’re talking about Rahm. The guy is an asshole, to be sure. But he’s our asshole. And it’s about time we had one.
He’s not running DCCC next cycle so let’s start the complaining about the next guy. Get a head start on it before it becomes fashionable.
I loved this too:
“You’ve got to have a thirst for winning,” he said. “You know what our party thinks? `We’re good people with good ideas. That’s just enough, isn’t it?’ Being tough enough, mean enough and vicious enough is just not what they want. . . . They just want to be patted on the back for the noble effort. No.”
Okay, I want some feedback on what people think of the three candidates from this cycle:
Duckworth, Pavich and Seals.
The aim is to get a variety of opinions about the three candidates and their campaigns. From there, there will more open threads about whether to encourage the above candidates, discourage them, and lay out potential candidates for each race if discouraging the last candidate is a good idea.
My point is to evaluate the three of them as candidates in their own right and from that discuss whether they should run again.
I don’t have strong opinions on Duckworth and Pavich at this point, but I’ve already said, I want Seals to run again. In fact, I hope he is already running again. If Kirk loses his mind and shoots for Senate against Durbin in a Blue State in a Presidential year with the next two years looking rocky for Republicans, Seals should win that race. If not, Kirk has a great shot at it anyway. In fact, that might push Kirk up since he might as well shoot big if he’s a top tier target. I’m not discouraging a primary–I generally think they are good things, but it would take an awful lot for me to not back Seals. He’s that good.
People read so take this seriously.
Steve Chapman always says it better than I
That is the question Robert Gates and President Bush will have to confront, without illusions. If your leg has gangrene, there is nothing to be gained from postponing the amputation, and much to be lost. But it takes a grown-up to tell you that.
Maybe he drinks bottled water along with Zorn.
Hastert has been known to show up at one of the better Sushi restaurants in DC so him wanting to be Ambassador to Japan seems very possible. He likes his food–and no I’m not making fun of that–I do too.
Get ready for a special election in 14.
Red State has Tom DeLay blogging. Next up Conrad Burns and Jack Abramoff.
For the left wing of the left wing–think about how assanine it sounds when Tom DeLay says if we just become more right wing and move from the center we will win elections again. Then think about the mirror image.
Playing only to your base works for a short time in the right circumstances. Like after the worst terrorist attack ever on US soil. However, it only works for so long.
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