John Hinderaker of the popular right-wing blog Powerline has responded to our post this morning. He never appreciates it when we fact check his posts, this time calling us “loony,” “goofballs,” and “moonbats.”

His principle rebuttal is that he claimed no “religious leader” has raised objections to the Miers nomination and our counterexamples were “religious groups,” which don’t count. Actually his original argument was not limited to religious leaders:

The idea that ‘religious types’…are ‘frosted’ because Miers is a ‘stealth’ candidate with ‘absolutely no paper trail’ is mystifying.

Also, aren’t religious groups led by – and this is probably just another “loony idea” – religious leaders?

His specific claims are no more convincing. Hinderaker objects to our example of Concerned Women for America because they are a “secular organization.” Here’s the top of CWA’s “About Us” section:

The clearest sign Hinderaker is in the wrong: he never links to our posts directly or even refers to the name of our blog. If he really believed in his argument, he’d let people see both sides and make up their own mind.

shows that 40% of Rep. Tom DeLay’s constituents in Sugarland, Texas, want him to resign. (Via DailyDeLay)

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 7/12/05:

Q Well, he has spoken about these questions that have come up as part of a leak investigation. So does he retain confidence in Karl Rove, specifically?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. Any individual who works here at the White House has the President’s confidence. They wouldn’t be working here if they didn’t have the President’s confidence.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Today:

JESSICAL YELLIN: Does the president still have full confidence in Karl Rove?

MCCLELLAN: Yeah, Jessica, this is asking questions all in the context of an ongoing investigation and —

YELLIN: He is one of the the president’s chief advisors. Does he have confidence is his –

MCCLELLAN: Karl continues to do his duties as deputy chief and staff and chief advisor to the president, and you’re trying to ask a question in the context of an ongoing investigation. The president has made it very clear that we’re not going to comment on an ongoing investigation. What we’re going to do is support the efforts of the special prosecutor.

Of course, on July 12, the investigation was ongoing as well. The question remains the same. The situation remains the same. It’s the White House’s attitude about Karl Rove that’s changed.

UPDATE: The Washington Post’s Jim VandeHei calls McClellan on it — Read more

Today, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) will host a fundraiser for criminally indicted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX).

The location? The luxurious Petroleum Club in Midland, Texas.

According to the Houston Business Journal, the club is among the “most prestigious and influential organizations,” with “a roster of members who are on the forefront of the Texas and global oil and gas industry.” (A history on the club’s website says the original conception was for “an exclusive, handsome club of and for men of the oil industry.”)

“This is a very secure, comfortable place where our members can do their business without having anyone in their business,” says Anna Schmidt, the [Houston] club’s director of membership development.

Tom DeLay certainly feels secure there. In fact, according to the Washington Post, it was at the Petroleum Club that DeLay received corporate contributions possibly at the center of his alleged money laundering scheme:

Some corporations were careful to specify that their contributions were solely meant to defray legally permissible administrative expenses. TRMPAC solicitations being investigated did not mention the restrictions. For example, DeLay was the featured “special guest” at a fundraising luncheon for TRMPAC at the Houston Petroleum Club, where donors were asked to contribute $15,000 to be considered a co-chair and $25,000 to be listed as an underwriter.

“Corporate checks are acceptable,” the invitation stated, according to a copy obtained by The Post.

That event took place on August 19, 2002. Just a few weeks later, TRMPAC official John Colyandro wrote the following check (allegedly funneling corporate cash to the Republican National Committee) now at the heart of the indictment against DeLay.:

Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency plans to donate the $5 million he was awarded as part of the Nobel Peace Prize to the developing world. ElBaradei publicly questioned Bush administration claims about Iraq’s nuclear capabilities. The U.S. “campaigned unsuccessfully against ElBaradei’s reelection this year to a third term as IAEA chief.”

In his October 12 column, NBC’s Howard Fineman wrote “what really frosts the religious types is that Bush evidently feels that he can only satisfy them by stealth “” by nominating someone with absolutely no paper trail. It’s an affront.” Hinderaker, who called the column the “dumbest bit of political analysis I’ve seen in a long time,” provided this rebuttal:

I am not aware of a single religious leader who has in any way objected to the Miers nomination or called it an “affront” to religious people. I know a great many religious conservatives, and not a single one of them adopts this view.

Wrong again Hinderaker.

Here are some major religious conservative groups that have already objected:

Liberty Counsel: Conservative advocacy group with close ties to Jerry Falwell, dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the traditional family.

“First, the President had a number of highly qualified candidates with proven track records and well-developed judicial philosophies. He passed over them and chose an invisible nominee. Second, selecting a nominee who has held her views in silence for 60 years sends a wrong message to conservatives…”

Concerned Women for America: Coalition of conservative women that promotes biblical values and family traditions.

“Like CWA, most of those emphasizing Miss Miers’ faith have resisted any attempt to impose a religious test on any person seeking public office. The Constitution forbids it. We find it patronizing and hypocritical to focus on her faith in order to gain support for Miss Miers.”

Operation Rescue: Group dedicated to ending abortion and committed to “the great and historic creeds of our Christian faith.”

“We must be given a nominee that will restore the protections of personhood to the pre-born…Bush was given one mandate by the American people in the last election and that was to reform the Supreme Court. Reform does not come in a brown paper bag.”

Join our efforts to provide a modicum of accuracy to Powerline. Email Hinderaker at jhinderaker@faegre.com and tell him to correct the record for his readers.