Romney falsely claims McCain supports drilling in ANWR.
Romney falsely claims McCain supports drilling in ANWR.
During a recent interview with CBSNews.com, former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) got a little carried away with the recent conservative mantra of ‘drill here, drill now,’ falsely suggesting that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) supported drilling for oil in ANWR:
John McCain will get us energy independent. With more drilling–offshore, ANWR–with more drilling, with more nuclear power plants, with the use of coal and gas, he will get us energy independent–that’ the first thing you’ve gotta do to get this economy going.
Watch It:
McCain has stated that “ANWR is a pristine place and if they found oil in the Grand Canyon, I don’t think I’d drill in the Grand Canyon.’’
Romney disagrees. Today, during an appearance on Fox News, Romney proclaimed, we “should be drilling everywhere we can.” Read about the top three conservative myths about drilling in the latest Progress Report.
‘A Fly In The Soup’: Coburn’s History Of Obstructing Medical Research
‘A Fly In The Soup’: Coburn’s History Of Obstructing Medical Research
On Monday, the Wonk Room reported on Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) stubborn insistence that the bipartisan President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief bill (PEPFAR) include a wasteful earmark mandating that “55 percent of the money go to treatment programs.” Speaking on the Senate floor, Coburn suggested that his insistence on restoring the mandate saved the PEPFAR program:
Maybe treatment wouldn’t have been eliminated but it would have taken a back seat… the commitment to treatment would have eroded over time and PEPFAR would have been like any other aid program.
But Coburn is no hero. Far from it. In his three years in the senate, Coburn has earned the reputation of “a fly in the soup,” abusing the senate’s hold privilege — a technique which allows senators to “object to bringing a bill or nomination to the floor for consideration” — to prevent “the Senate leadership” from bringing matters to a vote.
Remarkably, Coburn’s obstructionism has even led “senate aides to now take legislation directly to Coburn’s office” to ensure “he has no objections“:
Senate aides on both sides of the aisle now take legislation directly to Coburn’s office before moving forward to make sure he has no objections — whether he’s on the relevant committee or not. If he does, they often swallow their pride and make the changes he’s asking for.
Currently, “Coburn has holds on about 80 bills” which are “non-controversial, bipartisan bills that he just doesn’t like.” Here is a small sampling:
- Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act (S.911): The bill, named “in memory of Caroline Pryce Walker, daughter of Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH), who succumbed to neuroblastoma in 1999 at age nine,” authorizes $30 million over five years, “to significantly increase federal investment into childhood cancer research.”
- The ALS Registry Act of 2007 (S.1382): Creates a single nationwide patient registry for incidences of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, to improve ALS research, disease management and the development of standards of care.
- The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act (S.1183): The bill coordinates and collaborates paralysis research, prevents research redundancies and hastens the discovery of better treatments and cures.
- Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act of 2008 (S.999): Amends the Public Health Service Act “to improve stroke prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.”
Coburn argues that his holds make legislation “better” and claims that he is “not hard to deal with if you talk with us, but if you won’t talk with us, we are hard to deal with.”
This week, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to “deal with” Coburn’s attention-seeking theatrics. According to the Crypt, Reid will “wrap most if not all of the bills held by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) into one large measure to be voted on by the Senate.”
The “broad popularity of the bills means that there would likely be more than enough support for veto-proof passage.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has often cited Congress’ low approval rating and has suggested that it is failing Americans. Will he vote against Coburn’s obstructionism?
Cross-posted in The Wonk Room.
Sen. Dole attempts to rename HIV/AIDS relief bill after Jesse Helms
Sen. Dole attempts to rename HIV/AIDS relief bill after Jesse Helms
The Huffington Post reports that Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) has introduced “an amendment to name an HIV/AIDS relief bill after the recently deceased Jesse Helms,” who was a “strident foe of HIV/AIDS prevention, research and treatment.”
Helms was notorious for his ignorant comments regarding HIV/AIDS. In 1987 he described “AIDS prevention literature as ‘so obscene, so revolting, I may throw up‘” and in 1995 Helms argued that “that the government should spend less on people with AIDS because they got sick due to their ‘deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct.’”
Bush Seeks ‘False Comfort Of Appeasement,’ Makes ‘Most Significant’ Contact With Iran Since 1979
Bush Seeks ‘False Comfort Of Appeasement,’ Makes ‘Most Significant’ Contact With Iran Since 1979
The Bush administration has decided to “send a senior American official to participate in international talks with Iran this weekend,” effectively abandoning “its longstanding position that it will only meet face-to-face with Iran after it first suspends uranium enrichment“:
President George W. Bush has authorized the most significant U.S. diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, sending the U.S. State Department’s third-ranking official to Geneva for a meeting this weekend on Iran’s nuclear program, administration officials said.
The decision appeared to bend, if not exactly break, the administration’s insistence that it would not negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programs unless it first suspended uranium enrichment.
Bush’s decision to allow American diplomats to meet with Iranian officials — while welcome — is surprising. In fact, just two months ago, Bush said, in a speech before the Israeli parliament, that those who favor rigorous diplomacy with Iran (including his own Defense Secretary) are supporting a policy of appeasement toward terrorists:
As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.
Conservatives in the media and on the campaign trail echoed Bush’s remarks. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “wholeheartedly endorsed” Bush’s comments, while Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) added that the remarks were “exactly right.”
As Bush makes the “most significant U.S. diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979,” the question must be asked: Will the right castigate President Bush for seeking the “false comfort of appeasement”?
NATO forced to abandon outpost in Afghanistan.
NATO has “abandoned an Afghan outpost days after it was stormed by militants who killed nine US soldiers.” The “predawn assault on the still-unfinished camp left nine US soldiers dead and was the worst single toll for US forces in Afghanistan since 2005.”
The setback comes as the insurgency in Afghanistan gains “dangerous momentum,” killing “more U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in June than in Iraq for the second straight month.”
Poll: ‘McCain Is Yoked To The Legacy’ Of Bush
Poll: ‘McCain Is Yoked To The Legacy’ Of Bush
Recently, the McCain campaign tried to distance Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) from President Bush’s record:
- Senior Advisory Carly Fiorina: I think if you look at the record, it may be Barack Obama who is running for Bush III. But it certainly is not John McCain.
- Senior Policy Advisor Douglas Holtz - Eakin: Obama’s budget “is dedicated to the recent Bush tradition of spending money on everything.”
But Americans aren’t buying the spin. According to a new New York Times poll, “Mr. McCain is yoked to the legacy of President Bush.” Indeed, a majority of Americans believe that as President, McCain “would continue Mr. Bush’s policies in Iraq and on the economy”:
- 78 percent: McCain would continue Bush’s Iraq policies
- 61 percent: McCain would continue Bush’s economic policies
- 65 percent: McCain would not bring change to Washington
Indeed, as ThinkProgress has noted, McCain represents a third term of his buddy Bush on issue after issue. According to a CQ analysis of Senate votes on issues President Bush expressed “an explicit, stated opinion,” McCain voted with President Bush 100 percent of the time in 2008 and 95 percent of the time in 2007.
In April, during an appearance on Mike Gallagher’s show, McCain bragged that “no one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have.” The American people agree.
Feith: ‘Removal of clothes is different from naked.’
Feith: ‘Removal of clothes is different from naked.’
American News Project notes that in yesterday’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on torture, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) asked Doug Feith if a 20-hour interrogation involving “hooding” and “removal of clothing” was “humane.” Feith hedged, curiously claiming that “removal of clothes is different from naked”:
NADLER: : Let me ask you. How could you force someone to be naked –
FEITH: It doesn’t say naked. It doesn’t say naked.
NADLER: Removal of clothing. Removal of clothing doesn’t mean naked?
FEITH: Removal of clothing is different from naked.
Watch it:
We’re off to Austin.
The ThinkProgress team is heading to Austin, TX for the Netroots Nation conference, but don’t worry — we’ll still be blogging. If you’re in town for the conference too, stop by our Pundit Project training tomorrow to get tips on appearing on TV/radio. Here are the details:
The Pundit Project: How To Outtalk The Talking Heads
Date: Thursday, July 17
Session I: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT
Session II: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM CDT
Room: Room 18C
Trainers: Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Cliff Schecter, and Matthew YglesiasHow do I get on TV and radio? How do I make successful arguments once I’m on the air? Learn all the tips to a successful TV/radio appearance from experienced pundits. Participants will learn how to get themselves media exposure and will also have a chance appear on camera and receive constructive feedback.
We hope to see you there!
ThinkFast: July 16, 2008
The Pentagon has announced an end to the surge in Iraq, as “the last of the five additional combat brigades sent in by President Bush last year has left the country.” But “150,000 U.S. troops remain, as many as 15,000 more than before the buildup began.” Gen. David Petraeus now begins his “45-day evaluation period” in order to “determine how many more troops he could send home.”
The Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of a Medicare bill “aimed at forestalling an 11 percent cut in payments to doctors taking care of Medicare patients.” The House “voted 383 to 41 to override the veto, while the Senate voted 70 to 26.”
In Afghanistan, “the killing of civilians in foreign military airstrikes is shattering Afghans’ support for keeping international troops in their troubled land and driving angry young men into the arms of the Taliban.” A spokesperson for NATO explained, “There is a perception problem.”
President Bush tried to “calm consumers” troubled by the economy, “but his words had little effect.” By the end of the day on Tuesday, “the Dow had closed at its lowest level in two years,” and “the government reported that prices had jumped at their sharpest pace in 27 years.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, discussing emerging national security issues at a Summit on Confronting 21st Century Threats. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will be attending a fundraiser in Ashland, NE, and will be addressing the NAACP’s annual convention in Cincinnati, OH.
Read the rest of this entry »
Payne’s ‘perceived bribery’ costs him DHS post.
Payne’s ‘perceived bribery’ costs him DHS post.
Stephen Payne, a “GOP lobbyist and fundraiser with close ties to the White House has quit a Homeland Security Department advisory committee following allegations of influence peddling and quid pro quo donations to the Bush presidential library,” UPI reports:
Department spokeswoman Laura Keehner confirmed to United Press International that Stephen Payne was asked to resign. […]
“The department asked him to step down” from his post on the Secure Borders and Open Doors Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, Keehner said, declining to comment on the reasons.
[Payne] said he had resigned from the advisory council because “under the current circumstances there will be too many distractions for me to successfully focus on (its) important work.”
Both DHS and the House Oversight Committee have opened investigations into Payne’s activities. The watchdog group CREW is urging the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into Payne and his relationship with the Bush administration. (HT: TPM)
What also remains murky is Payne’s role in a 2005 opinion piece that Hutchison authored for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was headlined “Azerbaijan: Opportunity for America,” and in it Hutchison writes that the country “holds great promise” as an oil source in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Payne brags in materials for his business that he “developed” a series of op-eds promoting the country, including one by Hutchison. Hutchison’s current staff contends that it does not know the precise origins of the column she wrote promoting Azerbaijan, although her spokesman says she was heavily involved. Chris Paulitz, her communications director at the time, declined to comment today on Payne’s role in writing the piece.
Fox News host: 15 year-old detainee ‘maybe deserved’ harsh treatment.
Fox News host: 15 year-old detainee ‘maybe deserved’ harsh treatment.
Today, lawyers for Canadian national Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo detainee, released an interrogation video from 2003, showing Khadr weeping and begging for better medical treatment. Discussing the video today on Fox News, host Trace Gallagher declared Khadr had killed an American solider — Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade — and so “maybe he deserves” to be tortured. Watch it:
According to reports, Khadr — who was just 15 years old when captured — was tortured while held by the U.S. in Bagram, Afghanistan, where “he was repeatedly brought into interrogation rooms on stretchers, in great pain” and “pain medication was withheld, apparently to induce cooperation.”
Feith Lies To Congress: ‘I Championed A Policy Of Respect For Geneva’
Feith Lies To Congress: ‘I Championed A Policy Of Respect For Geneva’
In May, British international lawyer Philippe Sands told Vanity Fair that Iraq war architect Doug Feith was instrumental in the Bush administration’s shredding of the Geneva Conventions. Feith “took the steps to ensure that none of these detainees could rely on Geneva,” Sands said.
In a house hearing today, Feith disputed Sands’s interview, calling it a “twisted account.” “I strongly championed a policy of respect for Geneva, and I did not recommend that the President set aside Common Article 3,” he claimed. Feith said Sands had “smeared” him:
So Mr. Sands’s account about me is fundamentally wrong. This is important not because that account smears me, it’s significant because it exposes the astonishing carelessness or recklessness of his book and his Vanity Fair article.
In his opening statement, Sands said Feith’s claim “is not an accurate statement.” “I did interview Mr. Feith for my book,” Sands explained, volunteering to make available the “audio and the transcript” of his interview to the committee. Sands said that Feith told him that detainees were not to receive Geneva protections “at all”:
This is what he said to me: “The point is, the al Qaeda people were not entitled to have the Convention applied at all. Period. Obvious.”
Watch it:
Feith has tried to whitewash his role in the administration’s torture program before, for example, telling right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt that he was “extremely strongly pro-Geneva convention.”
Another torture architect who has worked closely with Feith has tried a similar attack on Sands. Last month, John Yoo said Sands had falsely claimed he interviewed Yoo, claiming it “reflects on the veracity of the balance of the book.” Sands in fact never made such a claim and was quoting Yoo’s statements from a 2005 debate.
Boehner falsely claims there’s no ‘wildlife’ in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Boehner falsely claims there’s no ‘wildlife’ in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In a press conference today previewing a House Republican trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that’s meant to promote drilling, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) doubted the existence of actual wildlife in the refuge. “We’re going to look at this barren, Arctic desert where I’m hoping to see some wildlife,” said Boehner. “But I understand there’s none there.” Boehner repeated his skepticism during an interview on CNN, telling Wolf Blitzer, “I’ll be looking for all that wildlife.” Ironically, CNN paired Boehner’s interview with b-roll of actual wildlife moving around the refuge. Watch it:
Boehner would likely be less skeptical if he just visited the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website for the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which notes that it is “renowned for its wildlife” and is inhabited by 45 species of land and marine mammals, 36 species of fish and 180 species of birds. View photos of some of the wildlife here.
Flashback: McCain joked about how much women love to be raped.
Flashback: McCain joked about how much women love to be raped.
The blog Rum, Romanism and Rebellion pulls out a 1986 Tucson Citizen article recounting a joke about rape told by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Speaking to the National League of Cities and Towns in Washington, DC, McCain allegedly said:
Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, “Where is that marvelous ape?”
McCain was swiftly criticized by women’s groups. A spokeswoman for NOW in Arizona said the organization’s members were “incensed by his cruel and sexist remark.” McCain said he did not “recall” telling the joke. More recently, the McCain campaign scheduled a fundraiser with a Texas oilman who compared rape to the weather while running for governor. “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it,” said Clayton Williams in 1990. After public outcry, the event was “postponed.”
McCain flip-flops on sending three more brigades to Afghanistan.
McCain flip-flops on sending three more brigades to Afghanistan.
During his townhall meeting in New Mexico today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that “our commanders on the ground in Afghanistan say that they need at least three additional brigades.” “Thanks to the success of the surge, these forces are becoming available,” added McCain. “Our commanders in Afghanistan must get them.” Watch it:
But on his campaign bus after the event, McCain “modified his assertion” that the U.S. could send three additional brigades to Afghanistan by drawing on troops that were leaving Iraq. Instead, he told reporters that “he might call on NATO to supply part of the additional troops he hopes to send to the region.”
For Second Day In A Row, McCain Cites The Non-Existent ‘Czechoslovakia’
For Second Day In A Row, McCain Cites The Non-Existent ‘Czechoslovakia’
Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that during a press availability, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that he’s been concerned by “a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days,” including “reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.” Of course, “Czechoslovakia” dissolved into two independent countries 15 years ago and now, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are member states — separately — of the European Union.
Slip of the tongue? Perhaps. The McCain campaign even scrubbed the transcript of the event. However, he did it again today. Touting his “League of Democracies” idea to garner support for action against Iran’s nuclear program during a town hall meeting this afternoon, McCain cited a recent example of Russia working against American interests:
McCAIN: And I regret that and I regret some of the recent behavior that Russia has exhibited in I’ll be glad to talk about that later on including reduction in oil supplies to Czechoslovakia when they agreed with us on a missile defense system.
Watch it:
This is at least the fourth time in the last year that McCain has harkened back to the old days when the Iron Curtain divided Europe. But his forgetfulness has more history. McCain referred to the non-existent country — once in 1994 and another time in 1999 — which caused then Gov. George W. Bush to question McCain’s cozy relationship with the media:
“I don’t think there is any plot; I hope there isn’t,” Bush said. “But it’s an amazing phenomenon, I’ll tell you that. It’s like the flap over the foreign-leader deal. A guy gets up and quizzes me — it’s my fault for trying to answer — but John McCain says something about the ‘ambassador to Czechoslovakia.’ Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia (there’s a Czech Republic and a Slovakia), but yet it didn’t make the nightly national news. I’m not going to gripe about it, but the media question is starting to pop up.”
But “McCain is running on his supposed foreign policy superiority” and as MoJo blog points out, he “really shouldn’t be making these mistakes…[he] can’t possibly be ignorant of the basic state of the world.”
Brit Hume stepping down from Fox News.
The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz reports that at the end of the year, Fox News’s top anchor, Brit Hume, will step down from his roles as the network’s Washington managing editor and the host of “Special Report.” According to Kurtz’s sources, Hume will continue at the network in a senior statesman role similar to Tom Brokaw at NBC News. He will also continue as as a panelist on “Fox News Sunday.” No replacement has been announced.
McCain Backtracks From His Radical Opposition To Gay Adoption
McCain Backtracks From His Radical Opposition To Gay Adoption
In a statement sent to Andrew Sullivan, the McCain campaign is backing away from the radical stance on gay adoption that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) endorsed in a weekend interview with the New York Times. “McCain could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position on gay adoption is that it is a state issue,” said spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker.
Here’s how Hazelbacker explains McCain’s position:
McCain’s expressed his personal preference for children to be raised by a mother and a father wherever possible. However, as an adoptive father himself, McCain believes children deserve loving and caring home environments, and he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative.
In his initial interview with the New York Times, McCain stated straight-forwardly that, “we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.” Asked where he stood “if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents,” McCain said his “concern” was that the child be with “a traditional couple.”
Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.
Mr. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.
Q: But your concern would be that the couple should a traditional couple
Mr. McCain: Yes.
Critics reacted swiftly to McCain’s comments, calling them “terrible” and “thoughtless.” As Winnie Stachelberg and Robert Gordon pointed out at the Wonk Room yesterday, McCain’s stated approach ruled out “adoption by gay individuals –- even though these adoptions are permitted in every state except Florida.” McCain’s stance seems to rule out adoption by single heterosexuals as well.
Noting that about 130,000 children wait in the foster care system each year and nearly every child welfare organization in the country opposes bans on gay adoption, Stachelberg and Gordon asked if McCain really thinks that “hundreds of thousands of children should sit in foster care and orphanages while we wait for ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ families to appear?”
In an update to their Wonk Room post, Stachelberg and Gordon write that it’s hard to tell if the last sentence in Hazelbaker’s clarification means “McCain personally doesn’t agree with Florida.” They conclude that McCain owes more “straight talk” on the issue because “barring gay people from adopting is morally wrong.”
Bush vetoes Medicare bill.
Today President Bush vetoed the bipartisan Medicare bill that would have prevented a 10.6 percent cut in doctor pay for Medicare fees. His statement explained he objected to roll back elements of the private pay-for-service Medicare Advantage plans. The bill passed both chambers of Congress with veto-proof majorities. Congress will attempt to override the veto “as soon as possible,” said Carol Guthrie, spokeswoman for the Senate Finance Committee. “There’s no time to waste.”
Nadler: In a ‘just system,’ Bush ‘would be impeached.’
Nadler: In a ‘just system,’ Bush ‘would be impeached.’
Today, on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who has held several hearings on the Bush administration’s torture program, said that President Bush has committed “impeachable offenses”:
NADLER: If we had a just system and it weren’t overly political, the president would be impeached. I think he has committed impeachable offenses.
Watch it:
Yesterday, House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) said that he may allow Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) to present his impeachment articles against Bush before the August recess. “We’re not doing impeachment, but he can talk about it,” he said.
After Pointing Out Domenici Lied Twice During Interview, Fox Invites Him Back To Keep ‘Telling The Truth’
After Pointing Out Domenici Lied Twice During Interview, Fox Invites Him Back To Keep ‘Telling The Truth’
Yesterday, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) appeared on the Fox Business Network to discuss President Bush’s announcement that he would lift the executive order banning offshore oil drilling — which Domenici hailed as “wonderful news.” After explaining to Fox host Elizabeth MacDonald why he had called Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) a “chicken” — “That’s the best word I could come up with” — Domenici launched into a passionate exhortation to expand offshore drilling.
Domenici’s rationale for drilling was so error-filled, however, that MacDonald was forced to repeatedly correct him, starting with the oft-cited issue of hurricane-caused oil spills:
MACDONALD: We saw with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, a lot of oil spills occurred on those oil platforms –
DOMENICI: Not so! Not so! Don’t em give you that baloney. There were none!
MACDONALD: No, there were 124.
Next, Domenici cited conservatives’ favorite boogeyman, Chinese drilling off of Cuba:
MACDONALD: And you know what I think is upsetting a lot of Americans too is the idea that China owns leases off of Cuba. It’s not just China, it’s Vietnam, it’s Spain. But even though they’re not drilling yet –
DOMENICI: Sure they are!
MACDONALD: They haven’t started drilling yet.
Yet Domenici’s errors didn’t dissuade the Fox anchor, who invited the senator back to the network to keep “about telling the truth”:
DOMENICI: We ought to go through because they’re not telling the truth, there’s no risk, it ought to be done.
MACDONALD: We’re about telling the truth on this network, and that’s why we want you to come back.
Watch it:
Domenici received $197,058 from Big Oil between 2002-2007. In fact, Domenici’s lifetime contributions from the oil and natural gas — totalling nearly $750,000 — rank him fifth among the current Senate’s largest energy sector recipients.
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
Billboard displaying burning twin towers reads ‘please don’t vote for a Democrat.’
Billboard displaying burning twin towers reads ‘please don’t vote for a Democrat.’
A billboard on display in Orange County, Florida shows the World Trade Center towers burning while telling passers-by: “Please Don’t Vote for a Democrat.” The local ABC News affiliate reports that the person responsible is a local musician “trying to help Republicans” but that “officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate.”
Lieberman sings a song in response to calls for his ouster.
Lieberman sings a song in response to calls for his ouster.
Brave New Films and other activists recently delivered copies of a petition with 43,000 signatures to Democratic senators, demanding that they strip Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) of his committee chairmanship. In a new interview with NPR, when asked by a reporter about the growing pressure, Lieberman replies by singing, “I’m not thinking about tomorrow.” Listen here:
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) refused to close the door to the possibility that Lieberman would be kicked out of the caucus. Over the weekend, Robert Novak reported that Democratic insiders are “certain” that Lieberman will be out.
Wallace: Rove Is ‘A Political Savant’ And I ‘Use Him As A Straight Political Analyst,’ Even Though He’s ‘Partisan’
Wallace: Rove Is ‘A Political Savant’ And I ‘Use Him As A Straight Political Analyst,’ Even Though He’s ‘Partisan’
In an interview with TV Barn yesterday, Fox News’s Chris Wallace said that he doesn’t “use” former Bush political guru Karl Rove as “a Republican talking head” when he has him on his show, but as “a straight political analyst.” “Karl Rove is the most sophisticated political analyst I’ve ever met,” said Wallace.
But in the course of his interview, Wallace contradicted his own claim that Rove is a “straight shooter,” admitting that he’s “obviously’ a “Republican” and a “partisan”:
WALLACE: First of all, and you’ll see that today, Karl Rove is the most sophisticated political analyst I’ve ever met. I’ve been in this business more than a quarter of a century, and this is not a Republican talking head, he is a political savant and beyond any questions, obviously he’s a Republican, obviously he’s a partisan. But his ability to analyze a political situation and analyze the strategy and how it’s being played out is the deepest, the most sophisticated I’ve ever seen.
Asked about Rove’s relationship to the McCain campaign, Wallace ignored the issue, saying, “You’ll have to ask him about what his involvement is or isn’t on that.” Listen here:
Wallace’s contention that Rove should be a “straight political analyst” rather than a “Republican talking head” contradicts what Fox News’s own senior vice president, John Moody, says about Rove. In a recent interview with Howard Kurtz, Moody acknowledged, “Are we getting a Republican spin? Of course. But that’s what he’s there for.”
Despite what Wallace may claim, Rove often doesn’t play it “straight” in his Fox commentary.
Even though he says he plays “no official role” with the McCain campaign, Rove admitted just yesterday at a Television Critics Association Q&A that he would be “having dinner later this week” with “the Republican state chairman of a battleground state.” “It’s not just the quality of steak I’m going to fix him that’s caused him to stop by the house and pick my brain,” added Rove.
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
Bush on $4 gas: ‘I’ve heard of it now.’ (Updated)
Bush on $4 gas: ‘I’ve heard of it now.’ (Updated)
In February, when President Bush was asked what his “advice” would be to the average American who is “facing the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline,” he replied, “That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that.” At a press conference this morning, a reporter followed up and asked the president about his previou