4
POPSThe year in trumped-up pseudo-scandals According to Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak, the White House offered him a job in exchange for not running against Arlen Specter. (Actually, Bill Clinton mentioned some sort of unpaid role doing something terribly uninteresting. But the truth doesn't matter.) While the White House said this never happened, the right-wing press decided that this was a terrible bribe and a violation of various laws. Rep. Darrell Issa got particularly excited, asking for a special prosecutor to be appointed. Then Sestak lost and no one cared anymore.
6
POPSDisgraceful Political Chameleon Lashes Out at Supreme Court for Enforcing First Amendment "Ignoring a massive congressional record and reversing recent decisions, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito repudiated their confirmation testimony given under oath and provided the key votes to permit corporations and unions to secretly pay for political advertising - thus effectively undermining the basic Democratic principle of the power of one person, one vote," said Specter. Chief Justice Roberts promised to just call balls and strikes and then he moved the bases." In short, Specter isn't pleased with the First Amendment. He would love to limit speech on any group of individuals with whom he has a disagreement. Or, better still, any group that wishes to stymie his bizarre political ambitions. Don't let the door hit you on the ass, twit. Hat tip: Memeorandum. http://directorblue.blogspot.com
11
POPSIs The Obama Presidency Doomed? I believe we are already seeing the signs of a weakened and discredited Presidency. When Obama supporters from Peggy Noonan, to David Gergen and James Carville jump ship"when the thrill up the leg is replaced with nausea for Chris Matthews - you know there is trouble in paradise"the Utopian dream giving way to reality. And reality bites for small, petty, corrupt, Marxist Chicago politicians. It bites for the rest of us, too, because we are the unfortunate beneficiaries of his incompetence and malfeasance. Today in PA, a slew of Democrats were invited to yet another Obama speech, and they scattered like the Grim Reaper was approaching. Congressmen Jason Altmire and Tim Murphy have previous engagements. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Rep. Mike Doyle are out of town on anniversary trips with their wives. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato will be campaigning in Philadelphia. When President Obama and Sen. Arlen Specter land at Pittsburgh International Airport ...
2
POPSCan GOP stir up public to dig into Sestak affair? "It really just depends on the interest of the public," Smith continues, "and whether they want to get to the bottom of it." That's the key. The Republicans' strategy -- resolution of inquiry, minority forum -- can't really get anything done. It can only hope to stir public interest which might then pressure Democrats to allow more investigation. It's happened before. In 2003, Republicans controlled the White House, House and Senate, yet public pressure pushed President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Valerie Plame CIA leak affair. Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Can-GOP-stir-up-public-to-dig-into-Sestak-affair_-95271664.html#ixzz0pdCvmTxh
1
POPSPenn AG Tom Corbett Should Empanel Grand Jury In Sestak Affair
-- both of which have Republican state Attorneys General -- can subpoena Cong. Sestak to testify before a state grand jury and compel him to answer the who, what, when, and where that everyone has a right to know. The people of the United States and, particularly the people of Pennsylvania, want these questions to be answered honestly. They will not settle for a Democratic stonewall that refuses to let the truth emerge. The Pennsylvania Attorney General, Tom Corbett -- who is the Republican nominee for Governor this year -- has ample jurisdiction to convene a grand jury to get to the bottom of the scandal and answer the key questions: 1. Who offered a job to Sestak? 2. What job was proffered? 3. And did the president know of the offer? Under our federal system, we need not tolerate giving one party the power to be the prosecutor, judge, defendant, defense attorney, and jury. We can open the process to checks and balances. http://www.dickmorris.com
6
POPSWorst Press Conference Since " I Am Not A Crook" Part II Is there anything that this president believes he can't make happen with his ability to turn a phrase and make his listeners disabuse themselves of doubt? As Allah noted, via Breitbart: "White House cover-up of Sestak job offer not quite finished yet." What makes me think this inexperienced young President, a recipient of the odd combination of a nation's goodwill and racial guilt, has suddenly found himself wagering greatly on the outcome of one press conference? (That was Charles Krauthammer's point tonight on Fox News) Barak Obama did not have to hold this presser today but he did, perhaps because of a confluence of events that were bearing down on him: the Sestak matter, the BP disaster, his falling poll numbers, the looming 2010 midterms and maybe James Carville's unhinged and unguarded critique of the president this weekend. So why did he do it? And perform so poorly? http://bit.ly/ccUiBI http://wizbangblog.com
6
POPSBill Clinton and Rahm Emanuel Spin Really Stinks Kane called the White House Press Office that afternoon and played the interview for a staffer, who promised that someone would call Kane back. A few minutes later, at 3:45 PM, another staffer called and said the White House would call back with a reaction "shortly." Kane's station played the report aired all night. At 6:45 the next morning, 15 hours later, a Deputy Press Secretary called and said, "You can say the White House says it's not true." On the Friday before Memorial Day, 100 days later, a classic news dump day, the White House Counsel Robert Bauer issued his report. He claimed that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel enlisted the support of Bill Clinton, "who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board." Remember, when Kane asked a second time, "So you were offered a job by someone in the White House," Sestak did not equivocate. http://bit.ly/9jXTnI
3
POPS"Get Out Or Else" How the Sestak job offer became a big deal (The full White House report on the matter is here.pdf.) White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was repeatedly asked in the intervening months about Sestak's allegation but deflected comment. As the story became a bigger deal in the wake of Sestak's primary victory, the statements out of the White House grew more and more opaque -- as Gibbs insisted over the weekend that "nothing inappropriate happened" but refusing to engage in the more basic "what happened question." The matter reached a head during President Obama's press conference yesterday when, asked by Fox News Channel's Major Garrett about the details of the Sestak job offer, the President said only: "I can assure the public that nothing improper took place. But as I said, there will be a response shortly on that issue." The Sestak story continued .... Joe Sestak released a statement on the conversation. http://bit.ly/al756B
3
POPSWH Stays Mum on Sestak Job Offer "....lawyers in the White House...". Oh boy! Where's the likes of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, where's the Congressional Ethics Panels, the Special Prosecutor?? Laws are for thee, but not for me! Hmmmm....Why do we make them and then turn a blind eye when someone *special* breaks them?
1
POPSOp-Ed Columnist - The Story of an Angry Voter - NYTimes.com Challenging to both left and right: "Ben is going to be disappointed again. He's going to find that he and voters like him unwittingly created a political culture in which compromise is impermissible, in which institutions are decimated by lone-wolf narcissists who have no interest in or talent for crafting legislation."
5
POPSBig Labor Suffered Major Losses in Tuesday's Election they backed the only candidate in the Democratic primary who didn't come out against card check: Bill Halter. Halter didn't quite lose yet, but he didn't win -- he will go to a June 8 primary runoff against incumbent Blanche Lincoln. (My prediction: Halter's likely to lose the runoff, since Lincoln will gather most of the third candidate's votes, since they are more ideologically congruent.) The big loser in this primary was, again, big labor, which helped bankroll Halter's campaign. Interestingly, Halter hasn't publicly come out in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act, but his closeness to big labor has led many to speculate that he fully supports their agenda. According to the Arkansas Secretary of State Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Report (from 2/15 and 4/15), the CA State Council of Service Employees donated at least $10,000 to Halter's campaign. The Communications Workers of America (CWA-COPE) donated at least $8,000 dollars to help Halter pay off
7
POPSObama shuns English language news outlets at press conference
In a statement to The Hill, a Univision spokeswoman said: "Not only is Univision a U.S. based company -- we are headquartered in New York City -- but we are one of the top five networks in the country regardless of language." Calderon called on a reporter from Mexico who likewise asked Obama about immigration. Calderon was never asked, nor did he answer, a question. The White House billed the event as a news conference, which traditionally features a foreign head of state and the president, who will each take a "one and one" or a "two and two," meaning one or two reporters from each country will be called on to ask a question. On Wednesday, many reporters were anticipating the president being asked about both immigration and Tuesday night's election results that saw yet another Democratic ally of Obama's — this time Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) — go down in defeat. When CBS' Chip Reid called out a question about the elections after the conference, Obama kept walking with Ca
6
POPSEditorial: Twilight of the Establishment Voters are taking baseball bats to the idols of American politics. Incumbents should be very afraid, as Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., already learned. The candidates themselves are not the only endangered idols. Party bosses and traditional power players in American politics also find their positions threatened. Pennsylvania's SEIU and AFL-CIO demonstrated their powerlessness in their all-out effort on Specter's behalf. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a main architect of the Kentucky Republican Party and a long-time GOP leader in the U.S. Senate, couldnât deliver 40 percent of the primary vote to his hand-picked candidate. The most fragile idol of all appears to be President Obama. Like McConnell, Obama remains popular with his base, but his ability to sway voters' opinions appears to be non-existent. Having failed to buy Sestak out of the primary with an administration job, Obama contributed an affectionate TV spot to Specter ...
6
POPSNo, This Isn't an "Anti-Incumbent" Year Dan Balz and Chris Cilizza equate the Specter/Obama debacle to Grayson/McConnell: Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) could be the next incumbent to fall, but by late Tuesday night, everyone from President Obama to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could feel the sting of voter anger that has shaped the election climate and that could produce a dramatic upheaval in Congress by November. Ok. So, the idea is that the public mood is anti-incumbent in general, which means we should expect lots of "hand-to-hand" combat between Democrat and Republican candidates as they try to position themselves as being the most anti-Washington. No. This is totally wrong. It is a false equivalency being pushed because Arlen Specter is probably going to lose today. If that happens, Snarlin' Arlen will make the fourth high-profile pol that Barack Obama embraced in friendship who was later rebuked by the voters of a blue or purple state. Deeds, Corzine, Coakley, Specter.
3
POPS CURTAINS? Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Kentucky Primaries Set Stage for Midterm Elections Incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, is facing the toughest political battle of her career amid heavy endorsements to her opponent Lt. Gov. Bill Halter from labor groups and grassroots activists. Lincoln said today at a press conference, but she was interrupted by resident Webb Ross, who charged Lincoln always voted to the left. "I'm very angry," Ross told ABC News. "I think they're taking our freedoms away from us. ... I'm 81 years old, and my whole life I have never seen anything like what's happening in our national government right now. And she's been supporting it." Rand Paul Outshines Republican Pick for House In Kentucky, longtime Congressman Ron Paul's son, ophthalmologist Rand Paul, has surprised many by surpassing Republican favorite Trey Grayson in polls. Curtains for Incumbents? http://bit.ly/bL8Vwm http://abcnews.go.com
1
POPSMoveOn Moves In 4Primary Picks
Congress is a snake pit. As an Independent (with some 'left,' as well as 'right' views) it can be real hard figuring out how to vote. I wouldn't normally clip an item like this but two reasons to do so. 1. MoveOn, a powerful progressive lobbying group, is not supporting the White House recommended candidates; (and I agree with them!). Kicking out all incumbents is one good idea and getting rid of Democratic dead wood and Old Guard in the primaries is a solid idea. Like the Tea Party challenging incumbent Republicans, now we see MoveOn.org challenging incumbent Democrats. Cool. My other reason to clip this, Reason 2, is today on another thread this clipper wrote: "let's try to get over this 'who should we vote for thing.'" Get over this 'Who should we vote for thing?" The Brits are going to have a referendum on a new and improved voting method, which would be far better than now -- yet we're stuck in the Now and it's not easy. But Voting is power. Talk is chea
2
POPSRound Up the Usual Memes! Michael Bloomberg Proves Himself to be a Fool and Should Resign Michael Bloomberg should resign from office. He has proven himself to be a fool. It is truly stunning that Bloomberg’s initial reaction to the car bomb in Times Square was to blame tea party activists, not Islamic terrorists. In Bloomberg’s own words: Bloomberg later told CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric that the suspect behind the bombing attempt could be a domestic terrorist angry at the government who acted alone. “If I had to guess 25 cents, this would be exactly that. Homegrown, or maybe a mentally deranged person, or somebody with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something. It could be anything,” he said. “There is no evidence here of a conspiracy, there is no evidence that it’s tied into anything else. It looks like an amateurish job done by at least one person,” he told Couric.
7
POPS"Whatever"! the Usual from Gibbs. The lack of response from the White House counsel’s office makes it likely that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will formally ask Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to review the matter. CBS News first reported on Mar. 24 that Issa said if he did not receive “satisfactory answers” to his letter by the Apr. 5 deadline, “then the next step would be to call for a special prosecutor to investigate.” The White House has not responded to Issa’s questions on the matter, Republican committee spokesman Kurt Bardella told CNSNews.com Monday. Bardella said Issa intends to give the White House one more week.
6
POPSDarrell Issa Poised to Call for Special Prosecutor to Investigate White House that he was offered the job in exchange for an administration post. Sestak did not drop out of the race. On March 10th, Issa sent a letter to White House lawyer Robert Bauer asking for details about communications between Sestak and the White House. In the letter, he pointed to statutes he said could have been violated if Sestak was offered a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would be given an administration job in exchange for leaving the race. Issa said the move may have violated anti-bribery provisions of the federal criminal code as well as prohibitions on government officials interfering in elections and using federal jobs for a political purpose. Violation of each provision is punishable by up to one year in jail. The White House did not respond to Issa's letter by its March 18 deadline. Reporters have asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs about the inquiry on six occasions. On February 23rd, Gibbs said he had not looked into the matter.
2
POPSWhite House Accused of Federal Crime in Specter, Bennet Races "In the face of a White House denial, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak stuck to his story yesterday that the Obama administration offered him a "high-ranking" government post if he would not run against U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary." -- Philadelphia Inquirer February 19, 2010
4
POPSSpecter Opens Door on WH Felonies Long read but these incidents are being lost among the health care news, earthquakes, drug murders, domestic terror activities, etc. There's something not quite right here and we're all learning that something (a lot of things) really stink in Washington. Someone's either lying or someone is stalling. I think they took out Scooter Libby pretty fast for the Plame Fiasco, so will a special prosecutor be appointed now?
4
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update