Drudge, Rush, WSJ: Foley crime is Dems fault!
Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 08:12:29 PM PDT
Many of the leading voices of the right-wing are throwing out their common sense in their attempt to deflect blame away from their leaders over their loathesome dereliction of duty in protecting American high-schoolers from the sexual predator Mark Foley (R-Fla).
Digby has captured a couple of clear examples of standard plays from the Republican playbook intended to shift blame.
First up is Drudge:
Clip #1: And if anything, these kids are less innocent -- these 16 and 17 year-old beasts...and I've seen what they're doing on YouTube and I've seen what they're doing all over the internet -- oh yeah -- you just have to tune into any part of their pop culture. You're not going to tell me these are innocent babies. Have you read the transcripts that ABC posted going into the weekend of these instant messages, back and forth? The kids are egging the Congressman on! The kids are trying to get this out of him. We haven't got the whole story on this.
Help Us Win Ohio Paul
Fri Feb 17, 2006 at 11:43:12 AM PDT
I have a request to make of Paul Hackett. First though I want to stipulate that Hackett has been an inspiration to me and to many others of us in the Democratic Party. Because of this, it is shocking to see him treated so callously by the party establishment. What is so crystal clear to many of us is that he is an asset that should have been carefully nurtured and cultivated. No one needs a reminder about how important turning Ohio blue is to the fortunes of the Democratic Party. Yet here we witness, dumbstruck, the foolish squandering of this talent by manipulators at the highest echelons of the party.
Repubs Schmidt, Davis Smear Murtha, Liberals, Democrats
Sat Nov 19, 2005 at 09:30:15 AM PDT
On Friday, two Republican Congressman told America that Democrats, Liberals, and especially Rep. Jack Murtha (D) are the allies of our sworn enemies Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. If only, if only, Jack Murtha, Democrats, and liberals would fall in line and support the Republican Party then Iraq would be freed and the war would be won.
Dizzy from their revolving scapegoatism, Republicans have landed the wheel on liberal enemy coddlers. Immigrants are waiting in the wings for their turn as the object of hate du jour but for now Democratic withdrawal proponents such as Jack Murtha are enemy number one. Here's what Republican Geoff Davis had to say:
Frist Uses Religion on Filibuster - McCain Says Vote is No
Fri Apr 15, 2005 at 08:12:04 AM PDT
I wrote a diary last night riffing on the NY Times story out today detailing how Senator Frist has decided to use religion to win his political war over the filibuster. Now I see Armando has posted on the WaPo version of the story. His post is excellent but mine is different enough that I'm going to go ahead and post it as well. It's
cross-posted over at MyDD.
_____________
Although John McCain came out against removing the filibuster, any doubt that the Republican leadership plans to turn the war over judges into a religious battle should now be put to rest. David D. Kirkpatrick, in a remarkable article in the NY Times, Frist Set to Use Religious Stage on Judicial Issue, reports that the filibuster is being described as "against people of faith" by a group of Frist-allied Christian Organizations.
Nominee Battle: Norquist Threatens Dems
Fri Apr 08, 2005 at 03:38:06 PM PDT
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and Republican Party guru, was
quoted in the NY Times threatening that the Senate would completely sidestep the need to obtain Democratic Consent on President Bush's judicial nominees:
[Norquist] ... warned that if the Democrats continued to hold up White House nominees, Mr. Bush might simply evade the confirmation process by putting his nominees in place while Congress was in recess, as he did with two judges during the last Congress.
"If the Democrats want to change the rule to require 60 votes," Mr. Norquist said, "the Republicans will change the rule to require no votes."
Republicans will evade the rules so that no Dem votes are required? That's an outrageous statement that confirms the Democratic contention that Republicans have lost normal restraint and are abusing their power.
What prompted this wild outburst by Norquist? Democratic Senators Clinton, Murray, Nelson, and Boxer are holding up the nominations of a pair of Republican nominees.
Update [2005-4-8 19:35:49 by Curt Matlock]:
EPA has now canceled the pesticide testing program in a clear victory for Senators Boxer and Nelson.
Filibuster Fight - Phil A. Buster Ad Launches
Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 08:06:08 AM PDT
The
Alliance for Justice launched its
campaign to preserve the Filibuster Rule in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday (4/5/05). Billed as a "national media and internet campaign to preserve the filibuster", the campaign uses an animated character named "Phil A. Buster" to help explain the importance of the filibuster in easy to understand language. According to the website, "the animated, educational 30-second spot will appear on national cable and in several targeted states and will be promoted on major news web sites and blogs."
Here's a bit of transcribed dialogue from "Phil and the One Party Rule-bot!":
Hi, I'm Phil.
These really smart guys, Our Founding Fathers, wanted to make sure that no one ended up with too much power. And to do that they came up with a really smart idea. Checks and Balances. Like I said .. smart guys.
It's the job of Checks and Balances to make sure that no one gets too much influence and everyones voice is heard. Really smart. And I'm one of the ways Checks and Balance do their jobs. And its worked pretty well for 200 years.
I'm Phil A. Buster!
Kennedy on Free Judges, Nuclear Option
Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 08:15:07 AM PDT
Once again, on a matter of import,
Senator Kennedy has delivered a clear message that draws on the finest traditions of America to show the right path in the battle to protect an independent judiciary.
Our Constitution of 1780, the DNA of which is evident in the later-adopted Constitution for the whole of the United States, also provided for a system of checks and balances through the creation of three co-equal branches of government. As Adams said: "By balancing each of these powers against the other two,. . . the efforts in human nature towards tyranny can alone be checked and restrained, and any degree of freedom preserved."
Kennedy acknowledges that one aspect of "human nature" leads to the emergence of tyranny. It has lived in so many other nations, of so many different human traditions, that it is unthinkable that it cannot happen here. Of course tyranny is possible in the United States.
Frist-DeLay 'Cruel Hoax' on Schindlers over Schiavo
Thu Mar 24, 2005 at 05:58:30 PM PDT
Update [2005-3-24 20:58:30 by Armando]: From the diaries by Armando. I would add that this is a Bush (both of em)-Frist-DeLay Hoax.
Senator-Doctor Bill Frist and House Leader Tom DeLay have played a cruel hoax on the Schindler family by misleading them about the nature of the Congressional Bill which sent the Schiavo case into the Federal Court System.
David Shuster writing in HardBlogger explains:
Based on what Schiavo's parents have been saying this week, it appears the legislation's fine print was never shared with them by Bill Frist or anybody else for that matter.
Early Monday morning, after President Bush signed the Schiavo bill, Bob Schindler was positively beaming in front of the television cameras. He said he walked into his daughter's hospice room and told her, "We had to wake the President up to save your life."
Did Bill Frist and Tom Delay ever call the Schindler family and say, "not so fast?" Apparently not. In their latest court filing, the Schinder family still clings to the misleading notion offered by lawmakers last weekend that their bill required Schiavo's feeding tube to be immediately reinserted. Quote, "If Congress meant to give the federal courts the power to let her die..." says the Schindler's filing, then passing the law "would be little more than a cruel hoax." Read it again... The Schindlers argue: "If Congress meant to give the federal courts the power..." The fact is, that's exactly what Congress did. And a "cruel hoax" on Terry Schiavo's family is exactly the right description. As one of my doctor contacts observed, "This has always been about politics, not about helping Terri Schiavo or her parents."
Bill Frist and Tom Delay, politicians to the core, have been unrestrained by normal moral taboos in their manipulation of the Schindlers. To heighten the embarassment of their scandalous behavior the Schindlers carried their rosy misunderstanding of the toothlessness of the Frist-Delay Bill into a filing in a Court of Law.
Frist and DeLay have committed crass, cynical, opportunistic abuse of the distraught mother and father of a dying woman. Both men should feel shame for their actions.
Sen. Reid on Budget Immorality
Wed Mar 16, 2005 at 07:28:29 AM PDT
Senator Harry Reid
delivered a statement to the Senate on March 11th on the upcoming fight over the Budget Resolution that draws on biblical references to cast the Republican Budget as unjust and immoral. It has not received much publicity that I can find but it is a great document to draw from when looking for frames and lines of attack on the budget.
Senator Reid talked of a meeting he had with a group of Protestant Ministers to discuss the budget and the morality expressed by the choices that were made.
... I met with a group of Ministers from a host of Protestant denominations. They were very concerned about the budget, and shared with me a story from the Gospel of Luke about a rich man and the poor man who lived at his gates named Lazarus. In life, the rich man lived a grand life and paid no attention to the poor man, refusing to come to his aid. But in death, it was Lazarus who went to Heaven and the rich men who suffered in Hell.
<More in Extended Entry>
Sen. Salazar Asks Bush to Withdraw Judge Nominees
Wed Mar 02, 2005 at 08:24:13 AM PDT
Update [2005-3-2 11:24:13 by Armando]: From the Diaries by Armando. I agree with much of what Curt writes here, except I VEHEMENTLY disagree with the notion that there was pressure to support fellow Hispanic Gonzales. I don't buy that for a minute. There was pressure from La Raza, but they stink (that discussion for another day)
Senator Ken Salazar has sent President Bush a letter asking him to make a bipartisan gesture by withdrawing the judicial nominees previously rejected by the Senate.
In his letter, Salazar speaks about the need for bipartisanship and tells Bush he needs to reach out to Democrats. Salazar notes that he has voted for all of Bush's cabinet nominees to this point but says that President Bush's renomination of previously rejected judicial nominees will serve to cause animosity and divisiveness. From his letter:
The decision to re-nominate these individuals will undoubtedly create the animosity and divisiveness between the President and the Unites States Senate as an institution that is not helpful to our Nation and will sidetrack our collective efforts to work on other crucial matters. Therefore, I respectfully request that you withdraw the nominations of these individuals.
Although his language is very diplomatic, Salazar has taken a step towards repairing his relationship with the Democratic Party. Here is the full text of his press release and accompanying letter:
Sen. Corzine to Bush: Denounce 'Slanderous Attacks'!
Thu Feb 24, 2005 at 10:43:47 AM PDT
Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey has
sent a letter to President Bush demanding that he denounce the USA Next smears of AARP. In a press release announcing the letter Senator Corzine refers to the "distorted and dishonorable ad campaign against AARP" by USA Next.
Corzine begins by asking Bush to repudiate the USA Next tactics and makes clear their association to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose campaign Corzine refers to as lacking in honesty and honorable intentions:
Dear President Bush:
Without delay or ambiguity, I urge you to repudiate the tactics employed by USA Next and to restore civility and honor to the on-going Social Security dialogue.
Corzine continues:
USA Next Exploiting Gay Bigotry
Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 03:41:28 PM PDT
AARP is under assault from the Republicans because of their alliance with the Democratic Party on the issue of Social Security. In the Feb 23 ,05 New York Times the new effort by a group called USA Next to discredit AARP is examined in
Group Makes Pre-emptive Strike Against AARP on Benefits Plan by Glen Justice and David D. Kirkpatrick. From the article (emphasis added):
Bush Admin Rebuked by GAO on Propaganda
Sat Feb 19, 2005 at 08:12:51 AM PDT
The Bush Administration has become notorious for its use of fake news reporters, paid pundits, and paid messages inserted in television shows and movies. In
Administration is Warned about its 'News' Videos by Anne Kornblut, the NY Times reports today (2/19/05) on a recent letter released by the Comptroller General of the GAO. One line that stands out from the letter is this one:
... in violation of federal law, failed to disclose the administration's role ...
From the Times:
NY Times Traces Debt Explosion Under Republicans
Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 11:00:24 AM PDT
(Promoted from the diaries by DavidNYC. Howard Dean says that you can't trust Republicans with your money. Curt, riffing off the New York Times, demonstrates in detail exactly how right Dean is.)
Sheryl Gay Stolberg writing in The New York Times today (2/13/2005) calls attention to "The Revolution That Wasn't". An examination of Republican failure to live up to the promises of their fiscally responsible pledges in the Contract With America, the article quotes Newt Gingrich among others. Reading the early paragraphs a reader might expect that the article is a takedown of Republicans now that they have become the entrenched party of big government. But the article also veers off course by trumpeting Republicans cynical contention that the only way to bring the budget into line is to slash Medicare and Medicaid and make large cuts to the one-half of the budget not spent on defense.
If the history of the Republican revolution were being written today, a single overarching question would have to be answered: Whatever happened to the promise of smaller government?
What indeed?
Kennedy Letter Claims 'Smoking Gun' Against Gonzales
Wed Feb 02, 2005 at 07:37:25 AM PDT
Senator Edward Kennedy stood on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday to denounce torture and to denounce Alberto Gonzales. Kennedy later released from his office a letter,
Kennedy Urges Senate to Deny Gonzales Nomination Over Torture Policies, detailing his objections to Gonzales and providing evidence of a "smoking gun" regarding Gonzales efforts to provide a legal rationale for subverting international law and inoculating against later war crimes charges.
In his long, detailed, damning letter, Senator Kennedy made no effort at sugarcoating his words and made the moral and ethical case against Gonzales in stark terms. In his lead paragraph he lays out what is at stake for America:
The issues raised by Mr. Gonzales's nomination go to the heart of what America stands for in the world and the fundamental values that define us as a nation - our commitment to individual dignity, our respect for the rule of law, and our reputation around the world as a beacon for human rights, not as a violator of human rights.
<more under the fold>
Word Torture Missing From AP Story on Gonzales Vote
Thu Jan 27, 2005 at 07:32:05 AM PDT
The AP version of yesterdays (1/26/05) Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General can be found in this Yahoo! story,
Gonzales Nomination Moves to Senate Vote, and also at ABCNews.com.
The word "torture" is not used in the AP article even one time.
Not one time.
The AP story begins by reporting the partisan split that advanced Gonzales despite Democratic complaints that he is too close to President Bush
That is certainly a better frame for Republicans than reporting the comments that were made about Gonzales culpability in condoning torture or his deceit before a Senatorial Committee. Unfortunately, the story continues and never adequately reports the true flavor of how Democratic Senators spoke about Gonzales.
More in extended.
