Day in court, foot in mouth
Two battles for political survival
Day in court, foot in mouth
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
At this point, after seven weeks of largely fruitless litigation, Norm Coleman's odds of wresting the disputed Minnesota Senate seat from Al Franken are roughly equivalent to the odds of A-Rod wresting the New York Yankee captaincy from Derek Jeter.
But the Republicans who continue to bankroll Coleman - such as Senator John Cornyn, who says "we'll support Norm until the bitter end" - are not necessarily focused on his prospects for victory. The smart ones are well aware that he is probably toast. Rather, their aim is to obfuscate and procrastinate for as long as possible, with the goal of ensuring that Franken does not become the 59th Senate Democratic vote at a time when the Senate Democrats dearly need him.
It may be downright craven for the Republicans to deny Minnesotans full Senate representation; to extend their day in court despite the fact that Franken has already won a statewide hand recount of 2.9 million ballots; and to indulge Coleman's call for a "re-vote" of the entire election, despite the fact that Franken has already been certified the winner by Minnesota's canvassing board, and despite the fact that there is no legal precedent in Minnesota, much less any law, that would provide for a re-vote.
But craven politics is often smart politics; in this episode, Coleman and the GOP have been brilliant.
With spring and summer on the horizon, President Obama is trying to leverage his popularity by pushing on a host of policy fronts. The Democrats are dealing with an expansive budget, health care reform, labor reform, climate-change legislation, and that's just for starters. The more Democratic senators they have in tow, the less they need to kowtow to the GOP's tiny band of moderates. Franken's continued absence complicates their task.
In the election trial conducted by a three-judge panel in Minnesota, Coleman rested his case last week without offering any tangible proof that Franken's certified 225-vote lead was fraudulent. Coleman's lawyers did note that there were some procedural disparities about how some absentee ballots were counted, or not counted, but they have failed to translate those disparities into actual votes that would erase Franken's lead.
The bottom line, at this point, is that Coleman's lawyers have been reduced to targeting 1,360 disputed absentee ballots, in the hopes that a closer examination of those ballots will produce a mini-landslide that would catapult Coleman to victory. But the odds of that happening are extremely small, even if one assumes that the court agrees to count them all (which itself is problematical).
The Minneapolis Star Tribune did the math last night. It started by examining the November election results in the counties where those absentee ballots come from. And, lest we forget, the Minnesota vote was spread among three Senate candidates. The paper concluded that, if all those ballots match the November vote percentages in the relevent counties, Coleman would trim Franken's edge by only 57.
All told, in the words of election-law expert Larry Jacobs at the University of Minnesota, "there's not proof in terms of votes that would suggest that Al Franken's certified lead of 225 votes is in jeopardy." Minnesotans seem to have endorsed that view; in a new Rasmussen poll, 47 percent said they believe that Franken has won the seat, while only 35 percent saw Coleman as the winner. But none of this will deter the Coleman camp, nor its donor/supporters. The procrastination strategy requires that they lay the groundwork for extensive court appeals, perhaps even to the U.S. Supreme Court, assuming that the three-judge panel rules against them.
This is all tactically shrewd, given their goal of barring Franken from casting votes on the Senate floor, but I can't help remembering what Coleman said in the immediate aftermath of the November election, back when he had a 700-vote lead, long before the statewide hand recount was even conducted. He said that Franken should simply concede: "If you asked me what I would do, I would step back. I just think the healing process is so important."
That was then, this is now. There's no room for healing in the game of hardball.
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Maybe we should start an office pool and put down some bets on how long Michael Steele will remain as GOP national chairman, given his propensity for repeatedly requiring mouth surgery to remove his foot. (Until Steele came along, I had assumed that Democratic Sen. Roland Burris was the best topic for such a pool.)
Even before eking out a narrow victory on the sixth ballot of the January race for the party chairmanship, Steele was perceived by the conservative base to be a closet moderate, and therefore highly suspect...and now we have Steele uttering some blasphemous remarks about abortion in a new interview, released yesterday by GQ magazine.
Steele: "The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other."
Q: "Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?"
Steele: "Yeah. I mean, again, I think that's an individual choice."
Q: "You do?"
Steele: "Yeah. Absolutely."
Oh, dear. That won't do much to ensure his long-term survival in the job. A Republican chairman simply cannot say such things out loud (just as a Democratic chairman cannot attack the concept of choice). And, sure enough, the Republican National Committee sought this morning to mop up the mess by releasing a clarifying Steele statement:
"I am pro-life, always have been, always will be. I tried to present (in the interview) why I am pro life, while recognizing that my mother had a 'choice' before deciding to put me up for adoption. I thank her every day for supporting life."
OK, so maybe when he was talking to GQ, he just forgot what he truly believes. Or maybe he was saying what he truly believes ("individual choice), and forgot that he was supposed to fake it in order to stay in sync with the conservative base. Or maybe he's just a surprisingly poor communicator.
Sure enough, the religious right teed off on Steele today. Mike Huckbee, the ex-pastor and perhaps future presidential candidate, declared: "For Chairman Steele to even infer that taking a life is totally left up to the individual is not only a reversal of Republican policy and principle, but it's a violation of the most basic of human rights - the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. His (clarification) today helps, but doesn't explain why he would ever say what he did in the first place."
Meanwhile, what about Steele's other GQ blasphemy, the one that's getting less attention at the moment? The one where he spits in the eye of religious conservatives who insist that being gay is merely a foolish lifestyle choice? Here's the exchange.
Q: "Do you think homosexuality is a choice?"
Steele: "Oh, no. I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view, that you can turn it on and off like a water tap. Um, you know, I think that there's a whole lot that goes into the makeup of an individual that, uh, you just can't simply say, oh, like, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay.' It's like saying, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black.'"
Q: "So your feeling would be that people are born one way or another."
Steele: "I mean, I think that's the prevailing view at this point..."
Perhaps Rush Limbaugh can help Steele sort out what he might think he was trying to say. Indeed, at this rate, he might be free within months to pursue the next phase of his career. And Norm Coleman might well be free to join him.
Comments (83)
NigeltheMastiff, I like your analogy... the Catholic Priest scandal is a family tragedy. Imagine a family member doing the unimaginable... this is what happened here. A mixed bag of emotion... sadness, anger, disgust to name a few! Also, imagine you're a Priest who's done nothing wrong. Keep in mind there are 1 Billion Catholics worldwide. I have friends that are priest... when wearing their 'collar' they frequently are subject to 'child molester' calls and are mocked. My friends that are priest 'take it' and say nothing back... because worse than how they feel are the victims themselves. Finally, there is no shortage of people that ENJOY kicking around Catholics and Catholic Priest for a variety of reasons... Delight is really a better description. Again, it's about having standards... the higher the standard, the bigger the hypocrite. The bottom line is that the Church and the guilty priest are paying a 'penalty' that has occurred as they should. Please note, Cardinal Rigali and the Pope have apologized several times and implemented changes to stop this from occurring again. Several Popes have apologized for the Catholic Church not doing enough during the Holocaust... and are STILL apologizing. I believe the Church is correct in continuing to say 'sorry' for their misdeeds. This will occur w/ the Priest scandal as well... the Church will be paying for this for decades. I could only hope for others to be as accountable... something seem rarely in today's world.— JGD84- An article by a 'Democrat and Republican' pollster noting the rapid decline of Obama's poll numbers. I don't know what this means exactly, other than people are nervous, the 'attacks' are working and Obama is "looking the part" of a President who isn't exactly sure what to do. Link below... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123690358175013837.html— JGD84
- Excellent op-ed piece on Wednesday's debate over Card Check http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/03/card_check_just_plain_undemocr.html
- Djoko, I hope you didn't think I was actually attacking you or your family. I was getting sleepy. All I meant to say is that a church -- or any organization -- is sort of like a big family. When one member goes astray (and in this case many members did, plus it was covered up), it must feel like a huge betrayal to those in the family who were innocent. A betrayal, a humiliation, an embarrassment, a hurt, all kinds of unpleasant emotions. It's probably just a typical human reaction to try to put the best face on it. That's all I was saying. The behavior itself was indefensible. It has certainly left a very negative perception of Catholicism here in America.— NigeltheMastiff
- This columnist and these liberal posters on this blog will write about anything but Obama's record. Obama is using the cover of a still unresolved banking issue to further a broad liberal wish list before anyone notices its cost or complications. Like I posted many weeks ago, they are now talking about another stimulus package. Obama's pledge of " responsibility " has become the most massive expansion of debt in our nations history. The constant allocation of blame to others and the childish cultivation of controversy with conservative media is an attempt to polarize the electorate like no other president has ever attempted. The pledge of honesty and sacrifice has become the deceptive guarantee of limitless public benefits at the expense of a very few.
- Djoko Pritza, thanks and you seem like a nice and honorable person yourself! You're missing the point and I think NigeltheMastiff has it right... my parish priest wasn't excusing anything! There's an expression 'love the sinner, hate the sin'... that's what exactly is happening here. ALL PEOPLE (including Conservatives)(I will never again admit this in public!:)) make mistakes and are prone to do 'bad things', 'evil' or whatever term for 'imperfection' you like. Regarding the priest who hurt those children, I believe they should be punished to the 'fullest extent of the law'. When I read your posts on the subject, it appears that you want 'more' than that. If true, this validates my opinion w/ liberals in general... when Conservatives are found in 'breech' of their values it's somehow 'worse'... it isn't. In other words, because Conservatives have standards and human, sometimes we fail. The 'opposite' is the liberal position... to find "tolerance" in all things and actions, therefore lowering or removing a standard which results in no "wrongs". It's convenient, for example, for a baseball (non-pitcher) player to hit .100 and call himself an "all-star". Basically creating a world in which everyone gets to judge themselves and is considered until everything is 'rationalized' away.— JGD84
- Let me rephase that: Is Mark Sanford the new leader of the Repub Party?— Djoko Pritza
- Hey, can you all help me? Is Mark Sanford mentally challeged?— Djoko Pritza
- Nigel, give moi a break ...:)— Djoko Pritza
- ark, sorry, didn't anyone tell you? i've asked them not to post any more of your stuff.— Djoko Pritza
- Nigel, I must admit, I'm hoping you'll explain a litter further my grandmother as a drug runner ... I'm not sure I got the analogy:)— Djoko Pritza
- ARK: Ready to pounce on spending after the tight-fisted Bush years? ................ BTW, the Bush-Cheney Questionable Actions reached 95 for 96 months. I figured that admission of torture by a Gitmo official was more than an effort to influence the next admin. to keep Gitmo open, as it also tainted ALL future prosecutions at Gitmo. The 2 new ones are Cheney's Assassination Squad for being in existence, and the deaths it caused and/or collateral damage.— Talvenada
Comment removed.- djoko, that's a bit harsh. The priest was probably just trying to come to terms with something terrible in his world. And people deal with things very differently. Imagine if all your cousins found out that your great grandmother was a drug runner. OK. That's not exactly the same, but there's sense of betrayal, a sense of instability and loss and hurt. Dont' be too harsh.— NigeltheMastiff
- JGD, you seem like an honest guy and honorable, too, but the line about all things happening for a reason is enough to make one ill. What a total cop-out by that priest. He should fry! (Which is not saying much since I know there is no such thing as h*ll. But if there were ...)— Djoko Pritza
- NigeltheMastiff, I'm not sure if anyone "knows" how many people were aware of this in the Catholic hierarchy. It seems plausible that at least at the diocese level, someone must have known... or priests would not have been transferred. It's more than 'soulless corruption', it's evil... in the truest sense of the word! Not to be dramatic, but it's an example of the daily battle between "good and evil". Christians believe Christ was tempted by Satan. How, if Christ is/was God, could this happen? Because Christ was human and open to all the frailties that go w/ the 'human condition'. We all "fall" however what we do afterwards makes all the difference... even for criminals. My opinion is that changes do need to be made to the hierarchy so this won't happen again. But I believe all people are imperfect, including priest and the Catholic Church. Regardless of what safeguards get put in place, evil and temptation will find a way. In fact, by definition of being human and imperfect, you know there some evil that will exist. I just pray that it's not this again or something worse. All people, all religions, all organizations are subjected to this... it's not just a Catholic Priest problem... which is the point I was making w/ our friend Djoko Pritza. Last year at Mass, a Priest said "all things happen for a reason, even this scandal"... I believe the priest was right.— JGD84
- JGD, I think we all (with the exception of the Bernie Madoffs of the world) have principles, but those that are most important to each person may be different. For me, it's more important to assess each situation and act compassionately, kindly and with common sense. When you're infexible, you can't always do that. And sometimes that makes for great heartache. Shoot, even acting out of kindness and compassion can be painful. So we all have to follow our own conscience. And yes, I mostly think it's an individual thing -- just like Quakerism.— NigeltheMastiff
- JGD,there certainly appears that the hierarchy of the church knew about this fairly pervasive problem and just swept it under the rug. I'm sure that must make you feel uncomfortable, too. In fact, I agree with whoever said they were mostly to blame. There's a certain soulless corruption about it. I think you could probably agree that some serious changes need to be made to the organizational structure so that this kind of protectionism doesn't happen again.— NigeltheMastiff
- NigeltheMastiff, yes it does answer my question. One person's 'rigid creed' is another person's 'principles' I guess. Yes, my principles do guide my actions. Working as a nurse for those years, it helped me get through the days and nights not endlessly considering each person's situation on a 'case by case' basis. Allowing everyone to judge what is 'right' and what is 'wrong' inevitably leads to chaos. Which a couple weeks ago, motivated me to say our country is descending into a "Tower of Babel" situation. From Genesis... "The descendants of Noah had migrated from the "east" (Armenia) first southward, along the course of the Tigris, then westward across the Tigris into "a plain in the land of Sennar". As their growing number forced them to live in localities more and more distant from their patriarchal homes, "they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands." The work was soon fairly under way; "and they had brick instead of stones, and slime (asphalt) instead of mortar." But God confounded their tongue, so that they did not understand one another's speech, and thus scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city." Our 'evolving' ethical and moral code ('differing tounges') will cause us increasing problems... past is prologue as they say!— JGD84
- Djoko Pritza, I'm glad I made you smile... I am dissapointed that you took a cheap shot at Catholics. Something that liberals do frequently... make fun of people who practice their faith.— JGD84
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- ET: I've been stopped by the words: dic-k, cra-p, and but-t; and then accepted w/ that one word changed. You were not being denied your Conse 'Pub opinion, dude. There is a filter in place.— Talvenada
- Djoko Pritza, I did not defend anyone who broke a law or took advantage of children... I don't care who they are, it's despicable and they deserve the jail time they get plus some! I'm making the point that you shouldn't paint the Catholic Church w/ a broad brush... which you did.— JGD84
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- ET: Do you listen to El Pukebo?— Talvenada
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- DP, cheap shot!. Dirtball priests should face the wrath of the legal system at it's greatest force. The higher-ups who covered it up deserve worse. No one is defending any of them. Every person of conscience, Catholic and non, deplores what happened. There's no disproportion from the rest of society in those who violate children. Consider that those who have been violated should receive some sense of juctice and balance in their lives but the need for bankruptcy is a function of the justice by lawyers who are interested only in the 35 to 50% of the justice verdict.— JimR
- JGD, you make me smile. This line, for instance: "I am concerned that the left gets all worked up about 'breaking down barriers' and being 'tolerant' but never takes responsibility for the degradation of society." JGD, so you want liberals to take responsibility for what 8 years of Bush and 20 years of conservatives have done. What don't they take responsibility for that degradation? The only thing Bush is sorry for is saying, "Bring it on." The only thing conservatives are sorry for is ... nothing.— Djoko Pritza
- Djoko, sadly I can't buy a hard copy. I'm in bloody Rome, GA, and most people here think the NYT is evil. I tried for a while to get the Sunday edition delivered, but more times than not it didn't show up. Sometimes I can find it at Barnes and Noble or even our Kroger, but I'm not there every day. Sigh. JDG, I guess I would answer you this way: I believe in taking in the entire situation and trying not to make judgments based on a rigid creed. I just can't think that some cells in a dish are a human being. If you can, that's entirely your right. There are pregnancies that endanger a mother, so whose life should be spared? What if she has other small children, a husband, an elderly parent to take care of? Whose life gets sacrificed? I don't think you can sacrifice the living without much thought and reflection. The point is, these things, like life in general, are complex and deserve more than a knee-jerk response. I think that's where personal decisions become gut-wrenching. I don't think they are undertaken lightly in most cases, and they should be decided in a compassionate, understanding way with the help of doctors, clergy and family. Does that answer your question?— NigeltheMastiff
- JGD, NEPhilly has the right idea: Why defend the indefensible? Anyway, I’m not sorry you’re offended; I just think of all those kids whose lives have been ruined (and their kids, too), of the preying priests, and of all those Catholic higher-ups who facilitated the tragedy by covering it up and transferring the bad guys to unsuspecting congregations of young people so the church wouldn’t have to pay up … so I’ll not be offering any apologies. I’ll bet most of them are Republicans:) And I don’t mind attacking people because of their beliefs. Beliefs make people easily manipulated, vulnerable to charlatans, some even in church garb. And if those stupid beliefs are passed on to innocent kids … I’ll go with facts and science.— Djoko Pritza
- CAM: Once it gets closer to April, I'll be mostly there. I'm not as hungry for it as last year.— Talvenada
- Nigel, buy a newspaper!— Djoko Pritza
- NigeltheMastiff, I wanted to ask you in the last post... at what point does a 'clump of cells' become human? Who makes that decision? Does everyone get to make up their own mind? We're all a 'clump of cells' on some level. There was just a post today stating that someone was 'ok' w/ partial birth abortions in "rare instances". Is that ok for a Quaker? 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, does a baby need to be born... talk, walk, go to school before they're more than a 'clump of cells'. I'm pushing you because embryonic stem cell research is a slippery slope. Anyway, you're definitely a thoughtful person... I can't imagine you swatting a fly w/o some remorse. However, I am concerned that the left gets all worked up about 'breaking down barriers' and being 'tolerant' but never takes responsibility for the degradation of society.— JGD84
- Tal: Don't you have some posting to do cbs sports--Hey, I'm sure the Phillies board needs another thread ranting on why Burrell should have stayed...— camtheman
- Djoko Pritza, as a Catholic, I don't appreciate your comments about Catholic Priests. Yes, there are some bad priest... however, there's lots of good priest as well. For those priests that hurt children, I hope they 'throw the book at them' and give them as much jail time as possible. Catholic Charities are one of the largest charitable organizations in the world. In fact, there's lots of Catholics around the world doing good deeds. Mother Theresa wasn't asking publicity when she was caring for the sick. Pope John Paul II was a priest and worked continuously to bring people closer to God. When you make sarcastic comments like you did about the Church, it totally plays into the stereotype of liberals attacking religious people because of their faith. This whole event is a tragedy for the abused and their families as well as the Catholic Church. The main reason that Catholic Priests get called out is because of the hypocrisy... rightly so! However, NOT having standards and therefore never being "wrong" about anything doesn't make the crime any better or worse. I'd like to know how many arrested sex offenders have been to Church, Synagogue or Mosque lately... my bet, not too many! How come no headline in the NY Times saying "Sex Offenders don't go to Church... a problem for Atheist?"— JGD84
- sns, I oftened wondered what would happen if a man ever sued a woman to stop her from aborting his child? Question, at what point do you believe a fetus/baby has human rights? Also, what life threatening medical condition does a partial birth abortion save a women from? The baby is already half way out. Why not take the baby all the way out and try to save it as well? You are correct however, it is a shame you need a license to drive a car, but none to have a baby:)— NEPhilly
- NE – I am going to agree that until we reach a middle ground, there will be horrors committed to women and this issue will remain an unnecessarily divisive political football. My Opinions: Although “partial-birth” abortions are very rare, they are medically necessary in those rare cases where the life of the mother is at risk, so they should not be outlawed, but be available as a very last resort option; unless and until both biological parents are willing to pay a birth tax, then the sole decision maker regarding reproductive matters will be the woman whose body it affects, with the consultation of her physician – and a developing fetus’ right’s belong to that women. While it may be ideal to some, the rights of a biological father to prevent an aborted pregnancy have not been granted because the male willingly supplies the sperm with passive knowledge that the reproductive process is then transferred to the female for the remainder of the gestation period through probable birth (like in all mammals), and the woman has the rights to her own body. Respect must exist for the rights of women (along with their physician’s input) to control their own bodies. Religious beliefs and opinions on this matter should also be respected and in turn, those beliefs and opinions should be only applied personally, to one self, rather than forced upon, and used in judgment, intimidation or coercion of, others.— SNS08
- Djoko, it is disgraceful and one of the reason's I am a checkbook Catholic and will not let my child be an alter boy! Did you see that priest from Ryan who stole hundreds of thousands of $$$ to feed his drug habit and then pay off a sexual abuse victim (who later died of a drug overdose)? I had that disgrace of a human being for religion class at Ryan. He/they all should be castrated or worse. I did read somewhere once that there were no more % of pedifiles that were priests as opposed to the general population, but the problem was their superiors were transfering them around the country instead of throwing them out or letting them get prosecuted! Disgraceful— NEPhilly
- I just checked the NYT online and couldn't find the story about abuse in the Catholic church. Was it in online version? On an upbeat note -- and I know that this crowd isn't usually upbeat, but I'm ready for some good news -- the stock market is up for the third day. Yippee. Maybe I won't lose every cent I have, though most of it is already gone.— NigeltheMastiff
Yea those Republicans - "Country First" - way to prevent the citizens of Minnesota from representation. Pathetic, hypocritical frauds and their self serving power struggle. We are trying to right the ship 8 years of their rule have practically sunk - and now they are doing everything in their power to stand in Uncle Sam's way - beautiful, just beautiful. Hey anarchists out there you might want to check out the republican party and register. You have a home now. I mean their slogan is "I hope they fail"- ARK: You are SO right!! Why is Polman not pointing out EVERY possible questionable Obama action, like you do. Polman should talk earmarks ONLY, and on a daily basis. Why isn't he bashing Obama for his Conse 'Pub readers?— Talvenada
- ark, Pres. Obama signed this bill in private because it broke a campaign promise and he was ashamed of it, I hope:) He even thru in a signing statement (which he had maligned GWB about during the campaign, then again what didn't he malign GWB about) He did however go public with his denunciation of earmarks. Can you say talking out of both sides of your mouth? I knew you could:)— NEPhilly
- President Obama receives 'failing grades' for his handling of the economy.... here's a quote from the WSJ article... "U.S. President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the economy from participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey." Andy Grove, Warren Buffet, Jim Cramer, Howard Fineman as well as a growing list of Democrats that believe Obama is mishandling the economy. The tide is turning for Conservatives... stop the spending and turn toward socialism! President TelePromter may need the Whitehouse Communications Office to put economic stats on the teleprompter during press conferences sooner than later! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123671107124286261.html— JGD84
- NEPhilly, a checkbook Catholic? Well, get it ready! Did you see the article on Page 1 today of the NYTimes? Sad. S*xual abuse of children was so bad in the church that the archbishop of Milwaukee’s headquarters had to be sold to pay settlements. Settlements in California have cost about a billion. And the NY church is claiming attempts to lift the statute of limitations is an attempt to bankrupt the church! That much abuse, eh? One of the church’s arguments against atheism is that such a society would degenerate into a cesspool of immorality. I don’t think so. I just think it would be harder for priests to find kids to prey on.— Djoko Pritza
- CD follows the tried-and-true (and sorry-and-lame) republitard path: when you ain't got nothin' on point to say about an issue, blame it on the "liberal media". Face it CD: you, your party, and your Dear Leader Limpballs are in the minority, and moving towards being a PERMANENT minority more and more every day. Get used to it, cuz we American citizens have had enough of the sorry republitard party -- and Michael Steele is being a good patriotic American by helping every day to pound a wooden stake ever deeper into the non-existent heart of the republitard party once and for all...— The Dogfather
- Djoko, I am no defender of the Catholic Church, but I look forward to your post:)— NEPhilly
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- ... that is, if the censors let me post it ...— Djoko Pritza
- NEPhilly, I'll send along a more provocative post soon, about your church!— Djoko Pritza
- Djoko, you used to be fun to discuss issues with and your posts were well thoughtout, interesting and challenging:) What happened?— NEPhilly
- NEPhilly, as I said, Whatever.— Djoko Pritza
- Yeah, what passes these days for brilliant Repub strategy is to delay the outcome of an election they've already lost. Go, GOP!— Djoko Pritza
- On the Coleman challenge in Minn.: Whatever ... On Steele and choice and homosexuality: Doesn't he know the GOP has no room for people who aren't ideologues?— Djoko Pritza
- I'm sorry, RottingBrains -- where have you seen Obama #'s going up? Obama's approval rating has dropped from 68% to 60% (RCP data). As the economy worsens, so will both Congress' and Obama's ratings. President Bush's ratings in 2001 started at 55% and jumped to 63% by May 1st.— IggleFan68
- Phrossty, I am going for the record:) It was going a little slow anyway:)— NEPhilly
- We have to come to some middle ground on abortion and be done with it! As a conservative & checkbook Catholic, the most terrible of abortion precedure in my mind is partial-birth abortion. If the liberals would concede that life begins at some point during a pregnancy, we could come to some compromise! Say the right gives in and says abortions in the 1st 4 1/2 months for legitimate reasons (not as a contraception) such as, incest, rape and legitimate health concerns for the mother would be kept legal! The left gives in and says partial birth and late term abortions (the last 4 1/2 months) are no longer legal. Now that would be a common sense, in the middle of the road compromise. The hard left and hard right would not be happy, but it is time to get past this IMHO! In an aside, what about the rights of the father of the unborn child and the rights of the unborn child itself? Discuss:)— NEPhilly
- STEVE: I love debate, which is the strongest idea wins; but these Conse 'Pubs are all talk and no listen. So, I want them to hear what they sound like to me, because they only debate when they have a winning POV.— Talvenada
- Thanks, NEPhilly, posting about abortion ought to get the blog to over 250 comments.— Phrossty
- NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Neil Newhouse (R). Sept. 6-8, 2008. N=860 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3.3. "Which comes closest to your view on abortion: abortion should always be legal; should be legal most of the time; should be made illegal except in cases of rape, incest and to save the mother's life; or abortion should be made illegal without any exceptions?" Always Legal Legal 25%, Legal most of the time 24% Illegal With a Few Exceptions 37% Illegal without exceptions 10%, Unsure 4%! http://www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm Hardly most of the American people! More on abortion later!— NEPhilly
- Tal, I'm probably about the same, but I was surprised to see you put Blago's name up there. I am still a Republican, a RINO at this point, but the party has absolutely taken a turn for the insane. These people who call themselves conservative don't have a conservative bone in their bodies. They're just all about authoritarianism, position and power. The only reason I'm staying is to vote against Pat Toomey next year. You know, these so-called "conservatives" think they have the courage to stand up agains t PC, but in fact they are so scared that they want the unitary executive to throw away everything we stand for, everything our forefathers fought for so they can be relieved of their fear of attack. They are doing the exact same thing they mock libz for.— SteveMG
- When I look at the Minn. Star Tribune for the raw vote totals in the election, I see Coleman ahead by 477 the day after the election! On Dec. 17 he is still ahead by 358. Even on Jan 2 his only behind the suspect hand count by 48 votes. The hand recount from what I remember was very controversial with the commisioners trying to figure out what voters meant by marks on their ballots, etc. Also, one precinct had more votes than voters (unless that is just GOP hogwash)! It would be like Al Gore winning Florida 2000 on election day (which he did not) and then GWB fighting every hanging chad, etc and being ahead in the vote 2 months later! Can you imagine the outrage on the left? My feeling is there is some funny business going on here and that is not surprising given Mr. Franken's backround:) I think Mr. Coleman has the right to fight this in the courts for as long as the courts let him! http://ww2.startribune.com/projects/timeline/recount.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr— NEPhilly
- How dare Steele say what he actually thinks.— p-diddy
- JMC: Are you an El Pukebo listener?— Talvenada
- STEVE: My leanings are Mod Dem, and using The Blago defense is not a compliment.— Talvenada
- LJL: I'm sure he was misquoted, that it was a Lib conspiracy, or that he'll issue a clarifying statement.— Talvenada
- Talveneda, in the interview excerpted above, how are Steele's view on homosexuality and abortion taken out of context? Again, it won't be Olbermnan and Obama pushing him out the door. Are you trying to defend Steele? Are you trying to defend Blago???? What is it, some vast left wing conspiracy to take over the Republican Party, and you guys are going to let that happen?!?! Steele is making statements that are being rejected not by Olberman, but by the radical "conservatives". You're going to have to start applying logic before you keep resorting to the reflexive "left wing media" canard.— SteveMG
- LOLOL. Repubs have NOTHING to offer the American people, so their strategy is to hold the Senate seat of Al Franken hostage, block Obama's legislative agenda, and squeal in shrill hypocrisy about spending, earmarks, etc., Yes, that's a winning strategy. Thankfully, It's going to be a VERY LONG time before we ever see a majority of R's in power again. As the American people see this played out, as the worst economic crisis of our time, they Obama and the Dem's working to fix it and the Clueless, Out-of touch Repubs, blocking, whining, lying (as always), and hoping for failure all the while broiling in an internal party civil war. Obama and the Dems poll numbers keep going up, and the Repubs keep sinking - they don't have much further to go then off the charts and off the cliff. Buh-Bye, Baby, Buh-Bye!— RottingRepubs
The left sues in an election they just want every vote counted. Rebublican sue, and their denying a State representation in Congress. Furthermore, if the left should sue and lose, forever deny the legitimacy of the winner. Their worse than children.— jmc- STEVE: Conse 'Pubs don't smear: they expose. They point out how Obama means the opposite of what he says, and translate from the positive to the negative. KO takes their words out of context, like what happened to Blago.— Talvenada
- AXXEL: Why do people think a miracle is needed?— Talvenada
- How can Olberman smear Steele when he is just quoting him? When he gets bounced, it won't be KO and BO pushing him out the door, it'll be Rush and Newt. So stop blaming the libz for your mess.— SteveMG
- 77: What happened to Rove's permanent Neo-Con governance?— Talvenada
- Thankfully you're still in there pitching for the Obama miracle. Besides the Senate could use some laughs. Keep up the good work.— Axxel
- PHROSSTY: Rush is The Conse 'Pub God of heartburn!!— Talvenada
- Aw, man! Only one brief mention of Rush and it was about Steele instead of the comic author turned Senator (almost). We get a two-fer on this, but I think I'm gonna have to pay the folks who bet the under. There's not enough controversy in the blog. I mean, who expected the R's to give in without a fight? If nothing else, they feel like the D's are owed some payback for Gore's contesting the election in 2000. Sauce for the gander and all that. Speaking of geese, Steele's is cooked. (Maybe if I point out that the reason the R's won't give up the fight against Franken is that he wrote a book that criticized their vaunted leader, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot and Other Observations." Maybe that will set the blog aflame...)— Phrossty
- CD: Yeah, and that liberal-smear-factory Hannity w/ his LIB-ER-AL spots.— Talvenada
- Keith Olbermann spends his time at night smearing Steele. I see that Polman got the memo too, or just follows Mad Man Kieth with his talking points. The Liberal Media does not want to talk about Obama's failures (see WSJ survery of 50 leading economists who give Obama an "F" grade on handling the ecomony), so the State Media has created a new smear target. Since when in real politics did the heads of the parties matter so much (for example, how many people can name the last 5 repub and dem leaders?) It only matters to the liberal smear factory.— CD75
- Lest we forget, the third candidate in Minnesota, Barkley, is actually a Dem who re-registered as an Independent. He got 15% of the vote and I doubt most of those people would have voted for Coleman. If he wasn't in the race, Franken would have walked away with it. As for Steele, rule number one, never choose a losing candidate for a party chair. There are reasons why Steele couldn't get elected Senator from Maryland. "Clarifying" his views all the time was one of them.— anonymous
- Sorry Talvendada, I haven't been able to find a single Repub who hasn't become terrified by the state of the party. If there ever was a regional party in this country, the Repubs have outdone themselves in leaping over each to fall at the feet of the FAR, FAR right wing. Even their god, Reagan, would've laughed and at this stage probably changed parties instead of trying to capitulate to those on the side of the massive lack of ideas. Even Reagan had ideas, I didn't agree with them then and history has proved that they didn't help in any way but at least they were ideas. These folks have nothing....— 77volks
- Reminds me of The Conse 'Pub cry on nominees: up or down vote!! Obstruction by Dems!! Obstructing their beloved W, but not ONE complaint about Coleman, unlike w/ Gore. I'm surprised they aren't outraged that Coleman is getting cheated.— Talvenada
- Comment removed.
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Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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