George W. Bush's Halloween Fright Fest
After the debacle of the Harriet Miers' appointment and with the current desheveled status of the entire White House staff (Scooter, Turd Blossom, others), one thought that Dubya might reach out to the moderate Democrats for some support. He has no solid support with Republicans anymore since he didn't toe-the-line and appoint a Judge Conservative enough to assure a roll-back of Roe v Wade and a few other little fancies.
The 5th Vote! Dubya would have never lost the Extreme Far Right Wackos of the Republican Party. They have no place else to go.He would never win over any in the left of the Democratic party. He's burned too many bridges for that to happen.
But, he may have been able to get a dozen of so moderate Democrats to help him and the moderate Republican get an appropriate appointment to the bench.
Instead, on October 31st, All Hallow's Eve, he appointed the only person in America that may be to the right of Antonin Scalia, 3rd Circuit Appeals Court Judge, Samuel Alito.
While Judge Alito may not be The Boogie Man,
his record would scare Lon Cheney.
One down and a half dozen or so to go!
Exxon President laughs at record profits.
It wouldn't be so bad if they wouldn't laugh after they
screw you.
Harriet, we hardly knew you....
We at The Whirlpool don't want to gloat, but we will, unabashedly, do so. In a
previous post we told you she wouldn't see November. This morning, as expected
Harriet has withdrawn from consideration as a Supreme Court Judge.
In all honesty her nomination was never really being considered. It's to her credit that she and Dubya finally figured it out. We relished the question from a Senator during the hearing,
"Could you tell us your involvement with then Govenor Bush and his National Guard records?" The lady was doomed. One has to wonder if this was part of the plan.
One now wonders what the future holds for Harriet. Will she retire quietly to Texas or will she continue servicing, er I mean serving the President? Here is a picture of Harriet demonstrating her polished technique for Kissing Bush's Ass:
2000! Two Thousand! MM!
As of today, October 25, 2005
2000 American men and women have died for Bush's War. Most of them
died after he declared in his boy-toy flight suit "Mission Accomplished!"
Major Bush Screw Up!
In complete violation of a long standing Bush Administration policy, President George W. Bush accidentally appointed someone qualified for a position. President Bush named top White House economic adviser
Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board on Monday in place of near-legendary Alan Greenspan as the official in closest control of interest rates.
Bernanke has actually been involved in economics! Pundits have expected a tent salesman or possibly a dog groomer to be appointed to the Fed. This would be consistent with the policy used for his UN Appointment (Bolten), FEMA (Brown), and Supreme Court (Harriet "Snappy Dresser" Miers).
When asked about this oversight, Bush cited a quote by his new appointee: "Economics is a very difficult subject," Bernanke once said. "I've compared it to trying to learn how to repair a car when the engine is running."
"Shucks!" said the President. "I thought he was an auto mechanic! Where's Karl? How did this happen?!?!?"
Harriet Miers Will Withdraw
Harriet Miers will not see November as the nominee for Supreme Court. Either the Bush Regime will see the light and privately coax her into withdrawing, or the Wrong Wing will go around the White House and convince her.
While his Presidency is in irreparable disarray even the staunchest foes recognize that letting this go all the way to hearings will only shine more light on the total incompetence of the nominee and the administration that picked her.
Put a fork in her. She's done.
If I Were a JusticeIf I were a justice
Ya ha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum
In my robes I’d biddy biddy bum
If I were a high court judge!
I’d… be a super jurist!!
Ya ha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum
If I were bum biddy bum confirmed
Yiddle-diddle to the Supreme Court.
I’d sign opinions with a heart on the “I”
Correcting old decisions that were wrong
But I’d never legislate from the bench!!!
And even tho I’d be the most junior justice
They’d make me feel like I belong
Especially that Souter, he’s a mensch!
If I were a justice
Ya ha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum
In my robes I’d biddy biddy bum
If I were a high court judge!
I’d… be a super jurist!!
Ya ha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum
If I were bum biddy bum confirmed
Yiddle-diddle to the Supreme Court.From
Harriet Miers' Blog!!!
At last, Democrats get a clue.
Three Men and a Party
By Bruce Reed
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005
Triple Play: If you asked my fellow Democrats in Washington to name the three best things that have happened to their party in the past month, most would say: 1) Tom DeLay's indictment; 2) the conservative crackup over Harriet Miers; and 3) yesterday's indictment of ex-White House aide and Abramoff pal David Safavian, coupled with swirling rumors that much bigger fish will soon be indicted in the Plame case.
Wrong answers! All three highlights from the Republicans' Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week were great fun for my side to watch, but they merely give Democrats an opening. We can't indict our way back to the majority. The jury we have to convince is the American people.
The best Democratic news this past week is that three of the party's rising stars showed that they are tired of a strategy that depends on the other side falling to pieces.
On Sunday, Tim Russert was gobsmacked to discover that when he asked his usual showstopper, "But what are the Democratic ideas?", Illinois congressman and ex-has-been Rahm Emanuel actually had an answer.
Rahm could have said, "Three things: Convict DeLay. Filibuster Miers. Stick pins in our voodoo dolls of George Bush and Karl Rove." Instead, he spelled out five real ideas: making college universal, demanding a budget summit, cutting energy dependence in half with a hybrid economy, creating a science and technology institute to rival NIH, and making health care universal over the next 10 years.
You might have your own ideas, but that's the point - when you listen to a Democrat with ideas, you don't fall into a deep funk or get hungry again half an hour later. (Full disclosure: Rahm Emanuel is my best friend in Congress, and next to him, I am his biggest promoter.)
You're Hired: If you do have a new idea, Andy Stern and the Service Employees International Union just created a platform for it. This week, Stern launched a website called sinceslicedbread, which will host a nationwide competition over the next two months to find the best new idea to promote economic opportunity for ordinary people.
The winner will receive a prize of $100,000; two runners-up will win $50,000. In the past, Democrats only gave that kind of money to consultants who had no ideas. Now everybody has an incentive to solve the country's problems.
Wherever it leads, the competition itself is such a great idea that Fox and the other networks must be kicking themselves for not coming up with it. Real people going head to head in a cross between the Nobel Prize and "American Idol." It's just what Democrats need: reality thinking.
As if a nationwide search for ideas weren't encouraging enough, it's especially intriguing that Stern and his union are behind it. When Gary Hart first whetted Democrats' appetite for new ideas twenty years ago, his argument was that traditional Democratic interests were the ones standing in the way.
One key to Clinton's success in 1992 was persuading Democrats across the spectrum to be the party of change, not the status quo. Democrats can only win back a majority if they learn that lesson again, and Stern understands it better than anybody.
Truth Teller: Last Friday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) posted a brilliant essay on Daily Kos called "Tone, Truth, and the Democratic Party
." Obama used the split over John Roberts, whom he opposed, as an occasion to warn activists that hostility toward Democrats who don't always share their views is actually an impediment to a progressive majority.
Obama explains that "the storyline that drives many advocacy groups and Democratic activists" - that Democrats must grow a backbone, enforce Rove-like ideological purity, and polarize the electorate along our terms - plays right into Republicans' hands:
"Whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government."
Obama points out that like litmus tests, arguments over "framing" and labels are beside the point. Instead of striving to be pure or predictable, Democrats need to be bold and unorthodox. That means being willing to "innovate and experiment with whatever ideas hold promise," and giving voters the benefit of "a real and authentic debate about the issues that matter."
Ironically, the desire to be bold and unorthodox may once again be the best bond to unite the Democratic Party. Like most Americans, most Democrats are profoundly disappointed by the performance of both parties in Washington. Whatever differences we might have over tactics, young guns like Kos and Has-Been reformers like me share an abiding contempt for the status quo, and want Democrats to state boldly and clearly what we stand for and what we'll do for the country.
The Obama essay may be the most intelligent advice Democrats have been given in the Bush era. There's nothing wrong with the Democratic Party or the country that can't be turned around by an honest debate, a civil tone, and above all, a bold, unorthodox agenda.
Iconoclasts like Andy Stern, Rahm Emanuel, and Barack Obama are the future of the Democratic Party. If the party listens to them, Democrats will prosper even if none of our favorite Republican bogeymen ends up rotting in jail.
Take Back our Government from the Repugs!
Jack Carter - Son of President Carter running for Senate. He's bringing great expectations from
Nevada.
Six Iraq War Vets running as Democrats around the Nation.
Qualifications, by Bush!
Given that George W. Bush has failed everything that he's ever attempted, and his penchant for appointing or promoting individuals with no qualifications, it comes should come as no surprise that his nominee for the Supreme Court has never been a judge.
Expect this from Shrub at a future press conference: "Qualifications? Who needs qualifications? I didn't have any for this job and look at me."
Harriet Miers
War on Porn
We still haven't found Osama. We're fighting a war in Afghanistan. We're stuck in a quagmire in Iraq. America seems to be slightly waking, because Dubya's ratings are plummeting. The Wrong Wing is distancing themselves as far away from Bush the 43rd as they can.
So, what's his answer?
He has declared a
War on Pornography!
It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Dubya always wanted a war. His Iraq dabblings are going so hot so maybe this War on Pornography thing has potential.
All he needs to do to sell it is to convince a bunch of dumbshit congress folk the dangers of WMT's... you know:
Weapons of Mass Turbation!