“Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.” (And, now that we’ve got all the racist white freakshows definitively in the bag, we’re coming for you…) RNC Chair Ken Mehlman will apparently apologize for the “Southern Strategy” before the NAACP today. Well, I presume there nobody will fall for this ridiculous ruse…Just ask Katharine Harris.
Category: Politics (2005-2006)
Rove on the Stove.
As Dubya goes mum about Karl Rove’s future, Slate‘s Tim Noah effectively dismantles the GOP’s Hail Mary “whistleblower” defense (floated, naturally, on the WSJ op-ed page), Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal argues Rove’s fate will be decided by the special prosecutor, and Salon‘s Robert Bryce lays out the case for what we all suspect: Dubya won’t give up Rove anytime soon.
Moderation in all things.
“‘I’m not sure where people get judgment,’ Professor Powe said in an interview on Wednesday. ‘I’m quite sure it doesn’t come from the law school context. But really good politicians have it. They know how far they can go, and when they have reached a good stopping point.'” As the Senate’s moderate “Gang of 14” looks to navigate the rocky shoals ahead, the NYT‘s Linda Greenhouse makes the case for a return to the longstanding tradition of non-judge justices.
Bolton Begins?
Although he’s been upstaged of late by O’Connor and Rove, potential UN freakshow John Bolton still waits in the wings, and is prepared to accept a recess appointment by Dubya sometime next month. In fact, he’s already acting like he owns the place. “Two months ago, while his confirmation was in trouble, Bolton began efforts to double the office space reserved within the State Department for the ambassador to the United Nations.”
Goring Alberto.
“As lawyer for the governor in the Texas Statehouse from 1994 to 1997, Gonzales was responsible for advising Bush about whether he should delay the death sentences of capital murderers…As my colleague Phillip Carter has written, Gonzales’ work on this life-or-death task ‘would have barely earned a passing grade in law school.'” Slate‘s Emily Bazelon argues that rabid right-wingers are correct on one account: Alberto Gonzales would make a lousy Supreme Court justice.
Judging Judy.
“It’s not necessarily clear that a press engaged in a tabloid-esque race to the bottom, consumed by sensationalist pseudo-stories, nuggets of McNews and flag-waving rhetoric, is a free press in any meaningful sense of the term,” writes Salon‘s Andrew O’Hehir in a thoughtful piece on the Judith Miller case. But, he concludes, “[c]ompelling a reporter to reveal his or her sources to the police turns that reporter into a police agent, and that’s not acceptable, even in unsavory circumstances like these.” Update: Salon readers poke some substantial holes in O’Hehir’s argument. Update 2: O’Hehir responds.
As a counterpoint, Slate‘s Jacob Weisberg argues the following: “To Miller and the Times, confidentiality is the trump value of journalism, one that outweighs all other considerations, including obedience to the law, the public interest, and perhaps even loyalty to country. This is indeed a strong principle, but it is a misguided one. In the Mafia, keeping confidences is the supreme value. In journalism, the highest value is the discovery and publication of the truth.“
And one more view by way of James Fallows, who’s written quite a bit on journalistic ethics in his time: “So Time Inc’s Norman Pearlstein says he will turn over Matthew Cooper’s notes, because Time magazine is ‘not above the law.’…Matt Cooper, Judith Miller, and the New York Times have been saying something completely different. They have been saying that there is a conflict between what the law asks and what their professional values allow them to do. Therefore they will take the consequences. They will go to jail….They are not placing themselves above the law. They are saying that certain values matter more to them than doing what the law now (outrageously, in my view) asks them to do. Norman Pearlstein is a smart man. Can he really have missed this point? Or is he acknowledging that another set of values have come to count for more, in large-scale corporate-owned journalism?“
The Rats Circle Rove.
“The emerging GOP strategy — devised by Mehlman and other Rove loyalists outside of the White House — is to try to undermine those Democrats calling for Rove’s ouster, play down Rove’s role and wait for President Bush’s forthcoming Supreme Court selection to drown out the controversy, according to several high-level Republicans.” In other words, the GOP is playing it by the book.
Can I Get a Witness?
From the folks behind Drop the Hammer: Be a Witness, a site which calls out the national newsmedia for ignoring genocide in Darfur in favor of the Jackson case and myriad damsels in distress. While we’re at it, more coverage of the war we’re mired in might be nice too…y’know, the one over in Iraq.
Courtside.
As Washington waits for word from Rehnquist, Senate Dems sit by the phone, and the Left arms for a Last Battle of sorts, Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter muddies the waters by suggesting that the new Chief Justice be…Sandra Day O’Connor?
A Traitor in the White House.
“Inside the Bush administration, lying to reporters doesn’t even come close to being a firing offense…But Rove blew the cover of an undercover CIA official. If Dubya doesn’t fire the man he nicknamed ‘Turd Blossom’ for this offense, he’s an even bigger hack than I think.” Slate‘s Tim Noah explains why Karl Rove really has to go, now that his central role in Plamegate has come to light. Update: The White House clams up.