“Some lawmakers and senior party aides say that Mr. Lieberman remains in good standing. But they say that could change if he broke ranks and gave Mr. Bush a prominent Democratic ally on Social Security.” As feared and as usual, Senator Joe Lieberman seems to be the weak link in Democratic unity against the Dubya Social Security plan (although, to his credit, he has at least renounced private savings accounts.) Remember, Joe, once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Just look what happened to the Zell-out.
Tag: Zell MIller
The Atkins Congress.
“Senator Charles E. Grassley needed every possible vote to pass his mammoth corporate tax bill. So he was more than willing to accept Zell Miller’s plea on behalf of imported ceiling fans…[This] provision is just one tiny example of how the need to solve a narrow tax problem in 2002 gave birth to the biggest free-for-all in corporate lobbying that Congress has experienced in nearly 20 years.” The NYT conducts a post-mortem of the pork-bloated corporate tax legislation passed by Congress on Monday.
A Nightmare in November.
I also found this grisly pic of Angry Cheney on Looka (and Eschaton), and it reminded me of something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But, while walking Berkeley this evening, it came to me. In fact, I think I might just have figured out the inspiration behind Karl Rove’s whole two-faced strategy:
And, just to round out the meme…
(Pics via HalloweenTown. And a similar take on the Zellout can be found here, also via Eschaton.) Update: The Zellout also brought to mind this, but I ultimately thought it was a disservice to poor Bilbo. He wasn’t that far gone in Rivendell.
More Bad News.
Punctuating a frustrating week for Democrats, Bill Clinton suffers chest discomfort and may need quintuple-bypass surgery as early as tomorrow. Get well soon, Mr. President, and best wishes on a speedy recovery. (Clinton’s diet, exercise level, and family history notwithstanding, to my mind the Zellout now has even more to answer for.) Update: The operation was apparently a success, although Clinton will probably not recover fast enough to hit the road before Election Day. Get your rest, Mr. President — we need you for the long haul.
Fact-Checking Time.
As the dust settles from the GOP convention and Tom DeLay emerges from hiding, the truth starts coming back to light. Naturally, Dubya’s speech had serious problems with reality and the GOP severely distorted Kerry’s voting record. Obviously, Cheney and the Zellout were full of it. More surprisingly, however, Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently doesn’t know Austria from a hole in the ground.
Zell Hath No Fury.
“As a Democrat, Miller is an entertaining man-bites-dog story, and a minor celebrity in GOP circles. As a Republican he’s just another partisan hack.” On the eve of the Senator’s biggest sellout yet, Slate examines the strange case of the incredible shrinking Zell.
Losin’ It.
Continuing his recent spate of bizarre pronouncements, Zell Miller calls for repeal of the 17th Amendment, as apparently the direct election of senators is the primary cause for the domination of special interests in Washington these days. Well, the principle of federalism aside, it’s hard to take seriously any such special interest prescription from a guy like Zell, who’s gone so far out of his way to prostrate himself before Dubya and his cadre of corporate cronies. Sorry Zell…it’s Miller time no longer.
Zellfire and brimstone.
“The Culture of Far Left America was displayed in a startling way during the Super Bowl’s now infamous half-time show. A show brought to us courtesy of Value-Les Moonves and the pagan temple of Viacom-Babylon…Does any responsible adult ever listen to the words of this rap-crap?” Um, say what? Off the reservation yet again, Zell Miller embarrasses the Democrats with this ridiculous “deficit of decency” speech on the Senate floor. And I didn’t even quote the “Christocrat” stuff. Let’s lose this guy, already.
Deficit, Schmeficit.
Cheney breaks the tie as the Senate GOP pass the third-largest tax cut in history, one that includes a three-year moratorium on dividend taxes. Dems Zell Miller and Ben Nelson (and eventually Evan Bayh) joined the Republicans in passing the cut. (Republicans McCain, Chafee, and Snowe were opposed.) Of course, this tax giveaway for the rich does nothing to address the largest budget deficit in history…but that’s a problem for Dubya’s successors, isn’t it? And children don’t vote anyway.
Homeland (and Corporate) Security.
John McCain joins the Dems in fighting the Homeland Security Bill, mainly because it has swollen 450 pages since election day with ridiculous helpings of GOP pork. Looks like the only entities with security in Dubya’s universe are pharmaceutical companies and the anti-terrorism industry. Update: Despite McCain’s vote, the Dems lose again. (Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, and Zell Miller voted with the GOP, as did Wellstone’s current replacement, Dean Barkley.)