Predictably, Senate Panel Turns Wussy On Iraq War Report

Say it ain't so, Sen. Jay Rockefeller. These pathetic lily livers we call Democrats are going to let the Bush thug-o-crats, in essence, weasel out of this one, too. Nobody goes directly to jail; everybody passes Go. (Some probably collect $100,000.) The Senate Intelligence Committee -- perhaps a contradiction in terms -- gives the Bush hooligans a mild slap on the wrist, and declines to follow up.

Basically, the panel is making a brief media show of this. But in the long run, they're clearly going to let the war criminals skate. Here's the Los Angeles Times "report" on the Senate's "report": Click here.

Il Doofus has always seemed like a person leading some kind of perversely charmed life. After this it seems doubtless that he will skate, even after all the death and suffering he is directly responsible for.

It will now be up to history to hold him somewhat responsible for the human disaster of the Iraq war. I wish him long life, because I hope he is still around to find himself a bigger pariah than Nixon ever could have been.

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It's beginning to look like "blue" skies and smooth sailing...

The GOP continues to flounder. I continue to find much heartfelt glee in this fact, and do not apologize for it. I never claimed to be non-partisan. I am an unapologetic Liberal Democrat.

Faced with Democrats running fundraising circles around Republicans -the DCCC has raised $56.6 million and has $29.2 million at its disposal, while the NRCC is sucking hind tit, having raised only $40.7 million, and showing a cash balance of $2.5 million. Faced with people not willing to bankroll losers, the lord high mucky-mucks of the GOP have resorted to recruiting obscenely wealthy individuals to run for office who can funnel millions of their own dollars into desperate efforts to buy seats. “National Republicans are in disarray, forcing them to recruit inexperienced and unprepared self-funders,” said Doug Thornell, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But the news gets better for Democrats.

Democrats now hold more Governor's mansions, and that gap looks like it is going to widen. While the Democrats might not make the magic number 60 in the Senate, they are likely to get close enough that they can strongarm moderate Republicans into backing off on their obstructionist ways. If five or more seats flip, that will likely serve as a wake-up call to some of the obstreperous jackasses in Class III and Class I, and their own sense of political self-survival will kick in.

In Virginia, the magic eight ball says that Mark Warner is going to take the seat being vacated by John Warner. The seats being vacated by Domenici (N.M.) and Stevens (AK) have a good shot of going to Democrats, if for no other reason than to teach the party a lesson - the Republican candidates are going to have the foul stench of their corrupt predecessors wafting behind them. Bob Kerry is likely to replace the retiring Chuck Hagel in Nebraska, Sununu is vulnerable in New Hampshire. Graham in South Carolina might prove vulnerable because he has lashed himself so tightly to aWol and his pet war. Kentucky is likely to Ditch Mitch, Larry Craig's seat just about has to go to a Democrat, Elizabeth Dole is vulnerable, and the seat held by Gordon Smith is all but assured to flip, possibly to Portland mayor Speaker of the Oregon House Jeff Merkley, although there is still a tough Democratic primary to get through. Whoever wins it will unseat Gordon.

[P.S. Thanks to all you Oregon readers for correcting me on this point - I know better than to blog while buzzing on Robitussin and Benadryl...I lived in the Willamette Valley for a bit in the 90's and to be perfectly honest, I am echoing a friend who is a Merkley backer. To hear her tell it, he is unopposed in the primary, and I'm firing off an email, since echoing her sentiment got my fanny handed to me. I'll look a bit closer and actually dedicate a post to the Democratic primary out there to show my contrition.]

And the outlook is even more dismal in the house, where unexpected retirements have dealt setbacks to the Republican pipedream of retaking the house. And I am left to savor the schaddenfreude and hum a happy tune...

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How does Trent like being in the minority?

Apparently, not a Lott...

Minority Whip Trent Lott, (WATB-MS) is resigning, just a year after cruising to reelection in the 2006 mid-term election. His resignation is the greatest blow to a GOP that is hemorrhaging incumbents and experienced leadership, creating an atmosphere that the Republicans will remain in the minority in both the House and Senate for the foreseeable future.

Faced with the possibility that the voters, sick of the obstruction of the GOP, will send a fillibuster-proof Democratic majority to the Senate, Lott is packing it in. In that scenario, obstructionism would not work for the petulant party of perpetual war, borrow-and-spend fiscal irresponsibility, and fascistic domestic policies.

While many of the quitters on the GOP side of the aisle have held key committee and subcommittee posts, Lott is the first member of the leadership in either chamber to pack it in.

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The Road Out of Iraq Leads Through David Vitter

The Rude Pundit gets way too much attention for his Triple-X-rated rants, and nowhere near enough for his dead-on and usually unique political insights.

On Tuesday, he revealed the possible way out for Democrats on Iraq by forcing David Vitter out of office before November.

Read the whole thing, but Rude starts from the premise that the only thing keeping Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats from telling Smirky and Darth to fuck off and die is the threat of Joe Lieberman throwing the Senate to the Republicans (Cheney tie-breaker.) So far, so conventional wisdom. But then Rude makes the leap that could save the dems' ass - and as a bonus, the nation and the planet.

(Excerpt edited from XXX to merely X-rated.)

So Senate Democrats have gotta get rid of the Lieberman factor. With one more Democratic Senator, Lieberman will no longer control which way the wind blows until 2009.

And that's where David Vitter comes back into the equation. The oughta-be-disgraced, whoremongering Republican Senator from Louisiana has been embraced back into the Republican fold, as if he's a big goddamn hero for having kept his crimes hidden until after the statute of limitations had run out on him being arrested for soliciting hookers. Of course it's the basest sexual hypocrisy that Republicans went after Larry Craig because the Idaho Senator's case involved gay fucking and because Idaho's got a Republican governor and Louisiana's got a Democrat.

But here's the deal on Vitter: Republicans only have to stand by him until the end of the year. Louisiana elects a new governor this year, in 2007, with an open primary in October and a general election, if needed, in November. And you can sure as s**t bet a Republican's gonna win post-Katrina and Rita, probably Bobby Jindal. So, in as much as the Rude Pundit does the prognosticatin', Vitter's gone in January, so that no Republican running for President has to deal with questions of Republican sexual hypocrisy (at least as relates to current scandals). And, barring any other surprises, the same Lieberman-centric Senate until 2009.

So here's the deal: Democrats have to go Rove on Vitter. They have only a few months to get him out of there, so it's time to bring out the political demons in a savage way that pussies like Bob Shrum have nightmares about. Get the prostitutes out in front of the cameras, talking to Larry King about how Vitter likes to s**t himself in diapers and then get spanked while getting wiped by big-titted sluts. Get front groups to make ads about what a sleazy motherf***er Vitter is. Get outraged Senators talking to the pumpkinhead of Tim Russert about how it's just impossible to work with a man like Vitter. Take different angles: Barbara Boxer can talk about his exploitation of women, Mark Pryor or Ken Salazar can talk about how Vitter demeans the Senate by his presence and how can they be expected to hold their vomit in while working with a man like that.

Chase that motherf***er out of town and do it for a good cause: to end the war. You get rid of Vitter, you save American lives. Surely Democrats can wallow in the mud for a little while for such a noble end.

Yeah, I know, what makes me think that this time the dems will actually show some spine.

But this time there's no downside, no risk, no way to lose. Attacking Vitter is win-win-win: acquire a real majority in the Senate, marginalize Lieberman, and grow a gigantic set of brass ones.

Hell, get Rahm Emmanuel out of the House to lead the charge - I hate him for a DLC stooge, but that Chicago boy knows how to play dirty.

C'mon, Harry: you have nothing to lose, and literally the entire world to gain.

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What Bob Geiger Said

It's over now, and I decided to go see what everyone was saying about what it all means.

I really didn't need to go any further than the always-excellent Bob Geiger. He has an uncanny gift for looking beyond the screaming bloody obvious and get to the underlying significance. Rather than rehash, I am simply crossposting:

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The Overnight Iraq Debate: By The Numbers

The last 24 hours have been a wild ride in the United States Senate with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) forcing the Republicans to stand before the American people and openly explain why they believe it's a good idea to keep U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely. While Republicans managed to again block a Democratic measure to end the war -- this time, the Levin-Reed amendment -- the outpouring of support for the extended and up-front dialog has been amazing.

I have some numbers to help quantify that for you, along with some sad figures that show the true cost of Republicans caring too much about George W. Bush's legacy and not enough about the troops or national security.

Support across the country for changing course in Iraq

• 59,603 - Faxes (and still counting) sent to Senators in support of Levin-Reed Amendment

• 10 – Iraq Veterans who spent the day lobbying Senators for a change of course in Iraq.

• 155 - Events held around the country hosted by Americans Against Escalation, Moveon.org, and the “Iraq Summer Campaign” in support of changing course in Iraq. [Americans Against Escalation in Iraq Memo, 7/18/07]

• 450 – People who attended a Call to Action by Candlelight in Upper Senate Park.

• 21 – Democratic Senators who attended a Call to Action by Candlelight in Upper Senate Park.

• 57 – Democratic House members who attended Call to Action by Candlelight in Upper Senate Park.

• 33 – Democratic Senators who spoke on the floor in favor of a change of course in Iraq. [Senate Floor Proceedings, 7/17/07, 7/18/07]

• 2 – New Senators to vote for a change of course in Iraq. [Senate Vote 252, HR 1585, 7/18/07]

Costs of war in Iraq continue to rise

• 3 - U.S. soldiers reported killed in Iraq on July 17. [icasualties.org]

• 168 - Iraqis reported killed on July 17. [IraqSlogger.com, 7/17/07]

• 86 – Iraqis reported wounded on July 17. [www.IraqSlogger.com, 7/17/07]

• $322 Million – Amount of taxpayer dollars spent in Iraq on July 17. [CRS, 6/28/07]

Grand Obstruction Party blocks efforts to change course in Iraq

• 8 – Number of times Republicans obstructed giving the Levin-Reed amendment a majority vote. [Senate Floor Proceedings, 7/17/07, 7/18/07]

• 7 – Number of Republican Senators who have recently spoken out against escalation and for redeployment, but who voted against changing course in Iraq. Senate Vote 252, HR 1585, 7/18/07]

I guess we'll hold off on the Desperate Buzzphrase Count, showing how many times Republicans took to the floor and said "cut and run," "precipitous withdrawal," and "retreat and defeat" over the last two days.

The numbers above tell the story just fine.

posted by Bob Geiger at 7/18/2007 02:40:00 PM

I am running on three hours of sleep and four shots of espresso. After five p.m., I'm starting with two fingers of fine scotch.

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