Penn Whining about Edwards Running

The revelation of Edwards infidelity during the dem presidential primary has caused Mark Penn, Hillary's pollster/chief adviser, to gleefully daydream about a primary without Edwards:

“Most likely it would have been a two-way race and would have released a lot of voters who focused on demographics . . . voters who would later vote for Hillary Clinton.”

What a bunch of hooey. Hillary lost because she didn't compete in smaller caucuses/primary states. She lost because she was stuck on the idea that if you target only select states then you will win the primary and the presidency. 

It was a failing strategy that doomed her campaign. Not an unfaithful John Edwards.

Supreme Court Justice David Souter to Retire

Justice Souter has informed Obama that he plans on retiring. Souter tends to vote on the liberal side of the court so it won't swing the court in any new direction. 

If Obama's plate wasn't full with the economy, car companies, health care, stimulus bill and a ton of other stuff, he just got a whole second course, the desert, and an expresso all in one giant helping. 

The media blitz that is needed to get a supreme court nomination confirmed is arduous. The nominee needs a PR specialist, a liason in the senate to introduce the nominee to all the senators who will vote and several assistants to keep track of schmoozing senators.

VP Joe Biden has been chosen to pick the individual and I feel he's going to be lead point man on this nomination. He was chairman of the judiciary committee that conducts the hearings on the nominee. I think Joe is the right pick. 

GOP Rolls Out Tired Old Attacks

With the GOP's effor to "rebrand" itself, they felt it necessary to a try and squeeze every last drop out of one their favorite attacks: Dems are weak on national security. The GOP is attacking Obama for making us "less safe." (It seems that Cheney might have had a hand in this. His sick calculation is that if they harp on this long talking point and if something bad happens, they might get power back. Sick!)

"House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Pete Hoekstra of Michigan in a new Web video are accusing President Barack Obama of making decisions that have left the nation more vulnerable to attack."

The ironic part is that Obama was one of the first dems to fight the GOP on this line of attack. The GOP really do have a serious branding problem. Voters see them as the party of "No": They have no ideas, no leaders and no vision. 

My suggestion. Lay low for the next 4 years. Really try and govern and maybe along the way the ideas and leadership will start coming. They are flailing around trying to look like they are doing something when they really are doing nothing and voters can see that.  

GOP's First 100 Days

Got this from DailyKos. We almost forgot to mention the other party's first 100 days. Well, things can only get better?

GOP Rebranding With Old Players

God, you have to wonder what the hell these guys are thinking. The GOP is trying to rebrand itself with the same people. They are involving new faces but at the end of the day, the GOP just doesn't get it. 

"It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party's battered brand: former President George W. Bush."

Who's brilliant idea was it to bring in Jeb Bush. Who else knows Jeb Bush besides Floridians. You DO NOT want a Bush name anywhere near a national GOP rebranding. No matter how great he was in Florida. 

Obama's 100 Day Gift

Not seen since 1937, Obama will have control of both house and fillibuster proof majority in the Senate. What an 100 day gift!!

Senator Arlen Specter Switches Parties

WOW!!! Seeing his looming loss in the next election as a repub, moderate Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has made a smart move to become a democrat. This must pain him dearly but at the end of the day, it's about survival.

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary. I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

With Franken being seated in June after Coleman's futile appeal, the dems will have 60 seats. This is huge. Health Care, Employee Free Choice Act, Supreme Court Appointees, everything is at the dems fingertips. 

Don't fuck it up dems. 

Update:

From Politicalwire:

"The Hill reports Senate Republican leaders "received no heads up" from Specter about his decision.

Meanwhile, Ben Smith reports Vice President Joe Biden "deeply involved" in the talks with Specter to make the switch.

NBC News says Democrats promised Specter would face no Democratic challenger but that he was promised no committee chairmanship in return for switching parties."

Update II:

Why did he change parties? See here about a previous post. 

GOP Starting to Rethink Their Culture Wars

With the economy in the crapper and the GOP in their with it, the repubs are finally starting to rethink the culture issues that brought them to power during the 90's. The Times is reporting that gay marriage is becoming more of a hinderance than an asset.

People have been leaving the GOP in droves over the past 4 years. What is left has been reported on here many times: the chared crusty burnt diehard crazies of a party. The last election showed that the GOP lacks young voters, latin voters, black voters, gay voters and just about every other up and coming minority group. 

How are they dealing with this problem? Well, some are trying to back away from the gay marriage issue. 

"Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the issue of gay marriage may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help."

Why would they back away? Did they have a come-to-Jesus moment. No. It's because the polling shows its not popular

"More significant is evidence in polls of a widening divide on the issue by age, suggesting to many Republicans that the potency of the gay-marriage question is on the decline. It simply does not appear to have the resonance with younger voters that it does with older ones."

The future of any party is minorities that are starting to become a force. Latinos and younger voters. This puts the GOP at odds with its crazy base. The base can't stand immigrants and gays (which younger voters have come to accept.) What are they to do?

I think its time to cut off the bad parts of the tree before the tree dies. 

GOP Further Digs Their Hole of Uselessness

First the GOP wanted volcano monitoringstripped from the stimulus bill and Alaska had a huge volcanic eruption. Now, a flu pandemic is breaking out all over the world and guess who stripped pandemic preparedness from the stimulus bill. Right! The god awful republicans.

Why put pandemic flu preparedness in? 

"Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse"

Now, if this flu hits hard we could have an economic shitstorm on our hands. Brought to you by your beloved GOP. 

Dem Murphy Wins Special Election

Ny-20 was supposed to be a Republican held congressional seat. They have been traditionally republican. They had the voter advantage. It is a conservative area. Their candidate had name recognition. But now that people have been seeing what and who they are, they ain't getting the votes.

Murphy (dem) beat Tedisco (repub) by some 200-300 votes. It was after the absontee ballots were counted that Murphy went ahead and never looked back.

Over at FirstRead:

"Although the late Friday concession, as well as the nearly four weeks of overtime, might have lessened the sting, let’s make no mistake: The Republicans’ loss in NY-20 was yet another blow to an already-bruised GOP."

How many of the 29 house seats do the GOP control after 4 years of getting trounced at the ballot box? 3! Only 3 repubs remain in the state of New York. A saaaaaddddd state of affairs for the GOP. 

100 Days My Ass

The first 100 days test is a bunch of bull. Started by FDR back when he became president, every newly elected President since then has been put under this microscope. It is a poor way to look at presidents. Bush was going nowhere in his first 100 days and then 9/11 happened and the whole country got screwed like a sarority girl on St. Patricks day. 

The Obama administration doesn't like the obsession with the day and his press secretary calls it "a Hallmark holiday." But they are still having to cope with the media's obsession with it so they decided to take the bull by the horns. He's got a townhall meeting in the morning and a (to the networks frustration) nation media spot with a press conference on Wednesday at 8pm EDT, his 100th day.