George Bush: A Really Bad Week

Alas, poor George. Life it tough, the bubble got burst, and the news of the week is worse. There are the typical stories of the week; these will be covered. But the more important part is the subtext of an ever-increasing view this is a failed presidency, the legacy is lost, and the Republican Party is doomed for a decade or more.

The Week's News

Retired Generals who served in Dubya's War are now airing commercials opposing the war in contested congressional districts - aimed at getting some wishy-washy reeps to shit or get off the pot on Iraq. The ads are hard-hitting, and mark the first time that generals who served in the war are going after BushCo and Neocons.

Meanwhile, the commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq is not a happy camper. The problem is the Baghdad surge has pushed insurgents and mini-Saddams into neighboring provinces. Operation Whack-a-Mode continues unabated.

Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon also said that the Iraqi government had failed to help the situation in the restive [Diyala] province and that it has been a hindrance at times by failing to support local army and police forces. Diyala borders Baghdad on the east, and violence in the province has grown as U.S. troop levels have been bolstered in the capital. ... The local government is "nonfunctional" and the central government is "ineffective," he said.

...

It is rare for an officer of Mixon's rank to publicly call for more troops. When Donald H. Rumsfeld was secretary of Defense, there was intense pressure on officers to not make such requests, even privately, according to officers who served in Iraq.

Mixon was withering in his criticism of the Iraqi government, saying it was hamstrung by bureaucracy and compromised by corruption and sectarian discord, making it unable to assist U.S. forces in Diyala.

Its easy to see why Mixon is pissed. While he was talking about local and provincial pols, the Iraqi Parliament is resisting BushCo's energy plan, went against BushCo on the security wall intended to separate Sunnis and Shias, is about to go on a two-month break, and had one session cut short this week when two Sunni lawmakers started throwing haymakers at each. Call it dysfunction junction.

On top of this, an active duty Lt. Colonel publicly criticized the brass in the running of the war. (That criticism didn't occur this week - his article was published three weeks ago - but these incidents only add to the fact that Dubya isn't listening to his generals. If Dubya was listening to his generals, he might actually feel some level of confusion and nuance about how to proceed with the war. No, Dubya is resting happy inside his little bubble.


Back in the capitol, a remarkable meeting occurred Tuesday.

The [Tuesday][T]he meeting between 11 House Republicans, Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, White House political adviser Karl Rove and presidential press secretary Tony Snow was perhaps the clearest sign yet that patience in the party is running out. The meeting, organized by Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.), one of the co-chairs of the moderate "Tuesday Group," included Reps. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), Michael N. Castle (Del.), Todd R. Platts (Pa.), Jim Ramstad (Minn.) and Jo Ann Emerson (Mo.).

"It was a very remarkable, candid conversation," Davis said. "People are always saying President Bush is in a bubble. Well, this was our chance, and we took it."

That's really quite amazing, a reep congressman talking to the Washington Post about the "Bush Bubble." And it really appears that bubble was burst - at least for a time. After all, Cheney was in Baghadad - he couldn't protect poor, poor sensitive Dubya.

A number of reeps are now talking about reassessing the Iraq situation in September. That's when General Petraeus gives an assessment. Moderate reeps and other reeps scared shitless about the 2008 elections could start jumping off BushCo's ship. That's less than a Friedman from now.

As for the democrats, they are heaping on the pressure. The odds of Dubya getting a "clean" war spending bill appear dimmer by the day. Senator Clinton is taking a run at de-authorizing congressional approval for the war. The dems likely won't win any specific battle since BushCo does wield the veto pen. However, the dems can skillfully makes the reeps pay a price with a painful series of votes on the war. As the war continues to go down the toilet, the votes will be harder and harder and harder.

As for other news in the capitol, there really isn't any. The Iraq War has completely sucked the oxygen out of any domestic initiatives. The only domestic activity I can see is the continued drip, drip, drip of Republican corruption in Congress and the White House.


Bush's poodle - Tony Blair - is just about history. This can't mean good things for Britain's continued involvement in the war, held together almost completely by the force of Blair's will alone.

Finally, BushCo got a kick in the balls today when the big Central Asian natural gas pipeline will go through Russia - and through Central Asia as BushCo had fervently hoped. This is yet another example where BushCo's ham-handed attempts to increase influence and power drive others away - running.

Maybe this week will be better for BushCo, but I wouldn't put any money on it. Its probably safe to say that BushCo hasn't won a single week politically since the week Dubya put the plan to privatize Social Security on the table.

Did John Doolittle Really Get Sold Down the River by Abu Gonzales?

Doolittle thinks so, but then he's got the FBI hanging out inside his colon. Under these circumstances, I might go a little batty myself.

Doolittle has served as US congressman, representing California's Gold Country (East of Sacramento) since 1990. Doolittle is a staunchly conservative Republican in one of California's most conservative districts. No, check that; Doolittle is an outright loon.

Here are some Doolittle quotes:

A liberal front is underway to find God and all things pertaining to him unconstitutional.

He's honest, ... And he is a member's member

--Talking about Tom DeLay.

I do not subscribe to the theory of global warming. Liberals like to use pseudo-science.

You get the idea. But its not Doolittle's lunacy that got him in trouble. No, Doolittle has a bigger problem. He's a crook. Although the FBI didn't find bundles of cash in his freezer, Doolittle was elected under a taint in much the same way that William Jefferson was reelected. Both ran on similar platforms - playing the victim card.

Doolittle's house was raided by the FBI three weeks ago. So, what did Doolittle do? He blamed Abu Gonzalez for his problems, accusing Gonzales of having Doolittle get raided by the FBI to deflect attention from Gonzales' own considerable problems.

If true, then Gonzales is even more pathetic than I can even imagine. After all, Doolittle has been one of the most fiercely loyal BushCo sycophants in all of congress. Even though I think BushCo would flush one of their own down the toilet in a heartbeat just to save their own skin, I don't think Gonzo is behind this.

No, plain and simple Doolittle is a crook. Consider this article from the Washington Post:

The Justice Department's wide-ranging investigation of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has entered a highly active phase as prosecutors are beginning to move on evidence pointing to possible corruption in Congress and executive branch agencies, lawyers involved in the case said.

Doolittle's wife, Julie, owned a consulting firm that was hired by Abramoff and his firm, Greenberg Traurig, to do fundraising for a charity he founded.

Julie Doolittle's attorney, William L. Stauffer Jr., said Sierra Dominion Financial was hired by Greenberg Traurig to provide "event planning, marketing and related services, as requested by Mr. Abramoff" for Abramoff's Capital Athletic Foundation and his Signatures restaurant.

Abramoff frequently used the athletic foundation as a pass-through organization to run lobbying efforts and to pay for expenses, records show. Julie Doolittle was hired to put on a fundraiser for the foundation at the International Spy Museum, but the event was canceled because it had been scheduled to take place just at the Iraq war was commencing, Stauffer said.

"Sierra Dominion primarily performed public relations and other event planning services for the Spy Museum event," Stauffer said in an e-mail reply to questions. "This included responding to all individuals calling the Capital Athletic Foundation concerning the Spy Museum event, identifying (and contacting) possible attendees for the event, and assisting in fund raising strategy and letters."

That article dates back to 2005. Doolittle is a crook and he's going down. I'm only angry with the FBI for not throwing him in jail well before the November 2006 elections. Its taken a lot longer than expected to put this guy away. But no matter; it will be all the sweeter when he does go.

Along the way, he's throwing an anchor to Abu Gonzales. How sweet is that?

The Thursday Skinny

Who would be so mean and nasty as to suggest that the numbers of deaths in Iraq are being purposely underestimated? Of course, the big bad United Nations just wants to make Dubya look bad.

Speaking of making Dubya look bad, the Senate is voting today on a non-binding resolution to bring the troops home - as part the latest emergency mis-spending bill to fund the surge. We do know Dubya is going to veto the bill. Thankfully, the spinach and sugar subsidies were removed.

Paul Wolfowitz wants more time to avoid being summarily shit-canned from the World Bank. He recently hired noted crisis lawyer Robert Bennett. Bennett previously represented Bill Clinton in his battle against Penthouse Model Paula Jones.

John McCain formerly announced his candidacy today up in New Hampshire. 200 people showed up for the event. Okay, it was raining, but are the odds of him winning the reep nomination? Maybe two percent? 200 people. Thats just sad.

Congressman Rick Renzi, crook, reep, Arizona, is going down. Did I mention he's a crook? I hope its a slow, slow fall for Renzi; like a slow-mo train wreck. Dems always face an uphill battle in Arizona, but I think the dems can win this state in 2008. At the very least, the reeps will have to spend big bucks to defend the state.

The military, accepting some blame for making Pat Tillman and Jessica Leach into Captain America and Wonder Woman, took a shot at the media, too. That's like blaming the pit bull after you sicced him on the mailman. Nice way to deflect attention. I want to know when Rummy knew. Oh he knew. He knew.

Finally, Riverbend finally has a new post up. As always, its a must-read.

Tuesday Tidbits

Pew has a new poll out; headlines the Va Tech massacre hasn't boosted support for gun control. An alternate headline would have read, support for gun control still solid. But hey, that's me. Of note, is there is NO consensus on the cause of these types of shootings.

You saw where the Newster blamed the Va Tech massacre on liberalism. Now Giuliani says we will have another 9/11 if the Dems take the White House. Way to elevate the discussion, guys. Fuckers.

Note to Karl Rove: Karl, you aren't paranoid when people really are out to get you. So, you should be really, really concerned when Scott Bloch wants to hang out inside your colon. Who is Scott Bloch? Merely a Dubya-appointed lawyer with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Mr. Bloch is investigating the latest Rove shenanigan. Will it stick to Rove this time? Surely his odds are getting leaner each passing controversy.

Well maybe not. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is NOT happy about the Bloch investigation. Not one little bit.

Bloch has come under widespread criticism for his gross mismanagement and politicization of the office. Bloch is currently under investigation by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for his mistreatment of career appointees, who have alleged the exact kind of retaliation that OSC is designed to investigate. OSC employees have alleged that Bloch has tossed out legitimate whistleblower cases to reduce the office backlog.

How very, very BushCo. BushCo really must believe we are THAT stupid.

A list of BushCo scoundrels

From AP:

A rundown of Bush appointees who left under a cloud or face conflict-of-interest allegations

•Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in a grand jury investigation into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. His trial also implicated top political adviser Karl Rove and Cheney in a campaign to discredit her husband, Iraq war critic and retired ambassador Joe Wilson (news, bio, voting record). Libby, who plans an appeal, is awaiting a June 5 sentencing.

• Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is fighting to hold onto his job in the face of congressional investigations into his role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Two top aides have resigned in the investigation into whether the firings were politically motivated. Emails and other evidence released by the Justice Deparment suggest that Rove played a part in the process. Other e-mails, sent on Republican party accounts, either have disappeared or were erased.

• Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank and a former deputy defense secretary, acknowledged he helped arrange a large pay raise for his female companion when she was transferred to the State Department but remained on the bank payroll. The incident intensified calls at the bank for his resignation.

• J. Steven Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became deputy Interior Secretary J., last month became the highest-ranking Bush administration official convicted in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, pleading guilty to obstructing justice by lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with the convicted lobbyist. Abramoff repeatedly sought Griles' intervention at Interior on behalf of Indian tribal clients.

• Former White House aide, David H. Safavian, was convicted last year of lying to government investigators about his ties to Abramoff and faces a 180-month prison sentence.

• Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting tickets he received from Abramoff.

• Sue Ellen Wooldridge, the top Justice Department prosecutor in the environmental division until January, bought a $980,000 beach house in South Carolina with ConocoPhillips lobbyist Donald R. Duncan and oil and gas lobbyist Griles. Soon thereafter, she signed an agreement giving the oil company more time to clean up air pollution at some of its refineries. Congressional Democrats have denounced the arrangement.

• Matteo Fontana, a Department of Education official who oversaw the student loan industry, was put on leave last week after disclosure that he owned at least $100,000 worth of stock in a student loan company.

• Claude Allen, who had been Bush's domestic policy adviser, pleaded guilty to theft in making phony returns at discount department stores while working at the White house. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and fined $500.

• Philip Cooney, a former American Petroleum Institute lobbyist who became chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, acknowledged in congressional testimony earlier this year that he changed three government reports to eliminate or downplay links between greenhouse gases and global warming. He left in 2005 to work for Exxon Mobil Corp.

• Darleen Druyun, a former Air Force procurement officer, served nine months in prison in 2005 for violating federal conflict-of-interest rules in a deal to lease Boeing refueling tankers for $23 billion, despite Pentagon studies showing the tankers were unnecessary. After making the deal, she quit the government and joined Boeing.

• Eric Keroack, Bush's choice to oversee the federal family planning program, resigned from the post suddenly last month after the Massachusetts Medicaid office launched an investigation into his private practice. He had been medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex and contraception.

• Lurita Doan, head of the General Services Administration, attended a luncheon at the agency earlier this year with other top GSA political appointees at which Scott Jennings, a top Rove aide, gave a PowerPoint demonstration on how to help Republican candidates in 2008. A congressional committee is investigating whether the remarks violated a federal law that restricts executive-branch employees from using their positions for political purposes.

• Robert W. Cobb, NASA's inspector general is under investigation on charges of ignoring safety violations in the space program. An internal administration review said he routinely tipped off department officials to internal investigations and quashed a report related to the Columbia shuttle explosion to avoid embarrassing the agency. He remains on the job. Only Bush can fire him.

• Julie MacDonald, who oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service but has no academic background in biology, overrode recommendations of agency scientists about how to protect endangered species and improperly leaked internal information to private groups, the Interior Department inspector general said.

Monday catch-up

Just getting back from a short vacation in Tucson to see the folks. Tucson is an interesting place. On one hand it is the liberal epicenter of an otherwise libertarian-to-conservative state. On the other hand, Tucson is a sprawling mess, destined to become another Phoenix. For the uninitiated, Phoenix makes Los Angeles seem positively urban and transit-oriented.

Perhaps I'm not being clear enough, dear reader. Phoenix is mostly an awful shithole. I'm really saddened to see Tucson traipse down the same route. Well, that's life in a state where developers rule the roost.

I can't see how Arizona's growth patterns are sustainable. The largely empty expanse between Phoenix and Tucson is slated to grow by a million or more persons over the next 20 years, making the swath from Phoenix to Tucson - and down to Nogales (Green Valley is also growing rapidly) one ginormous suburban wall of sprawl.

The development patterns are really a shame because Arizona's geography is second to none, and it has a unique culture centered on its desert environs. However, that unique culture is easily missed amidst the national retail chain store heaven that is Arizona today. What's amazing to me is the 48th state will not be celebrating its centennial for another five years.

A link here to a news analysis largely debunking the flypaper strategy. The flypaper strategy supports the idea that all the foreign nuthead jihaddis would converge on Iraq for the big showdown against the big bad U.S. of A. The problems is - for the USA - is they forgot to bring their tanks. The second is there are only 250 or so foreign fighters in Iraq. In either case, the flypaper strategy is as stupid as it is cynical. After all, the US presence in Iraq has displaced over two million Iraqis.

Watch out Sheryl Crow. After taking on Karl Rove at the Washington Press Sycophants Dinner, the reeps slime machine will go after her like O'Reilly on a falafel. Already Drudge links to an article on Crow's view that we should be limited to one toilet paper square per person per visit. Nice way to misrepresent Drudgie; Crow was simply trying to discuss wasteful consumption.

Our space cadet president has "increased confidence" in Gonzo after Friday's hearing. Almost too strange for words.

And finally, CBS radio suspended a pair of shock jocks for making fun of Chinese on-air. Maybe CBS would have done so anyway, but I have to think that the Imus debacle has now limited what constitutes acceptable speech these days. In general I consider myself fairly libertarian on free speech issues; I would never say idiots JV and Elvis don't have a right to say pretty much what they want. However, I also don't like having to listen to asshats like this on the public airwaves. Hat's off to CBS for suspending these two idiots. Simply getting dolts like this off the airwaves elevates the public discourse.

I am hopeful the Imus affair has finally cast a light on what goes on on AM radio these days. Is it possible to be compelling without resorting to ethnic and racial slurs and blatant misogyny? I sure hope so. And I can't wait for the day when the real demons of the airwaves - hatemongers like Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh - get their comeuppance.

If you are a Republican, what has you most worried?

Is it:

A. Dubya's wacko speech about polls that go poof, chicken plucking and rug remembering?

B. Daily congressional FBI raids

C. Gonzo's grilling

D. Iraq: FUBAR within Enigma

E. BushCo pissing off seniors by threatening a veto over prescription drug plan

F. Wolfowitz on the hot seat

G. No heir-in-waiting for POTUS nomination

H. Emailgate

Neocon deathwatch: Part 1

Reading the news these days is to read of the political deaths of a whole caste within the political class - the neocons.

Let's go through the list. I won't make any claims of being comprehensive, so this list will be updated semi-regularly. Send me your tips on other neocon political cadavers. I'll be sure to credit you when I add to the list.

Karl "the cat" Rove. Karl is on political death watch once again, but he previously escaped the claws of prosecutor Fitzgerald in the Plamegate case, and he may lube up and slip out once again.

The latest is Rove's deleted emails. Dan Froomkin covers the story. This is from Rove's lawyer today:

Karl Rove's lawyer on Friday dismissed the notion that President Bush's chief political adviser intentionally deleted his own e-mails from a Republican-sponsored server, saying Rove believed the communications were being preserved in accordance with the law.

Rove status: In the hospital, Doctor-induced coma.

Paul "comb-licker" Wolfowitz. Architect of the failed Bush Doctrine, and huge supporter of the Iraq War. Wolfowitz testified at the House Budget Committee on February 27, 2003:

There has been a good deal of comment - some of it quite outlandish - about what our postwar requirements might be in Iraq. Some of the higher end predictions we have been hearing recently, such as the notion that it will take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq, are wildly off the mark. It is hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself and to secure the surrender of Saddam's security forces and his army - hard to imagine.

Wolfie parlayed that spectacular error that cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars, untold deaths, massive destruction, general mayhem, and the rise of a 1,000 mini-Saddams into the World Bank presidency (huh?). However, Wolfie is in trouble:

Staff at the World Bank have demanded the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz, the bank's president, after he admitted authorising large pay rises for his Libyan-born partner that took her salary to $200,000.

Wolfowitz status: In the hospital, on life support.

This series will be updated regularly.

Tom Delay disses Dick Armey in book, then denies he wrote it

Tom DeLay is too much. There are days I really wish he were back on congress - if only to put a face on the insanity of the extreme right these days.

From Taegan Goddard's Political Wire (a site I highly recommend):

Appearing on Hardball with Chris Matthews to promote his new book, No Retreat, No Surrender, it's clear former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) didn't write it and perhaps never even read it before it was published.

Matthews asked DeLay about passages in his book where described former Rep. Dick Armey (R-TX) as "drunk with ambition." Amazingly, DeLay denied writing that, even after Matthews showed him the underlined passage in his own book.

Tom DeLay has absolutely no shame. Here's the You Tube clip.

What to do with Marty Meehan's leftover campaign cash

The following is a story that summarizes one reason why our current political system is so awful - big money.

Marty Meehan is a democratic US Congressman representing the fighting 5th District in Massachusetts. He has represented his district since 1993, and ran unopposed in the 2006 general election.

Yesterday, the Politico reported Mr. Meehan is stepping down as congressman to become the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Well, good for Mr. Meehan; this sounds like an excellent opportunity for him. And by most accounts, Mr. Meehan is regarded as a pretty darn good politician.

However, this happy little story has a side to it that appalls me to the core. It seems that Mr. Meehan has the tidy little sum of $5.2 million in his campaign finance account. Remember, this is a guy who ran unopposed in the last election.

Now, he can't spend the money on himself. But $5.2 million is a LOT of dosh. Apparently he has three choices. He can:

• Give the money to charity
• Save the money for some future run for political office
• Give the money to the democratic party committee

Okay, I just got done throwing up in my mouth, because I'm about 1,000% sure Mr. Meehan won't be donating the money to charity. The amount of money Mr. Meehan has raised is nothing short of obscene. Its not as if, the reeps put forward some charismatic and talented politician to challenge Meehan from one end of his district to the other. Mr. Meehan ran un-freaking-opposed. Why does Mr. Meehan have so much money?

The answer lies perversely in lap of the Supreme Court, which has ruled fairly consistently that money equals political speech. The perversion is Meehan's donars get to fully exercise their free speech by showering the congressman with carts full of cash, but his political opponents get shut out - big time. Since rich folks and corporation and unions are willing to fork over cash to this guy, Mr. Meehan is in his rights to accept the money. (Although this "right" is a perversion, in my opinion).

The loser in this is the average American. (surprise!) You got an issue with some bigwig who wrote a six figure check to Mr. Meehan? Don't expect Mr. Meehan's staff to be of much assistance on that matter.

Sure, you have free speech rights. You can email or call the congressman. But, you sure do NOT have the bullhorn or the bully pulpit. That's too bad, you can't afford it. Your speech isn't as valuable as Mr. Meehan's campaign donars.

I can't say that I have the comprehensive answer to this problem, but I do know I strongly favor taxpayer funded elections. Arizona's plan seems to work quite well. I will have to research that and post on it in the future. In the meantime, I invite your readers to post your opinions on campaign cash.