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February 15, 2010 04:24 PM UTC

Monday Open Thread

  • 94 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in.”

–Alfred Edward Housman

Comments

94 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread

        1. Even as a joke, please don’t put words in other people’s mouths. Obama never said that, and he shouldn’t be quoted as having said that. As transparent as you may believe the joke to be, there will be people who read it and believe it is authentic.

          Also, I believe that the zero-sum mentality behind this meme is lacking. I don’t know if we’ve pursued the best policy in the public interest or not in response to our financial crisis, but I do know that it requires a complex economic analysis to come to a well-reasoned conclusion on the matter, and few who are certain of their own conclusions have gone to that trouble.

  1. Remember boys and girls, when I alerted you to the campaign to vote no against all judges/justices?  See this front page article:

    http://www.denverpost.com/ci_1

    The main target are the four Romer appointees to the Supreme Court up for retention this year.

    Caldera has 15 hours a week on KOA at night to promote his agenda.  Neither he nor the Independence Institute pay for that time…indeed, KOA pays Caldera.

    Remember boys and girls, there is NO right to call Talk Radio and be allowed to talk.

    Now, FGS, do not tell the dems of this latest repub strategy…..they are all either up skiing or huddled in church basements in North Denver….plotting…..against each other.

    My prediction:  At least one of the Romer appointees will elect not to run.  The new governor would then be able to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.  This is the power of the Republicans…..they just threaten and the dems run away.

    1. Everything coming out of the right to legitimize the courts is part of a strategy to destroy the only part of the system that has remained relatively less effected by corporate money.  Yes the influence is there, but it still can be overcome by juries and professional Judges.

      Yes corporations hire great lawyers, but there are great lawyers working for the average Joe willing to take them on with no guarantees.  In states without judicial elections like Colorado, judges are remarkably non-ideological.

      The American right hates juries because they can’t control them, they hate Judges because they apply the law as written and they hate that individuals can hire Lawyers.

      Whether in criminal or civil, the Right wing does not believe that individuals should have access to lawyers (see any terror case) and that individuals should not sit in judgment of corporations (insurance and tobacco companies invented “tort reform” to line their pockets).

      Note I did not say conservative, most true conservatives are great defenders of the law and support juries, professional judges and access to the court.  Many people say they are conservative without even knowing what the word means.

      1. the Right likes to bully judges who do not toe the ultra-right-wing line, mostly because they know that judges cannot strike back due to their ethics.  

    2. The Republicans have tried this forever. And all it does is move the retention vote from 80% down to 72%.

      What is insidious is they go after judges who carefully interpret the law and call them activist. What that does on the right is frame it as a judge who does not rule as they like is by definition activist.

      So poo on Caldera & company for further degrading our political sphere.

      1. When the Republican legislature redistricts Boulder and throws the county in with Weld Country  and the Republican governor appoints Republican judges to the State Supreme Court who uphold the change and Boulder loses it Shangri La

        status, and Marilyn Musgrave is your representative and  NOAH is suddenly relocated to Mississippi and the Jane Norton School of Creative Design replaces it….remember, you said “What? Me Worry?”

    1. He says (and I think he’s speaking the truth) that the lack of civility and bipartisanship is why he’s leaving. If those in the middle won’t stay and fight to bring back a working system – then it will get worse.

      Yes being in the middle means you get shot at by both sides. Suck it up and do the job you were hired to do – don’t run away.

      1. Why turn and run when his reason begs for leadership in ending the entrenched partisanship?  By refusing to stay and fight against it, with a voice of moderation, Bayh is ceding it to the extremes.  I’d hope he had more reason than that.

        Oh, and bayh the bayh, speaking of reasons, has anyone been watching the Olympics?  I’m trying to figure out why they are now calling the bobsled, luge and skeleton the “sliding events”.  Can anyone think of a Winter Olympic event where some form of “sliding” is not involved.  If it’s in reference to the noun “slide”, shouldn’t ski jumping be included?

        “Three or four years from now, we’re not going to have a conversation about jobs and all of that kind of stuff.”  -Scott McInnis

        1. .

          The problem isn’t the Dems or Repubs, the problem is the 2-party framework.  

          This will not be fixed from within the  2-party dysfunction.  Either the courts, or the executive, or a 3rd party will have to break the logjam, and Obama has avoided the problem.

          .

    2. Bayh votes with Democrats more readily than people like Ben Nelson or Landrieu, but he spends a lot of time both trashing Democrats publicly and sabotaging deals in the Senate. We’re not going to have a filibuster-proof majority anyway next year, so as long as his departure doesn’t bring us down to 49, it’s no great loss.

      1. my kind of Democrat.  On the other hand, by moving the Ds even further from the chimera of 60 votes it may

        A-speed the cause of ending the extraconstitutional filibuster rule.

        B-Increase membership in the burgeoning National Committee to Horsewhip Joseph Lieberman.*

        *William F. Buckley Jr. once created the National Committee to Horsewhip

        Drew Pearson.  With Pearson long ago dispatched to whatever scant rewards await newspaper columnists, the energy of this committee has rightly be refocused on Lieberman.

      2. Lets get rid of every Senator we disagree with. Intellectual purity is so much more important than actually moving legislation through the chamber.

        Yes Bayh could be a dick. But historically the Senate has worked because 5 – 10 like him in each party that worked out the compromises for all legislation. Our problem is not that we need fewer like him, we need more.

        1. That’s precisely the problem with Bayh. If he were an effective compromiser and negotiator, that would be great. Some Senators serve that purpose. Bayh however is a roadblock to legislation. Look how much legislation he’s actually gotten! What’s his achievement?

          I don’t mind having conservative Democrats in the Senate. I just don’t want ineffective Democrats in the Senate.

        1. Bayh was up 20% over Coats in the latest poll. He didn’t even bother to inform Harry Reid until after he publicly announced that he is retiring. I understand and even accept his reasons for leaving but I’m having a hard time understanding his timing since it absolutely screws the Dems over, and particularly in Indiana on down ticket races this year.

          1. If he were BEHIND 20 points in the polls I would understand.  There has to be something beneath the surface.  You think someone or something really pissed Bayh off ?

            1. There’s a whole lot of folks these days that are just sick to death of the atmosphere (which he helped create, I might add) in DC these days. Nothing’s getting done, people are downright vicious and vile to each other…I can’t imagine wanting that job, either.

              I do think that you’re on to something, though–he clearly knows Indiana law and by not notfiying Reid first, I’m guessing his timing was an intentional “FU” to the powers that be.

      1. Maybe a vacancy committee could act later, but let’s hope Bayh at least has an heir apparent in the wings.

        From Wikipedia:

        Indiana’s current House delegation includes Republicans Mark Souder, Steve Buyer, Dan Burton, and Mike Pence, and Democrats Pete Visclosky, Joe Donnelly, AndrГ© Carson, Brad Ellsworth, and Baron Hill. All were reelected in 2008 with at least 55% of the vote.]

        Anyone know anything about these five Indiana House of Representative Democrats?  That would be my first hope for a Senatorial candidate.

        1. by a Dem operative. Problem is, he isn’t known statewide the way Bayh is–Bayh’s dad was also in the Senate so that name carries weight in the state. Whoever decides to get in better do it quick:

          The deadline to file is this Friday but candidates have to have 500 valid signatures from citizens in Indiana’s nine Congressional Districts to properly certify his or her candidacy.

          Pretty good write up here:

          http://hotlineoncall.nationalj

          1. or just 500?  If it’s 500 from each, time is indeed short.  But I know Colorado does have a vacancy committee procedure and I assume Indiana does too.  But Middle’s point is well taken.  To those of my generation, Birch Bayh, a contemporary of John F. Kennedy, was something of an icon and his kid no doubt benefited a lot from the name ID.  Now, it’s down to a late start and the need for big cash to build up name id.  On the other hand, Republican Dan Coats isn’t exactly a legend except in his own mind, his former Senate incumbency notwithstanding.  Is it too late to draft Dan Quayle?  Surely, he’s tanned, rested and ready.  

                    1. I just did. Color me unsurprised by his career choice, although I am slightly taken back that he’s still alive. Then again, I thought Abe Vigoda was dead, too…

        2. are the most electable statewide of the 5 Democrats.  They are in the Bayh mold…perhaps even a bit more right than him.

          Ellsworth is a former Sheriff of Vigo County (Terre Haute) and represents a Republican leaning district.  All of the cabinet officers are Republican, so no opportunities there.  Look for the party to try to recruit him.

        3. This was posted on DailyKos:

          “Bayh could still file to run, then drop out. But if he does not file his signatures tomorrow, no other Dem is expected to collect the required 500 signatures by then, meaning Dems will get the chance to pick their own nominee. Some DC Dems say the process is the best-case scenario short of having Bayh on the ballot for a 3rd term; allowing the party to pick a nominee will avoid a primary.”

          Now, that’s a situation where I would support a Democratic primary since there are probably candidates with a wide range of policy differences.  Unlike the Bennet/Romanoff situation in this state.

          1. Republicans are organizing and scrambling to help Tamyra D’Ippolito get the remaining signatures she needs to get on the ballot.  She’s only about 1000 shy. From the comments at RedState:

            If you live in Indiana, print this off, get all your family members to sign it and then drop it off at your county clerk’s office by noon tomorrow. Word around the state is that D’Ippolito needs about 1000 signatures, especially out of the 8th district around Evansville (This is Brad Ellsworth’s seat.)

            Here’s the deal:

            If D’Ippolito gets on the ballot, that’s it. She’s the nominee. The Democrats won’t be able to challenge it or caucus to get another candidate on the ballot. They won’t be albe [sic] to get Ellsworth to run or any other viable Democrat. If you have time, make sure you sign the petition.

            1. Apparently she is accepting help from the Indiana Tea Party to help her get the signatures.

              Here is a cut-n-paste of the exchange on her Facebook page:

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Contact local tea party groups for signatures. They would rather have you on the primary ballot than no one on the ballot and have Washington choose the candidate.

              5 hours ago В· Report

              Tamyra For Senate

              Tamyra For Senate

              Do you have any contacts with the tea party?

              5 hours ago В· Report

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Do you just need signatures in District 8? Or other districts too? I’d be happy to contact Tea Party people if you have a signature collection site they can stop by.

              5 hours ago В· Report

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Yes I do. And I know who actually keeps tabs on them statewide to put out e-mails to all.

              4 hours ago В· Report

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              Cathy Pullen McAndrews

              FYI I’m letting people know about Ragazzi’s tonight.

              4 hours ago В· Report

              1. If the guy in PA that shot the cops was a symptom of the tea party movement, as you’ve stated often here, wouldn’t that make this piece of trash an outgrowth of the far left?

                A family source said Bishop, a mother of four children – the youngest a third-grade boy – was a far-left political extremist who was “obsessed” with President Obama to the point of being off-putting.

                Of course not.  Neither one of them apply.  At all.  Sick people are sick people.  Neither the Dems nor Republicans cause people to commit murder.

                Just wanted to clear that up.  I knew it wouldn’t be long, statistically, until we had a someone who coincidentally had a left-leaning worldview commit some sort of atrocity.

                1. One thought the President was coming to take his guns, so he killed a bunch of cops. Poplawski was motivated by racism (the sign-me-up-for-Stormfront kind) along with an extreme philosophy.

                  The other killed a bunch of colleagues because she didn’t get tenure. She was a lefty like most academic types are, but there’s not the slightest suggestion politics was motivating her crazy actions. Your story mentions one comment from an unidentified family member, probably a Fox-watching brother-in-law who fought with her over Thanksgiving dinner or something. There’s a pattern that suggests she flips out over minor disagreements, but no pattern to suggest she thought she was acting politically.

                  When an Obama supporter goes into a Tea Party protest and shoots a bunch of people at random, then you’ll finally find your moral equivalent on our side.

                  1. But, like sxp points out, they rarely do it screaming their ideology at the top of their lungs while taking out ideological opponents. There is a difference, LB.

                    1. He was in a coma, and I thought he had come out of the coma, and they were interviewing him. Then I never heard anything about him again. I assume he gave a motive eventually.

                      They say he shouted “Allahu Akbar” while shooting, which suggests a religious motivation. I would also have guessed a religious motivation if a blond white guy had shouted “Allahu Akbar” while shooting people. Or if a Lebanese guy shouted “Jesus saves!” while shooting a bunch of people.

                      Why is this a racial thing? Do you think Stormfront Poplawski is being unfairly maligned as a racist just because he’s a right-winger?

                    2. Sirota and some others on the far left were whining about racism when this was called a terrorist act.

                      You have way more sense than Sirota.

                    3. before there was any real evidence. I remember trying to be somewhat cautious.

                      I guess I’m reluctant to jump on things while bodies are still warm. I wasn’t always like that, but it’s something I worked on.

      1. the Indiana Democratic Party can just appoint a nominee if nobody has successfully filed for a primary contest. So it’s not like the Democratic spot on the ballot will be left blank.

        Still, I have to wonder if Bayh has been schtupping Rielle Hunter.

      2. They’re going to have to caucus.  Election offices aren’t open today to get the original forms they need.

        There was a post from a McCain staffer at HotAir that said with dedicated staff working on this for the Pres. campaign, it still took months, and they knew who the candidate was.

        Mwah ah ah ah….

        This calls for a little theme music…

            1. It’s already a source of consternation on the national blogs. By waiting until the day before the signature deadline, Bayh effectively will get to pick his successor because he runs the party in that state.

    1. not great.

      But look at the comments and then try and make the case that it’s not a dogfight this year.  Norton is clearly the presumptive winner at this point. And if not her, whomever the R’s nominate.

    2. What happened to Sen Udall’s efforts to prevent the abuses that were happening between passage of the legislation, and the February effective date of the legislation?  I know from personal experience that some (but not all) credit card companies took advantage of that interim time to drastically raise interest rates.  I received a letter from Target VISA in December/early January, stating my cc interest rate would be increased from just under 14 percent to over 20 percent — and I’m a really good customer, use the card regularly and always make payments or pay the full balance on time.  

      I called them and said I’d not only cut up my card and mail it to them, but I would also stop shopping at Target – I have another VISA card, and there are plenty of alternatives to Target!

      Well, surprise, Target VISA (AKA Target National Bank) backed off and left my interest rate where it had been — but only because I called.  

      Wonder how many people didn’t know they could/should fight back.  

      Wonder why Congress was so content to allow these abuses to occur.

  2. Rumors seem to be flying…

    Mrs. Mikulski seriously fractured her right ankle last fall just prior to Edward M. Kennedy’s death. Due to the severity of the fracture, she had to have open reduction surgery, that included the insertion of pins, as well as the use of special surgical boots, during recovery. She had tried to arrive in time for Mr. Kennedy’s funeral but was turned away.

    Her recovery has been exceptionally slow and she is evidently still in a great deal of pain. Reportedly, she has told her physician that she does not desire to seek reelection. Additionally, friends and family have been saying in the near future she will announce her retirement. Because of the very slow recovery, she has been forced to use a wheelchair, a walker or a cane in order to get around.

    Just a blog, just speculation…

  3. Dean and Rove are going to debate at CU in Boulder tonight. Tickets have been sold out for a while. Maybe I can watch the video somewhere. Really would have been fun to go.

    1. He’s an obese whiner.  I do NOT like having to sit by people whose bulk flows over onto my seat.  

      It won’t hurt SW at all.  When any of his 1.6 million (why?) followers go shopping for an airline ticket and SW is an option, they will go for the lower fare.  

    2. According to that article, Smith normally buys two seats, and did the same this time. He then got himself on an earlier flight which only had one seat.

      This is more pathetic than his monologue in Chasing Amy.

      1. Kevin Smith is a funny guy, but this is just stupid sacrimnony over nothing. Even if it wasn’t about his weight, and, as Smith described, more because of the SW employee who wasn’t a Smith fan, then it’s even more stupid.

        All this says is that as long as you have 1.6 million twitter followers (see: fame), you get special treatment. Thanks for reinforcing that Silent Bob.

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