Not sure about the feather in the cap...

After some initial glee about Arlen Specter's "becoming" a Democrat, I am increasingly sour and remembering all the things I do not like about him. I am concerned that the joy expressed by various people is a Beltway phenomenon mostly orchestrated by Joe Biden. Toomey would never have won in a state wide election and the dems have missed an opportunity to elect a progressive candidate. I know that Specter's defection is a real black eye for the repugs, even though they are trumpeting how wonderful it is, but Arlen is all about Arlen and as I think back to his being such a waterboy for the repugs (remember his trashing of Anita Hill, an act which has brought us years of Clarence Thomas presense, or lack there of, on the bench). Arlen also often says many of the right things and then votes the other way. No wonder he and Biden are friends.

Bipartisanship?

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/republican-senator-blasts-nominee-for-attorney-general/

I know Barack loves bipartisanship, but at every point Republicans demonstrate that they could care less. After all, there are different rules for Republicans, just look at the Minnesota Senate Race. What was the Bush margin in Florida? About 250 votes than Franken's margin in Minnesota, and in this election, the votes were actually re-counted, and as you can see, I am not over it and never will be. Republican shennanigans and Democratic spinelessness have cost our country dearly. The Republicans think that bipartisanship means do what they want. If the dems questioned a Bush appointment, they are anti-patriot obstructionists, but Repugs show no such qualms. Ole' Arlen is getting fired up to oppose Eric Holder. Now Specter is supposedly a more "liberal" Republican, but his voting record sure doesn't prove it. Time and time again, he attempts to show how thoughtful he is, but then does exactly what his puppet masters dictate. What a tool. I hope he is crushed in his next election. I think what the Repugs are not understanding, is that the American people really want Barack to succeed. They do not want politics as usual because they realize that their lives are actually affected by what happens in Washinton. For Republicans, it is all politics because they feel that it is their sacred duty to cling to what power they have, no matter what the cost. After all, they don't really believe in government, do they?

They're back

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/12/12/obama/

This is a very good piece by Joe Conason, who wrote that wonderful but scary book, The Hunting of the President, which was about the vast right wing conspiracy to undermine Clinton's presidency. The loonies are back. First the whole birth certificate issue. Now the fact that Obama is from Illinois, he has met Blago, so therefore he must be guilty of something. They seek to de-legitimize the duly elected president, by inuendo and by repeating falsehoods, so that if repeated enough, people will think they are true. I remember in the 2004 election, after the Swift Boaters had been pushing their poison for a few months, the Viagra pushing, Brittany Spears lusting Bob Dole, said something to the effect of, Well there must be something to it, because all these people are saying it. Now the suddenly sanctimonious Arlen Specter is trying to delay hearings on Holder. Given that the Dems let just about every Republican turkey sail through confirmation hearings, I think it is an outrage. I sure he would say, Just because the Dems are spineless doesn't mean we won't try to be as big obstructionists as possible. I think the pardon of Rich was stupid, but it doesn't hold a candle to subverting the constitution and lying about intelligence, which has led to a disastrous war.