Politics: Where we struggle to kneel in the muck.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Not Me
Thanks for your non-response. This is just another example of a man who is about nothing but himself and places himself above everything else.

Ah. So your indignation is not that the candidate holds office while campaigning for another one, it's that the candidate did not arrive to vote on lopsided issues where he would not have changed the outcome.

I have not held Bush up to the "Do Texas No Harm" standard during his 2000 campaign, so I've not bothered to fisk it. But I might suggest that presidential campaigns being what they are, EVERY candidate ends up shirking his/her official duties to some degree, so you'd better save up that outrage.

I'd call this "just another example of people who are inclined to hate Kerry and reach the same conclusion based on the way he parts his hair."

To-ma-to, to-mah-to.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Gattigap
Well, throwing the switch only takes a few moments, so I doubt that the Guv was terribly inconvenienced by official duties.

Now, now. No exagerating. Gov. Bush did not have the power to actually flip the switch in any execution. Nor did he have the power to commute any sentence (rather, a governor in Texas can issue a stay pending a review by an independant board).

But this does beg a couple of questions. Bush did in fact spend a substantial amount of time outside of Texas in 2000, forcing Perry to step in an act as the executive in his absence. Senators do not have the luxury of having a proxy. Additionally, most gubenatorial duties can be conducted within a flexible time frame: bills can be signed anytime, anyplace, within a several day time period. US Senate votes take place only in one place, at a time decided by leaders who believe it to be in their best interest to make life difficult for Sen. Kerry.

The idea that Kerry should take time off from campaigning to go to Washington to vote on particular matters is absurd: the second he shows up in town, the Republicans will postpone the vote.

ETA: I can't get the Google archive link to work. Cut and paste:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...postpone&hl=en

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Now, now. No exagerating. Gov. Bush did not have the power to actually flip the switch in any execution. Nor did he have the power to commute any sentence (rather, a governor in Texas can issue a stay pending a review by an independant board).

You're right, of course.

Sorry. The enthusiasm of the "he's dead now" quotes from 2000 confused me a bit about the extent of his involvement.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Gattigap
And in related news, House GOPers have placed to a vote today a federal law forbidding courts from ruling on challenges to the Pledge of Allegiance.

We've had the earlier debates on the constitutionality of this kind of jurisdiction stripping, so I won't belabor them here.

But could someone please put a leash on these fools? The Supremes already slapped down challenges to constitutionality of "under God," and Our Leader has assured us that in a second term the judiciary will be filled with Right-Thinking Judges.

So be cool. No need to bend and break the constitution when help is at hand to save the country's oppressed Baptists.

Holy shit, they passed it. Think of how handy this strategy will be when the Dems recapture both houses.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Gattigap
I'd call this "just another example of people who are inclined to hate Kerry and reach the same conclusion based on the way he parts his hair."

Bush gets about 15% of his votes from these people. Kerry gets about 65% of his votes from the Dem counterparts.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
Holy shit, they passed it. Think of how handy this strategy will be when the Dems recapture both houses.

Am I reading this correctly? They passed legislation amending the Constitution?

Cool. I didn't even know they could DO that.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by bilmore
Am I reading this correctly? They passed legislation amending the Constitution?

Cool. I didn't even know they could DO that.

Neither did Congress. That's the magic of it.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by bilmore
Am I reading this correctly? They passed legislation amending the Constitution?

Cool. I didn't even know they could DO that.

The House did. Here's hoping for rationality in the Senate. Of course the Senate may also want to "protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage."

[Gattigap]

Liechtenstein ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, bringing to 116 the number of nations endorsing the pact.

France, Belgium and Germany could not be more relieved. Bush extolls as evidence of progress in WOT.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
The House did. Here's hoping for rationality in the Senate. Of course the Senate may also want to "protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage."

Seems to me that, when you're about to re-elect a Repub prez for four more years, with the likelihood of appointing one or more SC justices, that's exactly when you DON'T want to start futzing with the jurisdiction of that court.

(Yeah, I understand that this'll never pass the Senate, and it's just a way to be able to say in campaign lit "Rep. Smith (D) voted to allow the court to prohibit Gawd from our schools!", but, damn, this is just stoopid . . . .)

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Gattigap
Liechtenstein ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, bringing to 116 the number of nations endorsing the pact.

France, Belgium and Germany could not be more relieved. Bush extolls as evidence of progress in WOT.

I bet the debate before the vote was funny.

"But, we don't even have . . . ."

"I know, I TOLD them . . . "

"What if we vote "no"?

"Oh, god, don't make me start laughing again, my stomach already hurts . . . "

[SlaveNoMore]

Replaced_Texan
The House did. Here's hoping for rationality in the Senate. Of course the Senate may also want to "protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage."

Hell, all someone has to do is utter the word "fillibuster" and its as good as dead.

[bilmore]

The new ad with Kerry the windsurfer is getting reaction:

"The Kerry campaign reacted angrily to the ad, charging that its "lighthearted" approach was inappropriate in the middle of a war."

(I'm not sure if they wrote this up before or after Kerry appeared with Dr. Phil and Regis.)

((Yeah, I stole this from someone else. I'd cite it, but I forgot who it was.))

(((Remembered. The Kerry Spot.)))

[ilikenewsocks]

Originally posted by Gattigap
Liechtenstein ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, bringing to 116 the number of nations endorsing the pact.

The world will not truly be safe, however, until Vanuatu and East Timor are also signatories. Any progress there?

[SlaveNoMore]

bilmore
The new ad with Kerry the windsurfer is getting reaction:

"The Kerry campaign reacted angrily to the ad, charging that its "lighthearted" approach was inappropriate in the middle of a war."

(I'm not sure if they wrote this up before or after Kerry appeared with Dr. Phil and Regis.)

((Yeah, I stole this from someone else. I'd cite it, but I forgot who it was.))

You forgot the Letterman Top 10 list.

Speaking of funny, Zsa Zsa is at it again. Haven't they locked her away in Switzerland yet?

Teresa being interviewed in Arizona:

• 12 News Reporter: Most of the polls are tracking that Sen John Kerry as doing a better job on the economy. My question is, why hasn’t that transferred overall in the poll numbers?
  
  Teresa: It has, of course. Of course it has.
  
  Reporter: He’s still down.
  
  Teresa: He’s not. Did you see the polls today? You saw Zogby and ARG —
  
  Reporter: Yes, but he’s still down in Arizona.
  
  Teresa: Oh, who cares? You know, one state is not a whole state. In the whole United States, he is even, even, and in some of them one point ahead, and in some one point behind.

Chalk up AZ in the Red column.