NY Times falsely reported McCain "began tapping
into" Bush donor base on February 12

post from Media Matters for America on 13 February 2008 02:08:19 PM. © Media Matters for America

In thefirst sentence of a February 13 New YorkTimes article, reporterElisabeth Bumiller claimed that "Senator John McCain [R-AZ] began tappinginto President Bush's prized political donor base on Tuesday as hiscampaign announced that Mercer Reynolds, who helped Mr. Bush raise a record$273 million for the 2004 re-election campaign, would be the national financeco-chairman for Mr. McCain." Bumiller then described Reynolds'appointment as "a major sign that the Republican financial establishmentwas[...]

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97% of ambassadors polled say Bolton undermined
UN reform.

post from Think Progress on 13 February 2008 02:07:00 PM. © Think Progress

At Princeton yesterday, New York Times U.N. correspondent Warren Hoge revealed that “of the 33 ambassadors Hoge interviewed for a story” on former U.N. ambassador John Bolton’s performance, “all but one felt he had undermined U.N. reform efforts.” When Bush appointed Bolton in 2005, U.N. members viewed the move as a “stick in the eye.”

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http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/97-of-ambassadors-polled-say-bolton-undermine
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How Hillary Now Sees the Path to the Nomination

post from TalkLeft on 13 February 2008 02:03:00 PM. © TalkLeft

Hillary Clinton's campaign has released a statement today, The Path to the Nomination.

The campaign also notes that since Super Tuesday, it has received more than $13 million online from 135,000 donors (virtually all new).

She also congratulates Sen. Obama on his victories in recent contests.

I've reprinted the statement below the fold:

The Path to the Nomination
This election will come down to delegates. Votes are still being counted and delegates apportioned, but Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are separated by approximately 40 delegates right now – that is, barely 1% of all the delegates to the Democratic convention.
Change Begins March 4th. Hillary leads in the three largest, delegate rich states remaining: Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. These three states have 492 delegates – 64 percent of the remaining delegates Hillary Clinton needs to win the nomination. According to the latest polls, Hillary leads in Texas (IVR Jan 30-31), Pennsylvania (Franklin & Marshall Jan 8-14) and Ohio (Columbus Dispatch Jan 23-31). After March 4th, over 3000 delegates will be committed, and we project that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be virtually tied with 611 delegates still to be chosen in Pennsylvania and other remaining states. This does not even include Florida and Michigan (where Hillary won 178 delegates), whose votes we believe should be counted.
The reason Hillary is so strong in Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania is that her message of delivering solutions resonates strongly with voters in those states. Hillary is the only candidate who can deliver the economic change voters want – the only candidate with a real plan and a record of fighting for health care, housing, job creation and protecting Social Security.
The demographics in these states also favor Hillary Clinton. Hillary won among white women by 6 points in Virginia and 18 points in Maryland, and white women make up a much bigger share of the electorate in these states (41% of 2004 Ohio Democratic primary voters, for instance, compared with only 33-35% of 2008 Maryland and Virginia Democratic primary voters). Hillary has also won large majorities among Latinos nationwide – 73% in New York, 67% in California, 68% in New Jersey, 62% in New Mexico, 59% in Florida and 55% in Arizona. Latinos made up 24% of Texas Democratic primary voters in 2004, and may be an even larger share in 2008.
Hillary Clinton has shown that she has the ability and organization to compete financially and on the ground. She raised 10 million dollars in just three days last week, and will be competitive with Barack Obama in fundraising and TV advertising from now through March 4th and beyond. She has a strong organization in each of these key states and endorsements from Governor Strickland, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and former Senator John Glenn in Ohio. Hillary had a huge 12,000 person rally in El Paso last night to kick off her Texas campaign.
Again and again, this race has shown that it is voters and delegates who matter, not the pundits or perceived "momentum." After Iowa, every poll gave Barack Obama a strong lead in New Hampshire, but he ended up losing the state. And after a defeat in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton went on to win by large margins in California, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Arizona, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
As history shows, the Democratic nomination goes to the candidate who wins the most delegates – not the candidate who wins the most states. In 1992, Bill Clinton lost a string of primaries before clinching the nomination. He ceded Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arizona, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont and South Dakota. Similarly, in 1984, Walter Mondale also lost a series of major primaries before winning the nomination, including New Hampshire, Vermont, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Indiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Ohio, and California. And in 1976, Jimmy Carter lost twenty-three states before winning the nomination, including: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TalkleftThePoliticsOfCrime/~3/234527098/6153

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Popular Vote Counts, February 13th

post from Open Left - Front Page on 13 February 2008 02:02:07 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

After last night's results, here is an updated PDF showing the various popular vote counts that are[...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OpenLeft-FrontPage/~3/234525274/showDiary.do

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IMAGINE.

post from Ezra Klein on 13 February 2008 02:00:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

I think Matt is right to say that Obama's great advantage is that "he's the kind of person whose support for an idea makes the idea seem more compelling than it otherwise would have. You can imagine him getting people interested in things that didn't[...]

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http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=02&year=2008&base_name
=imagine_1

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Great Moments In Presidential Predictions

post from Eschaton on 13 February 2008 01:52:00 PM. © Eschaton

Bush, 3 months ago.

Asman: "A lot of folks are worried that it's fallen too far. Is there anything more that you can do, as president, to assure the world that the dollar should maintain its value and increase in value?"

Bush: "Well, we have a strong dollar policy, and it's important for the world to know that. We also believe it's important for the market to set the -- to set the value of the dollar relative to other currencies. And if people would look at the strength of our economy, they'd realize why, you know, I believe that the dollar will be stronger. And it is low inflation, low interest, 15 months of uninterrupted job growth, 3.9 percent GDP growth in the third quarter. I mean, the underpinnings are strong. Now, we in the U.S. government, my administration, believe the market ought to set the, you know, the relation of the dollar to other currencies."

The dollar was at $1.45/euro then. Today it's at...$1.45.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/234514353/2008_02_10_archive.html

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Bush and GOP kill extension of surveillance law

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 13 February 2008 01:52:00 PM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

The surveillance law is so important that they're trying to kill it, in order to prove how important it really is. Now who doesn't care about catching Osama? Then again, these are the same people who haven't caught Osama in 7 years, and don't really seem all that interested in doing so.

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/234647315/bush-and-gop-kill-extensi
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BuzzFlash Mailbag for February 13, 2008

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 13 February 2008 01:51:37 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

BUZZFLASH MAILBAG

Want to join the conversation? Share your thoughts with other Mailbag readers by clicking here. Remember, you also may send items to post. You can register and post articles yourself at BuzzFlash.net; or submit items to BuzzFlash.com at: http://www.buzzflash.com/contact/newstip.html.

Subject: RIP America

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Technorati Tags: BuzzFlash Mailbag Wiretapping Senate Vote Concentration Camps Police State Infragard Guantanamo Torture Endorsements

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FISA Fight: House Blue Dogs enabling the GOP

CQ is reporting (no link yet) that the House Republicans will try to derail the effort to pass a 21 day extension of the existing surveillance law and force a vote on the Senate bill:

House Republicans engineered a series of procedural votes Wednesday in a bid to derail the Democrats’ prooposed extension, which President Bush said Wednesday he would veto. They argued that the House should simply take up and send to the White House a surveillance overhaul bill (HR 3773) that the Senate passed by 68-29 Tuesday.

Because 21 conservative Blue Dog Democrats have endorsed the Senate-passed bill, Republicans might be able to win approval of the Senate bill through a motion to recommit the extension with instructions to amend it with the text of the Senate bill.

The Blue Dogs that have endorsed the Senate passed bill wrote to Pelosi last week.

Some House Democrats were prepared to support immunity, regardless. In a Jan. 28 letter, 21 Democrats in the conservative Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., supporting immunity and listing other provisions that they believed were needed in a FISA bill.

They wrote that the Senate bill "contains satisfactory language addressing all these issues, and we would fully support that measure should it reach the House floor without substantial change."

Here are those Blue Dogs:

Rep. Leonard L. Boswell, D-Iowa -- Phone: (202) 225-3806, Fax: (202) 225-5608

Rep. Marion Berry, D-Ark. -- Phone: (202) 225-4076, Fax: (202) 225-5602

Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark. -- Phone: (202) 225-3772, Fax: (202) 225-1314

Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. -- Phone: (202) 225-2611, Fax: (202) 226-0893

Rep. Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, D-Ala. -- Phone: (202) 225-4801, Fax: (202) 225-4392

Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill. -- Phone: (202) 225-3711, Fax: (202) 225-7830

Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. -- Phone: (202) 225-6401, Fax: (202) 226-6422

Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga. -- Phone: (202) 225-2823, Fax: (202) 225-3377

Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla. -- Phone: (202) 225-5235, Fax: (202) 225-5615

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif. -- Phone: (202) 225-6161, Fax: (202) 225-8671

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla. -- Phone: (202) 225-2701, Fax: (202) 225-3038

Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn. -- Phone: (202) 225-4714, Fax: (202) 225-1765

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah -- Phone: (202) 225-3011, Fax: (202) 225-5638

Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn. -- Phone: (202) 225-4311, Fax: (202) 226-1035

Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn. -- Phone: (202) 225-6831, Fax: (202) 226-5172

Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind. -- Phone: (202) 225-4636, Fax: (202) 225-3284

Rep. Tim Holden, D-Pa. -- Phone: (202) 225-5546, Fax: (202) 226-0996

Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La. -- Phone: (202) 225-4031, Fax: (202) 226-3944

Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan. -- Phone: (202) 225-2865, Fax: (202) 225-2807

Rep. Christopher Carney, D-Pa. -- Phone: (202) 225-3731, Fax: (202) 225-9594

Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio -- Phone: (202) 225-6265, Fax: (202) 225-3394

If this bad bill is jammed through the House of Representatives, it will be their fault. Call them and tell them to support the RESTORE Act without modification, and to support the 21 day extension of the current law. Tell them to stop enabling the Republicans and Bush in taking away our civil liberties.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/234515237/941

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SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE: LARRY CRAIG IS A DIRTY,
DIRTY BOY

The 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans who make up the Senate Ethics Committee (Barbara Boxer, chair, Mark Pryor, Ken Salazar, John Cornyn, Pat Roberts, and Johnny Isakson) agreed that Larry Craig is a liar and a sword swallower.

In a letter to the Republican senator, the ethics panel said Craig's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest at a Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own actions.

Craig's actions constitute "improper conduct which has reflected discreditably on the Senate," the letter said.

...The six members of the committee-- three Democrats and three Republican-- told Craig they believed he "committed the offense to which you pled guilty" and that "you entered your plea knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently."

Craig said he disagrees with the finding. They also said he was wrong to use nearly a quarter million dollars in campaign money to defend against charges that he tried having sex with an undercover cop in the men's room at the Minneapolis Airport and wrong to try to intimidate the cop by brandishing his senate card in the cute undercover officer's face.

Republicans are nervous that everyone will be reminded about Craig's-- and the GOP's-- hypocrisy as they pass through the Minneapolis Airport, scene of his lecherous advances on Officer Karsnia, since almost everyone except the delegates from Minnesota will be flying in for their pointless convention to anoint John McCain the party's official sacrificial lamb this year. Imagine how embarrassing this whole episode is for other homophobic Republican closet queens like Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Adrian Smith (R-NE), David Dreier (R-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Jim McCrery (R-LA) and the rest of the party boys who have been so eager for some Minneapolis action. Craig spoiled it for everyone with his insatiable appetite and carelessness.

Neither Mark Foley nor Gloria Gaynor was not asked to testify at the Ethics Committee hearings: