Open Thread and Diary Rescue

post from Daily Kos on 20 January 2010 11:10:05 PM. © Daily Kos

From this day's 569 diaries, the ranger crew selected the best writing. jlms qkw, grog, dopper0189, ybruti, pico, and vcmvo2 rescued these and jlms qkw also drove the Editmobile through the storms.

We suggest showing appreciation to these diarists by reading, recommending(when possible), leaving a comment and sprinkling some mojo.

Politics, Past, Present, and Future

Avenging Angel offers an extensive analysis of Cheney's Advice, Krugman's Law and Obama's First Year. (ybruti)

wavpeac explains with personal examples why We Can't Change What We Don't Accept. (ybruti)

Cassiodorus has some must-read tips regarding The responsibilities of a good political blogger. (pico)

Prosthetic Conscience fears voters will keep voting for "any" kind of "change" until they get "real some change": Permanent Change may mean No Change. (dopper0189)

Don't feel down: get involved! ResponsibleAccountable has a simple project for candidate apps that you can help build in Something YOU can do (5 mins $0). I'm putting money on table for change. Please help. (pico)

anastasia p writes a political obituary in Centrism is dead ... or should be. (dopper0189)

Other Topics Not Covered In The Traditional Media

Audaciously, RLMiller makes the case for public lands being . . . public! in Hike On! End Pay-to-Play Reaganism in Valles Caldera, NM. (jlms qkw)

When vets74 discovered that 40% of Human Intel always dropped at FBI main terror system, you can guess that it was yet another Bush administration screw up. (grog)

In A historic opportunity to re-examine the Patriot Act Lets Breakthrough analyzes several provisions in the Patriot Act that have expired. (vcmvo2)

craigkg provides us with up-to-date coverage in Marriage Equality Roundup: McCain, Prop8 & more. (pico)

First-time diarist just another vortex gives some examples about how to rebuild a Green Haiti. (vcmvo2)

Vikingkingq lays out, in impressive detail, an argument towards Rebuilding The Public University - Against High-Aid, High-Fees Model. (pico)

jotter with High Impact Diaries: Janauary 19, 2010

emeraldmaiden has Top Comments 1/20/10 - Waiting for the Storm

Please join us in this Open Thread and suggest your own favorite diaries from the last 24 hours. Please play nice!

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-Rescue

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Late Night: It is STILL a Marathon, Dammit

post from Firedoglake on 20 January 2010 11:00:56 PM. © Firedoglake

So that’s it? The Republicans can’t govern, and the Democrats don’t want to govern?The worst is that I can’t help but feel like the main emotion people in the caucus are feeling is relief at this turn of events. Now they have a[...]

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C&L's Late Night Music Club With Robin Trower

post from Crooks and Liars on 20 January 2010 11:00:50 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Title: Somebody CallingArtist: Robin Trower
video details and more

It's hump day and I thought some Robin Trower might hit the spot. Much like Hendrix and Marino, Trower wasn't afraid of using effects pedals to expand his sound. His signature Univibe tone is legendary. Perhaps best known for the song Bridge of Sighs, I could listen to him play for hours. Come to think of it...I actually have.

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Core accretion

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 20 January 2010 11:00:31 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

It may be time to utter the "unutterable".There's a phenomenon called "core accretion" in the world of astrophysicists. It refers to the process by which little planets become big planets during solar system formation. During this process,[...]

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TX Ethics Commission Absolves Judge Sharon Keller

post from TalkLeft on 20 January 2010 10:54:00 PM. © TalkLeft

The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct issued these factual findings (pdf) today in the case of Judge Sharon Keller, presiding judge the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, who in 2007 closed the doors of the clerk's office to the Texas Courthouse at 5:00 pm, knowing a last minute death penalty stay was en route to be filed.

The Commission found her actions, while amounting to bad judgment, were "not nefarious." It says she acted within her discretion and that her actions did not amount to willful or purposeful incompetence.

Unbelievably (or maybe not, considering its coming from the Texecution capital of the world) the opinion blames the defense.

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Democrats Not Sad, Just Furious (at Democrats)

post from TPMCafe on 20 January 2010 10:26:00 PM. © TPMCafe

UPDATED:

Did you see what Josh Marshall posted yesterday on the font page?

"We're currently having our daily afternoon editorial meeting. And man, I don't think I've ever heard so much sarcasm, biting comments and just hilarity of a painful sort. Mainly coming from me."

In just a few sentences, he summed up the mood among Democrats. Not tears but fury.

For the first time since 1967-1968, we are more pissed off at our party than at the Republicans. Who expects anything from the Republicans which, in the spirit of its leader, Rush Limbaugh, hopes for the worst for the country?

We certainly are not pissed off at Scott Brown who ran a textbook perfect campaign. He did his job, which was to win and he did it without the usual GOP venom. (And Glen Beck hates him which, I have to say, gives me a little hope),

Underneath the anger Democrats feel is deep disappointment. But it does not come close to the anger that so many feel over the way this first year has turned out.

That means that the President's first task has to be getting the base back on board. A demoralized base -- up against an energized jubilant Republican party -- is the ticket to a Republican Congress in 2010.

A friend said to me today, "I'll take Sarah Palin over Evan Bayh and his DLC Blue Dogs any day of the week. She doesn't pretend to be a Democrat."

That made sense yesterday, if not as a rule of thumb. Watching Bayh happily calling on Democrats to now abandon the progressive agenda was nauseating.

My friend's reaction is far from rare. I sure hope the President knows it. And does something about it. Because right now he is in danger of losing his hold over the very people who worked hardest to get him nominated and elected.

He's losing Obama loyalists. The Clinton supporters, less ardent by definition, are not nearly as angry. They didn't expect much from Obama anyway. But the Obama diehards, are fit to be tied.

The President needs to take some action that indicates that he gets it and that the Massachusetts election was the fire alarm he needed. And he needs to get the HCR bill passed by hook, crook, or reconciliation.

Evan Bayh - United States - Republican - Politics - Democratic

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Democrats Not Sad, Just Angry (at Democrats)

post from TPMCafe on 20 January 2010 10:26:00 PM. © TPMCafe

Did you see what Josh Marshall posted today?

"We're currently having our daily afternoon editorial meeting. And man, I don't think I've ever heard so much sarcasm, biting comments and just hilarity of a painful sort. Mainly coming from me."

In just a few sentences, he summed up the mood among Democrats. Not tears but fury.

For the first time in memory, we are more pissed off at our party than at the Republicans.

Yes, underneath the anger is deep disappointment. But it does not come close to the anger that so many of us feel over the way this first year has turned out.

A friend said to me today, "I'll take Sarah Palin over Evan Bayh and his DLC Blue Dogs any day of the week. She doesn't pretend to be a Democrat."

That is the mood today. I sure hope the President knows it. And does something about it. Because right now he is in danger of losing his hold over the very people who worked to get him nominated and elected.

He's losing the Obama loyalists. The Clinton supporters, less ardent by definition, are not nearly as angry. They didn't expect much from Obama anyway. But the Obama diehards, we are fit to be tied.

Not good, my friends, not good at all.

Evan Bayh - United States - Republican - Politics - Democratic

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Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 1/20/10

People on both ends of the political spectrum are spending Wednesday attempting to explain what the heck happened in the state of Massachusetts last night (which incidentally, is why the Wrap took Tuesday off). That said, there is quite a bit of political news outside of the Bay State. Several polls, including a few in places we haven't seen data in some time, grace the Wednesday edition of the Wrap.

NY-Sen: Rasmussen Says Gillibrand Leads Primary and General
Rasmussen heads into the Empire State this week (as did DK/R2K) to look at the state of play in the wake of the news that former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford is contemplating a Senate bid in New York. As with other pollsters that have looked at the question over the last week, Ras found that Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has a huge lead over Ford in a prospective Democratic primary. Gillibrand leads with 48% of the primary vote, leading Ford, who trails with 23% of the vote. Ten percent of voters identified "some other candidate" (worth noting: this poll did not ask about Jonathan Tasini, as some others have done).

A rumor that had spread last week revolved around the possibility that Ford might forgo a Democratic primary and go straight to the general election as an Independent. Rasmussen polled that possibility, as well, and found that Gillibrand would still come out on top, winning 39% of the vote. A "generic Republican" would win 34%, while Ford would bring up the rear with 10% of the vote. Incidentally, the GOP finally did land a candidate this past week, as Port Authority commissioner Bruce Blakeman got into the race.

MD-Gov: O'Malley Remains In Lead Against Former GOP Governor
A rematch between the current Democratic Governor, Martin O'Malley, and his immediate predecessor, Republican Bob Ehrlich, currently is in the Democrat's favor, according to a new poll by Gonzales Research. O'Malley leads Ehrlich by nine points (48-39), according to the new poll. Barack Obama is still relatively well-liked in the state (his job approval sits at 56/30), and it is hard to imagine Republicans even bothering to make a run at Senator Barbara Mikulski, whose approval ratings are extremely strong (64/23).

NY-01: Dem Keeps Narrow Lead, But Young Voters Need Not Apply?
FDL continues its tour of House races (courtesy of the polling team at SurveyUSA), and lands on Long Island today. Their result is a bit of anomaly for their polling thus far--the Democrat actually leads. Incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop has a two-point edge over Republican businessman Randy Altschuler (47-45). James L. at Swing State Project catches a pretty interesting anomaly in this poll, however: voters aged 18-34 make up exactly one percent of the sample. This has been a common thread, incidentally, in all of the FDL/SUSA polls. That said, there is reason to assume a competitive race here: this district only went for Obama by a handful of points, and Altschuler is a well-financed candidate that has already taken to the air.

HI-Gov: Democrats Lead In Pick-Up Opportunity In Hawaii
In numbers that show little change from a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll conducted late in the Spring of 2009, Mason Dixon polls the Aloha State and finds the Democrats with modest leads over likely Republican nominee Duke Aiona in the battle to replace GOP incumbent Linda Lingle. Congressman Neal Abercrombie holds a nine-point edge over Aiona (43-34), while Mufi Hannemann has a slightly more modest lead of six points (41-35). Despite the difference in general election outcomes, the Democratic primary is a toss-up, with Abercrombie clinging to a three-point advantage (37-34) over Hannemann.

HI-01: Same M-D Poll Pops Balloon of GOP Upset In Special Election
One of the common perceptions about the resignation of Democratic Congressman Neal Abercrombie in Hawaii was that this would set up a vulnerable Democratic seat in a special election, because there were two "big name" Democratic candidates and only one Republican in the field. That math may work out for the GOP eventually, but a new poll by Mason Dixon dispels that notion, at least for the moment. The Republican in the field, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, actually runs in third, behind both Democrats, according to the poll. Former District 2 Congressman Ed Case leads with 37%, leading progressive Democrat Colleen Hanabusa who sits at 25%. Djou trails the field at 17%.

TX-Gov: Perry Leads General, But Lies Within Striking Range
As time goes on (and as a Rasmussen primary poll on Monday seemed to suggest), it is becoming increasingly evident that Rick Perry will survive his primary challenge from Kay Bailey Hutchison and be the GOP nominee. If he does so, he holds only a modest lead over likely Democratic nominee Bill White, the former mayor of Houston. Perry leads White by ten (50-40), despite the fact that White has not yet taken to the air to promote his candidacy.

LA-Sen: Rasmussen Sees Big Vitter Lead
Rasmussen has been very prolific this week. In addition to the Texas polling and New York polling above, they also head into the bayou to test the waters in Louisiana. What they find, perhaps surprisingly, is a sizeable lead for incumbent Republican David Vitter over his Democratic challenger, Charlie Melancon. Vitter holds his widest Ras lead to date, eighteen points (53-35), over Melancon, who is retiring from his House seat south of New Orleans in order to run for the Senate. Other pollsters have had this race somewhat closer. This wasn't the only good news for Vitter today: he also averted a potentially thorny primary challenge when Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Darndenne elected not to make a Senate bid.

PA-Sen: Ras-Apalooza Continues In Keystone State
Rasmussen also polls Pennsylvania today, looking at the Senate primary on the Democratic side. They find a sizeable lead for incumbent Senator Arlen Specter, who they say holds a twenty-plus point edge over Congressman Joe Sestak (53-32). This is considerably wider than anyone else has had it recently, so it is worth keeping an eye on any polls that will either corroborate this one or refute it.

IA-Gov: Branstad Internal Says Insurgent Challenge Not Legit Concern
Amid some stories that presumptive GOP favorite Terry Branstad is facing some trouble with his right flank in the Republican gubernatorial primary, his campaign released an internal poll that indicated that he was in no danger whatsoever. According to the poll by Hill Research, Branstad leads with 63%, while conservative insurgent candidate Bob Vander Platts trails far behind with 18% of the vote.

MI-07: Schauer Trails, According to Challenger's Internal Poll
Is uber-conservative former Congressman Tim Walberg headed back to Congress? Perhaps so, if an internal poll by Walberg is to be believed. It claims that Walberg has a considerable lead of nine points (46-37) over freshman Democrat Mark Schauer. Walberg is not a lock to make it out of the GOP primary--he is facing what promises to be a well-funded challenge from attorney Brian Rooney.

IN OTHER NEWS....

IN-Sen: In the 2010 rumor of the day, we might have a real right-wing shootout on our hands in the Republican primary. Eccentric former Congressman John Hostettler was already a likely entrant, and now it looks like one of the key players in the hard-right wing of the GOP, Congressman Mike Pence, is contemplating a bid. The GOP nominee will take on Senator Evan Bayh, who is sitting on an emormous war chest.

CO-Sen: During the Monday night edition of the Wrap, I reported that Andrew Romanoff had tweeted that he would be holding a press conference on Tuesday at his campaign HQ. Said press conference brought forth the end to the speculation that he would be moving over to the newly-open gubernatorial election. He announced that he would be staying in the Senate race, challenging Sen. Michael Bennet in a Democratic primary.

NV-Sen: Harry Reid has struggled against second-tier GOP opposition, so one can wonder what will happen if a statewide elected official gets into the game. Brian Krolicki, the state's Lt. Governor, has been approached about running against Reid, and appears to be at least receptive to the idea. Krolicki seemed like damaged goods a few months back, as he languished amidst an indictment for misappropriation of funds. That prosecution was scuttled, however, and Krolicki has acted and sounded more like a candidate in recent weeks. Among those recruiting Krolicki included Senator John McCain, meaning that a Krolicki candidacy would be good news for...oh, never mind.

RI-01: Here's an interesting development in a safe Democratic district: Rep. Patrick Kennedy might be facing a potentially legit primary challenge, as state legislator Jon Brien is contemplating a Congressional bid. Brien, based on his pronouncements, appears to be likely to challenge Kennedy from the right, highlighting Kennedy's support for both health care reform and the cap and trade legislation as rationales for his candidacy.

NY-19: Democratic Congressman John Hall could be looking at yet another viable challenger in his bid for re-election in November. Thomas DeChiaro, a local vintner, is flirting with a bid. He would join local businesswoman Nan Hayworth, who has already raised a pretty impressive warchest to take on Hall, who was re-elected fairly easily in 2008 after seizing this seat from longtime GOP Rep. Sue Kelly in 2006.

NY-24: Just a little further upstate, a more predictable candidate announcement took place. Richard Hanna, who held Democratic Congressman Michael Arcuri to a low single-digit win in 2008, is back for a second swing at this district. This becomes an interesting contest--certainly, Hanna is running with a more favorable climate than he did in 2008. However, it is also a great deal less likely that Hanna will be able to sneak up on Arcuri and the Democrats as he did fourteen months ago. Indeed, the DCCC wasted no time welcoming Hanna to the race.

MA-Sen Postmortem: Worth a read, amid the myriad of electoral post-mortems emanating from Coakley v. Brown: PPP's Tom Jensen approaches the story from a variety of angles.