Embattled GOP Senator George Allen's campaign
manager blames "liberal media" for Allen's racist comments

post from AMERICAblog on 22 August 2006 08:07:00 PM. © AMERICAblog

In a rather odd memo, Allen's campaign manager rambles for a long while about how the only person apparently not guilty of any wrongdoing in the affair is George Allen himself.

Particularly interesting is that the campaign manager claims Allen apologized to the guy he attacked. In fact, Allen has yet to talk to the student. He then claims that Allen said his comments were a mistake. But in fact, Allen said his comments were misinterpreted and in this very memo today the campaign manager said the entire issue was a fabrication of the "liberal media" and deserved no attention, and he even goes on to say that the entire story is simply the media and liberals "playing the race card."

So why did George Allen apologize (supposedly) and call "a mistake" something that is a concoction of the liberal media?

And this man wants to be president some day soon?

To: GOP leaders/Allen campaign leadership

From: Dick Wadhams, Campaign Manager

Re: Notes on a tough week

August 19, 2006

I think it is obvious that this past week was difficult one for Senator and Mrs. Allen and the campaign. It is very clear that the news media created what they call a "feeding frenzy", with the Washington Post alone doing major stories on the same issue for 5 consecutive days.

Literally putting words into Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true), the Webb campaign and the news media seeming worked hand-in-hand to create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the first place.

Even after Senator Allen apologized to the Webb campaign staffer in specific, and to anyone who may have been offended in general, the news media continued to print and re-print the same speculations and inaccurate portrayals of Senator Allen's comments. Never in modern times has a statewide officeholder and candidate been so vilified in a desperate attempt to revive a campaign that was fast-sinking ? the Webb campaign.

Senator Allen has said that his comments were a mistake. Who among us has not made mistakes? In fact, how many of us could put in the hours of work, travel, meetings, campaigning, etc. that Senator Allen has over the years and make as few mistakes as he has?

Apparently the media's standard for candidates is now that they must be perfect, not human, and that no mistake or verbal gaffe is to be forgiven, no matter how much the candidate apologize. Will the Washington Post hold it's candidate for the U.S. Senate to the same standard? We will see, but I'm not holding my breath.

The bottom line for us, friends, is that same as it has always been. We cannot rely on the news media to get our positive, constructive message out to the voters. In fact, we cannot expect them to be objective, let along fair. As always, we have to do it together, getting our message directly to the voters.

Senator Allen has a long, positive, successful track record as a member of the House of Delegates and House of Representatives, as our Governor and now as our United States Senator.

There is hardly a place you can go in the Commonwealth that Senator Allen has not visited at least once or touched in some way. Senator Allen and Susan Allen have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of Virginians through their public service and volunteer activities. This is evident to anyone who has participated in a Listening Tour stop this year.

He was there long before his opponent discovered there were such places in Virginia. And, he will be there long after his opponent has faded from the scene.

Looking Ahead

There is no question that this is a tough year to run for the Senate as a Republican. The Democrats and their liberal constituency groups, such as MoveOn.org, are pouring millions of dollars into television attack ads, seeking to take control of the Senate and House. Rep. Thelma Drake has already been a target of their vicious attacks. We expect to see Senator Allen attacked in the same way.

The reason the Democrats run such negative campaigns and always play the race card, is that they have no positive ideas to run on. That is as true this year as in any other. The fact that they have attempted to make race an issue so early in the campaign is evidence of just how desperate they are.

Senator Allen summarizes his public service as making Virginia a better place to live, learn, work and raise a family. And, that's what this campaign is all about.

Senator Allen will win because he is right on the issues. He will win because he has done a great job as Senator and Governor. He will win because he has stayed in touch with Virginians and been responsive to their needs. He will win because he and Susan will work harded than anyone to get the job done.

And, Senator Allen will win because of your help and support. Now is the time to rally for Senator Allen and our Congressional candidates. Now is the time to get our positive message out door-to- door, by telephone and at fairs, festivals and meetings of all sizes.

You are the secret weapon that Senator Allen has always confounded the pundits with.

Let's show the liberal interest groups that by coming to Virginia, they have gotten more than they bargained for and that they need not bother us ever again!

Dick Wadhams, Campaign Manager

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And the Brilliance Continues

post from Firedoglake on 22 August 2006 08:00:20 PM. © Firedoglake

Reader ems forwarded this response from an exchange he had with the DCCC:From: DCCC [mailto:dccc@DCCC.ORG] Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:09 AM To: XXXXXXX Subject: RE: Comments We apologize for your frustration. It is actually very likely that[...]

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McCain: Was Former POW MIA on Iraq

post from The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks! on 22 August 2006 08:00:02 PM. © The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks!

Guess Who's Sleeping on the Couch Tonight?Senator John McCain came out earlier today to chide the administration for misleading the American people into believing Iraq would be "some kind of day at the beach". Frequent and loud administration protests to the contrary, I have to go with McCain on this one.However, McCain's statement leads me to question whether the former POW and many of his colleagues were actually MIA on this issue. He, and nearly everyone else in the Congress, stood idly by during the run-up to the war and handed Shrub everything he asked for while cheering him on. They did this as long it looked like the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight might just pull victory from the jaws of defeat, but when RummyCo started pulling defeat from the jaws of victory, they began slinking, running, jogging, or crawling away as fast as their previous statements of support would allow.Some of them took the McCain approach. Let's call it the "I'll keep saying I'm for the war while pointing at El Jefe and talking about what an incompetent ninny is" approach. In some ways, this approach seems the most disingenuous of all, yet McCain is frequently cited for his "brave stand on the issue"."I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required," McCain said. "Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much (emphasis mine) that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be." Really? Who knew?!I have to agree with McCain on this point too. However, I'd be willing to cut him a little slack if he'd said it as part of a speech explaining why he wouldn't support the war back before it started and before we were eyeball deep in a vat of self-mixing quicksand.He stands silent on that point today. That's a "brave stand" for you.What I'd like to know is when McCain and the rest of the Congress, including BOTH sides of the aisle, will be willing to stand up and say "no mas". When will they and their supporters admit the situation is beyond a simple "we made a miscalculation, but time will cure all" scenario and see that things won't get better?I guess they're as silent on that point as McCain has been.Hmm, imagine that.The Poobah also appears at Bring it On!Tech Tags: politics mccain bush iraq crapweasels bring+it+on omnipotent+poobah

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SUSA's latest 50-state governor ratings

post from Daily Kos on 22 August 2006 07:43:41 PM. © Daily Kos

New numbers are out.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) of Montana is now the second most popular governor in the country and highest-ranked Democrat at 76/18 approval/disapproval. Given his strong partisan streak and eagerness to campaign against Republicans in November, that can't be a good sign for Conrad Burns.

ND governor John Hoeven (R) remains at the top of the list. Republicans Taft of Ohio and Murkowski of Alaska take the bottom two slots. Neither will be governor next year. Taft is quitting, and Murkowski will probably lose his primary battle today. Ernie Fletcher (R) of Kentucky is at 47, and is already facing the possibility of multiple primary challengers in his 2007 reelection bid.

Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger of California continues to score big gains. He's at 44/53, up from 40/57 a month ago and 32/65 back in February. Democrat Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, the most endangered Democratic incumbent of any kind, is steady at 43/53. Meanwhile, threatening to make the 4-way race for Texas governor more interesting, Texas governor Rick Perry has suddenly tanked to 43/52, down from 51/45 just two months ago.

Tim Kaine of Virginia is seeing some nice gains, up to 59/33, showing strength in the first seven months of his tenure. And Christine Gregoire (D) of Washington continues to impress at 51/45. She began her controversial tenure at 34/58, but she is steadily establishing herself as an effective governor and the people of her state are coming around.

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MT-Sen: Burns endorses work by undocumented
workers

post from Daily Kos on 22 August 2006 07:27:51 PM. © Daily Kos

AP:

Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as "a nice little Guatemalan man" and suggested that worker as well employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.
"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?'" Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. "And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.'"
Burns spokesman Jason Klindt said the worker, Hugo Reyes, is legally in the United States, owns a painting company and the senator "never had any doubt" that Reyes is a legal resident.
"He was telling an anecdotal story about a time he took the extra step to make sure a worker was legal," Klindt said.
Burns, who voted against a Senate bill this year that would have offered millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, also joked about the issue at a debate against his Democratic opponent, Jon Tester, earlier this year.
Burns said he was on the phone with his contractor when he saw an interview with an illegal immigrant on television. The immigrant said he was a roofer and was headed north.
"So I told my roofer, you better go out and get your help," Burns said. "Or you won't get my house roofed."

The hate-on-immigrants crowd won't be too happy about that one.

But therein lies the problem -- most people don't care if undocumented immigrats perform labor as long as they get cheap goods. A cheap roof. Cheap fruits and vegetables. Cheap meats. Cheap lawn care. Cheap janitorial services. Cheap housekeeping and child care. And so on.

Burns was just being honest about that. And for once, his honesty didn't betray bigotry or hatred for out-of-state firefighters doing the best to put out wildfires in his state. This time, it simply betrayed that he's all for illegal workers so long as it saves him a buck.

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Paul Hackett on Hardball

post from Crooks and Liars on 22 August 2006 07:10:46 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Paul Hackett debated the Iraq war with Republican–TX-17 candidate Van Taylor,Video-WMP Video-QT (low res-higher quality a little later)’Taylor who did fight in the Iraq war–for some reason uses the most original "we’re fighting them over there" argument which is sounding more and more like an Abbott & Costello routine. Just listen to the Ken Mehlman "talking points" [...]

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SLOGANS ON PARADE

post from DownWithTyranny! on 22 August 2006 06:43:00 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

by Mags

Freedom is not free

No, it isn?t, but most of the people saying this these days are Republicans who never served in the armed forces. And, they are not spending to increase security, and they are not investigating fraud by private contractors. So, Republicans must think that freedom is not free, but that no bid contracts and cronyism is where the money ought to go.

Real men like Bush

How many times did the male prostitute/reporter (yeah right) Jeff Gannon visit the White House? Well over 200 right?

And, let?s not forget these "real men" either. No marriage though, Bush is just dating. Nothing serious.

1 Man + 1 Woman = Marriage

Other possible sums:

See Bush photos above

Hell on earth

Divorce

Loveless marriage

Staying together for the kids

Domestic Violence

Restroom symbols

Jerry Springer TV guest stars

And, in case you are a god-fearing Mormon

1 Man + as many women as he damn well pleases = Marriage

Shock and Awe

The bombing of Baghdad was referred to as the Shock and Awe campaign. The witless wonders who thought that up were all about the fireworks and not the reality on the ground. While dropping bombs on a city will kill innocents creating shock, the ?Awe? part is a bit puzzling. Maybe this is why I hate the over used ?awesome? that all the kids continually say today.

Awe is also a word that is associated with worship. Maybe that is what George the Lesser is after. Seems so. He is the decider afterall.

Cut and Run

When you got a Great White on the end of your pole, it would be pretty silly to stay the course. Or, when you see that you can either fight the Grizzly bear with your bare hands or you can get the hell out of its way, I say leave the area. Anyone telling you to stay the course is there for the show. It is not likely they care about you or the bear.

[Editor's note: yesterday I was talking with Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC) and he explained he uses it to advocate for cutting our losses and allowing the Iraqis to run their own affairs.]

Stay the Course *see Cut and Run

These colors don?t run

No, but blood does. And, it is a good bet that whoever has the bumper sticker on their car is least likely to take that chance.

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http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2006/08/slogans-on-parade.html

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God damn cats just brought an enormous pigeon
into the house

And it's one thing bringing in a dead pigeon. Oh no, couldn't do that. They brought a live one in. And it was quite healthy. And proceeded to race around the room with the cats running after it, at a safe distance of course. Well, Sushi raced after it at a safe distance. Nasdaq sat back about 7 feet and hissed at me like I was the problem, then she ran and hid under a chair behind half a curtain for the next 20 minutes, brave guard-cat that she is.

Sushi on the other hand, well, I'm not sure what Sushi thought he was doing. He kept following the bird, body pressed close to the carpet like the bird couldn't see him from a foot away. But he refused to attack. He just kept, well, teasing the damn thing. I kept saying "get him, Sushi, sic him!" and the damn cat would just look at me, then walk the wrong way. I had to literally carry him and put him down in the front of the bird. Brave, yes. Smartest cat on the block, not so much.

I ran to the hallway and rifled the closet - found some sheets, but they looked nice and figured Chris' wife would shoot me. So I tried to catch the thing with a towel while wearing oven mitts (didn't work so well). Next, tore through the kitchen and finally found just the trap. The salad-spinner thing that the French love so much. Threw that damn thing on the top of the bird, slipped a tray underneath, and got it out of here. Yeah, Chris' wife probably won't love that option either, but at this point, didn't really care.

The cats are now outside, I assume chasing the pigeon yet again since I can hear it flopping around. Fucking cats.

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-enormous.html

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McCain, DeWine, Turn On Bush's Iraq Policy

From ABC.

Mcain is on the stump for Republican Sen. Mike DeWine in Ohio:

Republican Sen. John McCain, a staunch defender of the Iraq war, on Tuesday faulted the Bush administration for misleading Americans into believing the conflict would be "some kind of day at the beach."

The potential 2008 presidential candidate, who a day earlier had rejected calls for withdrawing U.S. forces, said the administration had failed to make clear the challenges facing the military.

"I think one of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required," McCain said. "Stuff happens, mission accomplished, last throes, a few dead-enders. I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be."

Ouch! That hadda hurt!

Still McCain is still toeing the "a timetable would enable the bad guys line" so he hasn't had a complete epiphany.

DeWine, on the other hand, put it as plainly as any damn lib'rul could have:

DeWine said Congress would not have had the chance to authorize the war if the intelligence on Iraq's military capability and intentions were accurate.

"It would never have come up for a vote so it would have been an entirely different situation," he said.

Double ouch! That's a Republican version of a bitch-slap from the incumbent Senator who feels a Democrat breathing down his neck. It sounds like something Sherrod Brown's old Dem primary opponent could have said.

Welcome to the ranks of "traitors and defeatists", Senator.

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The New Rules for Incumbents

Hi, folks. Patrick, twin brother of fearsome sauropod (snarkopod?) TRex, here. I have a little experience studying electoral behavior and I have been doing some thinking about how the netroots (does anyone mind if I call them the ToobzRoots[...]

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