Pass This Line Around

Via Talking Points Memo, a spokesman for a Democratic congressman.:

Toyota has more credibility on car safety than [congressional Republicans] have on ethics

I want to hear this come out of the mouths of multiple talking heads by the end of the week.

Worst Job in the World

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney's international travel agent.

Research Silently Affects Discourse

Since a recent UIC study (via Gapers Block and Chicagoist) showed that the Wal-Mart on the West Side saw no net gains in local jobs, and that the wages earned locally actually decreased, politicians and news articles aren't mentioning the "more jobs" aspect of Wal-Mart stores anymore. Instead, as in this Sun-Times article, they're touting Wal-Mart Superstores as a solution to the various Food Deserts in the city.

Signing off on the Chatham Wal-Mart won't solve the problem, another Daley adviser said. "We need several" supercenters in Chicago's food deserts, the adviser said.

What would be nicer than the research silently affecting the discourse would be for the city to try to find a retailer who is not as toxic to its local environment to come in and sell food in Chicago's deserts. Apparently that's a bit much to ask of our elected officials, though.

How Bad is It?

How bad must it be to be the president whose successor is given a Nobel Peace Prize mostly for not being his predecessor?

A bunch of Bush Administration proxies were stressing that history would judge them best.

Well, the historical viewpoint is beginning, and it's not off to an auspicious start for Bush 43.

He Makes a Good Point

Ramsin Canon at the Gaper's Block blog Mechanics aruges that we really don't have a good idea of what constitutes a 'good' Democrat, and this lack is a major problem when it comes to defining what the party is for and how we are to judge it.

There is a flaw in the motto "Elect More, and Better, Democrats." This motto of the liberal netroots--as a handy shorthand for the current generation of liberal activists--was laid out originally by Markos Moulitsas and adopted to various degrees by the other major netroots networks and organizations.

The flaw is the word "better". With no real left ideology (and therefore, no attendant analysis of the current political and economic situation) there is no real way to gauge what makes a "better" Democrat. With no definition of "better" in this context, we are left with "Elect more Democrats;" not only this, but without an ideology--an analysis--we can't gauge legislative progress--meaning we will never know when we have "enough" Democrats. Electing more Democrats is not a worthwhile goal until we know what makes a politician a "good" or "better" Democrat.

That is to say, without a party-independent movement capable of providing analysis of current political and social crises, we'll end up with a constant tension between those who think espousal of particular issues, versus partisan loyalty, define "progress", "the left" or "progressivism".

It's worth a full read, which you should go give it.

EtOH Observation

I find it interesting that while Pres. George W. Bush was elected partially because he was the candidate you'd be more likely to have a beer with, Pres. Barack H. Obama was the first president to actually put having a beer with someone to good use in recent memory. (I have to add the caveat as I'm sure that people better versed in US history than I can wax poetic about how John Quincy Adams and some guy sat down for a lager and hammered out the whatever bill of 18-something.)

Continuing Implosion of the Cook County Republican Party

Case in point: quality leadership.

Former Cook County Republican Chairman Gary Skoien is denying a police report that said his wife found him at home with two prostitutes and beat him with her fists and a toy guitar.

The report filled out by Barrington-Inverness police says that’s what Eni Skoien told them — and that Gary Skoien confirmed the account, said Deputy Chief Jerry Libit.

“That’s how it was reported to us,” Libit said.

A police report on the incident said he told responding officers there were prostitutes with him in the play room when his wife caught him.

...Police said he suffered cuts and had blood on his hands after his wife attacked him when she walked in on him at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday.

While the article states that the guy denies everything, let's look at this from a more pragmatic standpoint. If you are a philandering politician, and are smart about it, you do not bring hookers into your home, especially if you are a member of a party that proclaims a "family values" platform. You most definitely do not do this at a time when your spouse has even the slightest chance of being home. Lastly, if you want to cover it up, you start by not pressing charges, rather than by filing the police report and then repudiating it later. I mean, Illinois voters are rather inured to having crooked politicians, but we at least expect them to be competent at it. From my side of center, he loses respect not because of what he did, but because he was dumb enough to get caught doing it.

The Sun-Times article says the Cook County GOP has not won a county-wide office in 17 years. With geniuses like this bozo running the show, is anyone surprised?

GOP State Rep Pisses Off Every Single Academic In Illinois

Out of sheer political grandstanding, State Sen. Larry Bomke (R-Springfield) has introduced a bill with the sole purpose of forcing UIC to fire Bill Ayers.

State Sen. Larry Bomke...wants Ayers removed from his university post under a proposal that says anyone who has committed an act of violence against the governments of the United States or Illinois cannot work at a public university.

Here's a hint: professors and other academics are really touchy about politicians saying what can and cannot go on in academic settings. It has to do with the whole free flow of ideas thing and all. Thankfully, the Dems control the state legislature, so this will go nowhere. Considering that this guy represents the Springfield area, itself home to UIS and to SIU's Medical School, I'm amazed that he thinks that the political calculus for this stunt will end up on his side.

What Do You Mean, "Not Your Job"?

Gov. Blagojevich was impeached today by the IL State House, 114-1. The one against was Rep. Milton Patterson, D-Chicago, who the tribune reports said that it "wasn't his job to vote to impeach the governor," saying things about the criminal process needing to take place instead.

Well, excuse us, Rep. Patterson, but one of your admittedly rarely exercised powers as a state representative is to vote on articles of impeachment of state officers that are put before the Illinois State House. As Archpundit has repeatedly stated, impeachment is a political process, not a criminal one. The object of impeachment is to send to the State Senate a recommendation remove state officers who have manifestly demonstrated their inability to follow the law while doing their jobs, with or without actual criminal charges being filed. If you think part of your job is not your job, you and your constituents need to have a conversation come primary time, hopefully one ending with you not appearing on the November 2010 ballot.

And besides, if you really thought that it "wasn't your job", Rep. Patterson, you could always have abstained.

I'm Not Sure What to Say

Other than that this webcomic is both profound and disturbing.

The Sad State of Illinois Politics

I've long said that citizens of Illinois are disappointed, but never surprised, when we find out that yet another of our politicians is corrupt. But still...damn, a sitting governor arrested for trying to sell Barack Obama's former senate seat, among a long list of charges.

I'm not surprised at the corruption, just that the man's that stupid.

At least we'll have an open Democratic primary in 2010.

EDIT: Subject-verb agreement is a good thing.

Edify Yourself

Devilstower at DailyKos has a long but informative post up about credit default swaps and how they made the financial markets explode, spawned by the current GOP spin trying to pin the crisis on anyone but themselves. Go read it.

Thank God

Gov. Blagojevich (D-Idiot) is "not interested" in appointing himself to Obama's soon-to-be-vacant senate seat:

What the governor says he's looking for: someone who shares many of the Democratic ideals he and Obama share, including health care expansion, creating jobs, cutting taxes for working class people.

The governor said he hopes to have a decision made by New Year's, but there is no timeline.

Names being bandied about Illinois political circles include Democratic Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., Luis Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who is close to Obama. Some are promoting themselves while others are mentioned due to the offices they hold and the political landscape in 2010, when Democrats must defend the seat.

Another name mentioned is real estate executive Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend and top adviser, who could help Blagojevich with blacks, women and the White House if he seeks re-election. Yet another: Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who narrowly lost a congressional bid and now serves as Blagojevich's Department of Veterans' Affairs director.

I've read elsewhere (don't remember where, though, else I'd link it) that Mayor Daley would like nothing more than to kick Rep. Jessie Jackson Jr. into the Senate, since Jackson's been making noises about being Mayor of Chicago himself - the hope being that he'd like his new job too much to come back to Chicago and challenge Daley. If that's true, then I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen. What Daley wants, Daley gets.

Late Election Roundup

Hi there, paltry readership.

I spent my afternoon and evening as a Poll Watcher at Cunningham 5 at PAR, and then watched the returns come in at Matt's place. And, though it's been said many times already - Yay Obama!

So far, it looks like the Constitutional Convention is losing, as is the School Sales Tax - both "yay"s for me. Sadly, the City of Champaign referendum to fund general assistance did not pass.

I'm gonna vegetate for a bit, then head to bed. I may have something more profound to say later. If not, Yay!

Obama Wins Dixville Notch, NH

15 votes to 6.

(No link, I watched it on the teevee.)

Election Day is Tomorrow!

In case any of my seven readers are first-time voters, you need to bring a government-issued ID (like your I-card) and a piece of mail, i.e. a bill, listing your current address. Even if you're not a first-time voter, having these along to smack down the Republican poll watcher with is never a bad idea.

Myself, I plan to vote early, and maybe end up as a poll watcher myself at some point tomorrow. We'll see how things go.

Also, if you live in Champaign County, go find and print out your specimen ballot before you go to the polls. If you fill that out ahead of time, all you need do once you hit the polling booth is copy your ovals to the official ballot. If lots of people do that, voting will go a lot smoother.

Viral Election Funness

Via Aaron Williams, the guy who draws Nodwick (if you have to ask, you're not a gamer), comes a link to this YouTube video synchronizing the three 2008 Presidential Debates.

Of course, these guys were helped immensely by the fact that the second debate was a complete retread of the first. Can we do away with the "Town Hall" format, please? We never get anything new out of it.

About Bloody Time

The Chicago Tribune has endorsed the hometown favorite, Sen. Barack Obama, for President. From the endorsement:

This endorsement makes some history for the Chicago Tribune. This is the first time the newspaper has endorsed the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

The Tribune in its earliest days took up the abolition of slavery and linked itself to a powerful force for that cause--the Republican Party. The Tribune's first great leader, Joseph Medill, was a founder of the GOP. The editorial page has been a proponent of conservative principles. It believes that government has to serve people honestly and efficiently.

With that in mind, in 1872 we endorsed Horace Greeley, who ran as an independent against the corrupt administration of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant. (Greeley was later endorsed by the Democrats.) In 1912 we endorsed Theodore Roosevelt, who ran as the Progressive Party candidate against Republican President William Howard Taft.

The Tribune's decisions then were driven by outrage at inept and corrupt business and political leaders.

We see parallels today.

The Republican Party, the party of limited government, has lost its way. The government ran a $237 billion surplus in 2000, the year before Bush took office -- and recorded a $455 billion deficit in 2008. The Republicans lost control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006 because, as we said at the time, they gave the nation rampant spending and Capitol Hill corruption. They abandoned their principles. They paid the price.

We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party's course. We like McCain. We endorsed him in the Republican primary in Illinois. In part because of his persuasion and resolve, the U.S. stands to win an unconditional victory in Iraq.

It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush's tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message and a misguided, $300 billion proposal to buy up bad mortgages.

McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

Coming from the Tribune, that's rather damning. Combined with Secretary Colin Powell endorsing Obama this morning, this has to be a bad start to the week's news cycle for McCain.

The Sillier Side of the Election

Weebl, of Weebl and Bob, was initially swayed by Oldy McDodderington's choice of running mate, but Bob, with the help of one of Hopey McChange-Pants's rallies, was able to bring Weebl around. Go watch and be amused.

Using and Abusing Advertising Tropes

Via SusanG at DailyKos comes this video from MoveOn. It's both effective and hilarious.