The Plank (Free subscription) | 10/15/2009
The ‘Civilian Surge’ Myth: Stop Pretending That the U.S. Can Actually Nation-Build , by Steven Metz A Geek Grows in Brooklyn: Jonathan Lethem and the Disappearing Line Between High and Low Art , by William Deresiewicz From Supreme Allied Commander to … Ethanol Lobbyist? The Strange Journey of Wesley Clark. by Lydia DePillis Scheiber: Was Wall Street Safer in the Hands of Stodgy...
A Plain Blog About Politics (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Lots of talk this week about the possibility of General Petraeus as a Republican nominee for president, with this Peter Beinart column getting everyone talking. As Yglesias says , the points about GOP politics are probably more worthwhile than the specific possibility of Petraeus running (for reasons that Massie and McKinnon discuss -- basically, there's no evidence that Petraeus wants it, there's...
The Plank (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Alex Massie gives eight reasons why Petraeus is unlikely to run for president in 2012--and why, if he does, he's even more unlikely to win. Four of those reasons can be summed up in two words: Wes Clark. 4. As a general rule, outsiders don't fare too well in the political arena . Eisenhower is an exception, not the rule. And in any case, we're a long way from 1952 and America is a very different,...
Right in a Left World (Free subscription) | 10/06/2009
Early in the stages of the Iraq ‘Surge,’ three retired liberal generals banded together in opposition to President Bush. Wesley Clark, John Batiste, and Paul Eaton put their heads together and issued a stern condemnation of President Bush with their “words of warning.” Clark said, “The fact is, this president never listened to the soldiers on the ground. The problem is...
A Plain Blog About Politics (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
I don't really share Neil Sinhababu's utter contempt for Dick Gephardt. But still, the last reporting on the former House Dem leader's lobbying career ( here's Frank Ric h and, via Neil, a Nation piece ) is hard to square with the idea of Gephardt as a great liberal leader. Which leads me to: Was the field of candidates for the 2004 Democratic nomination for president the worst ever? Do they all look...
The Bridge (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
General Wesley Clark, one-time presidential candidate and decorated war veteran, will speak at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Oct. 17 for the Kentucky Democratic Party. Other scheduled speakers include Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Reps. Ben Chandler of Versailles and John...
The Bridge (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
The Kentucky Democratic Party invites you to join General Wesley Clark Governor Steve Beshear Congressman Ben Chandler Congressman John Yarmuth and Special Guests for the 2009 Kentucky Democratic Party Jefferson/Jackson Dinner Saturday, October 17, 2009 Red Mile Race Track Lexington,...
e.politics: online advocacy tools & (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
The most fascinating aspect the fallout from South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You Lie” moment during Barack Obama’s healthcare speech? What it reveals about the changed world of politics in an internet age. Since Wednesday evening, Democratic and liberal organizations, websites and email-list-owners ranging from Daily Kos to Wesley Clark to MoveOn to the the [...]
Triple Pundit (Free subscription) | 09/07/2009
The National Clean Energy Summit 2.0, sponsored by Senate Major Leader Harry Reid, UNLV, and the Center for American Progress took place last month in Las Vegas, and boasted an impressive roster of participants like President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, General Wesley Clark, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and several others. The event was [...]
Quigley (Free subscription) | 08/25/2009
Judging Soldiers By Bernie Quigley - for The Hill on 8/25/09 I noticed that when one of the major papers asked different people this morning whether President Obama should follow up on Attorney General Eric Holder’s report of CIA abuses, they asked a variety of self-appointed “watch” groups for their opinions with fairly predictable results. Obama should investigate but soldiers and...
The Business Insider (Free subscription) | 08/10/2009
Leading up to the vote on the climate bill, 1,150 business and interest groups lobbied Congress on climate issues, spending an estimated $27 million or more, according to a report from watchdog group , the Center For Public Integrity. Of that, 460 of the lobbying groups were formed in the second quarter of this year, just to focus on shaping the bill. Everyone got in on the lobbying action from universities...
post-gazette.com (Free subscription) | 08/10/2009
Timothy McNulty | August 10, 2009 Retired Navy admiral Joe Sestak got the Senate endorsement today of VoteVets, a progressive veterans group advised by Democrats including Wesley Clark and Bob Kerrey. Here's their news release : WASHINGTON - The largest progressive group of veterans in America, with over 105,000 veterans and civilian supporters, today endorsed Congressman and Afghanistan Veteran Joe...
No Oil for Pacifists (Free subscription) | 07/17/2009
As a follow-up to this quote , here's Chris Palko on The Next Right : One of the overlooked downsides to the electoral wipeout the Republican Party has endured in the past two election cycles is how those elections have drastically shrunk the amount of Republicans who are nationally prominent. Without the Presidency, and the loss of Governors, Senators, and Representatives, there aren't very many potential...
Seaspook's Rants (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
Remember the recent story about the alleged copy of Obama's Kenyan birth certificate for sale on eBay ? Well it seems eBay kept deleting it and the seller would re-list it, but I think he finally gave up. I certainly never held any hope this was the real thing, but the thing that strikes me is that liberal moonbat Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder, billionaire and Obama appointee won't take the slightest...
Crooks and Liars (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
One of the problems with trying to track the flood of wingnuttery emitted daily by Rush Limbaugh is that there's so much of it, and it's so ceaseless, that one becomes overwhelmed trying to keep up with it. But there's been a thread in his commentary this past week that's particularly dangerous, and it needs calling out. It began on Monday, after the military coup in Honduras. Limbaugh went on the...
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