TiVo Alert!

Tonite is President Lame Duck's final State of the Union Address. No, I don't actually suggest recording, or even watching it. But I will savor it. And I'm sure tomorrow, I will make fun of it...



The Democratic response comes from Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (who incidentally, will be endorsing Obama tomorrow). She should save her breath. As soon as Bush finishes his tired act, the Dems should just have somebody ready at all 300 viewers' front doors and hand them a printout of this

UPDATE: Oh! And don't forget to watch for Michael Chertoff's Swedish Chef impersonation. You'll know it when you see it.

Huckabee Undone?

"Governor Huckabee? Chuck Norris called, he wants his fist back."

Wow. If this shit came down against a Democratic governor, they'd be finished in their pursuit of the White House. The GOP and the media would have a field day with this...

Documents Expose Huckabee's Role In Serial Rapist's Release
December 4, 2007 11:18 PM

Little Rock, Ark -- As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee aggressively pushed for the early release of a convicted rapist despite being warned by numerous women that the convict had sexually assaulted them or their family members, and would likely strike again. The convict went on to rape and murder at least one other woman.

Now, by all accounts, Mike Huckabee seems to be a nice guy. A Republican I could live with. Sure his rejection of evolution makes him intelectually unqualified for office, but he's not the guy I wanted to see hoisted like this. And in general I don't necessarily like holding governors accountable for the actions of more or less anonymous, unrelated criminals...

But this one is a bit different that the classic examples of the past (ie: Dukakis).

First, there was little question about this guy's danger to the public. He was a serial rapist, and had even been involved in a prior murder. Huckabee's office had been warned repeatedly by the victims of this rapist, Wayne Dumond, that he would not leave witnesses next time.

He didn't. Twice.

That's bad enough, but what makes it worse is that Huckabee is actively lying about the course of events now, and his staff has engaged in covering up his involvement and knowledge for years.

But the kicker? It all comes down to the Clintons. Yes, that's right. Back in the nineties the GOP was so fucking obsessed with Bill Clinton, that when one of his distant relatives, a 17 year old girl, was raped at knifepoint by Dumond the right wing machine leapt into action:

In 1996, as a newly elected governor who had received strong support from the Christian right, Huckabee was under intense pressure from conservative activists to pardon Dumond or commute his sentence. The activists claimed that Dumond's initial imprisonment and various other travails were due to the fact that Ashley Stevens, the high school cheerleader he had raped, was a distant cousin of Bill Clinton, and the daughter of a major Clinton campaign contributor.

And Huckabee complied. Fucking disgraceful. Huckabee recieved written pleas from several victims including a woman who was raped with her three year old daughter in the bed. Need more? He also recieved a letter from the since-grown daughter.

Dumond got a chance to rape and kill at least two other women before being re-apprehended in Missouri. All because along the way he accidentallly dragged the Clintons into it.

UPDATE: More from Kos and Carpetbagger, but nowhere in the mainstream...

SECOND UPDATE: Via Andrew Sullivan, Huckabee addresses the Dumond situation. Sullivan finds it candid, even compelling. I don't. Especially considering the active role he and his staff took trying to suppress the truth by hiding the letters in his archives beyond the reach of FOIA, and because he cannot even express his regret without blaming Bill Clinton:

"It was a horrible situation, horrible, I feel awful about it in every way. I wish that there was some way I could go back and reverse the clock and put him back in prison. But nobody, not me, not Jim Guy Tucker, not Bill Clinton, not that parole board, could ever imagine what might have transpired."

"Nobody could imagine...?" I'm sick to death of that excuse from Republicans, aren't you? You didn't have to imagine. It was in writing. On your desk. Sent to you by the parole board. And you chose to ignore it, act on Dumond's behalf, and push for his release anyway. Shut the fuck up.

Dick of the Week: John McCain

From the Carpetbagger:

Obviously, presidential candidates aren’t responsible for comments made by their supporters. Candidates are, however, responsible for showing a little class. It’s apparently something that John McCain has forgotten.

At a campaign event in South Carolina, a McCain backer stood up to ask the senator, “How do we beat the bitch?”

In response, McCain said, “We have our differences with our Democratic rivals, but I believe in treating people with respect. It’s why I don’t refer to women as ‘bitches,’ even when I disagree with them. I’m sure all of us believe we can debate the serious issues of the day without name-calling and degrading language.”

No, no, I’m just kidding. He actually responded, “That’s an excellent question.”

You have to see it to believe it...


I love the follow-up, “John, she’s talking about my ex-wife!”

ROTFLMAO! That might even be construed as spousal abuse! Hysterical!

First of all, I was initially shocked that the question came from a woman, though I suppose she felt "innoculated." But seriously, is that the kind of comment people feel comfortable making in a high-powered meeting with a Presidential candidate? Who fucking does that? And the room reacts with uproarious laughter?

In any normal room a comment like that goes over like a lead balloon. With most people being, like, "what did she just say?"

But not McCain. After has to composing himself from laughing, he then treats it as a perfectly valid, no, an "Excellent" question...in front of a camera no less.

He's lucky the next question wasn't about Obama.

Somehow I don’t think the next Rasmussen poll will have you up three points, Senator. Stay classy!