Burned Out

I am coming off a deadline at work and heading right back into two more, so action will be sporadic at best 'round here.

But, I have to be honest...I'm pretty fucking despondent about politics right now, and have zero interest in documenting the daily dismantling of what's left of our democracy.

For the record, today it was Chris Dodd's strangling financial reform in the crib.

[h/t John Cole]

"Get a Brain Moran!"

"[link] The half of my family who voted for Obama are for Brown," said Dennis Sheehan, an electrical technician from Lowell, who cheered the Senate candidate outside a Boston Bruins game. "They felt sold out. He said he'd bring the whole country together. I've never seen the country so divided in my life, and I grew up in the '60s, with Vietnam."

Yeah. And that's Obama's fault. And this will help.

This election is turning into The Darwin Awards.

Worthless

Sullivan:

...if the Dems can't hold Teddy's seat, what use are they? What you see here is the fathomless awfulness of the Democrats. Too fractured and listless to get a solid health insurance bill through both Houses in anything like the time they wanted, too disorganized to make a strong and coherent case for their proposal, led by charisma-free walking corpses like Harry "your dog is fat" Reid and Speaker Pelosi whose political skills do not extend to persuading anyone of anything, they really are the reason so many of us cannot apply that partisan label to ourselves, even when we believe Obama is the best thing this country has going for it politically right now.

But losing Kennedy's seat is a near-epic failure. If health reform fails, it will be because of a fatal combination of Democratic hubris and Democratic weakness. They just won the presidency and both Houses. And this is what they manage? Really, who wants to belong or support a party this goddamn useless?

I think he's too hard on Pelosi—because she's a woman, and he's Andrew Sullivan—but, yeah, that's pretty much how I'll feel if they lose that seat and everything falls apart.

Miscellany

I STILL WANT HIM ON MY TEAM
Half the lefty blogosphere, including our good friend, Toast, have their panties in a bunch over Matt Taibbi's latest Obama-beatdown in Rolling Stone. It's not Taibbi's best article—and I say that because I was unable to get through it—and he seems to have botched and/or stretched some things to make a point, but count me with John Cole and Kevin Drum, and then John Cole on Drum—Taibbi's larger point handily outweighs any flaws in the article, and focusing only on Taibbi's scatological writing style or the disputed "facts" is really missing the forest. As for Tim Fernholz's "takedown" of Taibbi, I'm not so impressed, and I counter with Felix Salmon, or Taibbi himself.

Let me repeat something I said at Toast's (again):

I have a high tolerance/threshold for Taibbi's style and his conclusions and implications—even if speculative and ultimately proven wrong.

Why?

Because he and NPR's This American Life seem to be the only two entities in the whole of the fucking media that care enough to look into this stuff at all.

And he is one of the very few columnists with a national outlet (RS) that is attacking the Administration from the left.

Does Taibbi drive too fast and have his eyes closed some of the time? Sure. But he's a useful balance to the rest of the fucking establishment media that won't even take the car out of the garage.

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POTY > POTUS
August J Pollak thinks TIME is going to name Sarah Palin its "Person of the Year." Much as that thought makes me want to retch, he makes a good case. Losing works out nicely for Palin, I suppose—fame, $$$ and attention without actually having to do anything or have responsibilities...

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WORTHLESS
The House passed a "sweeping financial regulation" the other day, though, several Democrats jumped ship to scrap a key component designed to help ordinary citizens—the "cram-down" provision:

Republicans were successful in killing an amendment sought by housing advocates that would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to rewrite terms of mortgages so borrowers could remain in their homes. Judges can do this for second or vacation homes, luxury yachts and other areas where consumer debt is involved, but current laws prohibit reworking the terms of first mortgages.

Numerous Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in defeating this amendment — sometimes referred to as a cram-down provision, since judges could impose terms on banks — on the grounds that it could weaken bank finances and represented too steep a change from current practice.

And they did it without a Lieberman of their own... Since banks getting slowly paid off on a mortgage at a lower rate is less short-term profitable than foreclosing on people now, it had to go.* Even though in the long run it would probably be better for everyone—banks included—and would actually, you know, allow people remain in their homes? Pathetic. Especially since this has already cleared the House before.

*What was Matt Taibbi thinking—there's no banking conspiracy...

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RICKEY LIVES
I was about to take the slackers at ATK to task for the paucity of posts over there—even with the big free agent signing of Mr. Henderson, when I decided to check Rickey's previously moribund site—lo and behold—Rickey's back from the grave and ready to party.

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UNGOVERNABLE
Matt Yglesias explains the current state of the union... Pretty tough to disagree.

Stocking the Cabinet

I'm not generally in favor of poaching the current Democratic team for Administration players, but I can get behind this move:

A transition official for President-elect Barack Obama says Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar will be named Interior Secretary later this week.

[...] Salazar is a first-term Colorado Senator who has established a name for himself on public lands and energy resources issues. He headed the Colorado Natural Resources Department from 1990 through 1994. The Interior Department has broad oversight over the nation's energy resources and environment. It oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation's parks and wildlife refuges.

I don't know anything about Salazar's record as an environmentalist, but I trust the Obama team's judgement there...I DO KNOW he fucking sucks as a Democratic Senator—so this is win-win as far as I'm concerned.

GG4AG

It would never happen, but Glenn Greenwald might be the best man for the job as Obama's Attorney General. Watch Bill Moyers' interview with Greenwald here—fascinating, invigorating, yet ultimately disappointing, because no politician—Obama included—is bold or brave enough to do what it takes.

Weak

It's Official: Lieberman Keeps Homeland Security Chairmanship
Senator Harry Reid just spoke to reporters after the private caucus meeting with Dems over Joe Lieberman's fate, and he confirmed it: Lieberman will not be stripped of his Homeland Security chairmanship, because the "vast majority" of the Democratic caucus wants him to stay.

"This was not a time for retribution," Reid said, adding that "we're moving forward."

Lieberman was removed from the Environment and Public Works Committee, a largely meaningless punishment since it's a topic (unlike Homeland Security) on which he has no differences with Dems.

Asked about liberal "anger" towards Lieberman, Reid said: "I pretty well understand anger. I would defy anyone to be more angry than I was."

Really Harry? Then you haven't talked to anyone besides the bunch of pussies in that chamber with you or the Sunday morning morons.

The party faithful—the people who just busted ass to deliver the White House and both Houses of Congress by wide margins—were plenty pissed off. We rightfully expected some leadership on this, and despite your and JoeLie's portrayal of this as simply a vendetta, this was actually a decision to be based on governance. Lieberman was an utter failure at his oversight job, and acted against the interest of the party, Constitution and the country. He should be removed. Period.

You "defy anyone to be more angry?" My fucking socks were more angry than you.

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The only possible silver lining scenarios in this:

1. Obama gave cover for this to happen. I think it was a mistake, but he's made me look stupid every time I've second-guessed him. If this is part of a master plan of his, then I assume he can handle Lieberman.
2. This should serve as a clarion call that despite the election, it is business as usual in Washington with the Democrats and I think people need to be snapped out of the election afterglow and be reminded of that fact.
3. Renewed focus on Reid's impotence as Majority Leader. He's awful.
4. Lieberman is hopefully marginalized. He has nothing to bitch about now, and no reason to run to FOX as a martyr.

UPDATE: Excellent point from 'Shift:

If Obama had said nothing and the Dems rolled over for Joe, then Joe owes Obama nothing. As it is, the same thing happened that would have happened anyway, but now Joe is publicly acknowledged to be beholden to Obama. That has more value than the nothing Obama would've had otherwise.

More and BETTER Democrats, Indeed

More balls than 105 current Democratic Representatives...



Pay attention, Senator Obama.

UPDATE That's the video she shot, but she accompanied it with this:

Honestly, I don't understand why at this point any member of Congress would think it was a good idea to give George Bush the power to grant immunity to anyone he wants around warrantless wiretapping - and to cover all tracks in the process. George Bush has proven, over and over again, that he cannot be trusted to uphold either the letter or the spirit of the laws that protect the people of the United States from the abuse of our government.

I have my thoughts about that, but I'll have to get to it later.

I Might Be Moving, But I Haven't Packed My Shitlist Yet

Tomorrow seems to be the day when Steny Hoyer and the House Democrats sell-out on Telcom Immunity in a "compromise bill" that actually gives the President everything he asked for.

Livid doesn't begin to describe me.

Steny Hoyer and any Democrat that supports this is fucking dead to me. Done. I will will join the thousands of bloggers/online people who have already poured $225,000 to fund challengers for Hoyer and the rest of these motherfuckers.

Soon-to-be-President Obama, it is time to lead your party. You have long held the right position on this, but that ain't good enough. As the party's Presidential nominee, you have the power to impact this.

Now.

Do it.

Not simply a vote "NO" next week when this is in the Senate, but a forceful fucking stand. These cowardly fucks need the Lieberman treatment—let them all know that you—and the rest of us—are paying attention. Remind them that Hillary Clinton's War Vote bit her in the ass five years down the road.

Prove to me that you are actually CHANGE I CAN BELIEVE IN.

[As usual Greenwald has the ugly details]