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Cheney and Powell argue over al Qaida/Saddam link
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 23:20:16 EDT
Seriously. If this administration is going to lie, can they at least get their story straight? Is that too much to ask? Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said Monday that Saddam Hussein had "long-established ties" with al Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers.
The vice president offered no details backing up his claim of a link between Saddam and al Qaida.
"He was a patron of terrorism," Cheney said of Hussein during a speech before The James Madison Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Florida. "He had long established ties with al Qaida." These claims, made Monday night, are quite curious, especially since frickin' Colin Powell has admitted there was no such link! Secretary of State Colin L. Powell conceded Thursday that despite his assertions to the United Nations last year, he had no "smoking gun" proof of a link between the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and terrorists of Al Qaeda.
"I have not seen smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection," Mr. Powell said, in response to a question at a news conference. "But I think the possibility of such connections did exist, and it was prudent to consider them at the time that we did."
Mr. Powell's remarks on Thursday were a stark admission that there is no definitive evidence to back up administration statements and insinuations that Saddam Hussein had ties to Al Qaeda, the acknowledged authors of the Sept. 11 attacks. Although President Bush finally acknowledged in September that there was no known connection between Mr. Hussein and the attacks, the impression of a link in the public mind has become widely accepted ? and something administration officials have done little to discourage. The war is going to shit and dragging Bush's numbers down with it. The last desperate hope of this administration is to continue stoking public perception of a link between al Qaida and Saddam.
But really, isn't this all rather pathetic and bordering on the pathological?
Bush Administration :: Link & Discuss (8 comments)
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House races in Ohio looking up
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 19:25:32 EDT
It was only two months ago that I had gotten a most pessimistic outlook on our Ohio House challengers. Talking to several people in the Ohio Democratic Party establishment, word was that none of the incumbents from either party were really threatened. And without any open seat battles, Ohio's only political question mark was the presidential race.
Two months later, it seems Ohio Dems are feeling a bit more optimistic, especially about three specific races, Ben Konop in the 4th CD, Jane Mitakides in the 3rd, and Jeff Seemann in the 16th.
Coincidentally or not, these three candidates all advertised on Daily Kos, while Seemann has had a strong presence on the site since Day 1 of his candidacy. And while this site's influence is debatable -- most important for Seemann, less important for the other two -- it does suggest that their online aggressiveness is matched by aggressiveness in their offline campaigning. And aggressiveness oftentimes leads to results.
It's no mystery that the Ohio economy is in shambles, and these three candidates are making the most of the Republican-made disaster to improve their chances from "longshots" to "races to watch".
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Ben Konop
Two months ago I was told he had no organization, was over his head, too young, no local support, heavy Republican district, and all around lost cause.
So I was surprised to hear his name come up, with no prompting, this time around -- "The kid has gotten it together". To be sure, this is still a heavy Republican district, but long-time ethically-challenged incumbent Michael Oxley is apparently not his usual lock, and state Dems are starting to pay closer attention to the race.
One local media bigwig wrote me: Oxley's problem is that he has lived in a million plus dollar home at 7629 Huntmaster Lane in Mclean, Virginia for the last 18 years. During much of that time, his wife, Pat, has sold northern Virginia real estate from Mclean's Weichert office. One of his republican primary candidates shamed Oxley into buying a tiny condo last election, but it's doubtful he's ever set foot in it. It's a wonderful campaign issue. There is another ballot issue involving the closure of a large prison in Allen County, called Lima Correctional Institution. Nearly 500 people lost their jobs and the employees are convinced Oxley didn't do much of anything to stop the closure. They've rallied around Ben and crossed over in the primaries, doubling the democratic vote in the county.
The union's president is very much in Ben's corner and is also a good friend of mine. There are a half-dozen other facilities in the district which are strong potential supporters as well. The most powerful and popular men in three of Ben's counties have agreed to campaign for him-a republican, a democrat and an independent. This was a race that was considered a joke, but sentiments are changing.
(My previous writeup on this race.)
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Jane Mitakides
This was always considered one of the better Dem challenges, though the state Dem establishment wasn't too optimistic about the race. However, Mitakides raised over $127K in the last quarter, and word is her fundraising is still kicking. And Mitakides benefits from running in a district that Bush won only by seven points.
(My previous writeup on this race.)
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Jeff Seemann
If Mitakides was well-intentioned but destined to lose, and if Konop was a hopeless cause, Seemann was little more than a joke. He spent most of the early part of the year flailing as he sought attention -- any kind of attention -- to kickstart his moribund campaign.
His lucky break arose out of my own unfortunate "gaffe". As candidates like Mitakides ran from the "Kos controversy" -- my caustic anti-mercenary remarks in the wake of the fallujah killings -- Seemann saw an opportunity to raise his profile. His timely Blogad purchase garnered him real money -- in the tens of thousands, along with two appearances on Air America's Majority Report. And as I've mentioned before, early money begets more money.
Suddenly, Seemann was able to hire a staff, and that staff has garnered rave reviews from Ohio Dems. Throw in a district whose job picture is deteriorating by the second (thousands of jobs lost in the Timken and Hoover plant closings), and suddenly we have helped position a candidate to take advantage of a suddenly troubled incumbent.
(My previous writeup on the race.)
**
To be sure, all three of these candidates are considered longshots. But we have gone from a situation where none of the Ohio Dem challengers were seen as winners, to one where three are considered possible contenders.
It's still early, and in this case, that's a good thing. If the elections were held tomorrow, none of the three would win. But all three are laying a solid foundation and can no longer be discounted as hopeless causes.
House Elections 2004 :: Link & Discuss (36 comments)
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Prosecutor moves on file theft investigation
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 17:52:41 EDT
Who can keep track of all the investigations into Republican misdeeds these days?
Well, here's one that was just about forgotten (subscription required): Manhattan's top federal prosecutor has personally opened negotiations with Senate officials to acquire evidence from the Judiciary Committee's stolen memo case and is beginning to interview witnesses.
David Kelley, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has been talking to the Senate's Legal Counsel in recent weeks in order to craft the necessary resolution to obtain the evidence from a nearly four-month investigation into how GOP staffers improperly accessed more than 4,500 memos penned by Judiciary Democrats.
All documents, witness testimony and computer evidence from that internal probe, completed by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Pickle in early March, are still in the possession of the Senate. A resolution approved by the Senate is required to transfer the evidence to Kelley, who was assigned the case by Justice Department officials in Washington eager to steer clear of any potential conflicts of interest in the case. By the way, "improperly accessed" is neutral journalism-speak for "stole".
Republicans :: Link & Discuss (41 comments)
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Russo Marsh & Rogers
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 12:56:20 EDT
Another wholesale ripoff of an Atrios post: For a while, I ignored this stupid anti-Moore site. Sometimes, writing about something just gives it a higher profile.
But other times, it's necessary to fight fire with fire.
Media :: Link & Discuss (184 comments)
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State Department cooks the books
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 12:45:12 EDT
As previously discussed, the State Department had to retract their terrorism report after it was clear it had undercounted the number of terrorism attacks in 2003.
Powell hit the Sunday news shows to argue that the undercount was not politically motivated. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that a State Department report claiming a global decline in terrorist incidents last year was a "big mistake," but he said there was no intent to "cook the books" for political purposes.
Powell said during appearances on Sunday talk shows that the State Department was working with the CIA to determine what went wrong.
"It's a numbers error," Powell said on ABC's "This Week." "It's not a political judgment that said, 'Let's see if we can cook the books.' We can't get away with that now." Aside from the tacit admissions that they, once upon a time, could get away with cooking the books for political gain (say, in the runup to Bush's War), Powell is full of it.
When the report was originally issued, it was released to much fanfare. When the most recent "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report was issued April 29, senior Bush administration officials immediately hailed it as objective proof that they were winning the war on terrorism. The report is considered the authoritative yardstick of the prevalence of terrorist activity around the world.
"Indeed, you will find in these pages clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" against global terrorism, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said during a celebratory rollout of the report. In other words, the report was used to justify the administration's anti-terrorism policies and earn political points.
If the "mistake" is truly unintentional, and truly non-political, then the State Department will issue more than an apology, and will stage a press conference to admit that, as a matter of fact, the administration's terror policies are not working.
I won't hold my breath.
Bush Administration :: Link & Discuss (37 comments)
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Retired diplomats, military VIPs call for Bush's ouster
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 10:44:13 EDT
It's no secret why Bush had to beg the Pope for help last week -- he's losing the confidence of people back home. The latest hit? A new group called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of former Bush I, Reagan, and Clinton officials who are fed up with the incompetent Bush's failed presidency. Among the group are 20 ambassadors, appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents, other former State Department officials and military leaders whose careers span three decades.
Prominent members include retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East during the administration of Bush's father; retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., ambassador to Britain under President Clinton and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Reagan; and Jack F. Matlock Jr., a member of the National Security Council under Reagan and ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991.
"We agreed that we had just lost confidence in the ability of the Bush administration to advocate for American interests or to provide the kind of leadership that we think is essential," said William C. Harrop, the first President Bush's ambassador to Israel, and earlier to four African countries. Soon, only the religious conservatives will be left with Bush.
General 2004 :: Link & Discuss (171 comments)
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Open Thread
by kos
Mon Jun 14th, 2004 at 02:11:40 EDT
Just a reminder that I'll be harrassing y'all with the dKos 8 webathon all month.
This is the most important fundraising quarter of the political season. This is when campaigns will seperate the contenders from the pretenders.
Every dollar raised now goes to the important stuff -- field organizing and fundraising. Your dollars in the fall will go to television advertising. Necessary, perhaps, but not the place were small dollar donations make the biggest impact. If you want your money to make a real difference, now is the time to donate it.
A dollar raised before the end of this month is likely worth two dollars in late summer, and three dollars in the fall. Or more. The Jim Newberry campaign was able to turn $4,000 in Blogad revenue into $20,000. (Read about it in this Salon piece. The relevant portion is on page three.)
We'll have a new dKos 8 endorsement tomorrow. For now, the current five endorsements are: Richard Morrison (House-TX)
Stan Matsunaka (House-CO)
Jim Stork (House-FL)
Tony Knowles (Senate-AK)
Nancy Farmer (Senate-MO) I'm currently working on a dKos 8 information page to pull in posts about each of the endorsed candidates in one handy page.
Open Threads :: Link & Discuss (95 comments)
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NBA Finals Open Thread: Motown Edition
by DHinMI
Sun Jun 13th, 2004 at 22:48:04 EDT
So, did it help or hurt that the long-time Lakers asked Phil Jackson to start Fox and Fisher over Malone and Payton? Are the Lakers getting screwed by the refs, or are the Pistons earning their trips to the foul line? And some questions about my home town:
Kid Rock or Eminem?
Faygo or Strohs?
Aretha Franklin or Betty Carter?
Stooges or MC5?
Meg White or Renee Zellweger?
Smokey Robinson or Jackie Wilson?
Ilitch or Davidson?
68 Tigers or 84 Tigers?
Stevie Y or Gordie Howe?
Zeke or Big Ben?
Open Threads :: Link & Discuss (124 comments)
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The Yellin Report-June 13, 2004
by MrLiberal
Sun Jun 13th, 2004 at 19:40:58 EDT
Hey Kossacks,
Due to having my finals exams coming up, I've been busy studying, and so have been unable to write any articles (although I did finish my House Races analysis, which will be going up on the new site). Since my last article (in May), a great deal of important events have occured in the Congressional and Gubenatorial races in this country. We'll be covering events from all across the country in the last month. So, without further ado, here's today's Yellin Report:
General 2004 :: There's more... (49 comments, 1377 words in story)
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