NY House votes in favor of letting gay couples marry

Still has a ways to go in the NY state Senate, but still, times are a 'changing. And here's more from AP. Read the rest of this post...

Red States not doing so well on health care, wages and education

Three Democratic issues, and on each issue, the GOP states are at the bottom of the barrel. Yet they still vote Republican because stopping a gay couple from getting married matters more to them than keeping their children alive, getting them a good education, and then a good job. You deserve the government you get. Read the rest of this post...

Rudy's South Carolina Chairman indicted on cocaine charges

Wow. This is right out of a "Law and Order" episode.

Rudy's campaign chair in South Carolina, who is also the Treasurer of the state, got himself in the news today -- for an indictment. And, it's not one of those run-of-the-mill corruption indictments that the Republicans are so famous for. No, Rudy's campaign chair got himself indicted for "conspiracy to possess with the intent distribute cocaine." Yes, cocaine. Josh Marshall has more. Read the rest of this post...

New York's Mayor Bloomberg leaving the GOP

Bloomberg never was a real Republican. But he's done with the GOP according to the "City Room" blog at the NY Times:

Michael R. Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for mayor of New York City in 2001, announced this evening that he is changing his party status and registering as an independent. Mr. Bloomberg maintained that “my plans for the future haven’t changed,” but his decision — the first change in party affiliation by a sitting New York City mayor since 1971, when John V. Lindsay switched from Republican to Democrat — immediately set off intense speculation that he will enter the 2008 presidential race as an independent.

I'd say the speculation is real after this. Read the rest of this post...

Army considering extending tours in Iraq again to - get this - give the troops more time at home

AP

The Army is considering whether it will have to extend the combat tours of troops in Iraq if President Bush opts to maintain the recent buildup of forces through spring 2008....

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren testified Tuesday that.... the decision to extend tours from 12 to 15 months was made to ensure soldiers were guaranteed one year at home. Previously, soldiers deployed for 12-month cycles but were unsure when they would be sent back.

Yes, we're going to extend their tours AGAIN so that they get more time at home. Kind of like saying, I have to work late tonight so I can spend more time with the kids. Here's a thought, why not just bring them home?

I also hear that the increased violence means we're winning. Read the rest of this post...

Killing the democracy brand

As I've noted before, the U.S. political efforts in the Middle East have all but destroyed the very idea of democracy for much of the developing world, in addition to, of course, helping nascent democracies tumble headlong into anarchy. Remember the Arab Spring? Remember how elections in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories were supposed to bring peace, prosperity, and ponies to the region? It turns out that democracy requires more than voting, and certainly more than voting coupled with illiberal internal policies and external meddling.

Democracy requires institutions, infrastructure, security, and other structural factors. Shamefully, the U.S. has helped undermine many of these factors in the very places we held up as examples not so long ago. The disaster in Gaza is just the latest example.

Juan Cole gets right to the point, as usual:

The events of the past few days have driven a nail into the coffin of Bush's "democratization" program for the "Greater Middle East." The Haniyah Hamas government had come to power in free and fair elections, but was immediately boycotted, starved of resources, and actually often simply kidnapped by the Israelis; and is now being put out of office in a kind of coup. The people of the Arab world are not blind or stupid. If this is what the "Greater Middle East" looks like, it will too closely resemble, for their taste, the colonial 19th century, When Europeans dictated government to Middle Easterners.

I'm extremely skeptical of the idea that if the U.S. and Israel prop up Abbas and Fatah in the West Bank the Palestinians will see how much better life is under Fatah than Hamas; Fatah has basically controlled the territories for years and the population wasn't very happy, so for the U.S. to belatedly endorse Fatah and support it will reek of colonialism. No puppet government will have legitimacy, and Hamas can claim -- rightly -- that they were never given the ability to govern. That way Hamas gets to keep power in Gaza, maintain its popularity as fighters against Palestinian oppression, and avoid any actual responsibility for governance. Not exactly a recipe for diminishing their power or popularity.

This is also bad for Israel down the road:

What has happened is not good for Israel in the medium to long term, since I suspect it signals the end of the possibility of a viable Palestinian state. And, if you don't have a two-state solution, ultimately the likelihood is that Israel will be stuck with the Palestinians as citizens.

I certainly hope it does not mean the end of two-state viability, and things can change quickly in this situation. But the indicators are bad, and unlikely to be improved by the current administration. Read the rest of this post...

US ambassador to Iraq says Iraqis on verge of key oil deal

AP

Crocker said the Iraqis also are frustrated with their slow progress but are "very close" to agreement on a plan for managing the country's oil production and share resources.

Uh huh. Let's see if the Iraqi Parliament passes the "on the verge of being completed" oil bill before they leave for their two-month vacation for all of July and August while our troops are dying for their not-much-deserved freedom.

Read the rest of this post...

78 killed by bombing at Baghdad mosque

No comment necessary. Read the rest of this post...

Justice Dept expands investigation of GOP Senator Stevens

Seems my old boss is in increasingly hot water. Read the rest of this post...

AFSCME's Presidential Candidates Forum

So, I'm at the Wardman Park Marriott watching AFSCME's Presidential Candidates Forum. It's part of the union's first leadership conference. They're training 2,000 leaders who will go back home to train an additional 40,000 members to work on the 2008 elections. The event is also live on MSNBC. (I'll be updating this post after each speaker)

The first speaker was Bill Richardson who got a good reception. Kucinich actually got the crowd pretty riled up. The next three speakers are: Clinton, Edwards and Obama.

So the rest of the morning should be interesting. AFSCME is a major union that knows how to play politics. This morning's NY Times reported that, no surprise, the candidates really want that endorsement:

The union is not expected to endorse a candidate until the fall; a senior adviser to Mrs. Clinton said her campaign was “working Afscme hard,” and the same goes for other candidates.

Hilllary Clinton got a good reception. She sure knows how to answer questions. But, like many candidates, she constantly refers to "the current administration" or "this administration." That's such inside D.C. talk. Call them by name: The Bush administration or the Bush/Cheney administration, please.

But, the bigger question is why is Chris Matthews the moderator? He is as annoying in person as he is on t.v. -- and how does he make it about him?

Edwards seems very comfortable with this audience -- and the audience is very comfortable and supportive of him. Edwards just seems so much more natural these days -- he wants to be President to make sure everybody has the chances he's had. He says a lot with that line.

Haven't seen Obama in person for awhile. He gives a great stump speech. His introductory remarks went over very well with the audience. Seems like he's gotten better at answering questions, too. Confident. Great response from the crowd.

So another Presidential forum is over. It's going to be a long six months til the voters actually start voting. It's interesting to see in person...to gauge the response from activists. And, AFSCME has a crowd of hard core activists who get politics -- and who genuinely seem happy with the crop of candidates. Read the rest of this post...

Republicans are trying to ditch Bush before 2008 elections

According to the Politico, Republicans are trying to create a distance between themselves and their leader, George Bush:

Now that those sympathies have somewhat cooled, the effects are visible: Republican House members upset about immigration policy have spoken of Bush in disparaging terms. And presidential contenders like Rudy Giuliani are striking change-the-course themes in their rhetoric, even while continuing to back Bush over the Iraq war.

The change, say GOP operatives, is the absence of fear about being perceived as something less than an ardent Bush backer. "What's the penalty now, Karl being mad at you?" Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio asked with a laugh, referring to Bush political adviser Karl Rove. "Who cares? Even his former chief strategist (Matthew Dowd) walked away from him and pissed all over him."

Who cares about Karl Rove. Wow, how the mighty have fallen.

Obviously, part of the 2008 GOP election strategy for presidential and congressional candidates alike is to pretend they don't own George Bush. They'll need the distance to have any chance of success. Our job is to make sure that George Bush is draped around all of their necks. They created the monster. They own him. There will be no distance. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Busy week. And, it's hot, hot, hot and humid in D.C.

This morning, I'm heading over to AFSCME's presidential forum, which will be covered live on MSNBC. I be live blogging from that event this morning...and will post anything interesting.

What do we need to know? Read the rest of this post...

Taliban takes new territory in fighting

Bad news from Afghanistan today, as the Taliban continues to press on and take new ground.

Taliban militants overran a district in southern Afghanistan and are pushing for control of another key area, sparking fierce clashes with NATO and Afghan forces that have left more than 100 people dead over three days, officials said Tuesday.

Where is the political leadership in the White House that we used to hear so much about? Read the rest of this post...

Afghanistan and Iraq push up refugee count

After a five year decline in refugees, the rate is increasing again with Afghanistan and Iraq at the top of the list. In total, the UN estimates 9.9 million refugees around the world. Read the rest of this post...

Blair thrashed by MPs, remains in denial

His last meetings with fellow Members of Parliament will be remembered by Blair, as they asked him tough questions and blasted him for souring the world on future interventionist policies. While Bush lives in a bubble, to the end, Blair remains in denial and still believes in the possibilities of intervention in Darfur as well as "varying degrees of enthusiasm" for his policies.

And finally, spinning until the very end, Blair tries to squirm out of the latest report on his failures in Iraq.

He dismissed reports claiming he had warned before the invasion that there had been insufficient preparations. "I wasn't warning about the lack of preparation, I was saying it was important that we were prepared," he told the MPs.

Uh huh, right. His arrogance continues. Read the rest of this post...