Wisconsin Governor Walker’s spokesperson granted immunity in corruption probe

Via TPM, Wispolitics reports:

Gov. Scott Walker's spokesman is one of three witnesses who have been granted immunity in an ongoing John Doe investigation that includes allegations of campaign law violations, according to records obtained by WisPolitics.com .

The spokesman, Cullen Werwie, also served as deputy communications director for Walker's gubernatorial campaign.

Rose Ann Dieck, a retired teacher and Milwaukee County Republican party activist, and Kenneth Lucht, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, have also been granted immunity in matters "still under inquiry" through the secret probe, according to the judge overseeing the case.

The judge stressed that a grant of immunity "does not necessarily mean, imply or infer that those witnesses are suspected of, or guilty of, any criminal wrongdoing."

The investigation itself is still under seal. When three witnesses are granted immunity the case is likely to be something more than a parking ticket. Read the rest of this post...

Herman Cain wins Florida GOP presidential straw poll

Oops. From the Hill:

Herman Cain pulled off a shocking upset victory in Florida’s Presidency 5 Straw Poll on Saturday. The Georgia businessman won more votes than the Republican primary's frontrunners -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- combined.

The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO captured 37 percent of the vote, while Perry took 15 percent and Romney took 14 percent.

Cain’s surprise win threatened to upend the popular notion that Perry had become almost untouchable just weeks after announcing his presidential bid. It also underscored Perry’s recent struggles on the campaign trail, including two weak debate performances and a barrage of attacks from other candidates over his positions on Social Security and immigration.

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Frank Luntz focus group on the latest GOP debate: Bad news for Perry

Over at AMERICAblog Elections: The Right's Field, Matt Ortega has posted a video of a classic Frank Luntz focus group (one of Fox's featurettes) in reaction to the just-ended GOP "debate."

It's a fascinating watch for a number of reasons.

One is that Mr. Perry seems to have stepped in it a few times with the selected "conservative" voters. Another is that Romney is consolidating consensus — either that or Luntz is trying to create one with sessions like this. A third is the guy who's all upset about "being told I'm heartless being a conservative" — believe me, I know the feeling; I get tired of calling them heartless myself.

There are other delights as well. There's a woman who wants to start "going department by department and cleaning house" in the executive branch, starting with the EPA. Why do Movement Conservatives and their fans never feel afraid to say this stuff, while our side — for whom an Embed search-and-destroy should have been Job 1 on Day 1 — are embarrassed to even broach the subject? (Rhetorical of course; you know the answer.)

But something else about this session struck me as well. As you watch, please note the first third of the clip, starting at about 0:50 in. The moderator asks, "Those of you who thought Mitt Romney won — why?"

Now listen to the answers. To a person, all of the initial comments related to appearances and presentation. "Decisive ... looked presidential ... Reagan-esque ... spoke with specificity ... confident ... elegant." (Elegant? Must be the hair.) Not a peep about what he thinks or will do.

In other words, without being prompted the respondents said in effect, "This was effective as manipulaton; that was ineffective."

So that's the first problem — judging a horse race by the look of the saddles. Not true of the whole session, of course, but a powerful first portion.

Which brings me to my real problem. Isn't it one of the effects of these fast, sexy, 15-minutes-of-fame broadcast segments, that it cements that superficial way of thinking in the audience? In other words, isn't one of Luntz's goals, conscious or not, to solidify in viewers the same bad standards of judgment they see praised in his panelists?

Looked at as audience-training rather than polling, this is rather effective — and again, that sexy, assertive bang-bang-bang pace is a big part of the sell, perhaps the most important part. After all, what "conservative" sado-masochistic daddy-seeking bunny rabbit would not want his own 15 minutes of fame up on that stage? Luntz shows you how to get there.

At any rate, enjoy the clip. It's not long, and Frank's a pro at whatever you think he's doing.

(And consider this my playful answer to this by Myrddin; yes, I think I did find something new.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

GOP debate fallout: "WE SOUND LIKE CRAZY PEOPLE!!!!"

From conservative Bill Kristol's special editorial about the recent GOP presidential primary debate in Florida. He titled the editorial "Yikes":

Reading the reactions of thoughtful commentators after the stage emptied, talking with conservative policy types and GOP political operatives later last evening and this morning, we know we’re not alone. Most won’t express publicly just how horrified — or at least how demoralized — they are. After all, they still want to beat Obama — as do we. And they want to get along with the possible nominee and the other candidates and their supporters. They don’t want to rock the boat too much. But maybe the GOP presidential boat needs rocking.

The e-mails flooding into our inbox during the evening were less guarded. Early on, we received this missive from a bright young conservative: “I’m watching my first GOP debate…and WE SOUND LIKE CRAZY PEOPLE!!!!” As the evening went on, the craziness receded, and the demoralized comments we received stressed the mediocrity of the field rather than its wackiness.

I'll let Betty Davis respond for me.

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Those Taiwanese animators are not thrilled by the GOP debate outbursts

Make sure you sign, and send around (retweet, Facebook) our open letter from former military members calling on all the GOP candidates to apologize for not saying a word in defense of the gay American soldier who was literally booed by the GOP debate audience.  Nearly 6000 people have signed.  Have you?

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Sister of Syrian protester kidnapped by security forces, decapitated body found in morgue

Amnesty reports:

The mutilated body of 18-year-old Zainab al-Hosni of Homs, the first woman known to have died in custody during Syria’s recent unrest, was discovered by her family in horrific circumstances on 13 September.

The family was visiting a morgue to identify the body of Zainab’s activist brother Mohammad, who was also arrested and apparently tortured and killed in detention. Zainab had been decapitated, her arms cut off, and skin removed.

Over 3,000 people have been killed by the government in the six months since the protests began in Syria. Events like this could well trigger a new and much bloodier phase as non-violent protests are replaced by an insurgency.

Now that the Libyan revolution is entering its final phase, pressure will build for some form of Western intervention. The US and EU countries are discussing stronger sanctions on Syria and Turkey has just stopped a Syrian ship carrying weapons.

The collapse of Assad's regime in Syria would be a major embarrassment to the mis-rulers of Iran and could even bring down their regime in a 'domino effect'. Read the rest of this post...