National Politics

I'm not sure if this blogpost from the Primebuzz was an earnest attempt at reportage or a brilliant effort at satire, but however it was intended I certainly hope we see more of it.  Either way, the post perfectly encapsulates the prevailing media attitude toward John McCain's candidacy.  

It would be hard to come up with a put-on more convincingly intended to skewer maintream coverage of McCain than a post entitled "McCain's rally impressed me" which lauds the septuagenarian Senator's Kansas City campaign event because no violent factional melees broke out in the audience:

 ...rallies in my own country are often attended by far more people than what I saw at the Union Station. There is also no vetting of those who attend the meetings, a practice that, sometimes, allows criminals to enter the rally venues with crude weapons.  In some cases, supporters clash at such rallies.

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A serious question for members of the Kansas City media...

Will you let John McCain's flunkies line up your shots for you when the septuagenarian comes to town for a townhall meeting at Union Station?

We know that many in the mainstream political commentariat share a perverse affection for McCain, but allowing the man's people to set up shots for them seems a tad flockish even for those who regularly practice the pack mentality.

Check out this screen cap of a story from CBS News about Romney's rising stock in the VeepStakes.  Pay particular attention to the "Presented by" portion--which seems all too fitting.

 Click on the image above to see a larger version.

John McCain certainly knows how to rub salt in the wounds of Missourians suffering the slings and arrows of a GOP-ruined economy.

Just a day after Missourians learned that Anheuser-Busch would be sold to Belgian firm InBev, McCain promptly comes to St. Louis --the home of Anheuser-Busch-- for a mega-dollar reception at the vast estate of the former United States ambassador to, of all countries, Belgium.

Notwithstanding the fact that John and Sindy McCain will reap millions of dollars from the Anheuser-Busch sale, their advisors would be wise to warn them not to celebrate too loudly about the deal as they rub elbows with the former diplomat in the STL. 

Is there such a thing as a "documentary cartoonist"?  In case anyone missed this Sunday's Doonesbury, here it is:  Story Continued »

A Mid-Missouri tipster tells Fired Up! that the McCain campaign is up with a round of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) polling calls to voters in the state.  IVR uses automated voice prompts and asks respondents to reply to questions with a press of the telephone keys.

Yesterday's McCain IVR calls asked a battery of five questions (as remembered and relayed):

1. Do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat or Independent?

2. If the Presidential election were held today, would you vote for John McCain, Barack Obama or other?

3. Have things that you have recent seen, heard or read made you more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain?

4. Have things that you have recent seen, heard or read made you more likely or less likely to vote for Barack Obama?

5. Which candidate has stood up to President Bush on the issue of global climate change by promoting new policies to deal with that issue: John McCain or Barack Obama?

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This evening, bestselling author and nationally syndicated columnist David Sirota will visit St. Louis to discuss his newest book, THE UPRISING: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street & Washington.   The event will be held at 7pm at Left Bank Books (399 N. Euclid, St. Louis, MO.) at Euclid and McPherson in the Central West End.

Sirota, a longtime Congressional committee advisor to Wisconsin Democrat Dave Obey and consultant to Dem Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, has a new book that looks at populism on both the Right and Left and how it is shaping American politics. 

David Sirota will join State Senator Jeff Smith at a reading, Q&A and book signing sponsored by Fired Up Missouri, the Young Democrats, the Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment and the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition.  

Richard Monroe is the Democratic Candidate facing Roy Blunt in the seventh district Congressional race.  His campaign is gaining more and more momentum as voters in this district learn of the voting record and position stands of Blunt.  Mr. Monroe is out on the campaign trail daily, talking to the voters of the district, and is drawing good crowds in the traditionally Republican areas of Jasper, Newton, and McDonald counties.

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Every once in a while we get a perfect illustration of why GOPers work so hard at obscuring facts. 

Today's example is a story from the AP's Lara Jakes Jordan about the prospective grand jury investigation into possible perjury by former U.S. Attorney Brad Schlozman.  Jordan notes the connection between Schlozman and predecessor Todd Graves, writing:

Schlozman had defended his decision as U.S. Attorney in Kansas City to bring a Missouri voter fraud case days before the 2006 election, despite guidelines that discourage such cases because of the chance they could influence voting.

Schlozman's predecessor in Kansas City, Todd Graves, testified at the same hearing that he was asked to resign his post after clashing with senior department officials over the handling of some high-profile cases, including the voter fraud case. Graves was one of nine U.S. attorneys who were ousted in 2006 in an unusual midterm purge that ignited charges of White House political meddling at the fiercely independent Justice Department.

Something is very much wrong in this excerpt.

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New Report reveals abuse/torture of detainees. "The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003. There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account." (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/18/gitmo.detainees/index.html)  Story Continued »

As reported everywhere, John McCain is in Springfield today for a public forum on energy policy.  

McCain shares the stage at the forum with Mike Chesser, chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy which owns Kansas City Power & Light.  This spring, KCP&L endorsed the effort by Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy to place a renewable energy standard on Missouri's November ballot:

"Our endorsement of the renewable energy initiative proposal underscores our continuing commitment to achieving regional sustainability by supporting investments in clean energy sources," said Michael Chesser...

But McCain has consistently opposed renewable energy standards, voting in the Senate at least 10 times either against implementing renewable energy production thresholds or renewable energy production tax credits. 

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As former US Atty Brad Schlozman resurfaces as the likely focus of a federal grand jury investigation for perjury, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Perez buys into the Todd Graves spin on why he was forced out as US Attorney.  Perez writes:

Mr. Schlozman's promotion to the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City came after the department asked his predecessor, Todd P. Graves, to resign. Mr. Graves was among several U.S. attorneys who had shown reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases, according to testimony and documents gathered by Senate investigators last year.

What reluctance, exactly?  As we've pointed out here before, then-US Attorney Graves announced vote fraud charges only 10 days before the 2004 PRESIDENTIAL election, which had to be in violation of the Justice Department policy.  Yet the Wall Street Journal reports as fact Graves' supposed "reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases."  

Maybe while the investigators are looking into fibs made under oath, they should take a look at Graves' testimony too. 

...but a rejection of his policies by someone with such a proven track record of failure as GOP Gov. Matt Blunt seems like something Barack Obama might wear as a badge of honor.  

Just a thought.