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Title: Pundit Pap; The Joy of Meltdown
Source:
American Politics
URL Source: http://www.americanpolitics.com
Published: Oct 9, 2005
Author: JJ Balzer & Jeff Koopersmith
Post Date: 2005-10-09 19:51:15 by Brian S
Keywords: Meltdown, Pundit, Pap;
Views: 46
Comments: 6
October 9th, 2005 — New York — This morning's news was dominated by the growing, horrific situation in Pakistan and the surrounding region . In the wake of a major earthquake yesterday, an estimated minimum 20,000 people have died. Naturally, the Sunday morning shows gave strong mention to this breaking story at the beginning of their broadcasts, with CNN's Late Edition giving a good deal of attention to it during its first half hour. Two major topics dominated the political chat, however: Here's what we saw this Pundit Sunday ABC This Week On ABC This Week, issue one was the nomination of Harriet Miers; issue two was the paranoia over the possibility of an avian flu pandemic, which actually didn't get much play with the politicians or the round table George Stephanopoulos welcomed his only two guests, the top Republican and Democratic players on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Stephanopoulos asked Specter whether Miers was the most qualified nominee; Specter said it may turn out that she was. But then, Stephanopoulos confronted Specter with some provocative comments he made to the news media yesterday concerning constitutional law; Specter seemed to question to a certain extent whether her background qualifies her to handle these issues: "I think she may well turn out to be the best qualified once we give her a chance to be heard, But when you deal in constitutional law, you're dealing in some very esoteric, complicated subjects that require a great deal of background. .. The jurisprudence is very complicated, and I will be pressing her very hard on these issues." Leahy took a jab at the White House for not considering anyone outside George W. Bush's inner circle. He acknowledged that some of the Supreme Court's best justices have been from outside the bench, but also did not hesitate to mention divisions among Republicans and conservatives over the Miers nomination as he cautioned viewers to wait until the hearings are held. Leahy seems eager to get the hearings underway. Stephanopoulos turned to the specific issue of Roe v Wade, and ran a video clip of Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) saying he would vote against Miers if it turned out she believed that Roe vs. Wade is hunky dory. Specter fell back on the stereotypical Republican "We don't ask about specific cases! No! Never!" defense, along with requisite mention of the judicial concept of stare decisis (the curious can get a brief but thorough rundown at Wikipedia). Leahy has questions about reported contact between the White House and extremist cleric James Dobson concerning Myers, but also said that Miers had assured him that he should not worry; however, he did say that the issue of Dobson's influence is likely to come up during the hearings. Stephanopoulos played an audio clip from Ayatollah Jimmy's syndicated radio show in which the Bible-thumping zealot gave Miers tentative support, with a small dollop of doubt over which way she would come down on Roe v Wade (this despite the fact that Roe v Wade is a matter of settled law). Specter made it clear that backroom assurances and deals are not something that he looks upon lightly or kindly. Will Specter call on Dr. Dobson and Karl Rove to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee? Specter said he has not made a witness list. (Translation: maybe — so stay tuned!) Senator Specter also said he is "very fact oriented," and if Dr. Dobson knows something about this nomination, Specter wants answers. Leahy was unequivocal: "I wouldn't care whether they were nominated by a Democrat or Republican — if anyone ... wants to be on the Supreme Court—or any court—and they're going to get an appointment based on assurances of how he or she would vote, they're not qualified to be on that court. " Leahy added, "in fairness to Miers," that the nominee had given him assurances that there were no such deals that she was aware of. Specter: "If anyone has any relevant knowledge, that is something our staffers will be talking about and something that I want talk to them about." So there you have it: Republicans are divided on the Miers nomination, and it looks as if Democrats are gearing up to pour a little bit of gasoline on the fire by yanking businessman and radio talk-show host James Dobson and White House political Rasputin Karl Rove before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Better start making the popcorn! Stephanopoulos then delved into Miers' "Warren" kerfluffle (Miers had said "Warren" was one of her favorite justices, and Leahy asked her whether she meant Earl Warren [liberal] or Warren Burger [conservative] — she "clarified" and said that Burger. ) Stephanopoulos: Is it true you will ask her for her law school grades? Specter: "Yeah!" Patrick Leahy said that he expects a full and thorough paper trail on Myers, adding that senators could ask about any number of issues as this is a lifetime appointment and the Senate ought to have the right to dig to the bottom of where a potential Supreme Court Justice stands on issues of the day and interpretation of the constitution. Specter, predictably, said that many of the documents concerning Miers are protected by executive privilege. Hold it — weren't Republicans saying exactly the opposite during the so-called "Whitewater" scandal? Do we detect a hint of hypocrisy coming from our GOP friends? There was not a whole lot to report from the round table, although it should be pointed out that participant George Will wrote a scathing opinion piece about the Miers nomination: "They have defended it not with reasons but with bombast and name-calling. " Clearly, George Will is not a happy camper over the matter. Will also took a rather nasty shot at the former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie over his whining about "Elitism and sexism. " Cokie Roberts, who has turned out to be nothing more than a sycophant for the most arrogant moralist chauvinists in this country, actually parroted Gillespie's silly and unsubstantiated claim that much of the reaction to Miers is sexist. Robert Reich made what we think was his debut as a member of the This Week round table, and immediately lit into not only Miers lack of qualifications but seemed to have a lot of fun as he detailed the divisive effect the Miers nomination had on the Republican Party and the conservative movement. Right also had a zinger about claims that Miers may turn out to be Bush's David Souter: "If she's not going to change her mind, we'd better know her mind." A little later in the round table, Will pointed out that Democrats do have a problem with Bush Administration cronyism, and rightfully have tied the issue of cronyism to the issue of competence (or lack thereof). Robert Reich pointed out that the cronyism at FEMA and the problems with Tim Flanigan (not familiar with the name? Check out today's NY Times) are fresh in the nation's mind — and this does not help the former Texas Governor in putting forward his good friend Harriet Miers as a nominee to the Supreme Court. Talk turned to the Treasongate scandal, and to our surprise Cokie Roberts admitted that Karl Rove and the White House are facing a huge problem — and that it looks like prosecutor Pat Fitzgerald is on the trail of a major crime committed by White House officials. The panel was focused on Rove trying to talk his way out of a major indictment; Reich cited "very deep and ominous problems here, and concerns for the White House obviously, and it is also cumulative." Reich then put Treasongate in the perspective of other recent events that have cast the Republican Party itself as corrupt at a fundamentally structural level: "The public doesn't understand exactly what is happening with Tom DeLay, but there's a cumulative process here — whether it's corruption or cronyism or incompetence, it starts affecting the public's perception of the White House." We passed on watching George Will's sycophantic "interview" with the walking, mummified remains of William F. Buckley. Give it a rest, George — he's dead already! — Meet the [De-] Press [-ing] Leave it to Tim Russert to downplay crisis facing the Republican leadership in the wake of the felonies being exposed as committed by: Tom DeLay, who is about to spend the next ten years in federal prison for money laundering—and whose trial will hopefully drag purported co-felons including creepy Grover Norquist and his Launderette friends on K Street into the slime. Bill Frist, whose own mysterious indictment for his magical intuitive powers selling a great deal of stock in his own company just minutes before the value plunged à la Martha Stewart is forthcoming. Frist, no matter what happens, will lose his Majority Leader position in the Senate and, of course, will never be able to run for President of the United States (thank the Lord, Buddha, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, depending on whom you worship). Karl Rove, who is about to spend as long as life imprisonment for his evil Karlfoolery for attempting to destroy Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame in a very complex and widespread White-House-led con-"smear"-acy that backfired, put Ms. Plame's life in danger, and demolished the cover of over a dozen CIA operatives who were working at a CIA-owned cover company with the mission of stopping the proliferation of nuclear material and its acquisition by terrorists salivating at the prospect of setting off a "dirty bomb"—or far worse—in an American population center. Now, the discussion of any one of the above scandals would have made not only for great TV but underlined the importance of these three stories. BUT NO! Russert instead focuses on Harriet Miers, who has about as strong a chance at becoming the next woman on the Supreme Court as does Monica Lewinsky. Russert stupidly (or was he ORDERED by General Electric not to put their military contracts in jeopardy by any deep discussion of Rove, DeLay, or Frist) spent almost an entire hour talking about the pros and cons of President Bush's latest bout with dry-drunkenness, a syndrome that has cost him so dearly in the past. The real issue: who CARES about Harriet Miers? Once she gains a seat on the court—IF she does— she will change her views, as do all bench appointees save Fat Tony Scalia's sock puppet Clarence Thomas, who is so stupid that he never asks questions as cases are being heard before the court. So who does Russert round up for the first segment? None other than the completely insignificant Pat Buchanan, a guy who ran for president to enrich himself and his family members, who get paid to pretend that Buchanan could actually win the White House when it was obvious he couldn't even get a job as a busboy at his favorite Palm Beach haunt, the Breakers, where he and his Chihuahua-faced spouse spend hours snarling at each other on their less-than- often vacations together (and where the waiters hate his guts). Russert also ladles up Christian potentate "Dr." Richard Land, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention who looks more like a used Chevy salesman than a "man of God" (although we are certain that many Chevy pushers are men of God). Land did not let us forget (as if we ever knew) that he attended Princeton! Ha, ha, ha, ha. Land never misses a chance to slip this in, much to the consternation of both the Princeton Alumni Association, who would rather forget this mortification, and the Princeton trustees who cringe every time he sticks his résumé in America's face and drops the school's property value by doing so. Buchanan, a jack Catholic who banished his own sister for marrying a Mormon and only took her back into the clan after she divorced him, clearly hates Bush and hates his choice of Miers for the Supremes. Dr. Land said he loves Miers because she is "born again" (and again, and again, and again…).. Buchanan did everything short of telling us that Miers is a moron—including listing every potential nominee that would be better (or that he thinks would be better). He claimed Bush has retreated from his legacy and turned on his own people. (What legacy?) What "Puke-cannon" does not realize is that Mr. Bush could not care less about "born-agains", Neocons, and especially Buchanan-school conservatives. Little George's drunken mommy is pro- choice, his chain-smoking wife is pro-choice—and he has to be pro-choice or "big daddy George" could be facing a plethora of child support subpoenas launched as a result of his conduct during his notorious days as a "wet" drunk. Everyone is astounded that Bush had the nerve to lie to the nation, saying he "never" discussed the abortion issue with Harriet Miers despite the fact that she was his point "man" on judicial appointments—all of whom are heavily, perhaps ONLY, impacted by this insane "issue", one trumped up by nitwits who believe that life begins at conception six cells in a sack constitutes a human being. These are same people who, if told by Reverend Ike that the banana was actually God in disguise, would immediately move to the Caribbean. Land retorted that Bush never ducks a fight and that Harriet has always been a strict constructionist when it comes to the constitution [and men.] Buchanan finally intimated that Bush is a liar when he says he didn't discuss abortion with Miers. Russert then rolled out a list of idiot Neocons who don't like Miers either. These include the lightest of the lightweight non-thinkers, Peggy "The Loon" Nooner—excuse me, I mean Noonan (another drunk who once phoned me pretending to be her mother), Charles "Dr. Quackenbush" Krauthammer (whom no one would listen to if he weren't in a wheelchair), Trent "CCC" Lott (the banished former majority leader who secretly hates "niggers"—or maybe not so secretly), and George F. "F" Will (the sociopath pseudointellect who suffers from migraines that "force" him to brutalize his family and furniture by throwing it out the window when he gets "agitated"). Someone pointed out the Miers loved Warren Burger and that he was her favorite justice. Well, guess what? Burger supported abortion rights. Uh-oh! Buchanan, as usual, had to mention Ronald Reagan—as if Reagan was Christ reborn. Buchanan claimed that Reagan would never have passed up all the better qualified potential nominees for a crony. Heh heh! Right, Patster! No one can say that Reagan brought in his cronies when he took his place in the Oval Office, can they? And no one could accuse him of appointing Ed Meese, could they? Dr. Land, dimwit that he is, tells us that Harriet Miers is the best choice because "She is least likely to be influenced by the Eastern establishment." Huh? What the hell is talking about? Then Russert, to his credit, embarrassed the heck out of Pat by showing an old clip of him telling the Meet the Press audience that Justice Souter is "a-okay." What a hoot! . Souter turned on the conservatives the moment he was sworn into his lifetime job as a member of the Supreme Court—as well he should have. Only the crazies like Scalia and Thomas cling to their "word-for-word" misinterpretation of the Constitution as if it was written in granite—not, as intended, to be fluid and reactive to societal change. The Constitution, by the by, is not, was not, and never will be a document that reflects what a bunch of 18th century American slaveholders thought the nation should be about. It was purposely designed to mirror society as it is today, tomorrow and forever into the future. Most thinking people see this as the beauty of the document. Most stupid—or intentionally bigoted—people read the Constitution as they do the Bible, which they regard as the actual word of God even though it was written about 6,000 years ago, billions of years after God created the earth, mankind, and mosquitoes. But let us not digress into a discussion of evolution vs. "cretin" design. I can't stand it anymore. Buchanan would like to see Bush withdraw the Miers nomination—but then, the little weasel told viewers that he will support her if she proves that she is pro-life and that she is a strict constructionist. So which is it, Pat—you halfwit? Following a slew of commercials intended to influence NBC's news coverage came "The Panel"—this morning made up of stealth Neocon David Broder (who sold out to the right wing long ago), Kate O'Beirne (known as Snaggletooth to her friends and a whore for the Neocons), Ron Brownstein (the way over-celebrated analyst for the Los Angeles Times who should have stayed in San Jose where he belonged), and E.J. Dionne (who, as always, needs a new hair stylist). Hand it to Broder, however: he is the only member of this panel who told us that Bush couldn't care less about overturning Roe v. Wade. O'Beirne said she thinks that Bush wants this fight— but does not explain why. Brownstein—who sports a new fascist crew-cut—offered that Bush (Rove) thinks the Republicans will have to approve his choice. Tim Russert brought up lunatic Senator Coats who is "spearheading" the movement for Miers because the White House couldn't find anyone sane to do it. It's too much for even Fantasyland: Coats said that Miers is a great choice because the Supreme Court is "too skewed on the intellectual side." I was laughing out loud at that one! Yes, what we need are more Down's Syndrome Justices to balance those nefarious intellectuals out. E.J. Dionne said that Bush benefits from low expectations. I couldn't say that better myself, except that Dionne does not realize what an insult this is. Russert showed a clip of Justice Scalia, who for some insane reason allowed Maria Bartiromo (the Italian hero sandwich newsmodel from CNBC) to interview him. Fat Tony said he would welcome Miers—after all, look at non-judges like Bill Rehnquist, Lewis Powell, and Byron White. Yes, look at them: all academic, all geniuses in their own right despite some having been misled by their own Machiavellian tendencies. Scalia's thought failed completely to describe Miers, who appears and comports herself more like a manicurist at a Brooklyn beauty college than a future Supreme Court Justice. And who on earth does her makeup? ITT? O'Beirne cranks that "We want her to be faithful to the Constitution!" Faithful? Is the Constitution now a religion? Dionne quips, "She could be Souter, she could be Scalia." Yeah, E.J. She could be Imelda Marcos too. Brownstein, whose name should be changed to Brownnose, tells us that President Bush believes that leadership (his) is determining what's right and then doing it. Does Brownstein mean right as in Neocon? Even Kate O'Beirne could not avoid the obvious when she said that Bush's remarks that Miers would vote the way he wanted her to was not a great advance for women. That one got a big laugh out of us—on the other hand, it will sell a few more cheap DVDs of "The Stepford Wives." Russert then spend about two minutes on DeLay, Rove and Frist—not to discuss them but simply to ask whether this is bad for conservatives. Is he kidding? Broder said he thinks this is "a very bad time for Republicans"—but that this is simply a classic unraveling of a second-term presidency, although pretty early in the term. This guy Broder must be losing it: three potential Class A felony indictments among the three most powerful GOPers is a "classic unraveling?" Maybe it would be in Stalin's Russia. Brownstein, whose mind was wandering as usual, mumbled something about wondering why Presidents bothers to run for a second term. Here's the answer, Ron: FOR THE MONEY, YOU IDIOT. O'Beirne, doing as she is told, claimed the GOP will hold on to the House and Senate. I might agree—but it makes me sick to hear HER say it. A quick discussion of why the Mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg, made such a big deal out of the potential NY subway targeting by Al Qaeda bombers when the chiefs at Homeland Security said that the information this was based on was pretty much bogus! Why? Simple! Because he is running again! Everyone agreed that local elected officials must be more aggressive—when they meant to say over-frightening. You know: The War Mayor!
• George W. Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, and
• A White House under siege as special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald finally hears from Neoconservative New York Times reporter Judith Miller — and Karl Rove's desperate attempt to get himself out of hot water by appearing once again late last week before Fitzgerald's grand jury, only to find that he is being called back again to account for discrepancies between his story and that of TIME magazine reporter Matt Cooper, among others. (And that's not to mention the discovery of new White House e-mail's and notes by Miller— can you say toast on the stick?)
Judicious Judiciary Spin from Two Senate "Playas"
Russert bores the heck out of US as he finds himself mired in Miers
That was it from Russert, save for the usual self-congratulatory clip from Meet the Press fifty years ago. I wish Russert would instead show clips of himself blurting out the misleading, imbecilic and outright dishonest things he has been saying since he began his tenure as "immoderator" of Meet the Press.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
and George F. "F" Will (the sociopath pseudointellect who suffers from migraines that "force" him to brutalize his family and furniture by throwing it out the window when he gets "agitated"). So that's George Will's problem....migraines
Miers is such an unlikely choice, even for an idiot like bush, that I'm beginging to wonder; since she was his "personal attorney" maybe she knows where the bodies are burried and is holding it over him?
The Constitution, by the by, is not, was not, and never will be a document that reflects what a bunch of 18th century American slaveholders thought the nation should be about. It was purposely designed to mirror society as it is today, tomorrow and forever into the future. Most thinking people see this as the beauty of the document. Most stupid—or intentionally bigoted—people read the Constitution as they do the Bible, which they regard as the actual word of God even though it was written about 6,000 years ago, billions of years after God created the earth, mankind, and mosquitoes. They lost me on these two paragraphs - otherwise, a great dissection of the weekend shows. Thanks for the post.
JMO, but the purpose of outing Valerie may have been to ensure the death of Brewster, Jennings and Bryan, the cover firm. Intercenine intel warfare; BJB was treading on toes the Bushies would rather not be treaded on. One way to blow BJB as a functioning intel entity was to expose Valerie.....BINGO! end of whatever investigations BJB was on....
"I want the American people to know that our dreams are gone, our work was in vain. There will be no future for our children and our grandchildren in the new Iraq. The future is for the clerics. This is not the democracy we dreamed of. "--Dr. Raja Kuzai
http://www.cloakanddagger.de/shows/webcast/__OctoBer/_CLOAKANDDAGGER.DE_TH_10_07.mp3 About halfway through this audio, Lenny Bloom, Sherman Skolnick and Tom Heneghan discuss the possibility that 'crypto-Jew' Harriet Miers is blackmailing Bush (she has allegedly kept a copy of his National Guard files which were supposedly all destroyed) on behalf of Israel. Incidentally, I think both Bloom and Skolnick are Jews, so it would be hard to accuse this site of antisemitism.
These guys should be on comedy central or some other sleeze shows.........if they dropped the name-calling and settled on pointing out the little 'problems', they'd be better off. As an aside, the comment about about Thomas not asking questions.........these assholes should realize that running off at the mouth as they have is worse! And for what its worth, they make many valid points..........not all, such as insinuating there WILL BE indictments vs they sure hope for indictments. Being an asshole and being so positive about it generally blows up in your face.
Russert then rolled out a list of idiot Neocons who don't like Miers either. These include the lightest of the lightweight non-thinkers, Peggy "The Loon" Nooner—excuse me, I mean Noonan (another drunk who once phoned me pretending to be her mother), Charles "Dr. Quackenbush" Krauthammer (whom no one would listen to if he weren't in a wheelchair), Trent "CCC" Lott (the banished former majority leader who secretly hates "niggers"—or maybe not so secretly),
#2. To: Steppenwolf (#1)
idiot Neocons who don't like Miers either.
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
Then Russert, to his credit, embarrassed the heck out of Pat by showing an old clip of him telling the Meet the Press audience that Justice Souter is "a-okay." What a hoot! . Souter turned on the conservatives the moment he was sworn into his lifetime job as a member of the Supreme Court—as well he should have. Only the crazies like Scalia and Thomas cling to their "word-for-word" misinterpretation of the Constitution as if it was written in granite—not, as intended, to be fluid and reactive to societal change.
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
demolished the cover of over a dozen CIA operatives who were working at a CIA-owned cover company with the mission of stopping the proliferation of nuclear material and its acquisition by terrorists salivating at the prospect of setting off a "dirty bomb"—or far worse—in an American population center.
#5. To: Soda Pop (#2)
#6. To: Brian S (#0)
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