Death to Parochialism

One of the things I hate the most about our current system of politics is the parochialism. Sure, a representative is responsible to and should advocate for their constituents' interests, but when they get too good at this, it's bad for America.

Thus, John Dingell. A good man, yes, but chief apologist for General Motors and obstructionist of higher CAFE standards.

Tom Friedman, who probably thinks the next 6 months will be the most crucial for the Obama administration, said it best:

Indeed, if and when they do have to bury Detroit, I hope that all the current and past representatives and senators from Michigan have to serve as pallbearers. And no one has earned the “honor” of chief pallbearer more than the Michigan Representative John Dingell, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who is more responsible for protecting Detroit to death than any single legislator.

Now, Henry Waxman a.k.a "Joe Nostrils" is challenging Dingell for his chairmanship of the House Energy Committee.

I hope he wins.

Maybe ethanol is next. I'm looking at you Tom Harkin and Ben Nelson

Losing it

This AP photo of Chris Dodd, at the hearing with Bernanke and Paulson today, sums up everything you need to know about the "bailout":

I imagine Dodd as thinking "I can't believe these fuckin' people."

...ALSO, this is already on every other blog in the world, but I figure I should do my part. Funny.

...ALSO ALSO, Americans probably wouldn't see this, but doesn't Richard Shelby in that picture look eerily like former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretién?

Veepstakes

I think this Wall Street Journal article hit the nail on the head with their short-list of VPs for both McCain and Obama.

For Obama: Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Tim Kaine, Jack Reed, Kathleen Sebelius.

For McCain: Charlie Crist, Carly Fiorina, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, John Thune.

I don't think Obama will choose Chris Dodd, Tim Kaine, or Kathleen Sebelius. Dodd because of his connections to the insurance and banking industries. Kaine because he just doesn't seem to offer that much to the ticket besides being from VA and another "outsider." He lacks foreign policy experience, national name recognition, etc. If Obama is inexperienced (of course he isn't, but...), Kaine is a baby. Sebelius because some former Clintonites might be offended that he would pick a woman who wasn't Hillary, and also for the same reasons Kaine is unlikely (no foreign policy experience). I think Bayh, Biden, Clinton, and Reed would all be excellent picks for different reasons, but Reed is still by far my favorite.

As for McCain, I think Crist, Fiorina, and Palin are unlikely. I don't have as many reasons for that. Just more of a hunch. My picks remain Portman, Romney, or Thune. Pawlenty has proven himself, at least in my opinion, to be really boring on the talk show circuit. Portman might also be boring, but he brings major economic street cred. Of course Romney Mittens Guy Smiley would be a dream come true. Thune would be a good pick, although being pretty far right wing, would have some major policy disagreements with McCain.

Guy Smiley on the stump.
How can people like this man? Seriously.

Dodd Endorses Obama

Chris Dodd just announced his support of Barack Obama. Here was the text of the email he sent out:

We have been through a lot in this past year and your friendship and support have meant so much to me. That is why I wanted to let you know of my decision to endorse a Democratic candidate for President - and that I have decided to support Barack Obama.

We all understand how much is at stake in this election and that it is more important than ever that we put a Democrat in the White House.

And while both of our Party's remaining candidates are extremely talented and would make excellent commanders-in-chief, I am throwing my support to the candidate who I believe will open the most eyes to our shared Democratic vision.

I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him - to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.

Put simply, I believe Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq - and perhaps most importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice. In this campaign, he has drawn millions of voters into politics for the first time in their lives and shown us that we are united by so much more than that which divides us.

That is why I believe the time has come for Democrats to come together as a Party and focus on winning the general election. The stakes are too high not to.

The last seven years have been as difficult as any I can remember. More than ever, we need a President who will inspire us to take part in the political process and change our country's path.

Today, when we need it most, we are hearing a new call from Barack Obama. And I hope you, like me, will answer it in the affirmative.

Telecom Immunity, Round II

I'll heed Markus's call and take this opportunity to pen an update on the prospect that our Congressional Democrats will sell out the judicial process in exchange for some campaign contributions and Feeling Important. The large media coverage of this whole travesty has been pretty close to zilch, so I've been getting most of my information from Glenn Greenwald and TPMMuckraker. For starters, let's just look at what Reid said on the floor of the Senate the other day:

[I]f people think they are going to talk this to death, we are going to be in here all night. This is not something we are going to have a silent filibuster on. If someone wants to filibuster this bill, they are going to do it in the openness of the Senate.

Normally I would be over-joyed to have Reid say something like that, because it's exactly what progressive Dems have been asking him to do pretty much since the beginning of this Congressional term. But up until now, Reid has been either 1) too a-scared that people would think bad things about him, or 2) too a-scared that his Republican pals would snub him at the lunch table in the Senate cafeteria. 

And now here's Chris Dodd--probably, at this point, the Senator I respect most--and Reid has chosen this moment to stand up for majority rule. And that's not all. Glenn Greenwald:

As I noted in my post yesterday, Reid had the audacity to send his spokesman, Jim Manley, to falsely claim to the New York Times that "Senator Reid intends to do everything he can to strip immunity from the bill" -- even though the exact opposite is true. Reid is engaged in at least as much maneuvering to ensure that Bush and Cheney get what they want here as McConnell would be willing to do if he were the Majority Leader.

Go to Greenwald's site to read the transcript of an obviously-scripted exchange (one might say collusion) between Reid and his ostensible adversary Mitch McConnell. 

And just today, this:

Ending months of resistance, the White House has agreed to give House members access to secret documents about its warrantless wiretapping program, a congressional official said Thursday.

The Bush administration is trying to convince the House to protect from civil lawsuits the telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on Americans without the approval of a court. Congress created the court 30 years ago to oversee such activities.

House Intelligence and Judiciary committee members and staff will begin reading the documents at the White House Thursday, said an aide to Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.

On the surface this seems fine, of course, but we should know from experience by now that we can't count on the Bush administration to turn over any truly incriminating documents; more likely they 'recycled' them, "consistent with industry best practices," but inconsistent with the law. And this disclosure is part of a deal--at least the appearance of Congressional oversight in exchange for votes on immunity. 

When this, or some other less clearly ludicrous but equally effective form of immunity passes the Congress, it's going to be a sad day. I agree with what seems to be a widespread sentiment: we need more and better Democrats. And I think that 'better' should probably come before 'more.'  No one should be afraid of primary challenges.

Nooooooooooooooo.........

Politico is reporting that Chris Dodd is poised to drop out of the race following his disappointing sixth-place finish in Iowa. May his complete failure of a campaign rest in peace.

I was going to end this post with a funny video of Chris Dodd, but I couldn't find any. So I'll leave you with Dennis Kucinich singing.

Update: It's official. And Biden's gone too.

Reid pulls FISA Legislation

Reid pulled the FISA bill containing telecom immunity until after the break. Bravo to Dodd, Kennedy, Feingold, and others who fought to keep this from passing. There'll be more fights on this ahead.

There's plenty of time between now and then to let our Senators know how we feel on this issue. 

Reid fails to oppose telecom immunity; Dodd to filibuster

Here's a wonderful example of leadership from Senator Reid:

I have determined that in this situation, it would be wrong of me to simply choose one committee’s bill over the other. I personally favor many of the additional protections included in the Judiciary Committee bill, and I oppose the concept of retroactive immunity in the Intelligence bill. But I cannot ignore the fact that the Intelligence bill was reported favorably by a vote of 13-2, with most Democrats on the committee supporting that approach. I explored the possibility of putting before the Senate a bill that included elements of both two committee bills. Earlier this week, I used Senate Rule 14 to place two bills on the calendar.

The first – S. 2440 – consists of Titles I and III of the Intelligence bill, but did not include Title II on retroactive immunity. The second bill – S. 2441 – consists of Title I of the Intelligence bill and Titles II and III of the Judiciary bill. But after consulting further with Chairman Rockefeller and Chairman Leahy, a consensus emerged among the three of us that the best way to proceed would be by regular order. Both Chairmen agreed with this approach.

Under regular order, and the rules of the Senate governing sequential referral, I will move to proceed to S. 2248 – the bill reported by each committee. When that motion to proceed is adopted, the work of both committees will be before the Senate. Because of the order in which they considered the bill, the Intelligence Committee version will be the base text, and the Judiciary Committee version will be automatically pending as a substitute amendment.

What this means, in effect, is that getting rid of the telecom immunity in the Intelligence Committee bill will require sixty votes, "rendering," as Glenn Greenwald explains, "such efforts virtually impossible. In doing so, Reid is brazenly ignoring the demands of 14 Senators -- including all of the Democratic presidential candidates -- to have the Judiciary Committee bill be the base bill."

That's bad enough, but the explanation Reid is giving makes me angry. "The Intelligence Committee submitted their bill first, so we will consider theirs first."--pretty transparent BS, I have to say. I'm sure there are very good reasons for Reid's failure to oppose telecom immunity, such as, say, keeping in the good graces of powerful people like the telecoms and his old chum Senator Rockefeller, but the Majority Leader has power that is meant to be exercised in just such instances as this, where it is obvious that some Senators are working against the interests of their constituency, and where those Senators are clearly wrong.

Apparently Senator Leahy has also decided not to exercise his full clout; Reid says that Leahy agreed to have his bill (the one without immunity, and with better safeguards on domestic spying) plowed under.

Not only has Reid taken this action, but he also, in defiance of Senate custom, refused to recognize the hold Senator Dodd (a member of his own party) placed on the bill. When Tom Coburn placed a hold on a civil rights bill, Reid honored it.

As a result of all this, Chris Dodd is going to have to stand up and filibuster in support of the Constitution and in defiance of his own supposed allies. What in the world is the matter with our party?

Here's Chris Dodd's page on the filibuster.

Update: I'm watching C-Span on my computer, and Ted Kennedy just gave a corker of a speech. I'll try and find a clip of it and put it up.

Update II: Kit Bond says that the President does have the "inherent authority" under Article II of the Constitution to "conduct warrantless surveillance." Let me just take a look at Article II.. okay, yeah, I don't see it anywhere. How can Bond make an argument like that with a straight face?

Update III: Here's part of the Kennedy speech. (Embed fixed. --markus)

I Have Abandoned Official Neutrality, Officially.

(Alternate Title: Dodd Sox Nation)

A Message from Your Campaigns Director:

In anticipation of National Coming Out Day (which Cabot-Open informs me is tomorrow) I have laid rest to a long internal struggle, and have officially claimed my identity as a Chris Dodd supporter. 

Several hours ago, I contributed $20.04 to Senator Dodd's campaign, and let me tell you, it was the best $20.04 I ever spent. 

Some of you might think I'm kidding, but let me ask you this, will it be funny when I'm yelling "Yankees suck!" at Fenway with Chris Dodd or will it just be AWESOME?

PS- If I win the tickets, I get to bring a guest. Know who it's gonna be? Joe Biden, that's who. I'm thinking about even springing for a couple of Fenway Franks for Chris and Joe and me once we're there, since the tickets will only have cost me twenty bucks.

Chris Dodd: victor

Chris Dodd announced today what amounts to the best fundraiser ever: $20.04 (the year the Red Sox last won the World Series) earns you a chance to hang out with Dodd during game six of the AL championship.

While I am in harsh financial straights, and willingly admit that my interest in baseball is entirely limited to what the Globe and my neighbors tell me to thing, I am nonetheless seriously considering donating money to a politican for the first time in my life.

Above: Motion, that Jeter ain't worth shit.

Dodd snares firefighers' endorsement

Chris Dodd today secured the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters. I always thought Rudy Giuliani was supposed to be the Saint Mayor of All Firefighters or something like that? At any rate, good news for Dodd, who I maintain is the single most underrated Democratic candidate this cycle.

Bipartisans, gaze upon me!

I know it, frickin' George Will knows it: Chris Dodd '08!

Above: Stare into the bow tie, not the glasses

"Not Our Worst Fears But Our Highest Ideals"

Man, screw the major Democratic candidates -- CHRIS DODD has been badass lately and more people should be noticing. Not only is his name condusive to some of the most hilarious titles in campaign history--

--but he's gaining ground on his pet project, habeas corpus. In the course of the campaign Dodd has cast himself as a warrior for constitutional rights, speaking with his typical New England thunder about the importance of due process and a fair judiciary, even when applied to scary "national security" issues. The linchpin of this is his "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007", which you can read here; it brings habeas rights (and a number of others -- exclusion of hearsay and illegally acquired evidence, exclusion of testimony acquired through coercion, etc.) back to those sickening Gitmo military courts.

Today, the Judiciary Committee sent a bill -- not Dodd's, I gather (which is still fighting through Armed Services) but a similar one put together by Leahy and Specter -- to the Senate floor that would entitle Guantanamo detainees to habeas petitions in civilian courts. This is a no-brainer; even the most basic respect for the rule of law and a fair trial says you should support this one. So naturally all the republicans except Specter voted against it. It'll be telling to watch how it does in the Senate at large, and see who comes down where on it. How much you want to bet at least one of our candidates gets afraid of looking "weak on terror" and comes out against it?

Expect more on this issue as things heat up; it's one that Democrats have the capacity to push with real force, and we're lucky to have a man like Dodd leading the fight. I particularly want everyone to read what he wrote today on the Huffington Post, which contains one of the most awesome lines I've heard in the whole campaign:

It's time we stand up and say once and for all that the choice between vengeance and insecurity is a false choice - that American leadership ought to draw strength from not our worst fears but our highest ideals.

I'm not a Dodd supporter -- John Edwards is my guy. But I nevertheless think that Dodd deserves credit, and more attention from the media, for his leadership on the issue.

"Dodd Squad" beats "Straight Talk Express" in another category besides lamest slogan ever

Ari Berman at the Nation points out the various ways in which John McCain's campaign is rapidly imploding, (http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=186404), most noticeably, he's behind CHRIS DODD in fundraising. 

Not to say Chris Dodd isn't an admirable guy, and a candidate worth noticing, but when you're one of the country's most high-profile senators, have run for president multiple times, and are being touted as the right-wing go-to-guy... this does not bode well.

News reports  say Dodd has about 6.4 million on hand for the primaries, while McCain has just 5.2. This of course dwarfed by the tens of millions Clinton and Obama pulled in during the first quarter.

Liveblogging Senator Chris Dodd

We're sitting here in the Kirkland House Junior Common Room, just about to begin our conversation with Connecticut's Senator Chris Dodd, the first installment in our "Conversations With The Candidates" series which will bring potential leaders in the upcoming Democratic horserace to Harvard for intimate discussions with students.

A word of warning: I'm currently hovering at 15% battery life, and, having found no power cord, may likely go dark very soon ....