Comments (34)

Rebel wrote on January 3, 2008 10:38 AM:

AMF - You won't be missed.

will o dwisp wrote on January 3, 2008 10:50 AM:

Good riddance creep

Freewheelin' Freddie wrote on January 3, 2008 10:58 AM:

"K Street Shuttle Bus.... now loading! Step to the rear please, step to the rear...."

BlueStateRedHead wrote on January 3, 2008 11:11 AM:

let’s recognize the implication. ENORMOUS. (crossposted on FDL and TNH.)

For the elections:
The Repubs had frozen all nominations to FEC if they could not keep him on it. The FEC thus lacked a quorum and went out of business on Jan. 1 as a regulator of election law. As Little Hans was Obama’s hold, this says something for his senatorial record.

For culpalization* of the Bush crimes:
This is the time to revive efforts to disbarment for moral turpitude made when USA broke on TPM. IANAL, but I remembering finding at TPM the opinions of those who are and thought the case, while difficult, could be made.

Paul, can you help hunt those down. Here at the Muck, by Anonymous with queries from my humble NAL self

Dan D wrote on January 3, 2008 11:43 AM:

Not that this makes up for all the disappointments with the Democratic congress, but this definitely goes in the file marked "things that make the Dems better than the GOP"

moondancer wrote on January 3, 2008 12:10 PM:

Gee an endorsement from Rupert Murdoch. Well I bet the democrats were falling over each other trying to save your nomination, you fascist criminal. You're lucky to be walking free.

JNagarya@verizon.net wrote on January 3, 2008 12:12 PM:

"Dan D wrote on January 3, 2008 11:43 AM:

"Not that this makes up for all the disappointments with the Democratic congress, . . . ."

The "Democratic" Congress consists of two chambers -- one the House, which is controlled by the Democrats, the other the Senate, in which the Democrats HAVEN'T THE NUMBERS TO OVERCOME REPUBLICAN FILIBUSTERING.

When will you jerks stop bashing the Democrats, and remaining silent about the Republican obstructionism?

phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 1:06 PM:

Jerks? Hardly. Just Americans who believe the very staid and decorous Dem Senators could have been just a tad more AGGRESSIVE in pursuing Democratic ideals like defense of the Constitution they took an oath on and the issues they were elected to deal with in Nov 2006. You know, like not bending over and writing a blank check for the Iraq War every 30 days or so. Not much more. But the minority thug party is just oh so powerful.....

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 1:07 PM:

Perhaps he can get a chin transplant. His model was produced without a chin.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 1:09 PM:

"Jerks? Hardly. Just Americans who believe the very staid and decorous Dem Senators could have been just a tad more AGGRESSIVE in pursuing Democratic ideals like defense of the Constitution they took an oath on and the issues they were elected to deal with in Nov 2006."

ANOTHER clueless bozo checks in. Have you figgered out how to overcome the MW (mighty wurlitzer) and the filibuster? Nope, I didn't think so.

Anyone who thought that the Democratic Senate (1 vote majority on a good day) could accomplish any progressive goal is a total boob. Sounds like that would be you, jack.

Richard L. Adlof wrote on January 3, 2008 1:16 PM:

He sent an e-mail to his supporters?!?!? He had supporters?

phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 1:21 PM:

POed lib. So you are saying the Dems had to fund the war. They had no choice. But the thug filibuster only works to prevent bills being voted on and passed. It doesn't force funding legislation to come up for a vote and pass. That's up to the Dem majority. Understand now? Maybe look for the boob in the mirror next time.

Gee wrote on January 3, 2008 1:29 PM:

Von Spakovsky attached an endorsement by the Wall Street Journal, though he added that “it did not help in the end in convincing the Democrats to vote to confirm me.”

Gosh. The WSJ "Vince Foster Was Murdered!" Editorial Board? And that didn't do the trick for him?

Go figure.

The Voting Section wrote on January 3, 2008 2:42 PM:

says xoxoxo to Paul Kiel for helping to get rid of ALL THREE of our worst criminals...Schlozman...Tanner...now von Spakovsky.

There IS justice! The perpetrators of the DeLay redistricting and Georgia voter ID morasses have all taken fatal hits to their careers.

Michael A wrote on January 3, 2008 3:27 PM:

There is a santa claus. Han's next stop in 2009 a federal prison for election fraud. I can't wait to see the pics.

frances wrote on January 3, 2008 3:28 PM:

The key words in his letter are " the Senate ajourned.." No it didnt.

This looks to me like a way to create confusion and by confusing the issue led support to Bush's pocket veto letter to the House.

I believe they are trying to force through Bush's appointments by saying that the three minute gavel sessions the Senate has been doing are meaningless and that the Senate is really in recess.

see what happens with this next week.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 3:33 PM:

"POed lib. So you are saying the Dems had to fund the war. They had no choice. But the thug filibuster only works to prevent bills being voted on and passed."

Yes, they had to fund the war.

The ignorance of persons like you about the ACTUAL REALITIES of politics is at times staggering. Here is the REALITY of the situation:

1) We hold the House by 12 votes or so. Most of those are in R+ districts: IL-8, WI-8, IN-8, PA-2, OH-18, and so forth. You are saying that you want those people to go into the next election with ad after ad saying "treasonous Democrat surrender monkeys hate our troops?"

I can promise you 100 % that the Representatives holding those seats DO NOT want to be in that position.

2) Every vote to hold the Admin up to reasonable scrutiny is bent into a vote against the troops.

3) We have managed, against all odds, to get several troop scheduled withdrawal timetables passed by the House. You bozos never give them a single bit of credit for this legislative magic. No, you want the whole thing right now. Well, if that's your position, YOU ARE AN IDIOT. Bush holds the veto pen, and he holds a news conference whenever he wants. If we cut off money, we lose. Simple as that.

4) Did you, O Observant One, note that Graves is gonna lay off 200,000 DoD workers? Have you thought carefully about that? "Pelosi and Reid cut off money - 200,000 lose jobs 2 days before Christmas". Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Doesn't sound good to me.

People like you annoy me no end. You appear to have learned NOTHING about Bush in the last 8 years. Until he is gone, we are in Iraq. And all your whining and bitching and moaning make it more and more likely that the Repukes will get back one or another house. Is that a good thing?

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 3:48 PM:

One final note: What the Repukeliscum want, more than anything, is to make the election in 2008 about "cowardly Democrats desperate to surrender to Islamofascists trying to kill our children" vs "strong Republicans who are willing to see America emerge victorious". If we Democrats get into that "surrender monkey" position, things are much more difficult, and we are not in the driver's seat. Yet, that's what so many of the stupider posters seem to want. They want us to cut off money, and then it's Molly bar the door to the Swift Boat ads.

At this point, note that a majority of Americans have now concluded that the surge is successful. Of course, it is not, but it has been spun into a success. That's the Mighty Wurlitzer.

We need to look responsible, we need to keep Bush out of Iran, and we need to keep the focus on timetables and reasoned withdrawal. We need to continue to remind Americans that we will get out ASAP, while not hanging off helicopters.

foggylady wrote on January 3, 2008 4:12 PM:

And another one bites the dust...
thanks in no small part to Josh and TPM folks and those who contacted their elected rapscallions to let them know the eyes were watching....
God preserve the blogs and the internet....

danger wrote on January 3, 2008 4:28 PM:

POed Lib - While I don't doubt you're completely unhinged in your ranting, there is one thing you're onto:

"cowardly Democrats desperate to surrender to Islamofascists trying to kill our children" vs "strong Republicans who are willing to see America emerge victorious".

The Mainstream Media and the GOP are going to attempt to control the national narrative from now until the election. The key to taking back this country will be to take back the narrative, if nothing else. Allowing yourself to believe or even have to tolerate the "Islamofascism is the worst threat out there" rhetoric is going to open you up to weakness. Whoever the Democrats nominate needs to realize that they cannot buy into the alternate warlord universe that the Neocons reside in and need to press forward with vision for the future. Whoever that candidate is needs to tell it like it is and not pander for votes - agree that yes, things are in the swirly shitter. If they can't control the narrative, they will fail.

One person who I know wouldn't fall for this? Jon Stewart. Can I believe in daydreams?

phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 4:46 PM:

POed. You are on Hannity's staff or O'Reilly's? Which is it? If the Democrats continue to bow to the arguments you say are incontrovertible then it makes no difference who is in charge at all. Dem or thug. If we must support the troops and keep the war machine funding all those critically important war-machine jobs (Maybe you work for Bechtel or Halliburton) then there is no end in sight. Ever. I have not yet been totally brainwashed to spout neocon talking points with a George Will-like level of disdain for the ignorant masses. Apparently you have. Moron.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 5:15 PM:

Those who believe in defunding TODAY believe in the tooth fairy or in George Bush changing his stripes. OK, since you are unable to think clearly, I will game it out for you:

1) Democrats refuse to fund the war on 1/1/2008. Note that this is 10 months to election day.

2) Republicans immediately go into war mode. Robert Graves transfers the money to fund the war from current domestic accounts and lays of 200,000 workers. He chooses to close projects in Democratic-held Republican leaning districts. Luck or deliberation? Gosh, I dunno ..... NOT!

3) Republicans begin running ads about Democratic failure and cowardice. We see more and more ads about Vietnam and how cowardly Democrats stopped our brave troops from winning there. John McCain has already run this little number up the flag pole, and it would be seen more clearly.

4) In Month 4, a very strong attack occurs in Baghdad, killing 30 US troops. Republicans immediately blame Democrats for defunding the war.

5) Republicans take footage of the disaster and make this a part of all ads. They start with the phrase "Democrat cowards" and use it consistently.

6) US popular attitudes, which support BOTH withdrawal and victory, begin to swing toward victory.

If this is your idea of a successful strategy, it is not mine. When you have a strategy, it must not be a SINGLE SHOT DEAL (which is the great strategy of all the critics). It must be good for 10 months.

Here's my strategy: Play defense, keep up the pressure and work like hell to increase our majorities in the House and the Senate, which dummies like you do not help in the slightest.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 5:30 PM:

One final point, and then I shut up. The "defund" group seems to think that "We will defund and the American people will agree." Well, that's a HUGE GAMBLE. It's very easy for outsiders to say "Take the gamble, you pussies." Just like in football, the choice of the game can succeed or fail. If it succeeds you win big. If it fails, you are out of office.

You will note that coaches go for the first down on 4th and 6 very very seldom indeed. It's the same here - it's way better to be a little conservative, and not screw up, than it is to take a huge gamble and screw up badly.

If you think that the American people support withdrawal, I agree, TODAY. In Feb? Who knows? In March? April? May? there is a LONG TIME to the election, and that's the issue.

phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 5:51 PM:

POed Finally, something I agree with you on. The part about you making that final point and then shutting up. Uh. Uh. Uh. You promised. No more thug talking points on this thread for the duration. Or are you going to go back on your so well informed word already? No? Well thanks. My point, which I believe is worth repeating until it gets through your thick skull is that the thug argument never goes away. If the support the troops (and fund the war machine) idiocy is a compelling argument that the voters will always and everywhere bow to the (il)logic of, it will always hold sway, no matter who is in charge. If it's not, then it can be countered with other reasonable arguments, such as not killing more of our young men and women or not pooring billions more into a hole in the desert. Not only do I believe the latter are more logical and compelling, I also believe the Senate Dems simply don't have (and never had) the cojones for any kind of fight. I believe they are cowards. And when the Dem majority first came into power in Jan 2007 it was second and goal from the 4 when Harry Reid called a one-year timeout.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 6:10 PM:

Well, you can believe what you want. I believe that you are about 14, and have the thought power of a yak. But, that's just me. And your understanding of politics is much lower than the political understanding of a stalk of broccoli.

sabatia wrote on January 3, 2008 6:25 PM:

This guy was real dirt. Can't we kick him on the way out. I agree, the folks here at TPM have done a fabulous job of keeping attention on this assh..., and Tanner, and Palouse and all the assistant and deputy AGs. The undermining of Civil Rights and Voting Rights and the entire Dept. of Justice is, to me, the most egregious crap that these Bushies and Republicans have inflicted on this nation. And it was a Dem congress whose oversight unraveled so much of their nasty schemes, Oversight and Judiciary committees. This would not have happened if the Rs were in control--That's for sure! We need more Ds, imperfect though they are, almost any D is better than almost any R.

phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 6:45 PM:

POed So. You have just proven that, not only are you an insufferable know-it-all you are also a liar. I couldn't have demonstrated it better. Thanks.

Anonymous wrote on January 3, 2008 6:56 PM:

"This would not have happened if the Rs were in control--That's for sure! We need more Ds, imperfect though they are, almost any D is better than almost any R."

I agree 100%. I am very happy with almost everything that has been done. With a 1 vote majority in the Senate and the veto on the R side, you have little real power. thus, the small results. THe power of oversight, and the very good things being done by the House in particular are very satisfying.

Those immature and politically ignorant types who expected Harry Reid to be the second coming of Christ are always saying stupid things. Political change in the Senate happens slowly. Those who criticize Reid are really traitors to the Democratic Party, since they are themselves doing much more to help the REpublicans regain power than any republican. We must hold out and APPLAUD what can be applauded. This small victory over "NoCHin" van Spanofsky is very satisfying.

POed Lib wrote on January 3, 2008 7:44 PM:

"POed So. You have just proven that, not only are you an insufferable know-it-all you are also a liar. I couldn't have demonstrated it better. Thanks."

Thanks for your complement - I agree, I am a know-it-all. On the other hand, I will never insult you with such a term. I would use other terms for you. You will NEVER be mistaken for a know-it-all.

parrot wrote on January 3, 2008 9:09 PM:

Great. Now will he face charges for conspiracy to disenfranchise voters?

phil james wrote on January 4, 2008 12:31 AM:

Anonymous and POed: Let me direct you to this quote from kos (who I would assume you would characterize as an ignorant jackass) "In a week, I may get cynical again as a few lonesome Democrats, led by Chris Dodd, fight another impossible battle against a terrible FISA bill. We'll see Harry Reid, the rest of our party's leadership, and many Democrats with them sell out key progressive principles out of terror that Mr. 24% will say "boo!" They'll sell out our troops in Iraq, lard up on pork, and forget the promises that gave them their Congressional majorities in the first place. What do they care? Republicans are so pathetic, that even an ineffective Democratic Party will run roughshod over them.

No. You don't need to say another word. Just save your applause for the next Dem sellout.

PCrane wrote on January 4, 2008 12:31 AM:

If Hans von Spakovsky has really given up the effort to be confirmed as an FEC Commissioner, it is not a moment too soon, for there are reasons to question his testimony before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on June 13, 2007. Describing his family’s past, he said, according to his written statement: "My mother grew up in Nazi Germany and my father escaped from Russia in the early 1920's after the Communists took control. When my father fled Russia, he settled in Yugoslavia. When World War II ended, he once again had to flee his adopted country when the Communists took control to avoid being arrested and shot."

It is a moving story, but is the last part of it true? The plain implication is that the “adopted country” was Yugoslavia. However, a Russian-language biography of Commissioner von Spakovsky’s father, the author and professor Anatol von Spakovsky (also known as Anatolii Ignatevich Spakovskii), to be found on the Internet site Biografija.ru, reports that the elder von Spakovsky, who had been living in the Yugoslav city of Novi Sad, moved to Germany in 1942. The biography of Anatol von Spakovsky is silent as to what he was doing in the years between 1942 and 1951, when he immigrated to the United States.

In judging Hans von Spakovsky’s qualifications to hold office, it is utterly irrelevant whether his father spent the war years in Yugoslavia, Nazi Germany, Russia, or the United States. What is relevant, however, is the veracity of Hans von Spakovsky himself, when volunteering information about his background to the Congress; whatever the subject, witnesses testifying before Congress are obliged to tell the truth. If it turns out that Commissioner von Spakovsky, in referring to his father's "adopted country," was playing verbal games, deliberately misleading the Senators to gain their sympathy, that would speak to his character and his fitness for any future office.

For those who can read Russian, the biography of Anatol von Spakovsky follows. Note the sentence beginning "B 1942." I wish to make clear that I have no independent way of judging whether the biography is accurate; conceivably, the biographer had it wrong and Commissioner von Spakovsky had it right.

Шпаковский Анатолий Игнатьевич

(1895—1988) — спец. в обл. филос., культурологии и социол., поэт; д-р филос., проф. Род. в Петербурге. Гимназию и два семестра ун-та окончил в Москве. Гражд. война помешала ему завершить образование в России. Ш. изучает филос. во Франции — в ун-те г. Нанси. С середины 20-х гг. Ш. преподает франц. яз. и филос. в Сербии, в городах Великая Кикинда и Великий Бечкерек. С 1937 Ш. проживал в Новосадской рус. колонии (г. Новый сад, Сербия), преподавал в Сербской мужской гимназии, сотрудничал в "Летописи Матицы Сербской". В Любляне защитил докт. дисс у филос. и психолога Франца Вебера. В Новом Саде опубликовал ряд кн. и брошюр на нескольких языках. В своем первом опубликованном труде на сербском языке — "Культурная перспектива Королевства СХС" (1928) — Ш. отмечает, что сербскому духу важно полностью не подчиниться мощному влиянию западноевроп. цивилизации. Он затрагивает вопросы культуры, ее эволюции и призывает к устранению раздвоения т.н. "сербской" души (влияние Азии) и "отмежевавшейся" души (влияние Европы). В трактате "Кризис школьной системы, порожденный кризисом культурных форм жизни" (1932) Ш. подмечает кризис всех видов дух. деятельности, проникший в Сербию из Зап. Европы, и видит освобождение от чуждого для славян налета ев-роп. кризиса в обращении к "культурной силе Славянства". Одновременно он приветствует созданную Европой высшую культурную ценность — личность как необходимое условие для дух. стимула коллектива. Первый труд Ш., опубликованный на рус. яз., вышел в Новом Саде (1934) — "Разрешение судьбы человеческой". Он посвящен вопросам личности, творцу культуры. Ш. различает тип человека периферии жизни (человек от мира сего), с утилитарным началом, и тип человека глубин жизни (человек не от мира сего), творящего культуру как высший лик жизни. Первый тип в лучшем случае-закрепляет культуру, но большей частью живет дух. и моральным паразитом. Философ-культуролог ищет выход из совр. кризиса. Выразителем и пророком гибели западноевроп. культуры Ш. считает О.Шпенглера, но взгляды последнего на религию противопоставляет мыслям Н.А.Бердяева о судьбе и миссии христианства. В др. работах ("Философские мелочи" и "Человеческое "Я" и культура") Ш. подчеркивает, что в эпоху кризиса культуры начинает воскресать интерес к религ. преображению человека. "Человек нашего времени устал от бега своего духа в мир внешн. — феноменального и ищет в себе самом преодоление своего бессилия перед миром и его динамикой". Ш. развивает идеи своего учителя Ф. Вебера о разделении сознания на 4 обл. (представление, мышление, чувствование, стремление). Он полагает, что аналитическая психол. может оказаться новым стимулом в развитии рус. филос. мысли. В 1942 Ш. покидает Новый Сад и уезжает в Германию, а в 1951 иммигрирует в США, где в 1957 становится проф. социол. Джексонвилльского колледжа в штате Алабама. Продолжает писать кн., статьи в амер. и европ. ж., состоит чл. Амер. социол. об-ва, Об-ва славянских наук в США, Королевского филос. ин-та в Лондоне, Об-ва Канта в Германии и др. В течение всей жизни Ш. писал стихи на рус. яз., но рукописные листы терялись во время частых странствий. Единственный сб. его стихотворений — "На путях жизни и мысли" — был издан в 1962 вашингтонским рус. книгоизд-вом. Соч.: Kulturna perspektiva Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca. Velika Kikinda, 1928; Kriza skole и vezi sa krizom kulturne forme zivota. Velika Kikinda, 1932; Разрешение судьбы человеческой. Новый Сад, 1934; Философские мелочи. Новый Сад, 1935; Человеческое "Я" и культура. 1: Аналитическая структура человеческого сознания. Новый Сад, 1936; Gedanken. 2. Teil. Neusatz, [s.a.]; Kleinere philosophische Schriften. 2. Buck. Vel. Kikinda, 1938; Das menschliche "Ich" und die Kultur: Der psychische Dinamismus und seine Gestaltung der Welt. Novi Sad; Das menchliche "Ich" und die Kultur: Der Parallelismus der dynamischen Entwicklung des Ich und der Kultur. Novi Sad, 1941; Filozofiai miniurok. Ujvidek, 1942; Die Perspektiven einer Kultur... Berlin, 1961; На путях жизни и мысли. Вашингтон, 1962; Freedom, Determination, Indeterminism. The Hague, 1963; Reflections and Impressions, [s.1, s.a]; Ideologies (Weltanschauungen) and the Problem of Good and Evil. Huntsville, 1978. А.Арсенъев

Tyrone Biggums wrote on January 4, 2008 8:22 PM:

Aufwiedersen, Herr Von Spakovsky......

Al in Austex wrote on January 5, 2008 4:38 PM:

Hello PO'ed Lib,
So if we agree to disagree about having the Dems defund the Iraqi Occupation - might we agree to pretty please put the impeachment of Vice President Cheney back on the table .. You know that all those brownshirt wannabees over there at the OVP did committ ICC /war crimes-particularly regarding ordering the CIA to torture detainees.
I am hoping to retain my 'spirit of comity" with my fellow progressives -but its hard not to begin to worry that Madam Speaker and Congresswoman Harmon are also complicit in approving torturing detainees, that they too may have "walked on the darkside "-
Believe me PO'd - many of us over here on the center left are very tired of our elected lEADERSHIP not standing up to BushcO. And PO'd lIBERAL your comments regarding brocolli stalks having more understanding of politics is singularly not helpful-
But what about impeaching Cheney - even Bob Barr is for filing impeachment proceedings against the VEEP ...