Same reason we should vote on all of Bush's judges, just vote some of them down.

Same reason we shouldn't run candidates as coPresidents when the 22d Amendment says they're not permitted to be Presidents any longer. I don't think we'd have any trouble if the War on Terror were wildly popular figuring out that, under the 22d Amendment, Laura Bush should not succeed George Bush as President so he could be coPresident for eight more years.

As to the FISA mess, we should knock this election out of the park, and then fix it, like codegen says. Win first. Bush barely won, governed with strength. We can win by more, and if Obama can keep progressives even reasonably together, we'll fix this and a lot more in 09.

Posted at June 22, 2008 7:16 PM in response to Powers For Me But Not For Thee - doesn't work that way

can't fight the seether

Posted at June 22, 2008 5:32 PM in response to So Nice To Have You Back, Mr. Friedman

I think it is horrible, unsurprising, and nothing new. Look at what they said about Adams and Jefferson, Lincoln, Smith. Our political culture has always had this debased undercurrent, and while it's abhorrent and evil, it's only deeply significant when, as with McCarthy, it ascends to governance. Right now, we're on the verge of having a liberal black President. I am not dismissing your point about bigots and extremists who deride our leaders as dupes of our enemies or fundamentally committed to hurting the republic, but it does come with the territory, and we've been living it for 230 years and counting.

Posted at June 22, 2008 5:30 PM in response to The Media Conspiracy The Media Won't Touch

Well done.

And refusing to say how they'd handle Cindy's vast holdings is a conflict issue and an appearance issue that will dog McCain.

We already tried government by the conflicted aristocrats, and the price of oil did go up a bit.

Posted at June 22, 2008 5:22 PM in response to The Brooks Article: Point by Point Rebuttal

I'd suggest you not indulge the blue pseudonym by using his little pet term "crap speak". It strokes him. Having helped in running off the blue pseudonym once, I know his psychology. He's best ignored.

I don't quite agree with your suggestions that pseudonymousness (or, since most in here are pseudonymous, multonymousness) is depraved. I think lying is the bad thing. If someone comes in here as Thomas Jefferson, or some avatar that is a figure or caricature or artifact of some point, and writes within that caricature or point, and doesn't pretend to be some separate autonomous person to chat you up like some gameplayer in a chat room, I think that's part of what the anonymity of the net can positively facilitate. There's a performance element that I think can be ok, along the lines of what artappraiser said below, I think.

However, when people invent pseudonyms to promote their "real" identity, that's fucked up, or so they can be three people in a thread yelling at the same person.

So I agree with that part of what you're saying strongly, because to me, that's not performance or dialogue enhancing, it's just narcissistic and can be rude or hurtful.

Posted at June 22, 2008 5:17 PM in response to Death by a Thousand Cuts - My Feingold Endorsement

That's it Jade, we need to onion-belt this thread, as DF likes to say.

Posted at June 22, 2008 1:50 PM in response to P.U.M.A.!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, the puma is extirpated in states sufficient to permit Democrats to take the White House this year.

The whole puma thing works both ways. After the Democrats win, they'll doubtless send out parties of puma hunters. Run free, little pumas, until November 4.

Antirecommend this "post."

Posted at June 22, 2008 1:48 PM in response to P.U.M.A.!!!!!!!!!

If it's literally a Bill of Rights issue, then "it" will be invalidated, I suppose.

Posted at June 21, 2008 3:35 PM in response to Excessive Handwringing

You're exactly right.

Posted at June 21, 2008 3:34 PM in response to Excessive Handwringing

I completely agree. Every word you wrote.

Posted at June 21, 2008 3:32 PM in response to Excessive Handwringing