Buck Naked Politics

Obama Supported Gas-Tax Holidays in Illinois

by D. Cupples |  Sen. Barack Obama is chastising Hillary Clinton and John McCain for supporting a gas-tax holiday.  McCain's proposal is a straight lifting of the tax.  Hillary's proposal would include a windfall-profits tax on oil companies, meaning that oil companies would in theory pay for the gas-tax holiday.  Of course, oil companies could just raise prices to offset the tax, which would make it a wash for consumers.

Still, Obama's criticism's are a tad hypocritical, given his own support for a gas-tax holiday back when he was an Illinois legislator.  CBS News reports:

Obama Supporter Spreads Fake Video to Smear Hillary -- with Help from Unquestioning Bloggers & Media

by D. Cupples |  Yesterday, a YouTube video spread throughout the blogosphere and media like mildew in a lazy bachelor's shower stall.  The clip's audio is terribly unclear, but the editor inserted subtitles to give the false impression that Mickey Kantor, a former Bill Clinton campaign staffer and Clinton Administration official, had said unkind things about the people of Indiana back in 1992 (while Kantor was being filmed for the documentary The War Room).

What interesting timing: Hillary Clinton happens to be facing Indiana's primary election in four days, and Kantor is connected to her campaign.

Krugman Critiques Obama's Statement During Fox Interview (and Gives History Lesson)

by D. Cupples |   As I mentioned a few days ago, I objected to two things coming out of Obama's Fox interview: his Republican-sounding stances on tort reform and deregulation.  My speculation: either Obama really believed what he was saying, or he was  disingenuously trying to appeal to voters who watch Fox -- neither of which reflects well on Obama.

According to economist Paul Krugman's editorial today, Obama simply didn't know what he was talking about on the de-regulation issue.  Dr. Krugman's comments follow, and they include some relevant history:

The Indianapolis Star Endorses Hillary

Posted by Damozel | After praising both candidates ---

In this extraordinary election year, Indiana's Democratic voters have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity: Choose for their party's presidential nominee between a gifted senator from Illinois who has enthused millions of new voters and an equally talented senator from New York with years of high-level experience.  (Indianapolis Star)

--- The Star endorses Hillary.  I appreciate --- and applaud--- the reason given in the editorial:  'Obama offers an attractive vision for the way things could be ....  Clinton offers a clear-eyed view of the way things are."(Star)  That's right.

Karma's a Harpy: DNC Donations Dry Up

Posted by Damozel | At The Politico, David Paul Kuhn speculates that the reason the DNC is having a hard time collecting money is because the candidates are vacuuming up so much cash.  Probably so.  But the reason the DNC isn't collecting cash from me and many other Dems I know is different:  we live in Florida. 

Note to the DNC:  Call me when you agree to seat our delegates.  As the Florida Democratic Party advised all Democrats to do, I got off my arse and turned out to vote in the state's primary, and if lazy prats didn't bother, that's their look-out.  At the time, I was an Edwards supporter though I knew by then that he wasn't going to be the nominee and ended up --- after a lot of hesitation --- of what I'm glad to say turned out to be the right choice:  I voted for Hillary.  And I want that vote to count. 

'Appreciative' Constituents Happy to Finance House Reps' Luxury Vehicles?

Posted by Damozel | It's all about respect, according to Congressman Charles Rangel.

""When I'm in New York, my car is my office. I use it to conduct Congressional business. It really pleases me that (my constituents) appreciate driving in a comfortable car, especially the senior citizens. "I could probably find something for ... one of those red cars and then I think my constituents would say, 'With all the money that he gets, this is the respect he shows us?'" (WBCBSTV.com)

This, then, he is telling himself --- respect for his constituents --- is why he must spend  $774 tax dollars per month to lease a Cadillac DeVille.  You and I, of course, know what his constituents would really think if they knew they were paying for his expensive car:  "With all the money that he gets, can't he afford to finance the cost of his own luxury vehicle?"  Or at least part of it?

Post-Surge Iraq Sees Surge in Violence

by D. Cupples |  Two suicide bombers detonated explosive vests in a market in Baghdad yesterday, killing 30 people and wounding 65 others.  According to Reuters (via New York Times), "Police said the second bomber struck as crowds rushed to evacuate the wounded from the first attack, a common tactic used by bombers to maximise casualties."

Iraqi government data show that April has been the most deadly month for civilians since August 2007.

Gas Prices (and Exxon's Profits) are High; Hillary has Something to Say About that

by D. Cupples |  Today, I bought gas in North Florida: $3.79 a gallon for regular, up about 83 cents since early February.  Friday, Exxon Mobil reported quarterly profits of $10.9 billion.  Last quarter, Exxon listed the highest quarterly profits in U.S. corporate history ($11.66 billion), as well as record-high annual profits of  $40.66 billion in 2007.

Exxon's share prices fell anyway, because analysts had expected even performance. 

While it's nice to know that we consumers are helping pay for record-high oil company profits again, that's not all we're helping pay for.

Death of the D.C. Madam

Posted by Damozel | Debra Jean Palfrey, 'the DC Madam,' was found dead in a storage shed at her mother's home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, an apparent suicide. (Fox)  Palfrey was convicted on Tuesday of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes, and racketeering, but hadn't yet been sentenced. (Fox)   Aged 52, she was facing a maximum of 55 years in prison. (The Swamp)  Initially there was some doubt of her identity, but this now seems to have been confirmed by the police.  (On Deadline)

Meanwhile, there's plenty of speculation in the blogosphere about her apparent suicide.   

Hillary Gets 4 New Delegates and has Nice Poll Showings

by D. Cupples  |    No Quarter reports that 4 "automatic delegates" from New York are supporting Hillary Clinton: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and New York Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo.

Frankly, I don't know what an "automatic delegate" is or if it is the same as a "super delegate."  About recent polls:

Hillary Gets Bill O'Reilly to Admit (in Front of Fox Viewers) that Working Americans Deserve Health Care Safety Net

by D. Cupples |   During her interview with Fox's Bill O'Reilly, Sen. Hillary Clinton has done what I thought would be impossible: argued with O'Reilly and forced him to concede that "hard working American families" do deserve government help with health care.  She also refuses to back down on closing the income gap and taxing the rich.  The video clips are after the jump.

Warning: though Hillary tries to get past this non-issue, O'Reilly brings up the Rev. Wright and persists until Hillary makes a comment.  She credits Obama with having spoken "forcefully" yesterday, and O'Reilly finally let her move on to other issues (including taking on OPEC and the oil companies).

Doan Forced out of GSA

by D. Cupples |   Lurita Doan, head of the General Services Administration (which oversees billions in government contracts) has been forced out of her position.  The New York Times reports:

"In a stormy two-year tenure as the agency's administrator, Ms. Doan has been accused of improperly mixing government business with politics and of trying to steer government contracts to her friends. Democrats in Congress said she violated the Hatch Act, which makes it illegal for government employees to take action that could influence an election."

Hillary Gets 3 more Endorsements, and Poll Shows her More Electable than McCain (by 9 Points)

Tuesday, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) endorsed Hillary Clinton, reportedly because of Hillary's support for "rural America, her commitment to National Security, and her dedication to our men and women in uniform."

According to MyDD , two more superdelegates declared support for Hillary: Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George and Luisette Cabanas of Puerto Rico; since her victory in Pennsylvania's primary, Hillary has picked up six superdelegates.

Back-Room Deal re: Telecom Amnesty? (plus video)

by D. Cupples |   We've covered here and here (and here) why retroactive immunity for Telecoms that knowingly broke laws while helping the Bush Adminsitration spy on Americans is a bad idea for us taxpayers and citizens.  So far, Democrats in Congress have retarded the Administration's (and its corporate and congressional allies') push for Telecom Amnesty.

Reportedly, Sen. Jay Rockfeller has teamed up with fellow Democrat and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to renew the fight for Telecom Amnesty.  Firedoglake reports:

Math is Hard...and So is Reporting on Policy

Posted by Damozel | Ezra Klein, who can and does discuss policy, has identified the problem --- or rather two of the problems --- with the useless and degraded American media:  (1) ignorance; and (2) laziness.

They know how to imply that Barack Obama has had bad friends, and Hillary Clinton tells lies, and John McCain -- well, they know how to doodle his initials inside a sparkly heart. What they don't know how to do, however, is say that one candidate's health plan, or housing plan, or economic agenda, is better than another candidate's. Which is why folks basically have to vote on grounds of flag pins and flip-flops -- they're not given much else in the way of analytical guidance. But I sympathize. Policy is hard. (Ezra Klein)

Joint Chiefs Tell Iran to Knock it Off...or Else

Posted by Damozel | Did you know that George W. Bush is still president?  It's true.  And yesterday, 'a second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran.' (CBS News)

One concern is the Iranians' participation in the Iraq war.  '"What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and -women inside Iraq," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.'   They are certainly smuggling weapons into Iraq. (CBS News)   Current reports state that they are increasing aid to Iraqi militias.(CBS News)  The military claims to have evidence of this:

North Carolina Governor Endorses Hillary (and Poll Swings Her Way)

Sen. Hillary Clinton has picked up another endorsement --this one from North Carolina Governor Mike Easley.  Hear what he has to say in the video below or read about it here.

Video clip originally run at No Quarter, and bravo to CNN for running the story!

Also today, Gallup's daily tracking poll swung in favor of Hillary: 

Obama 'Outraged' by Wright's Comments

Posted by Damozel | So anyway, Obama's done what everyone said he must and 'denounced' the Rev. Wright.  Like John Cole, I'm sick of the expression 'throw him under the bus,' which isn't really accurate anyway.  Instead, he did what I guess in light of our looney media he ought to have done at the start:  disavowed any connection between Wright's opinions on racial issues and his own and moved on.   Though a Hillary supporter, I think the whole discussion is ridiculous and pointless and based on an essentially racist fear that Obama might secretly hate white people or America or intend to promote a black revolution or some other nonsense I can't be bothered to analyze further.  There are plenty of real reasons to prefer Hillary. 

Here's what Obama said in an interview (in my old hometown, Winston-Salem, North Carolina):

Four U.S. Soldiers Died in Iraq, April the Highest Death Toll Since September

Today's Washington Post reports:

"Four US soldiers were killed in two rocket attacks in Baghdad on Monday as clashes between US-backed Iraqi forces and Shiite militiamen intensified, the military said.

"Three soldiers were killed about 1 pm in eastern Baghdad, where fighters loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have battled US and Iraqi troops. The fourth American soldier was killed at 4:15 p.m. in the western part of the capital, a US military spokesman said. The military provided few other details about the attacks."

The Rev. Wright Goes Global

Posted by Damozel | Poor Barack Obama.  The youthful mistakes of Mr. Ayres and the current ones of the Rev. Mr. Wright are being imputed to him by some of his opponents and he doesn't seem to know what to do about it. In re: the Rev..," “He does not speak for me; he does not speak for the campaign,” [poor] Mr. Obama said Monday."  (NYT)  That's right. 

This whole 'surrogates' thing was always annoying, but now that statements made by Wright off his own bat are being attributed to Obama --- whom I still dislike and distrust --- it's just becoming ludicrous.