Not sure how much truth there is too it, but I've heard recently that in addition to the whole Sanford adultery on the public dime scandal, the republican Lt Gov of SC who called on Sanford to step down may have just been unwilling outed to keep him from rising to power in the republican ranks, and that Sanford's appointee, Kristin Maguire, as Chairwoman to the State Board of Education is resigning because its been discovered that in addition to being an an Upstate evangelical and one of South Carolina’s most respected social conservatives she's the prolific author of hardcore erotic fiction on the Internet and Maguire believes that a former friend is leaking the information to the media in an effort to ruin her political career.
http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/08/31/sex-education/
http://www.blogactive.com/2009/08/rumors-confirmed.html

Not putting any stock in any of the rumors unless the info comes from a source I know is reputable, nor do I think people's private sex lives should have any bearing on whether or not they can be effective public servants, but if this is all true then I think they need to adopt more healthy & open & less repressive attitudes towards sex before they destroy the whole republican party leadership in SC.

I think instead of reading Everybody Poops, there needs to be as required reading for conservative & evangelical leaders in public service a book called Everybody Fucks.

9/1/2009 1:54:30 PM

lol, if that's true...good lord.

9/1/2009 3:33:14 PM

^^^ People in general don't feel like their gov. represents them. It's fairly normal.

It's not a feeling that's going to change though when both Republican and Democratic presidents run up massive amounts of debt.

It's sad that the guy they attacked the hardest (Clinton) was practically the only president to do anything about the deficit.

9/1/2009 4:33:11 PM

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/02/sanford-now-i-know-what-palin-felt-like/

Quote :

"Sanford: Now I know what Palin felt like (CNN) – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says that the state Ethics Commission probe into his travel expenses reminds him of the flood of ethics complaints filed against Sarah Palin before she resigned the Alaska governorship. "I think I now know what Sarah may have been feeling," Sanford told The Washington Times in an interview published Wednesday. Sanford called the complaints filed against Palin baseless, and indeed, most of the allegations against the onetime vice presidential candidate were dismissed by the Alaska Personnel Board. But the Ethics Commission investigation into Sanford, which officially began last week, differs in substance and circumstance from the slew of ethics allegations that badgered Palin for much of the first half of 2009. In Alaska, any individual citizen can file an ethics complaint against the governor – a scenario that allowed political critics in the state to deluge the governor's office with accusations. But in South Carolina, the state Ethics Commission probe was called for by multiple high-ranking elected officials in Sanford's own party, and the governor has agreed to make the proceedings of the probe open to the public. When Palin resigned in July, she cited the burden of the legal fees as one reason for stepping down. Sanford has refused to resign – even with the possibility of impeachment on the horizon – and has gone on the offensive against the media and his critics over the last week. Sanford's travel came under scrutiny after he revealed in June that he left the country to visit his mistress in Argentina. Subsequent investigations by political critics and media organizations into his travel records revealed that during his tenure, the governor may have mis-used state resources and failed to report flights provided to him by political allies. The state's Attorney General and Republican leadership in the state house have asked the Ethics Commission to make the final determination about whether Sanford broke any laws. Sanford also told the Times that he is committed to staying in office to fight for his conservative, small-government beliefs because it's what God put him on earth to do. The embattled governor has long sparred with Republicans in the legislature on matters of government spending. "I feel absolutely committed to the cause, to what God wanted me to do with my life," he said. "I have got this blessing of being engaged in a fight for liberty, which is constantly being threatened.""

When it's leaders in his own party calling for an ethics probe after evidence that he may have broken finance laws, that is a little different than any random citizen being able to call for an investigation, and either way I'm not sure a comparison of yourself to Palin is the best way to drum up sympathy while she's out there giving paid speeches & making a lot of money after quitting the job she was elected for.

9/2/2009 12:29:48 PM

Sarah and Mark both love Jesus.

9/2/2009 1:14:25 PM

The Christian right is a pretty heavy millstone around the GOP's neck. Unless they can get shod of it, and attract enough fiscally conservative / social libertarians from the left, they're all but sunk . . . despite the nearly epic ineptness of the Democratic party.

9/2/2009 1:19:12 PM

fat chance.

the christian right is where all the GOP's $$$ comes from.

9/2/2009 1:33:00 PM

yeah, I don't see it happening. I think this leaves an opening for a third party. The Democrats will self destruct left unopposed.

9/2/2009 1:36:51 PM

Quote :

"Democrats Leading in Congressional Ballot Test The latest AP/Ipsos survey finds that 42% of Americans report that if congressional elections were held today, they would vote for the Democratic candidate, compared to 34% who would vote for the Republican candidate. For comparison, a recent PPP survey found Republicans leading by 45% to 41%, while a Pew survey finds Democrats barely ahead, 45% to 44%."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/09/02/democrats_leading_in_congressional_ballot_test.html


^^^ I doubt that'll happen. Republicans have developed a culture that's abhorrent to social libertarians. And they're in the process of developing a culture that rejects any sort of economic pragmatism.

9/2/2009 1:40:47 PM

reading the rest of that link, the results are mixed.

I thought this was interesting from the PPP report:

Quote :

"There is such an anti-incumbent mood right now that only 47% of voters across the country say they would vote to reelect their member of Congress if there was an election today. In most election years incumbents across the country seeking reelection average a share of the vote somewhere in the upper 60s."

9/2/2009 1:56:35 PM

The GOP's Best Weapon In 2010
Gary Andres: History Makes The Case For Divided Government

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/20/opinion/main5255432.shtml

9/2/2009 2:17:18 PM

That's their best case? The same case that any minority party that's ever existed has had?

9/2/2009 3:43:16 PM

^ Well, there's that and this:

Democrats Could Lose Big in House in 2010
Experts say GOP could pick up more than 20 seats
Posted Aug 31, 09

Quote :

"(Newser Summary) – Top political analysts are predicting a dismal 2010 election for House Democrats, who could lose more than 20 seats, Politico reports. Acclaimed handicapper Nate Silver gives the GOP a 25% to 33% chance of winning the 40 seats they’d need to take over the House. Democratic newcomers face 'a much tougher environment than in 2006 and 2008,' he reasons, and some 'will inevitably freak out and end up losing.' 'Complacency is another factor,' he says: It's 'less compelling' for those who volunteered on the Obama campaign to work to preserve the majority. But a big part of the problem is the health care debate, which 'has slipped completely out of control for President Obama and congressional Democrats,' says one analyst. 'Many veteran congressional election watchers report an eerie sense of déjà vu.' Parties out of power also tend to fare well in midterms. But most analysts don’t predict a wholesale turnover. If the GOP 'won 12 to 15 seats, they should be very happy about that,' says one."

http://www.newser.com/story/68209/democrats-could-lose-big-in-house-in-2010.html

9/2/2009 4:09:09 PM

i don't know about the numbers, but i think the sentiments expressed are pretty accurate.

guess it's time for:

2010: Contract With America, part II ... just like 1994, we won't keep any of the promises but it sure feels good.

9/2/2009 4:58:13 PM

^ How many "promises" has Obama kept?

9/2/2009 10:59:51 PM

"no new taxes"

sorry had to

9/2/2009 11:11:41 PM

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/09/rs-levi3.html?hpid=artslot

Quote :

"Sarah Palin seemed to dote more on her new grandson, Tripp, than on her own infant, Trig. "Sarah has a weird sense of humor. ... Sarah would call Trig -- who was born with Down syndrome -- 'my little Down's baby.' ... and sometimes say, playing around, 'No, I don't want the retarded baby -- I want the other one,' and pick up Tripp. That was just her -- even her kids were used to it." "

9/2/2009 11:29:39 PM

yeah, i could care less about that.

9/2/2009 11:42:33 PM

I refuse to judge any parent of a special needs child, about how they handle their parenting.

that is by far the most stressful, emotionally devastating thing in the world, to have a developmentally disabled child.

9/2/2009 11:44:04 PM

^^^I'm not in anyway disputing the reliability of that article, but it still strikes me as a little sketchy to have the words "reliable source" in the link, much in the same way that I worry about University Apartments or Your Schools Mascot Apartments type places.

9/3/2009 12:30:09 AM

I mean, in all seriousness, stuff she does and says as a private figure now receives more attention than half the asinine shit that flows out of either Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reed. Sarah Palin was unfit for national office, and I'm glad she's gone, but for fuck's sake the left needs to let her go.

9/3/2009 9:48:27 AM

the right needs to let her go, too.

9/3/2009 9:50:45 AM

The GOP is doing a lot to distance themselves from her. She's not speaking at the Republican Women's convention, she's not making any high profile public appearances and, aside from the folks still driving around with Palin / McCain stickers, she really isn't a significant part of the Republican conversation.

9/3/2009 10:11:37 AM

^From what I heard on the news yesterday she is still out there making a good chunk of change for paid speeches, she's had around 200 invites from republicans to come help campaign for them, and just hoping over to CNN now one can easily find a Palin story in the politics section and see that they want to make her queen of the tea parties.



http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/03/looking-for-a-leader-tea-partiers-issue-invite-to-palin-2/

Quote :

" EL PASO, Texas (CNN) — As the Tea Party Express makes its way across the country, Sarah Palin has emerged as a favorite daughter of the movement, and organizers have invited her to join the tour — or at least come to the final stop in the nation's capital. The bus is scheduled to end its nationwide journey in Washington on Saturday, September 12. "We've been in touch with her people, letting her know the response that we've gotten. She's very suportive of the movement," says Joe Wierzbicki, one of the organizers traveling on the Tea Party Express"

9/3/2009 10:38:54 AM

Tea Party Express.

lol.

makes me think of when Buzz Lightyear dressed up like Mrs. Nesbitt and drank one too many cups of Darjeeling.






[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 10:50 AM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 10:46:33 AM

Queen of a tea party?

These people are hilarious.

9/3/2009 11:07:46 AM

Well if she's still showing her ass, it should still be a target. And I mean that in a non-gender specific way.

Comma however.

I do wish the media would spend more time investigating the people actually in power instead of taking the intellectually lazy route of picking the low hanging fruit like Sarah Palin or making fun of the term "Tea Party."

9/3/2009 12:40:58 PM

Quote :

"I do wish the media would spend more time investigating the people actually in power instead of taking the intellectually lazy route of picking the low hanging fruit like Sarah Palin or making fun of the term 'Tea Party.'"

Hear, hear.

Quote :

"TEA-BAGGING TEA-BAGGERS RAWR! RAWR!"

9/3/2009 1:24:11 PM

Says the champion of childish name-calling.

9/3/2009 1:31:47 PM

^ Maybe you're right, Boone-Tard. But at least I'm not biting off anyone's finger like one Obama supporter did:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/09/mans-finger-bitten-off-in-clash-at-health-care-rally.html

9/3/2009 1:35:47 PM

That was one helluva non sequitur.

9/3/2009 2:04:46 PM

Quote :

""I do wish the media would spend more time investigating the people actually in power instead of taking the intellectually lazy route of picking the low hanging fruit like Sarah Palin or making fun of the term 'Tea Party."

Fact is, if one or two key unexpected events in Aug/Sept '08 had broke in a different direction, she very likely would have been our Vice President.

so, it's curious how so many people want to us forget that they were ready to put her in place to assume the US Presidency after McCain's first likely coronary event.

and, how easily they want to gloss over the fact that a significant subset of the GOP is still considering putting her in the driver's seat for 2012.

sorry if your only remaining recognizable candidate right now is such an easy target, but it's important to keep an eye on what one of the most potentially-powerful american political figures is up to.







[Edited on September 3, 2009 at 2:49 PM. Reason : ]

9/3/2009 2:43:37 PM

^^^http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/09/healthcare-reform-advocate-punched-by-opponent-at-nelson-event.html

9/3/2009 4:12:32 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090903/ap_on_re_us/us_finger_severed_2

Quote :

"A hospital spokeswoman says the man lost half the finger, but doctors reattached it and he was sent home the same night. She says he had Medicare."

lolsauce.

9/3/2009 4:15:52 PM

the irony there is made less humorous by the fact that the government threatens you with revocation of Social Security benefits if you don't accept Medicare.

I'm an opponent of both, but I cannot fault people for making rational financial decisions when compelled to by the Federal Government.


^^^ Meh. I'll buy some of that. I don't think John McCain ever really had a chance. His campaign was exceptionally poorly run from the start and it is practically magical that he managed to survive.

Sarah Palin is gone from elected office. She won't be coming back. People currently in public office, either elected or appointed, are saying and doing all sorts of things that are remarkably more important than Sarah Palin. If she starts popping up in 2011 more and more, I'll buy the coverage. Right now? It's just self-gratifying easy pickings which keeps her in the news.

9/3/2009 4:22:40 PM

Quote :

"lol, if that's true...good lord."

I was waiting on a more reputable source for the stuff I mentioned at the top of this page.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/03/sanford-accused-of-smear-campaign-against-bauer/

Quote :

"Sanford accused of smear campaign against Bauer (CNN) – An outspoken critic of Mark Sanford is accusing the embattled South Carolina governor of orchestrating a smear campaign against Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. Republican State Sen. Jake Knotts wrote to fellow members of the state legislature on Wednesday accusing Sanford and his allies of spreading rumors that Bauer is gay — a claim that was reported earlier this week by a blogger who seeks to out closeted conservative politicians."

^whether it should go away or not, it clearly isn't, you can find a Palin story a day in the news:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32658521/ns/today-today_people/

Quote :

"Levi Johnston: Lot of divorce talk in Palin home He says she neglected parenting and governorship duties in favor of money"

9/4/2009 1:35:59 AM

http://www.slate.com/id/2227226/

Quote :

"Can the Republican Party draft a doctor, entirely against his will and political inclination, into the Kill Obamacare movement? Well, it can try. Here is what happened to a high-school acquaintance of mine, a physician and medical school professor, who prefers that I not use his name. I'll call him Fred. Fred received by fax a draft press release from Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who is an orthopedist, head of the Republican Study Committee, and chairman of something called the Physicians' Council for Responsible Reform. According to its Web site, this group seeks "to defeat Members of Congress who support 'ObamaCare' in the upcoming 2010 elections." The PCRR is a front for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The draft press release listed Fred's name along with 32 others as members of the council, "comprised of physicians who are respected by their peers." These worthies, it said, "will be receiving special briefings and providing input to Republican members of Congress," including House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, "during their deliberations of the Obama administration's efforts to reform health care." On the draft press release, Fred's name was circled and connected by a line to the margin note, "Your name here.""

9/4/2009 9:53:18 AM

Quote :

"These positions "included ... opposition to abortion in cases of rape or incest ..., covenant marriage, school vouchers and tax policies to favor his view of the traditional family and public policy discrimination against those he labeled as "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators." In this master thesis he also declared his belief that working women harmed the family and described 1972's Griswold v. Connecticut as "illogical". At page 20 of the thesis, he wrote, "man’s basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter.""

-wiki

This guy (McDonnell) is running is running against Governor Tim Kaine of VA. Think he'll win?

[Edited on September 4, 2009 at 11:08 AM. Reason : .]

9/4/2009 11:08:36 AM

Actually, he's running against Creigh Deeds and yes I think he has a chance. I don't have a dog in this fight (I should, I'm moving there soon) but I do find it interesting that far more inflammatory statements by Obama's cabinet have been largely dismissed and a comment that Bob McDonnell made 30 years ago is getting a significant amount of press attention.

I'm no fan of evangelical Christians running as evangelical Christians for office, but is there any evidence that he still believes this?

9/4/2009 11:46:30 AM

Yes, it's going to be a very very close race. But VA has two Dem Senators.

And it wasn't 30 years ago, it was 1989.

Quote :

"Feminism and working women are “detrimental” to the traditional family, wrote Mr. McDonnell as a 34-year-old graduate student at Pat Robertson’s Regent University in Virginia Beach. Government should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals, or fornicators,” he said. Later, as a state legislator, McDonnell pursued policies consistent with his thesis, such as opposing abortion even in cases of rape and incest and promoting “covenant marriage.” Now, says McDonnell, most recently the state’s attorney general, many of the views expressed in that paper have changed, including those on working women. He has enlisted his female supporters to do damage control among that critical part of the electorate. But doubts remain about whether Mr. Deeds, a state senator from rural Bath County with a southern twang, can overcome his deficit – and the historical patterns that make him the underdog. Two polls released since “thesis-gate” exploded – PPP and Rasmussen – show McDonnell still ahead (by 7 and 9 points respectively). Since 1977, the party that wins the White House the previous fall always loses in the Virginia gubernatorial race the next year. President Obama’s struggles don’t help."

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/09/03/mcdonnells-college-thesis-roils-virginia-governor-race/

The thing about loosing the VA Gov race following the Prez race is interesting.

9/4/2009 11:55:03 AM

Quote :

"And it wasn't 30 years ago, it was 1989."

So, it was 20 years ago.

I have to wonder if you and other Democrats were similarly inflamed by some of Jim Webb's less than charitable remarks about women (which were equally from "a long time ago") during his Senate race? I somehow doubt it.

[Edited on September 4, 2009 at 12:01 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2009 11:57:32 AM

^^^my mistake, I assumed as a first term governor he'd run again... but now after reading I see on wiki:

"Virginia is the only state in the United States to prohibit governors from serving successive terms"

I did not know that.

^^I heard on NPR he was at 14 ahead & since "thesis-gate" (not sure this qualifies as a gate, but the shortening of the term is helpful I suppose) he is falling & his lead has been cut in half so far to 7. The question is, did the poll happen at the exact end of the falling of his poll numbers, or somewhere along the way & they are still going down?

[Edited on September 4, 2009 at 12:02 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2009 11:59:16 AM

Yea, not only can Kaine not run again, he's the Chair of the DNC in waiting if you will....

^^ I was merely pointing out the incorrect statement.

I remember some of the stuff that Webb wrote and what he said, but, I feel like Webb didn't set out on a political path to bring any change about based on those statements.

McDonnell has, as stated above, sought out to ban abortions completely within the state. Yes, his opinions can change, I completely agree with that. But I think his thesis on the subject give a view of the general direction in which he would try to take VA.

9/4/2009 12:03:35 PM

Taken in context it can. However, it is still interesting to notice the difference in the way opponents of the president are dismissed for pointing out things his advisers and cabinet members have said as evidence of who he draws advice from.


Interestingly enough, from a national perspective, Deeds was far and away the most conservative Democrat in the primary field.

9/4/2009 12:14:27 PM

He was, and I voted for him

9/4/2009 12:23:19 PM

The problem is that the quotes from presidential aides and advisors don't get much spotlight.

I can probably recall on one hand the things I've heard Rahm Emanuel say and maybe less from David Axelrod.

Although, it's possible that I may not be looking in the right direction.

9/4/2009 12:46:06 PM

seems like they are jumping on board the van jones wagon

9/4/2009 12:47:57 PM

You haven't heard Rahm because they're purposely keeping him very quiet. He likes to shoot his mouth off.

Biden usually says stupid shit, but that's just Biden. He always sticks his foot in his mouth.

Axelrod's too smart to say anything really stupid. Which is why you saw him so much on the campaign.

The ones you worry about are the Undersecretaries in the different cabinets. They're the ones that are more likely to shoot their mouth off, but also the most likely to not get covered by the media.

9/4/2009 12:48:26 PM

Quote :

"Right-thinking Americans can only hope the country will survive the next 16 months of the Obama administration until Republicans can regain control of Congress, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Wednesday. ... Every institution that has made this country the greatest nation in the world is under attack,” he said at the end of the 75-minute session. During those 75 minutes, Inhofe said President Barack Obama is disarming the military, is destroying everything good about America and is determined to turn foreign terrorists loose on U.S. soil. "

haha

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20090902_298_0_GROVEP35689

I didn't realize the crazy ran all the way up to the republican senators. I kind of expect this from the representatives though.

9/4/2009 2:38:08 PM

Poll: Lowest Congressional Approval in Two Decades
Posted September 2, 2009

Quote :

"While the 2010 midterms are still 14 months away, pollsters seem to agree that it's not a question of if things will be bad for the Democrats but how bad things will be for the Democrats. Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com recently suggested a 20- to 50-seat loss in the House. Republican pollsters have tried to tamp down excitement but are still predicting a loss of about 26 seats for the Democrats. A new poll from the Pew Research Center shows just how unpopular Congress has become. In the poll, 37 percent of Americans expressed a favorable view of the legislative branch, one of the lowest approval ratings given to Congress in two decades. Pew points out that voters may take their frustrations out on the majority party."

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/washington-whispers/2009/09/02/poll-lowest-congressional-approval-in-two-decades.html

9/4/2009 4:24:23 PM