The Blue State

Enron will be back in the spotlight

All the scandals that are going on in our nation's capital are overshadowing the recent developments in the Enron court case:

A federal judge in Houston is preparing to impanel a jury to try Enron Corp. leaders, including former chairman Ken Lay.

U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake will give each of 400 potentialjurors next week a long questionnaire to gauge their ability to fairlysit in judgment of ex-Enron executives Lay and two key associates, JeffSkilling and Rick Causey, the Houston Chronicle reported Friday.

Lake will whittle that 400 down to 100, who in turn will be brought to court in mid-January for final jury selection.

The trial is expected to last five or six months and include as many as 30 prosecution witnesses.

Lay faces seven counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts ofbank fraud that are scheduled to be tried separately, while Skillingand Causey both face more than 30 charges, including fraud andconspiracy.

According to Open Secrets, the campaign disclosure web site, Enron has major ties to the GOP:

Enron has been a major supporter of the last three Republican National Conventions. In 1992, when the event was held in Houston (where the company is based), former Enron chief Kenneth Lay served as chairman of the convention’s organizing committee, in charge of fund-raising and logistics. According to press reports, Enron contributed at least $250,000 to the event. Four years later, Enron gave at least $500,000 to the San Diego host committee, according to the Republican National Committee.  In 2000, Enron donated $250,000 to the Philadelphia convention committee. However, none of the totals include the virtually undisclosed amounts of money Enron spent on parties and receptions at the conventions. For example, Enron in 2000 helped to throw a lavish luncheon in honor of then-vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney.  And while the company didn’t contribute directly to any of the last three Democratic National Conventions, Enron did throw parties for some of its closest friends there. At the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, Enron sponsored fetes for Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) and Texas Democrats and was a major backer of several events sponsored by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

And this was just between 1992 and 2000.  Watch for this court battle to be played out with increased public attention over the next half-year.  And bloggers like myself will be there to make sure people don't forget how that company hurt thousands of hard-working men and women.

Governor and Senator polls

Here are the approval ratings for every Governor and Senator in the United States, as polled by Survey USA over the last few days of September '05.

Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is in the most trouble out of any Senator up for reelection in 2006 (-3% net approval rating).

Video: Trent Lott's battle with his own racism

On the Daily Show a few days ago, Jon Stewart showed just how Mississippi Republican Senator Trent Lott puts minorities on a lower plateau than everyone else:

Click to watch video clip >> (QuickTime) (Windows Media Player)

I never knew that minorities were neither men nor women!  While he may have misspoke, this is not the first time Lott has uttered comments to that nature.

Just remember back a few years ago during Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday when Trent Lott uttered these words:

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran forpresident, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of thecountry had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problemsover all these years, either."

We all know that Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign, which Lott was referring to, was pro-segregationist.

But, yet again, maybe Lott misspoke.  But back in 1980, Lott said virtually the same thing (Washington Post):

Thurmond, according to the story, told the gatheringof 1,000 people that the country "cannot stand four more years of[President] Jimmy Carter. . . . We've got to balance the budget. JimmyCarter won't do it, but Ronald Reagan will do it."

Then Thurmond declared: "[We] want that federalgovernment to keep their filthy hands off the rights of the states."For many supporters and opponents of civil rights, the phrase "state'srights" stood for the right of states to reject federal civil rightslegislation.

After Thurmond spoke, Lott told the group: "You know,if we had elected this man 30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess weare today."

Trent Lott is back in the doghouse, and has a lot of explaining to do.  (Click here to contact him)

2008 hopefuls spend time on the road

The Hotline blog notes that the list of 2008 presidential hopefuls were all pretty busy this week:

• Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) keynotes the New Hampshire DemocraticParty's Jefferson-Jackson dinner on 10/29. On 10/30, he appears at atown hall in Franklin, NH organized by State Rep. Jim Ryan andcampaigns with Manchester Mayor Bob Baines.
• Sen. Joseph Biden(D-DE) speaks today at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at theUniversity of Kansas in Lawrence. Biden also has events in NJ on 10/30.He's in New Hampshire on 11/1.
• Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)raises money today for NH Gov. John Lynch in Boston and then attends afundraiser with four Dem Sens. She appears at campaign rallies for theWestchester County Democratic ticket on Saturday in Mount Vernon, NYand Sunday in Greenburgh, NY
• Ex-Sen. John Edwards is down in NC.
• Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) takes part a civil rights march on 10/30 with Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) in Boston.
• Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) has no public events and is home in NM.
• Gov. Tom Vilsack(D-IA) attends an Iowa Latino Heritage award event in Des Moines on10/29 and an event for Disky Terry, a former staff of his who isrunning Iowa Sec. of Ag.
• Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) campaigns with VA Gov. candidate Tim Kaine.
• Sen. George Allen(R-VA) attends a Boots 'n' Barbecue event for VA Gov candidate JerryGilgore at the home of Rob and Jennifer McDowell in Vienna, VA on10/29. He attends the Redskins/Giants (or, as we like it call it, theGiants/Redskins) game on 10/30.
• Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is in Topeka.
• Ex-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA) attends the AR GOP annual Lincoln Day dinner in Washington Co., AZ on 10/29.
• Ex-NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani has no public schedule.
• Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) participates in the Marine Corps Maraton in Washington on 10/30.
• Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) speaks at Iowa State University in AMes, IA on 10/30. It's his first trip (aside from brief airport visits) this year.
• Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) was in IA on 10/27; he is in NY for the weekend.
• Gov. Mitt Romney(R-MA) attends the Scott County, Iowa Hog Roast on 10/29 at Club Mo-Kanin Danvenport, IA. Later that day, he attends the Dallas County GOPSteak Fry and Pie Auction at Waukee High School. He has privatemeetings with IA activists in between.
• Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has district events in his home state.

Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice lead their parties in the polls thus far.

Obama's education vision

A few days ago Illinois Senator Barrack Obama gave a speech at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress titled, "Teaching our Kids in a 21st Century Economy."

Click to read speech
Click to watch video

This will give you all a chance to get a little bit more familiar with the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

"Official A"

During the press conference special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald referred to an "Official A" who discussed with Scooter Libby the identity of Joseph Wilson's wife, and may have outed that identity to Robert Novak.  Many sources, including the Associated Press, think "Official A" is Karl Rove (AP):

The unidentified official could become a courtroom witness againstI. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who left his job as vice presidential aideshortly after his indictment on charges of obstruction of justice,making false statements and perjury.

Although other officials are mentioned but not named in theindictment, all were identified Friday afternoon during briefings atthe Justice Department.

Except for "Official A."

The mysterious official is identified in the indictment only as "a senior official in the White House."

No mention is made of Karl Rove, the president's political adviserwho remains under investigation by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

It has been known that columnist Robert Novak spoke to Rove on July9, 2003, saying he planned to report over the weekend that ValeriePlame, the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, had workedfor the CIA. Rove told the columnist he had heard similar information.

Friday's indictment says "Official A" is a "senior official in theWhite House who advised Libby on July 10 or 11 of 2003" about a chatwith Novak about his upcoming column in which Plame would be identifiedas a CIA employee.

Late Friday, three people close to the investigation, each asking toremain unidentified because of grand jury secrecy, identified Rove asOfficial A.

I would not be surprised if it took a few more weeks before we finally figure out the identity of "Official A."  Furthermore, when you assess all the evidence, "Official A" is probably Karl Rove.  I don't think Fitzgerald mentioned Rove by name at all during the press conference, except when referring to him in a different story context.

Saturday Editorial: Weekend of rest, and hope for progressive unity

I am going to keep my posts relatively light this weekend as far as quality.  Two midterm exams coming up Monday and four and a half hours of sleep per night over the last five days can really knock the wind out of you.  The site will be updated off and on throughout this weekend.  After I take my tests on Monday, it should return to normal posting levels.  I doubt by then we will know for sure whether Karl Rove will or will not be charged.

While this will turn out to be a very lazy weekend of political news compared to the last few days, this is the time when progressives need to stand strong in explaining that perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements on an issue of national security are very serious charges.  I encourage you all two write to your local newspapers, e-mail your U.S. Representative and Senators or call into your local talk-shows.  We're not going to let the right-wing get away with smearing Patrick Fitzgerald or Joe Wilson, as conservative pundits like Tucker Carlson have spent the last day doing.  The party that appears to act as if they always assume the moral high ground on national security issues is taking a lazy approach to Scooter Libby's false statements in front of a grand jury over a matter involving one of the agencies that helps protect the American people.  We're not going to let conservatives get away with this flip-flop.

Some Halloween costumes are real

(Courtesy of Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune, Cagle Cartoons)

Howard Dean's response to Libby's indictment

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean responded earlier today to the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby on five felony charges:

"This is a sad day for America.

"Beyond the evidence that the White House manipulated theintelligence used to justify the war in Iraq, a group of senior WhiteHouse officials not only orchestrated efforts to smear a critic of thewar, but worked to cover up this smear campaign. In so doing, theyignored the rule of law, endangering our national security and thebrave men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our nation'ssecurity. I. Lewis Libby was a part of this internal White House group.

"This is not only an abuse of power, it is an un-American abuse ofthe public trust. As Americans, we must hold ourselves and our leadersto a higher standard. We cannot fear dissent. We cannot fear the truth.And we cannot tolerate those who do.

"More importantly, we can't ignore the glaring questions this casehas raised about the rationale the Bush Administration used to send usto war in Iraq, a war that continues. American soldiers are still inharms way. Over 2,000 brave Americans have lost their lives, thousandsof American soldiers have been wounded, and thousands of Americanfamilies have made the ultimate sacrifice. Still, the President has noplan and no exit strategy. And still he hasn't answered the question,what are we doing in Iraq and when can our troops come home?

"President Bush faces a serious test of leadership; will he keep hispledge to hold his Administration to high ethical standards and givethe American people what they deserve, and will he answer to theAmerican people for these serious missteps?"

I'd like to see our side use this opportunity to outline a comprehensive policy strategy to put our country in a better position when it comes to both government responsibility and foreign policy.  The American people are waiting for real leadership.  Will we rise to the occasion?

Video: Fitzgerald sets good precedent on government accountability, and Bush reacts

Fitzgerald's press conference, I'll say, was masterful.  I obviously have to admit that I am somewhat disappointed that more officials were not indicted, and that a conspiracy charge was not brought against anyone.  But I can't really blame Fitzgerald for that one.  He is top-notch, and really did a superb job when addressing the media.  The way he handled reporters today just shows how the GOP are going to have a difficult time smearing him during Scooter Libby's trial.  He is bullet-proof as far as I am concerned.  In fact, the Administration likely won't even try to smear Fitzgerald.  They are cutting all ties with Scooter Libby, therefore don't have any incentive to defend him.  He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Here was one of the most poetic statements, if there were any, that came from Fitzgerald during the press conference that lasted more than an hour:

I think that people might not understand this.  We as prosecutors and FBI agents have to deal with false statements, obstruction of justice and perjury all the time.  The Department of Justice charges those statutes all the time.  When I was in New York working as a prosecutor, we brought those cases because we realized that the truth is the engine of our judicial system.  If you compromise the truth, the whole process is lost.

A round of applause for Patrick Fitzgerald!

Here is a clip of President Bush's one-minute statement regarding the resignation of Scooter Libby.

(Click to watch the video clip)

That was NBC News's very own David Gregory at the very end that tried to ask, "Are you embarrassed by these charges?"

President Bush ignored him and continued his trot back to White House residence.