The Blue State

Blue Radar

As I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• To help fend off an internal coup, Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have agreed to a power-sharing deal.  Meanwhile, under pressure from Washington, Pakistan risks all-out civil war as Musharraf sends his military to root out al Qaeda along the border with Afghanistan.
• More allegations of CIA torture, according to an Iraqi British citizen that served as an Iraqi intelligence source for Britain's MI5: "British resident Bisher al-Rawi has told how he was betrayed by thesecurity service despite having helped keep track of Abu Qatada, theMuslim cleric accused of being Osama bin Laden's 'ambassador inEurope'. He was abducted and stripped naked by US agents, clad innappies, a tracksuit and shackles, blindfolded and forced to wear earmufflers, then strapped to a stretcher on board a plane bound for a CIA'black site' jail near Kabul in Afghanistan."
• An ABC News poll shows that fewer Americans see balance on the Supreme Court, and a growing number Americans think the high court is too conservative.
• Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are opening a new front in the effort to convince Arab states to help out with Iraq.  The two Bush cabinet officials "will visit Egypt and Saudi Arabia for a rare joint lobbying effort toprod Iraq's mostly rich, Sunni-led Mideast neighbors to help stabilizethe chaotic country and support its weak Shiite-headed government," reports USA Today.
• Lawmakers have agreed on new ethics rules that would require the disclosure of all contributions "bundled" by lobbyists.  Bundling is a practice where lobbyists get large contributors to donate to a candidate, as opposed to the lobbyists giving the candidates money directly.
• Dan Rather and Jon Stewart will make appearances in the Simpson's 19th season.
• During an Iowa rally this weekend, Barack Obama would not let go of the debate he had been having all week with Hillary Clinton on diplomacy: "We need a president who'll have the strength and courage to go toe totoe with the leaders of rogue nations, because that's what it takes toprotect our security."
• Bill Richardson promises that if he becomes the Democratic nominee, he will announce his cabinet before the general election: "I would announce my Cabinet before the election. If I'm the nominee, I would tell you who my team would be."
• None of the eight Democratic candidates will attend the DLC Convention on Sunday and Monday in Nashville, as the DLC has developed a bad reputation by progressive activists for having Republican-light positions.

If we left anything out, feel free to add any stories in the commentbox.

Top-5 Political Clips of the Week

What a week This has been -- from congressional investigations to the Hillary-Obama feud.  As we post at the end of each week, here were the top-five political clips of the last seven days:

5) Michael Moore on Hardball.

4) Glenn Beck attacks Bush from the right.  This is very serious for the White House because it raises the concern that President Bush's approval rating could drop even lower.  Immigration was, is and will remain the number one issue for conservative voters heading into 2008.  Any GOP candidate that supports President Bush's failed comprehensive immigration plan will have a harder time winning the nomination.

3) Obama responds after being attacked by Hillary for favoring talks with US foes.

2) Tony Snow makes a stretch.  Explains that FBI Robert Mueller did not contradict the testimony of Alberto Gonzales.  To Snow, it depends on what your definition of "TSA" is?

1) Olbermann looks at Gonzales' testimony, and the confrontation between the Attorney General and Arlen Specter.

More clips tomorrow.

The Sunday News Shows

Here are the guests that will appear on the Sunday news shows this week:

ABC's ``This Week'' -Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Bob Dole andDonna Shalala, co-chairs of the President's Commission on Care forAmerica's Returning Wounded Warriors; Computers for Communities founderJacob Komar.

CBS' ``Face the Nation'' - Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

NBC's``Meet the Press'' - Dan Balz and Eugene Robinson of The WashingtonPost, Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd of NBC News, Ron Brownstein of TheLos Angeles Times and John Harwood of CNBC.

CNN's``Late Edition'' - Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the UnitedNations; Reps. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., Christopher Shays, R-Conn., andRoy Blunt, R-Mo.; National Urban League President Marc Morial, FamilyResearch Council senior fellow Ken Blackwell.

``Fox NewsSunday'' - Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; former House Speaker NewtGingrich; former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.

The notables are in bold.

Pay close attention on Sunday to what Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) says about Gonzales, and whether he will take action.  Specter has a reputation for talking tough, but not following through.  A few days after the confrontation with Gonzales, Specter was somewhat timid about beginning a perjury investigation.  However, keep in mind that he may have been timid because he was being interviewed on Air Force One with Bush.  Then again, as I have been writing all week, why would anybody be afraid of someone with a 25% approval rating.

Iraqi Prime Minister wants Petraeus fired

The UK's Telegraph reports that the feuding between US General David Petraeus and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is getting so out of hand and personal that al-Maliki is threatening to arm Shiite militias unless the general leaves:

Although the call was rejected, aides to both men admit that Mr Maliki and Gen David Patraeusengage in frequent stand-up shouting matches, differing particularlyover the US general's moves to arm Sunni tribesmen to fight al-Qa'eda.

OneIraqi source said Mr Maliki used a video conference with Mr Bush tocall for the general's signature strategy to be scrapped. "He told Bushthat if Petraeus continues, he would arm Shia militias," said theofficial. "Bush told Maliki to calm down."

At another meeting with Gen Petraeus, Mr Maliki said: "I can't dealwith you any more. I will ask for someone else to replace you."

This might explain why President Bush and Nouri al-Maliki have been meeting more frequently than usual as of late.

Also, Nouri al-Maliki could just be frustrated about how close the US is to Saudi Arabia.  Aside from the Bush Administration announcing a new $20 billion arms sale with the Sunni-led Saudis, al-Maliki is furious at the Saudi royal family for publishing evidence that he was once an Iranian intelligence agent.

At the moment, the Saudis are trying to prevent the U.S. from leaving because it would allow the new Shiite government in Iraq to develop a more cozy relationship with Iran.  Iran and Saudi Arabia are in the midst of a Mideast proxy war.  The U.S. war in Iraq certainly helped Iran, and now the Saudis fear Tehran's influence might soon reach the Saud Arabian border.

Take action against Fox advertisers

  In July, Bill O'Reilly and his supporters took action against jetblue for sponsoring the Yearly Kos Convention, and in the end scared the company into dropping its spot.

If the 'fair and balanced' personalities over at Fox can scare sponsors into steering clear of a people-powered convention, then you and I can do the same to Rupert Murdoch.

The Blue State is joining alongside MoveOn.org and DailyKos to encourage every single blog reader to write an email to companies that advertise on Fox news.  All it takes is just a few minutes.  For example, try emailing Home Depot, which is a heavy advertiser on Fox.  Tell them you will boycott their company because it funds unfair and unbalanced news personalities that are hurting our country:

• Home Depot > Write to Paul Raines, Executive Vice President

I am focusing on Home Depot because they are a national company.  But I encourage all of you to call, email or write to local advertisers, since they are the most likely to change course.

If this is not a big issue to you, then don't do anything.  But if you think Fox News is hurting America and want to do something about it, then this is an effective way to take action.  Join us in this effort! 

Study: Republicans Losing Young Voters in Droves

Younger voters have been distancing themselves from the Republican Party ever since 2002.  With each election cycle, the bleeding gets worse.  The last two election cycles have raised alarms for Republican strategists, and now they are faced with the seemingly unmanageable task of winning back those voters.

A recent Democracy Corps Poll spells out just how progressive the 18 to 29 crowd is:

The political stakes with this generation could not be higher. In 2008, young people (ages 18-31) will number 50 million, bigger than the baby boom generation. By 2015 they will likely comprise one-third of the U.S. electorate. While participation among young people still lags well behind other generations, turnout increased two election cycles in a row and, in 2004, jumped nine points (to 49 percent). In 2004, younger voters were the only generational cohort outside of the World War II generation to support John Kerry (56 percent). In 2006, younger voters supported Democrats by a 60 – 38 percent margin, the highest of any generation.

The poll finds that today Democrats hold an 18-point lead over Republicans when younger Americans are asked who they will vote for.  Democrats lead by especially large margins among women (28 points), Hispanics (42 points) and African-Americans (76 points).  Their weakest demographic is whites, who favor Republicans by 2 points.

But it's not just the Republican candidates that turn off voters -- it's their ideas as well, reports the survey:

"Young people react with hostility to the Republicans on almost everymeasure and Republicans and younger voters disagree on almost everymajor issue of the day."

Let's look how young people feel about the issues:

• 19% of young people are "warm" to the Iraq war, and 64% are "cool" to it.
• "Even Republican young people prefer a larger, more generous government."
• On global warming, 61% say it "represents an immediate threat that requires immediate action."
• 52% support gay marriage.
• 53% support giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
• 60% say Democrats pay better attention to the issues facing young people -- a 39-point margin over Republicans.

This pretty much sums up the legacy of Karl Rove.

Bush Gives Money to State Sponsor of Terrorism

Sadly, defense packages like this prove we are funding both sides of the insurgency:

The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabiaand its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at atime when some United States officials contend that the Saudis areplaying a counterproductive role in Iraq.

Let's look at the raw data:

• 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi-born.
• 45% of all foreign militants in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia.
• Various documents show that in 2002 the Saudi Arabian government paid $5,340 to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

Are these guys really our allies?

Blue Radar

As I post each morning, here are some of the political stories thatmight not be worthy of their own posts, but are nonetheless newsworthy:

• Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is ready to build a search engine called Wikia that will rival Google and Yahoo.  Based on its algorithm formula, this could change the strategy that groups use to promote political ideas online.  The engine will be launched around the end of 2007.
• Iowa voters (Survey USA): Bush approval rating at 28%.
• The new nuclear agreement between the US and India could break a law that President Bush signed less than one year ago.
• The White House held a conference call with bloggers -- conservative bloggers -- surrounding the President's use of executive privilege in the firing of the federal prosecutors.  The White House then called on bloggers to push the idea of executive privilege.
• Dick Cheney will get a new pacemaker heart battery today.  The one that was put in six years ago no longer works.
• Barack Obama is modeling his campaign after Massachusetts Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick, also a black American.  As the Washington Post analyzes, Obama and Patrick are among a whole new generation of black Democrats running for change: "Although Obama (Ill.) has forged a path as the first African Americanwith a serious chance of becoming president, his rise coincides withthe emergence of a whole cohort of black politicians who share similarrésumés and ideology. Raised in the post-civil rights era, theyattended elite schools, built coalitions of white and black supporters,and cast themselves as agents of change, even if they were running tosucceed other African Americans."
• Joe Biden directly challenged Rudolph Giuliani's security credentials: "It is outrageous that threeyears after the 9/11 Commission made its recommendations virtuallynothing has been funded by this White House and yet Giuliani continuesto make the pathetic case that his party has provided leadershipfighting terrorism."
• While in Iowa, Obama slammed Clinton again: "The same people who said, 'Oh, Obama made a gaff about going andtalking to people we don't like,' those are the same folks who werewriting columns back in 2002 saying, 'Of course we have to go andinvade (Iraq). And we're going to be greeted as liberators and it willcost us a few million dollars and it will be over in six months.'"  (Obama had better watch himself for dragging this on too long.  For the last five days, the 'politics of hope' has been replaced by the politics of attacking the front-runner.)
• Florida Democrats (Mason-Dixon): Clinton - 31%, Obama - 17%, Edwards - 12%.
• Arizona Democrats (ARG): Clinton - 39%, Obama - 25%, Richardson - 9%, Edwards - 8%.

If we left anything out, feel free to add any stories in the commentbox.

Blue Nightowl Clips

Here we go with tonight's edition of the popular political clips making their rounds on the blogs at this hour:

1. 'Countdown: More Political Problems for the Pentagon?'

2. Romney slams Youtube debate -- carrot peeling more important.

3. Tony Snow thinks Democrats are trying to criticize Gonzales in order to reveal classified information.

4. Fired US Attorneys on Gonzales testimony.

Schumer: Democrats will not confirm another Bush Supreme Court nominee

If you try brainstorming some of the reasons why a John Kerry presidency would have been good for our country, one item around the top of the list should be the judiciary.  Had Kerry won Ohio, the Supreme Court would be two seats more progressive.  A number of 5-4 court rulings within the last year, including the one on abortion, would have gone the other way.

In an effort to prevent the court from going even more to the right, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is putting his food down:

New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democraticleadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S.Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinarycircumstances.”

“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told theAmerican Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The SupremeCourt is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see JusticeStevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by anotherAlito.”

Because after all, why should Schumer or any other Democratic Senator be afraid of a President with 25% approval?