freshpotatoes

Time to 'Fess Up

Aren't we all secretly hoping that Kerry becomes the Democratic nominee? After all, how many times in U.S. history has a sitting Senator from a politically irrelevant state been elected president? I mean, we would have been happy with Dean, that's for sure. Dean made 60 votes in the Senate a real possibility. But I'm more than ready to compromise and take Kerry instead.

So I say, GO JOHN GO. And, the best part is that, by staying viable, Clark and Dean keep John Edwards out of the forefront. As they say, it's nothing but net.

That's outrageous

I just read this account of the release by Florida prosecutors of details from settlement negotiations in the Limbaugh investigation. In my view, it is absolutely outrageous that prosecutors would release this kind of information. Apparently, the prosecutors office released a letter written on behalf of Limbaugh in which the radio host proposes to agree to plead guilty to a single felony charge of "doctor shopping" to avoid serving prison time.

Under federal and, I presume, Florida law, settlement negotiations are absolutely privileged. For the state prosecutor to release this information as a public record is absolutely unbelievable. The proscutor's claim that release of the letter was required under the state's public records act is rediculous. Not only will the release of this letter tend to frustrate plea negotiations in the future, but it also gives credence to Limbaugh's allegation that the prosecution is politically motivated. After all, before Limbaugh, had you ever heard of this crime, or anyone being prosecuted for it?

Dean, You Can Do It!

You've only got one more week to avoid self-imploding. Just stay the course. Keep your mouth shut, and your head down. Millions of Americans are counting on you. Just hang in there. Of course, saying things like this doesn't help:

"You sit down. You had your say. Now I'm going to have my say."

Can anyone imagine George Bush ever saying anything like this? Remember Dole and the "Democrat wars" statement? If the President said something like that to a Democratic voter, the press and public would be all over him. Rightfully so.

Read more about Dean's latest exchange with a voter here. How very presidential. Yes, Dean. If you can just keep your Iowa lead for one more week, then it's home sailing.

House Passes Prescription Drug Plan

Not only was Congress able to deliver on the President's healthy forests initiative, but House Republicans scored a terrific win when the prescription plan was approved by the House of Representatives. After the measure secured a majority, a group of Democrats switched their "no" votes to "aye" votes.

That kind of cheesy vote switching goes on in the state legislature too.

And then Steny "I really am an idiot" Hoyer complains that Republicans kept the vote open too long while the last Republicans were persuaded to support the bill. Here's the CNN report:

Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, bellowed from the floor that Republicans had abused the system.
"Just like on Election Day you can't keep the ballot open forever," he said. The Republican side of the chamber responded with boos and hisses and applause for their victory.

Shouldn't someone tell Mr. Hoyer that it was the Democrats, and the Gore campaign, that wanted to keep the Florida recount going past the statutory deadline to mine more Gore votes out ambiguous dimpled and hanging chads? Shouldn't someone tell Hoyer that it was the Democrats that got a federal judge to keep the polls open in Missouri that led to John Ashcroft's loss in 2000? If history is any guide, it is the Democratic party that believes that the ballot can be kept open forever "until every vote is counted."

Anyway, I'm pleased that the House Republicans were able to deliver. Now the focus is on the Senate.

UPDATE: Fox news and CNN are reporting that Senators Kenney and Kerry have promised to filibuster this extremely popular legislation. In the end, I think the bill will pass, but I do appreciate the decision of these men to go public with their opposition to helping seniors to obtain the drugs they need. Their actions will not only fail, but will permanently damage the Democratic Party's ability to frighten seniors away from voting Republican.

The Downside of Being Michael Jackson

One of the negative things about being Michael Jackson is that he has aboslutely zero chance running. He could be hiding out in some jungle deep in the friggin' Congo, or crouching behind a goat high atop some mountan in Tibet and the locals would still be asking him for his autograph.