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The Truth Could Have Set South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford Free
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (8)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Before this last disastrous weekend's events, South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford needed a new communications director, or a P-R person whose advice he would have taken. There's no way his or any communications advisor could or would have presided over the massive mishandling of his personal travails which began late last week.
In all my years covering politics, I've never seen a star-bound politician's career fizzle with such catastrophic downward velocity. And it all could have been averted, if he had just been honest with the media from the start.
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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's Argentina Affair Admission Saps the Snark
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (15)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Whoah. That was not something you see every day in politics. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, after days of literal and figurative evasion, apparently laid himself emotionally bare. His voice breaking at times, Sanford admitted that not only had he lied about his whereabouts but that he had been unfaithful to his wife. And he spoke with (what we presume to be) a kind of emotional honesty one does not hear among politicians. "I have been unfaithful to my wife. I developed a relationship with what started out as a dear, dear friend from Argentina," he said.
Good for him for candor. He managed to sap a political circus of its snarky glee—and that's not easy to do. "This is genuinely painful, sad," TPM's Josh Marshall blogged under the headline "Sanford Trainwreck Presser Liveblogging."
He resigns as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association and pledges an apology tour of South Carolina. I think we can safely assume that he'll be too busy trying to rebuild his personal and political relationships at home to worry about 2012, even if his initial flakiness and moral lapses would not have disqualified him. "The guy could have been president. Now he's finished. Witness the power of the male libido," HotAir's Allahpundit Tweets.
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South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's Argentina Jaunt Raises Questions
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (5)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Maybe we should call him "Indiana" Sanford. Maybe he was traipsing through the South American jungles with a bull-whip, fedora, and leather jacket, hunting for hidden gold. Maybe the South Carolina governor is on a personal quest to visit all places with "South" in their names. His next stop might well be South Dakota. Speaking of south, that's the direction Sanford's presidential aspirations have gone, according to my colleagues over at Washington Whispers. "Governor Sanford has disqualified himself," one strategist told Whispers. Talk about a story that has devolved as it has evolved. My initial take was: What's the big deal? He wants to get away and commune with nature—undoubtedly he's left contact info with the appropriate people and his staff is being overprotective and exaggerating when they say that he's "out of pocket." Nope. In fact they were understating the case: He was "out of country." And now it looks like he's out of the 2012 race because he apparently has a propensity for taking leave of his senses. I can't wait for his 2 p.m. presser.
In the mean time, as a TPM reader noted, "hiking the Appalachian Trail" is a new instant political metaphor.
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Republicans Are Not the "Party of No" on Healthcare
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (9)By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Seeking to prove the GOP is more than the party of "No," South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint has come up with a healthcare reform plan that, he says, "Insures more Americans in half the time at no cost," when compared to the plan being pushed by the Democratic majority.
According to an estimate by the conservative Heritage Foundation, DeMint's bill will reduce the number of uninsured in America by 22.4 million people in just five years. And he addresses the cost by terminating the Troubled Asset Relief Program—also known as Wall Street Bailout No. 1—and requiring companies that took federal funds repay them within the same five years.
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Red Sox Nation Owns Washington, Right Down to the Bar Bet Trivia
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 CommentBy John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Nationals Park was Fenway South, and riding the Metro was like taking the T last night, as the Boston Red Sox made a rare visit to the nation's capital, and the displaced members of Red Sox Nation gave the Washington Nationals their biggest crowd ever.
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Washington Post Fails at Online Political Video Humor
Tweet Share on Facebook June 24, 2009 Comment (3)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I'm not sure what this video is, but assuming it is what it appears to be, it's weak. It appears to be two serious Washington Post journalists trying to be funny. They fail miserably.
Further, in attempting to be something they're not (funny or comedians, take your pick) they inadvertently succeed at something they most likely never intended: to stretch their credibility as journalists to a microscopic sinew. Advice to Milbank and Cillizza, the guys in the video who write for the Washington Post: Stick to print, and leave the video news comedy to Jon Stewart, who's great at what he does.
Fortunately for the Washington Post, it isn't the only print venture into online video attempting to be funny, but missing the mark. The somewhat infamous Onion, the spoof newspaper out of Wisconsin, is also apparently venturing in to online media. And even though Onion staffers have proven comedic credentials in print, they, too, are having a tough time transitioning into video (which you can see after the jump):
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New York Times's Brooks Misses the Politics of Healthcare Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2009 Comment (3)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
David Brooks has a typically interesting column in today's Times arguing in favor of ending the tax exemption on employer-provided health benefits specifically and more broadly for a health overhaul plan (which contains that idea) cosponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, and Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican. But Brooks makes the mistake of assuming that because an idea makes practical sense it is politically viable.
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The Incredible Disappearing Opposition to Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court Nomination
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2009 Comment (11)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
So the GOP is finally awakening to the fact that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is not as left wing as opponents might have hoped she would be. And that means she's not a particularly meaty target of attack during her upcoming confirmation hearings. Do I hear a sonorous "duh!" emanating from the audience?
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The Supreme Court Correctly Upholds the Voting Rights Act
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2009 Comment (5)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I have criticized, and proclaimed the need for, an end of race-based affirmative action programs. So why am I pleased with the decision announced yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court, preserving the Voting Rights Act?
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Poll: Don't Tax Current Healthcare Coverage to Pay for Universal Coverage
Tweet Share on Facebook June 23, 2009 Comment (6)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Health care reform was second only to "righting" the economy during the last election as the most important issue on which most Americans' were going to vote as they went to the polls. Now that there's a president in office who wants action on health care, and a Congress that pledges to change health care as we know it, there's only one small problem. Only 3 percent of Americans told Synovate pollsters they are willing to pay with new taxes on their employer-paid health insurance coverage in order to pay for other Americans' care. That, as reported by my colleague Paul Bedard.
Rather predictable, I'd say, wouldn't you? Just about everyone wants every benefit Uncle Sam is willing to dole out. But when it comes to paying for other people's needs, we Americans take the NIMBY approach: Not In (or more appropriately, from) My Back Yard.
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