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Progressive "Accountability Now PAC" Will Target Wayward Democrats in Primaries
Tweet Share on Facebook February 27, 2009 Comment (2)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
A bunch of prominent liberal activist groups and blogs have formed a new PAC which aims to "use primaries to hold incumbents to account," according to the group's press release, challenging "vulnerable members of Congress who side with corporate interests instead of constituents."
When Republicans were ascendant, groups like Club for Growth aimed to start weeding out insufficiently conservative lawmakers, targeting them in primary races. The strategy worked in a sense: There are certainly few moderate Republicans left standing.
So is Accountability Now PAC, as the new group is called, a liberal version of that strategy? They insist not. We'll see.
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Bobby Jindal Gets It From Kenneth the Page of '30 Rock,' Too
Tweet Share on Facebook February 26, 2009 Comment (2)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
In the wake of widespread Internet comparisons of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with Kenneth the Page from NBC's comedy 30 Rock, the actor who plays Kenneth weighed in last night with a response to the response to the ... well, click below and you'll see.
Maybe the GOP should just give in and establish a "30 Rock Primary," which could come around the time of the Iowa straw poll. In order to be the GOP nominee, you have to be perfectly mimicked by someone from 30 Rock Or maybe the GOP would prefer it the other way around ...
(Hat tip to Politico's Michael Calderone.)
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Obama Deserves Benefit of the Doubt on Iraq Troop Withdrawal
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (7)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Obama will, reportedly, soon announce an Iraq withdrawal plan that will get most U.S. troops out of the Middle Eastern quagmire in 18 months (19 months, if you date it from his inauguration). "Most" is a critical and elastic word here: 30,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops will apparently remain that country a bit longer.
There are warnings of grumbling from the left ends of the grassroots: Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination in no small part because of the Iraq war and he promised to get our troops out within 16 months.
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and give the president some room on this one.
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MSNBC Wrong to Have Keith Olbermann Anchor Obama Speech Coverage
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (70)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I've heard a couple of times on MSNBC today that Keith Olbermann will be anchoring coverage of President Obama's don't-call-it-a-State-of-the-Union speech this evening.
Didn't they learn their lesson the first time?
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Dick Durbin Calls for Roland Burris to Quit, But I'm Not Holding My Breath
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (9)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Dick Durbin said today that Roland Burris should resign, and he's right, of course.
But he also admitted that he can't force Burris out. The fact is that virtually the only person who can force Roland Burris out is Roland Burris. And I for one am not holding my breath.
The problem Durbin and his Democratic colleagues face regarding Barack Obama's replacement is that he is in fact no Barack Obama. If anything, Roland Burris is the anti-Obama. (A thought pops into my head: What will Obama do if, while making his way to the podium in the House chamber this evening, he is confronted by his successor?)
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12 Fun Facts on the State of the Union Address for the Obama Speech to Congress
Tweet Share on Facebook February 23, 2009 Comment (9)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I know, I know President Obama isn't giving a "State of the Union" address this week; he's simply speaking to a joint session of Congress about the state of our Union. That's clear, right?
With that important distinction out of the way, here are some firsts and other bits of trivia about State of the Union speeches (or whatever we want to call them):
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The Drinking Age Debate: Time to Go From 21 to 18, But It's Not an Easy Call
Tweet Share on Facebook February 23, 2009 Comment (111)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
60 Minutes had an interesting piece last night looking at the debate over whether or not to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. I guess I must be getting old as I viewed the scenes of college students trying to drink themselves to death with bemusement rather than the enthusiasm I would have undoubtedly exhibited at their age (and for several years thereafter).
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Lugar Blasts Cuba Embargo, and He's Right; But Will Obama, Congress Follow?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 23, 2009 Comment (9)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Steve Clemons got hold of an advanced copy of a new report on U.S.-Cuba relations from the GOP side of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and it looks like good stuff.
The—sensible—conclusion is that the Cold War-era U.S. embargo doesn't work.
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Sarah Palin Stays in Alaska, out of National Spotlight
Tweet Share on Facebook February 23, 2009 Comment (6)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I've written before that Sarah Palin needs to step out of the spotlight and focus both on being governor and boning up on national issues if she wants to be a national figure. Great minds, apparently, think alike.
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Funny Video for the Weekend: Red Army Choir Sings Sweet Home Alabama
Tweet Share on Facebook February 20, 2009 Comment (1)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Here's something on the lighter side to chew on for the weekend. Apparently the old Red Army Choir (yes, that would be the official choir of the old Soviet armed forces, now I suppose the Russian Army) recently performed with a Finnish rock band called the Leningrad Cowboys. The song? Sweet Home Alabama.
As Yogi Berra once said (speaking of the election of a Jewish mayor of Dublin, Ireland): Only in America. (Hat tip to Jack for flagging this for me.)
