RNC Chair: Party Will Win On Security

Political Players: Mike Duncan Says Republicans Are Better Able to Protect America

(CBS)  Political Players is a weekly conversation with the leaders, consultants, and activists who shape American politics. This week, CBS News' Brian Goldsmith talked with Mike Duncan, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, about President Bush, John McCain and how he plans to defeat the Democrats.

---

CBSNews.com: Obviously, Senator McCain is your party’s presumptive nominee. It doesn't seem like there's any real way for Governor Huckabee to catch up. Is it bad for the party, in your view, for him to continue to stay in this race?

Mike Duncan: Well, I certainly would much rather be in our position, than to be in the position of Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democrats. Because our process will come to a conclusion before our convention, and their process won't. And they're having a lot of problems with that right now.

CBSNews.com: Do you think Governor Huckabee staying in hurts your ability to unify and galvanize your supporters for the general election?

Mike Duncan: I've been around this for a long time. I started working in politics in 1972. And I've heard that argument time after time. Given the stark contrast, I don't think, in my lifetime, there has been a wider line of division between the two parties. And that's why, given the chance, our voters will come home.

Because they see that the alternative is a candidate who believes in higher taxes, more government--someone who believes in creating government bureaucracies to take choice out of healthcare, someone who believes in appointing people who legislate from the bench.

CBSNews.com: But isn't that exactly the charge a lot of conservatives have leveled against Senator McCain? That he's not as strong on conservative judges, that he's not as strong on taxes, that he's not as strong in support of the social issues. So are you sure the difference is stark enough to attract those Laura Ingrahams and Rush Limbaughs and Ann Coulters back into the fold?

Mike Duncan: Well, I am. Because, let's talk about the Democratic candidates just for a second. We've got a real interesting pick on the Democratic side, and it's certainly up to the voters to determine.

Barack Obama has an experience issue. And the question that the American people will ultimately decide is, is he ready to be commander-in-chief of the United States?

On the other hand, you've got Senator Clinton. And the issue there is trust. Can the American people trust Senator Clinton? And, currently, two-thirds of the people say that she would say or do anything to be elected president. More than half the people don't trust her. She has very high negatives. Maybe the highest for a candidate at this point, since we've been tracking it in a primary.

CBSNews.com: Is your argument more against the Democrats than for your Republican nominee?

Mike Duncan: No, I don't think that's the case. I was answering your specific question. It's very positive. On the Republican side, both of our remaining candidates have been talking about the values that we consider the core of our party. The core of our party is about the American dream.

And the values there have to do with smaller government--government that protects you certainly, but also a government that lets you go and lets you develop over a period of time, and lowers taxes. Because we know that lower taxes puts more money into the economy, which helps with that American dream.

CBSNews.com: But what about the charge-as one Republican said to me-that one of the reasons you're having trouble motivating your base is that Bill Clinton didn't grow the government as much as George W. Bush has?

Mike Duncan: Well, on the motivation thing, I hear that too. Let me go back and say that in 2006 we were disappointed with the results. And we learned some lessons. Look what we did in 2007. Look how successful the Republican Congress was in stopping the Democrats’ spending.

Now we need to do more on the tax issue. We've got to make sure that these tax decreases become permanent over a period of time. But our base is motivated by that. We had over 800,000 individual donors at the RNC last year. We raised $83 million. We out raised the DNC by over $30 million.

While the Democrats are having a good turnout in their primaries, we are, too. In some states we're having record turnouts in our primaries. And I feel very good about the motivational base and our ability to come together this fall.

CBSNews.com: And you think those very loud voices, those radio talk show hosts, will come onboard?

Mike Duncan: Well, I have a historic perspective. We didn't have as much talk radio twenty years ago. But there were always leaders of the different factions of the party. And they always strenuously presented their case. But, at the end of the day, they looked at the choices they had.

This is a leadership contest between two people to be the leader of the free world. And they filter it down and they look at it through issues, and they come down and they ask questions. Can I trust this person to be the commander-in-chief? Is this person ready to be the commander-in-chief of the United States? And I believe that, given the opportunity, our conservative voters will be with us this fall.

CBSNews.com: Congressman John Shadegg of Arizona announced this week that he's retiring. [His spokesman has since said that he may reconsider.] He's the 29th Republican House member to say he won’t seek re-election. Do you think that's a vote of no confidence in your ability to take back the Congress?

Mike Duncan: I think these are individual decisions that people make on whether they run for reelection to Congress or not. I mean you can go through the list. There are some who are running for higher office. There are some who have family considerations. Some feel that it's important that they want to do other things and go on. These are very individual decisions.

CBSNews.com: And let me ask you about what some commentators have called a broader enthusiasm gap between the two parties. 14.6 million Democrats voted on Super Tuesday. Only about 9 million Republicans voted. The Democratic presidential candidates, taken as a whole, have significantly outraised the Republican presidential candidates. Are you worried about that?

Mike Duncan: Well, they're also broke. One of the good things about this, is that we can look at all of the money that they've spent on each other. And money has some direct correlation with the turnout in politics. So again, I would much rather be in my position than Chairman Dean's position.

Let me talk to you about the number of people that turn out in primaries. I've gone back and looked at this historically. In the last nine primaries, there is not a correlation between the number of people who vote in the primaries and which party is elected in the fall. If so, Ronald Reagan would not have been elected. Or George Bush, 41, would not have been elected. So while all of this is very interesting, typically, the party out of power has more turnout in their primaries in presidential years than the party in power.

CBSNews.com: What is the big Republican vision for 2008? A number of commentators--David Brooks comes to my mind--have said that, lower taxes, smaller government and strong defense, has been the Republican message for 20 years. And it's very important, obviously, but that you need something more to offer voters for 2008. What do you think that is?

Mike Duncan: Well, our vision is--and it's a simple message. It's this whole vision of personal security. And are we better, personally secure today, more than we were on 9-11. And I think the answer to that is, yes. And why? It's because of the policies of the Republican Party. And we've got to make sure that those policies are in place. And that's the basic reason for government, and that's where we have to start.

The other is are we better off by having the 200 and some odd federal judges that have been appointed by the president. And the answer there is, yes. I mean, John Roberts and Sam Alito have made a significant difference on the court and the direction of people's lives in this country.

And finally, are we better off having lower taxes and less government. The tax cuts that a Republican Congress and President Bush put into place after 9-11 have led us to 54 consecutive months of growth.

We're having a downturn at the current time. The stimulus package was just passed. The president took the lead on that. These are basic issues. And these are basic issues that people filter through this idea of who they trust to be the leader of the free world.

CBSNews.com: But the president has an approval rating that's been stuck in the 20s or 30s for over a year.

Mike Duncan: The Congressional approval rating is lower than the president's approval rating.

CBSNews.com: But Americans don't feel better off economically than they did eight years ago. How do you turn that around?

Mike Duncan: It's getting our message out to the American people. And our presidential candidate will be the one who will be crafting that message. So that person can give you more of the specifics. But the basics are there that unite the party.

---

Mike Duncan is serving his third term as Republican National Committeeman from Kentucky and was appointed the party's chairman by President Bush in 2007. He had served, since 2001, as Treasurer and then General Counsel of the RNC. He is the principal owner of two community banking companies in Eastern Kentucky. Duncan also has extensive experience working in state university systems and not-for-profit student mentoring and rural development programs. Duncan is married with one son.

[gkc99]

Yes, the "small government" the Repugs claim to support think that the feds can pry into any aspect of your private life, review your purchase records, tap your telephone calls, monitor your internet use, intrude into your most personal decisions about reproduction, force their Christo-taliban religious beliefs down your throats, push your grandchildren into poverty with their massive deficit spending, and purge judges and civil servants who don''t drink the Repug Kool-Aid.

That''s what the U.S. Fascist Party stands for.

[terrapin78]

These guys are on drugs, It''s time to test them!

[remco82]

A quote from the old comic strip "Pogo" comes to mind:
"We have met the enemy, and he is us".

[truthspeake2]

LOL...this guy will be dead and gone before the GOP takes over the presidency again! GW ruined it for the GOP but I do credit him and his party for getting Americans fired up like never before and you can bet that these "fired up" Americans won''t be voting for any members of the GOP (except for that same idiotic 25%).

[denn034]

The Democrats have done nothing but, fight every effort to stop the terrorists so one can see why they''re saying that.

[notbuynit]

Nobody could be worse than th f-ing ****** we have now.

[kdtcleo]

Ah, yes. The default positions for modern republicans: fallacious arguments, to wit: post hoc ergo prompter hoc, the claim that no terrorist attacks on the US, republicans in office therefore republicans are responsible. Yep, good solid reasoning that any bright citizen sees through in a minute. And then the play to fear. Scare folks into voting for Republicans. Play the fear card. Play it again and again. Given their options, there is *** little else. Monstrous budget deficits, borrowing on into the distant future, in hock to China...yep, fear is where it''s act.

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Let me explain: The administration accomplished this feat through an obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a tool against consumers.

In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government''s actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general,and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.

But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation.

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Predatory lending was widely understood to present a looming national crisis. This threat was so clear that as New York attorney general, I joined with colleagues in the other 49 states in attempting to fill the void left by the federal government. Individually, and together, state attorneys general of both parties brought litigation or entered into settlements with many subprime lenders that were engaged in predatory lending practices. Several state legislatures,including New York''s, enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices.

What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a resounding no.

Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

Predatory Lenders'' Partner in Crime

How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers

By Eliot Spitzer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; A25

Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders. Some were misrepresenting the terms of loans, making loans without regard to consumers'' ability to repay, making loans with deceptive "teaser" rates that later ballooned astronomically, packing loans with undisclosed charges and fees, or even paying illegal kickbacks. These and other practices, we noticed, were having a devastating effect on home buyers. In addition, the widespread nature of these practices, if left unchecked, threatened our financial markets.

Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers.

(cont)

[glossypan]

" * you! I know more about this than anyone in the room." - John McCain to fellow GOP Senator John Cornyn on the Senate floor during a May 2007 debate on the Kennedy-McCain bill granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.
**
"No, I''m calling you a *ing jerk." - John McCain to fellow GOP Senator Chuck Grassley, when Grassley asked "Are you calling me stupid?", about.com Feb 21 2000
=== === === === === ===
"Did you see Thad Cochran''s comment when he endorsed Romney? He said, look, John McCain is a bellicose, red-faced, angry guy, who constantly explodes." .......... Pat Buchanan MSNBC Jan 28 2008
** **
"Bellicose". "Constantly explodes".
Great qualities for our Commander-In-Chief, right?

[ramos937]

Let''s see. No candidate can win the WH unless he has at least 40% of the Hispanic vote. The GOP, because of its cruel positions on illegal workers has branded itself as anti-Hispanic. The GOP wants to stay in Iraq. The American people want out. Yes, there are crooked Democrat office holders but they are few and rare compared to the GOP officeholders many of which are either in jail or in the process of going to jail. When Clinton left office the national debt was $5 trillion which was the result of adminstrations from Eisenhower''s time. The national debt is now over $9.5 trillion and still climbing. The list goes on and on. Could this Chairman say again how the GOP is going to dominate the 2008 elections.

[antoniof123]

This is too funny party will win on security.

Hey RNC thanks to your guys the whole world is a lot less safer.

Where do these guys get off.

[tibu987]

Thus far, the two most asinine statements by candidates for the president of the U.S., both by Republicans:

Huckabee: "I believe in miracle, not math."
Uh oh! (A telephone red line to god).

McCain: "I don''t think Americans care if we are in Iraq for 10 years, 100 years, or 10,000 years."
Hmmm, let''''s see, that is equivalent to 48,913,412 young American deaths and 17 trillion dollars, (okay, I made up those figures).

Do you want people who think like that in the White House?
Wow! I don''t. Scary.

Second will be if McCain selects, or the Republican big wigs force Bushes ineffectual shill, Condoleeza Rice as McCain''''s vice presidential running mate.
This woman, Rice, should never have left academia and it would be wise if she returned to that profession post haste. It would be another nail in the Republican coffin to have this Bush puppet as McCain''''s running mate.

May I suggest two possibilities that would be far better than Condoleeza Rice as a McCain VP and perhaps give him an edge.

Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. Either would add some class to his campaign

[tibu987]

CBS versus Mike Duncan.........

Is this the game they call "dodgeball"?

[jerr11]

"RNC Chair: Party Will Win On Security"


And a little bit of swiftboating and vote fixing wouldn''t hurt either.

GOP - The party of sleazeballs, liars, war mongers, fear mongers, hate mongers, war profiteers and election stealers.

Their slogan:

If you can win ''em, fix ''em.

[fairandbal]

This shows how the GOP has utterly no confidence in McCain. The RNC head comes out with a story of how they''re going to win it for McCain. Who''s running for president here? or.... McCain is really a shoddy candidate and the GOP leadership knows it and will have to once again make sure the candidate doesn''t think for themselves, but for what the party base wants.

[boatdocster]

GOP - with the crack pipe firmly in their mouth

Still playing that fear card - just like McCarthy. Be afraid of everyone!!

"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting."
George Orwell

[belly20]

Ummm...Is this official fearmonging?

[tbweb]

RNC Chair: Party Will Win On Security

Ahem! Party will Lose over Money! i.e., $9 Trillion Debt, Deficits, Deficit Spending, Out of Control Spending, RED INK!!

Oh, and I hope you are nor referring to the outsourcing Security solution of U.S. Ports to Dubai, that Security? Oh, maybe you mean U.S. Border Security? Hurricane Katrina Security? The R''s "Security Card" was lost, like the "Fiscal Responsibility Card", The only Card left for the GOP is a Card it doesn''t hold and that''s the Democratic Self-Destruct Card! But wishful thinking isn''t illegal!

[heartlandjim]

Mike Huckabee is supposed to debate John McCain on CNN on Feb. 28th. Now we find John McCain has "Cut and Run". What are you afraid of, John. Could it be you are afraid to debate a true conservative, Mike Huckabee. John McCain the cut and runner. Not a good way to start, John!

[jack3213]

I think ALL Democrats are nuts. This part of the new century does not need a Democrat. Just because we needed one 40 years ago does not justify the insane ideas they hold now. Same old same old- people wanting something for nothing- then they are disappointed when they have to pay-ah, higher taxes that wil come if a DEM is elected DUH! The war is happening, must be dealt with, running away is just STUPID- get over it.

[j0hnwi11iams]

What the Republicans will do is prey on people''s INSECURITY. The republicans have done everything in their power to turn radical Islam into an even greater threat. The systematic destruction of Iraq is proof positive that the Republicans have no ability to lead or manage, just give ridiculous orders based on naive and dogmatic ideology. They use marketing language to sell the public TOXIC product.

[candide777]

John McCain the cut and runner. Not a good way to start, John!
Posted by heartlandjim at 10:52 AM : Feb 16, 2008

Why on earth would McCain debate Huckajesus at this point? McCain has it all but locked up. He can only hurt himself by debating Huckajesus. I detest McCain, but I agree with his good judgment not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[candide777]

Will be interesting to see -- after 6 years of fear-mongering, I think this country has a bit of fear-mongering fatigue, but who knows, if Bush allows another attack prior to the election, it might be just enough to give the RNC the edge. I''m sure repuglican insiders are right now debating how large and what type of attack on U.S. soild will suit their political objectives.

[tbweb]

Posted by Jack3213 at 02:01 PM : Feb 16, 2008,,,

I think most Americans want Democratic control if only for one term just to see what the hell has really been going on behind the scenes for the last 7 years, from inside the Justice Department on down the line including contempt citations for Meirs and Bolton for defying congressional sopenas etc., Karl Rove''s lost emails etc., this next election is very important for Republicans, if they lose all their secrets will be on full public display!

[j-whitman]

Bush & McCain are yelling how dems are allowing the growth of Evil Al Queda by not passing the spy bill

Republichans had that bill for months, then 2 days prior to the expiration sent it to the house -- Then stopped a democrat attempt to extend it.

RNC Chair --- Who''s not good for security ?????

[j-whitman]

Someone should take the RNC Chair''s chair & beat him over the head with it.

[realpatriot1]

If Republicans are so much better at protecting America what the hell happened on September 11?

[j-whitman]

realpatriot1,,, It''s Vertual Security, like a Vertual Fence

[boatdocster]

j-whitman

Absolutely. It''s like our "virtual president", present but not really there (unless Cheney is in his office)...

[whitepicks2]

Don''t kid yourself, War Party Chair. The American public may be slow to come around, but make no mistake they won''t scare so easily this time. After Bush/Cheney and with another old white man promising the same, we''ll run you. The War Party will be lucky to win again for 20 years.

[giantrobot2]

If Abraham Lincoln was running as a presidential candidate today, he would get the same cold shoulder that Mike Huckabee is getting from the Republican establishment and liberal media.

The Republican establishment and liberal media are worried they will lose power if Lincoln or Huckabee were President.

Both Lincoln and Huckabee want to give freedom to all people. Lincoln (to abolish slavery) and Huckabee (to abolish income tax).

The establishment and media should have learned their lesson back in the 1860''s from Abraham Lincoln, but instead they hoard on their money and their selfish desires once again.

With Monday being President''s day, they should reflect on lesson''s learned here, but instead the Republican establishment and Liberal media will again walk past a dying man on a road to Damascus, not offering to help like the age old bibical story goes. The Pharisee and Saducces did the same thing to the common ordinary citizens.

Both Lincoln and Huckabee could go the easy way, but instead the are sticking out their neck to help everyone, not just the few.

Both Lincoln and Huckabee are very humble men, caring about others more than themselves. Both men want to take America to higher ground and create a new American spirit.

Let''s rally around Lincoln and Huckabee, they are truly honest, humble, trustworthy, charismatic and caring people.

[b-easy63]

Remember how bad a campaign idea that was in 2006? Well it is an even worse idea now with Americans aware that up to 500 million a day is being wasted there. Bad idea, unless the GOP plans to manufacture another terrorist attack--if they trot that old horse out and try to tell us that **** is actually rain, other than the party faithful the only ones who will vote for McCAin are those who will defect if Hilary is the nominee.

[b-easy63]

from inside the Justice Department on down the line including contempt citations for Meirs and Bolton for defying congressional sopenas etc., Karl Rove''''s lost emails etc., this next election is very important for Republicans, if they lose all their secrets will be on full public display!

Posted by tbweb at 05:58 PM : Feb 16, 2008


You mean the ones that don''t get erased or shredded. That is one thing I do not like about Obama. He is likely to forgive and ignore pursuing the corruption of Bush because he wants to build consensus--but we cannot heal as a country by ignoring a putrid sore caused by Bush--if left untreated--it can turn to gangrene and ultimately, be the death of us all.

[watcher269-2009]

The Bush administration can initiate new terrorist monitoring activities after the PAA expires. It just has to get a FISA warrant, the same way it did in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Indeed, Bush himself praised the changes Congress made to FISA in the wake of the September 11 attacks, noting that they %u201Cwill allow surveillance of all communications used by terrorists, including e-mails, the Internet, and cell phones%u201D and makes the intelligences community %u201Cable to better meet the technological challenges posed by this proliferation of communications technology.%u201D If we were able to get by with those provisions for nearly six years, surely we%u2019ll be OK living under them again for a couple of week.

%u201CThe Protect America Act will expire only because the President and congressional Republicans refused to approve an extension of that law. Their true concern here is not national security. Rather, they want to protect the financial interests of telecommunications companies and avoid judicial scrutiny of their warrantless wiretapping program%u2026

[starleo146]

You mean the ones that don''''t get erased or shredded. That is one thing I do not like about Obama. He is likely to forgive and ignore pursuing the corruption of Bush because he wants to build consensus--but we cannot heal as a country by ignoring a putrid sore caused by Bush--if left untreated--it can turn to gangrene and ultimately, be the death of us all.

Posted by b-easy63 at 03:20 AM : Feb 17, 2008
+ repo

B-easy63I agree with you on this and we have to hear these candidates very clearly. One is baseing his campaign on security the old Bush campaign of fear, and the other is making inspirational speeches, he is saying what Americans have felt for going on 8 years, and finally someone is saying what the Americans have thought, but is he saying what he will do about it I say no. Another thinks evangelical will cure it all and to use the government that makes law, not for just evangelicals, but the country as a whole is wrong. He will need to just get out and I think it is a way for him to make some money ie: Cayman Island speech. A woman who has been battered and is not having her message seen, because the media hates her, what they say may be how they think, but have no right to keep her words off the screen. We are in a lot of trouble and no end in sight. I want someone to say this is what Bush did, and this is what we will do.

[starleo146]

If Republicans are so much better at protecting America what the hell happened on September 11?

Posted by realpatriot1 at 06:25 PM : Feb 16, 2008

Boy I would love to hear there answers to your very insightful question. Way to go Realpatriot1

[nirak2-2009]

Anyone believing the Repugs are better at protecting the USA needs their Head examined and doesn''t deserve anyone better than George Bush.
The Republicans have been playing that card for 7 years and if Americans didn''t wake up yet, I assume they either drank too much of the KOOL-AID or they are brain dead.

[giantrobot2]

Ohio and Texas voters are overwhelming in favor of Mike Huckabee for president.

The Liberal Media and the Republican establishment don''t want the real poll numbers to be released showing how well Mike Huckabee is doing in those two states.

The Liberal media doesn''t want it because they know both Obama and Clinton''s selfish desires can''t compete with Huckabee''s down home charm in a national election.

And the Republican establishment doesn''t want it because they want to retain control over their money hungry control over taxes and greed.

Ohio and Texas have huge number of true conservative voters. The republican party & liberal media must come out of their shell and give John McCain and Mike Huckabee a chance to debate on live TV in both Ohio and Texas.

Conservative Newt Gingrich will be endorsing Mike Huckabee for President (Maybe a VP ticket). Read what Newt had to say about Mike:

"Over the past few months I%u2019ve been very impressed with the Governor%u2019s openness to new ideas and solutions for improving our country. He showed genuine leadership a few weeks ago by being the first candidate to sign the Nine Nineties in Nine debate pledge. By committing to a much more in-depth, solution-oriented political dialogue in our country, Governor Huckabee showed that he%u2019s truly interested in real change."

Huckabee was the 44th Governor of Arkansas and soon he will be the 44th President of America. All the connections are starting to light up now in the sky.

[newearth2-2009]

RNC Chair is mistaken on Barack Obama experience issue. What kind of experience did George W. Bush have besides knowing how to grow the government. Clinton didn''t grow the government as much as George W. Bush has. What is the big Republican vision for 2008? War and how to keep us safe. We won''t scare so easily. Why they are running a old white man promising the same as Bush/Cheney is behond me. It''s all over for the war party and will be for along time.

Thank God

[rowdytexan2]

Good Gawd! This man totally skirted every question he was asked by pointing at the democratic candidates! ROFL

He had not one *** thing to say about Bush being the criminal he is...and how he''s almost destroyed this country!

Listen to this:

Mike Duncan: The Congressional approval rating is lower than the president''s approval rating.

ROFL! It only has a low rating because the Neocons say so! Our Congress is doing just fine by not sending anything to this bustward that can be vetoed and sent back to be rewritten his way! He''s only gotten some very very essential legislation...and he''ll not get anymore!

And this:

CBSNews.com: But Americans don''t feel better off economically than they did eight years ago. How do you turn that around?



Mike Duncan: It''s getting our message out to the American people.

WELL GOOD LUCK WITH THAT! Hahahahaha!

[watcher269-2009]

Democratic Senator and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, appeared on Late Edition and did a great job of debunking the lies and spin being floated by President Bush and the GOP on FISA. As Juan Williams did earlier on Fox News Sunday, Reed makes it clear that allowing the flawed FISA legislation passed last August to lapse does not mean the U.S. can%u2019t do surveillance on suspected terrorists.

Host Wolf Blitzer floated out the exact same argument William Kristol did on Fox, which is this notion that Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, is some sort of apolitical figure and somehow that makes him more believable. Reed shot that down, reminding Blitzer that the previous FISA laws are still in place and that U.S. intelligence can still go after suspects for several days before requesting a warrant.

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Every time John and George are caught together on camera, the improbable pair will remind voters -- moderates, independents and even that handful of thoughtful conservatives -- that the latter just spent eight years, as Jonathan Rauch of the National Journal has painted the GOP''s smiley face, sponsoring little more than "ruthless partisanship ... fiscal recklessness ... polarization ... presidential monarchism ... [and the] erosion of U.S. credibility on human rights." All are welcome to add to this list of U.S. fortunes-reversal, and they will.

The solution, says Rauch, is McCain. "If the Bush years were snakebit, think of McCain as an antivenin.... Wise Republicans know, to begin with, that the party is lost if it cannot rebuild its own center and appeal to the country''s."

In short, McCain and some message of moderation can overcome the electorally narrowing megalomania of Karl Rove. The center shall set him -- and his party -- free.

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Yet there''s a second "nevertheless." And this one, practically speaking, may be a whole lot tougher to overcome than the emotional stuff.

As the Times understated the political undertow, the McCain camp is staring down the barrel of a "difficult calculus" -- that of "using Mr. Bush enough to try to make the tough sell of Mr. McCain to conservatives but not so much that he will drive away the independents and some moderate Democrats that Mr. McCain is counting on in November."

The problem, of course, is that using Mr. Bush at all -- which they''ve already conceded they must do -- will approach the equivalent of Alf Landon having had Herbert Hoover dragging behind him on the 1936 campaign trail; of taking a dire calculus and making it immeasurably dismal.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

Things like that must be put ... uh, delicately. In effect, they need George''s money -- oh, how they need his money -- but let''s face it: he''s drenched in voter-repellent. This may be America but 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is seen by the vast multitudes as enemy territory. Thanks a lot, George, for greasing the skids of your would-be Republican successor with molasses.

Nevertheless there''s that matter of dangled money, which in politics, as in life, has a certain magnetic charm -- a certain pull in the way of patching up bruised relationships. You know, like ones in which you were falsely excoriated before a third of your base for having fathered an illegitimate child, costing you your dream of a lifetime and leaving you wandering in the wilderness for years.

But the thought of those plain brown envelopes stuffed with right-wing cash has McCain''s advisers feeling that Christian warmth of forgiveness. "We were dyspeptic jerks who held grudges," said one, perhaps merely in happy anticipation of getting back on a payroll that actually pays. Every month.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

MCCAIN MAY NEED BUSH MORE THAN HE THINKS

p m carpenter''s commentary

"We love ya big guy, but for heaven''s sake don''t call us. We''ll call you."

That''s the official word from McCain''s High Command to the occupying regime of George W. Bush, as reported this morning by the New York Times after a weekend what-to-do-about-George strategy session in Arizona.

"Senator John McCain''s campaign advisers will ask the White House to deploy President Bush for major Republican fund-raising, but they do not want the president to appear too often at his side," reveals the Times, as revealed to it by the behind-the-eight-ball boys.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

El-Masri%u2019s ordeal received front-page media coverage throughout the world and has been the subject of criminal and intergovernmental investigations in Europe. Nonetheless, when we brought suit against former CIA Director George Tenet and others seeking compensation for the brutal treatment of El-Masri, the administration insisted the case be dismissed because any litigation of the claims would reveal state secrets. The government%u2019s argument prevailed, and the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

So as the law stands, the U.S. can engage in torture, declare it a state secret and, by virtue of that designation alone, avoid any accountability for conduct that violates the Constitution and universal human rights guarantees. A broad range of executive misconduct has been shielded from judicial review under this doctrine.

The State Secrets Protection Act would prohibit the dismissal of cases prior to discovery. The legislation would require courts to examine the actual classified evidence instead of dismissing suits on the sole basis of affidavits submitted by the perpetrators themselves. It would also allow courts to compel the government to produce unclassified substitutes for privileged evidence and, if the government refuses, to resolve the issue in favor of the plaintiff.

These overdue amendments can ensure that other pending cases are not unjustly terminated.

[taotxzen]

(cont)

But in recent years, the state secrets privilege has mutated from a rule of evidence into a virtual grant of immunity. This administration has invoked the privilege not to protect sensitive information but to torpedo entire lawsuits alleging grave executive misconduct %u2014 before any requests for evidence have been made.

Khaled El-Masri%u2019s case is illustrative. El-Masri, a German citizen, was forcibly abducted while on holiday in Macedonia, detained incommunicado, handed over to the CIA, then beaten, drugged and transported to a secret prison in Afghanistan for harsh interrogation. Five months after his abduction %u2014 long after the CIA realized its mistake %u2014 El-Masri was deposited at night on a hill in Albania.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

A Check on Abuse of Power
by Ben Wizner

Of the myriad tactics the Bush administratio uses to prevent oversight of its controversial anti-terror policies, none has been more successful, or more far-reaching, than the state secrets privilege. On Wednesday, the Senate considered, at long last, bipartisan legislation that would place reasonable limits on the executive branch%u2019s use of the privilege to terminate lawsuits on dubious grounds. But for some %u2014 like my client, Khaled El-Masri, who was mistakenly kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by the CIA %u2014 Congress%u2019 interest, though welcome, comes too late.

The state secrets privilege, first recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court half a century ago, permits the government to block the release during litigation of information or evidence that poses a national security risk. No one seriously disputes the validity of the underlying doctrine: Litigants should not be permitted to use the discovery process to expose the identity of the next Valerie Plame.

(cont)