Caught On the Tape

43 Comments and Trackbacks to “Caught On the Tape”

1. Andy from MA Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 3:46 pm

   Boy, Cornyn is a real idiot here. If his allegations are true, then Reid would be forced to step down as Majority Leader. This would have serious repercussions ...wait for it...republicans. They'd lose their lap dog.
   .
   This has to be bad news for Obama or maybe, Reverend Wright?

2. fourlegsgood Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 3:53 pm

   Gah. John Cornyn is my senator. And yes, he's a real idiot. And a jerk.

3. Paul Dirks Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 3:54 pm

   Or why Cornyn, who is himself a former state attorney general, thinks it makes sense to interfere with an ongoing investigation
   .
   One of the things that has always impressed about Fitz has been his ability to hold his cards close to the vest and ignore just this sort of distraction. During the Libby investigation, it was of course a different crew who frustrated by his lack of disclosure of evidence, but his performance during that time makes clear that he's not going to budge.
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   Of course Cornyn knows this, so this fully qualifies as an idiotic political stunt.

4. Dee in Columbia MD Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 3:57 pm

   Big John is a big idiot. Let's hope he succeeds and rids us of hapless harry.

5. Cliff Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 3:59 pm

   Hey, maybe for your next post you could just hit the space bar 3600 times and avoid the pretense of having something meaningful to say.

6. Andy from MA Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:00 pm

   Fizgerald request for an extension suggests to me he doesn't a case...yet. Why should a tape exist? This is mindless stuff. It's a tribute to the US senate that moronic behavior is non-partisan.
   .
   Thanks John for taking the spotlight off the democrats even if it's for a nanosecond.

7. viciousmaniac Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:02 pm

   Reid has perpetually been a scandal or two away from the edge, replete with his own Bridge To Nowhere scam: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-earmarks13nov13,0,6626376,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
   .
   Cornyn and the rethugs don't want him eliminated, rather they want the stench on him and the Congressional Democrats to stay fresh all the way to subsequent elections.

8. Mr. Nice Guy Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:02 pm

   Where were these rabid scandal dogs when Bush was pushing phony intel to gin up a war? Where were these mutts when we needed our reps to push for "disclosure and transparency" regarding the domestic spying matter? Or the torture prisons we operated? Or the economic melt-down? Or any other issue that really mattered?

9. davemc321 Says:
   Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:03 pm

   Uh, Cliff, what was wrong with the post? Other than it was written by AS and you don't like her?
   .
   Anything that exposes John Cornyn for the grandstanding nincompoop he is (Yes. He's my senator too) is a good thing.

10. davemc321 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    Mr. Nice Guy - unless my memory is faulty, Big John was right behind Bush on the war buildup, on domestic spying, on torture, etc. If Bush tried to repeal the Law of Gravity, Cornyn would think it a good deal for Texas and the nation.

11. Andy from MA Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    Mr. Nice Guy: Writing about how Democrats didn't embrace God enough.

12. davemc321 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:07 pm

    Oh. You meant the reporters. Good question.

13. sgwhiteinfla Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    A few points
    .
    1. When this broke everybody said that the only reason Fitzgerald arrested Blago at the time is because the Sun Times was gonna break the story. All of a sudden now every pundit and MSM flack has amnesia and thinks that Fitzgerald asking for additional time is an indication that he has a weak case. Hey Sullivan, how about questioning why your scum bag peers at the Sun Times couldn't hold their frikkin water for a US Atty?

    2. Right now the right wingers are gonna both try to keep Fitzgerald busy AND discredit him. Look on FoxNews or Morning Joe for the next week or so and you will hear the same meme over and over "Fitzgerald is over rated, he didn't even get a conviction in the Plame trial" totally overlooking of course both that he did convict Libby of both perjury and obstruction AND said obstruction was the reason he couldn't get Cheney and Rove. Now the reason they want to keep him busy is because word on the street is Fitzgerald might be asked to lead the investigation into the Bush Administration. They don't really want that. Especially since now Cheney has pretty much come out and admitted he outted Plame kinda sorta.

    3. Coryn makes the demand also because he knows for a fact that Harry Reid can't compell Fitzgerald to release the tapes. But in not doing so Coryn can make it look like Reid is dirty and has something to hide. Its the oldest Republican trick in the book. I hope one day Reid actually goes and checks said book out of the library so he can stop getting his ass kicked by the Rethugs on a regular.

    4. Final point. I don't know how many people saw it but Barney Frank was in rare form yesterday when the House was passing their Rules Package. Republican after Republican got up to try to make it seem as if the new rules were going to be the ruin of American especially the new rules on motions to recommit. Barney Frank slapped them silly with some old school partisan haymakers and kept hitting them with the facts. It was truly a FLAWLESS VICTORY. If you didn't see it you gotta try to find it on youtube or something.

14. viciousmaniac Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:22 pm

    Heh, brilliant. (forgive me if this was linked earlier today somewheres)
    .
    http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/07/porn-industry-seeks-federal-bailout/

15. pourmecoffee Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:23 pm

    Cornyn was a Judge. He should know better.

16. g_crush Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    .
    AS: It is clear, however, that kicking around Blago has lost its fun for lightweight media types and chasing the idea of a Harry Reid scandal sounds ever-so-much-more appealing.
    .
    Fixed it. You're welcome!
    .
    Andy from MA: Writing about how Democrats didn't embrace God enough.
    .
    Harsh, beautiful, and oh-so-true.

17. Andy from MA Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    sgw: I will respectfully disagree with you on point one. Scott Turow wrote about Fitgerald moving too fast in the Times on 12/10 almost a month ago.
    .
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/opinion/10turow.html?scp=2&sq=scott%20turow&st=cse
    .
    I have said repeatedly that Blago, while probably a big richard (oh we can say dick again can't we), and likely felon, deserves the presumption of innocence. He has not been indicted nor brought before a preliminary hearing.
    .
    Cornyn using guilt by association is taking the Bill Ayers accusation to a higher level. I agree on points 2, 3 and missed 4.

18. truevcu Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    The tape exists, in the same entertainment center containing the Michelle Obama Whitey clip and the video proving the existance of the shooter on the grassy knoll.

19. pourmecoffee Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    Fitzgerald won't release the tape and Cornyn knows that, but I haven't let Reid off my hook for the underlying issue. I am troubled by establishment notions of "electability" and how they are protected in non-electoral processes such as appointment. This isn't over, and while Cornyn's stunt is nonsense, the Caroline Kennedy/Roland Burris matters have shined a light on some pretty dark places. Reid will eventually have to explain and justify his "electability" comments.

20. Andy from MA Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    coffee; Alberto Gonzales was also a judge from Texas...can you see a connection about not knowing any better?

21. pourmecoffee Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    I've posted this before, but this ad is all you need to know about John Cornyn.

22. sarcastr0 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    Cornyn is running for President in 2012. Expect grandstanding galore in the near future.

23. davemc321 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    Pourme, Cornyn was a judge. Now he's a full-time professional opportunist. Sometimes I think he exists to make Kay Bailey Hutchison look good.

24. Dee in Columbia MD Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    I know everyone is upset about Blago, but frankly I think its much ado about nothing. If politics wasn't basically pay to play we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now. We voted for change because of the realization that money reigned supreme in Washington, so acting like Blago is so outrageous seems a bit disingenuous. Democrats made this a lot bigger deal than they had to. In fact, if they had followed Obama's initial lead when he played down the issue and deferred to the investigation playing out before passing judgment they would have been better off. But no they had to jump out there with the histrionics and then the media forced Obama to be more outraged and we were off and running. So Democrats deserve to take this one on the chin maybe they will learn to play a finesse game some day.

25. gysgt213 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:03 pm

    I want everyone to remember Reid's troubles are his own damn fault. Nobody forced him to screw this entire episode up.

26. gysgt213 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Amy-I see Joe the Plummer is now a war correspondent. Can we get his picture up and a date for his first post here at Swampland?

27. JJ Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    Let me guess. This is some sort of attempt at Wingnut Jujitsu on Cornyn's part.

28. ivb3016 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    pourme, I had to quit that half way through before I threw up on my keyboard. Yuck.

29. dunedweller Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    Pourme: would it count if Candy Crowley married John Cornyn (Candy Cornyn?)

30. wvng Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    P-Caf: Cornyn was a Judge. He should know better.
    .
    No, he was a Republican, Texacan judge, which is different than an actual real judge. Don't have the link for the following, so you get the whole thing. (Note, a lawyer friend in Texas confirms this story.)
    .
    Justice for Tom DeLay? By Scott Horton. Harpers
    .
    In theory, our legal system affords equal access to justice. But, as George Orwell offers in Animal Farm, some of us are more equal than others, and Tom DeLay is, in Texas politics, the most equal of all. Texas courts, which are notoriously political, are packed with Republicans who owe their careers to Tom DeLay, directly or indirectly. That makes the justice dealt out in the DeLay case justice without equal.
    .
    DeLay is now facing trial in Austin on charges of money-laundering. But his case has been bottled up by an appeals court dominated by Republicans. Ronnie Earle, a legendary prosecutor who has taken down far more Democrats than Republicans in his day, had hoped to end his career with this trial-but DeLay's fellow Republicans insured that this would not happen. They waited patiently for Earle to retire and then handed down a preliminary ruling. The Republican judges find no reason why one of their colleagues who, before coming on the bench, said the DeLay prosecution was “politically motivated” could not then rule on the case. That reflects a novel understanding of the canons of judicial ethics, which-at least in places other than Texas-require that a judge handle his matters impartially. When a judge expresses an opinion on the merits of a case before it comes to him, that is prejudgment. It disqualifies him from participating in the case. Why this extraordinary departure from settled rules of judicial ethics? It appears that with one Republican recused, the court would have a tie vote, and DeLay would be denied the deus ex machina he is waiting for: a court ruling that the prosecution's case is fatally defective.
    .
    As the Houston Chronicle reports today, the Republican majority on the court even blocked the two Democratic justices from filing dissenting opinions.
    .
    Texas was once famous for Judge Roy Bean, who following various homicides and petty offenses established himself as the “law west of the Pecos.” Bean's first act in judicial office was to shoot up the saloon of a Jewish competitor. Now Texas is home to Tulia, where in the governorship of George W. Bush forty African Americans were arrested on bogus drug charges by a racist cop, and it's the state that sent Alberto Gonzales to Washington as attorney general. Its notions of justice are transparent from cases like the DeLay prosecution, in which we get a glimpse of the most ferociously partisan judges in the country. Did Reconstruction end too soon?

31. pourmecoffee Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:43 pm

    @dune - YES! Finally, someone is on board for my Candy Corn jokes. It means so much to me. I am forever grateful. Thank you.

32. gysgt213 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:55 pm

    This should make for some good laugh's Bobby Rush is on Hardboil tonight playing the race card again.

33. dunedweller Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 6:22 pm

    pmc, the least I could do for all the funny you bring.

34. Art Pepper Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    SG: "I hope one day Reid actually goes and checks said book out of the library."
    -
    That's excellent!

35. plukasiak Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    All of a sudden now every pundit and MSM flack has amnesia and thinks that Fitzgerald asking for additional time is an indication that he has a weak case.

    well, Fitz arrested Blago, which means that he had to have grounds for an arrest. The fact that Fitz hasn't come up with an indictment to justify the arrest strongly suggests that while he has sufficient evidence for an indictment, what he actually has is unlikely to result in a conviction (i.e. that 'reasonable doubt' would exist as to whether Blago's actions were, in fact, criminal as opposed to just sleazy) and Fitz isn't the kind of prosecutor who subjects citizens to a trial without a very strong case.

    As for the Reid tape -- it probably exists since we know that Blago's office and phones were tapped. Moreover, insofar as we know that Blago was looking for some kind of quid pro quo on the Obama replacement, its certainly well within the realm of possibility that Blago sought something from Reid, and Reid didn't exactly demur ...

36. gysgt213 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 6:47 pm

    What Jane said:
    .
    I want to play poker with Harry Reid. Really I do.
    .
    Rather than call for a special election in Illinois, Reid sends a letter to Blagojevich signed by everyone in the Democratic caucus asking him to step down. They assert that they will not seat anyone he appoints.
    .
    Harumph.
    .
    Blago wipes his ass with it and appoints Burris anyway.
    .
    Burris holds a press conference and announces he will be in D.C. on Tuesday to be sworn in with the rest of the Senate. Bobby Rush plays the race card. Reid does not see the handwriting on the wall.
    .
    He counters by calling Secretary of State Jesse White, who has already said he won't sign Burris's certification, and encourages him. What White is doing is most certainly outside his legal authority -- the Secretary of State doesn't have veto power. But Reid not only gives White a high five, he tells him they'll use this to keep Burris from being seated.
    .
    Then he smugly chortles about how he'll manipulate Senate procedure and punt to the Rules Committee, and assures everyone that they will drag things out for months if necessary until Blago is impeached and his successor appoints someone else. And he does it in the press.
    .
    Upon reading this, Cornyn announces that Franken won't have a signed certification either, and the GOP will use it to keep him from being seated,
    .
    Rest at the link.
    .
    http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/07/i-want-to-play-poker-with-harry-reid/

37. jcapan Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 7:33 pm

    Posts on pg. 1:
    -
    3 on Blago
    1 on a Plumber
    1 on J. Wright
    1 on Obama as a food critic
    1 on airline discrimination
    -
    Dare I say it!? Michael Scherer (along with Joe) is the only person addressing anything of substance of late. Post-election, I knew it was going to get bad, but JFC people--you're making me miss AMC's depth!

38. Dee in Columbia MD Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    Hey Gunny--
    .
    I don't mean to pick on you because obviously you are not alone in your use of the term "playing the race card," but this term is so offensive I have to speak out about it no matter who is using it including other people of color. Somehow we have forgotten that the term began as a means to delegitimize the experience of people of color. If we are truly going to have a post racial society it has to begin with respecting each other and perhaps it could start with understanding that this terms implies that race is something that can be put away or pulled out when convenient to gain an advantage -- how demeaning to a people who live each day trying to navigate a terrain where the dominant culture engages in a respect for one another that they reserve solely for each other which more often than not makes you suspect or at least odd man out in any given situation. Yes, sometimes we get it wrong, and attribute mistreatment to race when it is possibly for some other reason. But the term race card trivializes this agony so completely I feel compelled to speak out against it use and want to put this in the category of other terms we deem not fit for polite company.

39. gysgt213 Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    Dee-Your point is well taken. However, Mr. Rush decided to go before the national media and compare Burris being turned away by the senate to dogs attacking children at Selma, slaves on plantations or whatever and that's deplorable and makes a complete mockery of history, actual events and the struggles for human and civil rights.

40. sgwhiteinfla Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 9:04 pm

    Dee
    .
    I understand your point, truly I do. But if there was ever a situation where the term race card ever applied its with Bobby Rush's ass in this situation. If you want it to be called race baiting instead of playing the race card thats cool, but I just saw this ignant mofo on my tee vee talking about Burris being turned away reminded him of people having dogs sicked on them by the police. I honestly wished I was within arms reach of him so I could choke him out for trying to set black folks back 20 years.

41. Dee in Columbia MD Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    Gunny, SG -- I don't disagree that Rush interjected race in a way that was deliberate and manipulative. It is the term I object to -- it has become so commonplace that I felt I needed to remind folks that its offensive. My hopes is that pundits in the media will stop using the term as if it is okay. Everytime I hear it it's like nails on a chalkboard.

42. formerlyjames Says:
    Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 11:51 pm

    Oh, Bobby Rush. I went to the end of the thread and thought the discussion was about Idiot Rush. Nevermind.

43. FlownOver Says:
    Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Alternate Cornyn: "We have no idea whether there's anything wrong here, but the media have taught us to claim there must be a story until the subject proves otherwise."

    Reporters should ask Cornyn – and then themselves – do you have any evidence of wrongdoing, or are you just trying to create an issue through sheer speculation?

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