Hollywood celebs backing Dean

It's a little strange to go to your email in-box and see emails from well-known celebrities.

In this case, it wasn't a hoax. I've gotten emails in the past 24 hours (albeit mass mailings) from Martin Sheen and Rob Reiner, both asking for contributions to Howard Dean's campaign. (I've opted in to receive Dean mailings.)

I don't for a minute think that Sheen or Reiner composed their emails (it was undoubtedly a Dean staffer), but they did lend their names and support to the fund-raising effort.

Now let's see if Michael Moore comes out with a fund-raising email for Gen. Wesley Clark.

Can progressives love Wesley Clark?

The brilliant Sydney H. Schanberg in The Village Voice: Gen. Clark's changing tune on Iraq. He wobbled and weaved as his candidacy neared.

And related story: Can Progressives Love a Military Man?

From the New Republic: Why isn't Joe Trippi sweating Clark?

Plus, from last week's Slate: The Agenda of Wesley Clark. What he'd do as president.

From Monday's Slate: Wesley Clark's Patriot Act. The general unveils his campaign message in South Carolina.

And this: President Hillary -- a conservative fantasy exposed.

Finally, Wednesday's NY Times has this: Dean Takes the Offensive in Comments on Clark.

I doubt we'll see Dr. Dean go after Clark too harshly. He'll need him on the ticket in 14 months.

Gen. Clark asked to team up with Dean

Washington Post: Gen. Clark Reportedly Is Asked to Join Dean.

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean has asked retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark to join his campaign, if the former NATO commander does not jump into the race himself next week, and the two men discussed the vice presidency at a weekend meeting in California, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Let the skeptics scoff. (A little complacency and overconfidence is just what the doctor ordered.) In my book, this is a dream team.

Later: Check out the Libertarians for Dean weblog, including this post, Are Republican-voting libertarians sell-outs?, and this one: A Call for Libertarians to Reform the Democratic Party.

A candidate's spam draws fire

Mike has crossed Arianna Huffington off his potential vote list because her campaign spammed him.

Well, I don't know about that. With 1,500 to 2,000 spam emails coming to my account each week, if one or two are unsolicited emails from a candidate for governor, that seems like a small price to pay for getting a candidate's message out. (Of course, every email should contain an opt-out option to prevent further emails.)

I contributed to Arianna early on, but she's polling around 3 percent and her campaign isn't gaining traction (she's speaking in Berkeley tomorrow night). So I'll be voting for Cruz Bustamante. And I half suspect Arianna will drop out sometime in the next three weeks.

Flash Mob for Democracy

MoveOn is sponsoring a Flash Mob for Democracy this Saturday to help defeat the California recall.

The Baltimore debate, and Republicans for Dean

Didn't get to see the candidates debate tonight in Baltimore. But Slate's William Saletan fills us in on the essentials of The Baltimore Debate: A field goal for Kerry, a touchdown for Dean.

Fascinating reading. Sounds like Howard Dean is finally getting media-savvy.

There's also a new blog -- Republicans forDean, believe it or not -- in which the founder writes:

I have been overwhelmed by the number of dissatisfied Republicans out there and I hope that this blog can connect us together to work for a better America.

It seems that one of the site's co-founders was a registered Democrat who was forced to quit the site after being outed by Andrew Sullivan.

Meantime, Howie Kurtz, who writes the Media Notes column in the Washington Post, has a new column out -- Bush's Worst Nightmare? -- about the Dean candidacy.

More than a few techie libertarians were puzzled when Doc Searls wrote that he was considering voting for Dean. Kurtz's article points out that Dean wowed a gathering of libertarian-minded Cato Institute types a few years back with his anti-tax, pro-free market stances.

Stephen Moore, who heads the conservative Club for Growth, recalls in the Weekly Standard how Dean showed up several years ago at Moore's other employer, the Cato Institute:

"Dean charmed nearly everyone in the boardroom. He came across as erudite, policy savvy, and, believe it or not, a friend of free markets--at least by the standards of the Tom Daschle-Dick Gephardt axis of the Democratic party. Even when challenged on issues like environmentalism, where he favored a large centralized mass of intrusive regulations, Dean remained affable.

" 'You folks at Cato,' he told us, 'should really like my views because I'm economically conservative and socially laissez-faire.' Then he continued: 'Believe me, I'm no big-government liberal. I believe in balanced budgets, markets, and deregulation. Look at my record in Vermont.' He was scathing in his indictment of the 'hyper-enthusiasm for taxes' among Democrats in Washington.

"He left -- and I will never forget the nearly hypnotic reaction. The charismatic doctor had made believers of several hardened cynics. Nearly everyone agreed that we had finally found a Democrat we could work with. . . .

John Edwards won't run for Senate re-election

Looks like Sen. John Edwards is calling it quits for his 6-year-old political career. Too bad. I liked the guy. Another six years in the Senate could have served him well.

Clark's Web warriors

Salon (subscription or one-day pass required) takes a look at the Web warriors backing Gen. Wesley Clark's bid for the White House.

Salon also took a look at Clark's potential candidacy. Excerpt:

Clark may be hoping that Democrats are so angry about the direction of the country that they'll be willing take a chance on a political rookie with a gold-plated rÈsumÈ. ...

And what a rÈsumÈ it is. A Southerner from Little Rock, Ark., who graduated first in his class at West Point and became a Rhodes scholar, Clark was awarded the Purple Heart in Vietnam. He became a four-star general, later serving as supreme commander of NATO troops, and he defeated Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and stopped the Serbs' ethnic cleansing of the Albanians.

LA Weekly on the Dean campaign

LA Weekly has a piece on Howard Dean's candidacy.

At my first Dean meetup

So tonight I went with my wife and 4-year-old son to our first Howard Dean meetup. It was also the first meetup ever held in our SF East Bay town. Everything about the 90-minute affair impressed us: a knowledgeable speaker, the endless stream of position papers available on the DeanforAmerica website, the bottom-up nature of this grassroots endeavor (there are few marching orders from Dean HQ, other than not to ask for checks at these gatherings). Here are some numbers:

• 106,000 people had signed up for today's Dean meetups nationwide.

• At our meetup, 32 people turned out at a local cafe (I snapped the photo above), double the number expected. We sat with a couple of independents and a fellow who hadn't been involved in politics since the McGovern campaign.

• Some 350,000 volunteers have signed up to help with the Dean campaign, with a goal of 1 million by June 1.

One speaker mentioned that PBS will be televising the Democratic candidates' debates Thursday (Sept. 4) and Sept. 25, at 5 pm on the West Coast.

Some campaign sites of note:

• The Demstore, where Dean T-shirts and other candidates' campaign trinkets are available.

• Cafepress, where political bumper stickers (GOP, too) can be had. (Flynt for Governor, anyone?)

• The Dean blog, of course, and the campaign's main site.

• A recap of the Dean meetups, and a Deanlink page to find fellow Dean supporters in your area. (By the way, when I signed up, I spotted a name I recognized just two names down: Christian Crumlish of Oakland, the blogger behind Radio Free Blogistan, whom I met at UC Berkeley several months back. His Deanlink page is here.)

• Some local Dean sites, including SiliconValleyforDean and EastBay4Dean.

Years ago, when California Sen. Alan Cranston was running against an extremist opponent, I asked the executive editor of the Sacramento Bee if he minded if I did a little weekend campaigning for Cranston, given that my work in the features and entertainment departments had nothing to do with politics. He said, "I can't stop you, but I'd strongly prefer if you didn't." (I didn't.) Many newspapers go further, preventing anyone on their staffs from participating in public affairs.

As a now-independent journalist, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to engage in civic affairs and the political process.

Why Dean and Franken are so hot

Editor David Talbot in Salon today (subscription or one-day pass required): After years of being kicked in the teeth by GOP bullies, Democrats have finally found two brawlers who know how to give it back. Excerpt:

... After watching National Review's preppy editor Rich Lowry denounce the Democrats on C-SPAN for "sissifying" and "feminizing" politics, Franken calls him up and challenges him to a "Fight Club"-like mano a mano in his parking garage. "I'm 50 and have a bad back. But I think I could take you," the humorist tells him. A flabbergasted Lowry asks to sleep on it, but then wimps out the next day when Franken calls him again. ...

Wesley Clark ready for prime time?

From the Sept. 15 Fortune magazine: Mulling a run for president, Gen. Wesley Clark has emerged as a player in national politics. But is he ready for prime time?

Schwarzenegger, orgies, drugs and more

Today Matt Welch has the latest on what he calls "the L.A. Times' ongoing gangbang of Schwarzenegger's non-existent homophobia."

He also has a short posting at Reason Hit and Run on the subject.

Salon weighs in with Would you let your sister vote for this man?

Yesterday, a liberal-minded friend said she was taken aback to read details of exactly what Arnold was up to during his group-sex days in the late '70s. The Smoking Gun has an item on Arnold's talk about "orgies, drugs and homosexuality" here.

And, naturally, the full, infamous Oui interview is now online.

Hmm. And Arnold wants to make this election about character?

Bill O'Reilly wants you to shut up

My friend Jack Shafer has a new piece up in Slate: Bill O'Reilly wants you to shut up. In which Shafter tallies up many of Bill O'Reilly's quotes telling people to shut up.

'They can dish it out, but they can't take it'

Today in Salon (subscription or one-day pass required): Al Franken talks about his big victory over the Fox News bullies, why Bush can be thrown out in 2004, and comedy as a political weapon.

Dean and Clark making waves

Loads of interesting stuff on PoliticalWire today, chief among them:

• Howard Dean "has surged into a wide lead" of likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, according to a new Zogby poll. Some 38 percent supported Dean, "giving him a substantial lead" over Sen. John Kerry at 17 percent.

• Gen. Wesley Clark says the White House tried to get him fired as a commentator on CNN. Meantime, he's expected to announce his candidacy in the next month.

Howard Dean for president

So I caught Howard Dean's speech to his supporters tonight in New York, on CSPAN2. That's it. I'm officially on board.

I've been wavering between Dean and some of the other candidates (chiefly Kerry) because I wasn't sure about Dean's electability. I'm now prepared to write that off as misguided Big Media conventional wisdom. I wanted to see evidence of my friends David Weinberger and Mitch Ratcliffe's claim that Dean will bring more people to the polls by speaking from the heart rather than the double talk of conventional politicians. Tonight, I saw it. I wish everybody can see this guy.

Things may change -- New Hampshire is still five months away -- but New Media Musings is officially endorsing Howard Dean for president and Gen. Wesley Clark for VP.

Clark bests Bush in blind-bio match-up

Interesting new national poll results out today. DraftWesleyClark.com commissioned John Zogby, one of the nation's most respected pollsters, to conduct a poll to assess the viability of a Clark candidacy. The poll included several "blind bio" questions, in which subjects polled were given biographical descriptions of the candidates, rather than just names. (Zogby used this technique in the last election, to predict the rise of John McCain well before it happened.) Key findings:

• "Clark vs. other Dems" -- Clark comes in first in a blind-bio match-up versus six key Democratic candidates (Dean, Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, Gephardt, Edwards, and Graham);

• "Clark vs. Bush" -- Clark wins 49.4% to 40.2% in a blind-bio match-up versus President Bush among a national poll of likely voters.

For details, see here.

An RSS feed for bloggers on the campaign trail

I had meant to blog this yesterday: Dave Winer has created an RSS feed to make it easier for bloggers to cover candidates on the presidential campaign trail, right up through the New Hampshire primary in late January.

Maybe Californians arenít the wacky ones

A columnist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel looks at East Coast media and concludes: Maybe Californians arenít the wacky ones.

Arianna's TV spot

Arianna Huffington's campaign has just come out with a TV spot, which you can view here.

Cruz leading Arnold

In a Los Angeles Times poll released today on the California recall, Cruz Bustamante leads Arnold Schwarzenegger 35-22 percent, with no one else close.

Arianna begins a blog

Arianna Huffington has a new campaign weblog, and today discusses the departure of her campaign manager.

We'll see if Arianna can start gaining traction over the next 30 days. As much as I like Arianna (I even donated to her campaign), it appears that the only one with a chance of toppling Arnold is Cruz Bustamante. He's picking up endorsements from labor unions and education associations left and right.

Texas state senators ask for help

Below is a letter from Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis to the members of MoveOn.

August 18, 2003

Dear friends,

I am writing to you from a hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I and 10 of my colleagues in the Texas Senate have been forced to reside for the past 20 days. If we return to our homes, families, friends, and constituents, the Governor of Texas will have us arrested.

I know, it sounds more like a banana republic than the dignified democracy on which we have long prided ourselves. We are effectively exiled from the state due to our unalterable opposition to a Republican effort -- pushed by Tom Delay and Karl Rove, and led by Texas Governor Rick Perry -- that would rewrite the map of Texas Congressional districts in order to elect at least 5 more Republicans to Congress.

You may not have heard much about the current breakdown in Texas politics. The Republican power play in California has obscured the Republican power play in Texas that has forced my colleagues and me to leave the state.

Recognizing that public pressure is the only thing that can break the current stalemate, our friends at MoveOn have offered to support our efforts by sharing this email with you. In it, you will find:

- Background information on how the situation in Texas developed;
- Analysis of what's at stake for Democrats and the democratic process; and
- How you can help by contacting Texas politicians, signing our petition, contributing funds, and forwarding this email!

The Republican redistricting effort shatters the tradition of performing redistricting only once a decade immediately after the Census -- making redistricting a perpetual partisan process. It elevates partisan politics above minority voting rights, in contravention of the federal Voting Rights Act. It intends to decimate the Democratic party in Texas, and lock in a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. And Republican efforts to force a vote on this issue by changing the rules of legislative procedure threaten to undermine the rule of law in Texas.

We do not take lightly our decision to leave the state. It was the only means left to us under the rules of procedure in Texas to block this injustice. We are fighting for our principles and beliefs, and we can win this fight with your support.

Sincerely,

Rodney Ellis
Texas State Senator (Houston)

Background

During the 2001 session of the Texas Legislature, the legislature was unable to pass a Congressional redistricting plan as it is required to do following the decennial Census. A three judge federal panel was forced to draw the plan. Neither Governor Rick Perry or then Attorney General John Cornyn, both Republicans, objected to the plan, which was reviewed and approved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 2002 Congressional elections, the first held under the new redistricting plan, resulted in a Congressional delegation from Texas consisting of 17 Democrats and 15 Republicans. However, five of the 17 Democrats prevailed only because they were able to win the support of Republican and independent voters. All statewide Republican candidates carried these five districts. Most experts agree that the current plan has 20 strong or leaning Republican districts and 12 Democratic districts.

Meanwhile, the 2001 redistricting of Texas legislative seats (which was enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislative Redistricting Board, after the legislature again gridlocked in its efforts) resulted in wide Republican majorities in both the Texas House and Texas Senate. Now Tom Delay has made it his priority to force the Republican-controlled Legislature to enact a new redistricting plan to increase the number of Republican-leaning Congressional districts. Republicans believe they can manipulate the districts to elect as many as 22 Republicans out of the 32 member Texas Congressional delegation. They achieve this by packing minority voters into as few districts as possible and breaking apart rural districts so that the impact of independent voters will be reduced and suburban Republican voters will dominate.

During the regular session of the Texas Legislature, Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives exercised an unprecedented parliamentary move to prevent the House from passing Tom Delay's redistricting plan. While Democrats are in the minority of the House of Representatives, the state constitution requires that at least 2/3 of the House be present for the House to pass a bill. Because it was clear that the Republicans would entertain no debate and brook no compromise in their effort to rewrite the rules by which members of Congress are elected, the Democrats were forced to break the quorum to prevent the bill from passing. Because the Republican Speaker of the House and Governor called on state law enforcement officials to physically compel the Democrats to return, the lawmakers removed themselves to a Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Oklahoma -- outside the reach of state troops(1). In there effort to apprehend the Democrats, Tom Delay officially sought the hel! p of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice.

The House Democrats (nicknamed the "Killer D's", based on an earlier episode in Texas history in which a group of Democratic state senators called the "Killer Bees" broke the quorum in the Senate over a similarly political stalemate) succeeded in stopping Delay's redistricting plan during the regular session, returning to Texas after the legislative deadline had expired for the House to pass legislation. However, because the Texas Legislature meets in regular session only every two years, the state constitution gives the Governor the power to call a 30-day special legislative session at any time between regular sessions. Despite statewide protests from Texas citizens who oppose Tom Delay's redistricting plan, the Governor has called two special sessions(2) already this summer to attempt to force the legislature to enact a new plan.

The first called session expired in a deadlock, as 12 of 31 Texas Senators(3) opposed the plan. Under Senate rules and tradition, a 2/3 vote is required to consider any bill on the floor of the Senate, giving 11 Senators the power to block a vote(4). The Republican Governor and Lieutenant Governor then determined they would do away with the 2/3 rule, and called another special session, forcing 11 Democratic Senators to break the quorum and leave the state.(5) These Senators have spent the past 22 days in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Governor has indicated he will continue calling special sessions until the Republican redistricting plan is enacted, despite the fact that the Republican-controlled Texas Supreme Court recently rejected the Governor's writ of mandamus filing to compel the Senators to return to the Senate. Meanwhile, eleven Democratic state senators are exiled from their state, unable to be with their families, friends, and constituents, for fear of being arrested as part of a partisan power play by Republicans. In the most recent indignity, Republican Senators voted to fine the absent Democrats up to $5,000 per day, and to revoke parking and other privileges for their staffs as long as the Senators are away.

What's at stake

At stake, on the surface, is whether Tom Delay will succeed in exploiting Republican control of the Texas Legislature to add to the Republican majority in the United States Congress. But deeper issues are also at stake.

If the Republicans succeed in redrawing the Texas Congressional lines to guarantee the election of five to seven more Republicans, it will ensure that Republicans hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the entire decade and will likely result in Tom Delay becoming Speaker of the House.(6)

The Republican advantage would be gained by removing many African American and Hispanic voters from their current Congressional districts and "packing" them into a few districts that already have Democratic majorities. The voting power of these minority voters would be dramatically diluted by the Republican plan, in contravention of the federal Voting Rights Act. If the Republicans succeed, over 1.4 million African American and Hispanic voters will be harmed. It would be the largest disenfranchisement of minority voters since the Voting Rights Act was passed.

Redistricting exists for the purpose of reapportioning voters among political districts to account for population shifts. The purpose of this reapportionment is to ensure a roughly equal number of voters in each district, to preserve the principle of "one man, one vote."(7) For this reason, redistricting has always been conducted immediately following the U.S. Census' decennial population reports. Tom Delay now proposes a new redistricting plan two years after the Census report simply because Republicans gained control over the Texas Legislature in 2002 and now have the power to enact a much more Republican-friendly plan than the one drawn by the federal courts two years ago. This is an unprecedented approach to redistricting, one that subordinates its original purpose of ensuring the principle of "one man, one vote" to the purpose of perpetual partisan politics. Redistricting, in this model, would never be a settled matter, and districts would constantly be in fl! ux depending on the balance of political power in the Legislature.

The Texas Legislature has traditionally been defined by a spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation. This issue has polarized the legislature in a way that threatens to destroy that tradition. The Republicans have effectively exiled their Democratic counterparts in a power play that makes our state look more like a banana republic than a dignified democracy. The arbitrary decision to discard the 2/3 rule in the Senate sets a precedent that undermines that body's tradition of consensus and cooperation. The deployment of state law enforcement officials to apprehend boycotting legislators erodes the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government, and diminishes legislators' ability to represent their constituents as they see fit. The unilateral Republican effort to penalize Democratic Senators and their staffs.

What is needed

The Democratic Senators currently in Albuquerque have two critical needs. The first is to generate increased public awareness of the situation. By all reason, every day the Senators are out of the state this story should get bigger. Instead, news media have gradually lost interest in the story. The California recall has dominated the attention of the national media, and the Texas media has largely lost interest in the story -- out of sight, out of mind. Without public attention to this story, the Republicans have all the leverage -- if it does not cost them politically, it costs them nothing(8) to continue calling special sessions until the Texas 11 are forced to come home.

The second critical need is funding. The cost of hotels, meeting rooms, staff support, and public relations efforts is mounting. In addition, the Senators must defend themselves legally against Republican efforts to compel their return, while also filing legal claims against the Republican power play. The Senators are actively raising money for the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus Fund to offset these costs and prepare themselves for a stay of indefinite duration in Albuquerque.

Notes

1. A recent Department of Justice investigation chronicled Republican state officials' illegal attempts to use federal resources -- including anti-terrorism resources from the Department of Homeland Security -- to compel the Democratic lawmakers' return. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51520-2003Aug12.html for a news report on the Justice Department investigation, or http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/03-08a/final.pdf for a copy of the complete Justice Department report.
2. At a cost to taxpayers of over $1.5 million per session.
3. House Republicans passed a redistricting bill in the special session despite an outpouring of public opposition in hearings across the state. All 12 Democratic state senators opposed the plan, along with Republican state senator (and former Lieutenant Governor) Bill Ratliff.
4. The "2/3 rule" requires the Senate to reach broader consensus on difficult issues than a simple majority vote. It is a combination of official Senate rules and tradition. The rules of the Senate require a 2/3 vote to suspend the "regular order of business" to consider a bill that is not the first bill on the Senate calendar. By tradition, the Senate has always placed a "blocker bill" at the top of the Senate calendar, so that every bill requires a suspension of the regular order of business to be considered. The process requires compromise and consensus to achieve a 2/3 majority on each bill. One Texas insider has said that the 2/3 rule is "what separates us from animals."
5. In fact, the Governor and Lt. Governor attempted to "surprise" the Senators by calling the second special one day early and "trap" them in the Senate Chamber. The Senators were able to escape the Capitol with literally minutes to spare.
6. Republican party activist Grover Norquist, head of the Washington D.C.-based Americans for Tax Reform, was quoted as follows in the August 17 Fort Worth Star Telegram: "Republicans will hold the House for the next decade through 2012 if Texas redistrictsÖIt depresses the hell out of the Democrats and makes it doubly impossible to take the House and probably depresses their fund raisingÖAnything that helps strengthen the Republican leadership helps DeLay become speaker someday if he wants it."
7. Established in the landmark case Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
8. Notwithstanding the millions of dollars it is costing taxpayers.

The Times on Arianna

The NY Times today looks at Arianna Huffington: A Candidate Who Confounds, Charms and Reaps Publicity.

Lessig interviews Trippi

Larry Lessig has an interview he did with Joe Trippi, campaign manager for Howard Dean, here (as a PDF). The interview, covering Dean's Internet campaign and the Dean for America blog, is licensed under the Creative Commons Atribution License.

Bustamante catches Arnold

Surprising news: Cruz Bustamante is now narrowly ahead of Arnold Schwarzenegger, 25-22 percent, in the latest Field Poll of likely voters in the California recall election, suggesting that earlier polls were largely a reflection of name recognition.

Our next governor?

Marc has posted some way-too-revealing photos of Arnold. Actually, these might win over some of the 4% of the voters who favor Larry Flynt.

A new blog devoted to the recall

A new blog, The Condor, may be the only weblog devoted solely to the recall (or at least one of a handful), says its creator, David Jensen.

Writes David: "Several things of interest there re online journalism: [The California political blog] Rough & Tumble had its biggest day ever following arnie's announcement -- more than 34,000 page views. You can read about the failure of online sites last Sunday when Arnold's vote on Prop. 187 was announced. Spanish language online sites are carrying news stories on the recall that reflect poorly on Arnold."

Says a notice on the site:

This is a foray into the wilds of California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election. It will leave the usual, mundane coverage of the campaign to the media's finest and, instead, pick over the carcass. Your comments or questions are invited and will be posted in edited form if they are sufficiently interesting, regardless of whether they agree with the Condor.

Roundup of politico blogs

From Sheila, a roundup of politico blogs, including the John Kerry blog I couldn't find earlier this week. A researcher at the Miami Herald came up with this list:

ï Bob Graham
ï John Kerry blog
ï Howard Dean (mostly written by campaign staff but apparently the candidate posts sometimes)
ï Joe Biden (possible presidential candidate)
ï Dennis Kucinich
ï Gary Hart written by the former candidate
ï Tom Daschle - blogging a health-care tour

Al Gore, where are you?

Draft Wesley Clark airs TV ads

DraftWesleyClark.com has launched a television ad in several states in an attempt to initiate a grassroots movement to draft Gen. Wesley Clark for the Democratic nomination.

I like the 60-second commercial (you can see the mpeg on this page -- it took 12 seconds to load over my cable modem). And I like the idea of Clark as the No. 2 guy on the ticket, no matter who wins the nomination.

California, the Cartoon Republic

Want the latest on California's cartoon-worthy recall election? Daryl Cagle over at Slate is compiling some of the best editorial cartoons on the subject. Thanks to LA Observed for the pointer.

Arnold running a mime campaign

Patt Morrison in the LA Times: Arnold Schwarzenegger will evidently be running for governor as a mime, and other political stuff.

Arnold may turn out to be a good guv, but let's hear what he has to say. To claim that it's a campaign about character, not issues, is nothing but gamesmanship.

The Dean juggernaut

Joan Walsh in today's Salon on the Howard Dean juggernaut (subscription required or a one-day pass). Like Joan (whom I know from attending conferences), I just want to get behind the most electable candidate, whether it's Dean, Kerry or someone else (Edwards, perhaps). Excerpt:

The Time-Newsweek covers served to make me appropriately wary of hyperbole and the whole world of media hype -- OK, my world -- that elevates people semi-capriciously (Steve Forbes?) only to have them handy to knock down again.

Of course last week's Dean hype managed to do both at once. It knocked him down by setting him up, in a way. No longer was the question "Is he too liberal to be electable?" Reporters belatedly scoured his record and discovered a fiscal conservative who put balanced budgets before social spending in Vermont, who opposes federal gun control legislation and backs the death penalty for certain crimes. Now the make-or-break question about Dean became: "Will liberals desert him when they figure out that he's actually a moderate?" Then came other pre-fab worries about the problems of sudden success: Had Dean peaked too soon? Could his fledgling campaign handle the attention? And OK, maybe he was moderate enough to be electable, but was he likable enough? Was his reputation for "straight talk" just a euphemism for brusque and arrogant? ...

It's at once nauseating and fascinating to see how the press corps chews up candidates and spits them out. Perhaps the Internet will help route around that this time.

Another Dean article on the front page of today's Boston Globe. Thanks to David W. for the pointers.

Kerry, Graham begin blogging

Two more presidential candidates have turned to blogging in the past week:

The NY Times reported Sunday say that John Kerry has begun blogging ("He is also following Dr. Dean into the campaign computer age. Last week, he began his own campaign Web log, or blog, "), but I can't find it. (Anyone?) It's not linked to from his campaign site, and it's not here, and certainly not here.

The SF Chronicle reports that Bob Graham has also started a blog.

This, on top of the blogging done by Howard Dean on Larry Lessig's blog. Plus, Dennis Kucinich, who already has a blog, will guest-blog on Lessig's blog this week.

Meantime, the Guerrilla News Network examines the Dean machine.

Dean campaign's Net savvy shows

Dan Gillmor. in Sunday's San Jose Merc, is in Vermont at the Howard Dean camp and reports: The Dean campaign's Net savvy shows.

The GOP's loose wingnut

From the Sunday NY Times Magazine: Fight Club. A look at the ultra-fascist, loose-wingnut wing of the Republican Party.

The freak show begins

Gallagher is among the 155 candidates whose names will appear on the ballot for governor. Among his top 10 slogans: Finally a Governor you can get drunk with.

The Gallagher Interactive Sledge-O-Matic Tour has begun. Why the hell not? (Actually, that should be one of his slogans.) After all, Larry Flynt is pulling 4 percent in the polls. Thanks to Sheila for the pointer.

Since we're on the topic, Arnold opens the race with a 10-point lead over Lt. Gov. Bustamante.

Jesse Ventura has some advice for Arnold. ("Arnold, what the heck are you doing? You're getting out of Hollywood to go into politics? Well, then forget agents and studio bosses, now you're dealing with real predators. ...")

Dave Barry has a great column about it on the front page of today's San Jose Merc. But, naturally, I can't find a single mention of it anywhere online. Excerpt:

CALIFORNIA -- I came out here because I've been reading disturbing reports that my state, Florida, is about to lose the coveted title of "The Doofus State," which we Floridians worked so hard to win after the 2000 presidential election by not being able to figure out whom we voted for.

We have been The Doofus State for just two lousy years, and now these greedy Californians, who had the title for decades, are trying to get it back.

Presidential action figure!

A presidential naval aviator and action figure from KB toys! BBI proudly introduces the latest issue in its Elite Force series of authentic military 12- inch figures, President George W. Bush in naval aviator flight uniform. Exacting in detail and fully equipped with authentic gear, this limited-edition action figure is a meticulous 1:6 scale recreation of the Commander-in-Chief's appearance during his historic Aircraft Carrier landing. On May 1, 2003, President Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Pacific Ocean, and officially declared the end to major combat in Iraq. While at the controls of an S-3B Viking aircraft from the "Blue Sea Wolves" of Sea Control Squadron Three Five (VS-35), designated "Navy 1," he overflew the carrier before handing it over to the pilot for landing. Attired in full naval aviator flight equipment, the President then took the salute on the deck of the carrier.

This fully poseable figure features a realistic head sculpt, fully detailed cloth flight suit, helmet with oxygen mask, survival vest, g-pants, parachute harness and much more. The realism and exacting attention to detail demanded by today's 12-inch action figure enthusiast are met and exceeded with this action figure. This incredibly detailed figure is a fitting addition to the collection of those interested in U.S. history, military memorabilia and toy action figures. Actual figure may vary slightly from item shown.

Arianna and the Teutonic Plague

I don't know if Arianna Huffington has a chance for the California governorship, but I just contributed to her campaign.

Meantime, I've fallen in love with Jon Stewart and the Daily Show on Comedy Central over the lean-TV summer months. Gotta love the screen graphic on Arnold's entry into the race on last night's show: Teutonic Plague.

California Insider

I've added Sacramento Bee columnist and blogger Daniel Weintraub to the politics blogroll over there at the right. He's one of the only bloggers plugged into the political scene in California.

Loophole Executives

Larry Lessig has a thoughtful entry about Loophole Executives. It looks increasingly likely that if Gray Davis is recalled (and you've got to bet that he will be), his replacement will take office with fewer votes than Davis receives in the recall.

What kind of mandate is that?

Writes Lessig: "Whether or not you believe in the power to recall, the California provision is insanely stupid. It makes no sense to decide the winner on the basis of a plurality."

Gore criticizes Bush's leadership on Iraq

Former VP Al Gore, in a speech last night organized by MoveOn.org, argued that the Bush administration ``routinely shows disrespect'' for the ``honest and open debate'' that produces the truth.

"The direction in which our nation is being led is deeply troubling to me, not only in Iraq but also at home, on economic policy, social policy and environmental policy," Gore said.

"Millions of Americans now share a feeling that something pretty basic has gone wrong in our country, and that some important American values are being placed at risk, and they want to set it right." ...

MoveOn's organizers tell (in a mass e-mail) how the speech came to be:

Two weeks ago, we received a call from former Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Gore explained that he was deeply concerned about the President's pattern of misleading the public -- most recently on Iraq, but also on the environment, the economy, and a host of other domestic issues. He said he was working on a major policy speech, and he wanted to give it to MoveOn members and with MoveOn's sponsorship. MoveOn was a good partner, he said, because so many MoveOn members are engaging in the national conversation about the direction of our country. ...

You can read the entire speech transcript, and, by 5pm EST today, view streaming video of the event at the MoveOn home page. The group has also been successful in collecting 414,000 signatures for its petition asking for an independent commission to investigate the distortion of evidence leading up to the Iraq war.

Arnold changes the equation

I'm as surprised as everyone else by the news that Arnold Schwarzenegger has entered the recall race for California governor. And now comes word that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante will enter the race as well.

Lots still unknown. Richard Riordan, who feels he was double-crossed, is reportedly steamed. Arianna Huffington may be sorry she entered, 12 hours after her announcement.

As for the news media: OK, we'll let you guys have your 48 hours of celebrity gawking and tittering and bad Terminator puns. But we've got a $1 trillion economy to run.

If Arnold pursues a Rose Garden strategy of refusing to answer questions about his position on issues -- his announcement on last night's Tonight show was a tipoff that he's arrogant enough to believe he can ride his celebrity credentials right into the governor's mansion -- then the media need to hold his feet to the fire. Just what exactly are your positions on balancing the budget (which specific programs would you cut?), education, health care, prison reform, and dozens of other positions that the other candidates are spelling out.

You've already succeeded in turning the recall into an international spectacle, Arnold. Now let's see if there's any substance underneath those famous biceps.