Just a classic, classic story. First, you’ve got show-boating, right-wing, anti-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio (aka “America’s Toughest Sheriff”). He teams up with Maricopa County prosecutor Andrew Thomas to arrest County Supervisor Don Stapley on charges which seem pretty thin and arguably political in nature. (They tried to prosecute him last year; but those charges fell apart. And in this case a judge found they lacked probable cause for the arrest.) But Thomas had to recuse himself because he works with Stapley in the country government. And they couldn’t not come up with what in layman’s terms we’d normally call a real prosecutor willing to take the case. (They tried to get the prosecutor for the neighboring county to take over the case but she declined.) So they decided to import TV lawyers-cum-DC GOP power couple Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing as outside “special prosecutors” to take the case.
Sounds legit, right?
And if all that weren’t enough, fired US Attorney Paul Charlton is defending Stapley. So he’s had his own experience being on the receiving end of political corruption of the prosecutorial process.
Why is disgraced (though pardoned) former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington holding a fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s Senate campaign?
Pete Sessions (R-TX), head of the House Republican campaign committee, announces that the GOP’s list of endangered House Republicans has a mere five names on it this year (since all the Republicans in swing districts lost in 2006 and 2008).
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) goes on a stream-of-consciousness rant on the House floor: bestiality, necrophilia, voting for a black man.
TPM Reader LG checks in from New Jersey …
I’d like to add a few more comments concerning the NJ gubernatorial race, and specifically, why Christie is losing ground in a hurry. Clearly, a strong factor is the typical NJ slide away from the Republican as election day draws near. Another factor pointed out was that Corzine is massively outspending Christie. I also think that a very new and major factor is Christie’s lack of specifics juxtaposed to independent Chris Daggett’s substance.
From the Patriot-News …
Meleanie Hain, the pistol-carrying Lebanon mom who received national attention for taking a loaded gun to her daughter’s soccer game, was shot to death Wednesday night with her husband in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Hain, 31, and her husband, Scott, 33, were pronounced dead by Lebanon County Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum shortly after 8:30 p.m. at their home at Second Avenue and East Grant Street, police said.
The couple’s three children were home at the time and were not injured, and are staying with relatives and friends, police said.
President Obama is appointing his first openly gay ambassador. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
The week’s worst in story concept and execution, from Politico: “Roman Polanski Backers Gave $34K to Barack Obama, DNC.”
Glenn Beck becomes first cable show to pick up the American Police Force story. We’re so proud.
Yesterday Sam Stein of Huffington Post reported that a new ‘compromise’ public option is getting a hearing on Capitol Hill, one which would allow individual states to opt-out of a national public option. To be clear, this is not 50 different state-based public options, where individual states could opt out. It’s a national public option, which individual states could opt not to participate in.
The idea is from Sen. Carper (D-DE). But Sen. Schumer (D-NY) seems to be pushing it. He just went on TV a few moments ago and said the idea was gaining traction. The two of them apparently met yesterday evening to discuss the idea.
Now, I haven’t heard yet from the people who really understand the policy dimensions of this stuff, the people who know all the moving parts and whose opinions I trust. So consider my comments as very tentative, subject to change if, as is quite possible, there are dimensions of this I’m not considering. But just on the face of it, this sounds like a compromise reformers could embrace because I suspect many, probably most states would opt in, providing a plenty large enough pool to get to the bargaining power that is essential to make a public option work. Read More