A comment in the discussion threads from one of our updates on the Coleman/Franken recount ‘trial’ …
Can’t somebody in the U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C. or St. Paul just indict Norm Coleman for all those apparently undisclosed gifts and sweetheart deals he received from political sugar daddies, and put an end to this farce? Coleman’s excruciating slow political demise puts Greta Garbo’s death scene in Camille to shame.
I confess that it’s occurred to me, knowing Franken as I do, that it’s possible the two men reached a secret pact in which Franken agreed to be kept out of the senate for six to eight weeks in exchange for Coleman agreeing to spend down all remaining dignity he has left in order to make himself a statewide laughingstock and never be able to run again for anything.
All this said, don’t miss Eric Kleefeld’s report from yesterday, which noted that after a comically incompetent week, Coleman’s legal team actually scored some solid points in yesterday’s testimony.
In one of his first speeches as RNC chairman, Michael Steele praises the House Republicans for voting against the stimulus package, opposing the redistribution of wealth. That and other political news in today’s TPMDC Saturday Roundup.
Yochai Benkler (who should know) says the Stimulus Bill (House and Senate versions) turns out to be halfway decent on the broadband front.
Notable that on Superbowl Sunday the most compelling sports story of the day (and beyond) has nothing to do with football.
From the AP …
Allies of Iraq’s U.S.-backed prime minister appeared Sunday to have made gains in the provincial elections, rewarding groups credited with reining in insurgents and militias, according to unofficial projections.
Initial results from Saturday’s landmark voting are not expected for days. But reports by Iraqi media and interviews by The Associated Press suggest candidates backing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had strong showings in the crucial Shiite heartland in southern Iraq.
If the indications prove true, it would strengthen al-Maliki’s hand ahead of national elections later this year and reflect a shift away from the more religious parties dominating the country.
Tom Daschle reportedly didn’t tell the Obama team about his tax problems until weeks after he was named as Health and Human Services Secretary. That and other political news in today’s TPMDC Sunday Roundup.
I cannot say my expectations were high. But Sen. DeMint (R) of South Carolina does seem to be an even bigger ignoramus than I’d realized. On This Week this morning he actually said: “Let’s don’t say it’s a stimulus when it’s a government spending plan.” A ‘Stimulus plan’ is pretty much by definition a spending plan, though of course it can include tax reductions as well.
As noted, my expectations are not high. But I’m wowed by the amount of nonsense and lies that are being injected into this debate.
Also, high on the list, of course, is the fact that basically all the ‘wasteful’ spending that’s being discussed amounts to a total of what … maybe 2 or 3 billion out of $819 billion total? Why is this point not being made more clearly?