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08 Nov 2010 20:15

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Politics: Awkward: Steny Hoyer chooses to fight James Clyburn for his job

  • awkward Despite much controversy over her reign, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides that she wants to be House Minority Leader – pushing Steny Hoyer out of his job.
  • awkwarder Hoyer decides, rather than battle Pelosi, he’ll run for House Minority Whip – against James Clyburn, who’s probably the most powerful black member of the House. source
  • » Why this is kind of pathetic: If Hoyer really wanted to make some waves, he could’ve taken on Pelosi. Instead, he’s pushing for the second-ranked position. Both men will remain Democratic leaders, yeah, but if Pelosi is so unpopular among so many people, why not try for her job? You might just win. (On a side note, we have no opinion on the Pelosi thing.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

08 Nov 2010 16:31

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Politics: Great: George W. Bush has disgusting life anecdote to share

  • Sometimes there are stories that just leave us without words. Sometimes we see something and think of all the ramifications and just can’t fathom the right words to say. Sometimes, we’re just so disturbed by the ramifications of the letters (in this case, “She said to her teenage kid, ‘Here’s the fetus.'”) that we don’t feel like posting anything about a topic and just leaving it alone for the rest of eternity. Then we keep in mind who said them (George W. Bush) and remind ourselves of the heft that those words carry because of the person who said them, and submit them to you. George W. Bush’s mom (you know, former first lady Barbara Bush) showed her son her miscarried fetus. We can’t imagine what ways that screwed him up, even if he says it didn’t. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Nov 2010 09:17

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Politics: MSNBC limits Keith Olbermann’s suspension to two shows

  • After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night’s program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.
  • MSNBC president Phil Griffin • Explaining how he’s decided to keep Keith Olbermann’s suspension really freaking short. While we’re happy about it, it’s like you gave your best player a two-game suspension for arguing with the ref. The fact of the matter is, we didn’t expect it to be so short, since you did it in the first place. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 22:00

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Politics: Max Headroom: Keith Olbermann’s incredibly busy week

  • The week in Olbermann Keith Olbermann has had a pretty busy week. It started with him ripping Jon Stewart while kneeling to him simultaneously. It ended with him getting suspended and getting Bill Kristol of all people defending him. This is prime territory of two media sources: Howard Kurtz and Mediaite. Both are covered here.
  • Countdown’s quick word “We know you are all looking forward to Keith’s return, and so are we.” We can imagine how weird it must be for Olbermann and the network that Olbermann revitalized to be going through with this. MSNBC sounds like Courtney Cox trying to be diplomatic about her separation from David Arquette.
  • So, to be clear … Eric Cantor, the likely new House Majority Leader, showed up on “Fox News Sunday” today, and was thrown a question on whether he’d allow a government shutdown on Obama’s watch, like in 1995. Notice how he didn’t say no, and suggested it would be Obama’s fault if it happened.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 21:27

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Politics: Keith Olbermann breaks silence via Twitter; happy for support

  • Atta boy Keith. We don’t think what you did was particularly smart, but we think MSNBC overreacted. Glad to see you keeping up your spirits. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 21:09

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Politics: Rep. Paul Ryan: We’re gunning for healthcare, wanna kill it by 2013

  • This bill is such a fiscal and economic train wreck for our country and for the health care system itself. We’re going to do everything we can to try and repeal and replace this thing. And ultimately, I think 2013 is when it will be done the right way.
  • Rep. Paul Ryan • Explaining the GOP’s plan for taking on health care after the midterms. First, choke the funding sources. Then, hopefully, after Obama has been kicked out of office, repeal the damn thing entirely. Look, we like Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan is a good member of Congress and has good, well-intentioned reasons for pushing what he’s pushing. Unlike someone like Mitch McConnell, we don’t think he plays politics for the sake of playing politics. Plus, he looks like he could’ve been the third Darren from “Bewitched.” But we simply think that the lead item on the GOP’s agenda should not be repealing health care. Figure out ways to work with the president and get people more jobs, then work on your beef with health care. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Nov 2010 10:30

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Politics: Hah! Eric Cantor rips Nancy Pelosi for putting “ideology first”

  • This is a woman who puts ideology first. This says to voters, ‘we’re not listening to you.’
  • Likely House Majority Leader Eric Cantor • Dropping his two cents into the whole Nancy-still-wants-to-lead thing. Is this the guy who should be trashing people for putting ideology first? We remember what Eric did during the the Health Care Summit at the White House, and when you have to use attention-grabbing props to get your point across, you’re in it for the ideology, not getting things done. None of this is to say that Nancy should try to keep her leadership position. But Eric Cantor is the wrong guy to make this argument. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Nov 2010 14:13

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Politics: Defend Olbermann, go viral: How @ericfadden got 2,500 retweets

  • Before you know it my iPhone can’t turn it’s screen off because I’m getting near constant push notifications of retweets.
  • Twitter user (and SFB reader) Eric Fadden • Explaining how he became something of a Twitter celebrity yesterday after a key point that he made in the Keith Olbermann saga received 2,500 retweets. The tweet? “Gotta love the new campaign contribution rules. Keith Olbermann donates as a citizen and gets suspended. A corp can give & remain nameless.” Fadden says that around 90 percent of the tweeters agreed him, but the other ten percent were very critical. To that, he says: “Has the polarization gotten that bad where we would mock one of our own as their rights are trampled by their employer…nay, even worse, when that employer enjoys more protection than those it employs?” Good point, Eric. It’s good to point out that the game is a little different for journalists, but Olbermann is biased and should not be held to the standard of a reporter. Meanwhile, General Electric can anonymously influence the electoral process as they choose. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Nov 2010 13:00

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Politics: George W. Bush on waterboarding: “Damn right.” Damn right.

  • I thought about my meeting with Danny Pearl’s widow, who was pregnant with his son when he was murdered. I thought about the 2,971 people stolen from their families by al Qaeda on 9/11. And I thought about my duty to protect my country from another act of terror. ‘Damn right,’ I said.
  • George W. Bush • Explaining in his coming memoir, “Decision Points,” why he allowed the CIA to waterboard suspects being interrogated, specifically Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. While it’s clear from the quote that he thought the decision through, the off-the-cuffness of his response strikes us as a little, you know, stark. We appreciate Bush caring so much about the lives of Americans that he’s willing to waterboard a 9/11 suspect, but waterboarding is about half a step away from torture. In fact, depending on who you ask, lots of people consider it torture. Also in the book, Bush (who claims to be through with politics) compliments Obama’s political skills while criticizing those of John McCain. He is also keeping his nose out of the whole 2012 race out of respect for Obama. This is impressive restraint that he at times didn’t show in office, by the way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Nov 2010 00:23

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Politics: Rachel Maddow: “We should have Keith back hosting ‘Countdown'”

  • Leave it to Rachel Maddow to put a useful period on the end of that sentence.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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