Tuesday Open Thread [3.10.15]
Charlie Cook: “This is the classic kind of inside-the-Beltway, process story that politicos and reporters get in a lather over but that resonates very little with average voters. Most Americans don’t know or care what happens to the old emails of public officials. But chasing shiny objects is an occupational hazard for political journalists during odd-numbered years, because of the infrequent developments of real significance. And, for that matter, Clinton’s fate won’t hinge on Benghazi either…”
“No, Hillary Clinton’s challenge will be determined by how she performs, what image she projects, how she is perceived—whether she comes across as likable and relevant to the future, someone who can plausibly address the challenges facing the country. Having been largely out of the game of politics since losing the Democratic nomination to President Obama in 2008, she is akin to a professional athlete who has been sidelined by injuries for several seasons. Does she still have—to borrow a phrase from the legendary political author, the late Richard Ben Cramer — ‘what it takes,’ or Tom Wolfe’s ‘the right stuff’?”
Jonathan Capehart on President Obama’s Selma Speech:
A particular passage in President Obama’s remarks in Selma yesterday rings powerfully true today. “Of course, a more common mistake is to suggest that Ferguson is an isolated incident; that racism is banished; that the work that drew men and women to Selma is now complete, and that whatever racial tensions remain are a consequence of those seeking to play the “race card” for their own purposes,” he said. “We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true. We just need to open our eyes, and our ears, and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us.”
Less than 24 hours later, the nation’s eyes, ears and heart are offended by a video allegedly showing members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity at the University of Oklahoma leading a racist chant. …
University of Oklahoma president David Boren wasted no time taking action. He banished SAE from campus and ordered the fraternity house shuttered by midnight Tuesday night. The fraternity’s national headquarters, calling itself “disgusted” and “embarrassed” by the video, suspended the entire Oklahoma university membership and promised to permanently revoke the membership of those responsible for the incident. Boren’s statement on the racist display was blunt. “To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you. You are disgraceful,” he said.
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National Journal, on the New Testament passage where Jesus admonishes his followers to aid the less fortunate. I suppose he is not running for the Republican nomination.
Michael Tomasky describes President Obama’s speech at the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights: “It was the strongest statement about the liberal definition of patriotism I’ve ever heard a president deliver. It was also confrontational and challenging–an unapologetic manifesto for the values of blue America.” Abso-damn-lutely. It will go down in history as perhaps his greatest Presidential speech, and perhaps the greatest presidential speech since Kennedy’s inaugural.
That’s something we don’t hear a lot about, the values of blue America. No, it isn’t because we don’t have them. It’s that we don’t parade them in the public square quite as much as conservatives do, while conservatives aren’t exactly shy about caricaturing in public their version of liberal values (we love sodomy and baby-killing and so on).
But there are liberal values. Some, we all know about–tolerance, diversity, etc. But another central one has to do with the way in which liberals love our country, and it goes like this: Yes, of course this is a great country. But it is change that has made it so. It’s a country that was founded on the highest ideals of the day, many of which are eternal, but it was also a country where ownership of human beings of a certain race was legal. So no, it wasn’t so great. It had to be made great. And by the way it’s not really as great as it should be yet. That’s a process that, the human condition being what it is, will never have an end.
Tomasky says Obama defines those who are the truest Americans: “the protesters, the outsiders, and the agitators who read the words of the founding texts and forced the system to live up to them.”
What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals?…That’s America!”
Good stuff from Michael Tomasky. I get accused of being sore at Democrats because I didn’t get my pony. Well that’s my fucking pony. Obama found my pony in the 11th hour of his administration.
Hillary! Isn’t she just fabulous? Martin O’Malley needs to get a life, right? She’s so great.
Poor FBH. He keeps thinking the next Clinton scandal will be the one that does the trick.
When it comes to Hillary, the Democratic party is a bionic camel with a super strong back.
tweeted after Hilary’s press conference about her emails
Ken Gardner @kesgardner
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Person who wants to be our next president doesn’t know that you can put two separate email accounts on a smartphone. God help us.
During Secretary Clinton’s four years, the US Government used Blackberry phones because they were considered more secure. I used a government issued Blackberry when I worked for the DE DOI during most of that same period. Most Blackberries in use at that time could not carry multiple e-mails and, in any event, using a government-issed phone for personal use would have been a violation of policy. I got tired of carrying my blackberry and my personal cell phone. After a few months I turned my Blackberry in and used my personal phone for business and on-business e-mail. Please don’t tell the select committees, I know nothing of Benghazi and am not likely running for anything.
“using a government-issued phone for personal use would have been a violation of policy. ”
That’s the key issue for many government workers. I had both a government Blackberry and a personal Blackberry. I did not want to carry two phones, so I used my personal one for both personal and official business, for cell phone and email. Clinton did the same thing that thousands and thousands of other federal workers did and still are doing. Having to carry two phones is a pain, so we all use personal resources for government business. So yes Rusty, you can put two emails accounts on the same phone, but you but can’t put a personal account on a government phone. Some agencies even block web access to your email from your office computer. Those who have never been in public service don’t have an appreciation for the restrictions on what you can and cannot do.
I actually do think the Hillary thing resonates on a few levels:
1) It reinforces the belief that many people have that the Clintons play by their own rules and are hiding things (perhaps even when they’re not);
and most importantly
2) That she’s NOT A VERY GOOD CANDIDATE AND WILL IMPLODE ANY MOMENT. As evidenced by that press conference today. What was that exactly?
#2 is what Democrats should be worried about, ultimately. She’s won one semi-real election and the other was a race against an absolute no one where she spent $36M – more than anyone else in the country at the time. I’m sure the DSCC couldn’t have used the money that year….
Sometimes you can’t make fetch happen, guys. I’d try and find another candidate quickly. At least ONE so that if you’re going to coronate her she at least can sharpen her blade.
You are a fool if you think this story wasn’t timed by the Clintons.
1) “many people” who listen to Sean Hannity are Clinton haters from the outset, so who cares about the fact that they think this proves that Hillary killed Vince Foster.
2) She and Bill as a campaign team have an astounding win/loss record. that record scares the shit out of Republicans for good reason.
3) I love Hillary. I’d take her above any Democrat being discussed. She isn’t as economically progressive as I’d like, but her administration will be fully informed by Obama’s attempts at GOP appeasement.
Implode at any moment? Don’t be daft…. after Whitewater, the first attempt at Health Care, Monica, Impeachment, NY Carpetbagger claims pre Senate, Benghazi, emails… (I’m sure I’ve forgotten more than one)
Now, she certainly could be caught up in something that would prevent her eventual coronation, but I can’t imagine what it could be. The one thing she’s best at is falling into shit and coming out smelling like a stripper at the beginning of her shift. What could possibly indicate one of these will take her down? Whatever it may be, it very likely won’t be about an email server…
How long have we had the political internet? 200 years, seems like. 1,000? All I can say is, Hillary concern trolls are going to be entertaining.
Where all of your stories fall apart is when you look at her statements last month on tv, she said she carries an ipad, a blackberry and an ipod wth her. Additionally she explained at that same exact time that she never throws anything away, she said she is only two steps away from a horder,(except for the 32000 emails she threw away. Now jason, I am going to try and help you, so you dont go ballistic on election night 2016, now is the time to find a level headed democrat and get behind them, hillary 2016 just aint going to happen!
And she carries an iphone, so either she was lying last month, or at her press conference, which time do you guys think she was lying
P.s. you guys are all making my smaller government point for me. In the private sector, I have had androids, blackberrys, and other smart phones since 2005. It takes me exactly 3 seconds to switch between my business email snd my personal email. And since I had the common since to have 2 different email accounts, one for business and one for personal, it only takes about 5 minutes to set them up on a device. I started that around 1993. But, 22 years on Hillary still thinks she knows better than the private sector. See, without the profit motive, government just keeps chugging along, the least efficient way possible