Friday Open Thread [3.1.13]

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Who dares run against Hillary in the Dem primary, Steve Kornacki wonders:
I would say there’s a decent chance Clinton actually could clear the field and face no serious opposition for the nomination. Not a good chance, but a decent one. This has never happened for a non-incumbent in the modern era, but then again, it’s not like we’re dealing with a huge data set here. And Clinton really is approaching the ’16 race with a set of advantages we’ve never before seen for a non-incumbent. Yes, there’s plenty of time between now and Iowa – time for Clinton to stumble or take a pass on the race, time for Obama to really step in it, time for a real split to open up within the Democratic Party. I’m not calling Clinton a shoo-in for the nomination, or even predicting she’ll run. I’m just arguing that if she does, she could break the mold for non-incumbent candidates of the modern era.
The only with the stature that Hillary now possesses is Gen. Eisenhower in 1952, and even he faced a credible and significant primary or a challenge from the more conservative Senator Bob Taft. I think if Hillary does run, we will still see a candidacy from Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Cuomo will demur to Clinton. And so does Biden, in my opinion.

So long loser…

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The worst Pope ever? Hard to say, there were some really horrible Popes back in the old days. The worst Pope of the modern era? Certainly. Digby breaks it down...

Uh Oh! Looks Like Bob Woodward Will Have A Few Regrets

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Okay, so this happened:
Longtime Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward is taking on the White House, saying in multiple interviews that the administration essentially threatened him to try to get him not to write a story. [...] “I mean, it makes me very uncomfortable to have the White House telling reporters, ‘you’re going to regret doing something that you believe in.’” Woodward said. “And even though we don’t look at it that way, you do look at it that way. And I think if Barack Obama knew that was part of the communication’s strategy — let’s hope it’s not a strategy, but it’s a tactic that somebody’s employed, and said, look, we don’t go around trying to say to reporters, if you, in an honest way, present something we don’t like, that, you know, you’re going to regret this.  And just — it’s Mickey Mouse.”
And then all hell broke loose... especially on the Right. And then the emails came to light. And then came the regrets...
"Looks like we were played," The Daily Caller's Matt Lewis wrote Thursday morning. Erick Erickson tweets: Ok wow. Finally read the email to Woodward. I must now move to the "not a threat" camp. Brit Hume tweets:  On one hand, only Woodward can say if he felt threatened by WH email. On the other, hard to imagine feeling threatened by Gene Sperling.

Thursday Open Thread [2.28.13]

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James Carville told Morning Joe that Democrats have a big advantage in the debate over the coming automatic budget cuts because of the word used to describe them.
"The sequester has an advantage, and this is kind of cruel to Republicans, but it's true. The sequester, not many people know what it is, but it sounds stupid and cruel. Therefore people think it's a Republican thing."
LOL.

“Perpetuation Of Racial Entitlement”

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Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, created quite a few headlines yesterday.
Scalia attributed the repeated renewal of Section 5 to a “perpetuation of racial entitlement.” He said, “Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes.”
That's quite a statement, and when I heard it all I could think was that the Voting Rights Act was enacted to stop the perpetuation of racial entitlement - for whites. It's been a long time since a statement truly shocked me.  I've been a bit numb to Republican insanity, but this statement was beyond offensive.  Since when is voting an entitlement?  (Isn't it adorable how he used the Republican dog whistle?)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who asked many questions in defense of the law, appeared taken aback by Scalia’s insinuation. In the final moments of oral argument, she asked Bert Rein, the lawyer for the challengers, if he agrees. “Do you think think Section 5 was voted for because it was a racial entitlement?” she asked. When he ducked the question, she asked it again. He did not endorse Scalia’s sentiment.
I bet she was taken aback.  Scalia's comment was outrageous.

Democrats — This Is How You Treat Fox News!

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Rep. Keith Ellison called out Sean Hannity in an interview yesterday that was supposed to be about the sequester. Ellison starts after watching a lead in that plays stupid scary music over a mashup video intended to show President Obama in a bad (not objective! not both sides do it!) light:
"I mean, you know, quite frankly, you are the worst excuse for a journalist I've ever seen. Quite frankly, you are the worst excuse for a journalist I’ve ever seen. …What you just displayed was not journalism. It was yellow journalism. It wasn’t anything close to try to tell the American people what’s really going on. I mean it’s just shocking. …Every journalistic ethic I have ever heard of was just violated by you. …You are a shill for the Republican party. …You alibi them 100% of the time."