Watching the disastrous roll-out of the new Medicare prescription drug plan kinda makes me wonder  how badly the Bush folks would mess up Social Security if given the chance. Uff da!

Top Conservatives fed up with Bush's power grabs.  Apparently, even Grover Norquist thinks the Dear Leader is off the reservation.

Ohio Rep. Robert Ney personally lobbied the then Secretary of State Colin Powell to relax U.S. sanctions on Iran.

These are the men who speak of defending the country.

Any of you labor lawyers out there know what the Special Assistant for Conservative Outreach at the Labor Department does?

I had heard brief reports about companies selling private cell phone records to just about anyone willing to pay money for them but I don't think it really hit home until John Aravosis publicized his purchase of Gen. Wesley Clark's cell phone records.  I know that corporations have been buying and selling personal information for years but how the hell is this legal?

The Daily Show provides some pointers for those of you confused by what is now permissible and not permissible when it comes to "responsibly" debating the Iraq War. 

Just remember: "This is America, and in America you're welcome to say whatever he wants."

This piece by Mickey Kaus would make sense if he'd never read an Adam Nagourney article in his life, however since I don't think that's the case I'm lead to believe he's just making shit up for the hell of it. 

Nagourney article headlines look more like this short list from the last presidential campaign; see anything approaching Mickey's "GOP always on the ropes" theme?  Me neither.  Besides perhaps this one article, can anyone point to a Nagourney article where Democrats aren't politically inept, divided and totally without hope of ever winning the White House or Congress?   

I think I'm beginning to understand why James Wolcott labeled Kaus the classic example of a "counterintuitive" pundit. 

William Jefferson of Louisiana.  Although not a part of the gigantic "culture of corruption" that is the K Street machine under DeLay and Abramoff, there is no doubt that corruption comes in all shapes, sizes and party affiliations.  Let's see if there's a difference here in the way each party handles the fallout.  Expect Jefferson to resign in a week.

Now if we can get the Army to spring for a retractable dome over this town they might be able to stop mortar and rocket attacks, too.

Just a little example of what we're talking about from TPM Cafe:

From an E-mail conversation between Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition and a current Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia and Jack Abramoff:

Reed writes:
"Jack, would you be willing to contribute personally to my state chair campaign?  This race is costing me $50-100K, and i'm asking my friends to help."

Abramoff responds:
"Sure. Give me the name of the entity."

Reed deadpans:
"The actual committee is "The Reed Family Retirement and Educational Foundation." It is a 501(c)(3). The address is 200 Bay Drive, Grand Cayman, BCI, R59876."

Abramoff:
"Ha ha ha. Make sure you get me the proper committee name."

After Reed responded with the real name ("Reed for Chairman"), Abramoff wrote:
"Seriously, I'll get you the $10K this week or next from a source which owes me money."

The source that owed Abramoff money?  The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. 

Like to see more?  Check out the exhibits from the Senate investigation.  Ralph Reed's name is all over the exhibits.

Before you get too caught up in how Newt Gingrich has become the public face of Republicans urging ethics reform in Congress and nostalgic musings of how the glory days of the 1994 Republican revolution have been overshadowed by scandal, one need only look at Digby's rundown of Newt's own ethically challenged reign as Speaker to understand that this all didn't just start with Tom Delay and Newt "The Ends Justify the Means" Gingrich really doesn't have a lot of credibility on the issue.

Think Progress brings us this video of Tom Delay's ironic description of the wide ranging and brutal partisan conspiracy to deprive him of his leadership post.  As told by Mr. Delay that conspiracy includes 8, yes 8, separate grand juries.  Absolutely insidious!  I wonder where this plot goes next?

Conventional wisdom is that because some indian tribes who were represented by Jack Abramoff gave money to a few Democrats, it was Jack Abramoff who directed those contributions.  But is there any evidence whatsoever for this?  Check out the exchange between Governor Dean and Wolf Blitzer from CNN yesterday:

BLITZER: Should Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, who has now pleaded guilty to bribery charges, among other charges, a Republican lobbyist in Washington, should the Democrat who took money from him give that money to charity or give it back?

DEAN: There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal. There is no evidence that Jack Abramoff ever gave any Democrat any money. And we've looked through all of those FEC reports to make sure that's true.

BLITZER: But through various Abramoff-related organizations and outfits, a bunch of Democrats did take money that presumably originated with Jack Abramoff.

DEAN: That's not true either. There's no evidence for that either. There is no evidence...

BLITZER: What about Senator Byron Dorgan?

DEAN: Senator Byron Dorgan and some others took money from Indian tribes. They're not agents of Jack Abramoff. There's no evidence that I've seen that Jack Abramoff directed any contributions to Democrats. I know the Republican National Committee would like to get the Democrats involved in this. They're scared. They should be scared. They haven't told the truth. They have misled the American people. And now it appears they're stealing from Indian tribes. The Democrats are not involved in this.

The contributions to Republicans that are drawing scrutiny from prosecutors are known to have been directed by Abramoff because he E-mailed everyone under the sun to make sure they've occured.  But I have yet to see a single instance of Jack Abramoff telling a tribe to contribute to a Democrat.  If anyone does have evidence of Abramoff directing a contribution by a tribe to a Democrat, please put the link to it in the comments.

Looks like the White House had a lot of dealings with this guy, too.

News Flash:  White House going out of its way to distance President from man most responsible for shoving his agenda through Congress.  No word yet on whether Mr. Delay will be scrubbed out of official White House photographs.

Way ahead:

   Sanders:   75%
   Tarrant:    25%
   Undecided:04%

   Sanders:   75%
   Parke:      24%
   Undecided:04%

If the Republicans can only capture that 4% undecided they will lose by less than 50%.  Get crackin' boys!

From AP: 

Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay decided Saturday to give up his post as House majority leader, clearing the way for new leadership elections among Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal, two officials said.

Laura Rozen found this tidbit about Denny Hastert making House Republicans go through a course on ethics rules and their instructor is....the infamous Rep. Bob Ney.

Let me get this straight, the President had a meeting with most of the Secretaries of State and Defense going back to the Kennedy administration billed as an opportunity to get some constructive advice and then only allows 5 to 10 minutes for discussion?  What was the point?  Forty minutes of a rah-rah presentation, a few minutes for Madeline Albright to tear him a new asshole and then let's all line up for a photograph.