Blogging Blue

As I was surfing across the internet yesterday, I happened across an interesting article about an arms deal intercepted by Italian authorities almost by accident. Now when I say arms deal, I should not the deal - worth roughly forty million dollars - would have shipped more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into Iraq, as if more automatic weapons are just what the doctor ordered in Iraq. What’s most disconcerting about the deal - besides the sheer size of the deal - is the fact that the American government seemed to be oblivious to the fact that this deal was going down with involvement from Iraqi government officials. According to the Associated Press, Iraqi government officials were involved in the deal, apparently without the knowledge of the U.S. Baghdad command, marking a departure from the usual pattern of arms purchases overseen by the U.S.

The exposure of this arms deal brings to mind two questions: What does it say about the state of our intelligence operations that we didn’t catch a deal of this magnitude, and what does it say about the state of our relations with the Iraqi government that they’re cutting side deals on the black market for over 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons?

I have to admit I’ve often been intrigued by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani as a candidate for president, simply because his more liberal social views aren’t something you see everyday in a Republican presidential candidate. As someone who works in the criminal justice system, I’m also intrigued by the fact that New York’s crime rates went down during his tenure as mayor, all while he supported stronger gun control measures. However, I - along with plenty of other folks - have started to notice that Rudy G. the social liberal is quickly vanishing, replaced by the Rudy G. that panders shamelessly to the Republican base.

The Boston Globe has a great article on Rudy Giuliani’s shift to the right - a shift that in my mind’s even more despicable than Mitt Romney’s own turn back to the right. To underscore exactly what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at Rudy Giuliani’s position - both past and present - on a few issues.

• Civil Unions: Supported them as mayor of New York in 1998, but as recently as April 2007 said New Hampshire’s civil unions law “went too far.”
• Gun Control: As mayor, he talked about the need for strong federal laws because cities were at the mercy of the states with weak laws, but as a Republican presidential candidate he describes himself as “a strict constructionist” on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, advocating that reasonable restrictions be legislated by the individual states.
• Campaign Finance Reform: Has publicly supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law in the past, but on August 6th he called that past support of McCain-Feingold a mistake.
• Abortion: During his time as mayor of New York, Giuliani held events to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which he termed “historic,” but in the Republican debates in May 2007, he said he’d be fine either way if Roe v. Wade was overturned or kept.

So for all the mainstream media’s talk about how Mitt Romney’s changed his positions in an ovious attempt to pander to the Republican base, Rudy Giuliani’s really no better. He’s just as willing to change his position as suits his political needs, and I’d love to see him defend his record of flip-flopping if he ends up as the Republican nominee.

So Karl Rove’s out as Bush’s Brain, and as I read the CNN report on his resignation, I couldn’t help but wonder what’s next for Rove. After he got done blubbering like a walrus, he said he’s going to spend his free time writing a book and teaching. Now as much as I’d love to see Karl Rove fade into infamy, I just don’t see that happening. Ben Brothers over at Badger Blues is predicting Rove will end up with the Giuliani campaign, and I think it’s safe to say Karl Rove’s “retirement” won’t last long.

Ben brings up some really valid points about why he thinks Rove will end up with Giuliani campaign, but I’m inclined to believe Rove’s going to end up with someone like Senator Sam Brownback or possibly Mike Huckabee. Senator Brownback has solid conservative credentials, and campaign strikes me as the more likely destination for Karl Rove, since Senator Brownback’s already shown he’s not afraid to go negative, a hallmark of a Karl Rove campaign. After Brownback’s solid showing in the Iowa Republican straw poll, his campaign could start to pick up momentum, and if his attacks against Mitt Romney’s record on abortion gain traction, Senator Brownback could start to gain ground at Romney’s expense.

…but I happened to be watching the news when I saw Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker speaking at a press conference regarding the recent escape from the Milwaukee County House of Correction by Michael Verville. During the press conference, Walker looked down at his notes, and I couldn’t help but notice the huge bald spot gleaming in the light.

The years certainly haven’t been kind to Scott Walker, that’s for sure.

For those not in the know, Charles “Don’t call me Charlie” Sykes, a local right-wing talking head, has a new book out. The book, 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School, is basically nothing more than a little shtick Charlie started more than 10 years ago called, “Rules of life for teenagers.” 50 Rules is basically nothing more than the “Rules of life for teenagers” repackaged and expanded. In response to Charlie’s new book, Wisconsin’s lefty bloggers - an impressive group, to say the least - has come out with their own list, 50+ Things You Won’t Hear on Talk Radio. Now I can’t take any credit at all for contributing to this list, thought I sure do wish I had, because it’s funny as all get out.
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I don’t have much to say, because the video pretty much speaks for itself, but it’s amazing to me that as early as 1994 Dick Cheney knew the repercussions of a full-fledged invasion of Iraq, yet despite that, more planning wasn’t done when preparations were being made to invade Iraq once he was Vice President.

The video’s after the cut…
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If there’s one thing I like about Bill Richardson as a presidential candidate, it’s his willingness to poke fun at himself. Now don’t get me wrong - I think Hillary’s ad spoofing the Sopranos season finale was clever, but for my money, no one does ads better than Bill Richardson’s campaign.
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I know folks in some circles (read, conservatives) have been making an issue of Barack Obama’s comments that he’d send U.S. military forces into Pakistan without that government’s permission if he received actionable intelligence about terrorist targets within Pakistan. What’s interesting to note among all the criticisms I’ve read and heard has been the overwhelming thought that Obama’s comments were not only naive, but dangerous as well, and that his comments are another example of why he’s not ready for the presidency. What’s interesting to note, however, is the fact that Republican presidential candidates - and even President Bush himself - have either agreed on substance with Obama’s remarks or have said the same thing themselves.

During the August 5 Republican presidential debate on ABC’s This Week, Rudy Giuliani agreed with Obama’s position, stating, “[W]ould that be an option that’s on the table, which is we have a chance to catch bin Laden and we have got to do it ourselves because we’re not sure if somebody is going to do it correctly — yeah, I think I would take that option.” Asked for his thoughts on the issue, Mitt Romney said, “Of course America always maintains our options to do whatever we think is in the best interests of America.” In light of the fact that conservative candidates support essentially the same policy Obama articulated, I’m waiting for folks like Jessica McBride to start calling out their candidates for their comments as well.

I’ve got the results of the Iowa Republican straw poll, and it looks like I wasn’t too far off with my predictions. According to the CNN Political Ticker, Mitt Romney won the Iowa Republican straw poll, with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee finishing second and Senator Sam Brownback finishing third. I had Romney winning the straw poll, with Brownback coming in second and Huckabee coming in third. I may not have predicted the correct order of finish, but at least I got the top three right.

Here’s a complete list of all the candidates, along with their totals from the straw poll:
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…there are actually folks living in America who want to see Alan Keyes run for president, at least according to Mr. Keyes. Now I’d like to think I’m not that far removed from what constitutes “mainstream America,” and I simply can’t understand why anyone would think Alan Keyes would have a chance in hell at winning the Republican presidential nomination. Granted, the Republican presidential field is relatively weak, with each candidate having his fair share of negatives, but I don’t see Alan Keyes adding anything to the Republican race that isn’t already there.

But for argument’s sake, let’s just say the miraculous happens and Alan Keyes wins the Republican presidential nomination. Is he actually delusional enough to believe he could win the general election against a Democratic candidate like Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? After all, we saw what happened the last time Keyes faced off against Obama. And let’s not forget Alan Keyes is the same guy who in three Senate races has never won more than 38% of the vote, not to mention he’s crashed and burned the two times he’s run presidential campaigns. I’m left to wonder who exactly the “we” is that Alan Keyes seems to think need him.