Morning Schmoes

From RICK UNGAR at TRUE/SLANT:

Oh no he didn’t!

In a piece written for the uber-conservative World News Daily [sic it’s WorldNetDaily], Pat Buchanan, MSNBC’s resident crazy uncle, writes in opposition to the nomination of Elena Kagan to serve on the Supreme Court-

Indeed, of the last seven justices nominated by Democrats JFK, LBJ, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, one was black, [Thurgood] Marshall; one was Puerto Rican, Sonia Sotomayor. The other five were Jews: Arthur Goldberg, Abe Fortas, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

If Kagan is confirmed, Jews, who represent less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, will have 33 percent of the Supreme Court seats.

Is this the Democrats’ idea of diversity?

Via World News[sic] Daily

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Good Time Charlie

From the St. Petersburg Times:

ST. PETERSBURG — Something peculiar is going on with Charlie Crist.

He’s on the cusp of losing public office, his lifelong party is attacking him mercilessly, and some of his closest friends are yanking their support now that he’s running for Senate as a nonpartisan candidate instead of a Republican. And yet even by the relentlessly cheerful standards of Gov. Crist, he seems even more upbeat and relaxed than ever.

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Re-order in the Court?

From 44 at The Washington Post:

President Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was met with criticism from the left and the right Monday as liberals continued to raise questions about her views on executive power and conservative bloggers honed in on her lack of experience as a judge.

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OMG! They Killed Sanity!! You Bastards!

From The New York Times:

CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Senator Lindsey Graham joined forces last month with Senator John Kerry on a compromise to the climate change legislation known as cap and trade, it was the last straw for the Charleston County Republican Party.

The county party, which has traditionally been considered moderate, voted by a wide margin to censure Mr. Graham in harsh terms.

Their grievance list was long: it cited the senator for calling opponents of immigration law change “bigots,” holding the Republican Party “hostage” by participating in bipartisan maneuvers, voting for the Wall Street bailout and tarnishing the ideals of freedom.

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(left to right:  Joe “Kyle” Wilson, Lindseypoo “Kenny” Graham, Jim “Cartman” DeMint, Sparky Marky Mark “Stan” Sanford)

The GOP Looks a Little Flushed Lately

From THINK PROGRESS:

In April, former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (PA) switched his party affiliation to caucus with the Democrats after being targeted by right-wing activists and others within the GOP. Shortly before his departure, an anti-Obama tea party rally focused its attention at Specter, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh demanded that Specter be “flushed” out of the party. A campaign with the theme “Benedict Arnold” subsequently harassed Specter for voting for the stimulus.

Now, after voting to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court and expressing a willingness to build a compromise approach to clean energy legislation, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appears to be the new target of tea party activists. At a Graham town hall in Greenville yesterday, activist Harry Kimball of “RINO HUNT” protested by constructing a display that depicted Graham, as well as moderates like Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), being flushed down a toilet:

KIMBALL: This is for every RINO who has failed to represent us. […] [the toilet represents] flushing them, flushing them.

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One attendee of the event asked the senator, “when are you going to announce that you are switching parties?” The question drew loud applause from the crowd. Graham defended himself, and denounced the influence of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on the Republican party:

GRAHAM: I’m going to grow this party, I’m not going to let it get [inaudible], I’m not going to let it be hijacked by Ron Paul. […] I’m going to find people in Maine, Delaware, Illinois, other places–

AUDIENCE: Move there!

GRAHAM: That can win as Republicans, and I’m going to go up, and we’re going to move this party, and this country forward, and if you don’t like it, you can leave.

Graham’s fellow South Carolina senator Jim DeMint (R) was an outspoken proponent of ejecting Specter from the Republican Party. DeMint told a conservative blogger Specter “cut our knees from under us.” He added that conservatives in the Senate need to aggressively “go after” Specter and other GOP moderates.

Update According to the newspaper The State, Graham repeatedly responded to those who accused him of being a “traitor” to “chill out.”

(Video at THINK PROGRESS link above)

Supremely Different

From HispanicBusiness.com:

During her debut performance on the Supreme Court bench Monday, Sonia Sotomayor asked more questions in one hour than Clarence Thomas did over the course of several years, according to McClatchy News Service.

The famously taciturn Thomas went for two entire years — or 144 consecutive cases — without making a single statement, the AP reported in 2008.

By contrast, Sotomayor on Monday asked as many questions as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, according to the Washington Post.

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Miguel Acero

From The Wonk Room at THINK PROGRESS:

Today, the Republican National Committee (RNC) released a statement from Chairman Michael Steele announcing the release of a new video in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. However, though the press release emphasizes the Republican Party’s “commitment to the Hispanic community,” apparently that commitment does not include hiring a qualified Spanish translator. The Spanish translation of Steele’s statement is riddled with embarrassing typos and errors.

…snip…

The substance of the accompanying video isn’t much better. Its main focus is on highlighting the accomplishments of conservative Latinos and completely ignores renowned Latino leaders like civil rights activists César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, and completely sidesteps the recent confirmation of Puerto Rican Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

…snip…

The video doesn’t even acknowledge one of the Republican Party’s most respected leader, former Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) who resigned from his post as RNC chairman in 2007 in response to his party’s anti-immigrant views.

Now hold on, according to me my anonymous sources inside the RNC, Chairman Steele is doing his damnedest to reach out to Hispanics. To prove it, get a load of these pics forwarded to me. They’re going to be used in new RNC ads.  Tell me what red-blooded Latino will be able to resist the urge to run down to the Voters Registration office to change his/her affiliation to R after seeing this…
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Gonzo’s doing interviews. A little Berty told me!

Hey kids! Gonzo is doing interviews! From The New York Times :

As the first Latino to have served as the attorney general, what are your thoughts as Sonia Sotomayor prepares to become the first Latina on the Supreme Court?
This is obviously a proud and historic moment for all Hispanics.

It has been two summers since you resigned, and you’re still living in Virginia?
I’ve got an apartment in Lubbock, Tex. We’re in the process of moving my family down to Texas. I’ll be teaching this year at Texas Tech University.

When does school begin?
My first day of class is Aug. 31. I’ve also been asked to help the chancellor and the president of the university in recruiting and retaining minorities.

Oh yeah, Gonzo! Send a Rethug to recruit minorities, especially after the Rethuglican senators from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchsion and John Cornyn voted for Sonia Sotomayor! Oh wait, they voted against her! 😳

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