Larry Craig is toast, GOP officials say

After having given up his committee assignments, Craig is apparently considering leaving the Senate altogether despite his insistence that he has done no wrong:

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is considering resigning, possibly as early as this weekend, Republican officials said Friday after days of public and private pressure stemming from his June arrest in an undercover vice operation in an airport men's room.

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter already appears to have settled on a successor - Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, according to several Republicans familiar with internal deliberations. And neither President Bush, the national party nor any of Craig's GOP colleagues has publicly expressed support for the 62-year-old, three-term senator.

McCain, McConnell, and other prominent Republicans have urged Craig to leave, and few in the right wing have expressed support for the troubled senator, who now claims he should not have plead guilty after having been arrested for lewd conduct. The story has been a total sensation in the traditional media.

It's been one GOP scandal after another these last few years - no wonder so many on the right wing seem to be unhappy and bitter lately.

Larry LaRocco, an outstanding Democrat and a leader who has embraced the netroots community, is running for Craig's seat in 2008.

Meanwhile, over in Virginia, Republican Senator John Warner has announced he won't seek reelection next year, giving Democrats another open seat to pursue.

UPDATE: Craig will officially resign tomorrow. Good riddance.

A holiday break during the next few days

Quite a few of us at NPI are taking vacations or getting much needed rest over the Labor Day weekend, so expect light posting ahead from only a few of us.

We hope you'll take a moment this weekend to remember the rights won by working men and women throughout American history - rights that have contributed to a broader prosperity throughout our nation - and that your holiday is safe, fun, and memorable.

DNC member Karen Marchioro dies at 73

Karen Marchioro, past chair of the Washington State Democrats, an influential and respected leader who served more recently as one of Washington's representatives to the Democratic National Committee, has died of cancer. She was 73.

The Seattle Times has a story up with reaction from past chairs, governors, and other leaders in the Democratic Party.

We extend our deepest condolences to all of Karen's family at this difficult time for them. We too are dismayed by her death - but we will remember her contributions to the party and cherish her memory.

Chairman Dwight Pelz released a statement this morning, saying:

All of us involved in Democratic politics in Washington State are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our dearest friends, Karen Marchioro. The Washington State Democratic Party would not exist as it does today were it not for Karen’s 30 plus years of service.

Her wisdom, cool demeanor and loyalty have been integral parts to both our state party, as well as our lives. Karen was a dear friend and she will be greatly missed.

Perhaps Karen’s many achievements during her life are best summarized by King County Democratic Chair Susan Sheary, who once said of Karen, "Before Washington State had Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell and Christine Gregoire, Washington State had Karen Marchioro."

Secretary of State releases turnout analysis of primary election

Sam Reed's office has just released an turnout analysis for the state primary. The report highlights the role of ballot issues and voting styles.

Here's State Elections Director Nick Handy:

Typically, voter turnout is driven by races and measures that appear on the ballot. If you look at an election year with a President or Governor on the ballot, more than 80% of voters respond. But odd-year primaries typically produce the lowest turnouts in the elections cycle.

Here's how Reed's prediction matched up against actual voter turnout:

The Office of the Secretary of State estimates that roughly 28% of voters eligible to participate in Washington ’s August Primary cast ballots. The Office of the Secretary of State predicted a turnout of approximately 34% prior to the Primary Election.

And here are statistics from county comparisons. This data is very interesting because it shows a sharp contrast between municipalities.

Without question, issues motivated Washingtonians to vote in August.

Lincoln County reports the highest estimated turnout at roughly 70%. On primary ballots in Lincoln County were two contested mayoral races in the cities of Odessa and Elmira.

Franklin County reports the lowest estimated turnout at nearly 22%. In Franklin County, many voters only had one issue on the ballot.

As Handy observes:

Clearly, voters participated in greater numbers in counties with headline-gabbling races. All elections, especially those that impact our communities and our homes most directly are important. But the reality is voters usually respond to high-profile issues and races.

More numbers from the report:

While Chelan County reports a projected turnout of 50%, neighboring Douglas County ’s turnout is likely to reach 25%. Chelan County voters decided a high-profile school construction levy, while fewer key issues appeared on the Douglas County ballot.

Mason County has an estimated turnout of 44%, where voters were deciding a high-profile fire district levy and a contested mayoral race in the city of Shelton.

In neighboring Thurston County, the projected turnout estimate is only 26%, with fewer high interest races or issues on the ballot.

Reed's office notes that none of the preliminary returns are final until counties certify their election results on September 5, 2007. Five counties did not hold primary elections at all, and about 80% of registered voters statewide live in precincts that had something on their primary ballot last Tuesday.

Darcy Burner thanks you for your help

Darcy Burner's campaign has released a video message to the netroots community, thanking us for raising over $100,000 for her campaign to defeat Dave Reichert and give the 8th District the leadership and representation it deserves.

You can watch the video clip at YouTube.

All of us at NPI would like to thank the many writers in the national netroots community who urged readers to help the Burn Bush campaign: Markos Moulitsas and Joan McCarter of Daily Kos, Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers of Open Left, Jane Hamsher and the team at Firedoglake, Howie Klein of Down With Tyranny, Duncan Black (a.k.a. Atrios) John Aravosis of AmericaBlog, and all others who participated.

Having your support means so much to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

We also want to congratulate our friends in the local netroots community for working so hard to make this response possible: Daniel Kirkdorffer of On the Road to 2008, Steve Zemke of MajorityRules, Jimmy of McCranium, Michael at blatherWatch, Dave Neiwert and Sara (Mrs. Robinson) at Orcinus, Darryl at Hominid Views, Shaun at Upper Left, David at HorsesAss, and Lynn of Evergreen Politics, now with Darcy Burner's campaign.

Well done, everyone.

Amazing trends in Port races

Just when we thought Alec Fisken's rise in the primary election returns couldn't possibly get any higher, it did. After King County Elections tabulated just 3,834 mail ballots today, Alec's percentage of the vote stood at an even 47% - yet a new threshold for the progressive, reform minded commissioner.

On primary election night, Alec's share of the vote hovered between 40% and 41%. Remarkably, it has climbed about seven percentage points since then, indicating that Fisken's move to shift his campaign into high gear earlier this month paid off handsomely. He should keep reaching out to voters.

This is the year we can take back the Port of Seattle and elect a progressive majority to the Commission. With your help, we'll return Alec to continue his public service and send him and Lloyd Hara a new commissioner to work with: Gael Tarleton, who now stands at 33.52% after new tallies were posted this afternoon.

It's been delightful watching both of them climb with each round of ballots counted.

A thoughtful take on Baird

For a thoughtful take on Brian Baird's town hall meeting in Vancouver last night, check out the account by Randy Stapilus at Ridenbaugh Press. A few tidbits, to encourage you to read the whole thing:

The audience atmosphere was a little Pentacostal: Cries of “impeach Bush” or “end the war” and similar calls punctuated questions, answers and everything else. In the two hours we were there, not one questioner - out of perhaps 20 - expressed anything other than disgust and outrage at Baird’s new take on Iraq. To judge from audience reaction, a portion of the crowd of perhaps 400 to 500 (those that were inside - the room was filled solid and others couldn’t get in) supported him, but that portion was surely less than 10%.

Shouted one person, midway through: “You think you’re going to be re-elected?”

Baird: “It doesn’t matter to me.” Maybe, in the face of all that, it didn’t.

And:

You can make the case that there’s nothing very dramatic about this as a matter of practical policy. There’s little question that an American withdrawal, even if ordered right away, would take months to execute, since so many people and supplies are located there. (However, while Baird was flatly convinced that American troop withdrawal would lead to disaster, there are lines of thought that the troops’ presence there now is encouraging more insurgency.) As Baird (and many others) points out, American troop levels will be drawn down next spring by 50,000 or so regardless what the policy is: This country simply won’t have the troops available to maintain current troop levels. So an American troop scaledown likely will occur then anyway, and likely not be before then anyway, regardless what Congress does. (And many of us suspect that any congressional action on Iraq contrary to the administration’s policy would be simply ignored by the president regardless.)

So the differences on Iraq between Baird and his friends at Vancouver may be a little narrower than either think, as a practical matter. That may not matter.

In the end, Baird is only one member of Congress, although this episode has shown how quickly right-wing media can still elevate someone to national prominence when it suits their propaganda purpose.

We can argue until the cows come home, if not the troops, about whether Baird truly understands how much political cover his actions have lent to the administration regarding Iraq. My guess is that Baird would acknowledge that but argue he has to call things like he sees them. As do we all.

The McKay brothers react to Gonzales resignation

David Bowermaster at The Seattle Times has this reaction piece regarding the resignation of Alberto Gonzales. It features comments from both Mike McKay and John McKay. Area readers will recall John McKay was the US attorney for Western Washington who was canned by the Gonzales Justice Department.

My initial reaction was, 'It's about time,' " Mike McKay said after Gonzales announced he would leave his post Sept. 17.

"If you simply accept as fact what [Gonzales] has said, that he was not in the loop in connection with the firing of the U.S. attorneys," McKay said, "that is a dereliction of duty and he should have resigned as soon as that became known."

The controversy centered on whether the firings were tied to political motivations instead of performance.

John McKay echoed his brother's sentiments and said Gonzales' departure should make life easier for his former crime-fighting colleagues.

At the end of the article, statements attributed to Mike McKay indicate he still hopes to find out exactly why his brother was fired. I think we all hope that, because you can't have a criminal justice system that is used for partisan political purposes.

No Bureaucrat Left Behind

Conservatives like to pretend they're for less government, when their true stance (other than wide) is government that punishes groups and institutions they oppose. Like say, public education.

The following correction from The Columbian says more about No Child Left Behind than it does the hapless journalists trying to make sense of it.

Corrections

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

School improvement: A story on Page A1 Saturday incorrectly said the Clark County schools that did not meet the standard set by the federal No Child Left Behind law received Title I money. Those schools did not receive Title I funds and therefore are not subject to the consequences set by the federal education law. Also, the percentage of students meeting the state standard increases every three years, not every two years as was stated. Further, Cascade Middle School in the Evergreen school district met the standard; the school was confused with another school in a state database released Friday.

Heckuva job, Bushies. I'm sure teachers, parents and students will thoroughly enjoy being labeled failures, whether accurately or not, and the Byzantine rules and regulations will allow conservatives to moan about "top heavy, wasteful spending" in school districts for years to come.

Oh yes, they just want to improve education. Sometimes you have to destroy the village you know.

Next thing you know the Bush Education Department will bring in FEMA trailers and hold classes in them, and then claim the formaldehyde fumes count as a vegetable.

Baird faces angry citizens

Early media reports are starting to come in about Brian Baird's town hall in Vancouver tonight, his first appearance before constituents since coming out against setting firm dates for troop withdrawals. As Think Progress noted in a round-up today, traditional and conservative media have lavished attention on Baird while giving such members as Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who has reached far far different conclusions than Baird, comparatively scant attention.

The Oregonian has preliminary "breaking news" summary of tonight's Baird meeting.

Hundreds at a raucous and hostile town hall tonight let U.S. Rep. Brian Baird know that they disapprove of his support for the troop surge in Iraq. Many suggested the Vancouver Democrat is not representing the will of his district.

The audience often interrupted Baird as he tried to calmly explain his decision to support a beefed-up presence of U.S. troops in the war-torn country. He said the United States has a moral obligation to help Iraq rebuild itself.

Over at Slog, Josh Feit phoned in a quick report.

He (Baird) was hammered by Jon Soltz, the young, good looking, charismatic chairman and co-founder of political action committee VoteVets.org. Soltz is also an Iraq war veteran, having served in 2003. Speaking calmly and to raucous applause, he said Baird (who recently returned from a visit to Iraq) was fooled “by a dog and pony show” and is unfortunately providing cover for President Bush.

Afterwards, Soltz told me that his goal is to bring Baird back into the Democratic fold.

KGW-TV had the town hall as the third story on the 10 PM broadcast that airs on a sister station. That footage featured Soltz prominently. The teaser for the 11 pm broadcast also features the town hall.

The Oregonian article estimated the audience at about 550 people.

MORE -- The P-I has this AP article. A snippet:

In May, Baird supported a bill that would have required troop levels to start falling by Oct. 1. But his perspective changed after a visit to Iraq in early August.

He now opposes a withdrawal timeline - and said he thinks that most of the country agrees with him.

"I have to believe that there is a quiet majority of people out there who think the war has been a terrible mistake, but they sure don't want to see us lose," he told The Columbian editorial board earlier Monday.

Burn Bush fundraising goal surpassed

Adding up the direct contributions through DarcyBurner.com and the funds raised through ActBlue, Darcy Burner's campaign counter shows $100,000 plus in donations as of 4 PM. Though the dollar goal has been met, the goal of 3,000 contributors hasn't. Even if you only have ten bucks to give, your donation counts tremendously. Please join us in reaching our donor goal.

Darcy Burner virtual town hall begins

Joan McCarter has kicked off Darcy Burner's groundbreaking online forum focusing on ending the Iraq occupation. You can watch the forum, which is being streamed live, at Darcy's website. I'm blogging from the panel, which is maybe ten feet away from me, at the Bellevue Westin, but because the connection is slow I will only be updating this post sporadically if at all.

UPDATE: The P-I has a really good story about the Bush visit, with a recap of the netroots community's involvement and an interview with Darcy.

UPDATE II: Darcy announced, as she closed the forum, that she has asked General Eaton to chair a task force to develop a exit strategy for leaving Iraq, and that he agreed. This is what the citizens of the 8th District can expect from Darcy Burner: real leadership, not adherence to the right wing agenda and the horribly misguided policies of the Bush administration.

BREAKING: Idaho's Larry Craig was arrested in June for "lewd conduct"

This just hit the Net:

A Washington, D.C., newspaper reported on its Web site today that Idaho Sen. Larry Craig was arrested in June for lewd conduct in the restroom of a Minnesota airport. Roll Call reported that Craig was arrested by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom.

According to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call, Craig pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

The Idaho Statesman has more. This is bad news for Craig and may persuade him not to seek reelection next year for U.S. Senate.

Craig already has one highly qualified Democratic opponent, Larry LaRocco.

UPDATE: CNN reported this afternoon that Mitt Romney's presidential campaign told the network that Larry Craig has resigned from the team and will no longer be serving in any official capacity for them.

Join Darcy's virtual Town Hall today

Darcy Burner's campaign has released two final video messages for today's event, the details for which are as follows:

To coincide with President Bush's high dollar fundraiser for Republican Congressman Dave Reichert, a supporter of the Iraq surge, the Darcy Burner "Send a Message" virtual town hall on Iraq will be live-streamed on Monday afternoon (Aug. 27) at 3 pm PST. Democrat Darcy Burner, a candidate for congress in Washington State's 8th Congressional District, will be joined by the following participants:

Moderator Joan McCarter -- Writing under the pseudonym "mcjoan" at DailyKos, where she is also a fellow, Joan is one of the best known and respected voices in the blogosphere. She writes regularly about the Iraq War, campaign strategy and other issues, and recently co-moderated the YearlyKos presidential candidates’ debate in Chicago. She is currently working on a book about the politics of the American West.

Jon Soltz -- the co-founder and chairman of VoteVets.org, Jon is a veteran of the Iraq War, where he served as a captain with the 1st Armored Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His considered one of the country's most authoritative voices on veterans and military issues and is a regular contributor to the MSNBC program "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann. He also blogs on military and veterans issues at the Huffington Post.

Navy Capt. Larry Seaquist (ret.) -- a former US naval officer, Captain Seaquist commanded a number of warships including the battleship USS IOWA during his distinguished 32-year career. He also served as a senior security strategist in the Pentagon including an appointment as the Director of Policy Research in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During the period leading up to the Gulf War he was Acting Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning. He currently serves in the Washington State legislature and writes regularly for major newspapers and defense journals.

Lorin Walker -- serves as vice-president of VetPac, a political action committee dedicated to electing candidates who preserve the values for which veterans have served, fought and died. She is the daughter of Captain Bruce C. Walker USAF, MIA 1972. A resident of Washington State, she is active in veterans affairs and Democratic politics and works at Microsoft.

Professor Clark Lombardi -- teaches comparative law at the University of Washington and is an expert on Islamic legal systems. He recently returned from a trip to Iraq, and speaks knowledgably about the difficulties the United States faces in Iraq in creating effective civil institutions that are critical to the functioning of a stable and effective democracy.

Major General Paul D. Eaton (ret.), who went ot Iraq in 2003 to lead the effort to recreate the Iraqi military from scratch and who since his retirement has stepped forward to speak plainly about the Bush administration's incompetence in conducting the Iraq War and callousness in treating its active duty forces and veterans, is unable to attend in person but has submitted a video statement for the "Send a Message" virtual town hall. The same is true of former Ambassador to Iraq Joe Wilson, a netroots hero who was one of the first voices to speak out in exposing the administration's efforts to falsely hype the Iraqi regime's efforts to acquire nuclear materials in the run-up to the war.

We're up to $93,707 in the Burn Bush fundraising drive, which is a pretty impressive figure. Still, we're not at a hundred grand yet. Help us get there by giving Darcy your most generous donation today.

Darcy is someone who stands shoulder to shoulder with all of us and believes deeply in the traditional American values shared by her fellow citizens in the 8th District and those of us in the progressive movement.

By demonstrating that she's worthy of your investment, you help send a message about the strength and the advent of people powered politics.

Baird top story in Oregonian

Sometimes the lede in a newspaper article captures the flavor of an event in a few short words. Take this one from this morning's front page, above the fold story in The Oregonian. From Oregon Live:

Rep. Brian Baird's star is rising rapidly in the Republican Party.

Unfortunately for Baird, he's a Democrat.

Yep, that about sums it up.

It's a somewhat lengthy article, so readers can certainly click through if they wish. But here's a little nugget:

Republicans are attempting to use Baird's comments as evidence of a countertrend.

In a news release Tuesday, Boehner's office declared that "as rank-and-file Democrats return from Iraq, more and more of them are acknowledging the clear success of the troop surge in defeating al-Qaida in Iraq and improving security for Iraqi citizens." But Baird was the only Democrat named in the release as changing his position.

Ed Cote, a member of the Democratic National Committee who lives in Vancouver, said he's not concerned about Baird being used as a poster boy for the war.

"I think he's a loner on this," Cote said. "This does not represent the thinking of House Democrats."

Baird is definitely out on a limb on this one, that's for sure. And while many folks here in the 3rd District continue to scratch their collective heads, I don't have any reason to think Baird is being duplicitous, and that he really does think his view is correct. And that's fine, as far as it goes.

But I do think there is a subterranean misunderstanding at work here on the part of Baird when it comes to public reaction. Here's somthing he is quoted as saying in the article:

"It took a bit of political courage to oppose the war when it was 75 percent popular," Baird says. "If I was willing to do that then, I hope people would say, 'He must have good reason to do this now, and he must have thought pretty carefully about it.' "

Spending 13 days in the region in the past four months "gives you some insights that folks may not have just from reading newspapers*," he says.

*I have changed one word in the above quote to make a point. The word "newspapers" should read "blogs," which is what Baird actually said.

People have always had various reactions to the stances politicians take. If this was 1991, the typical outlet for your average citizen was to vent to some friends and maybe write a letter to the editor. Assuming the letter got published, you had a few hundred words to get your point across.

What has happened is the internet tubes have created a forum for all those views, good, bad, smart, stupid and everything in between, to be hurled into cyberspace.

So I'm not so certain it helps Baird, other than perhaps with certain politicians from Connecticut, to single out blogs.

Blogs are people, as Atrios most likely would say.

NYT: Gonzales to resign

Another high ranking administration official will resign, according to The New York Times. This time it's Alberto "Abu" Gonzales, the much-maligned Attorney General who politicized the Justice Department in an unprecedented manner:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the resignation had not yet been made public.

The first thing that comes to mind is the possibility of a recess appointment, as this Daily Kos diary discusses. We'll have to see what the odds are that such a thing could come to pass.

George W. Bush is scheduled to be in Bellevue today in an attempt to shore up the finances of incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, WA-08.

Not sure how close the traditional media will be able to get, but I'm sure they'll try to ask Bush about all this.

The second thing that comes to mind is good riddance to bad rubbish. Alberto Gonzales had no businesses holding any kind of power, let alone the reigns of the most powerful law enforcement ministry in the world.

We badly need to restore our Constitution, and getting these people out of the government, however slowly, is a first step.

Stopping the politics of personal cruelty

As those who know me and those who have read this blog closely for years are well aware, I have little patience or tolerance for the personal bullying and intimidation of activists and elected leaders - people who are constantly in the public sphere because they are concerned about the direction and the future of their community, their state, and their country.

Throughout my years in politics, most of the people I have met or crossed rhetorical swords with (in conversation or in writing) have been respectful and kind.

While I feel fortunate that this has been the case, the experiences I've had with the tiny minority of people who practice what I'll call the politics of personal cruelty have been truly unfortunate.

One of the most extreme practitioners of the politics of personal cruelty here in Puget Sound unfortunately has in front of him a large cyber-megaphone which he has no qualms about using for malicious purposes.

That individual is Stefan Sharkansky, the proprietor of the blog Sound Politics, which we unusually jokingly refer to here as unSoundPolitics.

(unSoundPolitics, which features entries by a number of other Republican and right wing writers, became somewhat well known during the 2004 election contest as it stood behind Dino Rossi's legal challenge and loudly trumpeted accusations of fraud and negligence at King County Elections).

Those who Stefan considers to be his opponents are treated exceptionally viciously by Stefan in his postings. I'm not talking about disagreement on policy, or light jesting, or name calling, or even profanity.

I'm talking about raw nastiness, writing that's peppered with disgusting conjecture that is intended to destroy, humiliate, and defame.

Stefan attacks anyone who is in the way of the right wing agenda. For example, he has compared Ron Sims to African dictator Robert Mugabe, impugned Darcy Burner's integrity, assailed Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly, and denigrated yours truly - me and my family.

Frequently Stefan's answer to a post that challenges something he wrote is to attack the person who wrote it.

In those cases he doesn't bother with the merits of an argument, he just vindictively goes after the person who contradicted him and tries to undermine their credibility in any way he can, often using information he finds through public records, which he is very good at obtaining and sifting through.

I find his behavior reprehensible, which is why last year after he attacked me, I challenged him to stop doing so - but predictably, he did not.

This weekend, fellow blogger and friend Michael Hood detailed the story of Stefan's vengeful pursuit of a waitress who had described her experience waiting on his family to a blogger who posted the account online. It quickly drew Stefan's ire.

They [the Sharkanskys] did opp research, searched public records, got everything they could on her, like the trouble her kid got into; some profane old online rantings about boyfriends and husbands past, and posted everything on Sound Politics. They also found out she worked a 2nd job temping at Amazon.

At first, it was just a lark to her, griping online about a not uncommon server's plaint. So when the Sharks circled, she got her back up- who the hell are they to question my right to speak the truth?

A Shark[ansky] relative went to the restaurant, raised hell, and she was fired.

I don't find the story surprising, and I doubt that any of the details are exaggerated. Indeed, it fits with everything that I know about Stefan from his public writing and encounters with individuals I know. It's par for the course.

While I don't believe that criticizing someone's actions in public is unethical, I also don't think it's a good practice for those who work in the hospitality industry, or the larger service economy, to make a habit of relating experiences with customers, including public figures, on a personal blog, to some other blogger, or through any mass media.

Everyone has bad days, where frustration runs rampant and bad luck seems endless. Whenever reasonable and warranted, give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume that their mood is temporary.

Someone who has repeatedly been ill tempered and rude in public may have earned a dose of criticism, but it doesn't mean it has to be administered.

As far as blogging is concerned, there is no excuse for not having an ethical standard, which is why Online Integrity is part of our policy.

• Private persons are entitled to respect for their privacy regardless of their activities online. This includes respect for the non-public nature of their personal contact information, the inviolability of their homes, and the safety of their families. No information which might lead others to invade these spaces should be posted. The separateness of private persons’ professional lives should also be respected as much as is reasonable.
• Public figures are entitled to respect for the non-public nature of their personal, non-professional contact information, and their privacy with regard to their homes and families. No information which might lead others to invade these spaces should be posted.
• Persons seeking anonymity or pseudonymity online should have their wishes in this regard respected as much as is reasonable. Exceptions include cases of criminal, misleading, or intentionally disruptive behavior.
• Violations of these principles should be met with a lack of positive publicity and traffic.

[...]

A number of bloggers who at the time said they wouldn't be signatories to the original project went out of their way to explain that they believe in the idea behind the principles and make an effort to respect the private lives of others. We at NPI have incorporated the principles into our mandatory guidelines which all contributors must follow.

To encourage a more respectful discourse, we also prohibit profanity.

Our adherence to and belief in the principles is the reason why months ago we stopped linking to (un)SoundPolitics, and why we will continue not to link there until Stefan changes his ways.

I am sure that at some point, Stefan will read this post, and so, as someone who Stefan has tried (and failed miserably) to intimidate and demean, let me address this last bit of it directly to him.

Stefan, I am sick and tired of your bullying and mean-spiritedness. I'm discouraged that you don't seem to understand that using a medium of mass communication to verbally assault the innocent and the powerless is morally repugnant.

I am repulsed by your eagerness to post information that leads your readers, some of whom are just as vindictive as you, to invade the privacy of people you dislike, typically those who are in the way of your political agenda.

I am indignant that you can dish out criticism so freely but can't take it yourself. Stefan, I am weary of your huge double standard. Your hypocrisy reeks.

Grow up and start treating people more respectfully.

Be kind and you will be the recipient of kindness. In other words, treat people as you wish to be treated. That's the golden rule. You will find that your opinion carries more weight and you will be taken much more seriously when you stop practicing the politics of personal cruelty.

Baird slammed in robo-call

Early this evening my message machine recorded a robo-call regarding Brian Baird's views on Iraq, encouraging people to attend his town hall meeting in Vancouver tomorrow night. To be clear, I live in Baird's district, WA-03.

The caller ID simply read all zeros with "out of area." Since the call did not identify who is sponsoring the calls, I have no idea who is behind them.

I've transcribed the call. Obviously paragraph breaks are mine, intended for readability.

I'm an Iraq vet, and like many of you, I am a long time supporter of your Congressman, Brian Baird. One of the reasons I have supported him in the past has been his opposition to the war in Iraq, but I was completely disappointed in Congressman Baird when he returned from a tightly scripted trip to Iraq and announced that he has decided to oppose Democratic proposals to begin the withdrawal of our troops from that religious civil war.

The so called surge has been a complete failure. The surge was supposed to provide more security to make space for political reconciliation, but this has been the bloodiest summer in Iraq since the beginning of the war, and there is no political reconciliation in sight.

Frankly, someone with as much education as Congressman Baird should be ashamed at allowing himself to fall for the spin from the White House PR machine. If you're as angry as I am at Congressman Baird, attend his town meeting in Vancouver on Monday night at 7 p.m. at Fort Vancouver High School, 5700 E. 18th St. Let him know we expect him to stand by the commitment he made during the last election to end the war in Iraq.

Several things come to mind. I'm in favor of banning political robo-calls, and I certainly hate anonymous calls, which this one is. That being said, a friend tells me she got a Baird office robo-call about the town hall, so at least in this instance, it's a somewhat level playing field. Your guess is as good as mine about who would pay for robo-calls into the district over a town hall. Maybe if I move I will figure it all out, on the QT. Pass the decoder rings and the popcorn.

As for the substance of the call, it hit a little below the belt with the dig at Baird over his education, but overall I'm hard pressed to find more fault than that. Baird has not relented in pursuing his new-found revelation in the traditional and right-wing media, so it's not exactly shocking folks would move to strike back.

And you thought August was a slow month.

The non-hippie point of view on Baird

If you're following the Brian Baird meltdown, I thought I would link to a couple of non-inflammatory, well reasoned objections to his stance.

Yes, many people disagree with what Baird is doing, and have managed to state their objections without resorting to personal attacks, despite what the right wing noise machine might claim.

So if you're interested in a more sophisticated analysis than "their guy said this so it must be true," then I recommend the following two posts.

At Obsidian Wings, publius's post "Think First, Speak Second" makes five very important points about the Iraq debate, one of which is "the debate is not stay or leave, the debate is stay or start leaving." Worth a click.

At Effin' Unsound, check out thehim's post "Falling for the Spin? It addresses, in detailed fashion, Baird's recent guest editorial in The Seattle Times. This post has gotten a fair amount of play, deservedly so, for its well-researched and cogent points. Very much worth one's time.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go fix the yurt. Brother Diamond Mind damaged it while contemplating a better world.

Another decade in Iraq?

The Washington Post has a piece about an Illinois Democrat's experience on a recent trip to Iraq. Rep. Jan Schakowsky offers a glimpse into what it was like.

A co-founder of the House Out of Iraq Caucus, Schakowsky saw only fleeting glimpses of Iraqis' day-to-day life during her one-day trip. The few times she ventured out of the Green Zone, she was in a helicopter or a speeding convoy, soldiers hanging out of the windows with machine guns, obscuring the view. She heard about dire power and water shortages, yet saw nothing firsthand.

But the military presentations left her stunned. Schakowsky said she jotted down Petraeus's words in a small white notebook she had brought along to record her impressions. Her neat, looping handwriting filled page after page, and she flipped through to find the Petraeus section. " 'We will be in Iraq in some way for nine to 10 years,' " Schakowsky read carefully. She had added her own translation: "Keep the train running for a few months, and then stretch it out. Just enough progress to justify more time."

"I felt that was a stretch and really part of a PR strategy -- just like the PR strategy that initially led up to the war in the first place," Schakowsky said. Petraeus, she said, "acknowledged that if the policymakers decide that we need to withdraw, that, you know, that's what he would have to do. But he felt that in order to win, we'd have to be there nine or 10 years."

So obviously not everyone comes away from Iraq learning the same lessons. Which is to be expected, I suppose.

You-know-who came up in the article as well:

But it wasn't just Republicans who came away impressed after visiting Iraq. Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) announced that he will no longer support a timetable for withdrawal, warning of a "potentially catastrophic effect" on the region.

Schakowsky acknowledged that the military's presentation may have been effective. "If you took the briefings at their face value, without context, without bringing anything to it -- clearly they were trying to present that positive spin, and that's what [other lawmakers] took away from it."

Ouch.

Everyone please note that Schakowsky is not a blogger, but rather a member of Congress. It is Schakowsky who is raising concerns about the PR aspect and the possibility of another decade in Iraq.

Obviously, we think it's an important point or we wouldn't link to it, but as there seems to be a hint of hippie hatred swirling around the entire debate, let's be clear about things. People far more important than us have serious concerns about how this is being sold to the American people.

To the extent blogs matter, they can only help amplify bits of information that might not be featured as prominently in traditional media. While The Washington Post is hardly an unknown newspaper, it does not follow that everyone in WA-03 will necessarily see the Schakowsky article in their local newspaper tomorrow, and it offers a point of view that is quite at odds with that Baird is offering his district. So those who wish may go read the entire Post article and consider it on its merits.

Seeing as anyone with any kind of political sense can detect the coming administration PR offensive, it's perfectly legitimate to point out the differing views of various members of Congress, journalists, pundits and fellow bloggers.

Real progress

Think Progress notices a curious quote from Brian Baird about his trip to Iraq. From The New York Times:

“That’s real progress,” Mr. Baird said, though he confessed he did not tell his wife about the region’s nickname, the triangle of death, and said the whole scene was a little surreal. “You have your flak jacket on, and your Kevlar helmet and you’re surrounded by guys with automatic weapons as you’re standing there, talking to the mayor. And you realize there’s a dusty old car next to you and you’re saying, ‘God, I hope that doesn’t blow up.’ ”

Oh boy. Not really sure what the Democrats in WA-03 did to deserve all this, but if someone knows how to take Baird's shovel away and hide it, he needs to stop digging. First rule and all that.

Just some friendly advice from a blogger who has voted for Baird every election since he first ran in 1996, even if I've never set foot in Iraq. Last time I checked American citizens were allowed to have opinions even if they are unable to travel to war zones personally. Kevlar is expensive, you know.

The eyes of a netroots nation are on WA-08 and Darcy Burner

With George W. Bush due in Bellevue less than a hundred hours from this evening, the eyes of a netroots nation are focused on Washington's 8th District and Darcy Burner as the local and national communities unite to Burn Bush.

Markos and Joan have put the campaign front and center all day. MyDD, Atrios, Firedoglake, OpenLeft have all chimed in. Nick Beaudrot has posted at Ezra Klein. We've blogged in support of Darcy here. So have David at HorsesAss, Dan at On The Road to 2008, Darryl at Hominid Views, and Jimmy at McCranium.

$38,298 has already been raised in the campaign, with a total goal of $100,000 to offset the amount of money that Bush will raise at Reichert's side this coming Monday. Already we're more than one third of the way towards our goal, but now is no time for the momentum to slow.

Please donate - and donate as generously as you can - today.

Vote with your dollars and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing your money will help elect a progressive champion to the United States House of Representatives. A courageous leader who will stand up to Republican attacks. A fighter who won't cave to right wing pressure and isn't afraid of her values.

Demonstrate your commitment to a progressive Democratic majority by giving Darcy whatever contribution you can afford to give today.

Their guy said this

Looks like we could wind up with 435 separate opinions on what to do in Iraq. Republican Pete Hoekstra of Michigan thinks democracy cannot work there:

Speaking during a taping of Michigan Public Television’s “Off the Record,” Hoekstra said in a Muslim country dominated by rival tribal factions, western-style democracy is not workable.

“You’ve got a culture where democracy is not part of, ‘Let’s go there,’ ” Hoekstra said. ”It was a stretch.”

He said he met with Sunni tribal chiefs who hold politically sway in Iraq, and concluded, ‘They are not looking for a county commission to tell them what to do.”

But Hoekstra said he opposes setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. He said Congress and President George W. Bush must decide on a unified course of action that will stabilize Iraq, based on new intelligence reports and a much-anticipated September status report by the U.S. top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.

To reach that consensus, Hoekstra said Bush should drop the notion of a democratic Iraq.

It's time that Congress stepped up to the plate. And it should take responsibility. Plus it should stand on its own two feet. If they don't, we should withdraw 5,000 troops from Capitol Hill by Columbus Day.

Face it, we're screwed. Nobody knows what they're doing. Even staying on message is impossible now, because nobody in either party knows what the message is supposed to be.

Another round of votes are in, and the good trends keep getting better

King County Elections has issued its final report for this week after tabulating 31,309 ballots today, all of them absentee. 192,840 mail in ballots have been tabulated to date. And once again, the numbers are good news for progressives.

Bill Sherman is now at 64% of the vote in the Democratic contest for prosecutor, having improved several points since election night. Brad Larssen's write in candidacy, while nowhere close to victory, continues to pick up steam, jumping to 24% today. That's actually pretty impressive for a write in.

Over in the 8th County Council District, Michael Goodspaceguy Nelson has only managed 7.8% of the vote - and his name was on the ballot, unlike Brad's. But perhaps Nelson's truly awful performance speaks to Councilmember Dow Constantine's popularity. Still, voters saw Goodspaceguy Nelson's name, whereas nobody in the 6th found Brad's name on their ballot.

The real story today, though, is the incredible durability of the trends in the Port races. Both Alec Fisken and Gael Tarleton crossed new thresholds today - Fisken is now at 46% and Gael is now at 33% - one point higher than yesterday for each candidate. Their opponents remain at 28% (Bob Edwards) and 29% (Bill Bryant), respectively.

Out of touch Chris Shays caught on tape

My Left Nutmeg has some video clips showing Republican Chris Shays of Connecticut complaining about the evil horrible bloggers. 'Cause they have a video camera 'n stuff. Talk about out of touch. In an ironic twist, Shays looks like an idiot complaining that the video cameras are out to get him. You can't make this stuff up.

If the name "Chris Shays" sounds familiar, it could be because he's Brian Baird's traveling partner to Iraq. As people continue to scratch their heads over Baird's actions, they might consider that he's been hanging out with Chris Shays. Just a thought. I've always wondered what the heck the deal was anyhow.

I wonder if the Shays staff understands how ridiculous their boss looks repeatedly going "you're not the press, you're not the press." Yeah, duh. We're citizens. Deal. The days of managing the news to the exclusion of the citizenry are over.

Time to burn Bush: A video Town Hall invitation from the netroots

Yesterday our Executive Director noted that Darcy Burner's campaign plans to hold a virtual Town Hall forum on Iraq during George W. Bush's visit here to raise big bucks for Dave Reichert this Monday. Today, the campaign released its second video statement - an invitation to the Town Hall from notable local and national bloggers within the netroots community to readers and citizens.

Featured are Markos Moulitsas and Joan McCarter of DailyKos, Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, Matt Stoller of OpenLeft, David Goldstein of HorsesAss, Mollie Martin of Liberal Girl Next Door, and Andrew Villeneuve - our Executive Director.

Listen to what they have to say by watching the video clip.

Submit your questions for the Town Hall at Darcy's website, and help counter the huge influx of checks to Reichert's campaign by donating through ActBlue.

That was one crazy week in the 3rd District

Josh Feit at Slog catches this Brian Baird guest editorial in The Seattle Times regarding Iraq. Feit says at the end of his post, after quoting Baird's concerns about Iran possibly expanding its influence and the ghastly specter of fundamentalist terrorists gaining even more sway:

I don’t know what to do about Iraq. I editorialized against the war … repeatedly, and I think it’s the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history. However, I think Baird’s concerns have to be addressed before the U.S. leaves.

I guess I know how Feit feels. I would add that with the right wing drumbeat sounding to attack Iran, to do so would seemingly add greater instability to the region and increase the mullah's hold on power in Iran. So if we want to talk about Iran, then perhaps Baird should also mention how short-sighted the neo-cons are being about policy.

It's good that people are trying to consider all the angles. Baird now finds himself in a difficult political position with town hall meetings scheduled in his district next week. You'd think turnout will be fairly large, given the circumstances.

The crazy thing is that Baird's policy statements are, as Feit points out, very worth considering, even if we disagree with all or part of what he posits. But the right wing noise machine has made Baird their poster child over the last week, and combined with Hillary Clinton surrendering defense policy to the GOP it's enough to give any progressive heartburn.

The best thing Baird can do at this point is make his policy statements outside the noise machine. He didn't win any points for going on Lars Larson or Tucker Carlson, and he needs to be careful from this point on. Another well-publicized appearance with folks who are nothing more than Republican lap dogs could do him lasting political damage.

More scary than funny

I rarely post regarding letters to the editor. They're often horrendously repetitive and not worth the bother.

But given that it's one week since Brian Baird caused a tremendous uproar with this comments about Iraq, this letter is too good to skip.

Brian Baird, our Democratic congressman, is my hero. He voted, four years ago, against the resolution to authorize George Bush to invade Iraq. Not many legislators had that foresight.

He's also a funny guy. His fellow Democrats voted him the best comedy act in the House. Man, you should see his Rumsfeld impersonation; his Dick Cheney impression is a riot; and he'll kill you with his George Bush act.

Actually, I find it more frightening lately, than amusing. It is an act, isn't it, Congressman?

John Ginder
Camas

We're all waiting to find that out, Mr. Ginder. The ball is pretty much in Baird's court at this point.

Out by Groundhog Day

At the risk of engaging in the "it's true because a member of the opposition party said so" game, it's worth noting that a prominent Republican senator is taking a stance that seems, at least on a surface level, at odds with recent pronouncements by Brian Baird. From The Washington Post:

Sen. John W. Warner, one of the most influential Republican voices in Congress on national security, called on President Bush yesterday to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in time for Christmas as a new intelligence report concluded that political leaders in Baghdad are "unable to govern effectively."

Warner's declaration -- after the Virginia senator's recent four-day trip to the Middle East -- roiled the political environment ahead of a much-anticipated progress report to be delivered Sept. 11 by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Although Warner had already broken with Bush's strategy, this was the first time he endorsed pulling troops out by a specific date.

So I guess it's all even again in Congress. I'm sure the right wing radio hosts will be scrambling to hear Sen. Warner's views.

In all seriousness, whether we pull out 5,000 troops by Groundhog Day or whatever is not the big enchilada. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it seems like we are on the verge of some irreversible decisions about our role in the Middle East, and as such Congress needs to act decisively in September.

Whether things are "improving" in Iraq kind of depends on where one sits. If you're an Iraqi civilian, times are still tough. From The New York Times:

The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.

Despite some evidence that the troop buildup has improved security in certain areas, sectarian violence continues and American-led operations have brought new fighting, driving fearful Iraqis from their homes at much higher rates than before the tens of thousands of additional troops arrived, the studies show.

This isn't simply a moral question. This kind of chaos can't be helpful in terms of creating an Iraqi society that is stable, to say the least. Frankly, I kind of wonder what all the noise is about anyhow. Baird says next spring and Warner says Christmas. So Groundhog Day it is.

Does it ever dawn on policy makers that our presence in Iraq simply complicates things so badly that it will never calm down? You can't impose a functioning democracy on a country through military means. Democracies function because the people buy into the social contract. We can try to create some conditions that will help in that regard, but we've had four years plus. Too many egregious mistakes have been made to think we can do a ton of good there.

This month is starting to remind me of the old Chinese curse: may you live in interesting times. The leadership of our country seems badly out of touch regarding Iraq and how ordinary Americans perceive the situation. But in a very broad sense, Sen. Warner is right: we need to start the process of disengagement. We should listen to professional military and diplomatic personnel about how to do that, but we have to make that key decision first.

It may take far longer than many of us want, but that's something we'll just have accept. It's not like we're being stop-lossed into blogging or something.

UPDATE, OR DIGBY HAS A POINT -- Digby sees the whole thing as kabuki. And as always, she has a point:

The administration is mounting a multi-pronged public relations campaign to show "the surge" is working to shore up any wobbly congressmen. The NIE today reinforces the idea of surging progress. But that isn't the whole story. The NIE also says the political situation is a mess, which it is. Today we find out that Bush's lobbyist allies are now working to depose Maliki and install their favorit puppet Ilyad Allawi. And John "tectonic shift" Warner, (who said that he would not vote with the Democratic withdrawal proposals) also said in his little speech that Prime Minister Maliki is not doing a heckuva job and we need to pressure him to knock some Iraqi heads together (or "somebody" finds someone who will.) And he even admits that is the reason he's calling for withdrawing a few thousand troops. Conventional wisdom seems to be gelling that the problem is Maliki.

Except, of course, it isn't.

EVEN MORE, OR PETER PACE HAS SOME OPINIONS NOW -- The Los Angeles Times reports that outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace will call for very substantial troop reductions to occur in 2008. His rationale, according to the article, is that keeping so many troops in Iraq will strain our military to the breaking point.

Darcy Burner to hold virtual Town Hall on Iraq during Bush fundraiser for Reichert

Darcy Burner's campaign today announced plans to hold an innovative virtual Town Hall forum on Iraq to send a message to the District of Columbia that it is time to end the occupation in Iraq, a quagmire with seemingly no end in sight, that the administration and Dave Reichert continue to stubbornly support.

The forum will be streamed live over the web and will be moderated by Daily Kos contributor and editor Joan McCarter (mcjoan). It will include clips from courageous Americans who are standing up to demand an end to the occupation, such as Joe Wilson (follow the link to see a video clip).

In upcoming days the Darcy's campaign plans to release additional statements "from other brave men and women in positions of leadership who understand the damage this war is having on our military, our nation, and on the Iraqi people."

Citizens are invited to submit questions, either in writing or through YouTube, between now and next Monday, at Darcy Burner's newly refurbished website.

Alec Fisken climbs again

In the latest round of results tabulated today, Port Commissioner Alec Fisken has crossed the 45% threshold, up several percentage points from the initial round of ballots tallied early Tuesday night.

Alec's rise is wonderful news, the best trend of the entire primary election. The wider his lead over Republican Bill Bryant (a McGavick, Bush, Reichert, Vance, Tebelius, Rossi donor) the better. It's good to see that voters understand who the true champions of Port reform are: Gael Tarleton and Alec Fisken.

Now and then

Now.

(From CNN.)

A powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, CNN has confirmed.

This comes as President Bush is publicly taking great pains to reiterate his support for the embattled Iraqi leader, whose government has come under sharp criticism and scrutiny from Washington lawmakers and officials and Thursday's National Intelligence Estimate.

A senior Bush administration official told CNN the White House is aware of the lobbying campaign by Barbour Griffith & Rogers because the firm is "blasting e-mails all over town" criticizing al-Maliki and promoting the firm's client, former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, as an alternative to the current Iraqi leader.

Then.

(From a 2003 article by John Prados at the George Washington University National Security Archives.)

The ultimate effect of United States participation in the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem was to commit Washington to Saigon even more deeply. Having had a hand in the coup America had more responsibility for the South Vietnamese governments that followed Diem. That these military juntas were ineffectual in prosecuting the Vietnam war then required successively greater levels of involvement from the American side. The weakness of the Saigon government thus became a factor in U.S. escalations of the Vietnam war, leading to the major ground war that the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson opened in 1965.

Hey China, you talkin' to me?

The authoritarian capitalists in Beijing are resorting to threats in reaction to U.S. consumer concerns about their products. From McClatchy:

Stung by a spate of safety recalls of its products, China hinted Thursday that it might take retaliatory action against U.S. products exported to China.

Earlier this week, China rejected a batch of U.S.-made pacemakers and asserted that U.S. soybean farmers sent shipments tainted with pesticide and weeds.

On Thursday, the State Council, China's Cabinet, released a statement saying China's government would return or destroy all improperly imported meat, fruit and recycled waste by the end of the year and would improve the monitoring of other imports.

Gao Hucheng, a vice minister of commerce, pointedly reminded a news conference that China is poised to overtake Japan as the United States' third-largest export market. A Commerce Ministry handout, though, cited "discordant notes" in bilateral trade ties, citing media coverage of safety issues as among the problems.

Gao accused American news organizations of grossly exaggerating problems with China's exports. "The Chinese government thinks certain media . . . sensationalize the quality problems of Chinese products," Gao said. "Deliberate sensationalism and overstatement will not be accepted by China."

The McClatchy article goes on to quote a representative of the U.S. soybean industry calling the accusations "nonsense," which is probably a polite way of putting it.

The development is troubling in the sense that our trade policies usually put a priority on the interests of agri-business conglomerates rather than consumers, but clearly the American people are quite concerned about the safety of Chinese imports.

We don't need to be lectured to by a non-democratic regime with a lousy human rights and environmental record anyhow. China needs to pull itself, somehow, into this century and realize that American consumers will only take so much before they simply stop buying their products. I know I stopped eating shrimp for the most part when I found out how much of it is farmed in China. Unless it is clearly labeled "wild," I won't touch the stuff.

I've often thought it would be simpler for people to just go straight from Wal-Mart to the central transfer station anyhow. It would cut out the hassle of cutting through all that consumer-resistant packaging, and most of the stuff is going to wind up in the landfill anyway.

If we were righties, we would build big piles of Chinese crud and burn it in front of the traditional media. But we're not, so we'll argue for greater consumer protections and hope that Congress somehow gets its act together on that front this fall.

Wake me when F.U. ends

Think Progress summarizes today's National Intelligence Estimate concerning Iraq.

Today, the Bush administration released an update to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), entitled, “Prospects for Iraq’s Stability: Some Security Progress but Political Reconciliation Elusive.” The NIE — which offers the coordinated judgments of the Intelligence Community — observed some “measurable but uneven improvements” in Iraq’s security situation, but cautioned that there remains a lack of political progress in Iraq and a failure of the escalation to successfully provide sufficient security for Iraqis.

I'm not certain that the NIE will impact the domestic debate over Iraq much. Somehow, George Bush can make completely absurd comparisons between Iraq and the Vietnam War and get away with it politically. We pay a heavy price in this country for having a population that doesn't seem to know or care much about historical facts. The utterly false mythology the right has built up over the years about that war is breathtaking in its stupidity and ignorance.

Arguing about whether the surge in Iraq is working is pointless. Our military is pretty darn good at what it does, and the men and women doing the work are to be respected. But it's hard not to see that the problems in Iraq are like squeezing a balloon -- you may get a handle in one spot, but something else just pops out somewhere else.

The true lesson of the Vietnam conflict is that nation building imposed from the outside won't work. The amount of hubris required to maintain that it will is staggering. But I'm sure many ordinary Iraqis will appreciate all the air conditioned bases serving pork sandwiches, not to mention the new embassy that is actually bigger than Kuwait. (I'm not saying that the new U.S. embassy in Iraq is bigger than the one in Kuwait, it's actually bigger than the country of Kuwait. You can look it up, really.)

Strikingly missing in the debate over what this congressman or that senator thinks is one simple idea: maybe our presence in Iraq is a key part of the problem. It's more complicated than that, of course, but it's a discussion we need to have.

While we all hope that conditions in Iraq can be improved for ordinary Iraqis, the idea that solutions will flow from the insane beast known as U.S. politics is ludicrous. Look what is happening: the occupant of the White House is "learning lessons" from a war he avoided, the right wing noise machine has suddenly discovered a relatively obscure Congressman from SW Washington because he provided them with easy talking points, presidential candidates in both parties make this or that declaration to satisfy their constituencies, and meanwhile the quagmire just gets deeper and deeper.

This is nuts. I think it's safe to say the Iraqis really can't take too much more of this kind of help.

And as I've written before, the key decision we have to make is that we are going to leave Iraq, somehow, someday. The smart folks at the Pentagon and State Department can determine how best to do it, and when, and in what fashion, and how many troops to keep deployed in the region. But we've had no realistic strategy from day one Iraq, and we still don't, just an endless series of reports and false deadlines always leading to more Friedman Units. (F.U.'s.)

September was never a meaningful assessment deadline any more than all the others. The American people are being given a choice between endless F.U.'s and endless F.U.'s.

Things will look up in the spring, though.

A Very Happy Birthday: The Northwest Progressive Institute turns four

Exactly four years ago, the Northwest Progressive Institute - born out of the belief that a progressive answer was needed to conservative infrastructure - was first launched into the public sphere as a mere web page on August 22nd, 2003.

Today, as we look back on 48 months of growth and change, it's hard to believe that what was once was just a hope and a fuzzy idea is now a growing organization cultivated by a group of people who are passionate about revolutionizing grassroots politics and restoring strength to the progressive movement in America.

And though we've had much to celebrate over the last few years - consecutive victories over Tim Eyman, the return of a Democratic majority in Congress, progress on important priorities that reflect our values - the road hasn't been easy.

We've weathered plenty of criticism, some of it aimed directly at me and my family, from people who don't like our involvement in the political arena, people who resent or despise our work... and never miss an opportunity to sneer and jeer at us. Much of this, although not all of it, comes from the right wing.

Some people have accused us of pretending to be something we're not, mocking NPI's very name. How can the Northwest Progressive Institute be an institute...if it doesn't have a grand office building, or a big payroll, or a long list of accomplished fellows who have been active in civics for decades?

I have always said, and we have always freely admitted, that NPI is an unconventional organization. Most think tanks or idea factories start out with at least some level of substantial resources. The Northwest Progressive Institute has more humble origins: when it began, it was basically some graphics and text on a web page. Just hypertext markup language.

But it didn't stay that way for long.

Our name from the very beginning has reflected what we aspire to be, but we believe it also reflects what we are and have been for most of our history.

What does "institute" mean? A permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Or, a society or organization for carrying on a particular work. Or, an organization founded to promote a cause.

Those definitions are from Wikipedia, Random House, and American Heritage. They're all pretty similar, and they all describe what NPI is.

NPI does not just exist as a domain name in cyberspace (as some have dismissively claimed), it is actually a legal entity; we incorporated in March of 2005. In the future, we intend to establish a permanent physical presence (more simply, an office!) where our paid staff will be based.

But even when we have more resources, we don't expect that our critics will be affording us much respect. Nothing we can do or get will make us credible in their eyes...because we are seen as a threat to their agenda. If we're not a threat to them, if we're not making an impact... then why are we worth the criticism?

The attacks and invective comments have never stopped us in the past, and we're not about to let it start discouraging us now.

It's somewhat astonishing to think that four years ago, this blog didn't exist, Pacific Northwest Portal had not been conceived, and Permanent Defense was only a year and a half old. Four years ago, Howard Dean's campaign for the presidency was almost in full swing, with the Sleepless Summer Tour drawing crowds.

Four years ago, the Center for American Progress was just rising out of the ground, and authors like Al Franken, Michael Moore, Molly Ivins, and Jim Hightower were chronicling the failures of the right wing agenda, or the harmfulness of right wing media, or the politics of fear practiced by the Bush administration.

Four years ago the netroots community was still in its infancy. Blogs such as Daily Kos, MyDD, or Atrios weren't well known, and many weren't even online then. The idea of a Netroots Nation or YearlyKos Convention had not even been contemplated.

The netroots is a rising force in American politics, its influence only grudgingly admitted by a few in the right wing media. But it's a sign of the times that FOX Noise now devotes substantial time to disparaging the community, with tirades against Daily Kos leading off the O'Reilly Factor on multiple occasions.

In the last four years we have concentrated on realizing our goals, putting together a map for where we want to go, and launching small projects that have been spur of the moment ideas (Pacific NW Portal comes to mind) only growing in scope later.

NPI may be turning four, but it's still young, and there is much ahead. Our fifth year promises to be exciting and very different from the last forty eight months. We're anxious to chart new waters and explore untrodden territory.

We hope you'll join us on that journey.

Relive YearlyKos 2007 with a keepsake you can wear all year long

As part of our plans for celebrating and commemorating the second and final YearlyKos Convention (which returns under a new name, Netroots Nation, next year) we commissioned the design and production of a unique convention t-shirt featuring the Washington Progressive Blogroll (or netroots community).

Though we sold quite a few of these shirts in Chicago, a limited quantity remain, and we're now offering them to readers and fellow bloggers. These shirts are made of United States fabric (assembled in Latin America) - sturdy cotton, to be more precise - and are light blue in color.

The front features outlines of the states of Washington and Illinois with white stars denoting Chicago and the hometowns of Washington delegates going to YearlyKos.

The back features the Chicago skyline and the names and web addresses of all the active, major Washington State progressive blogs. Both the front and the back feature the text "YearlyKos 2007" as well.



Click on the above thumbnails to see graphics for the front and back, and click below on the thumbnails to see photos of the design on the actual shirt.



These shirts are exceptionally durable and won't fade or degrade even after multiple washes. I have one from last year's batch (the first year of the tradition, started by our good friend switzerblog) and it still looks as good as new, even though it's been through the washing machine and the dryer many times. These shirts are a great collector's item because of their limited quantity. We're selling them for $25 each (with packaging and postage, $30).

We currently have a few available in all sizes - small, medium, large, or extra large. If you would like one, please send an email to feedback (at) nwprogressive (dot) org and I myself will reserve one for you. Let us know your name, phone number, your postal address, and which size you want in your message.

We want to ensure that as many people as possible who want one get one, so we will only be selling one per person - at least at the outset.

Once we receive your check or money order, which you can send to:

Northwest Progressive Institute
Post Office Box 264
Redmond, WA 98073
(write "T-shirt" on the memo line or enclose a note)

...we'll mail the shirt we've set aside for you. Alternatively, you can pick one up in person if you prefer - you can let us know your preference in your message.

We're not going to bother with credit card processing given the limited quantity of these shirts. Get yours now...and you'll have something great to wear on the plane or train to Netroots Nation in 2008.

Drawing primary conclusions from last night's late numbers

After last night’s second report during the 10 PM hour, I wrote a post summarizing the major results of the night, but unfortunately, Blogger ate that post as I hit the publish button just after 1 AM, and to my dismay, it seems it wasn’t auto-saved, so there’s no way to bring it back. So here’s what I meant to say late last night.

The August 21st primary was a good night for Democrats and progressives across the Puget Sound region. Turnout could have been higher, but it’s an off year election and the first time the primary has not been held in September in a long while. There were a lot of victories, amid a few losses.

First, the local propositions, whether they were the King County parks levies or municipal levies such as Redmond’s twin proposals to put more revenue into public services, fared well. Some fire district levies were even passing with over 70% approval. Contrary to what the right wing says, we the people like to have a government that is properly funded and responsive to our needs. We only hurt ourselves with tax cuts.

Second, Bill Sherman will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for prosecutor. He’ll face Republican Dan Satterberg in the general election this November. His support stayed solid all night at around 61% and he picked up more votes than his future GOP opponent even with competition in the Democratic primary. Bill is ready to work hard to win again, and we’re fully behind him.

Third, the Port Commission races look surprisingly good. Both progressive champions, Gael Tarleton and Alec Fisken, lead all of their opponents in their respective races. (Gael is running for Position #2, Alec for Position #5).

Gael will face entrenched incumb