Connie Saltonstall Challenges Bart Stupak In Michigan House Primary

By GottaLaff

Paddy referenced this in her daily links post. It's time to give Charlevoix County Commissioner Connie Saltonstall a lot more attention. Stupak needs to be replaced by, you know, an actual Democrat:

On Monday, Saltonstall, a former teacher who lost a state representative race in 2008, announced her intentions to challenge Stupak, who has represented Michigan's First Congressional District since 1993.

Saltonstall on Stupak's anti-abortion views:

He "has a right to his personal, religious views, but to deprive his constituents of needed health care reform because of those views is reprehensible"

We need C Street Stupak out. His insistence on anti-choice language in the bill has blocked health care reform. Let's do everything we can to support his opponent.

Connie Saltonstall:

Campaign Office
11362 Boyne City Rd
Charlevoix MI, 49720

Phone: (231) 547-2138

H/t: Ellen

Russ Feingold Challenges Dennis Blair on Cheney/CIA investigation

By GottaLaff

Via DKos:

After the House Intelligence Committee announced that they would investigate:

... whether the CIA broke the law by not informing Congress promptly about a secret program to deploy teams of killers to target al-Qaida leaders.

...then this Uh-Oh Moment happened: Obama Official Says Secret CIA Program Was Legal, Breaks With Dems

That official was Dennis Blair. Then I updated...

Rebuke time, and you can count on more coming:

Rep Jan Schakowsky, a key House intel committee member and a leading critic of the program, sent me a statement rapping Blair, Obama’s director of national intelligence.

“The issue of lying, misleading, or withholding information from the Congress is a very serious issue and deserves the full attention of the House Intelligence Committee,” she said.

Looks like I wasn't too far off:

And today, Sargent reports that Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) also took note and has challenged Blair to put up or shut up, writing:

According to a story on Thursday in the Washington Post, you stated that the failure to notify the congressional intelligence committees about a program recently cancelled by CIA Director Leon Panetta did not violate the law. I disagree and believe that the program in question fit squarely within the notification requirements of the National Security Act. I therefore request that you provide me with your analysis, and any analysis by the DNI General Counsel, supporting your conclusion.

As sternly worded letters^tm go, this one cuts right to the chase, and as Sargent points out, it:

... creates an awkward choice for the White House. It can either walk back Blair’s comments, or openly defend the program as legal, putting the White House at odds with House Dems who are probing the program for possible lawbreaking.

To be continued...

VIDEO: Boss Limbaugh's Big Fat Ego-Driven MSNBC Challenge

By GottaLaff

We all love a good Boss bashing. On the other hand, the time usually spent on LimpDong would be better spent on subjects like, ohhh, say, the economy, global conflicts, the torture hearings... you name it:



My original post here.

Rush challenges MSNBC to go 30 days without mentioning him

By GottaLaff

Rush is challenged. How ironic that he'd challenge anyone to anything:

Limbaugh declared that he wanted to issue a challenge to MSNBC. First, he noted that GOP chairman Michael Steele made a speech today in which he mentioned nearly every Republican except for Limbaugh and Dick Cheney. But Rush's point was how MSNBC was apparently incapable of going without mentioning Rush for any "appreciable length of time." He then challenged MSNBC to try "Rush withdrawal" and go 30 days without doing a single story or making a single mention of him.

I hope MSNBC has enough stamina to avoid premature LimpDongulation.

Calif. Supreme Court to take up gay marriage ban

By GottaLaff

Yes!

California's highest court has agreed to hear legal challenges to a new ban on gay marriage, but is refusing to allow gay couples to resume marrying until it rules.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted three lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. [...]

All three cases claim the ban abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.

Now if someone would only clue Mike HuckaDense in as to what Prop 8 is all about:

HUCKABEE: The very people who voted for Barack Obama in California…also voted to sustain traditional marriage. I refuse to use the term, “ban same-sex marriage.” That’s not what those efforts did. They affirmed what is. They did not prohibit something. They simply affirmed something that which has and forever has existed.

Um, Huck? First, your opening statement is false. And then there's this:
HuckaWrong.

BTM* Palin's Seven Deadly Challenges

By GottaLaff

The Anchorage Daily News seems to think BTM Palin has an uphill battle on her hands:

So many questions, so many strategic choices, so many complications that didn't exist a few short months ago. [...]

Time to take a deep breath and consider some of the key challenges that lie ahead for Sarah Palin.

• 1 Federal relations: Gov. Palin spent the last two months questioning the patriotism of the new president. She accused him of hanging out with terrorists. Palin now says it was just the rough-and-tumble of party politics. But how is that going to play when she goes to Washington looking for help with gas line construction or military base protection or exemption from environmental rules? Is it going to be any better when she goes to Congress? [...]
  

Palin campaigned with Sen. John McCain as the scourge of earmarks, and Young and Stevens are the earmarking champs. Everybody has heard by now of our Permanent Fund and those $1,200 checks. Remember when Palin said if Alaskans want to build those bridges, we'd pay for them ourselves?

• 2 Eternal suspicion: For the rest of her career in Alaska, every move Palin makes will be second-guessed for ulterior motives. Is she taking on this or that priority because it's good for the state or because it looks good on her resume?

• 3 Political seasoning: For Palin, the challenge will be how to find that experience and surround herself with smart people who can help -- without selling Alaska short in the process. [...] They say her biggest challenge may be summoning a curiosity about the wider world that hasn't been evident in her public life before this year.

On the other hand, her cheering supporters, here and in the Lower 48, seem ecstatic with the image she projected -- and that could present a challenge of its own. Will they press her now to take the lead in social-conservative causes such as abortion restrictions, which didn't appear to be part of her agenda in her first two years in office?

• 4 The Legislature: Some Alaska lawmakers complained she was disengaged at times. Democratic allies who helped with her priorities are now unhappy with her new national partisanship and the campaign's meddling in Troopergate. Her unhappiest critics have been Republicans who resented how the "maverick reformer" painted dissenters as part of the "good old boy" network. [...] Watch to see how they handle fallout from the Troopergate investigations come January. [...] Big anti-Palin rallies in Anchorage during the campaign were unprecedented -- Frank Murkowski never stirred that kind of passion.

• 5 The natural gas pipeline: The looming challenge involves the so-called "open season" -- persuading the oil companies, through tax incentives, legal pressure or superior poker strategy, to commit to ship their gas reserves through the line. [...] While she's working on energy, Palin also faces the challenge of the warming Arctic and the rural energy crisis.
  

• 6 Family and friends: [F]inding time for her growing family remains a significant challenge for Palin, alongside her work for the state and her new national prominence.

  Todd Palin's role in the administration has been subjected to great scrutiny in the past two months, but there don't seem to be any new lines yet defining the first gentleman's responsibilities. [...] It was frequently reported, during the campaign, that Palin did not respond well to challenge and disagreement. [...] Watch to see if the circle of friends grows, and if some of the new administration faces are party refugees from the Lower 48.

• 7 The messes: Troopergate, state business on private e-mail accounts, "boxes and boxes" of gifts, per diem payments for nights in Wasilla, travel costs of the kids. How much of this is taxable income? The loan of wardrobe for the duration of the campaign -- is that a taxable gift?

• Bonus challenge: For Palin and the press, is there any turning back?

Because it's a slow news day, that's why.

*Blame the media

Commenter Challenge: Describe The Political Carnival in 3 sentences

By GottaLaff

I know, I know, we're opening ourselves up to such abuse and snark, but then again, when don't we?

Here's the challenge: We need to write up a 3-line blurb about TPC (for advertisers, others), and have a few ideas of our own, but we're too close to it, since we work here. So we're asking for your input.

How do you see our bloggy? What's it about? What's the content about? What do we put out there? Can you describe it to us? Can you keep it G rated? Forget that last one.

If all goes well, we'll still respect you in the morning.