Persuasion, Perseverance...

I've written before about the GOP's pod farms for growing young conservatives to create, and eventually take the place of, the likes of Rove, Atwater, Abramhoff, Reed, and Norquist when the time comes. They were one motivated little bunch of true believers when they were the angry post-Watergate outsiders, and even more so when they could ride the Reagan-to-Gingrich wave. And of course the Bush...

Emptywheel announces the George Bush Last-Minute Pardon Betting Pool. Who's your money on? It's almost unfair of me to give away the ending, but, as with "Murder on the Orient Express," the answer is--everyone. (Oops. Retroactive spoiler alert. Sorry.) The only question is, what about the last two men out the door? One of the unspoken truths of the 2008 campaign is that, if Obama...

Here's a story that'll warm your heart: Republican Senate leaders — terrified by the prospect of losing five or more seats in November — have freed their members to vote however they need to vote to get reelected, even if that means bucking the president or the party—s leadership. On at least four votes over the past month — Medicare, housing, the GI Bill and the Farm Bill...

Here's a clip I've been seeking for years.

I had to tear myself off the bicycle and come indoors for this, so let's make it good--starting with Daryl Cagle's round-up of the week's political cartoons. p3 Picks of the Week: Pat Bagley, R. J. Matson, John Darkow, Thomas Boldt, John Cole, J. D. Crowe, Mike Luckovich, and Matt Davies. This just in: Jesse Helms (R - Dixie) is still dead. Today marks 100 days since George Bush publicly...

Gordon Smith, like most Republicans, says he's in favor of cutting taxes--but that really isn't so. They're only in favor of reducing those taxes that their big contributors and ideological bunkmates pay. (Case in point.) As for cutting the taxes you and I pay--well, that's a different matter altogether. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, Smith assumes that taxes are the price you and I pay...

Regarding Obama's tour of Afghanistan, Iraq, and other points of interest in the region, Gail Collins oh-so-cleverly asks: Why is Obama going at all? Given the constraints under which he has to operate, the chance that he?ll see something enlightening seem to be lower than the chance of being shown something misleading. (See above: McCain/marketplace.) Really, anybody he needs to talk to...