Mood:  d'oh

The Howard Dean experiment at the DNC appears to have created division, distrust, and chaos, as many of us predicted last year when Dean took the job. The Washington Post reports that party leaders have begun to craft back-channels to undermine Dean's authority, bringing their efforts for a national program for the midterms to a shambles:

At a meeting last week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) criticized Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean for not spending enough party resources on get-out-the-vote efforts in the most competitive House and Senate races, according to congressional aides who were briefed on the exchange. Pelosi -- echoing a complaint common among Democratic lawmakers and operatives -- has warned privately that Democrats are at risk of going into the November midterm elections with a voter-mobilization plan that is underfunded and inferior to the proven turnout machine run by national Republicans.

The Senate and House campaign committees are creating their own get-out-the-vote operations instead, using money that otherwise would fund television advertising and other election-year efforts. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) -- who no longer speaks to Dean because of their strategic differences -- is planning to ask lawmakers and donors to help fund a new turnout program run by House Democrats. He recruited Michael Whouley, a specialist in Democratic turnout, to help oversee it. ...

Many Democrats said that despite a favorable political climate and record-setting fundraising, the campaign to recapture the House and Senate could fall short if the organizational problems persist. "What the party really needs is to get serious about local, volunteer-based" operations, said Jack Corrigan, a longtime Democratic operative. "The last-minute, throw-money-at-it approach . . . does not really solve the fundamental failure to organize that is there. The DNC is moving in the right direction, but needs to do more, fast," he said.

Dean gave the internal version of "Yeaarrgh!!" in response, telling Democrats that "we have a big secret ... and it's going to help us win." That sounds great, but successful political campaigns keep secrets from their opponents, not from their allies. With the election coming in three months, one has to wonder when Dean plans to let his pals in on his big secret, and what exactly about grassroots organization would be so secret in any case.

The big secret appears to be that Dean has been a complete incompetent at the job of party chairman. He has only raised a little over half of the funds that the RNC has gathered and only has one-quarter of the cash on hand of his rivals, a rather critical problem in the final 90 days of an election cycle. He has angered his big-checkbook donors, even George Soros, who probably lost some interest anyway when his efforts to buy the presidency fell short in 2004. The Democrats have been left with the slender reed of conservative disaffection with the GOP, and hope that the Republicans have turnout problems to mask their own problems with organization.

Now we have the different committees and activists within the party working independently, lacking coordination, and shuffling their money around to cross purposes. One of the key figures for the midterm cycle, DCCC chair Rahm Emanuel, won't even speak to the head of his own party. The party has fallen apart, thanks to Dean's incompetence and their lack of action in correcting it.

If the Democrats lose the midterms, expect to hear a lot of conspiracy theories about Karl Rove's supposedly Machiavellian power. The truth will be that the Democrats sealed their fate when they put a nutcase like Howard Dean at the head of their organization.

UPDATE: I made an error in the difference between cash on hand and overall fundraising, which I have corrected, thanks to Thlime in the comments on this thread.

Captain's Quarters ~ Ed Morrisey ** The Coming Democratic Meltdown

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 6 August 2006 1:13 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Assume you were in an upper-management position at one of the many liberally-biased news outlets, and you read the above headline. Would it make you question what your organization was doing wrong, what Fox News is doing right, or what is wrong with America’s television news viewers?

Regardless of the answer, Variety released July viewer totals for the cable news outlets, and, once again, Fox News is completely destroying the competition. In fact, some of the numbers are pretty laughable (ergo, put your drinking vessels away!):

Despite FNC's declines, it still beat CNN handily in primetime, averaging 1.5 million viewers to CNN's 864,000; CNN still has a long way to go before it can be considered a serious ratings challenger.

FNC won every hour of each day over CNN for the 55th straight month. It was the No. 5-rated cable network in June, behind USA, TNT, TBS and Lifetime. CNN came in 24th, MSNBC 36th.

That deserves closer examination, doesn’t it? Fox has beaten CNN every hour of every day for 55 straight months?!? Yikes. And, FNC is the fifth-ranked network on cable? Yet, the chuckles kept coming:

"Van Susteren" was down the most of any cable news show in July, dropping 33% in total viewers and 32% in the 25-54 demographic, the most important for advertisers.

Nevertheless, "Van Susteren" still came out on top of CNN's much-promoted "Anderson Cooper 360," which added 49% in total viewers during the month. "Van Susteren" averaged 1.4 million viewers during the month compared with 970,000 for "AC 360."

Imagine that. With all the focus that has been given to Cooper, including a front-page feature story in Vanity Fair, he’s getting demolished by Greta. Now that’s entertainment. But, the chuckles weren’t done yet, for the article saved the most hysterical section for the end:

MSNBC also saw broad ratings gains over a much smaller base. "Hardball With Chris Matthews" was up 156% in July, but its 338,000 viewers made it a distant third to CNN's "The Situation Room" (716,000 total viewers) and FNC's "Big Story With John Gibson" (1.1 million).

"Countdown With Keith Olbermann" also was up, but a feud with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly didn't help his competitive position much. Olbermann finished third in the 25-54 demo and fourth in total viewers to Headline News' "Nancy Grace."

Isn’t that delicious? Olbermann actually got beat by Nancy Grace.

I don’t know about you, but I need some oxygen!

Noel Sheppard's blog | login or register to post comments
Categories: Media Business | Keith Olbermann

News Busters.org ~ Noel Sheppard ** Fox News Demolishes CNN and MSNBC in July

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 6 August 2006 12:07 AM EDT

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Mood:  special

Singer and actress Hilary Duff took the stage of Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C. Tuesday night in a free concert for military families.

Duff, the multi-platinum recording artist and star of Disney's "Lizzie McGuire" and movies such as "A Cinderella Story," performed "Hilary Duff Rocks for the Troops" in Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg.

Those in attendance were either in the military or have a military family member. Duff has previously made a block of tickets available for military families but decided this time to perform just for them.

"I think she understands, or at least wants to try to understand, the sacrifices soldiers and their families make," said Cynthia Ivins, who brought her two children, 13-year-old Morgan and 9-year-old Denise, to the concert.

Duff met with a select group of military families before the show, snapping pictures and shaking hands. More than 7,000 people attended the concert.

News Max.com ~ Associated Press ** Hilary Duff's Free Concert for Military Families

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:47 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Dems in full retreat

With world attention focused on Israel's war with Hezbollah, leading Democrats have finally settled on a position on Iraq. Surprise, they're for a retreat. They're wrong and they have picked a terrible time to wave the white flag to terrorists.

In a letter to President Bush, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 10 other Dem bigwigs demanded Bush start withdrawing our troops this year and "transition to a more limited mission," whatever that means.

"In the interests of American national security, our troops and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot and should not be sustained. ... We need to take a new direction," the letter said.

Right, new direction: Backward, march.

Pelosi told The Washington Post a reason for the letter was Bush's plan to shift more U.S. troops to Baghdad. That's bizarre. Since that's where most of the mayhem is taking place, putting extra troops there makes sense as the last hope of saving Iraq's government.

But Pelosi and Reid work in strange ways. After months of seeing which way the political winds are blowing for the midterm elections, they're obviously trying to take advantage of the war's unpopularity. As such, they have set up a clear difference between the parties.

But they're doing it while our troops are still fighting and dying there. And they're undermining Israel as it battles Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. They have, in Margaret Thatcher's famous phrase, gone wobbly. While there's never a good time for weak knees, now is about the worst.

Thankfully, Bush doesn't seem tempted to follow them. Despite enormous pressure from other countries, and some in the White House, he continues to speak forcefully for the most important principle of our time: The need to defeat terrorism. And he has correctly linked America's fight in Iraq with Israel's two-front campaign.

Even after what he called the "awful" events of Sunday, when Israeli bombs killed nearly 60 civilians, most of them children," Bush held out for a "sustainable" ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Most of the world, excepting a shrinking Tony Blair, is clamoring for an "immediate" ceasefire, a pause that would allow Hezbollah to rearm and reclaim southern Lebanon. Indeed, grisly images of dead children are the most powerful weapon Hezbollah has, which is one reason it hides in residential areas.

It is distressing, if not surprising, that France leads the way in surrendering to them. On Monday, their foreign minister was in Beirut, where he dined at the Iranian Embassy and called Hezbollah's sponsor Iran a "great country" that "plays a stabilizing role in the region."

Presumably, Democrats won't go that far, but do those who believe America should quit Iraq also believe Israel should accept Hezbollah on its border? In either case, the message would be clear: terrorism pays. And we're afraid of it.

That's not to say dissent is unpatriotic or that differences on the war are not legitimate. Iraq has proven to be a huge mistake and many Israelis are saying their government blundered by being drawn into Lebanon on Hezbollah's terms and timing.

Yet those mistakes, and the horror of civilian deaths, are not the fundamental issue. The overarching truth is that Islamic terrorists have started a world war - World War III - against America and our allies. Our errors may help the fanatics with their recruiting, but our policies are not the root cause of terrorism.

Bush knows that. Democrats have just proven they don't.

NY Daily News ~ Michael Goodwin ** Dems in full retreat

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:57 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 2 August 2006 2:03 PM EDT

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Mood:  silly

Former Representative Michael Decker, center, arrives at the Federal Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006. >>>>>
(Staff Photo by Travis Long)

Decker pleads guilty in Black probe

Former N.C. Rep. Michael Decker admitted in federal court today receiving $50,000 and a legislative job for his son in exchange for supporting Jim Black for a third term as House speaker in 2003.

The former Forsyth County lawmaker, who switched parties from Republican to Democrat, pleaded guilty to a single of charge of conspiracy to extort, commit mail fraud and launder money.

He is to be sentenced Nov. 1. He could get five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea agreement read in court today said that Decker met with a Democratic House member to discuss the political deal, but the papers did not name that person. Later, Decker received an envelope containing $38,000 in checks and $12,000 in cash, court documents said. An unnamed Democratic House member delivered the money, whose source was unclear. A prosecutor said that much of the money went into Decker's campaign account.

Decker's support created a 60-60 split in the House, allowing Black to remain as co-speaker. Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, in 2003 entered into a power-sharing agreement with Republican Rep. Richard Morgan.

Although Black was not named, he has testified in a Board of Elections hearing that he raised campaign money for Decker after Decker agreed to support him.

Decker reported spending campaign funds on a car and a trip to Florida to pick up the car. He pocketed a $4,000 contribution from Black, and State Board of Elections hearings found that Decker cashed $3,400 in contributions from Black's fellow optometrists that he did not disclose.

The News & Observer ** Decker pleads guilty in Black probe

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 7:14 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Democrats fail to win big Hispanic support

Democrats have made only "modest gains" among Hispanics during political battles this year over immigration reform, with 41 percent of those surveyed in a Democratic poll saying the issue will not affect how they vote in November.

Although the survey of 600 Spanish-speaking Hispanic voters by the New Democratic Network (NDN) showed a dramatic erosion in support for President Bush and Republicans since the immigration debate in Congress began, it found that Democrats have not made major advances with the nation's largest minority group.

Democrats still "have a lot of work to do" to explain what they stand for, said a memo from the NDN's Hispanic Strategy Center.

The poll's results were released July 19. Key findings in the survey showed pockets of significant support for Republicans and Mr. Bush among parts of the Hispanic community.

In one of the poll's findings, "while Democrats have made modest gains with this group, growing from 52 percent in 2004 to 59 percent, most of the movement this year has been away from Bush and the Republicans and not towards Democrats," an NDN analysis said.

"... While consistently far ahead of Republicans, Democrats regularly under-perform their 59 percent electoral performance and 65 percent party favorability. This indicates that, while Democrats are well-regarded by this electorate, they are not well-defined," the report said.

For example, despite the critical response of the electorate to the competing House and Senate immigration bills, "more Hispanics say that the immigration debate will not affect how they will vote this November -- 41 percent -- than say that it makes it more likely they will vote Democratic -- 36 percent," NDN said.

Moreover, despite substantial Democratic leads among Hispanics on most issues, particularly on the Iraq war, Republicans still draw more support on protecting national security and fighting the war on terrorism, the poll found.

Mr. Bush captured 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2004 presidential election and since then, Ken Mehlman, who managed his re-election campaign before he became the Republican National Committee chairman, has made Hispanic outreach a major part of the RNC's political agenda.

NDN said its analysis of the 18 percent of Hispanics who remain undecided "finds this group very favorable to President Bush and wary of Democrats.

"While unhappy with the direction of the country, this group will not be an easy one for Democrats to make substantial gains with," the analysis said.

Among the findings with this group, 48 percent "tend to have a more favorable opinion of President Bush," 53 percent have a favorable view of the Republicans, and 36 percent have an unfavorable view of the Democrats.

The survey of Spanish-dominant, registered Hispanic voters was conducted by LatinInsights for NDN between June 24 and July 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

Washington Times ~ Donald Lambro ** Democrats fail to win big Hispanic support

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:26 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Puzzling breakdown

The July/August AARP Bulletin had a piece on federal aid for medical research in which it criticized the President Bush's request to freeze the National Institutes of Health's budget for fiscal 2007. The AARP correctly interpreted the move as a reduction in federal funding for disease research. Naturally, it advocated devoting larger sums to investigating better treatments for Alzheimer's disease, which primarily affects its core constituency.

But we were struck most by the accompanying morbid graphic, which broke down research grants per fatality. It is beyond dispute that a good chunk of federal research dollars is wasted on frivolous projects. But if it can be described this way, taxpayers get the best bang for their buck on stroke research, with gets just $2,143 per fatality. Heart disease was next at $3,649 per corpse. Surprisingly, cancer was well down the list at $14,006 per death.

The most stunning number, however, was $212,330, which is what taxpayers cough up for each HIV/AIDS fatality. In 2007, they will contribute a staggering $2.9 billion for HIV/AIDS research, which is only slightly less than the total for diabetes and Alzheimer's, respiratory and kidney diseases. They afflict tens of millions more Americans than AIDS, yet comparatively, they get the short end of the funding stick.

It's no secret the generous appropriations for HIV/AIDS research are dictated by political correctness rather than in response to a true public-health crisis. Moreover, HIV/AIDS is the most easily prevented cause of death on the NIH list; all that is required is a modicum of personal responsibility. In a perfect world, the NIH would dole out research dough proportional to the quantifiable health threat rather than the empty-barrel politics of HIV/AIDS.

Waterbury Connecticut Republican-American ** Puzzling breakdown

So, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, what a suprise. There's a "lube" joke in there somewhere, but...

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 11:48 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 1 August 2006 12:10 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

HEY - Weren't we being led to believe that a strike just hurt the Palestinians there???

Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad leader

AP Photo: Hezbollah flags are displayed for sale at a market in the center of the West Bank town of Nablus, Saturday, July 29, 2006. \/

NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli troops killed a top leader of the radical Islamic Jihad in a West Bank raid Saturday, the group said, and the Israelis pressed ahead with their offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Islamic Jihad said the leader of its militant wing in Nablus, Hani Awijan, 29, was killed by Israeli undercover troops. They came to arrest him while he was playing soccer with friends and relatives, the group said. Another Islamic Jihad militant was also killed.

The army confirmed soldiers operated in Nablus and said a militant was killed in an exchange of fire.

Israel Radio said Awijan was responsible for a series of attacks on Israelis. Over the past 17 months, Islamic Jihad has been responsible for all 12 suicide bombing attacks in Israel, killing 71 people.

Islamic Jihad announced Awijan's death from mosque loudspeakers, As news of the raid spread through Nablus, large crowds gathered. Militants burned tires in the streets and called for a general strike in the city. Shops were quickly closed.

While most attention is on the Israel-Lebanon conflict and the monthlong Israeli offensive in Gaza, Israeli forces carry out nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, searching for suspected militants. Often more than 20 are detained in a single night.

↓

Israel moved tanks and troops into Gaza and started an intensive campaign of airstrikes after Hamas-linked militants tunneled under the border and attacked an Israeli army post at a crossing point, killing two soldiers and capturing a third, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19.

Palestinian officials said they have not received a response to their demand that Israel guarantee that it will free women, children and long-serving Palestinian prisoners before Shalit is released.

Dr. Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, said Israel's refusal to guarantee the release of prisoners before the release of Shalit had created a stalemate.

Early Saturday, Israeli tanks moved back into Gaza a day after completing a two-day raid in the northern part of the seaside strip in which 30 Palestinians were killed. Most of the dead were armed militants, but some were civilians, including an elderly woman and a child.

Late Saturday, residents reported Israeli tanks moving east of Gaza City, a frequent area of Israeli operations to try to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israeli communities.

In airstrikes early Sunday, Israeli aircraft destroyed a house belonging to a militant in Gaza City, residents said. Israel warned the occupants to leave, and the house was empty. Another target was the house of a militant leader in the town of Beit Hanoun. Eight people were wounded in the attacks, three seriously, hospital officials said.

Also, Israeli aircraft fired missiles near the southern town or Rafah, knocking out electricity. The Israelis said they were aiming at a site where Palestinians were tunneling under the Gaza-Egypt border.

Since Israel pulled out of Gaza last summer, turning control of the border over to Egypt and the Palestinians, the Israeli military has said that cross-border smuggling of weapons and explosives has increased considerably.

Slideshow: Mideast Conflict

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Ali Daraghmeh ** Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad leader

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 30 July 2006 12:51 AM EDT

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Mood:  don't ask

Dead Baby Found In Aborting Clinic,
Clinic Closed

Authorities Suspect Employee Evidence Tampering

Hialeah Police Homicide Detectives are investigating the gruesome discovery of a dead baby’s body inside of an abortion clinic but conflicting stories may prove there's more to the discovery than meets the eye.

The body was found at “A Gynecologists Diagnostic Center,” 3671 West 16th Avenue in Hialeah.

Witnesses tell police that a young woman, whose identity has not been released, arrived at the clinic last Thursday at roughly 22 weeks pregnant for an abortion procedure.

Police say the woman arrived the next day after the procedure complaining of severe pain. Workers at the clinic explained to her that the doctor was not available and she'd have to wait.

The woman was taken into a recovery room and according to witnessess, gave birth in the clinic.

''Employees cut the umbilical cord, put the baby in a bag and walked away with it," Hialeah Lt. Ralph Gracia said.

An anonymous caller, who police believe to be a clinic worker, alerted officials that the baby was born alive and possibly killed. When officials arrived, however, there was no body to be found.

CBS4's Dave Malkoff reported that when police were called to the scene a second time Friday night, they found the body of a dead baby in a biohazard bag.

"In 24 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a case like this," said Hialeah Detective Tony Rodriguez, the lead investigator.

Detectives believe the abortion clinic tampered with the evidence. The fetus was reportedly 12 inches long and weighed 2-3 pounds.

Hialeah Police PIO, Frank Gonzalez, believe the baby was born premature and is unsure how the baby died.

The clinic's doors have been closed while the investigation continues.

Officials are awaiting the autopsy, scheduled for Saturday, to determine the exact cause of death.

No word yet if charges will be filed.

Video at origional site... CBS 4 News (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) ~ Dave Malkoff **
Dead Baby Found In Aborting Clinic, Clinic Closed

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 6:59 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 29 July 2006 7:04 PM EDT

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