LostNation.tv

General Gives Specifics on Barack

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:20:54 -0400

Gen. Tony McPeak (USAF Ret.), the Air Force chief of staff from 1990 to 94, spoke to a group of 20 or so people in Bethlehem, NH this morning – singing the praises of Barack Obama for president. It was the best political talk I’ve attended all season – not for its humor or delivery, which were very good, but for its frankness.

About George W. Bush he said, “It’s tough to run the world when the world thinks you’re stupid.”

McPeak, and old Middle East hand, endorsed Bush in 2000, but his real politick soul was singed by the utter irrationality of the war in Iraq. So he switched to Howard Dean in 2003, then to John Kerry in the general election.

He was equally upfront about Kerry. “Anybody should have been able to beat Bush in 2004,” he said. “Kerry just didn’t have it.”

But, according to the General, Barack has got leadership in his DNA. And a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would know – especially if he’s on the short list for National Security Advisor.

Know Newt, No Newt

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:20:03 -0400

If it’s even possible, the 2008 primary season just got a little more boring. The word from Newt Gingrich is that he won’t be a candidate for president in 2008. It comes as a bigger surprise to him than it does to the rest of us. Just last week I received an email from Newt telling me that if I and the rest of his supporters ponied up pledges for $30 million between this Oct. 1st and Oct. 21st, he’d throw his toilet-seat-sized hat into the ring.

It seems Newt learned that if he runs for the highest office in the land, he’ll have to step down from his position as president of American Solutions for Winning the Future. Which, in case you haven’t heard, is a more powerful and important position than President of the United States. I guess.

The name of Newt’s power vehicle is telling – Winning the Future. Now there’s a new paradigm. True cooperation remains unthinkable; always play every game as close to zero sum as possible. It’s not enough to live free and well, always look for the advantage that makes you have the big swingin’ dick.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been down this dirt road with the Georgia Peach. He resigned as Speaker of the House over an ethics violation – he’s never been good with FEC rules, ethics laws, or marriage vows. There’s just too much gray area there for a big thinker like Newt.

Keepin the Ho in Idaho

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:18:43 -0400

Foot-tapping, Singing Senator Larry Craig who, apparently, lives a far more interesting life than most of us, has decided to rescind his guilty plea for bad public restroom etiquette. He now claims the plea “was made under duress.” Nice passive construction. It’s far more likely he was relieved as hell for the reduction in his charge from cruisy bathroom surfing to the more generic and less severe crime of disorderly conduct.

I don’t know what kind of person Sen. Craig is, but he aint no Idaho cowboy. Hell, I’m an effete, liberal, easterner and I would no more roll over for a trumped-up charge – especially one that involved dickie-waving – than I would sell my children to the Russian Mafia.

If I were innocent I’d take my chances in court. For white guys, especially the US Senator variety, the judicial system generally works pretty well. But Craig didn’t fight the charge – he copped a plea. And there’s not much he can say or do to convince most people that he wasn’t guilty as charged – including the Minnesota judge who will rule on Craig’s curious request next week.

And what happens if the judge re-opens the case, allows Larry to re-plead his innocence in front of his god and Grand Ole Party? We get a trial and damn won’t that be fun.

Bad Blood in Franconia

Tue, 22 May 2007 10:56:05 -0400

I haven’t posted recently, and for that I apologize.

I was out of town Saturday morning a week ago when I learned that a young guy I’ve known since he was little boy shot a police officer to death a couple miles from my house. Soon after, a passer-by stopped and shot Liko to death with Cpl. McKay’s service revolver. This was Gregory Floyd, a reclusive felon with a penchant for rotweillers, automatic weapons, and kicking state cops in the balls (for which he received a 3-year suspended sentence).
...more.

Funny quote of the Week

Sun, 6 May 2007 13:09:58 -0400

“If I had his face and money, I’d be optimistic too.”

~ NY Times’ David Brooks, responding to Mark Shield’ s comment about Mitt Romney appearing optimistic during the Republican debate.

Quote of the Week

Sat, 5 May 2007 13:24:55 -0400

"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."
Candidate George W. Bush, regarding U.S. troops in Kosovo, June 5, 1999.

Have Gun, Will Lose It

Sat, 5 May 2007 07:38:11 -0400

This handsome devil is David Huckabee – the 2001 U of Arkansas Homecoming King –and son of former AR Governor and Republican presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee.

Young Huck got into a bit of trouble at Littlerock Airport last week for trying to board a plane with a loaded Glock .40 in his carry-on bag. He received a year in jail (suspended) and a fine.

Clinton, Obama Will be in the House

Sat, 5 May 2007 07:36:57 -0400

Nobody regards presidential debates as more boring and useless as I do, but as with your sister’s kid’s baptism, or when your boss’s son is getting bar mitzvahed, you gotta go. So, after being coy about participating in the June 3rd Democratic debate sponsored by the NH Union Leader, WMUR TV, and CNN, Sen. Clinton ¤ finally agreed to attend. When he heard that, Sen. Obama said me too. (read entire story at LNTV)

Rudy’s Imaginary BFFs

Sat, 5 May 2007 07:36:03 -0400

Former NYC terrorism counselor Rudy Giuliani made a huge mistake this week – not one as egregious as recommending bad boy Bernie Kerik as Homeland Security Sec’y, knowing full well that Bernie is as mobbed-up as Whitey Bulger’s rolodex, and not as stupid as locating his emergency response center at the World Trade Center after it had already been bombed once by Jihadists, and not as vulgar as bringing his girlfriend home to meet the family – but bad by NH presidential primary standards. (Read entire story at LNTV)

Scarborough Country

Sat, 5 May 2007 07:33:59 -0400

As I write this from my expensive bunker in the decaying Gulf Coast city where I brood and make easy money until my trip to the New Hampshire Primary, the smell of crap wafts through my windows again.

For some reason, probably connected to some sleazy, backroom deal, the sellout burghers of Pensacola built the city’s turd plant downtown. Close enough (they erroneously calculated) near the city’s crumbling black neighborhoods and upwind and far enough away from the elegant homes of North Hill and Seville Quarter. (Read entire story at LNTV)

Stop the Presses

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:54:36 -0400

In case you hadn’t heard, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is running for president. No, really. He said so right here in NH yesterday. Twice. First in Portsmouth in Prescott Park, about a five minute walk from where I lived before I moved to the White Mountains and away from such silliness, and then again in Manchester in Veterans Park, also about five minutes from where I once lived long ago when I was part of the same silliness. (more at LNTV)

We are who we are

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 08:15:22 -0400

NBC’s airing of Cho Seung-Hui’s ranting thanatopsis isn't anything media wouldn't have run with 200 years ago. We’ve grappled with the appropriateness of painful revelations from the early days of the republic – as we should. These are decisions free people make for themselves. The central question is and always will be security vs. freedom. (Read the rest at LostNation.tv)

McCain Has No Plan A Either

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 08:14:05 -0400

John McCain’s limping presidential candidacy is like the twinkle from a star that burnt out eons ago. It looks alive, but it’s dead.

Last week he told an audience at Virginia Military Institute that he’d “rather lose an election than a war.” It’s his favorite line, but it misses the point – he’s already lost both. He rode George Bush up, and now he’s riding him down. It’s as simple as that. (Read the rest at LostNation.tv)

Save the Free Press!

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:58:15 -0400

Postal regulators are planning to give a Halliburton-sized sweetheart deal to America’s biggest, glossiest publishers at the expense of smaller publications – many of who will be put out of business by it. If the new rule isn’t stopped, it will have the double-whammy effect of saving Time Warner a skyscraper full of cash while stifling, perhaps destroying, its independent competition. The Nation magazine, which I’ve written for, and have subscribed to for 25 years, will take $500K hit in unexpected postal costs. (Read more and take action at LostNation.tv)

LOSTNATION.TV RECEIVES "OFFICIAL HONOREE" DISTINCTION FOR THE 11th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:53:14 -0400

LostNation.tv Recognized by Top International Honor for the Web

Franconia, NH, April 10, 2007 – The Webby Awards, the leading international honor for the Web, today recognized LostNation.tv as an Official Honoree, a distinction that recognizes work exhibiting remarkable achievement. The work is produced by Jack McEnany, Editor and primary contributor, Joseph Bergeron, Webmaster and John Klossner, cartoonist.

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile Websites. The awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization that includes David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Jamie Oliver, Internet inventor Vinton Cerf, and RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser. (More at LostNation.tv)

Gore to Announce for President

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:33:06 -0400

He’s tanned, restless, and ready. Insiders at Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection tell Lost Nation TV that the former vice president and Oscar winner will announce his candidacy for president sometime between August 18th and 21st. You heard it here first. (More at LostNation.tv)

Newt to Hispanics: Mi Mal

Fri, 6 Apr 2007 12:52:39 -0400

“We should replace bilingual education with emergence (sic) – with immersion – in English so people learn the common language of the country and so they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”

There you have former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s prescription for ending poverty in America. Just hablar the gringo lingo and it’s all to the good ese. Gingrich’s comments were about the cholos in southeast Los Angeles and the Puerto Ricans in Spanish Harlem, but no doubt come as big news to the brothers in Watts and the other Harlem. They speak English just fine, as do the poor whites in Appalachia and the Native Americans out west – yet somehow the bus to prosperity passed them by, too.

It’s important to note that Gingrich wouldn’t have been pandering to the xenophobes with this line of prattle if he weren’t strongly considering running for president. Nor would he have bothered to post a subsequent YouTube mea culpa to the Latino community. But Newt’s cotton-mouthed TuTubo Spanish oratory may have made things worse. (more...)

MC (mental case?) Rove

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:07:24 -0400

Aside from being more and unnecessary proof that white men can’t dance, this year’s White House correspondents dinner featuring MC Rove was also reminiscent of the drunken parties that Hitler’s hangers-on threw in the Berlin bunker as they awaited the Red Army’s arrival. The wheels had come off the Third Reich and there was nothing left to do but get your freak on and poison the kids. (More at LNTV)

New stories Today at LostNation.tv

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:09:30 -0400

Do your Duty to Team Rudy...In 1988, the Republican nominee for president George HW Bush effectively marginalized the Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis by denouncing him as a “card carrying member” of the ACLU – an allusion to the 1950s reproach against members of the Communist Party. (More)
The Dark Side of Transparency

Yet another unintended consequence of a functional and useful campaign website:

Let’s say you’re running for president and you’re web casting live to house parties all over the country next week – mostly in the early primary states where you have an organization. You want as many people as possible to attend these events, so you set up a click and find page on your web site – just type a zip code and find an event within 10, 25, 50 or 100 miles of your home. (More)

Sex, Lies and YouTube... and more

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 12:57:01 -0400

Democratic State Committee Vice Chair Ray Buckley’s prospects to take the big seat are once again uncertain due to new charges made by his former roommate Rep Steve Vallaincourt – this time with the help of YouTube. (More...)
McCain Campaign = Bush3

A Franklin Pierce College/WBZ-TV New Hampshire presidential preference poll of 400 likely Republican presidential primary voters conducted March 7-12 puts Sen. John McCain ¤ (R-AZ) just one point ahead of former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani. (More...)
Take a Bite Out of This

Sen. Hillary Clinton ¤ (D-NY) needs a lesson in cause and effect. Back in 1994, when she was First Lady, she devised a secret plan to set the cause of national health care back three generations; she didn’t seem to understand that private insurers are the reason for unaffordably expensive health care in America, not to the solution to it. (More...)

Buckley Back in the Race for Dem Chair

Wed, 7 Mar 2007 14:50:54 -0400

In the wake of a clean bill of health from the NH AG’s office over unfounded accusations of child pornography, Democratic State Committee vice chair Ray Buckley has indicated that he will run for the office despite the filing period having closed in January.

Buckley’s replacement on the ballot, Jim Craig, a Manchester attorney and former House minority leader, released a statement saying, "From the beginning, I said I would run for chairman only if Ray Buckley wasn't running. With Ray vindicated, there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to resume his candidacy."
(Read the full story at LostNation.tv)

I Don't Heart Huckabee's

Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:11:48 -0400

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s presidential exploratory committee has a new site up: explorehuckabee.com. Graphically, it’s dark and rather funereal, like John McCain’s. C’mon guys, black is so twenty minutes ago. Speaking of which, the date in the upper left hand corner was five days old when I looked at it (a little Java script please!). -- read the rest at LNTV.

CONFIDENTIAL MEMO

Sun, 4 Mar 2007 12:35:19 -0400

From: Karl Rove

To: Need to Know Only

RE: The Katrina Effect

We don’t say Hurricane Katrina, do we? Just Katrina. Like OJ – a name nobody but a mental case will give their kid for a long time to come. Or “Madonna,” for that matter, a woman who splayed her kootchie for a coffee table book. Please. Who’s going to saddle their little girl with that handle? There are many other examples, so I could go on. But I won’t.

Here’s a secret: the name Katrina rings in my ears like that damn 24 theme that I can’t shake either. So let me be perfectly clear: when I should be sleeping the three hours I’m lucky to get a night, I have hot sweats about Katrina. I also suffer from guilty ruminations for destroying what little credibility the boss had going in, and frankly, I sometimes think about pulling my car into the garage, leaving it running, and going to sleep. Fortunately for America, my garage is full of old campaign crap that I’m too anal to get rid of. But that could change. (Go to LostNation.tv for the rest of the story...)

V is for Vamoose

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 11:52:29 -0400

Stick a fork in Tom Vilsack. The former Iowa governor is announcing at 11 AM today that he’s out of the Democratic presidential race.

Why? Money – why else?

He’s the third casualty of the season – Sen. Evan Bayh ¤ (D-IN) and former VA governor Mark Warner withdrew last year, and again, limited resources proved their undoing. (...more at LostNation.tv)

Richardson, Kucinich in NH, Romney Announces

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:34:09 -0400

Gov Bill Richardson (D-NM) was in NH this weekend, saw a lot of people and made a good impression. He’s currently suffering from 2nd choice syndrome, but that’s an enviable spot to be in a year out. This is NH after all, the little king maker. My guess is that Richardson will continue to make inroads and be the season’s big surprise. (Read more at LNTV)

PrioritiesNH: Time to Get a Grip on Military Spending

Fri, 9 Feb 2007 10:41:50 -0400

PrioritiesNH is set to stir things up in the 2008 NH presidential primary. The Priorities project is the multi-media political arm of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, a 700-member alliance of CEOs and business executives led by Ben Cohen (yes, Chunky Monkey Ben Cohen), and united behind the notion that the federal government blows way too much money in the wrong places. Specifically, the Pentagon. Visit www.lostnation.tv for the full story.

LostNation.tv Political Cartoons

Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:05:53 -0400

Lots of new, original political cartoons by John Klossner. Check 'em out!

Dems: War Be Bad, We Be Good

Mon, 5 Feb 2007 17:16:04 -0400

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) told the DNC winter meeting this weekend that she would not have attacked Iraq in 2002, despite having given The Decider her imprimatur to do so, and that if she’s elected President, she’ll end the war. That’s certainly good news, even if major hostilities last six or seven years longer than promised.

“Believe me, I understand the frustration and the outrage,” she told the DNC. It’s likely she’s even more frustrated and outraged than those of us who thought the war was ass-hatted idea in the first place. Had I been sitting in Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s seat, I wouldn’t have given Bush permission to roll on Saddam. He’s untrustworthy, always has been, and most people could see that – which is why he lost the popular vote in 2000. But a life in politics dulls one’s senses when it comes to honesty. As Sen. Clinton’s husband and Otto von Bismarck were fond of saying, “Politics is the art of the possible.” And so cleverness is the coin of the realm – lacking that, and most of them do, loyalty is highly prized. It’s certainly possible that Clinton will take the oath of office in two years. But it remains to be seen if she’s clever enough to devise a plan to get us out of Iraq, or loyal enough to follow through with it. (More)

Biden Your Lip, Already

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 10:33:45 -0400

As predicted here yesterday, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) will have to announce his presidential candidacy once more, because he totally botched his most recent attempt.

After – in so many words – calling John Edwards an empty suit, and pointing out that for every American who admires Hillary Clinton, another one hates her, he called Barack Obama: "…the first mainstream African American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and... (More)

2008 Primary Updates

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:00:33 -0400

Giuliani Taps Semprini

America's mayor, Rudy Giuliani, has appointed former NH Republican State
Committee Chair Wayne Semprini of New Castle as his state campaign director.

Semprini did not seek re-election to the post after after presiding over the biggest losses NH Republicans have suffered in over a century in 2006. Semprini also lost a state senate race to former Sen. Burt Cohen (D-New Castle) in 2000.

Giuliani has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but has filed a presidential exploratory committee in the state of NY. He spoke at two sold-out events in NH this past weekend.

Semprini’s son Jeff is Giuliani's NE regional field director, and youth and college outreach coordinator. The two spent New Year’s Eve in NYC with the Giulianis.

~ Jack McEnany

Pataki Goes Back to New Yaki

NY Gov. George Pataki (R) has closed his Pac’s NH office and skedaddled back home to Peekskill, NY. To reassess? Lick his wounds? Stop the hemorrhaging of cash he was putting out for fancy digs in Manch Vegas, which is now available for rent on Craig’sList? Who knows? Who cares? Not me.

~Jack McEnany

Pataki All But Out?

The Union Leader newspaper is reporting that former NY Gov. George Pataki (NY) informed a dozen or so NH Republicans last night he’s got no problem with them endorsing other candidates.

At a private dinner Tuesday night attended by House Republican Leader Michael Whalley and others, Pataki said “He’s going to let the dust settle and see where we are in a few months.”

Pataki’s PAC spokesman, Alicia Preston says, “He was considering the possibility of running for President and he still is. But right now he is focusing on policy rather than politics.”

Policy? Eliot Spitzer is now the governor of NY, and Pataki is a private citizen. Is policy code for “can’t raise a nickel?”

LNTV Update

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:28:18 -0400

Willie Horton Redux

Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) kicked off his presidential campaign on the Sunday talk shows this week, and with any luck, it’ll be the shortest candidacy in history.

Huckabee has a number foibles in his past – mostly campaign finance shenanigans that he’s harrumphed his way out of – but the stake through the heart of his presidential ambitions will be his pardon of Wayne Dumond, a violent criminal with a long record of sex crimes and murder, who, according to the wingnuts in AR, got a raw deal when he was sentenced to 39 ½ years for raping a teenager in 1985. (More)

The Un-candidate

I saw presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani last night. At least I think he’s a candidate. He looked good, but said nothing. Reagan, blah, blah, blah 9-11, blah, blah blah. I knew we were in for it when he started off with a Parkinson’s joke about a shaky lady in the jury on his first case as a journeyman Asst. US Attorney. Bad call. Except for Rudy’s nervous giggle when he realized he’d bombed, it got no laugh at all.

But Rudy’s a pro, he didn’t miss a beat. He launched right into his prostate cancer story, and then took us home with tales of September 11. It was basically the same motivational speech he’s been giving to corporate America for $100k a pop for years now. (More)

LostNation.tv updates

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:49:38 -0400

The Truth About Obama?

Sen. Barack Obama could have launched a political career almost anywhere – such as HA, where he was raised, or NY where he went to college, or MA where he attended law school, but he chose Illinois – Chicago, to be precise. And so he had to expect politics to get uncomfortably personal. Cuz that’s how they do in the windy city.

Joe Novak, a former Chicago political operative of some renown, a made guy in the Cook County gang wars, and known to some as “Low Blow Joe,” has put up ObamaTruth.org a rather damaging array of videos and story links outlining Obama’s wife Michelle’s business dealings – from her $195K raise at the hospital she works for (which came, according to Novak, just after Baracks’s election to the most exclusive club in the world), to her seat on the board of Treehouse Foods. (More)

Also see: Obama, Runaway Barack, Obama Breaks, Obama cartoon

Snake Eyes for Nevada Caucuses

NH Gov. John Lynch (D) is putting Nevada, the state that Bugsy Siegel built, on notice that its presidential caucuses will not precede NH’s first in the nation primary. Not under any circumstances. In short, screw the DNC and its phony quest for diversity in the nominating process. Q: How many chairmen of the DNC have been white men? A: All of them. (More)

Today at LostNation.tv

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:17:46 -0400

LostNation.tv
US and NH Primary Political news, commentary, satire and cartoons

2008 NH Primary News:
Snake Eyes for Nevada Caucuses

NH Gov. John Lynch (D) is putting Nevada, the state that Bugsy Siegel built, on notice that its presidential caucuses will not precede NH’s first in the nation primary. Not under any circumstances. In short, screw the DNC and its phony quest for diversity in the nominating process. Q: How many chairmen of the DNC have been white men? A: All of them. (More...)

NH Blogosphere Ramps Up for 2008

Take a look at the Sites We Like list on the right-hand side of the page – lots of blogs are covering one aspect or another of the first in the nation primary, a big change from the 2000 election when NHPrimarySource.com was the only game on the web. Still missing from the roster is one of the oldest, PoliticsNH.com, which is still mysteriously on hiatus. Anybody know what’s going on there? Drop us note.

Lynch Tells the Tsar his Reign is Over

After the 2004 presidential election, George Bush vowed to spend the political capital he’d earned on a bunch of stuff he really wanted. But of course, like every other ill-gotten gain in his life, Bush blew it – this time on privatizing Social Security. And he’s been bouncing political checks ever since. (More...)

Hillary to Headline NH 100 Club Dinner

The NH Democratic State Committee has announced that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) will be the main event at its annual 100 Club dinner, the Dem’s premier fundraising event. (More...)

Visit the Political Cartoons section for 25 John Klossner originals

LostNation.tv Update

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 15:16:40 -0400

Snake Eyes for Nevada Caucuses...NH Blogosphere Ramps Up for 2008... Lynch Tells the Tsar his Reign is Over...Hillary to Headline NH 100 Club Dinner. And more.
Enjoy!

Obama: Bush Policy Tough and Dumb

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:11:45 -0400

Barack Obama was in NH this weekend. I didn’t go to see him. The beauty of covering the NH primary is that there really aren’t any big crowds until the very end. And I’m not crazy about crowds. Especially the smitten variety.

It was a mob scene everywhere the junior senator from Illinois went. His book signing in Portsmouth jammed the Frank Jones Center, a largish convention hall. The NH Democratic State Committee event at the Radisson-Center of NH in Manchester sold out its 1500 seats at $25 a pop in a week.

Barack is undeniably a charismatic guy. The anti-war crowd loves him, the liberals adore him, the minorities yearn for him, the liberal Christians worship him, and the press sniffs after him as he were in heat. And he is – the man is hot. His book is number one, his stock is through the roof, and his crowds fill every room he enters.

I could have used my expired press card and gone to ask people why they like Obama so much, but what would they have said? He’s an unknown quantity. The people I have asked say he makes them feel hopeful; and when I ask why he makes them feel hopeful, they it’s say because they like him.

There’s no reason not to like him, and maybe that’s why so many people do. The other candidates have records that anyone could find fault with somewhere or other. By comparison Obama seems virginal and untouched. And that could be a good thing. No long-term coziness with special interests, no corporate masters he can’t shake, no institutional corruption weighing him down. But he’s untested, as was the last git we handed power over to, and that makes me wary. Irrational exuberance isn’t a good reason to vote for someone for city council never mind president.

Obama calls for universal health care, a raise in the minimum wage, and a measured withdrawal from Iraq. He wants a foreign policy that’s "tough and smart, because what we've seen is tough and dumb." Like I said – what’s not to like?
Comments?

~Jack McEnany

Problems viewing LostNation home page

Sat, 9 Dec 2006 13:16:53 -0400

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-- Joe Bergeron, Webmaster

Bonior to Run Edwards Campaign, McCain Hires Race-Baiting Political Consultant, Bayh Forms Presidential Exploratory Committee

Sat, 9 Dec 2006 13:13:43 -0400

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), the erstwhile vice presidential candidate, has hired former US Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) to run his 2008 campaign for president. Bonior left Congress in 2002 after thirteen terms when his district was re-districted into a no-win Republican stronghold. Bonior, who was born in Detroit, has strong labor ties, and is a Dorothy Day Catholic – a liberal on everything but abortion.

The central plank in Edwards’ presidential platform is the issue of working people, the poor, (the two by no means mutually exclusive) and the problems they face in 21st Century America. The other candidates, especially the DLCistas, such as Clinton, Bayh, and Vilsack, are more comfortable leaving our future in the hands of the Chamber of Commerce. Edwards, however, is a former trial attorney who made a small fortune putting the wood to negligent companies – hence his skeptical view of corporate beneficence.

~Jack McEnany

McCain Hires Race-Baiting Political Consultant

Sen. John McCain ¤ (R-AZ) has tapped GOP consultant Terry “Call me, Harold” Nelson as his national campaign manager. Wal-Mart found Nelson’s anti-Harold Ford ad so objectionable they canned him from his consulting contract. Nelson has a reputation as a win-at-any-cost kind of guy.

Nelson is also named, but not charged, in Tom Delay’s money-laundering debacle that drove him from Congress. Nelson was Dep’y Chief of Staff at the RNC at the time, and reportedly played a role in the scheme.

So much for McCain the campaign finance reformer, the guy who’ll bring us all together.

McCain also hired NH political consultant and McCain 2000 superstar, Mike Dennehy, as his national political director.

~Jack McEnany

Bayh Forms Presidential Exploratory Committee

Ho hum.

~Jack McEnany

Into the Breech

Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:46:45 -0400

Hillary’s Going to Do It

Looks like Hillary is on. Karen Hicks, Howard Dean's 2004 field director, and then John Kerry's 2004 political director, and then Tony Blair's 2005 field director, has signed on to the Good Ship Clinton.

Hicks also worked for former Gov Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) as field director and health care advisor. Hicks recently finished a fellowship at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where Shaheen is the dean. Shaheen would no doubt like another crack at Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) who she lost to in 2002. Regrouping and honing the political machine in a presidential primary seems to be the plan. So the local Clintonistas are polishing their armor and looks like it's going to be quite a rumble.

Clinton is also reportedly talking to Iowa Democrats, telling them she’s a likely candidate for president in 2008. No word of an exploratory committee, which allows her to raise funds to travel to primary states and test the waters. But that’s probably a moot point for the titular front-runner. Still, she can’t be the genuine big dog in the race until she gets in, and that may still be some time to come.

Brownback Forms Exploratory Committee

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), a former agricultural auctioneer, has filed a committee with the FEC to explore the possibility of a White House candidacy. Brownback is a favorite of the religious right and will have no trouble raising money, picking up endorsements, and eventually going down in flames.

Pataki’s Free Lunch

Gov. George Pataki (R-NY), who’s made no secret of his presidential ambitions, is in Concord, NH today, throwing a lunch for incoming Republican legislators. Fortunately for Pataki, the check won’t be nearly as big as it might have been. Republicans lost nearly 100 seats in the 2006 elections. With a crowd that size, he could afford an open bar…
Comments?

~Jack McEnany

Hillary Keeps the NY Posse in Line

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 11:25:21 -0400

The New York Times reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is making the rounds to the NY congressional delegation, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer, county Democratic chairs and sundry party bosses.

“The message is, ‘Everybody keep their powder dry,’ ” (an) adviser said. “She is seriously looking at it. She’s not making any decision yet.”

When Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992, he didn’t announce his candidacy until October of 1991. Tom Harkin and Bob Kerrey and whoever the hell else ran that year had been in NH and Iowa dozens of times by then. Clinton’s late entry put him at a disadvantage, but it was by design to make him vulnerable to press attack for the shortest period of time. Still, five months later, just days before the NH primary, the bimbo eruptions began.

Hillary will get no such honeymoon. She’s been oppo-researched to death by herself and everyone else. On the early campaign trail, she can’t refuse to discuss cattle futures and billing records; if she does, the questions will never go away. And despite how convincing her patter is on those and every other issue they can throw at her, for half the electorate who, view her negatively, that sketchy history will never be past.

The hacks in NY wanted a sign. The presidential race is on, and they’re being courted by other Democratic candidates. They need assurances that if they wait for her, Hillary will be candidate for president. And she’s telling them maybe (wink-wink), so keep
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your pants on.
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~Jack McEnany

Jammus Interruptus

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 11:48:45 -0400

Depriving us of another few delicious months of the NH phone jamming scandal story, the NH Democratic State Committee and NH Republican State Committee have settled their civil suit for an undisclosed sum.

The Repubs’ decision to settle came on the heels of Judge Philip Mangones’ ruling that the Dem’s damage would not be limited to the cost of the phone banks that were compromised on Election Day 2002.

The Dems were looking for $9 million, the Repubs were offering $4 thousand and change, so the agreed-upon figure is somewhere in between. (More...)

Mitt The Hypocrite

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 11:47:04 -0400

Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) has a major Zoe Baird problem. It seems he’s been using illegal aliens to make his little 2 ½ acre Garden of Eden in Belmont, Massachusetts tidy and beautiful. Alvarez Rosales, a recently-repatriated Guatemalan claims that as an employee of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, he kept Mitt’s garden green for eight years.

Mitt, ever the duplicitous conniver, endorses the Taco Curtain concept, and number four in his 10-point plan to keep America great is Getting Immigration Right:

Immigration has been an important part of our nation's success. The current system, however, puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, yet those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. We must reform the current immigration laws so we can secure our borders, implement a mandatory biometrically enabled, tamper proof documentation and employment verification system, and increase legal immigration into America.

Do illegal gardeners fall into the “without skill or education” category, or the “best and brightest” division?

Newt: Less Freedom, More God

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:31:32 -0400

In yet another brave effort to save the Constitution by destroying it, former House Speaker and ever-burgeoning presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich, has called for a roll-back on free speech rights in America. All in the unholy name of terror exploiting the Internet to spread their message. Because it’s websites, not the Iraqi civil war, that’s recruiting Jihadis. Newt advocates an escalation of the American presence in Iraq, warning us that it’s “Victory or Death.”
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Phone Jammerama

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 12:30:14 -0400

The NH phone jamming scandal of 2002 is winding down into predictable absurdity. The NH Democratic State Committee is suing the Republican State Committee civilly for $9 million – the cost of its entire election-year GOTV operation that year.

The Repubs claim they owe the Dems about four grand, and while that seems a little low, it’s a lot closer to the mark.

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) didn’t lose her bid for the US Senate against then Rep. John Sununu (R-NH) because of the 87 minutes that Chuck McGee and Company foolishly jammed six ride-to-the-polls phone banks.

The reality is that at the top of the ticket in 2002, the Dems suffered the same fate as state Senator Mark Fernald, a pro income tax liberal, while the Repubs fielded the self-financed money-bags Craig Benson. And that debacle took the whole Dem ticket down. The Dem ranks were reduced to six seats in the state Senate and a busload of House members out of 400.

The Dem’s current intent is clear – to financially cripple the state Republican Party for many years to come. Kick them when they’re down, leave no prisoners. And who could blame them?

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Republicanalooza

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:50:20 -0400

Two more heavy-hitters threaten to join the Republican ranks of presidential candidates in 2008 – former Wisconsin governor and Bush’s first-term HHS secretary Tommy Thompson. Tommy says he has three things going for him: he’s a mid-westerner (helps in Iowa), he knows more about health care than anyone (and has done less), and since going to work for a company that builds ethanol plants, he claims to have learned quite a lot about the energy business (again, a big Iowa boost) but energy business executives haven’t really panned out all that well as chief executives. (more...)

A Message from Rudy

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:48:09 -0400

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani took a baby step toward running for president yesterday by establishing the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc. It’s a NY state committee, not the full FEC monty, but it allows him to raise money and travel the country. Which is what he’s been doing for Republican candidates for about a year now. Had he been campaigning for Democratic candidates, he’d be poised to take all the marbles.

Like NYC Mayor John V. Lindsey before him – a liberal Republican with presidential ambitions – the baggage of being a liberal eastern big city type won’t sit well with the right-wing of the party. Rudy is pro-choice, pro-same sex marriage, pro-gun control…hell, Rudy’s more of a Democrat than most pols with a D after their name. Although, people did call him “Hitler on the Hudson” when he was mayor, and he did dump his wife in a messy divorce and marry a much younger aide, plus he’s got some famously corrupt friends – so it isn’t like he lacks Republican credentials altogether. (more)

Diversity in Nevada

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:54:59 -0400

The great state of Nevada has elected US Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) governor, despite allegations by cocktail waitress Chrissy Mazzeo that Gibbons physically and sexually assaulted her in a Las Vegas parking garage in October.

Police are investigating the matter, as well as whether the local Sheriff sought to cover it up.

Gibbons also hasn’t explained why he employed an illegal Peruvian immigrant in his house (making her hide in the basement when company came over) as yet, either.

This must be what the Democratic National Committee meant when it tucked the Nevada presidential caucuses in between the Iowa caucuses and the NH presidential primary, because the presidential primaries needed more “diversity.” True, true – drunks, mashers, and rapists have been woefully under-represented in the nominating
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process for too long…

Feingold's Out

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:53:04 -0400

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) will take a pass on a presidential run in 2008. First elected in 1992 after beating two millionaire primary opponents, and then incumbent Sen. Bob Kasten (R-WI), Feingold is a favorite among progressives. He was the only member of the Senate to vote against the Orwellian PATRIOT Act, and one of 23 senators to vote against giving President Bush war powers in Iraq. He’s also one of five senators to endorse same-sex marriage. As a freshman, Feingold opposed the doomed Clinton health care plan, claiming it favored the insurance companies and offered little protection to the uninsured. He also voted against Bush’s Medicare Plan D scheme, and introduced a state-by-state system of universal health care last year. (more)

Does America Deserve Another McCaining?

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:22:13 -0400

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has publicly announced that he’s officially exploring the distinct possibility that he might be running for president in 2008. Finally. Because I was beginning to wonder whether McCain would pull the trigger on another run at the White House after he made only 367 personal campaign appearances for Republicans around the country, and donated a paltry $10.5 million to their mid-term campaigns. (more)

Limbaugh Overload

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:21:10 -0400

Does Rush need a fix? Are his cranially-implanted hearing aids short-circuiting? Are his three ex-wives putting the squeeze on? Did he look in the monitor and see how porky he’s gotten again? Or is it the beating the Republicans took in the mid-term elections that has El Rushbo’s girdle in a painful twist? (more)

James Who?

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 12:19:31 -0400

Three days after the Democrats’ historic win in the 2006 mid-term elections, the Republican National Committee disowned former New England RNC coordinator, James Tobin. Republican lawyers in the NH Democratic State Committee’s civil suit against the RNC’s for its phone-jamming activities on election day 2002 in effect told NH Superior Court Justice Philip Mangones, (more)

Vilsack's In

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:29:26 -0400

Uber-Centrist Democrat and chairman of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Leadership Council, Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) launched his presidential candidacy yesterday amid the media storm of the Democrats’ takeover over congress and Sec’y of Defense Rumsfeld’s resignation. Not an auspicious start, but there are 15 months to go before the Iowa caucuses, so he’s got time to make another splash.... click below for full story.

Quote of The Week

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:08:03 -0400

“Speaking to you all again is a bit like being Larry King’s newest wife-- I know what I’m supposed to do here, I’m just not sure how to make it interesting.”

Sec'y of Defense nominee, Robert M. Gates to the Senate Intelligence Committee at his 1991 confirmation hearing to become Director of Central Intelligence.

Vote in this week's poll

Thu, 9 Nov 2006 09:39:45 -0400

-- when will the troops come home from Iraq?

Meet the New Boss

Thu, 9 Nov 2006 09:38:06 -0400

It took a little longer this time for George W. Bush’s lifelong pattern of abject failure followed by parental rescue to kick in this time, but in the past he’s had only a few million dollars of other people’s money to squander. In his latest venture as leader of the free world, he’s trashed the Constitution, put every man, woman, and child in the country into crushing debt, and got a lot of innocent folks killed in the process. That took a little longer than bankrupting an incompetently-run fourth-rate oil company...

What do we do now?

Wed, 8 Nov 2006 19:56:22 -0400

The one thing I don’t mind being wrong about is the government. And yesterday’s mid-term election is one of those happy, if infrequent, occasions. Oh, I believed the polls that said the Republican majority in congress was going down like a leaky life raft, but the last six years have taught me to expect the unexpected when Karl Rove has a hand in the outcome....

It's all over but the Lyin'

Tue, 7 Nov 2006 11:14:38 -0400

The Democratic National Campaign Committee sent its Republican counterpart a Cease and Desist letter regarding its effort to suppress voter turnout today by making harassing robo-calls to Democratic voters all over the country. TPM has it here...