TPMDC Morning Roundup
First Gitmo Detainee Brought To United States
The Justice Department has announced that they have for the first time brought a Guantanamo Bay detainee to the United States: Ahmed Ghailani, who was indicted in 1998 for al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed mored than 224 people. Said Attorney General Eric Holder, in a press release: "The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be speaking at 1 p.m. ET, advocating for the budgeting principle known as PAYGO (Pay As You Go) -- that any new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for up front. Members of Congress, including the members of the Blue Dog Coalition, will attend the event. At 2:30 p.m. ET, he will meet with the Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he will meet with Sec. of Defense Robert Gates, along with Vice President Biden.
Biden's Day Ahead
Vice President Biden is having breakfast this morning with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. At 11 a.m. ET, he will hold an event with representatives from national law enforcement groups, announcing their support for Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. In the afternoon, he will meet with President Obama and Sec. of Defense Robert Gates.
Today: Democratic Primary For Governor Of Virginia
Virginia Democrats are going to the polls today to pick a nominee in this November's election for Governor. State Sen. Creigh Deeds has taken a big lead in all the recent polls against former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe and former state Del. Brian Moran. The polls will close at 7 p.m. ET. The morning has started off with a severe thunderstorm, which could depress turnout in a state that traditionally has super-low turnout in state primaries as it is.
NYT: Sotomayor Continues Ivy League Path To Supreme Court
The New York Times points out that Sonia Sotomayor continues in the usual pattern of Supreme Court nominees coming from Ivy League schools, in her case Princeton University and Yale Law School. "Whatever a nominee's origins might be, does attending the same institutions shape them and their views, even subtly?" the Times asks. "Critics suggest that elite universities shave off the differences in backgrounds and contribute to a kind of high-level groupthink."
Cantor: Pelosi Refusing To Meet With Me
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) complained to The Hill that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is shutting out Republicans, including himself. "I have been told that Speaker Pelosi doesn't like to meet with Republicans," Cantor said, adding: "I would say that is the case in my instance. I have put in requests to meet with her and have yet to be responded to."
GOP Takes In $14 Million At Big D.C. Dinner
The national House and Senate Republican campaign committees took in $14 million at last night's big Washington fundraiser, which featured Newt Gingrich as the keynote speaker. Sarah Palin was also prominently in attendance, but did not speak. And actor Jon Voight gave this exhortation to the GOP base, but only garnered mild applause: "Free the nation from this Obama oppression ... Bring an end to this false prophet Obama."
Josh
Matt
Eric
That's because you're an arrogant, obnoxious, smarmy little whiny asshole, Eric. Who in their right mind would want to spend any time with you?
June 9, 2009 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with Bullwinkle on this one.
Whenever I see Cantor on c-span, I have to change channels before my gag reflex kicks in.
June 9, 2009 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
And whenever I see Cantor, I'm reminded of the importance of using condoms.
PEACE
June 9, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
How many Dems got meetings with Rep leadership during 2002-06? Payback's a bitch, Eric.
June 9, 2009 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wasn't it the GOP who criticized Obama as a Hollywood celebrity?
So now they roll out grouchy old John Voight to slur him?
Their message is so disjointed, I almost feel bad for them.
June 9, 2009 10:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't.
June 9, 2009 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I said "almost".
Haven't gotten sick of watching this train wreck just yet.
June 9, 2009 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Minority status sucks, Eric.
Republicans haven't figured out how to stop being dittoheads and saying No to virtually everything proposed by the Democrats, so it's not surprising that Pelosi has turned a cold shoulder to Cantor.
June 9, 2009 10:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
If they have something to bring to the table, then bring 'em on. But right now, it's just confused squabbling loudmouthed rhetoric.
June 9, 2009 10:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sure. Tell them to "bring it on." But demand that they submit it in writing.
Why meet with them? They have nothing to contribute except a knife in the back for Democrats and for all Americans.
June 9, 2009 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's true JG. Like all busy people, Nancy Pelosi only has so much time in her day. Why would she choose to use her time to meet with someone who has nothing productive to bring to the discussion?
June 9, 2009 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it's a real shame that our Supreme Court justices were educated at the best schools in our nation. The horror.
June 9, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. There are only three kinds of law schools in the U.S. The good ones, the bad ones and the University of Chicago. You really only want your justices coming out of the good ones.
June 9, 2009 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
From the NYT article:
A president who attended a top university might gravitate toward those with a similar education. Stanley Aronowitz, a professor of sociology at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, said the selection of Judge Sotomayor by a president who graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law was an example of “people wanting to appoint themselves.”
Professor Aronowitz, who has written extensively on questions of power, higher education and class, jokingly said, “What I think he means by ‘diversity’ is Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia.”
I'm not familiar with Prof. Aronowitz, but it seems strange that he would fault a mixed-race president from an unprivileged background for choosing a Latina from a similarly unprivileged background by saying he wanted to "appoint (himself)." I understand the critique, but, jeez, I think the dynamic here is a little bit greater than what schools they attended.
June 9, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Although the journey is wrong the outcome is right. Obama DID want to appoint someone with a tempermant like him. He succeeded.
June 9, 2009 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I find this interesting. This is the kind of statement that would garner wild applause at a teabagging or some other such (right-wing) common-folk event. But at a high-profile dinner like this everyone knows this kind of rhetoric is just bullshit thrown as red meat to the commoners and shouldn't be taken seriously.
June 9, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Bring an end to...Obama." Bring an end? How do they get away with this kind of talk??
June 9, 2009 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Over-rated hack and once fine actor Jon Voight , stumbling and bumbling through words I can only assume he wrote and then botched rambled through hyperbole so laughable he's embarrassing himself and the whole right . His daughter won't speak to him after his serial marital infidelity ( another conservative moral pillar) to her mother,( yes, that's A Jolie , like that matters) and he's reduced to stuttering like some less-prepared Zel Miller.
Question for Mr Voight : Who are Americas Enemies and why are they? Of the nations of the world , who among them pose any threat of any measure to the most powerful military nation on earth?
Who Among them wouldn't make better customers than enemies?
The right in America is now Just brain-dead and dangerous, and as conservatives so often reveal , are serving only themselves.
June 9, 2009 11:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Free the nation from this Obama oppression ... Bring an end to this false prophet Obama."
I believe it is time to do an investigation of the eating habits of Republicans and Democrats. Doesn't EVERYONE in this entire nation already realize that it is the REPUBLICANS and not the Democrats who seem to have the need to believe Obama is somehow a prophet, or a god?
If this is this not just a dietary problem, are these so called loving, caring Christian Republicans reading this in their new revised, made for Americans bible... where torture is promoted and Democrat presidents are gods? Just curious....
June 9, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Obama Oppression"????,........Wasn't life so much better with George W Bush in office? Let's keep pretending that the last 8 years didn't happen, that these deficits weren't on Republican's watch....Let's keep pretending that spending more is better than taxing less,....let's keep pretending that war makes more peace, let's keep pretending that the only way to protect america is through outrageous military budgets on BS missile defense systems and alienating countries that were our friends,....or let's just blame the black guy for the last 2 decades of mistakes and praise Ronald Reagan for all of America's success. GOP, GOP,GOP! Rah, Rah, Rah!
June 9, 2009 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought John Voight had a shifty look when I first saw "The Midnight Cowboy." Dustin Hoffman tried to shape him up, but it just didn't work. And speaking of "false prophets," he really turned out poorly in "Mission Impossible" too.
Seriously, did he just recently drink the Kool-ade, or has he been nuts the whole time ["Free the nation from this Obama oppression ... Bring an end to this false prophet Obama."]?
June 9, 2009 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink