American Politics Journal -- Pundit Pap

Flush twice... it's a long way to Sally Quinn's place...

Pundit Pap
for December 1, 2002
by JJ Balzer

Dec. 1, 2002 -- NEW YORK (APJP) -- Some "quiet" week, huh?

First, the Chimp-in-Chief names Henry Kissinger, not only the Nixonian master of duplicity and cover-up but a wanted war criminal, to head the investigation into September 11th.

This morning, the Washington Post laid out the latest trashing of the Constitution by the present occupants of the West Wing: a "second track" for anyone -- including American citizens -- deemed an "enemy combatant".

Meanwhile, over at the Scalia Court, judicial extremists look poised to strip citizens of more rights while giving corporate entities free rein to pollute, exploit and destroy.

Ahhh, yes -- the joys of right wing overreach, ignored by the Sunday pundits. They still have the Saddam Hatfield vs. Smirky McCoy feud on the front burner.

And Tim Russert, bless his dark little heart, jump-started Campaign 2004 on this morning's episode of Meet the Rove Shill.

Here's the skinny:

This Weak

We didn't think it possible after ABC justifiably canned Cokie the Schoolmarm and "Wigged Out" Sam, but This Weak just plain gets worse with each passing week. It was a near utter waste of time! We won't waste yours, and will keep our roundup of the spin short.

This Weak opened with a completely non-informative news piece about UN weapons inspectors in Iraq -- with not one word about new questions surrounding the qualifications of inspectors. Did you know that one has zero scientific qualifications -- is a major player in the Beltway S&M scene? You would if you checked out the MSNBC web site. Funny, but the more we learn about Hans Blix and his merrie band of inspectors, the more their mission looks doomed to failure -- with big help from Shrub's minions!

IAEA Director General Mohamed al-Baradei was the first guest; he said Iraqis are cooperating (which can mean just about anything) and questioned the importance of George Staphylococcus's assertion that there has been notice before supposedly "surprise" inspections (okay, so Staph scored one at the UN's expense). Staph pressed Baradei on new construction at one suspect area, al-Barat, and Baradei said there was nothing suspect there -- and so far nothing suspect has turned up.

Really, Baradei? Where'd you hear that -- Mr. S&M?

Staph referred to Rummy's assertion that Iraq has nuclear weapon designs (as if an enterprising Web surfer could not have done the same thing prior to Sept. 11 of last year -- and may well be able to do so now), but Baradei said nothing of that nature has turned up, and he'd like to see them if they exist (hey, Baradei, have you tried a Google search?). And, of course, there was obligatory mention of UN resolutions. Steph's last question actually questioned the qualifications of the inspectors -- but did not explain why.

Oh, dear -- little Georgie Judas must think bondage is just a bit too much for This Weak's viewers to stomach on the Sabbath! Well, we will make this guarantee: it will be one of the major topics of discussion on tomorrow morning's Howard Stern Show -- and Howard and Robin, will probably make more sense of the issue amidst a litany of smutty (and probably very funny) jokes and sound effects!

Worse yet, Georgie had a huge chance to address the dilemma of UN "inspectors" with no scientific credentials who seem destined to find nothing -- a setup to give His Fraudulence the opportunity to have his little war with or without the UN's blessing. You just might think these inspections were set up to find nothing. Add to that the Smirk Regime's claims, many questionable ("Saddam has ties to Osama! Saddam is just months away from nukes!"), and you have all the fixin's for Desert Rehash, served very hot. But Steph said nothing. Don't want to give the idea that this whole war thing may be more bogus than Smirky's so-called "mandate" (yeah, mandate, right).

Next up: Likud loser Bibi Netanyahu, looking more surly than usual. Why the hell do the networks insist on continually inviting this hate-baiting, warmongering swine on to represent the "Israeli" view? There are times when Bibi makes Arial Sharon look like Wellstone liberal.

Bibi believes this week's attacks in Kenya that targeted Israelis were carried out by Al Qaeda (like it would take a rocket scientist to reach that conclusion, Bibi -- how about telling us something we DON'T know). Bibi played up the deaths of some Israelis -- but somehow neglected to mention that many Kenyans were among the dead -- and couched the entire segment in terms of "Israel vs. terrorists" and "Yassir Arafat and the PLO started it all" -- as if extremists in Israel don't have blood on their hands too. Believe us, Arafat is no angel -- but Bibi is part of the problem, not the solution, with his continuing, shrill, intransigent yowling and connotation that recriminations are called for -- rather than curing the root causes of the violence, including poverty, ignorance, and a massive deficit of virtue and morals on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian standoff.

Staph and Bibi finished with some monotonous talk about the lack of defenses against shoulder-launched missiles aimed at civilian aircraft, and "going after regimes" that host terrorists.

Huh? First off, Bibi, loser, you're talking to a primarily American audience who are concerned about al Qaeda. Sure, it's time to take a look at nations that harbor criminal thugs -- but your time would have been better spent talking about cooperation between Israel and Kenya in going after these homicidal thugs, and how this can benefit the world's struggle to dismember criminal terrorist organizations. Stop acting as if it's just about Israel.

There was a brief back and forth with former National Security Council Daniel Benjamin, who argued that the Kenya attack was carried out by Al Qaeda: they seem to have an active cell in that very city, and it follows the pattern of multiple simultaneous attacks.

Then, Steph and ABC wasted the entire nation's time by letting Taliban Evangelical Pat Robertson both defend his view that Islam is a religion of war and proselytize his own theology of Islam. Robertson lied by historical omission about Muslims killing Jews. Staph tired to call him on it, but Robertson would not relent.

Here's a novel idea for ABC: how about some balance, for once. How about getting a real, live secular humanist -- say, Paul Kurtz -- to come on, debate Robertson, challenge his superstitions, explain how Robertson is fomenting hatred and driving the lust for war on BOTH sides, and generally debunk his whiny extremism?

Think about this: Robinson is a businessman, broadcaster and political kingmaker hiding behind the title and trappings of a "Christian minister". He engages in the most cynical form of social engineering using his daily TV show, a platform for political and social propaganda thinly disguised as an inspirational Christian talk show -- while duping his mostly undereducated and elderly viewers into forking over what little money they have to him.

The round table of right wingers and moderates (George Will, Fareed Zakaria, Ron Brownstein) put the blame on Al Qaeda for the Kenya attacks. Zakaria did have an interesting point about a "resurgent" Al Qaeda also being a "wounded" organization -- it's harder for them to hit military or American targets, therefore softer, more remote targets become the new venue for terror that appears reinvigorated. The round table also declared that Democrats don't want to get on Bush's bad side when it comes to tax cuts -- but they couldn't be wronger. There was much talk about cutting the payroll tax -- but NONE of the panel put this in the context of such a cut being a direct attack on Social Security designed to induce yet another "crisis" and pave the way for piratization... er, privatization.

McLaugh-In!
Spaced-out John finds religion

Issue one: space pilgrim!

Uh-oh... looks like a certain pundit forgot to take his Zoloft... he's off on a religious bender and thinks he's Pope!

John McLaughlin gushed about the pilgrims founding America, drawing (not too well) a parallel to the Hubble telescope, which, after a repair to the mirror, has captured spectacular images from deep space. Are they "a sign of divine order?"

C'mon, do you think any of the encounter group (besides Eleanor Clift) is going to argue?

Michael Barone said yes -- and Mr. Fiscal Reactionary shocked us when he said that Hubble is money well spent! Eleanor Clift pointed out that NASA is not a faith-based organization, so don't count on the gigabucks from the Smirk Regime (the ironic dig of the week)! In response to a comment on "the Creator" by Pope John, Tony Blankley said that the great religious questions somehow trump outstanding scientific and physics questions. Clarence Page decided to celebrate another scientific breakthrough: Teflon, without which many presidencies would not have survived -- before he said it would be nice to look down from space on a Middle East unscarred by war and suicide bombers.

Do Hubble's impressive results prove NASA does not need manned missions?
Mike: Yes.
Eleanor: The shuttle has huge cost overruns, and she doesn't see new manned missions along the lines of lunar exploration.
Tony: The Hubble needs manned servicing every few years.
Clarence: Star Wars missile defense would not need manned support!
John: We need Space Pilgrims!

Issue two: Nancy Pelosi, leading lady -- the new House Democrat leader. John played up Pelosi having been tagged as "liberal" -- as if it were some sort of pejorative! John said Pelosi garners 100% ratings from NARAL and AFL-CIO, voted against war with Iraq, opposed the Homeland Security Act, and fought the phony-baloney "Defense of Marriage" act.

What does she have working in her favor? Eleanor said the perception that she's a hard liberal gives her maneuvering room to lead the party into the mainstream and the center -- and, in fact, she's no more a lefty than Denny Hastert is a righty. Her first move should be a Democratic economic stimulus package. Can she remake her image? Mike said that her dad was a congressman, she has a base in the Democratic fundraising community, and her "constituency is far left." Mike also implied she's somehow "in a cocoon" (read: out of touch), and should avoid questioning the legitimacy of Smirk (well, well, the right wing is STILL scared that Democrats may exploit Little Chimpy's Achilles heel). John reminded Mike that fiery rhetoric worked for Newt Gingrich -- and Tony rebutted (looked like a setup to us) by pointing out the the Contract for (read: "On") America had five nice points and five hard-right points. Clarence pointed out that for half the nation, "liberal" is NOT a dirty word.

John turned to Pelosi's championing of human rights, then ran a video piece summarizing her biography. Mike admitted she is politically capable. John tried to cast smirk as a centrist, but Eleanor corrected that misnomer. What kind of leader will Pelosi be?
Mike: Confrontational
Eleanor: Both confrontational and accommodating
Tony: Confrontational
Clarence: Both -- she'll pick her targets
John: Accommodating

Issue three: gloom and doom in New York City! John talked about Mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign against noise, especially car horns, car stereos, street corner singers, boom boxes, rowdy cafes and bars. Big fines. Noisemakers can be arrested. What is the principal downside to noise reduction? Eleanor said it's a low priority; New York has bigger fish to fry (nailing it right on the head -- John hardly mentioned the huge deficits and gross mismanagement "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani saddled the city with). John said "where there's noise, there's commerce." Mike said that the Group has a vested interest in noise -- but even Rudy Giuliani saw this as a quality-of-life issue. John suggested that Sidewalk Santas with bells would be -- horrors! -- shut down. Tony, who has no clue about New York, suggested Greenwich Village is noisy -- when it's about the second-quietest neighborhood in Manhattan (behind Yorkville).

Who wins the Louisiana Senate race?
Mike: Susie Terrell
Eleanor: Terrell
Tony: Terrell
Clarence: Mary Landrieu
John: Landrieu

Meet the Press
John Kerry ignores Tim-meh's attacks, declares "exploratoracy"

Tim "South Lawn Park" Russert's guest: Sen. John Kerry (D-MA).

Would "Tim-MEH!!!" Russert attack overtly -- or covertly?

We wouldn't know for a while, as Tim's first question was the one he usually saves for last: "Are you running for president?"

Kerry answered by saying is filing papers to establish an exploratory committee -- which is a big yes.

Then, Kerry began his campaign: America is in deep anxiety over security: financial, retirement, education, health, and, of course, national security. Kerry's second point: now is the time that people will throw their hat into the ring unofficially.

Tim tried to claim that Kerry thinks he is the best man for the job -- and Kerry said he has no such view, that it is now time to talk about the issues and let Democrats decide who should run. He then shifted into typical lofty rhetoric -- but telegraphed that his emphasis is going to be on lower- and middle-class income growth, the environment, and improving America's stature in the global community.

Tim immediately shifted to the deadline for Saddam to disclose his WMDs -- will Kerry support Smirky if he calls for war? Kerry threw a wrench into Monkey Boy's machine, opposing action that is hasty and unilateral, pointing out the enormous cost, and making that argument that we should only go to war if we must go to war -- and even before that decision is made, all other options must be exhausted. In a coalition, member nations of the UN would bear some of that cost.

Tim sputtered something about Smirk saying that Saddam has already broken his word. Kerry said that Congress must agree there is evidence of a material breach, we must go to the UN Security Council with that evidence and get global support. Kerry also blasted the notion of regime change without proof of material breach AND global support -- it would devastate our war against terrorist organizations.

Tim then tried to bring into play Kerry's opposition to Bush Daddy's war with Iraq. Kerry pointed out that there was the feeling that we were moving more rapidly than necessary, and the nation was split about the issue. Kerry also said that he had actually seen the results of our campaign in Iraq firsthand -- and that he and Congress had been misled about Saddam's defenses, which were not as strong as Congress had been informed.

This is an important point, and let's hope the Dems pick it up. How many Americans, do you think, even know that Congress was misled the first time around by Poppy Bush and his team?

Kerry then used the opening to unload on Smirk's failures in the war against terrorism. He reminded viewers of the real priorities -- target one: Al Qaeda. Target two: bin Laden. Target three: Mullah Omar. And yes, in the war against Al Qaeda, "mistakes have been made!" Kerry said that the Bush team failed to get the top three targets in Afghanistan after a less-than-excellent initial incursion and the follow-up Operation Anaconda. Another key failure: Smirk has wasted a full year on the issue of homeland security -- then rushed the issue and legislation through Congress. Would President Kerry make smallpox vaccinations available to all Americans? Probably, with some caution about the possible side effects.

Tim then turned to the appointment of war criminal... er, ahem, former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to head the investigation into events leading up to September 11th -- and calls for Kissinger to sever all ties to his consulting company. Kerry said he must sever his ties for the time being, and George Mitchell should similarly sever ties to Middle East interests he may have (does he?). Kerry added that it would have been better for Warren Rudman to run a 9-11 commission.

Could Nixon have ended Vietnam sooner? Yes. Tim then again put words in Kerry's mouth, claiming Kerry said that Kissinger stalled the return of POWs -- but Kerry said that a committee he served on said there was evidence that POWs may have been left behind in Laos, although there was no hard evidence.

Score one for Kerry. But he should have gone a step further, adding that Tim's attack point sounds like a misrepresentation of a fact straight from the GOP.

What about Saudi Arabia and money going through the Saudi embassy? Kerry said the US has to press the Saudis and other Arab nations for a new attitude. Money has been sliding through to organizations including Al Aqsa in a Faustian bargain to allow Saudis to stay in power by paying off terror networks. The Saudis are not moving fast enough to rectify the mess -- they have to become true brokers. Has the present misadministration pressed them enough? No. What should they do? Kerry said whatever is done should take place not in public but in private. And at this point we are in a position where we cannot push for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian flap, but after Israeli elections we should push for Israel to honor the rights of the disenfranchised, and we have to be an honest broker. Should Israel surrender settlements? There must be no more new settlements -- and the Palestinian Authority has to stop the violence; they have been clumsy and halting, and Arafat cannot be negotiated with. The war against terrorists, Kerry concluded, is being damaged by lack of engagement over the Israel-Palestinian issue.

Following the break, Tim brought up the expense of two "wars" -- should tax cuts be rolled back? Kerry launched into a long and telling answer that sounded like a real campaign stump speech: no, but there should be no new Bush tax cuts, which primarily benefit the wealthy, and more importantly there should be massive tax reform that closes loopholes that favor the privileged and rich. Add a refundable credit on the payroll tax. Enough with the philosophy that says that you don't have to pay a thing if you're rich enough. Never forget that Sept. 11, 2001 taught us that there are some things that ONLY the government can do -- and now we are taking our kids' money to pay for our defense. We need high-speed rail and energy self-sufficiency.

Tim again tried to put words in Kerry's mouth, claiming that he said one thing -- and Kerry actually cut off Tim, saying "I don't care what THEY say... I'm not going to cower in front of their SILLY argument" about tax cuts that yield no reduction or relief for average Americans.

Now that is a solid example of what we do not hear enough of from Democrats! When the GOP, or supply siders, or deregulation-oriented "stink tanks" come up with a bad idea, don't give a pink tutu answer; instead, tell it like it is! It's silly. Or stupid. Or a rip-off. Or a sellout. Or an outright fraud.

Kerry segued into the hot-button issue of Americans with no health care -- and said that Americans are willing to trade $11 a week for real health care and better schools, pointing out that FDR worked to make sure that Americans would have social programs even during the height of World War II.

Tim read some supply-side propaganda (that turned out to be a no-longer-relevant 40-year-old comment from John F. Kennedy) -- and Kerry blasted the notion of giving the wealthiest Americans more tax givebacks at the expense of the nation's long-term needs. A tax cut will have the most effect on the economy if it goes to the least wealthy. Kerry added that Kennedy would have a different view today, and when Tim said that there was an across-the-board, all-income-levels cut under Kennedy, Kerry pointed out that the situation forty years ago was different. Kerry then blasted Smirk having broken his promise that "no child would be left behind" by gutting education and using the term dishonestly on a bill that does nearly nothing.

Is Al Gore the front-runner? Yes. Tim tried to bring up Gore's critique of the conservative-biased press, but Kerry went back to the polls -- saying that Gore is still the front-runner, and he's happy where he stands now.

Tim asked if Ted Kennedy would support Kerry's campaign; Kerry said he would welcome the support, although he and Kennedy have disagreed on many issues -- disarming Tim's follow-up about Kerry being labeled a Kennedy liberal. Kerry said he opposed the death penalty. Tim asked, what about Tim McVeigh? What about John Allen Mohammad? Kerry gave a solid answer: when you're alive and deprived of freedom in tough circumstances "until God decides to take you", that's real punishment -- and it's wrong to have a system that executes innocent people. Capital punishment is not effective punishment. And while he supports honoring state death statutes, he does support one federal exception -- death penalty for terrorists that attack America and Americans.

Tim also pointed out that Kerry once said, "We should end teacher tenure as we know it." Kerry responded by emphasizing the "as we know it" -- there must be accountability in the public schools. He helped write and pass an education reform bill that passed but that Smirk refuses to fund -- thus leaving children behind. Kerry said he opposes vouchers because they de-fund public schools, and not enough charter schools exist or can be established to fill the demand anyway. The present problem can be best described as separate and unequal schools -- there must be equality of education via equality of resources, and a property-tax-funded education system is unequal.

Here is where Kerry should in fact use stronger rhetoric -- de facto educational segregation based on income and means must be ended. This could become a very effective plank in the Kerry platform. And you can bet Democrats were taking copious notes this morning.

Tim and Kerry discussed his 'Nam years, and Tim tried one last attack on Kerry over his admission to Joe Klein that he'd been "four sheets to the wind on weekends." Scholarly Tim said he's looked the term up -- it's three sheets to the wind -- and Kerry smiled and said that only shows he had overdone the partying in his college years!

Overall, Kerry did a pretty effective job of putting his points and issues forward -- and an equally effective job of launching one Democrat mantra concerning the Texas Dauphin and his so-called leadership: "failure... failed... failing".

And this time Smirk doesn't have his frat brothers and their crib sheets and term papers to crib from.

JJ Balzer is a former television news producer. He lives in New York City.