Cogitamus: Why does Rahm Emanuel still have a job?

Open Left: On neoliberalism and 'moral cowardice'

alicublog: Annals of Libertarianism, cont.

The Bobblespeak Translations: Meet The Press - September 5, 2010

The Big Picture: Downgrading the Ratings Agencies

Zandar Versus The Stupid: Rangel's got company...

"What could we possibly have done wrong, Rahm?"

[Click here for larger.] Open thread below....

That is the number of times suspected terrorists, those on actual watch lists, successfully bought guns or explosives in the good ole US of A over the past five years. Why? Because of the Terror Gap. That is the space in our law created by right wingers with celery-stalks-for-brain-stems, bed-wetting Blue Dogs, and neglectful progressives that allows those on watch lists to pass background checks when purchasing weaponry that kills. You can't get on a plane--but you can buy a freakin' explosive.

Even Rahm agrees! (or at least he did):

Remember, conservatives are in a corner shivering over the prospect of KSM being tried in New York, but if a member of Al Qaeda buys a cache of guns the FBI won't know about it and the any background information given when purchasing said weapons is destroyed faster than you can say Nidal Malik Hasan or Eric Rudolph. Now that seems just downright crafty!

Learn more about how you can close the Terror Gap, so that our laws to protect the homeland make just a modicum of sense.

Full Disclosure: I happily advise Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Next Friday, August 14, Sen. Arlen Specter will visit Netroots Nation to participate in the Pennsylvania Leadership Forum along with Rep. Joe Sestak. They'll be answering questions asked by moderators Ari Melber and "me, Susie Madrak" (sorry, couldn't resist an Al Franken joke), as well as those submitted from the crowd.

If you have suggestions for what we should ask Sen. Specter or Congressman Sestak as they embark on this heated campaign for PA's Democratic Senate nomination, please leave them in the comments.

You might be interested to know that since Sestak announced he might run (it became official this morning), Specter's record has turned sharply Democratic. (Maybe pushing from the left is a good idea, huh, Rahm?)

Oh, and you can still register to join in the fun at Netroots Nation.

Race tracker wiki: pa-sen

Matt Stoller of MyDD is reviewing The Thumpin': How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to Be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution , at FDL's Book Salon.

Check it out, it looks like a fascinating study of the 2006 elections.

I received a bunch of emails asking if I could get a copy of Rahm Emanual's speech to the Brookings Institute from last week, so here goes...

Download | play Download | play

Greg Sargent supplies the transcript

...it's a broad indictment of the Bush administration that argues that all-pervasive partisanship, not incompetence, is the common thread linking all of the administration's manifold failings. Take a look....read on...

Isn't that his job?

At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.

I wonder if that person will have to be a graduate of Regent University? Where's Lieberman?

I heard this from the gaggle this morning and Duncan has the text: Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Emanuel reminds us that once upon a time the "war czar" was called the "Commander in Chief," that is until the boy king decided it was hard work.

The Washington Post reports that the White House wants to appoint a war czar to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but they can't find anyone to do it. Someone needs to tell Steve Hadley that position is filled, it's the Commander in Chief, unless the decider's become the delegator.

Atrios:

CHICAGO, IL - Today Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) issued the following statement in response to Representative Virgil Goode's (R-VA) continued efforts to undermine the First Amendment by condemning Keith Ellison's (D.-Minn.) right to take his oath of office on the Koran.

"Tolerance for different religions speaks to the very character of this country and the precepts on which it was founded," said Emanuel. "President Bush has reminded us time and again that freedom of religion is a fundamental American value. As such, I call on President Bush to be consistent and denounce Congressman Goode's intolerance."

I have a lot of issues with this essay, especially how it generalizes the entire Democratic party by citing isolated cases. However, the author makes some good points on the general cluelessness about Americans' attitudes on the part of representatives like Rahm Emmanuel and how the Democratic Party is divided on the issue that landed them the majority after the election.

Harper's:

Sometimes it's great to be wrong. When the Democrats took the House and the Senate-contrary to my published expectations-I breathed a sigh of relief. So what if James Webb is a pulp-fiction-writing former Reaganite. The senator-elect from Virginia and his Democratic colleagues have pledged renewed scrutiny of the Iraq catastrophe, and that's reason enough to celebrate.

Then again, was my pessimism so misguided? I wanted the Democrats to win so they might get us out of Iraq, but I thought that they would fall short because of their steadfast refusal to condemn the war with a unified voice. Too often during the campaign, I couldn't tell the difference between the Democratic and the Republican positions on Iraq.
[..]To analyze this paradox it's necessary to consider the work of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D.-Ill.), the hatchetman for Bill and Hillary Clinton and boss of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Emanuel labored hard to keep strongly anti-war candidates off the Democratic line and slate Iraq equivocators instead. Read full article here

It bodes well for Pelosi that was willing to spend her political capital right off the bat -- especially on the issue that will define her time at the helm. Far too many modern politicians save theirpolitical capital until it's lost all its value.