What else can be added about the sorry state of the Republican brand?

Yahoo:

Separately, six Republican senators have decided to skip the GOP convention.

Sens. Ted Stevens of Alaska, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine all face tough re-election campaigns. Two others, Wayne Allard of Colorado and Larry Craig of Idaho, are retiring.

Granted, Ted Stevens will most likely be in court fighting to keep his butt out of jail, but it's pretty obvious why Smith, Dole and Collins want to stay as far away as possible from George Bush and the rest of their party. Hell, Gordon Smith is even running ads in which he touts his relationship with Barack Obama. What does it say about the GOP when its most vulnerable members can't get far enough away from its leaders?

Indeed, after President Bush decided not to call Congress back into session after the GOP charade over gas prices on the House floor, John Boehner is now ripping him as "Beijing George" and accusing him of throwing House Republicans "under the bone-dry bus" on his way to the Olympics in China. How stupid do these people think we are? They spend eight years enabling Bush's worst transgressions, and then they coordinate a fake, stupid and cynical stunt and expect everyone to forget they are in lock-step with Bush? Seriously? Wow.

Presented without comment.

Download | play Download | play (h/t Bill W)

From the aptly-named blog "We Saw That", an excerpt from David "Diapers and a Call Girl" Vitter's re-election email.

Recently I held a conference call with some of my key supporters and grassroots leaders around the state. During the call we discussed issues currently being addressed in Congress. Also, looking ahead to 2010, I would like to use these calls to reenergize and reorganize the statewide campaign network which worked so hard and was so successful in my 2004 Senatorial election.
[...]
We'll also talk about forming a statewide network for the David Vitter for Senate 2010 campaign. As we get closer to my 2010 campaign for reelection I'll be hosting more conference calls and meetings, attending rallies and festivals, and cheering our teams on at football games around the state.

Ah, life is good. Hopefully, the football games aren't on Tuesdays, Vitter's preferred day to... ahem, "meet up" with call girl Wendy Cortez. I wonder if Vitter will get help in his campaign from fellow family values Republicans Larry Craig and Mark Foley?

Rep. Don Young is looking at a world of trouble right now. He is accused of illegally adding a $10 million dollar earmark to a 2005 transportation bill after it had been signed off on by the House and Senate. And that has made Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, fighting mad. Howie has more:

Barbara Boxer chairs the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, which is a pathetic joke. David "Diapers" Vitter? Nothing, although he publicly admitted breaking the law. Ted Stevens? Nothing, although the FBI and several other agencies have been searching his home in conjunction to a widespread corruption conspiracy that has tainted most of the Alaska GOP (including his son Ben). Pete Domenici? Nothing, even though he used his position as a senator to threaten a U.S. Attorney and attempted to force him to take on a punitive political role and, failing that, conspired with Heather Wilson, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove and others to fire the upright Justice Department official. Larry Craig? Next to nothing, although he actually pleaded guilty to a crime. The Senate certainly takes care of its own; and really well. Remember all those senators who were taking bribes from Jack Abramoff? Well Abramoff is in prison. Not one senator has even been admonished.

That isn't to say Boxer doesn't do anything regarding ethics. In fact, right now she's trying to figure out how to go after Alaska's arch-criminal Don Young on ethics charges. No, I don't mean arch-criminal, Senator Ted Stevens; I mean Congressman Don Young. She's promises to figure out a way of making this constitutional-- she'll fail-- since the House takes care of its own ethical lapses (or doesn't) and the Senate... well the Senate is supposed to watch its own 100 miscreants.

Lord knows, she's my senator and she's a 100 times better than DiFi for the Democratic caucus, but fer cryin' out loud, Barbara: clean up your own house first.

And he's running for Larry Craig's old seat. What's the matter with Idaho?

CBS News:

A Senate candidate has legally changed his name to Pro-Life and will appear on the ballot that way this year, state election officials say.

As Marvin Pro-Life Richardson, the organic strawberry farmer from Letha, 30 miles northwest of Boise, was denied the use of his middle name when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 because the state's policy bars the use of slogans on the ballot.

Now, though, officials in the Idaho secretary of state's office say they have no choice because Pro-Life is his full and only name. He says he will run for the highest state office on the ballot every two years for the rest of his life, advocating murder charges for doctors who perform abortions and for women who obtain the procedure.

Craig failed to file the necessary re-election papers, thereby keeping his promise to retire.

h/t Batocchio. Some of us are talking about carrying a pocket full of flag pins so when we hear that stupid talking point, we can hand one over with the line, "Gee, I see you don't have one. Here. Now you look just like Larry Craig's mugshot."

Via Wonkette: (h/t BillW)

It’s that time of year again, and the Hill is looking for 2008’s crop of ambitious, savvy whippersnappers to make up its corps of summer interns! They’ll get to organize back room deals and schmooze with the fat cats, but mostly, they’ll learn that running America isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And if you’re a summer intern for Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who knows what else you’ll be forced to do?

Our good senior senator from Idaho is an important man in Washington and wields power that reverberates nationwide. Just ask the salmon of Idaho River — they know what’s up. So what are the massive qualifications a young sprite needs to work for such a man? Read on...

I am curious to know what kind of response the Senator gets. I have to hand it to Craig, he stuck it out and has been an entertaining burr in the GOP saddle, but somehow I don't see many Republicans lining up to have their kids work for him. Stranger things have happened...

Comrade Kevin's Chrestomathy: The Generational Divide

Words of Power: Human Rights Update

Simply Left Behind: Heartbroken by a movie...

I can't believe it's not a democracy!: God bless the ACLU, "helping" Larry Craig by arguing Constitution guarantees privacy of bathroom stall sex.
I am not making that up.

A couple science bloggers I know have a thang... or two... to say to Mister Huckabee.

Guest (guest? Wait a minute, don't I have a condo in this complex?) -blogged by Blue Gal, send tips to bluegalsblog AT gmail.

My apologies to James Coburn for the title of the post...

ABC News:

Craig's list of accusers is getting longer. Two men, including a former male escort, have confirmed to ABC News the allegations that they've had sexual encounters with Idaho's embattled Sen. Larry Craig. The men were two of eight new people who claimed encounters with Craig in an article published Sunday by the Idaho Statesman newspaper.

Craig released a statement today calling the accusations "completely false." He also renewed his intention to serve out the rest of his term. "I will not let this paper's attempt to malign my name stop me from continuing my work to serve the people of Idaho."

Both men who talked to ABC News said they were frustrated with what they saw as the senator's continuing "hypocrisy'' about his sexuality. Craig has a history as a Republican legislator of opposing gay marriage and gay rights.

Hello, all ye scamps and scoundrels of Crooks and Liars. I'm your round-up guest host for the week, Melissa McEwan, otherwise known as Shakespeare's Sister (that's a Smiths' and Woolf reference, not an egregious bit of braggadocio, cheeky gits!), the bare-knuckled proprietress of Shakesville—a group blog absolutely chock-a-block with shameless purveyors of libertine feminism and the radical gay agenda. Buckle up; off we go…
An Angry Black Bitch has a Very Good Question about the unholy marriage between corporations and the US government—and ponders how it relates to the suspension of habeas corpus.

Blowvember is shaping up to give Cocktober a run for its money as sex-drenched conservative scandals continue to roll like clockwork. As always, Blogenfreude is your go-to guy for the running tally.

Relatedly, Libby Spencer finds herself suffering sex scandal fatigue, while Pam Spaulding catches up with Bob Allen and Senator Larry Craig's alleged boytoy, David Phillips.

Meanwhile, outside the closet, where lion-hearted LGBTQers seek protection from this charming Moral Majority, the legislative journey of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) continues to be controversial, as the Senate version will also exclude gender identity. Autumn Sandeen provides a great round-up of recent ENDA viewpoints.

In other news, there appears to be some sort of presidential campaign going on, and nobody seems to like anyone. Steve M. remembers why he loathes Joe Biden, Jill grouses about Hillary's campaign plant, and Mustang Bobby kicks around Giuliani and his BFF Bernie.

Finally, if you've got that Sciencey cum Christmassy feeling, go visit PZ, who's got the latest in the War on Christmas. For Sciencey cum Islamofascisty, Mike the Mad Biologist is your next stop.

That's all for today. Seeya tomorrow! If you've got any hot tips, email me at shakespeares_sister at Comcast dot net.