A "Family Values" Headache for Senate GOP

posted by John Nichols on 07/11/2007 @ 03:01am

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Republicans are already facing a lot of trouble going into the 2008 competition for control of the Senate. And, now, they've got a prostitution problem -- invloving Louisiana Senator David "Family Values" Vitter -- that could cost the party another seat.

After losing control of the Senate in 2006, Republicans have to turn around and defend all the seats the party's candidates won in the party's 2002 sweep. With President Bush's approval numbers in the tank, and with the most of the senators tied by their votes to an unpopular war, that won't be easy.

The GOP's got to defend a number of incumbents who are vulnerable because of their closeness to the Bush administration -- Maine's Susan Collins, Minnesota's Norm Coleman, New Hampshire's John Sununu. Several of their "secure" incumbents are suddenly looking less secure because of ethical scandals, including senior senators Ted Stevens of Alaska and New Mexico's Pete Domenici. And their newest senator, Wyoming's John Barrasso, was appointed rather than elected and must face voters in a western state where the Democrats are showing previous unimagined signs of life.

But the toughest challenge the party faces could involve the senator who was not even supposed to be on the ballot next year.

Louisiana Vitter, a former congressman who was elected with ease in 2004, is having an increasingly hard time explaining his penchant for paying prostitutes -- in Washington and New Orleans -- to have help him commit "a very serious sin."

Vitter is not the first Louisiana politician to let the good times roll. But as a social conservative who has not hesitated to attack the morality of others, he is facing charges of the sort of hypocrisy that could force him from office.

How serious is the discussion about resignation? One prominent conservative, senior State Department official Randall Tobias, quit his position in April after it was revealed that he had frequently the D.C. escort service to which Vitter's name has now been linked.

And at least one prominent Louisiana Republican says Vitter should follow Tobias' lead.

On Tuesday, Louisiana Republican State Central Committeeman Vincent Bruno called on Vitter to resign "for his own good, the good of the party and the good of his family."

Bruno says that if Vitter fails to leave office after the revelations about how he is apparently hooked on hookers, Bruno suggested that the Senator might want to "join the Democratic Party where they think that kind of behavior is OK."

Yes, that's a cheap shot that's short on accuracy. But Bruno's concern about what Vitter's continued service in the Senate might do to the image of the Republican Party is sincere -- and appropriate.

"If (Republican leaders are) not going to enforce family values, they ought to take it out of the vocabulary," says Bruno, a longtime critic of Vitter who has in the past suggested that the senator had a problem when it comes to defending the sanctity of his own marriage.

Should Vitter remain in office, says the Republican state committeeman, then: "We're the party of hypocrites: 'Vote for us and we'll lie to you, we'll engage prostitutes and we'll cheat on our wives.'"

That's strong talk. But it is directed at a man who, in addition to hypocrisy, has by every indication violated the laws of his home state and the nation's capital city.

If Vitter were to resign, the Democrats are all but certain to gain a Senate seat.

Under's Louisiana's Election Code, the governor picks the replacement for a U.S. senator who leaves office before his or her term is done.

Louisiana's governor is a Democrat, Kathleen Blanco.

Blanco's not running for reelection this year, so there is little likelihood that she would bother to try and win favor with Republicans by appointing one of their number to replace Vitter.

To be sure, any appointment would be temporary.

According to Louisiana's election code, a special election would have to be held -- perhaps this year, perhaps next, depending on when Vitter might leave office.

By the time the special election rolls around, however, the Democrat would have the advantage of incumbency in a state that -- even after losing a lot of Democratic voters from New Orleans in the post-Hurricane Katrina exodus -- could probably still elect the right Democrat to a Senate seat. Amusingly, that right Democrat might be Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu, whose sister Mary holds the state's other Senate seat. Two-term State Treasurer John Kennedy is another prospect, as is south Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon.

Look for the White House and the National Republican Senatorial Campaign committee to be in a most forgiving mood with regard to Vitter's transgressions. They can't afford to lose him because they can't afford to have another Senate seat in play during a cycle that already looks like a rough one for the party.

But even the best efforts of Bush and his congressional cronies may not be enough to save a senator whose story is starting to sound like the script for a very bad TV movie -- or, perhaps, a film that would not be rated for family viewing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

John Nichols' new book is THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT: The Founders' Cure for Royalism. Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson hails it as a "nervy, acerbic, passionately argued history-cum-polemic [that] combines a rich examination of the parliamentary roots and past use of the 'heroic medicine' that is impeachment with a call for Democratic leaders to 'reclaim and reuse the most vital tool handed to us by the founders for the defense of our most basic liberties.'"

Comments (68)

nichols...if you're on the east coast you r an insomniac...

another dem in the senate, eh? before 08 even. hmmm...

well, by the time its done, hopefully (and were i a betting man, i'd bet on it) the dems will register a net gain...there's gotta be more names...does there not?

Posted by ibbleblibble at 07/11/2007 @ 03:21am
It would appear that the long freeze of fear-formed Republican ice is wasting away as the greenhouse gas infused North American summer barely begins to bubble. Good news for the Democrats, perhaps.

Unfortunately the increasingly complex conundrums that bedevil us go beyond partisan politics.

Let's hope that the sharply incisive and brilliant leadership we are in desperate need of is on the verge of arriving soon.

Like the mythological story of Christ tearing though the Temple in Jerusalem and turning over the tables of the money changers, we are in dire need of a charismatic figure who can effectively rage against the decrepit state of America's Versailles on the Potomac (thanks, Chuck Spinney).

We currently reside in a roomful of mirrors. Who will smash the illusions?

Posted by b_kool_66 at 07/11/2007 @ 04:14am
A couple of suggestions for personal edification in a world gone haywire.

WYCE radio and the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).

Google 'em if you care.

Posted by b_kool_66 at 07/11/2007 @ 05:12am
good suggestions. never saw how people saw what they saw in the sky..."see...there's the bull...see?"

"well...i see a bunch of stars..." then, in order to change the topic you just say something like, "oh yeah. there it is."

but when someone draws a big picture over the constellation to show you, then i really do see it. take it away and just a bunch of stars again...

Posted by ibbleblibble at 07/11/2007 @ 05:33am
Yo Ibble,

The "archive" at the Astronomy Picture of the Day is worth a peruse.

Posted by b_kool_66 at 07/11/2007 @ 05:48am
kool

it was a great pic - i like the titan snaps. those were good. didn't mean to sound negative, just never got it, the constellation thing.

i always liked these...

http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/SpaceSettlement/70sArt/art.html

Posted by ibbleblibble at 07/11/2007 @ 06:03am
Always pleased to see hypocrits exposed, I'm really hoping for the decriminalization of victimless crimes as a precursor to a much more humane country whose leaders finally wake up to fact we "cannot legislate morality" (Brecht?).

Posted by lewwelge at 07/11/2007 @ 07:13am
Funny how one can use a prostitute and maybe lose a senate seat..and steal $ 90,000, hide it in your freezer, use govt help during the worst disater in your state history...and get elected and appointed to sensitive committees...Both from Louisiana..

The difference?

One is a republican and one is a democrat....

How many articles were written on Jefferson here?...very few...we have had 3 or 4 on Vitter and repubs in how many days..?

Do we need a "Fairness Doctorine" at the Nation..? Hhhmmm

Frank, what do you think?...need a little Limbaugh to balance out here?

Posted by john maasch at 07/11/2007 @ 08:46am
"If Vitter were to resign, the Democrats are all but certain to gain a Senate seat. Under's Louisiana's Election Code, the governor picks the replacement for a U.S. senator who leaves office before his or her term is done."

Hmmm....so "selected not elected" is okay now?...heheh.

By the way, didn't we have some articles a few months back about how the Republican Governor of South Dakota MUST pick a Democrat, if Tim Johnson had died or needed to resign?!??!?!

Oops, forgot, only supposed to look at Senator Vitter's hypocrisy!

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 08:56am
Maasch-All you guys have is Jefferson.One whole guy.Your kind has so many scandals going that no one can keep up with them all.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 09:24am
MBB-You sure are naive about the motives of the rich and powerful.They care about themselves and don't have much in the way of a conscience so Cheney won't be bothered at all about the evil he's caused.The Reid/Pelosi "scandals" don't seem to have much meat to them.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 09:49am
MBB-Don't be so obviously desperate to come up with "scandals".

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 09:50am
MBB-The reason no one in the GOP has put much effort into investigating those "scandals" is because they have engaged in similar activity and don't want that coming out.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 09:56am
MBB-Gates has never tried to be in a position of power that I'm aware of.There is a difference between the rich and those who want to be rich and powerful.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 09:59am
MBB-People who lust after wealth and power have very similar psychological profiles whereas blacks do not have similar profiles.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 10:02am
Posted by I'M NOBODY 07/11/2007 @ 10:02am

Curious, IM, does a person running for President "lust after power"? And if not, how do YOU judge what they are "lusting after"?

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 10:07am
Mask-POTUS is considered to be the most powerful person on the planet.What type do you think would want to be the most powerful person on the planet?

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 10:10am
MBB-A person who puts that much time and effort into making money would certainly be lusting after money or they wouldn't be putting that kind of time and effort into it.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 10:14am
What type do you think would want to be the most powerful person on the planet?

Posted by I'M NOBODY 07/11/2007 @ 10:10am

I'm asking you....throw out a few descriptives of what you think of the personality type that would desire Presidential power?

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 10:31am
MBB-Big business owners almost never care about their employees in the slightest which is why unions became necessary and are still necessary.Big business exploits people for profit and promotes war for profit.If you spend that kind of time and effort into making money then you are obsessed and are no different from any other addict who lusts for their drug.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 10:35am
Products and services, that's what business' offer. In either case, the further management is separated from the worker/laborer, the less your overblown generalization about "the typical business owner feel(ing) a tremendous responsibility towards the people they employ..." is confounded, MBB.

Freedom and responsibility are the two sides of the same existential coin, and what most oligarchical plutocrats don't fathom is the value in compassion and "not losing the common touch," or "nobless oblige," and instead submitting to the easiest and most common rationalization for inhumane behavior of all: "they" are "other" and thus dehumanized. Dire Straights expressed it best with the ironic lyric of unsolicited advice: "get a job."

Posted by lewwelge at 07/11/2007 @ 10:42am
Won't go THAT far, I'm No, but do agree power is best evidenced two ways: by money, but also by numbers of people. We're more together than apart ideologically, and I'd say that's true with MBB and 95% of the others I've not ignored at this enjoyable and intelligent site.

Posted by lewwelge at 07/11/2007 @ 10:46am
(Brecht?).

Posted by LEWWELGE 07/11/2007 @ 07:13am | ignore this person

erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral.

first comes the feeding, then come morals.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 10:59am
the top income tax bracket during WW2 and also during the postwar years and Korea was in excess of 91%. that means after the first million or so, then, maybe 20 million now, the super rich get to keep 10% of the hardearned money, while the gov't takes 90%. that's what I call noblesse oblige. top rate today? under 30%.

and those poor super rich folks, they're suffering so much.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 11:05am
Maasch-All you guys have is Jefferson.One whole guy.Your kind has so many scandals going that no one can keep up with them all.

Posted by I'M NOBODY 07/11/2007 @ 09:24am

Think the 90s. and the Post Office...the Dems were in power for over 40 years...TRY to open your little mind and think A LIITLE wider....a sitting House Speaker was defeated by an unknown ...for scandals and arrogance...think 1994.

Posted by john maasch at 07/11/2007 @ 11:06am
Maasch-Should we,also,go back to Watergate and the Iran Contra scandal?No.I'm talking about the here and now.

Posted by i'm nobody at 07/11/2007 @ 11:10am
Yes, Johann, "food first, then morals," was how I've seen it translated most effectively. Dankeschoen(sp?) mein herr.

Posted by lewwelge at 07/11/2007 @ 11:10am
No one's bad behavior can be justified by the fact that someone else was bad, too. That's just another childish avoidance of accountability. Anyone, of any political stripe who breaks the law, subverts our constitution, or otherwise betrays the public trust needs to be held to account. Period.

Having said that, after 6 years of executive and legislative control, the best the wingers can come up with is William Fucking Jefferson and his "cold cash".

Indeed, as it turns out, during that time the administration pressed the DOJ to investigate seven times as many Democrats as Republicans. Many of the principled US Attorneys who would not prosecute weak or bogus cases were fired, and replaced with loyal Bushies. As a result, more than a few of the cases that were pursued were overturned, or are being revisited in that context.

Since the '06 elections, when the Republicans lost their majorities, and therefore the ability to control "oversight" and the flow of information, their misdeeds have been bubbling to the surface like condoms in a septic tank. The party that promised to restore honor and dignity to the White House has nothing to offer beyond stonewalling, and the abuse of "executive privilege".

Wanker apologists should take note: It doesn't matter if you lack the stones or the gray matter to ask the obvious questions. The administration continually refuses to be accountable to the American people.

And that includes you.

Posted by drhammer at 07/11/2007 @ 11:22am
I don't think the guy should resign. It's his business who his sticks his dick into.

I don't care that Bill Clinton smoked pot.

I don't care that GW Bush did coke.

In fact, if you havn't gotten fucked....both literally and figuratively I don't trust you to lead me!

Let's dispense with the fake morality based outrage from all angles.

Posted by freedomplease at 07/11/2007 @ 11:37am
typical apologists response- Willy Jefferson. no admittance that their man is a morally bankrupt hypocrite with a whore strapped to his lap. Darin, your bible says you HAVE to kill Vitter. Git-er dun.

Posted by crabwalk at 07/11/2007 @ 11:39am
So, Vitter has some things in common with Uday and Qusay?

Fascinating.

Posted by crabwalk at 07/11/2007 @ 11:41am
Bitte Schön. that's you're welcome. my translation was more literal and shows the relationship of the two languages.

when I was in college I had translating Brecht and Hesse in mind. alas my honors advisor did not approve.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 11:45am
I don't think the guy should resign. It's his business who his sticks his dick into.

this is true for everyone EXCEPT the morality police. they should be hoist on their own petard.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 11:46am
government by the rich and for the rich, shall not perish from this earth.

it was always so. freedom and democracy is just a brand, like coca cola. this is not be misconstrued as some kind of obligation.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 11:50am
By John S. Koppel The Denver Post

Thursday 05 July 2007

As a longtime attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, I can honestly say that I have never been as ashamed of the department and government that I serve as I am at this time.

The public record now plainly demonstrates that both the DOJ and the government as a whole have been thoroughly politicized in a manner that is inappropriate, unethical and indeed unlawful. The unconscionable commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence, the misuse of warrantless investigative powers under the Patriot Act and the deplorable treatment of U.S. attorneys all point to an unmistakable pattern of abuse.

In the course of its tenure since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has turned the entire government (and the DOJ in particular) into a veritable Augean stable on issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, international law and basic human rights, as well as criminal prosecution and federal employment and contracting practices. It has systematically undermined the rule of law in the name of fighting terrorism, and it has sought to insulate its actions from legislative or judicial scrutiny and accountability by invoking national security at every turn, engaging in persistent fearmongering, routinely impugning the integrity and/or patriotism of its critics, and protecting its own lawbreakers. This is neither normal government conduct nor "politics as usual," but a national disgrace of a magnitude unseen since the days of Watergate - which, in fact, I believe it eclipses.

...These are, after all, the same leaders who brought us the WMD fiasco, the unnecessary and disastrous Iraq war, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, warrantless domestic NSA surveillance, the Valerie Wilson leak, the arrest of Brandon Mayfield, and the Katrina response failure. The last thing they deserve is trust.

John S. Koppel has been a civil appellate attorney with the Department of Justice since 1981.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6308408

Posted by crabwalk at 07/11/2007 @ 11:50am
I don't think the guy should resign. It's his business who his sticks his dick into.

this is true for everyone EXCEPT the morality police. they should be hoist on their own petard.

Posted by JOHANNESROLF 07/11/2007 @ 11:46am | ignore this person

Ah but I think the "morality police" are irrelevant.

To hold even THEM to their own morality standards I feel is giving some validity to moarlity police politicians.

Hey the cycle of stupidity has to be broken somewhere....I'm prepared to have the whole political class filled with philandering druggies!

Welcome to the dark side....AKA REALITY Mr. Senator!

Posted by freedomplease at 07/11/2007 @ 12:00pm
JR, go here: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/allcomments?pid=211902&rp g=2. to learn why I have a pie eatin' artist grin.

Posted by crabwalk at 07/11/2007 @ 12:02pm
Posted by MARYBRETBRAD 07/11/2007 @ 01:43am

Posted by MARYBRETBRAD 07/11/2007 @ 09:36am

Repost from same place: It's just NOT FAIR that you have so much time to edumycate some dumbo Liberals who insist on God-less Darwinism but ani't willing to accept its outcome! There's a word for that....mmmmmm...Hypocrites!

Posted by HAPPY 07/11/2007 @ 11:53am

Posted by Happy at 07/11/2007 @ 12:06pm
walk, I'm sorry I missed this the first time around. thank you for calling my attention to it. this boon is surely well deserved. my best wishes.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 12:20pm
Ah but I think the "morality police" are irrelevant.

we have been at their mercy for far too long. it's payback time. there is nothing wrong with holding those in the public eye to a higher standard. that goes for mega stars, major league athletes and yes politicians.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 12:23pm
Posted by JOHANNESROLF 07/11/2007 @ 11:05am |

Hey, JR....guess which President called for across-the-board tax cuts of those 90% rates?

Give ya a hint...wasn't Ike or Nixon.

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 12:43pm
Posted by MARYBRETBRAD 07/11/2007 @ 09:47am

Your so full of shit it isn't funny. We don't have the room here to post ALL the Repug scandals, but your guys are going to jail at a pretty fast clip, so you go ahead and point fingers wherever you want, you boys are all washed up.

Posted by Dr Decibels at 07/11/2007 @ 12:59pm
Posted by DRHAMMER 07/11/2007 @ 11:22am

I LOVE the condom in the cesspool analogy - spot on with that one.

Posted by Dr Decibels at 07/11/2007 @ 1:02pm
Dr. D,

Do you honestly think that D and R makes a difference to how corrupt these guys get? The D guys havn't had control of the Committees in a while, which is the only reason they're not being carted off in the same volume!

Posted by freedomplease at 07/11/2007 @ 1:03pm
erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral.

I believe "fressen" is what animals do..people "essen",

nicht wahr?

Posted by john maasch at 07/11/2007 @ 1:15pm
Maasch, you are correct. fressen in this case was used by the poet for emphasis and to point to the beastly nature of man. Brecht was not an optimist.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 1:22pm
Posted by FREEDOMPLEASE 07/11/2007 @ 1:03pm

Not necessarily. But I don't think the D's are inherently evil, the Repugs have PROVED that they are.

Posted by Dr Decibels at 07/11/2007 @ 1:23pm
And I DO think, when you make your bones spouting off about family values, then fuck around on your wife with hookers, you deserve what you get.

Posted by Dr Decibels at 07/11/2007 @ 1:36pm
Whoa! Is Vitter going to be burned alive forever by Jesus Christ, like Dick Cheney's 2 married gay daughters?

Posted by conshame at 07/11/2007 @ 2:18pm
I would certainly love to see the GOP lose as many seats as possible, but I just don't see why Vitter should resign. There are tons of lawbreakers in Congress. He has done nothing in this instance to undermine his ability to do his job (hell, it probably helped him do his job); there doesn't seem to be any serious conflict of interest issues. Also, prostitution should not be illegal. Vitter is a hypocrite and a liar and I wouldn't want him within 10 feet of me, but such things seem to make a perfect fit in the U.S. Congress.

Posted by BlueSpark at 07/11/2007 @ 2:19pm
Blue, I don't think he'll last. perception is everything.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 2:21pm
Ever notice that the folks who are flying their freak flags the highest are the hyper-moralized "Family Values" types?

That has always facinated me. It's amazing how people who preach such things tend not to live their own lives that way, despite condemning others.

Personally, who this guy paid for sex isn't any of my business. But then again, who was giving Bill Clinton head in the Oval Office wasn't my business, either. The only two people that should have been made to discuss either thing are the women married to these guys. (If I were Vitter, however, I'd have that discussion with metal shorts on. According to a New York Times interview she did during the Clinton impeachment, she's more Lorena Bobbit than Hillary. He and his nuts could soon be parted.)

Also, I don't think that who he's paid to screw him should cost him his job for three reasons:

(1) He's probably not the only guy on this woman's list. Others may be coming out soon. If we resigned every guy (or girl) in Congress who screwed around, some states may never have representation.

(2) Everyone's got their kink. I know some folks who like to be tied up. Others wanna be blindfolded. Others like the whole "group" thing. Some can't get off unless their partner is either covered in food or underwater. Some folks want to go home with their woman's (or man's) panties on their head. It's all a personal choice. I don't think that it should cost you your job....unless you're exercising that choice on the steps of the Capitol Building.

and (3) It has nothing to do with his job. If Vitter was skipping votes to hit this prostitute, then have him kicked to the curb because he's not serving his constituents. But if he's engaging in this behavior and he's still doing his job well and hasn't been arrested, let him live.

That is, until his wife gets ahold of him with that kitchen knife.

Posted by edwriter at 07/11/2007 @ 3:13pm
BTW, the "pox on both houses" guys like FREEDOMPLEASE have it right on this stuff....

Right-wing moralists nailed for nailing hookers are hypocrites...

but so are the left-wingers who get busted for hiring illegal aliens and paying them substandard wages (Zoe Baird, anybody?)...or "environmental activists" like Robert Kennedy Jr. (and his uncle Ted) who demand we go to alternative energy...and then oppose the Cape Wind Project that "just happened" to block the view from the Kennedy Compound.

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 3:39pm
what's wrong with judging the creeps by the same standards they would judge us?

in amsterdam I would not judge a politician for patronizing a prostie. it's legal, it's accepted etc. washington however is a different story. those who judge others harshly, deserve to judged harshly. the madam and the girls could face considerable legal jeopardy. until the laws are changed, and until the moralists let up on everyone else, when hell freezes over, they will be judged by their own standards. by those criteria he should resign.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 3:55pm
Vitter: GUIL-TY, GUIL-TY, GUIL-TY...

Posted by conshame at 07/11/2007 @ 4:17pm
BTW, I'M NOBODY....did you miss my question?

Posted by MASK 07/11/2007 @ 10:31am |

Posted by Mask at 07/11/2007 @ 4:39pm
JOHN MAASCH 07/11/2007 @ 1:15pm

No wonder your posts never make sense. You think in German.

Posted by MyParadigm at 07/11/2007 @ 5:05pm
CRABWALK

So you get to make the leap from craft to art for while. Good, I hope it lasts. A sense of purpose does wonders for the accumulated aches and pains.

Posted by MyParadigm at 07/11/2007 @ 5:07pm
apropos thinking in german. when I first came to this country I dreamed in german. after some time, I noticed that I dreamed in english.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 5:36pm
Republican Scum!!!

Hopefully, the Democrats can expel family values/prostitute seeking Senator Vitter(and don't let him use the rehab excuse as Foley did and is doing) and thereby isolate and eventually destroy Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman's howls to invade Iran should disgust and alarm all thinking people. With Vitter gone, the Democrats can at last punish the treasonous Joe Lieberman.

Posted by Gurman at 07/11/2007 @ 7:50pm
Posted by MYPARADIGM 07/11/2007 @ 5:07pm

I don't consider what i do to be "crafts", but I consider myself a craftsman. Craft is stuff you see at small town art fairs and school craft shows. My stuff is fine art, or at least my clients say so. I am not an "arteest" either, as I have no statements to make. My work is practical and beautiful. I say craftsman because I care about the end product. My work can be told from "crafts" or pottery barn crap instantly because of the level of craftsmanship that goes into it.

Unlike certain republican and democratic politicians, I take pride in my work and want it, and me, to be a positive representation of the entire field of metalsmiths.

Posted by crabwalk at 07/11/2007 @ 9:57pm
walk, you have heard of the arts and crafts movement.

it doesn't have to look like art in order to be art.

Sol LeWitt, one of the great great artists of our time, gave instructions for pencil drawings on walls, which his assistants executed.

one of the features of minimalist art is that the hand of the artist has been removed from the process.

my work is certainly not like that. at the same time I have to say I have no technique. what I do have is a good eye. I know when the work is finished.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/11/2007 @ 11:23pm
no argument about arts and crafts movement. But, I think today crafts are considered to be of lesser quality than art. Maybe that is just my take on it.

Posted by crabwalk at 07/12/2007 @ 10:12am
there is great art, and there are great crafts. the line between the two is not easy to draw.

Posted by johannesrolf at 07/12/2007 @ 1:54pm
Funny how one can use a prostitute and maybe lose a senate seat..and steal $ 90,000, hide it in your freezer, use govt help during the worst disater in your state history...and get elected and appointed to sensitive committees...Both from Louisiana..

The difference?

One is a republican and one is a democrat....

How many articles were written on Jefferson here?...very few...we have had 3 or 4 on Vitter and repubs in how many days..?

Do we need a "Fairness Doctorine" at the Nation..? Hhhmmm

Frank, what do you think?...need a little Limbaugh to balance out here?

Posted by JOHN MAASCH

Ah, here we go again. Let's play the moral equivalency game!

Posted by hhemwm at 07/13/2007 @ 11:01am
"Do we need a "Fairness Doctorine" at the Nation..?"

Fairness?

Senator Vitter's action does not need defenders. What would be "fair" about defending what he did? The Nation does not need to defend him.

Posted by hhemwm at 07/13/2007 @ 11:04am
John, as for The Nation not writing about Congressman Jefferson, why don't you look at the Nation's own article on why they are disappointed Speaker Pelosi didn't try to reprimand and remove him?

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=85828

You want fairness? You should read what they actually published.

Posted by hhemwm at 07/13/2007 @ 11:06am
Not to mention it was John Nichols himself who wrote it!

Posted by hhemwm at 07/13/2007 @ 11:06am