Slacker Friday

Slacker Friday

Campaign finance and the big deal with John Edwards.

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We’ve got a new "Think Again" column called "Tea Party/Fox Party" aboutsome of the implications of Massachusetts here.

And I don’t actually defend John Edwards here on The Daily Beast, but I do wonder exactly what the big deal is.

Finally, I’ll be on Bill Moyers’ show tonight, which is rebroadcast Sunday night, talking about Obama’s first year. They have an excellent website, which is here.

I didn’t get a chance to talk to Bill about the Supreme Court decision of yesterday, which is too bad, because it’s really worrisome. And what really sucks about this decision is not only lack of control of the money but also the fact that this is the most irresponsible andunaccountable kind of money. The Willie Horton ads were produced by this kind of expenditure, at an arms length from Lee Atwater and the Bush campaign (though Roger Stone now says Atwater asked him to do it…). So the court has done real injustice to the quality of our democracy.

The Mail:

Name: Brian Donohue

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

I was amazed at Egan’s "center-right" claim in today’s Times,in part because of the data amassed by the author of this very blog (in Why We’re Liberals) that proves we are far more center left. Anyway, I have more on all that here. Note the true story about Bolton making the same claim inside the BBC studio as the ’08 election returns came in.

Name: Eric Gebert

Hometown: Montrose, NY

That was a great lecture you gave at the Center for Inquiry NYC. There is a great article at Washingtonmonthly.com by Mariah Blake titled "Revisionaries"…Texas Conservatives are trying to re-write history…This quote depressed me…"’Evolution is hooey’….’The secular humanists may argue that we are a secular nation,’ McLeroy said, jabbing his finger in the air for emphasis. ‘But we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. The way I evaluate history textbooks is first I see how they cover Christianity and Israel. Then I see how they treat Ronald Reagan–he needs to get credit for saving the world from communism and for the good economy over the last twenty years because he lowered taxes.’" Well, Mr. Alterman you said you were depressed last night…well now I am depressed after reading this article…Thomas Paine is rolling over in his grave!

Name: Tony DeSantis

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

What happend in Massachusetts was a superior candidate working his butt off to beat an inferior candidate who took a two week vacation after the primary. In special elections, the superior campaigner always beats an inferior candidate. That’s all there is to this.

If we can’t get health care reform passed with the still overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate, then we don’t deserve to be in the majority.

Next time, I’m voting for Howard Dean.

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