Just POlitics

CBS betrayal

The NY Post offers an account of the investigation into the Tom Burkett memo and the downfall of Dan Rather:

Cameras rolling, Mr. Rather had asked Mr. Burkett, his former source—whom he had once promised not to "hang out"—point-blank, if he had misled the network about their provenance.

The former National Guardsman, knowing he was writing his own epitaph, said he had.

"I looked him in the eye," recalled Mr. Burkett, "and I said, ‘Dan, do you know what you just did to me? Will you attend my funeral?’"

And, according to Mr. Burkett, Dan Rather replied: "Will you attend mine? In fact, I want you to read the eulogy."

Afterward, said Mr. Burkett, "Dan couldn’t look me in the eye."

Social Security ditched?

Sen. Lindsey Graham told the Washington Post that the Social Security issue is off in the ditch:

"We've now got this huge fight over a sideshow," Graham said during a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors. "It's always been a sideshow, but we sold it as the main event. [Critics are] attacking it as the undoing of Social Security. That's what frustrates me -- that we're off in a ditch over a sideshow, and there's plenty of blame to go around."

Conservatives pushing for judges

The NY Times is reporting on a coordinated effort to get President Bush’s judicial appointments confirmed:

Conservative groups are ramping up efforts to organize in the home states of Democratic senators they hope might be persuaded not to block the president's judicial nominees, especially focusing on Democratic senators up for re-election in 2006 who are from states where Mr. Bush did well. Democratic senators have used filibusters to block 10 of Mr. Bush's judicial nominees and pose an obstacle to potential Supreme Court candidates.

Gary Marx, a former Bush campaign aide who worked as a liaison aide to conservative groups, is directing a new organization, Judicial Confirmation Network, to build coalitions of conservative groups to pressure senators in pivotal states. "Ultimately, the Supreme Court nomination process comes down to how U.S. senators vote, and voters in battleground states are crucial," Mr. Marx said.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, whose organization is working with Mr. Marx, said his group and its state affiliates were lobbying state legislatures to pass resolutions urging their senators not to block the president's nominees. He said the group had used a similar tactic in South Dakota to make former Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic minority leader, appear out of step when he opposed nominees.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, another group working with Mr. Marx, said his group planned to borrow from its campaigns opposing same-sex marriage last year, including using telecasts to churches in pivotal states around the country.

Social Security ad campaigns

The LA Times reports on the ad wars for both sides concerning Social Security:

Opposing advocacy groups launched ad campaigns Tuesday to sway public opinion on President Bush's plan to restructure Social Security and let younger workers open private investment accounts.

...One ad opposing Bush's plan features a middle-aged couple worried about the effect of falling stock prices on their retirement income. It mimics the Harry and Louise campaign that contributed to the collapse of President Clinton's healthcare initiative a decade ago.

...A far costlier effort was unveiled Tuesday by Progress for America, a conservative advocacy group with close ties to the White House. The $2-million "iceberg" campaign features a 60-second television ad that will run for three weeks on national cable networks.

..."We're starting to move into the mass-marketing phase of this effort," said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group in Arlington, Va., which tracks political ad spending. "It's the biggest TV ad buy that we've seen … but this will probably seem small compared to what's going to get spent over the next 90 days."

Bush wins U.N. cloning vote

"The United States and the international community have now spoken clearly that human cloning is an affront to human dignity and that we must work together to protect human life," President Bush said.

The U.N. assembly voted 84-34, with 37 abstentions, to approve a non-binding statement on cloning.

Pro-Life wins Senate vote

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, N.Y. Democrat, proposed an amendment to the bankruptcy bill being debated in the Senate specifying that pro-life protesters cannot file bankruptcy to avoid paying fines and court judgments against them. The amendment was defeated on a 53-46 vote.

In the past, this amendment caused the House of Representatives to defeat the bankruptcy reform bill. It is likely that the reform bill will pass this session of congress.