Lay down, Democrats!

The Plame Game Watch

Plame Plame Bo Bame, Banana Fana Fo Fame, Me My Mo Mame. Pla-ame!

We don't seem to be hearing too much about Plame these days. I guess it is perfectly all right with conservatives and the media for White House officials to commit felonious treason, as long as the victim is a political enemy. I must have missed that memo.

David Neiwert has put together a very cogent essay on the Plame affair with three main points: that the Plame scandal matters, that timings of phone calls do not matter, and that the White House, at the very least, has completely failed to live up to its responsibilities to this country to prosecute security breaches.

On a related issue, Bush is really mad that there are leaks in his White House. Not that he will do anything to punish leakers when they commit actual crimes, but he is fighting mad about it! This article contains this delightful couplet of paragraphs. File this under irony, hilarious, examples of:

Concerned about the appearance of disarray and feuding within his administration as well as growing resistance to his policies in Iraq, President Bush - living up to his recent declaration that he is in charge - told his top officials to "stop the leaks" to the media, or else.

News of Bush's order leaked almost immediately.

Unilateral Disarmament Watch

Republicans want Democrats to give up. They want them to lay down and play dead. They want to be able to criticize them up and down, and they don't want to be criticized. The media agrees with this view. And remarkably, many Democrats seem more than willing to oblige them. My advice to Democrats is for them not to unilaterally disarm. Because the Republicans will certainly not make the discourse more civilized on their own. Why should they? Uncivil discourse (and a sycophantic press) has brought them more success than they have ever had before.

Now, when Democrats actually have the nerve to criticize this miserable failure of a President, some conservative media people get the vapors and go all woozy about how our "national conversation" has been "degraded", and start talking about how Democrats should be more polite. Like Republicans have ever been held to that standard by the press.

Digby has written a hilarious response to one of Will Saletan's more egregious posts on this subject, where Saletan poses as an independent. I offer it up here as comic relief for people who have had too much serious politics for this early in the day. It is entitled "Lord Peerless". Here is an excerpt:

Isn't it refreshing to read the words of a distinguished Independent who can see through the shenanigans of both Parties and expose them for the cynical manipulative jacknapes they are? His Grace, Lord Saleton, the Duke of Slate delivers a thorough dressing down to those nasty odiferous Democrats that would make even a heathen Jacobite realize that it is all so very silly to be a partisan. Its much better to remove ones self from the lower orders who muck about in the political mud, splashing it willy nilly on their betters.

Lying Liars Watch

I found this editorial entitled "Bush 9/11 Admission Gets Little Play : Story Doesn't Make Many Front Pages" in which the author scratches his head a little at the prospect of Bush just coming right out and admitting the justification of the Iraq war is a lie, and it not getting much play in the US media. Huh. I wonder why that would be? Here's a sample:

So when President George Bush admitted on Wednesday, for the first time, that there was "no evidence that Hussein was involved with the September 11th" attacks, one would assume that would be big news and an opportunity for the press to make up for past failings.

And according to some newspapers, it was a big story. The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune (both owned by the Tribune Co.) ran front-page stories on the revelation Thursday. But an analysis of most major American newspapers found the story either buried deep within the paper -- or completely absent.

GOP Hypocrisy Watch

The latest from This Modern World reminds of the fascinating things which don't seem to be that much of a big deal anymore. Things like sexual misconduct, drug abuse, etc. Gee, I wonder why the change?