Good New Is Wherever You Can Get It

Via TPM

It's about fucking time this crook was put on trial. I had begun to think somehow it would get swept under the rug in The Republic of Texas. But it seems Tom Delay will finally be brought to trial.

DeLay Money Laundering Case May Finally Be Headed To Trial

Five years after he was charged with conspiracy and money laundering in an alleged scheme to funnel corporate money into the 2002 Texas elections, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may soon stand trial after a ruling by a state appeals court cleared perhaps the final remaining obstacles in the case.

And his lawyer tells TPMmuckraker DeLay couldn't be happier with the state of the case.

"He wants to go to trial. He's been wanting to go to trial from the very beginning," says Dick DeGuerin, the high-profile Texas defense attorney who is representing DeLay. "There's no evidence by any stretch of the imagination that could convict him."

Yea right. We shall see if Delay's giddiness will hold. Al Capone was giddy too, also.

It's Not Easy Being An Obamunist

Senator Jeff Sessions is pre condemning the SCOTUS nominee to replace the retiring John Paul Stephens.

“He said that he wanted a judge who would consider the impact the decision would have on ordinary Americans,” Sessions (R.-Ala.) said in an interview with HUMAN EVENTS. “That’s a call to something other than the law and the facts. That’s a call to something more akin to politics than law. And so again I think the President’s presenting a troubling philosophy, and you have to assume that’s the kind of judge he’s going to nominate.”

Well, we can't have people in government worrying about ordinary Americans, now can we. /wingnut

Another Leap From the Overton Window

The Republican National Committee launched a new website on Wednesday that accuses the president of trying to shred the founding purposes of the Constitution in profound and inflammatory ways, chief among them: nominating sex-offender defenders to high courts.

just speechless. Next thing they will accuse Obama of being a socialist, or maybe not even an American. George Bush gets to torture people and that's called patriotism. Obama, well what has Obama done to shred the constitution. Oh yea, pass universal health care for the country.

The State of Baby Jeevus

Virginia is in a mad dash to outwingnut Arizona, or so it seems.

After months of lobbying by conservative activists, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has quietly reversed a policy banning Virginia State Police troopers from referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers.

I am not sure what constitutes public prayers for State Police Chaplains, but I am confident it means people having to listen to something they object to.

A Tea Baggers Lament

Take note liberals. This is what happens when you force ideological purity on your party and it"s candidates. Independent runs like Charlie Crist are going to make what was a sure GOP senate seat up for grabs by the democratic candidate or now a former republican one. That might well if he wins, decide to caucus with the democrats in the US Senate. Everything in politics is an action/reaction affair, and what seems the purest course to take often comes back to bite you in the ass.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist "is telling key financial backers that he's running for Senate with no party affiliation," the St. Petersburg Times reports.

The announcement is scheduled for 5 p.m. tomorrow in St. Petersburg.

I'd Vote For Her

Looks like Sarah Palin's beauty better is taking the road to politics. She is gorgeous and a Democrat to boot.

The woman who beat Sarah Palin for the beauty queen title of Miss Alaska in 1984 is aiming for the Legislature. Singer and actress Maryline Blackburn of Smyrna, now a 24-year resident of the state, will announce Thursday that she’ll mount a Democratic challenge to Republican incumbent Rich Golick for his House seat.

Blackburn was Alaska’s first African-American representative to the Miss America beauty pageant. Palin, the future GOP vice presidential nominee, was a flute player from Wasilla. She was named Miss Congeniality.

Sarah Palin Miss Congeniality. Wonders never cease.

Wingnuts Follow One Leader At A Time

via Political Wire

And interesting study from Harvard University showing left leaning blogs tend to have multiple front page authors, while right leaning blogs tend to only have a single author. This does not surprise me, as this seems only an extension of top down leadership needs of the conservative psyche. We saw it with lockstep following of George Bush for 8 years as well as GOP controlled congress during those years with folks like Tom "the hammer" Delay calling the shots and republicans always falling in line, even when what they were voting on did not seem all that conservative, such as the Medicare Drug Bill. You can also see it with their impressive message discipline with the media and elsewhere. The problem is however, when the leader they are following leads them down the Primrose Path like Bush and Delay. Democrats value multiple voices and individual opinion, that is a blessing in my opinion, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But it does have drawbacks in rallying public opinion on specific issues up for legislation whereby the multiple opinions tend to confuse the audience, or voters.

A Harvard study of political blogs finds that left-leaning sites "adopt more participatory technical platforms" and "more often use blogs as platforms for mobilization."
Meanwhile, right-leaning blogs are more frequently authored by just one person instead of multiple authors.