Moe Lane

Kerry’s going to take a bit of heat from my side of the spectrum for this exchange:

Read more

Robotic Menace (to the world in general, and Sydney Poitier in particular) Mecha-Streisand Entertainer Barbra Streisand, not being content with contributing to Gephardt being gutted like a cod on a Atlantic trawler* having discovered that she has a taste for Democratic politics, has apparently decided to permanently associate the current Democratic candidate with her name, politics and inability to do basic research throw Senator Kerry a party. I am actually feeling sorry for the man, now: I mean, he has to be nice to people like Streisand, not to mention actually pretend to take her seriously. I wouldn’t go into politics if my life depended on it hope they all have a good time. I watch helplessly, every day, as my cobloggers suck up all the important stories, leaving me nothing but scraps and Barbra Fragging Streisand to blog about** always find this sort of thing interesting.

Via Wonkette Wonkette

UPDATE: On reflection, deliberately misspelling the names wasn’t as funny as I imagined it being, so I fixed it.

Read more

As a general rule of thumb, when writing your own alternate history scenarios in response to other people’s alternate history scenarios, it helps if you can demonstrate at least a cursory knowledge of your subject matter. Like, say, knowing exactly what impeachment entails, the non parliamentary nature of the United States government, minor little details like that. As for being humorless and heavy-handed, well, Willis and Easterbrook were about even there anyway. Finally, when you get caught out, don’t get huffy about it.

(UPDATE: The mockery ends here, btw.)

Still, it’s a good question: how would have things gone under a hypothetical Gore administration? In my admittedly odd and heretical opinion: pretty much the same as under Bush. In my opinion, the recession, 9/11 and the Afghanistan invasion would have happened pretty much on schedule; as for Iraq… six month delay at most, more likely three, possibly even no delay at all, depending on how little said h.G.a. felt like humoring the UN. About the most significant difference would probably be that we’d probably have a Democratic Senate, maybe a Democratic House (I kind of doubt it, but it’s possible)… and a lot more lip service support from certain foreign countries. Everything else? Same old, same old: there’d be a recovering economy (none of this stuff about tax cuts and interest rates, it’s all about appeasing the economic gods with the appropriate animal sacrifices), a seething Iraq and a scandal-ridden UN* in this alternate, too.

As to how well Gore would have handled this… if you want to believe that he would have solved it all and wrapped it up in a bow, knock yourself out; likewise to those who’d consider the “We’d All Be Doomed” scenario to be more likely. We’re never going to know either way – or even if a third option (“Eh. He got through it, some good here, some bad there, got lucky a few times, got knocked back once or twice”) would have been the end result.

Read more

Hey, you guys remember Senator John McCain? You know, the Republican who was the subject of speculation that he was going to be offered Kerry’s Veep slot? The Republican that CW’s designated as most likely to be praised by Democrats? Him?

Well, he put the knife in tonight on national TV:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Trying to stamp out speculation that he might consider joining Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s ticket, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona insisted Sunday that he would not do so under any circumstances.

He said he would campaign and vote for President Bush in the fall, despite their policy differences.

“No, no and no. I will not leave the Republican Party. I cherish the ideals and principles of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan,” he said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

(emphasis mine)

Now, personally I think that you can find the ideals and principles of at least the first two in the Democratic Party, too (I think that it’s a bit early for everyone to be comfortable with feeling all bipartisan about Ronnie), but then again I’m not the Republican Senator responsible for deliberately screwing over Democratic fundraising efforts for probably the rest of the decade (I’m also not up for reelection this year, either). Granted, this SOB is on my side, but we already have enough people in both parties ready to slap at outstretched hands, thanks; no need to encourage the process.

Just… stop encouraging him, ‘kay*? It’s painful to watch, sometimes.

(Via Centerfield)

Read more

Differences in opinion with Roman Catholic bishops, that’s what (via The World Wide Rant:

BOSTON, April 11 — Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders, Senator John Kerry received communion at Easter services today at the Paulist Center here, a kind of New Age church that describes itself as “a worship community of Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition” and that attracts people drawn to its dedication to “family religious education and social justice.”

Mr. Kerry’s decision to receive communion represented a challenge to several prominent Catholic bishops, who have become increasingly exasperated with politicians who are Catholic but who deviate from Catholic teaching.

Not that we’re precisely alike; Senator Kerry is still attending Mass, while I haven’t entered a Roman Catholic church since August of 2003. That previous sentence should be read as approving towards Kerry and disapproving towards me, just so we’re clear: he’s right to go and I’m wrong to stay away (those interested in why can see it below the fold: fair warning, it’s long, involved and quite possibly self-indulgent).

Read more