Cheers and Jeers: Tuesday

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

In our latest installment of Yes, We're All Staring at YOU! (now available on marble slabs at fine cemetery monument dealers---I wanted to try a new distribution channel), Daily Kos stalwart DavidNYC takes a grillin' in the chair that makes farty noises when you move around in it:

What first attracted you to Daily Kos?
The fact that Markos deliberately set out to create an environment where you could have interesting discussions about political strategy without the inevitable descent into a left-right flamewar. Prior to discovering blogs, I used to spend some time on the message boards at Slate, and political conversations there always wound up as holy wars between liberals and conservatives. Daily Kos was a haven from all that---something I was grateful for almost right away.

You've been a contributing editor at Daily Kos for eighty percent of half a decade. What has surprised you most about its evolution?
In fact, I've been hanging around DK since 2002, which is about 99 Internet years ago. The changes the site has undergone have been nothing short of amazing over that timeframe, but what has surprised me most is that now, we matter. Back at the start, I think a lot of us felt like we were voices in the wind, too few in number and unpopular in our views to ever be heard. Today, we're the largest political community in the country, we've helped to elect great candidates to office, and people take us very seriously indeed.

You're a life-long New Yorker and Democrat. Why do you think there isn't a federal Martin Van Buren holiday yet?
You know, except for Al Gore, Martin Van Buren was the only Democrat ever to win a presidential election directly after another Democrat (in this case Andy Jackson) had been elected to and served two full terms. They should do a joint holiday for Old Kinderhook and Al, Jr.

What kind of music makes you feel invincible to the GOP horde?
This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but just the other day, I was at the gym and, while I was on the elliptical trainer, the Faulkner Howard Dean remix (MP3) came up on my iPod. Listen to it if you haven't yet. I swear that I got seriously charged up and totally upped my pace. The good doctor was good for my cardio workout! Otherwise, there's nothing like Elvis Costello for pumping me up.

You're an attorney. Which is more stimulating: prosecuting or defending?
I'll go with prosecuting. Some day, someone is gonna march Karl Rove into the courthouse in handcuffs. When that day comes, every Democratic attorney, myself included, is going to wish they had applied for that DOJ job way back when.

You're the publisher of the Swing State Project. As it stands now, how many House and Senate seats do you think we'll pick up in November?
In the wake of all of our special election victories---especially Travis Childers in MS-01---I'm feeling really good. I think we could take another 30 House seats and another 6 Senate seats, like we did last cycle.

What have been the best and worst things about the 2008 election season for you?
Same answer for both: There are just so many amazing Democrats running so many amazing races around the country, I can't possibly follow them all. Mind you, this is a very good problem to have. But sometimes I feel like I'm gorging on candy---or crack.

What's the one book every Kossack must read?
The Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. So awesome, and with a fascinating alternate history political backdrop as well.

You're a Mets fan. Are you gonna win all the marbles this year?
I'm a Mets fan, a Democrat and a Jew, so that means I'm a pessimist by nature. I'm breaking with tradition by being so rosy about the Dems this year, so I'm going to have to play my usual role and be a total wet blanket about the Mets. Wait 'til next year!

Finish this sentence: In the kitchen I make a mean...
Sous chef. My wife is the cooking genius in our family. I have developed excellent peeling, chopping and dicing skills, though. When she needs that bowl of sliced tomatoes, I am at the ready!

What do you do for fun when you're not workin' the blogs?
I have become way too addicted to Guitar Hero on the Wii. Expect a showdown between me and Scout Finch at Netroots Nation.

If you were in charge of messaging for the Democratic presidential candidate, how would you position John McCain?
McCain sure has lost his bearings on the way to the nomination, hasn't he? :) That line definitely got under their skin. I'd keep at it relentlessly.
No waffling here: dogs or cats?
I'll go with dogs. Though I am not at all a pet person, I admire their loyalty---I've always considered myself a "Yellow Dog" Democrat!

What are your favorite blogs besides Daily Kos and the Swing State Project?
I like a lot of the smaller blogs which focus on politics at the state level---sites like The Albany Project (NY), Blue Jersey (NJ), and Cotton Mouth (MS), for instance.

I have one question left, but I'm late for my Elitist 101 class (today's lesson is Emergency Elbow Patch Repair).  Please ask and answer the final question yourself...

Someone asked me today to name two sleeper races this year, one in the Senate and one in the House. I thought that was a great question. For the former, I really dig Andrew Rice in Oklahoma. He has an appealing bio, has raised good money (especially for a small state), and is running against one of the number one demons in the Republican caucus---global warming uber-denialist Jim Inhofe. Rice could definitely gain some traction here.

On the House side, I like a ton of candidates, but one semi-under-the-radar race I'm keenly following is Rabbi Dennis Shulman's in NJ-05. Like Rice, he's got a compelling personal story, has done pretty well with fundraising, and is going up against Scott Garrett, who is probably the most conservative Republican in Congress north of the Mason-Dixon line. In a blue year like this one, Shulman could do well.

Many thanks to all the front-pagers who have taken time out of their busy lives to be a part of this series so you can get to know them better. (Wait'll they hear about my slumber party idea!) Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Note: See that guy in the middle of the crowd?  I think he was planted by the Obama campaign to stir people up.

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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the first official Obama/McCain debate, Sept. 26 at the University of Mississippi: 129
Months from today 'til Bush and Cheney leave office: 8
Number of delegates up for grabs in Kentucky and Oregon, respectively: 60, 65
Number of copies of Barack Obama's two books sold since January: 94,000
Factor by which this exceeds sales of the 17 books by Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee and John McCain in the same period: 4
(Source: Harper's Index)
Number of registered Kossacks as of Sunday afternoon: 163,988
(Source: jotter)
Boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold by Jennifer Sharpe of Dearborn, Michigan this season: 17,323 (a record)

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Tuesday Morning Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:

Keith Olberman [sic] is a talentless hack douchebag. I cannot believe that MSNBC has not been forced to apologize. He ought to be fired. What a worthless piece of shit.
---cblesz at Little Green Footballs

All together now: One...two...three... Classy!!!

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Puppy Pic of the Day: Stampede!!

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CHEERS to today's double-header.  Not that there's a whole lot of suspense involved, but the results of today's Kentucky and Oregon primaries could give Barack Obama a majority of pledged delegates.  If so, it could also make history for me personally---the first time in 20 years that the candidate I backed from the beginning actually became the nominee.  (Gary Hart---[sniff!]---you and I came this close to having it all!)

CHEERS to "Barry O'Bomber."  The latest issue of Men's Fitness features an eclectic group of professionals called The 2008 MF25.  Among the fittest men in America: Golfer Tiger Woods, Chef Curtis Stone, investment securities specialist Ed Donner, and a certain presidential contender:

Illinois senator [Barack Obama] starts every day with a morning workout, whether it’s machines at the hotel gym or a brisk 45-minute run.  He’s also quit smoking. ...  He’s also, as we’ve seen, a bit of a baller.  Nicknamed "Barry O’Bomber" for his jump shot, the former high school hoopster now releases stress during pickup games---including one on every primary day.  "He’s wiry-looking but actually pretty strong," former Duke player and Obama staffer Reggie Love has said.  "And he hates losing.  He plays hard."

Incidentally, Obama becomes the first presidential contender to make the list since Calvin Coolidge bent steel bars with his thighs.

JEERS to fallen heroes.  Oh Mac, say it ain't so!  A McCain campaign bigwig---part of the D.C. lobbyist bloc the "maverick" swears he hates---resigned for unconscionable skullduggery.  And then another resigned.  And another.  And another.  And then yesterday...another.  Which, if my math is correct, leaves McCain with exactly one person left on his senior campaign staff: his mom.

CHEERS to Jimmy Stewart.  And Happy 100th Birthday to one of the few actors whom I'd watch in absolutely anything except porn.  He had more great roles than we can count, but here are two favorite moments from each end of his life: learning from Jean Arthur how a bill winds its way through the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and his Tonight Show tribute to his dog Beau that always reduces me to rubble.  How come actors like him never become governor or president?

JEERS to damning evidence.  Oh, this is not good.  Mass graves have been discovered from the Korean War, and our hands---surprise!---are not clean:

With U.S. military officers sometimes present, and as North Korean invaders pushed down the peninsula, the southern army and police emptied South Korean prisons, lined up detainees and shot them in the head, dumping the bodies into hastily dug trenches.  Others were thrown into abandoned mines or into the sea.  Women and children were among those killed.  Many victims never faced charges or trial.

The mass executions---intended to keep possible southern leftists from reinforcing the northerners---were carried out over mere weeks and were largely hidden from history for a half-century.  They were "the most tragic and brutal chapter of the Korean War," said historian Kim Dong-choon, a member of a 2-year-old government commission investigating the killings.

You probably don't think that this could possibly have a really funny punchline involving a clown who slips on a pie and falls into a vat of carrot juice and then a little clown-car ambulance arrives to drop off a team of dwarf "doctors" who chase him around with a four-foot-long syringe as confetti cannons go off around them.  And you would be right.

CHEERS to Chris Matthews.  Last week, as you probably know by now, he took a Republican radio host hack behind the woodshed for spewing right-wing talking points without knowing what he was talking about.  Once the adrenaline rush of Matthews' tenacious take-down dissipates, there are two broader lessons for us all.  1) Know your history before you use it to prove a point.  And 2) Hitler wasn't "appeased" by Neville Chamberlain.  Everyone knows it was Wilt.

CHEERS to words of wisdom from...President Bush.  Credit where credit's due.  I agree with him:

"Laws shouldn't bail out lenders," Bush said after getting an economic update from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.  "Laws shouldn't help speculators.  The government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes."

(Okay, here's the real reason I highlighted that: next time a right-winger accuses me of blind loyalty I can say, "Not so fast, Buckaroo...why, I praised your guy just the other day."  It shuts 'em up.  But, uh, Shhhh...our secret, 'k?)

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One Year Ago in C&J: May 20, 2007...

"TA TA, LUV" to Tony Blair.  The British Prime Minister made one last appearance at the White House before he steps down next month.  When asked if he regretted the close relationship with Bush that led to his downfall, he said "Arf!" and then peed on the president's leg.  Good boy.

CHEERS to Shocking Moments in American History.  Apparently the White House and Senators from both parties reached a compromise on immigration yesterday.  They unanimously agreed to build a giant wall around Lou Dobbs.

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And just one more...

CHEERS to exposing the wankers behind the curtain (h/t to Kossack Lava20).  This parody ad for Big Coal is brilliant.  Mix folksy music, picture-perfect backdrops, actors posing as working class patriots, generic dialogue in snippets of a dozen words or less ("Electricity comes from the walls in my home, where I live."), and a dreamy slow-mo pace...and you can convince people that dog turds are diamonds.  I bet if someone tested this in a few markets, coal consumption would actually increase there.  Braaaaa...vo.

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Oh, and here's good news: I don't think we'll have to worry about flight delays much longer.  Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:

"Everybody likes the idea of being a superhero, and Cheers and Jeers is all about expanding the capabilities of a human."
---Stephen Jacobsen
Sarcos, Inc..

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