The Hollywood Liberal

McCain?s new ?Complete the Danged Fence? ad features the wrong sheriff.
In his attempt to portray himself as more right-wing than his far-right senatorial competitor J.D. Hayworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) put out a new ad this past weekend called “Complete The Danged Fence.” In it the ad, McCain is walking along the border in the southern Arizona town of Nogales, telling Sheriff Paul Babeu about […]

In his attempt to portray himself as more right-wing than his far-right senatorial competitor J.D. Hayworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) put out a new ad this past weekend called “Complete The Danged Fence.” In it the ad, McCain is walking along the border in the southern Arizona town of Nogales, telling Sheriff Paul Babeu about his 10-point border security plan:

BABEU: We’re out-manned. Of all the illegals in America, more than half come through Arizona.

MCCAIN: Do we have the right plan?

BABEU: Plan’s perfect. You bring troops, state, county, and local law enforcement together.

MCCAIN: And complete the danged fence.

BABEU: It’ll work this time. Senator, you’re one of us.

Watch it:

There’s something wrong with McCain’s video: Nogales is in Santa Cruz County. Babeu, however, is from Pinal County, which is 115 miles north in central Arizona:

As Andrea Nill explains on the Wonk Room, “Chances are McCain didn’t feature a local border town police chief because that person probably would’ve told him his ten-point plan is a waste of manpower and resources.” Indeed, the assistant police chief in Nogales has said that they have not “witnessed any spillover violence from Mexico.” The Santa Cruz County sheriff has also said that the state’s new anti-immigration law — which McCain called a “good tool” — is downright racist.

Flashback: McConnell And DeMint Praised Harriet Miers’ ‘Wealth’ Of ‘Great Experience’
Soon after President Obama announced that he had nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY) and Jim DeMint (SC) attacked his choice because Kagan has never served as a judge: MCCONNELL: “She’s the least qualified in terms of judicial experience in 38 years. Now some would argue that […]

Soon after President Obama announced that he had nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY) and Jim DeMint (SC) attacked his choice because Kagan has never served as a judge:

MCCONNELL: “She’s the least qualified in terms of judicial experience in 38 years. Now some would argue that maybe we need to have people who don’t have judicial experience. I saw a survey indicating that about 70 percent of the American people think that judicial experience is a good idea for somebody who is going to be on the Supreme Court.”

DEMINT: “I’m concerned that she has no judicial experience to give Americans confidence that she will be impartial in her decisions.”

Yet back in 2005, both DeMint and McConnell praised Harriet Miers’ nomination to the Supreme Court before she withdrew. Like Kagan, Miers had no previous judicial experience, yet both GOP senators expressed admiration for Miers, specifically citing her “experience”:

MCCONNELL: “Ms. Miers has an exemplary record of service to our country. She will bring to the Court a lifetime of experience in various levels of government, and at the highest levels of the legal profession. She is a woman of tremendous ability and very sound judgment. … Ms. Miers has great experience in government as well, at the local, state, and federal levels. …She is well qualified to join the nation’s highest court. … She will make a fine addition to the Supreme Court, and I look forward to her confirmation.”

DEMINT: “Ms. Miers would bring a wealth of personal experience to the Supreme Court. I expect she will show that she has the intelligence, fairness, and open-mindedness needed to serve on the Court.”

Some of McConnell’s and DeMint’s GOP colleagues recognize the importance of having other professional experiences beyond serving as a judge. “It can be very valuable to have an individual who has a background other than that of being a judge,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said of Kagan, adding, “So I do not see that as being a problem at all.” Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) expressed similar sentiments. “I think that having some judges without judicial experience is not bad thing,” he said yesterday. And today on ABC’s Top Line, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said, “Some said, ‘Well she’s not a sitting judge.’ Well I don’t think that’s a disqualification. Some of the greatest justices in history never sat in a court room.”

Indeed, out of the 111 justices who have served on the Supreme Court, 41 had no prior judicial experience before Senate confirmation — including former Chief Justices Earl Warren and conservative William Rehnquist. And as the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein noted, Rehnquist “would be considered something of a novice by the standards some are applying to Kagan.”

Offshore drilling agency to undergo radical overhaul, Salazar announces
The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would radically overhaul the obscure government agency that oversees offshore drilling operations, under scrutiny since the oil rig explosion in the gulf.


Business – Minerals Management Service – Energy – Oil and Gas – Service Companies

Financial overhaul pits military against car dealers
In the battle to overhaul the nation’s financial regulations, a lobbying effort by the world’s most powerful military force may have met its match in the local car dealer.


Business – Automotive – Sales – Business and Economy – Canada

Abortion could be sleeper issue in Supreme Court confirmation process
In the hours after President Obama introduced Elena Kagan as his choice for the Supreme Court, there was little talk about her position on abortion, an issue that has faded from the political forefront during the past year’s economic crises.



United States – Supreme Court – Supreme Court – Elena Kagan – United States – Barack Obama

The Plum Line: Joe Sestak could actually beat Specter
Tomorrow, a third poll will come out finding Joe Sestak is leading Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Dem primary. The poll, from Franklin & Marshall College, will mirror others showing Sestak ahead by around five points, the poll’s director confirms to me.


Joe Sestak – Arlen Specter – Democratic – United States – Senate

Don’t Strip Terrorism Suspects of Rights
Erwin Chemerinsky, LA Times
Last week, following the attempted bombing in Times Square, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) proposed that those aiding foreign terrorist activity should be stripped of their citizenship. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly agreed, with a few reservations, that the idea had merits.On Sunday, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said on morning news shows that Congress should consider legislation that would allow questioning of terrorism suspects without warning them of their right to remain silent, as required by the Supreme Court in…

Greek Warning: U.S. Must Reform Before It’s Too Late

Whatever It Takes? Kagan and the Elite
David Brooks, New York Times
About a decade ago, one began to notice a profusion of Organization Kids at elite college campuses. These were bright students who had been formed by the meritocratic system placed in front of them. They had great grades, perfect teacher recommendations, broad extracurricular interests, admirable self-confidence and winning personalities.If they had any flaw, it was that they often had a professional and strategic attitude toward life. They were not intellectual risk-takers. They regarded professors as bosses to be pleased rather than authorities to be challenged. As one admissions director…