The Hollywood Liberal

The Week In Blog: Special Election Edition

The latest The Week In Blog is up at Bloggingheads.tv featuring Kristen Soltis and I as we discuss the NY 26th special election, Elizabeth Warren and the President’s strategy on Isreal-Palestine. Watch it below.

Coming Tuesday: The New ThinkProgress

Great news: On Tuesday, May 31, we’ll unveil a brand new ThinkProgress. You can look forward to lots of new content, new voices, new features and a brand new look.

Over Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be getting the new site set up. The old version of the website will still be available, but we won’t be able to publish new content and some features, like comments, might not be available.

In the meantime, you can still keep up with the latest news by following us on Twitter and Facebook.

We apologize for the inconvenience but we think you’ll agree when you see the new site that it’s well worth it. We’ll fill you in on all the details Tuesday morning. See you then!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

ThinkFast: May 27, 2011

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) defended his involvement in the cover up of disgraced former Sen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) affair, telling CSPAN yesterday that he was “proud” of the way he handled the situation. Coburn’s name was mentioned repeatedly in the Senate Ethics Committee’s damning 75-page report on the scandal, saying Coburn acted as a go-between to try to keep Ensign’s mistress quiet.

President Obama signed an extension of the Patriot Act into law late last night. The law almost lapsed as the debate in Congress was more heated than usual, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) defecting and voting against the bill.

GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said yesterday that he would sign the Medicare-ending Republican budget into law if elected president. “If that was the only bill that came to my desk, and I wasn’t able to pass my own plan, I would sign it,” he said of the hugely unpopular plan.

The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Ellen Weintraub said that the agency has been noticeably less aggressive in enforcing the nation’s campaign finance laws. “The notion that we are a fierce investigative agency that people are quaking in their boots about is probably not the case. If it ever was the case, it certainly is not today,” she said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a major speech in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage yesterday. “I see the pain that the status quo is causing, and I cannot defend it,” he said, calling on New York state legislators vote in favor of marriage equality.

Senate Republicans are using a procedural move to prevent Obama from being able to make recess appointments next week when the chamber is out for Memorial Day recess. The Senate will be in a “pro forma session” during which no business will be conducted, but it blocks Obama from appointing Elizabeth Warren to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Today President Obama and the other leaders of the G8 declared their support for the Arab Spring, pledging up to $20 billion to assist to the political and economic transformation in the Middle East and North Africa. In a statement, the leaders compared the Arab Spring to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Republicans in both chambers introduced legislation yesterday to counteract President Obama’s draft executive order that would require government contractors disclose their political contributions. The legislation comes after the House passed an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would block the draft order.

And finally: While he may not be doing well in the real race, presidential hopeful “Newton Leroy Gingrich” is the clear winner in yearbook race. The Atlantic complied the yearbook photos of the entire 2012 Republican field, revealing an unflattering picture of a bespectacled Gingrich, accompanied by a rather mysterious quote: “Specialization may produce success, but greatness is acquired only through generalization.” A close runner up: Rick Santorum.

Pence: 2012 GOP presidential field will grow

Add Mike Pence of Indiana to the list of House Republicans who think the GOP’s 2012 presidential field is far from settled.

Pence took himself out of the running in January, and earlier this month he announced a bid to succeed term-limited Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R). He said Thursday that he believes the field of presidential contenders is just beginning to take shape.

“Well, I was disappointed that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels decided to forego a run for the presidency in 2012,” Pence said when asked about the current 2012 field. “But I remain confident that the candidates who are in the field — and those that may enter the field — will produce the kind of alternative to this administration that will appeal broadly to the American public.”

Read full article >>

House to vote next week on ending U.S. involvement in Libya

The already-contentious congressional debate over the U.S. intervention in Libya is about to get even more heated.

The House will vote next week on a measure calling on President Obama to end U.S. military involvement in Libya, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) office announced Friday evening.

The measure, sponsored by liberal anti-war Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), cites the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which states that any military operation not previously authorized by Congress must be halted 60 days after the president notifies Congress about the mission.

Read full article >>

Obama praises Poland’s transition to democracy; calls it a leader in Europe and the world

WARSAW, Poland — President Barack Obama praised Poland’s early democratic leaders as an inspiration to the world Saturday, and encouraged them to share their experiences breaking free from the grip of communism with people in the Middle East and North Africa who are seeking greater freedoms.

Obama met here in Poland’s capital with dozens of leaders of Poland’s Solidarity movement, as well as civil society leaders, some of whom have already traveled to Tunisia where popular uprisings led to the overthrow of a longtime autocrat and sparked the protest movements that swept throughout the region.

Read full article >>

Texas Gov. Perry may weigh a bid for the GOP presidential nod

Texas Gov. Rick Perry acknowledged Friday that he will consider a bid for president, reversing his past opposition to the race and setting up a period of intense speculation about whether he will run and whether he can win.

“I’m gonna think about it,” Perry said when asked about the presidential race.

Perry chief of staff Ray Sullivan said earlier this week that the praise the governor has won from the likes of conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh — among others — has made an impact.

Read full article >>

Following Sarah Palin’s bus tour

We’re following former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s bus tour through the Northeast, a trip that has renewed speculation about her presidential ambitions.

Details on the tour are still hazy. As of Friday afternoon, all Palin has said is that she will travel from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C. on Sunday through New England, visiting “our nation’s rich historical sites.”

The trip will include a stop on Friday in New Hampshire, a state Palin has not visited since 2008. She also plans to visit the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Antietam and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

Read full article >>

The Goal Shifts in Libya
Eric Schmitt & David Sanger, New York Times
President Obama has subtly shifted Washington’s public explanation of its goals in Libya, declaring now that he wants to assure the Libyan people are “finally free of 40 years of tyranny” at the hands of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, after first stating he wanted to protect civilians from massacres.Abandoned tanks are scavenged for parts for rebels at a Libyan Army base in Ajdabiya that was destroyed by NATO airstrikes.

What Texas Can Teach Us
Michael Barone, Washington Examiner
If you want to see a place where the private sector in America has been booming and generating jobs, you should look at Texas. That’s my take from these absolutely fascinating numbers compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics figures by The Business Journals, tracking the increase or decrease in private sector jobs in the ten years between April 2001 and April 2011. Any precise ten-year period is somewhat arbitrary, of course, since the two endpoints can fall at different points in the business cycle, and so picking different starting and end points will produce…

Where Are the Obama Scandals?
Brendan Nyhan, UVA Center for Politics
One of the least remarked upon aspects of the Obama presidency has been the lack of scandals. Since Watergate, presidential and executive branch scandal has been an inescapable feature of the American presidency, but the current administration has not yet suffered a major scandal, which I define as a widespread elite perception of wrongdoing. What happened, and what are the odds that the administration’s streak will continue?Obama has been extremely fortunate: My research on presidential scandals shows that few presidents avoid scandal for as long as he has. In the 1977-2008 period,…

Obama Burned by Toast
When the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast to Queen Elizabeth Tuesday night, the meticulously planned state dinner at Buckingham Palace turned awkward. When Obama said the words “to her majesty the Queen,” it caused the band present to play Britain’s national anthem, leaving the president alone in his toast.

Late Late Night FDL: Beck (and Page)
Jeff Beck — Beck’s Bolero, Immigrant Song (with Jimmie Page), and The Peter Gunn Theme, at Beck’s 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Jeff Beck — Beck’s Bolero, Immigrant Song (with Jimmie Page), and The Peter Gunn Theme, at Beck’s 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

What’s on your mind?

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Exclusive: Ry Cooder’s ‘No Banker Left Behind’
The legendary musician tells Robert Scheer that his new album, including a song inspired by one of Scheer’s columns, was written out of feeling frustrated, helpless and angry with current events.

The legendary musician tells Robert Scheer that his new album, including a song inspired by one of Scheer’s columns, was written out of feeling frustrated, helpless and angry with current events.

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Ain’t Nothin’ but a Guy Thing
Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery just won “American Idol,” making him the sixth guy to win in 10 competitions. That’s not so unbalanced overall, but McCreery is the fourth male singer in the last four years to win. Viewers of the show select the winner, either by phone, text or online. This year Fox recorded 122 million votes.

Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery just won “American Idol,” making him the sixth guy to win in 10 competitions. That’s not so unbalanced overall, but McCreery is the fourth male singer in the last four years to win. Viewers of the show select the winner, either by phone, text or online. This year Fox recorded 122 million votes.

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• May 23, 2011 Syria Turns Facebook on Protesters
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