The Hollywood Liberal

So Scott McClellan has come forward to denounce the Bush administration about just about everything they did the entire time he stood out in front of the press and spouted the most bald face lies with a straight face that anyone has ever told and apparently gotten away with. I beleive everything Scott is saying this time because I reported them all here. That Bush had used “propaganda” to decieve everyone into backing him on The Iraq War, which McClellan now says was a huge blunder. McClellan also implicates Rove, Libby, Rumsfeld, and possibly even the big guy, Dick Cheney.

The one thing that I don’t believe about Scottys assertions is that he did not know anything about any of this. He knew he was lying, but I’m still glad he wrote the book. Scotty explains

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, speaking out for the first time since publication of his searing memoir, told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he erroneously believed what President Bush was saying about the war but now is answering to a higher loyalty: “a loyalty to the truth.”

“The White House would prefer that I not talk openly about my experiences,” he said in a lengthy, at times combative interview with anchor Meredith Vieira. “These words didn’t come to me easy. … I’m disappointed that things didn’t turn out the way we all hoped they would.”

He added: “I have a higher loyalty than my loyalty necessary to my past work. That’s a loyalty to the truth.”

H.L.’s Take
Yeah Scotty now you have a loyalty to the truth, now that you have this book for sale that you can make a bunch of cash on. Sure you’re pissed off at them for throwing you out but don’t tell me that you didn’t know what was going on, because when you do that you insult my (our) intelligence, and that makes me very angry. Anyway it worked because I will pay, and am going on to Amazon and plunking down my $15.37 to find out all the details from the most mendacious of the all time liars. Now here an old classic of Scotty from back in the old days. It’s from July 12, 2005 and it’s called “Scott Mc Clellen Holds A Press Conference”

Another Team of Rivals?
NBC News notes that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell thinks Sen. Barack Obama might pick Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate — and that she should accept.

He also suggested the Illinois senator’s recent mention of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin might have been a hint into his thinking.

Said Rendell: “I’ve said it before. I think when Sen. Obama was asked the question, he went out of his way to mention Team of Rivals, and if you read that book, Lincoln did a great thing by bringing his strongest rivals, who were the most competent people in America, into the government. I don’t think he said it — I know Sen. Obama — He doesn’t say anything by accident.”

Clinton Holds Big Lead in Puerto Rico
A new El Vocero/Univision poll in Puerto Rico shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama by 13 points, 51% to 38%, in advance of Sunday’s primary.

Wingnuts Run Their Standard Attack-The-Messenger Playbook On McClellan
It’s routine now. A BushCo insider (see O’Neal, Paul; Clarke, Richard; Adelman, Kenneth; Kuo, David; Wilkerson, Lawrence, etc., etc., etc.) exposes rampant BushCo malfeasance/corruption/incompetence, and instead of directly addressing or rebutting the issues raised, wingnuts break out literally the same four ad hominems in defense of the Great Leader: He’s just trying to sell books! Scott McClellan learns that the way to get good press as a Republican is to write a book burning a Republican president. He’s a liar! The question:

It’s all so predictable now. A BushCo insider (see O’Neill, Paul; Clarke, Richard; Adelman, Kenneth; Kuo, David; Wilkerson, Lawrence etc. etc. etc.) exposes rampant BushCo malfeasance/corruption/incompetence, and rather than directly addressing or rebutting the charges, the wingnuts break out the literally exactly the same four ad hominems in defense of the Great Leader: (updated)

1) He’s just trying to sell books!

Scott McClellan learns that the way to get good press as a Republican is to write a book burning a Republican president.

2) He’s a liar!

There’s always a demand for a professional liar.

3) He’s disgruntled!

“When you suck at your job, quit and write a book ripping your old boss.”

And my personal favorite — 4) He’s a liberal!!!

Bush’s legacy has been badly damaged by his staffing decisions, which included too many “loyal” Texans, too many liberals, and too many light-weights.

In this case, McClellan fits all three categories.

Hilarious.

You’d think by now the wingtards would be weary of these endless auto-da-fes. It’s not like they’re doing any good — the guy they’re trying to protect is sitting at 28%. It’s just that they love nothing more than to spew venom and point and shriek and attack, especially when one of their own turns heretic and tells the truth.

RedState sums up the entire right-wing blogosphere’s response to Scotty nicely:

What a scumbag.

Reow!

TP has more here. And the White House goes with #3 and calls McLellan “disgruntled.”

UPDATE

And now, according to the Cornerites, McClellan loves abortion and is pro-terrorist. Really.

And there’s this hilarious post from Kathleen Parker beginning,

I’m confused about Scott McClellan’s book. Without having read it…

So much fun.

Ricky Martin and Others Call on Puerto Ricans to Vote for Hillary

Hillary Clinton got more support in Puerto Rico today.(in Spanish, my translation skills are minimal but here is what I get):

The president of the Office of Dominican Subjects in Puerto Rico, Luis Aguasvivas, today exhorted to his compatriots in the Island to vote for Hillary Clinton.

….“The triumph in Puerto Rico of the senator Hillary Clinton will contribute to the development of social projects in favor of our community, in the fields of migratory reform… federal aid to programs of improvement of health, education, allocation of resources for the development of micro-enterprises, as well as of technical-vocational programs of education”, it maintained in an official notice.

Singer Ricky Martin issued this press release in Puerto Rico today, urging voters to mobilize and vote for Hillary. [More…]

“Senator Clinton has always been consistent with her commitment to the needs of our community for education, health and social welfare”, boricua in an official notice expressed the star.

….“As all we know these elections have historical repercussions for the United States as well as for the world. In the case of the presidential primary, … we must take this opportunity to exert our force”,

The article lists as other Hillary supporters:

Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Longoria, Jack Nicholson, America Ferrera, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Michael Douglas, Robert Kennedy Jr, Quincy Jones and Magic Jonson they had announced his support

We Still Here?
Stupid googleblogger.

‘Sharp Teeth’: A Ferociously Good Read
Author Toby Barlow’s epic poem about werewolves in Los Angeles is a page-turner with insights and imagery that will resonate long after you read it.

Yet Another GOP Senator Hits Airwaves Early, Suggesting Worry About Re-Election
This new ad from Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) is worth a watch — the fact that she’s on the air five months before the election suggests that yet another red-state Senator is worried about her re-election. Furthermore, the ad is…

Disgruntled?
Here’s the statement released by White House spokesperson Dana Perino on her predecessor’s new book: Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after…

Kirk Douglas funds 400 L.A. playgrounds
LOS ANGELES ? Kirk Douglas and his wife have dedicated their 400th school playground ? completing a decade-long effort to give Los Angeles kids a place to frolic…

McCain Adviser Phil Gramm Shaped McCain?s Economic Policy While Lobbying For Foreign Bank
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly said he relies on his economic advisers, including former senator Phil Gramm — “McCain’s econ brain” — to make up for his lack of experience on economic issues. “I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like…Phil Gramm,” he said in February. But […]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly said he relies on his economic advisers, including former senator Phil Gramm — “McCain’s econ brain” — to make up for his lack of experience on economic issues. “I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like…Phil Gramm,” he said in February.

But yesterday evening, MSNBC revealed that Gramm worked for the bank UBS “to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain” about economic policies. The revelations come as McCain banned several advisers from advising him on subjects covered by their lobbying work.

While Gramm was advising McCain, he was paid by UBS to lobby the Senate about the mortgage crisis, strongly opposing increased government regulation and several consumer protection bills, which, as Keith Olbermann noted, “might have mitigated the current crisis”:

As recently as December 31 of last year, still working for Swiss bankers, specifically to help kill the Emergency Home Ownership And Mortgage Equity Protection Act and the Helping Families Save Their Homes and Bankruptcy Act, a bill that would have let bankruptcy judges adjust mortgages terms so American families facing foreclosure could repay their loans and keep their homes. […]

Gramm’s deregulation [as a senator] help set the stage for an explosion of banks slicing up subprime mortgages, bundling them with other mortgage slices, to hide the credit risks, and stelling mortgage stew to other investment firms. That gave lenders powerful incentive to make as many loans as possible, regardless of risk.

Watch it:

Graham registered as a UBS lobbyist in 2004. But as early as October 2006, Gramm was reportedly advising McCain on economic issues. McCain advisers also said Gramm had input on McCain’s March 26 speech on the economy. UBS, however, only deregistered Gramm last month.

Other McCain advisers have direct ties to the mortgage industry. John Green, McCain’s chief congressional liaison, and Wayne Berman, his national finance co-chairman, “billed more than $720,000 in lobbying fees from 2005 through last year to Ameriquest Mortgage through their lobbying firm.” “They would be defined as the most blatant and aggressive predatory lenders out of everybody,” said Bruce Marks of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.