The Hollywood Liberal

Democrats Gain Edge in More House Races
CQ Politics today “is changing the race ratings in 14 congressional districts in 10 states to reflect changing political circumstances that mean brighter prospects for the Democrats, who are expected to augment their 236 to 199 majority in the U.S. House in the November elections.”

“Twelve of the 14 race rating changes favor the Democrats, compared to two that favor Republicans, who are trying to limit their losses this year after suffering a net loss of 30 House seats in the 2006 election.”

Bonus Quote of the Day
“Obviously one is interested in a candidate looking towards the future rather than the past.”

— French President Nicolas Sarkozy, quoted by ABC News, all but endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Suggestion Box
Please let us know here at FDL if you have inspired ideas or just simple suggestions about things we can do better. We really appreciate your support.

Please let us know here at FDL if you have inspired ideas or just simple suggestions about things we can do better. We really appreciate your support.

Kucinich Gets His Impeachment Hearing, Sorta

Dennis Kucinich didn't get the impeachment hearing he wanted, but he did get a hearing on “Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations.” That gave former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson the opportunity to tell Congress that

there's a “compelling case” for the impeachment of President Bush, but that short of that, it should appoint a special commission to investigate egregious abuses of power. Anderson, testifying Friday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing looking at the constitutional limits of the executive branch, detailed a litany of what he said were “heinous” human rights abuses, unprecedented power grabs and denials of due process.

Illness kept John Dean from testifying, but in this article Dean compares President Bush's abuses of power to those of Richard Nixon.

Morning Thread
What “Euphemism House” will John McCain visit today?

Wanker of the Day
John McCain.

How Should the Next President Deal with the Bush White House’s Crimes?
A debate between two progressive legal experts on the FISA bill and the idea of prosecuting of Bush and White House officials for criminal acts.

Election Central Morning Roundup
Obama In France Today Barack Obama is headed to Paris today for the next leg of his overseas tour, which has focused on the idea that he can repair America’s relationship with allies and forge an international consensus. Obama will…

Critic or Cheerleader? The Definitive McCain Iraq Timeline
John McCain has laid claim to having the courage, foresight and leadership to stand up to President Bush’s mismanagement of the war in Iraq (the strategic miscalculation is another matter). But was McCain the critic of Bush that he makes…

Detainee’s words used against him
Bin Laden driver gave detailed, insider knowledge of terror net to US agents.

Wal-Mart signs deals with China unions
US retail giant Wal-Mart, criticised for its attitude to organised labour at home, said Friday it had reached collective bargaining agreements with China’s official union in several cities…

Holtz-Eakin: McCain may not speak for the McCain campaign on the economy.
On Wednesday, the Tax Policy Center released a report finding a $2.8 trillion gap between Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) public economic proposals and his advisers’ private assurances. McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin responded yesterday to the report, saying that McCain’s public statements are not necessarily “official” policy. Slate reports: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s chief economic adviser, says […]

On Wednesday, the Tax Policy Center released a report finding a $2.8 trillion gap between Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) public economic proposals and his advisers’ private assurances. McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin responded yesterday to the report, saying that McCain’s public statements are not necessarily “official” policy. Slate reports:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain’s chief economic adviser, says the numbers he provided to the TPC aren’t secret—they’re the same ones he provides to anyone who asks. He also disputes the way the study takes suggestions McCain has made on the stump out of context. “This is parsing words out of campaign appearances to an unreasonable degree,” Holtz-Eakin said. “He has certainly I’m sure said things in town halls” that don’t jibe perfectly with his written plan. But that doesn’t mean it’s official.

The Wonk Room breaks down McCain’s double talk on the economy here.

Obama Strikes Right Notes – Dallas Morning News

A Step Back From Enviro Lunacy
Sometimes public opinion doesn’t flow smoothly; it shifts sharply when a tipping point is reached. Case in point: gas prices. $3 a gallon gas didn’t change anybody’s mind about energy issues. $4 a gallon gas did. Evidently, the experience of paying more than $50 for a tankful gets people thinking we should stop worrying so much about global warming and the environmental dangers of oil wells on the outer continental shelf and in Alaska. Drill now! Nuke the caribou! Our system of divided government and litigation-friendly regulation makes it hard for our society to do things and easy for adroit lobbyists and lawyers to stop them. Nations with more centralized power and less democratic accountability find it easier: France and Japan generate most of their electricity by nuclear power and Chicago, where authority is more centralized and accountability less robust than in most of the country, depends more on nuclear power than almost all the rest of the nation.