“There’s going to be a tendency on the part of our people to be in denial about all this,” Bayh told ABC News, but “if you lose Massachusetts and that’s not a wake-up call, there’s no hope of waking up.”
[...]

“The only we (sic) are able to govern successfully in this country is by liberals and progressives making common cause with independents and moderates,” Bayh said. “Whenever you have just the furthest left elements of the Dem party attempting to impose their will on the rest of the country — that’s not going to work too well.”

It’s worth pointing out just how detached from reality Bayh is on this regard. The White House, armed with its bicameral Democratic majorities, spent the entire calendar year of 2009 vainly attempting to govern by moving its policies ever-rightward. In fact, the administration has gone much further than attempt to find “common cause with independents and moderates” — it has strained itself to find common cause with Republicans! But if Bayh thinks that the wake-up call is for Democrats to continue to do what they’ve been doing all year, then it’s Bayh who’s somnambulating.

more…

Evan Bayh Calls For A Retreat From Principles In The Wake Of Mass. Election.

Doctor Killer!

A judge on Tuesday ruled that a “necessity defense” in the trial of a man accused of killing Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller is “not viable” under state law.

The ruling was another blow to lawyers for 51-year-old Scott Roeder, who has confessed to fatally shooting Tiller on May 31 but says it was necessary to save unborn children.

Judge Warren Wilbert cited state Supreme Court opinions that the “necessity defense” in the case is not viable under Kansas law. But he left open the door to consider whether he will allow evidence on the use of force for the defense of another person.

via ‘Necessity defense’ in abortion killing rejected – Crime & courts- msnbc.com.

According to two senior GOP aides familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place this afternoon in Griffith’s district in northern Alabama.

Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.

Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP – - POLITICO.com.

The report deals another blow to the credibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s color-coded terror alert system, and comes after Ridge’s claim that the system was used as a political tool when he was DHS secretary.

The man who prompted the December 2003 Orange alert was Dennis Montgomery, who has since been embroiled in various lawsuits, including one for allegedly bouncing $1 million in checks during a Caesars Palace spree. His former lawyer calls him a “habitual liar engaged in fraud.”

More….

Report: Bush Admin Raised Terror Alert Based On Con Man’s Al Jazeera ‘Decoding’ Scam | TPMMuckraker.

Ass Hat Dick

For most people, the year ending now is 2009. That’s apparently not true at the right-wing magazine Human Events; reading it Monday, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Bush administration is still in office.

The magazine has named former Vice President Dick Cheney “Conservative of the Year.” The article about the honor praises him for “caus[ing] so much angst at teh White House and in the mainstream news media.”

That’s not the only throwback aspect to the award, though. The piece that lays out the reason behind Cheney’s receiving the honor was written by former UN Ambassador John Bolton, one of the most hawkish members of the previous administration.

War Room – Salon.com.

At 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon — nine hours before the 1 a.m. vote that would effectively clinch the legislation’s passage — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) went to the Senate floor to propose a prayer. “What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can’t make the vote tonight,” he said. “That’s what they ought to pray.”
It was difficult to escape the conclusion that Coburn was referring to the 92-year-old, wheelchair-bound Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) who has been in and out of hospitals and lay at home ailing. It would not be easy for Byrd to get out of bed in the wee hours with deep snow on the ground and ice on the roads — but without his vote, Democrats wouldn’t have the 60 they needed.

From Huff Post

Robert Byrd’s Death Seemingly Wished For By Tom Coburn.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ripped into the president on Sunday for abandoning his pledge to foster bipartisanship in Washington, accusing Obama of creating a more toxic political environment than that which existed during the Clinton administration.

“In some ways, of course, yeah,” McCain told Fox News Sunday when asked if the Obama White House was more partisan than Bill Clinton’s. “At least under Hillarycare they tried to seriously negotiate with Republicans. There has been no effort that I know of — of serious across the table negotiations — such as I have engaged in with other administrations. And that was the commitment that the president made.”

McCain, who squared off against Obama during the 2008 campaign, harped on two main issues: the deal the White House made with the pharmaceutical industry to secure its support of health care reform, and the fact that no C-SPAN cameras had been brought into Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) office as the majority leader tinkered with the health care legislation.

“There has never been serious cross-the-table negotiations on any serious issue that I’ve engaged in — and that I and others have engaged in — with other administrations both Republican and Democrat,” said McCain.

If blame for the partisan environment was to go mutually to Republicans as well as the president, McCain wasn’t offering it. The Arizona Republican never mentioned the role played by the GOP (nor was he asked by host Chris Wallace) in overtly trying to derail health care reform. He was, however, asked if he had grown more conservative and combative in the 11 months since the election.

“I, unfortunately, have always been combative,” he said, adding that’s he’s always been conservative as well.

McCain: Obama Created More Partisan Environment Than Bill Clinton.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has made no secret of her opinion on Canadian public health care. But she’s scheduled to speak at a fundraiser for a hospital and cancer center in Canada.

ThinkProgress points out that St. Peter’s Hospital is public, performs abortions, and offers end-of-life decision support.

Organizers hope to sell 1,000 tickets at $200 a plate, but raise more via photos with Palin.

When approached recently by a Canadian comedian pretending to be a conservative, Palin gave her opinion on Canadian health care:

“Keep the faith” Palin said, “because common sense conservatism can be plugged in there in Canada too. In fact, Canada needs to reform its health care system and let the private sector take over some of what the government has absorbed.”

Palin To Speak At Fundraiser For Canadian Hospital (UPDATED).

Monica "Cigar" Lewinsky

In the years since their bitter battle, both former President Bill Clinton and independent counsel Ken Starr have predicted they’d be vindicated in the history books.

Now the first definitive history of the Clinton scandal is about to arrive — and neither man can be completely happy about his portrayal in its pages.

“The Death of American Virtue,” due out in February, asserts that Clinton had yet another extramarital affair, with Susan McDougal of Whitewater fame. Also in the book, Monica Lewinsky tells author Ken Gormley that she believes the president lied under oath when he described their encounters.

At the same time, Gormley offers a harsh portrait of Starr as a man out of his depth and who lost all sense of proportion. His interviews offer new ammunition to critics who contend the Lewinsky investigation was marred at its outset by improper questioning of Lewinsky in January 1998 by Starr’s lieutenants, who continued to grill her even after she asked for a lawyer.

Two presidents later, the saga feels like a far-off chapter in the nation’s history, but the book makes clear that the principals, including Clinton himself, remain keenly interested in squaring the historical record to their liking.

In three interviews with the author, Clinton makes clear — to no surprise of longtime observers of the 42nd president — how aggrieved he continues to feel over the whole episode, unspooling a stream of choice invective about his other accusers. In Clinton’s telling, the head of the House impeachment team, Henry Hyde, is a “bitter right winger” and “hypocrite” and the judge who cited Clinton for civil contempt was merely currying favor with the conservative wing of the GOP.

More….

Monica’s back – says Clinton lied – - POLITICO.com.