Wednesday, June 20, 2007

And starring Hillary Clinton as Tony Soprano

"Sheer brilliance"? Gee, I suppose -- if handing your opponents a loaded shotgun falls in the same category:

Hillary walks into the Mount Kisco diner in Westchester, N.Y., and takes a seat. Seconds later in comes Bill, dressed in a short-sleeved, untucked shirt. "No onion rings?" Bill asks when he sees that his wife has ordered a bowl of carrots. "I'm looking out for you," replies Hillary, who peruses the diner's jukebox selections, the same tunes voted on by her campaign supporters. Tina Turner's "The Best." KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See." Smash Mouth's "I'm a Believer." Bill says he thinks Smash Mouth will win. "We'll see," Hillary says.

Then the camera fades to black.


You don't suppose this is the end for her campaign, do you?

Naaahh. We couldn't be so lucky.


Clinton's camp is pushing hard for video cred, and yesterday's effort is proof. Forget that the self-inflicted analogy -- the Clintons as the Sopranos -- might be too irresistible for her detractors.


Guilty, Your Honor.


And for hard-core fans, the video might bring to mind the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In the show's third season, Carmela, wife of the philandering Tony, talks about her admiration for how Hillary handled her marital woes. "She's a role model for all of us," Carmela tells her gussied-up gal pals.


Another association the junior senator from New York couldn't have missed.

"It shows that Hillary Clinton is very adeptly using the Internet to humanize herself."

As if the Clintons haven't been "humanized" enough as it is.

"Yet the jury's out on whether everybody finds it charming that they're self-effacing or that they are in fact drawing a parallel that is really ironic and not flattering regarding what's seen as the liabilities of the Clintons. That they're very aggressive in trying to scare away donors from other campaigns. The perception that they engage in strong-arm tactics. Still, you have to hand it to Hillary. You can't get more Joe Sixpack than Tony Soprano."

Then again, nothing is more anti-Tony Soprano than Celine Dion.


Bada bing.

Update: Firedoglake has a response to a truly unhinged right-wing reaction to the video.

Update II (6/21): Prairie Weather:

Maybe the "vast right-wing conspiracy" stuffed the electronic ballot box with votes for a tune by a French-Canadian diva most famous for presiding, musically speaking, over the sinking of the Titanic.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Speaking of people thinking about running for political office

... there's several places in the mainstream media (here's one -- scroll down to near the end -- here's another) where my good friend and birthday buddy Barbara Radnofsky is indicating that she might run for Texas Attorney General in 2010. I thought I'd ask my man David what he thought about that, so I e-mailed him the following questions:

Q: Barbara Radnofsky reports she is considering a run for attorney general of Texas in 2010. Are you going to campaign for that office as well -- or will you support her candidacy if you don't?

Q. On the assumption that you will run for AG, why should Democrats vote for you in a primary election (three years from now) instead of Radnofsky? What are the differences you would highlight between you?


And here's his response:

A. I would like to answer the two questions together if that's OK. Barbara is my friend. We both have our strengths and we both have our weaknesses. Any political race between us in a Democratic primary would be enjoyable for the two of us and would give Democratic voters a good choice between two good Democrats and two good lawyers. Beyond that, I really think it's too early to be talking about 2010. Talking about 2010 will distract our focus from the job we have to do in 2008. We have to carry our state in 2008 and that is where we need to be concentrating our attention.


As Charles Kuffner would say: make of that what you will. Or maybe "stay tuned". Or both.

Monday, June 18, 2007

There's a Draft Noriega in here

Another member of Houston's distinguished Noriega family was beseeched today by several of your favorite blogs to take a run at John Cornyn. Since I'm going last, I get to sample everybody else. First, the Fort Bend County Democrats (via Hal):

We, the Fort Bend Democrats, as an organization, do hereby declare our support for State Representative Lt. Col. Rick Noriega to run for the United States Senate from Texas. We pledge our support – with our money, our time, and our manpower – to help Noriega win in November 2008.


Then there's Lyn:

I had the opportunity to speak with him at his wife Melissa's victory party Saturday night. I'm confident that with enough grassroots support, and funding, he will answer the call to run for Senate. He will run a great campaign, beat Mikal Watts despite his money and easily replace Box Turtle Cornyn in 2008.


And Vince:

No other announced or exploring candidate in the race has either Rick’s distinguished record of accomplishing things for the people of Texas or the ability to unify the Democratic base to take U.S. Senator John Cornyn on. We urge Rep. Noriega to seriously consider entering the race.


And Stace:

In my opinion, for a Democrat to win back our U.S. Senate seat in '08, it will take much more than just money. It will take a Democratic candidate that can effectively communicate with all sectors of the diverse community that is Texas; it will take a Democratic candidate with whom Texans identify; and it will take a Democratic candidate that has more than proven his/her ability to lead. DosCentavos readers, that Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2008 should be Rick Noriega--citizen, leader, father, worker, and soldier. I urge my readers and all Texans to declare their support and urge Rick Noriega to seek the Democratic nomination for United States Senate.


And Kuffner:

I think we will finally have a confluence of establishment and grassroots support at a statewide level with a Noriega candidacy. I believe people will get fired up about getting Rick Noriega elected. If nothing else, it's refreshing to see someone who isn't a same-old, same-old name as a standard-bearer. It feels like a changing of the guard, one that's long overdue. I think he can be a game-changer, someone who can alter politics in this state in a fundamental way, and in doing so alter Texas' image nationally. I'm told Harvey Kronberg expressed similar sentiments at the town hall meeting Ellen Cohen hosted last week; he apparently said this has been the talk of Austin as well. Who was the last statewide Democrat to generate that kind of buzz? Maybe Henry Cisneros, if you overlook the fact that he never ran a statewide race. It's about damn time.


And Burnt Orange:

Rep. Noriega is from Houston, and served recently as deputy garrison commander of the KMTC training facility in Kabul, Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served as the Laredo Border Sector Commander for Operation Jump Start. During the previous legislative session, Rep. Noriega successfully passed an amendment to the state budget to raise teacher pay as much as the rules allowed. (Read more on Rep. Noriega's background here). Overall, we believe his work and his experience make him an interesting candidate, and one who should be in the race to replace John Cornyn.


And McBlogger:

It's not often I'll jump out for a candidate this far away from the primary. It's also somewhat rare that the Mayor and I will disagree on anything. However, I'm doing something a little unusual because I'm ready to make some waves and I'm ready for a candidate that will

BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF CORNYN.

IMHO, that guy is Rick Noriega. Now, if we can only get him to run...


And Eye on Williamson:

Noriega has literally fought for our freedom and exercised it in the Texas House of Representatives for the benefit of working families. Others have written at length about Noriega’s qualifications. The most important thing you need to know is that Rick Noriega has served this nation and this state with honor. We hope in the days to come you will learn more about him and agree that he has the strength of character and leadership to spark hope in the hearts of long-suffering Texas’ working-class voters.


And the Great Orange Satan:

DraftNoriega.com is alive and kicking, while Richard Morrison gave us all an introduction to Noriega a couple of months ago. If all goes well and this doesn't fizzle like Alabama, we'll be hearing a lot about this race.

But before I wrap up this post, I'll leave you guys with this:

That's Major Rick Noriega with his right hand up. He was getting sworn in for his fourth term in the State House.

While serving in Afghanistan.


What could I possibly add to all that?

(Maybe a nasty post about Mikal Watts, but it can continue sitting in "draft" status for now. And maybe something to say later about the rumor that Chet Edwards is looking at making a run.)

Update (6/19): I should have added South Texas Chisme to the list above:

The race for the 2008 senate seat in Texas should be about building a new Democratic Party. If we want to win at all costs, the price will be our soul. The race for the 2008 senate seat in Texas should be about public service.

Rick Noriega stands out as a man ready for the job. He's already been called to public service as a National Guardsman in Afghanistan and a representative in the house. Rick is called again.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sunday Funnies (Immigration Edition)





From the central counting office (not quite a live-blog)


Councilwoman-elect Melissa Noriega and her husband Rick.

4:00 p.m. Saturday, June 16: I arrive downtown at the Harris County administration building and proceed to the elections office on the 4th floor. I will be the Noriega campaign's poll watcher, which means I get to observe all of the operations of the county election officials as they process the vote. I meet Beverley Kaufman, county clerk and others and they begin tabulating the absentee and early voting results.

Two early voting locations list a report of broken seals on DREs. I document these carefully, but broken seals are not necessarily evidence of malicious activity. The seals are flimsy -- they have the thickness of a small paperclip and are similar to the kind you would see on your electricity meter, so they could break simply from normal handling (never mind sloppy or rough).

On the other hand, a missing seal or a seal whose serial number doesn't match its accompanying records would be evidence that might trigger a felony vote-tampering investigation. There is no evidence of anything like this witnessed by me; the county officials are experienced, thorough and committed to quality control.

5:35 p.m.: The absentee ballots favor Morales slightly -- by about 70 votes out of more than 5,000 -- but Noriega amasses a 1,300-vote margin in the early ballots, and takes a lead (54.5% to 45.5%) she will never relinquish. These results will not be made public until after the polls close at 7 p.m. Our cellphones are silenced, and leaving the room even to go to the bathroom is strongly discouraged. There is a sheriff's deputy present (for any variety of order enforcement scenarios).

7:00 p.m.: Polls close, the results above are posted online. In the Gadget Age, most everyone who cares gets the count from the website now; there is only one media representative in the adjacent press room. He's a very young man from the Chronicle who looks no more thrilled about spending his Saturday night in a downtown office than the rest of us.

7:15 p.m.: The tabulators downtown touch base with the county's subordinate officials collecting the mobile ballot boxes at the George R Brown convention center; this is where the precinct judges around the city are arriving with their e-Slates, from which is extracted the computer cards which are read and the results fed back to us. These updates continue until ...

7:59 p.m.: ... the results from 20 precincts are posted, showing Noriega with about a 1.400-vote lead out of 13,635 ballots counted. The counters continue to post results online about every fifteen minutes, and the raw numbers naturally go up but the end result doesn't change. Melissa is cruising to an easy win.

9:23 p.m.: With 80% of all voting precincts counted, Noriega has 12,453 votes to Morales' 9,910. The percentages are 55.7 -- 44.3.

The first interesting and-not-in-a-good-way development: there is one precinct's ballot box unaccounted for, and reports from the field indicate that the precinct judge is as well. Attempts are initiated to determine his whereabouts, involving the afore-mentioned sheriff's deputies. He was last reported leaving his home at 7:45, dropping his wife off before driving into town from one of the far west exurbs.

10:04 p.m.: Almost in time for the evening news, 99.61% of precincts (256 of 257) show Noriega still holding 55.5% of the tally. In the nation's fourth largest city, with a population of four million -- greater than that of 16 states -- an at-large representative gets elected with less than 25,000 votes cast.

10:45 p.m.: That AWOL judge and his ballot box show up at last, and his 100+ votes complete the count. One worthy note: Houston residents residing in Fort Bend county go Noriega 164-44. That's the absolutely final, fitting stick in the eye to Tom DeLay (it was Shelley Gibbs who resigned this city council seat to sit in the Hammer's chair for a month before Nick Lampson took it over).

I can't wait to work a presidential; I'll get to stay up 'til dawn providing you with such stimulating after-the-fact commentary.

Sunday Funnies (Non-Immigration edition)





Friday, June 15, 2007

New Orleans turns to international assistance

Bush Inc. has turned parts of the United States into the third world. An American city forced to ask for foreign aid after a national disaster -- I find that simply astounding. And repulsive.

I also have to wonder if Houston, as the home of his parents as well as some of the country''s most virulent Republicans, would be faring better:

The cash-strapped city of New Orleans is turning to foreign countries for help to rebuild as federal hurricane-recovery dollars remain slow to flow.

Kenya Smith, director of intergovernmental relations for Mayor Ray Nagin, said city leaders are talking with more than five countries. He wouldn't identify the countries, saying discussions were in the early stages. But he said the city is "very serious" about pursuing foreign help.

"Of course, we would love to have all the resources we need from federal and state partners, but we're comfortable now in having to be creative," Smith said. He did not know if the city would have to overcome any obstacles if it got firm pledges for aid, but "we want to make sure we're leaving no options unexplored."


Perhaps New Orleans will erect a bronze statue of Condi Rice trying on shoes, Bush strumming a guitar and "Heckuva Job" Brownie talking on a cellphone -- in Jackson Square -- to commemorate the profound indifference of the administration to the plight of the Gulf Coast during Katrina.