No Kidding

A two-year investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee turns up the obvious:

The physical and mental abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was the direct result of Bush administration detention policies and should not be dismissed as the work of bad guards or interrogators, according to a bipartisan Senate report released Thursday.

Kudos to Sen. John McCain for his strong role in the investigation:

"These policies are wrong and must never be repeated," he said in a statement.

Of course, President Bush and his crew continue to hide/break the law:

The report comes as the Bush administration continues to delay and in some cases bar members of Congress from gaining access to key legal documents and memos about the detainee program, including an August 2002 memo that evaluated whether specific interrogation techniques proposed to be used by the CIA would constitute torture.

The Next Cindy Sheehan?

I remember the early days of Cindy Sheehan, when Democrats were happy to hand her a microphone so she could harass President Bush outside his Crawford Ranch about the Iraq War. Gosh, that was fun.

But as soon as I heard her mention Israel, I thought, “Oh crap. Here it comes.” Since then, Cindy’s been hanging out with Hugo Chavez and threatening to run for Congress against Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi because they’re not Left-wing enough.

So I had to laugh when I saw this headline on FOXNews.com on election eve:

Joe the Plumber: Obama will bring "death to Israel"

“Here it comes,” I thought. And Joe hasn’t disappointed. From his flirtation with a country music career to grumbling about running for Congress, Joe has transformed from political symbol to pop culture diva.

And now it gets even better. Joe’s attacking John McCain, saying he felt “dirty” campaigning for the guy. Joe says McCain’s policies “appalled me, absolutely. I was angry. In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him.”

That’s gratitude for ya.

But Joe still loves Sarah Palin. “Palin is absolutely the real deal,” he said. Yes, she is, Joe. And I hope the Republican Party embraces the two of you as tight as it can.

Big News from Arizona

Wow, great news for new NRSC head Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) as he struggles to avoid a bloodbath in the 2010 Senate races. Sen. John McCain has announced he will seek reelection in Arizona, and his most dangerous potential challenger (superstar Governor Janet Napolitano) looks like she’s leaving for DC to be part of the Obama Administration.

Unnamed sources say Napolitano will be our new Secretary of Homeland Security. Sounds like just about the worst job in the world to me. That Department is an absolute mess after being established by the bungling dolts in Bush Administration.

On to 2010!

The rapidly shrinking band of Republican survivors in the U.S. Senate have tapped Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to lead their GOP’s senatorial campaign efforts for 2010. As the new head of the NRSC, Cornyn will be in charge of recruiting challengers, protecting incumbents, and coordinating the various campaigns’ strategies and messaging.

The 2010 map looks absolutely awful Republicans. Just miserable. I almost feel sorry for them. Cornyn is sure to find himself fighting to limit the damage rather than make any gains.

Here’s a quick look at seats Democrats have a good shot at stealing in 2010:

1. Sen. Mel Martinez, Florida – who won with just 49% of the vote in 2004 and is already polling behind several Democratic competitors.

2. Sen. George Voinovich, Ohio – who has a pitiful 42% approval rating and is already polling behind a handful of potential Democratic challengers.

3. Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana – who really, really likes prostitutes. Will he seek reelection? Can he win the GOP primary? (If Vitter is not the candidate, this race may fall off the radar.)

4. Sen. Kit Bond, Missouri – who is already polling well under 50% against several big-name Democratic competitors.

5. Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania – who is planning to seek reelection at age 80 despite his state being seriously in the blue column at this point.

6. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska – who won with just 49% of the vote in 2004.

7. Sen. John McCain, Arizona – who could face insanely popular Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano if he decides to seek reelection.

8. Sen. Jim Bunning, Kentucky – who won with just 51% of the vote in 2004 and vows to seek reelection despite signs of severe age-related mental impairment. (I don’t expect him to be the candidate, so this race is likely to drop off the radar.)

9. Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire – who saw fellow NH Senator John Sununu booted from his seat earlier this month.

10. Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina – who saw fellow NC Senator Elizabeth Dole booted from her seat earlier this month. (Former UT QB and current Congressman Health Shuler may be the Democratic candidate.)

11. Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa – who Democrats hope will retire at age 77 (otherwise he’s a sure bet for reelection).

12. Sen. John Thune, South Dakota – who beat Tom Daschle with just 51% of the vote in 2004. (But SD is a red state and Thune is now the incumbent, so my hopes are not high.)

And those are just the competitive races. The Democrats will shocked if they only hold 60 seats in the next Senate.

UPDATE: If Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) gets in the race for Senate seat currently held by the retiring Sam Brownback, you can add a 13th race to this list.

2012 Primary Standings (Republican)

No, it's not too early.

1. Newt Gingrich

After the 2008 debacle, the GOP may well overcompensate with the anti-McCain. Gingrich is ideologically pure, fiercely partisan, and perfectly comfortable spitting vile. He also gives a smooth speech and thinks strategically. The exact opposite of McCain.

Of course, he’s also emblematic of everything everyone outside of the Far Right hates about politics. But that may only help him in the primary.

2. Mitt Romney

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the Mayor of Pandertown. If Obama is crazy popular, the GOP may panic. They’ll ditch the purists for someone they think can appeal to the moderates. And they’ll want someone with deep pockets because the donors aren’t likely to waste their cash against a popular incumbent.

3. Jeb Bush

The Bush name may be mud right now, but hey -- W still won. That means a lot when your party is on the outside of the White House looking in. The GOP needs someone to reunite W’s winning coalition of business and religious factions. Jeb may look like their best shot.

4. Charlie Crist/Tim Pawlenty

Crist screams vice president, so he may run just to up his chances of being picked #2 on the ticket. But as a popular governor of a critical swing state, he may find himself picking up surprising momentum from the non-fundamentalists. Pawlenty is kinda like Crist but without those pesky rumors.

5. Sarah Palin

Can her cult of personality carry her through the primaries? Don’t bet on it. The GOP base may love her folksy nitwittery when she’s opposite a Democrat--but when she’s on stage against the Republican heavyweights, they can’t help but notice she’s ridiculously outmatched.

6. Bobby Jindal

He’s a minority! That makes him just as good as Obama, right? Jindal is a successful and popular governor, so he deserves better than for Republican evangelicals to jump on his bandwagon just because of his skin color.

7. Kay Bailey Hutchison

Sarah Palin may inspire Hutchinson to run just so that nutjob isn’t the only example of a Republican woman that America gets to see. It also may get Hutchinson on someone’s VP list.

8. Mike Huckabee

His loyal followers will be enough to keep him in the race a good long time but not enough to make him a serious contender.

9. Bill Frist

If Bill Frist wins the governor’s mansion in 2010, he’ll be eyeing the White House in 2016 immediately. If he wins huge, he may think about capitalizing on that momentum right away. Either to position himself for 2016 or to be on someone’s VP list.

10. Rudy Giuliani

He’ll run to stay relevant. He’s not going to be a factor.

11. Fred Thompson

Thompson may have a big enough ego to let himself get “drafted” again. But the GOP has seen this movie before--and they walked out in the first 15 minutes last time.