Scooter Libby
Liberal, Liberal, Liberal—and Hey, What's Wrong with That?
WHY WE’RE LIBERALS: A POLITICAL HANDBOOK FOR POST-BUSH AMERICA
By Eric Alterman
Viking, 334 pages, $24.95
How many liberals does it take to screw in a light bulb? One, but it really gets screwed.
Sadly, this dry heave of a joke achieves the same level of sophistication as much of what passes for American political discourse. As we all know, through tactical genius the right has managed to turn the terms “liberal” and “liberalism” into the ultimate empty signifiers; they are now no more than rhetorical cudgels wielded by partisan politicians. read more »
Chuck Hagel: Bloomberg Republican
The G.O.P. rebel plays footsy with the Mayor about sharing a presidential ticket. read more »
Libby at Liberty!
Commutations come with quite explicit guidelines of their own – promulgated by the department of Justice back in the days before it became a Rove-branded house of patronage and prosecutions to solidify G.O.P. tactics of voter suppression. read more »
Libby Pardon On The Way?
I'm at the Capitol building in Washington right now, and rumors are flying that Scooter Libby is about to be pardoned. Of course, this is Washington and it's July, so it could well be idle gossip, but I'll be updating if I hear anything more.
UPDATE: A Senate staffer confirms to me that Bush has commuted Libby's sentence.
UPDATE 2: It's up on Drudge and the AP wire now. Bush left the $250,000 fine intact.
UPDATE 3: In a statement, Bush says that "I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive."
