Skinny makes a comeback (well sort of) FINALLY writes about republicans!

[Debi]

Grassley, McCain and the F word; Culver and his bully pulpit

http://www.dmcityview.com/skinny.shtml

<snip>

“One senator, a friend, tells the story of an acrimonious meeting toward the end of 1992, when the 12 members of the Senate Special Committee on POW/MIA Affairs were finishing up their report. It featured a hot debate over how to deal with former U.S. Marine Bobby Garwood; a former POW who’d been an accused defector.

“The question was whether Garwood should be included in the report along with all the other POWs and MIAs, or if he had diminished his status and therefore only merited inclusion in the report’s attachments. Half the room thought he was a traitor, a deserter who knew about POWs held after the war but didn’t do anything about it, and McCain fell into that camp. The other half — which included Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — thought that Garwood had been unfairly blamed. ‘Bobby Garwood is a traitor, and I and a whole bunch of other POWs got beat because of him,’ the hot-headed McCain argued, according to a senator present during the debate.“Then Grassley started screaming. ‘Chuck has a temper, too,’ the senator relates. ‘So McCain started shouting back.’

“Grassley got in McCain’s face, and the two pit bulls started barking at each other while the other senators in the room sat back and watched. The pair got so close to one another that the senator who tells me the story — aware that because of war injuries, McCain’s arms don’t fully extend — was convinced McCain ‘was going to drive the top of his head into Grassley’s nose. I was convinced that bone fragments were going to go into Chuck’s brain, and I was sitting there and was about to witness a murder.’

“McCain suddenly stood up. But instead of a head-butting homicide, he delivered a crushing blow of words.“‘You know, senator,’ McCain said, seething, ‘I thought your problem was that you don’t listen. But that’s not it at all. Your problem is that you’re a fucking jerk.’”

<snip>

++++++++++++++

Yes there's more, but I'm not passing it along x(

[rurallib]

1. McCain and Grassley - a Mensa meeting

if their brains were gunpowder you couldn't make a cap gun cap out of the two of them together. I am frankly surprised McCain could come up with such elegant repartee without a teleprompter.
But with the media behind him, he could be president.

[Counciltucky]

2. The only problem with a Grassley-McCain fight is that only one can lose. n/t

[Counciltucky]

3. The "more" that you're not passing along...

Okay I'm a big Culver guy, but that was just a fuckin' stupid move on his part.

[Debi]

4. I know I know, I just hope we're only hearing half the story

and the other half explains it all.....(I can hope can't I? :shrug:)

[progressoid]

5. Ya. Maybe he needs a vacation or something. Jeez

[DU9598]

7. Just wait ...

Word is Chet is going to pass over the progressive Ct. of Appeals judge, David Baker, to appoint a corporatist defense attorney, Connie Alt, to the Supreme Court.

Why oh why did I work so hard and donate so much time and money?????? I really do forget!

[progressoid]

6. So I guess we won't see them sharing a pork chop on a stick at the IA state fair!

[Hardrada]

8. Thank you for lighting this little candle for us!

My day has been significantly brightened.

[mrs panstreppon]

9. OT - More on Iowa Future Fund

The other day, you posted about Iowa Future Fund (IFF).

I posted at Kos and TPM Cafe (http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/04/ameri... ) about who is behind IFF. IFF and American Future Fund (which running ads in Minnesota supporting Norm Coleman) were both registered in Iowa by Holtzman Vogel, very influential DC Republican operatives.

I suspect that Bruce "Mr. Ethanol" Rastetter might, in part, be funding IFF and AFF.

[mrs panstreppon]

11. More on Iowa Future Fund & Bruce Rastetter

Keep in mind that my evidence that Bruce Rastetter is, at least in part, funding American Future Fund and Iowa Future Fund is circumstantial:

1. IFF and AFF are registered in Iowa.

2. IFF's president, secretary and director is Eric Peterson. There is an Eric Peterson, a Rastetter employee at Summit Farms, who made an unlikely $2k contribution to Giuliani's campaign in December '07. Rastetter himself was a Giuliani aupporter. I emailed Peterson and asked him about IFF but he did not respond.

2. Bruce Rastetter is a major Republican Party donor and, in fact, considered running against Tom Harkin this year. Rastetter appears to be a practical guy in that he recently made his first known contribution to a Democrat, $25k to Governor Culver. I doubt very much that Rastetter would want Culver to know he is funding anti-Culver ads, hence the secret funding of IFF and AFF.

3. Rastetter and his cohorts made a number of contributions on the same day in October 2007 to Norm Coleman who is co-chair of the Senate Bio-Fuels Caucus.

4. Rastetter is a major player in the ethanol industry which relies heavily on favorable governmental regulation and taxpayer subsidies.

What is possible is that the folks at Holtzman Vogel, the powerful Republican operatives running AFF and IFF, are organizing off-the-books campaign programs funded by corporate interests with a stake in the outcome. The 501(c)(4)s permit unlimited contributions and provide secrecy for the donors.

HV is so entertwined with the Republican Party that the donors to, say IFF and AFF, get credit from Republican Party for their contributions.

The 501(c)(4)s are dangerous because when and if the donors reap their rewards from the government, we can't tie the donor to the reward because we don't even know the donation was made.

I'm fairly certain that this is how HV was able to raise millions of dollars for the American Center For Voting Rights and the Free Enterprise Coalition. The ACVR and FEC were, in effect, Republican Party programs set up to suppress Democratic voters through redistricting and disenfranchisment.

[mrs panstreppon]

12. More on Iowa Future Fund

desmoinesdem at Bleeding Heartland asks Iowan Dems for help identifying Eric Peterson, Iowa Future Fund president, secretary and director.

http://www.bleedingheartland.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1193

[Vet31203]

10. Soon we will be able to retire them both!

I got a feeling Grassley is gone in 2 years and McCain will be stopped short in his Presidential run, but it will take a lot of work.

Who are people thinking about fielding for Grassley's seat in 2010?

[Counciltucky]

13. BRALEY!!!!!!!!!!!

At least I hope it's Braley. Can anyone think of someone better than Braley to fill that spot?

(And before someone says Vilsack, please note: I said *better* than Braley.)

[Debi]

14. *snicker*