JK and McConnell (boo!) on Face the Nation this Sunday

[karynnj]

Should be interesting.

They will not be together, it appears from this article - CBS'

"Face the Nation" discusses the escalating violence in Libya with Senate Foreign Relations Chair John Kerry (D-Mass.) and then turns to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss how Senate Republicans plan to deal with the budget negotiations.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/03/previewing-the-26.php

(As to the budget negotiations, isn't the Senate still controlled by the Democrats - shouldn't there by a D voice here too.

[MBS]

1. I suspect that the D foreign-policy expert

will also have a thing or two to say about "budget negotiations", too. :D Here's hoping!

[karynnj]

2. I hope so too,

I hope JK gets to speak of the aid package he wants, The amount needed is much smaller than the neo-con spread democracy by bombing and invading.

[wisteria]

3. Thank you for the advance notice! n/t

[ladym55]

4. Oh, please

The Sunday morning shows have been dominated by Republican voices even when we controlled BOTH houses. Apparently we Dems have nothing worthwhile to say. We'd rather let Mitch Mc-Chinless spew forth his lies.

Honestly, if Republicans were like Pinocchio, it would be SUCH a help for the average American voter.

"Look, Marge, I think that Senator McConnell must be lyin'. His nose SURE is growin'."

The good news is that Senator Kerry WILL get to give us some solid information on the situation in Libya. Hooray for that!

[Inuca]

5. Somewhat related question

Did JK say that he is for implementing a non-fly zone over Libya? Heard it mentioned, his name + McCain/Lieberman as the ones advocating for this.

By the way, thanks for the advance notice Karyn, I'll try to survive McConell (not an easy task).

[Mass]

6. Yes, Kerry said he supports that.

It surprised me a lot, because it is clear that implementing a no-fly zone over Libya will be difficult, given the size of the country, and costly. Gates has made very clear what he thought of the idea and when the Pentagon says no to a military action, we should be cautious pushing for it.

[karynnj]

7. Yes, he spoke of it at the SFRC - I think the NK

He did say it should be international - and he spoke of the difficulties, but then spoke of the fact that not stopping the bombing of people has its problems too - and mentioned Rwanda. (Unlike McCain, who spoke of being a former pilot and saying it was not as difficult as the military says.)

I'm not sure what I think. Neither response is good - and there is something weird to praising the people standing up to the governments, encouraging them - and then doing nothing.

[Inuca]

9. I don't know what to think either

Early on I thought it should be done ASAP, but the comments from the military and Gates + what some of what the Libyans themselves seem to say, all this gave me 2nd thoughts. And now I have no idea... just hoping that informed calm heads prevail. ANd of course I distrust what McCain says instinctively.

[wisteria]

8. I deal with lying McConell by turning the volume down on my TV, otherwise

listening to him raises my blood pressure.

[Inuca]

10. LOL

I am reminded of my husband's comments a few months back. He seldom follows politics, thinks that with barely any exceptions all politicians are bastards and crooks, and is quite disappointed in Obama (to a large extent I think because of the unrealistical expectaions he had places in him + insufficient understanding of how the system works, but that's a whole different story :-)). So he saw McConnell on TV one evening, had no idea who he was, and asked me the next day, saying that from the first moment his mug appeared he had the almost irresistible urge to throw something at the TV, even before he opened his mouth (even more so afterwards).

[wisteria]

11. LOL, I suspect McConell provokes that response in a lot of people. n/t

[MBS]

14. I agree wholeheartedly with your husband! n/t

[wisteria]

12. I had an opportunity to watch the appearance and Senator Kerry did a wonderful job.

He presented a reasonable idea to consider no-fly zones and refuted Gate's concerns nicely. And, he seemed to contradict the conventional wisdom that the fighting in Libya will be long and drawn out. And, he slyly alluded to weapons making their way to the rebels one way or another.
Oh, and he looks great!

[MBS]

13. good, crisp, zingy assessment of budget

issues, and reasons for impasse. . .a gem!
Yes, I also thought he looked and sounded great. I just keep thinking, "He is in the groove, totally in his element"

Oh, and I hate McConnell more than ever. I had to force myself to watch. . I am SOOOOOOOOO sick of the far-right agenda, and his smarmy MO. YOu know things are bad when he's portrayed as one of the "moderates" compared to the Tea Partiers.. there is nothing moderate about this man's politics.

[Inuca]

15. Missed it :-(

Embarassed to say that I fell asleep while waiting for it. ANd with my crappy Internet I cannot watch the video either. Double sorry when reading how good JK looked :-).

[MBS]

16. links.

in case your internet cures itself, here's the video (even better on second viewing than the first time)
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7358612n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Even if you can't see the video, there's a photo there. . : )

They have transcripts for last week, so I'm sure at least the transcript for Kerry's bit will show up soon. .

[wisteria]

17. You're right, even better the second time watching! n/t

[karynnj]

18. Thanks for the link - he did very well

It also put the "np fly zone" in perspective - that he thought preparing for it - not doing it - and that it would be if bombing Libyans ("terrot") was doen by Gaddafi. (Obviously, worried about large scale murder.)

The WP has a summary of the talk shows, if there was any question that they do not go out of their way to lean liberal - the headline was - "Mitch McConnell on John Kerry: 'What planet is he living on?' "

My answer a much nicer one than one populated by many Mitch McConnells. This was on Kerry calling the Republican cuts "reckless" - yet, there are any number of non-partisan economists who would agree with Kerry's characterization. I guess Kerry's answer would be the planet where many poor and middle class Americans are just getting by - on not getting by, depending on the programs that the Republicans think are dispensable, but the cuts to billionaires and millionaires aren't. Either McConnell has no heart of he lives in an alternative Kentucky, where no kids are homeless or hungry.

Not to mention - McConnell is not sure it's in "our interest" for Gaddafi to go. Now, would it be too rude to ask which planet McConnell lives on?

[MBS]

20. I love this sentence!

The WP has a summary of the talk shows, if there was any question that they do not go out of their way to lean liberal - the headline was - "Mitch McConnell on John Kerry: 'What planet is he living on?' "

My answer: a much nicer one than one populated by many Mitch McConnells

:thumbsup: :rofl:

[beachmom]

19. Thanks for the link. Al Jazeera has a write up about the Libya portion:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/201136235322910617.html

Kerry urges Libya no-fly zone plan

Chairman of US senate foreign relations committee says such plan should be readied to protect population from Gaddafi.

[karynnj]

21. It is sad when Al Jazeera quotes Kerry more accurately and completely

than most of the US media.

VOA covered it and other comments from others well. Here is there article, which, like the AJE article, shows that Kerry is speaking of something with international acceptance -

"But Senator Kerry has a different view. "It's not a big air force . We are not talking about this gargantuan kind of force that we face. But more importantly, I would only consider it's implementation if Gadhafi himself were using it as a means of terror, as a means of massacring large numbers of civilians. And I think it is only then that the global community would say, 'Uh-oh, we've got to do something'," he said"

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/US-Senators-Push-for-a-Libya-No-Fly-Zone-117499793.html

[MBS]

22. I never thought I'd quote anything said by an aide to Daryl Issa

but (in case you haven't seen the story, there's been a mini scandal about this aide feeding stories about Issa to the press, who in turn have been uncritically and dutifully distributing this garbage..)he got one thing right when he said (gleeflully, but correctly) that the press was "lazy as hell"

well, that they are.
Investigative journalists seem to be an increasingly rare breed .
Link to one account of this (Dana Milbank.. this links to several other key stories)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030105737.html

Bardella also disclosed contempt for reporters he described as "lazy as hell. There are times when I pitch a story and they do it word for word. That's just embarrassing. They're adjusting to a time that demands less quality and more quantity."

(Ryan). . ."Lizza learned that Bardella had been sharing reporters' obsequious e-mails with Leibovich. Lizza didn't include the anecdote because Bardella wasn't his focus, but word spread via journalistic pillow-talk after Lizza mentioned it in conversations, eventually making its way to Politico. That publication had done more than any other to increase Issa's profile, with items such as "Issa aims to unmask health care deals" and "Sheriff Issa's top six targets."

Put on your PJs: It's about to get even cozier.. . .

Also Sunday, Politico's Harris wrote to Issa calling for an investigation into the "egregiously unprofessional" release of e-mails. On Monday, Politico published a story on the controversy co-written by Marin Cogan, a friend of Lizza's.

From what I understand, the e-mails won't look good for Politico if and when Leibovich releases them. There are expected to be many from Allen and reporter Jake Sherman. There could be embarrassments for other outlets, including The Post, that played footsie with the 27-year-old Bardella as part of a culture in which journalists implicitly provide positive coverage in exchange for tidbits of news.

But this isn't real news. The items Bardella fed journalists were "exclusive" previews of announcements designed to make Issa look good. Now that Bardella has been fired, Issa has been embarrassed and a few reporters are set to be humiliated, it might be a good time for those who cover the news to regain a sense of detachment from those who make the news.

[Mass]

23. The reporting in the media is ludicrous

Starting by the NYTimes whose poor reporting (from their reporting, Kerry seems bloodthirsty) fueled the reporting of other papers (without reading what Kerry actually said)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/world/middleeast/08policy.html?_r=2&hp
From CNBC

For the administration, Mr. Kerry’s view is more troublesome, given that he is a normally a strong ally on foreign policy issues. He was a fierce critic of the war in Iraq, but he sees Libya as a different matter.

He has pushed the White House to do more — including “cratering” Libya’s airfields so the planes cannot take off.

Mr. Kerry, who was openly siding with officials who want the president to take a stronger public stance, said he was pushing the administration to “prepare for all eventualities” and warned that “showing reticence in a huge public way is not the best option.”

“You want to be prepared if he is bombing people, and killing his own people,” he said, referring to Colonel Qaddafi. The Libyan people, he said, would “look defenseless and we would look feckless — you have to be ready.”

Now, I have my doubts when it comes to a no fly zone as I think it cannot be easily enforced, but how do you get from Kerry's comment from this post on CNBC.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837548/cid/176037

War Machine Watch: John Kerry Pushes Obama to Bomb Libya
...
Nowhere does the fever run hotter than with John Kerry, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts.

I am actually puzzled by the zeal with which Carney opposes this supposed intervention (not that I disagree, but I find it baffling that they would oppose this. Is it because it will make the stocks go down because of oil? Same for Richard Haas, which oppose the no-fly zone (why not, once again), with these comments
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703386704576186371889744638.html

...
There are many reasons to avoid making Libya the center of U.S. concerns in the region. Libya is far from the most important country in the Middle East—both in terms of political influence and its impact on the oil market. American policy makers would be wiser to focus on what they can do to see that Egypt's transition proceeds smoothly, that Saudi Arabia remains stable, and that Iran does not.

Intervening militarily in Libya would be a potentially costly distraction for the U.S. military. It is already overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last thing it needs is another vaguely defined intervention in a place where U.S. interests are less than vital.

To say that U.S. interests in Libya are less than vital is not to argue for doing nothing, but rather for making sure that the actions we take are commensurate with the stakes. In the case of Libya, asset freezes, arms embargoes, threatened prosecutions for war crimes, and the creation of humanitarian safe harbors inside the country or just across its borders would be appropriate.
...

So basically, realpolitik all over. This also includes Michel Lind, who a few years ago was arguing that the Vietnam war and the Cold war needed to be fought and is calling out the neocons who want a no-fly zone.http://www.salon.com/news/libya/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/08/lind_libya_no_fly

I dont agree with Kerry and his neo-wilsonian policies here, but are Haas and Lind essentially arguing that, because it does not matter to us who govern Libya, we should not care?