Justin Gardner posted this segment from The View yesterday, apologizing that he couldn’t remove the unnecessary name calling in the video’s title. Ditto. However, like Justin, I also think the clip itself is worth sharing. Though I agree with Ventura, I’ll give Hasselbeck this much: She’s braver in confronting the former wrestler/governor than I would be.

The second part of my essay on Lincoln and the contemporary Republican Party was published yesterday at Kiko’s House. Last week, after the first part was published, a TMV commenter wrote that “Historical figures can only be judged by the standards of their times … so the whole argument is moot.” Perhaps. But that doesn’t stop Republicans and Democrats from fighting over Lincoln. Hence, as long as any party attempts to argue that a historical figure is more reflective...

Jazz Shaw bids Nancy Pelosi goodbye and (if I read between the lines correctly) good riddance. Dan Balz loosely suggests Madame Speaker’s contorted outbursts might finally give us a truth commission, as Andrew Sullivan and others have recommended. Of course, Cheney’s refusal to go quietly into the night has played a role, too — as Marc Ambinder notes in his list of “Ten Reasons Why A Torture Probe Is More Likely,” which Joe Gandelman linked to earlier today. I’m...

My conservative tripwires and my ability to find common cause with George Will nothwithstanding, I think there’s also much to consider — and agree with — in this column.

In the last two-plus years, I’ve veered hard to the left — or at least what’s defined as “left” in contemporary political jargon. Among other things: I’m an avid supporter of embryonic stem-cell research and a middle-of-the-roader on abortion: Full rights to the mother in the first trimester; primary rights to the baby in the second and third trimesters, with the notable exception of threats to the mother’s health and life from carrying the baby to term....

Yes, the shamed former Governor of Illinois is still rippling the political fabric, including in his state’s neighbor to the West: Missouri. … a bill sponsored by [Missouri State] Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Salem, would require special elections to fill mid-term openings in statewide offices, including U.S. Senator. The bill was approved earlier by the House, and now waits for Senate passage. As you might imagine, with a Democrat in the Governor’s office, high-profile...

Andrew Sullivan has been relentless today on Obama’s decision to “oppose the release of several dozen photos depicting abuse of detainees held in U.S. military custody abroad.” He’s not the only one (h/t RCP’s “Best of the Blogs”) — but Sullivan is one of the few such critics who (consistent with his past practice on other issues) is willing to grant prime real estate to constructive counterpoint. Incidentally, I happen to agree with that particular...

At a time when health care in these United States is once again the subject of heated debate, we thought it might be a good time to pause for a moment and consider some of those who are making a positive difference in the health of millions of Americans; specifically, in this case, the individuals and companies listed below the fold, who will be honored by the National Organization for Rare Disorders in a ceremony tomorrow in D.C.

Thus Sen. Lindsey Graham describes the Bush administration’s attitude toward the law and “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Eric Zimmermann has the scoop. (Note: I would have plugged this into my just-published post on torture, but ultimately decided Graham’s soundbite deserved its own spotlight.)

“This is the destiny of democracy, as not all means are acceptable to it, and not all practices employed by its enemies are open before it. Although a democracy must often fight with one hand tied behind its back, it nonetheless has the upper hand.” – Supreme Court of Israel, 1999 ——————— Torture. It was a prominent topic in yesterday’s news — with ongoing debate about former VP Cheney’s stubborn defense of “enhanced interrogation”...

Sen. McCaskill (D-MO) plots Missouri stimulus projects via her Senate office Web site. I don’t see anything similar on the Web site for Sen. Bond (R-MO). Not surprising, I suppose, considering his “no” vote on the stimulus bill. Do either of your U.S. Senators offer a resource similar to McCaskill’s? Also, while we can probably guess the answer, I’ll ask the question anyway: Does the presence or lack of such data track with their stimulus votes?

I am. Here’s why. And while his race for the GOP nom may not be an easy one — I wouldn’t bet against him given the endorsements he has already lined up.

They’re at it again. For those of us who hope that a semblance of fiscal sanity will eventually prevail, let’s also hope the Blue Dogs are a little more unified and forceful this time around than they were on the budget resolution.

Would today’s GOP nominate Abraham Lincoln as the party’s presidential candidate? I think not — as argued in a two-part essay at Shaun Mullen’s blog, Kiko’s House. The first part was published yesterday (May 10); the second part will be published next Sunday (May 17). These contributions are installments in a much a larger series on Lincoln that Shaun has planned this year, the bicentennial of the great man’s birth. Check here for an index of other installments...

A reader shared the following, citing this source: I don’t mean to minimize the tasteless, offensive nature of Wanda Sykes’ remarks about Rush Limbaugh and kidney failure, but what are we to make of Nixon and Agnew’s performance at the 1970 Gridiron Dinner? “Things got no better at the Gridiron that night. Absolutely determined that a good time would be had by all, and equally determined to bring down the house, Richard Nixon appeared as the final act. The curtain pulled back to reveal the...

In my recent commentary for St. Louis’ NPR affiliate, I noted that there are rewards for those who pay attention to state and local politics, and risks for those who don’t. In an attempt to practice what I preach, I recently subscribed to the RSS feeds of a number of St. Louis and Missouri news sources. One of those is the St. Louis Beacon, an online news project fueled by several former employees of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and funded, in part, by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, who not that...

Thanks to Sen. Coburn for making essentially the same point I was trying to make yesterday. Granted, some of Coburn’s remarks — e.g., “regardless of how imperfect or incomplete the president’s list may be” — seem a bit snippier than mine, but the fundamental argument is the same. As I wrote yesterday, “Budget paring is a process, not a light switch.” In that vein, I applaud the Senator for noting that … These proposals must be followed by real...

They’re at it again, and apparently quite proud of it. In an email TMV received this morning from Ericka Andersen with the House Republican Conference, she describes this particular work, released last night, as “a great video” and encourages us to “Spread the word!” OK. I’ll take the bait. And while I’m at it, I’ll turn the video’s concluding question — “How does closing Guantanamo Bay make us safer” — back to the...

Perhaps the non-puritanical pragmatists have a prayer in the GOP, after all. Josh Kraushaar reports for Politico.

Andrew Sullivan holds up this video as one reason he’s not a Republican. He then links to Hilzoy who articulates the conclusion that any semi-intelligent adult should be able to reach: “If we can’t have dangerous people living among us, then we are going to have a whole lot of extra prisons sitting around empty.” (Not to mention all the job losses among prison security personnel.) I’m actually (enthusiastically) in favor of putting the members of the Gitmo gang into...

It may be an isolated incident, but that doesn’t make it any less frightening. Conservatives, of all people, should be outraged. Just ask Mickey Edwards. For my part, one of the key reasons I was initially drawn to the conservative movement was my disdain for concentrated power, my fear of Orwell’s 1984 some day becoming reality. If the story linked above doesn’t remind you of that novel, I suspect nothing will. [H/t Andrew Sullivan.]

$100 million then. $17 billion now. If he keeps up that pace, Obama will next propose spending cuts in the range of $2.89 trillion.* Presto: We’re running a surplus. Of course, that level of cutting ($2.89T) won’t happen, nor am I suggesting it should. Hell, the $17B might not happen; “every program has its patrons,” as the NYT article notes, paraphrasing “administration officials.” Regardless, I’ll repeat the less-than-profound point I made a couple weeks...

Regardless of what you feel about this subject, regardless of what you believe is right, regardless of what is right, this is reality. Kudos to Chris Cillizza for the analysis, for telling it like it is, no matter how uncomfortable this might have been for him to write, no matter how difficult this might be for some of us to read.

Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill once famously opined: “All politics is local.” In my latest commentary for St. Louis’ NPR affiliate, I voice a nagging concern that too many of us (including me) have forgotten the wisdom of Tip’s counsel.

Four more percentage points and Independents will be the largest political force in the U.S. [H/t Daily Dish.]