Jesse w/o invitation, Rangel snubbed, FISA sell-out, untethering the mayor, wrestling with pigs, new spies and redstateupdate

1) Jesse Jackson is still paying for his “nutty” remark on television. The Hill has a story saying Jackson will not likely be speaking at the Democratic convention.

As an aside, a Jackson friend also said Al Sharpton would not speak. No offense, but ya think? AA speakers more likely to appear include Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and Congressman James Clyburn.

But apparently NOT House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel. According to Politico, Rangel is on the naughty list for daring to support his fellow NY delegation member, Hillary.

The Obama campaign is denying House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel a speaking role at this month’s Democratic National Convention — a move those close to the powerhouse Harlem congressman view as a spiteful snub.

Rangel surrogates approached Obama staffers this week about the possibility of securing him a slot at the podium, making the case that it would showcase reconciliation between the nominee and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s African-American supporters.

But they were told that the 78-year-old congressman’s support for Clinton earned him a place at the end of the line behind Barack Obama’s loyalists — even if Rangel played a crucial part in prodding Clinton to abandon her presidential bid in June.

Definitely a changing of the guard in terms of AA political representation to the public.

Read the rest ->

2) TalkLeft (the Politics of Crime) has a new crime on Wednesday’s article. Big Tent Democrat objects to Mort Halperin’s pivot on FISA. Seems he was vehemently against it until he was suddenly for it – right after Obama flipped. BTD cites an interview between Glenn Greenwald and Halperin during which Halperin did the stammer of shame – “that’s not what I’m here to talk about.”

GG: One of the reasons why I think ended up surprising a lot of people – your ultimate support for the bill, aside from your background – is that there was a letter that was sent on June 9, 2008 — just a month before you ended up writing that op-ed in the New York Times — that was signed by a whole variety of organizations – the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Policy Center, with which you were at the time affiliated – that essentially said that the current version of the bill that was being circulated -

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GG: My question is, were you essentially indicating to them, that if he came out and supported the bill, you would essentially lend support for him?

MH: I was indicating to them what my view was as to whether or not the bill was one that people should vote for. And I provided that advice to anybody who was interested in my personal view on the subject.

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GG: Now, last question here, and that is, I had heard before we began our conversation that either you were about to depart from, or already departed from, the Open Society Policy Institute where you had been employed for quite some time as the president. Did the Open Society Institute end up opposing final passage of the bill, and did that have anything to do with your ultimate separation or departure from that organization?

MH: No, I have not departed from them. I have by mutual agreement become a consultant, to leave myself free to speak out more freely on the substance of these issues – which is what I thought you wanted to talk about, which is the only reason I agreed to this conversation.

GG: What do you mean by that? You thought I wanted to talk about what?

MH: The substance of the issues. Not these kinds of questions about process. But – I think I’ll leave it at that.

GG: Okay, well, I thank you very much for taking the time, I appreciate it.

MH: Okay.

BTD wonders if Halperin represents a “new” kind of progressive. You know, I really don’t think so. I think Halperin represents a much more amoral type of character – ready to go to whatever side he needs to. Anyone following the FISA story should read this interview. If you were adamantly against FISA, you got sold out.

3) WaPo has a story on another Obama friend – Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick. I won’t rehash THAT long story here. Just note the title of the article says it all.

Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick Hopes to be Untethered to Attend Dem Convention

Even though he’s currently wearing an electronic tether that prevents him from traveling outside the Detroit area, Kilpatrick hopes a judge will grant him permission to fulfill his superdelegate duty of nominating Barack Obama for president at his party’s convention, the start of which is just a week and-a-half away.

Think Kilpatrick will get help from Obama?

4) At the Althouse, Ann Althouse calls out our favorite Murrow never-will-be, Keith Olbermann. Seems KO jumped on yet more tasteless remarks (does he HAVE any other) Rush Limbaugh made about the Edwards “affair.” Althouse doesn’t agree with Rush, but she thinks KO took the wrong tack. Interesting. Maybe we’ll see a throw-down between Rush and KO. Just stay out the way. As you probably know, it’s never wise to wrestle a pig (and I’ll leave you to choose which one is the pig in THIS situation) because you get all muddy and the pig enjoys it.

Double ditto for getting in a wrestling match with TWO pigs.

5) At realclearpolitics is an article from the Boston Phoenix. The article says the press has gotten the presidential race wrong from the start, going so far to say the writer predicted Obama would do well back in early 2007. Although this article doesn’t offer much in the way of detail, it is the first “post-campaign” type of article I’ve seen.

6) EJ Dionne, also at realclearpolitics, talks some more about the Obama/Clinton “feud.” He says that during the primaries, it was a Clinton strategy to try and “de-legitimize” Obama victories – without including, of course, any Obama dirty dealing.

The more Obama’s victories were cast as less than real, the more passionate Clinton’s own supporters became about the injustice of her defeat. A minority of her supporters threatens trouble at the Denver convention unless Obama gives her a roll call vote in which never-say-die Clintonites could express their loyalty one last time.

Obama has already given the Clinton forces a night for Hillary and part of a night for Bill. In truth, he has little choice in a nearly 50-50 party, but the Obama people have to be frustrated with the Clintonites for not recognizing how far he is going to give them their due.

Yet some of the Clinton folks still think that Obama has not been respectful enough of the Clintons and their historical contributions. Bill Clinton is clearly put out. This perceptive politician has to be more aware than anyone of the mistakes he and his wife’s campaign made. That makes the whole thing harder, for him and for Obama.

Just more “Obama = healer = peacemaker” stuff. Blech

7) USAToday has an article today about the roll call question.

Some of Clinton’s supporters are circulating a petition to put her name in nomination. Democratic Party rules require the signatures of 300 delegates, with no more than 50 coming from a single state. The rules also require that the candidate sign the petition. Whether Clinton will do so is now under negotiation with Obama.

“She’s in a dicey position,” Hildebrand said. “She’s got a lot of people who worked incredibly hard for her, who dedicated their lives to her mission, her candidacy and who are very passionate about this.”

One of those supporters is Allida Black, a George Washington University historian who said she cashed in her retirement savings to finance travel to 14 states for Clinton. Black, a Clinton delegate from Virginia, is helping circulate the nominating petition.

“This is not a spite Obama effort,” she said. “This is for Hillary to get the respect her campaign merits.”

Another Clinton delegate, Rosina Rubin of New York, argued that in acknowledging Clinton’s supporters, the Democratic convention would also be paying tribute to an important constituency. “Her achievement this year is really a culmination of everything women in politics have done in this country since before we had the right to vote,” Rubin said.

8 ) This is from Tuesday at MSNBC. Homeland Security is looking to set up its own spy group.

WASHINGTON – Concerns about foreign spies and terrorists has prompted the Homeland Security Department to set up its own counterintelligence division and require strict reporting from employees about foreign travel, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The new directive comes as the federal government increases its counterspy efforts across all agencies and raises the awareness of intelligence vulnerabilities in the private industry as well as in protecting government secrets.

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Homeland Security is creating a counterintelligence system now, because there is currently no place for such a function in the department — which was formed by 22 disparate agencies — said a senior U.S. government official who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to publicly discuss intelligence.

I’m no expert at the DC agency game, the spy game or the DC power game. Still, this strikes me as significant.

9) This morning, therealbarackobama has a bit from Rev. Meeks, including video. Meeks calls for a school boycott until Chicago schools get more “white money.” I don’t disagree with Meeks’ concern about education although I think having students stay home is – well – counterintuitive. Meeks does say at about 1:40 into the video that he wants the “white schools” and, barring that, “white money.” I wonder if that “white money” is connected to the notion of “education debt” talked about by Obama.

Having been involved in education for over 20 years, I can tell Meeks that underfunded schools is a result of funding them by property taxes. Urban schools are not the only underfunded schools either; rural schools suffer from the same problems, and they are more likely to be majority white.

So, while I don’t disagree there’s a serious problem, I loathe the racial angle to this. Yet again, a broader and more complicated issue about funding education gets reduced to race. I call BS on that.

And where do BO’s children go to school????? University of Chicago Lab school. And how much help did he provide to the Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School in Kenya, that lacks water, sanitation or electricity after promising to do so?

None. The Evening Standard covered this story some time ago.

And that project that Obama and Ayers worked on that was supposed to revolutionize Chicago public schools? Well, I don’t have time enough to go there. Let me just refer you to a previous post by Steve Diamond at therealbarackobama.

10) Need some redstateupdate? Here’s Jackie and Dunlap on John Edwards. Hold on tight. . . .