Perceptions and Ramifications

Talking Points Memo illustrates the disconnect between the forces on the ground (General David Petraeus), the Iraqi government (Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki), and Republican Senators like Mitch McConnell and Gordon Smith.

Oregon: Blue Oregon outlines Gordon Smith's timeline for politicizing Iraq.

Alaska: A federal grand jury is now involved in Ted Stevens' RenovationGate. Says the Anchorage Daily News: "The existence of the Washington grand jury investigation is the strongest indication to date that Stevens himself has become a subject of the wide-ranging federal probe that surfaced with FBI raids on state legislative offices last August." And the heat continues to rise on Stevens.

Wyoming: The WY-GOP held their forum for applicants for the Senate vacancy. The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle summarized:

More than two dozen aspirants to Wyoming's vacant U.S. Senate seat staked their ground as fiscal and social conservatives during a public debate Sunday, saying they would rein in federal spending, reform the Endangered Species Act and defend conservative values if chosen to succeed the late Sen. Craig Thomas. ...

Seeking to appeal to party stalwarts, many of the candidates used their time to say how they would rein in federal spending. ...

Several of the candidates also attacked the Endangered Species Act, which Bill Paddleford of Jackson described as "an example of very good intentions gone awry." ...

And no candidate expressed a desire to hasten an American military withdrawal from Iraq.

The article also noted: "On Tuesday, the Wyoming Republican Party State Central Committee will meet to select the party's three nominees." So, by tomorrow night, we should have the three names going to Governor Freudenthal for his selection.

Minnesota: MN Campaign Report offers highlights from its interview with Senate aspirant Professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Issues touched on included renewable energy, Iraq, health care, and poverty.

Maine: When Susan Collins (or any other Republican Senator) claims to support women's rights, recognize what her votes in support of Sam Alito and John Roberts have led to:

But several of the 5-to-4 decisions in which Roberts and Alito were in the majority have been on politically explosive topics:

Abortion: In April, the court, in a ruling written by Kennedy, upheld a federal law banning a specific abortion procedure, called “intact dilation and evacuation” or “partial-birth abortion.” The justices said the statute was not invalid on its face, but could be challenged in specific cases in which a woman could show it would violate her rights under the court’s previous abortion rulings, such as Roe v. Wade.

Alleged sex discrimination: Last month, the court, in a decision called Ledbetter v. Goodyear, written by Alito, ruled that a woman who’d alleged sex discrimination in pay had missed the deadline for filing her claims.

Susan Collins, Sam Alito, and John Roberts: not a feminist or defender of women's rights among the three of them.