Meet the new boss, same slightly better than the old boss.

wouldn't magnetic fields have worked better there?

Another day, another former lobbyist following the unprecedentedly strict ethics rules set out by the Obama administration.

Reading comprehension is important, subby:

That makes him eligible to be the top aide to Vice President-elect Joe Biden under the rules outlined by President-elect Barack Obama, who decreed early in his campaign that lobbyists can work in his administration - just not in areas related to their lobbying within two years of that lobbying.

Agree or disagree with the rules, but at least learn to read before doing so.

Dem apologists spinning so fast, they're creating their own gravitational fields

Spinning does not create a new gravitational field. It twists the field that already exists, turning a simple potential well into a giant vortex of suck.

As for Obama, if he wants to be all changey bringing back the Clinton White House is not the way to do it.

Obama has a date with a black hole later.

So, if you say that no one can work for you who has been a lobbyist in the last two years, then you hire someone who was a lobbyist three years ago, this is seen as lying?

And this makes sense to you?

FFS people, this is WASHINGTON. If you exclude anyone who has EVER been a lobbyist then you will have no experienced people on your staff. At least now there are rules that you can't go from being a logging co. lobbyist to, say, overseeing the national parks.

I don't think gravity works that way.

Also, it's cute how all the butt-hurt Republicans can't be bothered to figure out why they lost, they just want to cut down Obama. I think this has more to do with getting liberals back for criticizing Bush than it does with trying to figure out what's best for the country. Because really, these are Republicans we're talking about - do they ever think about what's best for the country, or is it always just what's best for their team?

I was at the pet store yesterday and saw a bumper sticker that said, "My dog is smarter than the president." I wonder if they'll sell just as many of those after January 2009.

Tastes Like Chicken: Because really, these are Republicans we're talking about - do they ever think about what's best for the country, or is it always just what's best for their team?

They used to -- before they got all Rush Limbaugh and fundie. Now they're just ridiculous caricatures of the real GOP.

John Paul Jones: They used to -- before they got all Rush Limbaugh and fundie. Now they're just ridiculous caricatures of the real GOP.

The republican party of today has no connection with the republican party of eisenhower, lincoln, and teddy roosevelt. It has become a sop to the social retards and issues such as state rights, limited government, responsible stewardship and personal freedom are considered as belonging to RINOs.

Another day, another conservative dick suck that doesn't know how gravity works.

A couple points of order:

1. Ken Vogel is a Republican ball-polisher.

2. Klain worked for the 19th largest law firm in the world. He didn't get to pick and choose the clients.

Oh, and one last thing: Klain hasn't worked for O'Melveny & Meyer since 2005. Where, exactly, is the outrage supposed to be coming from?

It seems that defenders of the virtually defunct GOP are just trying to smear the coming administration to make themselves seem relevant. Critics are jumping the gun. It would be substantially more convincing if they waited until the new lawmakers are actually IN office prior to creating headlines about perceived broken promises of the President-Elect. Like it or not, Bush is still president and his administration is still in power right now.

Drats. I was expecting to read that Tauzin was the choice for HHS and Gramm crossover pick to sit as Treasury Sec and what's here? Some piece of shiat crybaby whinge at the best attempt I can remember at delaying the revolving door. Do you have any idea what a 3 year time delay line implemented in hardware would cost?

Man up, nancies. Come back when ready to talk about how to prevent the direct placement of CEOs and corporate bigwigs into cabinet seats of the departments that regulate them, about garbage like Tauzin's departure directly into his cushy "job" with phrma, and about why you want to implement Britain's system of professional civil servants in the US because that's what a lifetime ban is going to lead to.

To be fair, theres about 20% of the electorate that eats this stuff up, always has, always will. So the right wing ball polishing industry is hard at work serving this market. If the net result continues to be a marginalized party of little national significance .. whats the harm?

I and many other voters decided the net worth of these opinions a few weeks ago.

Who the hell is trying to push these lame stories? All it does is draw attention to how ethical Obama is being.

I don't think they thought their cunning plan all the way through.

Mayostard: Obama has a date with a black hole later.

infidelmatt: Reading comprehension is important, subby:

That makes him eligible to be the top aide to Vice President-elect Joe Biden under the rules outlined by President-elect Barack Obama, who decreed early in his campaign that lobbyists can work in his administration - just not in areas related to their lobbying within two years of that lobbying.

Agree or disagree with the rules, but at least learn to read before doing so.

+1 came to post that

You know, the more you make stupid statements that show you're only paying just enough attention so that you can pick a fight, the more likely we are to abandon any effort at letting you have a say in anything.

Let me put it simply, GOP, and especially the hardliners: right now, you need Democratic assistance, lots of it, in order to get ANYTHING done. This is the way the voters recently decided it should be. Republican insight has been deemed to be less valuable than Democratic insight. Mindless reflex attacks are not going to convince anyone that Republican insight should once again be deemed more valuable. They are not going to be very helpful in garnering Democratic assistance, which you need in order to get anything done.

Mindless reflex attacks have just been shown to not work anymore. Once you figure that out, we'll be here waiting.

Let me sum up this article: Obama is doing exactly what he said he was going to do, which is not why I told you he was going to do, so therefore he's failing in his promises to America.

t3knomanser: why I told

Er, what. Not WHAT I told you.

Feh.

Jumping topics, spinning could create a gravitational field, sort of. If you're spinning so fast you approach the speed of light, your mass (to an observer stationary relative to you) increases. An increase in mass means an increase in gravity.

Practically, this isn't really possible. The centripetal force would rip anything but exotic forms of degenerate matter apart. Neutron stars can spin that fast, but you can't. And generally, to be able to spin that fast, you've already got to be pretty massive.

Basically, it's just stupid. It doesn't make a lot of sense to put in a headline.

Obdicut: Who the hell is trying to push these lame stories? All it does is draw attention to how ethical Obama is being.

I don't think they thought their cunning plan all the way through.

Right now, the Republicans are desperate. Utterly, completely, totally desperate. All last week, Limbaugh was ranting about how the country was doomed because of the 'Obama recession'. The guy hasn't even taken the damn oath of office yet and already it's the 'obama recession'?! c'mon. that's the tactic of a weak and desperate opponent.

There's also the problem of the impending civil war within the Republican party. the fundies/neocons are NOT taking responsibility for their party in helping McCain lose to Obama. In fact, their 'excuse' is that the massive Republican losses are ENTIRELY due to 'teh moderates' within the party. So they're doing their best to start purging 'evil moderates' from the party. Of course, 'the moderates' (i.e. fiscal conservatives) aren't leaving that easily, hence the civil war.

For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

There will always be lobbyists in DC.


Call me when they're the ones writing policy, in the WH, behind closed doors, with a VP who tells us to "fark off" when we ask for the meeting minutes...

t3knomanser: Jumping topics, spinning could create a gravitational field, sort of. If you're spinning so fast you approach the speed of light, your mass (to an observer stationary relative to you) increases.

More exactly: the spin velocity adds kinetic energy; E=mc² means energy is mass, and more mass causes more gravity.

The details get weirder and more twisted than that; find a physics PhD candidate, pour a couple drinks in 'em, and get them to try and explain the tensor equations of gravity to you.

Weaver95: All last week, Limbaugh was ranting about how the country was doomed because of the 'Obama recession'. The guy hasn't even taken the damn oath of office yet and already it's the 'obama recession'?! c'mon. that's the tactic of a weak and desperate opponent.

That's hilarious. I couldn't help but laugh when, on the Wednesday after election day, Republicans were blaming every little fart and ripple in the DJIA on Obama. For years we've heard those same Republicans, I am sure Limbaugh among them, saying that the strong economy during Clinton's 2 terms was actually because of Republican policy from 10 years prior. And that the poor Bush economy was because of Clinton policy. Suddenly, what used to take a decade or more takes less than 12 hours because it's beneficial for that oxycontin gobbling pilonidal cyst on the ass of the country to spin it that way.

Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

I certainly hope so. That would mean that either the fiscal conservatives join the Libertarians and strengthen their numbers, or they join the Democrats and the political landscape shifts so that the Dems are the socially progressive/fiscally responsible party that just about everyone I know wants to vote for.

Gravity does not work that way.

FAIL.

Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

To what end, do you think? A Democratic ruled country for a generation? The emergence of another party?

28 posts and no right wing "see told ya so's" yet without RTFA. I doubt it will get to 50.

Tastes Like Chicken: Weaver95: All last week, Limbaugh was ranting about how the country was doomed because of the 'Obama recession'. The guy hasn't even taken the damn oath of office yet and already it's the 'obama recession'?! c'mon. that's the tactic of a weak and desperate opponent.

That's hilarious. I couldn't help but laugh when, on the Wednesday after election day, Republicans were blaming every little fart and ripple in the DJIA on Obama. For years we've heard those same Republicans, I am sure Limbaugh among them, saying that the strong economy during Clinton's 2 terms was actually because of Republican policy from 10 years prior. And that the poor Bush economy was because of Clinton policy. Suddenly, what used to take a decade or more takes less than 12 hours because it's beneficial for that oxycontin gobbling pilonidal cyst on the ass of the country to spin it that way.

Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

I certainly hope so. That would mean that either the fiscal conservatives join the Libertarians and strengthen their numbers, or they join the Democrats and the political landscape shifts so that the Dems are the socially progressive/fiscally responsible party that just about everyone I know wants to vote for.

I asked one of my very rational friends why he voted for McCain - Turns out he didn't, not in that sense.

It's just that he can't bring himself to vote for a party that supports abortion and homosexual agendas. He doesn't want to validate those concepts.

That's it. Other than that, He's glad Obama won.

As long as Democrats support those two agendas, He won't consider them "progressive."

I get the feeling that this view is common.

Peter von Nostrand: 28 posts and no right wing "see told ya so's" yet without RTFA. I doubt it will get to 50.

too obvious. plus, it's fun watching dems carry the water now. It's gonna get heavy real soon, but don't worry, we'll keep cheering you on.

DamnYankees: Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

To what end, do you think? A Democratic ruled country for a generation? The emergence of another party?

I think the bottom line is that when things go badly, the voters want to get rid of the incumbent party. The next time that happens, if the Republicans have moved firmly over to the right, the voters will look for another option. Hopefully a third party will seize this opportunity to fill the void left by the GOP moving away from the center.

Shame on FARK for deliberately pushing stories like this. I know it drums up traffic (and thus $$$$), but come on. Is it worth the price of your soul?

Probably.

Mayostard: Obama has a date with a black hole later.

Michelle?


/so sorry....

Edsel: DamnYankees: Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

To what end, do you think? A Democratic ruled country for a generation? The emergence of another party?

I think the bottom line is that when things go badly, the voters want to get rid of the incumbent party. The next time that happens, if the Republicans have moved firmly over to the right, the voters will look for another option. Hopefully a third party will seize this opportunity to fill the void left by the GOP moving away from the center.

It won't happen until the GOP's down to, like, 15, 20 seats. Maybe less.

Basically, you won't have three-party rule, at least not immediately. You'd have ONE-party rule, and then two other parties looking to kill each other off. If neither does and the pendulum swings right, maybe you have three-party rule for a while. If one kills off the other, though, you're right back where you started.

Mayostard: Obama has a date with a black hole later.

Epic win.

DamnYankees: Weaver95: For what it's worth, I think the necon/fundies are going to win this fight. they're going to push out the fiscal conservatives and drive the Republican party further and further Right Wing.

To what end, do you think? A Democratic ruled country for a generation? The emergence of another party?


That's an interesting question. So far, the majority of Americans have rejected the hypocrisy and smearing of the far right republican party (like subby's idiotic reaction to this article). If Obama can maintain the respect of dem supporters and moderates throughout his first term, the republican party, split or not will face a huge task in trying to unseat him.
OTOH, if he squanders the trust of the electorate (and I do think that despite his massive amount of support from staunch dems, Obama faces a low threshold for screw-ups), the moderate arm of the republican party is in position to win the WH.

I think it's been proven that the moderate-leaning, the fiscal conservatives, and the intellectual conservatives, not to mention the socially liberal conservatives are through voting for fundies. If the republican party can find a candidate by 2012 who embodies the true values of the party and is still able to raise his or her hand when asked if they believe in evolution fer chrissakes, then they will stop being a laughingstock, and will be taken very seriously by the electorate.

anelson41: too obvious. plus, it's fun watching dems carry the water now. It's gonna get heavy real soon, but don't worry, we'll keep cheering you on.

I didn't have problem criticizing Clinton and I won't have a problem with Obama either. Sorry, but the water carrying is being done by the right to excuse Bush and his Administration. No rationalization has been too great, no excuse too contrived and certainly no self-awareness of what the right supposedly once stood for. But I'm going to keep on cheering the impending right wing civil war in hopes that something of a sane, normal party returns from the ashes.

I believe Barack said "No dirty REPUBLICAN lobbyists..." (or something like that), although I may be paraphrasing....

molls: I think it's been proven that the moderate-leaning, the fiscal conservatives, and the intellectual conservatives, not to mention the socially liberal conservatives are through voting for fundies. If the republican party can find a candidate by 2012 who embodies the true values of the party and is still able to raise his or her hand when asked if they believe in evolution fer chrissakes, then they will stop being a laughingstock, and will be taken very seriously by the electorate.

Things can certainly change quickly but I foresee the fundies winning out for the next few years. The right will lose still more seats in the House and Senate. Palin will be the frontrunner in '12 and will be bested in a brutal primary or trounced by Obama in the general. This will effectively spell the doom of the Fundiecans and hopefully sensible, moderate Republicans will come in and fill the power vacuum.

If this guy is still a lobbyist, then you're still gay from that time you got drunk and kissed your roommate in college.

PacersJAM3s: Meet the new boss, same slightly no better than the old boss.

oh, man. these next four years are gonna be GREAT. OHHHHHHHHh, how the mighty will have fallen.

CrispFlows: It's just that he can't bring himself to vote for a party that supports abortion and homosexual agendas. He doesn't want to validate those concepts.

Well, if you put it like that..it's like some sort of fear-mongering righty talking point.

If you go with their actual platforms of the right of a woman to choose what's best for her body free of government intervention AND equal rights for everybody...it sounds much better.

Nobody actually is "pro-abortion". However, there are many people that, given the options, think a woman's right to choose is more important. And, homosexual agenda? Not even sure what that is.

I'm guessing if those parts of the platforms weren't there...he'd just find another reason to not support the democrats.

thalidomide new and improved: oh, man. these next four years are gonna be GREAT. OHHHHHHHHh, how the mighty will have fallen.

Considering how great you were at predicting the election, I have full confidence that you will be just as right about this as you were about that.

Peter von Nostrand
molls: I think it's been proven that the moderate-leaning, the fiscal conservatives, and the intellectual conservatives, not to mention the socially liberal conservatives are through voting for fundies. If the republican party can find a candidate by 2012 who embodies the true values of the party and is still able to raise his or her hand when asked if they believe in evolution fer chrissakes, then they will stop being a laughingstock, and will be taken very seriously by the electorate.

Things can certainly change quickly but I foresee the fundies winning out for the next few years. The right will lose still more seats in the House and Senate. Palin will be the frontrunner in '12 and will be bested in a brutal primary or trounced by Obama in the general. This will effectively spell the doom of the Fundiecans and hopefully sensible, moderate Republicans will come in and fill the power vacuum.

You are probably right. I lean democrat, and voted for Obama, but I still wish to see healthy oppositional parties in this country. I want Obama to be challenged by a party with a clear and progressive plan for the country. This will challenge Obama and the democrats to adhere to their principles and the promises made to voters who empowered them, rather than take their power for granted and begin to abuse it.
I don't understand why issues like protecting the environment, maintaining separation of church and state, and protecting civil liberties divide this country along party lines. This baffles and saddens me. We need to seriously raise the level of political discourse in this country if we are going to get anywhere. I don't want to see any one party become the dominant voice for more than a few years.
Even if Obama wins a second term, I hope he's constantly challenged to consider and cater to valid opposing viewpoints, instead of whargarrbl.

QQ L2Campaign

molls: OTOH, if he squanders the trust of the electorate (and I do think that despite his massive amount of support from staunch dems, Obama faces a low threshold for screw-ups), the moderate arm of the republican party is in position to win the WH.

Olympia Snowe is only one person. She couldn't beat the D's by herself.