Former agents denounce Plame leak

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has a copy of the letter sent by 11 former intelligence agents to the Democrat and Republican leadership. It's a quick read and is a straightforward denunciation of treating national security and covert status as a trivial matter and using the lives and reputations of agents to score political points.

- Murphy

Showdown

Expect an ugly tussle for the 4th Missouri Senate District seat. Sen. Pat Dougherty is being term-limited out and there are plenty of willing replacements.

Jeff Smith, Rep. Rachel Storch (64th), Rep. Amber Boykins (60th), Rep. Yaphett S. El-Amin (57th) and Rep. Fred Kratky (65th) are all potential candidates. Several have already filed, but not all.

Progressives are concerned that Smith and Storch could split the vote and allow not-so-progressive Kratky in. There is also concern that Boykins and El-Amin could fracture the African-American vote. The combination of so many potential conflicts leaves the whole mess up in the air until they work it out amongst themselves.

Smith and Storch have reportedly already had a contentious meeting that settled nothing.

Of those two, the feeling may be that progressives would almost prefer Smith over Storch. Nothing against Storch, but with progressives in the Missouri House finding it hard to put together enough people for a softball team, it is important to that progressives maintain a presence. If Storch gives up her seat, there is no guarantee a similarly progressive person would take it over.

Storch must also overcome a promise she made to her constituents that she was not simply looking at the seat as a step on the political ladder. She may be able to argue that she is still serving her constituents, just as a Senator and not a Rep, but some may harbor some doubts about her. Everyone knew that Douherty was out after this term, so if she had been mulling a run for the Senate then she may have a hard time with her constituents. They will undoubtedly make her work for each and every vote.

Boykins and El-Amin may be working on some form of a deal. Until Dougherty was appointed to take over the 4th Senate seat after Rep. Lacy Clay moved up to the U.S. House 1st Congressional District, it was filled by and African-American for many years. Undoubtedly there are leaders in the African-American community who would like to see it return.

This potential squabble coming on the heels of a 10 person primary to succeed Rep. Richard Gephardt in the 3rd Congressional District could potentially leave some longing for the old days of machine politics. Back in the day, the machine decided who, what, when and where.

While it may have kept this type of conflict out of the papers, it also kept out the people and ideas that challenged the status quo.

St. Louis still maintains a machine-style system, but its heyday is long past. A return to such tactics is unwelcome, but so are public intra-party fights.

The resolution of this situation may well demonstrate whether the party members will be able to play well together and work for common cause, or if ambition will rule the day.

- Murphy

A fine way to spend a day

The Royale is officially open!

Located on Kingshighway one block south of Arsenal.

Kick back and relax with a cold drink, play some washers in the expansive patio or, now that the kitchen is open, grab a bite to eat.

Drop by after 5 p.m.

- Murphy

Update: Fixed the spelling on Royale...that's Royale with an E! Sorry Steve - Murphy

Wider net?

Investigators are looking at Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff. His name was tossed around two years ago when the story first cleared the surface as the potential source. Given the prominence the Vice President's office plays in making major decisions, it isn't exactly a surprise.

Cheney's office raised the questions that spurred the CIA to send former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Joe Wilson, to Iraq. Cheney did not order Wilson's trip, but the desire to answer some questions about potential deals between Iraq and Niger led the CIA to send Wilson.

Republicans have tried to provide some political cover for Rove by claiming Rove was trying to warn Time Magazine reporter, Matthew Cooper, away from reporting that Cheney ordered the trip. They claim Wilson said Cheney sent him even though neither Wilson's op-ed nor any of his interviews mention it.

- Murphy

Clutter Buster

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo cuts right through the clutter and nails the central point of the Plame investigation.

There's a point that's probably worth raising with our scofflaw Republican friends. All of their arguments now amount to excuses, like those of a small child caught stealing cookies:
…
The point is that they're irrelevant. It's the mid-life version of 'He hit me first!' or 'He called me a name!' or other such foolery.

No presidential advisor should ever disclose the identity of a covert agent at the CIA. That doesn't require elaboration.

Read the whole piece, its perfect.

- Murphy

Lost Time....

I'm going to try and make up for some lost time tonight and hit on some topics that have been on my mind these past, postless days.

- Murphy

Talking the talk

Many conservatives laud President Bush as following in the footsteps of great conservatives before him, most notably, Ronald Reagan. Yet evidence continues to crop up that sheds light upon Bush's less than pure conservative policies.

The definition of conservatism has found itself in flux in recent years. Bush's adoption of "compassionate conservatism" and former President Clinton's conservative policy decision have muddied the water. However, one tenet of modern conservatism is the belief that business should be deregulated to allow market forces greater influence over the industry.

To that end, a recent study shows that under Bush's watch the economy has seen regulation grow at a greater rate than it has since the 1970's. Post-Dispatch business columnist, Dave Nicklaus, gives the rundown of the recent study.

The Weidenbaum Center has been tracking regulatory spending since the 1970s ... During that decade, regulatory spending grew nearly 9 percent a year in real terms.

That growth shrank to 2.2 percent in the 1980s before rising to 4.2 percent in the 1990s. Interestingly enough, the biggest regulatory ramp-up during that period happened under Bush's father, from 1989 to 1993. Ronald Reagan cut spending during his first term, and Bill Clinton presided over a relatively modest increase of 3.2 percent a year.

Since 2000, regulatory spending has grown at a 6.5 percent annual rate. To be fair to President Bush, the biggest increase has been in the Department of Homeland Security, which had to respond to a new and unanticipated threat after Sept. 11, 2001. Some people also would say that large budget boosts for the Securities and Exchange Commission were a necessary response to a different kind of threat that became apparent after Enron and WorldCom.

Nicklaus is correct that a great deal of the budget increases in the past 5 years have been in the defense arena, but the Department of Homeland Security doesn't qualify as a regulatory agency the way the FEC does.

While the argument that FEC regulation is not hard to make (the fallout from the criminal accounting practices of numerous companies provides millions of pieces of evidence) the conservative belief is that it should be left to the markets to sort out the problems. It is often argued that the stock collapse of the involved companies demonstrates that the market is working, despite the Econ 101 lesson that asymmetrical information (such as deceptive accounting practices) constitutes a market failure.

While the right will continue to tout Bush as a conservative icon, these and countless other examples demonstrate a willingness to ignore the truth to serve an idea.

- Murphy

Plame Game

Plame Game

Weighing in on the Plame matter doesn't seem worthwhile given the excellent coverage provided in countless other spots.

One thing needs to be reiterated over and over, however. A member of the White House staff tossed aside national security concerns (supposedly the moral basis of 21st century Republicanism) in the interest of politics.

Republicans will continue to be put forth the argument that master strategist, the boy genius, Karl Rove, didn't know about the covert status, or that he was trying to tell the truth, or that he didn't really use her name, or that Valerie Plame wasn't an undercover operative. All of these are attempts to spin the basic facts of the matter. Yet, as has been mentioned by others, they can not spin a criminal investigation.

If this were merely a political matter, the Rove machine would have steamrolled this a long time ago, but they can't steamroll a Special Prosecutor of the Department of Justice acting on a request from the CIA.

This administration has turned political calculation from an art into an obsession. Nothing is placed above the need to win.

Check out Josh Marshall for some of the most thorough coverage.

Kevin Drum over at The Washington Monthly hits the nail on the head, "Either you're outraged by such a casual attitude toward national security, or you aren't."

- Murphy

Long time, no post....

Sorry. The computer has been in the shop and I have been caught up with some changes in work.

- Murphy