I finally got it!! I know why the dubster has only been a very part time Lt Gov.  His opponent is Matt Dunne.  It stands to reason, dub would want to keep his day job.

On the heels of the Brattleboro Reformer’s spineless endorsement of Jim Douglas (that also took needless, unreasonable shots at Scudder Parker), which was presented to us in order to bump up their transcendent, independent thinking cred in the face of their expected, multiple Dem endorsements, the Reformer is trying to get their progressive readership to just forget about it and move on with today’s compensation piece.

Although I must admit, they hit it outta the park:

Clinton hoped for unity. He never got it. Instead, Americans never found out the truth about the extent of cooperation between the U.S. and Iran and Iraq in the 1980s. If that information got out, it’s doubtful George W. Bush would have ever become president.

Truth matters. History matters. Accountability matters. Setting the record straight is important. Sadly, it appears the Democratic Party is prepared to make the same mistake today that Clinton made in 1993.

Below the fold for the rest of their point. And then return to the above link to read the whole piece. It should be required reading.

Republicans are fearful that if the Democrats retake control of one or both chambers of Congress, they will have subpoena power. They will have the power to fully investigate the Bush administration on many fronts, including the decision that led to the invasion of Iraq.

But the centrists in the Democratic Party don’t want to do this. They are afraid that members of the so-called “angry left” will be so bent on impeaching President Bush that they will destroy the Democrats’ credibility.

This is nonsense. If the centrists think that this time, the Republicans will play nice, it’s not going to happen. If the Republicans in Congress do find themselves in the minority come November, they will obstruct, attack and offer zero cooperation to Democrats.

Instead of pretending that trading away a search for the truth will yield some potential political advantage later, the Democrats need to let Americans know how the Bush administration misled the nation to war in Iraq. They need to let Americans know about the corruption and incompetence that has infected every level of the federal government. They need to hold the ruling party accountable for every misdeed.

This isn’t about partisan politics. It is about the most important commodity in a democracy — truth.

Tomorrow morning at 11:30, we’ll find out if I am worthy of being called “kestrel.”

I am damned sick of looking at this:

And now, I get to say why. On the air.
I get to go to the mat.
Details on the jump.

So we were without a Valley Perspectives program for this Sunday. All the shirts at the radio station are at seminars this week, so I’m answering phones.
Got a call from a guy who wanted to pay his bill. So I shunted that off to the ops manager, who put it on the speaker.
And I challenged the caller to a debate. And he accepted.
My opponent will be Chris Freund, Director of Policy and Communications for The Family Foundation of Virginia. The Big Pimp Daddy for the Marriage Amendment.
Questions to ask? Talk points to use? Traps I must not let myself be led into?
I will diary this again this evening on Daily Kos. Your moral support and input would be much appreciated.

Tired of watching all those nasty, angry people on Tarant’s ads?

I sure am. That’s why I decided to share some of the particularly vile advertising the Republicans are using across the country. You may have read about them, or heard of them, but when you actually see and hear them some of them are shockingly bad.

Let’s start out in the state I grew up in, the Garden State. Now associated with the Sopranos. Here’s what the R’s do when they have an Italian opponent.

How about radio? In Indiana they’re running a bizarre ad that talks about how a vote for Democratic candidate Brad Ellsworth is a vote for Nancy Pelosi and the homosexual agenda.

They’re talking about taxes, too.

And national security.

Don’t worry, I saved the best for last. If you haven’t seen the racist commercial the RNC is running against Harold Ford in Tennessee, you really, really have to watch this. My wife couldn’t believe it wasn’t a joke, but it’s really true.

Is there any comment that could possibly match this? Maybe the fact that Ken Mehlman doesn’t see a racial issue there. Or that Ken Mehlman, the head of the Republican National Committee, says that the RNC (yup, you heard them say they’re responsible for the content of this ad) can’t do anything about it.

At our town committee meeting the other night we were sharing predictions of what’s going to happen this year. My prediction, which I’m sticking with at the moment, is that we take the House and Senate.

Nationally, the R’s don’t seem to be too confident. Here’s a leaked document showing how they’re sizing up their contested races, which is what they’re using to redirect their money.

Even if we don’t take back Congress, there should be some pretty gratifying wins for us. My favorites are the likelihood of ousting Santorum (adults only) (although I’m not happy about Casey), getting rid of Conrad Burns in Montana (that race was enough to get my son to register to vote out there, where he’s studying at the University of Montana), and taking Delay’s seat.