Ready to fight Sebelius

By Jennifer J. Foster

I told you a week and a half ago that this was coming, and here it is. From FoxNews.com:

National anti-abortion groups promise a vigorous fight if President Barack Obama nominates Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as U.S. health and human services secretary.

Abortion foes said Friday an important issue is a reception Sebelius once had with a late-term abortion provider who’s now facing criminal charges.

That would be Dr. George Tiller, the country’s most famous practitioner of the so-called partial-birth abortion procedure.

I also mentioned here this week that President Obama will tell us a great deal about where he is on the pragmatism/radicalism scale with this pick to lead Health and Human Services.

Cue the story:

Abortion opponents acknowledged Friday that they’ll probably be uncomfortable with nearly anyone Obama nominates, but they’re particularly upset by the prospect of Sebelius.

A major reason is an event in April 2007 at the governor’s residence with Dr. George Tiller and his Wichita clinic’s staff. Abortion foes eventually obtained photos from the reception and posted them last year on the Internet.

“This is a whole different level,“ said Susan Fani, spokeswoman for the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights. “That someone who’s so radical on this issue could be chosen is mind-boggling to us.“

I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t think that Obama, who hasn’t exactly ingratiated himself to ornrey GOP senators with the stimulus package, would want to tweak their noses any more with a controversial pick like Sebelius.

But, then again, he might go with Sebelius if he feels that he owes the left something—a true believer—to make up for the Solomon deal he made on Iraq.

My money’s on U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). He’s one of the Senate’s own, so filleting him in a confirmation hearing would be tougher. And, unlike Sebelius—whose expertise is in insurance and education issues—he’s already got experience on one of Obama’s Big Three priorities: Health care reform.

Link list

By Jennifer J. Foster

Ok, folks, it’s time for a link list. That’s what I’m calling a new feature that will serve as a catch-all for all the things I want to tell you about but don’t have time to blog about individually.

Think of each one as its own tiny tub of Ben & Jerry’s: All the pleasure of knowing the news without the guilt of wasting your whole day reading it.

Here we go:

Conservative pundit Rich Galen had an interesting article yesterday titled, “How many days hath February?“ Galen offers an eye-popping breakdown of the numbers involved in the omnibus bill, and he opines on the state of the economy thusly: “The era of capitalism which has its roots in the mercantilism of 17th century Europe, later codified by Adam Smith in 1776 when he published ‘Wealth of Nations,‘ is over.“ Demonstrating that there is at least one American consumer left in the country, Galen also offers a review of Amazon’s Kindle 2.0. Click here.

There’s a newer blog on the block down in Montgomery-town. It’s called Politics Alabama, and it’s run by a nice guy named Matthew Givens. Matthew comes down on the conservative side of the political spectrum, but as he told me, he’s interested in “good, intelligent, well-thought-out” pieces—regardless of whether he agrees with them. He’s got a lot going on over at his spot, so give him a look.

I Twittered (@jefoster) earlier about the Pentagon’s new policy regarding media coverage of the coffins of slain American soldiers returning from abroad. As I said then, it is an indication of another delicate military decision (the first being the Iraq policy) wherein, when faced with two difficult choices, President Obama simply played Solomon. Here he has split the difference between families who want the returns covered and those who don’‘t. According to FoxNews.com:

(Defense Secretary Robert) Gates said he initially asked for the ban to be reviewed a year ago, and was advised then that family members might feel uncomfortable with opening the ceremonies to media for privacy reasons or that the relatives might feel pressure to attend the services despite financial stresses. Now families will be able decide if they want the public to witness the returning war dead.

“I think that the thing we always have to keep at the forefront of our minds…should be the families and giving them choices,“ Gates said.

OK. Only one question: How will this work? How will journalists on a plane or on the tarmac be able to distinguish between the coffins of those whose families desire coverage and those who don’t?

It’s another example of Obama trying to please everyone when it comes to military policy. The question is, what’s the wisdom in this Solomon approach?

As a follow-up to Tuesday’s dueling speeches from political parties headed in opposite directions, RealClearPolitics.com’s Jay Cost examines “GOP at risk of becoming party in the no,“ a Politico article about Republicans’ empty idea bank. (You might remember that on Tuesday, ahead of Obama’s address to Congress, I said that Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had to “find some way to articulate ideological opposition to the president and his agenda without sounding like the latest doctoral graduate from the Republican School of No.“

Yeah ... that didn’t go so well for him—and in my column in today’s Opelika-Auburn News, I explain why that’s long-term trouble for the GOP.

Clint Eastwood has a message for the PC crowd. Here’s a hint: It’s a nice tie-in with his Oscar-worthy triumph, “Gran Torino.“ Click here.

I got all excited when I saw this headline from CNN: “Focus on the Family’s James Dobson steps down.“ Finally, I thought; Dobson is finally going to get back to focusing on families instead of on politicians.

Alas, no. Dobson is only stepping away from administrative duties. According to spokesman Gary Schneeberger and CNN, Dobson’s public role isn’t expected to change. He’ll still appear on his daily radio broadcast and as an advocate for socially conservative issues.

“There won’t be a whole lot of difference,“ the spokesman said. “You’ll still hear him on the radio. You’ll still see him on the networks like CNN with Larry King.

“He said to the staff today, ‘I’ve got more to say—I’m not ready to stop fighting for the things I’ve fought for for the past 32 years.‘“

Oh boy. More James Dobson talking politics.

And we thought the GOP was just going to have its hands full with Obama.

You can read my earlier Dobson-related work here. I would draw your attention specifically to the two pieces to which I linked in the 2/5/08 post (bottom of the page).

James Dobson might be everything that’s right with evangelical theology. But he’s everything that’s wrong with evangelical politics.

Finally, speaking of too-big-for-their-britches-kingmakers, CPAC will announce the winner of its so-early-it’s-ridiculous presidential straw poll today. (Here’s a hint! They LOVE Mitt!!)

Seriously, the touch-up paint hasn’t even dried in the White House yet.

Oh, but that’s not stopping these dudes. They want their red meat, and they want it now. The want everyone to remember how powerful! How extraordinarily powerful! they are in getting conservatives elected.

... Because, you know, they were so successful in getting conservatives elected in 2008. But I digress.

Anyway, the straw poll thing will be announced today, and all the presumed/assumed/could-be candidates are there for their tryouts (including a guy you know from Ohio). By the way, it nauseates me to have to tell you that Alaska Gov. You-Know-Who leads potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates in CNN’s latest if-you-had-to-vote-today poll.

OK, gotta go load up on the headache meds now.

P.S. I’m on the other side of that gender gap.

Sustainability breakthrough

By Jennifer J. Foster

You might have heard a little something this week about how Greenpeace would actually prefer that you drive a Hummer rather than use soft toilet paper. From the You-Can’t-Be-Serious File, we have news of a breakthrough environmentally-friendly product that will change the way Americans do business.

Er, make that, the way Americans do their business.

Warning: This is not for the squeamish.

People are making and marketing reusable toilet wipes. For grown-ups. (Drudge teased this, “Bottom reached.“)

Click here for a discussion on why you should Go Reusable! (In the interest of full disclosure, I should warn you that phrase “sopping disintigration” is employed.)

And if you’re thinking, “Eww! No, seriously, ewww!!“ Then you should click on this link, which details “How to Use Cloth Wipes.“ The author wants to encourage you: “OK, this is not nearly as gross as you might be imagining.“ But then he or she goes on to instruct you with pointers like this one: “Shake, scrape, swish, or squirt off anything you don’t want in your laundry” and mentions breezily that “our wipes have minimal staining.“

Land sakes (pardon the pun).

The author admits that “there is a certain ick factor involved.“

She is right ... though for more reasons than she likely suspects.

ASNE cancelled

By Jennifer J. Foster

In yet another indication of the depth and breadth of the economic crisis that is swallowing entire newspapers and newspaper organizations whole, the American Society of Newspapers Editors has opted to cancel this year’s annual convention—marking only the second time in 87 years the convention won’t be held.

The only other occasion of a cancellation occurred in 1945, near the end of World War II. According to the Associated Press, the newspaper industry has weathered 10 U.S. recessions since that last cancellation.

“The industry is in crisis,“ said Charlotte Hall, president of the trade group and editor of the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel. “This is a time when editors need to be in their own news rooms doing everything they can,“ to help their publications survive.

So much for misery loving company. I guess they’ll all have to come up with a grand scheme for web takeover on their own.

‘Broadcaster Freedom Act’

By Jennifer J. Foster

There was action on the Fairness Doctrine in the Senate yesterday.

As is typical of action in the Senate, the action took place within action on something else that was completely and entirely unrelated. So the action about the Fairness Doctrine actually wasn’t about the Fairness Doctrine itself, and it was done on a bill that had nothing to do with communications oversight and accountability.

But we overlook and even expect this confusion because, you know, the Senate is the more deliberative body.

(And here I thought it was just because they had trouble grouping similar things together. But I digress.)

Anyway, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) one-upped Fairness Doctrine proponents with his success in attaching the “Broadcaster Freedom Act” to a bill that would give the District of Columbia (“Taxation without Representation!“) sovereignty.

SIDEBAR: Does anyone else find it ironic that D.C. is on the verge of winning its long-awaited sovereignty from Washington just as citizens in so many states are engaging in movements to reclaim the sovereignty they believe they’ve lost to Washington? END SIDEBAR

As U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the House sponsor, explains it:

The Broadcaster Freedom Act will prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from prescribing rules, regulations, or policies that will reinstate the requirement that broadcasters present opposing viewpoints in controversial issues of public importance. The Broadcaster Freedom Act will prevent the FCC or any future President from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. This legislation ensures true freedom and fairness will remain on our radio airwaves ...

OK, so the “Broadcaster Freedom Act” is actually the anti-Fairness Doctrine (I’m beginning to empathize with the nomenclature problem the anti-Federalists had). It passed 87-11. More on that in a minute.

But it wasn’t a clear win for DeMint. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-That-Place-Where-Roland-Burris-Is-From) managed to tack on an alternate amendment that would order the Federal Communications Commission to encourage radio ownership “diversity,“ according to FoxNews.com.

A DeMint aide said Durbin’s measure will “impose the Fairness Doctrine through the back door by trying to break up radio ownership.“

The aide called the Durbin proposal “an attempt to break up companies like Clear Channel and hurt their syndications and therefore putting many local radio stations out of business that depend on those syndicated shows for revenue.“

The measure passed by a vote of 57-to-41.

OK ... someone explain this to me, please. If 87 senators oppose the Fairness Doctrine, then:

1) Why are we even talking about it like it may happen, and

2) How did the Durbin amendment get 57 votes?

Wait ... maybe I answered the first question with the second: Maybe the senators, in all their deliberative genius and with all their sophisticated legislative maneuvers, have managed to confuse themselves.