the anti-war, purer-than-pure people

* digby on the pig:

"How I long for the day when we might once again have a president with the maturity of someone who has already passed through puberty."

* via digby:

"It is incredibly rare to see a Senator more popular among opposition partisans than within his own party. Yet that is increasingly the case for Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman."

* drum:

"Let me get this straight. Specter's bill gives Bush the "option" of submitting the NSA program to the FISA court for review, and Specter has a handshake agreement with the White House that Bush will, in fact, submit it. What's more, it's a one-time deal that affects no other program and no future president.

What's the point of this? The president already has the "option" of submitting the NSA program to the FISA court for review. He can do it anytime he wants. I'm a little mystified about exactly what this legislation is supposed to accomplish."

* tpmcafe:

"John TURLEY: Discovery in this (Plame) case would be extremely damaging to the White House. This is a highly secretive White House. The notion of a team of lawyers with subpoenas is an obvious concern. These attorneys would be operating under a lower standard of proof than the criminal standard applied to [Patrick] Fitzgerald. And because the Wilsons are raising conspiracy claims the scope of discovery could be quite broad. It would include emails as well as in-person depositions of the White House staff."

* ap:

" Like her fellow Democratic senator from neighboring Connecticut, Joseph Lieberman, New York's Hillary Rodham Clinton is facing her own potential anti-Iraq war primary challenge. But with a million differences.
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In New York, Jonathan Tasini is a former president of the National Writers Union who had $25,565 in his Senate campaign account as of the end of March. Clinton had $20 million. Tasini hasn't even been included in most statewide independent polls.
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Nonetheless, Tasini has refused to give up the fight against the most famous woman in American politics and leading contender among potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders. He says he is under no illusions about his chances given his lack of money and her level of fame.
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And, having Lieberman fighting for his life in neighboring Connecticut makes life easier for Clinton, said Maurice Carroll, head of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"If it weren't for Joe Lieberman, the anti-war, purer-than-pure people would probably focus on this as a place to go," said Carroll, an expert in New York politics. "But, with Lieberman, they've got a lovely target for the next few weeks anyway."
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That is not to say that the anti-war crowd hasn't put Clinton in their sights. She was booed during a Washington appearance last month before a liberal group when she said it was wrong to set a strict timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. And Tasini and fellow anti-war activists have marched near the Clintons' home in Westchester County."

go Jonathan