Politics: 19 October 2010 at Frankly CuriousFrankly Curious

The Real Issue with Joe Miller

Joe Miller won’t answer any questions about his past and apparently won’t engage in debate with his rivals—he was not present for the Alaska Senatorial debate held last night by the Alaska Dispatch (check out their Palin Watch blog). But then, Joe Miller doesn’t much like the Dispatch as indicated by his refusal to answer reporters’ questions (some of which he has been willing to answer for national media like CNN and Faux News). Also: earlier yesterday, Miller’s security detail handcuffed and detained Dispatch reporter Tony Hopfinger for almost a half-hour.

Miller went of Faux News to justify this reprehensible act. He repeatedly referred to Hopfinger as a blogger—he is a reporter. He also claimed that Hopfinger was so out of control that he followed Miller into the bathroom. According to Hopfinger, he did not follow Miller into the bathroom—he simply had to use it before Miller’s event, which he was covering. For a man who is forever claiming that just about everything the government does is unconstitutional, Miller is quick to brush aside the First and Fourth Amendments. (This is hardly surprising: Teabaggers are mostly focused on the Tenth Amendment—you know: states’ rights.)

Miller also claims that Hopfinger pushed one of his security guards (although Miller wouldn’t know since he was long gone by the time of the incident). Hopfinger claims he pushed back only after being butted by one of the security guards. Regardless, there is no question that the reporter was being surrounded by a large, antagonistic crowd. Pushing them away seems like a reasonable response.

The big question is not about this incident, however; it is about the story Hopfinger was trying to cover: Miller’s unethical behavior while working at the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Are we to accept his word that he was not fired for using Borough computers for political purposes? Are we to disregard the word of former Fairbanks Mayor Jim Whitaker, who says that he was? This is a huge scandal. We’ll see if this gets any media traction.

The Teabagger Constitution

Markos “Kos” Moulitsas reports on a radio program he was on when a caller defended the Teabaggers, claiming that she had gone to an event where she had learned a great deal about the Constitution. The host asked her what she learned. Kos continues:

The caller hemmed and stammered until finally she said, “There’s the thing about guns, and how they can’t ram health care down our throats.” And that was it, in a nutshell, the teabagger understanding of our Constitution.

Clarence Thomas’ Wife Leaves Offensive Message for Anita Hill

Virgina Thomas, wife of the the Supreme Court Justice, left a message on Anita Hill’s voicemail that she referred to as, “Extending an olive branch to her after all these years.” Here is the olive branch she left:

Good morning, Anita Hill, it’s Ginny Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. Okay have a good day.

Mrs. Thomas is a loon. Note that there is no doubt that Anita Hill was telling the truth in this matter. Any questions about this were eliminated in David Brock’s book, Blinded by the Right.

Rush Feingold Tied With Johnson!

TV’s Frank on Countdown!