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2008 and counting: Conservative group denounces Scarborough |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 06/08/07 07:27 PM [ET] |
The nation’s largest public policy women’s organization lashed out at MSNBC talk show host and former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) yesterday for his recent comments asking whether former Sen. Fred Thompson’s (R-Tenn.) wife, Jeri, “works the pole.”
Scarborough is one of several hosts filling in for fired host Don Imus in Imus’s former morning radio show slot, and the show is simulcast on MSNBC. The comment aired Monday, as the buzz about Thompson’s entry into the presidential field grew.
“Joe Scarborough’s banter reduces an accomplished and respectable woman to a ‘bimbo’ and reflects attempts to mainstream porn into everyday culture,” said the president of Concerned Women for America, Wendy Wright. She went on to say that Scarborough owes Thompson’s wife an apology.
An MSNBC spokesman said the outrage over Scarborough’s comment is “another example of a statement being taken out of context in the blogosphere.”
Scarborough had previously been talking about pole-dancing as a fitness exercise.
“Joe was having a conversation with a female triathlete about her exercise routine,” MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said.
“That was the context in which he asked about how Mrs. Thompson works out.”
Scarborough, who also hosts “Scarborough Country” on MSNBC in the evening, has reached out to Thompson since the comments.
— Aaron Blake
Obama on the spotWhen the Senate takes up energy legislation next week, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will be in an unusually tough spot with the left flank of his party.
MoveOn.org is circulating a petition calling on Congress to reject a plan to turn coal into a transportation fuel. Critics say liquefying coal would lead to a substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
“Anyone on the wrong side of the coal issue should pay a political price,” said Ilyse Hogue, campaign director of MoveOn.org Political Action.
But coal-state backers of the plan, including Obama, say it would help put America on a path toward energy independence.
The plan is almost certain to put Obama in a tough position — risk irking environmentalists and activists who are pressing Democrats to take an aggressive stance on climate change, or risk being accused of flip-flopping by his opponents.
But the senator may find a way out. There is some talk about bridging a middle ground between the two groups.
An Obama spokesman said, “[Obama ] only supports the development of coal-to-liquid fuels that emit less carbon than conventional gasoline, and has introduced a low-carbon fuel standard that would ensure they meet that standard.”
— Manu Raju
Tension flares between Obama, GrahamRepublican White House rivals have scrapped over the Senate immigration bill since former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) taped his last “Law & Order,” but the blows struck a Democrat late Tuesday.
After Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke on his amendment to set a five-year window for the bill’s new point system, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took the floor. Graham directly — and emotionally — accused Obama of trying to torpedo a bipartisan agreement while he promotes the same values on the presidential stump.
“When you are out on the campaign trail, my friend, telling about ‘why can’t we come together,’ this is why,” Graham told Obama heatedly.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a close friend of Graham’s who has tussled twice with Obama as they vie for their parties’ 2008 nominations, at first objected to giving Obama time to respond unless the South Carolinian received similar time.
The conflict continued off the Senate floor, according to the Associated Press, and kept senators talking yesterday.
“There is a lot of pressure” on bill supporters, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said. “The presidential campaign has raised the profile of the issue … [T]hat’s affecting some politics here on the floor. People want to make a statement.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) agreed that “emotions are running high,” but called the presidential maneuvering over immigration “just the sideshow, not the main event.”
— Elana Schor
Paul seeks to rescind war authorityPresidential candidate and maverick Republican Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) yesterday introduced legislation to rescind congressional authorization of the war in Iraq.
“Congress has a constitutional obligation to revisit this issue and provide needed oversight and policy guidance,” Paul said.
Paul voted against the 2002 war resolution.
— Mike Soraghan
Biden, Brownback join forcesDemocratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware may not have a lot in common with Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, other than being on the second rung of presidential candidates seeking the nominations of their respective parties.
But yesterday Brownback joined Biden’s long-standing call to turn to a political solution for Iraq by separating the warring factions and creating a limited role for the central government.
“If we want the country to hold together with fine stability, we have to make federalism work,” Biden said. “It’s just as simple as that.”
— Manu Raju |
