When did bi-partisan become a naughty word?

You know what I like about the 2008 election campaigns on the Democratic side? They've been relatively devoid of acrimony and slash and burn tactics. Sure there've been a few barbs here and there, but for the most part Clinton and Obama have been composing themselves.

What's with the 'conservative' lashing at McCain for his past bi-partisan efforts? It's like some members of the GOP are pissed because he didn't sequester himself in a room with other GOPs and only worked on initiatives with GOPs. Does democracy exist, or rather, is it sustainable in a vacuum? I don't think it is.

When Ann Coulter says she'll vote for Clinton if McCain wins the nomination I think, 1) she's full of ess, 2) I wish the mothership would pick her up and simply note that the experiment was a failure, and 3) what's so great about Huckabee and his carefully nuanced claims to bring Church and State closer together?

And what's wrong with building consensus? We're a nation of many different viewpoints. Shouldn't a consensus builder be considered an asset and not a liability, especially since we're going to be cleaning up the mess left from the Bush dynasty?

It's like neo-cons are so polarized that they might need to come out from the shadows and actually touch a member not of the GOP.

You know what...Jenna and Barbara Bush date Independents...oh the scandal. Their babies will be Independans...or Republidents. Either way, they'll party a lot and have progressive views. Yeah...that's what's going to happen...we're going to breed out all the religious fundamentalists and clinically repressed people everywhere.

Will Rove be the fish that got away?

The House Judiciary sub-committee approved subpoenas for White House chief political adviser Karl Rove, Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, and other aides. This means that they will need to, under oath and on the record, answer for their roles in the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys (USA) within the Justice Department.

Initially, an offer was made of having Rove "testify" behind closed doors without having to be sworn in, nor having the dialog taken as record. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (Dem-VT) called b-s on that.

The issue at hand behind this is a tiny provision in the Patriot Act that gives the President the authority to fill empty capacities with attorneys of his choice, without requiring Senate approval. This suggests that Dubya was attempting to circumvent Congress, which happens to now be under Democrat control, in order to push his agenda. Rove and Miers were both directly and/or indirectly involved making use of this loophole, most likely at the behest of Dubya. This latter comment is just my non-fact based, anti-strategry, coming-from-the-gut take on the whole matter.

O, the hypocrisy of it all. Some Republicans are saying that the subpoenas are politically motivated.

“The only purpose of the subpoenas is to the fan the flames and photo ops of partisan controversy,” said Representative Chris Cannon of Utah, the senior Republican on the subcommittee.

Um...what do you call terminating USAs with false pretense, then going behind Congress's back to fill the ranks with those loyal to the administration and its agenda? This may all be within the bounds of approved legislation, but there's also the spirit of the law to consider here.

Will Rove actually testify? Will he flounder and sing like a birdie about how he was just following orders? It's too early to say at this point. At this point, I'm just hoping that these officials show some integrity and take some accountability for their actions. Am I hoping for too much? Perhaps, but once you stop expecting elected officials to represent your interests in a truly legal manner is the day that we forsake our wonderful democratic country and the lifestyle it supports.

I will say that I feel better about using my tax dollars in pursuing this matter, as opposed to those used to investigate and potentially impeach another President, who happened to lie about getting a blowjob. Somehow, when I compare the two, I just don't think these are apples to apples.

Want to check out what sfgate.com visitors have to say about it? Go ahead and vote on their poll on their landing page. Check it out soon, as it'll most likely change by tomorrow.

If Ann Coulter was bovine, she'd be a Judas Cow

If Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly had a baby it'd be Satan. I shouldn't say that, though. It wouldn't be fair to Satan.

The mindless, sleazy, and negative rhetoric that this woman delivers is shocking: not so much in that she actually says it, but that she's got a huge following and people who think she's [gasp] speaking the truth. In reality, she's a simple person, one who enjoys her celebrity status despite the fact that it's grounded in bigotry, ignorance, and hate.

Her recent bout of her trademark "anti-liberal" noise emanated from the Conservative Political Action Conference held recently in Washington. At the conference she eloquently and so brilliantly referred to Democratic Presidential nominee John Edwards as a "faggot".

Hat's off to you, Ann. You and Bill probably thought this genius scheme up while you were reaming him in his ass with a giant black ribbed strap-on dildo. You two kids show remarkable tact, and I salute your passionate diatribe, however brainless and inane it may be. You're helping to define what conservatives do NOT want to be associated with when people with different political views start actually engaging in dialogs directed to making the United States a better place.

Soon, people like you will be gone, and your genes and hateful tendencies will be forever lost in the unfortunate but thoroughly documented annals of history: included in the chapter where Michael Richards, Strom Thurmond, Tim Hardaway, David Duke, Newt Gingrich, your boytoy Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sen. McCarthy, Kenneth Eng, and the like are listed.

Thank you, Ann, for polarizing voters further to the "left". You're making the world a better place by herding people away from you and your revolting mindset.