The echo chamber nearly punctured our eardrums as media watchers blathered on about the move by Howard Kurtz -- a trailblazer of new media at CNN and the Washington Post -- to the Daily Beast. But how will we know what to think without an evenhanded Kurtz column to lay it out? Despite our best efforts, we still couldn't drown out the noise: Joe Miller has said that state legislatures should pick our senators (and recent history has proven them to be real bastions of character), RedState is blasting a congressional candidate for not vetting every single lodger at a motel he owns and Michael Steele, champion of the little guy, doesn't know what the minimum wage is. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, October 5th, 2010:
MICHAEL STEELE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE MINIMUM WAGE IS - In an interview to be aired tonight on Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell, HuffPost Hill has learned that RNC Chairman Michael Steele is unable to say what the federal minimum wage is (it's $7.25 an hour, FYI). Steele also says that the GOP is in "lockstep" with the Tea Party and says "the Tea Party is an organic party that is concerned about the direction of the country." Last Word, now in its second week, airs at 10pm on MSNBC.
NANCY PELOSI TALKS TO HUFFPOST HILL - HuffPost Hill, because it's Tuesday, sat down with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to shoot the doggy doo. Pelosi blasted the "plutocracy" and "oligarchy" that threatened to overwhelm the Democratic process with a flood of corporate money.
On Newt Gingrich suggesting that Pelosi stands for food stamps and Republicans are the party of paychecks: "Let me just say this: One of these days, in the far future, when I'm not Speaker anymore, I will be irrelevant, and this to me-God bless them for being true to who they are. They just can't resist the urge to stomp on poor people."
Asked if she expected Democrats to get any air support from independent money: "I hope so. I hope so. I hope so. Certainly I don't know that, going into the election, there was any plan to do so...Absent this [Supreme-Court-sanctioned corporate spending], we were really pretty confident about winning the election. We still are. But this makes it harder," she said. "Somebody said to me, 'You can survive being outspent eight to one.' I said, 'Just as long as the one is there. Eight to one? Okay. Eight to nothing? No I don't think so.'"
On sticking it to Republicans: "Whenever you get hit with an overwhelming weight, you have to jujitsu it. So we want to turn it against them...I want to tattoo [corporate spending] right on to the Republican candidate," she said, smacking her hand for emphasis. "Big oil, big banks, big health insurance: We're going to tattoo you with that, so it's like doggy-do stuck on your shoe. Wherever you go, people will know."
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - From Arthur Delaney: "When the House returns from its mid-term recess on Nov. 15, it will have just seven voting days to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits before they expire again. HuffPost asked Pelosi if it will be easier than last time, when, thanks to the Senate, it took 50 days. "Well I hope so, because it's certainly going to be harder for the people whose benefits are expiring," Pelosi said. "I certainly hope it would be." :(
HOUSE CANDIDATE RESPONDS TO CHARGES HE RENTED A ROOM TO A SEX OFFENDER - Ami Bera, a physician from the Sacramento area and he of the shirtless Dan Lungren ad, is running a competitive race against Lungren. Red State yesterday posted an item alleging that a motel Bera owned rented a room to a convicted sex offender despite operating near several facilities frequented by children -- a would-be violation of California law (http://bit.ly/ao5HlI). In an interview with HuffPost Hill Bera flatly denied the charges, saying, "We sold the property in December 2009, and in the time that we owned that property, to my knowledge, there were never any sex offenders staying there. There were no violations of any laws. I think Meghan's law and Cheslea's law, those laws protecting our kids are the right laws. While we owned the property, there were never any SO to my knowledge." Bera's campaign later provided HuffPost Hill with a sales assessment that it says proves Bera unloaded the property before the sex offender moved in. Does all this really affect the people of California's 3rd Congressional District one iota? Nope. See the assessment here: http://bit.ly/a3ohrz
TOM DASCHLE PICKS AT PUBLIC OPTION WOUND - During the health care debate, it was reported by the Times in passing that the White House had traded away the public option as a part of deal with the hospital lobby. The White House and the hospitals, after Ed Schultz and HuffPost blogger Miles Mogulescu highlighted the report, denied it. Tom Daschle revived the story today, telling Think Progress: "It was taken off the table as a result of the understanding that people had with the hospital association, with the insurance, and others." Note the gun-to-the-head walk-back included as an update to the post: http://bit.ly/conXuc
Chip Kahn, the lobbyist quoted by the Times, told HuffPost in a letter to the editor back in March that it wasn't true: "[C]ontrary to the assertions by Messrs Mogulescu and Schultz, there was never an agreement, implicit or explicit, regarding the public option and whether or not it would be included in comprehensive health reform legislation. This should end any confusion regarding hospitals and the assertions made by Messrs Mogulescu and Schultz." http://bit.ly/bZSME6 (PDF)
The Miles Mogulescu post that had the hospitals on their heels: http://huff.to/9kjTZ9
HOWARD KURTZ JOINING DAILY BEAST AS D.C. BUREAU CHIEF - The chattering class erupted in a collective "OOOOOH WE KNOW THAT GUY!!!!!" this afternoon when news emerged that the Washington Post media columnist and host of Reliable Sources
would depart WaPo for the Daily Beast. Tina Brown, the site's editor, announced the news: "As Washington Bureau Chief, he will lead our reporting in the capital and on the campaign trail. Howie knows that today the interaction of media and politics is the story. He combines integrity and rigorous reporting. He's a tough and lively television presence, as I can attest, as can plenty of others. Our press release just issued on the great news is below." http://bit.ly/b0RCDm
Tom Scocca: "Neutral-perspective media critic and walking conflict of interest Howard Kurtz is going to be the Daily Beast's Washington bureau chief. This means he will quit one of his two existing jobs--the one where he wrote for the Washington Post about CNN, not the one where he talks on CNN about the Washington Post." http://bit.ly/dbiAT1
EVERYTHING IS OK @washingtonpost: Paper is in peril, but the tiny business card is thriving. What are your do's and don'ts for etiquette? http://wapo.st/dio2Un
Christina Bellantoni is leaving TPM for CQ/Roll Call.
TODAY'S TERKEL TAKEDOWN - If the pen is mightier than the sword, then Amanda Terkel just took a pen and stabbed it in the heart of conventional wisdom: "A new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute (PPRI) bucks the conventional wisdom that voters are overwhelmingly mad about health care reform and that candidates who embrace it on the campaign trail are putting themselves at risk. Fifty-four percent of voters say they would be more likely to back a candidate who supported health care reform, according to the poll. That number includes 51 percent of independents and 79 percent of Democratic voters. Fifty-nine percent of Republican voters, however, say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the legislation." http://huff.to/crMALp
We're told The Hill will have a poll out tomorrow, along with Penn Schoen Bermand, that examines the electoral health of 12 freshman Democrats.
The book party celebrating Arianna's new book, "Third World America," is, natch, being held in The Palisades tonight. We'll see you there.
Don't be bashful: Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
NEARLY 100 HOUSE DEMOCRATS HAVEN'T CONTRIBUTED TO DCCC - It's like the House is a 435-seat table at a restaurant and Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn are awkwardly asking who hasn't ponyed up ("Well, we're just $750,000 short. How much did you put in, Sanford?"). Sunlight Foundation: "The contributions to the DCCC and the lack of contributions by some members produce a dynamic that highlights some of the Democratic Party's internal ideological divisions. Many of the non-contributing members are Democrats from the moderate-to-conservative wing of the party. These are also the same members who are facing difficult reelections. Those contributing to the party committee are more representative of the party's liberal wing including many members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. While 53 of 82 Progressive Caucus members contributed to the committee, only 17 out of 54 members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition did as well. Over the past two years, Progressive Caucus members have voiced concerns about deals crafted to win the votes of Blue Dog Democrats and other moderate and conservative Democrats. The make-up of the caucus after November 2 could likely determine the party's ideological temperament heading into the 2012 presidential cycle." http://bit.ly/cCFBn4
JOE MILLER REALLY GUNNING FOR RULING YEOMAN ELITE VOTE - Sounding more and more like a guy who cultivated his knowledge of government by thumbing through the Federalist Papers while waiting for the Barnes and Noble attendant to see whether "Red Storm Rising" was still in stock, the Alaska Senate candidate has publicly stated his support for the repeal of the 17th amendment. Yes, the one that allows the direct election of senators. "The Fairbanks attorney and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate held a town hall meeting Monday night during which he criticized the media for portraying him as an extremist and mischaracterizing his positions...He called the idea of a living, changing Constitution "bullcrap," and said he would support an amendment for term limits as well as an amendment repealing the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of senators by the public rather than by state legislatures." http://bit.ly/9skE08 via http://bit.ly/9JZKXe
Lisa Murkowski has warned Tea Party officials in Alaska not to air ads she claims are filled with "lies." "U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's campaign is warning Alaska broadcasters not to air ads by a national tea party group that the campaign says are 'littered with lies and intentional mischaracterizations' about her and her write-in campaign. Attorney Timothy McKeever, in a letter to broadcasters Monday, said they are under a 'legal and moral obligation' not to air the new ads from Tea Party Express, which is supporting Joe Miller, the political upstart who defeated Murkowski in the August GOP primary." http://huff.to/90M9PN
CHRIS COONS RESPONDS TO CHRISTINE O'DONNELL'S 'I'M YOU' AD - After Christine O'Donnell more or less insulted all of Delaware by comparing herself to the population in her first ad, Chris Coons' campaign has already launched a "Not Me" section on its website. The page more or less reads like a HuffPost Hill rant: "In her new television ad, Christine O'Donnell says she is you," it says. "But unless you think the retirement age for Social Security should be raised, want to further de-regulate Wall Street, are against a woman's right to choose, think public schools should teach Creationism, and think homosexuality is an 'identity disorder,' she is not you." http://bit.ly/9c0o7v
NEVADA TEA PARTY CHAIRMAN QUITS AFTER ANGLE TAPE SURFACES - That's all she scribbled incoherently: "The chairman of the Nevada Tea Party has resigned after a recording was made public capturing Republican Sharron Angle badmouthing GOP leaders during a meeting with a minor U.S. Senate candidate. Syd James said Tuesday he was 'disillusioned' that tea party candidate Scott Ashjian (ASH'-jee-in) released the recording. James says he quit his party post and now supports Angle. In the recording, Angle cajoles Ashjian to drop out of the race and support her bid to oust Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid." http://bit.ly/929pA4t
PALADINO FOR GOVERNOR EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: CARL PALADINO - Say what you will about Carl Paladino's colorful campaign trail statements, his penchant for personal threats and those bangs under his eyes that recall Commodus in the last 40 minutes of Gladiator...dude is a shrewd businessman. Daily News: "When lone-wolf Republican Carl Paladino needs to hire someone to run his guerrilla war campaign for governor, he consistently turns to someone he can trust.
Himself. Since last spring, Paladino has steered at least $1.9 million in campaign money to seven separate companies he controls, paying himself to buy TV ads, provide space for campaign offices and even hire an accountant. Election law does not prohibit candidates from hiring their own companies to do campaign work, as long as the campaign is charged "a reasonable fair-market rate," said John Conklin, spokesman for the state Board of Elections. Paladino's campaign manager, Michael Caputo, said Paladino's companies charged market rate, although it's difficult to verify since they're all privately held." http://bit.ly/aREGMf
@mediaite Separated At Birth? A Young Carl Paladino And Dan Abrams http://mediaite.com/a/aerzr
Dana Milbank has tuned his snide cannon on Glenn Beck in a new HuffPost blog entry: "In one of his first appearances on Fox News, Glenn Beck sent a coded message to the nation's six million Mormons -- or at least those Mormons who believe in what the Latter-day Saints call 'the White Horse Prophecy.' 'We are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance,' Beck told Bill O'Reilly on November 14, 2008, just after President Obama's election. 'I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up.' The Constitution is hanging by a thread. Most Americans would have heard this as just another bit of overblown commentary and thought nothing more of it. But to those familiar with the White Horse Prophecy, it was an unmistakable signal. The phrase is often attributed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church. Smith is believed to have said in 1840 that when the Constitution hangs by a thread, elders of the Mormon Church will step in -- on the proverbial white horse -- to save the country." http://huff.to/dASwrc
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is trying all he can to cement his populist, moderate bonafides -- a Jackie Gleason in a power tie -- is a bit hesitant to meet with Beck. Star Ledger: During an appearance in New Jersey Sunday, the lightning rod Beck told a crowd at Six Flags Great Adventure that he admires what Christie is doing in his first months as governor and said, 'I would love to meet Chris Christie.' After a morning appearance at a downtown Des Moines hotel, Christie did not respond directly when asked whether he would like to meet Beck as well. 'I heard that Glenn wants to meet me. I heard he was in New Jersey,' Christie said in an interview. "Listen,I feel really lucky that I have so many people out there who are saying that my policies are good policies and all of those people have my gratitude. And he, among others, does."
@cbellantoni: Yes, the @obamaandme folks are friends of mine and their app rocks. Here's their site: http://www.obamaandme.com/
TEA PARTIER DOUG HOFFMAN DROPS HOUSE BID - Doug Hoffman, the upstart politician with the charisma of a CPA who nevertheless captured the nation's attention last year by nearly becoming the first Tea Party-backed candidate to win office, has abandoned his House bid. Hoffman lost the Republican primary to Matt Doheny last month and the Upstate New York Tea Party threw its support behind Doheny last week. "It was never my intention to split the Republican vote in the 23rd District. So today, I withdraw as a candidate from this race," Hoffman said in a statement. "I strongly urge and request that my supporters not vote for me and certainly not vote for the Democrat or Working Families Party candidate." Times Union: http://bit.ly/aT0Iyz
RUSS FEINGOLD DID NOT GET THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE - Politics Daily: "Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is out with a new TV ad, which includes footage of NFL players, to help make the case that his political opponents should be penalized for "dancing in the end zone" (celebrating his defeat prematurely). But according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The National Football League has asked the Russ Feingold campaign to take down a newly released ad that uses footage from NFL games. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Journal Sentinel that the league did not license the footage used in the ad. He said the league had contacted the Feingold campaign about removing it." http://bit.ly/9UAcqX
Almost as bad as that time in the 80s when Bob Dylan found God and denounced homosexuality, former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker is apparently a rabid Tea Party supporter. Marcus Baram: The legendary band's followers and admirers are buzzing about reports that drummer Maureen 'Moe' Tucker showed up at a Tea Party rally earlier this year and expressed her anger that the government is leading the country to socialism. A woman identified as Maureen Tucker was interviewed by news station WALB-TV at a rally in Tifton, Georgia last April, expressing her fury: 'I'm furious about the way we're being led towards socialism. I'm furious about the incredible waste of money when things that we really need and are important get dropped because there's no money left.'"
We're really heating up for this: "EA Sports' new 'NBA Jam' game for the Wii... [will feature] an unlockable Democrat team featuring President Obama, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore, as well as a team of Republicans that includes George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, John McCain, and Dick Cheney." Thanks to @MPOTheHIll for the heads up. ESPN: http://es.pn/cxcVAY
JEREMY THE INTERN'S WEATHER REPORT - Remember that band of rain yesterday? The one that was bringing moisture off the water into Maryland? Well, get this: the back end should be coming around some time tonight.Expect light-to-medium rain to come over the area. The rain should continue through tomorrow. Thanks, JB!
COMFORT FOOD
- We don't usually put gossip here but "50 Cent and Chelsea Handler Romantically Linked!" got our attention. http://bit.ly/agKffn
- You know what also gets our attention? "Super-awesome light projection show." http://bit.ly/aSSLr3
- These animals REALLY enjoy the Colbert Report. http://bit.ly/axGWmg
- We're guessing this car ad that recalls 9-11 and ends with a content-looking drag queen isn't American. http://bit.ly/akGUYL
- Samurai sword umbrella. http://bit.ly/9dR1CM
- A bike that can't be folded into a briefcase. http://bit.ly/bS9bEf
- ROPE CLIMBING DOWN AN ACTIVE VOLCANOOOOOO [*Guitar Screech*] http://bit.ly/dgGkYB
- Some cool bullet-time pictures of surfing. http://bit.ly/cOfsXg
TWITTERAMA
@pareene: My vote for WaPo media reporter: Rick Sanchez. That guy just gets it.
@CJR: Hunter S. Thompson's application to write for the Vancouver Sun, 1958. Bitter and hilarious. http://bit.ly/dfpkom
@ezraklein: "More people think the president is a Muslim than adhere to oral chastity." http://bit.ly/cBkn3E
@pourmecoffee: Bedbugs found in Reagan Building! http://bit.ly/au7mpQ We must cut taxes for the rich or this will get worse.
ON TAP
TONIGHT
8:00 pm: The Washington Psychotronic Film Society, which is the greatest gift to cinephiles since Citizen Kane, screens Anguish, a Spanish movie about someone's psycho mom [The Passenger, 1021 7th Street NW].
TOMORROW
7:00 pm: Here's your chance to experience the adrenaline rush that only eight (EIGHT!) U.S. poet laureates can provide. The poets in question will be reading at the Library of Congress. 202-397-7328 or 703-573-7328 for tickets [Library of Congress, Coolidge Auditorium, 10 First Street SE].
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com), Ryan Grim (ryan@huffingtonpost.com) or Nico Pitney (nico@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e