Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Betsy Devine
Blue News Tribune (MA)
Democracy for NH
Live Free or Die
Mike Caulfield
Granite State Progress
Seacoast for Change
Susan the Bruce
Campaigns, Et Alia.
Paul Hodes
Carol Shea-Porter
John DeJoie
Ann McLane Kuster
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
The Next Hurrah
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
My gut picked Obama. Now, my gut picks John Hutson to be Gov. Lynch's appointment to replace Judd Gregg, IF Gregg is confirmed as SecComm in the Obama Admin.
Surely my gut just don't hack it with most of you, so I am gonna pummel the intertubes for some info, good and bad. I'll update as I go.
Let me say that I prefer Paul Hodes to be the junior Senator from NH, but picking him would be a huge hassle for Lynch. Hutson is a great compromise pick, giving Dems some much needed backbone in the Senate, especially related to GITMO and GWOT. But at the same time, Hutson comes as a crossover from the GOP, an "Obama Democrat." This should give Gov. Lynch some cover. It is enough, if he wants it to be enough. Now, some wingnut NH GOoPers will wail over Hutson, saying all sorts of crazy, slimey things. They will say that, even if Lynch puts in the love child of Fran Wendleboe and Jeb Bradley. SO F'em!
And for those of you that are cozy to the "benchwarmer" appointment, I say phooey! That is limp politics. Let the Governor put in someone with wood for the seat. Soon enough there will be a primary. I would like to see a primary between Hodes and Hutson. In a primary, odds favor Hodes.
Today, on the floor of the Senate, Barack Obama called for "further congressional oversight and inquiry" into the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes:
Yesterday, we learned that in November 2005, the CIA destroyed videotapes of its interrogations of two prominent al Qaeda suspects, including a close Osama bin Laden associate - Abu Zubayadah. Media reports suggest that these videotapes depict brutal interrogation techniques, and could certainly be relevant to ongoing investigations and inquiries. Furthermore, these videotapes were not provided to the 9/11 Commission, which made a broad set of requests for classified documents - including interrogation tapes and transcripts - that would have included information about the 9/11 attacks.
The CIA has argued that these tapes needed to be destroyed to protect the identities of the interrogators. Our government must go to any length necessary to protect the identities of those who serve in a covert capacity. But the CIA keeps scores of classified material - including videotapes - while protecting the identities of its agents. This raises serious questions about whether the tapes were destroyed to protect the nature of the interrogation, rather than the identity of the interrogator.
Mr. President, this incident deserves further congressional oversight and inquiry - neither the CIA nor this interrogation program is immune to our laws. This is yet another chapter in a dark period in our constitutional history. Now, it is time to turn the page.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Senator's commitment and sincerity, on this cornerstone issue, has garnered the endorsement of Dean John Hutson, who left the GOP, has pledged to vote for Barack Obama in the NH primary. Dean Hutson is widely recognized as one of a few prominent legal scholars that stood up to the Bush/Cheney abuses of "unlawful combatants" which included torture:
Senator Obama, today on the Senate floor, also stated: We should not have to find ways of ignoring or averting our own laws to defend our country. Torture does not work. Torture violates our laws. And torture sets back the standing and moral leadership that America needs to triumph in this global struggle. Our values and laws are not inconvenient obstacles to the defense of our national security - they can and must be a guiding force in our response to terrorism.
