Senator Ted: People Suck
Leave aside the tortured rhetorical right-turn into Cheney-bashing, and just focus on those first sentences. The good Senator expresses a rather grim view of human nature, doesn't he?
If you truly believe that each of us has no interest in the common good; that we don't care about the public interest --- well, I guess some of the nanny-state policies so dear to the hearts of Democrats actually do start to make some sense.
Me, I'll stick to believing that most people are basically decent, and that left to their own devices they'll generally do just fine at behaving like moral people with some concern for their fellow citizens. And I'll thank Senator Ted for the illuminating -- if disturbing -- glimpse into his own dark view of humanity -- and himself.
Democrats: Bloggers Welcome!
Just got an email from the Democrats, stating that they will be issuing press credentials to bloggers for their convention in Boston.
The instructions are a bit confusing though: as you can see, they say you must first apply to the Senate Periodical Press Gallery for credentials, but the way I read their requirements it seems like no "pure blogger" would qualify. But they then note that "Bloggers who do not receive convention credentials through the Congressional galleries can still apply to the Democratic National Convention Committee Press Gallery.
I've sent an email back asking for clarification on the process; will post an update if/when I receive it. But regardless of procedural complications, kudos to the Dems for opening up to the blogging crowd...
Update: The DNC is truly learning to operate on 'net time: I already received a response to my query from Mike Liddell.
I'll update again if more info comes in.
P.S. - I also sent an email to the RNC convention contact email, asking if they are prepared to make the same offer to bloggers. Will let you know what they say!
P.P.S. - I'd better be careful with this asking-questions-and-writing-about-the-answers thing; somebody might accuse me of doing actual reporting.
Update 5/6: Initial response received from the RNC: "Good question, we shall check. Thank you for contacting the RNC."
Stay tuned.
Update 5/6 (b) : How much would you pay for your favorite blogger to cover one or both conventions? It strikes me that this is an excellent opportunity for "pay-for-coverage" trips where a blogger solicits dollars from their readers in exchange for a pledge to use those funds to cover the convention. (And no, I'm not interested in actually going myself, so this isn't about little old me). So if you'd be willing to fork out a little dinero to have one of your fave's do the coverage: speak up! They might say yes.