Mike "Quitter" Johanns

Who Will Defend God?

State Senator Ernie Chambers isn't expecting any money out of God, but he is trying to sue him to stop natural disasters. You may think Ernie sounds a little nuts, but the action is to make a point about a citizen's ability to sue whoever they want without calling a grievance "frivolous." The named defendant in his lawsuit was designed to make headlines and he definitely accomplished that. He even got airtime on CNN's American Morning.

From RawStory:

"It's a lawsuit against a defendant who has perpetrated much harm and damage on the human race," Chambers said on CNN.

Chambers says his frivolous lawsuit against the Lord was meant to protest a suit filed against a Nebraska judge who banned the words "rape" and "victim" from a woman's rape trial.

Some Nebraska lawmakers are trying to pass legislation preventing frivolous lawsuits, but Chambers says anyone should be able to file a lawsuit against anyone else.

He is right that the Constitution requires courts to keep their doors open. The term "frivolous lawsuit" was invented by conservatives that want their corporate buddies out of the courtroom for their shady behaviors. Sure, there are crazy lawsuits out there, but we should not legislate people from having the ability to seek justice in a court of law. Cheers to Ernie for his PR abilities.

Hagel Talks Impeachment

Hearing the "I" word mentioned in left-leaning circles is hardly uncommon these days, but from a red-state Republican it is a rare event. What makes it more odd is that the talk is from a Senator who just might be running for the GOP Presidential nomination next year. Chuck Hagel has been a vocal opponent of George Bush and his policy in Iraq for quite some time, but the upcoming edition of Esquire featuring the Senator from Nebraska takes the discourse to a whole new level.

From the Sioux City Journal:

In an interview appearing in April editions of Esquire magazine -- set to hit stands next week -- Hagel suggests that President Bush could be subject to calls for impeachment as the Iraq war drags on. "The president says, 'I don't care.' He's not accountable anymore," Hagel said in the article. "Before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends on how this goes." Hagel has long been an outspoken critic of the administration's foreign policy and its handling of Iraq, but for a conservative Republican from a firmly rooted red state to mention the "I" word in the same breath with a sitting party president is still shocking. "That's pretty strong," Bykerk said. "It's hard for me to judge whether that sets him up as the anti-war candidate or some kind of superconscience for the Bush supporters of the Republican Party. "He just tells you what he thinks."

What he thinks is highly out of the ordinary of most lock-step Republicans. The party's success is drawn from the effectiveness of the VRWC and how fast the message from on top is delivered to elected officials, right-wing pundits, talkradio hosts and bloggers like those of RedState and Little Green Footballs among others. Hagel has gotten his fame of late from opposing Bush on numerous fronts.

Running for President as a Republican requires the support of the religious right and fiscal conservatives. Although Hagel is definitely a conservative when it comes to his voting record, straying from the Republican meme could have serious implications. In fact a recent AP poll showed that only 37 percent of Nebraskans think he would make a good President. Of course his announcement tomorrow may just be about running for re-election and nothing about Presidential politics, so we will just have to wait and see.

Sen. Nelson On Iraq: Whatever

This guy has to be one of the least Democratic Democrats besides Joe Lieberman. Although technically Joe is an independent now, so Ben Nelson takes the cake. Although he claims he must vote with Republicans because he comes from a conservative state, the guy is bucking the national trend when it comes to important issues that swept the Democratic Party into power. Issues like Iraq, the Iraq war and the mess in Mesopotamia.

When he was asked the other day his thoughts on the war, he gave this abyssmal response:

The glass-half-full conservative Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, who has opposed all but the most non-binding, non-adhesive measures in the debate over how to redeploy, laid out his position in a way that could really be boiled down to one word: Whatever...

Of the push to set a deadline for bringing the troops home, Nelson noted that "Not everyone agrees you can set a date in advance. If you don't, you'll be criticized. But, this is a town where if you say up, somebody else says down. And they're probably both right."

He gently mocked those trying to push for action based on the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group: "The challenge, when you get a report like that, is that there are certain people who think you have to adopt every recommendation."

"We'll take up the Iraq war again and again and again," he said amiably. And get it right eventually?

Eventually....while Nelson hems and haws we have too many troops and way too many civilians dying every day in Iraq. Perhaps if the Senator reached deep down inside himself he might find some principles that would justify getting his ass off the fence and vote to bring our troops home as quickly as possible. Of course he is stuck in the old mentality of being a poor Democrat in a red state. He should really look into getting lessons from Scott Kleeb on how to be a Nebraskan Democrat.