Jeffrey Toobin has a good piece up in the New Yorker where he asks whether McCain will be a "Maverick" when it comes to Supreme Court appointments, or whether he will follow in the steps George W. Bush.  After reviewing the evidence, Toobin concludes that this is one area where McCain has NEVER been, is not now, and never will be a Maverick:

The question, as always with McCain these days, is whether he means it. Might he really be a "maverick" when it comes to the Supreme Court? The answer, almost certainly, is no. The Senator has long touted his opposition to Roe, and has voted for every one of Bush's judicial appointments; the rhetoric of his speech shows that he is getting his advice on the Court from the most extreme elements of the conservative movement.

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Say what you will about Barack Obama, but he has put together the best online operation in the history of politics.  His online fundraising gurus have shattered all records, and have done so using a smart, sophisticated strategy that has blown Clinton and McCain away.  If one test of leadership is hiring the right people and letting them do their thing, than Obama has passed that test, because his online consultants are nothing short of extraordinary.  The Washington Post has the story:

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Ok, so I'm a bit confused.  According to the "About MyDD" link, this site has three front pagers: Jerome Armstrong, Jonathan Singer, and Todd Beeton.  

However, as anyone who reads this site knows, every week there are dozens and dozens of front page posts by additional people.  I saw the other day that Big Tent Democrat posted on the front page, and I asked him whether he was now a front pagers.  He responded that no, he was not a front pager, but had been asked to put up one front page post per week on Chris Dodd.

Anyway, for the sake of the readers, could someone let us know who the frontpagers are, including those who have free reign over the front page, those who have limited front page duties, and those with other arrangements?  Without some kind of guidance, the experience here for blogreaders is confusing and cacophonous.

And maybe the "About MyDD" page should be updated to reflect what the front page is all about these days.

Thanks!

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After the Libby trial, is there anything to stop a House investigative committee from subpoenaing all of the Special Prosecutor's Plame Grand Jury transcripts, and making them public?

Would the House be bound by Grand Jury secrecy rules, or does it have the power to determine that releasing the transcripts to the public would be in the public interest?

Does anyone have thoughts on this?  

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David Sirota, friend of MyDD and the netroots, has done some great work outlining the difference between the "people party" and the "money party," putting Democrats like Sherrod Brown firmly on the side of the people party, and putting Democrats like Steny Hoyer firmly on the side of the money party.

For more on this topic in general go here.

But here's a question I have for David Sirota and others who have put forward this frame.  What is the position of the "people party" on immigration reform?  I would think the people party would favor cracking down on corporations that break the law by hiring illegal immigrants.  But, other than that, I'm really not sure what the views of the people party would be on this set of issues.

The reason I ask is because a number of erstwhile allies of the "people party," like Lou Dobbs, have put forward views on immigration that are at odds with significant portions of the Democratic party.  (This is an issue which Sirota takes on thoughtfully here, among other places).

Perhaps someone could forward me to a link that takes on this issue intelligently -- i.e., what is the progressive view on immigration of the modern day leaders of the "people party"?  

Or maybe people would care to opine in comments.

Thanks.

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