Wanna help me interview Sidney Blumenthal?

[WilliamPitt]

I wrote a quasi-review of his book 'The Clinton Wars' (read that book, btw), and Mr. Blumenthal was kind enough to write me a very nice note of thanks. Of course, I approached him immediately for a truthout interview, and he readily agreed (because he rules).

He was interested in aiming the interview towards questions about how the Clinton impeachment has affected the politics of today. That leaves a wide lane to run through. Wanna help? Put any questions below. And wiched major thanks. :)

[grytpype]

1. Ask him about the Guardian U.S.

He was supposed to be involved in a U.S. edition of the Guardian, find out what's up with that...

[Military Brat]

28. Yes, I also had read he would be the editor of the U.S. edition

Very interested to know if and when

And don't forget to mention he is an American hero in his own right

[thebigidea]

2. "executive priviledge" - if it didn't work for Clinton, why does it work

for Trickier Dick re: energy papers?

[Capn Sunshine]

3. The vastly polarized results of the 00 election

and the subsequent fractures in the body politic, don't seem to be healing. Is there a chance this will ever happen, or are we condemned to relive the ("perceived") theft of an election every four years?

[BurtWorm]

4. Does he think it was it a mistake for Senate Dems to roll over

and not join the black caucus in protesting the selection of Bush? Would it have made a difference if just one Senate Dem had made life that much harder for Bush in the beginning?

Does he think it's significant that only 54% of Americans believe Bush was legitimately elected (according to Harper's)? Can or should Dems make Bush's illegitimacy an issue in 2004? How could they do that?

[Shakespeare]

5. Not terribly on topic, but...

I'd love to know if he has more details on what the Pentagon did to Clark. He seems to be one of the few with inside information who's been willing to talk about it, so I'd like to know if he can tell even more than he did in his excellent book.

[AP]

14. (quid pro quo) YES. Excellent question.

I definitely would like to hear his perspective on this, given that he was really enthusiastic about Clark in his book. Also, I'd like to hear him talk about whether he thinks the media hates Clark.

[nostamj]

6. ask him if the least of chimpy's lies

are more reason for impeachment than clinton's sex lie.

[CMT]

7. ok, I'll try

What accounts for George W. Bush's stubbornly high approval ratings with Republican voters despite the economy and war? His father faced a primary challenge. Does it go back to the politicalization of impeachment and the highly partisan 2000 election? Did impeachment lead to the extreme polarization on the left and right?

[AP]

8. I know I'm risking a huge amount of derision...however,

I'd love to hear him say a little more about the predicament he thinks Blair is in, and whether he approves of the direction Blair is headed, if he sees it as holding the line until the Democrats win again, and, in a big picture sense, whether it's liberalism and progessivism that Blair is persuing.

I read The Clinton Wars as being an extremely sympathetic portrayal of Blair. However, he's says nothing about Blair post-2000, I think.

I'd love to hear what he has to say about Blair since 2001.

[Shakespeare]

10. EXCELLENT question...

I'd love to hear his take on that as well.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Heh, you could ask him about Labour in the 60s

and why he thinks that the abolishment of capital punishment in 1965 lost them the next-but-one election, when it was a non-party vote, and everyone else thinks it was the economy that decided the 1970 election.

Sorry, AP, I couldn't resist.

[AP]

23. You don't have to ask him,

it's in his book.

He says tories used it to portray labour as soft on crime.

It's funny that you respond to me here, but not in that other thread.

[muriel_volestrangler]

27. Unlikely to be in a library here in the UK

and a good chance it won't be available to browse in bookshops either. And I'm not buying it just to check his accuracy on one thing. Anyway, the point is to ask him why he said it, when it doesn't agree with other commentators.

Cheap shots like my post above are, well, cheap; I have to muster more enthusiasm for wading through the morass of your argument in the other thread before responding.

[AP]

29. It took a long time, but that one earned the zzzzzzzs

Now I know there's nothing more to be gained from engaging with you.

You can have the run of the boards now without me jumping in, and you are free to post anything you want after my posts without having to worry about a rebuttal from me.

Have at it.

It's all yours.

[StopTheMorans]

9. make sure you post a link when you get the interview done

can't wait to see it!

[WilliamPitt]

12. It'll be after the 12th

He's on the road until then.

[AP]

11. Also, I suspect that he'd never talk aboput the crop of candidates in

a way which would be perceived as an endorsement. Yet, I'm desperate to know what he REALLY thinks of the campaign.

I read an interview with Clinton in which he talked about "meta-messages". Perhaps you could have Sid talk about what he thinks each candidate's meta-message is. You know, like he's deciphering the clues, reading the smoke signals. Perhaps this would help give some insight into what he thinks about the campaign.

[AP]

13. Ask him what they hell informed citizens need to read/watch?

I'd ask him what he thought about the media coverage of the Schwarzenegger campaign. Does he think, as I do, that the media tipped the scales in Arnold's favor?

What can we read/watch if we can't stomach CNN etc. And what do you need to read/watch to stay informed.

[jiacinto]

15. My Questions

Why haven't Democrats developed the same political infrastructure the right wing has?

Why hasn't the left developed a network like Fox News?

Why doesn't the left have the same drive of the right?

What can we all do to make the media treat us and our candidates fairly?

[BurtWorm]

16. Does he agree with Paul Krugman that something alarming is going on?

That we're in the midst of a revolution or a coup d'etat, American-style? Does the sight of Ted Olson as Solicitor General and all those children of Supreme Court justices in the admin make him nervous, angry, outraged?

[AP]

17. Give him a series of words/ideas that might/should be important

in the campaign, and get his reaction, like free association.

"Iraq"

"race"

"Progressive taxation"

...

[On the Road]

18. I'd be Interested in His Take on

why it seemed so easy for Republicans to pull legal and administrative maneuvers (changing legal precedent for the Paula Jones lawsuit, independent counsel, etc), but the Democrats have had very little success since Jan 01.

It almost seems that the effect of the impeachment was to make political persecution easier for Republicans and more difficult for Democrats.

And, if the impeachment turned off many Americans to the partisan crusades, how does he suggest the Democrats pursue legitimate issues (like the Sep 11 commission and the energy meetings) on which Republicans are stonewalling?

[AP]

19. I think the reason is because the Republicans control the House and Senate

and it's really hard to get something going if don't chair a committee.

[theivoryqueen]

20. ask him if he thinks

the perceived "victory' of the "moral right" (in getting the Clinton impeachment through) led to an upsurge in voters for the Republican party. Or if he thinks that a significant percentage of average/swing voters were convinced (by the impeachment procedings) of Clintons guilt, and thus connected that perceived lapse to the Democratic Party.

[Blue_Roses]

22. ask him

how you can get a hold of Joe Wilson to interview...;)

[WilliamPitt]

24. Kick

[BurtWorm]

25. I'd like to know if he learned anything truly frightening

about how American politics is operated while being at the center of power. He was in a position to connect some of the dots that the most paranoid among us are collecting about the BFEE and the vast right wing conspiracy. Did he see anything or hear anything that would really make the hairs on our necks stand up on end?

[Octafish]

26. How can DEMs win when it's VRWC 24/7?

Let's see. The GOPers control the House and Senate. The courts are manned by hand-picked turds of the Heritage Foundation, oops, I mean Federalist Society. And they stole the White House.

And the media? They ignore acts of treason right and righter. Thus, we DEMs are operating in a different world than existed for the Clinton impeachment.

Please ask Mr. Blumenthal what the minority party can do to leverage its position into one of strength on the campaign trail. It seems voting the unelected fraud out is the only thing we can do for a successful Chimpeachment.

[myrna minx]

30. Conspiracy of Hope?

We need a message of hope.

Ever since the impeachment witch hunt, I have felt such despair. It is as if I must brace myself for the next blow. No one should live like there is a never ending sense of impending doom.

In 1992, I was 20 years old. Prior to Mr. Clinton's arrival onto the national stage, my friends and I did not know if we could afford to go to college or find a job that would sustain us. The future looked quite bleak for many. Our dreams were smashed before they could ever grow. Bill Clinton inspired such hope and excitement amongst my friends. We believed that the future could be ours under his leadership. I believed in my own future.

Now, I fear, we have burned the bridge to the 21 century. Where is the hope? Will the Democratic Party become the party of hope again? In an age of fear and worry, we need something to look towards. Is there a national goal on the horizon? Or is the future more fear, war and hate?

Since the Impeachment witch hunt, the Democratic Party has become the party of reaction. I would ask Mr. Blumenthal, is there anyone in the leadership who is willing to take charge, and inspire the next generation? I little praise goes a long way. We Americans are frightened and sad. We need (to borrow Amnesty International’s words) a conspiracy of hope.

I’m rambling here, and I don’t even know if I am making any sense, but there is my 2 cents. Thanks.