If last week was defined by Katie Merrill catapulting a primary campaign against Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, this was the week that Tauscher tried in vain to distance herself from Joe Lieberman.

The following is how the week developed, you can sign up to get this delivered by email at the Ellen Tauscher Weekly.

Update [2006-10-3 13:32:28 by Tom Ball]: Though this entry is satire, this part about Limbaugh is certainly NOT: Limbaugh Joins in: Democrats "set Foley up ... it's all coordinated" by the Democrats. Limbaugh also stated that "the orgy and the orgasm that has been taking place in the media since Friday and with the Democrats is ... all coordinated, and it's ... all oriented toward the election." Holy nutjobs Batman!!! This guy is off his freakin' rocker... yet still able to squeak out one bit of truth...

"[Rep Mark Foley]... You truely (sic) represent the greatest goals of the Republicans"

 -- Right-wing blogger inadvertently speaking truth to power

If ever there was an icon for Republican insanity, this guy is it -- delusional, conspiratorial, blind-faith driven and full to the brim of good ol' fashion conservative, hate-filled quackery!

For your reading hilarity, I've reproduced his post (below the fold) THANKING child-predator Foley for 'taking one for the team' (Apparently all republicans wish to be kiddie-chasing pervs?). I've including all the freeject's spelling errors for that authentic right-wing blog feel.

Though the mainstream media frequently talks about the "War on Terror" with terminology lifted from the battlefields of World War II, the net has featured some terrific discussion of what it means to engage in warfare against an enemy that refuses to fight by your own standards of "honorable behavior."  In particular, Pericles' diary on asymmetrical warfare is one of the clearest, most informative pieces of writing you're likely to find in any forum.

But as we're appreciating the difficulty that conventional armies face in asymmetrical engagements, let's remember the quote by Mao Tse-Tung: "all politics is war."  And on the political language front, Democrats are fighting a conventional war against an enemy that just won't "fight fair."

Dear Mr. Reed,

To quote from Abraham Lincoln, "I have never written to you in greater kindness of feeling than now, nor with a fuller purpose to sustain you."  

From the missives that keep getting launched from the DLC site and DLC operatives, I feel that you are laboring under a horrible misapprehension.  The Democratic blogs don't have a problem with moderate Democrats.  In fact, we don't even have a problem with very conservative Democrats.

It's not about positions.  It's never been about positions.

Sir, you're fighting the wrong fight.

I just had my 30 minutes of fame (or at least one of them) and, like most of us, found it more disorienting than expected.

About a month ago I first started talking about the failure of the Bush administration to deal with the actual people who attacked us: al-Qaeda. In every way Bush and the Republicans have dropped the ball and in some ways have been dropping the ball for years, ignoring and even enabling the rise of an international, Muslim fundamentalist movement that could form what I call the new Caliphate. One version of this piece, on Political Cortex was noticed by BBC news and I was asked to be on their "Have your Say" radio program.

Absent any meaningful thoughts of policy or action, the political right has focused on yet another lame crusade -- highlighting internet potty mouth on political sites. I can hear them now... "Won't someone please think of the children!!"

Anyway, the strawman of profanity assumes center stage with the Republican party, as substance and ideas exit stage left and the political right secures itself a place in the pansy hall-of-fame.

In fact, Republicans' whining about the 'enraged' left is purely devoid of any discussion regarding the actual content of the articles to which they refer. Perhaps they've submitted to the fact that they're unable to compete with the left on policy issues. Perhaps they simply feel most comfortable lowering themselves to the nether regions of political distraction -- the only region in which they've been able to assume control in the political world.

Even there, however, their torch dims as much of today's profanity-laced blogging was inspired by none other than 'Big Time' Dick Cheney himself.

Jeff Gannon and Talon News, the Downing Street Memo, and fake TANG documents are just the tip o' the berg. Each day the lords of Blogdom offer insights on stories and factual tidbits that would otherwise be dismissed, overlooked, ignored, downplayed, or outrightly covered up. We should all be very thankful for this new medium - one that seeks to fill the canyonic gaps created by mainstream news outlets.

As this investigative vigor grows within the blogosphere, so too does the thirst for usable tools that ease the process of investigative journalism.

In response to that, Political Cortex has created an extensive resource page targeted toward helping investigative online journalists do what they do best - dig out the truth.

Today, we are happy to add a powerful new tool - one that assists in the process of requesting documents via the Freedom of Information Act.

FOIArequest.org is a project of the People for the American Way and offers this introduction on their website:

The other day we reported on the disgracful religious supremacism exhibited by Indiana Speaker of the House, Brian C. Bosma in a meeting with Jewish leaders last week.

Our post was part of a spontaneous blogswarm ignited by dhonig, whose Rabbi had reported the incident in an email. Bloggers responded locally and nationally -- and the result was that by Monday -- Bosma had met with Jewish leaders, apologized and said it was all a big misundestanding.  

Uh Huh.  

Here is what I think Bosma understood, as dhonig puts it  over at The Daily Kos:

The coolest part- it was the blogs that drove it, causing Bosma to respond, to call a meeting with the Jewish community, and to issue the apology.  Apparently, all your emails made a big impression (I don't think he liked the cartoon much, either).

We all know that blogging has had a significant impact on political climate, legislative action, and government accountability, particularly over the last two years.

The Cortex, a "citizen's think tank," provides an opportunity for bloggers and non-bloggers alike to check in, browse, read, offer opinions and research, receive feedback (in the editing and voting queues), comment, provide suggestions, and enter the portals of political discussions that they might otherwise avoid.

But we're also interested in WHY people blog.

The progressive blogosphere is a liberal community offering lots of choices for community participation.  Unlike most sites that align themselves with the Bush Administration or the right side of the aisle, progressive bloggers generally lean strongly toward community-based interaction, democratic discussions, and free-flow of ideas, whether or not posters agree on a specific issue, policy, candidate, or strategy.

[It's Friday and a holiday: kick back and follow me after the jump.]