I'm here in the main convention hall at Netroots Nation, and as has been the case the last couple years I have found it slightly difficult to keep up with the news and blogging. However, there are many, many upsides to being here, of course, chief among them the ability to see some great panels. And in a few minutes I will be seeing the conversation between Sam Seder and former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who was seemingly prosecuted by an overzealous prosecutor because he is a Democrat.

I had a chance to talk a bit with Siegelman yesterday, and today ahead of the panel the Governor has made some news: calling on John McCain to compel his informal adviser Karl Rove, who appears to have played a role in Siegelman's prosecution, to testify before Congress on the matter. Sam Stein has the story for The Huffington Post.

On Friday, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman called on John McCain to compel his informal adviser Karl Rove to testify before Congress, and to remove Rove from any and all campaign capacities.

"Sen. McCain should distance himself from Karl Rove," said Siegelman. "And I think it is important and a smart political move [for him] to call on Rove to go and obey the law and to show up before the Judiciary Committee, to put his hand on the Bible, and to try to tell the truth - or at least plead the fifth."

Siegelman, whose controversial trial for corruption contained many Rove fingerprints, would not go so far as to claim that by employing Rove as a consultant, McCain was sullying his own good-government credentials. "That's a question that is left to the people and the electorate and they will have an opportunity to express themselves in November," he said.

But he argued that it was absolutely vital that the presumptive Republican nominee -- who, according to published reports, has received money from and privately consulted with Rove -- insist that the former Bush confidante respect Congress' investigative prerogatives. Barack Obama, he added, should do the same.

"I would like to see Senator Obama speak out on this issue and call on Congress to hold Rove in contempt because no man is above the law," he said. "And I think its set a terrible example going forward if we do not hold Rove accountable."

It has just been a few days since Rove refused to testify about his role in the prosecution of Siegelman, and it is definitely the case that McCain should tell his informal advisor to come clean. If he doesn't, it will be clear that McCain is comfortable with the type of corrupt politicization of law enforcement that we have seen during the Bush administration -- a politicization that needs to be stopped immediately.

Update [2008-7-18 12:0:16 by Jonathan Singer]: Just to add one more thing I noted yesterday over at the Huffington Post's Twitter feed from Netroots Nation (which is a good way of following the conference): I thought it was only countries like Cambodia that locked people up for their partisan affiliation.

Update [2008-7-18 12:6:37 by Jonathan Singer]: Siegelman just announced a new effort launching today -- ContemptForRove.com. Here's the letter the site is asking Americans to sign:

Recently, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Karl Rove, demanding his testimony about his own role in the politicization of the Department of Justice and politically motivated prosecutions of Democratic leaders, including me.

Karl Rove refused to even show up for the hearing, claiming that Congress has no power to compel senior White House officials from testifying. That's outrageous. Yet again, Karl Rove has showed his callous disregard for the law and for Congress' constitutional role as a co-equal branch of government.

It's time for Congress to act: Forward an email to your Member of Congress below, urging him or her to support a contempt resolution against Karl Rove. If Karl Rove won't respond to a legitimate Congressional subpoena, it's time to turn up the heat.

What I wouldn't give to be in the audience for this.

GOP strategist Karl Rove and former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will debate the issues of the presidential campaign Sept. 26 as part of the university's Distinguished Speakers Series, The Buffalo News has learned.

As surrogates for the parties' standard bearers, the two also could square off more than once at other locations around the nation.

"We're working on something like that for our Distinguished Speakers Series," said Bill Regan, UB's director of special events. "We're not really sure of the format yet. But we do think they are scheduled to do it at least once together before they come to UB."

One piece of advice for Edwards: watch your debates with Cheney from 2004...and do the opposite. I hope we see fierce trial lawyer guy come out against Rove rather than tactful polite but tough guy from the presidential debates last year. This is not the time to be respectful, this is the time to take Rove out.

No pressure though.

I agree with Nate at FiveThirtyEight that the fact that Edwards would agree to what looks to be a series of appearances at all that close to the election is pretty much a sign that we're not going to be seeing an Edwards as Veep redux.

Committing to a series of high-profile and sure to be much-discussed debates with Karl Rove is a great way to stay important in the Democratic Party; it's also a telegraphed sign that Edwards knows the answer to whether he'll be the pick.

The de facto reality is, this cycle, the GOP is reverting to media and robo-calling campaigns produced and implemented by a group of folks with known connections to, among other things:

2.) serial violators of basic FEC regulations.

A comment from a New Jersey blog on convicted GOP felon, Allen Raymond,  author of "How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative."

"As for his three months in a Pennsylvania prison, he wrote: 'After 10 full years inside the GOP, 90 days among honest criminals wasn't really any great ordeal.' "

As noted in the middle of the past week, the right wing, ultra-neoconservative, 501(c)4 (note: they're not a 527, so they're not subjected to the more stringent 527 reporting requirements) lobbying group, Freedom's Watch, is already  running robo-call programs in the following congressional districts:

AZ-5, AZ-08, CA-11, FL-16, GA-08, IL-08, KS-02, KS-03, KY-03, NH-01, NH-02, NY-20, OH-18, PA-04, PA-10, and PA-11.

I've searched for an answer to the question: "Who is Freedom's Watch?" And, what I've come up with is most disconcerting. Primarily, it's a lobbying group of hardcore, right wing, U.S.-based Jewish supporters of Israel, combined with a generous portion of neoconservative evangelicals, and topped-off by some major league connections to Benjamin Netanyahu's ultra-rightwing Likud Party in Israel--all heavily supported by the uppermost folks running our government today, starting with Chimpy, Cheney, Karl Rove, Ari Fleischer, and all their little dogs (Sembler, Libby, etc.), too!

Remember this ratfuck bastard, Karl Rove? The one who outed a CIA agent, Valerie Plame? The one that helped George Bush hoodwink the American people in going to Iraq based upon lies about weapons of mass destruction?

Yep, that's the one gleefully posing with John McCain. He's behind a new 527 group called Freedom's Watch. Let me give you the low-down on Freedom's Watch:

Freedom's Watch

A major new 527 conservative advocacy group largely bankrolled by casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. The donors for Freedom's Watch have raised $200 million for this election to help Republicans.

Hear Tony Blankley, Newt Gingrich's former press secretary, call W's former press secretary Scott McClellan "an inconsequential cipher." Robert Scheer thinks Hillary is trying to be the new Margaret Thatcher. Matt Miller and Arianna Huffington say they want a leader who'll fight for the right to serve -- but just not Hillary. And remembering Sydney Pollack.

The AP reports that the House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Karl Rove.

The subpoena issued Thursday orders Rove to testify before the House panel on July 10. He is expected to face questions about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers had negotiated with Rove's attorneys for more than a year over whether the former top aide to President Bush would testify voluntarily.

"It is unfortunate that Mr. Rove has failed to cooperate with our requests," Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement. "Although he does not seem the least bit hesitant to discuss these very issues weekly on cable television and in the print news media, Mr. Rove and his attorney have apparently concluded that a public hearing room would not be appropriate."

"Unfortunately, I have no choice today but to compel his testimony on these very important matters," Conyers said.

Update: The Raw Story has a copy of Conyers' letter to Rove's attorney, which came with the subpoena. Some interesting snippets (italics mine):

Your letter is incorrect in suggesting that the enclosed subpoena will raise the same issues as the Senate Judiciary Committee's subpoena to Mr. Rove and the pending lawsuit concerning our Committee's subpoena to Harriet Miers. Both these matters focus on the firing of U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and efforts to mislead Congress and the public on that subject. Here, as we have made clear from the outset, the Siegelman case is a principal focus of our request for Mr. Rove to testify. In addition, unlike Harriet Miers, Mr. Rove has made a number of on-the-record comments to the media about the Siegelman case and the U.S. Attorney firings, extending far beyond "general denials of wrongdoing." There is no question that both the prior subpoenas to Mr. Rove and Ms. Miers should have been complied with. But it is even more clear that Mr. Rove should testify as we have now directed.

(Cross-posted at CrazyDrumGuy)

Karl Rove is called a "political wizard".  However, Senator Obama will expose Rove and the GOP as Wizards (as in Oz) --illusionary figures masquerading behind a curtain of Deceit! The Republican Pretenders are skilled in rituals of smoke & mirrors -Experts in Demonizing and Belittling thier opponents through smear and distortion .  We, the American people, are tired of their trickery's and lies based on illusionary fear-mongering and not fact, and like the Wizard of Oz, when the curtain is pulled back by "the light of truth", they will be exposed as the fakers and the pretenders that they are -- with loud, silver-tounged voices filled with vinegar and no Real Power -- pulling strings of "make believe" to coverup their own innate weakness and Experienced villainy, an In-Experience and Naivite that Barack lacks.  This unveiling will enable us to finally get off this merry-go-round -- this "yellow-brick-road" of illusion and deceit perpetrated upon the American public by these ShapeShifters and Betrayers of the Public Good.

This massed negativity has been a real detriment to American economic progress and peace in Iraq. Such pretenders and shapeshifters are like a millstone around the neck of humanity, crippling true effort.  They proclaim Family Values, yet do nothing but impede true progress while the American way-of-life is dying.  Any bills offered by Democrats which will benefit the American families, the GOP votes NO!  This massed, organized negativity has been what has enabled them to work so ruthlessly with power and success at the destruction of all that has attempted to get in the way of their projects, desires and greed. They refuse to recognize that humanity can solve its problems without aggression and force and instead use the energy of goodwill and diplomacy, sharing and cooperation.

If you disagree with the Pretenders' politics, however, (I do not say policies for they lack true policies) in unison they attack by subterfuge, distortion and lies to disquise their true intent --the control of money and power for the GOP family only (so much for family values).  Masters in fear mongering and shapeshifting, they hope to incite fear in an unsuspecting and gullible American public and to get them to embrace thier plans out of fear and against their own common sense and good judgment! Only this time, we will dispell this Illusion and not be fooled again by these "fakers, con-artists and Pretenders", and our united House, born out of need and true change, will withstand the onslaught of this False, now Fleeting Wind that has devastated the American way of life, no more; their House of Cards are Falling!