[Aired June 27, 2002] Ann Coulter, last seen (in a Jeff Dantzler editorial cartoon) parachuting into Afghanistan to take on Osama Bin Ladin, is back, with a new book, "Slander." No, its not a memoir of her own slanderous attacks on President Bill Clinton. In this new screed, she compares Katie Couric with Eva Braun -- which even Tucker thought was over the top. "Jaws" Ann demands to know if James Carville is accusing her of being a bigot. To which James replies, "I am accusing you of being a fool; there's a difference. I do not know if you are a bigot, I do know you are a fool." In this Crossfire segment, Ann proves James right, spouting the rabid rhetoric for which she is infamous - girly boys, left wing conspiracy, blah, blah...we've heard it all from Ann before ­-- same old toxic song, same old off key tune. The book sounds like the waste of a perfectly innocent tree. At least this time Coulter's tripe wasn't published by Regnery, the king right-wing propaganda mill.

[Aired June 25, 2002] Budget Deficit Stirs Partisan Feelings. In this rambling segment of Crossfire, James Carville and Charles Rangel team up to expose the GOP's Arthur Anderson accounting methods in explaining the budget shortfall. Representative Drier and Bob Novak try to claim the market would be a lot worse without the tax cut giveaway scheme (!?). Carville notes the direction the market has taken- down. All Representative Rangel wants to know is where the money is going, but the Right won't tell him. James Carville thinks corporations which move offshore to Bermuda to evade paying their share of taxes, should ask the Bermuda Navy for protection from attack. In the meantime, the rest of us get to pick up their tab.

[Aired June 20, 2002] A disturbing picture is emerging of a "President," who obtained power through electoral and rightwing judicial chicanery -- with a passion for unilateralism who is now acting as prosecutor, judge and jury. We have reached a point where a non-elected leader is locking up people indefinitely without any charge or evidence of wrongdoing other than Bush's say so. There is a reason the Founding Fathers required the executive branch prove its charges before an impartial judge and jury. But Bush "justice" is the sort favored by Stalin, Mao and certain tinhorn third world dictators. To paraphrase the late Waylon Jennings, "Are you sure James Madison done it this way? No, I don't think Madison done it this way."

[Aired June 14, 2002] Bad news from Republicans about Republicans. Boy Genius and Power Point Pin Head, Karl Rove loses his computer disks with his strategic analysis of the 2002 election. As Paul Begala observes, "There's something wrong here." During the campaign, they had debate materials stolen. Now they're in office and they're losing their political secrets again. Why should we trust these bozos with our national security secrets when they can't even keep their political secrets? Alert! Rove thinks 25 Republican House seats are vulnerable compared to 10 Democratic seats. Also, 2 Republican Senators are iffy...Bob Nofacts demonstrates his usual dark sense of humor by spinning this screw-up as a plant by Rove to fool Democrats and Republican donors. Also intriguing (and good news for Florida) is that Rove thinks JEB is vulnerable. Wonder if Dubya broke the bad news to his Jebby, or did JEB have to read it online?

[Aired June 10, 2002] In 1789, the founding fathers wrote the constitution which, among other things, guarantees accused criminals the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, to be informed of the charges and to confront their accusers and present witnesses in their defense. It also provides that the executive branch which prosecutes, should not also be judge and jury. For over 200 years, the constitution worked well in war and peace. George W. Bush, a non-elected "president," in violation of his oath to uphold the constitution, is now determining who is guilty and locking them up indefinitely, because they "will not cooperate." Since we have tried a number of terrorists for their crimes already, reasonable people might question if the government has any evidence against their newest "catch" Padilla. Why do Bush and Ashcroft have so little faith in the traditional American system of justice?

[Aired may 30, 2002]
On this Crossfire, Carville points out that while in Europe, Chirac and the Germans criticised Bush to his face, and asks "what¹s wrong with this guy?" Bob Nofacts doesn¹t address the question, he tries to change the subject (a tactic familiar to ari watchers) by insulting the Europeans. The British press sums up the trip: "Bush sometimes seems unsure which European country he is visiting" and "like certain distinctive wines, President (sic) George W. Bush doesn't travel very well." Perhaps, as Carville observes, Bush should just stay at home!

In this episode of Crossfire, Bush's flip-flop on cabinet level status for the Office of Homeland Security is examined. Begala and Bob Shrum ask why is it that, after months of international crises, Bush waits for a political crisis to do the right thing and then makes an ill informed, hasty decision with little or no input form the experts or federal agencies involved, resulting in an haphazard plan in an attempt to "cya"? Also in this episode, did Bush delegate 1/5th of the important decisions to Karen Hughes? If so, Paul Begala wonders who made the other 4/5ths of the tough decisions?

Begala points out that while Bush and the Republicans whine about judicial confirmation, the number of judges who have been confirmed by the Senate, now run by Democrats, far exceeds the number of judges confirmed by the Senate for President Clinton when the Republicans controlled the Senate. Why doesn't Bush nominate moderate judges and consult with the Judiciary Committee? Bush lost the popular vote by about 540,000 votes, and he has no mandate to pack the court with right wing judicial activists. Interestingly enough, Tucker avoids this issue, calls it "payback" and plays for his conservative base saying the Democrats are "in the pocket of the abortion industry." And all this time we thought Crossfire was supposed to be an intelligent debate.

Only the Arthur Andersen-Enron style of accounting can justify the numbers that the GOP regularly trots out - that cutting taxes actually increases revenue. But let's face it, from now until November, the GOP will say they are for prescription drugs, they are for protecting Social Security and Medicare, that they are for increased spending on terrorism, defense, and education. But come December, after the election, we will find them saying they have more compassion than wallet. Under Dubya the GOP campaigns left to get elected, but then they govern from the extreme right.

Will Dubya's September 11th photos be re-captioned with, "I was just trying to get out of harm's way?" or is that a more apt description of the recent White House terrorism warnings? Ari admits in the Washington Times that it was the latter. The Bush administration issued a spate of terror alerts in recent days to mute criticism that its national security team sat on intelligence warnings in the weeks before the September 11 attacks. The latests alerts were issued as a result of all the controversy that took place last week, said Bush spokesman Ari Fleicher.

[Broadcast 5/23/02]

Democrat Ann Lewis asks if the Party that is selling the $150.00 photo for purely political purposes is now going to turn around and be shocked if people who lost family members stand up and say, "You shouldn't have done it?" The reason this story is here is because even Republican donors object. Paul wants to know if they will run commercials showing the video tape of that day Bush looked frightened out of his mind? As you might expect, Tucker had no response.

[First Broadcast, 5/16/02]

All Americans are asking how did September 11th happen? But when Democrats ask the questions, Republicans accuse them of playing dirty politics. Of course, when Republicans blame Clinton, it's OK. Meanwhile, Karl Rove tells Republicans that their campaign platform is their "War Record." And when the RNC sells 9/11 photos of Bush on Air Force One, the GOP hypocrites don't admit to playing politics...

[Broadcast 5/17/02]
In 1994, there was a Christmas attempt in France to slam a civilian airliner into the Eiffel Tower. The French foiled that terrorist plot. In 1996 we discovered in Manila a hijacking plot from al Qaeda to simultaneously hijack 11 U.S. airliners and crash them into buildings including the CIA headquarters in Washington. There are several other examples of government reports of possible airline attacks associated with Ossama bin Laden the last several years. Some of the authors specifically cited al Qaeda involvement in a possible terror attacks in which a jet could crash into the Pentagon, headquarters of the CIA or the White House. Yet Condi Rice says "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the WTC..." Why is the administration telling us something that's factually false?

[Broadcast 17 May] The Politics of September 11

In 1994, there was a Christmas attempt in France to slam a civilian airliner into the Eiffel Tower. The French foiled that terrorist plot. In 1996 we discovered in Manila a hijacking plot from al Qaeda to simultaneously hijack 11 U.S. airliners and crash them into buildings including the CIA headquarters in Washington. There are several other examples of government reports of possible airline attacks associated with Ossama bin Laden the last several years. Some of the authors specifically cited al Qaeda involvement in a possible terror attacks in which a jet could crash into the Pentagon, headquarters of the CIA or the White House. Yet Condi Rice says "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the WTC..." Why is the administration telling us something that's factually false?

[Broadcast 23 May] Democrat Ann Lewis asks if the Party that is selling the $150.00 photo for purely political purposes is now going to turn around and be shocked if people who lost family members stand up and say, "You shouldn't have done it?" The reason this story is here is because even Republican donors object. Paul wants to know if they will run commercials showing the video tape of that day Bush looked frightened out of his mind? As you might expect, Tucker had no response.

[Broadcast date 5/3/02] Our man Paul Begala takes it to Matt Drudge on the question of journalistic standards, which appears to confuse Drudge; Begala explains advise and consent yet again; Carlson admits that all he really does is scream "Clinton, Clinton" no matter what the issue.

...in which Carville, our hero, manages to turn the conversation back to Bush's failures in office despite the evil Tucker Carlson's bizarre attempt to call Senator Joe Lieberman a liar. Amazing, but someone actually pays Carlson to talk for a living, can you believe it?

Begala says it out loud -- how can Bush rally the nation to his war when he's out whoring for special interests out to exploit the war to enrich themselves? And one alert viewer writes into CNN: "TV Set, $250. Cable subscription to CNN, $50. Watching Tucker's face turn red when getting shellacked by David Brock, priceless!" And Begala scores so many points they need to stop keeping score.

In this CNN Crossfire, Paul Begala points out that the Republicans in Congress used their power to force all sorts of Clinton aides to testify before Congress. It became almost a sport for the Republicans to try to trip them up to ruin either their careers or just do some damage to the Clinton Administration. But when Democrats want Homeland Security Czar Tom Ridge to tell us precisely what he's going to do with the HSO's $38 BILLION budget, suddenly he is exempt from having to answer questions from the people's representatives. Begala names this phenomenon the Novak Rule.

In this show, Carville observes that Bush went to South Korea, and the South Koreans stood in the streets to boo him. "So low is his esteem, so incompetent has his handling been of the Korean tension between North and South Korea," says Carville, "that the free Koreans, our allies in the south, stood in the streets to boo him. So if you ask the South Koreans, they would certainly want Clinton to come back." Novak then calls the South Korean's stooges. Ah, what are we going to do when Novak gets put out to pasture?

In two simple words Paul Begala tells the nation how to address the crisis in the Middle East: "I can solve the Middle East in two words, 'replace Bush.' Then we'd be on a path to peace, believe me."

"Boy, you have a lot of brass," Tucker Carlson tells David Brock. You can just hear Carlson thinking, the nerve of this guy, showing the world how the right wing manipulates American freedoms to undermine them. For them it is free speech, but they don't think we can handle the truth.

On this Crossfire, John McCain shucks and jives about his loyalty to the Republican Party while it works to undercut pretty much everything he holds dear. He says he doesn't have a problem with that, but Carlson may be right -- McCain and his supporters have no where to go.

Paul Begala answers the GOP whisper campaign to boycott Crossfire because he and Carville are just too damn good at what they do.

US News reports, "So much for the united Republican front against CNN's famously partisan shoutfest, Crossfire. Bush administration officials say Hill Republicans should stop whining about the show's two Democratic loudmouths, Paul Begala and James Carville, and get into battle. 'We're looking like a bunch of wimps with all this stuff about refusing to go on Crossfire,' says one Bush aide. The White House scenario: Put folks on who can conduct mouth-to-mouth warfare, like Carville's wife, Mary Matalin, a Dick Cheney aide." We say bring her on - and bring them ALL on! We want head-to-head debates with RUSH, BILL, SEAN, OLLIE, and the whole lousy gang. Begala and Carville will wipe the floor with these lousy lying losers!

From the 4-29-02 edition of Crossfire: "NOVAK: Welcome back. It's time for 'Fireback', when the viewers and the audience get to fire back at us. First, the e-mails... BEGALA: Here's our next one. Casey Miller of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Now, here's an intelligence viewer: 'Just love the new CROSSFIRE format, but someone please get some weights in to put in the conservative co-host suits. Carville and Begala just blow them away every evening with their facts, point by point. CNN is the station to watch for political discourse from the right and finally from the left.'" Congratulations Casey - and let's all keep sending those e-mails!

Letters from Democrats.com members are getting results! Here's an exchange from Crossfire on 4-25-02. "CARVILLE: 'I understand the GOP elite has sent out the word for top GOP leaders to stay off CROSSFIRE because they can't stand the heat. Waaaa! Da wittle cry babies.' Sam Park, Van Nuys, California. I tell you something, Sam, about these people. They can give it, but can't take it. And I found out something about this right-wing crowd. They all got glass jaws. The good ones that come over here... CARLSON: They all come on here. And I must say, to think that they're going to be ignoring to be... CARVILLE: Why is Marc Racicot telling -- he's the chairman of the Republican party! CARLSON: That is absolutely... CARVILLE: He's a weenie. From the left, I'm James Carville." Congratulations to Sam Park!

On the 4-23-02 Crossfire, Paul Begala took on GOP leaders who are telling Republican leaders not to appear on the show. "I have a message for the nameless, gutless whimperers out there. Quit whining. Unlike some other shows, we here at CROSSFIRE actually present both sides of the issue. Every single night, we welcome the leading lights of the Republican right on to battle against their ideological foes. Carville and I make no apologies for being tough, nor do Tucker and Bob. That's what makes this show different. Look, if you want namby-pamby one-sided arguments go to Fox. But if you're tough enough and you're smart enough to go toe-to-toe with people who actually know how to debate, welcome to CNN. Welcome to the new CROSSFIRE." But the Freepers are inundating CNN with terrified complaints about Carville & Begala, so we need to send lots of letters of support and thanks to gutsy CNN executives Walter Isaacson isaacson@aol.com and Sue Bunda Crossfire.response@cnn.com

Leave it to James Carville to come up with the only reasonable explanation for the utter passivity of the White House press corps: They're frightened of Karen Hughes and what she might do to them in the dark. That sounds, well, quite plausible, doesn't it? And Bush is shocked, shocked that his tepid attempt to soothe the Middle East was rebuffed. Arafat and Sharon know that there is absolutely no benefit to them or their causes to lend support for Secretary of State Powell's peace mission since it doesn't even have the unqualified support of the U.S. government.

We know you aren't, but if you were an American conservative wouldn't you be shamed by Robert Novak's performance on CNN's Crossfire? Begala gives him some rope and there he goes again, making a noose, putting it around his neck and yanking on it hard. Novak makes it abundantly clear why Bush, the Republican Party and the U.S. government have been such a terrible friend to democracy worldwide -- because ultimately they don't give a damn about a system that renders a clear verdict on the popular will. Also included in this transcript a little nugget about how the Republicans are going to respond now that the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge is off limits to drilling -- by trying to authorize drilling in the Rocky Mountain states!

Once again Paul Begala used his secret weapon to undermine poor helpless Tucker Carlson on CNN's Crossfire -- the facts! Begala has them and Carlson thinks bringing some facts to use in an argument is unfair. Hey Tucker, either get better at your right-wing zealotry or get gone.

Monday night James Carville and Paul Begala made their debut on CNN's Crossfire, and made the more experienced Bob Novak and Tucker Carlson look like amateur bullies masquerading as political analysts. If you missed it and don't want to pore through the transcript then at least read our favorite exchange. Neither Carlson nor Novak can manage to craft a coherent sentence in defense of the Bush Administration's incoherent and indefensible policy toward the outbreak of full scale war in the Middle East. Way to go, "Carvala"!

The devastating Democratic duo of James Carville and Paul Begala left Bob Novak and Tucker Carlson begging for mercy at the end of the first episode of CNN's new Crossfire. Begala started the fireworks with this question to Tom Daschle: "[Bush], for example, I'm told, refused to brief you and other leaders from both parties on Capitol Hill about his shadow government. He has refused to allow the Government Accounting Office, an non-partisan agency, to review the records of the Cheney energy task force. He has refused to allow our homeland security director, whose salary we pay, to come and testify before the Congress that pays his salary on behalf of the American people. The question is this: When is the Congress going to stand up to these authoritarian acts from a right-wing unelected president?" And it only got better from there. At last - aggressive progressive Democrats have a voice in the media, and we're gonna kick right wing butt all the way back to Ruppert Murdoch's Australia.