Some may be fresh in your memory, like Mitt's now infamous $10k bet at a debate, while others, like when Ron Paul claimed that the government wrongly infringes on liberty by making heroin illegal, may have slipped your mind.
The top 10 most ridiculous GOP moments of 2011
The top 10 most ridiculous GOP moments of 2011.
Some may be fresh in your memory, like Mitt's now infamous $10k bet at a debate, while others, like when Ron Paul claimed that the government wrongly infringes on liberty by making heroin illegal, may have slipped your mind.
Some may be fresh in your memory, like Mitt's now infamous $10k bet at a debate, while others, like when Ron Paul claimed that the government wrongly infringes on liberty by making heroin illegal, may have slipped your mind.
The REAL Crazy Ron Paul
- Paul’s Iowa chair wants to execute gays.
- He talked to John Birchers about one-world religion and U.N. dictatorship.
- He fears gay toilets.
- He’s down with the North American Union conspiracists.
- He speaks truth about the drug war.
Victim Of Romney's Job Creating Speak Out!
Rudy Johnson, a labor organizer who was laid off in 1992 by Ampad, a company run by Bain Capital under Mitt Romney, took to the press this week to condemn Romney’s business record. In an interview with ABC News, Johnson recounted the horror of downsizing at his Marion, Indiana factory.
“It was really one of the worst things I think I’ve had to deal with, because people … were at my desk crying, ‘What do I do? I don’t have a good college education… I just wanted to get to retirement,’” Johnson said. “Families were devastated. In some cases, the husband and the wife both worked there. They lost all their income. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”
Johnson also told his story during Romney’s 1994 Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy, which Romney ended up losing. Expect to see plenty of tales like his come general election season.
Newt Gingrich Schtupped His High School Teacher And Then Married Her When He Was 19
June 14, 1962: Gingrich married Jackie Battley, when he was 19 and she was 26. She was also his then-former high school geometry teacher. Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne Ginther Gingrich,told Esquire last year that, despite what Battley and Gingrich told their families at the time, the two had been involved while Gingrich was still in high school. They had two children, and several former aides, friends and neighbors told Vanity Fair in the 1990s that Gingrich was profligately unfaithful throughout the 1970s.
Who are these Job-Creators?
| Been wondering, just who are these mighty "job-creators" that Republicans keep referencing in their never-ending quest to fatten the incomes of millionaires? Rick Newman has a pretty good primer on the term -- and its abuse, "What 'Job Creators' Really Want" at U.S. News Politics. |
Obama Soaring In The Polls
Gallup’s tracking poll released Monday shows something not seen since July of this year: President Barack Obama’s approval rating in positive territory. The national survey that interviews 500 American adults per night showed 47 percent of those polled approve of the President’s job performance, versus 45 percent who disapprove. The Gallup poll uses a three day average of their nightly interviews, for a total of 1,500 responses over that time.
The last positive score Obama received in Gallup’s numbers was a 46 – 45 split over surveys done from July seventh to the ninth. The TPM Poll Average of the metric still shows a little over a four point difference, but the numbers are evening since this summer’s debt ceiling fight.
Pleas also, keep in mind Gallup is a right wing biased polling company, which probably means Obama's numbers are more like 53 percent.
O Lucky Mitt
In an interview with New York magazine, a senior Romney strategist expressed supreme confidence that Mitt would be the nominee: “The dynamics couldn’t be better for us,” the strategist said. “I don’t see any scenario where we’re not the nominee.”
Read The Article
O Lucky Mitt
Read The Article
O Lucky Mitt
Wall Street’s Big Lie
The Occupy protests have made us aware of a sinister process by which wealth has systematically been funneled into fewer and fewer hands. In Newsweek, Michael Thomas says public anger will finally force the big banks to pay up in 2012.
Happy Holidays from the Obama Family
Happy Holidays from the Obama Family
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama recorded a special video to wish the American people a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
The holidays are the perfect time to give thanks to our men and women in uniform and the families who support them. You can join the President and First Lady in thanking our troops, military families and veterans for their service and sacrifice by visiting JoiningForces.gov.
Happy Holidays!
Is Ron Paul Still A Racist Homophobic Bigot?
The 2012 contender—who recently surged ahead in the polls—has disavowed racist statements made in his newsletter two decades ago, but the issue won’t die—and it’s only gotten worse since Paul walked out of a CNN interview. He can lay the matter to rest by saying who wrote the comments and giving a speech outlining his actual racial views, writes The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky.
Republicans should fold in payroll tax cut standoff
Former Bush adviser Karl Rove said he agreed with the Wall Street Journal’s blistering assessment on the failure of House Republican leadership in the payroll-tax debate, and conceded that Republicans have “lost the optics” and should fold on the issue.
“I think the Wall Street Journal editorial hit it right on the nail, the question now is how do Republicans get out of it,” Rove told Fox News on Wednesday.
In a scathing editorial on Wednesday, the conservative newspaper said House GOP leadership had “thoroughly botched” the payroll tax cut fight, and in doing so put President Obama in a “stronger reelection position” that opens the door to Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate.
Ron Paul Gets A Closer Look
With High Polling Numbers Comes Great Scrutiny For Paul
Now that Ron Paul leads the pack in Iowa, according to the latest polls, he is taking more heat from his fellow candidates. Rick Perry has hit his rival for earmarks, saying “Dr. Paul is still birthing earmarks as we speak.” As in last week’s debate, Michele Bachmann continues to hammer Paul for his isolationist foreign policy.
Read More....
Now that Ron Paul leads the pack in Iowa, according to the latest polls, he is taking more heat from his fellow candidates. Rick Perry has hit his rival for earmarks, saying “Dr. Paul is still birthing earmarks as we speak.” As in last week’s debate, Michele Bachmann continues to hammer Paul for his isolationist foreign policy.
Read More....
House approves rules setting up payroll tax votes
The House on Tuesday morning approved a rule that sets up three hours of debate and votes on three measures, including a controversial motion to disagree with the Senate's two-month payroll tax extension and seek a conference with the Senate.
The rule was approved in a 231-187 vote. All but one Republican voted for the rule, and every Democrat voted against it.
The vote came after more bitter partisan debate over the way House Republicans have set up votes on the Senate bill.
House GOP cancels plan to vote on Senate tax bill
House GOP leaders have decided to delay a vote on the Senate payroll tax bill until midday Tuesday, abandoning tentative plans to hold votes as late as 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.
House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) told reporters that the delay was caused by a GOP conference meeting running two hours into overtime Monday evening. He said the House would convene at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Barney Frank Makes the Argument for Tax Increases
This is just the intro:
AMANPOUR: Congressman Ryan, thank you very much. And Congressman Barney Frank, your opening minute and a half.FRANK: Yes, we have too much government, and yes, we have too little government. There is this mistaken view that says, you know, we have a fight between the people's money and the government's money. It's all the people's money. The question is, as people, intelligently, we have two sets of needs. We have needs that we best pursue individually, with money for ourselves and our families. And we can make personal choices. But then there are things that we have to do together. Read more
Supreme Court schedules 3 days of arguments over healthcare law
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on President Obama's healthcare law over a three-day span in late March.
The schedule further confirms the universal expectation that the court will issue a ruling on the healthcare law next June, at the height of the 2012 campaign.
Read the story here.
The schedule further confirms the universal expectation that the court will issue a ruling on the healthcare law next June, at the height of the 2012 campaign.
Read the story here.
Paul Ryan's Bipartisan Sham
polling showing Paul Ryan is in the danger zone could not have come at a better time.
Paul Ryan just announced he is taking a second swing at Medicare! His "new" plan is devastating to Medicare as we know it, but the big difference is that he found one Democrat to help him!
Here is what has been happening- Paul Ryan has introduced a new plan to start the privatization of Medicare. He convinced a "Democrat," Ron Wyden, to join in this effort. Ron Wyden, like Paul Ryan, has raked in an alarming amount of lobbyist money from the health insurance industry.
Make no mistake- this is no bipartisan effort! Almost all Democrats, including President Obama, are strongly opposed to this plan.
Here is what the White House Communications Director had to say: [this scheme could] "cause the traditional Medicare program to "wither on the vine" because it would raise premiums, forcing many seniors to leave traditional Medicare and join private plans. It would shift costs from the government to seniors. At the end of the day, this plan would end Medicare as we know if for millions of seniors." You can read the rest here.
It is clear what this plan is designed to do. Both Paul Ryan and Wyden admit that it will likely not save anyone any money! The only upside is a big giveaway to private insurance companies at the expense of our seniors. This is sham bipartisanship and we are not fooled!
The OCCUPIED Amendment
The OCCUPIED Amendment
The petition in support of Rep. Ted Deutch's OCCUPIED Amendment
www.theoccupiedamendment.org
This amendment bans corporate money in our elections, ends corporate personhood, and returns our democracy to the people. Join the movement at theoccupiedamendment.org.
The petition in support of Rep. Ted Deutch's OCCUPIED Amendment
www.theoccupiedamendment.org
This amendment bans corporate money in our elections, ends corporate personhood, and returns our democracy to the people. Join the movement at theoccupiedamendment.org.
THE FOX NEWS PRIMARY
The ethical nightmare surrounding Fox's coverage of the 2012 election goes far beyond Bill Sammon. When the year began, Fox was actually employing five potential Republican candidates, providing them not only with salaries but also with millions of dollars' worth of free airtime.
And Fox's journalists have their own financial relationships with the candidates. Jim Pinkerton, for example, has used his position as a regular contributor to Fox's media ethics show to discuss Michele Bachmann, the other Republican contenders, and President Obama. But what he chose not to disclose -- until Politico reported it -- was the fact that he had been paid to "partner" with Bachmann on her recently released book. Pinkerton told Media Matters that he kept the financial relationship secret at the request of "the publisher, the candidate, the campaign." Amazingly, though, Pinkerton said that he didinform his supervisors at Fox, and they approved of the arrangement.
Then there is Dick Morris, who has received money this year from the campaigns of at least threeRepublican presidential contenders -- a fact he chose not to reveal (until he was questioned about it by the AP) while speaking positively of each of them on Fox and attacking their critics.
So why does Rupert Murdoch put up with these conflicts of interest?
Probably because it would be hypocritical not to. In April, Fox Business Network spent three days promoting a controversial oil shale venture being undertaken in Israel by a company called Genie Energy. Then in July, Fox News broadcast two reportsdiscussing a Genie oil shale project in Colorado. In none of the reports did Fox bother to mention that Murdoch serves on Genie's "strategic advisory board" and holds an equity stake in the projects.
It's that corrupt approach to journalism that has earned Murdoch and News Corp. the 2011 Misinformer of the Year award.
Talking Points Memo
Impact of the American Jobs Act on Education
First, the Department of Education released two interactive maps that display the American Jobs Act’s estimated impact on every state and school district in the nation. These maps and the downloadable dataset behind them can be found at http://data.ed.gov/american-
To view the full report, which includes a state-by-state appendix that integrates state- and school district-level data detailing the education investments of the American Jobs Act, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/
In addition, the Vice President paid a visit to Jacksonville this week to discuss the importance of making college affordable: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The End of the War in Iraq
This week, the US ended the war in Iraq and the President traveled to Fort Bragg to welcome the troops home. His speech is well worth your time. You can check it out here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Health Care Reform
Also this week, a study shows that the Affordable Care Act has led to 2.5 million young adults now receiving health care. Check it out here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Payroll Tax Cut
The President continues to push Congress to extend and expand his payroll tax cut, which will save the average American family some $1,500 in 2012. You can find a ton of information about the payroll tax cut as well as a calculator to see how much you can save here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Monkey Butt
In one of the more vivid illustrations of the political landscape in some time David Axelrod had this to say about Newt Gingrich today. "Just remember, the higher a monkey climbs on a pole, the more you can see his butt," Axelrod said, citing a piece of political wisdom he said he learned from a Chicago alderman. "So, the speaker is very high on the pole right now and we'll see how people like the view."
READ MORE.....
READ MORE.....
Tell Sen. Harry Reid to Grow A Pair
Tell Sen Harry Reid to Grow A Pair and Recess the Senate this break, even if it is just one
day, so Obama can make recess appointments.
Washington DC
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327
Phone: 775-882-REID (7343)
email: http://1.usa.gov/ufF0Ma
Deutch Amendment to Ban Corporate Spending in Elections Introduced in U.S. Senate
Deutch Amendment to Ban Corporate
Spending in Elections Introduced in U.S. Senate
by Senator Bernie Sanders
Spending in Elections Introduced in U.S. Senate
by Senator Bernie Sanders
Saving American Democracy Amendment Filed in Senate as Companion to OCCUPIED Amendment in House
Congressman Ted Deutch’s (D-FL) constitutional amendment to ban all corporate spending in elections and make clear that corporations are not people with constitutionally protected rights will be introduced in the United States Senate by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT). TheSaving American Democracy Amendment is companion legislation to Congressman Deutch’s H.J. Res 90, the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy (OCCUPIED) Amendment.
Though several amendments aimed at overturning Citizens United have been introduced in recent weeks, the Sanders-Deutch amendment is the only proposal that:
- Makes clear that free speech and other constitutionally protected rights are those of natural persons and not corporations or entities formed to promote their business interests.
- Reaffirms that corporations are formed in accordance with laws written by the people and are thus subject to laws enacted to protect the environment, ensure public health, and other safeguards for the people.
- Overturns Citizens United by ending corporations’ ability to spend unlimited amounts of their general treasury funds in elections.
- Empowers Congress and the States to crack down on spending by third party front groups using anonymous cash from corporations and their CEOs and authorizes the setting of caps, limits, and disclosure requirements on all forms of political expenditures and contributions.
To read a fact sheet on the amendment, click here.
"I am thrilled that Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the Saving American Democracy Amendment, a companion bill to H.J. Res 90, my legislation in the House,” said Congressman Deutch. “The dominance of corporations in Washington has imperiled the economic security of the American people and left our citizens profoundly disenchanted with our democracy. I look forward to working with Senator Sanders to save American democracy by banning all corporate spending in our elections and cracking down on secret front groups using anonymous corporate cash to undermine the public interest."
“There comes a time when an issue is so important that the only way to address it is by a constitutional amendment,” Sanders said of the effort to override the court decision that he labeled “a complete undermining of democracy.” TheSaving American Democracy Amendment is the first constitutional amendment ever proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders during his two decades in office.
To read the Senate version, click here.
To read the House version, click here.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Former Congressman Robert Wexler Respond to Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Forum
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Former Congressman Robert Wexler Respond to Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Forum
Washington, DC— This afternoon on a conference call, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Former Congressman Robert Wexler responded to the Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Forum in Washington, DC.
To listen to audio of the call, please click on the following link: http://my.democrats.org/page/-/audio/calls/ DWSWexler430ConfCall120711.mp3 On the call, Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said:The Jewish community has always stood strong to care for the elderly and the sick, to fiercely defend equality and civil rights, and invest in education to give our children the brightest possible future. When we look at what President Obama is doing on these domestic policy issues, there is no question where he stands on the values that matter most to the Jewish community. And there is nothing, I mean nothing in the Republicans’ right wing social agenda that speaks to our community’s values, especially when it comes to protecting a woman’s right to choose, the separation of church and state, and investing in our children’s future.
The President’s unwavering commitment speaks for itself: Because of his leadership, we have raised U.S. military assistance to unprecedented levels, sending Israel the largest-ever security assistance funding in 2010, and raising that to $3 billion for 2011. Contrast that with what Mitt Romney and other leading Presidential candidates said less than a month ago when they advocated starting Israel’s foreign aid budget at zero.On the call, Robert Wexler said:What has occurred at the RJC is nothing less than the theater of the absurd. Absurd because Mr. Romney and others use allegations such as timid and weak in the context of President Obama and in the context of our relationship with Israel and the world, and nothing could be further from the truth. President Obama of course made an extraordinarily bold and courageous decision in terms of our ultimate elimination of Osama bin Laden.
The objective fact is that the security, cooperation, and security relationship between the United States and Israel has never been better. This President, President Barack Obama has ushered in an era of extraordinary strategic and military cooperation.
"I Can Hardly Remember a Better Period of American Support and Cooperation..." --Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
"Ehud Barak Interview.” FoxNews, (Axelrod, David, Campaign 2012, as cited in “Democratic Voter,” IV, October 20, 2011, 1).
Barak on Barack - Asked on Fox News whether he thought Israelis were "disenchanted" with President Obama, Barak said:
"No. Our countries are good friends. And I'm the minister of defense. I can tell you that I can hardly remember...a better period of support, American support and cooperation and similar strategic understanding of events around us than what we have right now.
"The President didn't say that Israel should go back to the borders of '67. He made it very clear that he thinks that Palestinians deserve a state of their own. We also believe in two states...[a] secure Israel side by side with a emilitarized Palestinian state that will basically have the same area that the West Bank and Gaza Strip had before '67 with certain swaps, with understanding of the transformation on the ground."
[Over the next 15 months, Republicans will do their best to distort the President's record -- particularly on Israel. We've already seen them mischaracterizing the vision he's laid out for a new era of peace in the Middle East. It's up to supporters like us to set the record straight.
Health Care Consumers Won One Today
That would be the provision of the new health law, called the medical loss ratio, that requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit. Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement will result in the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing the amount in which they underspend on actual medical care.
This is the true ‘Consumer Advantage ’ contained in Obamacare and the one item that will have more impact on the future of how medical care is paid for in this country than anything we’ve seen in quite some time. This law will end the "For Profit on Death and Dying" that has plagued the consumers in this country for over 100 years.
Today, that bomb goes off.
Today, that bomb goes off.
PROTECT THE VOTE - DNC LAUNCHES MICROSITE
The Democratic National Committee will announce a new effort today to push back on restrictive voter ID laws, building it around a site called protectingthevote.org. They're putting out a report called "A Reversal in Progress: Restricting Voting Rights for Electoral Gain". DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz will hold a press conference call with reporters at 10:30 a.m. to discuss it. "Democrats will not sit idly by while the Republican Party attempts to infringe on the rights of American voters," DNC Counsel and Director of Voter Protection Will Crossley writes in an op-ed:http://politi.co/uSw2Lv . The new web site: http://bit.ly/txHCQK.
Message From: Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos
Protect IP is legislation that would -- no exaggeration -- destroy the social web as we know it. In short, this proposed law would allow corporate copyright holders the ability to cut off funding and compel the government to shut down websites they deem infringing, without the need of a court order. (See here for more information on this devastating bill.)
This poorly conceived piece of legislation has been rushed through Congress without proper debate, with only Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon standing between it and the president's desk. Pro-censorship forces have spent over $90 million to get this bill passed, we have, well, social media to fight back.
If you value Daily Kos, or Facebook, or Twitter, or any website which invites your participation, please take a moment to contact your senator.
Thanks,
Markos Moulitsas
Publisher, Daily Kos
This poorly conceived piece of legislation has been rushed through Congress without proper debate, with only Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon standing between it and the president's desk. Pro-censorship forces have spent over $90 million to get this bill passed, we have, well, social media to fight back.
If you value Daily Kos, or Facebook, or Twitter, or any website which invites your participation, please take a moment to contact your senator.
Thanks,
Markos Moulitsas
Publisher, Daily Kos
Dems plan to move $1 trillion omnibus in December
Senate Dems plan to move $1 trillion omnibus in December
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday he plans to move a massive omnibus spending bill in December, a move that will fire up opposition from Tea Party conservatives.
Reid says he wants to avoid the prospect of the federal government running for another year on stopgap spending measures.
Democratic aides argue that Reid, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama have already agreed to set the level of federal discretionary spending at $1.043 trillion for fiscal year 2012 so there’s no need for further drama.
Reid said he will encourage meetings between appropriators in the Senate and House to iron out differences over specific programs and policy riders and combine the remaining spending bills in one large package.
Barney Frank Offers Several Reasons For Retiring
Barney Frank Offers Several Reasons For Retiring
The Boston Globe reports that Frank’s decision was spurred in large part by redistricting, with him having lost some key strongholds and gained some relatively more conservative areas. On the other hand, Dem sources point out that the redrawn district is still heavily Democratic, having voted 61% for Barack Obama in 2008. A Dem source in Massachusetts says that a potential candidate is Brookline Selectwoman Jesse Mermell, who is said to have been putting her name around in case of a possible Frank retirement.
Frank will perhaps be best remembered on Capitol Hill for his quick wit and pugilistic attitude in political debates, combining both a serious approach to the issues and a certain lightheartedness about himself. From a 1996 interview with the New York Times:
Rep. Barney Frank won't run for reelection
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will announced Monday that he is not seeking re-election, a spokesman said Monday morning.
Frank is scheduled to hold a press conference at 1 p.m.
Solyndra Hearings Pit Republicans Against Defense Dept.
If House Republicans expected the Solyndra investigation to focus public attention on their opposition to President Obama's energy policies, by any measure they have succeeded. However, in gunning after the Department of Energy and its solar power loan program they have fallen prey to the law of unintended consequences, and are now heading on a collision course with the Department of Defense. Read More →
Schecter: Reagan and the Right made Iran what it is today
RT America is the U.S. bureau of RT, formerly Russia Today. From its Washington, DC studio comes this clip of Peter Levelle’s show “Crosstalk” in which disgraced Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams goes head-to-head against The Real McCain author Cliff Schecter.
Sparks fly as Williams criticizes President Obama on his handling of foreign policy, including his relationship with Israel and the killing of Osama bib Laden. Schecter fires back, shooting down each of Williams’s talking points in turn. Williams falls back on the conservative complaint that Obama “bowed down” to Saudi King Abdullah, which Schecter counters by reminding Williams of the famous image of President Bush holding hands with Abdullah from 2005.
When Williams says Obama is soft on Iran, Schecter reminds him of the Iran Contra scandal, which broke 25 years ago on November 25 of 1986 as well as bringing up the Bloomberg reportthat prominent tea party backers the Koch brothers have been using European subsidiaries to do business with Iran in spite of the U.S. embargo. “Frankly,” he says, “Maybe if the Right would stop doing business with Iran, maybe they wouldn’t be as strong as they are right now.”
You can watch the video, embedded via Mediaite, below:
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