HELP, I’VE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP

Anybody who knows anything about the Middle East understands that issues there are complicated and subtle. Notice that I said “anybody who knows anything about the Middle East”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-israel-romney-wows-crowds-but-puzzles-with-grasp-of-palestinian-relationship/2012/07/30/gJQAsBEJLX_story.html
Romney’s international-foray-as-campaign-tour was epitomized by his centerpiece stay in Israel, where on Monday he told an audience of American donors that the sluggish Palestinian economy is plagued more by “cultural” differences than by the strictures of the decades-old Israeli occupation. . . .

The assessment is one not widely shared within Israel, and suggested a lack of sustained study or nuanced understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. . . [read on]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/just_wow_1.php
[I]n his comments at a fundraiser Monday morning with well-heeled donors (chief among them current GOP mega-moneyman Shelden Adelson) Romney promptly disabused anyone of the notion that he either fully appreciates, or is terribly concerned with the punishing realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/the_gray_lady_carries_a_shiv_in_her_purse.php
[NYT] “On Monday afternoon, Romney campaign officials did not respond to a query about whether Mr. Romney believes that the blockade of Gaza or trade restrictions in the West Bank have had any dampening effect on economic activity in those areas.” . . .

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/mitt-romney-israel-health-care.php
During a trip to Israel, Mitt Romney hailed the nation’s health care system for holding down costs and broadening coverage more effectively than the U.S.

The irony: Israel contains costs by adopting a very centralized, government-run health care system . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/oops-romney-israel-fundraiser-cancele
The Republican presidential candidate originally had planned a $50,000-a-plate dinner in Israel for Sunday night -- even though today is also Tisha B'Av, a Jewish day to mourn the victim and the Holocaust and the destruction of first and second Temple of Jerusalem.

It is traditionally a day of fast when restaurants in Israel are closed by law.

The Huffington Post reports that Romney's campaign knew the significance of the date, but planned the fundraiser anyway . . .

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/30/13032671-still-shambling-from-london-to-jerusalem
[Steve Benen] Mitt Romney's unpleasant trip to the U.K. last week quickly became the stuff of legend. No one can even remember the last time a prominent American politician traveled abroad, visited with officials from a close ally, and bungled an excursion this badly.

Perhaps the Republican presidential hopeful would have more luck in Israel? Not really. . . . [read on]

John McCain

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/30/1115126/-John-McCain-refuses-to-believe-that-Mitt-Romney-actually-said-what-he-said
“I am sure that Gov. Romney was not talking about difference in cultures, or difference in anybody superior or inferior,” said McCain, a chief Romney foreign policy surrogate . . .”

Of course, McCain was dead wrong. Here's what Romney actually said:

“Culture makes all the difference,” Mr. Romney said. . . [read on]

Wrapping up

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/mitt-romneys-foreign-trip-didnt-go-well-does-it-matter/2012/07/30/gJQA5rudLX_blog.html
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney later today wraps up his foreign tour, a trip that drew a series of negative headlines and has left many Republicans wondering what exactly the GOP presidential nominee was hoping to accomplish.

The assessments of the trip, which saw Romney visit London, Israel and Poland over the past week, ranged from scathing to resigned among the Republican professional political class.

“I find this entire trip borderline lunacy,” said one senior Republican strategist . . .

Are we feeling a little. . . tense?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/31/romney_aide_curses_at_press_in_poland.html
Romney Aide Curses at Press in Poland

Still doing it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/an-obama-quote-taken-out-of-context-yet-again/2012/07/27/gJQAcZfbEX_blog.html
An Obama quote taken out of context, yet again

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/why-romney-keeps-attacking-things-obama-didnt-say/2012/07/30/gJQAcfhTKX_blog.html
Why Romney keeps attacking things Obama didn’t say

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/fox-pundits-continue-defend-romneys-dishon
Fox Pundits Continue to Defend Romney's Dishonest Campaign Ads

Does he really think he’ll get away with this?

http://prospect.org/article/mitt-romney-thinks-youre-sucker
[Romney] From time to time I've been audited as happens I think to other citizens as well and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough and complete job pay taxes as legally due. I don't pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don't think I'd be qualified to become president. I'd think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires. [read on]

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2012/07/30/questions-about-romneys-taxes-arent-going-away/
Muir: You are here on what some have termed your world audition and democrats, not surprisingly, continue to hammer you back home on taxes, you remain firm two years and two years only. So from what you have released and from what we have seen we know that there was one year when you paid about 13.9% tax rate. Can we clear this up by asking a simple yes or no question? Was there ever any year when you paid lower than 13.9%?

Romney: I haven’t calculated that. I’m happy to go back and look . . .

http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/07/30/mitt-to-you-people-suck-it-you-people/
“Mitt Romney has paid his taxes in full compliance with U.S. Law, and he has paid 100 percent of what he has owed,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams wrote.

He continued, “As has previously been reported, in 2011, the Romneys will pay more than $3.2 million in taxes on $20.9 million in mostly investment income and will have donated more than $4 million to charity. In 2010, The Romneys paid more than $3 million in taxes on $21.6 million in mostly investment income and donated nearly $3 million to charity.” . . .

[NB: Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but he should be clear that by “charity” he means “Mormon Church”]

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/30/13031942-romney-to-go-back-and-check-on-tax-rates

Symbolic move, but a smart one

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/house-dems-to-force-vote-on-middle-income-bush-tax-cuts.php
House Dems To Force Vote On Middle-Income Bush Tax Cuts

Here’s why you can’t compromise with the Repubs. Even when you make a deal with them, they end up BLAMING you for it

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/republicans-want-off-the-hook-for-voting-for-defense-sequester.php

Say it, brother

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-froomkin/reporters-know-what-the-v_b_1719778.html
[Dan Froomkin] Does any journalist who is not an overt shill for the right actually believe that Republicans are pushing voter ID laws because they’re concerned about voter fraud?

No, of course not.

And for good reason. Voter fraud simply isn’t a problem in this country. Studies have definitively debunked the voter fraud myth time and again. . . .

For reporters to treat this issue like just another political squabble is journalistic malpractice. Indeed, relating the debate in value-neutral he-said-she-said language is actively helping spread the lie. After all, calling for someone to show ID before voting doesn’t sound pernicious to most people, even though it is. And raising the bogus issue of voter fraud at all stokes fear. “Even if you say there is no fraud, all people hear is ‘fraud fraud fraud’,” said Lawrence Norden, a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

Think about it. If you were covering elections in another country, and one political party was actively trying to limit voting in the name of a problem that objectively didn’t exist, would you hesitate for a moment to call out that tactic — and question that party’s legitimacy? Hardly. . . [read on]

Is there any doubt? http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/limbaugh-dont-tell-people-welfare-when-elect
Limbaugh: Don't Tell 'People on Welfare When the Election Is'

The theocrats aren't even hiding it any more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-worst-ad-of-the-2012-campaign-so-far/2012/07/30/gJQAe9w4KX_blog.html

Bonus item: An accident? OF COURSE it was an accident

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/29/stupid_girls_intro_to_palin_segment_not_intentional.html
CNN says using the song Stupid Girls “to introduce a segment on Sarah Palin was unintentional and not meant as a commentary on the former Republican vice presidential candidate” . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

“THE WIMP FACTOR”

http://newsweek.tumblr.com/post/28264293119/is-mitt-romney-a-wimp-thats-our-cover-this-week

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/29/michael-tomasky-a-candidate-with-a-serious-wimp-problem.html
[Michael Tomasky, in Newsweek] The episode highlights what’s really wrong with Romney. He’s kind of lame, and he’s really ... annoying. He keeps saying these ... things, these incredibly off-key things. Then he apologizes immediately—with all the sincerity of a hostage. Or maybe he doesn’t: sometimes he whines about the subsequent attacks on him. But the one thing he never does? Man up, double down, take his lumps. . . . [read on]

Okay, okay, Tomasky’s a progressive who can be expected to slam Romney. Let’s get the Republican point of view

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/republican-strategist-fox-news-romney-aloof-
Republican Strategist to Fox News: Romney 'Aloof and Not Understanding'

Trying too hard to sound tough – and screwing up a major foreign policy issue . . . again

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/mitt-does-not-exactly-support-preemptive-strike.html
Mitt Romney Does Not Exactly Endorse a Preemptive Israeli Strike on Iran

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/romneyshambles-continues-israel
[Kevin Drum] How could the Romney campaign possibly be this underprepared for its first big international outing? Dan Senor has been involved with foreign policy for two decades, and the Romney campaign is jam packed with people who know the contours of Middle East policy inside out and know exactly which words you can use and which ones you can't. What's going on?

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/romney_bungles_through_israel038885.php

A look back at Willard’s disastrous UK trip

http://theweek.com/article/index/231178/mitt-romneys-london-gaffes-5-ways-they-hurt-him

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/29/1114112/-Romney-in-London-The-embarrassments-are-the-sideshow-the-real-story-is-the-economy

He didn't do that alone

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/how-uncle-sam-helped-romney-build-his-fortune
How Uncle Sam Helped Mitt Romney Build His Fortune

He’s congenitally incapable of giving a straight answer

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/29/romney_not_sure_if_hes_paid_less_than_139_in_taxes.html
Romney Not Sure If He's Paid Less Than 13.9% in Taxes

Perhaps you have wondered the same thing

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/29/1113370/-Mitt-Romney-is-a-frequent-and-blatant-liar-Why-don-t-our-guardians-of-discourse-care
Mitt Romney is a frequent and blatant liar. Why don't our guardians of discourse care?

http://pressthink.org/2012/07/if-mitt-romney-were-running-a-post-truth-campaign-would-the-political-press-report-it/

“Cokie’s Law” http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/cokies-law-wapo-2012.html

The question isn’t what HE thinks – it's why he’s saying it now

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/cheney-says-picking-palin-for-vp-was-a-mistake/2012/07/29/gJQATrdcIX_blog.html
Cheney says picking Palin for V.P. was ‘a mistake’

http://www.americablog.com/2012/07/cheney-on-choosing-palin-as-vp-that-one.html
[John Aravosis] He seems to be trying to shut Palin up, force her out of the picture. It's not entirely clear why, unless the GOP is afraid that she's somehow going to screw up the election, or the selection of the VP. But there's some calculated reason that Cheney is saying this now.

Remember: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/07/sarah-palin-gop-convention-invite-mitt-romney-/1#.UBWNKHB6O14
Sarah Palin says she hasn't been invited to speak at the Republican National Convention . . .

Of course, we know that Cheney has unfailing good sense in recommending VP’s – remember who he recommended to Dubya

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/07/29/dick-cheneys-vp-advice-to-mitt-romney-pick-me-pick-me/

A climate change skeptic changes his mind

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/global-warming-humans-are-almost-entirely-cause

Second Amendment absolutism is going to destroy this country

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/scalia-handheld-rocket-launchers-could-be-co
Scalia: 'Handheld Rocket Launchers' could be Constitutional

[NB: For hunting purposes?]

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/07/29/did-justice-scalia-just-encourage-the-next-crazy-to-aim-a-real-rpg-at-the-supreme-court/

But wait: the best part is Scalia’s constitutional “reasoning.” Must read

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/dumb-justice.html

Another anachronism: one rationale of the right-to-bear-arms crowd is that it is a defense against a despotic government. Really? Get real

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/29/1113938/-The-Second-Amendment-and-the-fantasy-of-revolution
The Second Amendment and the fantasy of revolution

The theocrats are winning

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/colorado-court-birth-control-mandate-john-kane.php
A federal court on Friday ruled against the Obama administration’s birth control mandate, the first court to side with its opponents. The decision isn’t final, but the move could represent a breakthrough for conservatives determined to overturn the regulation made possible by the Affordable Care Act.

A federal district judge in Colorado issued a temporary injunction permitting Hercules Industries, an air-conditioning company based in the state, not to abide by the rule until the courts reach a decision on the merits of the case. The business owner, a Catholic who opposes contraception, argued that the mandate violates his religious liberty. . . .

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/scalia-suggests-women-have-no-right-contrace
Scalia Suggests Women Have No Right to Contraception

“Dark money”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/29/dark_money_makes_up_half_of_all_independent_spending.html

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/29/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_1715819.html

Bonus item: How much you wanna bet she gets criticized for THIS too?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/michelle-obamas-designer-jacket-fit-for-a-queen/2012/07/29/gJQACwm6IX_blog.html
Michelle Obama has been criticized for not dressing up enough for Queen Elizabeth II, so she stepped up her game Friday night at an Olympics reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace. The first lady wore a very fancy J. Mendel capsleeve jacket — “white viscose techno crepe tailored jacket with overlapped side panels and silver embroidery” from the 2013 Resort collection, according to a press release from the company. It’s not in stores yet, but high-end retailer Moda Operandi listed the jacket at a princely $6,800.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

SLINKY

It’s just the way he is

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-bans-media-from-jerusalem-fundraiser-violating-pre-established-protocol/2012/07/28/gJQAAaeVGX_blog.html
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who touched down here Saturday night for a day of meetings with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders, plans to wrap up his visit to Israel by collecting money from some of his biggest benefactors behind closed doors.

Some of Romney’s Jewish donors are flying here from the United States to attend the Jerusalem fundraiser on Monday morning, including Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who has pledged to personally give tens of millions of dollars to a pro-Romney super PAC.

The campaign’s decision to close the fundraiser to the press violates the ground rules it negotiated with news organizations in April. . .

More: http://thepage.time.com/2012/07/28/secret-in-israel/

He doesn’t know what he is getting into

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/romney-to-back-israels-right-to-strike-iran-aide-says/
In a speech here Sunday evening, Mitt Romney plans to assert that he respects Israel’s right to take pre-emptive action against Iran to prevent the country from developing nuclear capabilities that could be used for a bomb. . .

Not likely to change

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-romney-vs-obama-competency-may-be-trumped-by-likability/2012/07/28/gJQAE6uKGX_story.html
Romney’s problem? Americans don’t like him as much as Obama

I hate that guy

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/stupid-right-wing-rumor-debunk-churchill-bu
Mitt Romney is having a terrible week. Again. But you'd never know it from the right wing blogs and columns. Why, Charles Krauthammer just came out yesterday with the worn-out old claim in his that President Obama banished poor Churchill's bust back to the United Kingdom. How unAnglo-Saxon of him! . . .

This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room. [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/28/1114385/-The-Churchill-bust-conspiracy

“The post-truth campaign”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/politics-at-its-best.html

So now we know

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/former-fl-repug-we-wanted-suppress-bl
Former FL GOP Leader: We Wanted to Suppress Black Votes

The kind of people they are

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/billboard-compares-obama-to-the-colorado-shooter.html
Here’s a Billboard Comparing President Obama to the Colorado Shooter

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2012/07/29/sunday-talking-heads-july-29-2012/
ABC’s This Week: Mathew Dodd host. Obama campaign senior adviser Robert Gibbs vs Romney campaign senior adviser Kevin Madden. Roundtable: George Will; Donna Brazile; Yahoo! News Washington bureau chief David Chalian; radio host and Brietbart.com contributing editor Dana Loesch; and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus. Finally, Jonathan Karl with former Vice President Dick Cheney,

CBS’ Face the Nation: Penn State President Rodney Erickson. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).

Chris Hayes: Preempted by the Olympics.

CNN’s State of the Union: Romney campaign surrogate Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) vs Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). Roundtable: Ken Goldstein, President of Kantar Media/CMAG, Ron Brownstein, CNN’s Senior Political Analyst and Michael Scherer of Time Magazine. Also, coverage of Mitt Romney’s speech in Jerusalem.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: On Mitt Romney and U.S. foreign policy; the Syrian crisis; Iran’s future; guns and America and a look at the U.S. economy. Also, Paul Wolfowitz, Tom Friedman, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Richard Haass, Paul Krugman, Ken Rogoff.

NBC’s Meet the Press: Preempted by the Olympics.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

ROMNEYSHAMBLES

Watch! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9432463/Romneyshambles-Democrats-seize-on-Mitt-Romneys-gaffes.html

Willard’s latest goof during his gaffe-filled foreign policy trip: calls for a radical, controversial shift in our Middle East policy. Does he even realize what he’s saying, or is he just once again parroting right-wing cant?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/watch_this_space.php
I suppose it’s possible the Romney campaign is so unaware of the realities of the Middle East peace process, however moribund it may be, that they’re unconcerned with just how inflammatory an American president’s expression of support for an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would be to the Arab world. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-looks-for-a-breakout-moment-in-israel-to-salvage-foreign-trip/2012/07/27/gJQAMHNaEX_story.html
Romney’s missteps have drawn extensive mockery in Britain and public consternation from both Republicans and Democrats in the United States, and his campaign advisers were at a loss Friday to put a positive spin on the story — other than to look ahead to the next two stops on his tour. . . .

Oh, yeah, and next up, his “old friend” Bibi: http://firedoglake.com/2012/07/27/and-this-is-only-the-first-act/
Here’s Mitt in April 2012:
Israel’s current prime minister is not just a friend. He’s an old friend.

But here is that alleged “old friend” this month:
“I remember him for sure, but I don’t think we had any particular connections,” he tells me. “I knew him and he knew me, I suppose.”

Just a reminder: here’s a scene from Obama’s similar foreign policy coming-out party four years ago

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/07/24/world/0724-OBAMAGERMANY_index.html

The DC chin-pullers think Romney should start “defining himself,” on the assumption that the better people know him the more they will like him. But what if that assumption is not true?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114317/-Hey-pundits-here-s-why-Romney-can-t-define-himself

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114271/-Why-Romney-can-t-and-won-t-get-people-to-like-him

A little insight into who he is: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/mitt-romney-underminer.html
Mitt Romney, Underminer

We all remember Slinky’s awkward, boo-filled NAACP speech. Well, that’s not the way he’s describing it now

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12991145-romney-remembers-his-naacp-speech-differently

More lies: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12994571-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xxvii

http://prospect.org/article/its-not-about-gaffes
[I]f you look broadly at Romney's rhetoric, what you see is not only that he tells extemporaneous lies quite frequently, but more important, he repeats lies long after it has become clear that they are in fact wrong.

There are plenty of examples . . .

What will the House GOPers do with the Democratic TAX CUT bill passed by the Senate?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114247/-Tax-cut-showdown-moves-to-the-House-next-nbsp-week

Will the Federal Election Commission start doing its job?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27/1114260/-FEC-to-shine-a-light-on-dark-money

Profiles in courage (not!)

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/cantor-declines-to-criticize-bachmann-over-abedin-charges/
Cantor Declines to Criticize Bachmann Over Abedin Charges

The lizard-brain of the Republican campaign (again): Obama is Muslim!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/obama_is_muslim_meme_rising_am038855.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/many-conservatives-still-think-obama-is-a-muslim/2012/07/27/gJQA87X9DX_blog.html

And he’s black! http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/return_of_the_scary_black_man038859.php

Bonus item: No

http://prospect.org/article/have-republicans-ever-hated-president-more-barack-obama
Have Republicans Ever Hated a President More Than Barack Obama?

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

EPIC FAIL

Willard is only partway through his big Foreign Policy coming out party. Now in two days he has already offended two of our closest allies. Two days ago, he misrepresented a quote from the Australian Foreign Minister, which the FM probably never intended for public use in the first place. Yesterday he insults his British hosts by dissing their Olympics preparation (nowhere near as good as HIS Olympics preparation), and then compounds the problem REPEATEDLY.

Has anyone thought to ask, maybe he’s just not good at the Presidential thing?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/off_to_a_smashing_start.php
Mitt Romney’s trip abroad appears to be off to a smashing start. As a number of TPM Readers flagged to us last night Romney managed to insult his British hosts, knocking their management of the Summer Olympics in comparison to his run with the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002. . . .

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/romney-london-olympics-david-cameron.php
[British PM David] Cameron also fired back at Romney’s concerns over security, and suggested British officials were dealing with more complex issues than Romney faced when he ran the show. “We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world,” Cameron said. “Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/romney-london-olympics-gaffes.php
Mitt’s British Blunders

http://www.politicususa.com/romney-shambles-britain-proclaims-worse-sarah-palin.html
Romney in Shambles as Britain Proclaims Him Worse than Sarah Palin

More! http://www.washingtonpost.com/romney-flubs-tells-press-of-secret-mi6-meeting/2012/07/26/gJQAYpk1BX_video.html
Romney flubs, tells press of secret MI6 meeting

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/26/1113983/-Romney-Don-t-let-US-become-a-second-tier-nation-Like-Britain
Romney: Don't let U.S. become a second-tier nation. Like Britain

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/26/1114045/-Mitt-Romney-s-very-very-bad-day
Mitt Romney's very, very bad day

By the way, here’s the oblique way our headline writers have dealt with this absolute meltdown

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/timescast-politics-snag-in-romneys-london-visit/
Snag in Romney’s London Visit

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/bad-headlines-for-romney-in-london/2012/07/26/gJQATcbACX_blog.html
Bad headlines for Romney in London

To which Team Romney replies . . .

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/romney-olympics-london-bobby-jindal-bob-mcdonnell.php
Americans Don’t Care About Foreign Press

Here’s a less oblique way of describing the situation

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/26/1113912/-Can-Romney-interact-with-ANYONE-without-insulting-them
[Kos] It's pretty well established at this point that Mitt Romney is an asshole. He cannot interact with anyone without being an utter dick. Remember, his own high school friends, which the Romney campaign itself suggested the press talk to, sold him out.

Now I think we know what this “foreign policy” trip is REALLY all about

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/us/politics/mitt-romney-fund-raisers-in-london-draw-banking-crowd.html
Romney Fund-Raisers in London Draw Banking Crowd

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/25/major-gop-donor-adelson-may-attend-romneys-israel-fundraiser/
Major GOP donor Adelson may attend Romney's Israel fundraiser

More: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/07/26/churchill-bust-in-spotlight-at-romney-fundraiser/
As the presumptive Republican nominee kicked off an overseas trip through England, Israel and Poland, he dotted the journey with fundraisers designed to energize the expat community and U.S. supporters.

Slinky says he won't release his taxes – and here’s his excuse

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/26/12972735-the-still-hidden-tax-returns
Romney won't disclose more information because "Democrat [sic] operatives" will "twist and distort" the information.

Dahlia Lithwick and Raymond Vasvari recently had a terrific take on this argument: "[Romney] isn't actually claiming that his opponents will lie. He's claiming he's entitled to hide the truth because it could be used against him.... These are tax returns. Factual documents. No different than, say, a birth certificate. But the GOP's argument that inconvenient facts can be withheld from public scrutiny simply because they can be used for mean purposes is a radical idea in a democracy." . . . [read on]

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/26/1113821/-Romney-again-admits-releasing-tax-returns-would-be-politically-damaging

Scary

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/26/1113827/-Knuckle-dragging-ultrahawks-dominate-Mitt-Romney-s-foreign-policy-team
Mitt Romney's foreign policy team

I knew it was going to be a problem for Bush to publish a Great Economic Plan in the middle of Willard’s campaign: he can't embrace it, and he can't criticize it

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/mitt-my-plan-differs-from-bushs-because-uh.html
Mitt: My Plan Differs From Bush’s Because ... Uh

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/and_speaking_of_bush_administr038845.php

http://prospect.org/article/romneys-innovative-economic-plan-dubya-20

Big. Phony.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/romney-uninterested-in-wifes-dressage-horse.html
Romney Pretends to Be Completely Uninterested in His Wife’s Olympic Dressage Horse

http://www.samefacts.com/2012/07/watching-conservatives/mitt-romney/gormlessness/
[Mark Kleiman] Really? Really? Your wife might come home with an Olympic Gold Medal, and you’re not planning to watch on TV? Not only will no sane person believe this, but if it were true it would reveal a lack of ordinary human emotion that would be seriously disqualifying in a candidate for President.

Why the Senate tax cut vote matters

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/why_the_tax_vote_matters.php
Why The Bush Tax Cut Vote Was So Important

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/26/12967366-dems-gain-leverage-in-tax-fight

Don’t bother him with details!

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/pennsylvania_voter_id_law_tom_corbett.php
Pennsylvania Governor Can’t Recall Requirements Of Voter ID Law He Signed

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/pennsylvania_voter_id_law_could_keep_43_percent_of_philly_voters_from_polls.php
Voter ID Law Could Keep 43 Percent Of Philly Voters From Polls

Interesting situation. Here is an original clip from a story about Karl Rove’s “takeover of the Republican party”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/26/roves_plan_to_takeover_the_republican_party.html
Bloomberg Businessweek has a must-read cover story on Karl Rove "and how he is holding the reins of the GOP's destiny and redefining the business of political finance."

But the story REMOVED that line: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-26/karl-rove-hes-back-big-time

Moron

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/dick-armey-dont-control-guns-because-cars-ca
Dick Armey: Don't Control Guns Because Cars Can Kill People Too

[NB: True, and we do a lot more to regulate the ownership and use of cars than we do guns!]

Jon Stewart slams Slinky’s dishonest use of Obama quote

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/jon-stewart-obama-romney-fox-news.php
Jon Stewart Blasts The Right’s ‘Deliberate Misrepresentation’ Of Obama’s Position

Romney campaign: be grateful! http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/mitt-romney-out-of-context-obam.php
Romney, RNC: We Did Obama A Favor By Taking Him Out Of Context!

Rush Limbaugh’s “downward spiral”

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113395/-Rush-Limbaugh-s-downward-spiral-promises-to-accelerate

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/he-just-seems-foreign.html

Bonus item: Finally!

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/colbert-romney-anglo-saxon.php
Colbert: I'm glad someone finally brought up the whole Anglo-Saxon thing

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

AGREEING TO DISAGREE

Senate Dems pull a smart move, forcing through an extension of Bush tax cuts only for those making less than $250,000. Now what will Boehner and the GOPers in the House do?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/senate-dems-jam-house-republicans-pass-bush-tax-cut-extension-for-middle-class.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/in-power-play-senate-dems-sneak-middle-class-tax-cuts-past-gop/2012/07/25/gJQAlldm9W_blog.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/all_she_wrote_5.php

Now what? http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/obama_looking_at_you_now_boehner.php
[Obama] With the Senate’s vote, the House Republicans are now the only people left in Washington holding hostage the middle-class tax cuts for 98% of Americans and nearly every small business owner. The last thing a typical middle class family can afford is a $2,200 tax hike at the beginning of next year. It’s time for House Republicans to drop their demand for another $1 trillion giveaway to the wealthiest Americans and give our families and small businesses the financial security and certainty that they need. Our economy isn’t built from the top-down, it’s built from a strong and growing middle class, and that’s who we should be fighting for.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/senate-passes-middle-class-tax-cuts.html
The House won't be taking up the bill, but will instead vote on its own version next week . . . [read on]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/bush-tax-cuts-mcconnell-reid-boehner.php
“The only reason we won’t block [the Democratic bill] today is that we know it doesn’t pass constitutional muster and won’t become law,” [Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell] said on the Senate floor. McConnell is referring to the Constitution’s origination clause, which stipulates that revenue raising bills must have their first reading in the House — not the Senate. The Democrats bill has what’s known as a “blue slip problem.”

But Senate Dems say they already anticipated that problem and have a way around it. . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/showdown-over-tax-cuts.html

Willard once again finds a way to parrot right-wing dogma as if it were his own thinking

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/romney-says-country-doesnt-need-new-gun-laws/
Romney Says Country Doesn’t Need New Gun Laws

Slinky! http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/despite_mitt_romneys_claims_aurora_shooters_gun_pu.php
Mitt Romney brushed off suggestions that the Aurora, Colo. theater shooting should renew a national conversation on gun control Wednesday, saying that it “was illegal” for accused Aurora shooter James Holmes to have the “kind of weapons and bombs and other devices” he used in his deadly attack.

Not exactly. Holmes legally purchased the weapons used in the attack, and legally bought thousands of rounds of annunciation online. . . .

“The governor was clearly referring to the homemade bombs in the apartment,” the aide told TPM. . .

[NB: No! Read the friggin quote again!]

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/romney-gun-control-aurora-illegal.html
Mitt Romney Seems Confused About Aurora

Be glad they are so stupid. Lately, Willard has been attacking Obama over intentionally leaking national security information for political reasons. Well, well, well. . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/at-least-we-wont-have-to-worry-about.html
Shortly after the candidate's speech in Reno, Nevada, the Romney campaign sent out a press release citing former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman, who is listed as an Romney campaign advisor. . . .

Edelman, however, was implicated in the country's last major national security leak investigation — the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame — during his time in the Bush administration.

Edelman served under former Vice President Dick Cheney in the 1990s. From February 2001 to June 2003, he worked as Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, where he served directly under former Cheney aide Scooter Libby. According to the Justice Department, Edelman, identified as “Principal Deputy” in Scooter Libby’s indictment, originally suggested the idea to Libby to start leaking information about Joe Wilson’s trip to Niger. . .

Eventually people will notice

http://swampland.time.com/2012/07/25/mitt-romney-struggles-to-solve-his-commander-in-chief-problem/#ixzz21eN11HWB
Mitt Romney’s Commander in Chief Problem

He keeps using government-assisted businesses to argue for why business doesn't need government

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113668/-Romney-again-uses-government-contracting-businesses-to-say-government-doesn-t-help-businesses

Another line on his c.v. he won't want to talk about

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/mitt-romney-olympics_n_1704261.html
Mitt Romney Registered As Lobbyist For Salt Lake City Olympics

Let’s see: Wooden and fake? Check. Slippery and secretive? Check. An ultra-privileged member of the 1%? Check. Willing to sell out his principles? Check

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/25/the_least_likeable_gop_nominee_in_modern_times.html
The Least Likeable GOP Nominee in Modern Times

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113557/-They-just-don-t-like-Mitt-Romney

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2012/07/25/wsjnbc-poll-obama-leads-by-six-and-romney-remains-unlikeable/

Two headlines describing the SAME NEWS STORY

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romneys-bain-case-crumbles-a-bit-more/2012/07/25/gJQA5nvP9W_blog.htm
Romney’s Bain case crumbles a bit more

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/another-source-says-mitt-romney-had-very-little-contact-bain-after-he-left
Another Source Says Mitt Romney Had Very Little Contact With Bain After He Left

[NB: In fact, the stories aren’t contradictory. When the former Bain colleague says “he met at times with his former partners, mostly to discuss his severance from the firm,” and “"Some were group conversations. Some were one on one" . . . Romney did not relinquish his Bain ownership after taking the Olympics role but . . .Romney took care to avoid the day-to-day role of a corporate manager,” it clearly contradicts his blanket assertion that he had “no role whatsoever.”]

Also: http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/07/25/more-evidence-emerges-that-romney-committed-felony-by-lying-to-the-fec/
Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way.” [read on]

The Romney campaign jumps onto the “voter fraud” bandwagon

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/romney_cries_fraud_on_virginia_voter_registration_campaign.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113591/-Romney-campaign-seeks-probe-into-Virginia-voter-registration-effort

Bonus item: By the way, the states with REAL vote count problems are nearly all GOP states; the states with the best records? Mostly Democratic

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/25/states_most_likely_to_miscount_votes.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WHITE WASH

It isn't really hard to figure out the subtext of the Republican opposition to Obama, because it’s text, not subtext

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/romney_camp_mitt_will_bring_a_white_mans_touch.php
What the London Daily Telegraph calls one of Romney’s “advisors” told the paper that Romney was better positioned to understand and respect the ‘special relationship’ between the US and Great Britain than President Obama, whose father was from Kenya.

Said the advisor: “We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special. The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.” . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/24/1113169/-Romney-goes-there-Obama-s-beliefs-are-in-some-respects-foreign-to-the-American-experience
Romney goes there: Obama's beliefs are 'in some respects foreign to the American experience'

On foreign policy

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/24/the_man_with_nothing_to_say/
Mitt has nothing to say

Except lies: http://www.samefacts.com/2012/07/wayward-press/romneys-national-security-speech-this-is-a-test/

http://prospect.org/article/romney-has-nothing-win-talking-foreign-policy

Slinky

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/24/1113298/-Mitt-Romney-lambastes-then-endorses-President-Obama-s-2014-timetable-for-ending-Afghanistan-war
Mitt Romney, earlier today in at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada, slamming President Obama's proposed 2014 timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan and withdrawing American forces . .

. . . and Mitt Romney in the very next sentence, endorsing it . . .

The press tells us Baingate isn't hurting Romney. I say, it's building a narrative

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/americans-on-bain-meh/2012/07/24/gJQAEV0v7W_blog.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-07-23/poll-romney-obama-economy/56439758/1

More: http://prospect.org/article/romney-has-nothing-win-talking-foreign-policy
No One Actually Knows if the Bain Attacks Are Working

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/awakening-voters-curiosity-about-romneys-tax-returns-and-bain-years/2012/07/24/gJQAlI0J7W_blog.html
Awakening voters’ curiosity about Romney’s tax returns and Bain years

“The hidden Mitt Romney”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/24/the_hidden_mitt_romney.html

The CBO speaks

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/how-much-will-supreme-courts-obamacare-decision-cost-federal-government
How Much Will the Supreme Court's Obamacare Decision Cost the Federal Government?

Pennsylvania makes a stunning concession on their voter ID law: they don't know about any actual voter fraud that requires it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/pennsylvania-admits-it-no-voter-fraud-problem/2012/07/24/gJQAHNVt6W_blog.html

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/pennsylvania-no-person-voter-fraud-either-now-or-anytime-past

A simple test

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/when_justice_department_official_thomas.php
When Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division appears before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) will likely press him for using a Democratic-leaning firm to analyze data in the Texas voter ID case.

Smith wrote a letter earlier this month which stated that DOJ choosing the “left-leaning” Catalist to review Texas’ voter ID data was “a disturbing misuse of taxpayer dollars and undermines the credibility of the Department’s challenge to the law.”

“Imagine the outrage if a Republican administration intervened to block a New York City election law on the basis of data provided by a firm run by Karl Rove,” Smith wrote.

As it turns out, Smith doesn’t really have to imagine much: The expert Texas used to defend their law used to work for Karl Rove. . . .

Michele Bachmann's anti-Muslim ravings: too extreme even for the GOP?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/23/12906393-bachmann-is-losing-friends-fast

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/how-michele-bachmann-finally-jumped-the-shark/2012/07/24/gJQAhSik6W_blog.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/leah-nelson/bachmann-tells-hagee-s-flock-about-oba

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/michele_bachmanns_frank_gaffney.php
Meet Michele Bachmann’s Anti-Muslim Tutors

Bonus item: Fox News always goes for the information we need

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/kilmeade-asks-little-girls-if-government-bui
Kilmeade Asks Little Girls if Government Built Their Lemonade Stand

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

FLUNKING THE TEST

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Remember Slinky’s story yesterday about his conversation with the Australian Foreign Minister?

It was a lie.

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/mitt-romney-vs-australia.php
As Mitt Romney prepares to travel to Europe and Israel to make his case to past and current world leaders this week, he leaves behind a public disagreement with one of America’s strongest allies. . . . [read on]

http://www.samefacts.com/2012/07/campaigns/campaign-2012/mitt-romney-diplomatic-dunce/
In other words, about to head on a foreign trip, Romney has managed to get into a spat with a longtime US ally before he even leaves the country. . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/mitts_first_foreign_stumble.php
Whatever Carr said, he almost certainly didn’t expect Romney to turn around and use it as ammo in a political speech. . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/is_that_youre_final_answer_mr_romney.php
It’s looking more and more improbable that Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr really confided to Mitt Romney that he was pining for Mitt to get into the White House and use his business know-how to set America back on the straight and narrow. . . . [read on]

Shocking, isn't it?

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/mitt-romney-olympic-archive-off-limits/story?id=16811397#.UA1Hq6k1exG
More than a decade has passed since Mitt Romney presided over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but the archival records from those games that were donated to the University of Utah to provide an unprecedented level of transparency about the historic event, remain off limits to the public. And some of the documents that may have shed the most light on Romney's stewardship of the Games were likely destroyed . . .

He pledged an open-book approach at the outset of his tenure as chief executive of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. He asked reporters to expect "the most open documents policy of any enterprise." In a February 3, 2000 speech at the National Press Club he said: "All of the documents inside our organization are available to the public. Simply submit a form saying which documents you want, for instance -- I want to see all the letters written by Mr. Romney to Mr. Samaranch. You'll get 'em all."

Romney later started dialing back this pledge . . . [read on]

Well, well, well. Here’s Slinky telling Olympians: you didn't earn this on your own

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/qotd-mitt-romney.html

Background: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/you-didnt-build-that-lie.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/on-conference-call-with-business-owners-rnc-slams-obama-you-didnt-build-that-remark/2012/07/23/gJQAgACu4W_blog.html
RNC slams Obama ‘You didn’t build that’ remark in conference call with business owners

I think they really don't believe anyone will notice

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/23/1112968/-Romney-relies-on-business-helped-by-government-to-claim-businesses-don-t-need-help-from-government
It seems painfully evident at this point that Mitt Romney's campaign seriously sucks at, well, campaigning. Their singular message for the last week or so has been all about how the president of the United States dared to suggest that America's noble businessmen benefit from things like "roads and bridges," specifically, and dared point out that it is the cruel, oppressive American government and cruel, oppressive American taxpayers that provide those roads and bridges, and how horrible the president must be for thinking such things. . . .

So the guy the Romney campaign went to for their attack ad has a business has received $800,000 in tax-exempt bonds, another $500,000 or so in small business loans, does contracting work for the U.S. Navy, but he's pissed off that Obama said that government helps businesses. . . . [read on]

Buying the Presidency

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/how-super-pacs-are-saving-mitt-romney/2012/07/23/gJQA1zKX5W_blog.html
How super PACs are saving Mitt Romney

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/the-scariest-chart-of-the-day-for-democrats/2012/07/23/gJQAvu3y4W_blog.html

I can save them the trouble of doing an investigation

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/doj_investigates_pennsylvania_voter_id_law.php
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has launched a formal investigation into whether Pennsylvania’s voter ID law discriminates against minorities . . .

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/chart-day-voter-id-and-racial-resentment
Chart of the Day: Voter ID and Racial Resentment

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/23/1112976/-Department-of-Justice-investigating-Pennsylvania-voter-ID-law

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/pennsylvania_voter_id_no_in_person_voter_fraud.php

http://www.colorofchange.org/blog/2012/jun/24/voters-pennsylvania-come-under-attack-new-id-laws-/
At a recent Pennsylvania Republican State Committee meeting, House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) made clear the partisan motivation behind voter ID laws. In listing achievements of the Pennsylvania GOP -- some as a result of ALEC model legislation -- Turzai said, "Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania: Done.” As the video shows, his statement is met by applause from the Republican audience. . . .

“Mortal sin”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/another_quote_of_the_day.php
[Josh Marshall] Voter suppression is as close as you get in democratic politics to mortal sin. And it’s going to be one of the prime features of the 2012 election. It is shameful, cynical and frankly disgusting.

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/23/12908287-dont-trivialize-voter-suppression

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/23/1112976/-Department-of-Justice-investigating-Pennsylvania-voter-ID-law
Do We Need a New Voting Rights Act?

Theocracy watch

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/radical-evangelicals-blame-shooting-l
Radical Evangelicals Blame Shooting On Liberal Media

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/goehmerts_context038752.php

Bonus item: Please tell me WHY we need a reality show about a stupid, boring, unremarkable family that happens to be named “Palin”? But we do learn some interesting things

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-lovely-palin-clan.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

STILL THERE

Tax burden

http://theweek.com/article/index/230847/5-reasons-the-mitt-romney-tax-controversy-wont-go-away
5 reasons the Mitt Romney tax controversy won't go away

http://firedoglake.com/2012/07/22/specialists-guess-at-romneys-tax-return-issues/
Specialists Guess at Romney’s Tax Return Issues

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/steve-rattner-mitt-romney_n_1692895.html
Steve Rattner: Mitt Romney Used 'Every Trick In The Book'

Why does Mitt Romney hate America?

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/romney-shares-insult-from-australian-leader.html
Romney sets off on his international tour this week. . . Things got off to a heavy start today when Romney revealed at a fund-raiser that he met with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr in a San Francisco hotel, and he said the rest of the world sees "America in decline." Supposedly we could turn things around with one deal that balances our budget. Apparently this isn't one of those situations where you mock your own country, but immediately defend it if foreign leaders say one unkind word.

The kind of people they are

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/russell-pearce-blames-shooting-victims-facebook.php
Former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce wrote a missive Saturday highlighting the collective failure of the victims of the Aurora, Colo. massacre to stop the shooter who left 12 people dead and nearly 60 wounded in a movie theater. . . .

Early Saturday morning, the former Republican lawmaker took to Facebook to mourn the victims. He then wondered why none were “[b]rave” enough to stop the atrocity.

“Where were the men of flight 93???? Someone should have stopped this man,” he wrote. “…All that was needed is one Courages/Brave man prepared mentally or otherwise to stop this it could have been done.”. . . .

Is we learning? Time to talk about gun control

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/editorial-blood-hands-obama-mitt-and-

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/bill-kristol-people-dont-have-right-assault-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/22/melissa-harris-perry-gun-violence-people-numbers_n_1692838.html

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ONE NATION, DIVISIBLE

Let me just point out the pattern: the nation gives people rights (medical coverage, voting, abortion) and Republican-controlled states take them away

Health care: http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/state-laws-and-actions-challenging-aca.aspx

Voting rights: http://www.aclu.org/voter-suppression-america

Abortion rights: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-13/us/abortion.state.laws_1_abortion-providers-abortion-restrictions-abortion-coverage

[NB: More examples?]

Poor Willard just can't get the teabaggers to believe he really understands them

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/us/politics/romney-aide-leavitt-advises-states-to-prepare-health-care-plans.html
If Republicans in Congress agree on anything, it is their desire to eradicate President Obama’s health care law. But one of the top advisers to Mitt Romney, the party’s likely presidential nominee, has spent the last two years advising states and private insurers on how to comply with the law.

The adviser, Michael O. Leavitt, gets high marks from state officials and policy experts, who describe him as a pragmatist with a voracious appetite for information. But his work has caused consternation among some conservatives, who want states to resist the health care law. . . .

More evidence that Slinky supported outsourcing from Bain BEFORE he stepped down

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/21/1112171/-Mother-Jones-finds-two-more-major-Romney-outsourcing-investments

Nice try

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/david-brooks-companies-outsource-create-mo
[David Brooks] "Companies that outsource jobs become more competitive. They grow faster and then end up hiring more people at home. Outsourcing increases employment levels. Outsourcing increases productivity. It also decreases the prices consumers pay for stuff. . . ." [read on]

“Questions about Andrew McCarthy.” By his logic, imagine the following argument. He has the same name as actor Andrew McCarthy, who played Robert Kennedy in a tv biopic. Kennedy, it is well-known, worked for Joe McCarthy when he was young. McCarthy again! Obviously there is a connection, isn't there? – I’m just askin’

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/310198/questions-about-huma-abedin-andrew-c-mccarthy
Questions about Huma Abedin

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2012/07/22/sunday-talking-heads-july-22-2012/
ABC’s This Week: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Roundtable: Ed Rendell, George Will, Cokie Roberts, Joe Klein, Jennifer Rubin.

CBS’ Face the Nation: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Neil Barofsky.

Chris Hayes: Gary Gensler (@cftc), chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission since May 2009. Gensler previously served as the under-secretary of domestic finance at the Treasury Department. Bryn Bird, second-generation farmer in Granville, Ohio at Bird’s Haven Farms. She is also a field outreach coordinator for Rural Coalition. Akil Hashem (@AkilHashem), retired brigadier general who served in the Syrian army for 27 years (1962-1989). Col. Jack Jacobs (@ColJackJacobs), Medal of Honor recipient, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and military analyst for MSNBC. Stacy-Marie Ishmael (@s_m_i), adjunct professor at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, former editor of “FT Tilt.” Josh Barro (@jbarro), contributor to Forbes.com with “The Barrometer.” Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, author of “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” and syndicated columnist for King Features.

CNN’s State of the Union: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Virginia Senate Candidates Republican George Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: The truth about private equity; what a “Grexit” would look like; and the unlikely case FOR municipal bankruptcies. Private equity insider and former Obama “car czar” Steven Rattner. Then, historian Niall Ferguson runs through the likely chain of events that would take place if Greece exited the euro. Also, the ousted president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. Plus, the tricks our brain plays on us, with scientist V.S. Ramachandran.

NBC’s Meet the Press: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, former chief of police for the Los Angeles Police Department William Bratton, and gun-control advocate Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).

Bonus item: The “Reagan Legacy Project” set out to name major landmarks or structures in all fifty states for Ronald Reagan, and it’s gotten pretty silly at times. But who thought the Republicans would come up with this: naming the OCEAN for him?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/21/1112154/-Darrell-Issa-proposes-renaming-the-ocean-after-Ronald-Reagan

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***