TOUGH ACT

Obama our “Warrior President”?

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/29/celebrating_our_warrior_president/

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/04/obama-spikes-bin-laden-football

More: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/04/29/obamas-death-panels-jeremy-scahill-at-the-drone-summit-video/

After damning Obama for the auto bailout (“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”), Romney’s advisor now says Obama got the idea from Romney: "The only economic success that President Obama has had is because he followed Mitt Romney's advice"

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/liar-week-mitt-romneys-brain-fehrnstrom-say
[Karoli] Welcome to the 2012 general election campaign, where up is down, right is left, wrong is right, and whatever you said yesterday is yesterday's truth because today is a new day with a new truth. This is the cynical Romney campaign at it's lying-est best.

This is an outright lie, and it wasn't Fehrnstrom going off the reservation. It was planned, it relies upon a gullible and uninformed public to accept the lie as truth because memories are too short to remember yesterday and for the most part, the part of the press that reaches the most viewers hasn't bothered to actually call a lie a lie or to pull them up short on any of the lies they've told, so why not?

This is who Mitt Romney is . . .

The campaign ahead

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/robert-gibbs-romneys-slogan-obama-didn-t-cle
"I think sometimes you listen to the Romney campaign and they do think a lot people in this country are stupid," Gibbs told NBC's David Gregory. . . . [read on]

John Boehner tells Marco Rubio that his “DREAM Act Lite” has no chance in the GOP-controlled House. But guess who Rubio is already blaming for its defeat?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/obama-romney-rubio-dream-act.php

NOT the guy you want defending the GOPers on the “war against women”

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/alex-castellanos-denies-war-women-bei
Alex Castellanos

A look back: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/29/alex-castellanos-gender-wage-gap-equal-pay-women_n_1462795.html
Alex Castellanos Denies Women Make Less Than Men

http://crooksandliars.com/2008/05/21/gop-operative-alex-castellanos-its-ok-to-call-some-women-bitches
Alex Castellanos: It's OK to call some women bitches

Sigh

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-democrats-divided-over-who-to-best-oust-walker-in-recall-election/2012/04/29/gIQATJ0QqT_story.html
Wisconsin Democrats organized the protests that gripped the state. They turned Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to strip public unions of their collective bargaining rights into a national Democratic cause. They got the signatures they needed to force a recall election, and then some.

They are now just a little more than a month away from the big showdown with Walker they have been craving for over a year — but rather than excitement, there is growing fear within the party that they just might blow it.

The problem for Democrats is that before they get their shot against Walker, they have to get through a divisive primary between an establishment pick and a union favorite that is threatening to undercut their unified front against the governor.

“We’re nervous,” said Julie Wells, who works with the grass-roots group United Wisconsin. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/29/whos_better_to_beat_scott_walker/

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/04/26/who-does-walker-want-to-face-in-the-recall/
Who Does Walker Want to Face in the Recall?

The theocrats’ war on science

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/29/1086413/-Pat-Robertson-explains-which-parts-of-science-you-re-allowed-to-believe

Can YOU tell what his position is?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/pastor-joel-osteen-being-gay-sin
Houston-based mega church minister Joel Osteen said on Sunday that same sex marriage should be illegal, but insisted he was "not for discriminating against gay people."

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked the pastor if being gay was a sin.

"I believe that the scripture says that being gay is a sin," Osteen smiled. "You know, every time I say that, Chris, I get people saying, 'You're a gay hater and you're a gay basher.' I'm not. I don't dislike anybody. Gays are some of the nicest, kindest, most loving people in the world. But my faith is based on what the scripture says, and that's the way I read the scripture."

Wallace also pressed the preacher on the issue of marriage equality.

"I don't think we should discriminate against anybody," Osteen replied. "There was an issue where somebody couldn't go visit a gay loved one in the hospital. I don't think that's right. I think they love each other. So, I think there should be some [rights]."

"I'm not for gay marriage, but I'm not for discriminating against people."

The kind of people they are (sick twisted pervert edition)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/screwed-straight-god-these-people-are.html
Cleveland radio personality Dominic Dieter, a surely sonorous voice that squawks to every morning to listeners of the Rover's Morning Glory Show on "The Buzzard" 100.7 FM WMMS, gave a father who wrote to the station worrying about whatever to do about catching his daughter kissing another girl some of the worst advice ever, facetious or otherwise. Dieter responded to the letter on-air, telling the father, "You should have one of your friends screw your daughter straight." [read on]

More: http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/04/29/shock-jock-to-dad-of-lesbian-daughter-you-should-get-one-of-your-friends-to-screw-your-daughter-straight/

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/29/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_1462468.html

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/04/29/abcs-this-week-continues-the-dumbing-of-america/

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/jousting-with-vsps.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.***

RICH AND POOR

The GOP budget solution: cut programs that serve the poorest Americans . . . then increase taxes on them

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/26/1086714/-At-least-22-million-would-go-hungry-under-Ryan-Romney-budget-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/food-stamps-military-republican-budget_n_1457020.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/26/1086672/-The-Coming-Right-Wing-Clash-over-the-Half-That-Pay-No-Taxes-

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/just-dont-call-it-class-war.html
Just don't call it class war

The debate between the sane and insane wings of the Republican party

http://crooksandliars.com/david/tampa-asks-rick-scott-ban-guns-rnc-conventio
The Tampa City Council on Thursday said they would ask Florida Gov. Rick Scott to ban firearms outside the Republican National Convention later this year. . . .

Romney: when Obama criticizes me he’s “dividing America”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/romney-campaign-obama-divides-america-talkin

Marco Rubio (R-FL) may be the hot ticket for VP, but he’s not scandal-free

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/marco-rubio-fined-over-campaign-contributions.html

Who the hell is S.E. Cupp – and why are we seeing her EVERYWHERE these days?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/se-cupp-attempts-and-fails-defend-paul-rya

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2012/04/29/sunday-talking-heads-april-29-2012/
ABC’s This Week: White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan on the killing of bin Laden. Then, as special panel in partnership with University of Virginia’s Miller Center, tackles the critical topic, “America’s Economic Recovery: Is It Built to Last?”, live at the Newseum. Panel: Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and co-chair of Mitt Romney’s California campaign, Jennifer Granholm, former Michigan governor and host of Current TV’s “The War Room”, Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, Eric Schmidt, executive chairman and former CEO of Google, David Walker, former Comptroller General and Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative, George Will.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Horse Race 2012, Hispanic voters – Former Mississippi Governor, former Chairman of the Republican Party Haley Barbour and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (one of the National Co-Chairs for the Obama Campaign). John Dickerson with the DNC’s Gabriela Domenzain, the RNC’s Bettina Inclan, Hispanic Leadership Network’s Jennifer Sevilla Korn, Founder of LatinoRebels.com, Julio Ricardo Varela, Actor and co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Esai Morales, and America’s Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry. Then, California Gov. Jerry Brown. Plus, “the state of the War on Terror” with TIME Magazine contributor Graham Allison who writes about Pakistan in this week’s TIME; Peter Bergen, author of TIME’s The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden; Washington Post’s David Ignatius, author of a series based on documents uncovered during the raid; and CBS News Senior Correspondent John Miller, who actually interviewed Osama Bin Laden in May 1998.

CNN’s State of the Union: Speaker of the House John Boehner. White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan on the killing of bin Laden. Plus, Governors Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) and Bob McDonnell (R-VA). Then, Time magazine’s Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs on their new book “The Presidents Club.”

NBC’s Meet the Press: Robert Gibbs (Obama) and Ed Gillespie (Romney). Roundtable: Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and Republican strategist Alex Castellanos.

Bonus item: Obama’s speech at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/president-obamas-full-2012-whcd-speech/2012/04/28/gIQAGNYboT_video.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.***

FEEL THE ENERGY

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/college-students-not-exactly-fired-up-for-mitt-romney.php
Romney Struggles To Hold College Students’ Attention [watch the video!]

More: http://thinkprogress.org/special/2012/04/27/473096/romney-borrow-money-parents/
Romney’s Advice To Students: Borrow Money From Your Parents

Romney’s Etch-a-Sketch on immigration

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/romney-campaign-backtracking-statement-ari

More lies: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/27/11432528-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xv

Turnaround: when have you ever seen a Democratic presidential candidate attack the Republican for a lack of foreign policy chops (as opposed to vice versa)?

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/new-obama-ad-suggests-romney-wouldnt-have-gone

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/27/1086884/-New-Obama-campaign-video-highlights-decision-to-launch-bin-Laden-raid

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/heilemann-romney-vs-obama-on-foreign-policy.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/04/sea_change_alert.php
[EA] I can’t ever remember a Democrat being so aggressive in attacking an opponent’s foreign policy and national security nonsense. It shows a comfort with toughness that [reflects] both the accomplishments of the administration and hopefully also some political maturity.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/27/1086904/-Mitt-Romney-outraged-over-reminders-of-his-opposition-to-bin-Laden-strategy
Mitt Romney outraged over reminder that he was wrong about bin Laden strategy

Some concerns: http://www.emptywheel.net/2012/04/27/peter-bergens-bumper-sticker
[Marcy Wheeler] I don’t blame the Obama Administration for running on Joe Biden’s pithy slogan. But I do blame it for corrupting information in this way, both the system of classification that should be free from politics, and the space it accorded journalists to do their job when the government wasn’t.

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/27/selective_bin_laden_leaking/
Selective bin Laden leaking

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/28/boasting_of_killing_bin_laden.html
[NYT] "Presidents running for re-election typically boast of programs they created, people they helped or laws they signed. They talk about rising test scores or falling deficits or expanding job rolls. President Obama is increasingly taking the unusual route of bragging about how he killed a man."

"To be sure, that man was Osama bin Laden, and he is not mourned among either the president's supporters or detractors. But in the days leading up to the first anniversary of the raid that finally caught up to the Qaeda mastermind, Mr. Obama has made a concerted, if to some indecorous, effort to trumpet the killing as perhaps the central accomplishment of his presidency."

Finally!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html
Let’s just say it: The Republicans are the problem.

The GOP discovers a new category of voters

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/25/1086328/-Republican-men-to-study-mysterious-breed-of-Americans-lady-voters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/the-democrats-three-pronged-plan-for-the-war-on-women/2012/04/27/gIQAiZ94lT_blog.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-next-battle-in-the-war-over-women/2012/04/27/gIQAnZbalT_blog.html

I blame God

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/bill-oreilly-catholics-united-people-cause-
Bill O'Reilly To Catholics United: People Cause Their Own Poverty

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/paul-ryan-catholic-bishops-ayn-rand.php
Paul Ryan Hits Back At Catholic Critics Of His Budget

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/the-gospel-according-to-paul-ryan/2012/04/26/gIQAOnJujT_blog.html
The Gospel according to Paul Ryan

Sean Hannity thinks presidential wives should be off-limits for political attacks (except when HE’S doing it)

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/wahhhhmbulance-time-hannity-and-bozell-twis

Rupert Murdoch had NO IDEA what was going on in his company

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/jon_stewart_rupert_murdochs_like_an_australian_mr.php

But seriously: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/koo-stark-to-file-us-phone-hacking-lawsuit.html

Bonus item: When Presidents get to tell jokes

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/great-jokes-of-past-wh-correspondents-dinners.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.***

PUBLIC SERVANTS

Remember when it used to be a GOOD thing to devote your life to public service? (teachers, firefighters . . .)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/federal-union-blasts-romney-over-remarks-about-government-workers-pay/2012/04/26/gIQAJcvrjT_blog.html
[Romney] “We will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the taxpayers they serve.”

More: http://my.firedoglake.com/deanbaker/2012/04/26/george-will-makes-it-up-to-go-after-public-sector-workers/

Still lyin’

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/26/1086533/-Obama-campaign-video-exposes-seven-more-Mitt-Romney-lies-in-two-minutes

Marco Rubio, looking more and more like a man who wants to be VP, tries to help the GOP shed its anti-Latino reputation (it ain’t easy)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/us/politics/with-gops-ear-marco-rubio-pushes-dream-act-proposal.html

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/boehner-to-rubio-dream-on-dude.php
Boehner To Rubio: DREAM On, Dude!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/26/1086641/-John-Boehner-says-Marco-Rubio-s-immigration-proposal-a-no-go-this-year

Boehner on govt shutdown threat

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/boehner-on-white-house-government-shutdown-threat-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-video.php
“Blah blah blah blah blah, alright, so?”

John McCain calls the “War on Women” charge “imaginary” – after admitting earlier that it was a serious problem (thanks to JT for the link)

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/04/26/472103/mccain-video-war-on-women/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/john-mccain-lights-into-imaginary-war-on-women-1.php

Earlier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsoXd7JNZdk

Bush who?

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/26/the_amnesia_factor/

“Liberals”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/liberals-hate-children.html
“The hypocrisy of the left that now tried to kill this bill, that says that I should have never signed it, the true hypocrisy is that their one mission in life is to abort children, is to kill children in the womb,” Bryant told conservative radio host Tony Perkins on Tuesday. [read on]

CISPA

http://prospect.org/article/why-cispa-isn%E2%80%99t-sopa

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/house-passes-slightly-less-creepy-cispa-bill.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/25/1086305/-House-making-changes-to-CISPA-but-it-s-still-too-nbsp-dangerous-

Monica Crowley is a pig

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/fox-news-analyst-on-sandra-fluke-engagement-to

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/unfunny-twits.html

http://www.samefacts.com/2012/04/watching-conservatives/eeeeeew-ick-dept/

Bonus item: Must have been a vigorous competition – how did they decide?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-dumbest-show-on-fox-n_b_1453058.html
The Dumbest Show on Fox News Channel Ever

***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.***

WOULD YOU BUY A USED CAR FROM THIS MAN?

Just making sh-t up

http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/mitt-romney-rewrites-american-history-c
Mitt Romney Rewrites American History, Claims Progressive Taxation Increases Poverty

http://prospect.org/article/unearned-privilege-american-way
Romney has to couch the implications of his argument carefully, but the underlying logic is perfectly clear. He believes that fairness is defined by market outcomes. . . .

Stake your hopes on it: Romney is an awkward, inauthentic politician

http://www.americablog.com/2012/04/video-mitt-romneys-awkward-bonding-tour.html

Newt prepares to give up the ghost . . . S-L-O-W-L-Y

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/25/1086241/-Newt-Gingrich-prepares-to-suspend-campaign-resume-paying-for-zoo-tours-himself

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/04/newt-gingrich-maybe-kinda-considering-dropping-out

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/wheres_the_wooden_stake036904.php

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/newt-gingrich-dropping-out-eventually.html

Woo-hoo! http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/newt_gingrich_debt.php
Newt Gingrich Wins Race . . . For Biggest GOP Debt

Newt campaign “highlights”

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/newt-gingrich-best-of-video.php

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/04/newt_gingrich_plans_to_drop_out_of_the_republican_primary_race_.html

More enthusiastic “endorsements”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/25/santorum_reluctantly_endorses_romney.html
MORGAN: You believe that Mitt Romney's the right guy?

SANTORUM: I believe he's the better -- obviously I believed I was the better choice. But I'm not in the race anymore.

MORGAN: He has won the race. Is he therefor the right guy?

SANTORUM: Absolutely. He is the person that is going to go up against Barack Obama. It's pretty clear. We need to win this race.

MORGAN: Unless I'm mishearing things, you just endorsed Mitt Romney.

SANTORUM: If that's what you want to call it, you can call it whatever you want.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/25/gingrich_finally_admits_romney_will_win.html
Newt Gingrich: "it's pretty clear Governor Romney is going to be the nominee," National Journal reports.

Said Gingrich: "I think obviously that I would be a better candidate, but the objective fact is the voters didn't think that. And I also think it's very, very important that we be unified."

Marco Rubio for VP!

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/25/11392107-rubio-thinks-bush-did-a-fantastic-job
"George W. Bush, in my opinion, did a fantastic job as president over eight years."

The Republican rhetoric in this campaign is going to be over the top: here’s a sample already

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/04/puts_student_loan_debate_in_whole_new_light.php
Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) says the federal government shouldn’t be involved in student loans at all: “America has got the equivalent of the stage three cancer of socialism because the federal government is tampering in all kinds of stuff it has no business tampering in.”

http://www.americablog.com/2012/04/gop-committee-chair-calls-obama-admin.html
GOP committee chair calls Obama admin "most corrupt government in history"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/24/1086076/-John-Boehner-on-verge-of-losing-all-faith-in-America-We-may-never-recover-
[John Boehner] America can’t live for four more years with Barack Obama as president. His policies will turn America in a direction that we may never recover from...

Long-term planning

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/25/robert-draper-anti-obama-campaign_n_1452899.html
"As President Barack Obama was celebrating his inauguration at various balls, top Republican lawmakers and strategists were conjuring up ways to submarine his presidency at a private dinner in Washington, D.C... For several hours in the Caucus Room (a high-end D.C. establishment), the book says they plotted out ways to not just win back political power, but to also put the brakes on Obama's legislative platform."

"The dinner lasted nearly four hours. They parted company almost giddily." . . . [read on]

The youth vote

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/what-the-fight-over-student-loans-is-really-about.php
What The Fight Over Student Loans Is Really About

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#47182854

“Judicial temperament”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/scalia-likens-undocumented-immigrants-to-bank-robbers.php
Scalia Likens Undocumented Immigrants To ‘Bank Robbers’

Bonus item: “If the GOP candidates were teens on Twitter”

http://www.americablog.com/2012/04/if-gop-candidates-were-teens-on-twitter.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.***

SUPERMAN!

Willard and Ann Romney discuss whether he should run for president

http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/04/24/ann-romney-is-graciously-allowing-her-husband-to-save-the-universe/
“I said I only want to know one thing and that is, Mitt, if you get the nomination … can you fix it? I need to know, is it too late?” she said. “Has America gone over the proverbial cliff and we don’t have time to turn things around. I need to know whether it’s worth all this … He said no, it’s getting late, but it’s not too late. And with that I said, that’s all I need to know … if you can fix it, you must do this.”

Willard tries to Etch-a-Sketch his own anti-immigrant positions – but his allies aren’t letting him do it

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/immigration-hardliners-not-seeing-a-romney-shift.php

http://www.americablog.com/2012/04/mitt-romneys-latino-problem.html

“Vague”

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20120424/OSH010402/204240363/Romney-s-plan-govern-country-vague-allies-question-intentions
Mitt Romney's roadmap for governing the country is so vague that it has even Republican allies questioning his intentions. . . .

“Flip-flop fatigue” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/mitt-romney-and-flip-flop-fatigue/2012/04/24/gIQArzW1eT_blog.html

Reading between the lines

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/romney-hints-at-radical-health-care-reform-plan-to-replace-obamacare.php
[I]f you string together what he has said publicly, you arrive at a plan that would be far more disruptive to the existing health care system than “Obamacare” would be if fully implemented. . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/24/1085992/-Mitt-Romney-has-radical-health-plan-to-undo-his-original-nbsp-reform-

Republicans really have a hard time finding candidates, I guess

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/23/1085815/-Missouri-Republican-Senate-candidate-not-sure-what-the-Violence-Against-Women-Act-is
Missouri Republican Senate candidate Sarah Steelman's reason for not knowing what the the Violence Against Women Act was? "I'm not sure what that is because I'm not serving right now." . . .

[NB: “Elect me first, then I will get up to speed on learning the issues.”]

Pennsylvania too: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/24/quote_of_the_day.html

Don’t tell me that George Bush wasn’t out to destroy the public schools

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/michelle-rhee-and-george-w-bush-speaking-po

Ugly visuals

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/24/ex-cia_officer_defends_destroying_tapes.html
Jose Rodriguez, who oversaw the CIA's once-secret interrogation program, says in a new book that he ordered the destruction of videos showing waterboarding because he "was tired of waiting for Washington's bureaucracy to make a decision that protected American lives," the AP reports.

He describes sending the order in November 2005 as "just getting rid of some ugly visuals."

More: http://www.emptywheel.net/2012/04/24/jose-rodriguez-idea-of-ugly-visuals-blank-and-altered-tapes/

Digby’s got theocrats on the mind today

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/wheres-my-conscience-exception_24.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/jesuit-snap-paul-ryan-gets-pwned.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/pierce-vs-douthat-pass-popcorn-and.html

So are we really going back to the days of calling people “Communists”?

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201204200019
O'Reilly: Robert Reich Is A Communist Who "Secretly Adores Karl Marx"

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/bill-oreilly-needs-tranquilizers-calm-down-
O’Reilly: Poor People are Bankrupting the Nation!

Fox News tries to correct its own error – but of course they couldn’t even do that right

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/fox-news-steve-doocy-corrects-fabricated-obama-quote.php

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/colbert-fox-news-obama-quote.php

Bonus item: Slow jammin’ the news

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/obama-slow-jams-the-news-jimmy-fallon.php

***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.***

MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Yes but which people?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/04/what_does_it_mean_1.php
This chart from January of this year showed that most of the folks in the GOP field were getting roughly equal amounts of money from donors under and over $200. But Romney was getting almost 10 times the amount of money from the big dollar donors as the small dollar donors. . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/nothing_succeeds_like_success036868.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/23/1085099/-Mitt-Romney-man-of-the-people

Still playing the victim

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Ann-Romney-says-she-can-relate-to-juggling-act-of-3504329.php
During a sold-out Republican fundraiser in Connecticut Monday night -- the eve of the GOP presidential primary in this solidly blue state -- an emotional Ann Romney tried to chisel away at the perception that she can't relate to women who have to juggle children and a career. . . .

The war against the social contract

http://crooksandliars.com/richard-rj-eskow/social-security-and-medicare-behi
Social Security and Medicare: Behind the Numbers and the Spin

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/medicare-social-security-reports-fuel-fire-over-gop-privatization-plan.php

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/04/economy-deteriorates-so-does-social-security

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2012/04/social-security-trustees-change.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/reports-of-medicares-death-are-greatly-exaggerated/2012/04/23/gIQA0kBobT_blog.html

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/04/23/social-security-trustee-report-bad-economy-hurting-payroll-collection/

Brilliant!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/23/1085838/-RNC-spokesman-says-Republicans-will-follow-Bush-economic-policies-just-updated-
During an interview last week on The Fernando Espuelas Show, Alexandra Franceschi, Specialty Media Press Secretary of the Republican National Committee, said that the Republican party’s economic platform in 2012 is going to be the same as it was during the Bush years, “just updated” . . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11353428-just-like-bush-but-updated

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/bush-program-gets-pass-by-davidoatkins.html

Well, we can hope

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/arizona-immigration-law-supreme-court-arguments.php
Will The Supreme Court Quash Arizona’s Immigration Law?

How badly does Bob McDonnell (R-VA) want to be Romney’s VP?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11352585-what-mcdonnell-will-do-to-be-vp

Jon Huntsman (R-UT) reveals the lock-step mind control of GOP politics

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/huntsman-gop-chinese-communist-party-if-your

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11350106-huntsman-compares-gop-to-chinas-government

I’ll bet you didn’t know that the Muslim Brotherhood was helping to run US national security policy. Well, don’t worry: Allen West (R-FL) is on the case!

http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/allen-west-r-fl-claims-muslim-brotherho

Romney is worried about a vast left-wing media conspiracy against him

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/23/11354646-so-much-for-the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy

The real bias: http://prospect.org/article/media-bias-revealed

A disturbing trend: Rush demands that YouTube pull down a Daily Kos video that does nothing but clip his own deranged comments on Sandra Fluke (“the slut”) – and YouTube complies. One of the greatest political weapons are viral videos that recount and preserve the record of people’s public comments; what happens when they can block them?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/23/1085791/-Rush-Limbaugh-demands-YouTube-remove-Daily-Kos-video-watch-it-here

Bonus item: Lotte

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/24/11361721-birth-to-12-years-in-2-min-45

***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.***

COMMUNISTS

http://firedoglake.com/2012/04/23/lakeside-diner-107/
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”

-- Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, also known as the ‘Bishop of Corum’

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/20/11308336-a-deep-strain-of-paranoia
[T]here's a deep strain of paranoia that seems entirely too common among congressional Republicans lately. . . [read on]

The two parties ARE different

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/so-i-found-myself-on-facebook-page.html

Has the Tea Party been domesticated?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/taming-tea-monster.html

With friends like these. . .

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/kick-joe-manchin-out-caucus
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he's unsure whether he'll vote for his party's leader, President Barack Obama, or the likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney. . . .

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/lieberman-hold-obama-accountable-secret-serv
Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday insisted that President Barack Obama and the White House should be held accountable for a sex scandal within the Secret Service and for lavish spending at the General Services Administration (GSA). . . .

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/222929-lieberman-declines-to-endorse-in-presidential-race
"This year when it comes to the presidential election, I'm just gonna do what most Americans do: go into the voting booth on election day, and in the privacy of the booth, cast my vote," Lieberman said during an interview on "Fox News Sunday." . . . "I'm going to try something different this year. I'm going to try to stay out of this one," Lieberman said with a laugh.

Marco Rubio learns to speak Romnian

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11288660-rubio-moves-further-from-vp-consideration
"I don't want to be the vice president right now, or maybe ever," Rubio said at a National Journal forum in Washington on Thursday. [...]

Asked whether he would turn down a direct request from Romney to join the ticket, Rubio replied, "Yes."

"But you know he's not going to ask," Rubio said. "That's not how this works. He's watching this interview so he'll know."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/marco_rubio_plays_coy_on_veep036844.php
“Up to now, it’s all been theoretical,” Rubio explained, but now the party has a nominee who has begun the process of finding a running mate. “Moving forward, we’re gonna let his process play itself out,” Rubio said.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/rubio-s-vice-presidential-freudian-slip-20120419
"If in four to five years, if I do a good job as vice president—I'm sorry, as senator—I'll have the chance to do all sorts of things," he said.

Portman?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/22/gop_insiders_think_romney_will_pick_portman.html
An informal BuzzFeed survey of more than half of the Republican State Chairmen and national committee people at the GOP meetings in Arizona this weekend finds that two-thirds said they believe Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) is the most-likely and best-qualified running-mate for Mitt Romney.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/rob-portman-is-the-insiders-vp-pick-thats-a-bad-thing/2012/04/23/gIQAnkfibT_blog.html
Rob Portman is the insider’s VP pick. That’s a bad thing.

Triumph of the Will

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/george-will-writes-off-jeb-bush-as-vp-possibility/
“If Jeb Bush is to be Romney’s running mate, it would mean that in seven of nine presidential elections there would be a Bush on the Republican ticket,” Will said today on “This Week.” “And it gets hard to argue that we’re not a tribal society at that point.”

What the hell is the NYT thinking?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/04/nyt_pub_ed_is_obama_manchurian_candidate.php

Fox News invents Obama quote, drives news coverage

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/fox-news-fabricate-obama-quote-silver-spoon.php

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/22/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_1443618.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.***

MEH

Even the GOPers who are endorsing Willard seem half-hearted about it

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/20/1085020/-Indiana-Gov-Mitch-Daniels-airs-disappointment-with-Mitt-Romney-just-hours-after-endorsing-him
"You have to campaign to govern, not just to win. . . Spend the precious time and dollars explaining what's at stake and a constructive program to make life better. And as I say, look at everything through the lens of folks who have yet to achieve."

After a pause, he added with disappointment: "Romney doesn't talk that way."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/29/1078942/-The-endorsing-of-Meh-Romney
"There are a lot of other people out there that some of us wish had run for president -- but they didn't. . . I think Mitt Romney would be a fine president, and he'd be way better than the guy who's there right now."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/20/1085079/-Add-Jon-Huntsman-to-the-list-of-Mitt-Romney-endorsers-saying-meh-
"I think Romney will show leadership on the economy. . . But on the trust deficit, I don't see a whole lot of leadership."

Willard’s new guy

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/romney-spox-told-maddow-to-put-on-a-necklace.html
Turns out that Richard Grenell, Mitt Romney's brand-new spokesman for national security and foreign affairs, has lots of opinions on how women should look. Take, for example, the above tweet from January 2011, in which Grenell suggests Rachel Maddow "put on a necklace." Will this become the newest front in the never-ending, not-totally-substantive War for the Sympathies of Women Voters . . .?

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/20/1085037/-New-Mitt-Romney-spokesman-very-sorry-for-speaking-his-mind-promises-to-delete-his-old-tweets

The likability factor

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/it_helps_to_be_likable_1036834.php

What does the Book of Mormon say about lying?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/bashir-book-mormon-promises-eternal-damnatio

The price of a presidential campaign

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/obama_campaigns_money_troubles036835.php

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/obamas-campaign-doing-okay-money-wise.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-scandal-rising-supervisor-at-heart-of-uncovering-misconduct/2012/04/21/gIQAw6beWT_story.html

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/big-money-donors-find-their-way-to-obamas-reelection-campaign/2012/04/21/gIQAMM0cYT_story.html

Whose deficits?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/2012/04/partisan-deficits-by-davidoatkins.html
Isn't it amazing how important deficit reduction becomes, but only during Democratic administrations? . . . [read on]

“Five myths about female voters”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-female-voters/2012/04/20/gIQAo0y1VT_story.html

Idle thoughts from a random mind

http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/2012/04/check-this-out-bodyguard.html

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2012/04/22/sunday-talking-heads-april-23-2012/
ABC’s This Week: Secret Service Scandal: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Horse Race Roundtable: Keith Olbermann, ABC News’ George Will, political strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, political strategist and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Secret Service Scandal: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Then, former USSS Director Ralph Basham. SSS Roundtable: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell. Followed by horse race talk with Deputy Campaign Manager for the president’s re-election Stephanie Cutter, and a senior adviser to Romney’s campaign, Eric Fehrnstrom. Horse Race Roundtable: Washington Post’s Melinda Henneberger, the National Journal’s Major Garrett, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson. Finally, Cornel West and Tavis Smiley on their new book The Rich and the Rest of Us: A poverty manifesto.

CNN’s State of the Union: David Axelrod. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. Roundtable: CNN’s Senior Congressional Reporter Dana Bash and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times.

Meet the Press: Two Republicans on the Secret Service scandal: Chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R-NY). Then, David Axelrod. Roundtable: Washington Post’s EJ Dionne; the New York Times’ David Brooks and Helene Cooper; and NBC’s Chuck Todd.

Bonus item: Setting back the cause for women

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/cenk-uygur-lays-se-cupp-teaching-young-gir

More: http://my.firedoglake.com/meeshellchen/2012/04/21/romney-rosen-firestorm-is-reminder-we-need-to-redefine-gender-justice/

***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.***

REWRITING HISTORY

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-romney-campaigns-great-rewrite-of-history/2012/04/20/gIQAMH2pVT_blog.html
Mitt Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom rolled out a new argument: The Bush presidency bears none of the blame at all for the economic travails of the last three years; it’s all on Obama; the current President deserves not an iota of credit for the job gains that have occurred on his watch. . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/20/mitt%E2%80%99s_one_undeniable_advantage/

Looks like Willard is going to give us a steady supply of material throughout this campaign

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/obama_isnt_working036812.php
“Obama Isn’t Working”

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/20/1084993/-Against-all-odds-Mitt-Romney-charts-new-territory-in-political-inanity

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/20/11309846-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xiv

“The tornado of idiocy that is American politics”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/always-remember-were-not-normal/2012/04/20/gIQAXxEkVT_blog.html

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/romney-says-hes-never-eaten-anything-unusual.html
Romney Says He’s Never Eaten Anything Unusual

Another good Christian

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/20/11311416-religious-right-leaders-racially-charged-plagiarism

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/land_of_questionable_ethics036823.php

Ann Coulter, crazy lady

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/coulter-negroes-need-more-guns-because-democ
Coulter: 'Negroes' Need More Guns Because of 'Democratic KKK'

Bonus item: Fox News, which seemed determined to promote any other GOP candidate besides Mitt Romney, now plays Etch-a-Sketch

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/jon-stewart-marvels-at-fox-news-pivot-to-romney.php

***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.***

PRAY

Willard makes a play for the evangelicals

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/romney-to-give-commencement-at-evangelical-university/

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/19/mitt%E2%80%99s_going_to_liberty_university/

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/20/11304113-romney-wont-find-the-mainstream-in-lynchburg

Well, waddya know?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/20/us/politics/marco-rubio-urges-republicans-to-pass-dream-act.html
The Romney campaign appears to have begun shifting to the center on immigration, after staking out a position to the right of opponents like former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. . . [read on]

Oops

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/19/did_romney_choose_the_wrong_vacant_factory.html
Mitt Romney used a shuttered drywall plant in Ohio as a backdrop for his message that President Obama has failed to create jobs, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The only problem: The plant closed four years ago during President George W. Bush's administration.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-ties-obama-to-factory-closed-under-bush/2012/04/19/gIQADvuhTT_blog.html

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11291002-romneys-misfire-on-plant-closings

Don’t ask, don’t tell

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/19/1084641/-Mitt-Romney-hasn-t-taken-a-question-from-national-press-since-March-16
Mitt Romney hasn't taken a question from national press since March 16

It’s gonna be a brutal campaign

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/the_new_toughness036805.php

What has happened to us?

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/19/americas_drone_sickness/
The CIA is seeking authority to expand its covert drone campaign in Yemen by launching strikes against terrorism suspects even when it does not know the identities of those who could be killed . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/2012/04/boys-and-their-toys-deploying-drones.html

A look back

http://www.emptywheel.net/2012/04/19/the-memorandum-of-notification-the-cia-pretends-has-never-been-acknolwedged/
“We don’t do that sort of thing,” [Glenn Carle responded to a CIA Counterterrorism Center Deputy about "going beyond SERE" with a detainee].

“We do now,” Wilmington’s voice was flat. The conversation remained quiet.

“What about EO12333? We’ve never done that sort of thing. The Agency’d never do that. We’d need a finding, at least.”

[snip]

“We have it.” Wilmington’s manner brightened a little. “We have a letter from the president. We can do whatever we need to do. We’re covered.” [read on]

More: http://www.emptywheel.net/2012/04/19/george-tenets-bureaucratic-cya/

The tax increase Republicans love

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11286257-skin-in-the-game

The GOP say their tax cut will stimulate jobs

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/eric-cantor-tax-cut-jobs.php
Conservatives Criticize GOP’s $1 Million-Per-Job Business Tax Cut Bill

Well, that didn’t take very long, did it?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/19/1084821/-House-Republicans-Being-a-mom-isn-t-work-in-the-normal-sense-
Republicans were outraged—OUTRAGED!—when a Democratic strategist said what Ann Romney herself has said, that she never worked. They sent fundraising emails, demanded apologies on Twitter, and swore this was irrefutable proof that it's Democrats who are waging war on women.

Funny thing, though. When Democrats in Congress decided to call Republicans' bluff by introducing the WORK Act to give all mothers the same choice to stay home with their young children that Ann Romney had, well, as Jennifer Bendery at Huffington Post reports, Republicans folded. In fact, they're right back to where they've always been: issuing platitudes about how great moms are, while insisting that it's not "really" work. . . .

You never have to scratch very deep, do you?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/bachmann-obama-waving-tar-baby-air
Bachmann: Obama 'Waving a Tar Baby in the Air'

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/bachmanns_tar_baby036791.php

Allen West (R-FL), professional moron

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/soledad-obrien-and-allen-west-play-name-nam
CNN's Soledad O'Brien asked Rep. Allen West to resond to his claim that 78-81 House Demcorats were members of the Communist Party. . .

O'BRIEN: "So name names for me. Start naming the 78 to 81…”

WEST: "Oh, we don’t have to."

O'BRIEN: "Oh, we do! I’m dying to know. Which are the members of the…”

WEST: “You can go look up the progressive caucus."

O'BRIEN: “I got ‘em right here!

WEST: "Well then you’ve got the names."

O'BRIEN “So Keith Ellison is a communist? Raúl Grijalva is a communist?”

WEST: “Well, look, I’m just talking about the fact that the ideology and principles — you can call it whatever you want."

O'BRIEN: “Tammy Baldwin is a communist? Judy Chu is a communist?”

WEST: “You can call it whatever you want."

First they came for the smokers, then they came for us

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/gop-senate-candidate-raese-compares-no-smoking-sign-to-jewish-star-patches.php
GOP Senate Candidate Raese Compares No-Smoking Sign To Jewish-Star Patches

But seriously

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/19/is_anti-semitism_a_problem_in_house_gop_caucus.htm
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) was asked about whether there is anti-Semitism in the House GOP caucus -- the "darker side," Cantor called it -- and his silence when pressed is deafening.

More: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/cantor-hints-anti-semitism-house-gop-

Ted Nugent, non-person

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/nra-scrubs-nugent-video-from-website-youtube.php
On the day Ted Nugent is set to meet with the Secret Service about some incendiary remarks he made about President Obama at last weekend’s NRA national convention in St. Louis, the NRA deleted the archived footage of the comments from the internet. . . .

ALEC goes on offense

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/threatened-alec-sics-right-wing-blogg
Threatened, ALEC Sics Right-Wing Bloggers on 'Liberal Media'

More: http://pinterest.com/wagatwe/anti-alec-comments/

By the numbers

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/fair-study-republicans-sunday-shows.php
A new study by the liberal watchdog group — which looked at ABC’s This Week, NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’s Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday from August 2011 to February 2012 — claims that the Sunday morning shows have become “extraordinarily friendly terrain for the right.” Seventy percent of one-on-one interviews on the shows featured Republicans, according to the study. That’s 166 Republican guests to 70 Democrats. For the roundtable discussions, Republicans and/or conservatives made 282 appearances to 164 by Democrats and progressives. . . .

More: http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/if-its-sunday-its-conservative-redux

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/19/1084691/-New-study-Sunday-belongs-to-Republicans-

Rush Limbaugh loses his mind

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/rush-limbaugh-discovers-siri-has-libe
Rush Limbaugh Discovers Siri has a Liberal Bias

Bonus item: Stupid dog tricks

http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/stupid-right-wing-tweets-laura-ingrah-0

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/hannity-asks-romney-about-obama-eating-dog-c


***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.***

PROMISE KEEPERS

Who will blink first?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/obama-to-gop-abide-by-the-debt-limit-deal-or-else.php
In a major escalation of a slowly building fight over funding the government, the White House has warned House Republicans, in no uncertain terms, that the government will shut down in September if the GOP does not adhere to an agreement they cut with Democrats in August during the standoff over raising the nation’s debt limit. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/18/1084510/-White-House-warns-Republicans-against-recreating-debt-limit-hostage-crisis
This is actually a pretty big deal . . .

The GOPers want ANOTHER tax cut, deficit be damned

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/19/11283805-house-gop-eyes-tax-cut-ignores-debt-crisis

Obama goes there

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/obama-i-wasnt-born-with-silver-spoon-in
Obama: ‘I Wasn’t Born With A Silver Spoon In My Mouth’

Willard responds: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-responds-to-obamas-silver-spoon-comment

Is Willard’s stealth strategy working?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/17/romney-s-secret-signals-may-convince-voters-he-s-truly-center-right.html

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/18/11265101-a-growing-interest-in-mr-secrecy

http://www.salon.com/2012/04/17/the_%E2%80%9Csecrecy%E2%80%9D_card/

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/2012/04/reactionary-mitt.html
[Digby] He's a shape shifter, which we already knew. But he's extremely reactive. Which means that the main question about how he'll govern is who can bring the most pressure to bear on him. Anybody want to guess who that might be?

Is Ann Romney overplaying her hand?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/breaking_character036759.php
“It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment, and I loved it,” a gleeful Ann told the backyard full of Florida fat cats . . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/milking-criticism-further-isnt-a-good-plan-for-ann-romney/2012/04/17/gIQAnJQ6OT_story.html

Willard doesn’t seem to know what a filibuster is – if he ever arrives in Washington he will find out (or, he could just be lying . . . again)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/earth_to_mitt_theres_this_thin036763.php
“Well, you know, these kind of gimmicks that they’ve talked about, the so-called Buffett Rule. . . they couldn’t get it through their own Democratic Senate. And I think the reason is, people recognize that these gimmicks are not going to get America strong again, they’re not going to create jobs.” [read on]

Start your GOP Vice Presidential pool yet?

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/veepstakes-sherm-o-meter.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/04/the-list-of-top-republican-vp-candidates/

Here’s a stretch: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/romney--condi-rice-vp-vice-president-2012.html

GOP losing the Latino vote

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/as-romney-courts-latinos-gop-cuts-their-services.php

Oh how they love to play the religion card – except when they don’t

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/catholic-bishops-protest-house-budget/
Catholic Bishops Protest House Budget

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/boehner-dismisses-catholic-bishop-criticism-of-gop-budget.php
Boehner Dismisses Catholic Bishops’ Criticism Of GOP Budget

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/18/1084178/-Catholic-bishops-to-House-Republicans-Your-budget-makes-Jesus-cry-John-Boehner-to-bishops-STFU-

“Leader” of the House?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/18/11270203-the-wrong-guy-to-talk-about-leadership

Gender gap becoming gender gulf

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/dem-senators-publicize-gop-opposition-to-violence-against-women-act.php
Dems Try To Corner GOP On Violence Against Women Act

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/18/11269137-the-growing-importance-of-the-ledbetter-fair-pay-act
The growing importance of the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/phyllis-schlafly-lets-destroy-word-feminism
Phyllis Schlafly: Let's Destroy The Word Feminism

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.ca/2012/04/study-hard-for-your-mrs-girls.html

Allen West (R-FL) tries to explain his charge about 80 “Communists’ in the US Congress

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/18/11265613-wild-wild-west

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/04/allen-west-explains-why-democrats-are-communists-the-creation-and-expansion-of-the-welfare-state.php

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/allen-west-calls-woodrow-wilson-was-a-communist.html

Bonus item: Heh

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/04/time-100-influential-people.html
The Ten Least Influential People on Time’s 100 Most Influential People List

***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.***