ROMNEY’S AMERICA

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/30/1095905/-Mitt-Romney-s-better-America-sure-is-white-isn-t-it-

Romney doesn’t want to talk about his Bain years, except when he chooses to brag about them. Okay then, Willard, let’s talk about your years as governor of Massachusetts

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/30/1095833/-Obama-campaign-to-hit-Mitt-Romney-s-abysmal-jobs-record-in-Massachusetts
Obama campaign to hit Mitt Romney's abysmal jobs record in Massachusetts

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/30/1095931/-Mitt-Romney-defends-lousy-jobs-record-by-saying-he-inherited-recession
Mitt Romney defends lousy jobs record by saying he inherited recession

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/30/11959683-a-spectacular-failure-of-self-awareness
[Steve Benen] At this point, you might be thinking, "Wait, didn't Obama also inherit a recession and an economy that was hemorrhaging jobs?" And if that is what you're thinking, you'll love the Romney campaign's new press release . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-romney-campaigns-surreal-arguments-about-the-economy/2012/05/30/gJQAPyI01U_blog.html
The Romney campaign’s surreal arguments about the economy

More: http://www.salon.com/2012/05/30/the_massachusetts_assault/

This presidential campaign is going to cost $2 billion. Shouldn’t we worry about what this is doing to democracy?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/super-pacs-presidential-election_n_1557526.html
Is There Even A Point To Spending 2 Billion Dollars On A Presidential Election?

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/republicans-to-spend-more-money-than-god.html
Republicans to Spend More Money Than God

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/john-heilemann-on-last-word-campaign-spending.html
John Heilemann on Last Word: Unprecedented Campaign Spending 'Like a Test Tube Experiment'

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/30/11954290-drowning-in-a-sea-of-gop-campaign-cash

They won’t stop

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/31/11987875-florida-voter-purge-to-intensify
Florida voter purge to intensify

Theocracy watch

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/ten-commandments-judge-roy-moore-secularism-
The man who is likely to be Alabama's next chief justice is warning that secular government will lead to Islamic law in the United States. . . .

Fox News isn’t even keeping up the pretense any more: they are openly acting as part of the Republican campaign media apparatus

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/fox-news-obama-attack-ad-from-fox-and-friends.html
"Should a news organization produce and publish attack ads like this?"

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/fairnbalanced-and-unafraid-to.html

Bonus item: The best political rant you’ll see all year

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/mike-bost-explosion-one-of-the-best-political-rants-youll-ever-see/2012/05/30/gJQAnzZc2U_blog.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.***

THE COMPANY HE KEEPS

Why isn’t Donald Trump Willard’s Rev. Wright?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/us/politics/romney-finds-himself-upstaged-by-trump-on-big-day.html
It was supposed to be a day of triumph for Mitt Romney, when he would at last formally claim the Republican presidential nomination with a victory in the Texas primary. . . . Instead, Tuesday was hijacked by Donald J. Trump. Inexplicably to many in his party, Mr. Romney had scheduled an appearance at a fund-raiser in Las Vegas on Tuesday night with Mr. Trump.

And Mr. Trump, ever ready to seize the spotlight and toss rhetorical grenades, played to type . . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/29/11938947-trump-cant-help-himself

Trump goes after Wolf Blitzer, George Will, and howls at the moon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/donald-trump-calls-wolf-blitzer-ridiculous-defends-birtherism/2012/05/29/gJQAJBOkzU_blog.html
This afternoon, Donald Trump reminded the nation why he’s a dangerous surrogate for any political candidate. . . .

Blitzer suggested that Trump was “beginning to sound a little ridiculous.” Trump shot back, “I think you sound ridiculous.”

For good measure, Trump also continued his insults of Washington Post conservative columnist George Will, who on Sunday called the mogul a “bloviating ignoramus.”

Will, Trump said, “is not somebody that I’ve respected. I don’t think he’s a very smart person.” He added, for good measure, “He was at Mar-a-Lago years ago and totally bombed.”

Watch: http://core.talkingpointsmemo.com/tv/videos/day-in-100-seconds-romney-gets-trumped

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/05/for_the_ages_3.php
Romney appears unable or unwilling to say anything negative or disassociate himself in any way from Trump’s remarks. . . .

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/29/11935087-another-missed-opportunity-to-lead
In other words, cowardice is once again getting the better of Mitt Romney . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/29/1095595/-Mitt-Romney-still-palling-around-bloviating-ignoramus-Donald-Trump

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/05/29/romney_stands_by_trump.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/chen-guangcheng-now-in-us-poised-to-play-role-in-yet-another-abortion-debate/2012/05/29/gJQADBO1yU_story.html
Why is Romney associating himself with a man who is the public face of the debunked idea that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States and, perhaps more importantly, a man whose sole principle in life is self-promotion? . . . [read on]

The Answer

http://rolandmartinreports.com/blog/2012/05/mitt-romney-defends-fundraising-with-trump/
[Romney] “You know, I don’t agree with all the people who support me and my guess is they don’t all agree with everything I believe in. But I need to get 50.1 percent or more, and I’m appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people.”

http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/05/29/mitt-hearts-birther-trump-he-needs-that-50-1/
I guess Mitt Romney is admitting that he can’t attract enough independent voters, so he has to count on every single fringe element of the Republican base. . . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/29/11935087-another-missed-opportunity-to-lead

Trump AND Gingrich. Perfect

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/gingrich-says-birther-claims-not-racist-are-caused-by-obamas-radical-views/2012/05/29/gJQAZyIR0U_blog.html
Gingrich says birther claims not racist, are caused by Obama’s ‘radical’ views

Stimulating: more doubletalk from the Liar

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755884/#47606654

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/what-would-romney-have-done-in-january-2009/2012/05/29/gJQATfTSzU_blog.html

Read and enjoy!

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/29/11940474-a-reputation-romney-cant-afford-to-earn
[Eugene Robinson] There are those who tell the truth. There are those who distort the truth. And then there's Mitt Romney. . . . [read on]

This is the first election since the Second World War when both presidential candidates lack military experience. This is a watershed of sorts, for those of us who have lived through election after election where military service was made synonymous with patriotism.

Equally revealing, however, is the NEW litmus test for President

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/on-night-of-trump-fund-raiser-romney-jokes-about-presidential-requirements/
Speaking to a crowd at a furniture warehouse here, Mr. Romney recalled a suggestion from a man he had recently met on the campaign trail.

“I’d like to have a provision in the Constitution,” he recalled the man saying, “that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birthplace of the president being set by the Constitution, I’d like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become president of the United States.”

Mr. Romney did not endorse the idea, but he seemed to like it. . . .

Must-read: Buying the Presidency

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/right-wing-billionaires-behind-mitt-romney-20120524
"I have lots of money, and can give it legally now," Texas billionaire and top GOP moneyman Harold Simmons recently bragged to The Wall Street Journal. "Just never to Democrats.". . . [read on]

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/the-politics-of-the-super-rich-in-one-chart/2012/05/29/gJQAlWvyyU_blog.html

The kind of man he is: You have to start with the question of why Willard thought this “joke” was so funny

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/adviser-brags-romney-told-joke-about-firing-

Orwellian logic from the GOP: in order to create jobs, we must destroy them

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/29/1095630/-Republicans-unveil-a-cut-jobs-and-call-it-job-creation-summer-nbsp-agenda-

The GOP keeps promising an “alternative” to Obamacare – now we are starting to see what it is, and it looks familiar

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/senate-republicans-mirror-house-gop-shift-on-obamacare.php
With a Supreme Court decision looming next month, House Republicans are privately weighing a plan to reinstate three popular elements of the law if it’s struck down — guaranteeing coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, allowing young adults up to 26 years old to remain on a parent’s insurance policy, and closing the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole.”

Whether coverage of pre-existing conditions is economically viable for insurers without an individual mandate is a dubious proposition, but practical realities are taking a back seat to election year imperatives. It’s not a hard sell to voters: you can have all the popular provisions of health care reform without the unpopular ones.

Despite the blowback from conservatives, who want nothing less than to wipe out the law in its entirety, top Senate Republicans are signaling that they’re behind the strategy of resurrecting some aspects of the Affordable Care Act. . . .

Bonus item: Not ready for prime time

http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal-aka-fran/open-thread-romney-app-misspells-
Romney App Misspells "America". Really.




***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.***

WAR AND PEACE

Obama on war and peace

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/05/28/on-memorial-day-debate-over-counter-insurgency-at-west-point/
“As commander in chief, I can tell you that sending our troops into harm’s way is the most wrenching decision that I have to make,” Obama said shortly after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“I can promise you I will never do so unless it is absolutely necessary and that when we do, we must give our troops a clear mission and the full support of a grateful nation.” . . . [read on]

Vets prefer Romney (but that stat may not mean what you think it means)

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/veterans-prefer-mitt-romney-to-president-obama.html
Analysts note that 24 percent of adult American men are veterans, and their preference for the Republican candidate accounts for his current lead among men generally.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romneys-decisive-advantage-with-veterans/2012/05/28/gJQAljSfwU_blog.html
The most interesting outcome of Gallup’s survey is the comparison to non-veterans. Among women who aren’t veterans, the difference is moderate — support for Obama increases to 49 percent. By contrast, the difference for men is huge; Romney’s 22-point advantage with veteran men becomes an even match among non-veteran men, 45 percent to 46 percent. Indeed, as Gallup points out, Romney’s advantage with veterans accounts for most of his advantage among men writ large. Which is to say that if Obama can improve his numbers with veterans — a tough proposition — he can cut into a key base of support for the Republican nominee.

Or vice versa! http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/veterans_gap037595.php
Much of the advantage, of course, comes from the various identities of people who disproportionately make up the ranks of military veterans. For obvious reasons, they tend to be male (though less than in the past). And because the cohort of American men subject to conscription (which ended in 1973) is by definition aged 57 or over, they will reflect the increasingly Republican partisan leanings of older men—or at least older white men. It is true that younger veterans share these leanings, but that’s probably attributable to the predispositions of the relatively small percentage of men who choose to enter the military in the post-conscription era.

Interestingly, there is virtually no gap between the presidential preferences of veteran and nonveteran women, and no “age gap” among the veterans themselves, according to Gallup. . . [read on]

Republicans learning to like Obamacare (at least, parts of it)

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/are-republicans-bending-on-obamacare.php
As the landmark Supreme Court decision looms next month, Republicans have been privately considering a plan to reinstate some popular provisions of “Obamacare” if it’s struck down.

The revelation sent conservative advocates — who have demanded nothing less than total repeal — into a tizzy, which forced House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to reaffirm his commitment to “repealing Obamacare in its entirety,” declaring that “[a]nything short of that is unacceptable.”

But more evidence is emerging that Republicans believe that’s not tenable. . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/25/1094831/-Republicans-still-confused-on-Obamacare-repeal-reform-message-

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/top-conservatives-warn-gop-not-to-bend-on-obamacare.php
Top Conservatives Warn GOP Not To Waver On ‘Obamacare’

Another liberal-hating screed

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/progressive-thinking-is-miasma-arising.html
"United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror"

Bonus item: Oh, good! We’ve been missing one of these for a while

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/illinois-senator-paid-lover-with-campaign-funds.html
The Chicago Tribune reports that Republican Illinois Senator Mark Kirk — the serial liar elected to President Obama's former Senate seat following the Blagojevich scandal — has been accused of purposely hiding the fact that he paid his former live-in girlfriend more than $143,000 for her work on his campaign. In an interesting twist, the FEC complaint that brought the issue to light was filed by Kirk's ex-wife, who also received $40,000 from the campaign under questionable circumstances. . . [read on]

***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.***

THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT

The GOP is a conflicted mess

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/republicans_are_in_disarray_so037587.php
Republicans Are in Disarray; So Why Are Liberals Playing Defense?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/27/1094768/-The-Republicans-are-unfit-to-govern
The Republicans are unfit to govern

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/alan-simpson-republicans-taxes-compromise-debt-obama.php
Alan Simpson Lashes Republicans For Anti-Tax Rigidity

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/donald_trump_birther_and_romne037588.php
Donald Trump, Birther and Romney Surrogate, Bewilders George Will

McCain defends Romney: Capitalism is cruel

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/mccain-romneys-bain-record-free-enterprise-s

Very cruel: http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/got-talking-points

Romney’s promises

http://mydd.com/users/heather-taylor-miesle/posts/day-one

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/05/23/romney_promises_6_percent_unemployment_in_a_brilliantly_slippery_way.html

The “voting fraud” fraud

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/as-republican-as-apple-pie.html

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_n_1548734.html

Roger Ailes, always reasonable

http://insidecablenews.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/open-mouth-insert-foot-9/
In a speech Monday night at Ohio University, his alma mater, the Fox News chairman described New York Times reporters as “a bunch of lying scum.”

Then why does he have them on his shows?

http://firedoglake.com/2012/05/27/sunday-talking-heads-may-28-2012/
Fox News Sunday: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Cardinal Donald Wuerl, The Archbishop of Washington. Roundtable: Brit Hume, Fox News Senior Political Analyst; Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times; Kimberley Strassel, The Wall Street Journal; Kirsten Powers, The Daily Beast & Fox News.

Who's a lying scum?

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/howie-kurtz-rehabs-roger-ailes-overlooks-ai
In case you missed it, this week Roger Ailes claimed Fox News employs 24 liberal contributors and 1 conservative contributor to two separate college audiences. As Media Matters points out, this just doesn't withstand scrutiny on any level. . . . [read on]

***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.***

MAKING HISTORY

Did Obama’s stance on gay marriage change public attitudes, especially within the black community?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/did-obama-change-the-nations-mind-on-gay-marriage/2012/05/25/gJQAmWrTqU_blog.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/tina-dupuy/mid-day-open-thread-17

Willard’s empty thoughts about education

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094218/-Mitt-Romney-offers-little-on-education-but-bashing-teachers-unions-and-Obama

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/24/romney-defends-class-size-stance-to-teachers/

[NB: What’s increasingly clear is that EVERYTHING he says now is safely nestled within conventional GOP doctrine. There isn’t a single position he has taken that isn’t standard boilerplate – and where he did have other ideas, once upon a time, he has abandoned them. Could he BE any more insincere and robotic?]

Florida Repubs put their thumb on the scale for 2012

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/gov_scott_orders_purging_of_fl037581.php

Ha, ha. And this is a guy recently touted as a GOP presidential candidate – didn’t know who he was then, and don’t care about him now

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/05/26/mccotter_may_not_qualify_for_primary_ballot.html
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) said that he "may not have turned in enough valid signatures to qualify for the Aug. 7 Republican primary in his suburban Detroit district," the Detroit News reports. . . .

Chutzpah!

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/randy_duke_cunningham_gun_rights_restore_atf.php
Randall “Duke” Cunningham, the disgraced former congressman currently serving an eight year sentence for his involvement in one of the biggest bribery scandals in congressional history, would like his second amendment rights restored when he leaves prison . . . [read on]

Creepy missives from the Other Side

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/dumpster-diving-look-at-one-right-wing.html

The Sunday talk show line-ups (now including Chris Hayes’ “Up” and Fareed Zakaria, "GPS")

http://firedoglake.com/2012/05/27/sunday-talking-heads-may-28-2012/
ABC’s This Week: Jake Tapper hosts. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Roundtable: ABC News’ George Will, former Michigan governor and host of Current TV’s “The War Room” Jennifer Granholm, Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman, Washington Post national political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson, and National Journal editorial director Ron Brownstein.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser to the Obama campaign and then Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign. Followed by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN). Roundtable: Authors Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, The President’s Club; Robert Merry, Where They Stand: The American Presidents in The Eyes of Voters and Historians; Douglas Brinkley, Cronkite.

Chris Hayes: Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn), author of The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World. Liliana Segura (@lilianasegura), associate editor at The Nation. John McWhorter, professor of linguistics and American studies at Columbia University. Michael Brendan Dougherty (@michaelbd), politics editor at Business Insider. Mary Kirkland, mother of Private Derrick Kirkland (1987-201. Barry Scheck (@barryscheck), co-founder of The Innocence Project and co-author of Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches from the Wrongfully Convicted. Lt. Col. Steve Beck, active duty Marine, casualty assistance officer, and associate professor of naval science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: “Why China will slow – not because of its failures but because of its success. Should Russia move its capital from Moscow?” Obama v. Romney Roundtable: Bill Keller, Peggy Noonan, Chrystia Freeland and Ross Douthat. Followed by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.

CNN’s State of the Union: Former Republican Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani, and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. “Last year, we explored the challenges facing veterans. A year later we check back with our guests to measure progress”: General Peter Chiarelli (ret.), fmr. vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army on treating PTSD and brain injuries in veterans. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee. Tim Tetz, Legislative Director of the American Legion, and Paul Rieckhoff, founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

NBC’s Meet the Press: Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD); Newt Gingrich. Roundtable: Mayor of Los Angeles and Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Antonio Villaraigosa; Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and former head of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina; author of the new book Our Divided Political Heart, EJ Dionne; David Brooks. Then commencement speakers Maria Shriver and Michael Lewis.

Bonus item: Here it comes – “wiferism”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/bill-maher-takes-shot-birthers-parody-romn

***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.***

AUSTERITY AHEAD!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/federal-budget-tax-policy-austerity-mitt-romney-barack-obama-cbo-spending-cuts.php

Let’s see: part of the GOP plan was to hammer Obama for rising gas prices over the summer. What are they going to say, now that gas prices are lower than usual?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/25/1089144/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-Gas-prices-lose-their-edge-as-attack-weapon

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11878175-seeking-a-gop-explanation-for-relief-at-the-pump

Part of running seriously for President are the small sacrifices to your dignity you have to make in order to suck up to various constituencies and influential leaders. But, man, how pathetic is it when you need to embrace Donald Trump and his crazy birtherism?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/25/1094829/-Mitt-Romney-embraces-Donald-Trump-who-celebrates-by-going-full-birther-again-
[Hunter] I will never understand the Republican desire to grant political legitimacy to Donald Trump. What's the target audience, here? Reality show viewers? Lovers of bad taste? To have Mitt Romney, of all people, so eager to court America's own poster child for pointless celebrity status plus ostentatious wealth (Mitt, if you have not heard, suffers from the problem that much of America thinks he is an amoral, out-of-touch rich guy who knows nothing of how the rest of the country lives) seems poor planning even for him. . . . [read on]

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/trump-still-birther-says-obama-was-born-in
Trump, Still A Birther, Says Obama Was Born In Kenya

Will this hurt him? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/mitt-and-the-donald/2012/05/25/gJQA6FpIqU_blog.html

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11881581-the-trump-case-study

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/trump-still-a-birther.html

So, how many jobs DID Willard create at Bain?

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11878651-follow-the-bouncing-jobs-estimate
We talked last week about the Mitt Romney campaign's "fuzzy jobs math," in which the Republican candidate and his team would offer exaggerated boasts about the number of jobs he created, which the campaign couldn't substantiate and which contradicted previous boasts. . . .

None! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/25/1094754/-Even-Mitt-Romney-admits-Bain-Capital-didn-t-create-jobs
[Romney] When you ask, the question 'How many jobs did you create at Bain Capital?' the truth, is we invested in businesses that created the jobs. We didn't create them ourselves. They did.

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/25/1094722/-Mitt-Romney-I-m-glad-I-m-Mr-Bain-because-um-er-well-uh-

More lies from the Liar

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11882052-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xix

You have to chuckle at Fox News complaining about reporters having a political slant toward candidates. Because they’re FAIR. And BALANCED

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/tucker-carlson-reporters-have-slavish-dog-lo
The Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson on Thursday blasted "the average working journalist" for having a "slavish, dog-like loyalty" to President Barack Obama. . . .

A recent study from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism determined that Romney's coverage was twice as favorable as Obama's between January and April. Romney's coverage was 39 percent positive during that period, while Obama's coverage was only 18 percent positive. . . . [read on]

Bonus item: So proud!

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/missouri_house_drops_1100_for_camera_to_guard_limb.php
So you’ve made a bronze bust of Rush Limbaugh and put it in your Hall of Famous Missourians. Now what do you do? If you’re the Missouri House, you spend $1,100 on a security camera to watch over the thing. . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11879852-protecting-limbaughs-bust

***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

Totally dysfunctional

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-fails-to-agree-on-student-loan-rate-freeze/2012/05/24/gJQAs2cqnU_story.html
Senate fails to agree on student-loan-rate freeze

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/guilty-charged-how-gop-killed-washington
How the GOP Killed Washington DC

One thing both parties agree on though: extending Bush’s deficit-exploding tax cuts. The only difference is whether to do so for all income categories, or only some

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/us/politics/congress-ready-to-get-started-on-bush-tax-cuts.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/24/1094511/-Nancy-Pelosi-s-middle-class-tax-cut-extension-sets-the-bar-too-high-

It is truly astonishing how Grover Norquist’s single-issue opposition to tax increases, of any kind, ever, has owned the Republican party for years. Could that be about to change?

http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/more-republicans-rejecting-grover-norqu

There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over Obama’s attack on Romney’s Bain record – even from fellow Democrats. But there’s really only one question

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/is-the-bain-attack-working/2012/05/24/gJQArIPLnU_blog.html
Is the Bain attack working?

A bold headline: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/us/politics/perceptions-of-bain-years-help-and-hinder-romney.html
Perceptions of Bain Years Help and Hinder Romney

Nice try

http://prospect.org/article/mitt-romney-gets-specific
[Paul Waldman] We're still waiting to hear what stunning business insights Mitt Romney will bring to the White House that no other person could possibly have. And yesterday, Time's Mark Halperin — himself the target of a lot of well-deserved derision over the years—made an admirable effort to try to pin Romney down on this question in an interview. Unsurprisingly, he failed. Let's read an excerpt . . . [read on]

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/24/11859290-asking-the-right-questions-about-bain-capital
[Steve Benen] Reading the transcript, it was at this point when it occurred to me that Mitt Romney is basing his campaign on his private-sector work, but he hasn't the foggiest idea how that business experience relates to the responsibilities of a president. . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/if-romneys-policies-come-from-business-where-do-ryans-come-from/2012/05/24/gJQAQ3GJnU_blog.html
[Ezra Klein] But then how does Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has spent his entire career in politics, understand job creation so well? Ryan and Romney, after all, have proposed essentially the exact same economic policies. And Ryan proposed most of them first. If Romney’s ideas are informed by knowledge you can only collect in the private sector, how come they don’t differ more from the ideas of career Republican politicians? . . . [read on]

Willard’s immigration problem

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/05/romney-fenced-immigration

Marco Rubio (FL) is suddenly sounding like someone who is sick of the Senate (after serving less than a year and a half) and looking for a new gig

http://prospect.org/article/marco-rubio-already-tired-senate

I heartily endorse this proposal. The symmetry would be impeccable

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/trump-i-would-be-best-choice-all-romneys-vp
Trump: I Would Be the 'Best Choice of All' for Romney's VP

Bonus item: A day too late for our "Dumb and Dumber" edition

http://crooksandliars.com/blue-texan/stupid-right-wing-tweets-laura-ingrah-1
Laura Ingraham

***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 LIAR

Lies in politics are hardly shocking – but what happens when a candidate routinely and brazenly repeats howling untruths, confident that today’s press will not correct him or make him pay any price for it?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/ns/msnbc_tv-hardball_with_chris_matthews/#47541646

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094131/-Mitt-Romney-s-deceptive-video-editing-strikes-again
Mitt Romney's deceptive video editing strikes again

The fourth estate

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dee-evans/mitt-romney-campaign_b_1522356.html
Mitt Romney Is Playing the Mainstream Media Like a Fiddle

It’s as if he never WAS governor of Massachusetts

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094192/-Mitt-Romney-runs-from-Bain
“I am running for president because I have spent my life in the private sector. . . .”

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/mitt_romney_the_missing_years037526.php

Perfect. Willard is asked what he has learned from his life in business that would help him lead the country. Here is his answer

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/romney-cant-explain-what-he-learned-in-business.html
“Well that’s a bit of a question like saying, what have you learned in life that would help you lead? My whole life has been learning to lead, from my parents, to my education, to the experience I had in the private sector, to helping run the Olympics, and then of course helping guide a state. Those experiences in totality have given me an understanding of how America works and how the economy works. Twenty five years in business, including business with other nations, competing with companies across the world, has given me an understanding of what it is that makes America a good place to grow and add jobs, and why jobs leave America — why businesses decide to locate here, and why they decide to locate somewhere else. What outsourcing causes — what it’s caused by, rather. I understand, for instance, how to read a balance sheet. I happen to believe that having been in the private sector for twenty five years gives me a perspective on how jobs are created — that someone who’s never spent a day in the private sector, like President Obama, simply doesn’t understand.”

Here’s a simple question: SHOULD someone run the country like Bain?

http://newomenforchange.org/2012/05/18/romney-economics-mitt-romney-would-run-the-country-as-he-ran-bain-capital-and-the-middle-class-would-suffer/

More: http://crooksandliars.com/mike-lux/bain-our-existence

Willard promised, if elected, to get unemployment down to four percent – a ridiculous number that no one thought possible. Now he has revised that number to six percent. One problem

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/romney-retreats-from-unrealistic-four-percent-unemployment-benchmark.php
GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has come a long way from insisting “anything over four percent [unemployment] is nothing to celebrate.”

That benchmark, which he set earlier in May, drew criticism from economists of every political persuasion, including GOP loyalists. . . .

“I can tell you that over a period of 4 years, by virtue of the policies that we put in place, we get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent, or perhaps a little lower,” Romney said . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094223/-Mitt-Romney-pledges-higher-unemployment-rate-by-2016-than-President-Obama-seriously-
[T]he nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office already projects that under current policy the unemployment rate will fall to six percent by the end of 2016. In other words, Mitt Romney's pledge is no better than current projections. . . [read on]

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11833471-when-the-numbers-guy-gets-the-numbers-wrong

Has Willard written off the Latino vote?

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/romney-hopes-fired-up-cuban-vote-can-soften-latino-problems.php

More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/05/23/obama_has_huge_lead_among_latinos.html
A new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll finds President Obama holds a 34-point lead over Mitt Romney among registered Latino voters, 61% to 27%. . . .

The GOPers are prepared to play debt-limit chicken again, confident that Obama and the Dems will negotiate on their turf – and they seem to be right. One thing they will require (and get) is another extension of the Bush tax cuts

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/gop-to-white-house-call-our-bluff-on-debt-limit----we-dare-you.php
GOP To White House: Call Our Bluff On Debt Limit — We Dare You

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/05/23/dems-start-negotiating-against-themselves-on-bush-tax-cuts/
We are still months away from the so called “fiscal cliff” or “taxmaggedon” when among other things the Bush tax cut extension expires. But the Democratic leadership has already started negotiations against itself. . . .

Or, maybe not: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/22/1093960/-Harry-Reid-to-GOP-Give-in-on-Bush-tax-cuts-gutting-Medicare-and-maybe-we-can-nbsp-talk

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/cbo-economy-recession-fiscal-cliff.php
Congress Ignores Obvious Policy Solution To Major Economic Threat

They call themselves “Christians”

http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/05/23/the-poisonous-anti-gay-morality-members-of-nc-pastor-charles-worleys-flock/
“Build a great, big, large fence — 150 or 100 mile long — put all the lesbians in there. Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out…and you know what, in a few years, they’ll die out…do you know why? They can’t reproduce!”

News flash: Hawaii confirms Obama’s US birth AGAIN

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2012/05/hawaiis-verification-of-president-obamas-birth.php

Bonus item: A jazz musician once said, “When I accidentally play a wrong note, I intentionally repeat it again and again, to make it look like it was what I meant to play.” This is kind of like that

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094249/-On-whether-the-president-is-an-American-Rep-Mike-Coffman-misspoke-and-he-apologizes

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11832968-coffman-struggles-to-defend-himself

***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.***

BIG SPENDER?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/federal-deficit-barack-obama-spending-stimulus-budget-historic-trends.php
The chart shows that Presidents Reagan, both Bushes, and to a lesser extent Clinton, grew federal spending at a far quicker pace than Obama. Part of the reason for the slow growth is that Obama — unlike his Republican and Democratic predecessors — signed a law in February 2010 necessitating that new spending laws are paid for. In addition, Obama last year signed into law over $2 trillion in debt-reduction over the next decade. . . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/22/11814072-the-spending-surge-that-never-happened

Surprised?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-new-strikingly-dishonest-ad-from-crossroads-gps/2012/05/22/gIQApTKNiU_blog.html
The new, strikingly dishonest ad from Crossroads GPS

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/22/11814765-the-best-lies-money-can-buy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/karl-rove-crossroads-gps_n_1536852.html

http://prospect.org/article/soft-sell

Train wreck ahead

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/defense-spending-budget-deficit-austerity-congressional-budget-office.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/senior-admin-officials-debt-limit-brinksmanship-is-political-suicide-for-republicans.php

On the right side of history

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-president-obamas-announcement-opposition-to-gay-marriage-hits-record-low/2012/05/22/gIQAlAYRjU_story.html
Public opinion continues to shift in favor of same-sex marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, which also finds initial signs that President Obama’s support for the idea may have changed a few minds. . . .

Let’s see: the Romney campaign think his Bain years are relevant when HE wants to talk about them, but not when Obama does

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/krugman-romneys-business-career-fair-game

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/22/1093866/-Mitt-Romney-campaign-muddies-defense-by-calling-Bain-record-fair-game-

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/23/1094104/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up-Dueling-Bain-narratives

http://crooksandliars.com/kenneth-quinnell/mitt-romneys-latest-video-ignores

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/22/bain_or_%E2%80%A6_bush/

(Oh, by the way)

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/21/democrats_and_bain_2/singleton/
Democrats have accepted more political donations than Republicans from executives at Bain Capital . .[ read on]

Meanwhile, Romney’s ACTUAL record as an elected official has dropped into the memory hole

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/why-is-no-one-talking-about-massachusetts/2012/05/22/gIQATLP6hU_blog.html
Why is no one talking about Massachusetts?

http://prospect.org/article/missing-massachusetts
Missing Massachusetts

Please, please Willard: take your campaign advice from Sarah Palin!

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/palin-advises-romney-go-rogue-and-use-rev-wr

Arizona Sect’y of State backs down, apologizes

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/ken_bennett_apologizes_obama_birther_hawaii_arizona.php
After days of ridicule for launching a conspiracy theory-fueled investigation into Barack Obama’s birth certificate, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett on Tuesday backed off his threat to keep the president off the ballot in November and apologized to his state. . . .

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11827467-two-steps-forward-one-step-back-in-arizona

Bonus item: Confirming what we already knew

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/22/1093953/-Another-study-says-watching-Fox-News-makes-you-dumber
[Hunter] I've lost count of how many of these studies have been done at this point, but I guess it's time to add another one to the pile. Watching Fox News makes you less informed about events than not watching any news at all. . . .

***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.***

DUMB AND DUMBER

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/congressional-discourse-getting-dumber-study-says/2012/05/21/gIQA5tWFgU_blog.html
Congressional discourse getting dumber, study says

More: http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/05/21/congressional-floor-speeches-have-gotten-dumber/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/is-polarization-making-congress-dumber/2012/05/21/gIQApnMQfU_blog.html

The new GOP line: talking about Obama like a petulant teenager

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mitch-mcconnell-thinks-president-obama-need
Mitch McConnell Thinks President Obama 'Needs To Act Like An Adult'

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/perino-white-house-trashing-friends-cory-boo
Perino: White House Trashing 'Friends' Cory Booker and Campbell Brown

Cory Booker needs to shut up and go away

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/booker-obama-team-didnt-force-me-to-do
Newark Mayor Cory Booker went on the Rachel Maddow show Monday night to reaffirm his support of President Obama after the RNC used his comments about Bain Capital as a fundraising tool Monday afternoon. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/21/1093497/-Republican-Party-launches-I-stand-with-Cory-petition-Are-they-endorsing-President-Obama-too-
Republican Party launches 'I stand with Cory' petition

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/cory-booker-bain-mitt-romney-david-axelrod_n_1533935.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/05/cory_booker_obama_s_campaign_ads_nauseating_wrong_attacking_bain_capital_is_fair_game_.html

Does Willard REALLY want to talk about his Bain years?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romneys-ever-climbing-jobs-claim/2012/05/21/gIQAG0DEgU_blog.html

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/21/11791506-first-thoughts-is-bain-fair-game

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/not_a_distraction037482.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-wrong-way-to-attack-romney/2012/05/21/gIQAjySjfU_blog.html

An end in sight in Afghanistan?

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/05/21/nato-agrees-to-new-timeline-for-afghanistan/

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/end-afghanistan-near

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is renouncing his US citizenship to avoid paying taxes. Noted flagwaving conservatives and patriots everywhere have no problem with this

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/conservatives-liken-dem-tax-dodging-bill-to-nazis-soviets.php
New Democratic-led legislation aimed at penalizing those who would renounce their U.S. citizenship to dodge taxes has provoked fiery criticism from influential conservatives and is putting Republican leaders in a politically precarious situation. . . .

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist compared it to the actions of Nazi Germany.

“I think Schumer can probably find the legislation to do this. It existed in Germany in the 1930s and Rhodesia in the ’70s and in South Africa as well,” Norquist said, as quoted by The Hill. “He probably just plagiarized it and translated it from the original German.”

The Wall Street Journal editorial board derided the legislation as “Soviet-style exit taxes” that resemble “what oppressive and demagogic regimes do, and it’s humiliating to see U.S. Senators posture in such fashion.”

The Journal argued that the proposed Ex-PATRIOT Act would turn away the best and the brightest, bashing Schumer and Casey as “a pair of envy specialists” who are trying to “score political points by punishing the fleeing rich.”

Rush Limbaugh lamented, “It’s this whole class envy thing rearing its head again.” . . .

Meanwhile: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/schumer-casey-boehner-expatriot-act-eduardo-saverin.php
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), conscious of not being portrayed as defending jet-setting elites who seek to avoid their legal obligations, said Sunday that Saverin’s actions were “outrageous.” . . .

Now, with an apparent rift emerging, Democrats are twisting the knife. . . .

Bonus item: Arizona’s birther Sect’y of State is trying to keep Obama off the ballot – and is asking Hawaii for evidence (again) that Obama was born in the US. Here’s what they sent him

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/ken_bennett_birther_hawaii_arizona_emails.php

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/05/craven_is_as_craven_does.php
One more note about Bennett. Serving as Romney co-chair is a reversal of Bennett’s campaign pledge when he was running in 2012 not to endorse other candidates while secretary of state. It was “not appropriate” for the the state’s chief elections official to make endorsements, Bennett reportedly said at the time. Acknowledging his reversal Monday, Bennett told the East Valley Tribune, “I am allowed like everyone else to have my personal opinions.”

Why Arizona? http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/sheriff-joes-posse-probable-cause-obama-certificate-a-fraud/
Arpaio: 'Probable cause' Obama certificate a fraud

***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.***

WEASEL WORDS

It used to be utterly unacceptable for members of the opposition party to undermine the President in the conduct of foreign affairs. Now, on the eve of Obama hosting the NATO summit, Willard plants an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune attacking him

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-perspec-0520-romneynato-20120519,0,6427146.story

Yep

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/20/1093061/-Mitt-Romney-is-a-coward
Mitt Romney is a coward

We all know it is an occupational requirement in politics to be able to say the most jaw-droppingly stupid and hypocritical things without a hint of shame. Here’s a particularly pungent example

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/rnc-chair-reince-priebus-blames-obama-rev-wr
The chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Sunday said it was the fault of President Barack Obama and the Democrats for reports that a super PAC supporting presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney was considering attack ads featuring Obama's former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. . . .

With friends like this. . .

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/20/cory_booker_surrogate_from_hell/
If Cory Booker went on “Meet the Press” on Sunday with the intent of helping President Obama, then his appearance was an utter failure. But anyone who’s followed the enormously ambitious Newark mayor’s career closely knows he’s not one to pull a Joe Biden. He’s just too smart and too smooth to screw up so epically.

More likely, Booker went on the show to help himself and to advance his own long-term political prospects. And on that score, his appearance was a success. . . . [read on]

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/cory-booker-sandbags-obama-campaign-bain-me

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/et-tu-cory-booker.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/05/a_readers_take_on_the_booker_gambit.php

Watch him backpedal now! http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/05/no_no_thats_not_what_i_meant.php

Republicans may get their way on the Violence Against Women Act

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/vawa-violence-against-women-republicans-blue-slip.php

Well, it’s good to see Pat Buchanan on Fox News, where he belongs

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/pat-buchanan-denies-making-racist-comments
Pat Buchanan Denies Making Racist Comments That Got Him Fired From MSNBC

The coming GOP-orchestrated economic catastrophe

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46979738/vp/47493976#47494085

***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.***

SUNDAY LEFTOVERS

After the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, due next month – what next?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/17/1092577/-White-House-allies-prepare-for-Supreme-Court-Obamacare-nbsp-decision-

More: http://www.samefacts.com/2012/05/health-care/obamacare-rebates-and-the-endowment-effect/

A serious question: Can Washington govern?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-missing-issue-in-the-presidential-campaign/2012/05/19/gIQAcKIKbU_story.html

ALEC is still making trouble

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/alec-wants-make-it-illegal-state-ags-
A year ago, even a divining rod would have been tempting to a reporter trying to tease out details about the workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The group’s corporate, ideological and lawmaker members wouldn’t admit to an association, much less describe the model bills cooked up at its cushy confabs.

Today, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. One need only pick up one of the 4,000 documents recently obtained by Common Cause, which has filed complaints against the group here and at the national level, and out tumble nuggets of political chicanery. . . [read on]

Slapped down

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/obama-campaign-calls-birther-officials-bluff.html
Obama Campaign Calls Arizona Birther Official’s Bluff

Theocracy watch: why you shouldn’t be able to use public vouchers for religious schools (it isn’t just the church-state issue)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/whose-conscience-is-it-anyway.html

Their psychiatrist needs a psychiatrist

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/fox-news-psychiatrist-narcissistic-lgbt-adop
Fox News Psychiatrist: 'Narcissistic' LGBT Adoptions Will Lead to Polygamy

What really happened to Trayvon Martin?

http://my.firedoglake.com/mason/2012/05/19/why-is-trayvon-martin-dead/

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/new-details-of-trayvon-martins-last-minutes.html

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2012/05/20/sunday-talking-heads-sunday-may-20-2012/
ABC’s This Week: Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Roundtable: George Will, Donna Brazile, Matthew Dowd, Laura Ingraham, Gavin Newsom.

CBS’ Face the Nation: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). Then Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with Tom Friedman. Followed by CBS News Correspondent Clarissa Ward. Also Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson.

CNN’s State of the Union: Obama Campaign Senior Adviser David Axelrod and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). Then Jeff Zeleny and Dana Bash. Finally NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen from Chicago.

NBC’s Meet the Press: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Roundtable: Mayor of Newark, NJ, Cory Booker (D), Republican strategist Mike Murphy, CNBC’s Jim Cramer, and the Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel.

Bonus item: How could we tell, really?

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/05/19/lawmakers_seek_to_lift_propaganda_ban.html
An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed reports. . . .

***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.***

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/18/1092849/-Mitt-Romney-praises-Meg-Whitman-as-she-prepares-to-lay-off-30-000-workers
Meg Whitman never said she liked to fire people, but on the same day that news of her plans to lay off 30,000 Hewlett-Packard employees leaked to the press, Mitt Romney felt inspired to lavish praise on her managerial skills . . .

I’ve been saying this is going to be the nastiest campaign in memory. And if this “positive” ad by Romney is any indication, we’re going to have to put up with some infuriating hypocrisy too

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/18/1092806/-Mitt-Romney-positions-his-first-attack-ad-as-a-positive-commercial

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/mitt-romneys-general-election-ad_n_1527460.html

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11758220-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xviii

Romney says he only wants to talk about the economy: don’t believe it

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/the_big_dog_whistle037436.php

http://prospect.org/article/why-does-romney-get-pass

Romney poses in front of an historic nineteenth century bridge, calling the $288,000 to preserve it a waste of government money. His people should do a better job with their homework

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11757706-undermining-the-competence-theme

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/18/1092739/-Mitt-Romney-heads-to-New-Hampshire-to-blast-historic-bridge-renovation-project-funded-by-stimulus

The House GOP officially breaks their promise on last year’s debt deal, just before threatening another government shutdown to force another deal this fall

http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/05/18/house-passes-bloated-defense-authorization-bill-despite-veto-threat/
The House has passed this year’s defense authorization bill which departs from last year’s debt limit deal by adding $8 billion above spending targets set for the military, and by replacing the defense side of the automatic “trigger” cuts with cuts from elsewhere in the budget. . . .

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/empire-myopia.html

I love it when anti-government right wingers are the first to rush to the public trough when they need money (baseball edition)

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/curt_schilling_red_sox_rhode_island_38_studios.php
‘Small-Government’ Schilling’s Biz Goes Bad, Asks Rhode Island For More Taxpayer Cash

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/05/joe-ricketts-man-behind-new-super-pac-loves-corporate-welfare
Joe Ricketts, Government Handout Hypocrite

But now: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/rahm-freezes-out-cub-owners-over-prop
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not returning calls from the Ricketts family and is “livid” over a New York Times report that Joe Ricketts commissioned a proposal for a multimillion-dollar ad campaign linking President Obama to the president’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright . . . Joe Ricketts’s children, which include Obama bundler Laura Ricketts, bought the Chicago Cubs in 2009 and have been in talks with the city about renovating the team’s 98-year-old stadium, Wrigley Field.

That appears to be on hold now. . . .

The kind of people they are

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/arizona_ken_bennett_obama_birth_certificate_birther.php
Arizona Secretary Of State Says It’s ‘Possible’ Obama Won’t Be On Ballot

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/karoli/sean-duffy-tells-fox-talkers-obama-elected-
Sean Duffy, teabagger and idiot. This is the same guy who whined that he would have trouble supporting his family on a Congressman's $174,000/year salary, is still looking for the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and embarrassed the Wisconsin GOP with his ridiculous calls for cuts to everything but Congressmen's pay.

In his inimitable whining, nasty, mean-spirited (and dare I suggest racist) fashion, he dishes with the Fox & Friends crew, telling them that voters are so stupid that they elected Barack Obama in 2008 because he can dance and sing . . .

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/chris-wallace-mccain-was-crazy-not-attack-ob
Chris Wallace: 'McCain Was Crazy' Not to Attack Obama with Rev. Wright

Bonus item: Perfect

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/05/dept_of_things_you_cant_make_up.php
If you’re trying to access the “GOP Solutions” tab on House Speaker John Boehner’s website, you won’t find any policy initiatives or grand ideas. But you will get a poetic take on why Congress has a hard time getting anything done:

ERROR 404
Page Not Found

***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.***