SUDDEN REVERSALS
Here’s how un-American Liz Cheney’s attack on lawyers who defend terror suspects is: even Ken Starr and other conservative lawyers reject that kind of McCarthyism
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Conservative_lawyers_criticize_Cheney_group.html
“The past several days have seen a shameful series of attacks on attorneys in
the Department of Justice who, in previous legal practice, either
represented Guantanamo detainees or advocated for changes to detention
policy. As attorneys, former officials, and policy specialists who have
worked on detention issues, we consider these attacks both unjust to the
individuals in question and destructive of any attempt to build lasting
mechanisms for counterterrorism adjudications.
The American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at
least as old as John Adams' representation of the British soldiers charged
in the Boston massacre. . . .” [read on]
More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#35771591
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022748.php
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/08/condemnation/index.html
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/03/08/washington_post/index.html
Liz Cheney, dutiful daughter – and why the media fawns over her
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/03/08/rehabilitating_cheney/index.html
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/8/844190/-The-village-people-and-their-cupcakes
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/08/a-blowjob-for-liz-babydick-cheney/
Lindsey Graham says that if Obama will just give up on civilian trials for terror suspects, he will try really, really hard to get his GOP colleagues to stop demagoguing on Gitmo. Gee, why doesn’t this inspire me with confidence?
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/friends-by-digby-spencer-ackerman.html
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/gop-says-no-to-ksmgitmo-deal.php
Looking into Bart Stupak’s C Street connections
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/who-really-paid-bart-stupaks-rent
Who Really Paid Bart Stupak's Rent?
More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/dirty-dozen-does-stupak-really-have-the-votes-needed-to-sink-health-care.php
Does Stupak Really Have The Votes Needed To Sink Health Care?
Much of the health care reform package doesn’t fully kick in for years – but some benefits will be immediate, giving the Dems something to run on in the fall. But they better get it passed soon
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/obama-to-dems-reform-will-kick-in-this-year-this-year-this-year/
The GOP is apparently rethinking their strategy of running on the repeal of health care in the fall
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022756.php
Definitely a winning formula
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/goper-campaigns-on-fulfilling-bushs-vision-on-social-security.php
GOPer Campaigns On 'Fulfilling Bush's Vision' On Social Security
Michael Steele rejects the “run on fear” strategy of the leaked RNC memo, and then cuts this ad
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/steele-featured-heavily-in-new-rnc-tv-ad.php
"Today, our freedom is threatened," Steele says over footage of the Statue of Liberty. "President Obama and Nancy Pelosi are experimenting with America. Massive government expansion. Government takeovers. Redistribution of wealth."
[NB: Which is, of course, STRAIGHT out of the RNC strategy memo.]
More: http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/democratic-national-committee/dems-look-to-expand-offensive-on-rnc-fear-gate/
Dems Look To Expand Offensive On RNC “Fear” Gate
Politico wonders why teabagger candidates don’t do well at the polls, ignoring the most obvious answer
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/8/844178/-Another-Possible-Explanation
[BarbinMD] ... but the most obvious explanation isn't explored. That the teabagger "movement" is nothing but a collection of right-wing extremists who were initially given a platform by Fox News and that the rest of the sheep-like traditional media ran with.
The traditional media was happy to ignore the hundreds of thousands who protested against the Iraq War or for immigration reform, but a few thousand lunatics, that the Republican Party gleefully leeched onto, screamed at town hall meetings and suddenly, a movement was born? Pfft.
What to think the next time you see a Rasmussen poll
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/8/843995/-Rasmussen-vs.-Everybody-Else
Eric Massa (D-NY) manages to get himself screwed up in an ethics scandal AND a sex scandal. Now he says the Democratic leadership is out to get him over his opposition to health care. The next stage is sadly predictable
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/8/844052/-Eric-Massa-going-out-with-a-bang-%28or-not%29
http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/08/massa-says-he-was-railroaded-out-over-health-care-vote-blames-rahm/
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/massa-will-appear-on-glenn-beck-tuesday/37192/
Massa Will Appear on Glenn Beck Tuesday
I think she doesn’t understand the meaning of the term “ironic.” Try “hypocrisy”
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/08/palin_went_to_canada_for_health_care.html
Palin Went to Canada for Health Care
Said Palin: "Believe it or not -- this was in the '60s -- we used to hustle on over the border for health care... isn't that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada."
Bonus item: No, not from The Onion
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/palin-on-her-palm-notes-god-did-it-too.php
When Sarah Palin wrote a few notes on her hand during her speech to a tea party convention last month, she was ridiculed . . .
A fan, she said, had sent her a biblical passage. Isaiah 49:16 reads: "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."
"Hey, if it was good enough for God, scribbling on the palm of his hand, it's good enough for me. . .”
***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.***
Monday, March 08, 2010
TORTURED LOGIC
Clarence Thomas reveals the twisted reasoning we can expect to see if torture issues ever make it to the Supreme Court
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/07/clarence-thomas-revenge/
[LAT] Thomas objected when the high court, in a little-noted recent opinion, said this unprovoked and malicious assault by a North Carolina prison guard amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. . .
According to Thomas, this harsh treatment did not qualify as cruel and unusual punishment. “Judges — not jailers — impose punishment,” he wrote.
[Thomas and Scalia] explained that the word “punishment” as it was used in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 referred to judges imposing punishment for a crime. Prison guards do not impose “punishment” even if they mete out cruelty, they said. [read on]
Too bad our national reporters don’t know (or care) enough about reconciliation to call out the Republicans when they lie about it
http://www.samefacts.com/2010/03/uncategorized/why-do-politicians-tell-stupid-lies/
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/lindsay-graham-lies-about.html
Well, one does: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ej-dionne-knocks-down-orrin-hatchs-talking
Their twisted minds
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/byron-york-compares-democrats-voting-healt
Byron York Compares Democrats Voting for Health Care Bill to Tiger Woods Cheating on His Wife
Don’t tell me that conservative opposition to Obama isn’t tinged with racism
http://firedoglake.com/2010/03/07/doesnt-it-seem-like-every-week-some-republican-asshole-gets-caught-sending-a-racist-email/
Damage control on the RNC fear-strategy document
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/mcconnell-rnc-fear-presentation-i-dont-it
"That sort of thing is certainly not helpful. I can't imagine why anybody thought that would be helpful," Sen. Mitch McConnell told ABC's Matt Dowd Sunday.
"I don't like it. I don't know anybody that does," he said.
When asked if someone should be fired for the presentation the Senate Minority Leader tried to distance himself from the RNC. "Look, I don't run the RNC. That's up to them," he said.
Bonus item: I love these projects that compare original footage with the politically edited version
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/snip-snippy.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.***
Clarence Thomas reveals the twisted reasoning we can expect to see if torture issues ever make it to the Supreme Court
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/07/clarence-thomas-revenge/
[LAT] Thomas objected when the high court, in a little-noted recent opinion, said this unprovoked and malicious assault by a North Carolina prison guard amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. . .
According to Thomas, this harsh treatment did not qualify as cruel and unusual punishment. “Judges — not jailers — impose punishment,” he wrote.
[Thomas and Scalia] explained that the word “punishment” as it was used in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 referred to judges imposing punishment for a crime. Prison guards do not impose “punishment” even if they mete out cruelty, they said. [read on]
Too bad our national reporters don’t know (or care) enough about reconciliation to call out the Republicans when they lie about it
http://www.samefacts.com/2010/03/uncategorized/why-do-politicians-tell-stupid-lies/
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/lindsay-graham-lies-about.html
Well, one does: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ej-dionne-knocks-down-orrin-hatchs-talking
Their twisted minds
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/byron-york-compares-democrats-voting-healt
Byron York Compares Democrats Voting for Health Care Bill to Tiger Woods Cheating on His Wife
Don’t tell me that conservative opposition to Obama isn’t tinged with racism
http://firedoglake.com/2010/03/07/doesnt-it-seem-like-every-week-some-republican-asshole-gets-caught-sending-a-racist-email/
Damage control on the RNC fear-strategy document
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/mcconnell-rnc-fear-presentation-i-dont-it
"That sort of thing is certainly not helpful. I can't imagine why anybody thought that would be helpful," Sen. Mitch McConnell told ABC's Matt Dowd Sunday.
"I don't like it. I don't know anybody that does," he said.
When asked if someone should be fired for the presentation the Senate Minority Leader tried to distance himself from the RNC. "Look, I don't run the RNC. That's up to them," he said.
Bonus item: I love these projects that compare original footage with the politically edited version
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/snip-snippy.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.***
Sunday, March 07, 2010
ABORTION
Why Bart Stupak is simply wrong about abortion funding in the health care bills
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022737.php
[Steve Benen] Whether he knows he's wrong, and he's just hoping to kill health care reform, is unclear. But the accuracy of Stupak's claims aren't in dispute: the facts aren't on his side. . . . [read on]
The Catholic Church wants to intervene
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/06/catholic-bishops-want-to-change-senate-rules-to-restrict-choice-in-health-care/
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/slick-play.html
Looks like Obama has the Senate votes to pass a reconciliation fix, if the House will pass the Senate bill first
http://openleft.com/diary/17708/mark-begich-open-to-reconciliation-for-health-reformthat-makes-50
Uh, yes?
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/05/dnc_ad/index.html
DNC on RNC: "Is fear all they have left?"
More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/6/843613/-Ashamed-big-GOP-donor-closes-checkbook
[Politico] A prominent Evangelical figure and Republican donor says he will end his contributions to the organized Republican Party in reaction to the leaked fundraising presentation that advised using "fear" to solicit contributions and displayed an image of President Obama as the Joker from Batman. . . . [read on]
How did this man become the leading DC correspondent for a major network? David Gregory says Obama on health care is just like Bush on Iraq
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/david-gregory-bush-was-courageous-too-iraq
Alice develops a serious case of amnesia
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022734.php
It takes the mainstream press almost two years to discover something that dirty hippie bloggers had pointed out long ago
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/6/843365/-Politico:-Like-Getting-the-News-20-Months-Late
Sunday talk show line-ups
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/the-sunday-show-line-ups-39.php
• ABC, This Week: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
• CBS, Face The Nation: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
• CNN, State Of The Union: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA).
• NBC, Meet The Press: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), former Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN).
Tom DeLay???!!!??? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022732.php
Bonus item: And it’s working. . .
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/governing-american-gop-style
***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.***
Why Bart Stupak is simply wrong about abortion funding in the health care bills
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022737.php
[Steve Benen] Whether he knows he's wrong, and he's just hoping to kill health care reform, is unclear. But the accuracy of Stupak's claims aren't in dispute: the facts aren't on his side. . . . [read on]
The Catholic Church wants to intervene
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/06/catholic-bishops-want-to-change-senate-rules-to-restrict-choice-in-health-care/
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/slick-play.html
Looks like Obama has the Senate votes to pass a reconciliation fix, if the House will pass the Senate bill first
http://openleft.com/diary/17708/mark-begich-open-to-reconciliation-for-health-reformthat-makes-50
Uh, yes?http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/05/dnc_ad/index.html
DNC on RNC: "Is fear all they have left?"
More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/6/843613/-Ashamed-big-GOP-donor-closes-checkbook
[Politico] A prominent Evangelical figure and Republican donor says he will end his contributions to the organized Republican Party in reaction to the leaked fundraising presentation that advised using "fear" to solicit contributions and displayed an image of President Obama as the Joker from Batman. . . . [read on]
How did this man become the leading DC correspondent for a major network? David Gregory says Obama on health care is just like Bush on Iraq
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/david-gregory-bush-was-courageous-too-iraq
Alice develops a serious case of amnesia
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022734.php
It takes the mainstream press almost two years to discover something that dirty hippie bloggers had pointed out long ago
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/6/843365/-Politico:-Like-Getting-the-News-20-Months-Late
Sunday talk show line-upshttp://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/the-sunday-show-line-ups-39.php
• ABC, This Week: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
• CBS, Face The Nation: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
• CNN, State Of The Union: Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA).
• NBC, Meet The Press: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), former Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN).
Tom DeLay???!!!??? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022732.php
Bonus item: And it’s working. . .http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/governing-american-gop-style
***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.***
Saturday, March 06, 2010
COUNTERFACTUAL HYPOTHESES
If he were a Muslim . . .
http://crooksandliars.com/node/35411
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030504438.html
Experts: Pentagon shooter, others strike symbols of 'power for the powerless'
Will Obama disappoint civil libertarians again?
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/05/obama/index.html
The WP: Obama close to reversing Holder on civilian trials
http://washingtonindependent.com/78470/will-obama-really-give-up-on-ksm-trial-without-a-fight
[Spencer Ackerman] If he goes back to the military commissions for KSM and the other 9/11 conspirators — military charges against them were dropped in late January — Obama won’t just be abandoning the civilian courts. He’ll be abandoning a winnable political battle on a matter of principle. . . .
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022718.php
TRADING TRIBUNALS FOR GITMO CLOSURE?
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/terrorism/happy-hour-roundup-174/
[Greg Sargent] If press reports are to be believed, the White House is hoping that if it decides to try the 9/11 plotters in a military tribunal, it will secure some GOP support for closing Guantanamo and bringing some terror suspects onto U.S. soil.
But leading Republicans have a two word answer: No deal. . . . [read on]
More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/05/advisers-to-recommend-trying-ksm-in-military-commissions/
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/obama-prepping-ksm-cave-in.php
Consider the source? http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/05/rahms-mouthpiece-white-house-to-cave-on-ksm-trial/
Will Bart Stupak (D-MI) really bring down the health care bill, and arguably the Obama Presidency, over his abortion demands?
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/they-have-no-shame-do-they-bart-stupa
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-he-babbling-about.html
Is there a deal to be made? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022713.php
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/say-hello-to-thirdbill-hoyer-suggests-standalone-vote-for-stupak-abortion-amendment/
The latest GOP strategy for delaying and obstructing a health care vote
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/gop-strategy-bleed-reconciliation-fix-to-death-with-byrd-rule/
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/5/843305/-Another-good-reason-for-the-Senate-to-go-first:-GOP-Senators
[NB: See, “reconciliation” is an obscure procedural trick. Misusing the Byrd Rule isn’t, because it’s Republicans doing it]
The press’s shameful performance in covering the “reconciliation” debate
http://mediamatters.org/columns/201003030032
[Jamison Foser] For weeks, the news media have been obsessed with the question of whether congressional Democrats would use a legislative mechanism known as "reconciliation" to pass changes to the health care reform legislation that passed the Senate in late December.
Unfortunately, that obsession has not actually resulted in reporters consistently getting the story right. Basic facts that should be central to the debate over the propriety of reconciliation have gotten lost in the mix. First, nobody is talking about passing the entire health care reform package via reconciliation -- the Senate has already passed its bill, and did so by overcoming a filibuster. Reconciliation would, instead, be used to pass a much smaller package of changes to that legislation via majority vote. Second, there is nothing hasty or debate-stifling about using reconciliation in this case: Congress has been considering health care reform for more than a year. Finally, reconciliation isn't all that unusual, having been used in connection with some of the highest-profile legislation in recent decades, including President Bush's tax cuts and the welfare reform bill President Clinton signed. Those are facts, and they are not in dispute.
And yet the media are referring to reconciliation as the "nuclear option" and portraying it as an obscure procedural gimmick being considered in an attempt to circumvent Senate rules and "ram" health care legislation through Congress. The conservative media are going so far as to claim that use of reconciliation would be "unprecedented."
Funny, I don't remember this level of media outrage in 2003, when Republicans passed President Bush's tax cut legislation via reconciliation. . . . [read on]
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/that-controversial-reconciliation-process.php
[Matt Yglesias] This is a reminder, first and foremost, that the nation’s prestige political journalists aren’t very good at their jobs. . . . [read on]
Even conservatives are disgusted by the Cheneys’ latest DOJ smear
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022722.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/conservatives-turn-agains_n_487410.html
CNN should be ashamed of enabling the smear – and they are
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/blitzer-apologizes-any-confusion-caused-de
Nobody flails like John McCain flails. The recent Presidential nominee of his party is in the fight of his life to retain his Senate seat against a teabagging moron. Is he a rock-ribbed conservative? An independent-thinking maverick? A bipartisan consensus-builder? I don’t think even he knows any more. Now the man who stood astride the nation a few months ago needs the endorsement of a newly-elected Senator from a liberal east-coast state. How the mighty have fallen
http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=126846&catid=81
More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022720.php
MCCAIN SLIPS A LITTLE FURTHER FROM SERIOUSNESS
Hurts, donut?
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/hayworth-fundraising-ad-depicts-conservative-actor-mccain-in-avatar-like-warpaint.php
Sen. John McCain's campaign (R-AZ) is strongly objecting to a new online fundraising ad from his opponent in the Republican primary, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, depicting McCain's face in blue warpaint.
The online fundraising ad offers up McCain as a potential Oscar winner, as "nominee for best conservative actor." The Arizona Republic speculated that the ad may have been a reference to the movie Avatar. The Hayworth campaign has put up a revised version that changes McCain's skin color to a dark blue, in addition to the lighter blue warpaint, making an Avatar connection more obvious. . . .
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), a McCain ally, told the Republic: "Ads like this have no place in the Republican primary, and J.D. Hayworth should immediately take it down and apologize." . . .
[NB: Yes, ads like this only have a place in campaigns against Democrats. Then they're hilarious.]
Mitt Romney’s view of government-imposed morality
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/05/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
"Single men might not attempt so many sexual conquests if they knew that the government would require them to pay support for any child that their exploits brought into the world."
-- Mitt Romney, in his new book No Apologies
Karl Rove: How Bush almost lost to Gore
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/05/rove_says_dui_revelations_nearly_sunk_bush.html
[NB: Almost?]
Perfect: fake candidate, fake jokes, fake laughs
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/did-nbc-give-sarah-palins-stand-debut
Bonus item: Stephen Colbert pimps Fox News
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/05/colbert_hannity/index.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.***
If he were a Muslim . . .
http://crooksandliars.com/node/35411
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/05/AR2010030504438.html
Experts: Pentagon shooter, others strike symbols of 'power for the powerless'
Will Obama disappoint civil libertarians again?
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/05/obama/index.html
The WP: Obama close to reversing Holder on civilian trials
http://washingtonindependent.com/78470/will-obama-really-give-up-on-ksm-trial-without-a-fight
[Spencer Ackerman] If he goes back to the military commissions for KSM and the other 9/11 conspirators — military charges against them were dropped in late January — Obama won’t just be abandoning the civilian courts. He’ll be abandoning a winnable political battle on a matter of principle. . . .
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022718.php
TRADING TRIBUNALS FOR GITMO CLOSURE?
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/terrorism/happy-hour-roundup-174/
[Greg Sargent] If press reports are to be believed, the White House is hoping that if it decides to try the 9/11 plotters in a military tribunal, it will secure some GOP support for closing Guantanamo and bringing some terror suspects onto U.S. soil.
But leading Republicans have a two word answer: No deal. . . . [read on]
More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/05/advisers-to-recommend-trying-ksm-in-military-commissions/
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/obama-prepping-ksm-cave-in.php
Consider the source? http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/05/rahms-mouthpiece-white-house-to-cave-on-ksm-trial/
Will Bart Stupak (D-MI) really bring down the health care bill, and arguably the Obama Presidency, over his abortion demands?
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/they-have-no-shame-do-they-bart-stupa
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/whats-he-babbling-about.html
Is there a deal to be made? http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022713.php
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/say-hello-to-thirdbill-hoyer-suggests-standalone-vote-for-stupak-abortion-amendment/
The latest GOP strategy for delaying and obstructing a health care vote
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/gop-strategy-bleed-reconciliation-fix-to-death-with-byrd-rule/
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/5/843305/-Another-good-reason-for-the-Senate-to-go-first:-GOP-Senators
[NB: See, “reconciliation” is an obscure procedural trick. Misusing the Byrd Rule isn’t, because it’s Republicans doing it]
The press’s shameful performance in covering the “reconciliation” debate
http://mediamatters.org/columns/201003030032
[Jamison Foser] For weeks, the news media have been obsessed with the question of whether congressional Democrats would use a legislative mechanism known as "reconciliation" to pass changes to the health care reform legislation that passed the Senate in late December.
Unfortunately, that obsession has not actually resulted in reporters consistently getting the story right. Basic facts that should be central to the debate over the propriety of reconciliation have gotten lost in the mix. First, nobody is talking about passing the entire health care reform package via reconciliation -- the Senate has already passed its bill, and did so by overcoming a filibuster. Reconciliation would, instead, be used to pass a much smaller package of changes to that legislation via majority vote. Second, there is nothing hasty or debate-stifling about using reconciliation in this case: Congress has been considering health care reform for more than a year. Finally, reconciliation isn't all that unusual, having been used in connection with some of the highest-profile legislation in recent decades, including President Bush's tax cuts and the welfare reform bill President Clinton signed. Those are facts, and they are not in dispute.
And yet the media are referring to reconciliation as the "nuclear option" and portraying it as an obscure procedural gimmick being considered in an attempt to circumvent Senate rules and "ram" health care legislation through Congress. The conservative media are going so far as to claim that use of reconciliation would be "unprecedented."
Funny, I don't remember this level of media outrage in 2003, when Republicans passed President Bush's tax cut legislation via reconciliation. . . . [read on]
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/that-controversial-reconciliation-process.php
[Matt Yglesias] This is a reminder, first and foremost, that the nation’s prestige political journalists aren’t very good at their jobs. . . . [read on]
Even conservatives are disgusted by the Cheneys’ latest DOJ smear
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022722.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/conservatives-turn-agains_n_487410.html
CNN should be ashamed of enabling the smear – and they are
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/blitzer-apologizes-any-confusion-caused-de
Nobody flails like John McCain flails. The recent Presidential nominee of his party is in the fight of his life to retain his Senate seat against a teabagging moron. Is he a rock-ribbed conservative? An independent-thinking maverick? A bipartisan consensus-builder? I don’t think even he knows any more. Now the man who stood astride the nation a few months ago needs the endorsement of a newly-elected Senator from a liberal east-coast state. How the mighty have fallen
http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=126846&catid=81
More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022720.php
MCCAIN SLIPS A LITTLE FURTHER FROM SERIOUSNESS
Hurts, donut?http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/hayworth-fundraising-ad-depicts-conservative-actor-mccain-in-avatar-like-warpaint.php
Sen. John McCain's campaign (R-AZ) is strongly objecting to a new online fundraising ad from his opponent in the Republican primary, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, depicting McCain's face in blue warpaint.
The online fundraising ad offers up McCain as a potential Oscar winner, as "nominee for best conservative actor." The Arizona Republic speculated that the ad may have been a reference to the movie Avatar. The Hayworth campaign has put up a revised version that changes McCain's skin color to a dark blue, in addition to the lighter blue warpaint, making an Avatar connection more obvious. . . .
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), a McCain ally, told the Republic: "Ads like this have no place in the Republican primary, and J.D. Hayworth should immediately take it down and apologize." . . .
[NB: Yes, ads like this only have a place in campaigns against Democrats. Then they're hilarious.]
Mitt Romney’s view of government-imposed morality
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/05/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
"Single men might not attempt so many sexual conquests if they knew that the government would require them to pay support for any child that their exploits brought into the world."
-- Mitt Romney, in his new book No Apologies
Karl Rove: How Bush almost lost to Gore
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/05/rove_says_dui_revelations_nearly_sunk_bush.html
[NB: Almost?]
Perfect: fake candidate, fake jokes, fake laughs
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/did-nbc-give-sarah-palins-stand-debut
Bonus item: Stephen Colbert pimps Fox News
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/05/colbert_hannity/index.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.***
Friday, March 05, 2010
VIDEO FRIDAY
The release of that RNC strategy document is going to really mess up their plans for the fall campaign. They’ve revealed the deep contempt they have for their supporters and donors, and now the secret is out: they plan to run on NO positive alternative, but only on fear and hatred toward Obama, “socialism,” etc. Another huge embarrassment for Michael Steele who, as usual, only makes things worse by talking about it
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/steele-on-rnc-fundraising-presentation-the-words-on-paper-dont-sound-appealing.php
More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#35717457
By the way, another nasty little secret leaked out from the RNC presentation, and now they are scrambling to deny it
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/RNC_donors_to_gather_at_Blackwater_compound.html
RNC donors to gather at Blackwater compound
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/blackwater_there_will_be_no_gop_fundraiser_at_moyo.php
Blackwater: There Will Be No GOP Fundraiser At Moyock Compound
[NB: Well, not NOW]
Once the Cheney’s start pointing fingers at lawyers who defended terror suspects, the circle of “traitors” just grows and grows
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/tearing-off-pieces.html
http://washingtonindependent.com/78424/gop-senators-smearing-doj-lawyers-for-defending-gtmo-detainees-voted-for-gtmo-detainee-defense
http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/that-sweet-spot-between-mccarthyism-and-hypocrisy/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/05/kristol/index.html
Uh-huh: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/cheney_ad_that_calls_dojers_terrorist_sympathizers.php
Cheney: Ad That Calls DOJers Terrorist Sympathizers Does Not Question Their Loyalty
Rachel has fun with it: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#35718576
CNN has done everything it can to push back against the challenge of Fox News to its viewership, shifting its coverage and commentary steadily toward the right – but this is really a low point
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x207842
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/04/blitzer/index.html
More on the Louisiana “citizen’s militia.” Creepy
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/call_out_the_militia.php
Uh, yeah
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/a_friggin_crock.php
[Josh Marshall] On "reconciliation" the Republicans are being such a gang of hypocritical liars it's shocking even for them. It really is. The Health Care Bill isn't being passed through reconciliation; it's being used to pass a few amendments to the bill that's already passed. The Republicans have used it numerous times and themselves and for bill's that were far bigger in budgetary terms than this bill. The whole thing is just an immense crock. And it's borderline scandalous that any of their nonsense is even being taken serious. E.J. Dionne has a great column explaining the whole thing. Do read it.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022706.php
IT'S ONLY A 'CONTROVERSY' WHEN DEMS DO IT
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030303097.html
Grayson vs Bachmann, full of fun
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/bachmann-and-grayson-debate-health-care-corruption-and-weapons-of-mass-distraction.php
Bonus item: Brilliant. Let’s use “American Idol” as the template for future presidential elections. Quick – text in your vote now!
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/alaskan-idol.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 release of that RNC strategy document is going to really mess up their plans for the fall campaign. They’ve revealed the deep contempt they have for their supporters and donors, and now the secret is out: they plan to run on NO positive alternative, but only on fear and hatred toward Obama, “socialism,” etc. Another huge embarrassment for Michael Steele who, as usual, only makes things worse by talking about it
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/steele-on-rnc-fundraising-presentation-the-words-on-paper-dont-sound-appealing.php
More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#35717457
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By the way, another nasty little secret leaked out from the RNC presentation, and now they are scrambling to deny it
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/RNC_donors_to_gather_at_Blackwater_compound.html
RNC donors to gather at Blackwater compound
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/blackwater_there_will_be_no_gop_fundraiser_at_moyo.php
Blackwater: There Will Be No GOP Fundraiser At Moyock Compound
[NB: Well, not NOW]
Once the Cheney’s start pointing fingers at lawyers who defended terror suspects, the circle of “traitors” just grows and grows
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/tearing-off-pieces.html
http://washingtonindependent.com/78424/gop-senators-smearing-doj-lawyers-for-defending-gtmo-detainees-voted-for-gtmo-detainee-defense
http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/that-sweet-spot-between-mccarthyism-and-hypocrisy/
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/05/kristol/index.html
Uh-huh: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/cheney_ad_that_calls_dojers_terrorist_sympathizers.php
Cheney: Ad That Calls DOJers Terrorist Sympathizers Does Not Question Their Loyalty
Rachel has fun with it: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#35718576
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
CNN has done everything it can to push back against the challenge of Fox News to its viewership, shifting its coverage and commentary steadily toward the right – but this is really a low point
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x207842
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2010/03/04/blitzer/index.html
More on the Louisiana “citizen’s militia.” Creepy
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/call_out_the_militia.php
Uh, yeah
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/a_friggin_crock.php
[Josh Marshall] On "reconciliation" the Republicans are being such a gang of hypocritical liars it's shocking even for them. It really is. The Health Care Bill isn't being passed through reconciliation; it's being used to pass a few amendments to the bill that's already passed. The Republicans have used it numerous times and themselves and for bill's that were far bigger in budgetary terms than this bill. The whole thing is just an immense crock. And it's borderline scandalous that any of their nonsense is even being taken serious. E.J. Dionne has a great column explaining the whole thing. Do read it.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022706.php
IT'S ONLY A 'CONTROVERSY' WHEN DEMS DO IT
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030303097.html
Grayson vs Bachmann, full of fun
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/bachmann-and-grayson-debate-health-care-corruption-and-weapons-of-mass-distraction.php
Bonus item: Brilliant. Let’s use “American Idol” as the template for future presidential elections. Quick – text in your vote now!
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/alaskan-idol.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.***
Thursday, March 04, 2010
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
The GOP’s new fundraising strategy document tells you everything you need to know about the state of politics today
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html
The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism." . . . [read on!]
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/03/rnc_fundraising/index.html
Leaked document gives look into way RNC thinks of its donors; what's revealed isn't pretty
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/pay-no-attention-powerpoint-behind-curtain
[Kevin Drum] You know, when liberals claim that conservatives are rabid reactionaries motivated by fear, hatred, and greed, they say we're a bunch of coastal elitists who are out of touch with the feelings of real Americans living in the heartland. But guess what? In the privacy of their own fundraising PowerPoint presentations, it turns out that Republican Party honchos describe their base pretty much the same way . . . [read on]
The teabaggerization of the party is almost complete
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-what-why.html
Obama gets aggressive on health care reform
http://washingtonindependent.com/78233/obama-goes-all-in-for-health-reform-passage
[Mike Lillis] If anyone doubted the willingness of the White House to stick its neck out for health care reform this year, President Obama likely put those questions to rest this afternoon. Speaking at the White House to promote his newly tweaked reform proposal, the president rejected the Republicans’ “tinker around the edges” approach, instead calling on lawmakers to hold a vote on comprehensive reform “in the next few weeks.” . . . [read on]
http://www.samefacts.com/2010/03/democrats-in-congress/president-discovers-opponents-are-republicans/
[Steve Benen] His [Barack Obama's] tone was defiant and unflinching. He used the word “Republican” 10 times, usually in a negative and critical context. It’s as if the president was actually sincere about his bipartisan outreach, and felt personally insulted by the Republicans’ games. . . [read on]
More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/president-obama-health-care-journey-coming-to-close.php
Full text: http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/text-of-obamas-health-care-reform.html
Fast track?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/two_weeks_for_health_care.html
Two Weeks for Health Care
More: http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/Harkin_Reconciliation_is_a_go.html
Another Republican hypocrite on reconciliation
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/make_this_man_commerce_secretary.php
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022684.php
Ugh
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/exclusive-gop-to-unleash-huge-wave-of-robocalls-warning-of-dem-plot-to-ram-health-reform-through/
GOP To Unleash Huge Wave Of Robocalls Warning Of Dem Plot To “Ram” Health Reform Through
The GOP will run on repealing health care in the fall. Two little problems – they aren’t actually promising to do it, and they CAN’T do it over an inevitable Dem filibuster (or do they think this is their ticket toward their own 60-vote majority?)
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/mcconnell-says-gop-will-campaign-to-repeal-health-carebut-wont-say-theyll-actually-do-it.php
Hypocrisy on the deficit too
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022679.php
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently conceded when Republicans controlled the levers of power, "it was standard practice not to pay for things." . . . [read on]
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/78288/gops-deficit-crusade-faces-opposition-from-fiscal-hawks
There isn’t any question about Republican obstructionism, but the mainstream press still has a hard time telling the story straight
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/senate-republican-even-obstructing-ju
Senate Republicans Even Obstructing Judicial Nominees They Helped Pick
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/and-now-paliamentarian
In a display of chutzpah extreme even by modern conservative standards, Sam Stein reports that Republicans have begun a campaign to "cast doubt" on the impartiality of Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin. Why is this so brazen? Because they're the ones who hired him in the first place . . . [read on]
The Cheneys’ new McCarthyism
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/radio/2010/03/03/hafetz/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] As I noted yesterday, the group run by Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol released what is certainly one of the more repugnant political ads of the last decade, if not the most repugnant. It's the type of McCarthyite act which would, if we had any minimal standards in our political culture, result in the shunning of Cheney and Kristol by all decent people (instead, it will likely land the Vice President's daughter on multiple Sunday talk shows where she can pose as an expert on national security). The ad brands Eric Holder's DOJ the "Department of Jihad" because it employs 9 lawyers who previously represented Guantanamo detainees (including Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who successfully represented the Guantanamo-plaintiffs in the 2006 Hamdan case before the U.S. Supreme Court). The ad darkly asks of these lawyers: "whose values do they share?" . . . [read on]
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/rudy_giulianis_firm_represents_gitmo_detainees.php
Will Liz Cheney Attack Rudy Giuliani's Firm For Representing 'Terrorist Detainees'?
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/78167/the-gitmo-nine-the-al-qaeda-seven-and-pure-mccarthyism
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/3/842586/-Cheney-Group-Attacks-Obamas-DOJ,-Wheres-the-Dem-Pushback
The DOJ responds: http://washingtonindependent.com/78254/justice-department-smacks-cheneyites-over-al-qaeda-smear-campaign
The Supreme Court is about to strike down state and local gun laws. But if they’re consistent, this will mean setting a historic new precedent that ALL of the Bill of Rights applies to the states
http://thirdbranch.crooksandliars.com/john-amato/supreme-court-ready-lift-more-gun-law-b
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/3/842227/-SCOTUS-Hears-Argument-On-Major-Second-Amendment-Case
Are Rahm Emanuel and his supporters throwing Obama under the bus?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030301776.html
[David Broder] In the space of 10 days, thanks in no small part to my own newspaper, the president of the United States has been portrayed as a weakling and a chronic screw-up who is wrecking his administration despite everything that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, can do to make things right. . . . [read on]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/02/rahm-emanuel-saboteur-of_n_482638.html
[Dan Froomkin] [T]his hypercompetitive bantam rooster is attempting to blame others for what went wrong. That's evidently so important to him that he's trying to take a victory lap around the wreckage of what was once such a promising presidency. . . . [read on]
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/manly-characteristics.html
[TNR] At 50, Emanuel has the lean, taut look of a lifelong swimmer, with broad shoulders and distractingly prominent quadriceps. . . [read on]
http://www.tnr.com/print/article/politics/the-chief
[Noam Scheiber] By virtue of his political successes and his outsized personality--the nickname “Rahmbo” sums it up--he is the object of near-constant mythologizing. On the right, there is a tendency to view him as a kind of Democratic Karl Rove--a brilliant if diabolical operative who excels in the dark art of psychological warfare. When Emanuel ran the House Democrats’ campaign operation in 2006, the Republican leadership had a habit of blaming him for the party’s freakish procession of scandals, such as the timing of the Mark Foley imbroglio and the indictment of Tom DeLay.
Meanwhile, to activists on the left, who have viewed Emanuel as a crypto-conservative since his Clinton-administration efforts to pass NAFTA, there is a persistent belief that he has maneuvered into the role of shadow president. In each passing disappointment--a too-small stimulus, a too-generous bank bailout, a variety of health care compromises--the left finds more evidence of his ascendant worldview. One prominent liberal radio personality refers to Emanuel as “Barack Obama’s Dick Cheney,” while Jane Hamsher, proprietor of the highly trafficked blog Firedoglake, has agitated for his ouster. . . . [read on]
More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/in-the-village-the-idiots-are-turning-on-each-other/
Karl Rove “apologizes” for Bush era Iraq mistakes – the mistake? Not attacking the Dems aggressively enough
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/karl-roves-phony-admission-on-iraq-isnt-a-concession-at-all/
Remember this about Mitt Romney: at his heart, he is nothing but putty
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/mitt-romneys-12-hour-flip-flop.php
How absurdly plastic are Mitt Romey’s political views? He starts in the morning praising Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy on NBC and then a bit more than 12 hours later he’s bashing Obama’s Afghanistan policy on Fox News . . . [watch]
What will Sarah Palin decide to be when she grows up?
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/03/palin-takes-turn-as-late-night-comedian/
Palin takes turn as late-night comic
More: http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/palin-cracks-ultimate-jokes-leno
Still looking to make money off of her celebrity
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/palin_working_on_another_book.html
Sarah Palin is working on new book about the "celebration of American virtues and strengths," the AP reports.
The publisher says she will "include selections from classic and contemporary readings that have inspired her, as well as portraits of some of the extraordinary men and women she admires and who embody her love of country, faith, and family... She will also draw from her personal experience to amplify these timely -- and timeless -- themes."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/palin_shopping_reality_show.html
Multiple sources confirm to Entertainment Weekly that Sarah Palin and reality show producer Mark Burnett "have been making the rounds in Hollywood this week to pitch a TV docudrama about Alaska. One source called it a 'planet-Earth type look' at Palin's home state."
Putting Reagan on the 50 dollar bill?
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/rep-patrick-mchenry-takes-aim-at-americas-most-underrated-president.php
Bonus item: Will they be dressed in brown shirts?
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/feeling_safer_already.php
A Sheriff down in Louisiana has set up his own militia to do battle with terrorists and unspecified other "enemies" during periods of political unrest. It's going to be a pretty wild time. Sheriff Larry Deen plans to arm the volunteers with shotguns, riot shields, batons, and a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on a "war wagon," as part of "Operation Exodus."
More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/operation_exodus_louisiana_sheriff_taps_locals_for.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.***
The GOP’s new fundraising strategy document tells you everything you need to know about the state of politics todayhttp://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html
The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to "save the country from trending toward socialism." . . . [read on!]
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/03/rnc_fundraising/index.html
Leaked document gives look into way RNC thinks of its donors; what's revealed isn't pretty
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/pay-no-attention-powerpoint-behind-curtain
[Kevin Drum] You know, when liberals claim that conservatives are rabid reactionaries motivated by fear, hatred, and greed, they say we're a bunch of coastal elitists who are out of touch with the feelings of real Americans living in the heartland. But guess what? In the privacy of their own fundraising PowerPoint presentations, it turns out that Republican Party honchos describe their base pretty much the same way . . . [read on]
The teabaggerization of the party is almost complete
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-what-why.html
Obama gets aggressive on health care reform
http://washingtonindependent.com/78233/obama-goes-all-in-for-health-reform-passage
[Mike Lillis] If anyone doubted the willingness of the White House to stick its neck out for health care reform this year, President Obama likely put those questions to rest this afternoon. Speaking at the White House to promote his newly tweaked reform proposal, the president rejected the Republicans’ “tinker around the edges” approach, instead calling on lawmakers to hold a vote on comprehensive reform “in the next few weeks.” . . . [read on]
http://www.samefacts.com/2010/03/democrats-in-congress/president-discovers-opponents-are-republicans/
[Steve Benen] His [Barack Obama's] tone was defiant and unflinching. He used the word “Republican” 10 times, usually in a negative and critical context. It’s as if the president was actually sincere about his bipartisan outreach, and felt personally insulted by the Republicans’ games. . . [read on]
More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/president-obama-health-care-journey-coming-to-close.php
Full text: http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/text-of-obamas-health-care-reform.html
Fast track?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/two_weeks_for_health_care.html
Two Weeks for Health Care
More: http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0310/Harkin_Reconciliation_is_a_go.html
Another Republican hypocrite on reconciliation
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/make_this_man_commerce_secretary.php
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022684.php
Ugh
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/exclusive-gop-to-unleash-huge-wave-of-robocalls-warning-of-dem-plot-to-ram-health-reform-through/
GOP To Unleash Huge Wave Of Robocalls Warning Of Dem Plot To “Ram” Health Reform Through
The GOP will run on repealing health care in the fall. Two little problems – they aren’t actually promising to do it, and they CAN’T do it over an inevitable Dem filibuster (or do they think this is their ticket toward their own 60-vote majority?)
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/mcconnell-says-gop-will-campaign-to-repeal-health-carebut-wont-say-theyll-actually-do-it.php
Hypocrisy on the deficit too
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022679.php
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently conceded when Republicans controlled the levers of power, "it was standard practice not to pay for things." . . . [read on]
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/78288/gops-deficit-crusade-faces-opposition-from-fiscal-hawks
There isn’t any question about Republican obstructionism, but the mainstream press still has a hard time telling the story straight
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/senate-republican-even-obstructing-ju
Senate Republicans Even Obstructing Judicial Nominees They Helped Pick
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/and-now-paliamentarian
In a display of chutzpah extreme even by modern conservative standards, Sam Stein reports that Republicans have begun a campaign to "cast doubt" on the impartiality of Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin. Why is this so brazen? Because they're the ones who hired him in the first place . . . [read on]
The Cheneys’ new McCarthyism
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/radio/2010/03/03/hafetz/index.html
[Glenn Greenwald] As I noted yesterday, the group run by Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol released what is certainly one of the more repugnant political ads of the last decade, if not the most repugnant. It's the type of McCarthyite act which would, if we had any minimal standards in our political culture, result in the shunning of Cheney and Kristol by all decent people (instead, it will likely land the Vice President's daughter on multiple Sunday talk shows where she can pose as an expert on national security). The ad brands Eric Holder's DOJ the "Department of Jihad" because it employs 9 lawyers who previously represented Guantanamo detainees (including Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who successfully represented the Guantanamo-plaintiffs in the 2006 Hamdan case before the U.S. Supreme Court). The ad darkly asks of these lawyers: "whose values do they share?" . . . [read on]
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/rudy_giulianis_firm_represents_gitmo_detainees.php
Will Liz Cheney Attack Rudy Giuliani's Firm For Representing 'Terrorist Detainees'?
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/78167/the-gitmo-nine-the-al-qaeda-seven-and-pure-mccarthyism
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/3/842586/-Cheney-Group-Attacks-Obamas-DOJ,-Wheres-the-Dem-Pushback
The DOJ responds: http://washingtonindependent.com/78254/justice-department-smacks-cheneyites-over-al-qaeda-smear-campaign
The Supreme Court is about to strike down state and local gun laws. But if they’re consistent, this will mean setting a historic new precedent that ALL of the Bill of Rights applies to the states
http://thirdbranch.crooksandliars.com/john-amato/supreme-court-ready-lift-more-gun-law-b
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/3/842227/-SCOTUS-Hears-Argument-On-Major-Second-Amendment-Case
Are Rahm Emanuel and his supporters throwing Obama under the bus?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030301776.html
[David Broder] In the space of 10 days, thanks in no small part to my own newspaper, the president of the United States has been portrayed as a weakling and a chronic screw-up who is wrecking his administration despite everything that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, can do to make things right. . . . [read on]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/02/rahm-emanuel-saboteur-of_n_482638.html
[Dan Froomkin] [T]his hypercompetitive bantam rooster is attempting to blame others for what went wrong. That's evidently so important to him that he's trying to take a victory lap around the wreckage of what was once such a promising presidency. . . . [read on]
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/manly-characteristics.html
[TNR] At 50, Emanuel has the lean, taut look of a lifelong swimmer, with broad shoulders and distractingly prominent quadriceps. . . [read on]
http://www.tnr.com/print/article/politics/the-chief
[Noam Scheiber] By virtue of his political successes and his outsized personality--the nickname “Rahmbo” sums it up--he is the object of near-constant mythologizing. On the right, there is a tendency to view him as a kind of Democratic Karl Rove--a brilliant if diabolical operative who excels in the dark art of psychological warfare. When Emanuel ran the House Democrats’ campaign operation in 2006, the Republican leadership had a habit of blaming him for the party’s freakish procession of scandals, such as the timing of the Mark Foley imbroglio and the indictment of Tom DeLay.
Meanwhile, to activists on the left, who have viewed Emanuel as a crypto-conservative since his Clinton-administration efforts to pass NAFTA, there is a persistent belief that he has maneuvered into the role of shadow president. In each passing disappointment--a too-small stimulus, a too-generous bank bailout, a variety of health care compromises--the left finds more evidence of his ascendant worldview. One prominent liberal radio personality refers to Emanuel as “Barack Obama’s Dick Cheney,” while Jane Hamsher, proprietor of the highly trafficked blog Firedoglake, has agitated for his ouster. . . . [read on]
More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/03/04/in-the-village-the-idiots-are-turning-on-each-other/
Karl Rove “apologizes” for Bush era Iraq mistakes – the mistake? Not attacking the Dems aggressively enough
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/karl-roves-phony-admission-on-iraq-isnt-a-concession-at-all/
Remember this about Mitt Romney: at his heart, he is nothing but putty
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/mitt-romneys-12-hour-flip-flop.php
How absurdly plastic are Mitt Romey’s political views? He starts in the morning praising Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy on NBC and then a bit more than 12 hours later he’s bashing Obama’s Afghanistan policy on Fox News . . . [watch]
What will Sarah Palin decide to be when she grows up?
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/03/palin-takes-turn-as-late-night-comedian/
Palin takes turn as late-night comic
More: http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/palin-cracks-ultimate-jokes-leno
Still looking to make money off of her celebrity
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/palin_working_on_another_book.html
Sarah Palin is working on new book about the "celebration of American virtues and strengths," the AP reports.
The publisher says she will "include selections from classic and contemporary readings that have inspired her, as well as portraits of some of the extraordinary men and women she admires and who embody her love of country, faith, and family... She will also draw from her personal experience to amplify these timely -- and timeless -- themes."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/03/palin_shopping_reality_show.html
Multiple sources confirm to Entertainment Weekly that Sarah Palin and reality show producer Mark Burnett "have been making the rounds in Hollywood this week to pitch a TV docudrama about Alaska. One source called it a 'planet-Earth type look' at Palin's home state."
Putting Reagan on the 50 dollar bill?
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/03/rep-patrick-mchenry-takes-aim-at-americas-most-underrated-president.php
Bonus item: Will they be dressed in brown shirts?http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/feeling_safer_already.php
A Sheriff down in Louisiana has set up his own militia to do battle with terrorists and unspecified other "enemies" during periods of political unrest. It's going to be a pretty wild time. Sheriff Larry Deen plans to arm the volunteers with shotguns, riot shields, batons, and a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on a "war wagon," as part of "Operation Exodus."
More: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/operation_exodus_louisiana_sheriff_taps_locals_for.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.***
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
JUST TRYING TO HELP
Obama says he will add four key GOP provisions to the health care bill (no, of course they still won’t vote for it)
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/obama-tells-congress-he-likes-four-gop-ideas-for-health-care.php
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/obama-writes-to-congress-cites-gop-proposals-from-summit-to-be-included-in-health-care-bill/
The full letter: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/02/obama_letter/index.html
GOP reactions: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/03/02/despite-obama-overture-gop-stays-on-message/
Orrin Hatch’s unbelievable hypocrisy on reconciliation
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/orrin-hatch-rewrites-history-of-his-own-voting-record-on-reconciliation/
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/former-reconciliation-supporter-hatch-botches-attacks-reconciliation-as-unconstitutional.php
Others too: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#35679836
Evan Bayh (D?-IN) helpfully warns that if the Dems use reconciliation on health care, the Repubs might start filibustering everything in sight. (yeah, right)
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/evan-bayh-is-worried-that-going.html
More filibuster madness: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/filibuster-madness
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) helpfully warns Obama that he really, really better not pass the health care reform bill, because it’s going to be electoral disaster for the Dems if it passes. I’m sure he’s only trying to help, right?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/2/842274/-GOPs-concern-trolling-getting-a-bit-desperate
[Steve Benen] I get the sense GOP leaders are actually getting a little panicky about this. After 100 years of talking about health care reform, Democrats may actually deliver. After seven presidents tried to get this done, President Obama may be the one to cross the finish line. For all the GOP bravado, some Republicans might actually realize that the reform bill, if given a fair hearing, is likely to be pretty popular with the public. . . . [read on]
A health care reform timetable for passage
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/getting-yes
http://www.slate.com/id/2246365/
But pro-life Dems might still try to kill the bill
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/coup-de-grace.html
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/stupak-tries-to-torpedo-momentum-on-health-care-bill/
Missing documents, missing e-mails – gee, anybody wonder if Yoo and the rest of the Bush gang were trying to hide something?
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/a-momentous-day-to-lose-your-documentation/
The Cheney machine is running full-time now
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/liz_cheney_attacks_defense_attorneys_for_represent.php
Cheney Attacks DOJ Attorneys As Terrorist-Friendly
It sure looks like Mitt Romney's running for 2012 – but people forget what a weak national candidate he proved to be in 2008. Here is his “foreign policy” manifesto
http://washingtonindependent.com/78105/romneys-no-apology-outlines-foreign-policy-for-fantasy-world
Bunning backs down – but leaves an ugly legacy behind
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/02/bunning/index.html
His teabag supporters: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/teabag-poster-boys-by-digby-mother.html
[Digby] I am getting the same sick feeling in my stomach about this that I got when I watched the torture "debate" unfold. This is yet another unraveling of certain pieces of the already threadbare social contract --- the reflexive moral consensus on cruelty and selfishness that we all teach our children and at least pay lip service to if not always live up to. Things like whether or not it's ok to torture --- or to let people flounder with no income at all during a serious economic crisis. You can tell that this is one of those things by the punch drunk response of so many, even some on the GOP side, who are having a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea that this could happen. . . .
It's way outside the normal consensus about what is expected of our government during an economic downturn and it could be the beginning of something really ugly. Up until now there was no question that it would be political suicide, much less morally wrong, to make massive numbers of unemployed, working and middle class workers, pay in order to make an ideological point. But with these incoherent tea partiers and nihilistic libertarians pulling the same kind of out sized influence the neocons did during the Great GWOT scare, this is what happens. We lose our moral consensus.. . . .
This is simple Randism, which is the real basis of Tea Party anti-government faux populism. . . [read on]
Ayn Rand, resurgent as a new hero of the right, was a sick, sick lady (thanks to Michael W. for the link)
http://www.alternet.org/books/145819/ayn_rand%2C_hugely_popular_author_and_inspiration_to_right-wing_leaders%2C_was_a_big_admirer_of_serial_killer
The Great Reagan Myth
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/mccain-ill-cut-deficits-reagan
Heh
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/todays-texas-primary-the-right-the-far-right-and-the-really-far-right.php
Today's Texas Primary: The Right, The Far Right, And The Really Far Right
Far right wins: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/perry-apparently-wins-tx-gov-republican-primary----and-hutchison-actually-concedes.php
No Ford, no Lincoln?
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/report-harold-ford-not-running-for-senate-in-new-york.php
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/afl-cio-backs-halter-in-arkansas-commits-3m-to-defeat-lincoln.php
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/poll-both-dems-trail-gop-in-arkansas-though-lincolns-on-a-tear.php
Bonus item: Sure, let’s bash Sue Myrick (R-NC) a little bit longer
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/constituents_confront_myrick_over_muslim_bashing_audio.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.***
Obama says he will add four key GOP provisions to the health care bill (no, of course they still won’t vote for it)
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/obama-tells-congress-he-likes-four-gop-ideas-for-health-care.php
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/obama-writes-to-congress-cites-gop-proposals-from-summit-to-be-included-in-health-care-bill/
The full letter: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/02/obama_letter/index.html
GOP reactions: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/03/02/despite-obama-overture-gop-stays-on-message/
Orrin Hatch’s unbelievable hypocrisy on reconciliation
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/orrin-hatch-rewrites-history-of-his-own-voting-record-on-reconciliation/
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/former-reconciliation-supporter-hatch-botches-attacks-reconciliation-as-unconstitutional.php
Others too: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#35679836
Evan Bayh (D?-IN) helpfully warns that if the Dems use reconciliation on health care, the Repubs might start filibustering everything in sight. (yeah, right)
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/evan-bayh-is-worried-that-going.html
More filibuster madness: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/filibuster-madness
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) helpfully warns Obama that he really, really better not pass the health care reform bill, because it’s going to be electoral disaster for the Dems if it passes. I’m sure he’s only trying to help, right?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/2/842274/-GOPs-concern-trolling-getting-a-bit-desperate
[Steve Benen] I get the sense GOP leaders are actually getting a little panicky about this. After 100 years of talking about health care reform, Democrats may actually deliver. After seven presidents tried to get this done, President Obama may be the one to cross the finish line. For all the GOP bravado, some Republicans might actually realize that the reform bill, if given a fair hearing, is likely to be pretty popular with the public. . . . [read on]
A health care reform timetable for passage
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/getting-yes
http://www.slate.com/id/2246365/
But pro-life Dems might still try to kill the bill
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/coup-de-grace.html
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/stupak-tries-to-torpedo-momentum-on-health-care-bill/
Missing documents, missing e-mails – gee, anybody wonder if Yoo and the rest of the Bush gang were trying to hide something?
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/02/a-momentous-day-to-lose-your-documentation/
The Cheney machine is running full-time now
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/liz_cheney_attacks_defense_attorneys_for_represent.php
Cheney Attacks DOJ Attorneys As Terrorist-Friendly
It sure looks like Mitt Romney's running for 2012 – but people forget what a weak national candidate he proved to be in 2008. Here is his “foreign policy” manifesto
http://washingtonindependent.com/78105/romneys-no-apology-outlines-foreign-policy-for-fantasy-world
Bunning backs down – but leaves an ugly legacy behind
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/02/bunning/index.html
His teabag supporters: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/teabag-poster-boys-by-digby-mother.html
[Digby] I am getting the same sick feeling in my stomach about this that I got when I watched the torture "debate" unfold. This is yet another unraveling of certain pieces of the already threadbare social contract --- the reflexive moral consensus on cruelty and selfishness that we all teach our children and at least pay lip service to if not always live up to. Things like whether or not it's ok to torture --- or to let people flounder with no income at all during a serious economic crisis. You can tell that this is one of those things by the punch drunk response of so many, even some on the GOP side, who are having a hard time wrapping their minds around the idea that this could happen. . . .
It's way outside the normal consensus about what is expected of our government during an economic downturn and it could be the beginning of something really ugly. Up until now there was no question that it would be political suicide, much less morally wrong, to make massive numbers of unemployed, working and middle class workers, pay in order to make an ideological point. But with these incoherent tea partiers and nihilistic libertarians pulling the same kind of out sized influence the neocons did during the Great GWOT scare, this is what happens. We lose our moral consensus.. . . .
This is simple Randism, which is the real basis of Tea Party anti-government faux populism. . . [read on]
Ayn Rand, resurgent as a new hero of the right, was a sick, sick lady (thanks to Michael W. for the link)
http://www.alternet.org/books/145819/ayn_rand%2C_hugely_popular_author_and_inspiration_to_right-wing_leaders%2C_was_a_big_admirer_of_serial_killer
The Great Reagan Myth
http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/mccain-ill-cut-deficits-reagan
Heh
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/todays-texas-primary-the-right-the-far-right-and-the-really-far-right.php
Today's Texas Primary: The Right, The Far Right, And The Really Far Right
Far right wins: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/perry-apparently-wins-tx-gov-republican-primary----and-hutchison-actually-concedes.php
No Ford, no Lincoln?
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/report-harold-ford-not-running-for-senate-in-new-york.php
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/afl-cio-backs-halter-in-arkansas-commits-3m-to-defeat-lincoln.php
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/poll-both-dems-trail-gop-in-arkansas-though-lincolns-on-a-tear.php
Bonus item: Sure, let’s bash Sue Myrick (R-NC) a little bit longer
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/constituents_confront_myrick_over_muslim_bashing_audio.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.***
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
THE GOP VIEW OF THE WORLD
Okay, the mainstream press is afraid to connect the dots, but I will. You have Glenn Beck and others spouting insurrectionist rhetoric (“but no violence please”), you have the radical anti-government, anti-tax teabag movement, which the GOP is actively encouraging, and now we have the second attack in the last two weeks against a federal IRS building. Think this is an unfortunate coincidence? I don’t.
Time to start calling people out for their irresponsible encouragement of these elements
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/fbi-investigating-hazardous-materials-incident-at-utah-irs-office.php
The kind of people they are
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/tea_partiers_call_obama_a_marxist_and_a_dictator_g.php
Tea Partiers Call Obama A Marxist And A Dictator ... Get Promoted On GOPer's Site
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003010013
Quinn calls Obama a "little wuss from Kenya," adds, "Somebody should slap him silly"
John Conyers comes up with a new way to get at John Yoo’s emails (but don’t be surprised to find out that THESE have been deleted too)
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/conyers-asks-for-the-pra-side-of-yoo-and-philbins-emails/
Conyers Asks for the White House Side of Yoo and Philbin’s Emails
Missing documents too!
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/its-not-just-the-emails-doj-lost-its-the-backup-documentation/
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/did-doj-lose-the-smoking-gun-torture-document/
Can we just throw him in jail now?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/yoo_on_missing_emails_leahy_is_chasing_his_own_tai.php
In his op-ed on the OPR report that we just told you about, John Yoo also appears to claim ignorance on the subject of those missing emails, and accuses the Senate Judiciary committee chair of "chasing his own tail to feed left-wing conspiracy theories." But Yoo's bravado raises as many questions as it answers. . . . [read on]
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/yoo_opr_probe_was_a_farce.php
Yoo: OPR Probe Was A 'Farce'
We explained it clearly here a few days ago: the Dems AREN’T using reconciliation to pass health care reform. If/when the House passes the Senate bill, that’s it. Reconciliation would only be used to modify the larger bill, which is entirely legitimate. Kent Conrad (D-ND) explained this distinction on the Sunday talk shows – but of course the press screwed up the story
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022644.php
[Politico] Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) threw cold water on the idea of using the reconciliation process Sunday during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." . . . [read on]
[NB: An honest mistake, or perversely blurring the distinction?]
More: http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/kent-conrad-rips-media-yes-we-can-do-reform-via-reconciliation/
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/reconciliation-101
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/the_facts_about_reconciliation.html
Heh
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/biden_rules.html
For Republicans hoping that the Senate parliamentarian might derail Democratic plans to use budget reconciliation to pass health care reform, former Senate Parliamentarian Robert Dove told MSNBC that Vice President Joe Biden, who also functions as the president of the Senate, can override the parliamentarian when it comes to what qualifies under reconciliation.
Said Dove: "The parliamentarian only can advise. It is the vice president who rules." . . .
When the GOP loved reconciliation
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/chart-your-handy-guide-to-gop-senators-who-backed-reconciliation/
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/upending_the_universe.php
How the Cheneys think
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/liz-cheney-democrats-passing-health-care-b
Liz Cheney: Democrats Passing Health Care Bill is a "Dangerous Exercise in Democracy"
[NB: Yep, can't have that now, can we?]
Why it’s always good for the Repubs. Having moved heaven and earth to block health care reform from passing, the GOP – with a big assist from the press – now claims that if it passes, THAT’S good for them too
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/quote-day-gop-healthcare-reform
The GOP’s unprecedented use of the filibuster
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841800/-Midday-open-thread
[Kos] Republicans set filibuster record, render the country ungovernable. By design.
More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/record_use_of_the_filibuster.html
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/ap-appears-to-have-royally-screwed-up.html
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841835/-How-filibuster-crazy-is-the-GOP
Jim Bunning (R-KY) gives the finger to working Americans
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/01/89610/gops-bunning-told-off-senators.html
“The Bunning Effect”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/democrats-thank-you-jim-bunning.php
A trio of Democratic lawmakers took to the phones this afternoon to call out Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) for his decision to block a month-long extension of federal transportation and highway funds, a move government officials say will leave thousands out of work for the foreseeable future . . .
"Jim Bunning has done more to draw attention to the procedural abuses in the Senate than ever before," Van Hollen said. . . [read on]
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/01/not_a_game/
[John Kerry (D-MA)] It’s not a game. . . .
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/bunning-blockade-leads-to-21-percent-pay-cut-to-doctors.php
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) is already infamous for blocking a temporary extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits for out of work Americans. But included in that package is legislation to prevent a mandatory pay cut for doctors--and by standing in its way, he's triggered a 21 percent fee reduction to doctors seeing Medicare patients starting today. . . .
More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841792/-Transportation-May-Furlough-2000-Over-Bunnings-Hold
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/fury-at-bunning-as-dems-ready-broad-ui-extension-bill/
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/bunning_flips_the_bird.html
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) refused to answer questions from ABC News about his decision to filibuster a bill extending unemployment benefits.
Said Bunning: "I'm not talking to anybody."
When producers asked him to stay and talk on camera, Bunning "walked toward the elevator and shot the middle finger over his head."
A video clip shows Bunning kicking correspondent Jon Karl off the elevator, yelling "Excuse me! This is a Senator's only elevator!"
Here's the clip . . .
Uh-huh: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/01/bunning_blame_game/index.html
GOP on Bunning: Blame Harry Reid!
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/let-them-eat-hohos.html
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, argued that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working."
Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work," Kyl said . . .
The Republican party is imploding!
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/deal_will_resign_house_seat.html
Sources tell Peach Pundit that Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) will resign his seat in Congress . . .
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/did_gop_rep_nathan_deal_resign_because_of_ethics_p.php
Did GOP Rep Resign To Squelch Ethics Probe?
Heh. When Tom Tancredo finds someone unpleasant, you’re really on to something. Can you guess who he’s referring to?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/quote_of_the_day.html
"I don't like him. He is not a very pleasant person. He is nasty, mean; the skin of an onion would look deep compared to his. He has a short fuse, he is almost peculiarly unstable."
McCain’s opponent in Arizona, J.D. Hayworth, having dallied with the teabaggers, now backs away from his own “birther” comments
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/hayworth-disavows-birtherism-i-believe-obama-was-born-in-hawaii.php
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/77867/birther-conspiracy-roils-gop-campaigns
Right-wing punditry: don’t bother me with facts, I already know what I think
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/bill-kristol-critiques-health-care-summit
Bill Kristol claims he didn't watch any of the Health Care Summit, but that didn't stop him from giving Chris Wallace his critique of the event. . . .
Why we love Atrios
http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/03/powerless.html
I've long been fascinated by the weird conceit - feigned or not - that journalists and media figures, even opinion opinion journalists, have no power to influence people, that the topics chosen are beyond their control, that they are mere conduits for Truth and What People Are Talking About. It's all bullshit of course, and I don't think they even believe it, but I guess it's just a way of giving themselves free passes in the accountability free era. Not. Our. Fault.
Another right-wing blogger to pick on
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/borat-he-aint.html
[Andrew Breitbart]
Drudge – the site everyone in DC uses to find out what’s important
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/drudge-falsely-suggests-obama-has.html
Matt Drudge took a doctor's standard reference to the old "watch what you eat, don't smoke, only drink in moderation, and go to a dentist regularly" to mean that Obama has a drinking problem. NBC kind of calls Drudge out for the lie, but fails to actually mention his name. . . .
Bonus item: How their minds work
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/gop_rep_myrick_explains_terrorism_remarks.php
At a town hall meeting with the Muslim community Thursday, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) seemed to defend comments she made in 2003 about the terrorist threat emanating from the people who run "all the convenience stores across the country."
"I wasn't off the wall," she said, according to the Charlotte Observer. "It may have come across that way, but you have to put it in context." . . .
***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.***
Okay, the mainstream press is afraid to connect the dots, but I will. You have Glenn Beck and others spouting insurrectionist rhetoric (“but no violence please”), you have the radical anti-government, anti-tax teabag movement, which the GOP is actively encouraging, and now we have the second attack in the last two weeks against a federal IRS building. Think this is an unfortunate coincidence? I don’t.
Time to start calling people out for their irresponsible encouragement of these elements
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/fbi-investigating-hazardous-materials-incident-at-utah-irs-office.php
The kind of people they are
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/tea_partiers_call_obama_a_marxist_and_a_dictator_g.php
Tea Partiers Call Obama A Marxist And A Dictator ... Get Promoted On GOPer's Site
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003010013
Quinn calls Obama a "little wuss from Kenya," adds, "Somebody should slap him silly"
John Conyers comes up with a new way to get at John Yoo’s emails (but don’t be surprised to find out that THESE have been deleted too)
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/conyers-asks-for-the-pra-side-of-yoo-and-philbins-emails/
Conyers Asks for the White House Side of Yoo and Philbin’s Emails
Missing documents too!
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/its-not-just-the-emails-doj-lost-its-the-backup-documentation/
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/did-doj-lose-the-smoking-gun-torture-document/
Can we just throw him in jail now?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/yoo_on_missing_emails_leahy_is_chasing_his_own_tai.php
In his op-ed on the OPR report that we just told you about, John Yoo also appears to claim ignorance on the subject of those missing emails, and accuses the Senate Judiciary committee chair of "chasing his own tail to feed left-wing conspiracy theories." But Yoo's bravado raises as many questions as it answers. . . . [read on]
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/yoo_opr_probe_was_a_farce.php
Yoo: OPR Probe Was A 'Farce'
We explained it clearly here a few days ago: the Dems AREN’T using reconciliation to pass health care reform. If/when the House passes the Senate bill, that’s it. Reconciliation would only be used to modify the larger bill, which is entirely legitimate. Kent Conrad (D-ND) explained this distinction on the Sunday talk shows – but of course the press screwed up the story
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022644.php
[Politico] Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) threw cold water on the idea of using the reconciliation process Sunday during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." . . . [read on]
[NB: An honest mistake, or perversely blurring the distinction?]
More: http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/kent-conrad-rips-media-yes-we-can-do-reform-via-reconciliation/
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/reconciliation-101
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/the_facts_about_reconciliation.html
Heh
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/biden_rules.html
For Republicans hoping that the Senate parliamentarian might derail Democratic plans to use budget reconciliation to pass health care reform, former Senate Parliamentarian Robert Dove told MSNBC that Vice President Joe Biden, who also functions as the president of the Senate, can override the parliamentarian when it comes to what qualifies under reconciliation.
Said Dove: "The parliamentarian only can advise. It is the vice president who rules." . . .
When the GOP loved reconciliation
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/chart-your-handy-guide-to-gop-senators-who-backed-reconciliation/
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/upending_the_universe.php
How the Cheneys think
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/liz-cheney-democrats-passing-health-care-b
Liz Cheney: Democrats Passing Health Care Bill is a "Dangerous Exercise in Democracy"
[NB: Yep, can't have that now, can we?]
Why it’s always good for the Repubs. Having moved heaven and earth to block health care reform from passing, the GOP – with a big assist from the press – now claims that if it passes, THAT’S good for them too
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/03/quote-day-gop-healthcare-reform
The GOP’s unprecedented use of the filibuster
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841800/-Midday-open-thread
[Kos] Republicans set filibuster record, render the country ungovernable. By design.
More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/record_use_of_the_filibuster.html
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/ap-appears-to-have-royally-screwed-up.html
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841835/-How-filibuster-crazy-is-the-GOP
Jim Bunning (R-KY) gives the finger to working Americanshttp://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/03/01/89610/gops-bunning-told-off-senators.html
“The Bunning Effect”
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/democrats-thank-you-jim-bunning.php
A trio of Democratic lawmakers took to the phones this afternoon to call out Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) for his decision to block a month-long extension of federal transportation and highway funds, a move government officials say will leave thousands out of work for the foreseeable future . . .
"Jim Bunning has done more to draw attention to the procedural abuses in the Senate than ever before," Van Hollen said. . . [read on]
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/01/not_a_game/
[John Kerry (D-MA)] It’s not a game. . . .
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/bunning-blockade-leads-to-21-percent-pay-cut-to-doctors.php
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) is already infamous for blocking a temporary extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits for out of work Americans. But included in that package is legislation to prevent a mandatory pay cut for doctors--and by standing in its way, he's triggered a 21 percent fee reduction to doctors seeing Medicare patients starting today. . . .
More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/1/841792/-Transportation-May-Furlough-2000-Over-Bunnings-Hold
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/03/01/fury-at-bunning-as-dems-ready-broad-ui-extension-bill/
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/bunning_flips_the_bird.html
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) refused to answer questions from ABC News about his decision to filibuster a bill extending unemployment benefits.
Said Bunning: "I'm not talking to anybody."
When producers asked him to stay and talk on camera, Bunning "walked toward the elevator and shot the middle finger over his head."
A video clip shows Bunning kicking correspondent Jon Karl off the elevator, yelling "Excuse me! This is a Senator's only elevator!"
Here's the clip . . .
Uh-huh: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/03/01/bunning_blame_game/index.html
GOP on Bunning: Blame Harry Reid!
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/let-them-eat-hohos.html
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, argued that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working."
Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work," Kyl said . . .
The Republican party is imploding!
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/deal_will_resign_house_seat.html
Sources tell Peach Pundit that Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) will resign his seat in Congress . . .
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/did_gop_rep_nathan_deal_resign_because_of_ethics_p.php
Did GOP Rep Resign To Squelch Ethics Probe?
Heh. When Tom Tancredo finds someone unpleasant, you’re really on to something. Can you guess who he’s referring to?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/quote_of_the_day.html
"I don't like him. He is not a very pleasant person. He is nasty, mean; the skin of an onion would look deep compared to his. He has a short fuse, he is almost peculiarly unstable."
McCain’s opponent in Arizona, J.D. Hayworth, having dallied with the teabaggers, now backs away from his own “birther” comments
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/hayworth-disavows-birtherism-i-believe-obama-was-born-in-hawaii.php
More: http://washingtonindependent.com/77867/birther-conspiracy-roils-gop-campaigns
Right-wing punditry: don’t bother me with facts, I already know what I think
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/bill-kristol-critiques-health-care-summit
Bill Kristol claims he didn't watch any of the Health Care Summit, but that didn't stop him from giving Chris Wallace his critique of the event. . . .
Why we love Atrios
http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/03/powerless.html
I've long been fascinated by the weird conceit - feigned or not - that journalists and media figures, even opinion opinion journalists, have no power to influence people, that the topics chosen are beyond their control, that they are mere conduits for Truth and What People Are Talking About. It's all bullshit of course, and I don't think they even believe it, but I guess it's just a way of giving themselves free passes in the accountability free era. Not. Our. Fault.
Another right-wing blogger to pick on
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/borat-he-aint.html
[Andrew Breitbart]
Drudge – the site everyone in DC uses to find out what’s important
http://www.americablog.com/2010/03/drudge-falsely-suggests-obama-has.html
Matt Drudge took a doctor's standard reference to the old "watch what you eat, don't smoke, only drink in moderation, and go to a dentist regularly" to mean that Obama has a drinking problem. NBC kind of calls Drudge out for the lie, but fails to actually mention his name. . . .
Bonus item: How their minds workhttp://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/gop_rep_myrick_explains_terrorism_remarks.php
At a town hall meeting with the Muslim community Thursday, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) seemed to defend comments she made in 2003 about the terrorist threat emanating from the people who run "all the convenience stores across the country."
"I wasn't off the wall," she said, according to the Charlotte Observer. "It may have come across that way, but you have to put it in context." . . .
***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.***
Monday, March 01, 2010
BROKEN BEYOND REPAIR?
The need for serious financial regulation – and why we probably won’t get it
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/opinion/01krugman.html
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/real-case-broken-government
How torture infected the entire Bush admin
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/02/28/the-torture-gang-the-entire-bush-administration/
John Yoo’s super-secret e-mail account?
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/02/28/did-john-yoo-have-an-other-government-agency-email/
John McCain’s lies are getting weirder and weirder
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/mccain-it-wasnt-just-me----america-was-misled-on-tarp-video.php
Speaking on NBC's Meet The Press this morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeated his claim that he -- and the entire country -- was lied to about the TARP program in 2007.
Asked about the claim by host David Gregory, McCain was adamant. "We were all misled" by Bush administration Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, McCain said. . . .
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/02/getting_sad_1.php
[Josh Marshall] McCain doubles down on his big fib: claims no one told him TARP was for the financial sector or the banks.
It's been pretty much shark hopscotch for McCain going back to late 2007. But I wonder whether this could push him over the edge, even get him in trouble in what should be a pretty easy reelection.
How can J.D. Hayworth not take advantage of this opening?
More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/mccain-militarys-gay-ban-i-believe-its-worki
Sen. John McCain once said that he would trust the opinion of military leaders to decide when it was time to end the military's controversial Don't ask, don't tell policy. Now that the Congress is considering repealing the policy, McCain seems to have changed his tune.
In 2006, McCain told MSNBC's Chris Matthews, "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, Senator, we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to."
In past weeks, military leaders have come forward to do just that. Admiral Mike Mullen told Congress that repealing the ban was "the right thing to do."
Gen. David Petraeus told NBC's David Gregory that troops didn't care if fellow soldier were gay.
But the Arizona Senator seemed to dismiss the opinions of those military leaders Sunday. "Admiral Mullen was as quote speaking personally. Just this week commandant of the Marine Corps said he did not want Don't ask, don't tell repealed. There are many in the military who do not want to," said McCain.
McCain went on to say that the discriminatory policy is effective. "I believe that it's working," he told David Gregory Sunday.
Party of whiners
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/blackburn-and-boustany-come-crying-hannity
Don’t mess with a good narrative
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_02/022627.php
[Steve Benen] In January, much of the media decided that retirements among congressional Democrats were evidence of shifting political winds that will greatly benefit Republicans. In one report from ABC News, Democrats were characterized as "dropping like flies."
In the meantime, Republican retirements not only outnumber Democrats, the GOP total keeps growing. . . .
Yes, like his buddy Rush, Glenn Beck doesn’t just want to win the argument against progressives – he wants to eliminate them as a political force in this country . . . key word, “eliminate”
http://www.alternet.org/media/145820/glenn_beck_finally_admitted_his_great_desire%3A_to_%27eradicate%27_progressives
Video: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-eliminationist-attacks-p
Bonus item: Today’s must-read – the growing threat of the teabaggers
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28rich.html
[Frank Rich] Equally significant is Barstow’s finding that most Tea Party groups have no affiliation with the G.O.P. despite the party’s ham-handed efforts to co-opt them. The more we learn about the Tea Partiers, the more we can see why. They loathe John McCain and the free-spending, TARP-tainted presidency of George W. Bush. They really do hate all of Washington, and if they hate Obama more than the Republican establishment, it’s only by a hair or two. (Were Obama not earning extra demerits in some circles for his race, it might be a dead heat.) The Tea Partiers want to eliminate most government agencies, starting with the Fed and the I.R.S., and end spending on entitlement programs. They are not to be confused with the Party of No holding forth in Washington — a party that, after all, is now positioning itself as a defender of Medicare spending. What we are talking about here is the Party of No Government at All. . . . [read on]
More: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/03/tea-baggers.html
[QL] It kind of fascinates me that people who have never followed politics, never taken a class in public policy, hell sometimes never even voted, all of a sudden think they know how to run a diverse country of 300 million. Not only do they have all the answers, but anyone who disagrees with them are vermin who need to be eliminated. Since they really have nothing substantial to add to the conversation, I'd like to ignore these people, but the media just won't let me.
***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 need for serious financial regulation – and why we probably won’t get it
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/opinion/01krugman.html
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/02/real-case-broken-government
How torture infected the entire Bush admin
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/02/28/the-torture-gang-the-entire-bush-administration/
John Yoo’s super-secret e-mail account?
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/02/28/did-john-yoo-have-an-other-government-agency-email/
John McCain’s lies are getting weirder and weirder
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/mccain-it-wasnt-just-me----america-was-misled-on-tarp-video.php
Speaking on NBC's Meet The Press this morning, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeated his claim that he -- and the entire country -- was lied to about the TARP program in 2007.
Asked about the claim by host David Gregory, McCain was adamant. "We were all misled" by Bush administration Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, McCain said. . . .
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/02/getting_sad_1.php
[Josh Marshall] McCain doubles down on his big fib: claims no one told him TARP was for the financial sector or the banks.
It's been pretty much shark hopscotch for McCain going back to late 2007. But I wonder whether this could push him over the edge, even get him in trouble in what should be a pretty easy reelection.
How can J.D. Hayworth not take advantage of this opening?
More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/mccain-militarys-gay-ban-i-believe-its-worki
Sen. John McCain once said that he would trust the opinion of military leaders to decide when it was time to end the military's controversial Don't ask, don't tell policy. Now that the Congress is considering repealing the policy, McCain seems to have changed his tune.
In 2006, McCain told MSNBC's Chris Matthews, "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, Senator, we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to."
In past weeks, military leaders have come forward to do just that. Admiral Mike Mullen told Congress that repealing the ban was "the right thing to do."
Gen. David Petraeus told NBC's David Gregory that troops didn't care if fellow soldier were gay.
But the Arizona Senator seemed to dismiss the opinions of those military leaders Sunday. "Admiral Mullen was as quote speaking personally. Just this week commandant of the Marine Corps said he did not want Don't ask, don't tell repealed. There are many in the military who do not want to," said McCain.
McCain went on to say that the discriminatory policy is effective. "I believe that it's working," he told David Gregory Sunday.
Party of whiners
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/blackburn-and-boustany-come-crying-hannity
Don’t mess with a good narrative
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_02/022627.php
[Steve Benen] In January, much of the media decided that retirements among congressional Democrats were evidence of shifting political winds that will greatly benefit Republicans. In one report from ABC News, Democrats were characterized as "dropping like flies."
In the meantime, Republican retirements not only outnumber Democrats, the GOP total keeps growing. . . .
Yes, like his buddy Rush, Glenn Beck doesn’t just want to win the argument against progressives – he wants to eliminate them as a political force in this country . . . key word, “eliminate”
http://www.alternet.org/media/145820/glenn_beck_finally_admitted_his_great_desire%3A_to_%27eradicate%27_progressives
Video: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-eliminationist-attacks-p
Bonus item: Today’s must-read – the growing threat of the teabaggers
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28rich.html
[Frank Rich] Equally significant is Barstow’s finding that most Tea Party groups have no affiliation with the G.O.P. despite the party’s ham-handed efforts to co-opt them. The more we learn about the Tea Partiers, the more we can see why. They loathe John McCain and the free-spending, TARP-tainted presidency of George W. Bush. They really do hate all of Washington, and if they hate Obama more than the Republican establishment, it’s only by a hair or two. (Were Obama not earning extra demerits in some circles for his race, it might be a dead heat.) The Tea Partiers want to eliminate most government agencies, starting with the Fed and the I.R.S., and end spending on entitlement programs. They are not to be confused with the Party of No holding forth in Washington — a party that, after all, is now positioning itself as a defender of Medicare spending. What we are talking about here is the Party of No Government at All. . . . [read on]
More: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/03/tea-baggers.html
[QL] It kind of fascinates me that people who have never followed politics, never taken a class in public policy, hell sometimes never even voted, all of a sudden think they know how to run a diverse country of 300 million. Not only do they have all the answers, but anyone who disagrees with them are vermin who need to be eliminated. Since they really have nothing substantial to add to the conversation, I'd like to ignore these people, but the media just won't let me.
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