STINKERS

Donald Trump, bottom-diver

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/the-donald-warns-republicans-not-to-give-up-the-birther-fight.php
Pushing back against calls from Republicans to abandon his new-found birther quest, Donald Trump snapped back Saturday at party leaders like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) who accuse him of being less than serious about his presidential ambitions, warning Republicans that abandoning the conspiracy theories surrounding President Obama's birth certificate will harm the party. . .

"I think it's a very bad thing for Cantor to have done," Trump said, "because I'll tell you, people love this issue especially in the Republican Party. . .”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/trump-stays-mum-on-details-of-hawaii-birther-investigation-video.php
Donald Trump says he's got investigators poring over records of President Obama's birth in Hawaii, but in an interview with TPM here today, he declined to give any details on the so-called probe, or even if he's paying for it. . .

"I've looked very closely and have continued to look," he said. "I'm not going to say anything further than that, but we've looked all around and we are continuing to look and it's very interesting and that's all I can say."

So are you paying investigators to look around in Hawaii? TPM asked.

"I don't want to comment on it," Trump said.

At with that, he cut off the interview.

More: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/trump-bill-ayers-wrote-obamas-book-video.php
Trump: Bill Ayers Wrote Obama's Book!

“The blacks”

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/donald-trump-says-he-has-great.html
"I have a great relationship with the blacks," Trump told Albany's Talk Radio 1300 Thursday. "I've always had a great relationship with the blacks." [read on]

Jon Kyl (R-AZ): when a baldfaced lie becomes “misspeaking”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/jon-kyl-planned-parenthood-factual-statement_n_849658.html

The thrill is gone

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/palin-goes-to-madison----but-how-many-show-up-video.php
Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) appeared Saturday for a Tea Party rally at a venue that has previously been the site of some very high-profile recent protests from the left: The Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison. . . In addition to Palin, other speakers at the event included John Fund and Andrew Breitbart. And on hand today were not only Palin supporters, who joined her in supporting the absent Walker, but also counter-protesters who oppose her and Walker. So how many people turned out? Compared to previous rallies, which attracted tens of thousands, not a whole lot. . . .

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028982.php

Party of whiners

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/sensitive-republicans-are-all-verkle

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rep-anthony-weiner-tells-republicans-wh

More: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/civility-is-the-last-refuge-of-scoundrels/
[Paul Krugman] Beyond that, are we dealing with children here? Is one of our two major political parties run by people so immature that they will refuse to do what the country needs because the president hasn’t been nice to them? [read on]

The kind of people they (still) are

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/republican-tea-partiers-just-cant-se

“How the media mainstreams the fringe”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/selling-nuts-how-media-mainstreams.html

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/john-king-justifies-bringing-birther-orly
[John King, CNN] For those at home who says, you know, you crazy jerk, why are you even going down this road? I'm going down this road because our job is not just to cover things that we know to be true. It's our job is to cover things that people are talking about in politics. . . . [read on]

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2011/04/17/sunday-talking-heads-april-17-2011/
ABC’s This Week: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Then, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Rep. Allen West (R-FL) on the debt ceiling. Roundtable: George Will, Alice Rivlin, Matthew Dowd, and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA).

CBS’ Face The Nation: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

CNN’s State of the Union: Budget with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Anthony Wiener (D-NY). Libya with former CIA Director, Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.). Then, the price of gas and oil with the former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister. It all ends with the second part of the interview with Donald Trump.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: Fareed on Obama. Then, PepsiCO’s CEO Indra Nooyi on America’s economic future, Washington politics, PepsiCo’s move towards “healthier” foods, and women in the workforce. The New York Times’ East Africa bureau chief Jeffrey Gettleman on Libya. Followed by Lord Malloch Brown, the former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and former British Minister of State, explains why Obama is viewed as follower and not a leader and more.

NBC’s Meet The Press: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Roundtable: Fmr. chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI); author Jon Meacham; and author of the new book “Fail Up,” PBS’s Tavis Smiley.

Bonus item: The right has been panting for the new film version of “Atlas Shrugged.” Well, they got what they wanted

http://alicublog.blogspot.com/2011/04/unmitigated-galt.html

http://firedoglake.com/2011/04/16/late-night-atlas-sucked/

***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.***

TOO FAR

Very clever. VERY clever. The GOP has gotten into the habit of unleashing their wacko fringe to vote for whatever cockamamie ideas they get into their heads, depending on Democratic votes to prevent it from actually passing. So the Dems pull a duck and weave, voting “present,” almost tricking the Repubs into passing a budget they definitely didn’t want to be associated with

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/04/house_dems_almost_pull_fast_one_on_gop.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028966.php

Ha ha: http://mydd.com/2011/4/15/chaos-in-tryan-or-ryan-on-steroids

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/four-house-gopers-switched-their-vote-after-dem-trick.php

The Ryanization of the GOP

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028970.php
LIKE LEMMINGS OFF A CLIFF

More: http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/breaking-house-republicans.html

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/04/crossing_the_rubicon.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the_republicans_big_leap/2011/03/28/AF7XkRjD_blog.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/house-republicans-pass-plan-to-erode-medicare-medicaid.php

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2011/04/paul-ryans-bad-political-economy/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/dccc-chair-steve-israel-vote-today-on-paul-ryan-proposal-will-cost-gop-the-house/2011/03/03/AF0iXYjD_blog.html
DCCC chair Steve Israel: Vote today on Paul Ryan proposal will cost GOP the House

What Obama REALLY was thinking

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20054185-503544.html
In what he thought was a private chat with campaign donors Thursday evening, President Obama offered the most revealing behind-the-scenes account to date of his budget negotiations with GOP leaders . . .

In the candid remarks, Mr. Obama complains of Republican attempts to attach measures to the budget bill which would have effectively killed parts of his hard-won health care reform program.

"I said, 'You want to repeal health care? Go at it. We'll have that debate. You're not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we're stupid?'" [read on]

Audio: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/obama-to-boehner-in-budget-talks-you-think-were-stupid.php

Good one

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028975.php
THE POLITICS OF PERSONAL GRIEVANCE

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/randian-pout.html

It’s what they do

http://mydd.com/2011/4/16/in-florida-the-go
In Florida, the GOP Moves to Disenfranchise Voters

Donald Trump now leads the GOP field by nine points! What does this tell us about the state of the Republican party?

http://mydd.com/2011/4/15/the-7

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028967.php

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/trumps-poll-surge-underscores-insani

I’m sure The Donald appreciates Pat Buchanan’s endorsement that he’s not racist!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028969.php

Man of principle, part one

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/15/trump_worst_president
The worst president ever was George W. Bush. No, wait ... Jimmy Carter. I mean ... Barack Obama!

Man of principle, part two

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/santorum-backs-away-from-campaign-slogan-when-told-it-was-lifted-from-langston-hughes.php
Santorum Backs Away From Campaign Slogan When Told It's From Famous Langston Hughes Poem

Man of principle, part three

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/15/967224/-Kyl-revises-Congressional-Record-to-omit-well-over-90-of-what-Planned-Parenthood-does-is-abortion
Kyl revises Congressional Record to omit 'well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does' is abortion

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/gillibrand-takes-shot-at-_n_849253.html

Well, THAT didn’t last long. Say good-bye to Jon Huntsman

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/daily-caller-exposes-jon-huntsmans-handwritten-obama-love.php

Classic buyer’s remorse in Florida

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/floridas-gov-rick-scott-plummets-polls-

***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.***

NO TRUMP

John Boehner can’t even get his own members to vote for his budget bill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/spending-bill-passes-house-averting-government-shutdown.php
Bill Passes House Despite Mass Republican Defections From Boehner

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028954.php

A contrary view: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/whos-big-winner.html
[Jonathan Bernstein] Yes, 59 Republicans deserted him on the final vote, meaning that Democratic votes were used to put the measure over the top. However, it’s not at all clear that he didn’t have the votes, if needed . . . [read on]

Our politics today

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/04/whirlwind_1.php
[MO] So, let me see if I have this straight. In the period of less than 7 days:

- It looked almost certain that the Federal government was going to be shutdown.

- At the 11th hour, Boehner, Reid, and Obama "made a deal."

- For the next few days, everyone was crowning Boehner as the master politician -finally a Speaker of the House who was an effective leader of his entire coalition and could use that clout to muscle the political opposition.

- At the same time, Dems were in great despair. Obama gave up too much. Our economy was now going to be in free-fall. Obama was now about to sell out Medicare and the Middle Class too!

- Then, come yesterday, it seems pretty clear that the budget deal was, in fiscal terms, pretty minor. The amount of money that was negotiated, let alone the punch-the-hippies policy riders, was all small potatoes.

- And, yesterday, Obama came out hard, at least rhetorically, against the GOP.

- And today, Boehner looks less powerful than Hastert. Eric Cantor must be struggling to suppress a permanent grim. And the most prominent GOP figure right now in the news is Donald Trump.

Eric Cantor claims GOP credit for new jobs

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/power-shamelessness

How the media covered Paul Ryan’s deficit reduction plan – and how they covered Obama’s

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028946.php

Waaah!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama_address_was_surprise_attack_gop_lawmakers_say/2011/04/14/AFlMVYfD_story.html
Obama address was surprise attack, GOP lawmakers say

Think about how the Repubs would handle it if they had the Dems over a barrel like this

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/14/967037/-If-the-GOP-wont-negotiate-over-taxes,-then-let-the-Bush-tax-cuts-expire
If the GOP won't negotiate over taxes, then let the Bush tax cuts expire

I guess a President is entitled to a little fun now and then

http://mydd.com/2011/4/14/the-devilish-obam
“I think that over the last two and a half years there's been an effort to go at me in a way that is politically expedient in the short-term for Republicans. But [it] creates, I think a problem for them when they want to actually run in a general election where most people feel pretty confident the President was born where he says he was, in Hawaii. He -- he doesn't have horns…” [read on]

So hard to admit the truth

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/scott_walker_admits_he_didnt_campaign_on_rollback_of_bargaining_rights/2011/03/03/AFZkUedD_blog.html
Under persistent questioning on the Hill today, Governor Scott Walker finally admitted something he’s refused to acknowledge throughout the Wisconsin controversy: He never campaigned explicitly on any proposal to roll back the collective bargaining rights of public employees. . . .

Something’s rotten in Waukesha

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/wis-dems-call-for-more-investigation-of-waukesha-county-elections.php

Feel better?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/13/teens-torture-media-red-cross_n_848751.html
Teenagers Now Look Favorably On Torture Because The Media Taught Them It Was Morally Acceptable

Goofball

http://crooksandliars.com/rj-eskow/bachmanns-budget-trip-mind-expanding-litt
Bachmann/Ryan Overdrive: A Mind-Expanding Mini-Vacation From Economic Reality

This tells you everything you need to know about Donald Trump’s “candidacy”

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/14/trump_will_make_announcement_on_season_finale.html
Aides to Donald Trump tell CNN that the real estate mogul will make an announcement on the season finale of Celebrity Apprentice about his intentions on running for president.

Trump: U.S. a “laughing stock” of the world

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/10/news/economy/donald_trump_cpac/

[NB: Uh, Donald, I’ve spent some time around the world – and what makes the U.S. a laughing stock is that people like YOU can be taken seriously as “Presidential candidates.”]

Trump aligns himself with WorldNetDaily

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/14/trump_farah_worldnetdaily

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/birther-czar-joseph-farah-ive-been-talking-to-donald-trump-quite-a-bit.php

“The biggest, dumbest wingnut site on the Web” http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/14/world_net_daily_mad

The lunatic fringe

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/rep-broun-fdr-was-a-communist-video.php
[Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA)] "Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent his advisers, his close friends, his Cabinet people to go visit with Stalin in communist Russia to study what he was doing, what Stalin was doing there, so that FDR could replicate it here in the United States. And he did everything that he possibly could to do so."

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028944.php

Is Rush becoming even more vicious?

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/rush-limbaugh-obamas-base-are-walking-h

Bonus item: What a Wonderful World

http://mydd.com/2011/4/15/dont-know-much-abou

***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 MORNING AFTER

Obama’s deficit speech: whad’ya think?

http://mydd.com/2011/4/13/sober-serious-and-sma
Sober, Serious and Smart

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3469
[CBPP] President Obama made an important contribution today to efforts to address the nation’s long-term fiscal problems . . . [read on]

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/gang-of-six-update-durbin-on-board-with.html
[Digby] People like me are clearly irrelevant to this process. But there was still much to like about it. . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/obama_made_the_moral_case_for_what_it_means_to_be_a_democrat/2011/03/03/AFq7NrXD_blog.html
Obama made the moral case for what it means to be a Democrat

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/no-more-tax-cuts-millionaires-and-billionaires
[Kevin Drum] More on the Obama speech later, but my initial reaction is that there wasn't a lot new here. . . .

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/the-budget-speech/
[Paul Krugman] Much better than many of us feared. . . .

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028935.php
A SPIRITED DEFENSE OF A PROGRESSIVE VISION

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/13/obamas-budget-speech-nice-rhetoric-misplaced-focus/
Nice Rhetoric, Misplaced Focus

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/president-obamas-speech-makes-baby-p
[Dave Neiwert] My favorite part of the president's speech on the budget today was when he eviscerated Rep. Paul Ryan's phony "Path to Prosperity" . . . [read on]

More reactions: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/13/966631/-Reaction-roundup:-PresidentObamasfiscalspeech

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/13/966695/-Reaction-roundup:-Part-II

Full text: http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal-aka-fran/live-stream-presidents-address-fi

Just the numbers, please

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/itemizing-obamas-savings
Itemizing Obama's Savings

More: http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2011/04/barack-obamas-deficit-plan/

The Repubs, of course, are beside themselves

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/republicans-reject-obama-speech-on-personal-grounds.php
GOP: Obama's Speech So Partisan We'll Never Reach Budget Agreement

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028942.php
A LAUGHABLE RESPONSE TO A CREDIBLE PROPOSAL

More: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/reaction-to-obama-deficit-reduction-speech-swift-and-partisan/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/2012ers-dismiss-obamas-deficit-speech.php

If Congress did nothing, the deficit would go down

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/first-things-first-do-nothing.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2011/04/the-do-nothing-deficit-reduction-plan

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028928.php

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/simple-solution-to-much-of-deficit.html
Letting Bush tax cuts expire would solve 75% of deficit over next 5 years, 40% over 20 years . . .

Did Obama fleece the GOPers in the budget deal last week?

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/04/13/obama
Obama's "bad negotiating" is actually shrewd negotiating

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/getting-real-about-deficit

Boehner’s crazy, dangerous game

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/john-boehners-amateur-hour-meanwhile.html
[HuffPo] Morning Money reported today that John Boehner has been calling Wall Street executives and asking them how long he can hold out on raising the debt limit before the market gets spooked -- as if he can tease the market with default and then back off at the last second without harming the economy. The executives, according to MM, have been warning him against playing games. Once you threaten to default, that injects a fear of default into the market . . .

Not ready for prime time

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/13/pawlenty_walks_back_announcement.html
Tim Pawlenty told CNN last night, "I'm running for president."

However, the Pawlenty campaign later told the Huffington Post that the network took the former governor's comments out of context . . .

Fox World

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028926.php
One of the more frustrating things about conservative politics is that there's nothing right-wing personalities can say to be exiled from polite society. . . .

Bonus item: WTF?

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/virginia_teacher_mock_auctions_black_students_to_t.php
A fourth grade teacher in Norfolk, Virginia is in trouble for getting a bit too real in a lesson on the Civil War, in which she held a mock auction of black students while letting the white students bid on them . . .

***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.***

MONEY MATTERS

The GOP plan, in one sentence:

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/gop-plan

Obama’s budget victories

http://mydd.com/2011/4/12/what-obama-did-sa
[AP] A close look at the government shutdown-dodging agreement to cut federal spending by $38 billion reveals that lawmakers significantly eased the fiscal pain by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand and going after programs President Barack Obama had targeted anyway.

Such moves permitted Obama to save favorite programs — Pell grants for poor college students, health research and "Race to the Top" aid for public schools, among others — from Republican knives. . . [read on]

Or not: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/smoke-and-mirrors-watch

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/12/dems-try-to-spin-budget-cuts-economic-reality-impervious-to-that-spin/
Dems Try to Spin Budget Cuts: Economic Reality Impervious to That Spin

The budget details

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966253/-Budget-deal-details-reveal-painful-cuts,-but-some-creative-accounting-too

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/treading-water.html

Can the Repubs PASS the bill they just negotiated?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/us/politics/13congress.html

The Ryan budget plan makes many Republicans nervous

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028822.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028906.php

Looking forward, it’s clear that any serious approach to addressing the long-term deficit has to look at the spending as well as the revenue side. Well, guess what, the Republicans aren’t serious: even letting the budget-busting Bush tax cuts expire is “off the table”

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966322/-Boehners-prebuttal:-Raising-taxes-unacceptable-and-a-nonstarter
Boehner's prebuttal: Raising taxes 'unacceptable and a nonstarter'

Donald Rumsfeld bragged about the extensive documentation for his book; here are the documents he DIDN’T want you to see

http://gawker.com/#!5766225/the-pentagon-papers-that-donald-rumsfeld-doesnt-want-you-to-see

http://gawker.com/#!5790014/more-pentagon-papers-donald-rumsfeld-doesnt-want-you-to-see

Still fighting the Civil War

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028913.php

The 2012 GOPers remind us what the next election is REALLY all about

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/gop-2012-candidates-are-staking-out.html
The GOP 2012 candidates are staking out positions against Sharia law

You can say that again

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/trumps-rise-highlights-a-flawed-field/
Trump’s Rise Highlights a Flawed Field

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966221/-Trump-moves-into-first-place-tie-for-Republican-nomination
Trump moves into first-place tie for Republican nomination

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028910.php

Michele Bachmann, who has no chance of ever being elected President, yesterday assured us that she would serve only one term if necessary – even though she has no chance of ever being elected. Today she feels the need to backpedal, saying she MIGHT serve a second term, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS NO CHANCE OF EVER BEING ELECTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. What’s going on inside that head of hers?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/bachmann-i-didnt-close-the-door-on-two-terms-as-president-video.php

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/12/bachmann_palin_gop

DR's Corner: How bad will the Japanese reactor meltdown get?

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_05.html
The Japanese government's nuclear safety agency has decided to raise the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale. . . .

[DR] I hope somebody goes back an edits together the multiple hundreds of "expert opinions" given in the days following the tsunami where the only words we heard spoken were essentially official propaganda that the accident was in no way comparable in severity to Chernobyl.

Every so-called expert who gave a rosy opinion on TV or in print should be identified and a background check should be conducted to ascertain their connection to government and/or corporate propaganda agencies.

The open questions now are: Is "7" high enough? Is this actually a lot worse than Chernobyl?

I'm sure tomorrow all the experts will tell us, "Oh no. There is no way it will be worse then Chernobyl."

Well, folks, maybe this one goes to 8.

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/12/966016/-Fukushima-nuclear-complex-goes-from-bad-to-worse
Fukushima nuclear complex goes from bad to worse

Bonus item: Conservative activists want to change the way they talk about gays. (Unintentionally hilarious)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/11/social-conservatives-gay-agenda-words_n_847738.html
"'Gay' is a left-wing socio-political construct designed to create grounds for fundamental rights [based on] whimsical capricious desires," said Ryan Sorba, chairman of the Young Conservatives of California. "Gay identity does not exist." . . . [read on for the proposed substitutes]

***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.***

UNPREDICTABLE

Here we go again. Meet the “Gang of Six”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/grand-bargain-gang-bang.html
Jessica Yellin: Here are two members of the so-called Gang of Six a bipartisan group of Senators who are trying to negotiate deficit reduction. . . [read on]

NOW he tells us

http://mydd.com/2011/4/11/larry-summers
[Robert Kuttner] Larry Summers, now back at Harvard, was the after-dinner entertainment, interviewed by the prodigious Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, the world’s most respected financial journalist.

Summers was terrific, acknowledging that the stimulus of February 2009 was too small, that the idea of deflating our way to recovery is insane, that de-regulation had been excessive, and that much of the economics profession missed the developing crisis because its infatuation with self-correcting markets.

If only this man had been Obama’s chief economic adviser! . . . [read on]

Conservative economists confirm: Ryan’s budget is a fraud

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/conservative-economists-criticize-off-the-deep-end-republican-budget.php

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/wonk-moment-what-paul-ryans-unserious-propo
What Paul Ryan's Unserious Proposal Actually Looks Like

Oh-oh

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1122208/1/.html
Japan may raise the severity of its nuclear accident to seven - the top level on an international scale . . . [read on]

Ah, the U.S. of A. – where European companies come for low-wage workers

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028895.php

More: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/10/business/la-fi-ikea-union-20110410

Good

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/ninth_circuit_upholds_injunction_against_arizona_i.php
Ninth Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Arizona Immigration Law

Trouble in Waukesha

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/wis-officials-still-examining-waukesha-procedures-local-dem-canvasser-cast-doubt-on-process.php

Republicans don’t like their Presidential choices

http://firedoglake.com/2011/04/11/congressional-republicans-all-our-presidential-candidates-suck/

But we do

http://www.samefacts.com/2011/04/campaigns/campaign-2012/i-was-wrong/
[Mark Kleiman] First I thought that Sarah Palin for President was the best hope for the Democrats. Then I set my sights higher, on Michelle Bachmann. But I now see the profound folly – worse, the profound lack of imagination – embodied in those two ideas.

Granted, either Palin or Bachmann would have been an order of magnitude more ludicrous than any candidate ever nominated for President by a major party. (Yes, even including William Jennings Bryan.)

Nonetheless neither Our Sarah nor Maniacal Michelle could possibly hold a candle to … THE DONALD.. . .

Update: Turns out the thinking above wasn’t wishful enough. The only thing better than a Trump nomination would be a Trump third-party effort. And he’s threatening just that. . . .

They’re all theocrats now

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/pawlenty-hires-nick-ayers-who-claims-gods-calling-as-campaign-manager.php

Haw, haw, haw. Michele Bachmann, who has about as much chance of becoming President as I do, promises to be a one-termer. Easy to give up something YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO HAVE

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/bachmann-ill-be-a-one-term-president-if-thats-what-it-takes.php

Palin and Trump: perfect partners

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/trump_palin_two_million_birther

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/sarah-palin-gets-behind-trumps-birth

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/sarah_palin_cites_ludicrious_claim_that_obama_spent_2_million_in_birth_certificate_fight.php

First Fox, then Jon Kyl, now WorldNetDaily. The new right wing ploy seems to be to ADMIT that you lie (knowing that people either won’t notice or won’t care). But you admit it, so it’s okay, right?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/11/joseph_farah_wnd_misinformation

Bonus item: “People think” Fox is a real news organization

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/demented-trumping-trump.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.***

NEGOTIATING WITH HOSTAGE-TAKERS

What Obama lost

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/why-did-obama-cave

What Boehner gained

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/11/what_boehner_gains_from_the_budget_deal.html

More cuts to come

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/us/politics/11deficit.html
Obama to Call for Broad Plan to Reduce Debt

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028879.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obamas_new_approach_to_deficit_reduction_to_include_spending_on_entitlements/2011/04/04/AFpDoDHD_story.html

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ezra-klein-celebrating-spending-cuts-democ

Sound familiar?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/us/politics/11deficit.html
After months of criticism that he has not led on budget talks, Mr. Obama will urge bipartisan negotiations toward a multiyear debt-reduction plan . . .

Whether anything tangible comes of the debate, it will contrast the parties’ visions of the role of government. . . .

Friday night’s 11th-hour agreement on spending cuts, which averted a government shutdown, removed what had been a distraction for months over this year’s unfinished federal budget. Administration officials said they also hoped that the compromise helped build trust with the House speaker, John A. Boehner, that would carry over to the larger debates about long-term spending and the national debt. . . .

Another impetus to Wednesday’s move is the White House’s belief that a bipartisan “Gang of Six” senators will announce this week that they have reached agreement on a debt-reduction package similar to that of the president’s fiscal commission. . .

Speaking on Saturday in Connecticut, Mr. Boehner said Republicans would not agree to raise the cap “without something really, really big attached to it.”. . .

Several presidential advisers interviewed in recent weeks said Mr. Obama has been torn between wanting to propose major budget changes to entice Republicans to the bargaining table, including on Social Security, and believing they would never agree to raise revenues on upper-income Americans as part of a deal. . . .

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/04/id_spent_part_of_the_1.php
[Josh Marshall] I'd spent part of the weekend writing a post on why the White House has to decide now that it won't get into any more policy debates with hostage takers . . . But first a different point: The White House is signaling that it will come off Friday's budget deal with a new and more aggressive plan to cut the deficit and 'reform' Medicare and Medicaid. Top White House advisor David Plouffe notes that the president's plan will use a "scalpel and not a machete."

Frankly, that strikes me as the sort of over-clever language political handlers come up with when they're in the midst of dealing themselves a losing political hand. . . . [read on]

The GOP embraces cruelty

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/cantor-admits-social-security-and-medicare-a
Cantor admits Social Security and Medicare 'aren't going to be there' when he retires

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-american-dream-doing-more-with-less.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/eric-cantor-poor-and-middle-class-die

Cross-eyed Granny

http://firedoglake.com/2011/04/10/sunday-late-night-who-was-that-cross-eyed-granny-next-to-the-boehn/

Suspicions grow about the “discovered” votes in Wisconsin

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/wisconsin-republican-finds-more-than.html

These facts should settle the birther debate – but of course, it’s not fact-driven to begin with

http://www.samefacts.com/2011/04/watching-conservatives/a-stake-through-the-heart-of-birtherism/

The end of an independent news media

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/04/10/journalism

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/ryan-budget-deal-really-still-a-drop-in-the-bucket.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/10/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_46_n_847120.html

First, Jon Kyl, now Mike Huckabee

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/mike-huckabee-claims-planned-parenthood-pr
Mike Huckabee Claims That Planned Parenthood is 'Primarily An Abortion Provider'

"Fox and Fools": http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028874.php

Bonus item: SNL spoofs “Fox and Friends”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/10/snl-mocks-fox-friends_n_847166.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.***

RAW DEAL

A closer look at the budget deal, and the politics of it

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52836.html
The administration largely succeeded in blocking the most controversial policy riders impacting the environment and abortion-rights. But the spending cut is one of the single largest in history, and a preview of what lies ahead when Republicans move their 2012 budget plan next week and fight with Obama over raising the debt ceiling in May and June. . . [read on]

http://www.slate.com/id/2290902/
[John Dickerson] Imagine a restaurant, Chez Polis, in which the chef and the manager are bitter rivals. One evening they bicker and almost come to blows over a meal. Their one patron is about to walk out but moments before he does, they declare a truce and deliver the smallest of three courses. They put the plate on the table and immediately start patting themselves on the back. This seems strange to the patron . . .[read on]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2011/apr/09/barack-obama-us-federal-government-shutdown-averted-but-where-does-obama-stand
[Michael Tomasky] I understand what Obama is doing when he talks, as he does in the video, about the government needing to live within its means. I'm sure it polls well with independents, and as I've said many times, he needs to rebuild his standing among independents. We all get this.

But but but: to hear Obama kinda-sorta boasting about overseeing a domestic spending cut on a scale that even Ronald Reagan never managed leaves one wondering where and over what he might someday draw a line in the sand. . . . [read on]

http://mydd.com/2011/4/9/a-government-shutdown
[Charles Lemos] To be perfectly candid, we have a President who refuses to lead. President Obama sees himself as some Solomonian arbiter who rises above the partisan divide to bridge irreconcilable differences. Pity, for one, that he gets few political dividends for his efforts. To many on the right, he remains some sort of Marxist Kenyan born usurper who is committed to subverting the Constitution - no matter his stance on any issue, there are some who will take the opposite position even if they have to run through harried hula hoops of hypocrisy as Newt Gingrich recently did on Libya - while to much of his base, he remains simply an enigma. . . . [read on]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/us/politics/10assess.html
[Jeff Zeleny] President Obama opened the week by calling on Democrats to embrace his re-election campaign. He closed it by praising Republicans for forging a compromise to cut spending this year and avert a government shutdown.

The juxtaposition made clearer than ever the more centrist governing style Mr. Obama has adopted since his party’s big losses in November and his recapture-the-middle strategy for winning a second term. . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/analysis_gop_won_first_budget_round_future_victories_may_be_harder_for_gop_leader_boehner/2011/04/09/AFPEgs8C_story.html
Analysis: GOP won first budget round

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/09/the-ugly-the-ugly-and-the-ugly-a-look-at-the-2011-funding-deal/
The Ugly, the Ugly, and the Ugly: A Look at the 2011 Funding Deal

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028868.php
A RAW DEAL

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/heroic-line-in-sand.html

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/chris-hayes-and-howard-fineman-react-budge

What’s wrong with this picture?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/2011-is-not-1995/2011/04/06/AFxPaT5C_blog.html
[Ezra Klein] The substance of this deal is bad. But the way Democrats are selling it makes it much, much worse. . . . [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028873.php
[Paul Krugman] "[I]t's one thing for Obama to decide that it was better to give in to Republican hostage-taking than draw a line in the sand; it's another for him to celebrate the result." [read on]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028871.php
THE EFFICACY OF A HOSTAGE STRATEGY

The Ryan plan DOESN’T reduce the deficit

http://crooksandliars.com/mike-lux/pulling-plug-working-families-give-tax-cu

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/04/10/2011-04-10_ryans_roadmap_to_nowhere.html

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3458

http://econospeak.blogspot.com/2011/04/does-ryan-plan-reduce-deficit-and-does.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-08/opinion/carroll.ryan.plan_1_medicare-and-medicaid-medicare-cuts-senior-citizens

More: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2011/April/06/OpEds-health-care.aspx

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/krugman-paul-ryan-29-trillion-tax-cut.html
Krugman: The Paul Ryan $2.9 trillion tax cut will increase the deficit and transfer income upward

Atrios

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2011/04/since-nobody-else-is-saying-it.html
Since Nobody Else Is Saying It

The way to reduce the deficit is to increase the number of jobs.

And, yes, I know, nobody actually cares about the deficit.

A microcosm of politics today

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028869.php
[Steve Benen] On the Senate floor yesterday, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), eager to prove that the budget debate wasn't just about Planned Parenthood, spent some time on the Senate floor going after Planned Parenthood. . . . “If you want an abortion, you go to Planned Parenthood, and that's well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does." . . .

That's not even close to being accurate. Just 3% of the organization's work is related to terminating pregnancies, while "well over 90% of Planned Parenthood does" relates to preventative health care services.

Yesterday, CNN, to its credit, sought an explanation from the senator about the glaring error. CNN anchor TJ Holmes told viewers:

"We did call [Kyl's] office trying to ask what he was talking about there. And I just want to give it you verbatim here. It says, 'his remark was not intended to be a factual statement’ . .” [read on]

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/08/jon-kyl-is-sorry-if-he-ga_n_846941.html

Theocracy watch

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/opinion/10sun2.html
In the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 ruling about a school-choice program in Arizona, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion leaves intact a program that has disbursed almost $350 million of state funds, most of it to schools choosing students on the basis of religion.

The holding all but overrules a landmark decision of the Warren court, Flast v. Cohen. As Justice Elena Kagan says powerfully in her first dissent, “by ravaging Flast in this way,” the majority “damages one of this nation’s defining constitutional commitments.” . . . [read on]

Mainstreaming the nuts

Teabagger edition: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/longtime-far-right-patriots-moving-m
Longtime far-right 'Patriots' moving into the mainstream

Glenn Beck edition: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/look-back-becks-nutty-fox-news-caree
A look back on Beck's nutty Fox News career

Sunday talk show line-ups

http://firedoglake.com/2011/04/10/sunday-talking-heads-april-10-2011/
ABC’s This Week: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe. Then, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Roundtable: George Will, interim DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile, Thomson-Reuters’ Chrystia Freeland, and National Journal’s Ron Brownstein. Plus, Robert Redford.

CBS’ Face The Nation: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Democratic Conference Vice Chair and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member.

CNN’s State of the Union: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe. Then, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). Followed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Quartet Representative to the Middle East. It all ends with Donald Trump.

Fareed Zakaria – GPS: Budget: “Fareed’s take is that [Rep. Paul] Ryan is to be commended for trying to tackle entitlements, but says unfortunately the plan just won’t work.” Then, James Baker “weighs in on how the Obama administration is handling the Middle East, what’s keeping the U.S.’s economy from becoming like Greece’s, and what Ronald Reagan would think of the Tea Party.” Followed by the Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf with his “relatively rosy outlook for the United States and world economy.” And more.

NBC’s Meet The Press: White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe. Then, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Roundtable: Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver; host of CNBC’s Mad Money Jim Cramer; New York Times White House Correspondent Helene Cooper; and NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director, Chuck Todd.

Bonus item: Go ahead, it’s okay to laugh

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/09/963703/-Saturday-hate-mail-a-palooza,-Best-of-Q1-edition

***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.***

SHUTDOWN AVOIDED (SORT OF)

Winners or losers?

Obama? http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/obama-the-closer.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/09/965075/-No-shutdown-But-the-big-fight-remains
No shutdown. But the big fight remains.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/09/skirmish_ends_but_war_begins.html

Boehner? http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/how-john-boehners-tea-party-balancing-act-avoided-a-government-shutdown.php
While he avoided a potentially disastrous shutdown, only time will tell whether he kept his hold on his party. Already some conservative Republicans are expressing their dismay at the deal.

More: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/09/boehners_leadership_tested.html

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/08/budget_boehner_deal_shutdown

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/house-gopers-not-all-on-board-with-budget-agreement.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028867.php
As budget developments unfolded late last night, one of the prominent Tea Party group declared that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was "selling out" far-right activists. The group vowed to launch a primary campaign against him. . . .

The Villagers love it, of course

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/big-fat-village-win-win.html

A comic perspective

http://www.samefacts.com/2011/04/politics-and-leadership/pulling-back-at-the-brink/



Laughable moment when GOP “Women’s Caucus” (which appears to have never met before) tries to explain their position on anti-women riders on the budget bill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/house-gop-women-dodge-questions-on-abortion-provisions-at-press-conference.php

Bald-faced liar

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2011/04/lies-and-lying-liars.html
On the Senate floor John Kyl just lied to America and informed us all that 90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028858.php
That's not even close to being accurate . . .

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/what-planned-parenthood-actually-does.html
What Planned Parenthood actually does

More from Kyl: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/08/964879/-Sen-Jon-Kyls-greatest-hits:-Women-dont-need-special-healthcare

Rush Limbaugh adds a little class to the debate

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/rushs-id-only-sluts-need-birth-control.html

Wisconsin investigating the post-election appearance of 14,000 votes that shifted the outcome of their state Supreme Court vote

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/wisconsin-election-officials-sending-staff-to-waukesha-county.php

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/08/964970/-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-race-wont-be-certified-until-after-probe-of-14,000foundvotes

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028849.php

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/08/more-investigations-called-for-in-mystery-of-the-found-votes-in-wisconsin/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/veteran-lawyers-from-franken-coleman-recount-now-in-wisconsin-court-race.php

ONLY two thirds?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/poll-two-thirds-of-voters-unimpressed-with-potential-gop-prez-candidates.php
Poll: Two-Thirds Of Voters Unimpressed With Potential GOP Prez Candidates

The Foxification of CNN continues

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/04/proud_moment_for_cnn.php
"Donald Trump says Obama wasn't born here. We'll show you the evidence, and let you decide."

Bonus item: Jon Stewart says goodbye to Glenn Beck – don’t miss it

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/jon-stewart-s-epic-parody-glenn-beck-s-fare

The real thing: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/watch-glenn-go-when-hes-finally-free

***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.***

CHILD’S PLAY

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/shutdown-fun-and-games
Shutdown Fun and Games

http://www.slate.com/id/2290779
As a government shutdown gets more likely, Washington politics gets more immature.

http://mydd.com/2011/4/7/the-issue
Senator Reid: "The Issue is Ideology, Not Numbers"

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028844.php
THE ORIGINS OF A MESS

Of course

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/dont_cry_for_congress_lawmakers_get_paid_suffer_little_during_a_government_shutdown/2011/04/08/AFg4ujzC_story.html
Lawmakers get paid, suffer little during a government shutdown

The Heritage Foundation pulls ridiculous numbers from their “study” of the Ryan budget proposal

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/heritage-foundation-removes-unemployment-rate-from-budget-study.php

More: http://my.firedoglake.com/scarecrow/2011/04/06/krugman-exposes-gop-ryans-unicorn-budget-catches-heritage-burying-number/

Longtime PBD reader Carol Spindel has a terrific series on Laurent Gbagbo, tyrant of the Ivory Coast – and his Christian right apologists over here

http://open.salon.com/blog/carol_spindel/2011/04/04/abidjan_one_death_not_counted

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/05/pat_robertson_ivory_coast_gbagbo/index.html

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/sen-james-inhofe-still-supporting-gbagb

Very convenient: 14,000 “missing” votes from a Republican-leaning city give the Wisconsin Supreme Court election back to David “Total bitch” Prosser

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/waukesha-clerk-announces-votes-for-prosser-im-thankful-that-this-error-was-caught-early.php

Hmmm . . . http://crooksandliars.com/breaking-news/conservative-waukesha-county-clerk-f

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/04/07/waukesha-county-clerk-finds-votes-for-brookfield-on-her-pc-adds-over-7500-votes-to-prossers-total/

http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/woman-david-prosser-called-total-bitch.html

Some things don’t change

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/nearly-of-mississippi-republicans-think-interracial-marriage-should-be-illegal.php
Nearly Half Of Mississippi Republicans Think Interracial Marriage Should Be Illegal

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/even-in-this-day-and-age.html

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/tennessee_house_passes_creationism-friendly_educat.php
Tennessee House Passes Bill That Lets Teachers Question Evolution In Science Class

Bonus item: Blurting the truth

http://www.samefacts.com/2011/04/watching-conservatives/a-victory-for-the-republican-people/
Mike Pence (R-IN) commits a classic Kinsley-gaffe on Fox News. His canned one-liner was “We’re trying to score a victory for the American people, not the Republican party.” But what he actually said was “We’re trying to score a victory for the Republican people.”

***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.***

TOO FAR

It was obvious from the last election that the GOPers had unleashed an insurgent movement they couldn’t control, who helped them win but was also going to expect payback once they were in power. Now the teabaggers want their due

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/tea-partiers-cheer-shut-it-down-but-bachmann-says-they-dont-want-a-shutdown-video.php
Tea Partiers Cheer 'Shut It Down,' But Bachmann Says They Don't Want A Shutdown

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/964134/-Tea-party-crowd,-GOP-congressman-at-rally:-Shut-it-down

The untenable choices the Ryan budget presents to the Repubs

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028822.php
THE POLITICAL PERILS OF RYAN'S RADICALISM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/dems_planning_to_use_ryan_proposal_to_go_on_offense_in_senate_races/2011/03/03/AFMs8PpC_blog.html
Dems planning to use Ryan proposal to go on offense in Senate races

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/05/2012-gop-ryan-budget_n_845213.html
Potential 2012 GOP Presidential Candidates Embrace Ryan Budget Plan

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/963922/-Rank-and-file-GOPers-hedge-on-Ryan-plan-to-repeal-Medicare
Rank and file GOPers hedge on Ryan plan to repeal Medicare

http://www.samefacts.com/2011/04/health-care/bait-and-switch/
[Mark Kleiman] The Republicans and their Teahadi allies just won an election by scaring seniors about cuts in Medicare and freaking out the Religious Right with talk of “death panels.” Now we discover that their budget plan relies on abolishing Medicare entirely . . . I’d like to think that they won’t be able to get away with this.

The Obama Way (thanks to Elaine N for the link)

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/04/obamas-disappearing-act
[Kevin Drum] Obama has long followed a strategy of letting other people fight pitched battles for a while and then parachuting in toward the end to act as peacemaker. And there's a case to be made for that sometimes. He did it with healthcare because Bill Clinton tried it the other way in 1993 and got his hide nailed to the wall, and in the end Obama's strategy worked. Would a more active intervention have worked better? Maybe, but there was a pretty good case to be made for doing it the way he did.

But over the past year this trait has become almost pathological. Maybe the power of the bully pulpit is overrated, but Obama seems unwilling to even try to move public opinion or take a leadership role in his own caucus. At this point, I really have no idea what he thinks of taxes, the deficit, Medicare cuts, or much of anything else on the domestic agenda. I guess he's figuring that if his political opponents insist on digging themselves into a hole, he might as well stand back and let them. But if he keeps this up much longer, there's going to be nothing left of his presidency except "Well, I guess he's better than the wingnuts from the other party." That may win him reelection, but it won't do much more. . . . [read on]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David “She’s a bitch” Prossser loses his re-election fight

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/kloppenburg-declares-victory-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-race.php

Of course: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/conservative-pundit-sees-vote-fraud-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-race-video.php
The votes barely counted, and a recount likely -- the state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin is not yet truly over. But John Fund, Wall Street Journal columnist and long time voter fraud fearmongerer, is already crying foul in the election . . .

I think Madison is part of the state of Wisconsin

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/walker-blames-madison-for-supreme-court-election.php
Gov. Scott Walker said this afternoon that the spring election results show there are "two very different worlds in this state."

"You've got a world driven by Madison, and a world driven by everybody else out across the majority of the rest of the state of Wisconsin," Walker said at a press conference in the Capitol.

Wrong! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/964104/-Scott-Walker-blames-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-Loss-on-Madison
[Steve Singiser] Of the 20 counties in Wisconsin that came the closest to mimicking their 2010 gubernatorial turnout, fourteen of them were carried by Kloppenburg. Conversely, of the 20 counties in the state that saw the biggest dropoff from their 2010 turnout levels, Prosser won 13 of them.

Justice Prosser did worse in 51 of the state's 72 counties, when compared to his performance in the judicial primary elections back on February 15th. In fully twenty of those counties, Prosser slid by more than five points.

Looking back just six months ago, Kloppenburg outperformed 2010 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett in all but six counties.

Of course I want to hear what Bryan Fischer has to say about the “African-American family” – and what’s wrong with it

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_04/028823.php

Donald has hired investigators to go to Hawaii and track down the truth about Obama’s birth certificate

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/06/trump_has_investigators_in_hawaii.html

Finally. Easing him out the door

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/fox-news-and-mercury-radio-arts-announce-new-agreement-beck-to-transition-off-daily-tv-program/
Beck to ‘Transition Off’ Daily TV Program

More: http://www.eschatonblog.com/2011/04/bye-glenny.html
[Atrios] What has too often been left out of coverage of Beck is that strong pressure on advertisers by various involved groups likely had a big impact on his eventual leaving, and certainly a big impact on the amount of money flowing into Fox's coffers.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/06/964014/-Glenn-Beck-to-transition-off-Fox
Beck's ratings have dropped recently, and thanks to Color Of Change's "Stop Glenn Beck" campaign, 300 advertisers have refused to run commercials during his broadcasts. In addition, Beck has found it increasingly difficult to find guests willing to appear on his program, forcing him to air what amounts to hour-long rants about conspiracy theories that never seem to pan out. . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/shameful-chapter.html

http://my.firedoglake.com/spocko/2011/04/06/beck-out-at-fox-what-it-means/

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/04/06/beck_fox_done

We’ll miss you Glenn!

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-beck-predicts-imminent-revolut
Glenn Beck predicts imminent revolutionary violence from the Left this summer -- just like he did in 2010. And in 2009.

Lots more: http://www.americablog.com/2011/04/glenn-beck-suggests-soros-connected.html

Bonus item: Michele Bachmann lists her qualifications for President

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/04/06/bachmann_touts_her_qualifications.html
"I have a very broad, extensive background. I'm a student of many years. I've studied a number of, a wide berth of topics. I sit currently on the Intelligence Committee. We deal with the classified secrets and with the unrest that's occurring around the world. I also sit on Financial Services Committee. But again, I've lived life. Tomorrow, I'll be celebrating my 55th birthday, and I've had a wide, extensive life. And again, my background is a very practical, solution-oriented vision."

***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.***