Thanks Bobfr
****
****
Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Conservatives are furious with GOP candidates like Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for attacking Mitt Romney’s Bain tenure as capitalism run amok. Gingrich has claimed that Bain “looted” other companies, and Perry today slammed enterprises like Bain as “vultures” who “eat the carcass” of its victims, prompting a fresh round of outrage from the right.
Conservatives have good reason for being angry about this. In attacking Romney’s Bain years in these terms, his fellow Republicans are mainstreaming and giving bipartisan legitimacy to one of the chief arguments Obama and Dems will use against Romney in the general election. They are badly undermining Romney’s whole pushback against it – giving Dems an advantage in the coming war to define Romney’s Bain years, which will be as central to the general election narrative as the war over John Kerry’s Vietnam service was in 2004.
More here
****
WH: …. Since Chrysler and GM emerged from bankruptcy in June of 2009, the auto industry has added 170,000 jobs – the best period of job growth for the industry in more than a decade.
When President Obama took office, the American auto industry was shedding jobs by the hundreds of thousands and GM and Chrysler faced the possibility of liquidation – which would have caused at least 1 million more jobs to be lost. The President made the tough choice to help provide the auto industry the temporary support it needed to grow and prosper.
Today, GM and Chrysler have repaid their government loans, and the “Big Three” automakers – GM, Ford, and Chrysler – are all adding jobs, generating profit, and investing in their U.S. facilities. Auto sales climbed in December for the seventh consecutive month and GM, Chrysler, and Ford saw their market share increase to over 47 percent in 2011, the second straight year that Detroit gained market share against their foreign competitors, something that had not previously happened since 1995….
****
TPM: In a positive sign for the economy, November saw the biggest growth in consumer credit for 10 years. It should have happened much earlier. What threw it off was the GOP taking the debt ceiling hostage.
More here
****
Steve Benen: A few weeks ago, PolitiFact made a serious mistake in selecting its “Lie of the Year” … Democratic claims that House Republicans voted to “end” Medicare earned the ignoble designation, despite the fact that the Democratic argument is easily supportable.
It was easy to predict what would happen next. As part of the party’s 2012 campaign message, Democrats would run ads criticizing GOP lawmakers for their anti-Medicare vote … GOP leaders would go to every station in the country, telling them not to run campaign commercials that include claims proven to be untrue. That PolitiFact’s decision was ridiculous wouldn’t matter.
And sure enough, we’re already seeing this start to play out. Greg Sargent has the latest: Earlier this week, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee aired a TV ad, timed to the GOP presidential debate, attacking GOP incumbent Rep. Charlie Bass for voting to “end Medicare.” The Bass campaign sent letters to two New Hampshire stations – WMUR and WHDH – demanding the ads be yanked. Crucially, the Bass campaign repeatedly cited PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year designation to bolster its case.
Both stations refused.
More here
The ad:
****
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka lauds Cecilia Muñoz’s appointment to head the Domestic Policy Council: “Cecilia Muñoz is a dedicated advocate for civil and human rights and longtime friend to the Labor movement. The AFL-CIO congratulates Cecilia on her appointment to Director of the Domestic Policy Council and looks forward to working with her to develop and implement a policy agenda that improves the lives of working families.”
****
President Barack Obama is introduced by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson before he speaks to employees of the EPA in Washington January 10
****
The Obama Diary 
The smooth ride is over for Willard!
From previous thread-
Romney worried about pink slip? Bain gave him golden parachute
By Greg Sargent| Posted at 02:42 PM ET, 01/09/2012
In a memo set to go out to the press this afternoon, Priorities USA Action is highlighting a June, 2007 Boston Globe story that detailed the circumstances of Romney’s hiring. According to the article (via Nexis), the company’s founder, Bill Bain, and Romney agreed on a whole bunch of safeguards built into his deal, so if he failed, he’d have a very soft landing, including getting his job back at a previous firm both men worked at:
Bain sweetened the offer. He guaranteed that if the experiment failed, Romney would get his old job and salary back, plus any raises handed out during his absence.
Romney had one more concern: the impact on his reputation should he prove unable to do the job. In the end, Bain agreed to craft a cover story if necessary, promising to bring Romney back to the consulting firm and explain Romney’s return as a matter of his being more valuable to Bain as a consultant. So,” Bain says, “there was no professional or financial risk.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romney-worried-about-pink-slip-bain-gave-him-golden-parachute/2012/01/09/gIQAPD4ylP_blog.html
In the article circulated the other day from Vanity Fair, the Bain Capital deal also came with the promise that if Mitt failed, they would lie and claim that he was more needed at Bain Consulting, so no-one would know that he was returning because he had failed. Very strange. Plus, Bain idolized Romney’s father, George.
Thanks for reminding me about that article, theo. Will have to take the time out to bookmark it and read it.~
Good after noon ya’ll. Sorry i’m late for todays party. Press on anyway!
hey yardarm! clear sailing?
January 9, Detroit News: On Friday, LaHood met with Gov. Rick Snyder, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Michigan’s two senators and Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, and business advocates of light rail Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and Matt Cullen.
“Over the next 90 days, we will be in the room working with them on their proposal to invest $100 million – leveraged with federal dollars – to make the light rail project work as a part of a regional program for Detroit,” LaHood told The News. “We’re in the red zone on this. We’re just about over the goal line on the light rail – but it has to be part of a regional focus.”
http://mobile.mlive.com/advannarbor/pm_103357/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=iyCTTlNS
Thanks, I really like LaHood; he’s always on his JOB!
LAHOOD KNOWS HOW TO TALK TO DRIVE A MESSAGE! WE NEED MORE PPL LIKE HIM!
Should connect Detroit to Chicago.
The Party is Just Broken
by BooMan
Tue Jan 10th, 2012 at 12:41:05 PM EST
Ryan Lizza is right that Bush’s crappy presidency contributed to the weak field of candidates that we see today:
“A successful Presidency can produce a new crop of future Presidential candidates for the party that controls the White House. The vice president and cabinet officials, as well as governors and senators elected over the course of the administration, are historically major sources for a party’s next round of candidates. The Bush years had the opposite effect. It was unthinkable that his vice president would run for higher office and much of his cabinet left Washington tainted by the President’s unpopularity. Moreover, Bush helped sink his party in the 2006 and 2008 elections, thus depleting the ranks of potential Republican candidates for 2012.”
But, the problem is a bit deeper. It’s hard to come up with a Republican who would make a plausible president and who, at the same time, could actually win the nomination. People talk about some of the less insane governors, like Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels, and Chris Christie. Maybe someone telegenic and non-threatening like Sen. John Thune could make a run, although he wouldn’t necessarily win the love of the Republican base. If you’re honest, the cupboard is pretty bare. The biggest problem is that the candidates have so little room to maneuver on the issues. It’s like they all have to learn the Rush Limbaugh catechism and they can’t deviate from it. In other words, it’s just packaging. All the candidates are going to make the same argument and do largely the same things in office. Maybe this is increasing Ron Paul’s appeal. At root, this is still the party of Tom DeLay. It is built to plunder. It rejects empathy. And it is giant reservoir for hate.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/1/10/12415/8116
I’m in Indiana and Mitch doesn’t sound like Tea Party, but he is. He was Bush’s Director of OMB and was the architect of the tax cuts for the rich.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Daniels
Conservative columnist Ross Douthat has stated that Daniels “carried water, as director of the Office of Management and Budget, for some of the Bush administration’s more egregious budgets [and…] made dubious public arguments in support of his boss’s agenda.” [22] Daniels was responsible for estimating the cost of the invasion of Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom. The operation was estimated to last six months, and did not include a projection of the long-term cost of maintaining a military presence in the region after its immediate occupation.
Indiana is a depressed, passive state and Daniels appears very rational and calm. Indiana was one of the first if not the first state to enact voter ID suppression laws. He denied funds to Planned Parenthood. Indiana has a right to work law the GOP is trying to ram through and Daniels limited the amount of people that protest in the state house. He cut teachers and used state funds for vouchers for Charter Schools.
Unfortunately, the Republican party is not Republican, it’s Libertarian and Bircher and that’s an unfortunate legacy of this state’s history and that’s Mitch Daniel’s philosophy. Senator Lugar is a true Republican although he’s been pushed to the right by the Tea Party.
Thank God for President Obama and the Democrats! Obama/Biden 2012!!!
Excellent comment on the post:
♥ ♥ ♥ Good Day Chips! Good Day TOD Family! ♥ ♥ ♥
Barack Obama Quote O’ The Day
Have a Great Afternoon, Everyone! 😛
Yes, indeed, President Obama is committed and so dedicated to the cause. This amazing man is unstoppable because he is on a mission. He is a visionary. Just Wow.
PJ. That was awesome. trying not to get all verklempt here at work! Going to tweet that on twitlonger!!
Love ti; thank you!
The Horror: What a Republican President Could Mean for the Supreme Court
By Dahlia Lithwick| January 9, 2012
For anyone considering the 2012 election’s importance to the future of the American judiciary, one fact stands out: next November, Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be seventy-nine years old. If a Republican wins the presidential election, he or she may have an opportunity to seat Ginsburg’s successor, replacing the Supreme Court’s most reliably liberal jurist with a conservative. That would mean that the Court—currently balanced almost elegantly between four liberals, four conservatives, and the moderate conservative Anthony Kennedy—would finally tilt decisively to the right, thereby fulfilling Edwin Meese’s dream, laid out in his famous 1985 speech before the American Bar Association, of reshaping the Court around one coherent “jurisprudence of original intention.”
Read more: http://www.alternet.org/story/153719/the_horror%3A_what_a_republican_president_could_mean_for_the_supreme_court/
Progressive Defeatism
by BooMan
Tue Jan 10th, 2012 at 10:51:38 AM EST
Matt Stoller recently penned a piece that got a lot of attention, including a favorable recommendation from Glenn Greenwald. Personally, I found Stoller’s piece a little hard to follow. I had to read it more than once to be sure I understood his main points. He confused me at the beginning when he began talking about “a long-standing, disturbing, and unacknowledged affinity liberals have with centralized war financing.” How does a country use a decentralized method of financing war? Is he talking about the Democratic Party or the liberal wing of the party? Why is he focused on war financing at all?
The answer, which becomes apparent many paragraphs later, is that he is talking about war financing because libertarians care about it in a way that liberals do not. Stoller says that libertarians hate Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt because they all waged “big-ass wars” that had to be financed, and the way those wars were financed involved structural reforms that libertarians dislike. I don’t think that Stoller is saying that liberals should hate Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR, but he is suggesting that we ought to take a look at the legacies of their war financing. For me, it’s the kind of boutique point that makes libertarianism so boring. Stoller’s argument then moves to detailing the history of war financing, but he conflates it with abuses of federal power like the Palmer Raids. If there is a causal connection here, Stoller doesn’t make it for us. When it comes to FDR, he reduces the complex process by which we reacted to the nuclear age by building a military-industrial complex to this simple formula:
………………………………………………………………….
Stoller and Greenwald will tell us that they’re not talking about Paul as president, that they’re only talking about him to raise awareness about issues. Part of the problem with that assertion is that most of us are talking about Paul as a presidential candidate. When we say he’s an unreconstructed neo-confederate who is the mortal enemy of progressivism, we’re not diminishing that he’s right on the War on Drugs or torture or a variety of other things. We’re saying that we’re not taking him seriously as a presidential candidate. We’re saying that we can’t support his campaign.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/1/10/105138/085
The Politifact edict that Republicans want to end Medicare as we know it as the biggest lie of 2011 is the worst kind of crap that has ever been peddled in the mainstream. When one reads through Paul Ryan’s plan it does not in any way retain Medicare as it has come to be known. It does turn a portion of Medicare into a voucher system and does not account for inflation or that older people tend to live on a fixed income so they would essentially be screwed if they ran out of money in the voucher system. Politifact which hails itself as a non-partisan entity really screwed the pooch on this one.
Ryan plan does not end Medicare. It ends Medicare, as we know it today, vouchers instead of single payer system!
The talking points just have to change, a little!
That’s exactly what I wrote Jovie. The Ryan plan ends Medicare as we know it and turns it into a voucher system. That’s exactly what the Democrats have been saying so no, you’re wrong. The Democrats do not have to change their talking points. Their talking points on the Ryan bill are just fine.
Doesn’t it also end the automatic funding of Medicare? This might be one of the GOP candidate positions – I’m not sure. But I thought that in addition to moving from guaranteed care and dignity for seniors, that they would then have a cap and would have to hope that the cap covered the cost of their care if it was funded for that year. In addition, when the repeal Obamacare(s), then they’ll also have to hope that they can go out into the open market with their little vouchers and convince an insurance company to cover them, and not drop them when they get sick. And without Obamacare(s), there will be no enforcement of the 80% rule, so they may pay their vouchers in, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll get anything back – it will probably pay for a new yacht for an executive. The Ryan Plan is the embodiment of the death panels for seniors.
The Ryan plan does end Medicare. The essence of Medicare is coverage for all seniors regardless of ability to pay. A voucher free market program was in the Ryan plan without any guarantees of coverage or way to deal with cost delta between voucher and insurance. cost. If a senior couldn’t afford the difference, they have no coverage — no way to get ‘voucher coverage’ This is and end to Medicare. Just trying to select different Medicare Part D and supplemental plans for my Mom has given me tremendous insight into how absolute impossible it would be for seniors to try to go free market in the insurance market.
There is absolutely no mis-truth in saying the Ryan plan ends Medicare.
Didn’t it have online voting to choose it’s “lie of the year”? Because Rep Ryan sent this letter out to his PAC supporters –
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/12/07/paul_ryan_wants_you_to_goose_the_lie_of_the_year_vote.html
So Ryan stuffed the ballot box, and I assume other Republicans did the same thing because they needed “win” Lie of the Year so they could use it as pushback against Dems when they make that claim.
There was online voting and I voted. There were three top picks and PolitiFact chose that one. Steve Benen has written some good pieces about it. Here’s one.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_12/politifact_ought_to_be_ashamed034211.php
The fact-checking website PolitiFact has announced its “Lie of the Year” for 2011. It made a poor, credibility-killing choice…..
The House Republican budget plan intended to privatize the existing system and replace it with something very different — a voucher scheme. It would still be called “Medicare,” but it wouldn’t be Medicare.
It seems foolish to have to parse the meaning of the word “end,” but if there’s a program, and it’s replaced with a different program, proponents brought an end to the original program. That’s what the verb means.
I’ve been trying to think of the best analogy for this. How about this one: imagine someone owns a Ferrari. It’s expensive and drives beautifully, and the owner desperately wants to keep his car intact. Now imagine I took the car away, removed the metallic badge off the trunk that says “Ferrari,” I stuck it on a golf cart, and I handed the owner the keys…..
Rick Santorum’s Big, Anti-Gay Ally
—By Stephanie Mencimer| Tue Jan. 10, 2012 3:00 AM PST
When Rick Santorum suddenly surged in the polls in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses, his rising popularity owed in part to a last-minute super-PAC ad buy that helped get his mug on the airwaves. But Santorum also got another boost from one of his anti-gay allies, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which hammered one of the ex-senator’s main rivals—Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian from Texas.
Now the group is angling for a replay in New Hampshire, where it has already been waging a contentious battle to repeal the state’s popular same-sex marriage law.
Read more: http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/rick-santorum-big-anti-gay-ally
EPA orders largest metal company- Stop dumping Mercury into San Francisco bay-
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/931381dfcd9a5c308525779700424ccd/585e7bc1bf86c1cd852579800071a3ca!OpenDocument
As immigration falls to historic lows, the rehetoric reaches historic highs
By Scot Kersgaard| Monday, January 09, 2012 at 10:38 am
As GOP presidential candidates begin the fight to stay alive by doing well in South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary, one issue they reliably turn to is immigration–with an open competition to see who can sound the toughest. While it may be a winning strategy among GOP voters in South Carolina, the Charlotte Observer points out that in a country where attempted border crossings are at a 40-year low and deportations are way above levels seen under President George W. Bush, immigration may not be the issue candidates would like it to be.
Read more: http://coloradoindependent.com/109631/as-immigration-falls-to-historic-lows-the-rehetoric-reaches-historic-highs
Wow! Lisa got great cheers from EPA workers. And they are pumped about the President, big reception for him. The EPA has so much to be proud of!
Romney’s immigration stance will hurt him
Guest essay by Álvaro Huerta| Monday, January 9
Mitt Romney may well be on his way to the Republican nomination, but he’ll have a hard time getting further than that because of his position on immigration. Romney’s hostile stance against even immigrant children who arrived here when they were very young does not sit well with Latinos, to say the least.
Like all voting groups, Latino registered voters represent a heterogeneous bunch of individuals with diverse political viewpoints and backgrounds, from liberal to moderate to conservative. This includes Chicanos from East Los Angeles, Puerto Ricans from the Bronx and Cubans from “Little Havana” in Miami. However, as a voting bloc, Latino voters tend to support the rights of undocumented immigrants and vote Democrat at a higher rate compared to all registered voters.
Read more: http://www.labloga.blogspot.com/2012/01/romneys-immigration-stance-will-hurt.html
Eaters, beware: Walmart is taking over our food system
by Stacy Mitchell| 30 Dec 2011 1:55 PM
In just a few short years, Walmart has become the most powerful force in our food system, more dominant than Monsanto, Kraft, or Tyson. Last year, as its supercenter count climbed above 3,000, Walmart captured 25 percent of the $550 billion Americans spent on groceries. As astonishing as Walmart’s national market share is, in many parts of the country the chain is even more dominant. In 29 metro markets, it accounts for more than 50 percent of grocery sales.
Seeking an even bigger piece of the pie, Walmart is campaigning to blanket New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other big cities with its stores. It has made food the centerpiece of its public relations strategy. In a series of announcements over the last year, Walmart has deftly commandeered high-profile food issues, presenting itself as a solution to food deserts, a force for healthier eating, and a supporter of local farming. It is a remarkably brazen tactic. On every one of these fronts, Walmart is very much part of the problem. Its expansion is making our food system more concentrated and industrialized than ever before.
Read more: http://www.grist.org/food/2011-12-30-eaters-beware-walmart-is-taking-over-our-food-system
Horrible development for a million reasons. Ugh. I hate Walmart, and all the damage it’s done to this country, destroying small towns and businesses across the country in addition to all the food issues stated above.
I hate Walmart for all the reasons you stated, dotser3…and I hate them because they are selling “stuff” that has no nutritional value, (causing mental, physical and spiritual sickness and destruction in poor communities) calling it food. And I hate Walmart for providing people with going no where jobs with no benefits…
Erik Erikson of “Redstate” describes his enthusiasm for the current GOP field:
“I am as excited as a fly flying through a frog filled swamp.”
that sounds great to me! obama/biden 2012!
Cornel West…….. WTF!!!!!
Oh, oh! What now?
Cornel West and Travis Smiley are both provery pimps. And when I say proverty pimps, I mean using proverty as a way of trying to attack President Obama.
Saw West on Martin Bashir today, who was most interested in making the case that “both sides do it, both sides are equally guilty” of every subject discussed. Not helpful to put it mildly.
Don, you are right, these poor pitiful persons are pimping poor people…they are getting paid big time by corporate america to pimp poor people…I don’t know of anything they have done to help “poor” people out of proverty…all they are doing is encouraging people to sit bak and complain, so they can continue to go on TV and try to be important and make money off of President Obama. I hope my words make sense…they two make me so mad my words get jumbled…
Travis Smiley gets uninvited to speak at an MLK luncheon, and what does he do? He runs to Fox-news to complain, that’s like I’m drowning and someone throws me an anvil.
zizi…
i left a message for you on the last thread…i hope that you can take a moment to read it….
Does anyone know when the interview with the First Lady will air?
Tomorrow morning on CBS.
Wednesday on CBS this morning.
Legislator files bill to reverse controversial elections measures
By Ashley Lopez | 01.04.12 | 12:36 pm
State Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, has introduced a bill that would reverse some of the controversial measures in the elections law passed by the Florida Legislature last year. According to the bill’s summary, it: Increases amount of time that third-party voter registration organizations are allowed to hold collected voter registration applications before submitting them; deletes provision authorizing Secretary of State to refer matters to Attorney General for civil action when Secretary reasonably believes that third-party voter registration violation has occurred; increases amount of time that signature on ballot initiative petition is valid; permits elector to vote in precinct to which he or she has moved his or her legal residence if elector completes certain affirmation; increases time allowed for early voting by beginning on 15th day before state or federal election & ending on 2nd day before election.
Read more: http://floridaindependent.com/62716/mark-pafford-elections-bill
GM back on top in global sales race
General Motors is poised to once again be No. 1 in global auto sales, after three years out of the top spot.
It’s a comeback that will be official when final 2011 sales figures are reported in the coming weeks.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/10/autos/gm_global_sales_leader/index.htm?cnn=yes
And,
Chevrolet led all automakers in U.S. passenger car sales in 2011 and posted its largest year-over-year retail sales increase in 35 years, due in large part to strong sales of the Cruze compact sedan. Chevrolet compact car sales almost doubled compared with 2010.
Regarding the Politifact “Lie of the Year” – Didn’t they have a top ten and have a poll to decide which was #1? I recall reading about Rep Ryan sending out a mailer to all his supporters with a direct link to vote “End Medicare” as the lie of the year. So politifact is even more useless to allow itself to be used as propaganda in this way.
Someone should ask them to demonstrate specifically how Medicare will continue to survive under the Ryan Plan. They should be forced to justify their finding.
Here is the Slate piece on this – http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/12/07/paul_ryan_wants_you_to_goose_the_lie_of_the_year_vote.html
Has anyone already posted a link to Al Giordano’s most recent masterpiece? This time he has some ‘must know’ information about Huntsman’s campaign strategy. http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/4727/huntsman-isnt-anti-romney-hes-more-authentic-romney
interesting read. Ok I really have to go back to work now……going back…..now…..
I did read it. Al never disappoints and always provides food for thought.
What drives me crazy is that Huntsman is as much a believer in supply-side economics as the other republicans, but people could be fooled by his appeals to “working together”. This “Great White Hope” could end up finishing the destruction of the middle class in America.
This is why some of us worry about guy like him. Seems sane to a lot of uninformend folks.
Confession: 10 months away and I’m already way too nervous. 🙂
We haven’t even begun to see the crazy. But, I’m nervous, too. There is so much at stake and dire global implications with a GOP win. There are just enough uninformed, crazy people who have the right to vote. I just corrected another person yesterday at work who was livid over the NDAA – and I had to put him straight and send him links to the WH.gov signing statement and a couple of good blogs (including this one). It’s scary that some of these people will be voting this year.
here’s what’s scary: the only reason i know the truth about the ndaa is that i read it here. every other news source i tap into failed to mention that it was the repug’s antics at the heart of the controversy, and the president had to, once again, step around their crap to get the necessary work done of funding our defense.
From the comments of voters being interviewed today, there is a massive education plan needed. I have never heard so many misguided and misinformed opinions in my life. Most people have no grasp of political reality.
I’m not nervous yet. Maybe once Romney officially gets the nom
We have to continue to be nervous until election night, unfortunately, because people in this country voted GWB in, TWICE.
I’m keeping the wine handy.
DON’T GET NERVOUS NOW…WE’VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO…THE GOOD NEWS IS…WE HAVE ‘THE WINNER!’ YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Bill Moyers & Company starts Sundays at 6. That should offer some semblance of sanity for those who have not lost the capacity to think! Fear not, BWD!
Big Growth in Democrats’ Small Donors
By Bob Biersack & Viveca Novak on January 5, 2012 1:20 PM
With all the attention focused on the GOP presidential horserace coming out of the Iowa caucuses, there are plenty of political stories going untold in the naked city. One of the biggest may be the success the Democrats’ congressional fundraising arms have had with small donors.
Contributors of $200 or less gave a total of $21.5 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) through November 2011, up from $13.2 million during the same period in 2009, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. That’s a gain of 62 percent. And the DCCC overall has actually raised more than $4 million more this year than it did two years earlier.
Read more: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/01/the-bigger-role-of-small-donors.html
Ha! That video should have been cross-named: “Ugly Romney’s Ugly Coronation” !
I don’t understand that.
Good afternoon TOD!
Has anyone else noticed that Huntsman has taken to wearing an AF1 type bomber jacket? We’re talking name patch over the left breast and some type of circular patch on the right. Wonder if he has a little model plane to go with…
I noticed that yesterday – and he was trying his hardest to imitate President Obama when he wears his bomber jacket. He’s really trying to present himself as the paler version of President Obama – it won’t work.
Yes, they all put down the President, but turns out they want to be just like him. Jealous fools. Nobody’s like him!
We said the same thing here. Huntsman must have seen Obama lookin’ good at the carrier basketball game. Copied him.
Makes him look so “manly” and presidential. Not.
I have noticed that also. His two sons attend the Naval Academy so it is possible it has something to do with the Navy.
Yes, I love the Navy and congratulate his sons.
The jacket might have something to do with the Navy, indeed – maybe the Army-Navy Store. They’re also purchasable. And now that the topic of the jacket has come up, I’ve noticed it’s all Huntsman is wearing. Must be ready to stand on its own by now.
Good golly – Cornel West on Martin Bashir’s show, which I recorded. Let’s see how much I can listen to (at least until he starts putting down the President) (again). He’s mocking the President’s new Chief of Staff now – saying he has a Wall Street background – but David Corn is standing up for the COS, luckily, saying Cornel shouldn’t “lump” Lew in with Newt, and gives reasons why from his background. David Corn continues with praise for the President. Cornel blames journalists for not going after politicians. Martin (no dummy) keeps it all on track, stopping Cornel from having a chance to blame the President for all the ills he and Tavis find so appealing to bash him for, every chance they get.
You have a strong stomach! I DVR’d Martin Bashir’s show, so at least I’ll know what to expect tonight when I watch it.
Normally, I do the same thing – but I wanted to see how Martin would react. Martin and Rev. Al are the only two I record (they are unabashedly for the President), and I can hardly bare to watch any of the others – unless somebody here gives ’em a “reference”!
Funny. I’m watching Martin and completely tuned out on Corney — heard Martin and David, however, didn’t hear a word that Cornel uttered. It’s like I have ear shields — the stupid just bounces off!
I enjoyed the segment w/Rep Clyburn; Martin let him run overtime so that he could complete his point.
With apologies to VP Biden…
West’s vocabulary consists of a noun, verb, and “oligarchy.”
Oh, so true. 🙂
Bravo, MsKitty! You totally nailed West’s vocabulary!
Andy Borowitz on the low turnout at the N.H. primary:
https://twitter.com/#!/BorowitzReport/status/156731446810259456
Willard on Mourning Joke tomorrow. Joke must be feeling that good ol’ Willard tingle. How exciting for them both. Fuckers 🙄
x2
Our wonderful First Lady is on CBS this Morning tomorrow, so to HELL with Morning Joke and Mitt.
Romney wants to brag about his big win in NH and no doubt will find a very sympathetic ear to defend against the Bain attacks.
There is some danger in that Scarborough is pretty free wheeling atmosphere, so Romney could put his foot in his mouth while trying to be witty, or just look awkward as hell.
Jerk and Mika were invited to breakfast at the Romneys’ quarters during the ’08 campaign, biggest thrill of their lives, so they’re thick as thieves with ’em. They’ll protect him.
not really. Joke and Hillary’s stooges will coach him. No surprise questions for Willard. No strong Dem or Obama person to challenge him. Easy Peasy! 🙂 let the coronation continue.
ugh! Fricking touchpad!! Willard, not Hillary. Tricking device is a repug 😡
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka lauds Cecilia Muñoz’s appointment to head the Domestic Policy Council: “Cecilia Muñoz is a dedicated advocate for civil and human rights and longtime friend to the Labor movement. The AFL-CIO congratulates Cecilia on her appointment to Director of the Domestic Policy Council and looks forward to working with her to develop and implement a policy agenda that improves the lives of working families.”
Chips, isn’t that Lisa Jackson (EPA)?
Sorry Alycee, wrong photo! 😳
yes. That’s PBO’s other Lisa. 🙂
Nice!
🙂 😉 🙂
Well its the afternoon and the enthusiasm to GOTV for the Repubs hasn’t gotten any better as the day has worn on.
Low turnout so far in Durham
DURHAM – Turnout has been low in this Democratically-leaning town, moderator Chris Regan said.
As of 1:45 p.m. only 859 votes had been cast. There are 7,300 registered voters here.
“I’ve been describing this as a moderate plus town election, not a primary,” Regan said.
Oops wrong article 😳
The Rick Santorum that America doesn’t know
Posted by Will Bunch @ 11:08 PM Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Here’s a Pennsylvanian’s brief guide to the Rick Santorum you don’t know:
1. This compassionate Christian conservative founded a charity that was actually a bit of a scam. In 2001, following up on a faith-based urban charity initiative around the 2000 GOP convention in Philadelphia, Santorum launched a charitable foundation called the Operation Good Neighbor Foundation. While in its first few years the charity cut checks to community groups for $474,000, Operation Good Neighbor Foundation had actually raised more than $1 million, from donors who overlapped with Santorum’s political fund raising. Where did the majority of the charity’s money go? In salary and consulting fees to a network of politically connected lobbyists, aides and fundraisers, including rent and office payments to Santorum’s finance director Rob Bickhart, later finance chair of the Republican National Committee. When I reported on Santorum’s charity for The American Prospect in 2006, experts told me a responsible charity doles out at least 75 percent of its income in grants, and they were shocked to learn the figure for Operation Good Neighbor Fund was less than 36 percent. The charity – which didn’t register with the state of Pennsylvania as required under the law — was finally disbanded in 2007.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/The-Santorum-that-America-doesnt-know.html
Gingrich: ‘Occupy’ protesters ‘blocking’ my free speech
By David Edwards| Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Monday complained that Occupy Wall Street protesters were “blocking” his right to free speech. The former House Speaker told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he had canceled an event at his campaign headquarters, where protesters were waiting outside the front and back entrances. At the same time Gingrich was accusing Occupy Wall Street demonstrators of infringing on his free speech, police in Manchester, New Hampshire were investigating allegations that one of his staffers assaulted a protester.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/10/gingrich-occupy-protesters-blocking-my-free-speech/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29
Gingrich must learn that free speech isn’t only reserved for Newt! It was okay to interfere with the free speech rights of others when he helped to unleash the tea partiers in 2009 and 2010 onto the dems at town halls to protest HCR, or when he worked with Geller and Spencer to cook up the anti-Muslim sentiment right before the midterm elections, but now he feels that the Occupy protesters are infringing upon his 1st Amendment rights to the point where he has to go crying to Fox News. Un-frigging-believable. The word hypocrite should have a pic of Newt next to the definition in every dictionary.
seriously?! CBS poll is bullshit. It has Ron Paul at 42% Ha!! What’s CBS on? The crack must be real good.— can’t believe Martin cited it. Its absolute crap!
The country is deeply divided. I think the Republican floor would be 45% no matter who they nominate.
I agree except it might be as low as 40%. The 40% have no interest in policy. It is identity politics with some hate thrown in the mix.
Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday
“Obama leads all of the Republican candidates in the poll, but Romney is gaining ground.
The survey showed Obama leading the Republican front-runner by 48 percent to 43 percent, compared to a 48 percent to 40 percent difference a month ago. The former governor bested Obama in a poll conducted in late October.
With both Obama and Romney strengthening their positions nationally, the competition between the two men is getting closer, Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson said.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/10/us-usa-campaign-poll-idUSTRE8091RS20120110
BREAKING: 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals Declares Oklahoma’s Sharia Ban Unconstitutional
By Scott Keyes on Jan 10, 2012 at 12:54 pm
The 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals struck down Oklahoma’s ban on Sharia law today, declaring that the Sooner State’s move violated the United States Constitution. Before the Oklahoma law could take effect, however, a federal judge issued an injunction blocking the measure while courts considered its constitutionality. The 10th Circuit, which includes one George W. Bush appointee, a Carter appointee, and an Obama appointee, heard oral arguments in September 2011.
Today, the 10th Circuit unanimously affirmed the lower court’s permanent injunction. In a 37-page decision, the three-judge panel agreed that Oklahoma’s Sharia ban violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and was therefore unconstitutional. On page 32, the 10th Circuit identified the heart of the matter, that Oklahoma’s move had no basis in reality but simply singled out Muslims for discrimination.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/01/10/401693/oklahoma-sharia-ban-unconstitutional/?mobile=nc
Awsomeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Seem like there is a new poll every minute, and I ain’t worry about the CBS poll at all. I’m sure you have notice how when a poll comes out showing Obama beating the GOP candidates the media doesn’t even say a word about it, but when the poll comes out showing Obama trailing they talk about it from dust to dawn
The president will meet with business leaders at the White House tomorrow as part of a forum called “Insourcing American Jobs.”
During the meeting, Obama is expected to to discuss “why it’s competitive to locate in the United States and what more can be done to work with companies to take similar steps to insource American jobs,” the White House said in an announcement of the event.
“Following the meeting, the President will deliver remarks to a group that will include leaders from the government and the private sector that are taking steps to encourage companies to insource and invest in America.”
After his remarks, business leaders will speak to the press and then meet with cabinet officials throughout the afternoon.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/01/obama-to-host-business-leaders-110356.html
Press On, Mr. President! You are doing a magnificent job of leading!
With Recall Looming Top Scott Walker Operative Faces Criminal Charges
By Sarah Jones| January 9, 2012
Tick tock, tick tock. Tim Russell is described by insiders as “polarizing.” But don’t let that alarm you, even though these are the exact same words used to describe Scott Walker. Surely, conservatives who steal from charities for the children of our fallen warriors, surf for child porn under their dear leader’s name, lose their home to foreclosure even though they worked as a mortgage officer at one time and were the director of housing under Dear Leader, and have been described by almost everyone but Walker as one of his few close confidants, completely sell the fiscal and social policies and alleged beliefs of conservatives. Rah rah troops, rah rah gays are sinners, rah ray let them eat cake, rah rah entitled Americans who bought houses they couldn’t afford, rah rah anti-cronyism, rah rah more criminal charges…..
Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/en/scott-walker-operative-crime
Additional incentive to reelect PBO/VPJB — the Supreme Court!
Posted: Tue, Jan. 10, 2012, 12:00 PM
Supreme Court rules for banks in credit card dispute
Philadelphia Daily News
Staff Report
In a blow to consumers with poor credit ratings, the Supreme Court ruled today that disputes between cardholders and companies that issue credit cards to people with weak credit can be handled through arbitration.
The justices ruled 8-1 to reverse a San Francisco appeals court ruling allowing cardholders to sue in federal court.
more —> http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120110_Supreme_Court_rules_for_banks_in_credit_card_dispute.html
The Supreme Cout has taken away a tool for redress…
Exit polls at 5 on CNN!
Lol!
Are you laughing at the polls or at CNN?
Both!
Probably a teaser. I doubt if they will give projections.
Romney and the Enthusiasm Gap (and Monday Open Thread)
Posted by Sir Charles at 10:54 AM January 09, 2012
One of the big themes of the last year — one to which many on the left have subscribed — is the idea that Obama and the Democrats will be burdened by an enthusiasm gap in the 2012 election, due in considerable part to disenchantment based on the perception that Obama has been weak and inconstant at crucial moments. My sense was always that the likelihood of an electoral outcome dictated by such an enthusiasm gap was vastly overstated and that once traditional Democratic constitutencies had a chance to see what the Republicans had to offer in a national election, that sufficient enthusiasm would return to assure a pretty robust vote. (I continue to think that, among other things, the African-American vote is going to be huge again in 2012.) I also think that Republican enthusiasm is going to ebb quite a bit as Romney solidifies his position as the inevitable nominee, which appears to be more and more likely.
Read more: http://www.cogitamusblog.com/
House Republicans on Tuesday declined to recognize a House Democrat who was trying to speak about the need for Congress to quickly resolve its differences about how to extend the payroll tax cut.
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) gaveled today’s pro forma session to order at about 2 p.m. After the House prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) sought to be recognized, but the session was gaveled to a close.
http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/203371-gop-again-shuts-down-dem-speaker-in-pro-forma-session
The bastards!
Wasn’t congress arguing that they were not in recess?…..these guys are just clowns!
** deleted **
Chips: No promoting of that book here, thanks!
Why should we know or care about this event?
Sorry Rita, but I am not joining ANYTHING to give this woman more publicity, fame or money than she deserves. I have better things to do with my time – thanks.
i agree
I agree that we don’t support what she has written, but I’m of the opinion that we have to know our adversaries in order to have a intelligent debate. Many people have asked my opinion on it and I’ve not been shy, but I am curious as to her motivation.
Her motivation was to make money, have a book published in her name, and to get invited to more cocktail parties.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
MOTIVATION…$$$$$$$$$$$
I agree with you hopefruit2! I think it’s a calculated move designed to boost her book sales and to receive more invitations on cable TV where she can keep her assertions about the FLOTUS front and center for public consumption and entertainment value.
Although the temptation will be strong to participate and give her a piece of our minds, out of respect for the FLOTUS, I suggest that we simply deprive Jodi Kantor of the attention that she seeks by IGNORING HER and not playing that game with her! ~
Is kantor a registered republican?
I have a sneaking suspicion she is a PUMA. I could be wrong, of course.
got it 🙂
btw… didn’t quite see it as a promotion… just as fyi, but I understand.
No worries at all Rita, I know you meant well. 😉
I have sent the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS this MOrning, CNN, MSNBC a email, and the email simply said, I admire, respect, and support our wonderful First Lady Michelle Obama, 100 percent. And that trashy, gossipy tabloid piece of trash written by that Kantor woman won’t change that.
Bravo, Chipsticks!
THANK YOU FOR CALLING THEM OUT!~
New Hampshire GOP Narrative: Obama’s Not One of Us
—By David Corn| Tue Jan. 10, 2012 5:12 AM PST
You get the picture. Romney has voiced concern that Obama is an anti-American Robin Hood who wants to swipe the hard-earned cash of American taxpayers and hand it to others. Santorgrich believes Obama is hell-bent to crush faith and freedom in the United States. There is a slight difference. Saving the auto industry, crafting tax-cut compromises, negotiating spending cuts, lowering taxes for middle- and lower-income Americans, the Osama bin Laden raid, proposing investments in education, innovation, and research and development—none of that matters. The bottom line, in both iterations, is that the president is not a true American.
But the overarching thrust of the GOP attack on the president in New Hampshire has not been that he’s to blame for a crappy economy. It’s that he is not one of us and that the election at hand is not a face-off over policy disputes but a clash over the future of the idea of America. Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich are essentially calling the president a foreigner (Europe, Europe, Europe!) and campaigning to purge this country of Obama’s otherness. It’s an ugly narrative for ugly times.
Read more: http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/new-hampshire-gop-obama-primary-attack
that is because Black Folks are not Americans
This is what my 5 year old daughter came home from school singing today:
“Dr King, Dr King Dr King was a Civil Rights Leader
Dr King, Dr. King He had a Dream
He wanted everybody to have the same freedom, he wanted everybody to have the same freedom, he wanted everybody to have the same freedom… this was his dream
He wanted everybody to join hands together, he wanted everybody to join hands together, he wanted everybody to join hands together… this was his dream”
🙂
Beautiful, beautiful.
You will never forget that. You can bring it up at her wedding dinner.
Ron Paul haz a sad upon hearing that.
RE: Romney Slammed for Being Out of Touch with Middle Class Prior to New Hampshire Primary, Which He Needs to Win by Wide Margin
As voters head to the polls in New Hampshire’s Republican primary tonight, the bar is set very high for Mitt Romney. Romney has been up by 30 points against his Republican contenders for months here in the Granite State, and for good reason: in addition to having a home here and having worked and raised a family next door in Massachusetts where he was governor for four years, Romney has spent four years investing time and resources to win New Hampshire by a huge margin. By anyone’s reckoning, Romney should be running away with this thing.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/01/democratic_national_committee_13.html
The dnc seems a lot sharper, than it was in 08! Just saying!
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3888
President Obama leading by 1 point in Tarheel Country! Go Dean Smith! Go Roy Williams
“The numbers show Obama’s approval rating nearly even at 47 – 49, and Romney solidly disliked with a 34 percent favorability rating versus 48 percent.”
But but but John King said…
Go Tarheels! Those numbers will get better as time gets closer to the election.
click the link
Maybe Iran will change its tune about having the US Navy around, since they can’t seem to rescue their own citizens.
I just got that mailing from OFA and I love that little laminated card with talking points on it that you can fold in thirds and carry with you at all times!! Brilliant!!
I know! I got mine on Saturday and put it right in my purse to have it handy when I need it.
Brilliant indeed!!!
“Change is President Obama’s Commitment to American Women and Their Familes”
“Change is President Obama’s record on Health Care”
“Change is Putting Americans back to work and Rebuilding a Fair Economy for the Middle Class”
“Change is Ending the War in Iraq and Honoring our Veterans”
I think Jim Messina is doing an incredible job.
Plouffe + Axelrod + Messina + DWS = SUCCESS
So many new tools coming ahead.
tweeted
Me too! Good for canvassing!
And phonebanking. And family get-togethers. And cafes!!
Absolutely brilliant! I got mine today and I will keeping it handy during conversing and voter registration.
Randi Rhdoes is making a good point, paraphrasing. What Willard was doing with Bain Capital the Bush administration and the Republicans were doing the same thing to the country. Extracting the wealth and replacing it with debt. The crocodile tears from Newt Gingrich about Willard is hilarious. They are on the same page. But Newt is willing to sound like a populist Democrat because of his rage against Willard for running those devastating ads. When Willard eventually gets the nomination, the GOP will have to swallow hard and puff up Romney as best they can.
I don’t think the GOP base will be okay with Romney if he wins the nomination. There are many things that can happen before their convention. A third party could arise, whose candidate is a Republican, and Romney appears that he still might not end up having all the delegates he needs to win the nomination according to a letter posted on TPM last week. Romney does not excite the GOP base, so a believe if he is the nominee there will be a low turnout on their side. Even if the GOP plays the “be scared of Obama” card, which they are already using, and it’s still not exciting the base.
Great minds think alike.
True, but that is why he will pick a solid rethug. If he does that, coupled with “we hate Obama more’n Satan himself” attitude, they will come out.
Wolfe blitzer better be for marriage equality, because I think he is engaged to Robney.
Omg, he is bending over backwards to accommodate the GOP every move!
HA!
Remember some time last week we had posted (in amusement) a series of youtube videos about “pets for Obama,” “dogs against Romney” etc? Well, looks like the DSCC took off on the idea it seemed and are now pushing the “dogs against Romney” meme with the story about Romney’s cruel negligence of his family dog during a roadtrip.
The dogs against Romney even has it’s own website! Buy your t-shirt or mug!
http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/
Everyone has to follow the 1911 group on Twitter…they took over Romney’s rally and really made an impression…they are now being mobbed by new media for interviews. Follow here :
https://twitter.com/#!/1911united
I’m following them on facebook and twitter. This is awesome!
Question:: Are these Fraternity or Sorors? It should spread fast if it is. My granddaughter is in Premed and a AKA? Is this something I need to tell her? She went back today because she has a parttime job at school. Thanks for the answer.
Mitt Romney: The Charlatan Who Should Never Be President
By Rmuse| January 10, 2012
The point of this article is not to explain or analyze the intricacies of private equity firms’ investment strategies to enrich themselves, but to highlight what lies in store for America if a businessman like Romney is elected president. America is not a business, but privatizing as much of the government as possible is a Republican dream and a man like Romney would sell different agencies to the highest bidder, lay off thousands of federal employees, and attempt to maximize profits by granting subsidies to private firms. The net results are low-paying jobs, higher unemployment, and lost revenue.
In Romney’s case, as businessman-president, he will have a primary goal of creating more wealth for corporations who invest in privatized government agencies and to maximize profits, they will take existing jobs and either eliminate them, or pay private sector minimum wages. To be fair to Romney, he does have job creation plans as part of an economic strategy that gives $6.7 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations that increases the nation’s debt and not create any jobs. It is good business for wealthy corporations, but devastating for the economy and the people.
Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/en/mitt-romney-charlatan
David Sirota has no self-awareness
Was he looking in the mirror when he made that statement…
I have a feeling Sirota loves to look at his reflection just never deep enough.
Exactly. Sirota is the poster child for idiocy. It’s hard to remember the last time this man made any sense. Possibly never.
Sirota is stupid all year long for many years.
Mika is trying to explain away Romney’s ” I like to fire people” by saying he really meant ” fire your insurance company “.
Welll….maybe he can….maybe she can….but most people get their insurance at work….so NO THEY CANNOT FIRE THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY.
Geesh…..these people are clueless as to what goes on outside their safe little bubbles.
Willard could have said, “choose a different insurance company,” or “I like having choices.” That he decided to state “I enjoy firing people who provide services to me” is highly revealing.
Newt Gingrich released his harshest campaign ad yet, blasting Mitt Romney as “pro-abortion” in a 30-second spot set to air in South Carolina.
“What happened after Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney changed his position from pro-abortion to pro-life?” the narrator of the spot asks. “He governed pro-abortion.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/203315-gingrich-blasts-romney-as-pro-abortion-in-latest-ad
Lol!
RonPaul energizes youth of New Hampshire, frenzied enthusiasm:
Members of the Peik family listen to Ron Paul address a group of homeschool supporters at the Lawrence Barn on the day before the state primary January 9, 2012 in Hollis, New Hampshire
“Mom, Dad why am I here”?
“I’d much rather be at an Obama rally, like all my other school friends…”
They have no school friends, they are home school.
Chips, can you place this photo next to the photo of the little red haired girl in Ireland? Or the girl in Australia?
Better yet, the cheerleaders looking at the President with rapt attention.
THIS ONE! 😉 🙂
YES.WE.CAN…DO.(Much)More, Together – WE MUST! (Bobfr @our4thestate) 😉
YES.WE.CAN, Again…Obama/Biden 2012!
FIRED UP & READY TO GO!
WE CAN’T WAIT/GO BACK…PRESS ON!
These kids really look as if they are being tortured to stand there listening to Ron Paul. Gotta feel sorry for them.
They are dying for him to tell them about the “Austrians”.
That’s just sad.
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Quickie- Most Republicans Want a New Candidate
Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 7:00 am by Paddy
Gleefully rubbing hands together. Via Taegan.
A new CBS News poll finds that 58% of Republican primary voters want more presidential choices, while just 37% say they are satisfied with the current field. The percentage of Republican primary voters that wants more choices has increased 12 points since October.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/01/10/quickie-most-republicans-want-a-new-candidate/
h/t Taegan Goddard
OH, DEAR:
Copy of Mitt’s 6 military service deferments
Click to access wmr_selectiveservice.pdf
Maybe someone who has served can explain this. Looks like he got a bunch of deferments because he was in school.
The only time he was eligible was in 1970 and his call-up was 300. That number wasn’t picked in the lottery. That was the only time he could have been inducted. At least money and connection allowed him to stay here while others fled to Canada. After that the war started winding down. I think we got out in ’74.
Are you saying Mitt Romney dodge the draft.?
He had the best help money could buy. If he had been a real patriot, he could have joined as a chaplain. There were a lot of Mormons in the service. I served with some of them.
I am loving their energy!!
Way to go 1911 United!!!
Read from the bottom up^
1911united 1911 United
Everyone in our company felt a sense of pride! We knew that Romney knew that Obama’s Team was there and organized!
26 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
1911united 1911 United
Now the media was really interested in interviewing us and we proudly told them that we are 1911 United, SUPER PAC for Obama 2012!
28 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
1911united 1911 United
The Police started yelling, “GET OUTTA THE STREET!!”
29 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
1911united 1911 United
We were in the streets now and they were rushing Romney into his vehicle. We continued to shout “4 MORE YEARS”! As he road off #NHPrimary
32 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
1911united 1911 United
OOOOOOOOBBBBBAAAAMMAAAAAAAAA!!!!! We roared in unison at the top of our lungs!! Our 1911 United held high!!!
34 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply »
1911united 1911 United
We left our post and out flanked the Romney mob and pushed and chanted our way to the front of the crowd! We were within feet of Romney now
35 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
For Heaven’s Sake! Is there any company or anyone Bain Capital ISN’T tied to?
Yes, Barack Obama of course 🙂
I was just about to post this tweet but you beat me to it – Thanks gobrooklyn!
link not working …
http://www.huntsman.com/eng/News/News_archive/News_archive/Bain_Capital_Joined_By_Blackstone_Capital_Partners_in_Huntsman_Transaction/index.cfm?PageID=5527&News_ID=632&style=320
Thank you…
Breaking News: 100,000 fetuses seen marching toward polling station, carrying Sick Rantorum signs.
oh god! #dead!
Donna…the is for you…Here is 1911!
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/01/4963612/amid-romney-and-paul-people-black-fraternities-muster-loud-show-sup#.Twy6PvEHaHE.email
Ha!
I was just reading it. 🙂
I love this quote from the article: “We’re going to start early,” he said. “We’re not going to wait til November to support our president. What you see with super PACs and the evolution of voting, it starts earlier. That’s why we’re in New Hampshire in January.”
Love it! This is awesome!
i saw a tweet that Pat Buchanan has joined Fox News…is that true
No. We are still trying to figure out who’s telling the truth. MSNBC says he is out indefinitely and Pat Buchannon says, ‘WTF? I’m on sick leave’
Ooops…
Former South Carolina Governor Dumps Romney
Posted by Taegan Goddard| January 10, 2012
Former South Carolina Gov. Jim Edwards (R) tells Massimo Calabresi that he’s not endorsing Mitt Romney this year — even though in 2008 he “devoted four months of his life to be the de facto co-chair of Mitt Romney’s campaign in the state, raising money and organizing supporters statewide.” This time, he is considering backing Rick Santorum.
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/01/10/former_south_carolina_governor_dumps_romney.html
Coward Fineman is at it again. He just penned a column from his HuffnPuff cave, where he proclaims that “A win for Romney in NH could spell big trouble for Obama” because it means that Obama “has to fight to win that State. ”
Well, well, well Mr. Fineman, where did we here this before…oh that’s right..it’s what Fineman says EVERYTIME he mentions Obama’s name….
Coward Fineman is another one of those anti-Obama pundits.
He heard it from his sources.
I left him a comment….asking if his “double triple secret sources” told him that.
And there’s Tweety slobbering on and on, talking about all the Repub candidates, I think saying he would vote for Huntsman, it was hard to tell it was so sickening, but at one point he said something about “choosing our next president” as if there is going to be a change. That goes with Rendell saying today that the country was going to hell in a handbasket, which was real helpful. It’s all so infuriating. Wonder if they’ll even cover Obama’s campaign.
I am so tired of all the concentration on these unworthy Repub candidates, all the debates and the constant attention by all the news media outlets on the caucuses and the primaries, and from here they all go to S.C. and then on to Fl. It seems never-ending, and I think it’s harmful that no news about President Obama is able to break through. I fear some people will think that they should be choosing one of the Repubs, that everyone is looking for someone new, that this is the message they’re getting from this heavy 24/7 singular spotlight on their race. Sigh.
That tweet about Bain Capital and Huntsman’s company made me wonder if Romney and Huntsman are tag-teaming…whoever gets the nomination will choose the other as VP.
No, there will not be an All Mormon ticket.
A Mormon and a Catholic ticket may be a stretch also.
Pretty much this. I think most evangelicals would hold their nose to vote for one or the other, but no chance they’d vote for a Mormon-Mormon ticket.
Two Mormons on one ticket? I don’t think so.
If it means stopping Obama – yes.
The thing is, Huntsman adds nothing but more baggage for Willard. You have Willard touting himself as an antiObama candidate, and then he would pick Huntsman as VP, who used to work FOR the Obama administration, which would reek of hypocrisy. Not to mention that too many right wingers already see Huntsman as a Democrat masquerading as a Republican. The Republicans may be desperate, but not THAT desperate.
More against Mitt: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/romney-wants-more-tax-cuts-than-bush-did/2011/08/25/gIQAvjCuoP_blog.html#excerpt
“The Tax Policy Center estimates that Romney’s tax plan will save earners in the top 1 percent $82,000 a year, but do very little for workers in the bottom half of the income distribution.”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/abc-exclusive-ron-paul-defends-romney-lashes-out-at-his-critics/
The Ronulans will not be happy with that defense of Romney.
Read the comments, they’re actually saying that Paul’s defense is spot on because “Romney was taken out of context.”
Wow, anything to help the 1%.
I see the early twitter news is indicating a big night for Romney, from whatever was gleaned from exit polls. Whatever. Ready to wrap it up so we can end this breathless reporting.
I am with you….I don’t remember it being like this in 2008……
Aren’t exit polls often inaccurate?
And msnbc only talked to Republicans for the exit polls.
Watch when DWS comes on tv, they all get defalted!
😕
this is better 🙂
Oh yeah! That was the day after the Philadelphia debate; he was on fire!
WooWoo…. I love this longer version….I had not seen it. Thank you.
Wow! I’m sure that took a lot of time.
Hey…Chuckie Todd……don’t call us ” folks”…you punk !
Our4thEstate Bobfr
America – @MittRomney is #Neoconster king maker Rove’s choice – http://t.co/htt78Ke9 – Don’t Ever Hire Mitt. #LandslideOBAMA2012 #VOTE2012
#PRESSON
Ok, I was over at Andrew Sullivan’s blog where they are trying to clean up Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital mess by saying that he was very successful in his role at Bain Capital.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/01/defending-romneys-role-at-bain.html
I’m not arguing that Romney wasn’t successful in his role in Bain. The beneficiary investors as well as the Bain company men’s stock portfolios and bank accounts rose because of it. Its why he has money to burn like a California forest fire. The point is, is that Mitt Romney is using his experience to say that he was a job creator and that his role at Bain Capital gives him more credence on the economy than President Obama, because he was able to create more jobs doing this than what the President is doing now. Yes, his investors raked in a huge profit and rebuilt their companies. THATS NOT THE POINT!!! He did it at the expense of firing many workers, putting them in the unemployment line. It might be “good” for business, but it was bad for those hometown economies where they worked and those people whose livelihoods were gone.
Two, if his success at Bain makes him a “credible president” as that “far left” commenter in the article above says, why is it that he didn’t have a successful term as Governor of Massachusetts? This isn’t some case that this was just a liberal state and Romney was the first Republican Governor; the office had been held by Republicans since 1991. That would probably bolster his case had he left the Governor’s Mansion with gargantuan popularity, a state that was not 47th in job creation, ran for reelection and won a second term in 2006, or not bludgeoned his Lt.Governor with so much taint, that she couldn’t win in her own right against Deval Patrick in 2006.
Mitt Romney is running for president of the United States. That’s laid down. This is what we know. He is trying to run as this anti-wallstreet everyday joe who cares about you. He has a large history of not caring. Right now, we are dealing with a nation which has an 8.5% unemployment rate where Millenial Graduates and Baby Boomers who should be retiring with pensions right now are clashing. I know that the establishment wants to clean up these attacks, but a guy born into wealth, who doesn’t know a damn thing about losing a job, who tells people that government shouldn’t help anyone but those at the top with tax cuts and unregulated capitalism which got us in this mess is not going to fare well with voters. Damn spot, and full stop. Does anyone disagree with me on this, because that article really got me hyped up.
Msnbc is the new GOP channel!
CNN just said a record republican turnout.
Hmmmm!
CNN also broke and ran away with the Balloon Boy story.
Hmmmmm!
19% decided on a candidate today!
Evening all:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/01/10/evening-all-20/
Guess which candidate was the most organized in NH?
“The real point of recent phone drives isn’t to run up Obama’s winning percentage over such competitors as performance artist Vermin Supreme and anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry, of course (thought it can’t hurt). Volunteers are piggybacking off the interest in the GOP race to update voter contacts, reach out to new volunteers and generally keep local Democrats aware that their team is on the field as well after having to endure weeks of Republican attacks. The campaign says they’ve held 500 events in the state since Obama’s re-election effort kicked off in April.”
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/obama-campaign-is-running-in-new-hampshire-too.php
WE know organization; we know grass roots —- Yes we can!