First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a student workshop called “At The Crossroads: A History Of The Blues In America” at the White House. On stage with Obama are (L-R) musicians Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Shemekia Copeland and Keb Mo. The event is being held in recognition of Black History Month as part of the “In Performance at the White House” series.
Jennifer Rubin is alarmed that Rick Santorum is getting so much traction in the Republican primaries. She says that he’s not conservative, but a reactionary. To prove her case, she quotes Rick Santorum explaining the precise doctrine of the Catholic Church on birth control and conjugal love. If there is a problem with Santorum, it’s not that he’s confused about the teachings of the Church. His problem is that he wants to impose those teachings on all of us through the American legal system.
Most Catholics don’t follow the teachings of the Church on birth control and conjugal love, but I don’t know if you want to go around calling those who do ‘reactionaries’ or denying them their right to call themselves ‘conservatives.’ In any case, I’d think a Washington Post columnist might want to be a little more careful to distinguish Santorum’s beliefs from his political platform. She makes an effort, but this doesn’t quite get it done, in my opinion:
Santorum is reactionary in his discomfort with women working outside the home (other than his own working mother, presumably), who he claims were bamboozled by greed or “radical feminists” into seeking fulfillment and equality in the workplace. He is reactionary in declaring that women in the military are fit only to “fly small planes,” but not take on the duties they have been assuming under battlefield conditions for years. He is reactionary in telling women (married ones, even!) that contraception is harmful to them.
Unlike a think tanker or pundit who wants to elucidate the adverse impact of social trends, he is running for president where, through policy and the bully pulpit, he intends to wage war on post-1960 America.
The relative lameness of the attacks against Santorum is particularly curious given that the person producing the ads for Restore Our Future is none other than Larry McCarthy, who earned lifelong notoriety — and a steady supply of do-whatever-it-takes clients — by creating the Willie Horton ad against Mike Dukakis in 1988. If you haven’t already, be sure to read Jane Mayer’s terrific (and terrifically depressing) profile of McCarthy in last week’s New Yorker. In it, she explains that McCarthy is actually not all that innovative when it comes to the style of his ads — they “often have the crude look of a hastily assembled PowerPoint presentation. They feature hokey graphics—key criticisms are highlighted with neon-yellow stripes—and a heavy-handed use of black-and-white to lend a sinister cast to images.” What sets McCarthy apart, above all, is his utter lack of scruples, which stands out even in the moral desert of political advertising. Here’s one assignment he took on in 2010:
There’s a very good reason why Romney can’t go after Santorum the way he did Newt. Newt’s own record in Congress worked against in Florida and Iowa. However, what can he really go after Santorum for except batshit crazy social views. Yet those are the very voters that Romney cannot afford to alienate. He is in a kind of “damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t” situation. His best hope is for Santorum to alienate enough of the non-batshit crazy Republican voters as possible and for Romney to pick them up. The question is if there are non-batshit crazy Republican voters than batshitcrazy Republican voters. And that is questionable.
You betcha! he “blames Yale Law School — specifically, its affirmative action program — for his difficulties securing a job as a first-year associate after his graduation. “
President Obama will speak at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference next month, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.
Obama will meet the following day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also giving a speech at the policy conference.
Obama spoke at AIPAC last year, delivering a speech focused on Israeli-Palestinian border negotiations.
Netenyahu has been called out, he is under immense pressure by the World community and 2 of it’s strongest allies!
Me thinks, he will mind his manners.
Yes, but will Congress mind their manners? Frankly, everytime Netanyahu comes to town, I literally become sick at watching the groveling, fawning behavior of the Members of Congress.
See how msnbc just worded the looming contraceptive issue?
By saying that the President is the target and woman are caught in the middle.
Drive wedges, that’s what msnbc does!
Expanding out of the West
By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 2/21/12 2:31 PM EST
The Democratic strategy group Project New West, which had a big summit around the time of the GOP 2012 Las Vegas debate and has built up its name in part on looking at the trajectory of Hispanic and independent voters in the West, is rebranding itself Project New America, its officials said an email earlier today, with an eye toward Southern states:
Now we look to the South, another region where we feel our innovative model has the potential to lead to significant progressive advances. There is no other region in the country that has experienced more of a political realignment than the South over the past 50 years. Once solidly Democratic, the South has become a conservative stronghold in recent decades. However, demographic shifts are once again changing the face of Southern politics, and offering hope for progressives in the region. Today, the South is home to the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the country, as well as new economic sectors, which have attracted more educated, independent voters. These changes–among other developments–are reflected in the emergence of Southern states as some of the most competitive battlegrounds in 2012.
Restoring America’s global standing – Rick Santorum edition.
By Emily L. Hauser
=========================
Here’s what people in the Netherlands are talking about these days, when they talk about America:
Rick Santorum’s invocation of a nightmare of mass murder of the elderly in the Netherlands has provoked a storm of incredulity and criticism in the Western European country, where the local press say his statistics are wildly inflated.
Little Ricky, spreading his special brand of sunshine through the world. Can you imagine the disaster this man would cause around the world if he were president.
Casino mogul Adelson is saying he might give $100 million to the Gingrich campaign. He likes him, he really likes him! Wonder what he likes? His cute little button nose? his twinkly baby blue eyes? his impressive number of chins? his beautiful mankini body? Whatever is attracting him—–he likes Tiffanys too?—–got a tingle up his leg when Newt slammed Obama on energy saying “you can’t put a gun rack on a Chevy Volt”?—–it’s nuts and disgusting.
It’s not that Mitt Romney’s money is no good in the Republican primary, it’s just that his money buys a lot less than everyone else’s. It’s like Mitt Romney’s political donations come in another currency — BerkShares, perhaps? — and the exchange rate in the Republican primary isn’t great. Romney has vastly outspent his competitors for the Republican nomination with not-so-vast success. Here’s our analysis of what Romney bought so far, based on the financial disclosure forms released Monday.
I hope there’s going to come some moment when there is so much money flowing through these Super Pacs and so little accomplished with it, that even the millionaires and John Roberts will notice. The super elite believe that you can buy everything–unending privilege, love, popularity in the polls and ultimately votes. The idea is to spend so much money that you get your way–no matter what!!. But what if it ends up not working? What if all the money spent cannot make a loser look like a winner, a sanctimonious prig look like an inspired leader, or a robot seem real. What if there’s no return on your ginormous investment? In fact, what if the investment backfires and all the ugly ads end up making your candidate seem ugly. And there isn’t enough expensive lipstick left to make your pig look appealing. I’m beginning to think that could actually happen in this campaign and SuperPacs may end up looking like a really lousy,, not to mention super expensive, idea.
It’s no secret that, as far as frontrunners go, Mitt Romney’s never exactly set the grassroots on fire. But his latest fundraising numbers drive home just how weak his small donor appeal is compared to his rivals — and especially President Obama.
One good measure of fundraising strength with the masses is contributors who have given less than $200, who are not listed individually in finance reports. Let’s take a look at how the candidates stack up in the chart below, which shows how many of their millions have come from these low-money donors versus the higher rollers in the 2012 cycle.
As you can see, Romney is the clear anomaly by a long shot, raising nearly 90 percent of his total haul from larger contributions. By contrast, only around 40% of Obama’s donations are from individuals who have given more than $200 total and his smaller contributors alone raised more money in total than Romney’s entire fundraising operation. For the rest of the Republican field, the ratio is somewhere closer to 50-50 — take a look at the total small donor cash for Gingrich and Paul, for example, and you see that their huge disadvantage versus Romney is almost entirely due to the frontrunner’s bigger contributors.
yep sirreee, exactly what I’ve been saying. Let him keep talking and digging a deeper hole. His entire party are going to slide right in with him. Until/unless someone from his own party challenges what he’s out there spewing, he’ll just keep it going. This isn’t good for Mitty cause it’ll make him have to try and go to the right of the crazy talk. I say leave Brittany alone…
Here’s a little Santorum irony. Ricky doesn’t read the bible and has very little idea of what’s in it. All of his views are received opinions from intermediaries. He admitted this at one point during his 2006 senatorial campaign when he was called on for the biblical reference to one of his stupid remarks. That’s one reason why he appears to disregard all the actual sayings and admonishments of Jesus about giving to the poor and being a peacemaker and focuses instead on exaggerated notions of Satan, which are not biblical.
The housing sector will contribute to gross domestic product for the first time in seven years, according to a report released today by Fannie Mae’s economic and strategic research group.
The economy grew 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and is expected to grow at an overall rate of 2.3 percent this year, up from 1.6 percent for 2011 as a whole, the report says.
The report, which predicts economic growth for the coming year, said gains in the housing sector would be modest, and that a further decline in median sale prices for homes is still expected. However, the labor market continued to improve, with non-farm payroll jobs increasing by nearly 250,000 in January across many industries, including construction.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Tuesday investigators don’t have to read Miranda rights to inmates during jailhouse interrogations about crimes unrelated to their current incarceration.
The high court, on a 6-3 vote, overturned a federal appeals court decision throwing out prison inmate Randall Lee Fields’ conviction, saying Fields was not in “custody” as defined by Miranda and therefore did not have to have his rights read to him.
“Imprisonment alone is not enough to create a custodial situation within the meaning of Miranda,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
Three justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, dissented and said the court’s decision would limit the rights of prisoners.
“Today, for people already in prison, the court finds it adequate for the police to say: `You are free to terminate this interrogation and return to your cell,'” Ginsburg said in her dissent. “Such a statement is no substitute for one ensuring that an individual is aware of his rights.”
SAW ON THE NEWS THAT INTEL.REP. VISITING ISRAEL ON THURSDAY. THAT’S A GOOD THING. LOTS OF EXTREMIST INFILTRATION THERE…HOPEFULLY THIS WILL PREVENT NETANYAHU FROM TAKING ANY PANIC STRICKEN STEPS TOWARD IRAN. LOTS OF EXTREMISTS WOULD LOVE TO PUSH ALL THOSE BUTTONS.
The pro-President Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action is going up on air in Michigan with a buy totaling almost $243,000 for a week-long flight, a buying source confirms to POLITICO’s Maggie Haberman. The ads will run through the Michigan primary next week.
The Obama administration unveiled three initiatives Tuesday designed to aid business growth and create jobs in rural communities.
The initiatives, the latest in the administration’s “We can’t wait” campaign against Congress, leverage existing programs and funding, the White House said.
To boost agriculture and manufacturing, the president issued a memo directing agencies to purchase more bio-based products (those derived from natural components rather than chemical). The second initiative is a multi-agency competition for funds to spur innovation in rural job creation. The third is an agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to help connect community and technical colleges in rural communities with resources to help them train health information-technology professionals.
“My Administration is committed to using every tool available to promote economic growth and create good jobs in rural America,” the president said in a statement. “Today’s announcements reflect our continued focus on expanding opportunity for rural Americans and all Americans, including supporting new and innovative businesses, and improving rural health care and education.”
I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT THIS SANTORUM/GRAHAM STUFF IS COMING TO A HEAD…THIS HAS ALWAYS EXISTED…THIS IS IN EVERY SIGNLE RIGHT WING CHURCH TODAY…IT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED AND STOPPED. THE RIGHT WINGERS HAVE SPREAD THESE CONSPIRACIES ABOUT PBO ALL OVER THE PLACE AND SOMEHOW THEY ALL HAVE TO COME OUT AND BE STOPPED. THIS IS THE FIRE THAT HAS BEEN FUELING THE GOP!
Santorum has a tongue on him, reminds me of Palin.
He needs to take on Robney if he wants to win the nomination. We will see If he gives Robney a pass, in the debate!
If Mitty is smart, he’ll let Sanctimonious and Grinch battle it out on stage, while he stays above the fray. If Grinch and Saintorum were smart, they’d gang up on Mitty. If Paul was smart, he wouldn’t be in the race. This just shows to go ya, they ain’t that bright.
I have to say the pictures in this article are fascinating……taken between 1910 and 1930 in Australia. Mugshots of women , they looked rough of course, most of them must have lived in extreme poverty. I noticed right away that some of these women were backstreets abortionists, performing illegal abortions, arrested for their ”crime”….I can just imagine how awful it must have been back then, the desperation, the methods they must have used, the suffering…how many women died,..
So I was thinking that in Santorum’s world, his vision for the country…contraceptives and abortions would be illegal…..It’s pure madness. These psychos have to be stop and never be in power.
The Republicans’ Desperate Trashing of the Obama Recovery
By Jonathan Chait
===================
Worst recovery ever? Worst recovery since the Great Depression? How bad has the economy actually been under Obama, and what standard should we be judging him against?
I would like to ask that stupid ass Rick Santorum, if a woman had five children and she was pregnant with her sixth, but the doctor says this pregnancy could kill the mother unless she have an abortion. Do you leave five kids motherless, because they are against abortion, do the right wing radical conservatives nuts make that decision or do the mother, her husband, and family make the decision.
WOLF BLITZER WAS JUST DINING ON FRANKLIN GRAHAM’S COMMENTS…AND CAFFERTY’S QUESTION TONITE? WHAT SHOULD PBO’S CAMPAIGN SLOGAN BE? THEY ARE LOVING THIS GARBAGE!
I just turned to CNN to see (on mute) some of the comments they were showing. Two or three were positive, and the rest of them were from right wing loons. Glad I don’t watch CNN – those ten seconds were as bad as turning on Fox “News”.
Hi all, just had a few encounters with a bunch of right wingers in Yahoo! chat, and here’s the deal:
The Republicans seem to have decided NOT to talk about their candidates, so they’re going to instead spend their time attacking President Obama. They say that unemployment is actually 15% without the context of whether that 15% is because it’s gone up or more likely gone down, they say that Obama is a failure on the economy (LMAO), they say Obama has raised the deficit to record levels, just your typical anti Obama rants. And of course, none of them willing to discuss what Pope Rick John Sweater Vest, Willard, Speaker Moonbase, or Grandpa Ron plan to do to make things better.
Get ready for a looooooooooooooooong summer of the Republicans reviving Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN, 57 states, teleprompter, death panels, and we have to be prepared to fight back, as well as registering voters and making sure they vote and their votes count!
1. If the GOP has to resort to outdated topics of 2008 – stuff that John McCain didn’t even bring up in his campaign, then they’ve already LOST. That is desperation at it’s highest.
2. At some point, the general public will WANT to hear about the GOP candidate and they will have no choice BUT to be in the spotlight. What are they going to do? Skip the debates? Sarah Palin could only avoid the press for so long…remember?
3. The yahoo online trolls are a small segment of deluded Republicans. The sane Republicans are VERY, VERY WORRIED, so much so that they are still hoping that Mitch Daniels jumps into the race.
I agree with every single one of your points. My point is that we have to fight back and get the truth out, just as we did in 2008. We have to stay ahead of the game, because I got a feeling that the Republicans are waiting for us to slack off and jump back when we least expect it.
I have no doubt President Obama will win, but we have to keep the lead. Remember the recent Super Bowl, when a lot of folks thought that the Patriots were going to win because they had the lead, then they choked in the second half. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
And to think derbingle, a year ago there were a few posters concerned that Willard would be challenging to defeat. All we have to do is let him talk, and he ends up creating a multitude of soundbytes the Obama campaign can fire back with: “I like firing people,” “I’m not concerned about the poor,” and now this one where he admits that budget cuts slow the economy. We’re going to have fun with whomever is the nominee, whether it be Willard, Pope Rick John Sweater Vest, Speaker Moonbase, Grandpa Ron, or if there’s a brokered convention and they end up nominating Trump, Jeb, or the Quitter.
I remember that. They kept telling us daily how formidable he would be. They’d cite those early out of the box poll numbers as proof that The President was in real trouble.
Rev Al is quick. On his radio show today, someone asked him if he knew who Frank Schaeffer is and he said no. Lo and behold, Frank is on Politics Nation as I type. Good lookin out, caller.
Catholic Hospitals Have Provided More Than 20K Of The Sterilizations Bishops Oppose
I’m sure there’s some mistake, because if this was true, it would mean that the Catholic Church’s political attack against the Obama administration was mere posturing for the benefit of their right-wing buddies, and not a heartfelt defense of a religious position against abortion that, by the way, is younger than the Happy Meal:
U.S. Catholic bishops have vowed to fight the Obama administration’s compromise on insurance coverage for contraception and sterilization, denouncing it as “coercive,” “insulting,” “unconstitutional,” “belligerent,” and “dangerous.”
Yet there is evidence the sterilization services the bishops oppose have been provided by many Catholic hospitals across the country, including a few in the Philadelphia area.
Some evidence comes from news reports about bishops cracking down. In Texas in 2008, for example, two hospitals were ordered to stop doing the sterilization surgery, called tubal ligation. In Oregon in 2010, a hospital that refused to stop lost its Catholic status.
New GM plant will bring jobs from Mexico to Baltimore County
By the end of the year, motors for cutting-edge electric vehicles will be built from scratch in a sprawling $244 million plant under construction next to GM’s factory, now called General Motors Baltimore Operations.
About 189 workers will be hired to build the motors for a new generation of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, joining the 220 employees at the existing plant. The new plant’s first order of business will be building motors for the Chevrolet Spark, a five-door mini-car with a hatch that GM plans to roll out in 2013, according to a company spokeswoman.
The Obama Diary 
Thanks Chipsticks for the heads up
Congrats!!
Whew! for a minute I was worried about the other coast…..where were you people hopefruit2?
We’re still wrapping up the other thread. Lot’s of interesting posts I guess, and folks are responding 🙂
How did you do that, GGail? Nice!
Chipsticks – I was singing the blues too for a while when I thought I was allllllllll alone on the site. 🙂
Hey! a west coast First!!!!!
Great pic Chipsticks on the previous thread of POTUS & VP 🙂
Ok, this is scary…..I placed First, Second and Third?
That’s right GGail – It’s an honor to occupy the top three slots! I think that’s a first.
Don’t leave me hopefruit2!!!!
LOL.
Did Chips turn into a were-wolf in my absence ? Knew it would happen. Need to ‘speak’ to her.
Twilight Zone much?
I felt sooooo all alone. echo, echo, echo….
Looking forward to seeing FLOTUS.
You’re All Reactionaries
by BooMan
Tue Feb 21st, 2012 at 12:43:35 PM EST
Jennifer Rubin is alarmed that Rick Santorum is getting so much traction in the Republican primaries. She says that he’s not conservative, but a reactionary. To prove her case, she quotes Rick Santorum explaining the precise doctrine of the Catholic Church on birth control and conjugal love. If there is a problem with Santorum, it’s not that he’s confused about the teachings of the Church. His problem is that he wants to impose those teachings on all of us through the American legal system.
Most Catholics don’t follow the teachings of the Church on birth control and conjugal love, but I don’t know if you want to go around calling those who do ‘reactionaries’ or denying them their right to call themselves ‘conservatives.’ In any case, I’d think a Washington Post columnist might want to be a little more careful to distinguish Santorum’s beliefs from his political platform. She makes an effort, but this doesn’t quite get it done, in my opinion:
Santorum is reactionary in his discomfort with women working outside the home (other than his own working mother, presumably), who he claims were bamboozled by greed or “radical feminists” into seeking fulfillment and equality in the workplace. He is reactionary in declaring that women in the military are fit only to “fly small planes,” but not take on the duties they have been assuming under battlefield conditions for years. He is reactionary in telling women (married ones, even!) that contraception is harmful to them.
Unlike a think tanker or pundit who wants to elucidate the adverse impact of social trends, he is running for president where, through policy and the bully pulpit, he intends to wage war on post-1960 America.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/2/21/124335/222
Is Mitt’s Willie Horton Ad Man Up To The Task?
=================================
The relative lameness of the attacks against Santorum is particularly curious given that the person producing the ads for Restore Our Future is none other than Larry McCarthy, who earned lifelong notoriety — and a steady supply of do-whatever-it-takes clients — by creating the Willie Horton ad against Mike Dukakis in 1988. If you haven’t already, be sure to read Jane Mayer’s terrific (and terrifically depressing) profile of McCarthy in last week’s New Yorker. In it, she explains that McCarthy is actually not all that innovative when it comes to the style of his ads — they “often have the crude look of a hastily assembled PowerPoint presentation. They feature hokey graphics—key criticisms are highlighted with neon-yellow stripes—and a heavy-handed use of black-and-white to lend a sinister cast to images.” What sets McCarthy apart, above all, is his utter lack of scruples, which stands out even in the moral desert of political advertising. Here’s one assignment he took on in 2010:
============================
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-stump/100939/mitts-willie-horton-ad-man-the-task
There’s a very good reason why Romney can’t go after Santorum the way he did Newt. Newt’s own record in Congress worked against in Florida and Iowa. However, what can he really go after Santorum for except batshit crazy social views. Yet those are the very voters that Romney cannot afford to alienate. He is in a kind of “damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t” situation. His best hope is for Santorum to alienate enough of the non-batshit crazy Republican voters as possible and for Romney to pick them up. The question is if there are non-batshit crazy Republican voters than batshitcrazy Republican voters. And that is questionable.
Supreme Court to hear arguments on rolling back Affirmative action, in Colleges.
I wonder how Clarence Thomas will vote?
He’ll probably vote against it. Remember he was the lone dissenter in the voting rights act case in 2009!
I mean he’ll vote in favor of rolling it back smh
You betcha! he “blames Yale Law School — specifically, its affirmative action program — for his difficulties securing a job as a first-year associate after his graduation. “
He’s such a bloody jerk.
Jovie, we know how Uncle Thomas will vote.
President Obama will speak at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference next month, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday.
Obama will meet the following day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also giving a speech at the policy conference.
Obama spoke at AIPAC last year, delivering a speech focused on Israeli-Palestinian border negotiations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/211787-obama-to-speak-at-aipac-conference
I hope we don’t have a repeat of last year when Netanyahu was so disrespectful of President Obama, and supported by Congress.
Netenyahu has been called out, he is under immense pressure by the World community and 2 of it’s strongest allies!
Me thinks, he will mind his manners.
Yes, but will Congress mind their manners? Frankly, everytime Netanyahu comes to town, I literally become sick at watching the groveling, fawning behavior of the Members of Congress.
See how msnbc just worded the looming contraceptive issue?
By saying that the President is the target and woman are caught in the middle.
Drive wedges, that’s what msnbc does!
Expanding out of the West
By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 2/21/12 2:31 PM EST
The Democratic strategy group Project New West, which had a big summit around the time of the GOP 2012 Las Vegas debate and has built up its name in part on looking at the trajectory of Hispanic and independent voters in the West, is rebranding itself Project New America, its officials said an email earlier today, with an eye toward Southern states:
Now we look to the South, another region where we feel our innovative model has the potential to lead to significant progressive advances. There is no other region in the country that has experienced more of a political realignment than the South over the past 50 years. Once solidly Democratic, the South has become a conservative stronghold in recent decades. However, demographic shifts are once again changing the face of Southern politics, and offering hope for progressives in the region. Today, the South is home to the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the country, as well as new economic sectors, which have attracted more educated, independent voters. These changes–among other developments–are reflected in the emergence of Southern states as some of the most competitive battlegrounds in 2012.
FLOTUS looks lovely, and I am enjoying the guy talking about the start of blues music.
INFOGRAPHIC: Why We Should Be Glad We Didn’t ‘Let Detroit Go Bankrupt’
But take a look at how the government’s intervention in the auto industry has saved Detroit from the brink of collapse:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/21/429291/infographic-auto-industry-rescue/
Restoring America’s global standing – Rick Santorum edition.
By Emily L. Hauser
=========================
Here’s what people in the Netherlands are talking about these days, when they talk about America:
Rick Santorum’s invocation of a nightmare of mass murder of the elderly in the Netherlands has provoked a storm of incredulity and criticism in the Western European country, where the local press say his statistics are wildly inflated.
=========================
http://www.angryblacklady.com/2012/02/20/restoring-americas-global-standing-rick-santorum-edition/
Little Ricky, spreading his special brand of sunshine through the world. Can you imagine the disaster this man would cause around the world if he were president.
It’s absolutely horrifying to contemplate.
OK, we *do* have a right wing governement doing all the austerity dance, but we’re not *that* stupid.
Bye, bye, Rick St O’Rum.
Casino mogul Adelson is saying he might give $100 million to the Gingrich campaign. He likes him, he really likes him! Wonder what he likes? His cute little button nose? his twinkly baby blue eyes? his impressive number of chins? his beautiful mankini body? Whatever is attracting him—–he likes Tiffanys too?—–got a tingle up his leg when Newt slammed Obama on energy saying “you can’t put a gun rack on a Chevy Volt”?—–it’s nuts and disgusting.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-pn-sheldon-adelson-might-give-100-million-to-help-gingrich-20120221,0,6726584.story
ROTFLMAO!!!
Clarrissa maybe? She was up for a threesome before, this time lots of $$$$ involved. Ooops, did I just post that?
It’s Costing Romney a Fortune to Buy the Election
========================
It’s not that Mitt Romney’s money is no good in the Republican primary, it’s just that his money buys a lot less than everyone else’s. It’s like Mitt Romney’s political donations come in another currency — BerkShares, perhaps? — and the exchange rate in the Republican primary isn’t great. Romney has vastly outspent his competitors for the Republican nomination with not-so-vast success. Here’s our analysis of what Romney bought so far, based on the financial disclosure forms released Monday.
=========================
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/02/its-costing-romney-fortune-buy-election/48968/
I hope there’s going to come some moment when there is so much money flowing through these Super Pacs and so little accomplished with it, that even the millionaires and John Roberts will notice. The super elite believe that you can buy everything–unending privilege, love, popularity in the polls and ultimately votes. The idea is to spend so much money that you get your way–no matter what!!. But what if it ends up not working? What if all the money spent cannot make a loser look like a winner, a sanctimonious prig look like an inspired leader, or a robot seem real. What if there’s no return on your ginormous investment? In fact, what if the investment backfires and all the ugly ads end up making your candidate seem ugly. And there isn’t enough expensive lipstick left to make your pig look appealing. I’m beginning to think that could actually happen in this campaign and SuperPacs may end up looking like a really lousy,, not to mention super expensive, idea.
He’s singing about “Gov’ment Cheese”! Hahahahaha
I thought at first that I had misunderstood what he said….till he said it again!
Two Charts That Should Make Romney Gulp
Benjy Sarlin February 21, 2012, 1:05 PM
It’s no secret that, as far as frontrunners go, Mitt Romney’s never exactly set the grassroots on fire. But his latest fundraising numbers drive home just how weak his small donor appeal is compared to his rivals — and especially President Obama.
One good measure of fundraising strength with the masses is contributors who have given less than $200, who are not listed individually in finance reports. Let’s take a look at how the candidates stack up in the chart below, which shows how many of their millions have come from these low-money donors versus the higher rollers in the 2012 cycle.
As you can see, Romney is the clear anomaly by a long shot, raising nearly 90 percent of his total haul from larger contributions. By contrast, only around 40% of Obama’s donations are from individuals who have given more than $200 total and his smaller contributors alone raised more money in total than Romney’s entire fundraising operation. For the rest of the Republican field, the ratio is somewhere closer to 50-50 — take a look at the total small donor cash for Gingrich and Paul, for example, and you see that their huge disadvantage versus Romney is almost entirely due to the frontrunner’s bigger contributors.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/romneys-fundraising-woes-in-two-charts.php?ref=fpa
Rick Santorum could take Republicans down with him
http://www.washingtonpost.com//opinions/rick-santorum-could-take-republicans-down-with-him/2012/02/20/gIQA8Af8PR_story.html
(h/t Randi Rhodes)
yep sirreee, exactly what I’ve been saying. Let him keep talking and digging a deeper hole. His entire party are going to slide right in with him. Until/unless someone from his own party challenges what he’s out there spewing, he’ll just keep it going. This isn’t good for Mitty cause it’ll make him have to try and go to the right of the crazy talk. I say leave Brittany alone…
Not to step into Tally territory, LH, but this would be a “consummation devoutly to be wished.” Good article.
They would have to get rid of the Federal government to match the President 1.3 trillion dollar deficit.
That is extraordinary!
Santorum: “You’re Not A Christian”
By Ed Kilgore
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_02/santorum_youre_not_a_christian035548.php#
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_02/santorum_youre_not_a_christian035548.php
Here’s a little Santorum irony. Ricky doesn’t read the bible and has very little idea of what’s in it. All of his views are received opinions from intermediaries. He admitted this at one point during his 2006 senatorial campaign when he was called on for the biblical reference to one of his stupid remarks. That’s one reason why he appears to disregard all the actual sayings and admonishments of Jesus about giving to the poor and being a peacemaker and focuses instead on exaggerated notions of Satan, which are not biblical.
He also sweats like Romney. Liars sweat – especially when they are caught in their lies
UNFORTUNATELY, I AM NOT A JAGGER FAN. I WILL PROBABLY PASS ON THAT ONE.
LOL! He’s just one of the performers – it’s not a Mick Jagger concert! 🙂
GOOD…I’M NOT AT ALL FOND OF HIM!
Hopefully the girls get to go. This looks like fun, almost like a rock concert.
Not sure if this was posted yet but for those of you who love numbers, Nate Silver has more. Lots of details on the campaign money raised last month. Also some predictions on the upcoming GOP primaries.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/romneys-money-problems/?hp
The housing sector will contribute to gross domestic product for the first time in seven years, according to a report released today by Fannie Mae’s economic and strategic research group.
The economy grew 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and is expected to grow at an overall rate of 2.3 percent this year, up from 1.6 percent for 2011 as a whole, the report says.
The report, which predicts economic growth for the coming year, said gains in the housing sector would be modest, and that a further decline in median sale prices for homes is still expected. However, the labor market continued to improve, with non-farm payroll jobs increasing by nearly 250,000 in January across many industries, including construction.
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/02/21/housing-sector-to-contribute-to-gdp-fannie-mae/
This is very important!
But but, but Rev Wright…
And Satan…
Supreme Court just struck down parts of Miranda
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Tuesday investigators don’t have to read Miranda rights to inmates during jailhouse interrogations about crimes unrelated to their current incarceration.
The high court, on a 6-3 vote, overturned a federal appeals court decision throwing out prison inmate Randall Lee Fields’ conviction, saying Fields was not in “custody” as defined by Miranda and therefore did not have to have his rights read to him.
“Imprisonment alone is not enough to create a custodial situation within the meaning of Miranda,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
Three justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, dissented and said the court’s decision would limit the rights of prisoners.
“Today, for people already in prison, the court finds it adequate for the police to say: `You are free to terminate this interrogation and return to your cell,'” Ginsburg said in her dissent. “Such a statement is no substitute for one ensuring that an individual is aware of his rights.”
—
Good Lord…..
OH MY…YOU CAN FILE THAT DECISION IN THE SAME BUCKET WITH CITIZENS UNITED! WHAT KIND OF KOOL-AID ARE THEY SERVING IN THE SUPREME COURT’S WATER COOLER?
Kagan was an Aye vote!
SAW ON THE NEWS THAT INTEL.REP. VISITING ISRAEL ON THURSDAY. THAT’S A GOOD THING. LOTS OF EXTREMIST INFILTRATION THERE…HOPEFULLY THIS WILL PREVENT NETANYAHU FROM TAKING ANY PANIC STRICKEN STEPS TOWARD IRAN. LOTS OF EXTREMISTS WOULD LOVE TO PUSH ALL THOSE BUTTONS.
The pro-President Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action is going up on air in Michigan with a buy totaling almost $243,000 for a week-long flight, a buying source confirms to POLITICO’s Maggie Haberman. The ads will run through the Michigan primary next week.
The Obama administration unveiled three initiatives Tuesday designed to aid business growth and create jobs in rural communities.
The initiatives, the latest in the administration’s “We can’t wait” campaign against Congress, leverage existing programs and funding, the White House said.
To boost agriculture and manufacturing, the president issued a memo directing agencies to purchase more bio-based products (those derived from natural components rather than chemical). The second initiative is a multi-agency competition for funds to spur innovation in rural job creation. The third is an agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to help connect community and technical colleges in rural communities with resources to help them train health information-technology professionals.
“My Administration is committed to using every tool available to promote economic growth and create good jobs in rural America,” the president said in a statement. “Today’s announcements reflect our continued focus on expanding opportunity for rural Americans and all Americans, including supporting new and innovative businesses, and improving rural health care and education.”
Don Slack-
I tweeted him in reply: “Excellent news for John McCain!”
You are naughty….teehee
I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT THIS SANTORUM/GRAHAM STUFF IS COMING TO A HEAD…THIS HAS ALWAYS EXISTED…THIS IS IN EVERY SIGNLE RIGHT WING CHURCH TODAY…IT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED AND STOPPED. THE RIGHT WINGERS HAVE SPREAD THESE CONSPIRACIES ABOUT PBO ALL OVER THE PLACE AND SOMEHOW THEY ALL HAVE TO COME OUT AND BE STOPPED. THIS IS THE FIRE THAT HAS BEEN FUELING THE GOP!
THAT’S ‘SINGLE’…I’M DISGUSTED TODAY…JUST HAD AN ARGUMENT W/ ONE OF MY HOMELESS WORKERS OVER THE SAME DAMN SUBJECT…AM TIRED OF IT!
Robney is ahead 36-32 in Arizona over Santo!
Santorum needs to go after Robney in the debate, he is holding his support, but Robney is gaining some!
Jovie, its the over way around, lil Ricky is gaining on flip flop.
https://twitter.com/?tw_e=screenname&tw_i=172044779872464898&tw_p=tweetembed#!/NoShock/status/172044779872464898
Santorum has a tongue on him, reminds me of Palin.
He needs to take on Robney if he wants to win the nomination. We will see If he gives Robney a pass, in the debate!
If Mitty is smart, he’ll let Sanctimonious and Grinch battle it out on stage, while he stays above the fray. If Grinch and Saintorum were smart, they’d gang up on Mitty. If Paul was smart, he wouldn’t be in the race. This just shows to go ya, they ain’t that bright.
The 4 stooges!
Now there’s a dream ticket — Santorum/Palin. Couldn’t you just see The Apostle Rick and Sister Sarah on the campaign trail together.
Why does Santorum despise the separation of church and state?
By Jacques Berlinerblau
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/georgetown-on-faith/post/why-does-santorum-despise-the-separation-of-church-and-state/2012/02/17/gIQAhEu6JR_blog.html
She is so real!
Super couple in the White House. It’s truly the peoples house 😆
Speaking of Music, love this from Nina Simone
YES!!
I have to say the pictures in this article are fascinating……taken between 1910 and 1930 in Australia. Mugshots of women , they looked rough of course, most of them must have lived in extreme poverty. I noticed right away that some of these women were backstreets abortionists, performing illegal abortions, arrested for their ”crime”….I can just imagine how awful it must have been back then, the desperation, the methods they must have used, the suffering…how many women died,..
So I was thinking that in Santorum’s world, his vision for the country…contraceptives and abortions would be illegal…..It’s pure madness. These psychos have to be stop and never be in power.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103393/Womens-mug-shots-1920s-Australia.html
First Senator McCain said President Obama is going to get the economy humming, now flip flop is saying spending cuts slow the economy.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10469786-romney-spending-cuts-slow-economic-growth
AHA! I love these GOP Freudian slips….Keep ’em coming!
Ga. Dem women fighting back—proposing a bill which would ban vasectomies:
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/02/21/democratic-women-seek-a-state-ban-on-vasectomies-for-men/
https://twitter.com/#!/HildaSolisDOL/status/171971534594912256
The Republicans’ Desperate Trashing of the Obama Recovery
By Jonathan Chait
===================
Worst recovery ever? Worst recovery since the Great Depression? How bad has the economy actually been under Obama, and what standard should we be judging him against?
===================
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/02/republicans-trashing-the-obama-recovery.html
I would like to ask that stupid ass Rick Santorum, if a woman had five children and she was pregnant with her sixth, but the doctor says this pregnancy could kill the mother unless she have an abortion. Do you leave five kids motherless, because they are against abortion, do the right wing radical conservatives nuts make that decision or do the mother, her husband, and family make the decision.
mom’s a goner…
You COULD ask him, so his answer would be recorded for the less-informed to see, but, really, you already know the answer.
WOLF BLITZER WAS JUST DINING ON FRANKLIN GRAHAM’S COMMENTS…AND CAFFERTY’S QUESTION TONITE? WHAT SHOULD PBO’S CAMPAIGN SLOGAN BE? THEY ARE LOVING THIS GARBAGE!
I want to see what the faces look like come Nov 7th 2012 after PBO has been re-elected.
Something like :_(
You get the idea.
I especially want to see that stupid smirk wiped off of Cantor’s mug.
I just turned to CNN to see (on mute) some of the comments they were showing. Two or three were positive, and the rest of them were from right wing loons. Glad I don’t watch CNN – those ten seconds were as bad as turning on Fox “News”.
Randi Rhodes says PBO’s slogan should be “I’m Barack Obama- Kiss My Ass”. LOL!
LOL! Randi is my GIRL!
I think the question about the slogan came from the campaign.
Randi Rhodes is talking about this now.. She is wondering how Rick Santorum would react to this information.
5 sexual health services insurance will cover… for men
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/20/5-sexual-health-services-insurance-will-cover-for-men/
Hi all, just had a few encounters with a bunch of right wingers in Yahoo! chat, and here’s the deal:
The Republicans seem to have decided NOT to talk about their candidates, so they’re going to instead spend their time attacking President Obama. They say that unemployment is actually 15% without the context of whether that 15% is because it’s gone up or more likely gone down, they say that Obama is a failure on the economy (LMAO), they say Obama has raised the deficit to record levels, just your typical anti Obama rants. And of course, none of them willing to discuss what Pope Rick John Sweater Vest, Willard, Speaker Moonbase, or Grandpa Ron plan to do to make things better.
Get ready for a looooooooooooooooong summer of the Republicans reviving Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN, 57 states, teleprompter, death panels, and we have to be prepared to fight back, as well as registering voters and making sure they vote and their votes count!
Obama-Biden 2012, FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!! 😎
Nintendo, take heart –
1. If the GOP has to resort to outdated topics of 2008 – stuff that John McCain didn’t even bring up in his campaign, then they’ve already LOST. That is desperation at it’s highest.
2. At some point, the general public will WANT to hear about the GOP candidate and they will have no choice BUT to be in the spotlight. What are they going to do? Skip the debates? Sarah Palin could only avoid the press for so long…remember?
3. The yahoo online trolls are a small segment of deluded Republicans. The sane Republicans are VERY, VERY WORRIED, so much so that they are still hoping that Mitch Daniels jumps into the race.
I agree with every single one of your points. My point is that we have to fight back and get the truth out, just as we did in 2008. We have to stay ahead of the game, because I got a feeling that the Republicans are waiting for us to slack off and jump back when we least expect it.
I have no doubt President Obama will win, but we have to keep the lead. Remember the recent Super Bowl, when a lot of folks thought that the Patriots were going to win because they had the lead, then they choked in the second half. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.
LOL!! Oh Mitt.
And to think derbingle, a year ago there were a few posters concerned that Willard would be challenging to defeat. All we have to do is let him talk, and he ends up creating a multitude of soundbytes the Obama campaign can fire back with: “I like firing people,” “I’m not concerned about the poor,” and now this one where he admits that budget cuts slow the economy. We’re going to have fun with whomever is the nominee, whether it be Willard, Pope Rick John Sweater Vest, Speaker Moonbase, Grandpa Ron, or if there’s a brokered convention and they end up nominating Trump, Jeb, or the Quitter.
I remember that. They kept telling us daily how formidable he would be. They’d cite those early out of the box poll numbers as proof that The President was in real trouble.
Rev Al is quick. On his radio show today, someone asked him if he knew who Frank Schaeffer is and he said no. Lo and behold, Frank is on Politics Nation as I type. Good lookin out, caller.
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/catholic-hospitals-have-provided-more
I’m cackling here!
Catholic Hospitals Have Provided More Than 20K Of The Sterilizations Bishops Oppose
I’m sure there’s some mistake, because if this was true, it would mean that the Catholic Church’s political attack against the Obama administration was mere posturing for the benefit of their right-wing buddies, and not a heartfelt defense of a religious position against abortion that, by the way, is younger than the Happy Meal:
U.S. Catholic bishops have vowed to fight the Obama administration’s compromise on insurance coverage for contraception and sterilization, denouncing it as “coercive,” “insulting,” “unconstitutional,” “belligerent,” and “dangerous.”
Yet there is evidence the sterilization services the bishops oppose have been provided by many Catholic hospitals across the country, including a few in the Philadelphia area.
Some evidence comes from news reports about bishops cracking down. In Texas in 2008, for example, two hospitals were ordered to stop doing the sterilization surgery, called tubal ligation. In Oregon in 2010, a hospital that refused to stop lost its Catholic status.
New post everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/02/21/evening-all-41/
YAHOO!!!
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-gm-plant-visit-20120215,0,7402134.story
New GM plant will bring jobs from Mexico to Baltimore County
By the end of the year, motors for cutting-edge electric vehicles will be built from scratch in a sprawling $244 million plant under construction next to GM’s factory, now called General Motors Baltimore Operations.
About 189 workers will be hired to build the motors for a new generation of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, joining the 220 employees at the existing plant. The new plant’s first order of business will be building motors for the Chevrolet Spark, a five-door mini-car with a hatch that GM plans to roll out in 2013, according to a company spokeswoman.