Don’t think I ever posted this before, it’s an ‘exchange’ between Irish politician Michael D Higgins and that Tea Party-loving hatemonger radio guy Michael Graham on Irish radio from May 2010.
Don’t miss the last 5 seconds 😉
You can hear the full 21 minute interview here, if you’re interested.
Michael D Higgins was elected President of Ireland last year.
President Barack Obama presents a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Aug. 12, 2009
****
Back later, chat away.
The Obama Diary 
😀
Back in a bit – Need more Yorkshire tea! mmmmmm…… 😀
Congrats on #1!
Thanks!!
I really need to find something more to DO…… 😉
Hi Tally….congrats for being first. You just happen to log into TOD at just the right time thats alls.
I set up my subscription so I get an email every time Chips posts a new page, and my email is set up to constantly check the server for new mail. 😀
So sayeth Tally the TechDiva™.
Personally I’m beginning to think TechDivas should be given a handicap. Chips, how about tipping the rest of us off, BEFORE you actually post new links, then we can race Tally to get in? Of course, I can’t compete anyway in the next week so I don’t know WHY I’m griping, instead of just saying ‘Congrats Tally’. 😉
Okay, now. I’m beginning to believe there’s a conspiracy afoot……
You ain’t by yourself 57.
“I’m just sayin'”——Barack Obama, University of Miami February 23, 2012.
Undisputed champion!!!
Hi Chips,
The full Bill Maher clip is included in this PoliticusUSA article:
http://www.politicususa.com/en/bill-maher-yahoo-censorship
#PRESSON
Another one of those pictures I love of FLOTUS and POTUS.
Looks like he is singing to her.
OOOOOOOOOOH…MR. HIGGINS BREATHIN’ SOME AWESOME IRISH FIRE…FANTASTIC I MUST SAY!
Second???
very important position!
just until chips can award you a magnificent keepsake photo, here’s a video clip you may not have seen. aloha!
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/16022916/live-stream-president-obama-lands-at-hickam
Fucking amazing olease send the vidio viral i all ready sent it to all my family.
Do not mess with the beautiful Irishman. My wonderful great-grandfather another beautiful Irishman, and I lived to see very up and close personally, my ex-hubby show all of his pure Irish core in our lovely marriage. I love it. HZ
So not only was the speech overshadowed by the empty stadium seats, but he ends it with this?? I mean dude should never go off script.
Ann Romney Drives ‘a Couple of Cadillacs,’ Says Mitt
I *LOVE* that fact he is so clue free.
Go Mitt go!! Mention how anybody who doesn’t vacation on the Riviera at least twice a year is a peasant.
Romney can’t speak off script or off teleprompter without making an ass of himself, so he sneers at the president’s appropriate use of the teleprompter for important speeches. PBO can speak extemporaneously, brilliantly and with great humor and insight on any subject, foreign and domestic, without any notes so, of course, he must be the dumb one who relies on tools.
Oh Professor President Higgins tells it like it is!!! Excellent. Why did it take an Irishman to see the truth of the Teabigots?
@hopefruit2
Yes, he was VERY GOOD at putting these fools in their places! Kudos to Professor Higgins!
Loved the way he wouldn’t let the other guy get a word in edgewise. If he had a talk show in the US, he’s be a big hit.
How can we send him some love? he was brilliant and speaking the reality about the sick
mental state of mind they are.
I listened to the four minute speech with my mouth open the entire time! It was brilliant. I don’t want to listen to the full 20 minute speech, because then I’ll have to hear the nonsense from the tea bagger. This was brilliance and truth all rolled into one.
“You’re just a wanker whipping up fear”. I think that just about covers it in a nutshell. Tell it. President Higgins,Tell it! Happy Friday everyone, another beautiful day in the TOD neighborhood.
I loved it!
Me too! And I love how the crowd approves that he said that! Wanker indeed!
I damn near fell out of my chair when I heard him say that. And the truth shall set you free! Wanker indeed. 😆 😆
If I could, I’d book a flight to Ireland tomorrow, just to go give Mr. Higgins a big bear hug and slurp down a Guiness or two with him!
Cousin Henry Healy, if you’re out there reading this, please tell him that for me.
Sorry, that should’ve been President Higgins.
Dudette, that would be so nice if cousin Henry would pay us a visit and know that we would like to send President Higgins so love.HZ
that should be’some’ love. What the heck, a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot of love!!!HZ
Could Mitt Romney be any more dense? For those on the other thread who were inquiring as to who the dumbass was who suggested holding the event in a 65K seat stadium. The dumbass title goes to Ding! Ding! Ding! Willard Mitt Romney. Apparently (Via Tamron Hall on MSNBC) the event was supposed to be held at a smaller venue but Romney changed his mind at the last minute, moved up the event and directed his staff to pick Ford Field. The buzz is that he wanted the meme on the local news to be “Hey Romney can attract huge crowds. Romney isn’t losing support. Romney has the wind behind his back.” He wanted the optics of huge crowds filling the stadium. Well, it backfired on him. EPIC fail. The front section near the stage had empty seats and news stations like MSNBC have been showing the vast emptiness of the event and mocking Romney.
Could Mitt Romney be any more dense part II? Democrats must be laughing all the way to the bank. First Romney said Corporations are people. Then he made a $10K bet. Then he said he likes firing people. Then he said he wasn’t concerned about the poor. Then now at the event for the Detroit Economic Club, to show that he could “relate” to regular people, he talked about how he has a mustang, a Dodge and his wife is so regular that all she used to drive were a couple of Cadillacs but now she doesn’t have to do that because she has a private driver.
Way to go Willard. That’s how the 99% live.
Romney should just go ahead and fire himself! There is something off with this man’s wiring! SMH!
WOW…and the [lack of] diversity of the crowd is whole other matter – a preponderance of white males dressed in suits. Yet they call themselves the DETROIT Economics Club? The last time I checked, Detroit was ~81% Black, and 52% female!!! And the whites who actually reside in Detroit do not come to campaign speeches dressed in suits! So how does this Mittens crowd represent “Detroit” in any way, shape or form?
Busses R’Us.
wait
I mean Charter Jets R’Us.
I just can’t stop laughing at this. Hubris will bite you in the ass every time.
x2
The wives were out shopping at a small boutique in Detroit on the other side of town. You know they had to put a little offering in the plate to get the economy moving a little, so Willard could brag about his contribution to helping with the economy there . Then their drivers drove them back to the stadium to ride out as part of Willard’s motorcade. Oh, and these were cars made in MI. ” Liar, liar, pants on fire.”
That is it. Keep it going, Willard. You will NEVER sit behind that desk, your know the one, in that Oval Office? Yea, I thought you might have that right at the tip of your TOE , but your feet will never get the opportunity of land on top of that desk, sir. You Got That Willard?
I thought so.HZ
Okay UT. While Willard did have the final decision I made the suggestion. We both agreed that it was money in the bank. If you’ll pardon the expression.
And I must disagree that it was an epic fail. On the contrary it worked out beautifully. The congratulation tweets from team Obama are coming in non stop
did Willard really she wifey doesn’t drive anymore because she has a driver now?!
Not sure. Reading the article, I interpreted it as a joke from the reporter.
The amazing thing to me is that with seemingly endless barrels of money, Romney’s team is so disorganized. No support team worth it’s salt would have allowed their candidate to stumble into this mess. A stadium event takes a ton of careful planning plus lots of time to call people and drum up support. They don’t happen magically. Even if it was Romney’s idea, one of this advisers should have told him simply, that it was not possible in the time frame. If Romney is going to fly by the seat of his pants, allowing no check on his insane ideas then he’s doomed. He’s been planning for this presidency for years and has built a ginormous war chest, but he forget to put the basic building blocks in place first. Candidate Barack Obama knew that he had to build a very strong team, whose professionalism, organizational skills and dedication he could rely on. That was smart campaigning. Romney’s is not.
Agreed. Romney, the supposedly good businessman, is an horrible manager. Whereas Barack Obama, the supposedly inexperienced man, has excellent management skills.
It is merely that no one in their right mind, or with an IQ higher than 87, would be working for the guy in the first place. Money or no money, all the really intelligent people are Obama~Biden all the way to 2017!
February 24, 2012
Spielberg’s epic: Mitt Romney’s ‘Duel’
Have you seen Steven Spielberg’s docudrama about Mitt Romney’s 2012 primary campaign? It was made, prophetically, in 1971, it starred Dennis Weaver and a really irrationally vindictive truck, and it was titled “Duel.” Some film buffs and political experts still debate the believability, or unbelievability, of the movie’s ending, in which the pathetically desperate traveling salesman (Weaver) triumphs over the mechanized leviathan’s blind rage. The film’s irony, however, which we’ll get to, is profoundly unmistakable.
http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2012/02/spielbergs-epic-mitt-romneys-duel.html
Duel. One of the scariest movies ever.
And Session 9.
I was on Dennis Weaver’s side in that movie. In Willard’s case, I’d just as soon he went over the cliff.
Sorry to link GOPolitico but my governor, Martin O’Malley lays the smackdown on Bob McDonnell.
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1
My apologies. Here’s the link since I can’t embed the video
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73251.html
OMG My Gov is brilliant in this video. He had McDonnell squirming in his seat.
Chips this is a must see!!!!!!!
And McDonnell makes a lame comeback that he hasn’t had social issues at the top of his agenda? Excuse me, didn’t we just go through the enforced ultrasound for abortion that drew the ire of women across the state? What was that? a diplomatic issue?
Donna dem, you all have a brilliant Governor in O’Malley. He tore McDonnell up, as they would say. McDonnell had no place to go. Gov. O’Malley will be going great places in the future. I love your Governor, Donna dem!!! HZ
Amari10…I’m loving your Governor:)
How about just as soon as PBO wins in November, we start on the O’Malley 2016 campaign?!
Obama/Biden 2012
Thanks for the link, Amari10! I really loved Governor O’Malley! He is a no nonsense man who speaks plainly, without any equivocation, his support of President Obama! I really would like to see him be the Keynote speaker at 2012 Democratic convention. If he does to run for President, in 2016, I will be there to support him 100%!
Oh my gosh! I love Martin O’Malley ( said with an Irish accent). He just went off!!! McDuckface had no response. He sounded so dumb in his follow-up. what a tool! 😆 😆
Just sayin….
That’s right. No spin necessary.
Oh GF, I love this tweet!
perfect!
Wow! Irish politician Michael D Higgins handed that Tea Party-loving hatemonger radio guy Michael Graham his ass on Irish radio in May 2010.
Loved it!
IS ARLEN SPECTER THE NEW BILL AYERS???
Frank Rich on the National Circus: The GOP’s Season Finale Bombs
By Frank Rich
===========================================
Who won the debate?
Barack Obama, obviously, or he would have if the debate hadn’t been so tedious that it likely shed viewers faster than an episode of Smash. Why did CNN serve up John King as a moderator instead of “Blitz,” as Herman Cain so memorably re-branded Wolf? Why was everyone sitting down? How did Arlen Specter become a left-wing bogeyman comparable to Bill Ayres? When Romney tried to “humanize” himself early on by dropping a George Costanza reference, it should have been a tip-off that this was going to be the worst final episode of a TV series since Seinfeld. This time it was the audience that ended up in jail. Even Twitter wisecracks seemed to flatline as the show wore on.
Which Republican politician scares you the most?
That would be Callista Gingrich. Seeing her in the audience last night, sitting stone-faced next to that once-formidable, now-deflated clown Rick Perry, you realized she’s the only one in the entire race who has come through this carnival completely unscathed.
============================================
Read more questions/answers here….
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/02/frank-rich-the-gops-season-finale-bombs.html
The worst thing about Frank Rich’s column is the phrase “…shed viewers faster than an episode of Smash.” I have been watching Smash and like it! I didn’t know it was losing its audience. Bummer. Lots of times shows I like are taken off the air as not that many other people like them. Boo hoo. Oh well, I’ll keep watching till they take it off.
You too? I liked Undercovers and The Event and both of those shows were cancelled. And Callista has not gone through this campaign unscathed. One of those evangelicals called her an 8-year mistress when they met to decide who to support Gingrich or Santorum. He basically called her a garden tool.
Well, L3, you can certainly make an argument that her hair has come through the campaign unscathed. I don’t think Hurricane level winds could disturb her coif. Not a single strand of hair is ever permitted to stray.
ROTFLMAO…om my gosh….you guys, what did you have lunch? I laughing all over the place.
I follow one of the television ratings sites, and the reason both of those shows were cancelled was that they dropped like stones in the ratings. Undercovers started weak and went quickly downhill from there, and The Event just never quite managed to keep its audience. Smash has been dropping in the ratings steadily – the week before last it had a 2.8 18-49 share /8 million viewers, this past one 2.3/6.5. So in a week it dropped half a point in the most desirable demographic and shed 1.5 million viewers. Not something a network wants to see.
Romney’s Koch Brothers Connections
Tomorrow Mitt Romney will speak at the Michigan Prosperity Forum, alongside Tea Party icons like Andrew Breitbart and Michelle Malkin. The event is sponsored by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, which receives the bulk of its funding from the Koch brothers, whom the Romney campaign has described as “the financial engine of the Tea Party.”
snip
The Obama campaign is already using Romney’s Koch connections as a fundraising appeal, writing in an email today: “Tomorrow Mitt Romney is hanging out with the billionaire Koch brothers at a Tea Party forum. I imagine they’ll get along.”
http://www.thenation.com/blog/166447/romneys-koch-brothers-connections?tw_p=twt
Jackie 4 O, this actually makes me sick. Allying yourself with the Koch Brother traitors should be a disqualification for elective office.
So happy I am off today, so I am happily watching Bashire Live!
He should be required viewing for all Americans. Or all thinking Americans anyway. Started out with Santorum calling colleges and universities “indoctrination mills” and no wonder Obama wants college available to all. College (education) is bad, really bad, according to Santorum. Just when you think they can’t get any crazier, they do. Then showing Romney saying how much he loves cars again, names all the family vehicles, wrapped it up by saying his wife drives a couple of Cadillacs. Bashir asked if the Romney campaign shouldn’t just ask Willard to just stop talking. Bashir, in addition to exposting all the craziness, is fun to watch.
I agree :-). We need him at 5 🙂
I agree. I wish he could replace Chris Matthews. I can never see Bashir because I’m teaching at that time 😦
Is Romney serious, is that all the people that came to his rally? I mean really, I’ve thrown orgies bigger than that.
Ho! ho-ho. Ho! ——— 😆 😆 ……… go on Don, wid yo baaaad self. 😉
#LandslideOBAMA2012
#LandslideDEMS2012
Yes We Will
What would the right or that witch Elisabeth on the View say if President Obama said that Michelle were driving around in two Cadillacs ?
I absolutely love Higgins and his take down of the Tea Baggers. Why can’t our Democrats speak like that?
Maybe the DCCC and the DSCC could hire Higgins as a consultant. I’ll bet O’Malley would take him on for the Governor’s Association. Our guys have to learn to go for the jugular and keep talking, just like O’Malley did. It really is a matter of training.
Is there any doubt that the GOP and conservatism in general is in a quickening death spiral? The days of intellectuals like William F. Buckley Jr. are long gone. They’ve been replaced by a leadership which has to cater to a know-nothing base and not show the slightest bit of actual leadership. And just in case anyone is wondering, the original Know-Nothing movement didn’t have a good ending. Get the popcorn.
Bashir also revealed Santorum’s wife saying it was “God’s will” that Santorum ascend to the throne. (This is about the 4th or 5th Repub candidate claiming to be so chosen) And he aired the tape of Santorum wifey saying if Obama is re-elected, that’s the end of our nation. Just SPLAT, I guess. Looney, looney tunes.
Did she really say, “ascend to the THRONE?” After Santorum went off about President Obama wanting to “RULE over everyone”???
“ascend to the throne” was my creative interpretation of Santorum wifey saying that it was God’s will that he be elected POTUS. She actually said “God’s will”. And then she said that nonsense about Obama’s re-election meant ‘the end of the world’—–my creative description of what she actually said—that it would be the “end of our nation”. Her hubby was looking on proudly as she made these very scary, startling proclamations.
He’ll ascend to the throne alright. The porcelain one.
hahahahahahahahahahhahahaha!!!!
Yes he can! 🙂
UT, a porcelain one is too good for this character. He needs to go an “out house.” Remember those? Yes, that is his fit.HZ
The throne in one of their many bathrooms? Make that descend, as in flush!
The level of arrogance you have to have to claim to know God’s will is just jaw-dropping. Remember when PBO was running for senate against Alan Keyes and Keyes said Jesus had told him he was meant to be senator. The president’s response was to joke that if Keyes had that kind of pipeline they should forget about the campaign and start asking the good lord some questions. It cracked me up at the time because it made Keyes look exactly like the ignorant fool he was. People like Keyes, the Santorums, the Perrys and Palins are pathetic. They are either bold-faced liars or they’re clinically delusional.
The latter, one would surmise.
‘A CAMPAIGN OF ALMOST PATHOLOGICAL DISHONESTY’
By Steve Benen
=====================================
Paul Krugman argued today that Mitt Romney “is running a campaign of almost pathological dishonesty.” That need not be considered hyperbole.
Indeed, Greg Sargent added this morning that Romney’s “falsehoods and all around dissembling” may be designed to “simply wear reporters and commentators down by trafficking in them so heavily that they throw up their hands and give up on trying to track or debunk them.”
.
.
3. On foreign policy, Romney said, “[T]his president should have put in place crippling sanctions against Iran, he did not.”
Actually, he did.
======================================
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/24/10498938-a-campaign-of-almost-pathological-dishonesty
I think Greg Sargent is giving them too much credit for intelligence. People like Romney just don’t care if they lie because they have no sense of truth or any moral core, as David Plouffe said. The only thing they care about is getting the power of the presidency and they feel absolutely justified in using any kind of falsehoods to achieve that. Their audience–the far right–thrives on lies and delusion and wouldn’t have the wit or the will to question anything they say.
Ann Romney ‘drives a couple Cadillacs,’ Mitt Romney says
Asked about the remark after the speech, the Romney campaign said Ann Romney owns two models of the Cadillac SRX—one a 2007 model and the other a 2010. One vehicle is at the couple’s home in La Jolla, Calif., while the other is in Massachusetts, where the Romney’s primary residence is.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/ann-romney-drives-couple-cadillacs-mitt-romney-says-185656441.html
From the frying pan, into the fire.
@billburton716
2/24/12 1:23 PM EST
Bill Burton of pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action after $1 million check from Bill Maher:
“Thx to @billmaher for the generous donation, we’ll direct his $ to our efforts to ‘kick ass’, as requested.”
Cool Jovie!!
Here’s the actual Tweet so everyone can RT it!!
#PRESSON
OOOPSS!! 😀 😀 😀
#PRESSON
Just a bit of good news to report. In 2008, I did the “Great Schlep” from Florida to Las Vegas to talk with my parents about voting for then Senator Obama. They were ardent Senator Clinton supporters. I had a great time. I wore my swag on the plane to and from. I gave stickers out on the plane and on the layover on the way there. They showed up and voted for 44. They are big CNN watchers so they don’t get all the news. They were leaning towards Romney as recently as last week. Thanks to all the GOP’s war on Women…they are now voting for PBO again. Mind you, they are in their 80’s.
Proud daughter of some very SMART Parents.
Your a good daughter.
Excellent news. It’s good to know that people who are getting their news from CNN are leaning Romney. That won’t last…there’s no way they can miss all his issues once the General campaign begins.
Yes, indeed!
Martin Bashir just played a clip where Romney said his house has been demolished because it was being used as a drug house.
Mitt Robme was talking about his childhood house being destroyed.
DETROIT — For Mitt Romney, ad-libbing is becoming a liability.
At the end of a 35-minute speech Friday to the Detroit Economic Club at this city’s football stadium, Romney offered yet another YouTube-worthy moment for his GOP rivals to exploit — reminding the well-heeled executives that his family owns four Detroit-made-cars, including two Cadillacs. Though they may be made in Michigan, owning two of the pricey cars – which cost between $35,000 and $49,000, according to the campaign, will only reinforce the image that he’s out of touch with working-class Americans.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73258.html
LOL!
With Hollywood gathering this weekend for the 84th Academy Awards, President Barack Obama has recruited Oscar-winning documentary director Davis Guggenheim to again produce a short film for his campaign.
Obama’s re-election staff in Chicago spent $162,834 on the film last month, according to the January Federal Election Commission filing. Currently in post-production, the film focuses on the president’s first three years in office, according to a campaign official.
The film will be less than 30 minutes long and released in weeks, though the exact date hasn’t been decided, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The campaign is still considering how it will be used, the official said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-24/obama-enlists-guggenheim-for-campaign-film.html
So full of WIN.
I’m looking forward to watching my 30-minute film!
Hell Yeah! Epic WIN.
President Obama will visit Nashua, N.H., Thursday to discuss the economy, the White House announced today.
No further details were immediately released.
For Obama, it will be the second visit to the general election swing state in the last three months. In November, he visited a Manchester high school to promote his plan to extend the payroll tax cut as part of an overall jobs package.
http://mobile.boston.com/art/35/Boston/politicalintelligence/2012/02/president-obama-visit-new-hampshire-thursday/XHJbfSbVMUIaqnsli6e9TI/index
At least this guy is brutally honest in his racism.
The post is at Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog: http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/02/birtherism-still-wont-die-3.html
And more information at The Grio: http://www.thegrio.com/politics/lawsuit-claims-obama-cant-be-president-because-hes-mulatto.php
I just revel in the post-racial society in which we now live.
HAAAAAAAAAAAA! So this asshat has built a time machine that he’s going to transport the entire Earth with?
😆
It’s rather refreshing to see honest and open racism in a birther filing. Most of them (and yes, there’s a lot) are twisting themselves into knots to avoid saying “He’s black!” 🙄 Then again, the “legal” stylings of Orly Taitz are always good for a laugh.
Does that mean all “negroes” can get all the tax $’s they gave the United States illegally? You are so right Tally, they are total asshats.
Um, this is um…I’m kinda not sure how to react to this song.
Are ya’ll “BARACK’N IT”???
Video a little jumpy. Great Beat! Cut little boy…great dance…love my city of Dallas where it was made. They support our President.
I’m sorry but I laughed all the way through that video. Funny, I put it n my FB. I liked the sketch portrait at the end, beautiful.
MEEE TOOOO!
LOVE THAT!!!
Not a bad song to get stuck in your head!!!
Wow, not sure I could do the dance but I like the Barack’n it T-SHIRT 🙂 The sketch portraits are fantastic.
and Ms. Chips your Sweet Home Chicago Video is showing up on the right towards the top of the list of other related videos at this link with 1.1 millions views! WOOT! You go gurrl! 😆 😆
That’s a bunch of neat folk having a very fun time … good beat … it’s gonna stick!
#PRESSON
I am loving it. They even added a little “stanky leg” to the Presidential swag.
lololol Love it Lamh35.
This stuff just makes my head hurt. { If we don’t talk about it, it will go away!} Good Lord. The stupidity.
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/utah-gop-passes-bill-ban-sex-education
ZOMFG. The sheer stupidity…. I guess they want the abortion rate to go UP.
ASSHOLES!!!!
HA!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the state that ranks number one in online porn consumption.
Mormon porn addicts. HIGH-larious.
Well, they indeed do have a lot in common with OBL 😉
#PRESSON
Not enough wives to satisfy these men? Maybe their pencil points rub out.
ooohhhhh snap. Did you guys leave for ‘happy hour’ a little earlier today? LOL
My friend tells the story of seeing bumper sticker that said “I Love Morman P#ssy”…
Oh, Tally, Tally, Tally 🙂 We already KNEW they were stupid….just didn’t know HOW stupid ! Now we know…Batshit crazy STUPID!
Hello TODers, Thank you Chip for the Mr. Higgins audio.
DCCC has a new website up 🙂 http://thegrandoilparty.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/how-vulnerable-are-dems-on-rising-gas-prices/2012/02/24/gIQArgRGYR_blog.html
The papers are full of stories about how vulnerable Obama and Democrats are on high gas prices. GOP leaders are privately urging House Republicans to embrace public angst about rising pump prices in their districts, and Obama advisers reportedly recognize that the issue could help Republicans sow public doubt about whether the economy is improving.
But Dems, eager to reverse this storyline, are laying plans of their own to try to turn rising gas prices to their advantage.
In an interview just now, DCCC chair Steve Israel said that House Dem incumbents and candidates are being urged to go on the offensive on the issue against Republicans and their votes in support for oil company subsidies — and not to shrink from defending Obama’s record or from making a larger argument about the need to seek alternative energy sources.
“We’ve told our candidates that they should remind people that we’ve actually increased domestic energy production, and talk about solutions-oriented energy policies that would end our catastrophic dependence on foreign oil,” Israel said. “We are urging them to hold House Republicans accountable for consistently protecting oil company subsidies.”
Thom Hartman said this morning that the President could halt all gasoline exports (which is our largest export at the moment) which would create a glut HERE, and they’d have to lower the prices. I really don’t see it affecting the economy since Big Oil is drowning in record profits and tax subsidies from the rest of us…. Not sure how true that is – if the POTUS can do that.
The GOP would scream that the POTUS is screwing with the “free market”, and the speculators would be ruined. But then the general public would realize that the GOP can’t have it both ways, and they’d learn to what extent Speculation is effecting things (which Congress could outlaw if they wanted to….)
A guy on Ian Master’s show yesterday said that the Media is going to start talking about speculation big time very soon. One can only hope.
I would estimate that maybe 10% of the population even knows that we have so much gasoline here that we are exporting it. They are being told it’s about supply and demand by the RWers and not being told how much oil we are producing and how supply has gone down. I don’t think the President can just stop exporting of oil, but he could perhaps make a comment about how the oil companies are sending gasoline abroad rather than using it for the US market, then with his cute grin say “Gosh, it would almost make you think they want prices to be high.”
YES.
I’m not an expert, but this is what I’ve learned. The oil is “regulated” by OPEC and priced on the global market, so even if the US kept the oil here, the speculators would still be driving up the prices. There is plenty of oil out there. The price increase is due to oil speculation.
Chip,
You will be happy to hear, that I email Byron Tau daily, about his coverage.
Lately, his pieces have been more positive, sometimes he even posts the stuff that I send him!
I do this, because Politici is like Drudge, the MSM pays attention to what they post.
Byron just emailed me and said I was a mouthpiece of the Obama administration, and that now that he is posting some good stuff, he now has Conservatives mad at him and that he can’t win. LOL!
Hope it lasts!
hahahahahhahhahahahhahahhahahahahhahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahhahhahhaahahaha!!!!!!
Keep fighting the good fight Jovie. And it’s very unprofessional of Mr. Tau a “journalist” affiliated with an established online news media outlet to label you, an anonymous online poster, “a mouthpiece of the Obama administration” when he knows nothing about you. Second of all, he shouldn’t try to indirectly blame you for “conservatives being mad at him” for reporting what is factually correct just because it happens to be positive for the President. He should embrace his role as a journalist and tell those “conservatives” that it’s his ethical responsibility to report the facts, and not to push party-line agendas.
YES. Jovie, you should email him that he should be laughing at the conservatives being all butt hurt about FACTS – it’s like their kryptonite.
Good work Jovie!
Tough luck on this guy, Jovie. Did he think his job was a piece of cake? Reporting the truth is hard, so he needs to grow up.
Why don’t you just tell him to present the FACTS without the spin, and let people think for themselves! Is he a journalist(I use that term loosely) or my crazy younger brother? Just write the FACTS and he doesn’t have to worry about who he’s pissing off. He can be the Equal Opportunity Pisser!
I’ve actually noticed that he’s posted good stuff over the last few days. Some of it is snarky, but he’s still getting a couple of good articles out. I’m not sure it will last…
Will the Detroit Free Press take back their endorsement of Romney ?
He looks the part, all right.
But does Mitt Romney have the right mix of moxie and message to stir the nation into changing presidents this November?
Even in a venue as vast as Ford Field — which would swallow up smaller-fry such as Ron Paul or former President Jimmy Carter — Romney projected authority today at his Detroit Economic Club speech before a crowd of 1,200 people.
Mitt’s certainly got the bearing, the pedigree and the business chops for one to imagine him as the nation’s CEO.
Yet he didn’t manage to move the Detroit audience beyond polite applause in his 23-minute speech.
He claims to be a son of Michigan by birth and a car guy at heart, but his messaging about the state’s critical automotive industry continues to be a garbled mess.
Romney gave no shout-outs of congrats or kudos to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler for the boffo profits and rousing comebacks of the past few years.
Rather, he lashed out at two of the Republican Party’s favorite flogging targets — labor unions and the federal government — in his critique of where Detroit went wrong.
http://www.freep.com/article/20120224/COL06/120224044/Tom-Walsh-Mitt-Romney-looks-good-sounds-tough-fails-move-Ford-Field-audience?odyssey=mod
NBC MICHIGAN polls:
.
–Romney vs Obama: ……….Obama +18
–San/torum vs Obama: …….Obama +26
–Paul vs Obama: …………….Obama +22
–Gingrich vs Obama: ………..Obama +28
.
Keep up the good work, Republicans.
But, but, but peggy noonan told me….
Professor Higgins “beat him to sleep” oh boy could’nt even get a word in..tee hee
Hope this works:) Tweets on Romney’s empty brained stadium idea….arrogant move, if you ask me!
those wide shots at the Romney Ford Field event aren’t doing him any favors.
— @rickklein via TweetDeck
So apparently football stadiums only carry sound when there are 60K people watching a game. Can barely here the crowd clap here in Detroit.
— @EmilyABC via Seesmic
Romney thanks Ford Field for hosting: “I guess we had a hard time finding a large enough place to meet… and this certainly is.”
— @GarrettNBCNews via TweetDeck
“This is not exciting and barn-burning,” Romney says in wind-up to his Detroit policy speech
— @michaelpfalcone via web
Empty seats visible on CSPAN feed
— @ZekeJMiller via TweetDeck
After this Ford Field debacle, I want to Photoshop Mitt Romney speaking in other thinly populated areas.
— @MattOrtega via TweetDeck
Romney squeezes Detroit event into deserted stadium. http://t.co/…
— @ByronYork via Twitterrific
CNN breaks away. MSNBC talking over, Fox and Bloomberg TV not airing Romney speech.
— @jeffzeleny via TweetDeck
Tomorrow, Mitt Romney will address the Arizona Economic Club in the Grand Canyon.
— @adamsorensen via Tweetie for Mac
Somewhere Michael Deaver is weeping.
— @BuzzFeedBen via TweetDeck
1,200 seats filled for Romney event at Ford Field. Spokesman for Detroit Economic Club said original hotel venue could only accommodate 700
— @michaelpfalcone via web
Mitt Romney is expected to mimic Obama’s 2008 trip to Berlin by delivering a foreign policy address in the sand dunes of Egypt.
— @MattOrtega via TweetDeck
Tweety opens his show with ridiculing Robney’s “cadillacs” comment, and his 65000-seat empty stadium .
Df, some of these tweets are priceless. Can’t stop laughing. Loved the last one about delivering a foreign policy address int he sand dunes of Egypt.
I think that one was my favorite:) Do you think that Mitt realizes we’re all laughing AT him???
I love the Grand Canyon one!
these are so great! thanks for sharing these tweets!
Bill Maher’s whole show…http://screen.yahoo.com/bill-maher-stand-up-crazystupidpolitics-28413640.html Before he made the big announcement:)
Ok…fricking hilarious!!!!
Must see….Funny, funny funny:)
WashPost: Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC gives new face to cable news
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/melissa-harris-perry-give-new-face-to-cable-news/2012/02/22/gIQAg0nbWR_story.html
Aides: Obama is governing, not campaigning (yet)
// President Obama is talking about many of the same things as his Republican opponents — such as gas prices — but White House aides say he is still in a governing mode, not a campaigning one. “The president himself will turn more attention to his own candidacy once there’s a Republican candidate in place,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. “Once there is more of an opportunity to compare the president’s vision for the future of this country with a Republican opponent’s.” //
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/02/aides-obama-is-governing-not-campaigning-yet/1#.T0gHB_Egfy8
Randi Rhodes is a national treasure (I’m sure she knows)…
A Reminder Of How To Win
If all the religion and culture wars babble coming from the far right is freaking you out, here’s a reminder of how to deal with it.
Watch this video clip from The West Wing: http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/pages/rrnews.html?feed=393046&article=9797851
[One of my absolute favorite episodes by the way]
I love her quote following the video.
“If you want to win? Be calm, know what you’re talking about, and stay informed.”
Press On!!!
A little more from the Radio Diva…
http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/pages/journal.html?feed=380723&article=9810751
“Obama said that Republicans are “dusting off their three-point plans for $2 gas.” That would a gas price from the 1970’s. Ironically, Republicans can set us back by several decades… in everything except gas prices. Newt Gingrich is claiming he has a plan to guarantee gas prices of $2.50 per gallon. Newt, if you’re that good at moving numbers around, how come you can’t get your polling numbers into double digits?
Rick Santorum says that a college or university education is “secular indoctrination.”Rick has a BA in political science, an MBA, and a law degree. That makes him one of the most indoctrinated people in America. Rick, why do you think that kids can be “indoctrinated” by college? You managed to get several college degrees without it seeming to affect you in any way whatsoever. Somehow, Rick managed to sit through all those university courses without letting it affect his mind. It’s almost like he was attending college as a spy for the ignorant people. It’s “Rick Santorum: Undercover Scholar”! I wonder if undercover Rick ever came close to getting caught in college in the 70’s—“Rick, is that a crucifix under your sweater vest?” “No! It’s a coke spoon on a chain, honest! I gotta go!”
Unlike Rick, I have no hatred for American colleges. I do have one problem with them, however—how can they possibly let someone like Rick Santorum graduate?”
Priceless, Dudette.
Just think, Larry O was one of the writers for West Wing.
I know, right? That’s main reason I was excited when his show started.
I swear the nastiness never ends.
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-lady-michelle-obama-and-north.html
Uhm…. where was that filmed, France? Where the hell is that train?
In other news…. I love Will.I.Am.
Hope he does another Yes We Can -ish video this year…..
that is all.
He has been pretty quiet on POTUS.
That looked like the new Japanese high speed job.
BACK HOME…HOPE I DIDN’T MISS A BUNCH! HAD FUN WEARING MY ‘O’ SHIRT TODAY…HAS A BIG PHOTO OF HIM ON THE FRONT…EVERYTIME I SAW A PASSER BY…MY CHEST BECAME A ROBUST ADVERTISEMENT…NO CRACKS NOW!…LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Lol Sue, good work :)!
Love Pres. Higgins interview. He’s too funny while schooling them at the same time…
HIGGINS ON FIRE…AND I LOVE THAT IRISH ACCENT…SPITTIN’ NAILS HE WAS!
In an interview just now, DCCC chair Steve Israel said that House Dem incumbents and candidates are being urged to go on the offensive on the issue against Republicans and their votes in support for oil company subsidies — and not to shrink from defending Obama’s record or from making a larger argument about the need to seek alternative energy sources.
“We’ve told our candidates that they should remind people that we’ve actually increased domestic energy production, and talk about solutions-oriented energy policies that would end our catastrophic dependence on foreign oil,” Israel said. “We are urging them to hold House Republicans accountable for consistently protecting oil company subsidies.”
A source familiar with Israel’s thinking says paid ads on the issue are being considered.
Asked whether voters would really connect high gas prices to Big Oil, rather than blaming the party in charge of the White House, Israel said: “People know intuitively that they’re paying more at the pumps for gas and more in taxes for oil company subsidies. People can connect the dots very easily.”
I hope they ALL back the President or NO MONEY from me.
Thanks for the heads up defy!
You welcome!
Woot !….
It is about 40 miles from me….but in Atlanta traffic …about 1.5 hours…..I can’t wait for more details….maybe I can get a peek.
OH…HOW I LOVE TYLER PERRY! AWESOME! GOTTA RT!
I HAVE SEEN EVERY ONE OF TYLER’S MADEA MOVIES AND LAUGHED UNTIL MY JAW WAS DISLOCATED! WHAT A BLESSING HE IS TO EVERYONE…AND HE USED TO BE HOMELESS…THAT’S WHAT I CALL GODLY INTERVENTION!
Yeh baby!!
Let’s show him our appreciation for his support of the President.
He has a new movie out this weekend — Good Deeds! Go see it!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1885265/
Will do, Dudette….plus we always purchase TP’s movies when they’re released to dvd.
Mr. Goolsbee, Ford Field regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball. So to answer your question, Willard had it set-up for football capacity—don’t know what he was thinking or drinking—so you’re correct, sir.
Not another one! First it was Michele Bachmann, then Rick Perry, then businessman Herman Cain and now…
Karen Santorum: Rick’s campaign is ‘God’s will’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/24/karen-santorum-ricks-campaign-is-gods-will/
“The wife of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says that God is responsible for her husband’s recent surge in popularity.
“I personally think this is God’s will,” Karen Santorum told GBTV’s Glenn Beck on Thursday. “I think He has us on a path. And I do think there’s a lot more happening that what we are seeing.”
“How close do you think we are to losing the republic?” Beck wondered. “Oh, it’s such a concern,” Karen Santorum warned. “I just really believe so strongly. This is why we are making the sacrifice we are as a family to give all. Because I do believe if President Obama is elected again, I do believe we are going to lose our nation as we know it.”
————
Karen- dear, I don’t think that voice is coming from where you think it is.
‘S’ FOR SANTORUM…’S’= SICK MINDS!
Check out this picture from outside the Romney Speech today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/02/24/National-Politics/Images/pic03765.jpg?uuid=YEzP5F8lEeGLbnSsmkZJ6w
SOMEBODY OUGHT TO SCREEN THIS PRINT ON ROMNEY’S SHORTS WHICH ARE PROBABLY ON BACKWARDS ANYWAY! AWESOME! OFF TO DINNER…BBL…:)
Clergy in San Francisco announced plans to divest $10 million from Wells Fargo.
40 clergy from across San Francisco gathered outside the headquarters of Wells Fargo to call on the bank to put an immediate freeze on all foreclosure activity and conduct broad-based principal reduction for underwater homeowners. It came just days after the San Francisco recorder-assessor, Phil Ting, released a report casting doubt on the legality of 85% of the foreclosure activity taking place in the city. The clergy were joined by another 50 community leaders.
The event was held on Ash Wednesday in the Christian liturgical calendar, the start of the Lenten season, and included a clear call to the bank to “repent” and atone for their misconduct.
———–
Angry at the Wall Street banks that were at the center of the financial meltdown, Americans have spent the last six months moving their money to credit unions and community banks in unprecedented numbers. More than 650,000 people moved to credit unions in one month last year, and 5.6 million Americans switched banks in the last three months…
Wells Fargo is a horrible Bank…..We are stuck with it for our business account right now……
Their Statements are confusing…..
More churches and businesses need to do a mass movement of accounts from Wells Fargo, BofA, Citibank, Chase and all the greedy bastards. I received a notice from U.S. Bank that they would start charging a membership fee in April. I wrote the processing company and both the President and VP to cancel the account! After the American people bailed their sorry asrses out and how they put this country and the world in peril….they can stick their card where the sun don’t shine. I received a very nice letter from the president apologizing saying that membership notice was sent to me in error and if I would please not cancel.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newbottomline.com%2Fbank_transfer_season_2012_kicks_off_in_san_francisco&ei=zCZIT_X2POHdiAKmz7j_DQ&usg=AFQjCNFM4fenqhbdQWI_Bk1QfKht97mKCQ
By ALEXANDER BURNS | 2/24/12 12:20 PM EST
The public-sector labor giant AFSCME is preparing to run ads against Mitt Romney in Ohio, a media-buying source tells me.
AFSCME has reserved some $360,000 in airtime there, the source said. Ohio’s primary is the most watched of the March 6 Super Tuesday contests.
I’ve emailed an official with the group for comment, but it wouldn’t be the first time AFSCME has worked to bloody Romney during the GOP primary. It previously ran almost a million dollars in Florida TV ads comparing Romney to unpopular Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Read more about: Mitt Romney, AFSCME, Ohio, 2012 Elections
What the freaking hell is WRONG with this black man?????????
Herman Cain says he “loved” Pete Hoeckstra’s borderline-racist Super Bowl ad, calls for more like it.
Self loathing?
And I believe Cain is a co-pastor at his church. Hyocrite!!
Lord forgive me, but Cain his an ignorant sob!
Clarence Thomas 2.0
Stupid, hateful idiot who will NEVER be anything close to President thank goodness.
Another good gas price explanation:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_02/gas_price_hysteria035635.php
Common sense thought is not common.
desertflower, thank you for that article.
The Michigan mayor is brilliant! I am watching Rev. Al. His name is Mayor Vir Bernero.
So now that most Americans are aware of what’s really driving the high gas prices, it’s no longer an issue of “concern?”
“Virginia’s controversial transvaginal ultrasound bill hit one Republican lawmaker close to home. In the bedroom, to be precise. He said a fellow lawmaker’s television discussion of the bill cost him sex with his wife.
Pfffttt!
kinda suspect she’d been looking for an excuse.
HAHAHA…Frothy Santorum to deliver his grand “first 100 days” economic speech tonight in Lincoln Park, MI, at 8PM ET (live on CSPAN).
Good Evening TODville! 😆 😆
I haven’t read anything yet because I couldn’t wait to tell you all I have a bone to pick with you. How come last night when I peeked in no one mentioned that PBO was having problems AND I had to hear it on my way to work this morning? Imagine my shock when the first line out of the news reporter’s mouth re world news was that
“President Barack Obama is starting to be uneasy (or did he say ‘starting to worry’?)”.
Naturally my heart skipped several beats in between that statement and whatever was coming. I sent up a quick prayer…’Lord wrap your arms around him. Please let him be alright. What’s wrong now? Probably the Middle East.”
WELL! I burst out laughing with his next lines. i just do not believe these ignoramuses who insist on editorializing, or is it ignorami? 😉 The problem? The President is starting to worry because of the increase in gas price and its potential impact on his re-election, and in proof of this my esteemed reporter quoted the Miami energy speech, even including the ‘gasoline prices are on the rise and Republicans are licking their chops’ quote. Of course after the cleansing laugh I shook my head at those who, having no other point of reference, place a lot of credence in the truthful Cdn. media. Fortunately they are not voters so the slant in this report didn’t anger me as it would have if the audience was American. By the way, Chips, thank you for last night excerpts. It felt good to know exactly to what he was referring even though I haven’t been on much this past week. 😆 I should be back to my TOD normal early next month. I am so looking forward to this! VC
I want someone to explain to me why is President Obama responsible for gas prices going up? I want a sensible person who knows what they are talking about.
He isn’t! You and I know that. I only shared that because it gave me such a good laugh that the reporter, or whoever, thought our very- intelligent-President-who-has-an-exceptional-grasp-on-the-issues-of-his-presidency was worried about GOP campaigning idiocy. 😆 :lol
Anniebella don’t worry – it’s already all out there that PBO is not responsible. There have been numerous media segments, Twitter articles circulating that identify and explain the TRUE cause of rising gas prices which are the oil speculators.
The reporter that vcprez is referring to obviously didn’t get the memo that it’s all out in the open who is responsible – that’s why Vcprez burst out laughing!
Here’s the link:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Rick-Santorum-Delivers-Economic-Speech/10737428547/
Off-topic Nerd Bait:
TPM had a link to “this awesome BBC infographic around. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom and check out the interview with the only living human being to have visited the Marianas Trench”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17013285
Wow!
That was pretty cool stuff…I even showed my husband….the retired submariner…….fascinating!
Aahh, df, my husband former submariner and son-in-law currently. I haven’t watched video yet, but will.
With only eight days to live, a wealthy, ailing Massachusetts merchant wrote in his will 351 years ago that he was leaving a spectacular 35-acre seafront property for the benefit of public school children, decreeing the land should never be sold or wasted.
The dying wish of William Payne, one of the state’s earliest settlers, created the nation’s oldest charitable trust and eventually led tenants to build 167 cottages — most of them used by summer vacationers — on the land he left for the seaside city of Ipswich. The rent money has generated some $2.4 million to help fund public schools over the last 25 years.
Now, the trustees want to tear up the will, convert the property into condominiums and sell them to the tenants to settle a 2006 lawsuit filed by the tenants over rent increases. But hundreds of Ipswich residents have gone to court to block the settlement, saying it violates the sacred intent of Payne’s will and shortchanges the schools.
http://mobile.boston.com/art/35/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/02/24/351_year_old_will_sparks_bitter_dispute_in_mass/
New post everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/02/24/evening-all-44/
“Be proud to be a decent American, rather than a wanker whipping up fear”.
That’s a bumpersticker if there ever was one. Thanks for this–made my day.