GOPolitico & GOP-Gallup: It’s a love thing!

GOPolitico: Fair and balanced

rise and shine

Morning everyone 😉 Will catch up later.

evening all

King of Bain – the 60 second version

And the 30 second version:

Greg Sargent: There seems to be widespread agreement that the half-hour documentary attacking Mitt Romney’s Bain years that was released yesterday by the pro-Gingrich Super PAC was a very effective piece of political communication. Ed Kilgore, for instance, described it as a “heat seaking missle aimed directly at the white working class id”.

But what will South Carolina voters themselves see? Will this attack translate well in the 30-second and 60-second ads based on this documentary that the Newt Super PAC ad will run in the state?

…. Rick Tyler, the GOP operative who works for Winning The Future, says the ads are part of a $3.4 million buy that includes other media. We should obviously treat that figure with serious skepticism until the money is actually spent, but if that’s true, that’s a significant buy for South Carolina.

More here

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The Week

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Robert Shrum: … what he spoke on election night in New Hampshire puts the presumptive Republican nominee at odds with the essential character of America. In a well-coiffed gentrification of the racist-tinged attack on Barack Obama as “the other” – a somehow alien and illegitimate president – Flip Romney, in full pander mode to the paranoia of the far right, arraigned the president for “tak[ing] his inspiration from the capitals of Europe” — and seeking “to turn America into a European-style entitlement society.”

…. In reality, Obama has been defending and extending the nation’s long march toward fulfilling its founding ideals. It’s Romney who, on critical economic issues, takes his inspiration from the capitals of Europe….

…. I doubt Romney will give up the xenophobia anytime soon. It plays well among primary voters who are suspicious that he’s not reliably reactionary; it’s a code-coated formula to depict Barack Obama as someone from another country, another continent, another tradition. In that sense, it’s a modulated form of “birtherism.”

Romney’s right when he says this election is about “the soul of America”. With his hostility to economic justice and the social safety net, his record in business, his desertion of the American quest for equal rights, and his embrace of floundering European economics, he would, if he ever got there, be the president of a very different and lesser United States…..

Full article here

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TPM: If a speech Thursday morning by one of his top economists is any indication, President Barack Obama is going all in with the 2012 re-election message of stemming the rise in income inequality and reforming a system that’s increasingly perceived to be rigged in favor of the rich.

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger rattled off a flurry of statistics illustrating the rise of inequality and its connection to the shrinking middle class. He blamed it on economic policies tilted to favor top earners – including income tax reforms (presumably during the Bush era) and the “drastic cut in the estate tax.”

He also argued that implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans are eager to repeal, will help reduce the disparities.

It’s a message that bore an uncanny resemblance to the “Teddy Roosevelt” speech President Obama delivered in early December, which was interpreted by many as laying out the grounds for his re-election campaign …. Romney has taken to decrying this message as the “politics of envy” and “class warfare” …. Krueger’s speech Thursday makes clear that that’s a fight the White House is happy to have.

Full post here

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The Week

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Our old GOPolitico friend Byron Tau got very excited today about the date on that DoJ memo on recess appointments. Read and learn Byron:

Mother Jones: ….. The opinion itself is dated January 6, two days after the appointments were announced – but that doesn’t mean the opinion was sought retroactively. “It is common, especially where time is of the essence, to give legal advice prior to a formal written opinion,” says Marty Lederman, a former attorney with the Office of Legal Counsel. “It takes time to produce an opinion with this level of detail.”

Young Byron then updated his post with this: White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters in the briefing that the DoJ memo was based on advice given by the president’s Office of Legal Counsel. “The opinion was rendered verbally prior to the date of the opinion itself,” Carney said, explaining the discrepancy. “The opinion was based on the advice provided by OLC”

Discrepancy? 😆 Byron? Quit while you’re that far behind behind.

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Full video here

“This is typical Barack, saying something he shouldn’t”:

hey, we have a shiny new gopolitico star! (updated!)

Well, actually, Byron Tau has been hanging around GOPolitico for a while, but a week ago he became the boss man on their ’44’ section – you know, the bit that’s devoted to telling us the President hates Israel and the First Lady is a food fascist.

Whatever happened our beloved Julie Mason? Did she get bored with her dearest hobby at GOPolitico – counting black faces in the White House?

Any way, just to let you know, Byron has started fantastically well. Here’s most of what he expertly picked out as the big news the past week:

Not since Woodward and Bernstein has a journalist broken a story so monumental: Joe Manchin doesn’t support the President? Who knew?! Spectacular start Byron! Pulitzer stuff!

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So, Byron listened to the President’s speech at Fort Bragg about the ending of the Iraq war and was moved. Moved to be stunned by the President’s failure to give a ‘love you lots’ shout-out to the man who started the war, thereby giving PBO the very lucky opportunity to end it. Breathtaking ingratitude. Keep it up Byron, you’re doing great.

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Next, Byron watches the VP’s interview with Rachel Maddow and is just gobsmacked when the VP completely fails to describe the ending of a pointless war as a ‘failure’. Well spotted Byron. VPs have been impeached for less. Well, no, they haven’t, but you get the point.

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Woot, only three days in to his new ’44’ job and Byron’s really hotting up! He spots an op-ed by that most principled of Blue Dogs, Dennis Cardoza, on The Hill site and almost faints with delirium as he links it for us! Byron Tau, the Walter Kronkite of our generation!

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After OFA promised to send a thank you email to your GOP-supporting relatives if they annoyed you enough to donate to Obama/Biden 2012, Byron was clearly pissed after his inbox was stuffed with emails …. after his Dem-supporting aunties, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, nieces and nephews passed on his address.

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Byron didn’t have much to say about the Obama family portrait, apart from quoting a GOPolitico colleague’s revelation that Sasha’s dress cost $73.99. That much?!? Jeez, a bit uppity!

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Another scoop by Byron – who knew Orrin Hatch still existed?

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We’re on a roll now! Byron shares with us Alex Burns’ story about the President shamefacedly letting the American people know the Iraq war is over. Thanks so much Byron, this outrage needed to be exposed. A commendable unveiling of an ugly truth.

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More brilliance. Byron’s take on that AP-GfK poll that had a gazillion different talking points, but this is the one he liked. Quite understandable too. Thanks Byron, your poll-dissecting abilities are special.

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Superb Byron! It never hurts to point out the President’s Godlessness! True, Amy Sullivan didn’t ‘lament’ anything, she simply pointed out how tricky it is for a President and his family to visit a ‘public’ church – from a security and ‘fuss’ point of view – and noted (although Byron must have missed this bit when he summarised) that “more often, Obama and his family have followed the lead of the Bush family, joining the congregation at Camp David …. but staying home on Sunday mornings when in Washington”.

But, never mind – great headline!

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You know, I was beginning to worry for Byron’s job security – a whole week had gone by and he hadn’t written about the President and Israel at GOPolitico. Phew, at last! Now, those of you who argue that the President didn’t “defend” his policy on Israel today, that he simply re-stated it, are just a bunch of picky Obots.

I’d like to think, though, that someone here helped Byron keep his job by sending him this reminder today:

Although, we can’t be sure if he actually read it, the fella is awfully busy on Twitter:

(Note: it’s never ‘President’ or ‘Pres’, it’s ‘Obama’ – but that’s okay Byron, we understand 😉 )

And re-tweeting the Drudge Report can be very time-consuming:

But, awesome job this week Byron, you’re destined for a stellar career at GOPolitico!

Hugs!

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Update – Byron’s very latest story:

Woot! And he even quotes Keith ‘I hate Michelle Obama so much I could cry’ Koffler in the story – you know, the guy who makes Michele Bachmann seem like Jane Fonda! Byron? You rock!