Or, more precisely, what Obama has to deal with: the "hell no" caucus. Meet freshman Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR), one of the newest member of House Speaker John Boehner's caucus, who was singled out and bankrolled by the Club for Growth in his competitive primary, allowing him an easy general election victory in this deeply Republican district. In an interview … Read More
Bills Blocked By Republicans in 2012
1. A minimum wage increase. House Democrats proposed legislation in June that would have raised the national minimum wage to $10 an hour, but Republicans blocked it. The minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, even though it would need to be raised to $9.92 to match the borrowing power it had in 1968. If it was indexed to inflation, it would … Read More
Fiscal Cliff Notes #2
I'm not writing about this much, in part because I think much of what is going on is theater. Lots of posturing on both sides. I will note, however, that Republicans are playing a losing game. Most polls show that they are not trusted to avoid the fiscal cliff, and if we do go over it, the GOP will be … Read More
Please Tell Me This Is Rock Bottom
In case you hadn't heard, Republicans voted against disabled people. For no reason other than to be ornery. Seriously. It was a vote which would not have a cost anybody a penny. It was… oh, screw it. Jon Stewart explains: The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
Stand With Us
The Heritage Fondation put out a video which, one the one hand, is nothing — it encourages conservatives to keep up the good fight. Yet, on the other hand, there's a creepy Leni Riefenstahl war-like quality to it that seems a jarring. As one viewer quipped, "I liked it in the original German".
Bill O’Reilly: “The White Establishment Is Now The Minority”
Watch him lament. And be racist (it's the non-white majority that wants handouts and stuff for free).
Where Does The Republican Party Go From Here?
The GOP is hurting. It's been pulled too far to the right by the Tea Party. Although they never had the black vote, they DID have a pretty solid Hispanic vote. Not anymore. They need to reach out again to the growing Hispanic community. Check this out: And women. Particularly single women. Unmarried and divorced. The image of a … Read More
Been Busy…
I've been out of the loop for the past couple days. I'm sure I didn't miss much, because the debates are over, and now it's the home stretch. The candidates will be covering the country coast to coast — er, I mean Ohio coast to coast, as they sprint through these last two weeks of the election. So there's probably not … Read More
In Which I Agree With Rock Santorum
Rick Santorum Says 'Smart People Will Never Be on Our Side'. "We will never have the media on our side, ever, in this country," Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, told the audience at the Omni Shoreham hotel. "We will never have the elite, smart people on our side." … "When it comes to conservatism libertarian types can say, oh, well … Read More
Republicans Today Would Call Reagan A Socialist
Bloomberg has a nice piece out today which spells out what I (among many others) have been saying for a long time: the Tea Party people would hate Ronald Reagan if Reagan were president today. The bill of particulars: During Reagan’s eight years in the White House, the federalpayroll grew by more than 300,000 workers. Although he was a net tax cutter … Read More
Study: Right Twists Facts
Even though he backtracked like the Road Runner in reverse, people are still reflecting on the "science" behind Rep. Todd Akin's stunning assertion that women's bodies are able to ward off pregnancy from a rape. Of course, there is absolutely nothing to support that assertion, but there are segments of the right wing that actually believe it and report it … Read More
Akin 2.0 — Another GOP Displays Ignorance About Pregnancy
Where are the conservative women? Oh, right. TPM: Rep. Steve King, one of the most staunchly conservative members of the House, was one of the few Republicans who did not strongly condemn Rep. Todd Akin Monday for his remarks regarding pregnancy and rape. King also signaled why — he might agree with parts of Akin’s assertion. King told an Iowa … Read More
GOP Platform Continues Its War On Women
Even as most Republican big-wigs are denouncing Todd Akin's caveman views on women, they're preparing to certify a GOP platform that calls for criminalizing abortion in all circumstances. Tampa, Florida (CNN) – The Republican Party is set to once again enshrine into its official platform support for "a human life amendment" to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion without making explicit … Read More
Growing Up
Do you remember the 13-year old that conservatives at CPAC were slobbering over four years ago? He's baaaa-aaaack: Jonathan Krohn took the political world by storm at 2009’s Conservative Political Action Conference when, at just 13 years old, he delivered an impromptu rallying cry for conservatism that became a viral hit and had some pegging him as a future star of … Read More
Republicans Like Obamacare Provisions; They Just Don’t Like Obama
Key points from a just-released Reuters-Ipsos poll: * Eighty percent of Republicans favor “creating an insurance pool where small businesses and uninsured have access to insurance exchanges to take advantage of large group pricing benefits.” That’s backed by 75 percent of independents. * Fifty-seven percent of Republicans support “providing subsidies on a sliding scale to aid individuals and families who … Read More