Category Archives: Politics

May 28, 2011 · 6:30 pm

Why the Democratic Party Has Abandoned the Middle Class in Favor of the Rich | | AlterNet

Great article from Kevin Drum at “Mother Jones” reposted at Alternet.com.

This is really worth reading if you are still tying to figure out why things did not turn out as well as some of us hoped after the 2008 Elections…

In 2008, a liberal Democrat was elected president. Landslide votes gave Democrats huge congressional majorities. Eight years of war and scandal and George W. Bush had stigmatized the Republican Party almost beyond redemption. A global financial crisis had discredited the disciples of free-market fundamentalism, and Americans were ready for serious change.

Or so it seemed. But two years later, Wall Street is back to earning record profits, and conservatives are triumphant. To understand why this happened, it’s not enough to examine polls and tea parties and the makeup of Barack Obama’s economic team. You have to understand how we fell so short, and what we rightfully should have expected from Obama’s election. And you have to understand two crucial things about American politics.

More:  Why the Democratic Party Has Abandoned the Middle Class in Favor of the Rich | | AlterNet.

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May 27, 2011 · 8:32 am

Elizabeth Warren Fans Attack Patrick McHenry On Facebook Over Liar Charge

I love this!!!

If I didn’t despise Patrick McHenry so much, I would do this myself….

But I just can’t make myself “like” him under any circumstances….

I’m just going to set back and wait for his career to explode….

Like Larry Craig’s…but more loudly.

Rep. Patrick McHenry’s pants may not be on fire, but his Facebook page is getting thoroughly flamed after he called Elizabeth Warren a liar Tuesday in a subcommittee hearing.

Fans of Warren think the North Carolina Republican took some unacceptable liberties with the boss of the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and they’re demanding that he get some McEtiquette and apologize.

Hundreds — and probably thousands — have flocked to McHenry’s fan page to singe him.

“I ‘like’ the fact that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Americans are appalled by your behavior,” wrote Jill Budzynski. “You are an insult to the title of chairman of any committee. It is out of order to abuse a loyal public servant who is trying her best to accommodate your flip-flopping of schedules. How reprehensible to accuse her of lying. Apologize now.”

The dust-up Tuesday came near the end of a hearing on the CFPB when the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, Maryland’s Elijah Cummings, noted that Warren had stayed beyond the time he had seen agreed to in internal committee communications.

But McHenry denied there was any agreement, even though the hearing time had been changed as recently as that morning to accommodate the subcommittee. “You’re making this up,” McHenry told her, to her shock and gasps from the hearing audience.

Warren and her staff had the same understanding as Cummings, and sources confirmed the previously agreed upon timing for The Huffington Post.

Warren is an extremely popular figure among people who think Wall Street and the big banks need to be reined in, and they’re expressing their displeasure on Facebook — even if it galls them to have to become a “fan” of McHenry to do so.

via Elizabeth Warren Fans Attack Patrick McHenry On Facebook Over Liar Charge [UPDATE].

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May 26, 2011 · 7:00 am

Texas Gov. Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid

I knew they would get around to him eventually….

The GOP did so well with their last empty-headed Texas Governor/Figurehead…

All I can think is how the late, great Molly Ivins always called him Rick”Good Hair” Perry…

Good Hair/ Empty Head….

From Political Wire:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) chief political strategist, Dave Carney, tells the Texas Tribune Perry is probably mulling a presidential bid.

Said Carney: “Obviously, it’s flattering to have everybody, Rush Limbaugh and all these other conservative, right-of-center leaders, talk about you, urging you to think about it, urging you to run, saying they support you. But I don’t see any difference in terms of the governor’s thinking… I’m sure he’s thinking about it because it’s just human nature when you have Rush Limbaugh spend 20 minutes talking about you and have all these other people mention you, that you don’t sort of think that’s flattering and think about it. But I don’t see any change in his direction, what he’s planning to do.”

via Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid.

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May 26, 2011 · 5:34 am

Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly To End Medicare

Good…

The GOP is finally in the record with what they gave been trying to hide…

If the Dems just hold fast and protect Medicare and Social Security, they/we can take back the House and hold the Senate….

That’s the only way to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from the GOP….

That’s a big “if” given the Dem’s habit of shooting themselves in the foot…

But I think the GOP just shot itself in the head….

From TalkingPointsMemo.com:

The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw Wednesday, when 40 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted in support of the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program.

The test vote failed by a vote of 57-40. But the roll call illustrates that Medicare privatization — along with deep cuts to Medicaid and other social services — remains the consensus position of the GOP despite the growing political backlash against them.

Voting with all of the Democrats against debating the plan were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) — both 2012 incumbents — along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against it because it wasn’t radical enough.

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) did not vote.

Democrats intentionally scheduled the vote less than 24 hours after a Democrat won a special election in New York’s 26th — and heavily Republican — congressional district, on the strength of defending Medicare from a GOP onslaught. The outcome of that election heightened the political stakes, but sent few Republicans bolting for the exits.

via Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly To End Medicare | TPMDC.

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May 26, 2011 · 3:23 am

After Terrible Tornadoes, GOP Congressman Eric Cantor Won’t Allow Fed Disaster Relief

More on Mr Compassion, Eric Cantor, the Virginia GOP Congressmean, I mean Congressman…

From Wonkette:

This should play well in Missouri next year: House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Meanie) has blocked federal disaster-relief help for Joplin, where an incredible storm and tornado killed at least 122 people and leveled much of the town. Police and firefighters and ambulance workers are still pulling victims from the rubble, and the Republican House is saying no help for these people from the federal government unless a bunch of programs the Republicans hate (all of them, except for defense industry no-bid contracts) are de-funded. Why not just wear monster masks and go around scaring babies, too?

via After Terrible Tornadoes, Eric Cantor Won’t Allow Fed Disaster Relief.

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May 25, 2011 · 9:02 pm

Jane, I mean Laura, You Ignorant Slut…

Doesn’t NBC remember they started this as parody on Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s?

And now, it’s become reality….

This is the latest bust up at MSNBC

Ed Schultz will take one week of unpaid leave from MSNBC following his controversial comments about Laura Ingraham.

On his radio show Tuesday, Schultz called Ingraham a “right-wing slut.”

Wednesday evening, the network released the following statement about the matter, saying “remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated”:

And this is where Dan and Jane started it all….

Seems the times aren’t a changing that much.

Except satire has now become reality…

via Ed Schultz To Take Unpaid Leave From MSNBC Following Laura Ingraham ‘Slut’ Comment.

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May 25, 2011 · 8:46 am

Psychopaths in High Places

This explains so much…

Fr0m NPR:

Some psychologists have a theory that many of the world’s ills can be blamed on psychopaths in high places.

“Robert Hare, the eminent Canadian psychologist who invented the psychopath checklist, … recently announced that you’re four times more likely to find a psychopath at the top of the corporate ladder than you are walking around in the janitor’s office,” journalist Jon Ronson tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered.

Ronson is the author of a new book, The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. The titular test is called the PCL-R. Invented by Hare, it’s a checklist of characteristics common to psychopaths: things like glib and superficial charm, grandiosity, manipulative behavior and lack of remorse.

Picture a psychopath and you might think of Norman Bates. But Ronson says successful businessmen can also score high on the checklist. While researching his book, Ronson visited the Florida home of Al Dunlap — known as “Chainsaw Al” — who as CEO of appliance maker Sunbeam was notorious for his gleeful fondness for firing people and shutting down factories.

“So I turned up at his house, and it was full of sculptures of predatory animals,” Ronson says. “And he immediately started to talk about how he believed in the predatory spirit, which was word for word what Bob Hare writes about in the checklist: Look out for their belief in the predatory spirit.”

But Dunlap managed to turn the psychopath test on its head, Ronson says.

“He admitted to many, many items on the checklist, but redefined them as leadership positives,” he says. “So ‘manipulation’ was another way of saying ‘leadership.’ ‘Grandiose sense of self worth’ — which would have been a hard one for him to deny because he was standing underneath a giant oil painting of himself — was, you know, ‘You’ve got to like yourself if you’re going to be a success.'”

via A Psychopath Walks Into A Room. Can You Tell? : NPR.

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May 25, 2011 · 8:40 am

John Edwards Prosecution Given Go Ahead By Justice Department

Since they are canceling so many long running soap operas on television, it’s amazing that this one just keeps going on and on….

But it looks like it might be retooled into a “Judge Judy” episode….

From HuffingtonPost.com:

The U.S. Department of Justice has indicated that it will allow John Edwards to be prosecuted in an investigation into alleged campaign finance violations, North Carolina station ABC11 reports.

According to the local outlet, the 2008 presidential candidate is expected to be indicted in the case.

NBC News confirms that the Justice Department will permit prosecutors to file criminal charges against Edwards.

WRAL News reported on Tuesday that the culmination of the probe was imminent.

Sources told WRAL News on Tuesday that a major development would occur in the next two weeks. It could be an indictment or perhaps a plea deal. Sources said it’s unlikely that prosecutors would walk away from the case.

The AP relays background on the case:

Edwards’ mistress Rielle Hunter has sued former campaign aide Andrew Young to have a sex tape and other items returned to her. Young has said he helped cover up Edwards’ affair during the 2008 presidential campaign and worked for months to keep Hunter in hiding.

…

Edwards has admitted to the affair and fathering Hunter’s child. She worked as a videographer in 2006 for Edwards’ political action committee.

WRAL reports:

Former Edwards aide Andrew Young wrote in his tell-all book, “The Politician,” that heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon gave Edwards a total of $700,000 as a gift. The so-called “Bunny money” helped fund the cover-up of Edwards’ affair with video producer Rielle Hunter, who was pregnant with the former U.S. senator’s child.

Political observers have said the money was a campaign contribution and should have been noted in Edwards’ campaign finance reports.

via John Edwards Prosecution Given Go Ahead By Justice Department: Report (VIDEO).

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May 24, 2011 · 9:32 pm

Maria Shriver’s People Leaked Arnold Baby Story

Good for her!

Hell hath no fury…..

From TMZ:

TMZ has new information from sources connected to Maria.  We’re told when Maria found out that Arnold was the father of Mildred Patty Baena’s son, she was “hysterical” and wanted to hold a news conference blowing the lid off the scandal.

We’re told Maria’s friends talked her off a ledge and a plan was eventually hatched to leak the details to the L.A. Times and TMZ.

And we have new information about when Maria found out about the baby.  Now we’re told Maria learned about Arnold’s love child in late April or very early May.

The timeline further supports the story TMZ broke earlier — that Maria was miserable in her marriage and wanted out for a long time.  As we first reported, Maria was looking at pricey L.A. condos back in January with a Beverly Hillls realtor.

Maria has told friends for nearly two years she wanted a divorce but never pulled the trigger.  Maria, we’re told, is now ready to end the marriage.

As for Arnold, our sources say he’s upset Maria was talking to her friends about the scandal.  Arnold and his people know the story leaked through Maria’s camp

via Maria Shriver’s People Leaked Arnold Baby Story | TMZ.com.

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May 22, 2011 · 5:24 pm

Even Fox News Chief Roger Ailes Thinks Sarah Palin Is ‘Stupid’: New York Magazine

But they still push her out there and give her a platform to share her stupidity….

From Michael Calderone in New York Magazine:

Fox News still dominates the cable news ratings, but chairman Roger Ailes wants something more: to help elect the next president.

That’s the takeaway from Gabriel Sherman’s New York magazine cover story hitting newsstands Monday. Sherman, who’s currently writing a book on Fox News for Random House, looks at how Ailes — who built up a stable of possible presidential contenders after the 2008 election, including Sarah Palin — isn’t so pleased with their chances at beating President Barack Obama in 2012.

Ailes doesn’t speak on the record in the article, but several Republicans close to the Fox News chief describe his concerns going into an election year.

“He thinks things are going in a bad direction,” another Republican close to Ailes told [Sherman]. “Roger is worried about the future of the country. He thinks the election of Obama is a disaster. He thinks Palin is an idiot. He thinks she’s stupid. He helped boost her up. People like Sarah Palin haven’t elevated the conservative movement.”

Ailes, a television titan, has schooled past presidential candidates on how to handle the media. Before helping Rupert Murdoch launch Fox News in 1996, Ailes worked as a strategist for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush (whom he still talks to regularly).

via Fox News Chief Roger Ailes Thinks Sarah Palin Is ‘Stupid’: New York Magazine.

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