Tag Archives: GOP

March 13, 2011 · 8:54 pm

Daily Kos: Assault on student voting: Just the latest GOP overreach

I do hope people are paying attention to all this…

This is a great summary of the GOP over reach from DailyKos:

Just like the all-out conservative assault on women and on public employee unions, this new assault on the voting rights of our youth is an example of the type of overreach that will once again doom the GOP to minority status in the years to come. Voters were frustrated with Democrats in 2010 that not enough progress had been made on jobs. They did not vote for the GOP because they truly wanted to see the elimination of the labor movement, access to birth control, and voting rights for college students. The biggest mistake made by conservative politicians is a fundamental belief that their skill in messaging and winning elections truly translates into real support for their actual policy ideas. If they keep going down this road, they will soon find out the truth—the hard way.

via Daily Kos: Assault on student voting: Just the latest GOP overreach.

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March 9, 2011 · 9:47 pm

Top 10 Worst Things about the Republicans’ Immoral Budget | | AlterNet

Electi0ns have consequences…

People really need to understand what they are really voting for when they vote for Republicans….

From AlterNet and Move on:

The Republican budget would:

1. Destroy 700,000 jobs, according to an independent economic analysis.

2. Zero out federal funding for National Public Radio and public television.

3. Cut $1.3 billion from community health centers—which will deprive more than 3 million low-income people of health care over the next few months.

4. Cut nearly a billion dollars in food and health care assistance to pregnant women, new moms, and children.

5. Kick more than 200,000 children out of pre-school by cutting funds for Head Start.

6. Force states to fire 65,000 teachers and aides, dramatically increasing class sizes, thanks to education cuts.

7. Cut some or all financial aid for 9.4 million low- and middle-income college students.

8. Slash $1.6 billion from the National Institutes of Health, a cut that experts say would “send shockwaves” through cancer research, likely result in cuts to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research, and cause job losses.

9. End the only federal family planning program, including cutting all federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood to support cancer screenings and other women’s health care.

10. Send 10,000 low-income veterans into homelessness by cutting in half the number of veterans who get housing vouchers this year.

via Top 10 Worst Things about the Republicans’ Immoral Budget | | AlterNet.

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March 8, 2011 · 8:51 pm

Has Walker’s Giant Overreach Screwed Republicans? 3 Major Mistakes That Might Sink the GOP in November | | AlterNet

One can only hope…

I keep thinking the GOP will get over confident and go too far…

It’s happened so many times bef0re…

Unfortunately, the Electorate doesn’t have a long memory or attention span….

It will be interesting to see how this plays out next year…

The combination of Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to strip middle class union members of their rights to have a seat at the table in determining their wages and working conditions — and the draconian cuts in services to average Americans promoted by Republicans in Congress — have caused a fundamental shift in American public opinion and political momentum.

Three major Republican political mistakes have contributed mightily to their sinking political fortunes, and they could spell disaster for their candidates next November.

via Has Walker’s Giant Overreach Screwed Republicans? 3 Major Mistakes That Might Sink the GOP in November | | AlterNet.

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March 3, 2011 · 10:28 pm

Congress Blocks Ceremony For Frank Buckles, Last Surviving WWI Veteran

Not only are Congressional Republicans evil, they’re just plain tacky….

This isn’t just honoring one man.  It’s recognition of history and the passing of a generation…

WASHINGTON — West Virginia’s two Democratic senators blamed House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday after their hopes of having the remains of World War I veteran Frank Buckles honored in the Capitol Rotunda were dashed, at least for now.

Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin III both released statements saying the Ohio Republican had blocked the Capitol honor. Asked if that were true, Boehner spokesman Mike Steel said the speaker and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would seek Defense Department permission for a ceremony for Buckles at Arlington National Cemetery.

Buckles died Sunday on his farm in Charles Town, W.Va., at the age of 110. He had been the last surviving American veteran of World War I.

The episode turned what West Virginia lawmakers had hoped would be easy approval for the rare honor for Buckles into a finger-pointing dispute with partisan overtones.

It was unclear late Thursday how the disagreement would end. Asked whether Boehner would be supportive if the Senate approved a resolution allowing Buckles’ remains to lie in the Rotunda, Steel said, “We’ll see what the Senate does.”

The honor requires a congressional resolution or the approval of congressional leaders, according to the office of the architect of the Capitol.

The bodies of prominent citizens have been displayed in the Rotunda on 30 occasions, starting in 1852 with Henry Clay, a Kentucky senator and congressman. Others include President Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, unknown soldiers from America’s wars and civil rights hero Rosa Parks.

via Congress Blocks Ceremony For Frank Buckles, Last Surviving WWI Veteran.

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March 3, 2011 · 9:56 pm

Boehner & GOP Aim to Cut Social Security – WSJ.com

This may just be it.  The straw that breaks the camel’s back for the American electorate…

The Republicans may just be getting ready to reach too far…

That’s what usually happens.

It’s not possible to educate the electorate– only misinform them.

That’s worked so far, but I’ll be shocked if it works for Social Security.

Remember, there is nothing wrong with Social Security and it is not contributing to the deficit at all.  It’s financially sound for years to come and could be sound forever with just a few tweaks- like removing the income cap on withholding.

God, I hope this blows up in their faces and they don’t succeed in ruining one of the best social safety net programs ever created.

The Polls say no one wants this…but that’s not stopped the GOP before.

It may finally be crowds in the street time in Washington….

WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he’s determined to offer a budget this spring that curbs Social Security and Medicare, despite the political risks, and that Republicans will try to persuade voters that sacrifices are needed.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Boehner said House Republicans would offer a budget for the next fiscal year that sets goals for bringing the programs’ costs under control. But he acknowledged that Americans aren’t yet ready to embrace far-reaching changes to Social Security and Medicare because they aren’t aware of the magnitude of the financial problems.

“People in Washington assume that Americans understand how big the problem is, but most Americans don’t have a clue,” Mr. Boehner said, speaking in his Capitol office. “I think it’s incumbent on us, if we are serious about dealing with the big challenges, that we go out and help Americans understand how big the problem is that faces us.”

He added, “Once they understand how big the problem is, I think people will be more receptive to what the possible solutions may be.”

via Boehner Aims to Tame Benefits Programs – WSJ.com.

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March 3, 2011 · 7:42 pm

ThinkProgress : Americans Overwhelmingly Support Millionaires Surtax To Tackle Deficit, Reject Cuts To Social Programs

Well, the truth is starting to both come out and sink in to the country as a whole…

Another article worth reading in its entirety and seeing the actual poll results…

For months, Republicans have relentlessly promoted the Tea Party-driven message that the government spends too much, and that social welfare programs should be first on the chopping block. “To not address entitlement programs, as is the case with the budget the president has put forward, would be an economic and moral failure,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) declared.

But a comprehensive new Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll suggests Republicans significantly overestimated the public’s eagerness to tackle the federal deficit by cutting programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. As reflected in the growing “Main Street Movement,” the poll, released yesterday, found sizable majorities of Americans prefer steps like eliminating oil company subsidies, enacting a surtax on the income of millionaires, and rolling back the Bush cuts. Only 23 percent think it’s acceptable to, for example, make cuts to Medicare, while 81 percent favor instituting a millionaire’s surtax:

AND

Reacting to the results, one GOP pollster told NBC’s First Read that Republicans may have gravely miscalculated in their headlong rush slash spending, as demanded by the Tea Party. “It may be hard to understand why a person might jump off a cliff, unless you understand they’re being chased by a tiger. That tiger is the Tea Party,” he said.

MORE:   ThinkProgress » Blog Archive » Americans Overwhelmingly Support Millionaires Surtax To Tackle Deficit, Reject Cuts To Social Programs.

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March 3, 2011 · 7:40 pm

AMERICAblog News: NBC-WSJ poll: ‘Conservatives’ overwhelmingly support liberal policies

There was a time people were put into Mental Institutions for ignoring facts and reality, now they simply become Republicans and get elected to Congress…

More truth is coming out and awareness is starting to go up…

But the GOP continues to ignore the facts and what most Americans really want…

From AmericaBlog:

This recent Rachel Maddow Show segment is one of the best multi-media essays I’ve seen. Rich in thought, beautifully written, beautifully structured, perfectly presented.

The headline — A new NBC-WSJ Poll from 3/2/11, composed of 36% conservatives and only 24% liberals, found the following support levels:

81% – Taxing millionaires

68% – Eliminating Bush tax cuts

74% – Eliminating oil & gas subsidies

77% – Public union bargaining rights

Amazing data.

More:   AMERICAblog News: NBC-WSJ poll: ‘Conservatives’ overwhelmingly support liberal policies.

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March 3, 2011 · 6:20 pm

Dorian de Wind: ‘Don’t Touch My Maid,’ or My Pool Boy

Also from The Huffington Post…

More GOP hypocrisy….

The bill, House Bill 2012, would make hiring an “unauthorized alien” a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. What’s wrong with that, you ask, that’s enforcing the law of the land.

But wait, this is not a twinge of abiding by the law. No, it is a Texas-size loophole large enough to drive a Texas-size truck full of undocumented immigrants through it.

You see, there is a big Texas “unless” attached to the proposed law.

According to The Lookout, hiring such an “unauthorized alien” would be a crime, “unless that is, they are hired to do household chores”:

via Dorian de Wind: ‘Don’t Touch My Maid,’ or My Pool Boy.

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March 3, 2011 · 6:18 pm

Charlie White, Indiana Elections Chief, Indicted On Voter Fraud Charges

And of course he’s a Republican…

The GOP is always screaming about “voter fraud” in an attempt to suppress Democratic voters- mainly minorities-even though there has never been any evidence of Democratic voter fraud.

Glad to see the Republicans caught in another act of hypocrisy….

From the Huffington Post:

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s top elections official was indicted Thursday on voter fraud and other charges for allegedly listing his ex-wife’s address as his own on voting and loan forms, and ineligibly serving on a town council, a prosecutor said.

The Hamilton County grand jury charged Republican Secretary of State Charlie White with seven felony counts in all, including three counts of voter fraud, two counts of perjury, and one count each of theft and financial fraud, said John Dowd, one of two special prosecutors asked to investigate the matter.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels called on White to step aside until the case is resolved.

via Charlie White, Indiana Elections Chief, Indicted On Voter Fraud Charges.

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March 2, 2011 · 7:20 pm

Why the Right Attacked Unions, ACORN and Planned Parenthood — Institutions That Help Bridge Politics and Daily Life | | AlterNet

This pulls it all together…

But while it’s obvious that the right wing is out to break the back of the progressive movement, it’s easy to miss the strategy that guides their selection of specific targets. Their attacks are all carefully aimed at the same critical juncture: institutions that work for people in their daily lives and in the political arena, those that connect people’s personal struggles across the country to the political struggle in Washington. Once we recognize the critical role these progressive service organizations play in building progressive politics, the right’s broader strategy in Wisconsin and elsewhere becomes clear. Scott Walker is a soldier in the same army as James O’ Keefe and Lila Rose, the right-wing video pranksters who tried to smear ACORN and Planned Parenthood.

Indeed, last month’s attack on Planned Parenthood provoked a sickening sense of déjà vu. Seemingly out of nowhere, undercover activists secretly filmed an employee of a major progressive institution making embarrassing statements. The resulting video makes news and inflames the debate around federal funding of the organization’s services. It was the ACORN attack all over again [see Peter Dreier and John Atlas’s “The GOP’s Blame-ACORN Game”].

ACORN was unique as a national organization that served our nation’s poor people. Wrangling with life’s common but critical challenges like mortgages and housing forms, ACORN employees built trust by offering assistance person-to-person, neighborhood-by-neighborhood. They then leveraged that trust to lobby for federal legislation to address the root causes of the crises facing these communities—predatory lending, lack of community investment and stagnant wages.

Planned Parenthood operates over 800 health clinics across the country. These clinics are often the only option for women who need vital services, including contraception, HIV testing or PAP smears to detect and prevent cancer and other life-threatening illness. Three million Americans go to Planned Parenthood every year, and one in five women in the United States will visit a Planned Parenthood clinic in their lifetime. The personal relationships developed at clinics inform Planned Parenthood’s critical and ongoing advocacy for federal support for reproductive health and freedom. As a trusted brand representing women in DC, Planned Parenthood Action Fund has successfully lobbied for greater access to healthcare, better educational resources for family planning and the preservation of a woman’s right to choose.

More:   Why the Right Attacked Unions, ACORN and Planned Parenthood — Institutions That Help Bridge Politics and Daily Life | | AlterNet.

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