The Democrats don't need Rush Limbaugh or Michael Steele as foils! There's plenty more fodder where they came from. Take, for instance Michelle Bachmann (R-MN):
Let's peruse, shall we?
"But what I think we're seeing is an implementation of all of the radical ideas that Bill Ayers and Ward Churchill -- the radical ideas that we've seen on some college campuses, they are now being implemented in our government, and they're taking a nefarious route when it looks at the economic recovery."
Seriously? Ward Churchill? I seriously wonder if Michelle Bachmann has ever even looked at any of Ward Churchill's work beyond a GOP talking point sheet. Regardless, I have never heard Barack Obama espouse any notion that expresses the idea that America brought 9/11 on itself. Another case of a GOP bobblehead projecting what they think someone or a group believes upon them and then pretending it's fact. Meanwhile, notice Bill Bennett with the "Uh-huh"s just going right along for the crazy ride.
If you want to look at economic history over the last 100 years. I call it punctuated equilibrium. If you look at FDR, LBJ, and Barack Obama, this is really the final leap to socialism.
Two separate issues here.
If it's been steadily occurring over the past 100 years it might be because it is a superior economic theory to that which you propose.
Nearly any definition of socialism includes state control of the means of production. I have yet to see Barack Obama try to nationalize Caterpillar or DuPont. Indeed he is actually resisting a call to take over banks temporarily that even some conservatives view as inevitable and necessary.
You see. We don't need Rush being labeled 'head of the party.' We don't need Michael Steele's innumerable self-contradictions and gaffes. The Republican Party has far more than that to offer. We haven't even heard from the Governor of Alaska much lately.
The Republican Party needs to try to quiet Michelle Bachmann down or else they risk quite a bit with the crazy label. They did it fairly successfully last October after she imploded. Further issues are likely forthcoming. All of the 'loud' people in the GOP are also the ones who are slightly askew. They really need to work on that issue before anything else.
Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah! The last administration considered the Constitution and inconvenient rule. Other 'inconvenient rules' include the Electoral College and the Senate's filibuster rules.
Let me lay this out in the open. I believe in the electoral college. It is annoying sometimes unless you just want your presidential candidates hanging around in only major cities, then getting rid of it is a bad idea. It doesn't give undue influence. It just amplifies the interest of the smaller states so that they are not excluded from the process. You want to reform it? Fine. Let's do proportional elector selection like Maine and Nebraska. But don't eliminate it. It would just encourage the candidates to not move around and engage America. Like they do most of the time anyway.
The other issue is the filibuster. People like George Kenney are writing about how it's obstructionist and interfering with the timely passage of legislation. Let's address this.
Despite what Alan Keyes would have you believe and despite what Senator Richard Shelby (R-formerly D-AL) might have you infer, President Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961.
Factcheck has all the information right here. They even have a copy of his birth announcement.
This is enough for me. If any U.S. Congressman or Senator had an objection to his eligibility, it should have been made when the electoral votes were opened by Dick Cheney in the Senate last month. Seeing as not even the blowhardiest of the blowhards did this, I don't see why any of them would cast aspersions upon the Presidents' birthplace now.
As far as the argument that Andrew Sullivan makes, that that President Obama should "give the press every conceivable piece of evidence at his disposal to clear up even paranoid conspiracy theories about his birth and eligibility to be president." First, I think he's given more than enough. Second, we are chasing rainbows if you seriously think we are going to change the minds of the conspiracy theorists. They will bend whatever truths are thrown at them to fit their own dearly held beliefs. It is best, having proven a position and debunked theirs, to leave them to their frustration.
I hope that this is the last I speak of this. If we get "live time machine coverage" of the birth of Barack Hussein Obama, conspiracy theorists will still claim he was born somewhere outside of the United States. Those who have the time to waste engaging their circular arguments, well, good for you. Otherwise, we have a great many more matters deserving of our time. Let's focus on those matters.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave.
If there is one thing that Americans are good at, particularly of late, Republican Americans, it is manufacturing stories out of whole cloth. Our latest, great example is Chippy (there is no Chippy, I just felt like adding a name to go along with all of this) the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. You see, Chippy and his kind are endangered and might need some help to survive. Chippy and his friends also appear to be harmless and somewhat cute, even to one who isn't a particular rodent fan.
Enter the Grand Old Party. You see, unlike Disney, and some of the rest of us, the GOP doesn't think it matters a rats a$$ that Chippy and friends are cute, much less help the ecosystem they inhabit and thus be an important priority to help. Of course, it wouldn't help create jobs if they did happen to have $30 million allocated to help save them. That money would obviously simply be handed to them so they could waste it on alcohol, crack cocaine and tiny little whorehouses. So it is a crime to them that that very thing is written right into the stimulus bill! To help Chippy and his friends, who also happen to live in Nancy Pelosi's district, drink, get high and get laid!
Mike Huckabee decried the foul rodents on FOX News! Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA) decried them! The Washington Times wrote an article about them! Wow, what a break finding out about this! This could have screwed up everything! It represents less than 1/200th of 1% of the stimulus package! How did we manage to find out about this!
Yesterday a House Republican leadership staffer circulated a background email, which I obtained, charging that GOP staffers had been told by an unnamed Federal agency that if it got money from the stim package, it would spend “thirty million dollars for wetland restoration in the San Francisco Bay Area — including work to protect the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse.”
The GOP staffer’s email didn’t say what agency it was. It didn’t say the money was actually in the package — just that an unnamed agency had said they would spend it on that if they got it.
But don't we need to verify this with someone who actually might know what is in the bill? I mean, this has been locked up tighter than a standard version Dick Cheney bunker. What does Pelosi's office have to say?
Well the Washington Times article has one line:
A spokesman for Mrs. Pelosi said Republicans "fabricated" the claim.
But, because their core constituency wouldn't think it matters a a rats a$$ that Chippy and his friends are cute, much less help the ecosystem they inhabit and thus be a priority to help, the Washington Times spends the rest of the article casting doubt upon that one sentence of fact (which, please note, only includes one quoted word) that comes from a source that might actually be credible.
What else does Greg have?
But I just contacted the House GOP staffer who wrote the initial email laying out this talking point, and he conceded that the claim by conservative media that the mouse money is currently in the bill is a misstatement. “There is not specific language in the legislation for this project,” he said.
The staffer held to the claim that the mouse money would ultimately be spent, however, arguing that the bill’s passage would ensure that money would ultimately go to the unnamed agency. “If the bill passes, the project will be funded according to what the relevant agency told our staff,” he said. “The bottom line is, if this bill becomes law, taxpayers will spend 30 million on the mouse.”
What! Talk to the source of the entire controversy! What Voodoo Witch Doctor Magic is this!? OH!!! Journalism. Oops. We forgot for a second!
It is quite unsuprising that the "source" proceeds to defend the extrapolation that he/she initially made. Standard Bush-Cheynian "We think it will happen, therefore it must be so" GOP thinking.
Not to sound like a late night infomercial: But WAIT, Greg has more!
But Pelosi’s staff disputes even this point, arguing that the only projects being referred to here are federal wetland restoration projects — and that this wasn’t even Pelosi’s project to begin with, despite claims about “Pelosi’s mouse.”
“There are no federal wetland restoration projects in line to get funded in San Francisco,” Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said. “Neither the Speaker nor her staff have had any involvement in this initiative. The idea that $30 million will be spent to save mice is a total fabrication.”
Hey! More Voodoo Witch Doctor Magic! Why isn't he "chopping" up that long quote from the spokesman! OH! Yeah! My bad again! Actual journalism!
Now, I know that I am biased but I think that Nancy Pelosi, knowing that this has already been all over the news, isn't going to call this a "total fabrication" unless it's a total fabrication! She is many things but she is not that stupid. John Boehner, maybe, but not Pelosi.
So it is that Chippy is a non-starter as a story. At least for most of us. Somehow, even when the text comes out on the bill, disproving Republican claims, I am sure that Chippy and his friends will live on in right-wing neocon talking point sheets. So, do us all a favor, spread the word. Chippy and his friends are not going to get drunk, stoned and laid from this stimulus package. They should be so lucky. They will be lucky to survive extinction.
Have news organizations such as The Washington Times cut back so much that they can't make a couple phone calls? Somehow I think they know the original source. You can only wonder why. Laziness or something more?
Regardless, because of all of this, someday, an old grumpy House Minority Leader who has spent most of his life trying to become Speaker whilst it always remained out of reach will give an interview. And Eric Cantor will recall the utter horror of discovering funding for the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse in the legendary Stimulus Package of 2009. ;)
Update:
They are still at it. As Greg and TPM are reporting they've decided to stick by the story that the money will find it's way to Chippy and company somehow. What's really sad about that is that this is the best they can come up with? Thirty million for Chippy? Less than 1/200th of 1% of the entire bill? Here's Rep. Tom Price on the House Floor:
This is no longer "almost" comical. Although I guess it plays well with the conservative base back home.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave.
You may have heard RNC Chairman Michael Steele spouting off about how:
the Republican plan would create 6.2 million jobs, twice the number created under the Democrats' plan, at half the cost.
Well, as Elana Schor and Eric Kleefeld have reported, though those numbers come from a credible source, using them as they are being used is questionable at best.
The numbers come from a study done by now Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer and her husband, David Romer in March 2007. The study concludes that the net effect of a tax increase of 1% of the GDP would be a loss of 2.2% - 3.0% in the GDP. Catch that? Tax Increase. Although the studies discusses 'tax changes', nowhere does it put forward the idea that a tax cut equal to 1% of the GDP would necessarily result in a 2.2% - 3.0% increase in the GDP. That's just the Republican's on the Ways and Means committee deciding that they can just flip it and it will necessarily follow.
That 6.2 million jobs number is directly derived from the great assumption that you can just flip the math around and get that number. The Ways and Means Republicans take the 2.2% - 3.0% growth number and then apply the math that Romer is now using to that assumption and come up with 6.2 million jobs. Look at it here (page 5 will show you how they got their numbers).
There are two problems here. First, that paper didn't actually examine tax cuts, but instead looked at the negative effects of tax increases under normal circumstances. The Republicans' predictions about tax cuts come from flipping the numbers around and assuming the mirror-image effects.
And furthermore, they've totally ignored the fact that we are in an abnormal scenario right now, with different fundamental underlying assumptions.
I am not sure if it worries me more that Steele, Boehner and Co. are using these numbers just to win the political fight or whether they might actually believe them. Given their apparent lack of intellectual curiosity, it might be the latter that is happening. That is scary.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave.
With only one more day of the Bush administration left things are, of course, starting to be portrayed in a different light. No longer the 'loyal opposition', the Democrats must once again learn to lead without becoming parodies of themselves. The Republicans need to find a way to be the 'loyal opposition' after a number of years claiming that it wasn't necessary.
Already, in a post highlighting the potential coming battle between soon to be President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Glenn Thrush inserts this little bit:
and the GOP is already rushing to label the 111th Congress as a tax-and-spend nightmare.
Personally, I say have at it! You portray the Democrats as "tax and spend" then we will have no problem pointing out the 6 years of Republican "cut taxes and spend" that we have recently gone through. Oh!...That's not fair? He wasn't a real conservative? Too bad. You claimed he was for eight years can't change now.
Further, you are not allowed to insist on any government oversight by Congress. You just spent eight years claiming that it was not necessary, unpatriotic and/or purely partisan. While I fully expect the Democrats to insist on Congressional oversight of the executive branch I no longer think the Republican party should be allowed to call for such things since they don't believe it necessary when in power.
Well, anyway, hopefully we are entering a new era in Washington politics. I am not naive enough to have a great deal of realistic hope for that sentiment. I am, I hope, not yet cynical enough to not hold out for the tiniest glimmer of a chance that that may yet occur.
I will not promise to post anywhere near as often as I did pre-election, but, hopefully, if you care, you'll see me around a little more often than in the last two months.
Here's looking forward to the end of eight years that were even more horrendous than I thought they'd be. Good riddance.
El Tinklenberg, who is challenging Michelle Bachmann for her seat in the 6th district in Minnesota, is continuing to benefit from her rant on Hardball last week. He is reportedly closing in on a cool million dollars in donations since Bachmann exposed herself for what she is. Apparently, $188,000 of that will be used to make sure Minnesotans know who El Tinklenberg is:
According to CQ, all of this has caused them to change her election rating from Republican Favored to the more competitive Leans Republican. Having followed, with bemusement, the utterances of Michelle Bachmann for some time, both on the House floor and off, I am not unhappy at these developments.
That said, if you want to contribute to El Tinklenberg and help him try to knock off Michelle Bachmann you can do so here.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave.
I don't recall reading that Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) had been in trouble with her seat despite the fact that she is, perhaps, one of the best examples of right wing nutjobbery in the United States Congress. She obviously evidenced this yesterday in her interview with Chris Matthews in which she came perilously close to calling all liberals anti-American.
Well, the chickens have come home to roost. Apparently, this appearance on Hardball, and it's subsequent viral spreading across the internet have resulted in over $400,000 in donations to her opponent, El Tinklenberg, in the subsequent 24 hours according to a report on The Crypt at Politico. (Major Hat Tip to Writes Like She Talks)
"I can absolutely confirm that we have had in the last 24 hours donations from hundreds and hundreds of people from all over the country," said Tinklenberg campaign manager Anna Richey. "It's coming in so fast I can't get a hold on it and can't give a precise number. It's still coming in." At minimum, she said, $150,000 has so far been donated and she expects the total, which the campaign will release later today, to be far higher.
Update: Sorry this is a little delayed. We were hoping to be able to tell you that we hit $500K, but are not quite there yet. El is still on the phone as we speak, raising money. We are at $488,127.30. Thanks for all you have done to level this playing field.
Wow. Who says speaking your mind is the best policy. Well, I guess it is unless you are a hate mongering right wing nut job. Here's hoping that El fares well in the next two and a half weeks. I, and a lot of other people, would love few things more than Rep. Michelle Bachmann becoming former Rep. Michelle Bachmann. If you would like to help, feel free to donate to El's campaign here.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern
It's got electoral votes. It's what politicians crave.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) managed to stop short of accusing large swaths of the United States Congress of being anti-American but only just barely, on Hardball with Chris Matthews:
This video is perfect evidence of why I could never host a show like Hardball. How Chris Matthews refrained from telling her what a nutjob she obviously is boggles my mind.
There was a time when you could be a Democrat or Republican, you could be a Liberal or a Conservative, you could even be a Socialist or a Libertarian and you were still pro-America.
Michelle Bachmann needs to be studied to find out what happens to people when they come to believe that their ideology is the only pro-American way. Her and people like her need to be watched so they do not take away the liberties they claim, in their pro-American rhetoric, to hold so dear.
If there is one thing that Americans are good at, particularly of late, Republican Americans, it is manufacturing stories out of whole cloth. Our latest, great example is Chippy (there is no Chippy, I just felt like adding a name to go along with all of this) the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. You see, Chippy and his kind are endangered and might need some help to survive. Chippy and his friends also appear to be harmless and somewhat cute, even to one who isn't a particular rodent fan.
