Monday, December 31, 2012

PERRspectives: The National Debt? Republicans Built That

PERRspectives: The National Debt? Republicans Built That
"President Bush added $5.1 trillion in red ink to the national ledger. But while the debt has grown by over $5 trillion during Obama's first term, less than $1 trillion can be attributed to new programs he put in place. The rest is the result of the tax revenue loss from the deep recession which began in December 2007 and the continuation of policies inherited from George W. Bush."

American Commitment: Of Koch, By Koch and For Koch

American Commitment: Of Koch, By Koch and For Koch
"Now that the final FEC reports are in for Election 2012 and we can survey the damage, it's clear that the Kochtopus has grown, spread, and infected everything from state redistricting initiatives to the national races."

The GOP Has Taken America Hostage -- Is There a Downside for Them? | Alternet

The GOP Has Taken America Hostage -- Is There a Downside for Them? | Alternet
"Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the fiscal cliff "negotiations" is that there is essentially no downside for Congressional Republicans in holding the country and its economy hostage. Democrats are less than two months removed from having resoundingly won the Presidency, gained seats in the Senate, and earned over a million more votes for House candidates than did Republicans. Due to gerrymandering, however, the Republicans still have a narrow majority in the House. Due to the Senate's ungovernable filibuster rules, Republicans can also control the balance of legislation in the Upper Chamber as well."

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Americans For Job Security: Conduit For Right Wing Dark Money

Americans For Job Security: Conduit For Right Wing Dark Money
"After Citizens United, attention has been paid to the sheer amount of money the right wing poured into elections and how that money has influenced public opinion, debate, and outcomes. But for the most part, attention has been placed on the so-called SuperPACs and their participation. While American Crossroads and others were certainly big players on the national landscape, little attention has been paid to how they operate on a state by state basis, and how they are used to launder money across state lines in order to subvert even the mildest disclosure requirements. In this post and ones to follow, I'll be putting the spotlight on these organizations and how they operate together to subvert democracy."

Lindsay Graham: I Will Destroy America’s Solvency Unless The Social Security Retirement Age Is Raised

Lindsay Graham: I Will Destroy America’s Solvency Unless The Social Security Retirement Age Is Raised: Although official Washington is currently fixated on the so-called “Fiscal Cliff,” the biggest threat to American prosperity is the debt ceiling, which must be raised in February to prevent economic catastrophe. If Republicans refuse to reach a deal on the so-called cliff, the Congressional Budget Office predicts that they will spark a new recession in [...]/p

5 Ways GOP Tried to Subvert Democracy in 2012 -- And They'll Try Again | Alternet

5 Ways GOP Tried to Subvert Democracy in 2012 -- And They'll Try Again | Alternet
"Creating barriers to voting, demonizing communities of color, attacking voting rights laws and their defenders, unleashing billionaires who financed candidates like an extreme sport, and hiding corporate donors behind opaque front groups—these were the chapters in the Republican Party’s electoral playbook in the 2012 election cycle."

Friday, December 28, 2012

GOP Senators Want To Take Debt Ceiling Hostage In Order To Raise Retirement Age

GOP Senators Want To Take Debt Ceiling Hostage In Order To Raise Retirement Age: Two Republican senators want to use the threat of an economic meltdown to raise the retirement age and cut Medicare. Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced a plan today that would raise the federal debt limit by $1 trillion in exchange for $1 trillion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, [...]/p

Tea Party's Judson Phillips Throws Romney and Boehner Under the Bus

Tea Party's Judson Phillips Throws Romney and Boehner Under the Bus
"If Romney was the "worst candidate" ever, what does that say about the rest of the wingnuts he was running against in their primary? He would have been a bad candidate already, but Phillips and his ilk along with the rest of the GOP base pushing him to the right helped to assure his fate. He alienated every group out there other than crusty old white men and the millionaires paying his tab, and he paid dearly for it later.
It's always amusing to watch these guys come on the air and complain about a problem they helped create. It's too bad they're not called out for it and asked about who is funding these AstroTurf groups that they represent when they're allowed on the air."

What Could Have Been: The Most Important Bills Blocked By Republicans In 2012

What Could Have Been: The Most Important 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 [...]/p

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Arizona Attorney-General Calls For Arming School Principals

Arizona Attorney-General Calls For Arming School Principals: Merging an environment of state budget cuts with calls for heavily arming schools, Arizona Attorney-General Tom Horne has suggested arming school principals or “another designee.” On Friday, the National Rifle Association in a press conference called for there to be armed police officers in every school to prevent attacks along the lines of the elementary [...]/p

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Conservatives’ Infighting Reaches Melt-Down Levels | Alternet

Conservatives’ Infighting Reaches Melt-Down Levels | Alternet
"Most recently, on Christmas Day, those of us who loathe Dick Armey received the gift of Amy Gardner’s Washington Post expose, which detailed the way he tried to take over FreedomWorks backed by a gun-toting thug, and wound up, defeated, with an $8 million golden parachute."

5 Biggest GOP Mess Ups | Alternet

5 Biggest GOP Mess Ups | Alternet
"What Republicans got wrong in 2012."

Monday, December 24, 2012

GOP Rep: NRA Plan To Put Guns In Schools Would Create ‘Orwellian Surveillance State’

GOP Rep: NRA Plan To Put Guns In Schools Would Create ‘Orwellian Surveillance State’: Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) blasted National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s plan to put armed guards in school, worrying that it would lead to “an Orwellian police state in America.” Paul, a libertarian most famous for his numerous presidential runs, connected the NRA proposal to onerous TSA regulations in statement on his [...]/p

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Mosque Arsonist: Fox News Made Me Do It! | Alternet

Mosque Arsonist: Fox News Made Me Do It! | Alternet
"An Indiana man who pleaded guilty yesterday to setting an Ohio mosque on fire told a judge he was motivated by media accounts – specifically those on Fox News – suggesting Muslims were threatening Americans and were in control of parts of the federal government."

Pastor: 9/11 and CT School Shooting were 'Gracious' Acts of God's Judgment | Right Wing Watch

Pastor: 9/11 and CT School Shooting were 'Gracious' Acts of God's Judgment | Right Wing Watch
"Pastor Bill Elliff of the Arkansas-based The Summit Church and the Religious Right group OneCry appeared on AFA Today with host Buster Wilson this week where he explained that the September 11 attacks and the elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut were “gracious” acts of divine punishment. He said that God allowed the two tragedies to occur because of “our humanistic pride” and secular government in order to “bring us to our senses and bring us back to him.”
Wilson was positively dumbfounded as to why people would be offended by such rhetoric and similar language by AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer, who said that God refused to stop the school shooting because he’s a “gentleman,” and Elliff worried the U.S. is going the way of the Roman and British empires."

Wisconsin's Scott Walker Trusts Teachers with Guns, But Not Collective Bargaining | Alternet

Wisconsin's Scott Walker Trusts Teachers with Guns, But Not Collective Bargaining | Alternet
"Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, who became nationally known for severely limiting the union rights of teachers and other public employees, has indicated support for arming those same school officials who apparently cannot be trusted to collectively bargain."

Friday, December 21, 2012

It’s a Mad, Mad Michigan

It’s a Mad, Mad Michigan
"It is a lot to take in. But, look: Michigan is worth your attention. And it’s worth the fight."

Thursday, December 20, 2012

In Wake of School Massacre, Tea Party Holds 'Great Gun Giveaway' | Common Dreams

In Wake of School Massacre, Tea Party Holds 'Great Gun Giveaway' | Common Dreams
"Four days after a gunman massacred 26 people—including 20 children—at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a North Carolina tea party group announced a "Great Gun Giveaway" to raffle two semi-automatic weapons, including a rifle similar to that used in Friday's shooting in Connecticut."

Franklin Graham on Sandy Hook: 'This is What Happens When a Society Turns Its Back on God' | Right Wing Watch

Franklin Graham on Sandy Hook: 'This is What Happens When a Society Turns Its Back on God' | Right Wing Watch
"Franklin Graham called in to American Family Radio today to talk with the AFA'sleading conspiracy theorist Buster Wilson about a variety of issues, including last week's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which Graham blamed on television and music and video games before inevitably blaming the supposed removal of God from our schools and public places"

WND Floats Armed Resistance to Obama Administration | Right Wing Watch

WND Floats Armed Resistance to Obama Administration | Right Wing Watch
"Earlier this week, WorldNetDaily columnist and regular Fox News guest Erik Rushtweeted a video arguing that President Obama orchestrated the Sandy Hook and Aurora, Colorado shootings in order to cover-up a massive government scandal, forcibly disarm Americans, put people in concentration camps and start a civil war. Of course the conspiracy theory is complete nonsense, but Rush doesn’t think so.
Today in WND, Rush effectively suggested that people should begin an armed revolt against the government:"

A Rundown of the Insane Rationales Right-Wingers Are Offering for Why Sandy Hook Happened | Alternet

A Rundown of the Insane Rationales Right-Wingers Are Offering for Why Sandy Hook Happened | Alternet
"Those on the right who would blame the tragedy on anything but guns see women as the problem -- not the heroes"

Welcome to 'Michiganistan' | Common Dreams

Welcome to 'Michiganistan' | Common Dreams
"Formerly the Republican governor, Snyder has been enthroned by the GOP’s lame-duck, legislative supermajority to rule with an iron fist — democracy, rule-of-law, fairness, and the people be damned."

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

North Carolina Tea Party Group Hosts ‘Great Gun Giveaway’ Before All Newtown Victims Are Even Buried

North Carolina Tea Party Group Hosts ‘Great Gun Giveaway’ Before All Newtown Victims Are Even Buried: Since the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, gun advocates have, by and large, wisely kept out of the spotlight. Even the National Rifle Association, hardly a bastion of liberal thinking, was self-aware enough to temporarily suspend their social media accounts and exercise restraint before finally issuing a statement four days after the tragedy. The Asheville [...]/p

Tea Party Nation: Train Teachers in SWAT Teams to Fight Hamas | Right Wing Watch

Tea Party Nation: Train Teachers in SWAT Teams to Fight Hamas | Right Wing Watch
"In his initial response to the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Tea Party Nation president Judson Phillips emailed members an article about the massacre whichsharply criticized teachers and urged government to cripple teachers’ unions andplace guards like George Zimmerman at every school. Today, Phillips emailed out apiece arguing that it should “be required that all teachers and other staff be armed and in trained in SWAT” because Americans should worry about “the bloodbath you may well see if Iranian and Hamas agents go en masse into the schools of this nation"."

EXCLUSIVE: The GOP’s New ‘Anti-Stimulus’ Senator Sought Stimulus Funds

EXCLUSIVE: The GOP’s New ‘Anti-Stimulus’ Senator Sought Stimulus Funds: On Wednesday, ThinkProgress exclusively reported that Senator-Designate Tim Scott (R-SC) used a controversial method of securing federal contracts and grants for his district known as “lettermarking,” despite his supposed opposition to earmarks. A ThinkProgress review of newly obtained documents reveals that Scott also used the process to request stimulus funds for a pet South Carolina [...]/p

Pro-Capitalist, Anti-Government Extremists | Alternet

Pro-Capitalist, Anti-Government Extremists | Alternet
"A new breed of investment consultant mixes dubious financial advice with anti-government propaganda."

Even The Late Robert Bork Thought The Tea Party Was Out Of Its Mind

Even The Late Robert Bork Thought The Tea Party Was Out Of Its Mind: Robert Bork, the hard right former judge and failed Reagan Supreme Court nominee, has died. Despite coming just eight senators’ votes away from the Supreme Court, Bork quickly faded into obscurity after his failed confirmation vote. He resigned his seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit shortly after losing his [...]/p

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Grand Swindle: What We Don’t Need Now Is a Bad “Grand Bargain” | Common Dreams

A Grand Swindle: What We Don’t Need Now Is a Bad “Grand Bargain” | Common Dreams
"It seems that since Nov. 6, many politicians forgot that the people they represent used their voice at the polls to stand up for working families and the programs they rely on. Democratic lawmakers should resist any “grand bargain” on the budget that protects the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us."

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook | Alternet

Unionized Teachers, So Vilified By the Right, Are the Heroes of Sandy Hook | Alternet
"The teachers, workers and education professionals of Sandy Hook Elementary School saved dozens of children -- some at the cost of their own lives."

Monday, December 17, 2012

Tea Party Group Blames Connecticut Shooting On Teachers, Unions, And Sex

Tea Party Group Blames Connecticut Shooting On Teachers, Unions, And Sex: A piece posted to the Tea Party Nation website yesterday, and sent to the group’s members in an email from TPN head Judson Phillips, blamed the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on teachers, unions, bureaucracy, and the presence of sex in popular culture. In a lengthy screed that’s essentially a round-up of every major cultural [...]/p

Meet Sen. Tim Scott: The Tea Party Lawmaker Who Wanted To Impeach President Obama And Kick Kids Off Food Stamps

Meet Sen. Tim Scott: The Tea Party Lawmaker Who Wanted To Impeach President Obama And Kick Kids Off Food Stamps: Tim Scott is America’s newest senator today after getting tapped by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) to fill the vacancy left by former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). DeMint announced this month that he was leaving the Senate to head up the Heritage Foundation, an arch-conservative think tank in Washington DC. Though DeMint left big, [...]/p

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Why You Can Kiss Public Education (and the Middle Class) Goodbye | Alternet

Why You Can Kiss Public Education (and the Middle Class) Goodbye | Alternet
"All around us, our public institutions are disintegrating, and the most important public institution of all – our public education system – will likely be the next to go."

Saturday, December 15, 2012

How an Astounding New Right-Wing Lie About the Economy Is Born | Alternet

How an Astounding New Right-Wing Lie About the Economy Is Born | Alternet
"There's a new economic myth that's now being amplified by the conservative media. It demonizes vital public services and suggests that the poor are doing just fine thanks to the largesse of the country's “makers.” Conservatives are being told that the United States is now spending vast fortunes combatting poverty – more than we dedicate to national defense, Social Security and Medicare.
This new spin is notable not for its mendacity – although it is completely divorced from reality – but because its origins are easily traced, allowing us to see how these kinds of distortions come to be."

Friday, December 14, 2012

Michigan Governor Heedless Of Election, Pushes Radical Agenda

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obamacare: Are There Any Conservative Principles that Conservatives Will Stand Behind? | Alternet

Obamacare: Are There Any Conservative Principles that Conservatives Will Stand Behind? | Alternet
"Conservatives, we are told, believe in states' rights and the power of local government. They distrust centralized power, believing that faceless bureaucrats in the capitol aren't able to govern states with diverse populations and economies as well as the states can govern themselves. They favor local control -- constantly advocating for the devolution of power from Washington.
Many are now refusing to set up the healthcare exchanges that are a centerpiece of Obamacare, which means that faceless bureaucrats in Washington, DC, will do it instead -- they're opting for more centralization."

The GOP’s Existential Crisis | Common Dreams

The GOP’s Existential Crisis | Common Dreams
"No, what we’re having is a political crisis, born of the fact that one of our two great political parties has reached the end of a 30-year road. The modern Republican Party’s grand, radical agenda lies in ruins — but the party doesn’t know how to deal with that failure, and it retains enough power to do immense damage as it strikes out in frustration."

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lie of the Year: Romney's Jeep, Jobs and China Claim

Lie of the Year: Romney's Jeep, Jobs and China Claim
"Congratulations to Rove, Fox News, and Mitt Romney! They've received an honor which finally matches the recipient: Lie and Liars of the year."

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the GOP Titanic | Common Dreams

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the GOP Titanic | Common Dreams
"It looks like the GOP is at the wheel of the Titanic, sailing toward that iceberg, while the band plays “Nearer My God to Thee” for all it’s worth."

GOP lies in 2012: 'Otherwise they wouldn't win'

The fact-checkers at Politifact chose Mitt Romney's alarmist attack ad alleging that Chrysler will move Jeep production to China as the "lie of the year."

Michigan’s New 'Corporate Servitude Law' Takes Away Worker Rights | Common Dreams

Michigan’s New 'Corporate Servitude Law' Takes Away Worker Rights | Common Dreams
"Michigan has just passed a corporate servitude law. It is designed to take away many of the worker rights that unions have conferred throughout their history: The right to a living wage. The right to equal pay for women. The right to deferred payments in the form of pensions. The right to negotiate workplace standards and working conditions. The right to overtime pay."

5 Things Boehner Doesn’t Want You To Know About His Fiscal Cliff Deal

5 Things Boehner Doesn’t Want You To Know About His Fiscal Cliff Deal: As the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire automatically in a few weeks, some Republicans are urging their leaders to accept President Obama’s deal to allow tax rates to rise for the top 2 percent of earners, while looking ahead to the next budget showdown. The US will hit its debt limit in early [...]/p

PERRspectives: 10 Things Republicans Don't Want You to Know About the Fiscal Cliff

PERRspectives: 10 Things Republicans Don't Want You to Know About the Fiscal Cliff
"Like Mitt Romney before him, Speaker Boehner's mathdoesn't--and cannot--work. More pathetic still, it is the GOP which is trying to dupe the American people by continuing to peddle its long-debunked myths about taxes and the debt."

‘Right to work’: The wrong answer for Michigan’s economy | Economic Policy Institute

‘Right to work’: The wrong answer for Michigan’s economy | Economic Policy Institute
"RTW laws lower wages for union and non-union workers by an average of $1,500 a year and decrease the likelihood employees will get health insurance or pensions through their jobs. By lowering compensation, they have the indirect effect of undermining consumer spending, which threatens economic growth. For every $1 million in wage cuts to workers, $850,000 less is spent in the economy, which translates into a loss of six jobs."

How the Bitter Losers of 2012 Rammed Through a Union-Destroying Bill in Michigan | Alternet

How the Bitter Losers of 2012 Rammed Through a Union-Destroying Bill in Michigan | Alternet
"The lightning-quick adoption of union-busting ‘right-to-work’ legislation in Michigan this week by an outgoing, lame-duck Legislature was a political coup led by vengeful Republicans as payback for their corporate patrons, including the billionaire oil baron Koch brothers and their front group,Americans for Prosperity ."

GOP Consultant: Voter ID, Longer Lines Are Partisan Strategy

GOP Consultant: Voter ID, Longer Lines Are Partisan Strategy: On Monday, the Pew Center on the States hosted an election post-mortem conference to discuss voting issues. During one panel focused on the long lines and voting difficulties many Americans faced this election, Republican campaign consultant Scott Tranter laughed off the idea that bipartisan support for election reform could ever be achieved. Tranter noted that, [...]/p

Former Republican: 6 Reasons the GOP Is Doomed | Alternet

Former Republican: 6 Reasons the GOP Is Doomed | Alternet
"Although most Republicans see hints of future demographic challenges in the exit polls, many prefer to focus on other factors to explain Romney’s loss out of a desire not to “blow up the party if there are less radical solutions.”  (Hence, the delusional quality of so many of their post-mortems and the lack of interest in meaningful change.)"

Friday, December 7, 2012

One Party Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

What are the consequences for America when one of its political parties has gone totally insane?

Thursday, December 6, 2012

PERRspectives: 10 Things Republicans Don't Want You to Know About the Fiscal Cliff

PERRspectives: 10 Things Republicans Don't Want You to Know About the Fiscal Cliff
"Boehner's counter-offer isn't merely devoid of specifics when it comes to his proposed spending cuts and revenue-raising loophole closing. Like Mitt Romney before him, Speaker Boehner's mathdoesn't--and cannot--work. More pathetic still, it is the GOP which is trying to dupe the American people by continuing to peddle its long-debunked myths about taxes and the debt."

Threepers Creepers: On Far-Right Fringes, the Exodus to the Woods is Under Way

Threepers Creepers: On Far-Right Fringes, the Exodus to the Woods is Under Way
"Now that they've lost their election and are seeing their political future circling down the drain, a lot of folks on the political right are drowning in despair and retreating even further into the cocoon of non-reality they've created for themselves. And that response is especially acute on farthest fringes of the Right, where the militiamen are stocking up for the Obamacalypse"

Big Right-Wing Names Like Karl Rove and Dick Armey Are Taking the Fall, But It Won't Repair the GOP | Alternet

Big Right-Wing Names Like Karl Rove and Dick Armey Are Taking the Fall, But It Won't Repair the GOP | Alternet
"The GOP’s November shellacking is rattling the foundations of its powerful media-wingnut welfare-industrial complex. Some big names are either parting ways with former allies, or find themselves under suspicion, with their privileges to roam the right-wing fearscape spewing propaganda suddenly limited."

11 Reasons You’re Glad Jim DeMint Is Leaving The Senate

11 Reasons You’re Glad Jim DeMint Is Leaving The Senate: In an unexpected move, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), an arch-conservative and leader of the Tea Party movement, is resigning his seat in order to head up the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington DC. DeMint has been among the most extreme members of the Senate since first getting elected in 2004, drawing a [...]/p

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Ten Most Absurd Stories at Rick Santorum's New Home, WorldNetDaily | Right Wing Watch

The Ten Most Absurd Stories at Rick Santorum's New Home, WorldNetDaily | Right Wing Watch
"Angling for another presidential run in 2016, Rick Santorum’s decision to join WorldNetDaily, the organization best known for promoting birther conspiracy theories, may not be the worst idea as birthers were projected to be a majority of Republican voters."

Being Spectacularly Wrong About the Election Won't Be Enough to Pop the Republican Bubble | Alternet

Being Spectacularly Wrong About the Election Won't Be Enough to Pop the Republican Bubble | Alternet
'Rather than one all-encompassing "bubble" that hermetically seals the Republicans inside their media universe there's no shortage of other equally important "bubbles" that serve corporate power. These bubbles often overlap in influence and personnel and still possess the awe-inspiring ability to persuade public opinion on the problems of greatest magnitude facing the United States today."

Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Senate Day of Shame'

Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Senate Day of Shame'
"Because of wingnuts like Rick Santorum, the Senate behaved in a shameful manner Tuesday. It was painful to watch Lawrence O'Donnell's pain in this segment. Clearly he is proud of his work in the Senate and regards it as a distinguished body, which is why it was so difficult for him to do this segment."

How An Obamacare Provision Has Saved Americans $1.5 Billion On Their Health Benefits

How An Obamacare Provision Has Saved Americans $1.5 Billion On Their Health Benefits: A new report from the Commonwealth Foundation finds that Obamacare’s “medical loss ratio” provision — the so-called “80/20 rule” requiring insurers to spend at least 80 percent of every Americans’ premium costs on patient care, rather than on their own profits or overhead — has resulted in a total of $1.5 billion overhead savings and [...]/p

Wall Street, Coming to Your Town! (and Destroying It) | Alternet

Wall Street, Coming to Your Town! (and Destroying It) | Alternet
"Yet a closer look reveals that the future is already here. American austerity has largely taken the form of municipal budget crises precipitated by predatory Wall Street lending practices. The debt financing of U.S. cities and towns, a neoliberal economic model that long precedes the current recession, has inflicted deep and growing suffering on communities across the country."

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Blue State Taxpayers Will Pick Up the Tab to Avert Fiscal Cliff

Blue State Taxpayers Will Pick Up the Tab to Avert Fiscal Cliff
"Of course, this dynamic of "red state socialism" by which federal tax dollars generally flow from wealthier Democratic states to less well-off Republican ones is nothing new. Red state spending on education, unemployment insurance and (more than ever) health care has been and will continue to be underwritten by blue state taxpayers."

How the Saudis Secretly Funded the GOP Election

It's bad enough that American big oil companies have so much influence on our political system - but now - foreign oil is invading our democracy too. Who's really bankrolling America's largest oil lobbying group and how are they able to do it?

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sex, Lies and Wiretaps: James O'Keefe's Slimy Underworld

Sex, Lies and Wiretaps: James O'Keefe's Slimy Underworld
"In a nutshell, this is the story of slime merchant James O'Keefe's attempts to prevent the truth about the ugly underbelly of his smear operations from becoming known -- in part because that truth could well land him in prison -- and how his cohorts in the smear operation, especially his "legal team" in the L.A. District Attorney's office, have relentlessly attempted to keep that truth hidden."

Arizona Governor Shocked Reporter Would Ask About Climate Change Before Energy Speech

Arizona Governor Shocked Reporter Would Ask About Climate Change Before Energy Speech: Before Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) delivered a speech on energy this weekend, a reporter for the local station 3TV News managed to unnerve Brewer with the last issue she had in mind: Global warming. Unhappy with the question, Brewer confronted him afterward, asking, “Where in the hell did that come from?” Brewer, who denies [...]/p

Faith Leaders Slam Rick Perry For Refusing To Expand Texas’ Medicaid Program

Faith Leaders Slam Rick Perry For Refusing To Expand Texas’ Medicaid Program: Even though Texas has the highest uninsurance rates in the nation — nearly a quarter of the state’s population lacks health insurance — Gov. Rick Perry (R) has refused to expand the Medicaid program, prioritizing his continued opposition to Obamacare over the opportunity to extend health coverage to an estimated 2 million low-income Texans. But [...]/p

Santorum To Write Column For Right-Wing Conspiracy Website

Santorum To Write Column For Right-Wing Conspiracy Website: Rick Santorum has joined WorldNetDaily, a conspiracy theory blog best known for its indefatigable work advancing the birther movement, as an exclusive columnist. The former Pennsylvania senator, who was voted out of office in 2006, will use the perch to remain in the conservative consciousness as he eyes another presidential bid in 2016. His column [...]/p

Meet Gubernatorial Candidate Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s Todd Akin

Meet Gubernatorial Candidate Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s Todd Akin: Virginia’s Republican Party appears poised to nominate state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to be its candidate for governor in 2013 — embracing a man whose extreme political views bear striking resemblance to those of unsuccessful 2012 Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO). With his fervent anti-science, anti-choice, and anti-LGBT, anti-federal government activism, Akin’s extreme positions [...]/p

Corporate Profits Hit Record High While Worker Wages Hit Record Low

Corporate Profits Hit Record High While Worker Wages Hit Record Low: A constant conservative charge against President Obama is that he is inherently anti-business. However, businesses keep defying the storyline by making larger and larger profits, rebounding nicely out of the Great Recession. In the third quarter of this year, “corporate earnings were $1.75 trillion, up 18.6% from a year ago.” Corporations are currently making more [...]/p

PERRspectives: GOP Obstructionism Becomes Treason on Debt Ceiling

PERRspectives: GOP Obstructionism Becomes Treason on Debt Ceiling
"But when the Republican Party threatens--for the second time in a year-- to sabotage the U.S. economy if its debt ceiling demands are not met, the media instead calls that treason a "debate"."

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Dominance: The New Democratic Voting Base Is an Electoral Steamroller | Alternet

Dominance: The New Democratic Voting Base Is an Electoral Steamroller | Alternet
"Republicans will have a permanent disadvantage in presidential elections. That’s not unusual in American elections; Democrats right now appear to have a systematic disadvantage in both House and Senate elections due to how voters happen to be spread out – so, in a sense, a real Democratic advantage for the presidency only evens things out a bit.
It would, however, be a real change in how presidential elections have been fought for at least the last several decades. Republicans would be, in effect, starting every cycle two points behind. If it’s true – and I’m sure before long we’ll have reports from political scientists who have investigated each of the possibilities I suggested – then it’s a pretty big deal."

Friday, November 30, 2012

Santelli Throws a Tantrum and Storms Off Air Because Pro-Obama CEO Paying Dividends Before Tax Hikes

Santelli Throws a Tantrum and Storms Off Air Because Pro-Obama CEO Paying Dividends Before Tax Hikes
"CNBC on-air editor Rick Santelli, who is credited with helping to launch the tea party movement, flew into a rage and stomped off camera on Friday because a supporter of President Obama plans to pay shareholders a dividend before taxes are scheduled to go up at the end of the year."

Oops: New Senator Picks Ghostwriter Behind Rick Perry’s Extremist Book As Chief of Staff

Oops: New Senator Picks Ghostwriter Behind Rick Perry’s Extremist Book As Chief of Staff: Senator-elect Ted Cruz (R-TX) is no stranger to fringe ideas. He authored an unconstitutional plan to nullify the Affordable Care Act. His first campaign ad touted his work helping Texas to execute an “illegal alien.” And he published an article last January claiming that the United Nations and billionaire George Soros are engaged in a [...]/p

Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Right-Wing Media Bubble Cocoons Republicans from Adapting to the New Political Landscape | Alternet

The Right-Wing Media Bubble Cocoons Republicans from Adapting to the New Political Landscape | Alternet
"Republicans are responding to their recent losses not by moderating their rhetoric or rethinking their policy preferences, but by retreating deeper into the conservative bubble -- and hardening it lest any objective reality intrude."

Tea Party Refuses to Accept Reality, Opts for Desperation

Tea Party Refuses to Accept Reality, Opts for Desperation
"By the way, there's a reason Tea Party Nation is one of the few tea party groups to snag the attention of the Southern Poverty Law Center. They're extreme and extremely hateful. They also seem to have a problem with reality-based living."

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Ron Paul's Farewell Speech in Congress Lays Bare His Hatred for "Pure Democracy," and Love of Oligarchy | Alternet

Ron Paul's Farewell Speech in Congress Lays Bare His Hatred for "Pure Democracy," and Love of Oligarchy | Alternet
"Rep. Ron Paul, an icon to the libertarian Right and to some on the anti-war Left, gave a farewell address to Congress that expressed his neo-Confederate interpretation of the Constitution and his anti-historical view of the supposedly good old days of laissez-faire capitalism.
In a near-hour-longrambling speech on Nov. 14, Paul also revealed himself to be an opponent of “pure democracy” because government by the people and for the people tends to infringe on the “liberty” of businessmen who, in Paul’s ideal world, should be allowed to do pretty much whatever they want to the less privileged."

Greetings from Crazyland! 10 Instances of Fox Nation's Departure from Reality | Alternet

Greetings from Crazyland! 10 Instances of Fox Nation's Departure from Reality | Alternet
"Fox Nation is a website integral to the Fox news family. And their abuse of reality and truth is truly breathtaking."

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Top 4 Whoppers Norquist Tells To Keep Republicans From Defecting

The Top 4 Whoppers Norquist Tells To Keep Republicans From DefectingThe anti-tax zealot uses his ubiquitous presence on cable TV, radio, and in print to publicly pressure Republicans from compromising on a balanced measure that includes increased revenue and spending cuts, using various scare tactics to keep the GOP in line. But his claims — which he dutifully reiterates in every media appearance — are often divorced from reality.

For Scott Walker, Walls Are Closing In

For Scott Walker, Walls Are Closing In
"According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the last player in the Walkergate case is his right-hand man, Tim Russell, who just reached a plea deal with prosecutors over his alleged embezzlement of funds from a veterans group."

Lone Republican Still Gunning for Romney Victory | Alternet

Lone Republican Still Gunning for Romney Victory | Alternet
"One Idaho state lawmaker is still in denial over election results and would like to see states challenge the legitimacy of Obama’s reelection."

The Millennial Generation: Our Liberal Future

The Millennial Generation: Our Liberal Future
"How doomed are conservatives? Pretty doomed, if you look carefully at the Pew Research Survey’s close analysis of the youth vote in the 2012 elections. The Republicans’ long-term dilemma has generally been framed in racial terms, but it’s mainly a generational one. The youngest generation of voters contains a much smaller proportion of white voters than previous generations, and those whites in that generation vote Republican by a much smaller margin than their elders. What’s more, younger voters supported President Obama during the last two election cycles for reasons that seem to go beyond the usual reasons — social issues like gay marriage and feminism, immigration policy, or Obama’s personal appeal — and suggest a deeper attachment to liberalism. The proclivities of younger voters may actually portend a full-scale sea change in American politics."

Monday, November 26, 2012

Grover Norquist, Enemy of the State? | Alternet

Grover Norquist, Enemy of the State? | Alternet
"Is it possible that Grover Norquist, the multi-millionaire K-Street lobbyist long funded by billionaires, is an enemy of the state? Pretty strong language, but consider that he has connived over the years to get hundreds of members of Congress to violate their own oath of office by pledging a higher oath to keep billionaires' taxes low than their pledge to the Constitution itself."

Why the current GOP can't win Latinos

Why the current GOP can't win Latinos
"Or put another way, nearly 67,000 Latinos turn 18 every month according to Pew, with 93 percent of them U.S. citizens and eligible to vote. Couple that with the over 100,000 elderly (and predominantly conservative) whites who die each month, and you're looking at over 3 million new potential Latino voters, and nearly 5 million fewer white voters. In just four years.

Or put yet another way: Texas will be a swing state by 2024."

Mitt Romney '47 percent watch': 47!

Mitt Romney '47 percent watch': 47!
"So what drama is left? Well, if Obama surpasses 51 percent, he'll be just the fourth president in the last 100 years to do so twice, and the last since Ronald Reagan. That shouldn't be a problem given what's left to be counted."

Romney's 47 Percent Chickens Come Home to Roost

Romney's 47 Percent Chickens Come Home to Roost
"As the final 2012 vote tallies come in from all over the country, it's clear that Barack Obama didn't just squeak by, but will win by over three percentage points, leaving Mitt Romney with 47 percent of the popular vote."

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Why Does The Working Class Have To Pick Up The Pieces Caused By Wall Street & Tea Party Deficit Hawks?

Why Does The Working Class Have To Pick Up The Pieces Caused By Wall Street & Tea Party Deficit Hawks?
"Are you sick and tired of listening to the Beltway villagers frame our economic plight as the end of the year looms? Whenever a Democratic politician comes out and says that we should let things play out until after January 1, and then start bargaining, they freak out. They have completely surrendered to the disaster-capital Republicans and are trying to help them force major cuts in the social safety net for all working class Americans, all in the name of a greedy Wall Street along with much-needed backup from the Tea Party Birchers."

How FOX News Is Destroying the GOP | Alternet

How FOX News Is Destroying the GOP | Alternet
"So yes, those are conspicuous handcuffs the GOP is wearing: Fox News has hijacked the party's communications apparatus and is pushing the type of paranoid,  blame-the-voter rhetoric that loses elections, and the type of rhetoric Romney's now being blamed for. But the GOP can't turn it off. In fact, most Republicans can't even work up enough courage to ask Fox News to turn down the volume.
Unwilling to acknowledge the GOP's future poses a long-term media problem (the topic is not to be discussed ), Republicans pretend they have a short-term Romney one."

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Can We Help the Would-Be Secessionists Pack?

Can We Help the Would-Be Secessionists Pack?
"The Tea Party folks -- to no one's great surprise -- are not taking their electoral defeat at the hands of a black man lying down. They're threatening to pack up their soccer ball and take it home."

Putting Lipstick on a Pig: 4 Messes that Sink the GOP's Dreams of Regaining the Presidency | Alternet

Putting Lipstick on a Pig: 4 Messes that Sink the GOP's Dreams of Regaining the Presidency | Alternet
"In a nutshell, how does a party of insular, rigid true believers, thrusting warlike middle fingers towards modernity, talk itself into modernizing just because it lost one election? Aside from putting lipstick on a pig, where’s the miraculous (earthbound) agency that modernizes angry, resentful Tea Partiers whose outrage targeted the very diverse, younger, secular crowds now crowning the future?"

The Post-Election Myths Spun by Paul Ryan and Other GOP Liars

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

the vast disconnect between what actually happened during the 2012 presidential election and the “things people are saying about the election that are not true, but make people feel better to say them anyway.”

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

HHS releases draft rules on key elements of Obamacare, including pre-existing conditions

HHS releases draft rules on key elements of Obamacare, including pre-existing conditions
"This is the stuff health insurance reform was all about, the core regulations that will make health insurance affordable and accessible. They're also the parts of reform that will be most popular and important to the public. This is the stuff Republicans absolutely did not want to see implemented, and the stuff that will make "Obamacare" be as much an appreciated part of the nation's health care system as Medicare."

5 Christian Right Delusions Busted by Romney and GOP Losses | Alternet

5 Christian Right Delusions Busted by Romney and GOP Losses | Alternet
"The Religious Right took a drubbing at the polls when voters rejected not only Mitt Romney but also some of the most extreme Republican candidates, even those in races that should have been easy Republican victories. Like other conservatives, many Religious Right activists  predicted a big victory for Romney and Republicans in the U.S. Senate based on five myths they hold about the electorate:"

The War On Women Is a Class War | Alternet

The War On Women Is a Class War | Alternet
"Last week the voters delivered their verdict on what has come to be known as "the Republican War on Women": They're against it."

Monday, November 19, 2012

6 Myths Pushed by FOX News to Ensure Rich Don't Pay Fair Share -- Debunked | Alternet

6 Myths Pushed by FOX News to Ensure Rich Don't Pay Fair Share -- Debunked | Alternet
"Fox News tried to undermine President Obama's tax plan by pushing six debunked tax myths in advance of negotiations on how to avoid a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts. In reality, Obama's proposal to let tax cuts for wealthy Americans expire will grow the economy and is supported by a majority of Americans."

Sunday, November 18, 2012

A Civil Rights Battle Royale: Contending for the Soul of the Military

A Civil Rights Battle Royale: Contending for the Soul of the Military
"Dominionsim" is to the Christian faith what "Wahhabism" is to the Islamic faith. Think "Christian Taliban," and you're right on the mark. I'm sorry to have to report that fundamentalist Christianity or "Dominionism" is inextricably intertwined into the very DNA of our United States armed forces today. Its unlawful and un-American tentacles of noxious unconstitutionality are systemically found in every unit of every branch of the US military.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Virginia GOP Official: Obama Will Go To Hell

Virginia GOP Official: Obama Will Go To Hell: Virginia Republican party official Bob FitzSimmonds is by no means a fortune teller, but he feels confident guessing that President Obama is going to hell. In a Facebook posting, FitzSimmonds, who is a close associate of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, speculated that Obama would live a long life but when he died at 90, [...]/p

Racist Reagan Operatives Behind New Robocall Calling for Obama's Impeachment

Racist Reagan Operatives Behind New Robocall Calling for Obama's Impeachment
"Make no mistake. These are the people who carry the heart and the torch of today's Republican Party. They are not edge cases, but mainstream Republicans doing mainstream Republican things. They have ties to Karl Rove and the neocon right, and ties to Pat Buchanan and the hardcore racist right.
Reagan built that."

It's The "Jobs Cliff" Stupid...

Beware of con men bearing slogans. The oldest trick in the book is for conservatives -- cons -- to create hysteria around something, and then get all of us to give them billions of our tax dollars to fix the problem they've gotten us all hysterical about.

The Sore Losers Club Welcomes New Members Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan | Alternet

The Sore Losers Club Welcomes New Members Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan | Alternet
"Romney was roundly defeated last week, and the man who defeated him has now publicly saluted him  twice. This is the time for Romney to show grace, humility and maybe some humor too. Instead, he’s coming across like a sore loser, one who’d rather make excuses than give his opponent any real credit."

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

It's the "Jobs Cliff," Stupid! | Common Dreams

It's the "Jobs Cliff," Stupid! | Common Dreams
"In other words, the “fiscal cliff” is another classic example of what Naomi Klein called “Disaster Capitalism.” Create a panic, and then profit from it. For example, Wall Street is helping fund groups like the Third Way that are pushing hard for us to give our Social Security Trust Fund – which has over two and a half trillion dollars in it – to Goldman Sachs and Citibank so they can take care of it for us. Doesn’t that make you feel all safe, and warm-and-fuzzy?"

POLL: Voters Hate Super PACs, Want More Campaign Finance Disclosure

POLL: Voters Hate Super PACs, Want More Campaign Finance Disclosure: A new poll of 2012 voters by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and Public Campaign Action Fund shows huge national concern with the growing role of money in politics and the lack of disclosure thereof. Fully 61 percent of voters (60 percent of Romney voters and 62 percent of Obama voters) oppose the current [...]/p

Drudge Goes All in With "Secession" Meme as the Republican War on the Constitution Escalates | Alternet

Drudge Goes All in With "Secession" Meme as the Republican War on the Constitution Escalates | Alternet
"There is no greater oxymoron in America's political discourse than the “Constitutional conservative"."

More accurate than Nate Silver

More accurate than Nate Silver
"According to the Atlantic's Rebecca Greenfield, there were only three pundits, out of 74 she tracked, who called the 2012 Electoral College correctly—Nate Silver, Drew Lizner, and me."

Fox News Re-Ups Swift Boat Attacks On John Kerry

Fox News Re-Ups Swift Boat Attacks On John Kerry: From the liars at Fox. The same right wing propaganda channel that brought you the chikenhawk Bush and the draft dodger Romney. Now they are back using debunked lies from 2004 to attack someone who actually served in a combat zone.

Ten Right Wing Election Myths Debunked by Reality in 2012 | Alternet

Ten Right Wing Election Myths Debunked by Reality in 2012 | Alternet
"One of the more stunning developments following President Obama’s re-election has been the number of ardent Republicans who have confessed that they believed the anti-Democratic propaganda from Fox News—and got so much wrong as a result."

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

How Republicans Stole the Election... Again

How Republicans Stole the Election... Again
"Except that’s not quite true, Mr King, and you know it. The American people didn’t vote for a Republican House, the Republicans didn’t actually win the House, and therefore there is no mandate. 53,952,240 votes were cast for a Democratic House candidate compared to 53,402,643 cast for a Republican; in other words, over half a million more Americans voted for Democratic House candidates than for Republican candidates. Republicans received less than half of the vote for members of the House of Representatives, and even lost seats in the House this election. Yet Republicans still took 55 percent of the seats in the House. In effect, they had to steal the House. Here’s how:"

America has NEVER been a center right nation

With the fiscal cliff negotiations heating up - will Democrats heed the advice of FDR - and stick to the party's progressive roots?

Dear Secessionists, Go For It, Please | Common Dreams

Dear Secessionists, Go For It, Please | Common Dreams
"Interestingly, it turns out most red states aremoochers and welfare queens who take more than they give in federal funds. We wish them godspeed, and good luck with their budgets."

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Grand or otherwise, there's no bargaining with these Republicans

Grand or otherwise, there's no bargaining with these Republicans
"No compromise. No Grand Bargain. No cuts to Social Security or Medicare or Medicaid. No enabling a Republican Party that is spiraling toward oblivion. Let the Bush tax cuts expire and force the Republicans to decide whether they want to oppose the Obama middle class tax cuts. The false Republican narratives of fiscal crisis and runaway entitlements must be called for the lies they are. The false Republican politicians and pundits must be revealed as the frauds they are. The Democrats need only speak the truth, seize the moment, and ride the electoral and demographic tide that has them ascendant and still rising. History is there for the making. History is there for the taking."

PERRspectives: CBO: No Tax Cuts for the Rich, No Problem

PERRspectives: CBO: No Tax Cuts for the Rich, No Problem
"For the second time in as many weeks, an analysis by a nonpartisan agency of Congress has demolished the GOP myth of upper-income taxes and so-called "job creators"."

Obama Swept States With The Most Educated Workforces And The Highest Paid Teachers

Obama Swept States With The Most Educated Workforces And The Highest Paid Teachers: Barack Obama fared well across the country Tuesday night, winning 332 electoral votes en route to a second term as president. Nowhere did he perform better, however, than in states that place the highest emphasis on education. Of the 10 most educated states, measured by the percentage of residents over 25 years old who have [...]/p

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Brief Rundown of Just How Big a Victory Tuesday Was for Democrats

Brief Rundown of Just How Big a Victory Tuesday Was for Democrats
"After being told for six months how close the race was, turns out, No. No it wasn't. How big of a win was it? In the end, it wasn't even close. President Obama won BOTH the Electoral College AND the Popular Vote... and not just by a little, but by A LOT... 126 Electoral votes and nearly 3 Million in the Popular Vote"

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thanks, teabaggers, for gifting us the Senate!

Thanks, teabaggers, for gifting us the Senate!
"So we can safely assume that if the teabaggers didn't exist, Republicans today would be enjoying a 53-47 Senate majority. Instead, they face a 10-seat 55-45 deficit."

5 Fraudulent Election Claims by Religious Right Leaders Exposed | Alternet

5 Fraudulent Election Claims by Religious Right Leaders Exposed | Alternet
"The religious right took a drubbing at the polls yesterday as voters rejected not only Mitt Romney but also some of the most extreme Republican candidates, even those in races that should have been easy Republican victories."

Republican Party is going to have to leave their proverbial bubble to remain viable

The Republican Party is going to have to leave their proverbial bubble to remain viable. Facts matter. Terrific breakdown of election night.The national results were predicted by fact-based models while the right wing media failed as usual.