Sam Stein at Huffington Post, Aug. 10, 2011: “A Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Huffington Post with three separate federal agencies reveals that on at least 16 separate occasions, [Tea Party Caucus Chairwoman Michele] Bachmann petitioned the federal government for direct financial help or aid. A large chunk of those requests were for funds set aside through President Obama’s stimulus program, which Bachmann once labeled “fantasy economics.” Bachmann made two more of those requests to the Environmental Protection Agency, an institution that she has suggested she would eliminate if she were in the White House … Combined with previous revelations that Bachmann personally relied on a federally subsidized home loan while her husband’s business benefited from Medicaid payments, it appears that one of the tea party’s most cherished members has demonstrated that the government does, in fact, play a constructive role — at least in her life and district.
Sam Stein, Huffington Post, July 5, 2011: “Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). On March 8, the freshman Republican co-signed a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration requesting that the Department of Transportation fund a project to improve a runway at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. The cost of the improvement: $4.365 million. Less than a month later, on the floor of the House, he declared that ‘our nation is broke. The federal government has maxed out its credit card.'”
Blogging Blue, July 6, 2011: “[Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn.] spoke directly with Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about federal funding for the Cates Landing port project after funding for the project was imperiled by House Republicans who wanted to cut transportation spending as a way of cutting overall government spending. Following his conversation with Secretary LaHood, Rep. Fincher wrote a follow-up letter seeking assistance in “obligating” the $13 million federal grant for the Cates Landing port project.”
New York Times, July 19, 2011: “An examination of spending bills, news releases and communications with federal agencies obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that nearly two dozen freshmen have sought money for projects that could ultimately cost billions of dollars, while calling for less spending and banning pork projects.” Republican hypocrites on spending include Reps. Tim Scott, S.C.; Jon Runyan, N.J.; Sean P. Duffy, Wisconsin; Michele Bachmann and Steven M. Palazzo, Miss.
Quad-City Times in July: “[Tea party favorite Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Ill.,] has been critical of the stimulus law, which was enacted before he was elected. But he said Friday more of the money should have been devoted to infrastructure projects. “If the government would have taken a lot bigger chunk of that money and put it into infrastructure, we’d be doing a lot better today,” he said.
Airport Business, March 17, 2011: “[Tea Party Caucus member] Congressman Allen West (FL-22) announces today the award of a $21 million dollar Federal grant to the Fort Lauderdale -Hollywood International Airport to be used towards the construction of a much needed, second commercial runway. The runway project will generate at least 11,000 jobs and be complete in the fall of 2014 with an estimated budget of $791 million.”
DCCC.org, autumn 2010: “[Right-wing extremist Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.,] signed a letter to Secretary LaHood, along with 14 other members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation, requesting funds from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant in order to ‘reroute and construct a new bridge over the Yadkin River on Interstate 85,’ saying the existing bridge has ‘far exceeded its design lifespan.'”
Steve Benen, Washington Monthly, Feb. 16, 2010: “Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the stimulus “misses the mark on all counts,” but encouraged the Labor Department to invest stimulus money in his district, highlighting a project he said would create 1,000 jobs. Reps. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) and Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), both right-wing opponents of the recovery efforts, did the same thing.”
Right-wing Korean cult-owned Washington Times, February 9, 2010: “[Tea Party Caucus member] Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican who became famous after yelling, “You lie,” during Mr. Obama’s addresses to Congress in September, voted against the stimulus. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilson elbowed his way into the rush for federal stimulus cash in a letter he sent to Mr. Vilsack on behalf of a foundation seeking funding. “
It’s Trump’s, not Biden’s, declining acuity on display.
The absurd or the nonsensical, who knows what Trump’ll say.
If you haven’t noticed,
It dates from when Trump was POTUS
To 2017, when he coined his first nonsense term,”covfefe.”
“And this is very important and very important to me. I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul. …. We’ve lost religion in our country. All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many, it’s my favorite book, it’s a lot of people’s favorite book. This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion. Religion is so important, it’s so missing.”
— Donald Trump is celebrating Easter by selling copies of his latest product, the God Bless the USA Bible, for $59.99 each.
“Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear. It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be.”
— Donald Trump made fun of Ronna McDaniel after NBC News ended its contract with her following an internal uproar across the company, The Hill reports.
President Biden’s campaign slammed Donald Trump as “weak and desperate – both as a man and a candidate for president.” The statement continued: “He spent the weekend golfing, the morning comparing himself to Jesus, and the afternoon lying about having money he definitely doesn’t have. His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda.” It concludes: “America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”
“Congratulations, Donald. Quite the accomplishment.”
— President Joe Biden, on X, mocking Donald Trump’s largely all-caps gushing announcement on his social media platform Truth Social of winning a tournament at his own golf club.
“President Joe Biden has gained ground against Republican Donald Trump in six of seven key swing states, and significantly so in at least two of them. The results make for the Democrat’s strongest position yet in a monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. …. The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan.”
A new Monmouth poll finds 34% of Americans would like to go and settle in another country if they were free to do so. Fifty years ago, this number stood at a much lower 10%.
Punchbowl News: “The 118th Congress is the least productive in decades. And everyone left town mad as they do the bare minimum legislatively with the November election looming …. Things are so bad that members are just quitting Congress without even telling party leaders. House Republicans will be down to a one-vote margin soon. One. Vote.”
Washington Post: “Yet again, we saw more Republican primary voters voting against Trump than Democratic ones voting against Biden. …About 1 in 5 voters voted against Trump in Florida, Illinois and Ohio. And about one-quarter voted against him in Kansas. … By contrast, Biden ceded closer to 1 out of 10 votes in Illinois, Kansas and Ohio.”
A new study found the U.S. saw its highest number of abortions in over a decade during 2023, despite the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade and the subsequent wave of state-level bans on the procedure. One factor behind the increase is the increased availability of abortion drugs like mifepristone, which accounted for 63% of all abortions last year.