Month: December 2011
Cheney Kind of Endorses Gingrich
The thing I remember about Newt — we came to Congress together at the same time, ’78. And — when Newt showed up, he said, ‘We can become the majority. We can take back the House of Representatives.’ We hadn’t had the House — since — 1940s. And — initially, none of us believed it, but he was persistent. And he was tenacious. He kept it up and kept it up and kept it up. And — finally by ’94, he’s — the newly-elected speaker of the House of Representatives with a Republican majority. So I wouldn’t underestimate him.
— Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Newt Gingrich.
Romney Lacks the Fire in the Belly to Win
I’m not in trouble. I’m in a great spot. I could become our nominee, or someone else might become our nominee and I could go back to business and go back to my family. Either one of those is a very nice outcome.
— Mitt Romney, in an interview with Politico.
To successfully run for president, you have to have a fire burning inside of you… So maybe it’s a bad sign for Mitt Romney’s chances that he doesn’t seem to give a shit about the possibility of losing. If he wins, great. But whatever.
— Dan Amira, in New York Magazine.
Anti-Gay Christian Republican Donates Sperm to Lesbians
Even though he’s campaigned against gay marriage, Bill Johnson, who ran for governor of Alabama in 2009, has been donating sperm through an online service in New Zealand and has successfully impregnated three women and given sperm to at least six others.
Of course his wife doesn’t know. Or didn’t know. But might have known before they went to counseling. But certainly didn’t know after he went to New Zealand. Until now, that is.
After losing the race for governor, Johnson joined a disaster-relief agency and worked in Haiti before taking a position with disaster-relief company Ceres and decamping to New Zealand where he has sown his seed around Christchurch — really. Of course, his wife — a two-time finalist for Mrs. America — and her three children from a previous marriage are back in the U.S.A.
Want Some Whine with that Campaign Ad?
This is politics. There’s no whining in politics.
— Mitt Romney, quoted by Politico, not complaining about negative ads.
It’s a Gamble
The Florida legislature is scrambling
To create a plan for resort gambling.
In a kind of Catch-22,
They claim what it will do —
More gambling will regulate current gambling!
Surprise — Most Americans Rate Congress’ Honesty and Integrity Very Low
64%
Of Americans rate the honesty and ethics of members of Congress as very low or low, tying the record for any profession. Americans give the most positive ratings to nurses, pharmacists, and doctors, and the lowest to members of Congress, lobbyists, and car salespeople, according to Gallup.
Romney’s Idea of a Casual Bet is a Quarter of Most People’s Annual Salary
Watch Perry’s face as Romney holds out his hand and asks him to bet, you know, the usual amount for a casual wager — $10,000 — on whether Romney once favored requiring people to have health insurance. Catch that flicker of incredulity and astonishment as Romney proves he’s serious about the sum by repeating it in case Perry didn’t get it the first time.
Certainly Romney and his folks will walk back this display of Romney’s 1%-ness by claiming he was only kidding and that members of the Mormon sect don’t bet either. Most of those watching the moment are unconvinced.
Bill Burton, spokesman for PrioritiesUSA, an outside group supporting President Barack Obama’s re-election, said the attempted wager is another sign that in an economy with 8.6 percent unemployment, Romney “could not be more out of step.”
…”It is predictable that Mitt Romney will slip up and let folks in on who he is from time-to-time,” Burton said in an email. “Corporations are people, joking about being unemployed and now this. Mitt Romney has no clue what pain the American middle class is feeling right now.”
Meanwhile, fellow Mormonite and silver spoon baby Jon Huntsman is jumping on Romney’s slip.
Rival Republican Jon Huntsman’s campaign seized on Romney’s remark, promising in an email that the website 10KBet.com was on its way.
Update: 10KBet.com is up.
Unemployment Rate Shows Improvement Despite Republicans’ Best Efforts
Three polls released in November found that about half of those surveyed believed that Republicans have sabotaged the economic recovery. That they would deliberately stall economic growth — a betrayal of the interests of their constituents — is a measure of how debased the Republican Party has become since the tea party seized control.
There have been improvements in the job market, despite their best efforts. Jon Terbush suggests the slight but steady uptick may help the president in the campaign next year:
