Day: March 5, 2012
One Human Mess
Some may view it as an inconvenient goo,
Others pay good money to see it spewed.
But up there in Delaware
They showed us they really care,
By designating sperm as human people, too.
Will: GOP Leaders Afraid of Limbaugh
Mr. Boehner comes out and says, Rush’s language was inappropriate. Using a salad fork for your entree, that’s inappropriate. Not this stuff… And it was depressing, because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.
— George Will, on This Week, ripping Republican leaders for their weak response to Rush Limbaugh calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut.” The AP reported yesterday that seven national advertisers have pulled their ads from Limbaugh’s radio show.
Paul Says Limbaugh’s Only Sorry About the Ads
I don’t think he’s very apologetic. He’s doing it because some people were taking their advertisements off his program. It was his bottom line that he was concerned about.
— Ron Paul, in an interview on Face the Nation, about Rush Limbaugh’s apology for calling a Georgetown law student a “slut.”
Pot Calling Kettle: Imus Says Limbaugh’s a ‘Pig’
He’s an insincere pig.
— Talking head Don Imus, calling talking head Rush Limbaugh’s apology to Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke “lame,” saying Limbaugh should apologize in person.
Rush Limbaugh Is Employed by a Subsidiary of Romney’s Bain Capital
The chances that Rush Limbaugh will be fired for disparaging women whose insurance covers their contraceptives as “sluts” last week have always fallen safely within the range of slim to none. Limbaugh is, hands down, his employer’s biggest revenue producer, and even if he were caught with the proverbial live boy or dead girl, his bosses at Clear Channel Communications, a multi billion-dollar right-wing radio network based in Texas, would be hard-pressed to send him packing.
But as the controversy over his lies and smears has played out, a key factor related to the politics behind the scandal has generally been overlooked. Clear Channel is a subsidiary of Bain Capital, the firm founded by GOP presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney in 1984. And although Romney officially resigned from Bain in 1999,he left the company with a deal in place that continues to add millions in income to Romney’s fortune every year. (These millions in revenue were the subject of a campaign controversy earlier this year when Romney was forced to admit he only pays around 15 percent in taxes on his income from Bain.)
In 2008, Bain bought Clear Channel, whose on-air roster includes such heavyweights in right-wing broadcasting as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and, the heaviest weight of them all, Rush Limbaugh.
Earlier this year, allegations surfaced on the far right that Clear Channel’s influential on-air personalities, including Limbaugh, were in the bag for Romney and so were marginalizing fringe candidates like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul:
Borowitz: Birther Questions are Good News for the Economy
We heartily embrace this leading economic indicator from satirist Andy Borowitz.
While most economists agree that any significant improvement in the US economy is generally accompanied by an uptick in GOP questions about Mr. Obama’s place of birth, there is now an econometric tool for measuring the increase in those claims: the so-called S & P Birther Index.
The Birther Index, established in 2008, measures the occurrences of such words as “birth certificate,” “Kenya,” and “wasn’t born here” in Republican statements about the President, and has proven to be a surprisingly reliable tool for tracking improvements in the economy.
As is generally accepted, the best way for Republicans to take the White House this fall is to sabotage the economy. Failing that, they can fall back on such hot button issues as whether the president was really born in Hawaii, and how he personally is responsible for the price of gas at the pump. Then again, there’s always assailing people who provide testimony to Congressional committees.
Two Months into Republicans’ Clown Car Primary, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds Voters Turning against the GOP – Again
In the midterm elections just two years ago, voters punished Democrats for the crime of passing universal health care by voting to give Republicans control of the House. Now, a new Wall St. Journal/NBC poll finds that these same voters appear to be changing their minds again:
55 percent of respondents — including 35 percent of Republicans — believe the Democratic Party does a better job than the GOP in appealing to those who aren’t hard-core supporters.How damaging has the primary season — with all of its debates, attack ads and scrutiny — been for the Republican Party?
Forty percent of all adults say the GOP contest so far has made them feel less favorable about the party, while 12 percent say they now have a more favorable impression. Forty-seven percent say it’s had no impact.
Even among Republicans, 23 percent maintain the primary season has given them a less favorable opinion of the party, versus 16 percent who say it’s been positive.
In addition, 55 percent of respondents — including 35 percent of Republicans — believe the Democratic Party does a better job than the GOP in appealing to those who aren’t hard-core supporters. Just 26 percent say the Republican Party does a better job on this front.
And, as we noted here, the poll found that Mitt Romney’s favorable rating has dropped down into George W. Bush territory. He has a 28 percent favorable rating among all respondents and a 22 percent favorable rating among independents.
