Month: June 2012
Polls Show Drop in Support for Romney – Race Resets to Status in April with Obama Holding Slight Lead
Here’s my theory. After it became clear that Mitt Romney was going to be the Republican nominee, persuadable voters — the “swingsters” — who somehow managed to avoid the clown-slash-horror show that was the GOP primary decided to give Romney a test drive. In other words, after tuning out the primaries, swing voters tuned in to check out Romney for themselves.
Thank You for Lowering the Cost of Gasoline, Mr. President
It seems a bit unusual for a journalist from the corporate press, but Cohan is more than willing to give credit where credit is due — he says the reduction in the cost of gas is a result of actions taken by Pres. Obama earlier this year:
Romney’s Blizzard of Lies Strategy, Cont’d: Mitt Told 30 Lies in One Week – Apparently a New Record
As we noted last week, Mitt Romney has adopted the Karl Rove/George Bush “blizzard of lies” strategy in which the the candidate or politician bombards voters with so many lies that it becomes impossible to keep up. Steve Benen at MaddowBlog, who has been doing a yeoman’s job tracking Romney’s lies, reports that last week — which was the 23rd week Benen has been tallying up Romney’s lies — Mitt told the most lies in any week so far.
Here are the first ten lies Mitt Romney told last week from Benen’s list:
Six Years Ago, Mitt Romney Loved the Individual Mandate
But back then, it was Romneycare.
Loneliness of the Placeholder
We plumbed the archives to find this in light of George Lemieux’s recent ignoble exit from the Florida Senate race:
As the wags and pundits confer,
On the Florida senate race, they demur
To make a prediction,
Though they say with conviction
They’re damned glad they’re not George Lemieux!
Published April 26, 2010
It’s a Great Day: Healthcare Reform Upheld
Look out Rick Scott. The Florida governor has steadfastly refused to put the infrastructure in place to comply with healthcare reforms under the Affordable Care Act, so sure was he that the U.S. Supreme Court would strike the measure down. Well start moving, Rick, because Obamacare is here to stay. And THAT’S a BFD.
Early reaction, from around the web.
“Man, I hope that Scalia wrote a dissent. It might be the first SCOTUS decision with the word ‘fuck’ in it.” – The Rude Pundit
“Florida CFO Jeff Atwater sent out a press release crowing about its demise … and then immediately tried to recall it. ‘News’ outlets are tweeting, correcting, recalling. I like my news as quickly as the next guy. But there’s some value in making sure you have it right first.” – Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell
“Election angle NOT good for President in this respect: It may galvanize Republican voters to show up at the polls; opposite effect for Dems” – West Wing Reports
“In lieu of flowers I hear Fox News would like viewers to send donations to Heritage Foundation today as RWers mourn” – Eric Boehlert
“Fortunately, we can count on President Romney to repeal the… Oh, never mind.” – Jim Antle
“Per @petewilliamsnbc: main dissent written by Scalia. Will. Be. Epic. Oh, and his sidekick Clarence wrote something or other, too…” – Joy-Ann Reid
What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear in the comments section. And we’ll be right back after we finish doing the chicken dance.
Flashback 2008: Watch Boehner Lead Republicans off House Floor During Contempt Votes Against Top Bush Staffers Who Refused to Testify Before Congress
With some House Democrats planning to walk out today when House Republicans vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for no good reason, it’s instructive to look back to a similar moment in 2008, when then-Minority Leader John Boehner led a walk out over a vote to hold Bushies Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton in contempt for a legitimate reason: they refused even to show up for a hearing about Bush-Rove firing U.S. attorneys who refused to play along with Rove’s bogus voter fraud campaign.
To Boehner’s credit, at least did not cry, via Dave Weigel:
Breaking News: Democrats Set to Walk Out on Holder Contempt Vote
Joy-Ann Reid is reporting that House Democrats, outgunned and outnumbered by House Republicans and Teabillies, will join the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in walking out on the contempt of Congress vote set to be held on our hero, Attorney General Eric Holder, on June 28.
Yes, with all the pressing issues before the country, which, if you listen to FOX News is about to collapse from same, House Speaker John Boehner found time to not only investigate Holder (but not his predecessor in the Bush administration who started the Fast and Furious program), but to stop everything and take a vote on whether the voluminous information Holder has supplied to date is sufficient. The problem is that what Holder has coughed up does not show criminal wrong doing on the part of the Obama administration. Boehner and his co-conspirators want more, even if the proof they need never existed.
The CBC:
Instead of focusing on job creation and other critical issues before this Congress, we have been asked to engage in a political stunt on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Our constituents elected us to do real work, not to engage in meaningless partisan activity.
For those keeping track, Pres. Obama announcing he will not enforce deportation of the narrow group of children and young adults defined by the Dream Act, which failed to get a filibuster-proof majority in 2010, is election year prostitution. But stopping the work of the House of Representatives to focus on a partisan witch hunt that, if anything incriminates Republicans’ gun lobby pals, is time well spent. Yeah, no.
Charles, the Ethically Challenged
In light of Rep. Charles Rangel’s primary victory, we thought we’d revisit one from the archives:
Now the ethics committee’s left Rangel
At the end of his rope there to dangle.
It gets really complicated
When your conscience gets sublimated,
And your ethics get all in a tangle.
Originally published March 4, 2010
