Month: November 2015
Fiorina Groks the Trump Pattern for Us
This is the pattern, isn’t it? The pattern is — he says something insulting, offensive and outrageous; the media pays attention; then he claims we all misunderstood him.
— Carly Fiorina, quoted by the Washington Post, on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Christie Receives Significant Endorsement
Gov. Christie is right for these dangerous times. He has prosecuted terrorists and dealt admirably with major disasters. But the one reason he may be best-suited to lead during these times is because he tells it like it is and isn’t shy about it.
— Fro the editorial endorsing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie from New Hampshire’s Union Leader, traditionally the most respected newspaper voice in the first-in-the-nation primary state.
Reporters Actually Like Covering Trump
It is fun to be here. Even the reporters, to whose perfidy Trump devotes a substantial chunk of his speech, are having fun — you never know what Trump is going to say, and you get a lot of airtime … Despite all the negativity and fear, the energy in this room does not feel dark and aggressive and threatening. It doesn’t feel like a powder keg about to blow, a lynch mob about to rampage. It feels joyous.
— Molly Ball in the Atlantic
Obama Reacts to the Latest Mass Shooting
This is not normal. We can’t let it become normal. If we truly care about this — if we’re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough.
— President Obama, quoted by Politico, after yet another mass shooting.
Lies, Damned Lies and Trump/Carson Lies
When Hillary Clinton lies, she generally does so with legalistic care. You get the sense that she knows what the exact truth is. But you also get the sense that she knows she’ll suffer if she provides the whole truth, so she shades the facts with interpretations and embellishments that flatter or favor her. … Trump’s and Carson’s lies, on the other hand, come from the land of bullshit, that wonderful place where loose facts and wishful thinking mate to produce a quotable soundbite. They’re not trying to deceive you in a Clintonian fashion. They’re indifferent to the truth, content to say the first things that pop into their brains.
— Politico
Politicians Can Say Anything Without Worrying About It
Politicians are quickly learning that they can say just about anything and get away with it. Along with vindication, apology and suffering, there now exists a fourth way forward for the politician spewing whoppers: Blame the backlash on media bias and walk away a hero.
— Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone.
Cruz Surges in New National Poll
21%
A new Reuters poll finds Ted Cruz surging with 21% of the vote in second place behind Donald Trump, who leads the GOP presidential race nationally with 33%, followed by Ben Carson at 12%, Marco Rubio at 11% and Jeb Bush at 8%.
Country Scratching Its Head After Planned Parenthood Shooting
No one can figure out the motives yet of the 57-year-old white guy who shot up a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. The nightmare happened only two days ago and officials caution it’s way too soon to reach any conclusions about why the man, who lived in a “hermit’s shanty” in the woods, would kill three people and wound nine.
We don’t have enough information yet to say that it’s too easy for a person with this guy’s history who lives in a lean-to in the woods without electricity to arm himself with the very latest technology in automatic weapons
…the suspect accused of carrying out the shooting spree, Robert Lewis Dear, made remarks about “baby parts” to investigators after his surrender, a law enforcement official told CNN.
Dear, 57, told them he has anti-abortion and anti-government views, but that doesn’t mean those opinions were his motive for allegedly shooting up the Colorado Springs clinic on Friday, the official said. It’s too early to tell, as investigators are still processing evidence.
Yes, just because the shooter talked about body parts after he surrendered doesn’t mean the bloodbath had anything to do with the recent video trumped up by an anti-abortion group to smear Planned Parenthood. That video was edited to make it appear that a Planned Parenthood employee talked about preserving fetal tissue for research, but it’s just too soon to know if that’s what moved the suspect.
