Tag: Conservative Agenda

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Obama’s Weekly Address Isn’t So Ho-Hum

Trish

Week in and week out, the president posts his “Weekly Address,” a reiteration of the best answer to the most pressing problem of the time, which will never see daylight because of Republican opposition to anything Obama-related. It’s easy to tune out Obama’s message, just to save a little heartbreak.

This week, in the wake of the proposed budget from Republicans (which will also go nowhere, since Democrats still rule the Senate*) the president again frames the sensible solution but kind of kicks butt with a little extra womp around the 1:17 mark:

The Republican budget begins by passing out massive tax cuts to the households making more than a million dollars a year. Then, to keep from blowing a hole in the deficit, they’d have to raise taxes on middle class families with kids. Next, their budget forces deep cuts to investments that help our economy create jobs, like education and scientific research.

What’s the bottom line, my president?

Policies that benefit the fortunate few while making it harder for working Americans to succeed — that’s not what we need right now. Our economy doesn’t grow best from the top-down, it grows best from the middle-out.

Wham.

* Be sure to vote in November! It really, really matters this time.

$27 Million Down the Drain? Doh!

Trish

Bad news for whoever is writing the checks at Americans for Prosperity (AFP). The Koch brothers’ political organization has spent $27 million since last August, with millions more planned, on ads attacking Senate Democrats who voted for healthcare reform and who are up for re-election this year.

A new poll shows they are likely wasting that cash.

Poll: Support for candidates who voted for the health-care law has improved dramatically

Support for candidates who voted for the health-care law has improved dramatically in recent months, a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday shows.

The survey found respondents almost exactly split on the question of whether they would be more or less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who supports the Affordable Care Act, with 34% saying they would be more likely to vote for the candidate and 36% saying they would be less likely to do so. Some 27% said it would not make a difference.

That’s a significant jump in support levels from November—a month after the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov, the federal insurance exchange that serves 36 states—when just 21% said a candidate’s support for the law would make them more likely to vote for them, compared to 37% who said it would make them less likely to do so. A much larger percentage—40%—were indifferent.

AFP’s ads are termed “misleading” by neutral fact-checkers, and “absolutely false” by Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

The organization put all its eggs in the “Obamacare will be hated” basket so if the public approves of the reforms and the costs of coverage decrease, the Kochs lose. Some Republicans have sniffed the wind and moved away from criticizing Pres. Obama over the Affordable Care Act to criticizing him over every other initiative instead.

Even the 2nd Amendment’s Little Known Dumbass Clause Wasn’t Strong Enough

Trish

While this ad from Saatchi & Saatchi for the “gun responsibility” group, Evolve, is funny, neither the ad’s, nor the group’s, dots connect.

“Personal decisions” leave us at the mercy, not of good guys with guns, but just guys with guns which in reality is all there is

The spot’s creators said they were not taking a stand on gun safety laws.

“When we researched the gun debate in America, we saw that it’s become almost impossible to have a thoughtful discussion about gun safety. What I love about Evolve is that they’re not about taking a side in that debate–they’re squarely focused on promoting personal decisions about gun safety.”

[…]

Brace Yourself for a Slew of Ted Cruzes

Buck Banks

If Ted Cruz seems like a one-of-a-kind, give it time. A slew of young, hard-charging, Tea Party-endorsed Senate wannabes is looking to knock off the Republican establishment again in 2014. Some have better chances than others, but all have the unmistakable Cruzian commitment to refusing to toe the Republican Party line and make headlines while doing it. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you will.

— Patricia Murphy, in the Daily Beast.

On FOX, The Truth is Faster

Trish

47

Number of minutes FOX News used to point out that the recent CBS 60 Minutes piece, which was later found to have falsely portrayed events in Benghazi, backed up the Republican portrayal of the incident. That was three times the length of the original 60 Minutes report. Amount of time FOX spent on the subsequent correction: 26 seconds.

Still Waiting for That Other Apology

Trish

When I hear Bush apologize about being wrong about WMDs, I’ll give a shit whether or not Obama said he’s sorry.

@RudePundit, on Twitter, commenting on those being given air time to say Pres. Obama should apologize more because the Affordable Care Act website wasn’t fully functional when the health care exchanges became available on Oct. 1. The toll-free phone number, in-person “navigators,” and other venues in various states worked great on opening day, despite the 17-day tea party led government shutdown that began simultaneously.

Good News, Bad News for Cruz

Trish

15 points

The rise in UNfavorability experienced by Sen. Ted Cruz (Tx-Tea) among Republicans who do not align themselves with the tea party, in a new Pew poll. In June, 16% were unfavorable to Cruz, while today, 31% are. The tea party itself also fell among Republicans, with only 27% of those who think of themselves as liberal or moderate Republicans approving of the movement, compared to 46% in June. The good news for Texanadian Cruz is that among the shrinking league of tea party members, his popularity rose from 47% to 74%.

Will Marriage Equality Come to North Carolina Next?

Trish

After Republicans hijacked North Carolina’s general assembly, an anti marriage equality constitutional amendment was presented to voters, and it passed. But with the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which ended the ridiculous Defense of Marriage Act, some local officials are doing the right thing anyway.

[Buncombe County Register of Deeds Drew] Reisinger told Reuters: “Lord knows I’ve had a handful of close friends who are in same-sex relationships come in and ask for a marriage license. It’s hard to get the words out to tell them, ‘No.'”

He said licenses were sought by six same-sex couples, including a lesbian couple together for 20 years whose request had been repeatedly denied.

“I have concerns about whether we are violating people’s civil rights based on this summer’s Supreme Court decision,” said Reisinger, 30, who is married and was elected to his post in Asheville, North Carolina, three years ago.

In Pennsylvania, Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who also is a Democrat, said in July she would not defend her state’s ban on gay marriage in a case before federal court in Pennsylvania, calling it “wholly unconstitutional.”

Reisinger’s office issued a statement formally requesting the North Carolina attorney general’s review.

Republicans Own the Shutdown. Next Question?

Trish

Never been a president who won’t negotiate the debt ceiling? Never been a president who had to.

Let the record show that, as usual, Pres. Obama and the Democrats are telling the truth. This government shutdown is 100 percent on the shoulders of the Republicans, and it could end as soon as Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh) allows the House of Representatives to vote on it. Period.

And as far as his assertion, in the “Breaking News” section shown, that there has never been a president who won’t negotiate with Congress to pay the bills it authorized, please further note that there’s never been a president who had to.