Day: February 10, 2011

Verbatim

Buck Banks

Through the Internet, with a few keystrokes and the click of a button, a young person can call up information for a research project, make new friends or discover new hobbies. At the same time, responding to what may seem like a friendly e-mail or an appealing marketing offer can have serious consequences. Private information and images can so easily be transmitted to friends and strangers alike.

— Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY), writing for the Tonawanda News in June 2009, with advice that, had he taken it himself, could have prevented his resignation yesterday in the wake of allegations he sent bare-chested photos of himself to a woman on Craig’s List.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

This is a news story. Could they have said ‘is that what you meant?’ And I would have said ‘No’ — that we know that I know, because, because she does — we’ve watched, I think, we’ve watched every episode of Sarah Palin’s Alaska. We enjoy it. We like to watch with the family. I know she has obligations to do other things … I just assumed she was busy, that’s all.

— Rick Santorum, telling Fox News his comments were taken out of context after learning he angered Sarah Palin.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. I’ll let his wife call him that instead.

— Sarah Palin, quoted by Politico, making clear she took offense at Rick Santorum’s suggestion she’s not attending CPAC because she’s out making money and taking care of her kids.

It’s a PolitiFact: Republicans Lie a Lot More than Democrats

Buck Banks

The University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics blog serves up a delectable comparative analysis of PolitiFact ratings of Republicans and Democrats and finds that members of the GOP accounted for 76 percent of statements rated either “false” or “pants on fire” for real doozies, compared to 22 percent for Dems. You could probably name the worst offenders with your hands tied behind your back and blindfolded:

During the last 13 months, the Republicans that have led the way with the largest number of Barely True, False, and Pants On Fire grades are Sarah Palin with eight, Michele Bachmann with seven, and John Boehner, Mike Pence, and the National Republican Congressional Committee with four each.

Whereas Boehner received six “True,” two “Mostly True,” and one “Half True” ratings during this span, Pence and the NRCC received none in these categories, Bachmann only two, and Palin just four.

Put on your asbestos shorts and check out the analysis here.

Four Years Ago Today Obama Declared for the Presidency

Buck Banks

4

It was four years ago today (Feb. 10, 2007) that then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) announced his candidacy for president at the State House in Springfield, Illinois. And consider this — only one Republican so far has even formed an exploratory committee: Herman Cain. At this point in the ’08 cycle, 17 candidates had either already declared their candidacy or formed an official committee to begin raising money.

Verbatim

Buck Banks

My goal is to strengthen the president.

— Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), in an interview on CNBC, noting he “wouldn’t feel bad” if President Obama was re-elected because the economy was stronger. However, he added, “I probably still won’t vote for him.”