September 28, 2012

No Popularity Contest

September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

In a presidential election, when shove comes to push,
The landscape can get as bleak as the Hindu Kush.
But the latest Bloomberg poll
Must have made Mitt’s blood run cold —
He’s now even less popular than George W. Bush!

Proposed Carbon Tax Could Halve Federal Deficit in a Decade

September 28, 2012September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

50%

Amount the projected 10-year federal deficit would be decreased by imposing a $20 per ton carbon tax — from $2.3 trillion to $1.1 trillion — according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service which finds that “Taxing carbon emissions could raise enough money to eventually cut the deficit in half,” according to The Hill.

Obama Staff Have a Funny Way of Managing Debate Expectations

September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

Well, he could fall off the stage.

— Obama traveling press secretary Jen Psaki, in what BuzzFeed calls “an almost comical attempt” to lower expectations for President Obama in next week’s debate with Mitt Romney.

McCaskill Describes Akin as the Far Right Wing of the GOP

September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

I mean, this is somebody who kind of makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie.

— Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), on “Morning Joe,” saying challenger Todd Akin (R) is to the far right of the Republican Party.

Republicans Playing the Blame Game for Romney Nomination

September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

In what you might regard as an unhealthy sign for Mitt Romney’s campaign prospects, conservatives have turned to debating the question of who is to blame for nominating this man in the first place. Arch-conservatives Erick Erickson and Ben Domenech blame the moderate establishment for foisting Romney upon the base; relative moderates Ross Douthat and Daniel Larison blame the conservatives. Oddly, nobody seems interested in claiming credit for Romney’s nomination.

— Jonathan Chait, writing in New York Magazine.

Republicans No Longer Believe They Will Take Control of the Senate

September 28, 2012 Buck Banks

4%

Of GOP insiders rate their chances as “high” for taking control of the Senate, a free fall in confidence from February when 66% of Republicans were bullish they’d win the four seats necessary to take control, according to the latest National Journal Political Insiders Poll, “a stunning drop in optimism for a party that began 2012 confident it would regain control of the chamber.”

Day: September 28, 2012

No Popularity Contest

Proposed Carbon Tax Could Halve Federal Deficit in a Decade

50%

Obama Staff Have a Funny Way of Managing Debate Expectations

Well, he could fall off the stage.

— Obama traveling press secretary Jen Psaki, in what BuzzFeed calls “an almost comical attempt” to lower expectations for President Obama in next week’s debate with Mitt Romney.

McCaskill Describes Akin as the Far Right Wing of the GOP

I mean, this is somebody who kind of makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie.

— Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), on “Morning Joe,” saying challenger Todd Akin (R) is to the far right of the Republican Party.

Republicans Playing the Blame Game for Romney Nomination

— Jonathan Chait, writing in New York Magazine.

Republicans No Longer Believe They Will Take Control of the Senate

4%

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“They’ve invested heavily in AI labs. They’ve invested heavily in data centers. So, the first family has a financial stake in this industry, and as a result, the president of the United States is compromised.”

— “Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Monday said President Trump will likely not heed calls from technology leaders to implement guardrails on the development of artificial intelligence because of his family’s investments in the industry,” NewsNation reports.

— Jane Haman

“We’re working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards.”

— Jared Kushner, quoted by CBS News, on the lack of progress in Gaza.

Numerati

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.

$184 million

50%

38%

31%