November 20, 2012

Rick Perry: Worst Candidate of the 2012 Elections

November 20, 2012 Buck Banks

Remember back to the late summer of 2011. Perry entered the race with what looked like a straight path to frontrunner status. He was a conservative’s conservative with a proven record of doing what he said in Texas. He was a fundraising powerhouse. He had a charisma that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney lacked. It was all there for the taking. Until, it became clear that the idea of Rick Perry running for president was very different than the reality of Rick Perry running for president.

— The Fix, giving the Worst Candidate of 2012 Award to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) “for his remarkably poor presidential campaign.”

Marco Rubio Is Just a Younger Anti-Science Bible-Banging Republican

November 20, 2012November 20, 2012 Buck Banks

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), whose 2016 campaign for president is well under way, showed that he’s just another one of those fossilized Republicans who thinks he can deny science (losing the vote of a majority of high school and college graduates) in order to pander to the tea-vangelical base (thus gaining a remarkably tiny yet vocal portion of the actual electorate). Here’s what he said and what was said about what he said.

Rubio declined to tell GQ magazine how old he thought the earth was, saying it’s “one of those great mysteries.” Said Rubio:

The real mystery is not that anyone would think the earth was made in six days, but that anyone thinks that Marco Rubio is presidential material

I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

To which Marc Ambinder, writing in The Week said it’s not a mystery, “It’s about 4.5 billion years old, give or take a few million.”

[…]

Marion Barry Talks Turkey Trash on White Liberals

November 20, 2012 Buck Banks

You all beat up on good people for doing good things. I’m not ever telling.

— Washington, D.C., councilman Marion Barry, quoted by Washington City Paper, refusing to say who is paying for his Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway, adding that it’s only “liberal white folks” who care.

Majority of Americans Believe Obama Will Seek Bipartisan Solution to Debt Crisis

November 20, 2012 Buck Banks

65%

Of Americans believe President Obama will earnestly try to work with the Republicans in Congress to solve the nation’s problems, though this is down from 2008, according to Gallup. Less than half, 48%, believe Republicans will respond in kind.

Day: November 20, 2012

Rick Perry: Worst Candidate of the 2012 Elections

— The Fix, giving the Worst Candidate of 2012 Award to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) “for his remarkably poor presidential campaign.”

Marco Rubio Is Just a Younger Anti-Science Bible-Banging Republican

Marion Barry Talks Turkey Trash on White Liberals

You all beat up on good people for doing good things. I’m not ever telling.

— Washington, D.C., councilman Marion Barry, quoted by Washington City Paper, refusing to say who is paying for his Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway, adding that it’s only “liberal white folks” who care.

Majority of Americans Believe Obama Will Seek Bipartisan Solution to Debt Crisis

65%

Of Americans believe President Obama will earnestly try to work with the Republicans in Congress to solve the nation’s problems, though this is down from 2008, according to Gallup. Less than half, 48%, believe Republicans will respond in kind.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

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.