2013 - Page 35 of 106

GOP Strategist Criticizes ‘Silly Antics of the Purist Wing’

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

The party is acting as if the entire world is a GOP primary. That is a very dangerous way to operate. We have massive image problems with the greater electorate, and the silly antics of the purist wing are making our dire problems even worse.

— GOP strategist Mike Murphy, quoted by the Washington Post.

Colo. Senator: Fried Chicken Causes Poverty

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

When you look at life expectancy, there are problems in the black race: sickle-cell anemia is something that comes up, diabetes is something that’s prevalent in the genetic makeup and you just can’t help it. Although I’ve got to say, I’ve never had better BBQ and better chicken and ate better in my life than when you go down South and you — I love it.

— Colorado state Sen. Vicki Marble (R), suggesting that more blacks and Hispanics live in poverty, in part, because of fried chicken, KDVR reports. Marble went on to mention that Mexicans eat vegetables in Mexico, but stop eating healthily when they immigrate to the United States.

Hirsute of Lip

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

John Bolton’s seeking conservatives near and far
To help him be the GOP’s 2016 rising star.
But his big liability
Might require a pogonotomy.
See, we haven’t elected a mustachioed president since Teddy R.

Wide Majority Opposes Government Shutdown to Defund Obamacare

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

71%

Of all voters surveyed opposed a government shutdown to defund Obamacare, while 23% favored a shutdown, a new poll done for Republican members of Congress has found. Among Republicans, 53% opposed, versus 37% who favored,” the Washington Examiner reports.

A Half-Century Later, U.S. Still Has a Long Way to Go

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

50

Years after Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., just 45% of all Americans say the country has made substantial progress toward racial equality and 49% say that “a lot more” remains to be done, a new Pew Research survey finds.

Colin Powell Publicly Criticizes N.C. Voter-Suppression Laws

August 22, 2013 Buck Banks

I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote. … It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs. These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away.

— Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, taking aim at North Carolina’s new voting law — with N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in the audience — the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Bringing “I Blame Obama” to a New Level

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013 Trish

29%

Louisiana Republicans who blame Pres. Obama for the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Obama was eight months into his term as a freshman senator when the disaster struck, but only 28% of the state’s GOP voters blame George “Doin’ a helluva job Brownie” Bush, despite the fact that he was actually president at the time. The other 44% said they can’t say who was at fault, or more likely, can’t admit it was Pres. Bush.

Dogged Days, Part 2

August 20, 2013 Buck Banks

For Barack Obama, this summer’s been one long slog.
Between Congress, woes and scandals, he should’ve moved to Prague.
But there’s nothing like a terrier
To make the White House merrier,
And there’s nothing Americans love more than a presidential dog.

Amazon: Where 40 Minutes Equals $4.8 Million

August 20, 2013 Buck Banks

$4.8 million

Amount of revenue Amazon lost when its servers went offline for 40 minutes yesterday afternoon.

Cook: Odds favor Dems in Budget Showdown

August 20, 2013 Buck Banks

It’s difficult to understand why any Republicans on Capitol Hill would like their odds in any kind of budget showdown this fall that could result in a government shutdown. Very simply, they would be going into a game with an incredibly weak hand, and their odds of winning would be quite small. … While Obama’s numbers are hardly impressive, they are still much better than those for congressional Democrats, and they aren’t even in the same time zone as the bleak numbers for Republicans in Congress. This being the case, who goes into this fight with the least credibility? The answer is Republicans in Congress … It’s a time for Republicans to be realistic and for both sides to be adults — and allow a reasonable deal to be reached.

The party is acting as if the entire world is a GOP primary. That is a very dangerous way to operate. We have massive image problems with the greater electorate, and the silly antics of the purist wing are making our dire problems even worse.

— GOP strategist Mike Murphy, quoted by the Washington Post.

— Colorado state Sen. Vicki Marble (R), suggesting that more blacks and Hispanics live in poverty, in part, because of fried chicken, KDVR reports. Marble went on to mention that Mexicans eat vegetables in Mexico, but stop eating healthily when they immigrate to the United States.

71%

Of all voters surveyed opposed a government shutdown to defund Obamacare, while 23% favored a shutdown, a new poll done for Republican members of Congress has found. Among Republicans, 53% opposed, versus 37% who favored,” the Washington Examiner reports.

50

Years after Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., just 45% of all Americans say the country has made substantial progress toward racial equality and 49% say that “a lot more” remains to be done, a new Pew Research survey finds.

I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote. … It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs. These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away.

— Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, taking aim at North Carolina’s new voting law — with N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) in the audience — the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

29%

$4.8 million

Amount of revenue Amazon lost when its servers went offline for 40 minutes yesterday afternoon.

— Pundit Charlie Cook.

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%

$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.