Month: January 2014

Flashback: Rand Paul Accused of Tying up, Blindfolding and Abducting a Female College Student in Aqua Buddha Bong ‘Prank’

Jon Ponder

Paul on ‘Meet the Press’ in January 2014
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky went on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday to slander former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by suggesting she was somehow complicit in the affair her husband had with Monica Lewinsky nearly 20 years ago. When “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked Paul if he was in fact blaming Hillary Clinton for Bill’s affair, Paul said he wasn’t — but then immediately contradicted himself, adding, “Sometimes it’s hard to separate one from the other.”

It is beneath contempt — and yet typical of the low esteem with which Republicans view women — to blame a wife for her husband’s infidelity. Compounding his contemptible behavior, of course, is the fact that Paul’s slander is based on half-truths and outright lies, nearly all of which went unchallenged on “Meet the Press,” as usual.

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Bully Boy: Staten Island GOP Rep. Michael Grimm Threatens Reporter Who Asked Him about Corruption Charges

Jon Ponder

Earlier this month Diana Durand, a Republican operative who raised donations for New York City GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, was arrested by federal officials and charged with donating nearly $10,000 to Grimm’s campaign via an interstate “donor swapping” scheme. The stress of the federal investigation has apparently gotten to Grimm, who threatened to NY1 reporter Michael Scotto after Scotto asked him about the scandal in a post-State of the Union interview last night.

Grimm at first walked away from the camera, but then returned to threaten Scotto after he had wrapped the live interview. The camera and Scotto’s microphone were still on, however, and Grimm’s verbal assault was captured on video and has been transcribed by NY1:

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A SOTU Preview

Buck Banks

The president’s speechwriters will have started out to craft an important and thoughtful speech, determined to avoid having their boss deliver another really boring monologue that is both a laundry list of what the president wants to do and what he would do if the opposition party and special-interest groups rolled over and played dead for the rest of the year. But by the end of the process, despite the best of intentions, it will very likely sound like all of the others.

— Charlie Cook, in the National Journal.

56 Democratic Lawmakers Say They Would Endorse Hillary Clinton for Prez

Buck Banks

56

Number of Democratic lawmakers who say they would endorse Hillary Clinton for president if she launches a 2016 White House bid, according to a new survey by The Hill. “The level of support is astounding, especially 2 1/2 years before the Democratic Party hosts its nominating convention. The total represents more than 20 percent of the 253 Democrats in the House and Senate. It is also more than half of the lawmaker endorsements Clinton received in 2008.”

Poll: GOP Seen as Intractable, Dishonest, Unethical and Extreme by Most Americans

Buck Banks

52% to 27%

Margin by which Americans perceive Democrats as more willing to work with the other party than Republicans, new Pew Research poll shows.”Democrats also hold a 20-point advantage when it comes to which party ‘is more concerned with the needs of people like me’ and a 10-point edge when it comes to governing in a more ethical and honest way. The GOP, meanwhile, is viewed as much more ‘extreme’ in its issue positions (54% to 35%) and more influenced by lobbyists (47% to 30%).”