2014 - Page 51 of 98

How Ideological Purity Is Like the Ebola Virus

July 30, 2014 Buck Banks

What happens is they’re like an Ebola virus that spreads. And if you can keep it contained with this bunch of people that really hate the government, OK, I respect their position. But when the virus spreads and they then have a bunch of people all nervous that if they vote the way they really think they should vote then bad things are going to happen, that messes up the process.— Former Rep. Steve LaTourette (R), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on the conservative groups that demand ideological purity.

Trips to Iowa, New Hampshire, Just So Much Show

July 30, 2014 Buck Banks

It would be one thing if all of this early activity and attention in Iowa resulted in a smarter electorate, better candidates or a more authentic version of democracy. But in general, the quaint ‘retail’ settings of Iowa diners and New Hampshire living rooms are treated mostly as media sound stages, places where reporters report on how many other reporters showed up… As a result, these scenes have become backdrops for set pieces that blur into an anesthetizing noise: So-and-so has been to Iowa five times; some other so-and-so is ‘thinking about’ running for president; and here’s yet another picture of yet another so-and-so looking a voter right in the eyes and telling him the truth about something or other, as the discerning voters here insist.

— Mark Leibovich, writing in the New York Times.

Can The Israelis and Palestinians Fight Forever?

July 30, 2014 Trish

Neither side has a strategy other than terrorizing the civilian population of the other side.

— Uri Avnery, peace activist and Tel Aviv resident, who says that young Israelis are so tired of wars breaking out with no resolution that they are beginning to whisper about emigrating.

Most Voters Wouldn’t Want Obama as a Running Mate This Year

July 29, 2014 Buck Banks

57%

Of American voters would not want President Obama to campaign with them if they were running for office this year, while 41% said they would, according to a new Fox News poll.

Conservative Strikeforce Pocketed 92 Percent of Donations Intended for Candidates

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014 Buck Banks

8%

Amount of the $10 million raised since 2010 by the Conservative Strikeforce that actually went to candidates. More than $9 million of the loot was paid to the fundraisers, Fox Detroit reports.

Pastor Welcomes Endorsement by Strip Club

July 29, 2014 Buck Banks

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

— Rev. Jarrett Maupin, Democratic candidate for Congress from Arizona, accepting the endorsement of a Phoenix strip club called the Great Alaskan Bush Co., the Arizona Republic reports.

McCain Says No to Impeachment

July 29, 2014 Buck Banks

We’re not gonna impeach the president of the United States. There just aren’t the votes there even if we believed that it was warranted.

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an interview with KFYI.

Clinton Thinks ‘Anybody Can Run’

July 29, 2014 Buck Banks

Well, I think there will probably be many candidates. I mean, I’m somebody who believes anybody can run.

— Hillary Clinton, in an interview with Fusion, on the 2016 presidential field.

N.C. Dem Attorney General Roy Cooper: State Will No Longer Defend Same-Sex Marriage Ban

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014 Jon Ponder

Roy Cooper, the attorney general of North Carolina Attorney — and one of the few Democratic statewide officials to survive the 2010 tea party electoral sweep that put Republicans in control of North Carolina for the first time since the 1870s — announced this week that his department will no longer defend the state’s ban on marriage equality. The decision comes after judges in the federal appeals court whose jurisdiction includes North Carolina struck down a similar ban in Virginia:

[…]

Bachmann’s Back on Her Dopebox

July 28, 2014 Buck Banks

They want to abolish age of consent laws, which means children would, we would do away with statutory rape laws so that adults will be able to freely prey on little children sexually. That’s the deviance that we’re seeing embraced in our culture today.

— Mark Leibovich, writing in the New York Times.

Neither side has a strategy other than terrorizing the civilian population of the other side.

— Uri Avnery, peace activist and Tel Aviv resident, who says that young Israelis are so tired of wars breaking out with no resolution that they are beginning to whisper about emigrating.

57%

Of American voters would not want President Obama to campaign with them if they were running for office this year, while 41% said they would, according to a new Fox News poll.

8%

Amount of the $10 million raised since 2010 by the Conservative Strikeforce that actually went to candidates. More than $9 million of the loot was paid to the fundraisers, Fox Detroit reports.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

— Rev. Jarrett Maupin, Democratic candidate for Congress from Arizona, accepting the endorsement of a Phoenix strip club called the Great Alaskan Bush Co., the Arizona Republic reports.

We’re not gonna impeach the president of the United States. There just aren’t the votes there even if we believed that it was warranted.

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an interview with KFYI.

Well, I think there will probably be many candidates. I mean, I’m somebody who believes anybody can run.

— Hillary Clinton, in an interview with Fusion, on the 2016 presidential field.

They want to abolish age of consent laws, which means children would, we would do away with statutory rape laws so that adults will be able to freely prey on little children sexually. That’s the deviance that we’re seeing embraced in our culture today.

— Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), quoted by the Huffington Post, on what the gay community really wants.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“This is not going to be a win. And it’s not going to be a wave. It’s going to be a wipeout.”

— Democratic strategist Paul Begala, quoted by the New York Post.

“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.

Numerati

13%

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.