2014 - Page 72 of 98

Tea Party Support Continues to Fall

May 8, 2014May 8, 2014 Buck Banks

41%

Of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are supporters of the Tea Party, while 11% are opponents and 48% are neither, a new Gallup poll finds. That is a significant drop from the Tea Party’s high-water mark in November 2010, when 61% of Republicans were supporters.

Caught on Tape: Tea Party U.S. Senate Candidate Says GOP Must ‘Divide and Conquer’ By Pitting the Sick and Invalids against the Poor

May 7, 2014May 7, 2014 Jon Ponder

Despite what you read, N.C. Assembly Speaker Thom Tillis, who won the primary race in the U.S. Senate election yesterday, is not a Republican “establishment” candidate. Tillis is, in fact, a tea bagger of the first order, per PM Carpenter:

Tillis takes a second, reactionary pew to no man: he opposes a federally mandated minimum wage; he denies the science of climate change; he supported a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and further restrictions on a woman’s right to abortion; and of course as a NC prophet of national Republican totalitarianism, he just can’t get enough of voter suppression.

As Tillis kicks off his campaign to unseat Sen. Kay Hagan, a conservative Democrat, he already finds himself mired in controversy after being caught on tape suggesting that, in order to advance its war on the poor, the GOP must turn sick and invalided people who receive disability payments against poor people who rely on government assistance:

[…]

From the Right, They All Look Alike

May 6, 2014May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

asianmourner — Fox News: All sad Asians look alike.

Remember during the last presidential campaign when Mitt Romney was reaching out for the Hispanic vote and the Republican National Committee jumped in to help out with a Latino-oriented website that featured a stock photo of Asians instead of Latinos?

Well, it’s happened again. To Fox News.

Figuring one sad Asian is as good as another, Fox ran video of a grief-stricken woman mourning the Sherpas who died on Mount Everest in a story about the Sewol Korean ferry disaster. Koreans living in the United States could tell the difference, even if the bright lights at Fox couldn’t, and spoke up.

Fox News: Fair and Balanced — and Dumb as Rocks.

A Pointless Poll

May 6, 2014May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

CNN says the GOP leads by one point,
Putting upon it way too fine a point.
Is it just for the ratings
Or just Democrat baiting?
Really, CNN — what’s your point?

GOP Leads by One Point in Congressional Straw Poll

May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

46% to 45%

Margin by which Republicans lead the generic congressional ballot among registered voters, a new CNN/ORC International poll finds.

Lewinski: ‘My Boss Took Advantage of Me, But …’

May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.

— Monica Lewinsky, writing in Vanity Fair.

Barring Any Screw-Ups, Kerry Has 2.75 Years Left as SecState

May 6, 2014May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

I only have two years and three quarters left as the Secretary, provided I don’t screw up in the next few months.

— Secretary of State John Kerry, quoted by the Weekly Standard.

Republican Proposes Republicans Propose Solutions

May 6, 2014 Buck Banks

Instead of people talking about problems all the time, I think the better exercise is: If you don’t like it, what would you propose instead?”

— Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on the GOP opposition to Obamacare.

Perry: Execution ‘Botched,’ Not ‘Inhumane’

May 5, 2014 Buck Banks

I don’t know whether it was inhumane or not, but it was botched.

— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by The Hill, on Oklahoma’s trouble carrying out the death penalty last week for a convicted murderer.

Super Donor Avoids Meeting ‘Disappointing’ Candidates and Politicians

May 5, 2014 Buck Banks

I go out of my way to avoid meeting candidates and politicians. All too often, these people are so disappointing that it’s depressing. Most of these people you meet, they’re unemployable…. It’s just easier not to know.

41%

Of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are supporters of the Tea Party, while 11% are opponents and 48% are neither, a new Gallup poll finds. That is a significant drop from the Tea Party’s high-water mark in November 2010, when 61% of Republicans were supporters.

46% to 45%

Margin by which Republicans lead the generic congressional ballot among registered voters, a new CNN/ORC International poll finds.

Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.

— Monica Lewinsky, writing in Vanity Fair.

I only have two years and three quarters left as the Secretary, provided I don’t screw up in the next few months.

— Secretary of State John Kerry, quoted by the Weekly Standard.

Instead of people talking about problems all the time, I think the better exercise is: If you don’t like it, what would you propose instead?”

— Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, on the GOP opposition to Obamacare.

I don’t know whether it was inhumane or not, but it was botched.

— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by The Hill, on Oklahoma’s trouble carrying out the death penalty last week for a convicted murderer.

I go out of my way to avoid meeting candidates and politicians. All too often, these people are so disappointing that it’s depressing. Most of these people you meet, they’re unemployable…. It’s just easier not to know.

— GOP super donor John Jordan, quoted by National Journal.

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.