2015 - Page 63 of 102

Koch Brothers Might Spread Support Among Five GOP Candidates

April 23, 2015 Buck Banks

5

Number of GOP presidential hopefuls who might be recipients of the Koch brothers’ largesse in the primaries, including Gov. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush and senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, Charles Koch told USA Today.

Cruz: Obama’s Not a ‘Distaster’ Because He was a Senator

April 23, 2015 Buck Banks

Obama is not a disaster because he was a senator. Obama is a disaster because he’s an unmitigated socialist, what he believes is profoundly dangerous, and he’s undermined the Constitution and the role of America in the world.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), saying that the only reason that pundits say the GOP needs to run a governor for president, not a senator, wi that “most of the establishment moderates” in the field were governors, reports David Weigel.

GOP Now Fears Backlash from ‘Sad Sack Stories’ about People Dying If Supreme Court Kills Obamacare Subsidies

April 23, 2015 Jon Ponder

The Supreme Court will rule as early as June on a Republican lawsuit seeking to revoke subsidies provided by the Affordable Care Act to cover the cost of health-insurance premiums for low-income workers. If the court rules in the Republicans’ favor in King v. Burwell, more than 7 million Americans will be forced to cancel private health insurance coverage paid for, in part or in whole, with government subsidies.

SEN. RON JOHNSON: [Pres. Obama will] have the ads all racked up with the individuals that have benefited from Obamacare on the backs of the American taxpayer. He’ll have all those examples as well so…

RADIO HOST JAY WEBER: And the sad sack stories about who’s dying from what and why they can’t get their coverage.

JOHNSON: Right.

The suit is based on a line of poorly constructed language in the ACA that suggests subsidies are only available from state-run insurance exchanges. The problem is that in 2010 — as a partisan gambit to hobble the Obamacare rollout — about 30 governors, mostly Republicans, opted not to stand up state exchanges thereby forcing their constituents to purchase insurance from federal exchanges. Because their subsidies do not come from state exchanges, it’s these low-income, mostly red-state workers, who will lose their insurance if Republicans prevail in King v. Burwell.

A few Republicans in Congress seem to be waking up to the fact that they could face unintended consequences if the Supreme Court rules in their favor. Sen. Ron Johnson, a tea partyist from Wisconsin who is up for reelection next year, may have spoken for many of his co-ideologues during an interview with right-wing radio host Jay Weber in Milwaukee last week:

[…]

Because a Mistake is Not an Error Until We Refuse to Correct It

April 22, 2015 Trish

It’s worth your time to watch this on Earth Day or any day.

Clinton Wants to ‘Reshuffle the Deck’ on the Wealthy

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

The deck is stacked in their favor. My job is to reshuffle the cards.

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the New York Times, on the nation’s wealthiest citizens.

Ailes Gives Cruz a Back-Handed Endorsement

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

Listen, we elected Warren G. Harding. Anybody has a chance. You don’t know who you’re going to be running against. If the other guy falls on his rear end, you could win.

— Roger Ailes, quoted by the Hollywood Reporter, on Sen. Ted Cruz’s chances of securing GOP presidential nomination.

Iowa Is Still Up for Grabs

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

16%

Jeb Bush’s lead over the GOP pack in Iowa, followed by Scott Walker at 13%, Marco Rubio at 12%, Rand Paul at 9%, Ben Carson at 9%, Mike Huckabee at 8% and Ted Cruz at 6%, according to a new Gravis Marketing poll in Iowa.

McCain All But Calls Cruz a Liar

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

I was fascinated to hear that, since I haven’t heard a thing about it from him, nor has my staff heard from his staff.

— Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), denying reports that “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is pushing him to hold hearings exploring whether soldiers should be able to carry concealed guns on military bases,” the Huffington Post reports.

Trump’s Not a Fiorina Fan

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

We have a woman running who got fired from a company; now she’s running for president. She got fired from a company in a vicious manner. They eventually walked her out. And she also lost an election, not by a little bit, by a landslide. I won’t use names. Now I turn on the television, and she’s running for president. I don’t know.

— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, talking about Carly Florina.

Hillary Talks About What GOP Is Talking About

April 21, 2015 Buck Banks

5

Number of GOP presidential hopefuls who might be recipients of the Koch brothers’ largesse in the primaries, including Gov. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush and senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, Charles Koch told USA Today.

Obama is not a disaster because he was a senator. Obama is a disaster because he’s an unmitigated socialist, what he believes is profoundly dangerous, and he’s undermined the Constitution and the role of America in the world.

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), saying that the only reason that pundits say the GOP needs to run a governor for president, not a senator, wi that “most of the establishment moderates” in the field were governors, reports David Weigel.

The deck is stacked in their favor. My job is to reshuffle the cards.

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the New York Times, on the nation’s wealthiest citizens.

Listen, we elected Warren G. Harding. Anybody has a chance. You don’t know who you’re going to be running against. If the other guy falls on his rear end, you could win.

— Roger Ailes, quoted by the Hollywood Reporter, on Sen. Ted Cruz’s chances of securing GOP presidential nomination.

16%

Jeb Bush’s lead over the GOP pack in Iowa, followed by Scott Walker at 13%, Marco Rubio at 12%, Rand Paul at 9%, Ben Carson at 9%, Mike Huckabee at 8% and Ted Cruz at 6%, according to a new Gravis Marketing poll in Iowa.

I was fascinated to hear that, since I haven’t heard a thing about it from him, nor has my staff heard from his staff.

— Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), denying reports that “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is pushing him to hold hearings exploring whether soldiers should be able to carry concealed guns on military bases,” the Huffington Post reports.

— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, talking about Carly Florina.

I think it’s worth noting that Republicans seem to be talking only about me. I don’t know what they’d talk about if I weren’t in the race.

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by Politico.

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.