Sarah Palin is so desperate to convince people not to watch “Game Change,” the HBO movie about her disastrous run as the vice presidential nominee in 2008, that her PAC created a spoof of the movie’s trailer.
Let’s hope “Game Change” — which premieres on Saturday, March 11 — gets big ratings and that its principals, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson all win Emmys.
Video from second presidential debate in 2008, in which candidate Obama promises, “We will kill Osama bin Laden.” See transcript below.
On Monday, Joe Scarborough, the host of MSNBC’s three-hour GOP spin-a-thon, “Morning Joe,” used the occasion of the killing of Osama bin Laden at the direction of Pres. Obama to smear the patriotism of liberal Americans:
SCARBOROUGH: Here, you know, I think Republicans should stand up and certainly salute Barack Obama for making some — again, for making some very tough choices that his own base did not want him to make. That takes courage, that takes leadership, and we saw the results of that courage and leadership saying no to his own base yesterday.[…]
[These are] decisions that he probably did not believe as a candidate he didn’t think he’d have to make…Going against his own ideological leanings to do what he believes he has to do.
Of course, Scarborough offered no evidence that American progressives opposed killing the world’s most-wanted terrorist — he couldn’t, because none exists. He was simply pushing the same old GOP B.S. that Democrats — whose party led the nation during World War II — are soft on security and defense.
Also on Monday, Andrew Sullivan, a center-right independent, published a round-up of snippets of opinion from civil libertarians and liberals about the death of bin Laden. While there was some criticism about the riskiness of the action — that it could lead to a rise in blood-thirsty nationalism at home, for example — no one in Sully’s representative sample regretted the fact that bin Laden’s life had not been spared. Among those Andrew cited, Digby nailed it, as usual:
“I would rather he had been here and it was still his seat, you know? That’s what I really wish.”
— Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), in answer to a supporter who asked him what Sen. Paul Wellstone would have said after listening to one of Franken’s first speeches as a senator. Wellstone was killed in a plane crash in 2002 during his campaign against Norm Coleman, whom Franken defeated in 2008.
“I just congratulated Al Franken on his victory. I told him it’s the best job he’ll ever have representing Minnesota in the United States Senate. The Supreme Court has spoken, I will respect its decision, and abide by its results.”
— former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), finally doing the right thing and conceding the 2008 Senate race.
Today’s the day in Minnesota: we might have a new Democratic Senator in Al Franken. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s Arjun Jaikumar is live blogging and twittering from inside the courtroom where Sen. Norm Coleman’s challenge of a ruling favorable to Franken is being heard. Tune in for what appears to be some good stuff for our side:
10:04: Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg: We’re making due-process and equal-protection claims. Admits the due-process claim came only recently. “You changed the rules after the game was played”. Ha ha ha.
10:08: Justice Anderson: “Why is this offer of proof not inadequate?” Ouch.
10:14: Not an auspicious start for Friedberg. The justices seem very impatient and unimpressed…
10:24: Justice Anderson: “As loud as you speak on this issue, there’s language here you just can’t overcome”.
10:25: Marc Elias is on for Team Franken. He is one handsome devil.
10:32: Team Franken lays down numbers, coldly and efficiently. There are fewer disputed ballots where voter wasn’t registered than the margin between the two candidates.
MSNBC reports that both George Bush and Dick Cheney have canceled their appearances at the Republican National Convention because of the likelihood that hurricane Gustav would be coming ashore on the Gulf Coast near New Orleans on Monday at around the same time they were scheduled to speak in St. Paul.
The White House is apparently terrified that news channels would televise Bush’s speech on a split screen with live footage of people stranded in flood waters, as evacuees were in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
The McCain campaign is undoubtedly relieved by the cancellations. While Bush and Cheney remain popular with the hardcore extremist base of the GOP, they are extremely unpopular with regular Americans, which means that featuring them the convention could dampen support for the GOP ticket among independent voters in November.
As the campaign manager for the presidential bid of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Kent Snyder received a lot of credit for raising $35 million from grassroots supporters, a phenomenal accomplishment for an insurgent campaign.
But, like 48 million other Americans, Snyder had no health insurance, and when he died from pneumonia on June 26 after a two-month hospital stay, he left medical bills totaling over $400,000.
It is emblematic of our age that Snyder’s boss, Rep. Paul, is a physician.
The story comes from the Washington Blade[that link is now inactive, here is an excerpt from the story published in the Daily Paul, a Paulestinian propaganda site – Editors, Sept. 14, 2011]:
Gay staffers from the Paul campaign, some speaking on condition that they not be identified, said they learned about Snyder’s unpaid medical bills from a web site created by his friends that calls on Paul supporters to contribute to a special fund to help Snyder’s family pay the bills, which come mostly from a two-month hospitalization. So far, the site (kentsnyder.com) has raised about $32,000.
Trump’s cheated multiple times on multiple wives, it’s true.
He’s cheated the Tax Man out of millions, not just a few.
But just when you thought
There was something that couldn’t be bought,
Turns out he cheats at golf (only at his own courses), too.
“He’s never won a championship at a course he doesn’t own and operate. He’s played in Pebble Beach, he’s played in the Tahoe one, where there are rules and judges and cameras. And in those, he’s never finished in the top half. So he wins when anybody who disagrees that he won is out of the club. That’s how he gets it.”
— Sportswriter Rick Reilly called BS on Donald Trump after the former president declared himself the winner of both the club championship and senior club championship at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida, the HuffPost reports.
“RFK was never a serious threat to win a lot of votes, but with each passing day his candidacy looks increasingly like a dagger pointed at the heart of MAGA. And his choice of running mate is wild. … Yesterday, Kennedy announced that his VP will be Nicole Shanahan, who isn’t just the least-qualified, most preposterous character ever to appear on a presidential ticket polling above 5 percent. She’s also going to be catnip to a particular kind of low-intensity Trump voter.”
“And this is very important and very important to me. I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul. …. We’ve lost religion in our country. All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many, it’s my favorite book, it’s a lot of people’s favorite book. This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion. Religion is so important, it’s so missing.”
— Donald Trump is celebrating Easter by selling copies of his latest product, the God Bless the USA Bible, for $59.99 each.
“Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear. It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be.”
— Donald Trump made fun of Ronna McDaniel after NBC News ended its contract with her following an internal uproar across the company, The Hill reports.
President Biden’s campaign slammed Donald Trump as “weak and desperate – both as a man and a candidate for president.” The statement continued: “He spent the weekend golfing, the morning comparing himself to Jesus, and the afternoon lying about having money he definitely doesn’t have. His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda.” It concludes: “America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”
“Donald Trump’s idea to implement a 10% tariff on all imported goods would spike prices by as much as $1,500 annually for American families,” Semafor reports. “Published by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the report estimates that yearly costs would rise by $90 for food, $90 for pharmaceutical drugs, and $120 oil-related products like gasoline.
Punchbowl News: “Congress approved more than $71 million in earmarks for lawmakers who voted against the most recent minibus spending bill, according to a Punchbowl News analysis. This is a prime example of what former Speaker Nancy Pelosi says: They voted no but took the dough. We have a simple spreadsheet of the lawmakers who landed projects and then voted against the $1.2 trillion spending package.”
In a head-to-head presidential election match up, a new Quinnipiac poll finds President Biden leading Donald Trump nationally, 48% to 45%. When the match up is expanded to include independent candidates, Trump edges Biden, 39% to 38%, with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at 13%, Jill Stein at 4% and Cornel West at 3%. Pollster Tim Malloy: “Way too close to call on the head-to-head and even closer when third party candidates are counted. The backstretch is months away and this is about as close as it can get.”
A new Fox News poll finds 59% of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022. Voters oppose a 15-week ban by 11 points (54% oppose vs. 43% favor), which is in direct contrast with results in 2023 when it was favored by 12 points (42% oppose vs. 54% favor).
“President Joe Biden has gained ground against Republican Donald Trump in six of seven key swing states, and significantly so in at least two of them. The results make for the Democrat’s strongest position yet in a monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. …. The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan.”