Tag: Republican Lies
Despite Joe Scarborough’s Smear, Liberals Voted Solidly for Obama After He Promised, ‘We Will Kill bin Laden’
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:
Hey Paul Ryan, How’s That Ax-y Medicare-y Thing Workin’ Out for Ya?
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s constituents showed they are much smarter than he thinks they are. They aren’t buying the latest iteration of trickle-down, voodoo economics. And when he persisted in trying to get them to see it his way, they booed him. Let this be a warning to other tea bag Republicans who underestimate us. You need to throw out new red meat. We aren’t swallowing the old stuff.
Do Tax Cuts Work? Former Sen. Bob Graham Shows That in Florida They Didn’t
“We’re broke” is the meme Republicans and tea baggers cite when they claim tight budgets force us to reshape social policies, such as collective bargaining agreements, or to siphon public funds and redirect resources to corporations only too happy to pocket the largesse.
In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott, with full support of the Republican legislature, is using “we’re broke” to justify everything from deregulating nail salons to defunding services that save taxpayers money, like group homes for the developmentally disabled.
To Rick Scott and the Republicans, government is a weapon best used to punish enemies and intimidate friends. The only goal is to protect and shore up their interests.
Former Democratic Gov. and Sen. Bob Graham knows whether the emperor has clothes. He shows that tax cuts, rather than improving the business climate, are moving Florida away from its goals.
Before you read further, please note that Florida has no state income tax for its residents, and that Jeb Bush was governor from 1999 to 2007, followed by Republican Charlie Crist, and now Republican/Tea Bagger Rick Scott. Republicans have held a majority of both chambers of the Florida legislature since 1994.
…Since 1999 there has been a stream of tax reductions to make the state more attractive for investment. Absent these cuts, state revenue in 2011 would be $4 billion greater. This would have avoided the need for the deep cuts now being considered by the Legislature.
The stunning truth is that on virtually all fronts — the Legislature, the executive budget office, academics — there has been a failure to subject these cuts to the basic question: Did they work?
Bush Signed Light Bulb Rules
Republican Tea Partiers in Congress, like Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), insist that energy rules setting higher standards for, among other things, light bulb efficiency are proof of a “nanny state,” evinced by First Lady Michelle Obama speaking against childhood obesity.
Pres. Obama is blamed for “dictating” that Americans must use compact fluorescent light bulbs but a) Obama is not to blame, and b) no one is dictating any such thing.
- The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush
- Nothing in the act bans the use of incandescent bulbs or requires they be replaced with compact fluorescents. The act does increase efficiency standards on all bulbs
- The U.S. Energy Department projects higher standards will save money for both families and businesses
- Independent observers have seen no evidence of constituents lobbying members of Congress to “save incandescent bulbs”
Despite ‘Small Government’ Campaign Spin, GOP Tea Party in Power Produces Big, Intrusive Authoritarian Programs
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On her MSNBC show last night, Rachel Maddow took an in-depth look at the stark contrast between Republicans’ campaign rhetoric about limited government and what they actually do when they gain power, which is to use the government to curtail the rights of the citizenry.
The prime example of this today is union-busting:
MADDOW: Your freedom to associate in this country is guaranteed by the Constitution, your freedom to join a union if you want to. But to the extent that the government can be used to limit that right of yours, Republicans in Wisconsin and in Ohio and in Indiana and in New Hampshire and in Florida and in Tennessee and in Oklahoma and in Nebraska, Republican governors and legislators in all these states all over the country are stretching the power of government to try to end that right of yours.
Beyond union-busting, the current crop of Republican governors have put their states on a forced march toward authoritarianism:
[…]
Republicans Continue to Justify Cuts in Programs They Hate — By Lying
To justify ending Florida’s Prepaid College program — the largest in the country — Republican state Sen. Evelyn Lynn claimed the popular plan is, “a huge liability — far larger than pension, far larger than most anything we have.”
Nationwide, Republicans and tea party members echo the cry that because tax revenues are down, programs they have long targeted must be cut. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R/Tea) is using the message to cut education funding and gut environmental and consumer protection laws.
But in this case, and so many others, Republicans are simply making stuff up to bolster their flimsy logic.
- The Florida Prepaid Tuition program has $10 billion in assets and $9.5 billion in liabilities
- For those able to do math, this means the program is running with a $500 million surplus
- Two years ago, Sen. Lynn herself floated the idea of raiding the Florida Prepaid plan to fund other initiatives
The Right’s Target List
This list was started on Twitter, by Peter Daou:
As I’ve said, the right’s target list speaks volumes: unions, scientists, academics, public broadcasters, health providers, women.
We can think of a few more.
- Gay people, especially those in long-term, loving relationships who want to marry and/or adopt children
- Veterans, once they’ve been injured, maimed, or traumatized in defense of our country
- Children, when they are out of the womb and require food, health care, or education
- People who adhere strictly to religious faiths, unless it’s Christianity
- Anyone who wasn’t born an American citizen but yearns to become one
- Doctors who want to protect children from accidental shootings
- Mass transit, renewable energy, and anything else that does not involve paving more land for more cars and SUVs
We’ll stop now but please keep this list going. What else do Republicans, tea partiers, and the right want to get rid of?
