Tag: Republicans

Bachmann Pushes Corn Dog Envelope

Trish

BachmannCorndog

So I took a fair amount of heat for suggesting that Michele Bachmann might not want to wear a plunging neckline that exposes lots of her chestal area while working crowds. You know, all that leaning forward to shake hands, pinch baby cheeks, and squeeze the shoulders of wheelchair users and what-not.

But we are now entering unimagined territory. A FOOT-LONG CORN DOG? Really, Michele Bachmann? And we are supposed to gaze at this action shot and simply say, “Huh. Looks like a good corn dog. That’s all I see.”

O.K., I’ll try to only see a corn dog and not see a person with a serious lack of imagination about how a foot-long corn dog being inserted into a woman’s open mouth while she reaches to grasp it with two hands might look. I will also try not to see a person who should never, ever, ever be president.

What Should Obama Do? Any Ideas?

Trish

ObamaA lot of people aren’t happy with the state of American government right now and many blame Pres. Obama. On our team, we say that he should be more aggressive, more assertive, more…something.

But the only ideas we came up to win the debt ceiling battle were things that would have fueled the claims of birthers and others that his presidency is illegitimate – things like having the Treasury forge a magic coin that would cover the difference or use the Constitution’s 14th Amendment in a way unsupported by precedent and that would have ensured an impeachment drive from Republicans.

The absence of practical solutions was painfully clear on a recent segment of the Diane Rehm Show that focused on riots in England and related European economic problems. Kenneth Lieberthal of The Brookings Institution and former Clinton administration National Security Council member expressed progressives’ frustrations well but ran out of steam when reminded of Republican realities. So did Scheherazade Rehman, professor of International Business/Finance and International Affairs at George Washington University. Even a caller to the show resorted to the classic political candidate’s move of answering the question you prefer to be asked.

All three fell to Rehm’s query: “What can President Obama do?”

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Some of Romney’s Best Friends are Corporations

Trish

Corporations are people, my friend.

Mitt Romeny, pretty boy rich guy Mormon Republican presidential candidate, explaining to an Iowa State Fair goer why corporate profits shouldn’t be taxed to help pay for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Romney was the recent recipient of $1 million from a donor who incorporated in order to avoid being personally identified, made the gift, then unincorporated. Such moves are legal under the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

Rick Scott’s Unintended Consequences

Trish

8,418

Number of Florida public workers filing to enter the five-year phased retirement process known as DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) after Gov. Rick Scott (Tea/GOP) signed a bill requiring them to contribute to their own pension plans. The figure is more than double last year’s, when 4,157 signed up, and means that Florida will lose senior public employees in record amounts in coming years.

A Double Blessing

Trish

Gov. Rick Scott is not only living the idea of being a conservative Republican, but he’s also a blessing to our party.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, introducing Florida’s governor at planning sessions in Tampa for the 2012 RNC convention. Democrats listening to Priebus call the Republican Florida governor – whose latest approval ratings are at 35% – a blessing for his party immediately thought, “And for ours, too.”

Bitter Friday Fun Break

Trish

nfl-football-debt-ceiling-s

Time to laugh in the final hours of life as we knew it before Congress said, “Hold my hand. We’re jumping!” and took us all over the cliff of welshing on America’s debt, which they — Republicans included — authorized when they voted to spend all that money. As we call our collective Visa companies, we say, “You know all those restaurants I already ate at, and all the Netflix I already watched, and oh yeah, that big ol’ car repair bill I already used my card to pay for? Well I don’t want any of it now and I’m not going to pay for it. See ya!” We will pass the time waiting for Visa’s response by futilely contacting our elected officials and then blaming it all on Pres. Obama. Happy times.

Another GOP Big Lie: Only the Rich – Not Middle Class and Poor – Pay Taxes

Jon Ponder

chart-taxes-paid-by-poor-middle-classIn their desperation to ensure that taxes are not raised on their corporate sponsors, Republicans have been successful in convincing their followers, as well as their poodles in the corporate media, that only the rich — not the poor and middle class — pay taxes.

That is not just a lie — it is a big lie. Via Andrew Sullivan:

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If You Don’t Know About ALEC, You Don’t Know What’s Really Going On

Trish

Whether you live where “Koch brothers schemes get turned into the bat-$#*@ crazy legislation that just happens to pop up, seemingly out of nowhere, in virtually identical form, in 15 states at once,” you’ll want to know about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. This corporate-funded shadow group is transforming our country, and not in a good way. Watch the video for just one example: privatizing prisons. And remember, although it’s not pointed out in the video, private prisons only want the low-risk, high-profit population. As with health care and Social Security, they want to skim the profitable folks off the top and leave the sickest, the oldest, and, in case of private prisons, the baddest-assed to the government.

Scott’s Law is Likely to Increase Crime in Florida

Trish

3,406

Number of Florida non-violent felons who re-offended after their rights were automatically restored under a program instituted by former Gov. Charlie Crist. They represent about 11 percent of the 30,672 people whose rights, including the right to vote, were reinstated. Before Crist launched the initiative, about one-third of prisoners released were back in jail within three years. The results lead criminologists and others to conclude that encouraging offenders to reintegrate into society makes them less likely to commit further crimes. Gov. Rick Scott recently signed Republican-drafted legislation overturning this automatic process, and requiring felons who have served their time to wait five years before applying to have their rights restored.