Palin Gets $100K for Magazine Photo

By GottaLaff

Via Taegan and Gryphen we see how Barbie McLipSchmutz finally quit worrying (yes, yet another thing she quit) about exploiting her kids. Whew! For a minute there, I was worried about all of Babzie's worrying, which was becoming quite worrisome.

How nice for her that she and her daughter can relax and revel in their brand spankin' fat new bank statements:

Sarah Palin and her daughter, Bristol, "earned an eye-popping $100,000 for their new In Touch Weekly cover, "the New York Post reports.

"For just eight hours' work at her own home, Palin pocketed nearly as much as her $125,000-a-year salary as Alaska governor. It seems her decision to quit her political role is making big financial sense. Palin also reportedly earns $100,000 per public-speaking engagement, while she has a multiyear deal as a Fox News Channel analyst. Reps for the magazine and Palin refused to comment on the deal."

Tripp, Trigg, Trak, Truck, Trek, Drek, Heck. They're all just one big happy family living off of their Paris Hiltonesque fame.

All Bristol had to do was give birth and stand next to her mom at conventions and such.

All Barbie had to do was talk about Bristol giving birth, speak in tongues, fail at potential Veepitude, acquire an odd accent that doesn't represent Alaska, talk about her lipstick, forget O'Biden's real last name, incite hatred, have her ghost writer write, and then charge a whole bunch of money for talking incessantly about all of that and other stuff.

The family that exploits together is maladroit together.

VIDEO: Scott Brown's Lawyer Refused to Answer Question on Not Providing Health Coverage To Campaign Staff

By GottaLaff

Previously, I posted about whether or not Scotty Brown provided his campaign staff with health care coverage.



But when asked directly, his lawyer blew off questions about it:

Scott Brown's lawyer, Dan Winslow, refuses to answer question about Scott Brown not providing health coverage to his campaign staff and failing to pay payroll taxes at Mass. GOP headquarters press conference.

So why all the secrecy?

Dear GOP: Scott Brown is pro-choice

By GottaLaff

Why hasn't there been a smear campaign about this, hmmm? Oh, that's right. If you're a Republican, anything goes:

Abortion

While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion. I also believe there are people of good will on both sides of the issue and we ought to work together to support and promote adoption as an alternative to abortion.

Apparently Rushpublic centerfolds get a pass.

RedState trying to jam Coakley phone banks

By GottaLaff

UPDATE: Republicans were prosecuted for doing this in 2002. (thanks for tweeting me the link, Bob Cesca)

The antics never end, do they? First Brown files a criminal complaint against the Massachusetts Democrats, then a video surfaces of Brown implying that Obama was born out of wedlock, and now this:

Erick Erickson has posted the addresses of Coakley phone banks at redstate.com. [...]

the comments make various suggestions to show up and disrupt the phone banks. A couple of examples:

Jot down there callback number… put it on autodial…
Reminisce about “the good old days”…
Ask about their grandkids and family and ask if they’re voting for coakley… are any of them in the military? Why not? What’s wrong with that…
when they eventually hang up start calling them back on autodial to talk…

Anyone have access to any robocall setups?
just a thought… Off to conventionland again in AM… Good luck up North next Tuesday-don’t forget to be ready to call shenanigans etc...

and

Post callers numbers so we all can call them back. We can tie them up more!

Please read the whole thing over at Kos.

As I said in my last post, and at the risk of sounding redundant, classy stuff. The question is, what is the Coakley campaign going to do about it?

VIDEO: Scott Brown wondered if Obama was born out of wedlock

By GottaLaff

Brown is all class, isn't he? Earlier I posted about his filing a criminal complaint against the Massachusetts Democrats, most likely because he thinks he smells momentum. Actually, he smells, period.

Then, via AMERICAblog, we watch him try to slime President Obama and his mother (more details here). This was recorded during the 2008 Republican National Convention:



I'd love to see him say that to President Obama's face when he shows up tomorrow to support Martha Coakley. I'll bet that little smirk would fade quickly.

Scott Brown Files Criminal Complaint against MassDems

By GottaLaff

Gloves? What gloves? They're so criminal complaint ago:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 16, 2010 617-335-8333

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR TODAY

Dan Winslow, counsel for the Scott Brown for U.S. Senate campaign, will hold a media availability to announce the filing of a criminal complaint against the Massachusetts Democratic Party regarding a recent mailing paid for and sent by the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Winslow will make a statement and take reporters' questions at MassGOP Headquarters in Boston TODAY at 4:00 PM.

Massachusetts GOP Headquarters
85 Merrimac Street, 4th Floor
Boston.

This is getting way too messy:

Republican Senate hopeful Scott Brown has filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission after a report that a union backing rival Martha Coakley used state resources to urge workers to volunteer for Coakley's campaign.

The report by FOX25 said the Service Employees International Union used state computers and e-mail addresses to direct state employees to volunteer for Coakley, the Democratic state attorney general.

Coakley is referring questions to the attorney general. (corrected)

Brown is none too happy about this mailer, either.

H/t: Hippie_Cyndi

Porn again

By GottaLaff

The Mudflats has a poll for you to take. The premise is basically, porn is in the eye of the beholder.

I won't reveal more than that. Go here.

Meantime, here is an excerpt separate from the poll portion of the Mudflats post, although it is XXX rated.

Why is it? Because it's a quote from the Sean Hannity show about Scott Brown by Barbie McLipSchmutz. That's a triple X if I ever saw one.

The following Barbie quote is not suitable for children:

“It’s going to send a very strong message that the status quo, even in Massachusetts, the status quo of just accepting the big growth of government and health care takeover measures that it seems capital hill wants to cram down our throats today things are gonna start changing thank god things are gonna start changing, but even and I would love to be able to at some point interview “Senator Brown.” I anticipate victory there, but even if he doesn’t win already poll numbers showing that his message is resonating and his message is just, you know, common sense conservative values, principles, solutions, being plugged in to meet the challenges facing america today. People in his state they’re listening to him and are getting excited about this dynamic candidate.”

I don't believe in censorship or I'd have redacted parts all of her endless ramblings.

She really should think about going back to her Run-On Sentence Anonymous meetings. She needs help. Badly.

"Undersecretary of Go F - - - Yourself"

By GottaLaff

Lynn Sweet has a piece on Rahm Emanuel. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have attracted my attention, but some of the quotes were eye-catching.

On stress:

"I don't sleep through the night. No. Well, you can't [...] I am not sure in Congress I slept either. This is a lot more stressful because of where you sit, it just is."

On choices:

"In the White House, the choices you make are between bad and worse, and they are usually on a time frame of essential and immediate."

On the Medicare price negotiation flip-flop:

While he has been chief of staff, the White House cut a deal with drug companies not to allow Medicare price negotiations. And Emanuel watched as a drug import plan was blocked from the health-care reform bill in order to win a crucial Senate vote. "It was a way of getting that done," he said. He added he would not deny there was a "level of irony" in the situation.

On the dead fish tale:

All those profiles about Emanuel sending a dead fish to a consultant are the product of "people doing lazy stuff, in my view, in reporting."

On changing, which he attributes to being a father:

"I'm more open to hearing from other people than I would have been before."

On sticking around through 2010 (he's not running for mayor or running for his old House seat, he says):

"But it is not drudgery. . . . I can't think of anything else I would rather do if you are in public policy at this particular point."

And at another particular point?

Now I'll wait for all the negative comments to pour in. They always do when Rahm is mentioned.

Call for Coakley!

By GottaLaff

I get e-mails:



The race for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts is coming down to the wire.

And if Martha Coakley loses, her opponent could be that final Senate obstructionist the Republicans need to defeat health reform and the rest of President Obama's agenda.

We need to do everything we can to make sure voters know how important their vote for Coakley is -- and that they get to the polls Tuesday.

So I need you to keep calling voters in Massachusetts -- or start today if you haven't yet. Click here to log-in and start making calls.

And this time, we're going to do it a little differently.

On Sunday, supporters from around the country will call in to a national conference call.

We'll recognize the top callers from today (Saturday), talk about what we're about to do, get the lay of the land from some folks in Massachusetts right now, and set some big goals for each other.

And then we'll get calling.

Can you join us for a conference call at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 17th, followed by a round of calls to Massachusetts?

It'll be a fun way to start our calling off with others around the country -- and it could well make the difference in the fight for health reform.

The call-in Number is (712) 432-0075, and the participant code is 404-284.

Please sign up for your call, and submit any questions you'd like:

http://ma.barackobama.com/MAn2nCall

Let's finish this,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America

P.S. -- There will also be a conference call at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. You can sign up for whichever is more convenient for you here: http://ma.barackobama.com/MAn2nCall

Justice Department Intervenes In Gay Rights Suit For First Time In A Decade

By GottaLaff

This is a good example of why it matters who you support/vote for in any election, and why it is vital that you vote, period:

Yesterday, for the first time in a decade, the Justice Department intervened in a gay rights suit. In August, an openly gay 14-year-old student named Jacob — with the help of the ACLU — sued the Mohawk Central School District in upstate New York because officials “did not appropriately respond to relentless harassment, physical abuse and threats of violence” that Jacob received because of his sexual orientation. NPR reported on some of the harassment to which Jacob alleges he was subjected.

The heartbreaking details are here.

So are the heartening ones, including:

Under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department has had a dramatically different focus than it did during President Bush’s terms. While the Bush Justice Department was focused on installing political cronies, going after mythical voter fraud cases, and the suppression of minority voters while looking out for the voter disenfranchisement of whites. The Obama Justice Department, by contrast, recently announced that it would also start aggressively going after “banks and mortgage brokers suspected of discriminating against minority applicants in lending.”

"It doesn't matter if I vote. The candidates are interchangeable. Someone else will cancel out my vote anyway." Wrong.

This boy's life was changed because of who Americans elected. He knows the ObamAdministration is looking out for him. He won't feel quite as alone and helpless any more.

He may even feel optimistic that change is in the air, no matter how incrementally, and that there's reason for hope... all because enough people exercised their right to vote.

As frustrated as some of us may be with Obama, this is one time we can come together and unite behind him.

Satan's letter to Pat Robertson

By GottaLaff

When Pat Robertson blamed Haiti's pact with the devil for the earthquake, he struck a chord... a chord from hell in the key of hot.

The devil felt compelled to respond.

Satan's letter to Pat, in part:

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

You can read the rest here.

H/t: jazzcattrio

Sarah Palin possible guest at Daytona 500

By GottaLaff

Ofcourseyoubetcha don'tchaknow andhowmoreover, Barbie McLipSchmutz requested a credential for the Daytona 500 also too. It will no doubt be the first time she's been credentialed to do anything.

What's a Daytona to do?

“Let’s showcase her just like we would our Mayor or our Governor or anyone else,” DIS President Robin Braig said. “With NASCAR’s blessing we probably will see her at the driver’s meeting.” [...]

Last year’s Daytona 500 drivers meeting featured Tim Tebow, Tom Cruise and Keith Urban among its guests.

Barbie's speaking at an annual greater Daytona Chamber dinner in a few days, too. Wowzers, she's bi-Daytonal!

As for showcasing her, she does a dandy job of that all by herself. "Looka-me!" should be the name of her ghost writer's next Facebook blog entry, which can be turned into a book, which can springboard her (or her ghost writer) into yet another bid for whatever she feels she can quit the fastest.

As Andy Marquis just said to me:

"Perfect arrangement for Palin to do another TV interview. The Daytona 500 is on FOX."

H/t: Andy Marquis

Reports: Blackwater is "protecting" in Haiti

By GottaLaff

For those readers who aren't on Twitter, this comes to us via Jeremy Scahill:


Nice. Good. This should go a long way to improve their image. Why not just send Karl Rove out to defend President Obama's policies while they're at it?

And these thugs are on the government payroll why again? Oh, wait. I know. Our military is stretched tighter than Joan River's face.

Meanwhile, on his web site, Jeremy reports the welcome news that Jan Schakowsky is preparing legislation to ban Blackwater:

Schakowsky says Blackwater has “severely damaged the credibility and security of our military and harmed our relationship with other governments” [...]

As multiple scandals involving Blackwater continue to emerge almost daily, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is preparing to introduce legislation aimed at ending the US government’s relationship with Blackwater and other armed contracting companies.

You can read the whole thing, including Schakowsky's letter, here.

And good for her. That's long overdue.

If you need some background on who these criminals are, read my Blackwater for Dummeez primer here.

More "game changing" books coming

By GottaLaff

Just when you'd had enough of gossipy books like Game Change:

Bob Woodward and at least two other prominent political journalists, Jonathan Alter and Ryan Lizza, have similar books about the Obama administration coming out this year," Politico reports.

What a relief! There hasn't been enough media gossip about President Obama in the past two years.

These books should provide plenty of distraction from trivial matters like immigration reform, the economy, health care, Afghanistan, Pakistan... That stuff can get so dry and complex.

I can hear ClusterFox salivating from here. I wonder if Sarah Palin will have quit by then.

Axelrod Predicts Coakley Victory

By GottaLaff

Let's hope he's prescient:

White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod on Friday confidently predicted victory for embattled Massachusetts Democratic Senatorial candidate Martha Coakley, asserting voters in the end will make their choice on issues that have traditionally favored Democratic candidates in the state.

Details of Obama’s Coakley campaign visit

By GottaLaff

Too little too late, or a shot in the arm?

President Obama’s much anticipated campaign event Sunday for embattled Democratic Senate hopeful Martha Coakley will take place at 3 p.m. ET on the campus of Northeastern University, the White House announced late Saturday morning.

Get out the vote, Dems!

VIDEO: Obama, Bush & Clinton Stand Shoulder To Shoulder On Haiti Relief Funds

By GottaLaff

This covers most of the event:

"Rahm and Obama have turned you into a guilty, weak, self hating liberal"

By GottaLaff

(via)

Yesterday Paddy and I posted a piece called "Democrats Hate Success" that stirred things up a little, both here and on Twitter.

Below are some tweets I got from a fellow Democrat. I won't mention his name because my intention isn't to call him out specifically, or to butt heads, or provoke him into yet another uninvited argument by singling him out. This is not personal.

When I received these tweets, my responses were along the lines of, "I don't engage in fights on Twitter, thanks for your input, I agree with some of your points but not your methods, you're proving my point by name-calling", etc.

We often get baiting comments here at TPC, as well as on Twitter. I have no problem with anyone expressing his/her views, and as I told this tweeter, debate is healthy, but divisiveness is more destructive than helpful.

Let me expand slightly: Insults won't change anyone's mind. Hostility and name-calling alienate. The last thing our party needs is infighting. Express your views respectfully, stand up for your beliefs, but remain civil and accept that there are two sides to every argument.

And be accurate. Making faulty assumptions about someone else's point of view only antagonizes and/or causes disengagement, which, one would think, is not the desired effect.

Here are the tweets from yesterday, with only names removed:

You realize you're attacking Democrats, right? You support the "Cadillac tax"? Did you support it when McCain proposed it?

Bullies like [tweeter] LOVE it when you attack progressives. And you're making progressive policy seem like a wild dream.

It's not really respectful disagreement. And if you talk about 'how', please talk about the procress of this #hcr bill.

I think you're not seeing how Rahm and Obama have turned you into a guilty, weak, self hating liberal.

It's not name calling - Obama and Rahm have cowed you and others into attacking progressive positions and progressives.

Well, you know I'm fan of yours and like you. Please look at how the unions actually got some results. Wasn't by being quiet.

Well, it's true. One of the worst things about what Obama has done is the rift he's opened among progressives. It sucks.

[To a third party] Saying 'attacked' by @GottaLaff was a wrong choice of words. I think she's worn down by the whole thing.

I meant 'not your style' - I meant that you're not an attack person, that's all.

Others really got into it with him, but I don't enjoy fighting, especially when it's pointless. And the author of these tweets and I are still on good terms. Again, I'm not condemning his passion, I just don't see the value or effectiveness in his modus operandi.

Those of you who are regular readers realize I'm far from being worn down. He was right about my style, though. I save my attacks for snarky political posts, not personal ones on fellow Democrats.

So by baiting and presuming, he not only showed how little he knows me (how many times have I been called out in Comments for criticizing Obama?), but also made me want to dig my heels in more, not suddenly get an epiphany: "Gee whiz! He's right! I'm convinced! What could I have been thinking? I AM a guilty, weak, self-hating liberal! I see the light!"

I understand the frustration of so many current and former Obama supproters. What I don't understand is why anyone would feel that aligning themselves with Republicans is going to work to our advantage.

Mid Day Distraction

Video- "Pelosi Politburo emasculation": CNBC's Cramer predicts "gigantic rally off a Coakley loss"

Why anyone would pay attention to anything this ass says is beyond me. But, as is stated in the comments over at Media Matters-

Wow, and I thought Coakley didn't have a chance. Thank you, Jim Cramer, for your Amazing Opposite-Day Prophecies.

He does have a track record of being spectacularly wrong.

History teaching standards tilt to right for Texas high schoolers

Go read the whole article, it's just horrific.

AUSTIN – Texas high school students will have to learn about leading conservative groups from the 1980s and 1990s – but not about liberal or minority-rights groups – under U.S. history standards tentatively adopted by a politically divided State Board of Education on Friday.

The Republican majority on the board also gave a thumbs down to requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as well as leading Hispanic civil-rights groups such as LULAC and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Led by the board's social-conservative bloc, Republicans left Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the nation's first black justice, on the list of important figures that will have to be covered in history classes.

But they also added, on a 7-6 vote, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, the National Rifle Association, Moral Majority and the Heritage Foundation to the list of persons and groups that students will learn about.

How's this for a kick in the pants?

McCarthyism: Social conservatives pushed through an amendment that will require a more positive portrayal of Joseph McCarthy and his accusations that the U.S. government in the 1950s was infiltrated by Communists. McCarthy's tactics have been discredited by most historians.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Saturday Linkage

Mr Computer wanted to be difficult and sleep in today.

Arizona decides to close most state parks

US releases secret Bagram prisoner list

'Fire-dancing' chimps shed light on man's evolution, say scientists

Network flaw causes scary Web error

'Ice Comet' To Blame For Crashing Through Roof Of Home?

Recession Special: NASA cuts space shuttle price

The governor of the US-administered Northern Mariana Islands is feeling the heat after ordering the temporary release of a jailed suspect to give him a massage.

More moms bring home all the bacon

Video- President's Weekly Address: Getting Our Money Back from Wall Street

In MA-Sen Race That's All About Health Care, Is GOPer Brown Providing Coverage to Staff?

By GottaLaff

What? An ethical, caring, compassionate, Tea Baggy Republican stiffing his own staff? Why, Cheapy McLyington, what could you be thinking?

The campaign staffers helping Scott Brown for U.S. Senate are being paid as independent contractors rather than as employees and are responsible for paying their own taxes and, presumably, health care coverage. The contractors designation applies from the top tier to lower level staffers who appear to be doing grunt advance work for Brown events and handling volunteers and press.

The decision to treat staffers as independent contractors could save the campaign money on taxes and benefits, experts TPMDC spoke with said, although the precise rationale for the move remains unclear.

The full "explanation" is over at TPM.

Seems like a real swell guy, that Scotty. What a fine Kennedy replacement. Sure as shootin' he'd live up to Uncle Teddy's high standards and ideals.

That was hard to type, even as dripping sarcasm.

PhRMA pulling support from Health Care Reform?

By GottaLaff

Yeah, now tell us something that will surprise us:

The late afternoon news that PhRMA, the drug manufacturers lobby, will pull its support from Health Care Reform if it doesn't get further patent protections on its drugs is quite a commentary on the state of business in Washington today.

TPM has the details.

If you were waiting for them to screw us over, raise your hand.

Whew, just got a whoosh of air from all that arm movement.

Is America's Only Substantial Jobs Program the Military-Industrial Complex?

By GottaLaff

Your Daily Dose of BuzzFlash, via my friend Mark Karlin:

The reality is that right now the military-industrial complex is the government's biggest jobs program, starting with those "volunteer" GIs who join because they can't otherwise find a job. If the military didn't make wars to fight, and we needed a smaller size service, the government would have to deal with a higher unemployment rate at home. [...]

War and the military are our key domestic jobs programs at this point in time.

And they are going to drive us into bankruptcy: morally and economically.

You can read the rest right here.

Rep. Weiner: Payment to states last potential deal breaker for House Dems

By GottaLaff

Nobody said this would be easy:

Some House Democrats believe their states would get shortchanged in the overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system and the funding issue is fast becoming a major hurdle to getting a bill signed into law.

How much of a burden states would have to shoulder for a proposed Medicaid expansion is the latest friction point between the House and the Senate, and is threatening to blow a hole in the measure’s price tag. [...]

Lawmakers from these states and others are disgruntled because states that already offer more generous Medicaid coverage would be offered less additional assistance than states with relatively smaller programs. [...]

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) called it the last potential deal breaker from the perspective of House Democrats.

“It’s not so much a problem that Nebraska got [100 percent Medicare reimbursement],” he said. “We in the House thought everyone should get something like that, that we shouldn’t just expand Medicaid and then just cost shift it to the states. It would obviate everything we’re doing on stimulus and everything else by trying to relieve the burden on the states.” [...]

“There’s a general sense that we’re compromising a lot of stuff, that the White House is in favor of getting what they can as quickly as we can,” Weiner said.

He said that, in part, based on news of the possible loss of Vote #60, Martha Coakley.

Democrats acknowledged Friday that any agreement they reach in the coming days on the “overall bill” could sidestep politically difficult matters such as abortion and immigration provisions.

“There’s going to be follow-up meetings on those issues next week,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said, explaining that they were being put off in favor of working primarily on the main components of the bill. “Those issues need to be talked about on a member-to-member level.” [...]

Weiner said later that negotiations are “trending” toward the creation of a national health insurance exchange, as favored by the House over the state-based exchange in the Senate bill.

Who's on first?

Seriously, every time I think I've got a handle on the health care negotiations, I realize how behind I am.

Who's on third? I don't know.

I throw the ball to who. Whoever it is drops the ball and the guy runs to second. Who picks up the ball and throws it to What. What throws it to I Don't Know. I Don't Know throws it back to Tomorrow, Triple play. Another guy gets up and hits a long fly ball to Because. Why? I don't know! He's on third and I don't give a darn!

Abbott: What?

Costello: I said I don't give a darn!

Abbott: Oh, that's our shortstop.

And that's our health care reform... so far.

John Ensign Leads Possible Challengers

By GottaLaff

Remember when President Clinton was impeached? Remember when oral sex was grounds for that? Me too! Wasn't that special?

And remember how many kazillions of dollars were wasted on that little '90s witch hunt? What a blast!

But when a Rushpublic philanderer pays off his mistress and her family, allegedly violates campaign laws, and engages in a whole lot more than oral sex, his poll numbers are better than that of the very party he condemns for similar antics:

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Nevada shows scandal plagued Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) actually leading three hypothetical Democratic opponents.

Tom Jensen concludes: "Cheating on your wife is a deal breaker for Republican voters - but only if you're a Democrat."

IOIYAR*

*It's Okay If You're A Republican

No Coakley? Then Senate Can Pass Health With 51 Votes: Van Hollen

By GottaLaff

Before you jump to conclusions based on the blog title, Van Hollen says he expects Coakley to win. That said:

Even if Democrats lose the special election to pick a new Massachusetts senator Tuesday, Congress may still pass health-care overhaul through a process called reconciliation, a top House Democrat said. [...]

“Even before Massachusetts and that race was on the radar screen, we prepared for the process of using reconciliation,” Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said.

“Getting health-care reform passed is important,” Van Hollen said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. “Reconciliation is an option.”

Well, now, that's more like it

Scott Brown Voted Against Giving Help To 9/11 Recovery Workers

By GottaLaff

The Rushpublics like memes so much, let's give this one a go:

One month after the September 11th attacks, Scott Brown was one of only three Massachusetts State Representatives to vote against a bill to provide financial assistance to Red Cross workers who had volunteered with 9/11 recovery efforts, we’ve learned.

The Brown campaign acknowledged the vote to us, claiming the measure would have taxed already-strained state finances. [...]

DSCC spokesman Eric Schultz responds:

“On a day with Scott Brown bringing in Rudy Giuliani, he ought to give the people of Massachusetts an explanation as to why he voted against relief for 9/11 workers. We knew Scott Brown was a shill for Wall Street and corporate interests, but I cannot imagine what excuse he comes up with for this vote. He ought to be ashamed of himself and he ought to apologize to the Mayor of New York.”

How's that Noun, Verb, 9/11 thing going for you now, Rudy? Bringing Giuliani in to slam Coakley on terrorism should be enough to disqualify Brown from holding office. Bringing him on anything should prove Scotty's mental incompetence.

So should this lie about Democratic health care reform limiting mammograms and Pap tests.

Meme all that, okay Dems?

It should not be a close race. Coakley better pull this one out.

Axelrod blasts Rove

By GottaLaff

David Axelrod blasted Karl Rove, who bellowed that Democrats in Congress "will run up more debt by October than Bush did in eight years."

Them's fightin' words:

"During eight years in office, the Bush administration passed two major tax cuts skewed to the wealthiest Americans, enacted a costly Medicare prescription-drug benefit and waged two wars, without paying for any of it.... To put the breathtaking scope of this irresponsibility in perspective, the Bush administration's swing from surpluses to deficits added more debt in its eight years than all the previous administrations in the history of our republic combined. And its spending spree is the unwelcome gift that keeps on giving: Going forward, these unpaid-for policies will continue to add trillions to our deficit."

"There's an old saying that everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts. The next time Karl Rove would like to offer us some advice, I'd urge him to take that to heart."

Short version: Hey KKKarl, you guys f'ed up in an unprecedented way, you're a colossal liar, so shut your pig snouty pie hole.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas to retire

By GottaLaff

Another Blue Dog says so long, but the GOP will still not get control of the House. (UPDATE: Via an e-mail from Politico, "Snyder was one of the most vulnerable House Democrats up for re-election, with a public poll released today showing him trailing Republican challenger Tim Griffin by 17 points.")

Rep. Vic Snyder made the announcement today in the following statement:

“2010 will be a robust election year during which great forces collide to set the direction for our country for another two years. Over the last several weeks Betsy and I have had discussions with family and friends including other members of Congress (Rep. David Price, Rep. Susan Davis, and our own Sen. Mark Pryor) regarding the appropriate balance between family and Congressional service when a family has very young children. I have concluded that these election-year forces are no match for the persuasive and powerful attraction of our three one-year old boys under the leadership of their three-year old brother, and I have decided not to run for re-election. It is the greatest professional honor of my life to represent Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I am so grateful to the people of Arkansas to have had this wonderful opportunity. That honor will now pass to someone else at the conclusion of this term.”

“This decision has not been an easy one. Two weeks ago my campaign manager came on board, but that first morning I advised him to do nothing to begin the campaign because of my doubts regarding running. The onset of the new year, the time I always begin organizing my campaigns, did nothing to remove these doubts.”

“I have put very little thought into what the work side of my life will look like at the end of this term, although it is clear from observing how much our four little boys eat that I will be working for a long, long time.”

Haiti tragedy puts Kendrick Meek in spotlight

By GottaLaff

Let's give Meek some attention since nobody else is:

The earthquake in Haiti is drawing attention to the U.S. Senate candidate whose congressional district includes the most Haitian-Americans in the country: Kendrick Meek. [...]

As a sitting member of Congress who represents many Haitian-Americans and has visited the island a number of times, Meek is expected to be out front at this time. But as a Senate candidate, he has to be careful not to appear to be exploiting the disaster.

Meek's website is here.

H/t: Rawls

Pentagon Steps Up Talks on Ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By GottaLaff

Step up the stepping up, okay Pentagon?

The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama’s campaign pledge to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

The discussions, centered in a small group assembled by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are in preparation for a possible Senate hearing on the 1993 law this month.

"Possible" hearing? Why must it be only "possible"? Why can't it finally be a "probable" hearing, or an "impending" hearing? That was semi-rhetorical.

Now for the part that never fails to induce an eye roll:

Despite the uncertainty of timing, another military official said that the Department of Defense was beginning to look at the practical implications of a repeal — for example, whether it would be necessary to change shower facilities and locker rooms because of privacy concerns, whether to ban public displays of affection on military bases and what to do about troops who are stationed or make port calls in nations that outlaw homosexuality.

My eyes roll because of the antiquated mind sets and concerns of people, groups, and entire nations.

If straight men and women can (supposedly) resist giving in to impulses, why wouldn't gay men and women have the same ability? Why do homophobes and others continue to perceive Teh Gay as impetuous, licentious horndogs who apparently can't control themselves long enough to refrain from jumping anyone and everyone of their own gender?

The reality is, we need skilled men and women in the military, and DADT is impeding enlistments.

The reality is, there have been hetero sexual assaults galore in the military-- including contractors, as Al Franken pointed out-- but for whatever reason, the Pentagon has trivialized those, and instead has their night-visioned eagle eye focused on on man-on-man/woman-on-woman lust.

The reality is, it's 2010.

Time to grow up, wise up, man/woman up, and put an end to discrimination and discharges based on who somebody is attracted to.

GOP obstructionists try to block Dawn Johnsen again

By GottaLaff

We have the votes to confirm Dawn Johnsen at long last, but...

Subscription-only Roll Call has posted the following frustrating report. All we get is the excerpt:

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee called on Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to hold new hearings on Dawn Johnsen to become the new assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, arguing that the failed Christmas Day bombing and other events require the panel to hold fresh hearings on her nomination.

Bull. Pucky.

These despicable obstructionists are terrified:

[...] Johnsen--known for being a strong critic of Bush administration policies--[has] the power to pull back the veil on a number of government scandals.

Indeed she does. Cowards.

Yes, these people are cowardly fools, because rather than do what is right and healthy for this country, they're politicizing as usual. To hell with Americans, power plays are their sick priority.

I repeat: Bull. Pucky.

And I'm sick to death of it.

All previous posts regarding the obstruction of Dawn Johnsen's confirmation here.

VIDEO: Brown falsely suggests health reform will limit mammograms, pap smears

By GottaLaff

In case you missed this lie that was spat effortlessly from Scott Brown's mouth, who is in a tight race with Martha Coakley for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, here you go:



Same old cycle: ClusterFox perpetuates the lies, the public eats it up as truth, and Media Matters debunks it:

During the January 11 edition of her Fox News program, Greta van Susteren allowed Scott Brown, Republican Senate candidate for Massachusetts, advance the false suggestion that the health care reform bills would prevent women from receiving mammograms and pap smears.

For the truth (remember that?), go here.

Prop 8 Watch: The ideal marriage test

By GottaLaff

The L.A. Times had an editorial about the Proposition 8 trial that is underway as we speak. It addresses what they call "the marriage test", challenging the reasons for getting/staying married, and why they should be irrelevant in this landmark case:

In what ways would same-sex marriages be the same or different from heterosexual marriages? Answer: It's nobody's business. [...]

Same-sex couples shouldn't have to prove that their marriages would be as "normal" as those of heterosexuals or meet some kind of artificial bar -- a bar that many heterosexual couples fall short of -- for an ideal marriage. [...]

Some people wed for money or health benefits. In this town, some of them enter short-term marriages for the publicity. (You know who you are.) Teenagers barely old enough to vote marry despite the higher likelihood that they will divorce. Serial monogamists wed. There are couples who swap spouses, and those who live apart yet maintain their sense of affection and responsibility toward each other. Many a marriage, even those begun in love, ends up quirky at best and dysfunctional at worst. [...]

[H]omosexuals, who have long faced unreasoned hatred and abuse in many forms, are being singled out for the withholding of this basic societal right.

This was a long overdue argument that doesn't seem to be too prevalent on the Tee Vee Machine. The Times nailed it. The double standard is beyond ridiculous.

The idea that we have to take this case all the way to the Supremes is even more ridiculous. But take it we will.

I also ran across this piece, called "Into the Closet":

Has anyone noticed that now that lesbians and gay men have left the closet to assert their equal rights as citizens, their adversaries seem to be running for a closet of their own?

My observation is, of course, prompted by the success that opponents of same-sex marriage had this week in persuading the Supreme Court to bar cameras from the San Francisco courtroom where Proposition 8 is now on trial.

This case has more layers than The Boehner's spray tan.

Clean Air Act under attack

By GottaLaff

Below is an e-mail that someone forwarded to me. It's one that Al Gore sent out to Repower America, an initiative of his group, the Alliance for Climate Protection, which would like to get America off fossil fuels.

Their idea is energy efficiency + renewable generation + Unified Smart Grid = 100% clean electricity eventually.

Here is a link to the petition.

Gore is coming awfully close to calling Lisa Murkowski corrupt, pointing out her collaboration with lobbyists to attack the Clean Air Act.

Read it for yourself. Ouch:

From: "Al Gore, Repower America" <info@repoweramerica.org>
Date: January 12, 2010 3:25:39 PM EST
To:
Subject: Clean Air Under Attack

Dear , It's an outrage. 2010 should start in a way that reflects our movement's amazing accomplishments from last year -- moving the ball forward to passage of comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. Instead, our elected leaders are proposing policies that would set us back decades and let the worst polluters completely off the hook. Despite the chorus of alarm bells sounding the need to address the climate crisis and stop polluting the air our families breathe and the water we drink, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and her allies are attacking the Clean Air Act -- for the second time in six months. And it gets worse. Last night, news broke that the original version of the amendment was literally drafted with lobbyists for the oil and coal industry.* We can't let this attack succeed. Write your Senators right now and tell them to vote NO on Senator Murkowski's proposal. We defeated this same effort once already, just six months ago -- but the fossil fuel lobby is at it again. The amendment would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate most carbon pollution, letting the worst polluters completely off the hook. Efforts like this are designed to do one thing and one thing only -- slow our transition to a clean energy economy that will create millions of new jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and solve the climate crisis. Help flood your Senators with messages to vote NO on this attack on the Clean Air Act. The very last thing we should do in the fight to end the climate crisis is throw away tools that we already know are effective at reducing pollution. But that's exactly what Senator Murkowski's proposal does. For decades, the Clean Air Act has kept millions of tons of pollutants out of our air and water. Senator Murkowski's proposal would create an Alaska-sized loophole in the Clean Air Act, giving a pass to the biggest carbon polluters. Write your Senators now and tell them to vote NO on Senator Murkowski's amendment -- and protect our air, water and climate. http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/cleanair In 2010, our movement to solve the climate crisis will face its biggest test yet -- passing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. But if Senator Murkowski's amendment passes, some in Congress will use it as an excuse to keep stalling -- and the long overdue promise of progress toward a 21st century clean energy economy will be lost. You helped stop this toxic amendment once before. Together, we can and must stop it again. Thank you, Al Gore __________ * "Murkowski and her lobbyist allies," The Washington Post, January 11, 2010 http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/01/murkowski_and_her_lobbyist_allies.html

Obama will visit Massachusetts to help Coakley in Senate race

By GottaLaff

I'm getting a few e-mail alerts about this:

President Obama will campaign for Massachusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley on Sunday, POLITICO has learned, a sign that Democrats are deeply worried about her prospects and the party's 60-seat majority.

For more information...http://www.politico.com

VIDEO: A lone Tea Bagger gets media attention

By GottaLaff

Jane Devin is a friend, someone who has won my admiration because of her huge heart, intelligence, wit, and survival skills.

Jane is traveling across the country, documenting her travels both in writing and on video. It's called "Finding My America". Her latest stop was the Detroit auto show.

And what, or rather, whom did she trip over while she was there?

Why, none other than one solitary little teabagger who was protesting all by his lonesome.

And yet... And yet...

...he was interviewed by media all day. According to Jane's tweet to me, "the guy has an AOL address, a P.O. box, and invalid web certificate!"

Yes, a crowd of reporters encircled the one Tea Bagger, once again drawing attention to a cause that deserves shunning, not glory:

There was a protest expected outside of the Cobo Center, where the NAIAS was held, but it ended up being a lone self-described “teabagger” (Jeffrey McQueen,who has a PO box in Rochester and, at least according to my Safari browser, an invalid website certificate) against a dozen or so UAW members. Still, the media showed up to interview McQueen, which was both funny and disheartening. There were far better stories to be found inside Cobo, where talent and ingenuity — instead of dogmatic pessimism — prevailed.

Please read Jane's whole series, including this one. Here's her video:

CNN does it right in Haiti. Fox on the other hand...

By GottaLaff

James Rainey over at the L.A. Times has a piece out that reflects the mood of the Twitterverse specifically, and most of us here at TPC generally, meaning: ClusterFox is not a news network, and when it comes to Haiti coverage, CNN wins:

CNN's determination to stick with the news stands in stark contrast to its competitors, particularly Fox News, that in prime time have increasingly been committed to building their brands with political commentary over straight reporting.

And by political commentary he means propaganda.

When critics accuse Fox of being a tool of the conservative political movement, the company's executives counter that they deliver serious news during much of the day.

And by serious news they mean propaganda.

But its prime-time headliners expose the values of the entire operation, and this week they've given abysmally short shrift to the biggest crisis in the world.

Why dwell on one of our closest hemispheric neighbors in its hour of dire need, when -- like both Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck -- you can conduct prolonged, frothy promotional interviews with Fox's newest contributor, Sarah Palin?

Why focus on all that misery, if, like Hannity on Wednesday, you can engage conservative virago Michelle Malkin in a soaring conversation about the Obama administration's "culture of corruption."

Virago. Excellent word. Mental note: Remember the word "virago" and use it often.

Bill O'Reilly played his no-Haiti card too, managing a gripping discussion Wednesday with Bo Derek about the threat to the West's wild horses.

Bill-O is limited that way. See Interview: Palin, Sarah.

[MSNBC] dedicated more than two hours to the quake in its three major prime-time shows, compared with less than seven minutes presented by Fox's biggest stars Wednesday night, according to the liberal media watchdog, Media Matters. [...]

No matter how much CNN succeeded in delivering the story, it will never make me stomach the self-promotion that it and other outlets insist on weaving throughout their coverage.

Now we're talkin'. TBPNTOTV!!!* is notorious for that, or I wouldn't have spent all that time and effort mocking them.

Can we please get through an hour without heaping praise on our correspondents' valor (however real it may be)? Maybe Gupta can't be stopped from playing both reporter and doctor (he is a neurosurgeon, after all), but how many times are we going to have to watch that video of the good doctor bandaging the head of a 15-day-old girl?

Well, now you're being harsh. Everyone knows that Gupta thrives on camera time. Of course, saying he's into health issues is stating the obvious. His own health and well-being would suffer if he were forced into reduced exposure on the Tee Vee Machine. In fact, for Sanjay, being on air is a pre-existing condition. It's common knowledge that he is covered under a Cadillac plan for that very thing.

Good thing he can afford it.

This was a longish piece, which you can read in its entirety here. And seriously, congratulations to CNN for doing what its name says it should do, cover the news.

*THE BEST POLITICAL NEWS TEAM ON TELEVISION!!!

Mid Day Distraction

Democrats Hate Success

Day after day after day we've sat around watching the Democrats fall on their asses with no damn messaging, no co-ordinated efforts on ANYTHING and a just f'ng sorry ass game plan all around. (May I just note, this is completely the opposite of the way the Obama campaign ran things last year as many people noted throughout. ) I would look at it as the Democratic Party as a whole being at a disadvantage when it comes to messaging.

Then it comes to this. A well known established Progressive blog makes a video using MONEY that could go to any number of Democrat supporting purposes to draw attention to an possible error/failure by our (D) President. I'm not going to post it. It's just a repetitive clip of the President saying he wouldn't tax health care benefits and comparing him to McCain. You can google it if you want, I'm not giving it the hits.

I literally f'ng cried. I don't know the people from FDL very well, I've often supported initiatives that they have started and happily contributed when they tried to oust Lieberman, but this shit has got to stop.

On the day that it looks like this problem has been addressed to everyone's satisfaction, they release a video that condemns the President for something he hasn't even done yet? Repeat- There is no final bill, no final bill, NO FINAL BILL. Yet they are hell bent on condemning the President and Congress for a maybe kinda thing that could happen.


/kicks dog

Added- What John said too and also.

Laffy Note: When Paddy and I commiserated about this today on the phone, I pointed out that there are a whole lot of Tweeple in the Twitterverse who agree with us. That's a whole lot of people. We're not alone.

Destructive campaigning is just that: Destructive. Let's unify instead of continuing this very unhelpful, divisive infighting. We need every available dollar for causes that will help this country, not slice and dice it into warring factions who should instead be organizing with the goal of making as much progress as we can.

Dissent is healthy, debate is mandatory, but this kind of misdirected anger is not going to inspire confidence in the Progressive cause. Channel that frustration and use it wisely to find a way to improve the situation, incrementally if need be. We're all in this together.

Fine-

House Democrats Target 36 Races

Offense is very good. Huge thanks to Taegan for getting behind the Roll Call wall and gathering this up.

"In an effort to show they are playing offense in what is expected to be a tough year politically for the party, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a list Thursday of more than two dozen "Races to Watch" in 2010," Roll Call reports.

Said the DCCC's Jon Vogel: "These strong candidates are getting the attention of folks back home because of their willingness to be independent voices for their districts and prevent a return to the same failed Bush policies that drove America into an economic ditch."

"As these strong candidates continue building excitement for their campaigns to create jobs and help middle class families back home, the DCCC will help them become even more competitive in November."

Top Races:

• AZ-03 (Open-Shadegg) -- John Hulburd
• CA-03 (Lungren) -- Ami Bera
• CA-45 (Bono Mack) -- Steve Pougnet
• DE-AL (Open-Castle) -- John Carney
• FL-12 (Open-Putnam) -- Lori Edwards
• IL-10 (Open-Kirk) -- Primary
• NE-02 (Terry) -- Tom White
• OH-12 (Tiberi) -- Paula Brooks
• KS-04 (Open-Tiahrt) -- Raj Goyle
• LA-02 (Cao) -- Primary
• MN-06 (Bachmann) -- Primary
• PA-06 (Gerlach) -- Primary
• PA-07 (Open-Sestak) -- Bryan Lentz
• PA-15 (Dent) -- John Callahan
• SC-02 (Wilson) -- Rob Miller
• TN-08 (Open-Tanner) -- Roy Herron -- The only Democratic-held seat on the list.
• WA-08 (Reichert) -- Suzan Delbene

Emerging Races:

• AK-AL (Young) -- Harry Crawford
• AL-03 (Rogers) -- Josh Segall
• CA-44 (Calvert) -- Bill Hedrick
• FL-10 (Young) -- Charlie Justice
• FL-16 (Rooney) -- Chris Craft
• IL-13 (Biggert) -- Scott Harper
• MN-03 (Paulsen) -- Primary
• MO-08 (Emerson) -- Tommy Sowers
• TX-32 (Sessions) -- Grier Raggio