Bikini Graph, the sequel

By GottaLaff

I adore visuals. They're so easy to understand, even for the GOP:


The Bikini Graph is one of my favorites (and Rachel Maddow's).

Think Progress points out that today's numbers refute GOP talking points claiming that the stimulus created government jobs, but the private sector? Not so much. Well, GOP, about that? Not so much:

[T]he GOP should be pleased to note that, of the 290,000 jobs created in April, 231,000 of them were in the private sector. The private sector has actually added 523,000 new jobs in 2010.

This includes 44,000 manufacturing jobs, which is the most manufacturing jobs added to the U.S. economy since August, 1998. Overall, April was the strongest month for jobs growth since March, 2006. For the sake of comparison, here’s the change in monthly job loss or gain since December, 2007.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

Psst! GOP... The stimulus is working. It takes time, just as it took years to screw up the economy, it will take years to turn it around. Just as it will take decades to deal with the Gulf oil volcano. Just as it will take years to improve what's left of our health care system.

And guess what? It all moves along faster when you don't obstruct at every turn. Just an observation.

Reid: GOP is 'making love to Wall Street'

By GottaLaff

Harry says the Rushpublics are "making love to Wall Street" . That dovetails nicely with how Wall Street is screwing us, now, doesn't it, so at least it's not unrequited:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused Republicans Wednesday of “making love to Wall Street.”

Reid charged that Republicans are stalling action on a Wall Street reform bill because “they are having difficulty determining how they’re going to continue making love to Wall Street” by resisting banking regulation.

Please read the whole thing here. Again, apologies for the abbreviated posts. I'm struggling with tech issues on my end.

20 states resist creating pools to help people denied health insurance

By GottaLaff

Big Government will have to keep people alive, because the Party of No won't. I hope voters are paying attention:

As many as 20 states probably will not operate new insurance programs for Americans who have been denied health coverage, forcing the federal government to step in to implement one of the key elements of the healthcare overhaul legislation, according to administration officials. [...]

Led by the Georgia insurance commissioner, however, a succession of mostly Republican state officials has been rejecting the idea of creating state pools, voicing concerns that state governments would end up having to pay some of the costs of operating them over the next 3 1/2 years. [...]

Consumers will be eligible for the new pools if they have preexisting medical conditions and have not had insurance for at least six months.

Don't Republicans have preexisting conditions, or are they reserved for commie Marxist Democrats?

Tony Perkins warns GOP that supporters could switch to Tea Party

By GottaLaff

On April Fool's Day, Tony Perkins came out with this:

"If you can't run a party, you can't run a country."

He told donors to withhold their money, to refrain from donating to the RNC. And he wasn't April Fooling.

Today is April 8th. It only took Perkins a week to come up with a new quote or twelve:

“I think the Republicans have to realize they're not operating in a vacuum. Now, while Democrats may be in trouble coming into November's election, the Republicans are not the only game in town,” Perkins told us on ABC’s “Top Line” today.

“As we see the Tea Party movement taking on a life of its own, the Republicans have some competition, which I think is actually good for the conservative vote. And they're going to have to be responsible with how they spend their money, they're going to have to be I think very measured in their message, and that they are embracing a conservative message …. ”

Shorter Perkins: Shape up or we go all Tea Tantrum on you.

Shorter 2010 elections:

Republican lawmakers are "completely lost"

By GottaLaff

The GOP is the party that claims Democrats are dead wrong about everything, that Dems are destroying our country, shredding the Constitution, killing grandma, and running American into the ground.

This is the party that inappropriately and awkwardly shouts "You lie!" and "Hell no!"

This is also the party that cannot answer a simple question about health care reform.

Jay Bookman:

AJC editors and columnists just finished a pretty wide-ranging 80-minute interview with Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging at me for a while. [...]

[H]ow are the Republicans going to cover pre-existing conditions?

“The premiums are going up either way,” he [McConnell] said.

OK, I responded, a little stunned. That doesn’t explain how the Republicans intend to cover pre-existing conditions.

“The premiums are going up either way,” he repeated.

That was that. We moved on, and I still don’t have my answer.

Good response, Mitch McNoLips!

Except for the part where he didn't respond.

At all.

Steve Benen has a thing or two to say about these things or two:

If those with pre-existing conditions will be protected, the mandate is necessary to keep costs from spiraling and to prevent the "free rider" problem. [...]

After over a year of debate about health care policy, two leading Senate Republicans, including the Senate Minority Leader, can't speak intelligently about the basics. Bookman didn't throw a curve ball at them [...]

They want protections for those with pre-existing conditions, and want to eliminate the mandate, but asked how that could work, these experienced senators have no idea how to even begin answering the question. [...]

[I]f anyone dares to scratch the surface, even a little, they're completely lost.

It's all about the talking points, drumming non-answers into the uninformed electorate's heads, ignoring facts, smearing, belittling Democratic victories, lying about Democratic policy, ignoring the truth, and being utterly unable to justify their own arguments.

Jay Bookman cornered them, Steve Benen nailed them, and it's time we expose them for what they are... and aren't.

This story needs to get out, and be repeated and repeated.

H/t: Rachel Maddow via Twitter, who will hopefully cover this tonight on her show.

Palin Surrogate Disses Entire East Coast

By GottaLaff

Tactless McBadShow should probably instruct her spokespeople to start using some--What's it called again? Oh yeah-- tact.

"Real American Stories" garnered "unspectacular" ratings. So how does she cope?

Ahem...

How to alienate an entire segment of the American population, one that apparently doesn't fall into that folksy, patriotic, spunky "Real America" category:

“It’s not the kind of thing that’s going to excite you guys on the East Coast, but everyone else is dying to hear stories like these,” said one of her representatives who was not authorized to speak on the record but was authorized to slam the East Coast.

Look. The East Coast contains six of the country’s ten largest metro areas and is the region that created the damn country in the first place.

Thank you, Mudflats, for calling this to our attention. It's always good to know when a major pop culture (no, not political, that would be stretching it) figure disses a major swath of the country to assuage their own wittle feewings.

Maybe she should call her little show "AlieNation."

GOP wants to be committed. Agreed. They should be.

By GottaLaff

Contracts are out, commitments are in. Who knew the GOP was so trendy schmendy?

And I do have to agree-- The Rushpublics should be committed:

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave peeks Sunday at the "Commitment to America" that would replace the GOP's "Contract With America" in the run-up to midterm elections. [...]

He said the "Commitment" would place a greater emphasis on Internet tools to get the message out and "help restore trust... using our principles to find what's best for America."

Those wacky Rushpublics and their crazy pledges. They take so many of them, and yet...

See, they know how to take the pledges, they just don't know how to keep the pledges...

"If we do not do the job, throw us out," he said.

Now that's a pledge I hope they keep.

VIDEO: Tony Perkins: 'If You Can't Run A Party, You Can't Run A Country'

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about the Family Research Council urging donors to withhold donations to the RNC. Ouch.

Here's some video to buttress that. Watch Tony Perkins saying how much he likes Michael Steele, and it is the RNC that has to deal with all the suckitude:

Frum Says Donors Forced Him Out

By GottaLaff

David Frum had the nerve-- the nerve!-- to say that the health care reform bill would be the Republicans' Waterloo. He also popped out with a little nugget about the GOP being run by Fox, not vice versa.

Of course that was stating the obvious. ClusterFox virtually owns the party, promotes the Tea Baggers, and has many GOP Congress members cowering.

Frum's abrupt termination from the American Enterprise Institute came after her wrote a CNN piece about said GOP Waterloo, as well as an appearance on MSNBC where he repeated the point.

In other words, a policy of no compromising, going the radical route, would lead to a bad outcome.

It sure did for him.

And for the party. The GOP has been undermined by the word No, by the open hostility to reason, and by subservience to a Tee Vee network that spews extreme views.

Of course, we've been saying this for years.

Here's what Frum says:

David Frum told Mike Allen last night that "he believes his axing from his $100,000-a-year 'resident scholar' gig at the conservative American Enterprise Institute was related to donor pressure following his viral blog post arguing Republicans had suffered a devastating, generational 'Waterloo' in their loss to President Obama on health reform."

Said Frum: "There's a lot about the story I don't really understand. But the core of the story is the kind of economic pressure that intellectual conservatives are under... the elite isn't leading anymore. It's trapped. Partly because of the desperate economic situation in the country, what were once the leading institutions of conservatism are constrained."

The party has boxed themselves into a corner, just as David Corn said last night on Countdown. All that groveling and catering to the far right is not good for more reasonable members, nor is it good for the country.

There needs to be real debate, honest opinion differences for a democracy to work properly. When party leaders shout "Armageddon!" and do nothing but stand against things, this is what happens.

Well, Frum can always write another book.

VIDEO- Rachel Maddow: Hell No v. Yes We Can

By GottaLaff

As usual, Rachel delivers:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Oppose v. propose.

VIDEO- Markos Moulitsas and his shirt on Countdown

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We on Twitter enjoy commenting on Markos' wardrobe when he appears on Countdown.

I told him I was putting this video up just to get another look at his shirt. His response:


I told him I had no more time to chat because I was late for my abortion.

Evil. Pure evil. Bwahahaa!

Keith Olbermann: Senate Parliamentarian declares GOP challenge "a dud"

By GottaLaff

Keith Olbermann just announced that the Senate Parliamentarian had officially declared the GOP plan to sabotage health care reform "a dud". (Keith's words)

Plus, further bills to repeal the legislation will fail, he said.

A Point of Order involving Social Security was brought to the Parliamentarian today by staffers, both Republican and Democrat, said Lawrence O'Donnell. The Dem staffers cited a precedent that favored them, and the Parliamentarian was "taken with it". The Republicans were caught with like deer in the headlights. The Parliamentarian ruled FOR the Dems.

O'Donnell: "If this is what they have, they don't have much."

First challenge: Denied.

Reconciliation will go forward.

GOP Waterloo

By GottaLaff

The Waterloo's on the other foot:

Former Bush speechwriter David Frum says Republicans bet that the health care reform bill would be President Obama's Waterloo -- "just as health care was Clinton's in 1994."

"Only, the hardliners overlooked a few key facts: Obama was elected with 53% of the vote, not Clinton's 42%. The liberal block within the Democratic congressional caucus is bigger and stronger than it was in 1993-94. And of course the Democrats also remember their history, and also remember the consequences of their 1994 failure."

"This time, when we went for all the marbles, we ended with none... We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat."

More like a Waterloo-loo.

Loo. Sers.

Barney Frank: GOP "decided apparently that they benefit from virulence, hatred, disruption"

By GottaLaff

Earlier, there were disruptive shouts of "Kill the bill!" from a protester in the House gallery. How did the GOP respond? They applauded, cheering him on. Aren't they the perfect role models for our youth?

Barney Frank had a thing or two to say about that embarrassing display:

“You have dozens of Republicans standing and applauding and cheering on a guy who was disrupting the proceedings and resisting court officers. It’s really disgraceful.” [...]

"These clowns are out there encouraging a violation of the law. They’ve decided apparently that they benefit from virulence, hatred, disruption."

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), downplayed yesterday's Tea Tantrumers' racial and anti-gay slurs and their spitting on African American lawmakers.

Another fine American.

Barney Frank was none too thrilled with him, either:

“Any movement in which Steve King and Michele Bachmann are among the leaders is probably not going to meet high standards for civility or coherence,” Frank said.

VIDEO- GOP Congressmen: Iraq War a "horrible mistake...Everybody" thinks so.

By GottaLaff

You know that little bloodbath in Iraq we've been in for the past 8 years or so? The one that so many of us knew was wrong before it even began? The one the GOP fought tooth and nail for? The one that was a result of unrelenting fear-mongering? The one that made you a traitor to your country and a terrorist if you dared to breathe a word against it? The one that resulted in torture and maiming and 4,385 American deaths?

Yeah, that one.

Surprise! It turns out it was just a big ol' Rushpublic oopsie!




Too little too late doesn't even begin to say it:

In a panel at the Cato Institute on conservatism and war, U.S. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and John Duncan (R-Tenn.) revealed that the vast majority of GOP members of Congress now think it was wrong for the U.S. to invade Iraq in 2003.

Isn't hindsight special? Then again, Rushpublics have always been a little backwards:

ROHRABACHER: [...] All I can say is the people, everybody I know thinks it was a mistake to go in now. [...]

NORQUIST: Of Republicans in Congress, who would agree with the general analysis here that it was a mistake and/or we should go in.

MCCLINTOCK: I think everyone would agree Iraq was a mistake.

NORQUIST: Two hundred percents. Ok, we’re going to average these.

MCCLINTOCK: And, you know, again, I think virtually everyone would agree going into Afghanistan the way we did was a mistake.

After Rohrbacher said everybody he knows thought it was a mistake, he got laughter.

Laughter.

I didn't realize 1000s of unnecessary deaths as a result of a fraudulent war was funny.

New DNC VIDEO: Big Insurance Part of the Problem, GOP Doesn't Get It

By GottaLaff

New DNC ad:



I'm convinced.

RedState: "GOP Does Not Want A Black Man In The Senate"

By GottaLaff

Oh suh-nap! When the editor-in-chief of the big ol' right-wing website RedState-- even if he's being "sarcastic" (as he claims)-- comes out with a tirade like this, yikes.

Talk about the far white:

It is starting to get really disgusting.

First, the GOP said it needed diversity and chose the orange Charlie Crist over the Latino, Marco Rubio.

Then the GOP said it needed to do better outreach in the black community, so it ignored Michael Williams in Texas and tried to find a rich white guy to run for the Senate.

Now that Kay Bailey Hutchison has lost the Texas primary to Rick Perry without even making it into a runoff, the Washington, D.C. Republicans are scared to death a black man might actually get appointed to the Senate as a Republican. [...]

The fact remains that the GOP preaches diversity all the time and when presented with an attractive Latino and black candidate, they pass on both because they are too conservative.

Erick Erickson is calling the GOP too conservative.

Jim Bunning Amendment fails

By GottaLaff

On CSPAN2, I just popped in to see the vote on Jim Bunning's amendment to H.R. 4213, the Extending Tax Breaks, Jobless Benefits, Highway Funds Bill:

Bunning (R-KY) Amendment: Requires use of unspent econmic stimulus funds to pay for provisions in the bill.

56 yeas, 41 nays, meaning the motion is tabled.

BunningFail.

Immorality of the Right: Special Comment by my 72-year-old friend

By GottaLaff

My impassioned 72-year-old Twitter pal, who goes by the name 42bkdodgr, would like to share his feelings about the way the GOP has (mis)behaved lately. I am more than happy to oblige.

But first, a personal note from 42bkdodgr:

Many of you may wonder why I chose to use the “ 72 year old friend” as the introduction to my Special Comments. I selected the moniker so readers could see that from my age and life experiences I give a different perspective to the issues of today.

Now for his Special Comment:

Immorality Of The Right

For some time I have given much thought about writing a Special Comment on the Immorality of the Right. There are so many topics that could be covered in such an article, such as their positions on (a) health care, (b) women’s rights and (c ) gay rights. But a couple of things happened in the last few days that really shows, the immorality of the Republicans.

Unemployment Insurance coverage and COBRA benefits ends for many Americans on February 28, and they need Congress to approve extensions of both programs for their benefits to continue.

Yet there stands Sen. Jim Bunning, single-handily blocking a unanimous consent vote of the Senate for a 30 day extension of coverage. The Senate needs this time period to address the issue of continuing the benefits of the long term unemployed for the remainder of the year.

It is estimated that 1.2 million Americans will lose their benefits, which they surely need, if both extensions aren‘t approved. Sen. Bunning is against extending the benefits as it will increase the country's deficit by $10 billion unless there is an offset to it.

Yesterday, Sen. Bunning received the support of Sen. John Cornyn who said "I admire the courage of the junior senator from Kentucky... Somebody has to stand up finally and say, ‘No more inter-generational theft!’"

I have to wonder: Where were their concerns about the growing deficit during the Bush Administration?

You may say, these are only two Republicans who seem to be against the extension of benefits. My response is, the Republican leadership knows how important this extension is for the American people, and they could have put the clamps on Senator Bunning if they so desired, but their silence is deafening. Is it any wonder why Senator Reid took these items out of the jobs bill?

The Senate has recessed for the weekend without taking any action on the extension of benefits; which mean thousands of Americans will wake up Monday morning without any funds to pay their bills, and many will be without any health coverage.

By not extending COBRA coverage, the Republicans just increased the number of Americans without any health insurance. Just what this country doesn’t need, more people foregoing medicines and doctor visits while putting more stress on our emergency rooms.

What the Republicans fail to realize is, their inaction will not only affect those receiving benefits, but also their immediate family members. In many cases those unemployed are receiving financial assistance from their parents, and some have moved in with their parents because they can no longer afford either the rent or mortgage payment.

In many instances their parents are senior citizens who are trying to deal with our tough economic times and now will have a greater burden placed upon them. The additional people affected is never discussed by our politicians or the media. When they say 1.2 million American will be affected, it is much greater than that, by an unknown numerical factor.

Today is a very sad day for America, when Republicans show they have very little care for people in need. I wonder how they can look themselves in the mirror?

Republicans are the modern day Neros: They fiddle away their time while the country crumbles to the ground.

Many thanks again for another thoughtful, relevant piece, 42bkdodgr. You often say what many of us are thinking and feeling, and we thank you for your unique perspective.

Carly Fiorina trailing in California

By GottaLaff

This makes me oddly happy, mainly because of the FiorinaFail:

A new M4 Strategies poll in California finds Tom Campbell (R) has opened up a big lead over both Carly Fiorina (R) and Chuck DeVore (R) in the Republican U.S. Senate race.

Campbell leads with 32% of the vote, followed by Fiorina at 18.5% and DeVore at 11%.

Now what can we do about Meg Whitman?