Congressmen Who May Switch To No On Health Care: The List

By GottaLaff

First and foremost, a reminder, one that Rachel Maddow has emphasized on her show:

Abortion likely won't be in a fix package either, because it doesn't affect the deficit and therefore can't be passed using the budget reconciliation process.

And now for the list of the New No's... some being qualified ones (details here):

Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL)

Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL).

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and the 12 congressmen he claims will vote against health care

Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA)

Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR)

Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH)

Remember, some of those are "may" not vote for health care reform.

"Here's the problem with Republicans. It rains even on their birthday."

By GottaLaff

Just now on MSNBC, Brad Blakeman was slamming the stimulus package, while David Shuster and Chris Kofinis were explaining to him that the economy, and unemployment, would be worse had it not been implemented.

Blakeman continued to go all negative on them, relentlessly pushing the rightie talking points, and finally Chris said:

"Here's the problem with Republicans. It rains even on their birthday."

See: Obama, Republican retreat.

VIDEOS: Myth-Information: Cable "news" edition

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Here is the full context of Bill Clinton's remarks.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Here is a clip of Pat Buchanan making an ass of himself over Alaska's governor (start at about 3:07) on Morning Joe yesterday. It's subtle compared to today's bout of Palin-reflux.

Watching MSNBC and CNN is damaging to one's health. Who's brain wouldn't explode after exposure to Pat Buchanan's unbridled giddiness over the Sarah Palin calendar (he was positively awash in saliva over "Miss September" depicting Limelight Sarah with her shotgun)? The video above doesn't begin to compare to the panting Buchanan's repeatedly calling her "hot" and openly lusting over her on this morning's regular Peter Fenn/Pat Buchanan fest (If anyone can find a clip, I'll happily post.).

That moment was somehow topped by the incessant focusing on an out-of-context clip of Bill Clinton's remarks about President Obama's apparent inexplicably sudden inability to be positive. Yes, according to cable news [sic], the audacity of hope president has lapsed into the audacity of nope. Are these people really so lazy that they can't do any real reporting?

If President Obama were to drop his realistic approach to what's left of our economy, and start morphing into a Hooveresque "prosperity is just around the corner" mantra, he'd be crucified for that, too, for obvious reasons: It wouldn't be true.

Obama hasn't exactly been morose. And in case anyone on the Cable Tee Vee Machine has noticed, he consistently infuses even his most serious speeches with notes of optimism.

News has gone completely tabloid. It's criminal. There is no way to achieve an informed, truly democratic electorate when the media forcefeeds us propaganda, half-truths, and superficial broadcasts laced with stories intended to raise ratings instead of awareness.

At a time when honest, frank, accurate reporting of pertinent information is mandatory for a country desperate for an improved quality of life, this is no time for self-serving, greed-driven synthetic product. Just as a diet of cheap carbs may temporarily satisfy hunger, it is no substitute for a healthy diet. And in the longrun, it's detrimental to our longterm well-being.

Beat the press

By GottaLaff

If you incite hatred, you get hatred... and violence:

But this one, from a reporter working on a piece for the Greensboro News-Record, stands out. He writes that he wandered to the back of a Palin event to talk to some protesters:

I sidled up to one of the Obama supporters and asked why they were there, what they were trying to accomplish.

As he was telling me a large, bearded man in full McCain-Palin campaign regalia got in his face to yell at him.

“Hey, hey,” I said. “I’m trying to interview him. Just a minute, okay?”

The man began to say something about how of course I was interviewing the Obama people when suddenly, from behind us, the sound of a pro-Obama rap song came blaring out of the windows of a dorm building. We all turned our heads to see Obama signs in the windows.

This was met with curses, screams and chants of “U.S.A” by McCain-Palin folks who crowded under the windows trying to drown it out and yell at the person playing the stereo.

It was a moment of levity in an otherwise very tense situation and so I let out a gentle chuckle and shook my head.

“Oh, you think that’s funny?!” the large bearded man said. His face was turning red. “Yeah, that’s real funny…” he said.

And then he kicked the back of my leg, buckling my right knee and sending me sprawling onto the ground.

Compare that to the calm, reasoned, peaceful attitude of the Obama campaign. A vote for Gramm-pa McCain is a vote for negativity: Negative attitudes, negative economic numbers, negative everything. Obama is his polar opposite.

Swiftboat Lawyer, Willie Horton Strategist Team Up for 2008

It's only started to get ugly.

Jason Hancock at our sister site Iowa Independent has a great revolving-door catch today. Hancock reports that two all-stars in attack dog campaigning are on board at American Future Fund -- a conservative advocacy group running ads in tight Congressional races across the country.

AFF's legal counsel is none other than Ben Ginsberg, a Washington-based power lawyer who stepped down as chief outside counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 after news broke that he had represented the Swift Boat Veteran's for Truth -- the group that ultimately harpooned the Kerry campaign.

On the strategy side of the organization we find Larry McCarthy, who created the infamous soft-on-crime Willie Horton ad, credited with sinking Michael Dukakis in 1988.

AFF is expected to be a major player in this election cycle, spending an arm and a leg on TV and radio ads in battleground states, like Minnesota and Colorado. (Iowa Independent has a selection of some of the group's ads here.) How much will they spend, exactly? We don't know:

Because of the way the group is organized under Internal Revenue Service guidelines for nonprofit organizations it does not have to disclose its donors and is not governed by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

John Sidney McCain: "We're Not Sending Any Negative Message"

By GottaLaff

Not only is J Sid negative, he's delusional and dishonest:

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson Report: In an interview with National Public Radio which is set to run Wednesday on "Morning Edition," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., argued that he is not sending "any negative message" in his White House run.

"We’re not sending any negative message in our campaign," said McCain. "We’re drawing differences in positions between myself and Senator Obama, which are significant. He wants to raise taxes; I want to keep them low. He doesn’t want to drill offshore or have nuclear power; I want both. I’ve never heard Steve Schmidt say we need a negative message in the campaign. …I’ve run many, many campaigns and I have never believed that we need a strong negative message."

That's a relief. I'm sure he wouldn't want us thinking any of this was negative.

McCain defended the tenor of his campaign when asked about a story in The Wall Street Journal that credited recently elevated advisor Steve Schmidt with the philosophy that campaigns need one positive message about the candidate and one negative message about the opponent.

The Arizona senator argued that he is not sending any negative message even though he is running a series of ads portraying Obama as a lightweight whose fame is undeserving.

Senility would be the most innocuous explanation for his denials.

I can assure you I'm not being negative when I say McCain is a hostile, lying, steaming pile of politician. I'm simply drawing differences between him and someone respectable and qualified to run for the office of president.

Hillary to hit campaign trail, and not a moment too soon

By GottaLaff

Hillary's about to start talking Obama up:

Hillary Clinton will hit the campaign trail for former presidential rival Barack Obama this month, making her first solo appearance on his behalf since he won their bruising Democratic nominating battle in June.

Clinton will host campaign rallies and voter registration events in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday and in south Florida on August 21, the Obama campaign said on Tuesday. At least the first event will be without Obama, who heads to Hawaii for a vacation that day.

She might want to start countering this:

Anti-Obama books are best sellers. Three Releases Criticizing Obama In Amazon Top 20 Despite Little Media Coverage [...]

Three anti-Obama releases were in the top 20 of Amazon.com's best-seller list on Tuesday, despite little critical attention or mainstream media coverage.

It's because of all that positive hype by the liberal media, you see. The righties need their fix, you see. However:

Steve Ross, president and publisher of the Collins division of HarperCollins, released Obama's books when Ross was head of the Crown Publishing Group at Random House Inc. He thinks that the audience for anti-Obama books will grow through the fall, but doubts that sales will reach the levels of the senator's own books.

"The anti-Obama readership is largely one that has already made up its mind and is looking for validation, while the Obama readership comprises both those who have already made up their minds and those who are curious about him," Ross says.

If the Republicans need anti-Obama books so badly, why don't they just drill for them...

John Sidney McDelusional

By GottaLaff

If it pays off for Obama, then keep "having fun", J Sid. But if you don't think you're running a negative campaign, you're more confused than we thought:

On whether the campaign's general tone has been negative, McCain said, "I don’t think our campaign is negative in the slightest. I’m, we think it’s got a lot of humor in it and we’re having fun and enjoying it..."

What is up with that very odd "enjoying it" phrase?

..."And that is what campaigns are going to be like, that’s what every campaign that I have been involved in…I am going to enjoy it ..."

There it is again.

..."and I’m the underdog. And we will continue to fight and scrap all the way till November the fourth."

And what does the Obama campaign have to say about that?

The Obama campaign has called McCain's new ads, including the TV ad that likens Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, as "juvenile antics" that have helped them raise money.

Who could have imagined that the seasoned, mossy, wizened 72-year-old would act less mature than the inexperienced, presumptuous, fledgling 47-year-old?