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Latest Articles: The Water Cooler
Tea Party Chair In SC Posts Joke On Facebook About Killing The Obamas
Post Date: 2011-08-23 13:09:24 by Brian S
2 Comments
The Chair of the Sumter South Carolina Tea Party posted -- and then quickly pulled -- a post on her Facebook page earlier this month that joked about throwing the Obamas out of a helicopter. Shery Lanford Smith posted the the joke on her Facebook page on August 11th. The page is now private. In the joke, the Obamas are on a helicopter talking about how they could make people happy if they threw money out the window. The pilot says: "I could throw both of them out of the window and make 256 million people very happy!" Smith added: "If you're one of 256 million, PASS IT ON." Smith reportedly pulled the joke after the Sumter Item contacted her about it. Here's an ...
Could George Pataki Jump Into The 2012 Race This Weekend?
Post Date: 2011-08-23 12:20:33 by Brian S
3 Comments
A New York Daily News story published on Sunday set off a flurry of speculation about former New York Gov. George Pataki’s possible 2012 ambitions, and now there are reports from Iowa that Pataki may be poised to enter the race on Saturday. Pataki has signed on to attend a Polk County Republican Party picnic in Des Moines on Saturday and Darrell Kearney, a spokesman for the county party told ABC News late Monday night that “based on conversations with Pataki staff there is a strong possibility Gov. Pataki will get in the race, and the announcement may come Saturday.” Pataki sources did not immediately return messages seeking comment on this newest development, but earlier on ...
Ben Stein Destroys O’Reilly’s ‘Talking Points’ On Taxes
Post Date: 2011-08-23 12:04:51 by Brian S
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Conservative economist Ben Stein said Monday that he would eat Bill O’Reilly’s shoe if the Fox News host could prove raising taxes on millionaires actually hurts the economy. O’Reilly began his “Talking Points” segment by asserting that the economy was better off when President Barack Obama was on vacation. “You know that everything I said in that ‘Memo’ was true,” O’Reilly told Stein. “Absolutely not,” Stein replied. “Almost every part of it is wrong. Except the part that I think it better if he’s on vacation because he works terribly hard and I think he deserves a vacation.” O’Reilly went on to argue that ...
Rick Perry Disavows 9-Month-Old Book ‘Fed Up!’
Post Date: 2011-08-23 12:02:58 by Brian S
6 Comments
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has disavowed views put forward in his book Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington just one week into his presidential campaign and only 9 months after it was first published in November 2010. In the book, Perry blasted the expansion of the federal government and criticized programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He attacked social welfare programs as "fraudulent systems designed to take in a lot of money at the front and pay out none in the end." Perry also called Social Security "a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal," which was implemented "at the expense of respect for the Constitution." ...
Science Creates Chickens With Alligator Snouts, Streets of Miami Now Doomed
Post Date: 2011-08-22 17:24:06 by Skip Intro
1 Comments
Harvard scientist Arkhat Abzhanov has done what dozens of drunk Miamians living near the Everglades have probably attempted in a cruder fashion at one point or another: successfully mixed the DNA of a chicken and an alligator. Unlike hypothetical local attempts, however, Abzhanov's method did not involve getting a gator to hump a chicken. Unfortunately. Also unfortunately, our streets are now doomed. Because many modern reptiles and birds evolved from shared ancestors, Abzhanov theorized he could undo evolution by getting chicken embryos to grow reptilian snouts instead of beaks. According to the Daily Mail, Abzhanov injected a small gloop of a protein to alter the chicken's DNA ...
Survey: Tea Party Less Popular Than Atheists, Muslims -- But It Still Runs The Republican Party
Post Date: 2011-08-22 13:04:46 by Brian S
1 Comments
The Tea Party has plummeted in popularity in recent months, with new research showing the movement rates lower than 23 other groups of Americans, including atheists and Muslims. And yet the Tea Party runs the modern-day Republican Party, which bears no resemblance to the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower, which many of us still long to vote for. And the Tea Party gets to dictate the terms of the jobs, budget, spending and deficit debates in Washington.Nice work if you can get it.David E. Campbell, an associate professor of political science at Notre Dame, and Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, have been collecting data on the American political ...
News Flash: Congressional Republicans Want To Raise Your Taxes
Post Date: 2011-08-21 19:44:44 by Brian S
7 Comments
WASHINGTON (AP) -- News flash: Congressional Republicans want to raise your taxes. Impossible, right? GOP lawmakers are so virulently anti-tax, surely they will fight to prevent a payroll tax increase on virtually every wage-earner starting Jan. 1, right? Apparently not. Many of the same Republicans who fought hammer-and-tong to keep the George W. Bush-era income tax cuts from expiring on schedule are now saying a different "temporary" tax cut should end as planned. By their own definition, that amounts to a tax increase. The tax break extension they oppose is sought by President Barack Obama. Unlike proposed changes in the income tax, this policy helps the 46 percent of all ...
Rove: Palin Will Run
Post Date: 2011-08-20 19:34:39 by Brian S
1 Comments
Former Bush advisor Karl Rove says he believes former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will enter the Republican presidential race sometime around Labor Day. Appearing on Fox News Saturday morning, Rove said Palin "has a schedule next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity." Rove also cited a new campaign-style video Palin has released on her recent visit to the Iowa State Fair as evidence Palin is gearing up for a run. Palin will be the keynote speaker at the Tea Party of America's "Restoring America" event in Iowa September 3. The event location was recently moved from Waukee, Iowa, to Indianola, Iowa to accommodate a larger crowd. "This is her ...
Paul Ryan Running Scared: Charges Voters Fee to Ask Questions, Skips Town Halls
Post Date: 2011-08-19 17:34:14 by Brian S
2 Comments
Is Rep. Paul Ryan really looking to make a buck off his constituents? In yet another Republican stunt that proves the GOP only cares about people with money, Ryan is charging a fee akin to a “poll tax” for the right to speak with him.Politico reports:“It will cost $15 to ask Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a question in person during the August congressional recess. The House Budget Committee chairman isn’t holding any face-to-face open-to-the-public town hall meetings during the recess, but like several of his colleagues he will speak only for residents willing to open their wallets.”Why is Ryan, author of the “Kill Medicare” budget, running scared? He’s ...
Former Reagan Aide: ‘Rick Perry Is An Idiot’
Post Date: 2011-08-19 11:27:11 by Brian S
1 Comments
American historian Bruce Bartlett, who worked as an aide to President Ronald Reagan and as a Treasury official for President George H.W. Bush, doesn’t have a lot of respect for Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry’s intellect. “Rick Perry said the Fed is treasonous,” CNN’s Christine Romans told Bartlett Friday during an interview about the economy. “Rick Perry is an idiot and I don’t think anybody would disagree with that,” Bartlett replied. Watch this video from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast Aug. 19, 2011.
Obama 2012 Team Would Prefer To Run Against Rick Perry
Post Date: 2011-08-19 11:24:25 by Brian S
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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Republican White House hopeful Rick Perry has at least some supporters in the Democratic stronghold of Chicago -- President Barack Obama's re-election team. The Texas governor, a social and fiscal conservative, is seen by Obama's top election fundraisers, supporters and senior Democrats close to the campaign as easier to beat than the more moderate Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. "I was praying Perry would get in the race," said a former White House aide closely linked to Obama's campaign. While Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago will not talk on the record about possible election rivals, fundraisers, senior activists and ...
Perry Ignores Public Data To Insist Stimulus Did Not Create Jobs
Post Date: 2011-08-19 11:20:44 by Brian S
1 Comments
During an appearance in New Hampshire on Thursday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) told a crowd of potential supporters that the Recovery Act "didn't create any jobs, as far as I can tell." The comment is another in a long line of denials by the governor that billions of dollars in economic stimulus helped his state. Overall, $28.5 billion in federal assistance has been sent to Texas, the second most of any state. Officials used it to keep schools open, put more people to work on infrastructure projects and ensure children still received needed health care, among other things -- all in spite of Perry's posturing against such measures. The Houston Chronicle estimated that ...
Goldman Sachs VP Changed Name, Now a Top GOP Congressional Staffer
Post Date: 2011-08-18 20:31:36 by Brian S
1 Comments
Has Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) turned the House Oversight Committee into a bank lobbying firm with the power to subpoena and pressure government regulators? ThinkProgress has found that a Goldman Sachs vice president changed his name, then quietly went to work for Issa to coordinate his effort to thwart regulations that affect Goldman Sachs’ bottom line. In July, Issa sent a letter to top government regulators demanding that they back off and provide more justification for new margin requirements for financial firms dealing in derivatives. A standard practice on Capitol Hill is to end a letter to a government agency with contact information for the congressional staffer ...
Ever Meet A Republican Anti-Gay Fanatic Who WASN'T A Closet Case?
Post Date: 2011-08-17 15:41:31 by Brian S
3 Comments
Phillip Hinkle (R-IN), count down to resignation has begunThe message "I Need A Sugga Daddy" always drives rightists into a feeding frenzy-- especially when they're homophobes and it comes from a young boy. Is it such a powerful sexual turn-on to conservatives because it's a power trip? I suspect it isn't bringing out a nurturing side of them. But we'll just have to ask notorious anti-gay fanatic Phillip Hinkle (R-IN), a 64 year old married man from Indianapolis, first elected to the Indiana House in 2000. Indianapolis' conservative Gannett newspaper, The Star reported today that Hinkle solicited sex from an 18 year old boy via the m4m "casual ...
Pamela Geller: Rick Perry Needs To Address His Ties To Stealth Jihadist
Post Date: 2011-08-17 11:38:10 by Brian S
2 Comments
Anti-Islam blogger Pamela Geller has accused TX Gov. Rick Perry of being the pro-Sharia "Fifth Column" presidential candidate -- but still says she'd support him if she had to "with every breath of my body." Geller's been writing about Perry's relationship with the Aga Khan, the leader of the Ismailis sect of Shia Islam, in response to a Salon piece that detailed their friendship. From Justin Elliott at Salon: Sprouting from that friendship are at least two cooperation agreements between the state of Texas and Ismaili institutions, including a far-reaching program to educate Texas schoolchildren about Islam. More here. Geller, of course, was concerned. ...
Trump: ‘I’d Be Willing’ To Pay More Taxes
Post Date: 2011-08-17 11:32:12 by Brian S
1 Comments
Real estate mogul Donald Trump said Monday that he would be willing to pay a higher tax rate but most oil companies would not because they are not patriotic. “Warren Buffet made another splash with his op-ed in The New York Times, saying it’s just not right that he, a billionaire, pays 17 percent in taxes when his secretary and receptionist pay more,” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos told Trump. “Isn’t he right about that?” “There’s many different views on that,” Trump replied. “And I can also tell you that a lot of people will go elsewhere to do business if you start taxing them.” “But 17 percent isn’t much for a ...
Book About Texas Gov. Rick Perry Coming In 2012 (Title: Adios Mofo: Why Rick Perry Will Make America Miss George W. Bush)
Post Date: 2011-08-16 11:28:58 by Brian S
1 Comments
NEW YORK (AP) -- Rick Perry has the book world's attention. The Texas governor and recently declared GOP presidential candidate is the subject of new book by James C. Moore, co-author of the anti-George W. Bush best-seller "Bush's Brain," and Texas political consultant Jason Stanford. Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, announced Tuesday that "Adios Mofo: Why Rick Perry Will Make America Miss George W. Bush" is scheduled for early 2012. According to Metropolitan, the authors have "deep contacts with numerous operatives in the Perry campaign" and will present the governor as an "ideologue with scant interest or success in ...
Obama To Launch Counter-Offensive Branding GOP Contenders 'Tea Party Lackeys'
Post Date: 2011-08-15 16:00:32 by Brian S
1 Comments
President Obama will this week launch a counter-offensive branding the GOP contenders 'Tea Party lackeys' as his approval rating hits an all-time low. The President's approval rating has dropped to below 40 per cent for the first time, according to Gallup's daily tracking poll. The poll released last night said found 39 per cent of Americans approve Mr Obama's performance, while 54 per cent disapprove. The fall comes as Mr Obama launches a political counteroffensive this week, while he's weighed down by wilting support among some of his most ardent backers, a stunted economy and a daily bashing from the slew of Republicans campaigning for his job. 'We've ...
While Pushing Corporate Tax Cuts, Bachmann Rejects Extending Jobless Benefits: ‘We Don’t Have The Money’
Post Date: 2011-08-15 11:36:00 by Brian S
5 Comments
Right now, 14 million unemployed Americans are struggling to make ends meet. 44.4 percent of these Americans have been struggling without a job for six months or more. While Republican lawmakers continually put off their “jobs” agenda, many of these Americans receive much needed financial support from the federal unemployment benefits program. These benefits, unfortunately, will expire at the end of 2011. GOP presidential frontrunner Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has been touting a “jobs” candidacy and emphatically insists that she could spur some economic recovery within the first three months of her presidency, if “not the whole turnaround.” Her powerhouse ...
Ron Paul Breaks With Mitt Romney: ‘People Are Individuals…Not Companies’
Post Date: 2011-08-15 11:34:20 by Brian S
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Late last week, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) told Iowa fair-goers during a question-and-answer session about his belief that “corporations are people.” Romney, who earned a reputation in 2008 as a flip-flopper, was loathe to back down from the misstep, doubling down on his comments over the weekend. Other conservatives also rushed to his defense, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), both of whom told ThinkProgress they supported the idea that corporations are people. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), who placed second in the Ames Straw Poll over the weekend, took a far different view when speaking with ThinkProgress. Unlike Romney and his own ...
Does the Tea Party need an Army?
Post Date: 2011-08-15 09:28:29 by A K A Stone
4 Comments
Just askin.
Tea Party’s Heyday May Be Coming To An End, Say Political Experts
Post Date: 2011-08-14 18:56:30 by Brian S
15 Comments
The reign of the Tea Party may be coming to an end in Washington, according to academic political experts who say polls show a backlash against the conservative movement. Two national polls released this month by CNN and The New York Times in conjunction with CBS News showed the Tea Party’s unfavorable rating at an all-time high. Political scientists say the data shows a backlash of independent voters against conservative lawmakers who have taken a hard line against bipartisan compromise in Washington. These experts say independent voters who make up the swing bloc of the electorate typically pay less attention to politics than staunch Republican and Democratic voters. The ...
Gop Chairmen Want To Know Effect Of Huge Spending Cuts On National Security
Post Date: 2011-08-14 18:21:28 by Brian S
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Three House Republican committee chairmen are pushing the Obama administration to explain how it anticipates up to $1 trillion in Defense cuts would affect U.S. national security. The $350 billion in national security budget shrinkage mandated in a debt-ceiling deal signed into law by President Obama on Aug. 2 “would be an unprecedented drawdown in Defense while U.S. forces are committed to contingency operations,” the three GOP chairmen wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and White House budget chief Jack Lew in an Aug. 10 letter. “More troubling than the lack of any historical precedent, however, is that this decision to reduce defense spending … has preceded ...
Ron Paul Attacks Abortion In Ames Speech: ‘All Life Is Precious’
Post Date: 2011-08-14 13:19:53 by Brian S
1 Comments
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul began his speech in Ames, Iowa on Saturday by railing against abortion. "There is something that precedes liberty, and that is life," the Texas congressman said. "I believe in a very limited role for the government, but the prime reason that government exists in a free society is to protect liberty and also to protect life, and I mean all life." Paul, a libertarian, has gained an enthusiastic following for his strong views on limited government, free market economics and isolationist foreign policy, but has remained less vocal about social issues than most other Republicans. The speech came ahead of the Ames Straw Poll, an ...
Issa Rips Gov. Perry's 'Texas Miracle'
Post Date: 2011-08-13 12:48:12 by Brian S
4 Comments
Count Rep. Darrell Issa as another skeptic of Gov. Rick Perry’s “Texas Miracle” – the catchphrase used to describe how the Lone Star State has added hundreds of thousands more jobs than any other. In a wide-ranging speech Friday in San Diego, Issa added another salvo in the Texas-California job-creation debate. Perry, who is expected to join the GOP presidential race Saturday, has drawn a mix of scorn and praise for helping to foster a business-friendly environment during his tenure as the nation’s longest-serving governor. “Rick Perry’s entire claim to fame is that he kicked our ass. You guys can laugh. You can let it out,” Issa, R-Vista, said at a ...
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