End Of July Electoral Update

As July ends the electoral map has several changes, still with no toss-ups. Dark Red Romney has a lead above 5%, Pink Romney has a lead below 5%, Dark Blue Obama has a lead over 5%, Light Blue Obama has a lead below 5%. The changes this post are as follows:

Wisconsin has moved to +5% for Obama, as has Ohio, which is big! New Hampshire dropped to -5% for Obama. Missouri has moved to +5% for Romney. The leads in North Carolina and Florida are less than 1% respectively.

As always 270 is the magic number. I apologize, while some states solidified and one faded, the map remains unchanged. I had Virginia in Romney's column last time by mistake, corrected Obama's lead has increased as shown. This total is accurate.

Barack Obama                         Mitt Romney

332                                            206

 

Despite the withering barrage of negative ads by both sides, President Obama seems to be doing better than Romney on the ad front. However, Romney's latest tactics have been to cherry pick a certain sentence out of one of the President's speeches, and place it in an ad out of context. Very easy to do, but a lie non-the-less. Check it out below.

 

 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#48361131

 

Regardless of what Mitt Romney tries to do, the fact is the electoral map is still strongly in the President's favor in the states that count.

 

Romney's main problem continues to be his lack of character, and the continued appearance he will do or say anything to become President. His trip overseas to bolster his foreign policy "ideals" started with a giant insult to Great Britain just hours before they were to begin hosting the 2012 London Olympic Games. He questioned the ability of London to pull off the games despite serious misgivings about security, and the people of London specifically. Way to begin an overseas trip, with insults and misgivings about your host. What did he think they wouldn't notice? Of course the British media struck back with ferocity, thus overshadowing the rest of his trip to England.

 

Then he was off to Israel to kiss some butt, and weave some homespun neo-conservative saber rattling over Iran, straight from the desk of John Bolton. Currently Romney's chief foreign policy advisor, and former U.N. Ambassador under George W. Bush. You know, if you want somebody who had stellar foreign policy George W. is my first choice. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and especially Bolton, never knew a war they didn't like. As things wind down in Afghanistan, I guess it's time to crank up the fear machine over Iran. God knows America isn't truly defending our freedom unless we're dropping bombs on someone somewhere.

 

In any event, Romney still has a lot of work to do, and just a little over 3 months to do it. His path is difficult, but not out of reach. His V.P. pick is said to be more boring than he is, if that's possible? ROMNEY - PET ROCK 2012.  The Conventions, and the debates, are going to seal this deal. The Republicans are up first in Tampa at the end of August, and they need to pull a rabbit out of the hat; but first they need to find a hat!

 

Stripped Financial Regulation And The Road To Ruin

What is commonly known today as the Glass-Steagall law is actually the Bank Act of 1933, containing the provision that erects a wall between the banking and securities businesses. Congressional hearings conducted in early 1933 seemed to show that the presumed leaders of American enterprise (the bankers and brokers) were guilty of disreputable and seemingly dishonest dealings and gross misuses of the public's trust. The Act established new approaches to financial regulation, particularly the institution of deposit insurance, and the legal separation of most aspects of commercial and investment banking. It was believed that bank involvement with securities was detrimental to the Federal Reserve system, contrary to the rules of good banking, and responsible for stock market speculation, the Crash of 1929, bank failures, and the Great Depression.

Curbing banks' ability to grow too large has been a common theme in legislation through the years. During the 1930s and 1940s, banks stuck to the basics of taking deposits and making loans. Congress didn't intervene again until 1956, when it enacted the Bank Holding Company Act to keep financial-services conglomerates from amassing too much power. That law created a barrier between banking and insurance in response to aggressive acquisitions, Congress thought it improper for banks to risk possible losses from underwriting insurance.

In 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that banks were prohibited from offering a product that is similar to mutual funds. In an often quoted decision, the Court found that the Act was intended to prevent banks from endangering themselves, the banking system, and the public from unsafe and unsound practices and conflicts of interest.  Since 1985 the regulators have allowed banks to offer discount brokerage services through subsidiaries, and these more permissive rules have been upheld by the courts. Thus, more recent court decisions and regulatory agency rulings have tended to soften the 1971 Supreme Court's apparently strict interpretation of the Act's prohibitions.

Commercial bank affiliations forbid member banks from affiliating with a company 'engaged principally' in the 'issue, flotation, underwriting, public sale, or distribution at wholesale or retail or through syndicate participation of stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities'. In June 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling accepting the Federal Reserve Board's April 1987 approval for member banks to affiliate with companies underwriting commercial paper, municipal revenue bonds, and securities backed by mortgages and consumer debts, as long as the affiliate does not principally engage in those activities. 'Principally engaged' was defined by the Federal Reserve as activities contributing more than from 5 to 10 per cent of the affiliate's total revenue. In 1987, the DC Court of Appeals affirmed the Federal Reserve Board's 1985 ruling allowing a bank holding company to acquire a subsidiary that provided both brokerage services and investment advice to institutional customers. Alan Greenspan Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board testified to Congress in December 1987, that the Board supported a Glass-Steagall repeal.

The Glass-Steagall Act was enacted to remedy the speculative abuses that infected commercial banking prior to the collapse of the stock market and the financial panic of 1929-1933. Many banks, especially national banks, not only invested heavily in speculative securities but entered the business of investment banking in the traditional sense of the term by buying original issues for public resale. Apart from the special problems confined to affiliation three well-defined evils were found to flow from the combination of investment and commercial banking.

(1) Banks were investing their own assets in securities with consequent risk to commercial and savings deposits. The concern of Congress to block this evil is clearly stated in the report of the Senate Banking and Currency Committee on an immediate forerunner of the Glass-Steagall Act.

(2) Unsound loans were made in order to shore up the price of securities or the financial position of companies in which a bank had invested its own assets.

(3) A commercial bank's financial interest in the ownership, price, or distribution of securities inevitably tempted bank officials to press their banking customers into investing in securities which the bank itself was under pressure to sell because of its own pecuniary stake in the transaction.

In 1999 the Glass–Steagall Act was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Then signed by President Bill Clinton, who publicly declared, "The Glass-Steagall Act is no longer relevant." The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (GLBA), as it came to be known, permitted “super-banks” to “re-enact the same kinds of structural conflicts of interest that were endemic in the 1920s”, which were characterized as “lending to speculators, packaging and securitizing credits and then selling them off, wholesale or retail, and extracting fees at every step along the way.

After less than 10 years, the American financial system had a massive meltdown in 2008. Highlighted by bank bailouts from the Federal Government, and the collapse of the housing market, perpetuated by the exact practices Glass-Steagall was passed to prevent. While President Clinton, (a Democrat) signed into law the ultimate demise of Glass-Steagall, every effort to weaken it since 1971 was initiated by Republicans. Deregulation began in the 1980's with President Reagan, and ultimately succeeded with (GLBA), in 1999.

After the bottom fell out in 2008, in an effort to stop further abuses by Wall Street, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 was enacted. Passed as a response to the late-2000s recession, the Act brought the most significant changes to financial regulation in the United States since the regulatory reform that followed the Great Depression. It represents a significant change in the American financial regulatory environment affecting all Federal financial regulatory agencies and almost every aspect of the nation's financial services industry. And who do you think wants to gut this law, and let Wall Street go back to business as usual? Republicans. As long as fat cat investment bankers, and hedge fund managers, can rape and pillage the American people's hard earned savings, life is good. To add insult to injury after we bailed out the big banks they sat on the money, futher stagnating an already weak economy. They're sitting on $2 Trillion dollars, and refuse to lend it out, on the off chance efforts to gut Dodd-Frank prove successful. These modern day Wall Street robber barons ARE Mitt Romney's crowd, and their greed has us locked in a stagnant economy, and weak job creation. Blame Obama if you want, but this nightmare was a decade in the making, maybe more. The road ahead is rough, but letting Wall Street go back to business as usual is absolute madness.

Another Episode Of Michelle Bachmann's Cavalcade Of Crazy

Yesterday in classic Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) form, the Tea Party Caucus Chairman once again pushed the bounds of reality by sending an inquiry regarding Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aide Huma Abedin. She and four other House Republican co-conspirators, Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Tom Rooney (R-FL) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), raised questions about Abedin, who is Secretary Clinton's deputy chief of staff. They sent a letter in June to the State Department's inspector general suggesting members of Abedin's family may have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the writers said may be seeking access to high levels of the U.S. government. Bachmann defended her actions Thursday on the talk show of conservative host Glenn Beck. (cant go wrong there!) "If my family members were associated with Hamas, a terrorist organization, that alone could be sufficient to disqualify me from getting a security clearance," Bachmann said, according to a transcript of her remarks. "So all we did is ask, did the federal government look into her family associations before she got a high level security clearance." There is no evidence connecting Abedin or her family to any terrorist organization.

In a rare moment of clarity, several Republicans took issue with the accusations by Bachmann and her associates. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), at a regular news briefing, said "accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous." He said he did not know Abedin, but "from everything I know of her, she has a sterling character."

Former Presidential Nominee, and Arizona Senator John McCain denounced the accusations from the Senate Floor. "Rarely do I come to the floor of this institution to discuss particular individuals," McCain said. "But I understand how painful and injurious it is when a person's character, reputation, and patriotism are attacked without concern for fact or fairness." He called Abedin "an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working, and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests." He went further calling the attack "sinister".

Edward Rollins, a prominent Republican strategist who worked on Bachmann's primary campaign. wrote that he was "fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts," (that's the understatement of the year!) but said "this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy level," a reference to the U.S. senator from Wisconsin who rose and then fell accusing government officials and others of being communists in the 1950s. "....Shame on you, Michele!" Rollins wrote, adding that she should apologize to Abedin, Clinton and "to the millions of hard working, loyal, Muslim Americans for your wild and unsubstantiated charges."

The lawmakers' June 13 letter, which they released publicly, asserted that the State Department had recently taken action "enormously favorable" to the Muslim Brotherhood and that its interests could pose a security risk for the United States. The letter cited a security study by an outside group alleging that three members' of Abedin's family, including her father who died two decades ago, and her mother and brother were linked to operatives or organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abedin is married to former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York, who is Jewish.

A State Department spokesman said Clinton "very much values" Abedin's "wise counsel and support" and called the allegations preposterous. O.K. is it me? You have to wonder what gene pool the people who elect this moron are drawing from? Are there a series of insane asylums in Minnesota's 6th district? We're being infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood? You couldn't make this shit up if you tried? Here are five people in Congress who signed their names to this conspiratorial non-sense? I'm surprised Allen West (R-FL) didn't add his master list of Communists in the House. There are 78-81 of them you know. These people represent not only our government, but are no doubt elected by people just like them. What makes a person vote for someone who pontificates in this garbage?

On a positive note, my hats off to Republicans who would normally let this whack job slide for yet another one of her departures from reality. It provides optimism that the Right realizes this kind of crazy needs to be cut off at the knees. You can't come out with these kind of unfounded allegations, and not reap some kind of consequences. Maybe there is a limit to what the Right will do to score political points, one can only hope.

Mitt Romney Is A Cry Baby

This week Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney asked President Obama for an apology regarding the Presidents attacks on Romney's involvement at Bain Capital. Well it seems Mr. Romney can dish it out, but he can't take it. This man isn't running for dog catcher, he's running for President, and if he was a little more forth coming with the personal information about his finances, and dealings at Bain Capital, some of this firestorm might go away.  The problem is we won't, thus perpetuating the lingering questions, and posing the bigger question, what is he hiding?

What are the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium? The latest members of NATO? Nope, these are all the places Mitt Romney likes to hide his money overseas. When asked, he'll tell you all the proper taxes have been paid and the accounts are legitimate. Now there is the world of the well off, and the world of the Mitt Romney well off, and in the world of the Mitt Romney well off, anyone will tell you that when your net worth is $250 million dollars you hide your money overseas to keep it from being taxed. When pressed on the issue, Romney will simply say he won't apologize for his success. For some that may be a legitimate argument, who wants to give the government money if they don't have to? After all, we all have the luxury of off-shore accounts, don't you?

However, the issue remains if everything is on the up and up with Romney, why won't he release his tax returns to clear the air? He wants an apology from the President for claiming he outsourced jobs when he was at Bain Capital, but then says he wasn't part of that aspect of the business from 1999 to 2001? Yet SEC documents list him as CEO and President of Bain during that same period? So which is it? Romney spokesman Ed Gillespie said he was effectively retired during that period, despite the records that prove to the contrary? Is it me, or does this whole thing smell a little suspect? Gillespie claims that the outsourcing of jobs is not unusual, and that President Obama's policies have helped contribute to jobs going overseas. There is only one small problem with this argument, President Obama wasn't President from 1999 to 2001, so what the hell is he talking about? When asked multiple times if Mitt Romney believes outsourcing is a legitimate business practice, he dodged and weaved like a chicken stuck on the highway, ultimately never answering the question.

If Mitt Romney is going to put all his eggs in the basket that says he was a master of private enterprise, then he should be subject to the scrutiny that particular strategy affords. When that raises questions about his personal finance, as well as, the financial acumen that he claims makes him uniquely qualified to be President, don't these questions deserve answers? Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley found himself in hot water for perhaps a little too much candor when he said Romney would do well to release more tax returns, as Democrats have demanded in recent weeks. “I think he ought to release everything. I believe in total transparency,” Bentley told reporters. “You know if you have things to hide, then you may be doing things wrong.”

Frankly, Mitt Romney's bumper stickers should read, "Mitt Romney - I don't wanna talk about it". If you want to concentrate on the economy fine, then address the issues raised by your decision. Don't cry I want an apology, the President doesn't play fair. If he can't handle a Presidential campaign, hows he going to run the country? I'm sure he was stomping his feet with indignation, when he carpet bombed his primary opponents into the ground.

All these issues would go away if he would just pony up, and lay everything on the table. However, he would rather allow the current tempest to continue, rather than reveal what he obviously thinks would be something much more damaging. The man is scared to death of what lies on these documents he refuses to release, especially if they pertain to the one area he claims to be his strength, making them all the more devastating.

Now Republicans say this is all a distraction from President Obama's record. Some could argue this, but at least he has a record to point at. Everything is a well kept secret with Mitt Romney, the media is in a constant battle to define this man who refuses to define himself. So when the President has success in in doing it for him, he cries foul! You can't have it both ways, I'm better than Barack Obama doesn't cut it, and if he's not more forthcoming about his past, and his plans for the future, he's in big trouble.

GOP: Hang It Up On Health Care Already

For the 33rd time since 2010, the Republican controlled House will once again vote to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, aka: Obama Care. Some would get the impression Republicans don't like the health care reform passed two years ago. Each time they make one of these fruitless, dead end gestures, now at 33 and counting, the real work needed for the American people like bills to create jobs, and stimulate the economy, sit on congressional desks collecting dust.

The bill passed with a super majority of congressional leaders elected by the American people in 2008, to implement the Presidents agenda. Despite this, Republican sour grapes have continued to be the focus of their war on this "bad law". Twenty six states challenged the law, and the Supreme Court ruled it "Constitutional", and yet the Right refuses to let it go. The latest battle cry now coming from Republican Governor's like Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and Rick Perry (R-TX) who are claiming they won't implement the law. This is political showboating at it's finest, and has an even greater margin for failure given Republicans have no alternative to offer. I don't care who you are, when the people this law helps start suing for its implementation, all these Republican rebels will fold like a house of cards. This is what the bill does:

Rights & Protections

The Affordable Care Act puts you – not insurance companies – back in charge of your health care. The following rights and consumer protections are available through the health care law:

Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) and Uniform Glossary

Most health insurance plans and issuers must provide you with an easy-to-understand summary about a health plan’s benefits and coverage.

Consumer Assistance Program

State Consumer Assistance Programs help you file complaints and appeals, enroll in health coverage, and learn about your rights and responsibilities as a health care consumer.

Appealing Health Plan Decisions

You have the right to ask your plan to reconsider a denial of payment for services.

Preventive Care

You may be eligible to receive recommended preventive health services at no cost.

Patient’s Bill of Rights

The “Patient’s Bill of Rights” outlines consumer protections and gives you the knowledge you need to make informed choices about your health.

Children’s Pre-Existing Conditions

Insurance companies can no longer limit or deny benefits to children under age 19 due to a pre-existing health condition.

Doctor Choice & ER Access

You have the right to choose the doctor you want from your plan’s network or seek emergency care at a hospital outside of your health plan’s network.

Grandfathered Health Plans

You have the right to keep your “grandfathered” health plan if you were covered before the health care law was enacted. Grandfathered plans do not have to provide some of the rights and protections under the Affordable Care Act.

Curbing Insurance Cancellations

Insurance companies can no longer cancel your coverage just because you made an honest mistake on your application.

Insurance Choices

The Affordable Care Act gives you a variety of alternatives to the individual private insurance market. If you need health insurance, these programs may be available to you.

Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP)

If you have been rejected for insurance due to a health condition or disability, you may be eligible for coverage through the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.

Young Adult Coverage

If you are under 26, you may be eligible for health insurance coverage under your parent’s plan.

Affordable Insurance Exchanges

Starting in 2014, you will be able to shop for insurance and compare health plans in new state-based Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

CO-OP Insurance Plans

Starting in 2014, you or your small business may be able to buy insurance from a new type of non-profit, consumer-run health insurer, called a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP).

Insurance Costs

The Affordable Care Act provides you with new ways to hold insurance companies accountable and keep your costs down. These changes can help you get the most out of your health insurance.

Value for Your Premium Dollar

The health care law limits how much of your premium dollar your insurer can spend on things other than providing and improving the quality of your health care.

Lifetime and Annual Limits

Lifetime limits on most benefits are banned for all new health insurance plans. Annual limits on your health benefits are now restricted and will be phased out by 2014.

Flexible Spending Account Changes

If you have a flexible spending account, health savings account, or health reimbursement account, here are some important changes you should know about.

Rate Review

Rate Review helps protect families and small businesses from unreasonable rate increases. Insurance companies must now justify any rate increase of 10% or more.

65 or Older

The Affordable Care Act strengthens Medicare, offers eligible seniors a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing, and provides discounts on drugs when in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole.” Learn how the health care law affects people age 65 or older.

Medicare Preventive Services

If you have Medicare, you are eligible for a number of cost-free preventive services.

Medicare Drug Discounts

Eligible seniors who are in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole” automatically receive a discount on prescription drugs in 2011 and beyond.

$250 “Donut Hole” Rebate (2010)

If you were in the prescription drug coverage gap in 2010, you may have qualified for a rebate.

Strengthening Medicare

The health care law cracks down on waste, fraud, and abuse while providing new protections for seniors.

Employers

Tax credits and new programs are now available to small businesses. Learn how the law helps make care more affordable for employers, employees, and early retirees:

Small Employer Tax Credits

Tax credits for small businesses and non-profits help you bring down the cost of providing insurance.

Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP)

If your company provides health insurance to retirees ages 55 to 64, it may be eligible for financial help through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.

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This is what ObamaCare DOES. Read it, learn it, tell your friends about it, and the 34th time the Republicans in Congress want to repeal it, ASK WHY? REPUBLICANS, you have lost the battle, and the war, MOVE ON!  Think about it, when they're not frothing at the mouth over this, what are they talking about? More breaks for the rich, less regulation, business as usual on Wall Street, turning Medicare into a voucher program, doing away with Social Security, Corporations are people! WHERE DO I SIGN!  This is not about taxes, or God forbid "Job Creators" aka: The Rich, its a step, not a perfect step, but a step toward making the fantasy that America has the greatest health care in the world, a little closer to reality.

Reflections On America

This past 4th of July I had some time to reflect on the state of America, and sadly was not surprised at what I found. On the Left, I find politicians who won't stand up for what they believe in, even after they get what they want. They are so inherently crippled by public opinion, that finding those willing to take a stand in what is right, is attuned to farmer herding cats. On the Right, we have a party captured by its extremes, who believe compromise means making the other side come to their point of view. They have disconnected from the people, to serve big money interests, both corporate and individual.

On Independence day we like to pat ourselves on the back, and tout how we are the greatest nation on earth. The Right would have you wrap yourself in the flag, embraced in the warm cocoon of our "freedom." The Left, embrace our diversity and perseverance despite ourselves. However, we do not have a monopoly on freedom, of the 208 some countries of the world about 180 of them have freedom. We also (particularly conservatives) think we have the exclusive blessings of God. God Bless America! You see it on bumper stickers, most high ranking politicians can't end a speech without saying it, but who said we have the exclusive blessings of the divine power? What makes us so special?

People Left and Right say we are the number one country in the world, but are we? were we ever? Yes, I think there was a time in history when we could say this with a straight face, but we have lost our way. In literacy, math, science, life expectancy, infant mortality, median household income, labor, exports, in none of these are we ranked #1, NONE. We are first in military spending. In fact we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of which are allies. Many say we have the best health care in the world, but many are screaming bloody murder against expanding coverage to most of our citizens. As long as we have people coming to line up for days to get into free health care clinics being offered all across this country, we cannot say we have the best health care, we just can't.

There was a time in the not so distant past, when we didn't sweat the small stuff. When civility wasn't just essential to governing, it was demanded. When we planted our flag on the moral high ground, not a cross. When we had wars on poverty, not the poor. When we dreamed big, built big things, were on the forefront of technology, and disease, and the universe. When intelligence was something we aspired too, not demeaned. A time when we weren't afraid of our own shadow.

If it is comforting for you to proclaim our greatness, by all means, it is the IN thing to do. However, in my estimation we have lost our way. Powerful, big money interests are increasingly eroding the "American Dream". The promise that no matter what your background, your success story is possible because of American exceptionalism. Only with our voice, our vote, can we rekindle all that we once were, and can be again. This task is ours to promote together, to shed the narrow ideologies that bring only gridlock, and find the common ground that both political parties once knew, but have abandoned. To work for the common welfare, and strive toward domestic tranquility. All we have to do is find the kind of people who aspire to this end. Unfortunately for all of us, they are few and far between, and that doesn't bode well for our future, and that of the United States of America.

Electoral Update And An Angry Right

The latest electoral map has a few changes, again with no toss-ups. Dark Red Romney has a lead above 5%, Pink Romney has a lead below 5%, Dark Blue Obama has a lead over 5%, Light Blue Obama has a lead below 5%.  The changes this post are Obama's lead in Michigan dropping below 5%, Arizona going above 5% for Romney, and Florida has gone from pink for Romney, to light blue for Obama.

The 270 mark remains the number to win. The updated map puts President Obama's lead a bit higher.

Barack Obama                    Mitt Romney

319                                       219

After a hard month for the President, Romney still can't seem to catch on and make any headway. If anything he has lost ground in the so called "battleground" states. His lack of specifics on ANYTHING has people scratching their head as to what exactly he stands for, except of course that he's not Barack Obama. His favorability rating remains low, and he continues to struggle in the states where it counts.

In the meantime, Republicans in general are seething at the recent Supreme Court ruling to uphold The Affordable Care Act of 2010. Cheif Justice Roberts in paricular has been singled out as a "traitor" and a "coward" from right wing nutjobs who thought they had Obamacare's demise in the bag. They have yet to outline details for replacement legislation, and even before the court's ruling, GOP officials said they had no plans to do so until after the election or perhaps 2013. Nor has Romney detailed what he would like to see included in a substitute law.

Here is a taste of what crazy sounds like after the ruling:

Sarah Palin: "Obama lied to the American people. Again. He said it wasn't a tax. Obama lies; freedom dies."
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY): “Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so. The whole thing remains unconstitutional,”
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN): likened upholding of the Affordable Care Act to the events of 9/11.
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA): With Obamacare ruling, I feel like I just lost two great friends, America and John Roberts.”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH):  "Todays ruling by the Supreme Court underscores the urgency of a full repeal of Obamacare."
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus: "Today's Supreme Court decision sets the stakes for the November election. Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare's budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president."
Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT): "I will continue to fight this assualt on individual liberty and limited government."
Rep. Allen West (R-FL): "... Today, individual sovereignty in America has been defeated."

Listen to these nut jobs, Freedom is dead? The ruling is equal to 9/11? I've lost my friend America? Individual liberty and soveriegnty have been defeated? We must act now to save the country? Are you kidding me? You would think the Supreme Court ripped up the Constitution and then went outside and burned it. The only way to avoid this national disaster is to elect Republicans! Did I miss something? I thought the Mayans said the world blows up in Decemeber, not November? There is a giant asteroid called Obamacare hurtling toward the United States and the only way to stop it is to elect the guy who came up with the idea in the first place? REALLY?

Look at the quotes above, are these the people you want running the government? “Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so." Well yeah bumpkin it kinda does?! Next time the thought of voting Republican enters your mind, think of these quotes and ask yourself, "What am I on Crack!"

Sometimes We Get It Right

Today in a 5-4 vote that was expected to go the other way, The Supreme Court upheald the provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare.  Usually conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, joined with the courts four liberals to uphold the law, and the all important individual mandate. Roberts reasoned Congresses power to tax, not the commerce clause, allowed the bill the right to be declared constitutional.

In a court that has become blatantly partisan in recent years, Chief Justice Roberts showed incredible courage in bucking a conservative smeer campaign that has demonized the bill for over two years. It is a testiment to this courage that led him to uphold the law, and not bow to the millions of dollars spent in an attempt to destroy health care reform. The landmark decision will maybe, just maybe, prove the money from the Right can't buy every outcome they want. Today's historic ruling is a blow against the special interests, and a victory for American democracy.

It goes without saying, this is a massive victory for President Obama. This was his first terms signature acheivement, and to have it knocked down would have been a hard shot to the President. To Mitt Romney and all the of the congressional Republicans who voted against this bill, the people have spoken, and the highest court in the land has heard them. So go home and tell your illiterate, lemming, rube, constituants, that your idea of health care has been repealled, and come November all you right wing water carriers should be replaced.

So all you conservative wingnuts can go shit in your hat! Sometimes when the chips are down, we get it right, today was one of those days. As for Mitt Romney, looks like the grenade went off before he could throw it. After a tough month for the President, he is still holding fast where it counts, and in some places gaining ground. Governor Romney continues to dodge and weave his run to the White House by not answering questions, and blaming everything from the economy, to burnt toast, on the President's lack of leadership. He wants to concentrate on the economy, but he won't talk about his time as Governor of Massachusetts, his time at Bain Capital, he thinks the Ryan Budget Plan is "marvelous", he won't address immigration reform, he talks about eliminating tax loop-holes, but won't say which ones? He will repeal Obamacare, but won't say what he would replace it with? If your message is I'm better than the other guy, but don't ask me why? He is nothing more than the anti-Obama candidate, and if thats the best he can do, then I can't wait for the debates because Obama is going to eat his lunch. So for all you rich big money corporations, and individuals, who poured millions into killing health care reform, better luck next time!

Holder Witch Hunt Is Pure Power Politics

Yesterday the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. It is something that has never happened before in our history. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) led the charge with a melodramitic diatribe worthy of an academy award. The vote, which ran along party lines, 23 Republicans in favor, 17 Democrats opposed, only served to emphasize the partisan head hunt. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said a vote by the full House will take place next week.

Attorney General Holder has released over 7,500 documents regarding the "Fast and Furious" program that is being investigated. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives launched Operation Fast and Furious out of Arizona to track weapon purchases by Mexican drug cartels. However, it lost track of more than 1,000 firearms that the agency had allowed straw buyers to carry across the border, and two of the lost weapons turned up at the scene of the 2010 killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

I take nothing away from the seriousness of agent Terry's death, but these outcomes, in these type of conditions, are hardly irregular. People are dying on our southern border everyday, agent Terry has simply become the tragic strawman, in an attempt by the Right, to somehow legitimize their attacks against Holder. In the meantime, Holder, said his ongoing offer still stands to turn over some of the documents sought by House Republicans. However, Chairman Issa said Holder put unreasonable conditions on his offer. Which only furthur proves this is not about the Attorney General, its about attacking President Obama in an election year.

The committee's top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), accused Issa of setting an "impossible standard" for Holder by initially demanding documents the attorney general is legally prohibited from providing. Now Issa has "no interest in resolving" the dispute with Holder, Cummings said.  At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney called the Republican investigation a "politically motivated, taxpayer funded, election year fishing expedition." "It is this approach, I think, that explains at least in part why this Congress has the lowest public approval ratings of any in memory, if not history," Carney said. Despite this House Speaker Boehner said, "The House will vote next week on a contempt measure unless these documents are released"

So what is this really all about? Eric Holder has been a giant thorn in the side of Republican Governors, as well as, Congressional Republicans. Why?  He has been President Obama's muscle in a battle that has been raging since Obama took office. He was the administrations agent to stop enforcing the Defense of Mariage Act (DOMA). He has challenged harsh attempts at immigration reform by some states, and more recently has tried to put the hammer down on a growing number of state Republican initiatives to suppress voter turn-out. The most recent effort by Florida to purge its voter rolls. He has been the administrations attack dog on all these issues, and therefore who better to smack down than the man who has done his best to stop the national Republican agenda?

Before the vote yesterday, President Obama invoked executive privledge on the documents in question. In a move that argueably could have had better timing, it only served as meat for the Republican feeding frenzy that is now spewing terms like conspiracy and cover-up. So while they start every sentence with "This is about justice for agent Terry..." nothing could be furthur from the truth. The fact is, agent Terry is just a convenient tool to put the hammer down on Attorney General Holder, and by default President Obama.

It is pure power politics, and quite frankly I think the American people are sick and tired of this kind of dead end governance. There are transportation bills, jobs bills, student loan bills, rotting on the desks in Congress, and THIS is what Republicans want to concentrate on? Showboating and political theater, they just can't help it. They can't pass up an opportunity to litigate imaginary scandals, it's like catnip, they can't resist. So while the Republicans play games, Washington remains in gridlock, and the American people continue to suffer.

Obama's Achilles Heal

Most people agree that the popular vote in the coming Presidential election is going to be very close. However, in the electoral college where Presidential decisions are made, the President continues to hold an edge. It is generally a given these days that the northeast and pacific west go Democratic, while the south, excluding Florida, and the interior west go Republican. This leaves a few "battleground states" to pick the winner. While some pundits have as many as a dozen "battlegrounds", I have just a few, they are Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. If Obama can hold the standard Democratic states, and just 2 of these 4, he wins. In past years the major battlegrounds have been Florida and Ohio, and while they are still very important, Obama can loose both of them and still win the election. Romney really needs to win both, to have any chance at beating Obama. At present I have them splitting, Florida to Romney, Ohio to Obama. Even though Romney is currently winning Florida by less than 0.5%, and Obama is winning Ohio with less than 2.0%, if Obama can take just one of these states, it will serve as a nice buffer for any gains Romney can muster.... Unless?

The one area of the country that we have not talked about, fractures. It has been a Democratic stronghold of late, but shows signs it may not be able to be taken for granted. I'm talking about the upper mid-west, specifically Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio.

In Iowa: Obama is leading here by only 1.8%*. Iowa has 6 electoral votes, and in 2008 went big for Obama by 10 points. It has voted Democratic 4 out of the last 5 elections.

In Wisconsin: Obama is leading here by 3.4%*. Wisconsin has 10 electoral votes, and in 2008 also went big for Obama by 14 points. It has voted Democratic 5 out of the last 5 elections.

In Michigan: Obama is leading here by 4.7%*. Michigan has 16 electoral votes, and in 2008 went for Obama by 16 points. It has voted Democratic 5 out of the last 5 elections.

In Ohio: Obama is leading here by 1.8%*. Ohio has 18 electoral votes, and in 2008 went for Obama by 5 points. It has voted Democratic 3 out of the last 5 elections.

While Obama won all these states in 2008, the current margins have them very much in question? In Iowa he's down 8.2%, in Wisconsin down 10.6%, in Michigan down 11.3%, and in Ohio down 3.2%.

This is Mitt Romney's back door. If he can take 2, or even 3 of these states, the President's foundation begins to crumble. However, if he did loose Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan, but won both Florida and Ohio he still wins. As you begin to go through all the potential scenarios one universal truth remains, and that is that Romney's path to the White House is much more difficult than Obama's.

The 4 states I mention here are currently light blue, the question is will they stay that way? The margins are weak, and with Scott Walker's win in Wisconsin, there is renewed hope by Republicans that the Badger State may be up for grabs. Iowa and Ohio are almost dead even, and Michigan Romney's main home state, is drifting right. A poll released just yesterday, had Obama up in the Wolverine State by just one point. The poll before that had Romney up by one.

All this stands as a reminder that right now Obama is winning where it counts, but his leads are tenuous and it won't take much to turn the tide in Romney's favor. As economic news remains bleak, and Europe continues to implode, there are a lot of intangibles out there that the President has no control over, that may tip things Romney's way. It's a roll of the dice and Obama has the house advantage, but with the stakes this high Romney has plenty of money to play with, and a lucky streak is not out of the question.


* SOURCE: Real Clear Politics

Choice, Freedom, And A Few Select Phrases: A Republican Primer

We have all heard them by now, those gold standards repeated again and again by conservatives to emphasize their talking points. I have talked about some of these before, but lets review some of the major touch tones that Republicans just love to throw around, and examine what they REALLY mean. The first one I've touched on before, but it is consistently tossed around in the vernacular of the Right, probably more than any other.

FREEDOM: Now the dictionary defines freedom as follows:
1. The stateof being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.

2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

3. the power to determine action without restraint.

4. political or national independence

5. personal liberty, as  opposed to bondage or slavery.

Now this goes hand in hand with another Right wing favorite, in fact they are almost inseparable.

CHOICE: Again the dictionary defines choice as follows:

1. an act or instance of choosing, a selection.

2. the right, power, or opportunity to choose, an option. 

3. the person or thing chosen or eligible to be chosen. 

4. an alternative.

5. an abundance or variety from which to choose.

EXPAND

6. something that is preferred or preferable to others; the best part of something.

7. a carefully selected supply.

It is rare that you not hear one of these without the other. Lets see how they work? They will tell you, Obama wants to take away our freedom. Well that's kind of broad, don't you think? What freedom exactly is coming for? Then you get, our freedom of choice. The government shouldn't be telling us what to do!

Now this argument is most often applied to the Health Care Act of 2010, a.k.a Obama Care. The government shouldn't be able to force me to buy insurance! Now once you maneuver past all the death panel, bureaucrats deciding what your doctor can and can't do, hands off my Medicare non-sense, what is the core of this argument? In this case no health care mandate, fine. They want you to have the freedom to be indigent. They want you to be able to choose to go to an emergency room and let other people pick up the tab. The freedom to get free health care, I'd choose that, wouldn't you? So they cry again, no government run health care, hands off our Medicare!

Now look at the brainiacs in the picture above. NEWS FLASH Tea Party Patriots, Medicare IS government run health care! OK, OK, lets step back a minute, maybe they mean the government is forcing you to buy government run health care, like Medicare for all? That (as you can see above is Socialism!) God help us! Wrong again wing nuts. The mandate forces you to buy PRIVATE insurance, from PRIVATE insurance companies, free market capitalism shoved right up your keester! But the death panels? the bureaucrats? My freedom, my choice? The government can't make me do anything! The government makes you buy car insurance? The government says what you can take on a plane? The government tells you how fast to drive, where you can and can't park, and on and on... and if you CHOOSE NOT to follow these government mandates you face a penalty, or worse. 

What does the Health Care Act of 2010 do????

Forces insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, TRUE. Prevents insurances companies from imposing limits on health care costs, TRUE. Allows parents to keep their children on their policies until age 26, TRUE. Prevents women from paying more for insurance just because they're women, TRUE. Supplements senior citizen drug coverage in the "doughnut hole", TRUE. Provides Medicare recipients with free wellness care, some tests, and cancer screenings, TRUE.

So if you CHOOSE NOT to participate, you face a penalty. sound familiar?

So what the hell are Republicans talking about? Your freedom to be denied emergency treatment? Your choice to go bankrupt because you can't pay your medical bills? The freedom to be told it was your choice not to get health insurance, TOUGH SHIT DEAL WITH IT! Please try to bleed somewhere else, it looks bad for our paying customers! (Remeber the Republican debate?)

But we're going to replace Obama Care! Oh really! with what?!  cue (crickets chirping). Its all a lot of crap. Just because the Republicans are experts at demonizing all the things they don't like, doesn't mean they are telling you the truth, and certainly doesn't mean they're right!

Lets stay with health care, this time specifically for women. Now you would think a group that likes to advocate choice would be part of the PRO CHOICE movement? Nope, wrong again, in fact it's way to hypocritical to be ANTI-CHOICE, so instead they are PRO-LIFE, Ironic don't you think? Unfortunately the Republican definition of freedom and choice is strictly limited, particularly when it comes to individual choice and freedoms.

Remember our dictionary definitions of freedom:

2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

3. the power to determine action without restraint.

and choice:

3. the person or thing chosen or eligible to be chosen. 

Republicans believe women SHOULD NOT have freedom of choice when it comes to their bodies. When it comes to equal pay for equal work. When it comes to unnecessary invasive medical procedures that serve no medical purpose, except to influence a woman's freedom of choice regarding what is going to be done to her body. In fact, they have passed laws that make it legal to lie to women in order to influence their choice, while at the same time protecting the liers who tell them.

If you are homosexual in America, Republicans reject your freedom to love who you want. To get married if you choose to do so, and have the same 1000 plus federal protections granted to heterosexual unions. They would call these special rights, not civil rights. If we could stay locked in the 1950's which is the conservatives "American Dream" this wouldn't even be an issue. Women, minorities, gays, all knew their place. However, abortion is now legal, integration is the norm, and like so many other groups before them, gays are tired of being second class citizens because Republicans want to deny them their choice, and their freedoms.

Look at the definitions again. Freedom and choice are not predicated on the narrow ideologies of the few. They are universal concepts born of democracy. They should be embraced, advanced, and protected. The Constitution starts "We the People..." not we the privileged, we the corporations, we the wealthy. If you are one of these select entities the Right will bathe you in all the freedom's and choice's you can handle, but as an individual not so much. It is a dichotomy they cannot escape, and for a group that consistently cries out for strict adherence to the Constitution, much like the bible, they only want to apply it when and where it's convenient for them.

So if you have the temerity to somehow want to tax, regulate, or limit these groups, that can only flourish in an environment of choices free from the restraint of government, then you are a socialist. It makes perfect sense to them, why can't you see it? Which brings me to my next phrase, one of my personal favorites.

JOB CREATORS: Any corporation or individual that is flush with cash, and can only thrive in an unregulated, minimal or tax free environment in order to create jobs. Translation:

In Energy, from the fine people who brought you the gulf oil spill disaster, the oxy-moron of clean coal, and flaming water straight from your tap. There should be no regulation on where or how oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy should be used or harnessed. Energy and profits always come first. Trash the environment, pollute freely, and run your operations unencumbered by annoying agencies like the EPA. All while collectively making 40 billion + dollars a quarter, and thanks to Republicans, still receiving government subsidies.

In Banking, from the good people who brought us the housing bubble, to big to fail, and the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. Nothing to see here, thanks for the bailouts, but we've learned our lesson. We are bigger than ever before, sitting on 2 trillion dollars in capital, but we just don't want to lend right now. They also find consumer protections, and bills like Dodd-Frank really inconvenient.

Millionaires and billionaires, the people most important to Republicans. You see if they have low taxes, and little or no regulation, and eliminate the role of government to control any of this, and the economy will flourish. Really a simple idea if you think about it, there is only one problem, IT DOESN'T WORK! Republicans have been trying this magic formula for over 30 years, somebody send them the memo PLEASE!

You want to talk about JOB CREATORS, lets go there. In President Clinton's tenure as President, (a Democrat), in 8 years he created 23 million jobs and 4 national budgets with a surplus. He did this with a corporate tax rate just 4% higher than what it is today. Now lets look at George W. Bush (a Republican). In his 8 years he created 3 million jobs, gave 1 Trillion dollars in tax breaks to the rich, (which are still in place), and raised the national debt to 10 Trillion dollars. Add in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, none of which were paid for, and he left office handing Obama the biggest financial disaster in decades. The month Obama was elected, November 2008, we lost 728, 000 jobs. This last week Republicans shredded Obama for creating only 69,000 jobs. Obama has created more jobs in 3 years than Bush did in 8. All with a banking crisis, an economic meltdown both here and in Europe, and a Republican congress who wouldn't concede the sky is blue if Obama said so. So all these short term memory conservatives want to blame Obama, if you disagree with any of the Rights lame explanations for our economic woe you get my next favorite phrase.

CLASS WARFARE: It's not fair to blame the success of the corporations and the rich, that only serves to divide us not unite us. Look at the chart below:

Who's being divided, and who's being united? Wall street is overwhelming Main street, the 1% are squeezing the 99%. The middle class in this country is dying people! We are suppose to be the greatest country on earth? Then why are we 5th in the WORLD in income disparity, 5TH! That's more like a statistic for some totalitarian backwater in Asia or Africa. After all, your a high school graduate making $11 dollars an hour at the food barn, if you work hard you to could be a millionaire, one of us, all you have to do is reach for it. Republicans, PLEASE stop blowing smoke up my ass, your going to ruin my autopsy when I die with no health insurance. There are millions of Americans in that very situation and believe that dream is possible. The American Dream has been hijacked by corporations and the rich, who play that tune while millions of Americans follow only to be drowned in the ocean.

You want to talk CLASS WARFARE. Mitt Romney and Scott Walker have showed us that if you have enough money, the prize can be yours. Unfortunately that means our government, our politicians, our rights, and yes our freedoms and our choice. What happens to your body, to your environment, your vote, your love, is all for sale to the highest bidder. It's not just a cliche anymore, its a fact. A very sobering, scary, and quite real fact.

Will Wisconsin Become A Missed Opportunity?

Today the 18 month battle to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will finally be decided. While most polls had Walker ahead of his Democratic challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker has never gone above 50%, and the latest poll has the race a statistical dead heat. The recall juggernaut was prompted by Walker's "Divide and Conquer" strategy to destroy the states unions, collective bargaining power, and ultimately make Wisconsin a "right to work" state. Don't just take my word for it, see for yourself straight from Walker's own mouth.

After a long battle by Democratic state legislators who left the state to prevent Walker's agenda from being put in place, when they finally returned, Republicans in the state assembly rammed the bill home, in what some would call a cowardly procedural farce. Again, see for yourself.



The result, an immediate cry for Walker and several other Republican state legislators to go. In an earlier recall measure,  3 out of 3 state Democrats held their seats, while 2 out of 6 Republicans lost theirs. More Republican legislators are potentially on the chopping block today, as well as, Walker's Lieutenant Governor.

In what many are calling a watershed moment for labor in this country, has 2 basic outcomes. 1) The further destruction of organized labor, not just as a hit for unions in general, but more importantly to diminish a major money stream for Democrats, including the President. 2) A red light for a nationwide Republican effort to undermine organized labor, and a message that this kind of political over reach will not be tolerated my the middle class, who continues to get squeezed under Republican policies.

Republicans know how high the stakes are in Wisconsin, and have poured millions of dollars into the Walker campaign in order to keep their national agenda alive. Walker has outspent Barrett 7 to 1 in advertising and attack ads. 30 million dollars of Walker's war chest coming from donors out of the state. Walker's biggest donors include Texas homebuilding king and Swift Boat for Veterans backer Bob Perry, Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, and Richard DeVos, heir to Amway fortune. A little more than $1 of every $10 given to Barrett was out-of-state campaign cash.

Where are the Presidential Candidates? No where to be found? Both President Obama who sent an 11th hour tweet last night endorsing Barrett, and Mitt Romney have steered clear of Wisconsin, each no doubt awaiting the outcome, so they can ride in and support which ever mandate prevails. The crime here is once again through money, and lots of it, Republicans are on their way to buying what they hope will be one in a long line of elections. If Barrett goes down tonight, the Democratic leadership who avoided this race like the plague, will take a long hard look in the mirror and have no one to blame but themselves. Walker rallied Governors from all over the country, big money donors and corporations hostile to labor, and was backed by the party apparatus to drive it all home. If Democrat Tom Barrett loses tonight, it will be a mandate to other Republican Governors to keep the trend going. If he wins, Democrats will have drawn a line in the sand that says go no farther. So will it become a squandered opportunity, or a first step in curbing Republican plans for the nation? In 24 hours we should know the answer.