Month: August 2012

Categories
Politics Republican

Abraham, Isaac and Mitt: The GOP Hurricane Heads Towards Shore

In February I wrote that the conservative wave would crash this year. I even upgraded the warning to a tsunami, and told people to get the hell off the beach. So it couldn’t be any more appropriate for a hurricane to be arriving in Tampa just as the Republican Party is gathering for its national convention. It’s even more appropriate for said hurricane to be named Isaac, after the biblical character whose father, Abraham, has to prove his fealty to the Almighty by killing his son. The GOP is all about fealty. And sacrifice. And going to the edge of the abyss before pulling back (remember that said Almighty stops Abraham just as he’s about to plunge a dagger into a bound and compliant Isaac). The story of Abraham and Isaac is just too perfect for our times, but the GOP has forgotten its lesson.

Yes, folks, this is the modern day Republican Party. It’s fractious, extreme, uncompromising and biblical. It relies on the fear of change while also proposing some of the most far-reaching and radical changes this country has ever seen. It wants to deny people their equal rights, bind women to their men, sacrifice the poor so that the rich can have their tax cuts and proclaim itself libertarian while telling you what you can do in the privacy of your home and bedroom. It has questioned the legitimacy of our sitting president and has demonized anyone who doesn’t agree with its policies as un-American, anti-American, and foreign.

It’s not enough to say that this isn’t your father’s Republican Party. This isn’t even Abraham’s Republican Party.

With a party platform that would deny marriage equality, outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and boil health care down to a policy that essentially says lose weight (hello keynote speaker!), the Republicans will gather under a far-right banner that Mitt Romney wouldn’t have draped himself in 5 years ago. The father of the nation’s health care law now has to run away from it faster than Usain Bolt because the rest of the party doesn’t like the idea that until 4 years ago was a Republican talking point.

His running mate, Paul Ryan, is a poster child of the new right and the man who single-handedly turned the election from being about jobs and the economy, which is where Romney needed it to be, into a tutorial on why we need social programs like Medicare, Social Security and food stamps. The Republicans will remind anyone who listens that now is not the time to raise taxes on anyone, but they seem to believe that it’s high time we cut those darned benefits that feed, educate and clothe children, and keep them under dry rooves (yes, I said rooves).

I truly hope that nobody gets hurt as a result of the storm heading towards Tampa. The problem is that many people will get hurt because of the Republican agenda. It’s a perfect storm of greed, intolerance and uncompromising radicalism. Forget the beach; it’s time to move to the high ground, and fast.

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www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and on Twitter @rigrundfest

Categories
Politics

Republican Governor Endorses President Obama over Mitt Romney

With the Republicans having their Convention in Florida this week to re-invent and reintroduce Mitt Romney to the American public, it’s only natural that a former Republican governor use this opportunity to make his endorsement.

Governor Charlie Crist, wrote in today’s edition of Tampa Bay Times that the only person capable of turning around this economy and bringing jobs back, is the man he’s endorsing for President… Barack Obama.

I’ve studied, admired and gotten to know a lot of leaders in my life. Across Florida, in Washington and around the country, I’ve watched the failure of those who favor extreme rhetoric over sensible compromise, and I’ve seen how those who never lose sight of solutions sow the greatest successes.

As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I’m confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation. I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility. It is a vision of the future proven right by our history.

We often remind ourselves to learn the lessons of the past, lest we risk repeating its mistakes. Yet nearly as often, our short-term memory fails us. Many have already forgotten how deep and daunting our shared crisis was in the winter of 2009, as President Obama was inaugurated. It was no ordinary challenge, and the president served as the nation’s calm through a historically turbulent storm.

The president’s response was swift, smart and farsighted. He kept his compass pointed due north and relentlessly focused on saving jobs, creating more and helping the many who felt trapped beneath the house of cards that had collapsed upon them.

He knew we had to get people back to work as quickly as possible — but he also knew that the value of a recovery lies in its durability. Short-term healing had to be paired with an economy that would stay healthy over the long run. And he knew that happens best by investing in the right places.

President Obama invested in our children’s schools because he believes a good education is a necessity, not a luxury, if we’re going to create an economy built to last. He supported more than 400,000 K-12 teachers’ jobs, and he is making college more affordable and making student loans, like the ones he took out, easier to pay back.

He invested in our runways, railways and roads. President Obama knows a reliable infrastructure that helps move people to work and helps businesses move goods to market is a foundation of growth.

And the president invested in our retirement security by strengthening Medicare. The $716 billion in savings his opponents decry today extended the life of the program by nearly a decade and are making sure taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted in excessive payments to insurance companies or fraud and abuse. His opponents would end the Medicare guarantee by creating a voucher that would raise seniors’ costs by thousands of dollars and bankrupt the program.

We have more work to do, more investments to make and more waste to cut. But only one candidate in this race has proven a willingness to navigate a realistic path to prosperity.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

Reinventing Mitt Romney – A Major Etch-A-Sketch Moment In Tampa Florida – Video

Mitt Romney has tried everything. He’s taken two, sometimes three positions on every issue in the hopes of always appeasing the masses. But everything Mitt Romney has tried has failed, and his name is now synonymous with the term “Flip-Flopper.”

And now Mitt Romney and his Republican allies are at it again. This time, they’re using their Convention in Tampa Florida this upcoming week to reinvent Mitt Romney. Mother Nature is already against this convention, but Republicans are a determined bunch.

The Etch-A-Sketch is already in the stadium. Let the shaking begin!

Categories
Politics

Tropical Storm Isaac Wins First Round – Republicans Cancels Day 1 Of Convention

Tampa, Florida (CNN) – The Republican National Convention has cancelled the program’s first day due to Tropical Storm Isaac, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced Saturday.

The convention will convene on Monday and then immediately recess until the following afternoon, Priebus said in a statement.

“Due to the severe weather reports for the Tampa Bay area, the Republican National Convention will convene on Monday August 27th and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, August 28th,” Priebus said. “After consulting with Governor Scott, NOAA and local emergency management officials, we are optimistic that we will begin an exciting, robust convention that will nominate the Romney-Ryan ticket.”

Meanwhile, due to the Republicans constant assault on women, David Letterman said some very interested things in his monologue on Friday. Mr. Letterman said that the storm heading to the Republican’s convention site is “proof that God is a woman.”

Watch Dave’s monologue below;

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Medicare ObamaCare Politics weekly address

President’s Weekly Address – Strengthening And Preserving Medicare

The President used this weeks address to talk about the critical need to strengthen and preserve Medicare for our seniors and future generations.

Through the President’s Affordable Care Act, nearly 5.4 million seniors have already saved an average of more than $700 on prescription drugs, preventive care services like mammograms are free without co-pay, and the President’s plan extends the life of Medicare by almost a decade by cracking down on waste, fraud, and overpayments.

Republicans in Congress have put forward a very different plan that turns Medicare into a voucher program—under one plan forcing seniors to pay an extra $6,400 out of their own pocket for care-and effectively ends Medicare as we know it. The President believes that our seniors deserve better and will work with anyone to keep improving the current system to give our seniors the security and peace of mind they have earned.

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Birther Birthers Mitt Romney Politics

Mitt Romney Has Joined The ‘Prestigious’ Ranks Of The Birthers

Mitt Romney has now officially covered every aspect of the political spectrum. He once said he was more liberal than Ted Kennedy, then he later called himself a Republican. When he decided to run for President, Romney magically became “severely conservative” and now, Mitt Romney is as far right as right could go… a birther.

Appearing before a crowed of supporters, Romney engaged in the nonsense that has caused the rest of the world to laugh at America. He questioned the birthplace of President Obama and officially joined the nut-jobs on the extreme right who have made up and propagated a story about the President’s birth to satisfy their foolish racist ideology.

You see, the ideology of a Birther  has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with a racist mentality that suggests that a black man or woman cannot achieve what Barack Obama has done. Being the President of the United States is supposed to be reserved for a white man only. So having this particular man in the White House has twisted the feeble minds of some and the Birther belief was created to discredit Obama’s presidency. Their masterful plan involves a conspiracy that took place some 50 years ago.

According to the Birthers, Ann Dunham (Obama’s mother) give birth to little Obama in Kenya. But she knew that someday her son would be the 44th President of the United States, so she began a grand conspiracy setting the path make that happened. She somehow convinced newspapers in Hawaii to print stories about the birth and she got the registrar’s office in Honolulu to go along with her lie. It was 1961, and everyone knew back then that this baby, son of Ann Dunham, would one day be president.

And their plan back in 1961 to fool Americans in 2008 almost worked. What Ann Dunham, the newspapers, the hospital in Honolulu and the registrar’s office didn’t count on was the infinite wisdom of the Birthers, and now, thanks to this group, Mitt Romney has seen the truth!

Jumping into the ocean of Birtherism headfirst, Romney told the audience of the place of his and his wife, Ann’s birth. He then added that no one ever questioned the place of his birth and the Birthers in his audience applauded.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics

The Ultimate Debunking – Mitt Romney Debunks Mitt Romney on His Welfare Lie

Mitt Romney’s claim that President Obama has removed the work requirement for welfare recipients and is now issuing free checks, has been debunked by everyone who knows how to use google. And now, even Mitt Romney is debunking Mitt Romney.

Romney’s lie stems from a memo the Obama Administration issued to states,  inviting them to apply for waivers from the Federal welfare program. These waivers allow the states more flexibility to “help their poorest citizens transition from welfare to employment—in return, the states would face tougher federal standards that ensure 20% more people move into work.”

Seems like a straightforward memo. But if your name is Mitt Romney, you are again blinded by politics and you see a need to say anything and do anything to win the presidency. And that’s exactly what Romney did. He created lie stating that President Obama was giving away money to welfare recipients.

All the Fact checkers called Romney’s lie a lie and based on this 2005 letter signed by Mitt Romney, even Mitt Romney is debunking his lie.

The letter below was asking then President George Bush to do the same thing Obama did in his memo. And Romney was one of the originators of the letter.

View this document on Scribd
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Featured Paul Ryan Rape war on women

The Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Todd Akin Connection

The Republicans would love for you to believe that what Todd Akin said was just something that happened in his brief moment of  insanity. That Todd had a moment, a very bad and unfortunate moment.

But a quick check of the Congressional voting record of other Republicans found that Mr. Legitimate Rape’s comment was not only accepted by the Republican base, Congressional Republicans like Paul Ryan even tried to create laws based on Akin’s belief.

In fact, over the past decade in Congress, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has co-sponsored 32 abortion-related bills that Akin has also sponsored or co-sponsored. Here are a few anti-choice bills that both Akin and Cantor supported:

HR 3: The 2011 No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, first introduced in 2011, included language about “forcible rape” in its early versions that set a dangerous precedent for Republican attempts to narrow the definition of “legitimate” forms of sexual assault.

HR 5276: The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2010 would require doctors to describe “the pain experienced by the unborn child” to women seeking an abortion.

HR 649: The 2009 Ultrasound Informed Consent Act sought to force women to look at an ultrasound of their fetus before being allowed to continue with their decision to have an abortion.

HR 2752: Akin was the primary sponsor of the Parents Right to Know Act of 2009, which sought to strip funding for health clinics like Planned Parenthood that provide FDA-approved contraceptives to minors without first obtaining parental consent.

Akin’s anti-abortions views are not, in fact, too radical for the top Republican in the House. Akin’s fellow Republicans want to claim they disagree with his offensive views behind the GOP’s stance toward women’s health, but their voting records say differently.

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Paul Ryan Politics

Paul Ryan Throws Todd Akin Under The Bus

Categories
Paul Ryan Politics

Todd Akin – It’s Not About Ego, It’s Not About Politics. I Stand On Principles

Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential candidate, is very familiar with Mr. “Legitimate Rape” also known as Todd Akin. The two were responsible for a bill attempting to change the definition of rape from its present meaning to “forcible rape.”

So when Todd Akin got into trouble for expressing his and the Republican party’s views that rape is not “legitimate” if it’s not forced, Paul Ryan was tapped by the Romney campaign to contact his friend and ask him to withdraw.

But there will be no withdrawal from Mr. Akin, as the deadline for him to withdraw came and went yesterday without much fanfare from the Akin camp. Mr. Akin is now on an apology tour, making his rounds to all the news outlets asking for forgiveness.

Paul Ryan was asked about Akin and his statement. He wasted no time throwing Akin under the bus. In an interview with KDKA of Pittsburgh, Ryan said, “His statements were outrageous, over the pale. I don’t know anybody who would agree with that. Rape is rape period, end of story.”

Akin spoke to NBC’s The Today Show and confirmed that his alley Paul Ryan had turned on him.  He also stated that he’s not going anywhere, even if his party’s future depends on it. When asked if his cause or ego will trump the greater cause of the Republican party, Akin answered, “this is not about me,” Mr. Akin said. “It’s not about ego. It’s about the voters of the state of Missouri. They have chosen me because of principles that I stand on and put principles over politics.”

Video…

Categories
Featured

Man Described as “Offshore Banking Entrepreneur” Arrested For Threats Against Obama

A Seattle, Washington-area man was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly making threats on President Obama‘s life, and for pointing a shotgun at a federal agent. When the Secret Service, along with the Federal Way Police Department, went to question 31 year-old Anton Caluori , whom Mediaite has confirmed describes himself in a LinkedIn profile as an “Offshore Banking Entrepreneur,” about threatening emails he allegedly sent to an FBI general email address, authorities say he answered the door holding a shotgun. From WJLA:

A Secret Service agent and a Federal Way police officer went to an apartment in a four-plex at the Panther Ridge Apartments, knocked and announced themselves for about three minutes, then found themselves facing a man armed with a shotgun when the door opened, Schrock said.

“The shotgun was coming up to point in the direction of the agents,” she said. “The two officers were able to close in and take control of the weapon before anyone was harmed.”

The officers also seized a gun in the man’s ankle holster, she said. Because the resident made statements about explosive devices in the apartment, the Federal Way bomb squad was called to evacuate the four-plex and sweep it for explosives, Schrock said.

None was found.

Caluori is due in federal court this afternoon.

Categories
Mitt Romney Politics Rape

Todd Akin Attacks Mitt Romney – Run Your Race, I’ll Run Mine

Appearing on Sean Hannity’s radio program for the second time in as many days, Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin attacked the GOP’s presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, for joining a chorus of Republicans asking him to withdraw from the race. Akin said that Romney had blown the controversy out of proportion and implied that he had done so for his own political gain.

Hannity asked Akin, given the number of prominent Republican politicians asking Akin to drop out including Romney, if he is even pausing to consider leaving the Senate race in Missouri.

“Let me ask you this,” Akin began. “If you were in Romney’s position, don’t you think that he may have bid this thing up and made a bigger deal about it than he needed to?”

“Why couldn’t he run his race and I run mine,” asked Akin. “If things really look like they’re getting in trouble in Missouri than maybe — but he has just assumed.”

Akin went on to cite a Public Policy Polling flash poll from last night which showed him still leading Sen. Clair McCaskill even amid this controversy. Hannity pointed out that that particular poll sampled 9 points more Republicans than Democrats and it was a poor indicator.

Later in the interview, Akin said that he was contacted by Republican vice presidential candidatePaul Ryan who, according to reports, also asked Akin to consider dropping out.

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