Category: Republican

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Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States White House

Obama To Republicans – I Will Not Fold!

President Obama called the Republicans’ bluff today, when he stated clearly that he will not sign any short-term deal on the debt ceiling. When asked whether he would veto such a deal, the President replied, “I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension.”

He then accused the Republicans of having a “my way or the highway” stance on the debt ceiling. He also gave this warning – “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge. Period!”

The President and Democratic leaders have proposed a deal to Republicans totaling $4 trillion in spending cuts over a period of 10 years, in exchange for a few hundred billion in tax revenue. Republicans however, called this a “non-starter,” because taxes would be imposed on millionaires and billionaires. Led by House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans are demanding a smaller, short-term increase in the debt ceiling of about $2 trillion.

The President did not budge, saying “this is the United States of America. And, you know, we don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments.” And referring to those Republicans who have already said they would not support raising the debt ceiling, the President said, “It’s irresponsible. They know better.”

Of course, Boehner continued his call for the middle class to bear the weight, while the rich skates through for free!

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Iowa Mitt Romney Politics Republican

Tim Pawlenty Beats Up On Michele Bachmann…Side-steps Question About Romeny

One of the characteristics that describe Republican 2012 Presidential contender Tim Pawlenty among his fellow Republicans is timid. Some would even call him soft, so it was no surprise when he was given the chance today on Meet The Press to criticize his fellow Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, Pawlenty again side-stepped the question. But when the question turned to Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty didn’t bite his tongue, stating that the female Republican contender don’t have a record to stand on.

When host, David Gregory asked Pawlenty about Mitt Romney’s health care policies, the question was a straight forward one. “Are you saying he [Romney] cannot be the nominee, unelectable as, as the nominee of the party, because of his position on health care?”

Question: Can Romney be the Republican nominee? Is Romney unelectable? The answer should have been simple – yes he can be the nominee, or no, he cannot!

Instead, the softness of Pawlenty went on full display.

GOV. PAWLENTY: I think if you’re going to prosecute the political case against President Obama and one of the top three or four issues is going to be the direction of the country in health care, it’s going to be very difficult for our nominee to be one of the co-conspirators or co- designers of that.

MR. GREGORY: I know that’s the argument. I’m asking you what your conclusion is.

GOV. PAWLENTY: It’s going to be very difficult for him to be successful with that on his record.

MR. GREGORY: In other words, he can’t be the nominee if he’s got this background?

GOV. PAWLENTY: I think as we — it’s going to be difficult for him to beat the president with that on his record. And, you know, his record is beyond just health care. It’s also a question of how did he do on judicial appointments? Where did we stand on bail outs? So all of us are going to have to account for our record. I’ve got a record. Governor Romney’s got a record. All the other candidates have record. I’ve got the best conservative record in the race.

The question was left unanswered.

Then the question turned to the only female in the race so far, Michele Bachmann. Pawlenty was asked what he thought about Bachmann’s candidacy and to distinguish himself from Mrs. Bachmann. Another simple question and amazingly, Pawlenty had a simple answer.

 “I like Congresswoman Bachmann, I’ve campaigned for her, I respect her,” said Pawlenty on the program. “But her record of accomplishment in Congress is nonexistent. It’s nonexistent. And so we’re not looking for folks who, you know, just have speech capabilities, we’re looking for people who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I’ve done that, she hasn’t.”

Although I agree with Pawlenty and the facts back up his statement that Michele Bachmann have no accomplishments in Congress, one can only wonder why when the question is asked about a male he chooses not to participate in pointing out that opponent’s deficiencies. But ask about his female opponent, and Pawlenty suddenly had a lot to say.

I actually looked up the meaning of “soft” in the dictionary, and no, Pawlenty’s picture was not there, but it’s still early. Give it some time…!

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Barack Obama Medicare Politics Republican Tax United States weekly address White House

G.O.P Putting America In Default Status To Avoid A 3% Tax Hike On Millionaires

In his weekly address to the nation, President Obama spoke about the looming debt ceiling, and the discussion presently going on between Democrats and Republicans. The President detailed what both sides have already agreed to, saying;

“The good news is, we agree on some of the big things. We agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we finally need to get our fiscal house in order. We agree that to do that, both sides are going to have to step outside their comfort zones and make some political sacrifices. And we agree that we simply cannot afford to default on our national obligations for the first time in our history; that we need to uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”

Mr. Obama also spoke about the differences between what he believes must be done and the position the Republicans have taken to protect the rich, saying, “I believe we need a balanced approach. That means taking on spending in our domestic programs and our defense programs. It means addressing the challenges in programs like Medicare so we can strengthen those programs and protect them for future generations. And it means taking on spending in the tax code – spending on tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans.”

And there lies the problem, the stumbling block between Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Obama’s wish to take on the spending in the tax code is what Republicans are strongly against. It must be noted here, that taking on this tax code equals a 3% tax raise on millionaires, essentially taking their tax rate from 36% to 39%, which is what the rate was under the Clinton Administration.

Republicans are saying no to that 3% raise for the rich, but they are all for spending cuts in programs that benefit the middle class, like cuts in Medicare and social Security.

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Arizona Mitt Romney Politics Republican Sarah Palin United States

America Slowly Abandons The Spectacle That Is Sarah Palin

Even in Alaska, Sarah Palin’s popularity is plummeting. A new poll is shedding some light on the Republican and her possible quest to run for President in 2012.

Ivan Moore Research finds that nearly half of all Alaska voters view Ms. Palin in negative terms. Forty-nine percent of the 647 registered Alaskan voters it polled said they felt negatively about Ms. Palin , while only 39 percent say they held a positive opinion of Ms. Palin.

The poll comes as the former Alaska governor continues to consider entering the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Ms. Palin, who has increased her national profile in recent weeks, launched a nationwide bus tour last month, but abandoned the media spectacle after just one week.

Now we understand her possible move to Arizona.

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CNN Politics Republican United States washington

Republicans And Their Jim Crow Ways

Former President Bill Clinton just figured out what the Republicans are doing. In a speech to a liberal group at the Campus Progress’s annual conference in Washington on Wednesday, Mr. Clinton broke the news – the Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minority voters.

“I can’t help thinking since we just celebrated the Fourth of July and we’re supposed to be a country dedicated to liberty that one of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time.

“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today.

“They [Republicans] are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate,” Clinton added, referencing the dip in youth voter turnout in the 2010 elections. “Are you fighting? You should be fighting it.”

Jim Crow laws were enacted in the United States for almost 100 years, from 1876 to 1965. The laws were responsible for what was called, “separate but equal,” – a doctrine that demanded separate facilities be set up for blacks and whites, from restaurants to restrooms to drinking fountains to schools and other public places. Jim Crow laws also implemented stiff fines and fees, designed to keep blacks from voting.

So far, 13 Republican governed states have changed their voter registration laws, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and Texas. And although these Republican governors wouldn’t admit to it, the reasoning for making voting more difficult in these states is to discourage the minority vote.

But Clinton is not the first to call out the Republicans on their Jim Crow-like efforts to keep the minority vote away from the polls. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Committee Chairman told CNN back in June that Republicans “want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws.”

Mrs. Schultz eventually apologize for using the words “Jim Crow,” what she called, ” the wrong analogy to use,” but the fact still remains the same – trying to make voting more difficult for a particular group of people, whether its 1911 or 2011, whether it’s through fines or changing voting laws to disenfranchise this group, the words Jim Crow in my view, are very appropriate.

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Democrat Democratic hypocrites Politics Republican washington

Bill Clinton Blames Republicans For Present Economic Woes

Former President Bill Clinton blamed Republicans in Congress for the state of the economy. Mr. Clinton called out the  GOP as hypocrites for implementing massive tax cuts and increased spending during the Bush administration, policies that directly contributed to the present recession.

Speaking to a group of liberal group activists in Washington, Clinton said, “”Partly because the Republicans who control the House and have a lot of pull in the Senate have now decided, having quadrupled the debt in 12 years before I took office and doubled it after I left, that it’s all of a sudden the biggest problem in the world.”

The former President, who opposes spending cuts in a downward economy, again expressed his concerns with the present budget talks, and he referenced the United Kingdom and their mistake of cutting spending at a time when spending should have been increased. Clinton continued;

“In the current budget debate, there’s all this discussion about how much will come from spending cuts, how much will come from tax increases, and almost nobody is talking about one of the central points – that everyone who’s analyzed the situation makes, including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission, which said you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.

“Because if you do things that dampen economic growth, and the U.K. is finding this out now, they adopted this big austerity budget, and there’s a good chance that economic activity will go down so much that tax revenues will be reduced even more than spending is cut, and their deficit will increase.”

President Obama meets today with both Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss the debt ceiling. Democrats have offered about $3 trillion in defense and other spending cuts and they have asked Republicans to agree on closing some tax loopholes that benefits millionaires and billionaires. Republicans have so far, dismissed this proposal and have demanded Democrats leave these loopholes alone.

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Barack Obama MSNBC Pat Buchanan Politics Republican United States

Pat Buchanan Predicts That Obama Will “Fold” On Debt Ceiling

Politics were on full display on MSNBC’s Morning Joe with Pat Buchanan demanding that Republicans do nothing on the upcoming vote to raise the debt ceiling. Buchanan’s reasoning to his Republican friends in Congress? – Don’t raise the debt ceiling because “Obama will fold!”

In his call for the Republicans to do nothing, Pat Buchanan went as far as to suggest that if Republicans do what’s best for the country and raise the debt ceiling, Boehner and the rest of the  Republicans will not be able to go home and face their constituents. When it was explained to Buchanan that it is simply impossible to balance the budget on spending cuts alone without bringing in revenues from taxes at the same time, Buchanan replied;

If you take a look at John Boehner, he can’t go home again if he signs on to taxes. He’s dead if he signs on to higher taxes.

It should be noted that the “higher taxes” Buchanan and Republicans in general are talking about, is a 3% raise in the tax rate of millionaires and billionaires – essentially going back to the rate as they existed under Bill Clinton.

Apparently, the politics of doing nothing and further tanking the economy, will be better for Republicans and their constituents, notwithstanding the fact that this political decision will cause severe consequences to the nation’s economy.

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Politics Republican Tax United States

David Brooks – These Infected Republicans Are Unfit To Lead

If the debt ceiling talks fail, independent voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.

And they will be right.

Those are the words as written by David Brooks – a columnist for the New York Times who is described by David Warren, of  Real Clear Politics, as someone who shares the Conservative Republican ideology. The piece, published on July 4th, is called The Mother of All No-Brainers, and in it, Brooks spoke about the Republican party as being “infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative.”

“The members of this movement,” Brooks continued, “do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no.”

Brooks proved his point by referencing the debate going on in Washington about raising the debt ceiling, where Democrats and the President have already signaled their willingness to cut defense and entitlement spending if Republicans are willing to close some tax loopholes that benefit millionaires. This willingness by the Democrats would cut about $3 trillion in spending, for a few billion in savings by closing these tax loopholes. According to Brooks, the real Republican party should “seize the opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing,” but the infection would not allow that to happen.

Speaking further on this “infection”, Brooks says;

The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this movement refuse to believe it.

The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing to stain their nation’s honor.

The same Republicans who were responsible for raising the debt ceiling under the Bush Administration on numerous occasions did it then because they knew the importance of America paying its bills. These same Republicans are now willing to allow the country to default on these bills, in order to point to the present administration as being irresponsible and unable to lead. That argument they’re hoping, would be enough to win them the  elections in 2012.

Americans sent both Democrats and Republicans to congress with one request – lead. In order to effectively do that, both party must be able to come together and solve the nation’s problems. But Republicans have shown, time and time again, that they are not willing to come together to solve anything. Republicans are more willing to assist in pushing the economy back into a ditch, even if it means millions of Americans suffer in the process.

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Barack Obama George Bush Politics Republican Tax break United States

More On The Debt Ceiling From President Obama

President Obama again spoke directly to the American people to let them know what he expects on the upcoming vote to raise the Debt Ceiling. Republicans, who approved massive spending under George Bush, are now willing to put the country into default, to  now pay the bills incurred under their spending spree.

President Obama signaled his willingness to cut spending, if Republicans will agree to raising the tax rate on millionaires and billionaires.

To get there, I believe we need a balanced approach.  We need to take on spending in domestic programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs, and we need to take on spending in the tax code — spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest of Americans.  This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise.

I’m ready to do that.  I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that.  What I know is that we need to come together over the next two weeks to reach a deal that reduces the deficit and upholds the full faith and credit of the United States government and the credit of the American people.

President’s address below.

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Chuck Schumer Mitch McConnell Politics Republican United States

Republicans – Flushing The Economy Down The Drain For Political Gain

“Do they simply want the economy to go down the drain to further their political gain? They seem to be against anything that may create jobs, because they view a weak economy as key to their political chances in 2012.

“It’s an uncomfortable question, to be sure. Are they trying to undermine the economy on purpose, for political gain? Harry Truman had a do-nothing Congress. The Republicans seem to be trying to make this a do-nothing-on-the-economy Congress.”

Better late than never. Finally, Senator Chuck Schumer and other Congressional Democrats are beginning to believe what the rest of America has known since Rush Limbaugh’s  admission a few weeks after President Obama was sworn in: “I want this president to fail”. And ever since then Congressional Republicans have been on a mission to make sure Rush Limbaugh gets his wish.

The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell also expressed Limbaugh’s sentiments when in October 2010, he explained what his number one priority was. No, it wasn’t fixing the economy. No, it wasn’t finding ways to put Americans back to work, and if you thought his number one priority was making sure America recovers from this recession, then you’ll be wrong again. McConnell, the Republican’s leader,  said his party’s  number one priority was to make sure President Obama was a one term president. In an interview with the National Journal, this was the exchange with McConnell;

MCCONNELL: We need to be honest with the public. This election is about them, not us. And we need to treat this election as the first step in retaking the government. We need to say to everyone on Election Day, “Those of you who helped make this a good day, you need to go out and help us finish the job.”

NATIONAL JOURNAL: What’s the job?

MCCONNELL: The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.

President Obama was sworn in on January 20th, 2009, and now, a little over 2 years into his presidency, Congressional Democrats are finally seeing the light. Schumer continued;

“If there’s one thing the GOP has stood for throughout their history, it’s free trade. When Senator Baucus unveiled an agreement to proceed, you would have thought Republicans would jump for joy. Instead, Republicans took us down the rabbit hole once again.”

“Are Republicans opposing yet another measure they once supported simply because that measure might be good for the economy?” Schumer asked, also citing GOP opposition to recent measures like a payroll tax cut and to small business development programs.

Pressed by a reporter on whether he really believes the GOP wants to destroy the economy on purpose, Schumer went further than ever before, taking things out of the realm of the hypothetical.

“It’s a thought you don’t want to believe,” Schumer said, “but every day they keep giving us more and more evidence that there’s no choice but to answer Yes.”

With Republicans like this in government, who needs terrorists? We’ve  got our own, and they’re actively working to destroy the very foundation of this country.

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Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States

Presidential Press Conference – Obama’s Speech On The Economy

The President used the bully pulpit today and did what many progressives were asking for –  to stand up and tell the Republicans that although spending cuts will be necessary, revenue must be raised and the rich must pay their fair share. That statement is exactly what made Eric Cantor walk out of negotiations with Vice-President Biden earlier this week, but hearing the president reiterate that very point got rave reviews from Progressives nationwide.

Watch the Presidential Press Conference below.

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Anthony Weiner Politics Republican United States

Republican Councilman Texted Underwear Picture Too

A Republican councilman from Kenner New Orléans named Joe Stagni sent an underwear picture of himself using his smartphone. The photo was sent 18 months ago to Annamaria Pizzolato, who was Kenner’s internal auditor at the time.

Following the Anthony Weiner underwear episode earlier this month, Joe Stegni issued the following apology;

“I asked for God’s mercy and forgiveness. I apologized to my wife and family and asked for their forgiveness as well. My actions and bad judgment had nothing to do with my duties and responsibilities as a public official. They were private acts, but I take full responsibility for my irresponsible behavior. This matter has been a painful experience for my family and I pray that everyone will allow our family to continue to heal. I am sorry.”

The photo was found in Kenner computer records, and dated back to Dec. 23, 2009. The text message associated with the photo came from City Councilman Joe Stagni’s phone, and was sent  to internal auditor Annamaria Pizzolato.

According to reports, the text message associated with the picture said, “I’m n trouble – serious conversation wwife.”

Funny way to deal with being in trouble – send an underwear picture of yourself to the other woman, telling her you’re in trouble because your wife may have found out about the affair!

Classic Republican way to handle these issues.

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