Fantastic Short Film about GOP Greed by Actor Ed Asner

This is a great short film by Ed Asner, reminiscent of the simplistic Schoolhouse Rock vids from the 1970s, explaining the stock market crash of 2008 in terms of the greedy 1% versus the struggling 99%. We need more clear explanations like this to give everyone some perspective - especially folks who vote against their own self-interests time after time. It's obvious to the Democrats that the super-wealthy just need to pay more taxes and honor the social contract, but it will take years to reverse the damage done by the Tea Party and Grover Norquist.

Still - this is an educational and well-done video. Thanks, Mr. Asner ~ Lou Grant would be proud! :)

Scott Prouty, 47% Cameraman, Comes Out of the Shadows

Last week Scott Prouty finally came out of the shadows to do a major interview on MSNBC's Ed Show. Prouty is the man who infamously filmed Mitt Romney at a fundraiser in Florida bad-mouthing the 47% of people whom he said "wouldn't take responsibility for their lives" and who want a free ride in society. Prouty says his first reaction was that the important part of Romney's remarks were the ones concerning forced labor of young women in China, and it bothered him so much he couldn't sleep at night. Finally he faced himself in the mirror and decided to release the video.

But it was a long strange trip:

From Huffington Post:

. . . On May 31, under "Romney Exposed," he began posting audio snippets to YouTube. Soon he started hitting the comment sections of The Huffington Post -- not the best way to stand out among all the reader debates.

Prouty said he later posted it to Daily Kos with mixed results. The Daily Kos readers ended up bouncing him from the site, suspecting his footage was bogus. He threw up clips on Pastebin. He did it in the comments of The Washington Post's stories. "Just trying to go build a little head of steam and get people talking about it," he said.

By late August, he said there were a few sites, including BuzzFeed, that had picked up at least one of his Romney videos. He said he had some success when he posted videos as the MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on YouTube. "She came out and denied having any knowledge of it," he said. "But she linked to the video and left it on her site all weekend long."

The filmmaker said that before the Republican National Convention, he contacted the Romney campaign directly. "I sent it to the Romney people ad nauseum," he said. "They knew about it." When he saw Romney give his acceptance speech in Tampa, he wondered what the candidate knew about his videos. He says he never got a response from the campaign.

. . . He found James Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, who had discovered a talent for opposition research and finding gotcha videos deep in the C-Span archives. Prouty had followed Carter's work on YouTube. "He had good sense enough to follow me back when he saw my videos after I followed him," Prouty said. "Then he had the good sense enough to contact me after that."

Prouty said he wanted Carter to help him get in touch with Mother Jones' David Corn. He had been a big admirer of Corn's work -- especially his investigative pieces on Romney and the Hong Kong-based Global-Tech Appliances, a firm that sought to profit from U.S. outsourcing. He saw Corn on television all the time, he said. Maybe the veteran journalist could get his little film on the air. "They were picked," he said of Carter and Corn.
The one thing that now rankles Prouty is the idea that Corn uncovered anything. It was already out there. "Corn sort of -- he's capitalized on this for all it's worth and that's what the goal was," he said. "I don't want to say it the wrong way. He didn't uncover."

Later Corn wrote a book which I highly recommend ~ 47 Percent: Uncovering the Romney Video That Rocked the 2012 Election ~
which recently won Corn the prestigious Polk Award for journalism.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if David Corn next wins a Pulitzer for this reporting, but Prouty is correct - he is the real power behind the story, and he's the one who took the video and shopped it around. If undercover reporters get Pulitzers, then perhaps he should share the honors with Corn.

The Ed Show is losing the 8 p.m. time slot on MSNBC and moving to the weekend, so this interview really helped him go out with a bang.

Complete Transcript of The Ed Show, March 13 ~ Interview with Scott Prouty

"My name is Scott Prouty. I'm a working-class regular guy. I'd like to think I have a good moral compass and a core, and I think I have a little more empathy than Mitt Romney had."

. . . PROUTY: We got there, you know, it was a -- you know, a political
fund-raiser. We did our usual thing. We set up. And you know, it went
off without a hitch.
I work high end parties from all over for extra money. And, you know,
it was really just another typical party that I have done plenty of them
just like it.

SCHULTZ: Did you know you were going to record him?

PROUTY: You know, I did -- I brought the camera. A lot of other people brought cameras, you know, like I said thinking he would come back and take pictures. Clinton in the past did come back with the staff and taking pictures. That was really my thought. You know, I hadn`t made up my mind. You know, I was willing to listen to what he had to say. I was interested to hear what he had to say.

. . . SCHULTZ: All right. Let`s look at the 47 percent comment which you admit and I think we all know, got the most play out of all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent were with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care to them, who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ: What was your response, initially?

PROUTY: You know, I knew where he came from. He was born with all the advantages -- you know, advantages that few people have, the son of a governor, CEO. You know, prep school educated, Harvard educated, you know?

And I don`t think he has any clue what a regular American goes through on a daily basis. I don`t think he has any idea what a single mom, you know, taking a bus to work, dropping her kid off at day care that she can barely afford, hopping on another bus -- you know, the day in, day out struggles of every day Americans. That guy has no idea, no idea.

I don`t think he`ll ever have an idea.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Senator Warren: The Minimum Wage Should be $22/hour

When I first started seeing this headline the other day, I thought whoa, that's not possible. Doesn't Elizabeth Warren know that many people work for 20 years and never make $22 per hour? There are people who have never made more than $10 per hour in their entire lives!

Yes - yes, she knows. And she is making the case that asking Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10 and hour is perfectly reasonable, given inflation and the fact that it should actually be double that much if we lived in a fair society.

Will it happen? Maybe or maybe not, but at least Warren is there raising the right questions and using the right data.

Huffington Post:

"If we started in 1960 and we said that as productivity goes up, that is as workers are producing more, then the minimum wage is going to go up the same. And if that were the case then the minimum wage today would be about $22 an hour," she said, speaking to Dr. Arindrajit Dube, a University of Massachusetts Amherst professor who has studied the economic impacts of minimum wage. "So my question is Mr. Dube, with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, what happened to the other $14.75? It sure didn't go to the worker."

And here she grills a restaurant owner who objects to any raise in the minimum wage, saying it would hurt sales. She points out that he would only have to raise prices on his menu 4-8 cents to make up the difference.

Obama Speaks After Congress Votes on Fiscal Cliff

At the eleventh hour, with yet another display of "brinksmanship," and almost 24 hours after the U.S. technically went over the Fiscal Cliff which raised taxes on all Americans, the House GOP finally got themselves together, and with a special appeal to the Dems by Joe Biden, Congress passed a compromise that kept tax rates low for 98% of Americans, saved unemployment benefits, and raised taxes permanently on the top 2%.

What did Obama give away? Not much - he let them raise the "middle-class" tax cut-off to $400,000 (or #450,000 for married couples). That will limit revenue for sure, but the top 2% still have to go back to Clinton-Era tax levels of 39.6%, which the Tea Party vowed wouldn't happen. So this is a win for the President and the country, even though many purists on the Left would say "Obama Caved." I disagree - he compromised to get something done and it worked. That's the way it works, folks, whether you like it or not. Stonewalling will never get us anywhere - the Tea Party proves that!

More Glass-Half-Full or Half-Empty quotes:
Snark Amendment: Fiscal Cliff Compromise Makes Both Sides Unhappy

From Talking Points Memo

The final vote was 257-167. The bill passed thanks to an overwhelming display of Democratic support — 172 Dems voted for the bill, while only 16 opposed. By contrast, only 85 Republicans voted in support of the bill, compared to the 151 — including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) — who voted against.

This was not an easily foretold outcome. Though the legislation was the product of White House negotiations with the Senate’s top Republican, and though it passed the upper chamber overwhelmingly in the wee hours of New Year’s Day, House Republicans nearly submarined the bill and sent the country down an uncertain road toward economic contraction.

. . . They wanted cuts to federal spending. And, with a wink from Cantor, they were nearly prepared to sink the bill directly, or return it to the Senate amended and guarantee its demise.
In the end, a self-preservation instinct took over. Leaders suffocated the rebellion, and decided to place the bill on the floor unchanged, at the risk of alienating the majority of rank-and-file Republicans.

Complete Transcript of Obama's Comments:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release January 1, 2013

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

11:20 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Happy New Year, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Happy New Year, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: A central promise of my campaign for President was to change the tax code that was too skewed towards the wealthy at the expense of working middle-class Americans. Tonight we've done that. Thanks to the votes of Democrats and Republicans in Congress, I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans while preventing a middle-class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession and obviously had a severe impact on families all across America.

I want to thank all the leaders of the House and Senate. In particular, I want to thank the work that was done by my extraordinary Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Leader Harry Reid, Speaker Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, and Mitch McConnell. Everybody worked very hard on this and I appreciate it. And, Joe, once again, I want to thank you for your great work.

Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. Millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs that they create. And 2 million Americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they're actively looking for a job.

But I think we all recognize this law is just one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody. The fact is the deficit is still too high, and we're still investing too little in the things that we need for the economy to grow as fast as it should.

And that's why Speaker Boehner and I originally tried to negotiate a larger agreement that would put this country on a path to paying down its debt while also putting Americans back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, and providing investments in areas like education and job training. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough support or time for that kind of large agreement in a lame duck session of Congress. And that failure comes with a cost, as the messy nature of the process over the past several weeks has made business more uncertain and consumers less confident.

But we are continuing to chip away at this problem, step by step. Last year I signed into law $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction. Tonight's agreement further reduces the deficit by raising $620 billion in revenue from the wealthiest households in America. And there will be more deficit reduction as Congress decides what to do about the automatic spending cuts that we have now delayed for two months.

I want to make this point: As I've demonstrated throughout the past several weeks, I am very open to compromise. I agree with Democrats and Republicans that the aging population and the rising cost of health care makes Medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit. I believe we've got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive. And I believe that there's further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate.

But we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. Cutting spending has to go hand-in-hand with further reforms to our tax code so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can't take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most Americans. And we can't keep cutting things like basic research and new technology and still expect to succeed in a 21st century economy. So we're going to have to continue to move forward in deficit reduction, but we have to do it in a balanced way, making sure that we are growing even as we get a handle on our spending.

Now, one last point I want to make -- while I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they passed. Let me repeat: We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic -- far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff.

People will remember, back in 2011, the last time this course of action was threatened, our entire recovery was put at risk. Consumer confidence plunged. Business investment plunged. Growth dropped. We can't go down that path again.

And today's agreement enshrines, I think, a principle into law that will remain in place as long as I am President: The deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced. Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part. That's how our economy works best. That's how we grow.

The sum total of all the budget agreements we've reached so far proves that there is a path forward, that it is possible if we focus not on our politics but on what's right for the country. And the one thing that I think, hopefully, in the New Year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much.

We can come together as Democrats and Republicans to cut spending and raise revenue in a way that reduces our deficit, protects our middle class, provides ladders into the middle class for everybody who's willing to work hard. We can find a way to afford the investments that we need to grow and compete. We can settle this debate, or at the very least, not allow it to be so all-consuming all the time that it stops us from meeting a host of other challenges that we face -- creating jobs, boosting incomes, fixing our infrastructure, fixing our immigration system, protecting our planet from the harmful effects of climate change, boosting domestic energy production, protecting our kids from the horrors of gun violence.

It's not just possible to do these things; it's an obligation to ourselves and to future generations. And I look forward to working with every single member of Congress to meet this obligation in the New Year.

And I hope that everybody now gets at least a day off, I guess, or a few days off, so that people can refresh themselves, because we're going to have a lot of work to do in 2013.

Thanks, everybody. Happy New Year.

END 11:28 P.M. EST

Paul Ryan Has no Time for Tax Questions

Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan wouldn't even tell Fox News today what the Romney/Ryan tax plan is all about. But ... but ... I thought Ryan was a numbers guy? Isn't that what they said back when he was nominated?

Not today, though. Mum's the word. And I wonder how this bodes for Romney in the debates? If his boy Paul can't explain the tax loophole situation on friendly Fox News, then how is Daddy Warbucks going to manage on stage in front of millions of voters who are already hostile to him as a candidate? Good luck with that, Mitt.

Maybe Ryan knew he couldn't do it without bringing up the 47% of moochers and parasites, or conjuring up the ghost of Ayn Rand. So, tick a lock.

Via Huffington Post

The Obama campaign has blasted the Romney-Ryan ticket for not providing details on how it would give Americans such large tax breaks without growing the deficit. Ryan reiterated in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that the plan would drop taxpayers' bills by 20 percent without costing a dime, due to closed tax loopholes, but he was short on specifics when pressed by host Chris Wallace.

“You haven’t given me the math,” Wallace said in one exchange.

“I don’t have the ... It would take me too long to go through all of the math,” Ryan responded.

“But let me say it this way,” he went on. “You can lower tax rates 20 percent across the board by closing loopholes and still have preferences for the middle class for things like charitable deductions, home purchases, for health care. What we’re saying is people are going to get lower tax rates and therefore they will not send as much money to Washington.”

What was he going to say? "I don't have the permission?" or "I don't have the magic calculator with me?" or "I don't have the stomach to see the comments from the Left if I really told you what our plans are like?"

David Axelrod of the Obama Administration tweeted:

Wonder if Americans clear their afternoon, Paul Ryan would have the time to explain Romney's tax plan?huff.to/V1F2Qe

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 30, 2012

I think he and Romney really meant it when they said to ask AFTER the election.

"Voters Not Victims" in the 47%

MoveOn.org has a new series of videos made by citizens in the 47%. Some of these are so powerful and moving - just watch. I wish Mitt Romney would watch as well, but he will still get the message on November 6, 2012.

See more Videos from MoveOn.org Here

Mitt's Healthcare Plan ~ Go to the ER

As if we needed any more proof that Mitt is unfit to be President, last night he said on CBS's 60 Minutes that going to the emergency room is the best way to get medical care. Oh, but, you know . . . first have a heart attack from all the years you had untreated high blood pressure without health insurance, and that way you'll get in.

Mitt Romney on 60 Minutes Via Huff Post

Mitt Romney on Sunday suggested that emergency room care suffices as a substitute for the uninsured.

"Well, we do provide care for people who don't have insurance," he said in an interview with Scott Pelley of CBS's "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night. "If someone has a heart attack, they don't sit in their apartment and die. We pick them up in an ambulance, and take them to the hospital, and give them care. And different states have different ways of providing for that care."

Complete Transcripts of Romney and Obama Interviews from CBS News

This also proves that the man knows nothing about how the 47% or the 99% live their lives, with or without insurance. Because guess what - it costs plenty to go to the ER even when you have a good health plan. It is not a safety net. It is not a clinic for the poor. We need both of those, but the ER is not the answer.

And everyone knows that the costs of treating the poor are enough to put most hospitals out of business, so their bills get passed along to everyone else. This especially hurts people in rural areas with 47% populations because hospitals don't want to go there, unless the people are elderly and have Medicare of course, because then they can pay. Oh, wait a minute . . . Romney and Ryan want to get rid of Medicare too.

*silent scream*

I think people should have rallies outside emergency rooms carrying signs that say "Mitt Sent Me."

When I heard about this tonight I actually shook with anger. How callous is he going to be? How low can he go? If he ever had real empathy for people in Massachusetts when he passed Romneycare, has he thrown it all away for a chance to be the darling of the "Screw the Poor" Party? And guess what - most Tea Party members don't want to take Grandma or Junior to the ER either!

Twitter is eviscerating Mitt tonight for that remark, so there's hell to pay:

I bet y'all $10K Mitt Romney has never seen the inside of a large hospital's ER.
— Lisa P. Smith (@lpsrocks) September 24, 2012

Some intrepid reporter needs to ask Mitt Romney if he really believes an ER would treat cancer, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, etc.
— Jason Febery (@JasonFebery) September 24, 2012

So Mitt Romney says people without insurance can get medical care in ER and Clinics. Who pays for that, moron? @mittromney
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) September 24, 2012

Thanks to Mitt, kids w/special needs can now get treatment by walking over to the ER. They just need to get hit by a bus on the way #p2 #aca
— Sadistic Statist (@TheXclass) September 24, 2012

By the way, Mitt has etch-a-sketched his previous statements about such treatment:

When asked in a March 2010 interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" whether he believes in universal coverage, Romney said, "Oh, sure."

"Look, it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to have millions and millions of people who have no health insurance and yet who can go to the emergency room and get entirely free care for which they have no responsibility, particularly if they are people who have sufficient means to pay their own way," he said.

Harry Reid: Romney Hasn't Settled Tax Question

Yesterday Mitt Romney finally released one complete tax return from 2011, and an affidavit stating the supposed tax situation for the past 20 years. But was it enough to settle questions about his tax liability?

Not according to Harry Reid:

From the Las Vegas Sun

The Nevada Democrat continued to hammer on the Republican presidential nominee, who is slated to speak in Las Vegas this afternoon, dismissing the summary of tax information Romney released Friday.

“It’s rich to hear Mitt Romney complain about people not paying income taxes,” Reid said on a conference call with reporters, referring to Romney’s secretly recorded comments about the 47 percent of people who don’t pay federal income taxes. “An outline by some accountant about his blind trust? That’s not going to do it.”

Later he said: “He’s hiding something. He’s hiding something! It is so evident he’s hiding something!”

From the same article, a quote from the Obama camp:

Ben Labolt, national press secretary for Obama’s campaign, said the summary demonstrates that Romney has the ability to release the returns.

“It’s clear that Romney has 20 years worth of returns prepared, ready to release to the public,” Labolt said on the call. “Instead of providing the rate on tax returns each year, they blended it together over 20 years...I think that’s telling.”

Indeed! And Obama has a shiny new ad based on the Romney tax documents:




View Tax Document Here: New York Daily News

From Bloomberg

Romney and his wife, Ann, have paid 100 percent of the taxes they owe, Brad Malt, a partner at the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston who manages the Romneys’ investments, wrote in a blog post on the campaign’s website.

Romney makes most of his income from investing an estimated $250 million fortune, and much of that income is taxed at a top rate of 15 percent, rather than the top rate of 35 percent that applies to wages. Romney, 65, is a former Massachusetts governor and co-founder of Bain Capital LLC, the Boston-based private equity firm.

. . . The campaign said it will release a letter from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which prepares Romney’s returns, summarizing his filings for the past 20 years.

More From Ezra Klein's Wonk Blog on Washington Post

In 2011, Romney earned $14 million, mostly from investments that are taxed at a lower, preferential rate. He also gave a very large amount of money to charity—more than $4 million. So, thanks to the charitable deduction in the tax code, he was technically allowed to reduce the amount of income subject to the income tax even further.

The trouble is, if Romney did that, he would have ended up paying less than 13 percent of his income in federal taxes (back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest the amount would have likely been somewhere around 11 percent). That would have conflicted with his statement in August that he has paid at least 13 percent the past ten years. So Romney opted to limit his charitable deduction to just $2.25 million, essentially agreeing to pay the government more in taxes than he needed to. In the end, Romney had an effective federal tax rate of 14.1 percent.

There’s nothing wrong with voluntarily donating a bit more to reduce the federal deficit. Although there is this awkward quote from Romney during a primary debate in January: “I pay all the taxes that are legally required and not a dollar more,” he said. “I don’t think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes.”

BuzzFeed got more clarification on the overpayment

An email to the Romney campaign account dedicated to responding to questions about tax returns, returns@mittromney.com, produced this response:
He has been clear that no American need pay more than he or she owes under the law. At the same time, he was in the unique position of having made a commitment to the public that his tax rate would be above 13%. In order to be consistent with that statement, the Romneys limited their deduction of charitable contributions.

~

Songs of the 47% ~ Are You Listening, Mitt?

It used to be that music brought people together. Everyone listened to the same songs on the radio, in the elevator, in the grocery store, and on MTV. It was a common bond between us - and a common band -  so a song about a social issue could be a hit and might even change society.

Today, not so much. Like everything else in society, music is fragmented, not just by the death of MTV, but by endless playlists available YouTube and on websites like Pandora, or the focus of your personal iPod or iPhone. The songs that tend to rise to the surface are catchy oddities like "Call me Maybe" or "Gangnam Style."

And while I love all the variety, I believe that music does touch the heart, and in the past we had songwriters who could give us a gut-check about society, whether it was the anti-war movement or the plight of the poverty-stricken here at home.

But now, even the Boomer generation seems to have forgotten the empathy of days gone by, and Mitt Romney is a prime example with his callous remarks in Boca Raton that echo is party's hard stance on anyone who makes the actual median income of this country or lower.

Yesterday, Chris Matthews opened Hardball on MSNBC by singing a few lines from Fiddler on the Roof:

Caught! Let's Play Hardball
(Hardball Theme plays)
Hello this is Chris Matthews in New York.
Let me start tonight with:
(singing)
If I were a rich man,
Yubba, Dibby, Dibby
Dibby, Dibby, Dibby, Dibby Dum.
Dumb!!!

Good point, Chris. I stole your idea and put the complete song below.

The past few days have made me realize that Mitt's playlist, and indeed the playlists of the Republicans in general, might be lacking some compassion and knowledge of the American experience outside their marble halls full of $50,000-a-plate donors, so here are some reminders. Whether you are in the 1%, the 47% or the 99% - listen up!


If I were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof

(SPOKEN:) Dear God, you made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, that
it's no great shame to be poor... but it's no great honor, either. So what would have
been the difference if I had... a small fortune?

...The most important men in town will come to fawn on me--
They will ask me to advise them,
Like a Solomon the Wise--
"If you please, Reb Tevye?"--
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye?"--
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes--
(chanting) Ya va voy, ya va voy voy vum...
And it won't make one bit of difference
If I answer right or wrong--
When you're rich, they think you really know.



Man in Black by Johnny Cash

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Living on the hungry hopeless side of town.
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine I do suppose,
With our streak a'lightnin' cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front their ought to be a man in black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.



Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

You got a fast car
And I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
We won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
I say his body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way

I remember we were driving driving in your car
The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
And I had a feeling that I belonged
And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
And we go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
And I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a big house and live in the suburbs





Walk a Mile in my Shoes by Joe South

If I could be you, if you could be me
For just one hour
If we could find a way to get inside
Each other's mind

If you could see you through my eyes
Instead your ego
I believe you'd be, I believe you'd be surprised to see
That you've been blind

Walk a mile in my shoes
Walk a mile in my shoes
Yeah, before you abuse, criticize and accuse
Walk a mile in my shoes

Now your whole world you see around you
Is just a reflection
And the law of karma says you’re gonna reap
Just what you sow, yes you will
So unless
You’ve lived a life of
Total perfection
You’d better be careful
Of every stone
That you should throw, yeah

And yet we spend the day
Throwing stones
At one another
‘Cause I don’t think
Or wear my hair
The same way you do, mmm
Well I may be
Common people
But I’m your brother
And when you strike out
And try to hurt me
It’s a-hurtin’ you, lord have mercy

Now there are people on reservations
And out in the ghetto
And brother there, but for the grace of god
Go you and I



Little Pink Houses by John Mellencamp

There's a black man with a black cat
Livin' in a black neighborhood
He's got an interstate
Runnin' through his front yard
You know he thinks that he's got it so good
And there's a woman in the kitchen
Cleanin' up the evenin' slop
And he looks at her and says, hey darlin'
I can remember when you could stop a clock

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me
Ain't that America
Something to see, baby
Ain't that America
Home of the free, yeah
Little pink houses
For you and me
Oooh, yeah
For you and me

Well, there's a young man in a t-shirt
Listenin' to a rockin' rollin' station
He's got greasy hair, greasy smile
He says, Lord this must be my destination
'Cause they told me when I was younger
Said boy, you're gonna be president
But just like everything else
Those old crazy dreams
Just kinda came and went

Oh, but ain't that America
For you and me



A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke

I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
Cos I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie
And I go down town
somebody keep telling me don't hang around
Its been along time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees

There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gone come, oh yes it will




Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

Back through the years
I go wonderin' once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors
Every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fog
Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin' every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors
That I was so proud of
As she sewed, she told a story
From the bible, she had read
About a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it
And momma blessed it with a kiss

My coat of many colors
That my momma made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money
I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

So with patches on my britches
Holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors
I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughing
And making fun of me
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me

And oh I couldn't understand it
For I felt I was rich
And I told them of the love
My momma sewed in every stitch
And I told 'em all the story
Momma told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors
Was worth more than all their clothes

But they didn't understand it
And I tried to make them see
That one is only poor
Only if they choose to be
Now I know we had no money
But I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me
Made just for me



Workin' at the Car Wash Blues by Jim Croce

Well, I had just got out from the county prison
Doin ninety days for non-support
Tried to find me an executive position
But no matter how smooth I talked
They wouldnt listen to the fact that I was a genius
The man say, we got all that we can use.
Now i got them steadily depressin, low down mind messin
Working at the car wash blues

Well, I should be sittin in an air conditioned office in a swivel chair
Talkin some trash to the secretaries
Sayin, here, now mama, come on over here.
Instead, Im stuck here rubbin these fenders with a rag
And walkin home in soggy old shoes
With them steadily depressin, low down mind messin
Workin at the car wash blues

You know a man of my ability
He should be smokin on a big cigar
But till I get myself straight I guess Ill just have to wait
In my rubber suit a-rubbin these cars

Well, all I can do is a shake my head
You might not believe that its true
For workin at this end of niagara falls
Is an undiscovered howard hughes
So baby, dont expect to see me
With no double martini in any high-brow society news
Cause I got them steadily depressin, low down mind messin
Workin at the car wash blues



The Way it Is by Bruce Hornsby

Standin' in line marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old lady's eyes
Just for fun he says, 'Get a job'

That's just the way it is
Some things'll never change
That's just the way it is
Ha, but don't you believe them

Said, 'Hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
Cause you don't look like they do'
Said, 'Hey, old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules?'
He said, 'Son

That's just the way it is
Some things'll never change
That's just the way it is'
Ha, but don't you believe them

Well, they passed a law in '64
To give those who ain't got, a little more
But it only goes so far
'Cause the law don't change another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar
But who knows

That's just the way it is
Some things'll never change (right)
That's just the way it is
That's just they way it is, it is, when you're waiting.

Elizabeth Warren For the Middle Class

via facebook (share)
Elizabeth Warren is a Harvard Law Professor who is running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. She was especially uplifting to the Occupy Wall Street Movement last year, giving an inspirational speech that inspired millions. She was on track to be Head of Consumer Protection for the Obama Administration, but the Republicans blocked her confirmation so long that President Obama had to choose someone else.

But Warren rose again as a strong Senate candidate in Massachusetts, and just this week the Progressive Change Campaign Committee raised a million dollars for her campaign.


Complete Transcript of Elizabeth Warren's Speech Here

I grew up in an America that invested in its kids and built a strong middle class; that allowed millions of children to rise from poverty and establish secure lives. An America that created Social Security and Medicare so that seniors could live with dignity; an America in which each generation built something solid so that the next generation could build something better.

But for many years now, our middle class has been chipped, squeezed, and hammered. Talk to the construction worker I met from Malden, Massachusetts, who went nine months without finding work. Talk to the head of a manufacturing company in Franklin trying to protect jobs but worried about rising costs. Talk to the student in Worcester who worked hard to finish his college degree, and now he's drowning in debt. Their fight is my fight, and it's Barack Obama's fight too.

~~~~~~~

These folks don't resent that someone else makes more money. We're Americans. We celebrate success. We just don't want the game to be rigged. We've fought to level the playing field before. About a century ago, when corrosive greed threatened our economy and our way of life, the American people came together under the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt and other progressives, to bring our nation back from the brink.

~~~~~~~

Americans are fighters. We are tough, resourceful and creative. If we have the chance to fight on a level playing field—where everyone pays a fair share and everyone has a real shot—then no one can stop us. President Obama gets it because he's spent his life fighting for the middle class. And now he's fighting to level that playing field—because we know that the economy doesn't grow from the top down, but from the middle class out and the bottom up. That's how we create jobs and reduce the debt.

~~~~~~~

The Republican vision is clear: "I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own."

Republicans say they don't believe in government. Sure they do. They believe in government to help themselves and their powerful friends. After all, Mitt Romney's the guy who said corporations are people.

No, Governor Romney, corporations are not people. People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die. And that matters. That matters because we don't run this country for corporations, we run it for people. And that's why we need Barack Obama.

~~~~~~~

He believes in a country where everyone is held accountable. Where no one can steal your purse on Main Street or your pension on Wall Street. President Obama believes in a country where we invest in education, in roads and bridges, in science, and in the future, so we can create new opportunities, so the next kid can make it big, and the kid after that, and the kid after that. That's what president Obama believes.

~~~~~~~

I grew up in the Methodist Church and taught Sunday school. One of my favorite passages of scripture is: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40. The passage teaches about God in each of us, that we are bound to each other and called to act. Not to sit, not to wait, but to act—all of us together.

Sister Simone Campbell: A Real Christian

Sister Simone Campbell is a Catholic Nun and a progressive advocate for families. She has taken a strong stand against the draconian policies of the Paul Ryan budget, and working with a coalition from various faiths to come up with alternatives for the poor.

She calls the Ryan Budget "immoral," and is in agreement with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops who have stated that "a just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons."

In April, Paul Ryan faced censure in a sternly-worded letter from Georgetown University, signed by 90 members of the faculty including theologians and Jesuit priests:

In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.
. . . While you often appeal to Catholic teaching on “subsidiarity” as a rationale for gutting government programs, you are profoundly misreading Church teaching.

Around that same time, Sister Simone others went on a bus tour:


From their website:

Every hour of each day, Catholic Sisters stand in solidarity with all who live in poverty, and we confront injustice and systems that cause suffering.

We cannot stand by silently when the U.S. Congress considers further enriching the wealthiest Americans at the expense of struggling, impoverished families.

As part of our campaign for budget fairness we are taking a bus trip. Our bus will travel to places in many states where Sisters actively serve people in need. For they are our best witnesses to the suffering our federal government must not ignore.

We ask all who visit this website to join us in prayer and to support our work to defeat government actions that would add to the suffering of already struggling families.

This bus trip has been organized and is sponsored by NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and the NETWORK Education Program.

Click Here to Donate to Nuns on the Bus




Transcript courtesy of Religion News Service

Good evening, I'm Sister Simone Campbell, and I'm one of the "nuns on the bus." So, yes, we have nuns on the bus. And a nun on the podium!

Let me explain why I'm here. In June, I joined other Catholic sisters on a 2,700-mile bus journey through nine states to tell Americans about the budget Congressman Paul Ryan wrote and Governor Romney endorsed.

Paul Ryan claims his budget reflects the principles of our shared Catholic faith. But the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the Ryan budget failed a basic moral test, because it would harm families living in poverty.

We agree with our bishops, and that's why we went on the road: to stand with struggling families and to lift up our Catholic sisters who serve them. Their work to alleviate suffering would be seriously harmed by the Romney-Ryan budget, and that is wrong.

During our journey, I rediscovered a few truths. First, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are correct when they say that each individual should be responsible. But their budget goes astray in not acknowledging that we are responsible not only for ourselves and our immediate families. Rather, our faith strongly affirms that we are all responsible for one another.

I am my sister's keeper. I am my brother's keeper.


While we were in Toledo, I met 10-year-old twins Matt and Mark, who had gotten into trouble at school for fighting. Sister Virginia and the staff at the Padua Center took them in when they were suspended and discovered on a home visit that these 10-year-olds were trying to care for their bedridden mother who has MS and diabetes.

They were her only caregivers. The sisters got her medical help and are giving the boys some stability. Now the boys are free to claim much of the childhood they were losing. Clearly, we all share responsibility for the Matts and Marks in our nation.

In Milwaukee, I met Billy and his wife and two boys at St. Benedict's dining room. Billy's work hours were cut back in the recession. Billy is taking responsibility for himself and his family, but right now without food stamps, he and his wife could not put food on their family table.

We all share responsibility for creating an economy where parents with jobs earn enough to take care of their families. In order to cut taxes for the very wealthy, the Romney-Ryan budget would make it even tougher for hard-working Americans like Billy to feed their families. Paul Ryan says this budget is in keeping with the moral values of our shared faith. I disagree.

In Cincinnati, I met Jini, who had just come from her sister's memorial service. When Jini's sister Margaret lost her job, she lost her health insurance. She developed cancer and had no access to diagnosis or treatment. She died unnecessarily. And that is tragic. And it is wrong.

The Affordable Care Act will cover people like Margaret. We all share responsibility to ensure that this vital health care reform law is properly implemented and that all governors, all governors, expand Medicaid coverage so no more Margarets die from lack of care. This is part of my pro-life stance and the right thing to do.



I have so many other stories but let me tell you one more. In Hershey, Pennsylvania, a woman in her late thirties approached us. She asked for the names of some people she could talk to, because she felt alone and isolated. Her neighbors have been polarized by politics masquerading as values. She cares about the well-being of the people in her community.

She wishes they, and the rest of the nation, would listen to one another with kindness and compassion. Listen to one another rather than yell at each other. I told her then, and I tell her now, that she is not alone.

Looking out at you tonight, I feel your presence combined with that of the thousands of caring people we met on our journey. Together, we understand that an immoral budget that hurts already struggling families does not reflect our nation's values. We are better than that.

So I urge you, I urge you, join us on the bus. Join us as together we stand with Matt and Mark, Billy and his family, the woman in Hershey and the Margarets of our nation.

This is what we nuns on the bus are all about: We care for the 100 percent, and that will secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our nation. So join us as we nuns and all of us drive for faith, family and fairness.

Ryan's Plan ~ Screw Everyone Under 55

Since I just turned 52 a few weeks ago and my husband is 49, Paul Ryan makes my blood run cold. He wants to keep Medicare for his Mom's generation, but destroy it for the late baby boomers who were born after 1959. How conveeenient!

Here it is from his own Twitter account:

Medicare should not be used as a piggy bank for Obamacare. Medicare should be the promise that is kept to current seniors. Period.
— Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) August 18, 2012

Get that? Current Seniors, not Future Seniors. Appeal to the safety of those currently receiving Medicare, since they are more likely to vote Republican, but throw the rest of uf under the bus.

This way our children will always be poor because they have to take care of us, our grandchildren won't thrive because all family money will go to hospitals and big pharma and nursing homes, and the only people who have a chance in the future are those like himself and Mitt with inherited wealth and no need for Medicare. The rich get richer and more powerful on tax cuts, and the middle class ceases to exist.

Ryan couldn't have been more honest and yet more repugnant today, using his mother as a prop for the sympathy vote, promising to save Medicare for his Mama and her friends - wealthy people who don't need help - but cutting the rest of us off with only "vouchers" that we can't afford on Social Security. Oh yeah - he wants to cut that, too.


Candidate Paul Ryan's Florida Speech, via MSNBC

Like a lot of Americans, when I think about Medicare it's not just a program, it's not just a bunch of numbers, it's what my mom relies on, it's what my grandma had. Medicare was there for our family, for my grandma, when we needed it then; and Medicare is there for my mom while she needs it now, and we have to keep that guarantee.

Our solution to preserve, protect, and save Medicare does not affect your benefits. Let me repeat that. Our plan does not affect the benefits for people who are in or near retirement.

. . . bureaucrats will not mess with my mom’s healthcare or your mom’s healthcare.

It’s a promise that was made and it’s a promise that must be kept. To save it for this generation, you have to reform it for my generation so it doesn’t go bankrupt when we retire.

Save Medicare for this generation - not the next generation. You got that, folks??? He truly couldn't give a flying flip about the rest of us.

From the Tampa Bay Times

Behind him hung a big sign: "Protect & Strengthen MEDICARE."

Above him circled a single-engine plane with a banner: "Paul Ryan keep your hands off our Medicare."

The Villages is a massive retirement community about 50 miles northwest of Orlando, and one of the biggest Republican strongholds in Florida.

A fire marshal estimated 10,000 people attended the event, though the crowd appeared smaller. Four years ago, newly minted vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin came to The Villages after the Republican National Convention, drawing a crowd estimated at 25,000 to 60,000.

The seniors holding anti-Obamacare signs and sipping breakfast-hour cocktails Saturday morning in the village square consistently said they applauded Ryan's talk about entitlement reform, and noted that it did not affect anyone 55 or over.

Wow - that's just great. Turn the seniors against the next generation, their younger brothers and sisters and cousins, Obama's generation. Put us in poverty forever.

But we will not thank you.

After today, there is no doubt that Ryan really is a follower of Ayn Rand making an appeal to selfishness. It makes him happy to have Medicare take care of his Grandma and his Mom, but screw everyone else. The 99% are just parasites who deserve to die off anyway.

"Let Them Eat Cat Food"

It's a Darwinian approach that even Sarah Palin would say is right up there with "Death Panels."

Of course, an optimist would say that such speeches may be the death knell of the Romney/Ryan ticket, too, because he isn't mincing words about what he wants to do. He's not as good a liar as Mitt, and that may be his downfall. Hope springs eternal that people hear this stuff and begin to have doubts.

Will the seniors buy what he is selling? Seniors are usually more conservative nationally and locally. They are famous for voting against raising taxes for schools because their own kids are grown and their grandchildren go to private schools. Not one dime for anyone else, they will say, especially for anyone of color.

Sadly, yes, it might work. But we can still fight back while we can.

This guy is the coldest fish to come along in a while. Anyone who is still on the fence after that speech just isn't paying attention.

Did Romney Pay 13% Income Tax Each Year?

Romney still won't release the tax returns and expects us to trust him. I'm with Harry Reid - I'm not drinking the kool-aid. That is echoed in the message from the Obama Campaign: Prove It!

From CNN Political Ticker

"I did go back and look at my taxes and over the past ten years I never paid less than 13%. I think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that. I paid taxes every single year," Romney said, explaining he had gone back to check his records after being asked by a reporter about the tax rates he had paid. "Harry Reid's charge is totally false. I am sure waiting for Harry to put up who it was that told him what he says they told him – I don't believe it for a minute by the way – but every year I paid at least 13% and if you add in addition the amount that goes to charity, why, the number gets well above 20%."

~~~~~~~~~~

A spokesman for Reid, Adam Jentleson, said in a statement Thursday after Romney's press conference, "We'll believe it when we see it. Until Mitt Romney releases his tax returns, Americans will continue to wonder what he's hiding. Romney seems to think he plays by a different set of rules than every other presidential candidate for the last thirty years, all of whom lived up to the standard of transparency set by Mitt Romney's father and released their tax returns."

The Obama Campaign Response: Prove It!

"Mitt Romney today said that he did indeed 'go back and look' at his tax returns and that he never paid less than 13% in taxes in any year over the past decade," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement. "Since there is substantial reason to doubt his claims, we have a simple message for him: prove it. Even though he's invested millions in foreign tax havens, offshore shell corporations, and a Swiss bank account, he's still asking the American people to trust him."

New Ad Targets the Ryan Budget

The Obama camp isn't wasting any time targeting Ryan with laser-like precision. And even though some reports are that Romney is "distancing" himself from the Ryan budget, no one can be sure since the candidate says whatever is expedient at the moment. Someone that weak might give in to Ryan and the Koch Brothers, since Romney is basically a hostage of the Tea Party now anyway.

Romney Hood

Obama certainly has a way with words. I think "Romney Hood" will be around between now and the election. This will perk up the "silly season."

Obama Quips "Romney-Hood" ~  via Politico

"The entire centerpiece" of Romney's economic plan is a $5 trillion tax cut, he said.

The president spoke of the Tax Policy Center's analysis of Romney's plan again. "It's like Robin Hood in reverse -- it's Romney-hood."
The crowd laughed and roared and whistled its approval.

"That's the choice in this election. That's why I'm running for a second term as president."

Mitt Romney Goes Shopping

In New Hampshire near Romney's lake home, the press pool was allowed to tag along today while Romney went shopping for two ears of corn and various other odd items at the local grocery store, then he went into a hardware store and bought a bucket full of what Romney called "Hardware Stuff." If this was an attempt to show himself as a regular American and part of the 99%, then it was an epic fail. He could not have been more awkward - read on . . .

From ABC News

After spending about 10 minutes inside the local Bradley’s Hardware Store, Romney emerged, bucket in hand, where reporters peppered him with questions about what he had purchased inside.

“Hardware stuff,” Romney responded, laughing, before climbing into his SUV. A closer look at the bucket revealed that it was some sort of insect deterrent.

The next stop was the local grocery store, where Romney sifted through a large container of corn before choosing two (the deal, after all, was two for a dollar) and heading inside.

Directing a shopping cart to the back of his waiting SUV, Romney unloaded cases of Diet Coke and Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, Poland Spring water bottles and two plastic bags filled with groceries.

Asked what he bought, Romney responded, “Groceries,” and laughed.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Romney Pays Less, You Pay More

Brilliant new Obama ad . . .

The Fierce and "Decent" Harry Reid

Who would have thought that the Democrat who would finally throw down the gauntlet and not back down an inch on Romney's taxes would be the usually reticent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? And this story is getting bigger and bigger almost by the hour.

Harry Reid to Huffington Post

"His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son," Reid said, in reference to George Romney's standard-setting decision to turn over 12 years of tax returns when he ran for president in the late 1960s.

Saying he had "no problem with somebody being really, really wealthy," Reid sat up in his chair a bit before stirring the pot further. A month or so ago, he said, a person who had invested with Bain Capital called his office.

"Harry, he didn't pay any taxes for 10 years," Reid recounted the person as saying.

"He didn't pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that's true? Well, I'm not certain," said Reid. "But obviously he can't release those tax returns. How would it look?

"You guys have said his wealth is $250 million," Reid went on. "Not a chance in the world. It's a lot more than that. I mean, you do pretty well if you don't pay taxes for 10 years when you're making millions and millions of dollars."

On Wednesday, Reid spoke out again on the Senate Floor, repeating his accusation that Romney hasn't paid any taxes in ten years.

So, the word’s out that he hasn’t paid any taxes for 10 years. Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn’t. We already know from one partial tax return that he gave us, he has money hidden in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss banking account. Mitt Romney makes more money in a single day than the average middle-class family makes in two years or more.

Then he told reporters that he has more than once source to back up his claim.

LA Times Story

In a conference call with Nevada reporters on Wednesday, he broadened what he said were his sources for the contention that Romney was able to avoid federal taxes.

"I have had a number of people tell me that," said Reid, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, while refusing to elaborate. "I don't think the burden should be on me," Reid told the home-state reporters. "The burden should be on him. He's the one I've alleged has not paid any taxes. Why didn't he release his tax returns?”
On Thursday morning, Reid said that a nominee for a Cabinet position couldn't get confirmed by the Senate if he made as limited a release of tax information as Romney has thus far.
"Let him prove that he has paid taxes, because he hasn't," Reid declared, then adding that “Mitt Romney makes more money in a single day than the average middle-class family makes in two years or more

This is throwing the Romney camp for a loop - and as we know, it doesn't take much to get them into a tizzy of alleged victimization by the mean old Democrats. Romney said on Sean Hannity via Mediaite:

Well, it’s time for Harry to put up or shut up. Harry’s going to have to describe who it is he spoke with, because, of course, that’s completely and totally wrong. It’s untrue, dishonest, and inaccurate. It’s wrong. So I’m looking forward to have Harry reveal his sources, and we’ll probably find out it’s the White House.

Also on Thursday, Romney spokesperson Eric "Etch-A-Sketch" Fehrnstrom accused Reid of "McCarthyism," which is rich coming from a campaign that has ignored the witch hunts of Michelle Bachmann and her pals.

Harry Reid's statements are baseless and untrue, and I would ask him one simple question - 'Have you no sense of decency, Sir?' Is there nothing that you won't do to debase yourself and the office you hold, in the name of dirty politics? . . . This reminds me of the McCarthy hearings back in the 1950s.

From Huffington Post

"I don't think there is anything behind it. He hasn't produced any evidence," Fehrnstrom said Thursday in an interview with Fox News. "I'm telling you speaking on behalf of the governor that those charges are untrue, they are baseless and there is nothing to back them up."
"This reminds me of the McCarthy hearings back in the 1950s," he added.
Fehrnstrom's line, "Have you no decency, sir?" is a paraphrase of what Army lawyer Joseph N. Welch asked Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy in 1954, when he famously stood up to the powerful, witch-hunting senator who was falsely accusing people of being Communists.

On this issue, not only is Reid standing fast, but he is practically begging the media to keep talking about Romney's taxes, and especially to investigate people at Bain who would know the truth.

The elegant flourish of the whole thing is that Romney can't complain that people are picking on him because he is a Mormon, since Reid is also a Mormon. Ann Romney tried to play that card in the "You People" interview in which she mentioned tithing to the church, and how that meant they could be trusted on the tax issue. But it doesn't really work when another Mormon is saying it, plus where are all the other Mormons out there who should be speaking out on Romney's behalf? *crickets*

Tonight both CNN and MSNBC covered the tax return issue for hours. Lawrence O'Donnell offered a Romney-tax montage and discussion, while CNN's Dana Bash told Anderson Cooper that Reid's sources are good or he wouldn't be standing firm.

Mitt Romney could "shut up" Harry Reid. Mitt Romney could "shut up" all of us by doing what every presidential candidate does and show his tax returns. Every day that Mitt Romney refuses to show his tax returns costs him politically and therefore logically casts more and more suspicion on why he is not releasing his tax returns.
~ Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC


Tax Montage & Discussion from Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell

 

Transcript: Dana Bash on CNN's Anderson Cooper, August 2, 2012

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We now have a couple of responses, Anderson. Let me read you the first one, that is, "Senator Reid stands by his comments. Governor Romney's continued refusal to release his tax returns raises legitimate questions about what he is hiding and whether he paid any taxes at all. Governor Romney can easily end this debate by following the precedent set by his father and releasing his tax returns."

And as you were coming on the air, Anderson, I got a follow-up like the statement, which also stands by what they call his credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for 10 years, and he's calling Romney playing tricks, many tricks at his disposal for avoiding taxes. So not backing down at all.

I got to tell you, covering Harry Reid for a lot of years, there are times when he says things off the cuff that make his aides wince, like talking smelly tourists in the capitol. I'm not making this up. This is not one of those times.

This is one of those times where he knows exactly what he's doing. He's doing it on purpose. He's doing it for political reasons because he wants this issue, Romney's taxes, to be talked about on programs like yours, and wants it to be headlines in newspapers, and wants Mitt Romney to respond on this issue, which they think is a negative for Romney as opposed to issues that Romney wants to talk about.

. . . But this is -- when Harry Reid doesn't like somebody, he goes for the jugular. And that is what he is doing now. He is an old boxer and he still likes to be a political street fighter. He knew full well that he was going to be questioned over and over again on who his source was. And he said -- he's told people close to him who I have spoken today that he didn't care. He's not telling going to tell who his source is.

But I did speak, I just have to tell you, that I did speak to one source who's very close to Senator Reid who claims to also know who this Bain investor is that Reid spoke with, and insists that this is a credible person and this person if we knew the name we would understand that they would have the authority and the ability to know about Romney's tax returns. Whether we'll find it out ever, who knows. But they're doing this on purpose so that this is the discussion.