ACA for Idiots ~ Obama Explains it all Again to Bill and the Demo-Rats

First the Republicans demonized Obamacare as "Death Panels" and "Socialism."

They even tried to shut down the government in order to "repeal it." Didn't work.

It's true there have been problems with the website, but what website in history didn't have glitches? The poutrage from all sides on social media is astonishing since Twitter and Facebook have their own share of problems from hackers and spammers to the KoobFace virus.

But Obamacare has to be held to a higher standard. Why? Because of Obama Derangement Syndrome. This is ridiculous. People on the Left - especially in the media - have whined because the website didn't have Muzak, and whined because the roll-out was a "dismal failure."

The New York Times even compared the bad rollout of the ACA website to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which killed thousands and left thousands more stranded without food and water. Really, New York Times?

Obama even apologized on TV to Chuck Todd of MSNBC in a cringeworthy interview which never should have happened. There's no reason to apologize to media shills since Obamacare hasn't even taken effect yet, and people are still mostly shopping for plans. I have no doubt these kinks in the system will be worked out by January. Millions have already gotten new coverage under the program, including young adults who can now stay on their parents healthcare plans until age 26. Like my daughter for instance, who stayed on the family coverage while in Law School and who now has to buy her own plan as a practicing attorney. Her financial adviser just told her today her best bet for coverage in the coming year is . . . wait for it . . . Obamacare.

Apparently President Bill Clinton didn't get the memo. You remember Bill, the guy who wasn't able to pass his own healthcare initiative while in office, but has now decided to babble about Obama's failure to launch. This has been another moment of chagrin for most Democrats who want to keep our party together in 2014. The hotter heads among us are already saying they will not vote for Hillary in 2016 if Bill is going to attack Obama. That can't be good.

From The Week

President Obama can thank Bill Clinton for the psycho-drama.
Instead of putting some steel into the spines of wavering Democrats, Clinton this week took the opportunity to rebuke the White House for its broken promise that no one would lose their health insurance under ObamaCare. The comments unleashed a no-holds-barred Democratic freak-out, pushing Obama to announce on Thursday a plan to make good on that vow.
. . . As one of the Democratic Party's most respected figures, his word still carries weight among the party faithful, particularly in red states where Obama is kryptonite. So when Clinton publicly chided the administration, it gave congressional Democrats acres of cover to do the same.

Yesterday it all came to a head as there was a revolt among Blue Dog House Democrats like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana who are trying to assauge angry vociferous voters in their districts whose health plans have been cancelled. This has actually affected a small number of Americans but you would think it was happening to every single person from the way the media is covering the story. The Emoprog media, Clinton and these turncoat-Demo-Rats apparently don't even understand what the whiners are whining about, or how ACA Obamacare works.

Why were the plans cancelled by these companies? Because their plans were craptastic to begin with, with high deductibles and almost no hospital coverage. The insurance companies who did this to customers weren't in compliance with the new law, so therefore had to cancel these ridiculous plans. Shall I add that any of those plans could have been cancelled for ANY reason even without Obamacare. Now that we have a "marketplace" of plans, all those policy owners have to do is go search out a new plan instead of whining to Fox and to their local Congressman.

And Bill Clinton needs a course in "ACA for Idiots."
Here's one good explanation of the whole deal from New Republic.



But of course President Obama, who is the nicest and most patient President this country has EVER had, at least in my lifetime, explained it all again in terms even an ex-President can understand. And he said if those silly people want an extension on their horrible coverage, they can have it. I'm not as nice as Barack Obama, so I say to them: Good luck with that. See you next year when you smack your head and sign up for Obamacare.

I'll let the President have the last word - Listen, People!!!

“I’m accused of a lot of things, but I don’t think I’m stupid enough to go around saying, ‘This is going to be like shopping on Amazon or Travelocity’ a week before the Web site opens if I thought that it wasn’t going to work.”
. . . And you know, buying health insurance is never going to be like buying a song on iTunes. You know, it’s just a much more complicated transaction.”

Military Women in Combat

source: militarywomen.org

The United States Military has lifted restrictions for women in combat positions:

USA Today

The new order, signed Thursday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will open as many as 237,000 new jobs to women. Women comprise about 14% of the 1.4 million active military personnel.

Military officials who briefed reporters on background said occupations such as infantry and artillery have exacting physical requirements and appropriate standards will be maintained. The officials declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

The military has different physical standards based on age and sex for the Army and Marines. In either service, the standards for both sexes would be the same for those trying to get into the infantry and other combat arms specialties.

"The department's goal in rescinding the rule is to ensure that the mission is met with the best qualified and most capable people, regardless of gender," Panetta said.

I struggled with this title for this post because "Military Women Now Permitted in Combat" or "Military Women Finally Allowed in Combat" would mislead the reader into thinking that these women have led sheltered lives up till now. Women have always been in the thick of the battle as medics, pilots, technicians, military policewomen - you name it. And when battle lines change in distant lands, bombs and firefights are their reality, as well as their male counterparts. So it's not accurate to say "Now, Suddenly, Women are in Combat" as if something is new and unusual.

The only "new" feature is that women will now receive combat pay equal to men, and they will be considered for promotions and honors based on their very real combat experience.

Goldie Taylor, MSNBC pundit who served in the military, explained it well on last night's Ed Show:

You know, women have been serving in our armed forces and in
military operations around the world for decades. The fact is we`re doing
the job. We`re helicopter pilots. We`re Marine Corps, you know, military
police officers. We`re military intelligence officers.

We just don`t get formally recognized for it. And we certainly don`t
get paid for it. There`s a differential pay for someone who is formally
recognized as being a part of infantry. That is a boost in pay and
benefits that women don`t have access to. Certainly, if you serve on the
front line, you have greater access to leadership positions. That
opportunity is cut off for women who, again, not formally recognized.

I don`t know how much recognition you need than to look at someone
like Tammy Duckworth who comes home missing her legs, or someone like a
Shoshana Johnson, who was a POW, or someone like a Jessica Lynch, who was shot in the heels of her feet. So I don`t know how much more formal
recognition you need that women are doing the job today.

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

SCHULTZ: Women have to volunteer for combat duty and face the same
physical standards that men do. Is that an issue or not an issue at all?

TAYLOR: You know, I went through boot camp back in 1987. My former
husband attempted to go through boot camp that very same year. He did not
graduate from boot camp and was returned home not a Marine. I, on the
other hand, did complete boot camp and did rise to the challenge. I do
believe that the standards for infantry should be high. They should not be
relaxed.

But if a woman can meet the physical and mental challenges of serving
on the front line, then she darn well ought to be able to serve on the
front line, be recognized, be promoted, and be paid for it.

Newtown Parents: "Change That Will Outlast Any Legislative Careers"

"Sandy Hook won't be remembered for the tragedy, but for what started here."
~ David Wheeler, Ben's father



Rachel Maddow did an incredibly moving interview in Newtown, Connecticut with the parents of seven-year old Benjamin Wheeler, a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre. They were among the parents who met to start Sandy Hook Promise, a group pledging to take a measured approach beyond politics to make children safe from gun violence.

~~~~~~~
"It's really not about your party, right now. I really feel like it's about our children. At this moment my gut's telling me that we have to keep talking about the children. They are the future of this country. They're going to be the next set of parents and they would want the same things we want - protection and safety."
~ Francine Wheeler, Ben's mother

The policy debate may move quickly, but we all know that legislation does not move quickly, and we know that government doesn't move quickly. We know that culture and societal change moves much slower than that. It's glacial.
So there may be quick moves in legislation here and there. There may be quick policy announcements or quick policy stances taken by many different people. But what this group is talking about is change that may outlast a great number of legislators' careers.
So this may go through a few generations of people in positions of representation. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes, because we are in it for that long.
~ David Wheeler, Ben's father

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

The NRA Remains Tone Deaf

*Sigh* Christmas is over ~ back to reporting on the NRA.

GOP pollster Frank Luntz says the NRA just doesn't get it, and reiterated that Americans aren't thrilled with armed guards in schools. Luntz has done his own Poll of Gun Owners which showed broad support for reasonable gun restrictions, even among members of the NRA.



From Huffington Post today:

“The public wants guns out of the schools, not in the schools, and they're not asking for a security official or someone else," Luntz said on CBS’s “This Morning,” responding to a proposal first floated by top NRA lobbyist Wayne LaPierre during a press conference last week.
"I don’t think the NRA is listening. I don’t think that they understand," Luntz continued. "Most Americans would protect the Second Amendment rights and yet agree with the idea that not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available at anytime, anywhere, for anyone. That at gun shows, you should not be able to buy something there and then without any kind of check whatsoever. What they're looking for is a common-sense approach that says that those who are law-abiding should continue to have the right to own a weapon, but that you don’t believe the right should be extended to everyone at every time for every type of weapon.”

On Sunday, NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre was on NBC's Meet the Press, and while he just waffled and insisted that armed guards are the only answer, the interview caused more trouble for show moderator David Gregory, who is now being "investigated" for waving around a clip of live Ammo on the air.

Happy Sunday Morning to you too, Sir.

Snark Amendment: Quotes about David Gregory's Gun Show

From Jonathan Turley's Law Blog

Meet the Police: NBC’s David Gregory Under Investigation For Weapons Violation On Show
. . . This may have been a case where a picture — or consultation with counsel — might have been in order. There is no exception for the media in such possession cases.
On the show with the National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre, Gregory showed him the clip and said “Here’s a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets. Now, isn’t it possible that if we got rid of these . . . if we replaced them and said, ‘Well, you can only have a magazine that carries five bullets, or 10 bullets,’ isn’t it just possible that we could reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown?”

The predictable response from LaPierre was “I don’t believe that’s going to make one difference.” The less predictable response came from gun owners and gun control advocates who noted that the possession of such a clip is a crime. The D.C. law states “No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device.” This does not require that the clip be attached to a weapon and does not appear to require that it have rounds in the clip.
The reported investigation could also ensnare those NBC employees who obtained and transported the clip.

NRA Scare Tactics Will Not Stop Gun Control Advocates

source: Scott Wooledge on Daily Kos
First of all, some of us learned an important fact yesterday from Wayne LaPierre himself: the NRA has 4 million members. That seems like an overwhelming number until you realize that President Obama won 63 million votes.

The United States has over 300 million people. So NRA membership constitutes a mere fraction of our population.

We can stop the NRA in its tracks. We can make our elected officials realize that the NRA is not a "majority" of Americans, no matter what they propaganda machines spews out. It's true that there are more gun owners than NRA members, but I'd like to believe that many responsible gun owners, hunters and sportsmen mainly, are rejecting some of the rhetoric, and that's why they don't join.

Still, what we learned is that the vast majority of Americans are NOT members of the NRA. So why are we so scared of them? Answer: We shouldn't be, even if they have more guns. We shouldn't be intimidated into silence. Obama won the popular vote by over 2 million votes - and most of those folks are NOT NRA members.

In 1995, the New York Times published a letter from President George Bush stating he was leaving the NRA because Wayne LaPierre called federal agents "Jack-Booted Thugs" implying they were Nazis. I never thought I would admire George Bush for much, but this letter expresses the kind of righteous anger that more Republicans should feel towards the NRA. Well-done, Mr. President!

To the National Rifle Association: May 3, 1995

Dear Mr. Washington,
I was outraged when, even in the wake of the Oklahoma City tragedy, Mr. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of N.R.A., defended his attack on federal agents as "jack-booted thugs." To attack Secret Service agents or A.T.F. people or any government law enforcement people as "wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms" wanting to "attack law abiding citizens" is a vicious slander on good people.

Al Whicher, who served on my [ United States Secret Service ] detail when I was Vice President and President, was killed in Oklahoma City. He was no Nazi. He was a kind man, a loving parent, a man dedicated to serving his country -- and serve it well he did.

In 1993, I attended the wake for A.T.F. agent Steve Willis, another dedicated officer who did his duty. I can assure you that this honorable man, killed by weird cultists, was no Nazi.

John Magaw, who used to head the U.S.S.S. and now heads A.T.F., is one of the most principled, decent men I have ever known. He would be the last to condone the kind of illegal behavior your ugly letter charges. The same is true for the F.B.I.'s able Director Louis Freeh. I appointed Mr. Freeh to the Federal Bench. His integrity and honor are beyond question.

Both John Magaw and Judge Freeh were in office when I was President. They both now serve in the current administration. They both have badges. Neither of them would ever give the government's "go ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder law abiding citizens." (Your words)

I am a gun owner and an avid hunter. Over the years I have agreed with most of N.R.A.'s objectives, particularly your educational and training efforts, and your fundamental stance in favor of owning guns.

However, your broadside against Federal agents deeply offends my own sense of decency and honor; and it offends my concept of service to country. It indirectly slanders a wide array of government law enforcement officials, who are out there, day and night, laying their lives on the line for all of us.

You have not repudiated Mr. LaPierre's unwarranted attack. Therefore, I resign as a Life Member of N.R.A., said resignation to be effective upon your receipt of this letter. Please remove my name from your membership list.
Sincerely, [ signed ] George Bush

I hope he speaks out on Newtown someday. I would urge he and his brother Jeb, if they want to repair their family legacy, this would be the perfect place to start.

Here's a good idea I saw on Twitter today:

I propose that the NRA have a picture of every child killed put in every gun shop #NRA
— King of Hennepin (@KingofHennepin) December 22, 2012

If that was a Petition on Whitehouse.gov, I would sign it, and many other people too.

Slate writer Asha Rangappa has a good idea: Let's Tax Guns Now

A federal excise tax on guns could change the social landscape. It would work like this: Everyone who can pass a background check to own a firearm would be entitled to purchase one weapon, tax-free. This would leave our right to own a weapon for self-defense unencumbered and would therefore be constitutional under the Second Amendment. After that, the government would levy an excise tax on each additional weapon owned. The amount of the tax would increase as the number of weapons owned increased. The tax wouldn’t stop anyone from legally owning as many guns as they like, but it would make the choice to accumulate personal arsenals – like the one owned by Nancy Lanza in Sandy Hook –much more expensive, and therefore less prevalent.
~More at Link~

Representative Steve Israel D-NY wants to stop the new high-tech threat of "printable guns" made on a 3D Printer, via Mother Jones:

On December 7th, the New York Democrat announced plans to introduce a bill to reauthorize the Undetectable Firearms Act, which prohibits the sale, transport, and manufacture of weapons that can’t be spotted by a metal detector. Set to expire next year, the law was originally passed in 1988 to stop the anticipated-but-never-realized spread of plastic weapons. This time, Israel has set his sights on something decidedly more sci-fi: "Remember 'Replicators' on #Star Trek?," he tweeted earlier this month. "Now gun parts can be replicated with 3-D printers. Introducing [a] bill to stop so-called 'wiki-weapons.'"

3-D printers, which "print" objects out of plastic by using digital blueprints, have exploded among DIYers over the last few years, fueled by the rise of companies like MakerBot. Thingiverse, an online library of blueprints hosted by MakerBot, holds tens of thousands of blueprints—for everything from engagement rings to glasses frames.
"It is just a matter of time before these three-dimensional printers will be able to replicate an entire gun," Israel said. "And that firearm will be able to be brought through this security line, through the metal detector, and because there will be no metal to be detected, firearms will be brought on planes without anyone's knowledge."

California Senator Dianne Feinstein says the NRA is trying to distract us from reality. More guns in schools wouldn't stop a shooter, since we know it didn't stop the Columbine killers:

Think Progress:

The NRA’s blanket call to arm our schools is really nothing more than a distraction. It’s a delay tactic,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said at a press conference Friday. “It’s a distraction from the availability of military style assault weapons…It is a distraction from the prevalence of large ammunition feeding devices that allow shooters to expel 20, 30, 60, 100 and even more bullets. And it’s a distraction from how easy it is to purchase weapons at gun shows, with no background checks at all.”
. . . She read from a police report on the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, detailing the unsuccessful attempts of two armed officers to derail one of the shooters, Eric Harris:

FEINSTEIN: Jefferson Country Sheriffs Deputy Neil Gardner, the school’s Community Resource Officer, seeing Harris walking with his gun, kneeled over the top of his car and fired four shots. He was 60 yards from the gunman. Harris spun hard to the right and Gardner momentarily thought he had hit him. Seconds later, Harris began shooting again at the Deputy. After the exchange of gunfire, Harris ran back into the building. Gardner was able to get on the police radio and call for assistance from another Sheriffs unit. ‘Shots in the building, I need someone in the south lot with me.’ Later, another officer shot back at Harris as the student shot out a window. Again, according to the Sheriffs transcript. Harris, leaning out of a broken window, on the set of double doors into the school began shooting a rifle. Jefferson County Deputy Paul Smoker fires three rounds at him and the gunman disappears from the window. Smoker continues to hear gunfire from inside the building as more students flee from the school.

And last night MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell called out NRA President Wayne LaPierre, who spoke just after the moment of silence for the victims in Newtown, Connecticut - great montage of yesterday's events at the beginning of this also:

Nancy Pelosi Schools Young Luke Russert

Yesterday Nancy Pelosi announced she will be staying on as House Minority Leader, which caused young whippersnapper Luke Russert of MSNBC to ask her a rather ill-thought-out question that bordered on age discrimination and was boo'ed by the other ladies from Congress on stage with Pelosi.

Pelosi was announcing her intent to remain in post as the leader of the minority caucus in the House. Russert asked whether this choice was blocking younger members who wanted to move up in the party.

"Some of your colleagues privately say that your decision to stay on prohibits the party from having a younger leadership and hurts the party in the long term," he said. "What's your response?"


"Age discrimination!" some of Pelosi's colleagues shouted. "Boo!"


"Next!" Pelosi cried, adding, "Oh, you've always asked that question, except to Mitch McConnell!" The women behind her applauded.


Russert pressed on. "No, excuse me," he said. "You, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Clyburn, you're all over 70. Is your decision to stay on prohibiting younger members from moving forward?"


"Let's for a moment honor it as a legitimate question, although it's quite offensive," Pelosi responded. "You don't realize that, I guess." She went on to say that she had no concerns about the question Russert raised, adding flatly, "the answer is no."

Rachel Maddow Explains It All to the Tea Party in Righteous Rant

I've been trying for three days to make a list of all the good things about this election but there are so many it is overwhelming. And then last night Rachel Maddow spoke it all to power (or lack of power) in a righteous rant against the Republicans and the Tea Party that made my jaw drop in admiration. She said it better than I could, or probably anyone ever could. So I'll let her words speak for all of us:

First part of Transcript from MSNBC, Second part from GreyHawk on Daily Kos
Cross-Posted on Snark Amendment

That happened (the re-election of Barack Obama). That really happened.

We are not going to have a Supreme Court that will overturn Roe versus Wade.

There will be no more Antonin Scalias and Samuel Alitos added to this court.

We're not going to repeal health reform.

Nobody is going to kill Medicare and make old people in this generation or any other generation fight it out on the open market to try to get health insurance.

We are not going to do that.

We are not going to give a 20% tax cut to millionaires and billionaires and expect programs like food stamps and kid's insurance to cover the cost of that tax cut.

We'll not make you clear it with your boss if you want to get birth control under the insurance plan that you're on.

We are not going to redefine rape.

We are not going to amend the United States Constitution to stop gay people from getting married.

We are not going to double Guantanamo.

We are not eliminating the department of energy or the department of education or housing at the federal level.

We are not going to spend $2 trillion on the military that the military does not want.

We are not scaling back on student loans, because the country's new plan is that you should borrow money from their parents.

We are not vetoing the Dream Act.

We are not self-deporting.

We are not letting Detroit go bankrupt.

We are not starting a trade war with China on Inauguration Day in January.

We are not going to have, as a President, a man who once led a mob of friends to run down a scared gay kid, to hold him down and forcibly cut his hair off with a pair of scissors while that kid cried and screamed for help, and there was no apology not ever.

We are not going to have a Secretary of State John Bolten.

We are not bringing Dick Cheney back.

We are not going to have a foreign policy shop stocked with architects of the Iraq War.

We are not going to do it.

We had the choice to do that if we wanted to do that as a country, and we said no last night, loudly.






Ohio really did go to President Obama last night.
And he really did win.

And he really was born in Hawaii.

And he really is legitimately President of the United States, again.

And the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not make up a fake unemployment rate last month.

And the Congressional Research Service really can find no evidence that cutting taxes on rich people grows the economy.

And the polls were not screwed to oversample Democrats.

And Nate Silver was not making up fake projections about the election to make conservatives feel bad. Nate Silver was doing math.

And climate change is real.

And rape really does cause pregnancy sometimes.

And evolution is a thing.

And Benghazi was an attack on us, it was not a scandal by us.

And nobody is taking away anyone's guns.

And taxes have not gone up.

And the deficit is dropping, actually.

And Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction.

And the moon landing was real.

And FEMA is not building concentration camps.

And U.N. election observers are not taking over Texas.

And moderate reforms of the regulations on the insurance industry and the financial services industry in this country are not the same thing as communism.

Listen, last night was a good night for liberals and for Democrats for very obvious reasons, but it was also, possibly, a good night for this country as a whole. Because in this country, we have a two- party system in government. And the idea is supposed to be that the two sides, both come up with ways to confront and fix the real problems facing our country. They both propose possible solutions to our real problems. and we debate between those possible solutions. And by the process of debate, we pick the best idea.

That competition between good ideas from both sides about real problems in the real country should result in our country having better choices, better options, than if only one side is really working on the hard stuff.

And the if the Republican party and the conservative movement and the conservative media is stuck in a vacuum-sealed door-locked spin cycle of telling each other what makes them feel good and denying the factual, lived truth of the world, then we are all deprived as a nation of the constructive debate about competing feasible ideas about real problems.

Last night the Republicans got shellacked, and they had no idea it was coming. And we saw them in realtime, in real humiliating time, not believe it, even as it was happening to them. And unless they are going to is secede, they are going to have to pop the factual bubble they have been so happy living inside if they do not want to get shellacked again, and that will be a painful process for them, but it will be good for the whole country, left, right, and center.

You guys, we're counting on you. wake up. There are real problems in the world. There are real, knowable facts in the world. Let's accept those and talk about how we might approach our problems differently. Let's move on from there.

If the Republican Party and the conservative movement and conservative media are forced to do that by the humiliation they were dealt last night, we will all be better off as a nation. and in that spirit, congratulations.

Hardball Nails Romney as Too Aggressive, Lacking Manners

pic via Gifwich

From the Hardball Post-Debate Wrap-Up Last Night (My Transcript)

Chris Matthews: I thought Romney, he looked like a big-shot CEO who walks into the room and thinks he owns any room he's in, especially what seems like a board room. And he just starts pushing, it's always physical, he just swats them away like flies. He knows they make less than him, and he treats them that way. You know what I'm talking about? He treats moderators as low-grade below the line employees.

John Heileman: The Help.

David Corn of Mother Jones: The Help. I just think the contrast between the first debate and the second debate is that Mitt Romney is excellent at presenting a case. you know, he had to do it as a consultant, walk into these boardrooms with CEOs and say 'I know better than you do.' He had to do it at Bain Capital, get people to give him millions of dollars. And he was unchallenged in the first debate! So he was able to present his case.
But in this debate he got challenged in two directions. From the Moderator Candy Crowley, who I think was fantastic! And also by the President, who didn't let him get away with anything. He had a hard time callibrating how to respond.

Chris Matthews: Here, John (Heileman), respond to this - here he is interrupting Moderator Candy Crowley and trying to go back to answer an earlier question, as if he's going to define the whole format. He also tried to tell Crowley the rules of the debate. He was instructing her, of course. Let's listen:

CROWLEY: -- and the next question --

ROMNEY: He actually got --

CROWLEY: -- for you --

ROMNEY: He actually got the first question. So I get the last question -- last answer --

CROWLEY: (Inaudible) in the follow up, it doesn't quite work like that. But I'm going to give you a chance here. I promise you, I'm going to.

And the next question is for you. So if you want to, you know, continue on -- but I don't want to leave all --

ROMNEY: Candy, Candy --

CROWLEY: -- sitting here --

ROMNEY: Candy, I don't have a policy of stopping wind jobs in Iowa and that -- they're not phantom jobs. They're real jobs.

CROWLEY: OK.

ROMNEY: I appreciate wind jobs in Iowa and across our country. I appreciate the jobs in coal and oil and gas. I'm going to make sure --

CROWLEY: OK.

ROMNEY: -- we're taking advantage of our energy resources. We'll bring back manufacturing to America. We're going to get through a very aggressive energy policy, 31/2 million more jobs in this country. It's critical to our future.

OBAMA: Candy, it's not going to --

CROWLEY: We're going to move you along --

OBAMA: Used to being interrupted.

CROWLEY: We're going to move you both along to taxes over here and all these folks that have been waiting.

Chris Matthews: Can you imagine a flight attendant trying to get him to turn off his phone? The guy just doesn't turn off the damn phone. You know he has fifty excuses, 'by the way I paid for this seat, screw you' basically, with that attitude.

David Corn: He has his own plane!

Chris: Oh, I forgot - he doesn't have to fly with a flight attendant.

John Heileman: I just think Governor Romney did not look good in that exchange. I think in general, and this is the point you started out on raising, they both whined about time keeping. They both interrupted each other.

Chris: But once one guy does it, if the other guy doesn't, he is the victim.

John Heileman: I agree. I just think that from the standpoint of the women voters that you were raising, I think there are a lot of voters who are kinda like - at those moments they look like petty schoolchildren. Talking over each other. Governor Romney was the worst, though, at the moment he said to President Obama "Hold On, you'll get your turn."

Chris: "Hold on, you'll get your turn." Where do you get that chutzpah?

Heileman: Yeah, to the President of the United States. I think in a debate you should have forceful confrontations, but there's something so pat and condescending.

Chris: Without the cordiality and civility, with that lack of deference to the Office.

Heileman: Yes! Whoa - "Hold on son, you'll get your turn" is kinda like - whoa, come on man.



David Corn: Romney wasn't challenged in the first debate. So therefore he didn't have to figure out how to respond. He could focus on making his powerpoint presentation to the voters without being interrupted. And Obama just sort of let him go through. This time around he seemed to get rattled again and again and again. He didn't know whether to deal with the voter asking him the question, whether to deal with the President, or to deal with the moderator. And he got very testy.

Heileman That exchange also reminds you of that one exchange during the Republican Primary Debates when he turned to Anderson Cooper and said, "Anderson! Anderson!" Same thing - "Candy! Candy!"

Chris: His Lifeline, yeah.

Heileman: Appealing to the Refs.

Chris: Okay, Romney's final burst of combativeness came when he was defending the content of his blind trust. But the President worked in a good line. Let's listen here:

ROMNEY: Just going to make a point. Any investments I have over the last eight years have been managed by a blind trust. And I understand they do include investments outside the United States, including in -- in Chinese companies.

Mr. President, have you looked at your pension? Have you looked at your pension?

OBAMA: I've got to say...

ROMNEY: Mr. President, have you looked at your pension?

OBAMA: You know, I -- I don't look at my pension. It's not as big as yours so it doesn't take as long.

ROMNEY: Well, let me give you some advice.

OBAMA: I don't check it that often.

ROMNEY: Let me give you some advice. Look at your pension. You also have investments in Chinese companies. You also have investments outside the United States. You also have investments through a Cayman's trust.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: We're way off topic here, Governor Romney.

Chris: What was that? Do you know more about what he's getting at there, David?

David Corn: Well, the campaign has told me this time and time again when I've asked about Bain investments and Chinese companies that they outsourced. They go, "Oh, Obama has investments outside in foreign companies." They're basically looking at his Mutual Funds and going through all the companies. He doesn't have anything major in this, though, so they're trying to come up with equivalence that doesn't really exist. And he kinda botched the point in making it.

Heileman: And can I tell you that this exchange to me was the epitome of this debate and Denver. When Gov. Romney raised the thing in Denver about the accountant and it presented a golden opportunity for the President to say "Oh, you gotta pretty good accountant," or something, the President just totally wimped on it, just stepped back and didn't do anything. Here, as soon as Romney went to the pensions, you saw Obama get up out of his chair and start walking over ther like "I am going right at this thing. I've got a pension line, I'm going to get right on this thing. I'm going to try and rip this guy's lungs out." It was the difference for me between the debates.



Chris: I like the fact that his (Obama's) synapses, if you will, that every time he gave an answer it was a Christmas tree he put up responding. And then he'd start putting the baubles on it. "And by the way, Lily Ledbetter. And by the way, Planned Parenthood. And by the way, this..." - he just adorned the tree with these answers.

David Corn: His debate performance was full of strategy. From start to finish, he knew what points he wanted to make. He found the best opportunities, and it all had this great crescendo at the end, with 47%. He waited till the very last moment, when Romney could not . . .

Chris: And he (Obama) also won both polls tonight. He won CNN's and CBS's.

John Heileman: Here again, a mirror image of the last debate. In Denver, Gov. Romney had a strategy and he executed it. President Obama did not have a strategy. In this debate, President Obama had a strategy and executed it.

. . . *snip* . . .

John Heileman: I'll tell you what we also saw tonight was the contempt between the two of them, the physicality of it, the moments when you thought they were going to get the nunchucks out and just start beating each other. (laughter)

Chris: Let me tell you something, knowing the President's contempt from you and a lot of other reporters, I think he held back.

John Heileman: There were just moments when it seethed, seethed.

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Obama for the Win as Early Voting Starts

Keep Working, Donating, Blogging, and Tweeting, but also take time to enjoy the winning side of a long campaign - just for a few minutes!!!

*Yay!*

Rachel Maddow on tonight's show:

You know, the election has already started. In almost half the states in the country, people can already get access to a ballot and start voting by mail, if they want to. You can already do in-person early voting in Idaho, South Dakota, and in Vermont. Early in-person voting also starts on Thursday of this week in Wyoming and in Iowa.
And what that means beyond just the convenience of voting in those states where you can vote early, what that means for this campaign,
is that every day is potentially decisive now.
...With Early Voting every day is election day now.

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From Nate Silver's 538 NYT Blog via The Last Word:

Chris Matthews Eviscerates Priebus to Applause

Absolute Epic Takedown of pathetic Reince Priebus by Chris Matthews this morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe.  Of course, Mika and Joe were stunned and flabbergasted that anyone dare question the RNC or their minions, and Tom Brokaw came up with a lame false equivalency  ~ "Both sides do it" he vowed like an old man yelling at the sky. but Chris got the last laugh as the Morning Joe audience applauded all his best lines!  Keep going with this, Chris!!!

Just a taste of what it was like - more quotes further down the page:

"That cheap shot about 'I don't have a problem with my birth certificate' was awful.
It is an embarrassment to your party to play that card. This stuff about getting rid of the work requirement for welfare is dishonest.... and you are playing that little ethnic card there. You can play your games and giggle about it, but the fact is your side is playing that card."
. . . It's funny that the first joke he (Romney) ever told a joke in his life was about Obama's Birth Certificate.
~ MSNBC host Chris Matthews speaking to RNC President Reince Priebus on Morning Joe

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From Huffington Post:

Later when Priebus alleged that Obama was looking at European policies for guidance, Matthews lost it again.

"Where do you get this from?" Matthews shouted. "This is insane." He charged that Priebus was "playing that card again."

"Let's just work on tone," Brzezinski said. "Chris, let him answer the question," Scarborough said.

"I'm not going to get into a shouting match with Chris so you guys can move on," Priebus said. "Because you're losing, that's why," Matthews said. "Garbage, garbage," Priebus muttered.

"It's your garbage," Matthews fired back.

More Via Politico

“I think Obama’s policies have created a sense that, for whatever reason, he’s looking guidance as far as health care is concerned, as far as our spending is concerned, as far as these stimulus packages are concerned, that he’s looking to Europe for guidance,” said Priebus on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” at the start of what would become a heated back and forth.

“What? Where do you get this from? That’s insane,” responded Matthews. “You mean the fact that every president we’ve had has tried to offset the economic cycle with stimulus going the other direction is somehow European?”

“We’ve got to get the debt under control,” said Priebus.

“What does that have to do with Europe and this foreignization of the government. You’re doing it now. Saying that he’s influenced by foreign influences?” said Matthews.

Transcript Via Think Progress

PRIEBUS: But I think Obama’s policies have created a sense that for whatever reason, he’s looking to guidance [from Europe] as far as health care is concerned, as far as our spending is concerned …

MATTHEWS: What? Where do you get this from? This is insane! You mean the Keynesian fiscal policy — you mean the fact that every president we’ve had has tried to offset the economic cycle with stimulus going the other direction is somehow European? … What’s this got to do with Europe and this foreignization of the guy? You’re doing it now! Saying he’s influenced by foreign influences? You’re playing that card again. What’s this European thing of yours? What are you up to with this constant that he’s not really domestic?

PRIEBUS: You don’t think the take-over of our health care system called Obamacare is a problem for most Americans?

MATTHEWS: Let me tell you some history, sir. Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt pushed for that, Truman pushed for that, were they all under the influence of Europe? Where do you get this from?

PRIEBUS: I’m not going to get into a shouting match with Chris, so you guys can just move on.

MATTHEWS: Because you’re losing, that’s why.

PRIEBUS: No, I’m not losing.

Earthquakes and Fracking

Rachel Maddow did an excellent spot about the connections between natural gas "fracking"  - forcing wastewater from drilling into deep underground wells - and earthquakes in Texas where historically few have occurred.

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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.

Romney's Returns - the Ugly Truth

The Romney camp is holding firm that he has "already released" all the tax returns he is going to release, meaning the single return from 2010. Considering the fact that everyone from George Will to Bill Kristol to Rahm Emanuel are calling Romney out on his taxes, it's almost unbelievable that they continue to stonewall.

Romney appeared on Fox and Friends this morning, sounding as if he is being nibbled to death by geese, LOL.

Via Think Progress

ROMNEY: The Obama people keep on wanting more and more and more. More things to pick through, more things for their opposition research to try make a mountain out of and to distort and to be dishonest about. We’re going to put out two years of tax returns.

Esquire has a great spin on why Romney is holding back:

Contempt for "the Help"

It is helpful always to remind yourself that, in the mind of Willard Romney, there are only two kinds of people — himself and his family, and The Help. Throughout his career, and especially throughout his brief political career, Romney has treated The Help with a kind of lordly disdain. . . .
. . . The Help has no right to go pawing through the family books, giggling at the obvious loopholes and tax dodges, running amok through all the tax shelters, and probably getting their chocolate-y fingerprints all over the pages of the Romney family ledger. And, certainly, those members of The Help in the employ of the president of the United States, who is also part of The Help, have no right to use the nearly comically ostentatious wealth of the Romney as some sort of scrimey political weapon. He does not have to answer to The Help. I mean, jeepers, he's running for office.
This isn't stubbornness. That's often an acquired trait. What this is, fundamentally, is contempt. Contempt for the process, and contempt for the people who make their living in that process, and contempt for the people whose lives depend on that process.

Good job by MSNBC's Luke Russert pushing Romney's surrogate, Gail Gitchco, to clear up the tax mess this morning. Epic fail on her part as "communications director." They just don't get it. Someone is eventually going to leak these tax returns, so it would be better if they just got it over with now. But when has the Romney camp ever been that bright? Never.

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Romney Brought A Black Entourage to the NAACP

You can't make this stuff up. I saw this on the Ed Show last night and was staring at the TV in disbelief, and because it is such a strange story held it until today to see if more information was available.

According to NAACP members on the ED Show, Romney brought his own entourage of African Americans to the convention, either bussed or flown in. You can see the original article and video below, but here is the new information from this afternoon:

MSNBC ~ Romney Brought in Black Supporters

The Romney campaign Wednesday night denied to Lean Forward that it brought in supporters to cheer during the candidate's speech to the NAACP, as several attendees have claimed. But one prominent black Republican told us she was invited to the event by the Romney campaign, and another African-American conservative said he was urged to go by people connected to the campaign.

"I was invited by Governor Romney," Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll of Florida, a Republican, told Lean Forward in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.

Asked who paid Carroll's way, her office referred Lean Forward to the Romney campaign's press office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

. . . Niger Innis, a conservative activist, told Lean Forward Thursday that he was encouraged to attend the Houston speech by friends in the NAACP, as well as "some folks that were aligned with the Romney campaign," declining to elaborate. Innis said he paid his own way.

. . . The TV host Roland Martin, Hilary Shelton of the NAACP, and the radio host Mark Thompson all have claimed that the Romney campaign brought in supporters to the speech. Shelton said on MSNBC Wednesday that the goal was "to provide the cheering for [Romney]." Thompson said the supporters served as "applauders for his applause lines."

Andrea Saul, a Romney campaign spokeswoman, told Lean Forward Wednesday night that Shelton's claims were "not true." Asked Thursday about Carroll's statement that she attended the speech as a guest of the Romney campaign, and Innis's that he was urged to go by people connected to the campaign, Saul did not immediately respond.

No joke, folks. Romney is one weird candidate. If he brought in people to clap and support him, maybe they were also the ones booing him on cue as well. Honestly - it begs the question. The whole thing stinks to high heaven, if you ask me.

From The Ed Show Blog

Romney said today that after the speech, at which he was booed for saying he'd repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, he met with black leaders who told him they support his policies but are afraid to do so publicly.

But on The Ed Show, (Hilary) Shelton said those were likely people brought in by the Romney camp "to actually provide the cheering for him."

"Quite frankly, the campaign actually gave me a list of African-American VIPs that they brought into the NAACP meeting," Shelton told Ed Schulz. "So we were aware that they had people brought in specifically for the campaign. So I'm sure those were the ones they sat down with, because quite frankly none of the rank-and-file NAACPers met with him."

Indeed, despite the boos, cheering can be heard at various points during the speech, including when Romney criticized President Obama over the economy and education.

Shelton said that none of the people Romney met with were active NAACP leaders, and that Romney's referring to African-American conservative politicians like Niger Innis who "was brought in from New York."

Pressed by Ed Schultz about whether Innis and the others were actually members of the NAACP, Shelton said: "They're bringing people in that they know will support his agenda from other places, that aren't active with the NAACP. These are people who are brought in to actually provide the cheering for him, so there will be some support along those lines."

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Ron Howard talks about Andy Griffith

Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC interviewing Ron Howard (my transcript):

Andrea Mitchell: Today people across America are mourning the death of everyone's favorite sheriff, Andy Griffith. He died today and joining me on the phone is acclaimed director/producer/actor Ron Howard, who played of course Griffith's son Opie Taylor for eight years on the TV series The Andy Griffith Show.
Thank you so much for joining us, our condolences. You said in a statement that Andy Griffith Really shaped your life. You were only 6 years old when you first went on the show.

Ron Howard: (crosstalk) Good to talk to you. I was actually 5 when we we did the pilot for the show.

Mitchell: Wow.

Howard: The show, which was a spin-off of The Danny Thomas Show, and Danny was also an Executive Producer on the series along with Sheldon Leonard. He definitely did professionally, and personally a lot of ways because he created an environment on that set that was very creative, very playful yet extremely disciplined, and it was that simple lesson that I witnessed week in and week out, from the very first episode to the very last when I was fourteen years old, which was if you're doing it, you might as well do it well, and this is an opportunity to be involved in something that could be memorable. Just to respect that. It was never spoken that clearly, but like all great lessons it was observed.

Mitchell: How different was he from the character he played? Tell us about Andy Griffith the man.

Howard: I think the character evolved into something much closer to the real Andy. In the beginning it was everyone's design to do something broader, and a little more country-bumpkinish or something, a little closer to some of his monologues, which were broad and kind of hayseed. But as the show went on, he felt very comfortable becoming basically not providing the punchlines, but being the center of the show and became a much greater reflection of Andy.
Andy was a natural leader, extremely intelligent, a thoughtful guy who loved to laugh, who created a very humanistic kind of environment. So there was never a lot of tension on the set but there was always a sense of professionalism.



Mitchell: In what ways have you modeled your own work and life on that example, and how did he stay a part of your life?

Howard: As a kid I was unbelievably fortunate in that I was really allowed to witness this collaborative creative problem-solving process that Andy allowed. It was amazing - I was allowed to sit around listening to he and the writers talk about fixing the script and improving jokes, and which jokes were appropriate for characters, and which jokes were perhaps undercutting the integrity of characters. The other cast members were also a part of this discussion, and it was just the most spectacular education. But I think I do try to create an environment on the films that I direct where people feel safe, they show up confident, and it's a place to excel. The expectation is we're all there for a reason, and to try and do good work.
So again, without getting up and making speeches, I try to create that environment as Andy did.

Mitchell: It's extraordinary because he had such a big influence on all of us. but to know he had this long and creative and productive life, the person behind all that, is very reassuring.

Howard: I hope he's remembered not only for the Andy Griffith Show but for Matlock, and "A Face in the Crowd," and his music, and even going way back to his first monologues which he did on the radio and the recording studio which are still hilarious. And take a look at the overview, and whether it was comedy or drama, there's a reason he's so impactful on so many different mediums and styles. That's because he cared about what was doing.

Mitchell: Ron Howard, thank you so much. Thanks for joining us today to share your memories of someone with such an important influence in your life. Thank you.

Howard: Well, thank you, pleasure.

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