Snark in Pictures

ABC's This Week: Two Georges and Three Pauls

On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos - and his cohort George Will - juggled three "Pauls" ~ Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, and Paul Krugman. There's also a Cokie and a Cory, but they don't add much substance.

Video of Episode Here

Complete Transcript Here

Paul Ryan was almost impossible to pin down with specifics about what he and Romney would do if elected. Mainly he just repeated GOP talking points and lies about how various programs work.

Here's a good example: On Medicaid. Ryan dances around all the good that Medicaid does for children, seniors, and the disabled, and instead starts bashing Obamacare. He also ignores the basic fact that most governors know good and well that their constituents need Medicaid, and that states don't have the resources to make up the difference if those funds are cut. Ryan's version of "flexibility" for the states is code for "pay for it yourselves."

STEPHANOPOULOS: President Clinton also took aim at the savings you do propose in Medicaid -- $800 billion, the largest specific savings in your plan. That's about a 35 percent reduction over the next decade.

And the president argued that it's going to be devastating for seniors who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care, middle-class families challenged by disabilities, children with autism. How can you squeeze that much money of a program, $800 billion, without cutting benefits or restricting eligibility?

RYAN: Here's the secret on this one. Medicaid spending still goes up under what we're proposing. What we're saying is we want to repeal ObamaCare, because we think it's a terrible law. And so we're taking away the massive increases in ObamaCare that are attributable to Medicaid. About a third of the people that ObamaCare is supposed to serve, they're just pushing people on Medicaid.

Here's the problem, George. Medicaid is not working. More and more doctors are less likely to even take people with Medicaid. It's a system that needs reforming.

So we don't want to put more money and force more people on a program that's failing, that's not working. We want to reform Medicaid. And so what were saying is, don't expand this program as dramatically as ObamaCare does. Keep it like it is, increase its funding and send it to the states so the states can fix this problem. I think government closest to the people, especially in providing health care for the poor, works the best.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But The Urban Institute has estimated that between 14 million and 27 million people will -- fewer people will be covered under that plan. And won't the block grant, block-granting this program, sending it to the states, mean that low-income and disabled people will lose their guaranteed right to coverage?

RYAN: No, not at all, of course not. Look, governors are asking us all the time for more flexibility on Medicaid. There are a lot of different ideas out there on how best to cover the low-income populations of various states. And look, every state has different issues and different problems. So we want to be able to give the states the tools they need, make sure that they spend this money on their Medicaid population, but give them the ability to fix the problems in their unique state --

STEPHANOPOULOS: But doesn't --

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: -- individuals will not have a federal guarantee under a block grant. That's correct, isn't it?

RYAN: Sure. No, with maintenance of that -- I won't get into the details, but with maintenance of effort requirements, which is what we've done in the past, they still have to serve this population. They just get more flexibility on how to serve this population, instead of all these rules and strings from Washington that make it really hard for them to make sure that they can meet the mandate and provide the best possible quality care to low-income populations.

Yep ~ that flexibility thing will solve everything. No details necessary - just vote him into office and he will "fix" the system. Oy Vey.

Then Rand Paul and Paul Krugman bickered over another talking point ~ whether government has "exploded" under Obama, which according to the GOP, it has. Rand Paul fervently believes it, anyway.

PAUL: ... understand is you are arguing that the government sector is struggling. Are you arguing that there are fewer government employees under Obama than they were under Bush?

KRUGMAN: That's a fact.

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: No, the size of both -- of government is enormous under President Obama.

KRUGMAN: If government employment had grown as fast under Obama as it did under Bush, we would have a million-and-a-half more people employed right now, directly.

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Are there less people employed or more people employed now by government?

Then they got back to commenting on Paul Ryan - with a classic Paul Krugman smackdown of doofus and Democratic concern-troll Cory Booker:

Booker: . . . This is Paul Ryan who used to be a man of substance, who put up plans, I may disagree with some of them, but with great levels of specificity. Now they have said they're going to cut $5 trillion in taxes, increase spending in the military, and somehow not dig us into a deeper deficit budget...

. . . KRUGMAN: I'm going to disagree, respectfully, he was never a man of substance. This is who he always was. That was always an illusion.

Later, Krugman had a few choice words for the Republican Convention:

KRUGMAN: It's not a matter of individual speeches or strategic positioning. The Republican Party is where it is because that's where the base is. And you watched that whole primary process, Republican candidates had to appeal to their base, which is by and large elderly white people arguing with empty chairs. And they could not -- they could not reach out to the growing demographic--

Old Republican Geezer George Will thinks we should do away with political conventions entirely - I guess because he wanted to go bed early instead of watch them, plus he yearns for the day when Bill Clinton isn't making lengthy speeches (dream on, George). Paul Krugman points out the educational purpose of such a convention, bringing the whole thing back around to Paul Ryan, whose speech truly "defined" him at the RNC in Tampa.

WILL: We need a little data on who watches these conventions and what effect they have. Because, you know, conventions are a government program, and there is an enormous amount of tax dollars that goes into this. And like all government programs, they are immortal and they go on forever. Maybe we should terminate these.

KRUGMAN: I thought the two conventions were enormously informative. A lot of people who normally catch politics in snippets on the news, got to see extended laying out of positions on both sides. And a lot happened. Right? We saw -- we saw the implosion of Paul Ryan, you know, extraordinary dissent and reputation, because people got to see him speaking at length on national TV. We saw Bill Clinton laying out a case in more detail than most people would ever get to see. These were -- I'm not sure that conventions don't decide anything in terms of who gets nominated, but they turn out to be extremely effective educational programs.

Polling Shows: Obama Bounces, Mitt Deflated

 Here is Nate Silver's graph as of today, September 7, 2012 from the New York Times.

 As you can see, Obama (the blue line) is on the upswing, while Romney is going down, down, down.

And Silver just posted more good news for Obama - he is bouncing in the polls.

FiveThirtyEight.com: Hints of Obama Convention Bounce

Mr. Obama has gained two or three points in polls conducted essentially halfway through his convention suggests that his gains could eventually be larger, perhaps on the order of five points, once the surveys fully reflect post-convention data. Typically, the bounce grows over the course of the convention, peaking in interviews conducted just a day or two after it.

The caveat is that — and yes, this reflects my personal, subjective view — I thought the speeches delivered by Mrs. Obama and Mr. Clinton were stronger than the one given by Mr. Obama himself, and that Democrats’ momentum seemed to peak on Wednesday night rather than on Thursday. Then, Mr. Obama got a mediocre jobs report on Friday.

The better question, then, is not whether the movement in the polls toward Mr. Obama is “real,” but rather how much more of it (if any) he will get, and how long it persists.

Obviously, no one knows if the bounce will persist, but still - it's better than Romney, who got no bounce - nada, zip, zero - from his own Convention.

Silver writes:

What’s a bit more worrisome for Mr. Romney is that Gallup’s reporting of the head-to-head results in its poll occurs over a lengthy seven-day window, meaning that only a minority of the interviews in the poll were conducted before the major speeches at the Democratic convention.
In fact, most of the interviews in the poll were conducted just after the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., a period in which Mr. Romney should have been enjoying a convention bounce of his own.

The Gallup Organization came to the same conclusion, writing on September 4:

Mitt Romney received no bounce from last week's Republican National Convention, as the 46% of registered voters who supported him in Aug. 31-Sept. 3 Daily tracking is essentially the same as the 47% who preferred him in Aug. 24-27 tracking, the four days preceding the convention.

. . . The lack of a bounce is consistent with Gallup's immediate post-GOP convention reaction poll, showing Americans giving Romney's acceptance speech, and the convention more generally, rather muted ratings.
Gallup's standard seven-day rolling average of voter presidential preferences has shown Obama at 47% and Romney at 46% each day since Aug. 29.

But as of today, Obama is bouncing for Gallup, too:

GALLUP DAILY
Sep 4-6, 2012 – Updates daily at 1 p.m. ET; reflects one-day change

Obama Approval
52%
+3

Obama Disapproval
43%
-2

Presidential Election
Obama
48%
+1

Romney
45%
-1

7-day rolling average

Of course people still need to VOTE ~ so get registered, get your proper ID, find your polling place, and show up on election day!!!

Republican Insiders Bemoan Lyin' Ryan

Put this in the "we tried to tell you" file: Republican insiders knew Ryan was a liar and just a troublemaker when he was being vetted, but Mitt wouldn't listen. And not only does Ryan lie about automotive plants closing in Janesville, and about rewriting the definition of rape, he lies about simple things in his past such as how fast he ran in a marathon back in 1990.

In fact, the marathon story has legs . . . pardon the pun . . . because to lie to a perfect stranger on the radio when nothing is at stake is a sign of a sociopath. They were talking about sports in that interview. There was no reason to make up a braggadocio statistic about running a marathon in under three hours, which Ryan had to know was faster than he can actually run. Paul Ryan Watch Blog called it "Performance-Enhancing Rhetoric," LOL.

But Ryan's claim that he ran a sub three-hour marathon when he finished the one marathon he ran at just over four hours, records show was flat-out and unnecessary political plastic surgery to make himself look more accomplished than he really is.
Call it a dose of self-administered performance-enhancing rhetoric.
At how many campaign bean feeds and on how many first dates or in bull sessions at the gym or the deer stand has Ryan been impressing people with that story?

Exactly, and since he's been around Washington for quite a few years, people in the Republican Party surely witnessed this type of dishonest story-telling before.

And indeed they have and are speaking out - anonymously.

From Capital Hill Blue

Campaign insiders say Romney was so determined to capture support of the tea party that reveres Ryan that he was “more than willing” to overlook the Congressman’s casual relationship with the truth.

“Paul Ryan is a loose cannon. He’s Mitt Romney’s Sarah Palin and his involvement with the campaign will sink the Republican Party in this election,” said another GOP pro, who also asked to remain anonymous.

“When I heard Ryan was on the short list, my first reaction was ‘oh, Christ, here we go again,’ ” the longtime GOP operative said Sunday. ”The man tells so many whoppers so often that I’m not sure he even knows when he’s lying.”

People back home in Wisconsin are still wondering why he would keep lying about things that are easily verified.

Madison.com: Ryan's Dumb Lie Will Taint Him Forever

Assume that Mitt Romney loses this November. Who will be first in line in 2016? You guessed it. Ryan will be a frequent guest on “Meet the Press” and other talk shows. It is so obvious that he will be the nominee in four years if Romney can’t deliver that he might be nominated by acclamation. No primaries needed!

Here is the mystery. Why would Ryan tell a doozy of a lie on national television that will taint him forever?

. . . Fast forward to 2016. First question: “Congressman, you lied to the American people when you blamed Obama for the GM plant closing in Janesville. You lied about your concern for your high school buddies who lost out. Why did you lie to us?”

All Ryan had to say was, “We tried to save the plant but could not.” The real reason he lied? To tell the truth about the plant closing would have jeopardized his love affair with the tea party.

Joe McCarthy lied, and lied, and lied. “I have a list of communists in the State Department,” he said, and that claim helped him to national fame. “Tail Gunner Joe” was the sentry offering to save America from communist plots. But it was a whopper of a lie. And when prominent broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, the Cap Times, and others — in particular attorney Joseph Welch — asked, “Have you no shame, sir?” it was all over for Joe.

Ryan’s lie will get loud applause at GOP functions, where no one will ask Ryan: “What in the hell were you talking about?”

Snark in Pictures

Fehrnstrom: Romney Covered Afghanistan in Another Speech

I think something is seriously wrong with Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt's senior adviser. Not only did he let his boss get upstaged by an empty chair on the most important night of his campaign, but he can't quite explain why Mitt avoided any mention of Afghanistan in his major speech at the Republican Convention.

Don't they realize how many young men and women are still in Afghanistan? Peopler are being hurt and maimed, mentally and physically, every single day. Don't they realize how many military families are involved in that effort? Stupidity doesn't even explain it - for instance, Sarah Palin mentioned the war and the veterans in nearly every speech she gave during the last election, and looking back that seems much more sensible than Romney's omission. I guess we have to assume he just didn't know what to say, so it's easier to slam China or Iran and talk about how Obama has "thrown Israel under the bus." Make up new threats to scare people instead of making them happy to have both Iraq and Afghanistan behind us.

Hey, Mitt - and you too, Eric - "Blessed are the peacemakers." Got that?

Here's the way Fehrnstrom explained it on CNN:

CROWLEY: Why didn't the president mention anything about there are troops as you know overseas still fighting in Afghanistan, but there was no mention of that in his speech. Was that deliberate, was it an oversight, what was that decision about?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, the day before the convention speech, Candy, Governor Romney traveled to Indianapolis on Wednesday and he gave a speech before the American Legion. Now that was an invitation that President Obama declined. Governor Romney thought it was a privilege to be speaking to people who had served so nobly. And in that speech, he talked about Afghanistan. He also talked about the $1 trillion in defense cuts that are going to be taking place under this president which his own defense secretary has said will be devastating to our national defense.

CROWLEY: Point taken. And I didn't mean the president, I meant the governor, He is your nominee, presidential nominee at this point. But it is not just the president and the Democrats, here is something that Bill Kristol, from the Weekly Standard, a conservative, a Republican, had to say, "what about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing to even mention in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored in this kind of major and formal speech the war and our warriors? I doubt it. It has been since 1952, I read, where a Republican did not mention troops serving overseas."

Do you think it was an oversight -- in hindsight, should he have said something?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, again, he spoke to Afghanistan in a big speech before the American Legion the night before his convention speech, that was an invitation...

CROWLEY: Sure, but this is a huge, big audience.

FEHRNSTROM: President Obama declined. But Governor Romney's convention speech was an opportunity for him to introduce himself to millions of voters who were seeing him for the first time and in that speech he accomplished what he set to do, which is to talk about his better vision for America with more jobs and increasing wages, he talked about the failures of the Obama presidency over the last four years. And he talked a little bit about the personal side and what motivates him.

And we thought that speech was a home run.

Obama wondered why Romney would just overlook the role of President in the Afghan conflict:

"Gov. Romney had nothing to say about Afghanistan last week," Obama said at a campaign rally in Iowa on Saturday. "Didn't mention it. Didn't offer a plan in terms of how he might end the war or, if he's not going to end it, he's got to let people know."

Republican Bill Kristol blasted Romney in an Weekly Standard column:

What War?
The United States has some 68,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan. Over two thousand Americans have died in the more than ten years of that war, a war Mitt Romney has supported. Yet in his speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief, Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.

Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney's silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored, in this kind of major and formal speech, the war and our warriors?

No Bounce for Romney, Even in Florida

Republican Faceplant ~ No bounce for the Republicans after their convention. And no new favorable statistics for Romney. This isn't surprising since the only thing anyone will remember about last week are the lies of Paul Ryan and the insanity of Clint Eastwood. Epic fail.

Complete PPP Polling Results PDF Here

Public Policy Polling

Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 48-47, exactly as he did on our last poll of the state five weeks ago.

The Republican convention being held in Tampa appears to have been a wash. 33% of voters say it made them more likely to vote for Republicans, 33% said it made them less likely to vote for Republicans, and 34% said it didn't make a difference to them either way.

Romney did see a slight bump in his favorability numbers. 49% of voters have a positive opinion of him to 47% with a negative one. That +2 spread is up a net 5 points from late July when his breakdown was 46/49.

*snip*

. . . -One reason Romney may not get much, if any, of a convention bounce is simply that people don't think he's a very good speaker. 58% in Florida say Obama is a better public speaker to 32% for Romney.

-49% of Florida voters think Romney should release 12 years of his tax returns to 41% who think he should not.

-Florida voters oppose the Ryan Plan 44/37 but given the lack of change in the race since Ryan's selection as Romney's running mate and the strong advantage the Republican ticket has with seniors that may not be having too much of an impact.

Republicans Jumping the Proverbial Shark

 
chicka_chicka_gifs

The Clint Eastwood debacle is turning into one of those cultural moments of convergence when even the most tuned-out voter realizes that something has changed and we've taken a step into Bizarro World. Clint's "chair improv" moment is even listed now on Wikipedia's Jumping the Shark Page.

The phrase "jumping the shark," comes from a ridiculous episode in the series Happy Days when "The Fonz" (Henry Winkler) put on swim trunks and went water skiing wearing a black leather jacket. That scene managed to turn the coolest character on TV into a silly wimp pretending to be in danger.

 In Clint's case, we were forced as a mass audience to watch his weird self-indulgent parody of imaginary Obama as a foul-mouthed brutha from the ghett-o, which is every tea partier's stereotype and nightmare as described by Rush Limbaugh - the "community organizer" from "thuggish Chicago" who is actually a "Kenyan" and who needs to "get out of the White House" because he's not a "real American." The only thing Clint could have said to make it a perfect ten would be to pout and tell Obama-Chair belligerantly: "I want my country back."

Instead, we have to settle for one of the greatest living actors on stage drawing a finger across his throat while saying "We Gotta Let Him Go." The fact that Clint was lynched in more than one of his movies (Hang 'em High and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) doesn't help matters because it just means he knows exactly what racist reference he is possibly making to his wingnut audience.


via gifsfln.com
Here's the description of where the phrase "Jump the Shark" from the LA Times

In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had Nick at Nite playing in the background. They started talking about classic TV shows when someone asked, "What was the precise moment you knew it was downhill for your favorite show?" One said it was when Vicki came on board "The Love Boat." Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on "The Flintstones." Sean Connolly offered, "That's easy: It was when Fonzie jumped the shark." As Hein later recounted, there was silence in the room: "No explanation necessary, the phrase said it all."
Thus was born an expression that would quickly make its way into the pop culture mainstream, defined by Hein as "a moment. A defining moment when you know from now on … it's all downhill … it will never be the same."

To connect this to politics, I think the Republican Party members believe they are in a never-ending series like . . . let's say . . . Gunsmoke - all tough and macho and frontiersy, beginning and ending with a shoot-out Ted Nugent style.

But in reality, the Republican Party is more like All in the Family on steroids, or worse - the ever-conventional and color-coordinated (white mostly) Brady Bunch when Vincent Price trapped the boys in a cave in Hawaii because of an evil Tiki idol that put a curse on them. I think Joe Arpaio and his Arizona pals would understand this - he sent his minions there to get the real scoop on Obama's birth certificate, and what happened? The Feds started investigating him for hate crimes. Must be the curse of Hawaii once more. Or maybe the Republican Party just jumped too many sharks on the way to Hawaii and birtherism, period.



Kooky and Creepy Old Guest Star Vincent Price

(Sorry, I couldn't resist throwing in Hawaii because even the youngest Brady knew that they were still in the good old United States. What do Republicans think the name "Hawaii 5-0" means anyway?)

Or maybe Mad Men has it right - Don Draper's wife Betty ran off with a successful politician, but instead of her life becoming more modern, they end up living in the House of Dark Shadows with a weird old grandma out of The Addams Family. I think there's definitely a parallel there to the American Gothic negativity of the modern GOP, with their bag full of dusty torture devices and their witch hunts.

Another parallel to Mad Men is the fact that a very conventional British character Lane - the "Anglo-Saxon" character - kept lying to people about his money situation until finally his only way out was to hang himself at the office. That somehow seems familiar this year, since Mitt Romney has been unwilling to release his tax records or tell the truth about his real connections to Bain Capital. And every time he or his wife open their mouths about it, the noose tightens more.

I would compare the Repubs to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so convinced are they that life in the U.S. has become a Hellmouth under Obama, with the Apocalypse just around the corner. The only problem is that they would deny that a woman, or even an army of women, could save the world. The only women superheroes in their world are the Moms, especially the wealthy homeschooler Moms, or conversely the bleach-blonde bitches on Fox News, plus Condileeza Rice, the warmongering Amazon. Even the fact that Buffy wore a cross and carried around holy water while killing vampires and satanic demons wouldn't matter to the GOP. Also, while Buffy was a rather silly show at times, it never jumped the shark, and had one of the best final episodes of any series in history. Something tells me the Republicans aren't going to have a happy ending.


Buffy is too much like Sandra Fluke anyway - you know, young, opinionated, intelligent and female, with lady parts that she controls - and is therefore a slut and probably popping birth control pills like pez. Don't even get me started on Buffy's friends, the Wiccan Lesbians in the series - they don't exist in GOP Land. Let the shark eat them. "Let them go."

I'm sure the day after Clint Eastwood made that speech, many Republicans all over the country woke up wondering if it had been a dream - like the time everyone thought Bobby Ewing was dead on Dallas, but then he stepped out of the shower alive and well. I know they don't like the word "HOPE" but that's really what they wanted to gain from the GOP Convention. They wanted to wake up in a place like Dallas where there's plenty of money and people who will vote exactly as they do and Obama isn't going to be President anymore after November. They wanted a big bounce, and a big lead.

Except that this is reality TV, and Clint Eastwood steered his speedboat through the middle of the Convention Center and ran his own embarassing wrinkly shorts up the main mast for all to see, while mumbling crazy talk to an empty chair. It was much more of an Evel Knievel show-stopper than anything Fonzie ever did on Happy Days, and its effect on society - Priceless, and not good news for Mitt Romney. Too bad it didn't happen during Shark Week.

What Eastwood's Chair Really Said

Via: Francesco Francavilla

LOL!

The Chair Responds to Eastwood:

Chair: What did people say when you said you were going to talk to an empty chair?
Eastwood: You're absolutely crazy.


Colbert Interviews Eastwood's Chair:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Obama Jokes About Republican Convention

This is just hilarious! Obama pokes the Republican Convention with some delicious snark. I'm sure we'll hear more of this next week at the Dem Convention in Charlotte ~ I can't wait!

Last week the other party gave you their pitch at the convention down in Florida.

(crowd boos)

Don't boo ~ vote!

(crowd cheers)

It was something to behold. Despite all the challenges that we face in this new century what they offered over those three days was, more often than not, an agenda that was better suited for the last century. It was a re-run. We'd seen it before.

You might as well have watched it on a black-and-white TV.

If you didn't DVR it, let me recap it for you: Everything's bad, it's Obama's fault, and Governor Romney is the only one who knows the secret to creating jobs and growing the economy. That was the pitch.

There was a lot of talk about hard truths and bold choices, (laughs) but no one ever bothered to tell you what they were.

And when Governor Romney had his chance to let you in on his secret, he did not offer a single new idea. Just retreads of the same old policies that have been sticking it to the middle class for years. They talked a lot about me. They talked a lot about him. But they didn't say much about you.

President Obama as Clint Eastwood's Invisible Straw Man

As an English major and bookish person, it's fascinating to me that iconic books are beginning to define the candidates.

For the Republicans it's clearly anything written by Ayn Rand from Atlas Shrugged to The Fountainhead.  John Galt represents the selfish "every person for themselves" attitude that causes the Republican Congress to block or stonewall every social program that might help anyone, and their vision of society is of one divided between successful wealthy people and the slacker rabble who are beneath them.

My posts about the Republicans and Ayn Rand's books:
Ayn Rand and the Politics of Egomania
More on the Ryan and Ayn Connection

For the Democrats, the new book reference, thanks to Clint Eastwood, is Ralph Ellison's amazing book, Invisible Man.

Thursday night at the Republican Convention, Clint Eastwood played out a bizarre ad lib between himself as a typical Republican and an empty chair representing President Obama. While it's easy to laugh and blame the whole thing on the senility of an aging actor past his prime, what he did was quite symbolic.

Obviously the Republicans want Obama's chair to be "empty" - they want him gone from the White House.  Back in April,  the Romneys were asked in an interview what they would like to say to President Obama, they said Obama should just get out of the White House. Get out of the Oval Office - here we come!

Source: The Hill

"Well, start packing. That's what I'd like to say. Obviously we have a very different view. The president, I'm sure wants another four years, but the first few didn't go so well," Romney said.
"His policies have not helped the American people. They have not helped get jobs, they have not helped raise incomes and they’ve added trillions of dollars of debt,” Romney added.
The sentiment was echoed by Romney's wife, Ann, who has played an increasingly prominent role in the campaign in recent weeks.
"I believe it's Mitt's time. I believe the country needs the kind of leadership he's going to offer… So I think it's our turn now," Ann Romney said.

Notice what he also does in that quote - Mitt blabs a bunch of other things about Obama implying he hasn't done any good for the country and has created all the national debt by himself, which is a lie. In fact, Romney lies nearly continuously in his speeches about what Obama has or hasn't done, and other Republicans are worse. John Sununu and Donald Trump call him "foreign," and the birthers cheer. Sarah Palin says he wants to kill Grandma with a death panel, and everyone waves a flag. It's just rank propoganda and vicious rhetoric that bears no likeness to the truth.

In debate, that is known as creating a "straw man."
From "Fallacy Files":

Etymology:
"Straw man" is one of the best-named fallacies, because it is memorable and vividly illustrates the nature of the fallacy. Imagine a fight in which one of the combatants sets up a man of straw, attacks it, then proclaims victory. All the while, the real opponent stands by untouched.

So we have real Obama, who was born in the United States and has been a really good President for four years, then we have this demon straw man who is just a diabolical fiend, conspiring with his own parents before he was born to become President and drive Tea Party members insane 50 years later.

What Clint Eastwood did with his comedy sketch was to imagine Obama sitting in that chair on stage, in effect creating an "imaginary straw man." How do we know that his vision of Obama was not the real thing? Well, he put words into Obama's mouth that he wouldn't say - our President just isn't going to tell Mitt or anyone else to "F*** himself," which is what Clint implied as a joke. It was just unfunny.

Eric Stetson wrote in an essay called "Attacking an Imaginary Obama"

It is not insignificant that Clint Eastwood pretended that the imaginary Barack Obama he was talking to responded to him with vulgarity. On multiple occasions, he pretended that Obama cursed him with the f-word as a response to his political criticisms. The real President Obama would not do this, of course, because he is a gentleman who speaks in a dignified manner. Republicans like Clint Eastwood cannot stand that. The Obama of their imagination is ghetto trash, the kind of person who would cuss and make his points using vulgarity rather than well-reasoned arguments. They literally imagine him as their image of the stereotypical young urban thug, because the reality of a young black liberal gentleman is too difficult for them to comprehend or accept.

Exactly. The invisible straw man in that chair is not the real Obama.

Hungry Coyote on Daily Kos has a great diary about the disrespect shown to Obama by Eastwood, and I won't try to repeat all of it because I want to actually discuss the literature involved with some quotes from Ellison.

But first let's just look at a quote from MSNBC transcript she has kindly provided, a snippet of discussion between James Lipton of the Actor's Studio and Chris Hayes.

Chris Hayes: . . . he was sitting in a chair. So he was being literally talked; literally, physically talked down to.

James Liption: Down to.

Chris Hayes: Down to, and like a school boy; like an errant school boy, and my executive producer made this point about you know, Clint Eastwood and the RNC should go back and read The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison because actually, there's a whole masterpiece of American literature ... around the experience of invisibility in front of the white power structure for a black man in America. And obviously that was; I don't want to say like that that was obviously the intentional subtext. I think it was not thought out. I just think it was they wanted to have a gag. But the way it reads was deeply, deeply profoundly, profoundly disrespectful in a way that really, I found kind of upsetting.

James Liption: One of the things about this campaign that has fascinated me is the number of jokes that have gone over like lead balloons.

Alex Wagner: yes.

James Liption: I've never heard quite so many jokes that weren't really funny. They're structured like a joke, sounds like a joke; you think you're listening to a joke, except it's not funny.

I think Ralph Ellison would concur - it's unfunny to imagine a black man as errant schoolboy - or "boy" of any kind, especially in the 21st century. The trouble is, the Republicans seem to long for the plantation past with their talk of secession as the answer to all problems, and their denial about America becoming more brown and less white all the time. I think that's why they are desperate enough to let their racism show.

Every time we hear a string of dog whistles in a speech, what the speaker is really just showing you his ideal straw man - a black person who never heard of civil rights, who never went to college, who never wrote a book or owned a house or entered the middle class. In his convention acceptance speech Mitt Romney, like Santorum before him, mocked Obama for being a lawyer, when all three of them went to the same exact Law School at Harvard. That is like making yourself into a straw man, then attacking yourself with just as much ferocity lest someone mistake you for your enemy. It must be painful to go on stabbing yourself that way, but Mitt, Ryan and the others want to highlight differences, not similarities.

African Americans back in the day endured a type of apartheid, restricted to certain neighborhoods, certain jobs, certain schools, certain expectations. Ellison was a man of that time, and as in Kathryn Stockett's recent novel The Help set in Mississippi during the sixties civil rights movement, people were expected to "know their place," to sit in the corner, to look down, and to never speak up. Ironically, that learned behavior of obsequiousness certainly helped the struggle as they followed Gandhi's rules of non-violence and Thoreau's idea of civil disobedience. Brave people were willing to endure anything to change the system, from the indignity of mustard poured over their heads at a lunch counter or being chased by police dogs on a public street or thrown in jail.

And Ralph Ellison's 1952 novel was just one of a number of great American books that influenced social change in the 60s, but given that the Republicans don't see President Obama clearly and Eastwood literally made him the "Invisible Man" on stage in Tampa, here are some quotes from the book that can remind us of the plight of President Obama. No matter what he does, 30% of American won't accept him as a "real American," and many of them will never admit they were wrong. But they are the ones who can't see themselves clearly.

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie extoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.”

“I was pulled this way and that for longer than I can remember. And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own. I have also been called one thing and then another while no one really wished to hear what I called myself. So after years of trying to adopt the opinions of others I finally rebelled. I am an invisible man.”

“I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now I've tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied”

"America is woven of many strands; I would recognize them and let it so remain. It's 'winner take nothing' that is the great truth of our country or of any country. Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. Our fate is to become one, and yet many -- This in not prophecy, but description."

Mitt Romney ~ Upstaged by a Chair

First there was all this anticipation of a "mystery guest" arriving at the Republican National Convention, then there was lots of interest when it was found to be Clint Eastwood. What would he say? Did he bring a cool film with him, as he did at the Super Bowl? Would he say something memorable?

*snort* OMG - did he ever! Dirty Harry came out on stage in Tampa and proceeded to discuss politics with an empty chair where he imagined an invisible President Obama.

No, I am not making this up. The tumultuous skit with the chair even created a furor on both Twitter and Tumblr, and I assume Facebook as well, as people who had been almost asleep after 100 boring speeches woke up and started making chair art.

And two new hashtags were invented: #eastwooding and #invisibleobama

What all this means is that no one was really paying much attention to Rubio's or Romney's speeches which followed Eastwood, even though they were supposed to be the highlights of the evening. It almost . . . almost . . . makes me feel sorry for Mitt. He has the stupidest team in politics and I think that's undisputed now.


Even people who love Clint Eastwood, movies, imaginary friends, and actors in general found the whole thing downright bizarre. Famous film critic Roger Ebert Tweeted:

Clint, my hero, is coming across as sad and pathetic. He didn't need to do this to himself. It's unworthy of him.
— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) August 31, 2012

TV sitcom legend Bob Newhart joked that Eastwood was stealing his bit of talking to imaginary people on the phone:

I heard that Clint Eastwood was channeling me at the RNC. My lawyers and I are drafting our lawsuit... #RNC #ClintEastwood #rnc2012 #GOP2012
— Bob Newhart (@BobNewhart) August 31, 2012

Rachel Maddow was rendered almost speechless with shock in a classic Live TN moment:


    And Barack Obama responded with a Tweet of his own that is destined to be remembered forever as an epic one-liner:

This seat's taken. OFA.BO/c2gbfi, twitter.com/BarackObama/st… — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 31, 2012

And look at the other beauties from Tumblr and Twitter ~ this will go on for days and days because the variations are endless. Expect a plethora of chair jokes next week in Charlotte. Poor Mitt.


eatbloganddie.com/        jseeder11.tumblr.com    
amajor7.tumblr.com         G**DAMN IT #EASTWOOD! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO COOK TONIGHT! #Eastwooding #RNC #DNC #political #politics #Republican #Democrat #Putos.  teardropfromnyc on Instagram
    crocktees.tumblr.com

The Republican Convention Condensed

pic via eatbloganddie
My collections of Twitter and Videos from each night on Snark Amendment:

RNC Night Three: Mitt's Big Moment
RNC Night Three: Introducing Mitt
Clint Eastwood Talks to Empty Chair in Tampa
RNC Night Two: Paul Ryan Center Stage
RNC Opening Night: One Hand Clapping for Lame Speeches


And in case you just can't stomach all that (who can blame you?):

Talking Points Memo ~ The Republican Convention in 100 Seconds (per day)






And finally this great Recap by ABC News from Night Three:

Paul Ryan Gave Us a Pack of Lies

Journalists and pundits across political lines agree that Paul Ryan was lying to the American People last night.

Transcript of Paul Ryan's Speech

Even Fox News Admitted:

. . . to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.

For all their smarmy kissing-up to the Romney/Ryan camp that CNN has done this week, such as the icky-sweet interview Wolf Blitzer had with the five strapping Romney sons - ack - last night even the CNN team had to admit Ryan was Lyin' - although they explained it as "motivation."

Via Talking Points Memo

Blitzer: So there he is, the republican vice presidential nominee and his beautiful family there. His mom is up there. This is exactly what this crowd of republicans here certainly republicans all across the country were hoping for. He delivered a powerful speech. Erin, a powerful speech. Although I marked at least seven or eight points I’m sure the fact checkers will have some opportunities to dispute if they want to go forward, I’m sure they will. As far as mitt romney’s campaign is concerned, paul ryan on this night delivered.

Burnett: That’s right. Certainly so. We were jotting down points. There will be issues with some of the facts. But it motivated people. He’s a man who says I care deeply about every single word. I want to do a good job. And he delivered on that. Precise, clear, and passionate.

Yes, Erin, sometimes liars are "passionate" about their lying so they can "motivate" people. Think Richard Nixon or Bernie Madoff or Ted Bundy or Dick Cheney or Jerry Sandusky.

The bottom line is, we shouldn't elect a liar and possible sociopath to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency. We need people who will tell us the truth, and not a pack of lies so they can fool us into submission with all their plans.

The Six Worst Lies in Paul Ryan's Speech
~ Think Progress

Pants on Fire: The The False Truths Paul Ryan Told During The RNC (LIST)
~ Global Grind

The Lies People Are Willing to Accept From VP Nominee Paul Ryan
~ Hyper Vocal

Paul Ryan's speech: a round-up of his most audacious untruths
~ Guardian UK



As for Ryan, it’s scary that he could lie so brazenly to the millions of people around the country who tuned in to watch the Republican National Convention. But what’s scarier? That quite a few of those millions will have hung on to and believed every word he said.
~ Tracy Bloom on Truth Dig

The sanctimonious V.P. nominee seems to have forgotten the Fourth Commandment: “Thou shalt not lie.” Ryan believes he can say anything and get away with it.
~ Joan Walsh on Salon

But really, the proper response to a speech like [Paul Ryan’s] isn’t to carefully analyze the logic, or to find instances of hypocrisy; it’s to call the speaker out for telling flat-out lies to the American people. Paul Ryan has had what I’ve long thought was an undeserved good reputation among many in the press and in Washington. It shouldn’t survive tonight’s speech.
~ Jonathan Bernstein in Washington Post

Ryan talked about moral creed, but his budget slashes programs aimed at protecting those that he said we have an obligation to protect. If that is the Romney/Ryan American dream, then voters -- young, old, middle class, African-American, Latinos and women -- would do well to say thanks, but we'll keep our hope and change even if it takes four more years to get there.
~ CNN

Ryan actually pushed the envelope, peddling new fantasies, like the spin that says: “Obamacare comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country."
This will come to news as news to Britain, Canada, Germany and other American allies that somehow keep the light of liberty shining even as they guarantee all citizens access to quality healthcare.
~ John Nichols on The Nation

So the Democrats have to raise their game. They’ve never had to encounter this kind of buttery demagoguery before. Their campaign is going to have to be almost as much against Ryan as against Romney. (Does anyone think Romney’s speech is going to be more effective to the intended audience? I’d be awfully surprised if it is.) They have to rebut his lies, and they have to do it without sounding bitter or afraid or superior or haughty. That’s not easy to do. But it’s the challenge of this campaign. If they can’t win the Ryan war, they’re done.
~ Michael Tomasky on Daily Beast

But here's the thing: Most of the millions of people who watched the speech on television tonight do not read fact-checks or obsessively consume news 15 hours a day, and will never know how much Ryan's case against Obama relied on lies and deception. Ryan's pants are on fire, but all America saw was a barn-burner.
~ Dan Amira on New York Magazine

Strange First Night at the RNC

I watched as many of the speeches as I could stomach from the Republican National Convention and to me there were several problems. The worst was Mitt Romney's unhappy expression the whole night. He stumbled onto the stage after being introduced by his wife, and he looked like a sad clown that has been sprayed with seltzer water too many times. He was NOT having a good time!

There was no cohesion between speeches. Mrs. Romney gave a rather shrill and squeaky speech about how much she loved Mitt and how much he loves everyone - love, love, love. Then Chris Christie from new New Jersey gave a more rabble-rousing speech about how love was just okay, but respect was so much better! Then he forced everyone to get to their feet and clap for him, and since most of the evening had been so boring, people complied. It just seems strange that the two speeches that were meant to introduce Mitt Romney to the country instead cancelled each other out and left people scratching their heads. I found them equally repulsive.

The camera panned onto Condileeza Rice a few times and she seemed to be crying, but I don't think it was for happiness. Her Party is going down the crapper.





John Boehner gave a really stupid speech about drunks in a bar, which suited his big red nose. I'm not sure how all the bar jokes went over with the Evangelical dry-county teetotal Tea Partiers from the heartland. Doh! Maybe he should have thought of that in between cocktails.


And then there were the really nasty hate-filled speeches ~ Reince Priebus and Janine Turner from Northern Exposure, especially. Ugh. Next time, just wear your sheets and hoods, folks. I found them both creepy to the max. This is totally Godwin, but either one could have started clicking their boots and shrieking "Sieg Heil!" and it would have seemed perfectly in keeping with their tone.




Rick Santorum's speech was another embarrassing homage to his grandfather's "big meaty hands" - people on twitter were counting and said he mentioned hands 24 times, and even said "hand America jobs," which sounds faintly obscene. I honestly don't know what he is thinking anymore, but then I never did.


The strangest thing of all was that each speaker from Nikki Haley to Chris Christie talked about their immigrant ancestors and family success stories. But wait . . . this is the party which wants to cut out all immigration, build a wall, put barbed wire on it, shoot people at the border, and force Grandma to deport herself. WTF? Why would any of them glowingly gush about their own successful families who came here with nothing and captured the American Dream if all they want to do is deny that dream to everyone else in the world? I'm stumped on that one. I think every time they said "my great-grandfather immigrated here" the audience squirmed, both in the hall and at home.

Just a few hours earlier they had given ugly Jan Brewer of Arizona, the queen of anti-immigration and Hispanic/Latino hate, a thunderous ovation just for announcing that Arizona was nominating Mitt. Total mixed message.

Finally, the piece de resistance was an incident that happened off-camera, but happened to a camera woman for CNN. You can't make this stuff up. I wonder what will happen tonight?

GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying "This is how we feed animals." @takeactionnews #TAN
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) August 29, 2012

, @cnn statement on GOP attendee removed for incident with African American camera woman. 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/cnn-re… via @tpm_dk
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) August 29, 2012

Talking Points Memo

The CNN official declined to confirm specific details of the incident to TPM but generally confirmed an account posted on Twitter by former MSNBC and Current anchor David Shuster: “GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying ‘This is how we feed animals.’”
It is not clear whether the alleged culprit was a delegate or attending the convention in some other capacity.
In a written statement, CNN addressed the matter but divulged few details: “CNN can confirm there was an incident directed at an employee inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum earlier this afternoon. CNN worked with convention officials to address this matter and will have no further comment.”

From Politico

The RNC referred POLITICO to GOP Convention spokesperson Kyle Downey for comment. . . .
UPDATE: GOP convention spokesman Kyle Downey tells POLITICO, "Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."

Isaac Reaches Hurricane Status Near New Orleans Coast

Almost exactly 7 years to the day that deadly Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana, the storm known as Isaac reached Category 1 Hurricane status today in nearly the same location. Heavy surf is a problem all along the Gulf Coast from NOLA to the panhandle of Florida.

CNN: Isaac Poised for Landfall on Katrina Anniversary

Isaac is expected to be weaker than Katrina, which came ashore as a Category 3 hurricane with 125-mph winds. But New Orleans could start to feel tropical storm force winds by midnight Monday, and while Isaac may veer off its currently projected course, "It seems to be settling into a pathway and a speed that is becoming predictable," Landrieu said.

"It is quite ironic that we have a hurricane threatening us on the seventh anniversary of Katrina," he said. But he added that as of Monday afternoon, "There is nothing this storm will bring us that we are not capable of handling."

Most of Katrina's nearly 1,800 deaths occurred when the protective levees around New Orleans failed, flooding the city. But Landrieu said the levees have had $10 billion in improvements since 2005, and the city's pump stations have backup generators ready in case of electrical outages.

I have to laugh at Governor Bobby Jindal - even though Obama is declaring emergency funds available before the storm hits, he wants the Federal Government to pay more for their preparatiions. LOL ~ so much for hating "big gummint hand-outs" which Jindal has turned down, but only when the money is for the unemployed or for women's health care.

I kind of love it that all the Southern governors had to rush back to their states from the RNC in Tampa. I'm not going to echo Pat Roberson by saying God is doing this to them, but I do believe in the wheel of fortune, and what goes around comes around. Karma is a bitch. Tomorrow, everyone will be thinking of Katrina and the failure of George Bush as Mitt Romney makes his acceptance speech.

Isaac is a scary storm, but there is onee silver lining because the drought-cursed Midwest may get some much-needed rain in the coming days. I really hope that happens! And meanwhile, I hope folks in NOLA head for higher ground.

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

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

 

   
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.

Ron Paul Won't Endorse Romney

Before Ron Paul rides into the sunset, he has to get in a few more barbs at the Republican Party, a free-spirit to the last:

CBS News: Paul Can't Speak, Therefore, No Endorsement

In an interview with the (NY) Times, Paul said that he was offered an opportunity to speak at the convention this week on two conditions: that he let the Romney campaign vet his speech, and that he give Romney his full support. He declined the offer.

"It wouldn't be my speech," Paul said. "That would undo everything I've done in the last 30 years. I don't fully endorse him for president."

Today Paul's supporters had a big rally for him today without any mention of Mitt Romney.

Via Politico

While top GOP officials cancelled the first day of events in Tampa because of Tropical Storm Isaac, Paul supporters were undaunted, gathering in droves to hear the Texas lawmaker, his son — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — and prominent Paul activists from the caucus states where Paul did best.

. . . Paul started his speech with a joke about being invited at the last minute to speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday night — which was canceled because of the weather. But Paul is well aware that he was denied a speaking slot during prime-time, though he son had been slotted for Monday night but has been moved to Wednesday.

Paul doesn’t control the five state delegations he needs to be formally nominated at the convention. After months of détente, . . . he was obviously peeved about an unexpected push by the Romney campaign during the Republican National Convention rules committee meeting Friday to bind delegates to whichever candidates win a state in 2016.

“They’ve learned how to bend rules, break rules, and now they want to rewrite the rules,” Paul said. “They’ve overstepped the bounds.”

Isaac Postpones Republican Convention

via gifsfln.tumblr.com

Tropical Storm Isaac has caused the Republicans to postpone the opening night of their Convention in Tampa Florida. I would make a Pat Robertson joke here, but it's too obvious. It is a pity that the Republicans are suddenly dependent on information from NOAA and the Hurricane Hunters, which are funded by our tax money and use science to do their jobs - *horrors*. I'm sure they'd rather cut out all funding - at least Mitt has a clear conscience, since hasn't paid any taxes towards it. I'm sure Gov. Scott will be calling FEMA as soon as the storm passes over like all Red State Governors.

Jokes abound - I'll be posting more on Snark Amendment this weekend, so check there tomorrow. Here is my previous post on Isaac:
Hurricane Isaac May Blow-Out Tampa

Before postponing #RNC2012 did the GOP ask Todd Akin if hurricane Isaac is legitimate? @pourmecoffee

— DuncanRhys Liancourt (@DLiancourt) August 26, 2012

If #Isaac turns into a legitimate hurricane, maybe @toddakin can tell us from his science book how to shut that whole thing down. #RNC2012

— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) August 25, 2012

@realdonaldtrump's Monday "surprise" revealed at last: convention is shut down that night by an even bigger windbag called Isaac.

— Larry Livermore (@LarryLivermore) August 25, 2012

Complete Statement from Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Convention, Here

From the Miami Herald

‘‘Our first priority is ensuring the safety of delegates, alternates, guests, members of the media attending the Republican National Convention, and citizens of the Tampa Bay area,’’ party chairman Reince Priebus said in an emailed announcement that followed private conversations involving presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign, security officials and others.

Priebus added that forecasters have predicted that convention-goers ‘‘may encounter severe transportation difficulties due to sustained wind and rain’’ on Monday, the day the convention had been scheduled to open.

The announcement said that while the convention would officially be gaveled into session on Monday as scheduled, the day’s events would be cancelled until Tuesday.

That meant Romney’s formal nomination would be postponed by a day, from Monday to Tuesday, but the balance of the four days of political pageantry and speechmaking would go on as scheduled.

From AFP

Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, declared a state of emergency and said he was cancelling his own appearance at the convention in order to focus on the safety of all 19 million people in the state.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, a Democrat, had sought to calm jitters about the weather, saying the storm might bring heavy rain to Tampa on the first of the four-day convention but that this would be followed by sunny skies.

"There may be wet shoes, but every day after Monday ought to be fine," Buckhorn told Fox News before the Republicans announced the one-day delay to the start of the convention proper.

Vice President Joe Biden has canceled a trip to Tampa and other Florida cities because of the approaching storm, Obama's Democratic campaign said.

Isaac is not the only storm out in the Atlantic, but it's the only one threatening Florida at the present time. The remnants of Tropical Storm Joyce are off to the east (yellow circle) with only 10% chance of reforming into something dangerous. The next storm just coming off the coast of Africa looks bigger, with a 50% chance.

Maps from NOAA's National Hurricane Center