Florida GOP legislature bans teen interns from floor during abortion debate

I found this Gawker story through Daily Kos.  Even I'm a little surprised at it.  From Gawker.com:

During discussion of controversial issues on abortion and fetuses Wednesday, Republican leaders of Florida's Legislature sent all of the House's teenage pages out of the chamber, and they weren't allowed back in until debate opened on the next issue: guns.

The unusual "precaution" was noted by members of the Capitol press corps who attended the House session yesterday. The Legislature is considering a bill that would effectively ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, as well as a "crimes against the unborn" measure to put stiffer penalties on criminals who assault pregnant women leading to the death of their fetus.

The House pages and messengers, who have served the state's legislators since at least 1865, are all students who spend a week running errands for lawmakers and learning the business of state government. But Wednesday they were led off the floor, presumably so they couldn't be tainted by that business of government.

Okay, first thing I'm going to comment on is that these Florida teenage pages probably know more about what is going on inside a woman's body than the Republican legislators could ever imagine--or even dream about!  Are the Republican lawmakers so afraid of having young teens learning such words as "uterus" and "vaginas" in the government halls?  Do Republican lawmakers even say the words "uterus," and "vaginas?"  What is even more ironic is how they teenage pages were banned from the chambers during the abortion debate, but then it was okay to let them in during the gun debate! 

Talk about crazy incompetence....

Republicans bring up the Ghost of Monica against Hillary Clinton

I found this Washington Monthly story rather interesting:

Sen. Rand Paul, echoed by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, think they’ve got a real game-changer in response to claims that the GOP is waging a “war on women:” bring back Monica Lewinsky! Reminding Americans of the Lewinsky scandal, you see, will not only provide a distraction from the godless liberal idea that letting women control their own reproductive systems and obtain equal pay are relevant measures of what it means to be “pro-women,” but will also cause problems for Hillary Clinton if she runs for president in 2016! Brilliant, eh?

Apparently, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told MSNBC News that the Monica Lewinsky scandal was "on the table," in attacking Hillary Clinton's potential 2016 presidential run:

Rand Paul won't stop talking about Bill Clinton's "predatory behavior," and that's quite alright with Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus.

Priebus said Monday on MSNBC that the Monica Lewinsky scandal is fair game when it comes to evaluating Hillary Clinton's potential presidential bid.

"I think everything's on the table," Priebus told Andrea Mitchell.

"I don't see how someone just gets a free pass on anything. I mean, especially in today's politics. So, I think we're going to have a truckload of opposition research on Hillary Clinton and some things may be old and some things might be new. But I think everything is at stake when you're talking about the leader of the free world and who we're going to give the keys to run the United States of America."

Hillary Clinton, Priebus added, "provides a lot of opportunity" for Republicans.

The question I would have to ask is....Why?   Why are the Republicans bringing up this old scandal?  There is no new information to be presented here.  Monica Lewinsky did not sleep with Hillary--Monica Lewinsky slept with former President Bill Clinton, and she was a fully grown adult when she had her affair with Bill Clinton.  We all know that former President Bill Clinton lied about the affair, and that he went through the House impeachment process, the Senate trial, and his eventual acquittal.  There is nothing new here.  As for Hillary and Bill's marriage in the aftermath of the scandal, they have patched up whatever they had to and are still a powerful Washington DC couple.  I doubt the Republicans are going to sway women voters in attacking Hillary for her husband's infidelity--if anything, the women voters may just sympathize with Hillary and provide her with more votes.  Are the Republicans trying to rile up their own base? 

You mean to tell me the GOP base can't be riled up enough with a black, Kenyan-born, Marxist, socialist, dictator now sitting in the White House?

So the GOP is bringing up a tired, old scandal.  The only reason I can think of is that the Republican Party has shifted so rightward into Crazyland, that they have no coherent, working policies to help solve the problems of this nation.  Tax cuts to the rich and big corporations, when there is a huge inequality gap between the rich and everyone else, and corporate profits are still rising in this recession?  They have refused to compromise on any legislation with the Democrats--unless "compromise" is defined as the Democrats rolling over and giving the Republicans everything they want (And the Democrats have rolled over numerous times).  The Republicans have engaged in hostage taking on the government shutdown.  The Republicans have voted against unemployment insurance.  The list goes on. If the Republicans have no coherent policies to present to the table and refuse to compromise on any legislation, then what do they have left to sell to the voters?

So the Republicans turn to hate.  And who better to hate, than Hillary Clinton and her potential 2016 presidential campaign.  Time to ramp up the "vast, right-wing conspiracy!"

The Republican Party doesn't want black people to vote..

I found this Battleground Texas story through Americablog.   There is not much to comment on here:

When Battleground Texas launched three months ago, our mission was clear: to empower voters and expand the electorate. This stems from a deep and abiding belief that the future of Texas will be brighter when more people lift their voices and advocate for change in their communities.  Recently, we heard someone give a much different vision for Texas.

At a Dallas event featuring Steve Munisteri, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Ken Emanuelson, a leader in the Tea Party, said: “I'm going to be real honest with you – the Republican Party doesn't want black people to vote...” 

Why does this not surprise me, as the GOP has made a concerted effort to disenfranchise voting?

Koch Brothers purchasing Florida's Supreme Court

I found this Miami Herald story via Daily Kos:

The new stealth campaign against three Florida Supreme Court justices is being backed by those meddling right-wing billionaires from Wichita, Charles and David Koch.

They couldn’t care less about Florida, but they love to throw their money around.

Last week they uncorked the first of a series of commercials from their political action committee, Americans for Prosperity. The targets are Justices R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince.

They were three of the five-vote majority that in 2010 knocked down a half-baked amendment slapped together by state lawmakers seeking to nullify the federal Affordable Health Care Act.

The Florida Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions in finding that the proposed amendment contained “misleading and ambiguous language,” the hallmark of practically everything produced by this Legislature. Stoned chimpanzees have a keener grasp of constitutional law.

Conservative groups have gone after local justices before. In Iowa, a place which has nothing but vowels in common with Florida, three state justices were fired by voters after being vilified for ruling against a ban on gay marriage.

On the November ballot, Lewis, Pariente and Quince are up for merit retention, meaning voters can choose to retain them or not. This simple system was put in place to keep the state’s high court above the sleaze of political races.

The mission of the Kochs, hiding as always behind their super PAC, is to get the three justices dumped at the polls so that Gov. Rick Scott can appoint replacements.

This is worth repeating: If the Kochs have their way, Rick Scott — yes, that Rick Scott — gets to pack the Supreme Court with his own hand-picked crew.

Yikes is right.

What we have here is a couple of hard-lined conservatives who are willing to throw hundreds of millions of dollars into buying politicians and judges, who will rule favorably in their own economic, self-interest, over that of the rest of society.  In other words, we no longer have a democracy in the United States--we've got an oligarchy! The Citizens United ruling sealed the deal in allowing the Koch brothers to hide behind their SuperPac, Americans for Prosperity, and purchase these politicians away from public scrutiny.  If the Koch brothers get their way in packing Florida's Supreme Court, you can bet they would have upheld the "half-baked amendment slapped together by state lawmakers seeking to nullify the federal Affordable Health Care Act."  They probably would have struck down stronger environmental laws, labor laws, business regulations, worker safety regulations, making it easier for Koch Industries to pollute the environment, weaken labor unions, creating more hazardous working environments, reducing employee pay and benefits, slashing all forms of business regulations, and consolidating more power and money with the Koch brothers.  What is good for Koch Industries is not good for the United States.  What is good for Koch Industries is only good for Koch Industries, and detrimental to the rest of U.S. society. 

Romney campaign uploads video: "Mitt does not disdain poor," then pulls video off their site

I found this video, through Americablog, with the original source at Buzzfeed.  According to Buzzfeed, the Romney campaign released this video on their official campaign site of Mitt's wife, Ann Romney, giving an interview to Denver's Fox 31 News station over the comments Romney made on writing off half the country as moochers to his millionaire donors. Here is the video:


John Aravosis, at Americablog, likens Ann Romney as one of "the red-shirted characters on Star Trek. When they show up in a scene you know something bad is about to happen, though in her case it means it's already happened. To bring her out every single time the campaign makes a disastrous mistake. At this point she's not fixing the problem anymore, she's telegraphing it." And in one sense, it is true. I'm guessing that Ann Romney was scheduled to be interviewed by Fox 31 News well before this latest Romney gaffe took place today. I don't know what talking point Ann Romney was planning to recite, but the Romney gaffe forced her to back peddle, and polish the latest, stinking turd the campaign has presented. You watch the video, Ann Romney does look haggard and disheveled. I don't think she's having a blast on the campaign, and is probably ready to kill a few campaign advisers.

And yet, the Romney campaign seems to be in panic mode now. Daily Kos has posted a timeline, showing the Romney campaign taking almost three hours to respond to the release of the video with a press release, and then another three hours for Mitt Romney to make his TV press statement. It is almost like the campaign was paralyzed, possibly realizing they had pretty much lost the election. Maybe they did not know what to do, and latched on to any source of denial they could present. Hence, the Fox News interview to be posted on the campaign website, only to be removed for....Why? Is it really because Ann Romney is tired of being the red-shirt guy on Star Trek--always getting killed by the blood-sucking alien monster in the first five minutes of the episode? Again, this shows the Romney campaign, not as a well-oiled machine, but a car filled with red-shirted clowns.

Has Mitt Romney jumped the shark?

In light of today's political news insanity, I have to ask, has the Mitt Romney campaign jumped the shark?  From YouTube:


Then again, the Fonz could probably run a better presidential campaign than Mitt Romney could ever jump the shark....

Romney campaign: "Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans"

The Romney campaign has issued a statement regarding the video of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney telling millionaire donors on what he'd like to do to the Obama voters.  According to Talking Points Memo:

Mitt Romney's campaign responded to the hidden camera footage of Romney at fundraiser claimg that Obama's voters are "are dependent upon government" and "believe that they are victims" posted online in a statement Monday evening.

"Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy. As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps, nearly one in six Americans in poverty, and the 23 million Americans who are struggling to find work," Romney spokesperson Gail Gitcho said in a statement. "Mitt Romney's plan creates 12 million new jobs in four years, grows the economy and moves Americans off of government dependency and into jobs."

So which is the true Mitt Romney, and which is the lying Mitt Romney?  Was Mitt Romney lying to his millionaire donors that 47 percent of the American people are both mooching off the government, and not paying any income tax?  If so, then why was Romney lying to his big money donor base?  Or is Mitt Romney lying in saying that he wants to help all Americans who are struggling in the Obama economy, and are dependent on government programs to survive, when he is really concerned about his millionaire donors big tax cuts?  If this is true, then the 47 percent of Obama voters can drop dead, according to Romney.  So which is it?

Update:  Now Mitt Romney is responding to the video:


Here is the printed quote, via Daily Kos:

I believe the point I was made is that the president starts off with a large number of the voters, 47, 48, 49 percent, something like that. These are people who are in his camp and, uh, they will vote for him almost no matter what. [...] I point out I recognize that among those that pay no tax, approximately 47 percent of Americans, I’m not likely to be highly successful with the message of lowering taxes. [...] And so I then focus on those individuals who I believe are most likely to be able to be pulled into my camp and help me win the 51 or 50.1 percent that I need to become the next President.

So I guess Mitt Romney is more than happy to screw half the country. And he is more than happy to lie, according to the Romney campaign statement.

Mitt Romney tells millionaire donors that Obama voters can screw themselves

This is from Mother Jones.com:

During a private fundraiser earlier this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a small group of wealthy contributors what he truly thinks of all the voters who support President Barack Obama. He dismissed these Americans as freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them. Fielding a question from a donor about how he could triumph in November, Romney replied:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Romney went on: "[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Mother Jones has obtained video of Romney at this intimate fundraiser—where he candidly discussed his campaign strategy and foreign policy ideas in stark terms he does not use in public—and has confirmed its authenticity. To protect the confidential source who provided the video, we have blurred some of the image, and we will not identify the date or location of the event, which occurred after Romney had clinched the Republican presidential nomination. [UPDATE: We can now report that this fundraiser was held at the Boca Raton home of controversial private equity manager Marc Leder on May 17 and we've removed the blurring from the video. See the original blurred videos here.]

David Corn, of Mother Jones concludes with this:

 Here was Romney raw and unplugged—sort of unscripted. With this crowd of fellow millionaires, he apparently felt free to utter what he really believes and would never dare say out in the open. He displayed a high degree of disgust for nearly half of his fellow citizens, lumping all Obama voters into a mass of shiftless moochers who don't contribute much, if anything, to society, and he indicated that he viewed the election as a battle between strivers (such as himself and the donors before him) and parasitic free-riders who lack character, fortitude, and initiative. Yet Romney explained to his patrons that he could not speak such harsh words about Obama in public, lest he insult those independent voters who sided with Obama in 2008 and whom he desperately needs in this election. These were sentiments not to be shared with the voters; it was inside information, available only to the select few who had paid for the privilege of experiencing the real Romney.

Not only is this the Mitt Romney raw and unplugged, but it also shows America what a President Romney will really be like.  You can bet he will slash all government spending on social programs, Social Security, Medicare, and every "entitlement" program he feels the poor, or working class family are mooching off the government.  He would certainly cut taxes on the rich, and raise taxes on everything else.  He is not a policy wonk, but a rubber stamp for his millionaire donor friends, and "corporations are people too."  And he is more than happy to lie to everyone, as long as it helps him get what he wants.  Is this the president we want?

Sarah Palin on Paul Revere's Midnight Ride

It has been a while since I've posted on this blog, but I found this story about the former half-term Alaskan governor, and former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and I'm just amazed. From the Los Angeles Times:

Sarah Palin, if you haven't heard, is taking some of her family around the country, visiting historical U.S. landmarks, and talking to the media along the way.

Thursday her "One Nation" traveling road show stopped in Boston, where the former Alaska governor, her parents, her husband, and little Piper visited Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and Bunker Hill. Palin posted photos of that leg of her trip on the SarahPAC blog.

One moment that you won't find posted on the blog is Palin's respohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnse to reporters when they asked her who Paul Revere was. Instead of saying, "Come on, everyone knows who Paul Revere, the silversmith and patriot is," she stammered while saying this:

"He who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells, and um, makin' sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be sure and we were going to be free, and we were going to be armed."

Needless to say, the lamestream media are having a field day with that gaffe.

Here is the YouTube video:



Can anyone really be that ignorant and...dare I say...stupid? To think that if John McCain had won the White House in 2010, this lady would have been a heartbeat away from the presidency?

And now Sarah Palin is on a traveling bus, playing like she's campaigning for 2012. Unbelievable.

Update: Sarah Palin continues with her ignorance of American History. According to Think Progress:

As ThinkProgress reported, during a June 2 stop in Boston on her “One Nation” bus tour, Sarah Palin managed to spectacularly flub the historical account of Paul Revere’s famed “Midnight Ride.” Describing Revere as warnhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifing “the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells and, uhm, making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif” Palin’s version inspired confusion and some much-deserved jibes from across the media.

None of this has deterred Palin herself, however. This morning on Fox News Sunday, she doubled down on her creative re-imagining of Paul Revere’s ride, saying “I didn’t mess up.”

Here is the YouTube clip of Palin saying how she "didn't mess up;"



And here is the printed quote:

CHRIS WALLACE: I gotta ask you about that real quickly, though. You realize that you messed up about Paul Revere, don’t you?

PALIN: You know what? I didn’t mess up about Paul Revere. Here’s what Paul Revere did. He warned the Americans that “the British were coming, the British were coming.” And they were going to try to take our arms so got to make sure that, uh, we were protecting ourselves and, uhm, shoring up all of our ammunitions and our firearms so that they couldn’t take them.

But remember that the British had already been there — many soldiers — for seven years in that area. And part of Paul Revere’s ride… And it wasn’t just one ride. He was a courier. He was a messenger. Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there that, “Hey. You’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms. You are not gonna beat our own well-armed, uh, persons, uh, individual private militia that we have. He did warn the British.

And in a shout-out, gotcha type of question that was asked of me, I answered candidly. And I know my American history.

I went into Wikipedia's reference for Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride," and this is what I found out:

In the days before April 18, Revere had instructed Robert Newman, the sexton of the Old North Church, to send a signal by lantern to alert colonists in Charlestown as to the movements of the troops when the information became known. In what is well known today by the phrase "one if by land, two if by sea", one lantern in the steeple would signal the army's choice of the land route, while two lanterns would signal the route "by water" across the Charles River.

Riding through present-day Somerville, Medford, and Arlington, Revere warned patriots along his route - many of whom set out on horseback to deliver warnings of their own. By the end of the night there were probably as many as 40 riders throughout Middlesex County carrying the news of the army's advance. Revere did not shout the phrase later attributed to him ("The British are coming!"), largely because the mission depended on secrecy and the countryside was filled with British army patrols; also, most colonial residents at the time considered themselves British as they were all legally British subjects, [MY Ephasis]. Revere's warning, according to eyewitness accounts of the ride and Revere's own descriptions, was "The Regulars are coming out,"[My Emphasis]. Revere arrived in Lexington around midnight, with Dawes arriving about a half hour later. Samuel Adams and John Hancock were spending the night at the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington, and they spent a great deal of time discussing plans of action upon receiving the news. Revere and Dawes, meanwhile, decided to ride on toward Concord, where the militia's arsenal was hidden. They were joined by Samuel Prescott, a doctor who happened to be in Lexington "returning from a lady friend's house at the awkward hour of 1 a.m."

Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were detained by British troops in Lincoln at a roadblock on the way to Concord. Prescott jumped his horse over a wall and escaped into the woods; Dawes also escaped, though soon after he fell off his horse and did not complete the ride. Revere was detained and questioned and then escorted at gunpoint by three British officers back toward Lexington. As morning broke and they neared Lexington Meeting-house, shots were heard. The British officers became alarmed, confiscated Revere's horse, and rode toward the Meeting-house. Revere was horseless and walked through a cemetery and pastures until he came to Rev. Clarke's house where Hancock and Adams were staying. As the battle on Lexington Green continued, Revere helped John Hancock and his family escape from Lexington with their possessions, including a trunk of Hancock's papers,

[My Emphasis].
From what I have read in the Wikipedia account, Revere set out to warn the colonial patriots that "Regular" troops were marching out towards Lexingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif and Concord--there were plenty of colonials that were also sympathetic to the British government. Revere did not shout out that "The British are coming," as the colonials thought of themselves as British subjects--the warning was meant for the patriots. Finally, Revere had to warn both John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the Regular troop movements, who would arrest both men if found. The information on Paul Revere's ride is there--you just have to quickly and easily look it up. I'll admit that I had tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif look up some of the details on Revere's ride.

Does Sarah Palin correct herself from her previous comments? No. She continues to spout her same, incoherent babble about how her events on Paul Revere's rid are correct. In some ways, it shows us just who Sarah Palin is. She certainly can't admit when she's wrong--even when the facts are arranged against her. Palin has embarked on this "bus tour" for who knows why? Is it a precursor to a 2012 presidential run? In some sense, this tour keeps Sarah Palin in the news, inflating a probably narcissistic personality with a huge ego. She doesn't read newspapers or magazines to keep up with foreign events. And every time I listen to Sarah Palin talk, it seems that she can't articulate a clear thought from her head. It makes her come off as being "stupid," or an "idiot." Maybe she is an idiot. I can't say, but this is not an individual that I want in the White House--certainly not with her fingers on the nuclear button.

And yet, there are plenty of right-winged extremists that love her. That is scary.

Fox News gets front row seat in White House Briefing Room

Sometimes, I just have to shake my head, and wonder if the Obama administration has a clue on how to play politics. From The Huffington Post:

NEW YORK — Fox News Channel has been granted a much-coveted front-row seat in the White House briefing room.

The White House Correspondents Association said Sunday that The Associated Press' reporter has been moved to the front-row center seat previously occupied by Helen Thomas. Fox's correspondent will take the AP's former front-row seat, and National Public Radio's correspondent will move up one row to Fox's old second-row seat.

The center seat was long held by Thomas, a United Press International and Hearst News Service writer. The 89-year-old columnist resigned abruptly in June amid controversy over videotaped remarks she made calling on Israelis to get "out of Palestine." Fox, Bloomberg News (also seated in the second row) and NPR had lobbied for Thomas' seat.

Fox's upgrade is an acknowledgment of its "length of service and commitment," the association's board said in a statement.

Length of service and commitment??? Fox News is not a news organization. Fox News is a propaganda arm of the Republican Party, masquerading as a news organization. They get their marching orders from Rupert Murdoch on how to slant stories, or to regurgitate lies and propaganda as when conservative blogger Andrew Brietbart gave Fox a cherry-picked video of USDA official Shirley Sherrod supposedly making reverse discrimination remarks against a white farmer's family, resulting in her resignation. The entire Sherrod scandal was a complete lie and falsification, created by Brietbart, and trumpeted by Fox. So now Fox News gets a front-row seat in the White House Briefing Room due to their "length of service and commitment" in spewing their lies and propaganda.

Incredible.

Cigar association for congressional staffers is a GOP lobbying front

There is not much more I can say about this story, except....WOW! From the Huffington Post:

Lobbyists for major banks, insurers, pharmaceutical firms, energy companies and at least one foreign government have been helping organize lavish gatherings of staffers and members of Congress since early 2009, funneling K Street money through an officially chartered staff organization called the Congressional Cigar Association.

The CCA, founded by Republican staffers and sponsored by Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), is chartered by the House Administration Committee to encourage networking among congressional staff. Its most recent gathering was held Tuesday at a townhouse just steps from the Capitol, where staffers were feted by Miami Cigar & Company.

As evening fell, guests lounged in the garden out back, sipping cold drinks and puffing away on what smelled like high-end cigars. Gary Pesh, owner of Old Virginia Tobacco and a member of the Congressional Cigar Association, said the event is just an excuse to "get together and have fun." When asked about the conflict of interest inherent in allowing lobbyists to fund a congressional staff organization, dozens of attendees just continued wordlessly on up the red brick steps. "This is approved by the House, so we're good," one staffer said. (Another staffer told HuffPost that filming wasn't allowed, though she was standing under a sign warning passersby that the area was under video surveillance.)

At least half a dozen lobbyists have been closely involved in the operation of the ostensibly staff-driven organization, a review of emails, documents and lobbyist disclosure reports finds. By helping to fund and organize the group's activities, K Street lobby shops are given privileged access to senior-level staffers and members of Congress in intimate settings where they lobby on behalf of their clients. The association is overwhelmingly Republican, as is the cigar-smoking habit it is organized around.

The cigar group is run by a six-member board. In the wake of the Abramoff scandal, congressional ethics rules were implemented to require that "all officers must be employees of the House or Senate" and that the ethics committee approve all gifts of monetary value offered to the association. Meanwhile, federal law forbids staffers from soliciting gifts to it. Yet three of the board members running the cigar group are lobbyists, including the lead organizer of several exclusive events. Trade associations subsidize the group's events.

"On the face of it, while its not the great train robbery, it clearly implicates House rules that prohibit taking gifts from lobbyists," said Stan Brand, a congressional ethics attorney, when told of the group's activities. "The prohibition is a flat prohibition. The staff can get together and do whatever they want. But when it's underwritten by lobbyists it's gonna fly in the teeth of the rules."

Spokespersons for the House and Senate ethics committees, as well as the House Administration Committee, said they were unable to speak on the record. A spokesman to Bilbray said that the congressman has had little interaction with the group since its 2009 founding and that it is the organization's responsibility to make sure it behaves within House and Senate rules.

Here is the YouTube story by HuffPost:



In another sense, I'm actually not surprised at this type of corruption within the Republican Party. We've seen some of this corruption with Tom DeLay, the Jack Abramoff scandal, the K Street Project, U.S. Attorney firings, and the dozens of scandals from the Bush administration. And let us not forget the strange, secret, religious organization known as The Family, which was linked to several sex scandals of prominent Republican congressmen. Why should I also not be surprised that Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) is financing a little cigar smoking get-together between GOP staffers and lobbyists? It is just another example of just how corrupt the Republican Party has become.

Cantor spokesman defends bullet claim as legit threat at press conference

The Cantor shooting scandal just keeps getting better. This is from Greg Sargent's blog:

A spokesperson for Eric Cantor is pushing back on criticism that he shouldn’t have referenced the bullet shot through a campaign office window at a presser yesterday about threats on his life, offering a detailed chronology of what happened.

[....]

Cantor spokesperson Brad Dayspring, in an interview with me this afternoon, offered a chronology of events. Short version: When Cantor gave his statement, all he knew was that a bullet had been fired into his window, there was an ongoing investigation into the incident, and that he had received other threats on his life.

If this was the correct version of events, then Representative Eric Cantor should have said that a bullet was fired into a window of a building where Cantor has a campaign office. The police are investigating, and more information will come out as a result of the investigation. Leave it at that. Of course, the media would speculate whether a gunman was trying to kill Cantor, but the key here for Cantor was to not jump the gun on outrageous claims, or trying to politicize this event. Unfortunately, Cantor jumped the gun. At the press conference, Cantor claimed, “Just recently, I have been directly threatened. A bullet was shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week and I’ve received threatening emails.”

This was a complete lie, as Richmond Police now state that the bullet was randomly fired into the air. There was no threat against Cantor.

Enter the PR-spin:

But Dayspring says Cantor didn’t know at the time of the presser what the police subsequently revealed. He says that before the presser, Cantor aides called the police to learn what was known.

“We didn’t want to catch them by surprise, we wanted an update on the investigation, and we wanted to be 100 percent accurate,” Dayspring says, adding that the trajectory of the bullet was not discussed: “What was known at the time was that a bullet had been fired through the window and that the investigation was ongoing.”

Again, the problem here is that Cantor attempted to politicize the event. When Cantor started blaming the Democrats on "fanning the flames" of violence and death threats, he really lost any sense of credibility here. There were plenty of legitimate reports of Democratic lawmakers being threatened by right-wing extremists, possibly influenced by right-wing hate and fear-mongering. I guess Eric Cantor had to come out screaming, "Look at me--I'm being terrorized by liberal extremists influenced by left-wing hate and fear-mongering!"

What is especially ironic is that this story is certainly sensational. Someone took a shot at a building where the House Minority Whip has an office. Police are going to take that as a serious threat, running a vigorous investigation to determine if this was a targeted threat against Cantor, or a random act of violence. All Eric Cantor had to say at the press conference was "Here is what we know so far," and leave it. The media was going to sensationalize the story anyway, with Cantor receiving big press coverage. But when Cantor decided to politicize the event, before knowing all the events of this shooting. And now this random act of violence is showing Eric Cantor to be a complete fool, interested in hyping events for his own political gain.

Fox News hypes up the Cantor office shooting

Fox News is hyping up the Cantor shooting. From DKos TV:



Of course, Fox News doesn't even bother telling its viewers that the shooting may have been random, or that the bullet was fired skyward, or even that Cantor's office was unmarked. The Cantor shooting was a perfect PR-spin for the GOP to deflect criticism of the right-wing nuts threatening Democratic lawmakers. And since Fox News is the propaganda arm for the Republican Party....

You get the picture.

Update on shot fired at Rep. Cantor's office building

I found some more information on the gunshots fired at Republican Representative Eric Cantor's campaign office. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

3:40 p.m. The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism agsinst the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., where Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, has a campagn office.

Police said a first floor window was struck by a bullet at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday. The building was not occupied, police said. A preliminary investigation determined that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window at a downward direction, landing about a foot from the window. The bullet had enough force to break the windowpane but not penetrate the window blinds, according to a news release.

There are no suspects, Gene Lepley, a spokesman for the department, said.

(This has been a breaking news update. Earlier stories are posted below.)

So if I'm reading this correctly, someone, or a group of someones, fired a gun into the air. The bullet traveled in an arc, striking the first floor of Cantor's office at a downward direction. The bullet broke the windowpane, but did not penetrate the blinds. After the bullet struck the window, it probably bounced off and landed a foot from the window. What this information tells me is that someone randomly shot a gun into the air, and the bullet just happened to hit Rep. Cantor's office. This was not a situation where someone pointed a gun at Cantor's office, and fired. This was a random act of violence.

That just happened to play into GOP Rep. Eric Cantor's PR-spin. The bullet broke Cantor's office building window, therefore Cantor was a victim of threats and violence, fanned by Democratic leaders. Cantor even claims that he "received threatening emails," but will not release such emails "because I believe such actions will only encourage more to be sent." Is it me, or am I seeing Eric Cantor waving his arms screaming "Look! Look--I'm a victim of Democratic-encouraged threats and violence!"

I will not discount the possibility that Eric Cantor received threatening emails. I hope Cantor turned the threatening, emails over to the police for investigation. But Cantor's statement claiming he will not release the emails because he feels such actions encourage even more threatening emails? I'm sorry, but Rep. Eric Cantor's weird press conference is really starting to smell. I'm guessing Cantor is trying to spin this story, reducing the criticism of the GOP hate and fear-mongering inciting violence against Democratic leaders by right-wing extremists, hopefully blaming Democrats for inciting similar threats and violence against Republicans.

In the meantime:

An envelope filled with white powder was sent to the district office of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) today, the congressman said in a statement.

A haz-mat team was sent, and the office will be closed until the situation is resolved. Weiner was an outspoken proponent (often to the left of his party's leaders) of healthcare reform.

Here's Weiner's full statement:

"Earlier today an envelope containing white powder and a threatening letter was delivered to my community office in Kew Gardens. The NYPD was immediately alerted and have responded appropriately by sending a Haz-Mat team. Any questions related to their response should be directed to the NYPD. My first priority is the safety of my staff and neighbors, and the authorities are currently taking steps to investigate and resolve the situation."

Seems like extremist threats continue to be sent to Democratic lawmakers.

Update: I've been reading DKos, and Incondite posted some updates on the Cantor story. One thing I missed is that Fox News and the conservative pundits will be screaming about this act of "domestic terrorism" incited by Democratic leaders--Democrats are just as responsible for all the death threats and violence! Or Fox will pick up Cantor's story, and speculate that Democratic leaders are sending such threats to themselves to blame Republicans. DKos commentator NewlyMintedJerseyGirl comments that Cantor's office exists near a drug-infested neighborhood. "In fact, the office is one street over from one of the most notorious drug streets in downtown, Foushee. (not to mention all manner of hookers/johns to add a little spice to the story)," NewlyMintedJerseyGirl writes. I do not live in Richmond, so I can not confirm or deny whether Cantor's office is close to a drug neighborhood. If this is true, then what we may be looking at is possibly a random act of drug violence that Cantor wants to milk for political gain--Democrats are just as responsible for inciting extremist threats and violence! And Fox News will constantly play up Cantor's story to its rabid, Kool-Aid drinkers.

Update 2: Looks like the Associated Press is confirming that while Cantor's Richmond office is located in "one of the city’s safer downtown areas, some of the more dangerous neighborhoods lie one-half mile to a mile away." The AP story also reports that the pastel green structure of the building "resembles a town house, and from the outside it is difficult to distinguish whether it is a business or residence." There is a brass plate on the door, identifying the building as The Reagan Building, but there are no "outdoors links it to Cantor or to the GOP." Seems to me this shooting is looking more like a random act of violence, or possibly a drug shooting, and the bullet randomly struck the building's windowpane where Cantor's office was located. Eric Cantor probably wanted to jump the gun in decrying this violence as incited by the Democrats, knowing it will be endlessly played on Fox News for the real right-wing crazies.

31 House Republicans support resolution honoring alleged felon James O'Keefe

Okay, now the James O'Keefe story is entering into the Twilight Zone. Now Media Matters is reporting that Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) has introduced a resolution praising O'Keefe for his investigation into the ACORN activities. Here is the text of the resolution:

Text of the House Resolution:

Whereas Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III filmed investigatory videos uncovering the fraudulent and illegal practices of the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN);

Whereas the House of Representatives voted to completely defund ACORN on September 17, 2009;

Whereas these videos resulted in the potential annual savings of millions of taxpayer dollars to organizations that contract with ACORN;

Whereas Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III have displayed exemplary actions as government watchdogs and young journalists uncovering wasteful government spending; and

Whereas Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III are owed a debt of gratitude by the people of the United States:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— (1) honors Hannah Giles and James O’ Keefe III for their work as investigative journalists; (2) commends Hannah Giles and James O’ Keefe III for bringing to light the fraudulent behavior of the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) and helping save millions of taxpayer dollars that otherwise would have funded ACORN; and (3) respectfully requests the Clerk of the House to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to Hannah Giles and James O’Keefe III.

Even more insane, Olson's resolution has picked up support by 31 House Republicans. Media Matters has the names of these supporters:

Todd Akin [R-MO2]
Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD6]
Joe Barton [R-TX6]
Rob Bishop [R-UT1]
Jo Bonner [R-AL1]
John Boozman [R-AR3]
Paul Broun [R-GA10]
Henry Brown [R-SC1]
John Campbell [R-CA48]
John Carter [R-TX31]
Howard Coble [R-NC6]
Tom Cole [R-OK4]
Michael Conaway [R-TX11]
John Culberson [R-TX7]
Mary Fallin [R-OK5]
Trent Franks [R-AZ2]
Louis Gohmert [R-TX1]
Kay Granger [R-TX12]
Ralph Hall [R-TX4]
Jim Jordan [R-OH4]
Steve King [R-IA5]
John Kline [R-MN2]
Doug Lamborn [R-CO5]
Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO9]
Daniel Lungren [R-CA3]
Kenny Marchant [R-TX24]
Joseph Pitts [R-PA16]
Bill Posey [R-FL15]
Phil Roe [R-TN1]
Jean Schmidt [R-OH2]
John Shadegg [R-AZ3]

According to Govtrack.us, the resolution was introduced on October 7, 2009, and is currently sitting in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. So obviously this resolution was introduced well before O'Keefe got busted today on the wiretapping charges. And I'm certainly guessing that the Democratic leadership are more than happy to toss this resolution into the committee trash can. This makes me wonder--will Olson and his GOP cosponsors continue to support this resolution, now that O'Keefe has been arrested on felony charges? This resolution is certainly making Olson and his 31 Republican cosponsors looking really stupid now.

Talking Points Memo now has the federal affidavit detailing the charges against O'Keefe.

Anti-Acorn filmmaker arrested for bugging Senator Mary Landrieu’s office

This is just...wow! From the Politico.com:

Federal authorities have arrested four men on felony charges for attempting to infiltrate Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office, including one filmmaker who targeted the community group ACORN last year in undercover videos.

Among those arrested was 25-year-old James O’Keefe, the conservative filmmaker, along with Joseph Basel, Robert Flanagan and Stan Dai, all 24. They were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses and attempting to gain access to the Democrat’s office by posing as telephone repairmen, according to a copy of an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

The complaint said that Flanagan and Basel each entered the premises, wearing light green fluorescent vests, denim paints and blue work shirts, tool belts and hard-hats. They informed a member of Landrieu’s staff that they were telephone repairmen and requested access to the main telephone at the reception desk.

At that point, the two men allegedly attempted to manipulate telephones and accessed the telephone closet, saying they needed to work on the entire system. The men, who said they left their credentials in their vehicles, were arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Service soon afterward.

According to the FBI, the four men could each face up to 10 years and a fine of $250,000 if they are convicted.

O’Keefe made waves last year when he posed as a pimp and taped ACORN employees discussing a prostitution ring, embarrassing the group and forcing many of its supporters to spurn its ties with it.

Do I see shades of Watergate rearing its head again?

I'll admit that the ACORN controversy became big news story for the conservative media, and bloggers. My thinking here is that O'Keefe got a little cocky with his successful "gotcha journalism" against ACORN, that he thought he could get away with wiretapping Landrieu's Senate office. What was O'Keefe thinking he could get from bugging Landrieu's office? Any publishing of taped phone conversations would still get O'Keefe arrested on wiretapping charges. Or was O'Keefe hoping to gather dirt on Landrieu to give to other GOP operatives intent on politically taking Landrieu out? O'Keefe was stupid for attempting to break the law for political gain, and he should be prosecuted to the fullest intent. Then again, I also have to wonder how many other GOP or conservative political operatives are also breaking the law for political gain?

Burris will not run for Senate in 2010

I guess Roland Burris finally realized just how Blago-radioactive he was for the Democrats in the Senate. From USA Today:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic official says Roland Burris will not run for a full Senate term in 2010.

The source says Burris has begun informing Democratic officials about his decision. The official spoke on condition because Burris had yet to announce his decision.

Burris was appointed by disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Obama. His appointment was criticized from the moment it was announced and prompted calls for Burris to resign.

In the Senate, Burris has been treated as something of a pariah because of his ties to Blagojevich, who was arrested in part on allegations he tried to sell the Senate seat.

By not seeking a full term, Burris increases Democrats chances of holding on to the Senate seat in 2010. Republicans had viewed Burris as a potentially easy target if he were to run for a full-term in the Senate.

Burris was treated as something of a pariah. It is not surprising, since the Senate Democrats never liked Burris because of Burris' ethics taint--not only was Burris selected by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was indicted for trying to sell Barack Obama's former Senate seat, but Burris may have perjured himself on allegations that Burris "talked to some people" about raising money for Blagojevich. Burris has presented multiple stories about his contacts with Blagojevich, all contradictory. So the Senate Democrats wanted nothing to do with Burris. The Senate Republicans, however, loved Burris. The Republicans would love to see Burris run for re-election, after which the GOP could then drag the entire Blago scandal out during the 2010 election, and smear the Democrats with it. Of course, the Republicans wouldn't give Burris the time of day either. So Burris is sitting in Senate purgatory--damned by both political parties. It is ironic that Burris may have thought that Blago's selecting him to Obama's former Senate seat would have furthered Burris' political ambitions. Instead, I seriously wonder if Burris' political career is now over.

Federal prosecutors indict Rod Blagojevich

Blago is indicted. From MSNBC News:

CHICAGO - Federal prosecutors made good on a promise to take action on a "significant criminal matter" Thursday, indicting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges.

While prosecutors went about their work, the impeached and ousted governor was apparently vacationing at a Disney World resort in Florida.

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald had until Tuesday to produce an indictment replacing a criminal complaint filed against the former governor Dec. 9 after FBI agents arrested him at his Chicago home.

Blagojevich, 52, was charged in the complaint with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat and a host of other corruption. He denies wrongdoing.

Chicagoans had been anticipating Blagojevich's indictment for days.

"We're just hours away from a massive pay-to-play indictment against Gov. Blagojevich and possibly others," former federal prosecutor Patrick M. Collins said Tuesday while unveiling recommendations from a state reform commission launched in response to the scandal.

Collins, who sent Gov. George Ryan to prison for racketeering, is chairman of the commission, which wants legislators to impose sweeping changes.

And where is Rod Blagojevich as this federal indictment is handed down against him? Why, he's off to Disney World:

Blagojevich and his family were apparently in Walt Disney World. A hotel operator at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. connected a Thursday phone call to a room booked under Blagojevich. It went straight to voicemail.

I wonder if he'll get Donald Duck as a cell mate?

Rove, Miers to testify before House panel on attorney firings

It is about time. From The New York Times:

Updated Karl Rove, the top adviser to former President Bush, and Harriet Miers, a former White House counsel in the previous administration, will give testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in its investigation of the firings of United States attorneys, House leaders announced tonight.

The two will give sworn depositions; the Judiciary Committee reserved the right to ask them to testify in public.

For the moment, the agreement appears to have ended a lengthy standoff between top Bush advisers and Congressional leaders who had tried to compel them to testify under oath. Many of the attorneys’ firings were criticized as political, and the controversy led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Just four days before Mr. Bush left office this year, his most recent White House counsel, Fred Fielding, had advised Mr. Rove that he should continue to resist testifying before Congress. The Bush White House had asserted that Mr. Rove had immunity from having to testify about advice he had given to the president and that these matters were protected under executive privilege.

We will see what happens when Karl Rove sits before the House Judiciary Committee.

Burris now acknowledges fundraising effort for Blagojevich

This Burris scandal just continues to grow. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the request of the governor’s brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.

Burris' latest comments in Peoria Monday night were the first time he has publicly said he was actively trying to raise money for Blagojevich. Previously Burris has left the impression that he always balked at the issue of raising money for the governor because of his interest in the Senate appointment.

In comments to reporters after appearing at a Democratic dinner, the senator several times contradicted his latest under-oath affidavit that he quietly filed with the Illinois House impeachment panel earlier this month. That affidavit was itself an attempt to clean up his live, sworn testimony to the panel Jan. 8, when he omitted his contacts with several Blagojevich insiders.

You can read Burris' give-and-take with reporters here.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Monday night joined a growing chorus of Democratic officials who want a deeper investigation of Burris' comments. But she did not go as far as some, including Republicans, who have said specifically they want Burris investigated for possible perjury.

"This is a particularly frustrating revelation," Madigan said of Burris' recent disclosure that he had contact with five Blagojevich insiders. "I encourage the Sangamon County state's attorney to take a closer look at this in the interest of truth, integrity and transparency."

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt did not immediately return a telephone call for comment today.

It seems like the more Burris opens his mouth, the more he contradicts himself regarding the conversations he had with the Blagojevich campaign, resulting in the deeper hole that Burris digs himself in. The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen recommends that "Perhaps now would be a good time for Burris to think about spending more time with his family."

Perhaps Roland Burris should really consider some more family time. Because this mess is just going to get even worst.