Now Who's The Dick?

Good to see that MSNBC has indefinitely suspended Village "journalist" Mark "Drudge Rules Our World" Halperin after he called President Obama a "dick" on the "Morning Joe" poo-fling this morning, much to the giggling surprise of "Joe Scar" and his TV wife, Mika the Model. Halperin, sweating shit balls, soon abjectly apologized, perhaps seeing a career-ending screw up in the making.

Sadly, the Beltway media clowns talk this way off camera and off the record; they believe that Washington is wired for Rethuglican rule, and temper their remarks accordingly. Their "news" sources are the corrupted, right-wing propagandists who engage in smearing and disinformation. Halperin let his guard down momentarily, and let us know what the royalty of our broken media think.

(photo: Feeling the pinch)

Quote of the Day

"The United States Supreme Court now sees its central task as comforting the already comfortable and afflicting those already afflicted. If you are a large corporation or a political candidate backed by lots of private money, be assured that the court’s conservative majority will be there for you, solicitous of your needs and ready to swat away those pesky little people who dare to contest your power." -- E. J. Dionne, who dismantles the right-wing majority's defense of the economic elites over the middle class.

About Time

President Obama's press conference yesterday was refreshing. For the first time in a long time, he directly and forcefully confronted the Rethuglican lie machine's position on the debt ceiling and budget. He repeatedly contrasted the Dem position of a balance of budget cuts and revenue increases / closing tax loopholes with the Rethug position of budget cuts only, using some vivid images of corporate jet loopholes and CEOs rolling in money. Referring to Rethugs having to speak to their constituents, Obama said:

“I think it would be hard for the Republicans to stand there and say that, 'The tax break for corporate jets is sufficiently important that we’re not willing to come to the table.'”

We say let's make them justify protecting the wealthiest Americans, who are paying the lowest tax rate in decades, and big corporations, which are sitting on $2 trillion in cash while exporting jobs and collecting tax breaks. Enough with the kid gloves.

It's good to see Obama more in campaign mode than the above-the-fray peacemaker, simply because the Rethugs aren't looking for "peace" or "compromise" or "solutions." They're looking to defeat Obama in 2012, and if it takes bringing the economy to its knees, then they'll do it.

Tax Facts

The Rethuglicans have had tax reduction as their major mantra since the days of St. Ronnie of Hollywood. Their refusal to consider closing tax loopholes for corporations that are paying little or no taxes -- and still sending jobs overseas -- and raising taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans is blocking an agreement on the debt ceiling and budget.

Now, researchers at the Center for American Progress have shown that lower tax rates on the wealthy don't produce jobs at all. Indeed, job growth has been greater in the last 60 years when tax rates are higher than they are now (the lowest in 60 years), as this chart shows:



What lower taxes on the wealthy do lead to are bigger campaign contributions to the Rethugs (see Koch brothers, Harlan Crow, etc., etc.), which is what this is all about.

Mid-Week Song

Maybe it was the visit earlier this month to our old stomping grounds (ahh, Madison, Wisconsin, circa 1967), but we can't shake this sense that things aren't just quite... normal. Ready with the feedback... on one, two, three, four:

"The Michele Bachmann History Channel"

Rethugs Fought the Law - And the Law Won?

Two items today that bring hope that Rethuglican efforts to derail health care reform and the economic recovery may fail legal tests:

-- The Sixth Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, saying it was within Congress' power under the Commerce Clause to regulate health care, including the individual mandate. Once again, we fully expect the "mainstream media" to give this all the play it always reserves for right-wing legal victories...

-- Some Democratic senators are questioning whether a debt ceiling limit is even constitutional under the 14th Amendment. This could effectively take the gun out of the hands of the Rethuglican hostage-takers who are desperate to sabotage the Obama administration and the economic recovery.

Quote & Cartoon of the Day

"[Rethug Senate Minority Leader] McConnell’s first brush with radical truth-telling came in October 2010, when he told National Journal that 'the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.' McConnell quickly qualified his remarks, although he never quite apologized for them. Nor should he have. McConnell wasn’t articulating a radical new theory of politics. He was telling us how he and his party were already voting. Consider the dozens of elected Republicans who, at one time or another, supported an individual mandate for health-care reform, cap-and-trade for carbon emissions and tax cuts for stimulative purposes. Over the past three years, almost all of them have renounced their former views. Unless you understand McConnell’s argument, you can’t understand their actions." Ezra Klein, reaffirming the fact that the Rethugs will wreck the economy so that Obama gets the blame. Tom Toles' editorial cartoon in the Kaplan Daily strikes a similar note:



(BONUS: Check out Steve Benen's piece on how Rethugs define "compromise." Benen's description of Rethugs: "reckless thugs pretending to be a political party.")

Screen Shot of the Day -- Wide Angle Edition

"TILT!!!"

(NJ Rethug Gov. Chris "Twinkies Are Our Friends" Christie on the "Fox and Fiends" nitwit show - via "Bill D.", Wonkette)

Blagojevich Off To The Slammer

No big surprise that former Illinois Gov. Rod "Let's Make a Deal" Blagojevich was convicted by a jury on multiple counts of corruption stemming from his scheme to literally sell the U.S. Senate vacancy left by Barack Obama in 2008. The jury found him guilty on 17 of 20 counts, which could mean a long, long time in jail.

Now that bushy Blago is heading off to the slammer, we have to admit a certain melancholy at his imminent jailing. We'll miss his constant but obviously phony claims of innocence, and his loopy appearances on late night TV where he never seemed to mind being the butt of jokes. But who knows? Maybe there's a book or hair products endorsement in Blago's future.

The Bachmanns: Pigs Feeding at the Government Trough

Newly minted Rethug candidate for Preznut Rep. Michele "I See Commies" Bachmann (Loon-MN) has long been an opponent of government spending, including federal farm subsidies. Now that she's a candidate for Preznut (how low the bar has dropped!), the Minnesota Loon's finances have come under scrutiny. This article in the LA Times lays out the ... um ... inconsistencies between her rhetoric and reality. It seems she and her family have been all too willing to take gummint subsidies -- $30,000 for the hubby's "Christian counseling clinic"; $260,000 for a family farm in which she's a partner -- while she's busily decrying the same gummint subsidies to her tea bagging base. She even wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praising him for providing subsidies for pig and dairy products for her Minnesota district.

We'll see if her opponents make hay (not gummint subsidized, of course!) out of her "do as I say, not as I do" way of doing business.

Wisconsin's Violent Judge

There are reports that Wisconsin Rethuglican State Supreme Court Justice David "Prossertute" Prosser was guilty of grabbing a fellow Justice around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley asked Prossertute to leave her office when he became angry and grabbed her around the neck, during discussions about whether to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

This isn't the first time that the right-wing Justice has threatened a female jurist: last year during an argument, he called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a "bitch" and threatened to destroy her. A long time Rethuglican political hack, Prossertute served as the speaker of the State Assembly, and has voted in lockstep with corporate interests and right-wing causes. He won a very close, controversial election last year, after a Rethuglican county clerk "discovered" votes for him missing from an earlier tally, which put him ahead by 7,000 out of 1.5 million cast. Very convenient.

An anger management class won't help this out-of-control hack, but a voter recall of him would help Wisconsin.

(photo: Prossertute unloads his anger; Wisconsin should unload him)

Marriage Equality Bill Passes in New York

By a vote of 33-29 (with all Democrats and 4 Republicans voting in favor), the New York state senate passed a marriage equality bill last night, making that state the sixth and most populous state to pass such a law. The four principled Republican votes came as the Conservative Party in New York had threatened to run primary opponents against any Republican who voted for the bill. Here's what Greg Sargent has to say about those "conservatives":

"This is another major defeat for those self-described 'conservatives' who hate government except when it's enforcing a form of legalized discrimination that comports with their prejudices."

And who are, once again, on the wrong side of history.

Weekend Birthday Song

The Yardbirds' Jeff Beck turned 67 yesterday, so in belated tribute, here's Jeff playing lead (that's Jimmy Page on rhythm) on "Heart Full of Soul." Have a soulful weekend!

Cartoon of the Day

(click to enlarge)

The right wing majority on the Supreme Court voted earlier to deny female employees of Walmart the right to sue in a class action suit that showed Walmart's gender discrimination in promotion and wages. Yet another reason to elect Dems in the future, so that appointments to the Court tip the balance back.