BS: The Republicans (US)

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:24 PM

From the editors at the Times:

"Shrill political attacks have saturated the airwaves for months, but behind them is the real problem of this demoralizing election: the dark flow of dollars, often secretly provided by donors with very special interests.

The amount is staggering: Nearly $4 billion is likely to be spent once the final figures are in, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, far more than in the 2006 midterms, which cost $2.85 billion. It could even eclipse the $4.14 billion spent in the 2004 presidential campaign.

Much of this is a direct creation of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., which has cut away nearly all campaign finance restrictions.

The court's 2007 decision in Wisconsin Right-to-Life gave corporations and unions the right to run advocacy ads in the last 60 days of a campaign — as long as they did not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a specific candidate. This year's Citizens United decision effectively ended even that last restriction, and pulled away all limits on corporate spending in campaigns.

Building on those decisions, political operatives — mainly Republicans — decided they could collect unlimited amounts of money through independent, tax- exempt organizations known as 501(c) groups, without revealing the source of the donations.

By offering anonymity and no limits, these groups (with gauzily apolitical names, like American Future Fund and American Action Network) have been able to raise and spend extraordinary sums. In the 2006 midterms, outside groups not affiliated with political parties spent $51.6 million; so far this year, such groups have spent $280 million. About 60 percent of that spending is from undisclosed donors, most of which has benefited Republicans. Democratic candidates raised huge amounts, but the sources for most of it were disclosed.

Combining both traditional and outside money, Republicans have slightly outraised Democrats, $1.64 billion to $1.59 billion, but there is more to be tallied.

While large secret donations have been legalized, it is not clear that the 501(c) groups spending the money on barrages of attack ads are playing by the last, threadbare rules. The tax code requires that these groups not be "primarily engaged" in political advocacy, but neither the Internal Revenue Service nor the Federal Election Commission has made any apparent effort to investigate what other purpose they might have. Some groups have suggested they would begin nonpolitical activities — after the election.

What is clear is that the new world of unlimited spending, both open and secret, confers huge benefits on wealthy individuals, corporations and unions. In a striking example, reported by ABC News last week, Terry Forcht, a prominent Kentucky banker and nursing home executive, helped pay for a series of attack ads against Attorney General Jack Conway, the Democratic Senate candidate. Mr. Conway is prosecuting one of Mr. Forcht's nursing homes for allegedly covering up sexual abuse.

Mr. Forcht has directly raised at least $21,000 for Mr. Conway's Republican opponent, Rand Paul. He serves as the banker for American Crossroads, the shadowy group of nonprofits organized by Karl Rove that has spent nearly $30 million to defeat Democrats and more than $1 million to defeat Mr. Conway. "

---

Sawz: If you cannot see the difference between starting wars and trying to end them, I feel sorry for you, man.

A

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Don Firth
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:24 PM

Discussion of political financing and the sources thereof on a local (Seattle) radio station this morning:

Out-of-state political groups (characterizing themselves as "educational") have spent 26 times as much on the campaign to elect Dino Rossi, Republican candidate, to the Senate, than incumbent Senator Patty Murray (Democrat) has had available to her, despite an outpouring of contributions from a large number of working stiffs and other private citizens—such as myself.

A campaign chest 26 times as large as Patty Murray's.

And the content of these supposedly "educational" television commercials consists almost entirely of spurious attacks on Murray's record, and outright falsehoods.

Murray's backers fielded an ad exposing Rossi's source of financing, and Rossi countered by accusing Murray of "negative campaigning"—after he's been lying about her record for months! Sheer GALL!!

Dino Rossi ran twice before, for State Governor, against Christine Gregoire. He lost both attempts by a narrow margin both times despite his extremely negative and downright libelous campaigns against Gregoire (same as he's doing in trying to defeat Murray). But being a political campaign, libel laws don't seem to apply.

Thomas Jefferson said that the future of Democracy depends on a well-informed electorate. The Republicans are hell-bent on making certain that the electorate is anything but well informed!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:38 PM

Once upon a time in a faraway galaxy, there were Republicans such as Dwight Eisenhower. These men were of a financially conservative timber. They also tended to believe in the power of state and local government to create and administer law and regulation, and conceived the Federal entity as a rather unwieldy and wasteful structure which should be primarily limited to interstate law and commerce, and to making war and peace.

From the time of the Civil War until the 50s, the Republican Party was also involved with not only states' rights issues, but oddly enough, civil liberty concerns. These were the days of the Democratic Solid South, when the Democratic Party often stood for power for the laboring poor, except when it came to blacks. Republicans often stood up for voter's right is those early days, as well they should, considering Abraham Lincoln was a founding member of the party.

The shift began with the imposition, by Kennedy and Johnson, of enforced integration in schools and government. This dictation of national will over local power stood in contradiction to Republican principle, but meshed oddly with Republican Lincolnite tradition, and a choice had to be made. In conjunction with this, opposition to the developing conflict in Vietnam created a rallying point for the World War 2 generation. I watched my parents, lifelong Democrats and working people, convert to the Republican Party as this trend solidified.

Ronald Reagan was the ultimate expression of this newly emerging Republican Party, a reaction to years of what was seen as over-regulation of trade, the environment, and business, and a lack of resolve in using American clout to influence world events. More than ever, it was a return to "old, proven values" and a supposed literal interpretation of the Constitution. The first stirring of what eventually became the "Christian Right" was also seen, and the early emergence of the radio demagogues like Rush Limbaugh who successfully wedded anger with a selected number of the grand old party's traditional principles.

Now we have reached another plateau, primarily due to 2 things: The passage of legislation which allows unlimited and unidentified contribution to political campaigning, coupled with the penultimate importance of advertising as a tool for electing candidates. The congress will be re-districted after this election, and work will continue that was begun by Tom Delay to realign electoral areas to insure continued Republican dominance.

Most of us are giving away our freedom, while the rest are busy buying and selling it. Today, men like Eisenhower, principled men who followed a centrist path, would be shouted down by the likes of the Palinites as weak on liberalism. And make no mistake...the driving force in tomorrow's election is not anger, although, truly, many voters should be angry and will vote in anger...the driving force is MONEY, and it is the one force which my country appears to be helpless to defeat.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:47 PM

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

Dwight D Eisenhower

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:48 PM

which gave corporations and unions the right to run advocacy ads in the last 60 days of a campaign.

And the unions are spending as much or more.

Union campaign spending blows hole in arguments Dems have been making against Chamber & Supreme Ct

ASCME Union is "Big Dog" in 2010 Campaign Spending

10.22.10

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union has emerged as the largest outside spender of the 2010 campaign season, doling out $87.5 million to help elect Democratic candidates, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"We're the big dog," Larry Scanlon, the head of AFSCME's political operations, told the WSJ. "But we don't like to brag."

Later in the same article, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, declared: "We're spending big. And we're damn happy it's big. And our members are damn happy it's big-it's their money."

The latest revelations blow a hole in several arguments the White House and their liberal allies have been making over the past year.

For all of President Obama's attacks on the Chamber of Commerce for its political involvement, it turns out that AFSCME has been spending more. And for all of the complaints about the Supreme Court's Citizens' United decision paving the way for more corporate influence, it turns out s that three of the top five spenders during this cycle are unions -- the others being the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association. And as the article notes, Citizens' United made it easier for the unions to spend money on elections.

Apparently without a sense of irony House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ramped up the rhetoric against the Chamber of Commerce, telling MSNBC, "They give new meaning to the term 'Buy American'- they want to buy these elections." She went on to say that if they win it would mean America was "a plutocracy and oligarchy" and that -Whatever these few wealthy, secret, unlimited sources of money are can control our entire agenda."

Of course, expenditures by the public sector unions are okay, because they're only trying to elect members who will keep funneling federal tax dollars to projects that increase their membership, allowing them to spend more on Democrats in future elections.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:55 PM

You're talking about the organizations who Choose to Disclose contributions, Saw. Tip of the iceberg. There is no longer any legal requirement to disclose funds sourcing.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 04:01 PM

LEJ

YOU are ignoring the fact that the SPENDING IS required to be reported- and that those reports show that the UNIONS are buying the election, NOT others.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 04:10 PM

Do some independent study Bruce. You won't get all the answers from Limbaugh, just the ones you like. The above mentioned groups...Chamber of Commerce and AFSCME, are compelled to report sourcing and contributions as class 527 donors. The recent law change enabled the creation of 501(c) organizations which are not obligated to reveal funds sourcing. They are obligated to reveal spending, but what the hell does that do when an organization named Americans for Reasonable Spending contributes 25 million to a Senate campaign? How do you know the money doesn't come from China? Or from Halliburton? or Ceiba Geigy? You don't.

"The groups are structured as a tax-exempt "social welfare" 501(c)(4) organizations. As part of its tax exempt status, the organizations are allowed to both raise unlimited amounts of money and keep the names and organizations of their contributors secret – an allowance that facilitates groups of this type to raise considerably more money than standard so-called 527 groups which have to report their donors.' ...from the CNN Blog.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 04:14 PM

So, AS I SAID the spending that they do IS reported- and the amount they spend IS REPORTED.


That is what I said, and you have confirmed it.

As for the source of funds, I note you ignore the foreign contributions to those unions that are putting large amounts into this election ( after getting large amounts FROM Obama). Seems like they were not so bad off as Obama said, when he paid them off for their support in the last election, since they have the money to buy this one.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 04:30 PM

Blogger Jobsdanger offers this:

Monday, October 25, 2010
8 Lies Republicans Want Us To Believe

"During this election campaign the American public has been inundated with lies from the Republican Party.   Some of these lies have been told and repeated for so long that they have assumed the proportions of myth, and are accepted by a great many Americans.   But they are still just Republican lies.

I have been trying to attack these lies one at a time, and have written several posts about them.   But Dave Johnson over at Campaign for America's Future has combined them into one very good post.   He cuts through all the BS and exposes these mythic lies, and then tells the truth about them.   Here are those 8 lies:



1) President Obama tripled the deficit.
Reality: Bush's last budget had a $1.416 trillion deficit. Obama's first budgetreduced that to $1.29 trillion.
2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.
Reality: Obama cut taxes. 40% of the "stimulus" was wasted on tax cuts which only create debt, which is why it was so much less effective than it could have been.

3) President Obama bailed out the banks.
Reality: While many people conflate the "stimulus" with the bank bailouts, the bank bailouts were requested by President Bush and his Treasury Secretary, former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson. (Paulson also wanted the bailouts to be "non-reviewable by any court or any agency.") The bailouts passed and began before the 2008 election of President Obama.

4) The stimulus didn't work.
Reality: The stimulus worked, but was not enough. In fact, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus raised employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs.

5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.
Reality: A business hires the right number of employees to meet demand. Having extra cash does not cause a business to hire, but a business that has a demand for what it does will find the money to hire. Businesses want customers, not tax cuts.

6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.
Reality: The health care reform reduces government deficits by $138 billion.

7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.
Reality: Social Security has run a surplus since it began, has a trust fund in the trillions, is completely sound for at least 25 more years and cannot legally borrow so cannot contribute to the deficit (compare that to the military budget!) Life expectancy is only longer because fewer babies die; people who reach 65 live about the same number of years as they used to.

8) Government spending takes money out of the economy.
Reality: Government is We, the People and the money it spends is on We, the People. Many people do not know that it is government that builds the roads, airports, ports, courts, schools and other things that are the soil in which business thrives. Many people think that all government spending is on "welfare" and "foreign aid" when that is only a small part of the government's budget.


Don't believe the lies being told by Republicans.   They just want to return to power, and they'll say anything to do that. "

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 04:45 PM

Blogger Amos said this:

Reagan eradicated Glass Steagall.

I am bringing the truth. America's oil has been cut off.

plus a major depression of the magnitude not seen here since the 30's.

"Obama turned the war in Iraq around, winding it down. "

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Stringsinger
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 07:15 PM

It should be obvious to most by now that the GOP has embraced extremist tactics and given up on so-called moderate approaches. McConnell wants to make Obama a one-term president and the others want to shut the government down to make political points.

The Greedy Old Party is defending corporate America over making life better for American citizens. They would like to have tax cuts for the wealthy (over a trillion dollars) and hide behind the fear of a deficit which is really hypocritical because under a Republican Administration as Bush showed us, the deficit will increase. Clinton brought it down.
Bush repealed that.

This is an unworkable strategy for the Republicans. The scenario will emanate in the Tea Partiers eventually turning against Republicans (if we assume that the Tea Partiers really are the Americans they say they are). "I'm mad as hell" could equally be applied to Republicans as the US economy sinks lower into unemployment and the economy crashes (which it will if we continue along the lines that the Republicans want).

What we need is a WPA or a CCC to put people to work building infrastructure and tax and mortgage relief for underwater homes. Republicans would oppose this. They would call it "socialist" without a clue as to what socialism really is. FDR was not a socialist but the name is used as a smear tactic for political gain.

Don't count on Republicans to curb expenditures incurred by the Pentagon and the Military Industrial Complex either. They are too tied in to these corporate leaches.

Over the long haul, though, the Republican agenda is not workable and when things get really bad (which they will if Republicans have their way), the public will be forced into waking up and smelling the bread lines.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 08:52 PM

While the Koch brothers Ñ each worth over $21.5 billion Ñ have certainly underwritten much of the right, their hidden coordination with other big business money has gone largely unnoticed. ThinkProgress has obtained a memo outlining the details of the last Koch gathering held in June of this year. The memo, along with an attendee list of about 210 people, shows the titans of industry Ñ from health insurance companies, oil executives, Wall Street investors, and real estate tycoons Ñ working together with conservative journalists and Republican operatives to plan the 2010 election, as well as ongoing conservative efforts through 2012. According to the memo, David Chavern, the number two at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Fox News hate-talker Glenn Beck also met with these representatives of the corporate elite. In an election season with the most undisclosed secret corporate giving since the Watergate-era, the memo sheds light on the symbiotic relationship between extremely profitable, multi-billion dollar corporations and much of the conservative infrastructure. The memo describes the prospective corporate donors as "investors," and it makes clear that many of the Republican operatives managing shadowy, undisclosed fronts running attack ads against Democrats were involved in the Koch's election-planning event:

Ð Corporate "investors" at the Koch meeting included businesses with a strong profit motive in rolling back President Obama's enacted reforms. Several companies impacted by health reform, including Allan Hubbard of A & E Industries, a manufacturer of medical devices and Judson Green, a board member of health insurance conglomerate Aon, were present at the meeting.

Other businessmen at the meeting, like Omaha Burger King franchiser Mike Simmonds, are owners of fast food stores which have fought efforts to provide health insurance to their employees. Many corporate attendees of the meeting represent the financial industry impacted by Wall Street reform. For instance, attendee Bill Cooper is the CEO of TCF Financial, a corporation involved in the mortgage banking industry. Cooper recently filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Wall Street reform. Other financial industry players in the meeting hail from firms ranging from Bank of America, JLM Investment, Allied Capital Corp, AMG National Trust, the Blackstone Group and Citadel Investment. Annie Dickerson, a representative of Paul Singer, a powerful hedge fund manager who also gives tens of millions to Republican causes, was present.

In addition, Koch Industries itself has a hedge fund and other financial derivative products in its portfolio of interests, which include oil pipelines, coal shipping, asphalt, refineries, consumer goods, timber, ranching, and chemicals....


http://thinkprogress.org/2010/10/20/beck-koch-chamber-meeting/

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 10:45 PM

"While the Koch brothers each worth over $21.5 billion have certainly underwritten much of the right, their hidden coordination with other big business money has gone largely unnoticed."

First of all Amos, according to Forbes, they are worth $17.5 Bil each, the same as the guy that started Google and less than Mike Bloomberg so somebody doesn't know what they are talking about there.

How many people do the Koch brothers employ Amos? What do they produce? What do they add to the GNP? How many dollars do they and their employees pay in taxes?

How much is the Wall street fatcat George Soros worth Amos? How many people does he employ? What does he produce and what does he contribute to the GNP? What is his agenda?

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 11:22 AM

Sawz:

Sorry, I didn't write that piece--it came from the Times, and I forgot to add the attribution. Don't get all silly on me, now.

BTW, it appears that the Repub gang are resorting to massive abuse of Twitter, creating fraudulent accounts and trying to make it appear public support is occurring when it is not.

Full story here.


A

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: beardedbruce
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:07 PM

"Sorry, I didn't write that piece--it came from the Times, and I forgot to add the attribution."

gee, if that had been ME, there would have been multiple condemnations and snarky comments.

I wonder about the double standard....

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:16 PM

"Don't get all silly on me, now."

Ok I won't get silly.

But I would still like to know what the beloved Soros does for the economy VS the "evil" Kochs.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:27 PM

New York Times: Democrats Backing Fake Tea Party Candidates

Increasingly desperate and fearful of a GOP takeover of Congress, the Democratic Party is secretly supporting fake tea party and other third-party candidates in the hopes of diverting votes from Republican contenders.

The stunning conclusion was made in a page one New York Times story headlined "Democrats Back Third Parties to Siphon Votes" – a report by correspondent Jim Rutenberg and published in Saturday editions of the paper.

The Times reported: "The efforts are taking place across the country with varying degrees of stealth. And in many cases, they seem to hold as much risk as potential reward for Democrats, prompting accusations of hypocrisy and dirty tricks from Republicans and the third-party movements that are on the receiving end of the unlikely, and sometimes unwelcome, support."

"It is one of the dirtiest moves," Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told the Times. "It's not as though the Democrats are playing to compete against the third party - they're helping to build the third party up to make those votes not count."

The Times detailed numerous races across the U.S. where a "Tea Party" candidate has been working to siphon votes from the Republican candidate. In a close race this third party effort could throw the election to the Democrat.

Arguably, the most serious effort is taking place in Nevada where the Times says supporters of Harry Reid are backing a "Tea Party" candidate named Scott Ashjian.

harry,reid,scott,ashjian,democrats,tea,party,dirty,tricks,new,york,times,bono,siphon,votesThe Times says: "In Nevada, conservative radio listeners have heard an advertisement promoting the Senate campaign of a "Tea Party of Nevada" candidate, Scott Ashjian. The ads criticize Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee and favored candidate of the actual Tea Party movement in the race against Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader. "

The paper claims that unions, casinos and mining companies backing Reid are financing Ashjian to undermine Angle's campaign.

The Times examined several key races they indicated this stealth third party ploy was underway, including:

California: Democratic Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has paid for an automated recording that calls Republican voters and purports to be from a registered GOP voter. The unidentified voter reveals she is voting for Bill Lussenheide of the American Independent Party, rather than GOP incumbent Rep. Mary Bono Mack, because Lussenheide is a "true conservative."

Pennsylvania: Volunteers for Democratic House candidate Bryan Lentz in Pennsylvania aided conservative Jim Schneller in his effort to join the race, turning it into a three-way contest with Republican Pat Meehan.

Florida: Candidates listed as having tea party affiliations are running, even though they have been exposed as having no legitimate tea party supporting them.

Michigan: Fake tea party candidates tried to run for two House seats and a number of state offices. Democratic Party officials were linked to the candidacies, and the candidates were declared ineligible.

New Jersey: Republican House candidate Jon Runyan has a "Stop The Fake Tea Party" appeal on his political website. It states: "Polls indicate that Jon Runyan and career politician John Adler are locked in a dead heat as we head in to election day. Realizing that New Jersey's 3rd district is tired of the reckless, out of control expansion of government and explosion of debt in Washington DC, John Adler and the Democrat Political Machines in New Jersey and DC have taken this campaign in to the gutter, resorting to baseless attacks and fraud to hold on to this seat. Adler and his cronies have even installed a fake tea party candidate to keep Jon Runyan from winning this seat."

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen," Bono Mack told the Times. "It's desperate, and I think the voters see right through it."['cept Amos]

When contacted about the subterfuge, the Democratic National Committee issued this statement: "Republicans have no one to blame but their own ideological intolerance for the bloody civil war on their side."

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:32 PM

Have you turned the tide yet Amos? Bail harder.

Jerry Moonbeam Brown says he is going "to make the sun rise in the west and move over to the east".

But he can't see Russia from his house. Is he blind?

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:41 PM

Democrats Back Third Parties to Siphon Votes
The New York Times

Seeking any advantage in their effort to retain control of Congress, Democrats are working behind the scenes in a number of tight races to bolster long-shot third-party candidates who have platforms at odds with the Democratic agenda but hold the promise of siphoning Republican votes.

Wade C. Vose, a lawyer for Tea Party activists who say Mr. Guetzloe hijacked their movement, issued a subpoena to Representative Alan Grayson, a Democrat with ties to Mr. Guetzloe.

The efforts are taking place across the country with varying degrees of stealth. And in many cases, they seem to hold as much risk as potential reward for Democrats, prompting accusations of hypocrisy and dirty tricks from Republicans and the third-party movements that are on the receiving end of the unlikely, and sometimes unwelcome, support.

In California, Republicans have received recorded phone calls from a professed but unidentified "registered Republican" who says she is voting for the American Independent Party's candidate for a House seat, Bill Lussenheide, not for the incumbent Republican, Mary Bono Mack.

The caller says she is voting that way because "it's time we show Washington what a true conservative looks like."

The recording was openly paid for by the Democratic candidate for the seat, Mayor Steve Pougnet of Palm Springs.

In Pennsylvania, the Democratic candidate for a suburban Philadelphia House seat, Bryan Lentz, admitted this week that his volunteers helped Jim Schneller - a prominent skeptic of President Obama's citizenship - collect petitions to run against Mr. Lentz and his Republican opponent, Pat Meehan.

In Nevada, conservative radio listeners have heard an advertisement promoting the Senate campaign of a "Tea Party of Nevada" candidate, Scott Ashjian. The ads criticize Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee and favored candidate of the actual Tea Party movement in the race against Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader.

The ad was sponsored by a group backed by unions and casino and mining companies supporting Mr. Reid.

Nevada is one of several states, including Florida, where "Tea Party" political committees have appeared on ballot lines without the knowledge or support of leading Tea Party activists, who have generally chosen not to support third-party candidacies. In most of those cases, local bloggers, reporters and lawyers have traced connections to local Democrats, drawing lawsuits, complaints and, in a couple of cases, admissions of involvement.

"It is one of the dirtiest moves," said Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, a vice chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It's not as though the Democrats are playing to compete against the third party - they're helping to build the third party up to make those votes not count."

Calling it "a concerted effort," Mr. McCarthy added, "In Congressional races, it could steer the tide for the majority."

In response to questions about whether the efforts were being coordinated on a national level, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement, "Republicans have no one to blame but their own ideological intolerance for the bloody civil war on their side."

Stealth support for third-party candidates who have the potential to cut into the other side's votes is a time-tested political tradition for both parties.

But this year's efforts are striking for the potency of the grass-roots movement that Democrats are trying to use to their advantage - that is, the Tea Party - and for the sometimes brazen nature of the attempts.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 12:42 PM

Democrats Back Third Parties to Siphon Votes
The New York Times

Mr. Pougnet, the Democrat running for Ms. Bono Mack's House seat in Palm Springs, openly discloses his sponsorship of the telephone calls and mailings he is directing to conservative voters labeling Mr. Lussenheide as "the Tea Party candidate" and Ms. Bono Mack as a "raging liberal" by comparison.

"It's the strangest thing I've ever seen," Ms. Bono Mack said. "It's desperate, and I think the voters see right through it."

Mr. Pougnet's campaign manager, Jordan Marks, said, "There's nothing wrong with pointing out to voters who are more conservative that there's a more conservative alternative on the ballot."

In other efforts, Democrats have tried to keep a lower profile, though they have not always succeeded.

In Michigan, local Republicans and Tea Party activists were immediately suspicious when a "Tea Party" ballot line appeared with candidates running for two competitive House seats and several state offices. The ballot line was thrown out on a technicality last month, but only after a series of blog and newspaper reports uncovered the hidden hand of two Oakland County Democratic officials. Both men resigned.

Mr. Lentz's admission this week that his supporters had a role in placing Mr. Schneller on the ballot in the Pennsylvania House race followed months of suspicion that Mr. Lentz was somehow involved. He had avoided questions until this week, when he told the editorial board of The Delaware County Daily Times, "If somebody's already made the decision to run, I didn't think that 'helping' with the process of signature petitions was improper."

Here in Florida, local Republicans and grass-roots Tea Party activists continue to press the case that "Tea Party" candidates on the ballot are stalking horses for Democrats, an assertion denied by Democrats.

Everett Wilkinson is among grass-roots Tea Party activists disconcerted to learn of a "Tea Party" linked to Mr. Guetzloe.

Polls and independent analysts suggest that the incumbent Democrat in Orlando, Representative Alan Grayson, a firebrand liberal whose defeat is eagerly sought by conservatives, faces an uphill fight to keep his seat in what has been a bitterly fought campaign against his Republican rival, Daniel Webster. But the candidate running on the "Tea Party" ballot line in Orlando, Peg Dunmire, could prove pivotal if Mr. Grayson is to pull off a squeaker.

The "Tea Party" in Florida was formed and registered with the state in 2009 by an Orlando-area lawyer, Frederic B. O'Neal, with help from a longtime client, Doug Guetzloe, an activist, radio host and Republican operative in a running feud with his party, who has earned a reputation as a political trickster. (On Friday, Mr. Guetzloe was sentenced to 60 days in prison for a misdemeanor campaign violation relating to an anonymous political flier he sent four years ago, but his sentence does not start until after the election.)

Tea Party activists in the state said they were flabbergasted to learn of the existence of a "Tea Party" ballot line and Mr. Guetzloe's involvement with it.

"I didn't know who the heck these people were," said Everett Wilkinson, a grass-roots activist who has tangled with Mr. Guetzloe and Mr. O'Neal in separate lawsuits.

The grass-roots Tea Party activists and state Republicans, have homed in on a number of connections between Mr. Grayson and Mr. Guetzloe that have become fodder in the local news media, especially in reports on the CBS affiliate, WKMG-TV.

Mr. Guetzloe serves on two business advisory boards set up by Mr. Grayson. A son of Mr. Guetzloe worked as an intern in Mr. Grayson's Congressional office last year. Federal Election Commission filings show that Mr. Grayson has paid nearly $50,000 to a polling firm that was incorporated in late 2008 by an on-and-off employee of Mr. Guetzloe, Victoria Torres, who is now herself running as a state candidate on the "Tea Party" ballot line that Mr. Guetzloe helped create.

In his most recent campaigns, Mr. Grayson advertised on Mr. Guetzloe's local radio program before it was canceled this year, with some proceeds going directly to Mr. Guetzloe's company, including, at least in June, a modest commission, station records show.

Mr. Guetzloe played down his connections to Mr. Grayson, saying that he is one of scores of people on Mr. Grayson's advisory panels and that his son secured his internship at Mr. Grayson's office through his school.

"This has nothing to do with the Democratic Party; it has nothing to do with Alan Grayson," said Mr. Guetzloe in an interview.

In an interview outside his house, Mr. Grayson dismissed as "conspiracy theories" suggestions that he had any contact with Mr. Guetzloe regarding the "Tea Party" ballot line. "The Republican Party of Florida wants people to think that there's something here," he said. "The old saying where there's smoke there's fire? Here there's not even any smoke."

Late last month, in a legal battle between Mr. Guetzloe and grass-roots Tea Party activists who accuse him of hijacking their movement, Wade C. Vose, a local election lawyer representing them, issued a subpoena for Mr. Grayson to sit for a deposition. Mr. Grayson was also ordered to share all written or electronic communications he had had with Mr. Guetzloe, members of the registered "Tea Party" and others. That deposition was to take place on Thursday.

Last week, however, Mr. Guetzloe dropped his defamation suit, filed in May, citing procedural wrangling with Mr. Vose - scuttling the order for Mr. Grayson to answer questions.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 01:02 PM

Sawz:

If you are going to rattle on with THREE separate repeats of the same information, use links instead of just pasting, Sheeshe.

Otherwise it sounds like you are just bellowing extra loud to make noise.


A

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 01:10 PM

bellowing extra loud to make noise.

Sounded more like a fart to me.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 01:49 PM

Please elaborate Amos. And what have you said to dispute the actual facts that were posted?

By making a personal attack and not addressing the validity of the facts, you are accepting the facts and expressing a dislike for the person that posted them.

DO you ant to address these facts or launch another logical fallacy attack on me?

Soros: I Can't Stop a Republican Avalanche
L A Times

George Soros, the billionaire financier who was an energetic Democratic donor in the last several election cycles but is sitting this one out, is not feeling optimistic about Democratic prospects.

I made an exception getting involved in 2004, Mr. Soros, 80, said in a brief interview Friday at a forum sponsored by the Bretton Woods Committee, which promotes understanding of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

And since I didn't succeed in 2004, I remained engaged in 2006 and 2008. But I'm basically not a party man. I'd just been forced into that situation by what I considered the excesses of the Bush administration.

Mr. Soros, a champion of liberal causes, has been directing his money to groups that work on health care and the environment, rather than electoral politics. Asked if the prospect of Republican control of one or both houses of Congress concerned him, he said: "It does, because I think they are pushing the wrong policies, but I'm not in a position to stop it. I don't believe in standing in the way of an avalanche."

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 01:57 PM

I have said nothing, Sawzer, to dispute the story (it is only one story recycled three times) you haveposted. Asserting they are facts is problematic, but even stipulating they are, I see no great scandal in playing politics.

A

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 02 Nov 10 - 02:17 PM

Mr. Soros... has been directing his money to groups that work on health care and the environment, rather than electoral politics.

As opposed to the Koch brothers, who have been dumping vast sums of money into far right-wing electoral politics.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 10:42 AM

The question for the Republicans now is whether they are going to bask in triumphalism or get down to the real work of governing. It is one thing to pander and obstruct when you are out of power. With a divided government, it won't take long for voters to demand that they explain their plans.

John Boehner, the likely speaker of the House, has not provided a clue of how his party will begin to cut the deficit, which Republicans say is their top priority. One of the few specific promises he has made would dig an even deeper hole: extending all of the Bush-era tax cuts.

And exit polls suggested that even these more conservative voters get what the Republican Party leadership still doesn't: that there is no way to tackle the deficit and slash taxes at the same time. Only 19 percent said cutting taxes was the top priority for the next Congress.

Anticipating a big win on Tuesday, leading Republicans haven't been talking about substance, only more obstructionism. Mr. Boehner said the other day that the president was welcome to support Republican programs. But as for Mr. Obama's agenda, he said, "We're going to do everything — and I mean everything we can do — to kill it, stop it, slow it down, whatever we can."

Mike Pence, the No. 3 Republican, said there would be "no compromise" on repealing the health care reform law and permanently extending all Bush-era tax cuts, including for the wealthiest Americans.

A Republican majority in the House of Representatives should pursue Republican priorities. But what we have been hearing sounds disturbingly like what we heard after the 1994 election, when Newt Gingrich, then the speaker-to-be, announced that there would be no compromising on his agenda.

The result was gridlock. The Republicans shut down the government, which ultimately cost Mr. Gingrich his job and the Republicans their majority.

One thing is very clear from all the polls and all the voting: Americans are fed up with that sort of gamesmanship. It's bad for the country.

NYT

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 11:37 AM

IN THE COMING GOVERMENT SHUT DOWN, THIS TIME fox NEWS WILL DEFINE THE EVENT AS A TRIUMPH OF THE PEOPLE.

I will NOT cost Republicans as it did before. They will point to the money not spent during the shutdown as "savings".

The suffering will be monumental but described by the media as "the people have spoken".

When push comes to shove the Congress has been disbanded before.
Don't wish too hard for something...you may get it.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 11:48 AM

(it is only one story recycled three times)

The first post was somenes atricle anout something in the New York Times,

The second post was the actual article in the New York Times.

The second one was too long so I broke it off and put the rest in the third post.

I thought we were discussing issues here and not trying to disprove something by how it was posted or who posted it.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 11:52 AM

Koch Brothers VS Soros:

How many jobs does Soros provide for the American people?

What does he contribute to the economy?

How does he make his money? Does he produce anything?

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 11 Nov 10 - 10:29 AM

"...Bachmann's disastrous turn outside the Fox bubble was instructive, for it showed how the liars' club works. The $200 million figure originated in India, attributed to an anonymous foreign bureaucrat, and quickly went to the Drudge Report. On Fox and Rush Limbaugh's radio rant, the absurdity that the United States would spend more on a presidential trip than the daily cost to prosecute the Afghanistan war quickly became gospel. Did these people ever call the White House or the Pentagon to check the facts before going ballistic? Perish the thought.

Glenn Beck went nuts (a redundancy). And while acknowledging that he didn't know if the figures were accurate, he felt comfortable enough to cite "a report that has made the rounds on the Internet." A commentator on Fox business "news" and the Republican fundraiser and Fox host Sean Hannity followed their scripts and Beck.

But this particular lie prompted a minor civil conflict in Rupert Murdoch's empire. The Murdoch employee Mike Huckabee challenged fellow Murdoch employees on their outrage over a made-up figure.

At the same time, The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's crown jewel, went after another Murdoch employee, Sarah Palin, on one of her errors, which appear on a regular basis from her Twitter feed or in speeches. Palin attacked the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, which is about as far over her head as she ever wants to get, and showed profound ignorance on inflation. She said anyone who'd gone shopping lately would know that "grocery prices have risen significantly over the past year." A Journal blogger then noted that food and beverage inflation was practically nonexistent for the past year — the lowest on record — and that Palin was having some trouble with reading comprehension.

Huckabee wants to be president, and to be taken seriously. The Wall Street Journal needs credibility on basic economic facts in order to survive. And that takes us to the incoming Republican leadership, which will succeed or fail based on whether they are able to legislate with the truth in mind, or follow the crazies.

Republicans caught a break when Sharron Angle lost her bid to unseat Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Angle's most preposterous claim was that Shariah, or Islamic law, existed in the good old U.S. of A. Why, just now, two cities — Dearborn, Mich., and Frankford, Tex. — were under the dreaded jihadist rule, she said.

"I don't know how that happened in the United States," said Angle. Nor does anyone else, because it didn't happen, and couldn't under our Constitution, which separates church (and mosque) from state. Frankford no longer exists as a town, though a reporter for CNN did find a small church and a cemetery within its confines. The mayor of Dearborn, Jack O'Reilly, said Muslims and Christians have been living peacefully with each other for decades.

Would it surprise you that Palin was Angle's most prominent supporter? And that Palin's other big political pick in the Southwest was Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer, who famously claimed that "our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert, either buried or just lying out there, that have been beheaded." Sounds like Shariah again. Except in this case the lie was used to make people afraid of Mexicans. Brewer finally backed off when she was unable to cite a single instance of a headless body in the treeless desert.

Palin no longer has to govern, since quitting halfway through her term in Alaska. Relying on her singular, God-given inability to properly digest facts, she's free to make stuff up without consequence. She was awarded the 2009 "lie of the year" by Politifact.com for inventing "death panels" in the health care bill. That site, along with factcheck.org, attempt to referee the whoppers in public policy debates, and are worth a visit for anyone trying to follow the news. But they hardly seem to matter to Palin.

Other Republicans, as they move legislation through Congress, will be held to higher standards. Is global warming real? Will extending tax cuts on the richest two percent dramatically increase the deficit? Is the surge in Afghanistan doing any good, or just prolonging a winless war? Big questions, big issues. Keeping Bachmann isolated in the make-believe studios of Fox would be a good start.
"

(NYT)

---

It is about time someone blew the whistle on fact-challenged ineptitude.


A

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 11 Nov 10 - 11:15 AM

But Amos, a significant segment of the U.S. population WORSHIPS fact-challenged ineptitude as a positive good!

( Douggie, I hope you recognize yourself among this number.)

"Blowing the whistle" would/will do no good whatsoever; facts do not signify in these folks' delusional world.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Stringsinger
Date: 11 Nov 10 - 06:49 PM

The Republicans are like a broken record on the "debt ceiling". They think that if they take away government programs and make everyone poor and holy that they can pull the country out of a recession. That's like solving the problems of a depressed person by handing them a loaded weapon.

You just wait. You think we got recession now, wait until the Repubs get through with their austerity programs. They think that the solution for hunger is to starve everyone so that their cronies can eat well at the expense of the poor and middle class.

It's a "let 'em eat cake" situation.

The Greedy Old Party is at least consistent. They caused the Great Depression of the Thirties and they want to bring it back again for the benefit of the new Rockerfellers, Carnegies,(C.E.O.'s and banks) and the great robber barons of yore. With Republicans in office, watch your wallet.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 11 Nov 10 - 06:57 PM

"David Stockman, who was Reagan's budget director, has gone in another direction. He's renouncing deficit-building tax cuts, calling for their rollback.

"We've had a 30-year spree of really phony prosperity in this country," Stockman recently told Leslie Stahl on "60 Minutes."

Stockman derided the "anti-tax religion" of the GOP.

"Well it's become in a sense an absolute. Something that can't be questioned, something that's gospel, something that's sort of embedded into the catechism and so scratch the average Republican today and he'll say 'Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts,'" Stockman told Stahl. He added, "To stand before the public and rub raw this anti-tax sentiment, the Republican Party, as much as it pains me to say this, should be ashamed of themselves."

In short, tax cuts provide the illusion to the American public that Social Security, Medicare, military spending and government funded public expenditures - such as highways - can be had without citizens paying a fair share.

As for the wealthy, Stockman was loaded for bear in another appearance, this one on ABC News: "Two years after the crisis on Wall Street, it has been announced that bonuses this year will be $144 billion, the highest in history. That's who's going to get this tax cut on the top, you know, 2 percent of the population. They don't need a tax cut. They don't deserve it."

When Stockman declares, "We're now becoming the banana republic [of] finance," wise men and women should listen.

After all, he was the person who put together the largest tax cuts in US history. He knows of what he speaks."

Buzzflash

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: DougR
Date: 12 Nov 10 - 05:30 PM

Stockman has a right to an opinion! He certainly is not a spokesperson for the GOP, however.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 12 Nov 10 - 06:09 PM

You're right, Douggie, he's not fact-challenged, inept, or delusional enough to be a spokesperson for what the Republican Party has become.

Perhaps you could take the job, being as you're all three?

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: ollaimh
Date: 12 Nov 10 - 09:22 PM

bush and his policy people were so ignorant of the world they really thought they could win quick in iraq and make money from the oil through us companies. thats' the danger of leadership who have almost no idea whats going on in the world, not to mention voters who have little idea. i remember the news conference when rumsfeld was asked about hwy the british got bogged down for 47 years in iraq and why would america do any better and he dismissed those facts as not true and moved on.

the british dod try to set up a kingdom with constitutional checks and regional rights but it fell apart to the bathists very quickly after they pulled out.

the us also uver threw the modzadegd democratically elected government of iran amd woder why the iranians hate the us. the post war irianian government was following the turkish moderenization model, all dectroyed, resulting in decades of the shah's torture state supported by the us and then an equally hated full revolution to get rid of the shah.

you have to have some understanding of these countries to invade and hope to bring about a good result. and if you have no such understanding you should stay home. not to mention the expenses.

i start here to point out why i'd never have anything to do with the republicans and the tea party corporate totalitarians(funded by the kock billionaires).

but my revulsion foes back to the suport of rios mont in guatemala who massacred over two hundred thousand mayans peasants, becasue they were "communists". a genocidal war crime if there ever was one.
pat robertson was key in the support for mont, and i note recently wants chavez assinated. how anyone listens to these raving nuts amazes mebut listen they do. they listen because of ignorance. the media that used to try to inform has become lock step with the corporate adgenda. i miss tass and pravda. they had crazy interpretations of things but they felt compelled to reporttt facts, not modern american media.

anyway if you don't mind genocide in gautemala why not in iraq!all apid for by republican deficits. note the dems did try to balance the budget under carter and clinton, but republican congress began spending the projested surplusses before they occured.

most american seem unaware that they beenfit by roughly a twenty per cent a year bump in the gdp by being the currency of world trade, ifthey keep going into debt theyn will not only lose that but piss off all the people holding the devaluating us bonds.

some awareness of the massive and unnecessary civilian deaths in iraq and the genocidal activities in central america would be nice but i no longer thank a moral and ethical person could vote republican except from pure ignorance

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 13 Nov 10 - 10:39 AM

"Democrats still searching for a silver lining to the waxing they took last Tuesday can cheer up a bit. According to a new poll, the public may already be experiencing a bit of buyerÕs remorse about the choices theyÕve made, and Republicans seem to have unrealistic expectations about what their leaders will be able to accomplish.

A poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center found that people are considerably less happy about the RepublicansÕ victory than they were about the DemocratsÕ victory in 2006 or about the RepublicansÕ victory in 1994. They also approve much less of the ÒRepublicansÕ policies and plans for the futureÓ than they did of the DemocratsÕ plans in 2006 or the RepublicansÕ plans in 1994. (I must say that that question threw me a bit because I didnÕt know that Republicans had Òpolicies and plansÓ for the future. Silly me.)

About 60 percent of the respondents thought that the Republicans in 1994 and the Democrats in 2006 would be successful in getting their programs passed into law. This year, just more than 40 percent believed this about the Republicans. In fact, unlike in 2008 and 2006, more people than not believed that relations between Republicans and Democrats in Washington would now get worse.

That doesnÕt sound like a ringing endorsement to me. It sounds like a Congress of Low Expectations. ..."

(NYT columnist)

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 11:06 PM

Why Palin Badly Needs to Study History--some telling remarks from the usually-right WaPo.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 11:49 PM

Profile of a Boss Hogg mortgage rip off fat cat:

In 1969, Franklin Raines, a Democrat, first worked in national politics, preparing a report for the Nixon administration on the causes and patterns of youth unrest around the country related to the Vietnam War. He served in the Carter Administration as associate director for economics and government in the Office of Management and Budget and assistant director of the White House Domestic Policy Staff from 1977 to 1979. Then he joined Lazard Freres and Co., where he worked for 11 years and became a general partner. In 1991 he became Fannie's Mae's Vice Chairman, a post he left in 1996 in order to join the Clinton Administration as the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, where he served until 1998. In 1999, he returned to Fannie Mae as CEO, "the first black man to head a Fortune 500 company."

On December 21, 2004 Raines accepted what he called "early retirement" from his position as CEO while U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators continued to investigate alleged accounting irregularities. He is accused by The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the regulating body of Fannie Mae, of abetting widespread accounting errors, which included the shifting of losses so senior executives, such as himself, could earn large bonuses.

In 2006, the OFHEO announced a suit against Raines in order to recover some or all of the $90 million in payments made to Raines based on the overstated earnings, initially estimated to be $9 billion but have been announced as 6.3 billion.

Civil charges were filed against Raines and two other former executives by the OFHEO in which the OFHEO sought $110 million in penalties and $115 million in returned bonuses from the three accused. On April 18, 2008, the government announced a settlement with Raines together with J. Timothy Howard, Fannie's former chief financial officer, and Leanne G. Spencer, Fannie's former controller. The three executives agreed to pay fines totaling about $3 million, which will be paid by Fannie's insurance policies. Raines also agreed to donate the proceeds from the sale of $1.8 million of his Fannie stock and to give up stock options. The stock options however have no value. Raines also gave up an estimated $5.3 million of "other benefits" said to be related to his pension and forgone bonuses.

An editorial in The Wall Street Journal called it a "paltry settlement" which allowed Raines and the other two executives to "keep the bulk of their riches." In 2003 alone, Raines's compensation was over $20 million.

In the New York Times John Steele Gordon wrote an opinion criticizing
Raines' contribution to the 2008 financial crisis caused by the failure of Fannie Mae. "He cooked the books at Fannie to increase his compensation (more than $90 million)

A statement issued by Raines said of the consent order, "is consistent with my acceptance of accountability as the leader of Fannie Mae and with my strong denial of the allegations made against me by OFHEO."

In a settlement with OFHEO and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fannie paid a record $400 million civil fine. Fannie, which is the largest American financier and guarantor of home mortgages, also agreed to make changes in its corporate culture and accounting procedures and ways of managing risk.

In June 2008 The Wall Street Journal reported that Franklin Raines was one of several public officials [Chris Dodd, Jim Johnson, Kent Conrad, Donna Shalala, Richard Holbrooke] who received below market rates loans at Countrywide Financial because the corporation considered the officeholders "FOA's"--"Friends of Angelo" (Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo). He received loans for over $3 million while CEO of Fannie Mae.

Barack Obama was the second-largest recipient of contributions from Fannie and Freddie sources during his brief Senate tenure. Former president Bill Clinton said it best in 2008. "I think the responsibility the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was president to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 12:30 AM

According to whitehouse.gov:

In 2007, a growing U.S. economy led to record revenue of $2.6 trillion.

Government revenue increased steadily from 2003 through 2007, largely because of taxes on increasing individual incomes and corporate profits.

And all this time I thought the tax cuts cased a decline in revenues.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 07:42 PM

A Texas jury has convicted former House majority leader Tom DeLay, once one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, on money laundering and conspiracy charges.

DeLay, a former No. 2 House GOP leader, faces five to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 on the money laundering charge.

He appeared shocked, according to the Austin American-Statesman, when jurors reported their findings one by one. Sentencing is set for Dec. 20.

The lawmaker known as "The Hammer" was indicted in 2005 on charges that he illegally sent $190,000 in corporate money through the Republican National Committee to help elect Republicans to the Texas Legislature during the 2002 election cycle.

The legal case in Texas caused DeLay, majority leader from 2003 to 2005, to leave Congress in 2006.

The former exterminator was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from a suburban Houston district in 1984. He rose to power as a leader of the 1994 Republican Revolution, which saw the party take control of the House for the first time four decades. DeLay earned his nickname, "The Hammer," for his hard-charging style and way of convincing donors to give to the GOP.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 25 Nov 10 - 08:36 AM

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 25 Nov 10 - 10:42 AM

After a year of increasingly depressing news about the unbridled, unaccountable influence of big money in political campaigns, a Texas jury stood up for honesty in campaign finance on Wednesday and convicted Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, of money laundering. Unfortunately, there are now many new ways for politicians to commit acts similar to those for which Mr. DeLay was convicted, all of them perfectly legal.


During his tenure leading House Republicans, Mr. DeLay established a new low in ethical conduct among Congressional leaders. He put family members on his campaign payroll, took lavish trips paid for by lobbyists and twisted the arms of K Street lobbyists to ante up and donate to his partyÕs candidates and hire more Republicans. But his conviction on Wednesday came from something else entirely, a scheme to steer corporate contributions to Republicans in the Texas Legislature.

Texas bans corporations from giving money directly to state candidates, just as federal law does at the national level. But Mr. DeLay figured out a way around that barrier: In 2002, he used his state political action committee to channel $190,000 in corporate contributions to the Republican National Committee, which then donated the same amount to seven Texas House candidates. Six of them won, and Republicans took control of the Legislature for the first time in modern history, redistricting the stateÕs Congressional districts to the partyÕs benefit.

ÒThis was a scheme to get corporate money that they knew could not be used in Texas and get it to these candidates,Ó one of the prosecutors, Beverly Mathews, told the jury. ÒTom DeLay was in on it.Ó

The prosecution called that money laundering Ñ an untested legal theory in Texas Ñ and the jury agreed, also convicting him on a conspiracy charge. The first charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison, although it seems unlikely his sentence will be that long.

Mr. DeLay will presumably pursue multiple rounds of appeals. But whether he wins or loses personally, his larger goal of finding ways to get more corporate money into politics has already been achieved. Thanks to the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., corporations are now free to donate unlimited amounts of money. They cannot give it directly to candidates, but they can give to ÒindependentÓ committees that run ads for or against candidates. To most viewers, ads run by these committees Ñ as the nation saw during the midterm election campaign Ñ are indistinguishable from those run by the candidates themselves.

In a trend Mr. DeLay undoubtedly appreciated, most of that new corporate money went to Republicans. He may go to jail for violating the letter of the law, but a whole new generation of political operatives is still violating the spirit in which that law was written. His conviction should stand as a warning for how society regards that violation.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 26 Nov 10 - 05:03 PM

Tom DeLay is evidently a crook. Throw him in jail and loose the key.

We don't need crooks in the government. We need people that prosecute crooks.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Greg F.
Date: 26 Nov 10 - 05:32 PM

Crook he may be, but he's still a BuShite Republican folk hero and role model.

Let's hear some of the high-level Republicans & TeaBaggers denounce him.....

Right.   Don't hold your breath.

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Amos
Date: 30 Nov 10 - 08:52 PM

"Today, Congress sets a new record; in the last 40 years, it has never allowed extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. But today, in an economy that faces a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, Congress will let the benefits expire and force 2.5 million Americans to lose their benefits in the midst of the holiday season. As the New York Times notes, such a "lack of regard for working Americans is shocking," especially when juxtaposed with decades of bipartisan support for similar measures. But, in their pitch to obstruct any legislative progress, the Republicans of the 111th Congress have waged a two-year, all-out war against extending benefits, regardless of who it may hurt. The GOP's chief defense of its position is the $12.5 billion cost of a three-month extension, or $60 billion for a full year. Such feigned concern for the deficit is made all the more deceptive when considering the same Republicans are simultaneously demanding that Congress extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. And, while these tax cuts for the rich provide very little economic stimulus, the unemployment benefits they obstruct have provided a vital economic boost to struggling families and businesses. By prioritizing the pocketbooks of the privileged over the needs of the American worker, Republicans are turning their back on their two alleged priorities: the American people and the economy.
"\\

The Progress Report

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Bobert
Date: 01 Dec 10 - 06:38 PM

Hmmmmm, Amos??? With crooked Delay convicted does that mean that Texas is going to have to revisit the crooked redistricting they were able to do because of some real crooked tricks on Tom's part???

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Sawzaw
Date: 02 Dec 10 - 01:44 AM

A Democrat success story:

Chicago shutters infamous public housing complex AP

For decades, Chicago's infamous Cabrini-Green high-rises with their fenced-in balconies and horrific high-profile crimes were a symbol of the failure of public housing in America.

Their closure this month ends an ugly era. But for the last of the Cabrini residents moving out, the shuttering also marks the start of an uncertain time. While some families who have already left the complex are faring better, it's still difficult to track whether the plan to overhaul Chicago's public housing is improving the lives of those low-income families relocated. More than 1,700 families have been moved from Cabrini-Green since the Chicago Public Housing Authority's sweeping "Plan for Transformation" started in 2000. With just one building set to fall, a federal judge has given the two remaining families at Cabrini's last high-rise until Dec. 10 to move out.

"Are people better off? That's still an open question," said D. Bradford Hunt, a Roosevelt University social science professor who's written a book about public housing in Chicago. "Some people are worse off. For some people, not much has changed. And some people are better off. The question is what percentage, and we don't know that." About half of the Cabrini residents who have relocated live in homes that are still close to their old complex, the Housing Authority said. The rest are scattered across the Chicago area. Mary Johns, editor of the Residents' Journal, a publication produced for and by public housing residents, said crime reports suggest some of the neighborhoods where residents have moved are as dangerous as Cabrini had been.

Cabrini initially was hailed as a salvation for the city's poor and was emulated nationwide. But the 70-acre development quickly decayed into the kind of place where children were gunned down on their way to school, or sexually assaulted and left for dead.
The development started on Chicago's North Side in 1942 with row houses named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the Roman Catholic patron saint of immigrants. A few years later, high-rises and mid-rises were added. Eventually, Cabrini housed as many as 13,000 people. But the buildings weren't well-maintained, and crime, gangs and drugs soon became rampant.

The complex drew national attention in 1981 after a gang war killed 11 residents in three months. Then-Mayor Jane Byrne and her husband moved into a Cabrini apartment for three weeks to publicize her efforts to clean up the area. In 1992, a Cabrini resident hiding in a vacant 10th-floor apartment shot and killed 7-year-old Dantrell Davis as he walked to school holding his mother's hand. Five years later, a 9-year-old girl known as Girl X was found raped, choked, poisoned and left in a stairwell with gang graffiti scribbled on her body.

The Housing Authority developed a sweeping plan to overhaul public housing and move away from the high-rise model of warehousing the poor. The last Cabrini high-rise is slated for demolition in January or February. Mixed-income townhouses, shops and other redevelopment will go up in Cabrini's place, erasing from the landscape the island of poverty that the high-rises had become. Cabrini sits literally in the shadows of downtown's gleaming skyscrapers. A few blocks east or west, handbags sell for more money than Cabrini residents pay in rent for a year.

Alther Harris, 67, has lived in Cabrini for more than 30 years and considers it home. She moved to Cabrini's last high-rise a year ago from a building that has since been demolished. She said the series of recent moves have been "very, very stressful."
"You can't clean up right, you can't cook right, you can't eat right because you know that day is coming," said Harris, who lives with her daughter and three grandchildren. "It keeps a person's mind confused not really knowing what's coming next."

The housing agency said in a statement late Tuesday that it was "continuing to work with the remaining families" at the last building, including those who have resisted the move. Harris is being moved to a nearby public housing townhome with three bedrooms. She said it's too small for her family, but she doesn't have much choice.Former Cabrini residents also have been offered vouchers for private apartments. And housing officials said they would be able to return to the Cabrini area once the new buildings are done.

Kenneth Hammond said the townhome he was offered wasn't done being rehabbed and had boards on its door and cracked windows. The private apartment he and his family were shown looked nice during the day, but the neighborhood turned unsafe at night, he said. "What we as residents want to do is be accommodated right and leave the building with pride and dignity," Hammond said. "We just want to be treated fairly."

Brenda Lockett can sympathize with residents who don't want to leave the high-rises behind. She remembers being terrified when first told that she'd have to move, and she pledged to hold onto the building's beams as it was being demolished. But six months after moving into a townhome with her husband and three youngest children, she said she couldn't be happier. "We moved from the pit to the palace," she said. "I can live here until I get old and gray."

Subject: RE: BS: The Republicans (US)
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Dec 10 - 10:46 PM

I have the actual signed letter by all 42 Republicans here