Big Republican Donors Bypassing RNC Since Michael Steele became RNC chairman in January 2009, “a growing number of prominent GOP donors has stopped contributing to the RNC, choosing instead to direct their money to outlets such as the party’s Senatorial Committee,” the Daily Caller reports.
“According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, at least eight of the RNC’s top individual donors have declined to contribute in the past 14 months… Each of the individuals had a record of contributing thousands to the RNC in past years but since 2009 have chosen to direct their money to the NRSC, National Republican Congressional Committee or individual campaign committees.”
Hutchison Plans Big Announcement Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) has called a press conference for 11 a.m. ET in San Antonio and is expected to announce whether she will stay in the Senate for the rest of her term, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “will join her for the announcement. Cornyn confirmed on Twitter that he would be on hand but did not elaborate.”
Hutchison said last fall that she would resign her Senate seat after the March primary for governor, but it’s unlikely McConnell would be on hand if she were planning to follow through on those plans.
The Hotline reports Hutchison will serve out the final two years of her terms.
Democrats Gain in Ohio A new Quinnipiac poll finds that Democrats are having a mini-surge in Ohio and now lead in both the U.S. Senate and Governor’s races.
In the Senate race, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) leads Rob Portman (R) 41% to 37%, reversing a three point Portman lead in February. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) also edges Portman, 38% to 37%, reversing a five point Portman lead.
In the gubernatorial race, Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leading challenger John Kasich (R), 43% to 38%.
"I grew up in a profoundly Republican home so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the one we see now."
What If Fox News Actually Wants Mob Violence? Fox News talkers did their best to trivialize the illegal, terrorist threats made against elected officials, and implied they were deserved.
Fox News talkers did their best to trivialize the illegal, terrorist threats made against elected officials, and implied they were deserved.
U.S. Green Dreams Pricked By Tough International Realities I don’t know the figure myself but someone should compute how much of every federal $ committed to non-agricultural, non-nuclear renewable energy sticks inside the U.S. vs. how much leaks out to Germany, China, India, and Scandinavia. The Washington Post’s…
AIPAC Leaves Town, But Who Are These People? (Revised) Yeah, yeah, I know I’m a “self-hating Jew.” Of course, by AIPAC’s standards the assimilated Theodor Herzl, who founded Zionism, was another SHJ. But, I’m not going to focus on the implications of being a SHJ, one who has been…
DOJ Cites Powell’s Past Support For DADT To Defend The Policy In Court The New York Times reported in January that President Obama, who deeply believes banning gay men and women from serving openly in the military is “just wrong,” was finally spurred to push for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by the realization that “if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced […]
The New York Times reported in January that President Obama, who deeply believes banning gay men and women from serving openly in the military is “just wrong,” was finally spurred to push for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by the realization that “if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced to defend publicly the constitutionality of a law he had long opposed.”
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Justice Department is doing, defending the constitutionality of DADT against a lawsuit filed by the Log Cabin Republicans in 2004. This brief, submitted yesterday, notes that Congress is considering repealing the policy, but quotes “from retired Gen. Colin Powell’s statements nearly two decades ago in favor of the gays-in-the-military ban without noting that Powell has since reversed himself on the issue.” The brief also regurgitates numerous conservative talking points:
– General Colin Powell similarly testified that, “[t]o win wars, we create cohesive teams of warriors who will bond so tightly that they are prepared to go into battle and give their lives if necessary for the accomplishment of the mission and for the cohesion of the group and for their individual buddies.” Id. Congress found that unit cohesion is improved by reducing or eliminating the potential for sexual tension to distract the members of the unit, and by protecting the personal privacy of service members.
– General Powell testified that homosexual conduct in units “involves matters of privacy and human sexuality that, . . . if allowed to exist openly in the military, would affect the cohesion and well-being of the force.”…He further testified that “it would be prejudicial to good order and discipline” if the military required heterosexuals and persons who demonstrate that they do or are likely to engage in homosexual acts “to share the most private facilities together,” id. at 283, and that “[c]ohesion is strengthened or weakened in the intimate living arrangements we force upon our people.
– Among other things, Congress determined that the statute was necessary because “[t]he presence in the Armed Forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
Gen. Collin Powell officially announced his opposition to DADT back in February, noting that “attitudes and circumstances have changed.” Yet DOJ continues to cite his outdated views to justify a policy that the government is supposed to be unraveling.
All this puts Obama and repeal advocates in a strange position. It’s difficult to push for reform and push back against supporters of the policy when the federal government is using their arguments to defend it. If anything will motivate the president and his national security team to begin working directly with Congress to get repeal legislation into this year’s defense authorization bill, this is it.
Former Bush officials rip Tea Parties: They?re ?outrageous,? based on ?fear and hatred,? bad for GOP. Last night on CNN, Larry King discussed the growth of the Tea Parties and their effect on the Republican Party. While Nancy Pfotenhauer, a Republican strategist who has worked in the past for David Koch, the oil billionaire funding the top groups organizing the Tea Parties, praised the development as “phenomenal,” other Republicans were doubtful. […]
Last night on CNN, Larry King discussed the growth of the Tea Parties and their effect on the Republican Party. While Nancy Pfotenhauer, a Republican strategist who has worked in the past for David Koch, the oil billionaire funding the top groups organizing the Tea Parties, praised the development as “phenomenal,” other Republicans were doubtful. David Frum, a speech writer in the Bush White House, and Scott McClellan, the former press secretary to Bush, decried the Tea Parties for their extreme views, like seeking to abolish Social Security. McClellan explained that the Tea Parties have “limited appeal” because they are simply a “divisive protest movement” that “plays too much to people’s fears and hatred”:
FRUM: When you bring on two people on to an important show like this, and they represent themselves as leading a conservative and libertarian uprising against the president, and you say what you would really like to do, and they say, we would like to abolish Social Security, if given half a chance, is that helpful to the Republican Party? There probably aren’t even two percent of the members of the Republican Party who think that way. But that — those are the people on television. That’s not helpful. […]
MCCLELLAN: And then you also had the comments from the one Tea Party activist that was at the rally over the weekend in Searchlight, referring to President Obama as a terrorist. I mean, that’s just outrageous. You know, I think that there are probably many decent people in the Tea Party movement that have some legitimate concerns about their economic security. […]
But this is a divisive protest movement that plays too much to people’s fears and hatred. And it’s got limited appeal. I think that after the 2010 elections, you’re going to see this party or the Tea Party movement dissipate to a great degree. … It has limited influence. It really hasn’t shown itself to be a strong, powerful force, even within the Republican Party. However, it is pushing Republicans too far to the right.
Watch it:
As ThinkProgress has documented, rather than lead the Tea Parties into a responsible direction, GOP lawmakers have sought to inflame the movement with violent rhetoric, outlandish conspiracy theories, and hate towards Democrats. The Tea Parties are providing loyal protesters and campaign volunteers to Republican campaigns though, so it is unclear if the Republican Party is even capable of separating from them.
Fired RNC staffer led program to recruit young donors The Republican National Committee staff member who was fired for authorizing a nearly $2,000 payment for a night out at a bondage-themed club in California was in charge of a GOP program aimed at cultivating major donors younger than 45, Republicans familiar with the details of the case said Tuesday.
In blueprint for Haiti, U.S. takes new approach to aid An internal Obama administration assessment concludes that the U.S. government has provided $4 billion in aid to Haiti since 1990 but “struggled to demonstrate lasting impact,” according to a summary of the review, which has not been publicly released.
Tea and Mockery James Taranto, Wall Street Journal As the mainstream media's campaign against the tea-party movement has grown more vicious, Heidi Przybyla, a reporter for the Bloomberg news service, decides to take a different approach: (relatively) gentle mockery. “Tea Party Advocates Who Scorn Socialism Want a Government Job,” reads the headline of a dispatch she filed Friday, reporting on a new Bloomberg poll.There's just one problem: The headline, which Przybyla herself might or might not have written, is glaringly false. Here's what the story actually reports:Is it really possible that Przybyla or her editors…
RNC’s Expenses Fly ‘Off the Hook’ Dana Milbank, Washington Post So this must be what Michael Steele meant when he promised an "off the hook" PR campaign for the Republican National Committee. In its February financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission, the RNC itemized its disbursements for the month, including: $53.99 to Staples in Bismarck, N.D., for office supplies. $123.17 to the Courtyard hotel in Lansing, Mich., for lodging. $282.01 to Hertz in Dallas for car rental. $1,946.25 to Voyeur in West Hollywood for, uh, meals. Meals, huh? And quite a menu they have at Voyeur, according to write-ups in the Los Angeles…
The Magic Potion for the Economy Bob Herbert, New York Times With the marathon effort to overhaul the health care system behind us, it is time for the Obama administration to move quickly and powerfully to the monumental task of putting Americans back to work.Bob Herbert The just-say-no crowd will insist that we can't afford a real effort to revitalize employment, that budget deficits are too high, that the economy will recover without additional government stimulus, that the president has used up most of his political capital, and that there isn't much that government can do under any circumstances to create jobs.Meanwhile, the United States…
Tea Party Has More Women Than Men A new Quinnipiac University National Poll of the Tea Party finds that 45 percent are men and 55 percent are women. Among the other finds: 74 percent are Republicans or independent voters leaning Republican and 77 percent voted for McCain in 2008.
Red Alert: NASA Launches Toyota Probe It seems like everyone is investigating Toyota. There’s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Academy of Sciences and even the automaker itself. Why not NASA? Apparently Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was thinking the same thing. Nine NASA scientists will take time off of eating freeze dried ice cream and launching ornery septuagenarians into orbit to take a crack at Toyota’s acceleration problem. LaHood said a little prodding from Congress led to the request. —PZS Reuters: Nine NASA scientists would bring expertise in electronics, eletromagnetic interference, software integrity and complex problem solving to the Toyota review, Transportation Department officials said. LaHood has maintained that NHTSA could handle the analysis itself but said suggestions from lawmakers at congressional hearings prompted him to consider outside help. Read more
It seems like everyone is investigating Toyota. There’s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Academy of Sciences and even the automaker itself. Why not NASA? Apparently Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was thinking the same thing.
Nine NASA scientists will take time off of eating freeze dried ice cream and launching ornery septuagenarians into orbit to take a crack at Toyota’s acceleration problem.
LaHood said a little prodding from Congress led to the request.? —PZS
Reuters:
Nine NASA scientists would bring expertise in electronics, eletromagnetic interference, software integrity and complex problem solving to the Toyota review, Transportation Department officials said.
LaHood has maintained that NHTSA could handle the analysis itself but said suggestions from lawmakers at congressional hearings prompted him to consider outside help.
Steven Weber: Foxy Lady! If anything puts the lie to Palin’s and Fox’s supposedly Christian-based conservative principles it is their decidedly un-Christian approach to Anyone Who Doesn’t Agree With Them.
Richard (RJ) Eskow: The Trillion-Dollar Shadow What secrets are hidden in the Federal Reserve’s trillion-dollar shadow? Economic recovery depends on confidence, and confidence requires knowledge. But Senators like Chris Dodd and…
Several media reports have suggested President Obama is hypocritical for making recess appointments because he criticized President Bush in 2005 for bypassing the Senate when he appointed John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But Obama was not generally criticizing recess appointments; rather, he — along with at least two Republicans — specifically argued that a recess appointment for such a high-profile diplomatic position could affect the United States’ credibility and leverage in the U.N.
Obama said Bolton’s recess appointment “means that we will have less credibility” at U.N.
Obama reportedly said the U.S. will have less “credibility” because there has never been an U.N. ambassador “who couldn’t get through a nomination in the Senate.” Context of Obama’s comments shows that he was specifically arguing that the nature of Bolton’s appointment to the U.N. would damage the United States’ credibility, and that we would “ironically be less equipped to reform the United Nations.” From an August 2, 2005, The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois) article (accessed via Nexis):
Obama, who also participated in the news conference, called the appointment “a mistake.”
“To some degree, he’s damaged goods,” Obama said of Bolton. “Not in the history of United Nations representatives have we ever had a recess appointment, somebody who couldn’t get through a nomination in the Senate. And I think that that means that we will have less credibility and ironically be less equipped to reform the United Nations in the way that it needs to be reformed.”
Obama said Bolton has “a lot of ideological baggage,” and having a short-term appointee at the United Nations means the United States will have less leverage to carry out reforms.
Parts of the United Nations, including peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts, are “terrifically efficient operations,” Obama said. But other areas are “run like a patronage operation.”
In a recent visit to the United Nations, Obama said he was “struck by the degree to which people didn’t have a lot of confidence in John Bolton.”
“I think he’s a very bright man,” Obama said. “I think he’s somebody who could have served the United States ably in another position. But he’s not a diplomat.”
Voinovich, Lott also criticized Bolton’s recess appointment
Voinovich reportedly made comments similar to Obama’s about Bolton’s recess appointment potentially harming his “credibility with the United Nations.” An August 2, 2005, Chicago Tribune article reported: “Republicans, who have cast Mr. [National Labor Relations Board nominee Craig] Becker as a pro-labor radical, issued a flurry of angry statements. They wasted little time in reminding reporters that when George W. Bush was president, then-Senator Obama had railed against the recess appointment of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, saying that Mr. Bolton would be ‘damaged goods’ and lacked credibility without Senate confirmation.”
Days After Lambasting GOP, Frum Leaves AEI David Frum, the conservative pundit and former Bush White House speechwriter, has left his longtime perch at the American Enterprise Institute — with some observers wondering whether the move was triggered by his recent criticism of the GOP.
NV Gov To AG: C’Mon, Get Us In On That Health-Care Lawsuit Nevada governor Jim Gibbons — running for re-election despite damaging revelations about his personal life — is pushing the state’s attorney general to join the lawsuit against health-care reform.
Kansas political parties decide before each primary whether the primary will be open to voters who are not affiliated with any political party. This survey includes unaffiliated voters who make up 14% of the electorate.
The primary is in four months.
Ohio Senate Race Still in Flux A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds Lee Fisher (D) leads Jennifer Brunner (D), 33% to 26%, among likely voters in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, but 40% are still undecided and 65% of those who back a candidate say they might change their mind.
Pollster Peter Brown: “Fisher is ahead as the candidates enter the home stretch, but the lead is not that large and the size of the undecided vote with a relatively short period until primary election day underscores the potential volatility of the contest. Fisher’s lead shouldn’t be all that surprising since he has been active in statewide politics for going on two decades and is better known than Brunner.”
Rob Portman (R) is running unopposed for the Republican nomination. The primary is on May 4.
The Modern-day Slavery Museum will not poach visitors from Disneyworld, that's for sure. But it will serve as a forceful reminder that slavery is far from extinct.
If you think the Universe is so perfectly fine-tuned to allow life to come into being so therefore life must have been created this way on purpose — think again.
Naomi Wolf, author of 'End of America,' talks about why she has become an improbable Tea Party darling, and if progressives can learn from the conservative activists.
How Marijuana Can Fix California Far from being a war between hippies and police, the fight to legalize marijuana in California centers on whether decriminalizing cannabis can help fill the state’s fiscal hole.
Far from being a war between hippies and police, the fight to legalize marijuana in California centers on whether decriminalizing cannabis can help fill the state's fiscal hole.
David Frum Purged The American Enterprise Institute is where the Conservative Counter-revolution was born. It is still the Politburo of Right Wing Republican politics with it’s huge budget financed by corporate America. And they don’t like dissidents within their halls. And so when…
Happy Passover from Gaza In 2010, Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate Passover beginning on March 30th. Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorating the ancient Hebrews’ escape from enslavement in Egypt. (In Israel, March…
RNC spent $1946.25 at sex-themed nightclub Voyeur West Hollywood. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele evidently does not share the right’s disdain for Hollywood, a commitment to conservative spending practices, or discomfort with sexuality outside of traditional marriage. The Daily Caller reports that “FEC filings suggest Steele travels in style”: Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip […]
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele evidently does not share the right’s disdain for Hollywood, a commitment to conservative spending practices, or discomfort with sexuality outside of traditional marriage. The Daily Caller reports that “FEC filings suggest Steele travels in style”:
Once on the ground, FEC filings suggest, Steele travels in style. A February RNC trip to California, for example, included a $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel, $6,596 dropped at the nearby Four Seasons, and $1,620.71 spent [update: the amount is actually $1,946.25] at Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex.
“There are topless ‘dancers’ acting out S&M scenes throughout the night on one of the side stages,” a rave review of Voyeur on Yelp.com describes. “There’s a half-naked girl hanging from a net across the ceiling and at one point I walked to the bathroom and pretty much just stopped dead in my tracks to watch two girls simulating oral sex in a glass case.” Although Steele’s high-flying ways have angered GOP donors, RNC communications director Doug Heye explains, “It takes money to make money.” (HT Oliver Willis)
Pennsylvania man arrested for alleged threats to kill Rep. Cantor A Philadelphia man was charged Monday with threatening to kill Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his family in the first such arrest since an outbreak of harassment and vandalism began against members of Congress more than a week ago.
Obama shifts focus from foreign populations to leaders President Obama traveled halfway around the world last weekend to lecture his mercurial Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, about the need to fight corruption in his government.
Under shadow of 1957, Arkansas stays out of health-care fight LITTLE ROCK — As 14 states move forward with a lawsuit to block President Obama’s new health-care law, calling it an unconstitutional infringement on state sovereignty, Arkansas is nowhere to be found.
Dozens Dead in Moscow Train Bombings At least 36 people have been killed by two suicide bombings which hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, Russian officials said. The first blast went off in the Lubyanka station at 7:56 a.m., killing 14 inside a train and 11 on the platform. The second explosion occurred 40 minutes later at the Park Kultury station, where 12 people were killed.
The New York Times reported in January that President Obama, who deeply believes banning gay men and women from serving openly in the military is “just wrong,” was finally spurred to push for repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by the realization that “if he did not change the policy, his administration 
Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele evidently does not share the