Raw Footage of Moscow Subway Attack
Video is starting to pour in of the aftermath of the two alleged suicide bombings that struck Moscow commuters.
Video is starting to pour in of the aftermath of the two alleged suicide bombings that struck Moscow commuters.
Caroline Myss: Are Republican Right Wingers Homeland Security Threats?
The Republican right-wingers are dangerous. They should be considered homeland and homegrown security threats and we are their targets.
Senate Guru: Fundraising Quarter Ends in THREE Days!
{First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate Guru.} As we continue to celebrate the historic vote on health care reform (and continue to lament…
Shirley Nelson: Democracy on Trial: My View on SEIU’s Lawsuit Against Our Union
It is clear that SEIU’s lawyers understand, and want to hide from the jury, that the vast majority of the members of our union disagreed with Andy Stern.
Andrew Reinbach: The Tie-Dyed Tea Party
As the Tea Party drives the GOP farther to the right, recent outbursts will be seen as the impotent rage of a rump GOP, rejected by the American people — the same impulse that elected so many Democrats in 2008.
RNC chair Steele promotes Hannity’s book after years of Hannity campaigning for Steele
In a recent email sent out by the Republican National Committee, RNC chairman Michael Steele promoted Sean Hannity’s latest book, Conservative Victory, telling recipients, “I cannot recommend it enough.” Hannity himself has a long history of using his media perch at Fox News to promote Steele’s political career.
Steele: “Sean’s words left me energized for November.” In a March 28 entry to Washington Monthly’s Political Animal blog, Steve Benen wrote:
Former Bush speechwriter David Frum, recently fired from AEI for telling Republicans what they didn’t want to hear, noted the other day, “Republicans originally thought that Fox [News] worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox.”
I thought of this quote when I saw the latest email sent to Republicans this morning by the Republican National Committee. This is the body of the message in its entirety. (thanks to reader C.R.)
Dear XXXX,
I wanted to let you know that I just finished reading Sean Hannity’s new book, Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda. As they so often do, Sean’s words left me energized for November and even more committed to making the gains necessary to bring the Obama agenda to a halt.
In the book, Sean does more than just tell us why we need to defeat the Obama Agenda. He also gives us a blueprint for getting it done. I cannot recommend it enough — and I’m confident that, like me, you will be ready for the upcoming elections with a renewed commitment.
Sincerely,
Michael Steele
Chairman, Republican National Committee
Just to be clear, this wasn’t a personal endorsement from Steele. The email was sent to Republican donors, through the RNC, as part of an official RNC message. The email notes that it was “paid for by the Republican National Committee.”
Isn’t this a little odd? The RNC is using its list to urge Republicans to buy a book from an independent media personality?
I’ve seen appeals that tell donors if they pony up a few bucks, they can get a book as a premium, but that’s not what this is. Indeed, Steele’s message doesn’t even ask for a donation for the party. Rather, the RNC simply wants Republicans to go buy a Fox News host’s book.
When it comes to the network and the party, it appears one is an adjunct of the other, though the roles are less than clear.
Hannity endorsed Steele’s run for RNC chairman: “I think you’re the person for the job.” During an interview with Steele on the November 13, 2008, edition of Hannity & Colmes [accessed via Nexis], Hannity said that he was “supporting” Steele’s candidacy for RNC chairman, adding, “I think you have the vision.” Hannity went on to say: “Michael, whatever I can do to help you, I think you’re the person for the job.” After Steele was elected RNC chairman on January 30, 2009, he appeared on Hannity’s Fox News program in what Hannity touted as Steele’s “first interview since becoming the head of the Republican Party.”
In 2006 run for Senate, Hannity praised Steele’s “incredible” campaign and “positive” message. In 2006, Steele ran for U.S. Senate in Maryland against Democrat Ben Cardin. During an interview with Steele on the November 3, 2006, edition of Hannity & Colmes [accessed via Nexis], prior to the election, Hannity said to Steele: “I’ve watched this race really closely. And you have run a really incredible campaign. Very positive, on message, more than anybody else that I’ve heard of.” Hannity also said he was “bothered” by how Steele had been “treated” during the campaign.
Hannity hosted Steele to promote his book. The January 4 edition of Hannity featured an interview with Steele and “an exclusive first look at” Steele’s book, Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda, and its “12 crucial steps that he thinks can defeat the Obama agenda.” Steele said that Republican “candidates that are looking to run have to be — have to be anchored in these principles,” to which Hannity replied, “I’m agreeing with what you’re saying.”
Hannity provided platform for Steele to defend himself during feud with Rush Limbaugh. On the February 28, 2009, edition of CNN’s D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, Steele responded to Limbaugh’s comment that he wanted Obama to “fail” by saying: “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment. Yes, he has this incendiary — yes, it’s ugly.” On the March 3, 2009, edition of Hannity, Hannity noted Steele’s apology to Limbaugh: “[Steele] said he misspoke; that was not what he meant, that Rush has been a force for great conservative values over the years. And apparently they spoke, and they’re good.” On the March 4, 2009, broadcast of his Fox News show, Hannity interviewed Steele, who said of his Limbaugh comments, “If you go back and listen to that exchange, there was no attack on Rush.”
Steele has guest-hosted for Hannity. According a search of the Nexis database, Steele was a guest host on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes on July 2, 2008, October 10, 2008, and November 21, 2008.
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.
Angry Perriello: Boehner’s Statement On Threats Was ‘Outrageous’ (VIDEO)
Following the incident in which someone cut a gas line at his brother’s home — whose address had been posted online by tea partiers — Rep. Tom Periello (D-VA) says he isn’t satisfied with a statement from Minority Leader John Boehner on threats against Democrats.
MAP: A Guide To Recent Vandal Attacks On Democrats
Smashed windows. Threats of violence. A slashed gas line. Reports of vandalism and threats against Democrats have been stacking up over the past few days. So just how bad is it out there?
The Dying of the Right: Frum Fired For Telling the Truth
“Republicans originally thought that Fox [News] worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox.” – David Frum on Nightline, March 22, 2010, blowing Fox’s whole ‘fair and balanced’ mumbo-jumbo, as quoted by Media Matters. “Waterloo” – David Frum, Frum Forum, March 21, 2010 “David Frum: “What the Hell is Going On at Fox News?” – […]
Steele Considered Buying Private Plane
Two knowledgeable sources tell the Daily Caller that RNC chairman Michael Steele “once raised the possibility of using party money to buy a private jet for his travel.”
“While Steele has not purchased a plane, he continues to charter them. According to federal disclosure records, the RNC spent $17,514 on private aircraft in the month of February alone (as well as $12,691 on limousines during the same period). There are no readily identifiable private plane expenses for Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine in the DNC’s last three months of filings.”
Democrats Stable After Health Care Push
“After steering the landmark health-care reform bill through Congress, the Democratic Party’s leaders have emerged mostly unscathed,” according to a new Washington Post poll, “but they have not received a notable boost in approval ratings.”
“Shifts among core constituencies suggest that President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) may have reaped some benefit from the legislation’s passage, but the public’s take on the Democratic Party has not budged, and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV)) appears to be losing popularity. None of the central players in passing health-care reform appears to be winning favor with the bill’s opponents.”
Raise Someone Else’s Taxes
A new Quinnipiac poll finds that although 84% of Americans say the middle class will have to make financial sacrifices to reduce the federal budget deficit, more than three quarters of them oppose raising income taxes on the middle class or limiting the growth of Social Security and Medicare.
Did Iraq Just Elect a Mass-Murderer?
The charge that Ayad Allawi committed a heinous crime was widely reported outside the United States, but our media killed it.
The charge that Ayad Allawi committed a heinous crime was widely reported outside the United States, but our media killed it.
The Growing Movement for Publicly Owned Banks
We the people have given away our sovereign money-creating power to private, for-profit lending institutions Some states are moving to take that power back.
We the people have given away our sovereign money-creating power to private, for-profit lending institutions Some states are moving to take that power back.
How Liberalism Almost Killed the Chance for Real, Progressive Change
Without progressivism, liberalism turns the Treasury into an unlimited gift card for whichever private interests are being sponsored.
Without progressivism, liberalism turns the Treasury into an unlimited gift card for whichever private interests are being sponsored.
Obama Packs Debt Commission with Social Security Looters
Obama has filled his new ‘debt commission’ with Wall Street insiders determined to gut Social Security.
Obama has filled his new 'debt commission' with Wall Street insiders determined to gut Social Security.
Do Republicans Really Have a Shot at Crippling Obama’s Health Care Reform with a Constitutional Challenge?
Fourteen state attorney generals are suing the federal government, charging it with a power-grabbing violation of the 10th Amendment. Can it possibly work?
Fourteen state attorney generals are suing the federal government, charging it with a power-grabbing violation of the 10th Amendment. Can it possibly work?
Fox University
Thomas Jefferson stated an essential truth of democracy when he said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” So what are we to think…
Thomas Jefferson – United States – Democracy – Glenn Beck – Tea Party
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…
United States – China – Washington Post – Renewable energy – Germany
Rubio Admits Repealing Health Care Isn?t Realistic, But Says GOP Should Campaign On It Anyway
The extreme right-wing of the Republican Party, supported by the Tea Party movement, is pushing to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act. “We are putting the marker down now,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) told Tea Party activists last week. “We are going to continue to fight to repeal this thing and we’re filing it tomorrow.” Marco […]
The extreme right-wing of the Republican Party, supported by the Tea Party movement, is pushing to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act. “We are putting the marker down now,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) told Tea Party activists last week. “We are going to continue to fight to repeal this thing and we’re filing it tomorrow.”
Marco Rubio, who is running against Gov. Charlie Crist in the Republican primary for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat, has also said that he supports repeal. Last week, he launched a petition on his site, saying that he pledges “to undo this legislation and start over with common sense health care reforms.” He even has a whole page devoted to “Repeal It” on his campaign site.
Today in a debate on Fox News Sunday with Crist, Rubio, however, admitted that the repeal campaign isn’t realistic until Republicans “win a few elections”:
WALLACE: Mr. Rubio, now that the health care reform bill is law, would you, if you go to Washington, work to repeal it? How would you do it given the fact that Barack Obama will still be president and could veto a repeal? […]
RUBIO: I think the first step is to repeal it. We need to win a few elections before we can get there. But we certainly need to start campaigning and talking about it.
Watch it:
Other Republicans have also come out and acknowledged that the repeal movement is little more than political gamesmanship:
– Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ): “Our view is that we should repeal and replace the bill with the solutions that we think actually work. Obviously, the president will not sign a repeal bill that the Congress passes, so that’s more of a symbol. … Barack Obama is president. He would never sign a repeal law. We don’t have the votes to get it passed right now. We’re not going to waste our time on that.”
– Newt Gingrich: “What you have to do is be politically honest. If the Republicans win a majority in the House and Senate next year, they will not be able to repeal the bill. The president would veto it.”
Repealing the entire Affordable Care Act would mean re-instituting denials of coverage based on preexisting conditions and rescinding coverage for millions. Even some Republicans like Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA) have said that they do not want to repeal everything in the bill. Rubio, however, signed a pledge to repeal health care reform before it even became law. “There are no shortage of statements made by Marco stressing his belief that the plan should have been scrapped months ago, and now that it has become law, should be repealed,” said his campaign last week. More on the GOP repeal campaign in The Progress Report.
Transcript:
WALLACE: Mr. Rubio, now that the health care reform bill is law, would you, if you go to Washington, work to repeal it? How would you do it given the fact that Barack Obama will still be president and could veto a repeal? And I want to ask you about an article you wrote last December. Let’s put it up on the screen: “Any solution should ultimately seek to promote a vibrant private market where individuals can buy health insurance the way we buy auto insurance — independent of our employer, with the kind of flexibility and coverage we need, and at affordable prices.
Mr. Rubio, would you move away from an employer-based health insurer system?
RUBIO: Well, it’s not moving away, it’s about providing an alternative to it. Let me first tell you about the bill. There are so many things wrong with the bill, we don’t have enough time —
WALLACE: Talking about the –
RUBIO: In the health care bill. We don’t have enough time to talk about it, whether it’s tricky accounting or other. But here’s the main thing: We can’t afford it. The bill, when the true numbers are applied to it, add to the debt and bring us closer to insolvency as a nation. We have to move away from it.
The solutions are like those outlined in the article you pointed to a moment ago. It’s about allowing individuals to have the same tax benefits that the employers get when they try to buy insurance from the marketplace. It’s about allowing small businesses to pool together to buy insurance coverage, and to do so across state lines. It’s about tort reform. It’s about lawsuit abuse reform to help lower the cost of health insurance. These are the reforms we should be working on.
I think the first step is to repeal it. We need to win a few elections before we can get there. But we certainly need to start campaigning and talking about it.
Afghan corruption: How to follow the money?
Hamed Wardak, the soft-spoken Georgetown University-educated son of an Afghan cabinet minister, has a Defense Department contract worth up to $360 million to transport U.S. military goods through some of the most insecure territory in Afghanistan. But his company has no trucks.
Health-care overhaul leaves Democrats in stable condition
After steering the landmark health-care reform bill through Congress, the Democratic Party’s leaders have emerged mostly unscathed, according to a new Washington Post poll, but they have not received a notable boost in approval ratings.
Congressman finds political vitriol follows him home to Ohio
Rep. Steve Driehaus spent the first Sunday of his two-week break from Washington this way: He made breakfast for his wife and kids, took his son to his mother’s house and bought the boy a bicycle while his wife and daughters went shopping.
Time’s Up for ‘24’
Friday marked a sad day for American exceptionalism. Jack Bauer, the heart-throbby, knows-no-rules lead character in “24,” will no longer appear on TV. Fox announced its decision to cancel the series at the end of its current, eighth season. But fear not, torture fans: Producers are looking to turn “24” into a feature film. —JCL Reuters: The Fox TV network on Friday stopped the clock on its action adventure series “24,” ending one of its most successful dramas as ratings began to slip in its current, eighth season. The final, two-hour program will air on May 24, and in the countdown to that last show, the network will air 11 hours of uninterrupted episodes on Monday nights. “This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible,” the show’s star, Kiefer Sutherland, said in a statement. “Looking ahead to the future, (executive producer) Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of ‘24’,” Sutherland added. Read more
Friday marked a sad day for American exceptionalism. Jack Bauer, the heart-throbby, knows-no-rules lead character in “24,” will no longer appear on TV. Fox announced its decision to cancel the series at the end of its current, eighth season. But fear not, torture fans: Producers are looking to turn “24” into a feature film. —JCL
Reuters:
The Fox TV network on Friday stopped the clock on its action adventure series “24,” ending one of its most successful dramas as ratings began to slip in its current, eighth season.
The final, two-hour program will air on May 24, and in the countdown to that last show, the network will air 11 hours of uninterrupted episodes on Monday nights.
“This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible,” the show’s star, Kiefer Sutherland, said in a statement.
“Looking ahead to the future, (executive producer) Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of ‘24’,” Sutherland added.
Barbara Bush Hospitalized
HOUSTON — Former first lady Barbara Bush was hospitalized Saturday in Houston to undergo routine tests but doctors don’t suspect anything serious, a family spokeswoman…
Obama Recess Appointments: 5 More He Should Make (Vote For Your Favorites)
President Obama on Saturday made 15 recess appointments, using his power to unilaterally install top officials in his government when the Senate isn’t in session….
Obama’s Recess Appointments: GOPers Raging Now, Welcomed Process Under Bush
President Obama’s decision to bypass the vacationing Senate and directly appoint 15 nominees has produced some expected cries of outrage from Republicans. Sen. John McCain…
Four More Banks SHUT DOWN, Expected Losses Total $320 MILLION
WASHINGTON — Regulators on Friday shut down two Georgia banks and one each in Florida and Arizona, bringing to 41 the number of bank failures…
“Conservative Woodstock?” Fox News’ all-day promotion of anti-Reid tea party rally
On March 27, Fox News continued its political activism by aggressively promoting that day’s Tea Party Express rally, which targeted for defeat Sen. Harry Reid and other members of Congress who support health care reform. The rally was sponsored by a political action committee run by Republican consultants and headlined by Fox News contributor Sarah Palin, whose speech Fox broadcast live.
Tea Party Express wants to “Vote Them Out,’ “tak[e] our country back.” TeaPartyExpress.org provides the following “message” for “The Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out! Tour”: “You, the politicians in Washington, have failed We The People with your bailouts, out-of-control deficit spending, government takeovers of sectors of the economy, Cap & Trade, government-run health care, and higher taxes! If you thought we were just going to quietly go away, or that this tea party movement would be just a passing fad, you were mistaken. We’re taking our country back!”
Tour will “highlight some of the worst offenders in Congress.” According to its website:
The Tea Party Express national bus tour will host a series of tea party rallies all across the nation, launching from Sen. Harry Reid’s hometown of Searchlight, NV on March 27th and concluding in Washington, D.C. on Tax Day – April 15th.
At each stop the tour will highlight some of the worst offenders in Congress who have voted for higher spending, higher taxes, and government intervention in the lives of American families and businesses. These Members of Congress have infringed upon the freedom of the individual in this great nation, and its time for us to say: “Enough is Enough!”
Tour kicks off with “Showdown in Searchlight” targeting Reid.” TeaPartyExpress.org bills the March 27 rally as the “Showdown in Searchlight” with “[o]ur first target: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – he’s got to go!” A promotional video for the “Mega Rally” states that “you’re invited to help us kick Harry out of the Senate and send him back home for an early retirement.”
Tour is “all about” ensuring that members of Congress who support health care reform lose their seats. In a March 20 post to the Tea Party Express blog, “TPX Admin” wrote of health care reform legislation, “If they defy the American people, defy our Constitution, and push this bill through, then we will make sure they lose their seats in Congress. That is exactly what the ‘Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out‘ national tour and the ‘Showdown in Searchlight‘ are all about.”
Fox & Friends promotes “huge day for the tea party” as they begin “getting ready to rumble.” On Fox & Friends Saturday, co-host Clayton Morris said it was a “huge day for the tea party… they’re firing up, filling up the tanks with gas, 23 states getting ready to rumble.”
On Fox, “all eyes on Searchlight, Nevada today” for kick-off of Tea Party Express III. On Fox & Friends Saturday, co-host Dave Briggs reported that “thousands of tea partiers are descending on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s hometown,” adding that “they’re kicking off a massive new tour across the country to protest against Democrats who voted for health care reform.” During the segment, radio host Michael Graham — who is listed as a special guest for the April 14 Tea Party Express rally in Boston — said that the tea partiers are “fighting for fundamental American values, and they are not going to quit.” Briggs concluded the segment by stating “all eyes on Searchlight, Nevada today.”
Fox & Friends hosts “one of the keynote speakers” to discuss “the message” of the rally. Fox & Friends Saturday hosted radio host Jerry Doyle, “one of the keynote speakers today,” and asked him to discuss “the message” of the rally.
Cavuto previews Fox News’ coverage priority for the day. During his health care special Final Diagnosis, Neil Cavuto said of Fox’s tea party coverage, “We’re going to be going back and forth to Nevada for something that doesn’t take place for another five hours.”
Cavuto on protestors: “God bless these folks.” During Final Diagnosis, showing footage of tea party protestors gathering for the rally “four and a half hours from now,” Cavuto commented, “I don’t do that for anything. Well, maybe a Cinnabon opening.” He concluded: “God bless these folks.”
Fox’s Stegall on rally: “This is going to be a big day.” During Final Diagnosis, Cavuto stated that Fox News would be covering live Fox News contributor Sarah Palin’s speech at the rally. Cavuto and Fox News’ Casey Stegall, who was on location in Searchlight, discussed how “quite a crowd” had gathered hours before the rally. Stegall said that the rally was targeting Reid, adding that “no doubt a lot of people are calling for his resignation, a lot of people not only in Nevada but across the rest of the country, for that matter, not happy with Harry Reid.” Stegall concluded that “this is going to be a big day.”
Stegall: There is “a real energy that you feel from” the protestors. During Final Diagnosis, Cavuto said that the tea party protestors are “just warming up” in Searchlight, adding that there was a “pretty impressive group thus far.” In a subsequent report, Stegall said that there is “a real energy that you feel from the people who are out here.” Stegall added that “a lot of folks in this country are very upset, and they are not happy about what went down in Washington last Sunday with the passage of this health care bill.” He added that “this is a very grassroots campaign.”
Cavuto hosts Quayle who calls protest the “silent majority” becoming “silent no more.” On Final Diagnosis, Cavuto conducted a phone interview with former Vice President Dan Quayle, who said of the protestors that there had been a “radical expansion of government, and god bless these folks, they’re trying to take things into their own hands.” Quayle also said that “instead of being part of what Richard Nixon used to call that silent majority, they’re silent no more.”
Fox News asks if rally is “Conservative Woodstock.” Shannon Bream opened the noon ET hour of America’s News HQ by stating of the rally, “Organizers are hoping it will be a conservative Woodstock as thousands of tea party activists converge on Harry Reid’s small town of Searchlight, Nevada.” Bream also aired the following graphic:
During the following segment, Stegall said that the Tea Party Express was “taking this town by storm.”
Bream: “How appropriate” that Tea Party Express tour concludes on “Tax Day.” In a live update on America’s News HQ, Stegall said that “this event is the most action Searchlight has perhaps seen ever,” adding that “people from all over the country have converged on this dusty field in the desert to have their voices heard.” After Stegall noted that the bus tour concludes on April 15, “Tax Day,” Bream commented, “How appropriate.”
Palin listed as event’s “Keynote Speaker.” TeaPartyExpress.org lists Palin as the “Keynote Speaker” for the March 27 rally.
Fox News breathlessly “Awaiting Sarah Palin’s Arrival At Nevada Tea Party Rally.” Teasing coverage of the rally at the top of the 3 p.m. ET hour of America’s News HQ, host Rick Folbaum and Jamie Colby agreed that it would be a “very busy hour,” with Folbaum stating that “Palin is expected to take the stage at the bottom of this hour, and we will bring it to you live.” During the segment, the following caption aired:
Folbaum: “How far could today’s rally go to stamping the Tea Party as a dominant political force in America?” On America’s News HQ, Folbaum preceded Palin’s rally speech by asking “how far could today’s rally go to stamping the Tea Party as a dominant political force in America, and how real is the Palin effect?” Folbaum also stated that “these tea party folks have been very tough on a lot of Republicans out there, but they love Sarah Palin, don’t they?”
Fox airs Palin’s speech in its entirety. Fox News aired Palin’s entire Searchlight speech. During her remarks, Palin attacked the “lamestream media” for their “lies” about conservatives “inciting violence,” offered an explanation for her prior comment that conservatives should “RELOAD!” not “Retreat,” and repeatedly attacked Reid.
Stegall: Crowd “went wild,” “nuts” at “rock star” Palin’s speech. On the 4 p.m. ET hour of America’s News HQ, co-host Gregg Jarrett called the rally “the Tea Party flexing its muscles.” Reporting on Palin’s speech, Stegall explained the Palin comments for which the crowd “really went wild” and “really went nuts.” Stegall called Palin “the rock star here,” and said that Palin was “no doubt very, very big, she was the big draw of this event.” He concluded that Palin’s speech was “why more than 10,000 people have converged on this tiny town, her message very well-received.”
Tea Party Express run by Republican PAC. The Associated Press reported in October 2008 that Our Country Deserves Better PAC, which launched the Tea Party Express and is the national sponsor of Tea Party Express III, “was formed in August [2008] by California political consultant Sal Russo and former California Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian.” As their OCDB biographies note, Russo is a veteran Republican consultant and Kaloogian served as a Republican.
OCDB’s mission is to oppose Obama and “Democratic Congress.” On its “About Us” page, OCDB states that “we must stand up to Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress.” The PAC also solicits contributions by stating, “Help us fight the Democratic Congress!” NPR reported on September 26, 2008, that OCDB’s website then said “it has one objective: to defeat Obama.” During the 2008 campaign, the PAC hosted ”patriotic, pro-McCain/Palin rallies” to “Stop Obama.”
OCDB campaigns against “Pelosi Democrats.” As part of their effort to “Defeat Pelosi Democrats,” OCDB “campaign[ed]” “on behalf of” Republican New York congressional candidate Jim Tedisco in March by “broadcasting television and radio advertisements. … Total ad buy is expected to reach well into the hundreds of thousands by Election Day.”
OCDB campaigns to “Defeat Harry Reid.” OCBD has initiated a campaign against Reid and is urging people to make contributions to “purchase airtime for our ‘Defeat Harry Reid’ TV and radio ads.”
TPM: Majority of OCDB spending in recent reporting period “went to GOP firm that created it.”On December 28, 2009, Zachary Roth reported for Talking Points memo that “[t]he political action committee behind the Tea Party Express (TPE) — which already has been slammed as inauthentic and corporate-controlled by rival factions in the Tea Party movement — directed almost two thirds of its spending during a recent reporting period back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place.” Roth further wrote:
Our Country Deserves Better (OCDB) spent around $1.33 million from July through November, according to FEC filings examined by TPMmuckraker. Of that sum, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo, Marsh, and Associates, or people associated with it.
OCDB, which built the Tea Party Express, is essentially a Russo, Marsh creation, as we’ve detailed. The PAC’s site was registered in July 2008 by Sal Russo, the firm’s founder. That site also lists Russo as the PAC’s “chief strategist.” Tea Party Express fundraising emails, sent by OCDB and obtained by TPMmuckraker, come from another Russo, Marsh employee, Joe Wierzbicki.
Express chairman Williams a birther with history of calling progressives “Nazis.” Mark Williams, the chairman of Tea Party Express, has previously called President Obama and Jimmy Carter “Nazis”; has advanced the discredited smear that Obama lacks a valid birth certificate and referred to him as “Our Half White, Racist President;” and has stated that “people have made up their minds … that if we vote Democrat, that just hastens the day we disappear in a nuclear holocaust.”
Fox News has aggressively promoted the Tea Party Express tours. Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Nation, and FoxNews.com have promoted the tours, going so far as to cheerlead for the protests and advertise the tea party schedule so viewers “can be a part” of the events. Indeed, a Fox News producer was even caught coaching a crowd to cheer during a stop of the Tea Party Express.
In turn, the organizers of Tea Party Express have used Fox’s coverage for fundraising. The OCDB PAC used Fox News’ coverage of its Tea Party Express to fundraise in a July 29, 2009, email.
Fox News promoted April 15 tea parties. In the lead-up to the April 15, 2009, tea parties, which the channel repeatedly described as “FNC Tax Day Tea Parties,” Fox News frequently aired segments publicizing and encouraging viewers to get involved with the protests. A Media Matters for America study found that from April 6 to 13, Fox News featured at least 20 segments on the “tea party” protests. A subsequent Media Matters study found that from April 6 to 15, Fox News aired at least 107 commercial promotions for its coverage of the April 15 tea parties.
Fox News promoted health care disruptions. Fox News promoted disruptions of Democratic town hall events by protesters opposed to health care reform — protests that are being touted by Republican leaders and supported by conservative groups. Following the August 2 disruption of a town hall event hosted by Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Fox News personalities repeatedly lauded such protesters and urged viewers to take similar action.
Fox News promoted 9-12 protests. In the lead-up to the 9-12 protest, Beck’s website worked with others organizing the September 12 “March on Washington” and he repeatedly encouraged viewers to attend the protest. Fox News also heavily promoted the Tea Party Express tour – the final stop of which was the 9-12 protest — on Fox News, Fox Business, the Fox Nation, and FoxNews.com.
In Wake of Citizens United, Another Campaign-Finance Reg. Bites The Dust
There was bad news and good news — which could turn into bad news — for backers of efforts to reduce the role of money in politics today.
Feeling The Heat, Tea Partiers Denounce Violence
Tea Partiers and others on the right are starting to distance themselves from the recent spate of violence and racism that has characterized the opposition to health-care reform.
PATRIOT Act may be used against tea party
Excerpt: According to Douglas J. Hagmann, writing for Northeast Intelligence Network, a “federal intelligence source” revealed that “high-level discussions between top lawmakers and agency heads are ‘exploring the application of the Patriot Act against any right-wing individual or group that poses a danger to government operations.’” Whether or not Congress people were subjected to taunting and racial […]
15-Minutes Are Up: National Minuteman Border Group Disbands
After a five-year run, the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps is calling it quits, their president announced this week.
After a five-year run, the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps is calling it quits, their president announced this week.
AIPAC Agonistes
I confess feeling a twinge of pathos when I heard on Reshet Bet radio this morning how Benjamin Netanyahu told his AIPAC audience in Washington that the Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3000 years ago, would continue doing so today,…
Benjamin Netanyahu – Israel – East Jerusalem – Middle East – United States
Fox University
Thomas Jefferson stated an essential truth of democracy when he said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” So what are we to think…
Thomas Jefferson – United States – Democracy – Glenn Beck – Tea Party
Romney Struggles To Distance RomneyCare From ObamaCare: Ours Was ?Bipartisan?
Throughout the health care debate, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has had to do a delicate political dance. The legislation that Congress ultimately passed and that President Obama signed into law closely mirrors the health care reform measure Massachusetts passed when Mitt Romney was governor in 2006. Thus, Romney has had to embrace his plan […]
Throughout the health care debate, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has had to do a delicate political dance. The legislation that Congress ultimately passed and that President Obama signed into law closely mirrors the health care reform measure Massachusetts passed when Mitt Romney was governor in 2006. Thus, Romney has had to embrace his plan while at the same time, attacking Obama’s in an effort to appease the GOP and the conservative base, who adamantly oppose it.
However, the similarities between the bills Romney and Obama signed into law coupled with the current staunch GOP opposition are proving to be difficult gaps to bridge for the former governor.
Particularly troubling for Romney is the mandate to buy insurance in both reform measures. Republicans believe the individual mandate in the bill Obama signed is unconstitutional and stands as the raison d’etre for their efforts to repeal the bill. But Romney said in 2008, “I like mandates. The mandates work.” Now, it’s unclear where Romney stands on the federal mandate, and he won’t say whether it is constitutional, even though it is core principle of the health care reform bill he signed.
At the same time, Romney tries to embrace the bill he passed. “I think our plan is working well. And perhaps the best thing I can say about it, it’s saving lives. It is the ultimate pro-life effort,” Romney said this month, even though the Massachusetts plan covers abortions. During a book tour stop this week, Romney struggled to explain any substantive differences between the two plans:
“I like what we have in Massachusetts, despite some flaws,” Romney said. “But what I see in Obamacare is a very different piece of legislation — and one that followed a very different track. In our case, our bill was carried out in a bipartisan basis.”
Romney is exactly right. The only real difference between Obama’s bill and his is that Massachusetts Democrats worked with their Republican governor Romney to pass their bill. Congressional Republicans, however, refused to cooperate with the President.
Tufts University professor Jeffrey Berry noted that the mandates and penalties in both plans are “anathema to mainstream Republicanism” adding that “both involve a significant expansion of government. So, on all those counts, Mitt Romney is vulnerable.” Indeed, as the AP noted, “Mitt Romney has a problem with Obamacare. It looks a lot like Romneycare.”
Midterms pose major challenge for Obama’s grass-roots political organization
TUCSON — President Obama’s strategy for helping Democrats win the midterm elections was in full view at a former dance studio here more than a week ago as rotating teams of volunteers made thousands of calls about health care to residents of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
Ex-TSA pick Harding’s firm got Army deal after he cited sleep apnea disability
The firm owned by the decorated general who withdrew his nomination to lead the Transportation Security Administration had received a consulting contract worth almost $100 million from the Army after certifying he was a “service disabled veteran,” according to documents and interviews with government officials.
McCain understudy Sarah Palin is now the star
John McCain and Sarah Palin were back together again Friday. His presidential campaign was floundering when he first reached out to her. Now, facing a challenge from within his party as he seeks reelection to the Senate, McCain has turned to her again to help bail him out. But what a difference.
Obama uses recess appointments to fill 15 posts
An emboldened President Obama filled 15 key administration posts Saturday by bypassing the Senate, defying the GOP as he announced his first recess appointments since taking office.
Obama’s Mideast Gamble
Ben Smith, Politico
President Barack Obama's relations with the Israeli government have hit a new low, but the tensions on display this week between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be reviving another presidential project: His quest to improve America's image in the Arab and Muslim world.
Health Vote Adds Pressure on Stupak
Can Israel Survive Friends Like These?
Wesley Pruden, Washington Times
PoliticsObama's 2nd pick to head TSA bows outCommentaryGALLES: A chance to refine the Commerce ClauseEditorialsEDITORIAL: Dems play the terror cardWorldSecular challenger Allawi claims Iraq election winWorldAdmiral: China's buildup aimed at power past AsiaPoliticsDemocrats politicking like it's 1994PoliticsFinal health care bill awaits ObamaFriday, March 26, 2010Rate this storyAverage 5.00after 7 votes Login or register to rate this storyBy Wesley Pruden This is the moment a certain number of a certain breed of Democrats have been waiting for. The latest outburst of…