Via ThinkProgress, who asked Florida Republican Jeb Bush about Alabama's Beason-Hammon Immigration Law, HB56:
The problem is that the federal law’s not being enforced. The more that’s being done to enforce the borders and to enforce the laws, the greater probability that this issue begins to subside. From a conservative point of view, I think that’s appropriate and important because Hispanic voters hear these debates and see the ramifications of the Alabama law and other things like that and get turned off. It’s not a good thing — I know this will sound a little crazy — but I happen to believe that if swing voters decide elections and swing voters in swing states are the most important voters in the presidential race, and if you send a signal that turns them off, that’s a bad thing. So from a practical political view, putting aside the policy, it makes no sense to me that we are sending these signals, not withstanding the frustration that people feel that the federal government’s not enforcing the immigration laws of the country.
Interesting that Bush decided to argue that HB56 is dumber than dirt on political grounds rather than law enforcement, economic or humanitarian grounds, even though there's plenty of ammunition for those arguments. Perhaps he realizes fellow conservatives don't give a rat's eyelash about law enforcement, economic or humanitarian considerations -- they just want to beat Obama.
Nationally, the GOP only has a two point advantage -- 43 to 41 -- among white voters in the House generic ballot.
House Democrats are even with House Republicans among college-educated white men, 45-45, and actually beat the GOP 44-41 among non-college white men. In contrast, House Republicans won 62 percent of the white male vote in 2010.
House Democrats even enjoy an advantage over Republicans in the South, 47 percent to 38 percent. Amazing.
Support for the “replace them all’’ option ran across the political spectrum, drawing 55% of self-identified liberals, 55% of moderates and 58% of conservatives.
• The same WSJ poll found 47% of Americans want a Democratic controlled Congress vs. just 41% who want Republicans in charge -- a 6% advantage. To put that in context, two years ago, before the GOP took the majority, Republicans led by 5% (NPR) or 3% (CNN) on the same question.
• In AL-05, Mo Brooks released an internal poll this week showing he has a wide lead over rival Parker Griffith. Interesting that Mo feels he needs to release those internal numbers. Worried that Griffith's negative advertising is going to close the gap, maybe?
Isn't this special? Alabama has become a watchword for kneejerk, bad government.
Thank you, Scott Beason. Thank you Micky Hammon. Thank you Robert Bentley and Mike Hubbard and all the other reactionary Republicans who worked so hard in 2011 to make "Alabama" synonymous with "bad laws."
A state that once made headlines for attracting international automakers is now making headlines as police detain their foreign employees – employees with every right to be here. Neighboring states that once questioned how they could compete with Alabama for international companies can breathe easier now.
...
Remember Alabama and the fear it has spread.
Remember Alabama and its lawmakers.
They promised a better tomorrow, but their law left crops rotting in the fields. Farmworkers – regardless of their immigration status – fled the state rather than live under this law. Farmers were left searching for workers as their livelihoods teetered in the balance. Today, farmers from outside Alabama visit the state to see the damage first-hand.
Most important, please remember Alabama lawmakers the next time we have an opportunity to vote them out of office -- in 2014.
My name is Johnny Phillips and I am running to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the 5th Congressional District.I am a lifelong resident of Lauderdale County.I am a 1973 graduate of Brooks High School in Killen and am employed by International Paper at their mill in Courtland.I also serve as President of United Steelworkers Local 1137 at the mill.
Why I am running to be a delegate is a long story that begins with the Alabama Democratic primary of 1966 …
I was in the 5th grade at Elgin Elementary School in the spring of 1966.Our little school was the voting place for our community.When the man brought the booths out to the school, a few days before the primary (THE primary … I don't think we even had a Republican primary back then) our teacher/principal took the 5th and 6th graders out and showed us the machines.We were shown how they worked, how it would only let you vote for one for each office, etc.Then they let us, one by one, step into the booth, flip that big red lever that closed the curtain, and cast our votes.I was awestruck by the whole process … I will never forget the feeling when that curtain closed, the feeling of flipping that little black levers and seeing the x, MY X, appear beside the names I had chosen (which, by the way, I remember to have been Bob Gilchrist for Governor). This was the primary that Mrs. Wallace won and I also remember Jim Folsom, John Patterson, Richmond Flowers, Charles Woods and others being on the ballot for Governor.
Since that day, I have been very interested in the whole political process.I have watched these conventions ever since then and have always wanted to attend one, but only now feel that I can afford to do it.
I have not missed voting in an election that I was eligible to vote in since I turned 18. I am a lifelong Democrat.My family knows that, when I die, they can put in my obituary, “He never voted for a Republican”.I am a working man, lucky to have a good job and lucky to have attained the middle-class lifestyle that that job has provided - and that the Republicans want to take away.
My wife (of almost 38 years) knows that if I am elected, we will be responsible for all of our expenses and that this convention will most likely be our ‘vacation’ for this year.She still supports me in this effort.The Democratic Party is supposed to be the party of the working people, of the middle class.I am both.I think we need more representation at our convention from everyday people, not just elected officials and professionals.As I said before, I am running to be a delegate to the DEMOCRATIC National Convention, and I am a lifelong DEMOCRAT.I am running to be a delegate from ALABAMA’s FIFTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, and I am a lifelong resident of Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District.I would sincerely appreciate your vote and support.
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – Franklin Roosevelt
Remember our Medicaid “situation”?Out-of-state for-profit corporations trying to take over Alabama’s Medicaid, at risk of significant wasted funds and severe damage to medical services for children?The pieces are starting to come together, and I still need your help.Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where I’ve gotten some of this information—a little frustrating but that’s the way it is.All I can say that it is coming from several sources who know first-hand and whom I believe to be trustworthy.
I am told it would likely be done administratively and included in the budget without a line item listing, just an appropriation for the service without saying who will do it. It could very well show up as a footnote in the line items for Medicaid. To quote one insider, “the farther along it goes in the budgetary process, the more difficult it is to stop.” So you probably won’t get a separate bill number to reference. I am told that the Governor would need to be promoting it for this to happen, but I am not sure how far along the process of persuading him has gone.
I also understand that at least one member of the Governor’s Cabinet, the head of a major state agency, has publicly indicated in discussions with Legislative Leadership that “managed care is a done deal— either Medicaid will do it on its own or the Legislature will make it happen”.
But who's counting? This one is in Florida, where they'll be voting next week. So far I haven't actually watched any of these GOP clown shows and don't plan to break my perfect record tonight but, if you enjoy these things, it will be on CNN starting at 7 CST.
I will quietly root for Newt in this and all the other GOP debates. Why?
I just heard a local, business/professional type, solid Republican voter say, "If Newt is the nominee, I'll have to vote for Barack Obama." I am confident that person is the first of many. Let's welcome a generation of Obama Republicans who really will vote for the man, not the party.
This is what happens when you defund community mental health centers! The patients need something to do. And apparently, many of them are serving in Congress and state legislatures. How else can we explain the stampede to pass bills that address nonexistent problems?
Oklahoma GOP State Senator Ralph Shortey is on a mission to finally put an end to his state’s allegedly rampant cannibalism problem. Alarmed after his own research, which consisted of reading a nameless report stating that companies have used stem cells in the production of food, Shortey introduced a bill that would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of food “which contains aborted human fetuses.”
So somebody, somewhere made a wild statement and Senator Shortey leapt into action.
Oklahoma, in particular, seems to be a breeding ground for these kinds of things. Remember in 2004, Senator Tom Coburn was caught on tape railing about lesbians in OK public schools:
On the tape, Coburn tells how a campaign worker form Coalgate, Okla., told him that lesbianism is “so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they’ll only let one girl go to the bathroom.” [...] When contacted by the Associated Press for follow-up, Coburn's spokesperson, John Hart, had an answer. Lesbian debauchery has been allowed to happen, he said, because “our kids are getting mixed messages about sexuality.”
Now, Senator Coburn didn't introduce legislation to address this issue, but he does have a rather interesting fixation with GLBT issues. Coburn led the fight to prevent GLBT parents from adopting children in Washington, DC, helped stop a DC domestic partnership program, and fervently advocated for DOMA.
You have to wonder why he spends so much time toying with the issue....
Stop Sharia Law! Even though we don't have it in the US. Anywhere.
In 2010, voters in - you guessed it - OKLAHOMA passed a ballot measure that prevents judges from basing decisions on sharia law. Even though a federal court blocked it, Republican legislators in 13 other states fell over each other to follow Oklahoma's example.
On the national level, Newt Gingrich has been beating the anti-Sharia drum for years. Speaking at the 2010 Values Voters Summit:
“We should have a federal law that says sharia law cannot be recognized by any court in the United States,” Gingrich said to a standing ovation from the audience. The law will let judges know, Gingrich said, that “no judge will remain in office that tried to use sharia law.”
No Chips For You! Atlanta Journal Constitution blogger James Holloway reported on a bill introduced by Georgia GOP legislator Chip Pearson. It prohibits "the involuntary implantation of microchips in human beings." While using the bill as a prime example of the "Republican tendency to attack problems that don’t exist, and ignore the ones that do," Holloway included a partial transcript of the committee hearing:
(it's on the flip... too unusual for the front page)
“I think we’ve reached a point where we need someone who’s mean.”
And if Republican primary voters want mean, Mitt Romney (who lost in SC) will show them he can be mean.
Romney went to Florida and started tossing the red meat ... on immigration. Romney has embraced the heart of Alabama's "cruelest in the nation" HB56 immigration law: make life so dangerous, hard and unrewarding for undocumented immigrants that they will "self-deport."
“Well, the answer is self-deportation, which is people decide that they can do better by going home because they can't find work here because they don't have legal documentation to allow them to work here."
Romney's rival, Newt Gingrich, who already has plenty of "mean" cred, is now taking a more compassionate stance on immigration, mocking Romney's self-deportation policy which he says "certainly shows no concern for the humanity of the people who are already here."
"I think you have to live in worlds of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and an automatic $20-million-a-year income with no work to have some fantasy this far from reality," Gingrich said at the forum. "For Romney to believe somebody’s grandmother will be so cut off she’s going to self-deport, I mean this is an Obama-level fantasy."
When the GOP clown show comes to Alabama in March, will Mitt Romney campaign with Scott Beason? Will the SPLC praise Newt's kinder, gentler immigration bill? Will either of them be mean enough for Alabama Republicans on March 13?
This is turning into Barack Obama Day at LiA, but I just can't let this Republican "attack" pass without comment. I received this video via twitter from the AL-GOP. Republicans have also been talking about it on the morning cable shows. They must be spiking the Kool-aid with a gallon or two of hard stuff, 'cause this is lame in the extreme.
The GOPers seem to think it's a real winner to point out that President Obama has taken principled, consistent positions throughout his first term in office. For example, President Obama hit these points last night and in at least one previous SOTU:
Reward hard work
Fix what needs fixing and move forward
Colleges & universities need to keep costs down
We need to take on the issue of illegal immigration once and for all
Stop expelling talented, responsible young people
Put more Americans to work on infrastructure
We have a deficit of trust
End the perpetual campaign
Give the people a smarter more effective, competent government
If your ideal politician is Mitt Romney, who has a different position for every day of the week on virtually every issue, perhaps not being a flip-flopper is a political negative. Still, I think most Americans prefer a leader who knows what he believes, knows what America needs, and sticks with it year after year, even as congressional Republicans do everything possible to torpedo his agenda.
If these things haven't been accomplished yet, are people going to blame the President for sticking to his guns or the do-nothing Congress, with its all-time low approval rating?
(This needs to be read. It deals with that which we all struggle to understand. - promoted by piggieheart)
I figured that I'd say the facts and the truth honestly, then many folk would say, hey, he's right, we gotta change.
Nope. There is something wrong with Alabamans.
I understand that the thought and feel processes in the brains of South Alabamans grew stunted, but expected a difference in the brains of North Alabamans.
North Alabama where more folk in science and technology think empirically, deal with fact, read science fiction..
So here it is January 24, 2012, and I am Barack Obama. What do I have on the agenda for today? Oh yes, I need to get with Leon and make sure everything is "GO" on the rescue of two aid workers in Somalia. CHECK!
Now, let me talk to my speech writers and make sure we are good to go on the State of the Union Address tonight. CHECK!
Okay here we go now, let me go get the classiest Frist Lady in at least half-a-century and see how she looks in the new blue dress. Wow! CHECK and DOUBLE-CHECK!
Meet and greet all the Senators and Congresscritters...all the SCOTUS dudes and dudettes... all the military and civil authorities... but pay more attention to Gabby Gifford than anyone else. CHECK!
Deliver my speech after dropping a hint to the media by congratulating Leon publicly. Hug Gabby Gifford again. CHECK.
Go back to a TV and watch Mitch Daniels flounder around about boats and light bulbs. Oh HELL YES. A pretty good "Day in the Life", if I say so myself.
Whither the days of Hubert Humphrey's "Happy Warrior" or even Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" optimism? You won't find a whiff of either in today's GOP. Fueled by TEA Party rage, the party promises not to rest until the entire country rises up in a fury against "unfair" attacks on rich folk and corporations. Compare the end of President Obama's SOTU with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels' response:
So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we’re joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.
"WHAT?" Daniels exclaimed before describing a near-hopeless scenario in a far different country:
"On these evenings, Presidents naturally seek to find the sunny side of our national condition. But when President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true. [...] "In our economic stagnation and indebtedness, we are only a short distance behind Greece, Spain, and other European countries now facing economic catastrophe. [...] "No feature of the Obama Presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others. As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat. If we drift, quarreling and paralyzed, over a Niagara of debt, we will all suffer, regardless of income, race, gender, or other category.
Sounds like Daniels is a bit ticked that President Obama didn't choose a "quiet room" to discuss economic inequality and fairness. And who's responsible for the "quarreling and paralysis?" American voters know.
Seriously, this speech wasn't even a dog whistle: it was sheer psychological projection. Otherwise, there's no explanation (other than total shamelessness) for castigating President Obama's supposed efforts to "curry favor with some Americans." Remember: this is the party controlled by the Club For Growth's "tax pledge." Who's currying favor with whom, boys?
Daniels' whole speech is worth a read - although we've heard it all before: tax cuts for the wealthy.... blah blah... tax cuts for corporations... blah blah... more tax cuts.... cut social services to give MORE TAX CUTS!
President Obama gave a positive, upbeat speech that didn't flinch from the problems we face and that outlined solutions. He called on us to work together for the common good and a better future.
The GOP response presented America as a dystopian nightmare country perpetually in the grip of a dark and stormy night. The GOP's America is either on the verge of crumbling like the Roman Empire or about to head over Niagara in a rowboat of debt.
Or to put it more succinctly: Obama called us to unite behind a common purpose. Daniels bitched about light bulbs.
Thanks for clarifying our choices in 2012 Governor Daniels.
Mitch Daniels will officially rebut the speech. Mitt Romney did a "prebuttal" of President Obama's State of the Union address hours and hours before the speech was actually delivered. So did John Boehner. Crystal balls, maybe ... or just closed minds?
We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules
... and ...
Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.
Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt just over a year ago, will be joining her House colleagues in the audience. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will be seated in the First Lady's box. Rep. Giffords is resigning from the House later this week.
Update: The full text of the President's SOTU address, as prepared for delivery, is below the fold.
Are you on the ballot to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention? If so, we'd like to hear from you. Here's the deal:
We will frontpage one informational post from anyone running for delegate, as we have done for this one from Michael A Blakely III. Tell us who you are, what district you're running in, why people should support you and anything else you think voters need to know. Positive posts only, please.
Just before the March 13th primary we'll do a roundup of all the LiA delegate candidate posts, with district, so our community will have all the information in one place before they go to the polls.
We'll only front page one such "advertising" post per delegate candidate, but of course you're welcome to include a reminder that "BTW, I'm running for delegate in district X" (with a link) in any and all your future posts or comments on any topic. You can even include such a statement in your tagline (contact me or countrycat if you don't know how to do that) so it will be displayed at the bottom of all your comments.
Thank you all for being involved in and excited about our political process. Best of luck and I hope you all make it to the Convention in Charlotte.
Unfortunately, 140 characters just isn't going to do me and my long-winded self any justice, so here goes.
First off, let me say that I'm sure James Spann has the very best intention at heart. I know that he wants us all to be safe, and I'm not attacking him here. Honestly, I don't know that there's anything he could have personally done differently to improve the situation.
But when I first heard someone (I don't remember who.) saying that we had something like hours and hours of warning, my first thought was that they had no clue. Technically, they were correct, but in reality that probably wasn't the case for a lot of people.
T.H.E. Social Work Agency Adoption home studies & care management services in the North Alabama area.
Licensed, certified, caring social workers. blog advertising is good for you
• 
Mean sells to Republican voters in the South:
