Stephen Colbert and Tommy Stevenson (of the Tuscaloosa News) recently took on this crackpot "Obama is a Muslim" rumor and ripped Mitch McConnell from stem to stern for straddling the political expediency fence with, "The President says he's a Christian, I take him at his word." You can see Colbert's take on that mealy-mouthed response here, starting at about 5 minutes.
"Just like when Mitch McConnell says he's not a human-turtle hybrid, I take him at his word. And it's not easy."
1 in 5 Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. ... 30% of Republicans feel Obama is a Muslim. ... 30% of the country believes in UFOs. 30% of the country believes in ESP.
Tommy Stevenson dispenses with the humor and chides McConnell for duplicity:
Those sort of weasel words are designed not to put an end to the ridiculous controversy; they are meant to keep one of the most contemptible controversies in recent political history alive.
“Of course he’s a Christian, don’t be silly!” would have been the right answer. And if McConnell still wanted to take a shot at Obama, he could have added, “Don’t you remember during the presidential election when we caught him going all those years to that radical Church of Christ minister?”
Had he really wanted to do the right thing, he could have said, “So what if he is; Muslims are part of the very fabric of our country and should not be demonized.” (Yeah, I know, fat chance.)
Stevenson also brings some facts to the table, pointing to President Obama's statement in an interview with Christianity Today: “I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ." But facts really matter very little to the people who are most up in arms about Barack Obama's religion.
The sad truth is that you can fool some of the people all the time, and politicians are no longer interested in winning by leading the American electorate toward the truth -- God, that's a lot of work -- but in reinforcing the fears and misconceptions of that 20 to 30% of Americans who can be made to believe anything, forever. That's what the Obama birth certificate craziness was/is about and that's why we're suddenly hearing so much of the obviously false "Obama is a Muslim" claptrap.
The tin-foil hat wearers are now coveted swing voters in America.
“Look, I’m just not going to get on Fox News and make the president’s birth certificate my cause,” he said. “I have to pick my battles, and the fact is I have 635,000 constituents that I have to try to balance. The majority of them would rather I focus on jobs and on winning the next election — not trying to undo the last one.”
Can the GOP ride this angry tiger of folks who can be fooled all the time, or will antics like the birth certificate brouhaha and the current Muslim hatefest cost them dearly with genuine swing voters? Don't underestimate the power of bullshit to move votes.
That's the Washington Post this morning, on the Republican Party's defense of the indefensible -- extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest even though the country is still in the grip of the Great Recession and the GOP's tax relief for the fat cats has resulted in huge budget deficits.
This is not fiscal responsibility in the form of offsetting a known cost with an identifiable savings. It's fiscal irresponsibility of the worst kind: play-acting at prudence instead of making hard choices.
Ezra Klein has produced several very helpful charts on the Bush tax cuts vs. the Obama tax plan (still a cut, but targeted to the middle class instead of the upper crust) over the past couple of weeks. Take a look.
...even in percentile terms, the Bush tax cuts do much more for the incomes of the rich than the poor, and the Obama proposal would do a lot more for the poor than for the rich.
And one final illustration, this one via Jonathon Chait, for those who say none of this matters, just look at Obama's huge deficit -- it's all his fault/this proves those tax and spend Democrats just can't manage money/the economy/the country/whatever.
Obama didn't create those deficits, he inherited them from Bush (aided and abetted by a compliant Congress) and the biggest chunk of the future deficit is caused by the Bush tax cuts -- which Obama is trying to fix. That isn't an excuse, it's just a fact. Don't preach to me about the evils of the deficit if you're going to rail/preach/vote against undoing the largest single source of it, otherwise I'll have to call you out as a hypocrite and a WATB to boot.
Medicare celebrated its 45th birthday last week. There were parties around the country and, while I don't know if people brought presents, health care reform is kind of a gift for Medicare. The Medicare Trustees issued their annual report this week and said Medicare is on sounder financial footing -- by 12 years -- than it was a year ago. Seniors who fall in the prescription drug donut hole can now get rebates to help with the cost of their prescriptions; next year they'll get 50% discounts on those prescriptions. Also next year, preventive care like mammograms and physicals will be free for seniors.
President Obama used his weekly address to talk about Medicare and how health care reform has strengthened it.
And as reform ramps up in the coming years, we expect seniors to save an average of $200 per year in premiums and more than $200 each year in out of pocket costs, too.
... we are no longer accepting business as usual. We’re making tough decisions to meet the challenges of our time. And as a result, Medicare is stronger and more secure.
That's a good thing, and something you'll never hear from the Republicans who are more interested in talking down Medicare and Social Security than improving them.
Dr. Keivan Deravi, an economist at Auburn University Montgomery, says state government would have been devastated without the federal assistance.
"Had we not had this in the budget, the outcome would have been absolutely dreadful," he said. "The impact on the education side would have been unimaginable, to be honest with you."
...
"I don't know why anyone wants to be the next governor," he said. "Alabama is going to be in major trouble unless the economy takes a major leap up, and most people don't believe that's going to happen."
Deravi believes Congress should approve a second stimulus program to assist the states, but acknowledges that won't happen.
Barack Obama's Stimulus (which was too small, thanks to the Party of NO) is pumping over $3 billion into the state of Alabama. It saved over 3200 education jobs and saved or created perhaps 10,000 jobs in other fields. Stimulus money held our Medicaid program together as state revenues plunged. And the road construction going on all across the state? That's stimulus money we'll soon be driving on.
Alabama owes a big debt of thanks to Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress. We won't pay it, of course, because Southerners hate to admit they needed or accepted help from anybody. All those new roads and bridges ought to carry this sign ...
This is emblazoned on t-shirts for a popular exercise club:
"If I share my strength, I become even stronger."
It's true and it works for other things too, like enthusiasm, knowledge, determination. Progressives know that if we share our positive energy and resources, we are stronger and can accomplish more.
Conservatives use this principle in a different way; by sharing their NO. They spread their negative energy to weaken and demoralize the opposition and increase their political power. Hence, the Party of NO that we've seen in action the last couple of years.
Is it true? Have the Republicans really been that negative since Obama was elected? The answer is unequivocally YES.
Their negativity has reached new heights, even for Washington. Consider the record of hyper-obstruction with regard to judicial nominees, courtesy of Balloon Juice and TAPPED:
... the Alliance for Justice found that in Obama's first year in office, the Senate confirmed a mere 23 percent of his judicial nominees. By contrast, Presidents Carter and Reagan had 91 percent of their nominees confirmed in their first year. That number dropped to 65 percent for George H.W. Bush, 57 percent for Bill Clinton, and 44 percent for George W. Bush. ... you can attribute the massive change in confirmation rates to the GOP's strategy of hyper-obstruction through abuse of Senate rules; through routine filibusters and holds, Republican senators have kept dozens of judicial nominees from leaving committee or coming to a vote.
On some particular vote, we can represent the average Democrat position as the fraction of Dems voting Yea; same for Republicans. Divisiveness is the distance between these two average positions. For example, if 50% of Dems and 50% of Reps vote yes, then divisiveness is 0. If 10% of Dems and 90% of Reps vote yes (or vice versa), then divisiveness is 0.8.
The data shows a striking difference. Politics were more centrist in the late 80s. Divisiveness didn't move much for about 18 years, but then divisiveness dramatically spiked since the beginning of the Obama administration, setting a record in 2009 and another record so far in 2010. The difference here is really quite dramatic: 29% divisiveness in 1989, vs. 70% today.
If it seems ironic that the President who made bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle such a high priority has been subject to unprecedented resistance and obstruction from the very Republicans he was reaching out to ... well, you're just not thinking about this the right way. Think like a Republican.
Bipartisanship and a determination to work with the other side was a big selling point for Obama. It was one of his strengths in 2008. Remember all the buzz about Obama and Lincoln's Team of Rivals? Obama was basically correct in saying, "I don't think the American people are fundamentally ideological. They're pragmatic ..." Pragmatic, sick of partisan games and hungry for competent government. Obama tapped into that desire for change in 2008. It was his strength, so Republicans have to negate it to succeed in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Republicans need to make Obama fail miserably and publicly at changing the tone in Washington and accomplishing his policy goals -- heck, they like Washington just the way it is anyhow so obstruction is a win-win for them. They've made a conscious decision to become the Party of NO to turn Obama's greatest strength into a weakness and make sure he fails. The key question for 2010 is, have they outsmarted themselves?
America is fighting two foreign wars and the economy still hasn't recovered from the Great Recession. We desperately need leadership and wise policies, but Republicans want failure. Can Obama sufficiently illuminate politically motivated Republican opposition to legislation America needs -- aid to small businesses, an overhaul of financial regulations, stopping foreign corporations from dabbling in our elections, extension of unemployment benefits, health benefits for 9/11 responders, and on and on. -- so that the public sees them for what they are: politically motivated negativity mongers and obstructionists who would rather damage Democrats than help America?
Or will their negativity succeed in making them stronger?
WASHINGTON, DC, April 10, 1865 (FNS)-The Civil War ended yesterday with the surrender of General Lee's Confederate Forces to Ulysses S. Grant, the Union Commander, at Appomattox.
Although most observers are generally happy with the surrender, many of President Obama's most loyal supporters are livid with the Commander-in-Chief because of the concessions he made in order to obtain the future support of the Southern Senators who will rejoin the body when the next Session begins.
At a media event this morning, Press Secretary Dick Timoneous expressed the President's hope that the formerly Confederate Members of Congress are looking forward to changing the political culture and steering the Nation in a better direction:
"It's time for the opposition to realize that what really matters is putting America first. The President is certain that by offering some concessions now, Southern Senators will look beyond their own parochial interests and do their part to move this process forward."
President Obama really lambasts the GOP obstructionists in the Senate this week (deservedly!) for blocking the extension of unemployment benefits and small business loan funds.
Consider what that obstruction means for our small businesses – the growth engines that create two of every three new jobs in this country. A lot of small businesses still have trouble getting the loans and capital they need to keep their doors open and hire new workers. So we proposed steps to get them that help: Eliminating capital gains taxes on investments. Establishing a fund for small lenders to help small businesses. Enhancing successful SBA programs that help them access the capital they need.
But again and again, a partisan minority in the Senate said “no,” and used procedural tactics to block a simple, up-or-down vote.
Think about what these stalling tactics mean for the millions of Americans who’ve lost their jobs since the recession began. Over the past several weeks, more than two million of them have seen their unemployment insurance expire. For many, it was the only way to make ends meet while searching for work – the only way to cover rent, utilities, even food.
Three times, the Senate has tried to temporarily extend that emergency assistance. And three times, a minority of Senators – basically the same crowd who said “no” to small businesses – said “no” to folks looking for work, and blocked a straight up-or-down vote.
Some Republican leaders actually treat this unemployment insurance as if it’s a form of welfare.
Of course, our own Senators Shelby and Sessions are right in the thick of it, obstructing the economic recovery just as hard as they can. Looking at their actions, you might think Alabama's economy is in good shape or something ...
Yesterday, President Obama met with Senators at the White House and pushed them to pass comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation. Still, the skeptics are spinning a monotonous web of negativity regarding what is achievable on this front. And, not surprisingly, the "mainstream media" once again has been asleep at the wheel in setting the record straight. Fortunately, we know that when this President rolls up his sleeves, he gets stuff done and delivers on his promises. One thing’s for sure; President Obama is anything but an underachiever!
Along these lines, President Obama held a press conference following the G-20 summit in Toronto. In response to a reporter’s question regarding how he would achieve his deficit reduction goals, the president responded:
For some reason people keep being surprised when I do what I said I was going to do. So, I say I’m going to reform our [health care system], and people say well gosh that’s not smart politics maybe we should hold off. Or I say we’re going to move forward on [Don’t Ask Don’t Tell] and somehow people say well why are you doing that, I’m not sure that’s good politics. I’m doing it because I said I was going to do it, and I think it’s the right thing to do. And people should learn that lesson about me, because next year when I start presenting some very difficult choices to the country I hope some of these folks who are hollering about deficit and debt step up cause I’m calling their bluff.
The strangest things creep through your mind when you’re just kicking back on the porch in the Alabama heat, watching a squirrel trying to get a nut and a golfer on the edge of your yard slinging angry redneck curses at the 16th tee.
For whatever reason, I was nudged into childhood reminisces - most likely due to the oppressive temperature, possibly even heat stroke - and I thought longingly of Kool-Aid. But not the sugary, powdered goodness that accompanied many youthful activities, but politically-speaking how conservatives have circled the wagons - at least in terms of political discourse - and dismiss everything individuals have to say that may even carry the slightest taste of praise or approval for anything President Obama has said or done, by condescendingly screeching, “You’re drinking the Kool-Aid!” Of course these are the same sheep-like souls who will hastily redraw their maps should Glenn Beck tell them the world is flat, but…. This oft-repeated slice of irreverent insult of course refers to the infamous cult leader Jim Jones, who suckered his followers - numbering nearly 1,000 - into committing mass suicide via drinks laced with cyanide. Granted, they were drinking Flavor-Aid spiked with cyanide, not Kool-Aid, but as we know too well, conservatives seldom value accuracy and sure as hell won’t allow facts to get in their way.
As President Obama prepares for his meeting tomorrow with Senators at the White House to discuss clean energy and climate change legislation, he might want to check with the White House staff on an important matter first. No, not the details of the legislation, although that’s important of course. Instead, what President Obama might want to make absolutely sure about is the non-trivial matter of whether the White House air conditioning is in tip-top shape. I say "non-trivial," but these days it’s more like "life or death." How hot is it in the Washington, DC area? As NBC Washington puts it, "We're Talking Spontaneous Combustion." (UPDATE: it's more likely this is apocryphal than literally true, but it sure feels like plants could catch on fire these days in Washington, DC!)
How hot is it? It's so hot that dead plants are spontaneously combusting in Frederick, Md.
Don't believe it? Just ask Frederick County Fire Marshal Marc McNeal, who told the Frederick News-Post that excessive heat caused a dead plant to catch fire Sunday afternoon in a hanging planter on the rear deck of a townhouse.
The hanging basket fell to the deck and burned some vinyl siding, causing about $3,000 in damages.
It has definitely been hot in the Washington region. Monday will be the 10th day in a row that we've reached 90 degrees or higher, and this will be the 17th day of the month that the thermometer has reached 90.
NBC4 meteorologist Tom Kierein said that when it's all said and done, June 2010 likely will be the hottest June on record in the District.
Dead plants catching on fire in the hottest June on record in the Washington, DC area? Sadly, this may not be an aberration, but a frightening sign of things to come in a global warming world. True, we shouldn’t draw broad conclusions about the earth’s climate from one heat wave in one specific geographic area, as certain climate change deniers dishonestly did during last winter’s "snowpocalypse" blizzards. However, when we see month after month, decade after decade of record-setting heat globally, it starts to get a bit hard to ignore.
In fact, climate scientists are not ignoring these heat waves and other phenomena. Earlier today, for instance, The Project on Climate Science reported that the "record-breaking heat wave" we are currently experiencing in the eastern United States "is consistent with climate change." According to Tom Peterson, Chief Scientist for NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, "We’re getting a dramatic taste of the kind of weather we are on course to bequeath to our grandchildren." Of course, as The Project on Climate Science points out, "individual heat waves can be driven by a number of factors." However, they conclude, "more frequent heat waves are one of the more visible impacts of climate change already underway in the United States" and "will occur more frequently in the future."
In sum, if you enjoy record-setting warmth – not to mention the stronger storms, mass extinctions and "record sea ice shrinkage" in the Arctic that go along with that warmth – you have a lot to look forward to! If not, then you should contact your Senator and let him or her know you want climate action now.
Come to think of it, perhaps we should all hope for the White House air conditioning to be broken tomorrow – or turned off on purpose - so that the Senators meeting there get a taste of what the planet will feel like everywhere if they don’t do something about it now. When you think about it, a bit of Senatorial sweat and a few stained shirts is not too high a price to pay if it results in long-overdue, comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation on the President’s desk sometime this sweltering summer. Is it?
Tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, President Obama will address the nation from the Oval Office on the oil spill and his Administration's plan to address this crisis going forward.
Immediately following the President's address, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will take your questions on the oil spill and the Administration's ongoing response.
You don't have to wait until tonight to ask your question -- submit your question in video or text at YouTube.com/WhiteHouse and vote for the questions you want to see answered:
On his fourth visit to the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon underwater oil gusher began, President Barack Obama will visit Theodore, Alabama this afternoon. WSFA (and hopefully others) will break into scheduled programming to carry the President's remarks, which are scheduled for sometime between 4 and 5 pm.
The White House says BP appears willing to establish a multibillion-dollar compensation fund for people and companies damaged by the Gulf oil spill.
President Barack Obama demanded that the oil company set up an independent compensation fund. And presidential spokesman Bill Burton told reporters the White House and BP are down to negotiating amounts, administration and other details of the fund.
If it takes the president personally kicking butt, then he should do it.
Yes, he should, and I hope to Heaven the demand for BP to put up an escrow account in the billions is just the beginning of some serious presidential whupass on the people responsible for this mess.
In related news, thank God we don't live in Mississippi, where Gov. Haley Barbour (R, Oil) is still chanting "Drill, Baby, Drill!" even as the oil comes ashore in his state.
Earlier today, the President asked supporters (via email) to stand with him to embrace a "clean energy future," saying:
This is how we will reinvent our economy -- and create new companies and new jobs all across the country.
There will be transition costs and a time of adjustment. But if we refuse to heed the warnings from the disaster in the Gulf -- we will have missed our best chance to seize the clean-energy future we know America needs to thrive in the years and decades to come.
Everyone whose head is not stuck firmly in the conservative sands of denial can now see that our reliance on fossil fuels is a disaster no longer waiting to happen. This is the opportunity for change, and Obama is our best hope to seize it.
I have to say, I’ve always enjoyed primary elections more than the general.
Of course, there’s more bearing to voting in the general election, but to me, the primaries are much more fun. You get to vote for who you want to. There’s a lot to be excited about.
The Jefferson County teacher who used as an example the shooting of President Barack Obama while teaching lines and angles to his geometry class has been placed on paid administrative leave and faces possible termination, Superintendent Phil Hammonds said today.
Hammonds said his office has been flooded with phone calls from all over the nation since The Birmingham News reported that Corner High School geometry teacher Gregory Harrison used the assassination example while teaching. The calls were mainly from people who were upset because the school district had taken no action against the teacher.
However more than a bit troubling according to one student's account
The teacher was apparently teaching his geometry students about parallel lines and angles, officials said. He used the example of where to stand and aim if shooting Obama.
"He was talking about angles and said, "If you're in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president," said Joseph Brown a senior in the Geometry Class.
Three cheers for Alabama - Man am I embarrassed to live in this state, especially my home county somedays
Reed, asked why Clinton, a white woman, would be preferred over Obama, an African-American, said: "I think America is readier to elect a white woman than it is a black man."
Joe Reed, who's the leader of the state's oldest black political organization, said today Rep. Artur Davis can't win in November because he "rejected the black vote."
In reality, Davis hasn't rejected the black vote, he's rejected the black gatekeepers and gone directly to the people. It's worth noting that Hillary Clinton also came and spoke directly to the ADC in late 2007; Barack Obama did not. Obama went on to win the Alabama primary -- and the general election.
This is an AP photo of President Obama and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal being run with the Politico story of Obama's visit to the Gulf Coast today to assess the oil spill response firsthand.
For the first time ever the image of power in America has brown skin.
President Obama says the emergency interventions are winding down, but real financial reforms are needed, particularly on Wall Street.
Our own Senators Shelby and Sessions are not on board with Wall Street reform and most members of their party are actively opposing financial reforms. My Daddy always said Republicans are the party for rich people and it certainly looks like they're the party for Wall Street these days.
"This is what I have to say to our friends on the other side: For those still willing to do what is right, for those still wiling to help us slam on the brakes on the Wall Street joy ride, we're ready to work with you. For those Republicans determined to stand in the way and do the big bankers bidding, know this: No matter how hard you try to distort this debate, Wall Street reform is coming," Reid said. "We're not going to buckle."
Financial reform is desperately needed and average Americans understand that -- we can't afford any more "too big to fail" corporations that want taxpayer bailouts. I can't imagine why Republicans are so determined to block reform.
Complete transcript of the President's address is below the fold.
Since tomorrow is Tax Day, this might be a good time to ask our Republican and Tea Party friends how they're liking their Obama Tax Cuts. That's right, contrary to the Kool-Aid Tea those folks are serving out, President Obama has cut taxes on 98% of working Americans. From the Citizens for Tax Justice Fact Sheet:
The stimulus bill included several tax cutting measures for individuals in tax year 2009:
• The “Making Work Pay” tax credit gave most working people a $400 refundable tax credit. This credit is worth $800 to most working married couples. More than 94 percent of all working families and individuals received this tax cut. • Changes to the $1,000 per-child tax credit and the earned-income tax credit gave an average of $872 each to 12 million, mostly low-income working families with children. • Relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2009 reduced taxes for 25 million mostly upper-income couples and individuals. • A new, partially refundable education credit was also enacted for 2009.
One reason why the public may not realize that the President has cut their 2009 taxes is that the tax cut that affected the most people — the “Making Work Pay” credit — was dribbled out gradually in reduced tax withholding on wages.
In fact, for Alabama, 99% of working families benefitted from Obama's Tax Cuts, with an average tax break of $1,088. You don't hear these numbers at Tea Party rallies -- but then again those Tea Party rallies are primarily propaganda events, truth optional!
The House of Representatives is debating the issue now. A vote is expected around 8:15 pm. The vote on the rule went well -- it was 224-206. That bodes well for the vote on final passage where the magic number is 216.
Rep. Steny Hoyer stood up and invoked the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s successful march across the Edmund Pettus bridge (many thanks to Dardango for the image on our banner) which ocurred on March 21, 1965.
On the other side, the first member allowed to speak for Republicans was Alabama's own Mike Rogers (R, AL-03). What did he say? Something along the lines of "I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and I oppose the bill." When you have no argument, oppose anyway.
CSPAN is carrying this live. It's historic. It's sweet. Watch it.
I like to think of this bill as like a starter home. It is not the mansion of our dreams. But it has a solid foundation, giving every American access to quality, affordable coverage. It has an excellent, protective roof, which will shelter Americans from the worst abuses of health insurance companies. And this starter home has plenty of room for additions and improvements.
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The sad truth is that you can fool some of the people all the time, and politicians are no longer interested in winning by leading the American electorate toward the truth -- God, that's a lot of work -- but in reinforcing the fears and misconceptions of that 20 to 30% of Americans who can be made to believe anything, forever. That's what the Obama birth certificate craziness was/is about and that's why we're suddenly hearing so much of the obviously false "Obama is a Muslim" claptrap. 
And one final illustration, this one via 
Conservatives use this principle in a different way; by sharing their NO. They spread their negative energy to weaken and demoralize the opposition and increase their political power. Hence, the Party of NO that we've seen in action the last couple of years. 
Republicans need to make Obama fail miserably and publicly at changing the tone in Washington and accomplishing his policy goals -- heck, they like Washington just the way it is anyhow so obstruction is a win-win for them. They've made a conscious decision to become the Party of NO to turn Obama's greatest strength into a weakness and make sure he fails. The key question for 2010 is, have they outsmarted themselves? 
On his 
