An Honorable Profession

Huffington Post:   Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg has been pounding Democratic Sen. Jon Tester over lobbyist fundraising in their tight Senate race, but Rehberg declared last year in a meeting with the influence peddlers that he probably would have chosen their profession over his own if he had been "smart."

And further, he declared they were not only honorable, but that he could not do his job without them.
Rehberg made those assertions speaking to the American League of Lobbyists in October at an event that was recorded. The recording was forwarded to The Huffington Post by the Tester campaign.
In the speech, Rehberg recalls how he nearly became a lobbyist.

"A lot of y’all’s type came to me and said, 'What are you nuts? You know, if we had the choice of either run for Congress or be a lobbyist, wouldn’t you like to try the Congress first?' And I fell for it," Rehberg said. "I ran for Congress. I probably, if I had been smart, I would’ve said nope, no, I think I’ll stay out of the political arena and go into lobbying.

"What I’m trying to suggest is I think lobbying is an honorable profession," he said.

See government by the people is bad.  The people who buy it are good.  That's your Republican party... Look, the way to influence democracy is to volunteer your time and your vote.  That's it.  While the Republicans on the Supreme Court may have said otherwise, anything else is illegal, immoral, and a danger to the republic. 

Likely Voters

Daily Kos: If it weren't for that critical component of modern political public opinion polling known as the "likely voter" screen, the banner polling headline today would be that, despite the Paul Ryan "bump" and a mammoth spending advantage, Mitt Romney still trailed Barack Obama in the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll of the presidential race by a gaudy 52-43 margin. 

Alas, said "likely voter" screen does exist, so instead, the headlines (as they have been for most of this cycle) will warn of a coin flip race, with the president staked to a mere 49-47 lead over the Republican challenger. Even worse, it is inevitable that some in the chattering classes will talk of a "bounce" for Romney since the last poll, which showed Obama up 52-45.

Such talk of movement in Mitt's direction is analytical malpractice, of course, because the previous CNN/OR poll did not have said likely voter screen. In the only apples-to-apples comparison we have here (RV to RV), it is the president whose standing has incrementally improved.

Of course "likely voters" these days includes Americans whom the GOP will not likely be able to rob of the right to vote. 

Forced To Dig Their Own Graves

Think Progress:   Workers at Sensata Technologies, a business based in Freeport, Illinois, have been protesting Mitt Romney’s campaign stops across the country all summer because the company, which is owned by Bain Capital, is laying off workers in order to hire employees in China. Bain took control of Sensata in 2006; last year, it took over the Freeport plant and announced that it would layoff 165 workers and close it. Some of the workers, according to Sensata employees, have been forced to train their Chinese replacements, adding insult to the injury that was their looming job loss.

Rmoney made millions by bankrupting American companies, destroying American jobs, illegally busting unions, and screwing American workers out of their pensions.  Hell, the Washington post reports he helped pioneer the mass outsourcing that's killing the (American) middle class.  He has a long history of working for trans-national CEO's and foreign factory owners and against the America.

We need a president that does right by the United States of America, not an outsourcer-in-chief. Willard should run for president of China.  He's done good work for them. But here at home he's been God-damn-national-disaster. 

Cowboys and Indians

TPM:  A progressive group called on Republican National Committee leader Pat Rogers to step down on Friday after emails showed him telling New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s staff that meeting with a group of American Indians “dishonored” Gen. George Armstrong Custer, the 19th century commander who killed scores of American Indians.

If this asshole doesn't like it he should go the fuck back to Europe. It's a good reminder though that Republicans are not only racist against black people, latinos, and and Muslims.  They pretty much go after everybody who's not white (and Christian... note to Jews, they hate you too).

Of Course They Did

Mitt Romney is standing by a joke about his birth certificate he made on Friday, despite complaints from President Obama’s campaign that the line was a nod to racially charged conspiracy theories regarding the president’s origins. 

The Republican nominee told CBS Friday, after the campaign appearance where he made the remark, he saw nothing wrong with the comment, in part because it drew cheers from the crowd. 

“Well we’re in Michigan and Ann I and I were both born in Detroit and of course a little humor always goes a long way” he said. “So it was great to be home, to be in a place where Ann and I had grown up, the crowd loved it and got a good laugh.”

Since he was talking to the Republican base that's not a surprise.  Racist jokes work well with that crowd.  

Chicken Shit

CBS Local:

QUESTION: Should abortions to be available to women who are raped?

RYAN: Well, look, I’m proud of my pro-life record. And I stand by my pro-life record in Congress. It’s something I’m proud of. But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.

He's now giving this same answer when asked about any one of his exceptionally unpopular positions.  It's not one anybody should accept.  One of the prime functions of the vice president it to be the one who immediately becomes president if the president should become incapacitated or is otherwise removed from office.  So Ryan is going to have to say what he would if he do if he were president and he's going to have to answer for his record. It's as simple as that. 

Illegally Sqashing The Middle Class

Daily Kos:  Mitt Romney kicked off his profit-making years at Bain Capital with a little bit of union-busting. In 1984, Bain invested in Key Airlines, a struggling charter operation, with Romney investing in the airline personally and becoming one of its directors. The idea, of course, was to turn it around for a profit—but an effort by pilots to unionize might have complicated such a deal. So Key illegally squashed the effort

We often say Rmoney  made millions bankrupting American companies, destroying American jobs and screwing American workers out of their pensions. Perhaps we should add illegal union busting to that list.  Unions were what helped build the middle class.  Their decline correlates perfectly with the decline of the middle class.  And of course the decline of the middle class drives the decline of the consumer economy which drives the decline of the country.  None of which the Republican party gives a rip about.  As long as their transnational CEO billionaire backers continue to bankroll their grip on power they really could care less.   

Headlines

Headline:  GOP Senate Candidate Suggests The Voting Rights Act Of 1965 Should Be Overturned

Soon we're sure to be followed by: GOP Senate Candidate Suggests the Civil Rights Act Be Overturned. The Voting Rights Act was built on the Civil Rights Act.  It stands to reason they oppose that too.  It is after all opposition to that law that the modern Republican party exploited to take over the south from Democrats and with the racist Confederate flag crowd, build their base.  To this day the political and philosophical power base of the Republican party is the confederate south.  If you're not sure, spend some time there, tell us if you don't see white people flying the confederate flag instead of the American flag on a mass scale.  You think the headline we predict next is outrageous?  Trying to overturn the act that ensured blacks had the right to vote then - while actively working to prevent blacks from voting now - is just as bad. 

You Make Less, Pay More

RIVERHEAD, New York — Mitt Romney’s campaign released the latest two years of tax returns for Paul Ryan, showing his running mate paid a 15.9 percent tax rate in 2010.

First of all, both of these people are only releasing one or two years worth of returns. In the case of Romney at least, those years likely represent the least offensive or illegal returns.  But even if they are representative, there is just something wrong with electing people who will make the rules to ensure they pay way less than half of what the rest of us pay.  Even more damaging to the country of course, is that they make the rules to ensure their political backers pay nothing.  All of which leaves the middle class to pick up the tab. 

The Corruptionists

Buzzfeed:  A Romney aide told reporters that the event in Las Vegas is not a fundraiser but a "finance event," and therefore closed to reporters. The aide would not say what the distinction is between the two, declining to say whether the campaign is collecting checks at the event.

Either way, they're collecting the cash that's destroying our democracy is record amounts and in secret.  

Fuck The Constitution

Think Progress:  Late last week, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who is currently campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ), told a Republican gathering in Payson, Arizona that he supports abolishing the Seventeenth Amendment’s guarantee that voters elect their own senators.

These people can't stand the constitution. Previously the Republican party has attacked the fourth amendment, the fifth amendment, the eighth amendment, the 14th amendment, the 16th amendment, the 17th amendment, Article VI, the Civil Rights Act, the establishment clause, posse comitatus and due process.  Aside from the amendment that according to them gives every nut-job the right to own an assault rife, they pretty much hate the whole thing.

Base(ically) Racist

Raw Story:  Conservative columnist Ann Coulter on Wednesday said that President Barack Obama was campaigning with women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke because his base was “stupid single women.”

Not really. Fluke is a graduate of Georgetown Law.  But the base of the GOP is racist.  They deliberately built it that way.  If you have any doubt just google the term  "the Southern Strategy."

Leave The Neo-Nazis Alone!

Headline:  GOP Forced DHS To Stop Studying White Supremacist Terror Threat

Note to the white supremacist/neo-Nazi movement: the Republican party has your back.  Note to the rest of America: remember that when you vote in November.

Can't Delay The Truth

Zimbio:  The controversial Kathryn Bigelow film depicting the special forces mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden has received its first official teaser trailer, courtesy of Sony Pictures.

Penned by Hurt Locker screenwriter Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty has been criticized for its ties to the Obama administration, with some even suspecting it of being pro-Obama propaganda.

To assuage critics, the film's release date was moved from October to December 19th.

The "critics" are Republicans who are upset this film reminds us that in response to 9/11 their team lied and cheated to invade Iraq so their crony war profiteering corporate backers could fleece the American taxpayer for trillions of dollars while Obama quietly and efficiently went about the business of getting Osama Bin Ladin.  The horrible truth of the matter is Republicans will sell out our national security to enrich themselves and their party.

What Is Mitt Romney Hiding?

RNC Chairman on Harry Reid:  ‘Dirty Liar’

Harry Reid:

“The issue that I raised has nothing to do with me,” Reid told reporters. “It has everything to do with the first presidential candidate in more than 30 years who refuses to show the American people his income tax returns.” "Listen, Romney can solve this problem very quickly: Produce the tax returns."

If Reid's source was wrong Mitt Rmoney would have no reason not release his tax returns like every other presidential candidate does.  The fact he won't strongly indicates he's a tax cheat.  Whatever the truth., he's obviously hiding something.  Before we let him be president we need to know what it is.

Mitt Romney, Dirty Liar

TPM: Vets: Romney Lying About Obama’s Early Voting Suit

Politico: Mitt Romney sparked a Saturday tit-for-tat by claiming, without pointing to any evidence, that President Obama's campaign is trying to restrict military voting in Ohio.

When in fact the exact opposite is true. Obama's lawsuit is seeking to restore early voting rights to nearly a million veterans along with police officers, firefighters, and all the other voters in Ohio. Rmoney is trying to restrict it.  To borrow a term from the chairman of the Republican party, Rmoney is a dirty liar. And an enemy of democracy on top of that.