Political Ruminations

BREAKING: Text of President Obama Signing Statement on the NDAA

Full text of Signing Statement by President Obama on H.R. 1540 (also known as the NDAA):

Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.” I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed. In hundreds of separate sections totaling over 500 pages, the Act also contains critical Administration initiatives to control the spiraling health care costs of the Department of Defense (DoD), to develop counterterrorism initiatives abroad, to build the security capacity of key partners, to modernize the force, and to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of military operations worldwide.

Picture of the week

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on the verge of a recall.

Via Ashby (who has an excellent piece up on Walker to go with the pic)

Morning Quote: Glenn Greenwald Xenophobia

“The parade of evils caused by illegal immigration is widely known, and it gets worse every day. In short, illegal immigration wreaks havoc economically, socially, and culturally; makes a mockery of the rule of law; and is disgraceful just on basic fairness grounds alone.”

Read the rest of this truly xenophobic article on illegal immigration from 2005 by Ron Paul defender, Glenn Greenwald.

H/T Rob26

Morning Quote: Ron Paul Proposed a Bailout for Slaveowners

From an interview of Ron Paul by Tim Russert on Meet the Press in December 2007:

Tim Russert: “I was intrigued by your comments about Abe Lincoln. [Mr. Russert reads from the Washington Post] ‘According to Paul, Abe Lincoln should never have gone to war; there were better ways of getting rid of slavery.’”

Ron Paul: “Absolutely. Six hundred thousand Americans died in a senseless civil war. No, he shouldn’t have gone to war. He did this just to enhance and get rid of the original intent of the republic. I mean, it was that iron fist…”

Tim Russert: “We’d still have slavery.”

Ron Paul: “Oh, come on...Slavery was phased out in every other country of the world. And the way I’m advising that it should have been done is do like the British empire did. You buy the slaves and release them. How much would that cost compared to killing 600,000 Americans and where the hatred lingered for 100 years? Every other major country in the world got rid of slavery without a civil war. I mean, that doesn’t sound too radical to me. That sounds like a pretty reasonable approach.”

A bailout of slaveowners would not have accomplished the same thing, and it would obviously have been wrong to reward people who had enslaved others. There is satisfaction to be had in the idea that we will stand up and fight for our highest ideals even when it costs us our lives. An end to the enslavement of other human beings is such an ideal.

Related Posts: Sixteen Things You Should Know About Ron Paul

Morning Quote: Barry Goldwater on Abortion

“Today’s so-called ‘conservatives’ don’t even know what the word means. They think I’ve turned liberal because I believe a woman has a right to an abortion. That’s a decision that’s up to the pregnant woman, not up to the pope or some do-gooders or the Religious Right. It’s not a conservative issue at all.”

- Conservative icon, Barry Goldwater (R), a few years prior to his death in 1998, on a woman’s right to choose.

Morning Quote: Albert Hunt on How Republicans Are Helping Obama Win Reelection

“The last four times an insurgent party has captured the presidency -- 1980, 1992, 2000 and 2008 -- it had a positive approval rating a year before Election Day that usually was better than the incumbent party's.

[....] Today, a plethora of polls shows both parties are held in low regard by the electorate, but the Republicans consistently do worse. They have been on a steady decline throughout this year.”

- Albert Hunt, Executive Editor of Bloomberg News, on how Republicans are helping President Obama win reelection.

Via Taegan Goddard

Morning Quote: Jonathan Chait on Ron Paul

“Ron Paul is not a kindly old libertarian who just wants everybody to be free. He’s a really creepy bigot.”

- Jonathan Chait, in a piece for New York Magazine (you should read the whole thing), with whom I could not agree more.

Related Posts: Sixteen Things You Should Know About Ron Paul

Morning Quote: Glenn Greenwald

“Would be fascinating to watch the GOP candidate be to Obama's left on war/foreign policy, many civil liberties & criminal justice/Drug War.”

- Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) referring to GOP presidential hopeful, Ron Paul, on Twitter.

Ron Paul is not to the left of President Obama on anything other than the legalization of marijuana, and that statement is especially true when it comes to civil liberties. When asked to name exactly which civil liberties he meant when he said “many civil liberties”, Greenwald did not (could not) name one. 

Sixteen Things You Should Know About Ron Paul

Let's start with this - he is absolutely not your benign Uncle Fester.

1. Ron Paul has financial ties to the white supremacist, Don Black, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and currently a Neo-Nazi leader whose website is the largest hate site on the internet. The image is of Ron Paul with Don Black, and Don Black’s son, Derek Black.
2. Ron Paul is absolutely a racist; there is no real room for doubt.
3. Ron Paul told Chris Matthews that he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also stated that Jim Crow laws should not be illegal.
4. Ron Paul is an anti-Semite, and has a terrible record on Israel.
5. Ron Paul has been closely allied with the John Birch Society since the 1970’s. In fact, Ron Paul was the speaker at their 50th anniversary shindig.
6. Ron Paul believes that we should abolish FEMA. Should a natural disaster occur, you can only hope that your neighbors will help you, and that they have the money to help you.
7. Ron Paul opposed raising the U.S. debt ceiling, even if it meant that we would default on our obligations.
8. Ron Paul encouraged Wikileaks/Julian Assange to go after the Federal Reserve.
9. Ron Paul claims that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are unconstitutional and has even equated them with slavery. He has said that he would abolish these programs. (And yes, Ron Paul is himself on Medicare.)
10. Ron Paul believes that both our monetary system and our system of taxation are unconstitutional, and would like to abolish our centralized banking system (Federal Reserve), paper money, the IRS, and the income tax.
11. Ron Paul believes that abortion should be criminalized & “is the most important issue of our age”.
12. Ron Paul believes that the following departments of the Federal government are unconstitutional and would like to abolish all of them:  the Dept. of Education, the Dept. of Energy, the Dept. of Agriculture, the Dept. of Health and Human Services, the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Commerce, and the Dept. of Labor.
13. Ron Paul would like to eliminate all federal involvement on multiple issues such as marriage, abortion, prayer in school, civil rights, education, and others. In a Ron Paul world, the Federal government would defer to the individual states on most  issues.........that is, providing that the Federal government first does things such as declare a fetus a “person”. 
14. Ron Paul is an isolationist. This is not the same thing as “anti-war” which seems to confuse some Liberals.
15. Ron Paul wants to eliminate the 14th amendment -- to end “birthright citizenship”, and has called for attacks on the benefits of undocumented workers.
16. Ron Paul would eliminate the student loan program, leaving students at the mercy of the banks, and despite the fact that the U.S. has fallen behind other developed nations in education.

Some Liberals say that Ron Paul holds “progressive views”. I think not.

Morning Quote: Rick Perry

“Absolutely, I’d vote against it. Get people to work.”

- Rick Perry when asked by CNN if he would vote against extending the payroll tax cut and the soon to expire unemployment benefits extension.

Morning Quote: John McCain

“It is harming the Republican party. It is harming the view, if it's possible anymore, of the American people about Congress.”

- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) (on CNN yesterday) on the fight in Congress over extending the payroll tax cut.

Millionaires in Congress Are in the Majority

And these are the people who create the laws which impact the 99 percent. 

Via MoveOn.org

Morning Quote: Ron Paul

“I would like to restore your right to drink raw milk anytime you like!”

- The next GOP frontrunner, Rep. Ron Paul in New Hampshire, vows to provide the risk tolerant with the right to ingest unsafe food/drink.

Morning Quote: Mitt Romney

“As for him trying to reference a $10,000 rhetorical bet, the Speaker, as I recall, probably shouldn't be talking about that given a $500,000 bill at Tiffany's.”

- Mitt Romney attempting to turn Gingrich’s spin on the $10k bet around by referring to Gingrich’s account at Tiffany’s.

New Obama Family Portrait

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Malia Obama, and Sasha Obama, sit for a family portrait in the Oval Office on December 11, 2011. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Morning Quote

“I’m just going by my gut. I shook the guy’s hand, looked him in the eye and he has no soul. I don’t see a conviction. I don’t see a leader. I feel like I’m talking to a robot. I’ve talked to all the other candidates and none of them gave me the vibe that Gingrich did. He is not a guy you want to go have a beer with.”

- GOP activist and Tea Party member, Judd Saul, not too hot on a Newt Gingrich candidacy.

Adding......something I’ve always wondered about is why Republicans always elect idiots with whom they “want to have a beer”. It doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.

Morning Quote: Christine O’Donnell

“That’s one of the things that I like about him — because he’s been consistent since he changed his mind.”

- Christine  O’Donnell (“I’m not a witch” fame) on her endorsement of Mitt Romney.

Stop Censorship of the Internet!

████ ████████ ████ █████████ ████████ ███████!

Morning Quote: Newt Gingrich

“I would just say that if Governor Romney would like to give back all the money he’s earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain that I would be glad to then listen to him. I’ll bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won’t take the offer.”

- Newt Gingrich on Mitt Romney’s business experience as the owner of Bain Capital.

HT Bob Cesca

Morning Quote: President Obama

“It doesn't really matter who the nominee is going to be. The core philosophy that they're expressing is the same.”

- President Barack Obama tells 60 minutes that it doesn't matter who the eventual GOP nominee will be.

Click here to watch the full-length video of the interview.

Video: President Obama Interview With 60 Minutes

Watch the full interview:

Morning Quote: Pres. Jed Bartlet

From The West Wing, Season 2 (2000)

President Josiah Bartlet: “I like how you call homosexuality an abomination.”
Right Wing Radio Personality: “I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr. President. The Bible does.”
President Josiah Bartlet: “Yes, it does. Leviticus.”
Right Wing Radio Personality: “18:22.”
President Josiah Bartlet: “Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I had you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important 'cause we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you? One last thing: While you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tight-Ass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits.”

The Obama War on Christmas

The Obama family shock and awe after the ceremonial lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C..  (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, Dec. 1, 2011)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Kermit the Frog read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to a group of children during the official tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C.. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson, Dec. 1, 2011)

Our gorgeous First Lady Michelle Obama, looks at Christmas decorations with the children at the first ‘Building A Healthier Future’ summit at the White House on Nov. 30, 2011. Image by Getty.

Morning Quote: Sen. Mitch McConnell

“Hosting this seminar on the most important issue [the National Popular Vote proposal] in America nobody’s talking about. Everybody’s following the debt crisis in Europe, the presidential election in America, unemployment statistics, but nobody is paying much attention to the genuine threat to our country. That’s what I want to address this morning.”

- During a speech at the Heritage Foundation [a Koch brothers think tank] on Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called the idea of using the popular vote to determine the outcome of presidential elections a “genuine threat to our country”.

Watch the video:

Think Progress:

McConnell and six Republican secretaries of state discussed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPV), a proposed plan for using a popular vote in presidential elections. The NPV would guarantee whichever candidate wins the popular vote would also win the electoral college – preventing a repeat of the 2000 election when Al Gore won the most votes but still lost the presidency. It would do so by getting states to agree to collectively award their electoral votes to the popular vote winner, but the compact would only kick in once states with a majority of the electoral college sign on. Currently, eight states and the District of Columbia have joined the NPV, comprising 132 of the needed 270 electoral votes for the compact to take effect.

Rather than embracing the NPV as a way to solidify the Constitution’s guarantee of “one man, one vote,” McConnell lambasted the plan....

Ironworker to Sen. Scott Brown: Where are the jobs?

Via The Rachel Maddow Show:

“The first question [I would have asked Senator Scott Brown is], where's the jobs? He campaigned on his independent platform about job creation, with the brown jacket and pickup truck. You know, the prop comic. And he came into Washington and everything he's voted has been anti-worker, anti-jobs. So where are the jobs that he promised? I didn't vote for him, personally, but he does represent me in the Senate, and I just had one question to ask him, maybe would have taken 30 seconds, and he just couldn't provide that time today...You know, I can't do what my grandfather did. I can't work my job, buy a house, raise a family and send the kids off to college. The American Dream's not attainable in this economic environment. So, it's been frustrating to say the least.”

- Jay Chambers, third generation iron worker from the Boston area and "Take Back the Capitol" protester, on why he spent much of the day Tuesday camped out in Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown's office hoping to get a chance to talk to the senator

Watch (Mr. Chambers speaks with Rachel starting at approximately 4:05):

Good News for the Economy

Via Think Progress:

More than 40 percent of international investors see the U.S. as the economy that will perform best over the next year, the highest rating in more than two years, according to a Bloomberg survey. That’s a sharp rise from September, when less than a third had such confidence, and is double the poll result for the next two top-rated markets, Brazil and China.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman Flip Flops on the Science Behind Climate Change

Jon Huntsman in May 2011, tells TIME magazine that he believes in the science of climate change.

“If 90 percent of the oncological community said something was causing cancer we’d listen to them. I respect science and the professionals behind the science so I tend to think it’s better left to the science community - though we can debate what that means for the energy and transportation sectors.”

Jon Huntsman in August 2011, with a tweet that became an internet sensation when he stepped up as the seemingly “reasonable” version of a Republican presidential candidate.

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy. ”

Jon Huntsman in December 2011 (yesterday), claiming to question the validity of the science, citing a many times debunked conspiracy theory favored by climate change deniers. And by the way, the university was not in Scotland.

“The scientific community owes us more about… what might lie beneath all of this. [T]here is — there are questions about the validity of the science, evidenced by one university over in Scotland recently. I think the onus is on the scientific community to provide more in the way of information, to help clarify the situation.”

Finally, Huntsman was  never really the “reasonable Republican” re climate change despite Liberal wishful thinking:

Huntsman has said from the very beginning of his campaign that he doesn’t think the government should do anything about climate change and would not support spending taxpayer dollars on mitigating the effects of climate shift.

Full Text Transcript & Video: President Obama Speech in Osawatomie, Kansas

Watch the President give what is arguably the best speech of his presidency:

Text Transcript: Remarks by the President on the Economy in Osawatomie, Kansas

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Please, please have a seat. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Good afternoon.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to start by thanking a few folks who’ve joined us today. We’ve got the mayor of Osawatomie, Phil Dudley is here. (Applause.) We have your superintendent Gary French in the house. (Applause.) And we have the principal of Osawatomie High, Doug Chisam. (Applause.) And I have brought your former governor, who is doing now an outstanding job as Secretary of Health and Human Services -- Kathleen Sebelius is in the house. (Applause.) We love Kathleen.

Well, it is great to be back in the state of Tex -- (laughter) -- state of Kansas. I was giving Bill Self a hard time, he was here a while back. As many of you know, I have roots here. (Applause.) I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Obamas of Osawatomie. (Laughter.) Actually, I like to say that I got my name from my father, but I got my accent -- and my values -- from my mother. (Applause.) She was born in Wichita. (Applause.) Her mother grew up in Augusta. Her father was from El Dorado. So my Kansas roots run deep.

Morning Quote: A War of Words Between Nancy Pelosi & Newt Gingrich

- Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke with TPM about the possibility of Newt Gingrich as the GOP’s nominee, and didn’t hide Democratic delight at the idea of running against Newt Gingrich:

“I like Barney Frank’s quote the best, where he said ‘I never thought I’d live such a good life that I would see Newt Gingrich be the nominee of the Republican party.’ That quote I think spoke for a lot of us.

One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich. I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff. ”

- Gingrich’s response to Leader Pelosi:

“I would like to thank Speaker Pelosi for what I regard as an early Christmas gift.

That’s a fundamental violation of the rules of the House and I would hope that members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it.”

- Later in the day, via TPM:

Pelosi To Newt: I Don't Need Secret Documents To Embarrass You

When it comes to the Newt Gingrich v Nancy Pelosi war of words that erupted today, Pelosi’s office told Brian Beutler that Pelosi wasn’t talking about dinging Gingrich with some secret cache of documents, but rather the ethics report from the 1990s that’s already available online.

“Leader Pelosi was clearly referring to the extensive amount of information that is in the public record, including the comprehensive committee report with which the public may not be fully aware,” Pelosi’s spokesperson said.

Oh, the drama.....

Republican Strategist on “Trump’s Clown Circus”

Republican strategist, Mike Murphy, warned GOP presidential candidates off the Trump debates:

“GOP candidates would be foolish to show up at Trump's clown circus/debate. Walk away...”

Donald Trump. The ultimate "Ugly American" right alongside Sarah Palin.

Paul Krugman on Lies and Liars

Paul Krugman on the lies and the lying liars:

“Back in 2000, George W. Bush made a discovery of enormous consequence: you could base a whole political campaign on claims that were flatly untrue, like the claim that your big tax cuts for the wealthy went to the middle class, or the claim that diverting Social Security funds into private accounts would strengthen the system’s finances, and reporting would never point this out. That’s when I formulated my doctrine that if Bush said the earth was flat, headlines would read Views Differ on Shape of Planet.

All indications are, however, that Campaign 2012 will make Campaign 2000 look like a model of truthfulness. And all indications are that the press won’t know what to do — or, worse, that they will know what to do, which is act as stenographers and refuse to tell readers and listeners when candidates lie. Because to do otherwise when the parties aren’t equally at fault — and they won’t be — would be “biased”.

This will be true even of those news organizations specifically charged with fact-checking. Yes, they’ll call out some lies — but they’ll also claim that some perfectly reasonable statements are lies, in order to keep their precious balance. This is already happening: as Igor Volsky points out, one of the finalists for Politifact’s Lie of the Year is a Democratic claim — that Republicans want to abolish Medicare — that happens to be entirely true.”

Read that last paragraph carefully. It is almost surreal that Politifact has fallen for the “biased” nonsense to the point where they can call the claim “Republicans want to abolish Medicare” a lie of the year. Or a lie at all.

In point of fact, the liars here are not only the Republicans, who absolutely want to end Medicare and continuously spin and lie about it, but now Politifact, who spreads the lie for them.

Think Progress has the background on the Politifact claim.

My head is spinning.

Adding......John Cole on the Politifact lie:

America turns off the lights, goes to bed, leaving their Mercedes in the driveway. While we sleep, the Republicans sneak into the car, drive it off, and sell it, but they keep the Mercedes hood ornament. They then split the proceeds between their rich buddies, and go out and find a Ford Pinto up on cinderblocks in a field, with the grass growing through the floorboard. They place that in the driveway, cleverly glue the Mercedes ornament onto the front of the Pinto, and sneak off into the night. The next morning, America and Democrats are screaming- “What the hell happened to my car.” Republicans say- “What are you talking about, there is your Mercedes right there, we just modernized it and fixed it up a bit for long-term financial stability,” and point at the Pinto.

Then, the rocket scientists at Politifact drive by to take a non-partisan look at things, see the Mercedes symbol on the front of the car, and tell us all we’re lying about the Republicans stealing our Mercedes.

Cain to Endorse Gingrich?

According to Fox5 in Atlanta, Cain will be endorsing Newt Gingrich today:

BREAKING: Sources tell FOX 5 News that Herman Cain will endorse Newt Gingrich Monday for the GOP Presidential Nominee.

That should take care of Newt.

Via

UPDATE:  Cain has denied the endorsement rumors.

Morning Quote: Former Sen. John Danforth

“I've been watching some of these Republican debates and they're just terrible. Terrible. It's embarrassing for me as a Republican to watch this stuff.

What have been the big applause lines in these debates? Well, a statement that the governor of Texas is responsible for killing 234 people on death row. Or that we favor torture. Or that we’re creating a fence on the Mexican border that electrocutes people when they try to cross it. Or when people show up at the emergency room at hospitals and they’re not insured don’t treat them. And that, I mean these are the big applause lines, people just hoop and holler when they hear all that. [...]

It doesn’t have anything to do with the republican party that I was a part of. This is just totally different. And all of these people who are saying this, y’know, and claiming that, y’know, they’re for all this stuff, they also sort of ostentatiously say, “Oh, we’re very religious people. We really, we’re just very pious, Christian people.” They were for torture, and electrocution of the people on along the border and all of that. That doesn’t have anything to do with, is contrary to the Christianity that I understand.”

- Former Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) on the GOP primary debates and the seeming religious hypocrisy of modern Republicans.

Andy Borowitz: A Farewell from Herman Cain

“But before I go, let me share with you my final thoughts on my campaign. After months of crisscrossing this great land of ours and participating in over three hundred televised debates, I am being disqualified because of an extramarital affair. And that raises the following question: are you fucking kidding me? I mean, let’s get real. I never heard of Libya. I didn’t know whether that CNN dude’s name was Wolf or Blitz. And my only training for running the #1 nation in the world was running its #8 pizza chain. Yet none of that, I repeat, none of that disqualified me. In fact, I was the front-fucking-runner, as long as I kept my 9-9-9 in my pants. (I have no idea what I meant by that — I just like saying 9-9-9.)”

- Andy Borowitz on the idiocy of modern Republicans.

Adding........more on Herman Cain's dumbassery from Steve Benen.

Via Chez Pazienza

Morning Quote: Sen. Tom Coburn on Newt Gingrich

“I am not inclined to be a supporter of Newt Gingrich having served under him for years and experienced personally his leadership. … because i found it lacking often times. … There are all types of leaders, leaders that instill confidence, leaders that are somewhat abrupt and brisk, leaders that have one standard for the people they are leading and a different standard for themselves. I just found his leadership lacking and I’m not going to go into greater detail on that and if you poll the group of people that came in congress in 1994, which he did a wonderful job in organizing that and he’s brilliant and has a lot of positives, but i still, I will have difficulty supporting him as President of the United States.”

- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on Fox News Sunday regarding the candidacy of Newt Gingrich.

Quote of the Day: Herman Cain Quits the Race

“I believe these words came from the Pokemon movie... Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It’s never easy when there’s so much on the line. But you and I can make a difference. There’s a mission just for you and me. Just look inside and you will find just what you can do.”

- Herman Cain, GOP presidential candidate, announces his withdrawal from the race, and finishes with a quote from a Pokemon movie.

Surreal.

Adding........previously, Cain used the same quote in a Fox News debate, but he attributed the quote to “a poet”.

Morning Quote: David Plouffe on Extending Payroll Tax Cuts

“It's a very clarifying vote. We can cut taxes for 160 million Americans, 98% of small businesses - giving them an incentive to hire long-term unemployed workers, and we can actually responsibly pay for that by asking roughly 300,000 people who make over a million dollars a year to pay their fair share. I can't think of a more clarifying vote - a clear vote - about where your priorities stand.”

- David Plouffe, White House senior advisor and campaign manager for the Obama 2008 campaign, on the then upcoming vote to extend the payroll tax cut, a vote during which Republicans chose to increase taxes on the middle class.

Morning Quote: Sen. Tom Harkin

“Let me just put it this way: There will be no Christmas for Congress unless there is an extension of the unemployment insurance benefits. Believe me, we have a number of us on the Senate side. We’re not going home. We’re not going to have Christmas for Congress until you get an extension of unemployment benefits.

I hate to inform my Republican colleagues, but Wall Street did not build America. But when it comes to handing out hundreds of millions of dollars, Wall Street is up front. It’s time for middle-class America to be up front.”

- Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) leads Democrats in a pledge to keep Congress in session over the holidays if  an extension to  unemployment insurance benefits is not passed.

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters on Occupy, the 1%, and Crooked Banksters

Watch:

H/T to my bro, Tim.

Morning Quote III: Newt Gingrich's Conservatism

“I'm clearly the more conservative candidate, by any rational standard. And, and I had a 90% American Conservative Union standing for twenty years. I helped Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp develop supply-side (trickle down) economics. I helped lead the effort to defeat communism in the Congress. I helped, uh, as Speaker of the House balance the federal budget for four straight years. Reform welfare as an entitlement. The first tax cuts in sixteen years. I mean…take whatever your list of what conservatism is, and I've done that stuff.”

- In an interview on Fox yesterday, GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich makes the case for his conservatism vs. that of Mitt Romney. Joe Scarborough doesn't buy it.