Political Ruminations

Right Wing Propaganda: Rick Perry’s First Campaign Ad

Well. There is nothing I can say about this (piece of propaganda/crap) Rick Perry campaign ad that hasn’t already been said better by others, including Bob Cesca, who has a piece up on Huffington Post that’s just a must read for everyone.

Anyway, watch this video, and make a concerted effort not to yell “America, Fuck Yeah!” or “Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

Leaving aside all of the bullshit histrionics, and the false patriotism, the worst part of the video is Perry’s “Zero Jobs” Big Lie, a claim rated ‘Pants on Fire’ by the non-partisan Politifact.

Or maybe it’s throughout the vid with Perry ranting on about the greatness of AMERICA (Fuck Yeah!), when this is the very same guy who threatened to SECEDE from the United States of AMERICA (Fuck Yeah!) over the stimulus bill in 2009, and in 2010 used federal stimulus dollars to make up 97% of his budget shortfall.

Truly disgusting ad.

Update on the GOP Battle Against the Affordable Care Act

I was embroiled in personal issues over the past couple of weeks, and consequently missed posting about several significant events in the Republican battle to repeal the the Affordable Care Act, which I think is definitely important enough to keep up with, thus, this catch-up post..

First, on January 20, the Republican controlled House voted unanimously to repeal the ACA, or as Republicans like to [falsely] call it, “the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act”. . HuffPost:

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans voted unanimously on Wednesday to fully repeal health care reform, though Senate leaders have said they will not take up the lower chamber's bill. Instead, the fight will move to the less glamorous arenas of funding and rule writing. The vote was 245-189, with three Democrats -- Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) -- voting for repeal.

This despite the fact that a majority of Americans do not support repeal, and many more would not support repeal had the GOP not engendered and publicized so many lies about the ACA, not the least of which is the so called job killing aspect of it [the truth is that insuring 30 million more people would create thousands of jobs in the health care industry], and the blatant lie that the law would increase the deficit. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the law would decrease the deficit, and repealing it would increase the deficit by 200 million. deficit  From the CBO blog:

THINK PROGRESS: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a Far Right Lobbying Group

A far right lobbying group which accepts donations from foreign interests, which are then used to smear Democrats. From the always on target, Think Progress, emphasis mine:

Since the 70s, the Chamber has been a far right lobbying group, representing mostly multinational corporations like ExxonMobil and CitiGroup. Last year, nearly half of the U.S. Chamber’s entire budget came from large health insurance companies. As Think Progress reported, the Chamber also recently began a secretive effort to attract donors from foreign corporations, including the Bahrain Petroleum Company and the Bank of India.

Republicans Vote En Masse Against Feeding Hungry American Kids

157 Republicans voted against the deficit-cutting Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act . From Think Progress:

Well-versed in obstructing help to the hungry, House Republicans first blocked, then voted against the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act yesterday, a bill that “would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier.” The Senate passed this bill by unanimous consent in August — essentially a 100-0 vote in favor of providing school meals to the nation’s 17 million hungry kids

How do these people face themselves in the mirror every day? And HOW in the hell can they justify demanding that the Bush tax cuts for MILLIONAIRES be extended to the tune of 830 billion dollars, all of which gets tacked on to the deficit, and allow American children to go hungry??!!!

UPDATE 1 - DEC. 3: The bill is on its way to President Obama for signing, no thanks to Republicans in the House.

Republicans Hold Expired Unemployment Benefits Hostage

Yesterday, Democrats introduced a proposal to extend unemployment benefits through 2011, at a cost of $56 million, without offsets. Republican, Scott Brown [R-MA] singlehandedly shut them down with a refusal to consider the proposal unless the cost is paid for. 2.5 million unemployed Americans are left with out needed aid just in time for the holidays.

After his objection, Brown offered his own proposal for a year-long extension as long as the Office of Management and Budget finds funds from already approved appropriations to pay for it. But Democrats turned down the plan because, as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) noted, “we have to deal with the immediate crisis” and “the families that are struggling today.” This, of course, was the governing philosophy of both parties when they passed unemployment extension seven times under the Bush Administration. In fact, before yesterday, Congress went 40 years without allowing extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. The unemployment rate today stands at 9.6 percent.

And yet, Scott Brown, along with his Republican cronies in Congress, want to give millionaires a gift by extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at a cost of $830 billion with no offsets.

But, in a video released this morning, Brown defended his opposition, saying he “disagreed” that Congress should “pay for unemployment benefits” by “putting more debt on the credit card.” A curious position considering Brown is more than happy to slap the nation with a $830 billion bill in order to extend the Bush tax cuts for the top two percent of wealthy Americans. In touting the GOP’s absurd logic, Brown and his GOP colleagues champion an extension that provides “virtually no economic stimulus,” while rebuking one that “contribute[s] powerfully to the economic growth that is vital for a healthy budget.”

Watch the faces of the unemployed.

This morning, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) called Brown’s vote against 60,000 Massachusetts workers “outrageous” and a “question of national character.” “We need Scott Brown to see and be worried about the people of the Commonwealth who are trying to get groceries on the table while they continue to look for work,” he said. But, according to his schedule, Brown is busy focusing on his Christmas-themed fundraisers this week.

Bastards.

VIDEO: Sarah Palin Attacks, Thinks She's in Competition With the First Lady

Roxsteady, one of my online buds, calls her “Tundra Trash”. I just call her “Bitch”. Both terms describe her, perhaps not well, but unless you’re a Palinbot, either will do. But I digress...

Yesterday, Palin took a stab at the First Lady during her speech in Silicon Valley. A completely gratuitous stab, at that. Which makes me wonder. Does she actually feel that she's somehow competing with Michelle Obama for something? There is no competition. None. See, it would be like comparing a prize-winning scholar to a really dumb animal........like a sheep, or something.

Palin quote, via Geoffrey Dunn:

You know, when I hear people say, or had said during the campaign that they've never been proud of America, haven't they met anybody in uniform yet? I get tears in my eyes when I see that young man, that young woman, walking through the airport in uniform ...you too... so proud to be American.

Gagging....

Mr. Dunn goes on to point out Palin's insensitivity to the Tillman family, and her use of hyperbole, as well as the lack of substance in her speech. Nothing new there, but 2012 is still ahead. Dunn:

Not only was it a nasty elbow at the First Lady, but Palin's remarks were thoroughly insensitive to the memory of Tillman and to his parents, who have been strongly critical of the U.S. military in the aftermath of his death.

The remainder of Palin's 40-minute speech before an adoring, albeit less-than capacity audience at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, was equally long on hyperbole and short on substance. Palin spent far more time talking about Dancing with the Stars than she did about foreign policy. Her digs were mostly directed at Democratic Party leaders (Palin continues to call it the "Democrat Party"), the "lamestream media" and President Obama--with whom she has been singularly obsessed since her failed vice-presidential bid in 2008 and who she blames for political attacks against her in Alaska.

Frankly, at this point, I am just praying to the Sky Fairy that Palin runs in 2012. It will be purely blissful to kick her whining ass to the curb for once and for all.

h/t Bob Cesca