“My Republican Party better tread very lightly. They’d better be very careful. They have wandered in and followed the NRA, whose (sic) made some horrible PR mistakes over the past month. Republicans better be careful and think twice before they make their next move.”
Via Mediaite
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This makes my heart sing.
f 30,000 pro-America Libyan protesters who attacked an Islamist militia compound in Benghazi on Friday, and took it apart, chanting things such as “We want justice for [Ambassador] Stevens" and "No more al-Qaida!",emphasis mine: An amazing story from Libya today, where pro-America protesters staged a huge demonstration, and stormed and ransacked the base of the main radical Islamist militia: Libyan Demonstrators Wreck Militia Compound in Benghazi.
Hundreds of Libyan protesters forced members of the main Salafist militia out of their base in the second city of Benghazi Friday, setting fire to and wrecking the military compound.
The assault came as an estimated 30,000 people rallied against the influence of the militias in the city, drowning out a protest by radical Salafists angry over a film and cartoons deemed offensive to Islam.
“No to armed formations” and “Yes to the Libya army” read banners raised by protesters gathered at the city’s Tibesti Hotel before marching to Al-Kish Square, close to the barracks of several militia brigades.
“Our law is God’s law, not the law of the jungle,” women chanted.
Banners also paid tribute to U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed along with three Americans on September 11 in what the White House now calls a terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi.
“Libya lost a friend” and “We want justice for Stevens,” signs read.
Make no mistake. This has happened because of President Obama’s foreign policy acuity. This is the kind of leadership we need not only in this country, but in the world at large.
The image is of “an armed Libyan man flashes the victory sign in front of a fire at the hardline Islamist group Ansar el-Sharia headquarters in Benghazi”, and the photo credit goes to Abdullah Doma-AFP.
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“President Obama has been absolutely clear and on this there's absolutely no daylight between the United States and Israel, that we will do what it takes to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. We are not at that stage yet. They do not have a nuclear weapon. Our shared intelligence assessments is that there is still considerable time and space before they will have a nuclear weapon should they make the decision to go for that.”
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"You have Gov. Romney creating as a centerpiece of his campaign this notion that we are taking the work requirement out of welfare," said Obama during a press conference at the White House. "What he is arguing is that we have somehow changed the work requirement in our welfare laws. And, in fact, what has happened was that my administration, responding to the requests of five governors, including two Republican governors, agreed to approve giving them, those states, some flexibility in how they manage the welfare rolls as long as it produced 20 percent increases in the number of people who are getting work."
“Governor Romney released an ad today alleging that the Obama administration had weakened the work requirements of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. That is not true.
The act emerged after years of experiments at the state level, including my work as Governor of Arkansas beginning in 1980. When I became President, I granted waivers from the old law to 44 states to implement welfare to work strategies before welfare reform passed.
After the law was enacted, every state was required to design a plan to move people into the workforce, along with more funds to help pay for training, childcare and transportation. As a result, millions of people moved from welfare to work.
The recently announced waiver policy was originally requested by the Republican governors of Utah and Nevada to achieve more flexibility in designing programs more likely to work in this challenging environment. The Administration has taken important steps to ensure that the work requirement is retained and that waivers will be granted only if a state can demonstrate that more people will be moved into work under its new approach. The welfare time limits, another important feature of the 1996 act, will not be waived.
The Romney ad is especially disappointing because, as governor of Massachusetts, he requested changes in the welfare reform laws that could have eliminated time limits altogether. We need a bipartisan consensus to continue to help people move from welfare to work even during these hard times, not more misleading campaign ads. ”
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan consistently lie about President Obama’s policies as well as the state of the economy, the nation, and anything else that comes to mind. Calling them on it seems to have zero effect, but they can not be allowed to run a campaign based only on lies about their opponent. There really has never before been a campaign such as this one. It’s despicable.
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“Wait a minute... I can’t let that go... You leveled a charge about the welfare work requirement. It turns out that’s not true. Where did you get your information? ... Nothing about this issue, every charge that has been leveled about this welfare reform order that the president signed, every accusation that has been leveled by some Republicans have been proven to be not true.”
Finally we’re seeing a little pushback against the lies of the Republicans from corporate media, beginning with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, and now NBC’s Chuck Todd. It is certainly unusual enough that it warrants commendation.
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This is yet another Big Fat Lie by Mitt Romney, spread by Romney and other Republicans who know better, but prefer to use made-up racist dogwhistles in their efforts to beat POTUS because they can’t win on the issues!
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“The White House never called us about this no one reached out to us and told us this was on its way. And, I mean, if they were serious about a real solution to this problem and not politicizing it then why don’t you reach out to people?We’re trying to work out a real solution.”
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Mitt Romney needs to stop running around shrieking about how Obama's economic policies didn't work.
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University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Hawkeyes! (Applause.) It is good to be back in Iowa! (Applause.) Can folks please give it up for Blake for that outstanding introduction? (Applause.) And I want to thank the University of Iowa Pep Band for firing everybody up. (Applause.)
There is some good hospitality here, and I should know. I spent a little time here in Iowa, spent a little time here in Iowa City. I’m glad that my hometown of Chicago will get to return the hospitality when your football team kicks off its season at Soldier Field. (Applause.)
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“The Wall Street Journal wrote, and I’m quoting, “Romney appeared to scoff, first in Detroit, then in Florida, at the notion of manufacturing as a job engine for the future.”
So look folks, we have a choice in this election:
Between our philosophy that believes manufacturing is central to our economy, and their philosophy that scoffs at it.”
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“On so many fronts, there could be no person in this country we could nominate who would be any worse on taking on Barack Obama on the most important issue of the day, ObamaCare, than Gov. Romney. And it's the equivalent of malpractice to nominate someone who gives away the most important issue in this race.”
No ecoli conservatism happening in this race.
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"I have said that when it comes to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, I will take no options off the table, and I mean what I say. That includes all elements of American power: A political effort aimed at isolating Iran; a diplomatic effort to sustain our coalition and ensure that the Iranian program is monitored; an economic effort that imposes crippling sanctions; and, yes, a military effort to be prepared for any contingency. Iran’s leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And as I have made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests."
“This is a president who has failed to put in place crippling sanctions against Iran. He's also failed to communicate that military options are on the table and in fact in our hand, and that it's unacceptable to America for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Paul Waldman on Romney’s lies, emphasis mine:
So here's my question: Just what will it take for reporters to start writing about the question of whether Mitt Romney is, deep within his heart, a liar?
Because he does this kind of thing frequently, very frequently. Sometimes the lies he tells are about himself (often when he's trying to explain away things he has said or done in the past if today they displease his party's base, as he's now doing with his prior support for an individual mandate for health insurance), but most often it's Barack Obama he lies about. And I use the word "lie" very purposefully. There are lots of things Romney says about Obama that are distortions, just plain ridiculous, or unfalsifiable but obviously false, as when he often climbs into Obama's head to tell you what Obama really desires, like turning America into a militarily weak, economically crippled shadow of Europe (not the actual Europe, but Europe as conservatives imagine it to be, which is something like Poland circa 1978). But there are other occasions, like this one, where Romney simply lies, plainly and obviously. In this case, there are only two possibilities for Romney's statement: Either he knew what Obama has said on this topic and decided he'd just lie about it, or he didn't know what Obama has said, but decided he'd just make up something about what Obama said regardless of whether it was true. In either case, he was lying.
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“I'm not diminishing the heavy lifting of grass roots activism, but it's brilliant politics on the part of the president. This wasn't a national issue until the White House decided to address it. More people needed to be included and know that the Republican party has been operating like Clockwork Orange in state houses across the country, quite literally putting women's liberty in a rape room that may or may not have to be sterile.
They've been harassing and extorting the elderly with cuts to Medicaid and public transportation, and increased bureaucracy fees-- overwhelming fixed incomes everywhere like corporate thugs stealing purses on the subway. They've legislated unconstitutional barriers to the ballot boxes while altering their own bullshit Stooge-democracy election results as they go. Massive cuts to children's education and minimal nutritional assistance. Drug testing adults for food!
Just because we don't see the fire hoses and dogs doesn't mean the general idea has changed at all.
They're stealing real liberty-- not that fake threatened liberty that only exists in right wing America's idea of the Civil Rights Act and a slight tax increase on dead beat corporations. They're stealing power, liberty, and treasury from the many to give to the few and they're just stuffing them like prize pigs at this point. It's a twisted sort of cruelty to pigs.
This was a much needed wake up call to solidarity going out to women in America, and leave it to Rush Limbaugh to do the rest. Raising this issue brought the Republican party's degenerate agenda out in the open while we get to bear witness to the possible fall of Rush Limbaugh-- On president Obama's watch.”
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Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA), like many Republicans, seems to have both a lack of understanding that everything is documented on the internet, and a deeply stupid lack of awareness about which man was president when.
Well, what we've seen is massive job loss that began in about 2008, and I believe that was under Barack Obama.
Graph via Steve Benen
H/T Bob Cesca
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Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
The Country We Believe In
George Washington University
Washington, DC
April 13, 2011
Good afternoon. It’s great to be back at GW. I want you to know that one of the reasons I kept the government open was so I could be here today with all of you. I wanted to make sure you had one more excuse to skip class. You’re welcome.
Continue reading "TRANSCRIPT-April 13: President Obama Speech on Fiscal Policy" »
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From WhiteHouse.gov.View the video here, and/or read the transcript here.
FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility
The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures that shared prosperity will keep the American dream alive for generations to come. A key component of that strategy must be a commitment to fiscal responsibility and to living within our means. Today, the President is laying out a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction framework to cut spending, bring down our debt and increase confidence in our nation’s fiscal strength, while supporting our economic recovery and ensuring we are making the investments we need to win the future.
Continue reading "Fact Sheet: Obama Framework for Shared Prosperity & Fiscal Responsibility" »
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A truly great speech. Read the transcript here, and/or the fact sheet here.
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As the President said in his State of the Union, he views Social Security primarily as an issue about shoring it up for the long term as opposed to a deficit issue, And we talked a lot about this as far back as the campaign, but are very clear that if there are proposals out there that are acceptable, that don't reduce benefits, don't slash benefits, that don't affect current retirees, the President is open to proposals that would shore the system up in the long term.
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The framework agreement announced by the President secures vital tax relief and investments in our workers that will create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The plan has three key accomplishments:
Continue reading "TRANSCRIPT: Details on Obama Tax Cut Plan" »
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"We can absorb a terrorist attack. We'll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever . . . we absorbed it and we are stronger."
It’s pretty clear that the President was simply stating that America is strong enough to survive another terrorist attack. And, I will go out on a limb and state that the average person reading said quote would agree with me on this. After all, it’s a fairly simple premise, stated just as simply. Right? Not according to the eternally dumbass Republican contingent. Even mainstream Republicans are hyping this with a dedicated fervor. Mark Theissen:
He is effectively saying: an attack is inevitable, we’ll do our best to prevent it, but if we get hit again—even on the scale of 9/11—it’s really no big deal.
Okay, Mark. So stating that America is strong enough to deal with another attack is saying that another attack is “no big deal”? Uh huh. Last winter, Mark Theissen made the statement that under the Obama administration, the military is getting too good at killing terrorists.
Yes. He said that.
Adam Serwer is thinking along the same lines as I am:
Basically Republicans are outraged and offended at the notion that the president has enough faith in the courage of the American people that another terrorist attack wouldn't reduce them to a quivering mass of frightened little children.
The ultimate truth about this particular meme came from a commenter on Cesca’s site:
The president saying "We're strong, we can take it" calms peoples fears and the republicans dont like this. Fear is all they have. Fear of the "other."
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Yes, where the economy is concerned, I am looking at the glass as half full [emphasis added]. Via The Washington Post:
President Obama's much-maligned economic stimulus package added as many as 3.3 million jobs to the economy during the second quarter of this year, and may have prevented the nation from lapsing back into recession, according to a report released Tuesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
In its latest quarterly assessment of the act, the CBO said the stimulus lowered the unemployment rate by between 0.7 and 1.8 percentage points during the quarter ending in June and increased the number of people employed by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million. The higher figure would come close to making good on Obama's pledge that the act would save or create as many as 3.5 million jobs by the end of this year.
The CBO said the act also increased the nation's gross domestic product by between 1.7 percent and 4.5 percent in the second quarter, indicating that the stimulus may have been the primary source of growth in the U.S. economy.
Time for another stimulus, the Republican house-burner-downers be damned.
ht Bob Cesca
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Some people have taken hypocrisy and made it an art. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell is one of those.
Loudly gloating about Virginia's budget surplus of $403.2 million during a speech to the legislature, he enumerated the factors contributing to said surplus, and during an appearance on Fox Business network, he continued to claim conservative principles as the reason for Virginia's surplus.
McDonnell’s “prudence” would be a shining example for the federal government if he hadn’t relied on one important contributor: the federal government. According to a Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis report released this week, last year’s Recovery Act provided $2.5 billion in stimulus relief to “maintain crucial services for [Virginia] citizens” and “help close the state’s budget shortfall in 2010-2012.” Virginia legislators relied on $1.3 billion in enhanced Medicaid funding, $1 billion in funding for K-12 and higher education, $39 million for public safety, and $200 million in general support to reduce “what would otherwise have been a $5.4 billion budget hole.”
Selective amnesia on the part of McDonnell? Indeed.
But McDonnell has a history of selective amnesia when it comes to Recovery funds. During his gubernatorial campaign, McDonnell continually criticized the Recovery Act as a “massive” spending bill that would “do little to help the economy.” But, while in office, McDonnell heralded $24 million in federal funding to advance health information technology while sweeping the fact that it was stimulus funding under the rug. He even requested stimulus funds to cover rising health care costs and to help build a Rolls Royce manufacturing plant in Prince George County. As one Virginia legislator put it, “we wouldn’t even be talking about the surplus if it weren’t for the stimulus.”
From a comment on Think Progress:
Do the math:
started with 1.8 billion in the hole.
Add 2.5 billion from the fed stimulus.
Equals .7 billion in the black.
Ended with .4 billion in the black.
Fiscal responsibility and conservative principles somehow swallowed .3 billion!
Via Think Progress
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Krugman refutes the right wing mantra that goes “Obama is a big spender”.
One of the things everyone knows right now is that Obama has presided over a huge increase in government spending. But like so many of the things everyone knows, it isn’t true.
Spending as a percentage of GDP is around 19 percent. It's midrange. Spending peaked in 1987, during the Reagan presidency, at around 21.5 percent.
Now can we pass more stimulus and create more damn jobs?! Of course, before that happens, Congress needs to unf-ck itself and realize that deficit reduction is really stupid (at this point).
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The Republicans have filibustered this act, just like they do everything else except, of course, tax breaks for the wealthy.
The White House addressed the misinformation with a strong post on the White House Blog yesterday; I've included it here in it's entirety.
America’s small businesses are essential to our nation’s economy and its recovery. They create two out or every three new jobs in the private sector. Their ability to hire and expand is crucial to putting our economy back on the right track. But in the wake of this recession, too many small businesses are struggling to find the loans they need to strengthen their companies.
And that’s why President Obama has called on the Senate to swiftly approve the Small Business Jobs Act – a set of tax breaks and lending incentives designed to spur hiring and growth at small businesses.
As we continue to fight for essential assistance to small businesses we know there will be a lot of misinformation and given what is at stake we want to provide the real facts.
Below is a point by point fact check of a story about the small business legislation the AP ran this weekend:
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A chart published by the Wall Street Journal denotes the difference between the current tax plan, which includes the Bush-era tax cuts, and the Obama plan, which revokes the Bush-era tax cuts for those earning over $300,000.
The red bar indicates the taxes currently paid by the groups listed, and the blue bar indicates the taxes which would be paid under the Obama plan in 2011.
Unless you are a blithering idiot, you can clearly see that there is a tax reduction for those earning below $300,000, which decreases as income goes up.
Continue reading "3 Charts: Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy vs. Obama Tax Plan" »
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