Please Oh Please

Josh Marshall writes today that he is seeing lots of indicators pointing to the conclusion that Newt Gingrich is here to stay.

We probably need to wait until mid-December to know whether Newt’s surge is real or just another boom and bust. But it seems different; it feels different. That’s not much to go on. But we do have some evidence that it is different.

I so hope he's right.  

Thrice Married Family Values Crusader

Just a few short days ago Gingrich was polling in the single digits.  His campaign was spending more money at stores on Fifth Ave. for his third wife than on campaign costs.  Now after weeks of GOP voters testing out anyone else but Mitt Romney to be their nominee, it looks like Newt Gingrich is all that's left.

I'm comfortable with President Obama facing any of the current crop of GOP candidates and beating them.  I think his hardest race would be Romney simply because I know once the primary is over Mitt will try his best to return to his moderate self.  Beating a guy that himself enacted an individual insurance mandate while governor and who believes God lives on Planet Kolob shouldn't be that difficult, however.  It won't be easy, just not that difficult.

There was never any chance Bachmann, Ron Paul, Santorum, Huntsman or Herman Cain would have ever won the nomination so commenting on them is pointless.  Oprah has a better chance at being the Republican nominee than any of them.

But I can't think of anything better than Newt Gingrich winning the nomination.  Seriously, why don't Republicans just run Bob Dole again or McCain?  Better yet, George H. W. Bush still has 4 more years of eligibility left.  Why not just draft him?  Now if only the Dems could pickup about 30 house seats, I'd feel a lot better off.

Those Stubborn Facts

I always love doing posts like the one I did yesterday with the Quick Budget Facts.  Posts like those are jaw dropping for Republicans.  They illustrate the exact opposite of what their Fox News teevee sets are telling them.  When they read that the deficit is smaller now than when Obama took office, they go into conniptions.  They cannot comprehend such logic.  It's like telling them Paul Bunyan dug out the Grand Canyon.  Wait, they actually might believe something like that.

Freedom Fighter Kristen Billy

Then there are those, like Kristen Billy, who think I'm secretly fudging numbers with some sort of "mix metrics" of foolry.  Because, in his world,  by mixing metrics I've not portrayed The Truth as delivered to him by Fox News.  My intention to trick readers into thinking George Bush and Ronald Reagan both increased the deficit, the federal debt and are responsible for huge chunks of financing that debt in today's budget didn't succeed with Kristen.  Oh no, he's way too smart for that.  Sean Hannity tells him he is.

By saying Bush increased spending by 32% or that Reagan increased it by 21.5%, I've formulated some sort of liberal trick to disguise the fact that it was actually Obama that did all that.  But, according to Kristen's comment, if I keep everything relative to GDP, like saying as a percentage of GDP Reagan increased the federal debt by 20.6% and Bush increased it by 27.8% it's all okay.  Well it's okay until I say that Obama hasn't increased it by near as much as either of them.  Saying that only proves I hate America.  In Kristen's world, Obama has spent more money than all presidents combined.  So naturally he's increased the debt more than Bush or Reagan.  Reality says otherwise but why should we care about facts?

Then Kristen lays out the huge kicker.  The moment of Total Truth that judges how he votes.  "I  just hope Obama can bring down the average deficit during his years in office close to what Bush did. If he could bring down his average deficit to Bush's, I'd vote for his re-election," says Kristen Billy.  This qualifies as total nutjob status if anyone is keeping score.

I think what Kristen is saying is that the average annual deficit for Bush's 8 years is $611 billion, as if that is something to brag about.  If Obama could just get the average deficit to that for his tenure then Kristen would vote for him.  Whatever.

Let's be clear on something real fast.  Bush didn't "bring down the average deficit."  HE CREATED THE DEFICIT!  There was a budget surplus when Bush took office.  By the end of 2001, his first year in office, there was a mutli-hundred billion dollar deficit.  By the time Bush left office, there was a $1.5 trillion deficit. That's Obama's starting point.  Not Obama's creation.

Obama has nothing to bring the deficit down to in order to equal Bush.  As long as Obama keeps the deficit under $1.5 trillion he's done more than Bush ever did.  You don't get to take the largest budget surplus in history, increase spending by 32% and turn it into a $1.5 trillion deficit and say that you brought down the average deficit and then hold opponents to such a standard.  It doesn't work that way.  The world does not operate according to Fox News lies. You need to grow up and quit with the smug fiscal conservative lies.

Just to throw a wrench into this and totally fry Billy's brain.  If we keep him at his word, judging by his standard of how he votes, Obama is allowed to add on average $611 billion to the budget deficit by the end of his term and still get his support, because after all that is what Bush did. Of course Kristen won't agree to that because Kristen doesn't believe Bush created the deficit. He believes Bush brought the deficit down.  This is the total idiocy America is forced to deal with thanks entirely to Fox News.

Kucinich the Evil Liberal Hippy America Hater

OH NO Rep. Dennis Kucinich just said the Federal Reserve controls our nation and must be reformed!!  Since he's a Democrat that means he's a left wing hippy lover that isn't Serious about America.  If only he were a Republican like Ron Paul he could easily become a Very Serious Libertarian fighting for Liberty for saying the very same things.  Alas, though, such Freedom Fighting labeling only gets applied to Republicans.

Cain Will Never Leave

I don't care if Cain suspends his campaign today or tomorrow.  The Fold Blog will never accept his absence.  He is the precise symptom of a disastrously cluttered GOP, the comic relief notwithstanding.  But here's a guy that knows nothing about politics, the federal government, foreign policy, or Congress and he's considered a top tier candidate in today's modern GOP.  How is this even possible?  Well, it's possible because the GOP is a void of ideas and rationale human participation.  It's a lost cause that has deflated upon itself.

They know the trillion dollar deficit is their fault.  They know the Endless War Program was their fault.  They know 75% of the federal debt is from their presidencies.  They know they have not an ounce of moral fiber between the bunch of them.  They know they have failed.  They'll never admit it, however.  They will keep pretending that they are morally superior fiscal conservatives who tirelessly work for smaller government.  They will insist we all follow that script and join in their Fantasy World.  And that is what makes candidates like Herman Cain possible.  Failure to them only means they are winning.

Quick Budget Facts

• FY 2012 Spending accounts for about 24% of GDP.
• The all time high for federal spending is 44% of GDP set during WWII in 1944.
• During Reagan's massive spending binges, the federal budget reached 23% of GDP. Slightly lower than it is today.  Remember he was a "fiscal conservative" too.
• Social Security spending accounts for 19% of the federal budget.
• Military spending accounts for 19% of the federal budget.
• Medicare spending accounts for 12% of the federal budget.
• Financing the debt run up by the fiscal conservative Reagan accounts for 6% of the total budget, $242 billion in 2012.
• Fiscally conservative Reagan increased federal spending by 21.5% and increased the budget deficit by 89.2% in 8 years.
• Clinton increased federal spending by 12.4% and turned Reagan's deficit into the largest budget surplus in history.
• Fiscally conservative George W. Bush increased federal spending by 32.2%.  He wiped out the budget surplus he inherited and turned it into a whopping $1.5 trillion deficit in 8 years.
• Barack Obama has increased spending by 8% in two years.  The deficit has shrunk from $1.5 trillion when he entered office to $1.2 trillion for FY12.  

The Problem With the House of Representatives

“It consists half of people who think like Michele Bachmann and half of people who are afraid of losing a primary to people who think like Michele Bachmann, and that leaves very little room to work things out.” -- Barney Frank speaking about what the House is like under Republican rule. 

That's actually a very scary statement.  But that's just how extreme the Republican Party has become.  Bachmann is a lunatic.  Everything she stands for is the exact opposite of what has made this country so great.  Yet because of Fox News and the Republican media machine, the whole country is forced to give equal playing time to people of Bachmann's ilk.  We haven't even come close to seeing how Crazy this whole thing is going to get.  Oh no, the GOP has plenty of Crazy left in 'em.  Just wait, it will get worse.

Quickies

• When Newt Gingrich-- this week's GOP version of "Not Romney"-- says people should be drug tested before they are allowed to "receive any kind of federal aid," he's not referring to the fat cat bankers that received over $7 trillion of federal aid; or to the rich corporate bosses whose companies receive billions in tax breaks every year, or to the farmers who receive millions in subsidies to not work.  No Gingrich wouldn't dare suggest those people be held to higher standards.  He's only referring to poor people and those who don't vote Republican.

• Fox News' latest fear mongering race baiting lies?  President Obama Plans To Abandon White Working Class.  The president himself is half-white.  His daughters are 1/4 white.  He was raised by an entirely white family, attended the elitist of white schools, was a member of an entirely white U.S. Senate and now occupies the position previously held by 43 all white men.  He's more white than me.  Why in the world this stupid meme entirely created by Fox News is still going around is proof of just how corrupt that network is.

• Glenn Greenwald highlights an interesting point from Gen. Wesley Clark.  It was the intent of the neocons during the Bush administration to attack and destroy 7 Middle Eastern countries: "...we’re going to start with Iraq, and then we’re going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran."  Iraq? Check.  Syria? In the process or regime change.  Lebanon?  Not yet.  Libya?  Check.  Somalia?  In the process of regime change.  Iran?  Proxy fighting is always good.

• Meanwhile in Iraq, that beacon of Bush's Liberation Policy of Freedom, 19 people were blown to smithereens in the street today.

• Remember when it was okay for the president to sell arms to Iran in exchange for hostages?  Oh yeah, it's all down the memory hole now.  Well, except this week marks 25 years since President Reagan openly admitted to selling some weapons to Iran but only to arm good mullahs.  Could you imagine if Bill Clinton had secretly sold weapons to Iran?  Or if he had openly funded, aided and armed bin Laden's holy war in Afghanistan?  Or if he had openly supported, funded and sold weapons to Saddam Hussein the field day the right wing would be having.  Could you imagine it?  Reagan did all three things.  But we are never to mention any of it again.  If we do, we are only to mention it in the context that Reagan did all those things because he loved America and did it to make us stronger.

Secret Loans Topped $7 Trillion, Helped Rich Get Richer

In addition to Bush's  $700 billion TARP in the Fall of 2008, Bloomberg is reporting today that the Federal Reserve dolled out an additional $7.7 trillion of secret loans to Wall St. bankers. The banks claim they turned a $13 billion profit from the secret loans, repaid all the money and that no money was lost.

The Federal Reserve admitted the loans were done in secret to prevent a stigma from destroying an already fragile financial system.  "The Fed, headed by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, argued that revealing borrower details would create a stigma -- investors and counterparties would shun firms that used the central bank as lender of last resort -- and that needy institutions would be reluctant to borrow in the next crisis."

Bernanke is certainly right about that.  It would have delegitimized the banks to a point people would have been marching in the streets demanding that they too get a return on their tax dollars.  Oh wait....it's happening anyway.

But here's the point to this story...

The private sector, if you can call it that, received a $700 billion bailout bill plus $7.7 trillion in secret loans to keep it from collapsing.  It was argued, the banks were too big to fail.  Meaning the result of their failure would be much worse for the country than the stigma of being bailed out.  So we kept them from failing by apparently doing everything we could, including all kinds of top secret stuff and spent a ton of money doing it.  It worked.  The economy came back from the brink.  But now the banks, thanks to tax payer money, are making record profits and unemployment is still above 9%.

Wall St. fat cats, bank CEO's, all kinds of corporate bosses are getting richer at record pace with amounts much larger than they were before the crisis.  "The nation’s largest banks have turned more in profit in the last 30 months than they did in nearly eight years preceding the crisis, all while spending millions to derail significant reform legislation."

That, my friends, is the exact definition of redistribution of wealth.  Hard earned tax payer money was redistributed to a failed financial system causing the system to bounce back, grow even larger than they were when they were said to be "too big to fail," and successfully helped the richest people in America get even richer.

Bill Clinton Would Win Reelection By a Landslide

Former President Bill Clinton on the current state of the GOP: "I’ll be surprised if he’s not re-elected,” Clinton said, adding that Obama would do better when matched against a specific opponent like Romney.

Clinton said that Romney did “a very good job” as governor of Massachusetts and would be a credible general election candidate. But Clinton added that Romney or any Republican nominee would be hampered by “a political environment in the Republican primary that basically means you can’t be authentic unless you’ve got a single-digit I.Q.”


Bill Clinton left office with a 66% approval rating, the most popular president since FDR.  That's 42 points higher than George W. Bush's exit rating of 24%.

Gary Johnson Considering Libertarian Run??

I used to say that if I considered myself a conservative the only true vote for president would be for Ron Paul.  I think I still agree with that despite many of Paul's extreme positions like separation of church and state as just an example.  But, if I considered myself a conservative with 21st century realizations, I would have to vote Gary Johnson.  Of course, I'm not a conservative.  At least not in the modern Reagan/Bush/Limbaugh use of the term.

As I was saying the other day, anyone who is slightly interested in libertarian issues, or even voting libertarian, Gary Johnson is the only choice.  Ron Paul wishes he could be as genuinely libertarian as Gary Johnson.  And now it appears Johnson actually might be considering the switcheroo.

Big Love Mitt Romney: The Whore

Is there one issue Big Love Mitt Romney hasn't flipped flopped on?  Health care, abortion, gays, stimulus spending, his own name, immigration, you name it the Mittster has held multiple positions on each issue throughout his political career.  A new ad put together by the DNC helps remind Mitt of just how whorish he has been.

Happy Turkey Day

I'm going to stay off the intertubes for a couple days.  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Quickies-- GOP Debate Edition

Just flipping through channels watching tonight's GOP debate is like watching an episode of Jerry Springer.  I just keep waiting to see who will say the stupidest thing next.

• Never to disappoint in her complete idiocy, Michelle Bachmann claims Iran has threatened to nuke Israel.  There's just one thing wrong with that.  Iran has never threatened to nuke any country.
• Herman Cain's reasoning behind why we need to have a tougher more macho manly policy against Iran is because Iran has a lot of mountains.
• Bachmann says terrorists shouldn't be read their Miranda Rights.  "They don't have rights," she claims.  Of course the Constitution says otherwise.
• Rick Perry says we need a new Monroe Doctrine to protect Iran from getting into South America.  No I'm not making this up.
• Yes these people really are running for President of the United States of America.  It's scary to think that one of them will actually get about 47% of the vote next year.
• As Think Progress notes, almost the entire debate supposedly structured around foreign policy has been put into the hands of the right wing American Enterprise Institute and the right wing Heritage Foundation-- two of the top neocon think tanks that delivered us the war in Iraq and who routinely call for the continuation of Bush's Endless Program.  In other words, people who have absolutely no track record of ever being right about foreign policy are dictating the debate.  Wheeee!!

From the little bit I've watched tonight one thing is really certain, Republicans want Americans to live in constant fear. We should fear Muslims, terrorists, Iran, the ACLU and anyone who disagrees with the GOP. A world of fear protected by people who only vote Republican is what they want. We had 8 years of that with George W. Bush. That's given us 10 solid years of war, an economy in the dumps, a trillion dollar deficit and a trillion dollar bailout of Wall St. We can't go back to that. No one wants it.

Another Study Proving the Obvious

Dan Cassino, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson, explained in a statement, "Because of the controls for partisanship, we know these results are not just driven by Republicans or other groups being more likely to watch Fox News. Rather, the results show us that there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all."

It's not that people who watch Fox News are less informed. That's over simplifying the issue. It's that people who watch Fox News believe in things from a parallel universe. They believe George W. Bush was a popular president; Iraq had something to do with 9/11; ACORN stole the election for Obama; that Reagan cut spending and shrunk government; that Obama has spent more money than all presidents combined; Obama attended a madrassa in Indonesia; Obama wasn't born in America; Obama has a fake birth certificate; Obama has had brain surgery; TARP is an Obama policy; Obama created the trillion dollar deficit we have today; Fannie and Freddie, along with Barney Frank, caused the recession; a state-sanctioned torture program is a wonderful thing. The list could go on forever.

You can strike up a conversation with a Fox News viewer at any given time and you will hear any of the above things numerous times. Or you could ask a Fox News viewer a question regarding any of the things above and they will agree to 95% of the list. Thus, they aren't less informed. They are living in an alternate universe where reality is skewed by Fox News. They're lied to constantly. That's the best way to put it.

So why do these people keep watching Fox?  I can't put it any better than I did in my Worlds Collide post:

"People who watch Fox News really believe that they are engaged in a process that separates them from all the people who don't watch Fox News, namely that of Truth. These people believe that Fox gives them an access to truth that is denied to Americans who are brainwashed by the mainstream media. They really believe that Fox News is not just a network that counteracts the biased liberal media, or even a network that reports the stories that the liberal media ignore, but the only vehicle for Truth that exists. That pretty much sums up what's taking place here and why Kristen simply cannot believe Republicans created the massive deficit we have today and not Barack Obama."

*Update:

There's no coincidence either that next to Fox News, the second most popular place Republicans (and conservatives, cause really there's no difference) is from email forwards.  You know the ever so reliable FWD: you get in your inbox from your crazy right wing friend stating Obama has a fake birth certificate and hates America?  Yes that's the second most cited Republican media forum in America.

The email forward is usually located right next to their Fox News app on their cell phone so it makes it handy to catch up on all the day's news in one spot.

The Least Controversial Thing Ron Paul Has Said

Republican Ron Paul has some crazy ideas and theories no doubt about it.  He thinks there is no separation of church and state.  He thinks there is a war being waged on Christmas.  He thinks the Founding Fathers created a Christian nation.  And he thinks marriage should be Constitutionally defined as between a man and a woman, to name a few.  His continued remarks that American foreign policy contributed to the 9/11 attacks certainly aren't some of them, however.

(CNN) - Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul reiterated his controversial stance Sunday that some policies of the United States contributed to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Anyone with no foreign policy experience whatsoever can tell you our two-edged sword of American hegemony helped facilitate the anger behind the motivation that inspires 9/11-style attacks.  Heck terrorist groups themselves explicitly state to anyone that will listen the number one factor behind their anger is our policies toward the Arab world.  Our Endless War campaign, which is finally coming to an end, did more to inspire terrorism against America than anything else.  Saying they hate us merely because we exist isn't true.  Ron Paul is right about this.

Of all the crazy things Ron Paul says, this shouldn't be one of them.

Large Pile of Dog Crap Fails

Who could have guessed the GOP enforced "Super Committee" (aka Large Pile of Dog Crap) would fail to come up with an alternative plan to slash deficits?

Here's the thing.  This is not bad news.  This isn't even news.  When Congress passed legislation to raise the debt limit, it also agreed to a set of cuts and savings totaling $2.1 trillion over the next ten years.  The Super Committee was formed to look at additional cuts on top of the $2.1 trillion and to look at alternative approaches to the agreed framework that cuts evenly from domestic and defense programs.

The failure of the Large Pile of Dog Crap simply means the country will have to abide by the framework laid out in the debt ceiling deal over the summer.  That means we'll still have $2.1 trillion in cuts and savings over ten years spread out evenly between domestic and defense spending.  It's not that hard to understand.

GOP Tries to Remove President from NH Primary Ballot

Republican birthers and tea baggers are going to be alive and well throughout the next year. And in New Hampshire, the GOP actually tried to remove President Obama from that state's primary on completely false charges that he has a fake birth certificate.

At 2 p.m. in Room 307 of the legislative office building, the state's Ballot Law Commission is set to hear a complaint filed by Orly Taitz, a California lawyer who has continued to question the validity of Obama's birth certificate and Social Security number since his 2008 election.

Backing her complaint, Taitz said, are four Republican members of the New Hampshire House: Harry Accornero of Laconia, Larry Rappaport of Colebrook, and Lucien and Carol Vita of Middleton.

"There's sufficient controversy that I want it investigated," Rappaport, a Ron Paul supporter, said yesterday. "Every time this is brought up . . . we get a lot of flak, but we've never gotten an answer."

Obama released his birth certificate in response to media inquiries in 2008, but the document did little to quiet skepticism from the so-called "birther" movement. In April, in response to continued interest in the president's nationality - fueled by statements by real estate mogul Donald Trump as he toyed with a presidential run - Obama also released a copy of his long-form birth certificate.

This is just your normal everyday Republican Party at work.  Notice, too, Rappaport claims to be a Ron Paul supporter.  Of course he is.  Paultards are the kings of wingnut conspiracy theories.  Paul is a Republican through and through.  These are the same people that voted twice for George W. Bush, who think Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and calls anybody who doesn't agree with everything they say "traitors" and anti-Americans.

Yeah they actually did just that when the committee dismissed Taitz's claims.

The action came after the decision was made by the state's Ballot Law Commission to keep President Obama on the presidential ballot. Sitting across the room from most of the people, I grabbed my cameras and changed locations in anticipation of a reaction. I overheard some people earlier suggesting they should yell "Treason" or "Traitors" following the decision. People were heated. And sure enough, like many events I cover, people yelled "Treason." And "Traitors."

I would be so proud to be a Republican.

American Accents

It's a common misconception that since I'm from Illinois I must be from Chicago, or close enough.  Actually I'm about 400 miles south of Chicago.  I'm closer to Memphis, Nashville and Little Rock than to Chicago.  Illinois is this weird state sitting smack dab in the middle of the country, stretching from as far north as Lake Michigan all the way down to Kentucky and the Mississippi Delta.  Its southern section is farther south than 90% of Kentucky.  In the the town I grew up in we had to drive northeast to get to Kentucky.  It's just one of those odd geographic anomalies many people never realize.

People from Southern Illinois never really consider themselves from Illinois.  We always make a distinction so as not to be part of the north.  It's a fun exclusion kind of thing, in a competitive way of course.  About the only times we'll say we're from Illinois and not Southern Illinois is when we're talking about Lincoln or Michael Jordan.  Honestly, that's really about it.  The rest of the time we want nothing to do with the state.

Why I'm mentioning this is because I came across an interesting project that maps American dialects.  It's the first time I've seen something that actually shows just how culturally diverse the nation is.  The map also gives Illinois the distinction of having 4 national dialects, Inland North, Midland, Inland South and Lowland South.  I live right on the line of what appears to be Inland and Lowland South dialects.  Notice, too, the line runs east to west, dividing Southern Illinois even further.  That means both southern dialects are found in one small section of a very much northern state.

This Week's Not-Romney

Who possibly could be this week's Republican frontrunner, aka "Not-Romney?"

It's none other than one of the most disgraced Members of Congress ever, or better known as the former Speaker of the House, the man that led the impeachment charge against Clinton while he was having his own extra-marital affair, Newt Gingrich.

You know it's bad when Republicans are seeking out blasts from their impeachment pasts just to nominate anyone besides Big Love Mitt Romney.

Now remember, this in no way demonstrates the lack of a credible candidate, party in-fighting, a party controlled by wing nuts or anything other than the clear fact the GOP is, at its core, built around moral values, small government and fiscal conservatism.

Ron Paul Still Not a Libertarian

If we had to choose who is the most "libertarian" candidate running for president it certainly wouldn't be Ron Paul.  By default, anyone that wants to amend the constitution to define marriage as between a male and female, that does not believe in the separation of church and state and is not pro-choice simply cannot be libertarian.  Sorry but those are the rules.

That's why there is a thing called the Libertarian Party.  And the Libertarian Party really likes Gary Johnson from New Mexico.  Johnson, however, says he's sticking with the GOP.  This can only mean one thing.  Ron Paul will still get to be the only Republican in the race who gets to pretend he's not a Republican when it suits him best.

RE: Alternative Realtiy

photo courtesy of Atrios

I totally agree with Duncan Black:

It's almost needless to say, but if a bunch of TeaBaggers settled into a park somewhere to protest Kenyan Muslim Socialism then things would be playing out a bit differently. Brooks and Gerson would be writing regular tributes to these heroic Americans who represent the best of us. Nightly on the NewsHour they'd remind us that it had been "X days since President Obama refused to give in to their demands" no matter how kooky or nonexistent those demands were.

And, no, the cops would not have gone in and started bashing heads.

I've stayed out of the OWS conversation, for the most part.  I haven't come down for or against in any classic sense of taking sides.  I support anyone's right to protest peacefully.  Just like I supported the tea baggers right to protest.  I don't agree with them but I do agree they have the right to protest and voice their concerns.

With that said, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that if a tea bagger protest was broken up with police beating people it would be portrayed as a giant infringement on patriotic citizen's rights.  It would be Big Government Obama enforcing his tyranny.

There's also one point I want to make clear.  I keep hearing people, mostly the same people who walked around with boners when the tea baggers were in the streets, saying that the OWS protesters need to go find a job.  Duh!  That's why they are there.  They want to work.  They are mad that they've played by the rules and have lost out.  They didn't get bailed out like Wall St. did, who by the way did not play by the rules.  That's not saying everyone protesting is an upstanding citizen or even entirely passionate about contributing to society.  You don't have to support the movement.  You don't even have to like it.  But at least concede the point that they are not just worthless hippies who hate America.  These are people that are demanding their fair share, their Dream.  Take it or leave it

New CNN Poll Shows Public Supports Individual Health Mandate

The most often attacked part of the Affordable Care Act signed into law last year is the individual mandate.  The mandate requires almost everyone to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.  The law goes into full effect in 2014.  The mandate was recently upheld by a federal district appeals court last week, albeit a Republican-led court.  This week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the act.  A ruling is expected next summer.

There's no doubt in my mind even without the mandate tea baggers and make-believe liberty lovers would still oppose it and would still have protested against it during the 2009 Summer of Hate.  Any policy supported by President Obama will be opposed by Republicans.  That's just the era we live in.

One thing, however, such protesting and constant media attention from the most watched news channel in America did accomplish was to make the public entirely weary of the individual mandate.  It's always polled as unpopular even as other measures of the law generated high support.  But now the first major poll shows the individual mandate is gaining in popularity and has broad public support.  CNN reports public support of the mandate at 52%.

Though you gotta love how CNN portrays it.

Washington (CNN) - The public is divided over the idea of requiring all Americans to have health insurance, according to a new national survey. But a CNN/ORC International Poll also indicates that support for the proposal, a cornerstone of the 2010 health care reform law, has risen since June.

The public is divided?  If any Republican idea had 52% support by the public it would be the greatest and most popular thing ever.  Oh wait, I forgot.  The individual mandate is Republican policy from as far back as the early 90s.  They supported it right on through George W. Bush and right up until it was proposed by Barack Obama in 2009.

Now that it's polling with broad approval it can only mean the pollsters aren't asking the question properly or the fact that Obama is once again tricking everyone.

George Washington, the Black Democratic President

If you read the Bible you'll see that when George Washington was leaving office he had quite a few thoughts to help guide the many white men that would follow in his footsteps.  One of them was in regards to debts and taxes.  Washington knew indebtedness would cause Congress to make wise decisions, some of which would not be popular, to properly deal with debt and taxes.  The solution, knew Washington, when debt posed a problem, was revenue.

George Washington understood that dealing with debts was government's responsibility, but leaders would be unlikely to make unpopular choices in a democracy unless the public was both enlightened and understanding: "The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives," he said -- meaning the members of Congress. "But it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant."

President Reagan completely understood this.  When he faced a revenue crunch and massive budget deficits, he raised taxes numerous times-- 11 to be exact.  Now that we have a Democratic President named Barack Obama it's treasonous, socialist and un-American to do anything that might be "essential" to the payment of debts.

Quickies

• The next "non Mitt Romney," Newt Gingrich?  Sure, why not.

• Bushism v. Conservatism?  Here's a hint: they are both Republicanism!

• Why anyone that belongs to a union would ever vote Republican is beyond me.  They have to be the least informed people in the world.

• Matt Yglesias is changing jobs and url's again!  Must be nice to have a rich family so you never know what being out of work feels like.

• My post, "Cain is Just Telling GOP Voters Exactly What They Want to Hear," set a new record for page views.  So far it has over 15,000 and still climbing.  My guess is Cainbots are hitting it.  His following is starting to look suspiciously similar to the Paultards. 

After Six Decades It's Time to Quit Pretend Cutting

I think it's important to take a step back and look at the context of the question Rick Perry flubbed so terribly.  It's a common talking point among Republicans to say something about government must be cut.  For decades they've been talking about cutting the Dept. of Education, Social Security, EPA, PBS, Dept. of Energy, and so on and so on.  Cutting government is a common-core belief held in high regard.

But what have they ever cut?  Honestly, think about it.  Since WWII, Republicans have occupied the White House a total of 33 years.  That's half of the 66 years since 1945.  And during those 33 years of GOP rule, what have they ever cut from government?

They've done the opposite of cut government.

• Eisenhower pushed through the largest public works project in the history of America with the interstate highway system.  It would be unthinkable to hear a Republican say they were going to do the same today.  He cut not one single department.
• Nixon began the first affirmative action policy in America.  He also removed us from the gold standard-- a move of extreme treason if a Democrat had done such.  He cut not one single department.
• Ford, did Ford do anything?  
• Reagan enormously grew government.  He increased spending every year.  He raised taxes 11 times.  Despite saying he would cut the Dept. of Education (sound familiar?) he more than doubled its budget.  He also almost single-handily saved Social Security and increased its spending by $90 billion.  He doubled Medicare spending and quadrupled total entitlements spending.  
• George H.W. Bush, well I know he sure didn't cut anything.  He did raise taxes and he did increase spending.
• George W. Bush, do I really need to go through his list of huge government expansion?  No president since FDR spent more or grew government larger.

The point of all this is why even ask Perry or any Republican candidate what they are going to cut?  Why even bother with the nonsense of hearing their answer.  Even if elected, they would never cut any department, or any spending.  The GOP has no track record of ever doing anything it claims to be a core principle.  If you think Ron Paul or Rick Perry are the first candidates to ever say they were going to cut government, you must just be waking up from a 60 year coma.

Instead of the media catering to their "I'll shrink government and return us to Freedom" bull crap why not just call them on it.  Why can't the media just say: "Given that no Republican administration has ever cut any government department despite 6 decades of saying they will, what 3 programs do you want to 'pretend cut' but won't?"

Doing that would certainly be much more factual and help get us over this hump of make-believe Republican small government conservatism.

The real irony in all this is not that Rick Perry can't remember what government departments he wants to "pretend cut."  It's that the media still take the GOP seriously when talking about shrinking government forcing us all to live in a world where people who have done nothing but grow government and increase spending get to be small government fiscal conservatives.

Since It's an Important Job and All

Rick Perry trying to do some sort of damage control from his terrible debate performance last night:

“if you’re electing a debater-in-chief, don’t elect me.”

Ummmm yeah we would like a president who can coherently formulate sentences and accurately describe what they would do as president.  Is that too much to ask??

Cain is Just Telling GOP Voters Exactly What They Want to Hear

Can the Republican lineup really get any sadder?

Sure Perry's jaw dropping ooops is going to steal the show, and it probably should.  There hasn't been a more epic moment of failure in a televised presidential debate since 1960.

Had it not been for Perry's Dumb and Dumber moment, surely Herman Cain's name calling of Rep. Nancy Pelosi or Mitt Romney's answer for why people call him a flip flopper would be center stage.  For me, though, Cain's name calling is the highlight of the debate.

Calling Nancy Pelosi "Princess Nancy" is exactly what the GOP base loves.  They love this sort of childish name calling almost more than they love talking about small government and slashing deficits.  This sort of campaign rhetoric is exactly what the base wants, and it's exactly how Cain can keep climbing in the polls and distract Republican voters away from his many sexual harassment scandals taking place.

One of Rick Perry's greatest days with Republican voters is when he questioned Obama's birth certificate and his college transcripts.  This sort of conspiracy theory mud slinging is what Republican voters are all about.  They really love this stuff.  Remember when Trump was the frontrunner?  His whole existence was based on his Truth Seeking Mission to prove Obama had a fake birth certificate.  Republicans couldn't get enough of it!

What made Republicans so furious with John McCain was not that he wasn't right wing enough, it's that he refused to question Obama's birth certificate, refused to call him un-American and refused to say he was friends with terrorists.

Likewise, Sarah Palin's greatest hits soundtrack is when she said Obama was "palling around with terrorists."  That's the stuff they want to hear.  She's a pro at saying the things Republicans truly want to hear.  That's how you get Republican votes.  Don't forget to mix in a jab about how Reagan shrunk government, cut spending and restored America.  And don't forget to mention how Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and how George Bush killed bin Laden and you'll have nary a problem with getting Republican votes.  It's all about catering to the stupidest, most idiotic conspiracy theories mixed in with complete fantasy talk about things Reagan never did.

Too bad for Cain, though, after the debate he did say calling Pelosi names was something he should not have done.  But, hey, this is Cain's first run for public office ever.  He'll learn that you don't have to apologize for living in the Republican Fantasy World.  You dig in deeper with even crazier stuff like numberless budgets, how God has chosen you for this very moment, or how anyone who doesn't vote Republican is a islamofascistterroristliberal and hates America.

Industry Places Fee on Itself to Promote Advertisement, Right Wing Claims Obama is Taxing Christmas Trees

Back when George Bush was president, and America was still free and a land of limitless liberty, Christmas tree growers were facing declining sales.  So the National Christmas Tree Association conducted a study, and concluded the best way to keep the industry from dying off was to create a check off program by the USDA to fund research into marketing Christmas trees.  Beef, chicken and egg industries have all done the very same thing.

Three years later, the program is set to go into effect.  The USDA is to collect a 15% fee from tree growers to fund marketing efforts.  But something has changed.  A Democrat named Barack Obama is now president.  This can only mean one thing according to Fox News, Drudge and the craziest of crazy right wing idiots: Obama is taxing Christmas trees because he "hates Christians."

An industry self induced fee program that began under George W. Bush means Obama hates Christians.  How can any sane person ever watch Fox News or vote Republican?

GOP: Vote Like We Say or Satan Wins

I write a lot about Republicans and their insistence that they are truly the righteous party in American politics.  Yet as much as I write about it, I don't think it even comes close to capturing the magnitude at which their self-perceived holiness controls the GOP.

That's not to say every Republican believes the holiness theory.  Some probably hate that aspect of their party more than anything else.  But they have no one else to blame for the stereotype other than themselves.  It's impossible to imagine a GOP presidential candidate not claiming they were told by God to run for office.  It's a scary thought to think God wants someone like Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry running this country.  But it's an even scarier thought to reduce God to an election.

However, reducing God to an election or a vote is a constant GOP tactic.

TUPELO - Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said Monday that "Satan wins" if voters reject Initiative 26 that defines personhood at fertilization.

"This is a battle of good and evil of Biblical proportions," the Republican gubernatorial nominee told a pro-26 rally attended by about 30 supporters at Tupelo City Hall.

Satan wins if we don't win this election?  Really??  Satan wins if you don't vote the way we want you to?  Satan wins if the opposition wins?  This election is a battle of good and evil as laid out in the Bible?  Not voting for us is voting for Satan?  How horribly amazing is it that not only do people talk this way about politics but that millions believe them?  Millions vote for them for this very reason and judge others for not doing the same.

They really believe that they are legislating not just Morality but The Bible.  And if you don't agree with them, you're not just casting a vote against God but for Satan.  This has to be the very definition of malevolence.   It's a sickness and as disgusting as anything happening at Penn State.

Ugly, Disgusting Penn State

From the AP:

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach who preached success with honor for half a century but whose legend was shattered by a child sex abuse scandal, said Wednesday he will retire at the end of this season.

This is really a disgusting story unfolding at Penn State.  I'm no Penn State fan by any means. But I am a big college football fan.  So I don't understand how such a legendary program can be responsible for such a pathetic and disgusting story.  Anyone with a pulse would have to be concerned if one of your co-workers or employees was reported to be raping a 10 year old boy in the bathroom of your workplace.  Dear God how could that not cause you to take a little bit of responsibility if for no other reason than to make sure the story wasn't true.

I see no reason Coach Paterno should be allowed to finish coaching the season. He should be out and should be forced to answer as to why he did not do more to prevent all of this from happening in the first place.

Big Night for Progressives

Ohio is probably the biggest story. The Republican anti-union bill was soundly rejected by the voters of that state. Organized labor has to walk away feeling a foot taller from this.  Millions of dollars and a huge ground game were poured into Ohio and the result was extremely positive for their movement.  Going into last night, I expected, if not guaranteed such a result.

Mississippi's anti-birth control ("personhood") defeat was a pleasant surprise, however.

"Personhood" was a GOP-designed initiative that legally defined life from the moment of conception.  Such a definition would have outlawed abortion in all cases including rape and incest.  It also would have made some forms of birth control like the morning after pill and IUD's illegal.  Voters rejected it by a large margin.

Kentucky Democrats also won big.  As of right now, Republicans did pick up one Virginia Senate seat.  They needed two seats to swing the balance of the senate into their favor, however.

Not a bad tally for an off-year election heading into 2012.

Quickies

• Berlusconi is forced to resign.  This is probably good news in the long run for people hoping for a change in the status quo.  Something like this happening a year ago would have been unthinkable.

• A Republican-led court upholds the Affordable Care Act.  Elizabeth Wydra adds: "On the eve of the Supreme Court’s decision whether to review the constitutionality of health care reform legislation, the nation’s second most important court has dealt a devastating blow to the challengers of the Act, delivered by one of the country’s foremost conservative jurists.”

• Reagan appointed judge writes: "Since appellants cannot find real support for their proposed rule in either the text of the Constitution or Supreme Court precedent, they emphasize both the novelty of the mandate and the lack of a limiting principle...It certainly is an encroachment on individual liberty, but it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race,that gravely ill individuals cannot use a substance their doctors described as the only effective palliative for excruciating pain, or that a farmer cannot grow enough wheat to support his own family."

• It's election day.  Ohio gets ready to overturn anti-union legislation and Mississippi gets ready to outlaw birth control.

• Greg Sargent says Republicans have made an offer to grant new revenues but only if wealthy get huge tax cuts.

Romney Say's He'll "Slay The Deficit Beast"

Joseph Smith and the Wives

Big Love Mitt Romney, whose family immigrated from Mexico illegally, says the first thing he'll do to slash deficits is repeal the Affordable Care Act.  This would pose a huge problem, however.  The official government accounting office, Congressional Budget Office, says the ACA is deficit neutral.  Repealing it would increase the deficit.

Romney's next steps are to kill Amtrak, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. All three of those programs represent roughly 1/100th of ONE percent of the federal budget.

So Romney is going to repeal ACA, a move that would add $230 billion to the budget deficit over 10 years.  And then cut three popular programs that account for 0.014% of the federal budget.  That's not slaying any beast.  That's actually making the deficit worse.  But maybe "slay the deficit beast" is Mormon code for 'I won't bring the sister wives to the White House.'

They Still Cheer for Death Panels

About this same time last year, Andy Harris, a rookie Republican Tea Bagger representative from Maryland, was complaining that his completely government-run health care program (just one of the perks for being a Member of Congress) wouldn't kick in fast enough.  Even though he ran on the platform of repealing access to health care for 32 million Americans, Harris couldn't get government-run health care for himself fast enough.

It's now been a year since Harris has soaked himself in a socialist health care program that is completely paid for by tax payer money.  But it's not been long enough for him to quit telling the very stupid lie that the Affordable Care Act has "death panels."  He knows it's not true.  But he also knows that's what the Republican base wants to hear.  They want to jump and shout and cheer for tough-guy talk about liberalsocialist takeovers and how Obama wants to kill your grandma or even your Down syndrome son.  They become giddy with excitement when one of their elected officials talks this way.

Americans Really Do Like Government Services

Sarah Kliff calls a recent poll showing Americans actually want more government health services as "unexpected."

Not sure why should would say something like that.  Maybe her editors added that word.  The same applies to the Affordable Care Act as well.  Taken as a whole the policy is not popular. But if you break it up and sample aspects of the law it gets much higher marks.

For instance, the public overwhelmingly supports a law that bans insurance companies from discriminating against preexisting conditions.  Well, the ACA does just that.  The public overwhelmingly supports allowing children onto parent's health plans until 26 years of age. Guess what?  ACA makes that happen.  Frame it all up into one big package and the ACA is 20 points more popular than George Bush but still doesn't have majority approval.

Maybe a better way of putting this is by saying Americans really do like government services, whether they realize it's a government program or not. Social Security, Medicare, Earned Income Tax credit all get really high approval ratings from the public.  Just check it out:

What skews the polling data is when services are made a partisan issue.  Like portraying the ACA as having death panels that will kill undesirables, or saying that it's socialism designed at destroying America are the things that really confuse people.

A Little Something You Won't See on Fox News

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms allegedly let gun runners walk off with weapons - thousands of them - to see if they'd end up in the hands of the cartels.  The policy of allowing this to go on is a leftover of none other than George W. Bush and was first called Operation Wide Receiver.  Of course, now that Obama is in charge, Fox News is happy to promote Operation Fast and Furious as a way to prove how corrupt the Democratic administration is.

Tea Bagger Recovery Plan Phase 2 Also Not Really Happening

Despite being trapped in a solid year of a tea bagger designed economic recovery that has yet to produce any significant drop in unemployment, the next thing Republicans say we need to do to put America back to work is to repeal regulations they say are hampering private industry.

Considering there are no more regulations today than there was 3 years ago when unemployment was much lower, their plan once again has no basis in reality.

From the AP:

Is regulation strangling the American entrepreneur? Several Republican presidential candidates say so. The numbers don't.

The anti-regulatory fervor was in evidence Tuesday night in the latest GOP debate, but rhetorical flourishes, on that and other issues, masked far more complex realities. [...]

Labor Department data show that only a tiny percentage of companies that experience large layoffs cite government regulation as the reason. Since Barack Obama took office, just two-tenths of 1 percent of layoffs have been due to government regulation, the data show.

Businesses frequently complain about regulation, but there is little evidence that it is any worse now than in the past or that it is costing significant numbers of jobs. Most economists believe there is a simpler explanation: Companies aren't hiring because there isn't enough consumer demand.

It just sounds cool to argue that Obama is a socialist for wanting to grow the public sector and for hampering private industry with job killing regulations.  Sounds cool, just not actually happening.

A Full Year of GOP Recovery Efforts

Steve Benen writes:

A year after massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms, what do lawmakers have to show for themselves? Five resignations, zero jobs bills, two near-shutdowns (with a third looming), a debt-ceiling fiasco, no major legislative accomplishments, and the first-ever downgrade of U.S. debt, attributed almost entirely to the antics of Boehner’s Republican caucus.

That's very true. I think the larger point in all of this is related to jobs, however.

It's worth mentioning again the job scenario currently unfolding is exactly what Republicans have been saying for years is the cure for the economy. Shrink public sector employment and we'll see a jobs rebound in the private sector that will put this country on a path away from Obama's socialism and onto Freedom; at least that's how the story goes.

Last month the scenario continued. 104,000 private sector jobs were created and 40,000 public sector jobs were lost. That gave us a net gain of 80,000 jobs. Not enough to heal a very sick economy. The point, though, is this has been the case month after month. Private sector jobs are added only to be held back by a loss in public sector employment. According to Republican logic, we are on our way to Morning in America again.

The reality, though, is far different. Would anyone agree the path we are on is a path of recovery? Probably not. The weirdest part of all this is no one is forcing Republicans to admit the economy is doing exactly what they want it to. Republicans aren't even admitting we are currently on the path they want. Almost every day they tell America we need to cut public sector employment and let the private sector flourish. And that's exactly what's happening. Well except for the flourish part.

*Update:

I think I have to add an important oversight.  When we talk about public sector employment the first thing that pops into our minds is a nice, cushioned federal job.  The bloated federal civil servant is the stereotype.  But that's not even close to being an accurate assumption of public sector employment.

When we say public sector we are talking about school teachers, police officers, fire fighters, highway construction workers, prison guards, etc., and etc.  Yes some of those are federal jobs but the vast majority are local.  For instance, the jobs bill Republicans filibustered two weeks ago would have kept 280,000 teachers, policemen and firefighters employed-- all at the local level!

By starving out federal employment, Republicans say we'll turn this country around and restore the economy to pre-recession levels.  Well, for a year now we've been doing exactly that and the situation is stagnant.  We've been doing exactly what they say we should be doing except no one is admitting it.

The Timely Art of Senate Obstructionism

Since Democrats took over the United States Senate in 2007, Republicans have filed 313 motions for cloture and successfully filibustered 139 bills.  In all, they have forced 230 cloture votes since 2007.  That's more than the previous 5 Congresses combined.

The quick answer to this from Republicans is that they are blocking bad bills from becoming law.  They are fighting on the front lines in the struggle between freedom and tyranny.  They are, essentially, saving America.   This is, of course, a complete fantasy.  But a fantasy the media is happy to oblige.

Two days ago when Senate Republicans successfully filibustered the president's infrastructure jobs bill,  the MSM barely called it such.  It simply became a vote that failed to pass even though it had 51 votes.  The lead article, in what is considered a paper of liberal tripe by most on the right simply said the senate had blocked the vote.  As if the senate as a whole had done this.  The senate hadn't done it.  A majority of the senators voted in favor of allowing the bill to the floor.  Republicans obstructed that from happening.  In every sense that means Republicans had blocked the bill, not the senate.  And keep in mind, this is the "liberal media" portraying it this way.

It wasn't always this way.  When Democrats were in the minority throughout most of George Bush's reign, an attempt to block legislation was forthrightly called a filibuster.  It was being obstructionist.  It was, according to Republicans in the majority, a threat to the Constitution-- and I'm sure a threat to the very survival of freedom and liberty.  Dick Cheney, as president of the senate, vowed to override any filibuster at will.

We've come a long way since the days of Cheney floating in Constitutional purgatory where he could enter and leave the executive or legislative branches at will.  For sure, the era of vice presidential enigma and filibuster-breaking is over.  That doesn't mean we can't call a filibuster exactly what it is, a filibuster.

Republican Christian Right Group Praises Deadbeat Dad Joe Walsh for Unwavering Support of the Family

All things in the Republican Fantasy World eventually come full circle.  Just like Republicans get to label themselves as being fiscal conservatives and worried about the deficit, even though they have no track record of ever doing any of that, they too get to pat themselves on the back for being moral crusaders-- even when it comes to abandoning your kids.

Everybody's favorite deadbeat tea bagger, Joe Walsh (R-IL) who owes over $117,000 in back child support, was honored by Republican Tony Perkins' Family Research Council for his outstanding commitment to families.

Via Sun Times:

“Cong. Walsh and other ‘True Blue Members’ have voted to repeal Obamacare, de-fund Planned Parenthood, end government funding for abortion within the health care law, uphold the Defense of Marriage Act, and continue support for school choice. I applaud their commitment to uphold the institutions of marriage and family.”

Republicans Filibuster Infrastructure Jobs Bill

Yesterday Senate Republicans successfully filibustered a $60 billion infrastructure spending package.  This marks the third time in less than a month that Republicans have filibustered legislation that is completely paid for and designed to create jobs.

Clinging to their fiscally conservative fantasy is clearly getting in the way of putting people back to work.  When Republicans controlled all or a majority of government (2002-2007) or when they controlled the White House (2001-2009), they never once passed a spending bill that was paid for.  Such fiscally irresponsible behavior helped double the federal debt and create a trillion dollar budget deficit all within 8 years time.  But now that they are in the minority, and now that a Democrat is president, Republicans get to pretend that fiscal responsibility is a core value of theirs.

However, the only core value for Republicans is protecting millionaires.  The Democratic infrastructure bill placed a 0.7 percent surtax on people making more than $1 million. Republicans couldn't let that happen so they filibustered it. Protecting the richest among us is the only core value Republicans have as a track record in governance.  They would rather see unemployment rise, our roads crumble away, our schools condemned than force millionaires to pay a little extra to help the whole of the country.  Elitism is their core belief.  Hoping America fails is their opium.

Reaffirming God Was to Remind Obama

It's not like we really needed any descriptive reason as to why Republicans thought it important to hold a vote on a nonbinding resolution supposedly reaffirming America's motto as "In God We Trust."  We all know why Republicans did this when there are many more pressing things Congress should be doing.  They did it to appease their lunatic Christian base and to once again try to paint themselves as being the party of God and the true bearers of God's plan for America.

The leader of the "Prayer Caucus," Tom Price (R-GA), says it was also to remind the president just what the motto is.  Nothing at all to do with furthering the Godless Muslim conspiracy. Just a simple reminder.  Wheee!

Wonder why the Republican-controlled house never sought to remind George Bush that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11?  That's way more important than Obama sort of mistakenly saying our motto is E pluribus unum.  If they're so imperative about people getting facts straight, that was an ample opportunity to remind a president of a very costly error.

On the Issues, Public Supports Obama

Some quick polling data that any president would be pleased to see.

According to the latest CNN Poll, 67% of the public hope President Obama's policies succeed.

He enjoys a 64% approval rating on fighting terrorism.

Specifically on Iraq, where last week the president announced all troops will be home by the end of the year, 75% of Americans, according to Gallup, support that plan.  This support flies squarely in the face of GOP opposition in which some of the worst anti-American venom has been spilled yet criticizing President Obama's decision to finally bring the war to an end.

57% support his handling of environmental issues.

Even according to Fox News' very own polling data, 52% of the public believes the president has good ideas that need to be implemented.

His lows, however, come from the economy where only 40% approve, health care policy, and gas prices where his lowest is 39%.

Not too bad really.  But job creation and an economic turn around are the heavy hitters this election cycle.

Comparing Super Committee Plans: Dem Plan Raises More Revenue and Slashes Deficit More

Let me preface this by saying this whole Super Committee is about as worthless as any government effort has ever been (and that's saying a lot).  As I've said all along (here, here and here) it's total junk.  It was only created as a cover for Republicans so they could vote to raise the federal debt ceiling, which they always giddily did when they were in power.

Keep in mind, this had never been done before.  No presidential administration in the history of America has ever been scrutinized so much when it comes to spending; and certainly no administration has ever been held so accountable for past administration's spending in order for government to continue operating.  When Ronald Reagan tripled the federal debt, the GOP, or congress for that matter, never even mentioned a Super Committee to deal with the debt he had accumulated.   When George W. Bush doubled the national debt, he too was never held accountable to a Super Committee designed to make sure his spending binges were adequately financed.  Heck, ever even mentioning the notion that George Bush just might need a check on power, or that he might be growing government too big was to have all of Hate Radio and the MSM come down on you with thunderous calls of being a Not Very Serious Person.

Alas those days are long gone.  Now that a Democrat is in charge and has added only $1.4 trillion to the $14 trillion mountain of debt, America must be forced to be regulated by a Super Committee or face yet another round of Russian Roulette via government-shutdown style.

So you would think, after all the GOP talk about reducing the debt and slashing the deficit that they would at least step up to the plate and offer a plan that mimics their Fox News rhetoric.  It would only be a reasonable assumption to reach.  However, the hippie, tree hugging, government growing, liberal America hater's plan, yet again, reduces the deficit more without the unnecessary draconian cuts to social programs than does the Very Serious, God Fearing, Fiscal Conservatives who claim as their mantra to be fiscally responsible, small government loving patriots.

Time after time this is the case.  The people who are labeled by the MSM as being Big Government, tax and spend liberals, are routinely offering plans that are completely paid for, deficit neutral, or cut more from the deficit than does any Republican alternative yet the story is never told this way.  All because the GOP keeps insisting not to ever raise taxes, or generate a single penny from new tax revenue, it has become some sort of Liberty-Loving folklore even if that folklore is as inaccurate as Paul Bunyan.

But the facts are, $11 trillion of the national debt comes from past Republican administrations. To insist that this administration, all because the GOP has some new found love of slashing deficits...now that they are out of power of course, be held responsible for past Republican fiscal recklessness is neither prudent nor sane, especially while we are in the midst of a very fragile recovery.  In fact, it's a farce of history to even begin to assume such nonsense.

I'm not trying to say the Democratic Super Committee plan is made of gold and should be adopted right away. It's not. It's junk too.  Just not as big of a pile of dog crap as the Republican plan, only way more effective at doing what the committee was designed to do: cut deficits and get us out of this mess.  If that's not better fiscal prudence then nothing is.

God set to Make a Comeback Sometime Today

While the country is in the middle of one of the worst stretches of unemployment since the Great Depression, the Republican-Tea Bagger Controlled House finds plenty of time to reaffirm its commitment to God.  But has found zero time to vote on a jobs bill the president sent it almost two months ago.

Something tells me God isn't bound by House Resolutions.

Despite Strong Public Support to Pass Infrastructure Bill, Republicans Will Block It Again

Last week the Times released their latest polling data showing an overwhelming-- and by overwhelming I mean way more than the 51% Republicans think constitutes a mandate-- number of Americans support spending money on much needed infrastructure projects to help create jobs.

The poll demonstrated 80% of Americans think it's a good idea for the federal government to spend tax payer money on bridges, roadways and schools.  In a sane world, this would mean Americans want the government to pass any legislation that spends money on infrastructure. But we aren't in a sane world.  We are trapped in a world where Republicans get to pretend they are fiscal conservatives all the while traveling around the country saying the best thing to do is spend money on infrastructure projects even though they have blocked every attempt by the government to do just that:

Indeed, a number of GOP Senators in the past have explicitly endorsed infrastructure spending — in different contexts — as a good way to spur economic growth or maintain economic competitiveness:

* Senator Susan Collins has claimed that reparing the nation’s transportation infrastructure is “essential to economic recovery and cannot be left solely to state governments.”

* Senator Lindsey Graham has claimed that “if you’re a Republican and you want to create jobs, then you need to invest in infrastructure that will allow us to create jobs.”
* Senator Richard Shelby has said: “Infrastructure spending is essential to our long term economic stability and growth.”

* Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson has claimed that an infrastructure bank is a “creative” way to spur “economic development and job growth.”

* Senator Richard Lugar has asserted that “addressing the aging infrastructure of our roads, bridges and railways is critical to our nation’s economic viability.”

The next vote for infrastructure spending is expected Thursday. No surprise it will be as Republicans will block yet another chance to put Americans back to work.  It will come as no surprise either that after they block another piece of legislation with broad and overwhelming support, they'll claim the American people don't support it.