Judge blocks key parts of Ariz. immigration law
Phoenix -- A federal judge dealt a serious rebuke to Arizona's immigration law on Wednesday when she put most of the crackdown on hold just hours before it was to take effect.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sets up a lengthy legal battle as Arizona fights to enact the nation's toughest-in-the-nation law. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge's order overturned.
But for now, opponents of the law have prevailed: The provisions that angered opponents will not take effect, including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100728/NATION/7280403/Judge-blocks-key-parts-of-Ariz.-immigration-law#ixzz0v0d33wyj
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Target Homophobia? CEO Gregg Steinhafel Defends $150K Donation To Anti-Gay Politician, LGBT Community Angered
Target Homophobia? CEO Gregg Steinhafel Defends $150K Donation To Anti-Gay Politician, LGBT Community Angered
A campaign contribution to a well-known anti-gay politician in
Minnesota has become a rather large public relations nightmare for
Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel--and the store now faces boycotts and
backlash from the gay community.
Target's Chief Executive Steinhafel said gay employees have been concerned about the money helping state Rep. Tom Emmer,
who opposes gay marriage. Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a group
staffed by former insiders from outgoing Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's
administration. MN Forward is running TV ads supporting Emmer.
The Associated Press reports
that Emmer is a fiery conservative who lauds Arizona's strict approach
to illegal immigration, once advocated chemical castration for sex
offenders and wants to lower taxes. His profile contrasts with Target's
moderate image in Minnesota, where the company is known for donating to
public school programs, food pantries and the annual Twin Cities Gay
Pride Festival.
Following the money trail, the Minnesota Independent has also linked Emmer to a Minnesota Christian "punk-rock ministry" that supports the killing of gays and lesbians...more
A campaign contribution to a well-known anti-gay politician in
Minnesota has become a rather large public relations nightmare for
Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel--and the store now faces boycotts and
backlash from the gay community.
Target's Chief Executive Steinhafel said gay employees have been concerned about the money helping state Rep. Tom Emmer,
who opposes gay marriage. Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a group
staffed by former insiders from outgoing Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's
administration. MN Forward is running TV ads supporting Emmer.
The Associated Press reports
that Emmer is a fiery conservative who lauds Arizona's strict approach
to illegal immigration, once advocated chemical castration for sex
offenders and wants to lower taxes. His profile contrasts with Target's
moderate image in Minnesota, where the company is known for donating to
public school programs, food pantries and the annual Twin Cities Gay
Pride Festival.
Following the money trail, the Minnesota Independent has also linked Emmer to a Minnesota Christian "punk-rock ministry" that supports the killing of gays and lesbians...more
Glenn Beck's Incendiary Rhetoric Is Dangerously Close to Having a Body Count
Glenn Beck's Incendiary Rhetoric Is Dangerously Close to Having a Body Count
Right-wing media, lead by Beck, continue to stoke dangerous fires with relentlessly incendiary rhetoric. We will see more tries at vigilante violence.
July 27, 2010
On his Monday radio show, Glenn Beck highlighted claims that before he started targeting a little-known, left-leaning organization called the Tides Foundation on his Fox News TV show, "nobody knew" what the non-profit was.
Indeed, for more than a year Beck has been portraying the progressive organization as a central player in a larger, nefarious cabal of Marxist/socialist/Nazi Obama-loving outlets determined to destroy democracy in America. Beck has routinely smeared the low-profile entity for being staffed by "thugs" and "bullies" and involved in "the nasty of the nastiest," like indoctrinating schoolchildren and creating a "mass organization to seize power."..more
Right-wing media, lead by Beck, continue to stoke dangerous fires with relentlessly incendiary rhetoric. We will see more tries at vigilante violence.
July 27, 2010
Indeed, for more than a year Beck has been portraying the progressive organization as a central player in a larger, nefarious cabal of Marxist/socialist/Nazi Obama-loving outlets determined to destroy democracy in America. Beck has routinely smeared the low-profile entity for being staffed by "thugs" and "bullies" and involved in "the nasty of the nastiest," like indoctrinating schoolchildren and creating a "mass organization to seize power."..more
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sarah ‘ShakesPalin’ of Alaska; Michele Bachmann: Tea-Party is A ‘Receptacle For Trash’
Sarah ‘ShakesPalin’ of Alaska; Michele Bachmann: Tea-Party is A ‘Receptacle For Trash’
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Netroots Speaker Jokes of Making Bachmann Wear "Fishnets" Like Cocktail Waitress
Netroots Speaker Jokes of Making Bachmann Wear "Fishnets" Like Cocktail Waitress
LAS VEGAS -- A Netroots Nation speaker introducing Rep. Michelle Bachman's Democratic opponent joked about making the Minnesota representative wear "fishnets" like a Vegas cocktail waitress.Laura Fanders, the host of Grittv, was introducing Bachmann's challenger, Tarryl Clark, when she said: "Another little update from the Right Online folks. Michelle Bachmann was there last night. Sen. Franken is gonna wrestle with her."
She went on to say that, "We'll make her wear those fishnets that they're wearing serving cocktails outside. That's the kind of Netroots we like."
America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution
America's Ruling Class -- And the Perils of Revolution
Who are these rulers, and by what right do they rule? How did America change from a place where people could expect to live without bowing to privileged classes to one in which, at best, they might have the chance to climb into them? What sets our ruling class apart from the rest of us?...more
The Cloak
The Cloak
Fighting against communism with the help of his side-kick, Robert Mitchum's head!
Fighting against communism with the help of his side-kick, Robert Mitchum's head!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Bachmann promises subpoenas
Bachmann promises subpoenas
If Republicans take the House in November, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota says that “all we should do is issue subpoenas and have one hearing after another.”
Speaking at the GOP Youth Convention on Thursday in Washington, she said she hopes to "expose all the nonsense that is going on.”
Bachmann's remarks were recorded by the blog Three Fingers of Politics, which posted an audio clip.
Bachmann also warned the GOP, though, that if they do take power, they must stick to being the “constitutional conservatives” they portray themselves to be.
“We have to make sure that we do what the people want us to do,” she said.
A spokesman for Bachmann said "investigating the administration for their mischief is a big priority," along with "repealing Obamacare, restoring the free markets and making sure we stop the spending spree."
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Congressional Tea Party Caucus receives mixed reviews from Tea Party activists
Congressional Tea Party Caucus receives mixed reviews from Tea Party activists
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/22/congressional-tea-party-caucus-receives-mixed-reviews-from-tea-party-activists/#ixzz0uTPwyD6Z
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Tea Party Caucus in the House convened in Washington for the first time Wednesday, but it is receiving mixed reviews from Tea Party activists across the country.
“I don’t appreciate the caucus,” said one well-known activist, Robin Stublen, of Punta Gorda, Fla. “They don’t deserve it.”
Stublen, a former coordinator with the Tea Party Patriots, continued by saying that he finds it “hypocritical” that some of the 20-plus members who signed up for the caucus haven’t signed the Contract from America, a list of legislative desires trumpeted by many Tea Party leaders.
Stublen suggested Republicans like the idea of being associated with the Tea Party, but are wary of signing on to the Contract from America because the congressional GOP leadership is not behind it. But if they would sign it, he’d be open to the caucus.
“Put your money where your mouth is,” he said. “Until then I’m not buying it. I think it’s a ploy to get reelected.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/22/congressional-tea-party-caucus-receives-mixed-reviews-from-tea-party-activists/#ixzz0uTPo6UHw
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/22/congressional-tea-party-caucus-receives-mixed-reviews-from-tea-party-activists/#ixzz0uTPwyD6Z
“I don’t appreciate the caucus,” said one well-known activist, Robin Stublen, of Punta Gorda, Fla. “They don’t deserve it.”
Stublen, a former coordinator with the Tea Party Patriots, continued by saying that he finds it “hypocritical” that some of the 20-plus members who signed up for the caucus haven’t signed the Contract from America, a list of legislative desires trumpeted by many Tea Party leaders.
Stublen suggested Republicans like the idea of being associated with the Tea Party, but are wary of signing on to the Contract from America because the congressional GOP leadership is not behind it. But if they would sign it, he’d be open to the caucus.
“Put your money where your mouth is,” he said. “Until then I’m not buying it. I think it’s a ploy to get reelected.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/22/congressional-tea-party-caucus-receives-mixed-reviews-from-tea-party-activists/#ixzz0uTPo6UHw
GOP House leader criticizes decision to air partial video of Shirley Sherrod Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/gop-house-leader-criticizes-decision-to-air-partial-video-of-shirley-sherrod/#ixzz0uTDHtB00
GOP House leader criticizes decision to air partial video of Shirley Sherrod
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/gop-house-leader-criticizes-decision-to-air-partial-video-of-shirley-sherrod/#ixzz0uTDHtB00
House Minority Leader John Boehner on Wednesday criticized the decision by conservative media personality Andrew Breitbart to air only a small portion of the video showing USDA official Shirley Sherrod making racially charged remarks earlier this year, which led to her firing.
“It’s unfortunate that whoever laid this out there didn’t lay out the whole story, as opposed to a part of it,” said Boehner, an Ohio Republican, at a lunch with journalists in Washington.
“They only put a little piece of the story out there and people make judgments and they rush and they make bad decisions. They make rash decisions. I don’t want to say bad because I haven’t seen all of this,” he said.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/gop-house-leader-criticizes-decision-to-air-partial-video-of-shirley-sherrod/#ixzz0uTDAzEKe
This is the complete, unedited tape.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/gop-house-leader-criticizes-decision-to-air-partial-video-of-shirley-sherrod/#ixzz0uTDHtB00
House Minority Leader John Boehner on Wednesday criticized the decision by conservative media personality Andrew Breitbart to air only a small portion of the video showing USDA official Shirley Sherrod making racially charged remarks earlier this year, which led to her firing.
“It’s unfortunate that whoever laid this out there didn’t lay out the whole story, as opposed to a part of it,” said Boehner, an Ohio Republican, at a lunch with journalists in Washington.
“They only put a little piece of the story out there and people make judgments and they rush and they make bad decisions. They make rash decisions. I don’t want to say bad because I haven’t seen all of this,” he said.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/21/gop-house-leader-criticizes-decision-to-air-partial-video-of-shirley-sherrod/#ixzz0uTDAzEKe
This is the complete, unedited tape.
House Passes Jobless Benefit Extension
House Passes Jobless Benefit Extension
WASHINGTON — The House approved legislation on Thursday that would restore unemployment pay for millions of Americans who have exhausted their standard benefits. The bill was sent to President Obama for his signature, and administration officials said Mr. Obama would sign it immediately.
Related
The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
The $34 billion measure was the subject of a fierce partisan battle in Congress over whether the cost should be offset with spending cuts or tax increases to avoid enlarging the federal deficit, as Republican opponents demanded. Democrats countered that the economic crisis amounted to a fiscal emergency, permitting the measure to be financed with deficit spending.
The vote in the House was 272 to 152, with 31 Republicans joining 241 Democrats in supporting the measure. Voting against were 142 Republicans and 10 Democrats....more
WASHINGTON — The House approved legislation on Thursday that would restore unemployment pay for millions of Americans who have exhausted their standard benefits. The bill was sent to President Obama for his signature, and administration officials said Mr. Obama would sign it immediately.
Related
The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
The $34 billion measure was the subject of a fierce partisan battle in Congress over whether the cost should be offset with spending cuts or tax increases to avoid enlarging the federal deficit, as Republican opponents demanded. Democrats countered that the economic crisis amounted to a fiscal emergency, permitting the measure to be financed with deficit spending.
The vote in the House was 272 to 152, with 31 Republicans joining 241 Democrats in supporting the measure. Voting against were 142 Republicans and 10 Democrats....more
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra joins Michele Bachmann in House Tea Party Caucus
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra joins Michele Bachmann in House Tea Party Caucus
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra is joining Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann as a founding member of the House Tea Party Caucus in a move that could help his Michigan gubernatorial bid.
Hoekstra campaign spokesman John Truscott said Tuesday that a lot of people in the conservative movement “have a great deal of respect for Michelle Bachmann.”
Bachmann, a frequent Fox News guest, has been a vocal spokeswoman for the Tea Party movement, whose supporters could play a role in the outcome of Michigan’s Aug. 3 Republican primary.
Read more: http://www.fox21online.com/news/michigan-gubernatorial-candidate-joins-bachmann-house-tea-party-caucus
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra is joining Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann as a founding member of the House Tea Party Caucus in a move that could help his Michigan gubernatorial bid.
Hoekstra campaign spokesman John Truscott said Tuesday that a lot of people in the conservative movement “have a great deal of respect for Michelle Bachmann.”
Bachmann, a frequent Fox News guest, has been a vocal spokeswoman for the Tea Party movement, whose supporters could play a role in the outcome of Michigan’s Aug. 3 Republican primary.
Read more: http://www.fox21online.com/news/michigan-gubernatorial-candidate-joins-bachmann-house-tea-party-caucus
Michele Bachmann Sells Herself to Raise Money for Glenn Beck
Michele Bachmann Sells Herself to Raise Money for Glenn Beck
One of the many ways that Glenn Beck is raising money to pay for his upcoming rally at the Lincoln Memorial is an online auction. People are bidding big bucks on items such as breakfast with Beck and Sarah Palin on the morning of the rally, and a helicopter ride to visit Beck at his home. But one auction item that hasn't gotten any attention at all is the private tour of the Capitol Building with Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton and everyone's favorite tea party congresswoman, Michele Bachmann. As the bidding on this item came to a close on Monday, the high bid was at $27,500.
Beck's 8/28 "Restoring Honor" rally is being promoted as a benefit for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), a legitimate charity that provides scholarships to the children of special operations military personnel who are killed in action or training missions, and financial assistance to the families of those who are severely wounded. But, as Bill Press explained a few weeks ago on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, in addition to the outrage of Beck holding his rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, the donations being solicited by Beck for this benefit aren't all actually going to the SOWF. This organization that Beck's rally is supposedly a benefit for is only getting whatever is left over after all of the expenses for the rally itself are paid for. This scheme to pay for Beck's rally under the guise of a benefit to support military families includes both direct donations and the proceeds of the online auction...more
One of the many ways that Glenn Beck is raising money to pay for his upcoming rally at the Lincoln Memorial is an online auction. People are bidding big bucks on items such as breakfast with Beck and Sarah Palin on the morning of the rally, and a helicopter ride to visit Beck at his home. But one auction item that hasn't gotten any attention at all is the private tour of the Capitol Building with Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton and everyone's favorite tea party congresswoman, Michele Bachmann. As the bidding on this item came to a close on Monday, the high bid was at $27,500.
Beck's 8/28 "Restoring Honor" rally is being promoted as a benefit for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), a legitimate charity that provides scholarships to the children of special operations military personnel who are killed in action or training missions, and financial assistance to the families of those who are severely wounded. But, as Bill Press explained a few weeks ago on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, in addition to the outrage of Beck holding his rally at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, the donations being solicited by Beck for this benefit aren't all actually going to the SOWF. This organization that Beck's rally is supposedly a benefit for is only getting whatever is left over after all of the expenses for the rally itself are paid for. This scheme to pay for Beck's rally under the guise of a benefit to support military families includes both direct donations and the proceeds of the online auction...more
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Could the Republicans 'refudiate' Sarah Palin?
Could the Republicans 'refudiate' Sarah Palin?
By Channel 4 News
Updated on 20 July 2010
Fresh from her "repudiate" Twitter gaffe, Sarah Palin is facing stiff opposition for her place as potential Republican presidential contender from the so-called "queen of the right" - Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
Sarah Palin at a rally in the United States (Reuters)
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann is a fast becoming a rising star in the eyes of US Republicans.
Bachmann has the right credentials: she has accused Obama of being a socialist threat to the American way of life; she vehemently opposed his healthcare bill with a stirring "blood brothers" speech, and perhaps most significantly, she has successfully brought the Tea Party movement to Congress.
Bachmann broke the news about her Tea Party victory on Twitter:
"Just got word that the Committee on House Administration officially approved the House Tea Party Caucus."
"Americans from all locations and backgrounds have united through Tea Parties to spread the timeless messages of fiscal responsibility and limited government," she added in a statement.
"And I have talked to many people who felt discouraged because no one in Washington DC seemed willing to listen. This caucus will change that sentiment and ensure the voices of the people are carried through the halls of Congress."
"From "refudiate" to Shakespeare - the linguistic journey of Sarah Palin
- Read more below
The Tea Party movement has taken the Republican party by storm since it was formed last year. It begun as a grassroots revolt against Obama's plans on taxation, health reform and economic reform, and is now threatening to become an established political ideology.
The group's focus is primarily anti-taxation and pro small government. They take their name from the famous Boston Tea Party groups that stood against colonial British taxation laws in 1773. Recently, however, there has been fierce debate over claims that members of the Tea Party hold racist views.
Bachmann has now successfully arranged for a Tea Party caucus to be held in Congress - essentially a place where congressmen and women who share the Tea Party ideals could meet in Congress to talk.
Sarah Palin has also been in the news over her tweets, but for all the wrong reasons. In a gaffe that echoed George W Bush's "misunderestimate" comment, she was caught tweeting a made-up word: "refudiate".
Critics are pointing to this mistake as an example of how Palin has become tarnished in the eyes of the media, and say Bachmann should replace her as potential presidential candidate.
Professor Shaun Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California, said:
"Bachmann is media-savvy, energising and charismatic, just like Palin. But unlike Palin, she is a seasoned politician. She is not a political lightweight; she is serious."
"From "refudiate" to Shakespeare - the linguistic journey of Sarah Palin
In addition to potentially being outshone by Michelle Bachman as Queen of the Right, Palin was recently in the headlines for coining an entirely new word on Twitter.
Tweeting about a proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center stood in New York, she asked peaceful Muslims to "refudiate" the idea:
"July 18, 2010: Ground Zero mosque supporters, doesn't it stab you in the heart as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, (please) refudiate."
Following that initial tweet, Palin tried to amend her message, changing "refudiate" for "refute" which proved equally puzzling to many.
Finally Palin settled for replacing the offending word with "reject" - and then a few hours later posted another tweet, apparently trying to close the issue by saying that English was a living language.
In it, she jokingly referred to George W Bush's infamous "misunderestimate" gaffe and then compared herself to William Shakespeare:
"'Refudiate", "misunderestimate", "wee-wee'd up". English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
But this is not the first time Ms Palin has used the word "refudiate".
During a Fox News interview last week, Palin angrily challenged the Obamas to "refudiate" claims by National Association for the Advancement of Colored (sic) People (NAACP) group that some supporters of the Tea Party movement were racist.
She said in the interview (shown right at 2' 30):
"The president and his wife, they have power in their words. They could refudiate what it is this group is saying and they could set the record straight."
Ironically, the NAACP itself made a similar claim earlier this month when it said:
"The resolution condemns the bigoted elements within the Tea Party and asks for them to be repudiated."
Only they chose to use the word "repudiate" instead.
By Channel 4 News
Updated on 20 July 2010
Fresh from her "repudiate" Twitter gaffe, Sarah Palin is facing stiff opposition for her place as potential Republican presidential contender from the so-called "queen of the right" - Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
Sarah Palin at a rally in the United States (Reuters)
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann is a fast becoming a rising star in the eyes of US Republicans.
Bachmann has the right credentials: she has accused Obama of being a socialist threat to the American way of life; she vehemently opposed his healthcare bill with a stirring "blood brothers" speech, and perhaps most significantly, she has successfully brought the Tea Party movement to Congress.
Bachmann broke the news about her Tea Party victory on Twitter:
"Just got word that the Committee on House Administration officially approved the House Tea Party Caucus."
"Americans from all locations and backgrounds have united through Tea Parties to spread the timeless messages of fiscal responsibility and limited government," she added in a statement.
"And I have talked to many people who felt discouraged because no one in Washington DC seemed willing to listen. This caucus will change that sentiment and ensure the voices of the people are carried through the halls of Congress."
"From "refudiate" to Shakespeare - the linguistic journey of Sarah Palin
- Read more below
The Tea Party movement has taken the Republican party by storm since it was formed last year. It begun as a grassroots revolt against Obama's plans on taxation, health reform and economic reform, and is now threatening to become an established political ideology.
The group's focus is primarily anti-taxation and pro small government. They take their name from the famous Boston Tea Party groups that stood against colonial British taxation laws in 1773. Recently, however, there has been fierce debate over claims that members of the Tea Party hold racist views.
Bachmann has now successfully arranged for a Tea Party caucus to be held in Congress - essentially a place where congressmen and women who share the Tea Party ideals could meet in Congress to talk.
Sarah Palin has also been in the news over her tweets, but for all the wrong reasons. In a gaffe that echoed George W Bush's "misunderestimate" comment, she was caught tweeting a made-up word: "refudiate".
Critics are pointing to this mistake as an example of how Palin has become tarnished in the eyes of the media, and say Bachmann should replace her as potential presidential candidate.
Professor Shaun Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California, said:
"Bachmann is media-savvy, energising and charismatic, just like Palin. But unlike Palin, she is a seasoned politician. She is not a political lightweight; she is serious."
"From "refudiate" to Shakespeare - the linguistic journey of Sarah Palin
In addition to potentially being outshone by Michelle Bachman as Queen of the Right, Palin was recently in the headlines for coining an entirely new word on Twitter.
Tweeting about a proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center stood in New York, she asked peaceful Muslims to "refudiate" the idea:
"July 18, 2010: Ground Zero mosque supporters, doesn't it stab you in the heart as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, (please) refudiate."
Following that initial tweet, Palin tried to amend her message, changing "refudiate" for "refute" which proved equally puzzling to many.
Finally Palin settled for replacing the offending word with "reject" - and then a few hours later posted another tweet, apparently trying to close the issue by saying that English was a living language.
In it, she jokingly referred to George W Bush's infamous "misunderestimate" gaffe and then compared herself to William Shakespeare:
"'Refudiate", "misunderestimate", "wee-wee'd up". English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
But this is not the first time Ms Palin has used the word "refudiate".
During a Fox News interview last week, Palin angrily challenged the Obamas to "refudiate" claims by National Association for the Advancement of Colored (sic) People (NAACP) group that some supporters of the Tea Party movement were racist.
She said in the interview (shown right at 2' 30):
"The president and his wife, they have power in their words. They could refudiate what it is this group is saying and they could set the record straight."
Ironically, the NAACP itself made a similar claim earlier this month when it said:
"The resolution condemns the bigoted elements within the Tea Party and asks for them to be repudiated."
Only they chose to use the word "repudiate" instead.
Bachmann: Pay for Unemployment Benefits, Not Tax Cuts
Bachmann: Pay for Unemployment Benefits, Not Tax Cuts
Brushing aside President Obama’s Rose Garden salvo, the newly-minted Chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, told me on "GMA" that Congress must pay for extending unemployment benefits, but tax cuts should be free.
"I think we need to be paying for all the spending that’s going on," Rep. Michele Bachmann said. "But when people can keep more of their own money that shouldn’t be considered a cost."
Mike Pence is the only member of the GOP leadership to sign on with the Tea Party Caucus. Others seem worried about bringing the Tea Party into the House. But Bachmann dismissed the concern when I asked her about it.
“Most of the people that came to Washington to rallies and to town hall meetings across the country are just trying to get the attention of Congress to say ‘Would you please stop spending money that you don’t have. Because the money is our money,’” she said
It was a polished performance. Watch it here.
Brushing aside President Obama’s Rose Garden salvo, the newly-minted Chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, told me on "GMA" that Congress must pay for extending unemployment benefits, but tax cuts should be free.
"I think we need to be paying for all the spending that’s going on," Rep. Michele Bachmann said. "But when people can keep more of their own money that shouldn’t be considered a cost."
Mike Pence is the only member of the GOP leadership to sign on with the Tea Party Caucus. Others seem worried about bringing the Tea Party into the House. But Bachmann dismissed the concern when I asked her about it.
“Most of the people that came to Washington to rallies and to town hall meetings across the country are just trying to get the attention of Congress to say ‘Would you please stop spending money that you don’t have. Because the money is our money,’” she said
It was a polished performance. Watch it here.
President Obama Pushes for Up-or-Down Vote on Help for Our Laid Off Friends & Neighbors
President Obama Pushes for Up-or-Down Vote on Help for Our Laid Off Friends & Neighbors
President Obama Pushes for Up-or-Down Vote on Help for Our Laid Off Friends & Neighbors
The President opened his remarks today describing some of the people he is focused on as he deals with the economy every day:
Right now, across this country, many Americans are sitting at the kitchen table, they’re scanning the classifieds, they’re updating their resumes or sending out another job application, hoping that this time they’ll hear back from a potential employer. And they’re filled with a sense of uncertainty about where their next paycheck will come from. And I know the only thing that will entirely free them of those worries –- the only thing that will fully lift that sense of uncertainty –- is the security of a new job.The warnings surrounding America’s economic free fall when the President came into office were grave – “another Great Depression” was one common refrain. It’s undoubtedly good news that those dire warnings are all but forgotten now, as the Recovery Act and other tough choices from the Obama Administration brought us back from the brink, but there is no question that the difficulties facing millions of America’s workers – through no fault of their own – are nothing short of tragic.
That’s why it’s not only imperative to pass the job creation programs the President has supported, such as small business tax cuts and support for the clean energy economy, but to extend unemployment insurance to those still struggling to find work. These are our friends and neighbors, who find themselves in the same situation so many of us have at some point in our lives if we were out of work during a tough economic time – seemingly endless applicants for every job, where even a final round interview seems like hitting the lottery. And that leaves out the fact that because these benefits go to people who will immediately spend them and put them back into the economy, there is wide consensus that it is one of the best ways to stimulate the economy.
And yet, as the President explained, Republicans in the Senate have taken a different perspective in justifying their blocking of unemployment insurance to help our neighbors stay afloat – that is their fault, and they are simply not looking hard enough for work. They say this even as they consistently attack the President over the state of the economy. They claim we cannot afford to extend the benefits, even as they push for massive, permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to be put on the national credit card:
And for a long time, there’s been a tradition –- under both Democratic and Republican Presidents –- to offer relief to the unemployed. That was certainly the case under my predecessor, when Republican senators voted several times to extend emergency unemployment benefits. But right now, these benefits –- benefits that are often the person’s sole source of income while they’re looking for work -– are in jeopardy.As described in the background sent out from the White House, the President was joined by three people typifying the kind of Americans this help will go to – see if they don’t remind you of people you know in your community:
And I have to say, after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, the same people who didn’t have any problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are now saying we shouldn’t offer relief to middle-class Americans like Jim or Leslie or Denise, who really need help.
Over the past few weeks, a majority of senators have tried -– not once, not twice, but three times –- to extend emergency relief on a temporary basis. Each time, a partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. These leaders in the Senate who are advancing a misguided notion that emergency relief somehow discourages people from looking for a job should talk to these folks.
That attitude I think reflects a lack of faith in the American people, because the Americans I hear from in letters and meet in town hall meetings –- Americans like Leslie and Jim and Denise -- they’re not looking for a handout. They desperately want to work. Just right now they can’t find a job. These are honest, decent, hardworking folks who’ve fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, and who have nowhere else to turn except unemployment benefits and who need emergency relief to help them weather this economic storm.
Now, tomorrow we will have another chance to offer them that relief, to do right by not just Jim and Leslie and Denise, but all the Americans who need a helping hand right now -- and I hope we seize it. It’s time to stop holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to Washington politics. It’s time to do what’s right -- not for the next election but for the middle class.
- Jim Chukalas, from Fredon Township, NJ, was laid off as a parts manager at a Honda dealership in 2008. He ran out of Tier III benefits and his Tier IV expired two weeks ago because Congress has failed to act. Jim has persistently searched for work and fights to keep his spirits up for his family’s sake.
- Leslie Macko, from Charlottesville, VA, lost her job as an aesthetician in 2009. She received, and exhausted, Virginia unemployment compensation benefits. She has also exhausted her Tier I benefits and had 4.9 weeks of Tier II EUC for which she is eligible. However, there has been a 6-week delay in the Tier II benefits and once she receives these benefits, she will not be eligible for additional unemployment insurance. She has persistently searched for work, and continues to do so. To pay her rent, utilities, food, and other expenses she has had to borrow money from her father on a monthly basis.
- Denise Gibson from Queens, NY, was laid off as a maintenance supervisor in January and has been receiving unemployment insurance benefits since February. She will receive the benefits only until August unless the extension is passed. She is currently late on her rent and due back in housing court in early August. She is interviewing for jobs and has plans to go to nursing school later this year.
Progressives Launch 'One Nation' Coalition to Counter Tea Party
Progressives Launch 'One Nation' Coalition to Counter Tea Party
Source: The Washington Post
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the "tea party" movement must be honored.
In an effort to replicate the tea party's success, 170 liberal and civil rights groups are forming a coalition that they hope will match the movement's political energy and influence. They promise to "counter the tea party narrative" and help the progressive movement find its voice again after 18 months of floundering.
The large-scale attempt at liberal unity, dubbed "One Nation," will try to revive themes that energized the progressive grassroots two years ago. In a repurposing of Barack Obama's old campaign slogan, organizers are demanding "all the change" they voted for -- a poke at the White House.
But the liberal groups have long had a kind of sibling rivalry, jostling over competing agendas and seeking to influence some of the same lawmakers. In forming the coalition, the groups struggled to settle on a name. Even now, two of the major players disagree about who came up with the idea of holding a march this fall.
In this respect, at least, the liberal effort already resembles the fractious tea party movement. In February, some tea party groups skipped a long-planned gathering in Nashville in protest of alleged profiteering by convention organizers. Tea partiers have also argued about which candidates represent the movement.
Despite the friction among liberal groups, the effort behind "One Nation" was born of a certain necessity: At one of the first meetings, Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, said, "Raise your hand if you can push your part of the agenda all by yourself."
No hands shot up.
Indeed, a promised overhaul of immigration law is virtually dead this year. Legislation that labor unions say would make it easier for them to grow their membership are stalled in Congress. The jobless rate is 15.4 percent for blacks and 12.4 percent for Hispanics, compared with 8.6 percent for whites.
"Having been confronted with the specter of the tea party...we felt it urgent to organize the majority of this country, which voted in 2008 and has gone back to the couch," said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "We've been split off in different directions."
The groups involved represent the core of the first-time voters who backed President Obama -- including the National Council of La Raza, NAACP, AFL-CIO, SEIU and the United States Student Association. (The effort is separate from the Democratic Party's plan to spend $50 million trying to reach those same voters.)
Source: The Washington Post
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the "tea party" movement must be honored.
In an effort to replicate the tea party's success, 170 liberal and civil rights groups are forming a coalition that they hope will match the movement's political energy and influence. They promise to "counter the tea party narrative" and help the progressive movement find its voice again after 18 months of floundering.
The large-scale attempt at liberal unity, dubbed "One Nation," will try to revive themes that energized the progressive grassroots two years ago. In a repurposing of Barack Obama's old campaign slogan, organizers are demanding "all the change" they voted for -- a poke at the White House.
But the liberal groups have long had a kind of sibling rivalry, jostling over competing agendas and seeking to influence some of the same lawmakers. In forming the coalition, the groups struggled to settle on a name. Even now, two of the major players disagree about who came up with the idea of holding a march this fall.
In this respect, at least, the liberal effort already resembles the fractious tea party movement. In February, some tea party groups skipped a long-planned gathering in Nashville in protest of alleged profiteering by convention organizers. Tea partiers have also argued about which candidates represent the movement.
Despite the friction among liberal groups, the effort behind "One Nation" was born of a certain necessity: At one of the first meetings, Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, said, "Raise your hand if you can push your part of the agenda all by yourself."
No hands shot up.
Indeed, a promised overhaul of immigration law is virtually dead this year. Legislation that labor unions say would make it easier for them to grow their membership are stalled in Congress. The jobless rate is 15.4 percent for blacks and 12.4 percent for Hispanics, compared with 8.6 percent for whites.
"Having been confronted with the specter of the tea party...we felt it urgent to organize the majority of this country, which voted in 2008 and has gone back to the couch," said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "We've been split off in different directions."
The groups involved represent the core of the first-time voters who backed President Obama -- including the National Council of La Raza, NAACP, AFL-CIO, SEIU and the United States Student Association. (The effort is separate from the Democratic Party's plan to spend $50 million trying to reach those same voters.)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Countdown On Tea Party Caucus Chairwoman Bachmann
OLBERMANN: It's not just that there isn't much racism in the Tea Party. The contention is there's none, zero. Thats next in worsts. First, no, that's not your water coming to a boil. It's our nightly checkup on the something for nothing crowd. It's Tea Time.According to Bachmann's official Congressional website:
Fifty percent of life really is an imitation of a Monty Python sketch. From Washington and the Committee on House Administration there comes this letter.
"I would like to register the House Tea Party Caucus as a congressional member organization. The 111th Congress has Tea Party Caucus, will serve as an informal group of members dedicated to promote America's call for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution" -- . Michele Bachmann, ChairwomanMichele Bachmann, Chairwoman Michele Bachmann of the House Tea Party Caucus. Chairwoman Michele Bachmann of the House Tea Party Caucus, consisting of the following members: Michele Bachmann.
Meantime in Kentucky, Rand Paul has vowed to start a Senate Tea Party Caucus. He bets on Paul not blowing what remains of his once big lead or about his only potential other member, Sharron Angle, when she out- Tea Partied the chicken lady, Sue Lowden, to get the Republican nomination in Nevada.
She led Reid by three points in the Mason-Dixon poll. The new Mason-Dixon poll is now out, Reid by seven, a ten-point swing in six weeks.
It is one thing to believe America agrees with you and your regressive, narrow-minded, prejudiced politics. Go ahead. Have a good time. But to think you are winning when you are getting your asses kicked, that takes us back to the Monty Python sketch. Or more correctly, the Eric Idol spoof of the Beatles called " The Ruttles."
The band was suddenly influenced by the spiritual teachings of an Indian Yogi, who turns them on to a new hallucinogenic drug. A new hallucinogenic drug is obviously a metaphor for LSD. The new hallucinogenic drug is TEA, tea. I think we just found out what the stuff is that Michele Bachmann drinks."
"The American people are speaking out loud and clear. They have had enough of the spending, the bureaucracy, and the government knows best mentality running rampant today throughout the halls of Congress. This caucus will espouse the timeless principles of our founding, principles that all Members of Congress have sworn to uphold," Bachmann stated. "The American people are doing their part and making their voices heard and this caucus will prove that there are some here in Washington willing to listen."I guess that means the only Americans worth listening to are those folks with the signs out to 'take their country back'? Would that be most of the mainstream Republican party, perhaps?
I was going to poke fun at the staffer assigned to coordinate the new caucus, but it's not nice to make fun of folks saddled with the last name "Looser" who also work for Michele Bachmann, so I won't.
Teabaggers are a legend in their own minds, and Michele Bachmann is trying to keep a 'movement that was never a movement' afloat long enough to flog it through November. What will she do when she, Rand Paul and Sharron Angle all lose? Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll toss her hat in the GOP primary ring.
GOP Senator Privately Admits Tax Cuts Make the Wealthy Lazy
GOP Senator Privately Admits Tax Cuts Make the Wealthy Lazy
By Don Davis
GOP Senator Jon Kyl, who along with his fellow party cretins has blamed unemployment benefits for unemployment, was caught in an embarrassing betrayal of conservative dogma today, when he acknowledged that continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts will only incentivize the wealthy to slack off.
Kyl, who thought television cameras and microphones were off during a taping of the new FOX News Sunday morning program, This Week in 1931, cackled heartily as he was overheard saying “if our rich friends who bankroll our campaigns get to keep their windfall tax cuts, they won’t even bother to get off their fat asses to to clip their bond coupons.”
Kyl further “gave away” his real beliefs by adding, “if we really wanted to spur growth and job creation, we’d double taxes on the super-rich; after all, just to maintain their lifestyle of luxury houses and boats, they’d have to work twice as hard.”
To make matters even worse, Kyl expressed amazement that “Democrats buy the bullshit about even more favorable tax rates for capital gains on passive investments.” “After all,” Kyl added, “if low tax rates are supposed to encourage and reward hard work, how are lower tax rates supposed to incentivize doing nothing?”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hastily called a press conference to claim that Kyl had been out in the Arizona sun too long, apparently unaware that the sanity of his entire party had been adversely affected by the very global warming that they vehemently deny.
By Don Davis
GOP Senator Jon Kyl, who along with his fellow party cretins has blamed unemployment benefits for unemployment, was caught in an embarrassing betrayal of conservative dogma today, when he acknowledged that continuation of the Bush-era tax cuts will only incentivize the wealthy to slack off.
Kyl further “gave away” his real beliefs by adding, “if we really wanted to spur growth and job creation, we’d double taxes on the super-rich; after all, just to maintain their lifestyle of luxury houses and boats, they’d have to work twice as hard.”
To make matters even worse, Kyl expressed amazement that “Democrats buy the bullshit about even more favorable tax rates for capital gains on passive investments.” “After all,” Kyl added, “if low tax rates are supposed to encourage and reward hard work, how are lower tax rates supposed to incentivize doing nothing?”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hastily called a press conference to claim that Kyl had been out in the Arizona sun too long, apparently unaware that the sanity of his entire party had been adversely affected by the very global warming that they vehemently deny.
NAACP President Defends Decision to Condemn Tea Party as Racist, Now Claims David Duke, Stormfront Lead the Movement…
NAACP President Defends Decision to Condemn Tea Party as Racist, Now Claims David Duke, Stormfront Lead the Movement…
(CNN)- Benjamin Todd Jealous is president and CEO of the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization.
This week at the NAACP annual convention, we passed over 75 resolutions. They addressed critical issues from education equity, to fixing our broken criminal justice and immigration systems, to our top priority: jobs, jobs, jobs.
One resolution, which was highlighted in my convention speech, created media frenzy: The unanimously passed resolution demanded that the leadership of the Tea Party repudiate its racist elements and make it clear that there is no space in the organization for bigotry.
It is unfortunate that at a time when our nation is reeling in the midst of one of the most devastating downturns in our economy since the Great Depression, the NAACP is compelled to deal with a disturbing, corrosive attack from the Tea Party.
Instead of joining us to repudiate racism, Tea Party leaders have attempted a tit for tat and demanded that we condemn the New Black Panther Party for reported hate speech. It is a false argument. Of course we condemn hate speech from anyone and any organization, including the New Black Panther Party. But that party is a mere flea compared to the influence and size of the Tea Party. And the New Black Panther Party is not a member of the NAACP. What we are asking the Tea Party to eschew is not the racism of some outside organization, but the bigotry within.
After my speech, I was approached by a man named Chris, who asked that his last name not be used. He’s a member of both the Tea Party and the NAACP. He thanked me for denouncing the racist elements of a party to which he is loyal. He explained that he felt increasingly uncomfortable within the Tea Party. We want Chris to live in a world where he can feel comfortable in both organizations.
Over 2000 delegates voted. The resolution was proposed by our Missouri State Conference, from the home state of the Council of Conservative Citizens, widely recognized as the linear descendant of the White Citizens Council. Their fealty to racism is not obscured.
Like Stormfront.org, a website founded by former KKK leader Don Black, the Council celebrates its allegiance to and influence in the Tea Party. The avowed racist David Duke notes that thousands of Tea Party activists have urged him to run for president. When the Tea Party marches by, Duke thinks it’s his fiesta.
(CNN)- Benjamin Todd Jealous is president and CEO of the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization.
This week at the NAACP annual convention, we passed over 75 resolutions. They addressed critical issues from education equity, to fixing our broken criminal justice and immigration systems, to our top priority: jobs, jobs, jobs.
One resolution, which was highlighted in my convention speech, created media frenzy: The unanimously passed resolution demanded that the leadership of the Tea Party repudiate its racist elements and make it clear that there is no space in the organization for bigotry.
It is unfortunate that at a time when our nation is reeling in the midst of one of the most devastating downturns in our economy since the Great Depression, the NAACP is compelled to deal with a disturbing, corrosive attack from the Tea Party.
Instead of joining us to repudiate racism, Tea Party leaders have attempted a tit for tat and demanded that we condemn the New Black Panther Party for reported hate speech. It is a false argument. Of course we condemn hate speech from anyone and any organization, including the New Black Panther Party. But that party is a mere flea compared to the influence and size of the Tea Party. And the New Black Panther Party is not a member of the NAACP. What we are asking the Tea Party to eschew is not the racism of some outside organization, but the bigotry within.
After my speech, I was approached by a man named Chris, who asked that his last name not be used. He’s a member of both the Tea Party and the NAACP. He thanked me for denouncing the racist elements of a party to which he is loyal. He explained that he felt increasingly uncomfortable within the Tea Party. We want Chris to live in a world where he can feel comfortable in both organizations.
Over 2000 delegates voted. The resolution was proposed by our Missouri State Conference, from the home state of the Council of Conservative Citizens, widely recognized as the linear descendant of the White Citizens Council. Their fealty to racism is not obscured.
Like Stormfront.org, a website founded by former KKK leader Don Black, the Council celebrates its allegiance to and influence in the Tea Party. The avowed racist David Duke notes that thousands of Tea Party activists have urged him to run for president. When the Tea Party marches by, Duke thinks it’s his fiesta.
Bachman Forms House Tea Party Caucus
Bachmann Forms House Tea Party Caucus
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Tea Party Racism Petition
Tea Party Racism Petition
PETITION INTRO
The stated mission of the NAACP is “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.”
The stated mission of the Tea Party Patriots is to “attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with the intent of the United States Constitution.”
We believe these two missions are not inconsistent and that the NAACP should be embracing the individual freedom and responsibility promoted by the movement. It is nothing less than "hate speech" for the NAACP to be smearing us as “racists” and “bigots.” We believe, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a colorblind, post-racial society. And we believe that when an organization lies and resorts the desperate tactics of racial division and hatred, they should be publicly called on it.
If you agree, please sign the enclosed Petition below addressed to NAACP President Ben Jealous, demanding his organization revoke its attacks in the Tea Party movement and join with us in the march for liberty.
TEA PARTY PETITION TO THE NAACP
I hereby urge you to revoke the recent NAACP resolution condeming the Tea Party movement as “racist” and to instead, embrace it and its members as fellow foot soldiers in the the never ending crusade for liberty, justice and prosperity for all.
The NAACP was founded on those same principles and on the need to protect those demanding liberty from the smears and threats of the oppressors.
It is for this reason that I respectfully demand that the NAACP adhere to its great traditions and core values and reject demands by the political powers that threaten the Tea Party movement.
I also respectfully ask that instead, the NAACP now join with millions of their fellow Americans who, like its members, simply want to live in peace, free from the chains of the federal government.
PETITION INTRO
The stated mission of the NAACP is “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.”
The stated mission of the Tea Party Patriots is to “attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with the intent of the United States Constitution.”
We believe these two missions are not inconsistent and that the NAACP should be embracing the individual freedom and responsibility promoted by the movement. It is nothing less than "hate speech" for the NAACP to be smearing us as “racists” and “bigots.” We believe, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a colorblind, post-racial society. And we believe that when an organization lies and resorts the desperate tactics of racial division and hatred, they should be publicly called on it.
If you agree, please sign the enclosed Petition below addressed to NAACP President Ben Jealous, demanding his organization revoke its attacks in the Tea Party movement and join with us in the march for liberty.
TEA PARTY PETITION TO THE NAACP
I hereby urge you to revoke the recent NAACP resolution condeming the Tea Party movement as “racist” and to instead, embrace it and its members as fellow foot soldiers in the the never ending crusade for liberty, justice and prosperity for all.
The NAACP was founded on those same principles and on the need to protect those demanding liberty from the smears and threats of the oppressors.
It is for this reason that I respectfully demand that the NAACP adhere to its great traditions and core values and reject demands by the political powers that threaten the Tea Party movement.
I also respectfully ask that instead, the NAACP now join with millions of their fellow Americans who, like its members, simply want to live in peace, free from the chains of the federal government.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Tea Party leader: Dems no involved with effort
Tea Party leader: Dems not involved with effort
But activists say they still need more info
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
REESE -- For a guy trying to launch a political party, Mark Steffek is awfully publicity shy.
For weeks after he was identified in mid-May as the contact for the mysterious group circulating petitions to qualify the Tea Party for Michigan's ballot, Steffek declined to return phone calls from the news media, including the Free Press. Recently, he removed his photo from his Facebook page and replaced it with a Red Wings logo.
Many of his neighbors, including some who said they see him regularly, said this week that they had no idea he was involved in tea party activities.
On Friday, Steffek finally answered a few questions. He claimed he is an authentic part of the movement to rein in big government, and said he undertook the organizing effort to protect his children and grandchildren.
But he wouldn't identify the source of tens of thousands of dollars used to fund the petition drive, any of the other people involved or any candidates the party might place on the ballot. Steffek described speculation that he'd been put up to it by Democrats hoping to siphon the votes of tea party sympathizers away from Republicans as "ridiculous."
Neither the Democratic Party nor the UAW was involved, he said.
But Tamyra Murray, an organizer for the Frankenmuth Tea Party, said Friday that it will take more than Steffek's assertion to convince her. Murray said she has attended dozens of tea party activities in the last 18 months and never laid eyes on him, despite living less than 10 miles away.
Murray said she finds it hard to believe Steffek's claim that he decided to organize a political party because he was "looking for something to do" over the long winter.
"That's just not believable," she said. "You don't just wake up one day and say, 'I'm going to start a political party.' "
Most activists in the movement that emerged last year in opposition to what they view as bloated, unresponsive government have so far rejected the idea of forming a third party to challenge the Democrats and Republicans, focusing instead on influencing the outcome of (mostly GOP) primary elections.
Steffek's effort caught many of the more visible tea party activists in Michigan off guard and wondering where he got the resources to hire a petition firm to collect signatures.
On Friday, Steffek would only say the organizing effort was funded by donations. He scoffed at the suggestion that his was a phony Tea Party.
"They say they've never heard of me. Well, I've never heard of them. I've been too busy," he said.
Steffek said he never considered himself a Democrat and has been an independent voter his entire adult life.
He said he was motivated by concern over deficit spending and government debt, but is also opposed to free-trade agreements like NAFTA that he believes cost American jobs.
He said he gave former U.S. Rep. David Bonior $200 when Bonior ran for governor in 2002. Bonior, who was one of the most liberal members of the House, was a major NAFTA opponent.
Steffek said he found an elections specialist, Lansing attorney Mike Hodge, on the Internet.
Hodge was legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. James Blanchard and has worked regularly for the state Democratic Party.
But Steffek said he had no help, financial or otherwise, from the Democratic Party or from the UAW.
He said no date has been set for a convention to nominate candidates to run on the Tea Party slate. The nominations have to be submitted to the secretary of state by Aug. 3.
Contact DAWSON BELL: 517-372-8661 or dbell@freepress.com
But activists say they still need more info
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
REESE -- For a guy trying to launch a political party, Mark Steffek is awfully publicity shy.
For weeks after he was identified in mid-May as the contact for the mysterious group circulating petitions to qualify the Tea Party for Michigan's ballot, Steffek declined to return phone calls from the news media, including the Free Press. Recently, he removed his photo from his Facebook page and replaced it with a Red Wings logo.
Many of his neighbors, including some who said they see him regularly, said this week that they had no idea he was involved in tea party activities.
On Friday, Steffek finally answered a few questions. He claimed he is an authentic part of the movement to rein in big government, and said he undertook the organizing effort to protect his children and grandchildren.
But he wouldn't identify the source of tens of thousands of dollars used to fund the petition drive, any of the other people involved or any candidates the party might place on the ballot. Steffek described speculation that he'd been put up to it by Democrats hoping to siphon the votes of tea party sympathizers away from Republicans as "ridiculous."
Neither the Democratic Party nor the UAW was involved, he said.
But Tamyra Murray, an organizer for the Frankenmuth Tea Party, said Friday that it will take more than Steffek's assertion to convince her. Murray said she has attended dozens of tea party activities in the last 18 months and never laid eyes on him, despite living less than 10 miles away.
Murray said she finds it hard to believe Steffek's claim that he decided to organize a political party because he was "looking for something to do" over the long winter.
"That's just not believable," she said. "You don't just wake up one day and say, 'I'm going to start a political party.' "
Most activists in the movement that emerged last year in opposition to what they view as bloated, unresponsive government have so far rejected the idea of forming a third party to challenge the Democrats and Republicans, focusing instead on influencing the outcome of (mostly GOP) primary elections.
Steffek's effort caught many of the more visible tea party activists in Michigan off guard and wondering where he got the resources to hire a petition firm to collect signatures.
On Friday, Steffek would only say the organizing effort was funded by donations. He scoffed at the suggestion that his was a phony Tea Party.
"They say they've never heard of me. Well, I've never heard of them. I've been too busy," he said.
Steffek said he never considered himself a Democrat and has been an independent voter his entire adult life.
He said he was motivated by concern over deficit spending and government debt, but is also opposed to free-trade agreements like NAFTA that he believes cost American jobs.
He said he gave former U.S. Rep. David Bonior $200 when Bonior ran for governor in 2002. Bonior, who was one of the most liberal members of the House, was a major NAFTA opponent.
Steffek said he found an elections specialist, Lansing attorney Mike Hodge, on the Internet.
Hodge was legal counsel to former Democratic Gov. James Blanchard and has worked regularly for the state Democratic Party.
But Steffek said he had no help, financial or otherwise, from the Democratic Party or from the UAW.
He said no date has been set for a convention to nominate candidates to run on the Tea Party slate. The nominations have to be submitted to the secretary of state by Aug. 3.
Contact DAWSON BELL: 517-372-8661 or dbell@freepress.com
Are Democrats chuckling about Michele Bachmann's Tea Party?
Are Democrats chuckling about Michele Bachmann's Tea Party?
I don’t think Rep. Michele Bachmann, the very right-wing Republican from Minnesota, is doing her party any favors by creating a Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives. In fact, I imagine that this is the first thing Bachmann has done in a long time that will make Democrats happy.
Not surprisingly, Bachmann declared herself chair of the caucus, for which she filed paperwork on Thursday. “This caucus will espouse the timeless principles of our founding, principles that all Members of Congress have sworn to uphold,” she declared. “The American people are doing their part and making their voices heard and this caucus will prove that there are some here in Washington willing to listen."
That last part, about proving that “there are some here in Washington willing to listen," is what I suspect will make many Republicans nervous. This will put a lot of people on the line, and force some into an unappetizing choice.
A lot of Republicans would like the Tea Party to rally as many right-of-center voters to the polls as possible but not have to take any responsibility for the movement’s more radical stands or the unseemly rhetoric that issues from some of its supporters. (That now-infamous billboard in Iowa made even some Tea Party people unhappy.)
Bachmann’s move will make it harder for them to avoid the question of whether they are with the Tea party or against it. Those Republicans who do sign up could turn off more moderate voters. Those who don’t might have to worry about future primaries supported by the Tea Party. We’ve already seen how even very conservative Republicans -- Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah is Exhibit No. 1 – can be declared not-right-enough by these folks.
Bennett himself issued a warning to his fellow Republicans about the Tea Party in an interview with the Associated Press. "With the tea party creating the mischief that it is in Colorado, we may not win that seat,” he said. “My sources in Nevada say with Sharon Angle there's no way Harry Reid loses in Nevada," he said about the Tea Party Republican challenging the Senate’s Democratic majority leader.
He added that Rand Paul, another Tea Party favorite, could lose the Republicans what had looked like a safe seat in Kentucky. But Bennett credited Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell with “pulling [Paul] back from some of his more dangerous statements.”
The clearest sign of Tea Party damage to the G.O.P. was a Mason-Dixon poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal released today. It lends support to what Bennett’s sources in Nevada have told him. As Laura Myers reported for the paper:
The Mason-Dixon poll showed that if the general election were held now, Reid would win 44 percent to 37 percent for Angle. Ten percent were undecided, 5 percent would choose "none of these candidates," and the remaining 4 percent would pick another candidate on the ballot.
That is the best Reid has done against Angle this year in a series of Mason-Dixon polls. Previously, the two had been locked in a statistical dead heat with Angle finishing just ahead of Reid in February, 44 percent to 42 percent, and in June, 44 percent to 41 percent, and Reid finishing just ahead of Angle in May, 42 percent to 39 percent.
The phone survey, taken Monday through Wednesday of 625 likely voters in Nevada, is the first in which Reid has finished ahead of Angle outside the margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
By the way, “none of these candidates” is actually an option on the Nevada ballot, which could help Reid by draining off protest votes.
So at the very moment many Republicans are trying to figure out how to finesse the Tea Party, Bachmann is setting out to make the finesse a little bit harder. You wonder if some in her party will try to talk her out of forming her new caucus. Very quietly, of course.
I don’t think Rep. Michele Bachmann, the very right-wing Republican from Minnesota, is doing her party any favors by creating a Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives. In fact, I imagine that this is the first thing Bachmann has done in a long time that will make Democrats happy.
Not surprisingly, Bachmann declared herself chair of the caucus, for which she filed paperwork on Thursday. “This caucus will espouse the timeless principles of our founding, principles that all Members of Congress have sworn to uphold,” she declared. “The American people are doing their part and making their voices heard and this caucus will prove that there are some here in Washington willing to listen."
That last part, about proving that “there are some here in Washington willing to listen," is what I suspect will make many Republicans nervous. This will put a lot of people on the line, and force some into an unappetizing choice.
A lot of Republicans would like the Tea Party to rally as many right-of-center voters to the polls as possible but not have to take any responsibility for the movement’s more radical stands or the unseemly rhetoric that issues from some of its supporters. (That now-infamous billboard in Iowa made even some Tea Party people unhappy.)
Bachmann’s move will make it harder for them to avoid the question of whether they are with the Tea party or against it. Those Republicans who do sign up could turn off more moderate voters. Those who don’t might have to worry about future primaries supported by the Tea Party. We’ve already seen how even very conservative Republicans -- Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah is Exhibit No. 1 – can be declared not-right-enough by these folks.
Bennett himself issued a warning to his fellow Republicans about the Tea Party in an interview with the Associated Press. "With the tea party creating the mischief that it is in Colorado, we may not win that seat,” he said. “My sources in Nevada say with Sharon Angle there's no way Harry Reid loses in Nevada," he said about the Tea Party Republican challenging the Senate’s Democratic majority leader.
He added that Rand Paul, another Tea Party favorite, could lose the Republicans what had looked like a safe seat in Kentucky. But Bennett credited Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell with “pulling [Paul] back from some of his more dangerous statements.”
The clearest sign of Tea Party damage to the G.O.P. was a Mason-Dixon poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal released today. It lends support to what Bennett’s sources in Nevada have told him. As Laura Myers reported for the paper:
The Mason-Dixon poll showed that if the general election were held now, Reid would win 44 percent to 37 percent for Angle. Ten percent were undecided, 5 percent would choose "none of these candidates," and the remaining 4 percent would pick another candidate on the ballot.
That is the best Reid has done against Angle this year in a series of Mason-Dixon polls. Previously, the two had been locked in a statistical dead heat with Angle finishing just ahead of Reid in February, 44 percent to 42 percent, and in June, 44 percent to 41 percent, and Reid finishing just ahead of Angle in May, 42 percent to 39 percent.
The phone survey, taken Monday through Wednesday of 625 likely voters in Nevada, is the first in which Reid has finished ahead of Angle outside the margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
By the way, “none of these candidates” is actually an option on the Nevada ballot, which could help Reid by draining off protest votes.
So at the very moment many Republicans are trying to figure out how to finesse the Tea Party, Bachmann is setting out to make the finesse a little bit harder. You wonder if some in her party will try to talk her out of forming her new caucus. Very quietly, of course.
Why can't black Americans have a tea party movement of our own?
Why can't black Americans have a tea party movement of our own?
Sarah Palin, the highest-profile tea party supporter, wrote on her Facebook page last week that "the charge that tea party Americans judge people by the color of their skin is false, appalling and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand." ...more
Sarah Palin, the highest-profile tea party supporter, wrote on her Facebook page last week that "the charge that tea party Americans judge people by the color of their skin is false, appalling and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand." ...more
The tea party makes trouble with a capital T
The tea party makes trouble with a capital T
The peaceful hamlet of Mason City, Iowa, hasn't been in the headlines much since it served as the model for River City in Meredith Willson's "The Music Man." But this week, Mason City raised a real Fuhrer.
The geniuses of the North Iowa Tea Party erected a billboard in town depicting three leaders: Adolf Hitler (with swastika), Vladimir Lenin (with hammer and sickle) and Barack Obama (with 2008 campaign logo). Over Hitler were the words "National Socialism," over Lenin was "Marxist Socialism" and over Obama was "Democrat Socialism."
"Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naïve," the billboard informed passing motorists.
Folks, we've got trouble in River City.
The Tea Partyers eventually took the billboard down -- to hush the national uproar they provoked, not because they thought they had done something wrong. "There's going to be a lot of billboards just like this across the United States," the group's leader told the Des Moines Register.
He's probably right about that. The vile sign in Mason City was not a one-off by a fringe group. It was a logical expression of a message supported by conservative thought leaders and propagated by high-level Republican politicians.
Late last month, Thomas Sowell of the conservative Hoover Institution penned an irresponsible column likening Obama's presidency (particularly his pushing BP to set aside funds for oil-spill victims) to the rise of Hitler in Germany and Lenin in the Soviet Union.
After the column came out, Sarah Palin tweeted her followers with instructions to "Read Thomas Sowell's article." Sowell's theme -- that Obama, like Hitler and Lenin, exploits "useful idiots" who don't know much about politics -- was strikingly similar to what wound up on the Iowa billboard.
ad_icon
Sowell to Palin to Mason City: They spread Nazi labels as smoothly as Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance turned double plays. And let's not deny an assist to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), who went to the House floor to read aloud the Obama-Nazi comparison by the "brilliant" Sowell.
Twenty years ago, the dawn of the Internet Age gave us Godwin's Law: If an online argument goes on long enough, somebody will eventually invoke Hitler. When that happens, it's basically the end of the conversation, because all rational discussion ceases when one side calls the other Nazis.
These sentiments have long existed on the fringe and always will. The problem is that conservative leaders and Republican politicians, in their blind rage against Obama these last 18 months, invited the epithets of the fringe into the mainstream. Godwin's Law has spread from the chat rooms and now applies to cable news and even to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Consider these tallies from Glenn Beck's show on Fox News since Obama's inauguration: 202 mentions of Nazis or Nazism, according to transcripts, 147 mentions of Hitler, 193 mentions of fascism or fascist, and another 24 bonus mentions of Joseph Goebbels. Most of these were directed in some form at Obama -- as were the majority of the 802 mentions of socialist or socialism on Beck's nightly "report."
It's not strictly a phenomenon of the right. California's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jerry Brown, likened his opponent's tactics to those of the Nazis, while Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) talks blithely of a health care "holocaust" and an aide to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) dubs the opposition "Brownshirts."
But at the moment, the anger pendulum has swung far in the conservative direction, and accusations that once were beyond the pale -- not just talk of Nazis and Marxists but intimations of tyranny, revolution and bloodshed -- are now routine.
A few from recent weeks: Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) comes out in favor of lawsuits alleging that Obama was not an American citizen at birth. Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate challenging Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada, speaks about the possible need for violence to overcome the "tyrannical" government. Gohmert, the Sowell admirer, says the children of illegal immigrants are going to return and "blow us up."
Isn't there a grown-up to rein in these backbenchers when they go over the top? Don't ask House Minority Leader John Boehner, the man who would replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker. He accuses the Democrats of "snuffing out the America that I grew up in" and predicts a rebellion unlike anything "since 1776." Boehner also said one Democratic lawmaker "may be a dead man" for his vote on health care and predicted that the bill would bring "Armageddon."
Recall, Mr. Leader, the wisdom of the Mason City billboard: "Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naïve."
danamilbank@washpost.com
The peaceful hamlet of Mason City, Iowa, hasn't been in the headlines much since it served as the model for River City in Meredith Willson's "The Music Man." But this week, Mason City raised a real Fuhrer.
The geniuses of the North Iowa Tea Party erected a billboard in town depicting three leaders: Adolf Hitler (with swastika), Vladimir Lenin (with hammer and sickle) and Barack Obama (with 2008 campaign logo). Over Hitler were the words "National Socialism," over Lenin was "Marxist Socialism" and over Obama was "Democrat Socialism."
"Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naïve," the billboard informed passing motorists.
Folks, we've got trouble in River City.
The Tea Partyers eventually took the billboard down -- to hush the national uproar they provoked, not because they thought they had done something wrong. "There's going to be a lot of billboards just like this across the United States," the group's leader told the Des Moines Register.
He's probably right about that. The vile sign in Mason City was not a one-off by a fringe group. It was a logical expression of a message supported by conservative thought leaders and propagated by high-level Republican politicians.
Late last month, Thomas Sowell of the conservative Hoover Institution penned an irresponsible column likening Obama's presidency (particularly his pushing BP to set aside funds for oil-spill victims) to the rise of Hitler in Germany and Lenin in the Soviet Union.
After the column came out, Sarah Palin tweeted her followers with instructions to "Read Thomas Sowell's article." Sowell's theme -- that Obama, like Hitler and Lenin, exploits "useful idiots" who don't know much about politics -- was strikingly similar to what wound up on the Iowa billboard.
ad_icon
Sowell to Palin to Mason City: They spread Nazi labels as smoothly as Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance turned double plays. And let's not deny an assist to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.), who went to the House floor to read aloud the Obama-Nazi comparison by the "brilliant" Sowell.
Twenty years ago, the dawn of the Internet Age gave us Godwin's Law: If an online argument goes on long enough, somebody will eventually invoke Hitler. When that happens, it's basically the end of the conversation, because all rational discussion ceases when one side calls the other Nazis.
These sentiments have long existed on the fringe and always will. The problem is that conservative leaders and Republican politicians, in their blind rage against Obama these last 18 months, invited the epithets of the fringe into the mainstream. Godwin's Law has spread from the chat rooms and now applies to cable news and even to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Consider these tallies from Glenn Beck's show on Fox News since Obama's inauguration: 202 mentions of Nazis or Nazism, according to transcripts, 147 mentions of Hitler, 193 mentions of fascism or fascist, and another 24 bonus mentions of Joseph Goebbels. Most of these were directed in some form at Obama -- as were the majority of the 802 mentions of socialist or socialism on Beck's nightly "report."
It's not strictly a phenomenon of the right. California's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jerry Brown, likened his opponent's tactics to those of the Nazis, while Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) talks blithely of a health care "holocaust" and an aide to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) dubs the opposition "Brownshirts."
But at the moment, the anger pendulum has swung far in the conservative direction, and accusations that once were beyond the pale -- not just talk of Nazis and Marxists but intimations of tyranny, revolution and bloodshed -- are now routine.
A few from recent weeks: Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) comes out in favor of lawsuits alleging that Obama was not an American citizen at birth. Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate challenging Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada, speaks about the possible need for violence to overcome the "tyrannical" government. Gohmert, the Sowell admirer, says the children of illegal immigrants are going to return and "blow us up."
Isn't there a grown-up to rein in these backbenchers when they go over the top? Don't ask House Minority Leader John Boehner, the man who would replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker. He accuses the Democrats of "snuffing out the America that I grew up in" and predicts a rebellion unlike anything "since 1776." Boehner also said one Democratic lawmaker "may be a dead man" for his vote on health care and predicted that the bill would bring "Armageddon."
Recall, Mr. Leader, the wisdom of the Mason City billboard: "Radical leaders prey on the fearful & naïve."
danamilbank@washpost.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Michele Bachmann: Obama Is Turning America Into 'A Nation Of Slaves'
Michele Bachmann: Obama Is Turning America Into 'A Nation Of Slaves'
Speaking at a conservative summit in Denver late last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said she believed America was turning into "a nation of slaves" because of Barack Obama, Democrats and the new health care law. "We are determined to live free or not at all. And we are resolved that posterity shall never reproach us with having brought slaves into the world," Bachmann said quoting Founding Father John Jay. Then Bachmann added her own take: "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves," she said. The Republican congresswoman told 600 conservative...more
Speaking at a conservative summit in Denver late last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said she believed America was turning into "a nation of slaves" because of Barack Obama, Democrats and the new health care law. "We are determined to live free or not at all. And we are resolved that posterity shall never reproach us with having brought slaves into the world," Bachmann said quoting Founding Father John Jay. Then Bachmann added her own take: "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves," she said. The Republican congresswoman told 600 conservative...more
"When your captain's crazy, it's time to find a new ship,"
Michele Bachmann's 5th chief of staff, Ron Carey, is out
You'd think there'd be some rejoicing on Team Bachmann (and maybe there was) after she hauled in $1.7 million in campaign funds for the second quarter, and a new KSTP/SurbeyUSA poll showed her leading her Democratic opponent, Tarryl Clark, by 9 percentage points.
But the news broke yesterday that, for the fifth time in four years, Michele Bachmann is without a chief of staff: Ron Carey is out. He lasted just five months. On top of that, fundraising guru Zandra Wolcott has also jumped ship. No explanation was given for either departure...more
You'd think there'd be some rejoicing on Team Bachmann (and maybe there was) after she hauled in $1.7 million in campaign funds for the second quarter, and a new KSTP/SurbeyUSA poll showed her leading her Democratic opponent, Tarryl Clark, by 9 percentage points.
But the news broke yesterday that, for the fifth time in four years, Michele Bachmann is without a chief of staff: Ron Carey is out. He lasted just five months. On top of that, fundraising guru Zandra Wolcott has also jumped ship. No explanation was given for either departure...more
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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