News Roundup for 11/29/11

Pres. Obama and VP Biden react to Gingrich's call for them to repudiate numbers

-Headline of the Day-
"Newt Gingrich: 'I Call On The President To Repudiate The Concept Of The 99 And The 1.'"

The Republican War on Math reached a fever pitch today, when presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich called upon President Obama to disavow the very concept of numbers.

"I repudiate, and I call on the President to repudiate, the concept of the 99 and the 1," Newton said. "It is un-American, it is divisive, it is historically false... You are not going to get job creation when you engage in class warfare because you have to attack the very people you hope will create jobs."

You ever notice that Newton does not use any contractions? Perhaps he can not.

Whatever linguistic challenges Gingrich may face, his grasp of mathematics is as poor as the rest of the GOP field. The concept of 99% and 1% is not only "historically accurate" -- whatever that's supposed to mean -- but provable with a common household calculator. And it's not the 99-percenters who've been attacking "the very people you hope will create jobs," it's Newton. Because, in typical GOP fashion, he has job creation all wrong. Consumers create jobs, not suppliers. If 99% of the people are broke, those 1% who aren't aren't going to hire people -- mostly because no one will be able to afford what they've been hired to do. It's like hiring someone to paint your boat because you can afford to pay them -- but you don't actually have a boat.

People aren't going to do stuff like that.

But don't try to tell Newt that. Those are facts. And the War on Math is just a front in the broader War on Facts. In that war, Newt's a four-star general. (ThinkProgress, with video)


-And the main tactic is the War on Facts is...-
...being an asshole about it.


Click to embiggen

It's what they're good at. (Cartoon Politics)


-Bonus HotD-
"Rick Perry Hoping He Can At Least Win Imaginary Nov. 12 Election."

Rick tells an audience, "Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote. Those of you who won't be, work hard."

The election is November 6th and you only have to be 18 to vote.

The elitist tyranny of facts win again. (Wonkette)