News Roundup for 7/11/11

Sen. Mitch McConnell

-Headline of the Day-
"McConnell: Casey Anthony verdict a warning."

Oh for fuck's sake...

Proving that there is absolutely nothing that Republicans can't politicize and capitalize on, Senate minority leader "Chinless Mitch" McConnell declared the US system of justice completely worthless yesterday. "We just found with the Caylee Anthony case how difficult is to get a conviction in a U.S. court," McConnell said -- and that's why we should never, ever, ever try a terrorist suspect in a court of law.

Of course, following this line of reasoning, everyone accused of a crime should go before a military tribunal. Got an outstanding parking ticket? Off to Gitmo! It's the only place that still serves American justice!

We'll keep that in mind the next time some Republican gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, OK Mitch? (UPI)


-The internet hive-mind strikes again-
When I was writing the piece above, I went looking for an image to represent Mitch McConnell -- so "cartoon turtle glasses" it was. The result:


Click to embiggen

On the first page. (Google Image Search)


-Bonus HotD-
"'Nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling'."

Yesterday seems to have been "National Mitch McConnell Spews Crazy-Assed Bullshit Day."

And I didn't even get my mother a card. (Political Animal)

Well, At Least it's Not a Buck and a Half's Worth of Arugula!

In 2008, Barack Obama was an elitist. This was the worst thing ever. He supposedly ate in fancy restaurants and ordered unearthly foreign delights like arugula. This meant he was out of touch with the average person, unlike his opponent John McCain who -- as you might remember -- couldn't remember exactly how many houses he owned.


[Human Events, 2008:]

John McCain may be gaining what Obama is losing among women because of Obama's "Arugula Gap."

"Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" Obama asked an Iowa crowd in 2007. I had to Google "arugula" to discover it's a leafy substitute for lettuce in trendy restaurant salads. Most people don't shop at Whole Foods (which specializes in "organic" foods and other environmentally-fashionable products). And most women, I suspect, aren't looking for a presidential candidate who reminds them more of their high school French teacher than of John F. Kennedy.


And that's why we're all talking about President McCain today, right? Of course, it turned out the quote was misrepresented, but conservative pundits are twelve year-old boys and "arugula" is a funny sounding word, so the meme would not be allowed to die. The right actually seemed to believe that accusing the president of knowing what an Italian salad green was would anger the populace and cost him the presidency. So they all ran with the "elitist" line -- straight away from the White House.

Given how the Republican Party and conservative pundits hate fancy-pants foods and elitist dining, you'd think they'd all be up in arms over this:


Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a leading advocate of shrinking entitlement spending and the architect of the plan to privatize Medicare, spent Wednesday evening sipping $350 wine with two like-minded conservative economists at the swanky Capitol Hill eatery Bistro Bis.

It was the same night reports started trickling out about President Obama pressing Congressional leaders to consider changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for GOP support for targeted tax increases.


"Bistro Bis?" $350 bottles of Pinot Noir? If they drove there in a Prius, it'd be the exact rightwing caricature of the out-of-touch liberal elitist. This is what they're supposed to hate -- hell, this is what they spent months trying to convince you you were required to hate in order to be a "real" American -- yet here's a high-profile Republican hitting all the hot buttons.

So, did the right wing go apecrap over Ryan's obvious elitism? Of course not. They're defending him against gotcha journalism. And why?

Because everything's OK when a Republican does it. As always is with GOP scandals -- be they big or, as in this case, pretty much trivial -- it's not the act that's the problem, it's the hypocrisy. People who down $350 bottles of wine with -- and not two economists, but a hedge fund manager and an economist -- don't get to call other people "elitists."

-Wisco

Note to GOP Voters: You're Being Played for Suckers

There is no more perfect example of just how off-kilter -- morally and economically -- the Republican Party has become than yesterday's floor statement by Sen. Orrin Hatch.


[Huffington Post:]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted against beginning debate on a measure that would have the Senate declare the rich should share the pain of debt reduction Thursday, a day after arguing that it's the poor and middle class who need to do more.

"I hear how they're so caring for the poor and so forth," Hatch said in remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, in reference to Democrats. "The poor need jobs! And they also need to share some of the responsibility."

Hatch's comments were aimed at a motion that passed 74 to 22 to start debating a non-binding resolution that says millionaires and billionaires should play a more meaningful role in reducing the nation's debt.


Yes, let's not tax people who can afford it, let's tax people who can't afford it. Let's add an extra burden to working families and reduce consumer demand, because that's just such a freakin' smart freakin' thing to freakin' do. Sen. Hatch, I say this with all the respect you are due -- which at this point is close to none -- but you may have said the stupidest thing anyone in the world said yesterday.

And the outrage on the right over a suggestion that we raise taxes? Nonexistent. If you want proof that Republicans represent only the privileged elite, there ya go. If you want to raise taxes, you can go ahead and raise them on anyone but the elite, because no one else in the world matters. And this argument was made without shame -- either because Hatch is shameless or because he's so far gone he has no idea where the line between moral and immoral is anymore.

If you're a Republican voter and you're not part of that privileged elite, then you're a fool. A sucker. A patsy. A stooge. Hatch is arguing that those who have little -- meaning you -- should pay more, so that those who have plenty can keep plenty more. Republicans are against raising taxes? Give me a second to engage in derisive laughter... They aren't. If they were, Hatch would be facing a firestorm of criticism today from his own party. Instead, he's enjoying silence.

Republicans want to take things that are yours away from you; Social Security, Medicare -- you've paid for that. You own those. And the reason they want to take what you've bought from you is so that the very wealthy can continue to enjoy the lowest tax rates in recent history.

And the argument that this tax rate creates jobs? Look around you -- you living in a free market paradise right now, with hot and cold running jobs and high salaries trickling down from on high? I hate to break it to you, but you're not. If lower taxes on the rich creates jobs, where are they? Why was the economy better under a higher tax rate?

Seriously Republican voter, you're being had. And of all the silent voices Hatch faces today, yours speaks the loudest.

-Wisco

News Roundup for 7/7/11

Sen. Inhofe

-Headline of the Day-
"Why Inhofe is mad at the FAA."

Short answer: because they expect pilots to be responsible and this is an attack on FREEDOOM!!!

See, last year Senator and Sky Hero Jim Inhofe was flying along, minding his own business, when he nearly killed some people -- WHICH IS HIS RIGHT AS AN AMERICAN!!!

According to the report, "Inhofe saw a closed runway at his South Texas destination -- it was marked with a giant X -- but decided to land on it anyway. He touched down and then 'sky hopped' over six vehicles and personnel working on the runway, before landing for good. Inhofe, among other things, also didn't feel the need to check the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) indicating the runway closure prior to flying." And why should he? Government notices are regulations, which are communism. The airport manager was appalled by Inhofe's Wings of Freedom, saying he'd "never seen such a reckless disregard for human life" -- presumably because of his communist bias.

Anyway, after having nearly killed several people, Sen. Inhofe found himself in the sights of BIG GOVERNMENT OPPRESSSION. In lieu of legal action -- like attempted manslaughter -- Inhofe was FORCED BY GOVERNMENT GOONS to take a "program of remedial training" -- because BIG GOVERNMENT REGULATORS don't understand that it's every American's right to crash a plane anywhere they goddam well see fit.

So he's pushing a "Pilot's Bill of Rights" to protect FREEDOM LOVING KAMIKAZES from "agency overreach."

"I was never fully appreciative of the feeling of desperation until it happened to me," Sen. Inhofe says.

Good for you, Pilot Inhofe. We have to stop them now or the next thing you know, they'll be curtailing our GOD-GIVEN RIGHT to drive drunk in the name of "public safety."

Communists... (Political Animal)


-Cartoon time with Mark Fiore-
Hey kids, here's a tale of magic and wishes and the wonderful power of corporate tax cuts! It's the...


Click for animation

And the Tax Cut Fairies have an evil nemesis. His name: Reality! (MarkFiore.com)


-Bonus HotD-
"The budget deals of Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama, in one chart."

Long story short; Reagan was a commie, Barack Obama is the best president Republicans ever had. (Ezra Klein)

The Worst Possible Deal?

Let's start with a look at the real world.


[Reuters:]

More consumers had trouble making payments on credit cards and other debts during the first three months of the year due to higher food and gas prices, an industry report said on Thursday.

The American Bankers Association said the data showed a downturn from prior quarters and described the most recent quarter as a "soft patch."

"Consumers are feeling insecure about the economy and whether their financial resources can carry them through until conditions improve," ABA chief economist James Chessen said in a statement.


This is the problem with the economy. For all intents and purposes, this is the only problem with the economy. People simply don't feel safe spending money. If you save tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, it won't do a damned thing to solve this problem and the economy won't improve. Worse, if you you take money from consumers to fund these high-end tax breaks, you'll make the problem worse.

Which is why the following is bad, bad news:


[Washington Post:]

President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue.

At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation’s budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.


The term you're looking for is "boneheaded."

I want to make something extremely clear here -- the people receiving Medicare and Social Security benefits have paid for them. This is your tax money coming back to you. By taking this money away, the president is proposing what amounts to a demand-side tax hike at a time when consumer demand is struggling. And he's doing it because Republicans demand that tax breaks for the wealthy be considered sacred.

This is a transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to people who not only don't need it, but have done nothing to deserve it. We're going to take money from you to fund continuing a tax giveaway that has not done a thing to help the economy.

Why do Republicans want this? To cover their ass. Paul Ryan's Medicare-slashing plan put the party in a bad spot, so -- to make up for a boneheaded political move -- they demanded entitlement cuts. If Democrats join in with Republicans in cutting entitlements to pay for tax breaks for the rich, then the heat is off. This isn't about job creation, it isn't about economic recovery, it's about getting Republicans out of a hole so that more of them will be reelected.

Hope that this is a trial balloon and contact your senators, reps, and the White House. See to it that this incredibly stupid deal falls through.

-Wisco