Posts Tagged ‘Republican Party’

Rick Perry: Social Security is a ‘monstrous lie’

Aug 28th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
August 28, 2011

 

Rick Perry: Social Security
is a ‘monstrous lie’


Rick Perry: Social Security is a ‘Monstrous Lie”, The Raw Story, August 28, 2011, by David Edwards, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry isn’t backing off his claim that Social Security is unconstitutional. In fact, he is now calling the program a “monstrous lie.”

In his book “Fed Up!”, the Texas governor wrote that Social Security was put in place “at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government.”

Last week, Perry Communications Director Ray Sullivan tried to walk back those claims by saying the book was “not meant to reflect the governor’s current views on how to fix” Social Security.

But when confronted by ThinkProgress’ Scott Keyes Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, Perry said his views were still in line with the book.

“I haven’t backed off anything in my book,” Perry grumbled. “Read the book again, get it right.”

Earlier that day at the The Vine Coffeehouse, Perry told a voter that Social Security was “ponzi scheme for these young people.”

“The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie,” he said. “It is a monstrous lie on this generation, and we can’t do that to them.”

Watch this video from ThinkProgress, uploaded Aug. 27, 2011.

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Abbreviated Pundit Round-up for July 7, 2011

Jul 7th, 11 / 2 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
July 7, 2011

 

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up for July 7, 2011

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up, Daily Kos, July 7, 2011, by DemFromCT, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

NY Times:

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Mr. Obama, who is to meet at the White House with the bipartisan leadership of Congress in an effort to work out an agreement to raise the federal debt limit, wants to move well beyond the $2 trillion in savings sought in earlier negotiations and seek perhaps twice as much over the next decade, Democratic officials briefed on the negotiations said Wednesday.The president’s renewed efforts follow what knowledgeable officials said was an overture from Mr. Boehner, who met secretly with Mr. Obama last weekend, to consider as much as $1 trillion in unspecified new revenues as part of an overhaul of tax laws in exchange for an agreement that made substantial spending cuts, including in such social programs as Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security — programs that had been off the table.

EJ Dionne:

Here’s why getting to a deal on the debt ceiling is so complicated.President Obama’s main goal is to get through this fight with the government still running and his support from the political center intact, even if this means substantial concessions to Republicans.

House Republican leaders want to get by without inciting a revolt among right-wing Tea Partyers, which means they’re having trouble accepting Obama’s concessions.

And the Senate — well, the Senate resembles the Balkans without a peacekeeping force.

WaPo:

To their credit, Romney’s senior aides were up-front about his fundraising for the quarter — they said he would come in between $15 and $20 million — but still struggled beneath the heightened fundraising expectations for the nominal frontrunner in the race.“I think they learned an organizational lesson here,” said one senior Republican strategist. “Pledges are meaningless, and they need to pick up the collection efforts…

“I think it is relative,” said Mike Murphy, a Republican media consultant who has worked for Romney in the past but is not affiliated with him this time around. “It’s less than 2008, but the competition he faces is the crowd he has now, not then.”

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Mitt Romney fundraising sparks Republican fears

Ah, cutting to the chase.

The Hill:

Former Bush political guru Karl Rove said Wednesday that he thinks Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will run for president.Rove, who enjoys longstanding and deep ties to Texas Republican politics, said he expects Perry to jump into the race for the GOP nomination — and raise big bucks if he does so.

“I think you’re right that he’s going to run,” Rove said on Fox Business Network.

Politico:

Former President Bill Clinton Wednesday compared GOP efforts to limit same-day voter registration and block some convicted felons from voting to Jim Crow laws and poll taxes.In a speech to liberal youth activists Wednesday, the former president called out proposals in battleground states like Florida and Ohio that could limit the voter rolls.

Now, that’ll make for some competition for both Romney and Bachmann, even if he doesn’t win. Also-rans Pawlenty and Huntsman will be starved for media oxygen and we might actually see more stories written that their campaigns don’t measure up and they won’t be winning.

This was from Matt Bai last month:

Republicans talk about something called “Bush fatigue.” It almost always comes up in relation to Jeb Bush, the brainy and politically talented brother of George W. Bush, who was himself the popular governor of a pretty sizable state. It’s a common theory in conservative circles that while Jeb (everyone calls him Jeb) might be the most formidable candidate out there to challenge President Obama, he is nonetheless cursed by his last name.That’s because a lot of Americans, and no small number of Republican primary voters, reminisce about the last Bush presidency the way they might about, say, once having contracted shingles. The sullied family brand is thought to be a deal breaker, at least for the moment.

When I interviewed Jeb Bush last year, he told me that he didn’t worry about the brand and wouldn’t hesitate to run for president if he really felt like it. And I’ve never been entirely sold on the Bush fatigue theory, either. Jeb Bush bears little resemblance to his older brother physically or temperamentally, and you can imagine him dominating Republican debates in a way that would quickly differentiate him.

In Mr. Perry’s case, however, the biographical and visceral similarities to Mr. Bush might actually prove harder to ignore.

So what’s changed? Nothing. A combo of blind ambition and wariness of Romney will likely prove those predicting a Perry run to be correct. And that Perry might run is more evidence of Romney’s weakness than his fund raising.

NY Times on Rupert Murdoch’s problems in the UK:

Line-skirting has always been part of doing business for Rupert Murdoch, but a voice-mail hacking scandal poses a new type of threat to News Corporation’s image.

Not all the news is bad.

Connecticut has become the first state to require companies to provide employees with paid sick leave with legislation signed into law by Gov. Dan Malloy (D), who announced his action Tuesday.The measure requires businesses in the service industry with 50 or more employees to allow workers to accrue one hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked. Backers estimate that between 200,000 and 300,000 workers will benefit. Opponents said the law will make Connecticut less competitive.

The Onion:

Final Minutes Of Last Harry Potter Movie To Be Split Into Seven Separate Films – Warner Bros. will recut the last four minutes of “The Deathly Hollows: Part 2″ and stretch it into seven films so fans can enjoy the Harry Potter franchise for another decade.

Rumor has it Harry, Ron and Hermione have already destroyed the first three, but the last four will be harder to find.

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DemFromCT is a longtime member of the Daily Kos community with interests ranging from polling to Iraq to bird flu, and has graciously agreed to allow us here at Evans Liberal Politics to publish his articles on an ongoing basis. He is a founding editor of Flu Wiki (www.fluwikie.com) and its sister site, the Flu Wiki Forum (www.newfluwiki2.com). Since its inception in June 2005, Flu Wiki has grown into an international clearinghouse of pandemic influenza information and links.

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Going Populist? Dems Put GOP On Spot Over Tax Benefits For The Super-Rich

Jul 2nd, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
July 2, 2011

 

Going Populist? Dems Put GOP
On Spot Over Tax Benefits
For The Super-Rich

Going Populist? Dems Put GOP On Spot Over Tax Benefits For The Super-Rich, Talking Points Memo, July 1, 2011, by Brian Beutler, excerpt quoted verbatim:

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Several weeks after Republicans and Democrats began high-level negotiations to slash federal spending by trillions of dollars — the GOP’s price for raising the national borrowing limit, and avoiding a catastrophic debt default — Democrats finally peeped up. New tax revenues, of some kind, of some amount, would have to be part of the deal.

The group, led by Vice President Joe Biden, had already identified nearly $2 trillion in cuts to discretionary and mandatory spending programs — nearly enough to raise the debt limit through the end of 2012 and take a contentious issue off the table this election season.

That’s when Democrats said, “your turn to give!” and put $400 billion in tax cuts on the table. Republicans balked. No tax hikes at all. Some Republicans have left the door open to closing certain indefensible loopholes. But party leaders have tried, for all intents and purposes, to take the tax code off the table. Cuts only.

The Democrats’ response, from the rank and file up to President Obama, has been a political twofer. If Republicans are taking all taxes off the table, then they’re playing reverse Robin Hood — demanding trillions in cuts to social programs while refusing to budge on preferences to unfathomably wealthy special interests. It’s class war, but in tactical sense. If they can make the GOP feel so uncomfortable that they agree to end special tax favors for the ultra-wealthy — even if those favors don’t ultimately cost that much money — then maybe they can break the anti-tax firewall and encroach on $400 billion. ….

Read the full article, here.

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Washington Post – Eugene Robinson: Don’t Make the Economy Worse

Jun 29th, 11 / 1 Comment

Evans Liberal Politics
June 29, 2011

 

Washington Post – Eugene Robinson:
Don’t Make the Economy Worse

Don’t Make the Economy Worse, The Washington Post, June 27, 2011, by Eugene Robinson, excerpt quoted verbatim:

There is no good reason for negotiations on the budget and the debt ceiling to be deadlocked, because the solution is obvious: First, do no harm.

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The Hippocratic injunction should be something befuddled economists and warring politicians can agree on. With the nation struggling to recover from a devastating recession, unemployment stuck at crisis levels, financial markets spooked by the possibility of European defaults and consumers disinclined to consume, it makes no earthly sense to suck money out of the economy.

Democrats are right that this is a terrible moment for spending cuts. Republicans are right that this is an awful moment for tax increases. The only reasonable thing to do is kick the can down the road — but in a purposeful, intelligent way.

As a practical matter, this means Republicans must swallow an increase in the debt ceiling, and Democrats must accept painful spending curbs that kick in when the economy is off its sickbed. It means conservatives have to be patient in bringing expenditures down and progressives have to be patient in returning tax rates — even for the wealthy — to what many of us consider appropriate levels. ….

Read the full article here.

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MoJo: Killing the Fairness Doctrine. Again

Jun 12th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
June 12, 2011

 

Mother Jones
Killing the Fairness Doctrine. Again

Killing the Fairness Doctrine. Again, Mother Jones, June 10, 2011, by Stephanie Mencimer, excerpt quoted verbatim:

How many times does it take to kill a federal rule before it’s really dead? Apparently at least two if your are a conspiracy-minded Republican.

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For the past three years, conservatives have been clinging to a notion launched by Rush Limbaugh back in 2008, which suggested that President Obama had nefarious plans to shut down talk radio by invoking something known as the Fairness Doctrine. The Fairness Doctrine is a long-dead but once controversial policy that was enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure broadcasters presented balanced views in their coverage of controversial subjects.

While well intended, the Truman-era rule ultimately encouraged broadcasters to avoid touchy topics altogether, rather than seek out contrasting viewpoints. After criticism from broadcast journalists who saw the rule as a major violation of their free-speech rights, the FCC abolished it in 1987. Democrats attempted to revive the rule, but President George H.W. Bush threatened to veto the legislation (as Ronald Reagan had in 1987), and those efforts failed. Since then, the Fairness Doctrine has largely been relegated to textbooks on media law—that is, until it was resurrected as the latest conservative bugaboo.

Since 2008, conservative legal organizations around the country have dedicated whole panel discussions at their conventions to the nonexistent Fairness Doctrine, helping to keep alive the preposterous notion that Obama might somehow resurrect the old rule to “hush Rush.” (You can watch one of the most absurd talks here.) There was never even the tiniest bit of evidence that Obama intended to revive the old rule, but Republicans have refused to let the issue go. Now that they control the House in Congress, Republicans intend to use their new power to make sure that the Fairness Doctrine is really, really, extra dead, just in case it should be revived like some sort of federal zombie by liberal Democrats.

Read the full article, here.

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Buzz Around the Internet has Republicans on the Run over Ryan Plan to privatize, phase out Medicare

May 30th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
May 30, 2011

 

Buzz Around the Internet has Republicans
on the Run over Ryan Plan to privatize, phase out Medicare

News and Analysis on the Ryan Plan to Dismantle Medicare

Evans Liberal Politics, May 30, 2011, compiled with commentary by Paul Evans:

Senate Rejects House GOP Medicare Plan by 57-40 Vote, NY Times on Truthout, May 25, 2011, by Jennifer Steinhauer:

Washington – Less than 24 hours after their upset victory in the race for a vacant House seat, Democrats sought to press their advantage on Wednesday, forcing Republicans in the Senate to vote yes or no on what is emerging as the defining issue in the early stages of the 2012 campaign, the plan advanced by House Republicans to reshape Medicare.

The Republican plan was defeated by a vote of 57-40, with five Republicans abandoning their party to vote against the plan. The five Republicans voting against were Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts; Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

In fact, the reason Rand Paul voted against the Republican plan was that, in his opinioon, it didn’t go far enough. Presumably there would still be too many grandmas getting medical care to suite Mr. Paul’s taste.

Medicare overhaul proposal causing GOP stress, AP on MSNBC, May 25, 2011, by David Espo:

WASHINGTON — Little more than a month after they backed sweeping changes to Medicare, Republicans are on the political defensive, exhibiting significant internal strains for the first time since last fall’s election gains.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says he is open to changes in his plan.

Considering the recent history of Republican willingness to compromise, a statememt to the effect that Ryan is open to changing the G.O.P. proposal represents an unusual concession, signaling that the Republicans are on the run on this issue.

an image of an empty wheelchair at the base of a flight of stairs with white light beaming down highlights this article on the Republican Party's attempt to privatize and phase out Medicare

View a vote breakdown on the vote to halt the Republican plan, at NY Times Inside Congress.

See Democrats Put G.O.P. on Spot as Medicare Plan Fails, May 25, 2011, by Jennifer Steinhauer.

With polls and angry town hall meetings suggesting that many voters were wary of a Medicare overhaul if not opposed, party unity and optimism have given way to a bit of a Republican-on-Republican rumpus.

House leaders have made clear they will not try to pass Medicare legislation this year. Some Republican candidates and elected officials have moved to distance themselves from the plan, even as others remain in chin-out defense of it and others still are declining to commit themselves one way or another.

See Senate Rejects Ryan Budget, The Huffington Post, May 25, 2011, by HuffPostHill:

"The Republican plan to kill Medicare is a plan to make the rich richer and the sick sicker," Harry Reid said before the vote, channelling his inner Alan Grayson, repeating the phrase "Republican plan to kill Medicare" over and over. GOP moderates Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Scott Brown and Lisa Murkowski broke ranks and voted against the Ryan proposal, along with Rand Paul….

Sharing Costs Is No Way to Fix Medicare, Bloomberg, May 24, 2011, by Peter Orszag:

While more consumer cost-sharing would help reduce unnecessary care, the plan would not live up to its billing in cutting health costs for America. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it would do the opposite. That’s right: The CBO found that the Ryan Medicare proposal would substantially increase total health-care spending.

Also in the News on Medicare and Health Care

Medicare: “Biggest Deficit Driver” or “Solution” to Economic Recovery?, Daily Kos on Truthout, May 29, 2011, by Michele Swenson.

Republican governors move ahead on health exchanges, Politico, May 29, 2011, by Sarah Kliff.

What You Should Know About What Republicans Want To Do To Medicaid, Campaign for America’s Future, May 27, 2011, by Terrance Heath.

Also See Paul Ryan: The Republican budget isn’t unpopular, just misunderstood, Daily Kos, May 11, 2011, by Joan McCarter:

Earlier this week a “senior Republican strategist” declared that the problem wasn’t that Republicans wanted to end Medicare, but that “Republicans haven’t messaged it well.” See, just fix the message on abolishing Medicare and it’ll be fine.

Apparently that’s the narrative that Republican’s have settled on to explain away their Medicare debacle.

No. Sorry Repugs. You don’t have a communications problem. As the folks over at AMERICABlog correctly conclude, you have a political problem. A big political problem wherein your stance on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is going to come back and bite you in the ass. That kind of problem. ~ Paul Evans

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AP: Pawlenty announces presidential run in Web video

May 23rd, 11 / 6 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
May 23, 2011

 

AP: Pawlenty announces presidential run in Web video

Pawlenty announces presidential run in Web video, Associated Press on Yahoo News, May 23, 2011, by Brian Bakst:

DES MOINES, Iowa – Republican Tim Pawlenty offered a sneak peek Sunday at his presidential kickoff, blasting out an Internet video in which he promises a campaign that “tells the American people the truth” and suggests that President Barack Obama doesn’t.

Pawlenty Announces
Presidential Run in Web Video

In the new video, the former Minnesota governor formally declares he’s running for president, something aides said he’d do in person Monday morning during a town hall forum in Iowa. Pawlenty bypassed a launch in his home state to make his inaugural appearance as a candidate in the state that holds the leadoff caucuses, which he acknowledges he must fare well in to preserve his hopes of the GOP nomination.

He says in the video that the country needs a president who will be frank with Americans about the severe challenges facing the country and how America can get back on track. He mentions the climbing federal debt and a slow recovery from the economic recession that’s left millions jobless.

“We’re going to have to do more than just give fancy speeches; we’ve had three years of that and it’s not working,” Pawlenty says. “Join me tomorrow and around the country in the days and weeks ahead. You won’t hear empty promises, you’ll hear solutions.”

The hard swipes at Obama are central to Pawlenty’s effort to prove to GOP primary voters that he’s tough enough to take on the Democrat. He’s combatting an impression that he’s too nice to be an aggressive challenger.

Pawlenty makes no mention of prospective GOP rivals he’ll have to outlast to get his shot at Obama. Among the Republicans who have taken formal steps toward a White House campaign are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

The GOP field saw more signs of settling Sunday when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels took his name out of consideration. ….

Read the full article here.

See T-Paw’s Problem, The New Republic, May 23, 2011, by Walter Shapiro:

Pawlenty needs time and money. He’ll be hard-pressed to find enough of both.

With Mitch Daniels officially out of the presidential race, it seems like the entire GOP is emulating Ethelred the Unready. Well, not quite everyone. In a contrarian move at odds with the Reluctant Republican ethos of the party, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will actually make it official by declaring his candidacy today in Des Moines.

Along with the obligatory yawn-inducing “can you win Iowa?” question, Pawlenty almost certainly will be asked again about his ability to compete financially with Mitt Romney, the Daddy Warbucks of the truncated Republican field. Pawlenty recently answered that query with a nod to GM’s venerable product line: “Our goal is not to keep up with Mitt. Our goal is to raise enough money to have at least a Buick, if not a Cadillac-level, campaign.”

Watch No Go in 2012: Ind. GOP Gov. Daniels Not Running, AP video, May 22, 2011.

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Trump on top in new survey, but will any poll leaders actually run?

Apr 12th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
April 12, 2011

 

Trump on top in new survey,
but will any poll leaders actually run?

Trump on top in new survey, but will any poll leaders actually run?, MSNBC First Read, April 12, 2011, by Carrie Dann, excerpt quoted verbatim:

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According to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, Trump and Huckabee are the first choice of 19 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin coming in at third with 12 percent.

But the one trait those three top-runners – making up exactly 50% of the first choice candidates of those polled – have in common? They all seem much less likely than other GOP competitors to actually mount a run for president.

While Trump could certainly deploy his news-cycle monopolizing publicity if he decided to run, the requirement that candidates publish a lengthy financial disclosure statement could preclude the business magnate from participating in the race.  ….

Read the full story, here.

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