May 31, 2012

Several Indiana GOPers Cross Over To Dem Joe Donnelly

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/several-indiana-gopers-cross-over-to-dem-joe

Some Indiana Republicans are now backing Democrat Joe Donnelly’s senate campaign in Indiana in response to GOPer Richard Mourdock’s proclamation against bipartisanship, reports the Daily Reporter:

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/231dc82b77ee456d931f4f1140fa84c5/IN--Indiana-Senate-Republican-Crossover

A half dozen members of “Republicans for Donnelly” said Thursday they were unhappy with Republican Richard Mourdock’s declaration that he would oppose bipartisanship in Washington. The group’s formation comes a few days after ousted Sen. Richard Lugar said in a television interview that he wouldn’t campaign for Mourdock.

Anne Emison Wishard says that while she is vocal about her support she represents a silent bloc of Indianapolis Republicans disenfranchised by Mourdock.

May 31, 2012

Romney's Massachusetts record under scrutiny in Obama campaign video

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/31/romneys-massachusetts-record-under-scrutiny-in-obama-campaign-video/

Mitt Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts received renewed scrutiny from his opponent's campaign Thursday in the form of a Web video, which uses Democratic officials from the state to discredit the GOP presidential candidate's time in the corner office.

The video from President Barack Obama's re-election team comes the same day David Axelrod, a senior strategist for the president's campaign, plans to hold a press conference at the Massachusetts State House in Boston to highlight what he says is a record of unfulfilled promises.

In the video, mayors and state legislators look back at Romney's tenure as governor and compare his campaign promises to results in Massachusetts. On jobs, the officials slam Romney for not developing solutions to an outflow of manufacturing positions.

"We knew that we were losing manufacturing jobs, and he never found any solutions to try and figure out how we going to keep them," Jeffrey Sánchez, a state representative, says in the video. "By the time Mitt Romney left office we were 47th in the nation in terms of job growth."



Broken Promises: Romney's Massachusetts Record

May 31, 2012

Former justice Stevens predicts cracks in Citizens United decision

Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens took a poke at the controversial Citizens United decision Wednesday night and said his former colleagues have probably already had second thoughts about it.

(snip)
In remarks prepared for delivery at the University of Arkansas, Stevens predicted that the court will soon be forced to issue rulings that will undermine a key part of the Citizens United ruling -- that the First Amendment "prohibits the suppression of political speech based on the speaker's identity," including the fact that the speaker is a corporation.

The court's decision left undecided whether the same free speech right applies to foreign corporations. In due course, Stevens said, the court will be called upon to decide that question, forcing it to craft an exception "that will create a crack in the foundation of the Citizens United majority opinion."

"The court must then explain its abandonment of, or at least qualify its reliance upon, the proposition that the identity of the speaker is an impermissible basis for regulating campaign speech. It will be necessary to explain why the First Amendment provides greater protection of some non-voters than to that of other non-voters," he said.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/30/11969505-former-justice-predicts-cracks-in-citizens-united-decision?lite


Citizens United Attacks From Justice Stevens Continue
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/citizens-united-justice-stevens_n_1557721.html
A day after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, retired Justice John Paul Stevens on Wednesday night backed President Barack Obama's suggestion during his 2010 State of the Union address that the Citizens United decision could lead to "foreign entities" bankrolling American elections.

He urged the U.S. Supreme Court to explicitly explain why the president's words were "not true," as Justice Samuel Alito famously mouthed on camera, breaking the justices' usual stoic appearance during the president's annual speech.

(snip)
"I think it is likely that when the court begins to spell out which categories of non-voters should receive the same protections as the not-for-profit Citizens United advocacy group, it will not only exclude terrorist organizations and foreign agents, but also all corporations owned or controlled by non-citizens, and possibly even those in which non-citizens have a substantial interest," Stevens said, referencing a case in which he joined the Citizens United majority to hold that speech made or funded by terrorist groups have no First Amendment protection. "Where that line will actually be drawn will depend on an exercise of judgment by the majority of members of the court, rather than on any proposition of law identified in the Citizens United majority opinion."

May 31, 2012

Bruce Springsteen lashes out at bankers in Berlin show

Rocker Bruce Springsteen touched on a nerve of widespread discontent with the financiers and bankers at a Berlin concert on Wednesday, railing against them as "greedy thieves" and "robber barons."

Springsteen, a singer-songwriter dubbed "The Boss" who has long championed populist causes, played to a sold-out crowd at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, singing from his album "Wrecking Ball" and speaking about tough economic times that have put people out of work worldwide and led to debt crises in Greece and other countries.

"In America, a lot of people have lost their jobs," said Springsteen, 62, who performed for three hours to some 58,000 fans in the packed stadium that hosted the 1936 Olympics and the 2006 World Cup final.

"But also in Europe and in Berlin, times are tough," he added, speaking in fluent German. "This song is for all those who are struggling." He then introduced "Jack of All Trades", a withering attack on bankers that includes the lyrics: "The banker man grows fat, working man grows thin."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/entertainment-us-brucespringsteen-berlin-idUSBRE84U00N20120531

Springsteen slams 'greedy' bankers during concert
http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/30/11972974-springsteen-slams-greedy-bankers-during-concert?lite

May 30, 2012

Planned Parenthood Ads to Target Romney

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/planned-parenthood-ads-to-target-romney/

In the course of the Republican primary campaign, Mitt Romney took pains to convince socially conservative activists that he believes in them, understands their passions and would be an advocate for their causes in the Oval Office.

Now, Planned Parenthood is unveiling one of its biggest-ever political advertising campaigns aimed at using Mr. Romney’s own words to undermine his support among women — a critical voter group among whom he already trails President Obama.

In a new ad that will run in three battleground states, the political arm of the women’s health care organization accuses Mr. Romney of wanting to deny women access to birth control, abortions and equal pay for the work they do.

(snip)
“This is just the beginning,” said Dawn Laguens, the group’s executive vice president for communications. “This is a very small down payment on what we intend to do to make sure people are very clear where the candidates stand.”

&feature=player_embedded

May 27, 2012

EXCLUSIVE:Florida Telling Hundreds Of Eligible Citizens That They Are Ineligible

EXCLUSIVE:Florida Telling Hundreds Of Eligible Citizens That They Are Ineligible To Vote
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/27/491012/exclusive-florida-telling-hundreds-of-eligible-citizens-that-they-are-ineligible-to-vote/

Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has ordered the state to purge all “non-citizens” from the voting rolls prior to November’s election. But that list compiled by the Scott administration is so riddled with errors that, in Miami-Dade County alone, hundreds of U.S. citizens are being told they are ineligible to vote, ThinkProgress has learned exlusively

According to data from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections obtained by ThinkProgress:

— 1638 people in Miami-Dade County were flagged by the state as “non-citizens” and sent letters informing them that they were ineligible to vote.

— Of that group, 359 people have subsquently provided the county with proof of citizenship.

more at link

May 26, 2012

Florida Supervisor of Elections: Gov. Scott’s Voter Purge Will Remove Eligible Voters

Florida Supervisor of Elections: Gov. Scott’s Voter Purge Will Remove Eligible Voters From Rolls

According to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, eligible voters will be removed from the voting rolls as a result of the massive voter purge ordered by Governor Rick Scott. “It will happen,” Mary Cooney, a spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, told ThinkProgress.

Late last year, Governor Scott ordered his Secretary of State, Kurt Browning to “to identify and remove non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls.” Browning could not get access to reliable citizenship data. So Scott urged election officials to identify non-U.S. citizens by comparing data from the state motor vehicle administration with the voting file.

(snip)
Browing resigned in February. But Scott has pressed forward with his efforts to purge voters from the rolls based on the dubious list. Here’s the letter Maureen Russo, a U.S. citizen and registered voter in Florida for the last 40 years, recieved two weeks ago:




more at link
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/26/490971/florida-supervisor-of-elections-scott-voter-purge-remove-eligible-voters/

May 24, 2012

Democratic group infuses another $1 million into Wisconsin recall election

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/24/democratic-group-infuses-another-1-million-into-wisconsin-recall-election/

With less than two weeks to go until the recall election of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the Democratic Governors Association says it's spending an additional $1 million to try and oust the Republican governor.

The DGA announced Thursday morning that the additional $1 million will be used to support television commercials already running statewide in Wisconsin, as well as to beef up get out the vote efforts in the 12 days remaining which remain until the June 5 vote.

The DGA says that the new expenditure brings to over $3 million the amount the organization has spent in Wisconsin, which they say is more than what they spent in the state in both the 2006 and 2010 gubernatorial contests, and "underscores our commitment to highlighting Scott Walker's worst-in-the-nation record on job creation."

May 23, 2012

Obama campaign hits Ohio airwaves with new commercials on Medicare and veterans programs

Obama campaign hits Ohio airwaves with new commercials on Medicare and veterans programs
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/05/obama_campaign_hits_ohio_airwa.html

President Barack Obama's will go on air today in Ohio and several other states with two more 30-second campaign commercials, the latest in an early general election push.

"Personal" presents Obama as a protector of Medicare, noting that he was raised by his grandparents and takes the fight personally.

"President Obama is leading the most successful crackdown on health care fraud ever," a voiceover says as citations from USA Today and other publications appear on screen.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-02-14/sebelius-holder-announce-health-care-fraud-money/53097474/1

"Sacred Trust" features Obama emphasizing a commitment to veteran services, including health care and educational programs. "The sacrifices that our troops have made have been incredible," the president says on camera. "It's because of what they've done that we've been able to go after al-Qaeda and kill (terrorist leader Osama) bin Laden.

May 20, 2012

Pelosi: Bring Middle-Income Tax Cuts to the Floor

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/pelosi-bring-middle-income-tax-cuts-to-the-floor-20120520

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., challenged House Republicans to bring middle-income tax credits up for an immediate vote, setting up another round of fights over government spending between Democrats and Republicans.

“I challenge the speaker right now to bring the middle income tax cuts to the floor,” Pelosi said on ABC’s This Week. “I think it would…be a clear signal that the upper end tax cuts for the wealthy will expire, because … the middle income tax cuts will not be held hostage to those.”

Pelosi said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his fellow Republicans were not being “responsible” or “mature” when it came to discussions over the federal deficit.

Pelosi also voiced strong confidence in Democrats’ ability to gain seats in the 2012 election.