January 3, 2012

Obama Gets Occupied

The Editors
[h3]Obama Gets Occupied[/h3]

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Some may worry that Obama is trying to co-opt Occupy in an election year. We say—let him try. The fact that the president’s speechwriters are cribbing from Occupy’s handmade posters is just one more indication of the movement’s major victory so far: it has changed the national conversation, giving us a new vocabulary, the 99 percent. If this framing succeeds, its impact will surpass any one speech, or even any one president’s re-election. It will be the paradigm within which all politicians will be judged—what have you done for the 99 percent?

This framework has already scored a win in New York, birthplace of the Occupy movement, where after months of maneuvering against progressives and catering to Wall Street, Governor Andrew Cuomo reversed course and partially restored a millionaire’s tax he had pledged to let expire in his campaign. The outcome is not ideal—the new tax raises less money than the one it replaces, and grave budget cuts still loom—but what’s worth celebrating here is how established progressive groups worked alongside Occupy to break Cuomo’s will, tarring him as “Governor 1 Percent” [see “Noted”]. In the end, it was a label he couldn’t bear and sustained pressure he couldn’t withstand.

If Obama is to avoid becoming President 1 Percent, he’ll have to take up more than Occupy’s language. He’ll have to change the conditions that have so immiserated and enraged the 99 percent. The president’s Kansas speech was a welcome sign that he’s willing to draw a few hard lines, but he could show where he stands by acting swiftly to back legislation that restores economic fairness, even if it will fail this time around. The most ambitious agenda on the table is the omnibus “American Dream” legislation from the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), which would put 5.4 million Americans to work in two years. The bill would also create a National Infrastructure Development Bank and shore up Social Security and Medicare. It would raise revenue and reduce the deficit by more than $2 trillion over ten years by ending the war in Afghanistan, introducing a speculation tax, eliminating subsidies for Big Oil and raising taxes on the 1 percent.

The CPC bill isn’t perfect, but in an atmosphere stunted by a misguided Beltway obsession with deficits, it’s the best thing going. If the president doesn’t move in its direction, we will face continued high unemployment, declining wages, spreading poverty and deepening inequality. Yes, we can do better.

http://www.thenation.com/article/165157/obama-gets-occupied

January 3, 2012

"This Is Omaha Beach": Rick Perry thinks defeating Obama is like defeating Hitler

With a sense of history on the biggest political day -- to date -- of the 2012 cycle, Texas Gov. Rick Perry today compared the GOP's quest to defeat President Barack Obama to one of the deadliest battles of the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.

"This election is about stopping a president of the United States and his administration that is abusing the Constitution of this country, that is putting America on a track to bankruptcy," Perry told a hotel ballroom packed with more than 200 volunteers.

"It is a powerful moment in Americans' history, and you are on the front lines," he added. "This is Concord. This is Omaha Beach. This is going up the hill realizing that the battle is worth winning."

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9922341-perry-this-is-omaha-beach
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/03/1051158/-Rick-Perry-thinks-defeating-Obama-is-like-defeating-Hitler?via=blog_1

January 3, 2012

Jeff Danziger: "Cantor Quotes Reagan"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-danziger/cantor-quotes-reagan_b_1181523.html

January 3, 2012

CLEVER - Obama campaign hits Republicans on Bush tax cuts, Wall Street, and Iraq

TUE JAN 03, 2012 AT 11:20 AM PST
Obama campaign hits Republicans on Bush tax cuts, Wall Street, and Iraq
byJed Lewison
This is pretty clever: the Obama campaign has purchased the digital equivalent of a full-page advertisement on the Des Moines Register on the same day as the Iowa Caucuses:



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/03/1051151/-Obama-campaign-hits-Republicans-on-Bush-tax-cuts,-Wall-Street,-and-Iraq?via=blog_1


more:
Obama agenda: Advertising in Iowa (online)

The Obama campaign, on caucus day, has ads all over the Des Moines Register Web site. Click on one and it takes you to this screen with this message: https://my.barackobama.com/page/s/om-2012-in-iowa?source=OM2012_PR_DMR_cau-pri_dmrall “The Republican Candidates Are Leaving Iowa. But Their Terrible Plans Are Here To Stay. What does the Republican plan for America look like? Hundreds of thousands in tax cuts for millionaires at the expense of the middle class, letting Wall Street write its own rules again, sending our troops back to Iraq, and more. It's up to us to make sure that the all of the progress we've made isn't undone. 2012 starts now: join Barack's campaign in Iowa.”

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9917258-obama-agenda-advertising-in-iowa-online
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/03/iowa-caucus-2012-live-updates_n_1179076.html#233_obama-campaign-makes-online-iowa-cameo-

January 3, 2012

WOW! Animated GOP Horse Race!

The Iowa Horse Race
An animation of the Iowa caucuses as a horse race.
By Will Oremus|Posted Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at 7:07 AM ET

WATCH: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/01/the_iowa_horse_race_an_animation_of_the_republican_caucuses_as_a_horse_race_.html?wpisrc=newsletter_slatest

January 3, 2012

Huckabee: "Republicans more interested in just defeating Obama than they are in rebuilding America"

"Well, defeating somebody without a plan to really resolve problems, to me, is a worthless endeavor."

-- Mike Huckabee, in an interview on Radio Iowa, complaining that "many of the Republicans are more interested in just defeating Barack Obama than they are in rebuilding America."

http://okhenderson.com/2012/01/03/huckabee-rs-more-interested-in-defeating-obama-than-in-rebuilding-usa-audio/

January 3, 2012

Gingrich Sends an E-mail in Spanish, Asking for Support in Iowa

Gingrich Sends an E-mail in Spanish, Asking for Support in Iowa

On Monday he sent an e-mail appeal in Spanish asking for support at the Iowa caucuses.
With the subject line, “Ayudenos en Iowa,” the message continued in Spanish: “The Hispanic community is so important to the success of this campaign and you can make all the difference by making calls and getting the citizens of Iowa to vote on Jan. 3.’’ [...]

“Juntos podemos reconstruir los Estados Unidos que amamos,’’ Mr. Gingrich’s message concludes.

“Together we can rebuild the America we love.’’

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/gingrich-sends-an-e-mail-in-spanish-asking-for-support-in-iowa/

January 3, 2012

Dan Savage: "When Do We Get to Meet Elizabeth Santorum's Imaginary Gay Friends?"

When Do We Get to Meet Elizabeth Santorum's Imaginary Gay Friends?

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Political reporters? When Elizabeth Santorum says, “I have gay friends and they support my dad because they agree with him about family issues,” i.e. her dad’s opposition to gay people having a families of their own, your immediate response should be a request for the names and phone numbers of some of these gay friends. Because that claim requires checking out before you put it in print or pixels. Reassure Elizabeth you’ll quote her friends anonymously to protect them from potty-mouthed gay bloggers, they can talk to you on background or whatever, but tell her that you’re going to need to verify the existence of these gay friends. Because you’re a journalist, not a stenographer. You’ll either catch Elizabeth Santorum in a revealing lie—what does it tell us about this moment in the struggle for LGBT equality that even homophobes like Elizabeth and her dad perceive a political risk in being perceived as homophobic?—or you’ll land a pretty fascinating interview.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/01/03/when-do-we-get-to-meet-elizabeth-santorums-imaginary-gay-friends

January 3, 2012

Montana Supreme Court Says Citizens United Does Not Apply in State Elections!

Montana Supreme Court Says Citizens United Does Not Apply in State Elections!

http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/MT-expenditures-decision.pdf

There is some big news on the Citizens United front this morning. The Montana Supreme Court has found that the State laws governing unlimited corporate donations to state candidates actually pass muster under that (horrible and flawed) decision.

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The three plaintiffs were a painting and dry wall company, owned and operated by the sole employee, Champion Painting; a sportsman’s (read 2nd Amendment shop) group called Montana Shooting Sports Foundation (MSSF), and this very shady group from Colorado, called the Western Tradition Partnership (WTP).

The basic premise of the suit is that even though Montana has a very straightforward process of setting up Political Action Committees (PAC) , which can then raise and spend unlimited money, as long as they report who their donors are, are being stifled.

The State contended that Citizens United did not apply because even though it struck down almost all limits on outside political expenditures by corporations, the Supreme Court did so because the DOJ failed to present that the government had a compelling interest in limiting speech. It applied the ‘strict scrutiny’ standard when doing so.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/03/1051056/-Montana-Supreme-Court-Says-Citizens-United-Does-Not-Apply-in-State-Elections!-?via=siderec

January 3, 2012

Newt Gingrich: Mitt Romney is a liar and a fraud but I'd vote for him anyway

"You scolded Mitt Romney, his friends who are running this Super PAC that has funded that, and you said of Mitt Romney, 'Someone who will lie to you to get to be president will lie to you when they are president. I have to ask you, are you calling Mitt Romney a liar?"

"Yes," Gingrich replied.


"I just think he ought to be honest with the American people and try to win as the real Mitt Romney, not try to invent a poll-driven, consultant-guided version that goes around with talking points, and I think he ought to be candid. I don't think he's being candid and that will be a major issue. From here on out from the rest of this campaign, the country has to decide: Do you really want a Massachusetts moderate who won't level with you to run against Barack Obama who, frankly, will just tear him apart? He will not survive against the Obama machine."

Yet, when pressed by CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer on whether he could support Romney if the "Massachusetts moderate" became the Republican nominee, Gingrich replied, "Sure. I would support a Republican candidate against Barack Obama because I think Barack Obama is tearing the country apart.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500202_162-57351153/gingrich-mitt-romney-is-a-liar/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/03/1051068/-Newt-Gingrich:-Mitt-Romney-is-a-liar-and-a-fraud-but-Id-vote-for-him-anyway?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29