Chris Hayes: The Republican Bubble Trap

Chris Hayes: The Republican Bubble Trap
"From this Saturday's Up With Chris Hayes, Chris' Story of the Week and the Republicans who have been living in their own alternative universe these days as they refuse to accept the reality that the poll numbers in the presidential race really are not looking good for Mitt Romney."

As the Romney campaign unskews, will the GOP's racist id take over?

As the Romney campaign unskews, will the GOP's racist id take over?
"Like Mitt Romney's 47 percent remark, the Republicans use overtly racist appeals to whites to attempt to give the impressions that non-whites are the prime beneficiaries of "government handouts." And as in that case, when the 47 percent was mostly comprised of whites, like whites on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans benefits, student loan for college, the universal phone service requirement primarily benefits whites, in this case rural whites. Consider the Universal Service Program for Rural Health Care Providers"

Why Right-Wingers Need ‘Skewed Polls’ Conspiracy Theory for Romney to Win -- And Even More If He Loses | Alternet

Why Right-Wingers Need ‘Skewed Polls’ Conspiracy Theory for Romney to Win -- And Even More If He Loses | Alternet
"Since the inception of the ironically named Fox News Channel, right-wing media consumers have been convinced that every news source outside of their favored outlets pushes lies designed to destroy their beloved country with a collectivist 

agenda, one that favors those perceived as unworthy of partaking in the nation’s bounty. (These “unworthy,” of course, are often non-white and/or non-heterosexual-male.)

To those of the paranoid, xenophobic mindset first identified by Richard Hofstadter in the 1960s, it’s hardly a stretch to believe it when they’re told that the very polls that are used by media to assess the state of political contests are skewed to favor the liberal candidate, especially when the candidate is a black man named Obama."

RNC Chair Reverses Course, Says Republican Party Will ‘Absolutely’ Support Todd Akin

RNC Chair Reverses Course, Says Republican Party Will ‘Absolutely’ Support Todd Akin: Republicans, stuck with Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) in the Missouri Senate race after the dropout deadline passed this week, have hit the fifth stage of grief: acceptance. After Akin declared last month that women cannot get pregnant from “legitimate rape” because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” nearly [...]/p

Florida Republican Volunteer Tells Senior Citizens: Obama Is A ‘Muslim’ Who Will ‘Get Rid Of Your Medicare’

Florida Republican Volunteer Tells Senior Citizens: Obama Is A ‘Muslim’ Who Will ‘Get Rid Of Your Medicare’: A volunteer for the Republican Party of Clay County, Florida called President Obama a “Muslim” and said that he would “get rid of your Medicare” while calling voters on behalf of Mitt Romney. In audio obtained by a Tampa-area radio station, the woman made the remarks directly to senior citizens, but her comments were recorded [...]/p

GOP Senate Candidate Akin: ‘Free Enterprise’ Means Being Allowed To Deny Equal Pay To Women

GOP Senate Candidate Akin: ‘Free Enterprise’ Means Being Allowed To Deny Equal Pay To Women: Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) has struggled with a well-established woman problem in his Senate campaign, ever since he claimed women could not get pregnant from “legitimate rape.” After he said his opponent, incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), was not “ladylike,” her campaign released a video of Akin suggesting that businesses should be allowed to pay [...]/p

Fox News' bad news for Romney

Fox News' Laura Ingraham refuses to participate in the GOP battle against the polls especially after a Fox poll shows Romney trailing by five points.

National Review Admits Bush Legacy Is Dragging Down Romney

National Review Admits Bush Legacy Is Dragging Down Romney
"After cheering on George W. Bush for 8 years, then spending the next 4 polishing his legacy, the clowns at the National Review are finally realizing that he was a big, freaking disasterfor the Republican Party."

Poll suggests Republicans would be better off with Bush

Poll suggests Republicans would be better off with Bush
A wave of recent polls has shown Romney struggling to keep up with President Barack Obama. A lower favorability rating than Bush, who was recently named the most unpopular living U.S. president, shows how difficult it has been for the GOP nominee to resonate with voters during his current presidential bid.

Why Mitt Romney Is Losing Ohio | Alternet

Why Mitt Romney Is Losing Ohio | Alternet
"Those famed white working-class voters that pollsters love to obsess over, make up a large chunk of Ohio's electorate, and they're not happy with the Bain Capital-ist and his history of calling for the auto industry's bankruptcy, endorsing attacks on their collective bargaining rights, and his plans—or lack thereof—for the economy. Barack Obama may not look like them, but Romney, as many have said, looks like the guy who fired them. And despite Republican governor John Kasich trying to take credit for improvements in the state's economy, Ohioans think that Democrats are a better bet when it comes to jobs. So it's no wonder that Romney's behind by 8 points or so in Ohio."

Senator Puts 'Secret Hold' on Veterans COLA Bill | Military.com

Senator Puts 'Secret Hold' on Veterans COLA Bill | Military.com
A Republican senator is using an anonymous hold to block the traditionally bipartisan cost of living adjustment that is given to America’s disabled veterans and their survivors.

6 Ways Mitt Romney's Getting His Butt Kicked | Alternet

6 Ways Mitt Romney's Getting His Butt Kicked | Alternet
"One has to admire the conservative brain's ability to stave off cognitive dissonance. Republicans have convinced themselves that Obama is the second coming of Hitler, and were sure that Americas would reject him for a nice-looking white business-guy with good hair. But now things aren't going well, so they've simply decided, en masse , that a conspiracy is afoot. The polls are being skewed, and any minute now Romney will come thundering back to crush the Kenyan interloper.

Here in the real world, however, a different picture is emerging. After the necessary caveats – Romney can still win, external events could shake up the race late, nobody knows how restrictive voting laws will ultimately impact the vote – Romney is getting his butt kicked. And here’s how."

Battleground snapshot: Romney pummeled in key states

Battleground snapshot: Romney pummeled in key states
"The big story, as I've harped on all year, is still Mitt Romney's unpopularity. Of the nine states left on this list, only one gives him 46 or better. He can't even crack 44 percent in Ohio. People don't like him, and they'll never like him."

Romney’s startling confession on taxes

Romney’s startling confession on taxes
"For months, Mitt Romney has argued repeatedly that President Obama raised taxes. It's not really true -- Obama has cut taxes repeatedly -- but it's a standard line of attack."

Romney Ignores Facts, Lies About Taxes

"This is the same sort of scam that the extremely wealthy have been perpetrating on working people for centuries. And to compound the hustle, now Romney and his rich buddies are claiming that if we tax them at the same rate a surgeon pays, at 35 percent like everybody else instead of the 15 percent "capital gains" rate paid for by banksters like Romney and heiresses like Paris Hilton, then the economy will suffer. But history - and facts - prove this point wrong."

Ryan's 'Secret' Tape Is Even More Extreme Than Romney's | Alternet

Ryan's 'Secret' Tape Is Even More Extreme Than Romney's | Alternet
"When they  booed Paul Ryan at the American Association of Retired Persons last week, most people didn't even know he called Medicare and Social Security "third party or socialist-based systems." Or that he  said he wants to privatize them in order to "break the back" of a "collectivist philosophy."

On recently transcribed remarks from an audio recording, Ryan said his ideas and values were shaped by an extremist author who thought humanity must "reject the morality of altruism," and that his opinions on monetary policy are guided by a fictional speech which says "the words 'to make money' hold the essence of human morality." That author says the "collectivist philosophy" Ryan ascribes to Social Security and Medicare is a "looters' credo." By that reckoning, anyone who receives assistance from the government -- including disabled combat veterans or impoverished children -- is a "looter"."

Top GOP Senate Candidate Just Says It: 'Do Away With Medicare, Medicaid' | Common Dreams

Top GOP Senate Candidate Just Says It: 'Do Away With Medicare, Medicaid' | Common Dreams
"Just to repeat: a top Republican Senate candidate has been caught on video talking about how he would “DO AWAY WITH MEDICAID, AND MEDICARE.”

Just to repeat: “DO AWAY WITH MEDICAID, AND MEDICARE.”

It should be understood that Thompson is no fringe-dwelling Todd Akin. As the longtime Republican governor of a swing state, he’s worked with every GOP president since Ronald Reagan, and he oversaw social programs for the Bush-Cheney administration. This year, he’s one of his party’s premier recruits in the fight to retake the Senate. Indeed, the race between Thompson and Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin could decide which party controls the chamber.

Thompson is, as well, closely aligned with Paul Ryan. The Senate candidate’s ties to Ryan’s politically connected family go back to when the Republican vice-presidential nominee was a child. Thompson has been a Ryan booster from the very beginning of the younger Wisconsinite’s career in electoral politics—when Thompson was the powerful governor of the state and Ryan was organizing his first Congressional bid.

When Thompson joined the Bush-Cheney Cabinet, he and Ryan kept regular company in Washington. They look forward to working together when Thompson becomes the point man on entitlement debates in a Republican-controlled Senate and Ryan is the Romney White House’s chief liaison to Capitol Hill.

The voters will have something to say about that, however."

Conservative Group Claims Obama Has ‘Communist Beliefs,’ Compares His Policies To Hitler’s

Conservative Group Claims Obama Has ‘Communist Beliefs,’ Compares His Policies To Hitler’s: A conservative religious group is sending its members a ‘survey’ that compares President Obama’s policies to those of Nazi Germany, and asserts that the President has “communist beliefs.” The mailer, a product of the Faith and Freedom coalition, is titled the “Voter Registration Confirmation Survey.” But its questions have little to do with registering to [...]/p

How The Right's Latest Conspiracy Theory Might Unleash a Wave of Domestic Terrorism if Obama Wins | Alternet

How The Right's Latest Conspiracy Theory Might Unleash a Wave of Domestic Terrorism if Obama Wins | Alternet
"In a somewhat desperate attempt to maintain morale among a Republican base that disdains its standard-bearer, a number of conservative media outlets are pushing an alternate reality in which Mitt Romney is leading in the polls by wide margins and American voters have a decidedly negative view not of the challenger, but of Barack Obama.

It's an exceptionally dangerous game that the right-wing media are playing. If Obama wins – and according to polling guru Nate Silver, he'd have a 95 percent chance of doing so if the vote were held today – there's a very real danger that this spin -- combined with other campaign narratives that are popular among the far-right -- could create a post-election environment so toxic that it yields an outburst of politically motivated violence."

Scott Brown takes the racial low road

Rachel Maddow reviews the way Senator Scott Brown has relied heavily on racial resentment as a campaign strategy against Elizabeth Warren.

Take a Look at What Paul Ryan Did to His Own Congressional District, and Be Very Scared for Your Country | Alternet

Take a Look at What Paul Ryan Did to His Own Congressional District, and Be Very Scared for Your Country | Alternet
"Ryan trumpeted the $1.2 trillion in Bush tax cuts showered largely on the richest 1%, pushed for the deregulation of Wall Street financial manipulations, opposed 2007 efforts to rein in the financial industry’s increasingly risky practices but then voted for a virtually unconditional bailout of the big banks after the meltdown in 2008 in order to “save the free enterprise system.” Ryan also voted for the auto bailout without any provisions to prioritize US jobs including those in his district. Further, Ryan has been a consistent supporter of the “free trade” deals with low-wage, repressive regimes that have fueled the offshoring of jobs.

In recent years, Ryan’s home district has lost thousands of family-sustaining jobs. Its economic foundations have been dangerously hollowed out: Delco in Oak Creek shut down at a cost of 3,800 jobs, mostly going to Mexico; Chrysler in Kenosha had 850 jobs sent to Mexico with the help of auto industry “bailout” funds; and General Motors in his hometown of Janesville eliminated 2,800 jobs directly with its pre-Christmas 2008 plant closing, while GM kept open a low-wage plant with parallel capacities in Silao, Mexico. The GM shutdown in Janesville wiped out another 3,000 jobs in nearby supplier plants.

The three major industrial counties in Ryan’s district have endured devastating manufacturing job losses since 2000, with Kenosha County losing 30%, Racine County 33%, and Rock County an astonishing 54%."

Domestic Terrorism: Senate Hears Testimony About the Rise of the Right-Wing Threat

Domestic Terrorism: Senate Hears Testimony About the Rise of the Right-Wing Threat
"In reality, right-wing domestic terrorism is occurring at a remarkable rate, more than twice that of the "Islamist" domestic terrorism that has so preoccupied people like Rep. Peter King and the House Homeland Security Committee in the past couple of years."

Senator Bernie Sanders Eviscerates Mitt Romney's 47% Secret Video

Bernie Sanders Eviscerates Mitt Romney's 47% Secret Video

Ryan Lies And Gets Booed At The AARP

Ryan Gets Booed At The AARP: The address didn’t go over well. One man called Ryan a “liar” and the audience repeatedly booed his critique of President Obama and health reform.

Papantonio: Voter Backlash Anger Will Destroy Republican Party

Mike Papantonio appears on The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann (RT America) to talk about the GOP's laundry list of problems heading into this election, including the numerous court decisions striking down their voter suppression efforts.

VoteVets.org on the Ed Show About Romney Tape

Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org, appears on the Ed Show to discuss the tape of Mitt Romney at a fundraiser

Romney's real view of workers

The Romney campaign is out with a misleading new commercial on the coal industry. Ed Schultz sets the record straight on the ad and takes a deeper look into Mitt Romney's view on workers by looking at yet another clip from the "47 percent" video.

Backlash Culture: White Supremacy and the Music of Hatred

Backlash Culture: White Supremacy and the Music of Hatred
"For the angry right, hatred is a symphony of duplicity, orchestrated by turning the truth on its head - which is how they came to compose an operatic backlash in which a rampaging neo-Nazi was transformed into an insidious tool of the left."

Hiding In Plain Sight - Paul Ryan's Plan to Privatize SS

Hiding In Plain Sight - Paul Ryan's Plan to Privatize SS
"A writer for America, the Catholic weekly, decided to transcribe the rest of Paul Ryan's 2005 speech at the Atlas Society (which was conveniently shortened on their website), and guess what he came up with? Ryan's stated objective to privatize Social Security and Medicare! Or, as Ryan put it, to convert them from “collectivism” to believers in a “capitalistic individualistic” philosophy. Gee, you have to wonder why the Atlas Society left that out of the transcript."

Republicans kill veterans' jobs bill

The bill was fully paid for, and entirely bipartisan -- Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) had his own set of ideas for the bill, and Murray incorporated all of them into her legislation. And yet, all but five Senate Republicans voted to kill it anyway, 48 days before a national election. Even Burr sided with his party to defeat the bill, and it was filled with his provisions.

GOP Kills Veterans Jobs Bill, Grants Themselves a Vacation

GOP Kills Veterans Jobs Bill, Grants Themselves a Vacation
"Let's talk about how dedicated Republicans really are to creating jobs. While they talk pretty about the unemployment rate and publicly tear their clothes, don sackcloth and spread on ashes over higher veterans' unemployment rates, they do everything they can to kill any possibility of actually employing veterans."

GOP Senators Defeat Jobs Bill for US Veterans | Common Dreams

GOP Senators Defeat Jobs Bill for US Veterans | Common Dreams
"The US Senate failed to pass a jobs bill aimed at putting US veterans to work through a federally funded public works program."

Romney Co-Chair Abandons Campaign, Will Head Group Lobbying Against Wall Street Reform

Romney Co-Chair Abandons Campaign, Will Head Group Lobbying Against Wall Street Reform: Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced Thursday morning that he would step down as co-chair of Mitt Romney’s campaign to become the head of the Financial Services Roundtable, a trade organization that represents the 100 largest financial services companies in the country. Pawlenty tenure will begin as the group continues to lobby against the 2010 [...]/p

Proof Romney & Ryan are Consumed by the Libertarian Utopian "Me Society"

Mitt Romney's "off the cuff" comments caught on tape are the latest proof that he - and Paul Ryan are consumed by the selfish "me society" preached by Ayn Rand.

8 Terrible Things That Have Happened to Mitt Romney...Just This Morning | Alternet

8 Terrible Things That Have Happened to Mitt Romney...Just This Morning | Alternet
"Yesterday was a no good, very bad day for the Romney’s campaign, who had to mop up the mess their candidate created when he said that “47 percent” of Americans are “dependent on government” and “believe they are victims.” But the bad news hasn’t stopped today.
From poll numbers to Republican politicians throwing Romney under the bus, the campaign’s woes continue."

FULL Secret Video Released: Mitt Romney on "Freeloaders," Mideast, and Why He's Scared of the Women on 'the View" | Alternet

FULL Secret Video Released: Mitt Romney on "Freeloaders," Mideast, and Why He's Scared of the Women on 'the View" | Alternet
"The secret video obtained of Mitt Romney speaking off-message at a fundraiser for some of his wealthiest donors has put his campaign in quite the tight spot, forcing the candidate to make a hastily-arranged late-night press conference appearance last night. Romney has suggested that people must see the whole video and this afternoon Mother Jones complied; the full video is posted below. 

At his press conference last night, Romney halfheartedly defended the surreptitiously-obtained remarks that leaked yesterday, remarks which, as we reported,  disparaged almost half of the population, the 47% of hard-core Obama supporters, characterized by Romney as freeloaders whom he could never reach.

Other questionably humorous remarks Romney made that made news? He said he wished his father was Mexican so he could get the Latino vote, and that he was using his wife sparingly as a surrogate lest people get sick of her on the campaign trail. The full video also has Romney explaining why he'd never go on the television show "The View":"

Romney campaign knows it has screwed the pooch

Romney campaign knows it has screwed the pooch
"Grim-faced aides acknowledged that it was an unusually dark moment, made worse by the self-inflicted, seemingly avoidable nature of the wound. In low-volume, out-of-the-way conversations, a few of them are now wondering whether victory is still possible and whether they are entering McCain-Palin ticket territory."

10 Desperate and Depressed Conservative Reactions to Romney's 47 Percent Moment | Alternet

10 Desperate and Depressed Conservative Reactions to Romney's 47 Percent Moment | Alternet
"Team Romney's biggest problem continues to be Mitt Romney. It's tough to build a campaign around a cartoonish 1-percenter whose CPU doesn't appear to be programmed for human empathy and who lacks an effective filter between brain and gums."

Meet Mitt Romney's 'old friend,' wealthy fundraising sex-partier Marc Leder

Meet Mitt Romney's 'old friend,' wealthy fundraising sex-partier Marc Leder
"But the name Marc Leder may be familiar, as he is the co-chief-executive of Sun Capital Partners, a private equity group very similar to Mitt Romney's own Bain Capital, and with a similar record of leveraged buyouts (the practice of borrowing other people's money to take over unrelated companies, upon which magic happens, depending on your definition of magic).

No? Still doesn't ring a bell? All right, what if I just told you he was The Famous Orgy Guy?"

Romney Campaign to Politico: Over Here! Shiny Thing!

Romney Campaign to Politico: Over Here! Shiny Thing!
"All of it is a distraction intended to yank attention away from the fact that the third poll has come out showing President Obama pulling away from Romney and solidifying his lead, particularly in the swing states.

The Romney campaign, eager to snatch news cycles with any news, good or bad, appears to have opted for the "everyone is fighting with everyone else inside the campaign" narrative, with Stuart Stevens being the named staffer appointed to fall upon the pre-appointed sword."

Romney campaign in disarray, already looking for scapegoat

Romney campaign in disarray, already looking for scapegoat
"You know a campaign is in trouble when it's only September, and it's already trying to figure out whom to blame when the ticket loses in November.

But that, claims a devastating new Politico article, is exactly what's happening in Romneyland, "based on accounts from Romney aides, advisers and friends, most of whom refused to speak on the record because they were recounting private discussions and offering direct criticism of the candidate and his staff."

The Post-Truth Campaign: Mitt Romney Tells 530 Lies in 30 Weeks

The Post-Truth Campaign: Mitt Romney Tells 530 Lies in 30 Weeks
"While the sheer number of Romney's lies are indeed unprecedented for a presidential campaign, his fact-free campaigning is simply the logical continuation of a trend that started in the George W. Bush administration, when Republicans literally walled themselves from reality."

A Good Ole Boys’ Family Feud - In These Times

A Good Ole Boys’ Family Feud - In These Times
"What we’re witnessing, as Louis Nayman writes in the latest issue of In These Times, are the last, bitter stages of the GOP’s “Southern strategy”: appealing to the anger that white voters feel toward America’s growing religious and racial diversity. That strategy has created a solid South for the Republicans—and turned out the base in big numbers—since Richard Nixon. It will continue to do so for another decade or two. But that won’t be enough to win national elections. Live by the sword, die by the sword."

Why Obama's lead is even better news than you think

Why Obama's lead is even better news than you think
"Only two years ago, the billionaire backers of the Tea Party managed to mask their money grab as a populist uprising. Two years ago, they got a majority of Americans to vent their frustration on Democrats, President Obama, common sense, history, science, and anything else that didn't get out of the way. But two years can be a long time.

The best news over the last weeks is that the politics of pure obstruction and vitriol are played out. The American people are awake. They see that the Republicans have nothing to offer but the same plan that created the problems in the first place. Many of them are starting to realize that the biggest problems we face aren't unknowable forces of nature, but very familiar sources of obstanance in the House and Senate. More than any time in the recent past, Americans seem to be willing to look at what people are saying, rather than just listening to the tone."

Jews Must Be Converted, Says Family Research Council Vice President

Jews Must Be Converted, Says Family Research Council Vice President
"Bad news for Eric Cantor. He spoke today at the Values Voter Summit, but he’s apparently still going to hell. Let me explain.

Jerry Boykin is the Executive Vice President of the Family Research Council and Tony Perkins’ right-hand man. FRC is hosting the far right conference that the House Majority Leader, who is Jewish, addressed today.

Boykin, much like Bryan Fischer, has a penchant for saying exactly what’s on his mind – things which others know not to say, even when they’re thinking the same thing. While you may know Boykin from his prolific Muslim-bashing, he also has some interesting things to say about Jews."

Far-Right Extremists Tried Pinning Blame for Anti-Islam Film on Jews

Far-Right Extremists Tried Pinning Blame for Anti-Islam Film on Jews
"It turns out now that the amateurish hate film that sparked the lethal riots in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen -- or at least, in the case of the Libya murders, provided a pretext -- is a product of the fetid, far-right underbelly of American politics. And it seems that not only did the Islamophobic far-right militiamen behind the movie make it with the explicit intent of sparking riots abroad, but they even attempted to pin the blame for its production on Israeli Jews."

DeMint Likens Teachers Striking In Chicago To ‘Thugs’ In The Middle East

DeMint Likens Teachers Striking In Chicago To ‘Thugs’ In The Middle East: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) jokingly compared the teachers strike in Chicago to the unrest in the Middle East during a speech at the Values Voters summit Friday morning. “You know, we had a lot of bad news this week,” DeMint began. “On my way over, I was reading another story about a distant place where [...]/p

Kansas Republican establishment goes full birther

Kansas Republican establishment goes full birther
"Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is already well known in the Latino community—he's the author of Arizona's hateful SB 1070 law and, as an adviser to Mitt Romney, a big reason that our nation's top vulture capitalist will lose the Latino vote in record numbers this year."

North Carolina Supreme Court Justice To Speak To Nullificationist Group That Compared Obama To Hitler

North Carolina Supreme Court Justice To Speak To Nullificationist Group That Compared Obama To Hitler: The words “tea party” are not normally associated with moderation and restraint, but a group known as the Asheville Tea Party is extreme even by tea party standards. The Asheville Tea Party published a lengthy rant comparing President Obama to Hitler (sample quote: “Hitler took control of the banks….Obama took control of the banks. Hitler [...]/p

Liars Don't Lead, They Mislead

Liars Don't Lead, They Mislead
"Romney pollster Neil Newhouse stated, "Fact checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs, and we're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers." In a representative democracy, facts do matter, and check

ing the facts is how we hold our representatives accountable. Romney and Ryan have based their campaign on smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, political prestidigitation, lies and deceit.

Liars don't lead; they mislead."

Ryan returns to Capitol Hill to cast hypocritical vote

Ryan returns to Capitol Hill to cast hypocritical vote
"The need to convince the non-crazy voters outside of the teabagger base that they really aren't so extreme, never mind all those previous hostage-takings, trumps their principle. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, president of the Republican freshman class admits as much, saying that it's just no "good to have another threat of a shutdown."

It's about saving their skins, which is why Ryan is returning to vote for it. It's why he's abandoning his own budget. He's running for vice president, for Pete's sake, he can't let his true colors show on this vote."

7 Mitt Romney Statements As Idiotic as His Libya Response | Alternet

7 Mitt Romney Statements As Idiotic as His Libya Response | Alternet
"In a presidential campaign stretching for months, if not years, it is easy to forget Romney's earlier unfiltered pronouncements or just to dismiss them as gaffes. But the overall pattern is unmistakable: Romney lives in a world where his values are not the same as ordinary people and where he hides behind conservative principles regardless of their impact or harm.

What follows is a quick collection of videos clips, some assembled by other websites, which underscore that Romney’s intemperate and bellicose comments in response to the Libya crisis are hardly unique, but are consistent with views that are not appropriate for the world’s most powerful political leader."

6 Right-Wing Zealots (or Groups of Zealots) That Would Blow Up the World for Political Gain | Alternet

6 Right-Wing Zealots (or Groups of Zealots) That Would Blow Up the World for Political Gain | Alternet
"As for Romney, his antics on Tuesday and Wednesday may well be the end of his campaign. With even many of his Republican supporters  running away from him  as if he were on fire, the media establishment judged that the candidate had inserted his foot directly into his mouth in a very serious way. It was a desperate attempt to shift the dynamics of the race – a Hail-Mary pass by a candidate looking at a 7-point deficit in Gallup's tracking poll – and it didn't work."

Romney Has Found a New Way to Lie!

Mitt Romney has figured out a new way to lie. In an interview on Sunday with NBC, watched by millions of people - Romney said that there are a number of things he likes with Obamacare - including a guarantee that health insurers can't deny healthcare to people with pre-existing conditions - and reforms that allow children to stay on their parents' health plans until the age of 26. So the man who first created Obamneycare in Massachusetts, and then disavowed it when he ran for President, now supports it again. Or he did for a few hours, until his campaign told Buzz Feed that Romney actually opposes all provisions of Obamacare and instead believes that the corporate-run "free market" will find a way to cover those with pre-existing conditions. In other words, Romney wants to roll-back Obamacare. So the Romney Big Lie strategy works like this - go on Meet the Press, where a lot of moderate, undecided voters will be watching - and lie about your position on protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Try to assure the independents that you won't let health insurers act like death panels toward children with pre-existing conditions. And then, after the show is off the air - immediately backtrack - and issue a "correction" to your base, a group of right-wing crazies who are perfectly OK with letting health insurance companies discriminate against sick children again. I've said it before - I'll say it again - the only way Mitt Romney can win this election is by lying. And now he's coming up with ever more clever ways to do so.

5 Issues this Election Should Be About, and One to Drop | Common Dreams

5 Issues this Election Should Be About, and One to Drop | Common Dreams
"One in four working families is spending more than half their income just to keep a roof over their heads. There are more than half a million Americans who are homeless on any given night, and one in three families headed by a single mother is going hungry at least part of the year.
To get the economy moving again, we need to start by putting more earning and spending power in the hands of the poor and middle class, starting with a higher minimum wage and progressive tax policies. Only then can businesses invest, knowing they will have customers."

Laura Ingraham Lashes Out At GOP: 'If You Can't Beat Obama, Shut Down The Party'

Laura Ingraham Lashes Out At GOP: 'If You Can't Beat Obama, Shut Down The Party'
"Like Jeb Bush, who thinks the Republicans' problem is "tone," Ingraham is convinced that if only Republicans had the right candidate saying the right words, they'd be running away with the election.

This is basically crazy.

First of all, this analysis ignores that the last Republican administration was a catastrophic disaster and the last Republican president left office one of the least popular presidents in modern times. One can only speculate why Ingraham is completely oblivious to the massive damage George W. Bush and Dick Cheney inflicted on the Republican brand, but it's real."

Greed and Debt: The True Story of Romney and Bain Capital | Common Dreams

Greed and Debt: The True Story of Romney and Bain Capital | Common Dreams
"By making debt the centerpiece of his campaign, Romney was making a calculated bluff of historic dimensions – placing a massive all-in bet on the rank incompetence of the American press corps. The result has been a brilliant comedy. A man makes a $250 million fortune loading up companies with debt and then extracting million-dollar fees from those same companies, in exchange for the generous service of telling them who needs to be fired in order to finance the debt payments he saddled them with in the first place. That same man then runs for president riding an image of children roasting on flames of debt, choosing as his running mate perhaps the only politician in America more pompous and self-righteous on the subject of the evils of borrowed money than the candidate himself. If Romney pulls off this whopper, you'll have to tip your hat to him: No one in history has ever successfully run for president riding this big of a lie. It's almost enough to make you think he really is qualified for the White House."

Conservatives really don't want to hear more specifics from Mitt Romney

Conservatives really don't want to hear more specifics from Mitt Romney
"And Salon's Steve Kornacki points out that while attacks on Romney's lack of specificity are nothing new, those attacks have typically come from Democrats. Now that they are coming from his own party, it's bad news. Romney is coming under fire from fellow Republicans for not being sufficiently specific, and these attacks do reinforce preexisting story lines about Romney's lack of core beliefs. But I don't believe for a second that Romney's Republican critics actually care about whether and to what extent he offers specific policy proposals. Instead, they care about establishing a narrative to explain his defeat—a narrative that places the blame for that defeat squarely on his shoulders.

For professional conservatives, the only thing more important than winning the 2012 presidential election is not getting blamed for losing it. And as much as they might be disappointed by a Romney defeat this November, the thing that would actually crush their souls would be if Romney were to lose and their ideas were assigned the blame. Better to throw him under the bus now, even if it means he's less likely to win, than to suffer that fate."

Having fun with Romney campaign's 'DON'T PANIC!' memo

Having fun with Romney campaign's 'DON'T PANIC!' memo
"How do you know a campaign is panicking? When they send out memos urging people not to panic."

In defense of red state socialism

In defense of red state socialism
"But almost as galling for many Democrats is the persistent phenomenon of red state socialism. That is, despite Republican paeans to "small government" and "rugged individualism," red states benefit from a one-way flow of dollars from Washi

ngton, a federal gravy train disproportionately provided by blue state taxpayers. But hypocrisy or no, that is as it should be. Because when it comes to health care, education, public safety, needed infrastructure and so much else, Americans' mutual commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness cannot end at the state line.

To be sure, red state socialism is real. As a 2007 analysis by the Tax Foundation (above) of federal spending per tax dollar received by state shows, the reddest states generally reaped the most green. (As Politifact rightly noted, the rankings are based on 2005 data. The Tax Foundation is planning an updated study.) Eight of the top 10 beneficiaries of federal largesse voted for John McCain for president. Unsurprisingly, all 15 states at the bottom of the list—those whose outflow of tax revenue is funding programs elsewhere in the country—all voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Alaska's number three ranking was particularly ironic, given Gov. Sarah Palin's farewell message warning her state to "be wary of accepting government largesse; it doesn't come free."

But the ironies don't end there. A 2010 map of personal government benefits received versus taxes paid showed secession birthplace South Carolina to be one of the big winners."

Flabbergasted Rand Paul Learns Public Employment Decreased Under Obama

Flabbergasted Rand Paul Learns Public Employment Decreased Under Obama: One of the least appreciated but easily-confirmed facts about the current state of the American economy is that the number of Americans employed by the government has gone down under President Obama. But apparently this is news to one the Republican Party’s most prominent tea party conservatives. During a roundtable discussion on ABC this morning [...]/p

Ryan: I Didn’t Vote For The Defense Cuts I Voted For

Ryan: I Didn’t Vote For The Defense Cuts I Voted For: Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan has gotten in hot water before for criticizing President Obama for the very same defense cuts that he voted for in 2011. When confronted with this incongruity today on Face The Nation, Ryan simply denied that he ever voted for the cuts, telling an incredulous Norah O’Donnell that he didn’t [...]/p

Romney campaign admits it: they're losing

Romney campaign admits it: they're losing
"President Barack Obama heads out of the national political conventions with a much clearer path to winning, top advisers to Mitt Romney privately concede"

10 Rankest Hypocrisies of Mitt Romney and the Republican Party | Alternet

10 Rankest Hypocrisies of Mitt Romney and the Republican Party | Alternet
"Modern Republicans give us an opportunity to peer into the soul of a party that has embraced an open aversion to the truth. Meanwhile, their hypocrisy has reached historic proportions. It’s as if they have lost the ability to recognize the obvious contradictions they put forth. Or, more likely, they just don’t care, since lies and hypocrisy are an efficient way to score political points and smear opponents.  The hyper-hypocrisy of today’s GOP has spread through the party’s bloodstream."

Paul Ryan requested Obamacare funding for his district

Paul Ryan requested Obamacare funding for his district
"Remember how a couple of weeks ago Paul Ryan had egg on his face after being forced to admit that he had indeed requested funds from the stimulus bill that he so vehemently opposed and has continued to vilify? His excuse then was that, when he wrote those letters of support for all that federal funding, he didn't know it was stimulus money he was asking for.

So what's his excuse going to be this time?"

The GOP's Disgusting New Southern Strategy: Take the Vote Away from Blacks, Roll Back the Civil Rights Movement | Alternet

The GOP's Disgusting New Southern Strategy: Take the Vote Away from Blacks, Roll Back the Civil Rights Movement | Alternet
"The GOP's war on voting rights isn't new. It harks back to past efforts to alter the political process."

The Republicans as the Party of Big Government | Common Dreams

The Republicans as the Party of Big Government | Common Dreams
"One of the jokes of our era is the Republican Party's claim that it favors “small government.”  An accurate description might go more like this: the present-day Republican Party (libertarians excepted) has never seen an oppressive power of the national security state it didn’t want to bolster or grow.  And it loves big government—the bigger the better—as long as we’re talking about the military-industrial complex.  Mitt Romney, for instance, is eager to build ever more naval vessels, increase the size of U.S. ground forces, and up by an extra $2 trillion or more over the next decade the Pentagon’s already staggering budget.  As the Bush administration proved and the Obama administration emphasized, stimulus packages, including massive infrastructural projects, are fine and dandy when pursued in Baghdad (biggest embassy on Earth) or Afghanistan (most bases ever).  Consider it an irony, that even undocumented aliens are a Republican “go,” if they happen to be part of thesemi-slave labor force that helps to build and service American bases in war zones abroad."

Papantonio: Tea Party Finally Tips The Craziness Scale

The Tea Party's constant charge that "Obama hates America," as well as how the entire Republican Party has become a reactionary, intolerant bunch with no facts to stand on.

Watch A Democratic Mayor Expose The Tea Party’s Deficit Hypocrisy

Watch A Democratic Mayor Expose The Tea Party’s Deficit Hypocrisy: "During an appearance on CNN’s Starting Point on Tuesday, Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer refused to condemn the deficit increase that would result from Mitt Romney’s proposed tax cuts, suggesting that the group is more concerned about acting as a surrogate for the Republican candidate than promoting fiscal responsibility.

Romney would extend all of the Bush tax cuts, reduce all individual income tax rates by an additional 20 percent, lower the corporate rate from the current 35 percent to 25 percent, eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, the estate tax, Obamacare’s Medicare taxes on high-income individuals, and taxes on investment income for households under certain income levels. The former governor claims that he could recoup the lost revenue by closing unspecified “tax expenditures,” though economists predict that he would have to dramatically slash spending to pay for his tax cuts or add trillions to the national deficit."

The ED Show - History shows we're better off today than 4 years ago

Four years ago, the economy was in free-fall and the country was losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month. Republicans say Americans were better off. The facts speak for themselves.

GOP Rep. Burgess Suggests Medicare Is Unconstitutional

GOP Rep. Burgess Suggests Medicare Is Unconstitutional: At a panel during last week’s Republican National Convention, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) strongly suggested that he believes Medicare is unconstitutional — before going on to say that its constitutionality doesn’t matter so long as it is used to achieve conservative ends. Burgess’ comment arose during a discussion of whether the Constitution permits the federal [...]/p

Romney On Whether We’re Better Off: ‘Of Course It’s Getting Better’

Romney On Whether We’re Better Off: ‘Of Course It’s Getting Better’: "But if it’s an insult to say that the economy is better off, then Mitt Romney has been slinging some insults of his own, considering how he answered a question from conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham back in January"

Ten Big Lies Paul Ryan Keeps Repeating That the Corporate Media Refuses to Push Back On | Alternet

Ten Big Lies Paul Ryan Keeps Repeating That the Corporate Media Refuses to Push Back On | Alternet
"This year’s Republican campaign may be the most dishonest in history. "

Dishonesty on display throughout GOP convention

Three days' worth of lies, distortions and manipulations from dozens of speakers at this year's Republican National Convention.

How the Main Stream Media Helps the GOP Big Lie

Bill Moyers: Christian Right Hypocrite Ralph Reed Has Resurrected Himself in the GOP -- He Must Be Praying We'll Forget His Past | Alternet

Bill Moyers: Christian Right Hypocrite Ralph Reed Has Resurrected Himself in the GOP -- He Must Be Praying We'll Forget His Past | Alternet
"As head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Reed boasts he’s building a political dynamo of five million members with a massive database, an annual budget of $100 million and full-time lobbyists in all fifty state capitals, a colossal effort aimed at putting in place a right-wing social agenda and identifying and establishing contact with what it estimates as 27 million conservative voters in America. As you can imagine, with clout like that, Reed and his coalition were in high cotton at the Tampa convention."