Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate: Amend Constitution To Allow Taxpayer Funding For Religious Schools

Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate: Amend Constitution To Allow Taxpayer Funding For Religious Schools: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) proposed that Virginia amend its constitution to allow public funding for religious education -- an idea contradicted by Thomas Jefferson.

Darrell Issa, John Boehner, Clarence Thomas Lead the Republican Culture of Corruption

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/12/darrell-issa-john-boehner-clarence-thomas-lead-republican-culture-corruption.html
"There is a reason why Darrel Issa has a long history of run-ins with the law and continues unabated in a position of power, and why John Boehner continues his unethical behavior in the House; it is all down to never facing the consequences of their corruption. ALEC has been laundering corporate money to send to Republicans since 2006 with impunity because they have not been investigated by the IRS, and Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Thomas continue doing the bidding of the Koch brothers because there is no code of conduct to hold them accountable for judicial malfeasance."

What Does It Take For a Rodeo Clown to Get Banned From a MO State Fair?

What Does It Take For a Rodeo Clown to Get Banned From a MO State Fair?
"Perry Beam, who took pictures of the "Obama rodeo clown" which went viral on the Internet and asked him about how he felt while watching the event. Beam compared sitting in that crowd and listening to and watching what he did to a KKK rally."

PERRspectives: Meet the Real Death Panelists

PERRspectives: Meet the Real Death Panelists
"Every single Republican Representative and Senator voted against the Affordable Care Act before President Obama signed it into law in March 2010. Since January 2011, House Republicans have voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare. Were they to succeed, the GOP wouldn't just be preventing up to 30 million more people in the U.S. from obtaining health insurance."

Arizona Republicans Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan

Arizona Republicans Already Working On 2020 Gerrymander Plan: Unhappy that an independent redistricting commission devised maps it deemed too independent for the 2012 elections, Arizona Republicans are already scheming to rig the redistricting process after the 2020 elections to be more favorable to their party.

GOP’s Rodeo of Racism Blows Up | Alternet

GOP’s Rodeo of Racism Blows Up | Alternet
"the Missouri State Fair rodeo was so sickening that Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder had to denounce it as “disrespectful” to the president, adding, “We are better than this.” Fairgoer Perry Beam told the Associated Press that “everybody screamed” and “just went wild” when an announcer asked if they’d like to see “Obama run down by a bull"."

Republican Fringe Surfaces In Electoral Off-Year

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Meet Lee Bright, The South Carolina Senate Candidate Who Thinks Lindsey Graham Is Too Liberal

Meet Lee Bright, The South Carolina Senate Candidate Who Thinks Lindsey Graham Is Too Liberal: South Carolina State Sen. Lee Bright (R) announced Tuesday that he will primary U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R). Bright is on the board of a right-wing seminary that believes women should be subservient to men in the church and in the home.

North Carolina Passes Restrictive New Voter ID Bill

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What Does It Take For A Rodeo Clown To Get Banned From A State Fair?

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Tea Party Protesters Greet Obama With Racism, Birtherism: ‘Kenyan Go Home’

Tea Party Protesters Greet Obama With Racism, Birtherism: ‘Kenyan Go Home’: Twice last week, Tea Party protests featured racism and birtherism.

VIDEO: Congressman Embraces Birtherism, Says We ‘Should Have Looked Into’ Obama’s Birth Certificate

VIDEO: Congressman Embraces Birtherism, Says We ‘Should Have Looked Into’ Obama’s Birth Certificate: Birthers have found another sympathetic ear in Congress: Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX).
"a better response than coddling birthers is to call the theory for what it is: complete nonsense with racist undertones."

5 Reasons Congress Should Be Deeply Ashamed About Jobs | Alternet

5 Reasons Congress Should Be Deeply Ashamed About Jobs | Alternet
"Congress' unwavering support of big business donors shows a callous disregard for the needs of the millions of Americans they're supposed to be representing. Here are five of the paralyzing consequences."

6 of the Nuttiest Right-Wing Statements Just from this Week Alone | Alternet

6 of the Nuttiest Right-Wing Statements Just from this Week Alone | Alternet
"With Congress taking its summer break, Tea Partiers and other kooks were saying some of the nuttiest things we have ever heard. With straight faces!"

Racism Still Motivates Tea Party

Pathetic! Far Right So Powerful Mitch McConnell Can't Even Fire His Trash-Talking Staffer | Alternet

Pathetic! Far Right So Powerful Mitch McConnell Can't Even Fire His Trash-Talking Staffer | Alternet
"It’s a metaphor for the control the right has claimed over the GOP since George W. Bush left office — a campaign-trail manifestation of the power back-bench Republicans have successfully asserted in both the House and Senate. And it’s a harbinger of what they hope to do when it’s time to pick their presidential candidate three years from now."

Seniors Leaving The GOP And It's About Time

Seniors Leaving The GOP And It's About Time
"When Republicans took control of the House of Representatives at the beginning of 2011, 43 percent of seniors gave the Republican Party a favorable rating. Last month, just 28 percent of seniors rated the GOP favorably. This is not an equal-opportunity rejection of parties or government — over the same period, the Democratic Party’s favorable rating among seniors has increased 3 points, from 37 percent favorable to 40 percent favorable."

Constituents Want Answers For Rep. McHenry's ACA Repeal Votes

Constituents Want Answers For Rep. McHenry's ACA Repeal Votes
"Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) wasn't expecting what he got when he held a town hall meeting this week. Instead of being cheered for his votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he was greeted by angry constituents, including this mom, who is grieving the death of her uninsured son. I can completely relate to her grief and anger."

Corporate Constitutional “Rights” Harm Small Business | Common Dreams

Corporate Constitutional “Rights” Harm Small Business | Common Dreams
"Small businesses find themselves in the same position when it comes to our First Amendment “right” to participate in the electoral process.  We simply do not have the funds to compete against the big boys. A body that should be protecting the interests of small businesses, the US Chamber of Commerce is overrun with the very same corporations who are exercising their personhood “rights” to slap down any business which challenges their policies, and frequently lobbies for laws and supports candidates who will support their corporate agenda."

Shrinking Deficit Foils GOP Talking Point

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Conservatives Used to Mock Ayn Rand -- How Did She Become a Hero to Right-Wing Nerds Everywhere? | Alternet

Conservatives Used to Mock Ayn Rand -- How Did She Become a Hero to Right-Wing Nerds Everywhere? | Alternet
"The growing influence on the American right of Ayn Rand, the libertarian right’s answer to Scientology’s novelist-philosopher L. Ron Hubbard, is a wonder to behold. When she died in 1982, Alissa Rosenbaum — the original name of the Russian-born novelist — was the leader of a marginal cult, the Objectivists, who had long been cast out of the mainstream American right. But the rise of Tea Party conservatism, fueled by white racial panic and zero-sum distributional conflicts in the Great Recession, has turned this minor, once-forgotten figure into an icon for a new generation of nerds who imagine themselves Nietzschean Ubermenschen oppressed by the totalitarian tyranny of the post office and the Social Security administration."

Right-Wing Tactic To Destroy America Is Working – People No Longer Listening To Scientists (VIDEO)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/08/07/right-wing-tactic-to-destroy-america-is-working-people-no-longer-listening-to-scientists/
"The anti-intellectuals, those who would seek the return of the dark ages, have been a strong force in United States politics for decades. The damage they have done has resulted in our loss of position in the world. Once the mecca for scientific advancement, the United States is falling further behind and is poised to fall even further behind so long as anti-intellectuals have any place in government.
So long as these New Right politicians disregard the basics of science, the United States will continue to fall behind the rest of the world. Within a few decades, a century of scientific progress has been all but undone. Instead of leading the world, the United States is in danger of falling behind the pack.
Remember that at the voting booth. Demand those who embrace science, not hide from it."

FreedomWorks' Eight Outright Lies About Obamacare

FreedomWorks' Eight Outright Lies About Obamacare
"It's no surprise that FreedomWorks is lying to members of their mailing list about this. After all, lies are all they've got. But so many packed in so few lines of text? That may be a new record."

Republican Led Texas Is a National Role Model For All The Wrong Reasons

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/07/republican-led-texas-national-role-model-wrong-reasons.html
"If Americans want a vision of a libertarian paradise Republicans are desperate to create, there are several Republican-controlled states that serve as a warning that the conservative vision for America is a nation of poor, uneducated, sick, and poverty-ridden citizens struggling to survive. Texas is a prime example because they encapsulate every devastating policy national Republicans are desperate to enact."

These Six States Want To Allow Health Insurers To Deny Coverage To Sick People

These Six States Want To Allow Health Insurers To Deny Coverage To Sick People:
"Officials in Texas and five other GOP-led states are refusing to oversee even Obamacare’s most basic — and popular — consumer protections and insurance market reforms. That includes the law’s ban on denying coverage or charging more because of a pre-existing condition and discriminating against women on the basis of gender."

North Carolina Voter Suppression Bill Increases Campaign Contributors’ Influence On Courts

North Carolina Voter Suppression Bill Increases Campaign Contributors’ Influence On Courts
"The North Carolina legislature is changing the law to allow more money to influence judicial elections, and it is weakening the rules that prevent judges from hearing cases in which they are or appear to be biased or impartial. North Carolina may be heading the way of Wisconsin, which saw its high court elections flooded with money after repealing its public financing program and weakening its ethics rules."

Are you prepared to shoot the hostage?

WebMD Launches An Online Guide To Teach Americans About Obamacare

WebMD Launches An Online Guide To Teach Americans About Obamacare: GOP-led misinformation campaigns have left millions of Americans confused about health reform. The largest health website in the country wants to help change that.

The Self-Sabotage Of The Latest Campaign Against Obamacare

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Welcome to the land of GOP denial

Welcome to the land of GOP denial
"How bad has the Republican bubble become? Eric Cantor claims the deficit is growing, facts notwithstanding"

Are You Prepared to Shoot the Hostage?

Are You Prepared to Shoot the Hostage?
"Republicans on Capitol Hill have been relentless in blocking any legislation that may improve the economy and President Obama popularity.
 Since President Obama took office, Republicans have filibustered a variety of bills that would have helped the American people and economy.
 These include President Obama’s jobs bill, Nancy Pelosi’s “American Jobs, Closing of Loopholes, and Prevention of Outsourcing Act,” which would have prevented the outsourcing of jobs overseas, and the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act, which encouraged small businesses to hire by giving them temporary tax credits.
 Just last week, Republicans vowed to block President Obama’s attempts to cut corporate tax rates, something Republicans have wanted for years, because to let him do that would be to give him one small victory.
 Republicans have also worked very hard to tear down America."

How A $45,000 Budget Cut Costs A Bankrupt Alabama County $570,000 A Year

How A $45,000 Budget Cut Costs A Bankrupt Alabama County $570,000 A Year: Penny wise and pound foolish in the county Wall Street wrecked.

Republican Governors Warn Of The Cost Of Shutting Down The Government

Republican Governors Warn Of The Cost Of Shutting Down The Government: A government shutdown would have a big impact on states as well as the economy as a whole.

BBC: Boston Bomber Had Literature About White Supremacy and Gun Rights

BBC: Boston Bomber Had Literature About White Supremacy and Gun Rights
"The older of two brothers who allegedly bombed the Boston Marathon earlier this year had "right wing extremist" literature including information about gun rights and white supremacy."

Why ALEC Fabricated Public School Failures (and Why We're Not Surprised)

Why ALEC Fabricated Public School Failures (and Why We're Not Surprised)
"ALEC was formed in 1973 by a group of conservative activists who came together to advance a national right wing agenda in state legislatures across the country. They do this by coordinating and connecting corporate special interests, insurance companies, lobbyists, right wing think tanks, the super rich and conservative state legislators."

Sanders Slams Walmart Family For 'Obscene' Taxpayer Subsidies

Sanders Slams Walmart Family For 'Obscene' Taxpayer Subsidies
"The Republicans keep pretending they hate welfare. They only hate it for poor people. They love it for the likes of Walmart and their ilk. If they really wanted to put a stop to the corporate welfare, they'd support raising the minimum wage considerably as of about yesterday. Don't hold your breath for that to happen any time soon."

Tea Party Summer of Discontent, Courtesy of Billionaires

Tea Party Summer of Discontent, Courtesy of Billionaires
"The Tea Party astroturf army is moving into position now that Congress is in their August recess and members have gone home to their districts. Their mission, should they choose to accept it, will be the total destruction of the Republican Party as it has existed for decades."

The Great American Do-It-Yourself Retirement Fraud, Brought to You By Big Finance & Co. | Alternet

The Great American Do-It-Yourself Retirement Fraud, Brought to You By Big Finance & Co. | Alternet
"The United States is on the verge of a retirement crisis. For the first time in living memory, it seems likely that living standards for those over the age of 65 will begin to decline as compared to those who came before them—and that’s without taking into account the possibility that Social Security benefits will be cut at some point in the future.
The culprit? That same thing Mathisen celebrated: the 401(k), along with the other instruments of do-it-yourself retirement. Not only did they not make us millionaires as self-appointed pundits like Mathisen promised, they left very many of us with very little at all."

8 Ways Privatization Has Brought Pain and Misery to American Life | Alternet

8 Ways Privatization Has Brought Pain and Misery to American Life | Alternet
"A little analysis reveals that privatization doesn't seem to work in any of the areas vital to the American public."

GOP’s Mad Health-Care Vendetta

www.consortiumnews.com/2013/08/03/gops-mad-health-care-vendetta/
"One day, Americans are going to understand just how much destructive damage to our republic has been caused by the radicalized Republican Party and the so-called “fundamentalist/religio/values” conservatives in general. One wonders just how long that is going to take. One wonders if the discovery will come too late."

Southern Leaders Opt to Exclude 2.7 Million From Health Care

Southern Leaders Opt to Exclude 2.7 Million From Health Care
"But in Rome, 27 percent of  adults under 65 are uninsured, a rate that holds true across the state. Last year, the city’s two hospitals report spending more than $80 million delivering uncompensated care, often in the emergency room, where costs run high. Taxpayers and those with health insurance will end up paying for that care through government subsidies and higher premiums, industry experts say."

North Carolina Becomes the Front Line of a Brutal Corporate Assault on Education Raging in America | Alternet

North Carolina Becomes the Front Line of a Brutal Corporate Assault on Education Raging in America | Alternet
"Corporate education forces are on a destructive march throughout the U.S. While busting teachers' unions has been long been an initiative of the GOP and Christian Right, it’s also on the agendas of urban mayors like Chicago Democrat Rahm Emmanuel and New York City independent Michael Bloomberg. And it’s a large component of the regressive agenda that has sparked mass popular uprisings in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s Wisconsin.

Enter the notoriously right-wing North Carolina General Assembly."

Why Republicans Want Jobs to Stay Anemic | Common Dreams

Why Republicans Want Jobs to Stay Anemic | Common Dreams
"First, high unemployment keeps wages down. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs settle for whatever they can get — which is why hourly earnings keep dropping. The median wage is now 4 percent lower than it was at the start of the recovery. Low wages help boost corporate profits, thereby keeping the regressives’ corporate sponsors happy."

For Profit Congresswoman Protects For Profit Colleges

The Corporate Right-Wing Agenda Is Driving Thousands of Americans to Attempt Suicide | Alternet

The Corporate Right-Wing Agenda Is Driving Thousands of Americans to Attempt Suicide | Alternet
"The very same austerity policies that Republicans in Washington are constantly pushing on us are the same policies that are driving Americans to kill themselves"

Alison Grimes Storms Into Fancy Farm and Turns Mitch McConnell Into a Paranoid Old Man

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/03/alison-grimes-storms-fancy-farm-turns-mitch-mcconnell-paranoid-man.html
"Democratic senate candidate Alison Grimes blew into the Fancy Farm Picnic, stared down Mitch McConnell, and left him looking like a directionless and paranoid old man."

Massive Toxic Black Cloud, Brought To You by the Koch Bros, Blows Over Detroit | Common Dreams

Massive Toxic Black Cloud, Brought To You by the Koch Bros, Blows Over Detroit | Common Dreams
"MInd-boggling video of a billowing, high-carbon, high-sulfur cloud from the mountain of petroleum coke - waste from Canadian tar sands shipped from Alberta to Detroit, and the dirtiest potential energy source ever - illegally stored by the Koch Brothers along the Detroit River."

Study: Medicare For All Would Save Half-Trillion In First Years

Study: Medicare For All Would Save Half-Trillion In First Years
"Not that you didn't know this, of course, but it's nice to have some figures to throwback at politicians and "journalists" the next time they start explaining to us how very, very urgent it is to cut Medicare"

36 Senators Introduce Bill Prohibiting Virtually Any New Law Helping Workers

36 Senators Introduce Bill Prohibiting Virtually Any New Law Helping Workers: "Had their bill been in effect during the Twentieth Century, for example, there would likely be no nationwide minimum wage, no national ban on workplace discrimination, no national labor law and no overtime in most industries."

Republicans Use Extortion In Their Latest Attempt to Transform America

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/02/republicans-extortion-latest-attempt-transform-america.html
"It is important to look back at the debt ceiling crisis of 2011 to comprehend the web of extortion extending from Grover Norquist and libertarian Koch brothers down to Republicans John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan who extorted devastating spending cuts by threatening the full faith and credit of the United States with a credit default. Americans will be paying for Republican extortion for a decade as a result of the debt limit fiasco, and besides costing the nation over $19 billion in extra interest fees after S&P downgraded America’s credit, there were hundreds-of-thousands of jobs lost and millions more as a result of Republican’s sequestration"

House GOPer thinks she's just the woman to stop that foreign-born America-hating despot named Obama

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/02/1228488/-House-GOPer-thinks-she-s-just-the-woman-to-stop-that-foreign-born-America-hating-despot-named-Obama
"This kind of thing is so commonplace it's hard to get shocked or even outraged by it. But the fact remains that a good chunk of the GOP's activist base is totally and entirely delusional—and elected Republicans are either too afraid to stand up to it, or are as delusional as their constituents."

GOP Pushes Obamacare Government Shutdown; Media Pretend The Madness Is Politics As Usual

www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/02/gop-pushes-obamacare-government-shutdown-media/195197
"The press for years now has failed to provide a framework with regards to the radical ways that now define the GOP, to the point where shutting down the federal government in order to eradicate a law that Republicans were unable to stop from being passed is casually referred to as "the plan," or the "strategy."

It's much, much more than that. It's unprecedented. And pundits and reporters ought to include that crucial context."

Ted Cruz Hopes For Groundswell To Kill Obamacare

Ted Cruz Hopes For Groundswell To Kill Obamacare
"When you see Ted Cruz in the news during the dog days of August, when you spot him out stoking the fires of hate for affordable health care, just remember who's got his back: Billionaires, the wife of a Supreme Court Justice, and a whole lot of people who want to see the federal government fail by whatever means they can manufacture."

The Party of (Nutty) Ideas

The Party of (Nutty) Ideas
"It's not your imagination. The Republican Party really does seem to have taken leave of its senses."

Chris Hayes And Michael Mann: Ken Cuccinelli’s War On Science Matters To VA Governor’s Race

Chris Hayes And Michael Mann: Ken Cuccinelli’s War On Science Matters To VA Governor’s Race: Virginians have a very stark choice before them,” science vs. anti-science

Michele Bachmann’s Leadership PAC Spends 145 Times More On Legal Fees Than Campaigns

Michele Bachmann’s Leadership PAC Spends 145 Times More On Legal Fees Than Campaigns: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who announced in May that she would not seek re-election, operates a PAC with the stated aim of helping to elect other conservatives nationally. But while her “leadership PAC” spent more than $250,000 in the first half of 2013, just $400 of that went to supporting other political candidates — the lowest percentage of any such committee of its size.

GOP Meltdown: Senate Leader Faces Nightmare Election While Republicans in the House Defeat Themselves | Alternet

GOP Meltdown: Senate Leader Faces Nightmare Election While Republicans in the House Defeat Themselves | Alternet
"Kentuckians are tired of their obstructionist U.S. senator."

10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men | Alternet

10 of the Worst Terror Attacks by Extreme Christians and Far-Right White Men | Alternet
"Most of the terrorist activity in the U.S. in recent years has not come from Muslims, but from radical Christianists, white supremacists and far-right militia groups."

Mitch Ditched: McConnell Trails Democrat Alison Grimes In New Poll

www.politicususa.com/2013/08/01/mitch-ditched-mcconnell-trails-democrat-alison-grimes-poll.html
"For possibly the first time in his career, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is trailing in a poll. Democrat Alison Grimes leads McConnell 45-44%, but the poll contains a boatload of bad news for Mitch"

Paul Ryan's Budget Rewritten By Sister Simone Campbell

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Challenging Sen. McConnell From The Left And The Right

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Washington Legislator Calls For Tea Party To Stockpile Ammunition For Dystopic Future

Washington Legislator Calls For Tea Party To Stockpile Ammunition For Dystopic Future: At a Tea Party “Self Reliance Rally” in Idaho, Washington State Rep. Matt Shea (R) reportedly warned survivalist attendees to stockpile ammo, practice shooting, and learn defense tactics to prepare for an "inevitable" economic collapse "that is going to happen."

New Poll: Kentucky Voters Want To Boot Mitch McConnell

New Poll: Kentucky Voters Want To Boot Mitch McConnell
"New poll numbers released Thursday suggested that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is entering his reelection campaign next year facing two perilous obstacles: an electorate that wants him out of office and a viable Democratic challenger."

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor

Congressman Scolds Catholic Nun For Asking Government To Help The Poor:What’s more, Ribble’s willingness to shirk governmental responsibility echoed the sentiment of other Republican members at the hearing who looked down on the poor.

Rep. Peter King: Senator Paul Reminds Me of Hitler Appeasers

Rep. Peter King: Senator Paul Reminds Me of Hitler Appeasers
"Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul may have attempted to cry uncle in his ongoing feud with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, but if anyone thought the infighting among Republicans was going to be over any time soon, they're sadly mistaken. Rep. Peter King got his digs in on Paul during an interview on CNN this Wednesday and said the senator's views reminded him of Hitler appeasers in the '30's."

You Can Thank The Koch Brothers For The Big, Dirty Cloud Floating Over Detroit

You Can Thank The Koch Brothers For The Big, Dirty Cloud Floating Over Detroit: A large black cloud spotted over the Detroit River last weekend is confirmed to be petroleum coke, a byproduct of tar sands refining, owned by Koch Carbon.

North Carolina GOP Hosts Fundraiser At Country Club That Admitted Its First Black Member This Month

North Carolina GOP Hosts Fundraiser At Country Club That Admitted Its First Black Member This Month: North Carolina Republicans celebrate nation's worst voter suppression law with a fundraiser at a barely integrated country club.

GOP Nihilism Fully Revealed in Current Paralysis | Alternet

GOP Nihilism Fully Revealed in Current Paralysis | Alternet
"By their refusal to even consider President Obama's latest proposal, Republicans show they can't even help their ever-narrowing constituency."