Daily Archives: November 26, 2012

November 26, 2012 · 11:26 PM

Grover Norquist Makes ‘Tony Soprano-Like’ Threats to Republicans Who Dare to Break His Pledge

I was looking for this particular video to embed on TFC and found a pretty good  political You Tube© channel in the process.

Grover Norquist appears to be panicking a bit since several Senators have said they would not honor the Norquist Pledge which most of them signed upon entering office.

NewsPoliticsNow

After defending his anti-tax pledge to Soledad O’Brien on CNN this morning, Grover Norquist turned to Fox News this afternoon to continue the damage control.

Pressed by Neil Cavuto to explain why Republican leadership seems to be indicating they are open to some tax increases to reach a deal to resolve the fiscal cliff, Norquist returned to his line that GOP legislators have a had some “impure thoughts” over the last few days but have not actually voted to raise taxes yet.

Over the course of the interview, Cavuto described Norquist as both a “unique, powerful Wizard of Oz figure who has been able to keep Republicans in lock step with your way of thinking” and as a “Tony Soprano-like” mob boss who will “remember these guys who turn on you.”

As he tends to do, Norquist adopted a modest posture, saying that the pledge is not about him but it is about the American people. But that did not stop him from issuing veiled threats to Republicans who have begun to turn away from him.

Norquist recalled President George H.W. Bush, who failed to secure a second term after breaking his “no new taxes” promise. He also chalked up Tennessee Senator Bob Corker’s election to his embrace of the pledge and questioned how Corker’s constituents will react if he breaks the pledge now.

As the country approaches the fiscal cliff deadline at the end of this year, it appears that a compromise can only be achieved if Republican leaders effectively cast off Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge. Whether they ultimately dismiss Norquist and his pledge or stick by it in an attempt to save their seats remains to be seen.

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· 8:10 PM

Florida GOP: Yup, Those Lines Were About Voter Suppression

That’s exactly why people came out to vote and waited on those long lines, to counteract what was clearly voter suppression tactics…

Think Progress

Floridians endured election chaos and marathon voting lines this year, largely thanks to reduced early voting hours, voter purges, and voter registration restrictions pushed by Republican legislators. In an exclusive report by the Palm Beach Post, several prominent Florida Republicans are now admitting that these election law changes were geared toward suppressing minority and Democratic votes.

Former governor Charlie Crist (R-FL) and former GOP chairman Jim Greer (R-FL), as well as several current GOP members, told the Post that Republican consultants pushed the new measures as a way to suppress Democratic voters. Crist expanded early voting hours in 2008 despite party pressure, but Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) targeted early voting almost immediately when he took office in 2011. Scott’s administration claimed the new laws were meant to curb in-person voter fraud, despite the fact that an individual in Florida is more likely to be struck by lightning than commit voter fraud.

Current party members and consultants confirmed the motive was not to stop voter fraud but to make it harder for Democrats and minorities to vote:

Wayne Bertsch, who handles local and legislative races for Republicans, said he knew targeting Democrats was the goal. “In the races I was involved in in 2008, when we started seeing the increase of turnout and the turnout operations that the Democrats were doing in early voting, it certainly sent a chill down our spines. And in 2008, it didn’t have the impact that we were afraid of. It got close, but it wasn’t the impact that they had this election cycle,” Bertsch said, referring to the fact that Democrats picked up seven legislative seats in Florida in 2012 despite the early voting limitations.

Another GOP consultant, who did not want to be named, also confirmed thatinfluential consultants to the Republican Party of Florida were intent on beating back Democratic turnout in early voting after 2008.

[...]A GOP consultant who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution said black voters were a concern. “I know that the cutting out of the Sunday before Election Day was one of their targets only because that’s a big day when the black churches organize themselves,” he said.

Though the state ultimately went to President Obama, the Republican effort to suppress votes was largely successful. A post-election report found that new voting restrictions led to a huge increase in provisional ballots, which are cast when there is some question of the voter’s eligibility.

While crying voter fraud, the Florida GOP had to confront its own scandal when a voter registration firm they hired turned in hundreds of fraudulent registration forms in several Florida counties. The GOP hastily cut ties with the group when the state opened a criminal investigation into their operations.

UPDATE:

African American pastors in Florida said they were “appalled but not surprised” at the Post’s report. One Jacksonville pastor said, “Even while cloaked in the dubious language of ‘voter fraud,’ the real reason for these measures was always clear. African Americans in Florida knew that, and we fought back – by voting.”

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· 5:56 PM

Obama’s Margin of Victory is Now Bigger than Both of George W. Bush’s Wins

Good news for the POTUS historically and contextually…

PoliticusUSA

As of now, President Obama’s popular margin of victory is bigger than both of George W. Bush’s election wins in 2000 and 2004.

According to the numbers compiled by David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report,President Obama now leads Mitt Romney 50.81%-47.48% in the popular vote. President Obama’s popular vote margin is now bigger than both of the last two successful Republican presidential elections. In 2000, George W. Bush lost the popular vote to Al Gore, 48.38%-47.87%. In 2004, George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in the popular vote, 50.73%-48.27%. Obama is currently posting the biggest margin of victory since Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole, 49.24%-40.71% in 1996.

What was supposed to be a nail biter of an election turned out to be only the 13th closest election in US history. Obama’s margin of victory was bigger than four other modern era (since 1952) winning candidates. George W. Bush (2000 & 2004), Jimmy Carter (1976), and Richard Nixon (1968) all had smaller margins of victory than Obama did.

This means that the bluster coming from the right about President Obama not having a mandate is nothing more than political hot air. Due to the fact that many of the yet to be counted ballots are in New York and California, President Obama’s margin of victory is expected to grow.

While Mitt Romney’s 47% popular vote percentage is a juicy bit of political karma, the real story here is the political staying power and popularity of Barack Obama.

This president won reelection by a sizable margin despite a still recovering economy and an opposition party that was determined to obstruct his agenda. One can only imagine the size and scope of Obama’s reelection victory if the economy had been a bit better, or Republicans had put “country first.”

If you really want an answer to the question of President Obama’s potential mandate, pay attention to the deeds — not the words — of his political opponents. Judging from their post-election behavior, Congressional Republicans have been knocked back on their heels by Obama’s victory. They now find themselves trapped between two very different and opposing strategies. Republicans are trying to sound a moderate tone by backing away from the Norquist tax pledge, while at the same time opposing raising any new taxes.

As the nation draws closer to the fiscal cliff, this will be an impossible position to maintain. Republicans are posturing on no new tax hikes because they have to, or their base will go into full rebellion. The reality is that taxes will go up whether Republicans agree to it or not. Either they will send a deal to the president that includes a tax hike on the wealthy, or taxes will go up when the nation tumbles off the fiscal cliff.

Obama not only achieved a larger political victory than expected, but he is parlaying that momentum into a potential series of victories that could define the course of the country and his presidential legacy.

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· 12:32 AM

Monday Blog Roundup 11-26-2012

 

Give the Texas Secessionists a Boat!
Buh-bye Talk of secession is heating up again in Texas. I know, I know, many of you ..

The Slow March to Gridlock
The New York Times has a great piece on the U.S. Senate’s slide into gridlock, includ..

McCain Backs Off Susan Rice Smear Campaign
Shortly after news broke about a fatal attack on the American consulate in Benghazi,..

Susan Rice, Condi Rice and Republican hypocrisy
U.N. Ambassador (and latest target of Republican vitriol) Susan Rice President Obama..

After Sandy: The Perils of Coastline Construction
After Sandy: The Perils of Coastline Construction

GOP Starting to Rebel Against No-Tax-Hikes Pledge
With the fiscal cliff looming for the United States, some Republican members of Congr..

John McCain: Abortion Issue Should Be Left Alone By Republicans
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday urged members of his party to leave abortion di..

What We Learn From Mitt Romney’s Post-Mortem
What We Learn From Mitt Romney’s Post-Mortem

NY Times Warns On Climate Change: ‘Fear Death By Water’, Rising Seas L..
The NY Times (finally) goes apocalyptic on climate change. Here’s the cover image of..

Video: Sputtering McCain approaches farce with Rice attacks
Rachel Maddow exposes the baselessness of the ridiculous hectoring by Senator John M..

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