Tag Archives: DailyKos

December 1, 2012 · 11:24 AM

Peggy Noonan: Why Can’t Obama Just Give Us What We Want?

Peggy Noonan has gotten worse over the last four years.

What she seems to be saying is Obama needs to stop with the games and give the GOP what they want.  Uh, Ms. Noonan, you know very well that’s not how politics is played.

Had the GOP won this year they would have been full of demands like they were in 2010.

Addicting Info

Peggy Noonan is one of the wise elders of the right wing and she’s mad at President Obama. Why? He’s so stand-offish! Via DailyKos (emphasis mine):

You watch and wonder: Why does it always have to be cliffs with this president? Why is it always a high-stakes battle? Why doesn’t he shrewdly re-enact Ronald Reagan, meeting, arguing and negotiating in good faith with Speaker Tip O’Neill, who respected very little of what the president stood for and yet, at the end of the day and with the country in mind, could shake hands and get it done? Why is there never a sense with Mr. Obama that he understands the other guys’ real position?

It’s not as if Mr. Boehner and the Republicans wouldn’t deal. They’ve been weakened and they know it. A year ago they hoped winning the Senate and the presidency would break the stasis. They won neither. Mr. Obama not only was re-elected, it wasn’t that close, it was a clean win. If the president was clear about anything throughout the campaign, it was that he wanted to raise taxes on those he calls the rich. So you might say that a majority of the American people just endorsed that move.

No one would know this better than Mr. Boehner, who has risen to where he is in part because he’s good at seeing the lay of the land and admitting what’s there.

So it’s Obama’s fault for not just giving the GOP whatever it wants? How does that work? Oh yeah, I forgot! When Republicans win elections, they have unlimited political power and all must obey their dictates. When a Democrat wins, they really should just “compromise” with the losing minority. And by “compromise” they mean “do everything the way we want or we’ll bring the country to a screeching halt.”

Keep in mind, Peggy just said that Obama campaigned on raising taxes on the rich and the public said, “yes!” So what are the Republicans balking at? Raising taxes on the rich.

But, hey!, let’s blame Obama for the failure in negotiations. Under no circumstances can we blame the the party that has filibustered more bills than any Congress in history and has stated, out loud, that their number one priority was to make Obama a one term president. This makes perfect sense. On Fox News.

Listen Peggy, elections have consequences. One of those consequences is that the losing side does not get to make demands like they won. You lost, Peggy. Badly. And unlike Bush’s 2004 Social Security bait and switch (which failed miserably), Obama is doing exactly what he campaigned on. You’ll take whatever you’re damn well given and like it!

Just as an aside: Notice that Peggy says Obama “wanted to raise taxes on those he calls the rich”as if people making over $250,000 are not rich? And this is not a tax raise on that first $250k anyway, it’s everything AFTER $250k. The median household income for 2012 was $50,054. If you’re making FIVE TIMES as much and still complaining you’re not rich?

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October 4, 2012 · 9:07 AM

Quick recap of presidential debate…

Summary of tonight's presidential debate

Something to ponder…on the morning after.

America Blog

A number of us were discussing the debate in the comments, you can find that here. But above is a pretty good summary of what we learned during the 90 minutes.

In all seriousness, I do think Romney explicitly talking about killing Big Bird (my language) was a mistake.

It was also a mistake for Romney to keep saying his Medicare plan wouldn’t apply to current seniors, only people younger than retirement age. Well, why not? If it’s such a great plan, why not make it apply to everyone? Romney’s admitting up front that his plan won’t be as good as the plan seniors currently get, otherwise he’d offer it to them. It was creepy.

And Romney saying he won’t raise any revenues at all, that it’s only tax cuts, is nuts. And it’s not the kind of thing the American people want. They like compromise. They want tax cuts AND revenue increases, and it’s not even clear they’re demanding tax cuts at all. But they certainly don’t want tax cuts alone.

Markos of DailyKos made an interesting point via Twitter as well:

Remember, a debate with no defining moments helps Obama. He is already winning. It’s Romney who needs to change dynamics.

Mitt Romney: Lying to victory

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks during the first presidential debate with President Barack Obama (not pictured) in Denver October 3, 2012.     REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS USA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

“How much did I lie?”

Daily Kos

The results of Wednesday night’s first presidential debate are in and it’s official: Mitt Romney won round one. He was aggressive, he was decisive, he delivered. Of course he also lied through his teeth for most of the debate.

Romney lied:

  • When he claimed that “pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.” They’re not.
  • When he said that President Obama had “cut Medicare by $716 billion to pay for Obamacare.” Obama didn’t.
  • When he denied proposing a $5 trillion tax cut. He did.
  • When he said President Obama had “added almost as much to the federal debt as all the prior presidents combined.” Not even close.
  • When he resurrected “death panels.” That was called ”one of the biggest whoppers of the night.”
  • When he stated that half the green energy companies given stimulus funds had failed. Onlyif three out of nearly three dozen is half.

Stayed tuned. These just scratch the surface.

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February 16, 2012 · 6:28 AM

Keith slams Breitbart and anti-Occupy ‘propagandists’ for ‘exploiting rape victims’

If one takes the time to observe Andrew Breitbart, one might find that inside that angry facade is a very mean person who hates liberals with a  passion.   So much so in fact, that he might at times, manipulate videos to his own advantage or outright lie about the people that he hates,  just to make them look like the “slime” he perceives them to be.

Keith Olbermann gives a stunning example of this…

The Raw Story

Keith Olbermann on Wednesday night blasted conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart for claiming that the “Occupy Wall Street” movement condoned rape.

“The subject of rape itself is no laughing matter,” he said. “The allegation that a political or cultural group condones or encourages rape and sexual assault, against anyone, is virtually as serious a charge as can be leveled. Yet nearly just as bad, is to fabricate, twist, and alter facts, to make it seem like such a charge against such a group has credence.”

Breitbart recently shouted that members of the 99 Percent movement should “stop raping people,” a reference to reports of crime and sexual assaults at some “Occupy” camps.

The various demonstrations across the country took place in public parks and most of them offered free food and shelter. This attracted a number of people who were not strictly a part of the movement, including criminals and other troublemakers.

After DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas appeared on Olbermann’s show on Tuesday and accused Breitbart of “mak[ing] stuff up,” Lee Stranahan of Big Journalism demanded an on-air retraction and apology. He cited a list of 17 news stories of rape and other sexual crimes at “Occupy” protests.

But Olbermann said that list include some stories twice and could not be attributed to the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. In four of the stories, he noted, neither the victim nor the assailant were even associated with the protest. In seven other stories, the protesters were the victims, not the assailants.

“That is the evidence that Andrew Breitbart has submitted to rationalize his irrational attempt to smear the Occupy movement and Occupy members, as rapists, and to brand anybody who points out his dishonesty, his twisting of the facts, and who bothers to actually read the stories that disprove his own contention, as a rape denier or rape apologist,” Olbermann said.

“What Mr. Breitbart and his fellow propagandists have done, in fact, is to take at least eight women, eight members of Occupy, who were raped or otherwise assaulted, and blamed them.”

Watch video, courtesy of Current TV, at link here…

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June 2, 2011 · 9:13 PM

Leaked Emails Show Tip To Breitbart About Weiner Tweet

The plot thickens…in Rep. Weiner’s favor!

TPMMuckraker

The ongoing scandal surrounding a lewd tweet sent from Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) Twitter account took yet another turn for the weird Thursday as alleged e-mails between the person who first noticed the photo and conservative media guru Andrew Breitbart were leaked.

Breitbart first reported the Weiner story Saturday on his site Big Government using a screengrab from the person in question, Twitter user “@patriotusa76,” who lists his name on his account as Dan Wolfe and said he captured the image from Weiner’s feed before it was deleted. Weiner has said his account was hacked and a number of liberal blogs have pointed to Wolfe — who had a history of crudely taunting Weiner online — as a person of interest.

In response, Wolfe has tweeted denials that he hacked Weiner’s account or had anything to do with the publication of the photo.

Breitbart began to raise suspicions on his own Twitter feed about Wolfe’s involvement in the incident in recent days, calling on him to come forward about his role, and is currently linking to a post on his Big Government website that questions whether @patriotusa76 did, in fact, hack Weiner’s account.

[...]

One email, in part:

I have ALOT of personal problems I didn’t want to go into–but as I become the focus of this I am more and more afraid this will all come out. I want to tell you why I haven’t talked on the phone yet. 

I have an en exwife suing me for custody of our 2 kids and for lots of other stuff right now. Her attorneys are after everything I own.

I have an ex girlfriend who has mental problems causing issues for me at work .

My business is suffering as a result.

If my exwife’s attorney’s got a hold of a call recorded with me on it they’d have a field day with that. I want to try to avoid.

She had recorded me twice before. She worked with my exgirlfriend and had two calls recorded.

It has gotten me in a lot of legal trouble.

I am screwed. If this comes out along with everything I’m dealing with here — I don’t know what to do.

Continue reading…

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May 31, 2011 · 4:32 PM

“Weinergate”: Anatomy of a Social Media Scandal

I’ve been following this case about Rep. Anthony Weiner allegedly sending a 21 year old college student an alleged lewd picture of himself on Twitter, since it started late last week.  I chose not to comment on it until I saw this fiasco  was starting to reach the national media. 

Anything that has to do with the Andrew Breitbart blog, Big Government is automatically suspect, given their prior history of “set-ups“.

Daily Kos seems to have deciphered the entire mess here.  However, I have to look at their analysis the same way I do with those on the right analyzing President Obama’s birth certificate. 

Hopefully the truth will prevail soon.  For the most part I really like the Congressman’s stance on most issues.  I also follow him on Twitter.

This video is from the Los Angeles Times:

Time Magazine – Swampland

Here are the facts of the incident inevitably dubbed “Weinergate.” Late Friday night, a lewd photo was posted on the Twitter account of Congressman Anthony Weiner, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens. It was included in a message sent to a Washington State college student. The tweet — as well as all photos connected to the account — was swiftly scrubbed, but a screen grab found its way to conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart’s “Big Government” website.

Weiner has repeatedly denied sending the photo; the Congressman says his Twitter and Facebook accounts were hacked. An aide said the Democrat has hired a lawyer. “We’ve retained counsel to explore the proper next steps and to advise us on what civil or criminal actions should be taken,” said spokesman Dave Arnold. “This was a prank. We are loath to treat it as more, but we are relying on professional advice.”

While you were enjoying the holiday weekend, the denizens of the Interwebs were hard at word trying to solve the mystery. Mediaite commissioned a “photoshop expert” to scour the image for evidence of forgery. A Reuters employee juxtaposed the photo data with those of previous images.

A blogger for Breitbart’s Big Government site dangled a lucrative $200(!) reward for evidence that helps identify the hacker, presumably so that it can use the offer as evidence of Weiner’s guilt if the culprit fails to materialize. Another pointed out that the “skinny legs” visible in the photo might match those attached to Weiner’s lanky frame. A blogger for the liberal Daily Kos, using screen grabs and Twitter timelines, marshaled a case that Breitbart and a conservative blogger had teamed up to take Weiner down. Both have denied it.

Continue reading here…

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January 25, 2011 · 1:31 AM

Senator Olbermann? Online Movement Afoot To Draft Ex-MSNBCer For Senate Run

Things are getting curiouser and curiouser…

TPM LiveWire

Friday night’s shocking announcement that Keith Olbermann was immediately leaving MSNBC has had an interesting effect on both detractors and supporters. Right of center media outlets appear to a have embraced a measured yet celebratory tone, while those on the left have called it an “end of free speech,” and have begun to hypothesis what could be Olbermann’s next steps. Some enterprising members of the left wing DailyKos website have begun a DraftOlbermann campaign for the Connecticut Senate seat soon to be vacated by Joe Lieberman. Hey if Linda McMahon can run…

Started by DailyKos contributor who goes by the moniker “Stranded Wind,” the movement is still very much in its infancy, and is likely to be seen as delusional by its detractors. Still, its a rather impressive reaction that says more about the loyal following that Olbermann engendered from the DailyKos, even if detractors are certain to portray this as a joke, or if there is realistically very little chance for a potential senate run.

The thinking is summed up “He is, however, just old enough, smart enough, polished enough, and has all of the other attributes that would make him a darned good Senator for the state of Connecticut,” adding “So we decided we’d draft him to replace Joe Lieberman.” There are some concerns for NOT doing this, but those get addressed as well.    More…

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January 10, 2011 · 4:48 PM

Jon Stewart Named 28th “Most Dangerous Liberal” in America

Host Jon Stewart in the studio of The Daily Sh...

Image via Wikipedia

Huh?

Right Wing Watch

According to the popular conservative online news website Townhall, Comedy Central host Jon Stewart is the number 28 “most dangerous liberal” in the country. Written by Townhall’s Executive Editor Chris Field, Stewart is a “radical liberal” and part of George Soros’s progressive web.

Stewart falls right below Rev. Jim Wallis, the leader of the Christian social justice group Sojourners, who placed #27, but he’s seen as far more “dangerous” than Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos (#40) and Rachel Maddow of MSNBC (#44). While Field didn’t have any problems with the Daily Show’s report by Aasif Mandvi on critics of the McDonald’s Happy Meals, Field slams Stewart for purportedly persuading young voters into becoming progressives:

Political satirist Jon Stewart’s tongue is acid-tipped. His popular “Daily Show” program regularly slays elected officials for hypocrisy and self-importance, derides political buffoonery and skewers media excesses. More often than not, it’s bitingly hilarious and decidedly Left-leaning: a potent combination.

A 2007 media survey revealed that more than one-in-10 young voters relied on Stewart’s show as a primary source of political news — a share that has undoubtedly swelled since. It’s no small coincidence that voters aged 18-29 backed Barack Obama for president by a breathtaking 2-to-1 margin.

While acting as a formidable political opinion maker, Stewart inoculates himself against serious criticism by playing the “I’m just a comedian” card. This artifice has become known among conservatives as the Jon Stewart “clown nose on, clown nose off ” routine.

Laugh all you want. It works.

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· 1:31 AM

Hostile Intent: Right-Wing Media Doth Protest Too Much

Daily Kos

by KingOneEye

Sun Jan 09, 2011 at 07:53:22 PM PST

Rarely have I seen such a desperate attempt to evade reality as has occurred since the shooting rampage in Tuscon. It would seem to be a fairly non-controversial notion that when a politician is targeted for assassination, the language that contributes to hostile discord ought to be carefully considered and avoided. The last thing anyone should want is another Jared Loughner. However, just raising that issue has caused politicians and pundits on the right to stiffen their backs and go on offense. They are taking such talk very personally. Could it be because they are harboring a latent guilt?

While the left has been responding to an horrific act of violence with calls to tone down the rhetoric, many on the right have assumed an attack posture. Keith Olbermann delivered a commentary yesterday wherein he included himself amongst those who have crossed the line. He apologized. There has been scarce reciprocation on the right. In fact, they have dug in their heels to assert that they will continue as if nothing has happened. Sarah Palin’s camp even contends that their notorious “Hit List” didn’t represent a gunsight’s crosshairs, but those on map. That might have been a little more plausible if Palin herself hadn’t referred to it as a bullseye.

So it should come as no surprise that Fox News would employ their propaganda web site, Fox Nation, to muddy the waters and absolve the right of any wrongdoing while tarnishing the left for observing the obvious. The Fox Nation presently has eleven articles that place the left in a bad light and/or polish the right’s reputation. Methinks they doth protest too much.

The Headlines:

  • Durbin Using Tragic Shooting to Silence Conservative Speech
  • A Colossal Failure of Journalism: Jared Loughner is crazy
  • Tucson Shooter and the Violent Rhetoric in the “Communist Manifesto”
  • AZ Dem Blames “Afghan Vet” for Shooting
  • DESPICABLE: NYT’s Krugman Blames Republicans For Giffords Shooting
  • NOW Blames Shooting on ‘Extreme’ Conservatives Opposing ‘Progressive Solutions’
  • PATHETIC: James Clyburn Blames Sharon Angle for Giffords Shooting
  • Tuscon Sheriff Politicizes Press Conference, Blames Talk Radio
  • Journalists Urged Caution After Ft. Hood, Now Race to Blame Palin After Arizona Shootings
  • Kurtz: Don’t Drag Palin Into this Horrific Mess
  • Dems Urge Obama to Pin Shooting on Tea Partiers

And it doesn’t stop there. On Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment, Jim Hoft, one of the most ignorant writers on a web site heralded for its ignorance, makes the ludicrous claim that “Democrats Plotted to Blame Tea Party for Slaughter.”   More…

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