Bad Storm Rising

After an October to forget for President Obama, we are entering the final stretch of the 2012 Presidential Election. After winning the first debate, Mitt Romney had grabbed the upward momentum in the race, and at one point, even held the advantage in the Talking Points Memo Polltracker average of polls:



But in the wake of the devastation on the East Coast via Hurricane Sandy, the President's bold support of federal disaster relief and the bipartisan partnership he's formed with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may spell the end of hope for a Mitt Romney victory on Election Day.

For example - how much value could a picture like this have in the last week of the election:

Christie invited Obama to New Jersey to tour the areas

Christie's high praise for the President's personal ownership of the FEMA disaster relief efforts form part of a two-pronged political victory for the President. First, the impact of Christie's praise - and why it's such a boost on Election Day:

On Tuesday, Christie did the rounds on morning TV, praising Obama’s performance. “It’s been very good working with the president and his administration,” Christie said on MSNBC. “It’s been wonderful.”

Christie has also made clear that politics is the least of his concerns. When asked in a briefing Tuesday with reporters about how the storm might affect Election Day, he said: “I don’t give a [expletive] about Election Day.”

But here’s the second reason the Obama-Christie team-up, six days before Election Day, is worth its weight in gold to both men’s political futures: Voters – especially independent voters – want more bipartisanship, polls show. This presidential campaign has been the most toxic in memory, but the Obama-Christie photo op is living evidence that when the going gets tough, members of competing parties really can work together.

 Indeed, after a couple years of the shrill bickering of the Tea Party, a high profile Republican governor and President Obama working together to solve the problems put forth by Hurricane Sandy sends an important message that the President is a man of consensus and compromise, as opposed to a legislative bully, an argument that Republicans have been trying to put forth since the President successfully passed Obamacare in his second term.

The second prong in this winning moment for the Obama campaign is the turdtacular response from George W. Bush -era FEMA Director Micheal "Heckuva Job" Brown, who guided the agency during the train wreck that was Hurricane Katrina. His question? "Why did the President respond to dying Americans so fast?":

From the SF Gate:

“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on this so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”

This, of course, reinforces the obvious idea that even if Jesus came down from the sky and gave the President full marks on the Sandy response, Republican Party leadership would continue to slam him in order to score political points off of the dead bodies of Americans. With Mitt Romney already on the record calling for the end of FEMA as an agency, the Hurricane Sandy disaster has become a nightmare for the Romney campaign - and after a poor final debate, may be the hammer that puts the nail in the coffin for Willard.  

Romney: Put The White Back in the White House

Failing poll numbers, a disastrous start to a overseas trip, and a tax return scandal have left the Romney campaign with one strategy going forward: overt racism.

“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special. The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.” (Unknown Romney Advisor – 7.24.12)

Abandoning even a dog whistle, Mitt Romney’s campaign has appeared to place their all-in bet in this November’s election on the racist tendencies of white Americans, laying an all-out frontal assault on the President by implying that he simply isn’t “American” enough to run our country – a code word, simply, for the fact that he is too black to run our country. Perhaps if the above quote was the only instance of the racist implications of the Romney campaign, it could be ignored. But, ThinkProgress has helpfully provided a full timeline of Romney statements that seemingly question Obama’s “American-ness”:

11:30 AM — OBAMA HAS TO ‘LEARN HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN’: “The men and women all over America who have worked hard to build these businesses, their businesses, from the ground up is how our economy became the envy of the world. It is the American way. And I wish this president would learn how to be an American. [Co-chair John Sununu, Romney campaign conference call]

1:35 PM — ROMNEY SAYS OBAMA’S POLICIES ARE ‘EXTRAORDINARILY FOREIGN’: “Celebrating success instead of attacking it and denigrating making America strong. That’s the right course for the country. His course is extraordinarily foreign.” [Mitt Romney, Pennsylvania]

The continued swipes over Obama’s multi-cultural upbringing are idiotically racist, the sign of a failing Presidential campaign that is trying to elect a man who has zero principles, has flip-flopped on almost every major issue, and now may very well have committed a federal felony in lying about his time at Bain Capitol. The Romney campaign is now providing only one real messaging talking point: reminding us over and over and over again that this President is black – and that Mitt Romney is the best choice for President because, well, he’s the whitest choice possible.
Where’s the racism coming from? It’s arrived in this fashion because Romney’s continued need to distract from near weekly major disasters in his campaign, most recently from the disastrous beginning to his foreign policy tour, beginning in the UK for the 2012 Summer Olympics:

Cameron soon rebuked Romney. "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course, it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere," he said.
"I think we will show the whole world not just that we come together as a United Kingdom, but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world," Cameron added. "I will obviously make those points to Mitt Romney. I look forward to meeting him."

Made a fool of by the Prime Minister of the country you’re visiting? Check. How about saying our most important ally is “Just a small island that makes stuff that nobody wants? Check:

England [sic] is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn't make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn't been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler's ambitions.

 What else?

Serious dismay in Whitehall at Romney debut. 'Worse than Sarah Palin.' 'Total car crash'. Two of the kinder verdicts #romneyshambles
— James Chapman (Mail) (@jameschappers) July 26, 2012

“Hours later, London Mayor Boris Johnson played on Mr Romney's earlier comments while revving up a crowd of thousands of people in London's Hyde Park.
Calling London "the greatest city on earth," Mr Johnson told the crowd: "I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready?"

This foreign policy nightmare, incensing nearly every important leader in what is our closest ally in the world, was preceded by a Titanic-esque disaster where he refused to release all but two years of federal income tax returns, most likely because he did not pay ANY federal income tax in the year of 2009:

As a member of the ultra-rich, Romney probably wasn’t spared major losses. And it’s possible he suffered a large enough capital loss that, carried forward and coupled with his various offshore tax havens, he wound up paying no U.S. federal taxes at all in 2009. If true, this would be politically deadly for him. Even assuming that his return was thoroughly clean and legal—a safe assumption, it seems to me—the fallout would dwarf the controversy that attended the news that Romney had paid a tax rate of just 14 percent in 2010 and that estimated he’d pay a similar rate in 2011.

That’s right folks – a single mother making $7.25 an hour paid more federal income tax in 2009 than Mitt Romney. It does really put into focus how, indeed, Mitt Romney is “not concerned about the very poor” – ironically, who are made up by a very large block of minorities. With updated polling now showing President Obama pulling away from Romney nationally and on the electoral map, it appears that a return to racism is the only way the GOP thinks they can win this election, and this time they don’t have John McCain to put the veto on it. Mitt Romney is one thing – a panderer. It is blatantly obvious that if he believed that burning a cross on the White House lawn would get him the Presidency, he would do so.

It’s incredible the damage Mitt Romney has done to himself in the last few months. Before April, even I didn’t think Mitt Romney was actually a bad guy – he may have been disconnected from reality, ignorant of the masses, but at least he donated to charity and didn’t actively seem to cheat the system – but the last few months have exposed the true Mitt Romney. A political chameleon who will do anything and everything to gain power and money – who cares so little about the average American that his wife publicly talks about “you people” with disdain in interviews. Now he’s stooping to the level of David Duke, George Wallace, and the 50’s era mentality of white, heterosexist supremacy over all affairs. What a disgusting man – and not a man fit to be President of the most diverse country in the world.   

False Idolatry

America’s sophomoric obsession with gun worship claims more victims; when can we grow up?

The second major American gun massacre in the last two years has occurred in Aurora, Colorado, where a gunman killed 12 and wounded 50 at the midnight premier of The Dark Knight Rises, with a 6 year old among the injured and many under 18 wounded, possibly critically. This comes on the heels of the Jared Loughner incident in Tucson, and is Colorado’s second major gun massacre in the last 20 years, with the other being the Columbine High School massacre. Ironically, a Politico/NRA fluff piece came out just yesterday, with the normal gun nut contingent bleating the typical “that black man is coming to take our guns” bullshit that has become so acceptable in American society:  (from gunbanobama.com)

Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history. Senator Obama says “words matter.” But when it comes to your Second Amendment rights, he refuses to speak honestly about where he stands. In fact, Obama hides behind carefully chosen words and vague statements of support for sportsmen and gun rights to sidestep and camouflage the truth.
But even he can’t hide from the truth forever … his voting record, political associations, and long standing positions make it clear that, if elected, Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history.

Indeed, even the President is fearful of attempting to pass even common sense gun control legislation, perhaps something that would have prevented the deaths of more innocent Americans. The spectre of the NRA, who believe that Americans should be able to concealed-carry AK-47s and rocket launchers because it’s “constitutional” (it’s NOT), has successfully scared any politician with half of a brain away from attempting to pass any type of comprehensive gun legislation since the Columbine disaster. Does it take a room full of dead teenagers to force politicians into action in this country?
It’s time for America’s fascination with gun worship to end. An obsession with guns that has no room for safety and common sense is something that should be out of our psyche by the time we turn 16. It’s sophomoric, idiotic, and deadly. Bill Maher sums up my views on the gun society in America perfectly:

“I find the gun laws in this country incomprehensible,” Morgan told Maher, and the latter took a shot at explaining them by explaining the culture. “I look at guns like antibiotics… sometimes you need them, but I don’t kiss my antibiotics, I don’t worship them” the way some worship guns, he explained. “Rick Santorum likes to talk about theology… this is a theology in this country, this is a religion.”
While Maher understood the value of having a Second Amendment, he noted that the context in which that amendment was written could not have anticipated the way guns evolved in the ability to do harm. “The Constitution could not foresee assault weapons,” he noted, adding once again that “no one is saying that we are attempting to create a gun free society, just reasonable limits.”

Please join me in calling on our state and federal legislators to back comprehensive gun control legislation TODAY. A FULL FEDERAL assault weapons ban, ban on the sizes of clips, and real training and control on weapons. No more dead children – no more mothers crying – no more high school shootings. Let’s burn the NRA down and grow up as a country – if we don’t, who knows who will be next?

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The Fierce Urgency of Now

Presidential politics continues it’s onward march towards November, with the Obamacare ruling now in the rear view mirror. The affirmation was another big political win for the President, who has faced down the “Democrats always lose” cliché and come up a winner on a few big issues:

• Immigration reform: Swing states overwhelmingly support the President’s move to halt deportations.
• Same-sex marriage: the President’s endorsement of same sex marriage appears to have pushed public opinion over the hump and into the favorable column – including in the African-American community.
• Health Care Reform: after the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Obamacare, polls have found support on the rise for the legislation across the board, with support now nearing 50%.

The icing on the cake is that coupled with these political wins, the Obama campaign has, without question, has dropped the centrist triangulation that we are used to from Democratic campaigns such as Clinton and Kerry, using issues such as same-sex marriage, income inequality, and fairness as issues to draw a very clear line of distinction between the President and Mitt Romney. It’s pretty clear that President Obama has, for the most part, delivered the goods as promised in 2008 to his progressive base – with many of those legislative wins coming in the face of a Tea Party controlled house. A glance at some big progressive wins during the first four years of Obama’s term:

• Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
• Passage of first major healthcare legislation in over 40 years
• Equal pay for women (Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act)
• Ending the war in Iraq
• Saving the American auto industry
• Made sexual orientation a protected federal class for hate crimes
• First sitting President to endorse same-sex marriage
• Halting deportations of DREAM-act eligible immigrants

We could go on and on, but I think it’s fair to say that most did not expect even half of this list to happen before the end of the President’s first term.

The constant refrain from the left after another Democratic campaign loss was “Just run to the left – be a REAL Democrat!”. Barack Obama has offered liberals the chance to finally prove that statement right. While the idea that the Obama administration is “liberal” in the grand scheme of things is questionable, in terms of the American scale, Barack Obama is the most liberal President we’ve had in over 30 years, and his recent moves to the left have now left progressives with no excuses – this is the guy, now is the time, and this is the moment. Miles Mogulescu explains the importance of November’s election:

Such a victory for a Republicans -- the most virulently reactionary American political party in historical memory -- would likely result in British/European-style austerity that would plunge a country already experiencing an unnecessarily slow recovery from the deepest recession since the 1930's into a full-blown depression. It would likely lead to tax cuts for the wealthy that would only increase the economic inequality between the top 1% (and top 0.01%) and the 99% that has been widening since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. It would likely lead to the unraveling of the economic reforms of the Progressive era, the New Deal, and the Great Society including Medicare and Social Security, which have done so much to turn America into the first largely middle class society in history. It would unravel even the relatively mild regulation of Too Big To Fail Banks of the Obama administration and make another financial crisis more likely. It would restore the neocons to leadership of American foreign policy which could lead to further unnecessary wars. It would lead to the appointment of up to three new Supreme Court Justices in the mold of Scalia/Alito/Thomas who would block progressive reforms for a generation to come.

In addition to the non-political ramifications of a Romney victory, it would also serve as a sign to both parties that liberals were wrong – that if someone campaigned to the left, it would just result in a loss. It would provide validation and a mandate to the neo-conservative right to move our country’s Overton window to the right at an even faster rate – destroying civil rights gains for minorities, LGBT’s, women, and even religious minorities. The America of Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann could very well become a reality – threatening to halt the liberalization of the next generation of Americans.

So when you think about this November, keep in mind that this could be our last chance to put up a major fight against the continued shifting of our country’s political spectrum to the right – our last opportunity to take back the real America from the far right, Christian fundamentalists who want to rule our country as the American Taliban.

And Jesus Said, "Let Them Die"?

On the heels of one of the GOP’s biggest political losses in more than a decade, Republicans have responded with a message: we still want to “Let them Die”.

In case you descended into a coma for the last four days, you’ve heard that the Supreme Court, on a 5-4 decision, affirmed Obamacare almost in full, including the individual mandate that may have been key to the success of the legislation in practice. The affirmation was a huge blow to conservatives nationwide, who had begun the end zone dance roughly last week and even began celebrating like fans of a sports team that just won a championship while Chief Justice John Roberts was reading the actual findings of the court, where he affirmed the legislation with the four left-leaning justices on a government taxation power argument. CNN and FOX also managed to blow their loads prematurely, hedging their bets on a dramatic setback for the Obama administration and barely able to contain their glee, and Republicans nationwide set “delete” button speed records and learned a valuable lesson in pre-scheduling Tweets.


The “unexpected” (to put it mildly) setback put the Republican Party on it’s heels. An Amber Alert should have been issued for Mitt Romney, who didn’t make a statement on the legislation for over an hour after the ruling, and the resulting day long social media extravaganza (buzzfeed.com has a decent summary) confirmed that apparently, there was just no plan for this to happen, so messaging wouldn’t be required. But, the dust has settled, and it appears that the far-right Christian warriors of our country are going all-in with the message that Obamacare must be repealed, and replacing it isn’t exactly at the top of the priority list.

WALLACE: I just want to ask, what specifically are you going to do to provide universal coverage to the 30 million people who are uninsured?
MCCONNELL: That is not the issue. The question is, how can you go step by step to improve the American health care system. … We’re not going to turn the American health care system into a Western European system.

While those that paid attention always knew the “replace” half of “repeal and replace” was as sincere as a Kardashian marriage, the fact that Republican leaders are okay with publicly stating they want to rip life saving treatments away from millions of Americans, or give companies the ability to discriminate based on your bad luck in getting colon cancer, is a pretty stunning thing as a messaging strategy. Especially for a party that loves to label themselves as the the political wing of mainstream American Christianity, says PoliticusUSA:

The conservative Christian agenda is rapidly becoming as far-removed from Christ’s teachings as the Sun is from the Earth, and as the country devolves into a hate-fest toward the poor and impoverished, it is little wonder the rest of the world views American Christianity as little more than a bastardization of Ayn Rand ideology. The level of hate and greed that is becoming the hallmark of the religious right is a disease that is being transmitted, ironically, through churches all across America, and it never ceases to amaze humanists how a Christian adherent can clutch a bible to their bosom while working tirelessly to strip assistance from the poor, and worse, condemning them to poor health and an early death because they consider something like affordable health insurance a privilege.

Indeed, the thought that this morning, thousands of church congregations may very well lead their prayers by asking God to repeal Obamacare while at the same time calling themselves followers of someone who spent quite a bit of time healing the sick, is nauseating and so twisted that it’s hard to comprehend for anyone who has a brain cell.  The chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party takes the hypocrisy a step further by calling for a second American civil war and justifying armed rebellion as a “Godly” action:

To resist by all means that are right in the eyes of God is not rebellion or insurrection, it is patriotic resistance to invasion.
May all of us fall on our faces before the Heavenly Judge, repent of our sins, and humbly cry out to Him for mercy on our country. And, may godly courageous leaders rise up in His wisdom and power to lead us in displacing the criminal invaders from their seats and restore our constitutional republic.

Of course, the Republican Party has made the practice of jumping the shark further to the right almost a campaign plank in this cycle, but this time may be the first time where virtually no dissent has been voiced, even by the so-called “moderate” Republican wing. McConnell’s statement of the Republican position moving forward no longer tries to couch the fact that they just don’t give a shit if you die because health insurance is too expensive, or you can’t get insured because of past conditions. Health insurance is a privilege, sort of like a BMW or a mansion, that should only be attainable by those who have proven their self-worth via bank account balances. That’s their version of the American way, and the way they interpret the teachings of Jesus Christ, a man who would fit the description of “Community Organizer” perfectly. America is still the ONLY industrialized country in the world to not provide citizens with universal health care via a public option – apparently, the entire rest of the world missed the mark when declaring access to quality health care a fundamental human right, not a optional payroll deduction when you are lucky enough to have a job.


So now that Obamacare is guaranteed to take effect for the foreseeable future (no matter what GOPers want you to think), the discussion will begin to shift to what Obamacare does for Americans. While the Affordable Care Act generally polls poorly among voters, every one of the major portions of the legislation has popular support – at commanding levels:

61 percent of respondents favored allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26.

72 percent of respondents wish to maintain the requirement that companies with more than 50 workers provide health insurance for their employees.

82 percent of respondents favored banning insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions

Some Republicans, such as Allen West, may have recognized this and initially tested the waters with forms of legislation that would allow popular provisions to stay in force while acting to damage the President’s credibility via a political loss. But it’s clear with the last two days of Republican talk that nothing but a full repeal is an option. While the ACA may stay unpopular with the Republican base, the second chance that the President and Democrats are now able to take advantage of, and the media has been highlighting already, is the highly popular tenants of the law. With polling support for these issues already high across the board, there is virtually no chance that support for the legislation will go down over the next few months, and there is a very good chance that support will go up due to the renewed focus on tying each part back to the legislation as a whole.


Over the next four months, the President and Democrats across the nation are going to be able to offer a very clear cut choice: are you really interested in voting for a party that wants to re-instate the right for companies to deny people based on pre-existing conditions? Do you really want to take young adults away from their parents health plans at a time when high quality jobs are so hard to find? Do you really want to stand with the Republican Party and say in unison, “LET THEM DIE!”? Because now, you’re not just taking legislative inaction on the issue, you are supporting an active campaign to rip affordable health insurance out of the hands of millions of Americans who have never had the ability to get it before; a cruel and morally abhorrent action that could only be justified by the moral compass of a playground bully.


My bet’s is that most Americans aren’t interested in this “Atlas Shrugged” inspired indifference to their fellow citizens, and this Obamacare decision will be a long term win for Democrats as well as a long term win for Americans everywhere. But if we do choose the wrong road and hand the keys to Romney and crew in 2012, how do we deserve anything else as a country? The choice is clear, high-profile, and provides no grey areas – this election has become more important than ever. Do we still believe in helping each other, or are we really the nation that is so concerned about a couple percentage points on a tax return that we’d rather just let those in poverty die painfully?

A word about Joe Arpaio

I have been a little light on the posting lately, but here’s a couple videos from June 12th’s protest at Fourth Avenue Jail over the death of MCSO inmate Raymond Farinas. More to come shortly – should be regarding immigration.

My take on the culture that Sheriff Joe has created in the MCSO jail system.

And then…

Arpaio’s theory is that inmate Raymond Farinas died from choking on peanut butter–really?

Thanks for watching. Filming is via Santiago James Chavez (link is to his YouTube channel), who has my eternal thanks for putting these up. 

Quote for the day...

"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost" - Ronald Reagan #wiunion #p2 #CTL #tcot #forward #topprog

— Zachary Cook (@zjcook23) May 28, 2012

Morning in Gaymerica

On heels of President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality, supporters have grabbed a decisive lead in national polling

Opposition to gay marriage hits historic low - WaPo/ABC Poll

Opponents who claimed that President Obama may be political trouble because of his endorsement of same sex marriage may have to face up to the music soon – as the President’s recent announcement has solidified the continuing upward trend in public support for same sex marriage. The Washington Post/ABC Poll puts support for same sex marriage at it’s highest in a national poll in American history, with 53% supporting and 39% opposed, a +14 favorability that seemed almost unfathomable even three weeks ago. Even more incredible:

The poll also finds that 59 percent of African Americans say they support same-sex marriage, up from an average of 41 percent in polls leading up to Obama’s announcement of his new position on the matter.

The media meme, post-endorsement, was that the President was risking losing all kinds of black voters to Mitt Romney, which is insane on face, for any variety of reasons. Instead of turning away from the Obama campaign, black cultural icons and organizations have placed their bets with the President. Music legend Jay-Z offered this powerful endorsement of marriage equality in an interview last week, and the NAACP offered their endorsement in the last week as well.
The simple fact is that it was the time and the place to endorse marriage equality – and good leaders know when the time to lead has come. The President’s legacy will forever be intertwined with the fact that his endorsement could very well have given the marriage equality movement the final push it needed to get over the finish line. With support increasing at even half this rate, we should expect federal marriage equality within 10 years, if not sooner.